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Here we are publishing an exchange between our viewer and the B.L.I.S.S. founder Purujit Dasa. If you have a question you would like to ask, please do not hesitate to contact us. Patrick Coyne, USA I have a question Prabhu, in the video Why Mayavadis are atheists. That we are in this material world due to wanting to control or be like God or be the enjoyer. Then you say in the spiritual world there is only service and we were in the spiritual world before we came to the material world. I guess I don’t understand how we can fall or want to be the enjoyer if the spiritual world is all fulfilling. This has been an ongoing issue for me and many devotees, and it divides alit of devotees can you please explain or do a pod cast on it,,, Thank you for your service I enjoy listening Purujit Dasa responds: Hare Krishna, dear Patrick! Again thank you for your thoughtful question and thank you for listening our podcast and following our social media. You write: "we are in this material world due to wanting to control or be like God or be the enjoyer. Then you say in the spiritual world there is only service and we were in the spiritual world before we came to the material world. Of course, there might be different opinions on this topic, but since we want to attain perfection of Krsna consciousness, we must take the opinion of a perfect authority, who is coming in a disciplic succession. In fact no genuine devotee will claim anything of his own speculation but simply present the message as it is coming through the disciplic succession from Lord Krishna Himself. Since the Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-knowing and all-perfect, if we get in touch with the bona fide spiritual master coming in a bona fide succession, our information is perfect. This is called avaroha-pantha (descending process of acquiring knowledge) So whatever I have presented in the class I have learned from my spiritual master Srila Prabhupada only and since Srila Prabhupada is a bona fide spiritual master coming in disciplic succession that knowledge is perfect.  I will now show you how Srila Prabhupada explains this topic and you may then deliberate on the topic freely and make your own conclusion. First of all, please note the following references from Srila Prabhupada's books on the topic of jiva's fall from the Lord's abode: "Both the Lord and the living entity, being qualitatively spirit soul, have the tendency for peaceful enjoyment, but when the part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead unfortunately wants to enjoy independently, without Krsna, he is put into the material world, where he begins his life as Brahma and is gradually degraded to the status of an ant or a worm in stool." (Bhag. 9.24.58, purport) "The marginal jiva, or living entity, misuses his independence and becomes averse to the eternal service attitude when he independently thinks he is not energy but the energetic. This misconception of his own existence leads him to the attitude of lording it over material nature." (Cc. Adi 5.66, purport) In the same purport, Srila Prabhupada further says: "One should understand that due to his desire to enjoy himself in competition with Krsna, the living entity comes into material existence." (Cc. Madhya 20.117, purport) If one contradicts the bona fide acharya, or belittle his position, it is an indication that such a person is outside of the disciplic succession or sampradaya. We should not associate with such persons because we will never be able to understand the science of Krsna perfectly by their speculative understanding. A siksa-guru who instructs against the instruction of spiritual[master], he is not a siksa-guru. He is a demon. (Bhagavad-gita 17.1-3 -- Honolulu, July 4, 1974 ) As indicated in Bhagavad-gita, whenever we find someone extraordinary preaching the bhakti cult, we should know that he is especially empowered by Lord Visnu or Lord Krsna. As confirmed in Caitanya-caritamrta, krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana: one cannot explain the glories of the holy name of the Lord without being specifically empowered by Him. If one criticizes or finds fault with such an empowered personality, one is to be considered an offender against Lord Vissnu and is punishable. Even though such offenders may dress as Vaisnavas with false tilaka and mala, they are never forgiven by the Lord if they offend a pure Vaisnava. (Sb 4.19.37) keha ta' acarya ajnaya, keha ta' svatantra sva-mata kalpana kare daiva-paratantra Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the acarya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivi-maya. PURPORT This verse describes the beginning of a schism. When disciples do not stick to the principle of accepting the order of their spiritual master, immediately there are two opinions. Any opinion different from the opinion of the spiritual master is useless. One cannot infiltrate materially concocted ideas into spiritual advancement. That is deviation. There is no scope for adjusting spiritual advancement to material ideas. (Adi 12.10) So it is very important first of all that you understand that the conclusion should be taken from the bona fide spiritual master. Every conditioned soul is suffering from the four defects of material consciousness: He has imperfect senses, he commit mistakes, he falls into illusion and he has a tendency to cheat. It is therefore impossible for a conditioned soul to give perfect knowledge. Especially on the topic you have raised. We do not even understand what this material universe is, how can we come to a perfect conclusion in regards to the question of our original fall down or beginning of the samsara cycle. That is completely beyond our understanding. Srila Prabhupada writes: With one's limited senses, one cannot argue about that which is inconceivable. Therefore the inconceivable is called acintya, that which is beyond cintya, our thoughts and arguments. Acintya refers to that which we cannot contemplate but have to accept. Srila Jiva Gosvami has said that unless we accept acintya in the Supreme, we cannot accommodate the conception of God. This must be understood. Therefore we say that the words of sastra should be taken as they are, without change, since they are beyond our arguments. Acintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet: "That which is acintya cannot be ascertained by argument." People generally argue, but our process is not to argue but to accept the Vedic knowledge as it is. When Krsna says, "This is superior, and this is inferior," we accept what He says. It is not that we argue, "Why is this superior and that inferior?" If one argues, for him the knowledge is lost. (SB 10.13.57) There of course might be different spiritual masters besides Srila Prabhupada or even different disciplic succession, but the principle of surrender to one guru is the same. One guru cannot contradict another guru. Srila Prabhupada says: Although hundreds and thousands of acaryas have come and gone, the message is one. The real guru cannot be two, for the real guru does not speak differently from his predecessors. Some spiritual teachers say, "In my opinion you should do this," but this is not a guru. Such so-called gurus are simply rascals. The genuine guru has only one opinion, and that is the opinion expressed by Krsna, Vyasadeva, Narada, Arjuna, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Gosvamis. (SSR 2a: What Is a Guru?) Then you write: "I guess I don’t understand how we can fall or want to be the enjoyer if the spiritual world is all fulfilling." Yes, on one hand it is a logical conclusion.If the spiritual world is all-fulfilling, there should be no desire left unfulfilled. If Krsna is all-powerful and all-loving there would should be no question of a soul situated in the spiritual world lacking anything. However, there is a different logic also and with your permission I would like to point your attention to this different type of logical and reasonable argument on this same point. It is concluded by all the Vedic scriptures that the soul is eternally a minute part and parcel of the Lord. It is not as the Mayavadis say that at the time of liberation the soul becomes one with the Supreme. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita by the Lord Himself: Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. (Bg 2.12) Because the Lord is the supreme and all-pervading, He is acyuta, or infallible. He cannot be covered by maya since maya is only His emanation.It would be illogical for maya to be superior to God. since the very word refers to the supreme. Srila Prabhupada writes: The living entity is bewildered in so many ways. For instance, when he thinks himself God, unceremoniously, he actually falls into the last snare of nescience. If a living entity is God, then how can he become bewildered by nescience? Does God become bewildered by nescience? If so, then nescience, or Satan, is greater than God. (Bg 5.16 purport) The minute part and parcel however is fallible because of his quality of minuteness. He is spirit eternal, full of knowledge, full of bliss but in a minute form and therefore there is always a possibility for the soul to become covered by maya. Srila Prabhupada befittingly compares the living entity to a spark of fire in the following purport: The Mayavadi cannot explain how the individual soul came into existence simply by ignorance and consequently became covered by the illusory energy. Nor was it ever possible to cut the individual souls from the original Supreme Soul; rather, the individual souls are eternally separated parts of the Supreme Soul. Because they are atomic individual souls eternally (sanatana), they are prone to be covered by the illusory energy, and thus they become separated from the association of the Supreme Lord, just as the sparks of a fire, although one in quality with the fire, are prone to be extinguished when out of the fire. In the Varaha Purana, the living entities are described as separated parts and parcels of the Supreme. They are eternally so, according to the Bhagavad-gita also. So, even after being liberated from illusion, the living entity remains a separate identity, as is evident from the teachings of the Lord to Arjuna. Arjuna became liberated by the knowledge received from Krsna, but he never became one with Krsna. (Bg 2.23 purport) Therefore as minute parts and parcels, we are eternally subordinate to the Lord. He is the supreme enjoyer and we are the enjoyed. This is our constitutional position. The spiritual world is all-fulfilling for the minute souls only within the parameters of this constitutional position. As soon as they desire to assume the position of the Supreme controller, the Lord fulfills their desire by covering them by maya. Thus the living entity takes his position in the material world, which is a covered portion of the spiritual sky. This is not a punishment from the side of the Lord, rather it is the kindness of the Lord to fulfill anything the minute soul wants. In this connection His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada remarks:  “Some may ask why the all-powerful God gives facilities to the living entities for enjoying this material world and so lets them fall into the trap of the illusory energy. The answer is that if the Supreme Lord as Supersoul does not give such facilities, then there is no meaning to independence.” (Bg.7.21 purport) To say that the soul can never fall down from the Lord's abode brings with it many undesirable subsequent conclusions tinged with impersonalism. Namely that: a) The soul does not love Krsna out of his free will and thus there is no meaning to their relationship. b) The soul's minuteness becomes meaningless. He becomes equal to the Lord in all respects. There are a few conversations where Srila Prabhupada is asked this very same question. This is one of many: Hrdayananda: Many times, the professors, they say that "If God..., if God were actually all..., all-good and all-perfect, then when He created us, we would also be all-good..." Prabhupada: Yes. But you are contaminated. You are all-good. That's a fact. Because you are part and parcel of God, you cannot be bad. But you are contaminated. Hrdayananda: Well, they say that "Even..., even if I have the potential... Even to say that I ha..." Prabhupada: You have got the potential. That's it. Hrdayananda: But if I say that... If I, I'm originally in the spiritual world, but even the potential to fall down is an imperfection in the creation. Prabhupada: No, potential does not fall down. Just like a child has got the potency to pass the M.A. examination. So he has to be educated. If you don't educate him, he'll remain a foolish child. So we are educating to develop that potentiality. nitya-siddha krsna-bhakti sadhya kabhu naya sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya [Cc Madhya 22.107] [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.] They, that potentiality is eternal. God is eternal. We are eternal. Our relationship eternal. Everything is eternal. But because we are small, minute fragments, sometimes we fall down. Hrdayananda: They say, "God should have..., God should have created us so that we..." Prabhupada: Why you should dictate God? God has created perfectly. He has given you independence. You fall down. It is your fault. God has made you perfect, given you independence. But if you misuse your independence, you fall down. Just like government gives everyone opportunity. Why do you become criminal and go to the jail? That is your fault. Hrdayananda: They say that God should have created us so that we... Prabhupada: Why "should have created"? He has created already perfect. Because you are perfect, therefore you have got the independence to misuse. You are not a dead stone. That is perfection. Ye yatha mam prapadyante [Bg 4.11]. [All of them -- as they surrender unto Me -- I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.] You can go anywhere, sarva-ga. You can go to the Vaikuntha. Yanti deva-vrata devan [Bg 9.25]. [Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; those who worship ancestors go to the ancestors; and those who worship Me will live with Me.] You can go to the higher planets. You can go to the hell. When you go to the hell, it is your choice. God has given you all perfection. Purnam idam purnam adah purnat purnam udacyate [Isopanisad, Invocation]. Everything is complete, perfect, and because you are perfect, you have got the independence. But misusing that independence, you are imperfect. Again, reviving your independence, you can become perfect, although you are imperfect now. That is Krsna consciousness. Krsna consciousness movement means raising the imperfect to the perfect platform. That is Krsna consciousness. Other fools, they say, "We are perfect now." In a fallen condition also, they're thinking perfect. That is maya. Asurim raksasim caiva mohinim prakrtim sritah [Bg 9.12]. [Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.] Krsna has made you perfect. There is no doubt about it. Just like some of our student, all of a sudden, they deviate, go away. So what is that? Our movement is imperfect, or he's imperfect? Hrdayananda: He's imperfect. Prabhupada: He's imperfect. Our movement is perfect. But he becomes imperfect by his misuse of independence. He thinks that "This is nice," and goes to hell. What can be done? That independence is there. That is perfectness. Morning Walk – December 6, 1973, Los Angeles As I said we will try to make a podcast on this topic and we will be posting more of these conversations on expandthebliss.com where you can go through them. I hope this helps. your servant Purujit Dasa Patrick Coyne Haribol thank you for such an elaborate answer, you are very kind, and yes we have to follow Prabhupada in what he said. I guess what confused me the most in the B.G. Prabhupada says once you are liberated and enter into the spiritual world and you never return to the material, so does that mean you can be not liberated and be in the spiritual world be falling to the material plane. And if we want to be the enjoyer then is there jealous in the spiritual world,,, thanks again can’t wait for the pod cast, all glory’s to Srila Prabhupada Purujit Dasa Hare Krsna, dear Patrick. You are very much welcome. I am supplying you a quote you might appreciate that answers your particular question. We will post more on expandthebliss.com on this topic next week along with the podcast, so please stay tuned. Guru-krpa: They say that in the spiritual world we say that everything is peaceful, there is no birth and death, there is no material conditions, so if the conditions in the spiritual world are so nice and everything is spiritually, everything is spiritual, how is it that one can become envious of Krsna in such conditions? This is a very... Acyutananda: The original sin. Sudama: Why we are envious... Guru-krpa: How is it that, if everything is free from envy, free from bad material elements... Prabhupada: Yes. Guru-krpa: How is it that... Prabhupada: That is independence. That is independence. In spite of all these things, because you have got little independence, you can violate. Sudama: It is very hard thing to understand. Prabhupada: No, it is not difficult. It is not difficult. Acyutananda: It is not difficult. They don't want to understand. Prabhupada: Because you are part and parcel of God, God has got full independence, but you have got little independence, proportionately, because you are part and parcel... Acyutananda: But in the Gita, it says,"Once coming there, he never returns." Prabhupada: But if he likes, he can return. Acyutananda: He can return. Prabhupada: That independence has to be accepted, little independence. We can misuse that. Krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga vancha kare. That misuse is the cause of our falldown. (Conversation, Mayapur, February 19, 1976)

His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta explains this question in one of his purport to the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. God has given independence to everyone; therefore, if a person desires to have material enjoyment and wants very sincerely to have such facilities from the material demigods, the Supreme Lord, as Supersoul in everyone's heart, understands and gives facilities to such persons. As the supreme father of all living entities, He does not interfere with their independence, but gives all facilities so that they can fulfill their material desires. Some may ask why the all-powerful God gives facilities to the living entities for enjoying this material world and so lets them fall into the trap of the illusory energy. The answer is that if the Supreme Lord as Supersoul does not give such facilities, then there is no meaning to independence. Therefore He gives everyone full independence-whatever one likes -- but His ultimate instruction we find in the Bhagavad-gita: man should give up all other engagements and fully surrender unto Him. That will make man happy. (Bg 7.21 purport)

A podcast by the BLISS podcast team discussing the nature of free will and it's significance in the Krishna consciousness philosophy, specifically regarding the topic of our falldown from the spiritual world.

