Planet ISKCON

The post Daily Darshan – July 10th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Hare Krishna! The History of the Balaram Mridangas
Some time in 1972-73 Srila Prabhupada saw that the East Indians were not carrying on the tradition of making the original mridangas and kartals. The younger generation who would normally take over the arts from their fathers were becoming more and more interested in going to school and going to the cities. They were thinking that working with leather making the drums and such was a lower class of activity. So Srila Prabhupada sent out a letter to all the GBCs indicating that some men should be sent to India to learn these arts. At that time I was in the temple of Jagadisha who was Srila Prabhupada’s Minister of education and a GBC member.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18364

“Krishna dictates everything the guru says.
Everything guru says is therefore perfect,
we should not interpret it.”

Friends, the idea that it’s possible to not interpret the guru is a myth.

Subjectivity means seeing something from your own point of view (“interpreting it” according to your own viewpoint). The idea that it’s possible to remain a conscious individual yet avoid subjectivity is a myth.

To be a conscious individual means to be aware of things from a distinct perspective. I look out my window at the street and see it from one angle. My neighbor sees the same street from a different angle. The same principle operates on emotional and intellectual levels as well. We see and understand everything from our own unique physical, emotional, and intellectual perspective – that is what makes us a distinct, individual being.

The only way to get rid of subjectivity is to have no unique physical, emotional or intellectual perspective, which is impossible if one wants to remain a distinct, individual being. Consciousness can be free of subjectivity only if its individuality is completely neutralized and reduced to latency in the homogeneous non-dual brahmajyoti.

If that sounds attractive, go for it – but the Gauḍīya school of Vedānta would not likely wind up being the best fit for you.

So, how do we understand Guru?

It’s impossible to lose our subjective perspective, but we can try to get our perspective to be compatible with his or her perspective. How? By learning what he learned, by feeling what she felt, by experiencing what he experienced, and by being aware of the surroundings and contexts that he was aware of.

The majority of ISKCON members (and probably many other guru-centric groups, too) are indoctrinated to have a phobia of something called “mental speculation.” The majority of them understand this phrase to mean that its wrong to use your own mind and intellect to understand things. (God, the ’70s were weird. No wonder my mother warned me not to join a cult.)

Friends, the idea that its possible to understand anything at all without using your mind and intellect is a ridiculous myth. We have no choice but to use our minds and intelligence, for these are the tools consciousness uses to listen to words and understand things. We cannot understand anything without using our mind/intellect. The goal is not to stop using it, but to make it compatible with the guru’s. How? By learning what he learned, by feeling what she felt, by experiencing what he experienced, and by being aware of the surroundings and contexts that he was aware of.

“I just read guru’s books
and listen to his lectures
and accept whatever he says.”

Unless the people who say this are as enlightened as their guru, the real truth is that they are just lazy – content to allow their maligned mind and intellect make whatever (non)sense the automatically make out of the guru’s words. Yes, they are “just accepting,” but just accepting what? They are accepting whatever their own natural subjective perspective can grasp, without questioning it or reforming it from ignorance. Then they exalt their maligned subjective interpretation as if it were synonymous with the guru’s absolute truth – thereby making a godawful mess of the guru’s effort to distribute divine realization. We who have come after them are expected to be thankful for the tangled maze they have left us, forcing us to sort through the myriad subjective baggage they have piled around gurudeva in our hopeful but longshot attempt to come truly close to the real heart and mind of Śrī Guru.

If you are hearing from guru like that, if you are reading guru’s books like that, the truth is that all you are hearing and reading is your own mind’s version of the guru’s words, you are only learning your own perspective on a new subject.

How should you hear guru? By learning what he learned, by feeling what she felt, by experiencing what he experienced, and by being aware of the surroundings and contexts that he was aware of.

Learn what he learned by studying whatever has been left behind by the teachers who taught him. Are you “jumping over” your guru if you do this? There is a world of difference between “jumping over the guru” and researching the previous gurus for the sake of better understanding your own! Govinda das stepped over Mahāprabhu… to serve him.

Feel and experience what she felt and experienced by practicing the sādhana that she gave to help you do exactly that! And, learn about her life and try to trace the same steps she walked and see the same things she saw, at least in your head. “Walk a mile in her moccasins.”

