Websites from the ISKCON Universe
By Radhanath Swami
We waited. And waited. It was a sweltering summer day in the Florida panhandle. The morning sun glared through the expansive windows of an airport departure gate. There, a young blond haired lady, neatly uniformed with a blue vest over a pressed white shirt and matching blue pants, stepped up to the counter, timidly surveyed the room, then announced a one hour delay. Passengers sighed, edgy to escape from the heat and travel north. With cellular phones pressed to their ears, they persistently glanced at their wristwatches.
Among them stood a middle-aged woman. She had nicely coiffed reddish-brown hair. Her dress and demeanor hinted that she was a lady of wealth and taste. Suddenly, she flushed red, flung her boarding pass and screamed, “No! You can’t do this to me.” Her outrage jolted the assembly. Everyone stared as she stomped to the counter, stuck her finger in the face of the receptionist and shouted, “I warn you, do not anger me. Put me on that plane, at once!”
The airline hostess cowered. “But ma’am, there’s nothing I can do. The air conditioning system of the plane has broken down.”
The woman’s lips quivered. Her eyes burned and she screeched louder, “Don’t you fight with me, you stupid child. You don’t know who I am. Damn it, do something. Now! I can’t take it.” She ranted on and on.
After finishing her verbal lashing, she fumed and scanned the lounge. Her eyes landed on me sitting alone in a corner of the room in my saffron colored swami robes. She stormed toward me while everyone looked on. Now, standing almost on top of me, her face distorted with anger, she yelled, “Are you a monk?”
Oh God, I thought, why me. I really didn’t need this. After an arduous week of lectures and meetings, I just wanted to be left alone.
“Answer me,” she persisted. “Are you a monk?”
“Something like that,” I whispered. The whole room watched, no doubt delighted that I got to be the lightning rod and not them.
“Then I demand an answer,” she challenged. “Why is my flight late? Why is God doing this to me?”
“Please ma’am,” I said. “Sit down and let us talk about it.” She sat beside me. “My name is Radhanath Swami,” I said. “You can call me Swami. Please tell me what is in your heart?” I have asked this question thousands of times and never know what to expect.
She said her name was Dorothy, that she was a housewife, fifty-seven years old, and lived on the east coast. She had been living happily with her family until…then she started to weep. She pulled tissue after tissue from her purse, blew her nose, and wept some more.
“It was tragic,” she said. “All at once I lost my husband of thirty years and my three children. Now I’m alone. I can’t bear the pain.” She gripped the handle of her chair. “Then I was cheated. The bank put my house into foreclosure and kicked me out on the street. You see this handbag? That’s all that’s left.”
Looking more closely at her face, I noted that beneath the well coiffed exterior her complexion was pale, her eyebrows tense, and her lips slanted down in sadness. Dorothy went on to explain that, if all that sadness were not enough, she had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She had one month left to live. In a desperate effort to save her life, she had discovered a cancer clinic in Mexico which claimed they might possibly have a cure. But she had to be admitted today. If she missed her connecting flight in Washington, D.C., her chances of survival were finished.
One of my duties is to oversee spiritual services in a hospital in India. I have ministered to victims of terrorist bombs, earthquakes, tsunamis, rape, trauma, disease, poverty and heartbreak of all sorts, but I cannot remember more anguish written on a human face than Dorothy’s. “And now this flight is late,” she said, “and there goes my last chance to live. I tried to be a good wife and mother, I go to church, I give in charity, and I never willfully hurt anyone. But now there is no one in the world who cares if I live or die. Why is God doing this to me?”
Minutes before, I had been cringing at her obnoxious behavior. How easy it is to judge people by external appearances. Understanding what was below the surface flooded my heart with sympathy. When she saw tears welling in my eyes her voice softened.
“It seems maybe you care,” she said.
What could I do? I felt too weak to do anything. Closing my eyes, I prayed to be an instrument to help her. “Dorothy, I do feel for you. You’re a special soul.”
“Special.” she huffed. “I’ve been thrown out like a worthless piece of trash and I’m going to die. But I believe you think I’m special, and I thank you for that.”
“There may not be anything you can do about what has happened,” I said, “but you can choose how you will respond to what has happened. How you react can affect the future.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can lament how cruelly the world has cheated you and spend your days cursing life, making others uncomfortable, and dying a meaningless death. Or you can go deeper inside those experiences and grow spiritually.” I remembered her comment about going to church.
“Doesn’t it say in the Bible, ‘Seek and ye shall find’ and also ‘Knock and the door will open’? Would you rather die in depression or in gratitude? You have that choice.” Her hand trembled and she grasped my forearm.
“I’m so afraid, Swami. I’m so afraid of dying. Please tell me what death is.” Her face had all but wilted. What could I do? I felt so incompetent. If only I had the power to heal her disease. But I didn’t. Still, my years of training in Bhakti had taught me that we all have the power to soothe another person’s heart by accessing the love that is within ourselves. I felt like a surgeon in an operating theater and silently offered a prayer before speaking again.
“In order to understand death,” I said, “we must first understand life. Consider this question: Who are you?”
