Websites from the ISKCON Universe
Harinama in a melting Tel Aviv, Israel (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Lord Krishna stresses the importance of remembering Him. One‘s memory of Krishna is revived by chanting the maha-mantra, Hare Krishna. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-Gita 8.8 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/QOlb5T
What is it like to prepare for a huge Rathayatra festival? (Album with photos)
Sri Jagannatha Mandir, ISKCON Malaysia
See them here: https://goo.gl/EiNTFB
The post Thursday evening bhajana in New Vraja-dhama appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Arrival, 30 June
So it looks like we are still not out of the woods yet with regards to Maharaj’s toothache (following on from Maharaj’s last visit to the UK). Thus Maharaj had to make this whistle stop visit to the UK to get further dental treatment. It really was a short visit, after being in the USA for two weeks, preaching in New Vrindavana, New York and Gita Nagari. After this short visit, Maharaj headed off for the annual summer camp retreat outside Prague in the Czech Republic. The British devotees saw this trip as an extra dosage of mercy as after this visit, Maharaj will not be back until January.
Despite the tooth pains, Maharaj was in quite a relaxed mood. Just after lunch, I went to collect Maharaj from Krishna Kirtan’s house and drop him off at Edgware station, along with a couple of his disciples, so they could do harinam and the evening class at the Soho temple in North London. In the car, we spoke about the famous music festival Glastonbury, what a great preaching opportunity it was (I was there last week) and how it would be great for Maharaj to go there especially because the young British crowd that attends the festival would definitely take to Maharaj’s down-to-earth style and his funky off-the-wall kirtans. The devotees who go to Glastonbury every year would definitely be up for it. Maharaj just laughed and then said, ‘Wow! I’m sure the devotees would be up for it but the question is, would I be up for it?’ By this time the car had pulled up outside Edgeware station, onwards to Soho…
In the evening around 7pm, Maharaj had come back from Soho and was reminiscing about his early days. He mentioned his pastimes in Amsterdam with that famous Jai Nectar Bliss devotee. Once when they were doing sankirtan together, it was freezing cold and Maharaj had no gloves on. It was exceedingly austere, to say the least, and all the other devotee could say was, ‘Jai, nectar and bliss.’ Maharaj became incredibly irritated, ended up saying a few harsh words to this devotee and decided to storm-off, having had enough of the Hare Krsnas.
Funnily enough, before going off, Maharaj demanded to receive the mantra for offering food from that devotee. Initially, he refused but then Maharaj threatened him by saying that if he refused, then he would get half the reaction for taking unoffered food so naturally the devotee relented. After going off in a huff, Maharaj decided to go to his girlfriend’s place, so he got on the train and soon started experiencing some pain in his legs. He pulled up his trousers and saw all these nasty boils on his legs! Realizing that not much was going to happen at his girlfriend’s place, he went to the cinema instead. This is where Krsna’s hand really came into play. Near the end of the movie, there was a scene with some Hare Krsnas (obviously fake ones) who were just chatting away in a bar and then they sat down and had a few beers. When Maharaj saw this, he became so angry at the portrayal and that is when it clicked; he realized he could not just do this Krsna consciousness half-heartedly, like those fake devotees on screen, but he really had to commit himself fully to it.
Then finally what hit the nail on the head for Maharaj to return to the Amsterdam temple was hearing how Mahavirya Prabhu, a black-bodied devotee from the Amsterdam temple and a great friend of Maharaj, had threatened to fast until Maharaj came back to the temple or he would die. This is what really moved Maharaj, the love and affection that Mahavirya Prabhu had expressed for him just completely blew him away; a classic example of a true loving exchange between two great vaishnavas… It was a long day, and after this short but tender reminiscence, Maharaj decided to retire for the night.
Hare Krishna! Rotary International President’s Message
We in Rotary aspire to great deeds. We admire those who gave great gifts to humanity: Abraham Lincoln, who gave the gift of human dignity to the downtrodden; Mother Teresa, who gave the gift of compassion to the forgotten; Mahatma Gandhi, who gave the gift of peaceful change to the oppressed. Their very lives became gifts to the world. We can be inspired by their example. We can be inspired to ask, how can I, in the life that I live – without neglecting the responsibilities that are so dear to me – how can I, too, become a gift to the world? As I considered my theme, I thought of the lessons I have learned through my Hindu faith. I thought especially of the story of Sudama. Sudama was a poor child and a bosom friend of Krishna, who was born in a royal lineage as an avatar – an incarnation of the divine. As the two boys grow up, they drift apart, and while Krishna becomes a military leader and king of great repute, Sudama remains a humble villager.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18498
The post Daily Darshan – July 18th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Hare Krishna! The walls of the temple in DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA vibrated to the sounds of the holy name through a six-hour Kirtan Festival.
Rasa Keli Sowamber (15 years old) shares her experiences at the Kirtan Festival.
Vibrations of the kirtan rippled through the temple room long after the kirtaneers left. On the way home, I found myself humming some verses of the bhajans and even murmuring them in my sleep. We were reminded of the importance of the Holy Names because they still lingered on the tips of our tongues. Till this very night, I hear the bhajans repeatedly playing over in my head. I can’t turn it off even when I’m trying to fall asleep. This is not a bad thing at all – having Krishna dance on the tip of your tongue and in your mind endlessly!
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18489
Photos from Vallabh Vidyanagar Rathayatra 2015 and other events of Iskcon Baroda
See them here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18493
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.10.18-21 – HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu
Hare Krishna! In Memory of Kanai Thakur
Phalini Devi Dasi: Kanai Thakur dasa was beloved by all the devotees, and a siksha guru for many. He was so popular that if someone would mention his name in a crowd, immediately there would be smiles on all the faces of those who heard his name, and even laughter would bubble up from inside their hearts. Kanaiji was so Krsna conscious and so blissful that his enthusiasm for pure Krsna consciousness was infectious. From my own personal experience with Kanai Thakur, there is one quality I admired in him, and that was his chastity. Although he would generously give Krsna conscious advice to both men and women, toward us women he was always aloof and respectful, addressing us affectionately as “Maaaataaaa.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18485
We continue our discussion of the cleansing of the heart, again from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter Twelve, “The Cleansing of the Gundica Temple”:
TEXT 135
ei-mata puradvara-age patha yata
sakala sodhila, taha ke varnibe kata
SYNONYMS
ei-mata—in this way; pura-dvara—of the gateway of the temple; age—in front; patha yata—as many avenues; sakala—all; sodhila—were cleansed; taha—that; ke varnibe—who can describe; kata—how much.
