Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur- 10 Feb 2016. Today being the…
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Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur- 10 Feb 2016.
Today being the last day of Kirtan Mela in Mayapur, I thought I should write something to share with everyone. I just came back from the temple were the Pandav Sena (Mayapur kirtan group) just finished leading their Kirtan. “Oh Thank you Krsna…that was some real amazing Kirtan”

Although it was lunch time for most devotees here in Mayapur, the temple was full. All we could all do, was sing along with the Kirtan leader with a bright smile on our face. The powerful Mrdangas sounded like a giant heart beat perfectly following the rhythm of the Kirtan. The Holy Name was entering one ear and going straight to the heart, then entering from the other ear and again going straight to the heart, incredible powerful transcendental feeling. All devotees have been in bliss for the last four days now and this last Kirtan Mela day is just the most perfect ending for this week that has given special spiritual energy to every single person who attended the Mela. This evening, thousands of devotees will once again fill up the temple room and chant together with their whole heart begging the Lord to give them Mercy. HG Agnideva prabhu, HH Indradyumna Swami, HH Bhakti Charu Swami & HH Lokanath Maharaj will be ending the week long Kirtan mela with very sweet but powerful kirtan and bajans.

Our most dear Panca Tattva seem to be affectionately watching over all the devotees in Sri Mayapur Dham showering blessings in every direction. The reciprocation between The Lord and his devotees is very special in the Holy Dham it is so sweet it’s like a perfect Gulabjamun cut in two and shared with a very special intimate friend.

So, tomorrow morning, after a short but transcendental night of rest full of sweet kirtan dreams, devotees will leave the material comfort of their room for the first day of the Navadvip Mandal Parikrama 2016.

Hare Krsna

Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur- 10 Feb 2016
→ Mayapur.com

Today being the last day of Kirtan Mela in Mayapur, I thought I should write something to share with everyone. I just came back from the temple were the Pandav Sena (Mayapur kirtan group) just finished leading their Kirtan.  “Oh Thank you Krsna…that was some real amazing Kirtan” Although it was lunch time for most […]

The post Gaura Purnima festival in Mayapur- 10 Feb 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk. Krishna-kripa Das: See and…
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Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk.
Krishna-kripa Das: See and hear how my friends from Krishna House share Krishna food, music, and books with people at the Jacksonville Art Walk, Tallahassee First Friday, and Ocala Rainbow Gathering. I share realizations from Srila Prabhupada, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Satsvarupa dasa Goswami, Giriraj Swami, several Srila Prabhupada disciples from Gainesville and Alachua, and younger devotees. Check out …
Travel Journal#12.3: North Florida -Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/tDbVp8

An Ox? What’s That?Hare Krishna Devi Dasi: We can learn a lot…
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An Ox? What’s That?
Hare Krishna Devi Dasi: We can learn a lot about history and the people writing it by keeping tuned to what is not being said. Applying this principle, we can see why Westerners have such trouble understanding the significance of cow protection—especially protection of the bull or ox. Because of what is routinely suppressed or overlooked in history books, it’s hard for people to understand when Prabhupada says,

“According to smriti [scriptural] regulation, the cow is the mother and the bull the father of the human being. The cow is the mother because just as one sucks the breast of one’s mother, human society takes cow’s milk. Similarly, the bull is the father of human society because the father earns for the children just as the bull tills the ground to produce food grains. Human society will kill its spirit of life by killing the father and the mother.”

—Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.2.29, purport

Because of a silence in contemporary history books, we cannot understand that the bull is our father. To us it seems a sentimental concept. Yet most major civilizations around the world owe a great debt to the bull or ox (neutered bull). We read about land being cleared, fields being planted, roads, castles, temples, cathedrals, and aqueducts being built. But somehow our history books (and films) are silent about the “engine” that was indispensable for all this growth of civilization.

It was Father Bull. He cleared the land, planted the fields, ground the grain, hauled the stone and timber, and moved the dirt.

Throughout the ages, there has been a worldwide appreciation for the working ox. The Chinese named a year after him and declared it a sin to eat his flesh—as did the ancient Egyptians (for certain breeds). The people of India revered both the bull and the cow and set rules to protect their well-being. Europeans also respected the work of the ox.

Americans in the days of the pioneers esteemed the work of the ox, and cited Biblical references to his value. An 1853 Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge states under its entry for “Ox”:

The rural economy of the Israelites led them to value the ox as by far the most important of domestic animals, from the consideration of his great use in all the operations of farming. In the patriarchal ages, the ox constituted no inconsiderable portion of their wealth. … Men of every age and country have been much indebted to the labors of this animal. For many ages the hopes of oriental husbandmen depended entirely on their labors. This was so much the case in the time of Solomon that he observed, in one of his proverbs, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean,” or rather empty; “but much increase is by the strength of the ox.”

Though such people were usually meat-eaters, that they could see the ox maintaining their daily life would have made it easier to convince them of the sin of killing their father the ox—which is precisely what Lord Caitanya was able to do in speaking with the Muslim Kazi of Navadvipa in sixteenth- century India.

On the contrary, how difficult it is to explain to modern Westerners the sin of cow-killing, when the ox has been—intentionally or unintentionally—eliminated from the history books. You may read a whole article about Colonial America, for example, and never see one mention of the ox—without whom the whole economy would have collapsed. I’ve noticed many times that when a modern artist needs to include an ox in an illustration, the commonest solution is just to draw him from the back—wagon, big ear, big horn—that’s all. Father Bull is so far removed from people’s experience that they don’t even know what he looks like.

But Prabhupada’s followers are changing that. We farm with oxen, and we take oxen on international walking tours in our Padayatra festivals. Devotee ox-drivers on Padayatra often report, “People come up and ask us what kind of animals they are.” Because of curiosity to come up and pet Father Bull, people get a chance to take some prasadam (sanctified food) and hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra. Just as ignorance of Father Bull’s importance condemned them to sinful meat-eating, becoming attracted by him sets them on the road to spiritual life.

Add your chant video too! Fortunate People has launched its 50K…
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Add your chant video too!
Fortunate People has launched its 50K Chants Campaign for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. The campaign was presented at the International Leadership Sanga in Mayapur recently, where it was enthusiastically received by an audience of some 600 devotees including ISKCON leaders. It is now being officially promoted by the ISKCON 50 Committee.
1) Upload your chant video to Facebook, Instagram or Youtube 2) Share it to the Facebook.com/fortunatepeoplesmile page, and 3) Add the hashtag #fortunatepeople so that the project’s website fortunate-people.com can automatically find it.
All the videos that have been uploaded so far can be watched on the website, and are sure to lift your spirits – the sight of so many complete first-timers smiling, lauging and chanting Hare Krishna “for world peace” is heartwarming indeed.
The website also features a world map that shows which locations in the world have uploaded chants.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/ySjq4O

Travel Journal#12.3: North Florida
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 12, No. 3
By Krishna-kripa das
(February 2016, part one)
North Florida
(Sent from Mayapur on March 10, 2016)

Where I Went and What I Did

The first half of February I was based mostly in Gainesville, singing at Krishna Lunch, but I made one final trip to Tallahassee to chant at Lake Ella and behind the Florida State University library and to talk to students. With youthful, enthusiastic devotees from Krishna House who pleased me by their cooperation, I sang at three special events in North Florida: the Jacksonville Art Walk, First Friday in Tallahassee, and the Ocala Regional Rainbow Gathering in Ocala National Forest. While at Krishna House, I attended their Tuesday night program for new people, and I tell briefly about that.

I share insights from Srila Prabhupada’s conversations and from his books. I share a quote from Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Jaiva Dharma. I share excerpts from Viraha Bhavan, the online journal of Satsvarupa dasa  Goswami. I had the good fortune to hear more from Giriraja Swami, and I share useful realizations from that. I share notes on lectures by Prabhupada disciples Akuti Devi, Adi Karta Prabhu, Brahmatirtha Prabhu, Kalakantha Prabhu, Mother Nanda, Ramiya Prabhu, and Sesa Prabhu. I also share insights from Madhava Prabhu from New Raman Reti, Pran Govinda Prabhu, Kalki, and Audrey.

I would like to thank Krishna Keshava Prabhu from Alachua, Nama Kirtan Prabhu from Tallahassee, Adi Karta Prabhu from Alachua, and Sravan Ananda Prabhu from Orlando for their kind donations toward my traveling expenses. I would like to thank Dhruva Prabhu from Kansas City for kindly loaning me the entire cost of my ticket from Dublin to Mumbai, almost $500, so I could go to India this year. I would like to thank Prishni Devi Dasi for paying my expenses so I could attend the Bhaktivedanta Institute meeting in Gainesville when I was in Orlando doing college outreach. Thanks to Vanna for her picture of the Ocala Rainbow Gathering and to Ekayani for her picture of First Friday.

Itinerary

March 5–10: Mayapur Kirtan Mela
March 12–21: Rishikesh Harinama
March 22–April 9: Vrindavan
April 10–13: Mumbai
April 14–21: Ireland
April 22–24: Newcastle, England
April 26: Radhadesh (Kadamba Kanana Swami’s Vyasa Puja)
April 27–29: Holland (including King’s Day in Amsterdam on April 27)
April 30–May 1: Birmingham 24-hour kirtana
May 2–July 9: The North of England and Scotland
July 10: Prague Ratha-yatra
July 12–16: Polish Woodstock
July 30: Berlin Ratha-yatra
August 5–11: Baltic Summer Festival
August 18–21: Trutnoff (Czech Woodstock)
September 13–: New York City Harinam

Krishna House Tuesday Night Program

There is a program every Tuesday to introduce students to the Hare Krishna philosophy and practice at the Bhakti House, one of the Krishna House buildings. Different devotees give the lecture each week. Recently the programs have become quite lively with people who are inquisitive and people who like kirtana participating. Here is some video of Adi Karta Prabhu and his wife, Rucira Devi, doing kirtana the first Tuesday in February (https://youtu.be/sIrk334EuH8):


Jacksonville Art Walk

The first Wednesday of the month, devotees from Krishna House do harinama and book distribution at the Jacksonville Art Walk. This month it was just me, Bali, Ekayani, Christiana, Audrey, and Vanna. Bali later said he came so I would not be the only guy. Although we were a small party, the devotees were very cooperative and participatory. We did not have a single book distributor but encouraged everyone to distribute books at least part of the time, and four out of the six of us did. I just talked to people who were obviously attracted by our small but enthusiastic chanting party, and relatively easily distributed a Bhagavad-gita, a Science of Self-Realization, and four small books. We met interesting people. One young lady knew Christiana from Gainesville and Vanna from Ann Arbor.

