Gita verse-by-verse study Podcast:

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Holy Name Meditation Podcast:

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New Year 2015 celebration in ISKCON Riga, Latvia with kirtan (20 min video)
Srila Prabhupada: These four principles: Always think of Krishna, become Krishna’s devotee, worship Krishna and offer your respect, obeisances to Krishna. That’s all. This is Krishna consciousness. Hyderabad, November 17, 1972.
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/8uvNHr

1. Are rituals wrong numbers to God? (PK QA 1)

2. Can we reject as wrong numbers the rituals that don’t make sense? (PK QA 2)

3. Why do religious teachers stereotype people as when they pronounce all Pakistanis as cheaters? (PK QA 3)

4. Do people who are afraid go to temples? (PK QA 4)

5. Is it cowardice to go to God out of fear? (PK QA 5)

6. Are there two gods: the god who created man and the god whom man created? (PK QA 6)

(To be continued)

Why only two? Why not thousands?

Yes, it is true that man has concocted notions of God. But if we were to count such concoctions, then there would be not two gods but thousands of gods, because thousands of people have come up with their own myriad notions of god.

PK says that we don’t know anything about the God who made man. The how do we know that this God is different from the god whom man created? If we don’t know anything about the real currency note, how can we say that the currency note in front of us is false? To say that the God who created man is not the god whom man created implies having some knowledge about that God. If we don’t have any knowledge about God, then how can we say what god is not?

More incoherently, PK says that he has faith in the God who made man. But if he doesn’t know anything about this God, then on what basis does he believe in him? Might his faith be blind? Or might the differentiation between the two Gods be a subtle and sinister tool to make people stop doing all practical acts of worshiping God, while giving them a pseudo-assurance that they haven’t become atheists because they worship some unknowable true God?

To authentically know what God is and to differentiate between him and man’s concoctions about God, we need to not stop doing rituals but start studying scripture, the authoritative books about God. Such study will protect us not only from the pitfall of blind faith that PK depicts but also the pitfall that PK pushes us into – blind faithlessness.

It is no more cowardice than is a small child’s going to parents out of fear. But just as the child is meant to outgrow the fear, so too are religious people meant to grow up spiritually and outgrow the fear motive for going to God.

There are four broad levels at which people approach God: fear, desire, duty and love.

1. Fear: People who are afraid of life’s problems go to God out of fear. Such fear is a good beginning in one’s relationship with God, just as children need to have some healthy fear of their parents. That fear checks their unruliness and fosters discipline in them, thereby preparing them for a bright future career. Similarly fear of God helps instill basic morality in people. But just as children are not meant to live lifelong in fear of their parents, but are meant to develop higher emotions such as love, so too are we meant to grow in our relationship with God from fear towards love.
2. Desire: When people want things that are difficult for them to get by their own efforts alone, they go to God out of desire. This is one step higher because their conception of God is not negative as a discipliner but positive as a potent desire-fulfiller. But still their relationship with him is utilitarian, based on give-and-take rather than love.
3. Duty: Some people understand that God has already given me so much

– life, body, health, food, clothing, shelter. So they feel dutybound to go periodically to his temple for thanking him. Here the relationship is based on gratitude for what has already been given and not on desire for what one wants to receive. So the relationship is steadier. However, duty can over time become a burden. Moreover, the focus in this level is still on what God has done for me, not on God himself.

4. Love: This is the purest level of approaching God, where people understand that God is their supreme object of love and they find the supreme fulfillment in loving and serving him. At this level, we see all living beings as members of the same one family of God. Thus love for God blossoms into love for all living beings.

The purpose of religion is to help people rise from the level of fear to the level of love. To that end, temples should have educational forums where people can learn about this progression and raise themselves accordingly. PK goes about caricaturing temple-goers as fearful ninnies and thereby discourages many people from getting the relief and strength available through temples. If instead it had guided people to rise to the level of love for God, it could have done far greater service to society

Could be, but then people who are afraid go to watch PK too. Many people who watch movies seek relief from worry, stress, and tension – all fear by other names. If an activity is to be stopped just because it is done out of fear, then watching PK should also be stopped. Just as people watch movies for many reasons other than fear, people go to temples for many reasons other than fear – reasons that we will discuss in the next answer. Let’s focus on the fear motive here.

