श ्र ी श ्र ी ग ूर ु ग ौर ाङ ौ् ज य त ः

S ri V a ish n a va Tosani
A N ew sletter M eant For The Satisfaction o f The Devotees
V o l 1 #1 Jan-Feb 1992

Dedicated to the Lotus Feet o f

Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja Prabhupada
Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Dev Goswami Maharaja
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaja
and all of Their sincere followers.

ह र े क ृष ्ण ह र े क ृष ्ण क ृष ्ण क ृष ्ण ह र े ह र े ह र े र ा म ह र े र ा म र ा म र ा म ह र े ह र े
Sri Vaishnava Tosani is published by the O ur purpose in publishing Sri Vaishnava Tosani is to fu lfill the
Editors under the direction of, and for the order o f o u r Gurudevas, and since we have been brought to the
pleasure of our Divine Masters, shore of the ocean of nectar by Their mercy, to try to distribute
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada a d ro p o f that nectar. It is n ot o u r attem pt or desire to in flic t
Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Dev Goswami our speculative opinions on o ur readers, rather we are endeav­
Maharaja, oring fo r self-purification by the glo rifica tion o f the Lord and
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaja, and His devotees. Such subject matters are beyond the approach of
all of Their Followers. our mundane senses, so this attem pt w ill be to u tilize the words
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requests to
udiced, fa u lty reasoning. A t the same time, we do not wish to
Sri Vaishnava Tosani
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Editors: Srutasrava dasa them. We do not claim to have a m onopoly on the tru th, nor
Hasyapriya dasa are we the sole agents for It's dispensation, we are only trying to
p u rify ourselves by some absorption in higher subjects, and thus
Design: Sarva Bhavana dasa we endeavor in this way. We invite o ur readers to chastise us for
Sulocan dasa the mistakes in this endeavor, and we pray fo r your good w ish­
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ings o f Srimad Bhagavatam 1:5:11
Contributors: B.P. Janardana Swami
B.A. Sagar Maharaja tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
Yudhamanyu Seva Vikram yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
Ramai dasa A rcan Niketan namany anantasya yaso 'n kita n i yat
Vidagdha Madhava dasa srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
Nabadwip dasa
Ekala Isvara dasa "T h a t lite ra ture w h ich is fu ll o f descriptions o f the transcen­
Mathuranath dasa
dental glories of the name, fame, form s, pastimes, etc., o f the
Madhavananda dasa
u n lim ite d Supreme Lord is a different creation, fu ll o f transcen­
Suresvari dasi
dental w ords directed tow ard b rin g in g about a re vo lu tio n in
the im pious lives of this w o rld 's misdirected civilization. Such
Proofreading: Jivana dasi
transcendental literatures, even though im perfectly composed,
Kunkum dasi
are heard, sung, and accepted by p u rifie d men w ho are th o r­
Typography: Sanatani dasi o ughly honest." It is therefore o ur prayer that we can keep this
journal fu ll of transcendental subject matter, and thus, all of you
saintly readers w ill be satisfied w ith this attempt.

The Editors

O ur special thanks to B.S. Goswami & The

Guardian of Devotion Press for producing the
world's most beautiful books, which have
been our inspiration.
 Message of His D ivine Grace
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
From a Bengali talk given on December 23, 1936 translated into English by
H is D ivine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

have probably given m any peo­ bearance like a tree and humbleness Krishna. W hen we are able to tran­

I ple troubles in the m ind. Some

o f them m ig h t have th o u g h t
about me th a t I am th e ir enem y
like a straw.
We w ish that this mass o f o ur body
o f flesh and blood may be sacrificed
scend the p o sitio n o f attachments
and detachm ents o f th is m o rta l
w o rld , and be a ttracted w ith the
H o ly Name o f Godhead, it is then
because I was obliged to speak the a t the a lta r o f p re aching the
plain tru th for service and devotion o nly we can understand the im p o rt
S an kirta n M o ve m e nt (congrega­
tow ards the A bsolute Godhead. I o f the transcendental service o f Sri
tio n a l chanting o f the H o ly Name
have given them a ll those troubles K rish n a , the P erson a lity of
o f G odhead) propagated b y Lord
o n ly fo r the reason that they m ay Godhead. A t the firs t instance, the
Chaitanya. We are not desirous o f
tu rn th e ir face to w a rd s the subject o f Krishna is sta rtlin g and
b ecom ing a hero o f w o rk o r a
Personalit y o f Godhead w ith o u t any perplexing to us. Every one w ho is
reform er o f religion, b u t our reali­
desire fo r gain and w ith unalloyed called by the name 'm an' is more or
ty may be identified w ith the dust o f
devotion. I hope some day or other less s tru g g lin g k n o w in g ly or
the Louts Feet o f S ri Rupa and
they m ay understand me rightly. u n k n o w in g ly to e lim in a te those
Ragunath, for that is our everything.
in v a d in g elements w h ich are baf­
I advise a ll to preach the teachings The flo w o f the transcendental tide
flin g o ur conception o f eternal need.
o f R upa-R aghunath (d iscip le s o f o f the a ttra ctio n o f d e v o tio n w ill
O u r o n ly d u ty is to enter in to the
Lord Chaitanya) w ith all energy and never be blocked, and you, w ith all
kin g do m o f eternal need.
resources. O u r u ltim a te goal shall y o u r energy shall devote yo urself
be to become the d ust o f the lotus fo r f u lfillin g the desire o f S rila e have no love o r hatred
feet o f Sri Sri Rupa and Raghunath
Goswamins. You should a ll w o rk
c o n jo in tly u n d e r the guidance o f
B h a kti V inode Thakur. There are
m a n y am ongst yo u w h o are w e ll
qualified and able workers. We have
W fo r anyone in this m ortal
w o rld . A ll arrangements
made in this w o rld are b u t tem po­
y o u r s p iritu a l m aster w ith a v ie w no other desire whatsoever. rary. There is, therefore, u n a v o id ­
to serve the Absolute Knowledge, able necessity for that ultim ate need
here are certainly m any d iffi­
the P erson a lity o f G odhead. You
sh o u ld liv e some h o w o r other,
w ith o u t any quarrel in this m ortal
w o rld , o n ly fo r the service o f
T cu ltie s w h ile we are in this
m ortal w orld, but it is not our
business sim ply to be overwhelmed
fo r everyone in th is w o rld . You
sh ou ld a tta in the transcendental
loving service o f the objective, being
situated in concerted action for that
w ith those d iffic u ltie s , o r try to
Godhead. one aim. Let there be a constant flow
overcom e them only. We m ust
o f the ideas o f and thoughts as con­
Please do not give up the service of kn o w everything d u rin g the d ura ­
ceived b y Rupa G osw am i and his
Godhead in spite o f a ll dangers, all tion o f o u r present life, as to what
follow ers. We shall not at any tim e
criticism s and a ll discom forts. Do we shall gain after overcom ing all
show o u r slightest dejection for the
not be disappointed fo r most peo­ those d iffic u ltie s o f life, and what
seven ton g u e d , S ankirtan m ove­
ple in the w o rld do n o t serve the shall be the mode o f our permanent
ment. If we have undaunted faith
Personality o f Godhead; do not give existence. We must make an adjust­
in it, we shall only then achieve all
up y o u r own service w h ich is your m ent o f a ll th in g s that evoke o u r
perfection. You should all therefore
everything and all, neither reject the love and hatred and fo r those we
preach w ith fearlessness and w ith
process o f chanting and hearing o f w ant and do not want. Attachm ent
utm ost energy, the message of Rupa
the transcendental H o ly Nam e o f and detachm ent o f this m o rta l
and Raghunath, under the direction
Godhead. You should always chant w o rld w ill engage us m ore and
o f the follow ers o f Sri Rupa.
the transcendental N am e o f more as we become farther and far­
Godhead w ith patience and fo r­ thest from the Lotus Feet o f Sri
We Cannot Forget Our Love For You
A Letter to His Divine Grace B.S. Govinda Maharaja
from
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
N ew D e lh i have been carried to him. The
16th S e p
t e m b e r, 1955 w ordings are as follo w s: "This
day w e have received tw o
H is Holiness Shripad Bhakti copies o f G au d iya Darshan
Sundar G ovinda Maharaj fro m S hripad S hridhar
Shri Chaitanya Saraswat Math Maharaj's M ath at Nabadwip.
Kolergunj P.O. N abadw ip, The starting is very good and I
Dist. Nadia (W.Bengal) have q u ite appreciated the
endeavor of Shripad Maharaj
M y dear Shripad G ovin d a although very late. It is better
Maharaj, late than never. H e has a very
This m orning I received tw o good assistant in the young
copies o f y o u r 'G audiya G ovinda Maharaj and I think
Darshan' and I was very glad it is a good attem pt."
to see its appearance. When I
was at Mathura I heard from Y our poem on Vasita is also
Shripad Kesava Maharaj that good. A ll these show that you
H is Holiness Shripad have good tact and may God
Shridhar Maharaj is going to help you m ore and more.
p ub lish 'G audiya Darshan' S hripad S h rid h a r M aharaj's
and today I find it actually in
article on G audiya Darshan is
hand. I cannot b ut o ffer m y
p h ilo so p h ica l and if he so
congratulations to y o u r
desires I can get it translated
Holiness. Because I kn ow if
into English by m yself and get
anything has been done it is
it p ub lish e d in the Shri
due to y o u r energy. I can
His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Sajjanatoshani Patrika. I under­
understand now w h y Shripad
Shridhar Maharaj bestowed all Swami Prabhupada stand that Shripad Maharaj is
scendental h u m o ris t in the art o f o ut on pilgrim age and you can
his mercy upon you. He rig h tly
journalism. You have complete mer­ let me k n o w his o p in io n w hen he
found in you some dorm ant energy
cy o f yo ur D iv in e m aster and you comes back or earlier according to
for future action and we can see that
it is now fru ctifyin g duly. can depend on his blessings for your yo u r convenience.
fu tu re im p ro ve m e n t. I sincerely Hope you are well. Brin daban want­
I have read w ith great interest your
a rticle especially the one w h ic h is w ish you all success. U ndoubtedly ed to liv e w ith me and so he has
named as 'C H A L A R PATHE'. It is you are now in the highest order of come here fro m Calcutta just a few
n o t o n ly v e ry a m u sing b u t also Varnashram Dharma b ut we cannot days before. Where is Madhusudan
instructive. Simple d ry philoso p hi­ forget that you belong to the catego­ Maharaj? Please convey m y dand-
cal arguments w ill not be appealing ry of o ur affectionate sons. We can­ abats to a ll of the Vaishnavas. W ith
not forget all such filia l love for you m y regards for you all.
n o w a d a y s to people in general.
They w ill like to read such articles and w hen w e see that you are
as w ritte n b y you w ith greater rel­ im proving in all respects it gladdens Yours affectionately,
ish. In this article I can fin d o u t that o ur heart. I have just w ritte n a letter
you have really some parts and in to Shripad Goswami Maharaj and in A.C. Bhaktivedanta
tim e you can become a great tran- that letter the fo llo w in g statements
 Capture The In fin ite
by
H is D ivine Grace B.R. Sridhara Dev Goswami
aghupati Upadhyaya was a It is hinted here that this is in itself sciousness hig h and, after perhaps

