One of the most active sects currently operating in Russia is the Society for Krishna Consciousness. Its intrusive traders have become a common sight on the streets, its radio broadcasts are heard on the airwaves, its commercials are shown on television, its leaders sit in various public and state committees, actively lobbying the interests of the “Society”. One of the USC structures, “Food of Life,” even received state funds for the distribution of food sacrificed to idols.

At the same time, USC does not tolerate criticism at all, reacting painfully to any less than 100% positive statement addressed to it. One of the favorite techniques of domestic Hare Krishnas is to call upon Hinduism and the entire Indian people to their aid. As soon as a newspaper publishes an article, say, about the dubious methods of siphoning money from the population by members of the USC, the editor immediately receives an angry rebuke: all Hare Krishna Vaishnava believers belong to the ancient Vedic tradition together with the 500-600-800-(options are possible)-million army of Hinduism, the entire Indian people were insulted by the article and the future of Indian-Russian relations is now jeopardized. Then a second letter is sent to the same address, with approximately the same content, but written by some “insider” Hindu who deals with public relations for USC, and after that a stream of indignation flows from ordinary Hare Krishnas.

The technique is proven; Often sectarians manage to intimidate the editors, and they no longer publish critical materials about them. Thus, it is very beneficial for Hare Krishnas to present themselves “to outsiders” as a traditional Indian religion.

Here, for example, are lines from a letter addressed by the leadership of the USC to Patriarch Alexy II. Pay attention to the unacceptable tone with which Vaidyanath Das, a young Muscovite who has adopted an Indian name and title, and the president of the center of the Societies for Krishna Consciousness in Russia, addresses the first hierarch of our Church:

“There is reason to believe that a significant - if not key role in<…>processes of escalating tensions that assumed the scale of a social disaster and entailed human casualties among those very Russians for whom Your Holiness wishes peace, the “Definition of pseudo-Christian sects, neo-paganism and occultism” given by the Council of Bishops in 1994 played a role. “Definition ...”, according to in essence, declared war on the organizations listed in it. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, the Society for Krishna Consciousness (OSK), which represents the ancient monotheistic tradition of bhakti - love of God, was included in their number. The text of the “Definition...” is so saturated with a negative emotional charge that even the peacemaking appeal with which it ends, apparently, is not capable of having a tangible impact<…>

Without contesting the right Orthodox Church evaluate religious phenomena based on our own canonical principles, we nevertheless believe that the above assessments betray bias or superficial familiarity, in many cases do not correspond to the truth, violate ethical standards and the laws of our country, and sometimes even lead to bloodshed. Undoubtedly, this damages the reputation and authority of the Church, which “serves the Truth of God and strives to become a reconciling and unifying force.”

We believe that many of the facts stated were not known to Your Holiness. We admit that the Council of Bishops did not have the opportunity to carefully study the text of the “Definition...” before its adoption<…>

Thus<…>We ask Your Holiness to reconsider the current attitude of the Orthodox Church towards the Krishna-bhakti movement<…>and take the measures necessary to eliminate misunderstandings that give rise to senseless tension in this area of ​​religious life in Russia...”

So, the general direction of the methods of pressure exerted by the USC is quite clearly outlined in this letter; However, in the case of our Church, all the Hare Krishna menacing rhetoric, as expected, turned out to be a blank shot.

For a combination of reasons, OSC cannot be classified as classical traditional Hinduism. Probably the most decisive argument is the words of the founder of the Bhaktivedanta sect, Swami Prabhupada, himself, said in a moment of frankness:

“Trying to fit the Krishna consciousness movement into the appropriate historical and cultural context, many people identify it with Hinduism. But this is a misconception<…>There is a misconception that the Krishna consciousness movement is a Hindu religion<…>Sometimes Indians, both inside and outside India, think that we preach the Hindu religion, but this is not so<…>The Krishna consciousness movement has nothing to do with Hinduism or any other religious system<…>People should understand that the Krishna consciousness movement is not preaching the so-called Hindu religion.”

This statement finally dots the i's. Following the unequivocal words of the infallible divine guru and founder, any claim by the Hare Krishnas that they belong to Hinduism is invalid.

But if not Hinduism, then what? The Krishna consciousness movement is often called neo-Hinduism; It would be more accurate to call it a pseudo-Hindu syncretic religious movement of theosophical persuasion, combining elements of various religions, which is typical of the neo-pagan New Age movement. I will try to prove this statement using the example of the use of Christian images by USC ideologists.

Not a single Hare Krishna can talk about his faith without the constant use of Christian images and concepts, which irrefutably proves the independence and secondary nature of the Hare Krishna ideology: an authentic religious system is capable of speaking about itself in its own terms. The same cannot be said about Krishnaism. And this is no coincidence: to create the ideology of his sect, designed for preaching in the Christian world (Hinduism, in principle, does not accept proselytism), Prabhupada widely used images and concepts of Christianity. It goes without saying that he radically distorted them, but this only confirms the secondary nature of the ideology he created.

As an example, let us briefly consider Prabhupada’s teaching on man’s relationship with God. He teaches that a person is his soul (spiritual body), while physical bodies have no meaning for our personality. This view is typical of Eastern religion. But Prabhupada goes further; according to his teachings, our spiritual bodies come from Krishna and are related to him like children to their father. This idea can no longer be found in classical Eastern religions; it is an obvious borrowing from Christianity.

But, formulating an idea that is new to Hinduism and familiar to potential Western adherents, Prabhupada declares that our relationship with Krishna should not forever remain that of father and son. After all, a son can only beg for handouts from his father, and this is humiliating. This original relationship between son and father must be changed to an erotic relationship; loving Krishna more than we love father, mother or children; desire him as a mistress desires intimacy with her lover. We should strive to forget everything in the arms of Krishna. Only in this way can we achieve salvation and receive eternal pleasure from the caresses of Krishna, whose wife we ​​can become forever.

So, having borrowed a Christian idea to attract adherents, Prabhupada then abandoned it. In the same way, Satanists take the Lord’s Prayer to read it backwards, or steal a crucifix from a temple and then hang it upside down.

The eclecticism of the USC's beliefs and worldview is illustrated by the article by Jayadvaita Das, disseminated by Russian Hare Krishnas, “Are Hare Krishna Devotees Idol Worshipers?” with the subtitle “Senior members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness try to resolve this issue by explaining the identity of the Lord and His Deity”, that is, the dressed, washed, anointed and fed statues .

The author of the article defines idolatry as “worship of an imaginary form of the Lord,” while “The Supreme Lord, both in the Bible and in other scriptures, instructs us not to imprint the fruits of our imagination in wood or stone, thereby expressing respect for our misconceptions." For example, the Jews worshiped an idol - a golden calf - at Sinai.

What follows is an interesting logical twist. God is not impersonal! - Hare Krishnas exclaim with aplomb. But if He is a Person, then He has “a name, form and other properties inherent in a person.” To deny this is “signs of a limited and not entirely sane mind.”

“If God is the Supreme Personality, the Supreme Father, He must have all the qualities of a personality. Otherwise, why then do these qualities appear in his sons?<…>So if God has a personal form, what is it?<…>If we want to know about the personal attributes of God, we must turn directly to Himself, that is, to the revealed scriptures. We can also learn about Him from a self-realized saintly person or spiritual master. The main characteristic of such holy teachers as Jesus Christ is that they always speak based on the Holy Scriptures and refer to the Scriptures to support their words. They never come up with anything new.