His Grace Purujit Dasa explains the significance of Srila Prabhupada's appearance and why he should never be considered an ordinary man.

There is no difference between any of the representatives of God who come to deliver the conditioned souls of this material world, they simply come when the previous instructions are not clearly understood or when there is a great need of their appearing for a specific purpose. Throughout human history, there have been many varieties of monumental events; Political upheavals, revolutions, the rise of empires and their subsequent downfall, shifts in focus like the renaissance and more recently the hippie movement, and technological advancements that changed the face of the world, like the industrial revolution. Perhaps a sometimes overlooked aspect, however, but one that nonetheless permeates all cultures and certainly molds the very direction of growth and change within this world, is the appearance of those great personalities sometimes referred to as "Divine Messengers". Most notable amoungst the preachers of the divine and the higher truths of reality are Lord Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, The Prophet Muhammad and most recently His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. But why is there a need for such descended masters of the spirit? This world might superficially seem to be going along just nicely without said saintly persons. If we take a closer look at the world itself and how it's working, we will see the urgent necessity of the elevated personalities like His Divine Grace Swami Prabhupada, and why, in the ultimate issue, there is fundamentally no difference between any of them. If such a messenger is at all bona-fide, he will say pretty much the same thing as any other: This world is temporary and full of suffering and it is in one's interest to get out out of it. This is the first and foremost point for any messenger. We experience death, birth, old and disease as basic principles of life at the present moment and have done for longer than anyone has a memory of. Besides these impeding and inevitable aspects of reality, we accept life as it is as enjoyment. We work very hard for a little remuneration, just like an ass, who strains himself by carrying tons of cloth for a morsel of grass. Even if a person was able to become very successful with a big bank balance, a nice looking wife, plenty of fast cars and a big mansion, he is forced by the influence of time to meet his cruel end at the hands of death at the end of it all. One should therefore inquire, if he has any sense, "of what use is all of that work?". Even while we are working so hard just to meet death, our life is full of suffering. We are troubled by the mind, hindered by the body, attacked and tortured by other persons and animals, and we are by harassed by natural disasters and disease. The topmost point of contradiction of the living entity in this world is that he is eternal, but the world around him and the body he is situated in are not. The world and body are comprised of five elements; earth, water, fire, air and ether and all of these elements, along with the subtle elements of mind, intelligence and false ego, are changing. This is the nature of anything material. The universe, one could call it the gigantic body, came into being at one point, expanded for some time and eventually began to decay. Eventually it will be annihilated. Everything within this material world is consequently always of the same nature. That's confirmed by both modern science and the Bhagavad-Gita, in which it is said "Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both." [BG 2.16] Although everything within our immediate visual vicinity is temporary, we can observe by the presence of consciousness that the person who experiences this temporary nature is eternal and unchanging. A persons body is going through so many chemical changes and drastic growths: One starts with a small, youthful child's' body and it progresses on up to a old persons frail body, but the person is always there, despite so many changes of the body. The body is completely different, but he is always the same observer. That eternal consciousness is somehow or other now forced into a temporary atmosphere and forced to try and enjoy it, which can be compared to a man asked to enjoy a room full of pleasures with the only condition being that he will shortly and definitely be shot in the head. Such a room is very difficult to enjoy. Thus this world, although seemingly full of pleasures, is momentary and is consequently very miserable. Therefore, a divine messenger is required to lift us out of it. Because we are in ignorance of the solution, and often too entangled in the material nature to understand that we are even suffering, the messenger is completely necessary to wake us up out of this dream of reality. Being above the laws of material nature, he can understand our precarious position and also the process by which to get out. In order for us to properly understand the position of the divine messenger, we first must understand our relationship with God. God is the supreme and original person, transcendental, absolute and the source of all energies. There are two principle energies of God, who's name is Krishna, of which one is the material energy, which contains the separated inferior energies previously described as earth and water etc. But there is another, superior energy called the living entity. The living entity is an expansion of Krishna and is a unique, individual soul, eternally His part, parcel and thereby eternal servitor. There are two divisions of these minute expansions, which in Sanskrit are called Jiva tattva. The two kinds of Jiva tattva are eternally liberated and eternally conditioned, nitya-mukta and nitya-bandha respectively. The latter is called eternally conditioned because he has been embodied within the material nature since longer than anyone can chalk out. The living entity decides to take a material body as soon as he wants to enjoy just like Krsna, to be on an equal platform with Krishna. A great Vaisnava poet, Jagadanada Pandit, explains very clearly the position in his prema-vivarta when he says "When an individual soul forgets his eternal relationship with God and tries to lord it over the material nature or resources, that condition, that forgetful condition, is called maya, or illusion." [Prema-Vivarta] A minute part and parcel and never be equal to the complete whole Personality of Godhead and he can never assume such a position because that is simply not his nature. Krishna is always the enjoyer, and his part and parcels are expanded for his pleasure. When one wants to assume Krishna's position, he must take an illusory, materially constructed body, which covers him with the illusion that he is God. The material senses make one bereft of spiritual vision. Only then can a minute soul think that he is Krishna, because as soon as a soul understands Krishna, he immediately understands his own position as a subordinate. Because he is eternally the servant of Krishna, In the spiritual state, his senses are always directly engaged in Krishna's service, but in the conditional state, they are indirectly serving Him in the form of the senses and their objects, which are also his impersonal, separated material energies. This indirect service makes one feel independent from Krishna, thereby giving him the illusion of being himself the lord of all he surveys. The Nitya-Mukta, the eternally liberated soul, however, ever remains a full cognizant servant of Krishna. When one is in his original spiritual position, he is eternally blissful and full of knowledge, because he is in his real and eternal position as an expansion of the eternal, blissful and fully cognizant God. Emanating from Krishna, he has the qualities of Krishna in minute quantity. In the spiritual world, the nitya-mukta is enjoying with Krishna in a loving, transcendental service relationship, as a friend, parent, servant, a neutral object or even as a lover. This relationship is spiritually ecstatic and therefore the nitya mukta naturally feels compassionate for the suffering conditioned soul. On the order of Krishna, the ever-liberated pure devotee enters the material world, completely uncontaminated by material energy, to deliver the fallen conditioned souls by reawakening their God