Planet ISKCON

HG Jagat Palana Dasa – SB 10.84.16-17 – 15.05.2015

The post Daily Darshan – May 23rd, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Guru Maharaja give presentation and showing video about Temple of Vedic Planetarium then gave a lecture about how important is charity Giving.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur was said that by giving charity to qualified person the result will come in the next life. It is recommended to give charity to brahmanas, by giving charity to non-brahmanas we can get same amount of our charity in next life. Giving charity to half educated brahmanas we will get double result. Giving the charity to learned brahmana we will get hundred fold of result from our charity.

Guru Maharaja continued, but by giving charity to the one that realize the essence of Veda we will get unlimited result in our next life. And by giving this charity to build temple in Mayapura, Lord Nityananda, the main associate of Sri Krishna Caitanya, will give us his mercy.

Giving charity to build a temple will give us Krishna mercy. Srila Prabhupada once tell a devotee that give a charity to build Vrndavana Temple:

By giving this charity to build this temple in Vrndavana, Krishna will build you a house in Goloka Vrndavana

Initiation by HH Kavicandra Swami Guru Maharaja in Sri-Sri Radha-Kunjabhihari Ashram, Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia.

In this occassion Guru Maharaja also distribute Srimad Bhagavatam 7th Canto in Indonesian language. He also tell a story on why Prahlada Maharaja is a devotee even before he is born, its happen because Hiranyakasipu remembering Sri Visnu.

At the time Hiranyakasipu did tapasya. Narada muni wanted to see his friend Parvata muni. Narada muni then taking a form of a little bird and start flying over the sky and singing "Visnu... Visnu... Visnu..." Hiranyakasipu heard this chanting and he became very angry. He was an Asura, he can't tolerate this singing, so he stopped his Tapasya and try to kill the little bird. Knowing his life in danger the little bird disappear.

After the bird disappear Hiranyakasipu still very angry, the name "Visnu... Visnu... Visnu..." still lingering at his head. He decide he can't continue tapasya and went home.

Hiranyakasipu arrived at his palace and at the time is the time of having child, and Hiranyakasipu still can't forget about Visnu name. Thats why Prahlada Maharaja never forget about Sri Vishnu.

Initiation by HH Kavicandra Swami Guru Maharaj in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. In this section Guru Maharaja lead the Yadnya and chanting the pramanas. We have a lot of kirtan here... kirtan...

At the beginning of the creation Krishna spoken to Brahma Deva, in Brahma heart. Krishna only spoken 4 verses and Brahma become understand of everything. Brahma then told and expand this 4 verses to His son, Narada Muni, and asking Narada to spread this message accross the universes.

Narada then travel the universe and have many disciples, the prominent one is Vyasa deva. Narada Muni then explain this verses to Vyasadeva. After Vyasa deva, then came Madhvacarya. Vyasadeva appear 5000 years ago and Madhvacarya appear about hundreds years ago. But Vyasadeva still live until today and Madhvacarya succeed to met Vyasadeva and get knowledge from him.

After Madhvacarya it is down to Madhavendra Puri, Isvara Puri, then Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. After than came Sarvabhauma, Sad Goswami, Jagannatha Dasa babaji, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Gaurakirora Dasa Babaji, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati then Srila Prabhupada.

This is how we get connected to our Parampara. It is important that we should connected to Parampara. Just like electricity to get the electric energy we need to plug in the correct place. The place that connected to the electric source. If we just plug into the wrong place, the place without any connection to the source, then it will be no power.

After explaining about Parampara, Guru Maharaja explain a lot of things such as 10 Aparadha, 4 principles and how to Chant the Holy Name. Please hear it more by playing the audio.

The Vyasa Puja Festival took place from 25-28 April. A nice descriptive article of the events has been published previously (click here to view). Kadamba Kanana Swami arrived in Radhadesh a few days early and stayed until the 30th.

For your pleasure, audio recordings are presented below. Listen online by clicking the play button. To download, right-click on a title and save target as. If you cannot view the media files below then visit archive.org. You can download everything in a zip file by clicking here.

The recording of the offerings from the Vyasa Puja ceremony are available on the Vyasa Puja download page. This page is protected with a password for privacy reasons. For the password, you can check our Facebook page or mail us to get it!

