Brahmājī on Nāma-Kīrtan
→ The Enquirer

“The best way to turn our affection towards you is by hearing your heartfelt kīrtan issuing from hearts completely saturated with pure devotion. Then we will be able to see your All-Attractive form existing within the lotus of our own hearts, revealing yourself in exactly the shape we lovingly contemplate.

“This kīrtan is much more effective than even the most opulent religious ceremonies offered by host of gods, because the pomp of such ceremonies is still tied to self-importance. Those absorbed in fantasies of self-importance never truly turn their affection towards you, but anyone who abandons the fallacy of self-importance and embraces compassion for all beings can truly engage in your kīrtan and realize you as the Sweetheart of the Most Inner Self.

“I take shelter of you, Birthless One. The qualities and deeds of your avatāra are amazing, but especially amazing are your names! Those who embrace your name with their final breath, out of spontaneous affection or even just by mistake, immediately cast off all the impurities accumulated through countless lifetimes and perfectly attain limitless, immortal nectar!

– From Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Nine


The Most Important Time
→ Japa Group

"The brahma-muhurta hour is the most important time in the day, and you want to be awake for good chanting. If you’re heavy-lidded, there’s not much you can do but wash your face, grit your teeth, and do the best you can do. Don't give in to sleepiness. The regulated life of a full night's sleep is important."

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

True brotherhood
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 September 2014, Scottburgh, South Africa, Youth Programme)
visnujana (4)
So how can we, the youth of the world, take on this great ideal where we say: we are concerned with the happiness of all and not just our own happiness?

It can be done! It is possible, but only on one condition – when we have a common goal. That is not hard to find, but it cannot be found on earth, because when we look at earthly things, we all have different goals. One wants a BMW, another a Mercedes and another a plane!

Therefore, the only common goal is a spiritual one. That is what can bring us together. We all come from different backgrounds but behind these backgrounds, is a concept of God. With a concept of God, it is possible to unite. With a concept of God, it is possible to find solutions for the world. When I see that a person, who is very different from me, is sincerely dedicated to God, and if I am also trying to be, then we can appreciate each other even though we are so different.

True brotherhood can be found when I see that my brother, who is different, is really trying to do something wonderful, and it is found when everyone tries to do something wonderful, something selfless. This is only possible through a spiritual solution.

 

Marathonian book distribution in Kiev, Ukraine (Album 25…
→ Dandavats.com



Marathonian book distribution in Kiev, Ukraine (Album 25 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: It is the duty of the mahatmas to chant the Hare Krishna mantra and try to spread it all over the world to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, society is in such an uncivilized state that there are so-called mahatmas who are prepared to kill cows and children and stop the Hare Krishna movement. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 10.2.37 Purport).
See them here: http://goo.gl/Amnuqo

Radhanath Swami Addresses the Confederation of Indian…
→ Dandavats.com



Radhanath Swami Addresses the Confederation of Indian Industries
“One must earn with integrity and spend with compassion”, urged Radhanath Swami to 150 businessmen at an interactive session titled ‘Spirituality: Leadership and Management’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), India’s premier business association with a membership of over 100,000 enterprises. The event was held on the morning of December 12th, 2014 at Hotel Trident, Mumbai. Govinda Ethiraj moderated the discussion that included prominent business chiefs of India Mr. Ajay Piramal and Mr. Kishor Biyani who agreed that spiritual principles are universal and can be used as beacons for illuminating the complex and intriguing world of business.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/amAuhS

What is artistic license and how can it be used in devotional dramas?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

 
Answer Podcast:

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Relevant Prabhupada quote:

You can imagine that “In my heart I have placed now a very diamond throne, and Krishna is sitting.” That is accepted. It is... Actually it becomes. Even within the mind you think that “I have kept one diamond throne, very costly throne, because Krishna is coming. He will sit down here,” that is not false. That is a fact. So you create such situation within your heart. “Now Krishna has seated. Let me wash His feet with the Ganges water, Yamuna water. (BhP 1.13.10 lecture, June 1, 1974, in Geneva).

Devotees distribute books in Govardhan Hill (Album 10…
→ Dandavats.com



Devotees distribute books in Govardhan Hill (Album 10 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: As stated in the Padma Purana: “One cannot understand the transcendental nature of the name, form, quality and pastimes of Sri Krishna through one’s materially contaminated senses. Only when one becomes spiritually saturated by transcendental service to the Lord are the transcendental name, form, quality and pastimes of the Lord revealed to him.”
See them here: http://goo.gl/rBbXEF

In the service of Radha Syama, Iskcon Hungary (Album 29…
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In the service of Radha Syama, Iskcon Hungary (Album 29 photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The performance of sankirtana-yajna is a special concession for human society to save people from being affected by known or unknown sinful activities. We are surrounded by unlimited sins, and therefore it is compulsory that one take to Krishna consciousness and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 9.16.23 Purport)
See them here: http://goo.gl/sxm0Xm

A Lovely Evening I had been living in the holy village of…
→ Dandavats.com



A Lovely Evening
I had been living in the holy village of Mayapur in India for about 6 months, and recently I had begun to come every evening to the samadhi to play flute. Often, I would fall quiet and gaze up at the mosaics, lost in thought and lost in the glory of everything Srila Prabhupad had done for the world.
Read the entire article here: http://goo.gl/HtvdKj

No compromise!
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 September 2014, Scottburg, South Africa, Youth Programme)
SP_smilingOne thing I really did not like was when my father used to say, “Son, life is a compromise.” That was like giving up before you had even started to try for the ideal.

