Shatakshi Goyal, the author of the cover story in this issue, grew up in Boise, Idaho, where she was home-schooled and later earned an engineering degree at age eighteen. She worked in her profession for two years before giving it up to study the classic arts of India, where she now lives. Like her, each of the women who attended the 2014 International Vaisnavi Retreat has a unique story, but they all share a desire to nurture their devotion to Lord Krishna . Shatakshi’s report provides insight into the spiritual value of gatherings of such likeminded souls.
This issue contains articles on various topics, from Sanskrit wordplay and the authority of the ancient Puranas to the charm of Krishna’s smile and the universal human quest for specialness. Caitanya Carana Dasa discusses a metaphor much loved by philosophers of the impersonalist school, looking at it from a fresh, devotion-friendly perspective. Nikuñja Vilasini Devi Dasi explores our search for meaning, and Krishna Dhana Dasa shows how we can learn from the dedication of engineering students facing final exams.
May reading this selection of articles help you “Somehow Fix Your Mind on Krishna ,” as Srila Prabhupada encourages us to do in his lecture leading off this issue.
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 Krishna , the Personality of Godhead.