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The Lord sees everything. Because the conditioned soul wants to be Krsna, he also tries to see everything. And this manifests as thousands of cameras. But what is their use? Find out in the article BELOW! Great demons in the history of mankind such as Hiranyakasipu and Ravana always wanted to take the position of the Lord and rule over the other living entities. Hiranyakasipu performed the severe austerity of standing on one leg for thousands of years and as a reward for his great perseverance and determination he was awarded the boon of being able to control the whole universe. Similarly, Ravana attempted to construct a gigantic staircase, which would enable to everyone reach the heavenly planets without performing pious activities and in his delusion he even attempted to kidnap mother Sita, who is the pleasure potency of the Lord. Similarly, nowadays the attempt to become the Lord is going on and great amounts of energy and resources are sacrificed to fulfill such an insane dream. The Supreme Lord, Krishna, by His internal and external energies, is within everything in the manifested world, and at the same time He is outside of everything, situated in the kingdom of God (Vaikunthaloka). This is very nicely stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.37) as follows: ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabhis tabhir ya eva nija-rupataya kalabhih goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhuto govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami "I worship the Personality of Godhead, Govinda, who, by expansion of His internal potency of transcendental existence, knowledge and bliss, enjoys in His own and expanded forms. Simultaneously He enters into every atom of the creation." The minute living entity is conscious of the pains and pleasures of his own body but can never perceive the pains and pleasures of others' bodies. This is due to his minuteness. However, the Lord is perfectly capable of perceiving pains and pleasures of all living entities in all the manifested universes since He is ever present and all pervading and He enters into the hearts of all through his localized feature of the name Paramatma. In this way, He is controlling and supervising the whole of creation. The latest invention of mass surveillance in the modern world serves us as a reminder that the desire to imitate the Lord is not a monopoly of the historical demons in gone-by ages. It is ever present in the heart of all living entities that reside in this contaminated atmosphere of Krishna unconscious world at all times. Just like the Lord is omniscient and aware of the movements of all living entities, the modern governments have installed CCTV camera wherever possible and are trying to monitor the movement of the citizens in the twisted attempt to imitate the omniscient Lord in order to prevent terrorism and crime. The results show that such mass surveillance is highly ineffective in preventing crime and thus fails its purpose. Rather, we are simply bombarded by the images and videos of horrible crimes recorded in real time, which are displayed by the media and which further increase our anxiety and fear. Thus we can see that the principle of imitation always results in creating more and more trouble for the imitator. The modern governments fail to understand that along with the quality of omniscience, the Lord also has the ability to inspire action in the living entity. The Bhagavad-gita reveals: sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca (Bg 15.15) "I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." The Lord controls everything since He resides in the heart of all and is the source of remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness of the living entity. The living entity desires sense gratification in one of the modes of material nature and the Lord at an opportune moment inspires him to act on such a desire and thus fulfill his hankering. Similarly, when the living entity desires to go back home, back to Godhead, He inspires him to approach a bona fide spiritual master who purifies the living entity by the means of spiritual instruction. In fact, the spiritual master is considered to be the external manifestation of the Supersoul. It is the duty of the government to ventilate the instruction of the Lord amongst the citizens. Unless it does so, a mere mass surveillance of the citizens serves no function and will not be able to solve the problem of crime or any other. Instead of imitating the Lord, one should humbly hear from the sources of transcendental knowledge and thus make his life perfect.

Lord Jagannath, Sri Baladeva and Srimati Subhadra Once a brahmana from Bengal wrote a drama about the characteristics of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and came with his manuscript to induce the Lord to hear it. The brahmana was acquainted with Bhagavan Acarya, one of the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Therefore after meeting him at Jagannatha Puri, the brahmana made his residence at Bhagavan Acarya' s home. First the brahmana induced Bhagavan Acarya to hear the drama, and then many other devotees joined Bhagavan Acarya in listening to it. All the Vaisnavas praised the drama, saying,"Very good, very good." They also desired for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to hear the drama. Customarily, anyone who composed a song, verse, literary composition or poem about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu first had to bring it to Svarupa Damodara Gosvami to be heard. If passed by Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, it could be presented for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to hear. If there were a hint that transcendental mellows overlapped in a manner contrary to the principles of the bhakti cult, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would not tolerate it and would become very angry. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would not hear anything before Svarupa Damodara heard it first. The Lord made this etiquette a regulative principle. Bhagavan Acarya submitted to Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, "A good brahmana has prepared a drama about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that appears exceptionally well composed. First you hear it, and if it is acceptable to your mind, I shall request Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to hear it." Svarupa Damodara Gosvami replied, "Dear Bhagavan Acarya, you are a very liberal cowherd boy. Sometimes the desire awakens within you to hear any kind of poetry. "In the writings of so-called poets there is generally a possibility of overlapping transcendental mellows. When the mellows thus go against the conclusive understanding, no one likes to hear such poetry. A so-called poet who has no knowledge of transcendentaI mellows and the overlapping of transcendental mellows cannot cross the ocean of the conclusions of devotional service. A poet who does not know the grammatical regulative principles, who is unfamiliar with metaphorical ornaments, especially those employed in drama, and who does not know how to present the pastimes of Lord Krsna is condemned. Moreover, the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are especially difficult to understand. One who has accepted the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as his life and soul can describe the pastimes of Lord Krnna or the pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Hearing the poetry of a person who has no transcendental knowledge and who writes about the relationships between man and woman simply causes unhappiness, whereas hearing the words of a devotee fully absorbed in ecstatic love causes great happiness.The standard for writing dramas has been set by Rupa Gosvami. If a devotee hears the introductory portions of his two dramas, they enhance his transcendental pleasure." Despite the explanation of Svarupa Damodara, Bhagavan Acarya requested, "Please hear the drama once. If you hear it, you can consider whether it is good or bad." For two or three days Bhagavan Acarya continually asked Svarupa Damodara Gosvami to hear the poetry. Because of his repeated requests, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami wanted to hear the poetry written by the brahmana from Bengal. Svarupa Damodara Gosvami sat down with other devotees to hear the poetry, and then the poet began to read the introductory verse. "The Supreme Personality of Godhead has assumed a golden complexion and has become the soul of the body named Lord Jagannatha, whose blooming lotus eyes are widely expanded. Thus He has appeared in Jagannatha Puri and brought dull matter to life. May that Lord, Sri Krsna Caitanyadeva, bestow upon you all good fortune." When everyone present heard the verse, they all commended the poet, but Svarupa Damodara Gosvami requested him, "Kindly explain this verse." The poet said, "Lord Jagannatha is a most beautiful body, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is exceptionally grave, is the owner of that body. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has appeared here in Nilacala [Jagannatha Puri] to spiritualize the entire dull material world." Hearing this, everyone present was greatly happy. But Svarupa Damodara, who alone was very unhappy, began to speak in great anger. "You are a fool," he said."You have brought ill fortune upon yourself, for you have no knowledge of the existence of the two Lords, Jagannathadeva and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, nor have you faith in Them. Lord Jagannatha is completely spiritual and full of transcendental bliss, but you have compared Him to a dull, destructible body composed of the inert, external energy of the Lord. You have calculated Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in six opulences, to be on the level of an ordinary living being. Instead of knowing Him as the supreme fire, you have accepted Him as a spark." In the Upanisads it is said, yathagner visphulinga vyuccaranti: the living entities are like sparks of fire, and His Lordship the Supreme Personality of Godhead is considered the original great fire. When we hear this sruti-vakya, or message from the Vedas, we should understand the distinction between the Supreme Lord Krsna and the living entities. A person under the control of the external energy, however, cannot understand that distinction. Such a person cannot understand that the Supreme Person is the original great fire, whereas the living entities are simply small fragmental parts of that Supreme Personality of Godhead. As Krnna says in Bhagavad-gita (15.7): mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah manah nanthanindriyani prakrti-sthani karnati "The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind." There is a distinction between the body and soul of the materially existing living being, but because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Jagannatha do not possess material bodies, there is no distinction between Their bodies and souls. On the spiritual platform, body and soul are identical; there is no distinction between them. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam: etad isanam isasya prakrti-stho 'pi tad-gunaih na yujyate sadatma-sthair yatha buddhis tad-asraya "This is the divinity of the Personality of Godhead. He is not affected by the qualities of material nature, even though He is in contact with them. Similarly, the devotees who have taken shelter of the Lord cannot be influenced by the material qualities." (Bhag. 1.11.38) His Lordship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is unaffected by the influence of the three modes of material nature. Indeed, His devotees are also unpolluted by the influence of the external energy because they engage in the service of His Lordship. Even the very body of a devotee becomes spiritualized, just as an iron rod put into fire becomes as qualified as fire because it becomes red hot and will immediately burn anything it touches. Therefore the poet from Bengal committed a great offense by treating Lord Jagannatha's body and Lord Jagannatha, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as two different entities, material and spiritual, as if the Lord were an ordinary living being. The Lord is always the master of the material energy; therefore He is not doomed to be covered by the material energy like an ordinary living entity.” Svarupa Damodara continued, "Because you have committed an offense to Lord Jagannatha and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, you will attain a hellish destination. You do not know how to describe the Absolute Truth, but nevertheless you have tried to do so. Therefore you must be condemned. You are in complete illusion, for you have distinguished between the body and soul of His Lordship [Lord Jagannatha or Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu]. That is a great offense. At no time is there a distinction between the body and soul of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His personal identity and His body are made of blissful spiritual energy. There is no distinction between them. Then Svarupa Damodara Gosvami quoted the Kurma Purana wherein it is stated: "There is no distinction between the body and soul of the Supreme Personality of Godhead at any time.' Similarly, he presented evidence from the Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.9.3-4) where the following verses were spoken by Lord Brahma: "O my Lord, I do not see a form superior to Your present form of eternal bliss and knowledge. In Your impersonal Brahman effulgence in the spiritual sky, there is no occasional change and no deterioration of internal potency. I surrender unto You because, whereas I am proud of my material body and senses, Your Lordship is the cause of the cosmic manifestation. Yet You are untouched by matter. " 'This present form, or any transcendental form expanded by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, is equally auspicious for all the universes. Since You have manifested this eternal personal form upon whom Your devotees meditate, I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You. Those who are destined to be dispatched to the path of hell neglect Your personal form because of speculating on material topics.' Svarupa Damodara Gosvami then continued: "Whereas Krsna, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is full of transcendental bliss, possesses all six spiritual opulences in full, and is the master of the material energy, the small conditioned soul, who is always unhappy, is the servant of the material energy. After this Svarupa Damodara Gosvami quoted Sridhara Svami's Bhavartha-dipika (1.7.6), wherein Sridhara Svami quotes Sri Visnusvami: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Controller, is always full of transcendental bliss and is accompanied by the potencies known as hladini and samvit. The conditioned soul, however, is always covered by ignorance and embarrassed by the threefold miseries of life. Thus he is a treasure house of all kinds of tribulations." Hearing this explanation, all the members of the assembly were struck with wonder. "Svarupa Damodara Gosvami has spoken the real truth," they admitted. "The brahmana from Bengal has committed an offense by wrongly describing Lord Jagannatha and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu." When the Bengali poet heard this chastisement from Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, he was ashamed, fearful and astonished. Indeed, being like a duck in a society of white swans, he could not say anything. Seeing the poet's unhappiness, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who was naturally very kindhearted, advised him so that he could derive some benefit. "If you want to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam," he said, "you must approach a self-realized Vaisnava and hear from him. You can do this when you have completely taken shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu." One should hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from a person who has no connection with material activities, or, in other words, from a paramahamsa Vaisnava, one who has achieved the highest stage of sannyasa. This, of course, is not possible unless one takes shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is understandable only for one who can follow in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One should regularly hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from a self-realized Vaisnava. By such hearing, one becomes pious. Hrdy antahstho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt-satam. As one thus hears the Bhagavatam regularly and sincerely, his heart is purified of all material contamination. nanta-prayenv abhadrenu nityam bhagavata-sevaya bhagavaty uttama-sloke bhaktir bhavati nainthiki "As one regularly hears the Bhagavatam or renders service unto the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is practically destroyed, and loving service unto the glorious Lord, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact." (Bhag. 1.2.18)

This article is from volume 2 of the Krishna conscious magazine, Matchless Gift: a beautiful, original e-magazine designed, written and created by Expand the Bliss devotees. To purchase a copy, click here. Mass Psychosis: The Global Epidemic of The Mind By Nityananda Dasa For Matchless Gift volume 2 "The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error if error seduces them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master. Whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim." - Gustave Le Bon, a French social psychologist. A French philosopher, author and man of knowledge named Gustave Le Bon in his most popular work titled "The Crowd”, argued that the conscious personality of the individual in a crowd is submerged into the group mentality, and that the collective crowd mind dominates; crowd behavior is more unanimous, emotional, and intellectually weaker. Le Bon argues that when people come together as a crowd, their individual intelligence and character are compromised. Instead, they form a collective mind that influences thought and action. Crowd members can acquire a feeling of invincibility that allows them to do things they otherwise would not do. He believes that the collective crowd mind has a difficult time discriminating right from wrong and is easily influenced by extreme ideas due to its emotional and intellectually weak nature. While analyzing how the beliefs of the collective crowd manifest and spread, Le Bon provides the following three key points by which group consciousness is influenced. 1. Affirmation: pure and simple messages that are free of reasoning and proof. 