Wednesday, October 28th, 2015
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2015
Williamsburg, Pennsylvania


For Mukunda



Today’s walk is dedicated to a monk who I adore very much.  Mukunda Goswami is his name.  He is currently in intensive care in the hospital in Australia struggling for his life.  I believe he is 73.

To tackle this day, which I held in honour of this great soul, I approached it (and the heavy rain) as a kind of sacrifice.  Along with Tre’von and our new team player Mandala, we took out our best water-resistant attire.  I even surrendered to wearing trousers and a plastic rain shell for practicality.  It wasn’t easy move through the unstoppable waters coming from the sky.  The liquid fell from above and didn’t let up until the last hour of my walking when I was alone.  Frankly, I felt that the three of us were like men at sea.

When my two companions pulled off the road to put a warm meal together (compliments to Paul for offering the use of his kitchen in his Bed & Breakfast), I ventured through the Lower Trail along the Juniata River.  Not a soul could be seen.  The rain seems to intimidate many creatures, except for some happy plants that I could see along the way.  The river’s waters rushed forward in a way that was inspiring but I just couldn’t keep to the pace of the flowing H2O.  Despite all efforts to stay dry, wetness still came through.  What to do?  You just have to accept it as an austerity.  And again, I’m doing this for Mukunda.

While water was very much the main feature of the day, the mantra emanating from the lips penetrated through all the predominating fluids.  Motorists somehow seemed to figure out that my walking had something to do with Russ O’Reilly’s article in the ‘Altoona Mirror’ as well as a broadcast on a local radio station.  The message was, “If you see a monk and believe in honouring our teachers, then give a honk.”  And that they did.

May the Source be with you!

19 miles 31 km

Mahabharata: The Condensed Version Available on Amazon as Free Download
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Torchlight Publishing is happy to announce the release today of a new e-book of the condensed version of the great epic, The Mahabharata by the world renown author Krishna Dharma. Mahabharata: The condensed version of the world’s greatest epic, is now available on Amazon.com. As part of the release promotions, the book is free for 3 days from November 6 - 8 inclusive.

When Bhagavatam talks about karma as a cause, shouldnt we see karma causally?
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Both Yamaraja in Suyajna pastime and Kamsa while consoling Vasudeva-Devaki talk about karmic causality.
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If someone’s child has cancer should we not offer charity to avoid interfering with karma?
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Does the guru literally come back lifetime after lifetime till the disciple is delivered?
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How can we cultivate humility without becoming negatively self-centered?
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If our mantra shouldn’t be “I am fallen” why do we sing daily trnad api sunicena?
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What does the Pandavas didn’t deserve to live mean in Bhagavatam in 1.9.12?
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Trancendental Journey to Vrindavan Dham
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For the pleasure of their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Pancatattva, Nrisimha Dev and Srila Prabhupada, and for all the readers, Mayapur Bhakti Vriksha (MBV) is happy to inform everyone that for the first time ever, Bhakti Vriksha group, successfully conducted a Vrindavan Tour with 50 Bhakti Vriksha devotees. The journey commenced on 17 Nov 2015, […]

The post Trancendental Journey to Vrindavan Dham appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Humility and love of God
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Untitled Lecture)

pancatattva1

The quality of humility and the quality of being able to develop love of God come together. It is not possible to develop love of God if there is no humility in our hearts. A person who is proud, how can he hear!? His ears are blocked because he is overwhelmed by his own ideas that he cannot even hear what everyone else says. But if one is humble, then one can think, ‘Yes, I need mercy.’

So a humble personality is eager to hear and being eager to hear from superior personalities also brings about special dynamics. When people are eager to hear then the mature vaisnava who speaks opens up his heart. He will automatically, by the eagerness of the audience, become very enthusiastic and he will find that there are so many realizations in his heart that he did not even know he had! Because in the relationship between vaisnava’s, the mood is very intimate and close and one of deep friendship; a mood of acceptance. An envious person cannot accept.

A envious person will always find some reason not to accept others, he will always find some quality that is not allowed, something wrong, ‘You can’t sit like that, you can’t look like that, you can’t speak like that…’ and so on and so on. Just on some external feature, an envious person will reject. Basically anyone who is not supporting them, adoring them, recognizing their greatness – such persons are undesirable.

So humility is the quality where one is ready to see good in others and recognizes that everyone can make a contribution which can be appreciated. So amongst vaisnavas there is an atmosphere of appreciation.

Hare Krishna! Sadhu Sanga Bliss – Raval, Chinta Haran and…
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Hare Krishna! Sadhu Sanga Bliss – Raval, Chinta Haran and Brahmanda Ghat
In continuation with Vraj Parikrama, HH Subhag Swami Maharaj took a group of devotees to Raval, Chinta Haran and Brahmanda Ghat. Buses left straight after mangala arti, all devotees were requested to attend the arti in order to invoke an auspicious start to the yatra. In order to seek the blessings of Srimati Radharani we firstly visited Raval Dham. After taking darshan and praying for Her mercy, we proceeded to Chinta Haran. The presiding deity here is Chinta Haran Mahadev. As stated in the Bhagavatam, ‘vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh.’ We therefore prayed to Lord Siva that we can follow in His footsteps and increase our attachment to Krishna and His holy Dham.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=21184

