Monthly Archives: November 2016

Love vs. Lust
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, August 2010, Croatia, Lecture) Question: Can you define lust? If we serve our own senses, then it is called lust but if we serve the senses of Krsna, then it is called love. So love is about giving and satisfying others and lust is about satisfying ourselves. So, when we are the […]

Ratha Yatra in Lima, Peru (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada:…
→ Dandavats

Ratha Yatra in Lima, Peru (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Always think of Me and become My devotee”–should be taken as the final order of the Lord and should be followed. TLC 11: Service to the Lord
Find them here: https://goo.gl/iU1BHi

I was entering a big office building when I was suddenly stopped by a security guard…
→ Dandavats

In Forlì, Italy, as I was entering a big office building, I was suddenly stopped by a security guard who inquired boldly:
“Who are you? Where are you going?”
She was a young lady, and she seemed quite severe and determined to not let me enter. When I presented myself and explained in a few words about our mission she changed positively and asked:
“Don’t you need a security guard for your community? I’m tired of working for these people.”
I replied, “There is an ancient proverb, rakhe krsna mare khe mare krsna rakhe khe.” “If Lord Krishna protects a person, who can kill him? And if Krishna desires to kill someone, who can protect him?”
After that she smiled and became even more enlightened. Then, when I asked permission to go to the director, she became serious again and said, “You cannot go if you don’t show me those books you are carrying.”

Being awake to Krishna, to our relationship with Him, and our intentional effort to honor, respect, and grow that relationship
→ Dandavats

Staying Awake.
A friend returning from India and dealing with jetlag added a small line in an email to me – my goal today: to stay awake.

On self-mastery: Fight the archer, not the arrow
→ The Spiritual Scientist

jaḍās tapobhiḥ śamayanti dehaṁ           budhā manaś cāpi vikāra-hetum

śvā muktam astraṁ daśatīti kopāt         kṣeptāram uddiśya hinasti siṁhaḥ

jaḍāḥ — fools; tapobhiḥ — through austerities; śamayanti — try to pacify; deham — the body and senses; budhāḥ — the intelligent; manaḥ — the mind; ca — and; api — also; vikāra-hetum — the original cause; śvā — dog; muktam — thrown; astram — arrow; daśati — bites; iti — thus; kopāt — out of anger; kṣeptāram — hunter; uddiśya — tracing out; hinasti — kills; siṁhaḥ — lion;

“Fools try to pacify the senses by subjecting the body to austerity, but the wise focus on dealing with the mind, which is the source of desire and distress. Dogs angrily bite the arrow that has been hurled at them, but lions search out the arrow’s source, the hunter, and finish him off.” (Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāra, Vicāraḥ, Verse 238)

This Subhashita illustrates the futility of seeking self-mastery solely through sense mastery. It uses artistic license to represent someone foolish through a dog and someone intelligent through a lion. A foolish animal may bite the arrow that has pierced it, imagining that it is thus getting back at whatever is hurting it. But a wiser animal searches for and deals with the source of the arrow, the hunter.

Our lower desires are like arrows that pierce our consciousness. By inducing within us a tormenting sense of deprivation, they goad us towards indulgence. Frequently, we give in to those desires, not so much to get pleasure as to get relief from torment.

If we become wiser, we recognize that indulgence doesn’t mitigate the torment but aggravates it. Indulgence reinforces the desire, which then goads us with greater intensity. By our indulgence, we unwittingly sharpen the arrow that is then used to torment us further.

When we understand the folly of indulgence, we strive for resistance, for saying no to desire. However, if we are not discerning, we presume the senses to be the source of desire and try to starve them through rigid self-abnegation. Some world-rejecting paths take this presumption to extreme degrees. Seekers on those paths sometimes become masochists – they whiplash their bodies, hoping to thereby kill the desires of the flesh. Such self-torment may weaken desire temporarily, but can’t eliminate it permanently. Why? Because the body is not the source of desire; it is merely the channel for desire. Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.1.13-14) compares such self-abnegation to the burning of weeds – as the roots remain underground and unharmed, the weeds re-appear in due course of time. Similarly, the desire that seems to have disappeared during self-abnegation re-appears, sooner or later. As masochistic self-abnegation entails self-inflicted misery, it can be compared to a dog’s biting the arrow that has pierced it.