TRANSLATION
Outside the gateway of the temple, all the roads were also cleansed, and no one could tell exactly how this was done.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
In commenting on the cleansing of the Gundica temple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as the world leader, was personally giving instructions on how one should receive Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, within one’s cleansed and pacified heart. If one wants to see Krsna seated in his heart, he must first cleanse the heart, as prescribed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastaka: ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc Antya 20.12]. In this age, everyone’s heart is especially unclean, as confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam: hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani. To wash away all dirty things accumulated within the heart, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised everyone to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. The first result will be that the heart is cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam). Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.17) confirms this statement:
srnvatam sva-kathah krsna
punya-sravana-kirtanah
hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani
vidhunoti suhrt satam
“Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who relishes His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”
If a devotee at all wants to cleanse his heart, he must chant and hear the glories of the Lord, Sri Krsna (srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah). This is a simple process. Krsna Himself will help cleanse the heart because He is already seated there. Krsna wants to continue living within the heart, and the Lord wants to give directions, but one has to keep his heart as clean as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu kept the Gundica temple. The devotee therefore has to cleanse his heart just as the Lord cleansed the Gundica temple. In this way one can be pacified and enriched in devotional service. If the heart is filled with straw, grains of sand, weeds, or dust (in other words, anyabhilasa-purna), one cannot enthrone the Supreme Personality of Godhead there. The heart must be cleansed of all material motives brought about through fruitive work, speculative knowledge, the mystic yoga system, and so many other forms of so-called meditation. The heart must be cleansed without ulterior motive. As Srila Rupa Gosvami says, anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam [Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.1.11]. In other words, there should not be any external motive. One should not attempt material upliftment, understanding the Supreme by speculative knowledge, fruitive activity, severe austerity and penance, and so on. All these activities are against the natural growth of spontaneous love of Godhead. As soon as these are present within the heart, the heart should be understood to be unclean and therefore unfit to serve as Krsna’s sitting place. We cannot perceive the Lord’s presence in our hearts unless our hearts are cleansed.
COMMENT by Giriraj Swami
Srila Rupa Gosvami describes pure devotional service as being anyabhilasita-sunyam: without other desires. Other desires constitute the dirt in the heart, and so cleaning the heart means cleaning out the material desires, or purifying them so they are no longer material but spiritual—to serve and please Krsna. If the heart is full of other desires, it is called anyabhilasa-purna. What Rupa Gosvami advises is anyabhilasita-sunyam; he has added the suffix ita to anyabhilasa. Anyabhilasa means “no other desire”; anyabhilasita means “no other intent”—we should have no other intent in devotional service than to please Krsna. For the sake of serving Krsna, we want to keep the body and soul together, and so taking care of the body is not outside of the definition of pure devotional service. It may so happen that under certain circumstances a devotee may pray to Krsna for the protection of the body. For example, someone may come to attack us—our life may be in danger—so we may pray to Krsna to save us. But our general motivation in devotional service is not to get protection or any other benefit for the body; it is to please Krsna. Yet in some dangerous situation, we may pray to the Lord for protection—although that is not our basic motive in engaging in devotional service. That impulse for survival does not place us outside of uttama-bhakti; it is not against the principles of uttama-bhakti.
Then Sri Rupa says, jnana-karmady-anavrtam. Our bhakti should not be covered by jnana, karma, or any other process. The suffix adi, “beginning with,” in effect means “et cetera, and others.” Jnana and karma are the main processes, but there are others that also are not part of bhakti and that may cause disturbance in the heart.
After listing sixty-four items of devotional service in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami discusses other items that one might think could have been included in the list but which he omitted, and he explains why. Two of the items are the cultivation of knowledge and the cultivation of renunciation. He explains that the actual process of bhakti—hearing and chanting about Krsna—makes the heart soft, whereas the cultivation of knowledge or renunciation, although they may be somewhat helpful in the beginning (as we read in the Bhagavatam), are not really part of the process of devotional service, because the cultivation of knowledge or renunciation as separate items can make the heart hard, which goes against the nature of bhakti.
Of course, true knowledge and renunciation follow as a natural consequence of genuine advancement in Krsna consciousness:
vasudeve bhagavati
bhakti-yogah prayojitah
janayaty asu vairagyam
jnanam ca yad ahaitukam
When we engage in bhakti-yoga, devotional service to Krsna, causeless knowledge and detachment follow. But to make a separate endeavor to pursue knowledge or detachment in an impersonal way can make the heart hard. Still, the effort can be somewhat helpful in the beginning, because if someone is addicted to sinful activities—smoking, drinking, eating flesh, or whatever—he or she might have to make a special effort to give them up. But once one is able to follow the basic regulations of bhakti-yoga, one’s natural progress in bhakti-yoga itself will take care of everything else, without any independent endeavor.
Someone may ask, “Well, if bhakti doesn’t take support from karma, jnana, yoga, or anything else, then how will bhakti progress?” The answer is that one’s present stage of bhakti becomes the cause of one’s advancement to subsequent stages in bhakti. Bhaktya sanjataya bhaktya: bhakti comes from bhakti. Bhava-bhakti comes from sadhana-bhakti; prema-bhakti comes from bhava-bhakti. We don’t need to add anything to bhakti to make it stronger. To the contrary, adding karma or jnana to bhakti makes it weaker. So we want unalloyed devotional service, unmixed with any other process or any desire other than to serve and please Krsna.
Now we shall proceed to some of the more specific discussions.
PURPORT (continued)
A material desire is explained as a desire to enjoy the material world to its fullest extent. In modern language, this is called economic development. An inordinate desire for economic development is considered to be like straws and grains of sand within the heart. If one is overly engaged in material activity, the heart will always remain disturbed. As stated by Narottama dasa Thakura:
samsara visanale, diva-nisi hiya jvale,
judaite na kainu upaya
In other words, endeavor for material opulence is against the principle of devotional service. Material enjoyment includes activities such as great sacrifices for auspicious activity, charity, austerity, elevation to the higher planetary system, and even living happily within the material world.
