Planet ISKCON

In response to my article, Accusations Against Rāgānugā Sādhana, someone asked:

Who is the source of the “accusations” you are responding to?

An ISKCON Sannyāsī recently said these things while doing an otherwise excellent job of explaining the subject during a seminar.

It seems to me that ISCKON leaders are very cautious about allowing devotees to feel that they have experienced high states of spiritual bliss or elevation.

Rāgānugā-sādhana has nothing to do with experiencing a high state of spiritual bliss or elevation. All that is required is a strong and clear desire to achieve a certain type of friendly, parental, or romantic love for Krishna. Rāgānugā is a practice for conditioned jīvas, by which we can eventually attain those three types of relationships with Krishna. It is not a perfected state. A person in the perfected state is known as a Rāgātmikā. A person who is not in the perfected state, but strives for it, is known as a Rāgānugī.

In the early days of the Hare Krishna movement, the “hippies” of that time may have been more inclined toward “imaginative ecstasy” based on cultural conditioning, drug experiences, etc. Maybe that is why leaders caution against it?

Maybe.

In general the assumption that you have achieved something monumental only goes to demonstrate that you really don’t even comprehend what “monumental” truly means. And thinking myself “advanced” is a fairly sure sign, most all of the time, that I don’t really even know what “advanced” truly is.

If one experiences some ecstatic feelings during kirtan, how can such feelings/visible actions be accommodated and honored without pessimism? Is there any precedent for how to regard such displays in a congregational setting? I feel like the default perception might be a pessimistic one.

Love (bhakti) produces emotions – so its no surprise that practices of love (bhakti-sādhana) would often produce emotional responses in the practitioner. In fact, we should be extremely skeptical of our practices if they don’t. 

Real bhakti is called bhāva-bhakti, and it produces real emotions continuously and very powerfully. Bhāva-bhakti is the initial stage of perfection in bhakti-yoga. It is “sudurlabha,” a very extremely rare accomplishment. Safe to say that basically no one that we see practicing bhakti is at that stage. Out of a few million practitioners, I estimate, I would expect to find 1 who has attained bhāva.

However, the two stages preceding bhāva (ruci and āsakti) also consistently produce relatively profound emotional states. And even in the stages preceding these, the same results begin to dawn occasionally. So, even the new practitioner should expect to occasionally experience significant emotional responses from their devotional practices.

In Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu, Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī explains that Bhāva can be “approximated” by people who have not actually attained it. This approximation is called an abhāsa. He says there are two types of bhāva-abhāsa: The first is an intentional imitation with ulterior motives (prati-bimba bhāva-abhāsa). The second is a genuine reflection of bhāva, which comes as a result of the power of bhakti (chaya bhāva-abhāsa). By contact with the powerful practices of bhakti, and with deep practitioners of bhakti, some “shadow” of that power falls on our heart, and even that shadow moves our emotions as powerfully as our more profound conventional emotional experiences.

So, when we encounter or experience an emotional response to our devotional practices, in kīrtan for example, we simply need to assess if it is an intentional imitation or not. Intentional imitations are done to become famous, get respect, get money, get attention, and so on. These should be discouraged, and rooted out from the family of practitioners, because they only disturb the communal garden of bhakti. If it is not a nefarious imitation, we should be happy and welcome it as confirmation that the practices we are engaged in, and the guru and saṅga in which we engage in them, are genuine and empowered.

Vraja Kishor das
www.vrajakishor.com

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Baker Extraordinaire: Amber Borsotti!
Mandakini devi dasi: Sydney-born Amber Borsotti was two years old when she was first introduced to the Hare Krishna Vedic lifestyle. Three years later she was enrolled in New Govardhana gurukula where she remained for the next six years before relocating to New Nandagram, Victoria.
Amber returned to Murwillumbah when she was 15, settling into householder life by the time she was 16. A busy and dedicated mum, she has five children ranging in ages from four to 17.
With the family growing up, Amber and her husband, Leonardo, considered some working options. They finally agreed to venture into the bread-making business. Amber had entertained four passions in life: architecture, psychology, fabrics and food. Having produced quality bread on the farm in earlier years, friends and family members had often urged her to “go into food”.
Months of hard work followed as the couple researched equipment and painstakingly developed their own special recipes. The result is an impressive home bakery and an outstanding product called ‘Levadura’, which consists of organic, artisan sourdough (a much healthier and tastier alternative to commercial bread).
When a retail opportunity opened up at Uki Farmers Market at the end of September, Amber and Leonardo took the initiative, and on their first outing ended up selling their entire stock.
Production has since increased from 50 to 90 items twice a week, and still there is a demand for more.
The bread is naturally leavened, requiring Amber and Leo to “rise” at 1.00 am on Wednesday and Saturday mornings to prepare their batch.
Variety being the spice of life, alongside the basic loaves there is much to choose from. For example, savoury loaves like Olive, Rosemary and Pecorino; Dark Euro-style Rye with Caraway and Fennel; and Vegan Fruitful Loaf and Sweet Spiced Rye and Fig, to name a few. Melt-in-themouth croissants and chocolate scrolls, as sampled by the author, must be tasted to be believed.

