Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami answers new questions from AskTheSwami.net

The Golden Age and Hardened Hearts

Question: My question is about the Golden Age of the Kali Yuga, which I have read a little about. My concern is founded upon the sad state of the world, with so many countries run by madmen or fanatics, where devotees of Krishna cannot safely or even legally teach about Krishna. And even here in the US, there is often very little interest because people are so hardened by the atmosphere of vice and ignorance that their hearts cannot open to hear.
Thank you very much for your time

Answer: We are simply the carriers of the message of love of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. All rights are reserved by the Supreme Lord. He is the supreme controller of everything. Even though it may be difficult to spread this message of transcendental loving service in the age of Kali, it is still the foremost duty and pleasure of a devotee to do so. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu predicted that eventually the Holy Name of the Lord will be heard in every town and village around the world. We do not have to worry about success or failure of our efforts. Everything is already arranged.

In the Bhagavad-Gita it is stated that Arjuna was given the order to fight, without being concerned about the results of the battle, by Lord Sri Krishna Himself. Everything was already arranged by the Lord. Arjuna just had to fulfill his duty; to stand up and fight.

Making efforts to spread the universal message of love in this age of Kali can be compared to a battle. This age of Kali is full of unlimited faults. Actually it is compared to an ocean of faults. But the Lord as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu provided the great opportunity to get free from the contamination of Kali-yuga: simply chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. This mantra will naturally reveal all good qualities and eliminate all bad qualities of the persons involved in the process.

Do not be surprised if there are a lot of obstacles in the way of your preaching activities, rather be surprised if somebody takes up the path of spiritual life. We are spirit souls surrounded by the kingdom of Maya. Do not be attached to the results of your activities. Good association, a sincere heart and strong determination will help us to make our lives successful.

Varshana - The Mother Temple of Vrinda

Question: We would be very enthusiastic to hear about the story of Sri Sri Gouranga Radha Brajeshvara.

Answer: Welcome to Varsana, this farm is situated one hour from Bogota in the beautiful, emerald colored mountains in the beautiful Andes. The farm offers a wonderful panoramic view over the valley where Fusagasuga can be seen.

Varsana is the mother temple of our mission. In 1980 by the mercy of Sri Sri Gour Nitay, the first deities of Colombia, Krishna revealed this place where He wanted to manifest His pastimes. 2400 meters above the sea level the first Radha Krishna temple of Colombia was constructed and their lordships Sri Sri Guru Gouranga Radha Vrajesvara made their appearance in 1983, during the day of Narasimha caturdasi.

The great vaisnava Srila Harijan Swami, first sannyasi of Colombia, established the first school of Bhakti Yoga for the training of new leaders of the mission. Practically all leaders of the Vrinda mission in Colombia received their training there. The beauty of the place is unique. The local government of Colombia declared the temple as a national monument.

The temple is situated at the Panamerican highway that crosses all the continent. On the other side of the highway there is Govinda's Restaurant, parking lots and stands selling handicrafts made by devotees.

Years of hard work of countless devotees formed Varsana into the best place for spiritual retreats you can dream of, with the samadhi of Srila Harijan Swami, a spacious guest house and the large event hall with a professional stage for festivals. Wonderful gardens surround the originally constructed temple built in the architectural style of Rajastan. Behind this temple there is a gigantic kitchen for festivals with the capacity of feeding even 1000 people on sacred days. Above that kitchen there is the Gallery of Conscious Art and the festival hall for yoga and events provinding a favourable place for the frequently visiting Inbound Yoga groups. The organic gardens and the beautiful forests full of native trees add to the propituous atmosphere.

In the heart of the farm the construction of the yoga planetarium has already started. The 18 temples will be constructed in the style of the famous Trulys, representing all platforms of consciousness and dimensions of the vedic cosmology.

We are planning to build a beautiful temple for their lordships. A place for vedic education. We ask all members of the Vrinda mission to be enthusiastic about that project and to help constructing it as their lordships are the isthadeva for the whole Vrinda family. We have to be proud from all our heart to help in the construction of at least one of the Trulys, and in this way be part of the project.

Our Madhusudan Maharaj from Ecuador is supervising the construction with a lot much enthusiasm. Also to compensate the beautiful temple of Guru Gouranga Radhika Gopinath in Quito which was donated by prabhu Sudhama.

Passing the temple we arrive at the park called 'Krishna the Conqueror of all Obstacles', but first, at the right side, there is the beautiful Visnupriya ashram, 2 houses and the school for small children.

At the other side the artistic studios and the large guest house is situated. The park of art includes a wonderful theater, with a beautiful sight at the formation of rocks full of natural caves, that I discovered many years ago, to make wonderful artistic installations unique in its genre.

The artist's studio can be found there too. By crossing all these areas we come to the way that leads us to the Imlitala at the right side. Imlitala is another house where the devotees produce art and cook deliciously. There are some houses of grihasthas who take care of that area as well as beautiful mountains and a temascal, used for Inbound Yoga retreats. Varsana has great potential, is the center where, once again, we can go deeper into our efforts to become humble in this life.