The simple undeniable fact about life is that so many things can go wrong at any moment. Such uncertainties naturally worry us. Different people deal with this fear in different ways: for example, by drinking, watching movies or going to temples.

Rather than parodying an activity based on its motive, we need to evaluate it based on its utility, that is, based on whether it serves its purpose.

Does watching movies help people deal with their fears? Not really, except that it helps them forget their fears for a few hours.

Does going to temples help people deal with their fears? At the very least, it offers people what a movie offers – relief from fear. The serene, spiritually vibrant atmosphere of the temple brings peace to people’s minds and hearts, thus helping them forget their worries.

But for the devout going to temples offers so much more. People pray for solutions to their problems and sometimes they do get solutions – not necessarily through a miraculous intervention, but through the arrival in their mind of positive ideas, insights and inspirations. Even if their specific problem is not solved, still the very act of going to the temple and praying often makes them feel reassured. When we share our heart’s anxieties with a loved one, even if that person doesn’t offer any solutions, still the very act of sharing makes us feel lighter, unburdened, strengthened. Similar is the enlivening effect of going to a temple and praying to God. Such enlivenment empowers them to perform better, thereby contributing towards solving the problem.

Some skeptical people might consider such enlivenment illusory. Does that give them the right to caricature religious people’s beliefs? What happened to democracy and the right of all people to their beliefs?

A famous cricketer believed that placing a red handkerchief in his pocket helped him perform better; a batsman believed that kissing his bat each time before facing the bowler improved his batting. If we don’t lampoon such superstitious idiosyncrasies, then why do we consider it fair game to lampoon something – going to temples – that has offered relief and strength to millions for millennia?

 

Such stereotyping is definitely undesirable, but then why does PK stereotype all religious teachers by depicting them in just one color – black. If there are shades among Pakistanis, aren’t there shades among religious teachers? The popular media frequently portrays religious teachers as manipulators and mercenaries out to profit from people’s faith and fear. And PK by depicting only that kind of religious teachers simply perpetuates that stereotype. If stereotyping all Pakistanis as cheaters is simplistic and misleading, then isn’t stereotyping all religious teachers as cheaters also simplistic and misleading?

Someone might argue, “But those are the kind of religious teachers who are most popular and influential. So it’s only right and educational that PK depicts them.”

Won’t that argument apply to Pakistanis too? The common Pakistani people may not have any strong anti-India prejudice, but they don’t determine Pakistan’s policies towards India. Those policies are determined by Pakistan’s political and martial leaders – both of whom usually find it convenient to keep anti-India sentiments high among Pakistanis because blaming India for Pakistan’s problems helps deflect attention from their own ineptness. So if Indians are to be educated, then they should be educated about the dangerous mindsets of such influential Pakistanis also, not just about un-influential Pakistani Romeos pining for Indian Juliets.

Further, if PK truly wanted to educate people about India’s religious landscape, it could have highlighted or at least depicted the sincere religious teachers who unselfishly serve God and humanity. Then people could have endeavored to find and follow such teachers, thereby staying protected from the harmful influence of self-serving teachers.

But depicting such complexity isn’t easy and it isn’t entertaining. Much easier to paint all religious teachers as black, make fun of them and make big money out of it. PK’s purpose is not educational – it’s simply commercial. PK accuses religious teachers of making a business of faith. Though not all religious teachers do such business, PK itself surely does that. It makes a business of faith, just from the opposite side – not by promoting faith, but by bashing faith. Agar dharma-guru shraddhaa ka dhanda kar rahe hain, to PK dharma ki ninda ka dhanda kar raha hain.