Academic Excellence.
Syama Sakhi devi dasi: The Bhaktivedanta Swami Secondary School at New Govardhana, Iskcon Australia, is intent on creating an environment of academic excellence, Krishna conscious goals and understanding, and meaningful character development. To these ends, this year the gurukula has invited various guest speakers to the school and taken students to different events outside of school. This allows students to broaden their understanding of this world and their role in it.
One such event students attended was the GRIP leadership conference for secondary schools. GRIP is an independent organisation that exists to train and develop leaders with a special focus on school students and the educational sector. Hence, our school captains, Anjali, Gaur, Bimala, Balaram, Lakshman, Suniti and Kalindi received the opportunity to attend the GRIP leadership conference that took place on the 26 October at the Tweed Civic Centre.
The aim of the one-day conference was to inspire secondary school students to take up effective leadership roles in their schools. Through topics like, ‘How to improve your public speaking skills’ to ‘How to make your events more dynamic’, the conference offered our students a chance to broaden their leadership skills. It also enabled them to meet many other teenage students from across Australia.
The whole event was excellent. The students experienced their first professional conference and made valuable contributions throughout.
We are hopeful that through such training offered by the gurukula, the students will be able to develop excellent leadership skills valuable to their life inside and outside of school.

By Nanda Priya Nivedita Devi Dasi

While the rescue face for Chennai’s recent flood is over here comes the most difficult phase – the after math. Battered by rains, Chennai is now looking for relief- Relief from not just the heavy showers and a flooded city, but looking forward to hygienic food, shelter, clothing and medical assistance. It’s now that Chennai needs you the most.

Help the helping hands – Like the rest of the city, ISKCON Chennai is also waking out of the shock and reaching out to the people with nourishment, medical aid and personal needs. ISKCON Chennai volunteers are tirelessly trying to help all the affected places. Over 6000 plates of Prasadam are being distributed everyday. Besides distributing in public shelter houses, the volunteers are moving even into streets still knee deep in water and giving the Prasad door to door. A total of 30,000 plates of Prasadam have been distributed. We want to expand that to more areas in Chennai adding items like water, bed sheets, mosquito repellents, new clothes, tooth paste, brush etc.

Preventing any epidemic is a need of the hour. ISKCON Chennai has organised a medical camp in residential areas surrounding the temple. The doctors, the corporation cleaners are in need of basic utilities like gloves , face masks etc. Supply of medicines to the people is essential as well. With your donations ISKCON Chennai can do much more!

Not to forget that the Chennai temple has suffered heavy damages in the current flood situation.Estimated losses to the temple are very large.We request devotees and well wishers to come forward and help us for these loses as well.
Your servant,
Nanda Priya Nivedita dd

Shortly after getting married my wife and I visited my grandmother. She was 82 years old at the time and had been married for over 50 fifty years, my grandfather had passed away around 10 years previously. One evening our conversation led to her reminiscing some of her experiences in marriage. She shared that my grandfathers policy was to always to resolve a disagreement before the end of the day - don't sleep on an argument he would say - "always forgive one another". If you sleep on a dispute it gets buried, issues build up and create an inimical mood. Always forgive one another, no one is perfect, forgive them for their shortcomings, forgive yourself for your shortcomings, and move on. Continue reading "3 Pieces of Helpful Advice for Marriage in Bhakti
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Vijaya Dasa (Book Distribution Minister @ Iskcon) Prabhupada December Marathon (10 min video)
There is no doubt about it, to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight with maya. Fight with maya means to drop thousand and millions of books into the lap of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the Bombs are raining from the sky like anything. (Letter to: Ramesvara — Bhaktivedanta Manor 3 August, 1973)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/j631AF

BLUE HOME MUSIC CAFÉ

First there was the Blue Home Recording Studio. Then came the Blue Home Artworks Gift Shop. Now enters the Blue Home Music Café.

“Blue Home” is the brainchild of a fairly new New Vrindavan resident, Jesse Hanson, who is assisted and supported in the endeavor by Lilasuka dasi, his wife, a long-term resident of New Vrindavan. Residents and visitors to New Vrindavan used to have fun shopping at Jesse’s Blue Home Artworks Store, which was packed with original handcrafted products. Sometimes, shoppers would be content to come in and hang out, sipping ginger brew and munching on one of Dharmakala’s World’s Best Cookies.

The Blue Home Artworks Store recently closed. However, the “Blue Home” name lives on in Jesse and Lilasuka’s current Blue Home Music Café. Jesse is a lifelong songwriter and musician, who used to offer recording services at his Blue Home Recording Studio in Pittsburgh, PA. So he felt the Blue Home name would be appropriate for a homey music café in their newly-built house in the New Vrindavan area.

Jesse and Lilasuka are very interested in contributing to the re-creation of a wonderful village atmosphere in New Vrindavan, where so many of their friends are living. This desire, fueled by their strong love of making music and potentially inspiring people on their respective spiritual paths, gave birth to the Blue Home Music Café.   They recognize that there are many talented songwriters and musicians in the local community. They also want to encourage artists and performing artists to hone their skills, and to give community members and guests the opportunity to appreciate the culture abounding in New Vrindavan.

The Café’s debut, Saturday, November 7, was received very well as a neighborhood event.   The second café on November 21, was as lively as the first, well attended by people of all ages.   They hope to continue this music-and- veggie-soup trend every other Saturday. The event features a variety of music performed by local, New Vrindavan area, musicians or performing artists.

What they say… About Blue Home Café:

Katherine, who happened to be spending the night at the Palace Lodge, dropped by the Blue Home Music Café, and commented, “Thanks for your warm and delicious welcome.” She sipped the veggie soup, while relaxing in Lilasuka’s new overstuffed armchair.

