Tamal Krishna Goswami (; June 18, 1946 – March 15, 2002), born Thomas G. Herzig in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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

, United States, served on the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by ...

's Governing Body Commission from its inception in 1970. He completed a bachelor's degree in

religious studies Religious studies, also known as religiology or the study of religion, is the study of religion from a historical or scientific perspective. There is no consensus on what qualifies as ''religion'' and definition of religion, its definition is h ...

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Honorifics

* His Holiness * Srila Gurudeva * Maharaja

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 on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, New York, he began associating with the Hare Krishna movement in 1968, and was accepted as a disciple by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami 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 from its beginning. Tamal Krishna Goswami maharaja left his body in a vehicular accident on 15 March 2002 at Phuliya in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India. His

samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

(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 (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

commentary by Tamal Krishna Goswami on the

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

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

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

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

. There are two popular lilas of Mohini which can be found in Canto Eight (chapters 9 and 12) of the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...

. Mohini also plays a prominent role in the popular Hindu story known as "the churning of the ocean of milk", and her role in this story is mentioned in numerous Hindu texts, such as the two epics, most of the

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

, 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 or 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 semantics, 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 English la ...

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, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gende ...

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 A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gro ...

in 1993. On the cover, there is an artistic rendering of an episode of Mohini-lila from the Bhagavata Purana. This depiction is used to illustrate the

puranic Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

text under discussion. The audio files are available online.

''Happiness is a Science''

''Happiness is a Science – Aditi's Vow'' is a 20th-century Hindu theological commentary made in 1993 by Tamal Krishna Goswami in regard to the Goddess

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 Bhagavata Purana. This commentary discusses Aditi's vow, Payovrata, which she undertakes for the benefit of her children the

Adityas In Hinduism, Adityas ( ) refers to a group of major solar deities, who are the offspring of the goddess Aditi. The name ''Aditya'', in the singular, is taken to refer to the sun god Surya. Generally, Adityas are twelve in number and consi ...

. In the narrative,

Mahabali Mahabali (IAST: Mahābalī), also known as Bali, Indrasenan, or Māveli, is a daitya king featured in Hinduism. He is the grandson of Prahlada, and a descendant of the sage Kashyapa. There are many versions of his legend in ancient texts suc ...

Maharaja, king of the demons, had conquered the heavenly

planets A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets by the most restrictive definition of the te ...

and driven out their rulers, the Ādityas – Aditi's children. The commentary by Tamal Krishna Goswami centers on Aditi's sacrifice in which she undertook a

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

of importance (the vow which is referenced is Payovrata) and discusses why Aditi undertook this vow or

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

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.

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 Converts to Hinduism from Judaism 1946 births 2002 deaths Tamal Krishna Goswami 20th-century American Jews Southern Methodist University alumni Alumni of Clare Hall, Cambridge