–The Australian Society for Krishna Culture. AUSKCULTURE, operation start 1984 — ABN 65 231 425 870.

Krishna is the father of all living entities. He is not happy that all these souls in the material world are rotting like hogs. Therefore He sends His representatives. In the case of Lord Jesus Christ, Krishna sent His son. Lord Jesus claimed to be the son of God. Everyone is a son of God, but this son was an especially favorite son, and he was sent to a particular place to reclaim the conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead.

But if the conditioned souls insist on staying here, what can Krishna or His servant do? They allow us to go on with our materialistic activities, because the first condition for getting out of the material prison house is that we must desire to get out. When we finally become disgusted with our predicament, we pray, “My dear Lord, I have served lust, anger, and greed for so long, but they are still unsatisfied, and now I have become disgusted with serving them. Now, my dear Lord Krishna, my intelligence is awakened, and I have come to You. Please engage me in Your service.”

A Second Chance. The Story of a Near-Death Experience.

SC 10: The Next Life: Its Up to Us.

CHANTING BHAGAVAD-GITA

There are 700 verses in the Bhagavad-gita. 

The breakdown is as follows:

Bhagavan Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, speaks 574 verses or 82 %

He does not speak at all in chapter one and speaks all verses of chapters 7, 9, 15 and 16.

His friend and disciple Arjuna speaks 85 verses or 12.14 %

Sanjaya, the King’s secretary, speaks 40 verses or 5.71 %

And Dhritarastra, the imposter king, speaks only the very first verse or 0.14 % 

Srila Prabhupada often gives the example of the fire and the iron. If one puts the iron in the fire it becomes red hot by association. In other words it acquires the properties of the fire. One could say it becomes fire. And in his typical defiant mood, Srila Prabhupada would then challenge: if you don’t believe me just touch the iron. 

In 730712R2.LON there is such a passage:

”So God is all-good. Therefore I become good by association with God. It is very simple reasoning. Yes. God is all-good. So if you remain always with God, then you become good. The same example: if you remain with fire, you become warm, the quality of the fire. If you remain in sunshine, you become warm. And the more you remain, the more you become warmer, warmer. Then become hot. Yes. Just like you put one rod, iron rod in the fire. It becomes warm, warmer, warmer. Then it will be red hot. When it is red hot, it is no longer iron rod; it is fire. Touch anywhere, it will burn.”

Here is a second one:

“So as it is said that in the beginning was the word, that means before the creation there was the transcendental sound. So that word, or transcendental sound, is not like the material sound. If we associate with the transcendental sound Hare Krishna, then we become purified to become transcendental. Just like we can have a crude example: You take one iron rod and put into the fire. The iron rod will be warm, warmer, and gradually it will be red hot. When it is red hot, then it is no longer the iron rod; it is fire. So how it has become fire? By association with the fire. Simply, therefore, if you simply keep yourself touch with God by this vibration of transcendental sound, gradually you become godly.” 740614LE.PAR 

By chanting Bhagavad-gita on a regular basis or even casually the same procedure of spiritualization or “Krishnaization” of our consciousness takes place by association with the transcendental sound. We do not become God, but we become godly. 

The point being:”In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from a dangerous type of fear.” BG 2.40 

Further more the breakdown by chapters is as follows:

Chapter 1.

Dhritarastra: 1 verse 

Sanjaya: 24 verses

Arjuna: 21 verses 

A total of 46 verses.

Krishna does not speak at all in chapter one.

Chapter 2.

Sanjaya: 3 verses 

Arjuna: 6 verses

Sri Bhagavan: 63 verses 

A total of 72 verses.

Chapter 3.

Arjuna: 3 verses

Sri Bhagavan: 40 verses

A total of 43 verses

Chapter 4.

Arjuna 1 verse

Sri Bhagavan 41 verses

A total of 42 verses for chapter 4.

Chapter 5.

Arjuna: 1 verse

Sri Bhagavan: 28 verses

Total 29 verses

Chapter 6.