Before Vyasa Puja

KKS_Radhadesh_23 April 2015_Bhajan_JRM

KKS_Radhadesh_23 April 2015_Lecture_SB_6.18.26-30

KKS_Radhadesh_24 April 2015_Bhajan_JRM

KKS_Radhadesh_24 April 2015_Lecture_SB_6.18.31-34

KKS_Radhadesh_24 April 2015_Bhajan_Evening_Temple Room

KKS_Radhadesh_25 April 2015_Guruvastakam

KKS_Radhadesh_25 April 2015_Bhajan_JRM

KKS_Radhadesh_25 April 2015_Lecture_SB_6.18.35-37

Cultural Festival 

Radhadesh_Cultural_Festival_25 April 2015_Bhajans_by_Vraja Krsna Das

Radhadesh_Cultural_Festival_25 April 2015_Introduction_by_Vasudev_and_Ter Kadamba

KKS_Radhadesh_25 April 2015_Lecture_Cultural_Program

Radhadesh_Cultural_Festival_25 April 2015_Bhaktivedanta Players_and_KKS_Quiz

Radhadesh_Cultural_Festival_25 April 2015_Bhajans_by_Manu_Temple Room

Vyasa Puja Day

KKS_Radhadesh_26 April 2015_Guruvastakam

KKS_Radhadesh_26 April 2015_Morning Lecture_CC_Madhya_24.124

Radhadesh_Vyasa Puja_26 April 2015_Guruvastakam_by_Gurudas

KKS_Radhadesh_26 April 2015_Vyasa Puja_Address_to_disciples

Radhadesh_Vyasa Puja_26 April 2015_GuruPuja_by_Nrshima Caitanya

KKS_Radhadesh_26 April 2015_Initiation_Lecture

After Vyasa Puja

KKS_Radhadesh_28 April 2015_Lecture_SB_6.18.38

Harinama in Slovakia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: If one chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra without offences, all of one’s sinful actions are surely atoned for immediately, but one should not commit such deeds again, for that is an offence. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.16.14 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/QKmiYY

Hare Krishna footage - Shrine of the times (5 min video)
Bhaktivedanta Manor, UK
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/FkwxTZ

Hare Krishna! Ideal Family Life
My dear King, those who stay at home as householders must act to earn their livelihood, and instead of trying to enjoy the results of their work themselves, they should offer these results to Krishna, Vasudeva. How to satisfy Vasudeva in this life can be perfectly understood through the association of great devotees of the Lord. A grihastha must associate again and again with saintly persons, and with great respect he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations as these activities are described in Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Puranas. Thus one should gradually become detached from affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17504

Hare Krishna! The Seige on the Kingdom of Puranjana
King Puranjana had a very beautiful wife, who was the center of his enjoyment, and of his very existence, Captivated by his wife’s attractive features, the King became preoccupied with pleasing her and tasting the pleasures of sex, He became extremely attached to his children, his home, and his material possessions, Desires for enjoyment filled his mind, and pursuing their satisfaction became his main occupation. Meanwhile, the King’s youth quickly expired, and soon his kingdom was attacked by a powerful king named Candavega. Here we may note that the Sanskrit word puranjana signifies the living entity within the body,”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17501

The college is expected to spread Indian culture in China and plans to begin student admissions in September.

“The Jaladuta Diary” contains Srila Prabhupada’s handwritten recollections of his 35-day sea voyage from August 13^th 1965, when he boarded the ship in Kolkata, to his arrival at Boston Pier on September 17^th. “The Beginning” features Prabhupada’s journal from his first year in America, 1966.

While in Mayapur on Sunday morning May 10th, Jayapataka Swami experienced severe difficulty breathing. He was brought by an ambulance to a hospital in Kolkata where his condition was to an extent stabilized. Due to his delicate state and since he had to be seen by the hepathologist who attended him in Delhi since October last year, an air ambulance transferred him to a specialized hospital in Delhi. 

Hare Krishna! Thoughts on Book Distribution
My Supreme Personality of Mindhead said: “Oh no, don’t approach that one- he looks intimidating, just like a demigod descended from heaven.” “Oh, DEFINITELY not her, she looks like the head cheerleader. It would be humiliating if she rejected the book.” “Ok, finally, here’s an easy one…” “WAIT! He’s with a girl! … Approaching couples is scary! What if he rejects the book and laughs at me? Ahh!” “What am I doing out here anyways? Princeton is hopeless. Damn this place. These high-powered demons will never take to Krishna Consciousness. Should have gone to some less intense university. What time is it anyways? Time for brunch yet?”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17498

On the afternoon of Saturday, May 9th we arrived in Laguna Beach, California where the Pancha Tattva have resided for over a quarter of a century. With little time available, we quickly got ready for our TOVP presentation as devotees started arriving during the Gaura arati.

The Temple President, Tukarama prabhu, introduced the TOVP Team, and Radha Jivana prabhu began the program talking about the TOVP and then gave the microphone over to Jananivas prabhu who elaborated on the glories of Mayapur Dhama and the TOVP project. The pledging began and practically every single devotee made a pledge, including Tukarama himself who pledged towards 2 Silver Gratitude Coins and 3 Nrsimha Tiles. The program concluded with almost $280,000 pledged. Prasadam was then served. That evening we departed for our next destination, the San Diego Temple, about 1½ hours away.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Day 59 – Arrival in Laguna Beach, California, Home of America’s Pancha Tattva appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Before departing from Las Vegas on the morning of Friday, May 8th we brought Lord Nityananda’s Padukas to the new temple site to bless the project with His causeless mercy for the success of the preaching there. Afterwards, we departed for the Laguna Beach Temple, stopping overnight at the home of Dr. Nanda in Apple Valley for prasadam and a program of kirtan and Krishna katha.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Day 58 – Onward to Apple Valley, California appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

And Haladhara about how we can directly serve Krsna in Goloka, or can we?

The post Ananda Caitanya asks about Narada’s meditation appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

The age of forgiveness *(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 January 2015, Simhachalam, Germany, Caitanya Caritamrta Antya 7.16)* We must not blindly follow but always use our intelligence to deeply understand our philosophy and all the stories from the different ages. In previous ages, quite outstanding things were possible. In those times, sages had amazing powers and piety was a big thing. But now, we live in a different age. The first principle of this age is forgiveness, *ksama; *that is the essence. If there is no forgiveness – forget it! If you cannot forgive then you cannot be a devotee, as it is not going to work that way. So many people do things to us and sooner or later, it is a devotee. Have you thought about the things that devotees have done to you? Devotees, you know, *tilak* and neckbeads, how they have treated us sometimes!? But forgiveness is required because how can we live amongst the *vaisnavas* without forgiveness? How can we preach without forgiveness? The fact is that everyone is so sinful, so fallen, so learning to forgive is a very deep thing. In *Srimad Bhagavatam*, Bhismadev says that to conquer anger one must learn to forgive, as without forgiving, some anger remains. There are different types of anger – first there is a hot anger, the *fist on the table* type, *‘And now, it is enough!!’* Then there is the other anger, the cold one, where the heart freezes and one says, *‘For that one, there is no mercy!’* Ice-cold anger in a frozen heart. So we need to see others through our own example and ask ourselves who is actually perfect amongst us, who has never made a mistake? Who has not done anything wrong to anybody? If there is an angel amongst us, please show us your wings! So we can see it is not that feasible. Therefore, if we approach others through our own life and through how we have dealt with others, then it is easier to forgive. We are filled with weaknesses, so to forgive means to accept weakness in others, that they make mistakes and that they are not perfect. It is actually to be expected in this age of *kali* because in this age, weakness of character is our biggest problem. We are weak – we have no determination, we have no piety, we are proud, we cannot tolerate very much, we are lazy and we do not want to work very hard, we are not very learned but at the same time, we think that we know everything. These are all the typical things that everybody has – everybody! It is not that somebody is different, but everybody thinks, *‘I know very well! Why they are telling me this, when I already know it? What can I do, when Krsna gave it to me, to know things!’* The root cause of our material disease is manifested in thinking, *‘I know!’* Because we think that way, it becomes such a habit to just do our own thing and not accept a proper guidance.

On Thursday, May 7th, we paid a visit to the home of Doyal Nitai das and Priya Kumari devi dasi for lunch prasadam. Then in the evening we made our way to the Krishna Lounge with the Padukas and Sitari to give darshan to the devotee community. Around 40 devotees and guests attended the program for kirtan, a simple TOVP presentation and prasadam.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Day 57 – Las Vegas Darshan and Program appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

On Wednesday, May 6th, we departed from Los Angeles for Las Vegas, Nevada, also known as Sin City, stopping briefly for prasadam at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Agarwal.

