June 15. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Lunch With Swamiji.
At noon the front room became a dining hall and in the evenings a place of intimate worship. Prabhupada kept the room, with its twelve-foot-square hardwood parquet floor, clean and bare; the solitary coffee table against the wall between the two courtyard windows was the only furniture. Daily at noon a dozen men were now taking lunch here with him. The meal was cooked by Keith, who spent the whole morning in the kitchen.
At first Keith had cooked only for the Swami. He had mastered the art of cooking dal, rice, and sabji in the Swami’s three-tiered boiler, and usually there had been enough for one or two guests as well. But soon more guests had begun to gather, and Prabhupada told Keith to increase the quantity (abandoning the small three-tiered cooker) until he was cooking for a dozen hungry men. The boarders, Raphael and Don, though not so interested in the Swami’s talk, would arrive punctually each day for prasadam, usually with a friend or two who had wandered into the storefront. Steve would drop by from his job at the welfare office. The Mott Street group would come. And there were others.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=9

Lunch With Swamiji

Parents’ role in a school is usually limited to supporting their children’s education and showing up for conferences. If it’s a private school, they pay tuition as well. As required, they may also volunteer some of their time. We are so blessed and fortune that we have parents who volunteer to teach a weekly class; parents who coordinate Teachers’ Appreciation Day; parents who take responsibility to order uniforms; parents who help in fundraisers; parents who help in preparing materials.
Lilavathi Vasudha Mataji (Leelavati Malisetti) recently approached me and very nonchalantly handed me a check. It was a $2000 donation to the school. A gift.
The true gift, I told her, was her choosing to move closer to our school and enrolling her daughter, Vikasni at TKG Academy. Lilavathi Mataji and her husband, Parthasarathi Prabhu, lived with their daughter in Plano, TX. They had a nice house and Vikasni attended a nice Montessori private school. But Lilavathi Mataji felt that something was missing. She longed to be closer to the temple and the devotees. She desired for her daughter to have more Vaisnava association. Krsna heard her heart’s prayers and made all arrangements for them. Vikasni immediately fit right in and made many friends among her classmates.
It is indeed our blessing to have them join our growing TKG Academy family and we thank them deeply for their support, financial and otherwise.

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

If we look back into Vedic history we will probably find many incidents that contravene modern-day standards of human rights and discrimination. If say, a liberal human rights monitor group were to go back 5,000 years, they would likely report negatively to the UN. Ekalavya, Romaharsana, Radheya, (How many of us felt sorry for him?) and many others like them, suffered, or benefited from their fair share of discrimination based on social standing, and other issues. There are some attempts to start varnashrama-dharma, which again, by modern-day values, falls into the category of discrimination according to ability and inclination, and being assigned higher or lower social positions. Even if these ideals were implemented without birthright status as is practiced widely in India, the equality seeking workers, socialists and feminists would predictably protest such social divisions. Who can blame them? The corruption of the monarchy, the exploitation by landlords and greedy capitalists, and the abuse of male domination had led to the formation of these rights organisations. In a modern world shifting towards a more human friendly and equal system, it is not surprising that certain Vedic ideals are deemed politically incorrect. Continue reading "To Be Politically Incorrect
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Harinama in Munich,Germany (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. Srimad Bhagavatam will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the re-spiritualization of the entire human society. Delhi, December 15, 1962.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ZhhxbB

Read it belw or here: http://www.conch.org.au/assets/june-2016.pdf

by Dr. Demian Martins

The latest expeditions of the Baladeva Vidyabhusana Project were very fruitful and one of the highlights among the unpublished Gaudiya manuscripts discovered and digitized is the “Caitanyastakam,” eight verses composed by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati in praise of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The astaka genre has been very common among Sanskrit poets for centuries and it is well known that several of Lord Caitanya’s personal associates composed astakas to glorify Him, the most famous being those by Srila Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Srila Narahari Sarakara and Srila Rupa Gosvami, who actually composed three different collections of eight verses. The recovery of Prabodhananda Sarasvati’s “Caitanyastakam” brings our attention to the fact that there might be more of such lost compositions, which are so important for sharing the impressions the authors obtained from the association of Lord Caitanya. The text and its English translation will soon be published together with the same author’s “Viveka-shatakam.”

