“O my merciful Lord Chaitanya, may the nectarean Ganges waters of Your transcendental activities flow on the surface of my desertlike tongue. Beautifying these waters are the lotus flowers of singing, dancing and loud chanting of Krishna’s holy name, which are the pleasure abodes of unalloyed devotees. These devotees are compared to swans, ducks and bees. The river’s flowing produces a melodious sound that gladdens their ears.” (Krishnadas Kaviraja Gosvami, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi 2.2)
The uniqueness of the movement started by Lord Chaitanya is in the preaching. It is one thing to adopt a particular spiritual philosophy and practice the recommended rituals and functions, but it is another to actually try to teach these principles to others. Even in the area of teaching, it is much easier to give instruction to someone who kindly approaches the instructor versus actually having to go out and persuade those who may not be inclined to hear such instruction. Lord Chaitanya, a preacher incarnation of God, laid down the formula for the reawakening of God consciousness throughout society: the chanting of the holy names of God, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”. He advised everyone, especially those already practicing the principles of bhakti-yoga, to become gurus by chanting this sacred mantra out loud and distributing God’s name to others. While chanting seems innocent enough, this method of preaching is often met with opposition, some of which is so strong that it can leave preachers doubting the effectiveness of the method. But if we apply a little intelligence, we’ll see that Lord Chaitanya’s movement is meant for a specific class of individuals, a class which is ready, willing, and able to reconnect with the Supreme Object of Pleasure, Lord Krishna.
Lord Chaitanya is considered an incarnation of Krishna, who is known as the Supreme Personality of Godhead amongst followers of the Vedas. This shouldn’t be mistaken to mean that Krishna is a sectarian God or an elevated personality worshiped by a particular group of people. There is only one God. One group may call Him by a particular name, while another may take Him to be an all-pervasive energy. But regardless, there can only be one God. The Vedas happen to be the oldest scriptures in existence; giving them a unique stature which is further enhanced by the inclusion of the many names of the original form of Godhead. Since God is everything, He is capable of innumerable activities. These activities are driven by the innumerable transcendental qualities He possesses. Taking into account all the activities and qualities that can be identified, the Supreme Lord takes on innumerable names. Of all the names, Krishna is considered the best because it is inclusive of all the aforementioned activities and qualities. Krishna means all-attractive, so in this way we see that only God can be the most resplendent in every feature imaginable. The conclusion of Vedic philosophy is that the conditioned individual spirit souls, the residents of the material world, are meant to inquire about Krishna, learn about His transcendental features, and then ultimately use that knowledge to develop a loving attachment to Him.
This formula seems pretty straightforward. Not only is it easy to practice and understand, but it is also easy to describe to others. So why is Lord Chaitanya’s movement unique? The issue relates to the advent of the Kali Yuga, the age we currently live in. According to Vedic information, the duration of each creation can be divided into four time periods, with dharma, or society’s adherence to the established religious codes, dwindling with each successive Yuga. Since we are in the last Yuga, Kali, society is hardly religious. Among those who are spiritually inclined, many are following a bogus or degraded system. This is true even of followers of the Vedic tradition. In previous Yugas, the highest division of society, the brahmanas, acted as the teachers, the givers of Vedic wisdom. Since brahmanas were respected by others, there was no need for them to go out and actively search for students. The rest of society would automatically seek out the counsel of the brahmanas, sending their children to live with them in their youth.
In the Kali Yuga, however, many are claiming to be brahmanas simply off birthright; something not in line with the revealed scriptures. Moreover, many brahmanas also claim that Vedic wisdom is meant exclusively for those born into the Vedic system, i.e. those who have a family lineage which dates back to famous brahmanas, kshatraiyas, and vaishyas of the past. If we apply even the slightest intelligence, we’ll see that this logic is faulty. Since spiritual life relates to the relationship between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, God, the discipline is open to everyone. Ancestry is a material concept, something related to the time, place, and circumstance of one’s birth. This has no bearing on the soul; hence it has nothing to do with a person’s relationship to God or their eligibility for hearing about Him. Certainly some circumstances are more conducive to others when it comes to spiritual life. Taking birth in a family of brahmanas who are actively engaged in Krishna’s service is certainly a great boon. On the flip side, taking birth in a family of non-devotees definitely reduces the chance of being imbibed with the traditions and practices of the Vedas. But in both of these situations, the eligibility for reconnecting with Krishna is not affected. Every individual soul is equal, and thus everyone is a candidate for returning to the spiritual world after their current life ends.
“O son of Pritha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth-women, vaishyas [merchants], as well as shudras [workers]—can approach the supreme destination.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.32)
Probably the most famous book of the Vedic tradition is the Bhagavad-gita, a discourse on spiritual topics given by Krishna Himself. In this book, Krishna mentions that the teachings found within should not be spoken to a person who is a non-devotee or one who is envious of the Lord. These are certainly valid concerns that should be taken into account when teaching others, but the underlying benefit to preaching doesn’t change. Lord Chaitanya, who advented some five hundred years ago, especially stressed preaching about Krishna through the chanting process. Since Krishna is non-different from His name, anyone who hears or recites His name in a loving way could have direct association with the Lord. This association then helps the conditioned living entity rekindle their interest and attachment towards the Lord, paving the way for the acquisition of spiritual knowledge. Therefore Lord Chaitanya, breaking against the current standards of the time, travelled all across India and freely spread the names of God to anyone who would listen. Before leaving this earth, He established an institution of preaching and instruction carried out by His closest associates. That tradition continues to this day through the sincere followers of Shri Gaurahari who have managed to spread Krishna’s glories to people around the world. In this way, the idea of Krishna consciousness being open to every person has gone from being a theory to a reality.
