Author Archives: Dandavats.com

What to Pray For and How Krishna Reciprocates With Our Prayers.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to pace back and forth on his balcony and pose questions to himself, and then answer them. I do the same in this newsletter. I ask the questions of myself and then answer them. I ask subtle questions that I believe are important for our progress in Krishna consciousness.
I ask about the nature of pure prayer: Is it wrong to pray to Krishna to protect us materially? Is it okay to pray to Krishna to fulfill material desires that would help us in devotional service or make us more peaceful so we can be more steady? And would such prayers indicate a lack of faith in His protection and maintenance?
I also ask if praying can change our karma, if praying is wrong if we don’t endeavor to achieve what we are praying for, do we really need to pray if we are already making a full effort to achieve our goals (what we are praying for), and if Krishna knows everything do we really need to pray to Him at all?

May you always think of Krishna,

Mahatma das
____________
1. Since we all have our individual karma, if we are praying to Krishna to attain something that we are not destined to get according to our karma, can we still get it?

Yes, praying can change our karma. But since karma is Krishna’s law to bring us closer to Him, why would He change it? There is a verse in Bhakti Sandharba that says if we only approach Krishna for material things, Krishna will reciprocate with that foolish person; but he won’t get bhakti. For this reason our mood should not be to ask for material things unless such material things or desires are in relation to Krishna’s service.

Krishna uses our karma to purify us, so if we pray to change that karma we may be praying to Krishna to interfere with His plan for what is best for us. But normally, whatever our karma, Krishna reduces the reactions for us.

Srila Prabhupada said it may be our karma to have our head cut off, but because we are devotees, we only get a cut on our finger. As a devotee becomes purified, he no longer needs purification of his full karma, so it is reduced by Krishna. Also, no matter what kinds of happiness and distress await a devotee, by responding to them in a Krishna conscious way, we are less affected by the happiness and distress. This is one way our destiny changes by surrendering to Krishna, i.e. we see and respond differently to our karma. Plus, we experience greater happiness in devotional service than what our karma can ever bring us.

Being disturbed by happiness and distress is an impediment to bhakti, so if we tolerate them we will be spiritually happy. And by advancement in Krishna consciousness we learn to better tolerate happiness and distress. Ultimately, our desire to pray for something material is about being happy. And by Krishna consciousness we can become many times happier.

Krishna will either reduce our karma or utilize it for our spiritual advancement. Receiving Krishna’s protection means that Krishna does what’s best. Usually our karma is what’s best for us, so Krishna uses it.

The main thing is to always pray in a way that invokes our dormant love.

2. How would you answer the above question in relation to devotees who are mostly engaged with work and family? Is there a difference between how karma affects them and how it affects those who are “fully engaged” in service?

The whole meaning of God is that He reciprocates with His devotees. So it depends on the devotee’s attitude, not ashram or external situation. If one’s ashram affects their spirit of dedication, then it will affect how Krishna reciprocates (“ye yatha mam prapadyante).”

Since every desire we have is known to Krishna, and every desire is really a prayer, is there any difference in the result we obtain by desiring something that we don’t pray for and desiring something we do pray for? The desire itself is the essence of prayer, but prayer is one of the processes of devotional service. So we should pray. Also, praying intensifies the desire. And from the position of rasa, not everything is known to Krishna; He is forgetful if that serves rasa. So it’s best to both desire and pray because maybe He won’t fulfill a specific desire unless we pray for it.
4. If my desire is material, since Krishna already knows what it is, why bother Him by asking Him to fulfill it? Plus, wouldn’t this show a lack of faith and purity since Prabhupada says, “A pure devotee of the Lord is ashamed to ask anything in self interest. But houeholders are sometimes obliged to ask favors being bound by the tie of family affection.”

In distress a devotee will want to seek shelter someplace; so why not seek help from Krishna? That seeking shelter is a natural flavor of love because the servant’s mood of love is that Krishna is my maintainer and protector. Of course with that confidence one may consider that there is no need to ask anything from Krishna because He is already maintaining and protecting us. So according to our faith we will ask – or not ask – Krishna for help. But either way there should be a mood of devotion, i.e. whatever we pray for, even if it is material, should help our bhakti in some way. Still, what we ask for will often depend on our level of faith.

5. Is there some way to purify what may seem to be a materially oriented prayer by praying for it only if I think it will help my service? In this way, although I may pray for a spouse, material security, or health, my mood is that with these things I can better serve Krishna and if He desires to give me these things I will use them for Him?

Yes, if you need to pray and compromise the spirit of love by asking God for something, then try to acknowledge that God’s will is best and what pleases Him most is by asking, as you have suggested, for things that will enhance your service, not your sense gratification. And if you are not sure what you are asking for is proper, you can add the phrase “if you so desire” to your prayer.

6. It seems unproductive, perhaps even useless, to pray for something that we don’t strongly desire and thus don’t actively purse. For example, I could pray to become free of envy but do little or nothing to become non-envious. To me this is like asking someone to help me carry a table and when they lift their end, I don’t lift mine. There is a saying, “Act like everything depends on you and pray like everything depends on God.” So is it improper to pray unless we are willing to make efforts to achieve what we are praying for?

I don’t think it is useless to pray this way because a devotee’s mood is that everything depends on Krishna. It is an acknowledgment that we are not independent of Him, which is the mood of surrender and the gateway to bhakti. So we ask for purity and at the same time the act of praying itself is the consciousness and endeavor for purity. In other words, praying for something that we do not yet strongly desire, and are thus not really pursuing, is still purifying as an act of sadhana, and by acting in this way the pure desire can develop.

We can also pray for the desire to want to become pure.

7. If we have a strong desire for pure devotional service, and thus take care to perform the activities that will help us achieve this, won’t that get us to our goal even if we don’t pray to achieve it? In other words, if I am totally fixed on my goal, isn’t that really the perfection of prayer, the external manifestation of prayer. Or is prayer still necessary?

Prayer is still necessary to keep us in the humble mood of dependence on Krishna to achieve success. Otherwise our determination may turn to into ahankara, thinking that I can achieve everything by my own power.

8. What about prayers to help us out of dangerous situations? A devotee doesn’t ask Krishna for anything yet at the same time is totally dependent on Krishna for protection. In danger ,we pray to Lord Nsmhadeva. Draupadi prayed to Krishna to protect her and Uttara came to Krishna when she saw the brahmastra coming. Only Krishna can protect us so is it wrong or right to seek and ask for protection. Or should we just ask Krishna to protect our devotional service?

In Nectar of Devotion , Srila Prabhupada says we should go to the Lord and reveal our troubles to Him. Prabhupada also said go to Gaura Nitai, tell them your problems, and they will do the needful. Again, if protection is motivated ultimately by the desire to be pure, then such prayers are welcome. Sometimes we circumstantially have to ask Krishna for material help because He is our only shelter and we are in great difficulty. And the nature of such prayers and dependence will reflect the level of our advancement. So although we want to elevate the quality of our prayers to not have to ask Krishna for anything on our own account, we also want to be real when we pray.

9. It seems there is a fine line between accepting a situation and praying to change a situation. When we pray for changing a situation that we can personally do nothing to alter, we may be putting ourselves into a mind set in which we will be unable to deal with the consequences if the situation doesn’t change. Is there a guideline?

Sometimes we need to pray for the strength to deal with the situation rather than pray to change the situation. “Krishna, please give me the strength, intelligence and ability to deal with the challenges that I face.”

10. What about the prayers of one who asks the Lord to save him from the ocean of birth and death? Can we say that on the platform of vaidhi, this is appropriate, but on higher platforms of bhakti it is not? And how does this relate to the question about praying to Krishna for protection?

For a neophyte, a prayer to be saved from the ocean of birth and death is in accordance with his level of advancement. He is suffering in the material world and wants to get out. This suffering is a strong impetus for him to be Krishna conscious. For a more advanced devotee, he wants to be free from the ocean of birth and death in the sense of, “Place me as an atom at your lotus feet.” He always wants to serve the Lord, free from all material impurities, be it in heaven or hell.

By Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi As we settle into the rhythm of the New Year here are some pocket meditations to carry with us every day. These small reminders can bring quality to our lives and thus help us feel more alive. As the Joseph Campbell…

Love is beyond the law.
Krsna has regulated the material world with perfect regard for the karma of living beings.
For every action I perform in this material world, I am subject to an equal, opposite reaction. This is the relentless, insurmountable rule of the material nature regulated and enforced by the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – which like ropes, bind the living entity tightly, forcing him to submit.
Lord Krsna says:
“There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature.” (Bg. 18.40)
However, devotional service transcends the laws of the material nature.

Simply by surrendering to Krsna, one can easily cross over the otherwise impassable ocean of material nature by Krsna’s grace. (Bg. 7.14)

Lord Brahma corroborates this principle in the Brahma Samhita, saying: karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajan – “Krsna burns up all the karma of those engaged in His devotional service.” (Brahma Samhita 5.54)

And in the third canto of Srimad-bhagavatam, Kapiladeva tells Devahuti that the devotional assets a devotee acquires from devotional service are never lost under any circumstances.

These evidences show that work under the modes of nature is binding, predictable, and temporary. On the other hand, loving service to Krsna is liberating, beyond the laws of material nature, and brings permanent assets to the devotee.

As one learns about and clearly understands the difference between law-bound karmic work and voluntary work for Krsna in devotional service, one comes to appreciate that Krsna has compassionately given us free choice.

One who knows the options and freely chooses to serve Krsna does so out of love. The expression of such love – through active devotional service to Krsna – is the source of happiness and is the most powerful force in existence.

Lord Caitanya told Rupa Goswami:

“The exchange of spiritual happiness between Krsna and His devotee in which Krsna is controlled by His devotee is compared to an ocean of nectar into which the devotee and Krsna plunge. This is the verdict of learned scholars who appreciate Krsna’s opulence.” (Cc Madhya, 19.229)

Recognizing this fact, French poet Victor Hugo wrote, “Love conquers all.”

And in Srimad-bhagavatam, 10.14.3, Lord Brahma confirms that those who give up all other methods of understanding Krsna and serve Him by submissively hearing about Him from pure devotees will come to conquer even Lord Krsna who is otherwise unconquerable.
Vaisesika das

Cause of Material Life.
Question: Why did we come to the material world in the first place? I know this question has been asked many times and it seems no one really has the correct answer. I have heard from various other devotees that each individual will eventually find out why based on their own individuality; but there must be some logical explanation for God to build this material world. From my own conclusion and what I have heard is that we were given a choice to enjoy independently of Him while we were in the spiritual world since we are all individual beings, but why would we make that choice if we were enjoying eternal happiness? Could it be that we still didn’t have freedom, perhaps? And keeping us there in the spiritual world with no choice at all would have meant He really caged us in and forced us to be there. But then again it is our eternal position. It’s confusing – can you please elaborate on this subject. Why did we come to the material world?

Romapada Swami: As you indicated, yes, we are here because of our choice to enjoy independently of Krishna. But your question probes the reason or cause as to why would someone who is experiencing complete happiness in the spiritual world would make such a choice, as if he was experiencing
some shortcoming, or exhibiting a reaction to his dissatisfaction or rebellion against being ‘caged’ within the spiritual realm?
If you search through the digest of previous questions and answers, you will find that the ‘event’ of misuse of free will is not a ‘chronological event’ (this means ‘an event within time’, eg “In the past I was outside of this room, then some time passed, then some notion came into my mind, and that inspired me to come within the room, which also took place through the passage of some time.”) but constitutes an event nonetheless. Call it an ontological event, if you will.
Now let us explore the ’cause’ of the soul’s misuse of free will.
The source of any hypothetical dissatisfaction could not be a reaction to the lack of freedom, as it seems your question proposes. The very fact that we are within the material circumstance of life implies that we do have such freedom; if we were forced or caged within the spiritual world, as you put it, we wouldn’t be here! The point is that free will also exists in the spiritual realm, and naturally so, since minute free will is an inherent quality of the soul, just as unlimited free will is an inherent quality of God.
Despite the all-perfect nature of the spiritual world, there is one desire which a living entity cannot possibly satisfy in that realm, a desire which can only be approached in illusion – the unceremonious aspiration to become God oneself!
The source of the misuse of free will is NOT coming from some source outside of the soul, acting upon it. Tiny free will is inherent within the soul itself, and there is no other cause.
By constitution, the living entity, being a miniscule fragmentary part of the Supreme, has freedom which is correspondingly limited. Jivas are dependent on the Supreme for enjoyment, much as a child is dependent on their mother and father. In the spiritual world, souls can enjoy unlimited bliss, but by serving the Lord and not independently.
There, Krishna is the only Enjoyer and the Cynosure of everybody’s attention and devotion. For those who unfortunately resent the Lord’s unrivaled opulence and His position as the central Enjoyer of all existence, He out of great kindness creates this illusory realm – like a loving father’s indirect protection of his prodigal son. Besides giving the soul the opportunity for an illusory sense of unlimited freedom, by illusion’s inherent miserable nature, it helps rectify the soul of this mentality. This is one of the grand mysteries of material creation.

Iskcon Toronto: What a Way to Kick Off the New Year!
Festival Report by: Smruthi Venkateshan
New Year’s Day kicked off with a bang at the Toronto Hare Krishna Temple, with grand celebrations for His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada who is the founder of the ISKCON movement.
The night started out with a melodious kirtan and arati ceremony for their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Ksira-Chora Gopinatha. After the arati, everyone gathered around Srila Prabhupada and offered their thanks to him, by placing flowers on his lotus feet.

In the mood of giving thanks, devotees presented Srila Prabhupada a letter that the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau wrote to ISKCON Toronto in celebration of our movement’s 50th anniversary. Devotees attempted to persuade Prime Minister Trudeau to join them for the Ratha Yatra this year, by sending a photo with the letter and all the devotees who were gathered.

Following the special photo session, kids from 4 to 13 years, gave a small recital of verses from the Gita as a special offering to Srila Prabhupada. Continuing the celebrations, Toronto showcased its unique connection to Remuna a holy place in India and explained the origins of Sri Sri Radha-Ksira-Chora Gopinatha in the form of a play, expertly directed by Bhaktimarga Swami. After a ecstatic kirtan, and arati, devotees celebrated the night away with a wonderful vegetarian feast!

Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra picks up momentum to reach the 108 mark!
The Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra commemorating ISKCON’s Golden Jubilee year of 2016 reached the 105th village on 28th December 2016.
The three-days Yatra fulfills the ardent desire of HG Satya Madhav Prabhu and Manimanjari mataji to take the Holyname to their native and adjacent village.
The first village, Chandana Pally in Nalgonda district of Telangana State, is located on the outskirts of the Nalgonda district near to Panagal Uadaya Samudram (reservoir). This village was shifted to construct the reservoir.This reservoir supplies drinking water to the nearby villages as the villages in Nalgonda district are mostly affected with high fluoride content.

The farmers in this village cultivate paddy and has orchards of mango and orange trees.

Satya Madhava Prabhu’s uncle (Sri Kompaly Chendraiah) coordinated and helped in organizing the Yatra in this village.

The program started with a Nagar sankirtan with about 130 – 150 villagers participating. A video show on the need for cow protection was screened. Most of the viewers become emotionally surcharged when they saw the present situation in the agriculture sector especially when viewed in the context of diminishing cows in the villages.

Six maha books and few small books were distributed. The highlight of this Yatra was that HG Paramhansa prabhu with his group of devotees, who are running the Bhakti Vedanta Institute, also participated.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/Nj3L02

Chaitanya Charan Das: How do we explain the authenticity of the Lord’s pastimes to skeptics who doubt Vyasadeva’s saintly authority?
Listen to it here: https://goo.gl/YxLsLX

Maggie the gentle horse.
Last weekend I visited some devotee friends in Big Sur, a very natural, scenic area along the coast of California. My hosts, Yamuna Dasi and Todd, who are local residents, took me for a walk one day up a hillside trail. Along the way, a friendly and gentle horse named, Maggie, joined us.
Maggie lives in a stable nearby Yamuna and Todd’s home; but during the day, she wanders about the wide-open countryside, grazing.
After meeting up with us, Maggie followed us wherever we went.

Temptation to watch movies.
Question: I am an initiated devotee and stay away from my shiksha guru as well as diksha guru. I attend local chapter of the ISKCON temple thrice a week and participate in the activities of the temple. My (including my wife) daily routine of activities are as per ISKCON guidance. We get up at 3.30am, mangala arti at 4.30am, chant 16 rounds by 8am and listen bhagavatam lectures, take prasadam etc in the house for 4 days, 3 days in the temple. I chant 32 rounds of japa daily and my wife 20 rounds.
The Problem is: even after practising this for many years, i am tempted to see famous movies and mythological serials. Can you please explain why this happens and suggest remedial measures for avoiding these attractions.
Answer by Romapada Swami.
Why ~

Persistent sense gratification tendencies are due to residual impurities of heart, intermittent contact with the mode of passion, and one’s prior tendencies/bad habits resurfacing. There are certain remedial measures you can take to avoid these attractions:

What to do ~

BG 10.11 directly address this question. “The darkness born of ignorance” is precisely this: residual tendencies to indulge the senses in sense objects, in the mood of trying to enjoy. Krishna alone can lift one from this tendency.

The same understanding is found in Kapiladeva’s teachings: the power of bhakti is so great that it has the power to dissolve false ego, the very covering that keeps us within the sphere of fruitive activities and sense gratification.

Here are some practical steps to consider.

1. When the urge or the push for watching movies and serials come, engage yourself in some devotional activity such as reading, chanting, hearing lectures, etc. One should tolerate the urge to turn on the TV/computer to watch movies. Every time and as soon as you catch yourself caught in this temptation, just shift your consciousness to a mood of service towards Krishna. Then re-instate your devotional practices with ENTHUSIASM, DETERMINATION AND PATIENCE. You have to do this as many times as it is required, with courage and patience towards yourself and with a mood of loving service towards guru and Krishna. There is no short-cut to this.

Understand that this unsteady tendency is a given in the early stages of bhakti and the only way to get past this is by continuing to try, try and try again. When we endeavor sincerely like that, we attract Krishna’s mercy, who then kindly pulls us out of this anartha.

2. Seek out the help of an advanced devotee during such times. It can be a simple phone call to such a devotee and sharing your feelings.

3. Strive ceaselessly for attentiveness while chanting. Conversely, make sure your chanting is not becoming mechanical. Srila Prabhupada mentions that one should engage one’s mind in hearing one’s chanting.

4. Also one can pray to Krishna sincerely to help remove this unwanted desire from one’s heart.

5. Seek the association of advanced devotees and serve them sincerely. By doing so, by their blessings, the anarthas/unwanted desires from one’s heart gradually vanish.

New Year’s Harinama in Sydney (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: Most people take their holidays between Christmas and New Year’s and like to go downtown for shopping or go to the beach and other areas.
Hare Krishna devotees take advantage of this opportunity to increase Harinama Samkirtan and book distribution.
Govindas Asrama devotees in Sydney went out a number of times during this period and especially on New Year’s Eve they had a Maha Harinama to the delight of ten’s of thousands of spectators.
I was fortunate enough to be able to join them.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/KqtSGM

“As good as God!”
Kadamba Kanana Swami: When I approached my spiritual master for initiation, he said, “Hmmm, as good as God, are you prepared to accept that?” And I thought, “Umm, well, I don’t know…” but I just said yes with a weak voice because it is not so simple to accept the spiritual master as good as God. But this is Krsna’s standard so what can we say. So somehow, gradually we must bring the guru-disciple relationship to that point. For me, it was not so easy because I had been initiated before and that relationship did not work – the spiritual master did not maintain spiritual standards and then to try to get into the mood of being a disciple again was a little difficult.

At that time, I was the temple president in Vrindavan, one of the big international headquarters of Iskcon. People would salute me as I would walk by and offer pranams (respectful hand gesture)! Half the town would come and offer respects, what to speak of devotees in the temple. And suddenly, I had to sit in a yajna again with the new bhaktas, remove my brahmin thread and sit down there and be initiated!

So I had a complete identity crisis to tell you the truth! At that time I felt somewhat awkward but my spiritual master understood and was kind and gave me some credit in the midst of that sacrifice. He said, “I want to give him two initiations at once.” Well, that was a relief because I wasn’t sure if he was going to do that so at least I was going to get my brahmin thread back; that was something! And then he said, “In fact, I would like to give him three, I would like to give him sannyasa as well but we will have to postpone that due to the particular rules and regulations in that regard.” By then it got pretty nice but it was not easy to just sit down in the sacrifice!

