1

Dedication
This book is dedicated to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who has benefited the whole
world with precious spiritual wisdom that is yet to be acknowleded as such.
Text editing: !abanalatika devi dasi "S#A$, %SA
Introduction
#ear readers,
This book contains answers to many &uestions which people worldwide pose to the members
of 'S(C)* "'nternational Society for (rishna Consciousness$. 'S(C)*, better known as the
+are (rishna movement, has been present in the world for more than four decades. Thouh
there are many people who have heard of the movement, factually a relatively small number
know what it is all about. ,e know this from practical e-perience, for almost every day we
meet some individuals who are sceptical, envious or antaonistic. !ed by presumptions that
have their source in misinformation deliberately spread and broadcast by the media, anti.cult
roups and fanatical adherents of the world/s leadin reliions, many people wronly think
that in the backround of the +are (rishna movement lies a vast array of clandestine and
immoral activities that are harmful to mankind.
Credibility of the te-t that follows can be easily verified. All you would need is to read any of
the books written and0or commented upon by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, or to
visit any of our temples and talk to some of the members of our society. There is a sayin1 2'f
you want to know about a cake, you have to try it34 'ndeed, what is the point or value in
declarin a cake 5ood6 or 6bad6 if you have never tried it7 But even if you have, that6s not
ood enouh, for you still do not know what inredients it contains. Think about this1 there
are many commercial cakes that are very tasty, but they hide a lare number of chemical
inredients that are detrimental to the human oranism. ' envision a lon list of additives "the
58 numbers/$, out of which many are carcinoenic or harmful to human health in some other
way. There are also those that have some serious, even fatal side effects. ,hat am ' tryin to
say by this7 'n order to know whether a cake is tastes 5ood/ or 5bad/ or is 6healthful6 or
6harmful6, you must first know the inredients. And to know about the inredients, you have to
know who wrote the recipe and who the cook was. And finally 9 you have to taste it yourself.
Similarly, what is use of e-pressin opinions about a roup of people if you do not know
them, do not associate with them, and you have never talked to them7 'n this world there are
already too many rumours that are bein spread like a wildfire driven by the winds of the
public media. :or e-ample, even four decades after one of the larest world6s frauds, a lare
number of people still believe that man "the Americans$ have been on the moon. #ue to the
same reason 9 the spreadin of rumours . Americans believed for ;< years that communism is
6a plaue that will destroy the world6. "A survey proved that =>? of American citi@ens at the
time did not even have a faint idea of what communism was really about$
1
.
#ue to the same kind of rumours and ullibility, many people around the world believe that
the +are (rishna movement is 6a danerous sect which practices brainwashin6, amon other
thins. ' remember when a Swedish national TA crew was recordin at our rural community
south of Stockholm in 1BBC. They were recordin different aspects of our everyday life and
conductin interviews with various members of the commune. They seemed to be very
friendly, and they readily accepted the ifts we offered them . but when the ;<.minute
proramme was broadcast si- weeks later, we couldn6t believe our eyes and ears. ,hat they
composed was a montae portrayin us as the reatest of fools.
' am convinced that the followin te-t will dissipate many doubts and presumptions that
have been manufactured by some envious and malicious people. To be sure, not all members
of 'S(C)* are on a satisfactory level of spiritual standards. There are some imperfections in
our 'S(C)* society which are more or less present in any community, institution and society
1
' am not discussin here whether communism is riht or wron. Dy point here is that American public were
indoctrinated to believe somethin, as they were spoon.fed by the media, without &uestionin the credibility of
information provided.
C
in the world. But what pain me the most are the heaps of lies spread out of envy and malice.
' decided to write this book in order to dissipate those lies, to present the picture of the +are
(rishna movement and to follow the briht e-ample of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
the sae who sacrificed his whole life in the service of humanity throuh the eradication of
materialistic propaanda and "un$scientific manipulations based on lack of true spiritual
knowlede. +is reatness and the importance of his numerous contributions are still relatively
unknown to the wider circles of the human society because of rumours that are bein spread
by people whose selfish motives become e-posed when illuminated by the liht of spiritual
truths.
At the end of this book you will find a lossary of Sanskrit and other lesser.known words. 't
will help you especially if you decide to read the book at random.
Aladimir Pavic "Arsabha das$
1$ ,hat is 'S(C)* "widely known as the +are (rishna movement$7
C$ ,ho is A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada "the founder of the movement$7
;$ ,ho is (rishna7
E$ #o +are (rishna people worship idols7
F$ 's Aaishnavism a reliion, a sect, a cult or anythin else7
G$ 's the +are (rishna movement a part of +induism7
>$ ,hat does it mean to be a Aaishnava7
=$ ,hat are the conditions for Hoinin and leavin the movement7
B$ ,hat does the +are (rishna maha.mantra mean7
1<$ #oes the +are (rishna movement practice brainwashin7
11$ ,hat are the movement/s financial resources7
1C$ 's it necessary to leave everythin and live in the temple7
1;$ +ow does 'S(C)* contribute to humanity7
1E$ Iou Aaishnavas follow the Aedas, and yet you reHect some Aedic instructions and
conclusions. ,hy7
1F$ Are women in 'S(C)* treated in a subordinate manner7
1G$ ,hy is the spiritual uidance of a uru so important7
1>$ ,hat is spiritual initiation7
1=$ Can women become spiritual masters7
1B$ #o you blindly follow your uru7
C<$ ,ho overns 'S(C)* today7
C1$ ,hy do you wear such unusual clothes and a sin on the forehead7
CC$ ,hat is your attitude towards se-7
C;$ ,hat is your attitude towards homose-uals7
CE$ ,hat happens if you fall in love with someone who is not a member of the +are (rishna
movement7
CF$ ,hat do you think about us 5normal people/ "who are not members of +are (rishna
movement$7
CG$ ,hy don6t you eat meat7
C>$ ,hat is the essence of Aaishnava philosophy7
C=$ Are the members of the +are (rishna movement all e&ual or is there a hierarchy7
CB$ ,hy do we need another reliion in the ,est7 ,e already have a enuine one 9
Christianity.
;<$ ,hat is your attitude towards Jesus Christ7
;1$ ,hat is your attitude towards other reliious traditions7
;C$ ,hy are you so much aainst modern science7
;;$ Thouh you talk aainst material development, you simultaneously use scientific
achievements and technoloical implements. 'sn6t that hypocrisy7
;E$ Can bhakti.yoa heal mental illness, alcoholism and dru addiction7
;F$ ,hy do you run from reality and not want to face the truth7
;G$ ,hy do you avoid watchin TA and readin the newspaper7 's that considered sinful7
;>$ 's there any scope for personal individuality in the process of bhakti.yoa7
;=$ ,hy do you think the 5Bhaavad9ita/ by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is better than
the other renditions of Kita "by other authors$7
;B$ ,hy do you think your books are better than the Bible7
;
E<$ #o you force your children to be 5+are (rishna/ "Aaishnavas$ or can they chose their own
life way7
E1$ #o you worship cows Hust as +indus do7
EC$ ,hy do you et up at Eam7
E;$ ,hat does a usual day in the temple community look like7
EE$ )nly destitute people and those who cannot finish school Hoin the +are (rishna movement.
'sn6t it so7
EF$ 's +are (rishna the 5only way/7
EG$ Can a member of your movement be politically active7
E>$ ,hy do you bother people by sinin +are (rishna in the street7
E=$ 'f everybody were Hust like you, only sinin and dancin, who would work for economic
development of the society7
EB$ ,hy do you live isolated from mainstream society7
F<$ 'f you do not hunt women, drink alcohol or watch TA, how do you have any fun at all7
F1$ 'f the Aedic culture was so sublime, why did it collapse7
FC$ 'f everythin is so reat in your movement, why do some members leave it and revert to
their ood old ways of livin7
1$ What is ISKCON (widely known as the Hare Krishna o!eent"#
The Aedic literatures are the world/s oldest source of knowlede, recorded more than F<<<
years ao. Their wisdom, however, is still little known to readers in the ,est. This repository
of spiritual and material culture was passed down for millennia throuh aural reception until it
was written on palm leaves by a roup of saes led by Lrila Ayasadeva in what we today call
'ndia. Also the world/s larest body of literature, the Aedas are a compilation of Sanskrit
verses consistin of many different works. Dany people who have heard somethin about the
Aedas ascribe to them reliious sinificance only. +owever, Aedic knowlede encompasses not
only philosophy and spiritual science, but also physics, psycholoy, medicine, the arts,
architecture, astronomy, astroloy, history, socioloy and more . even the culinary and
martial arts.
'n order to preserve the Aedic literature in its oriinal form for the reader of today and to
popularise authentic spiritual science and its concomitant culture, Lrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada "1=BG.1B>>$ founded 2The 'nternational Society for (rishna
Consciousness4 "'S(C)*$ in 1BGG. ,hen attemptin to place the (rishna consciousness
movement within a convenient historical.cultural conte-t, many people identify the movement
with +induism. But this is misleadin. Althouh (rishna consciousness and modern +induism
share a common historical root . 'ndia/s ancient Aedic culture . this movement for (rishna
consciousness is not at all a faith or a reliion fihtin for supremacy over other faiths and
reliions. 't is a spiritual society whose aim is to popularise the eternal spiritual science that
oriinates from the divine source. This movement is especially intended to educate people how
to love Kod.
Spirituality, which is mentioned in this book, is not the kind of commercial spirituality limited
by names such as 2Christianity4, 2'slam4, 2+induism4, 2Buddhism4, etc. Kenuine spirituality
oes beyond all eoraphic borders, all types and colours of bodies and all sectarian divisions
based on attachment to a particular reliion. People who really understand true spirituality do
not create problems in the world . problems based on sectarian divisions which later manifest
in the form of reliious intolerance, terrorism, wars, etc.
,e at 'S(C)* are lookin forward to seein this world a much better place to live in.
Therefore, for the last forty years we have been attemptin to implement in the ,estern world
an understandin of the universal laws of nature and their Creator. (nowin that a lack of
spiritual wisdom ultimately leads to war, violence, ecoloical pollution and the destruction of
relationships, 'S(C)* works to uplift human consciousness from the material to the spiritual
level. All people who are interested in learnin about their eternal spiritual identity, peace in
the world, humanitarianism, protection of animals, conservation and restoration of nature/s
eco.systems, human rihts, abolition of e-ploitation, etc. 9 all could successfully address their
concerns and accomplish their oals "or at least make sinificant contributions$ throuh this
movement.
This movement is especially suitable for people who are aware that there is a reat need for
sinificant, positive chane in this world on both the individual and collective levels, and who
know that such crucial chanes can be accomplished only throuh proper understandin and
E
application of spiritual wisdom. Actually, the most effective means to contribute to a
sinificant chane in the world is to chane "spiritually purify$ our own selves by the spiritual
process of bhakti-yoga.
$
)nly then will we have enouh spiritual purity, e-perience and
knowlede to contribute to sinificant, positive chane in lare numbers of people, Hust as
Lrila Prabhupada did. +e proved by his own e-ample that the spiritual purity of one person
could dissipate almost all mental impurities of many other people "their lower nature and
incorrect convictions$.
$" Who is %&C& 'hakti!edanta Swai (ra)hu*ada (the +ounder o+ the o!eent"#

Lrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada "known amon his followers and disciples as
Lrila Prabhupada$ was born in (olkata, 'ndia in 1=BG. +e met his spiritual master Lrila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in (alkata in 1BCC. At the time, Lrila Prabhupada6s name
was Abhay Charan #e, and he worked as a self.employed chemist. 8ven at the time of their
first meetin, Lrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ured youn Abhay to spread the
lories of Aedic wisdom worldwide in the 8nlish lanuae. 'n the years that followed, Lrila
Prabhupada wrote commentaries on Bhagavad-gita and helped other Aaishnavas
,
in their
missionary activitiesM in 1BEE he sinle.handedly commenced writin, printin and distributin
5Back To Godhead, a fortnihtly spiritual maa@ine in the 8nlish lanuae. "To this day, the
maa@ine is still bein published by Lrila Prabhupada/s followers. 'f you are interested, you
can find out more at www.krishna.com.$ Acknowledin Lrila Prabhupada/s philosophical
eruditeness and devotion, the Kaudiya Aaishnava Society ranted him the title Bhaktivedanta
in the year 1BE>.
'n the year 1BF<, at the ae of FE, Lrila Prabhupada retired from the family life. +e
travelled to the holy town Arindavana, where he lived modestly in the historic Nadha.
#amodara temple. +e spent some years there enaed in profound studyin and writin. 'n
1BFB he accepted the renounced order of life (sannyasa). At that time he commenced workin
on his masterpiece1 translation and commentary of the voluminous rimadBhagavatam! a
spiritual epic written more than F<<< years ao comprised of 1=.<<< verses in the Sanskrit
lanuae. 'n 1BGF, upon publishin three volumes of rimadBhagavatam, Lrila Prabhupada
travelled to the %SA to fulfil the mission of his spiritual master. Thereafter, he wrote more
than F< volumes of authorised commentaries, translations and compilations of philosophical
studies of Aedic literature.
,hen he arrived in the %SA by steamship, Lrila Prabhupada was virtually penniless. 't took
him almost a year of hard work to found 'S(C)* "'nternational Society for (rishna
Consciousness$. +e led his spiritual society, and before he died "1Eth )ctober 1B>>$, he
established more than a hundred ashrams "temples$, schools, institutes and farm communities
worldwide. 'n spite of his advanced ae, Lrila Prabhupada travelled around the lobe fourteen
times within twelve years, fully enaed in missionary activities. And even beyond so many
intense and demandin duties, he steadily continued with his writin. Lrila Prabhupada/s
translations and commentaries comprise a veritable library of Aedic philosophy, reliion,
science and culture. +is books have been hihly esteemed in academic circles for their
credibility, profoundness and clarity. They have been translated into more than G< lanuaes
and are very popular in many universities, schools and libraries worldwide.
)ver the years, hundreds of scholars, who either personally met Lrila Prabhupada or read
his books, have e-pressed keen appreciation for both his personal &ualities and the
contribution his teachins have made to humanity. :or e-ample, +arvey Co-, the world.
renowned professor of reliion at +arvard %niversity, describes how he radually reconised
the value of Lrila Prabhupada/s contribution1
"#hen $ first met the %are &rishnas! $ can remember how sur'rised $ was! and $
wondered what this meant. The costumes! the chanting! and the shaved heads
a''eared a little strange to me. But as $ came to know the movement! $ came
to find that there was a striking similarity in the essence of what they were
C
Bhakti means love of &rishna and yoga means to connect. The term bhakti-yoga relates to the spiritual discipline by
which human consciousness can be elevated from the material to spiritual level 9 pure love of Kod. Bhakti-yoga
implies practical application of spiritual philosophy, which is based on devotional service rendered to Kod "(rishna$.
This term will be elaborately e-plained in the te-t that follows.
;
:ollowers and worshipers of !ord (rishna are officially known as Aaishnavas. As (rishna has unlimited names, one of
them is Aishnu. Aaishnava is means (a follower of )ishnu.
F
teaching and in the original core of *hristianity - that is! living sim'ly not
trying to accumulate worldly goods! living with com'assion toward all creatures!
sharing! loving and living +oyfully. $ am im'ressed with how much the teachings
of one man and the s'iritual tradition he brought have im'acted themselves into
the lives of so many 'eo'le. $n my view! rila ,rabhu'adas contribution is a
very im'ortant one and will be a lasting one.-

Lrila Prabhupada turned GB when he set out ,est. At that ae people usually crouch by a
window, watch TA, read the newspaper and wait for death. Lrila Prabhupada had been livin
modestly but happily in Arindavana. +e didn/t have a selfish motive to leave the holy place he
loved so dearly to o to the urban Hunle of deraded American society. :rom the material
point of view, he possessed a mere E< rupees "at the time, e&uivalent to O=$ and no more
than the bare necessities that fit in a suitcase. But from the spiritual point of view, he had
priceless treasury1 a panacea for the madness and all the miseries of this world.
:ollowin the instruction of his spiritual master, Lrila Prabhupada came to the ,est to
selflessly distribute the precious Aedic wisdom that had been carefully preserved by ancient
saints, saes and mystics for thousands of years. +e brouht 5old wine in new bottles/ .
timeless spiritual wisdom adHusted for the understandin of modern people. #urin his
missionary activities, he was e-posed to countless inconveniencesM but in spite of all the
troubles, he steadily continued translatin Aaishnava literature into 8nlish. +e would often sit
in a park chantin the +are (rishna maha-mantra
-
. Before lon, he started atherin his first
followers who would help him to open the first (rishna temple in the ,est.
Lrila Prabhupada started lecturin on Bhagavad-gita three times a weekM he also cooked for
the uests and served them. 'n addition to his daily duties, durin the twelve years of his
intense missionary activities he steadily worked on translatin and writin Aaishnava te-ts.
Lrila Prabhupada reduced his personal needs to a bare minimum. +e would sleep E hours a
day at most in order to make ma-imum use of his time for spreadin of (rishna/s messaes to
the world.
Lrila Prabhupada6s whole life was a practical e-ample of how a perfect spiritual entleman
behaves and thinks. +e was a saint, visionary, writer, philosopher and an embodiment of all
the topmost &ualities that one miht possess. +is departure from this mortal world and return
to the spiritual was a dramatic and educational episode as well. #urin the last few months of
his life, Lrila Prabhupada couldn6t properly diest foodM therefore, he ate ne-t to nothin. +e
was so emaciated and frail that all he could do was lie motionless in bed. As his voice was
almost inaudible, the disciples who served him held a microphone to his mouth to hear him
speak. So, what he was speakin about7 +e used the last particles of his enery translatin
rimadBhagavatam for ultimate benefit of all future enerations of conditioned souls.
Lrila Prabhupada was (rishna6s emissary from the spiritual world, specially empowered to
eradicate atheism, false reliiosity and the rest in connection. Thouh his spiritual contribution
was e-tremely profound, most people are unfortunately not aware of his precious
contributions. Such was a person who by his teachins and sacrifices helped and is still helpin
thousands of people worldwide to ive up not only drus, alcohol and other sinful activities,
but the selfish, material way of livin as well. :urther, he helped them to become spiritual and
moral people rich in the hihest &ualities. Lrila Prabhupada6s bioraphy can be purchased at
these websites1 www.blservices.com and www.krishna.com.
+ere is a list of some of Lrila Prabhupada/s unparalleled achievements. The list was taken
by permission of its author Lri *andanandana dasa "Stephen (napp$, downloaded from his
website www.stephen.knapp.com.
P 'n 1BGF, at seventy years of ae, he ventured outside 'ndia for the first time to fulfil the
order of his spiritual master. #urin his voyae at sea, he suffered two severe heart attacks.
+e reached the shores of America with the e&uivalent of eiht dollars to his name.
P +e founded the 'nternational Society for (rishna Consciousness with a small roup of dis.
ciples, after a year of strulin alone in *ew Iork City. This marked the only time in history
that a (rishna devotee successfully trained non.'ndians in the strict disciplines of Aaishnavism.
E
.ound vibration for liberation of the mind. "/anas 9 the mind, trayate 9 to liberate$. The term 5mantra has been
used for any sound vibration that has spiritual, healin or mystical power. 'n this book, term maha.mantra is most
often used, which means 5a reat son "sound vibration$ for liberation of the mind "from the contamination by
material, illusory enery$. The %are &rishna maha-mantra runs as follows1 +are (rishna, +are (rishna, (rishna
(rishna, +are +are, +are Nama, +are Nama, Nama Nama, +are +are.
G
Ama@inly, this was achieved durin the blossomin of America6s hedonistic counterculture
movement.
P +e sent his followers, chantin the names of Kod, into the streets of cities and towns
everywhere and +are (rishna became famous in every corner of the earth.
P +e sent his disciples to !ondon, where they recorded the sinle, Q+are (rishna DantraQ,
with Keore +arrison, in 1BGB. 't became the fastest sellin of all the Apple Corporation6s re.
leases, includin those of the Beatles. The record reached ;
rd
in C@echoslovakia, B
th
in Britain,
and made the top ten in Kermany, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Iuoslavia, and many other
countries.
P +e formally initiated appro-imately five thousand disciples. These initiates represented a
sweepin diversity of nationalities, races, ethnicities, and reliious backrounds.
P +e established 1<= (rishna temples on si- continents, installed the deity of (rishna in
each centre and trained his disciples in the process of deity worship. Thirty.two new temples
"almost three a month$ were opened in a sinle year, between 1B>< and 1B>1.
P +e inauurated the Nathayatra :estival of !ord Jaanatha
.
in maHor cities around the
lobe, in effect, brinin the temple to the people.
P +e instituted the brahmacarini ashram, somethin previously unheard of in Aedic culture,
to ive shelter to sinle women wishin to practice (rishna consciousness.
P +e introduced the QSunday !ove :eastQ and other 'rasadam "sanctified food$ distribution
prorams that provided millions of free meals to the public.
P +e created the world6s first chain of veetarian restaurants.
P +e spoke daily on the philosophy of (rishna consciousness, deliverin thousands of formal
lectures. )ver C,C<< were recorded and archived.
P +e conducted many hundreds of informal conversations on the science of (rishna con.
sciousness with disciples, uests and friends. )ver 1,;<< were recorded and archived.
P +e had scores of interviews and philosophical discussions with news reporters, scientists,
reliious leaders and politicians, as well as meetins with world.renowned dinitaries and
celebrities like 'ndira Kandhi, Allen Kinsber, Navi Shankar, Alice Coltrane, John !ennon and
Keore +arrison.
P +e recorded more than twenty albums of devotional music.
P +e published the monthly maa@ine, Back to Godhead, which he called the backbone of his
movement. At the heiht of its circulation in the mid seventies, over a million copies per issue
were sold.
P +e built maHor temples in Bombay and Arndavana, and founded a spiritual city at Dayapur.
All became international sites of pilrimae.
P +e established primary schools to provide education in the principles of devotional service.
P +e founded the Bhaktivedanta 'nstitute to advance (rishna consciousness within the sci.
entific community, enain serious academics in the consideration of the science of self.real.
i@ation.
P +e formed the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust to unearth and renovate the holy places
of !ord Caitanya6s
/
pastimes.
P +e set up farm communities to teach 2simple livin and hih thinkin4, emphasi@in cow
protection and dependence on Kod and nature.
P +e counselled his disciples on comple- manaerial, philosophical and personal issues in
more than G,<<< archived letters.
P +e wrote appro-imately seventy books on the science of (rishna consciousness, sleepin
only a few hours per day. #o@ens of prominent scholars and educators from leadin universit.
ies praised his work. The 0ncyclo'aedia Britannica proclaimed that his voluminous translations
from the oriinal Sanskrit and his lucid commentaries 2have astounded literary and academic
communities worldwide.4 This feat is even more astonishin considerin the translations and
commentaries were in 8nlish, which was a second lanuae to the author.
P +e founded the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust "BBT$ in 1B>C, to produce his books. By 1B>G,
over FF.<<<.<<< literatures had been published in twenty.five lanuaes and distributed in al.
most every country, makin the BBT the world6s larest publisher of 'ndian reliious and philo.
sophical te-ts. )ne printin alone of Bhagavad-gita 1s $t $s re&uired seventy.si- train cars to
ship the paper needed to print it.
P +e completed the entire *aitanya-caritamrta manuscript "seventeen volumes$ in eihteen
months.
F
)ne of !ord (rishna6s names.
G
Please see the Klossary.
>
P Prabhupada also circled the lobe fourteen times, visitin twenty.four countries, preach.
in, inspirin his followers and makin countless public appearances before multitudes of
people.
P +e skilfully manaed his international society simply throuh letters and personal meet.
ins, virtually without the use of a telephone.
," Who is Krishna#
(rishna is one of names of Kod. The name (rishna means 5all attractive/ in Sanskrit.
Althouh there is only one Kod, +e has an unlimited number of names, Hust as there is only
one Sun, which in different countries and different lanuaes is known by different names. The
same obHect called the (.un in 8nlish is called is called (.ole in 'talian, in Croatian (.unce,
etc. Accordin to Aedic literature . which oriinates from (rishna +imself 9 5(rishna/ is +is
most dear name. +e has countless names that describe +is activities and &ualities. :or
e-ample, in 'slam Kod is called Allah, which means 5the Kreat/. 'n Buddhism, +e is called
Buddha, which means 5the intellient one/ "wise$. But +e is not only the reat and the
intellient oneM +e possesses many more &ualities that determine others of +is names.
Besides that, +e appears in different times in different places in different avatars
0
. therefore,
+e has many, many different names. But still, +e is one. Some of (rishna/s other names often
used in Aedic literature include Kovinda, Kopinath, #amodar, Shyamasundar, (anai, Nadha9
Naman, Dadan9Dohan, and Iashoda9kumar.
(rishna e-ists in three features "but this is not e&ual to what is known in Christianity as
+oly Trinity$. The +irst feature of (rishna is called brahman, the all.pervadin feature that is
without personal form and which spreads throuhout the whole creation. The second feature
is 'aramatma "Super.soul$. ,aram means 5e2alted or 5su'reme, while atma means 5soul or
5real identity of livin bein/. As 'aramatma, the !ord is present in the heart of every livin
bein "movin and non.movin$. +e is present even in the hearts of those of microscopic si@e.
,aramatma has a two.fold function. The first is to ive constant instruction to the livin
bein in accordance with the type of body in which the livin bein is encaed. The Super.soul
is the one who ives everybody knowlede, remembrance and foretfulness in accordance
with their individual desires. The more is a person is freed from material desires and bad
&ualities, the more he can tune in to the messaes sent by Super.soul "'aramatma$. Saints
who are on a very hih level of spiritual purity and detachment from material pleasures can
constantly receive 'aramatma/s messaes and communicate with +im.
The second function of Super.soul is +is bein the observer of all our activities, thouhts
and desires by which we create our ood and bad karma
1
. ,e can never hide anythin from
(rishna. 't/s impossible to cheat +im. Besides bein aware of all the activities, thouhts and
desires of all livin beins, +e is also the perfect knower of past, present and future.
(rishna is supremely rihteous and is the well.wisher of all livin beins. +e never punishes
those who do not deserve it. People who cannot comprehend this fact . even thouh they
miht believe in Kod 9 in actuality have incomplete faith in +im. Those who do not surrender
to +im fully and whose faith is incomplete can never enter +is eternal abode.
:inally, the third feature of (rishna is called Bhagavan, which means 5the oriinal person
who fully possesses si- opulences/. (rishna is the Supreme Absolute (erson. The Aedic
literature ives the followin definition of Kod1 2Kod is the Supreme Person who fully
possesses si- opulences . lory, strenth, wealth, renunciation, beauty and knowlede.4
(rishna lives eternally on the topmost planet in the spiritual sky. That planet is known as
Koloka Arindavana. As time has absolutely no influence on (rishna, any idea about Kod as an
old 5man/ . with a lon, rey beard, sittin on a cloud . stands to the hihest deree in
contrast to absolute spiritual reality. 'n +is eternal spiritual form, (rishna looks as a si-teen.
year.old youth. But accordin to the needs of +is pastimes, +e can chane +is 5ae/ and +is
form. And what is Kod doin in the spiritual world7 +e is havin fun. +e is havin fun. +e is
havin fun. +e is eternally havin fun in the company of +is eternal associates. Kod is never
bored, as +e would be if +e had to constantly sit on a cloud and watch what 5those little ones
on 8arth/ were doin.
' am sure you are wonderin1 2%ow is +e havin fun74 A description of (rishna/s pastimes is
contained in &rsna! the .u'reme ,ersonality of Godhead "volumes ' and ''$, translated by
>
1vatar means 5one that descends/ "from the spiritual world$.
=
'n Sanskrit, karma means 5activity/. Pious actions enerate ood karmic reactions, such as birth in an affluent
family. Sinful actions enerate bad karmic reactions, such as birth in an animal body. The law of karma is a crucial
factor in the process of reincarnation, which functions on the principle 5as you sow, so shall you reap/.
=
Lrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 'n any case, ' would stronly recommend you
to read first Lrila Prabhupada/s introductory book, The .cience of .elf-reali3ation.
The most recent, not.so.distant appearance of !ord (rishna was on 1=
th
:ebruary 1E=G in
the Benali villae of Dayapur "'ndia$. At that time (rishna appeared as Lri Caitanya
Dahaprabhu. ,hile 8urope was oin throuh a renaissance of art and culture "and 8uropeans
were busy con&uerin the 5new continent/$, Lri Caitanya was carryin out a massive spiritual
revolution that has had immense direct and indirect influence on reliion and spiritual
philosophy not only in 'ndia, but in the ,est as well. +e appeared in the role of a perfect
Aaishnava. #urin +is E= years of visitin planet 8arth, +e manifested innumerable mystical
feats that are described in reat detail in five sinificant literary works which describe +is life,
activities and teachins. )ut of those five voluminous literary masterpieces, the most popular
is ri *aitanya-caritamrita! written by the Aaishnava saint and philosopher (rishnadas (aviraH
Koswami at the end of 1G
th
century.
The appearance of Lri Caitanya was predicted in ancient Aedic manuscripts datin from
more than F<<< years ao. :or the purpose of this book, ' will mention two of those
predictions, thouh there are about ten others.
"' will appear in ae of (ali
9
as a son of mother Laci in *avadwipa and ' will take my
confidential associates with De. This is a reat secret that will not be revealed to
materialistic people. )nly to sadhus "saintly people$ will this secret be revealed. ... ' will
re.establish the principles of reliion and ' will be known by names (rishna Caitanya,
Kaurana, Kauracandra, Kaurahari, Lacisuta and Prabhu Kaura. ...4 (1nanta .amhita)
2'n this ae of (ali, the intellient people will worship !ord (rishna by conreational
chantin of the %are &rishna mahamantra. That incarnation will be yellow and will
always be in association of +is followers and devotees.-
(rimadBhagavatam 44.5.67)
Thouh !ord Caitanya was the most prominent person of 1G
th
century, +is lories and
importance are little known to the world outside of 'ndia. )ne of the reasons for this lack
of popularity is +is minimal literary activity. +e wrote only eiht prayers known as
ik8a8taka, which clearly e-plain +is mission and teachins.
)n the other hand, Lri Caitanya instructed +is most trusted disciples "si- Koswamis
from Arindavana$ to write books about the science of (rishna 9 a task which +is followers
are duly carryin out to this day. +is devotional and spiritual teachins are the basis of
the philosophy known as Kaudiya Aaishnavism. +is direct disciples and followers have left
an invaluable treasury of devotional0philosophical literature for the benefit of all future
enerations.
)f course, someone miht say1 2,hy should we believe that Lri Caitanya was Kod
+imself7 There are already so many cheaters who claim to be Kod, confusin naive
people with some e-traordinary tricks.4 An e-cellent &uestion . but here is the answer. 'n
The holy Aedic scriptures, written over F<<< years ao, ive three criteria "conditions$
that must be met in order to prove that a certain person is an incarnation "avatar$ of
Kod. 1$ The appearance of Kod "in any form 9 avatar$ must be 'redicted in the Aedic
literatures. These predictions include the followin details1 the place where +e will
appear, the name of +is particular incarnation, +is mission "the reason for +is
appearance$, and +is activities "pastimes$. C$ 8very enuine avatar of Kod must have
certain inborn Aedic symbols markin +is palms and soles. There are about C< of them
located in a particular order. ;$ )nly Kod +imself is able to perform certain
accomplishments, ones which no other livin bein is able to perform 9 not even
demiods, what to speak of human beins who miht be incredible mystics.
'n the aforementioned five literary works that describe the life, teachins and activities
of !ord Lri Caitanya "ri *aitanyacandramrita! ri *aitanyamangala! ri *aitanya
*arita! ri *aitanyaBhagavata and ri *aitanya*aritamrita$ there is a precise
description of the activities of Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu and +is trusted associates who
came with +im from the spiritual world in order to re.establish spiritual principles and
B
(ali is the ae of deradation, which bean about F;<< years ao. 't will last for another ECG.><< years.
B
doctrines which had become watered.down and pretty well forotten. They tauht and
preached the spiritual science of Bhagavadgita and rimadBhagavatam, showin by
personal e-ample how a perfect Aaishnava should behave. At that time !ord Lri Caitanya
bean a spiritual revolution known as sankirtana, which means 5conreational chantin
of the holy names of the maha-mantra. :rom the very beinnin of +is earthly pastimes
"so.called 5birth/$, Lri Caitanya performed different mystical activities which were meant
for the spiritual benefit of humanity. ri *aitanya*aritamrita can be obtained via the
websites www.krishna.com and www.blservices.com "e9mail1 bls.ordersRpamho.net$. ri
*aitanya*aritamrita was translated and commented upon by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada.
-" Do Hare Krishna *eo*le worshi* idols#
As Kod and +is eternal associates from the spiritual world cannot be seen by the material
sense of seein "which is e-tremely limited$, They aree to appear in forms made of material
elements such as metal, marble, wood, etc. Such forms of Kod and +is spiritual associates are
called deities "or murtis in Sanskrit$. #eity worship is one of the essential aspects of
Aedic0Aaishnava spiritual practices. #eities are not idols. %nlike deities, idols are concocted
forms of some supernatural persons or eneries that are meant to bestow certain material
boons to their worshippers. There is absolutely no place for idolatry in the Aedic culture and
Aaishnava tradition. )n the contrary, throuhout the whole of Aaishnava history "which
includes the present day$, Aaishnavas have been fervent opponents of idolatry. 'dolotry is
based on human inorance. :or an inorant person there is no e-ternal difference between an
idol and a deity, but nonetheless, the difference is hue. +ere is a detailed e-planation.
't is important to understand that the deities of (rishna and +is avatars "incarnations$, as
well as those of +is eternal associates, are made accordin to strict rules and parameters
described in reat detail in a Aedic te-t .il'a-sastra. Those parameters determine the physical
posture of the deities, the positionin of their hands, the material they are made of, their
colour, etc. Therefore, the deities cannot be made accordin to someone/s personal whims,
but rather accordin to the criteria iven in the Aedic literature 9 the way (rishna +imself
prescribed. After bein manufactured, the deities are dressed in strictly prescribed clothin.
Thereafter, they are installed on the altar with a beautiful, colourful 'rana'rati8ta ceremony.
At that time, the divine persons "who live in the spiritual world$ are invoked to appear officially
in the form of a deity. ,orship of deities has been practiced as a vital part of Aedic spiritual
tradition since the time of creation.
Some people cannot accept the fact that Kod has a personal form. +owever, many verses
from the ,uranas
23
and Brahma-samhita confirm that Kod has +is specific spiritual form . i.e.
forms dependin on the mission of the particular avatar. Dany Aedic te-ts describe (rishna/s
various characteristics "beauty, strenth, intellience, activities, etc$. The Aedic scriptures
describe Kod/s sat-cit-ananda form, a form spiritually perfect in its eternity "sat$, unlimited
knowlede "cit$ and spiritual bliss "ananda$. Also, they confirm that that +is form is not
material, thouh it may appear to be so e-ternally when (rishna appears in form of a deity.
+is body, form, &ualities, names, pastimes, etc. are all absolutely spiritual, bein no different
from +im as they have the same spiritual characteristics. Therefore, Kod/s form as a deity is
not an idol or a totem "statue$ made accordin to someone/s imaination. Nather, it is the real
form of Kod that +e accepts when +e desires to appear in the material world in front of those
who are not &ualified to see +is oriinal spiritual body.
)ne may ask1 2'f the deity is made of material elements "metal, marble, wood, etc.$, how
can it be the spiritual form of Kod74 The answer is that Kod is the supreme eneretic, the
source of all spiritual and material eneries. As such, +e can transform material enery into
spiritual enery and vice versa 9 accordin to +is sweet will. This may sound &uite fantastic
and mystical, but numerous cases from remote and recent history as well as from the present
day confirm the leitimacy of this phenomenon. As a solid e-ample, ' can mention a world.
known case that commenced on C1
st
September 1BBF and lasted for three days. At that time,
the deities in +indu and Aaishnava temples
22
throuhout the world drank milk3 The British
paper Guardian wrote that 2+indu idols4 literally drank litres of milk in front of thousands of
1<
The oldest te-ts of the Aedic literature.
11
Thouh they share the same historical root "Aedic literature and culture$, Aaishnavism and +induism are two very
different thins. %nlike in +induism where devotees worship a pantheon of demiods "very powerful beins who carry
out vital functions in every material universe$ 9 Aaishnavas worship one Kod, thouh +e has lots of personal names.
1<
people. )ne particular deity even drank C< litres of milk in a sinle day. The event caused
real traffic madness in 'ndia, where people were waitin in kilometre.lon &ueues in front of
temples in order to see with their own eyes how the deities were drinkin milk from their own
hands. Doreover, even pictures of the deities "for e-ample, on calendars and posters$ drank
milk as well3
*umerous sceptical Hournalists and scientists, accompanied by TA and radio crews, appeared
on the scene to witness these mysterious events and broadcast them around the world.
Dillions of people worldwide . some directly, some via TA 9 could see how the deities were
drinkin milk even from the hands of the staunchest atheists and scientists. At the time, '
lived in *ewcastle.upon.Tyne, in northern 8nland. %nfortunately, ' wasn/t aware of the
phenomenon, thouh ' did notice a considerable crowd swarmin to the local +indu temple. '
was livin with three other Aaishnava friends in our little temple located on !eases Park Noad.
But because we didn/t watch TA or read the newspaper, we were unaware of the phenomenonM
and so we failed to make the same 5e-periment/ with our deities.
Besides this tanible e-ample, there are many other e-amples from remote and recent
Aaishnava history reportin how deities were walkin, talkin, lowin, cryin, etc. 't is rather
strane that many people "especially Christians$ do not believe in Aaishnava deities,
considerin them as mere idols or statues, even thouh the same or similar phenomena have
been happenin in Christian tradition as well. !et us mention a few e-amples, beinnin with
the older ones. 1$ Accordin to biblical tradition, Kod appeared in front of Doses in the form of
a burnin bush. Just like metal, marble and wood that are used for manufacturin of deities,
fire is also a material element. 'f Kod can appear in form of fire, why couldn/t +e appear in
form of deities made of metal, marble or wood7 C$ Jesus Christ spoke from the crucifi- to St.
:rancis of Assisi while he was prayin in the chapel of the dilapidated church of St. #amian.
+e told him, 2Ko, :rancesco, repair my home3 See how it is fallin apart.4 ;$ Throuhout the
world there are numerous, well documented cases of the Airin Dary cryin bloody tears "a
bad omen for the future of the world$. !et us name a few1 a$ Santiao, Chile, 1E
th
#ecember
1BBC, b$ Sant/ Antonio Abate near *aples, 'taly, 1BBE, c$ Sidney, Australia, 1BBE, d$
Kranecon, 'reland, 1BBE, e$ Benin, Africa, 1
st
April 1BB>, f$ Trinidad, 1F
th
:ebruary 1BBG, $
villae Dura near Barcelona, 1G
th
1BB=, h$ villae Dusetesti, Nomania, January C<<;, i$
Chittaon, Banladesh, C<<;, H$ Philadelphia, %SA, 1C
th
Darch C<<E, k$ Sacramento, %SA,
C1
st
#ecember C<<F. E$ Dystical cures of diseased people who came to into direct contact with
the 5statue/ "deity$ of Airin Dary in !ourdes, :atima, DeduorHe, and other places.
The four types of abovementioned miracles from Christian tradition confirm the fact known
to Aaishnavas for millions of years 9 that Kod and +is faithful, empowered servants can
appear in the form of seeminly material statues "deities$ and have the same power as in
Their oriinal, spiritual form. And yet, despite all hard evidence, many reliious leaders and
people in eneral accuse Aaishnavas of idolatry.
There is a suitable analoy that describes difference between a deity and an idol. The
national post office mounts post bo-es across the country to enable people to send their
letters to desired destinations. That means that only the letters put into those authorised post.
bo-es can reach their destinations. All other letters, which are put into any other bo-es, will
never reach their destinations, even thouh they miht have a proper address and valid
stamps. Similarly, by e-clusively worshippin the deities that are authorised by the rules of
Aedic scriptures, someone may advance in spiritual life, servin Kod in seeminly material
form. )n a certain level of advanced spiritual consciousness, a sincere devotee can develop a
relationship with the deities, talk with Them, and et priceless spiritual uidance.