Las Vegas is a community of devotees that is growing and in the process of renovating a building into a new temple. We arrived late in the afternoon, had evening prasadam and then went out on Harinama Samkirtana on the famous Las Vegas strip, known for its gambling casinos and wild entertainment.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Day 56 – Departure from Los Angeles and Arrival in Las Vegas with Harinama appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

[Bhagavatam 11.11.11 was missed during the series, so it is being posted now and the series is being re-numbered]
Bhagavatam-daily Podcast:

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Hare Krishna! TOVP Tour Daily Diary: Day 49-55, Programs in Silicon Valley and New Dwarka, LA
New Dwaraka is the North American ISKCON Headquarters and home to Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarakadisha. It is also one of the original temples opened during Srila Prabhupada’s presence and the place of many of his pastimes, including the famous morning walks along Venice Beach. Under the able leadership of Svavas prabhu, who is also the BBT Manager, it continues to be a thriving community of hundreds of devotees.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17493

Bhakti is About Seeking Shelter
Radhanath Swami: One of the diseases that we come to spiritual practice with is that we expect things to go our way – “I am serving God and this is the way God should deal with me”. I have done this many pujas , this many sacrifices. He should make my children scholars, He should make them obedient to me. He should give me good health and, in fact, he should give all my family members good health. And my business, of course because it is for him it should flourish, it should prosper without any impediments. And as far as my relationships are concerned, people should give me the honor and respect I am due for being such a sincere and saintly person. More or less we all expect like this. But the problem is if God gave you what you wanted, you probably wouldn’t grow much at all. Because Bhakti is not about getting, Bhakti is about seeking shelter. You only get God when you seek shelter. You only get God when you give up hope of anything else. If you want other things, that is the fruitive mentality – a karmic mentality as opposed to a mentality of Bhakti. You can get other things but it will not bring you to the goal. So reversals will come, and they will come in way which we do not like. It is our tendency to think that “I know reversals will come and I know if I take shelter of God I will make advancement, but as far as the reversals are concerned, I will give my list of which reversals are acceptable”. The problem is that God has His own list. You made your list, but what you have on your list won’t work. But what appears to be a curse can be a blessing if we simply appreciate the inner essence of the possibility of how to connect to God in that situation.

Gita Verse-by-verse Study Podcast:

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Hare Krishna! The Five levels of Consciousness
Lecture by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami. “After many, many births and deaths one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.9.29)
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17491

Hare Krishna! Making Krishna’s Joy Our Joy
Many people ask why would an enemy of God get such a reward? And this leads to the main point of this essay- hatred and deep love are rewarded by God because they are emotions that cause the brain to constantly think of Him. In the same way that we would rather have God show us either love or anger rather than have Him ignore us, He would like to see one or the other as well. Krishna does not want a stail, emotionless, lukewarm lover. This is why many of the demons that were attacked by Krishna were feeling so blessed and wondered what they did to deserve even His angry attention.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17486

One of the most heart-wrenching events in the entire Ramayana is the conspiracy that led to the exile of Rama. From the devotional perspective, this pastime brings forth the exalted spiritual emotion of love in separation. From the cosmic administration’s perspective, it triggers the chain of evens that culminate in Rama’s fulfilling the purpose of his descend: ending Ravana’s reign of terror. Simultaneously, from the ethical perspective, the pastime illustrates our human vulnerability to disinformation – it shows how even good people can get misled into doing terrible things.

In our culture, many vested interests promote their self-serving ends through systematic disinformation campaigns. So, a close look at this Ramayana pastime can help us combat disinformation.

A mission of manipulation

This story unfolded in the city of Ayodhya, the capital of the kings of the solar dynasty. The reigning monarch Dasharatha had ruled virtuously for many years. On seeing his old age approaching, he felt inspired to transfer power to a worthy successor, his oldest son Rama. To formalize this decision, he called an extended assembly of courtiers and leading citizens from various classes. The assembly unanimously approved his decision. They resolved that the process for succession begin from the next morning itself.

From this jubilant public setting, the Ramayana’s spotlight shifts to a private setting: the inner chambers of the palace of Kaikeyi, Dasharatha’s youngest wife. Due to her beauty, Kaikeyi had become the king’s favorite queen, displacing his senior-most queen Kaushalya. Despite the inevitable tensions created by such a power shift, the overall family atmosphere remained cordial. Neither Kaushalya nor Kaikeyi bore any malice towards each other. Their respective sons, Rama and Bharata, as well as their two other siblings, Lakshmana and Shatrughna (sons of an intermediate queen Sumitra), lived in cheerful fraternal amity.