COMMENT
Samsara visanale: in the fire of the poison of worldliness. Caitanya Mahaprabhu also prayed, visame bhavambudhau: “in the horrible, poisonous ocean of birth and death.” And Narottama dasa laments, “I have not accepted the means for escape, or relief.”
PURPORT (continued)
Modernized material benefits are like the dust of material contamination. When this dust is agitated by the whirlwind of fruitive activity, it overcomes the heart.
COMMENT
As we have discussed, it is not an offense to have material attachments, but it is an offense to maintain them. What Srila Prabhupada wrote here is significant: the desire may be there, but when we act on the desire—when we act to fulfill the desire—that process acts like a whirlwind that agitates the desire, the dust.
PURPORT (continued)
Thus the mirror of the heart is covered with dust. There are many desires to perform auspicious and inauspicious activities, but people do not know how life after life they are keeping their hearts unclean. One who cannot give up the desire for fruitive activity is understood to be covered by the dust of material contamination. Karmis generally think that the interaction of fruitive activities can be counteracted by another karma, or fruitive activity. This is certainly a mistaken conception. If one is deluded by such a conception, he is cheated by his own activity. Such activities have been compared to an elephant’s bathing. An elephant may bathe very thoroughly, but as soon as it comes out of the river, it immediately takes some sand from the land and throws it all over its body. If one suffers due to his past fruitive activities, he cannot counteract his suffering by performing auspicious activities. The sufferings of human society cannot be counteracted by material plans. The only way suffering can be mitigated is by Krsna consciousness. When one takes to Krsna consciousness and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord—beginning with chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord—the cleansing of the heart begins. When the heart is actually cleansed, one can clearly see the Lord sitting there without any disturbance. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (9.4.68) the Lord confirms that He sits within the heart of the pure devotee: sadhavo hrdayam mahyam sadhunam hrdayam tv aham.
COMMENT
Karmis often think that they can counteract the effects of one karma with another, but ultimately they cannot. The Vedas recommend prayascitta, specific atonements for specific sins or mistakes, which are meant to counteract the reactions to the sins. But prayascitta does not remove the desire to commit sin from the heart. Thus, after neutralizing the effects of the sin by some form of atonement, one will commit the same sin again. Thus Srila Prabhupada quoted the saying “Every day a thousand prostitutes take bath in the Ganges.” They take bath in the holy river and are relieved of their sinful reactions, but they remain prostitutes: when they come out of the water, they engage in the same activity.
We need a process that will cleanse the heart of the desire to sin, that is, the desire to engage in acts against the orders of God, the injunctions of scripture. Prayascitta, or atonement, is compared to burning the leaves of the weed of sinful actions. The roots of the weed remain, and so the plant will sprout up again. To actually be free from the suffering caused by the weed, you have to pull it out from the roots. And the process to uproot the sinful desires themselves is bhakti-yoga, especially chanting the holy names of Krsna. Pure devotional service removes the ignorance that is at the root of the desire for sinful activities; uttama-bhakti destroys material desires from the root.
Srila Rupa Gosvami explains that there are various stages in the development of sinful actions and reactions: aprarabdha (unmanifest), kuta (about to manifest), bija (barely manifesting), and prarabdha (fully manifested). The seeds of sinful desires will sprout and eventually bear the fruits of sinful actions—and reactions. One may try to cut this growth of sin at different places, but bhakti thoroughly destroys all phases of its manifestation. Of course, devotees who surrender to Krsna refrain from further sinful acts. But even the suffering due to devotees for their past sinful acts, and the traces of sinful desires still in their hearts, are destroyed by bhakti.
That is karma. You cannot be freed from karma by karma—you cannot be freed from materially inauspicious activities by materially auspicious activities—because as long as the tendency to engage in karma (material activities) remains, one is bound to engage in sinful acts and then suffer. The only way to really become free from sin is bhakti. As stated in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, suffering is caused by sin, and sin is caused by ignorance. To be freed from sin, we must become free from ignorance. And bhakti illuminates us with the knowledge that will free us from sin—and from all suffering—forever.
So, that is karma. Now, jnana and yoga.
PURPORT (continued)
Impersonal speculation, monism (merging into the existence of the Supreme), speculative knowledge, mystic yoga, and meditation are all compared to grains of sand. They simply cause irritation to the heart. No one can satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead by such activities, nor do we give the Lord a chance to sit in our hearts peacefully. Rather, the Lord is simply disturbed by them. Sometimes yogis and jnanis in the beginning take to the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra as a way to begin their various practices. But when they falsely think that they have attained release from the bondage of material existence, they give up chanting. They do not consider that the ultimate goal is the form of the Lord or the name of the Lord. Such unfortunate creatures are never favored by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they do not know what devotional service is. Lord Krsna describes them in the Bhagavad-gita in this way:
tan aham dvisatah kruran
samsaresu naradhaman
ksipamy ajasram asubhan
asurisv eva yonisu
“Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.” (Bg 16.19)
COMMENT
Here Maya comes into play as a servant of Krsna to protect Him. Srila Prabhupada says that when someone comes to render service to Krsna, Maya will test the person to see whether he is really sincere to serve Krsna or whether he has come to disturb Krsna. So when someone engages in devotional service, Maya may send disturbances to test the person’s determination, to see how serious he or she is. And if the person is sincere and serious to serve Krsna, he or she will think, “Never mind. Let the calamities come. No matter what happens, I will continue to follow the principles and chant Hare Krsna.” But if the person has other motives, he or she will think, “Oh, I thought Krsna consciousness was going to make me happy, to make my life easier, to solve my material problems, but now I am finding just the opposite. So I am not going to chant and follow the process. I am going to try something else.” Because they have material motives, they give up the practices of bhakti-yoga, which means that at least temporarily they have failed the test.
So Maya is also Krsna’s servant, and she tests devotees and aspiring devotees to see how fixed they are, because she doesn’t want them to come and disturb Krsna with their material motives.
PURPORT (continued)
By His practical example, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has shown us that all the grains of sand must be picked up thoroughly and thrown outside. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also cleansed the outside of the temple, fearing that the grains of sand would again come within. In this connection, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that even though one may become free from the desire for fruitive activity, sometimes the subtle desire for fruitive activity again comes into being within the heart. One often thinks of conducting business to improve devotional activity.
