How many times have we heard this quote attributed to Srila Prabhupada? Here’s what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said about this topic in his will: “The only duty of the most merciful persons is to transform the degraded taste of people. If you can save even one person from the fort of mahamaya, then that will be a greater act of philanthropy than opening millions of hospitals.”

The impersonalists are tempted to see Krsna everywhere, because they believe God is everything. The Vaisnava, on the other hand, sees Krsna as “the active principle in all movable and immovable living entites. Therefore he sees everything within this cosmic manifestation in relation to Krsna,” so write Srila Prabhupada’s servants, in the Tenth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.

Krsna can produce countless billions of universes just from His thoughts. So says Kolaveca Sridhar in Caitanya Bhagavat. What does our thinking – left to itself — do?

In reference to a “guru” and the “cheaters and the cheated” Srila Prabhupada said this: “He has come to cheat you, and why you are so befooled that you are being cheated?” (Denver, June 28, 1975)

Srila Prabhupada often said that if devotion is present, scholarship needn’t be accessed for Krishna consciousness. In one lecture, he quoted Krsnadasa Kaviraja’s verse, nitya siddha krsna prema (from Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya-lila, 22.107) and then said: “Udaya means awaken. The Krsna is there. In everyone’s heart. It is dormant. Simply by sravanadi, by pure hearing process… Just like a man is sleeping. The consciousness is there, but he appears to be unconscious. He is sleeping. But if somebody calls him, Mr. such and such, wake up, wake up. Wake up.' So after two, three callings, he wakes up. He remembers,Oh, I have got to do so many things.’ Similarly, the Krsna consciousness is dormant in everyone’s heart. This Hare Krsna mantra is the process of awakening. That’s all.”

According to some historians, the British sugar plantations in the Caribbean were the beginning of the British empire. In 1750, the British developed huge cane plantations, importing millions of Africans as slaves to harvest the fields and process the cane. This form of capitalism turned the luxury of sugar into a necessity for millions of Britons. Adam Smith, the so-called father of capitalism, author of Wealth of Nations and ideologue of the “invisible hand,” thought it would all work out well in the end, and that the empire would preserve “liberty.” Sounds familiar?

Published 11 October 2001 RESEARCH SHOWS that the countries with the largest percentage of women in business, government and education are Sweden, Norway, Denmark and New Zealand. But are these truly the marks of “freedom” and even if India comes further down the list, does that mean that its women are less free? The Vedas teach that Krishna has an eternal, equal, female counterpart, Radha, who is the personification of love of God. God is, therefore worshipped in the dual Radha-Krishna form. Throughout history, there have been great women devotees of the Lord, who are honoured and respected. On the spiritual platform, men and women are considered equal, with the same opportunity for spiritual progress through bhakti-yoga. There were, however, different gender roles. In an ideal Vedic society, the economy was household-based and husbands and wives were partners, according to their social status. The economic base of society was primarily agricultural and centered around households. This meant that both men and women would be part of the same economic unit, though with different roles. Generally, men would be involved in ploughing and herding cows, and women would be involved in activities around the household. Kshatriyas would be involved in military and administrative affairs. With time women also became engaged in fighting and ruling but continued to be loyal assistants to their husbands. At the same time they also played a role appropriate to their status as queens, princesses, etc. The wives of brahmins would assist their husbands in the performance of religious rituals and teaching. In each case, the men and women would be partners in a particular activity of their social order, but with different roles in the partnership. In the modern West-influenced society, India has made adjustments. The economy is not totally agricultural or household-based. So Indian citizens might follow the standard patterns of either both husband and wife working at some occupation away from the household, or the husband pursuing a career while the woman stays at home and takes care of the children. But men and women, as in the Vedic society, have equal access to spiritual wisdom. According to tradition and philosophy, women may take the position of the guru, or spiritual master, and this has already taken place. In our society we have seen women occupy positions of importance in the government. But the eternal question remains whether Indian women are freer than ever?

Here’s a nice passage from Krsna Book, which describes how clouds once poured flowers instead of water. “The cloud and Krsna, having the same bodily color also, are considered to be friends. Desiring to congratulate its superior friend, the cloud poured not water but small flowers and covered the head of Krsna just like an umbrella to protect Him from the scorching sunshine.”

According to Dan Brown, author of the best-selling book, “The Da Vinci Code,” antimatter is so powerful that one droplet of it could power New York City for a full day and that a single gram of it contains the energy of a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb – the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Quite literally – for many years – I’ve been trying find a citation about “cooperation,” something that Srila Prabhupada is reputed to have emphasized. Here’s one I found in the Bhaktivedanta Veda Base: “You are all my limbs of my body. Unless you cooperate, my life will be useless.” (letter to Brahmandanda, dated 17 July 1968.)