But afterward, there was the whole thing of bowing down! I had to get used to it, to bow down! The scriptures say to bow down many times whenever one sees the spiritual master. That was a bit of an adjustment. Like that, I had to practice and I still have to practice in this guru-disciple relationship – to not take it casually, to not take it cheaply but to get really serious about it as a disciple and try to really act in such a way as he likes, as he would like in all situations. By now, I have some idea of what he likes and what he does not like.

So the spiritual master is always present in his instructions and following instructions does not come automatically, it takes real endeavor, but when that endeavor is made then the relationship becomes really meaningful…

Iskcon Durban breaks all records by distributing 50.000 books!
Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple, as a final offering in celebration of 50 years of ISKCON, set a goal of distributing 40.000 of Srila Prabhupada’s books during the 2016 Prabhupada Marathon. We are pleased to announce that not only did we surpass that goal but reached 50.000 books. 50.000 Books for 50 years of ISKCON! Thank you to all who helped us get there.

ISKCON Ahmedabad – New Year’s Eve at CG Road (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One should always offer to the spiritual master whatever one can. One should chant the Hare Krsna mantra at least 16 rounds daily and follow the four regulative principles then one’s life can become perfect. Always try to remember Krsna in all your activities and gradually He will help you to break free of all material attachments of life and along with your sincere desire your path back home back to godhead can be clear. One should always be sincere to please the spiritual master by following his instructions, then life is very easy. From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to: Joan Fields: – Bhaktivedanta Manor 24 July, 1976
Find them here: https://goo.gl/M553TT

Moscow: freezing outside, boiling inside (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: Now we’re doing a Japa Workshop in our main temple in Moscow. We’re at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Dayal Nitai Saci Suta, the presiding Deities of Moscow. They are very nice and very beautiful. Quite a few devotees are attending the Workshop, and the atmosphere is wonderful, although outside the weather is minus 23 Centigrade.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/nsliwL

ISKCON Sydney Temple – Thursday night Harinam (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: As the gopis and Krsna danced together, a very blissful musical sound was produced from the tinkling of their bells, ornaments and bangles. It appeared that Krsna was a greenish sapphire locket in the midst of a golden necklace decorated with valuable stones. While Krsna and the gopis danced, they displayed extraordinary bodily features. The movements of their legs, their placing their hands on one another, the movements of their eyebrows, their smiling, the movements of the breasts of the gopis and their clothes, their earrings, their cheeks, their hair with flowers – as they sang and danced these combined to appear like clouds, thunder, snow and lightning. Krsna’s bodily features appeared just like a group of clouds, the gopis’ songs were like thunder, their beauty appeared to be just like lightning in the sky, and the drops of perspiration visible on their faces appeared like falling snow. In this way, the gopis and Krsna fully engaged in dancing. >>> Ref. VedaBase => KB 33: Description of the Rasa Dance
Find them here: https://goo.gl/h0zQbB

Beautiful murti of His Divine Grace curved out of wood.
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: Srila Prabhupada in ISKCON Irkutsk. He is carved…Read More…

Iskcon of Houston – ISKCON 50 Gala Reception Highlights (5 min video)
The night before the gala, the devotees encountered a good problem: they had 350 confirmed guests, with 10 guests paying online within an hour, but only 300 seats! After closing registration, staying up all night the day before the gala making last-minute preparations, by Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, on December 8 the event came together and attracted more than 340 guests from government, business, education, medicine, interfaith/religious organizations, media, and entertainment as well as visiting ISKCON leaders. Featured speakers included Radhika Raman das (Dr Ravi Gupta), Director of Religious Studies at Utah State University (after being home-schooled by Krishna conscious parents, he graduated from Boise State as a teenager and became one of the youngest students to ever receive a PhD from Oxford University). Dr. Helen Ebaugh—who has taught World Religions at the University of Houston for forty years and has recently offered favorable critiques of Jayadvaita Swami’s new book, Vanity Karma and Radhanath Swami’s Journey Home—praised ISKCON’s participation in local interfaith dialogue, and Judge R.K. Sandill of Harris County’s 127th District Court—the first district court judge in Texas of South Asian descent—commended ISKCON’s cultural and spiritual contributions in places he has lived, including Toronto and its wonderful Ratha-yatra, London and Houston.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/lczgqf

A disciple of Srila Prabhupada from the UK, Bhajahari Prabhu, in the intensive care unit after suffering a severe cardiac arrest and an emergency operation. Currently in an induced coma with possible irreversible brain damage. Last signs of life “he has been squeezing his son and his wife’s hands when they talked to him.”
The doctor said that it’s unlikely he will recover and wake up.
Please pray for a miracle.

Transcendental snowman, somewhere in Russia.
Srila Prabhupada: When there are miseries, a Krsna conscious person takes the responsibility himself, and when there is happiness, it is due to Krsna. But the materialistic person is just the opposite. When he is in miseries, he’ll say, “Oh, God has put me into such miseries.” And when he’s happiness, his friend says, “Oh, you are now well-to-do.” “Yes, you do not know how much I have worked hard.” When he’s happiness, he takes the credit for himself, and when he’s in distress, he gives the discredit to Krsna. “Oh, Krsna has put me into such miserable…” But a Krsna conscious person, when he’s in distress, he’ll say, “Yes, due to my misdeeds I should have suffered a hundred times more than this distress, but Krsna is so kind, He has given me little. That’s all.” And when he’s happiness, “Oh, it is all given by Krsna. Therefore all the opulence should be utilized for Krsna’s service.” This is the difference. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.46-62 – Los Angeles, December 16, 1968

Devotees in Russia doing Harinama in a “cultural” way to avoid harassment by the authorities based on the new anti-missionary law. (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One who is engaged in devotional service has not the least fear in material existence. This is because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supersoul and friend of everyone. One who knows this secret is actually educated, and one thus educated can become the spiritual master of the world. One who is an actually bona fide spiritual master, representative of Krsna, is not different from Krsna. SB 4.29.51 text
Find them here: https://goo.gl/cQT2vX

Devotee soldier gets 600 American soldiers to chant Hare Krsna.
“ I am a soldier in the US Army and thought you all might get a laugh at what happened the other day. We had to do a 6 mile run for fitness. It’s custom to sing during these runs to build soldier cohesion.”
“ So they asked me to sing. I agreed so we were running down the street when the idea popped in my head to get them to chant. Now this wasn’t 6 or 7 people, its was a total of 600 soldiers. And they were into it, for 3 miles they chanted the Maha Mantra as loud as they could and were really into it. Amazing what the power of the Holy Name can do! ”
Your servant,
Partha-sarathi dasa