)n the other hand, concocted idols . such as those worshipped by the old Arabs in the town
of Decca prior to the intervention of Dohammad "sallallah alaihi wa salam$, who ended such
mindless idolatry 9 cannot offer any benefit to their worshippers. 'n other words, invented
5deities/ . i.e. idols and the rituals that accompany them 9 cannot lead their worshippers to the
spiritual world or bestow upon them desired benefits. )n the contrary, these enerate the
opposite effect 9 repeated birth in some lower species of life. As another e-ample of idolatry, '
miht mention the primitive people of African tribes who worship a pantheon of different
statues which they use for worshippin 5reat forces/ and voodoo idols, e-pectin from them a
material or spiritual benefit or protection. People who do not understand the philosophy and
spiritual tradition of Aaishnavism wronly think that Aaishnavism is a kind of polytheistic
reliion. But this is far from the truth. "Aaishnavism neither acknowledes polytheism nor is it
a reliion3$ Such a wron notion is based on the fact that Aaishnavas call Kod by different
names, out of which the name (rishna is the most important. :or some, this creates the
wron impression that they worship are many different ods.
11
'n order to communicate with the deities, we do not re&uire any material &ualification
"academic education, wealth, lory, beauty, etc$, but rather a pure heart, sincerity and
devotion. *or it is important how lon one has been practicin spiritual life. )ne could even be
an absolute neophyte, as was St. :rancis of Assisi "then :rancesco Bernardone$ while he was
prayin in the church of St. #amian.
." Is 4aishna!is a religion5 sect5 cult or anything like that#
Aaishnavism is not a reliion at all, as is widely thouht. )aishnavism is a science about God
which is concerned with theoretical wisdom and 'ractical a''lication of true s'irituality.
Neliion and spirituality are two very different terms. There are already so many reliions "too
many$. Spirituality, however, is only one. *aturally, the &uestion arises1 ,hat is the
difference between reliion and spirituality7 The answer1 9eligion is directed towards rituals!
whereas s'irituality is directed towards satisfaction of Gods desires. %umans invented rituals:
God created s'irituality. 9eligions divide 'eo'le: s'irituality unites them. ,hat is the use of a
reliion that cannot offer real spirituality to its followers7 +ere is an appropriate analoy. 'f
you are thirsty and want to drink water, most probably you would pour it into a lass and then
drink it. #ifferent lasses have different shapes. Iou could drink water from a cylinder.shaped
lass, or a round.shaped lass, or a funnel.shaped lass, etc. :inally, it doesn/t matter what
the lass looks like as lon as it contains the water that &uenches your thirst. The water in this
analoy can be compared to spirituality, and the different lasses compared to different
reliions.
Actually, what we really need is true spirituality 9 that which connects us with Kod and other
livin beins . rather than reliion, which serves as a mere 5container/ "a lass$ which is
supposed to contain spirituality. 'f there were enouh spirituality in the leadin reliions, there
would hardly be any wars, terrorism, nationalism, crime and racism in the world. ,ell, if we
are to Hude by the results, then obviously the world/s leadin reliions today can offer
humanity hardly anythin more than useless rituals and nationalism. Nituals have their value
insofar as they are subordinate to spirituality. )therwise, rituals without spirituality are not
only useless . they are also danerous for humanity as a whole when they clash with the
rituals of any other reliion.
,e all can chane our reliion. 't happens that Duslims become Christians, Christians
become Jews, etc. But this is only a chane of rituals and some correspondin beliefs. True
spirituality, on the other hand, is eternally unchaneable and e-ists independent of any
reliious affiliation or atheism. The eternal laws of spirituality that manifest in this mortal
world operate reardless of somebody/s belief or disbelief in them "for e-ample, the laws of
karma and reincarnation$. The spiritual tradition of Aaishnavism also has its rituals, but they
are e2clusively meant to boost the spreadin of spirituality. This is one of the most important
differences between Aaishnavism and 5reliion/.
:inally, the &uestion arises1 ,hat is real spirituality7 The Aedic literature offers a few
definitions that can be encapsulated in the followin seven points. Spirituality encompasses1
1$ %nderstandin one/s own spiritual identity "s*iritual sel+6realisation$, as well as the
spiritual identity of other livin beins.
C$ %nderstandin Kod and +is desires "what +e e-pects from humanity$.
;$ Actin in accordance with our eternal duty "dhara$, i.e. practical service "rendered
by the body, mind and intellience$ meant for fulfilment of Kod/s desires.
E$ %nderstandin the correlation between Kod, livin beins, nature, time and karma.
F$ %nderstandin the difference between matter and spirit "the temporary and the
eternal$.
G$ %prootin lower human nature "reed, lust, envy, uncontrolled aner, etc$ and
developin odly, virtuous &ualities "pure love, compassion, tolerance, etc$
>$ %nderstandin the difference between sinful, pious and spiritual "transcendental$
activities.
",herever 5understandin/ is written, it entails practical action in accordance with that
understandin.$ 8ach of these seven points may be further divided into divisions and
subdivisions. As you can see, the spiritual science is very serious, comple- and voluminous. 't
is diametrically opposed to everythin that is today cheaply considered 5spirituality/.
'n the abovementioned definition ' emphasised two terms in particular1 spiritual self.
realisation and dharma. To et a closer view of what Aaishnavism really is, it is essential to
understand these two points, as ' will now e-plain.
1C
Sel+6realisation: 'f we really want to hold the reins of our destiny in our own hands, it is
compulsory to know the universal laws, principles and rules that keep us shackled to the world
of illusion. The Aedic science of self.realisation e-plains in reat detail those laws and
principles and offers lucid descriptions about the art of action 9 how to act and yet not et
entanled in the indomitable laws of karma and reincarnation. Nather than to live a careless
life . like a piece of wood that drifts across the ocean of material e-istence, bein tossed by
the waves from one shore to another, from one type of body to another 9 it is far better to
master the universal laws of nature and have the power to chose what type of body one will
et ne-t "or even better 9 to stop the repetition of births and deaths altoether$.
People often challene Aaishnavas1 2,hy did you ive up 5your own reliion/ to become a
member of the +are (rishna movement7 ,hy do you think your new reliion is better than
others are7 #oes it offer anythin special that other reliions lack74 +ere is the answer1
Aaishnavism is the only spiritual tradition in the world that actively promulates the science of
self.realisation, which is the preliminary "5ABC/$ step in Kod realisation. $t is absolutely
im'ossible to realise God (to love %im! see %im and communicate with %im) without first
realising our own self. )nly when we realise our own nature as eternal servant of Kod can we
bein the process of effectively eliminatin all contamination "envy, lust, reed, uncontrolled
aner, illusion and madness$ from our heart and consciousness. This contamination obstructs
our direct contact with (rishna.
There are other reliious traditions in the world which are conversant with the laws of karma
and reincarnation, but because they do not include the science of self.realisation in their
reliious teachins, they do not ive it its deserved importance or only rarely talk about the
subHect matter. ,hat an absurdity3 Shouldn/t the oal of every reliious tradition be to uplift
human consciousness from the lower to the hiher level 9 to the spiritual level of
consciousness, from which we are able to reawaken our dormant love of Kod7 'f a reliion
doesn/t have this as the oal, what does it have after all7 ,hat is the use of a reliion that is
impotent to bestow love of Kod "and other livin beins$ to its followers and finally terminate
their process of repeated birth and death7
The science of self.realisation simply cannot be understood on the level of cheap, mundane
reliiosity. To take the first step on the path to Kod "science of self.realisation$, it is
absolutely obligatory to et to the level of true spirituality, which denies differences between
livin beins, acknowledes only differences between their temporary material bodies, and
teaches that Kod is one 9 impartially favourable to all of us, reardless of our type of body or
skin colour or the reliion to which we adhere. As we can see in our everyday life, reliious
people can cause serious problems in the worldM only s'iritual people are capable to offer
practical solutions for all problems. 'f a reliion doesn/t have enuine spiritual0scientific
methods to restore love for Kod and other livin beins in the hearts of its followers, then
such a reliion is imperfect.
The first and only cause of all problems in the world is inorance of the science of self.
realisation, which is the beinnin of true spirituality. 'f people knew that they are res'onsible
for all their activities and that in the near future "the ne-t life$ they will be rewarded and
punished for all their pious and sinful activities, their pattern of behaviour would be entirely
different. ,ithout understandin that we are not this body, it is impossible to understand what
pious and sinful activities actually are.
Dhara1 As there is no e&uivalent 8nlish word that can ade&uately translate this Sanskrit
term, the word dharma has to be translated descriptively. ;harma literally means (eternal
(integral) <uality (or duty). :or e-ample, dharma of fire is warmth and lihtM dharma of suar
is sweetness. $n the )edic s'iritual='hiloso'hical terminology! the word dharma 'ertains to
eternal duty of every living being! i.e. service to the .u'reme *reator! &rishna. A livin bein
can achieve perfection of life and eternal happiness only when it acts in accordance to its
eternal dharma 9 i.e. when it enaes all its physical and mental activities and all its enery in
service to (rishna, abidin by the rules of the spiritual discipline of bhakti-yoga.
Therefore, Aaishnavism "(rishna consciousness$ is not a kind of secular reliion, thouh
many people accept it as such. Nather, it is spiritual science about Kod that oriinates from
Kod +imself "from time immemorial$. 't offers practical solutions for endin all conflicts and
other problems in the world and radually uides people on the path to the eternal perfection
for which we all yearn. The first step on that Hourney beins with the small but sinificant
&uestion, 2,ho am '74 :rom this universal science everybody can benefit, reardless to what
reliion they adhere.
Thouh we Aaishnavas are tryin hard to follow Kod/s teachins as closely as possible . as
they are written down in the oldest literature in the world, which was the backbone for the
oldest ci!ilisation in the world "Aedic civilisation$ 9 some people who know nothin "or
1;
very little$ about the history of reliion and spirituality in eneral ascribe to us the neative
meanins of words 5sect/ and 5cult/. !et us analyse the real meanins of these two words.
The word sect has two meanins1 1$ 2A reliious body, especially one that has separated
from a larer denomination.4 C$ 2A roup of people formin a distinct unit within a larer
roup by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or practice.4 'f we were to
e-amine Aaishnavism in eneral, we couldn/t say that Aaishnavism is a sect accordin to the
first definition. Nather, Aaishnavism is the original spiritual tradition that includes theory
"spiritual philosophy$ and practical application of spirituality 9 the process of devotional
service to (rishna "bhakti-yoga$, which is based on followin our eternal dharma. Therefore,
there is no &uestion of 5separation from a larer denomination/. Aaishnavism itself is the
primordial 5denomination/ that oriinates from the spiritual world as a creation of Kod +imself.
*ow, if we were to e-amine 'S(C)* in relation to Aaishnavism in eneral, in comparison to
the second definition of the term 5sect/ we can conclude that 'S(C)* is a sect, as within the
primordial spiritual science "Aaishnavism$. There are four 5roups that form a distinct unit
within the common denomination/. Aaishnavism encompasses four enuine 5chains/ of disciplic
successions . that is to say, four lines of spiritual masters and their disciples who have been
uardin and handin down Aedic knowlede from time immemorial, eneration to eneration.
Such a chain of disciplic succession is called sam'radaya "this will be e-plained in detail at the
end of answer to &uestion ;=$. )ne of those four sam'radayas is called Brahma9Dadhva9
Kaudiya sam'radaya. 'S(C)* is a part of this particular sam'radaya. 'n this sam'radaya,
Hust like in the other three, there are a few other enuine Aaishnava institutions, which differ
to some e-tent in the practical application of devotional service "bhakti-yoga$.
,hen the second definition of the word 5sect/ is applied to the world/s reliions "as ' have
Hust done in case of Aaishnavism$, we can conclude that in the world/s reliions there are
nothin but different sects. !et us take, for e-ample, Christianity. %nder the veil of
Christianity, there are many different sects, i.e. 5roups of people formin a distinct unit within
a larer roup "Christianity$ by virtue of certain refinements or distinctions of belief or
practice/. +ere are some e-amples1 Catholic Church, )rthodo- Church, Protestant Church,
Dormons, Adventists, Jehovah/s witnesses, 8vanelists, Dethodists, and Baptists. The same
oes for 'slam, Judaism, Buddhism and +induism.
The word 5cult/ is one of the most confusin reliious terms. This word oriinates from the
!atin word cultus, which is connected to the verb colere, which means (to worshi' or give
reverence to a deity. ,ith this meanin, the word 5cult/ could be ascribed to any roup of
reliious adherents1 Catholics, Duslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc.
1$ "Accordin to the )-ford 8nlish #ictionary$ Theological usage: "worshi': reverential
homage rendered to a divine being! beings or things.- This is the historical meanin of the
word, but it is rarely heard today outside of reliious circles. A reference to the 2Cult of Dary4
appeared in a newspaper report on the Pope6s 1BBB visit to the Americas. 't simply means
that the Pope devotes special attention to the Airin Dary. Thouh the oriinal meanin of the
word 5cult/ remains positive, there are some other definitions ascribed to it in modern days .
some neutral, some very neative. C$ Sociological usage: 2A small reliious roup that
e-ists in a state of tension with the predominant reliion.4 Thus, Buddhism miht be
considered a cult in *orth AmericaM Christianity miht be considered a cult in Japan. ;$
(o*ular5 edia and anti6cult usage1 2A cult is considered a small, evil reliious roup,
often with a sinle charismatic leader, that enaes in brainwashin and other mind control
techni&ues.4 The earliest use of this meanin of the word is believed to have been in a 1BGF
book by ,alter Dartin, The &ingdom of the *ults. Accordin to this definition, Aaishnavism
represented in the world as the +are (rishna movement is definitely not a cult. This will
become clearer to you from the te-t that follows.
)bviously the founder of 'S(C)*, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had the
theoloical meanin in the mind when he very liberally used the word 5cult/ in his books,
sayin that 'S(C)* is a part of the 5cult of Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu/ "especially in the
comments to *aitanya-caritamrita$.
/" Is the Hare Krishna o!eent a *art o+ Hinduis#
:or some practical reasons the +are (rishna movement is officially reistered as a reliion
and in some countries even as 5+indu.Aaishnava Society/, althouh Aaishnavism "as the oldest
spiritual tradition in the world$ has very little in common with +induism. +induism is a
comple- cocktail made of various traditions which find their common root in the Aedic
literature. As such, +induism encompasses Sikhism, Shivaism, Shaktism, Jainism and who
1E
knows what else. The word 5+induism/ is only a few centuries old. 't was coined by Duslims
who called all the people on the other side of the river Sindh 5+indu/. Thus, the root of the
word 5+induism/ has a eoraphical meanin that has wronly found usae in reliious
terminoloy. +owever, the words 5+indu/ and 5+induism/ "obviously$ cannot be found
anywhere in the Aedic literature that was written down more that F<<< years ao. ,e, the
members of the +are (rishna movement, worship one Kod "the only )ne$, thouh we call
+im by various names accordin to +is activities and &ualities. To the contrary, +indus
worship mainly the demiods, who are very powerful beins "empowered by (rishna +imself$
in chare of the proper functionin of the laws of nature in the whole universe.
'n short, the +are (rishna movement is e-clusively interested in the true spirituality known
as bhakti-yoga "yoa of love for Kod$ that is found in ancient Aedic te-ts. Conversely,
+induism is a mere reliion, more or less interested in rituals, mysticism, material benefits,
and recently, nationalism. +indu culture rew out of the Aedic spiritual tradition in the same
way that Christianity rew out of Judaism. Today, Judaism and Christianity are two absolutely
different thins. The same oes for the ancient Aedic spiritual tradition "which culminates in
Aaishnavism$ and +induism.
0" What does it ean to )e a 4aishna!a#
A bhakta . one who possesses bhakti "love for Kod$ . is also called a Aaishnava. A
Aaishnava is any person who is sincerely tryin to ive up lower human nature "reed, lust,
envy, hatred, etc.$ by practicin the true spirituality that reawakens their dormant love for
Kod by followin +is instructions as they are iven in the conclusions of the Aedic literature.
*ow that you know what Aaishnavism is, you can more easily understand who the members of
the +are (rishna movement are. And yet, for more comprehensive understandin, ' will
e-plain further important points. As ' have previously mentioned, there are different
cateories of Aaishnavas in accordance to the level of their spiritual advancement, which is
characterised by the followin factors1 1$ power of sense control, i.e. renunciation from
illusory, material enHoyment, C$ constant eaerness for servin Kod, ;$ understandin of
eternal laws of dharma, E$ breadth of spiritual wisdom and knowlede, E$ purity of heart, i.e.
absence of reed, lust, envy, uncontrolled aner, etc. G$ intensity of love for Kod "(rishna$.
*ote that ' have mentioned the most important factor at the very end . the reason bein that
our dormant love for Kod cannot be awakened unless we possess all the previous &ualities.
Accordin to the Aedic "(rishna6s$ standards, the person who doesn/t possess the
abovementioned &ualities does not have riht to consider himself0herself a spiritual person .
not even reliious. This statement is applicable to every spiritualist in every reliious tradition
in the world. 'f we are to Hude by the results "and symptoms$, we could conclude that there
is a pretty small number of truly spiritual people in the world, thouh there is a hue number
of those who practice so.called spirituality as a part of their profession. 't is important to
emphasi@e that the development of the abovementioned si- &ualities is absolutely impossible
unless one ets to the level of a civilised human bein. !ord (rishna declares in the Aedic
literature what +e considers by the term 5civilised human bein/. This includes observin four
reulative principles1 a)staining +ro 1$ illeal se-ual activities, C$ into-ication, ;$ eatin
meat, fish and es, E$ amblin.
Thouh the proper observance of the four reulative principles is proof of an e-ceptionally
hih, almost unattainable standard of livin for the averae person, such a standard of livin,
from (rishna/s perspective, indicates the 'rimary condition for the beinnin of a serious
spiritual life. %nlike the spiritual world, the material world is the place of everyday sinful
activities. Those sinful activities are rooted wherever there is 1$ any kind of into-ication, C$
killin of people and animals, ;$ illicit se-ual activity and E$ old, i.e. money that is not
enaed for spiritual purposes.
'n order to begin a serious spiritual practice, it is obliatory to et to the level of pious life.
The four pillars of pious life are1 1$ mercy, C$ spiritual austerity, ;$ cleanliness "inner and
outer$ and E$ truthfulness. Dercy in human beins becomes destroyed by killin and eatin
animals. Practicin spiritual austerity becomes destroyed by into-ication. Cleanliness becomes
destroyed by se-ual activities that are not approved by the Aedic +oly Scriptures. Truthfulness
becomes destroyed by amblin. 'n order to remain on the level of spirituality, Aaishnavas
observe the four reulative principles. )bservin these four reulative principles doesn/t limit
anyone/s individuality. )n contrary, it facilitates true freedom. +ere is an analoy that
illustrates the point. 'f the overnment . by means of the police, various welfare institutions
and medical protection 9 prohibits someone to consume drus, does the overnment 5limit
1F
someone/s individuality/ in that way, or does it facilitate reater freedom, which manifests
as &uality, healthy life and everythin that oes alon with it7
The same oes for observin the four reulative principles "of freedom$ that facilitate hih
&uality human life as a prere&uisite for returnin back to the spiritual world. 'n our everyday
life we can see how violation of the four reulative principles creates only chaos, crime and
violence worldwide. All those troubles are nothin but conse&uences of mundane 5wisdom/ that
can ultimately be condensed down to four thins1 how to successfully eat, defend, sleep and
procreate. The problem is as follows1 if not connected to spiritual motivations, those four
activities inevitably lead to a new birth, a new slavery in the material world. 's this wise7 A
truly wise person endeavours patiently and determinedly to end his slavery to the material
enery as well as to develop spiritual &ualities that culminate in the revival of his dormant love
for Kod.
1" What are the conditions +or 7oining and lea!ing the o!eent#
This &uestion can be answered in two ways, dependin on what you mean by 5Hoinin the
movement/. 'f you mean (becoming a member of the tem'le community 9 in this case, the
&ualified are all those who have sincerely decided to devote their lives e-clusively to
missionary activities. This entails observin certain spiritual standards "principles$ that
prohibit1 1$ illeal se-ual activities, C$ into-ication, ;$ eatin meat, fish and es, E$
amblin. :urthermore, every member of the temple community is e-pected to reularly
attend daily prorams "which include ettin up at Epm$, read spiritual literature "primarily
the books written and translated by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada$, meditate on the
+are (rishna maha-mantra usin a rosary, and practical service accordin to one/s individual
skills and &ualifications. 't is important to emphasi@e that the &ualified youth "minors$ can
become members of the temple community only with written and verbal approval of a parent
"parents$ or adult uardian. Doreover, this membership is not *eritted to those who are
mentally ill or unruly. Those members who bein to seriously breach the rules and standards
of temple life or refuse to cooperate with authorities are compelled to leave the community,
which voids their membership.
'f, however, by 5Hoinin the movement/ you mean ('racticing the s'iritual disci'line of
bhakti-yoga within the frame of ones own home and family 9 in this case the rules are not as
demandin as in the previous case. And yet, if such a member wants to be considered a
member of 'S(C)*, he or she must meet the followin minimal conditions that are of vital
sinificance1 1$ acceptin the indisputable authority of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
"which includes readin his books$ and C$ bein convinced that !ord (rishna is the Supreme
Personality of Kodhead.
)bservin all aforementioned rules is absolutely voluntary. )f course, those who reularly
read Prabhupada/s books and understand the essential Aaishnava philosophy are naturally
motivated to follow the spiritual discipline of bhakti-yoga as strictly as possible. All those who
do not live within the temple community and follow the two minimal re&uirements are usually
called 5conreational members/. :rom the previous te-t, it can be concluded that there are a
few cateories of conreational members, from those who follow only two minimal
re&uirements all the way to those whose spiritual standards are no different from the hih
temple re&uirements. Accordin to their sincerity and spiritual advancement, conreational
members are encouraed to actively participate in decision.makin and leadership of temple
communities.
Those conreational members who are unable to strictly observe four reulative principles
but meet the two minimal re&uirements are stronly encouraed to associate with those
whose spiritual standards are hiher. 't is only a matter of time before they et elevated to a
hiher level of spiritual practice 9 of course, in accordance with their sincerity and
determination.
As you can see, it is much more difficult to become a member of 'S(C)* "especially the
temple community$, rather than withdrawin oneself from membership, which simply re&uires
individual decision and0or violation of spiritual "especially temple$ standards.
8" What does the Hare Krishna aha6antra ean#
:or many centuries the term mantra has been used for any sound vibration that has
spiritual, healin or mystical properties. Thus there are mantras for healin the body and
mind, for invokin hiher beins "demiods$ who conduct vital functions in the universe, for
creation and use of supernatural destructive weapons, for utterin blessins and curses, for
1G
achievin mystical powers, etc. All such mantras can be found in different sections of the
Aedas. +owever, in the Aedic times "which date more than F;<< years back$ those mantras
could be properly used only by hihly &ualified people "brahmanas$ who were spiritually pure
and very well conversant with the laws of dharma. This means that only a minority of the
population could successfully chant the mantras.
The very word 5mantra/ means (the sound vibration for liberating the mind "manas 9 the
mind, trayate 9 to liberate$. The term maha-mantra means 5the great chant "spiritual
vibration$ for liberating the mind "from contamination by illusory, material enery$. The +are
(rishna maha.mantra oes as follows1 Hare Krishna5 Hare Krishna5 Krishna Krishna5
Hare Hare5 Hare 9aa5 Hare 9aa5 9aa 9aa5 Hare Hare. )bHects and persons in the
material world are different from their correspondin names. Thus the word "sound vibration$
5water/ is different from water itself. +owever, obHects and persons in the spiritual world are
non-different from their names. That means that the name &rishna is non.different from
(rishna +imself. :or this reason, the maha-mantra . (rishna in the form of spiritual sound . is
especially meant for spiritual purification of the conditioned souls in the material world.
Chantin the +are (rishna maha-mantra purifies the mind and intellience of those who
chant and listen to it. Neular chantin, utterin and listenin to the maha-mantra radually
but surely diminishes and ultimately destroys our attachment for enHoyment of material
obHects. That is to say, it spiritualises our mind and intellience in order to make them suitable
for understandin superior spiritual knowlede. Also, it facilitates the ability to e-perience
unlimited spiritual pleasure, which culminates in unselfish love for (rishna "this love which is
already e-istin yet dormant in our heart$. To et to that level of perfection, it is compulsory
to eradicate all contaminations from our heart, such as lust, reed, uncontrolled aner, envy,
desire for reconition, etc. This can be most effectively achieved by chantin, utterin and
listenin to the maha-mantra, observin four reulative principles "avoidin sinful activities$,
and renderin practical service for (rishna/s pleasure "accordin to the standards prescribed in
the Aaishnava literature$.
The followin te-t is an abrided version of an essay on the maha-mantra written by A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
2The transcendental vibration established by the chantin of Hare Krishna5 Hare
Krishna5 Krishna Krishna5 Hare Hare : Hare 9aa5 Hare 9aa5 9aa 9aa5
Hare Hare is the sublime method for revivin our transcendental consciousness. As
livin spirit souls, we are oriinally (rishna conscious entities, but due to our
association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now adulterated
by the material atmosphere. The material atmosphere, in which we are now livin, is
called maya! or illusion. /aya means 5that which is not/. And what is this illusion7 The
illusion is that we are tryin to be lords of material nature, while actually we are
under the rip of her strinent laws. ,hen a servant artificially tries to imitate the all.
powerful master, he is said to be in illusion. ,e are tryin to e-ploit the resources of
material nature, but actually we are becomin more and more entanled in her
comple-ities. Therefore, althouh we are enaed in a hard strule to con&uer
nature, we are ever more dependent on her. This illusory strule aainst material
nature can be stopped at once by revival of our eternal (rishna consciousness.
Chantin of the +are (rishna maha-mantra is the transcendental process for revivin
this oriinal, pure consciousness. By chantin this transcendental vibration, we can
cleanse away all misivins within our hearts. The basic principle of all such
misivins is the false consciousness that 5' am the lord of all ' survey/.
2(rishna consciousness is not an artificial imposition on the mind. This
consciousness is the oriinal, natural enery of the livin entity. ,hen we hear this
transcendental vibration, this consciousness is revived. This simplest method of
meditation is recommended for this ae. By practical e-perience also, one can
perceive that by chantin this maha-mantra, or the Kreat Chantin for #eliverance,
one can at once feel a transcendental ecstasy comin throuh from the spiritual
stratum. 'n the material concept of life we are busy in the material sense
ratification, as if we were in the lower, animal stae. A little elevated from this
status of sense ratification, one is enaed in mental speculation for the purpose of
ettin out of the material clutches. A little elevated from this speculative status,
when one is intellient enouh, one tries to find out the supreme cause of all causes .
within and without. And when one is factually on the plane of spiritual understandin,
1>
surpassin the staes of sense, mind, and intellience, one is then on the
transcendental plane.
2This chantin of the +are (rishna maha-mantra is enacted from the spiritual
platform, and thus this sound vibration surpasses all lower strata of consciousness .
namely sensual, mental, and intellectual. There is no need therefore, to understand
the lanuae of the mantra! nor is there any need for mental speculation or any
intellectual adHustment for chantin this maha-mantra. 't is natural, from the spiritual
platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chantin without any previous
&ualification. 'n a more advanced stae one is not e-pected to commit offences on
the rounds of spiritual understandin. )f course, for one who is too entanled in
material life, it takes a little more time to come to the standard point, but even such
a materially enrossed person is raised to the spiritual platform very &uickly.
2The word %ara is the form of addressin the enery of the !ord, and the words
&rishna and 9ama are forms of addressin the !ord +imself. Both (rishna and 9ama
mean 5the supreme pleasure/, and %ara is the supreme pleasure enery of the !ord,
chaned to %are in vocative. These three words, namely %are! &rishna and 9ama are
the transcendental seeds of the maha-mantra. The chantin is a spiritual call for the
!ord and +is enery, to ive protection to the conditioned soul. *o other means for
spiritual realisation is as effective in this ae of &uarrel and hypocrisy as the chantin
of Hare Krishna5 Hare Krishna5 Krishna Krishna5 Hare Hare5 Hare 9aa5 Hare
9aa5 9aa 9aa5 Hare Hare& The !ord reveals +imself to the devotee who
chants this mantra sincerely.4
SDy remark1 Lrila Prabhupada ives here a very simplified meanin of the words +are, (rishna
and Nama. The word &rishna literally means the all-attractive one. 9ama means the source of
s'iritual satisfaction.T
The maha-mantra is the means for attainin spiritual perfection. At the same time it is the
oal, as it is non.different from (rishna +imself. 't is more than ood enouh to stop the
process of unendin cycle of births and deaths "reincarnation$ for anyone who sincerely
approaches the chantin of the +oly *ames and avoids sinful activities. 'n our everyday
practice, we Aaishnavas "the members of +are (rishna movement$ chant maha-mantra usin
a rosary that is called +a'a. Japa has 1<= beads, which constitute one 5round/. ,hile holdin
each bead, we chant "and listen to$ one maha-mantra1 +are (rishna, +are (rishna, (rishna
(rishna, +are +are, +are Nama, +are Nama, Nama Nama, +are +are. Bein followers of A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the members of 'S(C)* chant at least 1G rounds of maha-
mantra daily, which e&uals 1>C= maha-mantras "1<= - 1G$. 't takes a bit more than two hours
daily. :or practical reasons, it is not necessary to chant all 1G rounds in one succession. But it
is necessary to chant with undivided attention, as far as possible.
:or a layman or a neophyte, such a process of meditation miht seem to be pretty borin
and meaninless. But those who persist in proper practice of this process of meditation have
access to the world that e-ists beyond the scope of the imperfect human senses, where a new
dimension of consciousness opens up 9 a dimension in which is possible to e-perience the
boundless spiritual pleasure that oriinates from (rishna/s direct association.
23" Does the Hare Krishna o!eent *ractice )rainwashing#
Accordin to a dictionary, the definition of 5brainwashin/ is as follows1 2.ystematic
indoctrination to induce someone to give u' basic 'olitical! social! or religious beliefs and
attitudes and to acce't contrasting regimented ideas by means of 'hysical tortures! narcotics
or 'sychological stress.4 ' would e-pand this definition and formulate it as follows1 2 . . . by
means of physical tortures, narcotics, psycholoical stress and frequent (or constant)
propaganda.4
' do not understand why somebody would Hoin the +are (rishna movement to !oluntarily
undero tortures, narcotics or psycholoical stress for the reason of 5systematic chane of
attitudes and beliefs/. The people who Hoin the +are (rishna movement are those who have
read some of the books written by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and who aree to
the doctrines of Aaishnava philosophy as well as to the lifestyle. The +are (rishna movement
doesn/t need psychopaths, notorious dru addicts and @ombies "the victims of drus, alcohol
and psychical torture$. 'f the +are (rishna movement were composed of such individuals, it
would have disinterated the very first day. )ur movement needs decent and sober people
1=
who refuse to be the victims of e-ploitin reimes and who are in search of true "lastin$
happiness which cannot be found in this world of repeated birth, disease, old ae and deathM
people who are in search of their own true selves, i.e. their eternal spiritual identityM people
who want to live freely, avoidin manipulation by politicians, mafia, and other cheatersM
thouhtful people who above all value ancient wisdom and who want their relationship with
Kod to make the perfection of life.
The &uestion arises 2Can psychical and physical tortures really chane someone/s attitude74
!et us take a few world famous e-amples which prove that it is not 'ossible. ' am oin to
mention only five e-amples, but there are numerous other e-amples of persons who have
kept their attitudes and convictions in spite of riorous psychical and physical tortures. 1$
Socrates, Kreek philosopher "EGB.;BB BC$. 'n spite of all the tortures he underwent, he
refused to recant his conviction about reincarnation. Before he died, Socrates proclaimed, 2Iou
can kill my body, but not my own self34 C$ Jesus Christ. #espite severe sufferin, he refused to
ive up his claim that he was the messiah sent by Kod to spiritually enlihten the Jews. Also,
he loriously refused to ive up his &uality of foriveness. ;$ Kiordano Bruno "1FE=.1G<<$,
who was torched alive on the order of 5reliious/ cli&ue from the Aatican. :rom the Aatican/s
perspective, K. Bruno was a dangerous heretic who claimed "Hust like Knostics before him$
2liberation does not depend on someone/s connection to the Church, but rather to people/s
direct connection and faith in Kod.4 Also, he challened the Church doma, which claimed that
the souls 5were created from nothin/ and therefore are not parts of Kod. )n the list of Bruno/s
5sins/ was his faith in reincarnation, his support of Copernicus/ heliocentric theory with the Sun
as the centre, and his readin of books written by 8rasmus Notterdamus. E$ ,illiam ,allace
"1C><.7$, Scottish national hero "about whom the famous movie 2Brave heart4 was made$. +e
fouht aainst the 8nlish reime. 8ven while bein severely tortured, he refused to accept
authority of 8nlish kin 8dward '. F$ Aiktor :rankl "1B<F.1BB>$, Austrian neuroloist and
psychiatrist of Jewish oriin, who was psychically and physically tortured by *a@is in a death
camp durin ,, ''. +e wrote the famous book /ans .earch for /eaning.
As we are talkin about tortures, '/d like to mention that in the first decade of our
movement, some parents "especially in the %SA$ hired so.called 5deprorammers/ to kidnap
their children who had become the members of the +are (rishna movement. The
deprorammers would take their victims to a solitary place, usually somewhere in countryside.
They would lock them up in a house and force them psychically and physically to eat meat and
to consume alcohol and drus "to turn them into 5normal/ members of the human society$. The
larer number of my colleaues who underwent the ordeal e-ternally declared how they 5were
cheated by the +are (rishna movement/, and they e-pressed their desire to 5leave the
movement for ood/. +owever, as soon the deprorammers set them free to return to their
5well.wishin/ parents, my 5reformed/ colleaues instead ran to another temple, mostly in
Canada or Kreat Britain, where they continued with their spiritual life. )n the other hand,
some of the victims were subHected to severe drus that irreparably damaed their psyches.
They were brutally beaten to the point of bleedin and even bone fracture. Parado-ically, that
was oin on in the %SA 9 the country of promised democratic freedom. :ortunately, this is
not happenin anymore. 't/s only the reminiscence of a dark past.
'ndeed, drus and alcohol can successfully chane someone/s attitudes and values 9 but in
this case the victims become wayward and psychically damaed individuals who are unable to
interact normally with the rest of the world "or even with their own selves$. Kenerally people
start takin drus for two maHor reasons. :irstly, they want to avoid the painful reality they
are surrounded by in their life "disappointment, anuish, frustration, etc.$ This means they
have neither the knowlede nor the courae to face the harsh side of the reality. Secondly,
some people take shelter of drus in order to reach Kod, 5spirituality/ and 5multidimensional
spheres of reality/ i.e. reality that e-ists beyond the scope of the material senses. As '
mentioned previously, we already live under a thick cloak of illusion which renders us unable
to poke our heads out of the world of relative truths and realise eternal, absolute truths.
The result of dru use is the absolute opposite of what is e-pected of it. *arcotics deepen a
person/s illusion to the e-tent that the addicts often do not know their own name or where
they are. :or those who live in the world of drus, access to the spiritual realm is absolutely
impossible. Sincere seekers of spiritual truth . saints, saes and ascetics 9 practice severe
austerities for their whole lives in order to et out of the circle of samsara
2$
and move forever
to the world eternal perfection and bliss. 't is absurd that so many inorant people live in
illusion, thinkin that Kod and eternal bliss could be obtained in such a cheap way 9 throuh
drus. ,hatever the reason for takin drus, the ultimate result is the same1 hellish misery
1C
The circle of repeated birth and death.
1B
and life of aony. #esperate cravin for another 5trip/. And price is not a matter of
consideration.
'f +are (rishna movement were recruitin new members by imposin narcotics on them, the
movement would be full of dru addicts ready to do anythin for their ne-t dose. +ave you
ever heard that some 5+are (rishna people/ were involved in oranised crime in order to
procure drus7 +ave you ever heard that 5+are (rishna people/ anywhere in the world have
been cauht for producin and tradin narcotics7 'f you have heard somethin like that, ' do
not think ' should repeat from what kind of sources and for what reasons you heard about it. '
know for sure that there are some sources that are spreadin rumours that 5+are (rishna
people are takin drus/.
A few years ao, when ' was drivin from the C@ech Nepublic to Kermany, ' was stopped by
a Kerman customs officer. As he could clearly see that ' was a member of +are (rishna
movement, he ordered a thorouh search of my car. They went as far as to remove the
indicators and tail lihts in order to find hidden drus. ' ask the officer why they were doin
that. +e said 2,ell, it is widely known that you +are (rishna people are dru addicts and that
you brainwash innocent people.4 :ortunately, ' manaed to keep my emotions under control
and asked him calmly from where he ot that information. +e nonchalantly replied, 2't was on
the TA.4 :antastic3 The &uestion remains1 2,ho stands behind that type of TA proramme,
and with what intentions74 Since it was introduced, the media has been used for various
purposes, amon which is the spreadin of anti.propaanda. Some people have very ood
reasons to defile those who are in the way of their political, financial and other selfish oals.
Contrary to such rumours, the +are (rishna movement is praiseworthy for curin a vast
number of youn people worldwide who had been addicted to drus. 8specially in the early
years of 'S(C)*, our spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ave public
lectures about (rishna, spirituality, bhakti-yoga, reincarnation, etc. +is audiences were mostly
hippies, of whom many accepted spiritual discipline of bhakti-yoga because it offered them
tanible answers about the meanin of e-istence and their own spiritual identity. Those youn
people not only ceased to consume drus, but also ceased other sinful activities "illicit se-,
eatin meat and amblin$. Additionally, in the years that followed, they came to such a hih
level of spiritual proress that they themselves started to turn hippies into spiritually decent
people with noble character. This tradition is oin on to this day.
*ow ' would like to refer to my e-pansion of the definition of brainwashin 9 fre<uent or
continuous 'ro'aganda. Practical e-perience proves that e-actly this is the most effective
method of brainwashin. :or the last few decades politicians, scientists and profiteers from the
business world have been usin the media as an e-cellent means of manipulation in order to
foist their ideas, theories, political convictions, merchandise, etc. to vast numbers of people,
with the aim of achievin their own political, social or financial oals 9 i.e. to make as bi a
profit as possible at the e-pense of naive people or to ive them some 5solid reasons/ to
invade another country by military intrusion. )win to such thorouh manipulation
"brainwashin . conscious or subliminal$, the vast maHority of consumers do not even blink an
eye while fillin their shoppin baskets with oods "especially food$ that are advertised via TA,
radio and newspapers. +ow many people make an effort to check the lon list of inredients
on the label of a product they wish to buy7 :or e-ample, the food and pharmaceutical
industries put in their products a whole spectrum of inredients that are very harmful for
health. Some of those inredients are even carcinoenic . typical of a certain number of
additives that serve as taste improvers, preservatives, artificial colours, etc. Those additives
are represented as 8 numbers "e-ample1 8E>1$ on the product labels. Iet those products
"food and toiletries$ sell very well, as they have sinificant publicity enerated by the media.
,hat really annoys me is when somebody says to us Aaishnavas, 2Iou don/t want to face
the truth. Iou are runnin away.4 Absurdly, those same people are the easy victims of
propaanda created by manipulators and the media, acceptin as the truth almost everythin
that is served to them. They devour any 5food/ that can be found in supermarkets and buy
products that are harmful to their health. ,hen someone warns them of danerous
inredients, they simply say, 2't/s all for humans34 Ies it isM but for what kind of humans7 :or
those who aree to be incessantly cheated by politicians, by fat profiteers who are cashin in
on them, and ultimately by material nature. Those people cannot think for themselves. Nather,
they need somebody who will think for them . by means of TA, radio and newspapers . to tell
them 5what is ood for them/. +ere are a few e-amples that describe how the brainwashin
industry really works.
;xa*le 2" Supported by overnments, the meat industry systematically brainwashes
people by launchin lies such as 2Deat is ood for you4, 2Deat is the best source of
proteins4 ... Nubbish3 They are makin billions of dollars of profit from innocent people by
C<
denyin the fact that meat is laden with numerous chemicals which prevent meat from
decomposin or ive a 5fresh, healthy/ colour and that it is laced with hormones used to
stimulate rowth in the animals before they are slauhtered. 'n addition to that, there are
considerable amounts of to-ins and bacteria retained in the meat of slauhtered animals. The
very fact that 8uropean countries haven/t chaned the rate of beef consumption "and some
even increased$ in spite of much talk about BS8 proves how powerful brainwashin is.
+owever, the truth is diametrically opposed to what the cheatin profiteers proclaim. Scientific
research that is not under control of the manipulators has proven time and aain that meat
and meat.related foods are not at all suitable for human body and psyche.
