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THIS WAR OF MINE
CONTENTS
21
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
THIS WAR OF MINE
22
ULTIMATE MOVE FOR
PROCRASTINATION
The ultimate formula given
by the Lord himself in the
midst of battlefield to burn
to ashes any and every
impasse that strikes on an
endeavour.
THE ARMOURY OF SPIRITUAL WARRIORS
04 EDITOR'S NOTE
Starting on a journey to unexplored meadows of
mind and intellect, I hope to create a change in
myself through this little endeavour of mine
06 THE DISCIPLINE OF PHILOSOPHY
A brief introduction to the Indian System of
Philosophy, different views of philosophy and
qualifications of philosophy
12 CONFLICTING COSMOLOGICAL
WORLDVIEWS
Success of the lander of the Chandrayaan 3
lunar exploration mission ignited great delight
to many but some viewed this achievement
with scepticism.
18 EXCLUSIVE!
KIRTAN FOREVER !
FT. MĀDHAVA PRABHU
21 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A Narrative of Battlefield that beautifully
portrays the war every person is going through.
22 ULTIMATE MOVE FOR
PROCRASTINATION
Procrastination requires you to give up any goal
03
CHANDRAYAAN 3 and wait for things to take a favourable turn
avoiding stepping out of the comfort zone.
& COSMOLOGY
25 THE MANAS SERIES
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
An article by Hari Pārshad
Dāsa explores the narrative An article about blots on philosophy and about
of moon missions despite the concept of faith and beleif.
the statements by acaryas
that the feat is not possible.
 EDITOR’S
NOTE
FIRST ISSUE OF TWOM

Gurave gauracandrāya
rādhikayai tadālaye
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-bhaktāya
tad-bhaktāya namo namaḥ
Let's start this war with
all obeisances to Sri guru , to
Gaur Chandra, to Srimati
Rādhikā, to those who are In this issue
under her shelter, to kṛṣṇa, to
his devotees and to the Start is the hardest part of any
devotees of such devotees endeavour until you begin. After
all obeisances to them. that all of it comes to the
determination to continue. The
impasse hits any work only when
May this endeavour be
the determination runs loose.
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

fulfilling in thoughts, words

and deeds to us the writers
and to the readers.
04
We hope to never run out of that
will and determination and
continue on this spiritual war of
ours. Please pray for us so that
we develop more will to reach
the actual goal.
Born in the darkest ignorance, I offer my
respectful obeisances to the spiritual masters
who opened my eyes with the torch of
knowledge. We are two spiritual warriors in this
battlefield we call life. We will always strive to
purify our own consciences with this small
endeavour of ours. Materially we are insignificant
humans in the field of medicine and spiritually we
are no more than kids just started on the path of
absolute. This representation is a work to help
ourselves in the process of editing and going
through subject matter that is transcendental. All
the views presented in this magazine are an
offshoot of what we have originally understood
from shāstṛa and ācāryas. Any discrepancy in
thought or any views not in line with the
sampradāya are our own fault ridden views that
need purification by the grace of Sri Guru and
Gaurānga. May this text render us and anybody
who glances it, into a worthy spiritual warrior
capable of standing their ground in the battlefield
of life.

Editor 1
&2 05
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

Editor-in-Chief
 The introduction to Darshana or
Philosophy

In Indian tradition, the word used for

philosophy is Darshana (viewpoint or
perspective), from the Sanskrit root drish ('to
see, to experience, to perceive'). To get Is Darshana Philosophy ?
darshana also means to catch a respectful
In the English language the term philosophy
glimpse of deity to offer obeisances from
iterates to this word 'Darshana' but it is not a
one's side which may be said to pertain to
complete translation. It must be noted that
the final aim of darshana as in philosophy.
Darshana does not only mean a theoretical
subject of information rather it is an
analytical subject capable of driving one's
point of view to any and everything that
exists be it material or spiritual in nature.
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

