Positive Thinker

Identifying the Divine Guide 1
‘Essence of Bhagavad-gita’ series, Course - 2
‘Positive Thinker’
(also ‘Spirit of Bhagavad gita’)
This course helps one with the Positive spirit needed to tap the
powerful message of Gita. It helps one to identify a divine guide in
your life and to obtain the necessary qualifications to become a
cheerful positive thinker in life by knowing the sublime truths.
Course 1 : ‘Spiritual Scientist’ (‘Discover your self’)

Course 2: ‘Positive Thinker’ (‘Spirit of Bhagavad gita’)
Course 3 : ‘Self Manager’ (‘Basics of Bhagavad gita’)
Course 4: ‘Proactive Leader’ (‘Secret of Bhagavad gita’)
Course 5: ‘Personality development’ (‘Essence of Bhagavad gita’)
Compiled by: Radheshyam Das, M.Tech. IIT, Mumbai
Rekindling Wisdom, Reviving Love

Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education (VOICE)
ISKCON, 4, Tarapore Road, Pune-1,
Phone: (020) 2633 2328, 2636 1855,
Email: books@voicepune.com, info@voicepune@vsnl.com
2 ‘Positive Thinker’, Course-2
Readers interested in the subject matter of this book are invited by the Vedic Oasis for
Inspiration, Culture and Education (VOICE) to correspond with our Secretary or Sales Manager
at the following address:
Sales Manager: Krishnakishore das
A-102, Bharati Vihar, Katraj, Pune – 411 046
Phone: +91-020-24306330
Email: krishnakishoredas@gmail.com
Web: www.iskconpune.com
Edited by: Chaitanya Charan das, Bamsigopal das, Haresh Daswani, Krishnan, kundananda das
Cover design by: Jagannath Kirtan das
First Printing: July 2007 / 2000 copies

© 2005, Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education (VOICE), Pune
All rights reserved.
VOICE Pune expresses its gratitude to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) for the use of verses, purports
and pictures from the books of Srila Prabhupada. All such verses, purports and pictures are © BBT.
Radheshyam das: Radheshyam das brahmacari finished his M.Tech. from IIT, Powai, Bombay
and joined Thermax as a Senior Design Executive. His Krishna consciousness was awakened
by the inspiration of His Grace Devamrita prabhu, his siksha guru and His Holiness Radhanath
swami who initiated him in 1993. The following year he joined ISKCON as a fulltime celibate at
ISKCON, Chowpatty temple for preaching the sublime message of Bhagavad-gita, and was
subsequently deputed to preach at Pune. He began the Youth Forum in Pune in 1996, which
later took shape as in Pune and many other parts of India. His main focus is preaching to youth
and children, and publishing books and notes materials for the preachers of Krishna
consciousness. He was conferred by ISKCON the ‘Global Excellency’ award in 2004 for youth
preaching and ‘Jiva Goswami’ award in 2005 for innovative youth preaching. Besides preaching
at Pune, he travels to oversee the VOICEs at IITKGP, ITBHU-Varanasi, NIT Warrangal, NIT
Suratkal, NIT Jamshedpur, etc. Currently he is the President of ISKCON, Pune and the Director
of VOICE, Pune. This book is a result of his ripe experience in preaching, counseling and guiding
people in Krishna consciousness over a decade.
Cover Page: It is concluded in Bhagavad-gita itself that, “Wherever there is Shri Krishna, the
master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly
be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.” Also it is said, ‘jayas tu Pandu
putranam yesham pakshe Janardhana’ - ‘All victory will go to the Pandavas on whose side the
Supreme Lord Krishna is personally present’. We wish all our readers opulence, victory,
extraordinary power and morality in their lives by reading and applying this book. The back
cover of the book shows a sample of readers and users of the book. Srila Prabhupada, Founder
Acharya of ISKCON is the exponent who presented Krishna conscious knowledge for the
suffering people of Kaliyuga. Thus if the reader finds Krishna consciousness awakened in his or
her heart by reading this book, all glory should be given to Srila Prabhupada.
Published by Radheshyam das, Director, VOICE, Pune. Ph: 2633 2328

For whom is this book meant?
& For housewives, it is a homestudy course.

& For Youth Forum boys, to be used in weekend meets.
& For Youth Forum girls, to be used in weekend meets.
& For preachers who want to conduct Bhaktivriksha.
& For students or corporate executives who would like to start a ‘Bhagavad-gita study
circle’, or ‘Bhagavad-gita club’, in hostels, companies, housing society, etc.
& For parents, to learn the basics of Hindu religion or Sanatana Dharma, and teach their
children convincingly.
& For Principals of schools or Colleges, to organize weekly classes and invite students
who voluntarily show interest in Personality development and Character build-up.
& For Temple Presidents, Congregation Leaders and Counselors who want to set up two
one-year Courses in the temple for training the brahmacaris, or congregation
members, before recommending them for first initiation.
& For anybody above 13 years of age, who sincerely wants to know the meaning of life
and obtain knowledge of God, our relationship to God, and our duty towards Him.
Note : In the past, we have been calling our different groups as BACE (Bhaktivedanta
Academy for Culture and Education). We have recently renamed it as VOICE (Vedic
Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education). In future we will be calling our different
wings as Boys VOICE, Girls VOICE, Childrens VOICE, Corporate VOICE, Young
couples VOICE, Senior citizens VOICE etc. This is done for simple understanding of
anyone. A detailed note is given in the Appendix.
Acknowledgements
My first salutations at the lotus feet of my spiritual master, His Holiness Radhanath
Swami Maharaj and to my grand spiritual master, Founder Acharya of ISKCON, His
Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, for their blessings, inspiration and
empowerment, without which I would have had no substance in my life. Their mercy has
opened my eyes of knowledge and brought me out of the dark region of multiple
philosophies, contradictions, arguments and opinions, and placed me on the path of
unmotivated loving devotional service to the lotus feet of Shri, Shri Radha Kunjabihariji.
I have compiled this book only to show the lucidity, clarity, and beauty of their teachings
coming directly from Lord Shri Krishna in the authorized disciplic succession of
Brahma–Madhva–Gaudiya sampradaya. My respects are also to my siksha gurus – His
Grace Devamrita prabhu, His Grace Radha Gopinath prabhu, His Grace Shyamananda
prabhu, His Grace Govinda prabhu, His Grace Rasaraja prabhu, His Grace Mukunda
Madhava prabhu, and His Grace Kapila prabhu, from whose lectures I have obtained
much of the valuable information that I have presented in this book. My special respects
are to His Holiness Gopalakrishna Goswami, His Holiness Lokanath Swami, His
Holiness Bhaktiswarupa Damodar Swami, His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami, His Holiness
Romapada Swami, His Holiness Bhaktivikas Swami, His Holiness Bhakticaru Swami,
His Holiness Jayapataka Swami, His Holiness Mahanidhi Swami, His Hoiness Radha
Govinda Swami, His Holiness Navayogendra Swami, His Holiness Sukadeva Goswami,
His Holiness Vedavyaspriya Swami, His Holiness Bhakti Purushottam Swami, Jananivas
prabhu, and Krishnasmarana prabhu, whose constant encouragement in my preaching
activities inspired me to come up with this publication. Any credit given for this
compilation should be given to all these personalities, since I have but just repeated, like
a child, what I have learnt and assimilated from them.
This book is aims-driven and focused on teaching the concepts through groupwork,
quizzes, dramas, comprehension writing, etc. The credit for this goes to my teachers His
Grace Rasamandala prabhu and His Grace Atul Krishna prabhu, who taught me at
Teachers Training Courses (TTC1, TTC2 and Bhakti Sastri TTC), and whose teaching
completely changed my outlook to learning. I thank His Grace Janmashtami prabhu who
organizes these courses at Shri Mayapur dham.
The book has come out successfully by the sincere efforts of many devotees. Hard
working Jagannath Kirtan prabhu has conceived and designed the fascinating cover page.
Our special thanks to Bhakta Dasharath for assisting in layouting the book. Bhakta
Hitesh, Her grace Radhika mataji and Her grace Radhapadadhuli mataji have contributed
photos to the cover page. Special thanks are due to Jagannath kirtan prabhu, Bhakta
Arulnath, and Sankirtan Anand prabhu for their unflinching dedication in bringing out
this book by doing all the taxing computer work. Chaitanya Charan prabhu, Bamsigopal
prabhu, Bhakta Haresh, and Mukundananda prabhu deserve special appreciation for their
valuable proofreading and editing. I express my gratitude to Sundari mataji,
Shrivatsachandra prabhu and Vaishali mataji who gave ideas for improving the book.
My special thanks to Shriman Ramnath Lakshman for his kind contribution in bringing
out this book. I also express my heartfelt gratitude to the many other devotees to whom I
could not pay personal attention and who tolerated me in my busy schedules of preparing
the book. My gratitude to Dr. Jitendra Arya and his ‘Institute of Nature Cure and Yogic
Sciences’, where he offered me a serene atmosphere in the mode of goodness for
completing this work.
Radheshyam Das,
VOICE, Pune.
Introduction
In modern days, people have very little time for joining spiritual courses. When I had
released ‘Essence of Bhagavad gita’ as a jumbosize book, many preachers had difficulty
enrolling candidates for a year-long course. Keeping this in mind, I have now made it
into five small courses. Hope this idea will help preachers set up short-term courses that
will attract hundreds of candidates. Each course has a ‘material name’ and a ‘spirtiual
name’. Thus the participants will be awarded two certificates upon completion of each
course, that they can use in material and spiritual circles.
The Vedic texts are the panacea for all problems, for all times. They give a crystal clear
understanding of all the fundamental and essential truths of life including who we are,
what the true goal of life is, and how we can attain permanent happiness.
The books published earlier were meant for engineering college students. The
congregation, however, always felt a need for a simpler book that would present the
teachings of Srila Prabhupada with simple examples, stories and illustrations. This book
addresses the need of the Congregation devotees as well as the Youth preachers. (The
preacher could make the audience sit in a circle and speak after asking one of them to
read a para; expert preachers may prepare charts, slides or go for interactive discussions
on the themes covered in the book).
For the past several years, the congregation devotees at Pune have been feeling a need for
systematic courses to train and educate them in Siddhanta (philosophy), Sadhana
(regulated spiritual practice), Sadachar (etiquette and behavior) and Seva (devotional
service). To meet those needs we have come up with this course book after referring to
VTE (Vaishnava Training and Education) manual’s approach and MTE (Manor Training
and Education) manual, London, which have thoroughly researched from Srila
Prabhupada’s books on the most essential items to be learnt by a beginner. We have also
referred to VOICE, Pune, syllabus used for training youth over several years now.
We were always looking for some method of evaluation in recommending people for
Diksha or Initiation. When one conducts an interview to evaluate fitness of a candidate
for the first initiation, both the candidate and the interviewer are perplexed. The
candidate is afraid of the interview as to what will be asked? And the interviewer is not
completely sure whether the candidate, who appears to be an average candidate, can be
sent at this stage for initiation. Offering courses like in this book will ensure that the
candidate has been undergoing training for a year or two that he/she has digested the
philosophy over a period of time, and is applying Vaishnava etiquette in everyday life.
Thus, the selection of candidate by President, or the authorities, becomes easy. Those
who do not want to undergo the course, owing to time constraints, etc., but want to go for
initiation, could be asked to fulfill the basic criteria of Quiz submission, giving the
required Written Tests for these courses and completing the basic requirements.
The preachers, in their respective areas or temples, could invite youths and the
congregation to join the BHAGAVAD-GITA STUDY CIRCLE that can operate once a
week, on a Saturday or Sunday, or a day convenient to the majority of participants. It is
basically a ‘Bhakti Vriksha’ type of group, but using the name ‘BHAGAVAD-GITA
STUDY CIRCLE’ is more appealing to the new people. If youth feel that ‘Bhagavad-
gita’ name may put off the newcomer youths, they could call it as ‘SPIRITUAL
SCIENTISTS STUDY CIRCLE’. The subject most appreciated by great spiritual
scientists like Einstein, Openheimer, etc., is Bhagavad-gita.
Sometimes the facilitation part in ‘Bhakti Vriksha’ meetings becomes a great challenge
for a new preacher who has not yet developed confidence in the philosophy of Krishna
consciousness. This book gradually and systematically develops the subject of
Bhagavad-gita philosophy.
This book has to be used along with ‘Bhagavad-gita As It Is’ by Srila Prabhupada, as the
reader will need it for the ‘slokas for memorization’ section, as well as ‘Bhagavad-gita
As It Is Quiz’ section, and to refer to the sloka references given in the lessons marked
with letters ‘BG’.
This book is a crash course on our five-volume edition, ‘Spirituality for Modern Youth’
consisting of: ‘Discover Your Self’, ‘Your Best Friend’, ‘Your Secret Journey’, ‘Victory
over Death’, and ‘Yoga of Love’. As these books are exhaustive, many preachers may
feel that it takes several years to complete them. The teacher could use the above series
as reference books, while the student could use the ‘Essence of Bhagavad-gita’ book for
study and reference.
For ‘Sadhana and Sadachar’ (‘Devotional practice’ and ‘Vaishnava etiquette and
behavior’), we have given the syllabus and reference books. Thus the teacher could
conduct these courses on philosophy blended with practical Vaishnava behavior, to
ensure that the students’ knowledge does not remain theoretical, but is practically applied
and digested.
There are quizzes at the end of each lesson in this book. There are also quizzes based on
‘Bhagavad-gita As It Is’ by Srila Prabhupada. This is to ensure that the student gets the
advantage of Prabhupada vani.
About a decade ago, we had brought out a book with the same title for a six-session
course on ‘Essence of Bhagavad-gita’. This book is more exhaustive so as to help
preachers conduct courses for a period of one to two years. One could also pick some of
the titles to give a six-session course.
We will consider our humble efforts successful if this endeavor can assist in fulfilling the
pure desire of our acharyas to flood the entire world with Krishna consciousness.
Radheshyam Das
Director, Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture and Education (VOICE), Pune
President, ISKCON, Pune.
Essence of Bhagavad gita

Five short-term Certificate courses
Through Weekly Study Circle
Course books:
1. ‘Essence of Bhagavad-gita’ five courses series, for ‘Siddhanta’ or philosophy
2. Vaishnava Etiquette Manual published by ISKCON, Shri Shri Radha Gopinath
mandir, Near Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 7, K.M.Munshi marg, Chowpatty, Mumbai-
400 007 Phone: (022) 2369 7228, rgsevaka@vsnl.net
‘Devotional Practice’ and ‘Vaishnava Culture’, Introductory Course Student Handbook, Contact: Sita Rama
prabhu, Bhaktivedanta Manor, Hilfield Lane, Aldenham, Watford WD25 8EZ, U.K.
I. Spiritual scientist (Discover Your Self)

Duration: 3 weeks, weekly twice
The course helps one to scientifically discover one’s real identity and one’s
relationship with the Supreme. A material scientist knows only the atom; a spiritual
scientist knows the soul, which is spiritual. This knowledge helps him find goal,
mission and vision of life.
.
1. Introduction to Bhagavad gita

Sadhana and Sadachar topics
2. Material problems, Spiritual solutions
3. Getting the eyes of Knowledge
--------- NIL ------------
4. Vedas – the privelege of Humanity
5. Science of Soul
6. Different platforms of Worship
II. Positive Thinker (Spirit of Bhagavad gita)

Duration: 4 months, weekly once
This course helps one with the Positive spirit needed to tap the powerful message of
Gita. It helps one to identify a divine guide in your life and to obtain the necessary
qualifications to become a cheerful positive thinker in life by knowing the sublime
truths.
1. Identifying my divine guide Sadhana and Sadachar topics
2. Spirit of Bhagavad gita 1. Practical Devotional Service
2. Etiquette within the Temple
3. Qualifications of an ideal Disciple
3. Habits and Behavior
4. Reincarnation – fact or fiction?
4. Four Regulative Principles
5. Evolving towards Perfection 5. The Four Don’ts to Freedom
III. Self Manager (Basics of Bhagavad gita)

This course teaches not the art of managing men, machine, material, market and
money, but managing ones own life by a holistic approach that combines knowledge
of God’s position and practical application of mantra meditation.
Sadhana and Sadachar topics

1. Peace Formula 1. Hearing and Chanting
2. Who should be the object of my worship? 2. Deity Worship
3. God and gods 3. Tulasi Worship
4. Is God Personal or impersonal ? 4. Learning Meaning of Morning
5. The Art of Self Management program Songs
5. Holy Days
6. Serving and Honoring Prasadam
7. Dress and Appearance
8. Missionary Activities
9. Dealing with Parents, Relatives
and Friends
IV. Proactive Leader (Secret of Bhagavad gita)

This course prepares one to become a Proactive Leader. All of us at some moments
or the other, become victims to anger, lust and pride and feel sorry for our un-
exemplary behaviour. The Proactive Leader is a thoughtful person who gives a
positive spiritual response, by knowing what is illusion opposed to reality and the
resultant effects of all types of action.
Sadhana and Sadachar topics :
1. The three ropes that bind us
2. Surpassing Maya 1. ISKCON’s Cultural Identity and its
3. Our lost home – Kingdom of God connection to the Vedas
4. Karma – the law of infallible justice 2. Varnasrama Dharma
3. Ethics and Morality
4. Sadhana
5. Position of women in Vedic culture
6. Relating to Devotees with Due
Respect
V. Personality Development (Essence of Bhagavad gita)

Personality development is not a superficial change. We are generally covered over

superficially by our acquired qualities like Experiences, Abilities, Memories, Learning,
Habits and Beliefs etc. But the innate qualities of the soul like Peace, Love, Truth,
Happiness, Humility, Tolerance are hidden. When we awaken the innate qualities of
the soul, they come out in the 4 R’s of our life-- in the various Roles that we have to
play, the different Routines that we go through, the Responsibilities we have to
shoulder, and the various Relationships that we care for. The innate qualities are
brought out when one’s personality is truly developed.
1. Essence of Bhagavad gita

2. Creation and Universal Time Sadhana and Sadachar topics :
3. Different types of Yoga system
1. Relating to Seniors, Juniors and
4. Practical Application of Bhagavad gita
Peers
5. Passing the Final Exam
2. Three levels of Devotees
3. Dealings with Guests
4. Offenses to the Vaishnava
5. Twenty-six Qualities of a Devotee
Bhagavad-gita
‘Slokas for Memorization’ Syllabus
Positive Thinker (Spirit of Bhagavad gita) Sloka numbers from

Bhagavad-gita As It Is
Chapter Headings
1. Identifying the divine guide 2.7, 10.9, 12.13, 12.14
Gita Mahatmya 6,7 4.2,

2. The Spirit of the Bhagavad-gita
4.3, 9.1, 10.10
3. Qualifications of an ideal Disciple 4.34, 10.11
4. Reincarnation – fact or fiction? 2.22, 2.40, 6.41, 6.42-44
13.22, 13.23, 15.8, 15.9,

5. Evolving towards Perfection
8.5, 8.6
* * * * *
Method of Evaluation and Reward
1) The marking will be done as follows :
50% weightage for the marks obtained from EBG Course Quiz, BG As It Is Quiz,
Story Quiz, etc.
30% weightage for the Final Exam
20% for Practical lifestyle and behavior, Attendance, Punctuality and

Participation in the weekly classes
2) Certificates could be issued based on the following criteria:

Passing marks : 60%,
Distinction : 80% and above
Honors : 90% and above,
High Honors : 95% and above
Candidates who get 60% and above will receive a Certificate of Recognition.
CONTENTS
Course Syllabus and Slokas for Memorization
Ch. No. Name of Chapter Pg. No.

1 Identifying My Divine Guide 1
2 The Spirit of Bhagavad-gita 15
3 Qualifications of an Ideal Disciple 27
4 Reincarnation – Fact or Fiction ? 41
5 Evolving towards Perfection 65
Appendices 85
Chapter 1
Identifying the Divine Guide

Chapter Contents
Sr. No. Contents Page No.
1 Blind Attachment Leads to Misery 3
2 Absolute Necessity of a Spiritual Master 4

Identifying the Genuine and the Fake 5
3 Who is not a guru? 5
Who is a guru? 6
Qualifications of a Guru 6
What is the guru’s understanding about 6
God?
What benedictions does a guru bestow upon 8
4
his disciples?
What is the guru’s relation with wealth, 8
women and followers?
What is the guru’s general behavior? 9
Check & Balance Through ‘Guru-Sadhu-
5 10
Shastra’

"tad viddhi praëipätena paripraçnena sevayä
upadekñyanti te jïänaà jïäninas tattva-darçinaù
TRANSLATION
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and
render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have
seen the truth. [BG 4.34]
* * * *
Blind Attachment Leads to Misery
In Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna recognizes that he is afflicted by the ‘kripana’ mentality,

which had brought immense grief, weakness of heart and indecision in his life. Arjuna
submits this problem to Krishna, accepts Him as his divine master and begs Him to free
him from that insurmountable lamentation.
There are two types of men -- ‘kripana’ or a miserly

person and a ‘brahmana’ or an intelligent person. A
kripana is a man who due to bodily attachment ignores
spiritual life. He thinks that life is only meant for
eating, drinking and making merry. Surrounded by
relatives and friends, his pocket filled with money, his
subordinates praising his material achievements, a
foolish man in such a state of intoxication, forgets that
inevitable time is gradually devouring him, ultimately to
strip him of everything in the form of death. Thus the
kripana chooses the path of flickering pleasure and a
brahmana chooses the spiritual path that leads to eternal
joy. If you show a child a chocolate and a hundred
rupee or a thousand dollar currency note, he may
foolishly choose the chocolate, as he does not know the
value of the currency note. This is the condition of
majority of the people of this world. A kripana is satisfied with struggling to set right the
problems of this world and delight in paltry material pleasures that will be taken away by
the power of time. But a brahmana keeps the ultimate spiritual goal in mind. Just as in
one currency note hundreds of chocolates are hidden, similarly a brahmana knows that if
one cultivates God consciousness, and returns back to Godhead, then all other problems
will be solved in one stroke.
Being intelligent, Arjuna could understand that his bodily attachment to his family
members despite their pursuing the path of irreligion, and his wish to protect them from
death, were the causes of his perplexities. He knew that Dhrtarashtra, due to his blind
attachment to his son Duryodhana, allowed him to continue with his atrocious activities
and nefarious plans to even try to kill the Pandavas by trickery. The Kauravas
represented adharma and deserved to be killed for the well being of the society. Besides
this, the Pandavas finished their punishment term of exile in the forest faithfully and were
guided by the Lord of dharma, Shri Krishna. It was a question of whether to allow
adharma to continue out of sentimental attachment to the Kaurava family, or to stand up
boldly to fight and establish dharma. It was not just a war between Pandavas and
Kauravas; but all worldly kings who were envious of Krishna and against the principles
of dharma had joined hands with Duryodhana, while those who were adherents of
dharma joined the Pandavas side. Thus it was a Dharma yuddha, not just any war. But
owing to his bodily attachment to his family members Arjuna was shirking his kshatriya
responsibility. If a boy finds his father, in a completely drunken state, beating his mother
and sister in the street who have gone to lift him and bring him back home, then what is
the boy’s duty? Should he bow down at his father’s feet out of respect or slap him, bring
him to sanity and get him back home?
Thus to overcome blind attachments that lead one to a ocean of suffering and to perform
our duties for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord without lethargy or hesitation, one needs
the guidance and mercy of a spiritual master.
Absolute Necessity of a Spiritual Master
Sometimes when we talk about the importance of accepting a bona fide spiritual master,
people admonish us saying that we should not blindly surrender our independent thinking
to some authority. They think, "Will it not be much better if I were to think for myself,
relying on my own power of analysis, rather than merely accept someone else's opinions
as gospel truth?” Before being so apprehensive about accepting spiritual authority, let us
see a few examples from everyday life, where we accept authority without questioning:
• We consume the blue or yellow, or pills of any color prescribed by a doctor hoping to
get well soon.
• As soon as we board a bus, we are entrusting our lives to the bus-driver. Do we check
the driver’s credentials every time we board a bus?
• A child accepts his mother as an authority and comes to know of everyone and
everything around him - his father, brother, sister, etc. - only through her.
• In a saloon, we allow the barber to shave our beard with a knife, confident that he
won’t kill us.
• A student accepts the authority of textbooks prescribed by the board.
Thus, we see that we have no choice but to believe authorities in order to get knowledge.
Even if we want to learn dance, or music, or athletics, or karate, or for that matter
anything, we take training under a teacher or a coach. In other words, in order to gain
mastery in any field, we agree to become an apprentice under an expert advanced in that
field. Thus, we accept a teacher in every walk of life; then why not accept a teacher in
spiritual life too?
Nowadays, students buy study-notes, cram them, vomit them

and get a degree and do not feel the need of a teacher to teach
them the college subjects. This may be possible in an
educational system that tests just the cramming ability, writing
speed, information reproduction, and communication skills,
without testing what values a student has imbibed by that
knowledge in his life. Spiritual life is a serious business, and
any sincere seeker of truth can understand the need of a bona
fide guru to get enlightenment. When the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Shri Krishna, descended to this world, He also set
an example for us by accepting Sandipani Muni as His guru.
Lord Ramachandra also accepted Vashishtha Muni as His guru to set an example. So,
even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the source of all knowledge and
wisdom, accepts a guru to demonstrate the absolute necessity of accepting a guru.
Identifying the Genuine and the Fake
Who is not a guru?

