Krishna voice-august-2018

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, Founder- Acharya of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness, came to America
in 1965, at age 69, to fulfill his spiritual master’s
request that he teach the science of Krishna
consciousness throughout the English-speaking world.
In a dozen years he published some seventy volumes
of translation and commentary on India’s Vedic
literature, and these are now standard in universities
worldwide. Meanwhile, travelling almost nonstop, Srila
Prabhupada moulded his international society into a
world wide confederation of ashramas, schools, temples
and farm communities. He passed away in 1977, in
Vrindavana, the place most sacred to Lord Krishna. His
disciples and followers are carrying forward the
movement he started.
To know more about Srila Prabhupada visit
www.iskconbangalore.org/srila-prabhupada
August 2018Vol 19, No.8
CONTENTS
Love and Its Reflection 4
Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out 10
Abandon all Varieties of Religion
—KRISHNA (Gita 18.66) 13
Thiruputkuzhi Sri Vijaya Raghava Perumal Temple 18
In Praise of Srila Prabhupada 22
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Krishna Voice, August 2018 3

Love and Its ReflectionThe loving affairs of Radha and Krishna are on the highest spiritual
platform. Our attempts to imitate them are on the lowest material one.
A lecture in Mayapur, India, on March 29, 1975
by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
radha krishna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir asmad
ekatmanav api bhuvi pura deha-bhedam gatau tau
chaitanyakhyam prakatam adhuna tad-dvayam caikyam aptam
radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalitam naumi krishna-svarupam
"The loving affairs of Sri Radha and Krishna are transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-
giving potency. Although Radha and Krishna are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now
these two transcendental identities have again united in the form of Sri Krishna Chaitanya. I bow down to Him,
who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Srimati Radharani, although He is Krishna
Himself." (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi 1.5)
Here Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, the author of Chaitanya-charitamrita, is describing another feature of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Previously, Lord Chaitanya has been described as the ultimate Absolute Truth, Bhagavan.
The Absolute Truth is realized in three phases, and the ultimate phase is Bhagavan, who is sad-aisvaryaih purnah,
"full in six opulences." Nowadays there are so many "Bhagavans," but they have no opulence. But the actual
Bhagavan is full in six kinds of opulence—beauty, wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, and renunciation.
So, Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has descended as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu just to bestow
the topmost understanding of loving affairs with Krishna (samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasam sva-bhakti-sriyam [Cc.
Adi 1.4]). In devotional service there are different stages, although spiritually there is no difference among them.
There is ultimately no difference between a devotee in the mood of servitude (dasya-rasa) and one in the mood
of conjugal love (madhurya-rasa). But each devotee likes to serve the Supreme Lord according to his particular
inclination. Someone wants to love Him in a neutral mood (santa-rasa), someone wants to love Him in the mood
of a servant, someone wants to love Him as a friend, another as a parent, and another as a conjugal lover. While
there is no spiritual difference between these phases of loving affairs, great devotees and learned scholars have
given their decision that the loving affairs with Krishna in the conjugal mood—like those between husband and
wife or, above those, between lover and beloved—are on the highest platform.
In the Western countries these affairs between boyfriend and girlfriend are very prominent, and in the spiritual
world this relationship of lover and beloved, without marriage, is considered the highest. Whatever so-called loving
affairs we see here are a perverted reflection of the loving affairs between Radha and Krishna.
In the Bhagavad-gita this perverted reflection is described as urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham: a tree with its roots
up and its branches down. In other words, the material world is a reflection of the real, spiritual world. Unless this
material world is a reflection, how could the roots be upward? There is a tree like this: a tree on the bank of a pond
will be reflected with its roots upwards and its branches down.
This world is a reflection only, a shadow. The reality is in the spiritual world. There the topmost thing is the conjugal
love between Radha and Krishna, and here the same thing, when pervertedly reflected as sexual affairs between
a girl and a boy, is the lowest abomination. We should know this: In the spiritual world, for Radha and Krishna to
remain as girlfriend and boyfriend is the topmost pleasure, while in the material world this same thing is most
abominable.
We cannot imitate the loving affairs of Krishna and Radharani. We have to understand the facts of Their relationship,
as described here: radha krishna-pranaya-vikrtir hladini saktir. "The loving affairs of Radha and Krishna are
transcendental manifestations of the Lord's internal pleasure-giving potency."
The word shakti means "energy." From the Vedas we understand that the Lord, the Supreme Person, has many
energies: parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate. When Arjuna requested Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita "Kindly explain
some of the energies You display," Krishna listed His different energies, and at last He concluded,