Although Western scriptures always indicate that God is a person, they describe His form, qualities and kingdom very briefly. If we want to know more detailed information about God, we must refer to the Vedic scriptures of the Krishna Consciousness movement (these scriptures have nothing to do with the Vedas . - A.D.). Books such as Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and other scientific (! - A.D.) works were first compiled and written down about five thousand years ago (“Bhagavad-Gita” was written in the 2nd–3rd centuries AD, and “Bhagavata-Purana”, as it is more correct to call the book “Srimad-Bhagavatam”, - in the IV–VI centuries . - A.D.).

The Krishna consciousness movement appeals to all people: if you really want to understand God in His full glory as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then you must come to these scriptures, because nowhere else you will find such detailed description His name, form, qualities, deeds and abode<…>His transcendental image is the most attractive in all three worlds - His eyes are like lotus petals, and His body is the color of a thundercloud (remember that in ancient icons demons were depicted as blue-black - A.D.). He is so attractive that His beauty surpasses thousands of Cupids (! - A.D.) <…>

It should be noted that this work is not a figment of the imagination, like the creations of poets and artists. Many Vedic literatures contain this all-encompassing description of God. The Vedas also give us the name of the Lord - Krishna, and describe in detail His qualities, pastimes, environment and abode. And, most importantly for the solution of the question of idolatry, they tell about His form. Deities of Krishna located<…>in Krishna consciousness temples, not a figment of imagination. They were made in strict accordance with the instructions of the Vedas. Deities are not idols. When we look at the Deity of Krishna, what we see is actually the form of the Lord<…>[Hence] the fictitious form of God is nothing more than an idol, while the authoritative form of the Lord is the Lord Himself, who, in His transcendental form of the Deities, accepts our service and reveals Himself more and more to us...”

The above construction exactly follows the truly ancient logical law, called the vicious circle, when the argument in the proof is what is being proven.

The Hare Krishna article, which initially spoke of the “divine teacher Jesus Christ” who was even the “son of God,” ends with a stern warning for all of us:

“Therefore, for one who rejects the conclusion of the Vedic Scriptures and regards the Deities as a wooden idol, for him Krishna will forever remain an idol. The scriptures say that such a person is contaminated with demonic consciousness.”

This example clearly shows the methodology of the use of Christian images by the “Society for Krishna Consciousness”: starting with a reference to the Bible, they end with the fact that any Christian who perceives the Bible as the Word of God is “defiled by demonic consciousness.”

In other statements of the “Society for Krishna Consciousness” related to Christ and Christianity, the algorithm shown above is repeated. Here is a dialogue between Prabhupada and a certain “Father Emmanuel Jungclaussen, a Benedictine monk of the Nideralich Monastery,” published in the book “The Science of Self-Consciousness” (Bhaktivedanda Book Trust. B/m, 1991), p. 145–153.

“Srila Prabhupada: What does the word “Christ” mean?

Father Emmanuel: "Christ" comes from Greek word"Christos" meaning "anointed one".

ShP: "Christos" is the Greek version of the word "Krishna"<…>When Jesus said: “Hallowed be our Father who art in heaven your name“, - by the name of God he meant “Krishta” or “Krishna”<…>"Christ" is a variant pronunciation of the name "Krishta", and "Krishta" is a variant pronunciation of the name "Krishna", the name of God<…>Whether you call God "Christ", "Krishta", or "Krishna", ultimately you are addressing the same Supreme Personality of Godhead."<…>In fact, there is no difference - Krishna or Christ, the name is the same...”

This point from Prabhupada is very important: after all, to our assertion that an authentic religious tradition defines itself in its own categories, it could be objected that the early Christians used the terms and concepts of Greek philosophy to preach. However, none of them could even imagine that Christ and Zeus, or, say, Christ and Baal, are one and the same; such statements came only from false teachers, the creators of Gnostic sects.

Let's see how Prabhupada develops his thought:

"Practice bhakti yoga(loving service to God) implies that a person frees himself from all kinds of external self-identifications such as “Hindu”, “Muslim”, “Christian” and the like and simply serves God. We have created Christian, Hindu and Muslim religions, but when we come to a religion without external definitions, in which we consider ourselves neither Hindus, nor Christians, nor Muslims, then we can talk about pure religion, bhakti”.

It is characteristic that Prabhupada declares the need to abandon all existing religions and move to a new syncretic world religion. Thus, USC is on a par with Theosophy, Roerich’s Agni Yoga and other neo-pagan cults of the New Age movement, the “new era”.

When a Catholic monk quite reasonably asks why Prabhupada came to preach in Western Christian countries, an interesting logical turn appears in Prabhupada's reasoning.

“ShP: The problem is that Christians do not follow God's commandments. Do you agree?
OE: Yes, to a large extent you are right.

ShP: What then is the meaning of the love of God that Christians preach? If you violate God's will, where is your love? That's why we came to teach people what it means to love God: if you love Him, you cannot disobey His will. If you do not obey Him, then you have no true love <…>Therefore, the Krishna consciousness movement is necessary to teach people how to revive their forgotten love for Godhead. Not only Christians are to blame, but also Hindus and Muslims and everyone else. They have labeled themselves as Christian, Hindu, Muslim, but they do not obey God.”

Prabhupada goes on to explain that Christians are primarily guilty of violating “the first (!) commandment of Christ,” “thou shalt not kill,” by running slaughterhouses and killing animals for food. No objections that this Moiseeva the commandment applied to people, and not to animals, does not apply to the main ideologist of Krishnaism, and he repeats this again and again with enviable persistence. This is how the “Society for Krishna Consciousness”, with its history of broken families, crippled destinies, extortion, smuggling, drug and arms trafficking, violence, child molestation and murder, undertook to teach the world the love of God.

And at the conclusion of the dialogue, Prabhupada demands:

“If you want to cooperate with us, go to churches and chant “Christ”, “Krishta”, or “Krishna”<…>We speak to you as a representative christian church. Instead of keeping churches closed, why don't you give them to us? We would constantly chant the holy name of God there.”

So, Prabhupada claims that Christ and Krishna are one and the same, only Krishnaism is better (remember the capacious term introduced by Chesterton chrislam), since he fulfills the commandments of Christ better. But does Prabhupada really think that Christ and Krishna are identical? We will find the answer in the article “Jesus Christ was a Guru,” placed immediately after the above dialogue (pp. 154–155). Prabhupada is ready to recognize Christ as a “representative of God” and a “spiritual teacher - guru,” that is, to place him on the same level as himself. And in a dialogue with John Lennon, Prabhupada talks about whether repeating the names of Jesus Christ and Krishna is really equivalent:

“John Lennon: I want to ask, will repeating “Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus” have any effect?

Prabhupada: The Lord Jesus says that he is the son of God. He is not God, but His son. In this sense there is no difference between Krishna consciousness and Christianity. There can be no quarrel between God and the son of God. Jesus said, “Love God,” and Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, says, “Love Me.” It is the same. If you say: “Love me,” and your wife says: “Love my husband,” there will be no difference in your words” (Ibid., p. 194; above he said that it makes no difference whose name is chanted, Christ or Krishna - A. D.).