Since the guru must transmit the truths of Vedic knowledge
perfectly, he plays a crucial role. We should know who Guru is
not and who Guru is. Regrettably, in recent years we have
professional gurus (fake godmen) who:
⇒ charge fees to give secret mantras and make false promises,
⇒ allow their students to disregard all the Vedic regulative
austerities (regulative austerities like avoiding gambling, meat-
eating, intoxication and illicit sex) ,
⇒ teach yoga as simple gymnastic exertion and not as a means of connecting one to God,
⇒ maintain that the purpose of yoga is material well-being,
⇒ defy the Vedas by declaring: ‘I am God; You are God; Everyone is God’ and so on.
The gullible masses blindly follow such fake godmen and are led to suffering in this life
and the next. Thus such cheaters who pose as godmen, and the cheated who blindly
follow them, are led to the ditch of unlimited sufferings. It is therefore necessary to first
understand the symptoms of a bona fide guru -- that is, a spiritual master who has
received pure knowledge and can impart it.
Who is a guru?
Suppose you go to a jeweler’s shop to purchase a diamond. Would you just jump at the
first piece that you see? Surely not. You would perform detailed research before
executing the actual transaction. Perhaps, you would consult with some friends and
experts in the business. Even after such consultations, you would try to get some
warranty on the product to ensure that you are not cheated. Similarly, if we wish to
become an engineer or a doctor, we would consider the reputation and authenticity of the
institute that we plan to join.
But strangely enough, according to many, spiritual science is meant to be imbibed from
one’s grandfather or grandmother at home without any formal study. Such childish
conceptions about spiritual science not only allow the standards of this most exact
science to be drastically watered down, but also allow pretenders and unscrupulous
parties to take advantage of naive followers.
Our imperfect senses cannot give us perfect knowledge of even this material world, then
what to speak of things beyond matter, i.e., spiritual matters? Because we have no ability
to approach God directly, anybody who has surrendered to God and is repeating His
message without adulteration, can be accepted as God's representative, from whom
perfect knowledge can be obtained.
Qualifications of a Guru
One cannot test the genuineness of a spiritual authority by the language he speaks, by his
physical appearance or by his nationality. Just like the genuineness of gold can be
determined by certain specific tests, there are also tests to determine the genuineness of a
spiritual authority as stated below:
What is the guru’s understanding about God?

• The guru must have heard the Absolute Truth in a disciplic succession. The
disciplic succession comprises of spiritual masters and disciples, coming from God
Himself. The guru does not concoct some theory or philosophy of his own to promote
himself in the public. He repeats what he has heard from his guru in disciplic
succession.
• The guru must have realized the conclusions of

the scriptures by deliberation. Because he has
heard, understood, practiced, and realized the
Absolute Truth, he should be fixed in devotional
service to the Supreme. He should be able to
confirm the authenticity of the message he is
presenting by the support of the scriptures and
teachings of the great seers of truth of the present
and the past.
• The guru should know the essence of the

scriptures, not just be a Sanskrit scholar. He
needs to know the essence of all scriptures as
explained in the Bhagavad-gita (15.15) ‘vedais ca
sarvair aham eva vedyah “The essence of the
Vedas is to know Me (Krishna).” If he knows this
essential principle of the teachings of all scriptures and lives according to this
principle, he knows everything necessary for delivering his disciples. Once when
Srila Prabhupada met two Vedic scholars in Vrindavan he asked them, “Can you say
who is God?” Both scholars blinked for a while and said that the Absolute Truth is
very difficult to comprehend and not possible to explain so easily. Srila Prabhupada
then called a gurukula boy and asked him the same question. The boy promptly
answered, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Srila Prabhupada gifted
him a cake and the boy ran away dancing joyfully to play with the other children.
Srila Prabhupada then remarked, “Just see! Even this small child knows Krishna to be
God whereas these Vedic scholars, after years of study, have no knowledge of the
essence of all the Vedas."
• The guru is beyond caste-creed-color-nationality and other such superficial

differences. We should never think, “He is after all an African guru or an American
guru—not Indian”, or “He was after all born in a shudra family.” This is offensive.
When you employ a civil engineer to construct a house, do you ask him, “Are you a
brahmana engineer or a shudra engineer?” Or when you go to a doctor, do you ask
him, “Are you a brahmana doctor?” You only see if he is a qualified M.B.B.S or
M.D. Similarly, yei krishna-tattva-vetta sei 'guru' haya - “One who knows the science
of Krishna should be accepted as a guru” (CC.Madh 8.128). Instruction has to be

taken from one who is in knowledge. It does not matter what his position is – whether
he is a son, a boy, a shudra, a brahmana, a sannyasi, or a grihastha. Although
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself was a brahmana (considered to be the highest varna
or social order) and a sannyasi (considered to be the highest ashrama or spiritual
order), He took instructions from Ramananda Raya, who was a shudra and grihastha
but nonetheless very exalted spiritually. Lord Chaitanya also made Haridas Thakur,
who was born in a Muslim family, as ‘Namacharya or Acharya of the Holy Name’.
Whoever is qualified in Krishna consciousness can become a guru; his family or
material identity does not matter. His only qualification is that he must know the
science of Krishna.
What benedictions does a guru bestow upon his disciples?
• The guru imparts spiritual knowledge, not mundane knowledge. There are
different types of knowledge used for earning a livelihood. One may study to become
an engineer or a doctor. The guru is not the one who gives such knowledge. Real
knowledge however, is Vedic knowledge, which involves knowing oneself, knowing
God, understanding one’s relationship with God, and one’s duty. The guru teaches
one how to go from the material world to the spiritual world – from the world of
suffering to the world of eternal bliss.
• The guru bestows, not material benefits, but spiritual knowledge to his disciple.
A guru is one who helps the disciple to come out of the darkness of ignorance with
the torchlight of transcendental knowledge. He is meant to help the disciple cross
over the ocean of nescience. He is neither meant for giving blessings to get gold,
money, etc., nor giving some relief from some bodily disease. For gold and silver
one may do business, and for relief from disease, one may go to a doctor.
What is the guru’s relation with wealth, women and followers?
• The guru cannot be purchased with any amount of money; he is not after wealth,
women, or increasing his followers. One should not treat the guru like a dog.
Sometimes wealthy people invite their guru to their home once a year to just show (or
‘show off’ to) their relatives that “I am also very pious." One should not just keep a
photo of the guru on the wall of the house, and never take instructions from him. This
is exactly how some fake godmen allow their disciples to deal with them. But a real
guru is meant to give instructions and deliver us from the ocean of material existence.
A graphic example of this comes in the life of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Thakura, the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada.
Once a wealthy man, who would give regular donations to Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, was
attending his discourse. But instead of hearing attentively, he started talking with the
person sitting next to him. At once Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati rebuked him, “Do you think
you have purchased me with your donation, that you can do whatever you like during the
discourse?”
• The guru must have sense-control. If a guru’s

senses are not controlled and he does not teach his
disciples to control their senses, then he is not a
qualified spiritual master. The scriptures list six
symptoms of a guru: “A sober person who can
tolerate the urge to speak, the mind’s demands, the
actions of anger, and the urges of the tongue, belly
and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over
the world.” (Upadeshamrita 1) When a beautiful
prostitute tried to allure Haridas Thakur, he
transformed her into a devotee without falling down
from his standard. His Divine Grace
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati had a lady disciple who
wanted to meet her guru privately without her husband. Although she was of the age
of his grand daughter, he refused to meet her privately saying that it was not befitting
saintly behavior.
What is the guru’s general behavior?
• The guru should be decorated with all saintly qualities.

The Shrimad Bhagavatam (3.25.21) explains: “The
symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and
friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is
peaceful, he abides by the scriptures and all his
characteristics are sublime.” Haridas Thakur continued
propagating the holy names of Krishna despite being beaten
up in twenty-one market places. Jesus preached the gospel of
God and was ready to pay the price of being crucified on the
cross. Prahlada Maharaj was tortured by Hiranyakashipu in
various ways, but his determination to serve the Lord did not waver ever.
• The guru should preach by his own example. The word ‘acharya’ means one who
teaches by personal example. One who smokes has no right to preach to others to
avoid cigarettes. The guru should be a walking scripture and should exemplify all the
teachings of the scripture in his life and thus inspire everyone to follow them. The
guru should be engaged twenty-four hours in the service of Krishna. A nice incident
from the life of Srila Prabhupada illustrates this. Once when Srila Prabhupada met
the Beatles in London, George Harrison asked him: "Among the many preachers of
Bhagavad-gita who is bona fide?" Srila Prabhupada

replied, "Bhagavad-gita is the word of Krishna. So
to recognize who is the bona fide preacher of
Bhagavad-gita you should check who is most
addicted to Krishna."
Check & Balance Through ‘Guru-Sadhu-Shastra’

In the Vedic method of receiving knowledge, there is a check-and-balance system called
guru-sadhu-shastra. The teachings of the guru must correspond with the teachings of the
sadhus (the past and present spiritual masters in the disciplic succession) which, in turn,
must all correspond with the direct meanings of shastra (the scripture). This is the proof
of perfect knowledge. It is the duty of every civilized human being to accept such a bona
fide authority, gain spiritual knowledge, and thereby make his life perfect.
For example, when Lord Vamanadeva appeared in the sacrificial arena and asked Bali
maharaja for three steps of land, Bali’s guru Shukracarya understood that the small dwarf
brahmana, Vamana is Lord Vishnu Himself. He tried to stop Bali saying, “He is none
other than Lord Vishnu. Don’t promise Him three steps of land.” Shukracarya was
afraid that, if Bali becomes bankrupt, what will happen to his income? Thus Bali
understood that Shukracarya is stopping him from offering everything to the Supreme
Lord, who is the source of everything. According to scriptures and sadhus, one should
offer everything to the Lord without any hesitation. So he went ahead and offered the
oblations. Thus for his glorious surrender, Bali is counted amongst the twelve Mahajanas
in the path of devotional service. The scriptures do not demand blind surrender to any
guru without verifying his credentials, but ensure, check and balance through guru-
sadhu-shastra.
* * * * *
‘Positive Thinker’ Quiz : 1

Part A (to be answered by All)

Answer the following questions in TWO or THREE sentences on separate sheets: (10 x
2 = 20 marks)
1. What did you understand from the example of chocolate and currency note?
2. Who is a brahmana?
3. Why do you think Arjuna’s hesitation to fight the war was wrong?
4. Give two examples to show that we cannot learn anything without a teacher or a
coach.
5. Have you heard of gurus who cheat? Give two examples they adopt in cheating their
followers.
6. What did you learn from purchasing the diamond example?
7. What did you learn from the incident of Prabhupada meeting two Vedic scholars?
8. Show with example that there is no difference whether a guru is African or American
or Indian.
9. What should a disciple expect from a guru? What should one do for wealth or curing
disease?
10. Say a guru seems to be behaving loosely with women and even calls them for private
personal audience; but people say, “He is a great soul. Don’t think anything bad about
him.” What would you understand? What thoughts would come to your mind about
such a guru?
Part B (only for married and Below 50 years)

Answer the following questions within TWO or THREE sentences: (2 + 3 = 5
marks)
1. A guru says that, “I have no guru, but I am myself jagadguru for all.” What is the
fault in this statement? What would you expect when someone is a guru?
2. Is Krishna fair in allowing the Kurukshetra war to happen? Give reasons for your
answer.
Part C (only for College students)

Answer the following questions within TWO or THREE sentences: (2 + 3 = 5 marks)
1. What does the modern educational system test? Give two examples where the Lord
Himself accepts a guru to show the world the need of surrendering to a guru.
2. One of your friends tells you, “I have a guru who is God himself. I don’t need
anybody else. He is very detached. He does not mind us drinking, smoking or
enjoying life in anyway we want. He just smiles and gives aasheerwad, blessings. So
I am happy with him.” Give your comment.
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Quiz: 1
Answer the following questions in ONE or TWO sentences on a separate sheet: (1 x 25 =

25 marks)
Syllabus for the following Quiz: Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.7-8, 2.10-11, 4.35, 10.9,
18.71-72, 12.13-14, 12.18-20
1. What are the perplexities of life compared to? Why? (2.7)

2. Who is a miser? (2.7)
3. What were the two causes of Arjuna’s perplexities? (2.7)
4. What do the foolish mundane scholars explain while interpreting Bhagavad-gita?
(2.7)
5. Who is the greatest fool in trying to understand Bhagavad-gita? (2.7)
6. How can the problems of life be solved? What are useless in this regard? (2.8)
7. Who cannot be a bona fide spiritual master? (2.8)
8. To become a spiritual master, is it necessary that one has to be born in a brahmana
family? (2.8)
9. Can the problems of life – birth, old age, disease, death – be countered by amassing
wealth? Substantiate your answer with reasons. (2.8)
10. Why is economic development or supremacy over the world not useful? (2.8)
11. What is knowledge? (2.11)
12. Which is important – body or soul? Why? (2.11)
13. What are the wrong notions of people about Krishna which arise from maya? (4.35)
14. What is the meaning of Liberation? (4.35)
15. How can the seed of devotion be watered, so that it can fructify? (10.9)
16. Give an example to show how a devotee cannot live for a moment without God?
(10.9)
17. What does Shrimad Bhagavatam describe and what does it not describe? (10.9)
18. How do realised souls take pleasure in hearing Shrimad Bhagavatam? Give an
example. (10.9)
19. If Bhagavad-gita is only for devotees, then why do we hold open classes? (18.71)
20. How is Bhagavad-gita different from other books? (18.72)
21. How does a pure devotee behave with someone who behaves as an enemy? (12.13)
22. Why can no one disturb a devotee? (12.14)
23. Why is a devotee called silent? Does it mean he takes ‘mauna vrata’? (12.18)
24. What path is recommended in chapter Twelve? Explain in sequence. (12.20)
25. Till what stage is the impersonal conception beneficial? (12.20)
* * * * *
The Spirit of the Bhagavad-gita 27
Chapter 2
The Spirit of the

Bhagavad-gita
Chapter Contents
Page
Sr. No. Contents
No.
Importance of the Bhagavad-gita Amongst the
1 17
Vedic Literatures
2 The Spirit of the Bhagavad-gita 18
Requirements for Understanding the 21

Bhagavad-gita
Is the Bhagavad-gita Real or Symbolic? 21
Is the Bhagavad-gita Mythology or a 21
Historical Account?
3
Do not miss the goal of the Bhagavad-gita 22
Who is Krishna? 22
Relevance of the Bhagavad-gita Today 23
Is it Scientific to accept the knowledge of the 24
Bhagavad-gita?
The Spirit of the Bhagavad-gita

çré-bhagavän uväca
idaà tu te guhyatamaà pravakñyämy anasüyave
jïänaà vijïäna-sahitaà yaj jïätvä mokñyase ’çubhät
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I
shall impart to you this most confidential knowledge and realization, knowing which you shall be
relieved of the miseries of material existence. [BG 9.1]
* * * *
Importance of the Bhagavad-gita amongst the Vedic Literatures
Now having taken shelter of the spiritual master, one should study the scriptures under
his guidance in a spirit of devotion. Amongst all the Vedic literatures, Bhagavad-gita is a
transcendental literature, which is considered the summum bonum of all Vedic literatures
and can free one from all the miseries and anxieties of life, if one follows the instructions
as they are. The Bhagavad-gita is glorified in Gita mahatmya as follows:
maline mocanam pumsam jala-snanam dine dine
sakrd gitamrta-snanam samsara-mala-nasanam
“One may cleanse himself daily by taking a bath in water, but if one takes a bath even
once in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad-gita, for him the dirt of material life is
altogether vanquished” [Gita Mahatmya 3].
sarvopanisado gavo dogdha gopala-nandanah
partho vatsah su-dhir bhokta dugdham gitamrtam mahat
“This Gitopanisad, Bhagavad-gita, the essence of all the
Upanishads, is just like a cow, and Lord Krishna, who is
famous as a cowherd boy, is milking this cow. Arjuna is just
like a calf, and learned scholars and pure devotees are to
drink the nectarean milk of Bhagavad-gita” [Gita mahatmya
6].
ekam sastram devaki-putra-gitam eko devo devaki-putra
eva
eko mantras tasya namani yani karmapy ekam tasya
devasya seva
“Let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world – Bhagavad-
gita. Let there be one God for the whole world – Shri Krishna, son of Devaki. Let there
be only one mantra, one hymn – the chanting of His name: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Let there
be one work only – the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead” [Gita Mahatmya
7].
In Kali Yuga, people are short-lived. It is almost impossible for anyone to gain
understanding of the entire Vedic literature. But Bhagavad-gita is the essence of all
Vedic literature and it can give guidance to modern man about the way of perfecting his
life.
Although Bhagavad-gita is well known, only one who has taken it up in a spirit of
devotion can understand it. Bhagavad-gita is not a mythological treatise spoken by some
mortal, but it is the eternal, timeless, mature voice of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Shri Krishna, who is addressed as Bhagavan, the possessor of all six opulences.
Story: ‘The South Indian brahmana who attained perfection in reading Bhagavad-
gita’
I n the Chaitanya Charitamrita, the multi-volume treatise on the life and teachings of Lord
Chaitanya, there is a beautiful story of a South Indian brahmana. It illustrates how Lord
Krishna, although the source of all that exists, is completely renounced and becomes the
humble servant of His loving devotees, out of His love for them. This is due to his opulence of
renunciation.
In the holy place of Shri Ranga-ksetra, a Vaishnava brahmana would daily visit the temple of Lord
Ranganath and recite the entire Bhagavad-gita. However he was not able to pronounce the
Sanskrit words correctly, and so Sanskrit scholars around the temple used to make fun of him. But
because, just by reading the Bhagavad-gita, he was overflowing with great spiritual ecstasy, he did
not in the least bother about what people were talking about him.
Once on his South India tour, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu met the brahmana and asked him, “My
dear sir, why are you in such ecstatic love? Which portion of Bhagavad-gita gives you such
transcendental pleasure?”
The brahmana replied, “My Lord, I am not very learned and therefore do not know the meaning of
the words. Sometimes I read Bhagavad-gita correctly and sometimes incorrectly, but in any case I
continue with my recitation because it is the order of my spiritual master.”
The Lord then asked him why he was crying. The brahmana replied, “Whenever I sit down with the
Gita, the form of Lord Krishna as Partha-sarathi [Arjuna's chariot driver] appears in my heart. And
as soon as I see this form I immediately remember how the Lord is bhakta-vatsala [especially
kind to His devotees]. This thought makes me cry.”
Upon seeing the devotion of the South Indian brahmana, Lord Chaitanya embraced him and then
told him that he had perfected the recitation of the Gita. Lord Chaitanya's approval of the
brahmana’s perfection is far superior to millions of university doctorates. This accolade from the
Lord proves that the Bhagavad-gita cannot be studied with material intelligence. The knowledge of
the Gita must be received through the chain of acharyas, or spiritual masters, coming down in
disciplic succession. That is the only method; otherwise studying the Gita is an exercise in futility.
The Mayavadis are persons who consider the form of Lord Krishna to be maya, or made of material
elements. Out of envy they deny the sac-cid-ananda spiritual form of the Lord. Their goal is not to
serve the Lord but to merge with the impersonal Supreme Brahman and become God. Thus, their
small brains cannot understand how the Supreme Personality of Godhead can become the
charioteer of His devotee and carry out his orders.
The message of Bhagavad-gita is confidential and will remain hidden to the mundane
scholars who try to misinterpret the Lord’s words. They do so out of envy for the Lord
and to put themselves in the forefront. Such commentators can be compared to a bee
licking the outside of a bottle of honey. One cannot have the taste of honey unless one
opens the bottle and licks the contents. No matter how much one is well versed in
computer software, one cannot do anything without knowing the password of the
computer. Similarly the password to understand Bhagavad-gita is the spirit of devotion
and submissiveness to the Lord and His devotees.
Story: ‘Make the choice: You want Me or My energies?’
O nce when the Kurukshetra war was declared, Duryodhana sent messengers to every part of
the globe to seek the assistance of various kings. But Krishna was so powerful that he
warranted a personal request. Also Duryodhana knew that Krishna was the main support of
the Pandavas, and if Duryodhana could get His assistance, then the Pandavas would stand
no chance in winning the war. Arjuna also thought of Krishna, so both of them decided to go to
Dwaraka.
When Arjuna arrived in Dwaraka, he saw the palace guards receiving Duryodhana. The two
princes, after greeting each other, went together to Krishna’s chamber. They found him asleep on
a large bed. One of his wives was fanning him gently. Duryodhana went straight to the head of
the bed and sat down, but Arjuna remained at Krishna’s feet, standing with palms folded and
gazing at his face with tears of affection in his eyes.
After a while when Krishna awoke, He saw Arjuna bowing to Him in love. Then Krishna sat up and
saw Duryodhana by his head. After honoring them, He inquired why they had come. Duryodhana
replied, “It is well known that you are equally disposed toward both myself and Arjuna. I have
come here to seek your assistance in the war. Indeed, I arrived before Arjuna and thus it is only
right that you assist me rather than him. This is the practice of good men and you, Krishna, are
the best of men.”
Krishna looked smilingly at Duryodhana. “I accept that you
arrived first. But I saw Arjuna first. Therefore, I think I will
help both of you. Scripture ordains that one should help the
youngest first, so I will first offer my assistance to Arjuna. I
have an army of one million soldiers known as the Narayanas,
all equal to me in battle. Let one of you take them and let the
other take me alone. But I will not fight. Indeed, I plan to
leave my weapons aside during the entire battle. O son of
Kunti, what do you choose?”
Without hesitating Arjuna chose Krishna. Duryodhana could

hardly conceal his joy. Arjuna’s sentimentality had
overpowered his reason, he thought. Smiling slightly,
Duryodhana said, “It seems then that I am left with the army.
With your permission, O Keshava, I shall now depart.” After
Duryodhana left, Krishna asked Arjuna, “Why did you choose
Me, knowing I will not fight over My army?” “There is no
doubt that wherever You are, there will be victory”, said
Arjuna.
This devotional spirit of Arjuna towards Krishna is an essential ingredient for

understanding Bhagavad-gita,. Duryodhana was materially calculative, lacking
understanding of Krishna’s supremacy. Arjuna chose the Lord owing to his love for
Him, whereas Duryodhana chose the Lord’s energies owing to his desire to exploit them
to fulfill his own selfish interests. Ask yourself this question: To whom will you be
attracted? To someone who loves you and just wants to exchange love with you or to
another person, who comes to you to flatter you and to get some money from you
because you are rich? One is attracted to you, the other to your pocket. Similarly,
devotees like Hanuman are attracted to the Supreme Lord Rama and His service; on the
other hand, demons like Ravana are attracted to the Lord’s energy, mother Sita. Thus
such demons want the kingdom of God without God, and so they invite their own
destruction.
The Lord tells us about the position of Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita (4.3) ‘bhakto ‘si me
sakha ceti’ ‘Arjuna, you are My devotee and friend; thus I am teaching you the most
confidential wisdom’. We have to approach Bhagavad-gita in the mood Arjuna did.
Arjuna is the student of Bhagavad-gita. If we hear in the same mood, then we can benefit
from the study of Bhagavad-gita; otherwise our study will simply be an outward show
with no tangible transformation of heart.
Requirements for Understanding the Bhagavad-gita
One should understand the following points before beginning to learn Bhagavad-gita:
Is the Bhagavad-gita Real or Symbolic?
Bhagavad-gita is a real, historical dialogue between the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Lord Shri Krishna, and Arjuna. This historical dialogue was recorded for the benefit of
all future generations. Kurukshetra is a historical place that exists even today. All the
characters of Mahabharata like Arjuna, Yudhisthira, Bhisma, Duryodhana ,etc., are all
real characters who truly existed. Modern scientists based on the research on excavations
have proved that a personality called Shri Krishna existed 5000 years ago and that well-
developed city Dwaraka also existed. The exhibits of such excavations can be seen today
in the museums at Kuruksetra and Dwaraka.
One should never twist the actual truth and try to pull out some allegorical meaning.
Some mundane commentators speculate that Kurukshetra is the body and the Pandavas
are the five senses, Krishna is a liberated soul, and Arjuna represents a conditioned soul,
etc. In India there are hundreds of commentaries of Bhagavad-gita interpreted by authors
with no devotion but only mental speculation. Such commentaries full of speculation are
lying in old libraries covered with dust, devoid of any practical applicability. Such
misinterpretations have no potency to invoke the dormant devotion in the heart of living
beings towards Shri Krishna. However, when Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of
ISKCON, presented ‘Bhagavad-gita As It Is’, within four or five short years thousands
of people all over the world became Krishna conscious. Now over a million people
worldwide are chanting Krishna’s names. This is the potency of presenting Bhagavad-
gita As It Is without changing the purpose for which Lord Krishna presented the
Bhagavad-gita.
Is the Bhagavad-gita Mythology or a Historical Account?

