Jayadvaita Swami

Commenting on a verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.25.41), in which a young woman accepts the sexual advances of a king, Srila Prabhupada says, "A man is always famous for his aggression toward a beautiful woman, and such aggression is sometimes considered rape. Although rape is not legally allowed, it is a fact that a woman likes a man who is very expert at rape." Understandably, this comment has raised questions. What is Srila Prabhupada saying? In 1999 a woman in the Hare Krishna community wrote me about this. Here is the reply I gave. Thank you for your letter, regarding Srila … [Read more...] about “Expert at rape”

In the last couple of weeks I've lost three old friends and colleagues: Suhotra Dasa Tapovanacari, Puru Dasa, and Muktakesa Dasa. All three have now, as we say, left this world. (The prosaic world just usually says "died.") Some time back, Muktakesa, always generous, had seen I wasn't wearing a watch, so he gave me one (a pretty fancy Seiko). And since sannyasis are sometimes known for not holding on to things, he made me promise not to give it away. I used to see him in New Vrindaban, where he was running a program to offer spiritual help to prisoners in different parts of America who'd … [Read more...] about More farewells

Shabda Hari Dasa, a Krishna devotee working in the Persian Gulf, is professionally employed making ringtones for mobile phones. In his off hours he also makes ringtones to remind one of Krishna. He has sent me some, and I'm posting them here. He says they should work for most phones. You can transfer them to your phone, he says, by data cable, bluetooth, or infrared. Now here are the tones: Panca_Tattva Mantra Nrsimha Arati Nama_Om Vishnupadaya Jaya_Radha_Madhava Gaura_Arati Damodara arati PC users, you can click on a tone to play it or right click to get the option to … [Read more...] about Ring! Ring! Hare Krishna!

A few days ago I learned of the death on February 8 of Ian Stevenson, M.D., the world's leading researcher of cases in which children appear to remember a previous life. Dr. Stevenson, for many years Carlson Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, was the founder and director of the university's Division of Personality Studies (now known as the Division of Perceptual Studies). His more than forty years of research, analysis, and publication raised increasingly difficult problems for those who assume that consciousness cannot possibly survive bodily death. Modern … [Read more...] about In Memoriam: Ian Stevenson, M.D.

Bless this house, O Lord, we pray. Make it safe by night and day. Bless our humble vestibule, Bless the TV, bless the pool. Bless our silly little notions. Bless our week's supply of Trojans. Bless, oh bless the internet. Bless our liquor cabinet. Bless our kitchen, for it features Places where we roast Thy creatures, Bake them, broil them, nuke them, fry them. Blessed Lord, please sanctify them While we're scarfing down their wings, livers, legs, and other things-- Breasts and tongues and blood galore, Bless them, Lord, forevermore. Bless the toilets where we … [Read more...] about Bless this House

Here's a neat word for you: kakistocracy. It means "government by the worst persons." The word, which dates back to the 1820s, derives from the Greek word kakistos (worst). The Oxford English Dictionary offers a quotation from James Russell Lowell: "Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a Kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?" Good question. Long ago, Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.1.40) told of the rogues who would take hold of the governments of the world in Kali-yuga, the present Age of Quarrel: asamskrtah kriya-hina rajasa … [Read more...] about Getting Free from Being Governed by Knaves

This past week in Vrindaban, one of my godbrothers reminded me of this verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.42): sva-pada-mulam bhajatah priyasya tyaktanya-bhavasya harih paresah vikarma yac cotpatitam kathancid dhunoti sarvam hrdi sannivistah "One who has given up everything and taken full shelter at the lotus feet of Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is very dear to the Lord. Therefore, if such a surrendered soul accidentally commits some sinful acts, the Lord, who is seated within everyone's heart, at once takes away the reaction to such sins." The leaders of any Vaishnava … [Read more...] about More about Saints and Sinners