To obtain liberation, or enter into an eternal relationship of service to Krishna, one has to engage in pure devotional service to Krishna — this is the only way to attain such liberation, says Madhvacarya.

We in the West often lament how secular our schools have become. Teachers and administrators rigidly enforce this. In the United States an organization called ‘Church and State’ exists solely to keep religion from interfering with governmental functions. The irony of this is that the founders of the USA put the establishment clause (separation of church and state) in the new nation-state’s constitution to keep the government from interfering with individual religious belief. In a public lecture in India, in 1972, Srila Prabhupada said, “Now, in our schools and colleges, if there is question of studying Bhagavad-gita, the state will not allow. Is it not.It is banned!”

(The following article was posted in the “Meditations” column of the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest English language daily newspapers, on 20 August 2003. JANMASHTAMI IS a magical time, for more reasons than one. The sacred holiday Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna on this earth at midnight, but the ocurrencs leading up to this event are as significant as the birth itself. Prior to Lord Krishna’s appearance, Devaki had lost six sons, murdered as infants by King Kamsa, Devaki’s brother. From the shastras we learn that these six had been the sons of Marichi, and that Lord Brahma had cursed them to be killed by Kamsa, who in a previous birth had been their father. These six sons also represent the sad garbasuras, or the human defects of lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion and envy. Devaki’s sons’ deaths by Kamsa symbolise overcoming these six faults within ourselves. Fortunately, Devaki is later reunited with her sons, as Lord Krishna and His brother Balarama retrieve them from Bali Maharaja, bringing them back to life. Even so, the sons represent flaws in our character, and their deaths at the hands of Kamsa signify the need for us to purify our consciousness. Their dying stands for eradicating the ‘demons’ of material association. Decontamination of human consciousness is necessary to cure the world’s ills. Janmashtami is really more than an observance in which joy and gladness reign in the soul for a day. Janmashtami is meant to purify the entire world for a long time by penetrating the remote recesses of consclousness. Gold is often obtained from smelting ore. Similarly, the essential goodness of human beings can be extracted from this sordid and negative age. Despite being infected through the modes of passion and ignorance, understanding the meaning behind Janmasthami is a failsafe process. Holidays are in fact holy days, times meant for us to revere and worship God, not only symbolically, but also literally. We understand His nature and birth from timeless writings like the Gita. In that book Krishna says, ‘One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, 0 Arjuna’. (4.9) Equally, if not more important than never taking birth in this world again, is improving the quality of life for the whole planet – a spiritual revival. This is the deeper purpose of Janmashtami. The writer is emeritus member of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission

(The following article was posted in the “Inner Voice” column of the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest English language daily newspapers, on 11 May 2004.) SUNIL TOLD Vasini he’d never give up fries. “And I never eat Big Macs,” he said. “We’re moving to Delhi next month,” Vasini reminded him for the third time that day. “At least Arti won’t mind, she’s doesn’t eat that stuff anyway” “I heard even the chips are cooked in beef tallow. OK, I don’t believe that, but what if it’s cooked in the same oil they make hamburgers in?” “It’s okay, I tell you. You’ll see. In Delhi, they don’t even use beef”. “I’m not feeding my daughter any of that stuff,” Vasini said, in a tone that hovered between annoyance and conviction. She looked sullen for few seconds, then added, “So you can do it because you’re an adult, but she can’t because she’s eight, is that it?” “It’s easier for kids”. “What’s easier?” asked Vasini. “You know, easier to, ‘give up’,” Sunil offered. “But we never gave her ground-up meat or anything like that her whole life,” said Vasini. “Anyway, she has the right to choose at some point”. This time there was a hint of acrimony in his otherwise matter-of-fact voice. “Let’s try to keep this philosophical, okay? It’s bad karma, you know that.” I’m not giving in, at least not completely, she thought. “I think you see omens everywhere,” Sunil muttered. There was a long pause. They stood at the doorway; watching children in the playground opposite their three-room flat. “I wouldn’t want to be eaten – dead or alive. That’s karma, and that’s philosophy,” said Vasini. “Maybe we can teach Arti that: how there’s a living soul in every creature and that God loves them just like we love her.” “That’s probably as good as anywhere to start,” Sunil said, almost inaudibly. (The, writer’ is emeritus member of the ISKCON governing body commission)

