In this issue we accompany Canadian-born Bhaktimarga Swami on his second walk across Canada, and we follow a group of Hare Krsna devotees on their annual touring festival through East Africa. Both the swami and the tour group took to the road for the same reason to introduce people to the philosophy and practice of Krsna consciousness, especially the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Bhaktimarga Swami reminded Canadians to slow down and think about the important questions of life, and the East Africa tour brought a spiritual message that can help eliminate the scourge of HIV from that part of the world.
Though the horror of a disease like HIV affects relatively few of us, we all suffer at least some degree of fear and anxiety. Two articles in this issue address that topic: Srila Prabhupada talks about "Freedom from Fear," and family therapist Arcana-siddhi Devi Dasi tells us the solution is to "Let Go and Let Krsna."
Connecting with Krsna requires connecting with His pure devotee. In "Initiation Into Spiritual Life," we hear about making the formal link with a spiritual master. The prerogative to make that decision separates us from the animals and answers the question posed in the title of another article: "Are We Special?"
(Nagaraja Dasa, Editor)
Our Purposes
• To help all people discern reality from illusion, spirit from matter, the eternal from the temporary.
• To expose the faults of materialism.
• To offer guidance in the Vedic techniques of spiritual life.
• To preserve and spread the Vedic culture.
• To celebrate the chanting of the holy names of God as taught by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
• To help every living being remember and serve Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead.