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Devotees’ Concern with and Approach to
           Social Issues

           Why should devotees be at all concerned with social issues?
           Shouldn’t we just speak about Kṛṣṇa and topics directly
           related to Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Certainly, devotional service
           is ultimately a purely spiritual process, yet within this world
           psychological and social factors undeniably influence persons
           who are trying to cultivate spiritual consciousness. The
           outlook  and  attitudes  of an  aspiring  transcendentalist  will
           necessarily  be af fected by his previous impressions  and by
           how he lives and acts within society.* In that regard, within
           the  Bhagavad-gītā  and  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,  Vedic social
           organization is discussed, along with the direct delineation
           of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. For instance, the Seventh Canto of
           Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  features an extended section wherein
           Nārada, who is famous as a brahmacārī, explains the various
           duties of the four social orders, and also the duties of women
           and related matters. And various  śāstras  (Brahma-vaivarta
           Purāṇa, Mahābhārata, Śiva Purāṇa) record graphic dialogs
           wherein Nārada inquires about and is instructed on the nature
           of women. Śrīla Prabhupāda also often discussed such subjects
           and gave many insights and directions pertaining to them. †

           Śrīla Prabhupāda made it clear that a major objective of
           ISKCON’s is to reform human society, so that the general
           populace may more easily take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness.  To
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           achieve this stated goal of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s, the members
           of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must be clear about

           * Lecture: Issues or Nāma-bhajana, or Both? <www.bvks.com/20053>
           † Lecture: Social Direction Needed in a Misled Age <www.bvks.com/2210>

           1. As outlined in the “Seven Purposes of the International Society for
           Krishna Consciousness” and in many places elsewhere within the corpus
           of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s teachings.

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