Wiser people seek to know the source of the arrow of desire. Significantly, this Subhashita indicates that the shooter of the arrow is the mind, not the sense object we desire. Consider alcoholics, for example. The desire for alcohol doesn’t come from the alcohol bottle; after […]

The post On self-mastery: Fight the archer, not the arrow appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Kartik Navadvip Mandal Parikrama 2016 (Album with photos)…
→ Dandavats

Kartik Navadvip Mandal Parikrama 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Vedic civilization is very strict. Because the whole aim was how to go back to home, back to Godhead, not sense gratification, eat, drink, be merry, enjoy. That is not the aim of human life. So everything was planned with that aim. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.3 – London, August 4, 1973
Find them here: https://goo.gl/MPdjrW

How do we differentiate between which desire to accept and which to reject?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/How%20do%20we%20differentiate%20between%20which%20desire%20to%20accept%20and%20which%20to%20reject.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How do we differentiate between which desire to accept and which to reject? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

What is the spirit of Bhagavad-gita?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/What%20is%20the%20spirit%20of%20Bhagavad-gita.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post What is the spirit of Bhagavad-gita? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

What makes Vedic knowledge infallible and human knowledge fallible?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/What%20makes%20Vedic%20knowledge%20infallible%20and%20human%20knowledge%20fallible.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post What makes Vedic knowledge infallible and human knowledge fallible? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Who is fit to understand Bhagavad-gita?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Who%20is%20fit%20to%20understand%20Bhagavad-gita.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Who is fit to understand Bhagavad-gita? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Why did Krishna choose Arjuna as the recipient of Bhagavad-gita?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Why%20did%20Krishna%20choose%20Arjuna%20as%20the%20recipient%20of%20Bhagavad-gita.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Why did Krishna choose Arjuna as the recipient of Bhagavad-gita? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Why is Vedic knowledge received through disciplic succession?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Why%20is%20Vedic%20knowledge%20received%20through%20disciplic%20succession.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Why is Vedic knowledge received through disciplic succession? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Does existence alone go from one life to another without carrying any karma from the past?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Does%20existence%20alone%20go%20from%20one%20life%20to%20another%20without%20carrying%20any%20karma%20from%20the%20past.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Does existence alone go from one life to another without carrying any karma from the past? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Which is superior: fate or one’s own exertion and effort?
→ Dandavats

By Bhayahari Dasa Satyavrata Muni is raising the perennial philosophical conundrum of predestination versus free will. In reply, Lord Matsya explains that three elements—fate, effort, and time—conjointly affect the course of one’s life. He gives the ex…

Can spiritual wisdom explain split personality disorder?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Can%20spiritual%20wisdom%20explain%20split%20personality%20disorder.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Can spiritual wisdom explain split personality disorder? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Free will or Destiny (audio)
→ Dandavats

By Vraja Vihari das The “American Dream” is built on the presumption of free will: If we try hard enough and work smart enough, we can reach our goals. Yet karma and destiny are some of the biggest influences in our life. Now new findings in neuroscien…

ISKCON Moscow Lights Up Devotees’ Hearts at Diwali (Album with…
→ Dandavats

ISKCON Moscow Lights Up Devotees’ Hearts at Diwali (Album with photos)
One thousand Russian devotees, friends of Krishna and Indian community members gathered to celebrate Diwali in spectacular style in Moscow on Saturday, October 29th.

The crowd packed out a rented auditorium in ISKCON Moscow’s Kuusinena Street building, just ten minutes’ drive from the Kremlin.

Radharani’s Palace (Album with photos) Indradyumna Swami:…
→ Dandavats

Radharani’s Palace (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Varsana and the hills surrounding the home of Srimati Radharani are most dear to devotees of the Lord. Our parikrama party spent an entire day exploring that transcendental abode.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hF1SCi

