Sri Krishna Kathamrita

Tav k QaaMa*Ta& TaáJaqvNaMa( tava kathāmta tapta-jīvanam BBBiiinnndududu Issue No. 101 Fortnightly email mini-magazine from Gopal Jiu Publications 20 April 2005 Śrī Kāmadā Ekādaśī, 26 Viu, 518 Gaurābda Circulation 1,517

• OUR MOST IMPORTANT WEAPONS His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada • PURE DEVOTEES AND MATERIALISTIC SOCIETY Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode • BOOK DISTRIBUTION IS NOT MUNDANE BUSINESS Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja • THE IMPORTANCE OF CHASTITY Highlights Highlights Adapted from Padma Purāa Uttara-khaa 206.5-63 PAGE ONE TOP COLLUMN TWO

OUR MOST IMPORTANT WEAPONS The swanlike vaiavas valiantly remain and work among men. They are the shelter of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta women, and are respected by them. They take Swami Prabhupada part in social activities and gain much expe- I am so glad to know that you and the others rience. They teach their children artha-śāstra, at ISKCON Press are doing such won- and thus become known as headmasters. derful service with these books and (Śrī Krishna-sahitā, chapter 10/13) magazines. These books and maga- — Sundarananda Vidyavinode. Bhaktivinode-vāī-vaibhava. zines are our most important pro- English translation by Bhumipati Das. Touchstone Media. paganda weapons to defeat the ig- Vrindavan. 2002. norance of Maya’s army. The more THE TEMPLE INSIDE THE we produce such literature and sell them pro- fusely all over the world, the more we shall de- BOOKS AND DEVOTEES liver the world from the suicide course. So your Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada work is the most important preaching work. called his printing press Bhat Mdā ga (the big May Krishna bless you more and more. Thank clay drum). During sa kīrtan, the sound of the you for helping me in this way. ordinary clay drum (mdā ga) can be heard only — Letter to Jayadvaita, 18 November 1972. in the immediate vicinity. But the divine mes- PURE DEVOTEES AND sage of Sriman Mahaprabhu can be spread all over the world through the publication of books. MATERIALISTIC SOCIETY At the opening ceremony of the Bagbazar Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode Gaudiya Math, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said, Do swanlike persons engage only in spiritual “... to establish internal hari-bhajan in this activities and neglect material activities? No. world, quite a few books have to be written Swanlike persons worship Krishna in the mood and published. The temple which is within of one who is enjoyed, and they boldly take care the books and the temple which is within the of the external body. Eating, sleeping, enjoying, devotees are more important than the temple traveling, exercising, protecting society, protect- built with bricks and stones, because by con- ing the body, riding in vehicles, engaging in in- structing such temples, hari-kathā can be dustrial enterprises, and walking in the open preached in this world much longer.” air are seen in the lives of swanlike persons. Srila Saraswati Prabhupada had among his (Śrī Krishna-sahitā, chapter 10/12) disciples a very talented team of writers and editors next column ))) ))) Issue One hundred one, Page — 2 é[q k* ZBhakti Rakshak Sridhar is a ghastha? If he goes out and sells Bhāgavata Maharaja, Srimad Bhakti Pradip Tirtha Maharaja, or Krishna consciousness literatures to support and Sripad Pranavananda Pratnaviyalankar (later his family, is that the same? Is that cheating? Srimad Bhakti Pramod Puri Maharaja). Gour Govinda Swami: You should under- After the disappearance of Srila Saraswati stand. A devotee, a vaiava, if he is a family man, Prabhupada, another name would be added his family is not an ordinary family. All of the to this list, that of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta members of his family are vaiavas. All of the Swami Maharaja, who published beautifully relationships among them — husband and wife, designed English translations of Bhagavad-gītā father and son, friend and friend, master and (as Bhagavad-gītā As It Is), Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, servant — must be based on a relationship with Śrī Bhakti-rasāmta sindhu (as Nectar of Devo- Krishna. This is a vaiava family, sādhu-sasāra. tion), and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmta. These books Thereby he shows the public how to have a would capture the hearts of thousands of Krishna conscious household life and not a ma- people all over the world. terialistic or illusory family life. Kera-sasāra, — Page 36 from Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur. Mandala and not māyāra-sasāra. So that ghastha- Publishing. Eugene, Oregon. 1997. vaiava, householder devotee, must do some BOOK DISTRIBUTION IS NOT business for the service of Krishna or the main- tenance of the devotees of Krishna. It is not for MUNDANE BUSINESS his sense gratification. This is a ghī-vaiava. He Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja is not an ordinary householder. He is vaiava. Devotee: It is often said that one should not Devotee: As long as he is following the make a business out of the Bhāgavatam. If principles. materialistic persons heard that, they could Gour Govinda Swami: Yes. He never does easily look at us and say this whole ISKCON anything for his own sense gratification. He society is based on selling Bhāgavata. It seems does everything for the gratification of the we are contradictory to our own preaching. senses of Krishna. He is a vaiava, but general Gour Govinda Swami: Devotees sell the people cannot understand it. In order to teach Bhāgavata book and thereby they give opportu- them, a vaiava becomes a ghastha. By