A fellow musician/percussionist, Devala (Leon) commented:

“Thank you for inviting me, these are the events that make a village…!”

This sparked a bit of “village” talk:

Lilasuka replied: “I love the ring of that word- “village”! It’s so homey. Thanks, Devala.

Plus, I love the village we live in.”

To which Devala responded: “I like that word also very much. We can say “when you are from the same village, everyone knows your name.” It brings people together.”

One young lady, who wasn’t able to attend, but who is an excellent singer, albeit sometimes suffering from “stage fright”, so is hesitant to perform at the Blue Home Music Café, offered this comment:

“So sad we missed it! Can’t wait for the next one! Do the musicians play up in the balcony? That’s a good cure for stage fright! Haha!”

Another person kindly wrote:

“We are looking forward to it. Please let me know what I can do to help. Was very nice to see and hear all the visitors in the pictures you posted.”

All wondrous phenomena showing power, beauty, grandeur or sublimity, either in the material world or in spiritual, are but partial manifestations of Krsna's divine energies and opulence. He is the supreme cause of all causes & the essence of everything living or non living. Anything extraordinarily opulent, beautiful and glorious should be considered as a fragmental manifestation of Krsna's splendor. All things are existing due to Krsna's entering into them as supersoul. Krsna is supreme object of worship. The Bhagavad Gita has long been a source of inspiration and guidance for the world. In this class we will explore how to adopt the spiritual habits from this great book and how they will transform your life and bring you wisdom, happiness, and fearlessness. Continue reading "Spiritual Habits from the Gita
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If we are Krishna Conscious, any type of occupation will suit me and we shall always be satisfied. Therefore, I recommend you to read books more and more and try to understand the subject matter from different angles of vision and be always discussing it with your godbrothers even while you are working at the press. Letter to Bhargava -- Los Angeles 13 June, 1972: So I am requesting all of my students to read my books very seriously every day without fail. In this way, if your mind becomes absorbed at least one or two hours daily in the transcendental subject matter of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, and other books then very easily you will make your advancement in Krishna Consciousness. I am very much stressing at this point that all of my students shall be very much conversant with the philosophy of Krishna Consciousness, and that they should read our books very diligently at least one or two hours daily and try to understand the subject matter from varieties of angles. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada’s books – Simple yet Deep
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The post Daily Darshan : December 8th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post How the Bhagavatam’s descriptions of bhakti’s stages guide and protect us appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

"We have to thank George because this would never have happened if he hadn't agreed to donate this property." George was an honored guest, but he wasn't expected to say anything. But before he spoke, Olivia stood up and said, "I am deeply touched by what I've heard and seen tonight, and I feel impelled to say that George has got true friends here, and I feel happy for him. And I feel happy that I didn't miss the opportunity to witness this amazing gathering." Shyamasundar and Mukunda presented George with a little Prabhupada murti with a Prabhupada hat and glasses and a bead bag and a little book rest and a miniature size Bhagavad-gita, a little vyasasana and a sannyasi danda, and a little pair of kartals and a little pair of glasses. It was cute. George cradled Prabhupada and said, "I'm going to take Prabhupada home with me tonight." It really touched him. He said, "I didn't want to say anything, but I feel I've got to. First of all, I feel ashamed that I never participated in this campaign." George hadn't given any support, either verbally or in the press or in any other way. He said, "But I was following it on television or in the papers. I knew what was going on. In the back of my mind I thought if it didn't work out, if you had to close the Manor, you could move over to my place in Henley and take over Friar Park—that could be your new temple." Continue reading "One more applause for George
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TOVP construction activities increase as new space becomes functional (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: We have been working on building a workshop for the GRC production located next to the Prabhupada garden.
All machinery, materials and devotees have moved to the new location, equipped with a gantry crane, office and a big storage area. Production has commenced at full speed.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/FK4f6X

December 8. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Harvey Cohen came to room 501 to visit the Swami who had impressed him at Ananda Ashram.
Harvey: The room he occupied was a tiny office in the back of the Yoga Society in uptown Manhattan. I began to go there regularly, and we sat facing each other on the floor in this little office with his typewriter and a new tape recorder on top of two suitcases. And there was a box of books he had brought from India and a color reproduction of dancing figures which he looked at often. I told Swami Bhaktivedanta that I was an artist, and he asked me to please paint the picture of the dancers, which he explained was of Lord Caitanya and His disciples. The painting was called “Sankirtana.” Whenever I came to visit him, Swami would always be happy to see me. I told him about myself, and we chanted Hare Krishna together in his room many nights that winter. I would get the train uptown from my apartment to go see him.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490&page=3

27.11.2015 H.G.Rohini Suta Prabhu_SB-06.02.47-49

Harvey Cohen came to room 501 to visit the Swami who had impressed him at Ananda Ashram. 

 “Rāgānugā Sādhana deals with Krishna’s intimate Vraja-līlā and therefore is not appropriate for the general public. Thus Rāgānugā should not be the focus of a preaching mission.”

If Krishna’s intimate Vraja-līlā is not appropriate for the general public, why did the ācārya who took Krishna consciousness to the general global public immediately present “The Krishna Book” – the intimate līlā from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam?  Why did he also immediately publish Teachings of Lord Caitanya, and a presentation of Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī’s Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu (as Nectar of Devotion)?

It seems clear that this ācārya did not exactly share the notion that Krishna’s Vraja-līlā is not appropriate for the general public. Nor did Vyāsa himself subscribe to it, for Vyāsa highlighted Krishna’s intimate Vraja-līlā in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam – the Veda he wrote especially for the general public in the most morally debased epoch, kali-yuga. Quite the opposite in fact, Vyāsa realized that Krishna’s intimate Vraja-līlā is the only viable medicine to attract the jīva out from its useless infatuation with bhukti and mukti. 

Knowing this, we might now better appreciate the point that Krishna’s intimate vraja-līlā is the only real subject that should be “preached” to the public. Far from being something to hide, it is the essence of what we must distribute! But the trick is that it cannot be explained or learned effectively by an audience or speaker who does not deeply realize the spiritual form of it. Therefore our presentation of the prayojana (Krishna’s intimate līlā) must be accompanied by solid presentation of the abhidheya (the practices necessary to truly comprehend that līlā) and the sambandha (the philosophical nature of the participants in this līlā, the aspects of reality itself).

So, the big challenge here is that Krishna-līlā has to be accessed from a real guru – a person who has deeply realized the true spiritual form of it – not from a fool who only understands it as some legendary erotica or academic novelty.  To meet this challenge, the first priority of a real “preaching mission” is to produce such gurus by properly guiding the personal practice of its members on the path of Rāgānugā and Vaidhi.

“Rāgānugā Sādhana involves meditating on Krishna’s romantic activities. So, if we still have material lusts in our heart, it will excite these lusts.”

We must remember the idea of “milk touched by the lips of serpents.”

Yes, if one hears Krishna’s mādhurya līlā from a person who doesn’t have true spiritual realization of it – considering it merely another type of erotica, or just some academic curiousity – then one might find one’s material lusts excited by such discussions and meditations. This does not mean that we should not hear Krishna’s romantic pastimes, it means we should not hear them from fools!

If we don’t know Krishna’s romantic pastimes, we don’t know Krishna, because romantic love is the essence of his divine personality. So, avoiding Krishna’s romantic pastimes is not an option for anyone with the aspiration to become a Krishna-bhakta. The key is not to avoid hearing or meditating on these things, but to avoid learning about them from fools who do not realize what these pastimes truly express and reveal about the Divine.

If hearing about Krishna’s intimate qualities and activities will increase our lust, what is the meaning of this extremely important verse [Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.33.39]?

vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ |
śraddhānvito ’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ |
bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ |
hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ ||

“Anyone who carefully and deeply hears
this tale of Viṣṇu playing with the wives of Vraja
attains the supreme pure devotion, and conquers lust
which is a disease of the heart impossible to cure
by any other method.”

The key is to hear these līlā’s carefully and deeply. To “actually hear” them.  Explaining this verse in chapter 33 of Krishna Book, Śrīla Prabhupāda writes, “If one actually hears rasa-lila, he will become completely freed from the lusty desire of sex life and elevated to the highest level of spiritual understanding.”

“Since Rāgānugā Sādhana involves meditating on romantic forms, it is best suited for those with no attachment for material sexuality. Thus it is best performed by celibate Sannyāsīs and Brahmacārīs, not by housholding Gṛhasthas.

This seems strange. If Krishna-līlā is sexually dangerous, then it makes at least as much sense to say it is least appropriate for people for whom it is important to maintain absolutely strict celibacy. But this is just an argument for argument’s sake. The real truth is that Krishna-līlā is not sexually dangerous unless heard from someone who doesn’t truly have any deep grasp of what that līlā truly expresses.

If rāgānugā sādhana is mostly for absolute celibates, what is the meaning of this extremely important verse which indicates that there is no significant difference between self-realized munis and the reprobate general public when it comes to being attracted to Hari  [Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.7.10]?

ātmārāmāś ca munayo nirgranthā apy urukrame |
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ ||

“Hari’s wondrous qualities inspire
both the self-realized realized sages and the ordinary reprobates
to pure devotion.”

If rāgānugā sādhana is mostly for absolute celibates why was Narottama das Ṭhākur the only significant person in his entire generation who was a lifelong celibate with a shaved head? And how would you explain this: the exalted practitioner of rāgānugā sādhana who began the effort to bring Krishna consciousness to the general masses around the world – our ācārya Śrī Bhaktivinode Ṭhākur – was the father of fourteen children and never took sannyāsa or left his wife?

If rāgānugā sādhana is mostly for absolute celibates why didn’t Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī say so when he was defining it for us? He said that rāgānugā sādhana is for anyone who can become significantly attracted to the hope of attaining a specific type of love for Krishna. This is the only stipulation specified by him and by the Gauḍīya ācāryas following him. The idea that absolute celibacy is a requirement or a significant advantage is someone else’s optinion, not theirs. Therefore followers of ācāryas need not consider this opinion very significant.

“Rāgānugā Sādhana may encourage people to be slack and lazy in their vows and adherence to rules.”

The idea that rāgānugā sādhana is something without rules and regulations is a complete misconception, held only by people who have not learned about it from the source texts, and who have no hands-on experience practicing it in its original form. Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu, the original text that defines rāgānugā sādhana, makes this absolutely clear in 1.2.296. Therefore it is not that Rāgānugā Sādhana would make anyone slack and lazy in their vows and practices. Quite the contrary, it is a lack of understanding about what rāgānugā really is which causes people to slacken.