Krishna Voice, August 20186
athava bahunaitena kim jnatena tavarjuna
vistabhyaham idam krtsnam ekamsena sthito jagat
The words idam krtsnam ... jagat mean "the entire material manifestation." There are many universes in the material
manifestation. We see only one universe, but there are many millions of universes (yasya prabha prabhavato
jagad-anda-koti). So, Krishna says that all these universes in the material world display only one-fourth of His
energy (ekamsena).
Just imagine what Krishna's energy is!And we are trying to imitate Him. So many rascals declare they are Bhagavan,
but they have no idea what Bhagavan is. Innumerable universes are coming out from the breathing of Maha-
Vishnu, who is just a part of a plenary part of Bhagavan, Lord Krishna. When Maha-Vishnu exhales, the universes
come out, and when He inhales, everything goes within Him. This is Bhagavan.
This material creation is a partial exhibition of the energy of the Lord, one fourth of His energy. This material world
is made of His material energy, and we are His marginal energy. But the other three-fourths of His energies are
in the spiritual world, where Krishna exhibits only His spiritual energies. And when Krishna wants to enjoy, He
enjoys loving affairs like those between a man and a woman.
Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura explains that the mellow of the loving affairs between a man and a woman
comes from the Supreme Person. Unless the loving propensity is there in the Supreme, how can it be reflected
here? This material world is only a perverted reflection of the spiritual world, so the origin of the loving propensity
must be there.
The impersonalistic, Mayavadi philosophers cannot understand the spiritual loving affairs of Radha and Krishna.
Because they have bitter experience of the so-called loving affairs in this material world, they think the ultimate
goal must be without personality or varieties (nirvishesha). Impersonalism and voidism are of the same nature.
The voidists, the Buddhist philosophers, say that ultimately everything is zero, and the Mayavadi philosophers say,
"No, not zero but impersonal." Both of them are wrong. The Absolute Truth is actually personal and full of variety,
but because the philosophers with a poor fund of knowledge cannot understand, they make it out to be zero or
variety-less.
To clear away these false ideas, Kaviraja Gosvami says that while radha-krishna prema, the loving affairs between
Radha and Krishna, are factual—they are not imagination—these affairs are different from the so-called loving
affairs we experience in this world. That is to be understood. Don't be like the sahajiyas, who take radha-krishna
prema to be just like ordinary lusty affairs in this material world. A verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam states that
the loving affairs of the gopis and Krishna in the rasa-lila are not an ordinary thing, and that if one can hear of them
from the proper source and understand the real facts of the rasa-lila, then all the lusty desires in one's heart will
vanish. There will be no more lusty desires. In other words, one will become dhira, calm and sober-minded.
Here in this material world everyone is adhira, agitated by lusty desires. But in the spiritual world everyone is dhira.
They are not agitated by lusty desires. As long as we are agitated by lusty desires, we are in the material world.
That is the test. As Yamunacharya says,
yad-avadhi mama cetah krishna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit
tad-avadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane
bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu nisthivanam ca
"Since I've been engaged in rendering more and more service to Krishna and getting spiritual pleasure, as soon
as I think of sex life with a woman I immediately spit. I hate to think of it." This is the result of understanding the
loving affairs between Radha and Krishna.
Kaviraja Gosvami explains that these affairs are a transformation of Krishna's hladini sakti, His pleasure potency.
The Supreme Lord has three primary spiritual potencies: sandhini, His existence potency; samvit, His knowledge
potency; and hladini, His pleasure potency. The loving affairs of Radha and Krishna are a transformation of His
pleasure potency.
These loving affairs have nothing to do with the so-called loving affairs of this material world, because Krishna is
Parabrahman. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna is described as Parabrahman. Arjuna says to Krishna, param brahma
param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan: "You are the Supreme Brahman, the supreme abode and purifier." That
is the declaration of Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, and we should accept it. This is the parampara system, the
system of disciplic succession.
The Mayavadi philosophers are after brahma-sukha, the happiness of merging with Brahman. The source of

Aug 22 Ekadashi
Aug 23 break fast
Sep 6 Ekadashi
Sep 7 break fast
Fasting
Aug 16 Garuda Panchami (at ISKCON Bangalore)
Aug 22-26 Jhulan Yatra
Aug 26 Balarama Jayanthi: Appearance of Lord Balarama
Fasting till noon
Second month of Chaturmasya begins
Fasting from yogurt for one month
Sep 2-3 Sri Krishna Janmashtami
Fasting till midnight on Sep 3
Sep 4 Sri Vyasa Puja: Appearance of Srila Prabhupada
Fasting till noon
Festivals
8 Krishna Voice, August 2018
brahmasukha is Krishna, but the Mayavadis cannot reach up to that point. There are two kinds of transcendentalists:
one is the Brahmavadi, or Mayavadi impersonalist, and the other is the Vaishnava, or devotee. The Vaishnavas
accept the philosophy that we are servants of Krishna: jivera 'svarupa' haya—krsnera 'nitya-dasa.' And the Mayavadi
philosophers falsely think that they have become one with the Supreme, that they have become Narayana. That's
a misleading philosophy, and we should not accept it.
Now, Krishna being Parabrahman, what will be the platform of His loving affairs? This is to be considered. To attain
brahma-sukha, spiritual happiness, many saintly persons give up everything of this material world and take
sannyasa. Sannyasa means giving up everything for the Supreme. So, simply to relish a little bit of brahma-sukha,
great, great saintly persons give up everything and try to purify their existence. They try to find real happiness.
Every one of us is after happiness, but we are seeking happiness in the perverted reflection, where it is not possible
to find it. Therefore one has to give up this perverted happiness and come to the real fact.
Our point is that since great saintly persons give up all pleasures in this material world to find pleasure in Brahman,
why should Krishna, who is the Supreme Brahman, take pleasure in this material world? This is the argument.
Therefore those who are thinking that Krishna enjoyed with the gopis as we enjoy in the company of many girls—
such people are great fools. They have no knowledge. They're misled. Our affairs, being a perverted reflection,
appear like the loving affairs of Radha and Krishna, but the reflection is different from the reality.
So we should not be misled; we should follow the teachings of Chaitanya-charitamrita. We should understand that
the loving affairs between Radha and Krishna are not like those between an ordinary boy and girl. And if we take
Radha's and Krishna's loving affairs to be ordinary, we will be misled. Therefore the sahajiyas, those who believe
that Krishna enjoys with ordinary girls, are very, very much misled.
We shouldn't be so foolish as to think we can be equal to Krishna. There is no competition for Krishna: na tat-
samas cabhyadhikas ca drsyate. Nobody can be equal with Him, nobody can be greater than Him. That is
Parabrahman; that is Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gita also, Krishna says, mattah parataram nanyat. "There is no
entity superior to Me." We have to very carefully study Krishna.
The Krishna consciousness movement is meant to give everyone a chance to understand Krishna very scientifically.
Krishna consciousness is not sentimentality. One must be very philosophically advanced to understand this scientific
knowledge, or vijnana.
Without understanding the science and philosophy of Krishna consciousness, it is not possible to understand
Krishna. You may ask, "Do you think all the devotees are scientists and philosophers?" The answer is yes. They
may not have degrees in science or philosophy, but they have been taught by Krishna from within. If you want to
learn science and philosophy, you have to approach some person who knows the subject. But the greatest scientist,
the greatest philosopher, is Krishna, who is within your heart: isvarah sarva-bhutanam hrd-dese 'rjuna tisthati. And
He says, tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam dadami buddhi-yogam tam. "To anyone who is a sincere
devotee of Mine and always engages in My service, I give education and intelligence. I make him a scientist and
a philosopher." That is the way of receiving vijnana, scientific understanding of Krishna.
You may ask, "Why does Krishna reveal this knowledge only to His devotees and not to all? If the Supreme Lord
is sitting in everyone's heart, why is He especially inclined toward those who engage twenty-four hours a day in
His service? Why not to others?" That is His special mercy for the devotees:
tesam evanukampartham
aham ajnana-jam tamah

Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of ISKCON, has delivered more than
1500 lectures on Vedic scriptures like Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and
Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita. The audio recording of his lectures are available in
ISKCON centers. You can also hear some of these lectures in
www.iskconbangalore.org/srila-prabhupada-lectures
ADVERTISEMENT
9Krishna Voice, August 2018
nasayamy atma-bhava stho
jnana-dipena bhasvata
"I live in everyone's heart, but out of special mercy for My devotees I destroy their ignorance with the lamp of
transcendental knowledge."
This is the process of understanding God. You cannot understand God, or Krishna, without being His faithful
servant. This is the secret. If we become His faithful servant under the guidance of a proper spiritual master, we
can understand Krishna and His loving affairs with Radharani, and we can understand Lord Chaitanya. These
things will all be revealed.
This knowledge is not acquired by mundane efforts. That is not possible. Svayam eva sphuraty adah: Krishna will
reveal Himself when He is pleased with your service. Suppose it is dark outside and you want the sunshine. That
is not possible. But in the morning, when the sun comes out automatically, the darkness is dissipated. Similarly,
knowledge of Krishna will automatically be revealed to us if we serve Him faithfully. So we should always remain
faithful servants of Krishna, and when He is pleased by our service He will reveal Himself to us. Otherwise, it is
not possible to understand Him.
Thank you very much.

SRILA PRABHUPADA SPEAKS OUT
Going to God
This is a continuation of a conversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and
reporters in Melbourne, Australia, on June 29, 1974.
Reporter 3: Your Divine Grace, in your books you talk
about Brahmaloka, which, I suppose, is heaven, where
we will at last see God.
Srila Prabhupada: No. First of all, heaven is simply a
higher material planetary system, where you cannot
directly see God. There are many material lokas, or
planetary systems, and heaven is one of
them, and of course Brahmaloka is one.
Don't you see? There are so many
material planetary systems, with
innumerable planets. The planetary
systems include Brahmaloka,
Chandraloka, Varunaloka,
Suryaloka, and so many others.
Reporter 3: So when we speak
of heaven, are we speaking of
a physical place? Would one be
on a physical planet?
Srila Prabhupada: Just
consider the planets in
this universe that you
see each day and
night. Are they
physical or not?
Take the sun. The sun is not a physical planet?
Reporter 3: It is.
Srila Prabhupada: What do you mean by "physical."
Reporter 3: Well, actually existing on a material...
Srila Prabhupada: At night don't you see existing so
many planets—innumerable planets? Are they physical
or not?
Reporter 3: Stars and planets. They are physical,
yes.
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Consider this example.
When you say "United States of America," you
are talking about an actual place. There are
living entities—men and mountains and rivers.
Everything is there.
Similarly, all these other planets in this
universe—they are inhabited by living
entities. There are similarly cities and
towns and mountains and rivers
and oceans. Everything is
there—though of a
unique pattern on each
planet.

So in heaven, everything is of a superior quality, a
superior pattern. As a result, in your present body you
are not able to go and live there. Even on this single
planet, there are widely varying climatic conditions. In
the Arctic region some living entities can live, but for us
it is very difficult to live there. One place is suitable for
one kind of man; another place is suitable for another.
So from planet to planet, and from place to place on
each planet, you'll find living entities. And these living
entities have received various kinds of material bodies
just suitable to various conditions.
For instance, you cannot live within the ocean, but just
for that reason you cannot say that nobody can live
within the ocean. That would be foolishness. Simply
you must admit you cannot live there. But there are so
many varieties of fish, and they are living within the
ocean very comfortably.
So don't try to transfer your present experience to other
living entities. That is not a very good argument. Now,
here on this planet many of the so-called scientists—
they are saying that on other planets there are no living
entities. Why? These so-called scientists are putting
forth so many reasons: "This element is lacking." "That
element is lacking."
But what, Mr. Scientist, do you know of how this or that
condition may affect beings with bodies vastly different
from anything you have experienced? You know virtually
nothing about the other planets. Then how can you say
there are no living entities there?
Reporter 3: I quite agree. Very often these scientists
make grand statements without a clue as to whereof
they speak. So in fact, there is a heavenly planetary
system, with real living entities, and it is in this material
universe?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. In this material universe you'll
find a place for souls who have lived virtuously, but who
have not become unalloyed devotees of the Lord. That
is called heaven, a place of great material opulence.
But heaven is not in the spiritual universe. No, the
spiritual universe is reserved for those souls who have
developed unalloyed devotion to the Lord. Therefore in
heaven you'll not see the Lord. And even though you
may enjoy a life of many thousands of years, at last you
must undergo death and accept another birth on an
earthly planet.
Reporter 3: Your Divine Grace, do you see a time
coming when all mankind will be united?
Srila Prabhupada: That is very difficult to say, but we
can be united on the spiritual platform, not on the material
platform.
Reporter 3: Well, then, would you say that this spiritual
unity of all mankind is possible within this generation?
Srila Prabhupada: It is possible at any time—provided
people take to the actual principles of spiritual life. But
they'll not take to these principles. For example, one of
the basic principles of spiritual life is no meat-eating.
Now, do you think this principle will be embraced by
everyone? And yet this is one of the fundamental
principles of spiritual life—no meat-eating.
Reporter 3: Is that a necessary...
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, yes. Without this—if you don't
stop meat-eating—you cannot understand what spiritual
life is. One who is mired in sinful life cannot understand
what God is, or what devotion to God is. That is not
possible.
Reporter 3: And would it be the same for the rest of
what you call the principles of spiritual life?
Srila Prabhupada: Yes. People who are sinful, who do
not follow the spiritual principles, cannot understand
God or devotion to God. The basic spiritual principles
include four prohibitions. We instruct our students not
to indulge in gambling, illicit sex, meat- or fish- or egg-
eating, or intoxication, including cigarettes, tea, and
coffee.-
Reporter 3: Drinking coffee and tea is also prohibited?
Srila Prabhupada: Oh, yes. It is also a form of
intoxication. Gambling, illicit sex, flesh-eating,
intoxication—these are the four pillars of sinful life. So
unless one gives up these four things, he cannot
understand what God is, what God's kingdom is, what
our real business here in this material world is—namely
preparing to go to God. (To be continued.)
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Recently a college student told me,
"I don't believe in organized religion."
"Good," I said, "neither does God."
In Bhagavad-gita, Krishna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead,
tells Arjuna, "Abandon all varieties of
religion and just surrender unto Me."
One might wonder why God, of all
persons, would tell anyone to
abandon religion. The reason is this:
religion, as commonly understood,
gets in the way of the unique and
direct personal relationship each soul
can enjoy with God.
People usually accept religion because they want
something from God, or because they want to avoid
getting something from God—such as hellfire and
brimstone. Thus religion is commonly motivated by
selfishness in the form of material hope or fear.
According to the Vedic literature, religion based on
material motives is not very pleasing to God, who is,
after all, a person. He enjoys through personal
relationships and doesn't so much like people
approaching Him with ulterior motives. Even the desire
to attain the promised land—though it may be in heaven
instead of on earth—is based on ulterior motives:
satisfaction of material desires. One might imagine God
asking the selfishly motivated worshiper a question like
the one we used to hear in old movies: "Do you love
me for myself or for my money?"
So when Krishna tells us to abandon religion and
surrender to Him, He means we must abandon all the
artificial business dealings between the soul and Himself.
Real spiritual life, therefore, according to Bhagavad-
gita, has very little to do with what usually goes on under
the name of religion. And the Srimad-Bhagavatam
begins with this blunt statement: "Completely rejecting
all religious activities which are materially motivated,
this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth,
which is understandable by those devotees who are
fully pure in heart."
The perfection of religion is serving God with devotion.
But Krishna says in the Gita: "In the minds of those who
are too attached to sense enjoyment and material
opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the
resolute determination for devotional service does not
take place."
In devotional service, which awakens love of God, one
gets pleasure from one's relationship with God, rather
than from any material or spiritual benefit one can extract
from God by good behaviour or prayer. Therefore Srila
Prabhupada states, "Devotional service to the Lord has
nothing to do with the material conception of bodily
comfort."
Of course, religion as commonly understood does have
its place in human life. In most cases praying to God
for material benefits is certainly a step up from dog-eat-
dog competition for material gratification. Unfortunately,
because such religion is motivated by the desire to
satisfy the senses, when the senses are satisfied religion
is rejected, as history has shown us.
When I was in high school, I lived in Europe with my
military family. During vacations I would travel, and I
noticed that in many famous European towns the
dominant building is the medieval cathedral, a reminder
of a more religious age.
Now I live in southern California, and the biggest buildings
in the new metropolitan skylines are the impersonal,
glass-surfaced bank buildings. As Srila Prabhupada
states, "Man is thriving economically, so at present he
is not very interested in religion. Churches, mosques,
or temples are now practically vacant... This practically
Abandon all Varieties of Religion
—KRISHNA (Gita 18.66)
The eternal function of the soul is not to be a Christian, Hindu, Muslim,
or Jew, but to serve God.
By Drutakarma Dasa

