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Every morning at the B.L.I.S.S London temple, we perform mangala arati, an auspicious ceremony to glorify the Lord. Mangala arati consists of chanting and dancing to many devotional songs. The second song in our mangala arati programme is named ‘Namaste Narasimhaya’, and was written by Vyasadeva, the literary incarnation of Krishna. Here are the lyrics and translation: namas te narasiḿhāya prahlādāhlāda-dāyine hiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ- śilā-ṭańka-nakhālaye I offer my obeisances to Lord Narasimha, who gives joy to Prahlada Maharaja and whose nails are like chisels on the stone like chest of the demon Hiranyakasipu.   ito nṛsiḿhaḥ parato nṛsiḿho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiḿhaḥ bahir nṛsiḿho hṛdaye nṛsiḿho nṛsiḿham ādiḿ śaraṇaḿ prapadye   Lord Nrsimha is here and also there. Wherever I go Lord Nrsimha is there. He is in the heart and is outside as well. I surrender to Lord Nrsimha, the origin of all things and the supreme refuge. tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛńgaḿ dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛńgam keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of half-man, half-lionl All glories to You! Just as one can easily crush a wasp between one's fingernails, so in the same way the body of the wasp like demon Hiranyakasipu has been ripped apart by the wonderful pointed nails on Your beautiful lotus hands. Here is the link to our full daily programme, if you are interested in spiritualising your life.

In Krishna's kitchen, ghee is an essential ingredient. Shrila Prabhupada has stated that in an offering to Krishna, every preparation must contain some milk product. Ghee (clarified butter) is a delicious and healthy substitute for seed/vegetable oils, which is made from heating cow's butter until all liquid evaporates and you are left with the golden oil. Here are some benefits of this wonderful substance: Ghee Ghee is beneficial for brain development. Shrila Prabhupada says: 'C ow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. A civilized man is expected to live on foodstuffs comprising fruits, vegetables, grains, sugar and milk.' As ghee is the fat coming from cow's milk, it must also have the same property . Ghee is a pure, natural alternative to many vegetable and seed oils which are overprocessed and containing hexanes. Seed oils specifically are washed with hexane, which is a solvent used as a cleaning agent, and is toxic. The hexane is evaporated after the oil is extracted, but of course there are amounts still left in the oil. Some dangers of hexane exposure are dizziness, nausea, and harm to the central nervous system. This can cause diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis. Ghee production is wonderful for the economy. ' The Indian village, simply by keeping cows, they... Just like Nanda Mahārāja was keeping cows. Similarly there are many villages. So the system is: they have got a big pan, and whatever milk is collected, put into that pan. It is being warmed. So they drink, the whole family members. They drink milk whenever they like. So whatever milk remains at night, they have to convert it into yogurt. The next day they use milk and yogurt also, as he likes. Then, after converting the milk into yogurt, still, it remains. It is stocked. So when there is sufficient old yogurt, they churn it and then butter comes out. So they take the butter, and the water separated from the butter, that is called whey? Whey, yes. So they... Instead of dahl, they use this whey, for capati. It will be very healthy and tasty. And then the butter they turn into ghee.' - Room conversation with devotees, August 1 1975 Simply by investing in cow protection, we can create whole business from milk products, benefitting both health and the economy. Ghee is delicious. ' His theory was that as long as one lives one should eat as much ghee as possible. In India, ghee (clarified butter) is a basic ingredient in preparing many varieties of food. Since everyone wants to enjoy nice food, Cārvāka Muni advised that one eat as much ghee as possible. One may say, “I have no money. How shall I purchase ghee?” Cārvāka Muni, however, says, “If you have no money, then beg, borrow or steal, but in some way secure ghee and enjoy life.”' - Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi Lila, 7.119 Purport Srila Prabhupada distributing prasadam

Everybody is attracted to beauty. Be it a delicate flower, a lilac sky or the wave crashing on the rock, our eyes derive pleasure from pretty looking things. As we humans have a propensity to please others, it is natural to want to look beautiful. In this age of fleeting fads, the conception of beauty is constantly changing. Which clothes are 'in', what hairstyles are trendy, how I should do my makeup... It can seem veey difficult and confusing to look attractive, with such provisional definitions of what it means to be pretty. Luckily, there is a timeless beauty present in the heart of every living entity which is very easy to unlock. Here's the process: Before wanting to become beautiful, one should understand, who is that 'I' that wants to be beautiful? In the Shrimad Bhagavatam, 9.19.27-28 Purport, Shrila Prabhupada states: 'One should be convinced that he is a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, Krsna, but has somehow or other been entrapped by the material coverings of the gross and subtle bodies.' And in the 1.10.16 Purport, ' The material beauty of a woman is an illusion because actually the body is made of earth, water, fire, air, etc. But because there is the association of the living spark with matter, it appears to be beautiful. No one is attracted by an earthen doll, even if it is most perfectly prepared to attract the attention of others. The dead body has no beauty because no one will accept the dead body of a so-called beautiful woman. Therefore, the conclusion is that the spirit spark is beautiful, and because of the soul's beauty one is attracted by the beauty of the outward body.' So we can understand nclude from these quotes that all beauty is emanating from the soul, and that the body is but the glass of a lightbulb, only reflecting the true beauty within. Now how does one go about awakening this beauty? It is one thing to know that you are an eternal spirit soul, full of bliss, knowledge and beauty, but you must know, what is your position? Well if you look around you, you will find many other living entities, just like you, be they in human bodies, animal bodies, plant bodies, etc. According to Shrila Prabhupada, ' There are 8,400,000 species of life. Out of that, the human being are very small quantity. Out of 8,400,000, the human species of life are 400,000; compared with other animals, a very small quantity.' So your position is undoubtedly one of very little significance. But there is one common factor between all living entities, which is what makes us beautiful, and alive. ' So Krishna has got relationship with everyone because He is the supreme father, and we are all His part and parcel. Just like son, even in this material world, he is the part and parcel of the father or the mother, similarly, we are actually part and parcel of Krishna , and Krishna is sad - aisvarya - purna . He is the richest, He is the most famous, He is most strong, all-powerful, all-beautiful. Everything He has got. And we are sons of that Krishna . So father's property is enjoyed by the sons.' - Caitanya Caritamrta Lecture, March 4 1975 So as the eternal child of Krishna, the possesor of all opulences, how can I become very beautiful. Well it is not about 'becoming' beautiful, for we are eternally pure spirit, which is already beautiful - because it is part and parcel of Krishna. But just like wearing the wrong shade of foundation, acting out of our original constitutional position is very unnatractive. 'What is my original constitutional position?' You might ask. ' In material consciousness, his nature is to try to be the lord of matter, but in spiritual ( Krishna ) consciousness, his position is to serve the Supreme' -Bhagavad Gita 8.3 Purport Mundane beauty is really nothing we should hope for, as it is only temporary and, this short life is nothing in comparison to your true form, which is eternal. But if you are very desperate, then understand that Krishna is also known as Bhuvana Sundara Bara - The most beautiful personality in all the worlds. Associating directly with Krishna, through his service, will also make you beautiful. Like how associating with crooks will make you crooked, associating with God will make you godly. The easiest way to associate with Krishna is to chant his names 'Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.'

Lord Caitanya is Sri Krishna One of the most frequent questions among newcomers to the Hare Krishna movement concerns the difference or similarity of Vishnu and Krishna, two principal deities. Are they one in the same or is one the incarnation of the other? Bhaktin Reena explores the complex subject in this short article. Whatever Lord Krishna has done, Lord Vishnu could have done it in his original form. The original form of Vishnu is Krishna. The Supreme Lord Krishna is eternally present in Goloka dham, the highest spiritual abode and He is manifested as Himself in this material world as an incarnation of Vishnu but is known as Purnavatar because He displayed His potencies that cannot be comprehended by the material consciousness. Lord Krishna is a mystery to everyone. His activities cannot be understood even by great devatas like Lord Shiva what to speak of ordinary human beings with limited mindset. This incarnation is very special. The most special. He is even unknown to the Voidists, impersonalists, so what to speak of agnostics, atheists and those who are from abrahmic faiths. Even the Vishnu bhaktas may not fully grasp the prema aspect of Lord Krishna and it is basically because it is another stream in the same ocean of pure love of God. In Goloka dham, the reverential aspect is transcended by the pure associates of the Supreme Lord. This is the highest form of consciousness and it cannot be comprehended easily by everyone on the spiritual path. The Lord knows His devotees. All the pure devotees of Lord Vishnu are equally worshippable and are favoured by Lord Shiva Himself who states the same to Mata Parvati in Padma Puran. Hence, all Acharyas who are pure devotees of the Lord under Vaishnava traditions are worthy of all respects and humble prayers.