Though Lord Chaitanya’s movement is innocent enough, there is great opposition to it, especially from those who have taken shelter of someone besides Krishna. The reality is that every person is religious, even if they claim otherwise. What differs, however, is the object of worship. Those who are considered irreligious are simply worshipers of matter. They take the material body, which is composed of gross elements like bile, pus, and mucus, to be the beginning and end of everything. Knowing that they are going to die, they try to cram as much material enjoyment as possible into their short time on earth. This activity is often encouraged through the faulty “you only get one life” notion posited by many spiritual doctrines. The Vedas, however, tell us that the spirit soul is imperishable and that the current life of a conditioned living entity is simply a temporary condition. In this state of being, the spirit soul assumes a body composed of matter, the exact combination of which is determined by a person’s previous activities and desires. With new desires and activities come new bodies. In this way, the living entity is always working towards forming a future body. The time of death simply represents the complete change of bodies, the discarding of an old set of clothes in favor of a new one.
Spirituality aims to shift the living entity’s focus from material life to spiritual life. Spiritual life addresses the plight of the soul. By working to develop a future spiritual body, the development of a future material body ceases. Once this material development is fully stopped, the liberated soul returns to the spiritual world, where it assumes a spiritual body and remains in God’s association forever.
The materialists, the worshipers of matter, don’t want to return to the spiritual world. Therefore they raise opposition to the preaching efforts of the sincere devotees. Gross materialists, mental speculators, and even devout meditational yogis, take shelter of argument, logic, and material enjoyment. Using these tools, they try their best to cut down the transcendental words put forth by the pure followers of the Supreme Lord. In politics, strategists say that it’s never a good idea to put an idea out on the table too quickly; the reason being that as soon as an idea is put forth, opponents can begin to pick away at it. The material world is full of dualities, so what one person views as beneficial, another can view as detrimental. Good and bad are simply relative terms, things which change based on the eye of the beholder. If someone puts forth a statement as simple as “the sky is blue”, there will immediately be opposition. Logic and argument can be applied to any word, so any truth or reality espoused by a philosopher or saintly person can quickly be picked apart simply through negation, skepticism, and the use of argument.
This was how Ravana and Kamsa, two famous demons of the past, would justify their behavior. Knowing that they were dreadful sinners who were destined for punishment, they wouldn’t dare posit their own theories on life. They lived off of killing the innocent and enjoying as much material opulence as possible. When taken to task for their shameful behavior, these two demons would conjure up their own arguments, attempting to cut down the words of the pious. This behavior continues to this day with the descendants of these two demons, the devout materialists and enemies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
“Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 16.19)
Time, space, logic, and argument are simply creations of this temporary and ever-changing material world. They are meant to serve as the enjoyment for the wayward spirit souls, those who want separation from the Supreme Lord in the hopes of surpassing Him in strength, fame, and wealth. In this way, we see that Krishna is the most benevolent Lord, for He allows those who want to forget Him to take shelter of meaningless concepts. The brain is a material creation after all, and logic and argument serve to give satisfaction to this brain. As established in Lord Chaitanya’s ultimate conclusion of achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, the relationship between the Supreme Lord and the living entities is that of simultaneous oneness and difference. This truth is inconceivable, which means that no amount of logic or argument can enable a person to truly understand it.
If we can’t understand God through truths and postulates, what’s the point to studying Vedic wisdom? The purpose of the Vedas, and preaching for that matter, is to give the sincere souls, those wanting to reconnect with their long-lost friend in the spiritual sky, a chance at perfection in life. The most effective way to take in this information is through the submissive hearing process. It was for this reason that Lord Chaitanya established the congregational chanting, sankirtana, as the topmost religious practice. Let everyone in the world hear the transcendental sound vibrations of Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. If even one person reconnects with Krishna as a result of hearing this sound, then it is worth tolerating the insults and opposition of thousands of Kamsas and Ravanas. One pure devotee of Krishna shines brighter than a thousand demons.
“O best of the Ikshvakus, considering Your powerful divine and human capabilities, please strive for the destruction of Your enemies.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, 
The importance of having capital and spending it can be easily illustrated in the political realm. Let us examine what occurs when a new President takes office in America. Generally, there is a “honeymoon period” where Congress lets its guard down in relation to fighting with the new President. In today’s day and age, every issue is fought vigorously at the political level. This is because not only are the leaders elected through a democratic process, but so is legislation. Aside from the elections of the many members of Congress, there are many votes that take place in specific committees, on the floor of the House and Senate, and then in conference committee. With so many votes taking place, there is a constant struggle for power. Just changing the minds of a few members of Congress can turn a failing bill into a passing one.
This situation leads to a constantly changing political climate. One minute a President could have very high approval ratings, and the next minute not. Thus one never knows how long their political capital will last. It is best to push forward your agenda when you are popular and things are in your favor than when they are not. The President is deemed to have the bully pulpit, a term which references the fact that people listen when the President speaks. White house press conferences and speeches are covered by media outlets around the world. Even if the President sneezes or accidentally falls down, word about the incident spreads across the world. So if a President does have political capital to spend, he should not hesitate to go forward with his agenda. A high ranking administration official in America recently made the statement that “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste”, referring to how citizens are more apt to accept drastic legislation in the aftermath of a national disaster, natural or economic.
