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Priti-laksanamA Forum for Vaisnava Discussion

Volume 9, January 7994 .

"Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts,

revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting qasada and offering Taxdaire the six symptoms of love fyiti-laksanam ] shared by one devotee and another."

-Nectar of Instruction, Text Four

Dedicated toHis Divine Grace

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaFounder-Acarya of the

lntemational Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Articles and letters appearing in this newsletterdo not necessarily retlect the views of the publisher.Piti-laksanam is an intemal publication, not intended

for public distribution. Send all correspondence toPiti-laks anam, Box 1952' Alachua, Fl 32615-1952.

ContentsNotes from the Editor...'...................1

NECTAR SECTIONMadhurya-kadambini, Chapter 3 ... 2

LETTERSComments on the Last Issue-Arc i ta dasa . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . .5Thoughts on the Last Issue-Uttamasloka dasa ............................... 5Stigma of Mental Problems-Lisa Wimber ly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6A Thank You-Jagadisvara dasa ....6Devotee Welfare---Saijanasraya dasa . 6Refreshed & Healed-Visnudatta dasa ............... .... ' ......--.....-7The Perfect Solution-Dviya-sar i dasi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

ESSAYSChanting in the TheraPeuticSituation-Caitanya dasa ................. 7

Quality of our Exchanges-Narasingha Gurudasa ....................... 9Door-to-D oo r Preaching-Dayananda dasa .....................-........... 10The Old School-Mahakratu dasa .10Sannyasa at Fifty?-Yadubara dasa 10L,ove Grows from Comnitment-Nitai Gauranga dasa ................. ' ..... ' .. 1 1What is Wmng with Submission?-Maha-laksmi dasi ............... ......... -..... - t2Assistance Thru Psychology-Devi dasi ...........--.... ' .-..12Peck's Not That Bad-Kundali dasa ........................ ' .............. 13Goy't Sponsored Asramas-Dennis Archer ... ' .........1'4The Role of the Feminine-Bud Konowitz ..................... ................ 14Simply Love Krsna-Gauranga dasa .................................. ' . 14Childless Couples are Glorious-Anonymous.. ............... 16

RESPONSE TO ARTICLESIN PREVIOUS ISSUES

In Response to: Hare Krsna dasi-Teresa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . 16In Response to: NonalcoholicBeverages & Women Gurus-Hare Krsna dasi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17In Response to: NonalcoholicBeverages-Dasaratha-suta dasa .... 17

SPECIAL FEATUREIravan Dasa and the Bag LadY-1Mathuresa dasa .............. .... ' ............... 17PERSONAI.-S 19ADS.............. .............'...20

Notes from the EditorI had to decline on publishing a

few submissions that were sent inanonymously. Please make a note thatto be published in the newsletter youmust include your name. I did include"Childless Couples are Also Glorious,"which is listed as anonymous becausethere is a chance that the author sent intheir name but I lost it! There were fewsubmissions that didn't get Publishedbecause of space limitation; and one ortwo that didnit make it because the toneof the article was too "attacking." Evencritical points can be made matureiy,philosophically and in offensiveiy. Let'stry for that.

One of my Godsisters expressedthat she and some others objected to thePersonals section and ask that I removeit from the newsletter. Although I haveincluded this section in this issue I willgrve the matter further consideration.However, my initial thought is, "If youtake offense to the ads, or don't like thecontent, then please g!4!read it."There are devotees who appreciate and

require the service and there is no otherchannei in our entire Movement to

dress the need. I personally can'tfford to separate the Personal into a

separate publication. i4lhat really is theharm?

Please remember to send yoursubmission on disk. I can accept IBM orMAC format;5.25" or 3.5"; ASCII orword processing program. Please send

To receive Piti-l"aksanam send yourname and address and I'll inciude youon the mailing list. Donations areneeded and are making it possible forcontinued publication of the newsietter.Back issues (8 in all) are available for

1..00 each. A sincere thank you to thisissue's donors. Their demonstration ofsupport and encouragement makes itnossible for me to send this issue toyou. I may have to begin distribution ofP iti -laksanam through subscription. i'llgive more news on this in the nextissue.

-Pranada dasi

Mahakratu dasa, Ireland $10.00Gurusakti dasa, Switz. $10.00Vasu Murty, CA $6.00Maria, Holland $15.mNarasingha Gurudasa, OH$10.m

dasa, Vancouver $20.00ha dasi, Alachua $5.00

Manikundaia d, Australia $33.00Iswara Swami, Brazil 510.00Lisa, Australia $14.00Bob Roberts, MI 53.00Dhanesvara dasa, Vancouver $7.00Kari Mala dasi, Norway 927.NYamini dasi, PhillyIshan dasa, MT $2.00

$25.00

Sawa Srestha dasa, Spain $20.00

HK Rurai Life 520.00

NECTAR SECTION

Madhurya-kadambiniVisvannatha Cakravarti Thakura

The Third Shower of NectarAnarfft a-niz'rf li: ciearing the materialimpurities

A(ter bhajana Hya comes anarlhanittrtti, or clearing of bad qualities,which obstruct the progress of.bhakti.Aturthas may be classified hto fourtypes, according to origin: those arisingfrom previous sinful activity, thosearising from previous Pious activity,those arising from offtnses againstdevotional service and those arisingtrom bhakti (imperfectly performed).

Anarthas arising from previoussinfu.l activities fuil in the category ofthe five types of kle-sa previouslYmentioned: ignorance, false ego,attachment, hatred and addiction toev7l. Anarthas arising from Piousactivities are the addictions to theresuits of pious action (sattoa guta sr-nsr'enjoyment, mukti). Some people inciudethe anarthas arising from pious activii

under the categories of the ,k/esas

mentioned above (since the presence ofbhukti and muWi depive a Person ofbhakti., and therefore prolong hisexistence in the material realm.)

Tho* anarthas which arise fromoffense refers to those arising from thenama apmadhas. The seoa apradhas(offensive actions toward the Lord,such as entering the temple with shoeson or in a vehicle) in themselves are nota direct cause- of anarthas,fot setsaaparadhas do not usuaily have effect,being nuilified by constant service/ bychanting the name and by suchactivities as recitation of slolras whichhave the power to cancel the effect ofany sern aparadha. However if onebecomes careless, and takes advantageof the fact that he is protected from alleffecl of seaa apradha by the abovemeasures, h\s sewarymdha becorhesrama apmadha, arranartha which willobstruct his progress. He is guilty of thenama apmadha of committing sin on thestrength of the holy name. (The word" nama" in the phrase " nama apamdha"refers not only to the holy name but toall the angas of bhabi, of which thename is the primary representative-)

Eve& accordinglo dhannn sastm(scriptures dealing with codes ol larm.a)it is said that, if one willfully commitssiry on the strengfhof.gryascitta(remedial measures for commission ofsin), then the effect of the sin will not be

destroyed but rather increased.On the other hand, taking advan-

tage of scriptural statements whichguarantee the permanent effect of evena little devotional service, or whichguarantee perfection bY simPlYchanting one Krsna mantra etc., and, asa result, negiect some of the angas ofbha6i, does not produce nama aparadhaand arurtha, for committing sin on thestrength of the holy name refers to thewiilful commission of sin (actionscondemned by the rriptures and whichrequire remedial measures, includinglhe seoa aparadhas), thinking that thepower of devotion activities will nullilvthe bad effects. It does not refer to awillful omission of a secondary anga otbhakti.For, unlike the pathof karma,where faiiure to perform all the azgas isan offense which will deprive one ofresuits.

For the scriptures say that if in theperformance of devotional service, aperson intentionally closes his eyes andattempts to run, he still has no fear ofstumbling or falling or of not attainingthe goa1. This means a Person whotakes shelter of devotional servicesuffers no loss of results nor is hedeprived of the goal, even if, knowingall the an6as otbhakti, he knowingiyneglects to perform some of thesecondary angas.

Closing the eyes and rururing doesnot mean ignorance of scripture (sntfiand smrti, considered as ones two eyes),for that contradicts the direct meanin&which states that the Person has eyesbut does not use them, Neither shouldone consider that ciosing the eyes andrunning (intentional neglecting some ofthe angas of.bhakti, and eagerly Pursu-ing the goal), and any actions resultingfrom that mode of Progress, willinclude intentioral commission of thethirty two sew apamdhas, for the versedescribes a person who has sincerelytaken shelter of the process of bhakti asoutlined by the Lord himself. (In thatcase there is no question of intentionalseoa aparadha.) The thirty two sezaapradhas beginning with "entering thetemple while wearing shoes" and othersuch sern apamdhas should be under-stood to be offensive acts, and shouldnever be intentionally committed. Thusin the scriptures a Person who inten-tionally commits a sa)a aPradha iscondemned as a two-iegged animal.

lf.the nara rpamdhas, though theYbe long-standing have been committedunconsciously (but their Presence isinferred by the results, lack of advance-ment), then one should chant the nameconstantly. By that, steadiness bha,tfi

wiii be attained and gradually theoffenses will be neutraiized. If it iscommitted in full knowledge, however,there are other matters for consider-ation.Disrespect for Vaisnavas

' Sadhu ninda or criiicism of

Vaisrnvas is the first offense. The word" ninda" means animosity or malice. ifby chance this offense occurs, theperson shouid be repentant, recogniz-ing his own iow nature in havingcommitted the offense. In the same waythat a person who has been burned byfire seeks relief in fire, he should nuliilvthe offense by lamenting resoiving tocome before the Vaisnava, Fall at hisfeet, and satisfu him by offering hisobeisances, praises and respects. if theVaisnava is not saiisfied, the personshould remain ready to comply with hisevery wish. If the offense is so great thatthe Vaisnava's anger does not die, ingreat remorse, thinking himself mostunfortunate and bound for hell becauseof his offense, he should give upeverything else and take shelter ofcontinuous nama sankirtaza. By the greatpower of nama kirtana certainly, in time,that person will be delivered from hisoffense.

But if one, reluctant to put oneselfin a humble position by offeringrepeated respects and s€rvice to theVaisnava that one has offunded,justifies himself by arguing that simplytaking shelter of the name is sufficientfor the deliverance from offense, thenhe is guilty of further offense.

Nor shouid one be of the mentalitYto think that the offense of sdhu nindaoperates only in relation to a Vaisnavawho is tully and perfectly qualifiedwith ail the qualities mentioned inscripture, such as tolerance, mercy andkindness to all living entities (loplw

drohas titiksuh snn dehinom\, and

therefore minimize ones own offense bypointing out some defect in the devotee.The scriptures say that, even a Personwho is of very bad character, a cheater,devoid of proper behavior, malicious,devoid of samskams, if he takes tosurrender to the Lord, must be consid-ered a sadhu. All the more must adevotee who may show some occa-sional fault be considered a sdhu.

Also, if a great offense has beencommitted agarnst a Vaisnava, but theVaisnava does not become angrybecause of his exalted nature, theoffender should still full at thatdevotee's feet and seek wavs clfpleasing him in order to puri$'himself.Though the Vaisnava may forgjveoffenses, the dust of his feet does not

tolerate the offenses and delivers the

lruits of the offense on the guiitY

Derson.Sometimes, no suitable resPect can

ever match the causeless or fathom-less

mercy of the powerful, spontaneous,

most elevated of maha-bhagaaatas rn

their distribution of mercy. For in-

stance, even though made to carry

Rahugana's palanquin and made the

object of the King's harsh words, JadaBharata bestowed, his mercY. In a

similar way Cediraja showed mercv to

the atheist daityas who had come to do

him violence. In the same waY Sri

Nityananda showed mercy to Madhai'

even though Madhai had injured His

forehead.The offense of. guror aoajna, or

disrespect to guru, the third aparadha,

may be considered in the same way as

the first aparadfui. Misunderstanding the

position of Visnu, Siva and demigod

Second aoaradhaConscious beings are of two tvPes:

Independent and dependent. Theindependent being is the all-pervadingLord (isoara) and the dependent beingsare the particles of consciousness (jicas),energies of the Lord, who Pervadeindividual bodies. The independentcorsciousness (isoara) is of two types:one is not touched at all bY maYa, andthe other, for the Lord's Pastimes,accepts the touch of maya. The firsttype of isoara is called by such names asnartryarut'. hair hi nirgunah saksat purusahyakrte para. It is Hari who is directlythe non material Lord transcendenta-l tomateriai nature. The second type ofisaara is called by such names asSiva'.sioah sakti yutah sasztat tilingo gunasamarta. Siva accepts the three Slrnasand is covered by them.

Though Siva is covered bY thegunas, o^e should not think that he is inthe category of jiaa. As lhe Brahttn'smhita states, Siva is a transformationof the Lord, iust as yogurt is a transfor-mation of miik. In other scriptures alsoSiva is glorifi ed as isaara.Brahma is also accepted'as isz.ura insuch statements as: sattva rajastama itiqaloter guna . . . hai uiinci hara . ButBrahma's position as isaara or lordshould be understood as Powerinvested ina jizta by the Supreme Lordthat Brahma is abie to create theuniverse.

The modes of ignorange (sioa),passion (brahmin) and goodness (oisna)may be compared to the wood, smokeand fire, three progressive stages of fire.As smoke is superior to wood, so themode of passion is superior to the modeof ignorance, but as in the smoke one

carnot perceive the fire, so in the modeof passion one cannot reaiize theSupreme Lord.

In the mode of goodness which islike the blazing fire, one can perceivethe Lord. As the fire in wood, thoughpresent, cannot be Perceived, so inmode of ignorance, though Present,Lord cannot be perceived with form.The happiness of realization of the Lordin His impersonal asPect maY becompared to the state of sleep which ischaractenstic of. tama guna.

The 7iz'as are of two tyPes: thosewho are covered by taya and thosewho are not covered by maya.ThecoverediiL'as are the detsatas, men andanima-ls. The uncovered jir:as are of twotypes: those under the influence of theLord's aisturya saWi, and those uninflu-enced by that sakti. Those not influ-enced by the Lord's aisoarya saVi are ottwo types; those who, bY Practice ofjnana merge in to the Lord (a lamen-table condition), and those who, bYpractice of. bhakti, remain differentiatedirom the Lord and taste nectarean bliss.Those who are influenced bY theaisuarya saldi are of two types: thoseinfluenced by jnana beionging to thespiritual sphere (e.g. four Kumaras), andthose influenced bY the function ofcreation etc. coming from the materialsphere (e.g. Brahma).

One may consider that Visnu andSiva are non different, being the sameisaara mode. Though this is true, onemust understand that there is adifference in worship of the Lord with atouch of materiai qualities and with nomaterial quaiities. Brahma and Visnu,on the other hand, are comPietelYdifferent tattoas: Brahma is Tiua andVisnu is ispara. Sometimes Brahma andVisnu are described as identical in thePumnas, but one should understand thisstatement bv the examPle of the sun(Visnu) and the jewel (Brahma) which isinvested rvith the light of the sun, and istherefore considered nondifferent.

In some mahakalpas, even Siva, likeBrahma, is a jioa invested with powerby the Lord: kuacij jioa zisesataamharasyolctmn aidhir iaa. Like Brahma,Siva is sometimes a jioa.. Thus Siva issometimes classed with Brahrna, as insuch statements as: yas tu turayanamd eaam bmhma rudr adi daioat aih.sSmatoenaioa manyeta sa pasandi bhaoeddhruoam. A Person who considersNarayana as equivalent to Brahma, Sivaand the other dantas is a low rascai.

Thus those who have not fuilYresearched in the matter say that Visnuis the Lord, not Siva; or that Siva is theLord, not Visnu; or that since I am a

devotee of Visnu, I will not give regardto Siva, or visa versa. Such people,deliberately involving themselves inarguments, become offenders. If suchoffenders can become eniightened by aknowledgeable devotee, then they canreaiize how Siva and Visnu arenondifferent. With this realizaiion, andby performing rama-kirtana, the personcan nullify his offense.Sruli saslra ninda: disrespect for the srutiscriptures, Vedas

If one commits this offense oneobtains relief when one has the fortuneto understand from a knowledgeableperson that the srufis mercifully helpthe most blind, unqualified andindependent people to come to the pathof. bhakti. Commission of the fourthoffense can be nullified by using thesame rnouth thai criticized the scrip-tures (such as the srrzlis, propoundingkantu and jnana) to praise the samescriptures, and to praise thepracticioners of those scriptures (e.g'performers of. karma and jnana), and byperforming loud chanting of the hoiyname.