Varsana is my personal offering to my spiritual master. Not only as a place of spiritual retreats, but rather as cradle of all temples of Colombia and in the world of the Vrinda mission. I don't have so much time to be there as I would like to, but I trust that the devotees who always pay attention to Varsana, continue to protect the purity of the purpose, even in the time after I have left this material body; and that is difficult.

When something is very beautiful and works fine, problems will come too. But don't worry, nothing bad happens without a good reason. All problems exist so we can grow spiritually. Finally we are devotees of the essence, not of any form. Varshana is an artistic devotional offering, without the contamination of private property, and it is my desire that this beautiful farm continues being the main program in order to be able to train excellent devotees so that they can lead Sri Caitanya's mission wherever they might go later.

When I think of Varsana, I also think of all my loyal supporters that have been helping me all those years so that Krishna consciousness is becoming really better every day, more consacrated.

To all of them, like the sannyasis headed by B.V. Vamana Maharaj, the renounced matajis, the devotees giving protection to all aspects of a growing movement and all the temple presidents that practically carry my responsability to take care of the devotees. To all of them I express my love from the heart, the gratitude on behalf of my spiritual master to make and defend a beautiful mission in Colombia despite the civil war that has been afflicting Colombia for so many years already.
This difficult situation makes the work of all of you even more glorious. I pray to Krishna that you can become completely attached to the holy name of Krishna, and that you can expand the name of Krishna in all directions and one day we all come together in Varsana to watch the sweetness of our lords. All readers of this message are wholeheartedly invited to come to Varshana to the festivals with the desire to purify themselves and to get inspiration from our lordships. The yoga monastery is a place of shelter. It is not a material shelter, it is a shelter where one can learn how to get out of this material world.

The Yamuna river of Varsana is an extraordinary phenomenon. It is like a subterranean river that appears from the subsoil immediately in the form of a substantial river. I have never seen anything like that in my life anywhere else.

Very close to Varsana there is our future clinic of prabhu Pandava Vijay, the atma clinic is situated in the mountainous region of Silvania, surrounded by 30 hectares of beautiful tropical forest, 30 minutes away from our yoga monastery named Vrindavanita.

Vrindavanita is the training place for the new devotees. It is a yoga monastery which is distinguished by its devotees that travel all over the country spreading the holy name.

The beauty of Vrindavanita is undescribable; you have to visit it. Really, the area around Bogota has been blessed by Lord Krishna. There is also the Rupanuga bhajan ashram in the mountains of La Calera. There, Sridhar Maharaj, our architect, has a beautiful rural place accessable by a 2 hours walk from the Gour Nitay temple in the center of the city, passing by the beautiful mountains which ends in front of Bogota with the church of Monserrat. Countless ways to preach Lord Krishna are there, including some great preaching in the National University by the Vrindavan Alliance.

At the time of the opening of the Ecotruly yoga planetarium in Varsana, we are going to invite all of South America to come to the inauguration ceremony. Again I ask everybody in the world to help us according to their possibilities to build this beautiful jewel of Vaisnava architecture, always when such an effort is made it is challenge against Maya, but Maya doesn't keep quiet.

We are so happy to be part of that artistic work that is not going to raise the envy of the people because actually is an artistic and cultural offering. We do not have a plan to increase the residential areas a lot, because the temple we want, is the temple in the hearts of everybody, without payment of taxes, rent, etc.

Spota Vada

Question: What is spota vada?

Answer: Spota vada means the inner meaning of something. Beyond the sound of a thing is the real meaning, which is only revealed in the heart. That is why we need mercy to understand any spritual message. Only by grace the understanding of spota vada is transferred from the speaker to the listener.

Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Swami answers new questions from AskTheSwami.net

A Letter to Volunteers

Dear volunteers,

for the last thirty years we have been striving to establish a synthesis of the dire need of mother earth and the thirst for harmony in all of us.

The south american challange to establish ecological communities with the help of the yoga lifestyle as we have learned in India, has been a wonderful experience. Both locals from different South American countries and our international volunteers blend nicely into an enthusiastic team.

A healthy, deep and meaningful life is our goal for all. We need many helping hands and I think I can safely guarantee you a rewarding experience. Help us to help others is the principle and thus also help yourself.

In my travels throughout this wonderful continent, meeting so many wonderful people, the contagious enthusiasm has allowed us to start yoga monasteries with eco(logical) farms and many educational programms along the Andean route. You can actually make a tour of volunteering in our different locations as you travel through South America. Our projects are true pioneering projects and as you reach each destination we will figure out what is the best help you can render according to your talents.

I want to be very sincere with you to make your stay with us entirely happy. We keep strict regard for our brother animals and thus follow a strict vegetarian diet. Also we don't want any intoxication and extramarital relationships going on while you are in a volunteer relationship in any of our places.