R scholar and devotee. He came

to see M ahaprabhu, and
Mahaprabhu enquired, "Pandit, what
the result of what is achieved by fol­
lo w in g a ll these scriptures. A nd
Mahaprabhu gave H is appreciation
of that. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, it
touching or not touching the verge of
that thing, come back dow n. That is
the characteristic o f the highest con­
ception of tru th, and that thing, that
is your mainstay of life; what keeps
you going on?" He answered, supramundane thing we see
"I am a little disappointed. I sucking the breast o f Yasoda.
have gone throu g h m any W hat is this? tapo disastanam
scriptures, b u t I am not satis­ hari That param brahma has
fied w ith them. M y fin d in g come lik e a child. It is very,
w ith the scriptures is mostly ve ry w o n d e rfu l. H o w it is
this, that those w ho are afraid possible? Pariksit Maharaj put
of the uncertainty of this mun­ this question to Sukadeva, the
dane life of b irth and death great speaker o f Srimad
seek shelter of the holy scrip­ Bhagavatam. He asked, laksi-
tures to save themselves. nam karam brahma? W hat
Those who are too afraid of sort o f 'sadhu' is there, or
th e ir m undane life in this attempt or aspiration by any­
w o rld , and w o rld ly affairs one b y w h ich the personal
('bhava bhita h '), ru n to find truth can come so near to our
some consolation in the scrip­ level, w ith in our clutches? It is
tures, to find if they give any impossible!
clue, any way, any path to get W hat sort o f process is
out. There are various scrip­ there to attain the tru th in
tures, the srutis the smrti and such a way? Srimad
Mahabharata, including Srimad Bhagavatam has recom­
Bhagavad-Gita, b ut generally, mended in answer to that:
those who approach them run jñ ane prayasam udapasya
there to get relief, being fright­ namanta eva: A bandoning
ened by their present circum ­ His Divine Grace Bhakti Raksaka the unnecessary endeavour of
stances. But I do not care for Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaj discussing e m p irica l p h ilo ­
that. I do not care for those sas­ sophical tru th , surrendering
tras (scriptures), because I have found is told how P ariksit M aharaj was to self-realised devotees and hearing
the symptoms of m y real interest in established in hearing the lila o f from them about the Lord, is the basic
one place. Where is that?:"aham iha Krsna and p u t his question to p rin c ip le o f perfection. A nd
nandam vande yasyalinde param Sukadeva Goswami: "W ha t sort o f M ahaprabhu came in that lin e of
brahm a"- I fin d that u nknow n and endeavour d id Nanda and Yasoda thought. But there, the worship is all
unknowable thing is craw ling in the make to achieve what so many yogis, of a negative character, w ith so much
com pound o f Nanda Maharaja, a rishis, scholars and tapasvis, who all self-abnegation, so much risk 'all risk,
cow-keeper! attempted so hard and painstakingly no gain'. That is only for those who
In the compound o f a cow-keeper to find out the truth about the soul, are w ith o u t envy, 'nirm atsaranam
the 'param brahma' is crawling! This foile d to do? "W e tried hard to satam'. The test, the proof of this is
is charming, the most charming of all achieve some very vague connection that those persons w ill say,
charms! M y heart is sold there — 'sru­ w ith that and then were pashed "W hatever we are searching for, we
tim apare smrtim itare bharatam anye back". By m uch tro ub le and pain have come for, that is a ll-ind e pe n ­
bhajantu bhava-bhitah'. (tapasye tapana) they push their con­ dent, and that is o u r reward! The
 Spiritual Life, A Practical Approach
Srila B.S. Govinda Maharaja
President, Acharya Sri Caitanya Sarasvat M ath & Branches W orldw ide

v e ry th in g can be offered to that depends on the circumstances, hunger. W here is food? W here is

