Welcome Seminar Lecture Vrindavan, India : “Krishna’s Vrindavan Pastimes”
Bhakti Charu Swami

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KṚṢṆA CONSCIOUSNESS Founder-Ācārya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Welcome Lecture Given By His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Kṛṣṇa’s Vṛndāvana Pastimes, Vṛndāvana, India, 13 November 2014   When and wherever we are with Kṛṣṇa, only then can we be truly happy. kṛṣṇa sūrya-sama māyā haya andhakāra yāhāṅ Kṛṣṇa tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra(...)

Clearing a Few More Misconceptions about Rāgānugā Sādhana.
→ The Enquirer

title

Clearing a Few More Misconceptions about Rāgānugā Sādhana.

There seems to be a lot of interest in my previous article on the subject, and some discussion has cropped up, which makes me realize there are many other misconceptions about Rāgānugā-Sādhana that gradually have to be addressed before anyone can gain a clear, confident, and wise understanding of Śrī Rūpa’s blessings to the world.

No Rules

The biggest misconception is that Vaidhi follows rules, but Rāgānugā doesn’t. That’s just wrong. BRS 1.2.296 and 1.2.101 prove that it is a misconception. The difference between the two sādhanas in this regard is simply that Vadhi is motivated by the desire to follow God’s rules, where Rāgānugā is motivated by desire to love God in a very intimate way – and it utilizes rules and methodologies as tools to attain that intimate love.

Any so called bhakti that doesn’t follow śāstra is “bogus-bhakti”, not ”rāgānugā-bhakti.”

”Spontaneous”

A similar misconception is that the execution of rāgānugā is “spontaneous” (and therefore doesn’t follow rules).

It is true that rāgānugā is svabhāvikī (natural, spontaneous). But it is bhāva-bhakti which begins to be svabhāvikī in execution. Rāgānugā-bhakti is svabhāvikī (spontaneous) in its motivation, not in its execution. This is proven by BRS 1.2.291 and 292 as well as by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravarti’s explanation of ŚB 3.25.32.

“Spontaneous motivation” specifically means that you have a natural, undeniable interest in pursuing a specific type of intimate relationship with Krishna. You don’t get this interest because you theoretically know its a good thing to have, or because someone says you are supposed to have it – you just have it naturally (as a result of having heard a particularly beautiful līlā which awakens your specific attachment to the love demonstrated in that līlā)

One should note carefully that all the original archetypes of rāgānugā-sādhana — for example the six goswāmīs — rigidly observed vratas and vidhis, like counting a certain number of recitations of mahāmantra on beads daily, daily offering a certain number of praṇām to people, limiting very strictly their sense-gratification, and so on. ”saṁkhya pūrvaka nāma… Not that they just did whatever they wanted whenever they felt spontaneously inspired to do it.

Rāgānugā is just About the Motivation

Rāgānugā is based on spontaneous motivation, but it also differs from vaidhi-sādhana in the ways described in BRS 1.2.294 and 295: that the focus is on the internal significance of ones external deeds.

Basically, in vaidhi-sādhana we see the external deed as the whole package. “OK I did 16 rounds today.” Or, “OK I offered the chapattis to Krishna.” But in rāgānugā-sādhana we are mainly focused on the internal significance of the deeds. While chanting 16 rounds we are praying to become freed from our imperfections that keep us from attaining a specific intimate loving relationship with Krishna. Externally we may be sitting in front of an altar with marble deities, but internally we are sitting in our rooms, behind locked doors with mother-in-laws and husbands blocking all the exits so that we cannot leave and answer the flute’s call, so we are chanting the name, because that is all we have, and the fire the name ignites in us, will burn the impurities that cause us to be so blocked.

Or we may be meditating that Rādhā and Krishna have come to sit privately with us and hear us privately express our love for them by reciting their names with attention and focus. In this way, whatever the specifics, there is some internal significance to the external deed, and the internal significance is nourishing to the particular mood one aspires for. These are example of Rāgānugā relevant to mādhurya-rati. Every individual Rāgānugā-sādhaka will have different internal significance in their external practices. But the key is that the rāgānugā-sādhaka is focused FIRST of all on the internal aspect, and the external aspect is facilitating the internal meditation.

