Essence of Srivaishnavam Practices – Sri Krishna & Janmashtami (Gokulashtami)

Sri Krsna Sri Jayanthi

History, Practices & Festival of Sri Jayanthi known as Sri Krsna Janmashtami Janmashtami / Gokulashtami, Sri jayanthi – MunithrayaSri Jayanthi on 30.08.2021 Ahobila Madam/Pancharatra Sri Jayanthi on the 31.08.2021

“Lord Sri Kriskna”  Lord Krishna appeared over five thousand years ago in Mathura, India to Devaki and Vasudeva in the jail cell of the tyrant Kamsa. The place of His birth is known as Sri Krishna Janmasthana. He appeared with His brother Balarama in response to the demigods’ prayers for protection from the widespread influence of demonic administration on earth. Previously, the demigods and demons had been at war in the heavens. When the demons were defeated by the demigods, they decided to instead attack this planet earth. Thus, they invaded the earth by discretely taking birth as princes in powerful royal families of the time.And as the earth became overrun by militaristic activities of these kingly demons, the demigods including the Earth goddess earnestly sought Lord Visnu’s protection. Seeing the deteriorating social and political conditions and hearing the prayers of the demigods, the all-compassionate Supreme Lord Sri Krishna decided to descend for the benefit of all. The Supreme Lord descends from time to time in this material world to reestablish the teachings of the Vedas. In His Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna promises: “Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion– at that time I descend Myself. To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear millennium after millennium.” (Sambhaavami Yuge, Yuge)Although eternal the Lord appears in specific circumstances out of mercy for His devotees. In fact, His principal biography, the Srimad Bhagavatam states, “the learned men describe the births and activities of the Unborn and Inactive.” Therefore, although He appears within the material dimensions of time and space, He is most definitely not of it.Historically, Lord Krishna appeared on the midnight of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Sravana. This corresponds to July 19th 3228 BC. He exhibited His pastimes for a little over 125 years and dissappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the new moon night of Phalguna. (His departure marks the beginning of the current age of corruption known as Kali.)The great scholar Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti neatly outlines Lord Krishna’s activities in this way: the first three years and four months were spent in Gokula, then equal lengths of time in Vmdavana and Nandagram, eighteen years and four months in Mathura , and finally ninety-six years and eight months in Dvaraka totalling 125 years of manifest pastimes. See the Krishna-lila chart. Lord Krishna’s early pastimes are briefly summarized at the website Krishna’s Adventures in Vraja”During this childhood time , He grew up as the son of His foster parents Nanda and Yasoda in the midst of the idyllic beauty of Gokula, Vrindavana, and Nandagram. Not only did He destroy numerous demons, but also performed His famous rasa dance.Krishna enjoyed the dance of love (rasa-lila) with the gopis many of whom are expansions of His own internal energies. The supreme gopi known as Srimati Radharani is the object of Krishna ‘s highest devotion. This beautiful dance would occur in the autumn season at night under a full moon when Lord Krishna would captivate the young gopis with the extraordinary music of His flute . These esoteric pastimes constitute the most confidential expression of divinity ever revealed.Usually the conception of sprirtual perfection consists of overwhelming feelings only of awe and reverence at God’s majesty. However, in these pastimes each devotee loves God either as a master, a best freind, a mischievous son, or even as an intimate lover, thus revealing the infinite possibilities of divine love. These early pastimes of Lord Krsna in Vrindavana illustrate the extraordinary intimacy that one can have with God. These pastimes are described in detail by Sri Visvantha Chakravarti in his Sri Krishna Bhavanamrta Mahakavya.When Krsna and Balarama were older, They were invited to Mathura , where Karnsa, Their demonic uncle, was planning Their death in a wrestling match against two large and powerful wrestlers. When Kamsa saw his wrestlers defeated, he ordered his friends to drive the brothers out of Mathura , plunder the riches of Their cowherd friends, and kill Their fathers, Nanda and Vasudeva. However, Krishna immediately killed Kamsa and Balarama killed his eight brothers. Lord Krishna then established the pious King Ugrasena as the emperor of several kingdoms. In Mathura, both Krishna and Balarama were initiated by Gargamuni in the Gayatri mantra> Later They went to live under the care of Sandipani Muni who instructed Them in all the Vedic arts and sciences in sixty-four days and nights especially in military science, politics and spirituality. As an offering (guru-daksina) to Their teacher, They recovered his son from death. Although God does not need instruction from anyone else, Lord Krsna and His brother set the perfect example : one must accept instruction from and serve a bona-fide spiritual master to advance in spiritual life.For the next eighteen years, They continued to live in Mathura halting the impending threat of many demonic kings. Later in Their pastimes Lord Balarama married a princess named Revati. Lord Krsna married many queens, the foremost among them being the extraordinarily beautiftil Queen Rukmani. (See Sri Rukmani website for the story of Their marriage). Both Krishna and Balarama established Their palaces in Dwaraka off the coast of western India , where They enjoyed married life for many years. Although They were married, Lord Krishna and Lord Balrama exhibited the quality of detachment from material life perfectly.When They were about ninety years old, the great world war of Kuruksetra took place. This climactic battle brought together all the major world leaders. Lord Krsna took the role of a charioteer on the side of the pious Pandavas, while Lord Balarama refusing to participate went on a pilgrimage tour thereby blessing the entire land of India . At the start of the war, Lord Krishna displayed His stupendous Universal Form delivered His famous message known as the Bhagavad-gita, literally the Song of God. This Song contains the essence of all knowledge having been spoken by the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Himself. This war concluded with the destruction of the demonic kings and the reinstatement of the righteous Pandava princes. Having completed Their mission, Balarama and Krsna resumed Their life in Dvaraka where They spent some thirty-five more years before ending Their earthly manifest activities The foremost description of Lord Krishna’s activities occurs in the Srimad Bhagavatam, literally “the Beautiful BooK of God”.    Janmashtami celebrates the birth of one of the most famous Gods of Hindu religion, Bhagwan Krishna, on the eighth day (Ashtami) in the month of Sravana or Savana. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the ‘Rohini’ nakshatram (star). It is generally celebrated in the month of August-September according to the Christian Calendar. Legend has it that Sri Krishna was born on a dark, stormy and windy night to end the rule and atrocities of his maternal uncle, Kansa. Position of Stars at the time of Birth: It was only on the eighth day of the second fortnight, in the month of Sravana when, the moon entered the house of Vrishabha in Rohini Nakshatra (star) that Lord appeared. According to Barhapatyamana, the month of Sravana corresponds to the month of Bhadrapada Krishnapaksha. Lord was born in the year of Visvavasu, appx. 5,227 years ago. Celebrated for over Two Days:Janmashtami is celebrated for over two days as “Rohini” nakshatra and Ashtami may not fall on the same day. The first day known as Krishnashtami, as the birth of Bhagwan Krishna falls on the eighth day after Raksha Bandhan, which generally falls in the month of August. The second day is known as Kalashtami.Welcome the Lord at Midnight: It is only at midnight between the first and the second day that birth of Sri Krishna took place. The actual festivities begin during midnight in this 48 hour period. The celebration reaches its peak at midnight, with the birth of Lord Krishna, with lot of hymns, arti taking place and blowing of the Conch (shankh), rocking the cradle of Lord. The idol of lord is bathed with Panchamrit (A mixture of milk, ghee, oil, honey and Gangajal). The Panchamrit is later distributed as Prasad to the devotees along with other sweets. While some Fast on the first day and break it at midnight for others the fasting continues for both days. The period coincides with rainy season. Jai Shri Kriskna

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Pongal is not a festival celebrated only in the south. It is also celebrated in the north of India, by the name of ‘Makkar Sankrati’. The word ‘Pongal’ basically means ‘boiling over’ and it marks the beginning of the harvest festival.

Legend

Traditionally there are four days of Pongal. In the villages ,basically each family has its own god and goddesses and therefore the celebrations vary in each household. However, everyone happily partakes in the celebrations of all the four days.

Here are two legends attached to the festivals:

        The most popular legend is the one connected to the first day when the rain god ‘Indra’ is worshipped. According to this legend it was on this day that lord Krishna lifted the Govardhan Mountain to shelter his people to save them from being washed away by the rains and the floods.

          Another well known legend is associated with the third day of Pongal (Mattu Pongal, or Cow Pongal) says that lord Shiva once asked his faithful bull ‘Nandi’ to go to earth and tell the people that they should have an oil bath every day and eat food only once in a month. But I guess Nandi turned out to be a confused fellow as he told the people that they should eat food daily and take oil bath once a month! This definitely displeased Shiva and he decreed that, since the people would now need to grow more grains, Nandi would have to remain on earth and help them plough the fields. And so the poor bull has roamed the earth forever. Gee.., all that for getting a message wrong?

Rituals
Day 1

Like any other Indian festival, the rituals of the Pongal festival are quite elaborate. The day begins with the purification process of the soul and the mind by people taking an oil bath in sesame (’til’) seed oil. This is followed by huge bonfires where all the unwanted rubbish of the house, like old mats, clothes etc., is thrown into the fire. (The day before, the women have already cleaned their houses, and preparations were made for the big puja, the religious offering ceremony, which is performed on first day of Pongal itself.) Very early in the morning kolams (patterns in rice flour) are drawn to decorate the front of the houses, doors are sprayed with vermilion and sandalwood paste, and garlands of leaves and flowers adorn each and every home.

On this first day, Bhogi Pongal, the rain god is worshipped. Apart from a collective ceremony in the temple of the village, there is lots of merrymaking and feasting on freshly harvested crops; old earthenware pots and other utensils are broken and potters are asked to supply new stock. It’s the time of the year when the new replaces the old..

Day 2

The second day, Surya Pongal, is dedicated to the sun god. On this day, sweet rice known as ‘Pongal’, is cooked in a new earthenware pot which is placed where the puja is to be performed. Fresh turmeric and ginger are tied around this pot. Then a delicious concoction of rice, moong dal, jaggery and milk is boiled in the pot on an open fire. According to the ritual, this Pongal rice is allowed to boil and spill over. Once the rice is cooked, it is tempered with cashew nuts and raisins fried in ghee. When the Pongal dish is ready, it is offered to the sun god on a new banana leaf along with other traditional delicacies, like vadas, payasam, etc. Some people go to their plots of land to spray some of the Pongal water on their fields.

Day 3

The third day of Pongal is known as ‘Mattu Pongal’ or the ‘Pongal of the cattle’. On this day the bullocks from all the houses are gaily caparisoned with beads, bells and flowers. Their horns are painted and capped with gleaming metals and colourful plastic balloons. Throughout the day the cattle is paraded on the streets and in some areas the famous southern bull fights take place: a vicious bull is chosen and a handsome amount is tied around their horns and anyone who can tame the bull gets to keep the prize.

In the villages ,  bullock cart races are held, with families or groups of youth stacked onto the carts that go racing throughout the area, shouting: Pongal, Pongaloo..! There is happiness and excitement in the air..

Day 4

On the fourth day of Pongal sisters visit their brothers. On this day the youngsters take a holy dip in the sea. Those who don’t want to get into the rituals of a festival also hang around the beach, just for fun with their family or friends. In the villages, shopkeepers give gifts or a bonus to their employees to show their gratitude for the hard work they have done through out the year.

Throughout the four days of Pongal there is exchange of sweets and presents between family, friends, neighbours, employers and employees, as a symbol of unity and tradition that is passed down to new generations. During all these four days, they decorate their home portico and front portions with a larger size of artistic drawings known as Kolam in Tamil and Rangoli in Hindhi. Mainly, these drawings are drawn using Rice flour and mix it with turmeric powder and red sand powder to give a colorful effect.

These festivals not only bind us together but also bring us together in the joy of reaping the fruits of our hard work and labour, together as a family … the way India has always been. And it is time for BONUS for every other craftsmen, flower-sellers, Artisans, musicians who plays yester-years music instruments, and all the ones who involved in making the societies’ need filled. Yes, every one will be getting a new order for the coming days, for a full one years need from these persons and offering them an additional bonus voluntarily. It is known as Pongal Inaam!

Makar Sankranti marks the commencement of the Sun’s journey to the Northern Hemisphere (Makara raasi ), signifying the onset of Uttarayana Punyakalam, and is a day of celebration all over the country. The day begins with people taking holy dips in the waters and worshipping the Sun.