E G uru-G auranga-G andharva-

G ovinda-S undar w ith Sri
H arinam a sankirtana.
W hatever w e o ffe r w ith
climate and everything.
Devotee: Availability?
food?" A nd he went to one candala's
room , one dog eater's room , and
there he o n ly saw some
meat and a very bad type of
nam a-sankirtana, w e are meat. Visvamitra was think­
o ffe rin g w ith the m aha­ ing " lf I eat it, then sin must
m antra. The Hare K rishna certainly come to me. And
m antra is called the m aha­ also bad things, m any bad
m antra. O f all m antras, the things, w ill come to me. But
highest m antra is called the if I do not take it, then I shall
maha-mantra, and w ith this surely d ie ." Then he was
m aha-m antra w e can o ffe r thinking "N o w I w ill take it!
everything. It is going in this A n d w h a te ve r sin o r bad
way. thing that may come to me,
w ith m y tapasya, austerity, I
I heard a very d iffic u lt thing shall m ove it to the future.
from Swami Maharaja, which But just now, if I do not take
he told me personally. When it, I w ill die. Then there w ill
Swami Maharaja went to the be no p o s s ib ility in the
West, as you know, he had at fu tu re to do a n y th in g ." In
that time no preaching fa cili­ this way, he took that meat
ty. He was staying at a only for showing us that, the
friend's son's house and they m ain thing is liv in g is nec­
had o n ly one frid g e . That essary only for the service to
frid g e had three o r fo u r K rish n a, G u ru and the
chambers, I do n o t kn o w Vaishnavas. A n d fo r that,
exactly, b u t one chamber for w hatever w ill come to us,
Swami Maharaja and the oth­ we shall try to avoid the bad
er chambers for their fam ily's things if we can. N ot for soli­
food. Those chambers were tude, b u t fo r liv in g fo r the
fu ll o f his fa m ily 's non-veg service of G uru, Vaishnava
food, and Swami Maharaja's and Bhagavan, and fo r m y
chamber was vegetarian food. bhajan life. Bhajan, do you
And he is thinking "K rishna kn ow w hat this means?
and G urudeva, w h a t shall I
do? lt is necessary to m a in ­ Devotee: Service life, g lo ri­
tain m y body for the preach­ His Divine Grace Bhakti Sundar fication, a life of glorification?
in g ." That is the m ain thing. Govinda Maharaja G ovinda Maharaja: Service
W hy shall we live? For the ser­ life. I must take that. And this
vice of K rishna. This is the m ain Govinda Maharaja: A va ila b ility and
w ay some rules and regulation are
thing. A n d w h a t is necessary, we the ideal is found in Mahabharata.
mentioned in the scriptures. That is,
must take that for the purpose o f liv ­ That is not heavier, b ut that is also
we m ust be vegetarian first. But we
ing, but liv in g is only necessary for heavy. One day Visvam itra Rsi was
are n o t ta kin g vegetables or any
Krishna seva (service), guru-vaisna­ very hungry, but in the jungle he had
fruits. Understand? We are not veg­
va seva. That is the m ain thing. And no food. A n d he was searching,
etarian, we are n o t meat eaters.
where and w hich w a y we may live, "Where is food? I cannot tolerate this
 Understand? We are o n ly taking these offerings and I am giving them ve ry d iffic u lt to kn o w their mean­
prasadam, w hat is coming from the to you. You give them to your Lord ings, b ut the meanings o f the gener­
Lord. That is food for us. The Lord is and take yourself." In this w ay we al mantras are like that. It is a very
taking vegetables, so I am offering k n o w the m eaning o f the m antra. easy process. This w a y we k n o w
vegetables. The Lord is taking flo w ­ The mantra is o rig in a lly in sanskrit. what the mantra means, but that is in
ers, so I am offering flo w ­ S anskrit, and w e are
ers. W hat m y L ord is tak­ te llin g in the Bengali o r
ing, that I shall take. A fte r E nglish languages. At
firs t offering things to the that tim e, the Vedic time,
L ord, then I shall take. everybo d y spoke in san­
Then, w hat I am taking is skrit. A nd everything was
not vegetarian o r non veg­ com m unicated throu g h
etarian, I am ta kin g o n ly the Sanskrit m edium . A ll
prasadam. these scriptures are w rit­
ten in Sanskrit. A ll these
Devotee: M aharaja, i f we
books I have seen, like this
o ffe r som ething, is it
is Brahm a Sam hita, it is
offered to Krishna through
w ritte n in S anskrit, b u t
G uru, Guru-Gauranga?
n o w w e are reading
Govinda Maharaja: We can­ Brahma-samhita. Sanskrit
not offer anything directly is here and English trans­
to Krishna. That is, we are la tio n is here. A n d even
firs t offering to Gurudeva, the transliteration is here,
and he is o ffe rin g to no problem fo r us.
Krishna. In this way, it is
t is necessary to know
com ing back to me as
prasadam.
Devotee: A nd G urudeva is
adjusting any faults, if we
I w h a t is there fo r o u r
knowledge. But kn ow l­
edge, is o f tw o kinds:
m undane know ledge and
offer the w rong thing? transcendental k n o w l­
edge. E verything is in this
Govinda Maharaja: Yes, he
w ay playing in this w orld,
adjusts e verything. W hat
transcendental and mate­
Krishna is taking scripture
rial. We always try to get
says is satvic food. So, we
the transcendental kn o w l­
firs t offer, then take. Then
edge and th ro u g h Sri
we are n o t ta k in g satvic,
G u ru it is possible.
rajasic, o r tamasic. We
S unlight is not burning us
alw ays try to take maha
b u t, w hen w e are taking
prasadam, and that m ust Temple o f U nio n in Separation o f
one glass, that is a m agni­
be maha prasadam.
Śrī Ś rīla Bhakti Rakṣak Ś rīdhar D ev-G oswām ī M ahārāj fy in g glass, then the sun
Devotee: Maharaja can you can b urn. I t is com ing
m ention w hat prayers are th ro u g h tha t glass.
The Samadhi M andir of His Divine Grace
necessary when we are offer­ Focused and concentrated
ing? B.R. Sridhar Dev Goswami Maharaja,
power bums. That power is
designed and b uilt by his dearmost follower
co m in g th ro u g h guru,
Govinda Maharaja: First we Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj
always. That is what we are
clean o u r hand and cover
sending there, w hen w e make our
our offering w ith Tulasi. If Tulasi is Idam: these things, naivedyam: offer­
offering. If we can send through our
not available we m e n ta lly o ffe r ings, sarvam: a l l , sri gurave namah, I
G uru , it w ill go im m ediately if prop­
Tulasi. A nd w e take o u r o ffe rin g am g iv in g to m y g uru. Idam , this
er adjustm ent is there. A n d religion
w ith Tulasi firs t to o u r g u ru , " M y offering I am giving to Krishna, idam
means proper adjustment. Is it? Guru
Lord this is an offering for you and this o ffe rin g I am g iv in g to
Maharaja said it proper adjustment is
your Lord, Krishna. I have brought Gauranga. W ith some mantras, it is
 The Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Ashram in San Jose
by
Sripad B.P. Janardan Swami

n Sri G uru and H is Grace, Srila inspired by Srila Sridhar Maharaja, as "n ity a -lila p ra vistha om Sri