“My name is Dorothy, I’m American…”
“Dorothy, when you were a baby, before you had been given a name, were you not already a person? If you were to show me a baby picture today, you would say, ‘That’s me.’ But your body has changed. Your mind and intellect and desires have changed. When was the last time you craved your mother’s milk? Everything about you has changed, but yet here you are. You can change your name, your nationality, your religion, and with today’s technology you can even change your sex. So what part of you does not change? Who is the witness of all these changes? That witness is you, the real you.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you are saying,” Dorothy said. “What is the real me?”
“You are the conscious person, the life force, the soul within the body, who is having the experiences of this lifetime. You see through your eyes, you taste with your tongue, smell through your nose, you think with your brain—but who are you, the person receiving all those impressions? That is the soul. The body is like a car and the soul is the driver. We should not neglect the needs of the soul. We eagerly nourish the needs of the body and mind, but if we neglect the needs of the soul we miss out on the real beauty of human life.”
“Go on,” Dorothy said.
“Animals and other non-human species react to situations according to their instincts. Lions don’t decide to become vegetarian on ethical grounds, and cows don’t become carnivores. Essentially, beings other than humans are driven to satisfy their needs of eating, sleeping, mating and defending according to the instincts of their species. A human being is entrusted with a priceless gift, which can be utilized for creating the most profound benefits or the worst disasters. That gift is free will.
“But with the blessing of free will comes a price, namely responsibility. We can choose to be a saint or a criminal or anything in between, and we are responsible for the consequences of those choices.”
“You’re talking about karma,” Dorothy said. I was surprised by her knowledge of the word. “I’ve never really understood that idea,” she said.
I explained that karma is a natural law, like gravity, which acts irrespective of whether we believe in it or not. As ye sow, says the Bible, so shall ye reap. Or as they say back in Chicago where I come from, what goes around comes around. If I cause pain to others, a corresponding pain will come back to me in due course. If I show compassion to others, good fortune will come my way. Dorothy didn’t seem encouraged, and I began to feel like I had taken the conversation in the wrong direction.
“That sounds like a justification for becoming callous and judgmental about suffering,” she said. And she was making a good point. Sadly, I had witnessed within myself as well as in others a tendency to do just that.
“Dorothy,” I said, “the devotional tradition in India teaches that karma and other mysteries are not intended to discourage us into thinking we are helpless victims of a cold and cruel universe. Rather, we should feel encouraged to take responsibility for the choices we make knowing that how we live can make a difference. For myself, I have discovered that spiritual truths lead me to the joys of compassion and devotion, starting first of all with myself. Charity begins at home. Once I can forgive myself for not being perfect, then I can begin to look upon others with similar compassion. Bhakti has taught me that we are all related, in our happiness and our distress.”
“So just what am I supposed to take away from that?” Dorothy asked. “If everything that has happened to me is my fault, my karma, I don’t see how I can avoid drowning myself in guilt.”
Dorothy was emotionally starved and I felt that meeting her was a test of my own spiritual realization. “Instead of drowning yourself in guilt, you have a precious opportunity to bathe in grace. The philosophy of karma is meant to lift us up and encourage us to make the right choices in both joy and suffering. Depression impedes our progress. In whatever situation we find ourselves we have the opportunity to transform how we see that situation. Devotional life doesn’t make every crisis disappear, but it can help us to see crises with new eyes, and often that deeper vision leads to a more content frame of mind. I’ve been practicing that for many years, and I know it has helped me to see the hand of God in all things…”
“Swami, don’t give me any religious dogma. I had enough of that as a kid. In church they taught us that the good go to heaven and the bad go to hell. The last thing I need is more of that. Tell me what is really in your heart.”
She was doing a good job getting me to explain things that can’t be physically seen such as the soul, the law of karma, and reincarnation.
“Tragedies in this life can sometimes be attributed to things done in previous lives. Because the soul is eternal, we carry those consequences from this life to the next.” That really got Dorothy angry.
“It shouldn’t matter what we did in some other life. Why should we believe that God is merciful when we see in this life that good people suffer and wicked people prosper?”
“Years ago,” I said, “an old recluse in the Himalayas shared with me an interesting analogy. It is quite simple but it sheds some light on the subject.” Mentioning that I had spent time in the Himalayas must have captured her fancy because for the first time I noted the trace of a smile on Dorothy’s lips.
“The yogi gave the analogy of a farmer who puts excellent grains into his silo but then adds rotten grains on top. The silo empties out from the bottom, so when the farmer goes to sell his grains the healthy grains come out first and for a while he wallows in prosperity. But with time his prosperity will end and poverty awaits him.
“Then the yogi gave the analogy of another farmer who fills his silo with rotten grains. Eventually he learns to do better and begins pouring only fresh wholesome grains into the silo. He may be presently suffering from his past deposits, but a glorious future awaits him.
“We humans create our own destiny. We are free to make choices. But once we act, we are bound to the karmic consequences of what we have done. You may choose to get on an airplane to Washington, D.C., but once the plane takes off you have no choice about where you’re going to arrive…”
Suddenly, the voice of the airline hostess came through the speakers announcing a further delay of another hour. Dorothy whimpered. I gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Here is that choice again, either to focus on the miseries of our fate or transform how we see our fate. Most of us have a huge mixture of karmic seeds of fate waiting to sprout. But the most important teaching of the Bhagavad Gita is that we are eternal souls, transcendental to all karmic reactions. That’s a very reassuring thing to know. Even in the midst of great distress, people who live with awareness of their eternal nature can be happy. The Bible tells us that the kingdom of God is within. True happiness is an experience of the heart. What is it the heart longs for?”