proves that religion is performed for some economic
gains" (Bhag. 1.1.2, purport).
This is not real religion. In The Science of Self-
Realization, Srila Prabhupada states,
“Primarily, religion means to know God and to love Him.
That is religion. Nowadays, because of a lack of training,
nobody knows God, what to speak of loving Him. People
are satisfied simply going to church and praying, "O
God, give us our daily bread." In the Srimad-Bhagavatam
this is called a cheating religion, because the aim is not
to know and love God but to gain some personal profit...
The title "Hindu," "Muslim," or "Christian" is simply a
rubber stamp. None of them knows who God is and
how to love Him.”
If God is worshiped at all, it is generally only as the
invisible cosmic order-supplier for human demands in
this world or the next. Until I learned about devotional
service by reading Srila Prabhupada's books, I had a
similar understanding of God—the unknown person to
whom I sometimes prayed for the satisfaction of my
material desires.
The cure for this misconception lies in coming to a
proper understanding of our own identity and God's. As
for our identity, the Bhagavad-gita teaches that we are
not our temporary, material bodies; the real self is the
soul within the body. The soul is by nature eternal,
blissful, and full of knowledge and is meant to enjoy a
direct, personal relationship with God, Krishna, who
perfectly reciprocates the spiritual loving feelings of
each soul. Krishna, who has a transcendental personal
form, is continuously visible to perfectly self-realized
souls.
In pure consciousness there is no question of being
Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Buddhist. Krishna
and the lover of Krishna simply exist for each other,
each constantly appearing in the other's heart. In Srimad-
Bhagavatam (9.4.68) Krishna says:
sadhavo hrdayam mahyam
sadhunam hrdayam tv aham
mad-anyat te na jananti
naham tebhyo manag api
"The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart,
and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My
devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do
not know anyone else but them."
In Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna states, sarvasya caham
hrdi sannivistah: He is situated in the hearts of all living
beings as the Paramatma, or Supersoul. He also states,
mamaivamso jiva-loke: all souls are part of Him. When
one correctly understands these facts, one can relate
equally with all living things. Srila Prabhupada states,
“Since the individual soul is part and parcel of the
Supreme Lord, in that sense the Lord is living in every
body, and, as Supersoul, the Lord is also present as a
witness. In both cases the presence of God in every
living entity is essential. Therefore persons who profess
to belong to some religious sect but who do not feel the
presence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in
every living entity, and everywhere else, are in the mode
of ignorance.”—Bhag. 3.29.22. purport.
Herein lies the key to solving the ever-present problem
of interreligious strife. In ignorance one thinks in terms
of "my religion" and "your religion." But persons on
higher levels of spiritual realization make no such
distinctions.
When the soul is stripped of all designations and
coverings, it displays its fundamental nature as a loving
servant of God. Srila Prabhupada once said:
“We are spirit souls—we are pure. But as soon as we
leave the spiritual world and come in contact with these
material bodies, our consciousness becomes covered...
And this is why people are fighting. They are wrongly
identifying with the body and thinking, "I am German,"
"I am English," "I am black," "I am white," "I am this."
"I am that"—so many bodily designations. These bodily
designations are impurities. And so we see that
sometimes artists make statues that are naked. In
France, for example, they regard nakedness as pure
art. Similarly, when you come to the "nakedness" of the
spirit soul—without these bodily designations—that is
purity. ... "I am a spirit soul part and parcel of God."
And as part and parcel of God, our business is to love
Him.”
So the essence of religion has little to do with ritual and
reward, repentance and salvation—it has to do with the
"naked soul" experiencing direct and personal love for
God, without desiring anything in return.
The process for entering into a direct loving relationship
with God is called bhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotion.
The principle of bhakti-yoga is not faith or belief but
actual experience. The soul engaged in bhakti-yoga
can come into full and direct contact with Krishna.
This is the ultimate purpose of yoga—to link the individual
soul with Krishna in a relationship of pure devotional
service. Srila Prabhupada states, "The common religion
of all classes of human beings, regardless of whosoever...
one may be, is devotional service. Religious affiliation
in terms of different countries and cultural circumstances
is obviously not the common religion of the human
being; rather, the basic principle is devotional service."
(Bhag. 2.8.18, purport).
Devotional service is the characteristic function of the
naked soul. In Srila Prabhupada's introduction to
Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he describes devotional service
as sanatana-dharma, the eternal occupation of the self:
The English word religion is a little different from

