Bhaktivedanta Academy Hiring Pre-Kindergarten Teacher’s Assistant

Bhaktivedanta Academy Hiring Middle School Subject Area Teacher

The Bhaktivedanta Academy, a spiritually-centered pre-k thru 10th grade school, located in Alachua, Florida, is seeking applicants for the position of Middle School Subject Area Teacher for our International Baccalaureate 7th through 10th grade Middle Years Programme*.

We are seeking qualified candidates who possess an enthusiasm for working with teens in a highly collaborative teaching environment. If you are a self-starter who wants to be part of a mission-driven school that provides an opportunity to grow personally and professionally, we encourage you to apply.

Bhaktivedanta Academy follows a 175 day school year with time off during summer and holidays. This is a salaried full-time position that will begin in August 2015.

Click to download the full job description and employment application.

Interested applicants should download the employment application and may either scan and email the completed application along with current resume to office@bhaktischool.org, fax to 866-944-8834, or mail to 17414 NW 112th Blvd, Alachua, FL 32615. Send all correspondence to the attention of Visvambhara Das, Head of School.

Applications will be accepted through April 20th, 2015.

*Bhaktivedanta Academy is a candidate school for the Middle Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy — a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education — that we believe is important for our students. *Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its three academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP) or the Diploma Programme (and in addition the IB Career-related Certificate). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.

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Bhaktivedanta Academy Hiring Pre-Kindergarten Teacher’s Assistant

The Bhaktivedanta Academy, a spiritually-centered pre-k thru 10th grade school, located in Alachua, Florida, is seeking applicants for the position of Teacher’s Assistant for our pre-kindergarten/kindergarten Montessori class.

We are seeking qualified candidates who possess an enthusiasm for working with young children in a highly collaborative teaching environment. If you are a self-starter who wants to be part of a mission-driven school that provides an opportunity to grow personally and professionally, we encourage you to apply.

Bhaktivedanta Academy follows a 175 day school year with time off during summer and holidays. This is a part-time position that will begin in August 2015.

Click to download the full job description and employment application.

Interested applicants should download the employment application and may either scan and email the completed application along with current resume to office@bhaktischool.org, fax to 866-944-8834, or mail to 17414 NW 112th Blvd, Alachua, FL 32615. Send all correspondence to the attention of Visvambhara Das, Head of School.

Applications will be accepted through April 20th, 2015.

Srila Prabhupada’s Jaladuta Diary entries – APRIL 1965

261626493-Prabhupada-Jaladuta-Diary.pdf

Japa: An Outline

By Ravindra Svarupa dasa

1. We all have a relationship with Krishna.

A. We are fully and eternally related with Krishna on the spiritual platform.
B. The relationship is there whether we are theists or atheists, practitioners or non-practitioners.
C. We may be conscious of the relationship or not, and our consciousness may also be in various manners strong, weak or distorted.

2. If we are not pure devotees, that relationship is to some degree or another broken.

A. The full relationship is prema.
B. Brokenness in various ways characterizes all else.

3. Maha-mantra japa is, in the beginning, a preliminary demonstration of interest in restoring the relationship.

A. The use of the vocative case in three names Hare, Krishna, and Rama voices our request for a relationship, for a re-union.
B. We call to Krishna, and he responds.
C. The next question to confront us is: “Are we interested in pursuing this relationship-building further—and how far?”

4. At each step we must decide to go forward, to hesitate, to back out somewhat or altogether.

5. Since there is a broken relationship, it must be concluded that we have reasons for having broken it.

A. As we come closer to Krishna through chanting, his utter perfection and kindness become revealed to us.
B. We then must acknowledge the fact that we alone are wholly responsible for the breach, and the standard finding of “fault on both sides” by counselors and mediators does not apply in this case.
C. Another name for a broken relationship with Krishna is “sin.”

6. The reasons will become revealed to each of us, so that we can confront them.

A. We are not fully aware of them.
B. It will become clear that we harbor deep feelings of animosity, resentment, anger, and so on toward Krishna.
C. We become repentent and humble.

7. We become grateful to Krishna because we realize that although we turned away from him he did not turn away from us.

A. In spite of everything, we are able to chant the holy names.
B. Krishna has sent his agents to bring us back, and they have labored tirelessly.

8. Frankness and humility are foundations of progress.

A. Concealment, or being in a state of self-concealment (“in denial”) must be vanquished.
B. Pride is the symptom of a broken relationship and of concealment also.

9. Signs of advancement are increasing honesty or frankness and humility.

A. The false ego is being dissolved.
B. We experience its dissolution as self-destruction and hence as painful to the degree that we still identify with the body and mind.
C. Gradually what is painful becomes delightful.

10. To the degree that we become frank and humble to that same extent our appreciation and love for Krishna increases.

11. In this way we become fixed in our practice and attain a natural, ever-increasing appetite for devotional activities.

By Sunanda das

On the morning of Saturday, April 4th after a short stop to the home of Devakinandana prabhu and his family for breakfast prasadam, we made our way to attend a celebration of Jayapataka Maharaja’s Vyas Puja at the home of Sukhada das and his family in Feastieville, Pennsylvania.

Many devotees came including Sikhi Mahiti and Visnu Gada prabhus from the Philadelphia temple. Srila Prabhupada’s disciples spoke in glorification of Maharaja and his achievements in Srila Prabhupada’s service, and Maharaja also personally spoke to the devotees via a live phone call. Kirtan and guru puja took place and finally a wonderful feast was served.

In the evening we returned to Plainfield, New Jersey for our main TOVP presentation at the temple, a recently acquired large church complex. After kirtan and abhisheka of the Padukas, a few local leaders, including Madhupati prabhu, Temple President of both New Jersey temples, and Devakinandana prabhu, spoke and began the program. Radha Jivan then introduced Ambarisa prabhu who had come for both the New Jersey programs, and together with Jananivas prabhu they urged the 150+ devotees to make a sacrifice for the TOVP despite the large financial burden of the new facilities. Devotees responded enthusiastically and the pledges amounted to over $325,000 by the end of the program. Prasadam was served to all the Vaishnavas.

Click below to see the complete gallery

Was Alexander the Great a

Contempory of Canakya Pandit? – the Puranic Version

This was originally a public email exchange between myself and His Grace Ganesha Prabhu on Jan 16, 2008, while I was in Delhi recoperating from the injuries sustained in acar accident. I have edited and enlarged on it for the sake of completion.

Canakya Pandit

Dear Maharajas, Prabhus and Matajis,

Please accept my humble obeisance. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Bhakti-vighna-vinasa Narasimhadeva Bhagavan ki jaya!

I wrote:

However the depiction of Canakya as a contemporary of Alexander the Great is a common misconception first propagated by the British but not supported by Sastra. Canakya was from 16th century BC not 4th century BC.

Ganesha Prabhu responded:

This statement is not according to Srila Prabhupada's words.

