Back to Godhead Magazine #34-02, 2000
Articles
WelcomeIn this issue of Back to Godhead, two articles deal with the history of the Hare Kṛṣṅa movement. Because we are all spiritual beings with an eternal relationship with Kṛṣṅa, or God, the essence of the Hare Kṛṣṅa movementLettersReady to Subscribe The special Māyāpur issue [Nov./Dec. 1999] was fantastic! I’m ready to subscribe now. Mādhavānanda Dāsa Los Angeles, California Top of the Line I want you to know you’re top of the line with me and my Rise Above Animal ConsciousnessIf we pursue only bodily happiness and fail to inquire into the cause of our suffering, are we any better than the animals? Adapted from a lecture given in Buffalo, New York on April 23, 1969 By His Divine Grace A.C. BhaNatural Wealth from the CowMutual respect between man and animal is the key to a community’s economic base. Text by Lavaṅgalatikā Devī Dāsī JAYA RĀDHE, a young cow with her first calf, Nandinī, walks proudly. It seems she knows she’s a descendant In Memoriam—Śrīla Bhakti Pramod Purī MahārājaŚrīla Bhakti Pramod Purī Mahārāja passed away in Jagannātha Purī last November 22. Purī Mahārāja had been the oldest living disciple of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.The Light of the GītāA summary of the Bhagavad-gītā—Part 1 BHAGAVAD-GĪTĀ means “the song [gītā] of God [Bhagavān].” Readers the world over revere the Bhagavad-gītā as the most important book of the Vedic literature—the vast body of Sanskrit Divisions of the Vedic LiteratureŚruti (revealed writings, or “that which is heard”) I. The four Veda Saṁhitās: Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur, and Atharva II. Brāhmaṅas III. Āraṅyakas IV. Upaniṣads (more than 108 books) Smṛti (tradition, or “that which is remembered”Śrī Caitanya in the VedasThe Śrī Caitanya Upaniṣad, excerpted by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura from the Atharva Veda Translated by Kuśakratha Dāsa In honor of Gaura Pūrṅimā (March 20), the anniversary of the appearance five hundred years ago of ŚrīThe Root of AngerA therapist draws on Lord Kṛṣṅa's teachings to help a child control his rage. By Arcana-siddhī Devī Dāsī THE HOSPITAL ROOM SMELLS strongly of antiseptic as I walk in. Chris sits on his bed, immersed in rapidly pushing buGod and the Absolute TruthOn reading Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, a graduate student of theology knew he had found something first-class. By Ravīndra Svarūpa Dāsa The following is an abridged lecture given last year at ISKCON’s first center—26 SeconŚrīla Prabhupāda Speaks Out“You Can Pronounce Kṛṣṅa In Any Way” Here we continue an exchange between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda and the poet Allen Ginsberg. It took place on May 12, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Allen GinsbergAbhay Charan—The Television Serial on Śrīla Prabhupāda's LifeAbhay Charan— The Television Serial on Śrīla Prabhupāda's Life by Śyāmānanda Kṛṣṅa Dāsa IN 1996, MEMBERS OF the International Society for Krishna Consciousness celebrated the centennial of the movement’s founder, His DivA Ruler’s QuandaryIn the sixteenth century, the Muslim governor of Bengal loses two of his best men to the recently founded Hare Kṛṣṅa movement. by Mathureśa Dāsa NAWAB HUSSAIN SHAH,* who ruled Bengal from A.D. 1509 to 1532, had two experThe Writings of Rupa and Sanatana GosvāmīsŚrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (“The Ocean of the Nectar of Devotion”) A comprehensive explanation of devotional service to the Lord. (The summary study by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Passing from Darkness to LightRemarks by the former editor of BTG at a rite of passage for his nephew, Liam Golightley, on Liam’s thirteenth birthday. by Jayādvaita Swami I CONGRATULATE YOU, Liam, on this rite of passage. And I invite you, Liam, justFrom the EditorHow God is Great ŚRĪLA PRABHUPĀDA WOULD often say that from the Vedic literature we learn not only that God is great but in what ways He is great. Before coming to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, I had only a vague idea of God. NowVedic ThoughtsThe need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to