Dreading a return to a position of insignificance and scorn, Manthara decided to use her wiles on Kaikeyi and somehow stop the transfer of power.

This familial harmony was destroyed in one night during which a self-interested person launched a mission of manipulation. That dark instigator was an elderly hunch-backed maidservant of Kaikeyi, Manthara. This spinster-schemester wanted to maintain at all costs her privileged position in the royal palace as the favorite maidservant of the king’s favorite queen. If Rama became the king, she feared that his mother would become the foremost dowager and Kaikeyi would be relegated to the position of just another member in the royal family. This would downgrade Manthara to the level of just another maidservant. Due to her hunchback, Manthara had sometimes been the butt of friendly jokes. Though such teasing hadn’t been malicious, she had resented it bitterly. Such banter had stopped with her ascension to a prominent position in the royal staff. Dreading a return to a position of insignificance and scorn, she decided to use her wiles on Kaikeyi and somehow stop the transfer of power.

When Manthara informed Kaikeyi about Rama’s upcoming succession, Kaikeyi was delighted and gifted her maidservant a jewel necklace for bringing such good news. But Manthara hurled the necklace on the ground and called her mistress a naïve fool for not seeing what was happening. She said that the haste with which the succession ceremony was being executed, especially during the absence of Bharata, pointed to a conspiracy for depriving the absent prince of power. Actually, Bharata’s absence was simply a happenstance – he was out-of-station when the king felt an inner call to retire and promptly acted on it. Moreover, Bharata being the youngest son had no claim to the throne, which was meant to go by primogeniture to the oldest son Rama.

Such facts notwithstanding, Manthara exploited the happenstance of Bharata’s absence to sow a seed of suspicion in Kaikeyi’s heart. And then she watered that seed well into the night with a dystopian tale spun from her imagination: A vindictive Kaushalya would have Kaikeyi reduced to a veritable serving maid; and a despotic Rama would have Bharata incarcerated, if not executed.

Manthara exploited the happenstance of Bharata’s absence to sow a seed of suspicion in Kaikeyi’s heart. And then she watered that seed well into the night with a dystopian tale spun from her imagination

By the end of Manthara’s diatribe, Kaikeyi became ready to do anything for stopping the “conspiracy.” Seeing her readiness, her maid suggested that she use an old promise by the king that he would grant her two wishes. Kaikeyi soon agreed to ask that firstly Bharata be designated as the royal heir and secondly Rama be exiled to the forest for fourteen years. Manthara anticipated that the king would vehemently oppose his beloved son’s banishment. So she warned Kaikeyi to not go soft on that demand – only when Rama was outside the kingdom and indeed outside any position of political power would Bharata be able to consolidate his hold on the throne.

Hard heart breaks hearts

What followed was a collision between Kaikeyi’s heart and Dasharatha’s heart. While the king’s heart was soft at the prospect of the coronation, his queen’s heart had become harder than stone due to believing the conspiracy theory. When their hearts collided, the impact left the king heartbroken.

Late in the night, Dasharatha finished overseeing the arrangements for the ceremony next day. Wanting to share his joy with his favorite queen, he came to her palace. When she reminded him of his past promise, he unsuspectingly reiterated his commitment to honor that promise. But when he heard her two wishes, he was petrified and collapsed in a swoon. On returning to consciousness, he realized that the nightmare was real. He strove feverishly to deter his wife from her ruthless resolve. Finally, he broke down into piteous tears and fell begging at her feet – both actions utterly uncharacteristic of a monarch. Yet Kaikeyi remained unmoved by her husband’s desperate pleas.

Being bound by his word of honor, the king was forced to grant her wishes. But being horrified to see that his loving wife had become an unfeeling ogress, he disowned her. In a voice choked with agony and fury, he declared that with the granting of her wishes, his obligation to her was over, as was his relationship with her.

But being horrified to see that his loving wife had become an unfeeling ogress, Dasharatha disowned her. 