;xa*le $" Just look around yourself, and you will see how newspapers, TA, radio and film
industry deal with nothin but different aspects of se-ual life, eatin, sleepin and defendin.
Dany profiteers know very well how to use human dullness to amass enormous amounts of
money by propaatin sinful life "killin of animals, into-ication, pornoraphy, se-ual
promiscuity, amblin, etc.$ Television, radio and newspapers brainwash us daily by foistin
on us such thins as ciarettes, alcohol, and other drus and harmful products wrapped and
packed in very attractive bo-es and bottles. They are convincin us that there is nothin
wron with so.called 5free love/ and incitin se-ual preoccupation in people so much so that
teenaers become rapists, se- maniacs and paedophiles. People widely perform abortions, and
cases of incest are no loner rare, perverted occurrences but rather so commonplace that they
are almost becomin part of everyday life. Statistics show that the crime rate in the world has
increased proportionately to the development of the film industry, which propaates different
types of violence. Clearly, some people are keenly interested in keepin the world/s population
far away from natural values and reducin them to the level of obedient and brainwashed
consumers in order to sell their products "ciarettes, alcohol, weapons, etc.$ and to cash in on
the misuided victims.
;xa*le ," Dodern pharmaceutical remedies are laden with various chemicals that more
often than not create serious side effects "anomalies and death$ for thousands of people
around the world. A man of even basic intellience can understand that the medical results
derived from testin on animals do not have any lastin positive application, for the simple
reason that we are enetically and bioloically entirely different from rabbits, rats, monkeys,
cats, dos, uinea pisU Dodern allopathic remedies are primarily desined to enerate profit
for the people who peddle pharmaceutical remedies and to create the illusion that pharmacists
know somethin valuable. 'f they are so knowledeable, why have so many remedies been
withdrawn from the market, proven harmful due to danerous side effects7 The vast maHority
of remedies are composed of unnatural substances and chemicals which miht be appropriate
for a certain type of disease, yet are simultaneously detrimental to the natural functions of
some vital orans. Aain, it is a &uestion of prorammin the consumers in order to enerate
as lare a profit as possible. 't is for Hust this reason that many countries have banned or
limited the use of natural medicine based on healin herbs.
;xa*le -$ Scientists have been usin the media for the last few decades to prove to
humanity their merits for makin 5hue/ leaps forward in the evolution of man, characterised
by the proress of industrialisation and technoloy. 'n spite of e-tensive scientific research,
scientists and philosophers are pushin us daily to the brink of a reat catastrophe . the final
collapse of our bioloical and ecoloical systems. The symptoms of upcomin catastrophe
"perhaps a climatic chaos$ are plentiful1 lobal warminM oil spillaesM pollution of air, water
and soilM clearin of rainforestsM nuclear wasteM o@one holesM e-tinction of thousands of
species of flora and fauna. All these "and many other$ troubles are the outcome of someone/s
5loical reasonin/, filtered throuh imperfect senses and other impurities of human beins
that time and aain start off with a wron formula1 2' am the body.4 'n spite of more or less
discourain results, scientific maa@ines and books "also TA and radio$ daily bombard people
with the statements about 5a better future for mankind/M all we have to do is to invest more
money into their scientific research so they can eventually invent a vaccine for all maladies
and brin an end to ain and death.
' have been askin myself for years, 2,hy have people for centuries put their faith in
propositions "hypotheses and theories$ which are not at all based on solid proof74 'sn/t this
e-cellent proof of brainwashin7 #o you know anybody who believes in the 5Bi Ban/ theory
or #arwin/s theory of evolution7 #o you know anybody who doesn/t believe in reincarnation .
althouh no science can *ro!e that the laws of karma and reincarnation do not work7 These
kinds of people abound all around us.
;xa*le ." Spiritual and classical music harmonises bodily eneries, induces ood
vibrations, and favourably affects our psyche. 'n this modern ae, these styles are bein
aressively replaced by cheap, commercial sounds "which hardly could be called music$ that
C1
stimulate aression, violence, madness and a need for into-ication. +ard rock, heavy
metal, punk and psychedelic music destroy our creative ability, disharmonise functions of the
subtle body, and increase secretion of adrenalin and other hormones that induce bestial and
destructive behaviour. As sounds have incredibly sinificant impact on our consciousness, the
manipulators are usin them e-pertly to destroy virtue in people and alienate them from true
spirituality.
;xa*le /" As for children/s toys, please note that the shelves in toyshops are well stocked
with plastic weapons, children/s military uniforms, mini.tanks, rubber dolls of e-tremely uly
monsters, plastic skulls and skeletons, etc. 'n byone days children used to play with toys
made of natural materials, mainly wood. Those toys were desined to teach the children
somethin positive throuh fun. Aolumes and volumes of books could be written on this
subHect. +owever, for the purpose of this book ' Hust want to point out the followin fact1
somebody is really endeavourin to proramme us from the time we start to et our first
teeth. Somebody really wants to destroy our oodness and shackle us in the chains of atheism
and hedonism, reducin us to mere pawns on a chessboard, to two.leed beasts .
brainwashed slaves who are ever ready to obediently consume virtually anythin and sell our
own souls for the little happiness that is available even to animals "in a different way$.
Somebody has been prorammin us from early childhood so much so that those rare people
who tune in to ancient wisdom and who do not follow the flock are considered odd cranks by
the maHority of the foolish society.
The si- abovementioned e-amples of brainwashin are clearly so effective that their
conse&uences are deeply rooted all around the world. Therefore people eat unwholesome
5food/, consume narcotics, drink alcohol, believe in 5scientific/ ibberish, o to wars, enae
themselves in crime and violence, etc. All these types of brainwashin are based on a sinle
incorrect premise that scientists and politicians have been impressin upon naive people for
centuries1 2Iou are the body34 #ue to this false identification, it is very easy to pin anyone to a
national or reliious desination for which many will enthusiastically head out to war and kill
people from other nations and reliious denominations. %ll the wars in the history of the
mankind and all terrorist attacks have been "and will be$ based on the erroneous formula,
2Iou are the body34 Such brainwashin absolutely opposes spiritual truth, which is
accompanied by the virtuous &ualities of love, peace, tolerance, mercy, healthy life,
truthfulness, and cleanliness. This is what everyone is cravin for, isn/t it7 As lon as people
aree to be misuided by materialistic propaanda and hedonism, true spirituality and the
accompanyin virtues will be reflected only as a mere hankerin for a better life.
#o you need proof7 Just look around yourself and observe the results of the propaanda
"brainwashin$ by which you are daily bein prorammed throuh the media. 'n spite of the
numerous discoveries and breakthrouhs of modern science "which is based in ross atheism$,
standards of livin are deradin day by day, with alarminly reat speed. Pure drinkin water
and healthful food is unavailable for the vast maHority of mankind. Air is contaminated by C)C
that not only poisons our oranism, but also enerates lobal warmin, leadin to serious and
imminent climatic chaos in the world. 'n the C1
st
century the mortality rate is hiher than in
the Diddle Aes, when pestilence was wreakin havoc on helpless people. "The 'n&uisition had
its contribution as well.$ *ever before in human history did so many people die of huner as
they do today. )win to systematic brainwashin, people are ever ready to ive up healthy
and peaceful life in e-chane for technoloical conveniences that are bein mass.produced by
modern science "fast cars, computers, cell phones, and other technoloical0electronic
adets$. :urthermore, human morality is in severe decline, resultin in a serious increase of
violence and crime. :or what reason7 Because some power.monerin people want to
enerate massive profit at your e-pense and manipulate your emotions to use for their
political, economic and social oals.
,hen Hournalists asked our spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada if he
came to the %SA to brainwash the local people, he answered1 2*o. ' have come to gi!e you
the brain34 'ndeed, the fundamental mission of the +are (rishna movement is to wake
humanity up from the illusion of materialism and to educate people about their eternal
spiritual nature as e-plained in reat detail in the paes of the holy scriptures deposited by the
Creator into the hands of humanity many millions of years ao in the form of the Aedic
literature.
22" What are the o!eent<s +inancial resources#
CC
+are (rishna movement "'S(C)*$ is a non.profit spiritual oranisation, which means that
its financial resources are bein used e-clusively for the popularisation of spirituality and Aedic
culture 9 which includes buildin and maintenance of (rishna/s temples, production and
distribution of spiritual literature, oranisation of festivals and other public appearances,
production and distribution of spiritualised veetarian food, etc. There are four main sources
from which 'S(C)* settles its financial needs for missionary activities1 1$ sale of the spiritual
literature "especially books by A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada$, C$ sale of
paraphernalia "audio and #A# disks, calendars, incense sticks, stickers, etc.$, ;$ veetarian
restaurants, and E$ donations by employed members of 'S(C)* and other sympathi@ers "for
e-ample, Dr. Keore +arrison$.
'S(C)* consists mainly of family people who are employed accordin their profession.
Thus, maHority of 'S(C)*/s members maintain their families workin as a physicians, bakers,
auto mechanics, siners, teachers, solicitors, ariculturists, etc. Aaishnavas can do any kind of
Hob that doesn/t compromise observin the four reulative principles. Therefore, Aaishnavas
never work as butchers, scientists who test on animals, or doctors involved in abortion.
'n the leadin reliious traditions "Christianity, Judaism, 'slam, etc.$ there is only a small
number of active monks who live in monasteries, churches, synaoues, mos&ues, etc. The
vast maHority of adherents of any reliion are the workin people from conreation who
financially secure the needs of the ordained ministers "priests and nuns$. Similarly, in the +are
(rishna movement, vast maHority of members are people from conreation "workin people
and students$ who practice their spiritual life at home and contribute to the mission either
financially and0or by renderin devotional service accordin to their potential and skills. '/d like
to emphasi@e that all contributions are voluntary.
2$" Is it necessary to lea!e e!erything and li!e in the te*le#
,e could talk here about two different topics 9 5leavin everythin/ and 5livin in the
temple/. (rishna does not force anybody to leave anythin as +e respects our individuality and
free will. Spiritual life is a matter of free choice. Iet, to those who have seriously decided to
achieve the perfection of human life by practicin bhakti-yoga with ood intentions, +e
recommends to ive up all sinful activities and all obHects that are related to such activities.
%ltimately, +e recommends that we ive up all our attachments to the material world. )f
course, this doesn/t mean that we cannot possess somethin. 't doesn/t matter how much of
material opulence one possessesM rather, it matters for what purpose and in what type of
consciousness one uses it. Aedic history is full of e-amples of kins "ra+arishis$ who were
hihly advanced spiritually and were truly detached from their fabulous possessions.
'f somebody is interested in becomin a member of +are (rishna movement, they are not
e-pected to ive up their Hob, i.e. source of income "unless the source of income is related to
sinful activities, such as bein a butcher$. +owever, there are many obHects which aren/t
necessarily related to sinful activities, but are more favourably iven up "sold or iven away$,
as they create unnecessary attachments which are serious stumblin blocks on the path of
spiritual life. As e-amples, ' can mention the TA set, various scientific maa@ines, useless
books, C# and #A# disks with mundane music, etc. +owever, there is no official re&uest that
such belonins be discarded. Aain, it is a matter of individual choice. 8-perience shows that
the less spiritually advanced members of the movement cannot easily dispose of such thins
"that are unnecessary for advancement in spiritual life$. *evertheless, when in due course of
time they et to a hiher level of spiritual advancement, they easily ive up such unnecessary
belonins.
As for livin in the temple, ' have already written somethin about it in answer 11. ' can
offer here an e-panded e-planation. There are two maHor types of our communities. 1$
Temples, which are mostly situated in urban locations. They are supposed to enable as lare a
number of people as possible to see the deities
2,
, to talk to the community members, to listen
to discourses on bhakti-yoga and Aedic culture, to buy books, to render a service for (rishna,
etc. The most prominent feature of a temple is the altar with deities or photoraphs of deities.
The temple has separate accommodation for male members "brahmacariashram$ and female
members "brahmacariniashram$. As a rule, married couples "especially with children$ do not
live toether in the temple buildin, but there are some e-ceptions.
C$ :arms, which are rural communities meant for the lives of Aaishnava families who work
with land and animals . producin rains, fruits, veetables, flowers, dairy products and
1;
Please refer to answer no. E.
C;
honey. Just like the urban temples, each of our farms also has a temple with altar and
deities. :amilies have their homes built on property that belons to 'S(C)* and, of course,
they keep (rishna in the form of a deity. Nent money is used for maintenance of the
community deities and for preachin purposes. Some of our farms also have gurukulas, i.e.
spiritual schools for children.
*ot every member of 'S(C)* society who wants to live in the temple community is allowed
to do so. This privilee is reserved only for those who are ready to strictly observe the four
reulative principles, attend daily temple prorams and voluntarily render service accordin to
their &ualifications and physical0mental capabilities. The members of a temple community
must be ready to devote their lives to the service and needs of the preachin mission
"educatin people about various aspects of the science of (rishna$. %nlike the temple
community, which is primarily focused on spreadin the mission "sankirtana mission$, the
farm community is mostly focused on healthy spiritual development of Aaishnava families,
spiritual education of children, and production of its own food "ariculture and diary products$.
't is also a means of preachin by which the community members practically show
mainstream society the benefits of simple "healthy$ livin and hih "spiritual$ thinkin.
)f course, the larest numbers of 'S(C)*/s members live in their own homes "which are
ideally converted to private temples$. Dany householders have an altar and match the
standards of the temple community. Such members who live in their own homes are called
conreational members. 't doesn/t really matter where someone lives. ,hat really matters
are sincerity and the hih spiritual standards of bhakti-yoga practice.
2," How does ISKCON contri)ute to huanity#
,e members of the +are (rishna movement want to see this world a much better place for
livin 9 a place devoid of wars, crime, hatred and madness, which have their roots in the
lower human nature "reed, lust, envy and false eo$. This lower human nature is nothin but
the result of a serious lack of true spirituality which bein more deeply inrained every day
throuh materialistic media propaanda and the educational prorams of modern school
systems.
There are some alleations that the members of +are (rishna movement are 5la@y bears/.
The people who are spreadin such alleations mainly see Aaishnavas sellin spiritual
literature in public places or sinin and dancin on the street. 'n answer E> ' will offer
detailed e-planation about our sinin and dancin in the street. As to sellin spiritual
literature 9 is it la@iness7 Dany of my colleaues spend around eiht hours daily in the street
"in various weather conditions$, voluntarily e-posin themselves to many inconveniences
"even danerous situations$ in order to enable people to benefit from spiritual truths written in
the Aedic literature which offer the only remedy for absolutely all problems of modern
humanity.
Neardin 5bein/, let us first analyse what bein actually means. Bein means
2e-traction of material oods "money, clothes, food, etc.$ by appealin to someone/s mercy
and not ivin to the contributors anythin in e-chane.4 'f you aree to this definition, then
you should accept that the members of 'S(C)* never be. ,e sell books and paraphernalia
"audio and #A# disks, stickers, etc.$, but we never e-hort people to ive us material oods
without ivin them somethin in e-chane. 'f some people by their own will wish to ive their
voluntary contribution without acceptin anythin in return, that is another thin 9 but we are
definitely not bein. All reliions of the world are open to acceptin voluntary donations
from their sympathisers and supporters. +owever, even then, our practice is to ive some
token of ratitude to our contributors.
!et us now analyse what 'S(C)* is doin practically to benefit humanity. )ur contributions
can be divided into two cateories1 spiritual and material.
S*iritual contri)utions: Thouh ' have already written somethin about this, ' shall
e-plain it aain throuh an analoy. 'maine that you possess an effective vaccine for A'#S,
but you keep the formula e-clusively for yourself and your family. Then one day somebody
finds out that you possess the maic formula and reports you to the police. :or not sharin the
formula with others, the overnment would most probably sentence you to life imprisonment
or even capital punishment. Similarly, we really do *ossess the secret vaccine for all the
problems rampain throuhout the world. That 5vaccine/ is spiritual knowlede, which !ord
(rishna deposited in the hands of saes and wise people from byone days for the benefit of
mankind and other livin beins conditioned by illusory idea, 2' am the body. All that '
e-perience is absolute reality.4
CE
)ur divine mission is to share with the whole of humanity this 5secret/ spiritual knowlede
that has been preserved in its oriinal form from the time immemorial, passed down from
eneration to eneration of spiritual masters and other Aaishnava saints empowered by
(rishna +imself. As you can read in the answer to &uestion C, our spiritual master "A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada$ was authorised to disseminate the science of (rishna
around the whole world. +e was preceded by a few so.called urus who had come to the ,est
to cash in on a ullible people by sellin them some kind of 5cocktail philosophies/ hidden
under the veil of 5yoa/ and 5ancient 'ndian wisdom/. But Lrila Prabhupada was the only one
who brouht with him bhakti-yoga "the oriinal science of (rishna consciousness$. Bhakti.
yoga is not 5'ndian/ wisdomM rather it is absolute spiritual science, oriinatin from the !ord
+imself and universally applicable at all times, in the whole of creation. Sadly, many people
resist acceptin this sublime knowlede, even thouh it is absolutely free.
Bemused by the philosophy of ross materialism "hedonism$ that is bein daily lorified by
scientists and politicians and confused by the anti.propaanda of reliious fanatics, such
people are unable to reconise the inestimable value of knowlede that we safeuard and
share with others. All of us who have voluntarily areed to follow (rishna/s well.wishin
teachins have accepted the responsibility of sharin this wisdom with other people. This is
the reatest contribution, one which the people in eneral cannot imaine.
The aterial contri)utions: The proram 2:ood for !ife4 "::!$ has been active within
'S(C)* since 1B>E. This proram is based on free distribution of veetarian food to the
homeless, to children in orphanaes, to the people in areas hit by natural disorders "flood,
drouht, earth&uake, etc.$ and to those in war.ridden countries. Actually, this kind of
contribution is also spiritual, as the food we distribute isn/t ordinary veetarian food, but
rather spiritualised food, cooked and offered to (rishna with devotion. Such food is called
'rasadam! and all those who eat it receive remarkable spiritual benefit. The ::! proram is
active in more than G< countries around the world and serves thousands of free meals daily=
This is the larest proram for distribution of free veetarian food in the world.
Amon numerous successful achievements of ::! proram, ' will list only a few.
2" Sara7e!o (288-"& The ::! proram saved the lives of thousands of people who were
besieed in the encircled city. That operation was a real feat, as we manaed to ather
cookin inredients even at the time of absolute food scarcity. Benefited were people of
different nationalities who were bein e-posed to bombardin, shellin and shootin at the
time.
$" >ro?ny5 Chechnya (288."& =F<.<<< meals distributed.
," Nicaragua (2881"& Aid to the victims of hurricane Ditch.
-" @o?a)iAue ($333"& Aid to the victims of incredible floods.
." >u7arat5 India ($332"& Aid to earth&uake victims.
/" Bri Canka and India ($33-"& Aid to tsunami victims.
0" @ississi**i and Texas5 S%D ($33."& Aid to the victims of hurricane (atrina.
'f you wish to find out more about our ::! proram, please visit our website www&++l&org
'n addition to the ::! proram, '/d like to emphasi@e another outstandin contribution. The
spiritual process of bhakti-yoga and the Aaishnava philosophy inspire thousands of youn
people around the world to ive up crime, drus, alcohol and suicidal mentality 9 and to
become healthy, decent members of human society. 's there any method of eradicatin crime,
dru.addiction and alcoholism anywhere in the world more effective than this7
2-" Dou 4aishna!as +ollow the 4edas5 and yet you re7ect soe 4edic
instructions and conclusions& Why#
Aedic literature takes into consideration that different people wish to achieve different oals
in life, because only soe people are interested in achievin spiritual perfection and returnin
to the spiritual world. Althouh the Aedas offer impeccable information about the world that
e-ists beyond the scope of our senses "and power of imaination$ . the world which is our
eternal home 9 still, there have always been "and will be$ people who are not interested in
oin back to the spiritual world and revivin their dormant relationship with (rishna. Such
people are called the materialists, as they are interested e-clusively in happiness and material
ac&uisitions that (rishna/s illusory enery can offer to their bodies and senses. :or this reason
(rishna offers such people various branches of mundane knowlede in the karma-kanda part
of the Aedas, which encompasses ayur-veda "knowlede of healin with herbs, bio enery and
mantras$, +yoti8-veda "knowlede of astroloy and astronomy$, dhanur-veda "knowlede of
CF
marshal arts and mystical weaponry$, gandharva-veda "knowlede of various types of art$,
sta'atya-veda "knowlede of architecture$, etc.
Besides the materialists . i.e. karmis, who are interested in karma-kanda part of the Aedas
9 there are +nanis "pronunciation1 .ya.nee$ who are interested in philosophical speculation
and mysticism. They try to et some mystical power by worshippin demiods. #emiods are
powerful beins "authorised by (rishna +imself$ in chare of the accurate functionin of
natural laws of the whole universe. %ltimately, (rishna is the )ne who in fact bestows such
boons to determined +nanis. !ord (rishna declares in Bhaavad.ita "in few places$ that such
demiod worshipers are foolish. +ere is one of those statements "B. >.C;$1 "/en of small
intelligence worshi' the demigods! and their fruits are limited and tem'orary. Those who
worshi' the demigods go to the 'lanets of the demigods! but /y devotees ultimately reach /y
su'reme 'lanet.- There have always been a hue number of ullible people who are fascinated
by supernatural powers of some +nanis and mystics. Such mystics can conHure up lumps of
old, become invisible, read other peoples/ minds, etc. +owever, this is nothin but useless
maic that lasts only until they become forced by the laws of nature to et another body in the
cycle of reincarnation.
:inally, the most sublime part of the Aedic literature is offered for Aaishnavas, the
worshippers of !ord (rishna +imself. ")ne of (rishna/s names is Aishnu. Accordin to Sanskrit
rammar, +is worshippers are called Aaishnavas$. This part of the Aedas is called u'asana.
kanda. 't precisely describes (rishna/s activities and instructions for those who are
determined to achieve the perfection of human life 9 reHection of material consciousness,
reHection of illusory identification with the body, reawakenin dormant love for (rishna and
returnin to the spiritual world "in the oriinal spiritual body$.
As we "Aaishnavas$ are not interested in demiod worship, oin to the heavenly planets or
achievin some mystical powers, we study only the part of the Aedas that is dedicated to true
spiritual life. This part of the Aedas is very voluminous, and it could hardly be studied carefully
in an averae human life. Therefore, the ancient saes 5condensed/ the most important
knowlede in the followin books1 rimadBhagavatam! Bhagavadgita! /ahabharata!
9amayana and *aitanyacaritamrita. rimadBhagavatam is composed of 1=.<<< Sanskrit
verses describin the activities and instructions of !ord (rishna and +is confidential associates.
Bhagavad-gita! which literary means 5The son of Kod/, is composed of ><< verses. 't e-ists
eternally and was last repeated about F;<< years ao for the benefit of humanity.
/ahabharata is the most voluminous epic in the world. 't is as lon as $liad and >dyssey
combed eiht times toether. /ahabharata is a historical account wherein (rishna is one of
the most important characters. 't describes !ord (rishna/s activities before, durin and after
the reatest war in the history of the humanity, the (urukshetra ,ar. :urthermore, it is
abundant with important instructions for the spiritual benefit of humanity. 9amayana is the
second larest epic in the world. 't is composed of CE.<<< verses which describe the activities
and moral instructions of !ord Namacandra, (rishna/s avatara who appeared on this planet
about a million years ao. 't is also a historical account of intricate events triered by the
abduction of !ord Namacandra/s wife, which led to one of the most memorable wars in human
history. *aitanya-caritamrita was written at the end of 1G
th
century by Lrila (rishnadas (aviraH
Koswami. This literary masterpiece describes the activities and teachins of Caitanya
Dahaprabhu, !ord (rishna +imself who appeared toether with +is confidential associates
from the spiritual world to teach humanity how an e-emplary Aaishnava behaves. Iou can
read more about !ord Caitanya in the answer to &uestion ;.
The eneral Aedic teachins and conclusions share many common points with Aaishnava
culture and philosophy, but still, there is a wide ap of difference insofar as Aaishnavism does
not su''ort demiod worship and the performance of rituals meant for ac&uisition of material
opulence and mystic powers. This is one of the most sinificant differences between
Aaishnavism "which is focused on worship of the Supreme Creator$ and +induism "whose
adherents worship demiods and perform rituals meant for ac&uisition of material opulence
and mystic powers$. *onetheless, for practical reasons Aaishnavas use knowlede from
karma-khanda "such as medical knowlede from ayur-veda$ to enhance the &uality of spiritual
life.
2." %re woen in ISKCON treated in a su)ordinate anner#
This &uestion can be answered from two aspects 9 material and spiritual. :rom the
material point of view, it is widely accepted that women are the fair "weaker$ ender, which
by the law of nature needs protection from man. :rom the time immemorial, the role of the
woman is to ive birth to children and to take care of the children and husband, as well as to
CG
tend to domestic duties "cookin, washin, etc.$ )n the other hand, the man is the one who
takes responsibility for safety of the family and for the provision of natural needs
"accommodation, food, clothes, health protection, etc.$ 'n addition to bein physically
weaker, the mental makeup of the woman indicates to psychical faculties inferior to that of
the man.
Scientific statistics show that the natural roles of men and women have been remarkably
mi-ed and even e&ualised in the last G< years. #ue to the trend of urbanised livin in the
industrially developed countries, women are often forced to carry out duties specific to men.
Therefore, in modern days we have many women who are politicians, warriors, successful
businesswomen, etc. As followers of the Aedic culture, the members of 'S(C)* advocate the
traditional "natural$ role for the woman . the role that is still prevalent in many societies of
Asian and Diddle 8ast countries. There is simply no place for feminism in the Aedic culture
and philosophy. +owever, althouh the Aedic tradition upholds subordination of the woman in
relation to the man, women in 'S(C)* have e&ual rihts in terms of spiritual duties and
makin crucial decisions important for effective operation of our spiritual society.
!et us see what !ord (rishna declares about women in the Bhagavad-gita. 1$ "B.B.;C$ "...
> son of ,ritha! those who take shelter in /e! though they be of lower birth - women!
vaishyas
14
?merchants@ and shudras ?workers@ - can attain the su'reme destination.- (rishna
confirms here what ' have already mentioned 9 that women are naturally inferior to men. C$
"B.1<.;E$. "...1mong women $ am fame! fortune! fine s'eech! memory! intelligence!
steadfastness and 'atience.- 'n this verse (rishna specifies &ualities +e considers to be
feminine. /anu-samhita states that there cannot be any auspiciousness where brahmanas
2.
,
women, children, old people and cows are not protected. (rishna created an ideal social
structure "varna-ashrama$ in which women enHoy constant protection "by the father, by the
husband and later by the son$. 'n other words, accordin to the Aedic culture, the duty of
male members of society is to protect women from any type of e-ploitation "physical and
psychical alike$. :or this reason, in the Aedic society abortion was conspicuous by absenceM
rape was real rarity, and those who were rapists were severely punished "mostly by capital
punishment$. 'n those days women did not have to work hard physical Hobs and travel for
hours to et to the work place. *oM their 5work place/ was their home, which made women
happy in carryin out their natural duties in accordance with their feminine nature.
Aforementioned differences between men and women e-ist only on the material sphere 9
but we are s'iritual beings. Therefore, from spiritual perspective, there is no difference
between men and women. The difference lasts as lon as spiritual souls are conditioned by
the laws of material enery in this world. The spirit soul, conditioned by material enery and
incarcerated in a certain type of material body, is small as 101<.<<<
th
part of tip of a hair. As
such, the soul is like a seed that develops his eternal, oriinal form only when he returns to
the spiritual world. )f course, residents of the spiritual world are either male or female. 't
can often happen that somebody who is a male in the spiritual world ets a female body
durin some incarnations in the material world "and vice versa$. 'n the spiritual world . our
oriinal abode 9 it is indeed women who are lorified as the most confidential associates of
(rishna due to their unselfish, unrivalled love for +im. Those women are called go'is.
,omen in the +are (rishna movement are allowed to be spiritual leaders as lon as they
are competent and &ualified to accept spiritual responsibilities. Iou can find more about this
topic in the answer to &uestion 1=. Some uninformed people accuse us of considerin women
less intellient than men. Accordin to the Aedic and Aaishnava philosophy, intellience
means ability to differentiate between matter and spirit, temporary and eternal, illusion and
truth. Based on this definition, the intellient people "reardless of ender$ are those who do
not identify themselves with the material bodies, but rather act on the level of their spiritual
identity, carryin out duties prescribed by eternal laws of dharma.
2/" Why is the s*iritual guidance o+ a guru so i*ortant#
To master a skill, it is essential to have uidance of a Auali+ied teacher, as in the case of
becomin a successful musician, athlete or doctor. The same is true for spiritual science. 't is
impossible to achieve spiritual perfection by readin books alone. ,ould you consider
someone a enuine doctor and submit yourself to his care merely on rounds of his studyin
medical encyclopaedias, without ever attendin a university for education and without any
1E
Please refer to the lossary at the end of the book.
1F
'ntellectual class of people in the Aedic society. Brahmanas are saacious people responsible for spiritual
development of the whole society.
C>
practice under the uidance of an e-perienced and competent physician7 Accordin to Aedic
definition, a genuine spiritual master "uru$ is the one who meets the followin criteria1
a$ (nows the science of Kod
b$ +as firm determination to serve Kod for the rest of his0her life
c$ Successfully controls his0her own senses "such a person is in Sanskrit called swami or
goswami$. This means that he0she abstains from sinful activities, out of which the
followin four are the most prominent1 1$ eatin meat, fish and es, C$ into-ication of
any kind, ;$ amblin, E$ illicit se-ual activities, i.e. other than those meant for
procreation of children with one/s own wife0husband
d$ #oes not chane the oriinal spiritual teachins by whimsically addin or deletin
somethin
e$ #oes not harbour selfish material ambitions and schemes
f$ 's humble and merciful
$ #oes not hanker for material affluence, lory and prestie
h$ 's detached from material sense obHects

The duty of a disciple is to e-amine the &ualities of the chosen uru before establishin a
formal uru.disciple relationship. This is very important, as there is a vast array of so called
5urus/ who are actually cheaters 9 unauthorised 5representatives/ of Kod who are incompetent
to selflessly lead their disciples to Kod and help them to et back to the spiritual world. Such
impostors are not interested in spiritual wellbein of their followers. )n the contrary, they are
primarily interested in their own material comfort and wealth. They are full of neative human
&ualities that they skilfully conceal.
The foremost duty of a enuine spiritual master is to transmit to his0her disciples unchaned
spiritual knowlede that he0she received from his0her own uru. 'n addition, the uru trains
his0her own disciples by sharin with them his0her spiritual realisations and e-perience. A
&ualified spiritual master can clearly see the obstacles in the spiritual life of his0her disciples
and help them to overcome those obstacles.
20" What is s*iritual initiation#
Spiritual initiation in the Aaishnava tradition is a sin of official empowerment of a candidate
and his0her connection to the chain of disciplic succession (sam'radaya). Such a chain is
comprised of specially empowered spiritual masters "gurus$ who from eneration to
eneration "from time immemorial$ safeuard spiritual knowlede and pass it on to their
disciples, who in turn later become &ualified spiritual masters themselves. As previously
mentioned, there are four enuine sam'radayas that oriinate from !ord (rishna +imself. 'n
the role of an ideal Aaishnava, !ord (rishna under the name Lri (rishna Caitanya Dahaprabhu
in one of those sam'radayas, as already mentioned in the answer to &uestion ;. To hold the
position of a spiritual master in a sam'radaya, a person must possess &ualities mentioned in
the previous answer. 't is of !ital i*ortance to pass on the oriinal knowlede without any
modifications "deletions or speculative additions$.
As 'S(C)* is an authorised branch of the sam'radaya in which !ord Caitanya appeared, the
candidates for initiation must follow the rules and standards prescribed by A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada, our specially empowered acarya
2/
. 't means that a candidate for initiation
must observe the four reulative principles and chant "meditate on$ 1G rounds of the +are
(rishna maha-mantra for at least si- months prior to initiation. At the time of initiation, the
candidate takes a vow to observe prescribed spiritual standards and receives a spiritual name.
The ceremony of initiation usually takes place in front of the deities in the presence of other
Aaishnavas. This act officially empowers the candidate to et the utmost benefit from the
maha-mantra "althouh this does not mean that maha-mantra doesn/t 5work/ before
initiation$. The act of initiation sinifies the beinnin of serious spiritual life. The essence of
initiation is stron spiritual bond between uru/s and disciple/s hearts. This is absolutely crucial
for achievement of spiritual perfection.
:or a successful and hih.&uality connection between the uru and the disciple . aside from
the uru bein &ualified 9 a disciple has to be &ualified, too. !ord (rishna indicates the
characteristics of a &ualified disciple in Bhagavad-gita E.;E1 "Aust try to learn the truth by
a''roaching a s'iritual master. $n<uire from him submissively and render service unto him.
The self-reali3ed souls can im'art knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.-
1G
Acarya means the one who teaches by his own e2am'le. 't is a title iven to some e-ceptionally advanced
Aaishnavas, empowered specifically for broadcastin of oriinal teachins of Aaishnava philosophy.
C=
(rishna here hihlihts three &ualities of the bona fide disciple1 1$ sincere desire for
ac&uirin spiritual knowlede, C$ humility and ;$ service attitude.
'f after a while the spiritual master notes a disciple/s particular sincerity and proress, he
awards him0her the second initiation "brahmana initiation$. At that time the disciple ets
seven additional mantras, which he0she chants silently three times a day. )nly Aaishnavas
with brahmana initiation are allowed to serve the deities on the altar and to cook for Them.
"The standard of home deity worship does not have to be as demandin$. The Aaishnava with
second "brahmana$ initiation is e-pected to have developed the followin &ualities1 1$
peacefulness, C$ self.control, ;$ austerity, E$ purity, F$ tolerance, G$ honesty, >$ knowlede,
=$ wisdom and B$ reliiousness "in accordance to dharma$.
21" Can woen )ecoe s*iritual asters#
,hy not7 Spiritual perfection is not monopoly of men. Spiritual advancement and returnin
back to the spiritual world are not conditioned by someone/s type of body, but rather by type
of consciousness. The answer to &uestion 1G offers a list of &ualities of a enuine spiritual
master. Any woman who possesses those &ualities is competent to be a spiritual master 9 not
only of other women, but of men as well. Thouh enuine spiritual masters are mostly
&ualified men, there are a certain number of &ualified saintly women in Aaishnava tradition
who are on an e-ceptional level of spiritual advancement. As e-amples ' can mention Andal,
Dirabai, Jahnava Da, Kanamata Koswamini, +emalata Thakurani, etc.
At the moment, there are no women who officially hold the title of initiatin spiritual master
in 'S(C)*. +owever, if we take into consideration that a spiritual master is not only the one
who ives spiritual initiation "dik8a$, but also one who offers spiritual uidance "8ik8a$ 9 then
we could say that there are many women in 'S(C)* who hold the position of a 8ik8a9guru.
'S(C)* today possesses more than ;F< temples worldwide. Some of the temple leaders
"temple presidents$ are &ualified women.
28" Do you )lindly +ollow your guru#
Blind followin means carryin out orders without thinkin and evaluatin them. 's that
riht7 Spiritual masters in +are (rishna movement enerally do not ive orders, but rather
advice for spiritual benefit of the disciple. That advice is based on enuine Aaishnava
scriptures and the personal e-perience of the spiritual master. The uru/s spiritual realisations
"e-periences$ must confirmed by Aaishnava scriptures. The only orders that every 'S(C)*
uru ives to his disciples are to observe the four reulative principles and to chant si-teen
rounds of maha-mantra daily. +owever, these 5orders/ do not come as a surprise, as they are
the up.front 5rules of the ame/ known and voluntarily accepted by every person who wants to
become an official member of +are (rishna movement.
,ithin the uru.disciple relationship, the uru/s main role is to clarify the disciple/s
misivins and doubts, as well as to provide answers to any &uestions of spiritual character
that are in connection with advancement in the practice of bhakti-yoga. This necessitates the
uru/s involvement as often as a particular disciple re&uires. As for myself, ' have e-chanes
with my uru only C.; times a year when we meet face.to.face. 'n 'S(C)* today there are
about =< initiatin spiritual masters who are disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. )n strenth of their spiritual advancement and e-perience, they are competent
to lead their disciples to the ultimate oal of spiritual life 9 back to (rishna.
The most advanced disciples are those who strictly follow the instructions and advice of their
uru. Dany people erroneously think that urus in the +are (rishna movement are some kind
of dictators, comfortably situated in some lu-urious house and who, via e.mail and phone
calls, ive un&uestioned orders to their @ombie.like disciples. This is far from bein truth.
'S(C)*/s urus are not like enerals who issue orders and who are located far behind
battlefields. )n the contrary1 they are the front.line fihters. Their role is to show to their
disciples by their own e-ample "in action$ how to effectively spread the movement/s mission.
Accordin to 'S(C)* rules, the position of an initiatin spiritual master "uru$ can be held
only by those who have proven themselves by their sincerity and humility "and who possess
the &ualities listed in answer to &uestion 1G$.
)ne who is arroant, avaricious and hankerin for prestie and reputation cannot become a
uru by dint of impressive theoretical knowlede. 'n spiritual life the reatest are those who
are the most humble and unselfish. Dany of our 'S(C)* urus hardly have any private time.
They are incessantly enaed in preachin activities "oranisin spiritual festivals and public
proramsM ivin lectures at schools, temples and public atherinsM writin booksM interactin
CB
with media, etc.$ Dy Swedish.born spiritual master . aside from his missionary activities .
takes care of cows on our farm south of Stockholm, uses an eiht.year.old Compa& laptop
computer with EKB of memory, and lives in a forest cottae without electricity or runnin
water. Vuite a contrast to 5dictator.urus livin in lu-urious homes/, isn/t it7
$3" Who go!erns ISKCON today#
'n 1B>C, Lrila Prabhupada founded the manaerial body of 'S(C)*, 2Kovernin Body
Commission4 "KBC$, for two reasons1 1$ +e wanted to transfer the responsibility of
manaement to twelve of his trusted disciples so he could dedicate more of his precious time
to writin and translatin books as well as for active preachin. C$ +e wanted to monitor and
train the KBC members in order to make them competent to formulate proper decisions and
lead his fledlin society after his demise.
Today, the KBC is comprised of ;; members, and its mode of overnin is centralistic,
which means that the KBC endeavours to preserve lobally e&ual spiritual standards and other
factors crucial for efficient functionin of the movement. 8very centre has its own local
leislative council that is subordinate to the central KBC administration. The foremost
functions of the KBC are1 1$ creatin resolutions crucial for efficient functionin of 'S(C)*, C$
overseein and preservin the authenticity of spiritual standards set up by Lrila Prabhupada,
and ;$ implementation of 'S(C)*/s oals enunciated by Lrila Prabhupada in 1BGG. These
seven oals are1
a$ To systematically propaate spiritual knowlede to society at lare and to educate all
peoples in the techni&ues of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and
to achieve real unity and peace in the world.
b$ To propaate a consciousness of (rishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-Gita and the
rimad-Bhagavatam.
c$ To brin the members of the Society toether with each other and nearer to (rishna, the
prime entity, thus to develop the idea within the members and humanity at lare that each
soul is part and parcel of the &uality of Kodhead "(rishna$.
d$ To teach and encourae the sankirtana movement, conreational chantin of the holy
names of Kod as revealed in the teachins of !ord Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu.
e$ To erect for the members and for society at lare a holy place of transcendental pastimes,
dedicated to the personality of (rishna.
f$ To brin the members closer toether for the purpose of teachin a simpler and more
natural way of life.
$ ,ith a view towards achievin the aforementioned Purposes, to publish and distribute
periodicals, maa@ines, books and other writins.
$2" Why do you wear such unusual clothes and a sign on the +orehead#
:or the same reason as Christian priests wear their 5unusual, characteristic clothes/ "black
mantle and a rope around the waist$. 'sn/t that unusual by comparison with clothin style of
the rest of population7 But there are ood reasons for that. The main reason is that it is
precisely this kind o+ clothing "which we wear$ that is worn in the spiritual world. The lower
part of man/s apparel is called dhoti "pronounce1 d.o.t.ee$ and the upper part "a kind of shirt$
is called kurta "pronounce1 k.oo.r.t.a$. !ord (rishna +imself wears yellow dhoti. *obody in
the spiritual world wears trousers or miniskirts. ,e wear the type of apparel prescribed by
Kod. As we are +is "(rishna/s$ followers and representatives, we dress Hust like residents of
the spiritual world. ,omen/s dress is called sari "pronounce s.a.r.ee$. ,omen wear saris of
various colours and te-tures, whereas men wear orane.coloured apparel if they are
unmarried "and do not intend to et married$ and white apparel if they are married or intend
to et married.
