Srila Prabhupada had planted the seed of Krsna consciousness in the fertile ground of New York’s Lower East Side and seen it take root and flourish. But when he came to San Francisco, his International Society for Krishna Consciousness truly began to blossom.
Since behind the logic of artificial intelligence there must be a programmer, a director, what is the sense in saying that behind the logic of natural intelligence there is no purpose, no director? That is our challenge.
When I met devotees of Lord Krsna for the first time, in 1969, I still believed that art could change the world without recourse to transcendent realities.
An astrologer did a horoscope for the child, and the family was made jubilant by the auspicious reading. The astrologer made a specific prediction: When this child reached the age of seventy, he would cross the ocean, become a great exponent of religion, and open 108 temples.
Though some of the New York disciples had objected, Srila Prabhupada was still scheduled for the Mantra-Rock Dance at the Avalon Ballroom. It wasn’t proper, they had said, for the devotees out in San Francisco to ask their spiritual master to go to such a place.
For thousands of years devotees of Lord Krsna have journeyed to Jagannatha Puri in India to take part in the annual celebration called Ratha-yatra, “The Festival of the Chariots.”
By speculation Aristotle may have known something about God, but our point is that we can know everything about God from God Himself. This is not a question of “religion.” It is simply a matter of the best process to know God.
“Probability is the most important concept in modern science, especially as nobody has the slightest idea what it means.”—Bertrand Russell
During the two months spent at 26 Second Avenue, Srila Prabhupada had achieved what had formerly been only a dream. He now had a temple, a duly registered society, full freedom to preach, and a band of initiated disciples.
Our lines are jammed from midnight to 6 A.M. An important reason for the show’s success is that we touch on real issues and give practical solutions. We go into detail about everything from medicine to meditation, from international policy to the economy, abortion, and natural foods.
Maharaja Pariksit, the great king of the entire world, was cursed by a brahmana to meet death from the bite of a serpent within seven days. When he was informed of the curse he at once left his palatial home and went to the bank of the Ganges to prepare for his impending death.
“All reputable evolutionary biologists now agree that the evolution of life is directed by the process of natural selection, and by nothing else.” With these words Sir Julian Huxley summed up the consensus of learned opinion at the Darwin Centennial Celebration in 1959.
On a small press Srila Prabhupada’s disciples printed the first BACK TO GODHEAD magazine, one hundred copies, and then distributed them by bicycle.
Srila Prabhupada’s message to the world was not one of artificial renunciation but of devotion. Whatever you may be—family man, businessman, professional—add Krsna to your life and be happy. Business, after all, is an essential element of society.
I have come to England especially here to your home to explain Krsna consciousness. It is very beneficial. You are intelligent boys. So my request to you is that you try to understand this Krsna consciousness philosophy with all your powers of reason and argument.
Recently I was reading one of the many new books by women who feel they should make their miserable plight known to the world. The book read like a horror story. It told how nuptial love becomes a nightmare of neglect and abuse.
Shortly after founding the first Krsna conscious temple in the West, Srila Prabhupada organized the first Vedic marriage ceremony, replete with fire sacrifice, garlands, exotic foods, and an intimation of the worldwide mission soon to follow.
Attempts to establish equality among all people are naive and superficial unless supported by spiritual understanding. Materially, we are not equal. Some people are geniuses; others are fools.
Srila Prabhupada often translates dharma simply as “religion.” But he indicates that he uses this particular translation for convenience and for want of a better single English term, and he expresses dissatisfaction with a translation that could be misleading.
The President was informed that the earth and life on it are slowly dying. And that’s putting it euphemistically. The outlook is bleak. The report, entitled “Global 2000,” paints a landscape of a wasteland that makes T. S. Eliot’s portrait paradisal.