Several people danced with us.

One older man danced for a while, his arms raised in the air. I asked his wife, while he was dancing, if he had some connection with Hare Krishna earlier in his life, but she was not sure of the extent of it. They lived in West Virginia and had been to New Vrindavan. She had read the abridged biography of our founder, Srila Prabhupada, and told me, “I love that Prabhupada.”

Another older man wearing a National Park ranger’s uniform, expressed some interest, bought a small book, and offered to give us a tour of the National Park, with its Fort Caroline, which is near the beach in Jacksonville, and which includes the highest point in Florida, with a ten-mile view. 

One young lady, who delighted in dancing with us, told me she had danced with us at a previous Art Walk.

Vanna got one guy to chant. 

I wrote down the details of our University of North Florida Krishna Club for at least five people who were attracted by the chanting and the literature. I was happy how everything worked out well and everyone had a great time, although I was the leader and our party was smaller than usual. We were blessed with excellent weather. Although the first week in February, even at 9 p.m. when we ended, I was warm enough wearing a short-sleeved kurta.

In this video you will see how Christiana’s singing attracted lots of people to take part by dancing with us in Jacksonville and how Audrey was so enthusiastic she kept the chanting going at the van for a while before we left. (https://youtu.be/WaF_tpRCtYE):


Chanting Hare Krishna at First Friday in Tallahassee

I was happy we had a party of eight devotees to chant at Tallassassee’s First Friday this month, including Gauranga Prasad Prabhu, who is full of positive energy. At first I was annoyed that the people across from us were playing recorded music at too loud a volume, but I recalled I had my amplifier with me, and that helped to combat it a lot. I was impressed that we had more people listen to us for a longer time than before. 

One guy listened to us for half an hour. He told me he first became interested in Hare Krishna in New York City, hearing and getting a book from the devotees who chant in Union Square, but he had recently moved to Tallahassee. He remembered some of the names of the devotees on that Union Square harinama party. He said he was planning to look up our temple in Tallahassee but was too busy getting settled to do that. He came to First Friday and some people told him that the Hare Krishnas were serving food and explained where, and so he joined us. I invited him to the Tallahassee temple and he came for two Gita classes and developed friendly relationships with Nama Kirtan Prabhu and Elias. I found out he worked for a company that collected food that was past the expiration date and arranged to give it to charities, and I invited him bring some of the food to the temple. He brought 15 avocadoes on his next visit. 

Audrey (on right) and Nickole talked to some of the young people who enjoyed listening to us. In conversation, Nickole discovered that one of them had gone to the same high school as she did in Miami. 

At the end, Gauranga Prasad Prabhu led harinama not just once, but twice, around the Railroad Square. The organizers of an art and music festival to be held at the Square later in the month, upon hearing us sing, invited us to perform at it. Again I was so happy my friends at Krishna House came and shared their enthusiasm for devotion to Krishna with others.

Here is a rather fuzzy video clip with Gauranga Prasad Prabhu singing and showing Audrey dancing with one girl (https://youtu.be/5tdqwBnmmOQ):


Chanting Hare Krishna Elsewhere in Tallahassee

Because a wedding was going on near where I usually chant at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, I chanted by the playground. 


At least seven kids were excited to play my instruments as I sang for three hours on a sunny but brisk North Florida winter day. I would show the kids the standard one-two-three karatala beat and the four different sounds you can make with the drum, open and closed on the big and small ends. Then I would let them play as best they could, without additional instruction, as my mission was to allow people to hear the chanting of Hare Krishna and not teach the playing of musical instruments. 


They were happy playing with me and stayed longer than I would have expected. The parents did not object much to the kids associating with me.

I was happy that Ramiya Prabhu and his wife joined me for the final day of chanting at the Florida State University campus. Kirtana is so much more powerful with even one or two more people.

Chanting at the Rainbow Gathering in Ocala National Forest


We had a small but enthusiastic party of three guys and three girls chanting and distributing prasadam and literature one Saturday afternoon to those attending the Rainbow Gathering at the Ocala National Forest. I was happy Vanna chanted her mind and decided to go the last minute. As the previous year, we put our prasadam buckets in a cart which we pulled from one group of people to the next. 


People were very happy to get the prasadam.


Bali and Abhi were great in chanting and playing the instruments.
Audrey helped out in different ways.

Vanna pulled the cart and served out.

Amrita encouraged people to take mantra cards and books. 

Here Amrita teaches a guy the Hare Krishna mantra.

We met one guy who very, very happy to get Bhagavad-gita. One young mother told us that she read Bhagavad-gita every night to her child as the kid was taking rest. While serving prasadam and while people were eating it, we would chant. Then we would move on to the next group of people. Usually we go into the forest looking for people, but this year we found enough people parked and camped along the road that we were fully engaged. We had brought five buckets of halava, each a different flavor, from the five days of Krishna Lunch that week. The mint carob was especially tasty. The peach was pretty good too. At the end, I went to each of the different Rainbow kitchens to donation the rest of the halava. The lady, who was in charge of the first kitchen where we played earlier in the day, was very happy to take a bucket of halava. She said that for the moment she is living in the Gainesville area, and I invited her to come visit us sometime. The Jesus Kitchen took the last two buckets of halava. Some people sang with us or played their instruments. One young guy who sang with us a while helped pull our cart of prasadam. Thanks to all the devotees who came and made it possible to share Krishna music, food, and books at that event.

Here is some video showing the first kitchen we stopped at to give you a feel for what it was like (https://youtu.be/CxRzzKr38HI):


Funny Pictures


This sign on the Krishna House men’s ashram box of communal health and body care products reminds me of this Sri Isopanisad verse (1): “Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.”


Giriraja Swami’s servant carried the Swami’s books for sale in a bag from All Souls Chapel and Crematory at St. Michael’s Cemetery. One of the books was entitled Life’s Final Exam. I thought that was so funny I had to take a picture of it!

For photos I took but did not include, click on the link below:

Insights

Srila Prabhupada:

From a conversation New Vrindaban, West Virginia, on June 24, 1976:

“People see, with their own eyes, how the soul is transmigrating from one body to another body to still another body. Nevertheless, with their dull brains they cannot understand that at death, when the aged body is finished, the soul goes on to yet another body, material or spiritual. But people cannot understand this. They are so dull-brained. They cannot make the simple distinction between the body and the soul. It will take five hundred years to teach them this simple truth – their education is so advanced.”

From Srimad-Bhagatavam 8.5.48, purport:

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is actually the only object of our love. As long as we are in this material world we have so many desires to fulfill, but when we come in touch with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we immediately become perfect and fully satisfied, just as a child is fully satisfied when he comes to the lap of his mother. Dhruva Maharaja went to the forest to achieve some material result by austerity and penance, but when he actually saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead he said, ‘I do not want any material benediction. I am completely satisfied.’”

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura:

From Jaiva Dharma:

“A natural human sentiment, compassion finds its highest expression in the works of devotees of the Lord. The tenderness of the heart experienced toward Krishna is known as bhakti. All other jivas are servants of Krishna. When one experiences tenderness of heart toward them, it is known as daya, compassion. Therefore, compassion is included within bhakti.”

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami:


“All creative work
comes from Krishna in the heart.
A devotee shouldn’t
chant hoping to
get personal, creative
ideas. He should pray to serve
Krishna nicely. We are
not egoistic creators
but ‘subordinate lovers of the Supreme.’”


“Today’s drawing shows four
devotees dancing and chanting
with upraised arms.
They are happy and jumping.
Even if harinama devotees
are chanting sitting down,
they are dancing
in their hearts. The
more enthusiastic and
physically nimble among
them will actually get
up and dance. This
adds to the ecstasy.
Lord Caitanya and His associates
used to chant and dance.
The people were so amazed
at Mahaprabhu’s
physical manifestations.
He used to leap high, and
Lord Nityananda would run beside
Him to catch Him if He fell. We
may not be so empowered and
we may be growing old and
not inclined to dance, but
on occasion, we may rise to our feet
and fill our spirit
and the spirit of the group
and what to speak of the onlookers!”


 “The Hare Krishna chanters in
the City go out every day
and situate themselves
in public in a sacred spot.
They sing kirtana for long
hours and purify the
atmosphere. They do
congregational chanting
of the Hare Krishna mantra, which is
the only sacrifice recommended
for the Age of Kali.
They are doing the
most important
welfare work for
humanity because
the chanting removes
sinful reactions and
awakens love of Godhead
in the hearts of those who hear.
No other philanthropic or altruistic
work is as important
because all other endeavors cannot
break the cycle of repeated birth and death.
Harinama can do that, and that is why
its servants are the best friends and rescuers.”

From a letter to a disciple:

“The simple explanation of the fight between the Kauravas and the Pandavas was that Dhrtarastra was favoring his own sons over the Pandavas, but in a way which was contrary to dharma. And since Krishna’s mission is to reestablish dharma for humanity at large, and since the Kauravas were not willing to act according to dharma in a peaceful way, Krishna used such a major fight to catch the attention of the whole world to His personal teachings about the ultimate dharma: surrender unto Him in loving devotion. This is the heart of the Mahabharata, as can be read in the Bhagavad-gita.

Bhakti Tirtha Swami:

From a recorded lecture:

My mother said, “Give me my flowers while I can see them.” As a kid I could not understand, but as an adult I appreciate her love for life.

Giriraja Swami:

The cowherd boys asking Krishna for food are under the influence of the spiritual energy (yogamaya), while ordinary people asking God for food are under the influence of the material energy.

The yogamaya energy causes the devotees to forget that Krishna is God and also causes Krishna to forget that He is God, so they can act in an intimate relationship.

Krishna did not want to his friends to tell the wives of the brahmanas performing sacrifice that He and Balarama were hungry because that would cause them too much pain. Rather they should say Krishna and Balarama are nearby.