This kind of dress functions as an easily reconisable uniform. :or e-ample, if someone
wants to approach a policeman on the street, he could reconi@e the policeman distinctly by
his uniform. Similarly, if someone wants to approach a Aaishnava and en&uire about spiritual
knowlede, he could easily reconi@e the Aaisnava by his0her typical Aaishnava apparel "and
the sin on the forehead$. Kenerally, wearin a uniform involves some rihts and obliations.
:or e-ample, the uniform of a doctor, a policeman, a Hude or a soldier emphasises the
position of the person who wears it, indicatin certain privilees not applicable to ordinary
citi@ens. )f course, wearin a certain type of uniform also necessitates a certain standard of
behaviour and responsibility. *evertheless, due to some more or less practical reasons, we
;<
Aaishnavas often wear standard, mundane clothes.
The type of clothes we Aaishnavas wear symbolises the principle of modesty, in contrast to
mundane clothes, throuh which people intend to draw attention to themselves and show
themselves off in the best possible way "based on false identification1 5' am the body/$. #ue to
the principle of modesty, Jesus Christ was also dressed in simple, flowin clothes that were
pretty much in contrast to the clothin of the people of his time. :inally, Aaishnava apparel is
very simple to maintain "washin, dryin and ironin$, which suits us, as we daily wear freshly
washed clothes.
Neardin the 5sin on the forehead/ 9 it is called tilaka. 't is actually clay from the shore of
the Kanes and the Iamuna rivers. The upper part of tilaka . resemblin an elonated 5%/
.represents (rishna, whereas the lower part "on the upper past of nose$ . in shape of a lotus
petal 9 represents the spirit soul which dwells within the body. 'n other words, tilaka
symbolises the connection of (rishna and the soul. Aaishnavas apply sin of tilaka on 1;
places of the upper part of the body "above the waist$. The visible one on the forehead is only
one of them. Besides characteristic apparel and tilaka, the other peculiar feature of Aaishnava
dress is the wearin of neck beads made from the wood of holy Tulasi tree.
$$" What is your attitude towards sex#
Attachment to sense enHoyment is the stronest bond that shackles us to the world of
illusory pleasures. (rishna doesn/t prohibit se- life, but +e does inform us that it should be
reulated and reduced e-clusively to beettin children with one/s own spouse. As it has been
said, 2The enitals are meant for procreation, not for recreation.4 All other se-ual activities and
adventures are detrimental for those who are seriously interested in ultimately leavin the
material world and returnin back to the spiritual world. Iou are probably wonderin, 2,hat/s
wron with se-7 't is natural.4 Se- is natural, Hust as ivin birth to children is the natural
outcome of se-. This is actually the main purpose of se-ual life. 't is also natural that parents
take care of their offsprin. Sinful se- is reduced to se-ual pleasures and the re+ection of
res'onsibilities that are natural outcomes of such enHoyment. Contraceptive devices are
definitely not natural 5fruits/ made by Kod. Condoms do not row on trees. They were invented
by humans to indule in se-ual pleasures while avoidin the responsibilities of takin care of
the children that would be natural outcome of such pleasure.
%nwanted children are bein born every day. There are a few reasons for that1 rape, se-
after consumption of drus and alcohol, contraceptive device failure, etc. %nfortunately, when
this happens many people resort to abortion, infanticide, or, in a better case, leavin the child
on the doorstep of an orphanae. %nrestrained lust is one of the most powerful forces in the
material world. 't can o so far as to turn some people into promiscuous maniacs of the worst
kind. Such individuals breach all norms of moral behaviour. There are various forms of
unrestrained lust1 adultery, prostitution, different kinds of masturbation, rape "includin
incest$, se- with animals, se- with corpses, etc.
Dany people are ready to do anythin Hust to arouse the enital lands and to e-perience
the culmination that lasts for a very short time. The conse&uences can be disastrous on
individual and collective levels alike. The larest numbers of people have died in historical wars
that were waed for a sinle woman. A lusty fellow with immense military power couldn/t
restrain his se-ual drive and desired to have somebody else/s wife. 8-amples are the TroHan
,ar, the ,ar on !anka "depicted in epic 9amayana$, and the (uruksetra ,ar "depicted in epic
/ahabharata$.
'f se- enHoyment really were that which could make people incredibly happy, then
prostitutes would be the happiest persons in the world. Are they7 'n addition to bein the
underlyin cause of many other sinful activities, illicit se- firmly binds the enHoyer to the
instrument that enables the pleasure 9 the material body. A person attached to the material
body lives in deep illusion, identifyin with the body, while in reality, our real self . i.e. the
spirit soul . has nothin to do with it.
The desire for se-ual enHoyment enerates karma which enables "indeed, propels$ one to
take birth aain in a material body to facilitate the fulfilment of his0her lusty desires. These
lusty desires can keep a conditioned soul in the cycle of repeated births and deaths, compellin
it to identify itself with each new material body, thus separatin the conditioned soul far away
from eternal spiritual reality. +owever, it/s is not all that bad. The process of bhakti-yoga,
which includes practicin meditation on the +are (rishna maha-mantra (%are &rishna! %are
&rishna! &rishna &rishna! %are %are! %are 9ama! %are 9ama! 9ama 9ama! %are %are)! is a
powerful spiritual process which bestows benefits and spiritual advancement even to those who
;1
are still fairly attached to se-ual enHoyment. But in this case spiritual advancement is
slower. As bhakti-yoga is a radual process, it enables people to curtail their material activities
and attachments in due course of time and eventually ive them up altoether.
Those Aaishnavas who are completely absorbed in the process of bhakti.yoa "which
includes reular readin of Aaishnava literature, renderin devotional service and adherence to
certain spiritual standards$ do not have serious problems reardin control of se-ual drives
"life in celibacy$. Such Aaishnavas e-perience spiritual happiness that is by far superior to the
ephemeral pleasures of this mortal world "which culminate in se-ual activities$. ,hat is
happiness, after all7 The Aedas offer an interestin definition1 %a''iness is tem'orary absence
of misery. !et me e-plain. Besides birth, disease, old ae and death, there are three types of
miseries that we e-perience between birth and death. They are as follows1 1$ adibautika-klesa
. miseries caused by other livin beins. :or e-ample, anythin from mos&uito bites to war
atrocities. C$ adidaivika-klesa . miseries caused by natural calamities such as drouhts, floods,
earth&uakes, mud slides, avalanches, e-cessive heat, free@in cold, etc. ;$ adyatmika-klesa .
miseries caused by our own body and mind, such as depression, emotional stress, mental
illness, phobias, physical maladies, etc.
+appiness represents all those moments when we do not suffer from any of abovementioned
miseries. But because this is so rare, people 5take shelter/ of varieties of entertainment to turn
away from these miseries. Thus, they take unrestrained pleasure in movies, sport events,
various ames, indiscriminate se-ual activities and so forth, all the way to alcoholism and dru
consumption. The last two 5solutions/ for 5avoidin miseries and boredom/ are worse then initial
problems themselves. ,hen a person surrenders to alcohol or drus, he0she enters a vicious
circle of unendin miseries. The Aedas teach us that material happiness is transient, limited
and mi-ed with various miseries. +appiness that comes from the outside . from obHects of the
senses 9 is very ephemeral, whereas spiritual happiness is &uite intense and everlastin. To
put it another way1 material happiness oriinates from outside, whereas spiritual happiness
oriinates from within "from the heart$ and is incomparably reater than material happiness,
which is completely dependent on obHects of the senses.
$," What is your attitude towards hoosexuals#
Just as in the leadin world reliions, the attitude towards homose-ual people is rather divided
amonst the members of 'S(C)*, which makes this issue &uite controversial. ' am presentin
here the attitude of the maHority of 'S(C)*/s members "includin my own$.
The 'nternational Society for (rishna Consciousness "'S(C)*$ is no loner a small 5reliious
family/ from the late 1BG<s. 't has rown into a worldwide movement that has a reasonable
influence on modern mainstream society. 'S(C)* has been successful in many different
arenas . educational, practical, and ethical. As a result of 'S(C)*/s positive influence on
worldwide society, many people have iven up their bad habits "into-ication, meat.eatin,
illicit se- and amblin$ and have become decent people who are proressively rowin in
their virtuous &ualities.
'S(C)* welcomes all sincere people who are serious about makin a positive spiritual
chane in their life. Therefore, its profound Aedic philosophy, ancient traditional roots, values
and culture attract a vast variety of people from different cultural backrounds, different
races, and of course, different se-ual orientations. :rom the very beinnin of the movement
to this day, a certain number of homose-ual people have been ivin their valuable spiritual
contributions, followin the teachins of A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. As (rishna/s
enuine representative, Lrila Prabhupada knew that advancement to spiritual perfection
cannot be limited by somebody/s se-ual orientation, which means that heterose-ual "straiht$
people do not hold a monopoly over spiritual perfection in the observance of the discipline of
bhakti-yoga. That which is really crucial for rapid advancement in spiritual life is firm desire,
sincerity and strictly observin the spiritual standards of bhakti-yoga "reardless of one/s
se-ual orientation$.
Seein people as spirit souls temporarily incarcerated in material bodies, Lrila Prabhupada
didn/t make any distinction between people "especially his disciples$ in reard to se-ual
orientation. *onetheless, he didn/t make any compromise with the spiritual standards of Aedic
and Aaishnava tradition. Bein so, he was very direct in criticisin certain immoral and sinful
activities, in particular homose-ual marriaes conducted in churches. 'n this reard, there is
5ood/ and 5bad/ news for homose-ual people who want to become Aaishnavas within 'S(C)*.
:irst the 5bad/ one 9 the Aedic0Aaisnava tradition do not endorse homose-ual marriae, which
means that homose-ual couples cannot come to (rishna/s temple to et Aedic marriae.
;C
*ow for the encourain news1 'f there are some "married or unmarried$ homose-ual
couples who are interested in Aaishnava philosophy, they are welcomed to attend temple and
public 'S(C)* prorams. :urthermore, their contributions of practical devotional service will
be accepted with ratitude. Such couples cannot be allowed to live in the temple community,
but they will be encouraed to practice their spiritual life at home where they can have their
private altar and observe spiritual standards of bhakti-yoga as much as possible. Neardin
sinle homose-uals "who do not have a partner$ who are seriously interested in strict
observance of spiritual standards and principles 9 they are allowed to live in a temple
community if the temple can provide a private room for each of them. %ltimately, it doesn/t
matter what se-ual orientation a Aaishnava hasM what is crucial is that he0she abide by the
spiritual standards, which include observin the four reulative principles "already mentioned
in answer to &uestion >$.
'n order to become &ualified for returnin back to the spiritual world, a person has to
overcome "transcend$ the level of material identification, which includes not only belonin to
a certain nationality and ender, but to a certain se-ual orientation as well. %ltimately, the
terms 5homose-ual/ and 5heterose-ual/ pertain to material bodies and material consciousness.
But we are not material beinsM rather, we are spirit souls. Such material dualities do not e-ist
on the spiritual level.
Spiritual advancement in the process of bhakti-yoga is gradual, which means that it is
unrealistic to e-pect somebody to overniht ive up their material attachments and sinful
activities, reardless of ender or se-ual orientation. By carefully abidin by (rishna/s
instructions . which are presented in Lrila Prabhupada/s books . every sincere Aaishnava will
come to a reasonable level of spiritual advancement in due course of time. This is the level
that oes beyond material dualities and false identifications.
$-" What ha**ens i+ you +all in lo!e with soeone who is not a e)er
o+ the Hare Krishna o!eent#
:rom the philosophical point of view, to 5fall in love/ means to become lusty and attached to
pleasin one/s own senses throuh somebody else/s bodily and psychical features. To be more
precise, to 5fall in love/ with somebody means to lo!e somebody. To love somebody means to
be ready to do anythin possible for his0her pleasure, reardless to one/s own inconvenience,
ambitions and plans. ,hy are there so many divorces in the world and so many split.ups of
so.called love affairs7 +ere is why1 'n eneral, people are interested in another person only as
lon as that person can successfully satisfy their senses and self.centred interests. ,hen a
partner becomes 5worn out/, the senses seek a chane 9 a new kind of pleasure throuh a new
person. 'sn/t it selfishness based on lust7 'f this weren/t so, people would never divorce, as
everybody would be ready to do anythin for pleasure of their partner "spouse$. 'n that case,
a partner would never become 5worn out/. +ow could anyone become bored by somebody they
really love7
This real love e-ists e-clusively on the spiritual level. ,hen manifested in the material
world, it is called lust. 'n other words, the only true and eternal love is the spiritual love of
(rishna for all livin beins and the unselfish love that livin beins of pure heart have for
+im. All other types of love in the material world are nothin but maHestic and wonderful
substitutes for the oriinal spiritual love.
:or those Aaishnavas who simply 5fall in love/ and want to have a romance without any
moral obliation "marriae$, such an affair is the beinnin of the end of the spiritual life. :or
those who want to make a serious spiritual advancement in their life, such a motivation for
marriae is an ominous beinnin, whether their partner is Aaishnava or not.
Practical e-perience shows that marriaes between Aaishnavas and non.Aaishnavas are
either short.lived or acrimonious, as such marriaes are sustained solely for the purpose of
children/s convenience. Such marriaes do not function properly mainly because of different
emotional needs and life values. A strict veetarian, non.smoker and spiritual person could
hardly maintain a &uality emotional relationship with somebody who daily cooks and eats meat
in the kitchen. 'f such a partner is additionally a smoker and drinks alcohol 9 what/s use of
toleratin a person who constantly makes his0her partner/s life miserable7 Dany Aaishnavas
have otten 5burned/ by such a life in the school of hard knocks.
There is a vast number of physically and emotionally attractive male and female Aaishnavas
in the +are (rishna movement. Thus, there is no need to look for a spouse elsewhere. The
ideal purpose of a spiritual marriae between two Aaishnavas is to provide mutual support in
spiritual life and to raise their children in the same spirit.
;;
$." What do you think a)out us Enoral *eo*le<
(who are not e)ers o+ Hare Krishna o!eent"#
,hat is really 5normal/ and what is 5abnormal/7 'n another words, what is 5acceptable/ and
what 5unacceptable/7 't depends on the one who sets up the criteria. Some people would say
that it/s 5normal/ to have se- with children, some would say that it/s 5normal/ to steal from
others, some would say that it/s 5normal/ to consume narcoticsM others would say that it/s
5normal/ to kill one/s own children in the womb "abortion$ and to eat animal corpses "enerally
known as meat.eatin$, etc. )bviously, various people have various criteria about what is
5normal/ and what is not. ,e Aaishnavas do not care about the opinions of people whose
consciousness is permeated by materialism. ,e are interested e-clusively in the criteria set up
by Kod +imself. :rom +is point of view it is abnormal "unnatural$ to identify oneself with a
material body and to be attached to material obHects, thinkin that bodily and mental
pleasures are perfection of human life.
People who are not truly spiritual simply cannot comprehend how it is perfectly normal to
meditate daily on Kod/s holy names "the +are (rishna maha-mantra$, to avoid sinful activities
and not to indule in this.worldly 5pleasures/. Besides that, the standards of humanity are
dwindlin rapidly. )nly ;< years ao, pornoraphic literature was enerally considered
abnormal "immoral$ and unacceptable. Today, pornoraphy is a part of everyday life.
'mmorality is bein spread like wildfire across the 'nternet and throuh movies and literature.
This motivates some people to become paedophiles,
20
@oophiles, necrophiles, rapists, etc. 't is
most abominable when immorality penetrates amonst people who are e-pected to be
representatives of Kod and reliion.
As followers of (rishna and adherents of +is spiritual laws, it is our mission to awaken
people from the world of illusion which mercilessly throws them "from life to life$ from one
type of body to another, keepin them thus shackled in the chains of reincarnation. )ur
attitude is one of mercy and foriveness, even when we are cruelly attacked for bein different
from the rest of the "5normal/$ people. )ur mission and spiritual leacy is to share with others
this priceless wisdom, which can help a misled humanity to turn away from their suicidal
course and show them the way to the real happiness that is intrinsic to the spiritual nature of
every livin bein.
$/" Why donFt you eat eat#
There are a few very ood reasons for that1 1$ world economy, C$ ecoloy, ;$ health, E$
ethics0mercy and F$ spiritual.philosophical reasons. 'n the te-t that follows, ' shall provide
statistical data mainly for the %SA, as ' have found a few very informative American 'nternet
paes dedicated to the advantaes of veetarian diet.

1) World economy Sthe followin te-t titled "The .te's to 0nd #orld %unger- was
downloaded from 'nternet. Author1 Drs. Nebecca Salt@berT
2There are many reasons why people choose to adopt a veetarian diet, includin their
personal health, the health and well.bein of animals, and the health of the planet. Another
profound, yet often overlooked, reason for oin veetarian is for the sake of the millions of
people who starve to death each year. Dany people were told by their parents as children to
clean their dinner plate because 2there are starvin children in Africa.Q :rom a youn ae, we
were tauht that to waste food was sinful and cruel when there are many less fortunate
children around the world. Iet our well.intentioned "but misinformed$ parents and educators
were blind to the reality that there is no rosser waste of food than takin 1F to C< pounds of
healthful rain and usin it as feed to produce one pound of animal flesh. They nelected to
reali@e that the simplest and most important step each of us can take to end world huner is
to stop eatin meat.
2)n this planet, a child dies of malnutrition every two seconds. Dalnutrition is the principal
cause of death for infants and children in developin nations. 'n fact, never before in history
has starvation been so prevalent amonst the human speciesWappro-imately CF percent of
the world6s population is malnourished. Deanwhile, as more and more people e-perience the
nawin pains of huner, there is simultaneously an unprecedented percentae of the
population that is overweiht and obese. The %nited States has the honour of bein one of the
fattest countries in the world. A reater and reater percentae of American children are
1>
Paedophilia 9 se- with children. Xoophilia 9 se- with animals. *ecrophilia 9 se- with corpses.
;E
overweiht, and many more children are already showin sins of hardenin of the arteries
by the time they are teenaers.
2'n order to support the demand for meat products, the world6s limited resources are bein
s&uandered. Naisin animals for food consumption is so wasteful and inefficient that it simply
is not possible to feed the world on a meat.based diet. The amount of land that it takes to
feed Hust one meat.eater could sustain C< veetarians. )verall, the rains and soybeans fed to
American livestock each year could feed the more than 1.; billion people oin hunry.
Jeremy Nifkin, President of the :oundation on 8conomic Trends, comments, QCattle and other
livestock are devourin much of the rain produced on the planet. 't need be emphasi@ed that
this is a new phenomenon, unlike anythin ever e-perienced before.
2:ollowin the lead of the %nited States and other westerni@ed nations, many developin
countries are beinnin to focus their ariculture more and more around the production of
meat. Conse&uently, third world countries which were once self.sufficient in their production of
rain must now import it from the %nited States, but >F percent of their imports are then fed
to animals. 8very individual makes a difference. ,hen Hust one person adopts a veetarian
diet, that action frees up land to feed as many as 1B other people. 'f Hust 1< percent of
American meat.eaters adopted a veetarian diet, there would be 1C million more tons of rain
to feed to humans, enouh to support the C< million people who starve to death each year.4
P Accordin to statistics of the %S #epartment of Ariculture, 1 acre of land can produce
B<G<k of potatoes. The same tract of land used for rowin of animal feed can produce only
>E.>k of beef.
P The cattle farmin and meat industries in the %SA are responsible for consumption of half
amount of drinkin water that is bein used in the %SA.
P Percentae of corn used in the %SA for human consumption 9 C<?
P Percentae of corn used in the %SA as animal feed 9 =<?
P Percentae of barley used in the %SA for human consumption 9 F?, as animal feed 9 BF?
P Percentae of proteins lost in the process from animal feed "corn, barley, soy, etc.$ to meat
9 83G
P Percentae of aricultural farmin land in the %SA used e-clusively for beef production 9
./G
P To produce 1k of wheat, it re&uires BF litres of water. To produce 1lb of beef, it re&uires
2-33 litres of water.
P As a matter of fact, there is enouh food for everybody in the world. But traedy is that the
reater part of farmland is devoted to production of cattle "meat$ for people in industrially
developed countries, whereas millions of children and adults in the rest of the world are either
malnourished or are starvin to death.
2) Ecology
P 8very year, the %SA imports around B< million k of beef from Central America. ,here do all
those pastures for ra@in cattle come from7 Answer1 By clearin forests and Hunles. 'n
Bra@il, an area o+ rain+orests the si?e o+ 'elgiu is )eing cleared e!ery year. ;!ery
hamburer made from cows reared on pastures that were made by clearin rainforests in
Central and !atin Americas re&uires about .
$
of forest. Two.thirds of the tropical forests in
Central America have been cleared e-clusively for the meat industry in the %SA, mostly for
hamburers that end up sold throuh the superbly oranised chains of multinational
companies. As if even that is not enouh for avaricious demand of meat market 9 more than
1<F million hectares of forestland in the %SA has been cleared for cattle farmin. 8ach one of
us who decides to choose a veetarian diet saves <.E<EGB hectares of forest every year.
,hat are the conse&uences of wide.rane forest clearin7
1$ As forests have ability to absorb e-cessive C)C in the air, a rapid decrease in areas covered
by world forests results in a rowin rate of the 5reenhouse effect/, i.e. increase of lobal
temperature. Some of the conse&uences of lobal warmin are1 a$ Nise of the sea level, which
causes decrease of land area "while the human population is ever e-pandin$. b$ Spread of
desert area, which causes loss of arable land, especially in the wide belt around the e&uator.
Since the 1B><s, the area of dry land has doubled. c$ Creation of destructive hurricanes.
C$ :orests produce o@one and o-yen essential for life on 8arth. Dassive clearin of world
forests alarminly decreases o-yen production.
;$ #estruction of forest villaes populated by indienous people.
;F
E$ Napid destruction of natural habitats inhabited by numerous species of flora and fauna.
The current e-tinction rate is rouhly "at least$ 2333 s*ecies per a year.
F$ :orests "especially tropical$ are irreplaceable sources of many healin herbs that are the
only medicine for numerous otherwise incurable diseases.
P A veetarian diet seriously decreases emissions of carbon dio-ide "C)
C
$. An averae
automobile enerates around ;k of "C)
C
$ every day, while the endeavour re&uired for forest
clearin and production of meat re&uired for a single ha)urger generates 0.kg (CO$"&
Another benefit of veetarian diet is the preservation of coral reefs and the prevention of
ocean depletion caused by over.fishin.
P 8ven if all people in the world didn/t become veetarians, if they stopped consumption of red
meat and cut back consumption of fish, chicken and es by F<.><?, it would make a
remarkably positive impact on life on 8arth. The cattle farms would be run out of business,
which would spare a lot of arable land that could be used for cultivatin veetarian food for
direct human consumption rather than for animal feed. Such an economy would provide C<
times more people with &uality food. There would be no more need to clear forests for the
meat industry. This would end world huner, contribute to the improvement of human health,
and contribute to a sinificant decrease in the consumption of fossil fuels "which are larely
responsible for lobal warmin$. +owever, if all the people in the world did become
veetarian, the current rate of food production would be able to feed 23 )illion people.
"Population Neference Bureau$.
3) Health
P Aeetarians have 1E? less blood cholesterol than meat.eaters.
P Aeetarians have C.; times less risk of heart disease.
P )ut of every four people with hih blood pressure, three are meat.eaters.
P )veruse of antibiotics in cattle and poultry farmin is the one of the main factors responsible
for the creation and outbreak of new pathoens that are incurable by modern medicine.
P ,hen the 8PA analy@ed the breast milk of veetarian women, they discovered the levels of
pesticides in their milk to be far lower than the %.S. averae. A study published in the *ew
8nland Journal of Dedicine made a similar comparison, and found that Qthe hihest levels of
contamination in the breast milk of the veetarians were lower than the lowest level of
contamination in non.veetarian women.4
P 'n 1BG1, the Aournal of the 1merican /edical 1ssociation reported, 2B<?.B>? of heart
disease could be prevented by veetarian diet.4
P Deat contains 1E times more pesticides and other chemicals than veetarian food.
P Deat contributes to aressiveness, nervousness and "in some cases$ depression 9 all due to
the adrenaline contained in flesh of animals who die in aony.
P A veetarian diet can prevent many diseases. Accordin to statistical data from the American
#ietetic Association, veetarians "in relation to meat.eaters$ have sinificantly decreased risks
of heart disease, obesity, colon cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, bile stones, kidney stones, lun
cancer and breast cancer.

%natoy
Bioloists have concluded and proved that animals sharin similar bodily "anatomic$
characteristics also share a similar type of diet. Comparin the anatomy of carnivores with
that of humans, we can easily see that humans are not meant to be meat.eaters, as our
anatomy is virtually identical to that of herbivores. )mnivores, such as the bear, have
anatomies very close to that of carnivores.
P %nlike that of carnivores, the human lower Haw can move sideways, Hust like that of
herbivores.
P Carnivores do not chew foodM rather, they devour it. +erbivores and humans chew food.
P Carnivores do not re&uire cookin, fryin or roastin in order to diest meat. 'f humans are
meant to eat meat, why don/t they hunt their prey and eat it raw Hust as carnivores do7
P Carnivores have acid saliva, without en@ymes for diestion of hydrocarbons. +erbivores and
humans have alkaline saliva with hydrocarbons.
P The stomach acid of carnivores is much stroner than that of herbivores and humans,
because carnivores have to diest bones and bi chunks of unchewed meat, which is not the
case for herbivores. The stomach acid in carnivores is stron enouh to kill bacteria "contained
;G
in meat$ that can cause serious diseases to herbivores and humans "or even kill them$. The
alkaline value of the stomach acid in carnivores is p+ 1, whereas the alkaline value of the
stomach acid in herbivores and humans is p+ E 9 F.
P The lenth of the intestines of carnivores is ; 9 F times their body lenthM in herbivores and
humans it is 1<.1C times body lenth. The reason is that carnivores have to empty their
bowels as soon as possible in order to et rid of carcinoenic substances that are contained in
meat. "Ned meat and fish contain carcinoenic substances that attack the enetic material of
#*A molecules and develop cancer$.
P Carnivores sweat throuh the tonue and do not have skin pores. +erbivores and humans
sweat throuh the skin, as they have pores.
P The teeth in carnivores are shaped e-clusively for tearin up meat and bones "that/s why
they are pointed and sharp$. The teeth in herbivores and humans are flat, with the e-ception
of canines, which provide for easier chewin of touh plant tissues. Dany people wronly think
that the human canines are proof of human evolution from monkeys that fed on meat. 'f we
are to follow the same misleadin loic, we could conclude that the nipples on a man/s chest
are 5proof/ that men had breasts and breast.fed babies a lon time ao. Absurd, isn/t it7
The yth o+ *rotein
The one of most prominent challenes that veetarians fre&uently face is, 2The veetarian
diet does not provide enouh protein for our bodies to function properly34 'n the modern field
of human nutrition, there is nothin as erroneously interpreted as protein. The importance of
consumin sufficient protein . mostly from meat and meat products 9 has been crammed into
our heads since early childhood. 8-cellent sources of plant protein are1 nuts, seeds, leumes,
cereals, soy products and dairy products. 8ven some types of fruits and veetables contain a
reasonable percentae of proteins.
There is somethin that meat.eaters either do not know or do not want to talk about1
8-cessive amounts of protein can be Hust as damain as lack of proteins. )veruse of protein
in daily food is closely connected to short life span, increased risk of any type of cancer, heart
disease, obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, irreular functionin of kidneys and poor diestion
"which is the underlyin cause for many other diseases$.
To be a veetarian does not imply insufficient inestion of protein. By eatin a balanced
veetarian diet it is virtually impossible to avoid re&uired and ade&uate amount of proteins. 'f
food doesn/t contain a sufficient amount of calories, then the oranism uses protein as a
source of enery, rather than for rowth and repair. +owever, this doesn/t pose a problem for
veetarians, as plant proteins are also e-cellent sources of carbohydrate, which the oranism
uses as a source of enery. #o you need a proof7 The biest, the sturdiest and the stronest
animals in the world are in fact herbivores1 the elephant, rhinoceros, iraffe, bison, bull,
camel, oran.utan, orilla, etc. "Ies . even the orilla is an herbivore, in spite of his
impressive canines that serve him for tearin up and chewin wood fiber$.
Dany top athletes who were "and still are$ veetarians have proven that a veetarian diet is
e-cellent even for e-tra endeavours. 1$ 'ill (earl 9 Dr. %niverse 0 body buildin, C$ %ndreas
Cahling 9 Dr. 'nternational 0 body buildin, ;$ %l 'eckles 9 the mot prominent body builder
from 1BG<s, E$ Carl Cewis 9 athlete, F$ ;dwin @oses 9 world recorder in runnin E<<m with
hurdles, G$ Killer Kowalski 9 world champion in wrestlin, >$ Chris Cha*)el 9 world
champion in wrestlin, =$ @artina Na!ratilo!a 9 world champion in tennis . and many
others.
Dany famous people throuh history have proven that a veetarian diet doesn/t diminish
mental power and intellience1 1$ (lato "Kreek philosopher$ C$ St& Hohn Chrysosto "a
Christian mystic$, ;$ Cleent o+ %lexandria "early Christian church father$, E$ O!id "Noman
poet who wrote QDetamorphosesQ$, F$ Socrates "Kreek philosopher$, G$ (ythagoras "Kreek
philosopher and mathematician$, >$ Ceonardo Da 4inci "'talian enius renowned in the
fields of art and science$, =$ Isaac Newton "8nlish mathematician and physicist$, B$
Willia Shakes*eare "famous 8nlish poet and playwriht$, 1<$ Thoas ;dison "American
inventor$, 11$ %l)ert ;instein "Jewish Kerman physicist$, 1C$ 9al*h Waldo ;erson
"American writer philosopher and minister$, 1;$ Count Ce! Nikolaye!ich Tolstoy "Nussian
writer$, 1E$ @artin Cuther "Kerman theoloian and writer$, 1F$ Nikola Tesla "famous
Croatian electrical enineer and inventor$, 1G$ Iran? Ka+ka "Kerman lanuae author and
novelist$, 1>$ @ohandas @ahata >andhi "+indu reliious leader and social reformer of
'ndia$, 1=$ >eorge 'ernard Shaw "'rish author, playwriht and social reformer$, 1B$
%nthony 9o))ins "famous American businessman renowned for books on psycholoy of
success$ and many others.
;>
"#hile we ourselves are the living graves of murdered beasts! how can we e2'ect any ideal
conditions on this earthB- (.ir G.B. .haw)
'n the abovementioned e-amples ' used some world.famous names well known to broad
circles of people. +owever, the Aaishnavas are the best e-ample of the efficacy of the
veetarian diet in human life. Aedic history indicates that some rare individuals "who were
considered civilised$ started to eat meat rouhly F<<< years ao. That was the beinnin of
&ali-yuga . present ae of deradation. 'n those days, those who ventured to eat meat were
considered perverts, untouchables and outcastes. As the strictness of observance of Aedic
principles slackened throuh centuries, meat.eatin started spreadin like a plaue. To strict
Aaishnavas, this was a sure portent that uncivilised people would chane the social criteria
and standards of humanity. +owever, in those days meat.eaters wouldn/t even dream of
killin and eatin cows. They used to eat oats, pis, poultry and fish.
As strict Aaishnavas never became victims of social deradation, they have manaed to
preserve for over five millennia the authenticity of the oriinal spiritual uidelines of Aedic and
Aaishnava philosophy and culture to this day. Aaishnava history is full of the names of hihly
advanced Aaishnava thinkers, writers, philosophers, artists, and more who never ate meat .
and yet they offered invaluable contributions to humanity in the fields of spiritual science,
medicine, philosophy, astronomy, architecture, artistry, etc.
4) Ethics (mercy)
P About CE billion animals are killed in the world every year for the needs of meat industry.
P 'n the %SA alone about GG<.<<< animals are bein killed e!ery hour.
Aeetarianism is a reat contribution to a more humane world because farm animals bred
for the meat industry live in unthinkably miserable conditions. They are bereft of basic life
necessities 9 fresh air, natural food, spacious room for movin, etc. +ere are some e-amples
of the cruelty inflicted upon commercial farm animals.
P Dost battery hens are debeaked when they are Hust five days old. #ebeakin involves
searin off the end of a chicken6s beak with a red.hot blade. This procedure is carried out to
reduce the effects of cannibalism caused by overcrowdin and stressful livin conditions.
#ebeakin can cause lifelon pain and impair the hen6s ability to eat normally. Some hens
have their middle toe cut off to minimise foot inHuries. Because male birds don6t lay es, F<?
of all one.day.old chicks are killed by assin or round into a pulp that serves either as soil
fertiliser or animal feed "which is one of the main causes of 5mad cow disease/$ .
P Bulls and cows live most of their lives in small wooden crates where they cannot turn
around, stretch their les, or even lie down comfortably.
P Castration of bulls, pis, etc. is performed without anaesthesia.
P #ue to lack of heatin, many farm animals free@e to death durin wintertime.
P ,hile transported over lon distances, animals are iven neither food nor water for days. 'n
addition, they are e-posed to stron winds that blow throuh the bars of livestock trucks.
CTruly man is the king of beasts! for his brutality e2ceeds theirs. #e live by the death of
othersD #e are burial 'lacesEC "!eonardo #a Ainci$
Before ' proceed to the followin section, ' wish to say that durin my investiation and
atherin of statistical data for the precedin four sections, ' found various data that differed
somewhat on various websites and in different books. Neardless whether one child in the
world dies every ,&/ seconds or every . secondsJ whether -
$
or .
$
of tropical forests
have to be cleared for production of a sinle hamburer, etc, one thin is for sure1 Nesults of
scientific research, statistical data and everyday e-perience indicate the irrevocable fact that
the veetarian diet is the only Kod.iven diet for all civilised human beins who are interested
in 1$ preservation of this wonderful planet 8arth, C$ prosperity and health for all humanity, ;$
peace and harmony in the human society, E$ mercy to animals and F$ their own health.
't is shockin that in the C1
st
century, in spite of e-tensive scientific research, the eatin of
corpses is widely accepted as somethin civilised and natural. +ow many more animals and
people have to die in aony before humanity rasps the laws of nature "ultimately, Kod/s
laws$7 The Kerman philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said1 2All truths o throuh three
phases. :irstly, they are ridiculed, thereafter aressively attacked and finally accepted as
;=
obvious.4 The statement that the 8arth is round went throuh these three phasesM the fact
the veetarian diet is the only suitable diet for civilised human beins is oin throuh these
same three phases. 'f you are truly concerned about ecoloical pollution, rampant disease and
world huner, then ponder how your bad habits and inorance support profiteers and the meat
industry which mercilessly transforms this planet into a hue litterbin "in which life conditions
are ettin worse from day to day$.
5) piritual!philosophical reasons
' have left this section for the very end even thouh it is the most important, as lack of
spiritual knowlede and philosophy proves to be the underlyin root of all the problems
mentioned in aforementioned sements. !et us aain brin to mind that (rishna is the
supreme lawiver who ave to human society the laws prescribed in the Aedic literature.
Thouh the material world on its own is a danerous place to live in . full of miseries in the
form of repeated births and deaths "and of course, various diseases and old ae$ 9 life on
planet 8arth would be inconceivably better if people areed to strictly follow the laws of nature
"(rishna/s laws$. As lon as humans impudently keep 5improvin/ nature and tailorin it to suit
their selfish interests and material conveniences, nature will keep strikin back. This is called
the law of karma. &arma literally means 5activity/. &arma entails reward for pious activities
and punishment for sinful activities.
As the vast maHority of mankind unrelentinly inores (rishna/s laws of nature, nature
strikes back with its weapons in form of earth&uakes, floods, hurricanes, various diseases,
famine, etc. which appear as reactions to the transression of nature/s laws. Those
transressions are caused by human reed and lack of true spiritual knowlede. )ne of the
laws of nature which (rishna prescribes is an exclusi!ely veetarian diet for civilised human
beins. As lon as humans keep violatin this e-tremely important law of nature, nature will
keep retaliatin with rampant huner, malnutrition, inHustice, ecoloical catastrophes, wars,
diseases caused by meat.eatin, and more.
The Aedic literature is full of statements which confirm the veetarian diet to be the only
correct diet for human beins. !ord (rishna considers meat.eatin and the torturin and killin
of animals to be e-tremely sinful activities. Animals have souls Hust as humans do. Actually, it
is wron to say 5human soul/ or 5animal soul/. The soul is soulM this is our real identity
reardless of the type of body in which we temporarily dwell. ,hen humans kill an animal,
they forcibly interrupt the se&uence of karmic reactions that the particular animal has to o
throuh. Conse&uently, the soul of slauhtered animal has to return "by new birth$ to the
same type of body to finish the cycle of its karmic reactions and subse&uently et another
type of body 9 maybe even a human body.
As a reaction to killin animals, man is forced to suffer severely on hellish planets after
death. Thereafter, the soul of such a sinner ets an animal body. After death, the person who
wishes to eat meat ets a body suitable for such a diet. Conse&uently, he has to take birth in
a body of tier, vulture, do, or other carnivorous animal. To be precise, the Aedas declare
that there are si- types of sinners who are forced to suffer such a karmic reaction1 1$ )ne who
orders or allows the animal to be killed, C$ one who kills the animal, ;$ one who sells the meat
of the slauhtered animal, E$ one who cooks the meat, F$ one who eats it.
As animal.killin and meat.eatin are e-tremely sinful activities, they are diametrically
opposed to true spirituality. Therefore, all those who dare to violate (rishna/s spiritual laws
"and instructions$ and act in opposition to +is desires are forced to suffer severe karmic
reactions sooner or later. 'norance is no e-cuse. (rishna/s laws act e&ually for those who are
familiar with them and for those who are not. Just as fire can burn an adult person, so it is
true for a small child who doesn/t know that fire burns.
There are people who say, 2Iou veetarians also commit violence when cookin and eatin
veetables. Plants have a soul, too.4 TrueM plants have a soul, too. 'f we are to use the same
arument, consider how many plants have to be killed to feed one animal bred for the meat
industry. Thouh they have a soul . as they are livin beins 9 plants have much less
development of consciousness and emotions than that of animals. 'f we already have to
commit violence on other livin beins . as we have to eat somethin 9 it is far better to
commit as little violence as possible by eatin livin beins which have undeveloped
consciousness. :inally, it is not necessary to kill all veetables, such as those that yield fruits
"tomatoes, eplants, pumpkins, etc.$, for after collectin these fruits, the plant itself
continues to row. Besides that, in veetarian cuisine there are so many other types of food
that do not re&uire killin any livin bein. These include milk and other dairy products, fruits,
leumes, nuts, seeds and honey.
;B
Iet in spite of all presented aruments, a veetarian diet in itself is not spiritual at all.
,hat makes Aaishnava food special is its purification by the process of bhakti-yoga.
Aaishnavas cook with an attitude of lovin service e-clusively for (rishna/s pleasure. Such
prepared food is offered on the altar and accompanied by appropriate spiritual mantras
chanted in Sanskrit.
1=
After about 1<.1F minutes, the offered food is taken from altar and,
after (rishna/s utensils are washed, it is distributed to Aaishnavas and others. !ord (rishna
accepts and spiritualises such food offered in lovin service and nullifies sinful reactions that
would have taken place by killin cereals and certain types of veetables. Such spiritualised
food is called 'rasadam. ,rasadam in turn spiritualises consciousness and facilitates
development of spiritual intellience, which is indispensable for understandin sublime topics
such as Aaishnava philosophy. :urthermore, eatin 'rasadam enhances development of virtue
and divine &ualities such as humility, mercy, purity "e-ternal and internal$, tolerance, etc.
+ence, we Aaishnavas are not ordinary veetarians. ,e eat only 'rasadam, the food
prepared with love for (rishna/s pleasure. 8ven veetarian food which is not prepared for
(rishna/s pleasure . but rather for our own sense ratification 9 creates sinful karmic
reactions. This is confirmed by Bhagavad-gita ;.1;1 QThe devotees of the !ord are released
from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is first offered for sacrifice. )thers, who
prepare food for personal sense enHoyment, verily eat only sin.Q
$0" What is the essence o+ 4aishna!a *hiloso*hy#
The essence of Aaishnava philosophy can be condensed into eiht points1
2" By sincerely cultivatin the authentic spiritual science presented in the Bhagavad-gita and
other Aedic literatures, we can become free from an-iety and achieve a state of pure,
unendin, blissful consciousness.