The Definition of Philosophy

Philosophy means finding the ultimate

cause. As Vedānta-sūtra very reasonably says,
athāto brahma jijñāsā: human life is meant
for understanding the ultimate cause.
06 Prabhupada, SB 6.4.31, Purport
The question now arises, Why
philosophy? Can't I just be normal
learning normal things that normal
people do and lead a normal life. No, this
path is what defines normal. If not this,
then everything from ethics to culture to
behaviour is guided in an individual by
normative ethics. That which world
thinks is normal. This changes with time
too. For example, 200-300 years ago
scolding and caning your child to make a
well behaved man out of him was not
vilified as it is now. Therefore, a viewpoint
is needed to proceed with life at any step
and that viewpoint as combed and
passed down by succession consisting of
knowledge powerful of self-realization.
Darshana recognizes knowledge at two
levels; Parā Vidyā (higher knowledge)
and Aparā Vidyā (lower knowledge).
Since knowledge is spiritual, only the
former is true knowledge of reality,
whereas the latter is slightly inferior, it
refers to worldly knowledge.
Indian schools of thought that talk about
Darshana are known as maṭha or
saṃpradāya. For a saṃpradāya to be
called as pāramparik or bonafide it is first
essential to know qualifications of a
saṃpradāya, paramparik or not is the
next step. There are four scriptures about
which any organization should have
bhāṣya or commentaries on to call
themselves a sampradaya. If not, then it
is not even a sampradaya, leave calling it
bonafide or pramanik. These four are -
1. Vedant Sutra
2. Bhagvadgita
3. Vishnu sahastranam
4. Ishopanishad (10 primary Upanishads).
After this, for a paramparā to be bonafide
or prāmāṇik, it must consist of an
unbroken lineage of guru shishya
paramparā. That is the only way in which
a saṃpradāya can remain bonafide
starting from the first achārya to the
present day. These considerations are
needed to move forward in Darshana.
07
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
 It is true although that nobody can make
achieve a candidate of philosophy
otherwise called Sadhaka, the state of
self realization. The Sadhaka can be
taught about the intricacies of the path,
guided at different steps but the final
piece must be completed by the
Sadhaka alone. No material object,
person or resource can make the
sadhaka reach the absolute. There are 3
things that sadhaka must do to reach
A spiritual master is needed to guide the
the absolute truth. These are termed as
sadhaka to uncover this avaran which
mala, vikshepa and avaran. Mala means
translates in english to covering. Guru,
obscenity or dirt. Sadhaka must strive by
Shastra and Sadhana are the three
his own determination to clean the dirt
things that help uncover the reality and
off his mind and intellect and zero in on
then self realization takes place.
the ego. The Sadhaka then faces
obstacles in various forms, vikshepa
It feels sometimes that these discussions
literally translates to interception. The
and theologies are dry in nature but as
Sadhaka must rise above this vikshepa to
Prabhupada says in his book
move forward. If they kneel to any
Renunciation through wisdom -
vikshepa, mala starts to lodge in again. It
requires sheer will to move to avaran.
siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
This stage is not entirely in Sadhaka's
ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa
hands.
CC Adi 02.117

A sincere student should not neglect the

Prabhupada on philosophy
discussion of such philosophical
These two go together, religion conclusions, considering them
and philosophy. Religion controversial, for such discussions
without philosophy is strengthen the mind. Thus one's mind
sentiment, or sometimes becomes attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
fanaticism, while philosophy
Thus it is essential to know philosophy in
without religion is mental
full without gaps to achieve mental
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

speculation. The ultimate goal

is Kṛṣṇa, because the
philosophers who are also
sincerely searching after the
Absolute Truth come in the end
to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
- BG 3.3 Purport
08
strength to the path we devote our lives
to.
In the next issue, we shall discuss the
evolution of Indian Philosophy over time
and where we stand in that complex web
of multi faceted Darshana.
KKSONG COLUMN
A song from kksongs.org with translation

Song Name: Harinama Tuwa Anek Swarupa

Official Name: Sri Namastaka Song 5
Author: Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Book Name: Gitavali
Language: Bengali

LYRICS:
(1)
harinām, tuwā aneka swarūp
yaśodā-nandana, ānanda-vardhana,
nanda-tanaya rasa-kūp

(2)
pūtanā-ghātana, tṛnāvarta-hana,
śakaṭa-bhañjana gopāl
muralī-vadana, agha-baka-mardana,
govardhana-dhārī rākhāl

(3)
keśī-mardana, brahma-vimohana, 09

surapati-darpa-vināśī
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

ariṣṭa-pātana, gopī-vimohana,
jamunā-pulina-vilāsī
 (4)
rādhikā-rañjana, rāsa-rasāyana,
rādhā-kuṇḍa-kuñja-bihārī
rāma, kṛṣṇa, hari, Mādhava , narahari,
matsyādi-gaṇa-avatārī

(5)
govinda, vāmana, śrī-madhusūdana,
yādava-candra, vanamālī
kāliya-śātana, gokula-rañjana,
rādhā-bhajana-sukha-śālī

(6)
ityādika nām, swarūpe prakām,
bāḍuk mora rati rāge
rūpa-swarūpa-pada, jāni’ nija sampada,
bhaktivinoda dhori’ māge

TRANSLATION

1) O Harinama, You possess unlimited forms, such as

the beloved son of Mother Yasoda, the increaser of the
bliss of Gokula, the son of Nanda, and the reservoir of
all transcendental mellows.

2) You are the slayer of the demons Putana and

Trnavarta, the breaker of the cart, the protector of the
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

cows, the player of the flute, the destroyer of the

demons Agha and Baka, the holder of Govardhan Hill,
and You are a cowherd boy.

10
3) You destroyed the Kesi demon, bewildered Lord
Brahma, and broke the pride of Indra, king of Heaven.
You are the destroyer of Aristasura, the enchanter of
all the young girls of Gokula, and You sport along the
sandy banks of the river Yamuna.

4) You delight Srimati Radhika and give life to the rasa

dance. You sport in the groves near Radha Kunda,
performing a variety of pastimes. You are the reservoir
of pleasure, attractive to every living being. You
remove all inauspiciousness and are the husband of
the goddess of fortune. You are the source of all
incarnations such as Lord Nrsimha, the half-man half-
lion incarnation and Matsya, the fish avatara.

5) O Harinam, You are pleasing to the cows, land and

senses. You are the dwarf brahmana incarnation
(Vamana) and the slayer of the demon Madhu. You are
the moon of the Yadu dynasty and always wear
beautiful garlands of fresh forest flowers. You are the
destroyer of the Kaliya serpent, the delighter of Gokula
and You rejoice in the worship of Srimati Radharani.

6) Thakura Bhaktivinoda, understanding Your glories,

clasps the lotus feet of Rupa Goswami and Swarup
Damodar Goswami and prays, “O Harinam, according 11

to Your sweet will You are manifest in all these forms

AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

and in many others also. Please let them increase my

love and attachment for You.”
 CONFLICTING FROM THE BLOG

COSMOLOGICAL
RĀDHIKĀRĀDHIKĀ

ARTICLE BY

WORLDVIEWS HARI PĀRṢADA DĀSA. 24

AUGUST 2023

Assuming that the latest moon mission has actually reached the dark
side of the moon, it certainly could not find anything that the Śrīmad-
bhāgavatam mentions about the moon. Are we supposed to discard
that view as prehistoric and irrelevant?

On 23 Aug 2023, citizens of India and
many space enthusiasts around the
world celebrated the success of the
lander of the Chandrayaan 3 lunar
exploration mission.
Of course, with any space exploration
event, there are bound to be individuals
who raise doubts and questions. The
purpose of this article is not to discuss
doubts over authenticity of the latest
moon landing attempt.

THE RESOLUTION OF THIS CONFLICT LIES IN

KNOWING IN DETAIL ABOUT VEDIC COSMOLOGY
An individual should have the freedom to It is extremely difficult to believe that a
believe or disbelieve in the concept of particular government would want to
planetary exploration. Freedom of embarrass their entire nation in front of
thought cannot be taken away. At the the world by deliberately saying that
same time, disbelievers in space their mission has failed.
exploration projects should kindly
consider the fact that many space
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

exploration missions have genuinely

failed. The Russian Luna-25 lander
mission failed just two days before
Chandrayaan 3 succeeded. So, if it is all
just buffoonery and computer graphics,
then each and every mission should turn
out to be successful on the computer
12 screen.
I got some messages from some
devotees, asking me how the
scientists could land on the moon
when they have statements from
their recent ācāryas, stating that it
is simply not possible to go to the
moon in the current human body.
This does not however mean that all
research and evidence given by the
scientists and space explorers is real. A
few days ago, on Aug 22, the Canadian
Space Agency published an alleged
photo of a 108 million year old moon
crater named Tycho, which later
turned out to be a photo of a crater in
Arizona, USA.

Although there is no doubt that the

worldwide scientific community has
many genuine individuals in it,
incidents like these show that
vipralipsā (cheating tendency) is
rampant in many sections of the
scientific community. Not everything
they say can be taken on face value,
and a lot of scientific research has
political motivations behind it.

That being said, assuming that the

latest moon mission has actually
reached the dark side of the moon, it
certainly could not find anything that
the Śrīmad-bhāgavatam mentions Understanding the Virāṭ Puruṣa
about the moon. What do we do now is the first step in uncovering the
with the cosmological view of the truth to this conflict.
Śrīmad-bhāgavatam? Are we
Before we prematurely discard the
supposed to discard that view as
Bhāgavatam for it's cosmological
prehistoric and irrelevant?
worldview, we should know that the
Vedas and Purāṇas speak of the
universe as the body of the Virāṭ
Puruṣa. This body has features similar 13

to the body of a human. Now a

question arises — Does the human
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

body have only gross elements visible

to the external eye? Or does it also
have subtle, invisible elements viz.
mind, intelligence, ego, prāṇa,
manomaya-kośa, vijñāna-maya-
kośa, ānanda-maya-kośa etc.?
 If we ask a scientist or an allopath
regarding the subtle elements of the
body viz. kapha, vāta, pitta, buddhi,
ahaṁ kāra etc., then most of them will
deny the visible existence of these. These
do not fit in the worldview of the scientist
or the allopath, since their worldview
mainly allows only direct perception.
However, this does not mean that the
subtle elements of the human body do
not exist.
Similarly, the body of the Virāt Puruṣa is
the brahmāṇda (the universe of
Brahmā), and it too has its gross and
subtle aspects. The gross aspects are
visible to each and everyone through the
naked human eye. The subtle aspects of
the brahmāṇḍa are neither visible, nor
measurable by the human eye. The
Śrīmad-bhāgavatam confirms this:
yasyehāvayavair lokān
kalpayanti manīṣiṇaḥ
Translation: Learned souls
*imagine* all the planetary systems
as parts of the body of the Virāṭ
Puruṣa. — (Śrīmad-bhāgavatam
2.5.36)
It is clearly specified in this verse that
even the learned souls have to imagine
(kalpayanti) the planetary systems. It
never says that the learned souls can
directly see these planetary systems with
their naked eyes. Thus, there are many
subtle aspects of the body of the Virāṭ
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
Puruṣa that will never be seen with the
human eye. Any endeavour to perceive
them with the human eye will be useless.
We should therefore not expect that
most of the cosmological details of the
Bhāgavatam will be perceivable by the
naked eye perception of the scientists.
14
Many humans have seen the externally
visible aspect of Mount Kailash. Yet
nobody has recorded, documented
evidence of seeing Bhagavān Śiva or
Devī Pārvatī there. Does it mean that Śiva
and Pārvatī do not exist at all? Many have
seen the externally visible aspect of
Mahendra Mountains in the eastern part
of India, yet there is no recorded
evidence of seeing Bhagavān
Paraśurāma staying there. Does it mean
that Bhagavān Paraśurāma doesn't exist
and the account given in the
Bhāgavatam (9.16.26) is incorrect? We
cannot simply discard all of this as mere
fantasy just because these aspects are
not visible to the human eye. Neither can
a valid system of religiosity be proven
false simply on the basis of materialistic
logic and argumentation:
dharmasya cāvyavacchinnāḥ
panthāno ye vyavasthitāḥ
na tān loka-prasiddhatvāt
kaścit tarkeṇa bādhate
Translation: The constant,
unbroken paths of dharma that
have been established by the great
sages cannot be obstructed simply
by giving some widely accepted
worldly logic and argument. —
(Bhartṛhari's Vākyapadīyam,
Brahma-kāṇḍa, 31)
Thus, devout followers of the
Bhāgavatam and the Purāṇas should
never worry that the cosmological
worldview given in their sacred literature
will ever be proven false. It can never ever
be proven false, simply because it is not a
worldview perceivable by the mundane
eye of the materialists.
If Mahārāja Parīkṣit wanted to know
about the externally visible universe, he
could've easily asked expert astronomers
of his kingdom viz. Kṛpācārya. The reason
why he is asking Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī
about the cosmology of the brahmāṇḍa
is because the perception of Śrī
Śukadeva Gosvāmī extends beyond
mundane human perception. Śrī
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is described as —
sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim — "The
sage who can enter into the hearts of all
living entities by his mystic potency" —
(Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 1.2.2). Elsewhere, he
is described as a — mahā-yogī —
(Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 6.4.3). Thus, the
universe described in the Bhāgavatam is
certainly not being described from a
mundane, human point of view. It is
being described from a yogi-pratyakṣa
(perceivable by a perfected yogi) point of
view.
SEPARATE
LITERATURE FOR
SEPARATE ASPECTS
In Bhārata-varṣa, there are traditional
literature that separately describe the
visible aspects as well as the subtle,
invisible aspects of the brahmāṇḍa.
Literature viz. Sūrya-siddhānta,
Āryabhaṭīyam etc. give elaborate
calculations for visible aspects of the
universe. These literature are a great
boon for all followers of Sanātana
Dharma, because for thousands of years,
these devout followers of dharma have
been correctly measuring sunrises,
sunsets, moon-rises, eclipses, vrata
timings etc. using formulae and
methods given in these literature.
At the same time, a deeper, more subtle
universe exists. This subtle universe will
most likely never be recognised by
modern science. The worldview of most
modern scientists is that of philosophical
materialism. Those who subscribe to this
worldview have no subtle worlds to
explore and no inherent personality or
purpose driving the universe.
The eastern philosophical systems viz.
Sanātana Dharma, Jainism, Buddhism
etc. all have almost a similar
cosmological view of the universe. They
all accept the existence of Mount Meru 15
and the Devatās and many other aspects
that are not visible to the human eye. To
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
perceive this universe, one needs to have
a special type of accomplishment. This
accomplishment is described in the
ancient Yoga texts.

THE QUALIFICATION
NEEDED TO PERCEIVE
THE SUBTLE UNIVERSE
The Yoga-sūtras of Patañjali are divided
into four parts, known as pādas. In the
third pāda, named Vibhūti-pāda, there is
a sūtra which says:
bhuvana-jñānaṁ
sūrye saṁ yamāt
Translation: By practicing saṁ yama
of sūrya-dvāra (suṣumnā nāḍī), the
Yogī obtains knowledge of all
aspects of the universe. — (Yoga-
sūtra, Vibhūti-pāda, Sūtra 26)
What is saṁ yama? The Yoga-sūtra
(Vibhūti-pāda, Sūtra 4) says — trayam
ekatra saṁ yamaḥ — "To attain the three
stages of dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi
on a single object is known as saṁ yama".
In the various commentaries to sūtra 26
mentioned above, all the traditional
commentators viz. Śrī Vyāsa, Śrī Bhoja, Śrī
Nāgeśa Bhaṭṭa, Śrī Rāmānanda, Śrī
Sadāśivendra Sarasvatī etc. have
described the same universe that is
described in the Bhāgavatam and the
other Purāṇas. Many of these
commentators describe the fourteen
planetary systems, the Meru, the
pleasure gardens of svarga, the various
oceans filled with various juices etc.
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
16
Thus, the cosmology of the Purāṇas is
also firmly supported by the Aṣṭāṅga-
yoga tradition. The same tradition of
Aṣṭāṅga-yoga gives many visible benefits
to the body (in the form of yoga-āsana
practice) and invisible benefits to the
subtle body as well as the soul. However,
those who are philosophical materialists
accept only the physical aspects of
aṣṭāṅga-yoga to receive the external
health benefits.
Thus, according to the bona-fide texts of
the Aṣṭāṅga-yoga tradition, a yogī who
attains saṁ yama on sūrya-dvāra (the
solar entrance a.k.a. suṣumnā nāḍī) is
capable of perceiving all the details of
the subtle universe. Such saṁ yama
cannot be expected from those whose
worldview is purely materialistic.
Patañjali is a śiṣṭa-ācārya of yoga who
has benefited millions of people around
the world. His aim in presenting the
Yoga-sūtras is not to cheat people. Śrī
Vyāsadeva is a śiṣṭa-ācārya of the entirety
of Vedic tradition. He too is not here to
cheat people. Thus, whatever is
described in the Yoga-sūtras is a key to
understanding how the universe can be
perceived in its entirety.
Those skeptics who do not believe in
mystical siddhis of Yoga should have a
look at recorded evidence of yoga-
siddhis. These siddhis are easily found in
practitioners of Eastern philosophies.
I conclude this article with the words of
Swami Hariharānanda Araṇya, a lifelong
practitioner of the Aṣṭāṅga and Sāṅkhya
Yoga systems, and a brilliant
commentator on the Yoga-sūtras. He
spent his entire life living the tradition
and spent the last two decades of his life
in complete silence in the state of
samādhi. In his commentary to the
above-mentioned sūtra, he says:

"Bhū-loka is not this earth but the large

ethereal region attached to this earth.
Sumeru hill, the residence of the devas is
also such a region. It is not visible to the
eye... The nether worlds (lower planetary
systems) are also located inside Bhū-loka
(not inside the visible earth). The Deva-
lokas start from the top of bhū-loka. The
top of bhū-loka does not mean top of the
earth, but it is situated much above the
aerial (bhuvar) region of the earth. The
state of Kaivalya (liberation) is beyond all
the lokas and no one returns from there."

Article by Hari Pārṣada Dāsa, The writer

frequently writes on his own blog and 17
this blogpost was too detailed and clear
to not let into this magazine. Readers
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

can find other articles by Hari Pārṣada

Prabhu on his own blog at this address
hariparshad.blogspot.com
 MADHAVA
PRABHU
KIRTAN FOREVER

Mādhava Prabhu was born on October 1, 1973 on the

island of Mauritius. He was five years old when his
parents became fully committed Krishna devotees
while staying at home and working at their jobs.
Straightaway, they gave him his first mridanga (Indian
clay drum), and, motivated by them, Mādhava Prabhu
chanted 4 rounds of japa every day until he was 13 years
old. As a teenager he rebelled. After some bumps and
wild detours his fascination with music led him, at the
age of 18, to ask his parents to send him to Vrindavan,
the holy city of Krishna. He hoped to join the kirtan
party there.
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

18
In January 1992, on the very first day Mādhava Prabhu arrived in
Vrindavan, he met Sripad Aindra Prabhu, the leader of the 24-hour
kirtan, who asked him to join the kirtan party. Every day for the
next 5 years Mādhava Prabhuwould play mridanga for Aindra
Prabhu.
At the end of 1996 he went back to Mauritius. Barely two years
later, Mādhava Prabhureturned to Vrindavan for a brief stay and,
before leaving, received the instruction from Aindra Prabhu to
“always chant Hare Krishna, even if you have to do it to the four
walls—and never stop practicing your mridanga.”
19
In 1999 Mādhava Prabhumarried Radhika in the UK and a year
later he joined her in Switzerland to settle there. For the first 4
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

years he studied German and carpentry at school while working as

an apprentice carpenter. After qualifying as such, he worked full
time for 6 years.
 In 2009, Mādhava Prabhu's boss sold the company, leaving him
jobless. A year later, a Vaisnava patron intent on promoting kirtan
offered to partly fund his cost of living if he would make kirtan his
life’s task. That year, for the first time, he traveled around Australia
for a month, doing kirtan in Iskcon temples and major yoga
schools on the east coast. Since then he tries to serve the Holy
Name whenever and wherever he is called.

Mādhava Prabhu provides and epilogue to his short story in his

own words - Most of us who stayed with Aindra Prabhu were unfit
for conventional temple life. I was one fallen being who needed
compassion more than anyone else. Aindra Prabhu gave me
shelter, trained and taught me the right mood to serve the Holy
Name. The day before he passed away he talked deeply about
serving the sacred Name. He said to do kirtan in as many new
places as possible, avoiding the complacency of familiar settings.
The urgency to carry out his desire has now intensified as I identify
the same ardent wish to serve Nama Prabhu in Srila Prabhupada
and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. I thank my wife for sacrificing ease and
comfort to accompany me. We are unqualified and insignificant.
Our only hope is to try to be worthy tools in the service of the Holy
Name and His devotees.

He is quite famous on instagram and his kirtans are widely relished

via Soundcloud and Youtube platforms. He goes by the username
@madhavanaidoo on instagram. Do listen to some of his most
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

popular kirtans to make your day ! All glories to Sri Guru and
Gauranga.

20
 THIS WAR
OF MINE
Food for A Battlefield
Thought Narrative

The bright flames of desire strikes a man down to his knees. I will discuss and ponder over
all the methodologies and practicalities involved within the regime of celibacy. Celibacy is
the life essence of spirituality. It is evident that a person on a wilful path is going to fall
down. What must be understood is that, getting up is of grave importance. To stare into
face this enemy and this friend of ours we call mind, is a dire task. The battlefield is laden
with cold, warm it with your footsteps.