The Indo Gangetic plain begins this day with taking dips in the Ganga and offering water to the Sun god. The dip is said to purify the self and bestow punya. Special puja is offered as a thanksgiving for good harvest.

Maharashtra – when two persons greet each other on this festive day, they exchange a few grains of multi-coloured sugar and fried til mixed with molasses.

Gujarat – In a Hindu household, new utensils are purchased and used for the first time. Brightly coloured kites dot the skies on this day.

Karnataka – men, women and children attired in colourful tunics visit friends and relatives and exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried til, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram. The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all the dealings. Cows and bulls are given a wash and the horns are painted with bright colours and decorated with garland, and are taken in a procession in the village to the accompaniment of pipes and drums.

Assam’s ‘Bihu’ involves the early morning worship of Agni, the god of fire followed by a nightlong feast with family and friends. Bengal’s ‘Makar Sankranti’ entails the preparation of traditional rice-sweets called ‘Pittha’ and the holy fair – Ganga Sagar Mela at the Ganga Sagar beach. And in Andhra Pradesh it is celebrated as ‘Bhogi’, when each household puts on display its collection of dolls.

Punjab: The same festival is celebrated as “Baisaki”.

Srivaishnavam  Parambaryam, Traditions &  The Culture that stands Class apart from others.

Essence of Srivaishnavam Practices – Introduction.

Harinama Kirtanam

The Kalisantarana Upanisad gives the following process for attainment of spiritual perfection. “There is no other way, no other way and no other way to attain self-realization in this age of Kali yuga but only by the chanting of the holy name, chanting of the holy name, chanting of the holy name”.

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha

By Shri ARd – Nitai Das Prabhu

 
DELIBERATION ON CHANTING OF THE HOLY NAME

The glorious Ananta Sesa glorifies the holy name already from the time immemorial and still he did not finish the glorification. So, what we can mention here are only few small drops of nectar about the unlimited glorifications of the holy name as we heard them from the Vedic wisdom and spiritual masters.  This time we will do it in the form of questions and answers. Hare Krishna.

Q. Why is the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead praised so much and considered by all the saints and scriptures in the east and west to be the easiest and surest way to attain God realization?

A. First of all, when you say ‘all the saints’ we have to make a distinction between those who are personalists and the imperosnalists. The imersonalists are also chanting the holy name om just as devotees chanted it in the Satya-yuga of course, their understanding was that the om refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Vasudeva. Nowadays when the impersonalists are explaining the omkara they will say it refers to the impersonal energy of the Supreme. Further, they say tOat because the syllable om was the first sound vibration from which the creation of the universe has begun, liberation can be attained only by the utterance of this omkara and being completely absorbed in it. The Srimad Bhagavatam (12.6.37-39) gives the following description of this:

“Suta Gosvami said: O brahmana, first the subtle vibration of transcendental sound appeared from the sky of the heart of the most elevated Lord Brahma, whose mind was perfectly fixed in spiritual realization. One can perceive this subtle vibration when one stops all external hearing.”

“By worship of this subtle form of the Vedas, O brahmana, mystic sages cleanse their hearts of all contamination caused by impurity of substance, activity and doer, and thus they attain freedom from repeated birth and death.”

“From that transcendental subtle vibration arose the omkara composed of three sounds. The omkara has unseen potencies and manifests automatically within a purified heart. It is the representation of the Absolute Truth in all three of His phases-the Supreme Personality, the Supreme Soul and the supreme impersonal truth – Brahman.”

  Even in the Bible we find a similar statement:

“In the beginning there was a word, the word was with God and the word was God.”

So, the impersonalists preach that meditation on ‘Om’    and absorption in it is their liberation. Maharisi Mahes yogi, Muktananda, Vivekananda and different yoga schools all teach the same. They do not accept the personal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His divine activities and various incarnations, but still they chant Om which refers to God.

 Now, the devotees have very simple reason to take to the chanting of the Holy name – Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada explains that “Omkara is a mantra, or maha-mantra, and Hare Krishna is also a maha-mantra. The purpose of pronouncing omkara is to address the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva (om namo bhagavate vasudevaya). And the purpose of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is the same. Hare: “O energy of the Lord!” Krishna: “O Lord Krishna!” Hare: “O energy of the Lord!” Rama: “O Supreme Lord, O supreme enjoyer!”

This chanting for the devotees is just like the child’s calling of the mother or father. In the Srimad Bhagavatam (6.11.26) Vritrasura, before his death, prayed in the following way:  

“O lotus-eyed Lord, as baby birds that have not yet developed their wings always look for their mother to return and feed them, as small calves tied with ropes await anxiously the time of milking, when they will be allowed to drink the milk of their mothers, or as a morose wife whose husband is away from home always longs for him to return and satisfy her in all respects, I always yearn for the opportunity to render direct service unto You.”

Jesus Christ similarly said: “Verily I say unto you, except those who are transformed and are like little children none shell enter into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child, will similarly become great in the kingdom of heaven.”

(St. Matthew 18.3-4)

  One is therefore, assured by the Supreme Lord Himself that He will come to one who calls out for Him with all his hearth and soul. For example, in Sri Vrindavana, the dearest place of Krishna, the devotees say that Krishna is hiding in the bushes of Vrindavana and if they chant His name loudly He will come along with His associates. Actually, Krishna Himself said that He don’t like to be there where the yogis meditate on Him but rather, where His devotees are chanting His holy name. In this Age of degradation the most effective way to get result of chanting is to chant together with other devotees, as many as possible. Interestingly this is encouraged even in the Bible (St. Matthew. 18.20): “.where two or three persons come together in My name (or to chant My name), there am I in the midst of them.”

Q. Can you prove scientifically the efficacy of the Divine Holy Name?

A. The material science and Jiva Goswami as well say that material sound has also a form. For example, when we speak, the sound is produced by the vibration or disturbance of the air and the ether and thus waves of different frequencies are created. This wave frequencies have their beginning and end and thus also a form. A well known examples are the forms of radio frequencies, which, when received by the radio, are turned into sound. Similarly in the Vedic scriptures it is said that all the Vedas, mantras, Puranas, have their forms. In the Srimad Bhagavatam-mahatmya of Padma Purana (3.15) it is said: “All Upanisads, Vedas, Mantras, Tantras, seventeen Puranas, and the six scriptures (six schools of philosophy) – all with their forms went to hear the discussion on the Srimad Bhagavatam.”

  Now, just like the radio frequencies can be received only by a radio, the pure spiritual sound vibration, the holy name of Krishna can be received only by a divine element the soul. As material sound elevates the consciousness from deep sleep and dreaming to wakefulness, so spiritual sound lifts consciousness from matter and mind to the self’s eternal connection to Krishna. In other words, when the holy name purifies the spirit soul it awakens its dormant love for Krishna what ultimately results in the experience of unlimited spiritual bliss of loving relationship with Krishna.       

Q. Why is the chanting of the holy name better practice than any other practice?

A. By other practices like giving charity, performing various sacrifices, study of the Vedas the sins are destroyed, but the inclination to again commit sin is not destroyed. This is nicely explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam (6.2.46): “Therefore one who desires freedom from material bondage should adopt the process of chanting and glorifying the name, fame, form and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at whose feet all the holy places stand. One cannot derive the proper benefit from other methods, such as pious atonement, speculative knowledge and meditation in mystic yoga, because even after following such methods one takes to fruitive activities again, unable to control his mind, which is contaminated by the base qualities of nature, namely passion and ignorance.”

Therefore, all material pious activities bring only temporary results. The holy name is so powerful that no other processes are equal to it, and only by chanting the holy name everlasting result is attained as it is declared in the essential teachings of all devotional scriptures.   

Q. Is there some other special effect of the holy name?

A. In the history we can read about some great saints like Mirabhai, Nanak, Tukaram etc. who went back to the spiritual abode with their spiritualized body. Their bodies turned spiritual because of the chanting of the holy name of the Supreme Lord till the last moment of their life. Therefore, it is obvious that by the power of the holy name the inanimate objects can become spiritualized.

Q. Is it necessary to have knowledge about the holy name?

A. “As a fire burns dry grass to ashes, so the holy name of the Lord, whether chanted knowingly or unknowingly, burns to ashes, without fail, all the reactions of one’s sinful activities.”

  “If a person unaware of the effective potency of a certain medicine takes that medicine or is forced to take it, it will act even without his knowledge because its potency does not depend on the patient’s understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the value of chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or unknowingly, the chanting will be very effective.” (SB 6.2.18, 19)

  As it is obvious from these passages, it is not necessary to have knowledge about the holy name but still there is no doubt that transcendental knowledge can create faith in the holy name and purify the motivation of our chanting. For example, chanting while maintaining material desires is called chanting with offenses – namaparadha. In this level of chanting the holy name will fulfill the material desires of the chanter but it will not give the ultimate goal of the chanting which is love for Krishna. When one begins to chant namabhasa or without offenses the holy name can award liberation. However, only when one chants the pure holy name, the holy name will bestow pure devotion of Krishna and the vision of the Lord. To attain this highest level of chanting one need to acquire the knowledge about the soul, God and the material world.

Q. Is it necessary to meditate on the Divine form of the Supreme Lord while chanting?

A. No. One should just endeavor to focus the mind on hearing of the holy name and the time will come when the holy name will reveal to the chanter the form, qualities, pastimes and the supreme abode of Krishna. At that time one will automatically be able to remember and thus meditate on the form, pastimes, associates and the abode of the Lord while chanting of the holy name.  Such chanting with remembrance is more advanced than chanting without remembrance where there is disharmony between mind and the speech. But once more to emphasize, this remembrance of the form will be revealed to the chanter only after long practice of attentive hearing of the holy name. Nothing else is more necessary. 

Q. Why is the mind more disturbed while chanting the holy name?

A. First of all the Holy name cleanses all the impurities of the mind. During this process it looks like the mind becomes disturbed. But one should remember that the disturbance is not because of the holy name. As one continues chanting the disturbance will go away. Just like the dirty cloth is washed out nicely with soap; similarly while chanting all the dirt of the mind will come out and ultimately washed away. There are some additional methods to make the chanting easier for the sake of attaining its ultimate goal. If the mind is not steadily fixed on chanting one should eat less, control his sleep, be equal to pleasure and pain etc. This is confirmed by the Lord in the Bhagavad-gita (6.17): “He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.”

Further, it is also helpful to have full knowledge of self-realization and unhesitatingly go and participate in congregational chanting of the holy name.

Q. Which of the two type of chanting is better – congregational or individual japa?

A. Sri  Laksmidhara, who is also mentioned in Srila Rupa Gosvamis Padyavali, explained that in order to attain liberation by chanting one have to control his mind, to be pure, to practice silence, should have knowledge of the meaning of the mantra, and not to be depressed.

  Now, Sanatana Goswami in his Sri  Brihad Bhagavatamrta gives some important points about the superiority of kirtana or congregational chanting to individual meditation or japa. He writes that when kirtana or loud chanting with devotees manifests on the tongue-the sense organ of speech simultaneously illuminates the mind. Only after illuminating the mind the holy name can enliven other sense organs as well. Further, he says that the sound of kirtana doesn’t benefits only the ears of the performers but of all those people who have a good fortune to hear it. This is not possible by practicing soft chanting and remembrance. He also points out that remembrance cannot be successfully and properly practiced as long as the mind is flickering. Kirtana is the best way to cure this tendency of the mind. Therefore, by observing real silence, namely the loud chanting of the holy name, the mind gradually, more and more becomes steady and thus one will be more and more able to remember Krishna. Thus, remembrance of Krishna is the result of kirtana.

  The external organs like e.g. the eyes and ears etc. and the internal organs like the mind and intelligence are all moved by the chanting in kirtana because their nature is to get excited by the action of the tongue. Thus all the senses become engaged in kirtana. With the hands the devotee plays musical instruments, with the tongue he chants, with his eyes he looks at the beautiful form of Krishna’s Deity etc. In this way the mind is more easily controlled by performing kirtana than by doing japa. Moreover, while japa there is a possibility to fall a sleep but in the kirtana one becomes very attentive. Therefore, all the devotees should perform kirtana every day for few hours and of course chant individually on their beads. Performing kirtana will improve ones japa chanting and proper japa chanting will make one eager to participate in kirtana.    

Q. Is kirtana better than meditation?

A. It is said that the most abominable sin of this age of degradation – Kali-yuga – is destroyed by the great power of kirtana alone and not by anything else like meditation, giving charity, study of the Vedas etc. Conclusively kirtana is better than meditation. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavat-mahatmya of the Padma Purana where it is said that ‘the result of Keshava (Krishna) kirtana in this age of degradation cannot be attained by performance of austerities, meditation or Samadhi (absorption).’

Does this mean now that meditation is worthless and should be neglected? Not at all. In the Srimad Brihad-Bhagavatamrita (2.3.153) the residents of Vaikuntha say: “Sankirtana expands the joy of meditation and meditation the sweet joy of sankirtana. In our experience, the two methods fortify one another and are therefore actually one.”

  Here we should mention that one can attain success in meditation only by practicing it in secluded lonely place and not otherwise. Of course, the obstacles to attain perfection in this practice are many. Amazingly however, sankirtana can be performed both in secluded or a public place in the company of many others. Thus, whatever are the obstacles to meditation are not obstacles to sankirtana; and moreover they contribute to its success. Conclusively, as in performing kirtana there are no obstacles, kirtana is better than solely performance of meditation.

Q. It is said that any person becomes liberated just by once uttering the holy name of the Supreme Lord. Isn’t it that the existence of the hell becomes meaningless as every person must have uttered the holy name once in the life?

A. There are several reasons why the existence of the hell is not meaningless. For example, although previous sins are destroyed by uttering the holy name, after that one can again continue with his sinful activities. Moreover, one has to suffer for the offences to saintly persons and ultimately, because not all the people will constantly chant the holy name the existence of the hell is not meaningless.

A. If everybody would perform kirtana since it is the easiest practice, would not other practices of religious life become meaningless?

Q. Unfortunately many different people have many different inclinations and not all of them believe that the chanting of the holy name is the easiest way for spiritual elevation. Thus, they are not interested in kirtana. They have more faith in other practices described in the Vedas and thus, those paths of karma, jnana, yoga etc. are not meaningless.    

Q. If the sins are destroyed by chanting the holy name even without faith, what is the necessity of performing kirtana with faith?

A. Although the performance of kirtana without faith can destroy sins still, if the chanter doesn’t have faith he will feel depressed. To remove this depression he should chant kirtana with faith. Actually, to destroy sins chanting without faith is sufficient but to get liberation or love of Godhead one should develop faith.

  Chanting the holy name once without regard to the chanters faith, knowledge, detachment, place, time etc. destroys all the previous sins except the offence against the great soul or devotees.

  It is interesting that the holy name destroys as much stock of our previous sins as much we have faith in the holy name. In other words, chanting without faith doesn’t eradicate all our sins accumulated in many of our previous births and the present life.

  Continuing to chant more and more the holy name will destroy subtle tendencies to commit sin and it will increase our initial faith, devotion, knowledge and attachment to chanting.

  Chanting without any faith will not help at all in attaining the goal of chanting, as Krishna  in the Bhagavad-gita (17.28) says: “Anything done as sacrifice, charity or penance without faith in the Supreme, O son of Pritha, is impermanent. It is called asat and is useless both in this life and the next.” 

(Therefore, to attain the ultimate goal of chanting – Krishna  prema –  it is very much necessary to increase our initial faith. And the best way to do that is to chant the holy name with other devotees in kirtana.)

Q. How is faith developed?

A. Looking at the lives of different saints we can see that they developed faith in God in different ways: as the result off association and following of the instructions of loving devotees; because of going through some unpleasant things and experiencing miseries in the life; having been fed up with the enjoyment of disgusting fruits of karma; because of awakened aversion toward the disappointing results of speculative knowledge and yoga; or as the result of the special mercy of the Supreme Lord. In whatever way one has developed faith in God he became the most fortunate.

    Now, just as one can develop faith in God in similar way one can develop faith in the holy name, but most importantly by hearing from pure devotees the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam and applying that knowledge in one’s life.

A. Who is eligible to chant the holy name?

Q. Man, woman, Hermaphrodite or any other living entity who worships Krishna with sincere heart completely surrendering to Him is dearest to Krishna. But moreover, whether one is pure or impure, in whatever condition one may be, he is purified both internally and externally by chanting the maha mantra for the pleasure of the lotus eyed Supreme Lord Sri  Krishna.

    The earth and water can purify only the external body, but the holy name of the Supreme Lord purifies all the impurities within the hearth as well. Therefore, none is prohibited to chant the holy name in whatever condition one is. Sometimes people ask if one is deaf and dumb or blind, how can such a person hear, chant or see the holy name? If one is deaf he can utter the holy name with his tongue, and if one is deaf and dumb he can see the holy name written down somewhere. In any way one gets in touch with the holy name he can become liberated. Thus there is no qualification required to take to the holy name, but just oppositely, one can take to it in any condition he may be.

Harinam sankirtana yajna ki jay.

ACompiled by Sri ARd – Nitai Das Prabhu

TRS Iyengar

Hare Krishna dear Iyengar
Dandavat pranams

I was thinking this essay will be nice for your website. The migrations of nations and ultimately the origins of human race are described. It was written by Pandit Sastri Gauranga Premananda das.

I hope you are well

Hare Krishna
Ard – Nitai
Sri Sri Radha-Krishna’s gotraGauranga Premananda Das

Everyone wonders or will wonder at some time “What is the origin of different peoples and how did I get here?”

According to Darwinists, the ancestors of modern humans migrated out of Africa and colonized Asia and Europe. When North of Europe and Asia became ice free the Caucasus region was the route used. Immediately to the south of the Caucasus, the Euphrates and the Tigris have their sources. According to Jews, Moslems and Christians this is where the garden of Eden was located and is the homeland of Abraham. Mount Ararat in the South Caucasus was the mountain where Noah’s ark landed. This is the supposed homeland fatherland of the Indo-European Caucasians.

The Vedic scriptures give a similar account as far as the Caucasian ranges being a stage for the development of the human being.  The Aitareya Upanisad says: “He (the atma) was thinking: “Shall I create the worlds?” and He created the worlds.” After being empowered by the mantra from the flute of Paramatma (the higher Self, Krishna) Brahma created the world. After each night of Brahma (that is 1000 maha-yuga’s or 1000 x 4,320,000 = 4.32 billion years) there is another cycle of creation. Brahma was empowered by the mantra OM at the beginning of creation, later it was the mantra – klim krishnaya govindaya gopijanavallabaya svaha.

Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, has His eternal part Sri Balarama (and also Srimati Radharani). Sri Balarama’s part is Sri Narayana (Srimati Radharani’s parts are the Laksmi’s, the goddesses of fortune). A part of  Sri Narayana is Sri Maha-Sankarsana. All these personalities of God have their pastimes in the spiritual world. From Sri Maha-Sankarasana comes Maha-Visnu. This universe is the durga, the prison.

155 521 971 221 102 (about 155 million millions) years ago Maha-Visnu created the walls and the elements, the building blocks of the universe. 1,971,221,102 (about 2 billion) years ago Brahma and the other demigods created the planets and so on. Theu do this every 4.32 million years. One of Brahma’s sons was Marici. His son was Kasyapa Muni. 120 million years ago Kasyapa Muni became the father of the Indo-europeans. Some of these Indo-europeans migrated to the west and some east. Kasyapa Muni himself meditated near the Caspian Sea, which is named after him.

Vivasvan, the sungod was the son of Kasyapa Muni and his wife Aditi, Sri Ramacandra was born in Vivasvans surya-vamsa (= the generation of the progenitor Surya, the sun god). There are still small groups of worshippers of the sun god scattered around the world. Daitya’s ( = from Diti), or demons were the progeny of Kasyapa Muni and Diti. They spread themselves over Europe. The names ‘Titans’ and ‘Teutons’, ‘Dutch’ and ‘Deutschland’ were later given and derived from the word daitya. According to the Indian historian Purushottam Nagesh Oak.

Atri is another of Brahma’s sons. Atri’s son was Soma or Candra (the demigod who governs the moon). Candra’s son was Budha (not the one from the Buddhists), the king of the planet Mercury. one of Buddha’s sons was Pururava. Then the descent goes through Ayu, then Nahusa and then Yayati. Yayati had five sons: Yadu gave rise to the Yadu-dynasty, in which Krishna and Balarama appeared; Puru gave rise to the Puru-dynasty in which Bhisma, Dhrtarastra, Arjuna, Yudhisthira, Bhima, Duryodhana and Maharaja Pariksit were born. Puru received the land of Egypt. Puru’s son was Pravira. His son was Manasyu (yu = the uniter) also called Menes, who according to Western historians founded Egypt’s first dynasty. The name Paurava’s, Puru’s descendants later degenerated to Pharaoh’s. Yadu and the other sons of Yayati were subordinate to Puru. Eventually, the Yadu clans who had settled in Egypt left Egypt where they were persecuted. Out of this clan came the Jews.

Egypt is named after Ajapati, the son of the Aja clan. Aja was the grandfather of Lord Sri Ramacandra. Ramacandra is an expansion of Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Ramacandra appeared in the Surya-vamsa (family) of Vivasvan and Vivasvata Manu. Another name for Suryadeva is Ravi. Ra became the highest God, the father of this branch of the Surya-vamsa in Egypt. Their kings were Ramses, for them Rama-isa (Rama, the Lord) was God. Siva or (Maha)-isvara, the controller of the material world became Osiris.

For materialists Isa or isvara means Mahesa or Mahesvara, Siva. Lord Siva is Mahadeva, the highest amongst the controllers (deva’s) of the material world. He brings the souls to the material energy at the creation and on the command of Maha-Visnu. Siva is worshipped for material gain. Krishna the highest amongst the Lord’s of the spiritual world is sarvesa, the Lord of all; Paramesvara, the Supreme isvara; and Adi-isvara, the original isvara.

Some members of the Pandava-family also came to Egypt and Europe, after Dvaraka, Krishna’s residence, disappeared. The pyramids design was based on the smashana-cit-altars for the Vedic cremation rituals. The positions of the different parts of the building reflect the positions of the stars and the apex points to the devaloka’s, the heavenly planets. They also moved to iswara (=God) laya (=land) or Israel. From the Essenes (worshippers of isa, Siva) came Jesus (= of Isa) Christus (= of Krishna). Yajati’s three other rebellious sons received kingdoms outside of India. Yavana or Turvasu got Turkey, Persia etc. According to the Mahabharata (Adi Parva 85.34) Turvasu fought for Duryodhana on the battlefield of Kuruksetra. Anu got Greek and Italy.

Another migration of groups of people was started by Parasurama (also a descendant of Pururava) who displaced a branch of the Yadu’s, the demonic Haihaya kings and their followers, who settled mainly in Egypt. They became kings there. Some came to Europe and Asia.

About 4000BC Druhyu, the fifth son of Yayati, was banished to Europe. From Druhyu came the Druids, also connected with the Dravids, followers of the wise (=vid) man Drastha. Some barbarian tribes descended from him (more or less ksatriya’s). They settled themselves in France and England. Around the same time the Saxenas, a demonic ksatriya clan, were banished from India. These were the Saxons who settled in Western-Europe. After the battle of Kuruksetra in 3138 B.C., the worldwide system of varnasramadharma, or the Vedic social-political system slowly degraded.

The Vedic culture was more or less present everywhere, but mainly in India. Civilized nations search for nice places like the tropics to settle. Patalabhumi (the hellish or low land), the western hemisphere, mainly the north, were avoided. 

Around 2000 B.C. different groups of Indian Indo-europeans went to the west. Also in the past groups went to the west to teach (like a group sharmans, brahmanical scholars, later called the Germans) and to reign (to establish the varnasramadharma-system). Or to emigrate because the river Sarasvati was dried up. Also some were banned because they had left the Vedic lifestyle. In 1103 B.C. the Trojans became the Sumeric Indo-europeans (because of the increasing desert because the river Saraswati dried up). In 800 B.C. the Kalatoya’s came from the area to the south of Kashmir. These were the Kelts. In 2000 B.C. they left India when the river Saraswati dried up. In 1000 B.C. they arrived at the Danube (the river which flows through the land of the Danavas or demons). The people of Alinas (Hellenes) was one of the first grpoups to emigrate from India (to Greece). According to the Mahabharata (Adiparva 174.38) Bhima and Sahadeva conquered the Pulinda’s (Greeks) because they had given up dharma.