But the statements of Prabhupada’s disciple, hiding behind the pseudonym Satyaraja Das, author of the brochure “Is it written in the Bible?” (translated from English; Russian edition of “Yamuna Press Company”. B/m, 1992). The author’s task, formulated by him at the beginning of the brochure, is identical to that declared by Blavatsky, the Roerichs, Alice Bailey and other prophets and apostles of the New Age:

“To show the harmony that exists between the Bible and the more ancient Vedic texts of India (read Prabhupada’s work “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.” - A.D.). The essence of the message of the Bible and the Vedas is the same<…>This message was revealed to different people according to time, place and circumstances; Therefore, details may vary. But the essence remains the same - it is simply conveyed in accordance with the abilities of the audience. For example<…>in elementary mathematics one is taught that larger numbers cannot be subtracted from smaller ones<…>However, in high school we learn that subtracting larger numbers from smaller ones is possible: the result is negative numbers (the reader is not yet told whether the Bible is “arithmetic” . - A.D.). Likewise, prophets and sages reveal religious truths selectively for the benefit and gradual enlightenment of their listeners. In certain small details one prophet may condemn an ​​activity while another, following a different tradition, encourages it. So people different cultures can progress gradually according to their capabilities. Revelation comes gradually. And the highest revelation is the understanding that religion is one, for God is one” (p. 3).

“The Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest existing Greek manuscript of the New Testament, is now in the British Museum. Interestingly, this manuscript was written in 331 after the birth of Christ - six years after the Council of Nicaea. No manuscripts written before this council have survived. Why is this interesting? Because history shows: at that cathedral everything was redone - just like at all subsequent ones (? - A.D.). Nobody knows what Christianity was like before Ecumenical Council (! - A. D.). And hardly anyone will know, because Christian tradition did not survive, having undergone changes and decline” (p. 37).

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKC) represents the ancient Vedic monotheistic religious tradition of Vaishnavism, the core of Hinduism, whose roots go back more than 5,000 years. Today there are more than seven hundred million followers of the Vedas in the world. The Vedas are a universal treasury of knowledge, proven in practice over thousands of years. The society brings together followers of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who satisfy their religious needs to practice and spread Krishna consciousness based on the ancient Vedic Vaishnava culture. A representative of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic sequence, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded ISKCON to give everyone an opportunity to become familiar with the universal principles of God realization as laid down in the Vedic literature.

ACTIVITIES
Srila Prabhupada indicated seven areas of activity for the Society he organized.
a) systematically disseminate spiritual knowledge throughout human society and teach people the methods of practicing spiritual life in order to restore the harmony of the value system of life and achieve true unity and peace throughout the world;

b) teach Krishna consciousness as taught in the traditional scriptures Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam;

c) to bring the members of the Society closer together and bring them closer to Krishna, the highest being, in order to develop in all members of the Society individually and all humanity in general the awareness that every living being is by nature an inseparable particle of God (Krishna);

d) preach the movement of sankirtana, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, according to the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;

e) to build a spiritual city dedicated to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, at the site of the transcendental activities of Sri Krishna, for the benefit of the members of the Society and all people;

f) to unite the members of the Society to teach them a simpler and more natural way of life;
f) print and distribute newspapers, magazines, books and other printed materials to fulfill the above tasks.

MOSCOW TODAY:
Now ISKCON owns more than 500 churches, 40 agricultural communities and 33 higher and secondary educational institutions in the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia, India, Russia - more than 70 countries. Most of ISKCON members are family people. Some devote all their time to activities in the spiritual community, others work in different places- for example, doctors, engineers, etc. The number of people who devote part of their time to spiritual practice, visiting church on Sundays, during free time from work and social and family affairs, is growing rapidly. Each person personally decides how and how much time he will devote to ISKCON activities.

MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE:
In 1970, Srila Prabhupada, in order to devote more time to translation scriptures, created the ISKCON Governing Body Commission, hereafter referred to as the GBC, an international administrative body that now has more than 60 members. Each GBC Representative is responsible for maintaining the high spiritual standard of ISKCON in a particular geographic region, or for a particular area of ​​ISKCON activity (education, liturgy, etc.). GBC decisions are made by voting. All ISKCON centers are separately registered religious communities, led by a community council and a president. The exchange of ideas in regional governance takes place at annual meetings of community presidents. If any GBC representative violates GBC regulations or ISKCON's strict moral standards, he will be expelled from the GBC after a vote.

SPIRITUAL GUIDES:
Currently, the chain of disciplic succession of Brahma-Gaudia-Madhva Vaishnavas is continued by the disciples of Srila Prabhupada. They present the Vedic teachings as delivered by Srila Prabhupada. This gives them the right to be spiritual teachers themselves and accept students, revealing to them knowledge that is passed on through the chain of disciplic succession. Today there are more than 50 such teachers in ISKCON. The future student can choose the spiritual teacher who, in his opinion, will be the best spiritual mentor. The authority of the spiritual master is not autocratic; he himself must act in accordance with the injunctions of the scriptures. The spiritual master is neither considered God nor the messiah, but only a servant of God. He is an example of a saintly personality whom a disciple can follow while improving in spiritual life. If the moral conduct or teaching of the spiritual master is not in accordance with the principles of the scriptures, then the disciple should give up such a teacher. This order excludes the possibility of using spiritual authority for selfish purposes.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness was founded in 1966 in New York by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In 1970, Srila Prabhupada created the Governing Council of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Governal Body Commission), which included twelve of his senior disciples. Currently, this body has more than forty members, each of whom is responsible for one of the areas of activity, for example, education, public relations, etc., and also leads preaching in one of the regions of the world. The members of the council are the most experienced Vaishnavas with spiritual authority, many of them are gurus and have disciples. Not long ago, in support of the core Governing Council, a subsidiary body was created, which included leaders of local Vaishnava organizations. All council decisions are made collectively and then published. This body meets only once a year (shortly before the Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur). Between meetings, the Society for Krishna Consciousness is governed by an Executive Committee headed by a Chairman.

The main link of the organizational structure “on the ground” is the community (temple) of Krishna consciousness. The community is registered separately and has its own leadership, which consists of the President, the Community Council and the Audit Commission. The community resolves almost all its issues independently, without resorting to the help of higher authorities. All communities are obliged to financially support themselves (as Srila Prabhupada wanted), therefore centralized material assistance to any community can be provided only in special cases, and “infusions” from abroad, contrary to popular belief, are not practiced at all.

To make decisions on issues that affect the interests of more than one community, there is a Regional Council in each large region. In addition to the Regional Councils, a National Council has been created in Russia, which includes heads of regions, temples and other Vaishnava organizations. In the intervals between meetings of the National Council, the Russian movement is led by the Center for Krishna Consciousness Societies in Russia.

The Russian Society for Krishna Consciousness covers a total of more than a hundred communities and other organizations in several dozen cities. The largest temples of Krishna consciousness are located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar and Samara.

EDUCATION:
The activities of participants in the Krishna consciousness movement cover many areas. However, today the main task of the movement is considered to be increasing the level of education of its participants. It must be said that this area of ​​activity did not immediately receive a priority role in the movement, although Srila Prabhupada spoke about the importance of education back in the early 70s.

Despite the fact that Vaishnavas are critical of many provisions modern science as well as some modern forms of education, the Krishna consciousness movement encourages the pursuit of higher secular education. If, for example, a young man who wishes to live in a temple in order to study traditional religious disciplines is currently a university student, then he is usually recommended to first complete his secular education and then go to live in the temple.