In the same way one shouldunderstand the appearance andnullification of the other six offenses.Nullification of the anarthas

The four types of anarthas men-tioned, namely, those arising fromprevious sinful activity, from previouspious activity, from nama aParadha,and from cultivation of bhakti, havefive grades of eradication: limited (toone anartha), pervasive (affecting manyanarthas), generai, comPlete andabsolute.

Anarthas arising from namaaparadha are removed in the followingstages. One should understand that theword "nullification" (nivrtti) appliesnot only to the complete absence ofanarthas, but to any of the progressivestages of nullification as well. Thuswith performance of devotionalactivities (bhajana kriya) there isnullification but the eradication islimited. With the aPPearance of nistha,the eradication is pervasive. With theappearance of rati or bhava, theeradication is general. With theappearance of prema the eradication iscomplete. With the attainment of theLord's lotus feet, the eradication isabsolute.

Thus, in the case of Citraketu, whohad attained the lotus feet of tlle Lord,

his accidental maha apwradha to Siva

was apparent, not real, fqr there

was no ill effect from his mistake. Bythe abundance of prema, his assumingthe form of an associate of the Lord and

of a demon (Vrtrasura) were Practicallynon-difference.

The cause of the offense of JaYa andVijaya was a manifestation of personaidesire derived fromPrema. The two

desired in this waY: "Oh Lord of Lords,

you desire to fight but we do not see a

suitable oPPonent for you. All thoseavailabie are too weak. Though we are

stron& we are not inimicai to You'Somehow or other, make us inirnical toyou, and realize your desire to fight.We, being your faithfui servants, cannottolerate to see any lack whatever inyour perfection. Diminish your qualityof affection for Your devotees, andfulfill our Prayer."

Such occasional discrePancies in

mentality can be overcome with onesintelligence (which can discern them,guided by scripture and sadhu and canthen act accordinglY).

The eradication of the anarthasarising from previous sin is as follows.With the performance of bhajana kriya'the eradication is general, with theaDpearance of nistha eradication iscomplete, and with the appearance ofasakti rt is absolute.

The eradicati on of. anartha s arisingftombhakti is as follows. With theperformance of. bhajana kriya, etadica-iion is limited. With the appearance ofnisthalt is comPlete, and with theappearance of rucilt isabsolute.

The wise men have concluded tNsby considering ail mafters thoroughly.One may raise the objection that thesestales of extinguishing anarthas do notapply to devotees, quoting such versesas: angfuah sanghaoad alchiLam sakrduaayaa.With one utterance of the holJr rame all

sins are destroyed.Yan nama sakrc chratnnat Pukaso'Pi

timucyate samsarat .If one hears theholv name even one time, a candala canobtain liberation from the materialworld. Also, in the case of Ajarnila,simply by his uttering the Lord's nameonce in nama-bhax, aII anarthas, even uP

to aoidya (ignorance, the root cause of

materiai bondage), were removed andhe attained the lotus feet of the Lord.

This is all true. One should have no

doubt that the holY name has suchinestimable power. But because theholy name, being unhaPPY withoffenses committed against it, does not

manifest its comPlete Power in theoffender. This is indeed the reason why

the sinful tendencies continue theirexistence. Though these tendenciescontinue for some time, the servants ofdeath have no Power to attack such aperson. Na te yama pasabhrt cn fud bhatan

suapne'f pasynnti. Such a person doesnot see Yama or Ns servants carrYnooses even in dreams. Na tidyate tnsyayamairhi suddhih. For them there is noneed of other forms of purification.

The case of the offender iosing thernercy of the name is simiiar to asubordinate who is offensive to hiswealthy master. He is denied ProPercare, and is treated indifferently by themaster. As a result of the withdrawal ofmercy, that person suffers poverty anddistress of all sorts. At the same timehowever, people not under the jurisdic-tion of a wealthy master do not suffersuch hardships. But if the offendingservant puts himseif at the beck and callof his master, the master graduallYshows mercy, and that Person'ssuffering is step by step eliminated. Inthe same way the offending devoteewill at first suffer some miseries, but ifhe performs sincere service to thespiritual master and to the scripturesetc., the name wiil again graduallYmanifest mercy and gradually eliminatehis evil tendencies.

Thus one cannot argue against thegradual elimination of anarlhas.

"I have not committed anYoffenses." One should not make suchstatements. One can infer the existenceof either recent or iong-standingoffenses by their effect. The effect ofoffense is that a Person will notmanifest any sYmPtoms of Prema bYperformance of nama kirtana, Adasrasaram hrdayam oat edam tadgrhyamanair hai nanaddheYaih; raaikriyetatha yada aikmo netre jalam gatraruhesuhars. Ones heart is as hard asstone if, when chanting the holy namethere is no change in the heart, tears inthe eyes or standing of hairs on thelimbs. fte te'paradha oiTmdra namnobhagaoatah Mah / vini glnanti nrnamlcrtyam qakrtam lryanayantihi. Oh best ofbrahmanas, what are the offenses againstthe name of the Lord which cancel theresults of ail one's performances, andturn everything material? In otherwords, what are these offenses againstthe Name of the Lord which, beingcommitted/ Prevent any results fromrepeatedly hearing and chanting theLord's narne, quaiities, which shouldgSve gana, from serving the sacredfirfhas which bestow perfection, fromtasting repeatediy the ghee, milk andbetal prasadamwhich destroy all desiresfor sense enjoyment, fromwhich allthose spiritually potent activitiesbecome mere material?

This is the serious effst of namaaparailha.If this is so, one may thenargue that if these offunses are so

serious then a person who commits anama aparadha simply loses the grace ofthe Lord and thus cannot even takeshelter of guru or pgrform devotionalactivities. This is true. Just as during aserious f.ever, losing all taste for food, itbecomes impossible to eat, a Personwho commits a serious offense losesscope for hearing chanting andperforming devotional activities. Thereis no doubt about tNs.

However, if the fever lessens withtime, some taste for food deveioPs.Even then, nourishing foods like miikand rice cannot give their fuil power ofnourishment to the person sufferingfrom chronic fever. They bestow somebenefit, but cannot relieve him of hiswasted condition. An invalid's diet andmedicine can, however, with time,restore him to his previous heaithycondition. At that time the fuIl potencyof normal food can be utilized by thebody.

In the same wav, after a longperiod of suffering the effects ofparadha, the intensity reduces some-

what and the devotee deveiops a littletaste. Again the devotee becomesqualified for bhakti.. Repeated doses ofhearing and chanting the Lord's nameand performance of other devotionalprocesses, gradually, with time, revealeverything uP to ryema.

Narayana and calied that name manYtimes every day. Moreover he was.alsoinciined to sin (sexual relation with aprostitute). And YudhistNra, thoughfree from past karmic reactions, had tosuffer many material miseries.

Just as a fruit-bearing tree bearsfruit in due time, the holy name, beingpleased with an offensesiess Pe$on,will reveal its merry to him in due time.The effects of heaPs of sin which aredue to precious bad practices are asinsignificant as the bite of a serpent

Accordingiy, the exPerienceddevotees have described devotion asprogressing graduallY bY stages,starting with faith, foilowed by associa-tiory bhajana lcriya, anaiha niutti, nistha,r uci, a skti, bhaa a and pr ema.

However, the absence of sYmPtomsof. Vrema and traces of sinful activity indevotees who are Practicing thedevotional Processes such as kirtana,calrnot always be attributed to namaaparadha. Nor can the Presence ofmateriai distresses always be attributedto the reactions of previous ka:'rna Iwhich should be destroyed by correctexecution of.bhakti. For instance, thoughAiamila was withoJrt offenses, he didnot manifest the sYmPtomsof Prenu,even though he named his son

without his poison fanP;s. And thesickness, lamentation and othersufferings undergone bv devotees arenot due to sins in previous life. For theLord Himself has said: yasahamanugrhnami haisye tad dhanam sanaih/tnto'dhanam tyajanty asya saajana duhkhaduhkhitam. Cradually I take awav all thewealth of the person whom i favor.Being penniless and most miserable, heis rejected by his family and relatives.Nirdhanatoa maha rogo mad anugrahaIaksanam. The person without themalady of material possessions is theobject of my mercy.

Thus the Lord, thinking of thewelfare of His devotee, in order toincrease his humility toward, andlongrng for the Lord, bestows on him allsorts of suffering as His mercy. Thissuffering is not the effect of sinfulactiors in previous l ives.

LETTERS

Comments on the last IssueArcita Dasa

San Diego, CA.Cenerally I do a selective read of theoublication and this one was noexception. However, some of thematerial stood out and elicited thefollowing comrnents.

Regarding Vaisnavas and karmi-yogis, Hanumatpresaka Maharaja'spresentation of the subject is witty. I'dIike to add that a person who hasfruitive intentions but who accepts andpractices the yuga-dharma, chantingHare Krsna, should be accePted as adevotee. There's a verse in RuPaGoswami's Padyaaali that says that if aperson even thinks of chanting theLord's holy names Lord Brahma readiesparaphernalia for worshiping thatindividual. lna1967 lecture SrilaPrabhupada said, "Suppose you-are lnthis I(sna conscious society. Now, youcannot expect that all the members ofthe Society will be first<lass men. Howcan we expect? We are coilectingmembers of the society from all classesof men. So there may be a man in

Boodness, a man in the Passion and aman in the ignorance. But if you thint'Oh, this man is not good. That man isnot good,' Oh. . . No. You should beiolerant. You haven't got any connec-tion with this man or that man. You areconnected with the philosoPhY . . . "

" Compassion"-Excellent!Guruprasada Swami's essay sPeaks foritself. "The Very Best Medicine"-KrsnaKrpa Dasi's s€ntiments are weicome.Mv immediate reaction was, "Here's a

devotee who's reading and appreciai-ing Sritnd-Bhagaaa t am. "

Thoughts on the Last IssueUttamasioka dasaOntario, Canada

I've just read severai articles fromVolume 8 of your newsletter and I'feltcompeiled to resPond with somegeneral comments. There are severalrecurring themes in the letters andarticles and these seem to be a Per-petual plague to many devotees aroundthe world. The first issue is that of the" less-intelligence" of wornen. Theactual reaiity is that all over the woridthere are people who are incrediblyintelligent, those who are very intelligent, those who are moderatelYinteiligent, those who are minimailyintelligent, and those who don't fall intoany of the above categories.

In real life today you will findamong each of. the above groups, someindividuals that are men and some thatare women. It's an indisputable fact.

Notwithstanding women's fairtreatment and equal rights' whatdifference does it make how manY ofeach gender are in each grouP? Who'skeeping track anYwaY? is this somekind of game that someone is trying towin?

There are lots of PeoPle that aremore or less intelligent than me, and Ipersonaily don't care if some of themare men or women. Someone eise'sintelligence ievei makes no realdifference to me in my life. It doesn'taffect the quality of my existence or mydevotion to Krsna.

Now the truth is, that Possessingintelligence does not mean the absenceof stupidity or ignorance. And just

because you have great inteliigence,does not mean that You are exPert atusing it wiselY. There are manYintelligent people who are in ignoranceor who act very stupid under variouscircumstances. ln fuct, all of us do fromtime to time!

Intelligence is only one factor in acomDlex human existence which hasmany integrated components. It is noteven an overriding eiement that isabsolutely criticai to devotionaiprogress. Krsna saYs that He willsupply intelligence to anyone who isdevoted to Him with love. That soundspretty good to me. Simpie and straight-forward.

Prabhupada never wrote or saidthat womenwere stuPid. I knowpersonally for a fuct that he thoughtmany of the actions of some of his maiedisciples were extremely stuPid! And

especially the sannyasisl Of this there isno doubt!

Prabhupada actually gave womenequai faciiity in deity worship, which isstili not acceptable in India. He brokewith sastric traditlons, at the risk ofbeing severely criticized, just tofuciiitate their devotional service toKrsna.

The real thing to iook at is howPrabhupada always treated his femaiedisciples with love and respect. He wasnever mean to them. He appreciatedtheir service as much as anybody else's.Prabhupada internaily certainly sawbeyond their temporary gender andcircumstances, and regarded them asspiritual beings-parts of Krsna.

This is the actual example he set byhis personal behavior----acarya. Itdoesnrt matter how many vers€s onecan quote about women being lessintelligent, the example ofPrabhupada's behavior is clear, and itmakes perfect sense.

Another issue is the concem somedevotees have about their relatiorshipwith the "Movement" and ISKCON.ISKCON is NOT the "Movement." LordCaitanya's move ment exists wh er eaerthere is even one sincere devotee who isendeavoring to develop their love forKrsna, and trying to help as many otherliving entities in that regard as possible.Again, Prabhupada is the best exampieof this. That is the real Movement.ISKCON is only one smallpart of theMovement, as we all can be. The choiceis ours. It's that simple.

It seems that there are devoteeswho live outside of ISKCON who aredisturbed by how things are being run,etc. They feel the leaders are D-IsKcoN-tunctionaM personaily thinkit is a waste of time to try to go backinto ISKCON and change it to "how itused to be," or "how Prabhupada reallYwants it to be." Forget it. Don't wasteyour time. Why bother getting unneces-sarily entangied and frustrated?

There are so many sincere souls allover the world who want to know thetruth about God. Why not concentrateon cultivating one's own personaisphere of influence-large or smail?That's where the action is. Is theresomething else to do that's moreimportant?

Lei's look at Prabhupada again forthe exampie of anacarya.Bhaktisiddhanta told him to prpach inEnglish in the west. Prabhupada wentto the Gaudiya Math afterBhaktisiddhanta passed away, andasked them to help him tulfill hismission. They told him to forget it and

to |ust work under their supervisionand guidance. Prabhupada said, sorrv,I've got imPortant rvork to do, see voulater. And the rest is historY.

Prabhupada didn't try to changethe Gaudiya Math. He tried to changethe worid. And he did change theworid-by teaching PeoPle whY andhow to change thrir liues. By his associa-tion, people became interested in Krsnaand every"thing that reiates to Him.Amazing-just by personal association.Prabhupada had no Caudiya Mathauthorization or facility. But he was asincere pure devotee.

If one is a sincere pure-intentioneddevotee, then one rvill surely manifestsome level of transcendental qualitiesthat are symptoms of one's currentinternal spiritual condition. Transcen-dental qualities are universally attrac-tlve, and if due to one's association,others are attracted by those qualities,they will inevitably want to know whyand how they have developed.

The bottom line is whether PeoPIeare inspired to become devotees ofKrsna by one's association. And if otherdevotees are inspired in their devo-tional service by one's association, thenthat reaily says a lot too.

Point A is where you are right nowat this moment in eiemal time. Point Bis becoming a pure devotee. Thedistance between Point A and Point B isdifferent for everyone, and it doesn'treally matter how big the distance iseither. \Alhat really matters is if youhave truly realized where Point B is andhow to get there. If you are going in theright direction towards Point B, as bestand as fast as you Personaily can, thencongratulations, and I offer you mYhumble obeisances!

Krsna says, "Let not the wisedisrupt the minds of the ignorantjustshow them the way of devotion bY theexampie of your behazsior." He also saysthat devotees are very rare. Well ifthere's someone in this world who is atthat point in their material iourneywhere it is time for them to find outabout Krsna, I will gladly tell themeverything I know and help them inany way that I can

The fact of the matter i3, that Krsnais the one who sends lost souls to otherdevotees to find out about Himanyway. it's His doing. These are thetypes of affuirs He becomes involved in.Any sincere soul can certainly have ailof the knowledp I have been given. itwas given to me as a gift and I was toidI could give it freely to anyone whogenuinely wants it.

Of course, it's our responsibilitv to

give this knowledge to others withoutany distortion and free from impropermotivation. The onus is on us to keep itpure. Ultimatelv, no one is realiYwatching us excePt Krsna andPrabhupada. They are the only ones wehave to answer to. We should be doingit because we are inspired by Them int h e f i r q t n l a r e

We ihould be glad to helP out inany way we can. It's a privilege, and weshould always be grateful wheneverthat wonderful opporturuty comes ourway. Krsna savs that there is no onewho is more dear to Him than one whoheips others understand Him. He saysthose devotees will surely come back toHim without faii. He PersonallYpromises it. That sounds good to me.It's that simpie.