Be aware of his surroundings and contexts by immersing yourself in the culture he was immersed in – which includes his era, his upbringing, his education, his nationality and ethnicity.

In closing: Guru teaches what he received from his gurus, who are distributing what Vyāsa, Brahmā and Viṣṇu revealed in śāstra. So we have three principles: (1) the śāstra, (2) the ācāryas (“sādhus”) who teach it, and (3) the specific ācārya/sādhu who teaches it to us – our guru. All three are required! We need the guru to understand the ācāryas and śāstra, and we equally need the ācāryas and śāstra to really understand the guru.

If you want to take one of these three without the other two, I think you won’t really comprehend the true teachings of any of them.

If you want to go for it anyway, go for it. But please leave me alone about it; stop trying to make me one of you, and for God’s sake at least please stop claiming that you are the only one who is “humble” and “faithful to guru”!

– Vraja Kishor dās

VrajaKishor.com

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 26 April 2015, Radhadesh, Belgium, Vyasa Puja Morning Lecture, Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 24.124)

The reason why I brought this little bit of astrology into the lecture, is to point out that we have our nature. I will give an example of Krsna Ksetra Maharaj. I like to call him, “His Relaxedness.” Happy relaxedness! I have never seen Maharaj uptight in all these years. I am the opposite – I get uptight about things, all the time. Like these vyasa-pujas, they make me uptight. There are so many people and I have relationships with everybody and they are all here and they all want to talk to me. But how I am going to talk to all of them!? It is impossible. The only way I can talk to all of you, is through the microphone right now. That is about it, and here and there catch some of you but not all of you, because it is impossible. But I find that Krsna Ksetra Maharaj knows how to deal with everything in a relaxed way. I am learning from Maharaj, this art of becoming relaxed in Krsna’s service.

So our natures are different but still each of these natures has to be adjusted for the sake of Krsna. I realized, through many life experiences, that natures have their good sides and bad sides in devotional service, and that we have to use our natures to the advantage of Krsna. When you have a fiery nature, sometimes you have to just cool it. When you have a very cool nature, sometimes you need to get a bit hot for Krsna.

So we have to make adjustments for Krsna – whatever it is and whatever it takes. We have to have that willingness to be shaped – like chapati dough – into whichever forms are required. Just like a joker in the card game who can adjust to whatever card he is placed next to; he immediately takes on the qualities of the card he is next to. So we have to be like that for Krsna’s service. We have to be ready to change and to rise to the occasion, which means to do anything and everything that is required.

In the material world, you can say that you are not trained for that type of engagement but in Krsna consciousness that does not work because there is always that, “You just surrender, prabhu!” mantra. (laughter)

They ask you, “Can you cook?”
You reply, “Well, no. Not really…” 
“Oh, that is easy. Just put some water on the stove, some rice and this and that…“

Half an hour later, there is kitchari and one week later you are in charge of the kitchen! All in the name that Krsna will empower us. But it is true that Krsna will empower us and it is true that we depend on Krsna’s empowerment. Without the empowerment of Krsna, there is nothing we can do. Even with all the talents in the world – even if you can sing like a gandarva, not every morning you will wake up with the golden voice!

Krsna says, paurusham nrishu (Bhagavad-gita 7.8) – I am the ability in man. Everything is simply a gift from Krsna. Therefore, we are using our gifts and where we are not so gifted, we just try to do the best we can, in the hope that Krsna will help us. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada was saying that the word impossible exists only in the fool’s dictionary. By that, he was referring to the principle of empowerment and it is important that we contemplate this principle of empowerment.

Therefore, our limitations do not apply. Otherwise we start to thing logically, “I know myself. I am not a kid. I have been around. I am not new, you know. I know what I can do; I know what I cannot do. I know how I can stretch myself, but really certain things I know I just cannot do.“ Not necessarily! When the Krsna factor is there, then we can surprise ourselves. “I did not know I can do it!’ With Krsna’s help anything can be done.