"Beauty is truth, truth is beauty," said Keats. "That is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." Or is it? In this charming yet cutting essay, which first appeared in the old tabloid version of Back to Godhead (November 20, 1958), Shrila Prabhupada tells the unforgettable story of "liquid beauty." There may sometimes be arguments about whether "truth" and "beauty" are compatible terms. One would willingly agree to express the truth, one might say, but since truth is not always beautiful -- indeed, it is frequently rather startling and unpleasant -- how is one to express truth and beauty at the same time? In reply, we may inform all concerned that "truth" and "beauty" are compatible terms. Indeed, we may emphatically assert that the actual truth, which is absolute, is always beautiful. The truth is so beautiful that it attracts everyone, including the truth itself. Truth is so beautiful that many sages, saints, and devotees have left everything for the sake of truth. Mahatma Gandhi, an idol of the modern world, dedicated his life to experimenting with truth, and all his activities were aimed toward truth only. Why only Mahatma Gandhi? Every one of us has the urge to search for truth alone, for the truth is not only beautiful but also all-powerful, all-resourceful, all-famous, all-renounced, and all-knowledgeable. Unfortunately, people have no information of the actual truth. Indeed, 99.9 percent of men in all walks of life are pursuing untruth only, in the name of truth. We are actually attracted by the beauty of truth, but since time immemorial we have been habituated to love of untruth appearing like truth. Therefore, to the mundaner "truth" and "beauty" are incompatible terms. The mundane truth and beauty may be explained as follows. Once a man who was very powerful and strongly built but whose character was very doubtful fell in love with a beautiful girl. The girl was not only beautiful in appearance but also saintly in character, and as such she did not like the man's advances. The man, however, was insistent because of his lustful desires, and therefore the girl requested him to wait only seven days, and she set a time after that when he could meet her. The man agreed, and with high expectations he began waiting for the appointed time. The saintly girl, however, in order to manifest the real beauty of absolute truth, adopted a method very instructive. She took very strong doses of laxatives and purgatives, and for seven days she continually passed loose stool and vomited all that she ate. Moreover, she stored all the loose stool and vomit in suitable pots. As a result of the purgatives, the so-called beautiful girl became lean and thin like a skeleton, her complexion turned blackish, and her beautiful eyes sank into the sockets of her skull. Thus at the appointed hour she waited anxiously to receive the eager man. The man appeared on the scene well dressed and well behaved and asked the ugly girl he found waiting there about the beautiful girl he was to meet. The man could not recognize the girl he saw as the same beautiful girl for whom he was asking; indeed, although she repeatedly asserted her identity, because of her pitiable condition he was unable to recognize her. At last the girl told the powerful man that she had separated the ingredients of her beauty and stored them in pots. She also told him that he could enjoy those juices of beauty. When the mundane poetic man asked to see these juices of beauty, he was directed to the store of loose stool and liquid vomit, which were emanating an unbearably bad smell. Thus the whole story of the beauty-liquid was disclosed to him. Finally, by the grace of the saintly girl, this man of low character was able to distinguish between the shadow and the substance, and thus he came to his senses. This man's position was similar to the position of every one of us who is attracted by false, material beauty. The girl mentioned above had a beautifully developed material body in accordance with the desires of her mind, but in fact she was apart from that temporary material body and mind. She was in fact a spiritual spark, and so also was the lover who was attracted by her false skin. Mundane intellectuals and aesthetics, however, are deluded by the outward beauty and attraction of the relative truth and are unaware of the spiritual spark, which is both truth and beauty at the same time. The spiritual spark is so beautiful that when it leaves the so-called beautiful body, which in fact is full of stool and vomit, no one wants to touch that body, even if it is decorated with a costly costume. We are all pursuing a false, relative truth, which is incompatible with real beauty. The actual truth, however, is permanently beautiful, retaining the same standard of beauty for innumerable years. That spiritual spark is indestructible. The beauty of the outer skin can be destroyed in only a few hours merely by a dose of a strong purgative, but the beauty of truth is indestructible and always the same. Unfortunately, mundane artists and intellectuals are ignorant of this beautiful spark of spirit. They are also ignorant of the whole fire which is the source of these spiritual sparks, and they are ignorant of the relationships between the sparks and the fire, which take the form of transcendental pastimes. When those pastimes are displayed here by the grace of the Almighty, foolish people who cannot see beyond their senses confuse those pastimes of truth and beauty with the manifestations of loose stool and vomit described above. Thus in despair they ask how truth and beauty can be accommodated at the same time. Mundaners do not know that the whole spiritual entity is the beautiful person who attracts everything. They are unaware that He is the prime substance, the prime source and fountainhead of everything that be. The infinitesimal spiritual sparks, being parts and parcels of that whole spirit, are qualitatively the same in beauty and eternity. The only difference is that the whole is eternally the whole and the parts are eternally the parts. Both of them, however, are the ultimate truth, ultimate beauty, ultimate knowledge, ultimate energy, ultimate renunciation, and ultimate opulence. Real beauty is found in the spiritual world Although written by the greatest mundane poet or intellectual, any literature which does not describe the ultimate truth and beauty is but a store of loose stool and vomit of the relative truth. Real literature is that which describes the ultimate truth and beauty of the Absolute.

