    By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back To Godhead Vol. 17, No. 12, 1982.   An explanation of a song by the great spiritual teacher Narottama dasa Thakura, some fourteen years ago in the Los Angeles Hare Krsna center.   Narottama dasa Thakura, who has written this song, is a famous … Read more
Scientists inform us that woodpeckers, who close their eyes during pecking, do so to protect their eyes from popping out. Humans suffer concussion at 80 to 100gs, a woodpeckers head decellerates at 1200 gs, the equivalant of coming to an immediate stop at 26,000 miles per hour. 22 times per second it continually drums the … Read more
Rosalind Peterson is the California President and Co-Founder of the Agriculture Defense Coalition (ADC), formed in 2006 to protect agricultural crop production from uncontrolled experimental weather modification programs, atmospheric heating, testing programs, and ocean and atmospheric experimental geoengineering programs. In 2007 she took part in the 60th Annual Climate Change Conference at the United Nations … Read more
 
 
The following is an article by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, published in Back To Godhead magazine Vol. 14, No. 14, January 1, 1979.
 
The Vedic literatures are full of references to God’s form. For example, it is said that God has no hands or legs, but that He can accept anything you offer: apani-pado javano grhita. Also, it is said that God has no eyes or ears, but that He can see everything and hear everything. So, these are apparent contradictions, because whenever we think of someone seeing, we think he must have eyes like ours. This is our material conception. Factually, however, God does have eyes, but His eyes are different from ours. He can see even in the darkness, but we cannot. God can hear, also. God is in His kingdom, which is millions and millions of miles away, but if we are whispering something conspiracy He can hear it, because He is sitting within us.
 
So, we cannot avoid God’s seeing or God’s hearing or God’s touching. In the (Bhagavad-gita 9.26) Lord Krsna says,
 
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
 
“If somebody offers Me flowers, fruits, vegetables, or milk with devotional love, I accept and eat it.” Now, how is He eating? We cannot see Him eat, but He is eating. We experience this daily: when we offer Krsna food according to the ritualistic process, we see that the taste of the food changes immediately. This is practical. So God eats, but because He is full in Himself, He does not eat like us. If someone offers me a plate of food, I may finish it, but God is not hungry, so when He eats He leaves the things as they are. Purnasya purnam adaya purnam evavasisyate: God is so full that He can eat all the food that we offer and still it remains as it is. He can eat with His eyes. This is stated in the Brahma-samhita. Angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti: “Every limb of the body of God has all the potencies of the other limbs.” For example, we can see with our eyes, but we cannot eat with our eyes. But if God, simply sees the food we have offered, that is His eating.
 
Chapter one
“Of the splendid I am the splendour. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.” This is the declaration of Krsna in Bhagavad-gita. When I think of the Amazon and preaching where no other devotee had been before; and how Krsna took control and gave us all facility and protection, this sloka comes alive for me. I had been a travelling sannyasi in the Krsna consciousness movement for eight years and had just completed a preaching tour of the United States of America. The time had come to make a decision where to go next. A number of options were open to me but I was still undecided.
In a discussion with Hridayananda Maharajah he suggested my going to Brazil. “Although there are thirty-eight temples and hundreds of devotees, sanyasis rarely get there. I think the devotees would be in ecstasy if you went.” “Brazil” I thought. “I never thought of going to Brazil.” The idea began to attract me. “Do they speak English?” I asked. “No. Portuguese, but some people speak English and there are devotees who will be able to translate for you.” It’s appeal was increasing and after more discussion I agreed to the proposal. The necessary arrangements were made and soon I was boarding a plane for Rio de Janeiro. As I fastened my seatbelt, I noticed a pamphlet on Brazil in the pocket of my seat. I saw on the map that the top of Brazil was coloured a lush green. In the middle of this area I read the words, “Amazon.” A thought passed through my mind. I wondered if anyone had ever been there to preach Krsna consciousness?
Upon landing, I was met by Isvara Maharajah who was in charge of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust Publications for Brazil. It was in his association that I began my tour of the temples in Brazil. We started with the southern temples gradually making our way north. As we got closer to the equator, I again reflected on the idea of preaching in the Amazon. This idea intrigued me, as I had never heard of anyone doing it before. Upon our arrival in Recife, Maharajah suggested that next I visit a preaching centre in Manaus. It had been two and a half years since the devotees in Manaus had seen any other devotees. They hadn’t been out and nobody had been in. I decided to go.
 
 
Several years after Srila Prabhupada first arrived in America, a disciple discovered the diary he had kept during his passage from India on the steamship Jaladuta. Inside was a poem, handwritten in Bengali, that Srila Prabhupada had written on board the ship just after it had arrived in Boston harbor. The poem beautifully captures Srila Prabhupada’s first impressions of Western civilization and reveals his heartfelt determination to change the consciousness of America.
 
