Friday, August 5th, 2016
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Friday, August 5th, 2016
Lincoln, Nebraska

People Coming Through

The Bluebird Bike Trail took me into the city of Lincoln—Nebraska’s capital.  No fuss with traffic, but with horse flies—yes.

For a second consecutive day, lunch was in the home of Hemant Dessi, proprietor of the La Quinta Inn.  Generous as he is, he also is giving Mandala and I accommodation in the hotel.  In every way, the man is pious.  He also hosted two members of the Swami Narayana group.  They were from a Chicago chapter and sat comfortably in the living room while we were enjoying our meal.  The two monks, also in rather intense orange attire, had not come prepared to eat, but we did engage in light conversation with them--they use the title “sadhu” before their names, just as in our tradition we use the term “swami” after our spiritually-given names. 

They were pleasant.  I suggested that we all, in our different ways, advance the cause of raising consciousness.Them, and the entire Gujarati community, and lest we forget, the north, south, east and west members of the Indian community, who are so eager to serve and take care of lodging, food and other financial needs.

When interviewed by Lindsay of the “Journal Star” from Lincoln, I was able to say, “Lindsay, since I began this walk, we did not have a problem with securing a room for any night.”  Either it has been an ISKCON temple, a Krishna devotee’s home, or a Hindu household which has supported our need to rest our weary bodies at the end of the day.  We are grateful!

May the Source be with you!

14 miles

Toronto Rathayatra Inspires Second Gen Leadership. Madhava…
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Toronto Rathayatra Inspires Second Gen Leadership.
Madhava Smullen: Growing every year in size and popularity under a second generation team, Toronto Rathayatra has inspired younger devotees to take on more and more leadership in their community, and senior devotees to hand more and more to them.
Seventeen years ago, when he was only eighteen, just one second generation devotee, Kevala Bhakti Das, became part of the Rathayatra organization team. Today, the festival is put on by thirty-two younger devotees from high school kids to thirty-somethings, heading up twenty different departments.
This year’s Rathayatra, Toronto’s 44th annual, was the biggest yet. It began with a ‘pre-festival’ on June 26th, giving the public a taster of what to expect three weeks before the parade.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/bpJ0Ux

How to perceive the presence of the Lord
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Hare KrishnaBy Gopiparanadhana Das

So, in our material consciousness we think that Krishna is very distant. Even after practicing devotional service for many years. We vaguely perceive the presence of Krishna in His holy name. When we come to the mangal-arati we are vaguely aware that Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda are standing there on the altar. Or maybe we spend the whole mangal-arati not giving any attention to Them at all. Anyway. Our material attitude is to think that God is very far away when He isn't very far away. What to speak of His transcendental manifestation in His name and His Deity form? Even in this material creation God is very intimately represent. We are not aware properly of the fact that nothing is simply mechanical in this universe. There is personality and intelligence behind everything. Nothing, nothing is just mechanical. Because there is a demigod controlling every material function of the universe. Continue reading "How to perceive the presence of the Lord
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Overhaul your Spiritual Life (audio)
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Hare KrishnaBy Purnacandra Goswami

Purnacandra Maharaja would oftentimes keep his firm commitment to substance even at the risk of being unpopular. He was not at all interested in winning some popularity contest. He was interested in preserving that which was passed on to him by his spiritual master. Purnacandra Maharaja didn't need large crowds to be satisfied sharing what he had learned and what he attained in his Krsna Consciousness. He would share his Krsna Consciousness even with a small group of devotees, or even with one devotee. I personally experienced this when we would sit and talk as he would share his realizations with me. This is another one of his qualities I will always remember. I'm sure that many of you who know Purnacandra Maharaja will also remember this quality of his too. Continue reading "Overhaul your Spiritual Life (audio)
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How can we harmonize our inclination with higher instruction while serving?
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Answer Podcast


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How can we develop the mood of serving Krishna in everything we do?
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Answer Podcast


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Rathyatra in Bern, Switzerland (2016) (Album with photos)…
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Rathyatra in Bern, Switzerland (2016) (Album with photos)
Ecstatic Rathyatra festival in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
Srila Prabhupada: If one chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra without offences, all of one’s sinful actions are surely atoned for immediately, but one should not commit such deeds again, for that is an offence. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.16.14 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hTlCqE