Dorothy’s sad eyes searched mine. “My heart aches for love,” she said.
“We all do,” I said. “Our need to love and be loved originates in our innate love for God.” I quoted words that Mother Theresa from Calcutta had spoken to me years before. “The greatest problem in this world is not the hunger of the stomach but the hunger of the heart. All over the world both rich and poor suffer. They are lonely, starving for love. Only God’s love can satisfy the hunger of the heart.”
“You’re a Hindu and I’m a Christian,” Dorothy said. “Which God are you talking about?”
I looked out the window at a blazing summer sun. “In America it is called the sun, in Mexico, sol and in India, surya. But is it an American sun or a Mexican sun? The essence of all religions is one, to love God—whatever name we may have for God—and live as an instrument of that love. To transform arrogance into humility, greed into benevolence, envy into gratitude, vengeance into forgiveness, selfishness into servitude, complacency into compassion, doubt into faith, and lust into love. The character of love is universal to all spiritual paths.”
Dorothy really didn’t look like any of this was reaching her.
“Someone told me,” she blurted, “that the reason I’m suffering is that God wants to experience the world’s suffering through me. What kind of a God is that?”
“People have been inventing ideas about God for a long time,” I replied. “In the Bhakti tradition we have three checks and balances for true knowledge of God: guru, sadhu, and shastra. Guru means spiritual teacher. Sadhu means holy people. And shastra means scriptures, wisdom revealed by God. Throughout history different scriptures have been given according to time, place and the nature of the people for whom the teachings were intended. The ritual parts may differ, but the essence of true scriptures is always the same. However, because people tend to invent meanings, followers of Bhakti receive their understanding of scripture from a guru or teacher coming in an authorized succession of teachers. The Bhakti lineage traces its origin back before recorded history, a succession of realized souls who have preserved the original spirit of the teachings throughout the generations. The company of sadhus is important because with people who are also on the path to God we can share our understanding and realizations…”
Dorothy was not convinced. “What do your Bhakti teachers tell you about why God gave us free will when it makes so many people suffer?”
“In order for there to be love,” I said, “there must be free will. You can force people to obey but not to love. Without that freedom there would be little meaning to love. When we choose to turn away from God, we enter the material world and forget our original loving nature. We become covered by a cloud that camouflages the real nature of things.”
“Like a veil?” she asked.
“Yes, like a veil.”
“Well, I think I’m wearing many veils.”
“We all are. The veil is called maya, illusion, in which we forget our true identity and wander birth after birth chasing superficial pleasures. The real substance of happiness is within our own hearts. Please understand, your situation is an opportunity…”
Dorothy moaned. “How is suffering an opportunity?”
“May I tell you the story of a famous lady saint?”
“Yes, please.”
“Her name was Queen Kunti a most pious and devoted lady. She underwent unbearable miseries. Her husband died when she was very young. As a widow she raised five small children. The eldest was meant to inherit the throne when he came of age. Because her children were so popular for their virtue and skills, a rival burned with envy. That wicked man seized the crown and ruled. All of Kunti’s property was usurped and her children were banished. They faced repeated assassination attempts and constant persecution. In the end, her persecutors were brought to justice and her eldest son was enthroned. At that time she prayed to Lord Krishna, ‘In those calamities I had no one to turn to but You. In that condition I had no other shelter but to call your name, and calling out to You meant I was remembering You at every moment. Thank you, my Lord, for my suffering was also the source of my greatest happiness.’
I mentioned the work of a famous doctor, who said that sometimes patients come to him to say that having a heart attack was the best thing that ever happened. How is that? Because it took a crisis to get them to rethink their appreciation for life, their habits, their priorities, and see the blessings that they had always undervalued. That seemed to register with Dorothy.
“Bhakti doesn’t necessarily make our material situation go away,” I said, “but at the very least it gives us something more than our bitterness to focus on. And more important, when we open up to the possibility of some explanation other than cruel fate, we just may find that there is a loving Supreme Being looking out for us. In your present condition, Dorothy, you can turn to God like practically no one else can do.”
She closed her eyes she asked, “In your tradition, do you have a meditation to help us turn to God?”
“There are many forms of meditation,” I told her. “I have been given one that has, since ancient times, been practiced for awakening the dormant love of the soul. May I teach you?”
“Please.”
“This is a mantra. In the Sanskrit language, man means the mind and tra means to liberate. The mind is compared to a mirror. For more births than we can count, we have allowed dust to cover the mirror of the mind—dust in the form endless misconceptions, desires and fears. In that state all we see is the dust, and so that is what we identify with. The chanting of this mantra is a process for cleaning the mirror of the mind and bringing it back to its natural clarity where we can see who we really are, a pure soul, a part of God, eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. As the mind becomes cleaner the divine qualities of the self emerge while ignorance and all of its cohorts fade away. As we approach that state, we can experience the inherent love of God within us. As love of God awakens, unconditional love for every living being manifests spontaneously. We realize that everyone is our sister or brother and a part of our beloved Lord.”