Have you ever been dehydrated? I mean REALLY dehydrated? It happened to me one day climbing Mount Baldy in California alone, in the hot summer. I had no water on me, and it was dry as a bone up there. On the way down, I felt a fatigue and a thirst like I’d never known. I thought to rest, but there was no shade, no vegetation – only dry hard dirt, small rocks and little clumps of brown grass. Not a spec of wind nor a tree in sight. And the sun was like an oven that just kept getting hotter. Each step became torture. I though I was going to die up there. I was sweating like a pig, praying for a stream. By God’s grace I finally found a brook. That afternoon I drank well over two gallons (eight liters) of water. Krishna says “I am the taste of water.” That day I finally realized what He meant.

Geometry? Boxes? Cubes? Graphics? Air Travel? Sight? Try this: “They [the gopis] began to draw lines on the ground with their toes, …” (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 30, Further Features of Ecstatic Love for Krsna; Anxiety.)

Srila Prabhupada summarises the situation world-wide as follows when he writes this about corruption: “At the present moment, however, there is no guarantee by the government of even the primary necessities of life in the state, namely, the protection of the lives and property of the citizens.” (Canto 4, Ch. 12, text 2/ purport.) Worldwatch and The Sunday Times of India give statistical details which differ regarding the most corrupt country. Firstly, The Sunday Times of India carried this report from Washington on 18 July 1995: “China, Pakistan and India are among the most corrupt countries in the world followed by Thailand, Italy and Mexico, a survey carried out in 41 countries has revealed. Indonesia tops the list of corrupt countries while the other countries in the bracket are Venezuela and Brazil, according to the survey conducted by Transparency International, which claims to be a global coalition against corruption in international business transactions. New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore and Finland are perceived to be the least corrupt, the report which was released here Friday said. According to international businessmen who were interviewed during the survey, there was no country which was entirely free of corruption but there were wide differences in degree. The US is more corrupt than New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Finland, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, UK, Germany and Chile, the report said.” My information from World Watch Ltd of Washington, D.C. supplies slightly different statistics about corruption, based mainly on surveys and polls related to bribe-taking. Listing the countries from the most to the least corrupted, they rated them as follows: First Nigeria, second and third Indonesia, fourth Colombia, and then the following: Russia, Kenya, India, Thailand, Mexico, China, Brazil, and last, South Korea. The least corrupt, starting with the least, were Denmark, Canada, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, the U.S., Chile, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia.

Srila Prabhupada is known for saying that temples aren’t places for “lazies and crazies.” This is a quote from the Narada Bhakti Sutra, “And Srila Prabhupada was also stern, cautioning his followers, ‘An easy-going life and Krsna consciousness go ill together.’ ” Another quote we have heard is this. “There are three types of people: those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who wonder, ‘what happened?'” Laziness can be in the form of mental laziness, and although “lazy intelligence” is sometimes glorified, it doesn’t mean “laziness.” Thinkers are at least mentally alert. Devotees are active in devotional service.

Although it is mostly clear and we walk in it and see through it every day, air is an element composed of gases, molecules and atoms. It’s also mentioned in the Gita as the element known as vayuh (7.4). Air is subtle and heavy and forms foam in water, which makes it both dry and wet at the same time. Understanding more about it has enabled human beings to fly. And air “conditioning” is something some people in hot climates say they can’t live without.

As evidence of empowerment, it’s significant how the Caitanya Bhagvat describes Kolaveca Sridhara’s prayers to Sri Caitanya. After the Lord commanded Kolaveca to recite prayers, Kolaveca said he was worthless, incompetent and unable to utter anything worthy of the Lord. But the Lord insisted, telling him to say anything, and He would consider it prayer. Then, according to Vrindava das Thakur, the goddess Sarasvati entered the tongue of Kolaveca Sridhara such that he began to speak more eloquently than anything he had ever known. His prayers are elegant, poetic, and pregnant with meaning, revealing fathomless depths of realization.