This should make sense to us. For instance, the primary role of government is to provide protection. Since life is generally peaceful in the Western countries, people often overlook this inherent duty of government. Rather, many people believe that the government’s job is to take care of the “little guy”, to level the playing field, or to go after the wealthy. While these may or may not be noble activities, government only exists to provide protection to society at large. Each one of us has a natural right to protect ourselves and our property, and thus government is an outgrowth of that right. If the government should fail to protect us from the bad guys, we would be left with anarchy and chaos. Government officials, especially those in the police force and military, have an obligation to protect the innocent civilians. 
Aren’t all of us sinners? Shouldn’t God be here all the time to deal with all of us? We are all most certainly sinners to some degree or another, so the Lord doesn’t use that as justification for His appearances. In general, the Lord is neutral towards everyone since all of us are involved in some type of karmic activity. Karma refers to actions performed for the advancement of our bodily condition. In this respect, there is really no “good” or “bad” bodily condition as it relates to spiritual life. So when and why does God appear? He comes to give protection to His 
Appearing in the guise of a 
At this time, Lakshmana kindly stepped in and offered some sound words of advice. The above referenced statement was part of his concluding remarks. We see that Lakshmana wholly recognized Rama’s divinity and fighting ability. He essentially told Rama, “You are more than capable of defeating anyone in this world. Therefore it is Your duty to get up and try to find Sita. If someone has taken her or hurt her, then it is Your duty to kill them, something which You can easily do.” This one statement by Lakshmana is important for two reasons. If a person is capable of defeating enemies, it is their duty to take the necessary actions to do so. If the heroic lie down and give way to lamentation, what hope is there for anyone else? People will have no one to look to for help, and they will feel as if they are not protected. This predicament is part of the storyline of your average Hollywood action movie. The hero goes through some troubling circumstance and seriously contemplates giving up. The people then are left to cower in fear of the enemy.
So how do Lakshmana’s teachings relate to us? First off, we are all blessed with the human form of life; a form which, in the opinion of the Vedas, is considered most auspicious. Why is this so? It is only in the human form of life that we can understand who we are, what our relationship to God is, and how we can break out of the repeated cycle of birth and death. So immediately upon taking birth, we human beings possess capital in the sense that we can work towards acquiring spiritual profit. If we don’t spend this capital, if we don’t take the necessary steps to understand God, we are no more advanced than the animals.
Then there are those who have been fortunate enough to learn about Krishna by reading the Bhagavad-gita or by hearing from other devotees. For such fortunate souls, it is their duty to try their best to spread this same information to as many people as possible. It doesn’t mean that we all have to take up the renounced order of life and open up hundreds of temples around the world. This certainly would be nice, but it’s not required. The simplest way to teach others about Krishna is to always speak about Him and to always chant His names, “
“Shri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” (
Why is the material world considered flawed? At this point, the reason should be fairly obvious. Lord Krishna, or God, created the material world to be a place separate from His spiritual abode. Having placed exalted living entities known as 
Dedication to this offensive strategy is certainly effective, but for most conditioned souls, there must be a defense as well; a set of don’ts that need to be adhered to. In the Vedic tradition, as in any other spiritual discipline, the list of restricted activities is quite comprehensive. Therefore, for the people of this age, the four most dangerous activities, those things which are the greatest hindrances towards advancement in spiritual life, are given attention. These activities are meat eating, illicit sex, intoxication, and gambling. Meat eating is sinful because it requires unnecessary violence, something is not allowed in the spiritual world. The laws of karma are quite fair, so if we kill another living entity without justification, we are forced to suffer the negative consequence, the worst of which is the repetition of birth and death. Illicit sex is considered the greatest sin because it keeps one’s desires firmly fixed on the illusory energy known as maya. Maya means that which is not, or that which is the opposite of pure spirit [God]. Attachment to maya, manifested through sex life, guarantees that one will remain in the material world. Intoxication takes away cleanliness and intelligence. An intoxicated person will have trouble understanding matters pertaining to God and also adhering to guidelines. It’s difficult to play offense while drunk. If the goal is to defeat our flawed desire to imitate God, we must be sober during our fight.
To illustrate the influence of dishonesty in gambling, let us study a simple example. In the modern age, playing fantasy sports has become one of the more popular pastimes. Playing a fantasy sport involves getting a group of other individuals together to form teams in a league. Each player owns their own team, which is a lineup consisting of real-life players in a specific sport. The fantasy league follows a sports league, like the NFL, MLB, NHL, etc. For this example, let’s use Fantasy Football. Prior to the NFL season starting, the fantasy teams will hold a draft, where each owner gets to pick the players that will play on their team. Once the draft is over, the teams set their lineups for the first week. In most fantasy football leagues, the format is that of head-to-head, with one team putting their lineup of players against another team’s lineup. Winning and losing are determined by the performance of the real-life players. For example, say that the quarterback I have on my fantasy team has a great week in his game, he will accumulate a certain number of points for my fantasy team. The team with the most accumulated points by all the players in the lineup wins each week.
It can certainly be argued that this tactic isn’t cheating, but rather just an ordinary part of any game. Cheating is usually associated with breaking the rules, ignoring established codes of conduct in order to gain an advantage. Yet why should the definition be limited in this way? The aim of playing dice, roulette, blackjack, or sports in general, is to gain an advantage over the competition. For example, in the sport of hockey, if the goaltender is leaning towards one side during a particular play, the announcers will say that he is cheating. This references the fact that in all fairness, the goaltender would take a certain position in the net, but since he wants to gain an advantage on a particular play, he is leaning towards one side instead of taking the more neutral position.
