Websites from the ISKCON Universe
The land in Sammamish, Seattle was bought many years ago but in the last 8 years a beautiful new temple has been constructed.
The are deities of Radha Nila Madhava, Sita Rama Laksman Hanuman, Gaura Nitai and Jagannatha, Balarama, Subhadra.
The Jagannatha deities were installed by Srila Prabhupada himself in 1968.
Vatican Emissary Sends Divali Message of Goodwill.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, drafted a message to Hindu communities world-wide on the occasion of Diwali, or Deepavali, the Hindu or Vedic New Year. Cardinal Tauran led the Catholic delegation to the first Hindu-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON’s Minister of Communications represented ISKCON at that historic event.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/7o42Dh
Govardhana Puja to Uplift Devotees with a Mountain of Sweetness.
It’s not something you see every day. A group of young girls and boys are huddled in the middle of the temple hall, some shocked and some cheering. They’re looking unbelievingly at the particularly effulgent boy at their center as he lifts an impossibly heavy burden. The young boys and girls might be made of cardboard, but their emotion and the divine pastime they’re portraying shines through as if it’s really there. The hill Lord Krishna’s lifting, fashioned out of cloth by artist Laksmana Dasi, looks like it weighs a ton. And above it, hanging high above the the temple hall, the demigod Indra grips a dark cloud and peers over the edge as shimmering icicle lights make it look as if it’s really raining through flashes of lightning.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/OjwNOK
By the GBC Strategic Planning TeamThe GBC is pleased to invite you to the ISKCON Leadership Sanga (ILS) 2016 in Sridham Mayapur, India, on February 24 – March 2. If you already attended a previous ILS you already know what an amazing event it was, with over five hundred ISKCON leaders in 2102 and more than a thousand in 2014; Consider some of the past successes of the ISKCON Leadership Sanga: We spent 8 days participating in over 85 seminars and workshops presenting valuable ideas on how to spread Krsna Consciousness and care for devotees. We learned about the GBC’s strategic plan and the work being done to implement it. We listened to Srimad-Bhagavatam classes given by our most senior leaders. We took part in unforgettable parikramas and kirtanas. We relished the association of so many devotees that are performing similar services.
Lecture Podcast
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The post Govardhan Dashakam Meditation – Ten appeals for residence at Govardhan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
November 12. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
Today’s meditation is a general reflection on Prabhupada’s books. Prabhupada always did the needful – whatever was best for spreading Krishna consciousness. His own Krishna consciousness was mature; therefore, he wanted to give Krishna consciousness to others. As he preached, his own enthusiasm and attachment to Krishna increased more and more. Although he was perfect, the ocean of Krishna consciousness is always increasing. The BBT publishers list many of Prabhupada’s accomplishments in the “About the Author” section at the end of Prabhupada’s books. Finally they state, “Srila Prabhupada’s most significant contribution, however, is his books.” Thus we think of Prabhupada as a writer of transcendental literature. He was a translator and a commentator on sastra. He was a philosophical writer who carefully represented the parampara in modern English. His writing contained his personal experiences and realizations.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490
The seminars will cover a wide variety of topics such as book distribution, devotee care, communications, team-building, fundraising, temple administration, using social media and the internet in our outreach, inspiring talks on how to be a better leader, the importance of ISKCON, education, strategic planning, rural development and sustainable communities, Srila Prabhupada’s position as the Founder-Acarya, and much more.
The post Govardhana-puja means cow protection appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
The First Virtual Mantra Choir remixed ~ Happy Govardhan Puja 2015!
The post Daily Darshan – November 12th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Harinama in Podolsk (Album with photos)
Podolsk is an industrial city of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River.
Srila Prabhupada: Kirtan means sometimes chanting with music, and sometimes speaking. Both of them are kirtan. Kirtayati iti ...
For the past seven years, Sri Sri Radha-Kalachandji Mandir in Dallas has rung in the new year with an epic multi-hour community kirtan organized by second-generation devotees. This New Year’s Eve, the community is organizing a fifty hours of kirtan in celebration of both the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival in the US in 2015, and the 50th anniversary of ISKCON’s incorporation in 2016.
New York City’s East Village got a lot tastier when Superiority Burger moved in. Its famous vegan sandwich is so mind-blowing that it challenges the very definition of the word “burger.”
Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic method for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.
Mahatma das S.B.6.16.44 – Nov 9th 2015
With his new book “Chasing Rhinos with the Swami, legendary ISKCON pioneer Shyamasundara Das stopped by to talk to ISKCON News. At 73, he still has his thick shock of wild hair, and the wide grin, easy sense of humor and friendly nature that ingratiated him to major figures like the Beatles all those years ago, as he carried out Srila Prabhupada’s instructions to spread Krishna consciousness.
Prabhupada’s Books
Virtual Mantra Choir video, Giri Govardhan (11 min video)
A unique offering was presented to the sacred hill Giri Govardhana. Renowned UK musician and singer Jayadeva Das (John Richardson) has put together a virtual version of his Mantra Choir project ...
By Rsiraja DasThe first thing to be recognized in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy is that Krsna is Reality. Srimad Bhagavatam states that there is a reality which is also the Absolute Truth. That reality is, however, understood in many different ways. Indeed, Srila Prabhupada writes at the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam that the concept of Absolute Truth and the concept of God are not on the same level. The concept of God is like the driver of a car who controls the car, but this concept does not explain how the car came into existence. The concept of Absolute Truth, on the other hand, is like the concept of car from which the car is created. The car is therefore “controlled” by the underlying abstract idea, and also produced from it. They key point is that it is not enough to know that God is the controller, but also to know how God created the world, and then to know the manner in which He exercises His control.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 October 2012, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.12.24)
When a devotee is close to Krsna then Krsna is also close to the devotee. But if we think, “Yes, I know I’m serving Krsna but at the same time sometimes I really wonder, is Krsna really protecting me or is he only protecting his pure devotees? It says that Krsna protects his devotees but I’m not really a devotee. Who is in the category of a devotee? What criteria does Krsna apply when he says that he protects his devotees? Maybe I’m not a devotee yet… I’m trying to be but I’m having a hard time. So now what? Will he still protect me? Is Krsna really protecting me? I really feel left alone in this struggle here and I don’t know if I can take this?”
But Krsna is very close. He is here so just turn to Krsna and when we turn to Krsna, things become bearable. It does not mean that everything just dissolves and goes away but it becomes bearable; things suddenly become possible. Suddenly, we can survive it somehow, deal with it, carry on and that is the best! So this is the our process viśvāsa kahe sudṛḍha niścaya (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 22.62) to have firm faith that Krsna will protect us. He surely will protect us! He is protecting us all the time but we just cannot see it!
Smriti and other children with Srila Prabhupada in Juhu.
Srila Prabhupada Smiling on Juhu Terrace.
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On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, I share with you a description by Smriti “Baby” Warrier (later initiated as Sravana dasi), whose family were tenants at Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, of how when she was a child she and her brothers wanted to set off fireworks, and how Srila Prabhupada responded.
One Diwali, in the evening, Mother Kanta was in the women’s ashram above our flat and we were outside setting off fireworks. It was around 9:00, and I guess she wanted to take rest, but we weren’t finished playing. So she started throwing buckets of water down on us. My brothers and I marched up to Srila Prabhupada’s room. Caitya-guru caught us and said, “You can’t go in there—he’s resting.” We must have made a lot of noise, because Prabhupada called, “Let them in.” My brothers went in and pleaded that we wanted to do fireworks, but Prabhupada said, “No, it’s too noisy.” So my brothers gave up and walked out. But I, the youngest, stood there and said, “But it’s Diwali—we’ve got to break some firecrackers.” Then Prabhupada said, “All right, until 10:00—but after that, no more.” So we got permission and broke firecrackers. The next day, Mother Kanta came with a plate of maha-prasada and apologized for throwing water on us.
Being so close to Srila Prabhupada, at Hare Krishna Land, you got to associate with him in a different light.
By Giriraj Swami On the auspicious occasion of Diwali, I share with you a description by Smriti “Baby” Warrier (later initiated as Sravana dasi), whose family were tenants at Hare Krishna Land in Juhu, of how when she was a child she and her brothers wanted to set off fireworks, and how Srila Prabhupada responded: One Diwali, in the evening, Mother Kanta was in the women’s ashram above our flat and we were outside setting off fireworks. It was around 9:00, and I guess she wanted to take rest, but we weren't finished playing. So she started throwing buckets of water down on us. My brothers and I marched up to Srila Prabhupada’s room. Caitya-guru caught us and said, “You can’t go in there—he’s resting.” Continue reading "Fireworks on Diwali
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Hare Krishna devotee Yashoda Dulal enjoys southern hospitality on pilgrimage
A Hare Krishna devotee is taking in New Zealand at 25km a day. Otago-born John Herbison is travelling the country on a horse and cart to mark the 50th anniversary of the Hare Krishna movement in the Western world. Travelling under his religious name, Yashoda Dulal, he left Christchurch in August, arriving in Riverton on Sunday, where he planned to stay for a few days. Herbison’s walk is one of 50 other walking pilgrimages taking place around the world this year to mark the anniversary.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/xS1tH3
Care for Cows Newsletter Memorial Edition!
By Care for Cows Dear Friends, Jai Govinda! Our November 2015 Care for Cows Newsletter has been posted. Please review it at your earliest convenience. This edition is a special memorial edition ...
Verse 5: Devotion catapults us to the summit of yogic meditation
The fifth verse moves from rejection of the negative to elucidation of the positive. It describes the beauty of the form on which the sage desires to constantly meditate. Comparing the Lord’s face to a lotus, he mentions some of its striking features: the silken locks of hair that frame the face, the beautiful reddish lips, and the marks of Yashoda’s loving kisses. He desires fervently that his mind be absorbed perennially in such contemplation. Stressing the intensity of his aspiration, he proclaims that millions of other benedictions are of no value to him.
The sage’s expression echoes the Bhagavad-gita’s description (06.20-23) of samadhi, the state of the topmost absorption in transcendence. Yogis thus absorbed feel that there is no gain greater than this. That the sage has attained a similar level of unflappable absorption indicates that he is situated in samadhi.
And he has attained samadhi not by any laborious process of body-twisting asanas (postures) or any other demanding form of world renunciation – he has attained it simply by meditating on the Lord’s pastimes. Whereas yoga focuses on stopping the negative, material emotions of the mind, bhakti focuses on activating the positive, spiritual emotions of the soul. As emotions are natural to us, activating pure emotions is easier than rejecting all emotions per se. Thus, bhakti makes progress towards transcendence easier, faster and sweeter. Pertinently, the Gita’s chapter on yoga concludes (06.47) with the declaration that the topmost yogis are those who are devotionally absorbed in Krishna.
Verse 6: Two strategies for begging
The sixth verse expresses the sage’s longing for the direct darshan (sight) of Krishna, distinct from the constant inner darshan that he has sought in the previous two verses. Knowing that such a visual darshan is an extremely exalted boon, he reserves the verbalization of his request till the end of the verse, prefacing it with glorification of the Lord and expression of his own destitute condition.
Seeking grace is akin to begging. While asking for alms, beggars often praise the donor’s magnanimity and express their own penury, thus hoping to invoke compassion. A similar dual strategy can be applied when we beseech the Lord for mercy.
The sage spontaneously resorts to one of the best means of pleasing the Lord and invoking his compassion: recitation of his names. While offering obeisances, he refers to the Lord by five relevant names: deva (the giver of everything, including his own darshan), Damodara (the Lord who was bound by love and so by implication can out of love grant him the benediction of darshan), Ananta (the unlimited one who can do even extremely elusive such as granting his own darshan to an unworthy soul), Vishnu (the all-pervading one who can easily make himself visible, for he is already present everywhere) and Prabhu (the master who can and does protect his servants).
The sage then conveys his destitute condition in three ways. He states that he is fallen and is also ignorant, not knowing how to come out of his fallen condition. And he metaphorically conveys the extent of his misery by declaring that he is drowning in an ocean of misery. This reference to a water-body contrasts poignantly with an earlier reference to a water-body – the third verse stated that Krishna is drowning the devoted residents of Gokula in a lake of ecstasy. When he blesses his devotees thus, how can he let another devotee drown in an ocean of distress?
Satyavrata Muni begs the Lord to cast a merciful glance (kripa drshti) on him and relieve him of his suffering. Significantly, the ocean afflicting the sage is not the ocean of material existence, but the ocean of separation from Krishna. So, in the verse’s conclusion, he voices his request: Please become visible to these eyes (edhy akshi drshya)
Verse 7: The bound is still the liberator
In the seventh verse, Satyavrata Muni creatively links his request with a continued narration of the pastime. After Krishna was tied to the mortar, he moved towards two giant trees in the courtyard, dragging the mortar with him. When the mortar got stuck between the trees, Krishna tugged at it and – wonder of wonders – the two trees came crashing down and from them emerged two celestial beings. These beings were Nalakuvera-Manigriva, sons of the treasurer of the gods, Kuvera. Due to licentious behavior in their previous life, they had been cursed by the sage Narada to lose their celestial bodies and become incarcerated in arboreal forms. When they had begged forgiveness, Narada had assured them that they would becomes trees in Krishna’s courtyard and would be delivered by him. Wanting to fulfill his devotee Narada’s promise, Krishna now liberated them by not just freeing them from their tree bodies but also granting them devotion.
Satyavrata Muni states this narrative as a precedent for the Lord having bestowed mercy on the unqualified. Just as he had blessed them with devotion, the sage request that he too be similarly blessed. And he reinforces that request by declaring (for the third time in the song) that he doesn’t desire liberation. Such repeated rejection of liberation suggests that what is conventionally called liberation is not really liberation, especially when it takes one away from the Lord and his service. The Bhagavatam (3.29.13) asserts that devotees refuse such service-bereft liberation even if it is offered to them. Thus, the Bhagavatam and the Damodarashtakam concur that devotional service to the supreme liberator is itself the supreme liberation.
Another noteworthy connection between the pastime and the request is Narada’s presence on both occasions: he was the censurer-blesser for the two celestials, whereas he is the audience for Satyavrata.
This verse centers on poetic utilization of the motif of bondage and liberation. The Lord is the giver of liberation from all bondage, yet in this pastime he himself was bound (baddhau-murti). That is not the only wonder. Those who are bound need others to free them – they can’t usually free others. But even when he was bound, Krishna remained omnipotent and freed those who were bound (mocitau).
Verse 8: The unlimited Lord offers unlimited ecstasy
The last text reveals how the vision of devotion sanctifies and cherishes not just the object of devotion but also the things connected with that object. Thus, the sage offers obeisance not to the Lord, but to the rope that bind the Lord’s belly. The rope is glorified in two ways: first by declaring it to be effulgent and then by stating the glory of the object that it bound – the Lord’s abdomen, which is the source and abode of the whole universe. In bhakti cosmology, the universe arises from the abdomen of a manifestation of the Lord through a complex sequence of expansions and emanations.
The sage then offers obeisance to Radha, Krishna’s beloved consort. As the conjugal pastimes of the Lord are confidential, the bhakti tradition stresses that they not be publically discussed. And yet a song about the glory of devotion calls for at least a reference to the supreme devotee Radha.
Radha is not directly present in this pastime; still indirectly she pervades it and is in fact its essence. The Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition explains that Radha is not just the topmost devotee. She is also devotion personified. Here personification refers not to a literary device, but to an ontological reality – in the person of Radha resides all devotion. Whatever devotion whoever has comes from her. Even the devotion of Yashoda by which Krishna was bound comes from Radha. Thus, the penultimate obeisance to devotion personified is most appropriate in a song glorifying devotion. And the final obeisance is predictably to the Lord, but with a significant describer. He is the performer of unlimited pastimes (anant-lila). While the word ananta was used in the fifth text as a noun to refer to the Lord, here it is used as an adjective to describe his inexhaustible pastimes.
Given that this song has described the immense ecstasy in meditating on one pastime, the concluding obeisance conveys that the Lord, being the performer of unlimited pastimes, is the reservoir of unlimited ecstasy. In loving him, all our heart’s deepest and greatest longings for happiness will be perennially and perfectly fulfilled.
The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam: The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control (Part 2 – Verses 5 to 8) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic method for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.
The integration of these three – prayers composed poetically and sung individually or collectively – is a powerful and joyful way to channelize human emotions towards the divine. In the world’s great theistic traditions are found many examples of beautiful prayer-songs. Such prayers are usually composed by saints who verbalize their love and longing for the Lord.
In the bhakti tradition, the singing of poetic prayers is an important limb of praxis. One such prayer-song is the Damodarashtakam found in the Padma Purana. The song is composed by the great sage Satyavrata Muni and sung in the presence of another great sage Narada Muni. In the Vaishnava bhakti tradition, during the sacred month of Kartik, this song is sung daily, often in both morning and evening. Singing the Damodarashtakam and offering a lamp to Lord Damodara is a treasured form of devotional service that attracts thousands the world over to come to Krishna temples.
The song’s title is a combination of two words: Damodara (a name of Krishna) and ashtaka (a composition with eight parts). This title reveals both the song’s theme and literary structure. It is about the Lord, whose belly (udara) was bound with a rope (dama) and who is therefore celebrated as Damodara. In literary structure, the song belongs to the genre of ashtakas. As the bhakti tradition considers the number eight auspicious, many prayers are composed as songs of eight stanzas.
Damodarashtakam is essentially a meditation on a Krishna pastime described in the bhakti texts, especially the Srimad Bhagavatam. The song integrates narration and exposition in a seamless poetic flow.
Verse 1: The uncatchable is caught
The song’s first verse begins with the mode of expression with which it ends: the offering of obeisance. The object of obeisance is predictably the Supreme, but he is referred to with a significant name: the controller (isvara). This pastime centers on the theme of how the supreme controller becomes controlled and still remains in control. It depicts a form of God that can seem to the devotionally uninformed diminutive and un-godlike. God is usually conceived and revered as the supreme ruler of all of existence. The bhakti tradition acknowledges this divine majesty, but focuses on a far more personable manifestation of God – as a loving and loveable cowherd who in his childhood play seems to be like an ordinary child. Lest hearers be misled by appearances, the song begins with an assertion of the protagonist’s divinity by identifying him as the controller. Further underscoring his transcendence, the song declares that his form is made of eternity-knowledge-bliss (sac-cid-ananda vigraha).
The verse conveys his beauty by referring to one of his ornaments: his effulgent earrings. Bhakti savants explain that whereas we humans wear ornaments to enhance our beauty, Krishna’s beauty is complete in itself, not needing any ornaments. When he wears ornaments, they don’t beautify him; to the contrary, he beautifies the ornaments. Thus, he is celebrated as the ornament of all ornaments (bhushanam bhushitah).
Among Krishna’s various ornaments, why are the earrings singled out for mention? The Vaishnava saint Santana Goswami explains in his illuminating commentary Dig-Darshini Tika that the earrings alone get to kiss Krishna. When he runs, the earrings move back and forth, thus getting to touch (and, poetically speaking, kiss) his cheeks. Another reference to kissing comes in the fifth verse. The metonymic use of the earring conveys not just the beauty of Krishna’s form but also the sublimity of the whole pastime.
After this philosophically and poetically pregnant introduction, the song orients us in space by mentioning the arena of the action: the effulgent Gokula (gokule bhrajamanam).
Having introduced us to the protagonist and the venue, the song starts describing the action. Krishna ran away in fear from his mother Yashoda, but was caught by the gopi (cowherd woman) who ran faster than him.
The backstory is that once when Krishna was sleeping, Yashoda was churning butter. Krishna woke up, went to her and started tugging her, conveying his hunger for her milk. She lovingly placed him on her lap and started breastfeeding him. While Krishna was feasting on the milk, suddenly Yashoda smelt and noticed that the milk on a nearby stove was spilling over. She hastily put aside Krishna and rushed to take the milk-pot off the stove. Krishna became indignant. His situation was like that of a person savoring a delicacy from a pot and suddenly finding that the pot had been whisked away.
Hungry and angry, Krishna looked around for some quick relief. He saw the butter pots his mother had been churning. Breaking them, he ate the butter. His hunger was somewhat mitigated, but his anger still remained. However, he also became apprehensive about being punished for his naughtiness in breaking the pots. So, he fled to another room where butter-pots were hung from the roof. Noticing that a grinding mortar was just below a pot, he climbed atop it, cracked open the pot and started eating more butter. The fragrance and noise attracted several monkeys from the vicinity. When they gestured, asking for the butter, Krishna gleefully shared it with them. While they were thus enjoying the butter, suddenly the monkeys’ mouths dropped open in alarm. Krishna whirled around and saw his mother creeping in on him. Panicking, he jumped off the mortar and fled.
In the meanwhile, Yashoda had returned to the churning room to find a mess. Krishna’s absence and the trail of his butter-marked footprints had been a giveaway of the mischief-maker’s identity and escape route. Following the trail, she had come to catch Krishna and discipline him.
The song presumes familiarity with the pastime, so it eschews a linear narrative and includes only narrative sections relevant to its exposition.
Krishna ran here and there to escape from Yashoda, but she managed to catch him because she ran faster than him. The Isopanisad (mantra 4) declares that the Supreme supersedes everyone in speed and can’t be approached even by the gods. Yet here he is not just approached but also caught by Yashoda. What enables her to achieve this astonishing feat will be revealed in the next verse.
Verse 2: Bound not by the rope’s length but by the devotion’s depth
The second verse begins with an activity extraordinary for the Supreme: crying. Crying is what we mortals do when afflicted by the world’s many miseries. And crying is what sometimes impels us to go to the Lord for relief. The Bhagavatam (3.28.32) states that meditating on the Lord’s beautiful smile can evaporate an ocean of tears. But here the one who relieves everyone’s tears is himself in tears. How is that to be understood?
The bhakti tradition explains that such tears are categorically different from our tears. The emotions underlying them are spiritual, not material. The transcendental realm is not devoid of emotions, but is permeated with pure spiritual emotions. The Lord of that realm, Krishna, is the supreme relisher of emotions and is celebrated as Rasaraja (the king of those who relish rasa, spiritual emotion). We too can enter that realm by purifying our emotions and directing them towards him. In fact, much of bhakti’s widespread appeal comes from its utilizing emotions as pathways to the divine.
This verse states that Krishna was sobbing and rubbing his eyes with his two lotus hands. The Bhagavatam (1.8.31) elaborates this scene, stating that he had lowered his head because of the fear that his mother would punish him. Here it is indicated he also stole glances at her with terror-filled eyes (satanka-netram). Due to his earlier running and present crying, his breath came out in heaves. The motion of his chest caused three lines to appear on his throat – lines that became visible when he looked up at his mother.
Beauty is often appreciated through certain universal characteristics. Additionally, different traditions have their own specific markers of beauty. In the Indian tradition, creases on the neck, when distinct and well-formed, are considered noteworthy signs of beauty.
The reference to his throat conveys that his handsomeness is innate to him. Unlike beauty through make-up that gets messed up when a person cries, Krishna’s beauty remains unaffected even when he cries.
The verse then condenses the action, mentioning only that Krishna was tied by his mother. The Bhagavatam describes how Yashoda struggled to tie him. She just couldn’t get the rope to go round his body – it remained short by a length equivalent to two fingers. She lengthened the cord by tying two ropes; still it remained two fingers short. No matter how many ropes she tied together, still the lengthened rope remained two fingers short.
Through this mysterious unspannability, Krishna conveyed his infinitude. He was in a tiny form that barely extended across the mortar to which he was being tied; still by his supremely mystical power he made it impossible for any rope to extend around him.
Bhakti commentators explain that the gap of two fingers can be filled, metaphorically speaking, by human endeavor and divine grace. Our endeavor can neither replace grace nor force grace to manifest. But by endeavoring in a devotional mood, we can attract divine grace. Yashoda wanted to tie Krishna not just because his mischievousness had angered her but also because she was lovingly concerned that his mischievousness would mar his prospects. While struggling in vain to tie Krishna, her mood changed from anger to appreciation of her son’s extraordinariness. As her disposition became increasingly devotional, Krishna became increasingly satisfied by the purity of her intention and the sincerity of her effort. So, he allowed himself to be tied. The song conveys that she succeeded in tying him not because of the rope’s length, but because of her devotion’s depth (bhakti-baddham).
The last line of this stanza contains the first of the three references to the title’s eponym, Damodara. The other two references come in the sixth and seventh texts.
The poetic refinement of this stanza is evident in its placing the most significant words at the start and at the end (rudantam and bhakti-baddham).
Verse 3: When sweetness supersedes greatness, love conquers the beloved
From the third verse, the song shifts from narration to exposition, dwelling on the significance of what has just happened. By such pastimes, Krishna inundates his devotees in a lake of bliss (ananda-kunda) and educates those attracted toward his majestic form that he is conquered only by intimate devotion.
God is both great and sweet. Awareness of his greatness evokes submission, whereas awareness of his sweetness evokes affection. Devotee-seekers need to be aware of both features, for submission and affection symbiotically reinforce devotion. But for exalted devotees such as Yashoda, their awareness of Krishna’s greatness is almost entirely eclipsed by their absorption in his sweetness. Yashoda is concerned not about how great Krishna is, but about how greatly he depends on her. If she doesn’t feed him, he will become weak and may even die. If she doesn’t invoke auspiciousness for him by her prayers, evil may befall him. If she doesn’t discipline him, he will become spoilt. Such intense love that is oblivious to his greatness is supremely endearing to Krishna – it enables him to relish the full gamut of reciprocal relationships. When his devotees are too aware of his greatness, that awareness inhibits their expression of love for him, thus limiting the range of possible loving reciprocations.