doing nity to people to serve Krishna or serve a pure so, he shows how to maintain a family in devotee, vaiava. They take money from people Krishna consciousness. He shows how to make in exchange for the Bhāgavatam and they uti- all the members of the family ka-bhaktas, how lize that money in the service of guru, vaiava to serve Krishna. In other words, how to have and Krishna, and not for their sense gratifica- Krishna conscious family life, ka-sasāra. tion. Such devotees are not vyavasāyīs, business- “You have been doing māyā-sasāra, but now men. But Bhāgavata–vyavasāyīs, so-called do ka-sasāra.” Therefore, a sādhu becomes pandits who speak on the Bhāgavata for money, a ghastha to teach this thing. and who upon obtaining that money use it for — Lecture, Bhubaneswar, 23 September 1989. sense gratification — they are doing sinful ac- tivity. Devotees never do that. Their selling the THE IMPORTANCE OF CHASTITY Bhāgavatam is not a profession, a business. They Adapted from Padma Purāa are distributing mercy. My Guru Maharaja Srila Uttara-khaa 206.5-63 Prabhupada said, “If someone simply gives money and takes Bhāgavata, even if he never In his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 1.40, His Di- reads it, if he just keeps it in his house, then he vine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami gets benefit, because Bhāgavata is non-different Prabhupada has written: from Krishna — ka tulya bhāgavata.” Krishna Good population in human society is the basic prin- and His vāī are non-different. So if he keeps ciple for peace, prosperity and spiritual progress in life. Krishna in his house, then the day will come The varāśrama religion’s principles were so designed ))) ))) TopSri leftKrishna-kathamrita 3 Bindu top right 3 Issue One hundred one, Page — 3 that the good population would prevail in society for brāhmaa has fascinated our wives. They no the general spiritual progress of state and community. longer remain in their houses. They cannot be Such population depends on the chastity and faithful- stopped by us. O lord, if this one who infatuates ness of its womanhood. As children are very prone to be all women continues to live in this city, then to- misled, women are similarly very prone to degrada- day we shall all depart to other countries. O lord tion. Therefore, both children and women require pro- of men, we, abandoned by fortune, have no other tection by the elder members of the family. shelter than you. Our wives follow him as fe- The following story narrated by Narada Muni male elephants follow their lord. How can the to King Sibi from the Padma Purāa nicely il- goddess of fortune remain in a vacant house? lustrates this point: Piety, wealth and home all depend upon the pi- In Kampilya there was a certain brāhmaa ety of the wife. If she is gone, all three are lost.” who looked as though he were Cupid per- The wives of the citizens then came before the sonified. By his beauty and behavior, he at- king, sat, and began to speak to one another. tracted the hearts of all women. Skilled in the “Upon seeing the charming form of this science of music, his voice was sweet like that brāhmaa, our minds open like lotus flowers do of a cuckoo. That intelligent brāhmaa moved upon seeing the lord of the day, the sun, and about the city, playing a lute and singing. they close in his absence just as the white lotuses Hearing his sweet singing, the wives of the close without the moon. Come, together we shall citizens abandoned their domestic work and seize and take this brāhmaa before the king. He went to him. Fascinated by his handsome is not fit to be killed, nor are we. What will the form, they could not bear the force of lust. king do?” Saying so, they hurriedly seized that Hearing his song, they became disturbed. best of the brāhmaas, in front of the king, while What self-controlled and wise person is able their own husbands were watching. They said to conquer Cupid, who created a longing to that brāhmaa, “O lord of our minds, come to for Saraswati in the mind of Brahma, and our house, and quickly pacify the agony torment- caused half of Shiva’s body to be given to ing our hearts. We cannot live without you.” Parvati? Moreover, women are fickle by na- The brāhmaa replied, “I am your son and you ture. Even the chaste ones are unable to tol- are my mothers. Leaving your homes, why are erate the excitement caused by Cupid. Cu- you wandering about? Serve your husbands. pid is very difficult to conquer in this world. When their husbands are properly served, wives Wherever that handsome brāhmaa went, enjoy both the material and spiritual worlds, and singing and playing the lute, those ladies fol- Vishnu, the lord of the gods, is pleased. When lowed. Their husbands, sons, brothers, and fa- the husband is pleased, what is difficult to ob- thers came there, and threatening them, took tain? A woman who forsakes her husband and them back to their homes. When the ladies again resorts to another man with a desire for enjoy- approached that brāhmaa, the citizens reported ment, invites censure and goes to a fearful hell. everything to their king. The king called that She, the deceiver of her husband, lives there un- brāhmaa and asked him in private, “O best til the end of the kalpa. After that, she attains the brāhmaa, tell me by what charm you have fas- state of an inanimate object. Then she takes birth cinated the women in the city. Answer and I as a beast for many lives. Following that, she is shall give you much wealth. Otherwise I shall born as a cripple. Understanding the sinful re- drive you out of my kingdom.” actions for this behavior, turn away from Cu- Hearing these words of the king, that best pid. Otherwise, at the end of your lives you will brāhmaa, the