Stigma of Mental ProblemsLisa WimberlY

Mt. Clemens, MII just got done reading #8 and I feltthere were finally a couple of articiesthat got to the reai heart of all the issues(though the individual issues are stiilimportant). Curuprasada Swami's letteron compassion really touched my heart.I have contact with onlY one temPle,but I've watched that temple change alot over the last seven years. One thingthat has all but disappeared is comPas-sion. The compassion that was theremoved home to England. When I firstcame to ISKCON through a class atcollege, I was struck bY how sincereeveryone was. Now, i am usuallYstruck by how insincere everyone is.Granted, people would say that after allmy years around the temPle, I never"mov'ed in" so who am I to talk. But,I'm not trying to name-cail and run. Ifind it very sad in light of the potentialthere for all sorts of positiveness' And itwas definitely part of why I never did"join up" (at the advice of a beloveddevotee friend, bythe-way). I'm sureI'm not alone in this instance.

"Well Wishers of Each Othe/' and"I Need to Avoid the lrroblems andPolitics" also struck home. . . . esPe-cially the latter. One of my observationsof the devotees I know is that thereseems to be a fair numkr of abusedindividuals walking around. My prayerfor ISKCON is that there does end uPbeing some sort of counseling programfor devotees. I am a psychology studentand I walk and talk and listen to thesefriends and see their Pain gettingstuffed further and further in whilethey become more dYsfunctionaltoward everyone around them. While Iagree taking shelter of Radha-Krsna is a

6

good thing, hiding behind Them is notthe same. Unfortunately, I have alsoobserved that often devotees who doattempt to deai with their "material"problems are not so highly thought of-perhaps child and wife beating is moreaiceptable. Or, mavbe the temple is sodesperate for a specific service to berendered that they turn a blind eye tothe person who leads a virtual doublelife. Honestly, i look around and seevirtuaily an unending clientele. Ifnothing else, i hope Piti-Iaksanamwillrattle enough cages high up so thattherapy (in addition to the standard"Chant!") is available to all devoteesand the stigma of dealing with "mate-rial," "mentai platform" issues is lifted.

A Thank YouJagadisvara dasa

Chardon, OHI always enjoy reading ail the letters inyour forum. Some are encouraging,others are painful to hear. i want toespecially thank Curuprasada Swamifor his essay, Compassion. (Vol. 8, Oct.).I think that he has hit the nail directiyon the head. It is this kind of high-quality Krsna consciousness wNch wiildo the most good in resolving therecurrent themes hindering ISKCON'sfull blossoming such as women'sissues. etc.

Devotee WelfareSajjanasraya dasaN.S.W.. Australia

I am one of those Godbrothers iiving onthe "edge" so to speak; aloof from thelocal Sydney temple for about ten years.

Since our beloved Prabhupadadisappeared from our vision so manvtraumatic events have taken Place"within and without" the Society HisDivine Grace founded for the spiritualsolution of all the conditioned souls. Somany of these nefarious occwrences arenothing but scandalous, so nay theleast, yet the so<alled elite marngPrshaving amasxd acarya-stalus have notaddressed the fundamental issue ofdevotee welfare. i remember whenpreaching in Uttar Pradesh circa, early1976, up to Mayapur, 1977, bard in SriKrishna-Balaram Mandir, making lifemembers with Akshayananda Swami'sparty, we were alloted a few rupes forour maintenance.

In the westem temples I have seendevotees have had to leave temples to"maintain themselves. When onemanagement takes over a tempie theneverything seems to be changed fromthe previous management. This is thementality of "building and breaking"

which Srila Prabhupada denouncedover and over. Properiies have beensold, temples have been closed,devotees have been black-balledaccording to individual's whims.

But enough of this negativity, let usmove with the rising sun of Lord Krsnaand come together to share Priti-Iaksanam.lt is so inspiring and thought-provoking to hear from "old"Codbrothers, Godsisters and new ones'

Refreshed and HealedVisnudatta dasa

'Australia

I was verv gladdened to read Sita devidasi's ariicle "Damsels in Distress" andto be exposed to your magazine Priti-hksarum.

Very impressive to read suchpractical Krsna conscious reading thatseemed to be lacking in our Society forso long. I really feel refreshed andhealed by reading the articles. I havethe Vol 5,Dec. 1992, and in particularfound "Fellowship" by Rohininandanaprabhu most meaningfui. Those issueswere supPr€ssed for so many years dueto faise renunciation and imitation.

I am certainly guiltY of the abovementioned offerses and in particular Iremember a remark made constantly bymale devotees misinterPreting andexploiting Prabhupada's words to fulfillselfish goals. "Women are less intelligent," said Prabhupada manY times.Coming from the mouth of a Puredevotee, unconditioned and situated onthe platform of pure devotional service,one might relate to this statement as theAbsoiute Trutfr, and Yet, the Point ofreference should be the "intelligent manwho is more superior in his intelligenceto wornen." So who is an intelligentman, at least we know for sure thatPrabhupada was, but we camot imitatehim, thinking I am man, therefore, I ammore inteiligent than woman. That isthe rnistake I know I made- At least ifone is somewhat intelligent he wouldbe also humble, humble enough to lookupon the great souls that joinedISKCON as very intelligent. How couldanyone put down the devotionalattitude of any devotee and especiailyof the Mataiis. We lost so nEInYtalented, great souls by suffocating theirfire of devotion due to criticism andimitation. The fear of intimacy coupledby false renunciation has a devastatingeffect on both parties.

Our women are more intelligentthan any other women in the universethat have not embraced Krsna con-sciousness.

I love my Godsisters and

Codbrothers and offer mY deePapologes for any offerse I havecommitted, knowingly or unknowingly,due to false imitation and incorrectinterpretation of our Curu Maharaja'swords. The offenses committed toGodsisters and consequentlY toPrabhupada are terribly embarrassingand I feei guiity. How many Mataiis leftthe movement rejected, hurt, full ofhatred. only to take shelter in grossmateriai life of sex ard drugs, due tosystematically being put down bYpartners and Godbrothers. How manymost devoted Godsisters, enthusiasticand sincere, were pushed away due togross manipulation and exploitation?

Let us hope that your magazineand the work of devotees such as Sitadevi dasi will help our Movement tothrive.

The Perfect SolutionDivya-sari dasi

Aiachua, FLI hope and look forward to the daywhen we, and the variety of discipies inour communities, cease to blame, orjudge anyone, anything and can quietlyput an end to it, once and for all.

We can all turn our eyes inwardsand look deeply and honestly withinour hearts and mown and rePent. Weare tallen jioas. We have denied the veryexistence of the Supreme Lord, of aDivine Master for millions of births. Weare traitors! We have betrayed a life ofshocking beauty and astounding truth.tNe jiaas with our bodies, are likespoiled brats, making incessantdemands. Why? To be Pqgggthan. Wemust fully embrace less than. Then wehave peace and harmony, humilitY,tolerance and resPect. And we haveonly gg! feelings for each other.Krsna-katha for each other.

We can make our dealings witheach other gentle/ friendly, mild, andundisturbing. We can make our heartsaffectionate for each other. We canmake our thoughts with resPect andgoodwill for each other. And simplyleave our material waY of rglatingbehind, as undesirable. All glories toOm Vishnupada Srila Prabhupada, theillustrious founder of ISKCON.

ESSAYS

Chanting in the Therapeutic SituationCaitanya dasa (Brother Aelred)

Armidale, NSW, AustraliaAs a Catholic monk (brother, not Priest)

I am regularly involved in pastoralcounseling. While a considerableamount of time is devoted to cognitivestrategies-for example, the RationalEmotive Therapy of Albert Ellis-the"centerpiece" of my work is the use.ofjap mala, the chanting form of medita-tion.

Chanting is a powerful therapeutic" device," and I am convinced thatdevotees should feei confident inrecommending it at this level or pointof contact. Wl'ttle japa malais, of course,inseparable from it's religious setting itis not aiways desirable to put religiouscontent first. Religious teachings cancertainly be introduced Iater---+spe-cially in response to curiosity andnaturally---occurring inquiry. Forexample, I am frequently asked to tellmy ciients "a little about" the "tradi-tion" from which the mnha-mantm basemerged.

I am simpiy putting hto effectPrabhupada's instruction that weshouid just get them chanting. . . . glvethem sorne taste. There can be nodoubt---as I have found from experi-ence-that chanting is immediatelyattractive and "self-reinJorcing." Ofcourse, it is understood that there issome level of acceptance of a "greaterthan me," "a higher Reality," "God." Afaithless person could not honor orrespect the holy name.

Most of the Christians whom Icounsel/teach have no difficultYacceptingthe maha-mantm. Clearly, I ampresenting it in a non-sectarian way. Ipoint out to them two things: (1) thatthe names of God are honored in all thegreat religious traditions, and that thesenames are simply enshrined in thesacred language of India with the maha-nwntra; (2) that they can use the zafta-mantra without seeing themselves as"becoming Hindu" or chhngingreligious allegiance. I wiil usually pointout that the maha-manfra does not"belong" to the "Hare Krsnas", and thatthere is no suggestion that they need to"join the Hare Krsnas' in order to chantsuccessfully.

With regard to the last Point, it isobvious that the question of initiationhas not arisen. The context is simpiyone of beginning the chanting Process.

I think it will interest You to knowthe official position of Roman CatholicChurch with regard to "Eastem" formsof meditation-insofur as Catholics maywish to use them in their Personaldevotionai life. I am quoting from adocument entitled lctter to the Bishopsof the Catholic Church on some AsPectsof Christian Meditation (1989):

"The interest which in recent Yearshas been arvakened also among someChristians bv forms of meditationassociated rvith some eastern religiorsand their particular methods of prayeris a sigruficant sign of this need forspiritual recollection and a deep contactwith divine mYsterv. . .

"The majority of ihe great religionswhich have sought union with Cod inprayer have also pointed out ways toachieve it. Just as "the Catholic Churchrejects nothing of what is true and holyin these religrons," neither should theseways be rejected out of hand simPlYbecause they are not Christian. On thecontrary, one can take from them whatis useful so long as the Christianconception of.prayer, it's logic andrequirements are never obscured. . . . "

Predictably, there wiil alwaYs besome people-Christians in thisinstance-who feei unable to chant an"Indian" or "Hindu" mnntra.ln iheircase I simplv foilow Srila Prabhupada'slead:

(To Father Emmanuel): ". . ' If Youwould like to cooperate with us, thengo to the churches and chant,'Cfuist,''Krsta,' or'Krsna.' What could be theobjection?

. . . . If you stop killing animals andchant the holy name Christ, everl'thingwill be perfect. I have not come to teachyou, but only to request you to pleasechant the name of God. The Bible alsodemands this of you. So let's kindlYcooperate and chant, and if you have aprejudice against chanting the nameKrsna, then chant'Christos' or'Krsta'-there is no difference... . Cod hasmiilions and millions of names, andbecause there is no diJference befweenCod's name and Himself, each one ofthese names has the same Potency asGod". Therefore/ even if You accePtdesignations iike'Hindu,"Christian,'or'Muhammadan,' if You simPlY chantthe name of God found in Yotu ownscriptures, you will attain the spiritualplatform. . ." (Th, Scince ol SeIf'Rulizntion. p. 178; P.117)

ln this contexl, the mantra which irecommend is one which is PoPularamong the followers of the Catholicpriest Father Bede GriffithS: Om NamahChristaya.

So, whether my ciients/studentschant the maha-mtntra or the abveChristian mantra, the benefits to body,mind and heart are truly spectacular.But, as i have already said, it may oftenbe better to defer entry into specificallyreligious material. The initial point ofentry is often in the following terms:

"The need for rePetition and

monotonv seems to be natural. Mothersrock their babies in a hypnotic rhy'thmand croon rondo lullabies. in later lifewe lull ourselves back into thatremembered ecstasy bY mantras andchants and dances and strobe lights inwhich we repeat a word, a tone, amovement, or a pulse until the mo-notony caPtures us and sets us,strangely, free. The hypnotic sounds ofrain, failing water, or drums, create arhythm that resonates in the brain,silences distracting thoughts and innerdialogues, and allows us to transcendour everyday state of consciousness."(Sam Keen, Inward Bounc!: ExPloringthe Ceography of Your Emotions.Bantam Books. "1992 P. 70)

I am sure that the devotee who iscommitted to the efficacy and wonderof the tnaha-mnnfra needs to recognizethe presence of simple, even rudimen-tary phenomena associated withchanting. This is not to demean themantra in it's spiritual potency; it issimply to recognize that anythingwhich we do in this bodY will havesimple phenomenal asPects. Why notuse them to advantage in introducingpeople to the benefits of chanting? Thebigger things can come later.

Some Practical Cases (much abbreviated)1 .@:Th i scondition is commonlY marked bYintense and distressing "internaldiaiogues." In this situation the mindcannot rest, and the Person becomesexhausted. My clients have found thatchanting "stills the chatter of the mind"very effectively. Further, as phiiosophi-cal understanding increases, the reaisignificance of what is happening givesthem real hope-namely that the Nameof God (God Himself; is occupying thatspace previously dominated bYdestructive " inner dialogues."

An interesting issue, though, is thefollowing. In these cares there hasliterally been too much religiousreasoning---to the extent that psychoticepisodes have been dominated by, even"trigpred" by, religious content. In thissituation I have emphasized chanting-simple chanting---even to the exclusionof reading! I have insistedtlut Chnntand Be HaVpy be the only reading for thetime being. lndeed, where one of mYclients !qlg!g5! on reading Bhagat:ad'gita,he started to become anxious andtense. The schizoPhrenic g!99g3g!gg!abstract concePt---€sPeciaiiy of areligious character'2. A client suffering the long-termeffects of hallucinogenic drugs. specifi-callv LSD: This young man is periodi-

cally overwhelmed bv what the LSDtrips "opened up" -" a cosmic mission"to which he feels called. This "mission"has been reinforced bv what anastrologer has said of him-that he is "acosmic person." This combination isde3tructively incapacitating. His onlyreai hope is to return to a "centering ofthe awareness." He must get "an-chored" lest, as he savs he "spin out"completely.

What chanting can achieve isneatly focused ina passage fromPrabhupada IiIa:

One morning a coupie attended thelecture. . . . During the question andanswer period the man asked, "Whatabout my mind?" Prabhupada gavehim phiiosophical replies, but the mankept repeating "What about my mind?What about my mind?"

With a pleading compassionatelook, Prabhupada said, "I have noother medicine. Please chant this HareKrsna. I have no other explanation. Ihave no other answer."

I do not know what happened tothis man, but I do know that my clientmust be reminded, over and over again,to simplv chant. There is no douh; that

ing gives relief from disturh:dmental process€s, and that it subtly andgradually creates new and strongerperspectives-ways of seeing.3. A homosexual male: Chanting alongwith a firmly cultivated service attitude,has shown this man that a previouslyalmost insatiable desire is amazinglysatisfied-without the need for grosssex, or, for that matter sexual activity inimagiration.

Although I have no knowledge ofthe mechanisms invoived, I amprepared to advance the opinion thatchanting of the names of God sPontane-ously satisfies a whole range of psycho-phvsical needs.4. An older male who was involvedwith "channelin8l' and who. as a resuit'

threatening encounter with an evil"presence": This client has found that inhis quite profound conversion tospiritual values he has needed tobecome ever simpler in his devotionallife. The chanting of the hoiy names-inhis case "Om namah Christaya"-meetsthis need and cail perfectly.5. Manlr clients referred to me bydoctors. and suffering from hyPer-tension (high blood Pressure): Chantingmakes a major contribution to ihecorrection of this condition. Sometimesthe results are quite startling!--+ts in acase where the client was in danger ofburst blood vessels in the brairu Within

two weeks his blood Pressure hadreturned to normal. This particularphenomenon is of very great interest.6. Manv clients referred by doctors, andsuffering from a eeneralized anxietvstate: Simplv, the generalized state ofdistress is counteracted by the centeringcreated through chanting. Many peopleare convinced that there is no escapefrom this generaiized dis-ease, and theyare correspondingiy amazed bY thevery simplicitv of chanting and itsprofound effects.

Of course, for these and otherconditions, modification in life-style isessential. Usuaily, however, the markedimprovement which the client observesprovides practical impetus to suchchange.

