In one of several passages on the topic, Srila Prabhupada explains the principle of yukta-vairagya, like this: “If you are a singer, always glorify the Supreme Lord by singing very nicely. If you are a musician, glorify the Supreme Lord by playing musical instruments.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.12.34/purport)

In the material world we tend to take things for granted when we succeed at something. At such times one is prone to think, “I have done it. I have won.” In fact one should be grateful that Krsna has allowed for victory over material nature. Such triumphs are easily reversed. In the latter portion of the Bhagavad-gita we find three verses that recommend being equipoised in happiness or distress. Most people blame God for their misfortunes and credit themselves when destiny appears to smile on them.

Submitted 26 February 2002 THE PROBLEM of good and evil has plagued us since the beginning of recorded history. Youth, personal beauty, affluence, high intellect, and strength are good; old age, death, poverty, ignorance, and disease are bad. If our senses are pleased, we are happy, and life is good. If our senses are displeased, we are unhappy, and life is bad. No less an authority than the Encyclopedia Britannica states that “in monotheistic religions, evil does not originate within the divinity nor in general within a divine world.” Thus, God is barred from hell, an eternal realm of misery. But a post-modernist philosopher would say that there is a third, more enlightened state. This concept was glimpsed in Shakespeare’s Hamlet where it?s said, “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” The Vedas imply that good and evil do exist and that they arise from the same source. But how can an all-good God be the source of evil? Simply put, evil is the backside of God; we can face the sun or our own shadow. A mother sometimes punishes her child out of love. To save her child she may angrily jerk it out of the way of an oncoming car, or punish it for endangering itself when it puts its hand into a flame, or rotating fan. On the macrocosmic scale, mother Durga gives us freedom but also enough rope to hang ourselves. By using her devastating weapons, she teaches us that taking refuge in illusion is ultimately bad for us. In the Eastern tradition, the second aphorism of the Vedanta Sutra asserts that everything – even evil itself – emanates originally from God. This tradition further explains how bad behaviour and the whole material world of suffering stem secondarily from our selfish bodily desires, just to purify us of them. Shrimad Bhagawatam (3.14.27) says that no one in the material world is equal to or greater than Shivji and that his perfect character “is followed by great souls to dismantle their ignorance.” Still, he “remains as if a devil to give salvation to all devotees of the Lord.” Contrary to conventional western thought, it is not bodily comforts or pains that make for good or evil. Rather, perfection is obtained by knowing that pleasing the Supreme Lord is good, and that displeasing Him is bad. It is this standard alone that raises us above the bodily concept of life, into the dimension of the soul, far beyond the interchangeable goods and evils of the world. Service to God is the necessary reference point we need to distinguish good from evil ? for our own good. The writer is emeritus member of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission

The word “flutter” according to Random House Webster’s is to wave, flap, or toss about: as banners fluttering in the breeze; to move in quick, irregular motions; vibrate; to beat rapidly, as the heart; to be tremulous or agitated; to go with irregular motions or aimless course as to flutter back and forth. Srila Prabhupada has chosen the most poetic meaning of the word in this passage from the Teachings of Lord Caitanya, describing Lord Krsna: “There is a whirlwind at the sound of His flute, and those waves and that whirlwind make the hearts of the gopis FLUTTER like dry leaves on trees, and when those leaves fall down at Krsna’s lotus feet, they can never rise up again.

Once a leader in the San Franciso Haight-Asbhury of the sixties said to me, “Hey! We’re living in Kah-leefornia.” He thought it was great. But there’s some truth to his feeling. Although the iron age of quarrel is a miserable age in which to live, the Srimad Bhagavatam extols this yuga as being highly conducive to spiritual advancement. HH Hridayananda and company write, “It is stated here (11.5.36) that among the four ages—Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali—Kali-yuga is actually the best because in this age the Lord mercifully distributes the highest perfection of consciousness, namely Krsna consciousness, very freely.” The verse reads, “Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirtana.”