Traditional Vaishnava education involves passing through four stages of education, after each of which it is necessary to pass an exam. If the exam is passed successfully, the student receives the title - bhakti-shastri, bhakti-vaibhava, bhakti-vedanta and bhakti-sarvabhauma. All Vaisnavas who have diksa are expected to have at least the title of bhakti-sastri, which is roughly equivalent to a bachelor's degree. To pass the fourth stage exam, a thorough knowledge of Vaishnava texts, traditions, as well as deep philosophical and theological knowledge is required. At present, however, this system, especially in the Russian movement, is just being introduced, although there are already many of its participants who have passed the first stage exams.

In addition to the main Vaishnava course, individual courses in various areas of traditional knowledge, as well as in secular disciplines, for example, the study of languages, management, etc., are common in temples.

For children on the move, special general education theological schools are created - gurukuls, or, as they are also called, Vedic gymnasiums. The main goal of the educational process in gurukuls is the comprehensive spiritual and moral education of the individual. Several such educational institutions have been registered in Russia over the past few years, however, due to economic crisis and some internal problems, some of them are currently not functioning. In places where there are no gurukuls, children's Sunday schools are being established.

SERMON:
There is an opinion that missionary activity and preaching in general are not characteristic of Hinduism, since in order to be a Hindu, one must not be born in an Indian family. However, this is not true. It is known that all the major religious figures of India - Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva and others, were not only philosophers and teachers, but also preachers of their teachings, and very active ones. This especially applies to Vaishnava teachers, since the very idea of ​​bhakti is inextricably linked with the idea of ​​preaching. For example, it is said about Ramanuja that, having received from his guru a “secret” mantra, which was an invocation of the name of Vishnu, he immediately climbed onto the roof of the temple and, in violation of the vow given to the teacher, began to proclaim this mantra to everyone and everyone, because considered that the name of God, in which is salvation for man, should be given to everyone without exception (Yamunacharya M. Ramanuja's Teachings in his own words. Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. 1988, p. 18-20). Sri Chaitanya, who was also the greatest preacher, prophesied that the name of God would be chanted in every city and village of the world. In the Bhagavata-mahatmya, one of the traditional Vaishnava texts, the words spoken by the personification of bhakti are quoted: “I will go beyond this country and go to other countries” (idam sthanam prityajya videsam gamyate maya) (Shrivatsa Gosvami. Bhakti Abroad: Caitanya `s Children in America // Steven J. Gelberg, ed. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna New York, Grove Press, 1983, p.244). Desiring to fulfill Sri Chaitanya's prophecy, Srila Prabhupada considered preaching His teachings one of the main tasks of the movement he created. At the same time, however, he understood preaching not as a mandatory “conversion to one’s faith,” but rather as the spiritual enlightenment of people, therefore, when meeting with followers of other religions, Srila Prabhupada did not force them to accept the teachings of the Vaishnavas, but, on the contrary, urged them to better understand the teachings of their own tradition .

The main type of sermon, traditional and very characteristic of Vaishnavas, is the public singing of the names of God. To this end, members of the movement, just as Sri Chaitanya once did, regularly take to the streets of cities and conduct traditional sankirtana. In addition, Vaishnavas distribute spiritual literature, mainly books written by Srila Prabhupada or translated by him from Sanskrit. Preaching activities also include various spiritual and educational programs, holidays and festivals, as well as the promotion of vegetarianism and a healthy lifestyle.

SOCIAL SERVICE:
The main charitable program of the movement is “Hare Krishna - Food of Life”, operating in almost all countries of the world and in most cities in Russia and the CIS. The goal of the program is to provide nutritious hot food to all those in need, as well as provide spiritual and psychological assistance to the disadvantaged, especially in places of military conflicts and natural Disasters.

In Russia, Vaishnavas have been carrying out this kind of activity since 1988, when a group of volunteers from different cities Soviet Union went to Armenia to help earthquake victims. The food points opened by Vaishnavas in Kirovakan, Leninakan and Spitak then existed for several months. Then there were the first “hot spots” - Sukhumi and Gudauta. In Sukhumi, despite the lack of electricity and shelling, regular food was provided to 1,800 residents, which actually saved them from starvation.

During the war in Chechnya, Food for Life volunteers managed to open food centers in Grozny literally immediately after its liberation Russian Army. Food delivery was organized to the most affected areas of the city, as well as to several schools and the local Home for the Invalids. Free canteens were opened for refugees in Nazran, Gudermes and Khasavyurt.

“Food of Life” is supported by donations from citizens and organizations. In some cases, the program is carried out with the assistance of branches of the International Red Cross and UNICEF, as was the case in Sukhumi, as well as in Belgrade and Soweto (South Africa). “Food of Life” has been repeatedly highly appreciated by Russian government and public figures (Ivanenko S.I., ed. “Hare Krishna - Food of Life”: responses from hot spots // Documents testify // Hare Krishnas in Russia. Truth and Fiction. M., Philosophical Book, 1998 p.214-221).

In addition to distributing food, the Society for Krishna Consciousness holds charitable events under the general title “Give these people a chance” in places of deprivation of liberty - pre-trial detention centers and technical correction facilities (Butyrskaya prison in Moscow, “Crosses” in St. Petersburg, pre-trial detention centers and colonies of Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Severodvinsk, Novgorod and other cities), as well as the “Return to Life” rehabilitation program for drug addicts.

Other activities. The leadership of the Krishna Consciousness Society gives great importance publishing activities. The international publishing house Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT), founded by Srila Prabhupada, publishes books in more than 100 languages. The Russian branch of VVT is working to publish books in the languages ​​of the peoples of Russia and the CIS - in 17 languages ​​in total. Vaishnava magazines are also published in Moscow - “Vaishnavism: Open Forum”, “Gauranga”, etc.

Participants in the movement are engaged in the restoration of architectural monuments in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, as well as the construction of new temples and cultural centers. In 1998, a temple of the Society for Krishna Consciousness called “Glory of India” was inaugurated in Delhi in the presence of the Prime Minister. A spiritual city is being built in Mayapur (300 km north of Calcutta). Recently it was laid there new temple, which will become the largest religious building in India.

In addition, Vaishnavas are engaged in scientific research work (Bhaktivedanta Institute), searching and restoring ancient manuscripts, creating and supporting agricultural communities, participating in scientific conferences, holding international festivals and exhibitions, meeting with scientists and cultural figures, as well as with representatives of other religious faiths .

INTERRELIGIOUS COMMUNICATION:
Vaishnavas evaluate any manifestation of religiosity in accordance with the extent to which it reflects the universal idea of ​​bhakti. Bhaktivinoda Thakura believed that in the temple of any other religion the same God is worshiped, although He is called by a different name. According to Srila Prabhupada, the true Vaisnava was St. Francis of Asiz.

Each creed is given by God in accordance with the time, country and the degree of readiness of people to perceive the eternal principles of religion, independent of its temporary forms. Therefore, Vaishnavas do not reject other faiths, do not engage in proselytism, and avoid any disputes with believers of other faiths. Participants in the Krishna consciousness movement are always ready to contact everyone, whether believers or non-believers, in order to discuss and decide critical issues modernity - how to prevent religious and national strife, how to eliminate the consequences of military conflicts and natural disasters, how to solve the problem of children and juvenile delinquency and drug addiction, etc. Vaishnavas willingly take part in any form of interfaith dialogue. To do this, they organize round tables, conferences, interfaith meetings themselves, and also take part in similar events organized by others.