Finding inspiration for creative projects, work and countless other pursuits can be very difficult, especially in this age of Kali. The current yuga is characterized by quarrel and hypocrisy, and the people of this age are described as mostly atheistic, full of vice and lazy. When Kaliyuga is fully advanced, one hand will steal from the other. Now, it seems impossible to find the will to pursue anything in this terrible era, but as Shrila Prabhupada once said, 'Impossible is a word in a fool's dictionary,' so here is how you can feel inspired to do work nicely. Step 1: Know Yourself. Ask yourself, who am I? Sometimes we find that we do not have an answer to this question, which is okay. The age we are living in is rife with voidism, so most people do not understand that they are in fact people. Shrila Prabhupada says: ' The voidists say that consciousness is a product of a combination of matter and that as soon as the consciousness is gone, the material combination dissolves, and therefore there is ultimately nothing but voidness. This absence of consciousness is called nirvāṇa in Māyāvāda philosophy.'- S.B 3.27.17 Purport 'Body minus consciousness is dead body. Everyone knows it. A child can understand it, that I am speaking, you are hearing because your consciousness is present, my consciousness is present. As soon as my consciousness is deducted from this body, then this same mouth will not speak, the same hand will not move, the same your ear will not hear. The whole thing will be stopped. So it is very common sense affair, that consciousness, that is the main thing in this body. So any intelligent man with common sense can understand this. Now, what is this consciousness? This consciousness is the symptom of the soul.' - Lecture on B.G,March 25 1966 ' So, as we are also persons, individual living beings, we are persons, we have got our individuality, we are all individual, similarly the Supreme Truth, the Supreme Absolute, He is also, at the ultimate issue He is a person.' Lecture on B.G February 19-20 1966 Step 2: Know your duty Congratulations! You now have the understanding that you are not this body, but an eternal spirit soul, part and parcel of the supreme whole, Krishna. But as an eternal individual personality, you must have some activity to perform. Ever heard of the word Dharma? ' Real dharma is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna, and that real dharma is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja ( BG 18.66 ). "Just surrender unto me." This is real dharma. Surrender to Krishna and follow His instruction; your life will be perfect. Because you follow the perfect instruction, therefore you are also perfect. Simple process. To become perfect, we have to follow the perfect instruction.' - Lecture on B.G July 14 1973 And what is the instruction of Shri Krishna? ' Our business is to present Kṛṣṇa's message as it is. Then you become spiritual master. Spiritual master does not become grown just like tree. No. It is carrying the message from higher authorities as it is stated.' - Lecture on B.G May 9 1969 'This is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mission. He says, "You become a spiritual master." "How? I have no qualification." "No. You just accept my order?" "So what is your order, sir?" Yāre dekha , tāre kaha 'kṛṣṇa'- upadeśa : [ Cc. Madhya 7.128 ] "You simply speak the instruction of Kṛṣṇa whoever you meet. Then you become a spiritual master."' - Lecture on B.G April 4 1974 Step 3: Pray for mercy Shrila Prabhupada says if you want to be successful then you need two things, in any activity in Krsna consciousness two things are required, prayer and endeavor. You pray for the mercy, guidance, and intelligence and then you make an effort. It is also important to recieve the mercy of a bonafide spiritual master. ' There must be mercy both of them, guru and Kṛṣṇa . Without guru's kṛpā , one cannot reach Kṛṣṇa , and without Kṛṣṇa's kṛpā , one cannot get a bona fide spiritual master. This is correlative terms. So we should follow the disciplinary methods sincerely under the guidance of spiritual master.' - Lecture on S.B August 5 1975 Our bonafide spiritual master is Shrila Prabhupada . Luckily it is not so difficult to recieve their mercy, as Krishna and his associates are the most merciful. All we need is sincerity. As the spiritual master is the perfect representative of Krishna, following his instruction is equal to following the instruction of Krishna. Here are some instructions of Shrila Prabhupada, with the explanation of how following them can cultivate inspiration. Constantly chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. This purifies our mind from past sinful activites, and glorifies Krishna, the root of all existence. As, when you pour water on the root of a tree, all the branches and leaves are nourished, so when you glorify Krishna, you, as his eternal part and parcel, are also glorified. Following the 4 regulative principles. There are 4 regulative principles we must follow in order to accept Shrila Prabhupada as a spiritual master. No meat eating, no illicit sex, no intoxicants -and no gambling. These principles help you to keep a clean consciousness, which makes it easier to think of cool ways to serve Krishna. Read Shrila Prabupada's books. Shrila Prabhupada has written over 80 volumes of spiritual literature, glorifying Krishna and teaching us everything about how to live healthily and happily in Kali Yuga. Reading these books reminds us about how wonderful Krishna and his associates are and why we live to serve them. Krishna, also known as Syamasundara, the beautiful dark one.

Today is Vyasa Puja! This day marks the 128th year since Shrila Prabhupada appeared on earth, to spread Lord Caitanya's message. Here is an excerpt from the upcoming biography of Shrila Prabhupada, 'Bhaktivedanta,' compiled and edited by His Grace Purujit Dasa. Any man who has perfect knowledge of the constitution of the individual soul, the Supersoul, and nature—both material and spiritual—is called a dhira, or a most sober man. Such a man is never deluded by the change of bodies. Shrila Prabhupada recollects: "When I was about six months old, I still remember very vividly lying down on the lap of my eldest sister. She was at that time married, and she was knitting. I remember. I was seeing how she was knitting. Then when I was one and a half years old, I suffered from typhoid, and Dr. Kartik Chandra Bose said I should be given chicken juice. My father refused: 'No, no, we cannot.' But the doctor insisted: 'No, no, he has to be given. Now he has become very weak.' My father still did not agree: 'No, no. I cannot allow.' The doctor explained: 'It is necessary. He has become very weak. Don't mind, I shall prepare it in my own house, I shall send it to you, and you simply administer it.' So, my father then became convinced it was essential. The chicken juice was sent from the doctor's house, and when it was given to me, I immediately began to vomit. [laughter] And my father threw it away, and when the doctor persisted that this chicken juice was necessary, my father replied: 'Then don't bother.' This story I heard. This allopathetic system of medicine introduced all these things in India. Otherwise, they did not know. Meat-eating, chicken juice, tea, etc. were originally unknown to Indians. I also remember when I was only about one year old, there was a great sankirtana in our house, and I also joined the dancing party. I was seeing up to their knees, very small. I remember those days. In Kolkatta there was a very virulent type of plague epidemic in 1898. So, Kolkatta became devastated. All people practically left Kolkatta. Daily hundreds and hundreds of people were dying. I was one or one and a half years old. I had seen what was happening, but I did not know that there was a plague epidemic. Later on, I heard from my parents. So, when there was no other way, one babaji organized Hare Krishna sankirtana all over Kolkatta. And in the sankirtana, all people; Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, they all joined in. And they were going road to road, street to street, entering into every house, and they also came to Mahatma Gandhi Road, 151. We received the sankirtana party very nicely. There was a light, and I was very small, I was also dancing, I can remember. Just like our small children sometimes dance. I remember. I could see only up to the knees of the persons who joined. The plague subsided. This is a fact. Everyone who knows the history of Kolkatta will confirm that the plague was subsided by the sankirtana movement. Of course, we do not recommend that sankirtana should be used for some material purpose, that is nama-aparadha, an offense to the holy name. You can utilize sankirtana for some material purpose, but that is not allowed. That is nama-aparadha, because nama, the holy name of Krishna, and Krishna are identical. You cannot utilize Krishna for your personal, material benefit. That is aparadha. Krishna is the Lord. You cannot engage the Lord in your service. Similarly, you cannot utilize the holy name of the Lord for some material purpose. That is not allowed. So, anyway, because ye yatha mam prapadyante [Bg. 4.11]. If you want some material benefit by chanting Hare Krishna mantra, you'll get it, but that is nama-aparadha. You won't get the ecstasy of loving God. That is the aim of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra: to shall elevate yourself to the platform of loving God. That is required. Sa vai pumsam paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhoksaje [SB 1.2.6]. Not for utilizing the holy name for some material purpose. But this happened, we have got experience; I have heard, I have seen. I also remember how in our childhood we used to play a board game where one must throw dice and then go, go, go, and if he steps on the mouth of a serpent, he has to come back to the tail of the serpent and start all over again. Suppose one is on the 50th point and he lands on the mouth of the serpent; he then has to come to the 3rd point again. We used to play that game in our childhood. I was also very much fond of cycling. I was imagining, 'I have got this tricycle; I shall go to Europe, I shall go to the West, or some other country like that.' I was also thinking the tramcar was going on a trolley, so I could also stand on the tram line, take a stick, touch the wire and I would go. I was planning like that. (laughter) I used to think there was a man in a gramophone box. Any machine is wonderful, undoubtedly, but there is always a person behind it. For example, a computer is a wonderful machine, but there is a very expert programmer behind it. An aeroplane flies very wonderfully in the sky—but there is a pilot inside. A plane without a pilot or a plane where a pilot is not in order is dangerous. In this way, we have to study the adjustment in this material world. There are so many planets in the universe: the sun, the moon, the stars rotating under a gigantic cosmic arrangement—that is also a machine, only bigger. But who is the pilot of this bigger machine? Who is the conductor of this material manifestation? That is explained in the Bhagavad-gita: mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg.9.10]  The background manipulator is God, Krishna. The scientists, physicists, and chemists are trying to study only the machine, but they have no information of the person who is manipulating the machine. That is the defect of modern science. But this is the unique facility of the human form of life—to understand how God manipulates the workings of the material nature in the background. The cats and dogs cannot understand that, behind the machine, there is a person who is manipulating the machine. That requires intelligence. So, similarly, in our childhood, we thought that there must be a man who sings in the gramophone box, and in the fan there must be a ghost moving it. (laughter) I remember quite well. 