Diary extract. May 19^th, 2020, 9.55 am, Cairns, Far North Queensland (effectively the land of Her Majesty the Queen), Australia. ANZ bank, Cairns Central Branch. ATM.

For practical reasons, the ATMs are situated both outside and inside the bank’s premises. I choose to go inside and had a brief conversation with the Chinese lady, welcoming host, transaction facilitator and fluently Chinese speaking. I know that because that is the meaning of her Chinese flag on her badge, as another lady with no flag on her badge explained to me. I left my business card with her and we agreed that she would get in touch if she needed a vegetarian cookbook. I deposited ALL my notes – in fact, Krishna’s notes – into the ATM, forgetting that I needed at least five dollars for a new pair of Sankirtan book distribution shoes. After the transaction and after the ATM had accepted all my notes, I realized factually that I needed a maximum of 10 dollars for my new Sankirtan shoes. At that very moment, the ATM spit out one five dollars note and after a few seconds, another five dollars note. Amazingly and without any intervention of my own but wishing, I was supplied two five dollars notes at the very moment I desired them. This is the characteristic of the spiritual world, without any doubt whatsoever! You desire and you get immediately. No need for hard labor. So let us desire similarly many millions of dollars for Krishna only, because He is the greatest of all, as He confirms in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is 15.18:

“Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person.”

Therefore His service is the best of all services. Better than self-service, restricted or extended, better than community service, better than family service, better than health services and better than government service.

The miracle here was not the fact that the ATM didn’t like two five dollars notes of my deposit. That is a very common occurrence and happens every day. The miracle here is the extraordinary timing of all sequences of the event.

All glories to Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement and all glories to its initiator in the modern age: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, Initiator of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and Inceptor of the Back to Godhead magazine. I other words, the fourth great qualification of Srila Prabhupada is to be the Initiator of Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement in the modern age. He has confirmed this fact Himself. When He was asked why there is such a time gap between Lord Caitanya (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1533, according to Wikipedia.) and the incorporation of ISKCON, His own Sankirtan party, in 1966, in New York City. He famously replied: “It is because Lord Caitanya wanted to give me personally the credit .” Jai Srila Prabhupada!

At this stage, He is also the greatest unacknowledged well-wisher and benefactor of humanity at large, thus fitting in the category of giants of history such as Lord Jesus Christ. But the people of the world, in their own wisdom, will change their minds favorably and in due course about the true position of Srila Prabhupada. Many already have.

Over the last few days, my 2 litres coagulating / curdling cow’ s milk burst the plastic bottle. It literally pierced the plastic or more accurately cause the plastic to separate by the pressure resulting from the coagulation. This means some gasses are produced in the process. The chemical student will be able to explain this process scientifically and give us the name of the gaz (gasses) that is / are produced. This is incredible! Cow’s milk is stronger than the plastic bottle that contains it. Or was it just a bad quality plastic bottle? We shall never know. Or perhaps we shall anyway.

Of course, I lost half the whey. But no mess was created, as the whole thing happened within a plastic crate. So only easy crate clean up was required. Contrary to popular belief, strongly supported by the white good industry, there is no need for refrigeration to conserve both yogurt and milk, as both can very well be consumed in their different stages of development. The last batch of yogourt lasted from April 29th to May 23th i.e. 24 days in my Sankirtan van. No refrigeration whatsoever. The last yogourt on May 23 was just fine. Adding a little honey will help us overcome the bitter taste of coagulated milk and still make a delicious breakfast mixed with cia seeds, honey, oats and some fruit. I certainly don’t have or need a refrigerator in my Sankirtan Book Distribution Toyota van but cowmilk products are definitely the staples of my diet. Neither do we, Hare Krishnas, required to be vegan. As Srila Prabhupada said: “Lord Krishna requires His milk.” But we do need to fight strongly for the protection of the poor, defenseless, ill-treated but wonderful and affectionate cows. The cow is one of the seven mothers. Killing the cow is almost tantamount to killing one’s own mother and father when they get old and need special care. We do not hesitate to kill the child in the womb, why not kill our old frail and unproductive parents as well? It makes sense, does it not? (sarcastic mood). Sometimes it happens and as Kali-yuga develops over a span of 432 000 years, of which we have traveled only a tiny 5000 years, it will get much worse. One day in Armidale, NSW, on my book distribution travels and activities, I met a young lady, twenty to thirty years old.  We were talking about the power of the Hare Krishna pocket cookbook publication “The Higher Taste” and its power to transform people into vegetarians. And bought a book as well. She told me her own story as follows: She was working on a “cattle farm” and developed an attachment for a particular calve. She actually felt some affection for that particular calve and indeed the calve reciprocated. After some days she noticed that the calve was missing. She brought up the subject matter at table during a meal and asked: “What happened to that friendly calve?” The reply came in the form: “You are eating it right now!” And that made her a vegetarian on the spot. All glories to her compassion and determination!   

In India, the yogurt seller is a familiar sight. The yogurt is contained in a big black wok on the merchant’s bench and the flies are fighting for a taste and tiny bit of it but are being steadily repulsed by the fan of the merchant.

Here are three relevant quotes by Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the Hare Krishna movement and Founder of the BBT and BTG magazine.