consciousness. In the vaisnava-pranama, a prayer by Bhakti-yogis, those connect to Krishna through love and devotion, the attitude of a pure devotee is portrayed. The devotee prays "I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. They are just like desire trees who can fulfill the desires of everyone. They are oceans of mercy and are the purifiers of the fallen souls." [Vaisnava pranama] A devotee of the Lord has the Lord's interests at heart, and the Lord's interest is that the soul suffering in the material world return to his eternal abode of happiness and complete knowledge. When a pure devotee comes to the material world, he is always in touch with Krishna. He is firmly established in Yoga, which means "to connect to the Supreme". Being always with the most pure and transcendental Lord, the pure devotee is not subject to any illusion or material inebriety. This means that a pure devotee also has pure senses. In conditional life, on account of the imperfect material senses, we cannot have perfect knowledge. Every person has four defects due to his being in a material tabernacle: He must have imperfect senses, he must be illusioned (Just like how we think we are the body even though we are factually not), he must cheat others and he must also make mistakes. In effect, we can never ascertain perfect truth and subsequent happiness thereof. A soul liberated from the material nature is therefore the only way to understand God and life beyond the body. He is the only way to ascertain knowledge beyond the senses. A conditioned living entity has a material body on account of his desire to enjoy material senses, separately from Krishna, but a pure devotee, who only is thinking of Krishna's satisfaction, has no such material body. He always remains in his pure and fully spiritual position, although it may appear to a conditioned soul that he is an ordinary man. However, one should make no such distinction or be bewildered by his seemingly mundane affairs. Every action of the spiritual master is transcendental and an instruction. There is no difference between any of the representatives of God who come to deliver the conditioned souls of this material world, they simply come when the previous instructions are not clearly understood or when there is a great need of their appearing for a specific purpose. At different times, places and to different categories of people, the pure devotees appear to give different instructions with the same goal in mind. A very clear example of this is of Lord Buddha, who advented 3000 years ago. When he incarnated he apparently preached atheism. His main message was twofold; that the world is suffering and that one should transcend it to a state of consciousness known as nirvana. This nirvana means the cessation of material existence, no more activity. That kind of message was very palatable for the atheistic class of men at the time of his incarnation. When Lord Buddha appeared, animals were being sacrificed brutally and in great quantity simply for the sake of eating. In the Vedas, the most ancient scripture in the world, there are prescribed animal sacrifices for the testing of ancient mantras. These mantras, when properly vibrated, would actually be for the benefit of the animal, giving it new life after the destruction of it's old body. But because the atheistic class of men were using the Vedas simply for their sense gratification, Lord Buddha incarnated in order to preach both ahimsa, non-violence, and nirvana, an atheistic spiritual path. But actually, because Lord Buddha was a pure devotee, a direct representative of Krishna, by worshiping him, as Buddhists currently do, even though they claim to atheistic, they actually get the benefit of following and worshiping a pure devotee. In this way, they will reach perfect God consciousness. All bona-fide representatives of God come here to do the same thing, to reawaken our dormant love for God. However, according to the land of their birth, their upbringing and culture, people have different experiences and some have more or less intelligence. It follows logically then, that according to the varieties of circumstance, different preaching is required. Just like in a mathematics class, there is the principle that one plus one is equal to two. Now, in a more advanced calculus class, the same principle is there, but there are also higher mathematics. Similarly, the aim of religion, to love God, is always there, but it is more or less elaborate according to the time, place and circumstance. For the crowd that Lord Jesus Christ was preaching to, for example, we know from the Bible that the first thing he stressed was the following of the first commandment, "thou shalt not kill". The people around the time Christ appeared were simply killing each other and animals, and therefore Christ had to give them a simplified message of the science and message of God-consciousness, more suited just to rectify their mentality in order to approach God. Now, however, people are a little more cultured, technology advanced, more educated and more intelligent. They are fond of science and even questioning previously firmly established dogmas and beliefs. They are not satisfied with simply that "God is great" and "God created everything". A full explanation of the science is required for the modern thinking man. Therefore, Srila Prabhuapda arrived in the west with the Science of Krishna consciousness, the complete and detailed information of God and how to love him. The philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, As It Is, is unrivaled by any other literature or philosopher in all of history. No other sect of spiritualism or critic or scholar has been able to find a legitimate fault in the philosophy and practice of Krishna consciousness: It is fully authorized and there is no dearth of perfect knowledge. It's practical effects are seen also, with young men and women easily giving up the cornerstones of materialistic life: Illicit sex, gambling, intoxication and meat-eating in favor of development of love for God. Therefore, it is the perfect message for the modern society, and the solution to the social, economical and religious problems that the world faces today. Srila Prabhupada translated the great song of God, Bhagavad-gita, and wrote purports supported by the strength and authority of Vedic literature, previous stalwart teachers of the science called Arcaryas, and other saintly persons. His works have been approved, studied and recommended by prestigious universities and institutions all over the world. People from every corner of the planet have joined the Krishna consciousness movement, giving up all worldly opulence for a simple life of self-realization, a life of pursuing Krishna. The Krishna consciousness philosophy doesn't say that one should give up his religion and practice Krishna consciousness instead. All the previous bona-fide divine messengers gave the proper direction, and if people actually follow the instructions of those great saintly persons, then they too will come to the perfection of life, full Krishna consciousness. It is simply a question of whether or not one's religious practice is resulting in an increase of love for God or for matter. That is the test. If one is becoming more and more God-conscious, he will eventually only have attraction for God. It's just like the Muslims say, "God is more important than anything, even one's own family, friends and duties." So no divine messenger will ultimately contradict each other. The underlying and eternally true message of love for Godhead is the principle that all religions now have lost. It's the message that all the previous great representatives of God, Lord Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha were talking about. These saints were not Christians, Muslims, or Buddhists. They were self-realized souls, who understood that to love God unconditionally is the actual purpose of religion. Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita, "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear." [BG 18.66] Thus the real purpose of religion and the real divine message is established. It isn't about saying "This is my practice" and "this is my teacher" and "your practice and your teacher are different so you're a nonsense". No, the purpose of religion is to give up all the designations and simply surrender in love to God.