The great Vaishnava saints didn’t concoct the idea of the 
For these and many other reasons, we should pay careful attention to the activities that we take up. The ultimate objective is to change our desires. Whatever we can do to regain our pure loving attachment to God is what we should be committed to. The most effective method is the chanting process. By having a strong offense, along with an alert defense, we can gain victory in our battle against maya. Checking all other desires at the door, we can reenter the spiritual world as liberated souls who love Krishna honestly and purely.
“O You of great intellect, not even the demigods can fathom the level of Your intelligence. Due to bereavement Your wisdom is currently in a dormant state, and I am here to rouse it.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, 
Sleep equates to inactivity, so in Vedic terminology it is considered to be part of the mode of ignorance or darkness. Darkness and ignorance are essentially the same thing when discussing the issue of knowledge, for one who can’t see due to the absence of light will always be in ignorance. The daylight hours are much more fruitful since we can see everything clearly and go about our business without any impediments. The mode of ignorance consists of any activity which negatively affects us, or in the more strict definition, any activity which is lacking in intelligence or passion. It is obvious to see why too much sleep would be considered an activity devoid of intelligence and passion. We certainly aren’t acting with any knowledge when we sleep. Since the mind works in mysterious ways, we don’t even have control over what we will dream about. We don’t really acquire any knowledge while sleeping because we aren’t even able to think clearly. Acquiring knowledge requires thoughts and ideas to be taken into the brain, processed, and then formed into conclusions. When we sleep, we are unable to take in any new information, thus we have nothing new to process cognitively.
Material activity is what constitutes karma. Most of us are familiar with this term already. If we see something bad happen to someone else, we’ll say, “Oh, they must have had bad karma.”, or, “Oh, they had this coming to them for a long time. From all the bad things they did previously, they accumulated so much bad karma.” So we associate karma with positive and negative fruitive results. This is certainly one valid definition for karma, but on a higher level, the term really pertains to any activity that leads to the further development of the body. When we speak of good and bad results, we are referring to conditions that affect the body, which is a covering consisting of both gross and subtle elements.
Based on these facts, we see that birth actually refers to the time when our soul accepted its current material covering. Even our current material covering changes, for we don’t have the same body that we used to have during our childhood. Birth and death refer to the body that we currently identify with. Thus karma affects the fortunes of the current and future outer coverings. Moreover, the activities we performed in previous lives determined the circumstances of our current birth and the body we received.
Luckily for us there is another soul that resides side by side with our individual soul. This soul is known as the Supersoul, or Paramatma, and is a direct expansion of God. The Supreme Lord is so nice that He kindly expands Himself as the Supersoul and resides within the heart of every living entity. The Supersoul is a neutral observer, someone who is unaffected by karma. Since it is a direct representation of God, the Paramatma cannot be subject to the material forces.
So the formula seems straightforward enough. Take direction from the Supersoul and awaken from our sleeping state. But one question remains. How do we talk to the Supersoul? How do we take direction from it? The answer is that we must approach a pure 
Both Rama and Lakshmana were married at the time of the exile punishment. Rama’s beautiful wife, 
The lesson here is that we don’t know what the future holds. Even if we take to passionate activity and avoid sleep, we don’t know what karma will have in store for us. It is better to take shelter of the divine energy, represented by spiritual activity. The great devotees of the Lord advise everyone in this age to take to the simplest spiritual practice of them all, the 
“Shri Krishna’s complexion is as polished as powdered eye ointment. It surpasses the beauty of a newly formed cloud and is softer than a blue lotus flower. Indeed, His complexion is so pleasing that it attracts the eyes and minds of everyone, and it is so powerful that it defies all comparison.” (Lord Chaitanya, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya 15.64)
The common misconception is that Hindus believe in many gods. There are certainly many godlike figures such as Ganesha, Shiva, Brahma, and Durga, but such personalities merely represent the height of material opulence in the mode of goodness. In essence, these divine figures, who are worthy of the highest respect and adoration from mankind, represent the Supreme Lord’s close family, His faithful servants and deputies. The Supreme Lord is singular, so He is one without a second. In many spiritual disciplines this singular divine entity is known by the name of God, but the Vedas don’t limit the Supreme Lord to only one name. Rather, He can be addressed through limitless, unique sound vibrations which each reference a specific attribute, pastime, or quality of the Lord. Since the Lord enacts so many pastimes, He takes many different forms, some visible and some not. Several of these forms kindly descend to earth from time to time, while others remain in the spiritual sky for the benefit of the eternally liberated associates. Though there are countless forms – as many as there are waves in the ocean – there is still a fountainhead, an original from which all others emanate. This original personality is Krishna.
How do we know what Krishna looks like? Just as with any other important piece of information, knowledge of Krishna is taken from authority. Those who have seen Him personally have shared their experiences with others and also written them down in books. This information has been since passed down from generation to generation. Additionally, houses of worship have been erected which depict the Lord in His various forms, performing different activities. Through consultation with such authorized information, we come to understand what Krishna looks like, what makes Him happy and what doesn’t, and moreover, what it takes to gain His association.