sanatana-dharma. Religion conveys the idea of faith,
and faith may change. One may have faith in a particular
process, and he may change this faith and adopt another,
but sanatana-dharma refers to that activity which cannot
be changed. For instance, liquidity cannot be taken from
water, nor can heat be taken from fire. Similarly, the
eternal function of the eternal living entity cannot be
taken from the living entity. Sanatana-dharma is eternally
integral with the living entity... When Sanatana Gosvami
asked Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu about the svarupa of
every living being, the Lord replied that the svarupa, or
constitutional position, of the living being is the rendering
of service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Devotional service means using one's senses to please
the Supreme Lord, instead of praying to the Lord to
satisfy one's senses. The focus is on God's desires
instead of one's own self-centered desires. Srila
Prabhupada writes,
Therefore, from all the evidence the conclusion is that
without bhakti, devotional service, there is no question
of religious principles. God is the central figure in the
performance of religious principles. Almost everything
going on in this world as religion is devoid of any idea
of devotional service and is therefore condemned by
the verdict of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Without devotional
service, so-called religious principles are only
cheating.”—Bhag. 7.11.7, purport
In this unfortunate situation, we have, as Jonathan Swift
wrote in his Thoughts on Various Subjects, "just enough
religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us
love one another."
On the highest platform, religion is one, because it
focuses on the one Personality of Godhead. If one pure
soul is experiencing a direct, personal, loving relationship
with Krishna, and another soul is also experiencing a
direct, personal, loving relationship with Krishna, these
souls will certainly have no grounds for dispute, for they
will recognize their common center in the same
Personality of Godhead.
It is only when there is a lack of direct experience of
God that problems arise. When there is a lack of
information and experience about who God is and how
to love Him, then sectarian faith and belief come into
play. Such faith and belief arise from each individual's
mental condition. And since mental conditions vary,
there will certainly be varieties of faith and belief. Human
nature being what it is, people generally become very
much attached to their particular faith or belief, so much
so that they become hostile to those with different faiths
and beliefs.
This kind of blind faith, which arises from incomplete,
theoretical imaginations about God, is the root cause
of the various religious conflicts that now rend the world.
It may come as a surprise to many that a Krishna
conscious person does not see himself as Hindu. A
Hindu sees himself as different from the Muslims, Sikhs,
or Buddhists, and therefore we see in India a constant
strain between Hindus and Muslims, and in recent years
between Hindus and Sikhs.
Of course, religious strife is not confined to India. In Sri
Lanka the tension is between Hindu Tamil separatists
and the Buddhist majority. In the Middle East the Shiite
Muslims are engaged in bitter conflict with the Sunni
Muslims, and the Sunni and Shiite Muslims with the
Israeli Jews. In Lebanon various Islamic, Christian, and
Jewish forces are entangled in a bloody, never-ending
network of conflict. And lest we think that religious
violence is a third-world phenomenon, the ongoing
conflict between Protestants and Catholics continues
to rage in Northern Ireland.
Srila Prabhupada states, "In Calcutta during the 1947
Hindu-Muslim riots, there was more suffering because
everyone was thinking, 'I am a Hindu' or 'I am a Muslim.'
But if one is advanced in Krishna consciousness, he
will not fight according to such conceptions. A Krishna
conscious person knows that he is neither Hindu nor
Muslim but the eternal servant of Krishna."
Further analysing sectarian religion and distinguishing
it from universal spiritual principles, Srila Prabhupada
has stated:
“When we are on the material platform, there are different
types of religions—Hinduism, Christianity,
Mohammedanism, Buddhism, and so on. These are
instituted for a particular time, a particular country or a
particular person. Consequently there are differences...
The world is anxious for religious unity, and that common
platform can be achieved in transcendental devotional
service. The devotional activities of the Krishna
consciousness movement are completely transcendental
to material considerations.”—CC. Madhya 25.121,
purport
I've never felt that being in the Krishna consciousness
movement is like belonging to a typical religious
organization, because my vital connection is not with
some bureaucratic entity but with my spiritual master,
Srila Prabhupada, who serves as a transparent medium
connecting me with the Supreme Lord, Krishna, and as
a lifelong confidential adviser and instructor. The bona
fide spiritual master comes in a line of disciplic
succession, or sampradaya, that descends through time
from Krishna Himself, and typically a practitioner of
bhakti-yoga will identify himself as a member of an
authorized sampradaya.
Of course, it's natural that persons cultivating love of
God should associate with each other and cooperate
to systematically communicate the techniques of bhakti-
yoga to others. Srila Prabhupada has created the
International Society for Krishna consciousness to