In this quote Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the world wide Hare Krishna movement speaks of how the chanting of the Holy names of God is part of Islamic tradition also. Srila Prabhupada: In Muhammadan religion also, dancing and singing is forbidden. I do not know what is there in the Bible, but I understand in the Bible there is sankirtana allowed. I have asked our Kirtanananda to write some article, "Sankirtana and Bible," because he is..., he knows Bible very well than other members. So we shall see very nice how in Bible there is sankirtana. The Muhammadan Koran, they do not... In some of their sections there is sankirtana, not within the mosque, but without. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 7.39–47 – February 5, 1967, San Francisco)

Srila Prabhupada writes in a letter: “I have seen in the Bible that Lord Jesus Christ recommended this kirtana performance in the Bible. You know better than me and I would request you to write a small book on 'SANKIRTANA MOVEMENT IN THE BIBLE.'”The following is an article written by Hayagriva dasa in pursuance of Srila Prabhupada’s wish. In the Vaisnava (Krsna) literature of India there are innumerable scriptural injunctions encouraging sankirtana -- the chanting and singing of the names of God as an efficacious means to attain God realization or as a glorious end in itself. Yet many Westerners, perhaps justifiably skeptical, might ask, "If sankirtana is so all-encompassing, so potent and effective, why isn't it stressed in the Bible?" Even a quick reading of the Bible will show that sankirtana was very much present indeed amongst the ancient Jews and early Christians and that it was certainly stressed by one of the Bible's major figures -- David. "But that's not the sankirtana practiced by the Krsna consciousness movement," one might object. "Moses and David certainly didn't chant Hare Krsna, Hare Rama." It would be difficult to prove that they did, and it is doubtless safe to assume that they didn't, but sankirtana is not limited to the Hare Krsna mantra. In fact, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the chief propagator of Hare Krsna chanting in this age, has written in His Siksastaka: O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krsna, Govinda, etc. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them. (Siksastaka, 2) Any Name Of God The principle of sankirtana, then, does not insist on the names Krsna and Rama. Theoretically any name for the Absolute Godhead will do. The point is, however, that in this age -- which extends back 5,000 years -- the chanting and singing of the names of God and God's glories is the most certain way to spiritual emancipation. "Chant the names of God," Lord Caitanya enjoins. 'In this Age of Kali [chaos] there is no other way, there is no other way at all." The effect of chanting the holy names, Lord Caitanya further instructs, is that transcendental love of God is awakened in the soul. Why chant the name Krsna in preference to others! Although other names are potentially as good, the name Krsna is the principal name because it is the name of the primal, original person. God is one, but His manifestations are infinite. One may light any number of candles from an original candle, yet the original candle still retains its original identity. There are countless expansions of God, but the adi-purusa, the primal person, is asserted in the Vedas to be Krsna (Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami, Brahma-samhita). From Him appear countless expansions, incarnations, avataras, etc. In Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna asserts, "I am the source of everything; from Me the entire creation flows. Knowing this, the wise worship Me with all their hearts." (Bhagavad-gita, 10.8) This claim is not made by anyone in the Bible, not even by Christ. The word "Christ" is also connected to "Krsna" etymologically, for "Christ" is derived from the Greek word christos, meaning "anointed," or "the anointed one," a translation of the Hebrew word mashiah, Messiah. One of the principal signs of Krsna and His devotees is the tilaka or clay which anoints the forehead with a V sign. Information Witheld The Bible speaks of the Supreme as God, Jehovah and Christ, and the Vedic literatures -- Bhagavad-gita, Brahma-samhita, Srimad-Bhagavatam -- indicate Him personally to be Krsna, a word which means "all-attractive" in Sanskrit. (Rama means enjoyer, and Hare refers to the energy enjoyed.) The Bible is principally concerned with the laws given to the Jewish people by God, the Jews' breaking of these laws and God's subsequent punishments. Christ stressed forgiveness for those who are truly repentant and He supplied a new element -- love or bhakti as a means to attain God. Throughout the Bible, however. God is described as "great," "angry," "terrible," "greatly to be feared," "almighty," "the everlasting Father," "Alpha and Omega," etc., but nowhere is the all-attractive personality of God explained. Who is God? Just how great is He? What are His features? His opulences? His activities? Exactly what does His abode look like? What does He look like? What are His various manifestations? Specifically how does He create? How does He pervade His creation? What is the relationship of the individual with God? What is the individual's role in the world, and how does it come about, and flow can the individual self transcend it? These and many other questions are neither raised nor answered in the Bible because ancient Judaic culture was not sufficiently advanced to absorb this information. Christ Himself told His disciples, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." (John, 16:12) In the Old Testament we hear God's voice from the sky, but we do not see His face. He appears as a burning bush, a dove, a pillar of fire by night, a cloud by day, etc., but He does not appear as He is. Christ appeared as a devotee of God, but He does not reveal His Father to His disciples. With a voice on high the Father speaks of Christ as His beloved Son, but Christ Himself said, Ye have neither heard this voice at any time, nor seen His shape.... Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. (John, 5:37, 6:46) Vedic literatures, which pre-date the Bible, were written in a highly advanced spiritual culture, and they specifically reveal God's form, His features, His pastimes and His personality. Of course God's attributes are infinite, and words can only hint at His glory, but the Vedas supply man's mind with more information than he can accommodate to the point of enlightenment, at which time the Vedas are of no more use "than a pond when everywhere there is a flood." (Bhagavad-gita, 2.46) At that stage man sees God or Krsna everywhere, but that realization is not to be imitated. The point is that the Vedas give a detailed explanation of God and His activities and indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be Sri Krsna. Not only is Sri Krsna indicated to be God, but He is vividly physically described, and His personal activities are narrated. Lord Krsna Himself sang Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna on the battlefield, and thus His instructions are known as the song (gita) of God (Bhagavan). In the Gita, Lord Krsna characterized the mahatmas or great souls in this way: They are always engaged in chanting My glories. Endeavoring with great determination, offering homage unto Me, they worship Me with devotion. (Bhagavad-gita, 9.14) The Bible is certainly peopled with many great souls -- Moses, David, Paul -- and none would have contradicted the essential validity of the sankirtana principle. This thesis is supported by innumerable passages in books by the prophets and the apostles. The Books of Moses After the children of Israel were saved, after they passed through the Red Sea and after the Pharaoh's army drowned, Moses and his followers immediately began to sing praises to God. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously.... The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. (Exodus, 15:1-2) In Deuteronomy, Moses, in his exhortation to the Jewish people after the deliverance of the ten commandments, set forth the basic tenets underlying the bhakti or devotional process which forms the very root of the sankirtana philosophy. Here Moses stresses the importance of service to God and the evocation of His name. Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.... Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; Him shalt thou serve, and to Him shalt thou cleave, and swear by His name. He is thy praise, and He is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. (Deuteronomy, 6:4–5, 10:20–21) Knowledge of the greatness of God, Moses maintains, necessitates the devotee's "publishing" His name and broadcasting His glories. In his second song, Moses says: My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. (Deuteronomy, 32:2–3) As in Vaisnava philosophy, the name of God is integral with Him. Of course the Godhead, by His omnipresence, exists impersonally in all sound, and all sound has its being impersonally in Him, yet the names of God are identical with Him in a different way: they are sabda, or sound incarnations, and God is personally present in them. Thus the names of God are praised and evoked in the religious traditions of both East and West. (The English word "God," for instance, stems from the Indo-European base ghawa- and the Sanskrit havate, meaning "to call out to, invoke," the idea being that God is He to whom man calls out both in joy and distress.) Moses, the great lawgiver and father of the Jews, was not inaugurating a new tradition in advocating the verbal glorification of God but was working within the established context of Judaism. The Book of Judges After Deborah and Balak delivered Israel from Jabin and Sisera, they sang: "Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel." Samuel Upon being delivered out of the hands of his enemy Saul, David, in his psalm of thanksgiving, sang: "Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto Thy name." (Samuel II, 22:50) Chronicles Of all the figures in the Bible, David is undoubtedly the most avid promulgator of sankirtana. David brought the ark of God -- which was worshiped like the Vaisnava Deities -- into Jerusalem, and, dressed in fine linen, danced before it. Thus all lsrael brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps. (I. Chronicles, 15:28) David appointed a number of Levites to attend the ark, as in India certain pujaris are assigned to attend the Deities. And he [David] appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: Asaph the chief, etc., and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God (I. Chronicles, 16:4–6) David then informed the people of the process of worship before the ark. In essence, this is also the message of the Krsna consciousness movement: kirtana, or praise of God, by song, the glorification of His names, the relation of His pastimes, the search for His personal presence. Then on that day David delivered first this psalm, to thank the Lord, into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk yet of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually. (1. Chronicles, 16:7-11) This message extends beyond the people of Jerusalem, just as Lord Caitanya's message extends beyond India. Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day His salvation. Declare His glory among the heathen; His marvellous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all Gods. (1. Chronicles, 16:23–25) In the Krsna temples of India, the Deities are glorified full time. Similarly, David appointed Heman and Jeduthun "with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God" (Chronicles I., 16:42) to sing continually before the ark. Moreover, David chose 288 people, mainly youths, to chant with instruments in the temple. All these were under the hands of their father [Heman's fourteen sons and three daughters] for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. So the number of them, with the brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight. (Chronicles I., 25:6–7) Solomon, David's son, renowned for wisdom and riches, followed in his father's footsteps in building a magnificent temple on Mount Moriah at Jerusalem, a temple which he overlaid with pure gold, and in seeing that chanters were also installed. It seemed that their kirtanas were lively indeed, being that they precipitated the descent of the glory of God. Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is God; for His mercy endureth for ever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. (11. Chronicles, 5: 12-14) Jehoshaphat, who reigned over Judah, also followed in this tradition. It is notable that specific mention is made of the method of bowing and of praising the beauty of God and relying on His mercy, for these are also typical of Vaisnavism. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high. And when he [Jehoshaphat] had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord: for His mercy endureth forever. (11. Chronicles, 20:18–21) Hezekiah, David's grandson, followed the path of David, not that of his idolatrous and blasphemous father Ahaz. He opened all the doors of the temples which his father had shut down. The ceremony that was conducted under his direction could be a description of a Vaisnava aratrika. And he [Hezekiah] set the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet; for so was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priest with the trumpets. And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David King of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. (II. Chronicles, 29:25–30) The Book of Ezra. Of those returning to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylon, there were "among them two hundred singing men and singing women." (Ezra, 2:65) After they returned, the people gathered "as one man" in Jerusalem, where they began construction of a new temple and held sankirtana during the foundation ceremony. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the songs of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David King of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. (Ezra, 3:10-11) The Psalms of David Of all the books in the Bible, David's Psalms place the greatest emphasis on kirtana. The Psalms make four important assertions. First, since man exists only by the mercy of God, man's only recourse is to trust Him completely. "And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." (Psalms, 9:10) Second, the names of God have great potency, and it is the duty or dharma of man to thank and praise Him. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. (Psalms, 48:1; It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most high. (Psalms, 92:1) Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed by the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised. (Psalms, 113:1–3) Third, man derives great joy in praising Him. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness: To the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto Thee forever. (Psalms, 30:4, 11–12) Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. (Psalms, 100:1–2) I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. (Psalms, 104: 33–34) Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. (Psalms, 147:1) Fourth, all nations and indeed the entire creation will eventually praise Him, and thus the chanting of the names of God will constitute, as Lord Caitanya prophesied, the world religion. All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and shall glorify Thy name. (Psalms, 86:9) Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise Him in the heights. Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise Him, all His hosts. Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created. (Psalms, 148: 1–5 David also enjoined that the chanting of the holy names be -- as in India -- accompanied by a number of instruments and by hand clapping. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the king.... O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of truimph. (Psalms, 98:4–6, 47:1) Nor are the chants to be mere vain repetitions or caterwauling noise-fests: "Sing ye praises with understanding,'' (Psalms, 47: 7) David instructs. Man cannot take God's kingdom by storm, for God is not mundane and cannot be approached by fanaticism or human mental speculation. His abode is above the heavens, and the easiest approach to Him is through praise fixed firmly in knowledge. My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto Thee among the nations. For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and Thy truth unto the coulds. Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let Thy glory be above all the earth. (Psalms, 57:7–11) Chanting the holy names and recounting the great deeds of God are important factors in man's search for Him. O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name: make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him: talk ye of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and His strength: seek His face evermore. (Psalms, 105:1-4) David also maintained that one should praise God throughout life. Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live I will praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. (Psalms, 146:1) David's last five psalms (146–150) are in themselves musical exhortations urging not only man but all living creatures to praise God. In their lyrical insistence (insistence it is, not repetition) they stylistically approach a mantra form. For example, the last psalm: Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary: praise Him in the firmament of His power. Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalms, 150:1–6) The Psalms of David are both lyrical and devotional. Christ's last words on the cross ("My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me!") are the beginning of the 22nd Psalm. Far from being a cry of despair, this psalm, which Christ was not able to quote in full, asserts: "I will declare Thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee." (Psalms, 22:22) Thus the Psalms bridge the Judaic and Christian traditions and establish the sankirtana principle in the West more strongly than any other book in the Bible. The Book of Isaiah Isaiah, who foresaw the Lord's deliverance of the Jewish people from Assyria, Egypt and other places, prophesied: And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord: for He hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. (Isaiah, 12:4–5) Also in relating the Lord's future mighty deeds, Isaiah reports God as instructing Jacob and Israel in this way: Sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein: the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare His praise in the islands. (Isaiah, 42: 10–12) In speaking further to Jacob and his people, God coaxes the entire creation, including inanimate objects, to sing His praise: Sing O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel. Sing, O heavens: and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted. (lsaiah, 44:23, 49:13) The New Testament Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples to go forth and preach among all