By Editor 1

C harging into the battlefield, running on your peak

and trying to gasp the air whilst strengthening the will on
the sound of war-horn, gripping the hold on the weapon
at hand, watching the enemy come nearer and nearer,
preparing a mental scene of the first attack, reaching out
for the space to swing the weapon, hearing the blaring
sound of clanking of arms, delivering the first blow, falling
down on knees, dropping the weapon from hands,
touching all over your torso with bare hands, seeing the
red colour populate the hands, finally realising that you
forgot to wear your armour. It is still kept as is in the
camp. Crying in vain that all of it was for nothing, barely
making yourself survive in the stampede of war and
hoping that someone will find your poor body at the
evening when the closing war-horn will be blown. You
might return to the camp this evening, but you are going
to return bloody that’s for sure. You will be in
reconciliation and won’t be able to fight for some days,
but it is hoped that when your turn comes again you’ll not
make the same blunder of forgetting your armour 365th
time.
Some say that this war was lost long before and we are just
hankering over a lost battle. Some get so tense that they
escape the camps. Some give it all in the face of defeat too
and still face defeat day after another. Some say defeat is a
part of battle. Some think truce was a good option and
some even run away in enemy camps at night. Some
reconcile lost soldiers and try to motivate them daily, for
their motivation is lost easily. Some fools forget their
armour everyday. Some say the emperor has abandoned
them and there is now no need to fight a lost battle. Some
say the emperor will return when we win the battle.
The emperor rests daily in his faraway camp, pondering
over the relationship with the enemy king. How friendly
was he, why did it come to this. Weren’t we good friends
once. Why so much bloodshed now. What has changed.
The minister sitting in distance smiles mildly to the
despair of emperor. It seems he knows what is up, maybe
he is plotting something. Is he not loyal to his king now ?
Perhaps he knows something of essence. The emperor
doesn’t consult him anyway, maybe the emperor knows
he is a traitor. Maybe the minister is no longer worthy of
trust.In the torchlight of the camp, a soldier exclaims
something of amazement. Other soldiers pass it off as
tomfoolery. One of them says he too experienced
something similar. One of them says this is all nonsense,
he has been fighting all day everyday since time unknown.
Some others moving in distance question if there is some
gravity in what is being exclaimed upon. One of them
comes running out to show the torn pages of calendar. He
says this is unreal. We do not know now what date it is.
The exclaimed individuals gain more weight to their
amazements. One of them gets up, walks away as if this is
a daily bustle. Some have already shut their ears and
started sharpening blades and arrows for the battle of
tomorrow.
Sleep gets them all at last and everyone of them wakes up
to a sun who is waiting to watch today’s battle.

21
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
 THE ULTIMATE MOVE FOR
PROCRASTINATION
By Editor 1
Work is subjective, highly sophisticated
and burdensome. Fruits of work seldom
motivate to perform. It is the work
experience which spearheads the
motivation attitude. If that experience is
lacking, it is highly problematic. A very
nice method of pallet dessert can help
incite interest in whichever boring work
we need to do in reference with academic
deadline. The attitude for boring 9-5 jobs
is another thing. That is not the point of
discussion today.
Work needs to be goal oriented and
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
fruit excluding in order to make it
unchanging for our mental state. It is
highly difficult to perform a work just for
the sake of performing it. As a sense of
22
duty, as a sense of cog in the machine of
universal work.
Mind needs variety, only to realize
at the end of every choice that it
needs a new one.
Work done in this state is definite to not
generate any attachments or hatred. Both
should be avoided. Many motivators try
to make people love the work they do so
that they may not start hating it altogether
and tread on a path of no-work. But this
does not work out in the long run. Mind
needs variety to hook up onto only to find
out in the end that the variegated choice
was insufficient and it needs a new one
now. Only those job people with high
variations in their mode, modality and
modules of work are upto an extent
satisfied because of variety that they feed
to their minds.
 Loving the work you do has certain
loopholes. Any and every work that
generates sense of engagement on a
bodily level instills pride and ego to
myriad levels. If someone really loves the
work they do, they’ll feel bad to not work
on holidays and if they feed bad to work,
they’ll feel free on holidays. This is a
subtle rule relating to work. Something
you like will bring you despair at time of
separation and something you don’t like
brings you despair at every moment you
are in it. People in general 99.99% go for
the former choice. Regret later no
problem but let us live in the moment.
Living in the moment is bullshit. If
everyone really starts living in the
moment forgetting at all costs that they
have a future, social order will jump to
utter chaos in a matter of minutes. So,
practicing “living in the moment” to 50%
or less gives a sense of good going in any
scenario of work with possibility of
feeling good instead of despair when
leaving the work altogether.
This is a temporary fix. It is not that
you won’t have to work after retiring or
leaving work in view of not having to
“make a living”. You’d still have to
work. People find myriads of sense
enjoyment facilities.
Games, Movies, Songs and many more.
This is also work. Working to “make a
mental living”. This mental living is
necessary to avoid boredom that strikes.
The rule of variegated feed stays the
same. You’ll have to constantly change
games and movies in order to satisfy the
mind that it has maybe not yet checked
this variety of entertainment. The ending
is the same, you are back to square one.
Finding another work of another variety.
Many people even rejoin offices as they
find it more socially productive than
changing varieties at home. This
conundrum continues in incessant ways
until death strike, without variety and
singularly occurring to put the “liver of
the moment” out of misery for this
moment. The process of hooking the
mind on variety is so random and fast
that the control panel of “I” seldom slips
from the mind to intelligence. But it does
slip at times when there is a gap in
finding variety. It slips at loading screens
of video games, at agenda-less
23
stargazing, in metros and buses looking
out at the bustle, at the sense of
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
hollowness that comes after inciting
sensual self-pleasure or engaging in
meaningless sex or sensual pleasure, after
a long drive that forces us to stop and
gaze at the never ending road.
 That small bit of experience is when the What’s abnormal is the very fact that the
control panel slips in the hands of impasse is considered to be the frictional
intelligence. That is a true bite of actual force of denial for a work to be followed.
reality. We will talk about that more, later.
Today we are taking the topic of modality of The solution to all this mire is given by
work in academics. Sri Krsna in the Bhagvadgita after he
So the work needs to be done not in a sense shows his universal form to Arjuna. He
of belonging, attachment, hatred, acceptance says,
or escapism. It needs to be done in the sense
for just doing it. Performing it for the sake of mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo
the doing. Not for the sake of completion, mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ
that is different that is escapism. Just for the nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu
sake of doing it. yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava
Whichever work it may be, an impasse is
normal. Impasse comes and goes that is
My dear Arjuna, he who engages in My
normal too. What’s abnormal is the very fact
pure devotional service, free from the
that the impasse is considered to be the
contaminations of fruitive activities and
frictional force of denial for a work to be
mental speculation, he who works for
followed.
Me, who makes Me the supreme goal of
So the work needs to be done not in a sense
his life, and who is friendly to every
of belonging, attachment, hatred, acceptance
living being – he certainly comes to Me.
or escapism. It needs to be done in the sense
for just doing it. Performing it for the sake of
The key to solve procrastination via this
the doing. Not for the sake of completion,
verse lies in the fact that the lord doesn’t
that is different that is escapism. Just for the
say complete the work for me rather he
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

