Tamal Krishna Goswami (; 1946–2002), born Thomas G. Herzig in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, served on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness's Governing Body Commission since its inception in 1970. He completed a bachelor's degree in religious studies at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

.Biography on ISKCON.COM

Honorifics

* His Holiness * Srila Gurudev * Maharaj

Biography

Born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, New York, he began associating with the Hare Krishna movement in 1968, and was accepted as a disciple by

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna (mantra), Hare Krishna movement". Members ...

Prabhupāda soon thereafter. From 1975 until 1979, Tamal Krishna Goswami headed the "Radha-Damodara Party". The party consisted of hundreds of Bhaktivedanta Swami's disciples, who traveled around the USA on buses, distributing Bhaktivedanta Swami's books. The Governing Body Commission (GBC) is the managerial authority of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. ISKCON's founder, Bhaktivedanta Swami, created the GBC in 1972 and since that time it has met on an annual basis. Tamal Krishna Goswami was a member of this body since its beginning. Tamal Krishna Goswami died in a vehicular accident on 15 March 2002 at Phuliya in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, India. His

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

(tomb) is placed beside Bhaktivedanta Swami's samadhi in ISKCON Sri Mayapur Dhama, West Bengal, India.

Literary contributions

''The Mysterious Pastimes of Mohini-murti''

''The Mysterious Pastimes of Mohini-murti is'' a 20th-century

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

commentary by Tamal Krishna Goswami on the

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...

. This commentary on the

was produced by Tamal Krishna Goswami in the Fall of 1993. Mohini-lila plays an important role on the periphery of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

. There are two popular

lilas Lilas ( fa, ليلاس, also Romanized as Līlās, Lailās, and Leylās; also known as Līlān and Leylān) is a village in Solgi Rural District, Khezel District, Nahavand County, Hamadan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic ...

of Mohini which can be found in Canto Eight (chapters 9 and 12) of the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...

. Mohini also plays a prominent role in the popular Hindu story known as "the

churning of the ocean of milk The Samudra Manthana ( sa, समुद्रमन्थन; ) is a major episode in Hinduism that is elaborated in the Vishnu Purana, a major text of Hinduism. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life, amrita. Nom ...

," and her role in this story is mentioned in numerous Hindu texts, such as the two Epics, most of the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, and numerous

vernacular literature Vernacular literature is literature written in the vernacular—the speech of the "common people". In the European tradition, this effectively means literature not written in Latin nor Koine Greek. In this context, vernacular literature appeared ...

. ''The Mysterious Pastimes of Mohini-murti'' is covered in two chapters of Bhaktivedanta Swami's

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

and commentary on the Eight Canto of the

, Chapter 9, ''The Lord Incarnates as Mohini-murti'' and Chapter 12, ''The Mohini-murti Incarnation Bewilders Lord Shiva''. In this commentary, Bhaktivedanta Swami's discussions of Mohini-lila especially as they relate to

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

in verse 8.9.9 are analyzed and considered. This includes the notable passage from Bhaktivedanta Swami's

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

. This commentary was released as a vinyl album in 1993. On the cover of the vinyl album, there is an artistic rendering of an episode of Mohini-lila from the

. This depiction on the

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

, is used to illustrate the

puranic Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

under discussion. The audio files are available online.

''Happiness is a Science''

''Happiness is a Science - Aditi's Vow'' is a 20th-century

theological commentary made in 1993 by Tamal Krishna Goswami in regards to the

Aditi Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit. 'boundless' or 'limitless' or 'innocence') is an important Vedic goddess in Hinduism. She is the personification of the sprawling infinite and vast cosmos. She is the goddess of motherhood, consciousne ...

as detailed in the eighth canto of the

. This commentary discusses

's vow,

Payovrata According to ''Bhāgavata Purāṇa'', Payovrata is the ''vrata'' ("penance") observed by goddess Aditi (अदिति) to propitiate Lord Vishnu. Ritual It is usually observed for 12 days, and during that time the devotee subsists on a diet o ...

, which she undertakes for the benefit of her children the

Adityas In Hinduism, Adityas ( sa, आदित्य, Āditya, of Aditi, ), refers to the offspring of Aditi, the goddess representing the infinity. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas are ...

. In the narrative, Mahabali Maharaja, king of the demons, had conquered the heavenly

planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...

and driven out their rulers, the Adityas - Aditi's children. The commentary by Tamal Krishna Goswami centers on Aditi's sacrifice in which she undertook a vow of importance (the vow which is referenced is

) and discusses why Aditi undertook this

vow A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedd ...

vrata Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as fasting and pilgrimage ( Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. It is typically accompanied with prayers seeking hea ...

in order to bring her children back to the heavenly planets. This commentary was released as a vinyl album in 1993. The audio files are available online.Audio Lectures for Happiness is a Science - Aditi's Vow
/ref>

Books

* * : Audiocassettes plus book. * * : Published as
Yoga for the 21st Century
' in 1994 and ''Yoga for the New Millennium'' in 2000 (). * * * *

Footnotes

External links

Official Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami WebsiteTamal Krishna Goswami Tape MinistryISKCON WebsiteKrishna.com
;Papers and books by Tamal Krishna Goswami
Books by Tamal Krishna Gosvami
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goswami, Tamal Krishna

Tamal Krishna Goswami Tamal Krishna Goswami (; 1946–2002), born Thomas G. Herzig in New York City, New York, United States, served on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness's Governing Body Commission since its inception in 1970. He completed a b ...

Converts to Hinduism from Judaism 1946 births 2002 deaths

20th-century American Jews Southern Methodist University alumni Alumni of Clare Hall, Cambridge