men that "The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." (Luke, 10:9) Such preaching is also kirtana: whether one says, "Repent, the kingdom of God is at hand" or chants Hare Krsna, the message is essentially the same, for the Godhead is verbally proclaimed amongst men. When asked when the kingdom of God was coming, Christ taught that God is attained not by the mental speculative method nor by investigation of external phenomena but by spontaneous love arising from within the individual himself. And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke, 17:20–21) Thus God and His kingdom are most quickly attained when one's yearning is strong, when bhakti arises in the soul. There is also stress on the holy names in the New Testament, for Christ warns His disciples: "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Mark, 13:13) Christ also emphasized the potency of the holy names: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matthew, 18:20) In one of the most intensely mystical passages in St. John's Gospel, when Christ prays to His Father the night before the crucifixion, He asserts that the name of God is a unifying force, that He (Christ) Himself manifested the name to His disciples and that it will be God's name that will keep them as one. Christ prayed: I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them me; and they have kept Thy word. And now I am no more in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that Thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John, 17:4, 6, 11–12) Christ's disciples continued in this tradition. After being beaten and thrown in jail and shackled in Philippi in Macedonia, Paul and Silas chanted praises to God: "And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them." (Acts, 16:25) It was also St. Paul who wrote the Romans: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles: and laud him, all ye people. (Romans, 10:13, 15:6, 11) Again, St. Paul emphasized the potency of the Lord's name in an epistle to the Philippians: Wherefor God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians, 2:9–11, 4:4) St. Paul also wrote the Thessalonians and Hebrews similar instructions (II Thessalonians, 1:12. Hebrews, 2:12). Similarly, the apostle James in an epistle used skillful means to get the people to chant: "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms." (James, 5:13) In his apocalyptic Revelations, St. John describes a vision of universal destruction and salvation which resembles, in magnitude, Lord Krsna's display of His universal form in the Eleventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. St. John, in his vision, sees the Lamb (Christ) glorified amongst thousands of devotees who have God's names written on their foreheads (a Vaisnava custom). The devotees stand on a sea of glass and fire, a sea of cosmic destruction, and chant the names of God. Again it is proclaimed that all peoples will worship the Almighty God and glorify His name. And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder; and as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou king of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelations, 14:1–3, 15:2–4) Thus from Moses to Revelations -- the garmut of the Bible -- sankirtana is a prominent factor. The message is essentially one throughout the Bible and Caitanya (Vaisnava) philosophy: man only meets with frustration when he tries to assault the kingdom of God physically or intellectually. The Supreme Godhead is above man -- is above, in fact, the heavens -- and man is subordinate as an organ of the body is subordinate to the entire body. In the spiritual hierarchy that culminates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, man's role is established as an organ of praise, and it is in praise of God that man is elevated to the spiritual platform. Actually this is not a unique role, for, as the Bible and Caitanya philosophy maintain, all creatures that breathe -- and even entities that do not breathe -- can join in universal acclamation of the Supreme Person. The total unity and harmony of that hymn comprise the great song of God. (Originally printed in the BTG magazine in 1970)

The following prediction of Jesus Christ is found in the ancient Vedic scripture known as Bhavishya Purana. Bhavishya means “future”, and Purana means “history”, so the name means the “history of the future”. The Bhavishya Purana was originally written 5,000 years ago by the sage Vyasa, who was the compiler of the Vedic scriptures. Usually Puranas are historical narrations of universal events that happened in ancient times, but in the case of the Bhavishya Purana, Vyasa is providing a narration of events that will happen in the future, beginning with the arrival of the age of kali yuga. The following is an excerpt from the Bhavishya Purana: Pratisarga Parva, Chaturyuga Khanda Dvitiyadhyayah, 19th Chapter, Texts 17 to 32. Texts 17 – 21 vikramaditya-pautrasca pitr-rajyam grhitavan jitva sakanduradharsams cina-taittiridesajan bahlikankamarupasca romajankhurajanchhatan tesam kosan-grhitva ca danda-yogyanakarayat sthapita tena maryada mleccharyanam prthak-prthak sindhusthanam iti jneyam rastramaryasya cottamam mlecchasthanam param sindhoh krtam tena mahatmana ekada tu sakadiso himatungam samayayau “Ruling over the Aryans was a king called Salivahana, the grandson of Vikramaditya, who occupied the throne of his father. He defeated the Shakas who were very difficult to subdue, the Cinas, the people from Tittiri and Bahikaus who could assume any form at will. He also defeated the people from Rome and the descendants of Khuru, who were deceitful and wicked. He punished them severely and took their wealth. Salivahana thus established the boundaries dividing the separate countries of the Mlecchas and the Aryans. In this way Sindusthan came to be known as the greatest country. That personality appointed the abode of the Mlecchas beyond the Sindhu River and to the west.” Text 22 ekadaa tu shakadhisho himatungari samaayayau hunadeshasya madhye vai giristhan purusam shubhano dadarsha balaram raajaa Once upon a time the subduer of the Sakas went towards Himatunga and in the middle of the Huna country (Hunadesh – the area near Manasa Sarovara or Kailash mountain in Western Tibet), the powerful king saw an auspicious man who was living on a mountain. The man’s complexion was golden and his clothes were white. Text 23 ko bharam iti tam praaha su hovacha mudanvitah iishaa purtagm maam viddhi kumaarigarbha sambhavam “The king asked, ‘Who are you sir?’ ‘You should know that I am Isha Putra, the Son of God’. he replied blissfully, and ‘am born of a virgin.’ ” Text 24 mleccha dharmasya vaktaram satyavata paraayanam iti srutva nrpa praaha dharmah ko bhavato matah ” ‘I am the expounder of the religion of the Mlecchas and I strictly adhere to the Absolute Truth.’ Hearing this the king enquired, ‘What are religious principles according to you opinion?’ Texts 25 – 26 shruto vaaca mahaaraaja praapte satyasya samkshaye nirmaaryaade mlechadeshe masiiho ‘ham samagatah iishaamasii ca dasyuunaa praadurbhuutaa bhayankarii taamaham mlecchataah praapya masiihatva mupaagatah “Hearing this questions of Salivahara, Isha putra said, ‘O king, when the destruction of the truth occurred, I, Masiha the prophet, came to this country of degraded people where there are no rules and regulations. Finding that fearful irreligious condition of the barbarians spreading from Mleccha-Desha, I have taken to prophethood’.” Texts 27 – 29 mlecchasa sthaapito dharmo mayaa tacchrnu bhuupate maanasam nirmalam krtva malam dehe subhaasbham naiganam apamasthaya japeta nirmalam param nyayena satyavacasaa manasyai kena manavah dhyayena pujayedisham suurya-mandala-samsthitam acaloyam prabhuh sakshat- athaa suuryacalah sada “Please hear Oh king which religious principles I have established among the mlecchas. The living entity is subject to good and bad contaminations. The mind should be purified by taking recourse of proper conduct and performance of japa. By chanting the holy names one attains the highest purity. Just as the immovable sun attracts, from all directions, the elements of all living beings, the Lord of the solar region, who is fixed and all-attractive, attracts the hearts of all living creatures. Thus by following rules, speaking truthful words, by mental harmony and by meditation, Oh descendant of Manu, one should worship that immovable Lord’.” Text 30 isha muurtirt-dradi praptaa nityashuddha sivamkari ishamasihah iti ca mama nama pratishthitam “Having placed the eternally pure and auspicious form of the Supreme Lord in my heart, O protector of the earth planet, I preached these principles through the Mlecchas’ own faith and thus my name became ‘isha-masiha’ (Jesus the Messiah).” Text 31 iti shrutra sa bhuupale natraa tam mlecchapujaam sthaapayaamaasa tam tutra mlecchasthaane hi daarune “After hearing these words and paying obeisances to that person who is worshipped by the wicked, the king humbly requested him to stay there in the dreadful land of Mlecchas.” Text 32 svaraajyam praaptavaan raajaa hayamedhan ciikirat raajyam kriitvaa sa shashthyabdam svarga lokamu paayayau “King Salivahara, after leaving his kingdom performed an asvamedha yajna and after ruling for sixty years, went to heaven. Now please hear what happened when the king went to svargaloka.” Thus ends the second chapter entitled, “the age of Salivahara” of the story of Kali Yuga of the Caturyuga Khanda also called pratisarga-parva of the wonderful Bhavishya Maha Purana.

Why do they come and who are they? Is a there a divine messenger for this time period? Let's discuss in this weeks BLISS podcast.