COMMENT
This is a little different from the desires that exist within the heart before devotional service, because those material desires have no connection with Krsna consciousness. Even after we become free from those gross materialistic desires, subtle desires may appear that are related to Krsna consciousness but which, if we are not careful, can deviate us from Krsna consciousness. Prabhupada mentions conducting business to get money for Krsna consciousness, that one can become so overwhelmed in the process of making money that economic development becomes more prominent than Krsna consciousness. It can happen. We have seen it.
PURPORT (continued)
One often thinks of conducting business to improve devotional activity. But the contamination is so strong that it may later develop into misunderstanding, described as kuti-nati (faultfinding) and pratisthasa (the desire for name and fame and for high position), jiva-himsa (envy of other living entities), nisiddhacara (accepting things forbidden in the sastra), kama (desire for material gain), and puja (hankering for popularity).
COMMENT
These are some of the specific anomalies. We have seen them too.
PURPORT (continued)
The word kuti-nati means “duplicity.” As an example of pratisthasa, one may attempt to imitate Srila Haridasa Thakura by living in a solitary place. One’s real desire may be for name and fame—in other words, one thinks that fools will accept one to be as good as Haridasa Thakura just because one lives in a solitary place. These are all material desires. A neophyte devotee is certain to be attacked by other material desires as well, namely desires for women and money. In this way the heart is again filled with dirty things and becomes harder and harder, like that of a materialist. Gradually one desires to become a reputed devotee or an avatara (incarnation).
The word jiva-himsa (envy of other living entities) actually means stopping the preaching of Krsna consciousness.
COMMENT
Jiva means “the living entity,” and also “life.” And himsa means “violence,” which also translates as “envy.” Generally we think that violence means harming or killing people, or killing animals and eating their flesh. That is certainly jiva-himsa, but the real life of the living entity is bhakti. There is a series of verses in the Second Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam to the effect that one may appear to be alive but if he is devoid of devotional service he is as good as dead. For example:
jivan chavo bhagavatanghri-renum
na jatu martyo ’bhilabheta yas tu
sri-visnu-padya manujas tulasyah
svasan chavo yas tu na veda gandham
“The person who has not at any time received the dust of the feet of the Lord’s pure devotee upon his head is certainly a dead body. And the person who has never experienced the aroma of the tulasi leaves from the lotus feet of the Lord is also a dead body, although breathing.” (SB 2.3.23)
So the real life of the living entity is devotional service. And if we deprive people of devotional service, in effect we are killing them.
Now, one may argue, “Well, that is pretty strong language. I am not killing them. I am just not giving them devotional service.” But the Fifth Canto says that if a blind man is walking down a wrong path heading to danger, how can a gentleman allow him to continue? It is our duty to stop him. We can’t just let him proceed to his own death.
kas tam svayam tad-abhijno vipascid
avidyayam antare vartamanam
drstva punas tam saghrnah kubuddhim
prayojayed utpathagam yathandham
“If someone is ignorant and addicted to the path of samsara, how can one who is actually learned, merciful, and advanced in spiritual knowledge engage him in fruitive activity and thus further entangle him in material existence? If a blind man is walking down the wrong path, how can a gentleman allow him to continue on his way to danger? How can he approve this method? No wise or kind man can allow this.” (SB 5.5.17)
If someone is starving to death and if by giving him a little food you can save his life, it is your duty to give him some prasada. Prasada means “mercy.” You can’t just let him die of starvation. As devotees, we know that Krsna consciousness is the sustenance of life, real food for the spirit soul, and that if we don’t give people Krsna consciousness they will die, spiritually. So it is our duty to feed them, to give them Krsna consciousness. It is our duty to save them, and if we don’t, that is jiva-himsa, envy. If someone is starving at your doorstep and you could give him a little food and save his life but instead you think, “Let him die. It is not my problem,” you are envious. You are not thinking, “Everything belongs to Krsna. Whatever Krsna has given me I will share with my brothers and sisters, who are also Krsna’s children.” You are thinking, “It is mine.” You are envious. You are not giving him the same chance to live that you have. “Let him die. It is not my problem.” That is jiva-himsa. That is against devotional service. Devotional service means the heart is becoming softer.
Opposed to jiva-himsa is jiva-daya, being merciful to all living entities. That is one of the qualifications of a devotee—jiva-daya. And that is the result of proper chanting of the holy name. One develops the mood of jiva-daya.
PURPORT (continued)
Preaching work is described as paropakara, welfare activity for others. Those who are ignorant of the benefits of devotional service must be educated by preaching. If one stops preaching and simply sits down in a solitary place, he is engaging in material activity. If one desires to make a compromise with the Mayavadis, he is also engaged in material activity. A devotee should never make compromises with nondevotees.
COMMENT
I won’t tell the whole story here, but when I was preaching in Madras, some well-meaning friends suggested that I change my approach and stop criticizing others. So I wrote to Srila Prabhupada, and he kindly replied, “The fact is that I am the only one in India who is openly criticizing not only demigod worship and impersonalism but everything that falls short of complete surrender to Krsna. My guru maharaja never compromised in his preaching, nor will I, nor should any of my students. We are firmly convinced that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and all others are His part and parcel servants. This we must declare boldly to the whole world, that they should not foolishly dream of world peace unless they are prepared to surrender fully to Krsna as Supreme Lord.” So, no compromise.
PURPORT (continued)
If one desires to make a compromise with the Mayavadis, he is also engaged in material activity. A devotee should never make compromises with nondevotees. By acting as a professional guru, mystic yogi, or miracle man, one may cheat and bluff the general public and gain fame as a wonderful mystic, but all this is considered to be dust, straw, and grains of sand within the heart. In addition, one should follow the regulative principles and not desire illicit sex, gambling, intoxicants, or meat.
COMMENT
Srila Prabhupada is describing the manifestation of these contaminations in the activities of nondevotees or mixed devotees. Superficially, the examples may seem applicable to them and not to us. But if we are introspective, we may see that we have the same tendencies. They may be disguised in different ways or subdued to varying extents, but we also have desires to become popular, to be worshiped, to be honored, to be rewarded—even materially, financially. We have to be aware of these desires so that we can purge ourselves of them. We must make efforts to purge ourselves of them, and at the same time pray for the mercy of the Lord, depend on the mercy of the Lord.