Srila Prabhupada:
"That is a fact-the brahmanas were accepted. They formed the advisory committee of the king. For example, Candragupta, the Hindu king, was in the age of Alexander the Great. Just before Candragupta, Alexander the Great went from Greece into India and conquered a portion. When Candragupta became emperor, he had Canakya as his prime minister. Perhaps you have heard this name Canakya?" Science of Self Realization

ys ganesadasa

Alexander versus Maharaja Paurava (King Porus)

Click to see larger version.

My response:

"James Ussher, the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh deduced that the first day of Creation began at nightfall preceding Sunday October 23, 4004 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar, near the autumnal equinox." wikipedia

This was widely believed to be true by most Christians in pre-Darwinian Europe including Sir William Jones. Jones who was a member of the Supreme Court of Calcutta, and founder of the Asiatic Society lived in India from 1783 till his death in 1794. He was studying various sastras and Sanskrit literature with Bengali Pandits in Kolkata. It was Jones who famously noticed the similarity between Sanskrit, Latin, Greek and Persian; and you may say that he was the father of both Indology and linguistics.

In any case Mr. Jones while studying puranas found it difficult to fit the puranic timeline which spanned over 311 trillion years with that of the Bible, which stated that the world had been created about 5,794 years before. He wanted to make Indian history fit in with Noah and Moses. To do so he had to find the “linch pin” of ancient Indian history, that point in time where ancient European history intersected with India's. That point could only be 326 BC when Alexander the Great invaded India. Ancient Latin and Greek authors -- Diodorus of Sicily, Curtius Rufus, Arrian of Nicomedia and Plutarchof Chaeronea wrote on the life of Alexander and mentioned the names of various Indian kings who were contemporary of Alexander. These were not in Sanskrit but in Greek forms, names such as Xandrames, Sandracottus, and Taxiles, etc.

Jones tried to find names of Indian kings similar to the Greek versions and deduced that it was Candragupta. The only problem was that there were two Candraguptas who founded dynasties -- "Candragupta Maurya" and "Candragupta" of the Imperial Gupta dynasty who were 1200 years apart. In order to fit Indian history into his procrustean bed and make it agree with the Biblical version Jones purposely chose Candragupta Maurya as the contemporary of Alexander and thus neatly cut off 1200 years of Indian history. However, it was Candragupta and Samudragupta of the Imperial Guptas not Candragupta Maurya who were contemporaries of Alexander.

Puranic Version

Kaliyuga began in 3101 BC, after 36 years of rule by Maharaja Yudhisthira. According to the regnal dynsties recorded in the Vayu, Visnu, Matsya and Srimad Bhagavat Puranas it states that the Brhadratha Dynasty lasted for 1000 years, see Srimad Bhagavatam (SB)9.22.46-48 and 9.22.49. (The count started at 3137 BC during Battle of Kurukshetra with the death of Sahadeva son of Jarasandha - not the Pandava.)

Then came Pradyota Dynasty which lasted for 138 years, see SB 12.1.3. ¹ Then Sishunaga Dynasty for 362 years (Bhagavatam says 360), see SB 12.1.6-8. Then Nanda Dynasty which lasts for 100 years, SB 12.1.10.

1000+138+362+100=1600 therefore the Nanadas lasted till 1537 BC (3137 - 1600 = 1537).

The Nandas were destroyed by Canakya Pandita who then enthroned Candragupta Maurya (SB 12.1.11). Hence, Candragupta Maurya flourished circa 1537 BC, not 326 BC as Sir William Jones wanted to believe.

However, it was the British who were in control of the educational system, and especially with Macaulay they sought to destroy traditional Sanskrit education in India. Thus, the British enshrined their distorted history of India in all of the world's history books and schools. And, in the 225 years since Jones a lot of “scholarship” has added many thick encrusted layers to support this mistake. And, this is what we were all taught. However, since the independence of India there has been some effort to undo the damage done by the British, but a lot more is needed.

The mischief of the British was not only in relation to Candragupta Maurya, so much of Indian history was distorted it is hard to imagine the extent of the damage. For exampleLord Buddha is not from the 6th BC but from 18th BC. Why? Ashokavardhana the grandson of Candragupta Maurya became a Buddhist and converted India to Buddhism. Buddha lived about 3 centuries before him. Hence 18th century BC.

This of course flies in the face of current  academic historical dates for everything in early Indian history and mainstream scholars think it is madness and cries of “radical saffron revisionism” are heard.

However, there is one thing that you have to remember and that is when an artifact is found it doesn’t say on the back “made in 215 BC” or something similar. Dates if mentioned at all will be in regard to various epochs most often in the form of “year X in the reign of king Y” and all these pieces of the puzzle have to be sorted out and aligned with a known date. That is why who was contemporary to Alexander is so important and the "linch pin" because once that is known then you count backwards and forwards from that time. But since Jones purposely chose one that fit in with the Biblical timeline then all dating by scholars for last the 200 years has been in relation to the wrong date and the error magnified a million times over. And, considering that a lot of political pressure, academic prestige and reputations have been invested into this mistake it will take a lot of effort from courageous scholars to reverse it.

Cross cultural similarities

Other civilizations also had long histories. Berossus (fl. 280 BC), in his Bablyoniaca ² , recounts the vast ages that preceded the Babylonian civilization and especially uses the number 432,000 years as a significant one in their history (the exact same length as Kali-yuga). He claimed that civilization was not the product of human action over time, contrary to the conventional Greek view of the early Hellenistic period, but was given intact by the gods to men at that early date. In the recorded fragments of his writings he tells how men had no civilization and behaved liked animals. Until a god, whose name he translates into Greek as Oannes, who had a body like a fish but with human appendages, came on the land and revealed all types of useful knowledge, both mundane and spiritual, to King Alorus and the people. This knowledge became the basis for human civilization. This occurred 432,000 years before the flood. According to various fragments of Berossus, the flood took place from 33,000 - 36,000 years before Alexander the Great. This incident with Oannes is remarkably similar to that of Matsya-avatara recounted in the Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 8.24), in which the fish incarnation of the Lord saves the Vedic knowledge and then redispenses it.

A Babylonian bas-relief of Oannes

Click to see larger version.