In the book, Proof of Vedic Culture’s global existence, it is noted that Sanskrit is the mother of all languages and that the name Norway is derived from the Sanskrit naraka or hel. Soviet from sveta (white), Russia from rushis or rsi’s, wise men who meditated there. Siberia from the Sanskrit word for inhospitable, camping site. Scandinavia from skandha, the commander in chief of the demigods. They navigated in the name of Skandha and worshipped Skandha. The words viking and king are from the sanskrit singh (lion). The Vikings were great white-haired daityas. The name ‘Alps’ is derived from alpa (small in comparison with the Himalaya’s). At many places in Europe murti’s (statues) of Krishna, Shiva (linga), Mitra (sungod) and so on have been found.

According to the purana’s, the history-books of the Veda and the upapurana’s (smaller purana’s) around 11,000 B.C., there were floods, at the end of the glacial age. Thanks to their boat, Vaivasvata Manu (Noah) and his family, were virtually the only survivors. Following twelve great wars between the deva’s (godly people) and the asura’s (godless people), the land to the east of the Caucasus was given to the deva’s and that to the west of the Caucasus was given to the asura’s.

Some asura’s were (under Mayadanava, also a son of Kasyapa Muni – from Kasyapa’s wife Danu) banished to South America, Patalabhumi/loka, or the land under (and to the opposite of) Punya-bhumi. There, Mayadanava is the engineer and the king of the Danava’s. His fixed homelad is talatala-loka (1.088.000 km to the south of the Bhumandala) where the flying saucers are made.

The maya’s, the followers of Mayadanava, called their land Amaraka (amara = immortal, amrita=nectar). Asura’s often think that death is something that will not happen to them and they think their mother land paradise. Later Amerigo Vespucci could recover the name via his name America. The above shows that all present inhabitants of the world belong to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna’s gotra or family.

For more detailed information and discussion see the book Proof  of  Vedic Culture’s Global Existence from Nandanandana dasa – Stephen Knapp).

Sri Mahavishnu, Sri Lakshmi & Srivaikutham

In one of the letters in this conference, it was said that only ISKCON has the philosophy of the soul originally falling from Krishna-lila in the spiritual world.

What is the origin of the souls the material or the spiritual world or in other words, did we were before our material existence in this material world with the Supreme Personality of Godhead or somewhere else is an interesting topic that is discussed in many religions. Here are some quotes to be considered from the Padma purana that suggest fall-down from the spiritual world. In the next essay we will give the rest of the slokas from the Padma purana on this subject. And later on from the other sattvika puranas.

1.15.228                    ..he goes to Visnu’s (the Supreme of all Deities) world and fallen from Visnu’s world he goes to Rudraloka and fallen from that place also he is born in the various divisions of the world.

NOTE: Visnu’s world is not temporary as the planet of the demigods. Later on we read “it is beyond the darkness of maya, it is eternal, beyond all miseries”.

1.20.53            One who donates to a brahmana and garlands the Lord saying “my Lord Pradyumna be pleased” will live in the city of Visnu for a kalpa.

1.20.93                        .one who is performing this tapasya in the month of Visnu and giving a cow to a brahmana, he stays for a kalpa at the place of Visnu.

1.20.98                        .one who is doing this tapasya he goes to the highest position from which return is difficult. This is called Suvrata, having done which rebirth is not easy.

1.20.111                    One who does Laksmi-vrata will live for a kalpa in the world of Laksmi.

1.21.75                        Performing vishaka dvadasi vrata, (elaborately described before) fasting removes all sins. On death he reaches Visnu’s or Keshava’s city and his recollection of Hari, the enemy of the demons Madhu, Mura and Naraka for 9.018.000.000 years.

1.21.154                    give a mountain of sesame, 140, 70 or 42 kg to a brahmana to be used in Yajna along with the rite

(described before) goes to the abode of Visnu, the murderer of Madhu from which return

(rebirth) is difficult.

1.21.180                    give a mountain of 1000, 500 or 300 pearls (with elaborate rites, described) to a brahmana

goes for 100 kalpas to Visnu’s world.

1.21.206                    give mountain of 1000 or 400 kg sugar with rite to priests, goes to Brahmaloka. Then

getting into an aeroplane shining like Moon and Sun he would rise from there and go to the heaven of Lord Visnu for 100 kalpas.

1.24                                  worship Govinda with singing and musical instruments, pray. Donate cows, gold etc.etc.

with rites is honoured in Visnu’s world for thousands and hundreds of kalpas.

1.27.59                        The pure one, performing the religious deeds (elaborately described in 5 verses) goes to

Brahmaloka for many kalpas. Moving in many worlds for 2 parardhas (lifetime of Brahma), he again goes to Visnu’s abode obtainable by the power of deep and abstract meditation.

1.52.49                        (After descriptions of sins and hells).

Brahmana: how to become free from the reactions of such bad deeds.

Lord (Visnu, Keshava or Hari) said: leave householder’s life, always loudly chant My name Govinda an worship Me. All sins perish as cotton or may perish in contact with fire. He will live for a long time in My City. Then he becomes an emperor after having lived in My house according to his desire.

1.57.16                        Vyasadeva: give or construct a water tank (large artificial reservoir for storing water)

           measuring 20 cubits, go to Visnu’s Abode. Afterwards born as king or wealthy man or orator.

1.57.17                        if measures  1000 cubits, he doesn’t fall from Visnu’s heaven. All his sins will be destroyed.

1.57.44                        and will obtain the auspicious salvation.

1.58                                  King constructed bridges, dug wells, planted trees did Yajna, Dana and Tapah.

Again before Yama’s assembly.Citragupta..”go to Visnu’s Abode”.

Aeroplane came, went to Visnu’s heaven, the great heaven from which returning is difficult.

2.4.1                                Goloka, the Heaven of Visnu, beyond darkness, the world of salvation.

2.22.25                        Suvrata: O Krsna, O Lord Murari, always sprinkle me with water of knowledge, me – who have fallen in the great ditch covered with fearful darkness called Samsara.

2.98.65            With devotion I Salute the good excellent sanctifying couple of Feet of Vasudeva, Bhagavan who

is the affectionate Emancipator of him who has fallen into the great Ocean of the worldly existence.

2.120.33   The soul bound by faults is taken to the worldly existence.

2.121.3      Tulasi: “Listen O Narada, for what reason does My Lord, the Master of the world go to the

wordly existence”? A man who is bound by sinful and even meritorious acts moves to the worldly existence.

O brahmana, tell me why Visnu would go to worldly existence.

2.125.4      In Treta Yuga men listened to the Padma purana and enjoying the fruit of the 4 goals of life, Dharma,

            Artha, Kama and Moksha they would again reach Visnu.

3.18.62      (..many bhakti-sukrtis..) then going to Visnu’s heaven, he is full of sport and enjoyments.

Having enjoyed great pleasures there, he is born as a king in the mortal world.

3.31.126   He who devotedly worships a 100 Saligrama Sila will after living with Visnu in Visnu’s heaven, then

born as a sovereign emperor here on earth.

..if with joy worship Visnu’s Salagrama stone doesn’t fall from heaven till deluge.

3.31.132   human, highly devoted, in Kali-yuga worship Salagrama-silas by offering eatables, flowers, incense, lights, ointments, song, musical instruments, hymns rejoices in Visnu’s company (salvation) for a 1000 crores of kalpas.

4.2.4            .one who cleanses with water the temple of the Lord, lives in Visnu’s abode for as many thousands of kalpas as dust particles one removes.

4.2       thief sinner before Yamaraja.  Citragupta spoke

            “Committed all the sins Creator created on earth. Once stole from temple, entered temple put feet

            dirty with mud on ground (stamped): ground free from slope, holes and pits. Saluted Radha Krsna

            Murti lying sleeping on a bed, thereby free from all sin. Then he discussed with the Deity “shall I steal or not?

            I am all time thief, I cannot serve Lord, let  me steal”. Krsna’s maya (magic) and his trembling hands caused   

            jewels etc. fall with too loud noise on the floor, nearly caught, fled. bitten by cobra, died.go to Visnu’s

            excellent Abode, lived there for long time as many 1000 kalpas as dust/mud particles he had thrown down

            from his feet.

4.3                 Rat came to eat ghee of lamp offered before Visnu, Krsna, Damodara in Kartika month. It started eating and moved up the ghee. So, the lamp burnt more brightly. Out of fear the rat ran away. It had revived lamp in front of Visnu; sins of crores of previous existences perished. Went from ocean of mundane existence for a hundred ages of Manus to the world of cows, in Visnu’s proximity. Then princess here. Then back again.

4.11.20 Laksmi-Narayana, worship 4 consecutive thursdays in Margashirsha month (offer sweets, prayers,

presents). Live in Laksmi’s city for so many 1000’s of kalpas as many times the worship is practiced.

4.12.62      He who protects brahmanas by giving his life and wealth goes to Visnu’s Abode, from which a

return (to the mortal world) is difficult to have.

4.15.43      husband and wife keep Ekadasi fast (incl. stay awake at night etc.) stay together for long time in

Visnu’s Abode.

4.16.16      offer with devotion cowries (shell, money/ornament) to the Deity will live in Hari’s abode for as many days as number of cowries offered.

COMMENTS: Srila Prabhupada in the purport to the Srimad Bhagavatam 8.5.5 writes: “As described in the Second Canto, Lord Brahma saw Vaikuntha before the creation of the universe. Viraraghava Acarya mentions that this Vaikuntha is within the universe. It is situated above the mountain known as Lokaloka. This planet is worshiped by everyone”. The following slokas describe this Vaikuntha.

SB 2.9.9: His personal abode, Vaikuntha, the supreme planet above all others. This transcendental abode of the Lord is adored by all self-realized persons freed from all kinds of miseries and fear of illusory existence.

SB 2.9.10: In that personal abode of the Lord, the material modes of ignorance and passion do not prevail, nor is there any of their influence in goodness. There is no predominance of the influence of time, so what to speak of the illusory, external energy; it cannot enter that region.

SB 2.9.11: The inhabitants of the Vaikuntha planets are described as having a glowing sky-bluish complexion. Their eyes resemble lotus flowers, their dress is of yellowish color, and their bodily features very attractive. They are just the age of growing youths, they all have four hands, they are all nicely decorated with pearl necklaces with ornamental medallions, and they all appear to be effulgent.

SB 2.9.12: Some of them are effulgent like coral and diamonds in complexion and have garlands on their heads, blooming like lotus flowers, and some wear earrings.

Now, just as the living entity can fall down again from the transcendental abode of Vaikuntha of this material world although Visnu Himself is there and many liberated sages and devotees, similarly one can fall down from the transcendental abode of Visnu or Krishna in the spiritual world.

In this regard Sanatana Gosvami describes in the Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta that as one goes up in the material and spiritual world, the forms of Krishna become transcendentally more opulent and attractive, in other words increasingly less chance of falling down.

If one goes back to Visnuloka situated within the Mahat tattva two things can happen.

1) One can come back again to the material planets. Taking birth at or close to a holy place of Vishnu or Krishna in this earthly planet from where he will go back to either Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrindavana beyond the mahat-tattva.

2) One can go from the Visnuloka within this mahat-tattva to the Visnuloka of the spiritual world beyond the mahat-tattva. The Visnuloka is in some ways like the bhauma Vrindavana for Krishna bhaktas, an intermediate place before attainment of the highest abode.

Compiled by Sri Sri Nitai Das Prabhu

IS MATERIALISM A CORRECT PHILOSOPHY?

Being daily under the bombardment of materialistic ideas, as long as one does not have higher taste for spiritual life or Krishna consciousness, what else can be of help and guidance then transcendental knowledge? When the intelligence and the mind are strengthened by transcendental knowledge in the association of spiritually minded devotees, then even in the midst of this misguiding materialistic society, one can peacefully, precede toward the ultimate goal, love of Krishna. So, let see the nastiest ideas of the materialists and how should we understand them in the light of spiritual knowledge.

First, we would like to mention, that according to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thaakura there are three major types of atheism that exist at all the times during the history: 1. materialism, or the worship of material nature, 2. Idealism, and 3. Skepticism. Among these, the skepticism is questioning why the Supreme Lord has created the material world, which is full of miseries like birth, death, disease etc. In other words, if God would exist He would not create miserable world where the living entities have to suffer and therefore, He do not exist. Generally, all other kinds of atheism are included within these three types of above-mentioned philosophies.