PURPORT (continued)
To give us practical instructions, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu cleansed the temple twice. His second cleansing was more thorough. The idea was to throw away all the stumbling blocks on the path of devotional service. He cleansed the temple with firm conviction, as is evident from His using His own personal garments for cleaning. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to see personally that the temple was thoroughly cleansed to the standard of clean marble. Clean marble gives a cooling effect. Devotional service means attaining peace from all disturbances caused by material contamination. In other words, it is the process by which the mind is cooled.
COMMENT
In other words, we shouldn’t become overheated in our endeavors in devotional service, because overendeavor (prayasah) is unfavorable to bhakti and may indicate mixed motives. We should act only with the motive of pleasing Krsna, under the guidance of Krsna’s representatives, who know what pleases Krsna. And we should know that it is not exactly the external features of the service that please Him, but it is the loving desire and faithful effort to please Him that pleases Him.
In the Adi-lila of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta we have the story of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. His spiritual master instructed Him, “You are a fool. You are not fit to study Vedanta. Just always chant the holy name of Krsna.” And Lord Caitanya followed the order of His spiritual master and always chanted the holy name. After some time, He found that he was laughing, crying, and dancing like a madman. He thought that by chanting He had become mad. So He presented His situation to His spiritual master, who then replied, “My dear child, I am very pleased with You. You have developed ecstatic love for God, the supreme goal of life. So I am much obliged to you.” And he instructed Him, “Continue chanting and dancing and performing sankirtana with devotees. Further, go out and preach the value of chanting to others, and thus deliver all fallen souls.”
In the purport, Srila Prabhupada writes, “The spiritual master is not actually pleased if the disciple brings him money, but when he sees that the disciple is actually advancing in spiritual life, he is very glad.” Of course, what is important is the consciousness. Offering money can also be done in the mood of pure devotion, to please Krsna, to please Krsna and make advancement by serving a devotee. But it can also be done in another consciousness—wanting recognition, praise, prestige, or prominence. Someone could even think that by giving money he can buy the spiritual master or buy the organization. Such desires are opposed to pure devotional service.
The basic motive of the devotee should be to please Krsna, and if one’s brain is not too heated, one can consider, “What does Krsna actually want? Does Krsna really want me to kill myself collecting money for Him day and night? Or does He want me to spend time with Him in the temple, joining in the worship, chanting the holy names, and listening to the class?” And if you consider with a cool brain, you will conclude, “Of course, Krsna wants me to chant Hare Krsna and be happy.” Still, if someone wants to work hard for Krsna, that is welcome. That is also Krsna’s mercy, but one should not work to the extent that one neglects to chant one’s sixteen rounds, to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, and to attend the temple programs. Our regular practices must be maintained.
A lady reporter came to meet Srila Prabhupada at Bhaktivedanta Manor in England. She had a material edge to her, and straight away she challenged Srila Prabhupada, “Why do you shave your head?” Now, Prabhupada never missed a beat. Smart as reporters were, he was always smarter. Quick as they were, he was always quicker. She asked, “Why do you shave your head?” And Srila Prabhupada responded, “Why do you shave your legs? It is better to have hot legs and a cool brain than cool legs and a hot brain. One must have a cool brain to understand this Krsna consciousness.”
PURPORT (continued)
In other words, it is the process by which the mind is cooled. The mind can be peaceful and thoroughly cleansed when one no longer desires anything but devotional service.
Even though all dirty things may be cleansed away, sometimes subtle desires remain in the mind for impersonalism, monism, success, and the four principles of religious activity (dharma, artha, kama, and moksa). All these are like spots on clean cloth. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also wanted to cleanse all these away.
By His practical activity, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu informed us how to cleanse our hearts. Once the heart is cleansed, we should invite Lord Sri Krsna to sit down, and we should observe the festival by distributing prasadam and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
COMMENT
Whenever Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu celebrated a festival in Jagannatha Puri, it culminated in chanting and dancing and taking prasada. And we can expect the same to take place after our cleaning of the temple. When we clean our hearts of all dirt and can actually receive the Lord in a proper place, we can celebrate the occasion by distributing prasada and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Again, devotional service is absolute. To cleanse the heart, we chant Hare Krsna, and to celebrate the completion of the cleansing, we chant Hare Krsna more.
PURPORT (continued)
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to teach every devotee by His personal behavior. Everyone who spreads the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepts a similar responsibility. The Lord was personally chastising and praising individuals in the course of the cleaning, and those who are engaged as acaryas must learn from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu how to train devotees by personal example.
COMMENT
If one is surrendered to the spiritual master, he or she will accept praise and chastisement equally. Once, Srila Prabhupada chastised me very severely. Well, when I look back, maybe he didn’t chastise me so severely, but I was such a new devotee then, I took it hard. I was the temple president and very new in Juhu. And the Deities then were living under a small shamiana tent outdoors. Anyway, one of the devotees wrote to Srila Prabhupada that the Deities were being neglected, and Srila Prabhupada in turn wrote me, “I have received some reports that the Deities are being neglected. This is most abominable.” His words had a devastating effect on me.
I wrote back saying that I accepted his instructions and was executing them but that I was really struggling, trying to maintain my focus and enthusiasm. Srila Prabhupada replied, “Actually, it is the duty of the spiritual master to find fault with his students so that they may make progress, not that he should always be praising them.” Srila Prabhupada often quoted Canakya Pandita, lalane bahavo dosas tadane bahavo gunah: “If you chastise your son or disciple, he’ll improve, and if you say, ‘Oh, you are all right,’ he’ll degrade.” Tasmat putram ca sisyam ca tadayet na tu lalayet: “Therefore you always chastise your son or disciple. Never flatter.” Then Srila Prabhupada concluded his instruction to me, “So if you find some criticism, kindly accept it in that spirit. I am interested only that you, along with all my other students, should become Krsna conscious.”
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, seeing how the devotees were cleaning, praised some and chastised some. And He Himself showed by example how to clean. He was the best. He collected the most dust and threw out the most dust. So the spiritual master should set the example in cleansing his own heart. To teach, we must also show by example.