While it seems strange that Krishna would be blue in color, the exact characterization of His complexion is that of a dark raincloud. The Lord is described as shyama, which can mean dark, bluish, greenish, like the color of the Tamala tree, or more simply like the dark-blue raincloud. Since Krishna is exquisitely beautiful, another one of His names is Shyamasundara. The descriptions of the Lord’s personal appearances found in sacred texts like the 
When a person is on the highest platform of transcendental love, they lose interest in all the terms and concepts associated with the study of self-realization and 
In this way, Goswami Tulsidas informs us that the dealings between the Chatak bird and the raincloud represent the highest level of spiritual practice. Tulsidas also states that the Chatak, as the object representing a pure devotee, teaches its dependents to not turn its beak away from the raincloud even at the time of death or when the last rites are performed. This shows that Tulsidas believes that thinking of Rama at all times, even when one is about to die, is the highest religious practice. Moreover, he wanted to make sure that future generations knew exactly what his primary dharma in life was. He only wanted to look at the beautiful body of the Lord and never think of anything or anyone else. This behavior represents love in the mood of separation, a method which provides the topmost bliss to both the giver and the receiver. Shri Rama is satisfied by the devotee who is always looking at Him with loyalty, dedication, and love. The Chatak bird renounces all kith and kin and refuses to accept any other water except that which emanates from its beloved raincloud. In the same manner, the pure devotee refuses to acknowledge the existence of anything not directly related to Krishna. The devotee only humbly accepts 
In order for this love to be practiced, the Supreme Lord, through His bodily complexion which is like that of the dark raincloud, must be a giver of Supreme transcendental pleasure. It is for this reason that the Vaishnavas, those who eventually disregard any and all mundane rules and regulations of religion, take to 
The Vedas tell us that this world is merely a shadow copy of the same realm that exists in the spiritual world. Since there is variegatedness in this world in the form of different bodies and material qualities, there certainly must be variety in the spiritual world. Otherwise, wherefrom has this variety come? If variety is absent in the spiritual world, how can it manifest in the material world? By denying the form of the Personality of Godhead and the variety of His activities and pastimes, the spiritual world is essentially deemed a place inferior to the material world. If the material world thus becomes superior, what need is there of entering the kingdom of God?
“O You of great intellect, not even the demigods can fathom the level of Your intelligence. Due to bereavement Your wisdom is currently in a dormant state, and I am here to rouse it.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 66.19)
Loyalty is considered laudable because it is an attribute not easily acquired. The living entity tends to act in its own self-interest; an interest which takes precedent over the interests of others. This behavior certainly isn’t condemnable on the surface, for who wouldn’t want to further their own condition? At the end of the day, we have to live with ourselves and the decisions we make, so who would want to take actions that would lead to misery? If we put the interests of others ahead of our own and end up miserable as a result, we’ll likely blame others for our ill-temperament.
With free agency, players in sports like baseball, basketball, football, and hockey could take their services elsewhere once their contracts expired. In the open marketplace, all workers are free agents in that they have a choice as to where they want to work. A professional sports league is more of a closed environment, so this freedom is limited. Free agency sought to introduce some of this mobility into the workings of the various leagues. As a result, it is quite common now to see teams drastically change from year to year. Once a star player is up for free agency – especially if they play for a team that doesn’t take in much revenue – it is likely that they will go to another team that will pay them a higher salary.
Loyalty shows that a person is not a miser. It shows that they are grateful for any and all services provided to them in good faith. Of all the persons to ever have traversed this earth, one would be hard pressed to find a more loyal person than Shri Lakshmana. Lakshmana’s stature is enhanced by the fact that he hadn’t been offered much service from the object of his loyalty, his elder brother Rama. In this way, Lakshmana’s loyalty was not only unmatched and uninterrupted, but it was unmotivated. One could say that his behavior towards Rama was driven out of love, but since there was no expectation of reciprocation, we cannot describe this love as being selfish in any way.
The most important day in a prince’s life is the day the reins of the kingdom are handed to him. When this day came for Rama, He kindly approached Lakshmana and asked him to rule the kingdom with Him. This showed that Rama certainly loved Lakshmana very much. Unfortunately, Rama’s coronation would have to wait, as events took a dramatic turn for the worse. Through the disloyal and selfish actions of Bharata’s mother, Kaikeyi, Rama was forced to leave the kingdom and not return for fourteen years. Unbeknownst to him, Bharata was given the thrown, though he was away on business at the time. Ready to leave for the forest, Rama said goodbye to Lakshmana, but the dutiful younger brother refused to let Rama leave alone. Casting aside kith and kin, Lakshmana embarked for the forest with Rama, where the two would live as mendicants not having any claim to the royal perks that rightfully belonged to them. Lord Rama’s beautiful and chaste wife, 
It is one thing to pledge allegiance to someone, but it is another to actually prove this loyalty. As the saying goes, “A friend in need is a friend indeed”, true friendship and loyalty are measured during the bad times, not the good. It is easy to have friends and well-wishers when everything is going alright, but once the chips are down, once it looks like we are down and out, only our true friends stay with us. In Lakshmana’s case, he never failed to step up to the plate. In fact, as the going got tougher, Lakshmana got stronger and stronger. This was evidenced by the fact that when he saw Rama distraught and disheartened, he didn’t sit back and allow the Lord to remain in a weakened state. That would have been the easy thing to do, but Lakshmana never took the easy road in life. His only dharma, or occupational duty, was service to his elder brother.