In a humble attempt to serve the worshipable Deities of Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana and the Shyamananda-parivara, I have recently translated “The Glories of Sri Sri Radha-Shyamsundar,” which narrate the pastimes of Their appearance, the history of Their temple, Their different festivals and outfits, etc., and also “Prabhu Shyamananda,” a short narration of the amazing pastimes of one of the greatest preachers of the Gaudiya sampradaya. Both booklets and many of the works of Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in PDF can be downloaded for free in the following page:

www.archive.org/details/@baladeva_vidyabhusana_project

The technical philosophical terminology employed by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana in his “Tattva-dipika” is being carefully glossed, after which the work will be published without delay.

Although the number of manuscripts being located and digitized is gradually increasing, there are a few stumbling blocks on the way. The major one has been the outrageous anti-research, anti-publication policy maintained by certain libraries, which although relatively few in number, contain thousands and thousands of Gaudiya texts. These libraries are mostly under the Indian government and are run by staff who think that manuscripts are like museum pieces, not to be touched or copied at any cost. One of the largest manuscript libraries in West Bengal, for example, is run by communists who allegedly damage unpublished religious manuscripts to make sure that they will never be published. This is pushing me to appeal to high government authorities and, if necessary, to start a legal battle that will be very time consuming and was not at all in my plans.

The increasing number of unsorted collections I am finding in all directions also gives me mixed feelings: joy for what we may occasionally find there, and sadness for the little chance of seeing them being classified in the near future. This is so mostly because of the lack of funds and interest on the part of the owners and the limited resources and lack of interest on the part of the government. Despite these difficulties, the Baladeva Vidyabhusana Project is going on to accomplish its objectives:

1. Search for lost manuscripts. (Such as the commentaries on nine Upanisads, Srimad Bhagavatam, etc.)

2. Digitally preserve manuscripts currently existing in different libraries.

3. Digitally preserve all editions of Vidyabhusana’s books.

4. Digitally preserve articles written about Vidyabhusana.

5. Type all the original texts in digital unicode system, which can be converted into Devanagari, Bengali and Oriyan characters.

6. Prepare a critical edition for each work.

7. Translate all the works into English.

8. Publish all translations with the original Devanagari text.

9. Investigate and verify existent biographical data of Vidyabhusana, including historical evidences of the conflict between the Gaudiyas and the Ramanandis of Rajasthan.

10. Publish a comprehensive biographical work.

To see samples of the discovered manuscripts, and for inquiries and donations, please visit:

www.vidyabhusanaproject.blogspot.com

By Arcana Siddhi Devi Dasi

THE HOSPITAL ROOM SMELLS strongly of antiseptic as I walk in. Chris sits on his bed, immersed in rapidly pushing buttons with his thumbs. "Nintendo?" I ask nonchalantly, breaking his concentration. "Play Station," he replies, continuing to madly push buttons. I sit in a chair next to his bed, observing his strategy for blowing things up. After a couple of minutes, Chris slams the game paddle to the floor. "I hate this game," he snarls, with a few expletives thrown in. Instinctively I reply, "Hmm, sounds like you're really angry." My statement of the obvious sounds ludicrous to both of us. Chris ignores me. He covers his head with the bed sheet and mumbles to himself. I feel uncomfortable and don't know what to say to draw him out. Chris is an eleven-year-old boy I've been working with in mental-health therapy for the past year. He has a history of explosive, raging outbursts. Recently he kicked a brick wall so hard he broke the femur in his right leg. Now he's confined to a hospital bed with pins in his leg. I make another feeble attempt to connect to him. "Anger is a powerful feeling. Looks like we need to explore new ways for you to control it, rather than it control you." After enduring a few more minutes of silence, I decide to try a different approach. " I brought you some cookies," I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. At this, he peers out from under the sheet and asks, "What kind?" Relieved to hear some response, I reply "Peanut butter." He puts his hand out, and I place the cookies in it. Both he and the cookies disappear under the sheet. The muted sound of his munching fills the sterile room. Continue reading "The Root of Anger
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Srutakirti Prabhu, a disciple and former personal servant of Srila Prabhupada, recounts Prabhupada’s practical instructions regarding chanting rounds.“It was easy to understand that Srila Prabhupada enjoyed chanting japa. He always stressed the importance of chanting our 16 rounds. He once told me that as a householder, he used a simple process for completing 16 rounds that we could apply.
‘When I was a householder,’ Srila Prabhupada said, 'I would chant four rounds before each meal and four rounds before retiring in the evening. In this way 16 rounds could be chanted without difficulty.’ He laughed and said, 'If you don’t take prasadam before chanting your four rounds then you will be sure to get them chanted.