New Years Eve 2017 – Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast (Album with photos)
Dharmatma Das: Our nightly Harinams have been exceptional. So many people smiling, waving and chanting and dancing with us. We really were the best and most enlivening show in town. Yes, there were a few Buskers but no one can get the crowd excited like Lord Chaitanya’s Harinam Party. This New Years was no exception. Kadamba Kanana Maharaja led the charge, then Janananda Maharaja took it to an even higher level, then the “Mad Hatter”, Mahavishnu Swami turned it into complete transcendental madness. Muslims, Christians, Hindus, whites, blacks and every other nationality and color were somehow or other implicated in the glorious sound vibration of the Lord’s Holy Names. Thank you Srila Prabhupada for the wonderful mercy you have given the entire world.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Ga3KTU

Preaching in Mexico by the Bus tour devotees (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When a disciple becomes perfect in spiritual advancement, the spiritual master feels very, very happy, that “I am a nonsense, but this boy, he has followed my instruction and he has achieved the success. That is my success.” This is the spiritual master’s ambition. Just like a father. This is the relationship. Just like… Nobody wants to see anybody more advanced than himself. That is the nature. Matsarata. If anybody becomes advanced in any subject matter, then I become envious upon him. But the spiritual master or the father, he does not become envious. He feels himself very, very happy, that “This boy has advanced more than me.” This is spiritual master’s position. (V�ndavana, March 13, 1974)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/uBsL6p

Ocean of Mercy.
A new publication, yet so much appreciation
Read More…

ISKCON Auckland NZ: Rathyatra 2017 (Album with photos)
The best way to bring in the new year!
Find them here:

A visit to Rose Forkash (now Rajani-priya dasi).
Giriraj Swami: Tonight, Swarup Damodar, Sukumari, Nikunja Viharini, and I went to visit Rose Forkash (now Rajani-priya dasi) at her home in Carpinteria. For three hours, she enlivened and inspired us with stories of her and her family’s association with and service to Srila Prabhupada. And Swarup Damodar gave me a wonderful exchange with Srila Prabhupada about her and her daughter, to read out loud:
Ramesvara: We have one mother in Los Angeles of a girl named Lila-sakti. She’s a big book distributor. And her mother, she loves this movement so much that when the deprogrammers start debating us, she stands up and yells at them that “My daughter was on drugs, hippie, before she came to this movement. This movement has saved her. If I had known about this movement when I was a young girl, I would have joined this movement!” On television she’s speaking like that, very strongly: “You have no right to criticize! You don’t know anything about this movement.” … She says, “You just come over to my house for lunch and I’ll tell you all about this movement, how nice it is.” She started this club, Parents for Krishna.
Prabhupada: Oh, she is very sincere. And her daughter, this Lila …? What is?
Ramesvara: Lila-sakti.
Prabhupada: She’s wonderful girl. She’s expert in everything.
(Room Conversation, January 20, 1977, Bhubaneswar)
Rajani-priya is now ninety-six years of age, but she is full of life—Krishna consciousness.

Evidence Of Their Devotion (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: On our way back from Nathdwara to Vrindavan we stopped in Ja…Read More…

The Struggle To Feel Alive With A Passion To Give.
I must discover and name my gift—yes, that is a practice, but more.
I must also share it now, not just keep talking about it,
like a prisoner in a cage,
because I will never be completely ready
to be who I want and pray to be.
I used to be a workshop and training junkie,
wanting titles and certifications,
but it was never enough,
because inside of myself
I didn’t feel worthy to teach,
feeling incomplete and insufficient,
thinking my sad past story defined me.

It has taken having to face my imminent death by cancer
that I have been forced to actually live each day as fully as I can—
thinking I can, I will, I must, I am living my true purpose
one moment, hour, day, week, year, and life at a time.

There is no time like the present, and that is all I have,
that, and my desire to love and serve, to give to make a difference.

I need to be a teacher of essential truth,
now, from my lifetime of becoming,
accepting that I, and we, are always a work in progress,
but we don’t have to wait till perfection to give.

I have learned that by giving who we are now,
we become more than we could have ever imagined.
We don’t just wake up one day fully formed and realized
but it happens gradually, like the sun rising, or the coming of spring.

As it is said, the journey of a thousand miles begins
with the first step, so I, and we, have to step forward,
instead of hesitating in fear and doubt and complaining,
remaining in the background of what could have been
and then dying angry and resentful that we stopped short.

I, and we, have to make room for our gifts
which is as simple as giving love and caring
at every moment through our natural daily rhythm of being.

By living through my spiritual practice of prayer, worship,
studying scriptures and the practical knowledge from the wise,
I deepen who I am, and joyfully become my gifts and loving service
which give me life and inspiration, to share who I am.

As I focus on the Lord of my heart
to gain a oneness in spiritual purpose
and strength, so I can be, speak, and write
my confidence in my divine packing
believing in myself and encouraging you
to do the same—which is why I share.

I realize that while I have to be self-reliant while depending on God
I also need to help you by giving myself and all I have learned—
one truth of which, as difficult and foreign as it is to accept:

The greatest gift we have to give is ourselves—first to God
and then to everyone else, to be emissaries of the spiritual Light,
for me the devotional life of bhakti, or loving service to
the divine couple, Radha and Krishna, through their remembrance
and fully taking the holy name as my constant companion
as given by the kirtana and prema avatar,
Shri Chaitanya, & his agents, my mentors and companions.
Karnamrita Das

In Life or Death – Take Shelter!
After leaving the hospital a few weeks ago, my firm determination was never to return. It was by far, one of the most painful experiences of my life. Yet, today I did. This time, to the ICU, a place I cringed to think about. However, the visit was for a completely different purpose. The daughter of a devotee from Pune, passed away at a very young age in California Medical Center Hospital here in San Francisco, due to organ failure. A group of devotees and I had the opportunity to be next to her body and pray for her. Life is so fleeting and can pass through our fingers at any time. It’s so shocking, that it almost feels unreal. So many people on life support, young and old, just barely holding on. Death and pain don’t discriminate, do they? Time and tide wait for none.

I came across a feeble young girl from her bed in the ICU, around my age, smiling back at me. I waved at her and she waved back. I took the liberty to walk into her room and her sister welcomed me with a warm embrace and tearful eyes, as though I was a part of their family.

“We were just waiting for someone, come by, smile at us, and give us some warm feelings of love amidst all this suffering,” the sister said, firmly holding on to my hand. “Thank you for stopping by. You don’t know how much it means to us.” I gave them a Bhagavad Gita, saying this is main book of prayer, the source of our strength. They eagerly took two copies. While I was leaving, they all folded their palms in gratitude and bowed their heads saying, “Thank you so much. I’m sure our daughter will get better soon. Thanks for sharing the love.”