By way of conclusion, I suggest inthe strongest Possible terms thatdevotees approach most PeoPle fromthis very practical orientation. If this isdone, then there is the verY realprospect that, as with me, doctors willsee us as a practical communitYresource and be prepared to referpatients to us. Better that we be seen asvaluabie resource people that as weirdreligionistsl

Quality of ExchangesNarasingha Gurudasa

Athens, OhioRegarding Anonymous's harsNY-worded and critical letter on pp'5 /6 of

October's issue. The language that was

used to describe the contributingdevotees to vour magazine was very

unpalatable; actuaily the letter served

as a practicai demonstration of the

mind functioning on the stage of utsaha

mayi, as dexribed in the initial "Nectar

Section." I only wish there was more

open exchange. Let me give a personal

oualifier.I have been intimatelY connected

with New Vrindavan for 15 Years.When things started to go really awry

there, most of us were too close to see

clearly. After all, Bhaktipada's original

staunch determination to represent and

glorify Srila Prabhupada had won our

faith and loyalty. So as he began to

introduce his own ideas, and to subtly(and I believe unconsciously) reduce

ihe import of PrabhuPada's actual

words and intentiors, we didn't catch

it. We were too isolated. We only heard

one interpretation of things:Bhaktipada's. He was our 3'1ru; and he

became sadhu and sastra as weil- Or he

became the filter through which such

were rePresented to us.Meanwhile, what was the qualitY

of exchanges between New Vrindavan

and the rest of the body of ISKCON?

When senior devotees outside began to

see serious discrepancies take root,r '

what did they do? Srila PrabhuPada

explains that when a gentleman sees an

intoxicated man about to stumble

uraware into a road full of traffic, he

tries to pull him back, without care that

the intoxicated man may take offense

and act in a hostile manner.Unfortunately, there were few

gentlemen who were willing to take

that riskwith us at New Vrindavan.

Irstead, we heard of all kinds of

resolutions and excommunications and

analyses made by senior Persons in

California, Calcutta and karmi courts,without their deigning to come and see

us or try to discuss the issues with us. I

remember Jayadvaita and Trivikrama

Swamis came once; unfortunately, they

had little opportunity to discuss much

with the greater body of devotees there.

In retrospect, i thank them for their

efforts, and apologize sincerelv for

whatever offenses were made to them

by myself and others out of our

lgnorance.How few personal, i.e., Person-to-

person, attemPts were made to rescue

the main bodY of simPle devotees at

New Vrindavan from lhe maya that was

thickening around their beloved leader.

Everything was so formal and distant

and haughty; and so unaPPea-iing!

There were a few letters here and there,

usually written with a similar kind of

vituperative style as AnonSrmous's,which usually has the opposite effect to

actually opening a Persn's mind and

heart to the issues being presented!

By Krsna's grace, I have been able

to reconnect mY understanding of

Krsna--<onsciousness with Srila

Prabhupada's transcendental explana-

tions, and over the last year or so have

become (hopefullY) freed from the

speculative and avaisnava philosophies

and impersorniism that have contami-

nated New Vrindavan. But I lvonder, if

only more devotees had made more of

an attemPt to visit us and really relate

to us as Godbrothers and sisters, and

voice their sastrically and logically

founded doub,ts and fears about what

we were doing PerhaPs a lot of us

would have been sPared from much of

what we went through.So I certainly value your magazine

as a genuine attempt to foster personaiexchanges between devotees. Becausewithoui such exchanges, though we areundoubtedly biessed with the deepestand most personal philosophy, rveremain impersonalists in our orvnnature, evidenced by harsh, aloof andproud words and behavior.

Third, I found HanumatpresakaSwami's fundamental conclusion,namely that a lot of us are periormingLarma-yoga rather than bhakti'voga, alittle curious. Consider the followingextract from Srila Prabhupada's PurPortto Bhag. 3.27 .23: " . . . A. devotee in fullKrsna consciousness aPPears superfi -

cially to be a great karmi, alwalsworking but the inner significance ofthe devotee's activities is that they aremeant for the satisfaction of theSupreme Lord. That is called Llnkti, ordevotional service. Arjuna was aPPar-ently a fighter, but when by his fightinghe satisfied the senses of Lord Krsna, hebecame a devotee. Since a devotee alsoengages in philosophical research tounderstand the Supreme Person as Heis, his activities may thus appear to belike those of a mental speculator, butactually he is trying to understand thespiritual nature and transcendentalactivities. Thus although the tendencyfor philosophical speculation exists, the

material effects of fruitive activities andempiric speculation do not, because this

activity is meant for the SuPremePersonaiity of Godhead.'

So while it may be true that a lot of

us are not exactly in full Krsna con-sciousness, that does not mean we areengaged rn karma-yoga, rather than

bftakfi. Not raga-bhakti perhaps, butaaidhi-bhakti.If we are actuaily attend-ing to the basic principle of hearing and

chanting the name, fime, qualities,pastimes of the Lord and His devotees,where is the question of.knrma-yoga?Even those of us who are married, and

are necessarily so much occupied with

loving and conscious fulfillment of our

responsibilities toward "ou/' fumilies:

it may be that we are unable to makegreat advancement in the path, but if

we are working for the sake of main-taining a fumily that we are simulta-neously endeavoring to make Krsnaconscious, and aside from our basicsadhana are also preaching directly or

assisting the preaching of others, then I 9*' begins literall-v at each and everv

again, why should we feel ourseives notl doorof atownorvillage,andextendscity

aiualiy on the path of bhakti-yoga? I to city' country to country'

Neediess seir-denigrati;.';"';*p* I ,",01il"1"j"iffj::'"'tt:JiJ:".:i:l:11mise the qualities of determination, I iative of Krsna. It,s not difficuit. One sim-enthusiasm and patience we a-ll need.

I ply has to go door to door. Tell people toIn this regard, I might mention as I surrender to Krsna. Chant Hare Krsna.

my last point the ietter written byJohn I ttrat'sU.frabhupadaexpiainsthatthereHantz. It seerns that he has become so I are four levels of surrender: one's iife,

infatuated with his sense of his own I moneY, intelligence, and words. At least

lack of qualities, that he has eclipsed the I one can go door to door and speak about

essentiai point for all of us, that we are I Krsna' That is minimal'

the unimaginabry foiturll ;;,fi; I "",f1]*:rx'u##i;"nT..Sn3ofcauseiess mercy. Bhakti-yoga is not an I ,uur, ceto darvara marianam . . . anandam

empirical path, scaled by virtue of our I u"'aat ; aardhanam. . . iankirlana increases

own strengths alone. We are not I the ocean of transcendental enjol'rnent.Vaisnavas in and of ourselves, that is I Without spiritual enjoyment we have dif-

true. But if sri la Prabhupada is tell ing I f iculty progressing. Param dristaa

us that he has made us vaisnavas (as I niuartante. we need the taste to sustain us

long as we agree to sincerely try to I and increase our involvement'

follow Ns instructrons ana stuy *ittr I rhe Vaisnava literatures encourage

the process he has grven *iii".*r.. I H":"#.T,1;J';iffffil:r:"i*H':lare we to say "no/ we're not, we're too I as embodiments of renunciation. How-failen." Surely that is "pseudo-spiritual

| ".,r"r, prabhupada (Bhag. lecture, 1,971)

vanity''? Srila Bhaktisiddhanta made I mentions that a househoider is like afunof himself sittingon lhevyasavna, I sannyasi when he or she becomes a

asking how it was possible that such a I preacher.

brute could take such an exalted I In Bombay, 1974,while lecturing on

position; but he answered by saying I f 'ZS'aO of Srimad-Bhagaoatam'

that he did none of these trur,gs o.,"nis I Prabhupada quoted sri Krsna' "glve uP

ownaccount, rather, ilt;:?-T{r- I ;._'mil:.:l*"'ffi;.}til, 3-X;;;acting upon the order of Sri Caitanya | ,i,,ror" di*-, tare kalu lcrsna uwdesh.,,HeMahaprabhu. Real humility may

I riyr, go door to door and give Krsna'sappear like pride to materialistic I message of surrender to Krsna. That's it.persons; simiiarly, apparent humility I Become a preacher. Ttrat is Caitanya's

may be just another form of pride. I mission.I So let us pursue a door to door preach-

Door-to-Door Preaching I ing movement. Let us call on our neigh-

Dayananda dasa -

| bors, and gndually cultivate Krsna con-

Rockviile, Maryiand I scious relationships with those who are

Door-to-door pr.".ni.ti'il"olr'", *n-l interested' Then' we'll enjoy life like any-

vassing indiviiual homes, followingl trung'

leads, and creating reiationships withl -, - t'- always seeking good advise'

householders. c,rrtirraiiig'."r"ii["t'rtiptl ntease contact me at 5111 Crossfield Ct'

includes follow-up contaci and meetingsl #11' Rockville' lvD 20852'

at local Vaisnava homes. Eventually indi- |vidualsareencouragedtobegintheirownl The old school

worship, and to thJnselves"preach doorl Mahakratu dasa

to door' -- -- r-

| Belfast' Ireland

Although all Vaisnavas can partici-l Recently I have been considering the

pate in such"a ptogtu-lhit it "t1it.i"Uyl

statement: "He's from the old school"'

directed towa.a no"*iloia";t. iit" ;#-l which seems to be used an awtul lot

ciple objective is to extend Sri Caitanya'sl these days' Usually when this statement

mt*r"ml.,t uy instiltnj a co*",it*"it t" I is. made, it has a derogatory ring to it,

preaching.In otner *oiJs, n"*-a"uot""tl l1l1 tre's a loner' or likes to do it all

are taught that their P;'**y i""oiu.-l himself'can'tdelegate'badmanager' I

ment with xrr* .o'ilo,rsniss stroutal 1no* a lot of ISKcoN devotees have

include doorto a*. p.*.fti"g. iG,h" I lecome disillusioned with aspects of

entire progra* it *ff p-lugii*g. '-

| the movement' many times there is a

Srila Prabhupaou it roug"ho,ritrls t"c- | fall out with a temple manager or GBC'

tures and literat*"s t u, me;iil;Jd;tl which quite often *ay-Bye been saved'

to door preaciti"g- His con "pt "i

at t t" I had the pair or group falling out been

10

able to talk out their differences to asatisfuctory conclusion for ail parties.Any of us can quite easiiy becomestubbom or fixed in a decision whichmay well effect someone else's life. Aparent of teacher wiil be making such

.decisions and judgments almost daily,sometimes fuiling out with theirsiblings or those they are tryrng toeducate. The emphasis must be put onthe trying to educate, because thatindeed must be wtat the prime motiveis, not trying to scom, belittle, or use theDerson for one's own benefit. We mustui*ays remernber that there is anotherperson and not try and reduce themdown to some inanimate object or aninstituiionalised robot like entity,unable to think or act for it self. At thesame time some authority must also beat hand. If there is o real authority,whether it be a parent, teacher ortemple president or even a guru, thenthe tendency toward anarchy andexploitation will prevail. This age thatwe iive in makes it very difficult formost of us to accept a bona fideauthority of any sort, what to speak ifwe see that the individual concemed isnot quite up to full par and not uP toour expectations of them. If there is anyfault to be found you can be restassured that someone somewhere willfind it.

Now as fur as this old schoolbusiness is concerned, it becomesimportant as to the criteria that we areusing to judge. We are admittedlyliving in the 1990's and not the 1600's or1800's or 796Us, so naturally many ofour devotional activities must beadapted to some degree to our currentenvironment, education and amenities.We do after ail use the telephone,airplane, refrigerators, washingmachines, etc., etc. whether we are inthe sannyasa ashram or the householdashram. So we must admit there aresome fundamental differences inpracticing our Krsna bhaldi (how manyof us wake up to an electric alarm clockand drive to the temple program in ourcar?), as opposed to when LordCaitanya was on this plaret personallysetting standards by traveling throughout India by foot and teachingeveryoneLove of Krsna, by His personal ex-ample, or even Srila Prabhupada'sstruggie to establish a movement in aforeign country with no money or verylittle fiollowers. Since the 196ffs whenthis movement was first founded in thewestern world, there have been anumber of changes, we can't necessarilysay for the better, but we can say thatthev had to be made over the years to

adjust to the movements growing needsand to be abie to accommodate moreand more people into the Sankirtanamission of Lord Caitanya. AIong withthe physical changes and alterationsthere'is also some changes on the partof many of the participants and leaders,sometimes it might have been a changein attitude or sometimes a change inmanageriai policy. Not alwavs doeschange come easily, whether it is anindividual or a managerial policy or theimplementation of a new aspect of thephilosophy that we maY not haveknown about previouslv. Whenchildren go through school, they haveto adfust to each grade that they reach,so likewise as this movement growsand individuals mature, theY mustlearn to adiust and accept that it is infact progress. As the Holy Name takesIt's effect on individuals, surely theremust be some change; as we grow oiderwe must also accept some change aswell, but sti l l we must keep hold of ourfoundations and never loose track ofour founder acarya and his teachings. Ifwe loose track of His teaching then all islost. Anyone who is fixed in studyingand teaching from the books of HisDivine Grace A. C. BhaktivedantaSwami Prabhupada, will ProbablY befrom the old school, but that can't betoo bad.

Of course, one of the main com-plaints against the old schoolers is theirbad financiai deaiings. This maybecould be rectified by the managerstaking some professional guidance fromexperts in that field. Srila Prabhupad4primariiy wanted to train exPertoreachers of Krsna consciousness, asihis is what the world is most lackingin. But naturally aiong with theimplementation of many of his desires,devotees had to become exPert inmanaging all manner of different skills,to print millions of books takes a lot ofgood management, to build andnvmage a city (Mayapur) takes a lot ofexpert management and skillfulmanipuiation of manPower, money andmaterials. From these considerations, itwould probably be wise to keep an eyeon the overall development and growthof ISKCON rather than excessivelYcriticize everything from the Past or towrite it off as being useless. We maYnot be as expert as Srila Prabhupada,but he has given us the greatest gift,Love of Krsna, and a wonderfulmovement to build and exPandtogether.

Sannyasa at Fifty?Yadubara dasa

lndia

Vrndavana---<tne of the few placeswhiclu upon returning, I feei I'vemissed. I had reiurned this time withmy eleven year oid daughter to helPNrsimhananda Prabhu teach a courseon "Video Communications" at theVrndavana Institute for HigherEducation.

"What's that, Pita?" she asked asshe iifted the VIHE course list from myhand. I was amused watcNng herglance down the list. "What ciass wouldinterest an eleven year old?" I thought.

"I want io take this class." I heardher say as her finger underscored"Overcoming Material Desires" taughtbyJayadvaita Swami, my oid friendfrom the Henry Street temPle inBrooklyn. I was surprised, pleased andamused all at once.

"Why do you want to take thisclass, Amrita?" I queried.

"I don't know, I iust do," came thefamiiiar answer typical of that age.

The next moming found us both inMaharaja's class. I was amazed to seemy daughter listening to every word.This from a kid who was never fond ofattending class and who aiways had tobe'doing something.' Vrndavanaalways has surprises awaiting visitingdevotees and I felt there were more tocome.

The ciass was arranged bY toPic. Iquickly scanned down the handoutsheet and stopped on "grhastha life."My mind reacted. "What's Maharajagoing to say about that?"

Sure enough, on daY two thesubject came uP-sa/tnyasa atfiftY'"We'll give you some leewaY-51, notmore," Maharaia said with 49% fiendlypersuasion and 51% dead seriousness.

Here I was, a month awaY from 50with rny young daughter across theroom and my Pregnant wife waiting forus back in Jagannatha Puri. I feltuncomfortable and it didn't stoP.Maharaja went on for the next halfhour-unrelenting. My mind scannedthe scriptures to justify my position.'It's not necessary to take sannyasaif.one's Krsna consciousness is notimpeded at home . . . at 5O one shouldaccept either oanagastha or snnyasa' . .A.ksetra-vnrryasi lives in the holy placeseither alone or with his family. . . thefirst qualification for taking sannyasa isthat one is fearless, not that one hasreached 50 . . .," and on it went.

I felt like speaking uP but didn't.Who would take me seriouslY? I wasalready a fugitive of the law, the tenetsof which were belng so forcefullYdelivered by a respected saznyasi in theholiest of dhamas. Of course Srila

11

Prabhupada often wrote that at age 50one shouid take sannyasa but he alsotempered it with other references. In hisown life, he accepted aanayastha at age54 and the renounced order at 63.Shouldn't everyone's case be examinedon an individual basis before takingtha l h iooes i n f s ienq?' . . . * ' . t ] o " ' . " - " . - r " '

Somehow all my arguments didnot pacify my mind. I flashed back to1981 and remembered my dismay atmeeting Acarya Prabakar, SrilaPrabhupada's first disciple. He was 50and holding his 1 yearold babv son.Here i am today in the same boat. Notthe best position or exarnpie.

Back in present time, Maharaja wasstill on the subject. My case aside, Ithought surely someone else will speakup and balance the scales. No one didand the class ended. Amrita came over,reached for my hand and smiied as ifnothing had happened.

"How did you like the ciass?" Iasked.

"Nice!" came the replv.I didn't attend Maharaia's class the

next day. Amrita reported that he spokemore on snrryas at 50. lValkingthrough the cool sands of Raman Retithat evening on our way home, I toldmy daughter I wasn't going to takesannyasa ai 50, . . . or even 51. Shelooked up at me and smiled.

Love Grows Fmm CommitmentNitai Gauranga dasa

I read Krsna Bhafana's "Till DeathDoUs Part" (Oct.'93) with interest. ln allseriousness, i made this vow to mYhorse last year. She is beautiful, youn&well trained and heaithy. An Appaloosawith a good attitude. Small, but as fleetas the wind!

You may notice that a lot of herqualities are what men iist in theirmarriage want ads. AIso, you may noteTiger Lily is a horse indeed, and not acow. In defense of horse ownership, Iwill say oniy that cars are a Poorsubstitute for horses, as tractors andtrucks are poor substitutes for oxen(few of us own tractors whiie many ofus own cars.) An ox cart will not ziPyou around on passionate errands likeyour car does. A horse will. And as Itrot and lope around the communitYfixing one cow's fencing, one devotee'sraised beds, root or another devotee'ssweat lodge, etc., I feel our relationshipimproving daiiy. She c.arries me, and Icare for her.

But why, then, "TillDeath Do UsPart?" Whv such a sericus vorv? Well, a

horse is a jioa, and not a soul-lessmachine iike a car. There is so muchreciprocation through the dav betweenus as we serve Vaisnavas . . . so muchtime clip-clopping through nature withoniy bhajana or bird song to hear, TigerLily slowly learning to read my mindand I hers; it is not something thatcouid be honorably terminated with acontract of saie.

Because of this commitment ofrrune. my road stretches sttralghtforward; no cities for us. No longextravagant trips via jet or train. Myvow means my mind is also under rein,and I do not entertain scenarios thatdon't accommodate Tiger Lily's needs.As i daily tend her and control mYmind, our love grows.

Funny, I have commitments to mYchildren, my horse, my dog. Commit-ments to Sri Krsna too. EverY daY Iserve them, my love tangrbly grows. Allof us. Love is where you find it. Itgrows from commitment.

As I write this, it 's 5:22 A.M.I'vejust come in from watering the horses,gazingat the stars, singing "Jnya layaModhaaa Daitay." I'm thinking how lastnight I read "Devastating Forest Fire inVrndavana" to a sick child. In thatchapter it is mentioned that theVrndavana herd contained cows, goats,and buffalo. And this brings to mindthe end of the Mshabharata, whereinMaharaja Yudhisthira refuses to boardthe celestial airplane without his doppassing yet another test of Dharma.

Whatever animal, child, spouse wehave been given-let's not be so falseiydetached! Let's put this short life inperspective and do our duty to Krsnawith them at our side. When this bodydies, then liberty is ours. Do not beafraid to truly vow, "Till Death Do UsPart."

What is Wrong With SubmissionMaha Laksmi dasi

Badger, CAI don't think that it is a misunder-

standing that as I read through idsueafter issue, I sense a thread of discon-tentment amongst some Mataiis withthe attitude of submission. Perhapssome feel that it has been overdone, butsubmission is a Vaisnava decoration,whether it be ornamenting a man orwoman.

In Bha gaaad- gita, 4:34, Krsna saYs:tad aiddhi yanipatena, paiTasnenasrnya/ upadeksyanti te jnanam, jnaninastattzn darsinah.

"Just try to learn the truth bYapproaching a spiritual master. Inquirefrom him submissively and render

service unto him. The self-realized soulcan impart knowledge unto Youbecause he has seen the truth.

In the purport, PrabhuPada bringsup five times, submission to a bona fidespirituai master is the key to success inspiriiual life.

in volume su of Piti-laksanam, Iespecially question Sita dasi's state-ment, "Neither do I hoPe that the oniYother altemative is to trail sheepishlybehind the so-ca-lled'submissive'women who are siiently smolderingwithin."

I am not advocating that iniusticesare acceptabie. But I am saying that if awoman is humbly and submissivelyaccepting an oPPortunity to serve garaand Krsna, and she is tolerating varyingdegrees of insults and offenses,committed knowingly or unknowingly,this is her giory. it is not that she has tobe setting aside her natural shyness andetiquette and iet the offenders, be theymen or women, know that she is"smoldering within." Krsna in the heartis the one whom we must be mostconscious to please. Hence, if someoneon the mundane plane is not acknowl-edgrng our devotional intent, we mustturn to the Lord in the heart andacknowledge His accePtance of ourservice. That is reaily what it's all about,isn't it? Perhaps it is recommended thatif "you please the temple authority thenyou are pleasing Krsna." That's OK-but it doesn't stop there. The practice ofall our sadhana activities is to free ourheart from envy so we can takepleasure in pleasing Krsna. So we mustbe intelligent enough to not be discour-aged by another soul's inabiiitY toappreciate us.

In my life, out here in Badger, CA.,I am a little spoiled in that I am able tolive in a devotee community, raise myfive children with my husband in adevotional atmosPhere, and not have todeal anymore with temple Presidents.The community is making a temPleFacility and we have a smaller fucilitywhich is in a private home wheremagnificent deities of Jagannatha'Subhadra and Baladeva are worshiped;but it is all run as a communitY.

However, I did live in Boston,Phil., and N.Y. from age 14 to 20, so Iam famiiiar with the occasionai bouts ofloneliness and frustration temple lifeaffords, along with all the nectar. Iconsider it my great good fortune that,during that time, I took it on myself tomemorize all the English translations inthe Bhag'aoad-gifa, thus strengtheningmy intelligence to deal with life in adevotional way. I mention this only

t2

physical needs that must be met for

because I humbly wish to offer anypersonal strength and association that ican, on a pen-pal basis, to anyone whofeels they need a friend. This is some-thing i wish to do to keep myselfenlivened in preaching (I distributedPrzibhupada's books daiiy for 5 years.)

I would like to close in thankingSita d. d. for sharing her realizationsand taking the time and energy toexpress her feeiings.

My address is Maha Laksmi Dasi,P.O. Box 274,Badger, CA. 93603. I havebeen endeavoring to serve SrilaPrabhupada for 21. years,14 as agrhastha. My husband is Ramacandradasa, who incidentally is a biack-bodieddevotee. (The experience of beingmarried to him, I feel, gives me a lot ofinsight into the struggles of other dark-skinned devotees.) Hare Krsna.

Assista nce Through PsychologyDevi dasi

Manhattan Beach, CARegarding Jayadvaita Maharaja'sremarks about Dr. Peck and his falseassumptions about the mind and spirit,I have intensively studied psychologyfor the past 6 years and I, too, find hisideas very difficult to read. However,there are theories and techniques witNnthe field that are quite compatible withVaisnava teachings.

In my humble opinion, psychologyserves a different function than theBhagaznd-gita. We already have our a

fori understanding of the worldaround us. However, what the denizensof the Vedic age understood aboutpsycholo gy, human development, andrelationships is sadly lacking h ourpresent societyl What to sPeak ofdifferences in culture and socialization.in past ages, men and women livedwith their tumiiies-of-origin until theywere married; and then there wereviilage elders to faciiitate the transitionfor struggling newlyweds. Advice wasbased on Vedic teachings passed downthrough the generations, and years ofexperience with marriage and children.Men usuaily worked in the familybusiness with a clear understandingfrom an early age, who they would beand what they would do. Youth was forbrahmacarya, adulthood, for grhastha,and old age was f.ot oarnrprastha andsannyasa. Even the& in many instances,when a man took salrnyasa,he wouldgradually wean himseif of familialattachment by living nearbY andreceiving aims from his local village.

In contemporary western society, itis assumed that humans have basic

survival; oxygen, amino acids, vita-mins, and minerals; and when insuffi-cient nutriment exists, pathology arises.However, our culture creates anatmosphere in which it is difficuit toacknowledge fundamental emotionalneeds, which if left unmet, also result ina faiiure to thrive. Just as amino acidsare the buiiding blocks of proteins thatprovide physiologrcal regulation'empathic human resPonses required foremotional development promote thestructure of the self which providespsychological reguiation. The mostglobal and enduring requirement is theneed to be recognized and understoodby others as an individual. This calls forresponses that represent approval,confirmation, protection, soothinp andbeionging. Heinz Kohut wrote ofheaithy self development as happeningwithin a system of three interactivedomains: possession of ambitions'utilization of talents, and affiliationwith others.

We are embedded in a culturewhere it is not unusual, at a very youngage, to move far from one's family-of-origin; to live in a communitY ofneighbors with different values andfumily traditions; to decide fromuniimited choices what to do for aliving and then to find a partner, basedon who-knows-what to sPend sometime with until one or both tire of eachother. There are no village elders orextended kinship system to helPprovide stability, negotiate a marnage/raise the childreru or give support andvalidation for who we are. Almost dailywe hear news of women's increasedparticipation in the labor force; rampantdivorce rates; and fathers being awardcustody of their minor children. We aretold of higNy educated women beingtrained to do what had previously beenexciusively man's worlq moving intopositions of leadership and authority.The boundaries between female andmale role behavior, once fairly clear, arenow blurred, and new nonns forbehavior are gradually'emerging.

The traditional arrangementsprovided structure and a senre ororder. They also limited options andimposed constraints on what wasconsidered possible. In the tradition ofLord Caitanya, the new nonns Promisemore freedom and open opportunitiesfor growth. They also close downpathways to personal identity, and areexperienced, at least in part, as a loss.During this current period of transition,anxiety is high and ambivalence andconflict are inevitable as we all questionwho we are and what we should be

doing. This is where psychology can beof assistance: helping individuals toheal the wounds from the past andbegrn to understand where to directtheir energies and talents in this topsy-turvy age of Kali. In some ways, it canserve the function of the vil lage elders,and in others, it can facilitate thecreation of a new order. We can learn tocommunicate more effectiveiY withothers; assess who wiil be successfuicoilege students, business executives,and the like. We can begin to under-stand how to prevent delinquency andself-defeating behavior, as well as howto provide conditions in a group whichwiii be foiiowed by increased produc-tivity, originality, and morale. We canalso learn how to establish conditions ofleadership which wiil be followed bypositive personality development in itsfollowers. Salvador Minuchin, a fumiiysvstems theorist, states that: "theunquestioned authoritY that oncecharacterized the patriarchai model ofparenting has faded, to be replaced by aconcept of flexible, rational authority."

We have a iong history of this t1'Peof ieadership within our line. SrilaBhaktivinoda Thakura wrote: "Thestudent is to read the facts with a viewto create, and not with the obiect offruitless retention. Students, likesatellites, should reflect whatever lightthey receive from authors and notimprison the facts and thoughts just asthe Magistrates imPrison the convicts inthe jail! Thought is progressive. Theautho/s thought must have progress inthe reader in the shape of correction ordevelopment." "While we do not Poseourselves as being capabie of'correc-tion or deveiopment'of the thoughts ofSrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura/ we Praythat he wiil bless our attemPt to presenthis thoughts in a way that may be moresuitable for the readers of the presentday!'

Peck's Not That BadKundali dasa

Vmdavana, IndiaThere are a lot of points I would like toaddress in my letter, but time and sPacewill not allow, so I will limit mYresponse to Jayadvaita Swami's articlewhich criticizes Scott Pecl(s book. Thebook he is knocking is one of those rareachievements of a nondevotee wherewe may leam something that is ofpracticai use in our mission of personaldevelopment and growth, which isundeniably part of our pursuit of Krsnaconsciousness. What is the difficuity toieam about some of the tools for doingso from a person exPerienced in his

I J

field in a weii articulated book such asThe Rmd Less Traoeled?

Maharaja points out that Peck useslanguage in a different way than we do,thus attempting to undermine the basicassumptions of the author, dixredit theentire book and thereby discouragedevotees from reading the book. But Ihave benefited from reading this bookand I find that many devotees wiilbenefit from this book. JayadvaitaMaharaja may say that all we need isdevotional service, but over the years itis so abundantly clear that so many ofus are not mentally healthy andresponsible individuals. We bring a 1otof excess mental buggag. to the Processand keep that baggage for a long, longtime. So many devotees lack integrity.From the topmost circles all the waydown to the ranks. This has a negativeeffect on the integrity of the wholesociety. At this stage of the game todeny this is much iike the rabbitcovering his eyes when comered by thefox.

And the varieties of dysfunctionalsymptoms-lack of discipline, unrelent-ing oneupmanship, etc., keeps usperpetually in the mode of passion.This in turn prevents us, individuailyand as a group, from taking the bestadvantage of the process. So manydevotees are insecure persons, forexample. If they would get a grip onthese things there would be a lot lesspetty, yet irksome problems from ourfiutnagers, husbands, fathers, Ieaders,etc. A lot less problems from them anda lot less problems for them as well. lnthis connection, many illuminatingpoints are brought out in Peck's boolcWhy not take the gerns out of the stool?

We may think it a grcat sign ofdevotion to can everything that is notwritten by Rupa Cosvami or SrilaPrabhupada and use our intellipnce tonegate all other comers. But isn't it abetter use of intelligence to wean outthe things of value and throw out thechaff? It is taxing to discriminate, but itis our responsibility to do so if wedesire to be the head of the social body.Sure it is simpler to categorically throwout the whole package, but in this casesimpler is not necessarily more Krsnaconscious. It is False renunciation. Toincorporate those things useful forKrsna consciousness is real renuncia-tion. If our movement would functionon a wholesome platform of dealings,then i say, "Yes, books like the Rmd LessTraoeledwould be unnecessary for us.Piti-laksanam is all we need." But ftomreading Prifi-laksanam I think it is clearthat we need to learn the art of takinB

responsibility for our iives and ScottPeck can set one moving in thatdirection.

I wish Jayadvaita Maharaja wouidhave told us how to use Peck in Krsnaconsciousness, how to see beyond hisjargon and cuii out the useful parts.That deveioping and expressing lovetakes work is a Krsna conscious Pointand it is one of the major, major pointsPeck makes. Too true. Romantic love isa myth. But hundreds of devotees-initiated, chanting Hare Krsna, preach-ing Krsna consciousness-are stillchasing the myth of romantic love. Andnot getting it and getting fried withspiritual life, the universe, and every-thing. It explains the unrelentingdivorce rate and broken fumily rate inISKCON with unerring accuracy.

And isn't it a fact that love issymptomized by service (work) andthat in sadhana-bhakti we are reailydoing nothing but working toward thisawakening of love in the ultimatesense-for the spirituai master, forKrsna, and for each other?

Government S ponsored Asramas,The Best Revenge

Dennis ArcherSan Pedro, CA

Picture this: Prisons turned intogovernment funded asramas. Howwould the staJf ever explain aii thehappy inmates?

Remember, the world is itself aprison; without st-cit-ananda we are alllost into the endless cycle of births anddeaths.

We in prison must turn this timeinto spiritual advancement time. We arenot responsible for certain mundanepursuits such as working for a living,because such things are provided. Ourenergies can be directed elsewhere.

Granted, prison is not the bestplace to seek solitude, privacy will not -be found easily there, and strongillusion is difficult to fight. Millionsmay not even consider how to begin todo so. By focusing on Krsna however,and by resisting material thoughts thattry to cloud our minds, we can over-come these obstacles. You see, we knowthe golden secret: chanting chantingand more chanting.

Let them hold our material bodiesin bondage, but we will never give uPour minds or souls. Those belong toKrsna, and no one can take them fromHim.

So unite,brothers. Ecstatic kirtanasand chanting are our weaPons. Let uschant away our chains and leave thisillusorv world behind.

The Role of the FeminineBernard (Bud) KonowitzCharlotte, North Carolina

I just received issue #8 and wassornewhat disappointed by the anony-mous individual who wrote the coiumntitled "In My Opinion." What truly gotto me was the comment: "Is this alesbian-run paper?" In my Personalopinion this type of mentality is almostpure fanaticism.Piti-laksanam is a greatresource, and I for one would iike totake this time to speak in defense of thismost worthy publication, and on thetooic of the role of the feminine.