Hare Krishna! 13th Annual Lord Jagannatha’s Ratha Yatra At Rijeka, Croatia, Europe
The 13th annual Ratha Yatra Festival in Rijeka, Croatia was held on Saturday, 6th June, 2015. The procession started at 5pm from Jelacic Square then proceeded through Korzo street to Jadranski Trg and back to Korzo. A stage program was held from 7pm to 9pm. Special guests for the festival were His Holiness Candramauli Swami, HH Smita Krsna Swami, HG Vaiyasaki Dasa Prabhu and HG Rohini-Suta Prabhu. HH Krsna Ksetra Swami was expected to arrive with the Slovenian devotees. Prasadam distribution was held at 7.30 pm near the parking precinct of the Chariot. This was the largest public ISKCON or Hare Krishna festival in Croatia and the main street in Rijeka, Korzo was filled with cheerful devotees of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18358

Yamuna about George Harrison.
“He was a genuine, likeable person and, in spite of his fame, a gentleman and a terrific record producer.”
Yamuna: One day George Harrison called Shyamasundara and asked us to come to the Abbey Road Studios to record. He was there recording “Here Comes the Sun” and had slotted in some time to record the mahamantra as a single. In his role as record producer, George was soft-spoken, but no-nonsense.
As an expert musician, he knew how to get the best from us, tapping into each of our strengths and making them better. He knew where to place us to take the best advantage of what he saw we had. He was a genuine, likeable person and, in spite of his fame, a gentleman and a terrific record producer. This manifested in many ways, particularly with how he worked with our group of nonprofessional musicians.
“On the day of the recording, about a dozen devotees, including some newly-recruited Britishers, assembled at the recording studios on Abbey Road. When the first group of devotees arrived in George’s Mercedes, a crowd of teenagers began singing Hare Krishna to the tune popularized by the rock musical Hair. While Yamuna applied Vaishnava tilak to the foreheads of the recording technicians, Malati unpacked picnic baskets of prasadam, and some of the other devotees put up pictures of Krishna and lit incense. The studio was duly Krishnized.
With Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, operating the control console, the recording session began. Everyone worked quickly, making Side One of the 45 rpm record in about an hour. George played organ and Mukunda played mridanga. Yamuna sang the lead with Shyamasundara backing her, and the other voices blended in a chorus. And to make it come out exactly right, everyone concentrated on Prabhupada and prayed for spiritual strength.”
-Srila Prabhupada Lilamrta
Yamuna Devi: A Life of Unalloyed Devotion: Part 1: Preparing an Offering of Love. Unalloyed Inc. Kindle Edition.

Hare Krishna! Free Trip to Kolkata in August 11th to 16th
This trip will include complementary return ticket, accommodation, transfers, all prasad and a trip around the holy places of Kolkata. Preference will be given on 1st come basis. There is free trip for only one person for each country. What you will have to do is to particpate in the Golden Jubilee celebration of Srila Prabhupada’s Voyage to America and Kick-start of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in Kolkata from 11th to 16th August 2015. Also you will have to be part of an event to create a new Gunniese Book of world record. So you will have to reach Kolkata latest by the morning of 11th August 2015 and to be in Kolkata at least till the morning of 14th August 2015.Also you have to carry the passport of your country on the day of the event on 13th August 2015.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18350

Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 97-102, New Hastinapura, Richmond, Columbus, Detroit, Houston
On Sunday, June 28th, we arrived at ISKCON Houston at the home of Advaitachandra and Kalasuddha prabhus. They are leaders in the U.S. of the Bhakti Vrksha programs, helping devotees all across the country to organize their efforts in this regard. Their home was like Vaikuntha; every inch of wall-space was covered by either a photo of some Deities or guru, or a picture of the Lord in one of his incarnations. Their Pancha Tattva Deities were cast from the leftover metal used for the original Pancha Tattva Deities in Mayapur. The TOVP presentation was the same evening and we rested a bit before heading over to the temple.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18341

This twenty-one-minute video shows carefully selected moments from ISKCON's International Navadwip Parikrama 2015. The event took place on 22-28 Feb, and was organised by the ISKCON World Headquaters at Mayapur Dhama. A video by Vasudev Das.

Young religious environmental leaders from around the world, including four ISKCON devotees, attended an environmental “convergence” and march in Rome at the end of June. The event was put on by Our Voices, a New Jersey based international organization created to encourage religious communities to put pressure on political leaders for the upcoming 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.