So as mentioned before, already in the ancient times, in many countries, people have taken shelter of the ideas of materialism and even written books for the sake of propagating them. In India, the most famous atheistic philosopher was Carvaka, in China Yangchoo, in Greece the atheist Leucippus and in Rome Lucretious.

In this way, we can see that the varieties of modern forms of atheistic philosophies are, just the continuation of the previously existing similar ideas that existed under different names and in somewhat different forms, and people who were not spiritually inclined always took shelter of them as a way to adjust their life style.

The philosophy of Charvaka from India contains more-less all the materialistic ideas of other materialistic philosophers from all over the world. Therefore, let us see briefly, what are his main ideas about the self, the ultimate goal of life and the Vedas.

It is a fact, that at one point in the history of India – the land of the Vedic wisdom – many people were influenced by the philosophy of Charvaka Muni who propagated absolute atheism. He said that conscious life does not exist before inert matter. The self and the consciousness refer only to certain aspects of matter. Or, in other words, by interaction of certain material elements consciousness is created. To illustrate this Charvaka gave the following example. Just as the mixture of rice and molasses produce alcoholic beverage so, the mixture of different elements of earth, water, fire, air and sky produce the conscious living being. Further, in the expressions, “I am fatty”, “I am skinny”, “I am dark skinned” the word ‘I’ that refers to nothing else then the temporary, material body and not the soul, since the soul does not exist. Ultimately, when the material elements are decomposed the self and the consciousness are again merged into matter.

Concerning the existence of God, he says that since there is only matter, to propagate or to study the teachings about God is a useless waste of time. If any God exists one should search for a higher God that controls that God. Ultimately, however, God’s existence was never proven.

As there is neither God nor the self is spiritual, there is also no rebirth, wanderings of the soul into different life forms. Moreover, attainment of liberation is also imaginary concepts. In this way, because the whole existence is only a variety of aspects of matter, and because one will not get reactions for ones good or bad activities after this life, everybody should take full opportunity of this one life’s facilities to enjoy to the max.

Thus, despite the Vedas and similar books all over the world, clearly teach theism, Charvaka argued that in all the countries books that describe God, the spiritual world, the hell, and the existence of the soul are only imaginations of some primitive people or so-called sages. They do not describe anything that truly exists. He didn’t accept the Vedas because of seeming contradictions in them and he didn’t follow and perform the prescribed rituals either since they do not give immediate, obvious enjoyable results.

The best things, which are, as he say, blessings for the soul are sexual enjoyment, relishing palatable dishes – everything cocked on ghee (purified butter), – decorating the body with ornaments like pearls, rubies, diamonds, wearing extravagant cloths etc. And what if suffering comes? ‘That doesn’t matter’, he says – ‘although tears will follow the smiles and misery will follow pleasures; still one should just strive for enjoying the life’.

I think you recognize the exactly same ideas of nowadays materialists in the philosophy of Charvaka. Of course, even without knowing him and his philosophy people are materialistic people are inclined to the same type of life-style.

Generally, an every day life, we can see that there are two philosophies of attaining material pleasures: 1. the philosophy of selfish material pleasures, and 2. the philosophy of unselfish material pleasures.

The first type of the philosophy is that the only endeavor one should make is to get tangible results for sense pleasures not considering any material obstacles, the different desires of other people, and not wasting time on useless religious activities. The second philosophy, the unselfish materialism although carrying for the welfare of others is still self-centered, because one’s goal is to get the trust of others for the sake of easily attaining materialistic goals. E.g. out of many philosophers in the west Von Holback said that one should perform philanthropic activities just to increase personal happiness. By working to make others happy, one increases one’s own happiness, and that is good. Conclusively therefore, this unselfish materialism is merely another way to attain one’s own happiness and freedom from troubles.

So, let’s now see few points, how the spiritually inclined devotees, can maintain and continue spiritual life despite of the different contaminating ideas of materialistic atheism. As mentioned in the introduction of this essay, proper spiritual knowledge is an important pillar for spiritual advancement. The very basic thing and the first step in spiritual life is – to understand the existence of the spirit soul as different from matter. As there are different ways to prove the existence of the soul being different from matter, here we would like to mention five interesting points of Sankhya philosophy (the analytical study of the difference of matter and spirit).

1) As it is obvious that material objects cannot enjoy themselves or other material objects, conclusively there must be a conscious enjoyer who utilizes the material objects to enjoy. That purusha or enjoyer is the self.

NOTE: This idea is supported by the Bhagavad-Gita (13.20): “The individual soul that is embodied and enjoying the activities of the body is the purusha, or the living entity.”

2) Nobody can say that the material nature is meant for itself to be enjoyed because the dull, unconscious matter cannot enjoy. Moreover, the material nature is the cause of pain and pleasure and being dull matter, again, it cannot be the enjoyer or sufferer itself. Therefore, beyond the dull material nature there must be a conscious being who is the utilizer and proprietor of worldly objects. That conscious being is the transcendental purusha or the self.

3) The objects of this material world including the mind, senses and intelligence being all unconscious, require conscious guidance and direction. That conscious element who controls the operation of the material nature is the self or purusha.

4) Non-intelligent material nature or prakrti and all its evaluates, which are by nature pleasurable, painful, or neutral, have no meaning if they are not experienced by some intelligent force. That experience is purusha.

5) Since material nature brings pain and misery if there is nothing different from it and its evaluates, then the desire, endeavor, and goal of devotion to God would be meaningless. Moreover, the sayings of the sages and the scriptures would be also meaningless. Therefore, there must be a conscious principle that strives for bhakti. That principle is the self or purusha.

The second important thing in spiritual life is to understand the existence of God. One can prove the existence of God in many different ways but the ultimate prove is attained at the time of attainment of self-realization, when we can have direct experience of Krishna. Its interesting that Srila Prabhupada said: “Jung is right when he says that God’s existence does not depend on our proof,” and still, he gave many transcendental reasons that we understand God’s existence. For example he writes: “There is no reason not to believe in God, and there is every reason to believe in Him. Man may say that he doesn’t believe in God, but who gives him the power to say this? When death comes, this speaking power ceases-so who is giving the power of speech? Has the speaking power come automatically from stone? As soon as the speaking power is withdrawn by the Supreme Authority, the body is no better than stone. The very power of speech is proof that there is a Supreme Power who is giving us everything. A Krishna conscious person knows that whatever he has is not under his control. If we do not believe in God, we must believe in some power beyond us which is controlling us at every step, call that power God or nature or whatever. There is a controlling power in the universe, and no sane man can deny it.” (The King of Knowledge 4)

In the following explanation the proof of God is given through understanding that He is the controller of nature.

Brahmananda: Death and then another body.

Prabhupada: Another body, immediately. Tatha dehantara-praptih [.Bhagavad-Gita 2.13]. That is the tangible proof that there is God. You have to die and accept another body. Just like the proof of government is that you are acting irresponsibly, you must be arrested or be punished. That’s all.

Tamala Krishna: But they say it is just a proof of nature, not a proof of God.

Prabhupada: Yes, nature is instrumental, just like jail is instrument. But the proprietor of the jail, conductor of the jail, is government. Jail is not acting independently but under the government’s direction. Similarly, the nature is working by the direction of God. Mayadhyakshena prakritih suyate sa-caracaram [Bhagavad-Gita. 9.10]. That is stated. Nature is not independent. Just like the nature is that this lump of matter will lie down here, but if God desires, it can fly on the sky. That is God’s will. Nature is not independent. Then it would have remained here. Just like Lord Ramacandra collected stones, and it was floating. (conversation April 5,1975)

So, when we see that there is a graceful and harmonious arrangement in the material nature, in the animal kingdom, the trees etc., that points to a conscious supreme creator and controller.

Until now, we gave few arguments for the existence of the eternal soul and God, and although, there are more ways to prove their existence, instead of mentioning them, we would like to encourage everybody to do some self-research. Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita says that by such inquiry and knowledge one can attain spiritual perfection.

“Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries”.

“In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism”.

“Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me-and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me”.

(Bagavath Gita  4. 36, 38, 10)

Compiled by Sri Sri Avadhuta Raya Das Prabhu

Essence of Srivaishnavam Practices – Home

The following text I received in my Email box from Sri Sri Avadhuta Raya Prabhu (Nitai). Though in good intention and with the aim of spreading the selective days for conceiving a child, I published the articles under headlines of “Sex is part of Life”. This headline is only to give meaning to the subject and get a clear viewer-ship, by this way spreading the message. Frankly, I did mention the avoidable days which are meant for Pithru Pooja, prayer and days such as Amavasya (Amavasai), Ekadasi, Poornima Pournami), Pradamai (the immediate next day to Amavasai & Pournami)  etc. – which are especially allocated for devotions for God. It is not at all against the Srivaishnavam or its principles to be precise and practical as far the creating a new generation, thus following the Astrological considerations given in the ancient scripts. I can surely sum it up as logical finding to consider this as a subject for Every individual, rather than only for Srivaishnava! However, my aim and intentions are sometimes, misunderstood and it got the adverse effect than getting a good deal of realism.

My published article on SEX is only just to give a better choice of future generation – a progeny of worthy ones (and never propagate anti-Srivaishnava feeling), and to find a fairly balanced gender selection –  In fact, I got more than 1000 Emails from different part of this globe appreciating the article. Purely based on the astrological point of view, the said article is published, just to give a warning as to which are all the days that is to be avoided for sex, especially if one considers for conceiving.  It certainly doesn’t mean, rest of the days for sinking in the act! To add value and meaning to our life, one should follow the below given article, that will relieve one from many sins.

The following text I got from Sri Sri Nitai Prabhu, really an eye opener not only to all Srivaishnavites, but also for the entire Universe. As the entire message is just Surrender to the Lord Sri Krishna, than to any other materialistic pleasures. Oh, if every visitors and reader can follow this in their day to day life!…… Go ahead…find the meaning of life, just as a part one’s own soul searching. I am not editing a word from his mail and putting the entire contents as I got from Sri Sri Nitai Das Prabhu.

Warm regards and my sincere thanks to Sri. Sri Nitai Das Prabhu. for giving the following wonderful article, which would surely help the entire society.

TRS Iyengar

—————————————————————————————————-

 Dear TRS Iyengar, 

I found on your website some ideas, not written by you, that are a bit different from a generally accepted Vaisnava philosophy. I felt the Vaisnava viewpoint should be more emphasized because its purity can help all sincere souls on spiritual path to make quick progress in attaining the ultimate 

goal, the spiritual abode of Sri Vishnu Or Krishna.

Hare Krishna,
Pranam to all, readers.

I was very surprised to read in this website that there is some cheating information about sex and immediately remembered that, in the name of spirituality many so called ‘enlightened sadhus’ are propagating that sex is good. After Sri Iyengar Prabhu gave a nice points about the auspicious time when to have sex, so that the parents get good progeny, I wanted to add some spiritual considerations as well, that can be helpful for everybody who desires to attain the ultimate spiritual goal.

 First, one should strictly follow pure religious principles as laid down in the bhakti literature of the Vedas. All other paths will keep one in this material world. That’s why Krishna say in the Bhagavad-Gita traigunya-visaya veda nistraigunyo bhavarjuna – “The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes”. (Bg 2.45) So, Krishna is urging Arjuna to give up the path of the Vedas that will keep one in this material world. He wants him to become transcendental and so, to become established in

the self. To do that Krishna advises Arjuna to give up all kinds of cheating religions (kaitava-dharma) mentioned in the Vedas and surrender only to Him, Krishna.

Sarva dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja.

Now, concerning sex, only when it is done according to the religious principles it is pleasing to Krishna. That means there should be no desire for personal sense-gratification. Such sense-gratification according to the Bhagavad-Gita is in the mode of passion, rajo guna and it will end

in misery, rebirth etc. So, if you like to read forward this essay, I have given here some of my notes about sex, that I made while reading the words of different real sadhus who are strict followers of the path of bhakti, and some other notes I took from the scriptures. Have a nice
reading.

ONLY IN MARRIAGE – Sex life should be restricted to persons who are married. Sex life is the cause of material bondage, and therefore it is prohibited in three asramas and is allowed only in the grhastha-asrama.

SEX ONLY WITH WIFE – According to scriptural injunctions, one is forbidden to engage in sex relationships with any women other than one’s wife. All other women are to be considered as one’s mother. But in spite of such injunctions, a man is still inclined to have sex relationships with other women. These propensities are to be curbed; otherwise, they will be stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.

