accepted him in a leadership role, might succumb
to empty ritualism, devoid of spirituality. A genu-
ine guru, according to this view, is modeled on the
prototype of Bhaktivedanta Swami Pradhupada,
who was said to derive his authority from God
and to live his life in the purity of spirit.
The league upholds the paradigm of Prad-
hupada and advises that devotees be very care-
ful about proclaiming allegiance to a guru who
does not have a direct lineage to the godhead.
The league follows the beliefs and principles of
Prabhupada. Members must abide by all rules,
including VEGETARIANISM, repetition of the Hare
Krishna mantra, and abstinence from intoxicating
substances. Members are also required to refrain
from associating with members of ISKCON and
consorting with “fake gurus” who are merely
charismatic or who receive their status from a
group that does not promote the truth as the
league sees it. The league is headquartered in Bea-
verton, Oregon.
Milk Ocean
Between cosmic eras, Lord VISHNU is said to lie
asleep on a couch made of the great snake Adishe-
sha, who in turns floats upon a primordial ocean
of milk. This ocean appears in another well-known
Hindu myth: the churning of the MILK OCEAN by
the gods and the ASURAS (the antigods).
The story goes that the irascible sage Durvasas
once obtained a beautiful garland from a woman.
Seeing Indra, king of the gods, go by on his white
elephant Airavata, the sage offered the garland to
him. INDRA placed the garland on the head of his
elephant, who immediately took it with his trunk
and tossed it on the ground.
Durvasas was outraged at this insult. He
cursed Indra with the loss of his power to the asu-
ras, who then triumphed over the gods. The gods
went to Lord Vishnu to ask his help. Vishnu sug-
gested that they go to the Milk Ocean along with
the demons to churn out the powerful elixir of
immortality (amrita). The demons agreed to this
cooperative task, which could be accomplished if
they all worked together.
At Vishnu’s command, they gathered some
herbs to throw into the ocean; took Mount Man-
dara, which props up Mount Meru, as a churning
stick; and used Vishnu himself, incarnated as a
tortoise, as the base for churning. They used the
divine serpent Vasuki as the churning rope and
began to churn.
In some versions of the story, the first thing to
emerge from the churning ocean was a poison that
could consume all the worlds. The gods begged
SHIVA to control it, and he drank it up in one gulp.
His wife, PARVATI, fearing for his life, grabbed his
throat so the poison would not enter his stomach;
the burn on his throat can be seen in his iconogra-
phy as a dark blue marking. Fortunately, the next
things to emerge from the Milk Ocean were more
salubrious: Surabhi, the wish-fulfilling cow, came
forth, followed by Sri, the goddess of prosperity
and fortune (see LAKSHMI); Dhanavantari, the phy-
sician of the gods; the Kaustubha gem that always
adorns Vishnu’s chest; and other wondrous things
and beings, until finally, the nectar of immortality
was churned out.
Knowing that the demons would want to seize
the nectar, Vishnu took the form of the enchant-
ress MOHINI, and, while the demons were mesmer-
ized with her beauty, she served the nectar to the
gods alone. As only the gods were now immortal,
when the demons attacked them they were easily
routed; the world was once again in the hands of
the gods.Further reading: Guruseva Dasi, Churning the Milk
Ocean: A Young Reader’s Edition of the Classic Story from
the Puranas of Ancient India (LaCrosse, Fla.: Bhavani
Books, 2002); Cornelia Dimitt, and J. A. van Buitenen,
eds. and trans., Classical Hindu Mythology A Reader in
the Sanskrit Puranas (Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1978); E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic Mythology
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986); W. J. Wilkins, Hindu
Mythology: Vedic and Puranic, 2d ed. (Calcutta: Rupa,
1973).K 288 Milk Ocean