The word ‘Hindu Mythology’ was coined by Indologists who wanted to divert the sincere
Vedic followers away from their own religion to Christianity.
In 1876, Max Muller wrote to a friend, “India is much riper for Christianity than Rome or
Greece were at the time of Saint Paul.” He added that he would not like to go to India as
a missionary, because that would make him dependent on the government. His
preference was this: “I should like to live for ten years quietly and learn the language, try
to make friends, and then see whether I was fit to take part in a work, by means of which
the old mischief of Indian priest-craft could be overthrown, and the way opened for the
entrance of simple Christian teaching.” Thus Indologists portrayed all the Vedic
literatures as mythology to promote Christianity.
Srila Prabhupada writes: Agama, "which is coming from higher plane," not manufactured here.
Agama-purana. And Purana means the old history of the world, Purana. Purana, some of the
modern scholars, they take everything as mythology, imagination. That is not fact. They're real
history. Purana. Purana means very old. Nityaù çäçvato yaà puräëo [Bg. 2.20]. In Hindi it is called
Purana. Purana means old. The Puranas means the old history, not only of this world, but of the
whole universe. [760817CC.HYD].
It is important to know that Ramayana and Mahabharata are real histories that took place
and were carefully recorded. And the Bhagavad-gita, which forms a part of
Mahabharata, also is a historical event that took place at Jyotisar, Kurukshetra, which is
worshiped by millions even today.
Do not miss the goal of the Bhagavad-gita

In modern times, people form Gita societies hold meetings, but they keep a lamp instead
of Krishna’s picture. Shri Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita. How can there be no
Krishna in a Gita society meeting? Even in ordinary affairs, if there is some political
meeting, one keeps Gandhi’s photo, Nehru’s photo, because they are political leaders.
Lord Shri Krishna is the Central point, Subject and Goal of Gita. Therefore Bhagavad-
gita cannot be understood without reference to Lord Krishna.
The goal of the Bhagavad-gita is given in the Bhagavad-gita itself [BG 18.66]. There
Lord Shri Krishna is ordering Arjuna to surrender to Him alone completely by surpassing
all other lower platforms of good work and religious formularies. The Lord promises
Arjuna that He will vanquish all his sinful reactions and deliver him from this world of
birth and death. If someone does not come to this conclusion and goal after reading
Bhagavad-gita, they have missed the essential point. If someone puts Krishna aside
considering Him to be an ordinary person and thinks that the goal of Bhagavad-gita is to
do social service, to become patriot of our nation, to become a good person who does not
harm others, to become a Sanskrit scholar, etc., he is very unfortunate. He is like that
foolish man who, after hearing the whole Ramayana asked the speaker, “Sir, how is Sita
related to Rama?”
Who is Krishna?
Krishna is not simply a mystic yogi, a learned man, a powerful man, a great politician, a
powerful diplomat, and an ordinary cowherd boy, a living being blessed with great
powers due to past karma, etc. Lord Krishna is not an ordinary man or even an extra-
ordinary man. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. All great acharyas
like Shankaracarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and all great
sages like Narada, Devala, Asita have accepted Shri Krishna as the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. The Lord declares this in Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna proclaims it, and the
Lord’s pastimes such as Vishvarupa darshan and showing the universe in His mouth
prove His supremacy. One should at least theoretically accept Krishna as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead to understand Bhagavad-gita.
One cannot take up the reading of Bhagavad-gita like one would read a comic novel or a
read-and-throw quick ‘tips’ book. The Bhagavad-gita is considered very valuable, read
and appreciated universally because it is spoken by Lord Krishna, because He is God
Himself. Bhagavad-gita is the song of God, containing valuable lessons, spoken by the
Lord for the benefit of every human being to attain the ultimate salvation.
Relevance of the Bhagavad-gita Today

Relative knowledge (like that of Science-- Physics or Chemistry) can become out-dated
or modified with the passage of time. Scientists are struggling with their imperfect
senses to defeat an imperfect relative truth and to introduce another better imperfect
relative truth. But Bhagavad-gita is not like that. Bhagavad-gita carries the Absolute
Knowledge, spoken by the Absolute Person, Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who has perfect senses. He gave the same knowledge a hundred and twenty
million years ago to Vivasvan as He mentions it in Bhagavad-gita (4.1). Today the same
message is available without any change. So the knowledge of Bhagavad-gita is Raja
Vidya, the King of all knowledge. It is beyond time, place and circumstance.
Despite the advancement of science and technology, there has been no change in man’s
taking birth, aging, getting diseases and dying, as these problems can never be solved by
any amount of scientific or technological advancement. The amount of pain and pleasure
that one has to experience is decided at the time of birth according to one's karma, and no
one can escape from it without surrendering to the Lord. All modern electronic gadgets
like mobiles, computers, TV, etc., have apparently brought great comfort to our bodies
and senses, but we have not escaped the pains at all. The pains have now taken the shape
of stress, tension, depression, inferiority complex, cutthroat competition for survival,
mental diseases, etc., that are far more painful. Bhagavad-gita has solution to all these
and is most relevant in the modern era. This is the reason why more than Indians,
Americans, Europeans and people from all over the world are able to appreciate the
process of Krishna consciousness. People have taken to Krishna consciousness and felt
not only relief from sufferings, but have found great purpose to life and completeness in
their aspiration for great achievements in life. Bhagavad-gita can elevate one beyond the
material platform of caste, creed, color, nationality, language, age bar, educational
qualification, time, place, circumstance, etc., and help one get in touch with Shri Krishna
and His divine instructions that can benefit the soul eternally.
Is it Scientific to accept the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita?
Bhagavad-gita is a Science. True religion is a Science. The knowledge given in

Bhagavad-gita is understandable, applicable, experiencable and practically verifiable.
This is confirmed by Lord Krishna—‘Pratyaksavagamam dharmyam’ [B.G.9.2] - Any
religion without philosophical basis is sentimentalism; any philosophy without religion is
mere mental speculation. Bhagavad-gita is a scientific presentation of philosophy and
true religion.
World-renowned personalities like Einstein, Thoreau, Gandhi have expressed their deep
appreciation for Bhagavad-gita. Gandhi says, “When doubts haunt me, when
disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn
to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the
midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and
new meanings from it every day.”
* * * * *
‘Positive Thinker’ Quiz: 2


Answer the following questions within TWO or THREE sentences: (10 x 2 = 20 marks)
1. Explain the analogy of milkman, cow, calf from Gita Mahatmya.

2. According to Gita Mahatmya, state the ONE scripture, God, Mantra and Work?
3. What are the right and wrong spirits in taking up Bhagavad-gita study?
4. Why did Lord Chaitanya glorify the brahmana to have achieved all perfection despite
his reading Bhagavad-gita mistakenly and pronouncing not so clearly?
5. What was Duryodhana’s miscalculation?
6. What were the choices of Duryodhana and Arjuna? What was their intent?
7. Who has missed the goal of Bhagavad-gita and is unfortunate despite reading
Bhagavad-gita?
8. Is Bhagavad-gita real or symbolic? What about the speculative commentaries on
Bhagavad-gita?
9. How did Indians come to think the Vedas and Puranas to be mythological?
10. Give an example to show that Bhagavad-gita cannot be truly tasted by one who lacks
the spirit of devotion in approaching Bhagavad-gita.

1. What are the different misinterpretations of the Bhagavad-gita found in society? How
will you refute them?
2. Why should we accept Krishna as the Supreme?

1. One of your friends is ridiculing that the Bhagavad-gita is meant only for old people
and not relevant today, that too for young educated men like him. What would you
tell him briefly?
2. Ramayana and Mahabharata are considered to be mythological by many educated
Indians. What was the reason that has brought India to this plight?
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Quiz: 2
Answer the following questions in ONE or TWO sentences in a separate sheet: (1 x 25 =

25 marks)
Syllabus for the following Quiz: Bhagavad-gita As It Is 4.2-4, 9.1, 10.10
1. For whom is the Bhagavad-gita never meant? (4.2)

2. For whom is the Bhagavad-gita meant? (4.2)
3. On what basis can we say that the purpose of Gita appears to be lost? (4.2)
4. Why do mundane scholars take to the writing of interpretations of Bhagavad-gita?
(4.2)
5. What is the nature of demons? Which spirit is demonic? (4.2)
6. What is a great boon to humanity? (4.2)
7. What is simply a waste of time? (4.2)
8. Why did the Lord choose Arjuna as a recipient of the Bhagavad-gita? (4.3)
9. Who is addressed as ‘demon’ in this purport? (4.3)
10. What is the ‘warning’ given about the ‘misleading paths’? (4.3)
11. If Arjuna is a devotee of the Lord, then why does he doubt that the Lord could have
given the knowledge of Bhagavad-gita to Vivasvan long before? (4.4)
12. How do demons depict Krishna? (4.4)
13. Why should one know about the science of Krishna? (4.4)
14. When Krishna Himself speaks about Himself, what happens: a) to the world, b) to
devotees, c) to demons? (4.4)
15. How does one understand the science of Krishna in the association of devotees? (9.1)
16. Which chapters of Bhagavad-gita describe confidential, more confidential, most
confidential knowledge? What do they describe? (9.1)
17. What is the meaning of the word ‘jnanam’ in this verse? (9.1)
18. How can our heart be cleansed of all material contaminations? What happens when
the heart is cleared of material contaminations? (9.1)
19. Why are the commentaries by erudite scholars useless? (9.1)
20. In some commentaries Krishna’s character is questioned. How should we see it?
(9.1)
21. For whom are the middle six chapters of Bhagavad-gita beneficial? (9.1)
22. How is devotional service different in the mature stage from the preliminary stage?
(10.10)
23. ‘People don’t know this’. What do they not know? What is the remedy? (10.10)
24. What happens to a person who has a bona fide spiritual master, but is not intelligent
enough to make progress? (10.10)
25. What is the only qualification needed on the part of a devotee? (10.10)
Chapter 3
Qualifications of an
Ideal Disciple
Qualifications of an Ideal Disciple 41
Chapter Contents
Page
Sr. No. Contents
No.
Material Qualifications are Useless in Solving
1 29
Problems of Life
2 Qualifications of a Disciple 30
Humble Surrender 31
Inquisitiveness 32
Grihastha and Grihamedhi 33
Submissive Service 33
Devotion to the Supreme Lord 35
Unflinching Faith in the order of guru 35
Avowed Truthfulness 36
Qualifications of an Ideal Disciple

kärpaëya-doñopahata-svabhävaù
påcchämi tväà dharma-sammüòha-cetäù
yac chreyaù syän niçcitaà brühi tan me
çiñyas te ’haà çädhi mäà tväà prapannam
TRANSLATION
Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In
this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple,
and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me. [BG 2.7]
Material Qualifications are Useless in Solving Problems of Life
We have learnt that one needs a guru to understand God. Also the scriptures like
Bhagavad-gita have to be approached in a devotional spirit. Now one, who is born of
high parentage, vastly learned in scriptures, holding the post of king of a country, or one
who is abundantly wealthy, does he still need to take shelter of a guru? What are the
prerequisites for one to become a disciple?
Let us take the example of Arjuna who was famous for

his Gandiva bow. He was the best of the archers and
could shatter the hearts of his enemies simply by
twanging his bow. He was best amongst the students of
Dronacharya. He even defeated Lord Shiva in a dual
fight and acquired the Pashupata weapon. Indra
bestowed him with celestial weapons. In the martial arts
exhibition, Arjuna displayed one celestial weapon after
another. With the Agneya weapon he produced fire; with
the Varuna weapon he produced volumes of water; with
the Vayavya weapon he caused a great wind to blow; and
with the Parjanya weapon he created a huge downpour of
rain. Arjuna created land with the Bhouma weapon and
with the Parvatya weapon he made a hill appear in the
arena. Then, by invoking the antardhana weapon, he made all those things disappear.
Arjuna had defeated even great Gandharvas like Citraratha and others. Thus even
celestials could not stand in front of him. His senses were so controlled that even when
Urvashi, a heavenly damsel, offered herself to him, he rejected her proposal, as he saw
her as a mother. These are some of the special qualifications of Arjuna.
But just before the war, right in the midst of the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he became
broken-hearted, indecisive, lacking confidence owing to confusion of religious principles.
Who can solve such a crisis management problem? In his confused state Arjuna asked
Lord Krishna, the Supreme Spiritual Master, to give a definite solution. He offered
himself to Krishna as a disciple. He wanted to stop
friendly talks. Talks between the master and the
disciple are serious, and Arjuna wanted to talk very
seriously before the recognized jagad guru, spiritual
master of the whole universe, Shri Krishna. Shri
Krishna is therefore the original spiritual master of
the science of Bhagavad-gita, and Arjuna is the first
disciple for understanding the Gita.
Like Arjuna, all people, though living in states like

America or Japan, replete with all facilities of life,
which are full of wealth and economically
developed, are still suffering the problems of
material existence. Arjuna was putting forward so
many arguments based on knowledge of moral codes
and religious principles, yet he was unable to solve his real problem without the help of
the spiritual master, Lord Shri Krishna. Thus academic knowledge, scholarship, high
position, bodily beauty, high birth, abundant wealth, are all useless in solving the
problems of life.
When the king of the whole world, Parikshit, came to know that he had only seven days
to live, he relinquished all the pleasures of the world, and at once took shelter of his
spiritual master, Shukadev Gosvami. One should be ready to discipline oneself under the
guidance of a bona fide spiritual master if one is really serious about purifying one’s
existence and returning back home, back to Godhead.
Qualifications of a Disciple
Just as qualifications are required for the guru, there are some requirements to be met by
the recipient of Vedic knowledge also. Srila Prabhupada mentions three qualifications
needed to approach a spiritual master in his conversation below:
“…one should go to the spiritual master with Surrender and Question and
Service—three things. First of all, for acquiring knowledge we have to find out the
suitable personality, and if we are fortunate enough to find out such suitable personality,
then first thing is to surrender. And, after that surrender, there are questions. One must be
very intelligent to put questions to the spiritual master. Without questions you cannot
make progress. So blind faith is never required, neither questions should be in a mood of
challenge….Questions or answers should be just to understand. And that should be
accompanied with service. This is the mood…” (660824BG.NY)
The following are some of the most important qualities of an ideal disciple:
Humble Surrender
A disciple should submissively and humbly surrender to the spiritual master. One should
consider oneself a fool in front of the guru and should put aside all preconceived notions
learnt earlier from unreliable sources.
The ideal way to surrender to the spiritual master is the way in which Sanatana Gosvami,
a great scholar and devotee of the sixteenth century, surrendered to his spiritual master,
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Sanatana Gosvami was a cabinet minister for Nawab Hussain
Shah, who was then the king of the whole of Bengal. Due to
his high position, Sanatana Gosvami had several magnificent
palaces, fabulous wealth, multitudes of servants, and the
finest luxuries of life. He had a highly respected lineage; he
was born in a Saraswat Brahmin family. He was learned not
only in Sanskrit, the traditional language of India, but also in
many other contemporary languages, including Arabic and
Persian. Yet, in spite of having such extraordinary material
attributes, when he approached Lord Chaitanya to surrender
his life to Him, he fell at the Lord’s lotus feet in utter humility,
with a straw in his mouth and a cloth around his neck.
Submitting himself to Lord Chaitanya, he inquired, “My associations are all abominable, and I am
fallen, the most wretched of mankind. I was suffering in the dark well of material enjoyment, and I
never knew the actual goal of my life. Indeed, I do not even know what is beneficial for me. Although
I am known in the world as a great-learned man, a pandita, I am in fact so much of a fool that even I
myself think that I am learned. You have accepted me as Your servant, and You have delivered me
from the entanglement of material life. Now please tell me what my duty is in this liberated state.
Who am I? Why are the threefold miseries always giving me trouble? And finally, tell me how I can
be relieved from this material entanglement?”
This is the process of accepting a spiritual master. One should approach a spiritual
master, humbly submit to him, and then inquire from him about how to progress in
spiritual life.
Just as a seed planted in fertile land can germinate, and a potent man can impregnate a
fertile woman to beget a child, a bona fide guru can enlighten the heart of a receptive
disciple with transcendental knowledge. But if the disciple maintains his own
reservations, then such a disciple’s heart is like barren land where the seed cannot sprout,
or like a barren woman who cannot beget a child. An instructive story illustrates the
position of such an unreceptive disciple.
Once a boy approached the best mridanga teacher in his town to learn how to play mridanga. The
teacher asked him, “Do you know any beats in mridanga?” “Oh yes! I have learnt a few beats
myself”, the student replied enthusiastically. On hearing this, the teacher told him, “OK, your fees
will be Rs 200/-.” After some time, another student, who knew nothing about playing mridanga,
enrolled and was charged only Rs 100/- by the teacher. When the first student came to know about
this, he asked his teacher in great surprise, “Dear Sir, I already know some beats in playing
mridanga. Then how is it that I am being charged more than this new student, who knows nothing
about this art?” The intelligent teacher replied, “Your problem is that you have already acquired
some hodge-podge about mridanga. So first, I will have to undo all the wrong beats that you have
learnt earlier and then I can teach you the correct beats. But the other student is like a blank slate
and is totally receptive to learn. Thus he is capable of learning all beats easily from the start. So I
charged you more than him.”
Similarly people in modern times are filled with many misconceptions about religion and
they think they know everything. Without an open mind it is difficult for one to learn
anything or achieve any tangible realization.
Inquisitiveness
A disciple should be sincerely inquisitive about the
ultimate goal of life. tasmad gurum prapadyeta
jijnasuh sreya uttamam (Shrimad Bhagavatam
11.3.21). “Any person who seriously desires real
happiness must seek a bona fide spiritual master and
take shelter of him by initiation.” A disciple must be
sincerely inquisitive about the topmost long-term
goal of life – spiritual welfare.
Inquisitiveness about the short-term and long-term goals of life
Even animals like cats, dog and birds are inquisitive about food, shelter, sex, etc. So
inquisitiveness about -- how to feed the family members in a star hotel, how to get a loan
to build an independent bungalow, how to get potency to improve sex life, or how to
intelligently get promotion in the office by flattering the boss -is not appreciated in the
scriptures because such inquisitiveness only makes us more sophisticated two-legged
animals.
The short-term goals of life (called preyas) are to gain wealth, name, fame, a posh
apartment, a luxurious car, a promising career, etc. Even if achieved, such things are
temporary and will be taken away at the time of death. The long-term goal of life (called
shreyas) is to become Krishna conscious and achieve the kingdom of God. The disciple
must be inquisitive to know, “Why am I suffering? What is the meaning and ultimate
destination of life?”
Grihastha and Grihamedhi
In the revealed scriptures there are two nomenclatures for the householder’s life. One is
grihastha, and the other is grihamedhi. The grihasthas are those who live together with
wife and children but live a pure God conscious life for realizing the ultimate truth. The
grihamedhis, however, have no knowledge of God or the goal of life, but simply waste
the valuable human life in eating prohibited foodstuffs, enjoying sex life, sleeping long
hours, working hard like donkeys to fulfill the burden of self-created duties that they take
up to increase prestige in society, etc. Such grihamedhis derive pleasure in politicking,
giving others trouble due to jealousy for one another, being attentive to selfish interests,
and spending all their time counteracting the miseries that come one after another. They
have much subject matter for hearing—political, scientific, social, economic and so on.
There are different kinds of literature for different types of men of different mentality.
Mostly the market literatures which attract ordinary men are literatures containing
refused remnants of sensuous topics like affairs between cinema actors and actresses,
poetry describing the sweetness of mundane relationship between man and woman,
children, nature, politics, mundane sports, etc. Absorbed in sense gratification, due to a
poor fund of knowledge, they set aside the question of the ultimate miseries of life,
namely the miseries of birth, death, old age and disease, not knowing that the time is
passing away.
The Vedas enjoin: ‘tamaso ma jyotir gama’ – “Go from darkness to light.” The darkness
mentioned here refers to the material world, because the material world is an inherently
dark place. Otherwise why would we need the sun, moon, electricity, fire, etc., for
providing light? Therefore the Vedas urge a human being to go from darkness
(ignorance) to light (knowledge), or from the material world to the spiritual world by
inquiring about the ultimate questions of life.
Submissive Service
A disciple should never be proud of his material qualifications like
education, bodily beauty, wealth, high birth, etc. Such
qualifications have no connection with spiritual life. In fact, they
may even have an adverse effect like a heavy gold crown on the
head of a drowning man, because they may increase the false
pride of a prospective disciple and obstruct his spiritual
advancement. So a disciple should never present his material
qualifications in front of the spiritual master. For example, His
Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati (spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada, founder

acharya of ISKCON) was highly educated; but he took initiation from Gaurakishore Das
Babaji Maharaj who was greatly enlightened in the conclusions of the scriptures, though
not highly educated.
Another example is of Narottam, a prince from a royal family who desperately wanted to be
initiated by Lokanath Gosvami. Lokanath Gosvami was a humble and great Vaishnava and did
not want to be prominently known to the public. He always kept himself in the background.
Thus he rejected the request of Narottam. Every day Lokanath Gosvami found that, after he
completed his morning duties, someone cleaned the whole place and kept it ready for the next
day. He was curious to know who that person was. When he hid himself behind the bushes,
he observed Narottam come with a broomstick and clean the place very humbly. Lokanath
Gosvami was taken by surprise. He came out and exclaimed, “Narottam, how can you do this?
You are a prince from a wealthy family! How can you do such a menial service?”. Thus
Lokanath Gosvami was pleased by the service rendered by Narottam and he at last agreed to
initiate him. Narottam knew that the perfection of life is achieved not by wealth, scholarship,
bodily beauty or high birth, but by the mercy of a Vaishnava devotee who is dear to the Lord.
Thus Narottam earned the blessings of a great devotee by his submissive service.
King Prataparudra, the maharaja of Orissa,

would humbly sweep the street in front of the
Jagannath Rath cart in the mood of a menial
servant. When he came to know about Lord
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from Sarvabhauma
Bhattacarya, he desperately wanted to
personally meet Him and obtain His mercy.
But Lord Chaitanya, being a sannyasi, refused
to meet the king, who is always associating
with wealth, women and prestige. The king
was ready to renounce his post and wear the
simple dress of an ordinary citizen if that was what was needed to get an audience with Lord
Chaitanya. By the advice of Bhattacarya, the king at last could meet Lord Chaitanya at the
Jagannath Vallabh gardens during the Rathyatra event. The king gave up his kingly attire and
ornaments and wore the ordinary dress of a common man. He approached the Lord and
massaged His feet and sang the prayers ‘gopi gitam’ for His pleasure. Lord Chaitanya was in
great ecstasy of devotion and he asked the king, “Who are you?” The king replied, “I am
trying to be the servant of Your servants.” Thus King Prataparudra did not consider his high
position in the eyes of the public; instead he always considered himself an insignificant servant
of the Lord and His devotees. Thus he did not become carried away by the temporary posts
and did not become arrogant or proud. This example of King Prataparudra gives us a clue to
the submissive spirit of service needed to approach the guru.
The grihastha devotees worship the deity at home by bathing the deity, dressing the deity,
offering foodstuffs, garlands, garments, ornaments, singing for the deity, etc. They also
invite sadhus and friends to their home and offer them the Lord’s prasadam. They use a
portion of their wealth to render service to the Lord and His devotees. By submissive
service, one can make greater progress than by merely acquiring scholarship and mastery
over scriptures to increase one’s fame.
Devotion to the Supreme Lord