sake of doing it.

just says one who works for me. That is
Whichever work it may be, an impasse is
it. We just have to be Nimitta matra and
normal. Impasse comes and goes that is
keep on our duties up to mark.
normal too.

24
MANAS
COLUMN
The essence of it all remains the same. You cannot nullify the whole and maybe at times you cannot perceive
the whole in full. It does not mean you have to play both sides nor does it mean that you have to choose a
side and remain in it. Find what is the best for the evolution of consciousness and to break free from the
shackles of material bondage.
It is to be clearly noted that these deviations are very common thing as an occurrence. No school of
thought has remained aloof from this. This is the reason many people take up the practice of sahajiya. Doing
what suits them the best or maybe at times doing what is prescribed but without any bondage to any
organisation.
That is not important, what’s important is executing the correct order of things in our full might. Things
might go sideways and might actually defame us over time. Humiliation is a contemporary gift if you have
prayed for humility. But this humiliation must not be considered the last principle of action. The first principle
of the ideology must never be forgotten. Let the controversies come, we’re here to tackle them. It is not the
controversy that is the problem, it is being affected by every other scratch that life puts at us. Every small
pebble is not worth the time we take to clear out so that it may not cause discomfort to us. Rather, the
boulders and friction filled narrow passages are waiting ahead of us. This is just the start. The lifestyle of a
spiritual warrior is not for the faint hearted. It takes a certain amount of valour and commitment to stay on this
path.
Fanaticism is blind faith. Faith although in itself is a very flexible word. Taking it in its right meaning, we
need to refer to root Sanskrit words that refer to that meaning. In Sanskrit there are two words that are
mistakenly used as same. “Shraddha” and “Vishwas”. In the second verse of the Sri Ramacaritmanas,
Tulsidasa Goswami writes by the dictation of the good lord,
Bhavani Shankarau Vande, Shradhha Vishwas Rupinau
This translates to, I offer obeisances to mother Bhavani and Lord Sankara who are respectively
personified forms of Shraddha and Vishwas respectively.
This is very deep subject. Let us discuss it to get a measure of its depth. Vishwas can be loosely
translated to Belief and Shraddha to Faith. It is very common mishap of general populace with the regime of
devotion that the label practitioners as individuals with blind faith or raw belief or in sugar coated words,
sentimental theists. This is true for a variety of populace who practice the regime of devotion.
To understand what sentiment is and how can we compare and contrast it with the intricacies of mind, we
need to look at first at an analogy and then go on to the first principle. If something of joy is provided as a
thing to perform endlessly without fail, we are certain to get bored of it. If we take an example of sleeping,
eating delicacies, clubbing at night, and many such things, we are certain to enjoy these things to a certain
extent and then leave them to give in to our rule of variegated exposure. Similarly, people following spiritual
paths find spiritual practices that they practice on a daily basis. Some do it half-heartedly some do it purely.
The difference is that the devotion that comes to a particular set of object must be philosophical in nature to
be long lasting and not sentimental. A very classic example that proves this point it our relationship with our
parents. If we consider our parents to be high in respect and thank them naturally to give us this chance of
human life which philosophically makes them our creator and sustainer at most of times, we will without effort 25
have a sense of underlying layer of fundamental respect towards them. We might not agree on some points
sometimes, we might even argue somedays but we still hold that piece of respect for them.
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
 On the other hand, if we consider our parents to be errants who actually made us by error, which may be true
in some cases if not all, but the thing is if we consider them to be just another set of parents without any
personal attachment be it due to vicinity, behaviour or circumstances we are sure to be disrespectful for them.
For all we’re going to think is, they’re just another parents and by chance I’ve got them. This stance is
sentiment. We have a sentiment of expendability towards our parents. This sentiment is driven due to
frustration. Similarly, just considering parents to be respectful on the basis of their work done for us is nothing
but sentiment. We might feel respectful for them just because we feel they’ve done a lot for us. But this too, is
sentimental. This sentiment will burn out once it is hurt or once it plays no role. Once the kid starts earning
and starts to take care of his parents himself, his respectful attitude will change to just as a matter of duty. It
will become like a business deal. You didd for me when I was young, I’ll do for you when you’re old and frail.
Both streams of sentiment can get hurt at variety of places. The underlying feeling of respect of the essence
that this sentiment puts up will become distorted, broken or vanished depending on the injury to the
sentiment. Similar is the case with devotion. In a spiritual narrative, if a person is sentimentally occupied with
the practices he might feel bliss or higher connection that is normal. But when this sentiment will get hurt, for
instance in cases of personal loss or material dispossession the person is sure to get hurt. This is the basic
rule of sentiment. The essence put up by the sentiment holds only till the sentiment is not hurt. The moment it
receives injury, the hold on the essence loosens. This can be called as another litmus test. The devotion or
the fundamental stance can only be held true if it remains unwavering in the storm of sentimental injuries.
If the devotion or the fundamental stance is philosophical in nature, the practices will not lead to tiredness or
boredom. People never get tired to care for someone they love deeply. Spiritual practitioners never get bored
with their spiritual practices, rather they utilise and channel the practices to benefit themselves and others.
This thin line of sentiment and philosophy must be carefully examined personally before labelling anyone as
blind.
This philosophical stance leading to action is what “Shraddha” is. It is philosophically derived faith. In other
words, this is what faith should actually mean. On the other hand, the caricature of faith on the basis of
personally experienced first principles and instances of previous actions is what “Vishwas” is. There is no
certain order to it, people can experience anyone first. But Goswami Tulsidas purposefully writes “Shraddha”
first. The basis or the groundwork must be philosophical. After that the “Vishwas” that pursues is actually
practical on a personal level. So if somebody comes up to ask for the validity of a first principle, there must be
practical experience with it which can then incite unwavering faith known as “Vishwas”. Although to achieve
“Vishwas”, the short path can also be taken, but it is not unwavering. If the person does not have any means
other than pursuing the one way left, he leaves all practicality and dives into it with all his might and mental
energy. This Vishwas is actually an impure one. It is enacted due to compulsion.
It is also very interesting to note why Bhavani is considered to be personified Shraddha and Sankara as
personified Vishwas. Bhavani, or Amba is actually the manifestation of Mahamaya, the illusory potency of the
sweet lord. Mahamaya is herself illusion, you cannot experience illusion practically to ascertain you were in
illusion when you are already in illusion. It’s just like being in water all the time and wanting to feel what is it
like to be wet. This aspect of tattva known as Maya tattva can only be understood in a philosophical narrative.
The practical experience is possible only by the means of a higher practice. It is just like wanting to confirm
we are in a well not a sea but we cannot see the sea living inside the well.
Sankara on the other hand is considered personified Vishwas. This is because, all practical knowledge is
propounded by Sankara himself that can actually be used to cross verify the philosophy and maybe even
believe on the basis of occurrences and instances. Sankara is famous for being very soft hearted. He heeds
whatever the sadhaka wants. Sankara has always established rules and regimes that can be used to
practically achieve the true form of Vishwas. To name a few, Sankara has given the pancaratrika Vidhi of
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01

