PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

Originally published in Back to Godhead
1968: Volume 1, Number 21, Page 41

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 2 Text 38
sukha-duhkhe same krtva
labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva
naivam papam avapsyasi

sukha--happiness; duhkhe--and distress; same--in equanimity; krtva--doing so; labha-alabhau--both profit and loss; jaya-ajayau--both victory and defeat; tatah--thereafter; yuddhaya--for the sake of fighting; yujyasva--engage (fight); na--never; evam--in this way; papam--sinful reaction; avapsyasi--you will gain.

TRANSLATION

Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat--and by so doing you shall never incur sin.

JOURNAL:

Looking through a copy of Back to Godhead magazine from 1968 I noticed an ISKCON ad promoting perfume ($4.00), posters ($2.50), kurtas ($9.00), and "prayer beads". These last cost $2.00 and you had the choice of light or dark Tulsi, sandalwood or rosewood.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from btg.iskcondesiretree.info):

Reprinted from Back to Godhead,
Volume One, Number 18, Page 34, 1968

The Peace Formula

Original page from Back to Godhead magazine,
Volume One, Number 21, Page 47, 1968
















The Peace Formula
by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

The great mistake of modern civilization is to encroach upon other's property as though it were one's own, and to thereby create an unnecessary disturbance of the Laws of Nature. These laws are very strong. No living entity can violate them. Only one who is Krishna conscious can easily overcome the stringency of the Laws of Nature, and thus become happy and peaceful in the world.

As a state is protected by the Department of Law and Order, so the State of Universe, of which this earth is only an insignificant fragment, is protected by the Laws of Nature. This material Nature is one of the different potencies of God, Who is the ultimate Proprietor of everything that be. This earth is, therefore, the property of God, but we the living entities, especially the so-called civilized human beings, are claiming God's property as our own, under both an individual and collective false conception. If you want peace, you have to remove this false conception from your mind and from the world. This false claim of proprietorship by the human race on earth is partly or wholly the cause of all disturbances of peace on earth.

Foolish and so-called civilized men are claiming proprietary rights on the property of God because they have now become Godless. You cannot be happy and peaceful in a Godless society. In The Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that He is the factual Enjoyer of all activities of the living entities, that He is the supreme Lord of all universes, and that He is the well-wishing Friend of all beings. When the people of the world know this as the formula for peace, it is then and there that peace will prevail.

Therefore, if you want peace at all, you will have to change your consciousness into Krishna Consciousness—both individually and collectively—by the simple process of chanting the Holy Name of God. This is a standard and recognized process for achieving peace in the world. We therefore recommend that everyone become Krishna conscious by chanting: HARE KRISHNA, HARE KRISHNA, KRISHNA KRISHNA, HARE HARE/ HARE RAMA, HARE RAMA, RAMA RAMA, HARE HARE.

This is practical, simple and sublime. Four hundred and eighty years ago this formula was introduced in India by Lord Sri Chaitanya, and now it is available in your country. Take to this simple process of chanting as above mentioned, realize your factual position by reading The Bhagavad Gita As It Is, and re-establish your lost relationship with Krishna, God. Peace and prosperity will be the immediate worldwide result.

The Spiritualization of Energy

by Hayagriva Das Brahmachary
(Howard Wheeler)

"The world is charg'd with the grandeur of God . . . ."
—Gerard Manly Hopkins

(Mantra to be sung at the top of your lungs to whatever tune you like from dawn to dawn to dawn without cessation forever and ever and ever into eternity.)

HARE KRISHNA, HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA
HARE HARE, HARE RAMA
HARE RAMA, RAMA RAMA
HARE HARE
All that we ever see
Is God's blissful energy.
O God's blissful energy!
O God's blissful energy!
God's blissful energy
All just for you and me.
O God's blissful energy.
Blissful, blissful energy!
Wipe your eyes
So you can see,
Blow your cool,
Don't play the fool—
Can't you see?
We're His very
E N E R G Y
Energy!
Sing it, shout it,
Tell the entire
World about it.

Chant it, rant it!
Dance, enhance it.
Don't sit and sigh,
Let's all get high.
Don't feel morose,
Have a double dose
Of
Energy!
Energy!
It's always, always
ALWAYS free!
FREE! FREE!
Don't be suspect,
It's direct
From God to thee,
And it's FREE!
ENERGY! E N E R G Y!
Blissful, blissful
E N E R G Y!
HARE KRISHNA! HARE KRISHNA!
KRISHNA! KRISHNA!
HARE! HARE! HARE RAMA!
HARE RAMA! RAMA! RAMA!
HARE! HARE!

"'Hare' means 'the energy of the Lord.' So when we sing 'Hare Krishna,' we are saying, 'O Lord, O the wonderful energy of the Lord, O Lord please accept me who am no more than the straw in the street.'"—- Swami Bhaktivedanta

(Reprinted from Back to Godhead magazine Volume One, Number 09, Page 7 -text, page 9 -image, 1967)

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from ISKCON Desire Tree):

Back To Godhead Cover
Volume 1, Number 15, 1967