How can we avoid indulging in a thing while thinking negatively about avoiding it?
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Cleanliness is next to Godliness! Krishna-kripa Das: Dhirashanta…
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Cleanliness is next to Godliness!
Krishna-kripa Das: Dhirashanta Goswami, as part of his japa workshop at the Vaishnava Summer Festival (Baltic), graded devotees’ bead bags on a scale of 1 to 10. Cleanliness counts for a lot. He advises to wash them a minimum of once a week. Mine was not washed since the Czech Padayatra and Polish Festival tour and thus I only got 4 of 10. I shall try to keep the standard of washing once a week from now on. :-)

A Most Amazing Transformation! I’ve been encouraged by…
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A Most Amazing Transformation!
I’ve been encouraged by Vijaya Prabhu, Bhrgupati Prabhu, and the Los Angeles Temple President, Svavasa Prabhu, to write this story. I would like to include a name and picture of the main person in the story, but considering the situation, it could be a bit risky. For now I’ll call my friend “Al”.
After the 2016 Orlando shootings due to religious violence, I was having a lot of doubts in my mind. I wasn’t too sure about Islam, and I was considering whether this was truly a bona fide religion. Hearing my doubts, Krishna then sent me the perfect person.
I was approached by a man in his thirties named Al, from Saudi Arabia, while distributing books at a book table. We spoke for about thirty minutes, and he was asking intelligent questions. He wasn’t challenging at all, and seemed very inquisitive. He ended up taking nine big books, and gave me a hundred-dollar donation. I was really impressed.
Two days later, he came to our Govinda’s restaurant with his Muslim friends, and we all had lunch together. I was really amazed to see how Krishna was clearing my doubts in such a mystical and perfect way. It doesn’t end there.
Recently, during the 2016 Los Angeles Rathayatra festival, Al dressed in a dhoti and kurta that he purchased there. He had a bag in his hand, along with all his old clothes, and said he “feels free now.” I couldn’t believe it. We had a great time connecting, and I introduced him to the BBT Trustee for the Far East and Middle East, Satyanarayan Prabhu. They got along great, and Al took more books in his own language.
Al will be going back to Saudi Arabia within a month. He was just here completing his masters degree at a university. He just messaged me today after the festival, and thanked me for such a wonderful time. He specifically said:
“The Rathayatra parade was a great and beautiful journey. I’m sure those excellent moments will carry my soul forever. ”
Krishna is amazing.
Jaya Caitanya Dasa

My experience at this year’s Woodstock Festival in Poland
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Hare KrishnaBy Syamanandi Dasi

Woodstock is not for us. It is not for the devotees; it is not for the volunteers. It is not for our own spiritual advancement; it is not for our immersion in Krishna consciousness. It's not. Krishna's Village of Peace at Woodstock is wholly and entirely for the benefit of those who attend. It is about the hundreds of thousands of young adults who walk through our site. It is for the hundreds of thousands of people who relish the hot prasadam, who dance in the kirtan tent, who ask questions they didn't know they had as they explore Vedic philosophy, Srila Prabhupada’s, astrology, yoga, and Indian culture. It is about their exposure to Krishna. It is about awakening in them their innate desire to know the Lord and to say his Holy Names and to sing his glories. Every day I was there, I felt insanely blessed to be in the presence of such exalted souls, souls who had traveled so far over multiple lifetimes to arrive here and experience and interact with Krishna consciousness in such an innocent, ecstatic way. The looks on their faces as they chanted the mantra for the first time, the way they danced with abandon, and their pure inquisitiveness were all incredibly inspiring. Their appreciation and love for Krishna increased my own, tenfold. And that is the most amazing thing about Woodstock. Continue reading "My experience at this year’s Woodstock Festival in Poland
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Cow vigilantism: Fanaticism even for a good cause blinds people to the goodness of the cause 
→ The Spiritual Scientist

The recent incident in Gujarat of what has been called “cow vigilantism” has attracted widespread condemnation. While cows are immensely sacred for us, the followers of the Vedic tradition, most people in today’s world don’t share this sentiment. In fact, many find our caring for cows so incomprehensible that the term “holy cow” has come to be used as an informal expression of astonishment or disbelief. In an increasingly post-modern world, trying to impose one’s values on others backfires badly, even if those values are valid and valuable. 

I am reminded of how the tide turned decisively against the pro-life group in the the battle against the legalization of abortion. While many consider the US court decision in the Roe vs Wade case the defining defeat in this battle, the loss therein was largely legal. In the public eye, the battle was lost when some Christian extremists killed some doctors who regularly performed abortions. By that abortion vigilantism, the anti-abortion campaign came to be associated with right-wing religion. Totally drowned out were the strong philosophical and even scientific arguments supporting the fact that the embryo is essentially human and deserves the human right to life.