According to Porphyry (c. 300 AD), Callisthenes, the companion of Alexander the Great in the Persian wars, dispatched to his uncle, Aristotle, Babylonian records of eclipses that spanned 31,000 years. Iamblichus (4th century AD) claimed on the authority of the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus that the Assyrians had made observations for 270,000 years and had kept records for the return of all seven planets to the same position. ³ “Epigenes of Byzantium insisted that the Babylonians had tablets for 730,000 years of observation. . . Simplicius . . . . stated that Chaldean observations had extended over more than 1,440,000 years.” ⁴

The Egyptians, as recorded by Manetho (fl 300 BC), also had very vast histories dating back tens of thousands of years before the Hellenistic period in which he wrote. According to Eusebius ⁵ (fl 300 AD) , Manetho gives six dynasties of Kings that lasted for 24,925 years before the flood. And the Roman, Simplicius, stated that the Egyptians had records stretching back 630,000 years.⁶

Destruction of Ancient Historical Traditions
by Early Christians

Clearly the peoples of classical antiquity didn't flinch when it came to long spans of time except for the Jews and especially the Christians. These vast time cycles all became mythologized, ridiculed and finally cut down by them to fit the Biblical timeline. We see from the Manetho fragments that the first known Christian scholar to alter beyond recognition the Egyptian historical time-line was Eusebius. This Christian scholar, historian, and friend of Emperor Constantine, in an attempt to align the history of Egypt with that of the Bible, felt no compunction in changing everything to suit himself. "In the introduction [of his Chronicles], Eusebius gives as one of his aims to ‘reprove the boasting of vainglorious chronographers.’"⁷ His problem was that the Bible contained very little history prior to about 1,500 BC. Everything was very murky and then there was the creation by Jehovah in seven days. Thus it was thought that the world was just newly created and hardly more than 4,000 years old. According to the Jewish calendar the date of creation was 3761 BC ⁸ This hardly allowed for Egyptian dynasties of 24,925 years. As a solution Eusebius changed all the years to months and thus was able to neatly compress the untidy sum of 24,925 years by a factor of twelve to 2206 [sic] solar years so that they fit into his Biblical notion of history. ⁹ However recent research by Egyptologist, John Anthony West, (and geologist Dr. Robert M. Schoch) strongly suggests that Manetho was correct and Eusebius wrong. West's many investigations point to an Egyptian civilization very much older than anyone previously thought possible. He along with Dr Schoch have redated the Sphinx to 10,000-5000 BC. Their work was presented in an award winning documentary.¹⁰

Egyptian Deities: Hathor on far left, and Horus 2nd from right with attendants ; both are holding ankhs the symbol of eternal life.

Click to see larger version.

Berossus suffered a similar fate:

"This synchronism, however, was purely the product of Panodoros’ creative calculations. In order to bring the Babylonian and Egyptian antediluvian chronologies within the bounds of Biblical time, he adopted the principle that units of time had once been confused. In those primordial days before the flood, a year could mean a day, or a month, or a season. … In the case of Berossos, this was fairly straightforward. The massive Babylonian time period of the sar was, according to Panodoros, not 3,600 years but only 3,600 days, so the 120 sars of the 10 antediluvian kings in Berossos equaled 432,000 days not years. In other words (dividing those days into ‘real’ years): 1,183 years and 6 5/ 6 months. The Babylonian record of history, therefore, began in Anno Mundi 1059, a date that fits nicely within the antediluvian chronology of the Bible - and, moreover, allows Babylonian chronology to be subordinated to Biblical."¹¹

Thus, the ancient history of several world civilizations have been put on the Christian chopping block and made to fit their procrustean bed. None have suffered worse than the Vedic culture. It is not that we automatically believe everything that an ancient culture may say about itself but we don’t disbelieve it either. The whole endeavor of modern secular historians, in continuation of their Christian inheritance, has been to cast out, as mythology and wild imagination, anything that doesn’t fit within their worldview of linear history.

We have hardly done justice to the subject but have at least adumbrated the types of arguments than can be made. The evidence strongly suggests that the British conquerors of India, all avowed Christians, starting with Sir William Jones et al., have totally distorted Indian history so that it practically has no resemblance with reality. Yet it is still taught in all schools in India and abroad.

Regarding the following quote by Srila Prabhupada:

"That is a fact-the brahmanas were accepted. They formed the advisory committee of the king. For example, Candragupta, the Hindu king, was in the age of Alexander the Great. Just before Candragupta, Alexander the Great went from Greece into India and conquered a portion. When Candragupta became emperor, he had Canakya as his prime minister. Perhaps you have heard this name Canakya?" Science of Self Realization

Srila Prabhupada was just repeating what is found in every textbook on ancient Indian history in the world, texts that were authored by the British and other Europeans or Indian collaborators.

I asked Hari Sauri Prabhu a similar question regarding a discussion about Ceylon versus Sri Lanka here was the critical part:

"So on some mundane topics, geography, historical claims, Srila Prabhupada was not necessarily fixed. I think the key thing though is that in the SB 4.22.36 purport mentioned above, he says " from historical references in the Puranas". Whenever there was some controversy or question of authenticity, Srila Prabhupada would always refer to sastra. He would often ask, "Is it in sastra. What do the Purana's say?"" 

So I have shown what the puranas say on the topic.

dasa dasa anu dasa
Shyamasundara Dasa
krsne matirastu
www.ShyamasundaraDasa.com

Footnotes

1 "Ripuñjaya" named in Srimad Bhagavatam 9.22.49 is the "Purañjaya" in Srimad Bhagavatam 12.1.1-2, the first two syllables in the names have been transposed.
2 Berossus, pp. 7, 13–24.
3 Cramer, p. 18.
4 Ibid.
5 Manetho, pp. 3–7.
6 Cramer, p. 10.
7 The World of Berossus, pp. 259, 267
8 AHD, p. 189. 
9 Manetho, pp. 3–7. Footnotes in the book deserve special attention.
10 Mystery of the Sphinx and Magical Egypt
11 The World of Berossus, p. 220

References

AHD - American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language, The, 1969, New York: American Heritage Publishing House.

Berossus, 1980, translated from the Greek by Stanley Mayer Burstein with introduction,The Babyloniaca of Berossus, Malibu, CA: Undena Publications.

Cramer, Frederick, 1954, Astrology in Roman Law and Politics, Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society Volume 37, Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society.

Manetho, 1964, translated from the Greek, Latin and Armenian, by W.G. Waddell,Manetho, History of Egypt and Other Works, The Loeb Classical Library Series, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

World of Berossos,The; Proceedings of the 4th International Colloquium on --The Ancient Near East between Classical and Ancient Oriental Traditions--, Hatfield College, Durham 7th-9th July 2010, 2013, edited by Haubold, Lanfanchi, Rollinger and Steele; Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag

Further reading

Bishop Ussher

Did William Jones have ulterior political motivations?

Organized efforts of the British to destroy Indian culture 

First effort of Jones (1784) and the secret planning 

Two more attempts of Jones to mutilate Indian history

Double voice amplification kirtans and the missing silence

By Chandrashekhara acharya dasa (Cyril Wohrer)

This paper is about what I call “double voice amplification kirtans.” These are
kirtans in which the lead-singer sings into the microphone, after which, on the
response, another devotee also sings into a microphone. The result is an
uninterrupted amplification of two lead-voices throughout the entire kirtan. I think
this type of kirtan is problematic for several reasons, which I explain as follows.
No evidence of such kirtans in Srila Prabhupada’s own teachings nor in his
personal example:

All evidence seems to show that Srila Prabhupada did not approve of double voice
amplification kirtans, and that he himself never performed them. The
Bhaktivedanta Archives reveal only audio recordings of Srila Prabhupada leading
kirtans in which he is singing exclusively alone into the microphone, with no one
singing after him into any microphone on the response. To my knowledge, there is
not a single audio recording (nor video footage) of Srila Prabhupada leading a
kirtan followed by someone else responding in the microphone on the response.
This is significant because the (Founder) acharya teaches by example.
We also have the incident described in Hari Sauri prabhu’s Transcendental Diary.
According to Hari Sauri prabhu, one day in Iskcon Vrindavan during the noon
aroti, there was nobody in the temple except one devotee. This devotee sang into
the microphone on the lead, and then he - again - sang into the microphone on the
response. He was in effect doing a double voice amplification kirtan, by himself.
According to the account, when Srila Prabhupada - who was staying nearby in his
house - heard this devotee singing like this, he told Hari Sauri prabhu to go to the
temple and tell him to stop singing into the microphone during the response. We
thus have evidence that not only did Srila Prabhupada never perform double voice
amplification kirtans, but he did not approve of such kirtans. They never happened
during his time. And when they did - as the example above shows - Srila
Prabhupada disapproved of them.