United Nations - Remarks by Xiuhtezcatl, indigenous climate activist and Youth Director of Earth Guardians at the opening segment of the High-level event of the United Nations General Assembly on Climate Change (29 June 2015).

Harinama during a festival in Czech Republic (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the Age of Kali, there is no religious principle except chanting Krishna’s name. It has been ascertained from all the scriptures that Krishna’s holy name is the essence of all mantras. (Renunciation Through Wisdom, 5.1 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/sRxCrn

On Sunday, June 28th, we arrived at ISKCON Houston at the home of Advaitachandra and Kalasuddha prabhus. They are leaders in the U.S. of the Bhakti Vrksha programs, helping devotees all across the country to organize their efforts in this regard. Their home was like Vaikuntha; every inch of wall-space was covered by either a photo of some Deities or guru, or a picture of the Lord in one of his incarnations. Their Pancha Tattva Deities were cast from the leftover metal used for the original Pancha Tattva Deities in Mayapur. The TOVP presentation was the same evening and we rested a bit before heading over to the temple.

The Houston temple is a magnificent temple recently built and inaugurated, although the Deities, Sri Sri Radha Nila Madhava, some of the largest Radha Krishna Deities in the world, have been there for many years. Two sets of Gaur Nitai Deities are present, along with a large Govardhan sila.

We arrived at the temple and it quickly filled with 300+ devotees and congregation members. After the abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari, the TOVP Team, which again included Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus, spoke in earnest about the TOVP project, inspiring everyone to make large pledges to help. The devotees met the call to help with almost $1 million in pledges that evening! Prasadam was then served to all the Vaisnavas.

All Glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 102: Houston, Texas TOVP Presentation appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

June 25th, 2015.

The post Conversation with guests in Istanbul (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The history of the Detroit Temple, Devasadan, is known to many, and within that history lies the seed of the fruition of Srila Prabhupada’s vision of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. As the story goes, as told by Ambarisa prabhu at all of his TOVP presentations, he joined ISKCON in Detroit which is a center for car production in the U.S. His great-grandfather was Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company.

He was sitting with Srila Prabhupada in his room in the temple with several other devotees, and they were discussing the Mayapur project. He had just financed several million dollars worth of renovations to the newly acquired Fisher Mansion, now Devasadan Mandir, and Srila Prabhupada was extremely pleased with the results. Srila Prabhupada then turned to Ambarisa and asked what he thought of the Mayapur project. Although not knowing anything about Mayapur, as a dedicated disciple, he replied that he thought it was a very good idea. Srila Prabhupada then spoke his famous and prophetic words, “So, you can help finance.” These words stuck deeply within Ambarisa’s heart and he has carried them with him ever since. Thus, the Detroit temple represents a most important aspect of the roots of the TOVP project. The presiding Deities are Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari, Sri Sri Gaur Nitai, and Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra.

On Saturday, June 27th, before the evening TOVP presentation, we had a tour of Devasadan Mandir, formerly the Fisher Mansion. It was a huge mansion, one of the largest and most unique in the U.S. at the time, with pure gold embellishments on the walls throughout the structure, each room representing a different International theme with appropriate structural designs and carvings. We ended with a visit to the original diorama theater created during Srila Prabhupada’s time. After the tour we were taken for a lunch program at the home of Nityakrishna and Nitya Kishori prabhus, attended by the TOVP Team including Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus.

When we arrived at the temple for the TOVP program the special presentation room was filled with devotees chanting the holy names and the crowd increased to almost 300 during the evening. An abhisheka was performed for the Padukas and Sitari and the TOVP presentation began after a heartwarming introduction by Jagad Guru prabhu, the Temple President. The Team spoke to all the devotees and a special feeling arose in everyone’s hearts because of the closeness of Devasadan Mandir to the TOVP project. Pledges started coming in and devotees started becoming ecstatic. In the end $1.6 million was pledged by the assembled devotees, after which prasadam was served.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 101: Devasadan Temple (Detroit) TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Friday, June 26th, we arrived in Detroit, Michigan at the home of Temple President Jagad Guru das and his wife Radha devi dasi, and were served the most wonderful varieties of International cuisine at lunch. A TOVP presentation had been arranged for that evening in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit, at a large temple building recently purchased by the devotee community there. 200 devotees and congregation were expected.