I B ha kti Rakshak S rid h a r Deva

Goswami Maharaja describes that
the essence o f the g uru param para
they want to have relationships
other devotees w ho appreciate his
presence, his line, his vision, and his
worship.
w ith S rim ad B hakti S undar G ovinda
M aharaja." T hat phrase is used to
hon o r those Vaishnavas w ho have
departed fro m this w o rld . So
line is based on sik sha. H e explains
that we are more interested in sub­ The line of Srila G uru Maharaja is Govinda Maharaja m ild ly protested,
stance than fo rm , and th a t in the alw ays co ntin u in g. From the very " I am not n itya-lila pravistha om...".
guru we see the inspired side o f the beg in n ing , S rila B hakti Sundar The devotee replied, "Yes. You must
Vaishnava. In the lila of Mahaprabhu G ovinda Maharaja was there at his be.You m ust be n itya-lila pravistha
we can see this im portance in H is side, his most intim ate and eternal om. You m ust be." Then G ovinda
special relationships w ith Sri Ishwara associate, and his dearmost disciple. Maharaja explained the meaning of
Puri, Srila Keshav Bharati Maharaj, L ike S rila G u ru M aharaja, S rila the phrase to the devotee, that he has
and Ramananda Raya. H e is the Govinda Maharaja always was inter- n ot gone to his eternal lila. So Srila
Supreme L ord him self, b u t He G uru Maharaja has gone to his
express the mood and the senti­ can fin d shelter in the line nitya-lila, b ut it is Srila Govinda
e
"W
ments of a devotee. To say that M aharaja w h o inspires us by
He teaches by H is example does
o f S rila Guru M a h ara ja , the Sri revealing G uru Maharaja to us
not go deep enough. For He Chaitanya Saraswat M ath, which in a very liv in g way.
accepted three gurus. From Srila Govinda M aharaja is p ro­ We have begun the Sri
Ishw ara P u ri, H e received Chaitanya Saraswat Ashram in
H a rin a m , fo r the purposes o f
tecting and co ntin uin g as the San Jose. Srila Govinda Maharaja
expanding the preaching, He acharya." has wanted for some time for the
took sannyas fro m Keshav devotees to again have a place
Bharati, and to enter into the plane of ested in our welfare. lt was Govinda in San Jose and has given his bless­
raganuga bhakti, He showed a spe­ Maharaja who urged Guru Maharaja ings to all of us. We can fin d shelter
cial a pp re cia tion fo r Ram ananda to give the western devotees his con­ in the line of Srila G uru Maharaja,
Raya. nection. Srila G uru Maharaja d id so, the Sri C haitanya Saraswat M ath,
In the West, m any o f us have felt b u t he also m ade Srila G ovinda w h ich Srila G ovin d a M aharaja is
special inspiration from different per­ M aharaja prom ise tha t he w o u ld p ro te ctin g and c o n tin u in g as the
sonalities. In this w o rld , if a person p rotect and care fo r us after Srila acharya. W hen S rila Prabhupada
has m any servants, he is considered G uru M aharaja w o u ld leave this B haktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
successful. But on the sp iritu a l p la t­ w o rld . It was alw ays G ovinda was leaving this w o rld , he gave Srila
form , it is a far superior position if a M aharaja w h o encouraged G uru G uru Maharaja the responsibility to
person has m any guardians. As we Maharaja to give us greater install­ protect and continue the line of Srila
approach the highest plane, every­ ments o f his u n lim ite d mercy. A nd Rupa Goswami.
one is our well-wisher, our guardian. n o w that Srila G uru Maharaja has n an assembly of devotees, when
Srila G ovinda Maharaja has com­
mented that everyone in the West
has a re la tio n s h ip w ith S rila A.C.
left this w o rld , and as the Gaudiya
Vaishnavas say, is absorbed
n ity a -lila , his eternal pastimes, his
m ercy continues to flo w to us,
in his I Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
P rabhupada was le a vin g this
w orld, he asked Srila Guru Maharaja
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, to sing Sri Rupa Manjari Pada, which
that he is the g u ru fo r everyone. through Srila G ovinda Maharaja. expresses the highest ideal of the fol­
Everyone in the West is indebted to One time a devotee d id not under­ lo w e rs o f M a h aprabhu w h o are
Srila Prabhupada and everyone has stand w h a t the phrase "n ity a -lila , k n o w n as Rupanugas. Srila G uru
a re la tio n s h ip w ith h im . A n d fo r p ra visth a o m " means, and began Maharaja was called to that assem­
those fortunate souls w ho have felt describing Srila G ovinda Maharaja bly, and w ith some hesita tio n he
began singing. He was not kn o w n as the acharya, o u r source of should offer ourselves and serve there.
as a singer. Seeing his tre pidation, renewed in sp ira tio n . We w a n t to That w ill result in our greatest benefit.
K unja Babu P ra bh u (w h o later in vite the devotees to join w ith us in Taking that high goal as o ur ideal, we
became S rila B ha kti V ilas T irth a this program. We w ill be having reg­ are tryin g to represent that ideal to this
M aharaja) asked another devotee u la r Sunday programs every week, w o rld , and in vite everyone to partici­
w ho was a stronger singer to con­ beginning at 5:30p.m., and w ill also pate w ith us in the Sri Chaitanya
tinue. But Srila Prabhupada said that be having special programs to hon­ Saraswat A shram in San Jose. Srila
he was n ot interested in the sweet or the prom inent Vaishnava holidays G ovinda M aharaja has asked both
sound o f the song, and again asked that occur d u rin g the year. Yudhamanyu Seva Vikram Prabhu and
Srila Sridhar Maharaja to continue. We have acquired a modest place myself to cooperate to present this pro­
A m o ng a ll the d isciples o f Srila to begin our program, located at 497 gram, and we hope that w ith your help
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur No. 17th Street in San Jose (at the cor­ and p a rtic ip a tio n , we m ay a ll serve
present, they a ll fe lt that Srila ner of 17th and Empire). We are hop­ together and fin d our greatest fortune
Prabhupad gave Srila S ridhar in g to p ro vid e a center w h ich w ill in the plane o f dedication.
Maharaja the responsibility fo r con­ give im petus fo r tha t seva w h ich
tin u in g the Rupanuga lin e in his goes to the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat The new San Jose Temple is located at
absence. N ow that responsibility has M ath. Srila G uru M aharaja has 497 North 17th Street, San Jose, California
been given to Srila G ovinda explained tha t there w e fin d the 95112
Maharaja. greatest mercy. When Mahaprabhu You are a ll invited to participate in the
Srila G ovinda Maharaja has cho­ returned as a sannyasi to K oladvip, Sunday programs which begins at 5:00 pm.
sen the name for the program in San he extended H i s mercy to so m any
Jose as the "Sri Chaitanya Saraswat offenders, and forgave all offenses. I f you would like to assist in maintain­
A shram ". He has asked us to repre­ For that reason, that place is know n ing this program please contact B.P.
sent the line o f Srila G uru Maharaja as Aparadha Byanjan Pat, where all Janardan Maharaj or Yudhamanyu Seva
there. A n d w e are endeavoring to offenses are forgiven. So as the great­ Vikram at the above address.
present Srila Govinda Maharaja there est m ercy is descending there, we