'How are these records being played? There must be one man. As soon as the record is played, he sings.' I was thinking like that. And similarly, I could not understand how the electric fan was moving, but I gave a suggestion. That was intelligence—there must be somebody; otherwise, how is it moving? I was convinced that without somebody, it cannot play and cannot run. That requires intelligence. When I was three or four years old, I was saved. All my cloth burned, and there is a scar. I would have died that day, but fortunately I was saved. The cloth was burning. I was trying to burn matches and it caught my cloth. So, the cloth burned, but I did not burn. So many things, so many dangers, so many adventures. So, all those different stages of body, I remember." It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita:  prapya punya-krtam lokan usitva sasvatih samah sucinam srimatam gehe yoga-bhrasto 'bhijayate  The unsuccessful yogi, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy. (Bg.6.41) Shrila Prabhupada corroborates on this verse in the context of his own transcendental appearance: "By the grace of Krishna I got these two opportunities in the present life. Namely, I was born of a pious father, and I was brought up in one of the richest aristocratic families of Kolkatta. I was surrounded by Krishna consciousness. That was my great fortune. My father, mother, relatives, and neighborhood were all Krishna conscious. In this way, I had the opportunity to mix with the devotees. Everywhere there was a Krishna conscious atmosphere. And they were all well-to-do, rich. This was the opportunity which gradually developed. My maternal uncle was formerly rich, then his wealth was reduced, but they were very devoted. The whole house of my maternal aunt, my mother's elder sister, were all devotees. This was the society. All Vaisnavas. Not strictly following the Vaisnava regulations, but still, they were Krishna conscious. Even our maidservants were Krsna conscious. They were inviting their guru. They were trying to satisfy him, and they used to keep the guru to learn Srimad-Bhagavatam. That was the atmosphere in which I was raised. Even the maidservants were Krishna conscious." Even by the start of the 20th century, the social structure of all Indians was so arranged that they would not read any literature which was not connected with the activities of the Lord. They would not play any drama which was not connected with the Lord. They would not organize a fair or ceremony which was not connected with the Lord. Nor would they visit a place which was not holy and sanctified by the pastimes of the Lord. Therefore, even the common man in the village would talk about Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad-gita, and Bhagavatam even from his very childhood. Only by the influence of the age of Kali have they been dragged to the civilization of the dogs and hogs, laboring for bread without any sense of transcendental knowledge. Shrila Prabhupada remembers: "When we were about six years old, we saw every village, every town, there was transcendental knowledge. Any common man was able to speak about Ramayana, Mahabharata, or Lord Krishna. And the system was—it is still there, but practically closed now—that in the evening, in the village, everyone would assemble in a place to hear the messages from Mahabharata and Ramayana especially, because these two books can be understood by the common man. They did not discuss the Vedanta philosophy. My maternal uncle was living in the suburb of Kolkatta, about ten miles from our house. Sometimes when we used to go there, in the evening, after taking their meals, by eight o'clock, the family would go to an assembly to hear about Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavata and all the ladies and members would discuss. They would sit down. All the members of the neighboring people would come, a very big crowd, and they would hear, and whatever they could pay, they would pay. And with that impression, at nine o'clock or ten o'clock, they would go to bed. Very nice arrangement. Usually the meeting took place after dinner, and from about nine o'clock till ten or eleven, the discussion would go on. Then the members dispersed and went to their respective homes. We have seen it. And all the ladies throughout the whole road were discussing, "The priest told me..." They discussed very seriously to understand. They did not require any education. Simply by hearing they became advanced. This is recommended.  srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah hrdy antah stho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt satam  Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. (SB 1.2.17)  Just try to hear, hear, hear. Very nice process. And they would discuss while coming home, and go to bed thinking about that memory. So they would dream also about Ramayana and Mahabharata. This was the system. And in the Bhagavad-gita it is said: yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad-bhava-bhavitah Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail. (Bg.8.6) In India, all dramatical performances were centred round the superhuman activities of the Supreme Lord. The common people, although having no academic qaulifcations, would be entertained by the performances of dramas and Jatra parties exhibiting the superhuman activities of the Lord, and thus even the illiterate agriculturist would be educated in the knowledge of Vedic literature. Therefore, expert players in drama, dancers, singers, speakers etc. are required for spiritual enlightenment of the common man. Everything is so perfectly arranged according to the Vedic system. When a woman is pregnant, there are so many ceremonies. When we were children, I was the middle child, and I saw my other brothers and sisters born. So, there was some ceremony, and we were eating with my mother in that ceremony. That ceremony was held because my mother was pregnant. It is called sad-bhaksa. There are ten kinds of ceremonies, before the birth and after the birth of a child, dasa-vidha-samskara. My mother was observing so many religious ceremonies, and all the expenditure was paid by my father. Every month, there were two to three very nice ceremonies. We were children; we were eating. A brahmana priest would come; there would be puja. There would be a nice feast. Now those things are gone. During our wife's time they were not doing anymore, what to speak of our daughter's time? Now generation by generation they are giving it up.” According to Vedic culture, even if a young woman is given an old husband, she must respectfully serve him. This is chastity. It is not that because she dislikes her husband that she may give him up and accept another. This is against Vedic culture, which advocates that a woman must accept the husband given to her by her parents and remain chaste and faithful to him. Shrila Prabhupada remembers: “There was one old man. I used to call his wife didi; sister, eldest sister. At that time, he was at least seventy years old. And his wife died, so he had no children, so he married again. He was an old husband with a young wife, but the relationship was so nice. He was a great devotee and the wife was devoted. Formerly, even at the age of eighty, they used to marry. There were many cases. If he had no family members he would marry again, although it was the subject of criticism. But it was the custom. In the Bhagavatam, there are also many instances where a very old man married. Anyway, this gentleman was such a nice devotee. Because later on he retired—he was a pleader—so whole day and night, he was simply a devotee. Sometimes he would offer obeisances to the Deity. He was an old man, and he would fall asleep while paying his respects. And he would remain in that position for two or three hours. And he would go to the Ganges daily. His name was Nanda Dulal Gosai. Simply by thinking of him, I am being purified. What a great devotee he was. He was observing some of the festivals, I think, Janmastami or Nandotsava, something, inviting friends, offering good prasadam. And he was living in a quarter full of low-class Muhammadans. At that time, they were so friendly. Muhammadans were also religious. One Muhammadan gentleman, Dinuniya, he was formerly Hindu. He also made so many charitable institutions. He had an orphan house. He was cutting the throats of chickens on the street. We were accustomed. His servant would do it. But we have seen it. Then there was one middleman. Every criminal has got an organization to bribe the police. And the police do not take the bribe directly, but there is some in-between man, an agent who collects from the criminal and gives it to the police. In India, this is going on. I know that. And the via-media man makes a fortune. Yes. Whatever is collected, ten percent he takes, and balance is given to the police. There is a confectioner in Delhi. He is selling jalebi (a kind of deep-fried sweet). He has got ten lakhs of rupees because he collects the bribe from others and pays to the police. Everyone knows. There was one Mullik, now, on that Mahatma Gandhi Road. That was his business. He was collecting. Also in our childhood days, we have seen in Kolkatta, there was a special quarter of the bhattacarya brahmanas. The bhattacarya brahmanas' business is that if you have committed some sinful act, you should immediately go and consult the bhattacarya: 'What is the process of prayascitta?' Just like you go in case of disease, consult a physician, and take his prescription and diagnosis, similarly, that was the Vedic system. If you want to be free from the reaction of the sinful activities in this life—exactly in the same way as Christian Bible advises that you have to make some atonement, go to the church and confess your sinful activities and pay some fine—exactly in the same way in Vedic scriptures also, that 'Before death you must make some atonement; otherwise you will continue in your next life.' Tasmat puraivasv iha papa-niskrtau yateta mrtyor avipadyatatmana [SB 6.1.8] 'Before you meet your