RESTRICTED SEX – SACRIFICE restricted, unattached sex life is also a kind of yajna (sacrifice) because the restricted householder sacrifices his general tendency toward sense gratification for higher, transcendental life.

In this way, he have sex only to beget a nice son, who he will also cultivate to become a pious person devoted to Lord Vishnu. Putrayate kriyate bharya, putra-pinda-prayojanam.

ONLY FOR CHILDREN – Sex should be used only in marriage for begetting nice, good children. Good children means not rogues and thieves, but one who can understand God. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-Gita that I am sex life performed according to religious principles. Sex life for any other purpose means illicit sex. The use of contraceptive method for sex enjoyment is very sinful.

VEDIC REGULATIONS – The Vedas prescribe, therefore, sacred marriage for regulated sense gratification. Thereby one is gradually elevated to the platform of release from material bondage, and the highest perfection of liberated life is to associate with the Supreme Lord.

FAMILY LIFE IS NOT CONDEMNED – So family life is not condemned. But if a man forgets his spiritual identity and simply becomes entangled in material affairs, then he is lost. His life’s mission is lost. If one thinks, “I cannot protect myself from the attack of Maya – illusion,” then let him be married. That is prescribed. We don’t have illicit sex life. If you want a girl, if you want a boy, get married. Live in Krsna consciousness.

A HELP OF A GOOD WIFE – Without a fixed wife, a man becomes a debauchee of the first order and is a nuisance in society–unless he is a trained brahmacari, vanaprastha or sannyasi. Unless there is rigid and systematic training of the brahmacari by the expert spiritual master, and unless the student is obedient, it is sure that the so-called brahmacari will fall prey to the attack of sex. There are so many instances of fall-down, even for great yogis like Visvamitra. A grhastha is saved, however, because of his faithful wife.

AIMING TO THE GOAL – “with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life,” the yogi meditates on Paramatma, making Him “the ultimate goal of life.” (6.10-19, 31)

BAD RESULTS OF SEX – Impatience is due to loss of determination, and loss of determination is due to excessive sex. Being overpowered by the mode of passion – rajo guna, he can easily slip even lower to tamo guna and thus continue his material existence in this material world, life
after life. 

MEDIA, THE CAUSE OF IT – E.g. television damage the growing ups and the grown ups in so many ways. To name a few, it creates sex mania, increases violence, causes vocabulary loss, and diminishes family communication.

IN KALI YUGA – Stri te bhunkte ca hi rati viprate sutram eva hi – man and woman [are] united in marriage relationship simply on sex urge, not on the religious principle. That we have seen.

THE MATERIALISTS – When a person is devoid of devotional service, or Vishnu-bhakti, he takes to many sinful activities. King Puranjana left home, neglected his own wife and engaged himself in killing animals. This is the position of all materialistic men. They do not care for a married chaste

wife. They take the wife only as an instrument for sense enjoyment, not as a means for devotional service. To have unrestricted sex life, the karmis work very hard. They have concluded that the best course is to have sex with any woman and simply pay the price for her, as though she were a 

mercantile commodity. Thus, they engage their energy in working very hard for such material acquisitions. Such materialistic people have lost their good intelligence. They must search out their intelligence within the heart. A person who does not have a chaste wife accepted by religious principles always has a bewildered intelligence

CONCLUSION – Smaranam is one of the important methods of any process of yoga. That means one should not think of the opposite sex but about Krishna or Vishnu and His service.

smartavyam satatam visnur    vismartavyo na jatucit
sarve vidhi-nisedhah syur    etayor eva kinkarah (26)

Vishnu, or Krishna, should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the scriptures should be servants to these two principles.

This is only possible when one becomes detestable to illicit sex life, whether in married life or outside of marriage. A disgust, to even think about sex is the beginning of spiritual life. Thus, if the grihastha – a spiritual practitioner in household life, develops firm decision to not think, and not to indulge in unnecessary sex, in the  future he will be able to develop his love and attachment to Lord Vishnu and, if he chose so, to even become a first

class sannyas with great determination.

The following text I took from
http://www.people.nnov.ru/celibate/brhat/sri.htm

It’s very interesting and highly instructive for proper execution of spiritual life. 

If a Vaishnava (Sri Vaishnava in original Tamil text) engages in improper relationships with women (or women with men) the following types of anarthas or results, one has to face.

01. By this, his/her body is affected badly and so it is an anartha or unwanted thing.

02. Seeing him others may also follow suit. so it is an anartha for them and also to the woman who is spoiled by him. (the above two results can be seen in this very birth itself)

03. By indulging so one disrespects the sastric injunction that ” one should not engage in a relationship (illegal) with a woman. if he does so surely the path way to hell is open”.

04. He will also incur the wrath of the lord, because the lord has told,” ajna’chedhee mama drohi — one who violates sastric laws are my enemies”

05. Because of such illicit actions he will incur the wrath and anger of Vaishnavas or bhaagavatas.

06. By the same said reasons he will incur the wrath of his spiritual master also.

07. It will increase opportunities to associate with like-minded persons. (It is said in tiru malai (song number 16)-” when I associate with persons who are interested in sense enjoyment I also fall into the illusory traps of the dangerous eyes of women.

08. Such engagement is contradictory to his eternal nature as that of being enjoyed by the lord, because the thought that ” sense enjoyment is very nice “is a stumbling block to realize his eternal nature as a servant.

09. Because one has to make so much endeavor to enjoy sex pleasure it is a great stumbling block to the thought that “the Lord is my only means and he is my maintainer.”

10. Because one may no longer think or will be able to think that “the service to my lord is sweet”, it is an anartha.

11. As said in tiru vaay moli (ThiruvAymozhi – Prabandham) – if one engages in sex enjoyment then he will not get parama pada or the supreme destination. As further said in the song – if one worships other demigods in some lifetime he may become a Vaisnava, but one who engages his mind in sex

enjoyment always attains hellish planets, because once he engages in such things his involvement in it will keep on growing. 

So, if a Sri Vaishnava engages in illicit relationship with women (or women with men) then JUST AS A CROCODILE WHO HAS CAUGHT HIS PREY’S LEGS WILL NEVER LEAVE IT WITHOUT COMPLETELY SWALLOWING IT TILL HEAD, sense enjoyment completely devours the nature of a devotee. This is the opinion of Sri Periya Vaachan pillai, another Sri Vaishnava acharya  

Essence of Srivaishnavam Practices 

SARAYOGI , BHUTAYOGI, AND BHRANTAYOGI

(Peyazhwar, Bhoothathazhwar & Poikaiyazhwar)

Sarayogi, Bhutayogi and Bhrantayogi were contemporaries. They were three Alvaras or saints, born at the end of Dvapara Yuga and are known to be incarnations of Lord Narayana’s paraphernalia.

Sarayogi was born in the town of Kancipuram. It is said that he was found within a golden lotus and is the incarnation of the Lord’s conchshell named Pancajanya.

Bhutayogi was born within a jasmine flower in the town of Mallapuri (modern day Mahabalipuram) and is Kamaudaki, Narayana’s club.

Bhrantayogi came from a water lily in the city of Mayurapura (now called Mailapura) and is Nandaki, the Lord’s sword.

Although not much is known about the early lives of these Alvars, there is an interesting story about how the three saints first met.

The sky was overcast with dense clouds. There had been torrential rain accompanied by lashing winds and the storm raged continuously for two days. Now and then the monotonous weather would only be broken by huge hail stones falling from the sky. Due to these terrifying conditions, the villagers stayed in their homes constantly peering out of their windows and praying for an end to the tempest. Those who were poverty stricken, who had no protection, took to the mountain caves or hollows of trees in a desperate attempt to shelter from the fearful weather.

Sarayogi had been bold enough to venture out into the storm. Dressed only in rags, and shivering from the cold, he trudged across the desolate land clinging on to one of his only possessions – a thin shawl, which by now had been drenched by the heavy rain. As the lightning streaked across the sky, a large hailstone came hurtling towards Sarayogi. He hurriedly leapt out of it’s path and in doing so lost his grip over his upper cloth. Within a second, the shawl was stolen away by the cruel wind. The saint, however, did not become perturbed. Rather, he laughed and began praising the Lord:

  Oh Hari! You are so fickle,
  You run here and there,
  To make others dance,
  You dance Yourself,
  Some, You charm with Your beautiful smile,
  Others, like the gopis, You captivate with your flute,
  Though the entire creation emanates from Your navel,
  You find pleasure in stealing butter.
  Unaware of Your mischief, the gopis,
  In their anger, argue with Yashoda.
  You feign anger, and scowl at Your cowherd friend,
  But in an instant, You lock him in a tight embrace.
  Sometimes You are terrible to behold,
  Sometimes You capture the heart.
  Sometimes You are erratic,
  Sometimes You are motionless.
  Sometimes You wear kingly clothes,
  Sometimes You dress as a beggar.
  Who can describe Your transcendental qualities?
  By robbing me of my cloth,
  You laugh loudly,
  But, O cunning one,
  I have seen through Your little joke.
  Play on my Lord, play on,

  Your eternal servant is happy at your delight.

Although weather-beaten and undernourished, he sang this prayer and danced in ecstacy. Not long after, Sarayogi came to a small cottage, but he found the door to be locked. Deciding to take shelter in a small thatched terrace opposite, he  went inside and laid down preparing to take rest. As his eyelids slowly closed and sleep was about to overcome him, another traveler arrived. It was Bhutayogi.

“Oh good sir! Is there any place here to rest for a man bitten by cold and overcome with hunger?”, asked the weary Bhutayogi.

Sarayogi sat up and replied cheerfully, “You are most welcome my friend. Come. Come in! Surely if there is enough room for one man to lie down, then there must be enough room for two men to sit”.

Bhutayogi was thankful and entered the small hut. As the two devotees were settling down and making themselves comfortable, a voice was heard from outside.

“Please, be kind enough to allow me to enter. I have been travelling for many days and exhaustion has almost got the better of me.” The voice belonged to Bhrantayogi.

“Come in”, replied Sarayogi; “for where there is room for two men to sit, surely there is room enough for three men to stand at ease.” As he  came inside, the three stood shoulder to shoulder and inquired about each others identities.

Sarayogi replied, quoting from the Pancaratra;

bhagavacch esa bhutaham ananyaryo citah parah

“I am different from this material nature.

I am a servant of the Supreme Lord.”

Citing from the Naradiya Purana, Bhutayogi said;

daso’ham vasudevasya sarvaloka mahatmanah

“I am a servant of Lord Vasudeva, the maintainer of the three worlds.”

Bhrantayogi spoke from the Ramayan;

daso’ham kausalendrasya rama syaklista karmanah

“I am servant of Lord Ramacandra, king of Kosala”

Thus the three Alvars began to pass the night by talking about the Lord and his eternal pastimes. In the meantime, while these transcendental conversations were going on, they suddenly became aware of a fourth person squeezing himself between them.

Bhutayogi thought to himself. “It is difficult enough for the three of us to stand in here, now it seems that some heartless ghost has decided to take it upon himself and force his way in here.”

The uncomfortable situation gave rise to a sudden outburst from Sarayogi. “What shall we do? I shall light a lamp to see who this mysterious stranger is.”

“But brother!” Exclaimed the others. “We have no lamp here, nor indeed any oil or wicks.”

Sarayogi then began to recite a prayer which was later known as the `first Tiruvandadi’.

  Let my lamp be made of the earth,
  And the oil of the sea,
  The light shall emanate from the sun globe.
  Then this elusive stranger will be discovered.”

Then Bhutayogi exclaimed, “Let me add my lamp!”

  “My lamp is made of wisdom,
  It is the vessel of love of God,
  Holding within the oil of intense emotions,
  In which is soaked the wick of my mind.”
      (Second Tiruvendadi) 

“I must light my lamp now”, remarked Bhrantayogi. “Although I feel most unqualified after hearing your wonderful efforts. My very name “Bhranta” means madman, for my love for Sri Padmaramana’s lotus feet drives me insane. My affection for him makes me shiver and sweat. My eyes gush forth torrents of tears. My voice chokes up, and I dance with joy, becoming completely indifferent to the world around me. So when you light your lamps, all I can say is this;

 “I see Sri Laksmi Devi,
  I see the Lord’s golden form,
  I see their shining hues blending,
  I see the majestic disc weapon,
  And the transcendental conchshell,
  Oh Lord of my heart,
  All this I see today.”
      (Third Tiruvendadi) 

Upon Bhranta singing this, the tiny shack became flooded with light and the three devotees discovered the identity of the fourth person. Standing there with conch, discus, club, and lotus flower, bedecked with the Vijayantimala, and adorned with the Kaustubha gem, Sri Narayana, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, stood before them.