(This article was posted in the ?Meditations? column of the Hindustan Times on 2 December 2002.) BILL GATES is investing two thousand crore rupees (US$400 million) in India over the next three years, his foundation announced last month. The money is for ?boosting education, business partnerships, and software development.? This marks one of his largest outlays ever outside the US. Flashback to an ancient parable, sometimes referred to as andhapangu-nyaya or ?the logic of the lame and the blind.? The story is about a lame man who has keen eyesight, but can?t walk, and a strong man who is blind. Individually they are very limited. But when the lame person climbs on the shoulders of the sightless one, they function as a unit, and by cooperating achieve many wonderful things. That?s the fable. With a minor stretch of imagination we might think of India — metaphorically, of course — as the visionary but economically weaker country, and the US — as a culturally blind but financially strong nation, temporary as these designations are. And lest we forget, it is often repeated that ?poverty is the wealth of the Brahmin.? Co-operation is the key. If there is to be such a thing as a worldwide ?human family,? working together for the common good has to be more than mere formality. Carrying each other?s burdens is part of love. The ability to trust comes from practical experience, and from being trusted. There are no shortcuts. Another tune-honoured phrase is Bhava-grahi janardana. This refers to accepting another?s good intentions and presuming that his or her faults will be overcome in the end. It also means combining abilities and working as a team. Maybe this is overly optimistic and part of the world-through-rose-coloured-spectacles syndrome, but if reality checks are on board, then we can risk such leaps of faith. Gates? investment in this country can be seen, among other things, as a significant gesture toward harmonising the world?s two largest democracies. Leaders of nations can make a conscious effort to work together, or at least encourage their respective entrepreneurs to do so. Integrating the wealth of India?s culture with the strength of American technological progress can benefit millions. As the eternal children of a very rich Father, our horizons are virtually unlimited. (The writer is emeritus member of the ISKCON Governing Body Commission.)

On Janmashtami 21 August 1973 in London, Srila Prabhupada talked about Krishna consciousness solving all problems. He said this. “This movement can solve all the problems of life, all the problems in the world. Social, political, philosophical, religious, economical-everything can be solved by Krishna consciousness.

On a morning walk in Durban, Srila Prabhupada spoke about some of the British atrocities committed in India. One was that the British rulers cut off the thumbs of cloth weavers (presumably Gandhi-ites) so their protest against clothes made in Manchester would be undermined.

The beauty of devotees is nicely portrayed in the Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.20.13, when Sukadeva Goswami says: “As all creatures of the land and water took advantage of the newly fallen rainwater, their forms became attractive and pleasing, just as a devotee becomes beautiful by engaging in the service of the Supreme Lord.”

(The following article was posted in the “Meditations” column of the Hindustan Times, one of India’s largest English language daily newspapers, on 27 May 2003.) EVERY DAY about 3000 people worldwide die in auto mishaps. Reckless and drunken driving, speeding, and distraction greatly exacerbate this unfortunate phenomenon of our times. Even before the industrial revolution got under way, some scientists envisioned a future in which millions would traverse long distances almost instantly. From an environmental perspective, it’s notable that cars are now responsible for a third of global oil use. In Bangkok, congestion on roads is so great that many dress and feed their children on the way to school and work while riding in their cars. Is this rise of ‘car culture’ progress? Wisdom of the past says no. The Bhagavad speaks of ‘illusory happiness’ (Maya Sukhaya, 7.9.43), with solutions to problems creating greater problems. Cars, the machines Americans invented and mass-produced in the early 20th century, replaced horse-drawn carriages. But almost immediately they needed more roads. Then exhaust and the resultant air pollution became a problem. Costs to create and purchase devices to limit atmospheric contamination became a problem. Skyrocketing petrol prices became a problem. Because we’re bedazzled by the speed and privacy cars afford, the sense of power of being in the driver’s seat and all the other benefits to which we’re addicted, these problems seemed inconsequential. But Bhagavad Gita speaks of another energy (Anyam Prakritim, 7.5) that is above matter, of the living beings — the drivers — who, with all their imperfections, still remain superior to the things they invent, modify, and manipulate. They can use cars for a higher purpose. Autos have become a symbol of affluence. Without them, one can more easily transcend the widespread conditioning that tells us materially privileged circumstances are ends in themselves. Even for holistic health reasons, some car owners now prefer walking, cycling and public transport. But the Gita also asserts that one who ‘lights no fire’ and performs ‘no work’ is not a ‘true mystic’ (6.1). This forecasts action and utilisation of technology. Cars can be meditation chambers or prison cells. We can use them to expand our spirituality or watch ourselves pile up in hell. Cars are an intoxicating extension of our being. Drivers would be wise to sober up, and learn how to use their vehicles in the service of the Lord. (The writer is emeritus member of ISKCON Governing Body Commission)