The speaker system crackled and everyone in the room perked up, staring at the airline hostess almost like prisoners would look at a parole board, yearning to be released.
“I’m sorry,” she announced, “but they haven’t yet fixed the air conditioner, and there will be another hour delay.”
Dorothy slapped her forehead, “Swami, teach me the mantra.”
“Please repeat each word after me,” I requested. “Hare… Krishna… Hare… Krishna… Krishna… Krishna… Hare… Hare… Hare… Rama… Hare… Rama… Rama… Rama… Hare… Hare…”
Dorothy shook her head and shooed me with her hand, “I’ll never remember that.”
“Would you like me to write it down for you?”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. “Yes, but it doesn’t interest me unless I know what it means.”
After writing it, I explained that these were names of the one God. Krishna means the all-attractive, Rama means the reservoir of all pleasure, and Hare is the name of the female, compassionate aspect of God. Dorothy took the paper and immersed herself in chanting the mantra over and over. I borrowed her cellular phone and walked away to call a friend with news of the indefinite delay.
When I returned and sat beside her, Dorothy had closed her eyes. She was leaning back and taking deep breaths. She looked at me and asked, “Where do you live?”
“I travel a lot, but much of my time is spent in Mumbai, India.”
“How many people attend your lectures in Mumbai?”
“On Sundays, maybe two thousand. During pilgrimages it’s closer to four thousand.”
“Where are you going now?”
“To a temple in Hartford, Connecticut. But like you I missed my connecting flight, so I’ll probably miss giving the lecture.”
“Do you go there regularly?”
“I’ve been invited for several years, but this is my first opportunity to visit them.”
“How many people are waiting for you?”
“I think about a hundred.”
Again she took a deep breath. Then, as if purging anguish through her breathing she released the words, “Now I understand.” To my surprise, her lips stretched out across her face into a blissful smile and her eyes twinkled like a child.
“The flight delay was my good fortune,” she said. “I bet thousands of people would give anything to sit with you for even a few minutes. I have you all to myself—and for hours!”
I have to admit, I teared up. “The delay is my good fortune,” I said. “There is nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here with you, right now. You are a special soul.”
Dorothy wiped a tear from her cheek. “Yes, now I understand. This is a blessing of the Lord.” I moved to another seat to give her some private space. Of course, I really needed it, too.
Finally, after six hours of delays, came the announcement everyone was waiting for. The same young lady in the blue uniform announced, “The flight is now ready to board. Anyone who wants is now invited to board.”
“We’ve been waiting six hours,” a passenger yelled out. “Why would anyone not want to get on?”
The flight attendant looked at us sheepishly and said, “In the process of fixing the air conditioner, the toilets stopped working. There will be no toilet facility on this flight. You are requested to use the airport restroom before boarding. Especially please take your children as this is the last chance until we arrive at Dulles airport in Washington, D.C. But the good news is that the air conditioner is working.”
The passengers jumped up and rushed to the restrooms. A mother pulled the hand of her four-year old boy. “Come on Timmy, let’s go to the potty.”
“But mommy, I don’t have to go.”
“You have to go,” the mother corrected. “Come on.” She grabbed the boy’s hand and dragged him to the toilet.
“I don’t have to pee-pee.”
“You’re going anyway….”
It was a fifty-seat commuter jet. The good news was that the plane flew. The bad news was that the toilets were boarded shut, the lighting did not work, and the air conditioner, after all that time, still didn’t work. It was a ninety-five degree day. The plane was hot, muggy, dark, and Timmy decided he really did need to pee-pee and cried the whole trip. By the time we landed, every passenger was miserable.
Except one.
As we trudged down the steps of the plane and onto the tarmac, there was Dorothy sitting in a wheel chair that she had requested, smiling and waving as everyone rushed by. The passengers were stunned to see one among them who could be so happy. I stopped to say farewell.
“Swami,” she said, “I chanted the mantra nonstop throughout the flight. I can’t remember being that happy in a long time.” She handed me the slip of paper with the mantra. “Will you write a message for me to remember you?” Taking her pen, I wrote of my appreciation for her and a little prayer. She pressed the note to her heart and smiled while tears streamed down her cheeks. Then she said something that I will never forget.
“Now, living or dying,” she said, “is only a detail. I know that God is with me. Thank you.”
I hurried into the terminal and looked up at a monitor. My airlines had one last flight to Hartford. It left in ten minutes from another terminal. There was still a chance. Have you ever seen a swami galloping across the corridors of an airport? One man yelled at me, “Why don’t you use your magic carpet?”
As I was running, it struck me that I had forgotten to take Dorothy’s cell phone number. How would I ever find out what happened to her? To this day I regret my foolishness. I made it just as they were closing the gate. Five seconds more and I would have been too late.
At the cultural center in Hartford, my hosts had adjusted the schedule to accommodate a late start time. I asked if there was a particular topic I should speak on.
“Anything you like,” was the reply.
“Tonight’s lecture,” I announced, “is called ‘Why I am so late for the lecture.’”