In this pastime, Krishna lets himself be tied, conveying that he is conquered by pure love. Thus, he encourages all devotees to rise in their God consciousness towards the level of unfettered love.
Meditating on Krishna’s loving nature, the poet Satyavrata Muni becomes overwhelmed by love and offers obeisance – not once, but hundreds of times.
Verse 4 – Love desires nothing other than the beloved
The song now addresses a theme common to most prayers – an appeal for benedictions. Satyavrata Muni acknowledges the Lord’s capacity to give benedictions by addressing him with two pertinent names: varam-deva (the giver of benedictions) and varesha (the Lord of benedictions). But he follows that acknowledgment by immediately refusing the benediction of liberation.
To appreciate the magnitude of this refusal, we need to understand the underlying worldview. People in general are materialistic and their materialism carries into their religion. So, when they approach God, they pray for various material things. The Vedas encourage such pious materialism as a stepping-stone towards pure spiritual love. The Vedic worldview is based on a tri-level cosmology with the earth occupying an intermediate level between the upper heavenly realms and the lower hellish realms. In the Vedic worldview, ascent to heavens is often considered the highest benediction. But Satyavrata Muni’s devotion is so exalted that the heavens are not even mentioned – even for the sake of rejection. In this context, any reference to heavens may be compared to the assertion, “Not even wrong!” used to discount an answer that is so far out of the ball-park as to not worth being dignified by being called wrong.
The Upanishads go beyond the pious materialism of the Vedas to a world-rejecting transcendence. In the Upanishadic worldview, liberation is often considered the ultimate attainment.
Satyavrata Muni’s rejection of liberation reflects his absorption in a reality beyond the impersonal Absolute. Is this reality God’s personal abode, Vaikuntha? No, for he also rejects the benediction higher than liberation, which Sanatana Goswami explains is the attainment of Vaikuntha. Then the sage refuses any other benediction that might be considered worthwhile. All this negation is the buildup to the climactic expression of his cherished aspiration: constant meditation on the Lord who has manifested in the form of a cowherd boy.
This aspiration is a riveting testimony to the purity of his love. In pure love, we desire our beloved more than anything else and turn away from anything that turns us away from the beloved. Here meditation on this love-filled Damodara pastime has triggered such a rapture of devotional ecstasy in the sage that nothing else holds any appeal. Thus, he desires to forever meditate on this supremely relishable pastime. Reiterating his aspiration, he concludes by asking rhetorically: What other benediction is desirable?
The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam: The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control (Part 1 – Verses 1 to 4) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Most of the time we curse the system, the society, our family, our destiny and in fact everyone and everything for any problem which we face in this world. But we do nothing to change our own perspective or we do nothing to effect a change.
“Joy” - KirtanRaga’s first album of live kirtan recordings. Kirtan Raga is an educational project dedicated to sharing knowledge about the philosophy and practice of kirtan. “Joy” is available on iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay, Spotify, and other digital platforms. All profits will be used to fund worldwide promotion of kirtan through website development, publications, events, and educational initiatives.
India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests bans the keeping of captive dolphins for public entertainment in the entire country.
The post Today we remember Lord Bharat the emblem of faithfulness appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Srila Prabhupada departed from this world in Vrindavan dham, India, on the 14th of November 1977. One would not usually celebrate the disappearance day of a person, especially one so loved and revered as Srila Prabhupada. However, the departure of a pure Vaishnava gives cause for jubilation because he returns to his eternal service at Krishna's lotus feet in Goloka Vrindavan, the spiritual world. "He reasons ill who says that Vaisnavas die, When thou art living still in sound! The Vaishnavas die to live, and living try To spread the holy name around." (Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur) Although Srila Prabhupada is no longer physically with us, on the spiritual platform he is very much present. He is present in his deity form, in his books and through his instructions. His mercy is available to all those who seek it.
Good morning Sri Vrndavan! (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the material world we want to minimize our activities and take rest more, but in the spiritual world, there is no rest and there is no limit of activities. Krishna is unlimited, and t...
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, drafted a message to Hindu communities world-wide on the occasion of Diwali, or Deepavali. Cardinal Tauran led the Catholic delegation to the first Hindu-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON's Minister of Communications represented ISKCON at that historic event.
Nandgaon Karttika (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: On Monday, we went to Nandagram and visited Uddhava Kyari, Ter Kadamba, Nanda Bhavan, and Vrinda Kunda! Relish the parikrama with us through the pics of Vittalrukmini Das!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/DeSxW7