Tragically, the movement for cow protection in India seems to be headed towards similar alienation, with the many financial and social benefits of cow protection not even being considered amidst the fear and furore about right-wing religion.

Nowadays, attempting any form of imposition is almost certain to backfire — spreading awareness about the rationale for cow protection is the only feasible way ahead.

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Toronto Rathayatra Inspires Second Gen Leadership
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Growing every year in size and popularity under a second generation team, Toronto Rathayatra has inspired younger devotees to take on more and more leadership in their community, and senior devotees to hand more and more to them. Today, the festival is put on by thirty-two younger devotees from high school kids to thirty-somethings, heading up twenty different departments.

The magic of Krsna consciousness
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 March 2016, Durban, South Africa, Sunday Program Lecture)

prague_harinama

‘Sixteen rounds done! It’s over! The happiest moment of the day!’ Is this our spiritual life? Is this how we are practicing every day? Was there any attentive round? Can you remember one moment today when chanting was attentive? Can you then remember any moment, while chanting was attentive, that you actually felt something for Krsna?

Rupa Goswami said, ‘Give me millions of ears and millions of tongues while chanting Hare Krsna!’  This is when everything becomes magic; when Krsna consciousness becomes magic. Things become magic when we love it. Everything you do out of duty is not magic; it is only when we love it that it is magic. And the more we love it, the more magic there is!

When we encounter the limit of our love for Krsna, then what do we do? Sooner or later, no matter who we are, we all will encounter the limit of our love for Krsna then what do we do?

Then we turn to Lord Caitanya and take up his magic, the magic of touching other people, the magic of giving people Krsna consciousness. And when we see that they are transformed, then it is amazing. When you actually change someone’s life and they start to take to Krsna as a result, something happens in your heart! There is something that really goes deep and touches the heart. You get so excited and you feel like you never felt before and you just carry on in your own Krsna consciousness. So this is the magic that Srila Prabhupada gave us because when it comes to love for Krsna during our chanting, it is not too much!

Therefore if we can see the magic in giving out this mercy then a change of heart will come. When we are busy serving Krsna, when we are busy giving out mercy of Krsna then naturally we cut the tree of samsara (material existence). In this way everything happens automatically. In this way the ancient example of the Upanisads, example of the banyan tree, the asvathama, meaning ‘the tree of no tomorrow’ is easily cut down by the devotees of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by the followers of Srila Prabhupada. This is the amazing grace that rests upon this Krsna consciousness movement!

Gita 11.04 – Devotee desires to see Krishna but doesn’t demand
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ISKCON Toronto Vyasa Puja Book – Submit Your Offering!
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ISKCON Toronto’s 2016 Congregational Vyasa Puja Book

The appearance day (birthday) of Srila Prabhupada is a very special occasion for all Hare Krishna devotees.  Srila Prabhupada appeared on Nandotsava – the day that Nanda Maharaja had a big festival to celebrate the birth of Lord Krsna (Sri Krsna Janmastami).   This year, Srila Prabhupada’s Vyasa Puja falls on Friday, August 26, 2016 and celebrations will be from 11am-3pm at the Toronto Hare Krishna Temple.

This day is known as Vyasa Puja because the spiritual master is a representative of Srila Vyasadeva who is the author of the Srimad Bhagavatam, one of our most important scriptures.  Traditionally, Vyasa Puja "offerings" are made by devotees who write and present personal messages to the spiritual master.   The Governing Body Commission (GBC) for ISKCON has stated that every devotee in ISKCON should write an offering to Srila Prabhupada on Vyasa Puja.

We would like to encourage all devotees in our community to write a personal letter, in the form of an offering to Srila Prabhupada for this year’s festival and, to further facilitate this process, we will be making a special ISKCON Toronto Vyasa Puja Book for 2016.   This book will be presented to Srila Prabhupada on the day of Vyasa Puja.   Following the program, the book will be on display for devotees to read all the offerings by devotees of our community.  Please note – doe to time constraints during the festival, we will not be able to have everyone read out their offerings during the main festivities.  However, devotees are welcome to privately do so before or after the festival.

In order to facilitate this whole process, pre-printed pages have been prepared and we are asking devotees to hand write offerings onto these specially-designed pages.   The maximum length of the offering is one page per person.   If you wish to type your offering, you can use our Vyasa Puja online form at: http://tinyurl.com/SPOfferings2016 (form is also embedded below) - typed offerings must be emailed by 8:00am on August 26th.  We will print out these offerings for you.