By Arcana-Siddhi devi dasi While it is the role of the parents to assist the child in making spiritual progress, children also inadvertently assist in their parents’ progress as well. One of the most dramatic examples of this is the story of King Citraketu, recounted in Srimad-Bhagavatam. King Citraketu was a respected king with great riches and power, but no children. His many wives were all barren. Seeing the king’s distress, Angira, a great sage, visited the king and blessed him to have a son. Angira told the king that the child’s name would be Harsa-soka, or “Happiness-Distress.” The king assumed that the child would just be mischievous and naughty at times, as were all children, and so dismissed the omen of the child’s name. Soon one of the king’s wives gave birth to a beautiful boy. The king, infatuated with the child and the child’s mother, neglected his other wives, who became distraught. Envy clouded their intelligence, and they plotted to poison the child. Seeing his dead son, the king lamented piteously. Had the story ended here, the king most likely would have been consumed by his loss. But Angira Muni, accompanied by the transcendental sage Narada, appeared before the king. By his mystic power, Narada Muni summoned the spirit soul who had left the child’s body. Obeying the order, the soul re-entered the child’s dead body. Because of the presence of the soul, the body again became animated, and Narada asked the child to speak to his parents, the king and queen. Continue reading "The Graduate
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By Kesava Krsna Dasa If a devotee child grows up to be a non-devotee, is this evidence that the parents mood at the time of conception was anything but Krishna conscious? Are the parents to be blamed, or are there other factors that determine this outcome? Is it possible that in spite of the parents best interest and loving Krishna conscious attention given to their children, that such children can turn their backs altogether, to pursue life, as they desire most? Would there have to be a major problem for this to occur, or is “desire” the one insurmountable force that eludes all but themselves? It might sound extreme to say that such grown-up kids can relinquish Krishna consciousness altogether. Can it really happen? As we, all get older and mature as adults, and look back at the folly of our rebellion from parental conditioning – depending on how helpful it was - we often revert to the assurances of our earlier years. “Mum and Dad knew best,” I suppose. This seems to be a likely outcome in many cases. It can appear somewhat strange for younger devotees to see how active senior devotees, being good examples for the rest, but whose grown-up children prefer more worldly pursuits. These observances might also strengthen the case for being a staunch brahmacari or sannyasa. Would anyone go so far as to judge whether conception times for the parents were properly focused or not? Continue reading "Kids Not Krishna Conscious?
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Offering to Srila Prabhupada on ISKCON 50th anniversary
Braja Mohan Das: I would like to compare your personality and glory with two of the biggest corporations. Now, there is this famous company Amazon, where they promise, everything under the sun can be delivered but you, Srila Prabhupada not just delivered everything under the sun but gave us a process to go above the sun to our supreme home, to the spiritual world. They also claim why they named their company as ‘Amazon’ as this word has an arrow from A to Z meaning everything is available with them that makes us happy (curved line). But can worldly things make the world happy? You showed us what makes one really happy. ‘Chant Hare Krishna and Be Happy!”
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/np4V93
KK Bindu #376: All Attractive Hari-katha!
The latest issue of Sri Krishna-kathamrita Bindu e-magazine was just released. This issue includes:
* MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS FOR KIRTAN – Instructions from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
* ALL-ATTRACTIVE HARI-KATHA – First time translations done especially for this issue of various commentaries on Srimad Bhagavatam 10.1.4.
* VRINDAVAN-DHAMA AND RADHA-NAMA – A fresh translation from Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s Vrindavan-mahimamrtam (9.84). It can be downloaded here:
https://archive.org/details/bindu376
Yogesvara Prabhu’s excellent presentation during the Srila Prabhupada annual festival in Los Angeles (video)
“How to present Srila Prabhupada to the non devotees”
Watch it below or here: https://goo.gl/jriwXT
The post Daily Darshan: June 1st, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Bhakta Jaya Khush distributes over 300 books for the Prabhupada festival!
Ekashma Das engages a Buddhist at a University!
Bhakta Storm distributes books to a favorable musician!
Dear Devotee of the Lord
Maharajas, Prabhus and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeacenses!!!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupad!!!
We would like to invite you for Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra on 17th July 2016 (Sunday). Please come and get the blessings of Lord Jagannath & make success of this auspicious Rath Yatra Festivals.
Lord Jagannatha- the Lord of the Universe is Krishna Himself, Lord Baldeva is His Brother and Mother Subhadra is His Sister. Sirla Prabhupada introduced the Festival of drawing Their Charitos- the Ratha Yatra across the whole world and today, over 500 Cities rejoice in the devoted celebration and pompous gaiety of this Festival.
ISKCON Vrindavan is organizing its 2nd time Jagannath Rath Yatra for the pleasure of The Lord, on the 17th of July, 2016. The entire holy city will be reverberating to the throes of Jai Jagannatha and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.
But to make this festival a truly joyous occasion, we need you, your family, friends, relatives, neighbors and associates. To draw the Chariot, to chant and dance in unparalleled joy, to partake of sumptuous Prasadam and thus receive the causeless mercy of Lord Jagannatha- the Lord of the Universe.
As you know, one who participates in the Ratha yatra festival has darshana of Their Lordships, draws Their Chariot, Listens to and Chants the Holy Name, will certainly receive liberation from Material Bondage. We welcome you sincerely to this Grand Festival- truly one of its kind in Vrindavan, for its truly a rare occasion, that The Lord Himself arrives on the streets of our city.