$" 8ach of us "includin all forms of livin beins$ is not a material body but an eternal spirit
soul, part of Kod "(rishna$. As such, we are all the eternal servants of (rishna and are
interrelated throuh +im, our common father.
," (rishna is the eternal, all.knowin, omnipresent, all.powerful and all.attractive Personality
of Kodhead. +e is the seed.ivin father of all livin beins and the one who maintains the
universe throuh +is eneries. +e is the source of all incarnations of Kod. Althouh Kod is
one5 +e has innumerable names and forms which +e manifests accordin to time, place and
circumstance.
-" The Aedas are the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Aedas is found in the
Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of (rishna/s words spoken more than five thousands years ao.
The oal of Aedic knowlede "and of all reliions$ is to achieve love of Kod.
." ,e can perfectly understand the knowlede of self.realisation throuh the instructions of a
genuine spiritual master . one who is free from selfish motives, who teaches the science of
Kod as e-plained in the Bhagavad-gita, and whose mind and senses are firmly fi-ed in the
service of Kod.
/" All "veetarian food$ that we eat should first be offered to !ord (rishna with prayer. 'n this
way (rishna accepts the offerin and blesses it for our purification.
0" Nather than livin in a self.centred way, we should act for the pleasure of !ord (rishna.
This is known as bhakti-yoga, the science of devotional service.
1" The most effective means for achievin Kod consciousness in this ae of &uarrel and
deradation is to chant the holy names of the !ord1 Hare Krishna5 Hare Krishna5 Krishna
Krishna5 Hare Hare : Hare 9aa5 Hare 9aa5 9aa 9aa5 Hare Hare&
$1" %re the e)ers o+ the Hare Krishna o!eent all eAual
or is there a hierarchy#
:rom the spiritual point of view, all livin beins are e&ualM but from the material point of
view, there are hiher and lower species accordin to the type of body and consciousness.
Therefore, there is the bioloical.hierarchical scale, which from the bottom beins with simple
species such as bacteria and amoebas and proceeds proressively to more comple- species
such as plants, insects, etc. Similarly, in our spiritual institution "Hust like in any other$ there is
a hierarchy based on the level of spiritual advancement, which includes the level of
1=
)ne of those mantras addresses (rishna as Kovinda, which means 5the one who loves cows/. As ' have already
mentioned, killin animals and meat.eatin are very sinful activities. But killin cows, who are dear to (rishna, is an
extreely sinful activity that forces the sinners to suffer unimainable aony after death, before they assume a low.
class animal body.
E<
detachment from material pleasures and the level of acceptance of responsibilities.
*aturally, the more spiritually advanced members of our society occupy leadin positions in
terms of decision.makin reardin the spreadin of the mission, oranisational manaement
of the temples, etc. )ne of the interal features of Aaishnava culture is the doctrine of service
to others. :or this reason, those who are on the top are considered the topmost servants of all
others who are below them. They impart their spiritual realisations, knowlede and
e-periences to the less e-perienced members. Dore often than not, this re&uires considerable
personal inconvenience and a certain amount of time.
)ur spiritual leader, Lrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is no loner physically
present amon us, but durin his life he tauht us by personal e-ample what it means to be a
perfect servant of others. As ' already e-plained in answer to &uestion C 9 in spite of his
advanced ae, by his mercy upon the fallen souls in the ,est, Lrila Prabhupada left the
spiritual atmosphere of holy Arindavana to arrive in the midst of deraded American society,
thus voluntarily acceptin the physical and psychical austerities that his mission re&uired.
'nspired by his e-ample, many of the leaders of our 'S(C)* society accept remarkable
austerities and inconveniences in order to keep spreadin the mission. *aturally, such
members of the society deserve e-ceptional respect and facilities that are not available to
novices and less active members of the society.
$8" Why do we need another religion in the West#
We already ha!e a genuine one K Christianity&
As opposed to sectarian and fanatical definitions of a enuine reliion 9 2this or that reliion
is the only riht one4 . Lrila Prabhupada ave us a universal definition. +e tauht us that a
genuine religion is any religion which teaches 'eo'le how to love God and other living beings
(as integral 'arts of %is creation). This is the definition of enuine reliion. 'f adherents of a
reliion have a rowin attraction to money, alcohol, promiscuous se- and other material
5pleasures/, then where is power of the reliion7 The oal of any enuine reliion should be
Kod. The followers of the reliion are 5the mirror/ of that reliion. 'f, for e-ample, B<? of the
citi@ens in a country declare themselves as followers of a particular reliion and at the same
time B<? of the citi@ens surveyed say they would vote for lealisation in favour of abortion,
then it is clear that their declaration 2' am a reliious person, loyal to my reliion4 is a mere
farce. ' am not claimin here that the particular reliion is not a enuine oneM rather, ' am
pointin out the cheap understandin of reliion in the eyes of the averae person. *or do '
want to analyse the authenticity of any reliious tradition. ' leave it up to you and the
aforementioned definition of a enuine reliion 9 2a genuine religion is any religion that
teaches 'eo'le how to love God and other living beings.- Jude by the results.
That reliion which has enuine information about Kod to the reatest e-tent can most
successfully teach us how to love Kod. How is it *ossi)le to lo!e soeone we do not
know# The more information we have, the easier it is to love Kod. 'n this reard, the holy
scriptures of the Aaishnavas are second to none in the whole world. As ' have already
mentioned, the classic Aedic literature offers detailed descriptions about Kod/s different
forms, activities, associates, abode, +is likes and dislikes, +is e-pectations from humanity,
etc. 't/s all there 9 in the Aedic scriptures3 All the information is perfect, as it oriinates from
(rishna +imself, who is the infallible )ne. Besides that, +e periodically appears amonst
humanity to remind us of eternal, spiritual wisdom. 'n addition, +e occasionally sends +is
empowered representatives from the spiritual world. %nfortunately, many people who are not
followers of the Aedic tradition have preHudices which dis&ualify them from acceptin spiritual
truths as Kod +imself e-plains them for the benefit of all humanity. Those preHudices are
based on false eotism and selfishness1 2The reliion in which " was born and which my
forefathers have been followin for many centuries 9 this is the only real reliion34 +owever,
eternal spiritual truths e-ist beyond the scope of the relative, material concept 5me/ and 5'/. '
say 5relative/, as a person who boasts himself to be a reat Christian today could become a
Duslim in the ne-t life. And aain he would claim that his reliion is superior to all others.
As lon as people view spirituality throuh the prism of 5me and my/, there will be reliious
fanaticism and reliious intolerance "which have already caused too much bloodshed throuh
the human history$ 9 and for that lon people will be unable to receive Kod/s oriinal
messaes written in the Aedas and intended for all of humanity. ,e Aaishnavas do not adhere
to any particular reliion, as we are not interested in mere 5reliions/ that divide people who
are befooled by various affiliations based on the relative, material concept 5me and my/.
Aaishnavas are e-clusively interested in true spirituality as it is e-plained by Kod +imself. That
spirituality is one, because Kod is one. Fnderstanding this true s'irituality is absolutely
E1
re<uired in order to give u' the false conce't (me and my and to acknowledge the fact that
it doesnt matter #ho is right! but rather #hat is right.
'n this reard, '/d like to offer an analoy. There are various 8nlish dictionaries. Some
editions are pocket ones with C<<< wordsM some have F<<< words and some even F<.<<<
words. All of them are authorised and credible, and yet they are not at the same level of
perfection. Students need all these editions, as there are different students with different
levels of knowlede and different ambitions. The same oes for reliions. 'f a reliion has
meare information about Kod, that doesn/t mean that the reliion is worthless. +owever, the
fact is that various reliions are not at the same level of perfection, Hust as a dictionary with
F<.<<< words is different from a small pocket edition.
Based on the &uantity and &uality of information about real spirituality that ' have found in
the Aedic "especially Aaishnava$ literature, ' have decided to follow the teachins of the +are
(rishna movement . which in the ,est miht appear as somethin new, but is actually an
e-tension of an ancient spiritual tradition, the tradition that is universal Hust like its creator,
!ord (rishna +imself. #o you know any other reliious0spiritual tradition in which the
adherents pray to Kod at least for two hours dailyM listen and read about +im at least B<
minutes dailyM sanctify whatever they eat by offerin it first for the !ord/s satisfactionM and
commit themselves to ive up amblin, into-ication, illicit se- and meat.eatin7 't is
important to say that we do not declare that we are the best, but at the same time we do
declare that the philosophy we follow is the most sublime. Some of us miht have been the
worst of sinners, but now we are determined and ambitious to follow the most sublime
spiritual process and the hihest standards for attainin perfection of human life. Dany of us
are still far away from achievin spiritual perfection "includin myself$ and we do not hide our
mistakes, but we want to follow as closely as possible whatever !ord (rishna e-pects from all
civilised people 9 to follow the spiritual standards which have the potency to create the peace
and harmony for which we so much hanker in the world "both the material and the spiritual$.
As you can see, we are not some fanatics who claim to be the best and see all others as
insinificant. +owever, we do not want to be superficial and unintelliently declare that all
reliions are absolutely the same and that all paths lead to the same oal. 'f a primary school
student were to ask a university professor of mathematics, 2,hat/s the use of loarithmic
table when the multiplication table is entirely sufficient74 9 such a &uestion would disclose his
inorance. The same answer could be iven to this &uestion "*o. CB$. Aaishnava philosophy is
intended especially for advanced students or those who are serious to become such. This is a
master dereeM it re&uires sheer seriousness.
'n the end, an opposite &uestion could be raised1 2'f Kod "(rishna$ has already created "at
time immemorial$ the spiritual uidelines written in the Aedas for benefit of the humanity in
order to enable them to achieve spiritual perfection and material prosperity 9 then why did
humans invent various reliions in the first place74 #id they think they could be cleverer than
Kod +imself7 ,hatever is created by Kod is perfect. ,hatever is created "invented$ by
humans is defective "and mostly self.destructive$.
*onclusion
The vast maHority of people are convinced that 5their/ reliion is the best, but such an
attitude definitely does not have its root in true spiritual wisdom. The best reliion is the one
which to the hihest deree succeeds in awakenin people/s dormant love for Kod and
developin in their hearts the refined spiritual &ualities that are opposed to lust, reed,
eotism, cruelty, hatred, uncontrolled aner, etc. )ver millions of years, the process of
bhakti-yoga has been proven to be the most effective discipline for eradicatin lower human
nature, creatin ideal relationships in human society, and awakenin our dormant love for
Kod. The leaders of the world/s reliions have difficulty acceptin these facts, the reasons
bein clerical demaouery and reliious fanaticism, which enerate a fear of their own
doctrines crumblin.
,3" What is your attitude towards Hesus Christ#
Aaishnava tradition reconises Jesus Christ as a sadhu "a saintly person$. Actually, more
than that, we consider him to be an avatar, i.e. saktyavesa-avatar, which means an
incarnation empowered by Kod +imself to fulfil a certain mission propaatin spirituality in
human society "accordin to time, place and circumstance$. That is why Jesus preached
universal teachins about love for Kod and other people, teachins which are beyond any
sectarianism and selfishness. +ow many people "who consider themselves Christians$ in
EC
reality strictly follow Jesus/ oriinal teachins7 /ore often than not! it is much easier to fight
for the 'rinci'les and doctrines of ones own religion than to know them in truth and to follow
them strictly. Strane, isn/t it7 Jesus spoke absolute truth to materialistic people and risked
own life for sake of his mission. ' wonder how his uncompromisin attitude towards hypocrites
would be accepted in society today. :or e-ample, if he were now to appear in the Balkans,
maybe people wouldn/t listen to him before hearin him declare whether he is Catholic or
)rthodo-. But he is neither of the twoM he wasn/t even a Christian. +e was a saint who
distributed love for Kod and +is messaes to those who areed to listen to him. This is e-actly
what Aaishnavas have been doin from time immemorial, beyond affiliation with any reliion
or sect. This is why ' decided to become a Aaishnava1 to preach the lories of timeless
spirituality Hust as Jesus Christ did a lon time ao.
There is a standard opinion amon many Christians that Jesus suffered "and is still
sufferin$ for their sins. Somehow, ' couldn/t accept this even when ' was 1F years old. 't
didn/t make any sense to me. Just in case, ' thouht, 2NihtM if adults say so 9 ' will act in
such a way not to afflict newer and newer wounds to Jesus/ battered body by my own sins.4
+owever, when ' became conversant with Aedic0Aaishnava literature, ' understood that such a
belief is nothin but a widespread speculation. The fact is that each of us (human beings) is
res'onsible for own activities ('ious and sinful alike) and that we are therefore sub+ected to
various rewards and 'unishments according to laws of karma. 2As you saw, so shall you reap34
And even if Jesus did suffer for sins of his followers, wouldn/t that be a ood reason to stop
sinful activities and to alleviate him from his aony7 +is followers should consider this if they
really love him as they boast.
,hen ' Hoined the temple community as a twenty.two.year.old lad, ' was truly impressed by
the fact that every activity of Aaishnava monks was offered to Kod with love. 8very word was
directly or indirectly uttered in +is lory. 8very son was intended for +is pleasure and every
dance for +is eyes. All food was prepared with devotion and offered for Kod/s "(rishna/s$
pleasure. 'n the backround of all those activities there was an ancient spiritual philosophy
that offered me more answers than ' could ask &uestions.
But what delihted me the most in relation to (rishna/s devotees, the Aaishnavas, was their
everyday livin in accordance with the teachins of Jesus Christ, even thouh they didn/t call
themselves Christians. They were oranised in small roups, sinin and playin cymbals and
drums. They wore simple, flowin clothesM they ave up their attachments to the material
world and were preachin in public places. This is Hust like the description of the early
Christians. ' was delihted by that, as Jesus Christ did the same thins alon with his
disciples. +ow many Christians are there who are prepared to do the same today7
Jesus preached for three years only and was conse&uently crucified. +e ave his best, and
yet he was betrayed by a friend. ' suspect that many of you have had the bitter e-perience
bein betrayed by somebody you trusted. Just try to imaine how you would feel if a 5friend/
betrayed you and sent to death. #oes the word 5forgiveness appear in your mind7 Accordin
to Aaishnava standards, ability to forive is one of the most important &ualities of a civilised
human bein. Civility is measured by the deree of spiritual "virtuous$ &uality, not by the level
of economic or scientific advancement.
Jesus/ e-ample is of utmost importance for all of us who wish sincerely to practice spiritual
life. ,hen we consider his e-perience at the time of traumatic arrest, condemnation and
crucifi-ion, we can see a saint who was in perfect peace within his own self and with the outer
world. +e was condemned and crucified by followers of reliion, while he was e-clusively
interested in preachin true s'irituality. +e was convicted for his spiritual fervour and his
bein seen as a threat to the society he lived in. ,hy7 Because the society didnt understand
his sublime mission. To a lesser deree, ' have e-perienced the same in my own life. ' have
been condemned for bein a 5+are (rishna/, for bein different from maHority of 5normal/
people and for bein misunderstood. People lauhed at me, spat at me, called me a heretic 9
but fortunately, they didn/t o as far as to crucify me.
' do not know what Jesus Christ had to ive up in his early thirties, so ' could in my early
twenties become inspired by his e-ample to follow the divine path 9 to this day. ' could see
myself in Jesus and sympathise with his life, his ordeals and his aony. ' see in him somebody
who has transcended all the materialism of this world.
Airtually anybody can et reliious respect. )thers could address us by our reliious titles.
,e could relatively easily learn how to say riht thin at the riht time, to wear appropriate
clothin and to sin appropriate hymns in all reliious ceremonies. But the e-emplary
behaviour and &ualities of Jesus Christ and other similar saints challene all our duplicity and
insincerity in the heart. They demonstrate a different standard of faith . a standard called
spiritual love. Their love was above the need to be riht about anythin at any time and above
E;
need to be in a dominant position above others. Jesus and his strict followers, such as St.
:rancis of Assisi, were truly humble, unlike many of those who are clad in priestly robes.
't is very difficult for us to classify Jesus as a Christian or as a Jew. %e only s'oke of his
.u'reme Gather and wasnt at all interested in 'olitics! religion or wealth. Service to Kod was
his life, his love and his reliion. The &uestions arise1 2Can a Aaishnava love Jesus7 's it
necessary to be a Christian to love Jesus and follow his e-ample7 To whom does Jesus
belon74 There is a Sanskrit word 5acarya/, which means one who teaches by his own
e2am'le. :or Aaishnavas, Christ is an acarya. +is briht e-ample is a beacon for all of us who
wish to seriously practice spiritual life. +is teachins are no different from the teachins
preached at a different time and different place by !ord Caitanya "Kod +imself in a arb of an
ordinary mortal$ and +is followers, Aaishnava acaryas.
't would be a reat loss to allow hedonism and hypocrisy, which crept in the world/s
reliions lon ao, to be obstacles on our path of followin the spiritual wisdom preached by
such a noble soul as Jesus Christ.
,2" What is your attitude towards other religious traditions#
:rom my answers to the previous &uestions, the followin conclusion can be drawn. That
which we really appreciate and value in any reliious tradition is true spirituality. Dere rituals
that for the most part make any reliion to be a 5reliion/ have only a secondary meanin. ,e
are sorry to see that in spite of so many different reliions, mankind is plaued by hatred,
crime, terrorism, wars, madness, etc. As adherents of Aedic culture and Aaishnava philosophy,
we can understand that the underlyin root of all those troubles is a serious lack of enuine
spiritual knowlede. 'f we are to Hude by the results, obviously, we can conclude that for
many centuries the world reliions have been unable to bestow human society with much.
coveted harmony, peace, cooperation with nature, satisfactory relationships, and love for
other people and other livin beins . and finally, love for Kod +imself.
Clearly, there is somethin seriously wron, either with doctrines of the world reliions or
with their followers "or both$. 'f you are annoyed by this statement, please set aside your
reliious favouritism "which is a conse&uence of a lack of oriinal spiritual knowlede$ and face
the truth. 'sn/t it precisely the world reliions and their leaders that have been imposin
sereation and nationalism 9 which are essentially nothin but false identification "with the
body$7 ,hen somebody declares 5' am a Catholic/, 5' am an )rthodo-/, 5' am a Jew/, 5' am a
Duslim/, etc. . it im'lies that somebody thinks ($ am the body. 'f this weren/t the case, there
would be no more animosity caused by reliious affiliations and no more wars based on
reliious differences. The source of reliious animosity is false prestie that oes alon with
illusory notions 5' am this body/, 5my reliion is better than others/, and so forth. +owever, if
somebody declares 5' am a Aaishnava/, this means, "$ am a s'irit soul! eternal &rishnas
servant! tem'orarily im'risoned in a human material body.-
'f reliions could offer such an understanding, all differences between various nations and
races would vanish, which would in turn enerate conditions for a much more peaceful and
hiher.&uality life for all of us who share this planet. 'maine what kind of powerful chane
there would be if all the money spent for armament and the military industry were utilised for
humanitarian causes and the restoration of eco. and bio.systems disordered by a misled
humanity. As lon as we conceive of false differences between people based on nationalism
and racism, we will 5produce/ only enemies, for there will always be those who are different
from us. +owever, the facts are that all of us are spiritual beins temporarily imprisoned in
human bodies and that human life is meant for spiritual illumination and awakenin our
dormant love for Kod 9 not for consumerism and the rat.race for material pleasure.
,e Aaishnavas earnestly hope that the leaders of world reliions will, in the foreseeable
future, finally reconise the spiritual value of the primordial messaes and teachins that !ord
(rishna and +is confidential associates recorded in form of the Aaishnava literature for the
benefit of humanity. %nfortunately, at present there are too many who consider themselves to
be reliious or 5spiritual/ and who, due to inorance, think that the +are (rishna movement
"Aaishnavism$ is a sect, a danerous cult, or somethin of that type.
+ow can we successfully cooperate with the leaders of world reliions as lon as they
ascribe to us such a bad reputation7 *o reliious councils have ever invited Aaishnava leaders
to hear what we have ot to share with mankind. 'n spite of his outstandin and precious
contributions on the fields of spirituality, philosophy, socioloy, psycholoy, etc, our spiritual
leader, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is still relatively unknown to the eneral
population. The reason is that numerous politicians, scientists and reliious0spiritual leaders
have been unwelcomin toward his contributions due to their nationalism, pride, demaoy
EE
and reliious fanaticism. +owever, it is important to emphasise that it wouldn/t be proper to
throw all reliious leaders, scientists and politicians in the same bo-. Since Lrila Prabhupada
came to the ,est, there have been a number of scientists, politicians and spiritual leaders
from different reliious traditions who have reconised and enuinely appreciated his precious
contributions.
,e remain welcome to any cooperation with other reliious traditions, believin that Hoint
endeavours on the fields of spirituality, ecoloy, social sciences, and other fields could result in
considerable improvement of the &uality of life for all of us who share this planet "includin
those in the animal and plant kindoms$.
,$" Why are you so uch against odern science#
Science itself is not the main cause of all the troubles we have to o throuh in these
modern times. The real culprit is man/s passionate desire to use science with the purpose of
sense enHoyment without simultaneous spiritual advancement. :rom (rishna/s point of view,
this is sheer misuse of human intellience, which is intended primarily for spiritual
development. +onestly, even mundane science has its positive application to a certain deree,
as there are some modern scientists who include Kod as the crucial and unavoidable factor in
their scientific research. +owever, mundane science in eneral causes more damae than
benefit to humanity and the eco.systems of planet 8arth, as you will read in the te-t that
follows.
,hat is really unacceptable to Aaishnavas in reard to modern "mundane$ science are1 1$
The goals of scientists 9 intentional and inadvertent violation of natural "Kod/s$ laws in order
to artificially 5improve/ the comfort and &uality of life. C$ .cientific methods of research 9 such
as animal testin. ;$ *onclusions of modern science . which uphold atheism. *ote that
#arwin/s theory of evolution still persists as 5reasonable/ due to fanatical support of many
scientists who utterly reHect Kod as the crucial factor responsible for creation. E$ >utcomes of
modern science 9 a$ ecoloical catastrophes "o@one holesM nuclear waste, pollution of water,
air and soilM lobal warminM e-tinction of thousands of species of plants and animalsM etc.$, b$
sinificant technoloical proress in the production of weapons of mass destruction, c$ fatal
side effects of numerous medical drus, food additives, pesticides, herbicides, etc. d$ widenin
of social aps between the rich and the poor caused by technoloical advancement and
industrialisation, which ultimately result in e-ploitation, e$ alienation of man from nature and
from his own self.
Beinnin in the C<
th
century, a rapid succession of scientific epochs has passed, one after
another1 the 8lectronics Ae, the *uclear Ae, the Space Ae, the Computer Ae, the Nobot
Ae and the Ae of Kenetic Danipulation. This e-plosion of scientific revolutions and
concomitant 5conveniences/ has had substantial impact on almost everyone in the world. Iet
somehow or other, in this ae of stunnin material advancement, we have mysteriously
missed the most important accomplishment1 understandin the self. 'n addition to missin
this revolutionary achievement, mundane science . with its conclusions, hypotheses and
theories . fortifies mankind in the material conception of life, which starts with a wron
formula, 2' am the material body.4
This scientific 5development/ which has become the pride of modern mankind is simply a
ploy that stimulates people to work hard like beasts in order to rab some promised harmony
and satisfaction. But unfortunately, the consumers/ rat race imposed on people by scientists
and the media, as well as bombardment with useless information "especially commercials
promotin lust and reed$, disturb the minds of ullible consumers to such a deree that they
need pills to sleep more or less peacefully. The consumers/ stampede and the race for material
sense enHoyment "supported considerably by modern science$ successfully and rapidly
transform the inhabitants of this planet into psychopaths, neurotics, schi@ophrenics and
maniacs of all kinds.
All the 5amenities/ offered by modern science "automobiles, robots, computers, mobile
phones, etc.$ are hardly valid substitutes for all that we lose . alon with irreparable ecoloic
catastrophes and the loss of our own health and freedom. 'n the last ;< years, the activities of
mankind have destroyed 10; of natural resources of planet 8arth . thus leadin us to
unavoidable climatic chaos and all that oes alon with it.
To fathom all the secrets of the world we live in, scientists have embarked to the bottom of
the oceans, the top of the mountains, the depths of the caves and even to the breadth of
outer space. 't would be reasonable to presume that all those e-pensive and comple-
adventures were conceived with a sinle oal in mind 9 enhancement of &uality of human life.
EF
But how much has been achieved7 'sn/t it evident that the &uality of life on this planet
drastically diminishes with the advancement of technoloy and industrialisation7 ,e eat food
poisoned with a wide rane of chemicalsM we drink tap water full of chlorineM when we et sick,
we/re crammed full of numerous chemicals "which sometimes have unwanted side effects$M we
breathe air full of e-cess carbon dio-ide and other harmful aseous chemicals. )ur whole
environment . includin our bodies . is poisoned. The current mortality rate is hiher than it
was in the Diddle Aes at the time of rampant plaue. Clearly, there is a serious flaw in the
fundamental formula, 2' am the material body and sense enHoyment is the purpose of life.4
,e humbly accepted everythin they said. *o doubt, their learned thouhts and words have
created an easy life for some, but rerettably they are also responsible for a slickly packaed,
atheistic ospel that has covered the entire world. Thus, as a direct result, no one thinks
spirituality has any relevance to twenty.first century man, and any endeavour to create a
society based on spiritual principles is denounced as completely ludicrous. %nfortunately, all
thins are now measured accordin to their ability to increase material enHoyment, and
therefore spirituality is seen as a nuisance . sentimental mytholoy incapable of raisin our
standard of livin.
:inally, why do Aaishnavas not accept the 5perfection/ of scientific research7 The
imperfection of scientists is indicated by their reliance on e-tremely limited senses. ' shall cite
herewith a few e-amples which illustrate the limitation of human senses. 1$ ,e cannot hear
hyper sound and ultrasound "unlike some animals$. C$ ,e cannot see microoranisms with
naked eyeM we cannot see in pitch dark nor reconise distant obHects. ;$ ,e cannot
5instinctively/ foretell natural disasters "earth&uakes, floods, etc.$ as rats, fros, dos, and
other animals can. E$ ,e cannot perceive ultraviolet rays, radio waves or eneretic radiation
"such as human and animal auras$.
Besides that, each of us perceives material obHects and processes in a different way. :or
e-ample, somethin which tastes bitter to one person may taste sweet to another. To e-pand
the rasp of our material senses, scientists have invented a vast array of instruments .
microscopes, telescopes, various computers, robots, etc. But because these devices were
constructed by humans who have im'erfect senses! they have im'erfections automatically
built in. The scientists are therefore compelled to improve their technical and optical devices
step by step. This is the proof that scientists and their research results are imperfect.
Throuhout thousands of years of human history, the conclusions of scientific research,
based on imperfect reasonin, have deceived many people and resulted in various
catastrophes which have taken a hue number of human lives. The same type of imperfect
"scientific, e-perimental$ reasonin compels people to believe that 5at the beinnin of history
there was a chunk of matter, of enormous temperature and density/, which finally e-ploded
"Bi Ban theory$ and . without the guidance of su'erior intelligence 9 created the comple-
world we live in3 "Take into consideration the comple- structure of a #*A molecule of an
ordinary liver cell$.
The imperfect empirical reasonin of scientists induces us to believe that 5many millions of
years ao/, primitive molecules evolved into simple livin beins "alae, flaellates, molluscs,
etc.$, which later evolved into more comple- oranisms and finally into humans. "'/m
wonderin why all monkeys haven/t turned into humans$. Scientific reasonin based on
numerous e-periments . conducted by impure and imperfect minds 9 is factually reduced to a
bi amblin ame in which hardly anybody wins. ,hen unable to provide valid proofs for
their declarations, scientists resort to theories and hy'otheses in order to convince the rest of
us that absolute truth is e-actly the way they believe it is. :or e-ample, they want us to
believe that this beautiful and comple- world came into bein as an accidental combination of
chemicals.
Throuh the Aedic literature, !ord (rishna endowed humanity with knowlede that is more
than sufficient for ac&uirin of harmony, peace, prosperity and health, as well as for ultimately
ceasin the continuous repetition of births and deaths 9 the very knowlede crucial for
returnin back to the spiritual world. +owever, materialistic scientists dare to pose themselves
cleverer than (rishna to offer humanity much.desired prosperity in the only way they consider
possible 9 throuh unendin economic rowth intended for ever.e-pandin sense ratification.
This entails a hih deree of industrialisation and all the pollutions that o alon with itM add to
this the unrelentin e-ploitation of nature, animal habitats and resources of enery.
Beyond the destruction of natural values and eco.systems created by (rishna, modern
scientists diliently support the creation of new so.called 5values/ which serve only to
accelerate the collapse of civilisation. +ere are two e-amples1 achievements in enetic
enineerin "clonin and creatin new life forms$ and in nuclear physics and chemistry
EG
"production of hihly destructive nuclear and hydroen weapons, as well as the use of
nuclear enery resultin in enormous amounts of radioactive waste$.
Nather than takin shelter in the Aedic spiritual philosophy and science that were backbones
of the first hihly developed civilisation and spiritual culture in the world, the world/s leadin
reliions fre&uently take the shelter of modern science, which is based on ross atheism. 'sn/t
it parado-ical7 Thouh essentially &uite simple, Aaishnava philosophy is virtually
incomprehensible to people enrossed in materialism and hedonism. 'n some of the previous
answers, ' mentioned that Aaishnavism is also known as 5(rishna consciousness/ or 5the
science of Kod/. +owever, unlike modern materialistic 5science,/ this spiritual science is
absolutely perfect, for it oriinates from the perfect source1 Kod +imself. 'n short, the words
of wisdom written in the Aedas help us to live in harmony with (rishna/s universal laws "the
laws of nature$ and to spend our lives in true happiness, health and satisfaction without bein
cauht up in the comple- law of karma, i.e. the repetitious cycle of reincarnation "in various
types of bodies$.
+ere are a few characteristics of spiritual science1 1$ Spiritual science beins with the
eternal, universal formula 2' am spirit soul, (rishna/s eternal servant.4 C$ %nlike mundane
science, Aedic spiritual science offers liberation from materialism and illusory identification
with the bodies in which we are temporarily encaed. ;$ 't enables people to become real
controllers of their own senses and bodily uresM to ive up lower human nature "lust, reed,
uncontrolled aner, hatred, envy, etc.$. This lower human lower nature is the underlyin cause
of all the problems we encounter in the modern world. People who are overcome by it use
mundane science as an instrument to fulfil their selfish oals. )ne of the best e-amples is the
military industry, which produces weapons of mass destruction. E$ The results of spiritual
science have neither destructive outcomes nor harmful side effects. F$ Thouh spiritual
science culminates in spiritual self.realisation and awakenin our eternal relationship with
(rishna, it is also &uite applicable in the fields of medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy,
astroloy, architecture, art, etc. G$ Spiritual science approaches natural truths by means of the
descending 'ath, whereas material science relies on ascending 'ath. 5#escendin path/ means
that information about the creation, natural processes and phenomena come "descend$ from
the infallible source 9 Kod +imself. Apart from bein the Creator of the spiritual and material
nature "the )ne who knows every detail of them$, Kod is absolutely perfect. As spiritual
science oriinates from such a uni&ue source, it is devoid of human limitations and
imperfections. Bein universally applicable and everlastin, spiritual science doesn/t need
radual improvements. )n the other hand, the 5ascendin path/ of mundane science ascends
from value @ero "<$ to hiher values "various derees of understandin an obHect, process,
etc.$ Dundane science has no other option than to radually ather information, step by step,
resortin to e-periments that are imperfect due to limited human sense perception. 'n spite of
e-tensive e-periments, mundane science can never rasp absolute knowlede about an obHect
or natural process.
+ere is a comical story that illustrates the difference between 5descendin/ and 5ascendin/
path of knowlede ac&uirin. #r. :ro was a scientist who had lived all his life on the bottom
of a well. )ne day he was visited by his fro friend who had Hust returned from the shore of
Atlantic )cean. The friend did his best to e-plain to #r. :ro the e-tensiveness of the bi
water, while #r. :ro tried to compare the e-tensiveness of the ocean with the si@e of his well.
2's the ocean twice the si@e of this well74 As he asked the &uestion, he puffed his bellow. 2*oM
it/s bier,4 replied his friend. Blowin up his bellow even more, #r. :ro asked, 2's it four
times the si@e of the well74 2*oM it/s still bier than that,4 answered the friend. #r. :ro didn/t
manae to ask the third &uestion, as his bellow burst "and that was the end of #r. :ro$.
Daterial scientists are Hust like #r. :ro, who tried to understand breadth of the ocean by
relyin on the limited e-perience of the world he lived in. Scientists have Hust a faint idea
about the world we live in. 'nstead of acceptin Kod/s directives written in the Aedic scriptures
since time immemorial "descendin path$, they spend millions of dollars to venture into outer
space only to find out how tiny and insinificant they are. 8ven if they landed on the Doon as
they claim . what did they accomplish by that7 They brouht only dust and some stones "that
heavily resemble those from Ari@ona$. Couldn/t they use all that enery and money for helpin
people in poor countries or for inventions that would reduce the consumption of fossil fuels
"which is responsible for lobal warmin$7
Dodern science is unable to understand the intricate laws of the whole universe, which is a
product of Kod/s super.intellience. 8ven after some centuries of cosmoloic research, thouh
scientists have manaed to ather much scientific information, they have failed to understand
the universe. They continually run into two predicaments1
a" The ore they know5 the ore they understand how little they know&
E>
Scientists have 5con&uered/ outer space 9 only to find out how little they knew about it.
Space voyaes prove the reatness of mankind only to the layman. To those who are
conversant with the reality of space missions, they prove only the smallness of mankind.
Cosmoloical research provides evidence that there are more stars in the universe than rains
of sand on all the beaches on the 8arth and that our Sun is only one of those cosmic 5rains/.
't/s no wonder that the former president of AAAS "American Association for the Advancement
of Science$, Dr. (enneth N. Bouldin, admitted1 "*osmology ... is very unsure as it researches
the huge universe by studying only small sam'les.-
)" The ore scientists know5 the ore they understand that whate!er they Eknew<
)e+ore was utterly wrong&
*ewton/s laws of physics were considered postulates of truth until it was proven that they are
inapplicable to the microscopic and macroscopic worlds. Vuantum physics is meant to e-plain
the secrets of atomic world and the relativistic physics of the cosmos. But the two branches of
&uantum physics have proven to be e-tremely contradictory. As both of them were supposed
to simultaneously e-ist at the beinnin of the universe, when the microscopic and
macroscopic worlds were one, science 5solved/ the challenin discrepancy by inventin the
so.called To8 theory "Theory of 8verythin$ in order to unite two incompatible branches of
science.
The boldness of scientific statements has drastically subsided in the last twenty years. !et us
compare some of them. a$ The physicist #r. !eon !ederman, former president of APS
"American Physical Society)D "#e ho'e that in the near future we shall e2'lain the whole
universe in a sim'le formula that you could 'rint on your T-shirt.- b$ The astrophysicist #r.
Steven ,einber, *obel laureate1 "1s we advance in understanding e2'ensiveness of the
universe! the 'roblems are also getting wider so that the solution constantly runs ahead of
us.- c$ The physicist #r. John ,heeler from Princeton university1 "Hever run after a bus! a
woman or a scientific theory because another one will come in the ne2t few minutes.- d$
:inally, a scientist no less than the founder of &uantum physics, the *obel laureate #r. Da-
Planck, admittedD "Gor religion! God is at the beginning for science! %e is at the end.-
... And it oes on as lon as they try to reach the truth by the 5ascendin path/. A
reasonable amount of humility would be ood enouh to accept the fact that (rishna is perfect
and far more intellient than any scientist is. The absolute knowlede and wisdom that +e
wants to impart for benefit of the humanity was written down lon ao in the paes of Aedic
literature. All it takes is practical application.
>$ Spiritual science does not re&uire any improvementsM it is already perfect and eternally
applicable. :or e-ample, material scientists discovered the e-istence of the atom in 1=B>. ,e
Aaishnavas have known about atoms and their detailed structure for many thousands of years.
They are mentioned in the ;
rd
canto of rimadBhagavatam! which was written down more
than F<<< years ao. Prior to bein written down, the Aedic literature had been passed on via
aural reception from eneration to eneration of spiritual masters, saints and Aaishnava
scientists. ,e lauh when modern scientists discover a 5new/ planet or ala-y, a natural
remedy for some malady, a comple- mathematical or physical formula, etc.
,e hope that they will 5discover/ one day that peace, harmony and real prosperity in the
world can be accomplished e2clusively by strict adherence to (rishna/s natural laws and
spiritual uidelines. Daterial science operates e-actly opposite 9 it works aainst natural laws,
demolishin the values created by Kod/s hands. The results of such activities are daily
manifest in forms of violence, crime, terrorism, wars, decline of human morale, ruined
interpersonal relationships, bio.ecoloical catastrophes, etc. The bribable scientists who have
been used as tools in hands of tycoons "owners of iantic multinational corporations and
profit.reedy industry$ are relentlessly pushin the whole world to the brink of self.
destruction. ,e can see every day how material science . in hands of politicians, bankers,
mafia and military 9 is an e-tremely danerous means for achievin selfish oals. Blindly
followin materialistic propaanda, the vast maHority of mankind is diliently 5cuttin the
branch we all sit on/. )nly when the last river becomes poisoned and the last tree dried up 9
only then only will these people finally understand that money cannot be eaten and petroleum
cannot be drunk. )nly when the world becomes devastated by catastrophes will people "those
who survive$ understand that the collapse of this civilisation was caused by a fundamentally
wron formula1 2' am the material body, and the purpose of life is sense ratification.4
%nfortunately, there is not a sinle educational institution in the world "under patronae of a
overnment$ that can offer students a &uality education in spiritual science. The Aedas say
that knowlede beins with the ability to tell the difference between matter and spirit,
between truth and illusion. )n the other hand, what/s use of any of the material science if it
E=
cannot offer a satisfactory answer to the &uestion1 2,ho am '74 ,hen we enter this world,
we become subHect to illusion, and materialistic science deepens our illusion even further,
makin us more and more distanced from the eternal truth that beins with spiritual self.
realisation. The entire modern civilisation is revolvin around the false idea that we are the
material body and that there is nothin after death. +owever, this illusory philosophy 9 which
thrives under the auspices of material science . is the cause of a$solutely all problems we
e-perience in our everyday life.
,," Though you talk against aterial de!elo*ent5 you siultaneously use
scienti+ic achie!eents and technological i*leents& IsnFt that hy*ocrisy#
)ur motto is 2simple livin, hih thinkin.4 Therefore, we are not proponents of modern
technoloy. But, as it already e-ists, it can be efficiently employed with the purpose of
spreadin spiritual science and (rishna/s messaes to humanity. 'f, for e-ample, we use a
computer for this purpose "as ' did while writin this book$, then technoloy plays a spiritual
role that miht help numerous readers to make a sinificant step towards true spirituality
"bhakti.yoa$. The same oes for automobiles, microphones, printin presses, etc. The
printin press is a fantastic invention which can help enable masses of people to et
information about their spiritual identity, true happiness and the spiritual world. +ow many
trees are bein cut down so that people in different parts of the world can daily read about
procreation "se-$, eatin, sleepin and defendin7 This is misuse of technoloy. 'n spite of the
spiritual role of technoloy, we still think that this world would be a much nicer and healthier
place for livin if all those technical adets have never been invented. 8ven F<<< years ao
people travelled, had fun, ot cured and ate without all those complicated contrivances 9 and
yet, they were much happier than modern people.
The spiritual life of these people was an e-cellent foundation for healthy interpersonal
relationships. As they socialised in a much healthier way than modern people, they didn/t need
sordid amusements accompanied by drus and alcohol. :urthermore, they didn/t need
anythin like TA sets, which spoil modern.day people "especially children$. Their children were
properly trained and educated, spared from the ominous influence of mediaM obedient and
dilient, they helped their parents with domestic chores and aricultural duties. ,hen people
ot sick, they didn/t have to pay for medical insurance or wait for days to et a medical
treatment. *o. They had competent herbalists who knew how to efficiently harness the curin
power of nature. 'n those days, people were not as much subHected to various diseases as the
modern people are. Their environment was oranically pure. ,ater, air and soil were devoid of
poisonous chemicals of the modern industry. 'n these ancient times, there wasn/t anythin like
manipulation with stock shares, collapsin markets, economic crises, money launderin,
corruption, inflation, mass unemployment or strikes. People used to live in cooperation with
nature, and they returned back as much as they took from her 9 and they would never take
more than they needed.