Death is all pervading, so unstoppable. There is nothing in our humanly power that we can do to prevent it. Its all a cycle of every individuals personal karma. Surprisingly, though, we do have control and responsibility over the situation. Srila Prabhupada has given us our only shelter, Krsna, and his words in the form of Bhagavad Gita. We are encouraged to drink the nectar of its contents to our fullest, and make it a goal of our life to distribute it to our suffering brothers and sisters.
Priya Kishori Devi Dasi

Reconnection, a film about Vrindavan.
BB Govinda Swami: Recently you have seen promotional activity regarding our movie about Sri Vrindavan Dham, Reconnection.
It’s a story about a person who transcends trials in his life … through the transformative experience of visiting Vrindavan.
Let me give you a little background … because the story of Reconnection actually did not start in Vrindavan.

Balancing Feelings Of Unworthiness
Mahatma das: It’s common for devotees to feel unqualified or unworthy to serve guru and Krsna. This is helpful when it is a natural symptom of spiritual advancement. But it is detrimental when, out of an unhealthy psychology, we either feel unworthy of receiving Krsna’s grace, or feel unworthy of being loved by Krsna. Spiritual unworthiness and material unworthiness are not the same. One is a by-product of a high level of Krsna consciousness and the other is a symptom of an unhealthy mental or emotional state. Is it possible for conditioned souls to develop healthy feeling of unworthiness? If so, what would this look like? And how do we know when those feelings are not Krsna conscious but signs of an emotional weakness or problem?
Isn’t It Artificial?
It is an elementary understanding of Krsna consciousness that this world is a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. We learn that qualities and characteristics that are undesirable (such as jealousy, anger, sulking, envy, etc.) have their pure “all-good” spiritual counterparts. What may look like a material defect, or even a mental or emotional illness, can be a symptom of an elevated state of Krsna consciousness. Thus, we sometimes see advanced devotees exhibiting extreme lamentation, self-denigration or hopelessness as aspects of their Krsna consciousness.

How are we to relate to this? Can we follow in their footsteps? Is there a kind of lamentation, self-denigration, and hopelessness that’s suitable to our level of Krsna consciousness? If there is, how can we not become discouraged by such feelings?

Feelings of unworthiness have their place in our lives, and can inspire us if these feelings are genuine and appropriate to our level of Krsna consciousness. To come to a level of feeling genuine spiritual unworthiness, we first need to overcome our material feelings of unworthiness. Why? Because these material feelings are not healthy for our bhakti.

Let us first look at feelings of unworthiness that are detrimental to our advancement.

Who Is Worthy To Get Krsna?
Devotees often feel unworthy to receive Krsna’s mercy, kindness, and love, feeling that Krsna is throwing pearls to a swine. More often than not, such feelings are mixed with, or result from, a material sense of unworthiness (I am bad, I am dirty, I am foolish, I am…). So let’s first understand that the Lord doesn’t exactly see us as we may see ourselves.

Everybody, by Mahaprabhu’s mercy, is worthy of Krsna’s love and thus worthy to become Krsna conscious. How did we all become worthy? What did we do?

Actually, we didn’t do anything. All we did was exist. By being a spirit soul (which obviously doesn’t take any doing on our part), we are qualified for the Lord’s mercy. Mahaprabhu’s love is so great that every living being is an object of His affection. Indeed, it is not possible for Him to not love us.

Now, you might say, “Why would Krsna care about me? I am insignificant. Besides, I don’t even like Krsna that much. I try to imitate Him, I neglect Him, I take things from Him, I criticize His devotees, and I always think about my own enjoyment.”

Despite all this, Krsna always cares about us. How do we know? If He didn’t care about us, then why would He empower His holy name with prema (i.e. why does he give away prema through his holy Name)? If Krsna didn’t want a relationship with us, why did He send so many of His eternal associates to come to this world to bring us back to Him, despite our faults and disqualifications to engage in His service? If Krsna didn’t love us, why did He send Srila Prabhupada to go out of his way to save us from our material lives and offer us a one-way ticket to the spiritual world?

This is just a fragment of the evidence that shows how much Krsna cares about every one of us. There is nothing we can do, aside from continued blasphemy of, or willing disobedience to Krsna’s pure devotees that would make us unworthy of Krsna’s love. Still, even if we believe we are truly unworthy, this makes us even more qualified to receive His mercy. Just as being poor qualifies one to receive welfare from the government, disqualification is the very cause of being worthy of the Lord’s mercy. If Mahaprabhu were selling love of Krsna for the price of qualification, He would have closed His shop long ago having gone out of business for lack of customers.

Krsna Cares For Every Soul
Abnormal feelings of unworthiness can be caused by being (or feeling) unloved or denigrated by others, or by personal failures in life. In this unhealthy state, we can feel ourselves so low, impure, unintelligent, or unqualified, that even God couldn’t find a reason to love us.

A devotee once asked Srila Prabhupada, “Why would Krsna care about me? He has so many devotees. He has the gopis, the cowherd boys, His mother and father and so many servants.”

We might feel this way as well. After all, we know we are not perfect and not always Krsna conscious. So we can easily think, “Why would Krsna care about me? Krsna has so many loving devotees and I don’t even have a drop of love for Him. Why would He even want to associate with such a lowly person as I?”

Prabhupada explained that if you cut your finger, you try to save it. You don’t say to the doctor, “Just let my finger fall off, I have nine other fingers.” Similarly, Krsna doesn’t think, “I have so many other devotees, so who cares about you?” He doesn’t think like this because everyone is dear to Krsna.

We Give Krsna Unique Pleasure
Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura describes that every living entity has a unique relationship with Krsna, and thus Krsna experiences unique pleasure from every individual relationship. In other words, Krsna relishes a unique taste from His relationship with every one of us. This means He is anxious to taste that specific rasa with each of us. Not only that, He has a unique way of reciprocating with each one of us; a unique taste that He offers to each and every relationship.

So it’s not that Krsna is ambivalent about us. He very much wants a relationship with us, so much so that He is actively trying to get us back into that relationship. The problem is not that Krsna doesn’t care about the relationship; the difficulty only comes when we don’t care enough about the relationship. This means the problem is not that Krsna feels we are unworthy of a relationship; the problem is we don’t feel worthy of the relationship.

(This may also mean that feelings of unworthiness are sometimes excuses we make to ourselves to avoid properly working on our relationship with Krsna.)

We Are Misunderstanding Krsna’s Affection
If somebody gives us a gift, we might feel unworthy of accepting it, but out of respect, and to reciprocate affection, we accept the gift nonetheless. After all, it would be rude not to accept someone’s expression of love for us because we feel unworthy of it. Similarly, Krsna gives us the gift of Himself in His holy name, in the spiritual master, in the sanga of devotees, in His temples, through his arca murti – in so many ways – and it is a rejection of His affection to say, “No, I am not going to accept these gifts because I am not worthy of them.” If we did say that, Krsna would reply, “It doesn’t matter that you are not qualified. I am giving you Myself. Being worthy isn’t My criteria. I give Myself to you, not because you are worthy, but because I love you. “So it’s not a question of whether or not we are worthy. It comes down to receiving Krsna’s love.