“There is a more advanced way to practice Bhakti-yoga, and in it you don’t follow so many rules and regulations.” As long as people have this foolish misconception about rāgānugā in their heads, they will be encouraged to think, “I don’t have to follow so many rules and regulations. It’s not necessarily bad.”

Therefore the best strategy is not to try and hide the facts about Rāgānugā sādhana from the neophyte practitioners, but to understand the true facts and teach them clearly to all practitioners, even from the earliest stages.

The fact is that Rāgānugā Sādhana follows as many rules as Vaidhi Sādhana, and, externally, the practice of both are largely identical. It is simply that Rāgānugā Sādhana follows the rules with a passion to achieve a specific kind of intimate love for Krishna (“Rāga”), and Vaishi sādhana doesn’t have this passionate and specific motivation behind (and focus within) its actions.

Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Prabhupāda discouraged Rāgānugā Sādhana.

Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvati Prabhupāda discouraged the sahajīya-apasiddhānta which is based on misunderstandings of what rāgānugā-sādhana is and what it is for. He presented the true form of rāgānugā-sādhana, as taught and exemplified by the original Goswāmīs of Vṛndāvana, solidly based on śravaṇa and kīrtana as the foundation of smaraṇa and the foundation for developing and cultivating lobha into rāga and, finally rati.

Vraja Kishor das
www.vrajakishor.com

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Krishna Priya grew up as a Hare Krsna devotee in the ISKCON New Vrindaban farm community in West Virginia. Her parents were initiated by Srila Prabhupada and are both very talented and artistic.

I first met Krishna Priya in 2003, while she was studying for her B.A. in English and later her M.Ed. in Secondary English Education at the University of Florida in Gainesville. We were roommates, sharing the old trailer at the Vaisnava Academy for Girls, from which she has graduated a few years prior. Krishna Priya was immersed in her studies and eventually became a very competent and successful teacher.

She went on to marry Navin Shyam Prabhu and together they moved to California, where she was a Fellow of the Institute on the Teaching of Composition and Literature at the University of California, Irvine. She has instructional experience in various contexts, including teaching Language Arts to middle school students at St. Norbert Parish School (a Catholic school in Anaheim, California) and teaching multiple subjects to upper elementary students at Bhaktivedanta Academy (a Hare Krishna Montessori school in Alachua, Florida).

We felt very fortunate when in the summer of 2014 Krishna Priya and her family, which then included her three and a half year old daughter Varada Lila, decided to move to Dallas. Krishna Priya, although pregnant at that time with her second daughter, Kairava Chandrika, immediately began sharing her great talent with us at TKG Academy. She frequented our Preschool class, teaching the young students about Deity Worship and the pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Most recently, she volunteered to teach Public Speaking to the Upper Elementary class. Leaving her young baby at home with her husband, every Tuesday she comes to teach the students the various aspects involving the skill of delivering a speech and making presentations. Krishna Priya brings her vast knowledge and experience, along with natural talent for teaching at an energetic, engaging pace. We are happy and grateful to have her volunteer at our school and look forward for a time when she can take up a more prominent role in our teaching staff.

In 5th grade Social Studies, students are learning a step by step method of mapping the countries of the world by heart.   Take a look at their adventures!

In this age of Kali, there are two deadly enemies that are always about to devour all the sanctity of our spiritual lives: egoism and lethargy. Krsna tells us in Bhagavad Gita that we must give up egoism and lethargy. Wherever the false ego becomes prominent, we start thinking in terms of I and mine. Then there is no service attitude. We want to be master. We want to be enjoyer. We even see other Vaishnavas, even our old godbrothers and godsisters as competitors rather than worshipable Lords. We should see every Vaishnava with veneration. They should be objects of our worship. But where there is egoism, we start to see Vaishnavas as ordinary people. When the desire for our own prestige and enjoyment comes too much into our mind, then even great Vaishnavas appear to be insignificant. However, where there is a humble attitude of service, even the most ordinary, new beginning devotee, we see as someone very glorious and worthy of our respect. This is one of the barometers by which we can understand how we are progressing. Continue reading "Egoism and Lethargy
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New Govardhana Sunday School (Australia). Kisori devi dasi Recently I interviewed Indranila devi dasi about the Sunday School she runs at New Govardhana.
Kisori (K): What’s your inspiration for running the Sunday School?
Indranila (IN): I thought the children were a bit unsupervised and not positively engaged on Sundays. I also feel very inspired by Aruddha devi dasi’s book, which advises how to teach our children Krishna consciousness.
K: Please explain how it all works.
IN: We have three different age groups – under four years old; four to six year olds; and six to 10 year olds. The first two groups run for an hour each, while under four year olds have activities that include kirtana, Krishna conscious nursery rhymes, cognitive development such as matching, sorting, numeracy and literacy with Krishna conscious props, stories, drawing, playdough and coloring-in. The four to six year olds have kirtana, story time with questions, role play pastimes and craft to enhance the learning and comprehension. Finally, the six to 10 year olds learn songs, and read then discuss for 90 minutes. The teacher plays ‘devil’s advocate’ during these discussions. After that there is either games or craft to further solidify understanding in a practical way. K: What is attendance like?
IN: Attendance ranges from eight to 15 children. I ask for $1 fee per child per session to cover costs.
K: What is the feedback that you have received so far?
IN: Parents appreciate the Sunday School, but are often too busy or exhausted to bring children every Sunday.
K: What have you got planned for the future?
IN: The general plan is to inspire children to participate with the Vaisnava community and feel connected. The core focus is to plant the bhakti seed and help them flourish by giving quality guidance and education so we can have children who are strong and confident in themselves as devotees and compassionate enough to want to share Krishna consciousness with the rest of the world. I would appreciate more parents coming forward to help. Then we could include programs for older children and teenagers.