'n any case, we all have everyday e-perience of how misuse of modern technoloy alienates
people from natural values, spiritual wisdom and Kod. )ne proof is the considerable difference
between the &uality of life in ancient times "when people didn/t depend on technoloy$ and the
&uality of life of today. 'n spite of computers, cell phones, TA sets, etc, people of the modern
day are unhappy, disturbed, and prone to disease more than ever before, and they live in fear
of roues who brandish danerous weapons.
,-" Can )hakti6yoga heal ental illness5 alcoholis and drug addiction#
The primary role of bhakti-yoga is not to heal alcoholism and dru addiction, what to speak
of mental deranements. Still, many people do stop consumin alcohol and drus when they
et in touch with Aaishnava philosophy and start practicin bhakti-yoga. People usually resort
to drus for two principal reasons. :irstly, they want to run away from the painful reality that
surrounds them due to bad karma "disappointment, sufferin, frustration, etc.$ That means
they have neither the knowlede nor the courae to face the cruel side of reality. The second
reason is that many people are tryin to reach Kod, spirituality, 5multidimensional spheres of
consciousness/ and reality beyond the rasp of sense perception. ,e already live under a thick
blanket of illusion that prevents us from emerin from the world of relative truths and from
realisin eternal, absolute truths. The result of usin narcotics is diametrically opposed to what
is e-pected from them. The same oes for alcohol.
EB
Aaishnava philosophy . which is based on bhakti-yoga 9 has offered shelter, happiness
and meanin of life to many addicts who had been lookin for these thins but lookin in the
wron way. 't was (rishna who offered them many rational reasons to enerate firm
determination to stop consumin alcohol, drus and ciarettes. +owever, it is important to
emphasise that in such cases bhakti-yoga can cure only those people whose psyche is not
permanently damaed by continuous consumption of narcotics and alcohol . in other words,
those who haven/t become mentally deraned or chronically depressive. Presumin that a
person strictly follows the rules and reulations of bhakti-yoga, it prevents many
psychosomatic diseases, as one comes naturally to understand, with spiritual proress, that
this material world is not a place for enHoyment, nor is the body an appropriate instrument for
lastin pleasure. Thus, every sincere spiritualist becomes tolerant of different events in this
world, knowin that happiness and distress are as transient as the yearly seasons "sprin,
summer, autumn and winter$ that rotate in cycles one after another. 'n cases of advanced
mental illness and chronic depression, it is hihly recommended that the patient seek
professional medical help. ' deliberately emphasise this point, as we occasionally e-perience
people brinin us their unaccountable children who are more or less irreparably damaed due
to overindulence of drus and alcohol.
,." Why do you run +ro reality and not want to +ace the truth#
,hat kind of truth do you have in mind . spiritual or material7 'f you wish to discuss the
former one, let us analyse what spiritual truth is in the first place. Accordin to (rishna/s
definition "which can be found in the Aedas$, spiritual truth is eternal and universal, unlimited
by time and space. As e-plained in the Bhaavad.ita, spiritual truth is divided into five
principal topics1 1$ ishvara "Kod$, C$ +iva "livin entity$, ;$ 'rakriti "nature, both spiritual and
material$, E$ kala "time$ and F$ karma "the law of action and reaction$. An ideal start for
understandin spiritual truth beins with self.realisation, i.e. understandin that all of us
"irrespective of type of body$ are eternal spiritual beins who have the same intrinsic &ualities
as !ord (rishna +imself. 'n this world, such beins e-ist as a soul temporarily imprisoned in a
material body to which the soul provides enery and consciousness. 'f all the people in the
world could face this spiritual truth "Hust as we Aaishnavas do$, there would be no more
nationalism, racism, reliious fanaticism, crime, e-ploitation, terrorism, wars, etc. ,hy7
Because mankind would be directed by spiritual wisdom, which teaches us1 1$ that we are
responsible for all our activities "for which we are subHected to certain derees of happiness
and distress$, C$ that we are forced to transmirate from one material body to another as lon
as we stick to our selfish material desires, ;$ that we are all e&ual on the spiritual level under
our common father, !ord (rishna, E$ that we can be perfectly happy only by renderin service
to !ord (rishna, F$ that the world we live in is actually a prison in which we are confined due
to our sinful desires and correspondin activities, G$ that the spiritual world is our oriinal
abode to which we can ultimately return if we strictly follow Kod/s uidance.
+ow many people are ready to face this type of truth7 The vast maHority of mankind accept
as reality 5everyday life/, the illusory show which we perceive with our imperfect senses 9 the
show in which the bodies of actors and actresses are made of bones, blood and flesh. )nly
those people who have voluntarily areed to adhere to the spiritual discipline of bhakti-yoga
can benefit from spiritual e-periences which enable them to see this world as it actually is.
There are too many of those who claim to believe only in what they can see, hear, touch, etc.
:or this kind of person, not only the spiritual world but the true nature of the material world as
well forever remains a mystery far beyond the rasp of our limited material senses. Such
people are doomed by the e-actin laws of material nature to live submered in the thick
illusion of material e-istence and everythin that oes alon with it.
+owever, if by 5facin the truth/ you mean material realities and material truths 9 how many
people are indeed ready to face all the aspects of material truth "includin inevitable repetition
of birth, old ae, disease and death$7 There are many who prefer to live Hust like an ostrich
with its head buried in sand, and thus not see the daners of this world "thus providin them
with rounds for fantasisin about perfect material life$. Perfect material life simply does not
e-ist, nor will ever e-ist. Perfection is the e-clusive monopoly of residents of the spiritual
world. 't is far better to see bleak truth rather than to live in rosy illusions, for only those who
always see the truth have the ability to hold the reins of their destiny in their own hands.
,hat bothers me the most is when people say to Aaishnavas1 2Iou are runnin away from
realityM you don/t want to face it.4 Absurdly, these same people become easy victims of
profiteers, politicians, and scientists, with their false propaanda includin a vast array of
hypotheses, theories and commercial sloans which are daily promoted by media 9 and thus
F<
accept as truth and reality all that they are bein served. Such people devour anythin they
can find in fancy supermarkets. They obediently buy so.called 5food/ without even readin the
label with the list of inredients. ,hen somebody warns them aainst the danerous and
horrible inredients in the food they eat and other products they consume, they retort1 2't/s all
for humans34 )h, sure it is3 But for what kind of humans7 :or those who aree to be
constantly cheated by profiteers who cash in on them, by politicians who push them into wars
and national debt, and finally by material nature, which throws them from one material body
to another. This type of person cannot think for himself. Nather, he needs somebody who will
tell him . via television, radio and newspaper 9 what is 5ood for him/.
Ama@inly, a hue number of people still think that life is nice. They are ready to see only
the brihter side of life while spendin their time enHoyin fast, sporty cars, sunbathin on
e-otic beaches, watchin romantic movies, etc. But the rim reaper incessantly hovers above
our necks, and it is unpredictable when he will strike. 's this pessimism or realism7 ,ell, if you
are healthy, youn, handsome and wealthy, you miht say 5pessimism/. But if you are
bedridden in a hospital while various diseases devastate your body, you miht say 5realism/.
Time doesn/t choose its victims. 'n the end, it kills everyone 9 whether we are pessimists,
optimists or realists, healthy or sick.
People often ask1 2+ow do you +are (rishna people so easily ive up mundane pleasures74
Iou know, it/s very difficult to be motivated for enHoyin worldly pleasures and at the same
time to be aware of the impermanence and ephemerality of material happiness and the
fraility of the material body. %sually, people don/t like to think about those thins, i.e. they
consciously or subconsciously avoid facin reality. To conclude this answer '/d like to say that
one of the biest problems is that of bein unaware of havin a problem. The two bi
problems '/d like to emphasise1 foretfulness of our real identity, and inorance about how we
can e-perience eternal happiness, which is the spiritual inheritance of every livin bein.
,/" Why do you a!oid watching T4 and reading the news*a*er#
Is that considered sin+ul#
The point is not how sinful it is, but how danerous and useless it is. The bulk of TA series
and newspapers articles can be reduced to various nuances of four main topics1 eatin,
sleepin, defendin and matin. 'n the last ;<.E< years, the media has become a serious
breedin round for immorality which neatively influences the psyche of modern enerations.
+ere ' present statistical data for year C<<C which illustrate the severe decline of morality in
the %SA due to influence of media "especially TA$.
'n the %SA any day on averae1 F> people are killed, CF1 women are raped, ;<<< teenae
irls become prenant, ;1;; foetuses are aborted, ;<? of students are drunk, GC; students
find out that they have contracted a se-ual disease, G<? of Americans males confess to
adultery. Around C<<.<<< children in the %SA are bein se-ually abused e!ery year. )nly
1<< years ao, the vocabulary of an averae 1G.year.old American was ><.<<< words. Today,
it has been reduced to mere 1F.<<< words. "Pity, ' can/t provide data about the number of
cases of domestic violence, students killed in schools, crime, suicide, terrorism, new victims of
drus and alcohol, etc.$
28
'sn/t it ironic that in spite of such discourain evidence, nearly the
entire world wants to have the standard of 5enHoyment/ e&ual to that of the %SA7 +ow many
people are indeed aware of what such a standard of 5enHoyment/ really implies7
TA, 'nternet and newspapers are bureonin with messaes promotin revolt aainst
traditional establishments of family, reliion, oranised society and ethical behaviour.
%nrestricted se-, violence and other forms of immorality are bein lorified as symbols of
freedom and liberalism. There is an evaluation that, by the ae of 1G, the averae American
child "who watches TA every day$ sees ;<<.<<< scenes of brutal violence, torture, murder and
suicide
$3
"let alone all pornoraphic scenes of se-ual promiscuity$. ,hat do you think1 does all
this Hunk benefit your children and your own self7 ,hat will be the conse&uence if you allow
media "especially TA$ to 5educate/ your children7
Admittedly, there are many useful, educational TA prorams. But useful content could be
more easily selected from specialised books without involvin the potential daner of
becomin addicted to the TA set, which has become an indispensable adet for the averae
modern person. There are numerous pieces of evidence that lead to the conclusion that there
was far less violence and immorality in olden days when there was no television or commercial
film industry. +ere is how the musician *itin Sawhney describes influence of television1
1B
Shat@er, Aauhn! "The Truth Behind the ;eclaration of $nde'endence-
C<
Phillip #ay, "The /ind Game-
F1
2Technoloy is a dru. ,e can/t et enouh of it. ,e feed it to our kids and
watch them row on a forced diet of desensiti@ation. Switch on the TA and
someone will tell you F<.<<< people died in 'ndia. Two seconds later you are
watchin a comedy. Technoloy can do that. 't ives us simulated realities that
make us oblivious to the real world. +eroin does the same thin. Basically, we
are all addicts . addicted to the comfort and convenience that technoloy
provides . addicted to the notion that proress is directly related to the si@e of
your computer screen. )f course it is. ,e must be riht. ,e come from the
developed world. ,e/re already developed. Sure. Then aain, wealthy kids in
America shoot each other. Poor kids in Soweto can/t stop smilin. So who s
developed7 ' met an aboriine in Arnhemland, Australia . his nephews showed
me symbols where ' saw trees and rainbows throuh smoked lass. They could
see fish throuh clouded water. ' couldn/t even see my own reflection. ' must
have forotten how. ,hen ' look in front of me, ' see two paths . spiritual and
material. Two worlds . developed and developin. Iou decide which is which.
,e/re still in the wake of millennium paranoia 9 earth&uakes, floods, end.of.
world scenarios, cult suicides, viral diseases that eat into our computer
realities. This is our developed world.
Then, as *elson Dandela says1 5,e are free to be free/. ' uess we make our
own prophecies.4
*itin Sawhney . Darch C<<1
As for newspapers and maa@ines, try the followin e-periment. Take a red marker and mark
5Y/ ne-t to every article that reads about bad news. Take a blue marker and mark 5Y/ ne-t to
every article from which you can/t benefit in any way. *ow, take a reen marker and mark 5Y/
ne-t to every article that you are not interested in "or has nothin to do with you$. +ow many
articles have left unmarked7 's it worth buyin newspapers on a daily basis "or even
occasionally$7 By the way, if you are interested in conservin the natural environment, Hust
imaine how many trees have to be destroyed to make paper for all those newspapers and
maa@ines that you buy every year.
Strict Aaishnavas do not watch TA and read newspapers, but that does not mean they don/t
know what/s oin on in the world. Personally, ' visit an 'nternet web pae ;.E times every
week to read the headlines. Then ' choose somethin ' am concerned with and in ma-imum
1< minutes ' browse the news without detailed readin 9 thus ' know what/s oin on. Dany
of my colleaues do not o even that far, and yet they are still alive.
,0" Is there any sco*e +or *ersonal indi!iduality in the *rocess o+ )hakti6yoga#
This is one of the most.asked &uestions. ' don/t know what motivates people to ask this
&uestion. Perhaps it/s because e-ternally it looks as if we all do the same thin without
thinkin. But, if you e-amine carefully, you will see that we aren/t even uniformly dressed.
!adies and irls wear saris in various colours and te-tures, accordin to their individual
preference. Dale Aaishnavas wear clothes in two colours "saffron and white$, accordin to
their marital status. Darital status is personal choice based on individual preference. ,e all
are individuals who use our own different natures, proclivities, talents, skills and desires in
service for (rishna. +owever, there is one thin common to all of us1 we all are "more or less$
committed to sharin spiritual wisdom with the larest possible number of people, the same
way it is written in the books that reflect teachins of our mutual spiritual master, A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Actually, those teachins are not his teachins but rather
(rishna/s teachins preserved in their oriinal form. Iou can learn more about this in the
answer to the followin &uestion.
Dodern ,estern people have a very shallow understandin of individuality. ,hen they want
to make a thorouh chane in their life, they o to a hair salon. Just see how the criteria of
modern mankind have deteriorated in relation to their understandin of individuality.
,hatever nonsense someone does before anyone else is reconised as creativity, artistry and
individuality. Nemember the first smashin to pieces of uitars at rock concerts7 Such thins
were appreciated so much that they would lead to an immediate rise in popularity for the
siners who pioneered them. This was followed by Humpin off the stae into the audience,
onstae strip.tease, bitin off a pieon/s head, etc. :rom spiritual perspective, these are sure
FC
symptoms of mental disorders 9 not e-pressions of individuality. ,e acknowlede
individuality as far as it is within the frame of spiritual standards.
Aaishnavas are not like army people whose private individuality is reduced to bare minimum.
Soldiers are more or less only numbers who are e-pected to say 5aye.aye, sir/ whenever
issued an order "and to carry it out un&uestionably without much thinkin about it, as
somebody else is meant to think for them$. But within the scope of bhakti-yoga there is so
much variety in service to (rishna dependin on individual desire, includin 1$ which service
one wants to render, C$ how to render it, ;$ where "location$, E$ with whom, etc.
This is an e-cerpt from an interview with one of our spiritual masters, ++ Bhakti.vaibhava
Swami1
2't seems that individuality is hihly valued in modern days. +owever, the way it is
understood subverts our real individuality and defines people as ordinary robots
that are yet to be prorammed. Accordin to prevailin understandin, a person
can become an individual by the choice of clothes they wear, music they listen to,
etc. 'f ' have to make an individual of myself, it implies that ' am not an individual
from the beinnin. ' must be a blank unit that has to buy its own individuality or
to ac&uire it by certain type of clothin, hairstyle, etc. Thus, individuality is reduced
to somethin that has to be bouht in fashion shops and hair salons. ,e
Aaishnavas do not take individuality so cheaply. *obody has to 5become/ an
individual 9 everyone is already an individual.
2Neal individuality is embedded deep in our real self. 't is our unchaneable,
eternal reality. *either our robes nor shaven head make or eliminate our
individuality. The same oes for conruence in our 5beliefs/ that you miht notice
amon the members of our spiritual society. ' hope you don/t claim that
individuality e-ists only when people disaree 9 that as soon as they aree upon
somethin, they become a flock of sheep. All mathematicians aree that CZC[E.
They all believe in the same identical thin. #oes it make them a flock of sheep, a
roup of blind followers without individuality7 Just like mathematics, (rishna
consciousness is empirically provable science, which rationally studies its subHect 9
spirituality. Therefore, two Aaishnavas aree upon the same point as reasonably as
two mathematicians aree that CZC[E. Practice of bhakti-yoga "(rishna
consciousness$ does not diminish someone/s individualityM on the contrary...
QAs lon as we identify with the body 9 a collection of atoms and molecules,
"obHects without individuality$ 9 we won/t be able to unveil our real individuality.
Body is only 5clothin/ for the soul 9 temporary costume that we have accepted in
the show of material life. To become (rishna conscious "aware of (rishna/s
e-istence$ means to radually elevate ourselves above restrictive illusion of
misidentification with the body and to reveal our real eo, our real individuality.4
,1" Why do you think the E'haga!adKgita< )y 'hakti!edanta Swai (ra)hu*ada is
)etter than the other renditions o+ >ita ()y other authors"#
8ven before A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada arrived in the %SA "in 1BGF$, there had
already been numerous renditions of Bhagavad-gita published, not only in 'ndia, but in the
,est as well. The vast maHority of those renditions were translated and commented upon by
authors who were professional academics, impersonalists, charlatans, impostor urus, etc.
*one of those renditions of Bhagavad-gita in the ,est could penetrate into hearts of sincere
seekers of spiritual truth and inspire them to start practicin bhakti-yoga for pleasure of !ord
(rishna. The underlyin problem was that the translators and commentators were not
&ualified and authorised by !ord (rishna +imself to present +is teachins in their oriinal
form. They were incompetent because they did not understand the oriinal teachins of
(rishna/s spiritual wisdom. They did not understand the Gita because they translated and
commented upon Gita out of material motivation "fame, prestie, financial benefit, etc.$
%nlike them, Lrila Prabhupada was a enuine Aaishnava, an important link in the chain of
spiritual masters that beins with !ord (rishna +imself. +ere are a few names of those who
are members of this disciplic succession "the 5chain/$1 1$ (rishna "Kod +imself$, C$ Brahma, ;$
*arada, E$ Ayasa "who wrote down the Aedic literature for the benefit of future enerations$,
F$ Dadhva ... C=$ Jaannatha das babaHi, CB$ Bhaktivinoda Thakura, ;<$ Kaurakishora das
babaHi, ;1$ Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, ;C$ A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
F;
Lrila Prabhupada was specially authorised by !ord (rishna to present +is messaes
"teachins$ to the humanity without alteration. :or that reason, Lrila Prabhupada/s rendition
bears name Bhagavad-gita! 1s $t $s. 't is important to emphasi@e that !ord (rishna +imself
makes sure that messae of the Gita remains kept intact. :or that reason, +e occasionally
appears in human society "for e-ample, as !ord Caitanya Dahaprabhu, who is CC
nd
in the chain
of spiritual masters$ or sends +is specially empowered representatives. Such a chain of
empowered spiritual masters is called sam'radaya in the Sanskrit lanuae.
There are four enuine Aaishnava sam'radayas that have been transferrin the teachins of
Aedic0Aaishnava literature in their unchaned form for millions of years. Lrila Prabhupada was
definitely not the only enuine spiritual master of his time, but he was the first and the only
one in appro-imately last F<<< years to broadcast (rishna/s oriinal teachins around the
whole world for benefit of the humanity.
,8" Why do you think your )ooks are )etter than the 'i)le#
The te-t that follows is based on historical accounts elaborately e-plained in the book
/is<uoting Aesus by #. Bart #. 8hrman and in about ten 'nternet paes, out of which ' will
mention a few1
http100-enophonroup.com0montHoie0albiens.htm,
http100militaryhistory.about.com0od0medievalwarfare0a0albiensiancrus.htmhttp100crusades.bo
isestate.edu0Albi0
http100www.infidels.or0library0historical0Hohn\kessler0iordano\bruno.html
http100www.newadvent.or0cathen0<;<1Ga.htm
Testimonies and substantial proofs indicate that oriinally more than eighty ospels were
used to constitute *ew Testament. But in the Bible we know today, only four of them have
survived . the ospels by Datthew, Dark, !uke and John. ,ho decided which ospels would be
included and which banished from the Bible, and why7
The modern Bible is nothin but a well.censored collae put toether by the Noman 8mperor
Constantine the Kreat. 'n Constantine/s day, Nome/s official reliion was sun worship 9 the
cult of .ol $nvictus, or the invincible sun . and Constantine was its head priest. %nfortunately
for him, a rowin reliious turmoil was rippin Nome. Three centuries after the crucifi-ion of
Jesus Christ, Christ/s followers had multiplied e-ponentially. Christians and paans bean
warrin, and the conflict rew to such proportions that it threatened to rend Nome in two.
Constantine decided somethin had to be done.
'n ;CF A#, he decided to unify Nome under a sinle reliion . Christianity. ,hy would a
paan emperor choose Christianity as the official reliion7 Constantine was a very ood
strateist. +e could see that Christianity was on the rise, and he simply backed 5the winnin
horse/. +istorians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted the sun.
worshipin paans to Christianity. By fusin paan symbols, dates and rituals into the rowin
Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid reliion that was acceptable to both parties.
Aery little was left of the oriinal Christianity that had flourished before the infamous council in
*icaea, where the oriinal teachins and doctrines of Jesus Christ were drastically altered.
The council lasted for two months. ,ith Constantine/s incentive, about ;<< bishops were
discussin chanes of vital doctrines of early Christianity. Nancorous debate led to the
formation of two opposin parties 9 one supportin 8mperor Constantine and his political
oals, and other, led by Bishop Arius, whose followers weren/t willin to make any chanes to
oriinal Christian tradition. %ltimately, Bishop Arius and his supporters lost the debate. 'n the
end, Arius and his two supporters refused to sin the treaty, which led to their e-pulsion from
the Noman 8mpire.
:ortunately, some of the ospels that Constantine attempted to stamp out manaed to
survive. (The #ead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1BF<s hidden in a cave near Vumran in
the Judean desert. And there are the Coptic Scrolls, found in 1BEF at *a +ammadi. )f course
the Aatican, in keepin with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the
release of these scrolls. And why wouldn/t they7 The scrolls hihliht larin historical
discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirmin that the modern Bible "which has been used
for 1> centuries$ had been compiled and edited by men who possessed a political aenda 9 to
use the influence of Jesus Christ to solidify their own power base. %nfortunately, the Aatican is
mainly made up of deeply pious men who truly believe that these contrary documents could
only be false testimony. 't/s no wonderM Constantine/s Bible has been their source of 5truth/ for
aes.
FE
To make the issue even worse, historians and theoloians cannot confirm the validity of
biblical te-ts that had been written even before the council in *icaea. )n the contrary, leadin
world e-perts possess plenty of indisputable proof that speaks in support of the fact that the
oriinal teachins of Jesus Christ and the enuine facts of his life bioraphy were lost. )ne of
those leadin e-perts, the American theoloian and historian of Christianity #r. Bart #.
8hrman, has written a brilliant book titled /is<uoting Aesus, published in C<<F. The book deals
with the development of oriinal Christian literature. 'n the te-t that follows, ' am enclosin a
few e-cerpts from the book.
2Just as books couldn/t easily be distributed en masse "no trucks or planes or
railroads$, they couldn/t be produced en masse "no printin presses$. And since they
had to be copied by hand, one at a time, slowly, painstakinly, most books were not
mass produced. Those few that were produced in multiple copies were not all alike, for
the scribes who copied te-ts inevitably made alterations in those te-ts 9 chanin the
words they copied either by accident "via a slip of the pen or other carelessness$ or by
desin "when the scribe intentionally altered the words he copied$. Anyone readin a
book in anti&uity could never be completely sure that he or she was readin what the
author had written. The words could have been altered. 'n fact, they probably had
been, if only Hust a little.

2Today, a publisher releases a set number of books to the public by havin them
sent to bookstores. 'n the ancient world, since books were not mass produced and
there were no publishin companies or bookstores, thins were different. %sually an
author would write a book and possibly have a roup of friends read it or listen to it
bein read aloud. This would provide a chance for editin some of the book/s contents.
Then when the author was finished with the book, he or she would have copies made
for a few friends and ac&uaintances. This then, was the act of publication, when the
book was no loner solely in the author/s control but in the hands of others. 'f these
others wanted e-tra copies 9 possibly to ive to other family members or friends 9
they would have to arrane to have copies made, say, by a local scribe who made
copies for a livin, or by a literate slave who copied te-ts as part of his household
duties.4
2*ot only do we not have the oriinals, we don/t have first copies of the oriinals.
,e don/t even have copies of the copies of the oriinals, or copies of the copies of the
copies of the oriinals. ,hat we have are copies made later 9 much later. 'n most
instances, they are copies made many centuries later. And these copies all differ from
one another in many thousands of places ... Possibly it is easiest to put it in
comparative terms1 there are more differences amon our manuscripts than there are
words in the *ew Testament.4
2)ne of the problems with ancient Kreek te-ts "which would include all the earliest
Christian writins, includin those of the *ew Testament$ is that when they were
copied, no marks of punctuation were used, no distinction made between lowercase
and uppercase letters, and, even more bi@arre to modern readers, no spaces used to
separate words. This kind of continuous writin is called scri'tuo continua and it
obviously could make it difficult at times to read, let alone to understand, a te-t. The
words godisnowhere could mean &uite different thins to a theist "Kod is now here$
and an atheist "Kod is nowhere$.4
2,e have a scrap of papyrus on which Peatus practiced his writin, on which he
wrote twelve times over, the words "in Kreek$ that he had to sin on official
documents1 2' Peatus, the villae scribe, have submitted this.4 ,hat is odd is that he
copied the words correctly the first four times, but the fifth time he left off the first
letter of the final word, and for the remainin seven times he continued to leave off
the letter, indicatin that he was not writin the words that he knew how to write but
was merely co'ying the precedin line. +e evidently couldn/t read even the simple
words he was puttin on the pae. And he was the official local scribe34
2U That is to say, once a scribe chanes a te-t 9 whether accidentally or intentionally
9 then those chanes are 'ermanent in his manuscript "unless, of course, another
scribe comes alon to correct the mistake$. The ne-t scribe who copies that
FF
manuscript copies those mistakes "thinkin they are what the te-t said$, and he adds
mistakes of his own. The ne-t scribe who then copies that manuscript, copies the
mistakes of both his predecessors and adds mistakes of his own, and so on. The only
way mistakes et corrected is when a scribe reconises that a predecessor has made
and error and tries to resolve it. SAs in the fourth.century document *ode2 )aticanus,
in which a medieval scribe malins a predecessor for alterin the te-t1 :ool and knave,
leave the old readin, don/t chane it3T There is no uarantee, however, that a scribe
who tries to correct a mistake corrects it correctly. That is, by chanin what he thinks
is an error, he may in fact chane it incorrectly, so now there are three forms of the
te-t1 the oriinal, the error and the incorrect attempt to resolve the error. Distakes
multiply and et repeatedM sometimes they et corrected and sometimes they et
compounded. And so it oes. :or centuries.4
2*or was it Hust Jesus/ teachins that were bein considered scriptural by these
second or third eneration Christians. So too were writins of his apostles. 8vidence
comes in the final book of the *ew Testament to be written, Peter, a book that most
critical scholars believe was not actually written by Peter but by one of his followers,
pseudonymously. C 'n Peter ; the author makes reference to false teachers who twist
the meanin of Paul/s letters to make them say what they want them to say, 2Hust as
they do with the rest of the scriptures.4 "C Peter ;11G$
2The third century church father )rien, for e-ample, once reistered the followin
complaint about the copies of the Kospels at his disposal1
"The differences among the manuscri'ts have become great! either through the
negligence of some co'yists or through the 'erverse audacity of others: they either
neglect to check over what they have transcribed! or! in the 'rocess of checking! they
make additions or deletions as they 'lease.-
At the time of creation of early Christian books, more than B<? of population of Noman
8mpire were utterly illiterate. Therefore, it was e-tremely difficult to a find &ualified scribes.
#ue to hih demand, scribes were often illiterate people who copied te-ts letter by letter, Hust
as in the aforementioned e-ample of Peatus. Just imaine how it would be if someone asked
you to copy an oriinal te-t in Chinese script. *o matter how hard you tried, you would
certainly make inadvertent mistakes, which would then be copied by the followin scribe, who
would add his own mistakes as well. The tenth copy of the te-t would most probably be
unintelliible even to a most learned Chinese, as it would be riddled with meaninless
sentences that would drastically chane the oriinal meanin of the te-t. This is only one of
the reasons why the modern Bible is full of nonsensical statements such as those fuellin the
widespread beliefs that Jesus drank wine, ate meat, distributed fish to the people, etc. !et/s
stick to the e-ample of Jesus/ 5eatin meat/. Author Steven Nosen in his book ;iet for
Transcendence writes1
2... Iet the *ew Testament time and aain cites e-amples of Jesus askin for meat,
which meat.eaters have taken as a sanction for their own dietary preferences.
+owever, a close study of the oriinal Kreek reveals that Jesus did not actually ask
for 2meat.4 Althouh 8nlish translations of the Kospels mention 2meat4 nineteen
times, the oriinal words translate more accurately into 2food41 )roa 9 2food4
"used four times$M )rosios 9 2that which may be eaten4 "used once$M )rosis 9
2food, or the act of eatin4 "used four times$M *ros*hagion 9 2anythin to eat4
"used once$M tro*he 9 2nourishment4 "used si- times$M *hago 9 2to eat4 "used
three times$.4
+ere is one of the typical and obvious e-amples, which prove that not only was the Bible
wronly copied and edited, but wronly translated as well1
2And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everythin that
creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, ' have iven every reen
herb +or eat.4 "Kenesis 1.;<.$
$2
C1
This was only one e-ample. 'f you wish more of such e-amples, ' recommend you to read book 2#iet :or
Transcendence.4 "Author Steven Nosen$. The book enlists enuine proofs about veetarian diet and mercy to animals
9 in all leadin world reliions.
FG
Iou see, while translatin the Bible from Kreek to 8nlish, the translators translated
abovementioned si- words simply as 5meat/. This is as bi@arre as the 5translation/ that St.
John the Baptist ate locusts. Precisely translated, he ate fruits from 5locust tree/ 9 fis3
These wron translations had already spread around the world by time the 8nlish edition
of the Bible was translated into other lanuaes.
Aside from mistakes "and deliberate alterations$ that have sinificantly chaned the
oriinal meanin of early Christian books throuh centuries of copyin . we shouldn/t
overlook mistakes that ot throuh even in the oriinal te-ts. Authors would often dictate
te-t to a scribe who would wronly hear and write certain words. #r. Bart. #. 8hrman
ives e-ample of St. Paul, who dictated his letter to a scribe "Kal. G.11$. :urthermore, the
authenticity of the books that have been the backbone of *hristianity for nearly 7III
years is very &uestionable yet for another reason1 false sinin of books. #r. 8hrman
ives the e-ample of somebody who whimsically wrote a te-t that was sined by
authoritative name of St. Paul. This is a rather fre&uent occurrence in early Christian
te-ts. Some of those falsely sined te-ts were mere speculations and0or were inserted
into oriinal books without permission of oriinal author "who had probably died a few
centuries earlier$. +ere is the brilliant e-ample of the adulteress whom the Pharisees
brouht before Jesus to stone her to death, in order to test his acumen1
2#espite the brilliance of the story, its captivatin &uality, and its inherent
intriue, there is one another enormous problem that it poses. As it turns out, it
was not oriinally in the Kospel of John. 'n fact, it was not oriinally part of any
Kospels. 't was added by later scribes.
2+ow do we know this7 'n fact, scholars who work on the manuscript tradition
have no doubts about this particular case U. The story is not found in our oldest and
best manuscripts of the Kospel of JohnM its writin style is very different from what
we find in the rest of John "includin the stories immediately before and after$M and
it includes a lare number of words and phrases that are otherwise alien to the
Kospel. The conclusion is unavoidable1 this passae was not oriinally part of the
Kospel.
2+ow then did it come to be added7 There are numerous theories about that.
Dost scholars think that it was probably a well.known story circulatin in the oral
tradition about Jesus, which at some point was added in the marin of a
manuscript. :rom there some scribe or other thouht that the marinal note was
meant to be part of the te-t and so inserted that immediately after the account that
ends in John >1FC. 't is noteworthy that other scribes inserted the account in
different locations in the *ew Testament 9 some of them after John C11CF, for
e-ample, and others, interestinly enouh, after !uke C11;=. 'n any event, whoever
wrote the account, it was not John.4
*aturally, the &uestion arises1 ,as this story enuine in the first place "Hust as any other
mentioned in the Bible$7 This &uestion arises from the fact that there are many contradictory
statements, i.e. stories which are differently narrated by various authors, mentionin different
"contradictory$ details. 't is impossible that both "or all, if more than two$ opposin versions
of biblical stories and historical accounts are simultaneously valid. +ere are two e-amples. 1$
Dark writes that Jesus was crucified day after the Passover meal was eaten "Dark 1E11C,
1F1CF$ and John writes he died the day before it was eaten "John 1B11E$. !uke indicates in his
accounts of Jesus/ birth that Joseph and Dary returned to *a@areth Hust over a month after
they had come to Bethlehem "and performed the rites of purification . !uke C1;B$, whereas
Datthew indicates that they instead fled to 8ypt "Datt. C11B.CC$. There are many more such
e-amples. Perhaps ' do not have to &uestion here the validity of John/s historical accounts,
which sharply contrast with the accounts of other apostles.
The vast maHority of the Christian world, due to loyalty to the tradition in which they were
born, un&uestionably accept as absolute truth all that is written in the Bible and other early
Christian te-ts. 'ndeed, there are but a few of those who venture to put the Bible under a
5microscope/ and thorouhly investiate the credibility of biblical stories and Christian
doctrines. Such a serious omission could have severe impact on the spiritual proress of
believersM even more so if the validity of some undisputable spiritual facts that used to be
interal parts of early Christian doctrines "such as reincarnation$ are inored or ridiculed. 'f
you think that ' am e-aeratin, please delve into the books of some Christian theoloians
and historians. :or a ood start, ' heartily recommend the fantastic book /is<uoting Aesus.
F>
'sn/t it sheer absurdity that an entire reliion . with millions of adherents around the
world 9 is based on deliberately or accidentally distorted te-ts, which, e-cept for &uestionable
stories, cannot offer people the essence of spiritual philosophy7 ,hy has such a tradition
stayed alive to this day . 1> centuries after the sacrilee of oriinal Christian ideoloy,
philosophy and reliion by decree of a Noman 8mperor who was motivated by political and
financial oals7 Perhaps the reasons are lucrative profit, position and power of control and
dominance. *o wonder. Neliion can be a very profitable business "especially if someone has a
handsome income that miht afford many worldly pleasures$. Believe me, ' am not aainst
ChristianityM but ' am deeply troubled by the unscrupulous lies, crime and inHustice that have
been passin "clad in a veil of 5spirituality/$ for many centuries in the name of Jesus Christ.
%nlike the Christian te-ts, the Aaishnava holy scriptures have been carefully passed on from
eneration to eneration for millions of years by hihly educated saes who didn/t have the
slihtest problem with readin and writin Sanskrit. ,hat6s more, many of those saes of
anti&uity had the ability of hihly retentive memory. They would hear a voluminous te-t such
as rimadBhagavatam "which is comprised of 1=.<<< verses in Sanskrit$ only once and could
then repeat it to the ne-t eneration without an error. ,hat a contrast to the illiterate scribes
who copied biblical manuscripts3 'n spite of such phenomenal memory of these saints, the
Aaishnava te-ts were written down for the benefit of those of us who do not have such
ama@in ability. +owever, it must be admitted that in due course of many centuries, there had
been some chanes made 9 not in the original texts, but rather in interpretation of those
te-ts. 'n those cases, !ord (rishna would intervene +imself, descendin as an avatar, or +e
would send +is specially empowered representative from the spiritual world in order to restore
+is oriinal teachins.
,hen !ord (rishna appeared as Caitanya Dahaprabhu at the end of 1F
th
century in Dayapur
"Benal, 'ndia$, there was no need for correction of ancient Aaishnava manuscripts, as all the
books at the time were correct and true to oriinal teachins. There were other reasons for +is
appearanceM one of them was as follows. As there was drastic decrease in the number of strict
followers of oriinal Aaishnava books and their teachins, Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu came to
e-pose the cheaters who were spreadin false teachins of Aaishnava literature. Some of
those cheaters surrendered to +im and became +is disciples. By means of +is sankirtana
revolution, +e re.established the oriinal teachins that had been kept intact only in small
circles of sincere Aaishnavas.
!iterarily inactive, Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu wrote only eiht prayers, collectively called
ik8a8taka! which contain the essence of Aaishnava philosophy. Some of +is close followers,
however, wrote very prolifically under +is supervision. :or e-ample, Lrila Nupa Koswami wrote
more than ten e-tremely important Aaishnava books that collectively contain more than
1<<<.<<< verses in Sanskrit. +is disciple, Lrila Jiva Koswami . who is still considered the most
brilliant Aaishnava sae and writer in the last F<<< years 9 wrote plenty of books that
collectively comprise more than E<<.<<< Sanskrit verses. )ur ood fortune is that almost all
these books are available to this day in their oriinal form "messae$ in many lanuaes. The
same oes for oriinal )edas! rimadBhagavatam! /ahabharat! Bhagavadgita! 9amayana,
etc.
And not only these3 As ' have already mentioned, there are five superb literary works from
the 1G
th
century that describe the activities and teachins of Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu in reat
detail1 ri *aitanyacandramrita! ri *aitanyamangala! ri *aitanyacarita! ri *aitanya
bhagavata and ri *aitanyacaritamrita. %nlike the biblical te-ts that were written by apostles
who were recallin memories of past events or e-periences connected to life and teachins of
Jesus Christ some few centuries after the crucifi-ion, the literary masterpieces that describe
the life and teachins of Lri Caitanya were recorded durin +is lifetime. This prevented
possible speculations and contradictions that could have arisen later. Besides that, the saes
who authored those e-ceptional books were staunch followers of the !ord from the spiritual
world who accompanied +im in +is missionary activities. Aside from superhuman knowlede,
they had mystical powers, which they used in the service of spreadin the sankirtana mission.
This is corroborated in bioraphies which describe their lives. Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu and +is
confidential followers from the spiritual world were present amon human society relatively
recently. To this day in 'ndia, there are many obHects e-tant that had been used by Them,
includin the #eities They worshipped, funeral chapels "samadhis$ in which They were
entombed, and even the houses in which They lived.
' hope this lon te-t offers a convincin answer to the &uestion 5,hy do you think your
books are better than the Bible7/ Actually, we do not make any difference between 5our books/
and 5your books./ The Aedic 0 Aaishnava literature is spiritual leacy of all people, reardless
F=
of which reliion they prefer to follow. 'n ancient times, when the Aedic literature was
written down, there were no reliions 9 there was only spirituality. 'f Kod is one "as +e is$,
then it is loical that there is only one spirituality or, if you prefer the term, one reliion.
'f you are not happy with this answer, ' suest you honestly to read ri *aitanya
caritamrita! translated and commented by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. 'f you wish
to order it, please o to www.krishna.com or www.blservices.com As ' wrote in the
'ntroduction, 5'f you want to know about a cake 9 you have to try it3/ 'ndeed, there is no value
in talkin about 5ood/ or 5bad/ cake if you have never tried it for yourself.
-3" Do you +orce your children to )e EHare Krishna< (4aishna!as"
or can they chose their own li+e way#
Just as persons in secular society educate their children in the secular "materialistic$ way of
livin, we educate our children in the spiritual way of livin accordin to the Aedic0Aaishnava
+oly Scriptures. ,ith such education, we provide our children with the possibility of cultivatin
virtuous &ualities "cleanliness, compassion, tolerance, etc.$ which will support them in their
future pursuance of the spiritual path of bhakti-yoga. 8ven if they prefer to devote themselves
to a materialistic way of livin, these virtuous &ualities will definitely enrich their lives, also. 'n
a few of the bier centres around the world, we have our own schools for children, called
gurukulas, where children learn Aedic history, various aspects of Aaishnava philosophy, Aedic
artistry and, of course, mathematics, forein lanuaes, eoraphy, and so forth, accordin to
the children/s aes.
As a matter of fact, not all of our children become and remain Aaishnavas. The maHority of
them continue to pursue the spiritual tradition of their parents. +owever, a certain percentae
of our children, upon enterin adulthood, bein a Hourney on a different path to find their own
happiness. 't is unethical and virtually impossible to force upon anybody somethin they don/t
want. :or the same reason, many teenaers and youn adults from secular society, in spite of
material education, become Aaishnavas. ' was one of them. Dy parents wanted me to become
a mechanical enineer. But there are so many mechanical enineers in the world.
