Srila Prabhupada: Yes. Krishna consciousness is not a question of belief; it is a science. The first step is to know the difference between a living body and a dead body. What is the difference? The difference is that when someone dies, the spirit soul, or the living force, leaves the body. And therefore the body is called "dead". So, there are two things: one, this body; and the other, the living force within the body. We speak of the living force within the body. That is the difference between the science of Krishna consciousness, which is spiritual, and ordinary material science. As such, in the beginning it is very, very difficult for an ordinary man to understand the importance of our movement. One must first understand that he is a soul, or something other than his body. For example, as a child grows, he becomes a boy, the boy becomes a young man, the young man becomes an adult, and the adult becomes an old man. Throughout all this time, although his body is changing from a child to an old man, he still feels himself to be the same person, with the same identity. The body is changing, but the occupier of the body, the soul, is remaining the same. So we should logically conclude that when our present body dies, we get another body. This is called transmigration of the soul.

We sell books, people read them and when they are convinced by their contents, they usually visit the temple. If they like it, they decide to join us. Or they see the public program, become interested, then they visit us and decide to stay. Usually it is one of these cases.

When Lord Krishna comes to this world He exhibits transcendental activities. He is exhibiting the activities from the spiritual world here. To be really the friend of all living entities Krishna has time for unlimited living entities. Not that in the spiritual world we have to make an appointment and can see Him every one billion years for two seconds. In order to be always with us in the material world He expands himself as the Supersoul in everyone's heart and accompanies us through millions of forms, trying to convince us to come home. In the Spiritual world there is no 'paramatma' feature. Instead, Krishna expands Himself there into unlimited forms according to the nature of the souls there to communicate with them all the time. And just like in the spiritual world Krishna expands Himself in so many forms to give us His association all the time, so when He comes down He exhibits the nature of the spiritual world by expanding Himself in so many husbands (in Dvaraka) or so many lovers (in Vrindavan) or so many dancers as there were in kirtan parties (as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri).

This is the superexcellent power and mercy of the Supreme Lord. What concern for each and every one! What incomparable kindness to all! Yet in our mundane conception we mistake the wonderful exhibits of His kindness to be mundane. With our impure mind we are misunderstanding His wonderful activities by projecting our mundane conceptions on Him.

We admit anyone regardless of race, religion, economical situation or anything else. We only ask those living in temples as "full-time" devotees to follow our rules and take part in temple programs. Otherwise anyone can become a member of congregation, live outside the temple and visit our programs when he likes and follow the rules according to his abilities. If they follow a stricter standard they can make their home into a center.

The Lord takes care of all living beings in the whole universe, so He will certainly take care of His devotees. Please, don't forget that we are a world-wide spiritual and cultural movement with more than 450 centers in 76 countries, and not just a bunch of strange cult members from your neighborhood. Most of the money we get from the sale of Srila Prabhupada's books (over ten million copies a year) published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, then from our famous restaurants and boutiques Govinda, from congregational members' gifts, life members and from the general public. Aside from this many of our projects like charitable programs and establishing cultural centers are sponsored by many governments all over the world.

Lord Krishna's disappearance is presented in the 30th and 31st chapters of Canto 11 of the Srimad-Bhagavatam. To briefly summarize, the Lord entered the forest and sat down in meditation. A hunter-devotee thought His lotus foot was the face of a deer and fired an arrow which grazed the Lord's foot. The hunter then came before Krishna and begged forgiveness for his offense. Showing His four-armed form, encircled by His personified weapons and symbols, He blessed the hunter and sent him to the spiritual world. The Lord then sent His weapons, symbols and His divine chariot to the spiritual world with His chariot driver Daruka. And then, in the view of Lord Brahma, Lord Shiva and all the demigods, Lord Krishna ascended back into the spiritual world Himself.

We can learn about existence of God in the same way as we know about the existence of an artist when we see a picture, or about the existence of parents when we see a child. Therefore when we observe nature, her workings and laws - which means there must be a lawgiver - we know that the intelligence of her creator, God, surpasses our concepts and that this God must be a person because only a person has an intelligence.

The impersonal brahman effulgence is one aspect of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, but it is only a partial representation of the Lord and is ultimately a subordinate emanation from His personal feature. Thus if one stops at the impersonal understanding of the Absolute Truth, his or her knowledge of God remains incomplete.

The Lord has two other features known as Paramatma and Bhagavan. In His Paramatma feature the Supreme Lord exists within each and every atom of His creation and also within the hearts of every living being In this way he pervades and supports the entire universe. This feature of the Lord is also a subordinate emanation from His eternal, original personal form.

The word Bhagavan indicates the personal form of the Lord, which is the ultimate source of all other existences and energies, and all other aspects and manifestations of Godhead. That is why Krishna is described as the "Supreme Personality" of Godhead. This personal feature of the Lord is most sublime and therefore the Lord is known as Krishna, or He who is "all-attractive".

To deny the Lord His beautiful personal feature, by which He reciprocates in loving exchange with all living beings who desire His association, is insulting because it denies the Lord all of the most attractive and appealing aspects of personal existence. With our tiny brains and limited understanding, we may not be able to comprehend how it is that the Supreme Lord can maintain His eternal, individual form and personality, while simultaneously expanding into everything else. But this poor fund of knowledge is no reason to deny the Lord's unlimited, transcendental form.