Despite hearing such a dreadful declaration, Kaikeyi still remained unrelenting. Her heart had become so cold and hard that it had no room left for anything except her scheme: No room for any conjugal affection for her husband. No room for any maternal affection for her stepson Rama who had accepted the grievous diktat against him with disarming grace. No room for feminine concern for her daughter-in-law Sita who had to don rough tree-bark for joining her husband in his exile. No room for respect for the venerable royal priest Vashishtha who implored her to desist from such a nefarious plan. And no room for fear of public censure as the shocked courtiers and citizens condemned her.

After Rama departed for the forest, the aggrieved Dasharatha found separation from him unbearable. Even more agonizing was the thought that he himself had sentenced his son to exile. This sentence was reserved for the worst of criminals, being just one level below execution. And he had meted out that brutal sentence to one who had done no wrong, to one whom he should have protected, to one who had been born from his own blood. Crushed by anguish, Dasharatha’s broken heart broke down totally – he breathed his last. The whole kingdom sank into gloom at this double loss of both their cherished prince and their revered monarch.

The imaginary Bharata versus the real Bharata

Manthara had exploited the fissures between co-wives to set off a catastrophic earthquake. That quake had now given rise to a tsunami that inundated the whole of Ayodhya with agony. Yet not one drop of that ocean touched Kaikeyi’s heart. Her transmogrification from wise, kind and gentle to foolish, cruel and harsh is unbelievable.

Given that she was not innately evil, how did she justify to herself her horrendous actions? By masking them in the garb of vigilant maternal concern. She imagined that she was doing all this for her son Bharata, who being absent couldn’t protect his interests. She believed her maternal rationalization so completely that nothing else mattered to her – no one’s words, emotions or actions could dent her resolve. Yet her justification couldn’t but crumble to powder when debunked by the very person it claimed to defend: Bharata.

Kaikeyi’s son had anxiously hastened to Ayodhya, being summoned by Vashishtha, who was officiating as the provisional head of state. On arriving in Ayodhya, he saw the once cheery city looking dreary, like a ghost town. Feeling deep misgivings, he rushed to his mother’s chambers, expecting to meet both his parents there. On seeing his mother, he offered her his respects and enquired about his father’s wellbeing. Kaikeyi recounted her own version of events, stressing how she had done so much to protect Bharata’s right to the kingdom.

Hearing about his father’s demise and his brother’s exile left him shaken. Hearing that his own mother had caused these calamities left him shattered. Hearing her claiming that she had done all this for his sake left him sickened. 

Bharata was too sharp to fall for such spin doctoring. Hearing about his father’s demise and his brother’s exile left him shaken. Hearing that his own mother had caused these calamities left him shattered. Hearing her claiming that she had done all this for his sake left him sickened. He found his mother’s words so revolting that he felt sorely tempted to violate the kshatriya code that one should not raise one’s hand against a woman. Somehow checking himself, he poured his fury out in words. Castigating his unrepentant mother, he deemed her an evil witch born for the destruction of their dynasty.

Kaikeyi heard her son’s denunciation with disbelief and dismay. With her imagination, she had fashioned a Bharata who lauded her actions. When the real Bharata condemned those very actions, she realized to her horror that the Bharata who lauded her was nothing more than her imagination. As that imaginary Bharata died a quick death, so did her rationalization. And the monstrosity of what she had done hit her with a force of a thousand thunderbolts. She repented fervently, begging for Bharata’s forgiveness. She even went with him to the forest to second his request that Rama return and reclaim the throne. But it was too late – the juggernaut had already gained a fearsome momentum and nothing, not even its first pusher, could stop it.

How did Kaikeyi become so misled? By a double blunder: she believed uncritically whatever Manthara told her, and she didn’t seek any second opinion. She let herself be so persuaded by just one person’s view that she rejected everyone else’s advice.

Modern Mantharas

Today many Mantharas in the form of agenda-driven agencies run their own disinformation campaigns. Perhaps the most ghastly modern example of devastation through disinformation is the Holocaust. By whipping up frenzy against various supposed enemies of Germany, Hitler poisoned an entire nation against its minority communities and slaughtered over ten million people.

Similarly, many multinational companies use disinformation to boost their profits. In Sugar Salt Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Moss explains how a massive disinformation campaign has caused the modern addiction to unhealthy eating.

Those thus disinformed feel no hesitation in perpetrating any atrocity because their indoctrination makes them rationalize any assault on “the evil other.”