Arjuna 5 verses

Sri Bhagavan 42 verses

Total 47 verses

Chapter 7 

Sri Bhagavan speaks all 30 verses of chapter 7!

Chapter 8

Arjuna 2 verses

Sri Bhagavan 26 verses

Total 28 verses

Chapter 9

Here again Sri Bhagavan speaks all 34 verses as in chapter 7

Chapter 10

Arjuna 7 verses

Sri Bhagavan 35

Total 42 verses

Chapter 11

Arjuna 33 verses

Sanjaya 8 verses

Sri Bhagavan 14 verses

Total 55 Verses.

Chapter 12 

Arjuna 1 verses

Sri Bhagavan 19 verses

Total 20 verses

Chapter 13 

Arjuna 1 verses

Sri Bhagavan 34 verses

Total 35 verses

Chapter 14

Arjuna 1 verse

Sri Bhagavan 26 verses 

Total 27 verses 

Chapter 15 

As in chapters 7and 9 here again, Sri Bhagavan speaks all 20 verses.

Chapter 16

Bhagavan speaks all 24 verses

Chapter 17.

Arjuna 1 verse

Sri Bhagavan 27 verses

Total 28 verses

Chapter 18

Arjuna 2 verses

Sanjaya 5 verses

Sri Bhagavan 71 verses

Total 78 verses

UNESCO adopts the 150th Birth Anniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada!
CELEBRATION OF ANNIVERSARIES IN 2024-2025 WITH WHICH UNESCO WILL BE ASSOCIATED (AS RECOMMENDED TO THE GENERAL CONFERENCE In 216 EX/DECISION 28 AND 217 EX/DECISION 32)
150th anniversary of the birth of Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, philosopher, social reformer, and eminent spiritual leader (1874-1937) (India with the support of Cuba, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Thailand, and Viet Nam)
This is perhaps the first time a Vaishnava leader has been recognized by the UN!          Source: Dandavats.com

Srila Prabhupada does in fact give the adequate title of chapter six of His Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

It is definitely not Sankhya-yoga, as per Macmillan edition.

It is not Dhyana-yoga, to a lesser degree, as per current official edition. Dhyana is only one of the “angas” or limbs of the eightfold yoga system, as we all know.

Clearly and strongly, Srila Prabhupada gives the key to this 50 (fifty) year old question in the very first sentence of the purport of the first verse of chapter six as follows:

“In this chapter, the Lord explains the process of the eightfold yoga system as the means to control the mind and senses.” The first part of the sentence itself: “In this chapter the Lord explains the process of the eightfold yoga system……” is self-sufficient and self-explanatory. As always Srila Prabhupada is clear, concise, strong, and straightforward.

This is indeed the wording of the original transcript (OT), which is perfect in itself, and in both Macmillan and official versions this original wording has unnecessarily been changed to:

“In this chapter the Lord explains that the process of the eightfold yoga system is a means to control the mind and the senses.”

There is a shift of emphasis which covers and ruins Srila Prabhupada intended meaning.

Yes, this is a fifty-year-old question. And I remember how in the early days and later also I was trying to adjust my mind any possible way to understand how the sixth chapter of Bhagavad-gita is related to sankhya-yoga. It was a bit of a mental agony. As far as possible, we should carefully avoid causing people mental torture.

As always the Original Transcript of Bhagavad-gita As It Is is a superior spiritual text in its own right with the power to correct many mistakes and answer many questions. I had already expressed this consideration in my 2022 Vyasa-puja offering to Srila Prabhupada. Unfortunately, my offering did not pass the censure and consequently was not published where it should have been. But my point stands: Bhagavad-gita As It Is Original Transcript available here https://bookchanges.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-manuscript/ is a spiritual text on its own rights and with its own unique spiritual inspiration.

SEXISM IN CURRENT OFFICIAL VERSION OF BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS by ISKCON and the BBT.