“The cow is the most wonderful animal and she is so beneficial for human society, giving so many gifts in the form of milk products. And you can turn all those milk products into wonderful preparations to offer to Radha-Krsna and thus your life will become perfect.” 741217let.Parvati

“If you give the right protection to the cows, then they will give so much milk, that the ground of New Vrndavana will be muddy with milk. European and American civilization will be finished on account of this sinful activity of killing the cows.” 750531let.Kirtanananda

“I am glad also that you have a new gosala. Let other farms see what is our behavior for the cows and how we derive benefit from them and that will be the living example to persons who are using cow flesh rather than cow milk.” 751110let.Kirtanananda

Live cows are the basis of a peaceful civilization. In fact, the cows are the emblem of peace. And if we savage the cow, emblem of peace, as we are doing now, then how can peace be established and conserved? It is not possible.  

SB 1.12.26

‘As will be clear in the chapters ahead, Mahäräja Pariksit wanted to kill the personified Kali, who was attempting to kill a cow, the emblem of peace and religion. The symptoms of Kali are (1) wine, (2) women, (3) gambling and (4) slaughterhouses. Wise rulers of all states should take lessons from Mahäräja Pariksit in how to maintain peace and morality by subduing the upstarts and quarrelsome people who indulge in wine, illicit connection with women, gambling and meat-eating supplied by regularly maintained slaughterhouses. In this Age of Kali, regular license is issued for maintaining all of these different departments of quarrelsome people. So how can they expect peace and morality in the state? The state fathers, therefore, must follow the principles of becoming wiser by devotion to the Lord, by chastising the breaker of discipline and by uprooting the symptoms of quarrel, as mentioned above. If we want blazing fire, we must use dry fuel. Blazing fire and moist fuel go ill together. Peace and morality can prosper only by the principles of Mahäräja Pariksit and his followers.”

As long as the cows are being slaughtered by the millions, we should definitely not expect peace (or health for that matter) in human society, as a matter of karmic reactions. It’s just like having a brother or a sister who is a bit of a simpleton. But your father, before his departure, has clearly instructed you to take good and kind care of this handicapped sibling. But you, with your devious and deceitful mentality, have resented this burden of love since the beginning and are actually harboring in your mind a clever plan to rid yourself of him / her. And one day you actually execute your plan. You may evade the state police but the laws of karma are infallible and are more sophisticated than the most sophisticated computers. There will be no escape from the laws of karma! The mundane laws of the various states will condemn you to many years of jail detention, if not life detention for your cowardly crime. Some states will actually condemn you to die. In accordance with the laws a Manu, the ancient Indian law book for the whole of mankind, a cold-blooded murderer deserves state-administered death, despite the speculation of mundane speculators and wranglers to the contrary. That is his / her actual benefit. That will allow him to start his next life with a clean slate. In conclusion, we may say clearly that cows are more useful alive than dead and that THIS CIVILIZATION IS A NON SENSE, CHILD-IN-THE-WOMB KILLING and DEMONIAC CIVILIZATION. And we may say it as many times as the number of cows that are being mercilessly slaughtered. That is to say, we may say it millions and millions of times.

THIS IS A NONSENSE, CHILD-IN-THE-WOMB MURDERING,

AND DEMONIAC CIVILIZATION!

YOU ARE A NONSENSE CHILD-IN-WOMB MURDERING AND DEMONIAC CIVILIZATION!

YOU ARE A NONSENSE CHILD-IN-THE-WOMB MURDERING AND DEMONIAC CIVILIZATION!

YOU ARE A NONSENSE, CHILD-IN-THE-WOMB MURDERING AND DEMONIAC CIVILIZATION!

YOU ARE A NONSENSE CHILD-IN-THE-WOMB MURDERING AND DEMONIAC CIVILIZATION!

………………….

PLEASE REFORM YOURSELVES!

PLEASE REFORM YOURSELVES!

PLEASE REFORM YOURSELVES!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR CONSIDERING THE MATTER.

HARE KRISHNA.

Strictly speaking, licit sex means sex within the license of a heterosexual marriage, both civil and religious, for the purpose of reproduction only. Everything else is illicit sex. That does not mean, as sometimes neophytes infer, that one cannot enjoy the peripheral sexual activities during such time of reproduction. No need to act like a robot on a time plan. Better show affection and be gentle.  

Such sex is godly and divine as Sri Krishna expresses in the BGAII 7.11, version 2:

“I am the strength of the strong, devoid of passion and desire. I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna].”

OT 7.11 is missing! So no version 3 for now.

Other forms of sex are consequently demoniac and are to be abstained from by those humans who plan to elevate themselves in the cycle of birth and death.

Animals naturally follow their instincts. And I suppose there is an animal body available for even the weirdest sexual expressions, which I shall not enumerate.

Everything can be used in Lord Krishna’s service, including the genitals and such engagement is clearly regulated.

While hitchhiking I once met a relatively close Brisbane so-called karmi neighbour. He told me that he had many children. I asked him why he had so many children. He replied that in his (Christian) religion sex is restricted to reproduction only and because he didn’t want to renounce sex altogether, he and his wife simply kept producing children. Way to go, Madam and Sir! On Lord Krishna’s behalf: Thank you very much for following religious principles regarding sex!