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A young monk and transcendental teamwork.
Damodara Krsna dasa: Here is some nectar about traveling book distribution in New Zealand.
I was in Hastings-in-Taranaki, around 6 or 7 in the evening. There were only a few people walking on the street, and one of them was an elderly lady. I approached her. When I said I was a monk, to my surprise she became very delighted and took in her hand the soft Gita I was presenting. After less than a minute of my telling her about the Gita, she said “Can I buy this book?” I said yes, and she gave $10 and sincerely said, “You have just made a young boy very happy.”
I asked her, “Who is he?” and the lady replied, “He’s my grandson. It is his eleventh birthday and he wants to be a monk.”
I thought, “Wow, an eleven-year-old boy who wants to be a monk gets a ‘Bhagavad Gita As It Is’ from his grandmother for a birthday present. Nice.”
Another day, I and two other devotees (Sriman Krishna Prabhu and Bhakta Chi, a practicing medical doctor) visited two small towns called Hawera- and Stratford-in-Taranaki. Two went to one place, and one to the other.
On the second day I was in Stratford and stopped a lady. She was very favorable. The day before she had gotten an “Easy Journey to Other Planets” from Bhakta Chi and read the whole book that night. So she happily gave $20 and took a Bhagavad Gita. That is what I call teamwork. I took her details and plan to get in touch.
The same day in Stratford I approached a lady with children and told her I was a monk. She asked, “Are you from Cambridge?” (Cambridge is a small town outside Hamilton.) I told her I wasn’t, but after speaking to her for awhile I learned that six years ago in Cambridge she’d met Mahavana Prabhu, a devotee who now runs a Brahmacari ashram in Wellington, and had had such a positive impression of him and the prasadam he gave her that she now happily gave me $20 and took a Bhagavad Gita.
My realization is that book distribution is really a team effort, especially in a small place like New Zealand. Each devotee is responsible for leaving every person they meet with a good impression. A person may not get a book from the first devotee they meet, but because they are left with a good impression, the next devotee they meet can distribute a book to them.
Your Servant,
Damodara Krsna dasa

https://flic.kr/s/aHskAWi6j1

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TUESDAY JUNE 14th - Disappearance of Baladeva Vidyabusana
Baladeva Vidyabhusana, The Gaudiya Vedantist.
“The Gaudiyas should not worship Radha and Krsna together,” the Ramanandis told him.“Radha and Krsna are not married. There is no precedent for Their being worshiped together! Sita and Rama are together, and Laksmi and Narayana, because they are married. But Radha and Krsna are not married.”
Now the Ramanandis were escalating the quarrel. They not only criticised the Gaudiyas’ lineage but also found fault with the Gaudiya method of worship.
The Ramanandis demanded that Radha be removed from the main altar and be placed in another room, to be worshiped separately.
Jai Singh sent word to the mahantas (religious authorities) of the Gaudiya temples. “You must prepare a response to the criticisms voiced by the Ramanandis of Galta Valley. I am sympathetic to your philosophy and practice, but your response must be adequate to silence the Ramanandi panditas, or I shall be forced to separate Radharani from Krsna.”
The mahantas of the four major Gaudiya temples of Amber submitted their response in writing.
They explained that Rupa, Sanatana, and Jiva Gosvamis shared the same opinion about Radha and Krsna:
They could be worshiped either as married (svakiya rasa) or unmarried (parakiya rasa), since both these pastimes (lila) are eternal.
Worship of Krsna in either lila is adequate to establish a devotee’s eternal relationship with the Supreme.
The Ramanandis rejected these arguments. Fighting for their religious and political power, they again approached Jai Singh.
Because Radha and Krsna were not married, the Ramanandis complained, worshiping Them together condoned Their questionable relationship.
The Ramanandis also criticised the Gaudiyas for worshiping Krsna without first worshiping Narayana.
To appease the Ramanandis, Jai Singh told them he would ask the Gaudiyas to place the Deity of Radharani in a separate room.
He would also ask them to explain their breach of Vaisnava etiquette in neglecting Narayana worship, and he would ask them to prove their link with the Madhva sampradaya.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/1lMCzi