Krishna is atma-priya, the most beloved of the soul.

We are naturally attracted to Krishna, as iron is attracted to a magnet, but as rusty iron is not attracted to magnet, when we are covered by material contamination that attraction is not manifest.

Krishna gave the wives of the brahmanas’ suggestions how they could advance in devotion to Him while remaining at home: “It is by hearing about Me, seeing My Deity form, meditating upon Me and chanting My names and glories that love for Me develops, not by physical proximity. Therefore please go back to your homes.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.23.33)

We also have not met Krishna this life, but we are attracted to Him by hearing about Him.

Anu means both “continuously” and “following.”

These pastimes of Krishna’s kindness to His devotees should awaken in our hearts a desire to have such a relationship with Krishna.

When the brahmanas’ wives returned home and their husbands saw their advanced devotion to Krishna, they accepted them as gurus who knew how to transcend the path of birth and death whereas they were actually ignorant of it.

Adi Karta Prabhu:

Our civilization is not very advanced because people are simply trying to benefit their own bodies and those of others without considering the soul within the body and its needs.

The body ages, but the person within the body remains the same.

According to the Vedas there are multiple universes. Now even the scientists have decided there is more than one universe.

Practically everyone in India has a name that has some relationship with Krishna.

Just outside of London we have a temple and 70,000 people come each year to celebrate Krishna’s birthday. You will not find such attendance at Anglican Churches to celebrate Christmas.

Krishna never likes to be worshiped as God because it takes the intimacy out of the relationship.

Akuti Devi:

The cure for our egoistic protest about hearing extensive glorification of Krishna is to continue to hear such glorification.

Krishna is for everyone, those who like the sweetness of His childhood pastimes and those who like to see his amazing opulence.

Srila Prabhupada could glorify both the opulence and the sweetness of Krishna.

We can feel we are reeled into Krishna’s shelter, away from the craziness of materialistic life.

A lot of us are on a marathon, as we do not have so much time left, we who are more than 50 years old.

Prabhupada’s essay on the ideal varnasrama community includes morning and evening kirtana.

It costs no money to realize the soul, but it takes a lot of time and energy.

We cannot imagine we will have a great spiritual life if we cheat on our sadhana.

Comments by Pran Govinda Prabhu: Giriraja Swami was telling us if we can eliminate the offenses to Vaishnavas and inattention that the other offenses will be reduced. Giriraja Swami also said if someone is going to criticize someone to him, he asks the person why he think he needs to hear the criticism, to make the devotee consider what he is doing. Radhanath Swami said if we focus on the good qualities of the devotees, we will not be disturbed by things we may not like about them.

Brahmatirtha Prabhu:

As a cat playing with a rat and a cat playing with its kitten may seem from a distance to be the same thing, the love between the gopis and Krishna may seem like the relationship between girls and boys of the material world, although they are completely different.

To achieve higher consciousness, we must be willing to give up those things that keep us in lower consciousness.

Sacinandana Swami decided to pervade all his regular spiritual practices with gratitude to improve his devotional consciousness.

Sacinandana Swami expresses realization that there is a lover of God within his heart, and through prayers to the Lord, he found hope that he could be uncovered.

Comment by Shyamala Kishori Devi Dasi: Prabhupada was once asked about how one who could not hear or see or even touch could become Krishna consciousness. Prabhupada replied, “Well, he can bow down.”

Once Srila Prabhupada said, “When my disciples are hungry, they will eat any damn thing.”

If we really believe that as part of Krishna that we have something lovable about us, that belief will help us conquer lust. That will help us develop humility and confidence.

Comment by Bali: You cannot lie to Krishna. Why lie to everyone else?

Comment by Naomi: As far as bumps on the road, you can go around them. If you hit them, you may have to change a tire, which is something we could use help with. You can use them to humble yourself.

When I had a conversation with Srila Prabhupada about advancing in spiritual life, he began and ended the conversation with the very same verse, which was the only verse I knew: “Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.” (Bhagavad-gita 9.30)

Srila Prabhupada explained that if accidentally one makes some mistake due to conditioning it is forgiven but not if one intentionally does something wrong.

We have trouble accepting that the real self we are hearing about is really us.

Kalakantha Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada asked the devotees, “Who is stronger Krishna or Balarama?” Seeing their bewilderment, he explained that all the planetary systems rest on Lord Balarama, but as in our deities in Vrindavan, Balarama rests on Krishna.

Pralambasura is the first demon who was killed without having first attacked and the first killed outside the immediate precincts of Vrindavana.

Balarama is the original spiritual master. He takes care of those who have rejected Krishna and tries to elevate them. Thus He is very important to us.

Laksmana was upset that as the younger brother of Lord Rama He could not prevent Him from suffering exile in the forest, thus He came as the elder brother, Balarama, of Krishna, in Their next appearance. He found even as the elder brother, Krishna would not listen to Him, thus in frustration He appeared as the avadhuta Nityananda, and He did as He pleased.

A friend had this exchange with his college professor:
Student: “I am not sure that what you are teaching us is true.”
Professor of Psychology: “Where in the contract does it say it has to be true? We are just teaching you what you need to get ahead in this field.”
Thus disillusioned, my student friend dropped out of school.

The distress of the householders is they work hard for success, but after attaining what society taught them would satisfy them, they find they are still dissatisfied.

Comment by Dhrstadyumna Prabhu: When there was a terrible blizzard in Denver, it was one of my most memorable and ecstatic experiences as we read Srila Prabhupada’s books ten hours a day. Previously, before I was a devotee, when we were shut in it was just suffering.

Almost all medicines are toxic, and therefore they have to be taken in very regulated doses. Krishna consciousness is not like that. With Krishna consciousness, it is the more the better.

Because we have no taste for devotional service in the beginning, our regulated devotional service is our greatest investment. If we can take it seriously, the rest of our life will be an experience of deep fulfillment.

Although driving Krishna and Balarama to Mathura, as a pacca [first-class] brahmana, Akrura stopped part way to take his midday bath.

Some parents see Krishna House as the termination of their kids’ lives. Other people find it to be an oasis from the madness of society. Others think, “Why are these people wasting their time? They could be earning money.” Similarly people misunderstand the pastimes of Krishna and their value.

Mother Nanda:

Even with the cows, Krishna has a personal relationship with each. It is not just a few great personalities in the Bhagavatam, but actually every living entity, including ourselves, has a intimate relationship with Him.

The blazing fire that Krishna swallowed can be compared to the blazing fire of material existence.

Our saga in the material world did not just start 18 or 23 years ago [with the beginning of this life], it has been going on for thousands of years.

The cowherd boys did not call out, “Father”, “Mother”, “Indra”; they only took shelter of Krishna.

We may not solely take shelter of Krishna. We may find we are taking shelter of our credit or debit card. But we can pray to able to full take shelter of Krishna soon.

Kunti prayed for calamities because calamities force you to take shelter of Krishna.

Comment by Bali: Sometimes when things are going well with our devotional service, we think that we are perfect, and then we start accepting things that are unfavorable, and then we get into trouble, and that is not a good thing.

Chanting your rounds with concentration, associating with devotees, and having a friend in devotional service are all helpful if we get distracted and can help us get back to normal.

One acarya said that Krishna advised His friends to close their eyes before He swallowed the forest fire because He got into so much trouble when His friends saw Him eating dirt He was worried what would happen if they saw Him swallowing fire.

Comment by Naomi: We can see from this pastime that surrendering to Krishna makes one fearless because the cowherd boys were in such anxiety, but they became completely fearless by taking shelter of Krishna.

Ramiya Prabhu:

If your professor told you that you are speaking like a learned person, but actually you are a fool, you might walk out of the class, but when Krishna spoke that way to Arjuna, Arjuna stayed to hear Krishna’s wise words.

Regarding being in his seventies, my father there is nothing “golden” about it.

Like a car gets old, breaks down, and needs to be repaired, so it is true with the body.

Yoga is to get your body and mind in a peaceful state, so you can consider what is beyond the body. After you practice yoga, when you walk out of this room, if you get caught up in the external world, you will lose your peace.

A proper teacher does not just speak. You can see in his life examples of what he is teaching.

Do you know anyone who is sometimes a friend and sometimes an enemy? One moment they are friends, and then next moment they are enemies. It is very scary. The mind is like that.

As far as enjoyment, it is beyond our control. Sometime it is there and sometimes it is absent, but we cannot let ourselves be disturbed in either case.

We struggle internally, I want it, I don’t want it, but when we give it to Krishna, we are freed of the struggle.

Radha makes a special manohara-laddu that is most attractive to Krishna. Once when Krishna received one and put it in his mouth, he made a terrible face as it if it was disgusting, and then He distributed them to His friends, including Radha to please them, because they all love His remnants. She understood this and was not disturbed by his behavior.

Comment by Zoe: The Latin word humus means soil, and this word humble is related, as soil is lowly.

Sesa Prabhu:

Q: One may ask, “Why did Krishna create an arrangement to punish Indra which involved His devotees getting so much distress in terms of the heavy rainfall?”
A: One answer is that is arrangement not of Krishna but of His pastime potency (lila-shakti). Because this pastime potency can act independently from Krishna, it can be said that it is not the doing of Krishna.

na tasya karyam karanam ca vidyate
na tat-samas cabhyadhikas ca dṛsyate
parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate
svabhaviki jñana-bala-kriya ca

“The Supreme Lord has nothing to do, and no one is found to be equal to or greater than Him, for everything is done naturally and systematically by His multifarious energies.” (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.8)

The real glory of the Govardhan-lila is that Krishna very wonderfully reciprocated with all of His different devotees simultaneously. His lila-shakti made this amazing arrangement.

If we see meaning in everything that happens to us, then we can get an understanding of how Krishna is acting for us.

There are activities and relationships both in this world and in the spiritual world.

The name Vaikuntha, which means without anxiety, contrasts with our experience of this world, which is full of anxiety.

Comte de Mirabeau said, “Short absence quickens love, long absence kills it.”

Bhaktimarga Swami said in a class, “In the material world, love is accompanied by fear, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam.”