Not only are there perceived primary characteristics, but secondary and tertiary ones as well. In this way, dharma gets applied to all areas of activity. There is even a dharma when it comes to building a house, i.e. a set of prescribed regulations that leads to the essential characteristic of a well-built housing structure. So there are many dharmas, but the Vedas tell us that there is one characteristic that reigns supreme. Not only does this characteristic trump all others, but it is actually the same for every form of life. This essential characteristic is that of a loving servant to the Supreme Divine Entity. The individuals are spirit souls at the core, and the Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Soul. The natural order of things is for the individual to be in constant association with the Supreme. This gives transcendental pleasure to both parties, so it is deemed the ultimate favorable condition. Those who take the reattachment of this connection as their foremost occupational duty, the most favorable and important characteristic to acquire, will be abiding by the highest dharma.
Seeing Rama lamenting over the loss of His wife, Lakshmana stepped in and offered some sound words of advice. He essentially advised Rama to shake the incident off and continue with His search. His duties as a 
Shri Lakshmana, as a warrior prince by trade, wasn’t outwardly viewed as a great scholar or spiritual master. Yet by remaining loyal to Rama, he had acquired all the knowledge he needed to execute his prescribed duty in life: service to the Lord. By following his example, we can never go wrong. Anyone who associates with this divine prince, who is himself a partial incarnation of 
“The word vana means ‘forest.’ Vrindavana is the name given to the forest where Shrimati Vrinda Devi (Tulasi Devi) grows profusely.” (Shrila 
Since golf is a popular recreational activity, it has many stereotypes associated with it. One of the more common jokes made about golf is that it serves as a way for husbands to get away from their wives. Marriage is the backbone of a strong society, and while married life is certainly ideal for the raising of a family, there are bound to be tensions between the husband and wife. The wife will nag the husband about being lazy and not spending any quality time with her and the kids, while the husband will complain about all the nagging. Golf represents a sort of male paradise, a place free of the influences of the wives, a place where men can be men. The quintessential golf outing consists of four players, usually all friends, playing a full round of eighteen holes. While playing the game is certainly fun, the environment really adds to the experience.
For the golfer, the objective on each hole is to be able to get your ball to drop in the cup in as few shots as possible. The cup, which represents the endpoint of the hole, is located on a putting green which is a few hundred yards away from the tee off point, so the last few shots require putting instead of big swings. The putting green is arguably the nicest looking area of each hole, with the grass cut very thin and water and trees in the surroundings. In this way, the golfer is rewarded with beautiful scenery that only improves in appearance as one gets closer to the hole. While golf is certainly a competitive sport requiring great skill and attention to detail, for the average player, simply getting to walk through the park-like environment is enjoyable enough. If we walk through a regular park, there isn’t much there to stimulate the mind. In many ways, that is the whole point to walking through a park; getting peace and quiet. Yet golf adds a new dimension by allowing a person to enjoy the scenery of a park, while playing a game at the same time.
According to Vedic information, there are higher levels of devotion, each of which provides more spiritual enjoyment to both the worshiper and the worshiped. Ascension to the higher levels of devotion occurs when one’s association with God in a pure and loving way increases. This association means that there are exchanges: one party takes to certain action and the other party reciprocates. How can these exchanges take place with the Supreme Lord? This is certainly a good question, for most of us are accustomed to worshiping a God who resides in a church or a temple. In many spiritual disciplines, worship of a form of God is forbidden, for it is viewed as idol worship. In the Vedic tradition, the conditioned living entities directly associate with the Supreme Lord in a variety of ways. This association can even take place without ever leaving the home.
Even though Krishna and His 
Since the 
Vrindavana is a Sanskrit word which means a forest where Vrinda Devi’s presence is strong. Vrinda Devi is a devotee of Krishna and she arranges for all the wonderful pastimes between Krishna and His most important associates. One of her forms is that of Tulasi Devi, who manifests as the tulasi plant. Plants are also forms of life, for they have spirit souls residing within. The tulasi plant is sacred for followers of the Vedic tradition because it represents Tulasi Devi, the beloved maidservant of 
Lord Krishna is so kind that He created a replica of Vrindavana in this material world. It was in this Vrindavana, which is located in India, that the Lord enacted His most wonderful pastimes when He appeared on earth. Anyone who sets foot on this holy land is surely benefitted spiritually. Based on the descriptions of life in Vrindavana, we can understand that God is the ultimate object of pleasure. The highest achievement in life is to have Krishna’s association and play with Him in His beautiful park. By regularly chanting Hare Krishna, we can make that dream a reality.
“It is not a fact that the Lord appears only on Indian soil. He can advent Himself anywhere and everywhere, and whenever He desires to appear. In each and every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood by the particular people under their particular circumstances. But the mission is the same-to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of religion.” (Shrila 
Since every person has an object of worship, every person is religious. This is indeed true; even the vilest person, the one who denounces God and His followers, is religious. The reason so many different religious systems exist is that each person who has settled on their ultimate objective in life, be it the association of an object of worship or the attainment of a palatable condition, then creates a system to help others reach it. For example, the chain bookstores are filled with books about how to be successful in various ventures. Book titles are usually of the same nature: “The 10 keys to success in business…How to be a good parent…How to make your relationship work…The 10 principles to happiness.” These books are written by those whose ultimate objective related to the specific topic of interest mentioned in the book, be it the accumulation of wealth, a happy family life, or weight loss. In this way, we see that these books represent the scriptures of the authors in that they have a list of do’s and don’ts [essentially pious and sinful acts], along with a promise for a better condition in the future.
What is that higher platform? What is the ultimate objective of religion? In the material realm, the ultimate conclusion depends on the individual’s viewpoint. A businessperson deems the aim of life to be the running of a successful business, an entity which provides a good or service which is popular enough to secure enough profits to support a comfortable lifestyle. For the marriage counselor, a peaceful marriage condition is seen as the ultimate objective in life, one where both husband and wife are happy in each other’s association. In spiritual life, the ultimate objective is to have a pleasurable relationship with the Supreme Lord. For the subordinate living entity, basking in the transcendental sweetness of the Personality of Godhead in His original form brings the highest pleasure, both material and spiritual, that can exist. This relationship is free of any defects; it is not lacking anything in the area of pleasure. Any other relationship, any other condition, lacks something in the area of happiness. It is for this reason that we take up different engagements all the time, switching from one “pleasurable” activity to another. The ultimate relationship, the connection between the living entity and God, is the one condition that trumps all others.
There are other spiritual disciplines that simply look to God as an order supplier, a person who provides for the living entity’s needs and wants. “Simply love God and go about your business. At the end of life, you will go to heaven.” This mindset is incomplete in the sense that if a person has a desire to enjoy their senses, God surely wouldn’t remove them from such a position. Under this model, the Supreme Lord would have to be quite unkind. As we all know, we can never force anyone else to love us. This holds true with God as well, so He would never think of taking us back to His supreme abode if we would rather remain in the company of our friends, family, countrymen, and other associates. Yet even this view of God as an order supplier is considered a legitimate spiritual discipline since it acknowledges the existence of a Supreme Lord.
The Vedas tell us that the more accurate term to describe religion is “dharma”. Dharma relates to an occupational duty, which is based on the true essence of something. Since the essential characteristic of the spirit soul is its intimate relationship with God, dharma is that discipline which aims to keep the living entity always connected with Him. Dharma is the essence of something, so when applied to different areas, it can take the shape of rules and regulations, the set of standard prescriptions aimed at maintaining the essential characteristic. For example, building a house in the proper way represents adherence to a specific dharma. The recommendations and regulations aimed at helping a person play a musical instrument correctly can be thought of as the dharma for that particular discipline. In this way, we see that there can be many dharmas depending on the specific field of interest.
The greatest field of interest is that which encompasses all other fields. The only field that fits this definition is spirituality, or more accurately, that discipline pertaining to Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the famous Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God delivered by Krishna Himself, the final instruction given to Arjuna, Krishna’s cousin and dear disciple, is that he should abandon all varieties of religion, or dharmas, and simply surrender unto the Lord. Krishna is the sum and substance of all religious systems; He is the ultimate object of pleasure. The highest engagement for the living entity is to take up His service.
For the people of this age, there is only one religious process recommended. This process is the 
“O You of great intellect, not even the demigods can fathom the level of Your intelligence. Due to bereavement Your wisdom is currently in a dormant state, and I am here to rouse it.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 66.19)
Why is an increase in power or the sharpest knife required? Won’t just an ordinary knife do the job? Sometimes this is certainly true. We don’t always want to take the “extra strength” variety of pain relief medication if our headache is only of the minor variety. But for the big jobs, it is undoubtedly true that extra strength equates to a greater chance of success in the mission. For example, if we are mowing a small lawn, we might be fine with just a manual machine which can be pushed by hand. But if we have to mow acres and acres of property, we require a riding lawnmower, something which can be driven around in a manner similar to a golf cart. If we need to tow heavy loads of cargo, a large truck will be much more effective than a small car.
In a similar manner, the Vedas tell us that we living entities are tightly bound to this material world. How are we tied down? Our individual identity comes from the atma, or soul. The soul is completely pure and uncontaminated at all times. However, to come to the material world, the soul requires a covering, something which masks its true nature. This covering consists of material qualities which are known as gunas. Another definition for guna is “rope”. It is defined as such because material qualities actually keep us tied to this illusory and temporary world.
s previously mentioned, the natural home for the spirit soul is the spiritual world, where 
Thus we see that those who seriously ponder spiritual matters are considered highly advanced. Still, even amongst those who are striving for self-realization, hardly one person will actually become successful in their current lifetime. This fact alone should tell us how strong a knot material nature has tied. So how do we break free of this knot? Just as Alexander the Great needed a sharp sword to cut through the Gordian Knot, we living entities require the sharpest of spiritual guides to help us break free of our attachment to matter. This spiritual guide is thus known as a sadhu, or one who cuts.
A sadhu can be recognized by his engagement in these aforementioned activities of 
Let us try to put ourselves in Lakshmana’s shoes for a moment. Our elder brother has just discovered that His beautiful wife is missing. She could be dead for all that we know. Rakshasa demons are pretty vile, for they’ll even eat human flesh. It is quite likely that Sita was taken by Ravana, and what happened subsequent to that is anybody’s guess. We love Rama so much that we refused to let Him roam the forests alone, for the Lord was only in the forest due to an exile punishment handed down by His father, King Dasharatha. Placing ourselves in Lakshmana’s position, we’d probably sit quietly and let Rama release His grief. After all, who would want to anger a loved one during a time like this? What could we say anyway? If we did say anything, we’d probably use clichés such as, “Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright. We’ll find Sita. I’m sure she’s safe and sound.”