The current official edition of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is is full of subtle sexist alterations at the cost of women. The most common is the replacement of the word “person” by “man.” There are many instances where Srila Prabhupada in OT, the Original Transcript, available here: https://bookchanges.com/bhagavad-gita-as-it-is-manuscript/, uses the word “person” and the immature, overzealous and perhaps fanatical American editors have shamelessly twisted the text and replaced the original word “person” with “man” in their eagerness to discredit, disparage, and tax women. How else can we qualify such actions?

When we compare the English words woman and man it would appear that man is simply a subclass of wo-man, as the word man is fully integrated into the word woman. And as we all know, all men come from the womb of a woman.

In the State of Queensland, Australia, the Governor, the Premier, and the Commissioner of Police are currently women. Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk has been Premier since February 2015. And just a few months ago, in September 2022, we lost Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth II, the Head of the Commonwealth. She reigned for 70 years and 214 days, the longest of any British monarch and the longest verified reign of any female monarch in history (Wikipedia). The Vice-President of ISKCON Brisbane is also a female.

In Bhagavad-gita 10.41 Sri Krishna says: 

“Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.”

Purport by Srila Prabhupada:

“Any glorious or beautiful existence should be understood to be but a fragmental manifestation of Krishna’s opulence, whether it be in the spiritual or material world. Anything extraordinarily opulent should be considered a representation of Krishna’s opulence.” 

The musical creations of Mozart, Beethoven and others often fall into the category of the beautiful and even the sublime and they are therefore an expression of Krishna’s opulence. 

There are indeed contemporary musical expressions of the beautiful and the sublime as is evidenced by the attached video of two talented and graceful female singers Helene Fischer and Melanie Oesch, a fusional and dynamic duo. Not only does she sing and yodel very wonderfully but especially around 1.55 Melanie sways her body, left arm included, very gracefully. This edition of the Helen Fischer Show is simply a modern Ode to Joy as well as an expression of Krishna’s opulence.

“We’re heading for something
Somewhere I’ve never been
Sometimes I am frightened
But I’m ready to learn
Of the power of divine love.”

Bhagavad-gita As It Is NOT, 2.67 by Hayagriva (1972 edition):

“As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even one of the senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.”

Bhagavad-gita As It NOT, 2.67, by Jayadvaita:

“As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man’s intelligence.”

Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 2.67, by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

“As an unfavorable wind sweeps away a boat on the water, similarly, even one of the roaming senses on which the mind focuses can take away a person’s intelligence.” 

In the original transcript (OT), Srila Prabhupada personally talks about how one of the senses on which the mind focuses can take away a person’s intelligence. He clearly uses the word person. But Hayagriva immediately makes it a “man,” probably with a hairy chest too. Most probably a Homo neanderthalensis; now usually regarded as a separate species from H. sapiens and probably at the end of a different evolutionary line.

And Jayadvaita without further compunction, rubber-stamps the unauthorized and whimsical change. Bang! Now it’s official. Yes, now it’s officially wrong and insulting to the female group. How could the unexisting intelligence of a female be taken away, right? Impossible feat anyway.

In this context, it is no wonder that only last week (25 April to May 1st, 2022), I met a female in Byron Bay NSW, who qualified her stay at ISKCON New Govardhana’s Krishna Village as unequivocally misogynistic.

Elsewhere in BGAII, the editors even dare to remove Srila Prabhupada’s capital letters for the expression “the Goddess of Fortune,” after all She is a female too, a most powerful and influential one indeed. These are bad omens.

The bee and the python are two excellent spiritual masters who give us exemplary instructions regarding how to be satisfied by collecting only a little and how to stay in one place and not move. 35

From the bumblebee I have learned to be unattached to accumulating money, for although money is as good as honey, anyone can kill its owner and take it away. 36

I do not endeavor to get anything, but am satisfied with whatever is achieved in its own way. If I do not get anything, I am patient and unagitated like a python and lie down in this way for many days. 37

Sometimes I eat a very small quantity and sometimes a great quantity. Sometimes the food is very palatable, and sometimes it is stale. Sometimes prasada is offered with great respect, and sometimes food is given neglectfully. Sometimes I eat during the day and sometimes at night. Thus I eat what is easily available. 38