An Occasion to receive the Lord into Your Heart, Rejoice, Relive the unprecedented occasion! Repeat the Names of the Lord! We eagerly look forward to receiving and serving you at the Festival.
Jai Jagannatha!!!
Program Schedule
Date: 17th July 2016, Sunday
Welcoming of Lord Jagannatha, Baladev and Subhadra 9:00 am
Prasadam (Ashram Vihar, Chhttikara Road) 09:30-11:00am
Chhapan Bhog & Arati of Lord Jagannatha 11:00-12:30pm
Ratha Ratha Commence 01:00 pm
Evening Program
Lord Jaganatha, Baladev and Subhadra Sandhya Aratik (Krishna Hall) 6:00pm
Prasadam (Bhandara ) 6:30pm
Cultural Program 07:30pm
Ratha Yatra Route:
Ratha Yatra Starts from Ashram Vihar, Chhattikara Road, Prem Mandir, ISKCON Temple(Raman Reti Marg),Vidhyapeeth Chauraha, Attala Chungi crossing, Soham Ashram (parikarma Marg), Anand Dham, Lalita Ashram, Radhey Shyam Ashram, Tara Chand Bansal Ashram & back to ISKCON Temple.
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Yours in Service of the Lord and His Devotees
Radha Shyamsunder Das
Director Namahatta Dept.
The post Breaking News from Lal and about NVM appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Answer Podcast
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The post How do we determine when to treat life like a program and when like a manual? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Answer Podcast
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The post Do we need to fight with those who misbehave with us? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
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The post Why did Parashurama destroy kshatriyas and not their greed? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
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“The End of the Beginning” (video)
Ekendra das discusses “The End of the Beginning” of ISKCON on its 50th anniversary in his talk at the recent Festival of Inspiration in New Vrindaban, West Virginia.
Watch it below or here: https://goo.gl/Tegynh
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“Seven temples on seven hills” (Album with photos)
Varsana Swami: When I moved to New Vrindaban in 1972, this community was a “spiritual frontier”nestled within the rugged foothills of Appalachia.It was a community of devotees who were dedicated to Srila Prabhupada’s vision for New Vrindaban which holds sacred two primary mandates: (1) to live in harmony with one another, depend on nature, and protect Krishna’s cows; and (2) to develop a replica of Vrindavan.
The entire community was comprised of men and women endowed with the pioneering spirit required to carve a community in the inhospitable West Virginia countryside. The devotees referred to this pioneering mood as the “Brijabasi Spirit” and the mantra which inspired and united that community was “seven temples on seven hills.”
“Seven temples on seven hills” became the mantra of the entire community when Srila Prabhupada wrote to Hayagriva on November 18, 1968, “But now, let us build at least seven temples. On seven hills we will build seven main temples as in the original Vrindavan: Govindaji, Gopinatha, Madana-Mohana, Shyamasundara, Radha-Ramana, Radha-Damodar, Gokulananand.”
Bhauma Vrindavan folklore is divided regarding which of the seven temples was constructed first. Some say Madan Mohan Mandir while others say Radha Gopinath Mandir was the first. In New Vrindaban, we began construction of Radha Gopinath Mandir (across from the Palace of Gold) in order to provide a suitable residence to Their Lordships Who are already residing on the premises.
A few weeks ago, half a dozen devotees gathered at Radha Gopinath Mandir to offer practical service in fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s vision of “seven temples on seven hills.” ISKCON pioneers and second generation devotees offered service at Sri Sri Radha-GopinathMandir to install the expanded metal lathe over the steel frame. My godbrothers Gaura Sakti das (a New Vrindavan resident) and Akhilananda das(from Ohio) provided guidance and inspiration to the younger men. Second generation Dhruva das from Alachua and Bhakta Jake from Michigan were amongst the fortunate recipients.
The camaraderie, team spirit and working relationships were reminiscent of the Brijabasi Spirit upon which this community was founded. All the work is being done by volunteers, and all the steel and masonry sand are donated.
In the photos, you can see the installation of the metal lathe. The lathe goes on both sides of the steel, and it is ideal to install both sides at the same time. This lathe will hold the cement stucco that will provide the form, mass, strength, and eventually the artistic embellishments for the dome.
Short pieces of PVC-coated tie wire are used to hold the lathe tight to the steel structure. These are inserted from one side and twisted on the other side to draw the metal lathe tight to the steel. The crew completed half of one side in just a few hours.
The lathe will be installed from the top down, so workers can stand on the steel frame while working. The cement stucco will be installed from the bottom up, giving strength from the bottom up.
We will continue the construction during the Kulimela and 24-hour Kirtan Festivals, June 15 – 19. If you desire to participate in fulfilling Srila Prabhupada’s vision for “seven temples on seven hills,” please contact us at DhamSeva@gmail.com.
– Varsana Swami
Find them here: https://goo.gl/7Evp44
Sadhu Sanga Retreat (2016) (Album with 107 photos)
5th Annual Sadhu Sanga Kirtan Retreat at Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina, USA (2016) Photography Courtesy: Arjun Bhattacharyya
Find them here: https://goo.gl/RdEqkL
June 1. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Swamiji’s Kirtana.