Failing To Succeed.
Mahatma das: There is No Failure on the Spiritual Platform. Spiritual success means to please Krsna and guru, and can sometimes have nothing to do with measurable external results. Since devotional service is absolute, you can even successfully serve Krsna in your mind.
In the Nectar of Devotion there is a story of a devotee who wanted to offer sweet rice (khir) to his Deities, but couldn’t afford the ingredients. So he cooked the sweet rice in his mind. While in this meditation he touched the sweet rice and actually burnt his finger. Even though he only offered it in his mind, Krsna appreciated and accepted that offering.
I suggest that you visualize what kind of devotee you would like to be and what kind of service you would like to render. That is also devotional service. Don’t you think Krsna will be pleased if you think how you can be a better devotee and offer Him better service – even if you can’t realize those goals right away?
Just the fact that you make a goal to be a better devotee or do a particular service is itself devotional service. And, if we always think about doing something there’s a good chance we will do it someday.
Prabhupada thought about preaching in the west for 42 years before he was able and ready to do it. Show Your Heart to Krsna Making goals reveals your heart and desires to Krsna.
The acaryas pray, “When oh when will that day be mine…” in the mood of hankering for a level of Krsna consciousness they presently don’t have. So having clear devotional goals expresses the hankering of your heart to Krsna. And since we are not pure devotees, we can express simple desires, like praying “when oh when will that day be mine when I think of Krsna once and awhile at work.”
Later on you can worry about praying for the day when you will be running along the Yamuna half mad in ecstatic love. Also, research has shown that you are more likely to follow through on a goal if you write it down. Try it.
Even if you think you can’t achieve the goal or won’t follow through, write it down anyway. You’ll be surprised at what happens. I once wrote down some goals and then forgot about them. But a week or so later I found myself pursuing some of those goals even though I hadn’t reviewed my list. So, for example, if you want to wake up an hour earlier every day, just write that goal on a piece of paper and see what happens.
Often, the process of writing down a goal puts that goal into your subconscious and then you start acting on it.
A Devotee Can’t Fail.
Because devotional service is absolute, the effort is spiritual and perfect despite the outcome. Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master would appreciate a devotee if he sold even one magazine for a few paisa (cents). Prabhupada said there is no question of success or failure in devotional service because our position is like a soldier who has a duty to fight. We simple do our duty. Therefore, the only failure is to not make the effort.
Read more: https://goo.gl/8QtbDU

Bhakti Day Retreat at Bhaktivedanta Manor (Album with photos)
Thank you to everyone who came this weekend to our day retreat at Bhaktivedanta Manor (Saturday 11th June 2016).
Here are some photos from the first half of the day where we had a vegetarian lunch, a tour through the gardens, took the Bhagavad Gita walk, a talk on Srila Prabhupada and the origins of kirtan in the west (this year is the 50th anniversary!), a visit to see the cows, seminars and Mantra Meditation Q&A, followed by free time to wander before kirtan in the evening.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/BM8dZj

A really well made 3D animation, promo of the Rathayatra of ISKCON Myanmar (1 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: Guru and Krishna are two parallel lines on which the spiritual express runs very smoothly. Letter to Devananda, September 27, 1967.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/xeKaPf

June 14. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada Talks of His Childhood.
He talked of his childhood at the turn of the century, when street lamps were gas-lit, and carriages and horse-drawn trams were the only vehicles on Calcutta’s dusty streets. These talks charmed the boys even more than the transcendental philosophy of Bhagavad-gita and drew them affectionately to him. He told about his father, Gour Mohan De, a pure Vaisnava. His father had been a cloth merchant, and his family had been intimately related with the aristocratic Mulliks of Calcutta. The Mulliks had a deity of Krishna, and Prabhupada’s father had given him a deity to worship as a child. He used to imitate the worship of the Govinda deity in the Mulliks’ temple. As a boy, he had held his own Ratha-yatra festivals each year, imitating in miniature the gigantic festival at Jagannatha Puri, and his father’s friends used to jest: “Oh, the Ratha-yatra ceremony is going on at your home, and you do not invite us? What is this?” His father would reply, “This is a child’s play, that’s all.” But the neighbors said, “Oh, child’s play? You are avoiding us by saying it’s for children?”
Prabhupada fondly remembered his father, who had never wanted him to be a worldly man, who had given him lessons in mrdanga, and who had prayed to visiting sadhus that one day the boy would grow up to be a devotee of Radharani.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=9

Prabhupada Talks of His Childhood

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, May 2016, Coimbatore, India, Hospital Conversations)

The spiritual world is where we should be. Residents of the spiritual world descend to the material world to preach. As long as we are in material consciousness, there is struggle with the senses so we have to take responsibility of preaching like how Haridasa Thakur did.