We arrived to a packed temple with kirtan going on and quickly set up our displays, etc. and began the presentation with an abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari. Radha Jivana and Jananivas prabhus then spoke to the devotees, many of whom were new and from the local South Indian community, about the TOVP project and its importance. The pledges began to come in and within a short time almost $210,000 was pledged. Prasadam was then served to all the Vaishnavas.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 100: Arrival in Detroit, Michigan/Farmington Hills TOVP Presentation appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

We arrived in Columbus, Ohio on the evening of Wednesday, June 24th, and stayed at the home of Prema Sindhu and Lila Valisini prabhus. The next day, Tuesday, June 25th, we moved to the home of temple president, Naveen Krishna and his wife Vraja Bhakti (named Radha Madhava House).

We visited the small Columbus temple and then made our way to a rented hall for the TOVP program. The hall filled with about 200 devotees and congregation members who enthusiastically performed a puspanjali ceremony for the Padukas and Sitari, after which Radha Jivan and Jananivas spoke about the TOVP project. The inspired crowd was moved to pledge over $300,000 to the TOVP, after which prasadam was served.

After the program we visited the home of one of the temple managers, Prema Vilas and his wife Lalita. Before departing the next day Jananivas performed a Lakshmi Nrsimha installation in Naveen Krishna’s home and we visited the home of Shyamesvar and Pinki.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 99: Columbus, Ohio TOVP Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

The small devotee community in Richmond, Virginia is run by temple president Divyanam das, and he and his wife Premalatika devi dasi, along with their two children Kulashekhar and Mahatma, hosted us in their home.

The TOVP presentation on Tuesday, June 23rd was in the home of Subala Sakha das and Krishna Pramodni devi dasi and was attended by 40+ devotees. An abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari was first on the schedule during kirtan, after which Radha Jivan and Jananivas prabhus spoke to the group of devotees. Unexpectedly, we raised over $100,000 in pledges from this small assembly. Prasadam was then served.

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 98: Visit to Richmond, Virginia appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Sunday, June 21st, we were scheduled for two TOVP presentations. The first was at New Hastinapura Dhama in the U.S.A.’s capital, Washington, D.C.. This is also one of the original temples established by Srila Prabhupada and, in fact, the main Deities of Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan were the first Radha Krishna Deities in ISKCON. Alongside Their Lordships are Gaur Nitai and Sita, Rama, Lakshman and Hanuman.

The mid-day program in New Hastinapura began with an abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari in the presence of 300+ devotees and congregation members. Anuttama prabhu, the local GBC, then introduced the TOVP Team which also included Ambarisa and Svaha prabhus. They all spoke with great earnest and candidness, inspiring the crowd to make their financial commitments to the TOVP project. The fundraising ended with $over $350,000 in pledges. The program concluded with prasadam.

Immediately following the New Hastinapura program we made our way to ISKCON Baltimore, home of Sri Sri Nitai Gaursundar and Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra. This is also one of the original temples established by Srila Prabhupada. Although only a small house, He once visited and commented that Nitai Gaursundar were the most beautiful Gaur Nitai Deities in the world. Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra arrived in Baltimore at a later time and are the original Deities carved by Mahesvara prabhu for the New York temple under Srila Prabhupada’s guidance. They continue to be New York temple’s Rathayatra Deities.

The small temple was filled to capacity when we arrived and many devotees who could not fit were outside. After an abhisheka of the Padukas and Sitari we quickly went into the TOVP presentation. Radha Jivana and Jananivas prabhus both spoke, as well as Anuttama prabhu the local GBC, and encouraged the devotees to make their pledges to the TOVP despite their own multi-million dollar new temple project underway. $120,000 was raised after which prasadam was served. As a special mercy, the Padukas were brought out to the new temple section of the property for Their blessings.