deity worship, he has given the mahamantra for lokoddhar in the bramha yamala tantra, he has provided the
tangible science of breathing in the Swara Shastra which he himself calls as theist inciting science, Sankara
holds the position of Bhairava at various places of tantra where he resides in deity forms and some deity
forms are so lively till today that they even manifest, talk and drink even perceivable to normal people who
may be unknown to all these tattvas, Sankara made Kailash a safe haven for both bodied and disembodied
beings who seriously want to practice spirituality and the path to upper planetary systems who have a
different plane of time connects via Kailash which can be felt by everyone going near the mountain confirmed
by acceleration in the ageing process of normal individual as the higher planets have larger measurements of
time, Sankara even bestows mercy to devotees in forms that are perceived by all levels of individuals as at
26 the place of Chakreshwar in the Govardhan Parikrama which is situated in Vrindavan known to have a good
population of mosquitoes where by his boon today also, no mosquito comes at that place.
 In all these instances, Sankara is undoubtedly the personification of Vishwas. Sankara actually verifies the
philosophy with his prowess and presents to the conditioned soul the tangible science of actual nature of an
individual known as “Jaiva Dharma”.
Thus the analogy used often in relation with Shraddha and Vishwas actually holds true in meaning with
understanding of this deep subject. The analogy of hairdresser. We have Vishwas towards the hairdresser
that he won’t cut my neck, just the hair on my head. This is based on previous instance of the occurrence of
the activity. But there is no backing of a philosophical perspective. In theory, the hairdresser may cut the
neck, maybe by mistake or by insanity. There is no philosophical backing to say that he won’t do so. That is
why there is no Shraddha. We have Vishwas that is impure because in this case the Vishwas is compulsive.
We will always be in paranoia if we don’t believe that this is a sane headed hairdresser and that’s why this
Vishwas is impure in nature. The pure Vishwas accompanies Shraddha. After Shraddha comes Vishwas.
Goswami Tulsidas completes the verse beautifully as

“Bhavani Shankarau Vande Shraddha Vishwas Rupinau

Yabhyam vina na pasyanti siddhah swantah sthamishvaram ”

RCM, Balkand verse 1

I greet Goddess Parvati and Her consort, Bhagvan Sankara, embodiments of reverence and faith
respectively, without which even the adept cannot perceive God enshrined in their very heart.

27
AUGUST 2023 | ISSUE 01
COVER PAGE FEATURING

Bhakti Yogi - Musician - World traveler -

Lifestyle blogger - Based in Switzerland

madhavanaido

kirtanforever.com