ISKCON Scarborough – Lord Nityananda Prabhu’s Appearance Day celebrations- Sunday- Feb 1st 2015‏
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Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!


We would like to invite you and your family to celebrate Lord Nityananda Prabhu's Appearance Day with us at ISKCON Scarborough on Sunday- February 1st 2015.

Lord Nityananda Prabhu, whose name literally means, “eternally blissful”, appeared around 1474 AD in the village of Ekachakra, near Mayapur, West Bengal.

He is the eternal companion of Lord Caitanya and both are worshiped together as Lord Krishna and Lord Balaram. In the same way that Lord Balaram is considered the original spiritual master, so is Lord Nityananda.

Lord Caitanya is the most merciful incarnation of Lord Krishna, but Lord Nityananda, however, is even more merciful and compassionate than Lord Caitanya.

No service is too small to go unnoticed by Lord Nityananda, and no sinner too bad not to qualify for his benedictions. Lord Nityananda gives the mercy to understand and approach Lord Caitanya, who in turn gives the mercy to approach Srimati Radharani, who blesses us with love of Krishna. So the worship of Lord Nityananda is most important to Gaudiya Vaishnavas seeking the mercy of Radha-Krishna.


Program on Feb 1st 2015- Sunday

10.30 am to 10.50 am- Tulasi puja & Guru Puja
10.50 am – 11.15 am -Grand abhishek  performed on Gaura Nitai deities
11.15 am to 12.15 pm - Lecture on the pastimes of Lord Nithyananda
12.15 pm to 12.45 pm - Arti
12.45 pm to 1 pm - 1 round chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha mantra
1 pm - Free Vegetarian feast(Prasadam)


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7

Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

website: 
www.iskconscarborough.com

Seberang Jaya – Temple Update 26/1/2015
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SIMHESWARA DASA

I was at temple project site on last Friday and Saturday. We had meetings and here are some progress cleaning of temple walls before painting begins. The GI tubing for sound and wiring has been completed. Front wall being put up. Countdown for August 29, 2015 and only then it will be Merdeka, our Independence Day which incidentally falls on 31/8.

 

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Wherever The Mind Wanders
→ Japa Group

"One should not slur Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna. He should not fall asleep while chanting in his so-called bhajana. As Krsna advises Arjuna in practicing yoga, “Wherever the mind wanders due to its restless and flickering nature, you have to drag it back.” So this applies to our chanting. You have to chant with attention. Remain awake and chant with devotion."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

World acharya
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 December 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Evening Lecture)

untitled2It is interesting that Prabhupada was not a temple devotee! Prabhupada was that nice Mr De from the congregation. (Indian accent) He used to give nice donations for Janmastami. Also, he would play mrdanga. That was a nice thing.

This Mr De, he was a nice man, nice congregational member. Next moment, here comes the acharya! He did bigger than all the others. They could not believe it! Some really had a problem with it, “He always was a real business man. That is why he was so successful.” This was too much for them. How could Mr De, some congregational member who took sannyasa, but so much later than they took sannyasa, how could he become the next world acharya? Ah… was not even a temple devotee. So, let us see. Who will be the next? (laughing)

Nityananda Trayodasi
→ New Vrindaban
Join us on Feb. 1st, 2015 from 11am-3:30pm
We would like to invite you and your family to celebrate Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day with us.

You will have the opportunity to:

  • Bathe Their Lordships
  • Join in an ecstatic kirtan
  • Hear Gaura-Katha from H.H. Varsana Swami
  • Honor a sumptuous prasadam feast
Festival Schedule
11:30am:  Bhajans
11:45am:  Bathing Ceremony of Gaura Nitai
12:30pm: Offering of Bhoga
1:00pm:    Arati & Kirtan
1:30pm:    Class by His Holiness Varsana Swami
2:30pm:    Nityananda Trayodasi Prasadam Feast
The Significance of the Day
Nityananda Prabhu appeared as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord.
  • He appeared in 1474 in the village of Ekachakra, now in West Bengal.
  • He is considered an incarnation of Krishna's principal expansion, Balarama.
  • He is also known as the original spiritual master & for being even more merciful than Lord Caitanya.
"As Lord Nityananda is eternal, hence His lotus feet are also eternal and anyone who takes to the service of Lord Nityananda, (s)he also becomes eternal."- Srila Prabhupada
Service Opportunities
$108: Nitai-Seva
includes:
    • prasadam for the whole family
    • abhishek (opportunity to bathe the Lord)
    • opportunity to serve the cows
    • maha-prasadam packet
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We hope to see you here in New Vrindaban Dham.  
Gaur Natraj Das
304.312.6539
 
Daya Gauranga Das

Blue Mystic – A drama by Bhaktimarga Swami and Toronto Drama…
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Blue Mystic - A drama by Bhaktimarga Swami and Toronto Drama Team (Album 20 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Bhajananandi refers to one who is satisfied to cultivate devotional service for himself, and goshty-anandi is one who is not satisfied simply to become perfect himself but wants to see others also take advantage of the holy name of the Lord and advance in spiritual life.
(Sri-Cantanya-Caritamrta, Adi-lila, 7.92)
See them here: http://goo.gl/CIPTQp

Sunday Program in Moscow (Album 5 photos) Srila Prabhupada: The…
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Sunday Program in Moscow (Album 5 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The Hare Krishna movement is present in every millennium of Lord Brahma’s life, and the holy name is chanted in all the higher planetary systems, including Brahmaloka and Candraloka, not to speak of Gandharvaloka and Apsaroloka. The sankirtana movement that was started in this world five hundred years ago by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is therefore not a new movement.
(Srimad-Bhagavatam, 2.7.15 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/gL9Kkb

Appearance of Advaita Acharya
→ Mayapur.com

Please view the following galleries: Darshan Abhishek jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda Advaita acarya is an incarnation of Mahavisnu and thus non different (advaita) from the Lord. He is one of the principal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the inaugurator of the yuga dharma Harinaam Sankirtana. His intense prayers to the Lord […]

The post Appearance of Advaita Acharya appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Potato Puris (2 min video) Ingredients: Wheat Flour (Gehu ka…
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Potato Puris (2 min video)
Ingredients: Wheat Flour (Gehu ka atta)
Gram Flour (Besan)
Semolina (Rawa/Suji)
Roasted Sev
Beetroot
Potato (Aloo)
Green Chilli (Hara Mirch) and Ginger (Adrak) Paste
Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
Garam Masala
Cumin (Jeera) Powder
Chat Masala
Red Chilly (Lal Mirch) Powder
Salt (Namak)
Chopped Coriander (Dhaniya)
Oil (Tel)
Watch it here: http://goo.gl/P93uca

Our Biggest Yet
→ travelingmonk.com

Last night’s program in Mumbai was our biggest yet. Over 9,000 people sat transfixed for 90 minutes as our actors brought the pastime of Usa and Aniruddha from the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam to life. Srila Prabhupada, we do this all for you. Please give us your blessings!

By Popular Demand
→ travelingmonk.com

By popular demand we held two showings of ‘Usha and Aniruddha’ on the 1st day of our program in Mumbai; one in the morning for high school students and the other in the evening for a number of Mumbai’s elite personalities. A total of 1,200 guests. I only had time for a few photos, as [...]

What is the result of chanting the names of godmen who have the name of God?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Pandurang Charan P

Before explaining verse 9.29 you explained
•Right name, right conception – Back To Godhead
•Right name, wrong conception –Pratimbimba nama bhasa
•“Wrong” name, right conception –Spiritual advancement (eg. “wrong” names = Non-Vedic names in vernacular languages)
•Wrong name, wrong conception –mogh asha mogha-…. (9.12) - Self Proclaimed God.
Prabhuji there are some self proclaimed Gods who have Krishna's names like Aniruddha  etc. They have the right name but wrong conception but what is being followed should put them into mogha asha category ie: Wrong name, wrong conception. Could you please clarify.

Answer Podcast:


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Gita 05.09 – Contact of senses & sense objects is not the problem – infatuation with the contact is
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Gita Verse-by-verse Study Podcast


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Raganuga for Beginners?
→ The Enquirer

We’ve come to think of Rāgānugā Sādhana as an “advanced” practice. From what I can tell by considering what I have considered, it is more of a practice that evolves from a simple to a more advanced stage. There are advanced practitioners of Rāgānugā Sādhana and there are also beginners. Their qualifications and activities are the same in substance but different in quantity and depth of specificity and purity.

Dhyānacandra Goswāmī gave a very full, advanced version of Rāgānugā-sādhana in his Gaura-Govinda-Ārcana-Smaraṇa-Paddhati, which is practical only for those with very high qualifications: (for example) freedom from rajas and tamas and their impulses to karma, and thus the ability to meditate nearly 24 hours a day. Śrī Rūpa, however, gave a definition in Bhakti-rasāmṛta Sindhu which can scale easily to accommodate the initial as well as the advanced approaches to the path.

I’ll try to show how Śrī Rūpa’s definitions pertain to those just getting started with Rāgānugā-Sādhana.