death, you should atone.' Dosasya drstva guru-laghavam yatha: and you have to atone for your sins according to their gravity. Yatha bhisak cikitseta rujam nidanavit. Just like nidanavit. Nidana means an expert physician. He prescribes medicine and advises treatment according to the gravity of the disease. Similarly, you have to undergo atonement for your sinful activities according to their gravity. That is the system. One of our relatives, long, long ago, went to England and became a doctor, and when he came back home to India, the brahmanas prescribed that, 'You went to England, so you have to make this prayascitta and so many prescriptions, and unless you follow the prayascitta, you cannot live at home. Then your family will be extricated.' So when these things were presented to him he said, 'Then I am going out of home.' Also, in Bengal, there were professional gurus. They travel from one house to another. Our paternal guru was coming like that. I was initiated by that professional guru at the age of twelve years. Eventually I rejected him. Later on, as a young man and a manager in Dr. Bose's laboratory, I accepted Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami when my friend, Narend Mullik, took me. There is a direction: For a real guru one can give up a professional guru." Shrila Prabhupada describes his relation to the Kashinath Mullik family: "Although my father was not very rich, he was a pure Vaisnava, a great devotee of Lord Krsna, and accidentally I was born in Kashi Mullik's family, which is a very rich and aristocratic family. I did not belong to that family, but I was born in that family when my father was staying there. It was practically the same family. I was known as one of the children of Mullik's family, and other neighborhood men would know that I belonged to the Mullik family. Because the house in which my parents were living belonged to that family. Although later they reduced in wealth, at that time, Kashinath Mullik's family were the most aristocratic family of Kolkatta. There are even roads named after Kashinath Mullik. The house my parents were living in belonged to Kashinatha's second brother. His wife was still living, and she was a distant grandmother to us. She had no children on her own. The house where I grew up was at 151 Harrison Road, now Mahatma Gandhi road, and it was originally purchased by the late Siva Prasad Jhunjhun Mullick. The number of the house where my parents stayed was 151, in the middle there was number 153, and the Mulliks' house was at 155. This grandmother's stepson sold the house to a Marwari man without her knowledge. In those days, one of the Mullik houses would sell for 12,000 rupees. One bigha of land and a grand building. So it was unknown to the stepmother that the stepson sold it. Then she appealed to the high-court that, 'I belong to a respectable family, and my spoiled stepson has sold the house without my knowledge, so where shall I go?' The high-court considered that, 'The drunkard son has sold her house at a cheap price, and she belongs to a respectable family, where she'll go?' And the high-court's order was, 'Half of the house shall be used by this lady and during her lifetime the Marwari who purchased cannot take possession of the house.' So under that grandmother, my parents used to live. On the roof of the house, there were trees, plants, and flower plants, and the grandmother would take care of them and engage all her grandchildren, which were about half a dozen, in watering them. The water was brought from downstairs; two or three stories down in a sprinkling can, and then brought up and emptied in the garden. The children took much pleasure in watering. It was good exercise and sport simultaneously, a kind of competition between the children. My special tendency, however, was that along with the plants, I would sit down within the bushes. And I would sit down for hours. In my maternal uncle's house also, as soon as I found some bush, I would make a sitting place. Formerly, either Indian, American, or European aristocracy was the same—big, big rooms, very decorated; This was Kolkatta aristocracy. They would have a separate house for men, a separate house for women, a separate house for the kitchen, and a separate house for the toilet. In the same way, although the Mullik family was very big, they had many separate houses. A woman's house where nobody could go; that was inside. Then the outside house, then the house of worship. All separate. Not that everything is within the apartment. That is a European invention. Those houses are now gone. No attached bathroom. Because there was service, so how could it be an attached bathroom? There was a big separate house only for passing stool. And if possible, a lake within the house. An aristocratic family would have a lake within the house for using water within the boundary of the  compound. The ranna badi (kitchen), vaikanna badi (brother's daughter quarters), meyeder badi (elder daughter's quarters), and the purusder (men's quarters). Four different courtyards. And who cared for city life in those days? Nobody. Everyone was satisfied in a village. General people would not come to the city. Only the servant class. What business did they have in the city? Their main income was from the field, krsi-go-raksya [Bg.18.44]. Big zamindars had nothing to do in the city personally. Their managers and sircars were collecting money. That's all. And for their extra money, they were constructing Thakura badis (temples) and organizing festivals. They devoted their money for Krishna consciousness. That was aristocracy. One of such temples was the Mullik's Radha-Govinda temple. It is said, idam sariram ksetram: to own a piece of land is basic civilization. Everyone must have a portion of land to produce his food. Then there will be no economic problem. And we have seen even in our childhood that poor men, laborer class, servants, came from the village to the town. We were residents of the town, Kolkatta, and the servant class would come from the outside. Not just in Kolkatta, but everywhere. The villagers would come and earn a small salary. In our young days, we were paying the servants fourteen rupees salary without any food, and still, from that they would save at least ten to twelve rupees. The servant would send this money to his wife at home, and as soon as there was two hundred rupees saved, he would purchase a piece of land. In this way, when he got sufficient land for producing food for the whole family, he would stop coming to the city for working.   RADHA GOVINDA TEMPLE   To take birth in a rich man's family means to get the association of those who generally have some spiritual inclination. In India, there are still very rich men who, instead of wasting their money in nightclubs, utilize whatever they have in a meaningful way. There are Birlas, Dalmias, and many other big families. Those who follow the Vedic culture maintain a worship of some Deity— either the Deity of Laksmi-Narayana or Radha-Krsna. The Mullik's family, for example, regularly worshipped the Radha-Govinda Deity. If one gets the chance to take birth in such family, he automatically becomes pure. Srila Prabhupada had the opportunity to associate with the Radha-Govinda Deities of the Mulliks from his very childhood. He described his relationship to these Deities as follows: "When we were playing there, I was seeing the Deity and I questioned, 'Is God here?' I was standing before the Deity, and I saw, 'Oh, this is Krishna! People say He is dead, but how can He be dead?' I was thinking like that. I was seeing the Krsna Deity. I still remember. I was standing for hours together. When I think of Radha-Krishna, I first think of the Radha-Govinda form of Mullik's temple, because from my very childhood I have been devoted to the same Deity. They were the source of my enjoyment. It can be practically seen that these facilities are given by the Lord. The Lord is always prepared to give us facility to come to Him. He simply wants to see that we are sincere. That's all." The Radha-Govinda Deity is a very old Deity worshiped in the Mullik family. It was established approximately in the 1700's by the mother of Kashinath Mullik, and it is said that her husband's name was Gaura Mohan Mullik. Gradually, the whole quarter belonged to the Mullik family. Previously, there was a very big building in front of the temple, which was also the property of Radha-Govinda. Srila Prabhupada's house was just behind the present Govinda Bhavan, and from there he had the opportunity of seeing Radha-Govinda from his very childhood. In fact, when he was three or four years old, he used to visit these Radha-Govinda Deities daily. The temple was part of Shrila Prabhupada's family house. Radha-Govinda had a big property and many other lands, and thus the Mulliks had a very good income. They were one of the oldest aristocratic families in Kolkatta, and their property extended all the way from Howrah Bridge up to the street. Since the Deity had such good income, the family members would worship the Deity in terms, and one who got the term would also take the income. The longer the term, the higher the income. In all the temples in India, the Deities have a good income. Even if no contribution comes, the worship does not stop for want of money. A provision is made so the worship can go on under any circumstances. It does not mean that if no one collects anything the temple is to be closed. It must go on. The service is eternal. That is the system in all Indian temples, and all the big temples in Vrndavana follow that arrangement.  Shrila Prabhupada and his companions, as children, were going here and there around the neighborhood, and they could see that in all the houses, there were devotees living. Although their character was not very good, even the maidservants and servants were devotees. It was a wonderful atmosphere that one will not find today. And the center of all activity was the Mulliks' Radha-Govinda Mandir. Some of the Mulliks were rich capitalists, and it was the custom that all rich men would keep a prostitute. But they were devotees. In the morning, after their taking bath, changing clothes, and performing all other duties, they would have to go and see Radha-Govinda. Without seeing Radha-Govinda, they would not take their breakfast. The Deity was very nicely worshiped at that time with dresses, jewelry, and foodstuff. The pujaris would offer on the plate very big, first class crispy kacauris (fried, stuffed breads), luci (fried bread), and also ghee, rabri (thickened and sweeted milk), and similar other preparations, and the Mulliks would keep some prasadam as a balance. The men from the neighborhood would sell it, so there was prasadam distribution as well. Shrila Prabhupada humbly remarks: "This Ratha-yatra, Radha-Govinda seva, and prasada distribution was my training since childhood. Actually, whatever devotional activities I have introduced in the Western countries, I have learned in my childhood. I simply imitated."

