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February 2003

Who is Lord Caitanya?

You may have asked yourself this question before, particularly if you've visited the Hare Krishna temple in Watford and seen paintings or murtis of a golden figure with His arms raised. You will have heard of Krishna's famous promise: that He appears in every age to bring sanatana-dharma, whenever it has been lost or is threatened. Krishna comes in many incarnations throughout the ages. Each incarnation comes in a different form, and speaks a relevant message, just suitable to the age. All the histories of the incarnations are given in the Bhagavat-Purana, or Srimad Bhagavatam, and it is in this sacred book that we can discover the identity of Lord Caitanya.

The Srimad Bhagavatam opens up with a group of saints assembled in a deep forest. It is 5,000 years ago, some years after the great battle of Kurukshetra, and they are concerned about the future of the world. Lord Sri Krishna has recently departed and the difficult Age of Kali, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy, has just begun. "People in the coming age will have short lives," they predict, "They will be quarrelsome, lazy when it comes to their spiritual life, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed. What is the absolute and ultimate good for the spiritual well-being of people in general in this age?"

Suta Goswami, the respectable elder of the assembly, replies: "The supreme dharma is that by which loving devotional service to Lord Krishna can be achieved." He explains that the state of devotion can be awakened by hearing about Krishna, and begins to explain the entire history of all the incarnations. After his long and poetic narration, lasting over a week, he concludes that even though living in the Age of Kali is extremely troublesome, there is still one good quality: simply by chanting the Hare-Krishna maha mantra, one can achieve complete freedom and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom of Krishna. He further explains, rather mysteriously, that: "In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform sankirtan, or congregational chanting, to worship the incarnation who constantly sings the name of Krishna. Although He is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His confidential companions."

An incarnation of Krishna who constantly sings the name of Krishna - His own name? This puzzle is solved if we understand that Krishna can sometimes appear as His own devotee. If the dharma for the age is devotion to Krishna by chanting of Krishna's holy name, then the incarnation for the age will appear as a devotee. And when Krishna comes as His own devotee His divine identity will be hidden from the public. Thus he will remain undetected, except by those who know the secret. This is Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the golden avatara who comes to this world, along with His companions, to mercifully inaugurate the yuga dharma, the chanting of the holy names of Krishna.

Celebrations for the appearance of Sri Chaitanya will take place on 18 March with a special public festival at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Sunday,16th March.

A Slice of Life

by Mick Tredgett

I write this article not so much for those who are already experienced in the chanting of the Holy Names but rather for those devotees who, like myself, have recently arrived at Krishna consciousness.

When we first come to the chanting of the Maha-mantra there is a tendency to be a bit overawed by the importance of what we are about to do, and despite our best intentions we stumble on the words and the chanting is not very good. In an attempt to improve our chanting of the HARE KRISHNA mantra I would like to share with you what I have found useful in my practice.

Obviously, the best time for chanting is in the early morning, when other devotees are also chanting. However, before you begin your chanting, give yourself a bit of space and take about ten really deep breaths. Set yourself the number of rounds you can cope with and aim for quality and not quantity. Have a card with the words of the Pancha Tattva mantra and the Maha Mantra written on it so you can refer to it while chanting. Have some water for drinking nearby.

Try to develop a rhythm to your chanting and cultivate a sweet mellow tone to your voice. Think of it this way, if you wanted to make a dedication of love to your earthly partner, how would you do it? Would you go out into a busy street and shout out in harsh tones, 'I love you'? No, you would wait for the right time and place and whisper to your beloved 'I love you' in sweet tender tones. So why not treat Krishna the same? Chant His names with love in your heart for Him.You will instinctively know when the chant is right and you will be not only chanting with your voice but your whole body, mind and senses.

As you become proficient in chanting, be prepared to expect various sensations and moods stirring within. Do not be alarmed, and don't go dashing to the doctor for medication; he couldn't give you anything to cure it. No, it is a sign that at last the transcendental vibrations are clearing away the dross of many births of material conditioning from your heart and mind. Perfection will come eventually; be very patient and when it arrives you will know that this nectar of devotion we all read and hear about in the scriptures is not an illusion but an absolute reality.

Most of all, for the perfection of chanting the MAHA MANTRA we should always follow the instruction of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu which is to chant the Holy Name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself to be lower than the straw in the street. He said that one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others: 'In such a state of mind one can chant the Holy Name of the Lord constantly.' May Krishna's blessings be bestowed upon you and your chanting of His Names.

