CONTENTS:
- GLORIES OF THE HOLY NAME
- SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
- GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
1. GLORIES OF THE HOLY NAME
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave us a very wonderful process that process is harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalua nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha (CC Adi 17.21). Chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, Hare Krishna Maha Mantra is the only way for deliverance in the age of Kali, besides that there is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way. Material nature is a very difficult and dangerous place.
padam padam yad vipadam na tesam, at every step there is a possibility of danger. Fortunately, Krishna gave us some intelligence and with the intelligence we are avoiding this dangerous situation. If we did not have intelligence our situation would get very difficult. The ultimate consideration of intelligence is to completely get out of this dangerous situation. Everyone in this material nature is trying to avoid the dangerous situation that’s why people want money.
They think with money they can avoid the dangerous situation and enjoy their life; they can have their sense gratification. In this material nature no matter how much money, power, fame we have we won’t be able to avoid this dangerous situation it’s going to come. Sooner or later, it will come, so many big people died all of a sudden for example there was an American president Abraham Lincon, he was like the builder of America. In the civil war he played a very important role, developed independence of America. One day somebody killed him. Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi struggled so hard to get the independence of India.
India became independent but somebody came and shot him. John F Kennedy, a big powerful president of America, somebody killed him. Despite their money and power, could they have avoided this dangerous situation to save themselves from death? Sooner or later death will come to everybody, somebody will die being killed by an assassin all of a sudden, somebody will die suddenly in an accident crossing the road, some car came and hit him dead, or somebody will die slowly get some disease cancer, or this disease or that disease and slowly they will die. Somebody will die young and somebody will die old but everybody has to die.
In this material nature we are making so many arrangements but ultimately you have to leave everything and go away. These are the conditions of the material nature. Janma, mrtyu-jara-vyadhi, birth, death, old age and disease cannot be avoided, therefore we have to consider how we can free ourselves from this dangerous situation. So that is the solution: harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam. Now somebody may say even devotees who have been chanting Hare Krishna Maha Mantra they also die, some devotees died in an accident, some devotees died through some disease the question may arise that the devotees also die so what’s the difference? Those who are chanting they also die and those who are not chanting also die so what’s the difference? Why you saying harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam this is the only way to solve the problem? The solution to the problem is not in this way, the solution to the problem actually is the change of consciousness.
When we are in body conscious when we leave the body, we think we are dying, we are dead, I am finished, but those who have taken to spiritual life have understood that their body is actually not their actual self, their actual identity is the spirit soul. Therefore, they don’t die, they leave their body and because they know that they are not this body it doesn’t make any difference to them. To them changing of the body is like changing of clothes, to them it’s not death, its changing of body, to them it’s not death, to them it is transmigration of the soul. The soul’s leaving one body to take another body, that is why devotees do not die, they simply change their body. Devotees don’t have disease, they don’t become affected by the disease because it’s to the body, death, disease, old age it’s to the body and they are not the body and that is how they conquer death.
Once in Vrindavan one magician came and he wanted to show his magic trick to Srila Prabhupada, he heard Srila Prabhupada was there and that Prabhupada was so famous and prominent so he wanted to demonstrate his magic tricks to Srila Prabhupada. He was showing so many things appear so many things disappear, the way the magicians do. That magician took his hat and shook his hat and then held it up and some pigeons came out, this is the magic tricks the magicians show so he was showing all those magic tricks.
At the end he came to Srila Prabhupada and offered his respect and 
Srila Prabhupada said, “Very good.” Then Prabhupada said, “You can make so many things appear and so many things disappear but can you make birth, death, old age and disease disappear?” Magician said no and Prabhupada said, “I can, therefore I am a greater magician that you.” That is what Krishna Consciousness does, it makes birth, death, old age and disease disappear, those who take to Krishna Consciousness there is no birth, death, old age and disease because they have become situated in their spiritual; identity.
The spirit soul is never born na jayate na mriyate va kadacit the soul is never born nor does the soul ever die. That is what one achieves when one takes to spiritual life and the way to take to spiritual life is harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam. In this age if you want to practise spiritual life this is the way, chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, besides that there is no other way, no other way, no other way. In other ages there was other ways: In Satya-yuga there was meditation, Treta-yuga the process is offering sacrifice to Visnhu, Dvapara-yuga the way is to worship Krishna in the temple and Kali-yuga process is chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, Harikirtan. These are the different ways of achieving spiritual perfection in the different ages. This is the process of Kali so that is what we have to do. Those who are very intelligent will worship Krishna by chanting the Holy Name, through the process of sankirtan, very special.
Krishna came as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to make this process available and He predicted that this movement will spread all over the world in every town and village. He sent Srila Prabhupada to make that happen, every town and village all over the world and its happening. Krishna consciousness movement is spreading with the passing of time and so many people are benefitting by coming across this very wonderful process of spiritual progress.
Please take full advantage of this process. Krishna Consciousness has become available in Ujjain and as a result of that Ujjainvasis are getting an opportunity. Had ISKCON not have come this opportunity would have not have been there so this is how ISKCON is spreading all over and Krishna Consciousness movement is spreading creating this wonderful benefit for people all over the world. Please take full advantage of this.
2. SRILA PRABHUPADA'S APPRECIATION
Once in Vrindavan one magician came and he wanted to show his magic trick to Srila Prabhupada, he heard Srila Prabhupada was there and that Prabhupada was so famous and prominent so he wanted to demonstrate his magic tricks to Srila Prabhupada. He was showing so many things appear so many things disappear, the way the magicians do. That magician took his hat and shook his hat and then held it up and some pigeons came out, this is the magic tricks the magicians show so he was showing all those magic tricks. At the end he came to Srila Prabhupada and offered his respect and Srila Prabhupada said, “Very good.” Then Prabhupada said, “You can make so many things appear and so many things disappear but can you make birth, death, old age and disease disappear?” Magician said no and Prabhupada said, “I can, therefore I am a greater magician that you.”
3. GURU MAHARAJA’S INSTRUCTIONS
Krishna came as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to make this process available and He predicted that this movement will spread all over the world in every town and village. He sent Srila Prabhupada to make that happen, every town and village all over the world and its happening. Krishna consciousness movement is spreading with the passing of time and so many people are benefiting by coming across this very wonderful process of spiritual progress. Please take full advantage of this process.
(The content of this E-magazine was based on a Lecture given by His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami in ISKCON Ujjain on 22 January 2018)
(Compiled and Edited by Hemavati Radhika Devi Dasi)