The hand-written offerings can be submitted in person at the temple, in the designated drop box, up until 11:00am on August 26th. Hand written offerings are encouraged.

We humbly encourage you to please take this opportunity to honour Srila Prabhupada with a personal offering!  Hare Krsna!

Your Servants,
The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple


Guidelines for Your Written Offering:
  • Write your offering in the mood of a personal letter to Srila Prabhupada.  Write in a style as if you are addressing Srila Prabhupada directly (e.g. “Srila Prabhupada, it is by your mercy that I have come to Krsna consciousness.”)
  • The Vyasa Puja offering is meant for glorifying the spiritual master.    So offerings need to be made in that mood and not be used as a platform for airing one's grievances.  
  • You may wish to read the previous year’s Vyasa Puja offerings made to Srila Prabhupada by various senior devotees around ISKCON.    It may give you some ideas of how to express yourself.   These can be found here: http://prabhupada.krishna.com/homages
  • It is a courtesy to start your offering with Srila Prabhupada’s pranama mantras; we have already printed these onto the official pages.   A suggested opening is as follows: “Dear Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obeisances.   All glories to you on this auspicious occasion of your Vyasa Puja.” 
  • The main content of the offering should glorify the role that Srila Prabhupada is playing in your life as well as express your indebtedness to him.   You may also include reports about your spiritual growth, how you are meeting challenges and how you are carrying out his orders.    
  • To end the offering it would be nice to show one’s appreciation and desire to please, by some nice phrase such as “Your Humble Servant” or something similar.
  • If you have any questions, concerns or challenges, feel free to write to us at SPofferings@torontokrishna.com 
  • Please note, the temple reserves the right to not publish an offering if it is deemed inappropriate.

Submission Requirements and Deadlines
  • Hand-written offerings must be submitted no later than 11:00am at ISKCON Toronto on Friday, August 26, 2016
  • Typed offerings must be submitted via http://tinyurl.com/SPOfferings2016 (form is also embedded below) no later than 8:00am on Friday, August 26, 2016

Instructions to the Mind
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Hare KrishnaBy Urmila Devi Dasi

O mind, I grasp your feet and beg you with sweet words: Please cast away all hypocrisy and develop intense, unprecedented love for my spiritual master, Vrajabhumi, the people of Vraja, the Vaishnavas, the brahmanas, the Gayatri mantra, the holy name, and the transcendental shelter that is the fresh young couple of Vraja, Radha and Krishna. O Mind, don’t concern yourself with the pious and impious deeds described in the Vedas. Rather, intently serve Shri Shri Radha-Krishna in Vraja. Always remember that Lord Chaitanya is the son of Maharaja Nanda and that my guru is most dear to Lord Mukunda. Continue reading "Instructions to the Mind
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Disease of Envy
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Hare KrishnaBy Bhakti Vijnana Goswami

Here in this material world, everyone is envious of someone else. Even in religious life, it is sometimes found that if one devotee has advanced in spiritual activities, other devotees are envious of him. Such envious devotees are not completely freed from the bondage of birth and death. As long as one is not completely free from the cause of birth and death, one cannot enter the sanātana-dhāma or the eternal pastimes of the Lord. One becomes envious because of being influenced by the designations of the body, but the liberated devotee has nothing to do with the body, and therefore he is completely on the transcendental platform. A devotee is never envious of anyone, even his enemy. Because the devotee knows that the Lord is his supreme protector, he thinks, “What harm can the so-called enemy do?” Thus a devotee is confident about his protection. Continue reading "Disease of Envy
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Tenerife – VII Festival de la India en las Américas (Album with…
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Tenerife - VII Festival de la India en las Américas (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Haridasa Thakura was born in a Mohammedan family. From the very beginning of his life he was never trained in the karma-kanda system, but because he was always chanting the holy name of the Lord, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted him as namacarya, the authority in chanting the holy name. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.9.4 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/LAL0yd

GRC Dome Brackets
- TOVP.org

We have completed our first bracket for the Kalash on the Planetarium Wing Dome.

The bracket weighs 850 kilograms (1,874 lbs). The brackets for the Main Dome will be twice the size and will weigh 1,200 kg (2,646 lbs) each. Each Dome will have 24 brackets, and we have 3 Domes. Thus, the GRC factory will produce a total of 72 brackets.

Puka

The brackets are very ornate and detailed. They will help support the base of the Kalash. In a few days, we will lift the bracket in a crane up to the Planetarium Wing Dome.