Hare Krishna! Live in Kolkata (3 videos from the performance of…
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Hare Krishna! Live in Kolkata (3 videos from the performance of Parividha Prabhu in Kolkata)
Lokanath Swami: Seeing Parividha’s performance in Kolkata at the 50th-anniversary celebrations, reinforced that I have always felt when I watch his performances. They are no frivolous and no-nonsense performances which are an inspiration to one and all. They display his deep sincerity and are filled with emotion and spiritual devotion, which have a soul-stirring effect on the audience. The videos in turn bring to life that which we are always longing to see. Once again, salutations to Parividha and we hope to see many more of his performances in the future. Bhakti Charu Swami: I appreciate your artistic talents. You are a very talented singer and the way you present Krishna Conscious themes in Western tune is very appealing. This kind of presentation can be a very effective means to especially attract Westerners to Krishna Consciousness. I wish that devotees all over the world would take advantage of this very powerful method of preaching.
Watch them here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=21181

The King of Mountains (12 min video) Indradyumna Swami: Going on…
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The King of Mountains (12 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Going on Govardhan Parikrama is always a highlight for every pilgrim who visits Sri Vrindavan Dhama. This was certainly true for our group of 350 devotees, who assembled at Radha Kunda at 5 AM in the morning to begin circumambulating the sacred mountain, so dear to all Vaisnavas. Softly chanting on our japa beads we walked the 23-kilometer path praying to Giriraja to bless us with service to the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara and eternal residence in Their holy dhama. By the time we finished we were literally running down the sacred path in great joy and happiness.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/DJcieK

November 5. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. We can…
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November 5. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.
We can be certain that Prabhupada did not reveal everything on his mind to us. Even if we were to ask him, “What do you think of when you chant, Prabhupada?”, it is unlikely he would reveal his innermost state. There is a sastric statement that when a pure devotee appears in the world, he is not really seen by the people. His appearance is compared to a cloud in relation to the moon. The moon is actually stationary in the sky, but it appears to be blowing across the sky with the clouds. It is an optical illusion. Similarly, a pure devotee often appears to be an ordinary person moving through the world, but actually his mind is fixed only on Krishna. “One should not try to understand the mind of the acarya.” This should be a stabilizing reminder to us. Although we want to know our spiritual master as deeply as possible – we will listen to him and pray to him and study his books to find out exactly what he wants from us – we should be careful not to look for so many hidden meanings, or to speculate on esoteric principles. Prabhupada will give us what we need to know.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490

Narrotama Kirtan Utsava 2015 (Album with photos) Srila…
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Narrotama Kirtan Utsava 2015 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: For a devotee, liberation is no problem at all. The impersonalists undergo severe penances and austerities to attain mukti, but the bhakta, simply by engaging himself in the bhakti process, especially in chanting Hare Krishna, immediately develops control over the tongue by engaging it in chanting, and accepting the remnants of foodstuff offered to the Personality of Godhead. (Srimad Bhagavatam, 3.25.33 Purport)
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Krsnaizing Halloween (Album with photos) Even Halloween can be…
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Krsnaizing Halloween (Album with photos)
Even Halloween can be engaged in Lord Krsna’s service. At TKG Academy we celebrated the Fall Festival with the students dressed as characters from our devotional scriptures. The costumes included some of the Lord’s main incarnations, such as Lord Nrsimhadeva, Lord Vamanadeva, Lord Ramacandra along with His wife Sita, Their devotee Jatayu and Ahalya, Lord Parasurama and Kurma Avatar. There were other manifestations such as The Universal Form and Mohini Murti and some demigods, like Agni and Lord Siva. Lord Krsna’s personal weapon, the Sudarsana Cakra was present. We also had Lord Krsna Himself, in His original form as a cowherd boy in the village of Vrndavana, along with His mother Yasoda, His most beloved Srimati Radharani, other gopis and cowherd boys and the river Yamuna. We had some characters from the Mahabharata, such as Bhismadeva and Yudhisthira. The goddess Kali appeared in her very ferocious form and the most recent and merciful incarnation of Lord Nityananda joined as well. Everywhere you looked you were reminded of Krsna and His various pastimes. In fact, the students enacted those pastimes, according to the particular personality they were dressed as, thus further immersing our minds in remembrance of the Lord and absorbing our consciousness in Him.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/urbllr

SGGGPY to Mattampally Village – Lucky Seven ! On October 25,…
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SGGGPY to Mattampally Village – Lucky Seven !
On October 25, 2015, the inaugural day of Sri Govind Gau Gram Prachar Yatra in ISKCON Hyderabad, several devotees from city had accompanied the Yatra devotees to the first village of Ramapuram. They had tasted the nectar of preaching in village. They did not wish to come back to the artificial life of city but were forced by their conditions. Again when they got the opportunity of weekend break, they fled towards Mattampalli in their cars.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/ZbQqMX

Update on Mukunda Goswami’s Recovery. Mukunda Goswami is…
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Update on Mukunda Goswami’s Recovery.
Mukunda Goswami is making a slow but steady recovery from the surgeries. While in ICU he was looked after 24/7 by a team of doctors and nurses to make sure that his vital functions were properly restored. Their particular concern was Maharaja’s lungs (risk of a pneumonia) from extended confinement to bed due to the hip fracture as well as possible clotting. Therefore the day after the hip surgery physiotherapists started gently but forcefully encouraging Maharaja to sit up and then to put weight on his legs and walk with the support of a frame. This was (and still is) very painful and difficult for Maharaja, but is paramount for his recovery.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/KBZfbm

Rasanath Das | Living the Tension
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Rasanath is a former management consultant and investment banker who became a monk. Rasanath shares his incredible journey from his life as an "external achievement machine", to one rich in spiritual introspection, integrity, and true connectivity.

Update on Mukunda Goswami’s Recovery
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On November 2nd, Mukunda Goswami was shifted from ICU to back to the  Coronary Care Unit, where his operating cardio surgeon, orthopaedic surgeon and medical team daily check on him.  Mukunda Maharaja’s medical condition is improving, although he still is in a lot of pain, aggravated by the need to sit up in a chair for his lungs rather than lie down in bed.