2. Repetition: incessant repetition of the affirmation makes the inconceivable eventually facts in the crowd's mind. 3. Contagion: once an affirmation message establishes its ground, the message will spread like a virus among the public. These three key points shed light on the mechanisms through which collective consciousness is influenced within a crowd. Affirmation, repetition, and contagion play crucial roles in shaping the beliefs and actions of individuals, even when such beliefs have no reasonable grounds, leading to what can be described as mass psychosis. Affirmation is a powerful tool that reinforces our desire for certainty and simplicity. Because of this, when presented with simple messages without reasoning, it becomes easier for people to accept them without critical evaluation. Repetition further solidifies these affirmations within the group. The constant reinforcement of a particular message, even if it lacks factual basis, gradually transforms it into an accepted truth in the minds of the crowd. Repetition exploits the psychological phenomenon known as the illusory truth effect, which suggests that people tend to perceive repeated information as more valid or accurate, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Once the affirmation has been reinforced through repetition, it spreads like a virus among the public. The contagious nature of ideas within a crowd setting is fueled by the human tendency to conform to prevailing opinions. With more individuals adopting the repeated message, it gains momentum and popularity, often reaching a tipping point where the message becomes a part of everyday life and is accepted as a fundamental belief for everyone, despite the lack of evidence or logic. By distancing oneself from society through the use of intelligence, an individual can observe a multitude of these preconceived ideas that are widely accepted without any questioning. The main idea currently infecting the global crowd is the false notion to believe that we are just the combination of chemicals, forming the body and mind. Even though there are no factual grounds for one to believe this nor is there any clear proof to confirm this idea, yet it is still accepted as a fact from one’s very birth. One may wonder why this is so? Affirmation, Repetition, Contagion. The affirmation of this false idea starts with a simple proposition; “What we are is simply a combination of chemicals that form our body and mind, and the way these chemicals then choose to interact with the environment shapes our individual character.” This false, illusory idea is engrained in one’s mind by repetition at every step in one’s life, starting from the moment of birth, as stated in the Srimad Bhagavatam (3.31.20 purport) by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: "As long as the child is within the womb of its mother, it is in a very precarious and horrible condition of life. But the benefit is that it revives pure consciousness of its relationship with the Supreme Lord and prays for deliverance. However, once it is outside the abdomen, when a child is born, maya, or the illusory energy, is so strong that it immediately overpowers it into considering its body to be itself. Maya means 'illusion' or that which is actually not. In the material world, everyone is identifying with their body. This false egoistic consciousness of 'I am this body' develops after the child comes out of the womb. The mother and other relatives are awaiting the child, and as soon as it is born, the mother feeds it, and everyone takes care of it. The living entity soon forgets its position and becomes entangled in bodily relationships. The entire material existence is entanglement in this bodily conception of life. Real knowledge means to develop the consciousness of 'I am not this body. I am a spirit soul, an eternal part and parcel of the Supreme Lord.' Real knowledge entails renunciation or non-acceptance of this body as the self." Once ensnared with the ropes of maya or illusion, taking the body as the self, the last part of the infectious disease, is easily spread due to its contagious nature. It runs rampant, infecting the entire population not only on planet Earth but all planets in all material existence. Whether individuals or grouped in a big crowd, no one is safe from the tight grip of maya. Society is plagued with this infectious disease today more than ever, aimlessly satisfying the senses and the temporary body by chasing the fleeting pleasures, making this the end goal of life while forgetting to satisfy the eternal soul. Sometimes, however, an individual may, with sufficient use of intelligence, theoretically understand the fault in chasing ever-fading temporary sense pleasure. Such a person may understand the dangers of the widespread, globally accepted epidemic of the mind, where everyone around him accepts the body as the self and works aimlessly for it’s satisfaction. He may question the very essence of these activities and their necessity, but the material illusory energy of Krsna, also called Maya, is so strong that this individual will nonetheless continue in his nonsensical activities, not wanting to upset the collective group mentality of the crowd, therefore conforming to the crowd and eventually accepting illusion as his master. Such a person is tightly bound by ropes, and for them, there is no escape, either by logic, understanding, or intelligence. There is only one way out for such a conditioned soul. “It is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself – he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Kṛṣṇa or His bona fide representative, the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, can help one gain such release. Kṛṣṇa, being the Lord of the illusory energy, can order this insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity, who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore, surrendering unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature.” (Bg 7.14 Purport) Matchless Gift Magazine volume 25 OUT NOW!

This article is from volume 2 of the Krishna conscious magazine, Matchless Gift: a beautiful, original e-magazine designed, written and created by Expand the Bliss devotees. To purchase the latest copy, click here. Equality or Injustice? By Red Willow Mataji A deeper dive into the pop culture of equality In our modern world, 'equality' is of growing importance to the masses. Through various media forms it is strongly suggested that we should expect to be viewed by others without any form of discrimination based on bodily designations, whether it be gender, race, nationality, sexual preference, or lifestyle choices. This altruistic approach seems to be attempting to solve the tensions between various sects of society and it may appear to be of the highest benefit for all people. But, if we take a closer look at this popular movement, we can observe that it is not actually equality that is being propagated, and instead of the acceptance of individuality, it is in fact, the negation of not only individuals, but also of variety itself. We are eternally individuals, which is why this equal rights propaganda has been so largely successful; because we inherently value our individuality and we want to protect that. If you do not accept everyone as deserving of all the same rights and treatment, then you are an offender, punishable by heinous acts of violence and shaming. The kind of aggression and severe sectarianism that has followed this sort of imposed movement of the pop culture is a sure sign that something is awry here. The total amalgamation of varieties, in the guise of embracing variety, has created an increasingly more dangerous and degraded situation. Along with the final annihilation of the family unit, there are many other inscrutable consequences that come along with this pervasive mindset. Instead of being supported and protected by the father, sons, brothers, or husband, the modern woman is subjected to an underlying expectation to perform, provide, and nurture. She must be the man and the woman (and she must look good while doing it). Neutralizing naturally occurring variety stems from a severe level of impersonalism, which has festered for many, many years in places which value productivity over persons. This neutralization is extremely favorable for economic productivity, and the best part is that the people are willing and enthusiastic participants. This subtle system of slavery has become more and more cunning with the gradual introduction of powerful technologies, such as the 'smart' phone. In everyone's pocket, in front of everyone's face, 24/7, this medium of technology has the influence of billions and billions of billboards, commercials, and advertisements tailored specifically to each individual's likes and dislikes, injected directly into the minds of just about every person in this day and age–instantaneously. This message of so-called equality has gone global overnight and we are seeing the dangerous symptoms of such an unscientific, illogical, and baseless philosophy. What is being pushed on us as 'equality', is actually a huge over-generalization which robs individuals of their unique roles within society, and which allows for a diverse interaction of many moving parts, all properly situated for their particular natures. This generalization of individuals is Mayavada philosophy–impersonalism, in disguise as personalism. A wolf in sheep's clothing; equality for all–or the most subtle injustice of our time? This pure sentimentalism is leading the masses in a direction that may prove quite difficult to come back from. We know from Srila Prabhupada just how dangerous exposure to Mayavada philosophy can be for our spiritual life, "Once one is associated with impersonalists, he can never understand the personal feature of the Lord and His transcendental pastimes." (SB 3.19.33 Purport). A massive part of Srila Prabhupada's mission is to destroy the Mayavadi philosophers with real science and logic. Thankfully, we are armed with the perfect philosophy that is given to us by Srila Prabhupada, himself knowing very well that the movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the only real welfare work to be done in an age of increasing degradation. Because we have been given this torchlight of knowledge, we are most fortunate even to be able to see this shift in our society for what it really is. Just another tactic for misleading the people away from Krishna, and deeper into body-consciousness and the illusion of I, me, and mine. "The activities of Mayavada philosophy are very dangerous to the public, and therefore Lord Caitanya warned us never to hear from any Mayavadi about any scripture. They will spoil the entire process, and