PURPORT (concluded)
The Lord was very pleased with those who could cleanse the temple by taking out undesirable things accumulated within. This is called anartha-nivrtti, cleansing the heart of all unwanted things. Thus the cleansing of the Gundica-mandira was conducted by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to let us know how the heart should be cleansed and soothed to receive Lord Sri Krsna and enable Him to sit within the heart without disturbance.
COMMENT
We are talking about the temple of the heart. We have to cleanse the temple of the heart and install the Deity on the throne of the heart and worship the Lord within the heart. As Thakura Bhaktivinoda sings,
mama mana mandire raha nisi-din
krsna murari sri krsna murari
“Please abide in the temple of my heart both day and night, O Krsna Murari, O Sri Krsna Murari!”
eso nanda-kumar ar nanda-kumar
habe prema-pradipe arati tomar
“Come, Son of Nanda, and then, O Son of Nanda, I will offer Your arati ceremony with the lamplight of my love.”
That is real worship. That is the best worship. Of course, the external worship helps to clean the heart, but the real worship comes when we can enthrone the Lord within our hearts and serve Him in a clean, pacified, cool mandira within the heart. That is achieved by a combination of our efforts and the Lord’s mercy—that combination brings all success.
Hare Krsna. Are there any questions or comments?
Siddhi-lalasa dasi: How is it possible to have material desires and yet not act upon them?
Giriraj Swami: The Bhagavad-gita explains that just as rivers flow into the ocean but the ocean is not disturbed, in the same way the yogi or the devotee is not disturbed by desires.
apuryamanam acala-pratistham
samudram apah pravisanti yadvat
tadvat kama yam pravisanti sarve
sa santim apnoti na kama-kami
“A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires—that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still—can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.” (Bg 2.70)
It is a matter of determination. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura gives the example that a devotee who vows not to eat on a fast day can conquer the desire to eat, even if he feels hungry, because he is determined. Because he has vowed, “I shall not take food today,” he does not act on that desire to eat. In the same way, if we are determined, we can refrain from sex. That is Sri Visvanatha’s comment on a verse in the Seventh Canto.
asankalpaj jayet kamam
krodham kama-vivarjanat
arthanartheksaya lobham
bhayam tattvavamarsanat
“By making plans with determination, one should give up lusty desires for sense gratification. Similarly, by giving up envy one should conquer anger, by discussing the disadvantages of accumulating wealth one should give up greed, and by discussing the truth one should give up fear.” (SB 7.15.22)
The Seventh Canto lists different disturbances and how to overcome each. For example, one can conquer envy by giving up sense gratification. One can become free from pride by serving great devotees. One can counteract miseries by being merciful to all living entities. And by serving the spiritual master, one can completely transcend the material nature.
Service to the spiritual master means following the orders of the spiritual master, which include, first and foremost, the instruction to chant and hear about Krsna. Chant sixteen rounds, follow the regulative principles, hear the transcendental discussions, and serve in any way that the spiritual master orders. That will counteract all material miseries and overcome all material desires.
Bhakta Ross: Maharaja, does everyone have an equal amount of material desires? Everyone is not acting on them equally. Does chanting destroy those material desires?
Giriraj Swami: Devotional service is a continuous process that may span more than one lifetime. And because devotional service, chanting, does free one from material desires, someone may come into the present life more purified, from the past life, than someone else. Still, however many material desires we have or however strong they may seem—whatever our condition—if we tolerate them and don’t act on them, and instead focus on hearing and chanting, engaging in bhakti-yoga, whatever we bring with us from our past life, in one sense, doesn’t matter, because bhakti-yoga is so powerful that it can completely purify us now. Still, it may be easier for someone in the present life if he has made more advancement in his previous life.
Srila Prabhupada writes in The Nectar of Devotion, based on Rupa Gosvami’s statements in Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, that devotional service is generally a continuation from one’s past life and that therefore some people are naturally inclined toward Krsna consciousness. Yet although they made advancement in the past life, somehow they were not completely successful—most likely because of an offense to a Vaisnava—and now they are being given a good opportunity in the present life to completely finish their course of service in this world.
He writes, “Devotional service is a continual process from one’s previous life. No one can take to devotional service unless he has had some previous connection with it. . . . For some reason or another it had been temporarily stopped, most probably by an offense committed at the lotus feet of a devotee. Now, with a good second chance, it has again begun to develop. . . . But even if there is no continuity, if only by chance a person takes interest in a pure devotee’s instruction, he can be accepted and can advance in devotional service. Anyway, for persons who have a natural taste for understanding books like Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, devotional service is easier than for those who are simply accustomed to mental speculation and argumentative processes.” (NOD Chapters 2 and 18)
In any case, we need not feel, “Oh, I am born with so many material desires.” Whatever it is, we can be completely successful in the present lifetime.
Look at Jagai and Madhai: they were the most sinful of sinful creatures, but they were delivered by the mercy of Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya. Such is the mercy of Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai—and the potency of the holy name. Narottama dasa Thakura sings, dina-hina jata chilo, hari-name uddharilo, tara saksi jagai madhai: “The holy name delivers all who are lowly and wretched. The two sinners Jagai and Madhai are evidence of this.” However sinful we are, we are not as sinful as they were, and they were delivered by the mercy of Nitai and Gaura, by the mercy of the holy name. So why not us? Anyone can be purified.
Otherwise, it can become an excuse: “Oh, they were advanced from their last life. That is why they are able to follow. But I can’t follow. I am not as advanced from my last life.” Anyone can follow. If you have a sincere desire, you can follow. It doesn’t matter what your conditioning is—what your past life was, or your previous experience in your present life. If you have a sincere desire, that is sufficient. “Devotional service is dependent on nothing other than the sentiment or desire for such service. It requires nothing more than sincerity.” (NOD Chapter 12)
Pure devotional service is beyond karma (jnana-karmady-anavrtam). It doesn’t matter what your past karma was, or how much knowledge you have. The only thing required is the sincere desire. That is all you need. There is no other qualification or disqualification. And once you begin the process, you will be dragged to success—as if against your will—if you just keep following. “Devotional service is so pure and perfect that once having begun, one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success.” (NOI 3 purport)
That is why we have our sikhas. Prabhupada said we keep sikhas so Krsna can lift us up and pull us back to Godhead. So keep your sikha on, and you will be successful. There is no reason to lament or feel hopeless or envious.
Sri Radhika dasi: What hinders our determination?
