7 Wonders Of The 'world' !!

Srila Prabhupada Appearance Day Special Issue !!!

Volume II Issue 14

APPETIZER No… No… No… We are not talking about the 7 wonders of this material world but about the 7 wonders of the spiritual world i.e. 7 wonders of the holy names of the Lord. The names of the Lord, “Hare, Krishna, and Rama” are invested with His full potencies. Singing God’s names, therefore, is to contact Him through the medium of transcendental sound. Thus, the effect of chanting is the same as the effect of directly associating with the Lord. The following is the translation of the verse in which Lord Chaitanya beautifully describes seven transcendental results which are attained by chanting the holy names.

MAIN COURSE “Glory to the Sri-Krishna-sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. Ths sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious. (Sri Shikshastakam 1)” Although many books have been written and many lectures have been delivered explaining the theological implications of this verse, we won’t go much into the details but would try to present a simple summary of the seven wonders of chanting Hare Krishna. They’re as follows: The chanting of Krishna’s name is a purifying agent that cleanses our hearts of envy, the root cause of our descent to this world and other bad qualities we have acquired like lust, greed and anger. As it purifies the heart, Krishna’s name also protects sincere chanters from any further contamination from the worldly energy and those affected by it. Chanting awakens pure devotion to Krishna, the soul’s dormant propensity to serve the Lord with Love; and further chanting revives the loving devotion that qualifies one for the greatest good fortune—Krishna’s association. A result of acquiring devotion is that devotees become illuminated with spiritual knowledge. Further chanting matures that knowledge into realization, which in time reveals devotees’ original position in one of the five relationships with Krishna.

As much as the heart is relieved of unwanted habits, to that degree we become devoted to Krishna; as much as devotion is firmly fixed in our hearts, to that degree we acquire realized knowledge; and as much as the heart is illumined by both devotion and knowledge, to that degree we taste spiritual happiness. In this way the ocean of bliss swells. Chanting frees conditioned souls of the illusion of identifying themselves with their body and mind, and establishes them in the cooling reality that they’re eternal spiritual entities. When devotees finally achieve the perfection of chanting, they taste the full nectar of loving devotion to Krishna. A nectar that makes the bliss of liberation seem insignificant.

DESSERT Interesting! Isn’t it? His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as, Srila Prabhupada by his followers, went to United States at an advanced age of 70 to distribute the holy names of the Lord and tell the ignorant mass of people about these 7 wonders. Amazingly He did it successfully. In just 10 years, He opened up 108 temples around the world to preach the holy names of the Lord. He inspired thousands by his personal example and is still inspiring and changing millions by the teachings he left in his books, which are available in more than seventy International languages. Even today, more than 30 years after his physical disappearance from this mortal world, his wonderful ISKCON society is distributing the holy names of the Lord through its more than 800 centers in about 175 countries around the globe!! Srila Prabhupada appeared in this world to fulfill the prophecy of Lord Chaitanya that His name will be heard in every town and every village of the world and he did it successfully. We dedicate this issue unto the Lotus Feet of Srila Prabhupada on his divine 112th appearance day (25th August 2008).

the HIGHER TASTE An ISKCON Delhi Publication

In loving service to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Magazine Committee: Director: Mohan Rupa Das, Author & Editor: Nandagopal Jivan Das, Design & Layout: Avyanga Das