Because of the [absolute] nature of Krishna, love of Krishna is different than the love of the material world. Being with Krishna, desiring to be with Krishna, and lamenting the absence of Krishna, are all ways of associating with Krishna and experiencing His presence.

Understanding the difference between love in the spiritual and the material world can help us move toward spiritual love.

Comment by Kalakantha:  The gopis address Krishna as Govinda because He has stolen their senses, Damodara because his absence will kill Mother Yashoda who addresses him by that name, and Madhava, indicating that He is the husband of the goddess of fortune and not them, and thus He is guilty of harming other men’s wives.

When ordinary people criticize God, it brings condemnation upon themselves, but those in love with Krishna can criticize Him like anything without being degraded, and still Krishna does as He wishes.

Madhava Prabhu [from New Raman Reti]:

Srila Prabhupada explains that because this world is a reflection of the spiritual world the highest thing, the relationship between the gopis and Krishna, when reflected in the material world in the relationships of unmarried girls and boys, becomes the lowest thing.

If we cannot see the pastimes between Krishna and the gopis in a pure way, it is better to leave them aside and focus on other pastimes.

We may be hiding things, but when we come to Krishna to surrender, we cannot, for He knows all.

From a talk on “Building Strong Relationships”:

There are three features of relationship:
1.             Understanding our relationship.
2.             Acting according to that relationship.
3.             Reaching the ultimate goal of that relationship – love.

When the soul looks toward Krishna, the material influence slackens.

Pran Govinda Prabhu:

Advaita Acarya Prabhu asked Lord Caitanya to see the same universal form that He had shown Arjuna. And so Lord Caitanya showed him Arjuna, his chariot, and the same universal form that Krishna had shown. Advaita did this not for Himself, but to establish that Lord Caitanya was Krishna Himself.

The spiritual world is centralized [in the sense that it has a center, Krishna] while the material is decentralized.

Advaita Acarya was so attractive as a child, when he came with His father to a Durga Puja festival, which His father, as a minister, was invited to, people looked at Him instead of Durga. He did not bow to Durga, which bewildered the brahmanas. He said that he did not have to as Durga was His maidservant. He further said if He bowed to the deity, she would shatter. They pushed him to bow to her anyway, and the deity shattered.

Kalki Prabhu:

Srila Prabhupada makes the point that an acarya must propagate devotional service to Krishna and that Lord Caitanya is the original acarya.

In a caption to a picture of his guru in Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada glorifies his guru for spreading Krishna consciousness all over the world. He does not use that glorification as the caption for his own picture.

Serving the guru is the means of pleasing the Krishna.

Comment by Abhimanyu Prabhu: The determination of Advaita Acarya was, “Either I will bring Lord Krishna to this world, or I will destroy it by My Sudarshan cakra.

Audrey:

From a dinner conversation:

I prayed that I did not want to have to worry about school or a job but that I would have hours to read Srila Prabhupada’s books every day. I find here at Krishna House, that Krishna gave me exactly what I wanted. I did not even know this place existed before!

-----

We may be frustrated by all the bad qualities of this age, but the situation is not hopeless. If we chant Hare Krishna it can be the best age, because we can awaken our love for God and attain the spiritual kingdom. We can also offer this solution to others. This verse explains that:

kaler dosa-nidhe rajan
asti hy eko mahan gunah
kirtanad eva krishnasya
mukta sangah param vrajet

“My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.3.51)


Children in Krishna Consciousness
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By Ambika devi dasi

Bhaktivedanta Gurukula (http://www.krishnaschool.org/) has welcomed students at the beginning of the new school year. Gurukulas are very important in our society because while the students are being trained in academic knowledge, they are also being guided to remember the cause of all causes, Lord Krishna. This early guidance will remain with them throughout their lives and will assist them to see the Lord’s presence in everything.

In the sixth chapter of Bhagavad gita, Krishna explains how a spiritual seeker who does not attain perfection returns to this world, taking birth in a pious, prosperous or transcendentalist family. That soul then revives the divine consciousness of his previous life and makes further progress in order to achieve complete success.

There are many references given by the Founder Acarya of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada, regarding the special nature of children born into a Krishna Conscious family: “These children are given to us by Krishna, they are Vaisnavas and we must be very careful to protect them. These are not ordinary children, they are Vaikuntha children, and we are very fortunate we can give them chance to advance further in Krishna Consciousness. That is a very great responsibility, do not neglect it or be confused.” Letter to Arundhati, 30/7/72

A letter from 2/11/69: “It is very good news that Vishnu-arati is advancing nicely in Krishna Consciousness and I know that you and your husband will always do your best to bring her up on the right path of KrishnaConsciousness. To raise one soul to Krishna Consciousness is counted by Krishna as a very great service, so you do this duty very carefully and Krishna will certainly bestow His blessings upon you.”

Just as Lord Chaitanya astonished Mother Saci by preaching to her after she had chastised Him for sitting on rejected pots, so also these children have experienced spiritual life in previous births and can astonish us at times with their realisations. By nurturing their bhakti creepers, we will do them the best possible service. To achieve this, we need the vision that all living entities are souls and are part and parcel of Krishna.

Despite being situated in small bodies at present, these children are elevated souls whom the Lord has placed amongst us in order that we may assist them in rekindling their love for Him.

Puzzle of Life
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We pick up different pieces from different places. The people we contact, namely family, friends, colleagues, critics, mentors, managers, and others, are not simply there by chance. These individuals are strategically placed by providence to make a unique contribution to our development.

UK Youth Mela to Empower ISKCON Youth in Europe
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Around 300 youth aged 15 to 35 from all over Europe are expected to attend Youth Mela in Leicester, UK from September 1st to 4th this year. The convention, organized by the Pandava Sena and ISKCON Europe Youth Ministry, aims to empower youth throughout ISKCON Europe and connect them with Srila Prabhupada. The event is inspired by the International Leadership Sanga in Mayapur, and Kulimela worldwide.

Preaching program with HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana (Album with…
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Preaching program with HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: If one renders even a small amount of sincere devotional service, Krishna becomes obliged to elevate such person; and what to speak of one whose entire life and soul has been dedicated to Krishna’s service. Letter to Harer Nama, November 6, 1969. Find them here: https://goo.gl/UzidnS

Global 50,000 Chants Campaign Launched for ISKCON 50
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The innovative sankirtan outreach project Fortunate People is inviting devotees to post videos of themselves and newcomers chanting the Hare Krishna mantra to its website fortunate-people.com, with an aim to gather 50,000 chants for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary. Fortunate People is a UK-based project that allows distributors of Prabhupada’s books to keep in touch with people they’ve met on the street.

Honoring the Pure Devotee
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By Padmapani das

As the latest headlines and news reports from around the world become more disturbing for us all, it’s quite natural to wonder just where the joy of life has gone for so many people. The pressing threats of world war, terrorist attacks and a host of other menacing perils hang ominously above our heads as we go about our daily activities, hoping against hope that somehow everything will work out all right. Yet deep in our hearts we know that something might happen at a moment’s notice which can potentially destroy everything. Our precious lives — and the lives of our loved ones — hang in the balance. In reality, most of us don’t have much of a safety net except for a vague sense of faith that life will go on. If truth be told, we live on a wing and a prayer.

This constant state of insecurity may appear to be something new as a result of our so-called material advancement which has ushered in a new era replete with multiple means of mass destruction. But according to the Vedic scriptures, this is an age-old dilemma for humankind. In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spoke the following words 5,000 years ago:

abrahma-bhuvanal lokah
punar avartino’rjuna
mam upetya tu kaunteya
punar janma na vidyate

“From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (B.G. 8.16)

In this simple yet potent verse, we are confronted with both the problem and the solution to our material miseries and anxieties. According to Krishna, the Supreme Lord (and therefore the supreme authority), the very nature of this world is insecure because there is no permanent shelter here. Who can deny that life is constantly changing — for better or worse — no matter how much we struggle to make it stand still? As the old saying goes, “Time waits for no man.”

Krishna informs us that not only is this lifetime transitory, but there are more lifetimes, and they are all temporary and miserable. Krishna says, “punah avartinah,” which is translated as “again returning.” We must continue returning again and again to this world of broken promises and unfulfilled dreams. This is what the Vedas refer to as samsara, or the cycle of birth and death. The living entity or spirit soul (atma) encased in one fleeting material body after another is rotating “from the highest planet down to the lowest” in search of permanent happiness. But since this world is certified by the Lord Himself to be a place of misery, then all such wanderings are ultimately futile. In other words, we’re looking in the wrong place.

As gloomy as this may all sound at first, there is a straightforward answer to the problem. Lord Krishna is the benefactor of all living entities, so we can rest assured that He won’t leave us high and dry. In fact, He doesn’t. In the very same verse, the Lord promises, mam upetya tu kaunteya, punar janma na vidyate: “But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” Here is the simple but sublime solution. We must seek our happiness in Krishna’s abode where there is no more birth and death. This is called our eternal life, or “back home, back to Godhead.”

Of course, we may then inquire as to how we can actually make it to the spiritual sky where life is full of endless joy and happiness. If we read the Bhagavad-gita in full our inquiries will be satisfied. Krishna advises the following in the fourth chapter of the Gita:

tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darsinah

“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” (B.G. 4.34)

In the purport to this important verse, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and the author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, writes the following:

“Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. One should not only hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.”