Krsna is called Rasaraja, the king of relationships. Krsna thrives on relationships, and if Krsna wants a relationship with us, we can’t deny Him by saying, “No, just don’t expect much reciprocation from me because I’m not worthy of a relationship with You. ”Are we so foolish as to say to Krsna, “I am unavailable to you?”

Stop Putzing Around
There is an expression in Yiddish called “putzing.” If someone is “putzing around” it means they are being busy doing a lot of useless activities that amount to nothing. “Putzing around” basically means, as Bob Dylan sang, “Being busy doing nothing.”

We are all very busy in the material world doing millions of things that ultimately amount to nothing more than preparing our next birth. In other words, we tend to be expert at “putzing around.” Have you ever been in a rush to make an appointment and you call for one of your family members to get in the car, but they are holding you up by being busy doing nothing of much consequence? In the same way Krsna is calling us to leave this world because we are “putzing around” here, doing a million unimportant things that amount only to holding Him up.
Krsna is saying, “I’ve got a place for you in My home. Your spiritual body is ready for you; your service is ready for you; all arrangements are there for your eternal stay. Stop ‘putzing around’ and come back home!”

Krsna Is Waiting For Us
In Mayapur, Jananivasa Prabhu said in a class that it seems awkward that Madhava (Maypura’s Deity) is playing His flute because Krsna plays His flute to call Radharani and the gopis. Since Radharani and the gopis are already there (on the altar in Mayapur), Krsna doesn’t need to play the flute. So why is He playing it? He’s playing His flute to call us. His flute sings a song that goes something like this: “Come home. I am waiting for you. Stop “putzing around.” What are you doing that’s so important?”

At the end of a class I gave at a college in India earlier this year, the Dean of the college expressed his feelings thusly. “What’s the problem if I stay in the material world life after life if I am happy; I do good karma, serve others, and don’t hurt anybody?”

I told him, “Krsna wants you to come back to Him. He’s waiting for you.” I could sense that he appreciated this answer. Later that evening he enthusiastically told me, “You made me realize that Krsna is waiting for me.”

This is how we should also think. Thoughts of being worthy or not are simply getting in the way of the real fact that Krsna is waiting for us.

Do You Want To Dance With Krsna?
Dance WIth KrsnaSrila Prabhupada would often end his lectures with encouraging words. Sometimes he would say that one day you will see Krsna face to face just like we are seeing one another. At other times he would say that someday you will dance with Krsna. When Srila Prabhupada makes promises like this, we shouldn’t say, “Yeah but not me. I am too useless. I am not worthy or qualified.” That translates into, “Nah, I’ll just be staying down here putzing around. That’s all I am good for.”

Krsna is waiting to dance with us. What fools we are to make excuses not to join the dance?

The All-Attractive Tries To Attract Us
Krsna didn’t have to come to the material world. Yet He came and performed His lilas to attract us back to Him. In fact, everything that Krsna does is ultimately done for this purpose. In other words, He only acts to help us re-establish our relationship with Him. He creates the material world to give us a chance to reform ourselves and He performs His pastimes to attract our mind and heart to Him. This means He performs His pastimes to awaken our love for Him. Try to feel this affection when you hear His lilas and try to feel Him calling you into a relationship with Him. When you read between the lines of the Srimad Bhagavatam you can hear Krsna saying, “Please accept My love. Please join Me in My eternal lila.”

Krsna Attracts Us Through His Devotees
Similarly, when reading Srila Prabhupada’s purports, behind the words you can feel Prabhupada showering love and compassion. Of course, the message of the purport is there, but behind the message allow yourself to feel the love that Srila Prabhupada has for you and me, and all conditioned souls.

Prabhupada’s love for us is further evidence of Krsna’s love for us. Prabhupada is a messenger of Krsna’s love, and thus he loves us all without discrimination. Prabhupada loves everyone to such a degree that he never rejects anyone, no matter how fallen, who is willing to serve Krsna.

Positive Unworthiness
Still, as stated earlier, there are proper feelings of unworthiness appropriate to our level of advancement. These feelings are both natural and helpful for bhakti. So what are these natural feelings for neophyte devotees and how do they manifest?

Feelings of unworthiness manifest in two prominent ways in the stage of vaidhi sadhana bhakti: appreciation and humility. Appreciation manifests in gratitude that Krsna accepts us and our service despite our past sins and present faults as long as we simply make a sincere effort to serve Him and Srila Prabhupada. Even though unqualified, Krsna mercifully gives us lots of service. As we meditate on how Krsna allows us, even though unqualified, to be engaged in His service, our appreciation for Him and the service He gives us grows. Thus, feelings of unworthiness help us see our service as a precious gift that we are blessed to have.

Feeling unworthy also makes us feel helpless. Taken in the correct way, helplessness is a manifestation of humility in accordance with our present level of Krsna consciousness. It manifests as a total dependence on Krsna for guidance, intelligence, and ability to do our service well – or sometimes even to do our service at all. It is through this kind of humility that we advance rapidly in Krsna consciousness. Thus, feelings of unworthiness, when exhibited in a Krsna conscious sense, become one of our greatest allies in sadhana bhakti, because humility is integral to advancing in Krsna consciousness.

The Bottom Line
So yes, we should feel unworthy. We don’t deserve Krsna’s love. We are not qualified to even be a devotee. We have turned our back on Krsna, we have competed with Him, we have disobeyed Him, and we have even tried to become like Him.

Still, Krsna overlooks all of this and forgives us. His desire for a relationship with us is so strong that He will not allow any of this to get in the way. As Krsna will not allow our own disqualifications to get in the way, we should also never allow our own disqualifications to get in our way. Rather, we should allow our feelings of unworthiness to bring us closer and closer to Krsna. This is what Krsna wants us to do.

In the Brihad-bhagavatamrita, when Gopakumar arrives in the spiritual world and first meets Krsna, the Lord tells him, “Why did you take so long? Why did you make me wait so long for you? I missed you so much.”

Yes, Krsna does miss us. Let’s stop putzing around. Krsna is waiting for us.

