Page 19 - HIRS - Eng
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PREFACE xvii
would break conventions and wouldn’t hesitate to express
our individuality.
After I graduated and settled into my first job, and experienced
the thrill of having my very own money to spend, I figured
life could only get better.
It did — although not quite as I had expected.
One day, I met a young man, and as we became friends, he
would often engage me in conversation on a topic I had not
given much thought to: spirituality. I admitted I had faith in
God, but as he probed further, I realized that my faith was
purely sentimental and not based on any real philosophy. He
gave me books which explained the scientific basis of religion.
It appealed to my rational mind for I was not expected to ‘just
believe.’ These books were written by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupāda, a saint in the ancient Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition
and the founder of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness. Śrīla Prabhupāda had painstakingly translated
1
the Vedic texts into English, and written commentaries, so
2
1. Just as Mr. and Ms. are prefixed to names of men and women,
the Sanskrit word ‘Śrīla’ is used to show respect and reverence to
an eminent personality.
2. The Vedas are a vast body of knowledge that cover both material
and spiritual aspects of human life. At the present time, Vedic culture
is incorrectly equated with Indian culture. Although it is true that
the Indian subcontinent has been the hub of Vedic culture since
time immemorial, and currently followers of this culture are found
predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, the version of culture we
see today in India is far removed from the high ideals that epitomize
College life was an endless stream of parties and ‘excursions.’ Vedic culture. From the Vedic scriptures we learn that centuries ago
this was the predominant culture throughout the world, but with
time its influence has diminished.