The initial preaching of Krishnaism in the West was carried out by Premananda Bharati (1857-1914), who arrived in New York in 1902, where for the next five years he published a periodical and founded a small organization. In 1904, he published a book in New York entitled Sri Krishna: The Lord of Love, which was familiar to Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi.

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON, ISKCON, ISKCON) is an international neo-Hindu religious organization of the Vaishnava persuasion, founded by the Bengali monk Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) in 1966 in New York. His preaching is a huge success, Prabhupada opens many temples and ashrams - commune settlements, where the entire way of life is subordinated to the new cult. The teaching is set out in the book “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is”, “Srimad Bhagavatam” and a number of other works.

Vaishnavism (Vishnavism) is one of the two main branches of Hinduism along with Shaivism. Although both of these traditions originated from the same root, each of them has its own idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat is, and, accordingly, its own object of worship. The main feature of Vaishnavism is the worship of Vishnu as the supreme personal God. Followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Bengal), unlike other related movements, recognize not Vishnu, but Krishna as the supreme hypostasis of God, considering Vishnu one of the incarnations of Krishna. Hare Krishnas often refer to Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a concept coined by Prabhupada in his books. Hare Krishnas revere Radha as the eternal beloved of Krishna, as his female hypostasis, and worship them as the divine couple Radha-Krishna - God in his male and female hypostases.

One of the important aspects of Vaishnava philosophy is the belief in the eternity of the soul and its eternal individuality: the soul, after achieving liberation, does not dissolve in the impersonal Brahman, as taught by the monistic schools of Hinduism, but returns to the spiritual world in the company of Radha, Krishna and their eternal companions.

According to Prabhupada's teachings, the only absolute god is Krishna, eternal and uncreated. Krishna resides in the transcendental world on the planet Krishnaloka, but at the same time, thanks to his energies, he is at every point of the universe. All other deities (both Vedic and other religions) are less perfect incarnations of Krishna. Jesus Christ is considered as one of the incarnations of Krishna.

Man is characterized by the dualism of soul and body. Having abused its freedom, the soul ends up in the material world, where it finds itself under the power of three states - ignorance, passion, goodness; forgetting about its divine essence, the soul falls into the power of karma - the cause-and-effect relationship. Liberation of the soul from the material world is possible only by developing Krishna Consciousness in oneself. To break the chain of endless reincarnations, you need to get rid of the material world and merge with Krishna.

The material world can become spiritual while retaining its material characteristics. Material assets are transformed into spiritual ones by using them in the service of Krishna, that is, by transferring most of their income to the Krishna Consciousness society.

The most perfect way to worship Krishna is to devote oneself to him, to live a life similar to a monastic life: long daily services, achieving religious ecstasy through many hours of meditation and collective chanting of mantras (“purification of the mind”) “Hare Krishna” (1728 times a day) accompanied by musical instruments and rhythmic dance movements (according to Hare Krishna theology, sound vibrations caused by the repetition of the names of God gradually awaken in a person pure God consciousness, or “Krishna consciousness” and help a person achieve the highest perfection of life - pure love for Krishna); vegetarianism, sexual abstinence. Every day, sacrifices are made to the image of Krishna: water, flowers and food, which the Hare Krishnas then eat, thus cleansing themselves of sins and uniting with Krishna.

Hare Krishnas usually wear traditional Indian clothing, and men shave their heads, leaving a braid at the back of the head, by which Krishna will lift them to the spiritual sky.

Krishnaism has no roots in traditional Indian religion and culture. The creed and religious practice are based on an arbitrary interpretation of Hinduism. One of the significant differences is the concern for collecting money for temples and ashrams; The purpose of Hare Krishna street processions is to raise money, which is not the case in Hinduism.

The asocial orientation of the Hare Krishna teachings is obvious from a number of Prabhupada’s statements: “In order to properly prepare for the next life, it is necessary to leave your so-called home” (Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 2, commentary on volume 16, chapter 1), “attachment to family before the very end of life is the very last degree of human degradation (Srimad Bhagavatam), “... the by-products of the body, namely children... A person who... considers the by-products of the body to be his relatives, and the land on which he was born worthy of worship,... should be considered similar donkey" (Bhagavad-Gita As It Is).

After Prabhupada's death in 1977, ISKCON went through a period of crisis and found itself at the center of a number of scandals that received widespread media coverage (mainly related to pedophilia and sexual perversion). In the United States and some other Western countries, there was a wave of criticism from the anti-cult movement. The "abuses" of some of the gurus who succeeded Prabhupada led to a crisis of power and reform of the guru institution; in the 1980s - 1990s. many Hare Krishnas left ISKCON. Most of them did not give up their faith in Prabhupada, but found a new environment for religious practice.

A significant increase in the number of ethnic Hindus in the organization's ranks had a strong influence on the change in ISKCON's religious culture and its mission. Over the past two decades, ISKCON has experienced its greatest growth and gained the largest following in India and Eastern European countries. Today, ISKCON is a “worldwide confederation” of more than 400 temples, 60 agricultural communities, 50 schools and 60 vegetarian restaurants.

ISKCON's activities in Russia began with Prabhupada's visit to the USSR in 1971 at the invitation of the Indian Embassy (which, given the then political situation in the country, seems more than ancient). Already at the end of the 1970s. The activities of Hare Krishnas in the USSR began to attract the attention of the KGB. In 1980, the then KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov wrote a report on the activities of the Krishna Consciousness Movement in the USSR and presented it to the CPSU Central Committee. The report described the International Society for Krishna Consciousness as the "most radical" of all mystical Eastern groups in the West, having made "efforts to spread its ideas throughout the Soviet Union" since the late 1970s. Andropov, in particular, argued: “The International Society for Krishna Consciousness” strives, by negating communist ideology and the socialist state, and fighting them, to lead its adherents away from participation in socio-political and labor activities towards mysticism. In 1981, the magazine Kommunist published a statement by the then deputy chairman of the KGB, Semyon Tsvigun: “there are three greatest threats to the Soviet way of life: Western culture, rock and roll and Hare Krishna.”

In the 1980s Soviet Hare Krishnas were subjected to repression, which was explained by the policy of state persecution of religion and believers in the USSR. After the complete acquittal of all Hare Krishnas in judicial procedure, in 1988, ISKCON was legalized, becoming the first new religious organization in the USSR to receive official registration. In the 1990s. In the Russian ISKCON, a “period of active preaching and a massive influx of believers” began, mainly due to the active work of the Hare Krishnas in distributing spiritual literature.

As one of the most prominent neo-Hindu factors in modern Western society, ISKCON has attracted considerable attention from Indologists, religious historians, sociologists and psychologists, who have given it both positive and negative assessments. At the same time, ISKCON has received accolades from the leaders of the Republic of India.

The Hare Krishna mission “Food of Life” is well known - helping the hungry. In Russia, Hare Krishnas have been carrying out this kind of activity since 1988, when a group of volunteers from different cities of the USSR provided food to victims of the earthquake in Armenia. In the 1990s. The Russian branch of the Food for Life mission distributed vegetarian food in hot spots former USSR(Abkhazia and Chechnya), as well as those affected by the earthquake in Neftegorsk. During the First Chechen war Hare Krishnas distributed approximately a million servings of hot meals in Chechnya. One of the Hare Krishna volunteers died in Grozny as a result of artillery shelling. The work of Food for Life volunteers in Chechnya received a positive assessment from The New York Times, which wrote that in Grozny “they have the same reputation as Mother Teresa in Calcutta: it is not difficult to find people who swear that Hare Krishnas are saints.”

However, in Russia, the mission “Food of Life” is criticized by religious leaders of Orthodoxy, Islam and Judaism. It has been suggested that the “sanctified” vegetarian food distributed by the Hare Krishnas, “prasada,” is food sacrificed to idols, which the Hare Krishnas treat people to in order to convert them to their faith.

In the definition of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (1994), ISKCON is cited as an example of “pseudo-religion.”

"International Society for Krishna Consciousness" (English abbreviation - ISKCON - International Society for Krishna Consciousness), uniting followers of Krishnaism (Vaishnavism), registered in 1966 by Bhaktivedanta Swami (1896-1977). In fact, ISKCON became the missionary successor of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, one of the four sampradayas, i.e. disciplic successions through which Vedic knowledge has been transmitted from time immemorial (there are also Sri Sampradaya, Kumara Sampradaya and Rudra Sampradaya). All these branches of Hinduism are called Vaishnava, since they are based on the worship of the Supreme divine personality Vishnu (Krishna).

The school of Vaishnavism called Gaudiya (from the ancient name of Bengal), to which Srila Prabhupada belonged, was founded in Bengal 500 years ago by Sri Chaitanya (1486-1524). This continuity is associated with the school of Madhva (1281-1360), as well as with the even more ancient school of Sri Vaishnavas Ramanuja (1017-1137).

Since the 70s. XX century thanks to the activities of A.Ch. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who actually for the first time in history managed to bring and widely disseminate the ancient science of bhakti-yoga (love of God) in Western countries, Vaishnavism is experiencing a revival both in India itself and beyond its borders. The founder-acharya of the Society for Krishna Consciousness, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is revered as a saint in India. The streets of major cities and various institutions are named after him, and in 2015, in Calcutta, on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, a unique sculptural composition was installed, consisting of two parts and symbolizing Prabhupada’s departure on the ship Jaladuta to America in 1965. The monument consists of two parts - the second part of the diptych will be installed in Boston on the Commonwealth Pier, the place where Srila Prabhupada first set foot on American soil.

ISKCON in RUSSIA

The Center for Krishna Consciousness Societies in Russia (TSOSKR) is the largest Russian Hindu organization, uniting (according to the Ministry of Justice as of January 1, 2016) 79 registered communities and over 400 small spiritual groups in more than 120 cities of the country with a total number of at least 30 thousand. followers and at least 150 thousand people interested in this philosophy and culture. The number of active followers reaches 11 thousand people.

The development of the tradition of Krishna consciousness in Russia began in 1971 after the arrival of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Moscow.

THE ESSENCE OF THE BELIEF

The essence of the Vaishnava belief is that we are all eternal souls, born in various material bodies, because we have forgotten about our higher spiritual nature. The goal is human life is to awaken within oneself love for God and turn to His devotional service.

ISKCON IN NUMBERS

Modern ISKCON includes:

602 spiritual centers around the world

65 agricultural farms and eco-villages

54 educational institutions, including primary schools, secondary schools and higher education institutions

110 vegetarian restaurants

75 thousand followers who have spiritual initiation (who have taken vows)

7 million followers visiting temples and spiritual centers

2 thousand small (home) groups of spiritual communication (bhaktirikshas), including about 30 thousand followers

516 million spiritual books published and distributed

3 billion portions of prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food) distributed worldwide

1 million 200 thousand daily servings of prasad for children as part of the Afternoon Tea and Annamrita programs charitable foundation ISKCON free food distribution

1 thousand street harinam every week

6 thousand Vaishnava festivals, such as Krishna Janmashtami, Ramnavami, Rathayatra, etc. in ISKCON temples and spiritual centers

210 thousand kilometers of padayatras (foot and other mobile groups of sankirtana (sermons), which visited 52 thousand cities, towns and villages in 110 countries of the world.

ISKCON'S 7 OBJECTIVES

Registering the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada defined his goals and objectives as follows:

1. Systematically disseminate spiritual knowledge among the masses and teach people methods of spiritual practice to restore the disturbed balance in the value system of society, ensure true unity of all people and establish peace throughout the world.

2. Preach the philosophy of Krishna consciousness as expounded in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

3. To bring members of society closer to each other and bring them closer to Krishna - the original Supreme Being, and thereby enable members of society and all people to realize that every soul is an integral part of God (Krishna).

4. To spread and encourage the sankirtana movement - congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, following the instructions of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

5. Build a city for the members of society and all people in one of the holy places where the transcendental pastimes of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, took place.

6. Unite members of society into a single family and teach them a simpler and more natural way of life.

7. To achieve the above objectives, publish and distribute periodicals, magazines and books.

The Bhagavad Gita is the central eighteen chapters of the Mahabharata, which describes the history of Greater India. And there, in the Bhagavad-gita, the whole basic philosophy of Krishna consciousness is explained.

"Bhagavad-gita" is called the primer of spiritual life, it is the very beginning of spiritual philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita was first narrated more than five thousand years ago on the battlefield. It was narrated by Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who came to exhibit His pastimes here on earth to His devotee Arjuna, who was confused and did not know what his duty was in this situation. The Bhagavad-gita discusses the most elementary philosophy, namely, the difference between matter and spirit. Matter is created from earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. These eight components represent the material world, and the material world itself moves and acts due to the presence and influence of the spirit. For example, the bodies we have are material. They are made of these eight basic elements, but inside the body there is a spiritual soul, which makes the body move, have consciousness, show signs of life. So the soul is within this body. Actually, "I", the living entity, is the spirit soul, "I" is not this body. "I" am the pure spiritual soul, and the body is just an instrument, a machine, which I use for a certain period of time. It's like a car. The car we drove here is now somewhere in the parking lot, and it will not move, will not show any signs of life until I, the driver, enter the car and start it. The car is completely dependent on me, the driver, without me, the driver, the car cannot somehow act or move. Car and driver go well together because the car will act as an extension of the body and is able to take me from one place to another very quickly. After all, if I had walked, it would have taken much longer. Obviously, of the two components: the car and the driver, the driver is much more important. Broken car can be replaced at any time, all you have to do is go to the store and buy another one, but if the driver crashes, it is impossible to replace it. It is impossible for any amount of money to bring back to life a driver who died as a result of a traffic accident.

You can invite another driver, but the previous driver has died and is no longer there. So, the driver of the car is the life force. He is very important. The car itself is a dead material element; it is not nearly as important. Similarly, I, the spirit soul, am inside my car, my body. The body is exactly like a machine; it will lead me to various places in order for me to fulfill my various desires. I am the spiritual soul, the driver of this body, I am the life of this body. And as soon as the spirit soul leaves the body, the body immediately becomes lifeless and dead. The moment when the spirit soul leaves the body is called death. The body is a car. We find that the body is changing. Bhagavad-gita says: dehino "smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati (Bg 2.13) Everyone begins his life as Small child. We are born, then we begin to grow; the baby turns into a child, then into a teenager, into a young man or girl, reaches middle age, and finally approaches old age. Our body changes constantly during this life. It does not remain the same, the body is constantly changing every period of time. For example, all the body parts of a small child disappear when you move into the body of a teenager, and that body is also completely different when a person reaches middle age. All parts of the body change completely, but the owner of the body remains the same. The one who owns this body is the “I” - the soul. The owner of the body remains the same all the time. For example, we might ask someone in the audience who is in their seventies or older, “Do you remember what you did when you were twenty?” He will say: “Yes, I remember very well. I was full of life, I was running, dancing.” Then we can ask: "Was it you or someone else?" He will answer: “No, no, it was me!” Now you are old, but what has changed - the body or the person who has this body? The body has actually changed; the owner of this body never changes, he always remains the same.