permeating and all-guiding potency, some agent, and they are satisfied w ith
reward o f all rewards!. We are all in in the deepest consciousness, by analysis that; from outside they want to relish
H im , but what is our position? W hat , analytical enquiry into who is M y existence, M y presence. It is not that
can we do? Shall we think that 'we controlling everything from w ith in , they w ant either to experience the per­
have seen?"Krishna says to Narada and how to trace Him. This is the way sonal conception of the all-controlling
M u n i, "naham o f e nq u iry of the aspect o f reality, or lik e the yogis, to
tistham i va ikunthe yogis, b u t Krsna enter into the deepest extent into the sci­
yoginam hrdayesu " They can feel pleasure says: 'yoginam
ence o f this experience. But o n ly far
va yatra gayanti mad in th a t they have g ot hrdayesu 'va', "I away, whatever little trace the devotees
bhakta tatra tisthami
some clue from some am n ot there" may have got about Myself, w ith that
narada- That is, in Then He says, capital they engage in dancing and
the spiritual endeav­ agent, and they are sat­ "ya tra gayanti singing, A nd Myself, I am there. They
o u r o f the d iffe re n t isfied w ith th a t " mad bhakta tatra get selfless satisfaction in singing M y
classes o f transcen­ tistham i narada" glory; and this is a far higher degree of
dentalists, "I am not But, Narada, I am selflessness, of a type which is found
present M yse lf there". In the to be traced where my devotees are only there, in the singing o f the devo­
Vaikuntha conception, the e nquiry singing in praise about me". This is tees, and not in the enquiry mixed w ith
after the Infin ite where one gets the a peculiar process. curiosity about the most fundamental
personal conception o f a Master, that The Lord gives some hope that, entity w hich is controlling everything
the Infinite is controlled by a Master, "W ith o u t trying to capture Me, they from w ithin, nor in the realisation of the
and o f the w onder in that personal are taking pleasure fro m far away, personal creator, who creates and con­
conception of the prim e cause, Krsna engaging themselves in singing about trols everything. That is the principle in
says "I am not there" And the attempt M y greatness. They can feel pleasure kirtan. Gaura H ari Bol! Gaura Hari Bol!
of the yogis is to enquire into the all- in that they have got some clue from
 A p p ro v a l Comes From Above
T h e d is c o v e ry o f S ri G irir a ja in G o v a rd h a n & the V rn d a v a G o ld e n J u b ile e F e s tiv a l.

b y Y u d h a m a n y u dasa Seva V ik r a m

n 1941, H is D iv in e Grace Bhakti Tw o days a fte r tha t auspicious C haitanya M a h ap ra b hu and Srila

I Raksaka S rid h ar D ev G osw am i

M a h araja e sta b lish e d the S ri
C haitanya Saraswat M a th , on the
tem ple in a ug u ratio n , the devotees
m o ve d to V rn d a va n , w here they
d a ily w e n t on p a rik ra m a to pre-
P ra b h u p a d a S arasw ati T h a ku r,
th ro u g h o u t the w o rld .
Srila G ovinda Maharaja spoke in
E nglish and H in d i to the estimated
banks o f the G anges R iv e r in
N a b a d w ip Dham. In com m em ora­ 2,500 participants o f the ceremony,
tio n o f th a t g lo rio u s e ven t, S rila and afterwards, he directed the dis­
B hakti S undar G o vin d a M aharaja trib u tio n o f a huge prasadam feast,
o rg a n iz e d la rg e p ro g ra m s in w h ic h in c lu d e d g ulabjam ons the
N a b a d w ip D ham , Jagannath P uri size o f soccer balls!
D ham , H a p a n iya (The b irth p la ce The fe s tiv a l in V rn d a v a n , lik e
o f H is D iv in e Grace B.R. S rid h a r other G olden Jubilee Festivals held
Dev G osw am i M aharaja), Calcutta e a rlie r in the year, dem on stra te d
and Sri V rndavan Dham . the e n o rm o u s im p a c t the Sri
O n N o v e m b e r 4 th , 1991, o v e r C h a ita n y a S arasw at M a th has
one h u n d re d devotees d e p a rte d m ade in In d ia and a ro u n d the
H o w rh a h S ta tio n fo r M a th u ra - w o rld . The k in g o f Orissa person­
V rn d a v a n to celebrate the 50th a lly attended the 50th A nniversary
A n n iv e rs a ry o f the S ri C haitanya C erem ony in Jagannath P uri, and
Saraswat M ath. A fte r the 36 h o u r devotees th ro u g h o u t the w o rld
long tra in trip , the devotees stayed travelled to different places in India
fo r a week near G ovardhan H ill, at to g lo rify S rila S rid h a r M aharaja's
a place w h e re S rila G o v in d a M a th at a ll the fu n c tio n s h e ld in
M a h araja had p u rcha se d som e h o n o r o f its firs t fifty years.
land. The fe s tiv a l in V rn d a v a n also
It so happened that on that land, b ro u g h t o u t the existence o f tw o
w h ic h is se veral m ile s fro m m o re branches o f S ri C h a ita n y a
Govardhan H ill, a huge Govardhan Sri Krishna re g u la rly brought the cows to S arasw at M a th ; the one in
graze on G ovardhan H ill
Sila was discovered. T h is d isco v­ G o v a rd h a n a n d a n o th e r one in
ery astonished a ll o f the devotees pare fo r the G olden Jubilee Festival. Vrndavan itself. The gold produced
present, and a ll o f the lo ca l re si­ On N ovem ber 12th, m any senior fro m the m in e o f the M a th d u rin g
den ts n o te d the tra n s c e n d e n ta l devotees and d ig n ita rie s fro m the fifty years a fte r its conception
a p p ro va l fo r the establishm ent o f V rndavan assembled fo r the obser­ has va lu e b e y o n d o u r a b ility to
this new M ath. W ith great care and vance o f the 50th A n n iv e rs a ry com prehend, and lik e e v e ry th in g
attention, several devotees m oved Celebration. A fte r kirta n , the in v it­ w h ic h is s p ir itu a l in n a tu re , w e
the Sila to an appropriate spot. Srila ed guests o f honor spoke in English can't im agine the value o f the gold
G o v in d a M a h a ra ja th e n le d the a b o u t the s ig n ific a n c e o f the S ri th a t w ill be p ro d u ce d d u rin g the
p u ja cerem ony, a nd the S ila was Chaitanya Sarasvat M ath, and they n ext fifty years and beyond.
in s ta lle d in d ic a tin g the place fo r a ll p raised the c o n trib u tio n S rila
the G o v a rd h a n B ranch o f the Sri S rid h a r M a h a ra ja has m ade in
C haitanya Saraswat M ath. sp re a d in g the g lo rie s o f S ri
 The P lu ra lity o f G uru
by
Dinadhama Srutasrava dasa

or the past ten years, we have tasteful, but since we are talking of realize the Absolute Truth sim ply by