Lord Krishna Himself recommends that we approach the bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession. Because he is the transparent via medium to the Lord, the spiritual master is qualified to accept service on the Lord’s behalf. This is the process of Krishna consciousness as revealed to us by the Supreme Lord and which is supported by the self-realized spiritual master, the Vedic scriptures and the saintly persons or sadhus (B.G.10.3, Purport). Therefore it should be clearly understood that when we worship the spiritual master, we are not worshiping a common ordinary man. He is the authorized representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Vedic literatures inform us that glorification of the spiritual master is due to his exalted position as a pure unmotivated servant of his own spiritual master in disciplic succession (parampara) from the Lord Himself. Srila Prabhupada clearly explains: “One has to understand Srimad-Bhagavatam through the process of devotional service and by hearing the recitation of a pure devotee. These are the injunctions of Vedic literature — sruti and smrti. Those who are not in the disciplic succession and who are not pure devotees cannot understand the real mysterious objective of Srimad-Bhagavatam and Srimad Bhagavad-gita. (Cc. Madhya 22.131)

The worship of Srila Prabhupada is therefore the worship of the entire parampara, and ultimately the worship of the Supreme Lord Krishna. It should always be understood that the pure devotee never takes the glorification for himself, and this can be easily concluded by studying Prabhupada’s books, hearing his lectures and reading his letters and essays. For example, in just one of his letters written in 1968, Srila Prabhupada counseled a disciple:

“A Krishna Consciousness person thinks always about himself as the lowest creature in the world, and the more one thinks like that he becomes elevated more and more. A Krishna Conscious person is never falsely puffed-up; he is satisfied with his humble position as the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna.” (Srila Prabhupada letter, June 1, 1968)

Prabhupada always practiced what he preached. There was never any discrepancy between what he instructed and how he lived his life. That is the meaning of acarya, or one who teaches by example. Srila Prabhupada was the first to rise in the mornings, and no one could keep up with his incessant devotion and service throughout the day — day after day, month after month and year after year. Yet despite his impeccable standard of pure devotional service, Srila Prabhupada always remained humble and sincere. In the same letter, he stated the following:

“Personally I have no credit for myself, but I am trying to act as faithful servant of my predecessors and just presenting without any adulteration the message which I have received from my Spiritual Master. Similarly, if this message is presented by you all who have accepted me as the Spiritual Master, then all the people of the world may be benefited by receiving this transcendent message of Krishna Consciousness. Try to execute this mission wholeheartedly and faithfully, and all of you try to broadcast the message to your best capacity.”

In conclusion, we humbly encourage everyone to study Srila Prabhupada’s life and teachings to their heart’s content. There is so much available. His early writings and letters are just as timely and relevant to the world today as they were in the Forties and Fifties. And his later writings are indeed a welcome relief and panacea for society’s chronic maladies. If one takes the time to really understand who Prabhupada is and what he is saying, there can be no mistake that he should be regarded with the highest respect and love. It is not blind fanaticism or sectarianism to honor the pure devotee of Krishna; but in fact, it’s what the Supreme Lord wants us to do (B.G. 4.34). Since we’re hoping to get out of this material world of miseries and go back to Him in the kingdom of God, then it’s not without good reason that we should follow His advice in this regard. Therefore we can safely say that Prabhupada is for everyone, just as Krishna is for everyone.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Krishna’s mercy that sent me to a children’s prison
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Hare KrishnaBy Piyush

We all know that Krsna’s birthplace was a prison cell. Not many of us, however, know that before Srila Prabhupada left for the West, Srila Prabhupada brought Krishna’s message to the Tihar prison, Asia’s largest prison based out of Delhi, in the 1960s. Little did I realize that my own journey of transformation would start from a prison, albeit one for children. By the year 2012, I had had a journey that many materialists would envy to have. Rising from a very humble beginning, I rose fast in the material world with my resume marked with global education and a 7-year corporate stint that concluded at a senior management position with an Indian multinational. This journey continued further when I left the corporate world and co-founded a leadership training organization wherein I had the opportunity to train over 3000+ young minds. Continue reading "Krishna’s mercy that sent me to a children’s prison
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March 10. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Satsvarupa…
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March 10. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Satsvarupa dasa Goswami: Prabhupada and Dreams.
The appearance of Srila Prabhupada in dreams is a shaky kind of evidence that cannot always be held as absolutely true, free of all symbolism or mental concoction. We often don’t like to hear other people’s dreams about Prabhupada, especially when they claim they are literally true. If Prabhupada appears in a dream and says, “There’s going to be a world war. You should immediately go to south Italy.” – It may mean many things. It may not be a literal order from Prabhupada himself.
Still, dreams are worth pursuing. Much of our conscious life is spent trying to capture Prabhupada’s presence, but so much time is spent in sleep. If one can dream of Prabhupada and Krishna, then that time will not be wasted. And in fact, dreaming of Prabhupada or Krishna may be a good sign that Krishna consciousness is finally infiltrating one’s heart.
One who craves to be with him will accept whatever he can get, even infrequent, inconclusive dreams.
To read the entire article click here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=6

Siva Ratri celebrations at ISKCON Scarborough – Friday- 11th Mar 2016
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Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!


The auspicious Siva Ratri was celebrated throughout the world on Monday- 7th Mar 2016.


At ISKCON Scarborough we will be hearing the glories of Lord Siva who is the greatest of all Vaishnavas coming Friday - 11th Mar 2016.


We humbly welcome you and your family to take part in this wonderful program coming Friday.


With best wishes from,


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7

Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com
website:

www.iskconscarborough.com

Material misconceptions
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 February 2016, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England, Srimad Bhavagatam 10.2.19)

lord-caitanyas-sankirtan-party

Recently I bought a book by Sadananda Swami, the German sannyasi godbrother of Srila Prabhupada, a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhantha. This was a book by him and his disciple Vamana das, who was a writer known in Austria known as Walter Eidlitz. Several of his books were also translated into English. Sadananda Swami wrote about suffering in the material world and then he said, “We should not have the misconception that Lord Caitanya’s movement is meant to, in anyway, minimize the suffering of material existence.” He said, “It is not meant for that purpose, but rather it is meant to fill the emptiness in our heart.” So that was a very profound point actually. When I read that, I was thinking, “Wow. I have never really so clearly phrased that point, not even in my thoughts.

But yes, the emptiness in the heart gets filled; the heart overflows when the ecstasy is there, just like Devaki whose heart was filled. Remember how Devaki conceived through the heart. It was Vasudev who originally conceived Krsna purely and that pure Krsna consciousness was transferred to the heart of Devaki who then conceived of that love for Krsna and then the Lord manifested in her womb.

Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir – SB Class, 4 March 2016: HH Badrinarayana Swami
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Download the audio for this lecture here:

http://www.mayapurtvarchives.com/p/downloads-2016.html

From Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir

Date: March 4th 2016

Speaker: HH Badri Narayan Maharaj

Subject: S.B.7.2.11

TEXT 11

viṣṇur dvija-kriyā-mūlo

yajño dharmamayaḥ pumān

devarṣi-pitṛ-bhūtānāṁ

dharmasya ca parāyaṇam

TRANSLATION

The basic principle of brahminical culture is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu, the personification of sacrificial and ritualistic ceremonies. Lord Viṣṇu is the personified reservoir of all religious principles, and He is the shelter of all the demigods, the great pitās, and the people in general. When the brāhmaṇas are killed, no one will exist to encourage the kṣatriyas to perform yajñas, and thus the demigods, not being appeased by yajña, will automatically die.

PURPORT

Since Viṣṇu is the central point of brahminical culture, Hiraṇyakaśipu’s plan was to kill Viṣṇu, for if Viṣṇu were killed, naturally the brahminical culture would also be lost. With brahminical culture lost, yajña would no longer be performed, and for want of yajña the regular distribution of rainfall would cease (yajñād bhavati parjanyaḥ [Bg. 3.14]). Thus there would be disturbances all over the world, and naturally the demigods would be defeated. From this verse we get a clear indication of how human society is disturbed when the Vedic Āryan civilization is killed and the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies performed by the brāhmaṇas are stopped. Kalau śūdrasambhavaḥ: because the population of the modern world consists mostly of śūdras, the brahminical culture is now lost and is extremely difficult to reestablish in a proper way. Therefore Lord Caitanya has recommended the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, which will revive brahminical culture very easily.

harer nāma harer nāma

harer nāmaiva kevalam

kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva

nāsty eva gatir anyathā

[Adi 17.21]

Because of the increment in demoniac population, people have lost brahminical culture. Nor is there a kṣatriya government. Instead, the government is a democracy in which any śūdra can be voted into taking up the governmental reigns and capture the power to rule. Because of the poisonous effects of Kaliyuga, the śāstra (Bhāg. 12.2.13) says, dasyuprāyeṣu rājasu: the government will adopt the policies of dasyus, or plunderers. Thus there will be no instructions from the brāhmaṇas, and even if there are brahminical instructions, there will be no kṣatriya rulers who can follow them. Aside from Satyayuga, even formerly, in the days when demons were flourishing, Hiraṇyakaśipu planned to destroy the brahminical culture and the kṣatriya government and thus create chaos all over the world. Although in Satyayuga this plan was very difficult to execute, in Kaliyuga, which is full of śūdras and demons, the brahminical culture is lost and can be revived only by the chanting of the mahāmantra. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, or the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, has been inaugurated to revive brahminical culture very easily so that people may become happy and peaceful in this life and prepare for elevation in the next. In this regard, Śrīla Madhvācārya quotes this verse from the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa:

vipra-yajñādi-mūlaṁ tu

harir ity āsuraṁ matam

harir eva hi sarvasya

mūlaṁ samyaṅ mato nṛpa

“O King, the demons think that Hari, Lord Viṣṇu, exists because of the brāhmaṇas and yajña, but factually Hari is the cause of everything including the brāhmaṇas and yajña.” Therefore, through the popularizing of harikīrtana, or the saṅkīrtana movement, the brahminical culture and kṣatriya government will automatically come back, and people will be extremely happy.

Before we start, I’d like to ask for some blessings. I am a relatively new sannyasi. I am often introduced with the term “Your Holiness.” The only way that I can accept that is with a little changing of the spelling, that I am full of holes. Because I am full of anarthas and holes like swiss cheese, I just ask for your blessings. Please, can I say something useful and pleasing to you. Then our time together will be well spent.

I also apologize to the translators, wherever you are. I speak quickly and I wish you all good luck. I will try and go slowly but we are all either blessed or cursed by our particular natures.

I was listening some time ago to a lecture by Srila Prabhupada from1969 in New York. He is speaking from Bhagavad Gita. He is talking about the cycle or the wheel of life. Those are Prabhupada’s actual words – cycle or wheel of life. He is saying that you offer sacrifice so that you please the demigods, the demigods provide rain therefore you get grains and everybody is happy. Prabhupada says it is the wheel or chakra of dharma and the wheel is meant to turn.

Here we see Krishna’s arrangement for this world. There is a wheel of dharma. Everyone has their role to play. They push it and the wheel turns. Everyone is happy.