So, I am not this body, my body changes over time during this life, but I remain the same. Likewise, I change my body at the moment of death. We have explained how the body changes during this life, but the person who possesses this body remains the same. Similarly, at the time of death the body itself changes, but the owner of the body remains the same. The owner of the body, the "I", the soul, leaves this present body and passes into another. This process is called soul transmigration or soul transmigration, or reincarnation. I am the eternal spirit soul who is always living somewhere in this material world, and when my body dies, I do not die. There is a verse in the Bhagavad-gita that says, “There never was a time when I did not exist, or you, or the kings who assembled on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.” None of us will cease to exist. The spirit soul is never born and never dies. The body is born and dies. We move from one body to another life after life, and such migration of the soul from body to body is a constant feature of this world. This means that for millions of years we have constantly changed our bodies, life after life, passing through different kinds life. At some time we were a bird that flies in the sky, at other times we were a fish that swims in the water, or an animal that runs on the ground, or we took on various human forms. A living being changes its body life after life, changes its characteristics, but the owner of this body always remains the same person.

Just as we change our body in this life, our body changes at the time of death. We even see where we are going, but our friends and our relatives do not see it. According to their understanding, our body has died and we are dead now. For example, if I died now and fell dead on the floor here, my friends would cry: “Oh, he’s dead, he’s gone from here.” But an outsider would say: “Where did he go? He’s lying here. The same hands, the same legs, the same glasses, the same shirt, everything is here, he hasn’t gone anywhere. He’s lying here.” My friends will object: "No, no, he's gone, he's dead now." They say this because the person with whom they associated, the person they loved and knew, is not this body. The body is just a shell, a shell that we wear. It's like the clothes we change every day. We carry this body for some time and at the end of life we ​​throw it away because it becomes useless. The end of life means that the body can no longer hold the life force within itself, for example, when it becomes too old to support life, death comes; then the body develops various diseases and old age, and we need to accept another body. In fact, in the Upanishads (this is a section of Vedic literature) there are very good description what happens at the moment of death. People are always wondering what death means, what death is, what happens to us at the moment of death. The Upanishads describe it as follows. The spiritual soul is in the heart. It is a small spark of spiritual energy, a personality that is us. It is located in the heart and represents the seed of our consciousness. This soul has feelings, the ability to see, for example. In fact, this ability does not come from the eyes or from the brain, but from the soul, and we simply use this eye as a means by which we can see, like, for example, I use glasses. The glasses themselves don’t see, I just look through the glasses, they help me see. Likewise, I look through my eyes and they help me see. Now, because I am alive, I can see, hear, taste, smell and touch. These are the five senses that I use in my life, but at the moment of death I can no longer use the senses because the connection between body and soul is broken. When this connection is broken, at that very moment I find myself in complete darkness, because I no longer look through my eyes and am inside the heart, the body, so everything around me becomes dark and I can no longer see anything. At that moment, the moment of death, the Supersoul (this is the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is located in the heart of every living entity along with the individual soul) illuminates some part of the body, and we are directed towards the light that we see.

There are one hundred and eighteen different nadis (or nerve channels) in the body, they are like tubes, and the Supersoul illuminates one of these channels, tunnels, and we see the light at the end of this tunnel. Naturally the soul begins to move towards this light and, coming out into the light, it leaves this body and moves on to the next. Let us say that the soul must take the form of a man and so it enters the sperm of the man, the father, which in turn is introduced into the uterus of the mother. When this sperm particle enters the egg, a new body is formed. It begins to grow and the soul again begins to change its body in accordance with where it should be born. One may ask, "Why does a living being die the way it does? What makes it go to another body that is already predestined?" This is a very good question because there must be some force that causes a living being to enter another body of a certain type. Not all bodies are the same, some bodies are very good, others are not; some people are born into rich families and rich countries, other people are born into poor families and poor countries. Some are born beautiful, some are born ugly, some are born fat and others are not, some people are born very smart and some have no brains at all. So what makes us take birth in different bodies? This is how the law of karma works. The law of karma is a very simple law, somewhat reminiscent of Newtonian physics. You know that Newton's laws have a postulate that states that every action is equal to a reaction. If I push on this microphone stand, it will counteract me, and I have to apply force to overcome the opposing force coming from there. Karma is similar to this, but on a subtle level. Any action I take has certain consequences. Some consequences may be good and others may be bad, depending on the actions I took.

I always have a choice: I can do something good or something bad, it depends on me. If I do something bad, such as hurt someone, it is considered a bad action and I receive a corresponding bad reaction. For example, in Sanskrit the word “meat” means “mamsa”. This word can be divided into two parts, or two roots: mam and sa. Mam means "I" and sa means "he". Therefore, if today I kill this animal and eat it, tomorrow or in some other life this animal has the right to kill or eat me. This is the law of karma. Mamsa is “I-he”. If I hurt someone in this life, he has the right, given by karma, to cause this pain to me. This is the law of karma in a person. If I accumulate a lot of bad reactions, I have something like a karmic bank account, which is credited. also ours good actions. And all this good and bad is taken into account at the moment of death. Therefore, we are given a certain body in exact accordance with our karma. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is described as follows: “The living entity is currently creating karmic actions that will determine his future body.” Likewise, our past karma has determined the body we currently possess. As soon as you are born, the body that is born with it carries with it various reactions that will manifest themselves in due course, for example, if your eyes should deteriorate, your vision will deteriorate at some point, if your teeth should fall out, this will happen if your liver should get sick, then this will happen at a certain time due to your karma. So karma is created by our sinful and righteous actions. Sometimes people think that at the end of life everything will end, nothing will exist, and the body is just a pile of chemical elements. But if this is so, we can ask the scientists: “Please create a body and thereby prove your statement.” But they only answer: “The body is just chemical elements"We ask you to prove this by creating some kind of body. We agree even to an egg or the body of an ant. Once our spiritual teacher A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was in South Africa. We were driving down the road, heading to Durban, and as we passed a building called the Rainbow Chicken Factory, Srila Prabhupada asked what the building was for. They explained to him that this is an incubator for chickens and for hens that lay eggs all the time, and when they stop laying eggs, they are killed. Prabhupada said, "If scientists say that life is just a combination of chemical elements, then let them make an egg. I challenge them. They can take something white, like calcium phosphate, something yellow, like phosphate sodium, and make the yolk. They can cover it with plastic. The Japanese made it like a shell. You can put the whole thing in an incubator and let the chicken hatch from there. It will be much easier than storing all these chickens in incubators." But scientists cannot make an egg. They cannot even make an ant and yet they claim that life is simply a product of chemical elements. In fact, their theory has not been proven by anything. If this were so, why would they not discover chemical elements that disappear from the chemical body at the moment of death? At the moment of death, all the chemical elements in the body remain the same. Nothing disappears from the body, nothing is poured out, all chemical elements are in place. Why then did the man die? Scientists will answer this: “Because some chemical components have decomposed.” What chemicals have decomposed? Can anyone tell? Even if they can tell, why don't they then take other chemicals and inject them into the body? Let this body come to life again! After all, in this way the state would have more workers. But they are not capable of this, because as soon as the body dies, you have to throw it away; it is no longer good for anything. Therefore, the body is not just a combination of chemical elements.