Such disinformation afflicts even the realms of religion. In Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War published by the Oxford University Press, Professor C. Christine Fair, a security studies expert at Georgetown University, America, studies the Pakistani army’s mentality. She documents its use of a pervasive anti-India disinformation campaign that often employs explicit anti-Hindu imagery. In some Pakistani schools, childhood innocence is slaughtered when arithmetic lessons are misappropriated to indoctrinate students with hate messages: “If out of seven Hindu kafirs (infidels), four are shot dead, how many remain?” Such disinformation is especially sinister because herein hatred is worse than propagated – it is presumed as a given fact of life. Those thus disinformed feel no hesitation in perpetrating any atrocity because their indoctrination makes them rationalize any assault on “the evil other.” The point of this example is not to stigmatize any particular religion or country – hardly any religion or country can claim a spotless record. The point is that disinformation threatens every aspect of society, and nominal religious affiliation is no insurance against it.

Today’s hi-tech world gives access to multiple channels of information. Does such access decrease the human vulnerability to misinformation? Not necessarily. Disinformed people can use such channels not to disabuse themselves, but to perpetuate and propagate their mistaken beliefs. This is evident in the aggressive use of social media by extremist organizations such as ISIS.

Spiritual empowerment

To protect ourselves from disinformation, we need to strengthen our intellectual and ethical muscles. With stronger intellects, we can penetrate to the actual beyond the apparent, thereby discerning the disingenuity in disinformation. With better ethical muscles, we can resist the promises of quick pleasure that disinformationists dangle to make us lower our guard.

The process of bhakti-yoga helps us strengthen both these muscles. Devotional study of scripture sharpens our discerning power and hones our intellectual muscles. Devotional remembrance of Krishna provides a higher inner fulfillment that empowers us to say no to lower temptations.

Unfortunately, disinformation is so pervasive that it can distort our perception of bhakti-yoga too. With a barrage of half-truths and untruths about spirituality and spiritual organizations, disinformation can assault our sacred faith. We can best protect our faith by entirely avoiding such anti-devotional propagandists. But if we somehow hear from them, we shouldn’t let their opinions alone determine our spiritual decisions. By seeking clarification from trustworthy spiritual mentors, we can get a balanced understanding that protects our faith in bhakti’s potency.

If we compare Ayodhya to our heart, then Manthara is like the mind. The mind comes up with the deadly duo of doubt and desire

Disinformation threatens us not just externally but also internally. If we compare Ayodhya to our heart, then Manthara is like the mind. The mind comes up with the deadly duo of doubt and desire: doubt paralyzes our devotion and desire aggravates our worldly infatuation. Being misled by the mind, we become like Kaikeyi and exile the Lord from our heart.

To counter the mind’s insinuations, we need to meticulously avoid the two mistakes Kaikeyi made. Firstly, we need to avoid hearing the mind uncritically. Unfortunately, the mind is always with us and it always has the opportunity to spin its self-serving yarn – so, we need to be constantly vigilant. Secondly, if the mind’s persuasion starts swaying us from our moral and spiritual principles, we need to counter it with the enlightening voices of guru-sadhu-shastra. We can take both these precautions by conscientiously engaging ourselves in devotional service. By such absorbing spiritual engagement, we will pre-empt the mind’s misleading stratagems and will instead be led by timeless wisdom towards our all-round wellbeing.

Hare Krishna! Spiritual Revolution in Turkey
In Turkey, we do not have chance to preach in public. We have a yoga center here and we do hatha yoga classes as well as bhakti yoga programs. Yoga is getting popular in Turkey and what we see with our programs is that Turkish people like chanting Holy Names of the Lord. We have established a kirtan yoga group three years ago and since then we go for chanting any yoga studio that invites us. We have reached many people through kirtan yoga and some of them are very regular with our bhakti programs. They want to know more about Absolute Truth.Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17483

The post Daily Darshan – May 22nd, 2015 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON Mayapur on 2015-05-17, Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 06.08.13-17

On Monday and Tuesday, May 4th and 5th, the TOVP along with the Padukas and Sitari visited the homes of a few families for darshan and prasadam. These included the home of Suresh Krishna das and Sundari Gopika devi dasi and were accompanied by Amani Gaura Hari das and Shastra Krt das.

The post TOVP Daily Tour Days 54 and 55 – The Padukas and TOVP Team Visit Local Los Angeles Devotees appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.