Kāmānugā is the variety of Rāgānugā inspired by the the hope of attaining a love for Krishna like the gopīs have. Sambandhānugā is the variety of Rāgānugā that is inspired by the hopes of attaining other relationships. So, one inspired by the hope of attaining a motherly relationship with Krishna could offer capatis to the deity just like any vaidhi-bhakta, but the internal activity going on which externally offering chapatti on an altar may be that she has taken chapati that Rādhārāṇī cooked on Yaśodā-devī’s request, and is carrying it into the dining area where Krishna is seated with his father and brother and some of their friends, and is serving the chapati to them as they joke, etc.

So, Rāgānugā is not just about having a spontaneous motivation to attain a particular loving relationship with Krishna, it is also about practicing the vidhis in a way that facilitates achieving that relationship.

Rāgānugā Sādhana Naturally Happens When You Are Purified by Vaidhi

I think this is a useful thing to explain to someone who is overly zealous to imitate rāgānugā-sādhana when factually they have no inclination to love Krishna in any mood, but are only inclined to be loved and adored by others. It is useful because it puts the person “in his place” and makes him focus on more honest bhakti. However it is not an objective philosophical fact that Vadhi leads to Rāgānugā.

The objective fact is that Vaidhi-sādhana leads to vaidyottara-bhāva-bhakti which blossoms as maryāda-prema. On the other hand rāgānugā-sādhana leads to rāgottara-bhāva-bhakti which blossoms as kevala-prema. The two paths don’t cross at any time.

If you don’t have spontaneous inspiration to love Krishna in a particular way, and you want to get it, you won’t get it by “following vaidhi-sādhana — but you can get it by following BRS 1.2.296, which means to adopt an approach to rāgānugā-sādhana which relies very heavily on the vidhis common to vaidhi-sādhana but under the guidance of a rāgānugā-guru who aims your vidhi towards exposure to kīrtan of the nāma, rūpa, guṇa and līlā of Krishna in a genuine, pure way. By that exposure we soon get the initial spark of spontaneous inspiration, and then be able to proceed more towards BRS 1.2.294 and 295.

This is exactly the system our Guru, Śrīla Prabhupāda, set up as the ideal for ISKCON, but a lot of his followers seem not to understand it, and mistake his program as vaidhi-bhakti.

As shown in BRS 1.2.309 the ultimate cause is the mercy of Krishna’s devotee who has some spontaneous love, or aspiration for spontaneous love, at least. For its really only when we hear kīrtan of the nāma, rūpa, guṇa and līlā by someone who really loves Krishna that we stand any chance of any of that love inspiring us to attain something similar.

Thus we are very fortunate to have Śrī Bhāgavata (spoken by Śuka, who is full of prema), and we are very fortunate to have explanations of the Bhāgavata by the Goswāmīs and their followers. We are very fortunate that Śrī Bhaktivinoda prepared the way for sharing this loving access to Krishna-līlā with the modern, Westernized world. And we are very fortunate that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Prabhupāda have furthered that work. Especially we are lucky for all the writings Śrīla Prabhupāda left for us. Because its by hearing about Krishna from someone who really loves Krishna that we hope to catch the spark of spontaneous inspiration to also love Krishna.

We should always be looking everywhere and anywhere for someone who can speak about Krishna with genuine love. Finding such person we should open our ears wide! I am most fortunate to have been able to meet pure devotees in this very lifetime, and to hear from them with open ears. I don’t know how this was possible.

You Can Understand Rāgānugā by Debating About it

The “cool” and “advanced” club is well outside the umbrella of pure devotional service, and far below the feet of even the simplest sincere vaidhi-bhakta. You can’t get anywhere near Vṛndāvana Krishna by feeling smarter, better, more advanced than other people.

The person who debates more forcefully or with more bravado then the next, is not the person we want to align ourselves with, unless we want to follow them into their karmic spiral.

As your servant and a mere sweeper in the gutter of the Gauḍiya Paramparā, I offer whatever feeble services I can to any and all who request or avail of it. There is no need to debate with hotheaded people who already feel convinced they know everything there is to know. Better to sign a document consenting defeat to such persons, and assemble sincere seekers of Krishna in a private place, and carefully discuss the teachings of our guides and exemplars.