Mick Tredgett is a retired police officer living in Waltham Cross, Essex.

What's New?

Angels in heaven wear saris - or so it seems from the video to Gareth Gates offering for Comic Relief. Spirit in the Sky is performed with a bit of Bollywood-style dancing together with unlikely guests The Kumars at No. 42. Rumour has it that Mother Kumar drops in Krishna's name too. Thanks Ma!

Kripamoya took part in a Radio 4 discussion on modern wedding ceremonies. The programme "Beyond Belief" can be heard on:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/tv_radio/beyond_belief/archive.shtml

Regarding Vedic/Hindu weddings, crisp-eating Gary Lineker will be featuring in a new advertisement that sees him the recipient of an Indian bride at an overly kitsch Hindu wedding. The film makers contacted this newsletter's editor to check whether some scenes would be considered offensive to religious viewers. We thanked them for their sensitivity. In Germany and New Zealand, as reported in the following stories, there was no such consideration:

A German company is producing paper tissues printed in colour with a picture of Krishna's face. These are tissues clearly designed for wiping your nose. Branded as Sniff tissues in packs of six, they are on sale in Britain through speciality gift shops. Vaishnavas are exasperated once more at the mindless use of sacred imagery. For many people in the west, the image of Krishna is simply a colourful eastern icon, but for a practising vaishnava the form of Krishna is Krishna Himself and is due reverence.

Krishna's eternal form is real, not an arbitrary image conjured up by a poet or an artist. Because Krishna is omnipresent, whenever His form is represented in material elements that element ceases to be material. It would be unthinkable for devotees of Krishna to touch the Deity on the altar with dirty hands, and certainly using tissues printed with either the name or the form of Krishna would be considered an offence. The company has issued an apology but has refused to either stop printing or selling the items.

Its not the first time that this sort of thing has happened. Previously we've seen Clarks Shoes name their cow-leather summer sandals "Vishnu" (we managed to put a stop to it before they reached the shops); and then there was the matter of images of Ganesh and Laxmi on American toilet seats (of all things!). While we do like to see Krishna's image being employed in ways that will attract people to Him, and we have less of a problem with images on T-shirts, a respectful line has to be drawn somewhere. ISKCON and the National Council for Hindu Temples will continue to campaign for the appropriate use of sacred images.

Down under in New Zealand, Hare Krishna devotees are demanding a television advertisement for meat be taken off the air because they say it ridicules their religion. They have made a formal complaint over the NZ Beef and Lamb Marketing Bureau advertisement, which features a group of butchers dancing, singing and chanting along a street.The Hare Krishnas argue it is a clear imitation of their chants. "Chanting is traditionally taken to public on the street and it is a serious activity not to be ridiculed," says Hare Krishna spokesperson Jaya Shila. As vegetarians, the association with meat has angered them even more. "The unnecessary killing of animals is against our basic belief," Shila says. But NZ Beef and Lamb says the Krishnas will just have to get used to the campaign.

"The concept is that butchers are jolly, happy characters, they're extroverted and here's a shot of them dancing down the street singing the benefits of red meat," says spokesman Rod Slater. "It's as simple as that. We're not pulling the ads, they're not meant to be offensive... there's more in the series to come and we can't wait for that to happen." The Hare Krishnas have contacted lawyers and complained to the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA will consider whether the advertisement causes serious or widespread offence, a decision that will take about a month.

Community Chronicle

Krishnadharma das, his wife Cintamani dasi, and children Madhva, Radhika and Janaki have moved from Manchester down south to Radlett. Krishnadharma and his wife have been in Manchester for 16 years where they have been serving as leaders of the devotee community there. Krishnadharma will continue to write and is currently working on a book of stories from the Panchatantra for children. Purusottama and wife Rukmini have a son. Their first-born, Kavi, came into the world in January.

Comment

When Sheikh Abu Hamza, the Muslim cleric recently ousted from Finsbury Park Mosque, described the disintegration of the Columbia space shuttle as the actions of an angry God, he provoked widespread scorn and outrage. His labelling of the Jewish, Hindu and Christian astronauts a 'trinity of evil' equally angered many. Pronouncements like this do the general cause of religion no good at all and further cause reasonable people to feel that deeply held religious beliefs merely cause conflict and discrimination.