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In… my young mind, he had a special niche.
My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.
But the stranger… he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mum would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them.
Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home – not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.
My Dad didn’t permit the liberal use of alcohol but the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked
… And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ home today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?
We just call him ‘TV.’
He has a wife now….we call her ‘Computer.’
Their first child is “Cell Phone”.
Second child “I Pod”
And just born recently was a grandchild called “IPAD”

Ys
Dhirasanta Das Goswami

Personal note:

Dear Dhirasanta Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances and my humble congratulations for this acerbic article on modern life, even though personally, I would rather give the computer a very positive rating in Krishna consciousness. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

I also need to thank you very much for the good, uncontrollable laugh your article provoked.

Additionally, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate dandavats.com for showing some bite, as this article was originally published by and is still available on dandavats.com

Moreover, I found another funny idea and sentence on dandavats.com as follows:

Why don’t Hindu gods have as vehicles non-Indian animals such as kangaroos (audio)
By Chaitanya Charan das.

I live in the kangaroo country, Australia, and have had ample time to observe them. I would say kangaroos are not at all smart animals. Birds, for example, are smarter than kangaroos.  The crow is a much more cool-headed animal than the kangaroo. That could constitute one of the reasons, if not the main reason, why Hindu gods dislike kangaroos as mode of transport. On the positive side we may say that kangaroos are extremely tolerant of heavy rain, as they will not try to take shelter, even if the opportunity for rain protection is right in their front. Snakes will seek to take shelter. But again is that really intelligent behaviour? They also get crushed to death, one by one,  by moving vehicles by the hundreds if not thousands, often due to their stupid behaviour on roads.  They also reproduce profusely. If my memory is correct, Srila Prabhupada indicates that high reproduction means low class. ( Contribution on this point are welcome.) And they definitely use their tail as a fifth leg. Some rarer and tall individuals are to be feared for their attacks on humans.

On the whole, I may say that I spend some very joyous moments this morning on Dandavats.com and got into a excellent mood to start my Sankirtan book distribution day and other items of Krishna conscious business.

Thank you very much and

Hare Krishna

Dear Vaishnavas,

We received the sad news of a great devotee, His Holiness Bhaktibusana Swami, whose health conditions are delicate due to encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). This condition affects the memory and spinal nerves.

Maharaja is in the hospital in Germany. He has some memory difficulties but he is remaining Krishna conscious. Please remember him in your prayers.

Thank you.

(From the Toronto Vaishnavas CARE Team)

Personal note:

We note that His Holiness Bhaktibusana Swami has on his face a similar grave expression of compassion and concern for the suffering of mankind, as Srila Prabhupada Himself.

May Lord Krishna bestow His full blessings upon His Holiness!

The possibility for distributing Srila Prabhupada’s own books and the books of His bona fide and  talented disciples are unlimitedly immense. And the clever follower will make a lifetime business out of it.

After participating in the wonderfully melodious and musically attractive Tulasi Aratik by HIs Grace Sachikumar Prabhu of ISKCON Mayapur, I arrived before sunrise at the Lamberts Look Out, an elevated rocky promontory overseeing the Pacific Ocean. I said to myself: “What else could I want in life?” This is a perfect situation of Krishna conscious happiness. It was Krishna conscious indeed, as I was chanting my 16 rounds as well i.e. chanting the following mantra 1728 times:

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA

KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA

RAMA RAMA HARE HARE.

Please do not listen to those who deprecate distribution of the Hare Krishna cook books. They have no idea. Not only can Hare Krishna cookbook distribution be the door and key to Prabhupada book distribution but Hare Krishna cookbook will often go where the Prabhupada book is banned, banned for the time being that is, thus effectively establishing an initial contact with Srila Prabhupada’s and Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan movement. Therefore Hare Krishna cook book distribution can be the first field clearing assault in areas where later there will be innumerable and successful Prabupada books assaults as well. On the 15th June 1969, Srila Pabhupada wrote to Srimatee Krishna Devi the following enlightening words:

“I am pleased to learn that you are thinking of putting together a cookbook of our Krishna prasadam recipes. I understand that in London, Yamuna Dasi has already done some work on this same project, so you may correspond with her in this connection. I know that at our feasts especially many persons become interested in preparing foodstuffs in this way, so this cookbook is a nice thing to instruct such persons in preparing and offering nice prasadam for the Lord. So when there is some tangible book ready for publication, please inform me, and we shall try to arrange for its publication. I am pleased to note your description of the increasing interest in vegetarian diet in this country. Actually, the practice of meat-eating is very detrimental to spiritual life, because in spiritual life the goal is to become free from all sinful reactions, and meat-eating means simply to force oneself to suffer the sinful reactions of killing our fellow living entities. So as many people will be taking to practicing spiritual life through the influence of our Sankirtana Movement, such cookbook will be very important, and you should work for this as you are able. Please convey my blessings to your husband, Dinesh, and to your child, Visnu Arati. I hope this will find you all well.”

It was around 05.00 hours in the Australian fall / winter on the 10th day of May 2020. Gradually the light heralding the arrival of the divine sun appeared and increase from zero percent to one hundred percent, culminating with the appearance of his majesty the sun itself. This, of course, is not an instantaneous process, comparable to the clicking of a computer mouse. It would be catastrophic if this process or any other natural processes were an instant process. I mention this because all too often we are conditioned by this clicking of the mouse and think the whole world must dance at our orders and at the clicking of our computer mouse. Through the observation of natural processes, we can therefore often find proper balance and appropriate pace.