Radha Kunda Seva: October 2016 Photos and Updates (Album with…
→ Dandavats

Radha Kunda Seva: October 2016 Photos and Updates (Album with photos)
We pray that this update finds you all experiencing a very propitious and auspicious Kartika, dear friends. We began the month of October with a painting marathon in anticipation of the *millions* of pilgrims who would soon be inundating Radha Kunda to honor Srimati Radharani’s special Kartika month also known as the month of Damodara. As we hoped, construction on the kitchen has begun! Despite half the building crew coming down with chikungunya (similar to dengue fever only worse), they managed to start the work with several deliveries of earth in order to raise the ground at the kitchen site. This is a very important first step since otherwise, the low-lying area would be flood prone during the rainy season. We are so grateful to you, our family of supporters – those of you have newly joined our efforts and those who have so generously increased your donations – for stepping forward to sponsor our widows’ daily meals! We are up to 78 sponsored out the 80 we are presently feeding! We are feeling optimistic that with your help we will be able to reach even more ladies in need. The enthusiasm of the visiting pilgrims and sadhus inspired and enlivened our crew this month. So many festivals! So much color and celebration! Yes, the cleaning work quadruples, but joy is in the air and it’s an honor to serve the Vaishnavas in this way – cleaning and serving prasadam. Jai Sri Radhe! Shyam! Thank you for being part of the team! Please browse our latest photos and join our efforts by visiting www.radharani.com. Your servants, Campakalata Devi dasi, Padma Gopi Devi dasi, Urmila Devi Dasi, and Mayapurcandra dasa.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/vnbtvI

Lord Damodar with his wooden mortar enters Bollywood!
→ Dandavats

By Mahavaraha Das On the evening of the 27th of Oct 2016, Bollywood fashion designer Rohit Verma invited HH Jayapataka Swami to have a Damodar program at his fashion studio in Mumbai. It was a short and well organized program for which Rohit Verma had…

Damodar Lila Lecture By Bhakti Charu Swami At ISKCON Noida
Bhakti Charu Swami

His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj visited ISKCON Noida temple yesterday, 8th November 2016, and gave an amazing class in Hindi on Damodar Lila. Please find the audio recording of this class here:    

The post Damodar Lila Lecture By Bhakti Charu Swami At ISKCON Noida appeared first on Bhakti Charu Swami.

How can we strengthen our faith, especially while going through mood swings?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/How%20can%20we%20strengthen%20our%20faith,%20especially%20while%20going%20through%20mood%20swings.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How can we strengthen our faith, especially while going through mood swings? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How can we disconnect from undesirable thoughts?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/How%20can%20we%20disconnect%20from%20undesirable%20thoughts.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How can we disconnect from undesirable thoughts? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Can the soul experience anything other than what is displayed on the mind’s screen?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Can%20the%20soul%20experience%20anything%20other%20than%20what%20is%20displayed%20on%20the%20mind’s%20screen.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Can the soul experience anything other than what is displayed on the mind’s screen? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Does the level of consciousness indicate the strength of the soul?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Does%20the%20level%20of%20consciousness%20indicate%20the%20strength%20of%20the%20soul.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Does the level of consciousness indicate the strength of the soul? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Can’t future science explain consciousness?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Can’t%20future%20science%20explain%20consciousness.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Can’t future science explain consciousness? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How are the soul, mind and body brought together?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/How%20are%20the%20soul,%20mind%20and%20body%20brought%20together.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How are the soul, mind and body brought together? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How can we know if our intelligence is misleading us through rationalization?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/How%20can%20we%20know%20if%20our%20intelligence%20is%20misleading%20us%20through%20rationalization.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How can we know if our intelligence is misleading us through rationalization? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Will we ever come to a spiritual level when we understand Krishna’s plan perfectly?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/Will%20we%20ever%20come%20to%20a%20spiritual%20level%20when%20we%20understand%20Krishna’s%20plan%20perfectly.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post Will we ever come to a spiritual level when we understand Krishna’s plan perfectly? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

How can some people remember their past lives?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/CCD%20QA/2016%20QA/11-16%20QA/How%20can%20some%20people%20remember%20their%20past%20lives.mp3
Download by “right-click and save content”

The post How can some people remember their past lives? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Monday, November 7th, 2016
→ The Walking Monk

Sarasota, Florida 
Regardless of the Vote

Sasvata, and his eleven-year-old son, Oliver, and I, made it to the bay, from their home by the Atlantic.  We hung legs over a concrete water barrier, which had enough space for buttock accommodation.  The water was supremely calm.  Clams, oysters, tadpoles, fish, and water plants were in view and under our dangling feet.  But it was dolphins we were supposed to notice.

