KṚṢṆA BOOK-Introduction [From undated, typed documents]

Preface

Nibrtta-tarsair upagiya manad

Bhavousadhi satramano' bhiramat

Kauttama sloka gunanuvadat

Puman virajyeta vina pasughnat

When someone sees our cover of the book like Krsna in these countries, they ask immediately, "WHO IS KRSNA? Who is the girl with Krsna?" etc.

The immediate answer is that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How is that? Because He confirms to the exact details of the Supreme Being Godhead. In other words, Krsna is Godhead because He is all-attractive, and without being all-attractive there is no meaning of Godhead. How one becomes all-attractive? First of all because of one's great riches. If one is very wealthy, he becomes attractive to the people in general. Similarly if someone is very powerful, he also becomes attractive. If someone is very famous, he also becomes attractive. So if someone is very beautiful, or wise, or unattached to all kinds of possessions, he also becomes attractive. So, by our practical experience, we can know that one is attractive only by his 1. wealth, 2. power, 3. reputation, 4. beauty, 5. wisdom, and 6. renunciation. These are called six opulences, and one who is in possession of all these six opulences at once and unlimitedly, He is understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This understanding of the quality of Godhead is vedic version given by Parasar Muni, a great authority.

We have seen many rich persons, many powerful persons, many famous persons, many beautiful persons, many learned and scholarly persons, and persons in the renounced order of life unattached to material possessions; but we have never seen any one person who is unlimitedly wealthy, powerful, famous, beautiful, wise, and unattached at the same time, like Krsna, in the history of the human kind. Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is an historical person because He appeared on this earth 5,000 years ago. He stayed on this earth for full 125 years and played exactly like a human being, but without any parallel. From the very moment of His appearance up to the last point of His disappearance, everything of His activities is unparalleled in the history of the world, and therefore anyone who knows what we mean by Godhead, will accept Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Godhead means that nobody is equal to Him and nobody is greater than Him. That is the import of "God is Great."

There are various classes of men in the world who speak of God in different ways, but according to Vedic literatures, and according to the great Acaryas, the authorized persons in the knowledge of God, of all ages, like Acarya Samkara, Ramanuja, Madhya, Visnusvami, Lord Caitanya, and all their followers by disciplic succession, unanimously agree to accept Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So far we, the followers of Vedic civilization, are concerned, we accept the history of the whole universe consisting of different planetary systems called by the names Svargalokas or the higher planetary systems, Martyalokas or the intermediary planetary system, and Patalalokas or the lower planetary system. Modern historians of the world cannot supply historical evidences beyond three thousand of years, and the anthropologists says that ten thousand years ago there was no human being as the result of gradual process of evolution. The Vedic historical evidences are the Puranas and Mahabarata, and from these books we get history of the human society extending over millions and billions of years.

For example we get the history of Krsna's appearances and disappearances for millions and billions of years ago. In the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita Krsna says to Arjuna that both Krsna and Arjuna had many births before, and all of them Krsna remembered but Arjuna did not. Here is the difference of knowledge of Krsna and that of Arjuna. Arjuna may be a great warrior, very cultured, and belonging to the Royal family of the Kuru dynasty, but after all he was an ordinary human being while Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead because of his vast extensive knowledge. As such there is the difference of memory which is part of knowledge.

Krsna's knowledge is so perfect that He remembers all incidences of His past appearances some millions and billions of years ago, but Arjuna being an ordinary human being his memory and knowledge is limited by the time and space. Krsna remembers His activities in His previous appearance when He instructed the lessons of the Bhagavad Gita some millions of years ago.

It is nowadays, a fasion of the atheistic class of men that they want to become God by following some mystic process. Generally the atheist claims to have become God by meditation of their own imagination. But Krsna is not that class of God by manufacturing of such mystic meditational process. He is Godhead without undergoing the severe processes of mystic yogic exercises, He is Godhead in any circumstances.

Just after his appearance within the prison bars of His maternal uncle Kamsa, where His father and mother were interned, He appeared as four-handed Visnu Narayana without' his mother's body, and then He turned Himself like a baby and dictated His father to carry Him to the house of Nanda Maharaj Yasoda. When He was just a small baby, He was attempted to be killed by the giant Putana, but Krsna sucked her breast along with her life. That is the difference between real Godhead and make up God in the mystic factory.

Krsna had no chance to practice the mystic process and still He manifested Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every step of his growth, from being a baby to childhood, from childhood to boyhood, from boyhood to youthhood, and so on. In this book KRSNA, all His activities as a human being are described, but at the same time He has maintained His stability as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As we have explained above that Krsna being all-attractive, one should concentrate one's propensity of being attracted by Krsna. In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that the individual person is the proprietor or master of his bodyly construction. But Krsna being the Super-soul present in everyone's heart, He is the Super-proprietor and Super-master of every individual body.

As such, if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Krsna only, then immediately the problems of universal love, unity, and tranquillity will be automatically performed as much as watering the root of the tree means watering the branches, twigs, leaves, and flowers of the tree., or supplying foodstuff to the stomach through the proper hole of the body, namely the mouth, satisfies all the different limbs and parts of the body.