But the best part was to come. As the light increased the number of visitors to the Lamberts Look Out increased as well. This was an unexpected situation. I made however sure to approach everyone and offer a book. The result was quite amazing. One lucky and remarkable loving couple bought a cookbook and a Bhagavad-gita As It Is, hardbound. Modern technology allows instantaneous internet payment from one mobile phone to another. I generally carry softbound Bhagavad-gita As It Is. But this instance made me change my approach. And I shall from now on carry hardbound Bhagavad-gita As It Is as well. I made an appointment with another lady to deliver the book to her nearby home and this was successful sometime later. Everyone who buys a cookbook gets a complimentary copy of Srila Prabhupada’s pamphlet Krishna, the Reservoir of Pleasure. Additionally, I had some constructive philosophical conversations / discussions with some. I even got an excellent and free tip about how to restore the functioning of my diesel engine preheating indicator light of my Toyota Sankirtan van. Prabhupada book distribution has always been for me the source of all material and spiritual improvements.

Caitanya Caritamrta enjoins us to induce people to chant the holy names of God, Krishna, in the form of the Hare Krishna mantra. In most cases, therefore, at the conclusion of our meetings, I ask people to kindly chant the Hare Krishna mantra with me. I chant the mantra in eight parts and I ask them to repeat in eight parts. Most of them are very happy to comply with my request and actually feel satisfaction from the chanting and are happy with the experience. Some of course, will decline for various reasons. But we are not the controller of the result of our activities. Neither are we responsible for the result, as long as we act strictly on Krishna’s account. That is an essential message of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, In other words, Sri Arjuna was not a killer at all.

CC Madhya 7.101

TRANSLATION

Such an empowered person would request everyone and anyone—whomever he saw—to chant the holy name of Krishna. In this way all the villagers would also become devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

PURPORT

In order to become an empowered preacher, one must be favored by Lord Shri Caitanya Mahäprabhu or His devotee, the Spiritual Master. One must also request everyone to chant the mahä-mantra. In this way, such a person can convert others to Vaishnavism, showing them how to become pure devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

We notice here that an alternative is given. It does not say here that one must be favored by both the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His form as Prema Avatara AND the Spiritual Master. But it says One or the Other’s satisfaction is a sufficient condition. The satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly is, according to our Vaishnava philosophy, not only an impossible task but also an illegal procedure, whereas satisfaction of the Spiritual Master is a very practical and achievable reality. It also brings about automatically the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as per stanza 8 of Gurvastaka by His Divine Grace Srila Vishvanata Cakravarti Thakura, where the essentially transparent medium position of the Spiritual Master is confirmed.

yasya prasädäd bhagavat prasädo

yasyäprasädän na gatih kuto ‘pi

dhyäyan stuvams tasya yashas tri-sandhyam

vande guroh shri-caranäravindam

“By the mercy of the Spiritual Master one receives the benediction of Krishna. Without the grace of the Spiritual Master, one cannot make any advancement. Therefore, I should always remember and praise the Spiritual Master. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my Spiritual Master.”

Of course the Spiritual Master may also decide to bestow His causeless mercy upon us. Then we are even more fortunate. And for those who wonder what is the meaning of the expression “causeless mercy of the Spiritual Master” there is a relevant life story in the dealings of the Super Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada and His disciples. I am referring especially to one instance of exchange between Srila Prabhupada and His disciple Sriman Guru Das, who did ask directly the same question to Srila Prabhupada. This is to be found in the Vedabase.

All or most of Srila Prabhupada’s books have very catchy slogans as titles, such as Matchless Gift, Perfection of yoga and King of Knowledge etc etc… Srila Prabhupada is without a doubt, the most accomplished and effective marketing manager in the world. But in the pamphlet Krishna, Reservoir of Pleasure, page five, there is a wonderful picture of a pensive Srila Prabhupada holding his chin. We like to remember Srila Prabhupada in this way, as the most influential brahmana the world has seen for a very long time in the past and into the future.

My point is that the book distributor must always be ready 24 / 365 at a few seconds’ notice, just like the soldier in wartime must always have his armament ready to fire. Often, in fact, the window of opportunity lasts only for a few minutes or even a few seconds. It is the duty of the intelligent and alert book distributor to always be ready for the opportunity, to spot and gauge the opportunity, and finally to actually take advantage of the opportunity. Whence my title idea:

Better become one with your fully filled up Hare Krishna book bag. That kind of oneness is not only allowed but also recommended for the successful accomplishment of one’s book distribution duties.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, Founder of BBT and BTG and His distinguished worldwide family of Hare Krishna devotees!

By Nanda Kumar Dasa (ACBSPgen.1) who was Srila Prabhupada’s personal servant in the early years of ISKCON.

From the time I took initiation from Srila Prabhupada in Los Angeles in June of 1969, I was blessed to be able to keep my vow of chanting 16 rounds a day for some time.

Then not long after becoming Srila Prabhupad’s cook and personal servant, I missed doing 16 rounds for the first time.

It was late in the evening and I had finished 14 of them but was having a hard time staying awake to finish the last 2.

Because we had been told that if you miss any rounds you can make them up the next day, I decided to take rest and do that, instead of pushing through the tiredness and chanting inattentive rounds.

The next morning when I went into Srila Prabhupada’s room, He looked at me and the first thing He said was… “So, are you chanting all your rounds?”