“Did you see the dolphins?” asked an elderly couple canoeing toward us.

“No, couldn’t you bring one of them over for us to look at?”

(Chuckle)

“Are you Buddhist?  Which order?”

“I’m a Krishna monk.  Hare Krishna?  We’re fifty-years-old this year.  Our guru came from India to begin the mission; signed some papers in New York in ’66.  You remember that great time?”

“Oh yeah!”

The woman then said that her husband, sitting behind her, would be on TV tonight.  Channel 7.

“What’s the purpose?”

“He’s an election authority—predictions…”  She was referring to the presidential campaign for tomorrow between Clinton and Trump. 

Then he spoke. “I predict it will be Clinton 307 / Trump 231 in the voting.”

Apparently the whole of America will be voting.  Schools will be voting stations and almost everyone takes a day off.  The world will be waiting.

We bid our good-byes to the nice couple.  We proceeded on with our walking and chanting.  Our bhakti (devotion) will carry on, regardless of the vote.

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Sunday, November 6th, 2016
→ The Walking Monk

Sarasota / Seminole, Florida 
Cutting A Corner
Namamrta, a retired-professional woman, hosted Ananta’s family and myself at her home last night.  She also tried to direct us to the Pinellas Trail, a thirty-seven mile cycling / walking pathway which is situated behind her house.  Access to it is not so easy.  She led us through the lawns of two neighbour’s lots.  One of those neighbours didn’t quite see her but they saw me and wondered.

“What are you looking for?” asked the curious couple, the owners.

It’s not every day that a monk walks on your grass.  In any event, we found our way to Pinellas.

Two minutes into the trek and a woman starts talking.  “Where are you from?”

“Canada!”

Ananta introduced me as The Walking Monk and how I trekked half of the U.S. “From New York to Nebraska,” I said. “To Lincoln, to be more precise.”

“I’m from there!”

“Actually I went beyond Lincoln—to the town of Seward.”

“Well that’s the exact place where I’m from,” she said.

“The police were particularly nice to me in Seward.”

“Oh, my sister works there—Paula Peterson.”

“Small world.”

She agreed.

“I’ll reconvene walking from there in May.  Nice to meet you.”  Of course, I’ll contact Paula in the spring.  I love co-incidences.

In Sarasota, a substantially populated area, we did conduct a satsang in an American family’s backyard.  Yes, it was pre-arranged and it was devotionally fulfilling.  We had a good attendance and we were on the grass with our stories and our mantras.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Saturday, November 5th, 2016
→ The Walking Monk

Tampa, Florida

 

 

Engagement of Sorts on November 5

 

 

I did my trek on Lake Burnett’s Boulevard, but it became a struggle to figure out where there’s a lake or a boulevard.  It’s basically a sandy soil, country road—at least in the stretch I know near Alachua.  It’s awesome, really.  Quiet.  There are pine, oak and more trees which attract the mystical look of Spanish moss that sways in the wind.

I feel I have the road (boulevard) all to myself.  The thing about America is you have roadways everywhere and in every direction.  It’s not always a clean grid to follow.

In any event, I have my routine route and this road factors into it.

I arrived in time for Alachua’s Guru Puja, a morning ceremony for expressing gratitude to the guru, and we then conducted a class, or more like a discussion, on the life of Sri Chaitanya.  That was followed by Ananta’s orchestration of visitations by individuals, persons who seek encouragement and/or give it.

Evening time opened up to a Bhakti Vrksha gathering in Tampa, my first visit to the city.  Quite the mixed crowd of enthusiasts!  We have south, north, east and west natives of India.  Then there was outgoing personality-type Todd, from Minnesota, Erwin from South America, a chap from Russia and an Afro-American woman who had her rhythms down when it came to playing kartals(hand cymbals).  Ramiya, my good friend with origins from Detroit, organized the event and is the usual facilitator.

Questions poured out from the people with regard to the subject of “three modes,” as characterized from the constant companion, the book Bhagavad-gita.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Archives of historic Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard to…
→ Dandavats

Archives of historic Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard to be gifted to ISKCON.
Goddard family to present archives of Leicestershire architect Joseph Goddard to ISKCONRead More…