The disciple should be a devotee of the Lord as told by the Lord Himself: ‘bhakto ‘si me
sakha cheti rahasyam hy etad uttamam’ [BG 4.3]. There are two classes of men, namely
the devotee and the demon. The Lord selected Arjuna as the recipient of the great science
of Bhagavad-gita, the essence of the Vedic literature, owing to his being a devotee of the
Lord. But for the demon it is not possible to understand this great mysterious science.
Arjuna accepted Shri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and any
commentary on the Gita following in the footsteps of Arjuna is bona fide. The demonic,
however, do not accept Lord Krishna as He is. Instead, they concoct something about
Krishna and mislead themselves as well as the general readers from the path of Krishna’s
instructions. A disciple must be a devotee of Krishna in order to be able to understand
Bhagavad-gita.
Unflinching Faith in the order of guru

The disciple must have unflinching faith in the spiritual
master and must make his instructions his life and soul.
The Shvetasvatara Upanishad (6.38) states: ‘yasya deve
para bhaktir yatha-deve tatha gurau tasyaite kathita hy
arthah prakashante mahatmanah’– “Only unto those great
souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual
master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically
revealed.”
Faith in the guru is the subject matter in a narration about

Shri Krishna in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (10.80). While
recalling His boyhood pastimes, Krishna recollects that,
when He once went to the forest to collect firewood for
his guru, Sandipani Muni, He and His friend were lost in
the forest during a great rainstorm and spent the whole
night wandering about. In the morning, when the guru and the other disciples finally
found Krishna, the guru was very pleased, and he blessed Krishna to always continue to
remember all that He studied in gurukul. The Supreme Lord does not need the blessings
of anyone, but He sets the example of an ideal disciple for us to follow.
Krishna recalled the incident in this way: “Without the blessings of the spiritual master,
no one can be happy. By the mercy of the spiritual master, and by his blessings, one can
achieve peace and prosperity and be able to fulfill the mission of human life.
The faith described herein is not simply intellectual agreement on some theological
matter. Rather, the disciple must completely surrender himself as the servant of the guru
and take up the guru’s instructions as his life’s mission. After all, the guru acts as the
disciple’s savior. The disciple therefore owes a debt to his guru, who has personally
lifted him out of conditioned ignorance and blessed him with the perfection of eternity,
bliss and knowledge. In his turn, the guru must execute his duties humbly as a servitor of
the Supreme and of his own guru in the disciplic succession.
The great sage Dhaumya had three disciples Aruni, Veda and Upamanyu. Once during a rainy day he asked
Aruni to go to the field and block the water from entering the field. Aruni went alone and tried to stop the
water, but the field was becoming overflooded. Seeing the situation, in order to fulfill the order of his guru,
he laid himself down to stop the overflooding water. Later when the guru came with all the other disciples
to see Aruni, he heartily blessed him for his surrender. Veda always fasted whenever his guru did not call
him for honoring prasad. He laid on the floor, performed many austerities and was blessed by his guru.
Upamanyu was stubborn and fat looking. One day Dhaumya rishi asked him, “How do you maintain
yourself?” and Upamanyu replied, “I beg and eat well”. The guru told him that the disciple should beg only
for the guru and not for oneself. After some months the guru found his disciple still fat and inquired from
him about his maintenance. Upamanyu replied, “I first beg and give it to you. Later I go separately and beg
for myself.” The guru admonished him that all the alms collected by a disciple is the property of the guru
and not a farthing should be taken without permission. Later Upamanyu was found not going out much but
drinking the milk from the goshala. The guru reprimanded him that the milk was meant for Bhagavan. One
day Upamanyu was very hungry. He entered the forest and ate some leaves and became blind. He
stumbled and fell into a well. He chanted mantras from Rig-Veda and invoked the presence of the Ashwini
kumaras. They gave him a rice cake, but Upamanyu refused to eat it saying, “No, I cannot eat without
giving it to my guru first.” They told him that he was alone in the forest and that he might be very hungry.
But Upamanyu firmly refused to disobey his guru. At that time, his eyesight came back and his guru blessed
him.
The blessings of the guru are very important for the disciple to get the realization of the
scriptures. A disciple can achieve the blessings of the guru by faithful service to the
guru, by giving up one’s independent mentality and by endeavoring to please the guru in
strictly following his instructions.
Avowed Truthfulness
A disciple should have a sincere desire for enlightenment and avowed truthfulness to the
spiritual master. Birth in a particular caste, race, religion, etc., are not at all a
consideration for becoming a disciple. If one satisfies his guru by sincere service and
actually understands the Vedic conclusion, he receives initiation as a brahmana. A

brahmana is a learned person who is responsible enough to enlighten others. In India
there are many caste-conscious brahmanas, who insist that one cannot be elevated to
brahminical status unless he is born in a brahmana family. The brahmana-by-birth
conception is decidedly non-Vedic. According to the Vedic standard, anyone can be
elevated by training.
In this connection, there is a popular story in the Chandogya Upanishad about a boy named
Satyakama, who approached a guru for enlightenment. “Are you the son of a brahmana?” the guru
asked. The boy said that he didn’t know who his father was. The guru then asked him to inquire from
his mother, but the boy’s mother frankly told him that, since she had known many men, she wasn’t
sure who his father was. The boy then returned to the guru and said, “My mother doesn’t know.”
Pleased with the boy’s honesty, the spiritual master concluded, “You are a brahmana.”
There had been many great Vaishnava acharyas in our line of Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya
Vaishnava sampradaya like Narottam das Thakur. In modern times, Srila Prabhupada
made many Western men into powerful Gosvami preachers to spread the mission of Lord
Chaitanya all over the world. Thus one who is avowedly truthful to the guru, irrespective
of his caste or nationality, can attain the shelter of guru and Krishna.
* * * * *
‘Positive Thinker’ Quiz : 3

Qualifications of an Ideal Disciple

1. What do we learn from Arjuna’s confusion and suffering in our lives?

2. What high qualifications are useless in solving the problems of life?
3. What is the only way to purify our existence and return back to Godhead?
4. What did you learn from the mridanga teacher example?
5. What is the significant lesson from the surrender of Sanatana Gosvami to Lord
Chaitanya?
6. What is the difference between devotee and demoniac in understanding Bhagavad-
gita?
7. What would you choose between ‘shreyas’ and ‘preyas’? Why?

8. Who is the prince who became a scavenger for his guru? With what understanding
did he do this act?
9. What was the consciousness of King Prataparudra, the king of Orissa? What lesson
do you learn from his behavior?
10. Give two examples to show how a bona fide guru can enlighten the heart of a
receptive disciple.
Answer the following questions within TWO or THREE sentences : (2 + 3 = 5 marks)
1. List five things about a Grihamedhi. What do they inquire about?

2. What are the different services that Grihastha devotees can do? What do they gain by
that?
1. With an example, show how one should not be proud of material qualifications in
spiritual life.
2. What was the problem with Upamanyu’s behavior in the beginning? How did he
change his behavior at the end?
Bhagavad-gita As It Is Quiz : 3
Qualifications of an ideal Disciple

24 marks)
Syllabus for the following Quiz: Bhagavad-gita As It Is 4.34, 10.11, 12.9-10
1. How can one become a bona fide spiritual master? (4.34)

2. How can we detect the foolish pretenders? (4.34)
3. What is the secret of advancement in spiritual life? (4.34)
4. When will our questions to guru not be effective? (4.34)
5. What two things are condemned? Give an example of each from your practical
experience. (4.34)
6. Why does the Lord advise us to approach a bona fide spiritual master? (4.34)
7. Why do philosophers sometimes criticize devotees? (10.11)
8. If a devotee has insufficient education and knowledge of Vedic principles, then how
can he achieve the ultimate goal of life? (10.11)
9. When can a man never understand Krishna or the Supreme Truth? (10.11)
10. How does a pure devotee feel the presence of Krishna in his heart? What is the
magic? (10.11)
11. What is the method of attaining the ultimate goal, Vishnu? What is not the right
method of attaining the ultimate goal? (10.11)
12. How does a devotee completely avoid all worries about his material necessities,
safety, security or bank balance, etc? (10.11)
13. Which two categories of people does this verse address? (12.9)
14. How does Prabhupada define Bhakti-yoga in this verse? (12.9)
15. What happens by practicing Bhakti-yoga? (12.9)
16. What is the meaning of senses being ‘impure’ and ‘pure’ in this purport? (12.9)
17. What is the difference in relationship between the master and servant:
a) in material circles b) in spiritual life ? (12.9)
18. When can we practice spiritual life in the true sense, as practiced by Krishna’s pure
devotees? (12.9)
19. How can one achieve the stage of pure love? (12.9)
20. What are the basic principles of bhakti-yoga that one should follow under the expert
guidance of a spiritual master? (12.9)
21. What if someone is not able to follow all the regulative principles mentioned in the
previous purport? (12.10)
22. How can one be sympathetic to the propagation of Krishna consciousness? In India
many old people tell devotees, “You Hare Rama Hare Krishna people are doing good
work. Go on.” Is that appreciation enough? (12.10)
23. Devotees work with computers, ply cars, use mobiles. Those who are not devotees,
they also use these things. Then what is the difference? (12.10)
24. How do you think that this and the previous purport (12.9) is applicable to your
personal life? What is your plan for developing yourself in devotional service?
(12.10)
* * * * *
Meditation for Modern Age 109
Chapter 4
Reincarnation –
Fact or Fiction?
110 ‘Spiritual Scientist’, Course-1
Chapter Contents
Page
Sr. No. Contents
No.
1 What is Reincarnation? 43
Reincarnation: Views of Scientists and

2 44
Philosophers
3 Scientific Proof for Reincarnation 45
4 A Real Case History of Reincarnation 46
If We Have Lived Before, Why Don’t We

5 49
Remember It?
49
Reincarnation: Views of Different Religions 50
Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism
Ancient Greece 50
6 Buddhism 50
Christianity
Islam 50
51
7 Relevance of Reincarnation In Our Life 51

Individual or GD Task: Learning about
8 Reincarnation 52
Story: Three Lives of King Bharata
Reincarnation – Fact or Fiction?

dehino ’smin yathä dehe kaumäraà yauvanaà jarä
tathä dehäntara-präptir dhéras tatra na muhyati
TRANSLATION
As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul
similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.
[BG 2.13]
* * * *
What Is Reincarnation?
An intelligent person wants to know why he must suffer helplessly, die unwillingly and lose everything
miserably, despite the best wishes and efforts of doctors, friends and relatives, and his own desperate urge
to survive. Suppose a kidney or a heart is transplanted from someone else’s body into mine, do I
experience a little of the other person’s nature mingling with my own? Absolutely not! When a person has
cornea transplant he still remains the same person though seeing through a different lens. Like a pair of
spectacles, the eyes may enable sight but they do not themselves see. Thus I can clearly see that I am
different from my kidney, or heart, or pair of eyes, or the whole material body which is like a cage for the
spirit soul that is residing within the body.
Our scriptures give us information regarding the nature of matter and spirit. The
fundamental knowledge taught first is that we are not these bodies; we are the spirit
souls. The body of the spirit soul is made of sat-cit-ananda (eternity-knowledge-bliss)
and it is called the spiritual body. The material body is made up of matter: the five gross
elements being Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether and the three subtle elements being
Mind, Intelligence and False ego. Originally the living entity is a spiritual being, but
when he desires to enjoy this material world, he is sent down from the spiritual world.
When the spirit soul is sent to this material world, he has to be covered by a material
body so that he may get acclimatized to matter to live in the material world, as when you
wear winter clothes when you go abroad to a foreign atmosphere. The spirit soul first
accepts a body that is human in form, but gradually, due to his degraded activities, he
falls into lower forms of life-- into the animal, plant and aquatic forms. By the gradual
process of evolution, the living entity again attains the body of a human being and is
given another chance to get out of the process of transmigration. This process by which
a soul transmigrates from one body to another is known as Reincarnation.
At one point of time reincarnation was considered to be a Hindu belief. In 1989, research analyst Walter
Martin wrote: “the latest survey on reincarnation indicates that more than 58 percent of Americans believe in
reincarnation.” According to a survey published in ‘World Statistics’ (July, 1996), “More Americans believe in
reincarnation than ever before.” In the East, four out of five people surveyed embrace the doctrine of
reincarnation with full conviction. In total, this accounts for well over half the world’s population.
Reincarnation: Views of Scientists and Philosophers

Throughout the centuries, a surprising number of intelligent, non-fanatical thinkers
have believed in reincarnation. “I am confident,” says Socrates, “that there truly is
such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the
souls of the dead are in existence.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson agrees. “The soul,” he writes, “comes from without into the
human body, as into a temporary abode, and it goes out of it anew…it passes into
other habitations, for the soul is immortal.”
Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Tom Paine, Henry

David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman believed that the soul,
the energy that animates the body, goes on to a new body
when the present body dies.
One of the greatest modern psychologists, Carl Jung, said, “I could well
imagine that I might have lived in former centuries and there encountered
questions I was not yet able to answer; that I had to be born again because I had
not fulfilled the task that was given to me”.
One of the most celebrated scientists, Benjamin Franklin, wrote, “Finding

myself to exist in the world, I believe I shall, in some shape or other, always exist.”
Thus reincarnation is attracting the minds of intellectuals and the general public in the West. Films, novels,
popular songs and periodicals now treat reincarnation with ever-increasing frequency.
Scientific Proof for Reincarnation
People sometimes ask, “Who knows what is going to

happen after death? Who has seen whether we are born
again? Just forget this afterlife business and enjoy life
now.” Here we will cite a practical proof for reincarnation
based on the research work done in the field of
spontaneous past-life memories in children.
Dr. Ian Stevenson, Carlson Professor of Psychiatry at the

University of Virginia, has conducted research in the field
of reincarnation for over 30 years. Prof. Stevenson had
accumulated over 3000 cases of this type in his files and
over half of these were of the “solved” type (that is the
child’s past life experience had been determined beyond
reasonable doubt). In the 64 such solved cases from
India, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Turkey, Thailand and Burma –
about which he has written extensively – the children’s
parents or relatives were able to recall up to 60
statements made by the child, that were mostly capable of verification and which helped identify his or her
past life. Over a 100 books and research theses have been written on the subject of reincarnation since the
late nineteenth century.
Ian Stevenson has published his views in an article titled, ‘The Explanatory Value of the
idea of Reincarnation’ in Vol.164, No.5 of ‘The Journal of Nervous and Mental
Diseases’, printed in the USA. The article is comprehensive and explains the following
phenomena among many other things:
a) Un-acquired and uninherited skills

Writing of skills and talents in small children that were neither learnt nor inherited from
the parents, the professor says, “I remember one child in Sri Lanka who was gifted at
preparing thatch for roofs being able to put the palm leaves together very skillfully. She
had never been trained in that; her family was several levels above the person whose life
she was remembering and they didn’t bother with thatching; they had galvanized tin
roofs”. He thus says that this skill of the child, born to a family of higher economic
status, could not be explained without reincarnation, about which the child spoke from
past life.
b) Phobias
Writing on phobias, he says: “Phobias and inhibitions are much commoner phenomena
and in about 50% of cases the child has a phobia, sometimes expressed very young,
nearly always related to the mode of death of the person whose life is being remembered.
For example, if the previous life ended in drowning, there would be a phobia of water,
and if the previous life ended in a stabbing, there would be a phobia of bladed weapons.
If it ended in shooting, there would be a phobia of fire-arms and so on.”
c) Difference in the temperament of identical twins

Even though identical twins are physically born by the splitting of a single egg, they may
have striking contrasts in temperament. Their difference in temperament cannot be
explained on the basis of genetics because their bodies had resulted from the same
genetic material. The difference in temperaments is because of two different souls
reincarnated in two different bodies that are genetically identical.
When someone seems to have truthful memories of a former life, Dr Stevenson interviews him, the people
around him, and if possible the people of the life apparently remembered, looking for a more ordinary,
normal way to explain things. He looks for fraud - stories with holes in them and conflicting, unreliable
reports. Only when there is no other possible explanation does he conclude that a case appears to be quite
strong in establishing reincarnation.
A Real Case History Of Reincarnation

The case history of Sukla, a little girl from West Bengal is one of the 3000 in
the files of Dr Ian Stevenson.
When Sukla Gupta was a year and a half old and barely able to talk, she used
to cradle a pillow and address it as “Minu”. Minu, she said, was her daughter.
Sukla, over the next three years, recollected her previous life events, which
showed that Minu actually was her daughter in a previous life.
Sukla was the daughter of a railway worker in Kampa, a village in West

Bengal. Sukla often talked not only about her daughter, Minu, but also about
her husband, “the father of Minu” (a good Hindu wife avoids speaking of her
husband by name). She also talked about his younger brothers Khetu and
Karuna. They all lived, she said, at Rathtala in Bhatpara.
Sukla’s present family, the Guptas, knew Bhatpara slightly - it was a city about
11 miles south, but they had never heard of a place called Rathtala, nor of the people Sukla had named. Yet
Sukla developed a desire to go there, and she insisted that if her parents didn’t take her she would go alone.
Shri K. N. Sen Gupta, Sukla’s father, talked about the matter

with some friends. He also mentioned it to one of his railway co-
workers, Shri S. C. Pal, an assistant station master. Shri Pal
lived near Bhatpara and had two cousins there. Through these
cousins he learned that Bhatpara indeed had a district called
Rathtala. He also learned of a man there named Khetu. Khetu
had a sister-in-law named Mana who had died several years
before, in 1948, leaving behind an infant daughter named Minu.
Shri Sen Gupta decided to investigate further. With the consent
of that family, he arranged for a visit to Rathtala. Sukla said that
she could show the way to the house.
So, in 1959, when Sukla was a little more than five, Shri Sen
Gupta and five other members of his family journeyed with her to
Bhatpara. When they arrived, Sukla took the lead. Avoiding
various possible wrong turns, she brought them straight to the
house of Shri Amritalal Chakravarty, allegedly her father-in-law
in her past life.
As the party approached, Shri Amritlal Chakravarty happened to

be out on the street. When Sukla saw him, she looked down
shyly, following the usual custom for a young woman in the
presence of an elder male relative. But when Sukla went to enter
the house she was confused. She didn’t seem to know the right
entrance. Her confusion however made sense; after the death of
Mana (Sukla’s name in her previous life) the entrance had been
moved from the main street to an alley on the side.
And the party soon found that Sukla recognized not only the
house, but also the people in it, including those she said were
her mother-in-law, her brothers-in-law, her husband, and her
daughter. Inside Amritalal Chakravarty’s house, Sukla found herself in a room with some 20 or 30 people.
When she was asked, “Can you point out your husband?” she correctly indicated Shri Haridhana
Chakravarty. Further when Sukla went to Mana’s room, she showed the cot she used previously as Mana.
And tears came to Sukla’s eyes, when she saw her old sewing machine, the one that Mana had previously
used.
Sukla and Haridhana Chakravarty were to meet again several times, and Sukla always longed for these
meetings. When he was to visit her house, Sukla told her family to make him a meal with prawns and buli.
She said that this was his favorite food. Her family did what she said and later found that she had chosen
correctly. Sukla behaved toward Haridhana Chakravarty like a perfect Hindu wife. After he ate his meal, she
would eat whatever food was left on his plate, as a devoted Hindu wife would do. But she never ate food
from the plate of anyone else.
Most dramatic in Sukla’s case were her strong maternal emotions towards
Minu. From babyhood Sukla had played at cradling Minu in her arms, and
after she learned to talk she spoke of her longing to be with Minu. Sukla’s
meeting with Minu had all the appearances of a tearful reunion between
mother and daughter. Once Mana’s cousin tested Sukla by falsely telling her
that Minu, away in Rathtala, was ill with a high fever. Sukla began to cry
frantically and it took a long time for her family to reassure her that Minu was
actually well. Dr Stevenson remarks, “Although Minu was twelve and Sukla
was only five, within this limitation, Sukla exactly acted the role of a mother
towards a beloved daughter.”
Thus after taking many other possibilities into account, Dr Stevenson submits
that this case can be understood only by taking reincarnation into
consideration. We have given another interesting reincarnation case below:
Chase Bowman
at the age (5 years)
he had his first
past life memories
If We Have Lived Before, Why Don’t We Remember It?
It is our nature to forget. For example, hardly any of us can remember exactly what we had for lunch even a
week ago on the same day, though it is a certain fact that we did have lunch. So our not being able to
remember an event is not the proof that it never happened. But consciously we can’t even remember many
things about our childhood in this very life. Is it then a surprise that we can’t remember our past lives?
The Vedic texts explain that the souls come to this world to try to enjoy separate from God. And in order to
be able to enjoy it is necessary that we forget what we did in our previous lives. Why forgetfulness is
necessary for enjoyment can be understood from an example. If a near and dear member of our family has
just passed away and if, at that time, a friend of ours calls us for a movie, will we go? We will be too much
grief-stricken to even consider the idea of enjoyment.
Similarly if we were to remember all the dangerous activities and painful experiences of all our past lives, it
would cause us so much anguish that we would be rendered incapable of all activites and enjoyments in the
present life. For example, we might have met an excruciatingly painful death in a ghastly car accident, or we
might have been a dumb animal, helplessly slaughtered by a merciless butcher, and so on.
If all these memories are not suppressed, how much pain will they inflict on our mind? Therefore material
nature arranges to provide us with forgetfulness about our previous lives so that we may now freely go
ahead with our desires for enjoyment. Of course, by some arrangement of God, certain thousands of souls
amongst billions in this world are able to recollect their past life memories. This gives us a hint about the
existence of reincarnation and can open our hearts to develop faith in the undefeatable truths mentioned in
the Vedic scriptures.
Reincarnation: Views of Different Religions
SANATANA DHARMA OR HINDUISM:

The vast body of Vedic wisdom that explains the subtleties of life in minute details is the foundation that
leads to the unshakeable acceptance of reincarnation in the followers of Sanatana dharma.
ANCIENT GREECE:
Among the ancient Greeks, Socrates, Pythagoras and Plato may be counted among
those who made reincarnation an integral part of their teachings. Pythagoras claimed
he could remember his past lives. Scholars summarize the Greek philosopher’s
complex version of the doctrine in ten steps: (1) divine origin of the soul; (2) the soul’s
fall; (3) duration of a cycle of births; (4) address to the souls awaiting reincarnation; (5)
inevitability of transmigration; (6) possibility of release from cycle after three virtuous
lives; (7) judgement in an underground realm; (8) judgement and condemnation of the
wicked; (9) reward of the pious; (10) an ordered scale of human lives.
BUDDHISM:
The idea of rebirth is implicit in Buddhism; the enlightened state (buddi) say the
Buddhists, cannot be achieved in one lifetime but takes many thousands of
years. Further evidence of belief in reincarnation is found in ‘The Jataka Tales’
(“Birth Stories”), which, according to tradition, were originally told by the Buddha
himself – 547 stories of the Enlightened One’s past incarnations. The tales
recount how the Buddha incarnated as a god (deva), as an animal, even as a
tree in order to help souls in various conditioned states attain liberation.
Reincarnation plays a central role in nearly all of the 547 Jataka tales.
CHRISTIANITY:
There are many passages in the Bible indicating that Christ and his followers were
aware of the principle of reincarnation. Once, the disciples of Jesus asked him about
the Old Testament prophecy that Elias would reappear on earth. Jesus declared that
John the Baptist, who was beheaded by Herod, was a reincarnation of the prophet
Elias. Again speaking of John the Baptist, Jesus said, “This is Elias, which was for to
come. He that hath ears to hear let him hear." [Matthew 11: 14-15].
Many early Church fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-220), Justin Martyr (AD 100-165), St.
Gregory of Nyssa (AD 257-332), Arnobius (fl.AD 290) and St. Jerome (AD 340-420) were advocates of the
principle of reincarnation.
Emperor Justinian (fl. AD 527-565), felt that with belief in reincarnation, Christians
might become lax, thinking that they had more than one life with which to attain
perfection. He banned the teachings of pre-existence of the soul from the Roman
Catholic Church. During that era, numerous Church writings were destroyed. ‘Give
them one life only’, he said, ‘and then give them heaven or hell.’ Justinian was sure
that this would hasten the Christians resolve to be good “Christians” and thus good
citizens, loyal to their emperor.
ISLAM:
Islamic historian E. G. Browne, outlines three forms of transmigration accepted by classical Muslim thinkers:
(1) Huhul, the periodical incarnation of a saint or prophet ;(2) Rijat, the immediate return of an Imam or any
other important spiritual leader after death; and (3) Tanasukh, the ordinary reincarnation of all souls. The
Islamists even claim that the Hindu God Krishna incarnated as Lord Buddha, and then as Mohammed, while
others within the same sect believe that great teachers repeatedly incarnate for the benefit of successive
generations.
Relevance of Reincarnation in Our Life
Most people feel that reincarnation, even if it is a reality, has little or no relevance to their lives. And even
most of those interested in reincarnation study it out of idle curiosity, treating it as a mysterious subject
meant for titillating their mind and intellect. But reincarnation has a great and immediate relevance to our
lives.
Have you seen poor goats, standing in a queue in a slaughterhouse, being chopped one after another.
Though these goats are about to be killed, they are satisfied simply with a little green grass being fed to
them. Similarly, the whole world is like a slaughterhouse where everyone is being killed one after another.
Yet, like the foolish goats, most people get intoxicated simply by getting a little sense gratification, and do not
think about how to escape and go beyond their impending death. They pay no heed to the spiritualists. Only
an intelligent person tries to understand the meaning of life by asking questions like – If reincarnation is a
reality, can I decide my future body? And most importantly, if I am eternal, do I have to keep dying and being
reborn again and again, or can I attain eternal life? If yes, how?
Perhaps one day scientific investigation will come up with answers to these questions. Isn’t there any
immediately available way to know the truth, and to avoid all this suffering? There is. Suppose you are faced
with an unfamiliar but complex machine. You can observe it and try to figure out how it works. But the sure
way to understand the machine is to learn about it from the person who built it. Similarly the vast universe
around us is like a massive machine. The direct way to understand the machinery of the universe - including
the subtle mechanism of reincarnation - is to learn about it from the person behind it - God. One should
therefore learn the truth from the authorized scriptures, which are directly the word of God.
Individual or GD Task: Learning about Reincarnation
If you are in a classroom, then your teacher will make groups of 4 or 5 students; if you
are reading this book alone, you can do it as an individual task. The story given below
illustrates how the soul reincarnates from one body to another till he attains perfection.
Read the story carefully. Each member of your group can read one title given below.
Discuss the answer for the questions inserted in between the story amongst yourself and
answer the questions on a separate sheet. Submit your answers along with the EBG Quiz
answers. Remember to mention on the top of your sheet ‘Lesson 8: Reincarnation – Fact
or Fiction?, Individual or Group Task’ along with your name or name of group members.
Story: Three Lives of King Bharata
Once the world was ruled by a very wise and experienced king named Maharaja Bharata. Being aware of the
ultimate goal of life, in the prime of his youth, he renounced everything - his queen, family and his vast
empire - and went to a place called Pulahashrama in the foothills of the Himalayas. There he lived alone in
the forest along the bank of the Gandaki river. Each morning Bharata worshiped the Supreme Lord by
chanting the hymns given in the Rig Veda. Later in the day he collected various fruits and roots, and as
recommended in the Vedic scriptures, he offered these simple edibles to Lord Krishna, and then took them
as his meals. By his constant meditation upon the Personality of
Godhead, Bharata began to experience symptoms of spiritual ecstasy.
Q1: What was great about Bharata Maharaja?

Q2: How should a devotee spend his morning time?
Bharata gives shelter to the Deer

One day while Bharata was meditating near the bank of the river, a doe
came there to drink water. While she drank, a lion in the forest nearby
roared loudly. The doe was pregnant, and as she jumped across the river
in great fear, a baby deer fell from her womb into the swiftly flowing
waters. The mother deer, trembling in fright, weakened and pained by the
miscarriage, entered a cave, where she soon died.
As the sage Bharata observed the baby deer floating helplessly down the
river, he felt great compassion. Bharata lifted the animal from the water
and, knowing it to be motherless, brought it to his ashrama. Because
Bharata was self-realized, he saw all living beings with equal vision. He
fed the deer with fresh green grass daily and tried to make it comfortable.
Bharata becomes Attached to the Deer and Neglects

Spiritual Life
Soon, however, he began to develop great attachment for the deer; he laid down with it, walked with it,
bathed with it, and even ate with it. When he wanted to enter the forest to collect fruits, flowers, and roots,
he would take the deer with him, fearing that if he left it behind, it would be killed by dogs, jackals, or tigers.
Bharata took great pleasure seeing the deer leap and frolic in the forest like a child. Sometimes he would
carry the deer on his shoulders. His heart was so filled with love for the deer that he would keep it on his lap
during the day, and when he slept, the deer would rest upon his chest. He was forever petting the deer and
would sometimes even kiss it. Thus his heart became bound by affection for the deer..
Being attached to raising the deer, Bharata gradually became neglectful of his meditation upon the Supreme
Lord. He thus became distracted from the path of self-realization, which is the actual goal of human life.
The Vedas remind us that the human form is obtained only after the soul undergoes millions of births in
lower species of life.
Q3: What was Bharata’s mistake in showing compassion to the deer?

Q4: Write down the different common distractions, especially in modern times, that take people
away from going towards God.
This material world is sometimes compared to an ocean of birth and death, and the human body is
compared to a solid boat designed to cross this ocean. The Vedic scriptures and the saintly teachers, or
spiritual masters, are compared to expert boatmen, and the facilities of the human body are compared to
favorable breezes that help the boat ply smoothly to its desired destination. If, with all these facilities, a
person does not fully utilize his life for self-realization, then he commits spiritual suicide and risks taking his
next birth in an animal body.
However, even though Bharata was aware of these considerations, he thought to himself, “Because this deer
has taken shelter of me, how can I neglect it? Even though it is disturbing my spiritual life, I cannot ignore it.
To neglect a helpless person who has taken shelter of me would be a great fault.”
Q5: Can you think of some material situation in your life where you thought that sorting out a
problem was more important than keeping your spiritual life steady? How did you escape from
that situation?
Q6: What would you do if somebody or some situation terribly disturbs your spiritual practices?
Q7: Can you suggest a corrective action for Bharata’s behavior?
Bharata searches anxiously for the Lost Deer

One day, as Bharata was meditating, he began, as usual, to think of the deer instead of the Lord. Breaking
his concentration, he glanced around to see where the deer was, and when he could not discover it, his mind
became agitated, like that of a miser who has lost his money. He got up and searched the area around his
ashrama, but the deer was not to be found anywhere.
Bharata thought, “When will my deer return? Is it safe from tigers and other animals? When shall I again
see it wandering in my garden, eating the soft green grass?” The deer did not return till evening. Bharata
became overwhelmed with anxiety, “Has my deer been eaten by a wolf or a dog? Has it been attacked by a
herd of wild boars, or by a tiger who travels alone? The sun is setting now, and the poor animal who has
trusted me since its mother died has not yet returned.”
He remembered how the deer would play with him. He remembered how he would sometimes push the deer
away from him, pretending to be annoyed with it for disturbing his worship or meditation, and how it would
then immediately become fearful and sit down motionless a short distance away. “My deer is exactly like a
little prince. Oh, when will he return again? When will he again pacify my wounded heart?”
Q8: Can you think of any scriptural example where a spiritualist got distracted from his spiritual
practices and became attached to something material?
Q9: How can a person allured by Maya get out of her clutches?
Bharata dies thinking of the Deer

Unable to restrain himself, Bharata set out after the deer, following its tiny
hoof prints in the moonlight. In his madness, he began to talk to himself,
“This creature was so dear to me that I feel as though I have lost my own
son. Due to the burning fever of separation, I feel as if I were in the middle
of a blazing forest fire. My heart is now blazing with distress.”
While frantically searching for the lost deer along the dangerous forest
paths, Bharata suddenly fell and was fatally injured. Lying there on the
verge of death, he saw that his deer had suddenly appeared and was sitting
at his side, watching over him just like a loving son. Thus, at the moment of
death, the king’s mind was completely on the deer. In the Bhagavad-gita
(8.6) we learn, “Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his
body, that state he will attain without fail.”
Q10: What do you understand from Bhagavad-gita (8.6)? Discuss its relevance to the life of
someone in modern times.
Q11: If death comes to you the next moment, what body do you feel you might get? Answer this
question based on what are the things that you’re attracted to or attached to?
Q12 : Parents give names like Rama, Krishna, Govinda, Radha to their children so that they can
remember the Lord always by calling these names. Can you think of other ways to remember the
Lord?
King Bharata becomes a Deer
In his next life, Bharata got the body of a deer. Most living entities are not able to remember their past lives,
but because of the spiritual progress the King had made in his previous life, he could, even though in the
body of a deer, understand the cause of his taking birth in that body, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita 6.44.
He began to lament, “What a fool I was! I have fallen from the path of self-realization. I gave up my family
and kingdom and went to a solitary holy place in the forest to meditate, where I always contemplated on the
Lord of the universe. But due to my foolishness, I let my mind become attached to – of all things – a deer.
And now I have justly received such a body. No one is to blame but myself.”
But even as a deer, Bharata, having learned a valuable lesson, was able to continue his progress in self-
realization. He became detached from all material desires. He no longer cared for the succulent green
grasses, nor did he give a thought to how long his antlers would grow. He returned to Pulahashrama, the
very place where he had practiced meditation in his previous life. But this time he was careful never to forget
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Staying near the hermitages of the great saints and sages, and
avoiding all contact with materialists, he lived very simply, eating only hard, dry leaves. When the time of
death came and Bharata was leaving the body of the deer, he loudly uttered the following prayer, “The
Supreme Personality of Godhead is the source of all knowledge, the controller of the entire creation, and the
Supersoul within the heart of every living being. He is beautiful and attractive. I am quitting this body
offering obeisances unto Him and hoping that I may perpetually engage in His transcendental loving
service.”
Q13: What did Bharata lament about after occupying the body of a deer?
Q14: After acquiring the body of a deer what steps did Bharata take in order to be Krishna
conscious?
Q15: What precautionary measures do you take to avoid becoming a prey to bad things that take
you away from Krishna consciousness?
The life of Jada Bharata

In his next life, King Bharata took birth in the family of a pure, saintly brahmana priest and was known as
Jada Bharata. By the Lord’s mercy, he could again remember his past lives. As he grew up, Jada Bharata
became very much afraid of his friends and relatives, because they were very materialistic and not at all
interested in making spiritual progress. Therefore, although he was very intelligent, he behaved just like a
madman. He pretended to be dull, blind, and deaf, so that mundane people would not try to talk to him. But
within himself, he was always thinking of the Lord and remembering His glories, which alone can save one
from repeated birth and death.
Jada Bharata’s father was filled with affection for his son, and in his heart he hoped that Jada Bharata would
someday become a learned scholar. Therefore he tried to teach him the intricacies of Vedic knowledge. But
Jada Bharata purposely behaved like a fool so that his father would abandon his attempts to instruct him. If
his father told him to do something, he would do exactly the opposite.
Q16: Why was Jada Bharata afraid of his friends? What do you think you can do about your
friends who are uninterested in spiritual life?
Q17: Can you think of two ways to escape materialistic association?
Q18: Why did Jada Bharata not want to become a Vedic scholar?
Jada Bharata’s Inner Spiritual Advancement unknown to People

Jada Bharata’s nine stepbrothers considered him dull and brainless, and when their father died, they
abandoned all attempts to educate him. They could not understand Jada Bharata’s inner spiritual
advancement. They made him work like a slave in the fields and his only wages were the small portions of
unpalatable foodstuffs provided by them. Each day he was insulted and neglected by ordinary people, who
considered him to be nothing more than a useless fool. But Jada Bharata never protested the mistreatment,
for he was completely liberated from the bodily concept of life. Whatever food came his way, he would
accept it and eat it, whether it was plenty or little, palatable or unpalatable. His body was as strong as a
bull’s, and his limbs were very muscular. Because his body was perpetually dirty, his spiritual knowledge
and effulgence were covered, just like a valuable gem covered by dirt and grime.
Q19: Find out a verse in the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad-gita where the equanimity of a self-
realized soul is explained.
Q20: Think of a situation where you protested against someone mistreating you. Why did Jada
Bharata not protest when he was mistreated?
Jada Bharata taken for Sacrifice to the Temple of Goddess Kali

Once a leader of a band of dacoits went to the temple of the goddess Bhadrakali to offer in sacrifice a dull,
unintelligent human being resembling an animal. Such sacrifices are nowhere mentioned in the Vedas and
were concocted by the robbers for the purpose of gaining material wealth. Their plan was foiled, however,
when the man who was to have been sacrificed escaped. So the chief robber sent his men out to find him.
Searching through fields and forests in the darkness of night, the robbers came to a rice field and saw Jada
Bharata, who was sitting on high ground guarding the field against the attacks of wild boars. The robbers
thought Jada Bharata would be a perfect sacrifice. They bound him with strong ropes and brought him to
the temple of goddess Kali.
Due to his complete faith in the protection of the Supreme Lord, Jada Bharata did not protest. His
consciousness was, “My Lord, I am now surrendered unto You. I am Your eternal servant, and if You like
You can kill me, or if You like You can protect me. In any case, I am fully surrendered unto You.”
Q21: On what basis did the robbers want to offer a human to Kali? What was their purpose?
Q22: Why did Jada Bharata not protest when he was taken by the robbers to be killed?
Jada Bharata saved from the Robbers

The robbers bathed Jada Bharata, dressed him in new silk garments, and
decorated him with ornaments and garlands. They fed him a sumptuous
last meal and brought him before the goddess. Jada Bharata was forced
to sit before the deity. Then, one of the thieves, acting as the chief priest,
raised a razor-sharp sword to slit Jada Bharata’s throat so they could offer
his warm blood as liquor to Kali. But the goddess could not bear this.
She understood that the sinful thieves were about to kill a great devotee
of the Lord. Suddenly, the form of the deity burst open and the goddess
herself appeared, her body burning with intense, intolerable effulgence.
The infuriated goddess flashed her blazing eyes and displayed her fierce,
curved teeth. Her eyes glowered and she appeared as if she were
prepared to destroy the entire cosmos. Leaping violently from the altar,
she quickly decapitated all the rogues and thieves with the very sword
with which they had intended to kill the saint Jada Bharata.
Q23: What would you infer from this instance of Kali decapitating
her own worshippers?
Jada Bharata encounters King Rahugana

After his escape from the Kali temple, Jada Bharata continued his wanderings, remaining aloof from
materialistic men. One day, as King Rahugana of Sauvira was being carried through the district on a
palanquin resting on the shoulders of several servants, the men, who were fatigued, began to falter.
Realizing they would need another carrier to help them cross the
Ikshumati River, the king’s servants began searching for someone.
They came upon Jada Bharata, who appeared to be a good choice

because he was very young and as strong as an ox. Jada Bharata
agreed to follow their order. But because he saw all living beings as his
brothers, Jada Bharata could not perform this task very well – as he
walked, he kept stopping to make sure that he did not step on any ants.
Unaware of what was causing the sudden jolts, King Rahugana
shouted, “What’s going on? Can’t you carry the palanquin properly?
Why is it jerking like this?”
Hearing the threatening voice of the king, the frightened servants
replied that the new man, Jada Bharata, was causing the disturbance.
The king angrily chastised Jada Bharata, sarcastically accusing him of carrying the palanquin like a weak,
skinny, tired, old man. But Jada Bharata, who understood his true spiritual identity, knew that he was not his
body. He was neither fat, nor lean, nor thin, nor did he have anything to do with the lump of flesh and bones
that comprised his body. He knew that he was an eternal spirit soul situated within the body, like a driver
within a machine. Therefore, Jada Bharata remained unaffected by the king’s angry criticism.
Jada Bharata remained silent and kept carrying the palanquin as before, but the king, being unable to control
his temper, shouted, “You rascal, what are you doing? Don’t you know that I am your master? For your
disobedience I shall now punish you.”
Q24 : What was the philosophical understanding of Jada Bharata that led him to remain
unaffected by the king’s angry criticism?
Jada Bharata Instructs King Rahugana

“My dear king”, said Jada Bharata, “whatever you have said about me is true. You seem to think that I have
not labored hard enough to carry your palanquin. That is true, because actually I am not carrying your
palanquin at all. My body is carrying it, but I am not my body. You accuse me of not being very stout and
strong, but this merely shows your ignorance of the spirit soul. The body may be fat or thin, or weak or
strong, but no learned man would say such things about the real self within. As far as my soul is concerned,
it is neither fat nor skinny.”
Jada Bharata then began to instruct the king, saying, “You think you are the lord and master, and you are
therefore trying to command me, but this is also incorrect, because these positions are temporary. Today
you are a king and I am your servant, but in our next lives our positions may be reversed; you may be my
servant and I your master.”
Just as the waves of the ocean bring pieces of straw together and then push them apart, the force of eternal
time brings living entities together in temporary relationships, such as master and servant, and then breaks
them apart and rearranges them. “In any case”, Jada Bharata continued, “who is master, and who is
servant? Everyone is forced to act by the laws of material nature; therefore no one is a master and no one is
a servant.”
The Vedas explain that the human beings in this material world are like actors on a stage, performing under
the direction of a superior. Onstage, one actor may play the role of a master, and another may play the role
of his servant, but they are both actually the servants of the director. In the same way, all living entities are
the servants of the Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna. Their roles as masters and servants in the material world
are temporary and imaginary. After explaining all this to King Rahugana, Jada Bharata said, “If you still think
that you are the master and that I am the servant, I shall accept this. Please order me. What can I do for
you?”
King Rahugana, who had been trained in spiritual science, was astonished to hear the teachings of Jada
Bharata. Recognizing him as a saintly person, the king quickly descended from his palanquin. His material
conception of himself as a great monarch had been obliterated, and he fell humbly to the ground, his body
outstretched, offering obeisances, his head at the feet of the holy man.
“O saintly person, why are you moving through the world unknown to others? Who are you? Where do you
live? Why have you come to this place? O spiritual master, I am blind to spiritual knowledge. Please tell me
how I may advance in spiritual life.” King Rahugana’s behavior is exemplary. The Vedas declare that
everyone, even kings, must approach a spiritual master in order to gain knowledge of the soul and the
process of reincarnation.
Q25: Why is the master-servant relationship in the material world illusory?

Q26: What made King Rahugana descend from his palanquin and fall humbly on the ground?
Q27: What is special about King Rahugana’s behavior?
Jada Bharata then gave the Vedic knowledge about how the soul, because of material identification,
wanders throughout the unlimited universes in different species of life. He also explained how the
uncontrolled mind is the greatest enemy of the living being.
Jada Bharata then revealed his own past lives, “In a previous birth, I was known as King Bharata. I attained
perfection by becoming completely detached from material activities. I was fully engaged in the service of
the Lord, but I relaxed my control over my mind and became so affectionate to a small deer that I neglected
my spiritual duties. At the time of death, I could think of nothing but the deer, so in my next life I had to
accept a body of a deer.”
Importance of Saintly Association

Jada Bharata concluded his teachings by informing the King that those who desire freedom from the cycle of
reincarnation must always associate with self-realized devotees of the Lord. Only by associating with
exalted devotees can one attain the perfection of knowledge and cut to pieces the illusory associations of
this material world.
Unless one has the opportunity to get the association of the devotees of the Lord, he can never understand
anything about spiritual life. The Absolute Truth is revealed only to one who has attained the mercy of a
great devotee, because in the assembly of pure devotees, there is no question of discussing material
subjects like politics and sociology. In an assembly of pure devotees, there is discussion only of the
qualities, forms, and pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is praised and worshiped with
full attention. This is the simple secret by which one can revive his dormant spiritual consciousness, end
forever the vicious cycle of reincarnation, and return to a life of eternal pleasure in the spiritual world.
Q28: What was the main cause of the falldown of King Bharata?
Q29: What is discussed and what is not discussed in the assembly of pure devotees?
Q30: What are the different ways you can think of associating with devotees?
* * * * *

Reincarnation – fact or fiction ?

1. Can you give two examples to help see clearly that we are souls different from the
cage-like material body?
2. How much of the world’s population believe in reincarnation?
3. What did Benjamin Franklin say in relation to reincarnation? Explain his statement
from the viewpoint of Bhagavad-gita.
4. What point touched you the most when you read the case history of Sukla?
5. Can you give two reasons with one example each, why we don’t remember our
previous life?
6. Why does the Bible not seem to speak much about reincarnation?
7. What does Islam say about reincarnation?
8. How would you prove that reincarnation is not an Indian phenomenon or mere a
Hindu belief?
9. What are the meaningful questions asked by an intelligent person about
reincarnation?
10. What is the first body awarded to the soul? What happens subsequently?

1. It seems Sukla did not know the right entrance to the house. How is her confusion
justified?
2. Can you think of any histories from Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana or
Bhagavatam, that you have heard, where someone is reborn in a different body?

1. Some people say that they are not interested in spirituality or reincarnation? What
example would you give them to awaken them to the reality?
2. Can’t these past life memory incidents such as Sukla’s be some cooked up stories that
are floated by children to become popular?
Reincarnation – Fact or Fiction?