Envy is a horrible feeling. We often feel a deep uneasiness when we are met with the good fortune of another. ‘She is singing so beautifully, why is my face starting to frown?’ It is quite an inconceivable sensation, and it comes from our original envy of Krishna. This ghastly affliction is exactly what led to our fall down from Vaikuntha, and is keeping us trapped in this duḥkhālayam, place of miseries . If you’re tired of the shaky breath, stiff face/limbs and general uncomfortable energy, keep reading. Shrila Prabhupada says: one who is not free from the contamination of envy cannot advance in Krishna consciousness. So here are 5 tips for curbing envy, with supporting quotes from our dear spiritual master. Sri Krishna, Srimati Radharani and the gopis Give praise to the devotees “spiritual quality means to praise good quality. "Oh, you are so nice, you have got so good quality." That is spiritual.” But this is not to say that we can give praise to any old person. “They are all ass, camels, dogs, like that and they are praising each other. "Oh, you have discovered this. Oh, how nice you are. (laughter) How nice you are." But we understand the praiser and the praised, both are dogs and cats.” Specifically the devotees of the lord must be praised. “The Lord declares very emphatically that worship of His devotee is more valuable than the worship of the Lord Himself.” Focus on your sadhana. There is no space for envy when you are fully absorbed in the service of Krishna. “Śrī Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has given us an authorized program for this purpose, centered around the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. This chanting has so much power that it immediately attaches one to Krishna. That is the beginning of sadhana-bhakti. Somehow or other, one has to fix his mind on Krishna. Decrease material desires… “One who is not Krishna conscious is subjected to material desires while contemplating the objects of the senses. The senses require real engagements, and if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they will certainly seek engagement in the service of materialism.” “Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them.” Transcend the material body “the process of hearing and chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord washes away the dirty things accumulated in the core of the heart. As soon as one is freed from all the dirt of material contamination, as Mahārāja Yayāti was, one's original position as an associate of the Lord is revealed. This is called svarūpa-siddhi, or personal perfection.” Vaikuntha means no anxiety. This means that when one transcends the material body, there is no more fear, hankering, lamentation, anger and NO MORE ENVY!

This month, from the 23rd October till the 21st November 2024, marks the most auspicious time of the year, Kartik season. In this divine period, followers of Shri Krishna celebrate his mischevious child incarnation, Lord Damodara, meaning 'roped around the abdomen.' Devotees offer a candle to the deity of Lord Damodara and chant this mystical Bhajan, the Damodarastakam, written by Vyasadeva. Lord Damodara is bound by Mother Yasoda's love namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ gokule bhrājamanam  yaśodā-bhiyolūkhalād dhāvamānaṁ  parāmṛṣṭam atyantato drutya gopyā To the Supreme Lord, whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula, who I (due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing) is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of mother Yasoda, but who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed--to that Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.   rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantam  karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram muhuḥ śvāsa-kampa-trirekhāṅka-kaṇṭha-  sthita-graivaṁ dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham (Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances. itīdṛk sva-līlābhir ānanda-kuṇḍe  sva-ghoṣaṁ nimajjantam ākhyāpayantam  tadīyeṣita-jñeṣu bhaktair jitatvaṁ  punaḥ prematas taṁ śatāvṛtti vande   By such childhood pastimes as this He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy, and is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence that He is only conquered by devotees whose pure love is imbues with intimacy and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times. varaṁ deva mokṣaṁ na mokṣāvadhiṁ vā  na canyaṁ vṛṇe ‘haṁ vareṣād apīha  idaṁ te vapur nātha gopāla-bālaṁ  sadā me manasy āvirāstāṁ kim anyaiḥ   O Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon (which may be obtained by executing the nine processes of bhakti). O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this? idaṁ te mukhāmbhojam atyanta-nīlair  vṛtaṁ kuntalaiḥ snigdha-raktaiś ca gopyā  muhuś cumbitaṁ bimba-raktādharaṁ me manasy āvirāstām alaṁ lakṣa-lābhaiḥ   O Lord, Your lotus face, which is encircled by locks of soft black hair tinged with red, is kissed again and again by mother Yasoda, and Your lips are reddish like the bimba fruit. May this beautiful vision of Your lotus face be ever manifest in my heart. Thousands and thousands of other benedictions are of no use to me. namo deva dāmodarānanta viṣṇo  prasīda prabho duḥkha-jālābdhi-magnam  kṛpā-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭyāti-dīnaṁ batānu  gṛhāṇeṣa mām ajñam edhy akṣi-dṛśyaḥ   O Supreme Godhead, I offer my obeisances unto You. O Damodara! O Ananta! O Vishnu! O master! O my Lord, be pleased upon me. By showering Your glance of mercy upon me, deliver this poor ignorant fool who is immersed in an ocean of worldly sorrows, and become visible to my eyes. kuverātmajau baddha-mūrtyaiva yadvat  tvayā mocitau bhakti-bhājau kṛtau ca  tathā prema-bhaktiṁ svakāṁ me prayaccha  na mokṣe graho me ‘sti dāmodareha O Lord Damodara, just as the two sons of Kuvera, Manigriva and Nalakuvara, were delivered from the curse of Narada and made into great devotees by You in Your form as a baby tied with rope to a wooden grinding mortar, in the same way, please give to me Your own prema-bhakti. I only long for this and have no desire for any kind of liberation.   namas te ‘stu dāmne sphurad-dīpti-dhāmne  tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne  namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai  namo ‘nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam O Lord Damodara, I first of all offer my obeisances to the brilliantly effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.

