This past week in Vrindaban, one of my godbrothers reminded me of this verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.42): sva-pada-mulam bhajatah priyasya tyaktanya-bhavasya harih paresah vikarma yac cotpatitam kathancid dhunoti sarvam hrdi sannivistah "One who has given up everything and taken full shelter at the lotus feet of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is very dear to the Lord. Therefore, if such a surrendered soul accidentally commits some sinful acts, the Lord, who is seated within everyone's heart, at once takes away the reaction to such sins." The leaders of any Vaishnava … [Read more...] about More about Saints and Sinners
Dying in the Material World
by Jayadvaita Swami from Back to Godhead, May-June 1991 "Life is amply long for him who orders it properly." --Seneca (8 BC–AD 65) Scientists of various disciplines are working hard to discover the principles of the biological clock within the human body that sets the pace for aging and finally signals the time for death. Thus they hope to learn how to prolong man's life, and apparently they are making some progress. How successful their efforts will prove remains to be seen, but perhaps even more important: If they do … [Read more...] about Dying in the Material World
In Memoriam: His Holiness Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami
Now that "our scientist," Sripada Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Maharaja, has departed from our worldly vision, we have lost a unique and beloved member of the spiritual world in which we grew up and lived, the world of Srila Prabhupada's pastimes on earth, and the world in which the disciples he personally instructed have carried on the special missions he gave them. From the very beginning of Maharaja's spiritual life in ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada chose to show him special attention and favor. Seeing Maharaja's dual qualifications as a Vaishnava scientist and a Manipuri Vaishnava, Srila … [Read more...] about In Memoriam: His Holiness Bhakti Svarupa Damodara Swami
Diving into “The Nectar of Devotion”
A review of Dhanurdhara Swami's Waves of Devotion Waves of Devotion comes close to my ideal of what a commentary should be. It is illuminating yet unpretentious, systematic but not dry--and you can read it. As Srila Prabhupada's subtitle indicates, The Nectar of Devotion is a summary study. It gives us the essentials of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, with considerable detail, and in one sense it is complete; one need not go beyond it. Yet one can go deeper into it, and Waves of Devotion helps us do just that. It does not try to surpass Srila Prabhupada's book; rather, it tries to assist us in … [Read more...] about Diving into “The Nectar of Devotion”
NASA spaces out
According to an August 15 news item (news reaches me slow), a spokesman for NASA says the U.S. government has misplaced the original recordings of the first moon landing--and the other five landings as well. "We've been looking for over a year and they haven't turned up," the spokesman said. In all, some 700 boxes of transmissions from the Apollo lunar missions are missing, he said. (You can see the report from the Reuters news agency at washingtonpost.com.) The only recordings NASA still has are copies of the television broadcasts. But those are of lower quality than the … [Read more...] about NASA spaces out
An article about Srimati Radharani
September 1 marks the day of Radhastami, celebrating the advent of Srimati Radharani, Lord Krishna's eternal consort. You might be interested in reading an article I wrote for the occasion back in 1974: "Who Is that Girl with Krishna?" Here's a story that goes with it. That article was among several I wrote that year for Back to Godhead magazine. Some time after the article came out, my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, came to New York City. A greeting party--perhaps sixty or a hundred of us or more--set off to welcome him at the Trans World Airlines terminal at Kennedy … [Read more...] about An article about Srimati Radharani
Reply to Cambridge
Thank you for your kind words of respect for ISKCON. And I'm glad to know that you have chosen Krishna as the deity you most prefer. Sanatana-dharma is indeed all-encompassing, for it offers every human being an opportunity to make further progress and at last attain perfection. Yet among the followers of Sanatana-dharma there are two schools, with contrasting views. The contrast is not between the inflexibly rigid and the universally tolerant, but rather between the impersonalists and the personalists. Both schools accept that the Supreme has both a personal and an impersonal aspect. … [Read more...] about Reply to Cambridge
From the Cambridge University Hindu Society
This letter is in response to your article "Is Back to Godhead an Offender?" [That's the title we gave the exchange between the Federation of Hindu Associations and BTG.] As a young Hindu living in Britain, where the media consistently portrays the religion as fanatical, it is upsetting when it seems that Hindu sects, such as ISKCON [the International Society for Krishna Consciousness], for whom I have great regard and respect, do propound such rigid views which are in direct opposition to the universal tolerance of Sanatana-dharma. When these intolerant views are propagated within the body of … [Read more...] about From the Cambridge University Hindu Society
Reply to the Federation
Dear Mr. Singh, Thank you for sending us a copy of your resolution. I am grateful to you for expressing to us your concern. You have appealed to us to continue the good work initiated by Srila Prabhupada. Thank you for that request. We consider it your blessing. You have also appealed to us to make a clear statement, and so we shall. Here it is: We reaffirm that Krishna alone is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. He appears in unlimited Vishnu forms such as Narayana and Rama. All other gods and living beings are His servants. Now, let me respond in some detail to the … [Read more...] about Reply to the Federation
From the Federation of Hindu Associations
Resolution The Federation of Hindu Associations, Inc. (FHA) takes strong exception to the article and subsequent rejoinders in the Back to Godhead magazine, May/June 1995, which in effect state that Shiva, Ganesha, Brahma, Rama and other deities can at best be considered as "demi-gods" and "a little higher" than human beings. Statements of this type are extremely offensive and confusing to the devout Hindus and are destructive to the Hindu interests. Branding the worshipers of such deities as "offenders" is not fair to the compassionate and diversified philosophy of Hinduism. With … [Read more...] about From the Federation of Hindu Associations
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