Giriraj Swami: One could say the desires for sense gratification and mental speculation, or one could say past habit. We have the habit, and as Srila Prabhupada said, habit is second nature. Even if we try to overcome it, habit is so strong that at first we might fail. So, as Srila Prabhupada said, that is not a fault. But you should repent, “Oh, I have done this,” and try your best not to repeat the mistake. But if because of some past habit you commit a mistake and then you sincerely repent and try your best to improve, Krsna will forgive you. And, as in almost every other case, associating with pure devotees will help us.
Bhakta David: In relation to Bhakta Ross’s question, you said if one had a sincere desire, things will fall into place. How does one gain the desire?
Giriraj Swami: Yes, if one has a sincere desire to engage in devotional service and begins the process, the potency of the process itself will carry him to the conclusion. So, how does one develop the desire?
Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita that best is to fix one’s mind on Him, which is possible when we have love for Him, but that if one is unable to do so—to be fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness—one should follow the rules and regulations of bhakti-yoga and thus develop the desire to reach Him.
atha cittam samadhatum
na saknosi mayi sthiram
abhyasa-yogena tato
mam icchaptum dhananjaya
“If you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.” (Bg 12.9)
Once, a disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “How do we become sincere?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “By following all of my instructions, however big or small.” By following, we develop the desire.
In the earliest days of the movement, one student told Srila Prabhupada, “I see the other devotees bowing down, but it is not really in my heart to bow down. I don’t really feel like it. Should I still do it?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes. By bowing down, the feeling will come.” Much of sadhana-bhakti, devotional service in practice, is like that. You don’t feel like dancing in the kirtana, but you force yourself to dance, and then, once you have started, you feel like dancing. So we follow, and that makes us more sincere; our desire for Krsna becomes stronger. And Krsna will fulfill our desire.
Thank you very much.
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari haribol!
[A talk in Dallas on May 1, 2007]
I posted an article yesterday about how the modern approach to guru-disciple relationship is inefficient, but the traditional approach – in which the guru accepts few disciples and gives them full attention – is much better. Many people responded by pointing to gurus who had thousands of disciples, and disciples who spent half a minute with their gurus but achieved spiritual success often surpassing even the guru.
My Reply:
Rules must cater to norms, not exceptions. A system is mostly useless if it only works when the participants are exceptional. We need a system that works well under normal conditions, with normal participants. We need a system that works with gurus and disciples that we actually have on hand right now in the real world. Yes, Dhruva heard five or ten minutes of instruction from Nārada and then achieved Hari darśan in six months. However we are not Dhruva and our gurus are not Nārada.
Even Nārada says this. When Nārada glorifies Dhruva to the Pracetas (Bhāg 4.12.41-43) he says that no one else can do what Dhruva did.
We should not try to follow people who are very different from us, we should try to follow people who are sajātīya – similar to us. The standard procedure for the normal guru-disciple relationship, seen throughout Vedic history, is this: the student goes to live with the Guru in his or her home/āśrama and spends a number of years there studying humbly and diligently from the Guru. By living together, the student gets to know everything about the Guru and the Guru gets to know everything about the student. They come to share the same contexts, references, experiences, connotations, etc. The disciple matures rapidly in those years spent living with the guru, untill finally, like a full-grown child, the student leaves the āśrama to apply what he or she has learned for the benefit of family, society, the world, and the Supreme.
That’s the norm, it’s the standard, because it’s what works best for the vast majority of gurus and the vast majority of students. Therefore it’s the system we should adopt, since after all we are pretty lucky if we can even be considered a normal everyday guru or disciple.
Yes, some exceptional personalities accept 1,000s of disciples – but they also establish ways to ensure that each disciple receives their full attention. Bhaktivedāntra Swāmī Prabhupāda, for example, accepted over four thousand disciples, but spent hours every day writing them letters, and, even more important, writing books with commentaries very specifically tailored to the exact circumstances his disciples were in. Through the written word he extended beyond his physical limitations and provided care for each disciple.
Bhaktivedānta Swāmī, to continue that pertinent example, was also exceptionally powerful and transcendentally enriched. He was a “superhero.” A superhero can punch a hole through a wall of solid metal, but if the superhero’s fans try to do the same, they break their hands and the wall remains standing.
“Lava-mātra sādhu saṅga sarva-siddhi haya” was not intended by its exalted speaker to justify an argument that deep and extended association with guru is unnecessary for the majority of people. It was intended, as is clear from its context, to glorify the power of associating with a spiritualist. “Association with a spiritualist is so wonderful, even a moment of it grants all success” does not mean “you should only spend a moment with a spiritualist.” We may think a quote supports an idea, but if the majority of the culture in which that quote was spoken doesnt follow the idea we think the quote supports, we are very likely wrong. The vast majority of Vedic culture recorded in śāstra follows the tradition of gurukula – which literally means “joining the guru’s family.” The student lives with the guru, and thus the guru does not accept more students than can literally fit under his (thatched) roof.
We, the pretty normal folks, need to follow the pretty normal system – wherein a guru accepts only a few disciples and concentrates on helping them become realized experts, without constantly concentrating on attracting new people.
– Vraja Kishor dās
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Harinama in Vienna, Austria’s capital (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “For one who wants liberation from the fruitive reactions of material activities, the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, or glorification of the name, fame and pastimes of the Lord, is recommended as the most perfect process of atonement because such chanting eradicates the dirt from one’s heart completely.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.12).
See them here: https://goo.gl/FCiBte
In the 16th century, Sri Chaitanya brought about social reform in India by propounding the joyful public chanting of Krishna’s holy names – Harinama Sankirtana -- which inspired love of God and brought about peace. Today, travelling group Harinama Ruci is one of the simplest, most distilled examples of Sri Chaitanya’s message you’re likely to see -- bright, colorful, happy, and always chanting, dancing, and making people smile.
Hare Krishna! Ramananda Samvada: The Perfect Conversation
Satyaraja Dasa: Everyone likes to converse with loved ones. There is nothing quite as satisfying as sitting back and spending time with like-minded souls, sharing thoughts, ideas, and intimate feelings. In spiritual life, too, there is nothing quite like conversation – a back-and-forth that deepens one’s knowledge of transcendence and increases the possibility of spiritual loving exchanges. Because dialogue is a fundamental form of communication and interaction, numerous texts from antiquity have used conversational structure as a literary device to convey deep truths. Religious works such as the Bible, Buddhist sutras, and Confucian texts partake of this method, and in philosophy Plato’s use of dialogue is particularly well known.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18480
And Gabor wants to know whether women being housekeepers means men do nothing at home?