In distress, still we remain dedicated to Krsna. Our service may be checked by suffering but we accept the suffering if Krsna desires it. Our life belongs to Krsna’s mission – we must directly support the mission; we must find a way to do something even when in distress. We must accept fate. Krsna’s potencies are unlimited, so happiness is unlimited. Krsna consciousness is blissful because it naturally brings human beings to Godhead. Therefore, the topmost devotees see no problem in suffering in devotional service. In the state of bhava, due to vaisnava aparadha, some obstacles may occur but in prema, there are no obstacles!

The body is a jail, other than by Krsna’s mercy we cannot get out of it. This is the nature of the material world. Relation with material energy is false but material energy is not false.

Transcribed by Man Beharini dd from Pune

By Josh Hawley

This topic is more relevant at this point in time than any other in modern history. We stand at a crossroads of mankind. If the enlightened leadership of mankind can catch a clue from Bhagavatam, and take note of the cause of the "pinprick through out the social body at large, wherein large scale quarrels take place over even less important issues," then there is hope. The problems arising from gross mis-identification with matter is what is unfortunately being perpetuated by the current broad form -slaughter house of the mind psuedo education system- as the goal of life. According to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, this mis-identification (what is known in the Vedic scientific language as jiva bhuta sanatan) of consciousness with matter is the root cause of all the problems of our existance. It is not the sympton, but the root cause. This negative identification or ahankara conception, which is essentially false mis-identification of our original jiva shakti consciousness with fallible matter as its source. Opposed to the positive conception of (jiva shakti) self consciousness as part and parcel of the infallible Absolute Consciousness or Param Brahma consciousness. This ahankara, self mis-identification, is the beginning of all of our subsequent problems of existence.This is confirmed by the Vedic Scientific Treatise Sri Brahma Samhita: ahankara atmakam vishvam, tasmad etad vyajata. It behooves the atheistic class to promote and disseminate nescience amongst the general masses in order to maintain the illusion of themselves being god. For without nescience as the popular world view, they cannot continue to perpetrate their criminal acts upon humanity and life in general. Continue reading "Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: Scientific Revolutionary in the Field of Consciousness
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By Dr. J. Chakrabarty

The concept of evolution of species, generally attributed to Charles Darwin, actually had its origin thousands of years ago in ancient India, and formed the basis of the illuminating philosophy of the Vedas. Since Darwin lived at a time when the profundity of the Indian wisdom already made an indelible impression on the minds of the western savants, it is hard to imagine how Darwin could possibly have escaped the compelling influence of the Indian thoughts while formulating his theory of evolution. Darwin differed, however, from the Indian views on evolution in several respects, all of which made his theory an intellectually unacceptable proposition. Three of the most conspicuous lines of difference between the two theories will be discussed in what follows. Continue reading "On the theory of evolution – Science and Religion
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By Giriraj Swami

All of us—husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children, students, and teachers—have duties, and sometimes we begrudge the performance of our duties because we think their execution will impede our personal happiness. But duty is duty, and duty must be done. Even in the cold of winter, one must bathe. And even in the heat of summer, one must cook. " Continue reading "Duty—with Krishna Consciousness
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Kirtan Preaching program in Mayapur (Album with photos)
Amazing photos from our Kirtan preaching program which happened yesterday.
Srila Prabhupada: Chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra is more powerful than Deity worship. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu set a practical example in that He did not establish any temples or Deities, but He profusely introduced the sankirtana movement. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.14.39 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/hrDdR4

20 miles

May the Source be with you!

From the recent visit of the British Prime Minister to Bhaktivedanta Manor.
The Prime Minister commented on the positive atmosphere he felt, and after recounting Srila Prabhupada’s journey to the West remarked that not only was ISKCON celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, but that he would also be celebrating his own 50th birthday this year.