Throughout history, preachers of God consciousness have been persecuted by atheistic society. In a world where the goal of life is seemingly to gratify the senses, the advocaters of penance and austerity are very threatening. Krishna conscious devotees today also undergo persecution from the general public, through undue chastisement and harrassment on the streets and online. Here are some quotes from Shrila Prabhupada, to help us understand the persecution of saintly persons. Lord Jesus preached the message of God despite all persecution So this persecution of devotees, it is from the very beginning. He was persecuted . So not in this age. Devotees are supposed to be persecuted all the time. (Shrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.2.8) So Jesus was trying to teach religion to murderers, so they murdered him. (Morning Walk) "Just like Lord Jesus Christ. He was being crucified. Still, he was saying, 'My father, they do not know what they are doing.' Is it not? He is so much compassionate that 'These rascals do not know what they are doing, rascals. Still, I request You to forgive them.' This is Vaiṣhṇava. Personally he is suffering, but he is still compassionate." (Lecture, Rome, May 27, 1974) "Lord Jesus preached the message of God and I have taken up the same mission, and it would be a good luck for me if I can follow the foot prints of Lord Jesus who preached the message of God in spite of all persecution. Lord Jesus is a living example how one has to suffer in this material world simply for the matter of preaching the message of God." (Shrila Prabhupada Letter, November 19, 1965) Regarding harassment of our devotees, Yes, this is not a new thing in the history of the world that preachers are sometimes persecuted. But at the present status of civilization I do not think anybody will be crucified like Lord Jesus Christ. Hiranyakasipu persecuted his own son and only five years old. So the demons and atheists are always prepared to give trouble to the devotees. Sometimes the demons like Kamsa are prepared to kill God even. During Lord Caitanya's time Thakura Haridasa was also persecuted and put into jail. Not only that, he was whipped in twenty-two market places, but still the demons could not come out successful in the snubbing down of the Hare Krsna Movement. So do not be worried about this. Go on about your business. Krsna will give you all help, rest assured. Simply stick to you work seriously and sincerely. (Letter to Upendra, L.A 15 July 1970) When something is arranged by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one should not be disturbed by it, even if it appears to be a reverse according to one's calculations. For example, sometimes we see that a powerful preacher is killed, or sometimes he is put into difficulty, just as Haridāsa Ṭākura was. He was a great devotee who came into this material world to execute the will of the Lord by preaching the Lord's glories. But Haridāsa was punished at the hands of the Kazi by being beaten in twenty-two marketplaces. Similarly, Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, and Prahlāda Mahārāja was put through so many tribulations. The Pāṇḍavas, who were direct friends of Kṛiṣhṇa, lost their kingdom, their wife was insulted, and they had to undergo many severe tribulations. Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhāgavatam's conclusion is that a devotee is never disturbed by such reverses. He accepts even reverse conditions as the grace of the Lord. One who continues to serve the Lord even in reverse conditions is assured that he will go back to Godhead, back to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. (SB 3.16.37, Purport )

The following is an excerpt from the first issue of Shrila Prabhupada's Back To Godhead magazine printed in India in 1944. There are various references to the ten offenses in Shrila Prabhupada's books. This one is especially noteworthy for its detailed elaboration. All the devotees must carefully study what the offenses are and try to avoid them. The sincere devotee who wants to attain a perfection (Siddhi) for himself by the process of chanting the Name of the Lord must refrain from the ten kinds of offences which are quoted below from the "Padmapuranam." 1. The first and foremost offence is the act of defaming the great saints who have glorified the chanting of the Name of the Lord by example in their own life and precepts. According to ordinary moral principles no one must be defamed for serving any ulterior motive. But still according to the gravity of different offences, defamation of Saints who have done much for the propagation of the Name of God and His Fame must be considered the gravest of all offences. Those who are therefore accustomed to defame such saints, are spiritually great offenders and such persons can have no access to the transcendental Name of the Lord. We should therefore be guard against such offence. 2. The second offence is to place the Absolute Godhead or Vishnu Tattwa in the category of the demigods who derive their powers from the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is one without a second and all other gods are His servitors, having no separate existence as another Almighty Godhead. These subordinate gods are stated in the Geeta as "Anya devata" i.e., gods other than Myself (Shree Krishna) Jepyanya devata bhakta jajante shradhyannita Teopi mam eba Kounteya jajantee avidi purbakam This abidhipurbakam means unduly or with offensives. The Supreme Godhead is Sree Krishna undoubtedly and this is confirmed in all the scriptures and specially in the Brahma Samhita as follows:- Ishvara parama Krishna sachchitananda vigraha Anadiradi Govinda Sarbakarana karanam. i.e., Shree Krishna is the primeval Lord and Origin of everything. He is the cause of all causes. He is the Summum Bonum Absolute Godhead. The Plenary Manifestations of Sree Krishna are manifold such as Rama, Nrisingha, Vishnu etc. But all such manifestations are Absolute knowledge. No one is therefore equal or greater than the Absolute Knowledge. This subject is itself a matter of studies by transcendentalists but without knowing the intricacy of the Absolute knowledge, those who simply imagine that the Absolute Godhead and subordinate demigods are one and the same commit great offence at the feet of the Supreme Lord. The subordinate gods such as Shiva, Brahma, Ganesh, Surya, Indra, Chandra, Varuna, Vaue etc., are either qualitative incarnations of the Absolute Godhead or in other cases Jiva souls with delegated powers from the Personality of Godhead. Neither existence of the demigods shall be misconceived nor they should be made one and the same with the Absolute Personality of Godhead. Those who want to attain perfection in the way of chanting the Names of the Lord must refrain from such conglomeration of facts in the spiritual science. The third offence is disregard of the Spiritual Master. The devotee must receive the transcendental Name of the Lord from the transcendental lips of a bonafide spiritual master who is cent per cent devotee of the Lord and nothing more or nothing less and then begin chanting the transcendental Name of the Lord by constant repetition. Such spiritual master as above mentioned is known as the Guru from whom either initiation is taken or the one from whom spiritual instruction is received. One should have unflinching faith in such self realised transcendental spiritual master. The bonafides of such spiritual master can however be known, by their activities only which are always evident in respect of everything being done for and on behalf of the Lord. The self-realised spiritual master never deviates from the rulings of Shastras (Law Books) and he always does in practice what he speaks in theory. Those who however manufacture spiritual lessons from their own fertile brain, without having undergone any spiritual training from a bonafide spiritual master, cannot be counted as a spiritual master. Disrespect for such bonafide spiritual master and respect for the pseudo-spiritual master both are offences of the third order. The fourth offence is defamation of the standard scriptures such as the four Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Brahmasutras, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Geeta, or other literatures which conform to the principles of the above mentioned scriptures. In the Geeta Sree Krishna Himself accepts 'Brahmasutras' or 'Vedanta Darshan' as the standard of all spiritual knowledge. "Brahmasutrapadaschaiba Hetumatvinischitam" In the spiritual society no sect or Sampradaya is considered as bonafide party who has no authorised interpretation of the Brahmasutras. (Interpretation of "Brahmasutra" by the party represented by Lord Chaitanya is known as "Govinda Vashya" of Acharya Baladeva Vidyabhusan). Those who therefore invent some spiritual party without knowing the Brahmasutra from an authorised spiritual master or do interpret without proper reason and philosophy, do simply create disturbances in the spiritual line without doing any benefit to himself or to his unfortunate followers. Sreela Rupa Goswami describes such unauthorised activities as follows:- Sruti Smriti Puranadi Pancharatrabidhin bina Aikantiki Harerbhakti utpataiba kalpate. Pseudo-devotional activities without reference to the standard scriptures as above mentioned, are simply acts of disturbances in the name of spirituality. The performer of Samkirtan must refrain from such disturbing elements. The fifth offence is to misunderstand the glorification of the transcendental Name of the Lord as exaggerated facts. Actually by the chanting of the transcendental Name of the Lord, all gains be it material or spiritual are automatically obtained. It is simply a question of time that takes for the fructification of the desired result. But those who think, without attaining to perfection, that such results are exaggeration of facts, do commit offence of the fifth order. The performer of Samkirtan must refrain from such misrepresentation of facts. The sixth offence is to manufacture concocted or designed meanings of the Names of Hari (The Lord) or that of the scriptural truths. One can directly understand that the word 'Hari' means the Personality of Godhead Who is Eternal Bliss, Eternal Knowledge, and Eternal Form but without knowing the intricacy of the Lord's form etc., those who think 'Hari' means the Impersonal Brahman do commit offence of the sixth order. There are others who are still less intelligent and do manufacture meanings of the word "Sree Krishna" as the mind (?) Rama as satisfaction and similar other things. Such manufacturers of distorted meanings do not generally take what is direct and spontaneous interpretation but they always try to enforce indirect interpretations for their own temporary benefit only. They are also great offenders and the performer of Samkirtan must carefully take leave of them. The seventh offence is to indulge in vices on the strength of chanting the Name of the Lord. Those who are really recipient of the transcendental Name of the Lord from the transcendental sources, and those who chant the Name of