Double voice amplification kirtans destroy the delicate harmony of proper
śravanam kirtanam.

My understanding of the proper dynamic of kirtan is this: it is responsive kirtan.
When the lead-singer sings during the lead, everyone else present in the kirtan is
supposed to listen carefully to his (or her) voice. At that point in time, the leadsinger is performing attentive kirtanam, and everyone else is performing attentive śravanam. Then, after the lead-singer finishes singing the mantra, there is supposed to be a respite in which everyone is supposed, in turn, to carefully chant and listen to their own voice (as well as to the combined voices of all the other devotees present - I’ll speak about this later). At that point in time, the lead-singer is performing attentive śravanam (by listening to the combined voices of all the
devotees) and everyone else is performing attentive kirtanam by listening to their
own voices and the combined voices of everyone. However, in order for this to
happen - in order for everyone to listen to their own voices and the voices of others
during the response, there cannot be a second amplified voice overpowering their
voices. Indeed, it is very difficult (read impossible) to do attentive kirtanam if
someone else is singing into the microphone at the same time. We end up being
forced to listen to that amplified voice instead of ours. We are thus forced to hear
the lead-singer on the call (that is okay), and then forced, again, to listen to
someone else on the response (that is not okay). What ends up happening, in such
cases, is that instead of performing śravanam/kirtanam, we end up performing
śravanam/śravanam. Two devotees sing alternatively into the microphone, and
everyone else passively hears both of them only, as a concert audience passively
listens to a duo concert of two professional singers doing a performance. There is
no respite, no non-amplified “silence” which enables us to hear our own voices and
the collective voice of the entire group.

Hearing our own voice attentively on the response solidifies the mahamantra which
we just heard from the voice of the lead-singer. Aside from this act of hearing our
own individual voice, there is also something very powerful about hearing the
collective voices of many devotees together. This makes for a very moving,
transcendental experience. In a kirtan where there are several hundreds or
thousands of devotees present, one feels spiritual peace, confidence and enthusiasm when hearing all their voices harmoniously responding to the lead-singer.

However, such an experience is impossible when there is one amplified voice
prevailing over our own voice and the voices of everyone else. In such a situation,
one cannot help but listen to that one amplified voice that is imposing itself on
everyone. In short: śravanam/śravanam is simply not the proper way to perform
kirtan.

As I mentioned in a similar article several years ago, these double voice
amplification kirtans have spread throughout the world of ISKCON. One may add
that this is especially the trend in India (this tendency may have been imported
from various Gaudiya Vaishnava mathas and from the general practice of public
amplified performance of religious functions in that country). However, it has now
spread globally. Very often, at different 6, 12, or 24-hour kirtan festivals around the world, I witness two or more microphones as part of the set-up, amplifying the
lead-singer and - to a lesser or most often equal degree - one or more responders,
in effect creating a non-stop amplification of at least two voices that constantly
drown out all other voices on the response, without respite. Nobody in the kirtan is
able to attentively listen to their own voice on the response. The simple point is
that should be zero amplification on the response. Two devotees can take turns on
the lead. Two or more devotees can even sing together simultaneously in harmony
on the lead. In all cases, however, the lead singer/singers must be fully aware to
always leave room - un-amplified, silent room - for the rest of the devotees to
clearly hear themselves singing on the response, without any amplification over
their head and ears.

In many ISKCON temples in India and in some temples in the West, during the
various arotis of the day, it has become a custom to have two separate microphones
stands, next to each other. Two devotees, standing side by side, take turns singing
into their own microphone. We cannot even ascertain who is leading the kirtan. In
ISKCON Mayapur, devotees have begun performing double voice amplification
kirtans as early as the end-part of the morning Tulasi aroti, not to speak of all
throughout the day, including the evening Gaura aroti. I wonder if they will start
performing double voice amplification kirtans during mangala aroti. At this rate, it
is probable. Indeed, if it is okay to perform such kirtans during the evening aroti,
why, theoretically, is it be wrong to perform them during mangala aroti? Why not
set up two microphone stands, with two microphones, in every ISKCON temple, as
early as 4:30am, and perform only double-voice amplification kirtans throughout
the day, every day? At least we would be consistent.
For as long as I can remember (at least a decade or a decade and a half), during
what one could say is the most important kirtan of the year in ISKCON Mayapur
namely the kirtan during the Abhisekha at sunset on the lawn of the lotus building
on Gaura Purnima day, there are always two devotees singing, one after another,
non-stop, into two (blaring) microphones, throughout the entire kirtan.
Incidentally, these two kirtaniyas alternate every year. Yet they invariably are
always Bengalis. This racial favoritism, however, is another issue for perhaps
another article. Thus, the most significant kirtan of the year literally becomes a
concert of two amplified voices, while all the thousands of devotees present are
forced to submit to a constant amplification of two voices, leaving them incapable
to hear their own voices - nor the collective voices of everyone - on the response.
Again: there should be zero amplification on the response.
One may argue that Lord Chaitanya said that there are “no hard and fast rules.”
Granted. However, we cannot ignore the over-arching theological framework of
kirtan. Proper śravanam/kirtanam is a foundational, sacred, and non-negotiable
principle of kirtan. Moreover, we are duty-bound to abide by Srila Prabhupada’s
specific directives on kirtan. For example, Srila Prabhupada placed maximum
emphasis on the mahamantra over all other names of Krishna. He also stressed the
chanting of sixteen rounds per day for initiated devotees. We cannot ignore his
example nor his commands.

Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami, one of my favorite kirtan leaders in ISKCON,
rightly says that when he is leading a kirtan, he puts all efforts into carefully
hearing the mahamantra coming from his own voice. He adds that when the other
devotees are singing on the response, he puts all efforts into carefully hearing the
mahamantra coming out of their mouths. This, I think, is the ideal meditation that
illustrates the proper mood of proper śravanam/kirtanam. All devotees have the
right to hear the lead singer with attention and devotion. Of equal importance, all
devotees also have the right to hear their own voice on the response, free from the
competition of one devotee’s overbearing amplified voice over theirs.
I humbly appeal to devotees world-wide to make sure that kirtans in their areas do
not become double voice amplification kirtans but, rather, that they continue to be
the responsive, graceful, balanced conduits of proper śravanam/kirtanam, so that
everyone in the kirtan - not only the “fortunate” devotees behind the microphones can dive deep into the nectar of the Holy Name.