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provide opportunity for its members' spiritual growth
and cooperation in the service of the Supreme Lord,
Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada preferred to think of his International
Society for Krishna Consciousness as "a cultural
movement for the respiritualisation of human society"
rather than as a religion. One of his disciples once
suggested having gold trim on the pages of his books,
but Srila Prabhupada rejected the idea, fearing that
people would take his transcendental teachings as
sectarian religious literature.
Although Srila Prabhupada founded many temples, he
was not very attached to having buildings. Like his own
spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura,
Srila Prabhupada stated that he was prepared to sell
the marble from the temples to print books explaining
the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. When temples
were established in different cities around the world,
each one was, on Prabhupada's instruction, financially
independent. He did not want to create an overly
centralized organization, preferring instead to emphasize
individual effort and local self-reliance.
To coordinate some of the worldwide activities of the
Krishna consciousness movement, he created a
Governing Body Commission, but its members were
ideally to meet only once a year in Mayapur, India, the
birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, and set the movement's
course for the coming year during a few days of
discussion.
All in all, Srila Prabhupada preferred a minimum of the
centralized administration that people associate with
"organized religion," while at the same time he wanted
the members of ISKCON to hold a unified vision of a
mission for spreading Krishna consciousness all over
the world.
More than anything else, Srila Prabhupada wanted
people to chant the holy names of the Lord anywhere
and everywhere and engage in devotional service to
Krishna, because this would lead to the desired result.
In this regard Srila Prabhupada writes,
“After chanting the holy name of the Lord and dancing
in ecstasy, one gradually sees the form of the Lord, the
pastimes of the Lord, and the transcendental qualities
of the Lord. ...As stated in Bhagavad-gita, bhaktya mam
abhijanati: simply by devotional service one can
understand everything about the Supreme Lord. If one
fortunately understands the Supreme Lord in this way,
the result is tyaktva deham punar janma naiti: after
giving up his material body, he no longer has to take
birth in this material world. Instead, he returns home,
back to Godhead. That is the ultimate perfection.”—
Bhag. 6.3.22, purport

Lord Sri Ramachandra of Jatayu
Thiruputkuzhi Sri Vijaya Raghava
Perumal Temple
by Sampatkumara Ramanuja Dasan (Adv. Ashwin.S)
Located about 7 miles west of Kanchipuram and half a
kilometre from Baluchetti Chattiram which lies on the
Chennai - Vellore highway, is the wonderful temple of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Thiruputkuzhi Sri Vijaya
Raghava Perumal temple.
The Legend
Garuda’s elder brother Aruna had two sons, Jatayu and
Sampathi. Like their father and uncle, they were blessed
with bird forms. But unlike their father and uncle, they
were mortals. The fact that their father was the sun god’s
charioteer and the personification of the first rays of the
dawn made them very lustrous and fearsome. This caused
them to be named Basa, or the shiny ones.
Jatayu and Sampathi were better than average birds:
they had larger wingspans and unparalleled digestive
powers, the latter being a special gift from Sage Agastya
who was known to have similar powers. But it was their
unprecedented wingspan that brought upon them both
curse and blessing. With wings as huge as theirs, they
invented a method of flight that required very little effort
on their part, yet allowed them to scale heights which no
mortal bird could reach.
One day the young brothers decided to race each other
to the boundaries of the sky. Up and up they flew, heeding
not the warnings of the other bird demigods. Up and up
they flew, till they neared the realm of their father, the
realm of the sun. Being mortal birds, the sun’s scorching
rays soon started affecting their wings. In his youthful
overconfidence, Jatayu continued to rise, while the elder
and wiser Sampathi suddenly realized the consequences
of their mistake.
Sampathi: Fall back, brother! I lose, you win. Just don’t
go any higher up near the sun god.
Jatayu: Fear not, brother, but rise with me.
Soon Jatayu’s wings started fuming and he was unable
to fold them to be able to descend. Seeing this, Sampathi
rose higher than his brother and shielded Jatayu’s wings
till he was able to make a safe descent.
Mistaking this act of fraternal love to be one of arrogance,
the sun god cursed Sampathi, though he protected his
brother at the cost of his own wings. Grieved by the
condition that he had caused his brother, Jatayu decided
immediately to be a part of his brother’s suffering.
Jatayu: We were fated to share every curse and every
blessing bestowed upon us, brother. Therefore I too shall
become flightless.
Sampathi: Be not enslaved by the boundaries of fate;
there are things you can do, glories you can achieve
before the same curse overtakes you.
The temple tank:
Jatayu Pushkarani

Jatayu: But how can I leave you in the quest for glory?
How will you sustain yourself in your present condition?
The people of the three worlds know us as the Grdhra,
the perpetually hungry. How will you satisfy your hunger?
Sampathi: The earth has bounties to feed every kind of
creature. If I can no longer hunt the living, I shall hunt
the dead. Blessed as I am, with a digestion comparable
to the honourable son of the Kumbha, I am sure I can
partake of dead meat without any ill-effects.
Jatayu: Then I too shall do the same!
Thus the highly able birds of the Grdhra clan renounced
their diet of fresh meat and became the scourge of the
earth, creatures that are known as vultures. Years after
this incident, the brothers became vassals of the human
Ikshvaku rulers of the kingdom of Kosala, forging a special
friendship with King Dundubhinada, more famously known
as Dasharatha. There is another story behind this
friendship.
Once, during Dasharatha's early days as king ofAyodhya,
the kingdom suffered a terrible drought. Dasharatha
consulted his priests, who informed him that the kingdom
was suffering the ill-effects of Shani (god of the planet
Saturn). So Dasharatha took off in a flying chariot to find
Shani and persuade him to have mercy on Ayodhya.
When Shani saw Dasharatha approaching, he feared
that his gaze might kill Dasharatha, so he directed his
gaze at Dasharatha's chariot which was burnt to ashes.
Dasharatha started falling to the Earth but he was caught
by Jatayu who had been watching the whole scene. In
any case, Shani was pleased by all the trials Dasharatha
had gone through, so he agreed to stopAyodhya's drought.
Jatayu flew Dasharatha back to Ayodhya and they were
friends ever since.
Sampathi had settled himself on the southern shores of
the subcontinent, while Jatayu roamed the skies between
Kosala and his brother’s abode. It is on one of these
rounds that he spotted an airborne chariot drawn by
donkeys with pisacha (ghoul) faces, occupied by a very
handsome half-demon and an equally effulgent, screaming
woman. He soon knew the woman to be the exiled
daughter-in-law of Kosala, for she wore the clothes of an
Vijaya Raghava Perumal with Maragathavalli Thayar

ascetic, made of tree bark, and was calling out to
Ramachandra. He guessed from his brother’s
descriptions that the half-demon was the king of Lanka,
Ravana. Jatayu had no idea what was happening.
Jatayu: My body is of no value if it is not used in
the service of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead Sri Ramachandra. His most precious consort,
Mother Sita, is being kidnapped. It is my duty to stop
this.
So Jatayu fought with Ravana with all his might. He
made it very difficult for Ravana for a while and thought
that Mother Sita would soon be out of the grips of the
demon king. But Ravana regained his strength. He
chopped and somehow severed the wings and limbs of
Jatayu. Jatayu fell to the ground and his life was slowly
ebbing away.
When he was about to leave his mortal coils, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Ramachandra and
his brother Lakshmana appeared there, on their search
for Sita. Seeing Jatayu, they thought that he must be
the demon who was trying to catch Sita. So they
approached with caution. When He saw that Jatayu
was dying because of Ravana, Sri Ramachandra was
greatly pained.The sacrifice of Jatayu:
the famous painting of Raja Ravi Varma
Thiruputkuzhi Sri Vijaya Raghava Perumal Temple