To cover my body I use whatever is available, whether it be linen, silk, cotton, bark or deerskin, according to my destiny, and I am fully satisfied and unagitated. 39

Sometimes I lie on the surface of the earth, sometimes on leaves, grass or stone, sometimes on a pile of ashes, or sometimes, by the will of others, in a palace on a first-class bed with pillows. 40

O my lord, sometimes I bathe myself very nicely, smear sandalwood pulp all over my body, put on a flower garland, and dress in fine garments and ornaments. Then I travel like a king on the back of an elephant or on a chariot or horse. Sometimes, however, I travel naked, like a person haunted by a ghost. 41

Different people are of different mentalities. Therefore it is not my business either to praise them or to blaspheme them. I only desire their welfare, hoping that they will agree to become one with the Supersoul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. 42

The mental concoction of discrimination between good and bad should be accepted as one unit and then invested in the mind, which should then be invested in the false ego. The false ego should be invested in the total material energy. This is the process of fighting false discrimination. 43

A learned, thoughtful person must realize that material existence is illusion. This is possible only by self-realization. A self-realized person, who has actually seen the truth, should retire from all material activities, being situated in self-realization. 44

Prahlada Maharaja, you are certainly a self-realized soul and a devotee of the Supreme Lord. You do not care for public opinion or so-called scriptures. For this reason I have described to you without hesitation the history of my self-realization. 45

The expression “MONEY is honey” also originates in the Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.13.36. This chapter is called the Behavior of a Perfect Person and describes the encounter and conversation of King Prahlada and the Avadhuta Brahmin practicing ajagara-vritti or imitating the python who lies down for many days and is satisfied with whatever is achieved in its own way.

The Sanskrit is madhuvat vittam. We have danda-vat, like a stick and here we have madhu-vat, as good as honey.

Madhu-vat means as good as honey and vittam means MONEY. Whence “Money is as good as honey.”

We just have to use the money strictly in the service of Lord Narayana, the husband of the Goddess of Fortune. Then money will not “be the cause of lamentation, illusion, fear, anger, material attachment, material poverty and unnecessary hard work.” SB 7.13.34

“As far as our Krsna consciousness movement is concerned, we are getting money naturally, by the grace of God, by selling our literature. This literature is not sold for our sense gratification; to spread the Krsna consciousness movement we need so many things, and Krsna is therefore supplying us the requisite money to advance this mission. The mission of Krsna is to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world, and for this purpose we naturally must have sufficient money. Therefore, according to the advice of Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, we should not give up attachment to money that can spread the Krsna consciousness movement. Srila Rupa Gosvami says in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.256):

prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
vairagyam phalgu kathyate

“When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking them to be material, their renunciation is called incomplete.” Money that can help in spreading the Krsna consciousness movement is not a part of the material world, and we should not give it up, thinking that it is material. Srila Rupa Gosvami advises:

anasaktasya visayan
yatharham upayunjatah
nirbandhah krsna-sambandhe
yuktam vairagyam ucyate

“When one is not attached to anything, but at the same time accepts everything in relation to Krsna, one is rightly situated above possessiveness.” (Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.255) Money is undoubtedly coming in great quantities, but we should not be attached to this money for sense gratification; every cent should be spent for spreading the Krsna consciousness movement, not for sense gratification. There is danger for a preacher when he receives great quantities of money, for as soon as he spends even a single cent of the collection for his personal sense gratification, he becomes a fallen victim. The preachers of the Krsna consciousness movement should be extremely careful not to misuse the immense quantities of money needed to spread this movement. Let us not make this money the cause of our distress; it should be used for Krsna, and that will cause our eternal happiness. Money is Laksmi, or the goddess of fortune, the companion of Narayana. Laksmiji must always remain with Narayana, and then there need be no fear of degradation. SB 7.13.32

In SB 7.13.34, Srila Prabhupada also sums up the structure of modern civilisation as opposed to Vedic society:”