Lord Jagannath’s cart in Puri is getting ready! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Our relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is eternal. Nitya-siddha Krishna-prema. The pure souls are eternally in love with Krishna. Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra one revives his original relationship with God and thus becomes so happy that he does not want anything material. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 7.7.39 Purport)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/M6Osby

After 9 months of courses at ISKCON Leicester from the 60 students, 15 remained. Completing the Explore, Gita Life and Bhakti Life they are the latest members of Prabhupada’s family all who have now taken up the chanting of the Holy names and following the regulative principles.
200 gallons of blood is what Bhaktisiddhanta said. I have finally realised what this means.
In September we enroll even more students with the hope of leading as many more souls to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya as we can.
Consistency is what’s needed then let the Lord work his magic.
Great group effort and I am sure Prabhupada is happy with everyone. Kiran Tailor Sachi-Tanaya Das jay
Ps. thanks to Gurudas and Sutapa for coming and doing a session for the new sanga of graduates.

Saving a life!
Caitanya Candra Dasa: I was distributing SrilaPrabhupada’s books in the same spot in Gothenburg, Sweden for the whole month of the 2016 Prabhupada Marathon, except for one half-hour of the last day, when, for some reason, I decided to try the other side of the walkway. There I stopped a well-dressed man, aged 36. I told him who we are and what our books are about and said that these books help with everyday problems like stress and depression.
He looked at me with a shocked look, and then he told me, “Believe me or not, but I am just on the way to go and kill myself by jumping off a bridge. I have had enough. I just can’t take it anymore. I want to end it all. But I see this as a divine intervention that you have stopped me. I believe in karma, so somehow it is our fate to meet, and to meet right now.”
It turned that the man, Sun, has three children, a well-paid job, and a good relationship with his wife. But on weekends (this was a Saturday), he goes crazy and drinks and takes drugs and is therefore a bad husband and father. And he’s had enough of that.
We spoke for about forty minutes, and I explained to him the benefits of chanting and finding inner contentment and unlocking the happiness within. We spoke about his kids, and he began to feel enlivened. He basically found hope by our meeting and getting a Chant and be Happy. He clutched the book like someone holding a lifeline and mentioned over and over again that this is no coincidence that we met and this was a life-changing event. He then gave a nice donation and left.
As he was leaving I asked him, “You’re not going to jump off the bridge?”
“No, I’m going to go and read this book. You just changed my life.”
Sadly, I was unable to get his contact info. Somehow, Krishna guided me to go on the other side of the walkway for that short time to meet him. Right after that meeting I went back to my old spot and continued.
Your aspiring servant,
Caitanya Candra Dasa
Hungary

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NYC Ratha Yatra Parade (Album with photos)
Bhismadeva Dasa: Yesterday the 40th annual Ratha Yatra parade was celebrated in New York with great pomp. Ecstatic chanting and dancing for miles was lead in front of each of the Lord’s three chariots.
Syamali and I we’re overwhelmed with gratitude to all the devotees who helped to coordinate and carry on this blissfull offering.
In addition, we got to visit the first temple of the Hare Krishna movement, The Bhakti Center, and the “Hare Krishna Tree” that our founder-acarya first started chanting under in Tompkins Square Park. :)
It was a very enlivenning pilgrimage and reunion with dear friends.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Jfmz6W

June 13. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada in the Summer.
The summer of 1966 moved along, and Prabhupada kept good health. For him these were happy days. New Yorkers complained of the summer heat waves, but this caused no inconvenience to one accustomed to the 100-degree-plus temperatures of Vrindavana’s blazing summers. “It is like India,” he said, as he went without a shirt, seeming relaxed and at home. He had thought that in America he would have to subsist on boiled potatoes (otherwise there would be nothing but meat), but here he was happily eating the same rice, dal and capatis, and cooking on the same three-stacked cooker as in India. Work on the Srimad-Bhagavatam had also gone on regularly since he had moved into the Second Avenue apartment. And now Krishna was bringing these sincere young men who were cooking, typing, hearing him regularly, chanting Hare Krishna, and asking for more.
Prabhupada was still a solitary preacher, free to stay or go, writing his books in his own intimate relationship with Krishna – quite independent of the boys in the storefront. But now he had taken the International Society for Krishna Consciousness as his spiritual child. The inquiring young men, some of whom had already been chanting steadily for over a month, were like stumbling spiritual infants, and he felt responsible for guiding them. They were beginning to consider him their spiritual master, trusting him to lead them into spiritual life. Although they were unable to immediately follow the multifarious rules that brahmanas and Vaisnavas in India followed, he was hopeful. According to Rupa Gosvami the most important principle was that one should “somehow or other” become Krishna conscious. People should chant Hare Krishna and render devotional service. They should engage whatever they had in the service of Krishna. And Prabhupada was exercising this basic principle of Krishna consciousness to the furthest limit the history of Vaisnavism had ever seen.
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The Sole Bearer and Maintainer