In the above referenced statement, we see that Lakshmana, who had just put forth cutting words of logic and reason, was still kind in the end. He reminded Rama that no one was capable of instructing Him. Moreover, Lakshmana was just repeating the same teachings that Rama had taught him on many previous occasions. Thus we see that a real sadhu is one who has taken instruction directly from God, or one of His representatives. We should also take note that Lakshmana didn’t claim to be God or tell Rama to view every person as God. Nor did Lakshmana instruct Rama to take shelter of the power of prayer. Many spiritual leaders advise these sorts of things, and though they may be well intentioned, in the end, such instruction does little to help anyone. Material fortunes come and go, so our business is not to bargain with God in the hopes of receiving gifts. Rather, our duty is to be firmly attached to the Lord and execute our prescribed duties with detachment to the fruits.
“O You of great intellect, not even the demigods can fathom the level of Your intelligence. Due to bereavement Your wisdom is currently in a dormant state, and I am here to rouse it.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, 
Gold is valuable. How do we know this? Others like to own gold and use it for various purposes. Something is considered valuable if it can be used by others to advance a cause or item of self-interest. If something isn’t valuable, we have no interest in it; we don’t think twice about it. Valuable commodities have just the opposite effect; we want to possess them and watch their value grow. One of the most valuable commodities in the modern age is oil, which is regularly traded on the futures market. This buying and selling is so volatile that simply by betting the future price of oil up or down, the current price of gasoline can drastically change. Gold is considered a real commodity because it will always have value, irrespective of the current economic situation. Currently in America, wealth is determined by how much paper currency a person possesses, but as is seen, the value of these paper notes can change on a whim depending on how the Federal Reserve Bank of America deals with monetary policy. In days past, all currency in America was backed by an equal amount of gold in the national treasury, thus giving the paper notes a tangible value. Though that is not the case today, mankind’s interest in gold has not diminished.
We living entities are similar to gold in that our value doesn’t lessen with time. Time is the greatest diminishing force since it can reduce anyone and anything. A person may be very strong and stout today, but through the influence of all-devouring time, their strength will gradually diminish to the point where they will die. In a similar manner, great buildings and empires also collapse in due course. We living entities, however, being eternally valuable, are immune to the effects of time. This may seem like a contradiction at first glance. How can we be immune to the effects of time if we are destined to die? Our identity comes from the atma, or soul, residing within us. This soul is eternal, unbreakable, and immutable. It never suffers through birth or death, nor does its value ever increase or decrease.
To understand the soul’s true value, we must first realize where it comes from. If the soul never takes birth, how can it have a source? The soul is technically an expansion of the supreme soul, the Supreme Divine Entity. When this Person who transcends ignorance, Purushottama, expands Himself into separate jiva souls, the separated souls don’t necessarily take birth. Purushottama is existing eternally, and thus so are His expansions. Since we come from God, our nature is exactly like His. The Supreme Lord, whose original form is that of Lord Shri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternally blissful and full of knowledge. This should make sense to us. If Krishna were miserable and unintelligent, then He couldn’t be God. The idea of a supreme controller implies that He is above any and all defects known to man. We spirit souls are godlike, so we are also eternally blissful, full of knowledge, and not subject to illusion, distress, chaos, tumult, etc.
The living entities are just like gold, in that our value does not change even when we associate with maya. Yet gold in its raw form doesn’t have much use. It must be shaped and crafted in such a way that all the dust is removed so that it can truly shine. In a similar manner, we living entities are extremely valuable in that we are part and parcel of God. But in order to realize our potential, we must be shaped and molded in the proper way. Where do we go to get fixed up? Who or what can polish us and make us shine? For the solution, we must approach a pure devotee of Krishna, someone who is already shining, someone who already exudes the valuable qualities of truthfulness, eternality, and bliss. That person is the 
How can we tell who is a pure devotee? How do we know whether a person has transcended the illusory forces of maya? Maya is that which is not, and the opposite of this is the Supreme Absolute Truth. There are varying degrees of truth, for the material world is full of dualities and contradictions. For this reason, God is referred to as the Supreme Absolute Truth, meaning His supreme dominion can never be denied. Since God is absolute, there is no wiggle room as far as His strength and purity go. Moreover, any person who directly associates with the Supreme Absolute Truth also inherits the Lord’s qualities. The pure devotees of Krishna meet this requirement. Instead of associating with illusion, they attach themselves to the Supreme Truth. They have no other business than to serve Krishna in a loving way. Devotees may look different, come from different parts of the world, and even have different skin colors and ethnicities, but one thing they have in common is that they are devoted to Krishna. Their only business in life is to serve Him, think of Him, and always praise Him while in the company of others.
During the second time period of creation, the Treta Yuga, Lord Krishna expanded Himself into human form and appeared on earth as the valiant and chivalrous prince of Ayodhya, Lord Rama. Rama had three younger brothers, with Lakshmana being the one most attached to Him. As part of His pastimes, Rama roamed the forests of India for fourteen years. During this time, His beautiful and chaste wife, 
Rama and Lakshmana were part of the 
The lesson to be learned from this incident is that we should all adopt Lakshmana’s mindset and listen attentively to the teachings of the Supreme Lord. Where do we go to find these teachings? Luckily for us, when God teaches His devotees, they don’t just keep the information to themselves. They train their own disciples, who then pass it down to their students, and so on. So we simply need to consult a person belonging to the chain of disciplic succession which originates from Lord Krishna. If we approach these devotees, we are assured of success in spiritual life. This association doesn’t have to be of the personal variety either. The great saints have written voluminous literature establishing the supremacy of devotional service to Krishna over all other spiritual disciplines. These 
