OK, I know he’s not exactly a bonafide source, but one of Oscar Wilde’s quotes remains relevant to western society. He remarked that we “know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” This reminds me how Prabhupada once described American ‘culture’ as “a society concerned only with manufacturing new cars and new skyscrapers every year and then breaking them to pieces and making new ones.” He said it “may be technologically advanced, but it is not a human civilization” (Srimad Bhagavatam 6.7.13 purport).

Shadow, shade, absence of light and night-time are frequently used to indicate evil and dishonesty, while light, brightness and daytime tend to symbolize goodness. One of Krsna’s qualities is the effulgence or jyoti that emanates from His body. Turning towards the sun rather that our shadow is a way of looking toward God rather than maya.

About 80% of first marriages at Bhaktivedanta Manor ended in divorce. This is an astonishing number, and fortunately the rate is lower now. But today, and for the next two days, I’ll cite some major reasons as to why marriage breakdown occurs. This is according to some writers who have analysed this, but of course they are many other reasons and some will be more specific to our ISKCON culture. The following three reasons, however, are important. The first reason is the “cost-benefit analysis,” meaning, “If it works for me, cool; if not I’ll trash it and move on.” (Amply supported by no-fault divorce laws current in many parts of the world.)

It’s been intimated that a disciple should anticipate the guru’s order or carry it out cheerfully, and that this is better than reluctantly carrying it out, or not doing it all. Looking for what Srila Prabhupada might have said on this topic, this is what I came up with: “A son who acts by anticipating what his father wants him to do is first class, one who acts upon receiving his father’s order is second class, and one who executes his father’s order irreverently is third-class, and one who refuses his father’s order is like his father’s stool.” (Translation to SB 9.18.44)

Srila Prabhupada has often written about the wonder of the seemingly infinite number of stars in the sky. In the West we learn about the Big and Little ‘Dippers,’ but in India children learn about the seven Rsis that constitute what westerners see as a cooking pot. The seven Rsis are mentioned in Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 9, Ch. 16 Verse 24 in this way: “Thus Jamadagni, being worshiped by Lord Parasurama, was brought back to life with full remembrance, and he became one of the seven sages in the group of seven stars.” In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada writes, “The seven stars revolving around the polestar at the zenith are called saptarsi-mandala. On these seven stars, which form the topmost part our our planetary system, reside seven sages: Casaba, Atria, Vasistha, Visvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni and Bharadvaja.”

A poetic Gita verse emphasizes the importance of seeing Krsna in everything. In BGAII 6.30, Krsna says to Arjuna, “For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.”

Webster defines as incorrigible those who are “bad beyond correction or reform.” But Krishna consciousness is so nice, that, in Srila Prabhupada’s words, “even those who are incorrigible, they can be devotee.” (Excerpted from a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.14, delivered on 17 August 1972 in Los Angeles.)

The global village we live in is a corporate dictatorship. Corporations tend to mistreat their employees, animals and the environment. They have large amounts of discretionary income at their disposal to brainwash consumers, and legally and illegally bribe governments to support them. Activism to stop this tendency has to be Krishna consciousness and educational based. Boycotting, protesting hi-profile, objecting on the Internet, etc., have been getting extremely limited results.

Although we sit in the still of twilight, placidly gazing at a beautiful sunset, we are hurtling through space at the rate of about 1000 miles per hour, based on the earth’s rotation. In addition, if we accept the theory that earth revolves around the sun (93 million miles away) in 365 days, we are also zipping through space at the rate of 66,705 miles per hour. But Krishna makes it seem like we’re not moving at all. Compare this to moving through the air at say 30,000 feet in a jet. It is noisy, vibrating and can be downright scary, especially in storms and other forms of turbulence.

To ask what is life, who is God, and who am I is a form of lateral thinking. Here’s a quote which I think helps people further understand the nature of “lateral thought.” “The pursuit of truth is like picking raspberries. You miss a lot if you approach it from only one angle.” Randal Marlin, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada