{"KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0001": "", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0002": "CONTENTS\nAbout the Author\nI) Krsna, the Reservoir of Pleasure\nII) Who is Crazy?\nIII) Introduction to Bhagavad-gita\nWhat is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness?\n\nCopyright ©1970 by ISKCON PRESS\n\nPrinting History\nFirst Printing\nSecond Printing\nThird Printing\nFourth Printing\nFifth Printing\n\n1966 - 1,000\n1967 - 5,000\n1968 - 5,000\n1969 - 20,000\n\n1970 - 30,000\n\nPublished and Printed in the United States of America\n\nISKCON PRESS\nDivision of the International Society\nfor Krishna Consciousness\n38 North Beacon Street Boston,\nMassachusetts 02134\n\nFor more free downloadable original books visit\nwww.Krishnapath.org\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0003": "Table of contents with clickable chapter links:\nABOUT THE AUTHOR!\n\n4\n\nKRSNA THE RESERVOIR OF PLEASURE!\n\n9\n\nWHO IS CRAZY?!\n\n19\n\nINTRODUCTION T0 THE BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS!\n\n27\n\nWHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA\nCONSCIOUSNESS?!\n\n44\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0004": "ABOUT THE AUTHOR\nHis Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was born Abhay Charan\nDe on September 1, 1896 in Calcutta. In 1920 he finished his schooling, majoring in\nphilosophy, English and economics at the University of Calcutta. Soon afterward,\nAbhay Charan De took up the duties of manager of a large chemical concern. Then\nin 1922, he met His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Cosvami\nMaharaj, the founder of 64 Caudiya Vaisnava Maths in India, Berlin and London.\nBhaktivedanta Swami recently recalled the key to his approaching his spiritual\nmaster: “When I first started going to see my Guru Maharaj, he said of me, ‘This boy\nhears very nicely. He does not go away. So I shall make him a disciple.’ That was my\nqualification, or whatever you may call it. I would simply ask when Guru Maharaj\nwould speak, then I’d sit down and go on hearing. I would understand, or not\nunderstand; others would disperse, I’d not disperse. So he remarked, ‘This boy is\ninterested to hear.’ Because I was serious in hearing, therefore I am now serious\nabout kirtanam, which means speaking or preaching. If one has heard nicely, then he\nwill speak nicely.”\nAt Allahabad in 1933, Abhay Charan De was formally initiated, and in 1936, just\ndays before Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s departure from this mortal world, he was\nspecifically ordered to spread Krsna consciousness in the English language to the\nWest.\nA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, known as Prabhupada to his disciples, has told us that\nat first he did not take the mission given to him by his spiritual master with the\nutmost seriousness. But then he was reading a Bhagavad-gita commentary written by\nSrila Bhaktivinode Thakur, who was the father of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and the\npioneer of the Krsna consciousness movement in the modern age. Srila Bhaktivinode has written that just as one cannot separate the body from the soul while in\nthis conditioned state, so the disciple cannot separate the spiritual master’s order\nfrom his very life. Bhaktivedanta Swami took these words seriously, and gradually his\nwhole life became dedicated to carrying our the orders of his Guru Maharaj. In 1959\nhe took sannyasa, the renounced order of spiritual life, and in 1965, at the advanced\nage of 70, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami arrived in New York City to fulfill his master’s\nsacred mission.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0005": "", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0006": "One must try to understand that Srila Prabhupada is neither an Indian author nor\nIndian culturist nor Hindu sectarian. The first teaching of the Bhagavad-gita is that\nno one is Indian, no one is American—our real self is beyond this temporary bodily\ndesignation; our permanent identity, eternal, blissful and full of knowledge, is with\nthe Supreme Personality of Godhead as His eternal servant; and our position is to be\nsituated beyond the material universes in the spiritual planets, within the spiritual\nsky. This is the platform of Krsna consciousness.\nTo think, “I am American,” “I am Russian,” etc., is our disease, and is due to\nforgetfulness of our eternal nature as spirit soul. Unfortunately, under the spell of\nillusion, every embodied creature is satisfied with his present material body. Even\nthe worm in the stool is thinking, “I am all right.” Despite so many disadvantages\nand miseries, all living entities are engaged in satisfying their senses and are\nthinking it is all right. Therefore when the bona fide guru comes with the\ntranscendental message, calling the souls back to home, back to Godhead, they do\nnot want to come out of material encagement. Often, people prefer to be encouraged\nin illusion and therefore pay fees to learn that they are God or equal to God in all\nrespects and thus “free” to go on “enjoying” material life of sense gratification. So we\nsee yoga and meditation teachers advertising that they will improve one’s material\nfacilities. They overlook the fact that elimination of sense gratification is the first\nstep in the standard yoga or transcendental system. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami does\nnot encourage unrestricted sense gratification, or the belief that one is God, or that\nGod is impersonal or void. He is passing on, as it is, the information from Vedic\nliterature, that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a person and that devotional\nservice unto Him is the perfection of all purificatory processes. Lord Krsna in\nBhagavad-gita is recognized as the Supreme Lord, and Sri isopanisad confirms the\nPersonality of Godhead as the antimaterial supreme controller and the only enjoyer.\nA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami is teaching surrender to Krsna, the Supreme Lord.\nSrila Prabhupada is the living example of the saintly person pointed to in all Vedic\nliterature who is personally free from all material contamination and active in\nspiritual understanding. He is the Krsna conscious personality who is so dear to\nKrsna, who understands that the highest welfare is not to pose oneself as the friend\nof humanity, but to teach that God or Krsna is the dearmost friend who alone is\ncapable of alleviating the misery of each and every living entity. A.C. Bhaktivedanta\nis teaching what is really common sense to our intelligence, but we are so bewildered\nby the glitter of the material Nature that we are distracted from his message. He is\nsimply canvassing for God on the order of his spiritual master. Once Srila\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0007": "Prabhupada was asked, “Are you an incarnation of God?” “No,” he answered, “I am\nservant of God.” Then he paused and went on, “Not exactly servant. To be servant\nof God is not an ordinary thing.” The servants or devotees of Krsna are so great that\nthey are beyond the desire to merge with God. Sometimes, in their intimate\nassociation and exchange with God, they even become “greater” than Him, as when\nHe allows some devotee to become His mother or lover. Prabhupada’s mission is not\nless than to distribute this topmost love of God to all persons. It is stated in the\nVedic literature that a small man wants to make only himself happy, a somewhat\nbigger man wants to make his family or his country happy, but the great man wants\nto make all persons happy.\nBhaktivedanta Swami produces his books by speaking them on a dictaphone. He is\npresently working on five books at once. These books are a matter of realization. As\nhe has said, “When you become self-realized you automatically write volumes of\nbooks.” And one of the qualifications of a devotee is that he is poetic. Srila\nPrabhupada is always immersed in Krsna by speaking, dictating, singing about\nKrsna’s glories, preaching formally at meetings or planning the expansion of the\nKrsna consciousness movement. In the Bhagavad-gita, Seventh Chapter, it is stated\nthat out of thousands of men few seek perfection, and out of the thousands who\nattain perfection hardly one knows Krsna. Lord Krsna also declares in the\nEighteenth Chapter that the dearmost devotee of all is he who spreads the teaching\nof love of Krsna: “Never will there be one dearer to Me.”\nBhaktivedanta Swami’s spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, once drew a\npicture of a mrdanga (drum used on sankirtana) and, beside it, a printing press. He\nsaid that the mrdanga can be heard for several blocks, but the press can be heard\naround the world. He therefore called the printing press “the big mrdanga.” For the\npurpose of world-wide service to humanity, ISKCON Press has been established, for\nthe exclusive printing of Srila Prabhupada’s books.\nIn 1968, Macmillan published The Bhagavad Gita As It ls, translated with\ncommentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. The Gita is the gist of the entire Vedic\nliterature. Just this one book can free anyone from the clutches of material Nature\nand fix one in eternal loving service unto Sri Krsna , the Personality of Godhead. As\noriginally written by Srila Prabhupada, the manuscript of The Bhagavad Gita As It ls\nis many times larger than the version published by Macmillan. Publication of this\noriginal, expanded version is being undertaken by ISKCON. Another important\npublished literature by Prabhupada is his Teachings of Lord Chaitanya. This book\noutlines the precepts of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the golden avatara who appeared in\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0008": "India 500 years ago and propagated the Hare Krsna mantra as the means of God\nrealization for the present age. A book called Nectar of Devotion, an authorized\nsummary study of Sri Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, will also soon be\npublished. Prabhupada is presently writing a several volume work called Krsna,\nwhich contains all of the pastimes of the Supreme Lord when present on this planet\n5000 years ago. Translations are also underway of the Vedanta-sutras, Caitanyacaritamrta and his 12 volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The literatures compiled by\nA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami are authorized by the disciplic succession, which is\ndescending from Krsna Himself; Prabhupada’s whole life mission is to faithfully pass\non the original understanding of Krsna consciousness without distortion. According\nto the Vedic literature this descending process is the only way to realization of the\nAbsolute Truth, as the Absolute Truth is beyond the reach of our mundane\nspeculation or scholarship.\nThe author is not a retired personality, despite his prodigious literary output. He\npersonally and very intimately guides his disciples through the most practical\nproblems of daily life. Spiritual life is practical and, due to the predominent material\natmosphere of Kali-yuga, often problematic. As spiritual master, Bhaktivedanta\nSwami is the last recourse and the ultimate standard of Krsna consciousness, and he\nwrites some twenty-five letters a day to leaders and students of his various worldwide\ncenters. He himself resides in no one place but travels from center to center and\nregularly lectures. The spiritual master is responsible for his devotees; when he\naccepts a sincere soul as his disciple, he promises to take him back to home, back to\nGodhead. No one should think, “Oh, everyone is taking a spiritual master; let me\ntake one.” The spiritual master as a style or as a pet is useless. Rather, his order is to\nbe taken as one’s life and soul. By taking shelter at the feet of the bona fide guru and\nserving him 24 hours a day, the fallen soul can be lifted to the spiritual sky. It is said\nthat if the spiritual master is pleased, then one can make great advances in spiritual\nlife. And one pure convinced devotee can make many pure devotees by his example\nand teachings. Those serious students with an understanding of the absolute value of\nthe spiritual platform of life therefore honor the spiritual master with the honor due\nto God, because the guru is the transparent via media or representative of God and is\ndistributing unalloyed love of God. The intelligent reader is invited to take to this\nphilosophy with the utmost seriousness.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0009": "KRSNA THE RESERVOIR OF PLEASURE\nBy A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami\nKrsna— this sound is transcendental. Krsna means the highest pleasure. All of us,\nevery living being, seeks pleasure. But we do not know how to seek pleasure\nperfectly. With a materialistic concept of life, we are frustrated at every step in\nsatisfying our pleasure because we have no information regarding the real level on\nwhich to have real pleasure. For the last few weeks we have been learning that we\nare not this body; we are consciousness. Not exactly consciousness, for consciousness\nis actually the symptom of our real identity: we are pure soul, now merged within this\nmaterial body. Modern material science lays no stress on this; therefore the scientists\nare sometimes misled in their understanding of spirit soul. But spirit soul is a fact,\nwhich anyone can understand by the presence of consciousness. Any child can\nunderstand that consciousness is the symptom of the spirit soul.\nNow the whole process we are trying to learn from the Bhagavad-gita (The Song of\nGod) is how to bring ourselves to this level of consciousness. And if we act from the\nlevel of consciousness, then we may not be pushed again into the level of this bodily\nconception; and, if we can continue on that level, if we can continue to act in pure\nconsciousness, then, at the end of this body we shall be free from material\ncontamination, our spiritual life will be revived, and the ultimate result will be that\nin our next life, after leaving this body, we shall have our full, eternal spiritual life.\nSpirit, as we have already discussed, is described as eternal.\nEven after the destruction of this body, consciousness is not destroyed. Rather,\nconsciousness is transferred to another type of body and again makes us aware of the\nmaterial conception of life. That is also described in the Bhagavad-gita. At the time\nof death, if our consciousness is pure, we can be sure that our next life will not be\nmaterial—our next life will be spiritual. If our consciousness is not pure at the point\nof death, then, after leaving this body, we shall have to take another material body.\nThat is the process which is going on. That is Nature’s law.\nWe have now a final body. The body which we see is the gross body. It is just like a\nshirt and coat: within the coat there is a shirt, and within the shirt there is a body.\nSimilarly, the pure soul is covered by a shirt and coat. The garments are the mind,\nintelligence and false ego. False ego means the misconception that I am matter, that\nI am a product of this material world. This misconception makes me localized. For\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0010": "example, because I have taken my birth in India, I think myself Indian. Because I\nhave taken my birth in America, I think myself American. But as pure soul, I am\nneither Indian nor American. I am pure soul. These others are designations.\nAmerican, or Indian, or German, or Englishman; cat or dog, or bee or bat, man or\nwife: all these are designations. In spiritual consciousness we become free from all\nsuch designations. That freedom is achieved when we are constantly in touch with\nthe supreme spirit, Krsna.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0011": "The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is simply intended to keep us\nin constant touch with Krsna. Krsna can be in constant companionship with us\nbecause He is omnipotent. Therefore, He can be fully in touch with us by His words.\nHis words and He are not different. That is omnipotence. Omnipotence means that\neverything relating to Him has the same potency. For example, here in this material\nworld, if we are thirsty and we want water, simply repeating “Water, water, water,\nwater,” will not satisfy our thirst, because this word has not the same potency as\nwater itself. We require the water in substance. Then our thirst will be satisfied. But\nin the transcendental, absolute world, there is no such difference— Krsna’s name,\nKrsna’s quality, Krsna’s word—everything is Krsna and provides the same\nsatisfaction.\nSome people argue that Arjuna was talking with Krsna because Krsna was present\nbefore him, whereas in my case, Krsna is not present. So how can I get directions?\nBut that is not a fact. Krsna is present by His words—the Bhagavad-gita. In India,\nwhen we speak on the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam, we regularly perform\nworship with flowers, or with other paraphernalia, as is required for worshiping. In\nthe Sikh religion also, although they have no form of the Deity, they worship the\nbook Granthasahib. Perhaps some of you are acquainted with this Sikh community.\nThey worship this Grantha. Similarly, the Moslems worship the Koran. Similarly, in\nthe Christian world, the Bible is worshiped. It is a fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is\npresent by His words. Krsna is also present by His words.\nThese personalities, either God or the son of God, who come from the\ntranscendental world, keep their transcendental identities without being\ncontaminated by the material world. That is their omnipotence. We are in the habit\nof saying that God is omnipotent. Omnipotence means that He is not different from\nHis name, from His quality, from His pastimes, from His instruction. Therefore, the\ndiscussion of Bhagavad-gita is as good as discussion with Krsna Himself.\nKrsna is seated in your heart, and in my heart too. Isvarah sarva-bhutanam\nhrddese’rjuna tisthati. God is situated in everyone’s heart. God is not away from us.\nHe is present. He is so friendly that He remains with us in our repeated change of\nbirths. He is waiting to see when we shall turn to Him. He is so kind that though we\nmay forget Him, He never forgets us. Although a son may forget his father, a father\nnever forgets his son. Similarly, God, the original father of everything, everybody, all\nliving entities, will never forsake us. We may have different bodies, but they are our\nshirt-coats. That has nothing to do with our real identity. Our real identity is pure\nsoul, and that pure soul is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. There are 8,400,000\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0012": "species of life. Even the biologist and the anthropologist cannot calculate this\naccurately, but from authoritative, revealed scripture we get this information.\nHuman beings represent 400,000 species, and there are 8,000,000 other species. But\nKrsna, the Supreme Lord, claims that all of them, whether beast, man, snake, god,\nsemi-god, demigod—anything whatever—all of them are, in reality, His sons.\nThe father gives the seed, and the mother receives the seed. The body is then\nformed, according to the mother’s body. And when the body is completely formed, it\ncomes out—either from cats, from dogs, or from man. That is the process of\ngeneration. The father gives the seed, and it is emulsified with two kinds of secretion\nin the womb of the mother, and on the first night the body is formed just like a pea.\nThen, gradually, it develops. There are nine holes that develop: two ears, two eyes,\nnostrils, a mouth, a navel, a penis, and an anus.\nAccording to his last karma, or action, one gets this body to enjoy, or to suffer.\nThat is the process of birth and death. And after finishing this life, again one dies,\nand again one enters into the womb of some mother. Another type of body then\ncomes out. This is the process of reincarnation.\nWe should be very diligent as to how we can discontinue this process of repeated\nbirth and death and change of body. That is the prerogative of the human form of\nlife. We can stop this process of repeated change through birth and death. We can\nget our actual spiritual form again and be blissful, full of knowledge and eternal life.\nThat is the purpose of evolution. We should not miss this. The entire process of\nliberation begins just as we have now begun this chanting and hearing. I wish to\npoint out that this chanting of the holy name of God (HARE KRSNA, HARE\nKRSNA, KRSNA KRSNA, HARE HARE/ HARE RAMA, HARE RAMA, RAMA\nRAMA, HARE HARE) and hearing the truths of the Gita is as good as bodily\nassociation with Krsna. That is stated in the Gita. This process is called kirtan. Even\nif one does not understand the language, still, just by hearing, he acquires some piety.\nHis assets lead him to a pious life, even if he does not understand—it has such\npower.\nThere are two topics concerning Krsna. Two kinds of topics, actually. One topic is\nthis Bhagavad-gita. It is spoken by Krsna. And the other topic concerning Krsna is\nSrimad-Bhagavatam. That is spoken about Krsna. So there are two types of Krsna\nkatha (topics), and both of them are equally potent because they are connected with\nKrsna.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0013": "Because the Bhagavad-gita is spoken on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra some people\nhave asked what we have to do with the battlefield. We have nothing to do with any\nbattlefield. We are after knowledge of the spiritual sphere. Then, why should we\nbother about this battlefield? Because Krsna is on the battlefield, and therefore the\nwhole battlefield has become Krsna-ized. Just as when an electric current is passed\ninto some metal, the whole metal becomes surcharged with electricity; so too, when\nKrsna is interested in some matter, that matter becomes Krsna-ized. Otherwise,\nthere would be no need of discussing the Battlefield of Kuruksetra. That is His\nomnipotence.\nThis omnipotence is also described in Srimad-Bhagavatam. There are many Krsna\nkathas. The Vedic literature is full of them. Vedas mean that they are Krsna kathas.\nScripture, including the Vedas, may appear to be different, but they are all meant for\nKrsna katha. If we simply hear these topics on Krsna, then what will be the result? It\nis pure transcendental vibration, and the result will be spiritual consciousness.\nWe have accumulated many inauspicious things within our hearts due to our\nmaterial contamination during the course of many, many births. Many, many births\n—not only this birth, but past births as well. So, when we search into our hearts with\nthe Krsna katha, then the contamination we have accumulated will be washed off.\nOur hearts will be cleansed of all rubbish. And, as soon as all the rubbish is cleared\noff, then we are situated in pure consciousness.\nIt is very difficult to eradicate all the false designations from oneself. For example,\nI am Indian. It is not very easy to immediately think that I am not Indian, but pure\nsoul. Similarly, it is not a very easy task for anyone to end his identification with\nthese bodily designations. But still, if we continue hearing the Krsna katha, it will be\nvery easy. Make an experiment. Make an experiment to see how easily you’ll be able\nto free yourself from all these designations. Of course, it is not possible to clear out\nthe rubbish from the mind all of a sudden, but we are immediately aware that the\ninfluence of the material nature has become slackened.\nThe material nature is working in three modes—goodness, passion, and ignorance.\nIgnorance is hopeless life. Passion is materialistic. One who is influenced by the\nmodes of passion wants this false enjoyment of material existence. Because he does\nnot know the truth, he wants to squeeze out the energy of the body just to enjoy this\nmatter. That is called the mode of passion. As for those in the mode of ignorance,\nthey have neither passion nor goodness. They are in the deepest darkness of life.\nSituated in the mode of goodness, we can understand, at least theoretically, what I\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0014": "am, what this world is, what God is, and what our interrelationship is. This is the\nmode of goodness.\nBy hearing Krsna katha, we will be freed from the stages of ignorance and passion.\nWe will be situated in the mode of goodness. At least we’ll have the real knowledge\n—knowledge of what we are. Ignorance is like the animal existence. The animal’s\nlife is full of suffering, but the animal does not know that he is suffering. Take the\ncase of a hog. Of course, here in New York City no hog is seen. But in villages in\nIndia one sees the hog. Oh, how miserable his life is, living in a filthy place, eating\nstools and always unclean. Yet the hog is very happy by eating stools, and having\nconstant sexual intercourse with the she-hog and just getting fat. The hog gets very\nfat, because of the spirit of enjoyment which is there—although, for him, it is\nsensual enjoyment.\nWe should not be like the hog, falsely thinking that we are very happy. Working\nhard all day and night, then having some sex life—we think that in this way we are\nvery happy. But this is not happiness. This has been described in the Bhagavatam as\na hog’s happiness. Man's happiness is when he is situated in the mode of goodness.\nThen he can understand what true happiness is.\nIn our daily routine, if we hear this Krsna katha, the result will be that all the dirty\nthings in the heart, accumulated life after life, will be cleared out. As a matter of\nfact, we will see that we are no longer in ignorance or in passion, but are situated in\nthe mode of goodness. What is that position?\nWe will find ourselves joyful in every circumstance of life. We will never feel\nmorose. In the Bhagavad-gita we find that this is our brahma-bhuta (highest stage of\ngoodness) situation. The Vedas teach us that we are not this matter. We are\nBrahman. Aham brahmasmi. Lord Sankaracarya preached this gospel to the world.\nWe are not this matter; we are Brahman, spirit. When spiritual realization is actually\naccomplished, then our symptoms will change. What are those symptoms? When one\nis situated in his own spiritual consciousness, then he will have no hankering and no\nlamentation. Lamentation is for loss, and hankering is for gain. Two diseases\ncharacterize this material world: What we do not possess, we hanker after. “If I get\nthese things I’ll be happy. I have no money, but if I get a million dollars, then I’ll be\nhappy.” And when we have a million dollars, somehow it will be lost. So we’ll cry,\n“Oh, I have lost it!” When we hanker for earning, that is a kind of distress. And\nwhen we suffer loss, that is also distress. But if we are situated in brahma-bhuta, we\nwill neither be distressed nor will we hanker. We will view equally everyone and\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0015": "everything. Even if we are situated in the midst of fiery turbulence, we will not be\ndisturbed. That is the mode of goodness.\nBhagavatam means the science of God. If the science of God is perservered in, we\nwill be situated in the brahma-bhuta status. From that brahma-bhuta status, we have\nto work, for work is recommended here. So long as we have this material body, we\nhave to work. We cannot stop working; it is not possible. But we have to adopt the\ntactics of yoga, and in this way, even by doing some ordinary work, which, by destiny\nor circumstances we are put into, there is no harm. Suppose that, in one’s own\noccupation, one must speak a lie or his business can’t go on. Lying is not a very good\nthing, so one concludes that the business is not based on very moral principles and\none should therefore give it up. In the Bhagavad-gita, however, we find instruction\nnot to give it up. Even if we are put in such circumstances that our livelihood cannot\ngo on without some unfair practice, we should not give it up. But we should try to\nmake it purified. How is it purified? We should not take the fruitive result of our\nwork. That is meant for God.\nSukrta means pious activities. And duskrta means impious activities. On the\nmaterial level we can be pious or impious. Either we are performing some pious\nactivities, or we are performing some impious activities—or we have a mixture, pious\nand impious. Lord Krsna advises that we should act with knowledge of, or devotion\nto the Supreme. What does that knowledge mean? It means that I am the part and\nparcel of the supreme consciousness, or that I am not this body. If I identify myself as\nan American, as an Indian, or this or that, then I am on the material plane. We\nshould identify ourselves as neither Americans nor Indians, but as pure\nconsciousness. I am a subordinate consciousness of the supreme consciousness; in\nother words, I am the servant of God. God is the supreme consciousness, and I am\nHis servant. So, for our present understanding, subordinate means servant.\nWe don’t ordinarily carry out the work of a servant in relationship to God. Nobody\nwants to be a servant, but everyone wants to be the master, because to become a\nservant is not a very palatable thing. But to become the servant of God is not exactly\nlike this. Sometimes the servant of God becomes the master of God. The real\nposition of the living entity is to be the servant of God, but in the Bhagavad-gita we\ncan see that the master, Krsna, became the servant of Arjuna. Arjuna is sitting in\nthe chariot, and Krsna is his driver. Arjuna is not the owner of the chariot, but in\nthe spiritual relationship we should not cling to the concept of the material\nrelationship. Although the whole relationship, just as we have experience of it in\nthis world, is there in the spiritual world, that relationship is not contaminated by\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0016": "matter. Therefore it is pure and transcendental. It is of a different nature. As we\nbecome advanced in the spiritual conception of life, we can understand what the\nactual position in the spiritual, transcendental world is.\nHere the Lord instructs us in buddhi-yoga. Buddhi-yoga means that we have full\nconsciousness that we are not this body; and if I act with this understanding, then I\nam not body—I am consciousness. That is a fact. Now, if we act on the level of\nconsciousness, then we can overcome the fruitive result of good work or bad work. It\nis a transcendental stage.\nIt means that we are acting on another’s account—on the Supreme’s account. We\nare not liable to loss or gain. When there is gain, we should not be puffed up. We\nshould think, “This gain is for the Lord.” And when there is loss, we should know\nthat this is not our responsibility. It is God’s work—His. Then we will be happy. This\nwe have to practice: everything on account of the Supreme. This transcendental\nnature we have to develop. This is the trick of doing work under these present\ncircumstances. As soon as we work on the level of bodily consciousness, we become\nbound by the reaction of our work. But when we work through spiritual\nconsciousness, we are not bound either by pious activities or by vicious activities.\nThat is the technique.\nManisinah—this word is very significant. Manisin means thoughtful. Unless one is\nthoughtful, he cannot understand that he is not this body. But if one is a little\nthoughtful he can understand, “Oh, I am not this body. I am consciousness.”\nSometimes, in our leisure time, we can see, “Oh, this is my finger, and this is my\nhand. This is my ear, and this is my nose. Everything is mine, but what I, what I?” I\nam feeling this is mine, and that I am. Simply a little thought is required. Everything\nis mine—my eyes, my finger, my hand. My, my, my, and what is the I? The I is that\nconsciousness, in which I am thinking, “This is mine.”\nNow, if I am not this body, then why should I act for this body? I should act for\nmyself. Then, how can I work for myself? What is my position? I am consciousness.\nBut what kind of consciousness? Subordinate consciousness—I am part of the\nsupreme consciousness. Then, what will my activities be? My activities will be under\nthe guidance of the supreme consciousness, just as in the office, the managing\ndirector is the supreme consciousness. For example, in the office everyone is working\nunder the direction of the manager; therefore they have no responsibility. They\nhave only to discharge their duties. Either pious or impious duties—never mind. In\nthe military line, too, the order of the captain or the commander is there. The\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0017": "soldier has to execute it. He does not consider whether it is pious or impious. That\ndoes not matter. He simply has to act, then he is a real soldier. He acts in that way\nand he gets his reward. He gets title and honor. He doesn’t care. The commander\nsays, Just go and kill the enemy, and he is rewarded. Do you think that by killing one\ngets reward? No—it is for the duty discharged.\nSimilarly, here the situation is that Krsna is instructing Arjuna. Krsna is the\nsupreme consciousness. I am consciousness, the part and parcel of the supreme\nconsciousness. So my duty is to act according to that supreme consciousness. For\nexample, I consider my hand as a part of my body. Now, it is moving in its own way.\n“As I want, let my hand be moved. Let my legs be moved. Let my eyes be opened and\nsee.” So, I am dictating, and these parts are working. Similarly, we are all parts and\nparcels of the Supreme. When we train ourselves to move and act in accordance\nwith supreme consciousness, then we become transcendental to all these pious or\nimpious activities. That is the technique. What will the result of this technique be?\nWe become free from the bondage of birth and death. No more birth and death.\nModern scientists and philosophers do not think about these four things: birth,\ndeath, disease, and old age. They set them aside. “Oh, let us be happy. Let us enjoy\nthis life.” But human life is meant for finding a solution to this bondage of birth,\ndeath, disease and old age. If any civilization has not found a solution to these four\nproblems, then that is not a human civilization. Human civilization is meant for\nfinding a complete solution to these things.\nSo herein the Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says, Karmajam buddhi-yuktah. Karmajam\nmeans whenever there is action there will be some reaction. If one acts in badness,\nthere will be a bad reaction. But reaction, either good or bad, is, in the higher sense,\nall suffering. Suppose that by good action I get a good birth, fine bodily features, and\na good education. All these good things I may have, but that does not mean that I am\nfree from material pains. The material pains are birth, death, old age and disease.\nEven if I am a rich man, a beautiful man, an educated man, born in an aristocratic\nfamily, etc., I still cannot avoid death, old age, and disease.\nSo, we must not be concerned with pious activities or impious activities. We must\nbe concerned with transcendental activities only. That will save us from this\nbondage of birth, death, old age and disease. That should be our aim in life. We\nshould not be hankering after good or bad things. For example, suppose one is\nsuffering from some disease. He is lying in bed, eating, passing nature’s call\nuncomfortably, and taking bitter medicines. He always has to be kept clean by the\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0018": "nurses; otherwise there is an obnoxious smell. While he is lying in this condition\nsome friends come to him and ask how he is feeling. “Yes, I am feeling well.” What is\nthis well? Lying in bed uncomfortably taking bitter medicine, and unable to move!\nYet despite all these inconveniences he says, “I am well.” Similarly, in our material\nconception of life, if we think,”! am happy,” that is foolishness. There is no\nhappiness in material life. It is impossible to have happiness here. In this condition,\nwe do not know the meaning of happiness. That's why this very word is used,\nmanisinah—thoughtful.\nWe seek happiness by some extraneous, artificial means, but how long does it last?\nIt will not endure. We again come back to sorrow. Suppose, by intoxication, we feel\nhappy. That is not our actual happiness. Suppose I am made unconscious by\nchloroform, and I don't feel the pain of an operation. That does not mean that I am\nnot having an operation. This is artificial. Real pleasure, real life exists.\nAs is commanded in the Bhagavad-gita by Sri Krsna, the thoughtful give up the\nreaction of work, being situated on the level of pure consciousness. The result is that\nthis bondage of birth and death, disease and old age comes to an end. This end is in\nunion with the true identity, Krsna, the reservoir of pleasure and eternal bliss.\nThere, indeed, is the true happiness for which we are intended.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0019": "WHO IS CRAZY?\nBy A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami\n\nLord Sri Krsna says, “My dear Arjuna, there are different classes of men. One class\nof men, they are sleeping. And another class of men, they are awake. They are not\nsleeping.” And how is this so? This chanting, which we have performed just now, is\nthe wakening process for the sleeping soul. The soul is sleeping, covered by this\nmaterial body. These bodily activities are in the sleeping stage. Just as we see dreams\nin the sleeping stage, similarly, all these bodily activities are dreams. Just think for\nyourself: how many incidents have there been in your past life? If you think of them,\nthey will appear just like dreams. At least for myself this is the case. I was born in\nIndia, educated, then married, then I had very good days with my wife, got some\nchildren, some of whom died, some of whom are living, some of whom are married;\nnow they have begotten children. All this occurred in my past life. Now it is all a\ndream. I have no connection with it. Similarly, in dreams I sometimes find that I\nhave become a king. Oh, there are so many riches and so much opulence. Then, as\nsoon as the dream is over, I come home and all is gone.\nSo actually, these bodily activities which we are now engaged in are not our actual\nlife. Therefore, the Vedic mantra says, “O human race, please wake up. Just utilize\nthe opportunity which you now have.” You have a special opportunity. And what is\nthat? This human form of life. Utilize it; don’t waste it. Don’t go on sleeping. This\nvery same matter is taken up by Sri Krsna. Those who are accustomed to the yoga\nprocess know this. The first principle of the yoga process is to control the senses.\nThis is so for every process. In any bona fide process for spiritual realization, the first\nprinciple is to control the senses. This is because the senses are dragging us into the\ndarkest region of life. But we do not realize this.\nIn the Srimad-Bhagavatam there is a nice verse. It says, first, man is too much\naddicted to this materialistic way of life. The materialistic way of life involves eating,\ndrinking, making merry, and enjoying. That’s it—that’s all. Have very good food,\nsleep well, and defend yourself so that enemies may not enter into your country, or\ninto your home. And, have sexual enjoyment to your heart's content. This is the\nmaterialistic way of life. But persons who are so sleeping do not realize that their real\nself-interest is different. Our real self-interest is that we must know of our lost\nrelationship with the Supreme Absolute Truth.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0020": "The Supreme Absolute Truth is realized from different angles of vision, as\nimpersonal Brahman, or localized Supersoul, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. One who realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna,\nautomatically understands the other two features. But one who has approached only\nthe impersonal feature of the Supreme Absolute Truth has no information of the\nSupreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Now here, in the Bhagavad-gita, the\nSupreme Personality of Godhead is present before you.\nHere is the picture of Sri Krsna, with his eternal consort Srimati Radharani, His\npleasure potency. In this material world, the reflection of Sri Krsna and His pleasure\npotency exists pervertedly. As one can see in the picture, Sri Krsna is always\nconsorting with Srimati Radharani. His features are described in Vedic literature:\nHe stands in a very nice curved posture, blowing His flute. This picture is not drawn\nfrom artistic imagination. It is a descriptive painting from the Vedic literature. This\ndescription is in the Vedic literature.\nSo, in the material world there is the perverted reflection of Sri Krsna’s pastime\nwith Radharani. It is not sex life as we have it, although it appears to be like that. It\nis transcendental. But that which we are after here—that is real. A young man\nwants a young woman, and a young woman wants a young man—this is natural. This\nis not artificial. It is natural because we are all part and parcel of that Supreme\nBeing, Krsna. His attitude is in me because I am His part and parcel, just as the\nquality of gold is present in the minute particles of gold. The chemical composition\nof gold is one hundred per cent present in a small particle of gold. Qualitatively.\nTherefore the enjoyment which we want between man and woman is not a\nperversion of love and friendship. It is simply a perverted reflection. The real\nenjoyment is awakened in association with the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna. It is the\nsame pleasure, but is in its pure form. That same bliss is there for you, but don’t\nbecome entangled in this perverted form of enjoyment. Don't remain asleep. Don’t\nremain in this dreaming condition. Have the real thing. Awaken from the dream.\nThat is the message of the Vedas.\nThis is the opportunity. If you miss this opportunity in the human form of life—\nthe developed consciousness—you will slip again into the cycle of 8,400,000 species\nof life that is developing, one form after another. That is the gradual process of\nevolution. We are still within the evolutionary process, but that evolutionary process\nshould be forward, progressive. Not degraded. Don’t slide. Don’t go downward. By\nyour many years of endeavor, you have come forward to this stage of life. Now, make\nfurther progress. Progress toward Sri Krsna. Don't go back.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0021": "The Srimad-Bhagavatam says that most people do not know their self-interest in\nlife. It is like coming to a crossroads and not knowing the way. Suppose you are going\nto Philadelphia, and after crossing New York City, you see a crossroads, and you do\nnot know the road. Of course, in America, there is a very efficient system of\ndirection on the roads. That way, you have no misguidance. Similarly, in the\nscriptures the Vedic literature gives you direction. Yes, here is a crossing. If you want\nto go this way, you may. So the Bhagavatam says that people do not know the\ndirection by which to make progress. One must know that he must make further\nprogress toward Visnu. Why? Because this is a very highly developed life. In this\nform of life, we have very high intelligence. We have more intelligence than cats\nand dogs and other animals. Why misdirect it? The misdirection is due to being\nattracted to this bodily concept of life. One is thinking, “I shall be happy utilizing\nthe body and the senses to the utmost.”\nBecause we do not know what our progressive life is, we are trying to squeeze the\nessence out of this body. To enjoy it. In the Bhagavatam there is a very good example\ncited about these foolish men. They are compared to the camel. The camel is a desert\nanimal very fond of twigs containing thorns. They have very long necks, and they\ntake a bunch of twigs with thorns and begin to chew. By contact with the thorns,\nblood oozes out the tongue. Naturally, if you chew thorns, your tongue will be cut.\nSo, when they take those thorns within the mouth and begin to chew, the blood\ncomes out. And when the blood is mixed up in that form, they eat it, because blood\nhas a taste he likes. He thinks that twigs with thorns are very tasteful. Our sex life is\nlike that. Just squeeze it out of the body, and we think we are enjoying it. This is our\nposition.\nAnother example is given. In India the washermen keep asses. They load the ass as\nmuch as possible. The ass works all day and in the evening, he is offered some grass,\nand he's satisfied. For a morsel of grass, he is ready to work the whole day with half\nton of clothing on his back. Similarly, we also, the karmins, are very busy working all\nday and all night. And when we come home, we eat only one piece of bread. For one\npiece of bread, which costs no more than ten cents, one is working all day and all\nnight. So the comparison is to the ass. The ass does not know for whom he is working\nso hard, and taking some bread. “This is the aim of my life.” Is it my aim of life—to\neat something and go to sleep, and have some sex pleasure and then die? No, this is\nnot the aim of life. Your aim of life should be to realize yourself—that you are part\nand parcel of the Supreme Absolute Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. Krsna is\nawaiting your arrival, so that you can enjoy life in His association.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0022": "One does not know what the progressive way of life is. Why? Because he has\nunderstood that this sense enjoyment is life’s greatest pleasure. He is foolishly\nthinking that he will be happy by this sense enjoyment. This is just like having a\nhorse which is not properly bridled. It is running on, running on, and you do not\nknow where it will throw you. Similarly, uncontrolled senses are just like unbridled\nhorses, dragging your chariot. You do not know where it will throw you. We do not\nrealize how responsible we are for every action. To every small part of our action,\nthere is a reaction. And our uncontrolled senses are putting us through the chain of\naction and reaction and dragging us into the darkest part of the universe.\nTherefore, Lord Sri Krsna says that one who has learned how to control the senses\nis called svamin. To a controlled person, worldly activities are darkness. Those who\nare situated in pure consciousness see that people who work hard simply for eating,\nsleeping, mating, and defending—these people are sleeping. And, to the persons who\nare engaged in these material activities, we are sleeping. They see that Swamiji has\ncome to America to preach something to make us inactive. He is just trying to drag\nus from our general engagement, and he’s trying to engage us in the process of kirtan\nand hearing Bhagavad-gita and wasting time. So, they believe we are sleeping.\nSomebody may think, “These poor fellows have gathered here to waste their time in\ndiscussing something dry, which has no meaning, which is not bringing forth\nanything. Let us have some business discussion, so that we can gain something from\nit.” We see that these people are sleeping and they that we are sleeping.\nNow, actually, who is sleeping? He is awake who comes to the platform of\nconsciousness that I am not this body—I am consciousness. One is awake who has\nunderstood this simple fact, that I am not this body, I am consciousness. Without\nconsciousness, my body is useless. Therefore, I am actually consciousness. I am pure\nsoul, and the symptom of my presence is consciousness. I am not this body. When I\nthink deeply, I can understand that this is my body. This is not I, body. This is my\nbody. So, one who has understood this—he is awake.\nNow, the whole process described in the Bhagavad-gita is to be awake. You are pure\nconsciousness—spirit soul. And, not only to be awake, but to act accordingly, so\nthat, at the ultimate end, your pure consciousness may be liberated from this bodily\nentanglement. Then you’ll get your healthy life. This is a disease, this material life.\nThis material body is the symptom of my diseased form of life. I am not actually\nsubject to birth and death. I am eternal. I never take my birth. I never die. This is my\nreal position. Then, what is this birth and death? It is due to this body. Changing the\nbody like a dress is called birth and death. But actually, I am pure soul.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0023": "Now, people are saying that God is dead. This theory is popular. They are making\npropaganda that the Lord is dead. But neither God nor we will ever die; neither do\nwe have birth. In Bhagavad-gita, Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri\nKrsna, says, “Arjuna, why are you afraid of fighting? Myself, yourself, and all these\nkings and soldiers who have assembled before us—all of them—they existed before,\nand they're existing now, and they will continue to exist in the future. There is no\nbirth and death. So, this warfare should be on the condition of the body. Don’t be\nafraid of it.”\nThis point we have already discussed. One must understand this point: I am pure\nsoul. My presence as pure soul is symptomatized by my consciousness. I know what\nhas happened in my past life. And what is happening, that I can remember also.\nAnd, I can guess about my future life. At least, I make plans for my future. Unless I\nhave my future, why should 1 plan? But, I am beyond this past, present and future. I\nam eternal. The Lord is eternal, and I am eternal also, as part and parcel of the\nSupreme God. Therefore, my self-interest is to attain that life of eternity. Life of full\nbliss. Life of full knowledge. That is the mission of my life. And one who takes that\nposition seriously, who has taken up this mission of life, and is trying for that\nperfection, he is actually awake. And others who are not at this point, they are\nsleeping. This is the mark of a sleeping man. A man who is working strenuously the\nwhole day, he is not actually awake. He is sleeping because his real intelligence is\nasleep. He has lost his self-interest. He does not know what the real interest of\nhuman life is.\nAll Vedic literature is imploring us, “Don’t sleep! Don’t sleep! Be awake! Be awake!\nGet up! Get up from this sleep! Utilize the boon which you now have. Don’t be\nfoolish.”\nPeople are working hard, and earning enough to eat. Especially in your country,\nthere are sufficient means for eating, and nobody is starving. That’s all right, but\nthey are still not satisfied. I have studied this very carefully. The younger people all\nappear to be frustrated. It is not a very good condition, when the young generation,\nwhich is the future hope of the country, feels that there is no hope. Their future is\ndark. Why? Because they have no direction. What is the aim of life? What will they\nbecome? The philosophy is, work hard, get dollars, and enjoy as you like. This is\nmisguidance. Therefore, the young are not happy. So, they take center of something\nwhich is objectionable for satisfaction. But that cannot give total satisfaction.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0024": "Now, here is an opportunity. The Bhagavad-gita can show you your actual life.\nTake advantage of it. Appeal especially to the younger people. Don’t be frustrated;\ndon’t be disappointed. There is full enjoyment in your future. You are all part and\nparcel of the Supreme. Isvara parama Krsna, sac-cid-ananda vigraha. The Lord says,\n“Oh, these poor living entities. They are suffering so much. They are feeling\nfrustrated. Oh, they are My parts and parcels.” So He comes to claim you. “My dear\nboys, My dear children, why are you suffering? Please hear Me. Give up all your\nengagements. Just hear Me. Try to follow what I say. I shall liberate you from all the\nreactions of sin.” You’ll find in the Bhagavad-gita that this is guaranteed. Simply\nsurrender unto the Lord. Not only Sri Krsna, of course. Lord Jesus Christ also spoke\nin the same way: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will\ngive you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in\nheart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is\nlight.” (Matthew: 11:28-30) That is the message of all persons who come from that\nspiritual world—from the kingdom of Godhead. That is the only message.\nSo, actually, this Bhagavad-gita is giving you the light to a happy life. Don’t miss\nthis opportunity. Try to hear it, to have it. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has made it\nvery easy. To fulfill the mission of our life, there are nine different processes of\ndevotional service: hearing, chanting, remembering, worshipping, accepting, service,\noffering everything, friendship and praying. Out of these nine, the first two\nprocesses, which are principle and primary, are sravanam kirtanam visnu. Hear and\nglorify. That will cleanse your heart of the dust which has accumulated for so many\nlifetimes, and you will see things very clearly.\nSvamin and gosvamin are synonymous words meaning “a person who is in full\ncontrol of the senses.” Don’t be thinking that you cannot control your senses.\nEveryone is able. You’ll get strength by this process. This chanting of Hare Krsna,\nHare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare\nHare will help you. Don’t be dejected by thinking that you have no strength. You’ll\nget strength. Continue this process. Kirtanam sravanam means chanting Hare\nKrsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. And, hear some passages from the\nBhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Utilize these two processes, and you’ll find\nstrength for your spiritual life. One has to become situated in that position of sense\ncontrol.\nNow, you have no doubt seen the ocean. How full it is! The ocean is so powerful\nthat, if it rose, all New York City would be submerged under water. But it does not\ndisturb us. It does not go beyond its limits. For example, the Narrows is the brink of\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0025": "the ocean. The ocean does not come on the other side of the Narrows. This is the\nexample. When we have controlled the senses, we shall be just like the big ocean—\nalthough full with spiritual knowledge, calm and quiet without disturbing anyone,\nand without being disturbed. Peaceful.\nIn Bengal there are about five hundred rivers. All these rivers flow down water, to\nthe ocean. But still, the ocean, the Bay of Bengal, is calm and quiet. Quiet. Similarly,\nfor those who have become as full and as big as the ocean, material desires may come,\nbut they are not disturbed. Although so many rivers are flowing down water, you\nwon't see an inch of water out of it, and you can pour any amount of water into it.\nThe sea level is always the same. This example is given. Desires we must have. We\ncannot extinguish desires. It is foolishness to think that we can subdue desires.\nDesires are the symptoms of life. Let there be desires. If I have life and consciousness,\nthen desire must also be there. Just as, when the water flows down from the rivers to\nthe ocean, the ocean is not disturbed, so a person need not be disturbed by these\ndesires. This is the art. This is the secret of the perfection of your life.\nDesires may come, but if you are fixed with a proper understanding, you convert\nyour desires. The whole process is to dovetail your desires with the Lord's. The\nexample is that Arjuna desires not to fight, but after hearing Bhagavad-gita, his\ndesire changed. He said, “Yes, I shall fight!” He desired to fight. So, there was desire.\nThe mode of desire was changed, that's all. Similarly, we cannot stop desiring. That\nis not possible. But we have to change the quality of the desire. That is all. It’s not\nvery difficult: I shall do this, I shall not do this. Bhagavad-gita is meant to show us\nthese things. Arjuna desired something before hearing Bhagavad-gita, and he desired\nsomething else after hearing Bhagavad-gita. The quality of desire changed. Similarly,\nby hearing the Gita you can change your desire. You don’t have to stop your desire.\nYou simply have to purify your desires. Then you’ll not be disturbed by them. When\nyour desires disturb you, you may know that you are not yet spiritually established.\nAnd when your desires enlighten you, enliven you, give you happiness—you may\nknow that that desire is spiritual. Just as with Arjuna, the desire has to be changed.\nLet desires be. Now, you can change the desires. Desire for Krsna. Don’t desire for\nyourself. Desire for Krsna. How can I desire for Krsna? Take a practical example.\nKrsna came to this material world to call us: “My dear boys please give up all your\nnonsensical engagements. Become a follower of Mine, and I shall protect you.” This\nis Krsna’s message. Now Bhagavad-gita is present, the message of Krsna. If you desire\nto preach this message of the Gita to the people of the world, that means you have\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0026": "changed your desire. And you can thereby purify yourself. There will be sufficient\nactivities to execute the desire. But all those activities will be purified.\nSo, we don’t have to stop our activities, nor our desires. But we have to dovetail\nthem with the desires of the Lord, as Arjuna did. After dovetailing his desires with\nSri Krsna’s, his activities became more responsible. Just like a coward, he was\nrefusing to fight. He was a ksatriya, a military man. His duty was to fight for a good\ncause. And what is a good cause? Sri Krsna instructed him to fight: “It is My plan.”\nWhat can be a better cause than this? When the Supreme Personality of Godhead\nsays that this is My wish, what can be more important? And what can be a better\npurpose than one which is coming directly from the Supreme Personality of\nGodhead?\nWhen we dovetail with the desire of the Supreme Lord, then our responsibility\nbecomes more imperative, and we become more active than we are otherwise. In\nmaterial activity you will get tired. This is the difference between material activity\nand spiritual activity. When you are engaged in spiritual activities, you’ll not get\ntired. You will have newer and newer strength to act. Therefore, desire is not to be\nstopped; activities are not to be stopped. Whatever potency you have in you, that is\nthe potency given by the Supreme Lord, because you are the part and parcel of the\nSupreme Lord. And if you utilize it for the purposes of the Supreme Lord, then you\nbecome dovetailed with Him, and your life becomes successful. You’ll not be\ndisturbed by material desires, you’ll attain peace. The peace for which you are\nhankering in life after life, moment after moment—that you’ll get at that time when\nyour desires are purified and dovetailed with the Lord’s. One who desires sense\ngratification, the enjoyment of material satisfaction, will never be happy. That is not\npossible. If you want peace, if you want happiness, if you want perfection in your life,\nthen just begin to dovetail your desires, activities, and potential with the Supreme\nPersonality of Godhead. Then you will see what real happiness is, and will be able to\ntell who is really crazy.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0027": "INTRODUCTION T0 THE BHAGAVAD GITA AS IT IS\nby A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami\n\nThe Bhagavad-gita is also known as Gitopanisad. It is the essence of Vedic\nknowledge and one of the most important Upanisads in Vedic literature.\nThere are many commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gita in English, and the necessity\nfor another edition should be explained on the following basis: an American lady\nasked me to recommend an English edition of the Bhagavad-gita which she could\nread. I was unable to do so in good conscience. Of course, there are many\ntranslations, but of those I have seen—not only in America, but also in India—none\ncan be said to be authoritative, because in almost every one of them, the author has\nexpressed his personal opinion through the commentaries, without touching the\nspirit of Bhagavad-gita' as it is.\nThe spirit of Bhagavad-gita is mentioned in the gita itself. It is like this: if we want\nto take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the directions written on the\nlabel of the bottle. We cannot take the medicine according to our own directions, or\nthe directions of a friend not in knowledge of this medicine. We must follow the\ndirections on the label or the directions of our physician. The Bhagavad-Gita also\nshould be accepted as it is directed by the speaker himself. The speaker is Lord Sri\nKrsna. He is mentioned on every page as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or\nBhagavan. Bhagavan sometimes means any powerful person or demigod, but here it\nmeans Krsna. This is confirmed by all the great teachers, including Sankara and Sri\nCaitanya Mahaprabhu. In India there are many authorities on Vedic knowledge, and\nthey have virtually all accepted Sri Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.\nWe should therefore accept Bhagavad-Gita as it is directed by the Supreme\nPersonality of Godhead Himself.\nNow, in the Fourth Chapter, the Lord tells Arjuna that this yoga system of the\nBhagavad-Gita was first spoken to the Sun-god:\nThe Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga\nto the Sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the\nfather of Mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku. This\nsupreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0028": "succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in the\ncourse of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science,\nas it is, appears to be lost.\n(Giza, IV: 1-2)\nArjuna was neither a great scholar nor a Vedantist, but a great soldier. A soldier is\nnot supposed to be scholarly, and so Arjuna was selected to understand the\nBhagavad-gita because of one qualification only: he was a devotee of the Lord. This\nindicates that the Bhagavad-gita is especially meant for the devotee of the Lord.\nThere are three kinds of transcendentalists: the yogin, the impersonalist, and the\nbhakta, or devotee. Krsna says to Arjuna, “I am making you the first man of the\ndisciplic succession. The old succession is broken. I wish to re-establish the line of\nteaching which was passed down from the Sun-god. So you become the authority of\nthe Bhagavad-gita. ” The Bhagavad-gita is directed to the devotee of the Lord, who is\ndirectly in touch with the Lord as a friend. To learn the Bhagavad-gita, one should\nbe like Arjuna: a devotee having a direct relationship with the Lord. This is more\nhelpful than yoga or impersonal philosophical speculation.\nA devotee can be in relationship with the Lord in five different ways:\n1. He may have a passive relationship.\n2. He may have an active relationship.\n3. He may be in friendship.\n4. He may have the relationship of a parent.\n5. He may have the relationship of a conjugal lover of the Lord.\nArjuna was a devotee in relationship with the Lord as a friend. This friendship is\ndifferent from friendship in the mundane world. This kind of friendship is\ntranscendental. Everyone has some relationship with the Lord. Unfortunately, in\nour present status, we have forgotten that eternal tie. Yet each of the millions upon\nmillions of living beings has its particular relationship. By the process of service one\ncan revive one’s original status with the Lord.\nNow, Arjuna was a devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in\nfriendship. Thus, the Bhagavad-gita was explained to him. How he accepted it should\nbe noted. This is mentioned in the Tenth Chapter. After hearing the Bhagavad-gita\nfrom the Lord, Arjuna accepted Krsna as the Supreme Brahman. Every living being\nis Brahman, or spirit, but the supreme living being is the Supreme Brahman. Arjuna\naccepted Krsna as pure, free from all material contamination, as the supreme\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0029": "enjoyer, as the foremost person, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, never born,\nand greatest. Now, one may say that, since Krsna and Arjuna were friends, Arjuna\nwas only saying these things to his friend. But Arjuna mentions that Krsna is\naccepted as the Supreme Personality of Godhead not only by himself but by Narada,\nVyasa, and numerous other great persons.\nTherefore, Arjuna says, “Whatever You have spoken to me, I accept as perfect.\nYour personality is very difficult to understand. You cannot be known even by the\ndemigods.” This means that even persons greater than human beings cannot know\nKrsna. How, then, can a human being know Krsna, unless he is a devotee?\nIn studying Bhagavad-gita, one should not think that he is the equal of Krsna.\nKrsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who wants to understand\nBhagavad-gita should accept Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.\nOtherwise it is very hard to understand, and it becomes a great mystery.\nThis Bhagavad-gita is meant for delivering persons from the nescience of this\nmaterial entanglement. Everyone is in difficulty, just as Arjuna was on the\nBattlefield of Kuruksetra. Not only Arjuna, but each of us is full of anxieties because\nof this material entanglement. Our existence is eternal, but somehow we are put into\nthis position which is asat. Asat means unreal.\nUnless one is inquiring as to why he is suffering, he is not a perfect human being.\nHumanity begins when this inquiry is awakened in the mind. Every activity of the\nhuman being is said to be a failure unless this inquiry is present. One should ask,\n“Where am I from? Where am I going? Why am I here?” When these inquiries are\nawakened in the mind of a sane human being, then he can understand Bhagavadgita. He must also have respect for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krsna\ncomes here just to establish the real work of life, which man forgets. Out of many,\nmany human beings, the Bhagavad-gita is directed to the one who seeks to\nunderstand his position. The Lord has great mercy for human beings. Therefore, He\nspoke the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna to enlighten him. Arjuna was actually above all\nsuch ignorance, but he was put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra just\nto ask what life was all about, so that our mission of human life could be perfected.\nIt is the preliminary study of the science of God which is explained here. The first\nquestion is: What is the cause? Next: What is the constitutional position of the\nliving entities in respect to the controller? Living entities are not controllers. If I say,\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0030": "“I am not controlled; I am free,” I do not speak well for my sanity. In this\nconditioned state of life, at any rate, we are all controlled. Next we may consider\nprakrti, or Nature. Then time—the duration of the existence or manifestation of\nthis created universe. Then karma, or activity. The living beings are all engaged in\ndifferent activities. All cosmic manifestation is engaged in activity.\nSo, we have to learn from Bhagavad-gita what God is. What is the nature of the\nliving entity? Its relationship with the supreme controller? What is prakrti, the\ncosmic manifestation? What is the control of time? And what are the activities of\nthe living entities?\nIn the Bhagavad-gita it is established that the Supreme, or Krsna—or Brahman, or\nwhatever you like—the supreme controller is greatest of all. The living beings are\ncontrolled. The Lord has control over universal affairs—the material Nature.\nMaterial Nature is not independent. It is working under the direction of the\nSupreme Lord. When we see wonderful things happening, we should know that\nbehind these manifestations there is a controller. Matter belongs to the inferior\nnature, or prakrti,' and the living entities are explained as being of the superior\nnature. Prakrti means “who is controlled.” Prakrti is female. A husband controls the\nactivities of his wife. Prakrti is also subordinate, predominated. The Lord—the\nSupreme Personality of Godhead—is the predominator, and prakrti—the living\nentities and material Nature—is predominated over. So, according to the Bhagavadgita the living entities, although they are part and parcel of the Supreme, are taken\nas prakrti. It is clearly mentioned in the Secenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita that this\nmaterial Nature is prakrti and that the living entities are also prakrti. The\nconstitution of the material, or inferior prakrti, is divided into three modes: the\nmode of goodness, the mode of passion, and the mode of ignorance. Above these\nmodes is eternal time. By the combinations of these modes and the control of eternal\ntime, the activities, called karma, come into being. These activities have been going\non from time immemorial, and we are suffering from—or enjoying—the fruits of\nthese activities, just as in the present life we enjoy the fruits of our activities. It is as\nthough I am a businessman who has worked very hard and intelligently and has\namassed a large bank balance. I am the enjoyer of the fruits of my activities. Again,\nifI open a business with a large amount of money and lose it all, I am the sufferer.\nSimilarly, in the field of life, we enjoy the different fruits of our work. Now, these\nthings—the Supreme, the living entities, prakrti or Nature, time, and karma are\nexplained in the Bhagavad-gita.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0031": "Of these five, the Lord, time, and the living entity are permanent and eternal. The\nmanifestations of prakrti are temporary, but not false, as some philosophers say.\nAccording to the philosophy of Krsna consciousness, the manifestations are quite\nreal, but temporary. They are like the clouds which appear during the rainy season\nbut disappear during the dry season. These manifestations occur at certain intervals,\nand then they disappear and the vegetation dries up. Nevertheless, this process of\nNature is working eternally.\nMaterial Nature is separated energy of the Supreme Lord. The living entities are\nalso energy of the Lord, but they are not separated. They are eternally related with\nthe Lord. So, the Lord, Nature, the entity and time are all eternal. Karma is not\neternal. The effects of karma may be old, and we may be suffering from the results of\nactivity performed in time immemorial, but we are able to change our activities. We\nsimply do not know which activities will give us release from these material\nentanglements. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gita.\nThe position of God is that of supreme consciousness. The entities, being parts and\nparcels, are also consciousness. The entity is prakrti, or Nature, and so also is the\nmaterial energy; but the living entities are conscious, and matter is not. Therefore,\nthe entity is called the higher energy. But the living being is never supremely\nconscious at any stage. The supreme consciousness, explained in the Bhagavad-gita\nas the Lord, is conscious, and the living beings are conscious: the entity of his limited\nbody, and the Lord infinitely. The Lord lives in the heart of every being. Therefore,\nHe has the consciousness of all living entities.\nThe Supersoul is living in each heart as the controller. He is giving directions to\nact as He desires. The living entity, however, forgets what to do. He determines to\nact in one way, then becomes entangled in his own actions and reactions and\nachieves only frustration. When he gives up one body for another, as one changes a\ndress, the reactions of his past activities remain with him, determining his next\nbirth. Actions can be changed when a living being is in goodness, and, in that state\nof sanity, he chooses to end his entanglement.\nSo, of the five items, all are eternal, except karma. Now, the entity’s consciousness and the Lord’s consciousness are both transcendental. They are not generated\nby association with matter. The theory that some material combination can generate\nconsciousness is rejected in Bhagavad-gita. Just as a light may be reflected according\nto the color of the glass, consciousness is reflected in the material world. But it does\nnot depend upon matter for its existence.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0032": "The supreme consciousness is different from the consciousness of the living entity\nin this way: the Supreme Lord says that when He descends into the material world,\nHis consciousness is not materially affected. If He had been contaminated by contact\nwith matter, He could not have spoken Bhagavad-gita. However, we living entities\nare contaminated by the material world. The Bhagavad-gita teaches that we must\npurify our activities in order to draw our consciousness back from that material\nentanglement. This purification of activity is called bhakti, or devo- tional service.\nThis means that, although one’s activities appear to be ordinary, they are actually\npurified. One may appear to work like an ordinary man, but the activities of a\ndevotee of the Lord are not contaminated by the three modes.\nWhen our consciousness is contaminated by matter, this is called our conditioned\nstate. The false ego is the belief that one is the product of this matter. One who is\nabsorbed in this bodily conception, as Arjuna was, must get free from it. This is a\npreliminary for one who wants liberation. Freedom from this material consciousness\nis called mukti. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, also, mukti is used to mean liberation\nfrom this material concept and return to pure consciousness. The whole aim of\nBhagavad-gita is to teach us to reach this state of pure consciousness. On the last\npage of Bhagavad-gita, Krsna asks Arjuna if he is now in purified consciousness. This\nimplies action in accordance with the directions of the Lord.\nSo, consciousness is there, but because we are only parts, we tend to be affected by\nthe modes of Nature. That is the difference between the individual living entities\nand the Supreme Lord. In contamination, consciousness says, “I am the Lord. I am\nthe enjoyer.” Every material being thinks this. Consciousness has two psychic\ndivisions: One says, “I am the creator,” and the other says, “I am the enjoyer.”\nActually, the Lord is the creator and the enjoyer. The entity cooperates like a part in\na machine. In the body, for example, there are hands, legs, eyes, etc. But these parts\nare not the enjoyers. The stomach is the enjoyer. All the parts of the body are\nengaged in satisfying the stomach. Everything should be given to the stomach. You\ncan become healthy throughout your entire body when the parts of the body\ncooperate with the stomach. Similarly, the Lord is the enjoyer, and we living beings\nhave only to cooperate with Him. If the fingers try to enjoy the food, they are\nunable. They must give the food to the stomach in order to receive the benefit of it.\nThe central figure in existence is the Supreme Lord. The entities, by cooperation,\ncan enjoy. If a master is satisfied, his servants are also satisfied, of course. The\nentities have this tendency to create and enjoy because the Lord has it, and the\nentities are His parts and parcels.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0033": "We find, in Bhagavad-gita, that the Lord, the entities, manifestation, time and\naction are completely explained. Taken together, this complete whole is called the\nAbsolute Truth, Sri Krsna. The impersonal Brahman is also subordinate to the\nComplete Person. It is explicitly explained in the Brahma-sutra as being like the rays\nof the sun emanating from the sun disc. Brahman realization of the Absolute Truth\nis therefore incomplete. The Supreme Personality is above Brahman. The Supreme\nPersonality of Godhead is called sac-cid-ananda.\nBrahman realization is realization of His sat, or eternal feature. Supersoul\nrealization is realization of His sac-cid aspect—eternity and knowledge. But,\nrealization of the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, is realization of all features—\nsac-cid-ananda —in full vigraha, or form. The Lord has form. He is a transcendental\nperson. This is confirmed in all Vedic literature. Just as we are persons, so is the\nultimate truth. Realization of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is realization of\nall the features of the Absolute Truth. The complete whole personality must have all\nthat we see and all that we do not see.\nThis phenomenal world is complete by itself. The twenty-four elements of which\nthis manifestation is comprised are complete in this universe. No further outside\nenergy is needed. When the time is come, the universe will be annihilated by the\ncomplete arrangement of the Complete. Small completes exist in the whole\nComplete. Incomplete knowledge results from misunderstanding of the complete\nAbsolute Truth.\nBhagavad-gita is complete. The Vedic knowledge is infallible. Here is an example of\nhow the Hindus accept Vedic knowledge as complete: Cow dung is sacred according\nto Vedic scripture. If one touches the dung of an animal, he must bathe his whole\nbody, and yet cow dung can purify an impure place or person, according to Vedic\nscripture. This seems contradictory, but because it is a Vedic injunction, we accept\nit, and, by that acceptance, we make no mistake. It has been found by modern\nchemists that cow dung is a composition of antiseptic properties.\nVedic knowledge is complete, and it is above all doubts or errors. And Bhagavadgita is the essence of all Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge comes down from higher\nsources. It is not like our material independent reserach work, which is imperfect.\nWe must receive this knowledge from the spiritual master, through the disciplic\nsuccession, which began with the Lord Himself.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0034": "Just as Arjuna accepted Bhagavad-gita without any cutting, so we too must accept\nBhagavad-gita without any cutting, interpretation, or whimsy. We should accept it as\nperfect knowledge, spoken by the Lord Himself. Only the Lord could have given this\ninfallible knowledge. A living entity would not be able to.\nA living being in the mundane world has four defects:\n1. He is sure to commit mistakes.\n2. He is sure to be illusioned.\n3. He has a tendency to cheat.\n4. His senses are imperfect.\n\nWith these four defects, one cannot offer perfect information. But Vedic\nknowledge was imparted by God in the heart of Brahma, the first living being in our\nuniverse, who passed it down through his sons.\nExcept for the Lord, no one is the proprietor of anything. The Lord is the original\ncreator. He is the creator of Brahma, the original being in our universe. Therefore,\nwe should accept things given to us by the Lord as our allotment. Arjuna had\ndecided not to fight. He told the Lord that he could not enjoy the kingdom if he\nkilled his relatives to obtain it. This was due to his bodily concept of himself, and\nthus his relationship with uncles, brothers, nephews, and so forth — all these\nrelationships pertaining to the body. But, finally, Arjuna agreed to work for the\nLord’s enjoyment. We should not act like ordinary animals. Human life is meant for\nsomething else. Vedic literature is meant for human beings, not for animals. An\nanimal can kill without sin because he is bound by the modes of his nature. But, if a\nman kills, he is responsible. He has a choice in his actions.\nIn the Bhagavad-gita activities are explained as determined by the three modes of\nnature. Thus, there are actions performed in ignorance, actions performed in passion, and actions performed in goodness. There are also three kinds of eatables: food\neaten in ignorance, in passion, and in goodness. These are all clearly described.\nTherefore, if we properly follow the instructions in Bhagavad-gita, our lives will be\npurified and we will reach our ultimate destination. This destination is also\nexplained in Bhagavad-gita:\nBeyond this material sky there is a spiritual sky. This material sky is temporary, and\nat the end of this universe it will be annihilated. That is the law of material Nature.\nBut there is another Nature, which is eternal. The soul is eternal just as the Lord is\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0035": "eternal. We have an intimate relationship with the Lord, and we are qualitatively\nequal to the Lord. The transcendental abode is also eternal. The association of the\nLord and the living entities in the transcendental abode is the ultimate aim of\nhuman life.\nThe Lord is so kind to the living entities because the living entities all have a claim\nto being sons of the Lord. The Lord says that, of every type of living being, whatever\nit may be, He is the father. The Lord wishes to reclaim all these souls, to have them\nback in the eternal sky. The entities can be restored to the eternal sky, once they are\nfree of illusion. So, He comes Himself, in different incarnations, or else He sends His\nconfidential servants as son or as teachers, to reclaim the conditioned souls. This\nreclaiming is no sectarian religious process. It is the eternal function of the eternal\nliving entities in relationship with the eternal Lord.\nSanatana-dharma means the eternal religion. This word eternal is explained as\nsomething without beginning and without any end. We must accept it like this. The\nword religion is somewhat different from sanatana-dharma. It means faith, and faith\nmay change from one object to another. But sanatana-dharma means that which\ncannot be changed. Liquidity cannot be taken from water. Heat cannot be taken\nfrom fire. Similarly, sanatana-dharma cannot be taken from the living entities. We\nmust find out the eternal function of the eternal living entities, in order to know\nwhat sanatana-dharma is. Ramanujacarya says that this has no beginning and no\nend. Some may feel that this is a somewhat sectarian concept, but if we look deeper,\nwe will see that sanatana-dharma is the business of all the people of the world—nay,\nof all the living entities in the universe.\nNow a particular religious faith may have some beginning in the history of human\nsociety, but sanatana-dharma lies outside of history, for it belongs to the living beings\nwho have no birth and who never die. They continue to live after the destruction of\nthe material body, just as they lived before its formation.\nLet us try to understand this eternal religion from the Sanskrit root word for\ndharma. This word root, dhr, means to sustain. Therefore, dharma is that quality\nwhich remains always and which cannot be taken away. When we speak of fire, it is\nconcluded that light and heat will be there. Otherwise we cannot call it fire. In a\nsimilar way, we must find the constant companion of the living being. That eternal\npart or quality is his religion.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0036": "When Sanatana Gosvamin asked Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu about svarupa, or\nthe real constitution of the living being, the Lord replied that the real constitution\nof the entity is to render service to the Lord. Extending this, we see that one being\nserves another living being in some capacity and thus enjoys its life. An animal\nserves a man, a friend serves his friend, mother serves child, husband serves wife, Mr.\nA serves Mr. B, Mr. B serves Mr. C, and so on. There is no exception to service in\nthe society of living beings. The politician convinces the voter of his capacity for\nservice and thus gets his job. The artisan serves the merchant; the store owner serves\nhis customer. In fact, no living being is exempted from rendering service to others.\nService, then, is a thing which is the constant companion of the living being, and it\ncan be concluded that rendering service is the eternal religion of the eternal living\nentity.\nWhen a man claims allegiance to some designated faith or sect, such as Hindu,\nBuddhist, Muslim, or Christian, this is not eternal. Such faiths can be changed. The\nMuslim may become a Christian, or the Christian may become a Hindu. Such\nchangeable faith, therefore, is not religion. However, if one be Hindu, Muslim or\nChristian, one is always a servant. So the particular faith is not the religion, but\nservice is the religion.\nWe are in a relationship of service to the Supreme Lord. He is the enjoyer, and we\nare His servants. We are created for His enjoyment, and if we accept that position, it\nmakes us happy. Going back to our earlier example, fingers cannot be independently\nhappy without the cooperation of the stomach. Similarly, the living entity cannot be\nhappy without rendering service to the Supreme Lord.\nWorship of demigods is not approved in Bhagavad-gita because, in the Seventh\nChapter, twenty-eighth verse, the Lord says, “Only those who are cast adrift by lust\nworship the demigods instead of the Lord.”\nNow, when we speak of Krsna, we should remember that this is not a sectarian\nname. Krsna means all pleasure. Krsna, the Supreme Lord, is the reservoir of\npleasure. Our consciousness seeks happiness because we are part and parcel of the\nLord. The Lord is always happy, and if we dovetail our activities with His, we will\npartake of His happiness.\nThe Lord incarnates in order to show us His joyous nature and pastimes. When\nKrsna was at Vrndavana, His activities with His friends, the cowherd boys, His girl\nfriends, and all His other pastimes were full of happiness. The whole population of\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0037": "Vrndavana was mad after Him. At this time, He even restricted His father from\nworshiping the demigods, to show us that no one need worship any god but Him.\nThe purpose of human life is to return to the abode of the Lord. This eternal sky is\ndescribed in Bhagavad-gita. This is in Chapter Eight, verses 19 and 20. We have a\nmaterial concept of the sky, with the sun, stars, moon, etc. But the Lord says that in\nthe eternal sky there is no need of sun or moon, nor of fire or electricity, because the\nspiritual sky is already illuminated by the brahma-jyoti, the rays of the Supreme Lord.\nBrahma-jyoti is in the spiritual sky, wherein the planets are called Vaikuntha and\nGoloka. The Lord resides eternally in His supreme abode, but He can be approached\nfrom here also.\nThe Lord comes to manifest His real form, sac-cid-ananda vigraha, so that we don’t\nhave to imagine what He is like. However, although the Lord comes among us and\nplays with us like a human being, we should not think that He is one of us. It is\nbecause of His omnipotence that He can come among us and show us His pastimes.\nThere are innumerable planets in the brahma-jyoti, just as there are in the material\nsky, but all these planets are spiritual, not material. The Lord says that anyone who\ncan approach that spiritual sky need not return to this material sky. In the material\nsky, even if we live on the highest planet, which is called Brahmaloka, we must still\nsuffer the miseries of material existence. These miseries are four: birth, death, disease\nand old age. No material being is free of them.\nThe Lord says that the living entities are travelling from one planet to another.\nWe need not rely upon mechanical arrangements to go to other planets. For anyone\nwho wants to go to another planet, such as the moon, the Bhagavad-gita instructs\nthat there is a simple formula—even to go to the highest planet. If we practice the\nprocess of worshiping a particular demigod of a particular planet, we can go there.\nThose whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto\ndemigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship\naccording to their own natures. I [Krsna] am seated in everyone’s heart\nas the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship demigods, I make his\nfaith steady so that he can devote himself to that particular deity.\nEndowed with such a faith, he seeks favors of that demigod and obtains\nhis desires—but in actuality these benefits are bestowed by Me alone.\nMen of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are\nlimited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0038": "planets of the demigods, but My devotees reach My supreme abode.\n(Gita, VII:20-23)\nIn this way, we can go to the sun, the moon, or any other planet. However,\nBhagavad-gita advises us not to go to any of these material planets, not even the\nBrahmaloka, which can only be reached by mechanical means after forty thousand\nyears. In the spiritual sky there are innumerable planets which are never\nannihilated, but there is one called Krsnaloka Vrndavana, which is the supreme\nplanet.\nBhagavad-gita gives us the opportunity to leave this material world and to go to\nthat eternal existence in the eternal abode of the Lord.\nThe description of this material world is given in the Fifteenth Chapter of\nBhagavad-gita. The material world is described as an asvattha (pipal) tree, which has\nits roots upward. Do you know of a tree which has its roots upward? We have\nexperience of this if we stand on the bank of a river or reservoir. We can see, in the\nreflection, that the tree’s roots are upward and its branches are downward. So this\nmaterial world is a reflection of the spiritual world, just as the reflection of the tree\nfrom the bank is seen to be upside down. This material world is called shadow. In the\nshadow there cannot be any substance, yet we can understand from the shadow that\nthere is a substance. In the reflection of the spiritual world there is no happiness, but\nin the spiritual world itself, there is real happiness.\nThe Lord suggests that the eternal spiritual world can be reached by one who is\nnirmana-mohah (Gita, XV:5). Let us examine this phrase. We are all after\ndesignations. Artificially, we seek designations. Someone wants to become Sir, or\nLord, or President, or King, or rich. These designations belong to the body, but we do\nnot. We are not body; we are pure spirit soul. As long as we are attached to such\ndesignations, we are associated with the three modes or qualities of material Nature.\nWe must learn to become detached by entering into the service of the Lord. So long\nas we are not attracted by devotional service to the Lord, then we cannot be\ndetached from the three modes of material Nature. The Lord says that these\nattachments are due to our lust: We want to be lords over the material Nature. And,\nas long as we want to lord it over material Nature, there is no chance of going back\nto the spiritual kingdom of God. That eternal kingdom, which is not destructible like\nthis material world, can be approached only by one who is not bewildered or\nattracted by this material Nature. One who is attracted by devotional service to the\nLord can go to that eternal kingdom.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0039": "Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot even see all the planets that exist in\nthe material sky. Vedic literature gives us information of many worlds that exist\nhere. But one should hanker after the spiritual sky and the supreme kingdom. When\none reaches the supreme kingdom, he doesn’t have to return to the material world.\nNow, a question may be raised: how do we approach the abode of the Supreme\nLord? In Chapter Eight, verses 5-8, the means for approaching the Lord’s supreme\nabode are given: At the time of death, if one thinks of Krsna and remembers the\nform of Krsna, and then quits the present body, he surely approaches the spiritual\nkingdom. Just as the transcendental nature of the Lord is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, so\nthe Lord has His form, but this form is eternal. This present body of ours is not saccid-ananda. This body is asat, or perishable, full of ignorance, and not happy.\nThe Lord says that when one quits this material body remembering the form of Sri\nKrsna, he at once achieves his sac-cid-ananda-vigraha—the spiritual existence. This\nalso applies to rebirth in this world. A man dies when his next birth has been\ndecided by higher authorities. The acts of this life are a preparation ground for the\nnext life. We are preparing for the next life by the activities of this life. So, if we\nmake preparations to go to the abode of the Lord, we get a spiritual body, or spiritual\nnature, like the Lord has.\nNow, there are different kinds of transcendentalists, as we have already explained. There is the Brahman-Vadin, the Paramatman-Vadin, and the devotee. In\nthe spiritual sky, or brahma-jyoti, there are innumerable spiritual planets. The\nnumber of these planets is far greater than all the universes of the material world.\nThe spiritual world represents three-fourths of the Creation. One-fourth of the\nCreation consists of innumerable universes like this one. Each universe has millions\nand millions of planets, but all of these universes together comprise only one-fourth\nof the whole Creation.\nNow, one who wishes to go to the spiritual abode, and wishes to enjoy the\nassociation of the Supreme Lord, enters into a planet of the spiritual sky. There are\nmany names for these planets. Any transcendentalist who, at the time of death,\nthinks of the brahma-jyoti, or Supersoul or Sri Krsna, enters the spiritual sky, but\nonly the devotees may go to the Lord. The Lord further says that there is no doubt of\nthis. One should not disbelieve. When the Lord speaks, we should not reject any part\nof what He says. Arjuna, whom we should emulate, says, “I believe everything that\nYou have said.” The Lord tells us that at the time of death, whoever thinks of Him\nwill enter into the spiritual sky. There should be no doubt of this.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0040": "Bhagavad-gita also describes how one should act in order to enter into the spiritual\nkingdom. Material Nature is a display of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. In\nthe Visnu Purana, the energies of the Supreme Lord have been summarized. The\nLord has diverse, innumerable energies, of which we cannot conceive. But great\nlearned souls have summarized all of these energies into three categories: The first is\nthe superior, or internal, potency of the Lord. That energy is transcendental. Next is\nthe marginal energy, which lies between the spiritual and the material. Originally,\nall the living entities belong to the eternal superior energy. The third energy, matter,\nis in the mode of ignorance. Material energy is also from God. And we can, at death,\neither leave this material world or remain here. Therefore, we are called marginal.\nWe are accustomed to think in terms of material energy. How can we transfer our\nthinking of material energy into thinking of spiritual energy? There is so much\nliterature of the material world, like novels, newspapers, etc. We must transfer our\nreading from these to the spiritual Vedic literature. The learned sages wrote a great\ndeal of literature, like the Puranas. In Caitanya-caritamrta there is a verse which\nreads: “The conditioned souls have forgotten their eternal relationship with the\nLord, and are engrossed in thinking of material things. They should just transfer\ntheir thinking to the Lord. He has created so many Vedas for this purpose.”\nAt first, there were four Vedas. Then He explained them by the Puranas. Then, for\nthose incapable of understanding these, He gave the Mahabharata, in which there is\nthe Bhagavad-gita. Then the Vedanta-stitra, which summarizes all Vedic knowledge.\nAt last, the Vedanta-satra was explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam.\nJust as the materialist is always engaged in reading materialistic literature, so the\ndevotee centers his reading capacity in this literature, so kindly presented by\nVyasadeva, so that at the time of death the devotee may think of the Lord and go to\nHim.\nKrsna advises Arjuna not simply to go on remembering Him and give up his\nmaterial duty. The Lord never suggests anything impractical. To maintain the\nmaterial body, one has to work. The working world is divided into four parts:\nbrahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra. Each one works in a different way, as learned\nman, administrator, mercantiler, or laborer. The Lord advises us not to give up work,\nbut to remember Him always, along with the struggle for existence. This is Krsna\nconsciousness. Unless one does this, it is not possible to go to the Lord.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0041": "Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu practiced kirtan, or chanting. One should always\nchant the name of the Lord, because the name of the Lord and the Lord are not\ndifferent. Lord Caitanya’s instructions to always chant the name of Krsna and\nKrsna’s injunction to remember Him always are not different. The Lord and His\nname are not different from each other. In the absolute status, there is no difference\nbetween one thing and another. Since the Lord is absolute, there is no difference\nbetween His name and Himself: He is omnipresent. We should know Him always,\ntwenty-four hours a day. How is this possible?\nA very crude example is given by the great teachers: it is like a married woman\nwho is in love with another man. Such an attachment is necessarily very strong.\nNow, the woman always wants to show her husband that she is busy in family affairs\nso that he won’t suspect her having a lover. However, she is always thinking of her\nlover, although she carries on her household duties well—in fact, with greater care\nthan she might if she had no lover. In the same way, we must establish our love for\nthe Lord and carry out our duties well.\nKrsna did not advise Arjuna to go off to the Himalayas to practice yoga. When the\nLord described the system of yoga to him, Arjuna declined, saying that it was too\ndifficult for him. But then the Lord said that one who thinks always of Him is the\ngreatest yogin, the supermost seer, and the best devotee. The Lord said, “As a\nwarrior, you cannot give up your fighting; but devote all your actions to Me.” He also\nsays that if one is completely surrendered to Him there is no doubting.\nOne has to learn this process of Krsna consciousness. To do so, one should\napproach a person who is fixed firmly in this consciousness. The mind is always\nflying from this thing to that, serving no real benefit. One must learn to fix the mind\nalways on the Supreme Lord. The mind is very restless and difficult to manage, but\none can concentrate the ear on the sound of Krsna. The Supreme Personality of\nGodhead can be approached by one who is constantly thinking of Him in this way.\nThese processes are given in Bhagavad-gita. No one is barred from them. Hearing\nof Lord Krsna is possible for everyone, even a human being in the lowest status of\nlife. Laborer, tradesman, or woman—these are counted in the category of less fully\ndeveloped intelligence; but the Lord says that even one lower than this—anyone, in\nfact, who accepts this principle of devotional service and accepts the Supreme Lord\nas the highest goal of life, can approach the perfection of human existence. This is\nthe one permanent solution of life.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0042": "This is the sum and substance of Bhagavad-gita.\nThe conclusion is that Bhagavad-gita is a transcendental literature that should be\nread very carefully. If one follows the instructions, he can be freed of all fears and\nsufferings in this life and attain a spiritual birth in the next life.\nAnother result is that if one reads Bhagavad-gita seriously and reverently, then the\nreactions of his past deeds will no longer effect him. The Lord says, in the end, that\nHe Himself takes the responsibility to indemnify all the reactions of sins for one who\ncomes to Him. One cleanses himself daily by bathing in water, but for one who once\nbathes in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad-gita, the dirt of past sins is washed\naway for all time. If one reads Bhagavad-gita regularly and attentively, no other\nliterature is needed.\nIn the present age, people are engaged by so many material things that they have\nno time to devote their energy to spiritual topics. However, one who simply reads\nBhagavad-gita need not read any other Vedic literature. Bhagavad-gita is the essence\nof all Vedic knowledge. It is said that one who drinks the water of the Ganges will be\nfreed from sin. Similarly, one who studies Bhagavad-gita needs no other literature\nwhatever. Lord Krsna is the original Visnu, the ultimate end of all knowledge and of\nall seeking after knowledge, and He is present in the teaching of the Gita.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0043": "THE DISCIPLIC SUCCESSION\nEvam paramparapratam imam rajarsayo viduh (Bhagavad-gita, IV:2).\nThe Bhagavad-gita As It ls is received through this disciplic succession:\n1. Krsna\n2. Brahma\n3. Narada\n4. Vyasa\n5. Madhva\n6. Padmanabha\n7. Nrhari\n8. Madhava\n9. Aksobhya\n10. Jayatirtha\n11. Jnanasindhu\n12. Dayanidhi\n13. Vidyanidhi\n14. Rajendra\n15. Jayadharma\n16. Purusottama\n\n17. Brahmanyatirtha\n18. Vyasatirtha\n19. Laksmipati\n20. Madhavendra Puri\n21. Isvara Puri (Nityananda, Advaita)\n22. Lord Caitanya\n23. Rupa (Svarfipa, Sanatana)\n24. Raghunatha, Jiva\n25. Krsnadasa\n26. Narottama\n27. Visvanatha\n28. (Baladeva) Jagannatha\n29. Bhaktivinode\n30. Gaurakisora\n31. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati\n32. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0044": "WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS?\n\nThe International Society for Krishna Consciousness was formed in July, 1966 by\nHis Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and a number of his\nAmerican students. ISKCON is composed of devotees. Devotees are held together by\nmutual agreement to accept the principles of bhakti-yoga or devotional service as the\ngoal of life. By mutual endeavor, the entire Society concentrates on Sri Krsna, the\nPersonality of Godhead, while engaged in various tasks, cooking, eating, working in\nan office or chanting the holy names in the city streets. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami\nis a pure devotee, and those disciples who sincerely follow his instructions have\nevery chance of becoming pure devotees themselves. The initiated devotees in each\ncenter live in urban commune settings (with the exception of New Vrndavana,\nISKCON’s asrama of homes, temples, farm land and cows in the hills of West\nVirginia), and are freeing themselves from the conditions of birth, death, disease and\nold age by fixing their minds on the eternal, joyful Personality of Godhead. To live\nin ISKCON as an initiated student, one agrees to accept four rules: no meat-eating,\nno illicit sex, no intoxicants and no gambling. The disciples perform devotional\nservice, duties and chanting in a life-routine characterized by simple living and high\nthinking.