He had the mystic ability to know everything about everyone without anyone telling Him. I experienced it many times, with myself and with other devotees.

I replied… “No, Srila Prabhupad. I missed two rounds yesterday for the first time, and I’m going to make them up today.”

Srila Prabhupad said, with great compassion… “It is like a new child learning to walk. The child will fall down as they first start walking, but because they are holding the hand of the mother, they don’t actually fall… she holds them up.

It’s the same with chanting 16 rounds. Every devotee as they are growing will start to fall down, over and over, just like the child.

However, if you are chanting all your rounds, Krishna will hold you up and not let you fall, just like the mother does with the child.

If you are not chanting 16 rounds, however…” and He stopped for a moment and opened His lotus eyes very wide, moving His hand back and forth in front of His face, and He continued… “then your whereabouts are unknown!”

To understand what that really means, that our whereabouts are unknown and that we don’t have the protection of Krishna’s hand to hold us up, is a very fearful concept, all things considered.

I pray for the strength to be able to always keep my promise to Srila Prabhupad that I will chant 16 rounds a day.

I have become weak in that vow over time, and it is time for me to get serious, as there is not that much time left in this body.

To all the devotees who have kept that vow, I offer my humble obeisances.
All glories to His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada”

Srila Prabhupada explains the importance of chanting every day 16 rounds minimum of the Hare Krishna Mantra and how Krishna will protect us if we strictly follow that vow. This particular example is so touching that chanting our sixteen rounds should really becomes a compulsion after reading it. In other words, if we are good boys and girls, Krishna will personally take care of us, especially in moments of difficulty, which will happen unfailingly. And who will be so foolish and careless as to neglect one’s self interest and fail to experience that feeling of total protection by higher authorities.

First of all, there is the power of sound.  The Bible says: ” In the beginning there was the Verb.” Et verbum caro factum est. (latin language) or the Verb became flesh. Verb means sounds. We, Gaudiya Vaishnavas, will say in the beginning there were the syllables ta and pa: tapa for tapasya. Again in the beginning there is sound. So sound is the beginning. Tapasya means austerity. Is austerity not welcome in the modern world? Sometimes we get this impression. There are however many people who are working very hard in the modern world. Any serious thing requires hard work. Tapa is the sound Lord Brahma heard first, while situated on the lotus flower sprouted from the navel of Lord Vishnu lying on the Garbodaka ocean within the universe, so Garbodakashayi Vishnu.

Where else but on book distribution sankirtan can we realize the power of sound. One enters into a shop and even if no one can be seen simply by saying loud and clear: “Good day Madam” or “Good day Sir” soon you will have at least one human face in your front and the sankirtan procedure begins.  The sankirtan procedure can be summed up in five words: “Please accept a Prabhupada book.” Chanting our sixteen rounds minimum of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare also represents the backbone of our mental, intellectual and spiritual balance in Krishna consciousness. The cultivation of Krishna consciousness can sometimes be felt as mind storming, because we are expected to relinquish our misconceptions and adopt the real perspective on life, the main line being: ” I am not this body, I am spirit soul, eternal servitor of God, Krishna.” And it is a fast paced world in general. I remember one occasion when Srila Prabhupada was so pressed for time that he chanted His gayatri mantra while walking to the waiting limousine. Srila Prabhupada gives the following example:

“This is a verse by Prabhodananda Sarasvati, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya. He submitted this verse, that dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya: “My dear sir, I have taken a grass in my mouth, and I am falling down on your feet, and I am flattering you hundreds of ways,”aham bravimi, “I am submitting something to you.”
So those who are going to preach this philosophy, they have to adopt this means. Humbly, most humbly, submissive, padayor nipatya krtva ca kaku-satam aham bravimi. He sadhavah: “You are very nice man. You are very honest man, sadhu.” Sakalam eva vihaya durat! “You give up all these nonsense things! Any nonsense, give up. Simply,”sakalam eva vihaya durat caitanya-candra-carane kurutanuragam, “simply you submit unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and chant Hare Krsna.” Thank you very much. Lecture on Sankirtana – November 30, 1969, London. So giving up non-sense thing also means giving up our nonsense conceptions of life. So it is a kind of voluntary brain washing indeed, provided there is brain present of course. But even if there is no brain, please dont go away disappointed. We will give you brain. So yes in the begining, the cultivation of Krishna consciousness can be a little destabilizing. Best thing is to take shelter of the sound vibration Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare  /  Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare and never let go, even if everything seems hopeless. Given time things will become very much hopeful again.

Imagine a body without a spine. It cannot exist. Similarly chanting our sixteen rounds minimum daily of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /  Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is the center of our all other activities in Krishna consciousness. Sometimes we may think that we are too busy with other services to Krishna to chant our daily minimum of sixteen rounds and after all, it’s all one service to Krishna. It is indeed all one transcendental service to Krishna but the parampara advises that one must keep a certain number of names and here is Srila Prabhupada’s quote CC Madhya 7.37:

“From this verse, it is clear that Caitanya Mahaprabhu was chanting the holy names a fixed number of times daily. The Gosvamis used to follow in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and Haridasa Thakura also followed this principle………………………Therefore devotees in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu must chant at least sixteen rounds daily, and this is the number prescribed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Haridasa Thakura daily chanted 300,000 names. Sixteen rounds is about 28,000 names. There is no need to imitate Haridasa Thakura or the other Gosvamis, but chanting the holy name a fixed number of times daily is essential for every devotee.”

So Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted His rounds daily, the six Goswamis chanted their rounds daily, Nam-Acarya Hari Das Thakur chanted 300 000 names daily and Srila Pabhupada also chanted His sixteen rounds daily. His Grace Harisauri Prabhu, the long time personal servant of Srila Prahupada, has just confirmed this fact. E-letter to me dated Dec 17 2021:

Because after all, Srila Prabhupada, as the CEO head of an International Krishna Society was very, very busy.  Still He chanted His 16 rounds daily. So what are we waiting for ???

And then sometimes one is so overburdened with duties and managerial problems that chanting Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare just becomes such a welcome break and AUTHORISED BREAK, forgetting everything else, a balsamic massage for the afflicted mind, an immeditate escape to a realm of beauty, calm and serenity. It is not a cop out, because this sound vibration of Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare /  Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is fully authorised by the highest authorities and simultaneously awards the highest and greatest benefit of human and other life. A win-win situation for everyone, under all circumstances and at all times. Please chant Hare Krishna regularly and train yourself to come to the PRABHUPADA and ISKCON standards of chanting at least 16 rounds daily and your life will be most successful in all respects. Jai Srila Prabhupada!

J’ ACCUSE.

FACT.

We know that ISKCON is short for or the acronym for INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS.

The INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY for KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS was founded and incorporated in New York, USA in the year 1966, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the most knowledgeable, educated and wise exponent of Krishna consciousness for a very long time in the past, as well as into the future. In real terms, a divinely empowered individual. When suggested at the time why not make it “The International Society for God Consciousness” with His usual focused resolve He declined firmly. It shall rightly be called “The International Society for KRISHNA Consciousness” and not otherwise.

When Srila Prabhupäda began the Society (in New York City, in 1966), He put into writing the purposes (Charter) He wanted it to achieve. They are as follows:

1. To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all peoples in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.

2. To propagate a consciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in Bhagavad-gitä and Srimad-Bhägavatam.

3. To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).

4. To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy names of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu.

5. To erect for the members and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna.

6. To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.

7. With a view toward achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, books, and other writings.

QUESTIONS:

Has contemporary ISKCON become a closed, carefully monitored and information filtered club of self-interested individuals, instead of an open society of Krishna conscious individuals, as Srila Prabhupada intended it to be?

Has contemporary ISKCON become a closed and carefully monitored and information filtered club of self-interested individuals instead of the House in which the Whole World Can Stay (HOWWCAS maybe?), as Srila Prabhupada intended it to be? Has it perhaps become the seed of a totalitarian system?

If that were the case, then ISKCON has already set its date of caducity and demise, just like any other material organization.

Has ISKCON been highjacked by a class of unqualified usurpers, as happened with the kingdom of the Pandavas 5000 years ago? There is here “extraordinary power” (BGAII 18.78), wealth and influence at stake indeed.

FACT

The members of ISKCON, especially the so-called intellectual leaders of ISKCON, some of them with innumerable diplomas and accreditations from prestigious mundane education institutes from around the world, are clearly and steadily disrespectful and offensive to its own Founder-Acarya as they refuse with great determination to give proper and due respect to its Founder-Acarya. In other words, they do not fully understand the position of Srila Prabhupada and foolishly think of themselves on an equal level with Srila Prabhupada, which in the ultimate analysis is a falsehood. I am especially talking here about the fact that they refuse to capitalize words related to Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, as is the case for the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna Himself. Such modus operandi is however shastrically supported by stanza seven (7) of Gurvasataka by Visvanatha Cakravarti Takhura, who is also Acarya as confirmed in the next Srila Prabhupada quote.

säkshäd-dharitvena samasta-shästrair
uktas tathä bhävyata eva sadbhih
kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya
vande guroh shri-caranäravindam

säkshät-directly; hari-tvena-with the quality of Hari; samasta- all; shästraih-by scriptures; uktah-acknowledged; tathä-thus bhävyate-is considered; eva-also; sadbhih-by great saintly persons; kintu-however; prabhoh-to the Lord; yah-who; priyah-dear; eva-certainly; tasya-of him (the guru); vande-I offer obeisances; guroh-of my spiritual master; shri-auspicious; carana-aravindam-unto the lotus feet.

The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord, because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Sri Hari [Krishna].

As far as I am concerned, the best school of life is steady and regular Prabhupada book distribution. Please attend that school, please. That will make Srila Prabhupada very, very happy. My Book Distribution Motivational Magazine (BDMM) https://krishnaculture.org/book-distribution/, available on this website, may serve as inspiration for those who lack inspiration. We have here the paradoxical, typically Kali Yuga situation, where a grihastha has to teach by example the sannyasi to go from door to door! We have also the glorious example of HH Janananda Goswami, who last year 2019 amassed a staggering 1299 book distribution points, to name only one glorious book distributor, in this case, a veteran sannyasi distributor.

 “A sannyäsi is supposed to beg from door to door. He does not beg simply because he is hungry. His real purpose is to enlighten the occupant of every house by preaching Krishna consciousness. A sannyäsi does not abandon his superior position and become a beggar just for the sake of begging. Similarly, a person in householder life may be very important, but he may also voluntarily take to the mendicant way of life. Rüpa Gosvämi and Sanätana Gosvämi were ministers, but they voluntarily accepted the mendicant’s life in order to humbly preach Sri Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s message.” CCM 8.39 P

Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And Guru and Acarya, although not God themselves, are the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead.