F been hearing many things con­

cerning seeking the help and
shelter of a Vaishnava. Sometimes this
the statements in our Prabhupada's
books, I must point our a few for the
consideration o f the readers. There is
a purport in the Antya Lila of the Sri
observing celibacy, strictly follow ing
the rules and regulations o f house­
h older life , leaving home as a
vanaprastha, accepting sannyasa, or
Vaishnava may be form ally accepted
as a Siksa-guru, and the relationship Chaitanya-caritamrta, chapter 7 Text 53. undergoing severe penances in winter
may be a continuous on e, sometimes There we find this interesting state­ by keeping oneself submerged in
a brief encounter (of the most reward­ ment, "One should not proudly think water or surrounding oneself in sum­
ing kind), and sometimes in the m id ­ that one can understand the tra n ­ mer by fire and the scorching heat of
dle. Obviously, the length of the rela­ scendental loving service of the Lord the sun." 5:12:12
tionship is not the im portant factor, sim ply by reading books. One must Alm ost the same exact statement is
the essence of the exchange is how we become a servant of a Vaishnava. As made by Prahlada Maharaj in the
are able to place ourselves at the feet Narottam a dasa Thakura has con­ Seventh Canto:
of a Vaishnava, and somehow please firmed, chadiya vaishnava-seva nistara naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim
him. I do not wish to go into nasty payeche keba: one cannot be in a tran­ sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-artha
details, but we have heard that it is scendental position unless one very mahiyasam pada-rajo-'bhisekam
something like prostitution for a dis­ fa ith fu lly serves a pure Vaishnava." niskiñcananam na vrnita yavat
ciple of one guru to place himself at We m ust keep in m ind that we are "Unless they smear upon their bod­
the feet of another guru, even if one's dealing with the Adhoksaja plane, and ies the d ust o f the lotus feet o f a
guru has already returned to Goloka. therefore we cannot grasp or grab Vaishnava com pletely freed from
The common statement is that anything from that plane w ith o u r material contamination, persons very
everything is in the books o f Srila mundane intellect or reasoning pow ­ much inclined tow ard m aterialistic
Prabhupada, and that is all that we er. We must find and serve the lotus life cannot be attached to the lotus feet
need. Therefore, those of us who have feet of a Vaishnava always, as this is of the Lord, who is glorified for His
sought shelter at the lotus feet of His the sum and substance of Krishna con­ uncommon activities. Only by becom­
D ivine Grace B.R. Sridhar Dev sciousness. ing Krishna conscious and taking shel­
Goswami Maharaj, and subsequent­ When I first joined the Krishna con­ ter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this
ly, Srila B.S. Govinda Maharaj, have sciousness movement, I used to hear way (bathing in the dust o f the lotus
committed a grievous offense. As a the statement, "Association is 90 per­ feet o f a Vaishnava), can one be freed
disciple of Srila Prabhupada, I cer­ cent of Krishna consciousness". I from material contamination."
tainly agree w ith this statement that, heard this statement came from Srila A t the end of every chapter in his
everything is in the books o f Srila Rupa Goswami's Nectar of Devotion, Sri Chaitanya-caritamrta, Srila Kaviraj
Prabhupada b ut how I in terpret it and although I can't specifically quote Goswami prays for the mercy of Sri
may differ greatly from the way oth­ it from there, we certainly find it con­ Rupa & Sri Raghunath, and neither
er godbrothers and godsisters inter­ firmed in all of the Vaishnava litera­ of these great Vaishnavas were his
pret it. I see that all required guidance tures. We get some wonderful advice Diksa-guru. We see a sim ilar thing in
is contained in these books, but some­ from Jada Bharata in the Fifth Canto of the actions o f Srila Raghunath das
times that guidance may send us to Srimad Bhagavatam: Goswam i, when he took shelter of
other books, and certainly it is always rahuganaitat tapasa na yati Srila Swarup Damodar Goswami and
aiming us towards the lotus feet of the na cejyaya nirvapanad grhad va then S rila Rupa and Srila Sanatan
Vaishnavas. This means any and all na cchandasa naiva jalagni-suryair Goswam i, after the departure of
genuine Vaishnavas, whenever we vina mahat-pada-rajo-'bhisekam Mahaprabhu & Swarup Damodar. I
may be fortunate enough to find one. "M y dear K ing Rahugana, unless d o n 't th in k we can fin d anything
I am critical of approaching these one has the opportunity to smear his w rong w ith the behavior o f Srila
matters as if we were dealing w ith entire body w ith the dust of the lotus K aviraj Goswam i, we o nly pray to
them in a mundane court of law, as feet of great devotees, one cannot real­ someday follow it.
that is the very principle we find dis­ ize the Absolute Truth. One cannot
 Puri Math Opens in Splendor
by
Vidagdha Madhava dasa
he invitations went out w orld were nicely arranged in the wonder­ him self. A professional video crew

T w id e and The Golden Jubilee

Festival commenced July 8th in
that m ost m agnanim ous o f H o ly
Places, Sri N a b a d w ip Dham , cele­
fu l Guest house G ovinda Maharaja
had b u ilt for the devotees. I had the
great fortune to share one o f the spa­
cious 2nd flo o r rooms w ith
was there to tape the program and
their b rig h t lig h ts made it possible
for some of us w ith cameras to also
take a few shots.
b ra tin g the 50th anniversary of Sri Narasim ha Maharaja, Vishnu Finally, the w hite car arrived w ith
Chaitanya Saraswat M ath. In P uri, Maharaja and A shram Maharaja. I Gajapati Maharaja, the King of Orissa.
Purnananda Prabhu was very busy had been traveling all over India dur­ G ajapati Maharaja emerged and
making preparations for the fo llo w ing this hot season and the heat had bow ed respectfully to G ovinda
up festival a few days later, the grand been devastating, but Puri Dham was Maharaja, and w ith folded hands
opening o f the new M ath. He suc­ lite ra lly a breath of fresh air, w ith a received darshan of their Lordships
cessfully in v ite d some im p o rta n t consistently wonderful ocean breeze. Gaura N ita i. He then took his seat
guests to speak at the programs, in Early the next m orning, Narasimha w ith Govinda Maharaja, in a b it of a
particular, the King of Orissa himself
had agreed to come for the inaugu­
ration. Govinda Maharaja was very
pleased w ith Purnananda's success
and told the assembled devotees in
Calcutta that the K ing o f Orissa is
considered the representative o f
Jagannathdev Him self, and his com­
ing was like Lord Jagannath coming
to our Math.
His Holiness B.P. Tirtha Maharaja
arranged tra in reservations as the
devotees began a rriv in g at the
Calcutta and N abadw ip Maths. On
the evening of July 9th, all the Eastern
and Western devotees assembled on
the platform o f Howrah Station w ith
thousands o f other pilgrim s, for the
Jagannath Express. The journey was
nicely organized rig h t d o w n to the Srila Govinda Maharaja expresses his
prasadam. appreciation f o r Gajapati Maharaja's address
A fter an overnight rest in our com­
partm ents, we arose early the next Maharaja, Vishnu Maharaja and I tense atmosphere; after all this was
morning to join in the sweet kirtans of made the 5 m inute walk to the ocean the K in g , the representative of
Tirtha Maharaja. As the train pulled for our bath and some body surfing Jagannath! W ith closed eyes, Gajapati
into Puri Station, we were greeted on on the waves. We were a short dis­ Maharaja began in soft tones, to trans­
the platform by Narasimha Maharaja tance from where M ahaprabhu form the form al atmosphere, as he
and Vishnu Maharaja and, carrying Him self bathed the body of H ari Das introduced him self as a hum ble ser­
our Golden Jubilee banner, we chant­ Thakur. vant of Gaura N ita i and not a king.
ed out of the station into the sunny That evening the Math was inau­ "L ife is n ot meant to be wasted on
m orning of Chakra Tirtha, Jagannath gurated. The M ath was decorated sense g ra tific a tio n ", he stated.
Puri. nicely and the finishing touches were Gajapati Maharaja was preaching!
A short rikshaw ride later we all being directed by Govinda Maharaja It was clear that the king had been
reading the p u rp o rts o f A. C. o f King Prataparudra. was particularly charmed by a state­
Bhaktivedanta Swami's books. He I was invited into a large reception m ent by S rim ati Priya Devi Dasi
had visited an ISKCON center in the room and made to feel very relaxed about how, by comparison, Puri was
United States, and he was pleasantly by Gajapati Maharaja, who was very lik e heaven and the West was like
surprised to hear o f our Mandal also, warm and personal. Ratha Yatra was hell. That Sunday paper's headlines
encouraging us to spread our mission the very next day, yet there was no read "Heaven for us" and the whole
far and wide. It was an ecstatic pretence or rushed atmosphere, as front page was mostly devoted to our
moment for all the assembled devo­ Gajapati Maharaja arranged a green Math.
tees. G ovinda Maharaja then coconut for me. He commented to me The next day, Visnu Maharaja and
expressed, fo r all o f us, o ur how beautiful our books were. I got the 'best seats in the house', on
great appreciation fo r I told Maharaja how happy a roof just near the temple, fo r pho­
Gajapati Maharaja's his speech made the devo­ tographing the fe s tiv a l. The colors,
speech. Sagar Maharaja tees at our Math. I also the crowd, everything was awesome
related that he heard hum bly requested him and spectacular. Lord Balarama,
Gajapati Maharaja say to take a special look at Subh a d r a and Lord Jagannath came
" K r i s h n a Loving Search for the Lost out to take their respective positions
Consciousness is the Servant, as Srila Bhakti on their majestic carts. There was no
only s o lu tio n ", when Raksak Sridhar Maharaja fixed tim e for any of this and it was
he emerged from the car. had expressed some spe­ clear that Lord Jagannath was in con­
'A u spiciou s' was an cial sweetness there. trol here. When the Lordships were
understatem ent as to how Remembering som ething seated, Gajapati Maharaja came in a
we all fe lt about the program . Tirtha Maharaja told me in procession to perform the sweeping
Govinda Maharaja presented Gajapati Calcutta, I told the kin g that G uru ceremony before the parade com­
Maharaja w ith all of our publications Maharaja's English was even sweet­ menced. As I made m y way dow n
from around the w orld. er than his Bengali. Gajapati Maharaja into the crowd, I noticed the ropes to
The next day I made an appoint­ directed me to some im portant pan­ the carts were much thicker and heav­
ment to see Gajapati Maharaja at the das in Puri for in q uirin g in his name ie r than I had im agined. G etting a
Palace on Grand Road. I had come to about the painting I was looking for. place to hold was not very easy in the
India to take thousands o f pho­ I left the Palace very elated from the enthusiastic crowd. When things got
tographs for future publications. In Krishna Katha I had shared w ith the m oving, it was a tim e to be very con­
Puri, I was looking for a rare 16th cen­ king. scious, as there was no question of
tu ry p o rtra it o f M ahaprabhu's lila Back at the M ath, a newspaper falling dow n in such a thick, m oving
that was reportedly commissioned reporter came and spoke to some of crowd. I felt like a speck in the ocean
by K ing Prataparudra him self, 500 the devotees and took a group shot o f heads, looking up for that merci­
years ago. I wanted to ask Gajapati of Govinda Maharaja, the assembled fu l wide-eyed sm iling glance o f the
Maharaja if he knew of the painting, sannyasis and the other devotees pre­ Lord of the Universe.
due to his being a direct descendant sent at the Guesthouse. This reporter