And if PK had bothered to find some authentic religious teachers, it would have discovered that they see everyone with equal vision, as the Bhagavad-gita (05.18) describes. They see that beyond our different bodily shells the spiritual substance that animates all of us is similar. Accordingly, they teach that all living beings, whatever their nationality, religion or race, are all beloved parts of God. So authentic religious teachers, far from stereotyping others, provide the spiritual vision by which people can rise beyond such stereotyping.

This is the 3rd in a series of 4 entries by Gopisa das to his India Journal about his recent first-time pilgrimage to India.

His 1^st India Journal posting: Day 1 & 2 “Rotis and Spirituality”:

http://www.brijabasispirit.com/2014/12/26/new-vrindabans-gopisa-das-discusses-rotis-and-spirituality-in-the-land-of-bharatavarsha/

His 2nd India Journal posting: Day 3 & 4 “Adventures”:

http://www.brijabasispirit.com/2015/01/05/new-vrindabans-gopisa-dass-adventures-on-his-spiritual-retreat/

DAY 5

Dearest family,

Today was a quieter day in anticipation of the 64 rounds day at Srila Rupa Goswami’s bhajan kutir tomorrow. We had an adventure shopping this morning and finding the post office which appears to be much more modern according to Jaya Krsna… while it is a small hole in the wall place with a couple steps leading in, they do have bar codes and a computer. It’s just a matter of firing up the Honda generator, plugging in the power strip, booting up the computer and working through the start up to finally get to the program that will give a cost to send a small package. Everything in India has its own way of getting to the goal…it’s just that it usually takes a parikram around Govardhana hill to get there.

Everything we purchased was at the tourist price. That’s just the way of it here. They are so happy to engage in a little cheating….160 rupees for a small bunch of bananas, 4 huge apples and a papaya…it’s highway robbery I tell you! Of course it’s also 3 dollars US…

I’m off to bed now with hopes and prayers that I’ll accomplish my goal of chanting 64 rounds, a task which will take me about 10+ hours.

Love and Krsna to you all!   G

 DAY 6

Dearest family,

Today was our 64 rounds day in Srila Rupa Goswami’s bhajan kutir. It is a very peaceful atmosphere with beautiful trees and many meditation areas. The facility is run by a very ebullient and energetic goswami originally from Bengal. Sacinandana Swami has a very good relationship with him and the experience was both serene and enlivening.

I actually managed to chant all 64 rounds though I didn’t finish till 8:30 pm. Still, that was a first for me. We leave tomorrow for Vrindavan and should arrive by 3 pm. Hopefully we’ll have internet there and these emails will all hit you at once.

Need to get to bed…we’re hiking up to Srimati Radharani’s temple for the morning program which starts at 5:30 am.

Love and Krsna to you all!   G

Today I received a very nice message from a supporter of the Japa Group:

It's good to be here and to have your association. I receive a lot of inspiration from the Japa Group. The pithy and often succinct advice goes straight to the heart and often after reading one I will go and do some more japa. You can tell its doing something good and the pure seva it is for devotees, if it causes one to desire to chant more, to be more focused and pure of heart and be with the Lord. He is just waiting for us.

The town of Belfur, in the southern state of Karnataka in India, is set on the banks of the Yagachi river. It was chosen as the capitol of the Hoysala dynasty which ruled much of South India between the 11th and 14th centuries. The saintly kings of the Hoysala dynasty were great patrons of art [...]

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.21 during a program at the house of Brijmohan Sethi.