Celebrating the Glories of Our Mothers

By Devaki Devi Dasi

On Sunday, 22 February 2015 the Institute for Spiritual Culture in Mayapur conducted a unique symposium entitled ‘Celebrating the Glories of Our Mothers’.
For the event we had arranged a large pandal in the open area of the Mayapur Goshala. The warmth of the pandal colours and the beautiful flower decorations created a welcoming and festive atmosphere. Guests were received with flower garlands while devotees were chanting in kirtana.

HH Candramauli Swami had introduced the theme already with his Srimad Bhagavatam class that morning, connecting it to the importance of giving the highest respect to our mothers. Several times in the class he referred to the afternoon symposium to be held at the Goshala, which encouraged many in the audience to attend.

Although it was the first day of the Navadvip Mandala Parikrama, nevertheless around 300 devotees eagerly participated. HH Candramauli Maharaja, HH Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja, HH Smita Krsna Maharaja, and HH Sivarama Maharaja were enlightening us by giving deep insights into the important role mothers are playing.
We were focusing on the five human mothers, leaving mother earth and mother cow aside for the time being. This was because unless we learn to cultivate respect towards our human mothers, it will remain difficult for us to more deeply respect mother cow and mother earth.

In material life and its culture, where sense gratification is the goal of life, mothers don’t have a very respected and valued position at all. Indeed, it is a down-trodden and pitiful one – the mother is the slave at home! She can’t go out and enjoy life by having a career, developing her talents, and earning money. To be ‘just a mother and housewife’ is not given any importance and value as a rule.

However, in spiritual life and its culture where self-realization is the goal of life, it is understood that mothers are the most important, most valued and honored members of human society. In fact, Krsna even gives us five human mothers – one is not enough! These are:

– The physical mother, who is the very first guru for the living entity
– The wife of a brahmana
– The wife of the guru, which also includes our siksa gurus
– The wife of a king, and we could broaden this to managerial leaders
– The nurse, meaning a physical care giver

All these five mothers play a critical role – they are the balancing force within human society, and the selfless care givers on all levels. Unfortunately, in modernity this knowledge of their important role is almost lost and forgotten.

HH Candramauli Maharaja reminded us of Prabhupada’s instruction, that our children are not ordinary children, but ‘Vaikuntha children’. And in a letter to Arundhati Mataji, Prabhupada clarified the priorities of service: “For you child worship is more important than Deity worship.” Mothers are serving as the backbone to society, giving emotional and spiritual strength, nourishment and care to everyone.

HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami highlighted the special and unique position of mothers, who serve in such selfless mood and thus control all family members with their affection. The young daughter is considered the jewel of the family, and once she grows up and is married she becomes the Laxmidevi of the house. The mood and flavor of father’s love and mother’s love a very different: the father represents the aspect of awe and reverence, but the mother’s energy is surcharged with care, warmth, emotional security and intimacy. Obviously both moods have to be there, but according to Manu Samhita mothers do occupy a superior position, being a thousand times more important than fathers.

HH Smita Krsna Maharaja gave insights into the interdependence of father and mother, and HH Sivarama Maharaja gave the final words of wisdom, elaborating on Krsna’s perfect social structure: the varnashrama system, which gives certain obligations and rights to all sections of society, including our mothers.

We also invited three senior ladies from the Mayapur Community to share personal realizations on the merits of being a (physical) mother and serving in the mood of a mother: Karuna Mataji, Rasesvari Mataji, and Krsnalaulyam Mataji.
We heard a heart-moving story which took place in Prabhupada’s days: One young boy one day exclaimed: “I hate Krsna!” When questioned about the reason, he gave a striking answer: “Because Krsna is taking my mother away from me!” When Prabhupada heard about this incident he was very upset, and for several mornings he spoke on the important role of mothers, and on raising children within Krsna consciousness.

Finally several ladies who had taken the January course ‘Exploring the Roots of Spiritual Culture’ performed a little skit illustrating in a humorous way the different world views and attitudes of two young mothers influenced by the two opposing cultures.
A group of male students who had taken the course ‘Men in Spiritual Culture’ had also prepared a role play, showing the importance of the spiritual mother in devotees’ lives. It ended on a powerful note: “Mother means ‘the harmonizing and balancing force’! Mother means ‘the selfless care giver’! Mother means ‘no showing off, no sexual vibes’! Mother means ‘I am last – everybody else comes first!’ When, oh when will the day come, when ISKCON will have thousands of caring mothers?”

Krsnarupa Mataji (ACBSP) from Australia shared with me how she had never heard any sannyasis in all her 43 years of devotional life speak so respectfully and appreciatively about the role of women and mothers. She said this day was truly “revolutionary” for her. She humbly requested that wherever the Maharajas would travel to, to please give such classes! Then there could be some chance for ISKCON to gradually transform – until we will have thousands of caring mothers and their place in the society universally understood. The successful event concluded with kirtana and prasadam.

To view the entire program and announcements on upcoming courses, please visit: www.therootsofspiritualculture.net

Lecture on Don't just see the Provision see the Provider by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu

(HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu is a celibate spiritual teacher (brahmachari) at ISKCON, Pune. He has done his Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering from the Govt College of Engg, Pune. He is a member of ISKCON's topmost intellectual body)

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Lecture on Spiritual Perfection in Household Life Session by Sankarsana Das Adhikari Prabhu on 20 Dec 2014 at Australia

(Since that time he has been regularly traveling and lecturing extensively all over the world for reviving the dormant Krishna consciousness in the hearts of all living beings.)

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Love and Lust by HH Lokanath Swami on 09 Aug 2014 at ISKCON Noida

(Lokanath Swami born in Aravade, a small village Maharashtra, Indian, he went to Mumbai for studying. In the year 1971, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was touring India with his foreign disciples and had organized a pandal program in Mumbai.Intrigued, maharaj attended the whole Hare Krsna Festival and heard from Srila Prabhupada.)

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Lecture on Why Men and Women should sit separately by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami on 16 Jan 2015 at Salem, Tamil Nadu

(His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON’s founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.)

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Lost & Found in India – Amazon Releases a New E-book by Mayapur Author

The Jalangi river near Mayapur

Sadhu Sanga Retreat Books Up Two Months in Advance; Offsite Registration Still Open

Chanting the Holy Names joyfully

Sadhu Sanga Retreat Books Up Two Months in Advance; Offsite Registration Still Open

Chanting the Holy Names joyfully

Another New E-book from the North European BBT

The book's cover art

Going Nowhere In Particular

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

Atheistic scientists and intellectual cynics rely totally upon their own brains for knowledge. Such brainpower has brought a little comfort for humankind, but at the expense of ruining our earth, atmosphere, and oceans. Human brains alone have caused more damage than good. In defence of this damaging progress, attempts are made to belittle religion.