We are excited to share with you the many wonderful activities we engage in, such as learning how to cook vegetarian food, cultivating the land, planting trees, make flower decorations, yoga, constructing cabins, receiving visitors, playing drums, studying vedic scriptures, organizing fire sacrifices, playing music, making handicrafts from bamboo or tagua and so much more.

You can start in the Sierra Nevada in Colombia and live there in a cogi-style hut, and go all the way down to Argentinga, where in General Rodriguez we have an Inbound Center with a wonderful art department.

You can obtain our Inbound Yoga Tour CD-ROM and you will get an idea how many wonderful places there are. I especially recommend the ecological garden Vrindavan in Banos, Ecuador which is in the middle of the rain forest as the Amazon basin starts going up into the Andean Mountain ranges. Or what about a visit to the desert, one hour from Lima, Peru? You can visit the only Vedic Planetarium built entirely from
mud or what about Coroico, Bolivia, on the holy mountain Ushi Matshi, where a new community is just developing.

We will be grateful to get your help and you may quite as well take home an unforgettable experience, full of joy and solid values for the rest of your life.

yours in universal love,

Swami B.A. Paramadvaiti

The Meaning of Initiation for Chanting the Maha-Mantra

Question: What is the difference between the Hare Krishna maha-mantra before and after initiation?

Answer: It is said that the Holy Name is not dependent upon initiation, any religious activities, purifying ceremonies, pious activities, rules or regulations. The Holy Name does not wait for such activities. It is self-sufficient. If the true nature and the reality of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the result of chanting the Holy Name is known to a person, there is no need for such things.

The chanting of the Holy Name of the Lord does not depend upon anything else, for one immediately attains all desired results by this connection with the highest platform, the Lord Himself. Just by using the tongue to chant the maha mantra immediate effects are produced.

Whether a person is initiated or not is of second importance. One may be initiated and yet be an impersonalistic or atheistic person. But a person who chants the Holy Name of the Lord purely will be protected from all material influences. A properly initiated Vaishnava may be imperfect, but one who chants the Holy Name of the Lord without offenses, he is perfect.

The scriptures have given many different examples of persons who attained liberation without the benefit of a guru. Seeing all these facts one may ask: why then is it necessary to take initiation or practice other spiritual activities in devotional service? Why should I strictly and attentively follow the orders of the guru if by chanting the Holy Name, without following any rules or regulations, others attained perfection? Why should I work so hard for a guru?

The answer is that even though it is true that chanting the Holy Name does not depend upon initiation, generally people accumulate lots of bad habits due to a materialistic life-style. The initiation which is imparted by a spiriutal master, or guru, is the process through which transcendental knowledge is passed from the spiritual master to the disciple. Therefore the bad habits of the disciple's previous life will be destroyed. It is like pulling the plug of a rotating fan. It will continue rotating a little bit longer, but soon the rotation will come to an end. In the same way, by diksa, or initiation, our unfavourable tendencies will come to an end by establishing a connection with the Absolute Truth. The meaning of initiation is to discover one's inner wealth, and getting relief from all outward obligations. Therefore initiation is important even though the Holy Name does not depend upon it.

The spiritual master connects his disciples to divinity by engaging them in the service of the Lord. By following the instructions of the spiritual master all accumulated impurities will be removed from the heart and we will be able to approach the Lord in a humble state of mind. To take shelter of a guru means to enter the boat which is destined to cross the vast ocean of material consciousness.

Taking initiation from a spiritual master will help us to focus our mind on the Holy Names, to find a direction in life, and to make spiritual progress rapidly.

How to reveal the Truth

Question: ...the truth , as far as I have been able to reveal it to myself has not set me free yet. What next?

Answer: "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." This statement we will find in the Bhagavad Gita.

The standard to measure truth must come from the absolute plane. It must come from a plane where the conception of truth and the practical benefit of truth is clear. Only then it will be possible to get the standard for what is right and what is wrong. The viewpoint of the ordinary, mundane plane will not help us. Our present condition and our body are not perfect. Our senses are limited. They are not sufficient to perceive the unlimited, absolute truth.

The attitude of a true seeker must be to surrender to that knowledge. I must surrender, because I want something which is superior to me. In that way, the Lord may be satisfied with our attempt and reveal Himself to us. Divine revelation is not a matter of research in this world, we should have a sincere heart to serve.

The Highest Truth is superior to everything and independent from everything but Himself. Therefore nothing and nobody can force Him to reveal Himself. Only by His causeless mercy He may come and reveal Himself to us. The Lord Himself says: 'Everyone is rewarded according to the degree of his surrender onto Me.'

Revealed truth does not rely on the consideration of the majority of people. Revealed turth must come from the perfect plane. Only through faith, sincerity and dedication can we approach that higher plane.

So, approaching a spiritual master, submissive inquiries and rendering service onto him, are the three qualifications to approach the truth; with humility, sincerity and dedication.
Approaching the spiritual master should not be done hesitatingly or haphazardly. One should approach a spiritual master with a clear and honest heart. Srila Prabhupada said: 'without return ticket'. One has to come for all.