Page 32 - Powerful Feminine Qualities

perform the ceremony with the guidance of an expert priest. The purpose was to sanctify the mentality of the couple
before the act of conception. When the husband and wife worship Lord Krishna together and humble themselves to
the will of the Lord by prayer and sacrifice, then the Lord blesses them to have a purified mind free of lust, anger and
greed in preparation for the conception of a divine child.
The spiritual preparation for a holy union to beget children is necessary for the well-being of society. An increase in
children of divine qualities will offset the preponderance of the unholy members of society that have created a
turbulent society in moral free fall. Lord Krishna emphasizes the importance of spiritually inspired conception. “I am
sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O Lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna].” (Bg 7.11) The Lord blesses the act
of sex performed according to religious principles (dharma) with the goal of procreating divine children. Then the
parents accept the responsibility to educate their children to become Krishna conscious. This will populate society
with stable and morally upright citizens, whose goal will be to guide people back to Godhead by their practical
example of self-discipline, love and affection for all people, and the correct following of dharma, the path of righteous
living according to the Vedic principles as set forth by Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita.
In the present age of Kali-yuga, the age of hypocrisy and quarrel, very few couples perform the sacrament of
pre-conception (garbhodhana samskara). A devotee, Madhusudana das, questioned Srila Prabhupada if it was
necessary to perform the Vedic rituals for conception of a child. Srila Prabhupada replied on May 19, 1977. He wrote:
“We do not want all these rituals. Chanting Hare Krishna is our only business. According to Manu-Samhita you are all
mlecchas and yavanas. You cannot touch the Manu-samhita, what to speak of translating it. So if you try to follow the
Manu-samhita then you'll become a mleccha and yavana and your career is finished."
Madusudana das was asked by a devotee about his understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s answer. He replied the
following on October 12, 2003 to the devotee who questioned him.
“At the time, my wife and I were having trouble conceiving a child for many years. Various Sanskritists were beginning
to recommend following the many rituals for auspicious conception etc. So I had asked Prabhupada if I should do
those things and that was his response. Of course, Prabhupada's instruction was to simply chant 50 rounds before
trying to conceive.
My understanding is that the 50 rounds of chanting should not be minimized as being less effective that the
Manu-samhita rituals. Also, it's clear that I and many others were (I still am) mlecchas and yavanas (which became all
too obvious when we screwed up the movement as we did), so how could we know how and when to apply the
Manu-samhita. I think Prabhupada answered based on the time, place, and recipient.”
Srila Prabhupada unequivocally stresses that the ultimate purifying process for this age of Kali-yuga is the sincere
chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. He writes:
“The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajnas (sacrifices) for
the satisfaction of Vishnu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety, and after
finishing the present material body they can enter into the kingdom of God. That is the whole program for the
conditioned soul. By performance of yajna, the conditioned souls gradually become Krishna conscious and become
godly in all respects. In the Age of Kali, the sankirtana-yajna (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by
the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in
this age. Sankirtana-yajna and Krishna consciousness go well together. Lord Krishna in His devotional form (as Lord
Caitanya) is mentioned in the Srimad Bhagavatam (11.5.32) as follows, with special reference to the sankirtana-yajna:
krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam sangopangastra-parshadam |
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah ||
“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by
His associates, by performance of sankirtana-yajna.” Other yajnas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to
perform in this Age of Kali, but the sankirtana-yajna is easy and sublime for all purposes, as recommended in
Bhagavad-gita also.” (9.14)

32