Identifying the Deity as Bhagavan.
Question: Kindly inform me on what basis we identify Krishna/Bhagavan Vigraha, which is sat chit ananda, with deity/archa which is made up of matter. I want to know the Gaudiya logic and appropriate scriptural backing.
Romapada Swami: The Personality of Godhead is the source of all energies, both material and spiritual. Because He is full of inconceivable potencies, God can convert His different potencies according to His own will, much as an expert electrician can employ the same electric energy for both heating as well as cooling purposes. For the Lord there is no difference between material and spiritual energies; that He can transform His energies as He wills is Srila Vyasadeva’s sublime teaching of shakti-parinamavada. He is the controller of both energies, and He cannot come under their influence at any time, as we do. A fundamental and axiomatic principle in spiritual science is that unless one accepts this inconceivable nature of God’s potencies, there is no way of understanding Him. The conclusion is that Krishna, being omnipotent, can transform matter into spirit and spirit into matter as He desires, and He can accept our service through any sort of medium.
The Supreme Lord is called ‘adhoksaja’, which means One Who is beyond the reach of our mundane, imperfect senses. It is also stated that we can approach the Lord only by engaging our senses in His service. How are we to serve and learn to appreciate Him who cannot be perceived? Therefore, out of causeless compassion for the conditioned souls, Krishna appears in a so-called material form, just to become visible to and accept His devotees’ service.
Just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts various incarnations, similarly He takes on forms made out of clay, wood, metal and jewels, which according to shastra is known as archa-vigraha. By doing so this does not mean that His sac-cid-ananda form has been touched by material influence. The archa-vigraha is not fashioned from an artist’s whimsical imagination but is the eternal form of the Lord, confirming in exacting detail to scriptural injunctions. The Lord Himself personally descends in the archa-murti at the request of the acharyas, and invests all His spiritual potencies within the Deity. Thus the devotees get an opportunity to easily approach Him and serve Him even with their present material senses, thereby purifying and spiritualizing their senses.
As Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita, He is not visible to all (BG 7.25), but reciprocates according to a devotee’s degree of surrender to Him (BG 4.11). Thus, to the degree of one’s faith and devotion, one is able to perceive the presence of the Supreme Lord in His Deity form. There are many historical instances wherein the Deities have personal exchanges with the worshiper, talk to them and accept their offerings. But for one who considers Him to be merely stone or wood, He continues to remains so.
Therefore scriptures warn us to carefully avoid such mundane perception of the archa-vigraha. (Isopanishad Mantras 5,8 purports, Padma purana, quoted in Cc Madhya 5.95-97, etc)

Raval – Gokula in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: On Christmas Day, we did parikrama of Radharani’s Birthplace Raval, and some very beautiful places in Gokula! We even took a boat ride on the Yamuna! At the end, we visited the Samadhi of Ras Khan, a Muslim who became a Vaishnava and wrote enchanting Braja Poetry. His place is like the forest that we always imagined Vrindavan would be! Pics thanks to Vittalrukmini Das!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/2idvsj

Govardhana Parikrama with Italian devotees (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: My Guru Maharaja used to say, prana ache yara sei hetu pracara. A person can become a preacher if he has got life. A dead man cannot become a preacher. So you must be very enthusiastic that “I shall preach the glories of the Lord to my best capacity.” It is not that one has to become very learned scholar to become a preacher. Simply it requires enthusiasm, “My Lord is so great, so kind, so beautiful, so wonderful. So I must speak something about my Lord.” This is the qualification, enthusiasm. >>> Ref. VedaBase => The Nectar of Devotion – Vrndavana, October 20, 1972
Find them here: https://goo.gl/27hfMV

Acharya Theatrical Distribution (3 min video)
The big news is, we have a distributor who wants to represent our film for distribution in movie theaters in the US and Canada. The company is Abramorama in NYC and recently represented Eight Days a Week, a film on the Beatles by director Ron Howard. Abramorama’s CEO wrote me this after seeing our latest edit:
I watched your film. I think it’s terrific: consistently smart and interesting. I’m certain there’s an audience for it even beyond the core.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/q63Hb7

Nathdwara On New Years Eve (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Nathdwara is a town in India’s western state of Rajasthan. It is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River in Rajsamand District. It is most famous as the home of the Sri Nathji deity. Sri Nathji was discovered at Govardhan Hill in Vrindavan by Sri Madhavendra Puri. He is dearly loved by devotees all over the world. New Years Eve was like any other day in Nathdwara – everyone was rushing to the temple to Sri Nathji. We also rushed to see the Lord and prayed for His blessings in the coming year!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/rqjs69

Can one become his own guru?
Question: “While going through Srimad Bhagavatam, in Canto 11 Chapter 7.19-21, it is revealed that one can become his own guru and experience Krishna’s full potencies. This is contradicting to what Krishna says in BG 4.2, which states that one must learn this knowledge from bonafide spiritual master coming in the line of disciplic succession.”
“So, does Krishna approve both or only the process mentioned in BG 4.2? If He approves the former, where is the question of bogus gurus since everyone can become his own guru, as per scriptural injunctions?”
Romapada Swami: To address your question, let us first refer to two short statements made in the purports to these verses. In the purport to #20, we find-
“Srila Jiva Gosvami states in this connection, gurv-anusarane pravartaka ity arthah: the knowledge acquired by one’s own perception and intelligence leads one to appreciate the value of the representative of Lord Krsna. The word sreyas in this verse indicates that one can advance in life through one’s own intelligence. By good association one should gradually come to understand one’s eternal position as servant of Krsna, and then one becomes very eager to live in the company of other enlightened persons.”
In the purport to #21, we find-
“A spiritual master becomes bona fide by his full surrender to his spiritual master; but as explained in this chapter, one may also act as his own guru. This means that an intelligent and perceptive person can understand the nature of this world and his own limitations. Such a person then becomes very much inclined to associate with the pure devotees of the Lord and to receive the mercy of those who are advanced in Krsna consciousness.”
The emphasis here is that one stage or one level of intelligence, or guru-like direction, can come from one’s own efforts in the matter of perception and discrimination (which is a function of intelligence). What is that guru-like attainment? “This world is limited, and therefore not providing actual shelter. However, as revealed in scriptures and confirmed by my experience, there is a power and an intelligence beyond this machine of the material energy. Let me seek the shelter of one of his representatives, or a tattva-darshi, who can bring me to His lotus feet!”
This is a vartmapradarsaka-guru function, one of the categories of guru, viz one who shows one the path of devotion. See Cc Madhya 8.128. Receiving direction to approach Krishna and to know Him in fullness, as described in BG 4.2 or in 4.34, is the outcome of the process described in SB 11.7.19-21. One type of guru (as Krishna is describing to Uddhava in this Canto 11 reference) leads one to a 2nd type or category of guru (the category which Krishna describes to Arjuna in Ch 4 of BG). The vartmapradarsaka guru instructs us that we must take shelter of the type of guru mentioned in BG 4.2.

New Year prayer for all the devotees.
May the cowherd boy who is a festival of ecstatic bliss for the hearts of the fortunate creatures residing in the groves of Govardhana, who eagerly enjoys loving pastimes in the forests of Vrindavana with the gop&#…

Srila Prabhupada Praised at ISKCON 50 Event in Peruvian Parliament.
On December 12th, Peruvian devotee Bhadra Rupa Das was presented with an honorary doctorate by the National University of Education, Peru at the Peruvian Parliament in Lima. But he quickly turned what was set to be an event in his honor into one in praise of Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON, and ISKCON’s 50th anniversary.

The prestigious Parliament setting was a rare opportunity, as the honorary degree is normally presented at the university itself. The ceremony, which turned out to be one of the most significant ISKCON 50 events in South America, was also broadcast all over Peru by national television station Channel Seven.>

ISKCON-Delhi: New Year Celebration :31-12-2016 (Album with photos)
Cultural Program, Drama, Lecture, Kirtan.
Fin…Read More…