The body is a combination of matter and spirit, a combination of material elements and the spiritual soul, which has entered the body and is the cause of life. For example, if at the moment of conception the spirit soul does not enter the mother's egg, the embryo will not develop. The spiritual soul enters this egg and then life arises and the embryo will grow. Sometimes people think that there is no life in the embryo, that it is lifeless. They use this argument to justify abortion. They say that abortion is not the killing of a living being in the womb. But we have never seen dead things grow and we have never seen dead things turn into living things, come to life. We always see that life comes from life. We have never seen life come from death. We see that life gives rise to some chemical substances, and it is not chemical substances that give rise to life, for example, a lemon tree can produce great amount citric acid, and the person will not know where it came from. In our human body there are many other components, many different elements, for example, our stool is filled with phosphates, there is a lot of phosphate in it. So we produce various chemicals, it is natural, but chemicals do not create life. At one research institute (we also saw this), botanists conducted an experiment to show that plants can produce various chemicals. Sometimes someone argues that the body does not actually create any elements, it simply transforms chemicals, for example, we eat with our mouth, the food is transformed in the body and then takes the form of excrement. To answer this objection, a scientific experiment was done. You can take the seed of a small plant and place it in externally controlled conditions. You know exactly what elements are contained in this earth. You can accurately weigh the soil, perform a chemical analysis of the soil and what is on the ground. Every day you can carefully measure the amount of water or other things you add. You can carefully measure how much solar energy reaches that plant. And during the period of plant growth, you will be able to see that new components have appeared there that were not there before. They are not part of those substances that were in the external environment. In particular, the plant produces calcium. You can completely remove calcium from the medium, but when the plant grows, it will still contain calcium. This proves that life produces chemicals, but there has never been evidence anywhere that chemicals produce life.

So Vedic literature says that the living entity produces this body, gives birth, and then at the end of life, when the body becomes old and useless, the living entity gives up the previous body and gets a new one. All this happens in accordance with the laws of nature. When we use the laws of nature, someone may ask us: "Whose nature is this? Under the direction of whose nature does all this happen? Who directs all this?" And the answer to this question is one: “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. He is the cause of everything that happens according to an exact plan.” But who is Krishna, and how do we relate to Him? What is our relationship with Him? This can be explained very simple example with the Sun and sunlight. The sun is a huge source of light in the universe and an infinite number of particles emanate from it, which have wave characteristics. These particles from the Sun are called photons. They have all the qualities of the Sun, they have warmth and light, just like the Sun. The difference is that the Sun contains a huge amount of light and heat, whereas the particles of the Sun are tiny, tiny particles of light and heat. So, this particle is practically negligible, infinitesimal, if we compare it with the infinite Sun. There is such a great variety of energies, no one can understand how this happens. So much light and heat comes from this particle, and it is similar to light itself, the Sun itself, but different in quantity. This is an example of simultaneous difference and unity. Distinction and unity means that in qualitative terms we are one, but in quantitative terms we are different. This is a perfect example that demonstrates the unity and difference between the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and us living entities. Krishna is the great source of all living beings, and from Him all of us living beings have come. All the spirit souls in creation come from Krsna. We are qualitatively identical with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but quantitatively different from Him. Unity and difference exist in us at the same time. We are the same with Him in quality, but different from Him in quantity. Krishna is the great source of the entire cosmic creation, and we, tiny, insignificant spiritual particles, are the result. Krishna is the Lord and we are His servants. This is an elementary representation of Vedic philosophy.

The relationship between the living entity and the Supreme is called the sanatana-dharma of the living entity. This sanatana-dharma essentially means service. The tiny living entity must render service to the supreme, huge, great Personality of Godhead. This service is called bhakti. Bhakti, bhakti yoga. Yoga means "to bind" and bhakti means "to be in a loving, transcendental relationship with the Supreme." In this way the living entity naturally has a relationship with the Supreme Lord as his eternal servant. The Lord is great, and we are very small and insignificant, therefore our duties include serving Him. This is our natural constitutional position. We living entities do not belong to this material world. We have simply come here because of our desire to dominate material nature. We want to dominate and enjoy material existence, but actually we are neither enjoyers nor masters, we are servants of the Supreme, and when we restore our natural position as servants of the Supreme through the process of bhakti-yoga, we reach the spiritual platform self-awareness. Self-awareness means understanding ourselves, who we really are and what we are a part of. This is called self-awareness. When a person becomes self-realized, he will no longer be born in this material world, but will return back to the spiritual world to which he belongs. This is the elementary philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Of course, Krsna consciousness has a gigantic philosophy. Srila Prabhupada translated many books from Sanskrit into English, about sixty books. We can only explain a small part of our philosophy this evening, but if you want to know more, please take our books on Krsna consciousness home with you. We are gradually translating these books into Russian and all other languages ​​of the Soviet Union. This is a very big job and it will take a long time, maybe not very long, but long enough, but now at least we have the Bhagavad-gita. Bhagavad-gita is the most important of our books, it is the primer of spiritual life. Please take Bhagavad-gita with you and read it carefully. This is a wonderful book that will give you deep understanding spiritual knowledge. You will be able to read Bhagavad-gita again and again and you will find more and more new things in it, because it is actually a very deep book and you will never be able to exhaust it to the bottom, although very simple things are discussed in it. This is a very profound work because Bhagavad-gītā is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, Himself. Therefore try to take to spiritual life, Krsna consciousness.

One may ask, “How can I accept Krishna consciousness and bring it into my life?” And one answer may be: “You can very easily take to Krsna consciousness by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This is a very simple mantra, but do not let this simplicity fool you. Actually, the Hare Krishna mantra is very, very powerful because it includes the name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, and His first expansion, Rama. The word Hare refers to energy. The Supreme Lord, by chanting the mantra, you are chanting the names of the energy and the source of energy of everything. Therefore, chanting these names is a very powerful method. Anyone can chant Hare Krishna. We are not asking you for any money for this mantra. We are giving it to you for free because no one has the money to pay for it. It is priceless and therefore there is no point in asking you for money for the Hare Krishna mantra. You will never be able to pay for it. Some groups charge money for it. Vedic mantras, but this mantra is given to us freely in the Vedas. There is no need to ask for money for this. These mantras are priceless. The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the most powerful of all mantras because it restores our natural relationship with Krishna and brings us to the level of self-realization, self-understanding. Therefore we request all of you to chant this mantra and understand more and more about this process of Krishna consciousness. When you chant the Hare Krsna mantra, your life will become elevated and you will achieve real happiness. We want you to be happy. This is the purpose of our preaching. Therefore we request you to read Bhagavad-gita As It Is, chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, and thus become happy. We thank you for your patience in listening to this lecture. Will there be any other part of this program? Is there anything left? Will there be a video? They will show you a video. Perhaps our guests will ask us a few questions? Devotees have already had time for questions, so we ask guests to ask any questions if you have any. If you have no questions, that's okay too, we'll show you the video. But if you have questions, please ask them, he (the translator) will translate for me.