May/June 2021

WELCOME  The Vedic scriptures tell us that Lord Krishna has appeared in this world repeatedly throughout a history that stretches far beyond that known to the modern mind. He comes in many forms to give us knowledge of ultimate reality and uplift us in other ways, including providing, through the records of His descents, material for spiritual contemplation.

Krishna is not obliged to reveal Himself to us; He does so as a pure act of mercy. For this reason one of His names is Patita Pavana, or “the purifier of the fallen.” The deity of the Lord worshiped in the temple is considered an incarnation, and one famous deity commonly referred to as Patita Pavana is Lord Jagannatha, who is Lord Krishna appearing in an unusual form. Our cover story in this issue, by Satyaraja Dasa, tells us much about Jagannatha and His famous temple on the east coast of India. A related article tells the remarkable story of ISKCON’s Jagannatha temple just down the road from ISKCON’s vast Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir complex in West Bengal.

Two other articles in this issue talk about Krishna’s compassion: Gauranga Darshana Dasa’s “Who Else Could Be So Kind?” and Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi’s “Krishna’s Mercy.”

Hare Krishna. – Nagaraja Dasa, Editor

Departments

From the Editor

Letters

Srila Prabhupada Speaks Out

Vedic Thoughts