Atheism Gets Romantic With Mammal Morality

It appears that a number of atheistic scientists have caught wind of the accusation of ‘No-purpose’ levelled against them. They have done some homework and figured out cute responses in debate. They now try to make atheism appealing for the heartstrings, like religion does. “Yes, of course there is purpose to our lives… and we love and want to share that love…” is their charming open-arms invitation. Is there such a thing as scientific love? How would such ‘love’ benefit humankind?

It should be a very interesting concept. We are considering soul-less love, mechanistic love, God-less love, mammal love and the rest. If we tie this in with scientific ideas of morality, we’ll end up with a human zoo type of civilization. For them, we humans are progressive mammals. If we humans are to replicate mammal love, it means the rule of the jungle must prevail. Bring morality into the fray and we’ll have George Orwell’s Animal Farm, with a twist. This novel is a fantasy commentary on real life human existence. Does this pull at our heartstrings? It is an ‘Atheistic Science with a smile’ exercise.

By saying that atheists are capable of genuine love, is putting a romantic spin on love without a central pivot that is God. Again, the game of playing God in His absence, with an almost religious tenor, is acting out. Whereas religious sentimentalism was decried by atheistic scientists for its lack of hard-nosed evidential research, we now see soft-nosed appeals to sentiment in presenting a pretty face of charming atheism.

For all who want to eliminate God who “allows evil” to thrive in this world, they say, humans left to themselves can do well without Him. The social and moral aims of religion and science are quite similar. “But why add a religious identity and dogma to your human cause?” they ask. “Let’s get on with improving society without a God, because He allows evil to ruin morality… if He does exist”.

Scientific ignorance of the reasons why evil befalls humanity is going to manifest as ignorant love and morality. Beastly morality has certain charms for curious animal watchers. Animal culture must be the outcome for scientific morality, with ‘love’ added to it. Will this be progressive for society? Yes, it will. Society will progress exponentially. How so?

Srila Prabhupada said that there is progress in the decaying of a corpse – that is also progress. This brilliant example applies to how a soul-less, God-less society will progress – in the opposite direction of ‘good’.. If atheistic scientists have their way and assume power over humanity, people will have much to look forward to. How about wildly anticipating ‘Decayed Optimism?’ Or ‘Optimal Backwardness?’ Perhaps we can romanticise it and call it, “The Glorious March To Oblivion”. “Going Nowhere In Particular” sounds chic.

Going Nowhere In Particular

One of the most outspoken of atheistic thought, Mr Richard Dawkins, accuses religious people of being lazy. Lazy, because they accept God as a conclusion without first doing all the hard, difficult scientific research to reach that end. In saying this, he does not consider how people can reach this God conclusion by intuitive deduction. Such intuitive short cuts develop due to sukrti, something unknown to atheists. They can call it laziness though.

Mr Dawkins speaks this way while trying to make sense of the world he inhabits. He would rather get down on his hands and knees as it were, and crawl towards the jackpot of all discoveries via his faulty senses and faculties. It cannot possibly happen this way, even if he takes rebirth somehow as Mr Dawkins, life after life trillions of times. He first has to recognise extra-sensory and multi-dimensional possibilities before crawling a few metres ahead. By crawling like this, at least Mr Dawkins displays some mammal tendencies.

While Mr Dawkins is stuck at crawling pace and is grounded in Nowhere land,, he reveals a sort of envy for others who intuitively believe that only another dimensional reality with infinite intelligence can make our cosmos, finely tuned as it is, for life. Such believers usually have definite goals in life. This certainty unnerves atheistic scientists who also say it is a form of copping out.

While copping out, “They do good for society only because it is what their God wants… If there was no God, would believers put in the same effort?” they challenge. “These do-good schemes are done to earn rewards in the after-life…,” they say. We have to agree. Religion is mostly motivated for gain. At least believers accept God as a provider and rewarder.

Atheistic scientists claim that their non-belief in God is not a school of thought, philosophy, creed or any other institutional cause. Yet the precepts of Darwin and other dogma written in school text books to influence young minds is not a part of this, is it? What about the profusion of scientific journals and media promotions and ‘God is dead’ arousals? I suppose these are not contributors either, are they?

People who believe, at least have some direction in their lives, motivated or not. The laborious task of finding solutions to the problem of life through masses of mathematical data, incredible engineering feats (Hadron Collider), extreme mental gymnastics, fantastic theory postulations and other ‘hard working’ chores makes it seem as if atheistic scientists are moving at a faster pace than believers. In reality, they are going nowhere in particular. How are devotees going to deal with this?

Wonderful Uncertainties

How certain are we about Bhakti and its philosophy? Perhaps too certain, in the way we portray it sometimes, especially to seekers of truth, like atheistic scientists. For them, it is the height of arrogance to claim certainty in knowledge. We know the answers to everything, right. Maybe not about the minutia of quantum theory and cosmology, but we might make up for what we don’t know and say, “Krishna is behind everything…” and pass that off as having an answer to all things. Intellectual cynics are not impressed by such certainty.

Intellectual cynics prefer that there be lots of unknowns within the world. That way they can explore, invent, and wonder in awe. If everything was certain and we knew the answers to everything, this would make our world a boring place. If there is utmost certainty in heaven or in our Shangri la spiritual realm, whatever it is, then that must be boring as well. In addition, because we, as practitioners of Bhakti can come across as knowing all the answers, this can augment their sense of boredom. In other words, if everything is perfect and known, this leaves no room for wonder, surprise, anticipation, renewed happiness and other emotions that make life exciting.

This state of affairs is what it is like living in the Brahmajyoti. Everything is fixed, certain and static as far as renewed happiness goes. It is not our aspiration to go there. This observation of intellectual cynics is a correct one. While they peer out into the night sky and gaze and wonder in sheer awe and amazement at the unknown, at least they are feeling something indirectly towards Krishna’s indirect presence.

For devotees who are disciples, a guru has to be certain. That certainty pertains to philosophy and finer aspects of Bhakti. Such certainty aids in imparting knowledge and wisdom. Once disciples have assimilated this, they pass it on. How we pass it on without being know-alls can help people become friends, and friends listen to friends, not to know-alls. While on the path of Bhakti, devotees continue to learn and wonder and take lessons from cats, dogs, spiders and atheistic scientists even, and all other of natures’ offspring.

If our aspiration is to go back to Godhead, then we have to also realise that that place, although perfect in every way, is full of wondrous uncertainty. Even Yogamaya Herself, who arranges pastimes for the Lord there, and knows the outcomes, still takes part in such pastimes and wonders like everyone else with uncertainty. All-knowing Krishna is forever wondering what will happen next as He plays with His devotees. This way, there is no limit to the excitement of being with Krishna. This should sound appealing to intellectual cynics, if we can give them faith through our friendly, reasonable ways of communicating God conclusions. As for Srila Prabhupada’s certainty, where he writes in his books, “this is a fact… That is a fact…” this is a hard act to follow.

Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa – GRS

Death and Dying in the Vedic Tradition

By Giriraja Swami

A talk presented to the doctors and nurses of San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine in San Diego, California.

It is a great pleasure for me to address you all here, especially because this hospice is recognized as one of the best and largest in the world and as the global leader in hospice education.

In the Bhagavad-gita, which is considered the essence of the Vedas, Lord Krishna informs us:

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam
tyajaty ante kalevaram
tam tam evaiti kaunteya
sada tad-bhava-bhavitah

“Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kunti, that state he will attain without fail.” (Gita 8.6)

anta-kale cha mam eva
smaran muktva kalevaram
yah prayati sa mad-bhavam
yati nasty atra samshayah

“And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Gita 8.5)

In 1969, when I was a student of psychology at Brandeis University, I met my spiritual teacher, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In 1970, after studying with him for a year and a half, I accompanied him to India. And in 1977, he taught us by his example how to leave the world in proper, pure consciousness. He retired to Vrindavan, a holy place in India, and surrounded himself with devotees who were always chanting or reading to him from sacred literature. Being in such a holy place was itself conducive to spiritual consciousness, to God consciousness. And the atmosphere was enhanced by loving disciples singing songs of the Lord and reading books about Him.

Some years later, one of my students, who was older than me, was diagnosed with cancer. She was a renowned artist from South Africa who would travel all over the world to find subjects for painting. At one point, she decided that she wanted to combine her spiritual interests with her artwork, and so she bought a plot of land in the same holy place, Vrindavan, to establish a studio, and she was kind enough to build a floor upstairs for me, for when I would visit. Although the doctors had given her six months, she actually lived for three years. For the last two or three months of her life, I was with her almost constantly, because the goal – not just in the Vedic tradition but in others as well – is to think of God, to chant the name of God or at least hear the name chanted, at the time of death, and I wanted to help her do that.

During the thirty years that I was based in India, I would travel frequently to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and in Pakistan I came across a book calledThe Ninety-nine Names of Allah. There is a similar work in Sanskrit called The Thousand Names of Vishnu (another name for Krishna) , the Vishnu-sahasra-nama. So, in The Ninety-nine Names of Allah there is a section about how a pious Muslim should meet death. The best thing a dying Muslim’s friends and relatives can do, the book states, is chant the names of God and help the loved one to either chant or at least hear others chant the name of God at the final moment. There is a similar tradition in the Jewish religion, where the ideal is that at the time of death the family and friends are chanting the name of God, or reciting a prayer that contains the name of God. I saw that the same tradition that we have in Vedic philosophy, in Krishna consciousness, is also there in Islam and Judaism, and it is there in other traditions as well.

With my student, we followed the same practice that we had seen with our spiritual master, and devotees would come and chant. The chanting can be done individually in a quiet, meditative way or communally and more loudly, with musical instruments. The whole idea is to help the person fix his or her consciousness on the Supreme and keep it fixed on the Supreme at the time of death. And along with the chanting is the reading and talking about God consciousness.

In Vedic culture, the time of death is considered life’s final test. In school we attend lectures, complete assignments, take quizzes, and write the midterm, but whether or not we graduate depends on whether we pass the final examination. In life, passing the final examination means thinking of God. That is why the whole focus at the time of death is to help the person remember God. And the other activities that we perform during our lives, besides freeing us from activities that will result in our taking birth again, are practice for thinking of God. And we get little tests along the way – sicknesses, setbacks, and various hardships. When we face them, do we remember God, or do we look only for material solutions? These are the tests along the way. And then the time of death is the final examination, and if we can remember God then, we graduate. We are free: no more material bodies, no more repetition of birth and death.

Dealing with Physical Pain

Lady (1): In the work we do we are often looking at physical pain. Should medication to alleviate physical pain and suffering be discouraged? Would it interfere with consciousness at the time of death?

Giriraja Swami: Very good question. The goal is to remember God at the time of death. So our general approach is that we want to take enough medication so that the pain is not so excruciating that our consciousness is just absorbed in the pain. But at the same time, we do not want to take so much medication that it dulls us to the point that we cannot really think of God. That is the delicate balance we try to achieve.

Gentleman (1): Is remembering God just saying the name or thinking the name of God, or is it something else – coming back into a state of divine consciousness where one actually feels a connection with God?

Giriraja Swami: All right, so what do we mean when we talk about remembering God? Now, God is a person – that is the first point. He is not a person like you and me, with a body made of flesh and bones. He is spiritual, transcendent. But He is a person. The Bible says, “Man is made in the image of God.” We are persons, and so our supreme father or mother must also be a person. This is a difficult point, because we are so conditioned by the material concept of personality that when we hear about God’s personality we think in terms of our material experience. Sometimes people think, “If you say that God is a person, you are limiting Him.” For example, I am sitting here. Because I am sitting here, I cannot be in the temple at Pacific Beach; I cannot be at my ashram in Santa Barbara. But God – He is a person, but He is in this room, He is in the temple in Pacific Beach, He is in Santa Barbara, He is in our hearts, He is in every molecule and every atom. But He is still a person.

Let us take the example of a person who holds a high office, say the president of a country. The term president describes his office. But there is also the person who occupies the office. And that person has a name, an appearance, and personal qualities; he or she engages in certain activities. When we remember the president . . . yes, there are things about the office that we consider, but to really remember the president means to know his name, his form, his features, his qualities, his activities. So, God, too, has a name – He has many names. And He has a form – many forms. And He has many qualities and engages in many activities.

The real goal is to love God, because when you love someone, you naturally think of the person. When we develop love for God, we will naturally remember Him and think of how beautiful His form is, how sublime His qualities are, how wonderful His activities are. We will like repeating His name, just as one would repeat the name of a loved one, and we will think how best we can serve Him and please Him.

But how can we know God well enough that we can actually come to love Him? Well, one distinction between Vedic literatures and other scriptures is that the Vedas give more details about the Personality of Godhead. They describe not just that He is the supreme authority, the creator, the maintainer, the destroyer, and the protector, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent – which He is – but also His personal attributes: His names, His forms, His qualities, and His activities. And when one comes to know Him in a more personal way and develops affection and attachment – love – for Him in a personal relationship, it is very easy to think of Him all the time, and very natural to think of Him at the time of death.
Comfort for Family Members

Gentleman (2): As hospice workers we work with the families of patients and deal a lot with the grief, the loss of the soul in this body that they have enjoyed in the physical context. It seems that after a loved one’s death, a family member could hear the name of God or think of the name of God, but because we’re outside of that person, we don’t know what he or she is actually feeling. So in what ways can we bring comfort and assurance to the family members? How can we support them in their grief and the loss of their loved one?

Giriraja Swami: The first instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, which is also a central principle in many other traditions, is that the person is not the body. The person is the soul living in the body. When the person leaves the body, we say that the person is dead, but actually the body was never really alive; it was just animated by the presence of the soul. At the moment the soul leaves the body, all the elements of the body are still there, lying on the bed. You may lament: “Oh, my husband is gone.” “My wife is gone.” But why do you say they are gone? The body is lying on the bed. You might have thought that the body was your husband or your wife or your father or your mother, but when they pass away, you say, “Oh, my father is gone.” “My mother is gone.” But the body is still there. So why do you say they are gone? Intuitively, we know that the person was not the body. That loved one is something other than the body that he or she now has left; that person is the soul.

