Author Archives: Dandavats.com

Lord Balarama Jayanti Festival in Mayapur, 18th August, 2016…
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Lord Balarama Jayanti Festival in Mayapur, 18th August, 2016 (Album with photos)
I worship Him who has a shining pure crown, with bangles, with moving curles of hair on His cheeks, with His lotus face decorated with earings, etc, wearing rich blue clothes and carrying His huge plough and club.”
Find them here: https://goo.gl/oIVfM8

Blissful ceremonies in Auckland, New Zealand for Sri…
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Blissful ceremonies in Auckland, New Zealand for Sri Baladeva!(Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: When one is free from offenses in chanting Hare Krishna, he develops the ecstatic bodily features called pulakasru. Pulaka means “symptoms of happiness,” and asru means “tears in the eyes.” The symptoms of happiness and tears in the eyes must appear in a person who has chanted the holy name offenselessly. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 3.15.25 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Ezfwf4

Beauty of Nitai Sri Caitanya Mangala Madhya Khanda Chapter 4…
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Beauty of Nitai
Sri Caitanya Mangala Madhya Khanda
Chapter 4 “The Beauty of Nitai”
Lord Gauranga met Nityananda Raya in the home of Nandanacarya. Nityananda’s beautiful golden-colored body had a slightly reddish hue. Glistening ornaments adorned His enchanting form. Bright yellow cloth carressed His hips. A yelloe turban the color of a golden campaka flower, decorated His head. As He walked, His anklebells chimed sweetly “Jhuni, Jhuni, Jhuni”.
His eyes were wide and long like a deer. He removed the shyness of young girls with His brilliant, lightning-like smile. His roaring like a lion, louder than monsoon clouds, sumdued the mad elephants of Kaliyuga. Lord Nityananda walked with the gait of a maddened elephant. His peaceful lotus face was beautiful to behold when He cried tears of love. Absorbed in deep love of Krishna, His body would shiver, perspire, and erupt all over with ecstatic symptoms.
Holding a golden stick in His hand, He smashed the pride of Kali. Golden necklaces hung on His chest. Marvelous gem-inlaid earrings dangled on His cheeks. His hands were reddish like a night-blooming lotus. Attractive bangles intensified the beauty of His strong, golden arms. In ecstasy, Nityananda Prabhu, almost falling on the ground, uttered “Where is My Kanai Gopala [Krsna]?”
Adopting the sentiment of a cowherd boy, Nityananda cried, laughed, and begged Revati for some honey. At one moment, He jumped like a frog. The next moment He acted dumb and speechless, or said something unintelligible. Who can understand the Lord’s transcendental mellows? The sweet aroma of Nityananda’s body stole the housewives from their, and crushed to dust the pride of chaste girls.
Sri Nitaichandra Ki Jaya!!!! All glories to Sri Avadhuta Raya the son of Rohini Devi, who is non-different of Lord Gaurahari.