To know this art means to become Krsna consciousness. We have inaugerated the Krsna consciousness movement for this purpose that every one can satisfy his propensity of love for others simply by reposing his love upon Krsna. The whole world is very much anxious to satisfy the dormant propensity of love for others, but invention of various methods like socialism, communism, altruism, humanitarianism, nationalism, and everything that we may manufacture for the peace and prosperity of the world, will all become useless and complete frustration because of our gross ignorance of the art of loving Krsna.

Generally people think that advancing the cause of moral principles and religious rites, the people will be happy. Another thinks that happiness may be achieved by economic development, and still another thinks that simply by sense gratification people will be happy. But the real fact is that people can only be happy by loving Krsna.

Krsna can reciprocate perfectly one's loving propensities saturated in different mellows. There are twelve different Rasas or mellows for reciprocating are porpensity of love for others. You can love Krsna as the Supreme unknown, you can love Krsna as the Supreme Master, the Supreme Friend, the Supreme child, or the Supreme Lover, primarily. You can love Krsna indirectly in seven different mellows which are apparently opposite to the five primary loving principles as above mentioned, but on the whole, if you can simply repose your dormant loving propensity upon Krsna, then your life becomes successful.

It is not a fiction, but it is a fact which we can realize by practical application in life and see the result by direct perception.

In the Bhagavad Gita, ninth chapter, this science of Krsna Consciousness is explained as the king of all knowledge, the king of all confidential things, the supreme science of transcendental realisation, but at the same time we can directly perceive the result of this Krsna consciousness science although it is very easy to practice and it is simply pleasure to act in Krsna consciousness. And at last whatever percentage of Krsna consciousness you can perform, it becomes an eternal asset of your life, imperishable in all circumstances.

It is now practically experimented how the modern confused and frustrated younger generation of the Western countries practically feeling the result of reposing one's loving propensity upon Krishna only.

It is said that you might have executed severe type of austerities, penances and sacrifices in your life, but if you have failed to awaken your dormant loving propensity for Krsna, then all such activities are calculated to have no value. On the other hand, if you have awakened your dormant loving propensity for Krsna, then all such activities are calculated to have no value. On the other hand, if you have awakened your dormant loving propensity for Krsna, then what is the use of such execution of austerities and penances unnecessary as labor of love.

The Krsna consciousness movement is the unique gift of Lord Caitanya to the fallen souls of this age in a very simple method which has practically been experimented during the last four years in the western countries and there is no doubt about it how this movement can satisfy the dormant loving propensities of human kind.

This book Krsna is another presentation to help the Krsna Consciousness Movement in the western world. This transcendental literature is published in two parts with profuse illustrations in colorful pictures. People love to read various kinds of stories and fictions to enjoy the waste of time and energy. The propensity for reading different kinds of literature can be utilized by reposing it upon Krsna, but the result is imperishable satisfaction of the souls both individually and collectively.

It is said in the Bhagavad Gita that a little execution of this Krsna Consciousness service can save all from the greatest danger. We can cite hundreds of thousands of such incidences as to how we have escaped from the greatest danger of life even by slight advancement of Krsna consciousness life.

We therefore request everyone to take advantage of this great transcendental literature and all will find it practically how even by reading one page to another, one accumulates immense treasure of knowledge in art, science, literature, philosophy and religion and ultimately love of Godhead simply by reading this one book, 'Krsna'.

[The following is handwritten:]

My thankful acknowledgement is due to Sriman George Harrison of the Beatles fame for his liberal contribution of $19,000 (nineteen thousand) to meet the entire cost of printing the book KRSNA Part one. May Krsna enrich this nice boy by more advancement in KRSNA consciousness.

And at last my ever willing blessings are bestowed upon Sriman Syamasunder Dasadhikary for strenuous endeavour for publishing the book and upon Sriman Hayagriva Dasadhikary, Sriman Satsvarupa Das Adhikary, Srimati Devahuti Devi, Srimati Jadurani Dasi, Sriman Muralidhar Brahmachary, Sriman Bharadvaj Das Adhikary & Sriman Pradyumna Das Adhikary for their hard labor in different ways to see the publication a great success.

Hare Krsna.

A.C.B.

Advent Day of

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati

L.A. ISKCON H.Q

3764 Watseka Avenue

February 26th, 1970

(Insert following verse to head Preface, page 1)

Nibrtta tarsai rupagiya manad

Bhavousadhi sotramanobhiramat

Kauuttama slokagunanuvadat

Puman virajjeta vina pasughnat. (pp )

Preface

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(addend the following acknowledgements to conclude the preface on page four)

My thankful acknowledgement is due to Sriman George Harrison of the Beatles fame for his liberal contribution of $19,000 (nineteen thousand) to meet the entire cost of printing the book KRSNA Part one. May KRSNA enrich this nice boy more advanced in KRSNA consciousness.

And at last my ever-willing blessings are bestowed upon Sriman Syamasunder Das Adhikary, Brahmananda Brahmachary, Sriman Hayagriva Das Adhikary, Sriman Satsvarupa Das Adhikary, Srimati Devahuti Devi, Srimati Jadurani Dasi, Sriman Muralidhar Das Brahmachary, Sriman Bharadraj Das Adhikary, and Pradyumna Das Adhikary etc for their hard labor in different ways to see the publication a great success.

Hare Krsna.

A.C.B.

Advent Day of Srila

Bhakti Siddhanta Saresvati

L.A. ISKCON H.Q.

3764 Watseka Avenue

February 26th, 1970