My dear Lord Krsna, You are so kind upon this useless soul, but I do not know why You have brought me here. Now You can do whatever You like with me.
 
But I guess You have some business here, otherwise why would You bring me to this terrible place?
 
Most of the population here is covered by the material modes of ignorance and passion. Absorbed in material life, they think themselves very happy and satisfied, and therefore they have no taste for the transcendental message of Vasudeva. I do not know how they will be able to understand it.
 
But I know Your causeless mercy can make everything possible, because You are the most expert mystic.
 
 
 
Around the middle of the 19th Century the seed of change was planted. As with all planting of seeds there is a passing of time before the plant fructifies. The seed of change was Capitalism. In the UK in 2012 there was a spectacular opening of the 2012 Olympics that pictured the story of Great Britain, which illustrated that seed of change. The whole arena of that stadium was a picture of “green and pleasant” land. And then the transformation took place right in front of your eyes from that picturesque green and pleasant land to the industrialised heartlands that we here in the UK still suffer from today.
 
Capitalism was borne and it spread firstly to the western worlds and now it’s covering the globe with its exploitative sinister influence. One of the very most hard-hitting concepts of Capitalism is the idea that if you work hard enough your dream is realisable. Now I know that in the USA this is practically a second nature. It’s the American Dream. And at the heart of that concept is the dream that you can build your own home, work hard, marry a beautiful woman and pay for it for the rest of your life. It’s the “have it now” and pay later tag, and have we paid for it, with mortgages coming out of our ears, and unfortunately for capitalists, it nearly brought the whole system down. The belief system of Capitalism, because that’s exactly what Capitalism is, was brought to its knees and it cripples the masses and the poor.
 
That’s why as devotees we don’t believe in Capitalism, nor should we be a part of it, because it’s inherently not a fair system and it’s an exploitative abusive way of life. Our social system for devotees is the Varnashrama-dharma because it follows one’s natural gunas and propensities for social and economic lifestyles. By following Krishna Consciousness we naturally uplift society by materially living a most harmonious lifestyle. Going from the mode of darkness and mode of passion the living entity is progressively associating in the social system with the higher modes of nature. After some time the mode of goodness is achievable for all men, no one is excluded. (This is not a gender exclusive article by using the word “men”.)
 
    Pradyumna:   srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah punya-sravana-kirtanah hrdy antah stho hy abhadrani vidhunoti suhrt satam [SB 1.2.17]   Translation: “Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is also the Paramatma in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, does cleanse the desire for material enjoyment in the heart of the devotee who … Read more
  Words of Wisdom from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura     We are put to test and trial in this world. Only those who attend the kirtana of the devotees can succeed.   Every spot on earth where discourses on God are held is a place of pilgrimage.   Possession of objects not related to … Read more
 
What Really Happened in 1977-78, interview with Gurukrpa Prabhu, by Bhakta das
 
 
“There is no new blood in this organization, things have become stagnated and dry, not dynamic and the offense of neglecting all their godbrothers by excluding them from their spiritual birthright, they will have to answer to Srila Prabhupada for this aparadha”
 
Dear Prabhus, Gurukrpa is here with me and on his behalf I am writing here.
 
Question: What happened the final months of Srila Prabhupada’s appearance in connection with the process of initiating new devotees?
 
Gurukrpa: Nothing happened. In the beginning Srila Prabhupada did the diksa, the yajna and the name giving. As the numbers increased, he authorized GBC, and senior sannyasis to pick names and chant on the beads, etc. In 1977 during the months of May, June, July 1977 I was in Vrindaban with Srila Prabhupada, giving him his massage in his bed between 1 AM and mangala aratik. During the day, many letters would arrive. Satsvarupa Swami was the secretary and we decided that only letters that would give joy to Srila Prabhupada would be read. Like numbers of books sold, etc. A maximum of five letters daily were read to Srila Prabhupada.
 
After some weeks like this, there were stacks and stacks of letters, all relating to initiation. Hundreds of people were panicking that Srila Prabhupada would leave the planet before they were given initiation. At this time, this situation was brought before Srila Prabhupada in his room by Satsvarupa, Tamal, myself, and maybe some others.
 
Up until this time it was a very simple matter that we were doing the initiations, but we first had to ask permission. Srila Prabhupada NEVER refused any recommendation from his senior men. And personally, I would sometimes argue with some GBC that they were giving it too easily.
 
At this meeting, Srila Prabhupada basically said, “From here on, if you feel they are ready, then you may give the initiation on my behalf.” I understood this for what it was, simply extending the authority a little further than it had been. Tamal Krsna Swami, began to say, “But who will do it?. Which devotees will do this?” Srila Prabhupada said, “The nearest one will do it. Whoever is closest.” Tamal said, “Can Bhavananda do? Can Jayapataka do?” Thus these eleven names came out.
 