During the short visit to Baltimore we managed to fit in visits to several devotees’ homes in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.. The list is provided below:

Jaya Gaursundar das and Kaumadaki devi dasi
Amrita Ford and her husband
Dharmaraja das and Bhavika
Dixit and Kalindi
Dhiren and Nita
Mayur Mistry
Surabhi devi dasi and Shanker

All glories to Lord Nityananda Rama. All glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Diary Day 97: New Hastinapura (ISKCON Washington, D.C.) and ISKCON Baltimore TOVP Presentations appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Presenting Krishna consciousness in a cultural way in Niechorze, Poland (Album with 100 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The lighthouse in Niechorze, Poland on the Baltic Sea guided sailors safely to shore for centuries. Now Lord Caitanya’s samkirtan movement, in the form of our transcendental festival, is helping people to cross over the vast ocean of material existence. The two days we spent with our program next to the lighthouse attracted thousands and thousands of people. May they continue their spiritual journey back to Godhead and arrive safely one day in Sri Vrindavan Dhama.
See them here: https://goo.gl/9jQrwD

Hare Krishna! Photos for ISKCON 50th Anniversary Magazine
The magazine is mainly pictorial, and we really need good quality high res photos, urgently now, to be able to complete the layout. * do you have high resolution quality photos of Temples, deities, devotees, festivals, prasadam, etc., for the 50th Magazine; * if you are willing to assist with this service, do you have an online folder or gallery that you would be willing to let us browse through so that we can choose photos we are interested in; * or you could email us low res images you think may interest us, and we will let you know which ones we choose before procuring the high res images from you; * can you provide us with contact details of other devotees who are photographers?
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18338

Hare Krishna! San Francisco Airport Arrival Lila, 1974
Devotees of all sizes, shapes and colors from all corners of the universe (and perhaps from even beyond) merged together in the bliss of Prabhupada’s famous “airport arrival lila,” completely oblivious to the unbelieving stares and wide-eyed wonders of the unsuspecting passengers. Flowing robes and dangling beads decorated the long corridors like the colored flags and festoons waiting to greet Lord Krishna upon His triumphant arrival in Dvaraka. Sannyasis, grhasthas, brahmacaris, mothers and babies all united together in their love for Srila Prabhupada. It was like a big happy family reunion with everyone present, save and except the kind and well-wishing father whose eagerly anticipated arrival would make everything complete and fully satisfying to everyone.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18335

The post Daily Darshan – July 9th, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The narrators, bards and singers then came forward. Knowing that they wanted to glorify him, Pṛthu smiled and spoke to them with a voice as grave as thunder. “Bho Narrators! Hey bards and gentle singers! I have not yet manifest my qualities, so why should you already make me the object of praise? Do not praise me yet, or your words would be baseless.”

“But it is obvious you will manifest great deeds in the future,” they might protest.

So Pṛthu said, “If in the future I will do things worth singing of, beautiful singers, wait for the future and glorify me then. In any case, the truly cultured prefer to sing of the Supreme Subject of Poetry, rather than singing about abominable things.”

“You are not ‘abominable’!” the singers would say. “Brahmā declared you an expansion of the Supreme Subject of Poetry!”

So Pṛthu said, “Even if I am an expansion of the Supreme, I still should not encourage you to praise me. A person who really has good qualities would never encourage admirers to glorify him, for that would destroy his good qualities; and a person who doesn’t really have good qualities unwittingly makes a fool of himself by accepting praise. That’s why people who are truly powerful and famous hate to hear their own praise. Those who are truly exalted are very modest and feel that even their great achievements are seriously flawed and ‘abominable’.

“My dear narrators and singers, I am very sorry. I have not yet shown any greatness in this world, so how can I be so childish as to ask you to describe my deeds?”

— Translation of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.15.21 ~ 26
by Vraja Kishor dās
VrajaKishor.com

Neelam is a doctor who lives at Ashmore on the Gold Coast. Her daughter, Sakhi is studying medicine at university and her son Krishna is finishing high school.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 June 2015, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.18.40)

Today, I am focusing on mercy, especially the mercy of the spiritual master who is in our life and connecting us with Krsna.

I am thinking now of Giriraja das brahmacari, at that time who was in Bombay, fighting the case with Mr. Nair over the land. At one point, Giriraja was in some public function where many dignitaries of Bombay were present. As he went back to the car, he stepped into the car and then suddenly this gorgeous, beautiful young lady sat right next to him. And not just next to him but really next to him!

His mind was affected and started spinning and he thought, “I am going to fall down. This is it. I am going to fall down.”