Jatayu: My beloved Lord Ramachandra, please forgive
me that I could not execute my service to the best of
my ability. I failed in my service. But I tried and I could
tell you from my knowledge of shastra, the time in which
She is leaving now is an auspicious time. Whatever you
have lost in this time, you will regain.
Even in that condition, Jatayu tried to serve the Supreme
Personality of Godhead Sri Ramachandra by uttering
sweet words to pacify Him. He was not filled with
bitterness that the Lord was allowing him to die. He did
not desire to barter his devotional service for personal
gain.
It is stated in the Ramayana that the Lord recognized
Jatayu’s selfless service and therefore performed his
funeral just like he would, his father’s. Lord Ramachandra
declared that Jatayu’s death was more painful to Him
that day, than Sita’s absence.
This episode of Jatayu’s passing and subsequent funeral
by Sri Ramachandra took place in Thiruputkuzhi and a
temple was later built in memory of Jatayu, a selfless
devotee.
The Temple
The temple is very modest, with 3 prakaras. At the
entrance is the three-tiered rajagopuram. The presiding
Deity is Lord Vijaya Raghava Perumal (Lord Vishnu).
The temple houses a separate shrine for Mahalakshmi,
who is known here as Maragathavalli Thayar. This
temple has a separate sannidhi for Jatayu. The
pushkarani (temple tank) dates back to the time of Lord
Ramachandra. Lord Rama shot an arrow and created
a spring when He performed the funeral rites of Jatayu,
and this is now called Jatayu Pushkarini. The vimanam
(the tower above the sanctum sanctorum) of this temple
is called Vijaya Koti Vimanam. Vijaya Raghava Perumal
is seen in a sitting posture, having Jatayu on His thigh,
flanked by Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi.
Festivals
Brahmotsava and Rama Navami are the major festivals.
The temple celebrates Theppotsava in March.
Thirumangai Alwar has sung two songs in praise of the
Lord of Thiruputkuzhi.
Photo courtesy: Santhanakrishnan, Srirangam
Vijaya Raghava Perumal during Brahmotsavam Vijaya Raghava Perumal during abhiseka
To read online visit: www.goo.gl/M5GiVK

In Praise of Srila Prabhupada
In today's world of hypocrisy and scandal, we remember Srila Prabhupada's
pure qualities and his example of genuine spiritual leadership.
by Ajitananda Dasa
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, who successfully distributed the message
of Lord Krishna throughout the world, was not an ordinary
conditioned soul, governed by the harsh laws of material
nature. Although he may have apparently exhibited
commonplace characteristics, it is evident through careful
study of his life that Srila Prabhupada perfectly displayed
the qualities of a pure devotee of Lord Krishna.
The Vedic literature states that only one who is free
from material bondage can possess these qualities in
full. Such a great soul is rarely found within this material
realm, and owing to his unparalleled purity and exalted
status as an intimate associate of the Supreme Lord,
he is worshipable by the entire world. Following are
some of the qualities of a pure devotee so eminently
exemplified by Srila Prabhupada.
Merciful
The ultimate expression of mercy is to freely afford
22

everyone the opportunity to develop pure love of
Godhead. This Srila Prabhupada did by opening over
one hundred temples, printing millions of books, and
sending his disciples all over the world to teach the
science of Krishna consciousness. His distribution of
mercy manifested naturally as a result of his heartfelt
compassion for the long-suffering conditioned souls.
His mercy fell everywhere, like pleasing rain upon the
burning hearts of this age.
When Srila Prabhupada lectured during the early days
of the Krishna consciousness movement, he would often
tell his listeners, "I have come to your country not to
take anything, but simply to give." Those who were
honest and sincere were able to sense Srila
Prabhupada's unalloyed desire to bestow upon them
the highest form of mercy, and directed by Krishna within
their hearts, they voluntarily placed themselves under
his guidance and protection.
Although Srila Prabhupada is now gone from our material
vision, his mercy is still available. A liberated soul is not
bound by time and space, and neither is his mercy. One
only has to open up one's heart to receive this
benediction, which is being distributed freely to everyone.
Truthful
During the late 1960's, a generation of young men and
women took part in a mass rebellion against the untruths
that had been perpetrated upon them by governments,
schools, media, and big business. At that time Srila
Prabhupada arrived on the scene, boldly preaching the
message of Lord Krishna. He spoke truthfully, never
altering the pure message in deference to the time and
circumstance to attract followers, fame, and money. In
an atmosphere seething with the fumes of unrestricted
23