From Car Parks and Temple rooms… to the streets…! (Album with photos)
Sutapa das, London book distribution report: This weekend the “Car Park and temple room team sanga” went out on door-to-door for the first time. With the help of HH Dayananda Swami they split up into about 10 teams and blitzed the local area with transcendental wisdom! In an hour they distributed 115 books!
Thanks to all - it was a great evening, great stories, great vibe… Sitting here I’m thinking of how over 100 people are now more closely connected to the mercy of Mahaprabhu!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/j9ph8c

By Ambarisa Das

Hare Krsna,
PAMHO, All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Dear Devotees,

As previously mentioned, we have been concentrating on the interior and exterior finishing work for the TOVP.
We talked about the Pink Sandstone from Rajastan and the Grc Workshop.

While the pink stone was arriving to Mayapur, Sadbhuja Prabhu was returning from Bolivia.
He had to travel to pick the best quality blue marble from our Bolivian vendors.
Bolivian blue marble is a very prestigious marble, only an expert can select a good batch.
This splendid blue marble will be used for the altars of Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Panchatattva and Guru Parampara.
This is our last purchase of the Blue Marble from Bolivia.

The art team has also been very busy.
Led by Bhaskara Prabhu, they created a 7 feet (2.1 M) tall murti of King Indra in Ganga mud and straw.
This murti will appear in the left wing of the temple, over-looking the Nrshimha Dev altar.

Indra, the king of Suwarga Loka and the Demigods, bows down to the fierce form of Lord Nrshimha Dev.
In this pastime of the appearance of Lord Nrshimha Dev, as described in the Srimad Bhagavatam 7th canto, other demigods will be present offering their respects to the Lord.
Once a model is created, the casting progress will commence to make the murtis. Next they will be colourfully painted.

Your servant

Initiation of new disciples by Kadamba Kanana Swami (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Illicit sex is strictly prohibited. One should be satisfied with his married wife, for even a slight deviation will create havoc. A Krishna conscious grhastha should always remember this. He should always be satisfied with one wife and be peaceful simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. Otherwise at any moment he may fall down from his good position. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.1.64 Purport).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/sFO4Bp

Shyamasundara Dasa: This exchange between His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and a reporter took place in Philadelphia during July of 1975.

Reporter: The Krsna consciousness movement has been what some would consider sexist, because certain propensities for women have been defined, by the devotees or the Vedic scriptures — I’m not sure which — and I wondered if you would comment on that. The allegation is not necessarily that the movement is against women, but that it defines inferior roles for them by their natural traits.

Srila Prabhupada: We give equal roles spiritually. Materially, one person is an assistant, another person is a manager. How can you avoid this? Everyone will be a manager, nobody will be an assistant’ Can you achieve equality materially’ Materially one person is a parent, another is a child; one is an assistant, another is a manager; one is a woman, another is a man. How can you stop this? But spiritually they are all equal.

Reporter: So then what is happening materially is unimportant?

Srila Prabhupada: The thing is that when you come to the spiritual platform, when you see the spirit soul within everyone — then that is equality. For instance, you are differently dressed, in a red blouse, and I am differently dressed. This difference must be there. There are so many men and women — and they are differently dressed. You cannot say they are equal with respect to their dress.

But within the dress — as spiritual beings — they are all the same. In Bhagavad gita Lord Krsna says that through spiritual vision, we can see a learned scholar, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even a dog-eater as equals. And yet materially, how can they be equal?

If I invite a learned scholar and ask him, “Please sit down with this dog,” will he be pleased? He will feel insulted. I may see that within the dog there is a spirit soul and within the learned scholar there is a spirit soul. But if I say, “Oh, you may be a learned scholar and you may think the dog is just a dog, but I see you as equals,” that will be an insult. So the fact is that we cannot disturb the divergent material situation, but at the same time we have to understand what the situation is spiritually.

Artificially, on the platform of the material body, you may make man and woman equal, but actually it is not a fact.

In one place in the Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Personality of Godhead says that one who has spiritual vision sees everyone as equal. And yet in another place the Supreme Lord says, strisu dustasu varsneya jayate varna-sankarah: unless you protect women, low-class men will seduce them, and society will be burdened with unwanted children. Just take this “women’s liberation” — it is simply a trick by the men. Now the men can have free prostitutes, that’s all. And once a man makes a woman pregnant, he can go away and let her choose between begging support from the government or killing her child . . . abortion. You may not like to hear it, but “women’s liberation” means that the men have tricked you. So to make progress toward the end of spiritual realization, we must make some slight material distinction: women must be protected.

If we were actually discriminating against women, then how could it be that in our temple we are enjoying together? We are enjoying because actually we are equal — on the spiritual platform. We do not say, “You are a woman. Oh, you cannot become a devotee.” No. We welcome everyone. We request everyone, “Come to the spiritual platform. Then everything will be nice.” When one is spiritually realized, he knows that spiritually there is no distinction between himself and anyone else — and so he becomes happy. In the material conception, one person is always trying to take another person’s position. But in the spiritual conception there is no more hankering and no more lamentation, because everyone understands that spiritually we are one.