28 marks)
Syllabus for the following Quiz: Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.22, 2.40, 6.37-45
1. What has to be accepted by modern scientists who do not believe in the existence of
the soul? (2.22)
2. What makes the transfer of the soul from one body to another possible? (2.22)
3. What is the similarity and difference between the two birds sitting in the tree? What
are the two birds, fruits, and tree compared to in this analogy? Apply this two birds
analogy to: a) Arjuna’s situation b) your situation (2.22)
4. What is the cause of the jiva soul’s suffering and when can he become free from all
lamentations? (2.22)
5. Why did Krishna order Arjuna to kill his old grandfather and teacher? How would
they benefit? (2.22)
6. If the change of body is as simple as change of dress, then why do people lament so
much when someone passes away? (2.22)
7. What is the highest transcendental quality of work? Why? (2.40)
8. Highlight the difference between spiritual life and material life, based on the work
done. (2.40)
9. What was Arjuna’s question to Krishna? Can you put it precisely in one sentence?
(6.37)
10. What are the three processes to achieve self-realization? What is one supposed to do
in each of these processes? (6.37)
11. What is pursuing the transcendental path equivalent to? (6.37)
12. When one tries to escape from maya, what does she do? Think of a sastric example
that you know, where someone on the transcendental path became a victim to maya.
(6.37)
13. Why do materialists often fear the spiritual path? (6.38)
14. What do ‘small cloud’ and ‘big cloud’ indicate? Explain the cloud analogy with
respect to the life of a practicing spiritualist. (6.38)
15. Whose verdict can be accepted as the final and complete answer to all doubts?
Why is it so? (6.39)
16. Does an unsuccessful spiritualist lose both materially and spiritually? Explain. (6.40)
17. What happens to one who strictly performs his prescribed duties to family, demigods,
other living beings, etc., but does not take to Krishna consciousness? (6.40)
18. What specific knowledge or goal distinguishes the regulated people from the non-
regulated ones? (6.40)
19. Often there are people who do not harm others, who visit temples regularly, who
dress decently, who fulfill their duties at home and office. They have no knowledge
beyond eating, sleeping, mating and defending. In what category do they fit? Why?
(6.40)
20. In conclusion what does Prabhupada call as the only auspicious activity? (6.40)
21. What are the two categories of unsuccessful yogis? Where do they go? (6.41)
22. What is the real purpose of yoga practice? (6.41)
23. What happens to those who do not persevere enough on the spiritual path? (6.41)
24. What two examples of great acharyas are quoted for those children born in the house
of great transcendentalists? (6.42)
25. What is the specialty of these families and what position do the children born there
attain? (6.42)
26. What is understood from the life of King Bharata? (6.42)
27. What is the difference between ‘attraction to rituals’ and ‘attraction to yoga
principles’? What is the most essential difference? Give an example to illustrate the
point. (6.44)
28. How does a person born in a righteous, aristocratic or pious family become
determined in Krishna consciousness? (6.45)
* * * * *
Chapter 5
Evolving Towards
Perfection
Chapter Contents
Page
Sr. No. Contents
No.
Material Body – Changing Dress for the Soul 67
Reincarnation - Internal and External 67
1
The Six Transformations of the Material 68
Body
2 Did We Evolve from Branches to Benches? 68
3 Perfect Knowledge of Evolution 72
The Mechanism of Reincarnation: What

4 73
happens at Death?
Bodies are ‘Tailor-made’ to satisfy the Soul’s
5 75
Desires
6
Human Form of Life – a Special Benediction 77
Human life: the junction to decide your future 77
Human Life: the greatest good fortune in comparison to animal
life
77
The Lord created the Human form of life
for one purpose only 78
7 Story: ‘Born Again, but with what Gain?’ 79
8 Stopping the Miserable Ferris wheel Game 80

Evolving Towards Perfection

väsäàsi jérëäni yathä vihäya naväni gåhëäti naro ’paräëi
tathä çaréräëi vihäya jérëäny anyäni saàyäti naväni dehé
TRANSLATION
As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material
bodies, giving up the old and useless ones. [BG 2.22]
* * * *
Material Body – Changing Dress for the Soul
Reincarnation - Internal and External

Can you believe that the same youthful body that a young man has now was, just 20 years ago, the body of
a small baby that could be held in the two palms of his mother? Is it not a fact that this same youthful body is
going to grow old and that there are going to be wrinkles, all the senses are going to become weak, and
performing any activity is going to become difficult? In principle then, even within one lifetime, as the body
changes from infancy to old age, the living being, or ‘atma’, actually passes through many bodies (like a
child’s, a boy’s, a young man’s, and an old person’s) of various ages and levels of consciousness.
Thus the body changes, but the eternal living being within the body - the soul - remains the same. Biological
science confirms this. In his book, ‘The Human Brain’, John Pfeiffer points out, “Your body does not contain
a single one of the molecules that it contained seven years ago.” When the movie frames are moved rapidly
past our eyes at a rate of 16 frames/sec, it appears to be one continuous movie; we fail to notice that every
frame is different. In the same way our body changes at every moment irreversibly, but because the change
is continuous and gradual, we fail to notice it. This movement of the soul
through numerous bodies within one lifetime – something we can all
verify by a little introspection – can be termed internal or continuous
reincarnation.
At the time of death the soul passes to a new body. The Lord explains this,
“Just as the embodied living entity passes, in one body, from boyhood to
youth to old age, so the living entity similarly passes into another body at
death” (BG 2.13). “Just as a person puts on new garments, giving up the old
ones, similarly the individual living entity accepts new material bodies, giving
up the old and useless ones” (BG 2.22). Lord Krishna further explains the
principle underlying all reincarnations, “Whatever state of being one
remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail in his
next life” (BG 8.6). So the soul in a man’s body could go into the body of an
animal, a bird, an insect, a plant, and so on in the next life. This journey of
the soul into different bodies can be referred to as external
reincarnation.
The Six Transformations of the Material Body

Every living body in this material world undergoes six changes: (1) birth, (2)
growth, (3) maintenance, (4) production of by-products (offspring, chemicals),
(5) diminution and (6) death. These changes happen to all living bodies, whether
they be plants, animals or human beings. For example, a flower is born as a
bud; it grows, remains fresh for two or three days, produces a seed, gradually
withers, and is then finished. Sometimes people think that by scientific
advancement man will become immortal. We cannot even stop these six
changes in the body, where then is the question of stopping death?
Did we evolve from Branches to Benches?
Did our glorious ancestors evolve from apes? How did life originate in this world
and from where has the universe sprung up? Origin of life and origin of the
universe have always been the two challenging fields where scientists have not been able to give
satisfactory scientific explanations. The theories that exist now are more of speculations than truth.
Vedic scriptures give vivid description of the origin of the universe as well as the origin of living forms. They
mention that God created the first engineer of the universe, Lord Brahma, who in turn created all the species
that we see in this world. The Vedas have one-lakh lakh verses that are not only voluminous, but deep and
grave in their meanings, and were handed down from Brahma to Narada and to the acharyas down the line.
We can see the wisdom of Vedic literature not only in spiritual but also in the material fields.
But the modern atheistic theory of evolution proposes a concocted idea that humans originated from apes,
and that the primitive humans were ‘stone age’ men who were uncivilized, and that modern man is the most
evolved and civilized man. This bogus theory is taught even in the elementary school books to destroy the
faith of children in God, and to induce a feeling in them that the Vedas and religion are not meant for modern
man but for some superstitious, narrow-minded people.
It is important for parents to know that we human beings have glorious ancestors like Manu, Sapta rishis and
Brahma – we are not descendents of monkeys. Here we are presenting some simple scientific explanations
to prove this fact. You will get more elaborate information in our book, ‘Your Secret Journey’. If parents can
understand these simple arguments, they can teach their children the right understanding.
1) Fossil Records disprove Darwin’s evolution theory: Fossils, which are the remains
of ancient forms of life, are found as skeletons, bones, teeth or
shells, preserved in the earth’s crust. Living beings on earth
today are not seen to be evolving into something else such as
an ape changing into a human. Instead, they are all complete
in form and distinct from other types. Darwin thought that
fossils would at least provide the confirmation of one specie
evolving into another. If evolution were a fact, there should
be at least some fossils with developing arms, legs, wings,
eyes and other bones and organs. For instance, there should
be fish fins changing into amphibian legs with feet and toes,
and gills changing into lungs. There should be reptiles with
front limbs changing into bird wings, back limbs changing On what facts are the
drawings of ‘ape-man’
into claws, scales changing into feathers and mouths based? Evolutionists
changing into horny beaks. If living beings were created by answer: “the
imagination” “pure
fiction in most
respects”, “sheer
invention”
Science Digest
God, then there would be no partial, unfinished bones or organs in the fossil record;
rather all fossils would be complete and highly complex as living beings are today.
Darwin expected that if the fossils show a gradual evolution from one species to another, (like from apes to
humans) then it would prove his theory. When the fossils were dug, what the fossil record showed was
just the opposite of what was expected by Darwin and his followers. Professor of Natural Science John
N. Moore reported, “…some 120 scientists, all specialists, prepared 30 chapters in a monumental work of
over 800 pages to present the fossil record for plants and animals divided into about 2500 groups. Each
major form or kind of plant and animal is shown to have a separate and distinct history from all the other
forms or kinds! Groups of both plants and animals appear suddenly in the fossil record.…. Whales,
bats, horses, primates, elephants, hares, squirrels, etc., are all as distinct at their first appearance as they
are now.” They are all not evolving from any previous species.
Zoologist Coffin stated, “To secular scientists, the fossils, evidences of the life of the past, constitute the
ultimate and final court of appeal, because the fossil record is the only authentic history of life available to
science. If this fossil history does not agree with evolution theory…what does it teach? It tells us that plants
and animals were created in their basic forms. The basic facts of the fossil record support creation, not
evolution.” Astronomer Carl Sagan candidly acknowledged in his book ‘Cosmos’, “The fossil evidence could
be consistent with the idea of a Great Designer.”
2) No one has seen one species change into another:

The fossil record also fails to give direct evidence of the
gradual change of one species into another. Species are
stable permanent forms. Evolutionists sometimes claim to
have observed or caused the appearance of new species by
breeding. Breeding produces variations but not new
species. “The dog family has many varieties, but dogs
always remain dogs either by breeding or by mutation,
pigs remain pigs and oak trees remain oak trees
generation after generation” (Scientific American). Thus
the ‘Science Digest’ says, “No fossil or other physical
evidence directly connects man to ape.”
3) Fossils show that multi-celled animals did not evolve from single-celled animals:
Darwin wrote of a gradual evolution from unicellular to multicellular organisms.
However, Moore asserted in 1964, “Fossils of many-celled animals appear before
remains of single-celled animals in the fossil record”. This indicates that many-celled
animals did not evolve from single-celled animals. According to evolution theory,
species should appear in fossil records roughly in the order in which they evolved, such
as fish to frog to reptile to bird to mammal to human. The oldest forms should appear in
the lowest rock strata and the most recent forms should appear in the highest layers. The
fossil records show that the supposed “ancestors” appear in rocks, which are higher up
than their supposed “descendents”. This proves that one specie does not evolve from
another; all the organisms are distinct and created by God.
4) Humans did not evolve from apes: The date of origin of modern man according to
Darwin is 40,000 years ago. But the records of the rocks show that man has existed for
millions of years. The records of the rocks show that humans and apes and other animals
co-existed for millions of years. Human fossils have been discovered that are much older
than those of the earliest apes.
5) How the Giraffe got its Long Neck (according to Darwin’s evolution theory):
The giraffe used to look just like other grazing animals in Africa but, while the other animals were content to
eat the grasses in the fields and the leaves on the lower branches, the giraffe felt that the survival of the
fittest depended on reaching up and plucking leaves from still higher branches. This went on for some time,
as he and his brothers and sisters kept reaching ever higher. Only those that reached the highest branches
of leaves survived. All the other giraffes in the meadow died from starvation, all because they were too proud
to bend down and eat the lush vegetation that all the other animals were eating. So only the longest-necked
giraffes had enough food to eat. All the other giraffes starved to death. Sad story; don’t you think? But that is
the story of how the giraffe grew its long neck according to Darwin.
Food for thought: Why didn’t the unsuccessful giraffes eat the grass on the ground instead of stretching
their necks to get food from the trees? By the way, they don’t get water from the tree. Then why couldn’t
they eat the grass from the ground? If the ‘survivors of the fittest’ were only the loonnnggggggest-necked
giraffes, then does that mean all the other animals without such necks died?
Picture the tragic tale: Dead giraffes lying about in the grass while the short-necked grazers such as
antelope walked by them, having plenty to eat. Were their necks too long by that time to bend down to eat
grass? No; every giraffe has to bend its neck to get water to drink. Darwin’s giraffes died of starvation, not
thirst. See for yourself what Darwin writes in his speculated thesis:
“So under nature with the nascent giraffe, the individuals which were the highest browsers and were able to,
during dearths, to reach even an inch or two above the others, will often have been preserved… By this
process long-continued…combined no doubt in a most important manner with the inherited effects of
increased use of parts, it seems to me almost certain that any ordinary hoofed quadruped might be
converted into a giraffe.” - Charles Darwin, ‘Origin of Species’, p.202.
Biologist Luther D. Sunderland compares this tall tale with scientific information in ‘Darwin’s Enigma’ (1988),
p.83-84, “It is speculated by neo-Darwinists that some ancestor of the giraffe gradually got longer and longer
bones in the neck and legs over millions of years. If this were true one might predict that there would be
fossils showing some of the intermediate forms or perhaps some living forms today with medium-sized
necks. Absolutely no such intermediates have been found among the fossils. Evolutionists cannot explain
why the giraffe is the only four-legged creature with a really long neck and yet everything else (without the
long neck) survived. Many short-necked animals, of course, existed side by side in the same locale as the
giraffe. Darwin even mentioned this possible criticism in ‘The Origin’ but tried to ignore it.”
Science and technology determine the values, assumptions and goals of modern society. While blaming
religion for propagating blind faiths, atheistic modern scientists propagate theories like the evolution theory,
which demand unreasonable faith in speculations that are unverified and often unverifiable.
At an individual level, a spiritual aspirant, based on this philosophical understanding, is convinced that he is
not the body but the soul, and that there is a God who has created everything. What evolves is not the body,
but the soul. When a student graduates from the first year class, he moves to another class for the second
year, not that the first year classroom changes into the second year classroom! Thus apes continue to live
in branches while students (of course human!) continue to sit in benches at school. Apes remain apes,
humans remain humans, birds remain birds, reptiles remain reptiles, etc. What evolves is the soul, who is
the driver of these different bodies, and he moves from one body to another after the death of a particular
body.
Perfect Knowledge of Evolution
The Vedic texts explain that there is evolution – not of the body but of the soul. A lower bodily form does not
evolve into a higher bodily form; rather the soul in a lower bodily form evolves into a higher bodily form.
“Originally, the living entity is a spiritual being, but when he desires to enjoy this material world, he comes
down. First, the living entity accepts a body that is human in form, but gradually, due to his degraded
activities, he falls into lower forms of life – into the animal, plant and aquatic forms. By the gradual process of
evolution, the living entity again attains the body of a human being and is given another chance to get out of
the process of transmigration. If he again misses his chance in the human form to understand his position,
he is again placed in the cycle of birth and death in various types of bodies.”
(Shrimad Bhagavatam 4.29.4)
The Padma Purana further states:
jala-ja nava-laksani sthavara laksa-vimsati

krmaya rudra-sankhyakah paksinam dasa-laksani
pasavas trimsa-laksani manusya catur-laksani
“There are 9 lakh species of aquatic life; 20 lakh species of plants and trees; 11 lakh species of insects; 10
lakh species of bird life; 30 lakh species of beasts, and 4 lakh species of human life.”
The meaning of "species" understood by biologists is different from the meaning implied here. The meaning
used by biologists applies to the gross physical appearance or the gross morphological feature of the living
material bodies. The Vedic meaning, however, which is derived after
thorough and careful analysis, is based on the level of consciousness
of the living being. For example, biologists say that all human beings
belong to one species, whereas the Vedic literatures list 400,000
species. In other words, there are 400,000 grades of human beings on
different levels of consciousness from most degraded human beings to
highly evolved demigods and pure devotees.
The varieties of life forms are products of the combinations and

permutations of the three modes of material nature – goodness,
passion and ignorance. The life forms are just like temporary houses or
apartments of various sizes, shapes and colors, in which the eternal
self or living being temporarily resides.
One may occupy one of these apartments according to one’s ability to

pay the rent, but all types of apartments nevertheless exist
simultaneously. Similarly, the soul, according to his karma, is given the
facility to occupy one of these bodily forms, but all the forms exist simultaneously. Therefore the body does
not evolve; the soul evolves by paying the price of karma.
The biological forms, governed by the three modes, put a constraint on the qualities and activities of the
living beings’ consciousness. Thus the individual being in a tiger’s body will desire to roar loudly and kill
animals for food, whereas the living being in swan’s body will desire to fly gracefully and swim in the lakes.
Even in the same family we see differences caused by the activities of the three modes of nature.
The Mechanism of Reincarnation: What happens at Death?
In the material world, the soul has two kinds of

coverings – the subtle body and the gross body.
Actually the soul enjoys through the subtle body,
which is composed of mind, intelligence and false
ego. The gross body is the instrumental outer
covering. When the gross body is lost, or when it
dies, the root of the gross body – the mind,
intelligence and false ego – continues and brings
about another gross body. Although the gross bodies
change, the real root of the gross body – the subtle
body – is always there. The subtle body’s activities –
be they pious or impious – create another situation
for the soul to enjoy or suffer in the next gross body.
Thus the subtle body continues whereas the gross
bodies change one after another.
After death, the living being gets another body according to his:
) Desires
) Total impression on the mind and
) His karma phala or karmic reactions.
When one man was about to die he requested his physician to give him a chance to live four more years so
that he could complete his planned affairs. This means that while dying he was thinking of his plans. After his
body was destroyed, he doubtlessly carried his plans with him by means of the subtle body, composed of
mind, intelligence and false ego. Thus he would get another chance by the grace of the Supreme Lord, the
Supersoul, Who is always within everyone’s heart: sarvasya cähaà hådi sanniviñöo mattaù småtir jïänam
apohanaà ca (Bhagavad-gita 15.15). In the next birth one acquires remembrance from the Supersoul, and
begins to execute the plans or desires that one harbored in the mind in the previous life. Thus the quality
of unfulfilled desires play a vital role in what type of body one will get in the next life.
While the gross body is cast off at death, the subtle body continues with the
soul, life after life until it is completely purified. The mind in the subtle body
is the storehouse of thoughts, unfulfilled desires, previous experiences, etc.
There are many plans made by the living entitiy for keeping its body
comfortable. When the gross body is finished, the plans of the living
entity are taken by the mind, and by the grace of the Lord, the living
entity gets a chance to give these plans shape in the next life. Our
thoughts become words, words become acts, activities become habits,
habits form character, character leads to culture. Culture becomes such a
second nature, like a deep impression made on a wet cement, that it
produces a particular type of consciousness – exploitative, critical,
sarcastic, bullying, deceptive, selfish, egocentric, dominating or loving,
caring, selfless, helpful, considerate, humble, simple, cooperative, tolerant,
etc. One who is leading a life of sense enjoyment throughout cannot expect
to think of the Lord suddenly at death, as his mind will be absorbed in
thoughts of sense gratification. One who has regularly practised the
principles of Krishna consciousness will find the mind absorbed in thoughts
of Krishna and his devotees. One’s thoughts, words and actions in life
produce a deep and total impression on the mind.
As explained in the sixteenth chapter of Bhagavad-gita (16.14),

“ishwaroham aham bhogi, siddho aham balavan sukhi…” a
conditioned soul intoxicated by high birth, wealth, bodily beauty,
learning or with no qualification, may be proud of his greatness,
greedy for that which should not be desired and lusty for
enjoyment. The cutthroat competition of the material world, the
wars between individuals, families, communities, religions, nations,
etc., for assuming leadership over others is a practical exhibition of
these tendencies. Not caring for the reactions of one’s current
actions, living beings indulges in all sorts of abominable actions.
Based on right acts and wrong acts one accrues karmic
reactions or ‘karma phala’ (‘work-fruit’).
So at the time of death the living entity, under supervision of higher authorities, is taken to another gross
body. The process is just like air carrying fragrance [BG 15.8]. The process of transmigration of the soul is
very subtle. According to the condition of the mind at the time of death, the minute soul enters into the womb
of a particular mother through the semen of a father, and then the soul develops a particular type of body.
The living entity descends to earth in the form of rain, then takes on the form of grains, and the grains are
eaten by man and transformed into semen, which impregnates a woman, and thus the living entity once
again attains the human form. In this way the living entity perpetually comes and goes on the material path.
He may get the body of a human being, a cat, a dog or any other species depending on all these factors.
This is basically the mechanism of reincarnation.
Bodies are ‘Tailor-made’ to satisfy the Soul’s Desires
The Vedas teach that a soul who aspires to enjoy in a particular way is
offered a body with a set of limbs and senses appropriate to the desires
from his previous life. The 8.4 million species, subdivided into various
categories, give a materially tangible dense form to the subtle state of the
consciousness of each individual living being. Thus the gross body is a
manifestation of one’s previous desires stored in the subtle body. A
particular soul is awarded a human body; when he passes stool, he plugs
his nose due to the unbearable stinking smell of stool. Another soul is
given a pig’s body; it finds the smell of stool welcoming and is impatiently
waiting to grab the stool and eat it. Thus every living entity is offered a
set of eyes, nose, tongue, ears, skin – suitable to fulfill one’s previous
desires.
Our mental existence transforms into tangible form as soon as there is an

opportunity. For example, there are waves transmitted by the TV station all around.
Although we cannot see them with our eyes, if we have a TV set, we can switch it on
and see those waves take on a form on the TV screen. In the same manner,
depending on the unfulfilled desires stored in the subtle body of the soul, the soul is
carried by the subtle body to a particular womb where he eventually gets a gross
body.
When a person goes to a clothes shop he can choose from a variety of clothes –
shirts, suits, trousers, jeans, etc. Similarly there are 8.4 million species for the soul to
choose from. The soul may acquire any of them to fulfill his desires. Even amongst
human beings there are so many varieties - asuras (unregulated sense enjoyers),
rakshasas (demons), devas (demigods), Gandharvas (demigods famous as singers),
etc. If a soul wants to enjoy, enjoyment is available in millions of ways, in so many
varieties, permutations and combinations. Lord Krishna is capable of fulfilling every
soul’s desires.
Think of any desire – if someone likes to sleep a lot, the material nature will give him a polar bear’s body so
that he can sleep for six months in a year without being ridiculed by friends or
scolded by parents.
Do you know someone who delights in eating flesh and drinking blood? Nature will
award him the body of a tiger.
Some people don’t want to wear proper clothes over their bodies; they expose
major parts of their body to draw the attention of the opposite sex. Nature awards
them a tree’s body, ‘Take the body of a tree, and stand naked for many, many
years.’
In this way each species represents a different way of enjoyment. But even in a
particular enjoyment, there are subtler differences. There is a difference between
the sleeping of ordinary bears and the sleeping of polar bears. There are street
dogs that get beaten and driven away wherever they go, and there are pet dogs
that live a life of luxury with their rich masters. These bodies are allotted to the
living entities based on their desires and past karma.
Once the great sage Agastya visited king Indradyumna. When the king
failed to offer the sage proper reception and neglected him, the sage cursed Indradyumna to
become an elephant. Indradyumna had behaved like a dull stone and hence was cursed to
become a dumb animal, an elephant. Similarly, once a Gandharva (a celestial singer) named
Huhu playfully pulled the leg of the sage Devala from under water and got cursed to become a
crocodile. Huhu behaved like a creature of water and hence was cursed to become a crocodile.
Of course, great sages have no malice when they curse someone. Their curses are indirect
benedictions for those cursed. Because of these curses both Indradyumna and Huhu achieved
the darshan of Lord Hari later.
It is important to note that independent of the external material body the soul acquires, the soul
has a particular form called ‘svarupa’, which is his eternal form in the spiritual world. That form
does not change when the soul moves from one body to another body. For example, a person
may wear different types of gloves as per the requirement - surgical, electrical repair or boxing gloves. But
irrespective of the glove he is wearing, his hand remains the same. Similarly, the soul may acquire different
bodies as per his desires and activities. But, irrespective of the body he possesses, the soul’s original form -
his svarupa - remains the same.
Human Form of Life – a Special Benediction
Human life: the junction to decide your future
Lower forms of life such as plants, animals or birds do not suffer from sinful activities
because they never violate the laws of nature. A tiger, for instance, does not commit
sinful activity by killing its prey, because his body is meant to act in that way; it is properly
equipped for that purpose. Karma phala, which determines the path one takes through
various species or to other human bodies, is accrued only in the human form of life. The
soul uses up his accumulated karma phala as he passes through the non-human
species. Thus we can understand how the human form of life is like a cross-road where
one has to clearly decide which road to take – the path to heaven, the path to hell, or the
path to God.
Human Life: the greatest good fortune in comparison to animal life

The living entity falls from the human body to the animal kingdom owing to bad karma and animalistic
propensities. After he has worked off his karma in the non-human species, eventually, he returns to the
human platform, where he gets a new opportunity to carve out a new destiny. While the living entity is in the
animal body, he loses the opportunity to make spiritual progress. Only in the human form of life can one
chant the Lord’s holy names and make tangible spiritual advancement on the progressive march back to
Godhead. On the other hand, living entities in non-human bodies are forced to act only by instinct and
spend their time uselessly without making any spiritual advancement till they get a human body.
The Lord created the Human form of life for one purpose only
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, expanding His own potency, maya

shakti, created innumerable species of life to house the conditioned souls.
Yet by creating the forms of trees, reptiles, animals, birds, snakes and so
on, the Lord was not satisfied within His heart. Then He created human life,
which offers the conditioned soul sufficient intelligence to perceive the
Absolute Truth, and He became pleased.” [SB 11.9.28]
Only in a human body, the living entity is able to take vows such as climbing
the Holy hill of Tirupati Balaji, developing detachment by giving away one’s
hair to the Lord, following brahmacari vows, fasting on auspicious days,
having determination to follow certain rituals, control the senses and avoid
irreligious practices, etc. You will never find a dog taking a vow of celibacy.
When there is Maha Kumbhamela several crores of humans assemble in
the early morning. What other species of life like cats, dogs or rats do you
find assembling in such a way? You find only humans, because the Lord
designed the human body to develop faith in Him, practice living with
spiritual consciousness, realize the self, speak realized knowledge, take
vows and prepare one’s consciousness to return back home, back to Godhead.
God has specifically created the human form of life to facilitate the liberation of the conditioned soul.
Therefore one who abuses human life prepares his path to hell. Thus, one must control the material senses
and fulfill the real purpose of human life.
If one takes to Krishna consciousness, the Supreme Lord personally feels happy and gradually reveals
Himself to His devotee. The Lord's material creation consists of the living entities and dead matter, which
the less intelligent try to enjoy. The Lord, however, is not satisfied by those species that blindly strive for
sense gratification without understanding their spiritual nature. We are suffering due to our forgetfulness of
Krishna and the blissful situation of His abode. If we accept the Lord as protector and shelter and execute
His orders, we can easily revive our eternal, blissful nature as parts and parcels of the Personality of
Godhead. It is for this purpose that the Lord has created human life.
Story: ‘Born Again, but with what Gain?’

The following story will help us understand how the living entity changes from one body to another based on
his desires.
Once there lived a person named Kailash who was very attached to his house. One day the great sage
Narada came to him and said, “Kailash, come with me. I am going to Vaikuntha (the kingdom of God). I will
take you along with me.”
Kailash replied, “Sorry sir, my children are very young. I have to take care of them. Maybe later.”
Several years later Narada returned to him and asked, “Kailash, ready now?”
Kailash replied, “Sorry sir, now I have my grandson to take care of. Also everyone at home needs my
guidance. I cannot come now.”
When Narada returned after many years, he came to know that Kailash had passed away. While leaving he
noticed a dog barking loudly at the doorway. The dog said, “O Naradaji, I am Kailash here”.
Surprised Narada replied, “O Kailash, you have become a dog now! What are you doing here? Even now, it
is not too late. I can take you to the kingdom of God. Would you like to accompany me?”
The dog replied, “Sorry sir, my sons are very careless with the wealth I acquired. I have therefore become a
dog to protect that wealth from thieves.” Feeling very sorry for Kailash’s attachment, Narada went away.
After many years when Narada returned, he learnt that the dog had died. Thinking sadly that Kailash must
have gone to some unknown body, Narada departed. When he was walking behind the house in the paddy
field, a snake came hissing on the path. The snake said, “Narada, I am Kailash here, I am Kailash here.”
Narada asked him, “What are you doing here in a snake’s body, Kailash? Don’t you want to come with me
now? Even now it is not too late.”
The snake replied, “Now I am happy that my sons have put all the
money in a bank. But they are so lazy that they wake up very late in
the morning. By that time, all the grains in this paddy field are either
destroyed by elephants or stolen by neighbors. Therefore I have now
been given a snake body to go round and round the field to protect
the grains. I am very, very busy. I am sorry, I cannot come with you
now also.”
Seeing the pitiable condition of Kailash, Narada muni clapped his
hands loudly, called the sons of Kailash and showed them the large
snake living in their field. Immediately the sons of Kailash started
hitting the snake with sticks. Kailash in his snake body tried to tell his
sons, “I am your father and I am protecting your paddy fields for your
sake. Why are you killing me?” But the more he hissed, the more his
sons hit him till he finally died. While dying the snake remembered
Narada and in his next life he became a great devotee of Lord
Krishna by Narada’s grace.
Thus a person is impelled to accept one body after another according

to his desires and actions. Such a person, being attached to his
material plan-making business, spends all his time in bodily
consciousness and goes on suffering in the cycle of birth and death.
Stopping the Miserable Ferris wheel Game

The nature of the spirit soul is sat-cit-ananda which means that the soul is eternal, full of
knowledge and full of bliss. In contrast, the body is temporary and full of ignorance and
suffering. Because of this incompatibility between the two, the soul, who is meant to be
happy in an eternal blissful atmosphere, is never happy in this temporary miserable body.
The soul has to repeatedly experience birth, old age, disease and death in different
bodies.
Hence Sankaracarya has sung:

punar api jananam punar api maranam, punar api janani jathare shayanam
iha samsare bahu dustare, kripaya pare pahi murare
“O Murari, Lord Krishna, I am repeatedly tossed in the waves of birth and death. I am
forced to be born again and again and forced to die again and again. In this way I have
been occupying the wombs of millions of mothers. Please kindly shower your merciful
glance upon me and deliver me from this ocean of nescience.”
In this way, the soul sometimes is damned to occupy a dog's

body or blessed to get a human body, depending on his past
desires and activities. This cycle of birth and death is like a
Ferris wheel where sometimes you are at the top and
sometimes at the bottom. Similarly the soul keeps on taking
one body after another until he becomes completely purified
and becomes a surrendered devotee of God. Lord Krishna
says in Bhagavad-gita that ‘whatever state of being one
remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain
without fail.’ [BG 8.6]. The necessary purification in order
to return back to the Kingdom of God is very easily achieved
in this age of Kali yuga by chanting the Hare Krishna Maha
Mantra everyday on a regular basis:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Evolving towards perfection

1. How do we ‘reincarnate’ even within one lifetime?
2. What is the difference between internal and external reincarnation?
3. What are the six changes that every living body undergoes? Explain this with
reference to a lemon tree.
4. How did the giraffe get a long neck according to: (i) Darwin (ii) Scriptures?
5. Give two evidences to prove that Darwin’s idea of the giraffe’s long neck is false?
6. Explain the example of different bodies compared to apartments?

7. Explain how the word ‘species’ mentioned in Vedas and Science is not the same.
8. How do the thoughts in our mind lead to a particular type of lifestyle and culture?
9. What happens at the time of death?
10. ‘Our mental existence transforms into tangible form as opportunity presents itself’ –
explain.

1. Did the ‘stone age’ really exist? Give reasons for your answer.
2. How will you explain in simple words to your twelve-year-old child that Darwin’s
evolution theory is bogus?

1. What were Darwin’s expectations? What did reality show? What do the researches
prove?
2. Some evolutionists argue, ‘Breeding proves evolution’. What will you tell them?
Evolving towards Perfection

40 marks)
Syllabus for the following Quiz:Bhagavad-gita As It Is 13.22-24, 15.8-9, 8.6, 8.5, 8.14
1. What is the cause of the living entity changing bodies one after the other? (13.22)
2. How can the living entity give up his strong desire to dominate the material nature
and learn to appreciate spiritual bliss that is true to his nature? (13.22)
3. How long has the living entity got to continue the cycle of birth and death in this
miserable material world of glittering maya? (13.22)
4. What is the foolish idea that the living entity has when he is put into different bodies
and situations? (13.22)
5. What obliges the living entity to transfer from one body to another? (13.22)
6. What is the best way to give up material desires and become a pure servant of the
Lord? Quote an example from the purport and quote another example from your
knowledge of scriptures, to substantiate your answer. (13.22)
7. What is the misconception of a monist that is addressed in this verse? (13.23)
8. How is the Supersoul’s role different from that of the ordinary living entity? (13.23)
9. Why is the living entity called ‘marginal energy’? (13.23)
10. Why is the Supersoul present in the heart of every living being in this world? (13.23)
11. How is the Supreme Lord trying to get the conditioned soul back to the spiritual
world, from within and without? (13.23)
12. Does the word ‘ishwara’ prove that the living entity is God? Give reasons. (15.8)
13. How does the change in the body of the living entity depend upon him? Does it not
depend on the Supersoul, who transfers the soul from one body to another? (15.8)
14. Who can be transferred to Krishnaloka after death? (15.8)
15. What is the struggle that the living entity has to undergo in this world? (15.8)
16. What forms the background for the living entity’s next body? (15.8)
17. What is the nature of Consciousness? (15.9)
18. How does the pure Consciousness of the living entity change? (15.9)
19. Who is in pure life? Why? (15.9)
20. What type of body does the living entity get in his next life, when Consciousness is
adulterated by some material mentality? (15.9)
21. What point should one note carefully after reading this verse? (8.6)
22. How should one live now, so that one can die in a proper state of mind? (8.6)
23. What is the best process for one to remain transcendentally absorbed? (8.6)
24. Give an example of a great personality whose thoughts led him to glide down to the
animal kingdom? (8.6)
25. From your observation of the modern way of living, what type of body do you think
people are preparing for the future? Give a few examples of your own. (8.6)
26. Why is a devotee of the Lord considered the purest? (8.5)
27. Cannot somebody just enjoy all his life and think of Krishna only at the time of death,
and so return back to the spiritual world? (8.5)
28. Which age is appropriate to begin practicing Krishna consciousness? Will sixty or
seventy years of age, after having retired do? (8.5)
29. When we tell people to take to Krishna consciousness, they say they have too many
problems at office and at home. They cannot begin Krishna consciousness now, till
they sort them all out. What is your reply to them? (8.5)
30. Which is the key word in this verse? (8.5)
31. What is the only desire of a devotee in the pure stage of Bhakti yoga? (8.14)
32. For whom does the Lord say that He is very easy to obtain? For whom is He difficult
to attain? (8.14)
33. Explain why Bhakti yoga is simple, easy and pure? (8.14)
34. Towards whom is the Lord especially inclined? (8.14)
35. Give a quote from Bhagavad-gita where the Lord promises to offer intelligence to a
devotee engaged in His devotional service? (8.14)
36. Which place is fit for a devotee to perform devotional service? (8.14)
37. ‘A pure devotee can live anywhere and create an atmosphere of Vrindavan by his
devotional service.’ Cite a practical example from your understanding. (8.14)
38. What is the greatest blessing of a chanter of the Hare Krishna maha mantra? (8.14)
39. What are the qualifications of the pure devotee for whom the Lord is most easily
attainable? (8.14)
40. What are the five different ways in which bhakti-yogis are engaged in devotional
service? (8.14)
* * * * *
Appendix 1
Meditation for
Modern Age
Meditation for Modern Age

The different methods of yoga like ashtanga yoga, hatha yoga, jnana yoga are not
prescribed for this age of Kali yuga. This age is characterized by short life span, fast
paced life, little time and intelligence to undergo Vedic study etc. The scriptures
prescribe a very simple form of meditation—chanting of Hare Krishna maha mantra. The
sixteen Sanskrit words Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare
Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare constitute a mantra, or transcendental sound
formula. This powerful mantra, known as the mahamantra, has been prescribed by the
great spiritual authorities as the easiest and most effective method of attaining self-
realization in the present age.
Regular chanting of this maha mantra and hearing this transcendental sound vibration
purifies the heart of the chanter and establishes pure love for God in his heart.
Our entanglement in material affairs begins from material sound. Each day we hear
material sounds from radio and television, from friends and relatives, and according to
what we hear, we think, desire, feel and act materially. Thus we remain within the
material sphere of existence, taking on one material body after another and undergoing
the miseries of birth, death, old age and disease. But, as Srila Prabhupada points out,
“There is sound in the spiritual world also. If we approach that sound, then our spiritual
life begins.”
The living being in material life is likened to a dreaming man, who accepts the situations
of happiness and distress within his dream as ultimate reality. He dreams of finding a
treasure, but in truth he is not a penny richer. He dreams of being attacked by a tiger, but
he is not actually in danger. When he is awakened by the sound of his alarm clock, he
realizes his actual situation. In the same way, one who chants the transcendental sounds
of the name of Krishna gradually wakes up from the dreamlike condition of material life
to his original spiritual position.
Spiritual sound has special qualities. Hearing the sound “water” reminds us of the taste of
the water and its qualities. But because of the distinct difference between material sound
and its object, the sound “water” cannot quench our thirst. The name Krishna however is
absolute sound vibrated from the spiritual platform and is therefore non-different from
Krishna. And because Krishna is omnipotent, His transcendental energies are manifested
within the sound of His name. The vibration “Hare Krishna” has the power to purify the
mind and the consciousness. Since every living being is eternally related with Krishna,
the chanting of His names is often compared with the natural call of a child for his
mother.
The word mantra means that which delivers the mind (man “mind”, tra “that which
delivers the mind from material illusions and anxieties”).
Chanting purifies the mind just as medicine prescribed for a bodily ailment gradually
restores the body to its natural, healthy condition. One who engages in this practice,
known as mantra meditation, gradually develops great mental control and attains a
heightened sense of awareness. In this pure state of spiritual consciousness, free from
inebrieties such as tension, confusion, depression, and feelings of envy and hatred, one
experiences real peace of mind.
How to chant
Take the japa-mala in the right hand, holding it between the thumb and the middle finger.
The index (first) finger is not used, as it is considered

contaminated.
Start at the bead next to the head bead (the biggest
bead).
Before the Hare Krishna maha-mantra japa, chant the
Panca-tattva maha-mantra:
sri krishna-caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara

srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda.
Chanting these names of Lord Chaitanya and His principal associates helps us to become
free from offences in chanting Hare Krishna maha mantra.
Now chant the complete maha-mantra on the first bead. Then move your thumb and
middle finger onto the next bead. After chanting 108 times, you will again reach the head
bead and will then have completed one mala or “round”. Now turn the whole set of beads
around in your hand without crossing the head bead and start another round by again
chanting the panca-tattva mantra followed by the Hare Krishna maha manta.
Chanting is simple but should be performed properly for best results. Chanting should be
at least loud enough that a person next to the chanter can hear it. While chanting,
concentrate on hearing the maha-mantra. This concentration is mantra-meditation and is
powerful for cleaning our hearts. It is difficult to stop the mind wandering but, as with
anything else, practice makes perfect. Note that the mantra should be chanted distinctly
so that each syllable can be clearly heard.
The best time to chant is early in the morning (during the brahma-muhurta, the auspicious
period before sunrise). One can chant in any situation – on a train, while going to work or
walking on the street – but it is best to finish our fixed quota of chanting with full
concentration early in the morning, before starting one’s routine daily activities.
Mahamantra
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare

Hare |
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||

Srila Prabhupada – The Ambassador of the Kingdom of God 149
Appendix 2
Srila Prabhupada –
The Ambassador of the
Kingdom of God
Srila Prabhupada – The Ambassador of the Kingdom of God
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of ISKCON,
appeared in this world in Calcutta in 1896 on Nandotsav day, the day following
Janmashtami. In his youth in 1922, he met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Saraswati Thakura, who convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge,
especially in the English language.
In 1944, he single-handedly started Back to Godhead, an

English fortnightly magazine. Though practically
penniless, his faith in the order of his spiritual master
took him to New York in 1965 at the advanced age of 70.
After a year of intense struggle, in July 1966, he
established the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON) with its first center in New
York. During the next eleven years, before his passing
away on November 14, 1977, he undertook vigorous
preaching tours that took him round the globe fourteen
times. Under his guidance, he saw the society grow to
over 108 centers. ISKCON continues to expand even
now with over 600 centers all over the world. He taught
the individual and the congregational chanting of the
Holy Names of Lord Krishna as the topmost form of
yoga and meditation and millions of people all over the
world have adopted this mantra meditation as an integral part of their lives.
In 1968, Srila Prabhupada created New Vrindavana, an experimental Vedic community
in the hills of West Virginia. In 1972 His Divine Grace introduced the Vedic system of
education in the West by founding a gurukula in Dallas, Texas. Srila Prabhupada inspired
the establishment of a forum of leading God-conscious scientists named, the
Bhaktivedanta Institute (BI). He established international cultural centers in Sridhama
Mayapur, Vrindavana, Mumbai and other places. He also took India’s festivals,
especially Rath-Yatra, to the West.
Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution is his books - 70 authoritative renditions
of ancient Indian classics, including Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, the most widely read edition
of the Bhagavad-Gita in English and a multi-volume commentated translation of the
eighteen thousand verse Shrimad Bhagavatam. Even the Encyclopedia Britannica noted,
“A C Bhaktivedanta Swami astonished scholars by his prolific writing “ .
Srila Prabhupada – The Ambassador of the Kingdom of God 151
“Poverty means poverty of knowledge,” Srila Prabhupada would often say. His
conviction was that humanity was lacking in spiritual knowledge, which was essential for
achieving real happiness in life. His vision therefore was that of a global East-West
synthesis, based on the proverbial blind man-lame man story. India has the divine vision
of spiritual wisdom, but is financially crippled due to centuries of foreign exploitation
and so is like the lame man. USA has financial and technological resources but is lacking
in spiritual knowledge and so is like the blind man. If the blind man and the lame man
join forces, both of them can reach the destination. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada brought
together Indian spiritual wisdom and American technology to revive God consciousness
all over the world through ISKCON. With this in mind, he trained thousands of disciples
to live a life of pure spiritual principles in the modern world.
Srila Prabhupada preached that the chanting of the holy names of God, especially the
Hare Krishna maha mantra, is a practical and powerful way to raise spiritual
consciousness – individually and globally. He demonstrated the liberating potency of
mantra meditation by freeing hundreds of hippies from self-destructive drug addictions
during the period of the counter-culture in USA in the 1960s and 1970s, a feat that was
recognized even by Western scholars and sociologists. Srila Prabhupada would stress,
“Without the awakening of divine consciousness, there is no use of crying for world
peace.”
Srila Prabhupada will always be remembered for the selfless saintly compassion with
which he gave the light of genuine spiritualism in the darkness of materialism. Thus he
built a house in which the whole world can live.
Appendix 3
Vedic Oasis for Inspiration,

Culture & Education
(VOICE)
Rekindling Wisdom, Reviving Love

Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture & Education(VOICE) 153
BACE becomes VOICE
B.A.C.E. (Bhaktivedanta Academy for Culture and Education) has been a name we
have been using for all our preaching activities -- mostly youth, but also children,
girls, corporate etc. We have been having different names for each of these wings
under BACE such as ISKCON Youth Forum - boys/girls wing, Bhakta Prahlad
School for children wing etc.
In order to have a simplified name that can be commonly used by all these wings,
we have finalized the name VOICE with the blessings of His Holiness
Gopalakrishna goswami and His Holiness Radhanath swami maharajas.
******************************************************************
V.O.I.C.E = Vedic Oasis for Inspiration Culture and Education
******************************************************************
VOICE represents 'Spiritual Sound of Vedas' 'Shabda brahma' or 'Voicing
concern'.
Modern world is facing great degradation of character, culture and values. For a
sincere human being to live a life of pure principles is a great challenge. The
'Vedic Oasis' conveys the idea that it is 'life-giving' centre in a 'stress-ridden fast-
paced rat race society' that is like a desert. Also 'Oasis' helps to avoid the
'Academy' that comes in BACE; thus the people don't see it just as a education
centre alone but a centre for inspiration, culture and education. Thus VOICE will
provide a facility like an Oasis in the middle of desert to keep oneself charged in
remembrance of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna always. The inspiration is
spiritual inspiration to perform devotional service with full enthusiasm.
We will be calling our different wings as
• CHILDREN VOICE (for children, Age group 5 yrs to 12 years),
earlier called as Bhakta Prahlad school
• TEENAGE BOYS VOICE (for teenage boys, Age group 13 to 19),
earlier called as ISKCON Junior Youth Forum
• TEENAGE GIRLS VOICE (for teenage girls, Age group 13 to 19),
• BOYS VOICE (for the college students, Age group 19 and above ),
earlier called as ISKCON Youth Forum (IYF) or BACE
• GIRLS VOICE (for the college girls, Age group 19 and above),
earlier called as IYF – Girls wing
• CORPORATE VOICE (for the company-going men and women),
Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture & Education

(VOICE)
VOICE, the Vedic Oasis for the stressed mind of modern age
Vedic Oasis for Inspiration, Culture & Education (VOICE) touches the hearts and lives
of children, teenagers, adolescent youth, corporates, families. Its motto is rekindling
wisdom and reviving love.
VOICE represents 'Spiritual Sound of Vedas' 'Shabda brahma' or 'Voicing concern'.

Modern world is facing great degradation of character, culture and values. For a sincere
human being to live a life of pure principles is a great challenge. The 'Vedic Oasis'
conveys the idea that it is 'life-giving' centre in a 'stress-ridden fast-paced rat race society'
that is like a desert. Thus VOICE will provide a facility like an Oasis in the middle of
desert to keep oneself surcharged in remembrance of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna
always. The inspiration is spiritual inspiration to practice devotion to God with full
enthusiasm.
We have different wings of VOICE catering to the needs of different sections of society :
Children VOICE (for children between 5 yrs to 12 years),

Teenage Boys VOICE (for teenage boys, Age group 13 to 19),
Teenage Girls VOICE (for teenage girls, Age group 13 to 19),
Boys VOICE (for the college students, Age group 19 and above ),
Girls VOICE (for the college girls, Age group 19 and above),
Corporate VOICE (for the company-going men and women),
Senior Citizens VOICE (for members above 50 years of age)
Our Motto
The motto of VOICE is ‘Rekindling Wisdom, Reviving Love’.
Intellectual education influences the head and value-based education influences the heart.
In fact, education that does not train the heart can be dangerous. If we want to build
character in our offices, homes and society, we must have the wisdom to live a principle-
centered life based on honesty, compassion, courage, responsibility etc. Steven Muller,
President, Johns Hopkins University said : “Universities are turning out highly skilled
barbarians because we don’t provide a framework of values to young people, who more
and more are searching for it.” Winston Churchill said, “The first duty of a university is
to teach wisdom, not trade; character, not technicalities.” Educated persons are those
who can choose wisely and courageously under any circumstances between good and
bad, between virtuousness and vulgarities regardless of the academic degrees they have.
The goal of VOICE is to rekindle the innate wisdom about meaning and purpose of life.
Peter R.Schemm in his book entitled, ‘Love: Impact on Physical and Mental Health’
explains that people who live in relationships in which they do not feel loved, protected,
happy or secure are ten times more susceptible to chronic disease and five time more
susceptible to mental illness. Also studies prove that love heals diseases. Community,
security, protection, sharing, care and concern for one another – all these are possible
only when people learn to lead a selfless God-centered life. Such a life awakens the
dormant love in our hearts that manifests as respect for elders, compassion for the
youngers, friendliness towards equals, surrender to the laws of God that matures as love
for God and towards all.
Objectives
1. Creating a class of people of high character and competence.