Srila Prabhupada Himself used to give the example of the viceroy who, even though not the king himself, still gets the same respect as the king.

“We have got in practical experience. Formerly, in British government, there was viceroy. Vice means in place of and roy means royal king. Viceroy. So this viceroy was respected as the king, as the emperor. That is the process. When he’s no longer a viceroy, then he’s not respected. But so long he is acting as viceroy… And the rule was that whatever presentation was given to the viceroy, he did not accept it personally. It was kept in the state. So these are the process. So guru, äcärya, being representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he should be worshiped. Nävamanyeta… Na martya-buddhyäsüyeta [SB 11.17.27]. Never think of envying. As soon as we become envious of the äcärya, there is fall down, immediately. Yasyäprasädän na gatih kuto ‘pi. Yasya prasädäd bhagavat-prasädo. This is the teaching of Vishvanätha Cakravarti Thäkura. He’s also äcärya. Äcärya-paramparä.” 761005SB.Vrn

The key ideas and expressions here being “envy of the acarya” brings about a “fallen state.”

Some joke that ISKCON has become a con and a scam.

Semantically true! The acronym ISKCON does contains and terminates with the word CON.

Some will retort: “Because it is Krishna’s CON, therefore it is alright”

The problem with that proposal is that God or Krishna is never a con-person.

He may allow the most abominable things to happen, still He is not a con-man.

The judge may order a murderer to be executed.

That does not make the judge, nor the executioner murderers themselves.

The judge and the executioner act lawfully according to the legislation in vigor, the product of thoughtful legislators over a long period of time. Capital punishment is still in vigor in many states of the world.

Similarly, Sri Krishna is the supreme lawmaker and whatever He does is not only all good but absolute as well.

Another sign of misdirection and betrayal of Srila Prabhupada is the emphasis on mundane education within ISKCON.

Mundane education is only as useful as it can be engaged directly in Krishna’s service. The acaryas call it nescience. If it has no relationship with Krishna and His service it is simply useless and a waste of time, the only purpose of human life being to achieve genuine self-realization and to enhance one’s Krishna consciousness.

Whereas “Krishna consciousness is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” Bhagavad-gita As It Is, chapter 9, text 2.

“In the Vedas also it is said that a person cannot know the Absolute Truth Personality of Godhead simply by dint of mundane education or intellectual gymnastics. One can know the Supreme Truth if one has unflinching faith in the bona fide spiritual master as well as in the Lord. Such a faithful person, even though illiterate in the mundane sense, can know the Lord automatically by the mercy of the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gétä also, it is said that the Lord reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone, and He keeps Himself concealed from the faithless by His yoga-mäyä potency.” SB 2.9.32

Iskcon is playing a cat and mouse game.

I find no one in Iskcon who is prepared to engage in a meaningful dialogue.

There is only silence.

But “Silence may appear helpful for some time, but ultimately it proves a failure.” writes Srila Prabhupada in purport to verse one of Nectar of Instruction. If we examine this statement carefully, we come to the conclusion that silence is always a failure.

What is hidden behind the Iskcon facade?

For example, the current manager / editor of Back to Godhead magazine is very careful to publish only a certain version and perspective of Krishna consciousness. And all articles have to be very polished. But where is the original Prabhupada spirit to speak the truth always? It is lost for good with this type of management! This gentleman has a systematic policy to reject each and every one of my articles. So does dandavats.com. Whence the need to have my own website. But Srila Prabhupada created the Back to Godhead magazine for all His men to publish articles in it. Again a very unacceptably narrow interpretation of things. 

to be continued……

64 Round Japathon for Global Safety

BY: JAGANNATH DAS

Apr 26, 2020 — SRIDHAM MAYAPUR (SUN) —

For the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Guru and Gauranga we are happy to announce that Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy (otherwise known as the Gita Study Course in Mayapur) conducted a massive Japathon inviting all its devotees under the guidance of HH Bhakti Vijaya Bhagavat Swami (Head, Sankirtana Department, Mayapur) and HG Lakshmi Govinda das (Head, Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy).

The devotees of the Gita Academy, which has got various Pathachakras (community gatherings) spread over West Bengal, took a sankalpa (pledge) on the 17th April 2020 to chant 64 rounds japa (which is equivalent to 1 Lakh names of the Lord) each to commemorate the Auspicious Occasion of Varuthini Ekadasi by praying for the safety, betterment, and healing of the society from the World Crisis of COVID-19.

According to the last report of 18th April, the total numbers who successfully completed the japa of 64 rounds were 1,441 devotees! Inspired by this initiative, devotees from across the world participated on the same day, from various major locations like Bangladesh, Middle East countries, so on and so forth, numbering in 1,178 devotees who chanted 64 rounds.

What really encouraged us was that the non-devotees from various locations also participated with the minimal rounds for the good cause too. We are further increasing the spreading of the chanting of the Holy Names to every town and village, organizing such events inspiring every human to protect the society as well as the soul!