Abu Hamza, and many others like him, whether followers of Mohammed or any other prophet, have committed one of the classic human and theological errors. To assume that you have an exclusive access to God that others do not have; to presume that because God likes you and your path that He must correspondingly dislike others; and to be convinced that, because He likes you, you may therefore act as His human mouthpiece; these are the hallmarks which betray the arrogance of the spiritual neophyte.

Bhagavad-gita, the oldest spiritual text, explains that nobody can claim an exclusive access to God that others are denied. Any path on which the spiritual aspirant sincerely seeks out his creator, no matter how history or circumstance has labelled it, will bear fruit: "As all surrender unto me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows my path in all respects." Indeed, the further the aspirant goes along that one spiritual path, the more he will begin to see all humans, whatever their country, colour, creed, religious attire or language, as equal. Pandita sama darsinah - "a sage of equal vision" says the Gita.

From God's point of view there are no Christians, Muslims, Jews or Hindus - there are only those who accept His existence and live their lives accordingly, and those who don't. And if some souls, due to the circumstances of their birth, choose to follow one particular prophet, son of God, sage, saint or guru - well, that's alright with Him as long as they continue their sincere efforts to move upwards.

He sees this fragile blue planet without national borders, shaded militarised zones or political blocs; and for Him there is no far-east, middle-east or holy land. So He doesn't become angry with one group at the expense of the other. Neither does He have a 'chosen people' at the neglect of others. There is no jealousy or malice in Him. And no partiality: "I am hateful to no-one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all." If a follower on the path mistakenly decides to ascribe some envy or anger to God, he is merely projecting his own frustration and anger upon the absolute purity of the divine. Instead of trying to ascend to the level of God, he is trying to pull God down to his own level. He seeks the comfort of worshipping the God of his own mental creation. And what to speak of someone imagining himself to be the mouthpiece of God on earth, making public pronouncements about 'God's anger.'

All the varying concepts of God conceived of and spoken about in all the places of worship on Earth, ultimately can be reposed in Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those whose minds are attracted by the formless absolute are worshipping His all-pervading brahmajyoti, the divine light that emanates from His form. Even those who worship the numberless devas - demigods and angels - are indirectly worshipping Him. In the Bhagavad-gita, the first religious book, the one supreme and original person - God, Allah, Jehovah, Hashem, Krishna - asks that we all try to become free from the conditioning of material nature, to progressively abandon attachment, envy, fear and anger so that we can see ourselves, other people, and Him as they really are.

It Once Happened

It was the year 1880. Sri Vancharama was the managing authority of the village of Navagram, in the region of Tanasa, near Vrindavan, India. Vancharama was a very devoted person and every day, regardless of the weather, he would bathe in the local river Karatoya before performing his puja at home.

One day, while he was bathing, he heard someone asking in a sweet voice: "Take me out of the water, back to your home." Vancharama looked all around, but he could not discover the source of the voice. He went home after bathing, but the voice kept ringing in his ears. The next day, when he went to bathe, he again heard the same voice, but again he could not locate where it had come from. The third day, when he was stepping out of the river, dripping with water, he heard the voice again and simultaneously felt that something had clung to his foot. He reached down into the water and lifted it up. It was a beautiful deity of Sri Krishna. For some time he stood on the spot, dazed and petrified. Then he hugged the deity and bathed him in his tears of joy. Vancharama brought Krishna home. After due ceremony, he began to serve Him as best he could, giving His Lord the name Vinode.

The relationship between the deity and the devotee is very real. Krishna, the unlimited Supreme Personality of Godhead, agrees to appear in the form of the deity, a form perceivable by the senses, just so that His devotee can serve Him in a variety of ways. To external vision, the deity is a statue carved by human hand from metal, stone or wood. But to the devotee who serves the deity with faith and love, Krishna will reveal the secret of His transcendent spiritual nature.

One night, Vinode came to Vancharama in a dream. He said to him, " For a long time now I have not eaten vegetable prepared from mustard flowers. Please cook mustard flowers and offer them to me today." When Vancharama awoke in the morning he was simultaneously delighted and perplexed. Krishna had personally come to him in a dream to request some service, but at that time he did not know from where to acquire mustard flowers. When he went to Vinode's temple for morning service, he was astonished to see some mustard flowers adorning both of the deity's ears, and a good-sized bunch tied to a corner of His yellow cloth.