the Lord very carefully without any offence as above mentioned, cannot naturally indulge in vices as a matter of course. But for the reason of that those who intentionally commit vices knowing that they are always with the Lord (?),-are the greatest of all offenders and their counteracting endeavours for the vices committed during the day time, by the chanting of the Name of the Lord, in the evening, cannot be accepted as Samkirtan at any cost. One should always guard himself against such pseudo-spiritual devices for the well being of one's ownself as well as one's followers. This sort of offences can be compared with the act of pouring water on the fire while it is burning. Water pouring and burning of the fire cannot go together. The eighth offence is to equalise the value of all good works with the chanting of the transcendental Name of the Lord. Penances, austerity, meditation, fasting, methodism, morality or such goodness that lead the performer to higher stations of life, cannot be equalised with Sree Krishna Samkirtan. Those who do like that, are also offenders at the feet of the transcendental Name. The results of all the above mentioned good works are after all material in nature because they can offer in return material prosperities only and are therefore limited within time and space. But the transcendental Name of the Lord and the Lord Himself are non-different. As such realisation of the Absolute Truth cannot be compared with relative goodness. The performer of Samkirtan must be on his guard against commitment of offence of the eighth order. The ninth offence is to preach and advise of the transcendental nature of the Name of Lord to such a person who is atheistic in temperament, mundane moralists, and addicted to elevatory process only. Unless one has cleansed his heart from such contaminations, he can hardly be eligible for receiving the transcendental Name of the Lord. There are many professional spiritual masters whose business is to sell the transcendental Name of the Lord (?) and these traders generally sell to persons who are altogether unfit. Such business transactions on considerations of L.S.D. exchanged between the spiritual master and the so-called disciple are undoubtedly great offences. The student of Samkirtan must refrain from the association of such pseudo-spiritualists in order to achieve perfection in the process of Samkirtan. The tenth and the last but not the least offence to the lotus feet of the transcendental Name of the Lord is either to become inattentive to all the above offences or not to take to the chanting of the transcendental Name of the Lord in spite of hearing all the glories of the system. A serious student of Samkirtan can get rid of all the above offences if he desires so, knowing well the different forms of offences and by refraining from them by all possible precautions. This can however be done without difficulty by continuous chanting of the Name of the Lord and for such constant reciter of the transcendental name of the Lord, there is no room for committing such offences. In conclusion we may add that without culture nothing can be made to perfection. The culture of the science of Samkirtan is Sree Krishna Himself, both being non-different. In mundane matters only the means and the end are different from one another. But in the transcendence the means and the end are non-different. In preparatory stage only, for chanting the Name of the Lord, there is every chance for committing the above offences but for the reason of that we must not be disheartened at the least. We should always remember that both the preparatory stage and the perfection stage of Samkirtan is nothing but Samkirtan. The difference of these two stages are realisation and non-realisation only. As a matter of fact therefore all people must be led to the Science of Samkirtan by all means and they shall be engaged in the culture of the science by Samkirtan only. The offences as described above if kept in view, the sincere culturists will be able to avoid them without difficulty. In the "Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu" of Sreela Rupa Goswami, it is said that the mind must be fixed up in the chanting of the Name and the regulations are to serve them as subordinate servants. The sowing of the seed of Samkirtan must be performed immediately unto the heart of every one and all and the watering process of the seed so sown must be done by constant hearing and chanting in the association of devotees. When the seed sprouts at the heart, the gardener must protect it from all sides by guarding against the above mentioned offences. In this process the seed of Samkirtan will grow up to a big tree when the nectorine fruit of Love of God shall automatically ripe and the gardener will be able to taste the same transcendentally, sell it and make a huge profit thereof. Om tat sat. (The Science of Congregational Chanting of the Name of the Lord (Sankirtan))

Srila Prabhupada and His Disciples In this striking conversation Shrila Prabhupada explains how the body of Jesus Christ is spiritual and therefore can never be killed. The same applies to any pure devotee's body. Yogeshvara: He (the Bishop) says that he finds many things agreeable in this Vedic tradition, but he says that he thinks it might be a mistake to say that the Bible is exactly the same thing as the Vedas. He says there are still distinctions. Prabhupada: Then, then, distinction, then it is to be considered which is perfect, the later edition or the original. (French) Jyotirmayi: They are saying that according to their understanding, God revealed Himself little by little, and then at certain moment, He revealed Himself in His totality. But in the Vedic literature, there it is said that the whole knowledge was given at the beginning. Everything together. He said that he's very much respecting your research, and that he's asking that we should not say that these two research in Christianism and the Vedas, the scriptures, are the same. They are two different things. (French) Yogeshvara: He says, for example, the verse you read yesterday, that was similar to what is taught in the Vedas, but if we take the rest of that chapter from the Bible, we find some discrepancies, differences. Prabhupada: What is that? (French) Yogeshvara: For example, in that chapter, it also says that the word of God became flesh and that flesh was the son of God, Lord Jesus Christ. Prabhupada: But that means Jesus Christ is transcendental, not of this material world. (French) Yogeshvara: They say... They accept... They think that Lord Jesus, however, was a human being. He was spiritual, but also he was part of this material world. Prabhupada: No, material world is part of Jesus Christ, but Jesus Christ is not part of material world. (French) Yogeshvara: He says that they had a human body, he had a material body. Prabhupada: That human body appears like that, but he had no this material flesh and blood. A material body, how there can be resurrection? Yogesvara: If it was material body, how is it possible for him to be resurrected? (French) Prabhupada: Is that all right? Jyotirmayi: They said it is by the acintya power of God. Prabhupada: These, these rascals, they thought that "Jesus had a material body. Let us kill him." So Jesus Christ bewildered them more, to remain rascal, that they will continue to think that Jesus had a material body. Jyotirmayi: Bewildered them? Yogesvara: Yes, he bewildered them more by saying: "All right, go on thinking like that." Prabhupada: That is their punishment. They remain always in darkness that Jesus had a material body. (French) Jyotirmayi: So he's saying that he respects your explanation, but that the Christians, they have another explanation, and that if we... Prabhupada: But we must come to the reason before giving explanation. You cannot explain... Yogesvara: What is the reason for his incarnation? Prabhupada: You cannot explain whimsically. You cannot explain whimsically. If Jesus Christ is son of God, he has... That means he has got spiritual body. You... French Woman: Yes, we accept that he got the has got spiritual body, but we say that he assumed also a material body. Prabhupada: Now, then, then, another thing is: you accept Jesus Christ the only son of God, is it not? So when you pray in the church, you address God, "Oh Father." Then why "only son"? French Woman: We say that the son is... Prabhupada: Then everyone is son. French Woman: Yes, we say that this is the same God, yes. Prabhupada: If I address God, "My father," then I am his son. So why there should be "only son"? (French) French Woman: Yes, we say that we are adopted sons. (laughter) (French) Jyotirmayi: They say that they are sons, that all living beings are sons, but by adoption. Yogehsvara: Adopted son. Yes. Prabhupada: So therefore these sons' body and Jesus's body cannot be equal. So adopted son has got material body, not the real son. (French) Yogeshvara: Their idea is that: Yes, of course, Lord Jesus, being the son of God, his body is spiritual, but because he wanted to take part in the life of the human beings on earth, he actually accepted a material body just to live among men. Prabhupada: Why he should accept? French Woman: But we have a vesper that says that he was died, that he was suffering, and things which show that... Prabhupada: But his death... You think that he was died, but he resurrected. French Woman: But the gospel says that he had died. Prabhupada: That's all right. French Woman: You cannot... We accept the totality of the word, as you accept your word. Prabhupada: No. No, no. "Died" means that is similar death. Janma karma me divyam [Bg. 4.9]. Just like Christ take birth from the womb of Mary. It appears like that, but actually that is not. (French) French Woman: No, it is very important that the death of Christ is a real death. For us, it is the center of our faith. Yogeshvara: They say that the central point of their philosophy is that Lord Jesus actually died. (French) Prabhupada: No, according to Vedic conception, even ordinary living being, he does not die. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. You understand Sanskrit? French Woman: No, I don't understand it by hearing it. You have to read it. Prabhupada: Na hanyate, does not die, hanyamane sarire, apparently, the body being dead, the soul is never dead. (French) Yogeshvara: So... Shall I explain that one? What the good Pastor -- are they called Pastor? -- describes is that in order for there to be a dialogue, we have to respect each others' positions, not that we will try to convert the other. He says just as we respect you have an absolute faith in the Vedic philosophy, so also there must be respect that the Christian interpretation of the life of Lord Jesus and his death... Prabhupada: Oh, I think I have better respect than him to Jesus Christ. I say he does not die. He says he dies. (French) So far respect is concerned, I have more respect than them. They want to see Jesus Christ dead. I don't want to see him dead. Room Conversation with devotees about Twelfth Canto Kali-yuga, and Conversation with Guest -- June 15, 1974, Paris