Why Was Balaram Affectionate to Duryodhan? Madhavananda Das: A…
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Why Was Balaram Affectionate to Duryodhan?
Madhavananda Das: A slightly fresh edit of an article I wrote a few years ago.
If we contemplate on the pastimes of Krishna’s beloved elder brother, a relevant question arises:
Why did Balaram give so much favor to the demoniac Duryodhan?
Duryodhan was not a devotee of Krishna. From his childhood he hated Krishna’s pure devotees the Pandavas and tried in various ways to kill them. When Yudhisthir asked Krishna to go to Hastinapur to deliver a peace message on behalf of the Pandavas, Duryodhan grossly disrespected Krishna, and even tried to capture him.
In spite of all these offenses to both Krishna and his pure devotees, Duryodhan is famous as a great disciple of Balaram. Consider:
* Balaram stayed for several years in Mithila just to give association to Duryodhan and train him in the art of fighting with a club. (Bhāg. 10.57.26)
* Balaram wanted to give his sister Subhadra in marriage to Duryodhan. (Bhāg. 10.86.2-3)
* Duryodhan considered Balaram the supreme Lord. He addressed him as Bhagavan. (Garga Saṁhitā 8.9.1; 8.10.1)
* It was Duryodhan who asked the sage Pradvipak Muni to inform him about Balaram’s rāsa dance in Vraja, as well as various prayers and procedures for worshiping Baladev, and Balaram’s 1,000 names. (Garga-saṁhitā canto 8 chapters 9-13)
* One of Balaram’s names is “Duryodhana-guru”, the guru of Duryodhan. (Garga-saṁhitā 1.10.42)
* Balaram went to Kuruksetra to stop the fighting between Bhimasena and Duryodhan. When he saw that it was Krishna’s will that they fight, he left as he had so much affection for both Bhima and Duryodhan that it was too painful for him to see them fight. (Bhāg. 10.79.23-30)
* When Bhima killed Duryodhan, Balaram was furious and left.
How do we reconcile the fact that Duryodhan was very dear to Balaram?
There may be many answers to this question, but we can conclude that although Duryodhan looked like he was very close, ultimately his attitude was not pleasing to Balaram.
There are many lessons that we can see from this: First, it’s not always easy to see who is really close to the guru. By the aparā-vicāra, the apparent consideration, it appeared that both Banasura and Ravan pleased Mahadeva Shiva and got his mercy. But our ācāryas have described that they only got sakapaṭa kṛpā, mercy with cheating. They got some wealth, fame and position. They didn’t get the niṣkapaṭa kṛpā, mercy without cheating, or kṛṣṇa-prema. In the same way, although it apparently looked like Duryodhan was close to Lord Balaram, internally he was far away from the Lord.
Secondly, although Duryodhan had some faith in Balaram, he didn’t have faith in Krishna or the Pandavas. In the same way, sometimes a disciple may be full of enthusiasm for his or her guru, but may neglect or offend other Vaiṣṇavas. Or, like Duryodhan, some disciples may express devotion for their guru, but they may not be interested in worshiping Krishna or chanting kṛṣṇa-nāma. Although it may appear that such devotees are very close to their guru, and they may even get some big position, they do not get the same quality of mercy that a surrendered disciple receives.
To explore a third lesson from the relationship between Balaram and Duryodhan, we have to understand Duryodhan’s identity. The Garga-saṁhitā (1.5.30) describes him as an aṁśa or partial expansion of Kali — duryodhanaḥ kaler aṁśo. Although externally he looked like a big follower of his guru, in actuality Duryodhan was a servant and follower of Kali, not his guru Lord Balaram. He had his own separate agenda from the Lord, an agenda that ultimately caused pain and death for millions of persons.
Regarding such duplicity Thakur Bhaktivinode states in his Bāul Saṅgīta (song 6):
eo to’ eka kalir celā māthā neḍā kapni parā, tilak nāke, galāy mālā
“Here is a disciple of Kali-yuga: He has a shaved head, wears kaupins, marks his forehead with tilak, and keeps tulasī beads around his neck.”
In a 1995 lecture in Bhubaneswar, Gour Govinda Maharaja warned the devotees that to really have the association of guru one must give up ulterior motives and false displays of devotion, and must genuinely surrender:
“We are only pretending that we have done ātma-nivedana, that we have surrendered. But we have not really surrendered. We have only been pretending, pretending, pretending for so many years. And also for so many years to come in the future, as long as we continue to act artificially we cannot approach guru, sādhu or Vaiṣṇava. We cannot get their mercy at all and therefore we cannot see their real form. We will be cheated. We will get all external things.”
— Śrī-guru vaiṣṇava kṛpā prārthī, Madhavananda Das

Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day A Talk by Giriraj Swami. “To…
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Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day A Talk by Giriraj Swami.
“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.” (Bg 4.8) He manifests Himself to protect the devotees, annihilate the demons, and reestablish the principles of religion. In every sphere of activity in the material world there is deterioration; everything in the material world declines. A new house, for example, is very nice, but it gradually deteriorates, and eventually, when it is too old, it has to be rebuilt. In the same way, our performance of spiritual duties deteriorates, whether we are individuals, families, communities, or a society. The Lord comes in order to establish religious principles (dharma) and practice, but over time religious practice declines, and so He manifests Himself again and again. We all know how prone we are to allow our practice to deteriorate. Thus, on auspicious occasions like today, Lord Balarama’s appearance day, we can pray to the Lord to manifest Himself and help us to become reestablished in our religious principles and practice.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/hSDaej

Chandigarh Mayor plants a tree for the 50th anniversary of…
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Chandigarh Mayor plants a tree for the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s first public Harinama
By Romapada Das, International Coordinator, ISKCON 50
On 14th August 2016, ISKCON Chandigarh celebrated the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s first public Harinama procession led by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada from 26 Second Avenue in New York to Washington Square Park. The highlight of the celebration was a palanquin procession with Srila Prabhupada that concluded at Nehru Park, where the Mayor of Chandigarh, Arun Sood, plated a red sandalwood tree to commemorate the occasion.
“Srila Prabhupada lectured for five days at a pandal programme in Nehru Park during his visit to the city of Chandigarh in 1976,” explained Nanda Maharaj Das, Co-President of ISKCON Chandigarh. “Hence, it is very appropriate that we had the commemoration ceremony of his first public Harinama procession in the same park. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the visit of Srila Prabhupada to our city.”
500 devotees marched in a procession for two kilometres from the temple to Nehru Park, carrying placards and banners. The procession was welcomed by several householders on the way with offerings of fruits and drinks.
Before the procession, the assembled devotees heard about Srila Prabhupada’s first public Harinama from the Prabhupada Lilamrita, and about his visit to Chandigarh from the book ‘A transcendental diary’.
Guests at the event included local Councilor, Asha Jaswal and Ranchore Das who was present during Srila Prabhupada’s visit to the city in 1976.
While appreciating the achievements of ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada in the last 50 years, Mayor Arun Sood said, “ISKCON is performing the highest welfare activity in the world by distributing the transcendental knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita and through its teachings about pure devotion to Lord Sri Krishna. I have seen many Hare Krishna devotees doing Harinama sankiratna in other cities such as Frankfurt. Harinama sankiratana always gives me inner peace and happiness.”
Nand Maharaj Das spoke about Srila Prabhupada’s struggles and achievements to make ISKCON into a global movement. He explained the basic philosophy of ISKCON, and the benefit of following Krishna consciousness.
“After the Harinama procession, we had an evening programme where we had a lecture on the glories of the holy name,” concluded Akrura Nandan Das, a brahmachari monk from the Chandigarh temple. “The fitting finale was a sumptuous Ekadashi feast which was served to over 700 guests.”

ISKCON-Delhi – Srila Rupa Goswami Disappearance (Album with…
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ISKCON-Delhi – Srila Rupa Goswami Disappearance (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Padma Purana, Krishna says, mad-bhakta yatra gayanti tatra tisthami narada: “O Narada, I am present wherever My devotees are chanting.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 17.132 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/mG5waH

Reunion Island: One Day Padayatra In The City Of St Paul….
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Reunion Island: One Day Padayatra In The City Of St Paul.
August 16, 2016
By Dayalu Radha Dasi
On Saturday July 23rd, only one week after a 3 day padayatra in the island of La Reunion, another group of devotees headed by Rama Gopal Dasa and his wife Radhika Dasi organised another padayatra in honour of ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. This one took place in the city of Saint Paul on the West Coast of the island. A few days before I advertised the event by speaking on bhakti yoga on two local radio stations; I also encouraged people to join our padayatra.
We started at the City Centre where about 40-50 people joined the procession, walking and joyfully chanting the holy names. We then walked to a local market on the beach front which is open every Saturday. Everyone was so happy to see us, especially all the ladies dancing in their colourful saris. People enjoyed the kirtana –the beating of the mrdanga and the sound of the conch shell. While there we also distributed 473 small packets of delicious halava sweets and banana pakoras made by Bhaktin Bernadette and Rama Gopal Dasa.
We were very fortunate to have a local television station filming our padayatra. The station aired a short report on padayatra during the midday and evening news. The procession went on for two hours and ended with kirtana in front of City Hall. Afterwards we distributed 275 plates of prasadam consisting of koftas balls and fried rice with vegetables lovingly cooked by Radhika Dasi, Bhakta Raynaulds and his wife Patricia. I distributed 15 books and many leaflets inviting people to attend our regular house programs since La Reunion Island does not have an ISKCON temple yet. We regularly organize programs in St Denis, the island’s capital, at either my home or Rama Gopal Dasa’s place on the west side of the island.
Later that afternoon the kirtana was still going strong with all the devotees singing ‘Jay Prabhupada!’ We felt very thankful to ISKCON’s founder-acarya, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, for the many wonderful things he has given the world. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jaya!