“It just so happens that Srila Prabhupada saw the same Juhu Beach land many times before he went to America. In order to get a passage to America, Srila Prabhupada approached Srimati Morarji of the Scindia Steam Navigation company. She had a large Bungalow just on Juhu Beach. She was a devotee of Krishna and in order to encourage her spiritually, Srila Prabhupada would visit her bungalow. On the way he would pass Mr. Nair’s land which was known as Nair Wadi. Srila Prabhupada thought that this would be a nice place to have a temple. So, we can see how powerful are the desires of a pure devotee. Several years later, when Srila Prabhupada returned from America with some of his American and European disciples, some of his disciples met Mr. Nair who offered them the same land”

Program at Brijmohan Sethi’s House, Mumbai

Bhagavatam-daily Podcast:

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Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Appearance Day in ISKCON-Delhi (Album 25 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The name Krishna and the Personality of Godhead Krishna are identical. There is no difference in the absolute realm between the name, form or person of the Absolute Truth because in the absolute realm everything is transcendental bliss. (Srimad Bhagavatam, Introduction)
See them here: http://goo.gl/5RyGFT

Srila Prabhupada accepts the “Friend of the Humble” as His Disciple!
Deena Bandhu Das: I remember it was one of the last ceremonies where Srila Prabhupada did everything. It was in the old La Cienaga Temple in LA on 25th January, 1970 . He came down off his Vyasanana, sat on a cushion in front of the yajna kunda and chanted on the beads in front of everyone. There was about 10 of us, so it took a long time. At the end of each round, he then asked the regs, and how many rounds to the person who handed him the beads. When he got to me, I remember, those old natural wood beads from Tandy Leather Co. (didn’t have Tulasi in those days, we strung our own) looking like a string of pearls in his lotus hands! Then he asked me and I rattled off, “16 rounds. No meat eating, no illicit sex, no gambling….” My mind just went blank and I couldn’t think…I froze. Somewhere behind me, some brahmacarini was whispering over and over, no drugs! “Oh, and no intoxication.” He said, “Yes, no LSD!” and broke out into one of those smiles where a thousand suns rise in the sky, completely delighted with his own sense of humor. Then he handed me the beads, and said, “So your name is Dina Bandhu, friend of the humble.” I didn’t quite hear and he must have seen it in my face, so he repeated it and added, “Is it alright?” with a big smile.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/mMKyGP

Harinama in Kiev, Ukraine (Album 65 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: One can be free from all sinful reactions after reaching a place of pilgrimage, but one can have the same benefit at home or at any other place simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. (Srimad Bhagavatam 2.7.15)
See them here: http://goo.gl/MwGwOy

The post How chanting Hare Krsna leads to remembrance of the Lord appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

 

“The whole idea of New Vrindaban is that men who are living there should produce their own food, of which milk is the principal thing.” – Srila Prabhupada, July 1969.

Click here to read the rest of the letter at the Vanipedia website.

Mangla Arati Of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath;5th Jan 2015

BY SIMHESWARA DASA

SRIRANGAM - I had the good fortune to witness the stealing of Sri Ranganatha's ornaments by Thirumangai Alvar when I made visit to Srirangam recently enroute to Kumbakonam to order three kalasams for our BCC temple project. The amazing story of Thriumangai Alvar can be found from Wikipedia. The gist has been extracted here for easy reading.

Thirumangai Alvar, is the last of the 12 Alvar saints of south India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. He is considered one of the most learned Alvar and the most superior Alvar in the context of composition of verses.

Though he is respected as a Vaishnava saint-poet, he, initially, worked as a military commander, a chieftain and then a robber. After his conversion to Vaishnavism, he confronted practitioners of rival Hindu sect of Shaivism as well as Buddhism and Jainism.

According to the traditional account, he was originally known as Kaliyan and he married Kumudavalli, and became a Vaishnava, devotee of Vishnu. Under her influence. Kumudavalli also got him to promise that he would feed a 1008 Vaishnavas every day for a year. Unable to bear the heavy expense of feeding a thousand people, Thirumangai resorted to highway robbery. One day, Thirumangai tried to remove rings from the toes of a bridegroom but could not do so. Then he realised the bridegroom was none other than the Supreme god Vishnu himself. Narayana (Vishnu) revealed himself to Kaliyan and transformed him by teaching the Narayana mantra – "namo narayanaya", turning the robber into a saint and starts singing the first verse of Peria Thirumoli.