sense gratification, Srila Prabhupada presented a
process of spiritual life based on personal sacrifice and
purification of the senses.
In those days, with the peace movement in vogue, it
was extremely unpopular to speak out on behalf of any
form of military activity. But rather than cater to public
opinion, Srila Prabhupada spoke the truth about the
Bhagavad-gita, explaining to his youthful audience that
Arjuna attained spiritual perfection by fighting a war
under the order of Lord Krishna. Because of Srila
Prabhupada's own spiritual qualities and his
straightforward presentation of Lord Krishna's message,
people gradually began to understand the message and
received it with great delight. Such was the powerful
effect of Srila Prabhupada's truthfulness.
Magnanimous
Srila Prabhupada's gifts to the world were filled with
tremendous spiritual value. He gave us a wonderful
philosophy to live by, knowledge of our true spiritual
identities, beautiful Deities of Krishna to worship, the
all-auspicious holy name of Krishna, and delicious
krishna-prasadam (sanctified food offered to Krishna).
Srila Prabhupada also gave us the spiritually enlivening
association of devotees and the opportunity to develop
pure love of Godhead and return to a life of eternity,
bliss, and knowledge in the spiritual world.
In return for all these blessings, Srila Prabhupada asked
nothing for himself. He simply asked that we refrain
from sinful activities, chant Hare Krishna, and give
Krishna consciousness to others. In this way, selflessly
giving of himself at every step, Srila Prabhupada perfectly
exhibited the magnanimous nature of a pure devotee
of Lord Krishna.
Without Material Possessions
A pure devotee of Lord Krishna is always diving and
surfacing in the ocean of spiritual happiness. The Vedas
explain that one drop of this happiness is millions of
times greater than the paltry relish afforded by material
sense gratification or even the pleasure derived from
liberation from material existence. A pure devotee never
depends on the accumulation of material possessions
for his happiness. He accepts only what is necessary
to perform devotional service and maintains full
awareness that these facilities are actually the property
of the Lord.
During Srila Prabhupada's years spent in Vrindavana
preparing for his eventual journey to the West, he lived
very simply in a tiny room in the courtyard of the Radha-
Damodara temple. Alter preaching vigorously in the
West for a number of years, Srila Prabhupada had
access to much opulence, yet he never claimed any of
it as his own and used every penny in the service of
Krishna.
Desireless
One is said to be desireless when his only interest lies
in satisfying the transcendental senses of Lord Krishna.
Desires are eternally flowing like a river from the heart
of the living entity, and the process of Krishna
consciousness can change the quality of those desires
from material to spiritual.
Although Srila Prabhupada began his preaching work
very humbly, his mission became enormously successful,
and Krishna blessed him with great opulence. When a
person acquires great amounts of wealth and power,
he usually becomes thoroughly attached and polluted
due to the strong force of his material desires. Srila
Prabhupada, however, remained aloof from this
contamination because of his complete absorption in
the desire to please Krishna.
Indifferent to Material Acquisition
Because a pure devotee of Lord Krishna is desireless,
he is naturally indifferent to material acquisition. Material
facilities may come and go, but that does not concern
him in the least.
Srila Prabhupada once pointed out that if he had simply
sat beneath a tree and preached, very few people would
have come to listen. Therefore, to effectively deliver the
message of Lord Krishna, he constructed beautifully
ornate temples. At no time, however, was he desirous
of settling in comfortably to enjoy these facilities, choosing
instead to follow a rigorous schedule of traveling and
preaching that even the youngest and healthiest of his
disciples could not keep pace with.
Fixed
When Srila Prabhupada was instructed by his spiritual
master to preach Krishna consciousness in English, he
took his order as his life and soul and fixed his
determination upon carrying it out diligently. Founding
the Back to Godhead magazine in 1944, Srila
Prabhupada single-handedly attended to its publication
and distribution for many years, never once deviating
from his sincere effort to please his spiritual master. As
a result of Srila Prabhupada's fixed determination, all
of his preaching activities were crowned with glorious
success, and even now, in his physical absence, his
followers carry on his work all over the world.
Without False Prestige
Srila Prabhupada's humility was inconceivably deep
and heartfelt, and it inspired a generation of young men
and women, who had based their lives on the rejection
of authority, to willingly accept his authority. Srila
Prabhupada never took credit for his many successes,
always preferring to acknowledge his spiritual master,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and the
assistance given to him by his disciples.

During one lecture, Srila Prabhupada touched the hearts
of his disciples when he stated that he considered them
to be representatives of his spiritual master, sent to
assist him in his preaching mission. By this expression
of sincere gratitude, Srila Prabhupada displayed his
mood of devout humility. Anyone pursuing the spiritual
path should aspire to follow in his footsteps in this regard.
Grave
Srila Prabhupada once explained to a group of his
disciples that a devotee of Lord Krishna is always grave.
Upon hearing this, one devotee, a very colourful and
effusive person, decided to tone down his disposition
and became straight-faced in an attempt to please his
spiritual master. After a few days of this behaviour by
his disciple, Srila Prabhupada looked at him quizzically
and asked what was the matter. The disciple replied
that he was trying to be grave.
At that, Srila Prabhupada laughed and explained to him
that being grave means to be serious about Krishna
consciousness. It has
nothing to do with
artificially repressing
one's individuality. Srila
Prabhupada himself was
a m o s t v i b r a n t
personality. His life
abounded with laughter
and spiritual enjoyment,
yet he was always
serious about Krishna
consciousness. He never
forgot Lord Krishna, not
even for a moment, and
in this way displayed
perfect gravity.
A Friend
In the Bhagavad-gita
Lord Krishna states that
He is the friend of all
living beings. As the
Lord's intimate associate,
Srila Prabhupada also
displayed friendship to all
by dint of his constant
engagement in spiritual
welfare activities. In the
material world friendships
are formed on the basis
of mutual sense
gratification, and when
sense gratification is
d i s t u r b e d , t h e
relationship is either
d a m a g e d o r
discontinued.
Srila Prabhupada was a true friend to all, however,
because he formed relationships with others motivated
by his unalloyed desire to assist everyone in achieving
the highest goal of life. He never desired to exploit
anyone, and if there was ever an offense committed
against him or some difficulty caused by others, he
never took it seriously.
The scriptures state that if a disciple commits a sinful
activity, the spiritual master suffers. Srila Prabhupada,
out of his causeless mercy, accepted thousands of
disciples, and because of their inevitable transgressions
he had to undergo what appeared to be suffering. In
spite of this, he never withdrew his mercy and friendship.
Significantly, he always closed his letters to his disciples
with the words "Your ever well-wisher."
The spiritual friendship of a pure devotee like Srila
Prabhupada is the rarest of gems, and it behooves us
all appreciate, revere, and guard it as our life's dearest
treasure.

Ratha Yatra
Sri Jagannatha Baladeva Subhadra Ratha Yatra at Vaikuntha Hill, Bangalore
Ratha Yatra celebrations at Hare Krishna Movement - Ahmedabad

Krishna Voice Monthly Magazine, August 2018 Vol.19, No.8 Price `30/-
Posted on August 10, 2018 at MBC, Manipal, License to post without prepayment No. WPP-08, Reg No. KA/BGGPO/2521/
2018-2020, Registered with Registrar of Newspapers for India under No. RNI 71022/99, Posted at MBC, Manipal, 576104.
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