Here at our temple you can see it practically: the boy is dancing, the father is dancing, the black is dancing, the white is dancing, the young are dancing, the old are dancing. You can see it practically. The woman is dancing, the man is dancing — everyone is dancing. They are not dancing artificially, like dogs. They are dancing out of spiritual ecstasy. This is the spiritual platform, the “dancing platform.” They are dancing naturally, spontaneously, because they are realizing God, because they are in relationship with God. They are feeling the ecstasy that “we are all servants of Krsna “

And this is despite any material distinctions. A man’s bodily structure and a woman’s bodily structure are different. How can you say they are equal? If a man and a woman are equal materially, then why doesn’t the man also become pregnant? The distinction is there by nature. Sometimes people think that I am making the distinction, but the distinction is already there. But despite this distinction, when the man and the woman think in connection with Krsna — “I am a spirit soul; my function into serve God” — then they are equal.

Our proposition is that artificially we should not try to make equality. That will be a failure. It is already a failure. For instance, in London I saw a woman police officer. So I was joking with her: “If I capture your hand and snatch you, what will you do? You will simply cry. So what is the use of your being a police officer?” A police officer requires bodily strength. If there is some hooligan, he can give him a slap or catch him; but what will a woman do? So we say, “Be practical.” Artificial equality will not endure.

We are all equal, undoubtedly, because we are all spirit souls. Asmin dehe: within everyone’s material body there is a spirit soul. That we have to understand first of all, and then if we cultivate knowledge and understanding on that platform of spirit soul, then we shall feel equal and there will be no disturbance. Everyone will be peaceful. That is wanted. We are stressing this point — that if you say artificially that we are equal, it will not have any effect. But when you understand that we are equal spiritually, that will be beneficial. That will bring peace and happiness all over the world.

Iskcon starts prasadam distribution in Chennai (Album with photos)
Today ISKCON Chennai with the help of ISKCON Rajamundry distributed 4000 food plates of HOT prasadam , breads and Biscuits at MKB nagar, sathyamutthy nagar and Kumararan chavadi ( Poonamalle ).
Find them here: https://goo.gl/gcr7Wz

Vedic Planetarium construction update (Album with photos)
Beautiful photos indicating the great progress achieved so far.
Its beauty and grandeur begin to emerge!
Find them here: http://goo.gl/67yRM1

Hare Krishna program in Tel Aviv 04/12/2015 (Album with photos)
Transcendental mellows :) Chanting, dancing, and awarding with diplomas the devotees who graduated “ISKCON disciple” course.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/wVDzLx

Sita Rama das: Sati and satim are Sanskrit words translated as, chaste. The most significant meaning of the word chaste, is that one’s body, mind, and words are dedicated exclusively to Krishna.

SB 11.18.17 Purport:

Kunti is described herein as sati, or chaste, due to her unalloyed devotion to Lord Sri Krishna.

SB 2.4.1 Purport:

The word satim is very significant. This means “existing” and “chaste.” And both imports are perfectly applicable in the case of Maharaja Pariksit. The whole Vedic adventure is to draw one’s attention entirely unto the lotus feet of Lord Krishna without any diversion, as instructed in the Bhagavad-Gita (15.15)… the King continuously concentrated his mind upon Lord Krishna, which made him perfectly chaste in devotional service… And by hearing from a bona fide spiritual master, he was perfectly able to concentrate his chaste mind further upon Lord Krishna as a matter of course. END CITATION.

Thus we see the real meaning of chastity!

In BG, 15.15, Krishna says the purpose of all Vedic instructions is to know Him. The most important two instructions are to always remember Krishna and never forget Krishna. The only purpose for all the other rules is to facilitate this chastity. Anything disconnected to this chastity is useless!

SB 1.2.8 Translation:

The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead. END CITATION.

I want to address the fact that, according to the Vedic literature, the prescribed duty for a woman is to become a chaste wife. Based on the fact that the purpose of all the Vedas is to know Krishna (BG 15; 15) the logical conclusion is, that becoming a chaste wife is the best means for a woman’s attention to be drawn to Krishna without diversion.

Thus we see the purpose of being a chaste wife!

How can a women be dedicated to her husband and, at the same time, be dedicated to Krishna without diversion? The answer is; because Krishna is so wonderful that he sets up a system where all human beings can, while acting according to their conditioned material nature, dovetail their work, transcend material nature, and do the same work exclusively for the satisfaction of Krishna. In the Srimada Bhagavatam we find many glorious examples of individuals, who, by practicing devotional service, came to the level of preforming their prescribed duties for Krishna’s pleasure, only; in other word out of pure love for Krishna.

These examples are instructive, but one must get personal directions from a bonafide Spiritual Master to follow this path. Lord Caitanya compares devotional service to tending a garden. The seed of devotion has been planted in us and we need to tend to it so it will grow into a tree which reaches the spiritual world. However when a seed sprouts, weeds also sprout, and these weeds look just like the sprout.

In the beginning of devotional service, we are essentially filled with nothing but material desires, which are compared to weeds. These material desires are the cause of material actions. We are to continue our actions according to our material conditioning, but do so for the satisfaction of Krishna. We will inevitable be confused, at times (we will think a weed is the sprout and vice versa).

We might think that an action is material and want to renounce something which should not be renounced. Conversely, we might be performing our duty for sense gratification and think our endeavor is to please Krishna. When this is extended, a devotee puts a spin on what the duties of another should be. In other words he fools another into thinking their duty is to serve his sense gratification. So we need a Guru to overcome the confusions that arise within ourselves and the confusion which results from hearing instructions/ perspectives from devotees who are also confused.