2. Saving teenagers from self-destructive habits.
3. Creating communities for counseling and growth in self-excellence skills as well as
spirituality.
4. Use Arts, Culture, Music and Media to propagate the message of Wisdom literatures.
5. Creating a class of people who respect, trust and love each other, living as vehicles of
wisdom.
6. Use talents for propagating love of God and love for all, through the divine Voice of
God.
7. Distributing spiritual literature at subsidized prices.
8. Training in Science of God, etiquettes and behaviour, prayer and practices, practical
services to God.
Specialised training for

children, teenagers, youths and corporates
Children VOICE
Advisors : Radheshyam das, Radhika devi dasi, Hemangigopi devi dasi

Co-ordinators : Rasasundari devi dasi, Krishnakishore das,
Assistant Co-ordinators : Ramananda das, Yashodarani devi dasi, Parthahari das
Children are trained in story telling, creative

exercises, singing, dancing, dramas, painting,
sloka recitation, fancy dress competition, etc.
There are books exclusively published for
these children like ‘Getting to know Krishna’
‘Wonderful Krishna’ etc that are taught by
expertly trained teachers to imbibe good
samskars -- character and values in children.
There are quarterly ‘Balotsav’ programs
where these children get opportunity to
display their talents through drama, art, singing, dancing, performances, display booths –
that is open for thousands of visitors. During summer vacations, special children camps
are organized for fun and learning experience of the children. There are over ten children
VOICEs all over Pune that operate once a week for a couple of hours, generally in the
week end. Generally about 25 children attend each of these programs. The course
registration generally starts from June.
Teenage Boys VOICE

Advisors : Govinda prabhu (Chowpatty), Radheshyam das, Caitanyacharan das
Co-ordinators : Tulsi das, Varadaraj das
Modern teenagers are attacked by the money

thirsty media programs that impel them to buy
costly mobiles, bikes, sports shoes, pants and
wears etc. The movies present perverted themes
and cause teenagers to indulge in drugs and
drinks, smoking and sex-partners – considering
themselves ‘free birds’. But all this craze ends in
self-destructive addictions, depression, failure in academics or social responsibilities,

psychological traumatic experiences often ending in suicide. Our programs are oriented
to train them in patience, maturity, self control, clean habits, tolerance, respect for elders,
meditation to calm the raging mind etc. The teenagers perform skits, sing, play
instruments, join the spiritual dance, meditate and go for spiritual picnics. They also
learn public speaking, studying effectively, developing concentration and avoid bad
habits.
Boys VOICE
Director : Radheshyam das, M.Tech. IIT, Mumbai
VOICE Governing Body (VGB):
Acharya Ratna das,B.E.Comp, 9434047299 ,
Bal Govind das, B.E. Mech., 9325502474
Shyamrupa das, B.E. Mech. 9422079881
Ram Priya das, MBBS, (MD), 9373322501
VOICE Executive Committee (VEC):
Gopal Champu das, B.E.Comp , Ankur Gupta,B.Tech. IITKGP,
Rajshekar, M.Tech, IITKGP, Gyanprakash,B.Tech, IITKGP,
Veerayyah, B.Tech, NITK, Sripad, M.Tech, NIT Warrangal and
Chandramouli, B.Tech, IITKGP
Publications and Sales Manager :
Krishnakishore das, M.E. Comp., Asst Prof, VIT college. 09822451260
Boys VOICE has been preaching to youth community since 1996 and over 10,000
students have participated in different courses. Boys VOICE also has over a dozen youth
hostels across the country close to the colleges like IITKGP, NITWarrangal,
NITSuratkal, NITJamshedpur, BVPCOE, Pune, SIT, Pune etc for offering the following
training program to empower the modern youth.
Personality Development and Character Build Up

• Training the students in the application of philosophy, values and principles in their
personal life.
• Rising early, sleeping early, morning mantra meditation, GD and interactions
• Training in etiquettes, manners and proper behavior to be followed while living in
society.
• Training in dealing with equals, juniors, seniors, elders in the family, parents, teachers.
• Training in integrity, truthfulness, simplicity, trustworthiness, non-envy, maturity,
humility etc
• Training in self-excellence skills like giving presentations, conflict resolution,
empathic listening etc
Yoga, Meditation and Nutritious Diet
• Vibrant health, peaceful mind, and satisfying
loving relationships are essential for a life of
quality.
• People poison their digestive tract with meat,
alcohol,drugs, sleeping pills and junk-food.
• The purpose of food is to increase the
duration of life, purify the mind and aid
bodily strength.
At VOICE, the students get Prasadam, sanctified lactovegetarian sanctified diet. It is

wholesome, nutritious, satisfying and nourishing to body and soul.
Mantra Meditation
• Modern man filled with fear, tension, anger, defensive attitude etc leading to stress.
• The adrenaline hormone secretion leads to disorders like indigestion, back pain, blood
pressure rise etc.
• Mantra Meditation is a powerful tool to alleviate stress and attain peace of mind.
• It provides one inner strength, patience, tolerance, vigor, confidence, power to make
decisions etc.
• VOICE Students regularly perform mantra meditation and lead cheerful stress-free
lives.
Topping in Academics
• Spirituality and Academics are given equal importance for VOICE students.
• During JAN/FEB/MAR and APR/MAY/JUN, the students study 10-13-16 hours per
week.
• They fill Study cards and report to their Counselors for perusal and subsequent
instruction.
• The alumni student or professor devotees help the younger students by coaching.
• For a devotee student, his college studies are not material. It is Krishna’s service.
Public Speaking and Discussion (PSD)

• Students are trained how to deliver lecture presentations.
• They are taught to face challenges from the audience
without losing temper.
• They are assessed on the basis of ten criteria and room
for improvements are offered to them.
• A seasoned preacher gives clarifies all the lingering
misconceptions.
Team Playing and Synergising

• Group Discussion Camps (GDC) teaches the students to work cooperatively in a team.
• They learn to value others opinions, to pool up the talents of many, to be confident etc.
• They prepare one of their team members to give a presentation, make a display, put up
a skit etc.
Devotional Qualifications
• They are trained in cooking, cleaning, washing, worshiping, performing arati,
• singing, playing instruments like mridanga, kartals, harmonium,
• purchasing things from market, handling accounts, managing different departments
like kitchen, etc.
• This foundational training is greatly helpful now and in the future.
Personal Care and Counseling

• Every VOICE student has a Counselor who acts in his life as a Philosopher, Friend
and Guide.
• He answers the student’s questions and shares his experiences.
• He helps him tackle physical, mental, and spiritual problems and trains him to face
future challenges.
• The counselees fill up a sadhana card that acts as a report card filled up by the
candidate.
• The Counselor-counselee meetings are held fortnightly or monthly to bring about a
family atmosphere..
• There are committees that extend their help — marriage bureau, placement committee,
etc.
Preaching Activities
One-time slide show seminars like ‘Stress Management’ ‘Time Management’ for
awareness.
’Bring out THE LEADER in you’ Course trains the youth in Character and
Competence skills. It is meant to be a credit course prescribed by any college for
grooming their students in values and ethics.
Six-session slide show course called ‘Discover Your Self’ for learning basics of
spirituality.
Weekly Study Circles Three courses each lasting for 4 months are offered for the Boys
VOICE, Girls VOICE and Corporate VOICE members -- ‘Spiritual scientist’, ‘Positive
Thinker’, ‘Self Manager’
Advanced courses : Those who complete the above can join ‘Proactive leader’ and
‘Personality Development’ courses. Beyond this one is eligible to join the ‘Bhakti Sastri’
course.
Weekend meeting on Saturday evening is open for all boys between 17 to 30 years of
age. It is a gathering addressed by special speakers on themes relating to modern world
and solution from Vedas.
Cultural Activities: Dramas, Nam rock, Debates, Music, Dance and Spiritual Camps and
picnics.
Prerana Youth Festival : The Boys VOICE organizes a monthly special youth festival
for boys called ‘PRERANA’ where over a thousand boys participate in program
consisting of a seminar, kirtans, dancing and Prasadam. Special eminent speakers are
invited for this program.
(Teenage) Girls VOICE
Advisors : Radhika devi dasi, Vishaka devi dasi , Kishori devi dasi
(Mumbai),
Radheshyam das, Jaigopal das
Co-ordinators : Anangamohini devi dasi, Vidya patham,
Brajavallabhi devi dasi and Yugalapriya devi dasi.
The teenage boys and girls are trained

separately by male and female teachers
respectively. As the psychology of boys and
girls are different their training programs are
also made suitable to their needs. Woman has a
vital role to play in any family, in the life of her
husband, children, and in laws and others. It is
said that the hand that moves the cradle can
make or mar the world. Great leaders have
had great mothers. Keeping this in view, the
girls are trained in various activities to become a ideal wife, a loving mother and a chaste
and exemplary housemaker to benefit home, nation and all humanity.
Objectives of Teenage Girls VOICE
Training girls to
• Learn Values like politeness, truthfulness, being prayerful, love in action, positive
attitude etc
• Learn Self-Excellence skills like Power of
Habits etc
• Understand the importance of Dos and Don’ts
• Learn the basic philosophy of KC and develop a
taste for chanting, hearing and seva
• Learn the danger of free mixing, glamour,
romance, blue film watching, internet and media
etc.
• Developing Good habits, behaviour, friendships with fellow devotees etc.
• Sloka recitation from BG chapters 7, 9 and 12
• Assisting in Children VOICE teaching
Objectives of Girls VOICE
Training girls to
• Learn the basic philosophy of KC and develop a taste for chanting, hearing and seva
• Values like Overcoming Greed, Anger, Depression, Fear, Inferiority complex
• Perform devotional activities like offering puja, maintaining deity, making garland,
pure habits etc
• Cultural activities like singing, playing instruments, cooking, put rangoli etc.
• Live a life of chastity, character, modesty, simplicity and similar values
• Learn to be a ideal wife, mother, daughter-in-law, -in-law etc
• Dealing with guests, elders, family members and others
• Learn to celebrate festivals at home
• Teaching Children VOICE students
The Girls VOICE organizes a quarterly special youth festival for girls called
‘CHETANA’ where hundreds of girls participate in program consisting of a seminar,
kirtans, dancing and Prasadam. Special eminent speakers are invited for this program.
Their special activities are :

• Seminars like ‘Role of woman in Vedic society’ by senior ladies
• Group presentations on topic of “Six anarthas”,
• Doing Arati to the Lord,
• Candle making and Pots decoration,
• Garland making
• Singing Bhajans and Kirtans,
• Cooking recipes,
• Slide show presentations
• Outdoor spiritual picnics and camps
One of the satellite centers of Pune Girls VOICE is at NIT Warrangal run by a devotee
professor’s wife.
Corporate VOICE
Corporate Preaching Board members
Chairman - Radheshyam das

Executive Chairman - Vamshi Vadan das
Executive Vice-Chairman (CFP) - Anantashesh das (mobile: 9850881105)
Executive Vice-Chairman (CYP) - Gopal Champu das (mobile: 9325070111)
Executive Secretary (CFP) - Amit Relkar
Executive Secretary (CYP) - Revati Pati das
Lead Trainer - Bala Govinda das
In today’s fast paced and competitive corporate

world, the executives, managers and team
leaders usually have more mental work than
physical which gives rise to many stress born
diseases like hypertension, etc and thus cause a
great loss to their health in personal life and
leads to loss of efficiency, cleavage in
relationships, etc in professional life.
Corporate VOICE offers seminars and courses to help them learn :
• To bring balance between personal and professional life.

• How to achieve peace of mind to focus on their duties properly.
• Unique techniques to eliminate stress and negativity.
• Simple tips to resolve inner conflicts and improve physical and mental health.
• Changing attitude and outlook to life for converting distress to eustress.
• Meditation techniques to go beyond depression and avoid hypertension
• Developing calm, clear and creative thinking.
• Secret of Happiness and improving performance.
We have three types of programs to cater to the needs of corporate people :
1. Corporate Family Programs (CFP) - Age group : after marriage

2. Corporate Youth Programs (CYP) - Age group 22 to 30 years
3. Company Seminars and Workshops (CSW) - organized by the company
1. CFP (Corporate Family Program) – These weekly programs are conducted in the
following areas: Range hills ( Atharva ), Prabhat Road, Wanowrie, Wanowrie
(Sacred Heart Town ), Camp, Kalyani Nagar, Koregaon Park, Wakad, Lullanagar,
Salisbury Park, Kothrud, Aundh, Magarpatta city, Viman Nagar, Pashan
2. CYP (Corporate Youth Program) – These programs are intended for unmarried
corporate youths. Over 20 such programs are held in the weekends, mostly at the
temple.
3. YOGA (Youth Of Gods Abode) are Corporate VOICE youth hostels where working
youths live together in software park areas and practice Krishna consciousness.
Contact Gopal Champu prabhu (9325 070111) for more details.
4. Company Seminars and Workshops – Seminars such as ‘Stress Management’
‘Time Management’ involving presentations and activities lasting for about three
hours are held in various companies in and around Pune. We have already conducted
programs in Finolex (170 delegates), Tech Mahindra (Formerly know as MBT for 140
delegates), Concentric (top 12 managers attended), Hotel Sagar Plaza (40 delegates)
and Zensar (20 delegates).
‘Bring out the LEADER in you’ Seminars on Leadership For Corporates –

Overview
VOICE offers seminars on topics given below. The pocket books on all these topics is in
pipe line and likely to be completed before the end of this year.
Seminars :
1. Stress Management
2. Time Management
3. Art of Self Management
4. Power of Habits
5. Secret of Concentration
6. Mind your Mind
7. Positive mental attitude
8. Team playing and winning trust of others
9. Overcoming Inferiority complex
10. Constructive criticism – How to give it or take it?
11. Fate and Free will
12. Karma – the Law of Infallible justice
13. Key to Real Happiness
14. Conflict Resolution
15. Eight Qualities of an Effective Leader
16. Managing our Anger
17. Self Development (flowing of consciousness)
18. Personality development and Character buildup
19. Proactive Leadership
20. Art of Living and Leaving
# All the seminars are designed for a duration of approx 3 hrs session, making it
concise & convenient for corporates to squeeze in their working hours or to make it after
office hrs also.
## These modules also offer great flexibility & could be “tailor-made” to suit an
organization’s particular needs.
For more details you may contact our Executive Vice Chairman,
Mr.Anant (mobile: 9881401814).
VOICE Publications
Youth VOICE Publications - Spirituality for the Modern Youth

This series explains systematically and scientifically how spiritual life is for the truly
intelligent - those who want the best in life. An eye opener for those who think that
spirituality is the resort of sentimentalists, escapists and oldies.
Discover Your Self: Make the one discovery that can fill your life with
happiness forever: Who am I?
57 pictures, soft bound, 192 pages.
(For preachers who want to use Discover Your Self as a course book for
youth, we also have l84 attractive color slides - both hard & soft copies
l Audio tapes for all sessions)
Your Best Friend: Can you understand and develop a relation with the
one Supreme Truth that stands eternally beyond all barriers of caste,
creed, color, nationality and religion? Your Best Friend is the key to a
scientific understanding of God. 62 pictures, soft bound, 336 pages
Your Secret Journey: Modern scientists, humbled in their attempts to

create a humanoid robot, are wondering how a human being is different
from a robot. Is there a spiritual paradigm to explain the mystery of life?
Scientific proof of past life memories shows that we survive after death.
In fact, we go through a journey from one body to another until we attain
perfection. Your Secret Journey explains the secret of action that can free
us from all problems. 86 pictures, soft bound, 322 pages
Victory Over Death: Everyone has to face death one day. Although you
cannot avoid death, you can conquer it. Victory Over Death explains how
to cultivate life so that you can die triumphantly.
97 pictures, Soft bound, 394 pages
Yoga of Love: The highest form of yoga is simultaneously simple,

sublime and safe. Moreover it is full of love and joy. Empower yourself
with the Yoga of Love (Coming soon)Pocket Books.
ii
Pocket Books:
Stress Management: Stress is neither a germ nor a bacteria to be treated

by antibiotics. It is your outlook to life, a problem of the mind that needs
a holistic solution at the level of body, mind, intellect and soul. Read this
book for practical tips to tackle the stress problem.
Art of Harnessing Mind Power: What is the mind? How does it operate?
Can I use it to my advantage to do positive things in life? Find out in the
Art of Mind Control. 19 pictures, 48 pages
Audio tape and color slides (hard and soft copies) also available
Practical Tips to Mind Control: What should you do when the whole
world appears to have come to an end - everyone appears an enemy,
providence appears cruel, future appears bleak and life appears not worth
living? Open the doors to a new life full of joy by applying the Practical
Tips to Mind Control.
10 pictures, 88 pages
Can I Live Forever?: A concise pocket book that gives scientific

understanding of life and death. It also explains an easy and effective way
to end all suffering and attain eternal happy life. Read and empower
yourself to control your present and determine your future. 12 pictures,
54 pages
Misdirected Love: One out of every three love marriages in the West
ends in divorce within three years of marriage. Why? Love - What
exactly it is? Love is an emotion that promises to bring the highest
happiness but often brings the greatest pain. Read Misdirected Love and
find new direction to your love and life.
9 pictures, 48 pages
Audiotape and color slides (hard and soft copies) also available.
Other Books
Horizon: A compilation of selected Spiritual Scientist articles. Contains
scientific findings about spirituality & health, systematic answers to the
fundamental questions of life and spiritual solutions to contemporary
problems. 100 pages, soft bound
iii
The Spiritual Scientist - Selected Newspaper Articles:

Make your daily breaks spiritually refreshing!
During Tea break, Lunch break, Travel …
Browse these brief and Power-packed Articles
Published in
• Times of India, The Speaking Tree
• Maharashtra Herald, The Soul Curry
• Deccan Chronicle, Festival Message
And rediscover the missing spiritual dimension of life. The
memorable examples, the soothing language, the eloquent words, the convincing logic,
all add spice to the refresher.
Essence of Bhagavad-gita: A condensed version of the Spirituality for

the Modern Youth series. Now the same book is going to appear in a easy-
to-handle course book format in 5 Courses with the following
titles :
1. Spiritual Scientist (Discover your self)

2. Positive Thinker (Spirit of Bhagavad gita)
3. Self Manager (Basics of Bhagavad gita)
4. Proactive Leader (Secret of Bhagavad gita)
5. Personality development (Essence of Bhagavad gita)
Bhagavad-gita 7-Day Course: Brief point-wise notes for conducting 7 day course on the
Bhagavad-gita. Spiral bound, 100 pages
Youth Preaching Manual: A practical and detailed guidebook on how to present the
wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita to the youth. 13 color photos, spiral bound, 127 pages
Value Education: Vital values for teenagers and children explained lucidly through
Vedic stories, modern anecdotes and everyday examples.
Smiling Faces Crying Hearts: Concise Spiritual Scientist articles

exposing superficial modern civilization & glorifying timeless Vedic
wisdom.
iv
Children VOICE Books
These books were conceived to help children understand and appreciate the timeless
wisdom and culture of Vedas. You will find stories, songs, scripts for dramas and
puppet shows, art and craft activities that thrill the children. The books offer thought-
provoking quizzes that relate to their practical day-to-day life.
My first Krishna Book: The child's first introduction to Krishna. Read-

aloud rhymes and attractive pictures to color. 24 pictures, 22 pages
Getting to know Krishna: Children are naturally curious. Their little

minds want to explore the world around them. Who is God? Why do we
go to the temple? Nurture your child's interest and help him take his first
steps in discovering Krishna Consciousness. 124 pictures, 47 pages
More about Krishna: Lead the child into the amazing world of Krishna
's pastimes. Enjoyable activities and thought provoking discussions
enliven the children and help them to inculcate good values. 187 pictures,
85 pages
Devotees of Krishna: Packed with stories, dramas and poems, this book
will appeal to older children. Many basic concepts are made clear through
games, discussions and activities. 86 pictures, 76 pages
Wonderful Krishna: Exciting adventures of Krishna, the protector of

His devotees. Group projects and comprehension exercises suitable for
the growing child. Many fun filled activities add to their enjoyment.
82 pictures, 76 pages.
Krishna's Childhood Pastimes: Sweet and simple description of

Krishna's childhood pastimes. Plus exciting activity sheets important
Bhagavad-gita verses, prayers, Vaishnava songs and Vaishnava
etiquette.113 pictures, 190 pages
v
References
1. Bhagavad-gita, Shrimad Bhagavatam, Coming Back and other books by His Divine
Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
2. Life – How did it get here? International Bible Students Association.
3. Forbidden Archeology, Michael Cremo & Richard L Thompson.
4. Origins – Higher Dimensions in Science, Bhaktivedanta Institute, ISKCON, Hare

Krishna Land, Juhu, Bombay.
5. Consciousness – The Missing Link, BBT.
6. The Scientific basis of Krishna Consciousness, H.H. Bhaktisvarupa Damodara

Swami, Ph.D.
7. Darwin’s Secret Identity, David Webb.
8. The Spiritual Scientist, No. 2 Vol. 3, article from Scientific Evidences for the
Existence of the Soul by Benitto F Reyes.
9. The Reincarnation Controversy by Steven Rosen.
10. Twenty cases suggestive of Reincarnation by Dr. Ian Stevenson.
11. Vedic Paradigm by Danavir Swami, Rupanuga Vedic College.
12. A Homestudy in Krishna Consciousness by Rohininandan das.
13. Back To Godhead magazine articles.
14. Song of God by Vishakha devi dasi

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Identifying the Divine Guide 1

‘Essence of Bhagavad-gita’ series, Course - 2

Course 1 : ‘Spiritual Scientist’ (‘Discover your self’)

Compiled by: Radheshyam Das, M.Tech. IIT, Mumbai

Rekindling Wisdom, Reviving Love

Cover design by: Jagannath Kirtan das

First Printing: July 2007 / 2000 copies

Published by Radheshyam das, Director, VOICE, Pune. Ph: 2633 2328

For whom is this book meant?

& For housewives, it is a homestudy course.

Essence of Bhagavad gita

I. Spiritual scientist (Discover Your Self)

1. Introduction to Bhagavad gita

II. Positive Thinker (Spirit of Bhagavad gita)

III. Self Manager (Basics of Bhagavad gita)

Sadhana and Sadachar topics

IV. Proactive Leader (Secret of Bhagavad gita)

V. Personality Development (Essence of Bhagavad gita)

Personality development is not a superficial change. We are generally covered over

1. Essence of Bhagavad gita

Positive Thinker (Spirit of Bhagavad gita) Sloka numbers from

1. Identifying the divine guide 2.7, 10.9, 12.13, 12.14

Gita Mahatmya 6,7 4.2,

3. Qualifications of an ideal Disciple 4.34, 10.11

4. Reincarnation – fact or fiction? 2.22, 2.40, 6.41, 6.42-44

13.22, 13.23, 15.8, 15.9,

Method of Evaluation and Reward

1) The marking will be done as follows :

30% weightage for the Final Exam

20% for Practical lifestyle and behavior, Attendance, Punctuality and

2) Certificates could be issued based on the following criteria:

Ch. No. Name of Chapter Pg. No.

Identifying the Divine Guide

Sr. No. Contents Page No.

1 Blind Attachment Leads to Misery 3

2 Absolute Necessity of a Spiritual Master 4

Identifying the Divine Guide

Blind Attachment Leads to Misery

In Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna recognizes that he is afflicted by the ‘kripana’ mentality,

There are two types of men -- ‘kripana’ or a miserly

Nowadays, students buy study-notes, cram them, vomit them

Identifying the Genuine and the Fake

Who is not a guru?

What is the guru’s understanding about God?

• The guru must have realized the conclusions of

• The guru should know the essence of the

• The guru is beyond caste-creed-color-nationality and other such superficial

of Krishna should be accepted as a guru” (CC.Madh 8.128). Instruction has to be

• The guru must have sense-control. If a guru’s

What is the guru’s general behavior?

• The guru should be decorated with all saintly qualities.

Bhagavad-gita who is bona fide?" Srila Prabhupada

Check & Balance Through ‘Guru-Sadhu-Shastra’

‘Positive Thinker’ Quiz : 1

Part A (to be answered by All)

Part B (only for married and Below 50 years)

Part C (only for College students)

Answer the following questions in ONE or TWO sentences on a separate sheet: (1 x 25 =

1. What are the perplexities of life compared to? Why? (2.7)

The Spirit of the

2 The Spirit of the Bhagavad-gita 18

Requirements for Understanding the 21