I think the Anonymous shouidwake up and smell the iotus blossom!As for women being less intelligent .than men, let me make a blunt state-rnent from the work-place. I have heldpositions where I have had both menand women working in departmentsthat i had managed. When the time foremployee evaluation arrived I noticedthat women excelled with reference toproblem-soivin& customer relations,and so on. At one company I wasreouested to name an individual who*oria be trained as my assistant. Afterreviewing all of the empioyee files,three candidates out of eight in mYdepartment were listed, all werewomen. As a matter of fuct more andmore women are gaining positions ofhigh rank in the business world.

Now for women in religion. Thisarea is with reference to the sanatana-dharma as a whole. In case Anonymousdoes not realize it, ISKCON is amember of the sanatana-dhanna.Nowomen Guru's, where has this indi-vidual been? There is a iarge religiousorder based in upstate New York calledSYDA. The presiding Sat Guru of thisorg'anization is a woman. This particu-lar Sat Guru is a Kashmir Saivite whichis one of the six schools of Saivism. Ishould also add that there are membersof the "renounced orde/' who arewomen. I also higNy recommend thatAnonymous study the Sakti sect. So asone can see, Anonymous is quite wrongwhen he states that there "are nowomen Guru's."

If there is one thing I wish to getthrough to Anonymous it is the termsanatana- dharma, xnat ana4harma,sanatana-dharma! A member of our fuith,regardless of sect, does not Passjudgment on another. It is unfortunate,but I see Indians who smoke or drinkbeer. When these individuals see methey get this look of guilt on their faces.I do not however criticize such persons.There is only one judge and that is

t4

Codhead. I most certainiy do not think Iam Godhead. This philosophy holdstrue of ones choice of sexuality. If aperson is a lesbian or homosexual whoam i to criticize? We are not Cod andshould not try to elevate ourseives tosuch a status.

As for Prifi-/akstnam having CBCapproval, that is not the issue. The issueis, does Piti-laksanam have the supportof devotees and the answer is yes. ifthis publication benefits the devotees ofISKCON it benefits ISKCON as awhole. As for Piti-Iaksanam being a"lesbian-run pape{ the answer simplyisno. Piti-lnksnam is pointing out thefuct that women are not meant to beabused in marital or reiigious relations.In short, Piti-Iaksanam is upsettingcertain individuals who must Face thefuct that they are not as advanced asthey think themselves to be.

On another note, there is a majorfestival called Navaratri. This is "ninenights of The Goddess." Here inCharloite at The Hindu Center, bothVaisnava and Saivite members of theSanatana Dharma attend this rich andbeautiful festival. The power of thefeminine is considered to be Supreme tomany members of the sanatana-dharma.

In my personal opinion women arenot inferior, rather they are told thatthey are, and if you tell someone thislong enough then you erode their seUdignity and this is without a doubt themost shameful act any perrcn canperform. This is a great publication,keep up the great work!

Simply Love KrsnaGauranga dasa

Vancouver, CarndaThe following are some thoughts andrealizations as I pursue personalgrowth and Krsna consciousness.

devotees have encoutaged meto write them down. I am feelinginspired to write and communicatewith sincere seekqrs of the truth. It isreaily up to us to find the means andassociation that wiil make that visionand process of being Krsna conscious, areality of love and bliss and not aprocess of fear, guilt, shame or abuseeither at the giving or receiving end.

The soul along with the higherforces of the universe (daioa-netrena)chooses one's parents prior to cominginto this world, for the reasons of bothpersonal gror,rrth and fulfilling a speciaipurpose (the reason why we came.here), our purpose in life. Sure we havean understanding, by the grace of SrilaPrabhupada, that the goal is to s€rve

and iove Radha and Krsna. But what isit that we can do in this world for Theirpleasure and at the same time have areal sense of being personaily fulfiiled?Prabhupada gave us a ciue, bY usingwhatever talents and abilities we haveand somehow or other connect it withserving Krsna either directlY orindirectly. The leaders of the societywere meant to facilitate us in achievingjust that. But at times, irstead oflovingly facilitating souls who came toKrsna in trying to helP them find ordevelop their individual purpose, itwas in part, replaced bY controi,manipulation and abuse by either somesincere dysfunctionai aspiring devoteesor persons who were materiailYmotivated dysf unctionai aspiringdevotees. In the end only chaos couldprevaii. In using the word, dYsfunc-tional devotee, I mean those souis whocame to Krsna consciousness and hadnot yet balanced out their psychologicalconditioning. It is not a negative orcondescending term. And some havemore of a dysfunctiornl personalitythan others. And when one is not awareor is not trylng to correct their dysfunc-tional nature, one either leads apersonal hard life or can either subtly orgrossiy abuse others on many ievels'This applies to everyone.

But the way I see it, is that Krsna isgiving us another opportunity to lookat ourselves. Are we still giving ourpower away to others? In other words,are we allowing others to makedecisions in our life for us? Or are we,100%, making our own choices anddecisions? Sure we can listen and soiicitadvice from others, if we so desire. Butthe ultlmate decisions should always beour own? Are we not taking resPonsi-bility for our own personal growth? Ifwe don't then we are giving our Poweraway. And what usuallY haPPens isthat we end up blaming others whenthings go wrong or are different thanwe expected. Donit blame others. Weshould instead take back our Power andbe responsible. Then we have nobodyto blame, since it was our decision. Youshould not blame yourself either butaccept the fact that at the time, you didthe best you couid have. Leam from theexperience and grow from it. BYblaming others we give away ourDower to blame. It doesn't resolveanything or heip anybody. We simplyallow ourselves to be vulnerable to thecontrol and maniPulation of otherindividuals or grouPs.

The Vaisnava guru is meant to be arepresentative of Krsna, a guide, afacilitator, a friend to all living beings to

help the conditioned souls becomeempowered so that theY have iheopportunity to become fullY self-real-ized Krsna conscious beings. Aperson who manipulates, controls,exploits or abuse any other living being '

on any levei is definitelv not a guru andnot even a weil balanced person, evenon a material level. A Per$n who takesthe position of guru is not suppose tobe our crutch or codependent Person.Nor should he act in any way so thatleads us into a co-dependent situationwith himself or anyone else. He is thereto lovingiy assist, guide, teach us howto become a spiritual loving emPow-ered self-realized individual who isexperiencing biiss by engaging inloving devotional service to theSupreme Personality of Godhead.

My humbie request is, that all thedevotees within and outside the Krsnaconsciousness movement should makean effort to examine whether or notthey are empowered or are in theprocess of empowering others ormanipulating others. For to control,manipulate, exploit or abuse others is asign of being a dysfunctional persory apsychologically unbalanced individualwhether he is a devotee of some sort ornot, whether one be in a high spiritualor material standing or not.

Because the soul chooses to be indysfunctional families for both reasonsof growth and purPose, at differenttimes in life, one will seeminglY runinto a brickwall. At that specific timethe soui will have the opportunity to re-exam the goals, beliefs, attitudes andthe processes that one follows for self-realization. We may have run into thisbrick wall when we were living withour parents. We maY have came to theconclusion that we could not live withthem any longer. So many of us decidedthat it was time for us to grow as anindividual spiritual Person. Andtherefore we left home in search ofourselves and haPPiness.

The same thing can haPPen in alarge spiritual fumily. If many membersor leaders of this spiritual fumily aredysfunctional, then it is very likely thatone day we may come to a Point andsay, I'm leaving. This haPPened tomany of us within the Krsna conscioussociety.

But let's look at the positive side ofit. This does not in anyway condone thewrong doings that are going on withinthe institution in the name of spiritual-ity, in the name of surrenderinp etc.But realize that Krsna is giving usanother oPPortunitY to emPowerourselves to take back our power that

15

we may have given away in the falsename of surrender. He is givhg us anopportunity to become empoweredindividuais who can make a positivecontribution to this world and our ownspiritual development. Krsna is gtvingus the opportunity to examine the wayswe would like to serve Him. If at anypoint in your life you feei that youcannot decide what to do next, pleaselisten to the following suggestion andsee that there is great truth in it. Justtake a moment and with honestY, lookdeeply within yourself. Ask yourself,what wouid I reaiiy, reaily like to do forKrsna. What is it that I get most excitedabout and would really like to do forKrsna or His devotees, and as long aswhat you think you would like to do,has integrity and responsibility, then doit. That I firmly believe is the guidancefrom your higher self. That is what youare meant to be doing until the nexttime when you are undecided as towhat to do next, follow the sameprocedure as above. The spirit soul ispieasure seeking (anan da'nuyo bhya u t ),by nature. So follow your bliss and thenyou will be happy. How can You notbe? You are doing what most excitesyou. Anyone can appiy this process.And you can apply it to make all ofyour decisions.

Some of the terminologY that I useto express my realizations may sound alittle different to some devotees but theess€nce of becoming spiritually awareand Krsna conscious is the same. WhenSrila Prabhupada was asked bydevotees what he wanted us to do, hisreply was, "simply love Krsna." I thinkthat says it all. So that is the goal to loveand serve Radha and Krsna in whateverway possible. And if we can't find themeans to serve Krsna with others thenwe can do it by ourseives, but Pleaserealize my dear devotees that you arenever aione, the whole GaudiyaVaisnavas and all saintly people arebacking you, either visible or invisibleto your external eyesight. They are withyou, and when you call on them, theYwill assisi you. ]ust try it, it works likemag1c.

At present I am attemPting to writea book. It will explain what truly can beis a heaithy spiritual civilization, ahealthy spiritual Vaisnava society, apsychologically balanced individual orVaisnava, and the beautiful theisticprecepts of Gaudiya Vaisnavism anddevotion to Radha Krsna. For knowthat there are many levels.of spiritualrealization and that I believe for me andmany others that the Krsna conceptionis the most beautifuI spiritual reality.

The book wili try to elucidate, that bvcreating a synergy of being both abalanced psychoiogrcally individuaiand a Vaisnava that one can achieve ablissful e4istence in this world andetemally. It will also explain theimponance of respecting and under-standing the feminine principal withinsocietv and within ourselves and whathappens when it is not. If any devoteewould like to share their realizations onany of these matters, I shall be verYhappy to corresPond.

Childless Couples AreAlso GloriousAnonymous

We're all hearing these laments f rom the

couples forced to choose to give up their

good service'cause the babies all need shoes

Some chi ld less couPles are wise

thev pointedlY serve the Lord

thev have noneed of offsPring

in service they're never bored

No, we should not stigmatize them

as faiiures for we see the

whole world is their familY

from distractions theY are free

Collaborative Couples they're called

they're kind of a new tYPe of Pair

they thrive in Productive service

which we now can al l admire

Please consider, dear devotees,

when you serve as man and wife,

there are more ways to Please Krsna

than a baby-burdened life-

IN RESPONSE TOARTICLES IN PREVIOUS ISSUES

In Response to: Harc Krsna dasiTeresaOregon

Suppose you were in the kitchendixussing the cooking results of acertain preParation, what should it belike and how to achieve it? Andsomeone came in and reproached youfor questioning the author of the recipe. . . that would be a little strange. Butthat is what Hare Krsna d.d. did in herresponse. She hints that it is wrong toquestiory but PrabhuPada recom-mended intelligent scrutinY. Heweicomed sincere questions and didnot want blind foilowers.

A devotee who read her resPonserernarked that she had somehowmissed the point of mv Piece. In anYcase, she failed to deal with the issues Iraised, on my terms. And I am utterlybaffled why anyone of either genderwould find it necessary or aPProPriateto insist, as she has done, that womenhave less spiritual intelligence. (l see noway that it is true or can ever be true. Ifsomeone proves to me that Prabhupadareally held that women innateiy andabsolutely have iess spirituai intelii-gence, which means less interest andaptitude for serving and surrenderingto the Supreme, I will lose interest inrsKCoN.)

First Hare Krsna d.d. states that therelevant intelligence is body based, thenin the very next sentence she says it isspirituai. (This is the crux of thematter-the contradiction that there canbe a spiritual intelligence that is basedin the body.) Nowhere does she explainthe whys and hows of this Putativeinferior intelligence. She chastisessomeone who she says has dared toquestion Prabhupada, but she doesn'texplain or instruct about what shethinks his position on woman's hingand "role" is. It is all nebulous andslippery. The hint that being or Pre-tending to be shy and submissive areparts of the process of devotionalservice is very strange and mysterious.Obviously one rees whY and howsoiritual consciousness does involveeichewing something like meat-eating.

Since the basic idea of. snatana-dharna is you are not your body, it seernscontrary to spiritual advancement tostress gender generalities. We shouidtry to attack body consciousness, notreinforce it. And even if it were true, foranyone to explicitly stress the idea oflesser intelligence would be pernicious.This should be obvious. It is widelyknown that words and thoughts etc.,can affect plant growth and behavior,so cleariy words abut one grouP ofpeopie will create effects and reactions.Sometimes devotees impiy a thoughtpattern that seems remarkably gross,static and materialistic / mechanical; theproper attitudes about what PeoPIe areand can become should be more fluidand dynamic. To ever saY anYthingimplying limiting or clouding onegroup/s spirituai development shottldbe totally taboo, whether or not the sub-grouP are devotees. The karmicreaction is to immediately limit andcloud one's own consciousness. Itwould be less harmful to eat meat thanto destroy someone/s spiritual aptitude.

If someone wants to offer a

16

rationale for stigmatizing women that ismore persuasive than the piece preced-ing Hare Krsna's, I'm willing to listen,but until persuaded otherwise, I'11believe that writer's explanation thatmen liketo lord it over the women. I 'mtoid that some women defend the statusquo of the stigma because they areafraid the men devotees wiil becomedisaffected. I think that this implies anunwarranted insult to the men--{heyaren't devotees just so they can iord itover others; most of them are moresincere and mature than that.

By Krsna's arrangement, I heardYamuna devi speak the day before thenewsletter arrived. She spoke elo-quentlyabout how Prabhupada sawbeyond form to the spirit soul. I simpiydon't believe that his mood was toimpose rigd and artificial and bodybased restraints on his western dis-ciples. He took pains to study thementaiity of Americans and he accepteda lot of the quaiities and guided hisdisciples to dovetail their tendencies (tobe free spirited, passionate and com-petitive, etc.) in Krsna's service. Theidea that an American devotee cansomehow leave off being a westemer isvery strange. We have to be honestabout what we are and try to use it,(And if we had been the type of peopieto passively conform to the customs ofour elders, a hallmark of all traditionalcultures, cleariy Prabhupada's missionin the West never would have made adent.) Out of respect for him and histradition, the devotees adoPted someextemal trappings of Indian things, butto think that one becomes "Vedic" aftera few years chanting in a temple is apathetic and unrealistic fantasy that cansabotage the ciear thinking andintegrity one needs for the holy war inthe heart. Anyway, it would be verysimple-minded to think that we reallyknow what Vedic culture is, or that wecan embody it. It is wiser to realisticallyacknowledge our contamiruItion bywestern consumer culture so that wecan be better equipped to deal with ourtendencies. For example, ISKCON'sdivorce rate (someone told me 90%)shows that devotees share the westemtendency to trade in one's spouse for anew model when there is trouble. Thethought patterns that encourage this arepart of the very air we breathe. To denyit or resist bringhg this sSmdrome outof the dark into the light to look at it,will only make it worre or prolong it. Ifdevotees were really embodying or .manifesting Vedic culture, theirmarriages would be stable. We have tofocus on the ideal and the real. The

tfuee pieces on marriage were aligermane and constructive.

Out of all the pieces on thewomen's issue, a general Picture of

. possible resoiution is emerging. Manydevotees feei it is a serious probiem andintolerable discrepancy and the way ofrectification is becoming ciear. Stressthe parts of the philosoPhY thatundermine body consciousness, notreinforce it. Realize that almost all thenegativities about women in thescriptures reflected the effects of avastly different sociai system. Lastiy,for men to presentiy try to stigmatizewomen would both harm their ownspiritual life and also cripple ISKCON.

In ResPonse to:Non-alcoholic Beverages

& Women GurusHare Krsna dasi

Brunswick, MaineCaturatma Prabhu's letter was informa-tive. I think non-alcoholic beverages canhave some place as we try to integratemore people into Krsna consciousness.Three couples were married in abeautiful outdoor ceremony at Cita-nagari several years ago and theparents of one of the devotees gettingmarried-in the mood of honoringISKCON's abstinence from alcohol-contributed one of these non-alcoholicbeverages for the occasion. It wasgraciously accepted and offered withthe rest of the feast. Thus, the Parentswere made to feel welcome bY thedevotees on the occasion of their child'smarriage.