In ecstatic love, each Alvar sang a hundred hymns to the Lord. One glorified the Lord as the Universal form (Virata Rupa). Another sung of the Lord addressing Him as Narayana, and the third glorified Narayana by adding “Sri” to His name. These slokas, known as “prabandhas” represent knowledge of God, love of God, and the darsan of God (or Parajnana, Parabhakti, and Paramabhakti).

The Lord having accepted His devotees prayers, disappeared from their sight. And as He did so, the violent storm and the rain simultaneously ceased. The sky became clear again, the sun shone forth, and the birds began to sing. The three travelers came out of the hut to look upon the first rays of the morning sun as it traversed over the horizon. By now they had all discovered each other’s identities, and before they left they engaged in a mock squabble and then tried taking the dust from each other’s feet. Joyful at the sight of the Supreme Lord, and of having had one another’s association, Sarayogi, Bhutayogi, and Bhrantayogi bid farewell to each other and went their separate ways.

 Compiled by Sri Sri Nitai Das Prabhu 

Mind is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is more difficult to control the mind than to control the wind ~ Arjuna to Sri Krishna

Introduction

One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is Holy Gita. Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he has to fight. The Bhagavad-Gita Gita is preached in the battle field Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a counseling to do his duty while multitudes of men stood by waiting . It has got all the management tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium and to overcome any crisis situation. The Bhagavad-Gita Gita can be experienced as a powerful catalyst for transformation. Bhagavad-Gita gita means song of the Spirit, song of the Lord. The Holy Gita has become a secret driving force behind the un-folding of one’s life. In the days of doubt this divine book will support all spiritual search. This divine book will contribute to self reflection, finer feeling and deepen one’s inner process. Then life in the world can become a real education-dynamic, full and joyful-no matter what the circumstance. May the wisdom of loving consciousness ever guide us on our journey. What makes the Holy Gita a practical psychology of transformation is that it offers us the tools to connect with our deepest intangible essence and we must learn to participate in the battle of life with right knowledge. 

There is no theory to be internalized and applied in this psychology. Ancient practices spontaneously induce what each person needs as the individual and the universal coincide. The work proceeds through intellectual knowledge of the playing field (jnana yoga), emotional devotion to the ideal (bhakti yoga) and right action that includes both feeling and knowledge (karma yoga). With ongoing purification we approach wisdom. The Bhagavad-Gita,  Gita is a message addressed to each and every human individual to help him or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming the present and progressing towards a bright future. Within its eighteen chapters is revealed a human drama. This is the experience of everyone in this world, the drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter dejection, sorrow and total breakdown and hopelessness to a state of perfect understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph. 

Management has become a part and parcel of everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose, management principles come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human effort.

Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their weaknesses irrelevant, says t Management Gurus. It creates harmony in working together – equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals and achievements, plans and performance, products and markets. It resolves situations of scarcity, be they in the physical, technical or human fields, through maximum utilization with the minimum available processes to achieve the goal. Lack of management causes disorder, confusion, wastage, delay, destruction and even depression. Managing men, money and materials in the best possible way, according to circumstances and environment, is the most important and essential factor for a successful management.

“We’re discovering that what we thought was fine, which was to be more efficient, harder working and richer, doesn’t actually lead to the Nirvana we hoped for … those who are making the most money are not sure it’s worth it. Who wants to be rich in the graveyard? And those who aren’t making any money think that the world doesn’t make sense, because money is supposed to be the only thing worth having and they haven’t got any.”

“Tomorrow we are going to wake up in a world in which we all need to realize that we are condemned to freedom … There is no escape. Institutions won’t shoulder responsibility because they are in a state of confused flux. There is no church, no nation state, no market to rely on. There are no cut and dried values to use as escape tools … we are faced with the prospect of taking charge of our own freedom … responsibility for our own health, for our own education, for our own careers – responsibility for our own lives.”

“The recent anti-capitalist protests indicate a growing frustration with the institutional arrangements currently in place. They also, largely, miss the point. Global market capitalism is not a political ideology. It is neither good or bad, right nor wrong – it just is.”

Management guidelines from the Bhagavad-Gita Gita

There is an important distinction between effectiveness and efficiency in managing.

* Effectiveness is doing the right things.
* Efficiency is doing things right.

The general principles of effective management can be applied in every field, the differences being more in application than in principle. The Manager’s functions can be summed up as:

* Forming a vision
* Planning the strategy to realize the vision.
* Cultivating the art of leadership.
* Establishing institutional excellence.
* Building an innovative organization.
* Developing human resources.
* Building teams and teamwork.
* Delegation, motivation, and communication.
* Reviewing performance and taking corrective steps when called for.

Thus, management is a process of aligning people and getting them committed to work for a common goal to the maximum social benefit – in search of excellence.

The critical question in all managers’ minds is how to be effective in their job. The answer to this fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad-Gita Gita, which repeatedly proclaims that “you must try to manage yourself.” The reason is that unless a manager reaches a level of excellence and effectiveness, he or she will be merely a face in the crowd.

Old truths in a new context

The Bhagavad-Gita Gita, written thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all managerial techniques leading us towards a harmonious and blissful state of affairs in place of the conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence of motivation and so on, common in most of Indian enterprises today – and probably in enterprises in many other countries.

The modern (Western) management concepts of vision, leadership, motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work meaning, decision making and planning, are all discussed in the Bhagavad-Gita Gita. There is one major difference. While Western management thought too often deals with problems at material, external and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad-Gita Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of human thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is improved, it will automatically enhance the quality of his actions and their results.

The management philosophy emanating from the West, is based on the lure of materialism and on a perennial thirst for profit, irrespective of the quality of the means adopted to achieve that goal. This phenomenon has its source in the abundant wealth of the West and so ‘management by materialism’ has caught the fancy of all the countries the world over, India being no exception to this trend. My country, India, has been in the forefront in importing these ideas mainly because of its centuries old indoctrination by colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling that anything Western is good and anything Indian is inferior.

The result is that, while huge funds have been invested in building temples of modem management education, no perceptible changes are visible in the improvement of the general quality of life – although the standards of living of a few has gone up. The same old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy, criminalisation of institutions, social violence, exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body politic.

The source of the problem

The reasons for this sorry state of affairs are not far to seek. The Western idea of management centers on making the worker (and the manager) more efficient and more productive. Companies offer workers more to work more, produce more, sell more and to stick to the organisation without looking for alternatives. The sole aim of extracting better and more work from the worker is to improve the bottom-line of the enterprise. The worker has become a hirable commodity, which can be used, replaced and discarded at will.

Thus, workers have been reduced to the state of a mercantile product. In such a state, it should come as no surprise to us that workers start using strikes (gheraos) sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule etc. to get maximum benefit for themselves from the organizations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we reach a situation in which management and workers become separate and contradictory entities with conflicting interests. There is no common goal or understanding. This, predictably, leads to suspicion, friction, disillusion and mistrust, with managers and workers at cross purposes. The absence of human values and erosion of human touch in the organizational structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence.

Western management philosophy may have created prosperity – for some people some of the time at least – but it has failed in the aim of ensuring betterment of individual life and social welfare. It has remained by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty for a few in the midst of poor quality of life for many.

Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine prevailing management disciplines – their objectives, scope and content. Management should be redefined to underline the development of the worker as a person, as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With this changed perspective, management can become an instrument in the process of social, and indeed national, development.

Now let us re-examine some of the modern management concepts in the light of the Bhagavad-Gita Gita which is a primer of management-by-values.

Utilisation of available resources

The first lesson of management science is to choose wisely and utilize scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser before the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna’s large army for his help while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna’s wisdom for his support. This episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the effective manager – the former chose numbers, the latter, wisdom.

Attitudes towards work

Three stone-cutters were engaged in erecting a temple. An HRD Consultant asked them what they were doing. The response of the three workers to this innocent-looking question is illuminating.

* ‘I am a poor man. I have to maintain my family. I am making a living here,’ said the first stone-cutter with a dejected face.
* ‘Well, I work because I want to show that I am the best stone-cutter in the country,’ said the second one with a sense of pride.
* ‘Oh, I want to build the most beautiful temple in the country,’ said the third one with a visionary gleam.

Their jobs were identical but their perspectives were different. What the Gita tells us is to develop the visionary perspective in the work we do. It tells us to develop a sense of larger vision in our work for the common good.

Work commitment

A popular verse of the Gita advises “detachment” from the fruits or results of actions performed in the course of one’s duty. Being dedicated work has to mean “working for the sake of work, generating excellence for its own sake.” If we are always calculating the date of promotion or the rate of commission before putting in our efforts, then such work is not detached. It is not “generating excellence for its own sake” but working only for the extrinsic reward that may (or may not) result.

Working only with an eye to the anticipated benefits, means that the quality of performance of the current job or duty suffers – through mental agitation of anxiety for the future. In fact, the way the world works means that events do not always respond positively to our calculations and hence expected fruits may not always be forthcoming. So, the Gita tells us not to mortgage present commitment to an uncertain future.

Some people might argue that not seeking the business result of work and actions, makes one unaccountable. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of advice on the theory of cause and effect, making the doer responsible for the consequences of his deeds. While advising detachment from the avarice of selfish gains in discharging one’s accepted duty, the Gita does not absolve anybody of the consequences arising from discharge of his or her responsibilities.

Thus the best means of effective performance management is the work itself. Attaining this state of mind (called “nishkama karma”) is the right attitude to work because it prevents the ego, the mind, from dissipation of attention through speculation on future gains or losses.

Motivation – self and self-transcendence

It has been presumed for many years that satisfying lower order needs of workers – adequate food, clothing and shelter, etc. are key factors in motivation. However, it is a common experience that the dissatisfaction of the clerk and of the Director is identical – only their scales and composition vary. It should be true that once the lower-order needs are more than satisfied, the Director should have little problem in optimizing his contribution to the organization and society. But more often than not, it does not happen like that. (“The eagle soars high but keeps its eyes firmly fixed on the dead animal below.”) On the contrary, a lowly paid schoolteacher, or a self-employed artisan, may well demonstrate higher levels of self-actualizations despite poorer satisfaction of their lower-order needs.

This situation is explained by the theory of self-transcendence propounded in the Gita. Self-transcendence involves renouncing egoism, putting others before oneself, emphasizing team work, dignity, co-operation, harmony and trust – and, indeed potentially sacrificing lower needs for higher goals, the opposite of Maslow.

“Work must be done with detachment.” It is the ego that spoils work and the ego is the centrepiece of most theories of motivation. We need not merely a theory of motivation but a theory of inspiration.

The Great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941, known as “Gurudev”) says working for love is freedom in action. A concept which is described as “disinterested work” in the Gita where Sri Krishna says,

“He who shares the wealth generated only after serving the people, through work done as a sacrifice for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary those who earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins that lead to frustration and failure.”

Disinterested work finds expression in devotion, surrender and equipoise. The former two are psychological while the third is determination to keep the mind free of the dualistic (usually taken to mean “materialistic”) pulls of daily experiences. Detached involvement in work is the key to mental equanimity or the state of “nirdwanda.” This attitude leads to a stage where the worker begins to feel the presence of the Supreme Intelligence guiding the embodied individual intelligence. Such de-personified intelligence is best suited for those who sincerely believe in the supremacy of organizational goals as compared to narrow personal success and achievement.

Work culture

An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work culture – “daivi sampat” or divine work culture and “asuri sampat” or demonic work culture.

* Daivi work culture – involves fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice, straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of fault-finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and pride.
* Asuri work culture – involves egoism, delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work not oriented towards service.

Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.

It is in this light that the counsel, “yogah karmasu kausalam” should be understood. “Kausalam” means skill or technique of work which is an indispensable component of a work ethic. “Yogah” is defined in the Gita itself as “samatvam yogah uchyate” meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.

(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as “Lokmanya,” probably the most learned among the country’s political leaders. For a description of the meanings of the word “Yoga”, see foot of this page.)

By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of one’s duty is that of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.

The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work done is the Gita’s prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this principle leads to lack of incentive for effort, striking at the very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for its own sake leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gita’s principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed moral, satisfaction.