the person hearing them will never be able to come to the path of devotional service to attain the highest perfection, or will be able to do so only after a very long time." (SB 3.25.34 Purport). What is revealed in the sastra about equality? What does real equality mean? Equality can only be defined through reference to something which it is to be measured against. There must be some objective reference for understanding our equality or inequality with everything and everyone else. What equalizes us is the fact that we are constitutionally spirit souls, and we are all a part of Krishna. In this sense, we can know that we all have the same function–service to Krishna. What makes us equal is not that we are all the same, it's that we are all different. We each have a unique service relationship with Krishna, so, although we are united as parts and parcels of Krishna, we are diverse by our unique relationship with Him. We fill specific roles in the spiritual world, all for Krishna's pleasure. The situation here in the material world is a perverted reflection of this reality. Krishna is the objective factor which all of our value is measured against because He is the sum total of all value, of all quality, which we are small qualitative parts. If we do not measure our value or our quality in reference to Krishna, then the default standard is sense gratification. This earthly equal rights movement is aimed at sense-gratification only and this is exactly why it will never address the root of the problem of inequality. How can we preserve equal rights if we are all only concerned with our own sense gratification? It is not possible. Our sense gratification comes at the cost of the suffering of others. Our value does not come from our skin tone, gender, nationality, race, creed, etc. The only value is the eternal spirit soul, and on this basis, we all have an equal right to revive our relationship with Krishna and to lead others towards Him. This is the philosophy propounded by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, called acintya-bheda-bheda-tattva–simultaneous oneness and difference. We are only united in our diversity, this diversity is there to increase the pleasure of Krishna. This is the proper lens from which to understand the actual meaning of equality. Only while we are here in the world of duality are we duty bound to stand in these roles designated by our previous karma. Once we take up our natural constitution of loving devotional service, then these designated roles do not have so much influence over us. We come to the realization that we have a spiritual body which is completely unique in its respective service relationship with Krishna. Even one who transcends duality, and yet remains acting in this world, still does not disregard his designated role within the material universe because he becomes totally unaffected by these designations and instead of being subjugated by their limiting boundaries, he dovetails his position in the service of the Lord very expertly. Because he is above these concepts such as woman, man, American, Indian, Russian, he/him, they/them, etc... he uses his given position to glorify Krishna, in order to lead others on the right path and the right way to make the best use of a bad bargain. He knows that, "Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues." (Bg. 3.21) One should not be attached to any materialistic activities, but a devotee may perform such activities as an example to show the common man that one should not deviate from the Vedic injunctions." (SB 7.10.24 Purport). The Vedic injunctions are given by Krishna Himself, and He is the only objective from which we can ascertain our value, or equality, otherwise it has no meaning. Krishna provides us with the road map to help us navigate this strange world of dualities, so that we may know how to live right and perform our prescribed work without a doubt. "It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another’s duties perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous." (BG 3.35) It was no mistake that we were given the body we were given, or that we took birth in the family we did. Unlike us conditioned souls, Krishna does not make mistakes, He is full of Knowledge, He knows what we need although we may only have limited knowledge. Bhagavad Gita As It Is: The ABC's of spiritual knowledge. Get yourself a copy now on blissstoreshop.co.uk While the Bhagavad Gita is being spoken, or rather, sung, Krishna is telling Arjuna exactly this point... Arjuna is a ksatriya by birth, but he becomes sentimental upon seeing his relatives on the battlefield about to be slaughtered and decides that he would rather take up the work of a wandering renunciate rather than do his duty, which is to fight. Krishna tells him that he is being foolish, and that he should perform his duty, but all the while he should meditate upon Him, upon Krishna. He teaches him the process of devotional service–this is the answer for his major crisis of duty. This is also the answer for all of our crises that come along with the bodies we have been given, and the duties that are required of us within these bodies. Krishna says that we should not falsely try to engage in another's duty, because this is much more dangerous than performing our own duty, even if we do so rather ungracefully and imperfectly, even if it is painful or uncomfortable. "Everyone is forced to act helplessly according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature; therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment." (BG 3.5) It is actually a huge sacrifice for the common man to accept his position as given by material nature. But, to accept another's position and everything that comes along with it is not real sacrifice–it is a major gamble. Human life is meant for sacrifice, not for gambling. "My dear Arjuna, one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain." (BG 3.16) The greatest injustice of our time is to take advantage of man’s natural propensity for discovering their unique identity and use it to induce them to gamble away the opportunity given by the Lord in their natural position for their upliftment from a life of duality into the realm of the Absolute. Matchless Gift Magazine volume 25 OUT NOW!

There are many instructions the guru gives and we must be careful to understand their relevance according to time, place and circumstances. It is pointless to talk about big big complicated topics of the transcendental pastimes of Krishna with the gopis or the intricacies of guru-tattva, if one cannot follow even the very basic principles. Taking prasadam and prasadam only is such essential instruction. Srila Prabhupada writes: "When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food offered to Lord Visnu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called a devotee of the Lord. " (Bg 3.14 purport) In other words, one who is not accustomed to this practice but still maintains his victimhood to "the prostitute tongue" cannot be strictly called a devotee. So it is of top most importance that we take humble hearing of how important this practice is, and this will help us to become fixed and then make very steady and wonderful advancement in our Krishna consciousness. Who would be such a fool and not hear these very practical and effective advice? Why is eating unoffered food so detrimental? Eating unoffered food means we are preparing for ourselves a body of an animal. Srila Prabhupada explains: "A person in Krsna consciousness, who eats only food offered to Krsna, can counteract all reactions of past material infections, which are impediments to the progress of self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not do so continues to increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares the next body to resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins." (Bg 3.14 purport) It is not possible to practice or understand Krishna consciousness in an animal body since animals do not have the proper intelligence. They are simply governed by their senses and therefore their freedom is very limited. Those who cannot control their tongues are compared to two legged animals who, although possessing a human body, simply misuse it for the gratification of the senses. We may be struggling in so many ways in our sadhana and we might be wondering or even doubting whether the process of Krishna consciousness actually works and at the same time having a solution in front of our eyes: we must take prasadam and prasadam only. This is the very first step in trying to conquer the senses. It helps us to follow the 4 regulative principles. Srila Prabhupada writes: "In the bhakti-marga, the path of devotional service, one must strictly follow the regulative principles by first controlling the tongue (sevonmukhe hi jihvadau svayam eva sphuraty adah [Brs. 1.2.234]). The tongue (jihva) can be controlled if one chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, does not speak of any subjects other than those concerning Krsna and does not taste anything not offered to Krsna. If one can control the tongue in this way, brahmacarya and other purifying processes will automatically follow." (SB 6.1.13–14 purport) One should be also careful not to accept food or so-called prasadam from non-devotees. Srila Prabhupada states this to be the "standard practice for the initiated devotees". In other words one who wants to be initiated must strictly follow this principle. It is not that one should simply be a vegetarian. As mentioned above any food that is not offered to the Lord contains leaps of sin since the living entities have been killed and since the Lord only accepts food that has been cooked by the devotees, the rule "no meat eating" actually means "no food which has been cooked by non-devotees." So we must understand who is actually a devotee. There is a standard who is and who is not a devotee. As mentioned above, one who is not accustomed to the practice of offering and accepting food to Krishna is not a devotee. Therefore his offerings should not be accepted. Nor can he control his senses. Usually such devotees although externally chanting Hare Krishna are still addicted to various sinful activities. Out of those, there might be many who are willing to hear about the proper standard from actual devotees and they should be given all guidance. However, those who do not want to hear should not be associated with. Srila Prabhupada writes: "The prakrta-sahajiyas generally chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, yet they are attached to women, money and intoxication. Although such persons may chant the holy name of the Lord, they are not yet properly purified. Such people should be respected within one's mind, but their association should be avoided. Those who are innocent but simply carried away by bad association should be shown favor if they are eager to receive proper instructions from pure devotees..."