This world needs &ualified spiritual leaders . those who will show by their own e-ample how
it is possible to live in harmony with nature and Kod/s lawsM how it is possible to develop
virtuous characteristics in spite of surroundins that are pervaded with reed, lust, hatred and
other forms of evilM how it is possible to live free from slavery to ones/ own sense orans and
from the hedonistic reime that imposes fren@ied consumerism on its constituentsM how it is
possible to think for one/s own self without usin media "especially TA$ instead of one/s better
HudementM how it is possible to live simply and think hihly "spiritually$M how it is possible to
be truly happy Hust by followin (rishna/s instructions. )nly this kind of leader is capable of
creatin a radical, positive turnin point in this deraded civilisation and avertin it from the
course of self.destruction. Therefore, we Aaishnavas want our children to become &ualified
people who will benefit the whole of humanity throuh valuable spiritual contributions in all
aspects of life.
Somebody miht challene1 2' understand that an adult person can decide to become a
veetarian or a spiritualist, but ' think it/s unHust when you force your children to be
veetarians and pursue an imposed spiritual life, without ivin them free choice.4 Dy answer1
#o you educate your children about the harmfulness of smokin ciarettes and consumin
drus7 Iour children will decide for themselves whether they want to become smokers or dru
users when they reach adulthood. 'n meantime, you educate them about what you know is
the best for them. Similarly, we believe that veetarianism and true spirituality is the best for
them. +owever, they will have freedom to make their own decision when they row up.
-2" Do you worshi* cows 7ust as Hindus do#
' have already e-plained "in answer to &uestion G$ that althouh we are not +indus, we
share the same traditional and cultural root . the Aedic literature. Just as +indus, we ive
reat importance to cows and consider them sacred for various reasons. :irst of all, Kod
+imself considers them sacred animals. They are dear to (rishna so much that one of +is
names is Kovinda, which means 5master "and lover$ of cows/. 'n Aaishnava temples, marble
fiures of cows can often be seen ne-t to (rishna on the altar. The same oes for Aaishnava
and Aedic paintins, which often depict (rishna in company of cows and calves as it is
described in the paes of rimadBhagavatam.
(rishna created cows as a special ift to humanity. 'n Aedic times, cows were the foundation
of successful economy. 'n those days, wealth was measured by number of cows and si@e of
arable land that somebody possessed rather than by their possession of some amount of
FB
money . paper with some ascribed, artificial value. About one &uarter of humanity was
devoted to cow protection and producin dairy oods. Those people were known as vai8yas.
)ai8yas were not mere cattle.breeders, as are modern.day people who cruelly e-ploit cows as
lon as they can yield milk. ,hen cows et dry, the breeders of today have them killed in a
slauhterhouse. 'n contrast, the cows and bulls in Aedic culture were very well cared for and
respected as part of one/s own family. As they were feedin the whole family with their milk
and renderin valuable service in ariculture, cows and bulls were considered as mother and
father. At times of festivities, people used to decorate them with old and Hewels. Cow barns
were made of the best and most precious materials, such as marble and lapis la@uli. As the
cows could feel the love and care they were receivin, their udders were incessantly full of
milk. rimadBhagavatam is full of such descriptions. Bulls were employed for tillin the land
and separatin hull from rains. 8ven cow dun was used. To this day, in 'ndian villaes
women make cow dun patties that stick to the sun.e-posed house walls. ,hen dry, they
make e-cellent fuel for heatin and cookin.
There was true prosperity in Aedic times. People had more than they re&uired and they
enHoyed true protection from their saintly kin. )ne of the kin/s duties was to make sure the
cows were properly protected. 8ven thouh the cow is the sacred animal in 'ndia "amon the
+indus$, thanks to the deraded and selfish politicians of our times, the cows have been
nelected for many decades. )ften they can be seen emaciated and starved, loiterin around
in hope of findin some food. ,hat a pitiable situation3 'nstead of revertin to the spiritual
tradition of their ancestors, who used to live in peace and opulence, the overnment of 'ndia
in the last few decades has been tryin hard to emulate the lifestyle of the deraded ,est, the
%SA in particular. Are 'ndian politicians are so blind that that they cannot see the dire
conse&uences of American life standards7
,hen the British asked Dahatma Kandhi what he thouht of the ,estern civilisation, he
answered1 2That would be a ood idea34 . pointin out that there is nothin civilised in the
,est. ,hat would he say today, G< years later7 Social development is today measured by the
deree of industrialisation that is relentlessly crushin the ecoloical systems of this planet.
,hat kind of civilisation is one in which people support abortion of unborn childrenM people do
not care of their decrepit parents, instead throwin them in nursin homes "or even nelectin
them utterly$M people eat animal corpsesM people kill each other due to immense reedM
people are renowned if they have a lot of money "as they know how to steal$M people are
lorified solely on the basis of how they know to kick a ball, how to act "pretend to be
somebody they are not$ or how to sin nicely, without consideration of their personal
characterM people buy Hustice with moneyM people have to consume drus and alcohol in order
to e-perience some kind of happiness7 ,hat kind of civilisation is the one in which amount of
nuclear, chemical and bioloical weapons of mass destruction is increasin year by yearM in
which children are bein educated by TA sets and the film industryM in which people cruelly kill
millions of helpless animals every day in slauhterhouses throuhout the world7 ' am askin
you, what kind of civilisation is this7 (rishna/s "spiritual$ standards of civilised life are far, far
beyond the madness known as modern civilisation.
Dy friends, this is a serious matter. Iou do not have to believe in anythin you have read
in this book so far, but please remember the followin1 %s long as huanity slaughters
and eats innocent anials 6 especially co#s 6 !iolence5 )loodshed5 wars5 terroris5
ex*loitation5 in7ustice5 hatred5 etc& will )e *re!alent in huan society& This is not my
curse. Nather, it is warnin by Aaishnava scriptures that are backed by Kod +imself. All those
who take part in such hastly activities curse themselves. ' am only conveyin to you one of
the most important laws of nature 9 the relentless law of karma. +ere are two verses from
rimadBhagavatam! which e-plain intricate laws of karma.
"Those sinful 'ersons who are ignorant of actual religious 'rinci'les! yet consider themselves
to be com'letely 'ious! without com'unction commit violence against innocent animals who
are fully trusting in them. $n their ne2t lives! such sinful 'ersons will be eaten by the same
creatures they have killed in this world.- (B. 44.5.4J.)
"...$f one kills 'oor animals to satisfy the tem'orary whims of the body! one does not know
that he will suffer in his ne2t birth! for such a sinful miscreant must go to hell and suffer the
results of his actions.- (B. 4I.4I.4I.)
-$" Why do you get u* at -a#
G<
8arly mornin is the most auspicious time for practicin spiritual activities. At that time,
which is called brahma-muhurta, there is a lot of 'rana in the ether 9 life.revitalisin enery
that emanates from the universe. ,e Aaishnavas use this auspicious time for meditation and
sinin of Aedic hymns that lorify the !ord and +is confidential devotees. This is a mandatory
obliation of all those who live in the temple community. 8-ceptions to this rule are the sick
and small children. Those Aaishnavas who live and practice (rishna consciousness at home
may adHust this standard to suit their workin hours and family needs. Kettin up early in the
mornin is not the crucial factor for spiritual advancement, but such an austerity can be of
sinificant support to any sincere Aaishnava. ' personally follow this standard strictly when in
the temple, and when ' am not, ' et up at around Fam without usin an alarm clock. ,hen
tired or drowsy, we take a nap durin the day. 'n eneral, oversleepin is not recommended
for serious practice of spiritual life "the same oes for insufficient sleepin$.
-," What does one usual day in the te*le counity look like#
Kettin up at Eam. *ow, you know why.
1$ Dornin shower.
C$ -&,3h /angala-arati "conreational sinin of Aedic mantras in Sanskrit as lorification of
(rishna and +is confidential devotees$ in front of the altar.
;$ .&,3h 'ndividual meditation on +are (rishna maha.mantra.
E$ 0&2.h ;arshan "reetin the deities$ By now, the deities are dressed in a new outfit and
the altar is decorated.
F$ 0&,3h Klorifyin Lrila Prabhupada with son.
G$ 1&,3h !ecture on rimadBhagavatam
>$ 8&,3h Dornin 'rasadam "breakfast$.
=$ 23&,3h Nestin before service or continuation of individual meditation.
B$ 22&33h Service. There are various kind of service. 8veryone renders service accordin to
individual &ualification and choice. +ere are a few e-amples1 servin the deities on the altar,
book distribution, cookin, accountancy, public relations, public prorammes, etc.
1<$ 2-&33h #inner.
11$ 2.&33h 'ndividual readin or restin.
1C$ 2/&33h Continuation of service.
1;$ 21&,3h Gaura-arati "conreational sinin of Aedic mantras in Sanskrit as lorification of
(rishna and +is confidential devotees$ in front of the altar.
1E$ 28&33h !ecture from Bhagavad-gita.
1F$ $3&33h 8venin 'rasadam
1G$ $2&33h Neadin before sleepin.
1>$ $2&,3h Sleepin.
This is only a eneral schedule. #aily standards vary slihtly from temple to temple
dependin on location "city or villae farm$ and nature of the service "some services are tied
to fre&uent travellin$. As you can see, the whole day is filled with activities meant for
(rishna/s pleasure and spreadin the Aaishnava mission. 'n some temples, there is no
evenin proramme. 'nstead, time is used for service or association with other devotees.
--" Only destitute *eo*le and those who cannot +inish the school
7oin the Hare Krishna o!eent& IsnFt it so#
Aaishnava history is brimmin with names of various kins, philosophers, poets, scientists,
saes and spiritual leaders who dedicated their lives for spreadin bhakti-yoga and Aaishnava
philosophy. This is true not only in remote history, but in recent history as well. )ut of some
sinificant individuals from 1B
th
century, '/d like to mention Bhaktivinoda Thakura and
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura "who was the spiritual master of A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada$. To make a lon story short, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was spiritual reformer
and hih.court Hude in (olkata at the time of British colonisation. +e was author of many
philosophical0Aaishnava poems compiled in collection named aranagati. +is son
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura was a mathematician, physicist, astroloer, astronomer,
and, above all, a prominent spiritual leader.
G1
At the ae of seven, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati memorised all ><< verses of Bhagavad-
gita and was able to ive proper philosophical e-planation of those verses. +e could fluently
speak several lanuaes includin 8nlish. +is 8nlish vocabulary was so e-tensive that to this
day, even those whose have 8nlish as their mother tonue can read his writins only with the
help of a voluminous dictionary. Lrila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of
'S(C)*, was a chemist by profession. +e invented a few medicines that are bein used in
'ndia to this day, owin to their surprisin efficacy. 'n addition, he was a prominent "and
proficient$ writer and spiritual reformer. ' listed his numerous works in answer to &uestion C.
'n the 'S(C)* of today, we have people from various professional backrounds. A
reasonable number of our members are academics and doctors of various sciences. Surely,
we also have those who haven/t finished any education, especially in 'ndia and some poor
African countries. After all, academic titles and hih material education "and even e-ceptional
material intellience$ are not prere&uisite for successful spiritual advancement and
achievement of life perfection. The vast maHority of academically educated people with a hih
deree of material intellience are not at all interested in their real "spiritual$ nature. Thus,
identifyin themselves with the material body, they are inorant of the fact that they are spirit
souls. Dany of those people do not even believe in reincarnation. #ue to conceit, their material
knowlede buries them deep under layers of illusion. This type of person we Hokinly call 2#r.
:ro4 "mentioned in answer to &uestion ;C$.
,hat is the source of intellience in the first place7 (rishna is situated in the heart of every
livin bein "in form of 'aramatma 0 Super.soul$, and accordin to the desires, activities and
merits of the livin bein, +e is the one who bestows knowlede, remembrance and
foretfulness. 'n the case of those who wish to surrender to +im, +e declares1 "To those who
are constantly devoted to serving /e with love! $ give the understanding by which they can
come to /e.- (Bhagavad-gita 4I.4I)
As for 5destitute people/ who Hoin the +are (rishna movement, ' wish to emphasise that
there are many 'S(C)* members who have come from affluent families. Some of them ave
up all opulence to become missionaries who possess bare necessities. )n the other hand,
some "the maHority$ of our members who oriinate from rich families have chosen to keep
their wealth which they use for financial support of the movement.
:inally, (rishna is not impressed with either academic diplomas or material affluence. ,hat
really impresses +im is someone/s sincere desire to ive up material attachments, to abandon
their lower nature and to serve +im with love in order to re.establish their eternal relationship
with +im. :rom (rishna/s point of view, such people are the most intellient and the richest,
as in the end they reach +im and +is eternal abode.
-." Is Hare Krishna the Eonly way<#
Since Kod is one, there is only one way leadin to +im . the one that +e +imself prescribes.
As ' mentioned previously, reliion doesn/t lead to Kod. 't leads only as far as piety, better
birth in the ne-t life and perhaps "in some cases$ life on heavenly planets. 't is important to
know that what is mentioned in Lrila Prabhupada/s books as reliion is actually dharma 9 the
eternal duty of every livin bein, i.e. servin (rishna with body, mind, intellience and
speech. Lrila Prabhupada/s usae of the term 5reliion/ "in relation to (rishna consciousness$
doesn/t indicate mere rituals and historical accounts that ive content to reliion. )nly for
easier understandin by common people did Lrila Prabhupada translate the word 5dharma as
5reliion/. 'n a few of his commentaries he offered the Aedic e-planation of the term. ;harma
is the essence of spirituality. This was invented neither by Lrila Prabhupada nor by me.
Nather, it is declared by (rishna in many places in the Aedic literature, which is eternal, but
written down about F<<< years ao.
The more a reliious tradition has dharma as an interal part of its doctrine . and the more
that reliion motivates its adherents to act accordin to their dharma . the more that reliion
is part of 5the only way/. ,e Aaishnavas do not monopolise Kod, as +e may be attained by
anybody who follows +is way "which is the only way$. But there are some re&uirements .
strict compliance to +is uidelines. +ere are a few verses in which (rishna +imself describes
5the only way/ by which +e could be attained.
"%eing freed from attachment ?to material ob+ects and material en+oyment@! fear and
anger! being fully absorbed in /e and taking refuge in /e! many! many 'ersons in the 'ast
became 'urified $y &no#ledge of 'e - and thus they all attained transcendental ?s'iritual@
love for /e.-
(BG. J.4I)
GC
"0ngage your mind always in thinking of /e! become /y devotee! offer obeisances to /e and
worshi' /e. %eing completely a$sor$ed in 'e! surely you will come to /e.-
(BG. K.6J)
"1 'erson who has gi(en up all desires for sense gratification! who lives free from
desires! who has gi(en up all sense of proprietorship and is de(oid of false ego - he
alone can attain real 'eace. This is the way of s'iritual and godly life! after attaining which a
man is not bewildered. $f one is thus situated even at the hour of death! one can enter into
the kingdom of God.- (BG. 7.L4-L7)
">ne who works with devotion! who is 'ure soul! and who controls his mind and senses is
dear to everyone! and is everyone is dear to him. Though always working! such a man is
never entangled.- (BG. 5.L.)
">ne who is not en(ious but is a kind friend to all li(ing entities! who does not think
himself a 'ro'rietor and is free from false ego! who is e<ual to in both ha''iness and distress!
who is tolerant! always satisfied! self!controlled) and engaged in de(otional ser(ice
#ith determination! his mind and intelligence fi2ed on /e - such a devotee of /ine is very
dear to /e.- (BG. 47.46-4J)
The list of &ualities that are on the 5only way/ is a bit loner. 'n addition to aforementioned,
(rishna mentions humility, absence of pride, non.violence, simplicity, cleanliness, and
steadfastness. These kinds of verses abound not only in the Bhagavad.gita, but in the
rimadBhagavatam and other works of the Aedic literature. Please pay attention to the words
' have bolded. ,hen somebody meets (rishna/s standards . then and only then can such a
person be sure that he or she is on 5the riht way/, reardless to the reliious tradition he or
she adheres to.
-/" Can a e)er o+ your o!eent )e *olitically acti!e#
Contrary to spiritual science, politics marks distinctions and emphasises differences between
people "not to mention other livin beins$. Politics is based on dominance, prestie, profit,
manipulations, diplomacy, etc. Sincere Aaishnavas have nothin to do with these thins, as
they know it would distance them from the spiritual path they follow. And yet when it comes
to protection of (rishna/s interests, +is devoted followers and innocent livin beins, certain
Aaishnavas are ready to take part in politics. ' say, 5certain/ Aaishnavas, as the Aedic society
"Hust like any other$ is composed of four classes of people1 1$ brahmanas "spiritual leaders$ 0
intellectual class, C$ k8atriyas 0 rulin class "in the Aedic times, they were kins and soldiers$,
;$ vai8yas 0 economic class "ariculturists, cow protectors and traders$ and E$ 8udras 0
workin class.
,e do not have kins or soldiers in modern 'S(C)*, but we do have some Aaishnavas who
by their nature are k8atriyas. As such, they act as manaers, leaders and oranisers. 'f there
is a need to et into politics, k8atriyas are ready to protect the interests of 'S(C)* "as an
institution$ and 'S(C)*/s members. )therwise, politics in service of selfish interests is
e-tremely detrimental to spiritual advancement. :or that reason, sincere Aaishnavas stay
away from it as far as possible.
)f course, that does not mean that professional politicians cannot become Aaishnavas. ,hy
couldn/t they7 'f it/s their profession, they can use their influential position for the protection
of 'S(C)*/s interests and spreadin of Aaishnava philosophy. That would be very valuable
service. 'n fact, it would be fantastic if all politicians in the world were Aaishnavas. There
would be no more unnecessary wars. Aiolence would be used e-clusively for dealin with
notorious criminals who would be severely punished. The social situation would thus be
conducive to spiritual proress.
-0" Why do you )other *eo*le )y singing Hare Krishna in the street#
,e followers of Aaishnava philosophy perfectly understand that the material solutions for
material problems are merely temporary and mostly ineffective. )n the other hand, spiritual
solutions can solve absolutely all problems, as they deal with the root of all problems1 lower
human nature "reed, lust, envy, etc.$ As lon as the lower human nature is not uprooted,
every material endeavour for solvin the problems amounts to nothin but 5blowin on the
G;
wound/. ,hat is the reatest problem in the material world7 'dentification with at which is
false . the body . not only in this life, but life after life. #ue to this 5disease/, people are ready
to commit malicious evil towards others in order to satisfy their own selfish interests inflamed
by reed, lust, aner, etc. The problem is that the vast maHority of mankind is not at all aware
of this problem, let alone any effective solution for it.
As we know that chantin the +are (rishna maha-mantra - Hare Krishna5 Hare Krishna5
Krishna Krishna5 Hare Hare : Hare 9aa5 Hare 9aa5 9aa 9aa5 Hare Hare 9 is the
most effective means for annihilatin false identity and awakenin our spiritual intellience,
we sin the maha.mantra publicly in order to bestow spiritual benefit upon people, even
thouh they miht not be aware of it. This miht sound incredible, but the power of (rishna/s
holy names is so immense that can turn even the most notorious materialists into Aaishnavas.
,e have in 'S(C)* a lare number of those who became Aaishnavas only because they had
heard or seen our sinin and dancin on the street. )f course, people respond to the maha-
mantra in various ways. 't larely depends on karma, i.e. amount of pious activities from
previous life. 'n any case, the maha-mantra is Hust like water that slowly but surely carves a
stone 9 or better to say, a stone heart . until it makes a hole and fills the heart with spiritual
bliss, which is subconsciously souht by all.
As ' have already mentioned, the maha-mantra sharpens spiritual intellience, which is
re&uired for understandin of Aaishnava philosophy "theory$ and bhakti-yoga "practical
application$. 't radually penetrates throuh the layers of astral body "intellience, mind and
false eo$ and beins to brin forth the spiritual enery of the soul . the enery that weakens
our attachments to material obHects. And then the maha-mantra unfolds our true "spiritual$
identity and establishes our lon.forotten relationship with (rishna. 8ssentially, not only we,
the Aaishnavas, but e!ery livin bein is a 5+are (rishna/ "(rishna/s servant$. (rishna e-plains
throuh the Aedas that the more someone is covered by +is illusory enery, the more he or
she is unable to understand this fact. And vice versa . the more someone is spiritually pure,
the more his or her eternal relationship with (rishna is clear.
!et me et back to the analoy from the answer to &uestion 1;. The /aha-mantra is like a
vaccine for the most danerous material disease . false identification with the material body.
As followers of Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu, our sacred duty is to share this 5vaccine/ with other
people. 'f someone considers it an annoyance, they don/t have to listen. !et them walk away.
Just like other street performers, for our street shows we have proper permits issued by local
police administrations. Such street shows are called harinama, and they last appro-imately
two hours. %nlike some people who think our sinin is 2meaninless annoyance4, there is a
sinificant number of people who are able to et in touch with the spiritual vibration of the
maha-mantra. Such people take part in our shows with noticeable pleasure, sinin and
dancin with us. ,hen they don/t see us at a particular spot for some period of time, they ask
us 2+ey, where have you been for such a lon time7 ,e/re lad to see you aain.4
Iou see7 't/s impossible to satisfy everybody at the same time. There are various people
with various mentalities. Those who are more or less spiritual can easily et connected with
the spiritual vibration of the maha-mantra and e-perience spiritual pleasure. Those of demonic
mentality severely protest as they are disturbed by the pure, spiritual vibration of holy names.
They are easily ready to tolerate street noise caused by cars runnin, airplanes overhead,
dos barkin, etc. But when they hear sinin of the holy names, they start complainin, 2This
is unbearable34 +owever, we have e-perienced overall that such street performances
"harinamas$ contribute considerably to eneratin a positive "spiritual$ atmosphere.
-1" I+ e!ery)ody were 7ust like you 6 only singing and dancing K
who would work +or econoic de!elo*ent o+ the society#
)ur daily chantin and meditation take about the same amount of time that the averae
workin man spends watchin TA and readin the newspaper. Above all "as ' e-plained in the
precedin answer$, our chantin "sinin$ is meant for the spiritual welfare of other people,
thouh they cannot comprehend it. 't/s true that our individual meditation takes about two
hours daily, but our street performances do not take place every day. These usually take place
once or twice a week. *or do all the members of our temple community participate in our
street performances. Some of them stay back at the temple to render valuable services for the
purpose of spreadin (rishna/s messaes to the humanity. +ere are a few e-amples of such
services1 book writinM book sellinM public prorammes on the radio, in schools and other
institutionsM 5:ood :or !ife/ 9 cookin and free distribution of spiritual food to the homeless and
in hospitals, nursin homes, orphanaes or homes for retarded childrenM runnin our
GE
veetarian restaurantsM farminM temple maintenanceM servin on the altarM carin for
visitorsM etc.
As for economic development of the society, what e-actly do you mean by that 9
technoloical development and industrialisation "which devastates the natural resources of
planet 8arth and transforms people into brainless consumers$, or do you mean &uality, happy
life in cooperation with nature and Kod/s laws7 ,e are proponents of the letter solution, as we
know perfectly well that industrialisation and technoloical proress are based on e-ploitation,
inHustice and manipulations. They result in ecoloical pollution, escalation of crime, widenin
the ap between rich and poor, and alienation of humans from nature and their own selves.
This is e-actly the scenario for which people in industrialised western countries work. At the
same time, masses of people in the third world countries strule for bare survival, workin
for less than OC daily. #r. Nobert Constan@a, the director of Krund 'nstitute for 8coloical
8conomics at the %niversity of Aermont, %SA, summarised in a few sentences the absurdity of
the modern economy. The te-t that follows is an e-cerpt from his interview on the TA series
",lanet 0arth-, produced by the BBC.
2' think we have to chane our conception of what the economy is and what the
economy is for. The conventional view is that the economy is there to produce oods
and services, and that the more we produce and consume, the better off we/ll be.
But there/s a lot of evidence to show that/s not really the case. Consumption of
oods and services only improves people/s sense of satisfaction up to fairly low
threshold, beyond which it becomes counterproductive in terms of their lon.term
well.bein 9 welfare 9 and that/s a very comple- function that involves natural
capital and ecosystem services, social capital and people/s interactions with other
people, their families and human capital 9 their health, their education, etc.
2' could add one thin to that. There/s a lot of psycholoical evidence that people
who are too focused on material consumption are also people with hiher rates of
both mental and physical illnesses. )ur focus on consumption is a form of
psycholoical Hunk food. 't/s somethin that makes us feel ood temporarily, but in
the end it makes us unhealthyU4
'f all people were like us, humanity would be uided by divine laws. People would keep
workin, but they wouldn/t manufacture products that are harmful to their health and
detrimental to the natural environment "the eco.systems of which we are a part$. The
economy would be based on ariculture, and commercial pharmacoloical medicine would be
replaced by ood old healin herbs and the healin powers of Dother *ature. All animosities
and differences based on the false formula 5' am the body/ would disappear, and thus there
would be no more wars, terrorism, or crime. There would no more drunk or drued people.
There would be no more sellin shares on the stock market, economic crises, money
launderin, collapsin markets, corruption, inflation, mass unemployment or strikes. People
would live in cooperation with nature and would return to her as much as they took as
necessary. 'n other words, people would live much the same way as modern.day American
Amish
CC
people do.
,ouldn/t that be a nicer picture of the world7 People used to live that way in ood old days,
when they possessed natural wealth 9 cows and land. This is the kind of future we lon for.
,ho knowsM the dream miht come true, one day in the future U with the total collapse of
modern 5civilisation/. ,hen the survivors crawl out of their holes after a nuclear war and finally
realise that it is best to live in accordance with Kod/s uidelines. 't/s a pity that humanity
cannot understand this no#.
-8" Why do you li!e isolated +ro ainstrea society#
:rom our point of view, mainstream society lives isolated from us. +ere/s why. 't all belons
to Kod. Niht7 ' am a part of Kod/s nature, you are a part of Kod/s nature and everybody else
is a part of Kod/s nature. As such, we are all supposed to be enaed in +is service accordin
to our eternal dharma, 7ust as Krishna *rescri)es in the 4edic scri*tures. 8ach of us
would ain the reatest advantae from this. %nfortunately, the vast maHority of people "5the
mainstream society/$ do not want to acknowlede this fact, as it suits them to live separately
from KodM to interpret Kod/s instructions in a way that suits their selfish oals or their limited
CC
Thouh they oriinate from 8urope, the Amish communities are spread across rural provinces in the %SA. They are
very reliious and are not at all interested in mundane issues. The Amish people live from land in cooperation with
nature. Dany of them do not even have electric enery at home and for plouhin they use bulls and horses.
GF
understandinM to pursue the demands of their senses and mind, rather than to follow Kod/s
instructions, etc. And why should we follow Kod/s instructions e-actly the way they are
described in the Aedic scriptures rather than any other scripture7 Aery simple1 Because the
Aedas are eternal and oriinate from Kod +imself "the descendin way of ac&uirin
knowlede$. Period.
Kod describes in the Aedas what +e e-pects from humanity, what +e looks like, where +e
lives, what +e is doin there, what +e likes, what +e dislikes, etc. 'n this reard, the Aedic
literature holds the a$solute monopoly in the world, as all other holy scriptures have a
pretty meare and superficial understandin of Kod and +is instructions. Dany people are
tryin hard to understand Kod, yet no matter how much they think they are spiritual, they are
not &ualified to understand +im as lon as they are attached to material sense ratification
and opulence. *rishna simply cannot $e understood $y any$ody #ho is attached to
those things+ He can $e understood e,clusi(ely through the process of de(otional
ser(ice+ This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gitaD
"$n the minds of those who are too attached to sense en-oyment and material opulence!
and who are bewildered by such things) the resolute determination for de(otional
ser(ice to the upreme .ord does not ta&e place.- (BG.7.JJ.)
"/y dear 1r+una
$,
! he #ho engages in 'y pure de(otional ser(ice! free from the
contamination of fruiti(e acti(ities and mental speculation! he who works for /e! who
makes /e the su'reme goal of his life! and #ho is friendly to e(ery li(ing $eing / he
certainly comes to 'e.- (BG.44.55.)
Because we are a minority who are tryin sincerely and strictly to follow (rishna/s
instructions, it appears as thouh we are isolatin ourselves from the rest of the society.
:actually, the rest of the society "mankind$ should do e-actly the same thin. %nfortunately,
we are still misunderstood and insufficiently accepted by the rest of the society. Two thousand
years ao Jesus Christ was oin throuh the same e-perience. +e was misunderstood by the
rest of the society simply because he was so different from others. ,ho was riht 9 Jesus
Christ or the rest of the society7 +e and a handful of his close associates were in a minority in
relation to the rest of the society. ,ho was riht7 +e was3 The rest of the society couldn/t
understand the simple fact that it does not atter #ho is right5 )ut rather #hat is right
9 thouh it miht be a one person opposed by the whole world. And due to their inorance,
they crucified him.
.3" I+ you do not hunt woen5 drink alcohol or watch T45
how do you ha!e any +un at all#
,hy do people love to have fun7 To be happy and to divert their attention from
circumstances which make them miserable. 'f people were constantly happy at work, at home
and overall, then there would be no need for additional pleasures, as their whole life would be
one bi 5fun/. +owever, it is impossible to be continually happy in this world and e-perience
happiness alonside all the difficulties that are symptomatic of this world of misery. Daterial
happiness, which oriinates from material 5pleasures/, is ephemeral and flickerin. 't comes
e-clusively from the outside when the senses are enaed with desirable obHects such as
women, alcohol, TA movies, etc. The disadvantae of material happiness is that it also entails
a stream of various miseries.
!et us focus on the three mentioned e-amples. 1$ ,omen "se- pleasure$. 'n the beinnin,
it/s all fantastic and arousin, but later, problems can appear in form of enital diseases,
unwanted prenancy, abortion, adultery, emotional disappointments, violent revenes, etc. C$
Alcohol. The same story. 'n the beinnin, a desire to foret painful reality. Kood time spent
with friends ... but later, maybe somebody/s death or lifelon invalidity due to drunk drivinM
alcohol addictionM violenceM family breakdownsM cirrhosis of the liver or similar diseases. ;$
,atchin TA. A whole lot of psycholoical Hunk that brainwashes people. Dovies that educate
kids how to become first.class criminals. +ow does it all affect the TA lovers7 Doral
deradation due to addiction to erotic scenes, etc. Just look around yourself1 heaps of
immorality, violence and crime caused by people subliminally prorammed by TA Hunk. This
world is already full of prorammed @ombies that cannot think for themselves. Nather, they
need somebody on the TA screen to tell them what is 5ood for them/. :antastic3 'f Charles
C;
(rishna/s friend, to whom (rishna spoke Bhagavad-gita on the battlefield of (urukshetra, about F;<< years ao.
GG
#arwin could see the modern man, he would be bitterly disappointed to witness the
"d$evolution of +omo Sapiens.
Besides the aforementioned problems, there is one more . a severe one. Attachment to
enHoyin material obHects and concomitant 5happiness/ inevitably enerates conditions for new
birth in a new body. ,hat kind of body7 )h, it could be a really bitter surprise. *o matter how
much somebody is convinced that they are free from Kod/s and nature/s laws, these laws are
always here, as loyal followers of illusioned souls. They act in the form of karmic laws and
reward everyone with what they have deserved. *othin less, nothin more. So it happens
when somebody tries to enHoy separately from (rishna.
The wise are not interested in that kind of happiness which reinforces illusion. The happiness
e-perienced by sincere and advanced Aaishnavas oriinates from the spiritual realm, directly
from (rishna. The more is one spiritually advanced, the more e-tended and intense the
happiness is. Spiritual happiness is eternal, an interal &uality of every spirit soul. +owever, it
cannot be e-perienced when a person is attached to material obHects and the flickerin
happiness that emeres out of them. 'n other words, those who are steeped in material sense
enHoyment cannot comprehend spiritual bliss, not even with the most fertile imaination, Hust
as a chicken cannot comprehend an eale/s aerial acrobatics. :urthermore, for those who
ultimately return to (rishna/s eternal abode, that happiness is uninterrupted and eternal.
:inally, what e-actly are the activities that brin such happiness to the Aaishnavas7 Any
service "activity$ rendered for (rishna/s pleasure, accordin to +is desires and without our
own selfish motivations, brins about reat happiness on the spiritual level. A livin entity can
be perfectly happy only when it acts in accordance with its eternal dharma. To remind you,
dharma is practical service "by the body, mind and intellience$ meant for the satisfaction of
(rishna/s desires. A Aaishnava/s whole life is centred on service to (rishna. 'n moments of
leisure, we find deliht in playin musical instruments and sinin bha+ans "spiritual Aaishnava
sons$ meant for (rishna/s pleasure. 'n addition, we hold dramatic performances, spiritual
festivals, and more. +owever, this is aain nothin but service that makes (rishna happy.
Conse&uently, it makes us happy, Hust as a hand is happy when it feeds the stomach by
puttin food in the mouth.
.2" I+ the 4edic culture was so su)lie5 why did it colla*se#
There are five primary reasons for the collapse of the Aedic civilisation and the culture. To
help you understand the first reason, ' shall e-plain one of the aspects of the Aedic science.
Accordin to the modern science, time is linear, i.e. there is 5only/ past, present and future.
The Aedic science oes beyond this, teachin that time is simultaneously linear and cyclic, i.e.
it rotates like four seasons. 8very year, one season follows another till they close a circle.
Similarly, there are four time cycles that replace one another in a natural se&uence.
These cycles are called yugas. They shift in the followin order1 1$ .atya-yuga, C$ Treta-
yuga, ;$ ;va'ara-yuga and E$ &ali-yuga. .atya-yuga lasts 1.>C=.<<< years. Treta-yuga lasts
1.CBG.<<< years. ;va'ara-yuga lasts =GE.<<< years. And &ali-yuga 9 our present yuga . lasts
E;C.<<< years, out of which a bit more than F.<<< years have already passed. Thus, we could
say that we are in the beinnin of &ali-yuga.
.atya-yuga is characterised by a peak of human physical and psychical faculties that
culminates in pursuance of spiritual activities. #urin the .atya-yuga, people were virtuous
and sinful life was virtually conspicuous by its absence. Thus, bein hihly spiritual, their
everyday life was based on observance of spiritual principles. Their lonevity was far superior
to our modern.day life span. ,ith advance of the followin yugas, human psychophysical
faculties and lonevity started to dwindle radually but surely. As a result, today, in &ali-yuga,
people are "enerally$ full of wickedness. They are &uarrelsome, violent, impious, and
constantly aitated. ,ith proress of time, people will derade themselves even more, and
this planet will become a hellish place for livin. The underlyin problem is that people think
that 5the devil is out there somewhere/, not knowin that he is comfortably seated in our own
heart "desires$, consciousness and activities.
)ne cycle of four yugas is called a *atur-yuga. )ne thousand *atur-yugas comprise one
kal'a. The life span of a material universe lasts 1 kal'a - ;G.F<<. Please consider
insinificance and imperfection of the modern sciences "in particular, history$, which offer an
e-tremely limited understandin of only a few thousand years of one "current$ &ali-yuga. The
Aedic philosophy and science provide reliable data on important events durin the whole
e-istence of a material universe, not only of this planet, but of other important planets in this
universe as well.
G>
+ence, the +irst reason for the breakdown of Aedic civilisation finds its oriin in neative
&ualities "lower nature$ that have started to develop since the end of .atya-yuga. 't wasn/t so
prominent in the beinnin, but durin the last hundreds of thousands of years, humans have
been losin their divine "virtuous$ &ualities at an alarmin rate. The situation has been so
severe that at the beinnin of &ali-yuga, people started lare.scale killin of innocent animals
and eatin their meat. Throuh this, the foundation of Aedic civilisation was severely shaken.
!ord (rishna +imself descended onto this planet in the end of ;va'ara-yuga "the one previous
to our present &ali-yuga$ and spent 1CF years amonst human society. +is messaes and
activities from that period are recorded in /ahabharata and rimadBhagavatam. &ali-yuga
started the same day that (rishna returned back to +is spiritual abode. That was the
beinnin of the end of the Aedic civilisation. :ive thousand years ao, when the Aedic
civilisation started to dwindle rapidly, the overall situation was still incomparably better than
what it is today.
The Aedic civilisation was spread around the whole lobe. There was one supreme kin, one
lanuae "Sanskrit$ and one spiritual tradition. The modern.day reliions are merely 5new
products/. They started to develop about E<<< years ao beinnin with Judaism. ,ith the
beinnin of &ali.yuga, the vesties of the Aedic culture started to die out in different parts of
the world, to persist "to a certain deree$ up to about C<<< years ao only in the area which
today we call 'ndia. ,hy e-actly in 'ndia7 Because the capital and cradle of the ancient
civilisation was in the town +astinapura, on which foundation the modern.day #elhi, the
capital of 'ndia, was built. 't was specifically in this part of the world that people were most
spiritual and pious, holdin on to the vesties of the ancient culture. This motivated !ord
(rishna to descend there, not elsewhere in the world. :or this reason, modern historians and
theoloians deem that (rishna is an 5'ndian Kod/ and that the Aedic culture is an 5'ndian
culture/.
And then, at the end of the 1C
th
century, maHor turnin point took place in the preservation
of the vesties of the Aedic culture. A Duslim invasion from the northwest ensued. This
caused the second reason for collapse of the vesties of the Aedic culture. The Duslims in
'ndia had more or less the same ambitions as 8uropean crusaders in the Diddle 8ast or
Spanish con&uistadors in the newly discovered continent of !atin America1 plunderin local
wealth, enforcin propaation of their own reliion, systematically uprootin the culture of the
indienous people "whom they called 5+indus/
$-
$ and takin over political power. Apart from
compulsory reliious conversion, many +indus from the lowest ranks in the society voluntarily
converted to 'slam, as they were mistreated and considered untouchables by the deraded
intellectual caste of so.called brahmanas. 'n order to avoid further humiliation and to achieve
e&ual rihts in the society, they converted to 'slam, and thus they ot what they had loned
for . peaceful life and security.
The Duslims brouht with them their artistry, lanuae, architecture and of course, their
social customs, which bluntly opposed even the most watered.down Aedic standards and
social principles of the local +indus. )ne of the most dramatic influences that 'slam had on the
native people was the introduction of widespread meat.eatin. Before the Duslims came, there
had already been a certain number of meat.eaters amon +indus, althouh they had never
eaten cows. They were a minority in comparison to traditional, veetarian +indus.
To add insult to inHury, the Duslims started to kill and eat cows, knowin very well that
+indus considered the cow a sacred animal. This sparked reular +indu.Duslim wars. At the
time, 'ndia was divided into many small kindoms. The +indu kins offered reasonable armed
resistance to the Duslim invaders, but they weren/t as united as the Duslims were. 8very
kindom that ventured to fiht aainst the Duslim reime fouht e-clusively for itself, not
cooperatin with other kindoms. Conse&uently, the +indu kins were unable to push the
Duslims out of 'ndia. 'n due course of time, the armed clashes and animosity subsided, which
provided fertile round for cultural and reliious tolerance which culminated durin the rein
of Akbar the Kreat "1FGC . 1G<F$. Duslims and +indus started to make friends in spite of wide
differences in culture and reliious tradition. +indus and Duslims were even invitin each other
to their reliious events and festivities.
Such life of mutual tolerance was oin on until the occurrence of the third reason that
accelerated systematic ruination of already crippled vesties of the Aedic tradition1 the arrival
of the British colonialism "or better to say, the first multinational corporation 28ast 'ndia
Company4$ in the 1>
th
century. 'n 1>F> the British fouht and defeated the *awab of Benal
CE
*ot understandin the comple-ity of the Aedic culture "better to say, the vesties of the oriinal Aedic culture$, the
Duslims lumped into the same bo- all those who had had the Aedic culture as their common root . Aaishnavas,
Shivaists, Jains, tantrics, #ura worshippers, etc. Such an attitude toward these different cultural roups that have
the same common root "the Aedic culture$ continues to this day.
G=
in the *orth and Tipu Sultan in the South. The military success of these invaders officially
established the British parasitic ties to 'ndia. By systematically plunderin 'ndia/s natural
wealth, the coloni@ers were sendin all valuable oods to Britain, while sellin to the native
people British 5oods/ which they didn/t need at all "as they had much better local
commodities, such as te-tiles$. The British reime had 'ndian cloth weavers/ thumbs cut off.