I was always an idealist, and still today, I am an idealist. My father is late, but if I would meet him now, I would say the same thing. He would say that life is a compromise and I would say, “Maybe for you it is but for me, it’s not.”

But how can I say such a thing? How can I say that life is not a compromise when you have to do so many things that you never asked for? Yes, you have to, because of the circumstances – you cannot just do what you want. So how can I say that life is not a compromise?

Of course, it is true – I have to do things like everyone else – things I am obliged to by my environment. That is there! There are laws, there are rules. There are so many restrictions imposed upon me that I did not ask for but I have to play along, otherwise it is too much trouble. So isn’t life a compromise, as my father would say?

I would say, “No, life is not a compromise.” It is not a compromise because I have not sacrificed my ideal. I have not sacrificed my dream. If you do not have a dream, then you are compromised. If we do not have something to really believe in and strive for, then are we really living? Then, are we going anywhere? Then one has given up before one has tried.

 

 

Top Marks to a Math Whizz
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY IAN PEREIRA

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: MALAYMAIL (A Life Remembered)

KUALA LUMPUR - The liveliness of Ravindran Pillai's mind and his relish for numbers reflected the diversity of his career which started as an outstanding schoolboy mathematician in 1959.

Always scoring high marks of between 90 and 100 in class test papers at the Bukit Mertajam High School, Ravindran was singled out for a career in engineering.

That came in pass as he served Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and before that Malaysian Singapore airlines (MSA) as flight engineer at the Kuala Lumpur, Sungai Besi airport and subsequently, the Subang International airport.

In all, he served Malaysia Airlines for 26 years as Fokker F27s, DC 80s, Boeing 737s, 747-400 before retiring in 1988 to pursue in religious life in Hinduism. Ravindran died in Petaling Jaya on Nov 10, aged 71.

Ravindren has rare qualities of intellect and collegeaues remember him for the sharpness and creativity of his mind and the ability to get to the root of the problem quickly.

Still, he had the comfort of working in an era before terrorist bombings of civilian aircraft had been added to the hazards of air travel.

Born Ravindren P.N. Pillai in Lunas, Kedah on March 6, 1943, he was one of the three boys of a family of six.

His parents were migrants from Kerala in South India in the early 1920s.

Being bornin the closing years of World War II, Ravindren experienced hard timess attending the ??? English School before moving on to Bukit Mertajam

A model student, he topped the class in studies and excelled in sports, representing BM High ar cricket.

Above all, his mathematics teacher Oh Boon Tat loved him the most.

Ravindren had told his family that Oh was a strict disciplinarian who used cane students when he felt whom he felt did not try hard enough to improve on their mathematics.

At one point, Ravindren got worried when he was not given back his marked test paper until the last.
Finally, Oh called him, "Who taught you to do this sum this way?"
"No sir, I did all by myself."
Oh was greatly impresssed. "Excellent job. For that I give 120 per cent."

Ravindren had apparently bypassed a scale or two of the equation before arriving with the correct answer.

Leaving Bukit Mertajam High with high grades at 16, he went to the Calcutta Aeronautical College in West Bengal, India qualifying as an aeronautical engineer in 1962.

He worked for three years at the Dum Dum airport in Calcutta and at the Pune airport in Maharastra before gaining his flight engineering wings and returning to Malaysia in 1965.

Back home, he flight-engineered the Malaysia Air Charter for five years before spreafing his wings internationally.

Over the years, Ravindren's schoolboy athleticism remained strong throughout his life.

Understandably, it was love in space when he married MSA stewardress Leela Devi in 1974. They raised two children - daughter Anisa is a marketing graduate, and son Ashwin is into audio engineering/musician.

Ravindren was also fond of gardening in his retirement years, opting to speng moretime in the garden on days he did not feel quite up to jogging the 10km to 15km he was accustomed to.

The result was that his garden was filled with a large variety of flowers and shrubs, vegetables and fruit trees, including a priced durian tree that fruited twice a year.

Ravindren could be a demanding colleague who set high standards and looked to others to do the same.

Still he was a generally well-liked flight engineer - far removed from the extrovert image of an avid aviation man. His style was one of quiet authority, leavened with kindness.

His spiritual journey saw him travel many times to India besides serving his temple and spiritual master.

All who knew Ravindren remember him with great affection. He never lost a friend and he scorned convention to the end.

He is survived by his wife of 40 years Leela, daughter, Anisa, son Ashwin and grandchildren Siresha Loba, Samret Ram and Thivisha.