The Gita further explains the theory of “detachment” from the extrinsic rewards of work in saying:

* If the result of sincere effort is a success, the entire credit should not be appropriated by the doer alone.
* If the result of sincere effort is a failure, then too the entire blame does not accrue to the doer.

The former attitude mollifies arrogance and conceit while the latter prevents excessive despondency, de-motivation and self-pity. Thus both these dispositions safeguard the doer against psychological vulnerability, the cause of the modem managers’ companions of diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcers.

Assimilation of the ideas of the Gita leads us to the wider spectrum of “lokasamgraha” (general welfare) but there is also another dimension to the work ethic – if the “karmayoga” (service) is blended with “bhaktiyoga” (devotion), then the work itself becomes worship, a “sevayoga” (service for its own sake.)

(This may sound a peculiarly religious idea but it has a wider application. It could be taken to mean doing something because it is worthwhile, to serve others, to make the world a better place – ed.)

Manager’s mental health

Sound mental health is the very goal of any human activity – more so management. Sound mental health is that state of mind which can maintain a calm, positive poise, or regain it when unsettled, in the midst of all the external vagaries of work life and social existence. Internal constancy and peace are the pre-requisites for a healthy stress-free mind.

Some of the impediments to sound mental health are:

* Greed – for power, position, prestige and money.
* Envy – regarding others’ achievements, success, rewards.
* Egotism – about one’s own accomplishments.
* Suspicion, anger and frustration.
* Anguish through comparisons.

The driving forces in today’s businesses are speed and competition. There is a distinct danger that these forces cause erosion of the moral fibre, that in seeking the end, one permits oneself immoral means – tax evasion, illegitimate financial holdings, being “economical with the truth”, deliberate oversight in the audit, too-clever financial reporting and so on. This phenomenon may be called as “yayati syndrome”.

In the book, the Mahabharata, we come across a king by the name of Yayati who, in order to revel in the endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old age with the youth of his obliging youngest son for a thousand years. However, he found the pursuit of sensual enjoyments ultimately unsatisfying and came back to his son pleading him to take back his youth. This “yayati syndrome” shows the conflict between externally directed acquisitions (extrinsic motivation) and inner value and conscience (intrinsic motivation.)

Management needs those who practice what they preach

“Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow,” says Sri Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others. “I am the strength of those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness,” says Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita.

In conclusion

The despondency of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita is typically human. Sri Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring words, changes Arjuna’s mind from a state of inertia to one of righteous action, from the state of what the French philosophers call “anomie” or even alienation, to a state of self-confidence in the ultimate victory of “Dharma” (ethical action.)

When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna reminded him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of intense action – not for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics over unethical actions and of truth over untruth.

Sri Krishna’s advice with regard to temporary failures is, “No doer of good ever ends in misery.” Every action should produce results. Good action produces good results and evil begets nothing but evil. Therefore, always act well and be rewarded. All clouds will vanish. Light will fill the heart and mind. I assure him of this. This is the message of Holy Gita.

My purport is not to suggest discarding of the Western model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to tune these ideals to India’s holistic attitude of “lokasangraha” – for the welfare of many, for the good of many. There is indeed a moral dimension to business life. What we do in business is no different, in this regard, to what we do in our personal lives. The means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results for their own sake, is ultimately self-defeating. (“Profit,” said Matsushita-san in another tradition, “is the reward of correct behavior.” – ed.)

The Essence of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, given in short:

In short, a rough translation of the above Bhagavad-Gita verse:

Whatever it happened, it did happen well.

Whatever it is happening now, too goes fine

Whatever it is to happen, that too will happen as scheduled.

What you lost of yours?

Why you’re crying?

What you brought to earth when you’re born, that you lost?

What you made or created on your own that’s going waste?

Whatever you have taken, it was from here;

whatever you had given, that too was from here; and

Whatever it belong to you today, that’ll be another one’s property tomorrow.

And the day after, it might belong to some other.

That’s the system of the Universe and the essence of My creation.

Lord Sri Krishna – in Bhagavad-Gita.

Let us go through what scholars say about Holy Bhagavad-Gita.

“No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad-Gita. Translation of such a work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all things. . . . The Swami does a real service for students by investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning. Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor that has lead to this illuminating work.”

Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University of Southern California


“The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world. The present translation and commentary is another manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita.”

Thomas Merton, Theologian


“I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s scholarly and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference book as well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my students. It is a beautifully done book.”

Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University


“As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The great interest that his reading of the Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an authorized interpretation according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition.”

Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University, Paris


“I have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of excellent quality and of great value for use in college classes on Indian religions. This is particularly true of the BBT edition and translation of the Bhagavad-Gita.”

Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University


“If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, since those who follow its teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak and strident lives of contemporary people.”

Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State University of New York, Buffalo


“There is little question that this edition is one of the best books available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada’s translation is an ideal blend of literal accuracy and religious insight.”

Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall College


“The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a common part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because it is alien per se than because we have lacked just the kind of close interpretative commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta has here provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar’s but a practitioner’s, a dedicated lifelong devotee’s point of view.”

Denise Levertov, Poet


“The increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding manyfold.”

Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization University of Chicago


“The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-Gita has been translated many times, Prabhupada adds a translation of singular importance with his commentary.”

Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and Director of Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California


“Srila Prabhupada’s edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where many hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought, beyond the commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the time Europeans first penetrated India.
“Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many this will be the first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal India.”

Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France


“As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief to see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to see the publication of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible cheating of false and unauthorized ‘gurus’ and ‘yogis’ and will give an opportunity to all people to understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture.”

Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico


“It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and beautifully explained work. I don’t know whether to praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-Gita, its daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the Gita with such an important voice and style. . . . It will occupy a significant place in the intellectual and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come.”

Dr. Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University


“I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations and answers to questions I had always posed regarding the interpretations of this sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly admire. If the aesceticism and ideal of the apostles which form the message of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is were more widespread and more respected, the world in which we live would be transformed into a better, more fraternal place.”

Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University of Paris


“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.”

Albert Einstein


“When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.”

Henry David Thoreau

“The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions.”

Dr. Albert Schweitzer

“The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every civilization.”

Sri Aurobindo

“The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states ‘behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.’ This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.”

Carl Jung


“The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.”

Jawaharlal  Nehru


“The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.”

Herman Hesse


“I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-Gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.”

Rudolph Steiner


“From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures.”

Adi Shankara


“The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.”

Aldous Huxley


“The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord Krishna‘s primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity.”

Sri Ramanuja

The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is transmigration of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the Supreme Lord.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati


“The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers.”

Madhvacharya

Yoga has two different meanings – a general meaning and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two or more things. The technical meaning is “a state of stability and peace and the means or practices which lead to that state.” The Bhagavad-Gita Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord Krishna is real Yogi who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis.”

Amritannandamayi Devi

The following article and question I got from Mr. Shyam Mehta  It is for the readers and surfers to respond in a way that would set the trend for a change, a change that was pending for years and ages – to make our future generation fit enough, at least getting to the inner meaning and values of Srivaishnavam and Visishtadvaita. You may respond to him directly with your valuable suggestions, comments and criticism.

TRS Iyengar

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 Questions for the Sri Vaishnava Community 

From my standpoint the Sri Vaishnava faith and Visishtadvaita philosophy have a vital role to play in the future of this world.


To be frank, I was not brought up a Sri Vaishnava. Mostly, I was brought up in England, I went to an English school and had ‘religious instruction’ in Christianity and went to Sunday School where again we studied the bible. My mother was Jewish and my wife is Catholic.


Yet, as a young boy, I hankered always for India and Indian culture, and my Yoga Guru, BKS Iyengar, came from an orthodox Sri Vaishnava background. Hence, I became interested in Hinduism and Indian philosophy. From my perspective, with no disrespect to Christianity at all, the sheer volume of instruction from God in the ancient Indian texts overwhelms the relative lack of a detailed philosophy in Christianity. This is no issue at all when one is brought up a Christian but to my mind will not satisfy everyone when one is not. So, of course, when I found books and material on Sri Ramanuja and Visishtadvaita, I was truly captivated. Every aspect of material, spiritual and religious knowledge pertinent to man’s development was clearly articulated consistent with all aspects of the sacred texts. The philosophy was complete, as is required of a traditional Indian philosophy as distinct from a modern science which goes in depth into one aspect but omits others. And, luckily for me, I started studying the Yoga Sutras of Lord Patanjali, with the help of BKS Iyengar and his son Prashant. I soon found that in all but possibly one or two minor aspects the two philosophies were identical. And also they are complementary, with information in one supplementing information in the other.


Mostly, since you are reading this article you are one of the more fortunate people in this world. There is so much every day tragedy and disaster in so many countries and affecting so many people. Being the bearer of bad news is never popular, but in truth my view is that the likelihood is that there is much worse to come. One could argue very logically that ‘the end of the world is nigh’. It has been stated so often by religious fanatics and others in the past that this is not what anyone wants to hear. But if one examines any aspect of what man has been doing (to society, to the environment, creating weapons of mass destruction,..) the chance of even just one calamity is high: what odds do you give me of the ozone layer not being destroyed in the next few decades?


So, across the world in a couple of decades the chances are that love will have declined, there may be mass SAR outbreaks, the weather will have become unbearably hot, melting of the polar caps imply that people are squeezed into ever more densely populated areas.Unfortunately, with the onslaught of modern materialism faith in one’s own religion (Christianity, Hinduism, etc) will have declined. But in times of tragedy, people inevitably start to pray and turn to God, however much they have previously been brought up as atheists. The likelihood of turning to God for a miracle is not the highest when one is facing the barrel of a gun, but when there is a sustained period of misfortune. As I see it, though, the ‘scientific’ outlook on life will still not have left mankind and hence a complete philosophy of devotion to God as offered by Yoga and Visishtadvaita will become increasingly popular compared with the more faith-based religions such as Christianity. Even today there is growing interest in Yoga and Eastern thought, at least outside India.


One of the most incredible lessons that I believe Sri Ramanuja taught us is to go beyond accepting other faiths. He had the full offering of philosophy and religion from the Tamil Veda and yet chose to ignore this and instead work with the Sanskrit sacred texts of a different culture so that with a conservative culture in India the chances of the message of Bhakti and love being promulgated across time was maximized. He recognized that the Word of God does not belong solely to one community but to all, and that this Word is the same whoever it has been communicated to.


What does this all mean for the Sri Vaishnava community? In my case I was arguably not brought up properly either as a Christian or a Hindu. One of the main difficulties that arises as one grows older is that it becomes increasingly difficult to learn and assimilate new things. Hence, if you decide to have children (and, given my evolving views about modern society, I decided that I would not) you need to give your children full faith in God. All the trappings of Sri Vaishnavism for me personally have no meaning, and are a distraction from what I see as my purpose in life. But the ancient seers designed the Sri Vaishnava faith exactly as it should be. Hence my view is that you should teach your children to follow faithfully the various rituals and customs of the faith with all sincerity, and explain to them if it is possible for you the rationale behind each aspect. It is up to them later in life to follow this or not. Customs and rituals are crucially important in keeping a community together and gaining focus when times are hard. And, in the case of Hinduism, each custom and ritual has a specific benefit and purpose.


My speculation, though, would be that whilst there will be ever increasing interest in Sri Vaishnavism across the world, this will focus on what I call the ‘essentials’ rather than the ‘trappings’. Hence, a true servant of God will I suggest promote to the world the essentials of Visishtadvaita rather than the full religion. Consequently, I believe that a sort of non-sectarian, if this can be imagined, branch of Sri Vaishanvism should be developed by the Sri Vaishnava community in India. Maybe this sounds absurd to you, (it does a bit to me!), but I wonder whether in this way the Sri Vaishanvas would be most effective in serving humanity. Of course I would not want this to be at the expense of having the Sri Vaishnavas at an individual level abandoning their culture. At the same time one needs to recognize that as India ‘modernizes’ the chances are that the practice of the trappings of religion as well as religion itself will decline. This to my mind makes the question of promoting the essence of Sri Vaishanvism to the world and particularly to India even more important. I would be honoured to help in any way that I can.


Well, obviously, I have been lecturing to you and perhaps questioning some of your beliefs and I hope that you do not mind. I owe a debt of gratitude so large to the Tamil Alwars and to the founding fathers of Visishtadvaita that I hope they do not mind my asking these questions for you all to consider or discard. “