and sraddha is also o f three v a ri­ Devotee: N o guna, n irg un a no

necessary through Guru, then every­ eties, satvam, rajas, tamas. W hat is modes?
thing w ill go to Krishna and come happening in this m undane plane,
up to Brahma loka, where Brahma G ovinda Maharaja: Yes, beyond the
back from Krishna to us. This way material modes of nature. That srad­
we shall try. As m uch as we can do is living , that is Satyaloka, it is going
up and down, up and down. But our dha is coming to us through o ur pre­
that result we shall get. ce pto ria l line. Then w e are n ot
sradha, the g ro w in g seed, (bhakti-
There are three kin d s o f sraddha: lata-bija) we are getting from the n ir­ in v o lv e d and have no m undane
satva, raja, and tama. guna plane. touch. We shall try this way, but now
we have a material m ind and b o d y,a
Devotee: Goodness, passion and Devotee: We are g ettin g the seeds m aterial nature and everything. We
ignorance? fro m n irg u n a plane, the s p iritu a l cannot f u lly a void the m undane
G ovinda Maharaja: Yes, and also plane. touch, b u t we shall try to avoid it.
guna, (mode) that is called guna, sat­ One day, b y the mercy o f Sri G uru
Govinda Maharaja: Yes, and nirguna
va guna, raja guna and tama guna & His Grace, we m ust avoid.
means not mundane.
 Business Sense: Working for Krishna
by
Hasyapriya dasa
o many of us, the very thought by talking to people who are doing it require a greater investment than after