Prabhupada is talking about how they are all sudras. So, how is this world going on? Socrates says to know thyself and to thine own self be true. We should first know what our position is. Who am I? What’s going on in this world? It’s what makes a man different from an animal. We are looking for the cause of all causes and of course, we have found the cause of all causes that makes that wheel turn. They are also looking for the cause of all causes. Prabhupada that because they are sudras, fools, they have so many ideas.

I heard another tape where Prabhupada was using the word adrista. He says that there is no such thing as the word accident in the Vedic scriptures. They use instead the word adrista which means that there is cause but we don’t see it. We don’t know it.

People are stumbling along without knowing why this wheel is turning and where they fit in it. They are searching it out in their own way. As Prabhupada says here in the purport, everyone is born sudra. The basic common sense is lost.

My mother, who has passed away now, she went to the doctor. She had some condition so they gave her a pill for it. The pill had a side effect which caused headaches. The doctor said to not worry, they have a pill for that. Now she was on two pills. That caused another side effect, so, they gave her another pill. Now she was on three pills. Finally she got up to five pills. She told the doctor that this was depressing. The doctor said they have a pill for that. My mother said, “We’re out of here. We’re finding another doctor!”

They are looking for the cause of causes but all they are doing is compounding the problem because they do not know the root.

One of my favorites, I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to, go home and google “dark matter.” Do you know what dark matter is? In order to hold the cosmos together it should do one of two things, according to the understanding of physics. It could either completely spin out or it could implode on itself. The reason that it stays where it is is because of certain gravitation forces, pushes and pulls, that hold everything in place. We know that it’s Balaram, but they have their speculative idea. The problem is that gravity is created by mass. To get the right gravitational pull there needs to be a certain amount of mass. They can’t find it. It’s called dark matter. To make all of their equations fit together and explain creation, there is over 90% of matter in the universe that they cannot find.

Suppose that I open Badrinarayan Swami’s Convenience Store, Best and Cheapest. You come on in and buy something. Suppose that you give me a hundred dollars to buy a ten dollar item. I say thank you very much, jaya, and close the cash register. You will say hey, where is my change? I’ll say no, no, it’s there. They are just dark dollars.

It’s laughable, but that is the cornerstone of astrophysics, dark matter. One devotee told me a joke: dark matter, anti-matter, it doesn’t matter. They are completely in a fog.

Prabhupada was with a man once who was talking about the missing link. I was actually there at that time. Prabhupada replied that the missing link is my foot in your face. Only Prabhupada could say that. He said later on that I can say this but you cannot. He said that an old man can go anywhere and say anything.

I was listening to another tape and there is a man talking about creating life. Prabhupada said, fine, prove it. They make so many unfounded claims and nobody calls them on it. Prabhupada was brave. He called them on it. If you say you can create life, fine.

Prabhupada said if you take a car and the car runs out of gas then you put gas in it. It’s a simple thing. If you fix the wire then the machine works.

Prabhupada said take plastic and make an egg shape. Fill it full of chemicals and see if you can produce a chicken. Prabhupada told the man to sit on it and see if he can produce a chicken.

What do you say when somebody says that to you? About evolution, Prabhupada said, what evolution? You’re still monkeys. Actually, your ancestors may be monkeys, but my ancestors are the great Vedic sages.

One of my favorites, again, you can google it, is Parks Observatory in Australia. They have one of those giant telescopes. NASA uses it to trace things. It’s one of the best in the world. For seventeen years they have been printing scientific papers where they say that they have found what must be two dark stars colliding. It’s either a red dwarf star being born or two dark stars colliding. For seventeen years there have been accolades and clapping. Do you know what it turned out to be? The microwave oven in the staff kitchen. That’s what they had been recording. If you put something in there for two and a half minutes and they open the door a little early the bell would ring. Something would burst, and that’s what they were recording. Cal Tech, MIT, IIT – oh yes. But it was a microwave oven.

So, they are groping. They don’t know what is going on. And people just buy it.

The fact of the matter which is being described here is that the universe is finely tuned. It is designed by Krishna. It is a machine, a wheel of dharma, which is meant to turn according to the principles which Krishna has given. That’s how the whole thing works.

The wheel is turning but, surprise of surprises, it’s not turning our way. We’re trying to get in there and turn it the other way, but this is the way that it works. It is the only way that it works.

In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna was telling Arjuna to fight but he kept saying no. He had his own idea. Prabhupada would take terms and turn them in a different way. Prabhupada said that the whole purpose of the Bhagavad Gita was to get Arjuna to say yes to Krishna, to turn Arjuna from a “no” man to a “yes” man. In America we have this saying that someone is a “yes” man. But Srila Prabhupada heard it in a different way.

We have a choice. We can try and dominate this material nature. We have this archetype example of Hiranyakasipu of someone trying to control things, that everything is under my control and goes my way. Or, we can recognize that our actual position is as a small cog in the machine and that it goes Krishna’s way. We can try and control or we can try and cooperate.

The theme of this talk is the wisdom of surrender. We have these top graduates at IIT and Cal Tech, but what they have is not actually intelligence.

In the first canto of Srimad Bhagavatam it’s talking about the first step in God realization. It is that recognition that I am dependent, that I am not the controller. I could get struck by lightening. Anything could happen. One of the top attorneys in San Diego was on his way to court and he fell in a manhole and was killed. Somebody had left the lid off.

Another man was walking in El Cajon, which means “the box” in Spanish. He was happily walking down the road and was hit by a lime green bowling ball. It fell out of the sky, hit him in the chest, and killed him. Anyone want to ask where the lime green bowling ball came from? A man was flying to a bowling competition in Las Vegas. The engine failed in his airplane. He was trying to throw weight out of the plane and so he threw his bowling ball out. Anybody here expect to get hit by a bowling ball today? Of course, you are in the holy dhama so it may be an auspicious thing.

Govinda das says that like a drop of water on a lotus leaf tottering, that’s our actual position.

The first step in God realization is to recognize that we are dependent, that the universe is going on by design. We all know that wherever you see order, patterns, symmetry, there is intelligence behind it. And behind intelligence is a person. That is our universal experience. It is the universal experience since time immemorial. Yet, in Kali Yuga, they scratch their heads and say no, no.

One man from MIT, I think his name is Steven Goul, he said that the universe is the original free lunch. Everything came from nothing. We’re supposed to swallow this stuff?

The Vedic view being mentioned here is to see how everything is going on by Krishna’s design, how we are actually dependent. That dependence is not a weak willed, oppression. They say “mother earth,” it’s a loving sense of indebtedness and gratitude. Gratitude without reciprocation is meaningless. Like when Prabhupada gives the example: Prabhu, can you get me a glass of water? The devotee says, jaya, prabhu, and doesn’t move. The guy says, you know I’m really getting thirsty here, can you get me some water? And the response is jaya, prabhu.

What is the proof that you heard me? What is the proof of hearing? Action. It’s meant to make the wheel turn, something is supposed to happen.

Here we have Hiranyakasipu. What is his reaction? His reaction is revenge, anger, devastation, rage against the universe.

Prabhupada was in Detroit in 1975 or 76. He was sitting out in the garden afternoon. Everything was designed to bloom in the spring. Prabhupada gave it the name Devasadan Mandir, place of the demigods. Everything was in bloom, purple and yellow, it’s just beautiful. Prabhupada is sitting out in the garden and there is this canal that comes off of the Detroit river. It has caught on fire three times and took four days to put out. People would go out on there boat. This man was out on his boat and he couldn’t have been very far from Srila Prabhupada. He got up in his boat and he started shouting. He said I know you Hare Krishna people. You’ve got those big houses. You’ve got those big festivals. You’re always feasting. He was going on and on like this. He was furious. When he ran out of steam Srila Prabhupada said yes, come and join. The guy completely blew a gasket. He didn’t expect that. Prabhupada did not deny it at all.

One newspaper reporter asked Prabhupada one time what do you do for recreation. Prabhupada said what? Our whole movement is recreation. My father used to joke with me that I retired at seventeen and a half when I joined the Hare Krishna movement. We work hard for Krishna but ours is a labor of love. It’s a different type of thing. It’s not a burden but a labor of love.

The wisdom of surrender begins with the recognition of our actual position. I was at the drug store, chemist shop. I was buying something. I was there with the cashier. There was someone trying to get out. They were pushing on the door with difficulty. The cashier said it says pull. Oh, ok, and they got out. We’re like that. We’re hammering against the door pushing. But it doesn’t work that way, my friends. Just give it a pull and it will work just fine.

We just follow Krishna’s instructions. We are part and parcel of Krishna, servants of Krishna. Everything will come.

Again, talking about Hiranyakasipu, Prabhupada says in one lecture that we have a little Hiranyakasipu inside our heart, all of us. I know that certainly I do. You’re all saintly, but, certainly me.

We are all trying desperately to control events. Prabhupada calls it the childlike innocence of bhakti. It’s one of those great sutras by Prabhupada. It’s not childish as in foolish or uneducated, but the childlike innocence of bhakti.

Someone was asking about astrology saying I’m in a Venus period. We’ve all heard that before. Prabhupada says that with one kick, Krishna can kick ten thousand Rahu planets. What happened when Krishna appeared? All the planets aligned themselves despite their natural alignment. They all readjusted themselves.

For the devotee who surrenders to Krishna with that childlike innocence of bhakti, Krishna arranges things. We are under Krishna’s shelter. We cannot control events. I’m sixty-three years old and believe me, I have learned that. At forty or thirty it may not have gotten through yet, but by the time you are my age, you know.

What can we control? We can’t control events so what can we control. We can control how we respond to events. We can’t control the event, but we can rage like Hiranyakasipu, we can try to manipulate everything. I think it’s Dylan Thomas who says do not go gently into that long good night. He’s talking about getting old and then dying. Do not go gently into that long, dark, night, but rage, rage, rage against the dimming of the light. Well, you can rage until hell freezes over but the light is going out, my friend.

We’re talking about control. We’re trying to surrender. Ok, I’m surrendering to Krishna, why doesn’t He answer my prayers? We accept that God is all powerful. We would not want to argue that God is not all powerful, by definition. Anyone deny that or want to argue it? Have a crack at it, go ahead. That God is not all merciful? There are cornerstone principles. There are many more, but He is all powerful and all merciful.