Then he thought, “No, but how could I? Prabhupada will be disappointed when he will hear about it.”

So this relationship saved him at that time. That lady was a prostitute sent by Mr. Nair… a Ramacandra Khan story. Anyway so, the protection of that relationship, of the personal relationship with the spiritual master, is not a luxury, it is our saving grace!

BY MATHURALILESVARI DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - When Srila Prabhupada arrived at the Commonwealth Pier in Boston fifty years ago in 1965, he did not know if he should turn left or right. With only forty Rupees and a trunk containing Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam, Srila Prabhupada carried the instructions of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur close to his heart. In a poem that he penned upon his arrival in America he said, ”O Lord, I am just like a puppet in Your hands. So if You have brought me here to dance, then make me dance, make me dance, O Lord, make me dance as You like.” 

2015 marks the 50th year of Srila Prabhupada’s historic arrival in United States of  America. His arrival in the USA created a world-wide revolution. Hare Krishna became a household name. Malaysia, a small country often referred to as the country between Thailand and Singapore was not excluded from receiving Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. In 1971, Srila Prabhupada made his maiden trip to Malaysia on his way to Sydney, Australia.

To commemorate this most historic occasion, the devotees in Malaysia put together a two-day festival to celebrate and remember Srila Prabhupada’s contribution to this world and at the same time further distribute Srila Prabhupada’s mercy to all those who are yet to receive it.

On the first day of the celebration, the festival was inaugurated by HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami - President of ISKCON Malaysia, Gopal Dasa - Srila Prabhupada’s disciple who visited Malaysia in the early days with Srila Prabhupada and Loka Bandhu Gauranga Dasa - a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami and Deputy Minister in the Federal Territories Ministry of Malaysia. Simhesvara Dasa, the Regional Secretary of ISKCON Malaysia delivered the opening speech and spoke about the various achievements of ISKCON Malaysia since its inception in 1979.

Kripa Sindhu Dasa, the Temple President of Sri Jagannatha Mandir Kuala Lumpur and Param Brahma Dasa, Temple President of ISKCON Ipoh were instrumental in organizing this festival.

The festival continued with a Mahabharata quiz for school children. More than 250 school children from the vernacular Tamil schools took part enthusiastically in this quiz. Every student that attended was presented with a Bhagavad Gita. Everyone went home a winner in their own way.

A food and fun fair with devotees selling delicious prasadam was indeed a crowd puller. Malaysia is known for its spread of delicacies due to its multi cultural society. It was such a hit that the stalls ran out of supply earlier than expected.

On second day of the celebration, the festival started with a Harinam in the city center. Devotees gathered in a Krishna Temple in Brickfields and danced their way through the busy streets of Kuala Lumpur singing the holy names. Upon arrival at the Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Kuala Lumpur everyone was soaked with Srila Prabhupada katha by Gopal Dasa and HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami. Gopal Dasa described how he volunteered himself to come to Malaysia when Srila Prabhupada asked who could preach in this part of Asia. Gopal Dasa was visibly in tears as he recalled how wide Krishna Consciousness has spread from just a handful of devotees when he first came in the 70s to a hall packed with devotees, with more than 30 centres nationwide and 34 ratha yatras annually. Both pioneers travelled through time to enlighten the audience with the glorious yesteryears on how ISKCON was established in Malaysia. The wonderful and inspiring pastimes that made the younger generation realise how much they owe to the earlier generation of devotees for paving the path to enable them to slide through the path of bhakti with lesser obstacles. Every youth felt eternally indebted to these pioneers.

A senior member of the ISKCON Malaysia congregation, Tyaga Caitanya Dasa and his team released a multimedia presentation which traversed through time of Srila Prabhupada’s remarkable journey in introducing Krishna Consciousness to the world and the many success events Srila Prabhupada had achieved in the following years up till now. The festival for the day continued with a maha abhishek for Srila Prabhupada followed by Guru Puja.  

The devotees and guests felt an immense appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and a stronger desire to further assist in his mission after this wonderful event.

Malaysia is definitely a success story. As a matter of fact when it comes to ISKCON, every country is a success story, every devotee is a success story. Such is the mercy and potency of Srila Prabhupada.