The general instructions for devotee couples is a fertile field for confusion. Both husband and wife take up household life because they have material desires; along with the desire to perform their prescribed duties for the satisfaction of Krishna. It is very easy for a wife to get caught up in focusing on, and demanding, a particular duty of the husband which satisfies her sense gratification and it is equally easy for the husband to emphasize the duties of the wife that satisfy his sense gratification. This is a relatively minor problem between two people but it becomes compounded when such devotees feel compelled to insist that everyone in the movement accept their confused ideal; and then they condemn those who do not except their flawed perspective. So the key is to have a Guru who one can rely on for accurate and unbiased instruction.

Of course before accepting a Guru we read the Bhagavada Gita in order to see the example of the perfect Spiritual Master, Lord Sri Krishna, and then we can see if the Guru is teaching in the same spirit. We also see Arjuna’s example of performing one’s prescribed duty for the pleasure of Krishna. It sounds cliché but the key is to understand that we are not the body. All flawed perspectives are based on neglect of this fundamental truth.

Queen Kunti, like her son, Arjuna, is an eternally liberated soul who plays the part of one with material attachments in order to teach us by her example. As the most chaste wife and mother, she prays to Krishna to sever her tie of family affection which perpetuates the bodily conception of life.

Teachings of Queen Kunti Chapter 24

Queen Kunti said:

O Lord of the universe, soul of the universe, O personality of the form of the universe, please, therefore, sever my tie of affection for my kinsmen, the Pandavas and the Vrsnis (SB 1.8.41).

Purport:

Generally a woman has affection for both her father’s family and husband’s family, and therefore Kunti prays to Krishna, “I am a woman, and women are generally attached to their families, so kindly cut off my attachment so that I may be thoroughly attached to You. Without You, both families are zero. I am falsely attached to these families, but my real purpose in life is to be attached to You.” This is bhakti

As long as I think, “I belong to this family,” “I belong to this nation,” “I belong to this religion,” “I belong to this color,” and so on, there is no possibility of becoming Krishna conscious. As long as one thinks that one is American, Indian, or African, that one belongs to this family or that family, or that one is the father, mother, husband, or wife of this or that person, one is attached to material designations. I am spirit soul, and all these attachments belong to the body, but I am not this body. This is the essence of understanding. END CITATION

But Queen Kunti is not giving up her association, duty, or love for her family, which is comprised of pure devotees. Her example is a lesson to us on how to perform our family duties for the pleasure of Krishna and thus become spiritually attached instead of materially attached. Srila Prabhupada describes this in the next chapter.

TQK Chapter 25:

Her affection for the Pandavas and the Vrsnis is not out of the range of devotional service, because the service of the Lord and the service of the devotees are identical. Sometimes service to the devotee is more valuable than service to the Lord. But here the affection of Kuntidevi for the Pandavas and the Vrsnis was due to family relation. This tie of affection in terms of material relation is the relation of maya, because the relations of the body or the mind are due to the influence of the external energy. Relations of the soul, established in relation with the Supreme Soul, are factual relations. When Kuntidevi wanted to cut off the family relation, she meant to cut off the relation of the skin. The skin relation is the cause of material bondage, but the relation of the soul is the cause of freedom. This relation of the soul to the soul can be established by the via medium of the relation with the Supersoul. END CITATION.

Devotee marriages are conducted under the direction of Krishna and the Spiritual Master, therefore the relation of one soul to another soul is possible. The only way to transform the material relationship into a relationship of, soul to soul, is to engage in the Yuga dharma- Chanting Hare Krishna. There is no other way, there is no other way, there is no other way!

Thus we have the only way for all of us to become chaste devotees of Krishna!

So we have given the Scriptural definition of chastity, the purpose for it, and the only way to achieve it.

Mukunda Goswami, now recuperating from his recent health problems, receives a surprise visit of Niranjana and Devamrita Swamis (Album with photos)
Mukunda Goswami was invited to visit a nearby restaurant of the devotees without knowing that it was all an organized, completely unexpected meeting with his dear godbrothers who had travelled from abroad just to meet him.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ws7g11

Conversation.

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Nityam Bhagavata-sevaya#26 Govardhana Lila - Part 2.
Dear Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga! By the blessings of Vaishanavas and Sadhus, NBS magazine is completing its one year. We are grateful to our readers, our well wishers and most importantly our team. In this second issue of Govardhana Lila, the pastimes that took place underneath the Govardhana Hill is covered. Additionally, a fresh translation of Sri Govardhanashraya-Dasaka - Ten appeals for Shelter at Govardhana Hill, of Srila Raghunath Das Goswami has arrived. We pray this issue brings some pleasure to the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. NBS # 26 Features: 1) Indra’s Fury Towards The Residents Of Gokula Srila Sukadeva Goswami 2) Why Did Krishna Use Govardhana To Protect Vrajvasis? Sripad Vallabhacharya 3) Krishna Lifting Govardhana Hill His Divine Grace A .C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada 4) The Pastimes Underneath Govardhana Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura 5) Sri Govardhanashraya-Dasaka Ten Appeals for Shelter at Govardhana Hill Srila Raghunatha Das Goswami This issue can be viewed through these links: ISSUU: http://issuu.com/nbsmag/docs/nbs_26 Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/doc/292420557/NBS-26