Now, I’m offering a prayer, whether by lighting a candle or tying a cloth or sending up a prayer flag. God’s not answering. If He’s all powerful then that means that He could answer it if He wanted to. Why doesn’t He if He’s all merciful? If He’s all powerful then He has the ability, and if He’s all merciful then He has the kind, Karuna heart. Why doesn’t He do it? Guess what? Maybe He knows what’s best for us.

I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to be a fireman. I wanted to be President of the United States. Thank heaven that didn’t work out.

You’re all great souls who took birth to serve Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, but I thought it was a bright idea to come to this material world. Do you want to talk about original foolishness? We thought it was a great idea to come to this world. Everything after that is just downhill. We made such a huge and stupid mistake. Then we think we are going to make a right idea? What we are asking for, what we want, what we think we need, what do we know?

We should simply think, let me serve Krishna. Let me engage in Krishna’s devotional service. If He doesn’t answer my prayers, there is a good reason for it.

On one tape, Prabhupada says that he had just taken sannyasa. He was in Vrindavan, and he was gored by a bull. He said I was thinking, I’ve surrendered to You. I’m here in Vrindavan. I’m trying to preach. Why has this happened? Prabhupada says that later on he understood. He doesn’t say why, only that later on he understood.

We’ve all had that experience. We thought something was great and we didn’t get it. But it worked out for the better. Krishna is playing the long game. We’re playing the short game. I got a scratch, I itch it. Stimulus, response. We may be a little more sophisticated but basically it’s stimulus, response.

Krishna has the long game. He’s trying to deliver us from this material world. He’s trying to purify our hearts. He’s trying to pull us out of this place.

What if it’s true? Just think about it for a minute. Everything we read, beautiful, sweet Krishna and wonderful pastimes.

I was there in LA. Prabhupada said that everything here in this world is a struggle. Does anyone want to doubt that? Just stand up, a muscle could pop, you could fall over, make a garland and you could stick yourself in the thumb. Where do we start? I live in San Diego. We have earth quakes, tidal waves, drive by shootings, and fires. But, there is always a sea breeze blowing. But it’s not such a nice place.

There is a saying that the best laid plans of mice and men do oft go astray.

Hirayakasipu has his plan to control and dominate as the archetype conditioned soul raging against how the wheel of the universe is turning. Krishna has got him on both ends of the spectrum. It’s very far out if you think about it.

Sometimes somebody will be proud like me, but I have no reason, no qualification for being proud. If you look at Hirayakasipu, he actually had some reasons to be proud. He was no “slow” as they say in America. If he raised his eyebrow, all of the demigods would be trembling. He was a powerful person. How does Krishna deal with it?

First of all, on the micro end of the spectrum, his own sweet little son, Prahlad, was five years old. What can they do? They are completely dependent. I ran away from home once and I asked my father if he would give me a ride to the corner so I could run away. He had to take me in his car. He pinned a note on me. He let me out on the corner and said, you’re old enough. It’s very good that you’ve made this decision, don’t forget to write. I made it about half a block. My father followed at a short distance to keep an eye on me. He pulled up next to me and said, so how’s it going? How is independent life? I jumped into the car and never ran away again until I joined the Hare Krishna movement.

Krishna is like that, He gives us our independence but He’s there at every moment just waiting for the lightbulb to go on.

So Hirayakasipu is completely defeated by Prahlad in every way. Everyone is afraid of him and Prahlad says, my dear best of the demons, he’s completely unafraid. On the other end of the spectrum, could Hirayakasipu have possibly calculated that Lord Nrsimhadeva was going to pop out of that pillar, half man, half lion, with all of the benedictions fulfilled? Nails that are not living and not dead, a door step that is not inside or outside, all of the fine print was masked. He was looking at this huge abhutanashringa, his mane touching the sky. He was stunned. On the small side and the big side, Prahlad Maharaj and Hirayakasipu, he was completely defeated. We’re not even in the game, not even in that league.

We should cooperate rather than try and dominate.

There is a GBC man, I don’t want to embarrass him, and a GBC meeting. He told me this story personally. There was a decision that he didn’t like. I know that may be shocking but it happens sometimes. Your temple president, your husband, your wife, we all make decisions that may bother us a bit. He wasn’t happy. He went to Prabhupada and was telling him all of the reasons that he wasn’t happy. And Prabhupada said, that’s alright. Whatever you’ve decided, like the Pandavas, you execute. They argued. Bhima and Arjuna wanted to fight. Yudisthira was counseling right time, right place, right circumstance. Prabhupada said that whatever has been decided, you just follow. If there is some mistake, Krishna will fix it, He will adjust. The devotee bowed down but he was thinking yeah, but how long is that going to take? You know how the mind runs. When he came up, Prabhupada slammed his hand down and said, but not in your time, in His time.

We have a duty to fix inequities, injustices. It’s not that we think spiritual does not mean moral. I’m not talking about mode of goodness, but a strain of ethics. If you throw a rock into a pond there are concentric circles that go out. The spiritual plane includes morality, ethics, kindness, and all of those factors. It has to or it’s hollow. It’s faux spiritualism.

No doubt that we have a duty to speak up and do the best that we can, to right inequities. I’m not saying that. If my tooth is rotting in my head I don’t say ok, well, I guess that’s Krishna’s arrangement and just accept it. Prabhupada said that devotees are fearless but they are not fools. We have intelligence so we should use it.

In the ultimate issue we just accept, alright Krishna, You’ll take care of it in Your time. Either You will take care of it and it will be adjusted. We all want to see it in our own lifetime. I want to see justice done. We have had so many difficulties in life. Where do you want to start?

When you’re all back to Godhead are you going to complain that, three lives ago you broke up my marriage and my husband ran off with another person, in that car accident I really banged up my knee. All of it fits together.

If you look at the Pandavas, Prabhupada said they were being hunted in the forest like animals when they were in the banishment. Those are Prabhupada’s exact words – hunted in the forest like animals. They were fleeing here and there for their lives. Yet, we find in this ashram they met one rishi and helped him with this and that. He gave them a benediction, here’s a certain weapon. When Yudisthira was here he gave good advice to a king and the king said if you ever need anything you just call me. If you look in the Mahabharat and put all of the pieces together then you can see how Krishna was simply preparing them for success on the battlefield of Kuruksetra.

Of course, everything ultimately depends on Krishna. Krishna is preparing us for success at the time of death. That’s all that matters, ante narayana smriti, what happens at the time of death. Door number one or door number two, do I pick the small potatoes or do I surrender to Krishna? Do I remember Krishna?

If we understand what the nature of the game is, the activity, let me remember Krishna at the time of death and go back home back to godhead, then what it takes to get there will be a minor issue.

The Bhagavatam is full of compare and contrast. It’s full of both success stories and the archetype fools. Shakespeare could never touch it. It’s full, it’s just wonderful. Here we have right in front of us in this section of the Bhagavatam Prahlad Maharaj, innocent and defenseless. Then you have someone so powerful who, when he moves his eyebrows, the demigods are afraid. Yet, that small boy is completely fearless and completely victorious so much so that that small boy delivers the father. It’s an amazing thing.

I was thinking in the same way that you have the Pandavas and the Kurus. By all material calculations the Kurus should have completely defeated them. Yet they became completely successful. You have Amarish and Durvasa Muni. Durvas Muni went all the way to the spiritual world. He pulls out one hair and a big demon comes up. Ambarish just folds his hands. Yet we have Durvasa Muni ultimately falling down at the feet of Ambarish saying please forgive me. Ambarish’s response was that if I have done anything pious and have any good credit then you please take it.

I was thinking about Srila Prabhupada. Everything was against it. I remember the mantra: dogs run free so why can’t we? That was a mantra. Of course the thought never hit that maybe I’m not a dog. The fact of the matter is that Srila Prabhupada was completely against the social current. The nation was being torn apart over the Vietnam war. Everyone under forty was saying don’t do it, stop.

Prabhupada was speaking from Bhagavad Gita. It’s an amazing thing if you think about it. We could just go down the line. Everyone wanted to grow their hair and Prabhupada was saying shave up. It’s exactly cross currents. They asked Prabhupada, why did you come to America? Prabhpuada said that one of his godbrothers had gone to London and failed. Another brother went to Scandinavia and he failed. Another one went to Germany and he failed. Prabhupada said in his own sweet humility, well, if I’m going to fail, at least let me fail in a new place. We know that Prabhupada is a great bhakta, a great general. He knew if you turn America, you turn the world. It worked, against all odds.

That wisdom of surrender to just surrender to Krishna message, words, and what he’s doing in my life, let me surrender to that. That is actual wisdom. You can rage, rage, rage against the dimming of the light. You can rage against the machine. Your cold fingers will be torn away. Sans hair, sans teeth, sans everything – we are stripped of everything.

When you go into the Vatican there is a skull. The skull is the first thing that greets you. It says you are what I once was. I am what you will become. That’s pretty heavy. The skull is right there. You are what I once was, happy with my little camera and my shorts with a tour guide. I was also happy once skipping along the lane. But now I am what you will become.

When I first met the devotees, Sukadeva, I can never repay him, I thought I was a golden boy kissed by the gods. I was living in Laguna Beach where the sea breeze is always blowing. If I just stayed on the conveyor belt, if I didn’t jump off, everything was going to be just great. I was talking to Sukadeva and he was saying that this world is suffering. I said maybe for you. There is a bumper sticker that you see in America that says those who say money can’t buy happiness don’t know where to shop. I was thinking yeah, maybe you’re a good will willy who can’t get it together but I’m having a great time. Sensing that arrogance, the last thing he said to me as he turned away was that you know, there’s one thing about this world, no body gets out alive. It kept rattling around in my head. Have you ever seen those buildings where they blow out the linch pins and the whole thing collapses? It blew out my whole world view. Everything collapsed.

