Paris, France. June 9

He said that Paris attracts so many tourists. His hosts drove him around to see the Louvre buildings, the Arc de Triomphe, and other sites. He said that in India (for example at Tirupati, where Balaji temple is) the same tourist urge is there, common people are visiting daily by the thousands, and the statues are there, but in India it is for God. While driving they pointed out where embassies are, and one devotee quipped, "So we have opened a Krsna embassy." "Why one embassy?" he said. "Every house should be an embassy. Everywhere, a Krsna embassy."

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." This means that the word preceded the creation. Therefore it was transcendental. We have to inquire, "What is a transcendental Word?" The poet Narottama dasa Thakura says, golokera prema-dhana hari-nama-sahkirtana: "Hare Krsna comes from Krsnaloka." This means it is a transcendental, not a material, sound or word. The creation comes from the word of God. For example, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada has started what is now a very large spiritual movement. In the beginning of the movement there were no buildings and students; he came to this country without money, only with the word. But by preaching the transcendental word, all of ISKCON has become manifested. That's an example of the creative power of the word. The transcendental word of God, existing before the creation, is eternal, above the material creation-and it is the cause of the whole creation. Therefore by transcendental sound we are chanting Hare Krsna and becoming God conscious.