(NoI: verse 5 purport) The word prakrta-sahajiya refers to so-called devotees who take everything cheaply. They are opposed to the bona fide spiritual master, they deride him and they deride those who follow his instructions. Their association is extremely contaminating and their foodstuff cannot be accepted as Krsna-prasadam. Srila Prabhupada writes: Ghosts are always very bad elements, always creating a fearful situation for others. Similarly, the ghostlike non-devotees who have no respect for the pure devotees, nor for the Visnu Deity in the temples, create a fearful situation for the devotees at all times. The Lord never accepts any offering by such impure ghosts. (SB 2.3.23 purport) "Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura suggests that people who are materialistically inclined and sahajiyas, or so-called Vaisnavas who take everything very casually, are both visayis, or materialists. Eating food offered by them causes contamination, and as a result of such contamination, even a serious devotee becomes like a materialistic man. There are six kinds of association—giving charity, accepting charity, accepting food, offering food, talking confidentially and inquiring confidentially. One should very carefully avoid associating with both the sahajiyas, who are sometimes known as Vaisnavas, and the non-Vaisnavas, or avaisnavas. Their association changes the transcendental devotional service of Lord Krsna into sense gratification, and when sense gratification enters the mind of a devotee, he is contaminated. The materialistic person who aspires after sense gratification cannot properly think of Krsna." (Antya 6.279 purport) Similarly, an offender to the holy name and to the spiritual master cannot be accepted as a devotee. Srila Prabhupada in his article "The Science of Congregational Chanting of the Holy Name" explains that the third offense to the holy name is to worship bogus gurus. From this we can understand that anyone who worships a bogus guru on the same level with the bona fide spiritual master is an offender and thus his foodstuff will be hardly accepted by the Lord. Worshipping a so-called spiritual master on the same level with the bona fide spiritual master diminishes the value of a bona fide spiritual master and it can be compared to equalizing the names of demigods with the holy name of Krishna. One who considers the bode of the spiritual master to be different than his soul, namely one who thinks that the spiritual master's body and the spiritual master's soul are different has been contaminated by the Mayavada philosophy. Srila Prabhupada makes this statement in a conversation with Dr. Patel: Dr. Patel: I don't understand, and you also don't understand me. I mean to say that disciples have got to take guru as God, and not this body as God. His atma is guru, and atma is God. So guru in that way is God. Prabhupada: No, that is not... Dr. Patel: That is what I think. Prabhupada: No. Dr. Patel: And I don't think I am wrong. Prabhupada: No, why God...? Why do you make...? Why do you distinguish between guru's atma and guru's body? Dr. Patel: But the body... But the body's not guru. Prabhupada: That is Mayavada. That is Mayavada. (Morning Walk – February 23, 1974, Bombay) Therefore it is extremely important that we immediately reject any such so-called prasadam from those who call the spiritual master dead or not living as they are classified by Srila Prabhupada as Mayavadis. Srila Prabhupada states: "Nor should we extend invitations to Mayavadis and atheists nor accept their invitations, for by such intimate intermingling we may become affected by their atheistic mentality (sangat sanjayate kamah). It is the negative injunction of this verse that we should refrain from giving anything to or accepting anything from the Mayavadis and atheists. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has also warned, visayera anna khaile dusta haya mana: "By eating food prepared by worldly people, one’s mind becomes wicked." (NOI 4 purport) One cannot make any spiritual advancement if one's mind becomes wicked no matter how much he chants the holy name of the Lord. Offenders, cheap devotees and Mayavadis who consider the spiritual master to be non-living are all unwanted association and their so-called prasadam must be strictly rejected. If one does not reject such so-called association of these impure ghosts he or she can be compared to a prostitute. A prostitute is always unfaithful and thus a devotee who is not faithful to the spiritual master cannot make any spiritual progress. Faith is the basic principle of advancement. If one is not faithful, he or she cannot associate with the devotees, nor will the devotees associate with him or her. As a prostitute carries contamination of sexually transmitted diseases, an unfaithful devotee carries contamination of impersonalism and sense gratification wherever she or he goes. He or she is not innocent but harmful. One should therefore avoid such so-called prasadam and stick to the principle of offering one's foods to Krishna via the bona fide link of the spiritual master.

The following is a verse from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada where Lord Krsna explains about the various bodies one attains if he is predominantly surcharged with the modes of passion and ignorance. A dog is a very low species rajasi pralayam gatva karma-sangisu jayate tatha pralinas tamasi mudha-yonisu jayate When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when he dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom. PURPORT BY HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C.BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA Some people have the impression that when the soul reaches the platform of human life, it never goes down again. This is incorrect. According to this verse, if one develops the mode of ignorance, after his death he is degraded to the animal form of life. From there one has to again elevate himself, by evolutionary process, to come again to the human form of life. Therefore, those who are actually serious about human life should take to the mode of goodness and in good association transcend the modes and become situated in Krsna consciousness. This is the aim of human life. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that the human being will again attain to the human status. (Bg 14.16 verse and purport)

There are a class of spiritual practitioners that artificially designate themselves as more advanced in spiritual consciousness than they really are. These people are dangerous and both seasoned and newcomer devotees should always stay away from them. the following article describes the nature of these "sahajiyas." Gaura-Nagaris Lord Caitanya instructed all his devotees to become gurus and instruct others in the teachings of Krishna (krsna-upadesa). One does not have to be a great scholar or a sannyasi to be such a guru. If he simply repeats what Krsna said in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, he is a guru by virtue of his sticking to the pure message and repeating it without personally motivated interpretations. Srila Prabhupada describes such a guru as follows: A person who is a liberated acharya and guru cannot commit any mistake, but there are persons who are less qualified or not liberated, but still can act as guru and acharya by strictly following the disciplic succession. Letter to: Janardana — New York 26 April, 1968 And furthermore: Anyone who preaches the teachings of Krsna, he is guru. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also says amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. "You become a guru on My order." "How shall I become guru? I have no knowledge." Oh, you don't require any knowledge to manufacture. Yare dekha, tare kaha 'krsna'-upadesa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. "Simply repeat the instruction of Krsna, you become guru." Everyone can become. Evening Darsana -- July 11, 1976, New York At the same time, we find a different set of instruction which might apparently seem to be contradictory. Here, Srila Prabhupada says that not everyone can occupy the post of a guru. "When one has attained the topmost position of maha-bhagavata, he is to be accepted as a guru and worshiped exactly like Hari, the Personality of Godhead. Only such a person is eligible to occupy the post of a guru." (Madhya 24.330 purport) Any intelligent devotee therefore must inquire what is the difference between these two instructions? At which point one can and at which point one cannot become a guru? This is the contemplation of a devotee who wants to steadily advance in devotional service. The answer is that although one can certainly become a siksa guru by instructing what the diksa guru says, one should not artificially assume the post of an initiating guru since that requires one to be on the top most position of a mahabhagavata. Srila Prabhupada even states that such a guru must be the resident of the spiritual world: "Unless one is a resident of Krishna Loka, one cannot be a Spiritual Master. That is the first proposition. A layman cannot be a Spiritual Master, and if he becomes so then he will simply create disturbance." (Letter to: Mukunda -- New Vrindaban 10 June, 1969) Srila Prabhupada mentions about one of his Godbrothers who was initiating disciples as follows: "On the whole, you may know that he is not a liberated person, and therefore, he cannot initiate any person to Krishna Consciousness. (Letter to: Janardana -- New York 26 April, 1968) So when we speak of initiating spiritual master, we do not speak of a mere formality of initiation with fire yajna etc. Srila Prabhupada during his physical presence often appointed some of his more experienced disciples to perform initiation ceremony on his behalf. Therefore when we speak of an initiating spiritual master, we speak of a guru who re-establishes the disciplic succession when the succession deviates from the devotional service of the Lord. Ramesvara: It's clear that for the first time these scholars are understanding the difference between the Bhagavad-gita and the Mayavadi conception. It's clear that now you have saved them. Previous to this, all they knew about is this impersonal concept. Prabhupada: That is the business of acarya, sampradaya-raksana, to save the sampradaya from falling down. Sampradaya. Sampradaya raksana. (Room Conversation with Sannyasis -- January 22, 1977, Bhuvanesvara) He does this by re-explaining the science of bhakti anew just as Lord Krishna did 5000 years ago on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra by speaking the Bhagavad-gita. Previously the Lord already explained the Gita to Vivasvan, but when the succession was broken, He decided to re-explain the science to his devotee and a friend Arjuna. Therefore, the successor acharya must present some unique contribution to the world. It is in this way we can understand the level of his realization. For example, Baladeva Vidyabhusana (to whom Srila Prabhupada dedicated his Bhagavad-gita As It Is commentary) is accepted as an acharya since he presented a commentary on the Vedanta sutra. Srila Prabhupada says: "Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana is our acarya. Baladeva Vidyabhusana is a fourth-generation acarya from Lord Caitanya -- fourth or fifth. Anyway, he is one of the acaryas. Just like Gosvamis, they are acaryas; Srinivas Acarya. So acarya parampara, disciplic succession. So Baladeva Vidyabhusana is also acarya in this Gaudiya-sampradaya. So his special gift... Every acarya means he gives some special things. Previous acarya has given, and the next acarya gives something more. That is the symptom of acarya. In the incarnation also, just like Lord Buddha incarnation. Then Sankaracarya, then Ramanujacarya, then Madhvacarya then, in this way Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So every acarya is giving a further lift. So Sri Baladeva Vidyabhusana also gave a further lift to this sampradaya. What is that? Baladeva Vidyabhusana wrote commentary on Brahma-sutra, Vedanta-sutra. Vedanta-sutra, his Vedanta-sutra commentary is known as Govinda-bhasya, commentary of Govinda. (Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana Appearance – June 14, 1970, Los Angeles) Simply parrot like chanting and performing ritualistic ceremonies does not make one a diksa guru. One must be realized. At the same time, one should not try to surpass the previous acharya by manufacturing knowledge. Srila Prabhupada writes: "Personal realization does not mean that one should, out of vanity, attempt to show one's own learning by trying to surpass the previous acarya. One must have full confidence in the previous acarya, and at the same time one must realize the subject matter so nicely that he can present the matter for the particular circumstances in a suitable manner. The original purpose of the text must be maintained. No obscure meaning should be screwed out of it, yet it should be presented in an interesting manner for the understanding of the audience. This is called realization." (SB 1.4.1 purport) When an unqualified person assumes such a position of a guru, pretends to be a personal associate of the Lord on the highest platform of devotional service and attempts to bring unique realizations (which are nothing but mental concoctions) he simply creates disturbance. This attempt to directly become the associate of the Lord immediately pushes him into the category of a Mayavadi. Srila Prabhupada explains this in connection with trying to become the father (personal associate) of Krsna. "In the development of becoming either the father or friend of the Lord, there are two varieties. One method is that one may try to become the father of the Lord directly, and the other is that one may follow Nanda Maharaja and cherish the ideal of being Krsna's father. Out of these two, the attempt to directly become the father of Krsna is not recommended. Such a development can become polluted with Mayavada (impersonal) philosophy. The Mayavadis, or monists, think that they themselves are Krsna, and if one thinks that he himself has become Nanda Maharaja, then his parental love will become contaminated with the Mayavada philosophy. The Mayavada philosophical way of thinking is offensive, and no offender can enter into the kingdom of God to associate with Krsna." (NOD: Parenthood or Friendship) The same warning is given by Srila Prabhupada when he writes about the sahajiya group of the name sakhi bheki, whose aim is to artificially pretend to be direct associates of the Lord and dressing in gopi clothing in order to attract Him.Srila Prabhupada writes: "Some materialistic sahajiyas who cannot actually understand the pastimes of Radha and Krsna manufacture their own life-styles without referring to authority. Such sahajiyas are called sakhi-bheki, and sometimes they are called gaura-nagari. They believe that the material body, which is fit to be eaten by jackals and dogs, is enjoyable for Krsna. Consequently they artificially decorate the material body to attract Krsna, thinking themselves sakhis. But Krsna is never attracted by the artificial grooming of the material body. As far as Srimati Radharani and Her gopis are concerned, their bodies, homes, dresses, ornaments, endeavors and activities are all spiritual. All of these are meant to satisfy the spiritual senses of Krsna. Indeed, they are so pleasing and endearing to Krsna that He is subjugated by the influence of Srimati Radharani and Her friends. They have nothing to do with anything mundane within the fourteen planetary systems of the universe. Although Krsna is attractive to everyone, He is nonetheless attracted by the gopis and Srimati Radharani. One should not be misled by mental concoctions, supposing his material body to be perfect and deeming oneself a sakhi. This is something like ahangrahopasana, that is, a Mayavadi's worship of his own body as the Supreme. Srila Jiva Gosvami has cautioned mundaners to abstain from such conceptions. He also warns that thinking oneself one of the associates of the Supreme without following in the footsteps of the gopis is as offensive as thinking oneself the Supreme. Such thinking is an aparadha. One has to practice living in Vrndavana by hearing about the talks of the gopis with Krsna. However, one should not consider himself a gopi, for this is offensive." (Madhya 8.204–205 purport) Similarly, the pretender gurus dressed in the external status symbols of a liberated diksa guru think that this will attract Krsna, but being devoid of any realization, by such status symbols they simply attract a group of insincere followers who further push them to materialism. Since the body of liberated spiritual master is spiritual it should be worshipped as good as the Lord and the pretenders thus think their material body is to be worshipped as such by their followers. This however simply waters the seeds of impersonalism. Srila Prabhupada writes: "A devotee on the topmost platform of devotional service always humbly thinks that he is not rendering any devotional service. He thinks that he is poor in devotional service and that his body is material. On the other hand, those known as the sahajiyas foolishly think that their material bodies are transcendental. Because of this, they are always bereft of the association of pure devotees, and thus they cannot behave like Vaisnavas. Observing the defects of the sahajiyas, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung as follows in his book Kalyana-kalpataru: ami ta' vaisnava, e-buddhi ha-ile, amani na haba ami pratisthasa asi', hrdaya dusibe, ha-iba niraya-gami nije srestha jani', ucchistadi-dane, habe abhimana bhara tai sisya tava, thakiya sarvada, na la-iba puja kara "'If I think I am a Vaisnava, I shall look forward to receiving respect from others. And if the desire for fame and reputation pollutes my heart, certainly I shall go to hell. By giving others the remnants of my food, I shall consider myself superior and shall be burdened with the weight of false pride. Therefore, always remaining your surrendered disciple, I shall not accept worship from anyone else.' Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has written (Antya-lila 20.28) : premera svabhava -- yahan premera sambandha sei mane, -- 'krsne mora nahi prema-gandha' "'Wherever there is a relationship of love of Godhead, the natural symptom is that the devotee does not think himself a devotee but always thinks that he has not even a drop of love for Krsna.'" (Antya 4.174 purport)