ocean of handsomeness and vir- go to a very fearful hell. You will not obtain the tues, spoke to him true words. “O king, I, a pleasure that you desire from me.” beggar, have neither a charm nor an herb. Hearing his words and seeing the faces of their All of the women in your city have no con- husbands, those ladies hung their heads with trol over their senses. It is they who upon see- shame like creepers struck by a stormy wind. ing my handsome form and hearing my songs The terrible fire of lust of the women of the city cannot tolerate the force of lust. O great king, was extinguished by the cold water of the words what can I do? What is my fault? of that brāhmaa. Condemning Cupid as one At that time all of the assembled citizens ap- who bewilders even gods like Brahma and Indra, proached the king and said, “O king, this they all got up and walked away. ))) ))) é[q k* ZHanuman, occupying the banner of her womb, who eats the moon of the good char- the chariot of Vishnu. Again they were born as acter of women? If that cruel god comes within demonesses on the path to Maru. They were the range of our sight again, we shall throw him oppressed by hunger and thirst, and caused fear into the fire of the third eye of lord Shiva. That at their sight. Thus due to their sins committed cruel one made Vishnu the lover of sixteen thou- by speech and mind, they had to undergo two sand women. What then can be said about us?” births as demonesses. Due to their sin the two Having thus censured Cupid, the women cities [Kampilya and the city of the demon praised that best brāhmaa who preserved his Bhishan] along with their kings were destroyed. own character and theirs also. “Blessed is the Therefore, women, fearing sin, should never mother who gave birth to this excellent brāhmaa, resort to another lover even through speech or who vanquished Cupid and preserved the vir- mind. Women desiring salvation should not tue of others! Fie upon us who were laughed at desert their husband even if he is diseased, dull, by the king’s men, who were vanquished by poor or blind. This story thus describes the great Cupid, and by whom great sins were commit- sin produced by devotion to another man by ted through speech and mind!” Thinking thus, means of speech or mind and the fruit of this the ladies returned to their respective homes. The sin obtained by these women. Finally, after re- king of Kampilya then honored that brāhmaa ceiving drops of sacred water from Dwarka on with garments and ornaments. their heads, these women were freed from the Shortly after that, the powerful king of Karusha bodies of rākasīs, corpse-eaters, and obtained attacked Kampilya with his armies. A great war the forms of heavenly damsels. took place in which the king of Kampilya was Yet our ācāryas have described that not all killed. The king of Karusha plundered the entire unchaste women are to be condemned. Srila city and the citizens were killed everywhere. The Viswanath Chakravarti Thakur writes in his women of that city drank kālakū a poison and purport to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.47.59: died. Those ladies had not yet atoned for their There are three types of adulterous women. The first is a sins of lusting after the brāhmaa. As a result, woman who enjoys both her husband and a lover, being ))) faithful to neither. Both ordinary society and the scrip- tures condemn this conduct. The second type of adulter- ous woman is she who abandons her husband to enjoy SRI KRISHNA KATHAMRITA BINDU only with her lover. Society and the scriptures also con- A free bi-monthly service provided by: demn this behavior, although such a fallen woman may Gopal Jiu Publications be said to at least have the good quality of dedicating c/o Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir herself to a single man. The last kind of adulterous woman National Highway No. 5, IRC Village is she who abandons her husband and enjoys in the atti- Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, 751015 tude of being a lover of the Supreme Lord alone. Srila Phone: (0674) 2553250, 2557026 Viswanath Chakravarti explains that although the fool- Email: [email protected] ish, common people criticize this position, such behavior Website: www.gopaljiu.org is commended by those who are wise in spiritual science. Subscriptions: [email protected] Therefore, learned members of society and the revealed scriptures praise such single-minded devotion to the Lord. Gopal Jiu Publications is a branch of the Inter- Such was the gopīs’ behavior. Thus the term vyabhicāra- national Society for Krishna Consciousness, duā , “corrupted by deviation,” indicates the appar- Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. ent resemblance between the gopīs’ behavior and that of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. ordinary adulterous women.  Quotations from the books, letters, and lectures of His Bibliography Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada — Krishna Dvaipayan Vyasadev. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. English translation ©Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. All other mate- and commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta rials, unless specified, © ISKCON Bhubaneswar/Gopal Book Trust. Bombay. 1995. Jiu Publications. All rights reserved. Blanket permission is — Krishna Dvaipayan Vyasadev. Padma Purāa. English translation. Motilal given to redistribute Bindu in electronic or print form pro- Banarshidass. 1990. Delhi. vided no changes are made to the contents. — Krishna Dvaipayan Vyasadev. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. English translation and commentary by the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Los Angeles. 1985.