\nKrsna consciousness is experienced as a process of self-purification. Its means and\nends are an open secret, and there is no financial charge for learning Krsna\nconsciousness or receiving initiation into the chanting of Hare Krsna. The gist of\ndevotional service to Krsna is that one takes whatever capacity or talent he or she\nhas and dovetails it with the transcendental interest of the supreme enjoyer, the\nAbsolute Truth. The writer or poet writes articles and poems for Krsna, and the\nSociety publishes periodicals. The businessman does business in order to sell\nliterature and establish many temples around the world. The householders raise\nchildren in the science of God, and husband and wife live in mutual cooperation for\nspiritual progress. And everyone in ISKCON goes on sankirtana! Sankirtana means\nchanting the Hare Krsna mantra in the city streets for the benefit of all citizens.\nA.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami has said that the sankirtana party is the heart and soul of\nthe Hare Krsna movement. Therefore, in each of the twenty-five ISKCON centers,\nsankirtana is carried on several times daily, and all other activity is subsidiary. Our\nspiritual master stresses this, for we are in the line of Lord Caitanya. Caitanya\nMahaprabhu is revealed by Vedic scriptures to be Krsna Himself, come in the mood\nof a pure devotee. Five hundred years ago Lord Caitanya understood from scripture\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0045": "that in this present age of Kali (quarrel and disturbance), when mental distraction is\nhigh and almost no one is serious about spiritual perfection, chanting alone is the\nmost effective means of God realization. Following the sankirtana process chalked\nout by Lord Caitanya, the Hare Krsna movement of today takes parties of from five\nto thirty devotees, men wearing saffron robes and women wearing colorful saris. And\nthey celebrate the holy name with dancing and melodious chanting.\nThe sankirtana singing is accompanied with mrdanga drum and pairs of kartals\n(hand cymbals). The devotees experience that this joyous singing of the names of\nGod produces immediate feelings of ecstasy coming from the spiritual stratum. The\neffect is a clearing away of the dirt from the mind engrossed in the gloom of material\nexistence. Under the instruction of the spiritual master, they gladly spread this\nchanting, and in reciprocation Sri Krsna allows all to taste the nectar for which\neveryone is always anxious. Because the Personality of Godhead is absolute, His\nname is nondifferent from Himself. Therefore the Supreme Person, Krsna, the\nreservoir of pleasure, dances on the tongue of the chanter of His name; to chant and\nhear fixes the mind, in meditation, in direct contact with God. The mantra is not to\nbe mistaken for an ordinary song or anything tinged with the mundane; it is a pure\ntranscendental sound vibration of the absolute and has been upheld as such since\ntime immemorial by the great sages and Vedic scriptures. Lord Caitanya prays to the\nSupreme: “My dear Lord, You are so kind that You have invested all potency in Your\nholy name.” This absolute presence of God in His name holds true not only for the\nmembers of the sankirtana party, but for any living entity who hears the chanting;\nanyone will benefit if he simply likes the sound of the chanting, or if he appreciates\nthe presence of the sankirtana party in any way. That is the mercy of the Absolute.\nThe holy name is compared to a fire; whether one is scientifically conversant with\nall the properties of fire or knows nothing about it, if one puts his hand in fire he\nwill be burnt. Sincere chanting and hearing of the mahamantra will cleanse the\nmind and elevate one and all to the natural original position of spirit soul. Therefore\nthere is no hesitancy on the devotees’ part in going to the largest and most public\ngatherings of people and broadcasting, wherever possible, the sound of the\ntranscendental names: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare\nRama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.\nChanting takes place regularly in the main streets of cities like New York, Los\nAngeles, Boston, San Francisco, Berkeley, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington B.C.,\nHonolulu, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, etc., with new ISKCON centers being\nregularly established. The expansion of Krsna consciousness is realization of the\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0046": "prediction made by Lord Caitanya: “The chanting of Hare Krsna will be heard in\nevery town and village of the world.”\nThe Society is as famous for its Sunday feasts and festivals as for its chanting in\nthe streets. Every Sunday, in each of the ISKCON centers, a grand feast of from 10\nto 15 courses of Indian vegetarian food is prepared and distributed for guests. The\nfeasts are arranged around festival days celebrating the pastimes of Sri Krsna during\nHis appearance on the earth 5,000 years ago. Plays, puppet shows and chanting are\nregular items which invite guests to participate in the transcendental glorification of\nthe Personality of Godhead. Krsna consciousness is not a dry philosophy. Residents\nof San Francisco appreciate the yearly Ratha-yatra Festival in which the large cart\nbearing the Jagannath Deity is wheeled to the sea. During the Ratha-yatra\ncelebration of 1969, more than 15,000 people followed the regal 8,000-pound cart,\nand thousands were fed full plates of prasadam at the seaside.\nThe important aim of the festivals, chanting and philosophizing is to engage people\nin the service of the Personality of Godhead and in feeling His soothing contact. All\nmiseries are caused by forgetfulness of God, and ISKCON, by reviving the lost\nmemory of the Supreme Lord in the minds of the people, is—according to Bhagavadgita—performing the greatest service and highest welfare work for suffering\nhumanity. Moreover, it is performed in this sublime and easy way, by feasting,\ndancing, singing and philosophizing.\nSometimes in Lord Caitanya’s time, the devotees were accused by the\nimpersonalists of being mere sentimentalists because they were always singing and\ndancing. The actual fact is that Krsna consciousness is backed by a vast learned\nliterature, the Vedic scriptures such as Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Vedantasutra, the Upanisads, Mahabharata, Ramayana, etc., so that one could read 24 hours a\nday without exhausting the source. All of this Krsna consciousness information is\nunderstood by revelation. Simply by applying one’s energy in a devotional service\nattitude, the knowledge becomes known to the devotee through the heart. Classes in\nthe transcendental science of God consciousness, or bhakti-yoga, are held every\nmorning and three nights a week at all ISKCON centers, and the public is freely\ninvited to attend. The Brahma Sampradaya disciplic succession, in which A.C.\nBhaktivedanta is coming, is particularly noted for being a learned line. There is\nplenty of philosophy and logic in stock. There are many different religious\nphilosophies and transcendental teachings, but the Krsna conscious students and\nministers are unique in that they are convinced of the Personality of Godhead. Not\njust that they have heard “God is great,” but they have heard from the spiritual\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0047": "master and are continuously hearing from the scriptures just how great He is, how\nHis energies are working and exactly how He is enjoying. There is no literature of\ntheism as voluminous, exacting, consistent and clear as this Vedic literature of Krsna\nconsciousness. The conviction in service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is\ndue to direct reciprocation with Him. Simply by chanting or hearing the pastimes of\nthe Personality of Godhead, one is contacting the Absolute—and he can feel it. By\nengaging the senses, the will, words and energy, the devotees are receiving constant\ninformation from the spiritual world. Krsna Himself describes such devotees as the\ntopmost yogins and mystics, so it is no wonder that they are conversant with the\nnature of God and the way back to Godhead.\n\nToday the disciples of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami conduct sankirtana following in the\nfootsteps of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0048": "ISKCON provides formal education in the highest science, or what Bhagavad-gita\ncalls the “King of knowledge.” According to Vedic sources, education can only be\nvalid when there is spiritual knowledge or self-realization, and a man is said to have;\nno qualifications if he does not know who he is in terms of self-realization or God\nrealization. Learning the texts requires living in accordance with the scriptural\ninjunctions without the slightest deviation. The need for Krsna conscious preachers\nis very great, and it is a full-time vocation. The curriculum advances basically from\nstudent to minister; after studying and working in a temple for one year, the student\nmay be awarded the title of bhakti-sastri, or ordained minister, with further\nresponsibilities and with advancement of service. He may finally take the renounced\norder, called sannyasa, and receive the title svami.\nAs the philosophy of Krsna consciousness is nonsectarian, any man—Hindu or\nChristian—will advance in his faith by chanting the holy name of God and hearing\nthe Bhagavad-gita. Without knowledge, realization and loving service to the one\nSupreme God, there can be no religion. Let the inhabitants of this planet rejoice in\nthe sankirtana movement and live to see the fulfillment of the chanting of Hare\nKrsna carried to every town and village. Only in this way can real peace prevail in\nthe world and mankind qualify to enter into the kingdom of God.\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0049": "", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0050": ". . . available now from ISKCON PRESS\nBOOKS BY HIS DIVINE GRACE\nA.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA\n1. THE BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS (Collier-MacMillan, 1968) with appreciations\nby Allen Ginsberg, Denise Levertov and Thomas Merton\nWritten by the only mahatma (“great soul”) of India’s only unbroken and bona fide\ndisciplic succession in the West, this is the most authoritative edition of the Science\nof God realization ever published. 318 pp., $2.95\n2. TEACHINGS OF LORD CAITANYA-A Treatise on Factual Spiritual Life\n(ISKCON PRESS, 1968)\nThis book tells the remarkable life and teachings of Lord Caitanya whose Sankirtana\nMovement first swept India 500 years ago and now the West. The most advanced\nand authentic knowledge about God realization of all the world’s scriptures is\ncontained in this book.\n290 pp., llpp. illustrations, hardbound, $5.95\n3. SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM of KRSNA-DVAIPAYANA VYASA-translated with\nelaboratecommentary.(League of Devotees, Delhi, India, 1961-63)\nA masterwork which presents the Absolute Truth, our relation to Him, and our duty\nin perfecting human society on the basis of this knowledge. 3 volumes, 1200 pages,\nCanto One, “16.95\n4. SRI ISOPANISAD—The knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme\nPersonality of Godhead, Krsna. (ISKCON PRESS, 1970)\nFrom the most authoritative sources, the famed 108 Upanisads of India, Sri\nIsopanisad supplies revealed evidence that the Personality of Godhead is the creator,\nmaintainer and destroyer of everything that exists. 138pp., $1.00\n5. EASY JOURNEY TO OTHER PLANETS (ISKCON, 1970)\nFocusing on our natural desire and blissful life and on the recent quest to travel to\nother planets, this book gives an authentic presentation of the bhakti-yoga process by\nwhich one can actually fulfill these desires. 48 pp., $.50\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0051": "6. BACKTOGODHEAD-The Magazine of the Hare Krsna Movement\nThe only magazine in the West to present each month the authorized\ntranscendental science of God realization and the progress of the Hare Krsna\nSankirtana Movement as it spreads throughout the towns and cities of the world.\n(Available only by subscription.)\n32 pp., monthly, $5.00 per year ($6.00 foreign)\n\nRECORDS\n7. GOVINDA ALBUM (33-1/3 rpm)\nTranscendental sound vibrations in raise of Lord Krsna first uttered millions of years\nago by Lord Brahma, creator of the universe, now recorded by His Divine Grace,\naccompanied by sarod and tampura. stereo $5.00\n8. HARE KRSNA ALBUM (33-1/3rpm)\nAn actual kirtana service recorded live in 1968 at San Francisco’s Radha Krsna\nTemple. Also, Vande Hum and Krsna Caitanya. monaural $3.00\n9. HARE KRSNA MANTRA (45 rpm)\nRecorded by London’s Radha Krsna Temple and produced by Beatle George\nHarrison on the Apple label (no. 1810) stereo $1.25\n10. HARE KRSNA(45 rpm)\nRecorded by the Los Angeles Sankirtana Party in a new transcendental\narrangement, stereo $1.00\n11. JAPA-IVIALA PRAYER BEADS\nSacred tulasi wood beads strung by devotees in Vrndavana, India, for mantra\nmeditation. $3.00 each\nCloth protective bags for beads, large size, double-ply. $2.00 each\nTulasi wood counter-beads for marking rounds. $.50 each\nComplete set of above three japa-mala items. $5.00\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0052": "from\n\nKRSNA THE RESERVOIR OF PLEASURE\n\n“All of us, every living being seeks pleasure. But we do not know how to seek\npleasure perfectly. With a materialistic concept of life, we are frustrated at every\nstep in satisfying our pleasure because we have no information regarding the real\nlevel on which to have real pleasure But in the transcendental, absolute world there\nis no difference between Krsna’s name, Krsna’s quality, Krsna’s word—everything is\nKrsna and provides the highest satisfaction.”\n\nfrom\n\nWHO IS CRAZY?\n\n“The peace for which you are hankering in life after life, moment after moment—\nthat you’11 get at that time when your desires are purified and dovetailed with the\nLord’s. One who desires sense gratification, the enjoyment of material satisfaction,\nwill never be happy. That is not possible. If you want peace, if you want happiness, if\nyou want perfection in your life, then just begin to dovetail your desires, activities\nand potential with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then you will see what real\nhappiness is and will be able to tell who is really crazy.”\n\nfrom\n\nINTRODUCTION TO THE BHAGAVAD-GITA AS IT IS\n\n“Bhagavad-gita gives us the opportunity to leave this material world and go to that\neternal existence in the eternal abode of the Lord . . . Krsna advises Arjuna not\nsimply to go on remembering Him and give up his material duty. The Lord never\nsuggests anything impractical. To maintain the material body one has to work. The\nLord advises us not to give up work, but to remember Him always, along with the\nstruggle for existence. This is Krsna consciousness. Unless one does this, it is not\npossible to go to the Lord.”\n\nISKCON PRESS\n38 NORTH BEACON STREET\nBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS\n\n", "KRSNA-the-Reservoir-of-Pleasure-1970#p0053": ""}