When a person has led a good life, and even more so when he or she has tried to develop a relationship with God and hear the name of God and think of God at the time of death, we can be assured that the person will go to a better destination. There are many emotions. There is the sense of personal loss, that the person whom we loved and shared so many good times with is gone. Out of love, there is also concern. Where is the person now? But if we know that the person has gone to a better place, we feel solace. And in painful illnesses such as cancer, we may also think, “All right. The soul has left this body, and I am sad, but this body had become very difficult; it had become a painful place for the soul to inhabit, so it is actually better that the person has gone elsewhere.” The person, the soul, continues to exist. He or she has gone to live somewhere else, where there will be less pain and suffering.

Still, we do not deny the sense of personal loss. Even among transcendentalists there are various emotions. When a perfect yogi leaves the body, we know that the person is qualified to enter the kingdom of God, so we are happy. We are both – happy and sad. We are happy because we know that the person has gone to God, to serve God, but we are sad because we will miss the person’s association. Still, such departed souls, we believe, can inspire and guide their loved ones who remain behind.

Then there is also the idea that God is responsive to prayer. When a loved one leaves the body, we know that the soul exists somewhere. We don’t know where, but we want to help the soul, because we love that person. So we can pray to God, “Wherever my mother is now” – or my father or whoever – “please be merciful. Please help her come closer to You.” And I believe that those prayers will not only help the departed soul but will also give us a chance to continue the relationship and to try to help our loved one even after he or she has left the body.

Then there are the bereaved’s own spiritual practices – chanting or meditation or prayer or whatever. Yes, we are attached to and miss our loved one, but through genuine spiritual practice we come in contact with the Supreme. Of course, in the initial stage the bereaved may be too distraught. But then when we do engage in some practice that brings us in touch with God, we feel, “God is there. It is all right. God is taking care. My real relationship is with God. By God’s grace I can gain His shelter in the future.”

When the Dying Ask “Why?”

Dr. Bharadwaj: Many patients ask, “Why is this happening to me? Is God punishing me?” and this causes a lot of spiritual suffering. How would you approach this?

Giriraja Swami: If someone is suffering from a terminal disease, I would not get into the idea that God is angry with the person or is punishing him. Rather, I would say, “Anyone who takes birth in a material body has to die.” That is the point. “Birth, disease, old age, and death are inevitable for every conditioned soul. It may be this disease or that, it may be this symptom of old age or that, or it may be this or that way to death. But these factors are there for everyone. And now that you are in this position, you should use what time you have to develop your relationship with God, so that you do not have to take birth in another material body and suffer through the same cycle again.” And if patients feel some specific spiritual regret or guilt, we can hear them with empathy and help them work it out – perhaps take some practical measures to resolve it – and go beyond it.

As for the suffering, on the material platform its value is that it burns up bad karma. That is why many Hindus prefer to tolerate rather than protest, because they know that by tolerating their suffering they are exhausting their sinful reactions, and they feel that they would rather get it over with than try to postpone it and then have to suffer the bad karma later, in some other form. That is on the material platform. On the spiritual platform, the benefit is that suffering can serve to make us more detached from the body and from the world. We are trying to become transcendentalists, yet we still have material attachments. But when there is some upheaval or calamity, we can realize, “Yes, actually the material world is not a happy place. I should not be spending my energy trying to make it happy, because by nature it is not a happy place. I should be using my energy to realize the Supreme and get out of here.” Lord Krishna confirms in the Bhagavad-gita, duhkhalayam ashashvatam: “This material world is a place of misery, and it is temporary.”

Dr. Bharadwaj: A lot of patients fear that bad karma is causing their suffering.

Giriraja Swami: Well, it may be. Still, our teacher gave the example of someone drowning and another person coming in a boat to rescue him. The drowning person says, “Now, wait a minute. How did I get here?” But that is not the point. The rescuer would say, “Don’t worry about the past; we can talk about that later. You are drowning. Just get in the boat!” So, we are drowning in this body, in this samsara, this ocean of repeated birth, death, old age, and disease. Let’s not worry how we got here. Let’s try to get out. And it is never too late. That is the power of God’s name and God’s mercy. There are stories in the Vedic literature of people who were very sinful but at the last moment chanted God’s name and were delivered. So it is never too late.
Dying Young

Lady (2): A lot of our patients never make it to old age, and it’s very difficult for everybody – the patient’s family and us – when they seem to not complete, in our perception, their life. What’s the approach to that?

Giriraja Swami : Their destiny is caused by their activity, their karma. For whatever reason, they did something that is causing them to leave the body before the normal time. But the positive side – we always have to see the positive, the spiritual side – is that, depending on the circumstance, a younger person may be better equipped to think of God at the time of death than an older one who has lost more of his or her faculties. In fact, there is a Sanskrit prayer:

krishna tvadiya-pada-pankaja-panjarantam
adyaiva me vishatu manasa-raja-hamsah
prana-prayana-samaye kapha-vata-pittaih
kanthavarodhana-vidhau smaranam kutas te

The devotee prays to the Lord, “My dear Krishna, please let me die immediately so that the swan of my mind may be encircled by the stem of Your lotus feet. Otherwise, at the time of my final breath, when my throat is choked up, how will it be possible for me to remember You and chant Your holy name?” This may seem contrary to our materialistic culture, which is so preoccupied with pampering and preserving the body, with staying in the body as long as possible and squeezing out of it the last possible drop of pleasure. This prayer, in opposition to that mad, vain pursuit, offers a more philosophical perspective. It is a different perspective on dying, even before old age – one that is positive and spiritual.

Footnote on the opening page: Adapted from Life’s Final Exam: Death and Dying from the Vedic Perspective, edited by Giriraja Swami.

Dear devotees and friends, Another new ebook from the North European BBT!

We’re happy to announce that The Path of Perfection by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is now available in all flavors at bbtmedia.com. In February 1969 Srila Prabhupada gave a series of lectures on the yoga system as it is discussed in the sixth and eighth chapters of the Bhagavad-gita. The Path of Perfection is a collection of these talks.

The perfect life - the life that achieves the goal of yoga - is dynamic and full of activity, Srila Prabhupada says. It connects us with the Supreme Spirit in straightforward, practical ways and resonates with truth. These absorbing talks show us how the Gita's timeless teachings can help us walk the path of perfection.

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Hare Krishna,
Your BBTmedia team

Lecture on From Me to We by HG Ekalavya Prabhu on 29 Mar 2015 at Richmond Virgina

(Ekalavya Das was born in New York City, USA in 1965, the same year that ISKCON Founder Acarya, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada came to New York. His mother’s younger sister would regularly hear Srila Prabhupada’s Kirtans in Thomkins Square Park in 1966.)

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