When the kirtana suddenly sprang up from the Swami’s cymbals and sonorous voice, they immediately felt that it was going to be something far out. Here was another chance to “trip out,” and willingly they began to flow with it. They would surrender their minds and explore the limits of the chanting for all it was worth. Most of them had already associated the mantra with the mystical Upanisads and Gita, which had called out to them in words of mystery: “Eternal spirit … Negating illusion.” But whatever it is, this Indian mantra, let it come, they thought. Let its waves carry us far and high. Let’s take it, and let the effects come. Whatever the price, let it come. The chanting seemed simple and natural enough. It was sweet and wasn’t going to harm anyone. It was, in its own way, far out.
As Prabhupada chanted in his own inner ecstasy, he observed his motley congregation. He was breaking ground in a new land now. As the hand cymbals rang, the lead-and-response of the Hare Krishna mantra swelled, filling the evening. Some neighbors were annoyed. Puerto Rican children, enchanted, appeared at the door and window, looking. Twilight came.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=9
Swamiji’s Kirtana
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 October 2013, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.2-7)
Through celibacy alone, can we get love of God? You can be celibate for a hundred lifetimes, do you think that will give you love of God? No, it is devotional service that will give us love of God! If you are married to a devotee, do you think that will give you love of God? No, you yourself will have to be a devotee as well. You will have to engage in devotional service. It is not automatic. Even a lion has to go out and chase for breakfast. It is not that the deer runs into the mouth of the lion… So, we have to do something in devotional service and that is what counts. Ashram issues are not so important, it is only external. In one or the another, you are going to have to take some tapasya (austerity),
That is life in the material world, no matter what you do, there is tapasya. You decide which tapasya you like better; this is what it is all about – the tapasya of being married or the tapasya of being alone. You decide as both have tapasya. Material life has that element of tapasya, of some austerity. Inevitably so, no one can avoid it – it is basically the design of the material world therefore Lord Rshabdev pointed this out to his one hundred sons – this human form of life is not meant for sense gratification; it is not going to work. Therefore we should not be TOO particular about how we live but some things have to be suitable.
Krsna consciousness, bhakti, is not denying us these basic comforts. That is for the impersonalists. For them, everything in this material world is only maya. There is only maya in all directions therefore whatever they use has to be minimized… but we just use it for sustaining our Krsna consciousness, so sleep well – nice and warm and cosy, so that we can do devotional service – there is nothing wrong with that. Therefore we do not have to sleep on the hardest bed that we can find and use only a bed-sheet in the winter, no blanket!
I knew a devotee who never wore a kurta in winter, in Vrindavan. It was very cold and he was only wearing a lungi. You know, he lasted for fifteen years and then he got sick. What is the benefit of these things!? Great austerities – fasting, fasting, fasting… “I fast every ekadasi and dvadasi as well, for the last twenty-four years!”
Fine, you can do it for twenty-four lifetimes more and do you think you will make any more progress towards going back to the spiritual world with all your fasting!? Not really. In the Caitanya Bhagavat, there is the example of Caitanya Mahaprabhu who was having kirtans in the house of Srivas Thakur and the doors were closed, only devotees were allowed inside. The one day, Lord Caitanya couldn’t get into the mood and he felt that there was some intruder in the house. It turned out that Srivas had let in this brahmana who had been living only on milk for one year. Lord Caitanya had the brahmana thrown out, “Do you think that just by drinking milk for a year, you can attain me!” But later that brahmana was so excited that he had seen Caitanya Mahaprabhu and he was just praying to get a chance again, then Lord Caitanya let him back in.
So, it is not by austerity that we will attain Krsna! Although, austerity is highlighted by Lord Rshabdev in the fifth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, austerity in itself is not one of the limbs of bhakti. Renunciation and austerity are not limbs of bhakti. They do not give you devotional service.
ISKCON-Delhi: Festival of Inspiration - 28 May, 2016 (Album with photos)
Several thousands attended ISKCON’s Festival of Inspiration to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of Lord Sri Chaitanya.
India’s Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Dr Mahesh Sharma inaugaurated the event and spoke on how Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s movement is about devotion and compassion. He thanked ISKCON for taking India’s culture around the world.
The festival saw several stunning presentations by national and international artists. These included Odisi Dance on Dasavatar, Shadow Play, Drama on Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
A kirtan team of members from Urugauy, Venuzeual, Uganda, Russia, Spain, India, Mauritius enthralled the audience with their meditative and uplifting kirtans.
ISKCON Sannyasis and members spoke on the legacy of Sri Chaitanya and Srila Prabhupada.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/h5Z96j
Prabhupada Festival 2016 — New Dvaraka, Los Angeles (playlist of 10 brief clips)
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Krishna stresses the importance of remembering Him. One‘s memory of Krishna is revived by chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-Gita 8.8 Purport)
Watch them here: https://huzzaz.com/collection/prabhupada-festival-2016-new-dvar
Living Your Calling in an Age of Confusion.
On the evening of Friday, May 6th, New York’s Bhakti Center partnered with Upbuild to hold a dinner event featuring a talk by Radhanath Swami on the topic “Living Your Calling in an Age of Confusion”.