T of owning our own business is

enchanting. Imagine being your
own boss where you decide when you
already. Ask them what they went
through to start their business. You
w ill be surprised at how freely many
small business owners are w illin g to
it is running. Calculate how much
yo u r investm ent is, and gradually
expense this over the expected life of
the business. The longer the business
work, what you w ill do, and of course
you w ill get to keep a ll the profits! share their experience w ith others. Or, w ill last, the greater the return you
Many devotees have successfully start­ look for a mentor. There may even be w ill receive on your investment. On
ed their own businesses, but when you another devotee who has done the the other hand, there may be oppor­
speak w ith them, often you w ill hear same business you would like to do. If tunities to be involved in gray busi­
a different story. Stories of how they you are lucky enough to come across nesses that may be attractive because
are w o rkin g 50 to 60 hours a week, such a person, talk to them about pro­ of some quick profits. Choose a pro­
struggling to pay the b ills every viding you w ith some consulting ser­ fession that you and your fam ily can
month, and watching all their profits vices, even if it is only over the phone. feel good about, and not embarrassed
dw indle away on supplies, labor, tax­ by its products or activities. Each fam­
The success rate for franchises is dra­
es, etc. There is no doubt about it, ily is an im p o rta nt part of the
m atically higher than start-up busi­
ow n ing yo ur ow n business is hard Vaishnava community. O ur commu­
nesses. W ith a franchise, you pay up
work! nities should grow on the strength of
front fees and on-going royalties, but
sound choices, even if it takes a little
Nevertheless, there are good reasons you get access to the experience and
longer to grow.
to start your own business. There is knowledge that you may be lacking.
the satisfaction in making a product Established franchises can offer help in Do you have a plan? Ask yourself
or perform ing a service, the way you marketing, sources of supplies, assis­ the follow ing questions: "what, who,
want it done. You get to utilize your tance in negotiating contracts, even where, why, how, and what if?". You
talents and insights in the business. financing for yo u r business. may not need to spend the time to
You can set the mood of the business. Franchises are not right for every busi­ develop a comprehensive business
You may be able to hire others who ness, but it may be perfect for yours. plan, but take some time to ask your­
w ill appreciate w orking in the associ­ self these basic questions. Write down
Do you lik e w h a t you are doing? A
ation of other devotees. You do not yo ur answers so that later you may
business requires a long-term com­
need any educational qualifications. add to them or change your ideas. At
mitment. You w ill most probably be
And o f course there is the potential to least you should know:
w o rkin g in the business for many
make more money than w orking for years. Make sure it is something you What is my product or service? If you
someone else. You may even be able to can see yourself doing five or ten years were to meet someone and they were
help support some Krsna Conscious from now. If you are the only person to ask "What kind of business do you
project by your profits. in this business, you w ill need to do have?", what w ould you say? Write
There are some things that are funda­ all the tasks - production, marketing, dow n a concise description of what
mental to starting any business. In selling, etc. You may like to make a you do. For instance, "I offer book­
this article, I w ill try to discuss briefly product but hate to sell. In time you keeping services to small businesses"
some of the basic issues. may be able to hire others to do the or "I make hand made jewelry".
things you dislike, but in the begin­
Do you know what you are doing? Who do I sell it to? Define the people
ning, plan on doing everything your­
You probably would not be thinking of who w ill buy your product. Is it all
self. the people in the world? Or is it only
starting your own business unless you
were fam iliar w ith a specific business. W ill the business last? Remember Americans? First define who may
But there is a lot more to running a that your business is an investment of buy, then try and define the ideal per­
business than know ing how to make your time, energy and money. The son who would be interested in your
a product or perform a service. Start beginning stages of a business w ill product or service. Use this informa­
 tion to determ ine where you w ill it takes them to produce your prod­ pare your return. You may know all
advertise. uct, or if it is a salesperson, how much about yo u r business, b ut when it
it is costing you to produce a sale. comes to depreciation, allocation of
Where do I perform my business? Do
expenses, filling out the tax forms, and
you need a special office or ware­ The easiest way to keep track of your
state and federal rules, you may be in
house? Can it be done in your home? income and expenses is to have a
the dark. You w ill sleep better at night
checking account used only for the
Why w ill people buy my product? What kn ow ing yo ur tax returns are filed
business. Deposit all your business
are the strengths of your product over tim ely and correctly.
income into the account, and w rite
your com petitor's product? Is your
checks for all your business expenses. W hat is a cash flo w ? Simply stated,
service special in some way?
Use the check register as a note book your cash flo w is the amount of cash
How w ill I do it? Estimate the schedule to write down explanation of the types you have available from your busi­
of events. When w ill you start to man­ of expenses or income. You w ill most ness. This may be different from your
ufacture, how long does it take to get probably have cash expenses. Get profit. Suppose you make a product
the supplies, when w ill you start to receipts for all these expenses. As you and sell it. You may have to buy sup­
sell? Estimate the amount of money receive the receipt, write a note on the plies months before you receive the
you w ill need. Where w ill it come receipt explaining the expense, if the income from the sale. Or you may sell
from? w o rd in g on the receipt is not clear something today, but not receive pay­
What if it doesn't work? H ow long can enough. ment on the invoice for 30 days. Start
you last if the sales are not at the lev­ w ith your sales and expense projec­
W ith accurate inform ation on yo ur
el you were expecting? Review your tions. N o w w ork backwards to see
income and expenses, you w ill be able
plan at three different levels of sales - when you w ill need the money to pro­
to prepare your own budget and sales
high, low and medium. Try to calcu­ projection. There are fixed expenses duce those sales. This is an ongoing
late the 'break even point', which is and variable expenses. The fixed process. Money w ill be com ing in
the least amount of sales that you can from yo ur sales, and you w ill buy
expenses are easy. Your rent is the
have, and not lose money. more products all the time. Make a
same every month. You know in
column for each month and subtract
Keeping yo ur books. There are two advance when and how much your
your anticipated bills from your pro­
reasons to keep good books. One, is car insurance is. These are fixed
expenses. The variable expenses vary jected income. The result is your cash
so you can track the profits o f your
flow. Managing your cash flow is as
business and the second reason is you w ith the volume of sales. If sales are
im portant as managing your profit.
w ill need accurate books to file a tax high, you w ill need more supplies,
return. more labor, etc. These variable This article is in no way meant to be an
expenses can be expressed as a per­ exhaustive explanation o f starting
You w ill want to know exactly how
centage of the sales price. Try and pro­ your own business. Volumes of books
much it costs you to make a product,
ject your sales for a given period - say have been written on this subject. But
including both the direct cost of sup­
6 months. W ith a column for each I hope by w riting about some of these
plies and the hidden costs such as
month, write down the projected sales, issues, other devotees w ill write to me
phone calls, travel, use of your car or
fixed expenses, and variable sales w ith their thoughts on these and relat­
home, etc. Write things down! Keep
expenses. Subtract yo ur expenses ed subjects. "Good judgement comes
a daily record of how much time you
from yo u r projected sales and you from experience, and experience
are spending on each area o f your
have your profit. Try this w ith differ­ comes from poor judgement." There
business. This inform ation w ill also
ent levels of sales to see various pro­ is a lot of good judgement out there
be valuable in helping you determine
jections. in the experiences of our Godbrothers
how it w ill affect your profits if you
and Godsisters. This column, w ith
were to hire someone to work for you. Taxes are complicated! If you do not
your participation, can be a forum for
If you do hire employees, track their have a good understanding of the tax
sharing these assets.
results. You should know how long rules, find a tax professional to pre­

We w o u ld like to firs t offer o ur dandavats to all our readers. It is o ur plan to make Sri Vaishnava Toshani a b i­
m onthly journal, w ith o ur next issue due out March First. If you w o u ld like to see something in particular in
our next or any issue, or if you w ould like to take issue w ith any of the statements published herein, w e are anx­
ious fo r the discussion. Because this is o ur Premiere issue, we apologize fo r our shortcomings, and we hope to
do a better job w ith each subsequent issue, and w ith the mercy o f the Vaishnavas publish for years to come.
 Sripad B.A. Sagar Maharaj continues to churn the ocean of nectar.
Coming Soon to a Math Near You! Sri Brahma Samhita
w ith Sanskrit Verses, Roman transliteration, and the Bengali Translation &
Commentary of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur,
rendered into English
by Sripad Sagar Maharaj

Verse 30 Śrī Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā

veṇuṁ kvaṇantam aravinda-dalāyatākṣaṁ

barhāvataṁsam asitāmbuda-sundarāṅgam
kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ
govindam ādi puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi [30] beautiful in the material world. What is being described
here is what Brahmā is seeing in his divine trance of
Devotion.
Kṛṣṇa is rapt in playing His flute; the beautiful dancing
notes of that flute steal away the hearts of all living beings.
As the petal o f the lotus flower showers sweetness into
our hearts, Kṛṣṇa’s Eyes, as the revelation of divine vision,
expand the unlimited beauty o f His moonlike face. His
characteristic celestial beauty is set o ff by the charming
Translation: ornament of the peacock feather that adorns His head.
Always playing the flute, We feel tranquillity in our hearts when we see a blue
His eyes like blooming lotus-petals, rain-cloud— the hue o f Kṛṣṇa’s Body is o f a similar Divine
His head adorned with a peacock feather, blackish-blue. Even if we could see or imagine the qualities
His beautiful Form the hue o f a blue cloud; of this world’s Cupid multiplied billions of times, the
with the unique beauty that charms millions o f Cupids— beauty of Kṛṣṇa is yet more charming. [30]
the Primeval Lord, Govinda, do I adore. [30]
P urport: (The unparalleled beauty of Kṛṣṇa, the Darling
o f Goloka, is being described.) The Alm ighty Conscious­
ness, Kṛṣṇa, has a Spiritual Form by Nature. I t is not that
Kṛṣṇa’s Form can be imagined in comparison to anything

Other books available by His D ivine Grace Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev Goswam i:
Search for Sri Krishna: Reality the Beautiful
Sri Guru & His Grace
The Golden Volcano of D ivine Love
Subjective Evolution of Consciousness
Bhagavad Gita: The Hidden Treasure of the Sweet Absolute
Prapana Jivanamrta: Nectar in the Lives of Surrendered Souls
Sermons of The Guardian of Devotion Vols 1 & 2
Guardian of Devotion
Sri Caitanya Saraswati
The D ivine Servitor (Talks of Srila Govinda M aharaj)