Working

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Message of Prime Minister of India for ISKCON50
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Hare KrishnaBy Vrajendranandan Das

We are pleased to inform you that we have received a very encouraging and inspirational message from India's Top Leadership - The Prime Minister's office personally signed by Sri Narendra Modi - Prime Minister of India, Congratulating ISKCON for 50th Anniversary celebration 2016 being observed worldwide. All ISKCON Temples, Communities and various Centers connected can utilize and propagate this message for their respective Public functions, Celebrations, Festivals, Display, and publications and also during Janmashtami Souvenir 2016. Thus our ISKCON Society's efforts has been highly acknowledged and appreciated by the Prime Minister of India for the ISKCON World and its community. Continue reading "Message of Prime Minister of India for ISKCON50
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Remain in Krishna’s army! Jayapataka Swami remembers: My father…
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Remain in Krishna’s army!
Jayapataka Swami remembers: My father he reacted very angry, he said “You come back immediately, otherwise I will turn your name over to the American Army and you will die in Vietnam. So I asked for how long, but my mother she didn’t know what to say. Later she came up to see me. Meanwhile I asked Prabhupada, “What should I do?” He said, “Better you fight in Krishna’s army. Rather than being in American Army be in Krishna’s army”

Devotees from Africa visit Mayapur and perform Harinama with…
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Devotees from Africa visit Mayapur and perform Harinama with enthusiasm (6 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: “My heart is always burning in the fire of material existence, and I have made no provisions for getting out of it. The only remedy is hari-nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which is imported from the spiritual world, Goloka-Vrndavana. How unfortunate I am that I have no attraction for this. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.1.22 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/GGf0fM

Appreciating the perennial learning mood of Radheshyam Prabhu
→ The Spiritual Scientist

One of the most astonishing events in India, ISKCON the recent years was Radheshyam Prabhu’s decision to go to the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha for studying the full course for a full two years. The full magnitude of this registered in me when I was there and the devotees showed me a whole picture book they had prepared of his stay there – his refusing to have a room for himself, his going double-seat on a cycle to reach in time for the classes, his diligently attending all the classes and excelling in all the exams. All these are glimpses of the many extraordinary characteristics of his that have attracted so many people to Krishna through him.

Far better than whatever appreciation that I, as one of his many students, can offer is the appreciation that his spiritual master has offered. I will conclude by quoting that:

“It’s quite extraordinary because he is senior to practically every teacher. He probably educated the people to become devotees, who educated the people who made the teachers. He is like a param-siksa guru to almost everybody in the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha. He is teaching so many, more than anybody, in the history of India, or ISKCON. He has been systematically training people, who are systematically training people, who are systematically training people and yet, what is it? A two-year course? And yet, he’s just come as a student. Just a humble student. He’s taking notes and he deeply appreciates all of his teachers, many are so junior to him in every single way, but still, he’s really just learning from them, it’s not a just formality. You can go to one or two classes, sometimes but two years! Every day! He’s really learning and appreciating because he doesn’t really see junior or senior.

He is just seeing that these people are repeating Srila Prabhupada, so they are repeating our guru-parampara, so they are supremely exalted.And his being a student, in my own estimation, is one of the great lessons of the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha. As you are studying, you are seeing somebody, who knows more than the teachers, humbly learning from them. at is Rupanuga. at is following the footsteps of Rupa Goswami. you Radheshyam prabhu! But I almost don’t want to give you your certiate because, after you leave, the college will not be the same… But it will be better actually, it will be one of the great legendary, historical trademarks of the Bhaktivedanta Vidyapitha, that he was a student here. ”

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj

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The basics of spiritual life
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 March 2016, Durban, South Africa, Sunday Program Lecture)

SP_servingQuestion: Swamiji, can you please give me some basics on spiritual life?

Serve the devotees! That’s the basics. That is where it all begins. And when we serve the devotees, we serve their feet. We serve the lotus feet of the devotees and that means you have to bow down to the devotees – otherwise how will you get there? And bowing down to the devotees is not just a stretching exercise! Bowing down is not only about the gross body but we bow down our subtle body too. We bow down our will before the devotees and do whatever they say. In this way everything will come:

sadhu sanga, sadhu sanga – sarva shastra koya

lava matra sadhu sanga sarva sidhi hoya (Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 22.54)

From serving the devotees, all perfection will come. That is where it begins, that’s the basics – to bow down at the feet of the devotees.