When we pronounce the name "Krishna", it is not any sectarian name. Krishna is God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and primary person. Although He is omnipresent, He does not leave His eternal abode where He lives in His original, transcendental form. Krishna is unlimited, whereas we, living beings, are limited in every way. Krishna is the unlimited source of all living beings and we are His eternal, tiny parts and parcels. He possesses all noble qualities in unlimited measure. He is the most beautiful of all. Because He is the Supreme, His form and personality are also supreme. No one is more beautiful or attractive than Him. Krishna attracts everyone. Therefore His name is Krishna, which means "all-attractive person". One who does not attract everyone cannot be God. The word "Krishna" also denotes the supreme pleasure and it is confirmed that the Supreme Lord is the source of all pleasure. Living beings have consciousness like the Lord and they desire to be happy. The Lord is always happy and if they associate and cooperate with Him, they will be also happy.

If drugs could help in God realization they would be more powerful than Him. How can we accept such a claim? Drugs are material chemical substances. How can something material help anyone in God realization which is of fully spiritual nature? That is not possible. That which a person experiences while taking drugs is just a certain type of intoxication or hallucination; it is not God realization.

Men have shaven head in a traditional way, with sikha (tuft of hair on the top of one's head). It is pure and practical and it expresses a submission to the Lord and detachment from material world. Women usually wear long hair in braids. This shows their chastity because in the Vedic culture women untie their hair only in privacy in front of their husbands. Dot between eyebrows (bindi) means that the woman is engaged. Married women aside from bindi also color their parting by red kumkum powder. Devotees in ISKCON dress in various ways, sometimes traditionally and sometimes in a modern way. Because ISKCON is also a cultural movement, devotees usually dress according to the traditional Vaisnava culture which is the main spiritual stream of Vedic culture in India. Sometimes people think that it is not practical in the West, but devotees feel that in time this traditional position will be appreciated. When you see for example a policeman in uniform, you immediately know that he is the person who protects you. Devotee dressed in dhoti (saffron robe) and with shaven head is such a transcendental policeman whom you can approach with spiritual problems. Thank to this way of dressing devotees can be easily recognized and people can come to them for spiritual knowledge. In Orient people dress in dhoti and sari (a Hindi word, from Sanskrit sati / zaaTii - SB 9.9.7) for thousands of years. Saffron, or orange male dress, means the man took a vow of celibacy. White male dress means he is in the householder order (grhastha) or he prepares himself to become a full-time temple member. Women usually wear colorful saris and jewels.

This is a so-called tilak, made from a clay from sacred Indian rivers, Ganges and Yamuna. In India you see people with many kinds of these signs according to the specific tradition they are part of. According to the tilak can be distinguished also various Vaisnava sampradayas (philosophical schools). We, Gaudiya Vaisnavas from Brahma-sampradaya, wear tilak made of two thin lines which converge at the root of the nose and a spot in the form of an almond on the nose. Those who have Visnu tilak on their forehead are devotees of Lord Visnu or Krishna. Neckbeads (kanti-mala) mean that the person took a vow to follow orders of genuine spiritual master, who is a direct representative of Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They are made of wood of the sacred tulasi plant just as the rosary used for chanting the mantra (japa-mala).

Hare Krishna, this name, was chanted by Lord Caitanya, who introduced this movement five hundred years ago in India. We are following the footprints of Lord Caitanya. Because He chanted Hare Krishna, therefore we are chanting Hare Krishna. But Lord Caitanya has recommended that God has innumerable names, and any one of them can be chanted.

Saffron robes and shaven head with tilak are not the most important things, even though they create supportive mental disposition, just as well-dressed soldier has a good feeling that he is a real warrior. Does it mean that he cannot fight without the uniform? No. Also God consciousness knows no obstacles - it can be revived under any conditions - but certain conditions are beneficial in this regard. Therefore certain lifestyle, dress, diet and so on are prescribed. These things help in developing Krishna consciousness but they are not entirely necessary. Thus even person living an ordinary life can study and develop Krishna consciousness.

Devotee, Krishna conscious person, does not sit idle. He knows that philosophy of Krishna consciousness is so important that it should be spread. Therefore members of this Krishna consciousness movement appear in public and sing Hare Krishna mantra, preach and distribute this first-class literature about Krishna consciousness. This is the mission of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In Krishna consciousness movement devotees serve without being paid, out of love for Krishna. They could work elsewhere and earn thousands a month, but his service is an expression of their love of God. Devotees serve in many ways - they garden, write, cook, clean etc. All their activities relate to Krishna and therefore they are Krishna conscious twenty four hours a day.

Yes, it is true that God can do anything. But He will not interfere with our minute independence, He will not impose Himself on the living being. Our suffering in this world is due to the misuse of our own independence. We are going to have to face our own responsibilities in this regard and stop blaming God. The sufferings we are currently undergoing are like the suffering of the dreamer in a nightmare. Ultimately they have no reality nor do they affect the soul who is simply undergoing the dreamlike conditions of material life due to his misidentification of the self with the material body.

One might still say that while the dreamer dreams his sufferings are very real to him. True. But there is another purpose to our sufferings. They are meant to gradually move us in the direction of inquiring into the problems of life and into our relationship with God. The ultimate suffering of the living being is the feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction that the part must feel unless it is in proper relation to the whole. We are all suffering in this world due to the fact that we have voluntarily separated ourselves from God and thus we will always feel unfulfilled, incomplete and unsatisfied, no matter how much we attempt to enjoy this world, because we are functioning artificially outside of our loving relationship with God.