“In the demoniac civilization of the present day, however, there is no question of brahmins or ksatriyas; there are only so-called workers and a flourishing mercantile class who have no goal in life.“

Ref. VedaBase => SB 7.13.34

Our Krsna consciousness movement is therefore the highest movement for the benediction of human society because this movement is teaching people how to go back home, back to Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita (13.22) it is clearly stated that different forms of life are obtained by association with the three modes of material nature (karanam guna-sango ‘sya sad-asad-yoni janmasu). According to one’s association with the material qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance in this life, in one’s next life one receives an appropriate body. Modern civilization does not know that because of varied associations in material nature, the living entity, although eternal, is placed in different diseased conditions known as the many species of life. Modern civilization is unaware of the laws of nature.

prakrteh kriyamanani
gunaih karmani sarvasah
ahankara-vimudhatma
kartaham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the performer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Bg. 3.27) Every living entity is under the full control of the stringent laws of material nature, but rascals think themselves independent. Actually, however, they cannot be independent. This is foolishness. A foolish civilization is extremely risky, and therefore the Krsna consciousness movement is trying to make people aware of their fully dependent condition under the stringent laws of nature and is trying to save them from being victimized by strong maya, which is Krsna’s external energy. Behind the material laws is the supreme controller, Krsna (mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sacaracaram [Bg. 9.10]). Therefore if one surrenders unto Krsna (mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te [Bg. 7.14]), one may immediately be freed from the control of external nature (sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]). This should be the aim of life.”

Because it deals with the true and common essentials of life that God, Krishna, is a reality and that every living being is part and parcel of Krishna just as the drop of ocean water is part and parcel of the ocean, Srila Prabhupada’s Vani can and will give shelter to the whole world. It is only a matter of advertisement or to use a more Vaishya expression: it is only a matter of marketing. Srila Prabhupada has kindly given us the goods. Now it is a matter of convincing others only.

We also note that on such occasions, Srila Prabhupada uses the expression “our Krishna consciousness movement.” He does not say our “International Society for Krishna consciousness,” which means that the Krishna consciousness movement is larger than the mere ISKCON and includes ISKCON in any case. It also means that in all cases, Srila Prabhupada is the seed and initiator of the modern Krishna consciousness movement.

Srila Prabhupada literary expertise.

In SB 7.13.29 we find:

“The life, or the spiritual soul, is compared herein to water, from which clumps of matter grow in the form of grass. One who is ignorant of scientific knowledge of the spirit soul does not look inside the body to find happiness in the soul; instead, he goes outside to search for happiness, just as a deer without knowledge of the water beneath the grass goes out to the desert to find water.”

“Clumps of matter”sounds like “chunks of matter” or “lumps of matter” or some other vague, collective, all-encompassing expression. But the dictionary confirms that “clump” is precisely the word needed here as follows:

clump | klʌmp | noun 1 a small group of trees or plants growing closely together: a clump of ferns. • a small, compact group of people: they sat on the wall in clumps of two and three. • a compacted mass or lump of something: clumps of earth. • Physiology an agglutinated mass of blood cells or bacteria, especially as an indicator of the presence of an antibody to them. 

One has to be quite a sharp observer of the world, as well as an expert linguist to use precisely the right word in every situation, just as Srila Prabhupada is practicing.

It also confirms that Srila Prabhupada is my superior and Guru because even though I have been reading Him for 50 years, He is still teaching me new English vocabulary. I offer my prostrated obeisances (dandavats) at His holy feet. Jai Srila Prabhupada!

Another significant expression here is “the scientific knowledge of the spirit soul.” Krishna consciousness is not sentimental speculation. It is just as scientific as physics or chemistry. It is so because ultimately it emanates from the Supreme. It emanates from the Manufacturer just as the owner’s car manual is produced by the vehicle manufacturer and is therefore considered reliable and scientific.

For “science”the dictionary gives:

“science | ˈsʌɪəns | noun [mass noun] the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment: the world of science and technology.”