The post Gaura Nitai says that since devotees are above varnasrama can’t they assume any kind of varna appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.
Netrotsava: Festival for the Eyes (6 min video)
‘Netrotsava’ - Festival for the Eyes, originally celebrated at Puri, Jagannath Temple in India is a sacred ritual performed before the Rath Yatra the Grand Festival of Chariots. To know more about this enchanting festival watch this beautiful video by HG Mathura Vasi Mataji.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/5lUwrU
On July 12th 2015, Shriman Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundaria Indian Minister of Agriculture, during his official trip to Kenya, visited ISKCON Nairobi. The minister was received by temple president Umapati Das at the entrance, and some special mantras were also recited for invoking auspiciousness and welcoming the minister into the temple.
Gundas (thugs) attacked a temple at the sacred birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates Vasudeva Datta and Mukunda Datta in Chittagong, Bangladesh in the middle of the night on July 8th, brutally injuring the ISKCON devotees who were staying there.
ISKCON’s Governing Body Commissioner for Bangladesh, Bhakti Purusottama Swami, sets the record straight. “This is not an attack by Muslims or terrorists,” he says. “The land of Vasudeva and Mukunda Datta’s birthplace was donated by the landlord to ISKCON. ISKCON devotees were staying there and doing puja. Land mafia wants this land, so they sent some gundas who attacked our devotee in the middle of the night.“ “The misunderstanding about this temple attack shows how careful we must be about forwarding or exaggerating things we pick up online,” adds ISKCON’s Communications Minister Anuttama Das. “In this age of instant communications, its easy to get the facts wrong, and inflame passions between people and communities.
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Meet the devotees of ISKCON Berkeley, California, US (10 min video)
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On Sunday, July 5th, at the last Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) presentation of the North American fundraising tour, the CHAD "Chapter a Day" children's group of the Seattle, Washington, USA, temple pledged $11,000 (Silver Gratitude Coin) for the TOVP under construction in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.
"Let us be a gift to the World.”
Vaishnava wedding in Poland mesmerizes the public as it introduces them into the Vedic culture (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we held a wedding at our festival in the port town of Mrzezyno. With the Baltic Sea as a backdrop, Stanislav and Zlata from Moldova took their vows in a colorful ceremony attended by over 3,000 people. Srila Prabhupada writes in the Caitanya Caritamrta: “A devotee is always thinking of how to better serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and how to broadcast His name, fame and qualities throughout the world.” [ Madhya, 11.89 purport ] The wedding served as a perfect introduction to Vedic culture. The large crowd was mesmerized by the wedding as evidenced by their loud applause at each and every step of the ceremony. Another victory in Srila Prabhupada’s cultural conquest of the world!
See them here: https://goo.gl/lIGSf0
For the sake of preaching in local area, Mayapur Local Preaching (MLP) conducted a Bhagavad-Gita competition among the people of Krishnanagar, Dhubulia and Dharmada. They were asked to read Bhagavad Gita and then answer 100 questions. Those who secured more than 80% marks were invited for the final round examination in Mayapur. The final round […]
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Written by Vasudev Das
New York and New Jersey (27-28 June)
Maharaj left Gita Nagari early on Saturday morning (27 June), because he had a preaching program scheduled at 26 2nd Ave in the evening. We reached New York around 4 pm. Maharaj stayed at the Bhakti Center on 1st Ave and he walked one block to 2nd Ave – it was pouring sheets of rain that night so we walked quickly.
Maharaj began the program with kirtan, and then spoke on the Bhagavad-gita verses requested by the organizers. At the end of the talk, he gave his personal accounts of the lessons he learned from his near-death experience in Vrindavan; the audience listened raptly, and the tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. He explained how this incident shaped him to be more sensitive to people. Even if there is a disagreement, it is important to keep everyone satisfied, he said. After the program, Maharaj stayed late to speak with people and left 2nd Ave around 11:30 pm.
The next morning, Maharaj was scheduled to give class at the Bhakti Center as part of their public Sunday Feast program, which began at 10:30 am. He spoke on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.10.34-36 in a class entitled “Details of Krishna’s Journey”. Maharaj ended his class with a short kirtan, but when it was over, hardly anyone moved. He looked around a little puzzled and asked, “Why is everyone still sitting?” Someone yelled, “Because they want more kirtan, Maharaj!” Maharaj expressed concern that he would be going against the schedule, but he was assured he could perform kirtan for as long as he wanted. He sang a very sweet kirtan for another twenty minutes or so, and we saw more than one devotee wipe tears from their eyes. From around 1:00 to 4:00 pm, Maharaj took lunch and met with different devotees who had come from all over to meet with him.
Afterwards, we left for ISKCON of Central New Jersey, arriving later than anticipated due to a flat tire and unforeseen traffic. Maharaj met with his godbrother Madupati Prabhu by offering obeisances, who in turn greeted him by offering obeisances and garlanding Maharaj at the gates. Because Maharaj had to be at the airport at 4 am Monday morning, he only briefly chanted kirtan before and after the program, choosing to spend his allotted time speaking about various pastimes. He promised the devotees that because he had to leave quickly, he would return again to spend more time there.
Maharaj left for New York City around 8:00 pm, and flew to London early the next day, 29 June!
Hare Krishna! Money, Krishna, and Us
Vishakha Devi Dasi: How we value, acquire, use, and relate to money reflects our inner state of being. Krishna determines how much money each of us receives. It may appear accidental that one person is born into wealth and another into poverty, or that one person goes from rags to riches and another doesn’t, but Krishna’s law of karma destines these things. Srila Prabhupada says, “Everyone is thinking, ‘If I become greedy, I shall get more.’ That is not possible. You cannot get a farthing more than what you are destined.” (Lecture, October 3, 1973) And he writes, “It is not possible that simply by endeavors to accumulate more money a person will be able to do so, otherwise almost everyone would be on the same level of wealth. In reality everyone is earning and acquiring according to his predestined karma.”
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