They have everything in America, everything foolish. They have dog races with greyhounds. It’s a particular type of dog, sleek and thin with a long pointed nose. They can run as fast as a cheetah. They have these dog races, especially in Miami. But they have them in southern California, too. They take a wounded or dead rabbit and they wave it in front of the dogs. They smell the blood and they get super agitated. They have a little metal fake rabbit that’s on the track that takes off and the dogs all race after it as fast as they can. They race around the track but they never get the rabbit. What happens every now and then get a dog who says, wait a minute, what am I running for? I’m never going to get this thing. Why? I’m knocking myself out and I’m just going to come back to the same spot and have to do it tomorrow. I’m done. I’m out of here. I quit. They literally get dogs who won’t run. They just stop. And once they get like that, they’re done. You can never retrieve them because the light went on. Why am I knocking myself out for nothing?

When are we going to have the brains of a dog? I’ve done it. I’ve been up to Brahma. I’ve been to Indraloka. I’ve done it again and again and it’s the same story. What have I got to show for it? Someday the light goes on and we say wait a minute. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. How many times have we been fooled? When are we going to wake up?

That’s the message of Bhagavatam, the wisdom of surrender. Just surrender to Krishna and get out of the game.

Here’s a joke. A man makes a deal with the devil, a faustian deal. The man says look, you give me everything I want in this life, and then I’ll go to hell. But in this life, whatever I want, wherever I look, everything is under my control, everything surrenders to me. Whatever I want, I get, women, wealth, fame, I get it all. Then, when I die, I’ll go to hell. So the devil says ok, no problem.

It’s working, he’s president of the United States, wins a Nobel Peace Prize, married and divorced fifteen times. Everybody does exactly what he wants and surrenders to his will. After a while, it becomes quite boring. After boring it begins to wear on him and becomes irritating. After irritation it actually becomes horrible. It becomes so frustrating that he says to the devil come take me now, I’m ready to go to hell. The devil says what do you mean, go? You’re already there.

Without that sense of service, devotion, and love for Krishna, you can get everything you want and it will not make us happy. That’s not the way the wheel turns. It’s not the way that we’re made. We’re standing in front of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, it is so nice that even Krishna, the controller of all things comes to play the role of a devotee. He wants to see what Radharani is tasting, what is that service mood. What is she experiencing? She’s enjoying more than me.

Fine. Get whatever you want and become Hiranyakasipu with no Prahlad and no Lord Nrsimhadeva and ultimately, it becomes hell.

The last line of the purport, closing sutra, says that you popularize hari kirtan, brahminical culture, the ksatriya government will automatically be revived and the people will become extremely happy. That’s what’s in this simple chanting of the holy name, putting on festivals, distributing books, giving them divya jnana, giving them Krishna prasadam. With that one simple act of popularizing the sankirtana movement what happens? Brahmincal culture, ksyatria government falls into place, and the people become extremely happy.

Jayadvaita Swami told me once that he was in New York City at JFK airport. He was changing some money. Have you seen that fiftieth anniversary magazine? It’s great, I would join that movement. When you look at it, it’s all of the festivals, prasadam, deities, temple, philosophy, it’s just fantastic. You look at it and think, wow!

Jayadvaita Swami was at JFK changing some money. A typical New Yorker looks up at him dressed like a nice sannyasi and says, that’s what I like about you people. You are what you pretend to be. It’s an American thing. She meant to say that you are what you’re supposed to be.

Look at that magazine. That’s the potential that’s in this movement. That’s what the world is crying for. If there was a baby here just crying, we would go on for sometime. But if the baby is in distress, you’ll think, where is the mother? Where is the father? How can we help? You can’t tolerate it.

In San Diego they spent millions of dollars renovating the downtown. It was like $300 million dollars. It was a cesspool. They renovated the thing. The problem is that they didn’t make a plan for what to do with the homeless people who were there. So you go downtown and you’re having your $300 dinner of fermented grape juice and bones and feathers and dried beasts. Then you’ve got some homeless guy pressing his nose on the window so it’s kind of hard to get into the mood. It spoils the whole thing. You walk out of the store with your thousand dollar cashmere coat and there’s a guy lying in the gutter. It really spoils the vibe.

They called in a blue-ribbon commission, the best city planners around the world. They spent six months preparing the plan. The heart of the solution, which was announced with great fanfare, was for the shop keepers and the restaurant owners was to put up curtains. Put up curtains. That way, you can enjoy the meal and you won’t see the man who is dying in the gutter. If you don’t see it, it’s not there, don’t worry about it.

We are not meant to be like that. We know what’s wrong. We know the cause and the solution. We have the sweetest medicine. To take it is not bitter, it’s not difficult. Who can’t eat? Prabhupada says anyone here have a problem taking prasadam?

Let us close on this note. I’m speaking to myself, don’t worry. Rather than trying to be in the mood of Hiranyakasipu to control and dominate, to rage against the machine, we should have the wisdom of surrender to see which way the wheel is turning. Find our place. It’s doesn’t matter where you fit in that wheel, but fit in the wheel of the sankirtan mission. Put your shoulder to the wheel and push it forward. Let us become that Hare Krishna movement that is in that fiftieth anniversary magazine. The world is crying and waiting for us. The time is now.

Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

PRAY FOR DIFFICULTIES?–I DON’T THINK SO, and GIVE YOUR LIGHT and KINDNESS, NOT MERELY YOUR JUDGEMENT OR CRITICISM
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Karnamrita Das

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PRAY FOR DIFFICULTIES?--I DON'T THINK SO: A dear young friend of mine sent me a quote from a devotee who had noted that in happy situations devotees tend to forget Krishna, so his recommendation was for devotees to pray for difficulties so that can better remember Krishna. While Queen Kunti--a pure soul, by the way--prayed for difficulties, that were in a certain context, and to make a point. When the Pandavas and their Mother Kunti, were in difficulties they had Krishna's association and direct intervention, while at the time of her prayer, when life was good, Krishna was leaving them, so to her, problems and difficulties with Krishna were much better than a happy life without Krishna. She wasn't a lover of problems, pain, or difficulties, but of Krishna, and she was willing to accept any condition if it fostered her love and service for him. That is the lesson we are meant to learn from her prayer.

Thus, personally, I don't recommend devotees pray for difficulties or distress--those come naturally as does happiness--but to remember Krishna always; to be sincere; to make spiritual advancement so they can deal with any situation in the best way; and to see everything as favorable for service. While difficulties or distresses may foster taking shelter of Krishna and remembering him more, they may not. Whether they do or not depends on our level of spiritual advancement and the timing, or when it happens in our lives.

I know young devotees, who after hearing Queen Kunti's prayer, prayed for difficulties and distresses, but when they obtained them (be careful what you pray for!!!), they were not happy and more Krishna conscious, but were often simply bewildered, in anxiety, and became upset with Krishna. We have to be able to digest and know the meaning of the results we pray for. In a similar way I tell devotees not to ask their guru to answer a certain personal question if they aren't willing to accept advice that may go against what they want or feel they should do. On a certain level many of us just want to surrender, but to do so, well, we may not be ready to, and after doing the "surrendered action," resent having to do it. Therefore, we have to know ourselves. While we do want to stretch spiritually we don't want to break in the process, or become depressed.

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Can any pastime be analyzed metaphorically for some moral instruction?
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Maha Harinam – Saturday 12th March
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Hare Krishna Dear Devotees and Friends,
We are pleased to invite you all  for the special occasion this year of Iskcon’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations founded by HDG Srila Prabhupada. Second Maha Harinam of the Year 2016, this Saturday 12th March from the corner of James and William Street in Northbridge next to Govindas Restaurant at 1.00 pm.

THE MAHA HARINAAM –

THE BIGGEST WALKING MUSICAL PARTY IN PERTH

ASSEMBLY TIME :  12.30 PM
START TIME    :  1.00 PM
FINISH TIME   :  2.00 PM
   

FREE PRASADAM : 2.00 PM  ONWARDS  (SPONSORED BY GOVINDAS RESTAURANT).

Please join us, bring your family and friends and partake in glorifying the Lord by helping reawaken a person to his spiritual identity and existence by chanting and dancing to the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.In this age of Kali we have forgotten our real identity as spiritual beings, as part and parcel of Krishna. Krishna’s holy names are endowed with all of His potencies and this sound vibration can reawaken a person to his spiritual identity and existence.Please join us,  plant the seed of bhakti as per Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s instructions and get blessings from Mahaprabhu. There will be free prasadam available after the Harinaam Party at Govindas Restaurant.
Note:- Please confirm your presence by calling on any one of the following number.

Bhakt Akshay Puri (0401 414 172)
Stoka Krishna das (0401 843 690)

Hare Krishna

 

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How do we explain the authenticity of the Lord’s pastimes to skeptics who doubt Vyasadeva’s saintly authority?
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Preaching in the workplace
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Hare KrishnaBy Kesava Krsna Dasa

Some devotees think, that because they are devotees, they must preach instantly to whomever they meet. Perhaps if we had the required force of purity, we could effect changes in people’s hearts on first contact. The reality is however, that not everyone has the required sukrti to appreciate our words; we have to create it for them. Being in the workplace alongside the same faces, day in, and day out, can present challenges for a devotee keen on preaching. Simply letting everyone there know one is a devotee, who always has a superior say on any issue, will more likely cause others to think we are highly opinionated, and indifferent, who have lost the ability to socialise properly. This will lessen, or even destroy any chance of developing the required sukrti for them, to hear Lord Chaitanya’s messages. Continue reading "Preaching in the workplace
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Give to Live
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Hare KrishnaBy Karnamrita dasa

The idea that it is better to give than to just receive (to just be "on the take"), is a universal truth understood by people of all religions. In addition people understand that giving is actually getting, or by giving you are nourished and benefited. In a broad sense we can tell people that Krishna consciousness is all about learning how to give, rather then just being an exploiter. So people should be encouraged to begin the process of giving somewhere, somehow, to someone. Ultimately from our vision giving to God and saintly persons is the highest giving (because we receive the true benefit of giving), yet everyone has to begin, and should be encouraged. In many places in the Gita different levels of giving are recommended according to the consciousness of the people involved. Everyone should understand the ultimate purpose of giving----pleasing Krishna and realizing our eternal nature as a servant, cooperator, or giver to God. Continue reading "Give to Live
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What were the sources based on which the sages who wrote the Lord’s pastimes?
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How do laws of nature invalidate design – don’t laws require a designer?
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