What is a “genuine spiritual emotion”? It means different things to different people…

“Spiritual” vs. “Mental” Emotion

Emotions occur in the mind, and are observed and experienced by consciousness. Since emotions occur in the mind, not the soul, perhaps they cannot be “spiritual”?

The mind, however, is not entirely distinct from the soul. The mind and body are actually extensions of consciousness. Without consciousness, they cease to function, they disintegrate. They cannot exist without consciousness, and consciousness also cannot manifest its existence without them. Even in Vaikuṇṭha, consciousness manifests itself via a mind and body. The only difference is that Vaikuṇṭha consciousness experiences full satisfaction from its mind and body and therefore has no impetus to change them. Thus the mind and body in Vaikuṇṭha are permanently related to the consciousness which manifests them.

In our realm and even in Vaikuṇṭha, emotions occur in the mind. But this doesn’t mean that emotions “not spiritual,” because the mind is but a tool and extension of the spirit. In this sense, any sincere emotion can be “genuinely spiritual.”

“Spiritual” vs. “Egotistical” Emotion

Another definition of spiritual is, “pertaining to spirit.” These emotions arise as a result of our relationship to our own consciousness and to the super-consciousness Śrī Krishna. Those who experience these emotions are called yogis or (particularly in relation to Krishna) bhaktas.

There are two basic classes of bhaktas: sādhakas – who practice, and siddhas – who are perfect. Both of them can have genuine emotions for Krishna, but the sādhakas have these emotions by way of emulation (“kṛti-sādhya” in Rūpa Goswāmī’s terms). Thus even a sādhaka experiences some semblance of bhakti-rasa, which includes some semblance of its five emotional components: sthāyi (relationship), vi (excitant), anu (expression), sattvik (reflex), and vyabhicāri (feelings). They often share these cultivated expereiences through their art, music (kīrtan), dance, drama, poetry and prose.

The emulated emotions and expressions of a sādhaka, however, cannot compare to the natural emotions and expressions of a siddha-bhakta: True bhakti-rasa can only be experienced and expressed by those with true sthāyi-bhāva, the nitya-siddha prema-bhaktas, but even the reflections and emulations of bhakti-rasa are very powerful: they can fulfill all desires, grant all liberations, and propel one into siddha-bhakti.

What, then, is a “genuine spiritual emotion”? It means different things to different people. To a common person, it means sincerely heartfelt emotions. For a bhakti-sādhaka it is sincere cultivation of Krishna-centric emotions. For a siddha-bhakta it is bhakti-rāsa, the ultimate treasure. 

Vraja Kishor das

www.vrajakishor.com

Tagged: bhakti-rasa, emotions, rasa, spiritual emotions

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, May 2016, Coimbatore, India, Hospital Conversations)

In Satya yuga, there is no varnashrama but in Treta yuga varnashrama is introduced. In grhastha life, devotees are busy but still, we must study Srimad Bhagavatam because it is our main book. This book describes the hierarchy of Krsna’s various plenary portions and also the lives of the Maha-Bhagavats. When Krsna descended, then dharma and jnana came with Him. When he left, immediately Kali yuga manifested. The Srimad Bhagavatam is the light in this age.

Chandogya Upanishad establishes that Srimad Bhagavatam is essence of all Puranas. Six puranas are dedicated to Lord Siva (tamasic), four are dedicated to Lord Brahma (rajasic), five sattvic puranas are dedicated to Lord Visnu and one transcendental, amala purana, is the Srimad Bhagavatam. The Caitanya Caritamrta is extension of Srimad Bhagavatam; the final verse of Srimad Bhagavatam emphasizes the sankirtan movement.

Transcribed by Man Beharini dd from Pune