Hare Krishna Festivals at Glastonbury Festival 2015 with…
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Hare Krishna Festivals at Glastonbury Festival 2015 with Mahavishnu Swami, 2016 video .
No Glastonbury is complete without a visit to the Hare Krishna tent, located next to the Spirit of 71 stage
They’re extremely accommodating. And their chant is easy to pick up:
Hare kṛiṣhṇa hare kṛiṣhṇa
kṛiṣhṇa kṛiṣhṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma
rāma rāma hare hare
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2tym8V

The great Sankirtan Movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a…
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The great Sankirtan Movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a great gift to the world and a very rare event!
Gauragopala dasa: Many could take it for granted without realizing how rare Lord Caitanya’s appearance actually is as He comes once in every day and night of Brahmā. That is once every 2000th Kali-yuga in the cycle of Maha Yugas, there are 4 Yugas to a Maha Yuga, Lord Caitanya appears “once” in a Kali-yuga with His Sankirtan Movement out of every two thousand.
There are 4,320,000 human years in a Maha Yuga multiply that by 2000 (that equals 8 billion 640 million years) and you will see that Lord Caitanya’s appearance is very rare as He comes once over that enormous period of time
Krishna also comes once every 2000 Maha yugas or every 8 billion 640 million years at the end of Dvarpara-yuga just before Lord Caitanya’s appearance 4,500 years into the Kali-yuga
In this rare Kali-yuga there there is a 10,000 years Golden Age of the Sankirtan Movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu or the congregational chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha mantra, the previous 1,999 Kali-yugas had no Lord Caitanya or Golden Age of Sankirtan.
The Four Yugas
The four yugas make up a cycle called Divya-yuga or Maha-yuga, which lasts 4,320,000 years.
One thousand of these yugas equal one day of Brahma, which is called a kalpa and another one thousand makes up a night.
Brahma’s lifespan is 100 years of his time and 311 Trillion 400 billion years of our time.
SATYA YUGA – (sometimes also called krta-yuga): The golden age lasts 1,728,000 years. The process of self-realization in this yuga is meditation on Vishnu. During this yuga the majority of the population is situated in the mode of goodness and the average life span at the beginning of the yuga is 100,000 years.
TRETA YUGA – Also called the silver age, lasts 1,296,000 years and the process of self realization is the performance of opulent yajnas(sacrifices). The average life span is 10,000 years and the godly qualities decrease one fourth compared to the Satya yuga.
DVARPARA YUGA – Or the bronze age, lasts 864,000 years and the process of self realization is the worship of the deities within temples. Godly qualities are reduced to 50% by now and the average life expectancy is only 1000 years. Krishna in His originally Form comes at the end of Dvarpara-yuga but not every Dvarpara-yuga as He only comes once in a day of Brahma which is only every 2000th Dvarpara yuga
KALI YUGA – The iron age of hypocrisy and quarrel lasts 432,000 years. Lord Krsna appeared in His original, transcendental form right before the beginning of a Kali-yuga at the end of Dvarpara-yuga in one day of Brahma which is every 2000 cycles of the four yugas. Both Krishna in His original Form and Lord Caitanya do NOT appear in every Maha-yuga. Krishna does not appear at the end of every Dvarpara-yuga and Lord Caitanya does NOT appear in every Kali-yuga as explained above

The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu #381 e-magazine…
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The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu #381 e-magazine was just released. This is a special issue dedicated to Sri Krishna Janmashtami. Includes new translations from various Acharyas.
It includes:
* NO BAR FOR GOING HOME – His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada speaks of how a Vaishnava from any caste or gender can get liberation.
* THE SOLE COMPASS FOR BHAKTI – Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada glories Srila Rupa Goswami.
* MY DIVINE BIRTH AND ACTIVITIES – A fresh translation done especially for this issue of Bindu from various commentaries on Bhagavad-gita 4.9 regarding the appearance of Sri Krishna.
It can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/bindu381

Srila Prabhupada: “This is a simple method. All you have…
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Srila Prabhupada: “This is a simple method. All you have to do is bow down before Krishna with faith and say, ‘My Lord Krishna, I was forgetful of You for so long, for so many lives. Now I have come to my consciousness; please accept me.’ That’s all. If one simply learns this technique and sincerely surrenders himself to the Lord, his path is immediately open.”
(Science of Self-Realization, Chapter 7)