Your Servant,
In Service of God and Mankind,
Jagannath Das
Facilitator,
Bhaktivedanta Gita Academy
Sridham Mayapur

In the context of the coronavirus crisis and people’s reaction to it, one prominent Brisbane, Australia,  newspaper, in a slightly mocking and condescending tone, published headlines implying that people were behaving wrongly as if WW III had begun. Well, it may not be WW III yet. But the arms of the doom’s clock have in fact been moved closer to midnight recently, as it was announced in the news.

Therefore the better way to look at the coronavirus events is to take it very seriously and consider it a rehearsal for a possible WW III scenario. As we all know, such a scenario is not at all impossible. Like it or not, everything is already in place for WW III, at the cost of zillions of dollars to the taxpayers. It will take now only one single individual like Adolf Hitler, who is singlehandedly responsible for the advent of WW II.

Let me quote Bhagavad-gita As It Is 16.9 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedant Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, His publishing house, and Founder of the Back to Godhead magazine. This chapter of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is is called “The Divine and the Demoniac Natures.”

“TEXT 9

etäm drishtim avashtabhya
nashtätmäno ‘lpa-buddhayah
prabhavanty ugra-karmänah
kshayäya jagato ‘hitäh

WORD FOR WORD RENDITION

etäm—this; drishtim—vision; avashtabhya—accepting; nashta—having lost; ätmänah—themselves; alpa-buddhayah—the less intelligent; prabhavanti—flourish; ugra-karmänah—engaged in painful activities; ksayäya—for destruction; jagatah—of the world; ahitäh—unbeneficial.

TRANSLATION

Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.

PURPORT

The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But according to Bhagavad-gétä, they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another. Animal killing is very prominent amongst demoniac people. Such people are considered the enemies of the world because ultimately they will invent or create something which will bring destruction to all. Indirectly, this verse anticipates the invention of nuclear weapons, of which the whole world is today very proud. At any moment war may take place, and these atomic weapons may create havoc. Such things are created solely for the destruction of the world, and this is indicated here. Due to godlessness, such weapons are invented in human society; they are not meant for the peace and prosperity of the world.”

Taxes and death are inevitable. And many proud and most respectable citizens, on the order of the government, have sacrificed their lives in a just fight. We shall remember them tomorrow, April 25th, ANZAC day 2020.

During WW II, Australia suffered 39 800 military personal deaths and a total of 40500 total civilian and military death. And during WW I, Australia suffered an even greater number of military personal deaths only of 61 928. In the Vietnam war, 426 Australians were killed in action and in the Korean war 340.

In purport of Bhagavad-gita As It is 12.11, Srila Prabhupada gives another perspective on national service and sacrifice for one’s country:

“It is also found that when one who is not even interested in the activities of Krishna consciousness gives charity to some hospital or some other social institution, he gives up the hard-earned results of his activities. That is also recommended here because by the practice of giving up the fruits of one’s activities one is sure to purify his mind gradually, and in that purified stage of mind one becomes able to understand Krishna consciousness. Of course, Krishna consciousness is not dependent on any other experience, because Krishna consciousness itself can purify one’s mind, but if there are impediments to accepting Krishna consciousness, one may try to give up the results of his actions. In that respect, social service, community service, national service, sacrifice for one’s country, etc., may be accepted so that some day one may come to the stage of pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord. In Bhagavad-gitä (18.46) we find it is stated, yatah pravrittir bhütänäm: if one decides to sacrifice for the supreme cause, even if he does not know that the supreme cause is Krishna, he will come gradually to understand that Krishna is the supreme cause by the sacrificial method.”

In all cases, our best advice is:

Please chant

HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA

KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE

HARE RAMA HARE RAMA

RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

and prepare for the final battle now.

Kirtan is naturally more blissful than Japa.

Kirtan means congregational chanting, once the congregation ban is lifted of course. But kirtan can also be practiced as a single individual, why not? The numbers just make it more powerful and transcendentally overwhelming.

Japa means individual chanting on beads, as a means to count the mantras. There has to be a numerical strength as well, as Srila Prabhupada explains in 720622SB.LA for example:

“The Gosvämis, in Vrindävana, they used to chant, keeping in numerical strength. They were all liberated persons; still, for teaching us an example, they also used to chant keeping a numerical strength. Haridäsa Thäkura, he used to chant Hare Krishna mantra keeping a numerical strength, three hundred thousand times. Three hundred thousand times. So our prescription is only twenty-five thousand; not hundred thousand even. So it is not very difficult; it takes utmost two hours. We can find out, out of twenty-four hours, two hours. We can find out time.”

Post Scriptum:

As far as cruelty and death are concerned why not consider the following facts?

This is an extract from the latest newsletter of The International Society for Cow Protection: iscowp.org

“Dairy and Meat Industries

1) 21,000,000 dairy calves are slaughtered for veal or cheap beef every year globally.
2) Due to extensive biological manipulation, today’s dairy cows produce up to 12 times more milk than they would naturally produce to feed a calf.
3) Even so, virtually all dairy calves are stolen from their mothers within hours of birth in order to maximize profit. 97% of newborn dairy calves are forcibly removed from their mothers within the first 24 hours.  The rest are removed in a matter of days. On so-called humane dairy farms, cows are often taken within the first hour of birth as separation of mother and calf is considered less stressful when they have not been allowed to bond.”

Moreover, the slaughter of human beings in large scale conflicts may not, through the link of karma, be unrelated to the very huge and regular slaughter of bovines and other animals as well.