Upbuild is an educational social enterprise created by Rasanath Das and Hari Prasad, who both used to live and serve at The Bhakti Center as monks. Upon graduation from the monastic order they went on to launch Upbuild which aims at maximizing the human potential by creating environments that inspire genuine purpose and authentic connection. Among the dinner’s 100 guests were many leaders in business, journalism and other creative fields.
Below are excerpts from Radhanath Swami’s talk on how true wealth and happiness are found through finding and sharing the divine love that lies within the soul.
Living Your Calling in an Age of Confusion.
Radhanath Swami: The times like we are facing these days are periods in human history that could potentially bring a rise in enlightenment, or just the opposite. Times of difficult, individually and collectively, are crossroads where we have to really question our lives.
What gives a thing value to a person’s heart is not the monetary price of it, or how it may stimulate the eyes or the mind. What gives value to anything is the exchange of love.
What is valuable? Things can give some degree of pleasure to the senses and the mind but things can never give fulfillment to the heart. Only love can do that. The nature of the heart is to love and be loved. The heart is starving for love. If it is not nourished, no matter what we get, we can never be satisfied and we can never be an instrument to give true satisfaction.
When we realize that love within us, and make it our life’s service to be an instrument of that love, which is expressed through compassion for the body, mind and souls of others, then our life is truly meaningful and fulfilling. With that integrity we can work harder than anyone, if that is required, but it is not motivated by greed, envy or arrogance – it’s motivated by love. By really caring and wanting to make a difference.
The greatest thing that we can pass down through our legacy is compassion, love and care based on moral values – principles of spiritual integrity. There is a saying, that if you lose your wealth you lose nothing, if you lose health you lose something, and if you lose your character you lose everything. Of course we need wealth and we see that when the economy is struggling it can really bring out the worst in people. But where there is compassion, where we see humanity and life itself as a family, then we will make our policies with the mindset that we are caretakers of each other, whether we are in investment bankers, farmers or even swami’s.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/WWhNI9
Door to door book distribution.
Bhakta Akshay: Since the start of this year, in the mood of Haridasa Thakura and Nityananda Prabhu, I’ve been doing a lot of what I think is an under-rated form of book distribution: door to door. I was inspired by a devotee friend, who used to be a Jehovah’s Witness.
She said that they are really systematic. They keep notes and even revisit favorable people they’ve met. I adopted this systematic approach in distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, and I now make notes on the favorable people I meet. I revisit them and bring them gifts, prasada, and beads.
It’s been less than half a year, and I’m really pleased with the results.
While the quantity of books going out may be less than through other forms of book distribution, door to door may be more powerful, because you can cultivate the really favorable people you meet in the comfort of their homes.
Already, by Krishna’s mercy, I meet regularly (roughly once a week) with a really nice lady and discuss the Bhagavad Gita in her own home. I simply revisited her and brought her gifts like prasadam and beads. Before I knew it, she invited me into her home and wanted to discuss the Bhagavad Gita with me on a regular basis.And this isn’t the only case like this. I’ve met dozens of people who receive me favorably when I revisit them.
By Krishna’s mercy many of them are willing to let me in to talk about Krishna conscious philosophy. You can really feel the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa Thakura, the original door-to-door book distributors. It’s also great for those of us who aren’t full-time sankirtana devotees. Right now I’m a student, and I mainly go out when people are getting back from work and on weekends. I really wish door-to-door book distribution would catch on. I’ve seen too many devotional creepers wither away, because no one watered them. Door-to- door book distribution solves this problem by letting us cultivate the people we meet.
Your servant, Bhakta Akshay
ISKCON Pakistan: Presentation on Sindhi Bhagavad Gita printing in Damodhardesh-May 2016 (3 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: I don’t say, “Follow me.” I say “Follow Krishna.” Krishna says, “Surrender unto Me.” I say “Surrender unto Krishna.” Is there any difference? My position is simply repeating because Krishna says, “Anyone who preaches this confidential subject matter, he is dear to Me.” Allahabad, January 18, 1971
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/H1Lefy
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By Gopamatrka devi dasi She went to a Sunday feast, spent the night, and never left. In 1972 she was initiated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and received the spiritual name Ragatmika-devi dasi. For many years, Ragatmika dedicated herself to distributing her spiritual master’s books. Daily she experienced the satisfaction of offering to countless people a practical solution to all of their problems: knowledge of the soul and service to God. Yet Ragatmika was not merely giving out books of philosophy; she was also imbibing the same philosophy in a very deep and personal way. This became evident as her life unfolded and Lord Krishna used her to preach the beauty of spiritual life in a unique and poignant way. In 1982 Ragatmika married a devotee named Karnapura dasa, and the two of them moved to the ISKCON community in Los Angeles. They planned to conceive a child, and in the spring of 1985, Ragatmika learned that she was pregnant. Ragatmika had the firm conviction that within her womb was a spirit soul entrusted to her by Krishna. Because she knew from the Vedic literature that transcendental sounds could benefit even an unborn child, she would place a speaker against her abdomen and play tapes of Srila Prabhupada chanting. Continue reading "Go to Krishna Now
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