Gita Nagari Retreat to Explore Varnashrama Dharma. Sivarama…
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Gita Nagari Retreat to Explore Varnashrama Dharma.
Sivarama Swami, who is behind the New Vraja Dhama farm in Hungary which has been vastly successful in both spiritual and simple living efforts, will give a talk entitled “Varnashrama: Why devotees need to adopt it, and the first steps to doing so.”
He’ll discuss Prabhupada’s statements on the feasibility of Varnashrama today, the qualities devotees must develop in order to be eligible for the Varnashrama system, and the challenges in changing to a lifestyle that’s very different from that of the world around us.
Devamrita Swami will speak about the Amish as an example of a different social order sustaining over time in modern America and Canada.
Abhirama Das will share personal instructions Prabhupada gave him on Varnashrama, and talk about co-existing with other communities, like the Amish, who have similar simple-living-based lifestyles. He’ll also talk about how to get started on Varnashrama, and how to develop a Varnashrama community connected to a city preaching center, something he hopes to do himself with his New York City-based Harinama ashram.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/Zs1z3E

Hare Krsna Mantra – meaning of the mantra Meaning as…
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Hare Krsna Mantra – meaning of the mantra
Meaning as explained by Gopala Guru Gosvami, disciple of Svarupa Damodara of Puri:
The word “hare”:
hari harati papani dusta cittair api smrtah
anicchayapi samsprsto dahaty eva hi pavakah
vijnapya bhagavat tattvam cid ghanananda vigraham
haraty avidyam tat karyam ato harir iti smrtah
“Just as the fire, on contacting an object, automatically burns it, so the name of Hari takes away (harati) or burns up all ht esins of the people with materialistic hearts. It removes (harati) all ignorance and reveals the transcendental, blissful form of the Lord. Also, ‘hari’ means that personality who attracts (harati) the minds of all the people in the universe when they hear stories of His transcendental qualities; or, He who attracts the minds of people by His beautiful youthful form. ‘Hari’ in the grammatical form of address, the vocative, or calling out to a person, becomes ‘hare’.”
The word ‘hare’ has another meaning:
svarupa prema vatsalyair harer harati ya manah
hara sa kathyate sadbhih sri radha vrsabhanuja
Hara is Srimati Radhika, daughter of Vrsabhanu, who steals (harati) the mind of Hari, Krsna, by her unalloyed love. Hara, in the form of address, also becomes ‘hare’.
The word ‘Krsna’:
krsir bhu vacakah sabdo nas cananda svarupakah
tayor aikyam param brahma krsna ity abhidhiyate
“The word ‘krsna’ is composed of the root ‘krsi’ meaning ‘bhu,’ the shelter of all existence and the word ‘na’ meaning ‘nivriti’ or the form of supreme bliss. Combined they form the word ‘krsna’ which signifies the param brahma, the supreme personality of Godhead with blissful form.”
Krsna in the form of address remains as ‘krsna.’
The word ‘Rama’:
ramante yogino ‘nante nityanande cidatmani
iti rama padenaiva param brahmadbhidhiyate
“The param brahma is known as Rama because the yogis take pleasure (ramante) in meditating on His eternal, blissful form.”
vaidagdhi sara sarvasva murti liladbhidevatam
sri radham ramayan nityam rama ity abhidhiyate
“The Supreme Lord is called Rama because He carries out pastimes of pleasure with the most beautiful Sri Radha.”
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Oh Radha, please attract my mind, and free me from this material world.
Oh Krsna, please attract my mind.
Oh Radha, attract my heart by showing your sweetness.
Oh Krsna, purify my mind by giving knowledge of how to perform worship of You through Your pure devotee.
Oh Krsna, give me steadiness to appreciate Your name, qualities and pastimes.
Oh Krsna, may I develop a taste for serving You.
Oh Radha, please make me qualified for your service.
Oh Radha, please instruct me on how I can serve you.
Oh Radha, let me hear of your intimate pastimes with your beloved.
Oh Rama (Krsna), let me hear of Your intimate pastimes with your beloved.
Oh Radha, reveal to me your pastimes with your beloved.
Oh Rama, reveal to me Your pastimes with Your beloved.
Oh Rama, engage me in remembering Your name, form, qualities and pastimes.
Oh Rama, please make me qualified for your service.
Oh Radha, be pleased with me.
Oh Radha, be pleased with me.