Sounds like something out of an 80's horror movie... But it's real life. Who wouldn't remember that famous and horrifying scene from Ridley Scott's "Alien" masterpiece. A poor astronaut, trapped within a space station, screams in terror as an alien controls her from within and eventually bursts from her womb. Although it may seem fantastical, this is happening to us right now, even though we may not have been attacked by some creepy face-hugging aliens, as far as we know. An Alien, according to the Oxford English dictionary, means a creature from a different world. We may that, at present, we don't have any experiance of creatures from another atmosphere, but if we consider what we understand and accept as the self, we will find that it is actually very alien to us. Let me explain. Our present experience of existence is life inside the body. The body is constituted of five material elements; Earth, water, fire, air and ether. And more subtly; the mind, intelligence and the false ego. Although we cannot perceive the latter three with our eyes, they are present by their functioning and we can understand that they are there. On even more subtle level, there is the soul. The soul is perceived through consciousness. Matter, from it's unmanifested form in gross elements, becomes manifest upon the souls presence in the body, and that same matter gradually grows for some time, but ultimately diminishes and goes back to the unmanifested state. It is constantly changing and therefore the body is, in one sense, non-existent. But the soul is always remaining, the person is always there throughout all the changes of the mind and the gross body. The soul is the powerhouse of the material body. There are the material elements, and the subtle material coverings, but all of them are simply inert without the presence of the soul. As soon as the soul leaves the body, all of these coverings become useless. They no longer work, and no amount of chemical supplement or anything material can revive the body once the soul has left. So from this, we can understand that we are different from the body. Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, confirms all of this in His Bhagavad-Gita when he says: As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change. [BG 2.13] That spiritual particle within the body is the eternal and ever spiritual individual living entity. Beyond and before his existence within the material body, which he has been entrapped for longer than one can trace out the history, he existed within the spiritual atmosphere, wherein he properly belongs. The consciousness is eternal, therefore it belongs to a sanatan, or eternal, atmosphere. We can understand this to be our natural state of existence because we are always yearning for it within this world. Although eternity, bliss and knowledge does not exist here, we still strive to attain them. Everyone is looking to extend his life unlimited, everyone is trying to become very educated and everyone is trying to find happiness. The desire for our natural state of existence permeates our current state. Everyone is searching for this eternal, blissful life but they do not know where to find it. It just like this "burster" scene in the alien movie. The girl and her associates are trying very hard to relieve her of her burden and they perform a surgical operation and try to kill the creature. Why not just let it happen? Because it is natural to fight for a pleasant existence, to return to condition where one isn't in anxiety. However, when the soul misidentifies himself with the material body, he is always in anxiety, because he is subject to a constant barrage of the various pangs of material existence, which manifest in seven ways. The four principle problems of life are birth, death, old age and disease. No one wants to to die: to leave everything he has worked so hard for behind; his family, hearth, job, bank balance and reputation. No wants to become old: To be gradually forgotten by the more youthful generations, and to lose control of his life and senses as he becomes decrepit. Of course, we are very adverse to becoming diseased: to lose our energy, vitality, health and beauty. Most certainly, no-one wants to take birth, which is a torturous condition of life wherein the soft and vulnerable child is forced into a cramped womb and is bitten by worms, burned by intestinal acids, and blinded by constant darkness for almost a year continuously. Furthermore, each living enity within the material world is under the tyranny of threefold kinds of miseries at every moment, and they are known as adhyatmika, adhidaivika and adhibhautika. Infirmities of the mind and body are ever present in our daily life. No-one can say he has perfect health or condition of mind or body. Sufferings caused by other living entities are practically natural, in so many ways we are harassed by insects, aggressive animals, thieves, rogues and rascal politicians. On a larger scale, the damage which is caused by the demigods, the appointed administrators of the material universe and it's happenings, manifest in the form of earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes etc. In no way is a living entity free from the pains of this bodily existence. As previously mentioned, however, this is an alien situation. The jiva spirit soul, in his natural existence, is eternally full of bliss and knowledge, being in his healthy position, serving the transcendental Supreme Personality of Godhead directly in pure love. He is situated in the eternal atmosphere of the spiritual world, where everything is absolute and personal, as opposed to the world of relativity and dead matter. How did we end up in such contrary life on temporality? There was a time when the different parts of a body rebelled against the stomach. The hands where collecting food and feeding the mouth, which was chewing the food, and the legs of the body walked to and fro to collect various foodstuffs. After some time, the parts of the body became upset that "we are working so hard, and this nonsense stomach is simply enjoying all day while he eats he fruits of our labor." The foolish parts of the body did not realize that their very existence depended on the satisfaction of the stomach. So in their foolishness, they decided to abstain from supplying to the stomach. It was wasn't long before they became very weak, and lost all their power to do anything at all. it was only then they could realize what a terrible mistake they has made by neglecting their proper function. This story is precisely our own situation, because we are all spirit part and parcels of the complete whole. lord Krishna confirms in the Bhagavad-Gita that we are his eternal parts and parcels thus: The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal frag-mental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind. [BG 15.7] The constitutional function of the part is to serve the whole. A cog in the machine serves the purpose of the machine, a hand serves the body, a citizen serves the state and so on. Therefore, being a complete spirit soul, we are fully satisfied in our normal spiritual life, because we act in our healthy and natural function as a direct servant of God. But by accepting the alien body as our self, we become illusioned to instead serve our material senses. At some point in time, the living entity accepted the material body as himself, along with many other material bodies as well, in varieties of forms, from fish to trees to celestial beings. When he accepts in this way, he becomes controlled by the desires and necessities of the body. The body wants food, sex, sleep and desires generally to fight in some way or another. The body is manifestation of the minute living entities desire to lord it over material nature in imitation of the Supreme Spirit, Parabrahman, Krsna. In whatever form of body he has, he has to fulfill these basic needs and as a result he also has to suffer the above mentioned frailties of conditional life. Now, just like that alien within the womb of the girl, we are accepting something very unpleasant as reality. However, unlike that unfortunate girl, our alien experience is simply illusory. The girl, if she did not have an alien within her womb, would most likely have a normal human child instead. Because it is natural for a woman to have children. In the same way, the jiva souls function is to serve. So whether we serve the material body, which can be compared to the creepy baby alien, or we serve Krishna, which can be compared to a healthy and beautiful child, we serve. We cannot avoid that. This is called Dharma. Just like saltiness cannot be removed from salt. If it were removed, it would no longer be salt. If we serve the material senses, we become subject to material nature, which is contrary to our interest of eternal blissful life, and if we serve Krishna, who is completely transcendental, that life is simply a natural consequence of that service because it is on the transcendental platform. The burster alien is just like our material body because having once accepted it as such, such a conception eventually kills our own, real self. Once the alien was within the womb, it was only a matter of time before the host of the alien was killed. Similarly, when we want to enjoy the facilities of this material body, we have to go on accepting new bodies to continue enjoying. In due course of time, without acting according to the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures, or in full god-consciousness, we act on the platform of animals, simply satisfying the basic needs of the body. In this way material nature prepares a body that is just suitable for our desires and purpose. In the Srimad-Bhagatavam, such persons are identified as good as animals: One who identifies his self as the inert body composed of mucus, bile and air, who assumes his wife and family are permanently his own, who thinks an earthen image or the land of his birth is worship-able, or who sees a place of pilgrimage as merely the water there, but who never identifies himself with, feels kinship with, worships or even visits those who are wise in spiritual truth—such a person is no better than a cow or an ass. (SB 10.84.13) The human form of life is not meant for wasting like an animal. Animals cannot go beyond the basic survival necessities of the body. But in the human form, we have the opportunity to free ourselves from this alien, burdensome lump of matter we call a body and return to our joyful and fully spiritual life in the sanatana-dhama, the spiritual world. That process is very simple, and it was inaugurated 500 years ago by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: The chanting of the holy names of God, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. This is the most simply process to serve Sri Krsna, thereby reawakening our dormant love for him. In conclusion, the material body is completely alien to our actual existence. By acceptance of the unreal material body as our-self, we kill our real selves by neglecting to use this valuable form of human life to understand God, the self is and the relation between the two. Such a discovery is only available in the human form because in this form we have the intelligence to try and fight the pushes of the senses, perform austerity and practice yoga. Think about it like this, all the crew of the spaceship in that alien movie could only try to help the lady with the alien in her belly on account of their higher intelligence. Had the same movie taken place with the Russian space dog crew of the 60's, the movie would have been a lot shorter and a lot less exciting, because animals have no such intelligence to understand the problems of life and how to solve them. So instead of simply going with this alien existence, accepting the sufferings of life as unavoidable, we should try to apply our intelligence and serve God, Krishna, by performing devotional service instead of forced and miserable service to the body and it's senses.

Purujit Dasa gives a class on the verse from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Srila Prabhupada.