WELCOME  This issue opens with a lecture by Srila Prabhupada given at the New Vrindaban farm community, the subject of a feature article in our next issue, honoring its fiftieth anniversary. In this current issue, Prabhupada speaks about expanding our love beyond our inner circle – to the whole world.

The pursuit of ideals like universal love implies the conviction that human life is meant for personal improvement. Back to Godhead aims to help and encourage its readers in the spiritual endeavor, and in this issue Satyaraja Dasa describes “Five Universal Stages” we can expect to go through when we choose to pursue a spiritual goal. Choice is the subject of Hari Parayana Dasa’s “Do We Have Free Will?” The obvious answer may seem to be “Of course!” But biologists have a different idea.

When we decide to do something, material or spiritual, where we do it can have a greater influence on the outcome than we might expect. Krishna Dhana Dasa, in “The Dynamics of Environment,” looks to Vedic history for examples of wise choices about “place.” In “What’s Wrong with Using a Crutch,” Navina Syama Dasa explains why it’s smart to get the help we need.

Hare Krishna. – Nagaraja Dasa, Editor

Departments

Letters

The Conceivability of Consciousness

Relish the Bhagavatam

Vedic Thoughts