Swami Bhakti Vigyan, head of the Russian chapter of the ISKCON spoke to Mona Mehta on the day a Russian court rejected the plea to ban the Gita.

What is your reaction to the Tomsk court’s dismissal of the plea for a ban on the Gita?

We’re grateful for all support of the Indian people and government in this regard. As the Gita says, if you stand for truth, truth will protect you. “Dharmo rakshita rakshatah”, meaning if you protect your religion or dharma, your dharma will protect you.

What is the significance of the judgement?

It was not the government, but some uninformed, misguided individuals related to the Russian Orthodox Church who put the Gita on trial. The plea submitted by the prosecutor based on an expert panel’s study of the Gita, showed that actually the issue was that of the difference between the Gita and the Christian view of the conception of God. But this is not the subject matter of a court case. They could have set a dangerous precedent. On two earlier occasions, when such pleas were filed in Moscow courts, they were dismissed at the initial stage by the prosecutors themselves. But this one time, the case went to court and was dismissed. Now we have a precedent and it’s a good thing.

How do you convey the Gita’s core message to the uninitiated?

Every living being is part and parcel of God, connected with God eternally, and every living being is spiritual by nature, and does not die. And the nature of every living being is eternity, knowledge and bliss. These are three things everyone is seeking.

Read more: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/faith-and-ritual/30580711_1_gita-moscow-courts-core-teachings