His definition of how to practice starts with 1.2.294. He starts off by saying kṛṣṇaṁ smaran – “remember Krishna.” The word smaran is not esoteric. It is the essential principle of vaidhi-sādhana as well (smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇuḥ, BRS 1.2.8).

Then he says janaṁ ca – “[remember Krishna] with his devotee.” That’s the hallmark of this (asya) type of sādhana, not found in vaidhi-sādhana. We always think of Krishna with his devotees.

Then he says preṣṭhaṁ nija-samihitam – This answers, “which devotee?” He says, “Think of Krishna with the devotee who loves Krishna in the way you yourself hope to love Krishna.”

This implies some adhikara. Specifically, its impossible to do rāgānugā unless we have some natural hope to love Krishna in a somewhat specific way. (laulyam/lobha). We don’t need to be freed from rajas-tamas and qualified for constant samādhi meditation to begin rāgānugā-sādhana. We just need a natural, clear, steady aspiration for a specific type of love of Krishna. That’s the actual bar, below which its not possible to even begin rāgānugā.

Next, Śrī Rūpa clarifies how to best “remember Krishna with his devotee” — tat-tat-kathā-rataś cāsau. “Remember them by always hearing about their love.”

Then he adds, kuryād vāsaṁ vraje sadā. “Always make your residence in Vraja.” On one hand this is a practical advice: if I want to always hear about the love of Krishna and a particular devotee, my best bet is to surround myself with others who have similar interests. So I should move to Vraja. On the other hand, it could mean “If you constantly hear about the love between Krishna and the devotee you admire, you will effectively always be living with them in Vraja.” The second interpretation seems better, since not every rāgānugā practitioner lives in Vṛndāvana. Even Mahāprabhu and his extremely elevated associates lived in Pūri.

Now, we come to 295. This one is about seva, “service.” We have to do 294 before we are capable of doing 295; we have to cultivate interest in and familiarity with Krishna’s relationship with the devotee we admire, before we can come to the instructions in 295, which advise us how to apply that information to our practical sevā.

The verse is about sevā – that is the topic. Sevā has two forms (the rūpa of the practitioner is not the topic, the rūpa of seva is the topic): a practical form (sādhaka-rūpeṇa) and an ideal, perfect form (siddha-rūpeṇa). In this rāgānugā path (atra) sevā must operate through both forms. We must execute the practical form of the seva but the more important (hi) aspect is to also (ca) be participating in the ideal, perfect form of the seva.

A very advanced practitioner could follow Dhyānacandra Goswāmīs system for elaborately envisioning the ideal form of seva, but it is not necessary. The new practitioner of Rāgānugā simply performs their external deeds (performing kīrtan, worshipping the deity, cleaning the temple, etc) while maintaining awareness of the internal significance of that deed, in the context of the relationship with Krishna that he or she aspires to.

Śrī Rūpa thankfully states this fairly explicitly by saying, tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā “[Participation in this internal form is done by] connecting it to the bhāva [mood of devotion] you are striving to achieve.”

He ends with vraja-lokānusārataḥ — “This is how you follow the essence of the denizens of Vraja.”

Then we come to 296, which answers, “What type of sevā should I do?”

śravaṇot-kīrtanādīni vaidha-bhakty uditāni tu, yāny angāni ca tany atra vijñeyāni manīṣibhiḥ

He says, “The intelligent apply themselves to a realized practice of the sevās described in the section on Vaidhi-bhakti: hearing, chanting, and so on.”

Here the words intelligent (manīṣībhiḥ) and realized (vijñeyāni) refer to doing the external form of these practices (sādhaka-rūpa) with awareness and focus on the internal relevance of them to ones cherished devotional ideal.

So, taken together, the three verses [BRS 1.2.294-296] read like this:

“Remember Krishna with the devotee who loves him in the way you yourself hope to love him, by always hearing about their love and residing in Vraja. Cultivate their same mood of love by doing your devotional practices with focus on their analogue relevance to the services you hope to perform. Thus intelligently apply yourself to all the practices of devotion described in the section vaidhi-sādhana, especially hearing and kīrtan.”

To do this sādhana doesn’t require freedom from lower modes, etc. But it does require that one have a natural and clear interest in a particular type of relationship with Krishna. It doesn’t require 24 hour meditation, or any elaborate system, although advanced practitioners can avail themselves of such systems. It simply requires that one hear about Krishna’s relationship with his beloved devotee, and try to emulate the spirit of that love when performing ones normal devotional practices.


Tagged: Raganuga, Raganuga Bhakti