Dany of them were brutally killed to prevent them from producin their own clothes on their
5primitive/ looms. The overnor eneral reported1 2The misery hardly finds parallel in the
history of commerce. The bones of the cotton weavers are bleachin the plains of 'ndia.4 They
also killed thousands of ayurvedic
$.
physicians to create a dependent market for their
ineffective British medicines.
To maintain a monopoly on salt, for e-ample, the colonial administration made it illeal for
'ndians to produce their own. The consumption of salt was forced down below even the
minimum amount prescribed in 8nlish Hails. This disraceful control of an essential commodity
was withdrawn only after Kandhi/s famous Salt Darch in 1B;<. The British founded many
factories in which they employed cheap 'ndian labour and used domestic resources. 'n rural
areas C0; of a peasant/s income was taken in ta-, nearly double the rate under the Duslim
reime. All these draconian measures brouht about the collapse of domestic 'ndian economy
based on local communities.
By the 1=F<s, a mere ]1F.<<< was bein spent on non.8nlish schools in 'ndia, while the
military budet stood at ]F million. Nailways were built to speed the access of British oods to
'ndian markets "rather than for benefit of the local population$. The British schools in 'ndia
aimed at destroyin the traditional 'ndian culture, Aedic and 'slamic alike. The colonisers were
indoctrinatin the local population about the 5primitivism/ of their own tradition, while at the
same time lorifyin advancement of ,estern "in particular, British$ 5culture/. Netaliation was
inevitable, and catastrophe struck in 1=F> when 'ndian fury e-ploded. The British called the
widespread revolt a 5mutiny/. 'n 1=F=, the 8ast 'ndia Company was abolished and direct rule
by the Vueen and the British Parliament was introduced. The armed resistance of 'ndians was
pretty effective until the British established the policy 5divide and con&uer/. They hired Duslim
mercenaries to kill people in +indu villaes. The +indus replied by bloody revene.
Conse&uently, the old enmity between Duslims and +indus revived and became widespread
overniht. 8ven Kandhi himself couldn/t stop this hatred. This led to the creation of two
independent Duslim countries that separated from 'ndia . Pakistan to the west and
Banladesh to the east. 8ventually, Kandhi succeeded in the final e-pulsion of British
colonialism. Throuh his policy of civil disobedience, he threw the British 8mpire on its knees,
which thus ended ;F< years of a brutal rein that devoured nearly all of 'ndia/s natural
resources, destroyed the local economy, killed millions of people, sparked dissension between
+indus and Duslims, and larely crushed the remainin vesties of the Aedic culture. 8ven to
this day, 'ndia hasn/t recovered from the blow of British colonialism
$/
.
The +ourth reason for the breakdown of the vesties of the Aedic culture was *ehru/s vision
of an industrialised 'ndia. ,estern technoloy inevitably brouht ,estern 5civilisation/ as well .
i.e. the ,estern way of thinkin and style of livin. The ancient natural and spiritual values
that were characteristic of the Aedic culture bean radually to vanish from people/s hearts.
,estern companies started 5pumpin up/ the 'ndians with the ideoloy of consumerism. Sadly,
such a trend continues to this day, as all the politicians who came after *ehru continued with
the implementation of his dreams about an industrially advanced 'ndia. Airtually all 'ndian
politicians after Kandhi have more or less reHected the importance of Aedic culture and
spirituality, considerin them 5primitive and backward/. #ue to nelience on the part of the
'ndian overnment, many historical buildins of unimainable spiritual importance have been
left to ruin beyond repair.
The +i+th reason for breakdown of the vesties of Aedic culture is the influence of the
,estern "especially American$ media. ,estern movies that promote violence, pornoraphy,
deprecation of traditional values, and victory of evil over oodness are responsible for the
staerin decline of morality in 'ndian society. Such movies and similar TA series enerated a
se-ual revolution in 'ndia about three decades ao. *ow they are workin hard to promote the
ideoloy of consumerism. This is a well conceived trick on the part of multinational
corporations. +avin oversaturated their domestic markets, they are turnin their eyes to
potential consumers in 'ndia and other countries where traditional values "chastity,
spirituality, simplicity, honesty, etc.$ have been preserved to a notable deree. !are 'ndian
CF
Ayurveda is a part of the Aedic literature. 't is medical science based on usae of healin herbs and eneries, as
well as healin powers of Dother *ature.
CG
Statistic data and historical accounts were taken from 2The Bi 8arth Book4 "by James Brues$, paes 1B<.1B1.
GB
cities are now 5decorated/ with satellite aerials that catch American TA Hunk prorammes
that lorify the 5values/ of impenitent materialism and all the 5lamour/ that comes alonside.
%nfortunately, the maHority of the population readily accepts the illusory idea about the
5benefits/ of the ,estern lifestyle. 'n addition, their own overnment . led by materialistic
politicians . daily indoctrinates people, fillin their minds with an illusory vision of a 5happy and
technoloically developed 'ndia/. 'n order to promote materialistic propaanda, there is no
loner any need to watch American prorammes. 't/s ood enouh to tune in to a TA channel
with Bollywood movies and see how immorality and materialism have corroded what little
oodness has remained in the people/s hearts. Dany of 'ndian commercial maa@ines have the
same effect.
Thouh the Aedic civilisation ended around the time of the beinnin of &ali-yuga, and in
spite of the systematic uprootin of the vesties of Aedic culture over the last =<< years
"beinnin with the incursion of Duslim military forces$, Aedic culture still lives written down in
the ancient Aedic scriptures that have survived to this day with their oriinal, unchaned
messaes. 'n order to preserve and spread the tradition of this precious Aedic wisdom .
particularly the Aaishnava scriptures 9 !ord (rishna sent +is specially empowered
representative, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, whose appearance was predicted a
few thousand years ao.
'n !ord (rishna/s discussion with Kana devi recorded in Brahma-vaivarta ,urana, +e told
her that after F<<< years after the beinnin of &ali-yuga +is mantra-u'asaka, an outstandin
saint and worshipper of (rishna/s holy names would appear to spread the lories of the +are
(rishna maha-mantra, not only in 'ndia, but in the whole world. !ord (rishna e-plained that
throuh the chantin of +is names, the whole world would become spiritualised and that
people would become +is worshippers, enaed in +is devotional service.
:urthermore, in ri*aitanya mangala! written in 1F;> by Lrila !ocana #as Thakura, !ord
Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu predicted the appearance of a spiritually empowered Aaishnava who
would spread the lories of sankirtana mission around the whole world. 2As ' want to flood the
whole world by chantin of (rishna/s holy names, ' will personally preach in 'ndia to overflow
it with sankirtana revolution, and my sena'ati-bhakta "reat Aaishnava leader$ will preach in
many other countries and overflow the whole world by chantin the +are (rishna maha-
mantra.4
!ater, in the beinnin of 1B
th
century, Lrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura predicted in his maa@ine
.a++ana-tosani "in the article entitled Hityananda .urydoy$1 2The time will come soon when
chantin of !ord (rishna/s holy names will be heard in 8nland, :rance, Nussia, Kermany and
America.4
)ne thin is certain, however1 until the end of &ali-yuga "another EC>.<<< years$, the Aedic
civilisation will not shine with its old lamour. That will happen in the beinnin the ne-t
.atya-yuga. But still, as lon as there are enuine Aaishnavas in the world who uard the
oriinal teachins of the Aedic "especially Aaishnava$ scriptures, upcomin enerations will
receive spiritual benefit from the tradition that was bestowin harmony and true prosperity to
all humanity, in all aspects of life.
.$" I+ e!erything is so great in your o!eent5 why do soe e)ers
lea!e it and re!ert to their good old ways o+ li!ing#
Aaishnava philosophy and the spiritual science on which 'S(C)* is based are absolutely
perfect as they oriinate from the perfect source. But many of us adherents of this spiritual
tradition are not perfect as yet. As we hail from the mainstream secular society, we have
brouht with us our material attachments and lower human nature. +owever, unlike the vast
maHority of people, we voluntarily and consciously undero spiritual purification, which
includes ivin up material attachments, false identifications and bad characteristics. The
process of bhakti-yoga is a radual one which enables every devotee to ive up their material
consciousness and material attachments accordin to their level of sincerity and intensity of
desire for spiritual proress. Daterial attachments cannot be iven up overniht. 't is an
onoin process. That which is cheap and useless can be attained rapidlyM that which is
valuable re&uires much more time and endeavour.
Just imaine how much time and endeavour it must take to become a successful piano
player. Dany years of practice, several hours a day. 'ndeed, it is a skill that cannot be
mastered within a short time. 8ventually, the endeavour pays itself off. Piano playin is but a
><
material skill. +ow much more endeavour and time must be dedicated to achieve the
perfection of human life "ivin up material consciousness and false identity, re.establishin
our dormant love of (rishna and returnin back to the spiritual world$7 't re&uires a lot of
time. (rishna is not cheap. He can )e co*rehended and reached only )y those who
are entirely detached +ro worldly *leasures5 who are asters o+ their senses and
who ha!e an intense desire to rekindle their eternal relationshi* with Hi )ased on
utual lo!e. All others who think that they can attain Kod.realisation by any other means
and &ualifications are simply wastin their time livin in sheer self.deception.
(rishna ives new and unlimited opportunities to those who fail to achieve spiritual
perfection in this life . as many opportunities as they need. +e is not a fascist who casts
sinners into eternal hell "as they missed their 5only/ chance$. There is a prevalent assumption
in the ,est that sinners are doomed to eternal hell and the pious are promoted to eternal
enHoyment in heaven. Wrong3 'maine a sinner who underoes uttermost aony in hell and,
with a sincere attitude of repentance, turns to Kod, 2Dy dear !ord, ' am sincerely sorry for
betrayin Iou. Please deliver me from this hell and ive me a chance to become Iour devoted
servant.4 To this Kod roars with lauhter and says, 2+a, ha 9 you scoundrel3 Iou had your
chance, and you ambled it away. *ow you must rot in unimainable misery until the oceans
dry up and the Sun free@es.4 ,hat kind of well.wishin Kod would that be7 ,ith such wron
and discourain propaanda, it/s no wonder that many people find their solace in atheism.
But this is far from the truth3 (rishna is not such a rascal. +e ives us chance after chance
"life after life$ and patiently waits until we turn to +im and ive up our material schemes. 'f
(rishna does not keep even notorious sinners in hell forever, then what to speak of
unsuccessful Aaishnavas who, due to their material attachments, fail to achieve spiritual
perfection in this life7 Those who bein their Hourney on the path to success in the process of
bhakti-yoga and who make even a small advancement . thouh failin to reach the end of the
road . do not have to o to hell. Doreover, for them a human form of life is uaranteed in the
ne-t birth. And even further, in the ne-t life they will et an opportunity to take birth in a
family that will be favourable for the continuation of their spiritual proress. This is (rishna/s
promise.
The maHority of us in 'S(C)* haven/t achieved spiritual perfection yet, but a smaller
number of my senior colleaues definitely have. 'n the Bhagavad-Gita !ord (rishna reveals a
list of symptoms by which we can reconise those sublime individuals who have overcome
material consciousness and material attachments by developin unshakable desire to serve
+im accordin to our eternal dharma. Judin by (rishna/s criteria which are manifestin in
the lives of a certain number of 'S(C)*/s Aaishnavas, it is obvious that they have become
sufficiently &ualified to return back to the spiritual world, the world from which we all came
lon, lon ao. 't is only a &uestion of time before the rest of us will et to that level of
spiritual advancement, provided we are sincere and determined. )n that level of spiritual
consciousness, there is no more attachment to material obHectsM there is no more false
identification with the material body, and happiness comes from within "from spiritual
knowlede and purity$ rather from outside "from contact of the senses with material obHects$.
There are certain criteria to help us discern somebody/s spiritual advancement. They are as
follows1 1$ absence of material, selfish desiresM C$ attachment to continuous service dedicated
to (rishna/s pleasureM ;$ e-cellent control of sense uresM E$ possession of profound spiritual
knowlede "understandin of Aaishnava philosophy$M F$ humilityM G$ toleranceM >$ steadiness
and determination in spiritual lifeM =$ successful observance of spiritual vowsM B$ compassion
for other people and animals, etc. Judin by these criteria, there are many hihly advanced
devotees in 'S(C)* . not only spiritual masters, but also others who have tremendously
contributed "and are still contributin$ their time, enery, skills and devotion to benefit the
whole of humanity.
+owever, it is true that there have been many who turned away from this path of bhakti-
yoga. %nwillin to keep oin, they reverted to their old mundane lifestyle and the many sins
that o alon with it. There are a few reasons for such a spiritual setback. 1$ By havin not
studied Aaishnava scriptures sufficiently, they were lackin basic and appropriate
understandin of Aaishnava philosophy. #ue to lack of theoretical knowlede, they couldn/t
develop sufficient power of discrimination to understand what was to be done and what was
not to be done. C$ They were not sufficiently reulated in observin the spiritual discipline of
bhakti-yoga, which includes attentive concentration while meditatin on the maha-mantra and
followin the four reulative principles "described in the answer to &uestion >$. As a
conse&uence, they didn/t have enouh spiritual power and intellience to resist material
temptations. 'n short time, they failed due to lust and reed. ;$ Some of them unnecessarily
criticised other Aaishnavas, thus losin what little spiritual power and intellience they had. E$
>1
They didn/t sufficiently associate with other "especially advanced$ Aaishnavas. Thus, they
were overpowered by influence of mundane people who had encouraed them to embrace the
5lamour/ of material enHoyment. F$ %nfortunately, some of them had e-perienced more or
less cruel inHustices from other "ine-perienced$ Aaishnavas. 'nstead of findin shelter in
advanced Aaishnavas, they found 5shelter/ in material pleasures, or alternatively, in some
other so.called spiritual roups. G$ A number of victims had wron motivations in the outset.
They didn/t Hoin the movement primarily to achieve spiritual perfection. Conse&uently, havin
some &uestionable motivation, they couldn/t stand lon.
All the abovementioned reasons for ivin up the process of bhakti-yoga are more or less
based on lack of serious sincerity. As you can see, !ord (rishna sets up an e-cellent filter that
enables only the sincere and determined souls to eventually return to +is eternal abode. Such
candidates are the only ones able to strictly follow the spiritual principles of dharma and
e-perience the eternal spiritual happiness which is an interal &uality of every livin bein
"spirit soul$. To et out of this world of endless births, deaths and other tribulations, strict
observance of (rishna/s uidelines and eternal laws of nature is absolutely mandatory. (rishna
wants to see our passionate desire to return to +im and to develop divine &ualities even while
in this mortal world. At the end of the day, selfless love for (rishna is ood enouh. *othin
else. And yet, that love can be developed only by ivin up material consciousness, which
means detachment from material pleasure.
Iou see, it is somethin like enrolment in )-ford %niversity. There are many of those who
would like to et enrolled, knowin very well that an )-ford diploma could provide them a
well.paid Hob and social prestie. Still, many candidates fail at the very beinnin, because
they don/t meet the standards of knowlede set by %niversity/s administration. Some students
drop out after a few months or years of studyin, as they had failed to ac&uire the &ualities
necessary to keep on track with the demandin curriculum. 'n comparison with the overall
number of enrolled students only a few succeed in the end.
#o you understand now in what kind of illusion those are who challene, 2,here is Kod7 !et
+im appear before my eyes so ' could believe in +im47 (rishna is not cheap, nor is the final
reward that awaits all those who offer +im their heart.
;*ilogue
#ear readers, it is hih time for humanity to open its eyes to the truth written down in the
form of holy Aaishnava scriptures . Kod/s instructions meant for benefit of the whole
population, includin all livin beins with whom we share this planet. ,e have practical
e-perience that in spite of world/s reliiosity, this 5civilisation/ is inevitably is ettin closer and
closer to self.destruction.
Klobal temperature is increasinM the climate is chaninM deserts are spreadin widerM
every year thousands of life species are oin e-tinctM topsoil is ettin more and more
poisoned by pesticides and herbicidesM food is already sinificantly poisoned
$0
M natural
reserves of drinkin water are drastically decreasin, as are resources of enery "oil, as,
timber$, while the level of the world/s oceans is risin hiherM the area of arable land is
shrinkinM the world population is risin ever hiher
$1
M the rain forests are bein cleared day
by dayM there is an increasin number of wars and terrorist actionsM thousands of people
every day die of starvation ... the list oes on. The activities of modern humanity have
destroyed 10; of the world/s resources in the last F< years. At the moment, we are on an
unavoidable course to climatic chaos. Iet politicians maintain that economic proress is more
important than keepin this planet suitable for livin.
Are all these disturbances the conse&uence of activities of happy people7 )bviously not.
Dodern humanity needs somethin of vital importance . true spiritual knowlede. Save for
true spiritual knowlede, nothin can uproot the cause behind all the mentioned problems 9
namely lust and reed. 'n spite of all the 5benefits/ of the modern technoloy, people are
ettin more and more disturbed as they live in circumstances where ecoloical bio.systems
C>
The twenty corporations that dominate world/s food market want to convince us that specialised cultures,
sophisticated chemicals, enetic enineerin, and lobalisation are absolutely necessary to feed world/s human
population. 'n the last F< years, the number of harvests of various cultures has more than doubled. And yet, C0F of
humanity is malnourished "more than ever before in human history$. +alf of the number represents starved
"undernourished$ people. Another half are those who have severe health problems "especially diestive$, as they eat
too much "mainly Hunk food$. This is not surprisin, as market research is based e-clusively on needs of the rich
people.
C=
A hundred years ao, the world population was 1 billion. Today, there are G.; billion of us. By the end of the
century, the population will increase to B billion.
>C
are fallin apart, crime and violence rates are alarminly increasin, people are forced to
work loner hours, retirement ae "in many countries$ is ettin closer to averae life
e-pectancy "which means workin 5until death/$, purchase power is decreasin ... And yet, the
ideoloy of consumerism has permeated people/s hearts so much that they are prepared to do
virtually anythin for a little illusive happiness derived from contact of the senses with modern
technoloical adets.
'nstead of bein dependent on Kod and nature, people have become dependent on
technoloy. Try to imaine the chaos that could strike a city such as *ew Iork "or any other$
in the event of lon.term power failure or depletion of car fuels. Supermarkets would not be
provided with food and other necessities. ,ithin CE hours people would loot the food stores
and snatch anythin edible that could be found. ,hat would be ne-t7 The miracle of
technoloy sustains the lifestyles of 5civilised/ people only as lon as it functions. But when
enery resources eventually et depleted, there will be complete disorder. People will kill each
other over a morsel of food. 'n near future, there will be escalation of wars fouht for enery
resources "mainly oil$. Actually, it is already oin on, but not to such a deree as it is oin
to be.
#o you want such a future for your children7 'f not, it is vital that you ive up for once and
for all the false formula on which materialism is established1 2' am the body. ,e live only
once. The purpose of human life is to ratify the senses.4 Pursuance of this formula has been
turnin this planet into a hue trash bin for the last number of decades. )ne need not be a
prophet to foresee the followin scenario. 'f humanity keeps on the same trend of livin as it
is now, in the near future there will be a total collapse of the bio.ecoloical systems of planet
8arth. Dillions of people will die every day from shortaes of drinkin water, clean air and
natural food. Dany fatal diseases will spread due to inade&uate life conditions, a destroyed
o@one layer, radioactive waste, poisonous factory emissions, food and water ridden with
various chemicals, and artificial "unnatural$ medicines. The erroneous formula also instiates
lower human nature "especially reed and lust$ and leads people to a parado-ical relationship
with Dother *ature. People love nature. People depend on nature. And yet . people destroy
nature.
Aaishnava philosophy offers the solution to a)solutely all problems, as it is based on two
formulae that are able to brin about lon.desired harmony, peace and prosperity to the
human society. These formulae are 2' am eternal spirit soul4 and 2Simple livin, hih
"spiritual$ thinkin.4 But profiteers "bankers$ do not want people to be uided by these two
formulae, as they cannot make any profit on truly spiritual people. They keep politicians and
media as tools in their hands to brainwash people daily, trainin them to live the way they
"profiteers$ want them to live, to buy what they tell them to buy, and to think what they want
them to think. This is called psycholoical e-ploitation and manipulation.
#on/t you feel it/s about time you made a radical, positive chane in your life7 +ave you
been betrayed by all the 5shelters/ you have turned to . reliion, alcohol, drus, se- life ...7 'f
you wish to finally e-perience the happiness which is yours as an eternal spirit soul . then you
must bein livin and thinkin in accordance to your oriinal nature1 the spiritual nature. The
first step to perfection beins with comprehension of our eternal spiritual identity. I+ you
don<t know who you are5 how could you act correctly# :or many thousands of years,
people have believed they are somethin they are actually not . the material body enulfed in
national, racial and reliious identifications.
:or such people, Kod is a person in shadow, a person who is still waitin until you turn to
+im and seek +is shelter the way He *rescri)ed . the easiest, the fastest, the most effective
and in fact the only way. Althouh (rishna loves us and wants us to et back to +im, +e has,
for millions of years, still been fulfillin our material desires 9 and +e will continue to do so
until we understand that those very desires are the cause of all our problems. (rishna doesn/t
want to impose +imself. +e redeems those who surrender to +im spontaneously and
voluntarily.
#o you remember my analoy from the 'ntroduction7 So far, you have tried many cakes
that looked attractive e-ternally. #o you really appreciate the taste of materialism and all that
oes alon with it7 Aren/t you annoyed with the fact that your children don/t have a happier
childhood, and that you cannot afford all they want and deserve7 Aren/t you annoyed with the
fact that this planet is turnin into a hue, radioactive dump7 Aren/t you annoyed with the
fact that the standards of life are ettin ever worse, in spite of the advancement of modern
technoloy and science7 Aren/t you annoyed with the fact that indispensable life necessities
"food, water and air$ are ettin more and more poisoned and hardly available in their
oriinal, natural state7 Aren/t you annoyed with the fact that other people think and make
decisions for you and manipulate you throuh commercial advertisements, books, maa@ines,
>;
radio...7 And that they make sure that the truth doesn/t et e-posed . and when it does,
that it ets ridiculed and spat upon7
#ear folks, e-cept for the spiritual discipline of bhakti-yoga and the observance of our
oriinal dharma! nothin can free us from slavery to materialism and its apostles 9 the
profiteers, corrupted scientists and politicians who are ever ready to send masses of people to
bloody wars e-clusively for the sake of their own selfish interests. ,ith ood reason, we can
presume that future wars will be even more effective, cruel and damain, all the way up to
the dreadful one that will turn the whole planet into a hue pile of rubble 9 the final testimony
of a brainless and suicidal civilisation.
:inally, you may wonder1 2,hat would ' ain by practical application of the principles of
bhakti-yoga in my life74 :irst of all, '/d like to remind you that bhakti-yoga is not the
monopoly of the Aaishnavas. This is a scientific0spiritual0philosophical process of servin Kod
accordin to +is own uidelines and our eternal dharma. :or e-ample, Jesus Christ and St.
:rancis of Assisi practiced bhakti-yoga. The word (yoga means (to connect with the .u'reme
(God). Bhakti-yoga is the yoga that re.establishes our dormant love for Kod. Thouh they
didn/t practice meditation on the maha-mantra, Jesus Christ and St. :rancis of Assisi
possessed &ualities of hihly advanced "perfect$ Aaishnavas. Jesus wasn/t at all interested in
some reliious rituals. +e was fully devoted to servin KodM i.e. he practiced pure spirituality
by meditatin on Kod and acted for +is pleasure. As far as we know from the early Christian
scriptures found at the end of 1BE<s in 8ypt and 'srael, Jesus, as an e-emplary Aaishnava,
observed the four reulative principles, which implies that he was a strict veetarian "Hust as '
e-plained in the answer to &uestion ;B.$ The Bible confirms that, bein very anry, he
demolished the market booths of meat. and fish traders in front of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Twelve centuries later, St. :rancis of Assisi . uided by the lustrous e-ample of Jesus Christ
and by dint of reat devotion to him 9 revived his pure love for Kod. +e treated animals as his
own brothers and sisters . which means he didn/t eat them. Just like Jesus, he was the
epitome of compassion, not only for other people, but for animals as well. There is
bioraphical evidence that his eyes were constantly brimmin with tears of love for Kod. This
is the perfection of bhakti-yogaE St. :rancis of Assisi probably didn/t know of the maha-
mantra, but by his ardent desire to please and serve Kod, he achieved perfection of spiritual
life. Just like Jesus before him, St. :rancis wasn/t interested in reliion and rituals, but rather
in selfless service to Kod "true spiritual life$. Thouh he probably wasn/t conversant with
uidelines from the Bhagavad-gita, St. :rancis knew that perfection in spiritual life cannot be
achieved unless a person is detached from worldly pleasures. !ord (rishna confirms this in
Bhagavad-gita G.C1 "#hat is called renunciation is the same as yoga! or linking oneself with
the .u'reme! for no one can become a yogi unless he renounces the desire for sense
gratification.-
Jesus Christ, St. :rancis and similar saints didn/t demand anythin in return from Kod for
their own benefit. +ow many people are there who are ready to sacrifice their whole life
e-clusively for Kod/s pleasure and for the spiritual benefit of other people, not askin anythin
for themselves7 'n modern days, churchoers mainly pray for daily bread, health, peace, etc.
2#ear Kod, please ive us this and that U4 Accordin to Aaishnava standards, this is not
spiritual life, but mere reliiosity. This is one of the most prominent differences between
Aaishnavism and world/s reliions. 'deal Aaishnavas do not ask anythin from (rishna, e-cept
for the constant opportunity to serve +im for the rest of life.
)ne of the reatest services for +is pleasure is sharin Aaishnava philosophy with other
people. This makes (rishna e-tremely happy. The more one surrenders to +im, the more +e
reciprocates with love. The more one is enaed in +is service with love and devotion, the
more (rishna reveals +imself to such a devotee. And those special souls who have forsaken
every attachment to material activities and who are absorbed in (rishna/s service with love 9
they can see &rishna and talk with %im. At the time of death, such noble souls do not have to
take birth in a material body. Nather, they return back to (rishna/s eternal abode. The
followin verse presents one of the most important conclusions in this book.
atah 8ri-krsna-namadi! na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi +ihvadau! svayam eva s'huraty adah
Q*o one can understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, &uality, and pastimes of
Lri (rishna throuh his materially contaminated senses. )nly when one becomes spiritually
saturated by transcendental service to the !ord are the transcendental name, form, &uality,
and pastimes of the !ord revealed to him.Q
(Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu 4.7.76J.)
>E
Thus, whether you decide to be a practicin Aaishnava or you prefer to achieve spiritual
perfection by followin the reliious tradition of your choice, it is co*ulsory to follow Kod/s
instructions as they are presented in condensed form in the paes of Bhagavad-gita. By
followin these instructions we can1 a$ make our life much healthier "physically and mentally$,
b$ step off the 5merry.o.round/ of material life "the e-ploitin reime based the ideoloy of
consumerism$, c$ finally stop the repetition of birth and death, and d$ return to the world of
perfection from which we all came "lon, lon ao$. +ey, what do you think of such a reward
"for a little sincere endeavour in only one life$7 :urthermore, by strictly followin the
instructions in Bhagavad-gita, we could contribute remarkably to makin this planet a much
better place to live . a place with less crime, less violence, less cruelty, less hatred, less war,
etc. Those who have developed true Aaishnava &ualities and have iven up lower human
nature do not take part in such destructive activities. +ere/s what you can do1 By practicin
the spiritual process of bhakti-yoga, you can successfully ive up lower human nature "in
particular lust and reed$ and thereby enable our natural bio.eco systems to start recoverin.
,hy7 Because your life style would no loner necessitate ruthless e-ploitation of Dother
*ature and her resources. 'n this way you could secure a better future for your children and
randchildren.
)therwise, if people in industrially developed countries keep livin the same lifestyle that
they do now, the collapse of eco.systems of planet 8arth will be inevitable in the near future.
't means that nature will not be able to uphold convenient life on this planet. Soil, water and
air will be critically poisoned as will food, which will be very scarce. As ' have already
mentioned, such life conditions will trier everyday wars for food, drinkin water and enery
resources. 'f you don/t want to leave such a future for your children, it is absolutely
compulsory that you now bein to live in accordance with your eternal dharma and teach
others to do so.
0lossary
%carya . Pronounce 5a.ch.a.r.y.a/. Acarya means 5one who teaches by his own e-ample/. 't is
a title iven to some e-ceptionally advanced Aaishnavas, empowered specifically for
broadcastin of oriinal teachins of Aaishnava philosophy.
%shraa 6 Community or buildin for people who practice the same spiritual discipline. This is
a word of Sanskrit oriin that is larely connected to the Aedic spiritual tradition.
%!atar 6 The word 5avatar/ means (the one who descends. ,hen we talk about Kod or +is
authorised representatives from the spiritual world, the word 5avatar is much more
appropriate than the word 5reincarnation/, which pertains to the conditioned soul imprisoned in
a body made of flesh "!at. carna$, bones, blood, etc.
'haga!ad6gita . Bhagavad-gita . which literally means 5The Son of Kod/ . is composed of
><< verses. 't e-ists eternally and was last repeated about F;<< years ao by Kod +imself for
the benefit of all humanity. 't is the essence of the entire Aedic literature, and it deals with
five primary topics1 1$ the Supreme Creator "(rishna$, C$ livin beins, ;$ nature "both
spiritual and material$, E$ time, and F$ karma "the law of action and inaction$.
'haga!an . means 5the original 'erson who fully 'ossesses si2 o'ulences. (rishna is the
Supreme Absolute (erson who lives on +is supreme planet known as Koloka Arindavana. The
Aedic literature ives the followin definition of Kod1 2Kod is the Supreme Person who fully
possesses si- opulences . lory, strenth, wealth, renunciation, beauty and knowlede.4
'hakti6yoga . Bhakti means (love for &rishna. Ioa means (to connect. Thus, the term
bhakti.yoga represents the spiritual discipline by which consciousness could be raised from the
material to the perfect spiritual level . pure love for Kod. Bhakti-yoga is the practical
application of Aaishnava philosophy, which is based on service to (rishna.
'hakta . (The one who 'ractices bhakti-yoga, i.e. devoted worshipper of !ord (rishna.
Deities 6 As Kod and +is eternal associates from the spiritual world cannot be seen by the
material sense of seein . which is e-tremely limited . They aree to appear in forms made of
>F
material elements such as metal, marble, wood, etc. Such forms of Kod and +is spiritual
associates are called deities "or murtis in Sanskrit$. #eity worship is one of the most
prominent aspects of Aedic0Aaishnava spiritual tradition.
'rahan . The first feature of (rishna is called brahman, all.pervadin aspect of Kod that is
without personal form and which spreads throuh the whole creation.
'rahana 9 The intellectual class of people in the Aedic society. Brahmanas are saacious
people responsible for the spiritual development of the whole society. They are full of virtuous
&ualities and possess remarkable spiritual knowlede "and, in Aedic times, even mystical
powers$.
Dhara . ;harma literary means (eternal (integral) <uality (or duty). :or e-ample, dharma
of fire is warmth and lihtM dharma of suar is sweetness. $n the )edic s'iritual='hiloso'hical
terminology! the word dharma 'ertains to eternal duty of every living being! i.e. service to the
.u'reme *reator &rishna. A livin bein can achieve perfection of life and eternal happiness
only when it acts accordin to its eternal dharma 9 i.e. when it enaes all its physical and
mental activities and enery in the service of (rishna, abidin by the rules of the spiritual
discipline of bhakti-yoga.
Harinaa 6 !iterally means 5holy name of !ord +ari/. "+ari is one of Kod/s innumerable
names$. 't is a popular term for Aaishnava street shows "sinin and dancin$.
Kara 6 !iterally means 5activity/, and pertains to the eternal law of action and reaction. 'n
other words, reward for the pious and punishment for the sinful.
Krishna . The word (rishna means Mthe all-attractive one. Kod is one, but +e has an
unlimited number of names. Accordin to the Aedic literature "which oriinates from (rishna
+imself$, it is +is dearest name.
@aha6antra . The word mantra means (the sound vibration for liberating the mind. "/anas
9 the mind, trayate 9 to liberate$. The term maha-mantra means 5the great chant "spiritual
vibration$ for liberating the mind "from contamination by the illusory, material enery$. The
+are (rishna maha.mantra oes as follows1 Hare Krishna5 Hare Krishna5 Krishna Krishna5
Hare Hare5 Hare 9aa5 Hare 9aa5 9aa 9aa5 Hare Hare.
@aya . (That which is not, i.e. illusion. This is a Sanskrit term for (rishna/s illusory enery
that causes the conditioned souls/ identification with the material body.
(araata . The second feature of (rishna is 'aramatma "Super.soul$. ,aram means
5e2alted or 5su'reme, whereas atma means 5soul or 5real identity of livin bein/. As
'aramatma, the !ord is present in the heart of every livin bein "both movin and non.
movin$. +e is there even in the hearts of those of microscopic si@e. ,aramatma has a two.
fold function. The first is to ive constant instruction to the livin bein in accordance with the
type of body in which he is locked up. The second is to witness all activities and desires of the
livin bein.
Deigods 6 Aery powerful beins "empowered by (rishna +imself$ in chare of the proper
functionin of the laws of nature in the whole universe. They live in hiher planetary systems
and possess incredible mystical powers. Their life span is unimainably lon "from a human
perspective$. There are about ;; million demiods within this universe. They are all
Aaishnavas, loyal servants of !ord (rishna.
(rasada . Spiritualised veetarian food prepared with devotion and then offered on the
altar for (rishna/s pleasure.
Sadhana . Nules and reulations written in the Aedas "particularly in Aaishnava scriptures$
meant for successful practice of disciplined spiritual life.
Sadhu 6 The word 5sadhu pertains to any authorised representative of !ord (rishna.
Accordin to oriinal Aedic meanin, 5sadhu means 5holy person/.
>G
Sa*radaya . !ord (rishna +imself makes sure that the messae of Bhagavad-gita
remains kept intact. :or that reason, +e occasionally appears in human society "for e-ample,
as !ord Caitanya Dahaprabhu, who is in CC
nd
place in the chain of spiritual masters$ or sends
+is specially empowered representatives. Such a chain of empowered spiritual masters is
called sam'radaya in Sanskrit lanuae. There are four enuine Aaishnava sam'radayas,
which have been transferrin the teachins of Aedic0Aaishnava literature in their unchaned
form for millions of years.
Sasara 6 %nendin circle of births and deaths.
Sankirtana . 'n 1G
th
century !ord Lri Caitanya bean a spiritual revolution known as
sankirtana, which means 5conreational chantin of the holy names of maha-mantra.
Sannyasa . Spiritual order of voluntary renunciation from material activities and pleasures.
Sannyasis are hihly advanced Aaishnavas who travel and preach, and live modestly.
BikLaLtaka 6 Collective name for eiht prayers composed by !ord Lri Caitanya.
Bri Caitanya @aha*ra)hu 6 'n 1E=G !ord (rishna appeared as Lri Caitanya Dahaprabhu.
,hile 8urope was oin throuh a renaissance of art and culture "and 8uropeans were busy
con&uerin the 5new continent/$, Lri Caitanya was carryin out a massive spiritual revolution
that has had immense direct and indirect influence on reliion and spiritual philosophy not
only in 'ndia, but in the ,est as well. +e appeared in the role of a perfect Aaishnava. #urin
+is E= years of visitin planet 8arth, +e manifested innumerable mystical feats that are
described in reat detail in five sinificant literary works which describe +is life, activities and
teachins. )ut of those five voluminous literary masterpieces, the most popular is ri
*aitanya-caritamrita! written by the Aaishnava saint and philosopher (rishnadas (aviraH
Koswami at the end of 1G
th
century.
Briad6'haga!ata . Spiritual masterpiece written down about F<<< years ao by Lrila
Ayasadeva "the literary avatar of !ord (rishna$ for benefit of all future enerations. rimad-
Bhagavatam is composed of 1=.<<< Sanskrit verses and is one of the most important
Aaishnava te-ts. 't describes the activities and instructions of !ord (rishna to humanity. 't
also contains descriptions of many true events from ancient history which point to profound
spiritual wisdom and its practical realisation.
Budras 6 !abourin class of people. The lowest of four classes in the Aedic social system.
4arna6aLraa 6 Perfect social system created by (rishna to enerate harmony in human
society. This social system is composed of four divisions. 1$ udras 0 labourin people, C$
)ai8yas 0 ariculturists, farmers, cow protectors and traders, ;$ &8atriyas 0 soldiers and
administrators, E$ Brahmanas 0 intellectual class of people who were responsible for spiritual
advancement of the whole society in Aedic times.
4aishna!a K Aaishnava refers to any person who is sincerely tryin to ive up lower human
nature "reed, lust, envy, hatred, etc.$ and to reawaken their dormant love for Kod "(rishna$
by practicin the spiritual process of bhakti-yoga. As (rishna has innumerable names, one of
them is Aishnu. Accordin to Sanskrit rammar, )aishnava means the follower of Nord )ishnu.
4aishna!is . #orshi''ing or following Nord )ishnu (or &rishna). 't is not a reliion, as it is
commonly believed. Nather, it is the oldest spiritual science in the world which encompasses
the followin1
1$ %nderstandin one/s own spiritual identity "s*iritual sel+6realisation$, as well as the
spiritual identity of other livin beins.
C$ %nderstandin Kod and +is desires "what +e e-pects from humanity$.
;$ Actin in accordance with our eternal duty "dhara$, i.e. practical service "rendered
by the body, mind and intellience$ meant for fulfilment of Kod/s desires.
E$ %nderstandin the correlation between Kod, livin beins, nature, time and karma.
F$ %nderstandin the difference between matter and spirit "the temporary and the
eternal$.
G$ %prootin lower human nature "reed, lust, envy, uncontrolled aner, etc.$ and
developin odly, virtuous &ualities "pure love, compassion, tolerance, etc.$
>>
>$ %nderstandin the differences between sinful, pious and spiritual "transcendental$
activities.
",herever we say 5understandin/, it entails practical action in accordance with that
understandin$.
Aaishnavism is different from +induism thouh they do share a common spiritual.philosophical
root 9 namely, the Aedic literature. 'n short, Aaishnavism is the spiritual science that
oriinates from (rishna +imself, whereas +induism is a reliion created by humans.
4aiLyas . They were the third caste within the Aedic social system. Ariculturists, farmers,
cow protectors and traders.
4edic literature . The Aedic literatures are the world/s oldest source of knowlede and were
recorded more than F<<< years ao. Their wisdom, however, is still little known to readers in
the ,est. This repository of spiritual and material culture was passed down for millennia
throuh aural reception until it was written on palm leaves by a roup of saes led by Lrila
Ayasadeva in what we today call 'ndia. Also the world/s larest body of literature, the Aedas
are a compilation of Sanskrit verses consistin of many different works.
Duga (Satya5 Treta5 D!a*ara and Kali" . There are four time cycles that replace one
another in a natural se&uence. Those cycles are called yugas. They shift in the followin order1
1$ .atya-yuga, C$ Treta-yuga, ;$ ;va'ara-yuga and E$ &ali-yuga. .atya-yuga lasts 1.>C=.<<<
yearsM Treta-yuga lasts 1.CBG.<<< yearsM ;va'ara-yuga lasts =GE.<<< yearsM and &ali-yuga
lasts E;C.<<< years. ,e are presently livin in &ali-yuga! of which a bit more than F.<<< years
have already passed. Thus, we could say that we are in the beinnin of &ali-yuga.
1uthor2s $iography
Aladimir Pavic "spiritual name1 Arsabha das$ was born in 1BGF in Croatia. +e came in
contact with Aaishnava philosophy in 1B=;, the same year he had to o into the army. Bein
deeply impressed by teachins and personality of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, he
Hoined 'S(C)* in :ebruary 1B== in what was then Iuoslavia. Two months later, he travelled
to Stockholm where he met his spiritual master ++ Smita.(rishna Swami. Since then, he has
served the mission in different countries and in different ways.
After 1F years of livin abroad "Sweden, Belium, 8nland and 'reland$, he returned to his
native Croatia in :ebruary C<<=, where he found shelter in the Xareb 'S(C)* temple. Since
C<<C Arsabha das has been writin philosophical and spiritual essays, mainly for the Croatian
maa@ine &rishna-katha. 'n C<<> he published his first book, a collection of EF poems with
commentaries titled (.amo u 'rola3u "(Aust ,assing Through$. At present, Arsabha das travels
in the Balkans area sharin Aaishnava philosophy with other people throuh poetry evenins
and public discourses.
vrsabhaRmail.com
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