So I feel there is a Place for thiskind of thing however, I'm not surehow far individual devotees will wantto carry it. If our uitimate goai is iotransform the world into a seif-sufficient octrnasrara society, productslike this could be taking us a steP awayfrom the direction we want to go.

A little-acknowledged benefit ofour prohibition against intoxicants-including coffte, tea and chocolate-isthat it is an act which encourageslocalized self-sufficiency. In differentstatements, such as one he made inMauritius, Prabhupada revealed thatthe first priority of devotees should beto produce food to meet their ownneeds first, and only then should theyproduce something for the market' Nogroup of people can be really peacefulas long as their existence dePendstotally on the ups and downs of themarket economy.

Peopie who work on coffee, teaand cocoa plantations are so exploitedthey may have difficulty feedingtheir

own fumilies, what to speak of Pursu-ing spiritual realization. Cenerallyspeaking why should we becomekarmicaliy entangled in this oppression,especially when Sriia Prabhupada hasalready discouraged it? So this isanother kind of test we can appiy: Istheconsumption of this product going tolead toward the sirnple living that SriiaPrabhupada wanted us to work for?What does it take to make non-alcohoiicbeverages? If it's a very simpie process/perhaps there is no problem. If we can'timagine having someone make thesebeverages in the context of simple ruralvillages, then maybe it's something wedon't want to encourage in general.

Women Curus in ISKCONWe have many highly quaiified

women devotees in ISKCON. There areseveral to whom I personally feel veryindeb'ted. However, I think we need tobe careful before we propose that theycan initiate disciples. I'm thinking inparticular about Srila Prabhupada'sinstructions in the Bhagaaat am as hedescribes Dhruva Maharaja going backto Godhead with his mother: "DhruvaMaharaia's mother, Suniti, was hispatha-pra dar *ka- guru. P atha-yadar saka-

B?ru means the guru or spiritual masterwho shows the way. Such a gzrl issometimes called a siksa-guru. AlthoughNarada Muni was his dikn-guru(initiating spirituai master), Suniti, hismother, was the first who gave himinstruction on how to achieve the favorof the Supreme Personality of Godhead.It is the duty of the siksa-guru ot diks-guru to instruct the disciple in the rightway, and it depends on the disciple toexecute the process. Accordingtosastric injunctions, there is no differencebetween siksa-guru and dikx-guru, andgenerally siksa-guru later on becomesthe d;ksa-guru. Suniti, however, being awomarL and specifically his mother,could not become Dhruva Maharaia'sdik v - guru." Bhag. 4.12.32 purport

It seems to me that SrilaPrabhupada is indicating here that inISKCON, we wiil not have women asdik*-guru.I would like to hear howothers understand this Passage. (As anaside, for those who haven't read it forawhile, Prabhupada's purPort to thenext verw/ &hag.4.12.33, is a movingexample of his own personai humility.)

"Near Beef is BeerDasaratha-suta dasa

Atlanta, GeorgiaIt is completely astonishing that devoteesof TheirLordshipsSri Sri Radhaand Krsrnwould actuallv have a discussion in the

t7

Piti-laksanam newsletter over the popu-lar worldly food addictions known as"Near Beer," so{alled decaffeinated cof-fee,and other such deplorable items. Even" veggie burgers," although certainlyofferable to the Lord as palatable legumepatties, have been masquerading as all-beef hamburgers by garnishing with pick-les, mustard, (garlic-laden) ketchup, (vin-egar-laden) relish, and alsoonions insomecases. Those who are fond of justifyingtheir pitiful backsiiding into mundanematerialistic sense-attractions are posinga disgusting example for those who arefond of remaining free of such blatantcontaminations. Since all of us are ini-tially trained in the philosophy of theS itnad-Bh agaz,u t am and Bh a gau d - gi t a, w eare told that to cherish a s€nse object inthe mind is exactly the same as commit-ting the deed. Thus a sin is committedevery time you even think about it, andyou think about it every time you indulgein these questionable so<alled food items.Therefore: Near beer is beer, coffee iscoffee, burgers are burgers.

The point is: if you think you aredrinking beer (and you do) by drinkingso-called Near Beer and similar bever-ages,then@.It doesn't matter ushatsoeuer that it onlyhas .05% of alcohol in it. You are actuailydrinking beer with every ice cold foamysip. Why don't you just go out and get asix-packof Budweiser or Miller Lite-thepackages and bottles look the same any-way. It's exactly the same sin. Your mindis thinking "beer" as you taste and relishit, so it is exactly the same sin. No differ-ence. No difference whatsoever. Not eventhe slightest difference in any way, shapeor form. Besides, such "cereal beverages"are simply rotten-all fermented foodsare clearly labeled by Lord Krsna in theBhagaaad-gita as being in the mode ofignorance. Find out this verse. Are thesekarmi food addictions something to beproud of?

Likewise, when you drink decaf cof-fee-@.Nodoubt about it. Looks like coffee, smellslike coffee, tastes like coffee. It is coffee.Our ever well-wisher proudiy announcesto the world that his students do notdrink coffee. Who are you fooling?

Similarly, if a foodstufflooks, smellsand tastes like stool (yes I said stool), canyou offer it to the Deities merely becausethe ingredients are vegetarian? Thus, howcan you justify dressing up bean andveggie burgers to exactly resemble ham-burgers?Just go to MacDonalds and get areal hamburger. There's no difftrence.They're exactlythe same, because youarethinking "hamburger" -ySg-ale actu-allv eatins meat. We are a,larmed at tils

deviation, particuiariv because as vou

train your devotee chiidren in these &armifood standards, thev may grow uP andsimply eat a hamburger at the first oppor-tunity because it looks, smells and tastesjust like Mataji'sveggie burgers' This maysound a bit wild or Paranoid, but it lshappening on this very day that you arereading this. It is true and we al] know it.Some recipes actually call for cookingtechniques that form imitation gristie, andevenred liquid thatoozes iike bloodwhenyou squeeze them-l have seen thisabominabie culinary disgrace offered toISKCON temple Deities by a Govinda'sRestaurant cook when I was offered theremnants I had to spit it out into the trashcan. I couldn't even chew or swallow itdue to its striking and shocking re*m-blance to actuai dead flesh. I don't thinkthe Deities thought very highly of thepreparation either. All in the name of"preaching"-"So the kannis will be at-tracted" . . . as ifSriia Prabhupada had notg iven. us wonderfu l and at t ract iveVaikuntha foods io nourish and sustainour journey back to home, Back toGodhead. Gimme a samosal

SPECIAL FEATUREIravan Dasa and the Bag LadY

A tale from the days of street distribu-ilon

Mathuresa dasaAlachua, Florida

By ten o'clock the bus stop at the cornerof College Avenue and Prince Streetwas neariy deserted. Rain drifted out ofthe windy November night, showeringthrough the incandescent domains ofstreet lamps, headlights, and trafficsignals, tapping against the corrugatedfiberglass roof of the stoP shelter.

Iravan dasa stood bY the curb justout of the rain, rocking on his heels,waiting for his ride, which was alreadyhalf an hour late. Since iate afternoonhe'd been at the bus stop selling Back toGadhad magazines to students board-ing buses for the airPort and trainstation, going home for Thanksgivingbreak. They had been a friendly bunchfor the most part, willing to talk for amoment with Iravan dasa. Short stoutoutgoing Iravan dasa with his brightblue jacket, orange dhoti, and cleaniyshaven head.

Along about seven, with thevacation flow of Passengers still fairiysteady, kavan had been feelingparticularly satisfied and at home withthe student crowd. He'd been taikingwith them about karma, reincarnation,mantm meditation, vegetarianism-whatever might capture their interest in

the few minutes before their bussesarrived. He liked the loglc and author-ity of the Krsna consciousness philoso-ohv and he liked to see them like it.After ali, didn't the Bhagaaad-Eta saythat Krsna consciousness was the "kingof education" and the "most confiden-tial form of knowledge"? What morecould a student ask for?

Iravan's contentment, however,had been upset by a young man withdark curly hair and wire-rimmedglasses, a graduate student possibly, ahandsome, intelligent-looking fellowwith a serious expression. He hadignored the BTG Iravan extended tohim, ignored the simpie come-on Iravanused ("like to see a magazine aboutspirituai life?"), looked Iravan straightin the eye and said loudly "No, i do notbelieve that God is a blue cowherdboy," then disappeared aboard a bus,Ieaving iravan shaken and embar-rassed.

"I shouidn't be embarrassed,"Iravan thought. The guy must have metus before and read our books. It's toobad he didn't give me time to speak. Hekind of ran away. It takes time toexpiah and to understand Lord Krsna'sspirituai body. That's why I don't walkup to people and say, "Hi. God's a blueboy. Take a magazine." It's true. Krsnais blue. But first things first. If you don'tknow arithmetic, calculus looks strange.The guy made it sound so silly, and in aloud voice. As if he were accusing meof hiding an irrational feature of theHare Krsna movement.

kavan had retumed to sellingmagazines and some who had heardthe loud "I don't believe" seemedreiuctant to listen to him, to iatch on tohis talk of spiritual life. But he had keptat it and by 8:30 his two hundred copiesof BTG were gone and the crowds haddisappeared. Only a few students hadbeen left, waiting to board a last airportbus, and one middle-aged lady, sittingat the end of the bus stop bench. In fact,Iravan had reaiized, she'd been sittingthere the entire eveninP while thecrowds came and went. He now noticedthat her hair and clothes, though cleanenough, were a little unkempt, that theshopping bags at her side were worn'and that she was muttering to herself'

With the "I don't believe God is ablue boy'' still ringing in his ears,kavan still wanted a chance to reply tothe young man, and knowing he'd mostlikely never get one, he looked forwardto talkingwith his Godbrother, Visnudasa, who was to Pick him uP in aboutan hour. In the meantime iravan stoodat the curb just out of the rain, chanted

18

on his beads, and thought to himself.The bottom line, he reflected, is

everyone thinks God, or the absolutetruth, is not a person. He, or it, is toobig too ali-encompassing to bepersonal', Persons are smail, iimited,temporary, relatively powerless,'hopelessly

fuult-ridden and prejudiced,while the absolute truth must beuniimited, supreme, perfect, impartial,and eternal.

But the Brahma-smhita says,lravancountered to himself, that God, al-though the origin of ali, aithough theoldest, although perfect and supreme, isyet a person who always appears as afresh youth. Adyam puranam purusmnaTn yauoanam ca.How could age,which turns us gray/ it's true, dolikewise to the supreme? And whyshould perfection and supremacypreclude personality? Personality, thegreatest of all assets, cannot be absent inthe greatest Himseif. The Absolute is aperson, and we are persons because wecome from Him. Electric light, say, isimpersonai energy because its source,the light bulb or the power plant, isimpersonal. We, however, are indi-vidual, personal energy and thereforeour source is personal. Our source isKrsna, the supreme person.

Iravan stepped back hom the curband away from the rain. The bag IadY,who had been rummaging through awire trash basket, looked over at him.In her hand was a crumpled BTG,salvaged from the waste. Iravan hadnoticed the magazine there earlier,without much alarm. ln his experienceas a BTG salesman he'd seen that a fewwere always thrown away on the sPot.No more than that, uniess he ga'oemagazines away, which he'd tried oncelast summer at City Park. It had beeneasy to give ihem away, but dozens hadouicklv found there wav into the park'srefuse containers. Free evidently meantworthless, so now Iravan alwayscharged at least a dollar.

Since the bag lady, holding a BTG,was looking at him, since she was nowthe only one Ieft in the bus stoP, and onthe outside chance that she wassomeone to talk to about the Absolute'spersonality, kavan nodded to her andcalled out "Wet night, isn't it?".

The lady looked away, pointedlydropped the BTG back into the trash,and salvaged two soda cans instead,packing them into one of her bags.

Iravan returned to the curb and tohis chanting and thinking while the carsand yellow cabs swished by towardsthe intersection. It's not really, hereasoned to himseif, that they object to

the Absoiute's being a blue cowherdboy, but that thev obiect to his being aperson at all. If He is a Person (and Heis) then, as lhe Bhagaoaiam describes, Henaturally has not oniy color (blue),occupation (cowherd), and age (boy),but also name, address, family, educa-tion, physique, and ali the many otherindividual attributes, qualities, andcharacteristics that make a Person aDerson.

Iravan was begirrning to feel notoniy inspired by his philosophicalmeditation but restiess as well, andeven irritated-though he knew heshouldn't be-at the loud-mouthedstudent who had jumped on a buswithoui stopping to talk. Iravan toobegan muttering.

"If He's not a blue cowherd boy,"he called out softly but firmly after the"don't believe" bus that had drivenaway in the rain three hours earlier,"then what is He? A purple cabbie? Agreen policeman? A chartreuse gradu-ate student? Yoa have an age, a color,an occupation, and God has none?

"Sure God could be other colorsiike yellow or red or white, and theBhagaoatam says he does in fact appearin different-colored incarnations. AndHe could and does have other occuPa-tions and activities besides cowherdboy. As the Supreme He can be or doanything He likes.

"But the Vedic literatures affirmthat His original self happens to be ablue cowherd boy.Isaarah parama krstu .. . saroa karana karatum. And in any case,for sure and certain, one thing Heabsolutely cannot be is a non-person. Soif you don't believe He's a blue cow-herd boy then you tell me, what is Hiscolor, age, and occupation?"

Iravan stopped muttering. The baglady, back at her bench seat, waslooking at him again, an eyebrowraised, fingers drumming lightly on herfolded arms. Feeling sheepish and jollyat once, Iravan nodded to her and said,"Chant Hare Krsna."

A few minutes later Visnu dasapulled up in a beige station wagon.

"How was yout day?" he said asIravan jumped in.

"Not bad" said Iravan. "Reallygood to see you. Sold two hundredmagazines. I gotta tell you about thisg u y i m e t . . . "

The bag lady, after watching thestation wagon drive off down PrinceStreet, dug out the two soda cans, tookthem back to the trash container, andexchanged them for the crumpled BTG,which she folded under her arm. Thengathering her bags, she stepped to the

curb, pulled a five-dollar bill from hercoat pocket and, waving it above herhead, hailed a cab.

PERSONALS

Please send 54.00 per ad to run in 4

issues. OnIy ads seeking mariage partner'

ships zuill be considered t'or publication;

please tuord your ad carefully to shozt:

intent for marriage. AII nat: ads zuill haoe

the first few u:ords in bold; ads run

preoiously utll not.

15 year devotee lady,37 years old, em-

ployed. Interested in personal growth. Seeks

gentleman devotee for mature relationship,

want ing to bui ld a fami ly. Chi ld OK Please

reply to my friend C. Jimenez Visedo. 10 rue

de Chartres 92200 France-

ISKCON Life Member,30 years old single,

college-educated, male, seeking Krsna

conscious wife. I have been in the association

of devotees for over ten years. I chant

regularly. i 'm into astrology, Krsna

conscious rock & roll, FOLK programs,

inter fa i th d iscussions, as wel l as wr i t ing and

preaching Krsna Consciousness at the

introductory level. I have many plans for

services, and need a wife (partner, not a

servant) to help me. Please write me: Vasu

Murty, 30 Villanova Lane, Oakland, CA

9M1L .

Parents seeking engagement for fifteen year

old daughter; marriage within one to three

years. She is bom and raised in Krsna

consciousness; gurukula and home school

training only, daily full moming Program,chants L6 rounds, and does not watch TV or

movies, or listen to karmi music. She is very

pretty (very fair), an excellent cook loves

children. loves to preach, is chaste and

protected, and is quite intelligent. We are

looking for someone between sixteen and

twenty-five years of age who is very serious

about spiritual life, is astrologically

compatible, and preferably has spent at least

his adolescent years in Krsna consciousness.

Please send a brief description, birth

information, and photo to SNP c/o Pnti-

Iabarum.

I am seeking Krsna's mercy in finding a

suitable wife I am down to earth, Japanese-American, 35n, never married^ Prabhupada

disciple, but not the strict devotee I was in

the temple. I chant my 16 rounds and offer

my food. I am still trying to be some kind of

devotee. For money I would like to set uP a

small business and pursue a screen and

writing career. I have a great interest in films

and litemture. Contact Jaya Madhava dasa

c/o Koval. 10701 Aurora Avenue North #5,

Seattle, WA 98133-8813. T.el 2O5-365-3527.

8 year old French de,votee is looking for a

husband for her loving, beautiful mother.