Thirumangai plundered "refractory" Shaivas (devotees of Lord Shiva) and lived on the acquired wealth. He is described as cold-hearted Vaishnava who defeated the rival Shaivas by his words. Vaishnava texts tell of his meeting with Thirugnana sambandhar, a Shaiva saint, who invited Thirumangai to his home town Sirkazhi so that Thirumangai would compose a poem in praise of the local deity Thadaalan. The poem was admired by the Shaiva – who granted Thirumangai a trident as a mark of appreciation.

A late ninth century text, Tamilalangaram by Dandapani Swamigal describes him of having the rare privilege of biting god Vishnu's toes and being pardoned for all his sins, as he wrote in Tamil. Vaishnavas consider him as a divine incarnation of Sharanga, Vishnu's bow.

Four big silos at one of the 7 parikrama paths where the land owners drop off their harvest of rice grains which are used to feed pilgrims visiting the temple.

Simheswara Dasa  (right) with Temple President of Kumbakonam, Vanamali Gopal Dasa

Periya Tirumoli is the composition of hymns illustrating the greatness of Vaishnava shrines and their presiding deity as well as God's numerous attributes. His songs extol the largest number of shrines – over 40 forms of Vishnu, from Badrinath in North India to Thirukkurungudi in the extreme South. The first ten verses of Thirumangai's poem Periya Tirumoli sing of his transformation, after receiving the spiritual knowledge from Vishnu. He sings about his transformation thus:

I became a thief
deceitful and dishonest
I wandered hither and thither
yet light dawned upon me –
I reached Your feet
and instantly your grace fell upon me
with melting heart and choked voice
your praises I sing
bathed in streaming tears
I repeat day and night
the sacred name of Narayana (Vishnu)

Periya Tirumadal and Siriya Tirumadal, two other poems he wrote, use the ''madal'', an ancient Tamil custom which is practised by a rejected lover to win back his love. The custom evolves singing about his love in love, devoid of food and sleep and finally trying to commit suicide before her if all things fail. Thirumangai sings as a woman threatening Lord to finish her life if He can not reciprocate her love. He assumes the role of a gopika (milkmaid) who threats Krishna (a form of Vishnu) with ''madal''.  His songs are also based on akam love poems, and talk of employing bees and storks as messengers to God. He goes to the length of portraying himself as the nayaki, pining for the love of Vishnu.

Gita Verse-by-verse Study Podcast:

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Gita Verse-by-verse Study Podcast:

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“Spirit is an entity with no beginning. It is the true self. Its core-essence is sentience, consciousness, which it uses to illuminate itself to itself. It is the true essence of all that exists. It has no intrinsic relationship with matter, and cannot be adequately contained within the limited qualities of insentient matter.”

अनादिरात्मा परुषो निर्गुणः प्रकृतेः परः ।
प्रत्यग्धामा स्वयंज्योतिर् विश्वं येन समन्वितम् ।।

anādir ātmā puruṣo nirguṇaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ
pratyag-dhāmā svayaṁ-jyotir viśvaṁ yena samanvitam

– Śrī Kapila, from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.26.3

Tagged: Consciousness, Soul, spirit, Spirituality

Holy Name Meditation Podcast:

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"My head is clear. I’m hearing the syllables of the mantra and praying to Krishna in desperation. Please Lord, help me to chant Your Hare Krishna mantra it is so important to me now and I want to keep the right count. I’m trying my best."

From Bhajan Kutir #304
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

Sunday Love Feast for All When? Sunday,Jan 11th,2015 Program starts at 11 am Where? 6 George Street South Brampton, Ontario L6Y 1P3, Canada Park underground(free) @ City Hall Phone:416-648-3312 New! Listen Click here to listen to previous class recordings on our blog Make a Donation Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.17 ayur harati vai pumsam udyann astam ca yann asau tasyarte yat-ksano nita uttama-sloka-vartaya Translation Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Personality of Godhead.   Program Schedule 11.00- 11.15      Tulsi Puja                                            11.15 - 11.30     Guru Puja                                             11:30 –11:55     Aarti & Kirtan                                       11.55 - 12.00    Sri Nrsingadeva Prayers                   12.00 – 1:00     Vedic discourse   1:00 –  1:30      Closing Kirtan Hari Naam Diksha Ceremony  This Sun Jan 11th 2015 at 12pm Please feel free to  join us for Hari Naam Diksha Ceremony taking place at ISKCON Brampton on Jan 11th 2015  by His Grace Sankarshan Dasa Adhikari during our Sunday Feast. COMING UP AHEAD   Sat-tila Fasting.....................on Fri Jan 16th,2015 Breakfast.................on Sat Jan 17th,2015 b/w 7.47am-10.54am Every fortnight, we observe Ekadasi, a day of prayer and meditation. On this day we fast (or simplify our meals and abstain from grains and beans), and spend extra time reading the scriptures and chanting the auspicious Hare Krishna mantra. Appearance of Sri Nityananda Prabhu  Celebration on Sun Feb 1st 2015 @ 11am Nityananda Prabhu appeared in the village of Ekachakra, in West Bengal, India, around 1474. In the Caitanya Caritamrita and other scriptures He is declared to be the avatar of Lord Balarama, the direct expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. *For Volunteering please do contact Radha Gopinath Dasradhagopinathdas@hotmail.com. *For financing the event do contact Aloke Prabhu at the front desk.   **Details of the program will be posted when we come closer to the event**   ON GOING EVERY SUNDAY Indian Classical Dance Classes For more info please do contact Syamesvari Devi Dasi at the temple or write tosyamesvaridasi@yahoo.com. The dance is performed mainly with the theme of Infinite love of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.   Sunday School To register,contact us Email:sundayschool108@gmail.com Call:647.893.9363 The Sunday School provides fun filled strategies through the medium of music, drama, debates, quizzes and games that present Vedic Culture to children. However the syllabus is also designed to simultaneously teach them to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. The Sunday School follows the curriculum provided by the Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture (BCEC).     Please note that ISKCON Brampton is a nut free environment in order to support those with allergies. Your cooperation is appreciated.   Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Chant and Be happ

Bhagavatam-daily Podcast:
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Smashed religious imagery in Utrecht

Iconoclast:

Today, the former head man at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Giles Frazer, writes in the Guardian that both the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and the Islamists shared a common conception that false gods and man-made religions and objects of veneration have to be smashed.

 

We hear so much about people converting from one religion to another. Srila Prabhupada in his introduction to the Bhagavad Gita says that conversion of faith is material where as the dharma of all living entities is eternal. In other words, even if a person converts, still his dharma remains constant and eternal.

If a person is seeking God to serve God, then there is no need to convert from one religion to another.But if a person is seeking happiness (material or spiritual) in God, then such a person will convert. To serve God with no motive and no break in time is the ultimate dharma for mankind. Such selfless and timeless service can be conducted under any religious banner be it Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Krishna.

Most often than not, the institutional form of religions do not teach such selfless service to God, but however, propagate self-preservation and self-happiness in the name of God as the ultimate goal of life. Because there is lot of customer base for self-preservation and happiness in this world, institutionalized religions are competing with each other using mundane tactics to pull these customers to their institutions. This competitive pulling of customers from one religion to another is called conversion. Such conversions have no real basis in true dharma. It is an illusion!

Real dharma for all living beings is to serve God without any ulterior motive and without any break in time. One can do this in any setting any where!

Hare Krishna

Padayatra Guyana 2015 (Album 195 photos)
with H.H. Bhakti Marg Swami and The Major Of Georgetown (H. Green)
Wed, Jan 7, 2015
See them here: http://goo.gl/AQS0rB

Harinama at Byron Bay - 07 January 2015 (Album 14 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: We should not forget the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra under any circumstances. It will help us in the greatest danger, as we find in the life of Gajendra. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 8.3.1 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/A2fB0h