The general conception is that we are, but that is simply not logical. Read on to understand why we are not only not alone but our very source of authority for understanding such things is completely faulty. I am sure everyone has heard about aliens, those little green guys from Men in Black or E.T. But who would believe such a childish idea, right? If we think about it though, why is it childish? Let's forget about the movies that show those guys as little green men with big eyes etc. What does alien actually mean? It means "a stranger." How can you say that strangers don't exist? Let's say a man from Germany comes to the USA. We would call him a stranger. So why can't a person from a different planet can come here? And on what ground do you believe there is no life on other planets? Have you been there, seen that there is nothing, and are now confirming it? "Oh, the scientist have been on Moon and said there is no life." Why do you believe an imperfect human authority? Everybody has the propensity to cheat, make mistakes, no-one has perfect senses and all are prone to fall into illusion. They investigated the Moon by those same imperfect senses. Do you take that as all in all? Is something true only if you can see it? Can you see your eyelid? Your eyelid is so close to your eye and even then you cannot see it. Imagine I come down from the Moon, land in the Sahara desert and conclude there is no life on planet Earth, period. The material scientists are just like that; they have been on one spot, saw a desert like place and said "there is no life on the Moon." Did they even actually land there? According to material calculations, scientists themselves say it is not possible to penatrate through the layers in the atmosphere by a rocket, because the materials of the rocket would melt due to the influence of the van helen belt of the atmosphere. You see, one says "we have been there" and another says "it is not possible to go there." How can you believe authorities that contradict each others conclusions? We accept everything from Krishna and from the Vedas. Krishna is recognized as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is confirmed by many great and recognized authorities. We call this the "parampara": The disciplic succession. Each great authority in the line has passed the same message to the next authority without any alterations to the conclusion. But scientists contradict each other at every step, so you cannot trust their succession: there is nothing solid. You can trust the Vedic succession because it is continuous. Is there anything better? No. So accept it theoretically and study it from the Supreme authority: Lord Krishna. Ultimately, we are all aliens because we don't belong to this materialistic world. We are strangers. We came here to imitate Krishna, but we are always unsuccessful in that attempt. Krishna is the original and only enjoyer and we are His servants, we are the enjoyed. We are not this body, we are in the body, as the soul. The soul is entrapped in the body. For the soul, the body is foreign. The body changes from childhood to boyhood and eventually to the body of an old man. All those types of body are gone, but you are not. So are you the material body? No, you can't be. So then you are an alien being in foreign body. And every alien or stranger naturally has his home. Then the natural conclusion is that we also have a home and that home is in the spiritual world. So we should hear from Lord Krishna how to get a ticket back home, back to Godhead. Maha-vishnu lies on the causal ocean

The following articles delineates the pure nature of preaching and establishes that the soul cannot be awakened by anything material. For those who might be disturbed by the seemingly harsh words of the acarya, this article will help you understand why we preach the message of Krsna As It Is. It is stated in the Padyavali (29) of Srila Rupa Goswami: akrstih krta-cetasam su-manasam uccatanam camhasam acandalam amuka-loka-sulabho vasyas ca mukti-sriyah no diksam na ca sat-kriyam na ca purascaryam manag iksate mantro 'yam rasana-sprg eva phalati sri-krsna-namatmakah "'The holy name of Lord Krsna is an attractive feature for many saintly, liberal people. It is the annihilator of all sinful reactions and is so powerful that, save for the dumb who cannot chant it, it is readily available to everyone, including the lowest type of man, the candala. The holy name of Krsna is the controller of the opulence of liberation, and it is identical with Krsna. When a person simply chants the holy name with his tongue, immediate effects are produced. Chanting the holy name does not depend on initiation, pious activities or the purascarya regulative principles generally observed before initiation. The holy name does not wait for any of these activities. It is self-sufficient.'" Often times we are met with faithless statements of personally motivated individuals who have no understanding of the intricacies concerning the spiritual potency and the capabilities of the bona fide acharya. They tend to chastise us, saying: "Krishna consciousness is too pure," "People will not like this sort of preaching," "You are too heavy in your preaching," "You are burning the people out," "We must introduce them gradually to Krishna," etc. Such faithless non-devotees are opposed to the conclusions of the guru, sadhu and sastra, and their only aim is to infiltrate the sampradaya and destroy its bona fide preaching mission by planting weeds in the minds of sincere neophytes who are being engaged by the acharya in spreading the principles of suddha bhakti around the world. A genuine practitioner must stay miles away from such contaminated stool-like entities. We cannot argue or educate people whose only aim is to destroy the very core of our educational mission of Krishna consciousness and especially the divine sankirtana movement. However, for our own understanding it would be worth of our time to scientifically analyze the technology of the pure acharya in awakening the sleeping souls into their original Krishna consciousness position. Just as life comes from life and not from matter, the spiritual consciousness is already within the heart of everyone regardless of their gender, race, creed or caste. It is simply awakened through the process of hearing. This is confirmed by the statement of the Caitanya Caritamrta: nitya-siddha krsna-prema 'sadhya' kabhu naya sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya "Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens. (Madhya 22.107) As Srila Prabhupada, the supreme personality of guruhead, emphatically notes in his purport to the mahamantra, Krishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. It is eternally existing intrinsically with the spirit soul as the soul's sanatana dharma. The Krishna consciousness is inseparable from the soul since it is the soul's very essence. This consciousness cannot be awakened by any material means, therefore any form of deviation from the pure message of the disciplic succession will not be successful in awakening the spirit soul, but it will be very successful in awakening the unwanted creepers of sense gratification, monism, mystic yoga and similar contaminations. Foolish so-called preachers who do not understand this simply expand the numbers of those who in the name of spiritual life simply increase their attachment to the material world. Thus they are the greatest cheater and misleaders. One must hear the holy name, namely Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare from a pure devotee uttama adhikari Vaishnava in order to awaken his soul to spiritual consciousness. The soul which resides in the material body always untouched by the material elements can be compared to the drop of oil in water. Although seemingly one with matter, it never mixes with it. No amount of so-called preaching styles or tactics can awaken it unless we take the guidance of an uttama adhikari pure Vaishnava who is empowered to awaken the spirit soul by the Lord Himself. Srila Prabhupada explains: Many fools, not knowing the transcendental nature of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, sometimes impede our loudly chanting this mantra, yet one who is actually advanced in the fulfillment of chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra induces others to chant also. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana: unless one receives special power of attorney from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he cannot preach the glories of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. As devotees propagate the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, the general population of the entire world gets the opportunity to understand the glories of the holy name. While chanting and dancing or hearing the holy name of the Lord, one automatically remembers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and because there is no difference between the holy name and Krsna, the chanter is immediately linked with Krsna. (Adi 7.83 purport) There is no point in hiding Krishna or His holy name or the extentions of the holy name in the form of divine purports of an empowered acharya on the standard scriptures of Vaishnava philosophy such the Bhagavad-gita, Bhakti rasamrta, Srimad Bhagavatam or Caitanya Caritamrta and instead devise other speculative means for converting the masses into spiritual life. The name itself acts and spreads its influence by its own power. Since the name and the Lord are non-different, the holy name is full of potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Caitanya laments in His siksastakam: O My Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benedictions to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Krsna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies, and there are no hard and fast rules for chanting these holy names. O My Lord, You have so kindly made it easy to approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them. The reason why many of the popular preacher feel no attraction for the topics of Krishna is that they have become offenders to the empowered acharya and thus have lost all power to spread the Krishna consciousness movement as it is. One who disobeys the order of the spiritual master looses all authority to spread the Krishna consciousness, although he might be empowered by the influence of mahamaya to spread the principles of jnana, yoga or fruitive karma. Lord Krishna instructs us to keep such association far distant: O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant by devotional service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers. Srila Prabhupada comments on this verse: "One who has actually come to understand one's constitutional position as an eternal servitor of the Lord gives up all engagements save working in Krsna consciousness. As already explained, buddhi-yoga means transcendental loving service to the Lord. Such devotional service is the right course of action for the living entity. Only misers desire to enjoy the fruit of their own work just to be further entangled in material bondage. Except for work in Krsna consciousness, all activities are abominable because they continually bind the worker to the cycle of birth and death. One should therefore never desire to be the cause of work. Everything should be done in Krsna consciousness, for the satisfaction of Krsna. Misers do not know how to utilize the assets of riches which they acquire by good fortune or by hard labor. One should spend all energies working in Krsna consciousness, and that will make one's life successful. Like misers, unfortunate persons do not employ their human energy in the service of the Lord. (Bg 2.49 purport)

"Why do they have to chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare over and over again?" -is a reasonable inquiry of any concerned mother who's son has joined the BLISS association. The devotees at the time of initiation promise to chant 16 rounds (16 x 108) of the Hare Krishna mantra daily and it constitutes one of the most important instructions of Srila Prabhupada to his followers. In fact Srila Prabhupada states that out of all instructions of the spiritual master, the instruction to finish one's prescribed number of rounds is the most essential. What is the need for this perhaps externally seeming mindless repetition? If we look around, we see that repetition is a major part of our life. We see that repetition is used when a radio station repeats, playing a song of some artist. The more people hear the song, the more it is likely for people to start singing it themselves. Even after many years, songs are being played on radio or the internet and people still derive pleasure out of them. Repetition is also used in advertising. For example the McDonald's restaurant chain often uses the slogan I'm lovin' it . By repeating this slogan campaign over and over they have convinced people to consume (and loving it) scientifically proven poisons, which is a great accomplishment. And who could have not noticed the viral campaign of the government urging people to wear masks and get vaccines at the time of the Covid pandemic. Repetition is a useful tool to shift people's attention from whatever they are focused on to that which is essential. Lord Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita: "From whatever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the Self." (Bg 6.26) Spiritual life is essential because this is the true life of the soul. In fact, life itself is caused by the spirit soul present in the body. Without the soul, the body has no meaning and that is why after death we get disposed of it. Therefore it is not unreasonable to shift one's attention from songs and slogans of the material world to the self and the supreme self. Chanting of Hare Krishna is the most powerful way how to do this since this divine vibration is non-different from the Lord Himself. When the sun rises, automatically I will be able to see my own reflection in a mirror. Similarly by reviving my original spiritual consciousness (Krishna consciousness) I simultaneously revive the consciousness of my spiritual identity as the servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna since I am eternally his part and parcel inseparable. The transcendental nature of the Lord's name is confirmed in the Padma Purana: "'The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna's name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna's name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna's name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.' (Madhya 17.133) Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal and if one is not in Krsna consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Since Krishna is the Supreme Godhead, He is all-pervading through his feature of impersonal Brahman, localized through his feature of Paramatma, who resides in every living entity's heart and He is a transcendental person, a source of all loving relationships through his feature of Bhagavan. His extensive energies and opulences are unlimited and therefore the only thing that is beyond Him is "maya" (in translation: "that which is not"), which constitutes yet one of His energies. Krishna says: daivi hy esa guna-mayi mama maya duratyaya mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te "This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it." (Bg 7.14) This maya energy of the Lord manifests as the stringent laws of material nature that are constant and unchanging. The repeated birth, death, old age and disease are its most cruel representatives and they act on the living entities constantly without interruption. No one in the history was able to stop the influence of these physical laws and similarly in the future it will be impossible since the maya energy is directly controlled by the Lord Himself to facilitate the sense of false independence for the rebellious souls who do not want to engage in His service. Chanting of the maha-mantra is like a genuine cry of a child for its mother. "O energy of Krsna, O Krsna, please engage me in your service" is the most precise translation of the maha-mantra as given to us by the acharyas. In order to overcome the repeated birth, death, old age and disease we must constantly chant the holy names, following the advice of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu of being more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, praising others and not expecting any praise for ourselves. In this humble state of mind, the Lord will joyfully welcome us in His service again and remove the influence of ever-repeating influence of material energy on the soul.

Many people think that they are where they are because God arranged it in that way. Their life circumstances are out of their power, and they blame God for their misfortune. But is this actually the case? Let's hear from Srila Prabhupada! Indian lady guest: Each one, Krsna puts you where He wants you to be, isn't it? Prabhupada: Eh? Indian lady guest: Krsna puts you where He wants you to be. Syamasundara: (explaining) Does Krsna put you where He wants you to be? Prabhupada: I do not follow. Syamasundara: Does Krsna arrange for your situation in life, as if He wants it, so He makes you go there? Prabhupada: Still I do not follow. Syamasundara: Does Krsna . . . Krsna . . . wherever Krsna wants us to be, that is where we are. Prabhupada: No. Syamasundara: Our position in life is because Krsna desires it. Prabhupada: First you desire. I desire to become such and such, Krsna helps me, "All right, you become such and such." Man proposes; God disposes. So if I want to become a devotee, Krsna makes you a devotee. If you want to become a demon, Krsna makes you a demon. So when you become a demon, He gives you facility how to act as a demon. And when you become a devotee, He gives you facility how to become a devotee. Krsna is very kind, as you want, He also gives you facility. Ye yatha mam prapadyante (BG 4.11). But Krsna says that "You give up all this nonsense habit of becoming demon. You just surrender unto Me." That's Krsna's desire. That is Krsna's desire. But we don't surrender to Krsna, we surrender to our senses. Mind . . . my mind wants to do something, I do it. That's all. I don't surrender to Krsna. That is the cause of our suffering. Just like a small child, if he obeys the order of the parents, he is happy. If he does not do so, that is another thing. Similarly, Krsna is our supreme father. If we obey Krsna, then we are happy. If we don't obey, then you are unhappy. Is there any difficulty to understand? It is very plain thing. Room Conversation, July 11th 1973, London

The nature of initiation in the Hare Krishna movement and more widely in the whole Vaishnava philosophy is a widely debated and analyzed subject. Is initiation dependent on some formal ceremony, or it is it a process of realization of transcendental subject matter. His Divine Grace herein comments on the pastimes of Sri Narada Muni, a great devotee and sage, in relation to his initiation by the sages. Let us know what you think about this down in the comment section below. Sri Narada said: The great sages, who had imparted scientific knowledge of transcendence to me, departed for other places, and I had to pass my life in this way. PURPORT In his previous life, when Naradaji was impregnated with spiritual knowledge by the grace of the great sages, there was a tangible change in his life, although he was only a boy of five years. That is an important symptom visible after initiation by the bona fide spiritual master. Actual association of devotees brings about a quick change in life for spiritual realization. How it so acted upon the previous life of Sri Narada Muni is described by and by in this chapter. SB 1.6.5