Shels 36 years old. We like to live not very

far from a temple. Mum is a teacher and we

live in a nice apartment in the city' We also

19

Iike country life. Since 1978 Mum has beenso many things: pujai, sa*irtatu devotee,BBT worker. We also travel a lot. Pleasereply to mv f riend, A. Laboire, 27 Rue de laCouiette, 51 100 Reims, France.

41 years young male disciple ofHrdayananda dasa Coswami (first andsecond in i t iat ion). I am of l ta l ian descent,and considered quite handsome. I am veryactive and work out regularly. I play tennis,scuba dive, gold and enjoy a game of bridge.i have been to Woodstock and back. I havebeen fortunate enough to travel with myguru to India and across the States. I amserious about my spiritual life, I want to behappi lymarr ied and maintain a templeroom in my home. I al looking or someone towalk on the beach with, to share the joys ofl i fe and the pleasure of temple l i fe, a Sundayfeast and a kirtata.l am looking for a wife, Iprefer to meet someone in her late 20s to 30ssomething. Someone who is settled, knowswhat she wants out of life, is positive, happyand serious about liberation. Children areOK Are you out there? Take a chance andwrite. i am a good guy, ask my mom!So,what's wrong with me? At the moment I amat a federal prison camp for white collarcrimes, a.ka., "club fed" or as my guru callsit, "club fed mandir." My crime is a crime ofmoney. I have excellent references fromISKCON, senior disciples, ny guru, and theGBC. Write me, Joe Gennaro (Jaya Krsnadan),27651"-0M, Box 600 Dorm 3, FPC EglinAFB, Florida

Father and Srila Prabhupada disciple seeksmarriageable compatible woman, at least Zyears old, with or without children. PreferRussian, European, Italian girl who isslender, attractive, feminine, affectionate,easy to get along with, friendly, and has apositive attitude. Sa*htaru experience aplus, but must be devoted to SrilaPrabhupada. I am employed, attractive,responsible, slim, healthy, friendly,optimistic, philosophical, independent(slightly!), a good kirtana leader and have agreat sense of humor. i'm seeking a partner,not a servant, who will be a compliment tomy Krsna consciousness (and vice versa), anaffectionate wife and a good, loving motherto my children. Please respond to David

Jensen, P.O.8ox20572, Castro Vallen CA94546 USA. All replies answered/ treatedconfidentially.

Male devotee, 38, empioyed, seekingmarriagp with attractive, healthy female wholoves to preach. We're opening a newpreaching center near ocean. Astrologicalcompatibility a plus, good communicationskills a must. Send photo and information toGd, P.O. Box 2381, Clearwater, FL 34617.

Female disciple of Srila Prabhupada, S6years old, with children. I am seekingcorrespondence with maiture male devoteesinterested in marriage. i am interested intotal honesty, and whole hearted association.I'm currently working tor,r'ard a B.A. inReligious studies. I love to cook, preach, andarn addicted to kirtana. Am willing torelocate. Please write me: S. Sherreitt, HCR 1

Box 4109, Keaau, Hi 96749.

{2 year o ld male Prabhupada disc ipte

( in i t ia ied 1974). Divorced. I am ihoughtfu l ,

sensitive, and affectionate; liberal in thought,

but conservaiive in deed. I have leamed a

great deal about'relationships and consider

personal as wel l as spir i tual growth

essential. I am a recent graduaie of the

Universiiy of Hawaii-BA in psychology

(hons.) and am presently a first year law

student. After graduation, I will be sitting for

the Cal i fomia Bar Lxam and relocat ing there.

I am seeking a wife who is sweet, intuitive,

perceptive, faithful, and devoted to Krsna

and His devotees. I will respond to all

inquiries. Please send letter, picture(s), and

copy of horoscope (or date, time and place of

birth) to MCD, P.O. Box 10690, Hilo, Hl

96721..

Energetic, enthusiastic Prabhupada disciple

and book distributor seeks wife. I've spent

25 years in Prabhupada's movement by

Krsna's grace and i want to practice the

wonderful formulas I've leamed. If you are

looking to pursue perfection through the

intimate exchanges of sharing nectar and

serving one another in transcendental

devotional service to Sri Krsna please write

me and reveal your heart. Please send photo

and bir th info. I am a l i t t le p lump, Past my

orime and ridden with faults; therefore, I can

overlook faults too. I want to know the icyand tests of grhastha life now. Write me:

Visala dasa,3764 Watseka Ave., LA, CA

90034 (310) s58-3016 .

Ten-year devotee, early thirties, never

married. Tall, attractive, quiet, employed.

Seeks chaste, intelligent girl in her twenties.

Write me c/o of mY sisten Pamela

Theimann, 5319 Paradise Lane, Fort Collins,

co 805%.

Friend invites correspondence for

Prabhupada disciple (never married) from

attractive girls (232), serious about

spiritual life. Send recent photo and birth

data to:3744Watseka Avenue #6, Los

Angeles,

Female disciple of Srila Prabhupada seeks a

relationship with mature, emotionally

healthy male devotee who is interested in

real relating getting in touch, self-expres-

sio'n, becoming a whole Person, cultivating a

Vaisnava heart and developing real love for

one another, Krsna, Srila Prabhupada and

all living entities. Not interested in stereo-

type acting judgmentalism, or false

oretenses of standards. Write to: Therese c/o

my friend Kalakanti devi dasi,2L0 Ross St.,

Cambridge CB1 3BT, Yni.ted

Kingdom.

38-year old female devotee, disciple of

Satsvarupa Maharaia. A little over-weight;e<cellent coolq great sense of humor. JoinedISKCON in1978; from Belgium but speaksfluent English. Hoping to meet a maturemale devotee to start family. Willing totravel. Contact Paumamasi dasi, 15 GoodgePlace, London WI, England.

38 vear o ld mature male disc ip le of Sr i la

Prabhupada seeks Krsna conscious wife. I

am a homeowner and landowner in a rural

Vaisnava communitY and gainfu l lY

employed. Involved in personal growth,

healing arts, and developing heartfelt

re lat ionships wi th devotees. Wri te me c/o F.

Kress 379 61st St. Oakland, CA 94618

Lone preacher seeks association/ preaching

partner (M or F) to be able to continue to

enthusiast ical ly using her sk i l ls on behal f of

Prabhupada's movement. 15 year devotee,

history of making devotees/ initiating

preaching programs. Program establ ished /developing, but w' i l l ing to consider re-

locating. Reply Dhira dasi,2368 NW

Th u rman St, Portland,.O R 97210.

Worthless, wretched, fallen, (but cute)

unin i t iated disc ip le of Sr i la Prabhupada

seeks devotee lady for committed relation-

ship with Krsna in the center. Kids OK I

want a partner, not a servant. Am financially

stable, spiritually trying. A masseur, wnter,

marketer, former actor' Send note, picture.

and a smal l container of h ing to: S. Aminof f '

P.O. Box 341703,Los Angeles, CA. 90034.

I'm a single father raising a 7 year old

daughter, i'm trying my best to devote my

life to Krsna. I would like to find a loving

devotee mother for my daughter. Please

resoond: Robert Van Disen, 131 OakSt',

Crescent City, CA 95531..

Youthful, energetic, thin-waisted, hard-

working lAyear devotee male, never

married, 37 yts. oi age, looking for a young

energetic devotee wife who can cook well.

Write, call or visit Syamasundara dasa,

Murari Sevaka Farm, Rt. 1, Box 146-A,

Mutberry TN 37359 (615)759-6ffi8.

Male Srila Prabhupada disciple involved in

personal growth. Kind, caring and suPPort-

ive. Spiritually and emotionally healthy.

Intelligent and attractive, working profes-

sionally. Seeks kind and gentle Vaisnavapartner for mutual love and growth

ielationship. Children OK Prepared to

relocate. Please write to Jonathon c/o 4

Primrose Cottages, Aldenham Rd. Radlett,

Herts WD7 8AT, t".tr:.l

Seeking compatible life companion. About

me:4l-male, joined ISKCON 1972 (NY City

temple), never married, affectionate, max.

open minded, within basic rules. Philosophi-

cilly minded,3 years in India. Probably a

slender Asian, energetic, independent, not

too pretty would be best. Send questions and

define youracceptable parameter to: Ron

Porterfield,2649 Benvenue Ave #1, Berkeley,

cA94704.

My obeisances. Would-be servant of the

devotees,2nd initiated 1977, male,38, seeks

better-half, late in life. Professional in health

field, self-employed, doing well in business,

and attached to the attempt to serve Srila

Prabhupada, but currently somewhat over-

endeavoring and under-associating. i love:

Krsna-kirtana, Krsna Book krsta'ryasadam,

20

the holy dhamas, *nbirtatw, and Radha-Krsna's devotees. I have a desire for aPrabhupada-centered home life, perhaps toshare and increase these loves. i am far fromperfect myself, so don't feel unqualified.Let's work together toward our ideals.Astrological data available. Please wriie: c/o

Hdre Krsna dasa, 1115-C Austin Ave.,Coqui t lam, BC Canada, V3K 3P4, or cal l :

604-931-8484. Hare Krsna.

Lady (youthful 29) seeks correspondencewith male devotees about 35 years old

interested in possibility of marriage. Six

years brahmaarini training, three years

practicing Krsna consciousness outside the

temple, initiated 1.986, never married. I am:

nice looking, nice personality, slim, artistic,

athletic, intelligent, have a sense of humor,

and a positive outloolc Neither a doormat

nor a fanatical feminist. Please send recent

ohoto and birth details to: Maria Kust,Z7

ilarbour View Rd, Pt. Chevalier, Auckland2, New Zealand. All replies answered and

treated confiden,tu,tJ.. .

Now you don't have to go to embarrassing

extremes to find a marriage Partner.V C B

(Vaisnava CompatibilitY Bank)

ISKCON's Intemational database. "Opporiu-

nities for lasting marriage relationship's."

Discreet and Confidential. Operated by

senior devotees: Pancaratna dasa & Atita-

guna dasi, Dhruva-Maharaja dasa & Sama

Priya dasi. Incorporating: Computerizedcha racter analysis; Vedic astrological

calculation, personal review. FREE REGIS-

TRATION! Each name retrieved only $25.00(additional donation if match is successful)

For more information write: Vaisnava

Compatibility Bank, 1A RaineY Park,Calcutta -19, INDIA or c/o ISKCON 1683

Main St.. E. Hartford, CT 06108 USA

ADS

IOKES FOR KRSNA: Tired of complaining?Want a new perspective? laughter is the

best medicine! Heal through humor! I am

compiling a collection of humorous stories,jokes, cartoons and anecdotes about devotee

life. They may be slightly irreverent but

affectionate. They may be about what it's

like to be a devotee from the inside, or how

we are perceived from the outside. They can

be about situations you have experienced in

the movement or what it was like "growing

up in ISKCON". Your name will appear with

your entry. Please specify anonymity if

desired. Let's laugh our way back to

Godhead! Please send to: Nikunjavasini

Krueger, Rt.2 Box 3fl) A, Alachua, Fl. 32615.

Beautiful, han+moae r.rooa puzzles. BBTart (used with permission) and Bripasipictures. Low prices. Write Wood Works, '

P.O.Box274,Badger, CA 93603 or call MahaLaksmi or Ram a (209) 337 -L+77

I would like to ask the lady disciples of SrilaPrabhupada if they could so kindly sharetheir memories of their personal asso<jation

with Sr i la Prabhupada for the enl ivenment

of the present lady devotees in ISKCON and

for those Iadies thai wi l l mme in the future

to Krsna consciousness movement. The

material gathered will be for the book called

"Srila Prabhupada Teaching His tady

Disciples." So I humbly beg you all lady

disciples to please give your valuable

cooperation in this matter. Please send any

material to: Andarupa devi dasi, Custav

Mollers gata 16, 5-271 51 Malmo, Sweden

Selling preaching center collection! 3 alta rs,

Deities (up to 25 inches), sets of books,

outfits, videos. Too many items to list.

Wholesale or will sell as needed. Looking for

PC Notebook 486 DX-33 MHZ (will except

trade-ins!) Khanianalocana dasa, 150 Louise

Dr.33, Newport News, VA.23601', (804) 595-

2868 (call after 8pmEST).

TSC is a Buying Co-op. SavinBs lower than

most clubs. Services like most clubs.

However double difference gua ranteed.

Travel , shop, opt ical , pharmacy. Services no

other c lubs have. Condo's, incorp. serv ice '

Auto club, very good secured credit card.

The market ing is ingenious and can help

devotees struggling worldwide and help

temples to save money. Fund raiser video

available. Contact: Bhakta Ishwara dasa,

(904\ 462-7399

Dear Anonymous: I read your submission

"Plea for Help" in Yol.2 ot Priti-lakatam

(February 1992) lf you' rc genuinely and

seriously interested in giving at least part of

your inheritance back to Krsna, I have a very

vital and Krsna conscious idea. Contact me,

Tdd c/o R.D. Mclaughlin, 150 San Francisco

Blvd., San Anselmo, CA 94960. I will

respond by letter orlelePione.

As It Is: The Voice of the Second Ceneration

for gurukula alumni. Send submissions. Six

issue subscriptions: US First class $24.00; US

Third class $18.00. other: $30.00' Write As It

Is, P.O. Box 1395, CulverCity,CA90?32.Tel:

(310)2M-6944.

Devotee couple, Prabhupada disciples,

seeking an child to adopt. Good, solid Krsna

conscious family wants a child to raise.

We're interested in a newborn, or speaking

with a pregnant mother who is unable to

keep her child. All responses will be kept in

the strictest confidence. Reply to Ldd c/o

Piti-labarum uddt".tt'. .

Mothers for Krsna Kids-A newsletter about

teens to tots, covering relationships,

connections, suPPort, more. Sample: $1.00

plus stamp. Box 43-PL, Badger, CA 93603.

Devotees in Finland are building a temple

and require funding. Please help if you're

able. Contact Sankarsana Nityananda dasa

{Dr. Shankare S. Gowda) at Mimerkinkuja 4

A 12, SF 02100 Espoo, Finland. Tel: 358-0-

4514?25 FA X 358-04ff -7003.

New tapes from Mahatma dasa' Heart I

Sorl, beautifully orchestrated melodies for

lhe maha-mantra. Siksasttka and other

prayers. Higher Dimercions, live modern

melodious i-irfazrrs with KrsnaFest band.

Plus other tapes f rom Sounds Divine: Ozr

Onlv Shelter; Your Lit'e Will Le Subline; Brahma

Samhita: Isognisad; all with Mahatma dasa.

The Magic is the Chantingby KrsnaFest; and

Etenal Bliss by Lokanatha Swami. Digitally

recorded and mastered. S5.95 each. 96.95

overseas. Payable to KrsnaFest,5430 Gurldy

Avenue, Dallas, TX 75?23.Phone (214)'827'

6330.

Social issues? Fami ly values? Community

and economic development? Your concems

are our agendal ISKCON World Reabw, P.O.

Box 238, Alachua, FL 326110238, USA.

Phone: 904-462-5054; Fax 9M46L50->6. To

subscribe to 12 issues: US First Class $18, US

I h l rd L lass DIU; Otner Dzu.

i am trying to establish a Prabhupada

museum here in Vienna. We welcome

anyone who is interested in selling; buying

or exchanging Prabhupada nectar, such as

fi rst-edition books, personal belongi ngs,

documents, handwritings, BTG's, etc. No

item too small or too big. Please contact.

Sadhusangananda dasa, Rosenackerstrasse

26, 1170 Vienna, ^u:,:u..

Stay in touch with the continuing progress in

Mayapur. The Mayapur journal is published

quarterly and available by writing P.O. Box

4742, 6304 Zug Swilzerland. The cost of a

subscripiion is US$12.00 a Year.

Krsna conscious prisoner seeks like-minded

individuals to correspond with. Please write:

Dennis Archer, Fed. Reg. #?N83-004,1299

Seaside Avenue, *: 0."1-,CA90737-

Hare Krsna Rural Life newsletter devoted to

the development of oartusrama, cow

protection, ox power and self-sufficiency in

the Hare Krsna movement. Philosophical

and practical articles and news from

devotees around the world. Edited by Hare

Krsna dasi and Vyapaka dasa. Artides and

news submissions welcome. Bi-annual

subscription $10.00 made payable to

H.KR.L. Please send to Hare Krsna dasi,98

Stetson St., Brunswick, ME 04011.

21

Chant

Hare KrsnaHare Krsna

Krsna KrsnaHare HareHare RamaHare RamaRama RamaHare Hare

and ycur lifewill be subilJre.