To purify myself I have taken this opportunity to discuss the wonderful subject of Rāgānugā Sādhana. Holding to my chest and on my head the stones from the places where followers of Śrī Rūpa have walked, I tend to remain a fool.


Gita Jayanti Sloka Recitation & Quiz Contest
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY SANTI VARDHANA CAITANYA DASA

 

KUALA LUMPUR - We are happy to announce Gita Jayanti celebrations at Sri Jagannatha Mandir, ISKCON Malaysia on 2 December 2014. Gita Jayanti is the day when Lord Sri Krishna spoke Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the Battle field of Kurukshetra 5000 years ago. 


We have planned various programmes to celebrate this most auspicious day. 
Details as follows:
1) Bhagavad Gita Overview Seminar from 1/12/14 - 5/12/14 (8:00 p.m.- 9.30 p.m.)
2) Programme by Gokul Garden Children on 2/12/14
3) Bhagavad Gita Sloka Recitation and Quiz for School and College students on 6/12/14 and 7/12/2014

1) Bhagavad Gita Overview Seminar from 1/12/14 - 5/12/14 (8:00 p.m.- 9.30 p.m.)
The 5 day course will be conducted by HG Santi Vardhana Caitanya dasa, LLB (London University), Bhakti Sastri Diploma (VIHE), TTC (MIHE). 

Topics covered are:
  1. Isvara (God);
  2. Jiva (Living Beings);
  3. Prakrti (Material Nature);
  4. Kala (Time); and
  5. Karma (Action).
Course fee is RM 20/= to cover course materials and food. (Discount of RM 80/= as SPECIAL OFFER for Gita Jayanti). OPEN to EVERYONE.

2) Programme by Gokul Garden Children on Tuesday, 2/12/14.
A special programme organized by Sri Jagannatha Mandir's Gokul Garden students (Sunday School) on the occasion of Gita Jayanti. 8.00 p.m. - 9.30 p.m. at temple hall.

3) Bhagavad Gita Sloka Recitation and Quiz for School and College students on 6/12/14 and 7/12/2014. The event will be graced by Deputy Minister for Federal Territories: YB Senator Dato' Loga Bala Mohan Jegannathan @ 
HG Loka Bandhu Gauranga dasa Prabhu, who will be delivering the Sunday Bhagavad Gita lecture at 8 a.m. - 8.45 a.m. and the prize giving ceremony.

Bhagavad Gita Sloka Recitation on Saturday, 6/12/2014  8.30 a.m.: Registration: RM 1/= for Primary School students;
RM 3/= for Secondary School students and RM 5/= for College and University students for both Sloka and Quiz Contest.  Sloka Recitation Contest to start at 9.00 a.m. -12.30 p.m.
Breakfast and Lunch provided.

This will be in 4 groups:
Students will be judged on ragas (tune), correctness of English translation, correctness of Sanskrit pronunciation and expressions. 

Group1:
Om ajnana timirandhasya, he krsna karuna sindho, BG 1.1
Sanskrit with English translations by HDG Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Group 2:
verses 1.15; 2.13; 2.16; 2.29.
Sanskrit with English translations by HDG Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Group 3:
verses 1.1; 2.12; 3.9; 3.13; 4.3; 4.6; 4.9; 4.34
Sanskrit with English translations by HDG Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Group 4:
Verses: Gita mahatmya 7, BG 2.7, 6.47, 7.8, 8.9, 10.8, 10.12, 15.13, 15.15, 15.18, 18.55, 18.78

Bhagavad Gita Quiz on Sunday, 7/12/2014.
Registration: 7.30 a.m.
Quiz Contest start at 8.45 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.
Participants are encouraged to attend the Bhagavad Gita lecture by Honorable Deputy Minister of Federal Territories at 8.00 a.m.
Breakfast and Lunch provided.
For quiz:
Group 1 (6-9)
Questions will be based on Setting the Scene
Group 2 (10-13)
Questions will be based on Setting the Scene, Chapter 1 and 2 
Group 3  (14-17)
Questions will be based on chapters up to 4.
Group 4 (18-25)
Questions will be based on chapters up to 18.
 
Please reply this email or contact Temple office 877355/60 to register. 

 

The Greatest Benediction, November 9, Phoenix, Arizona
Giriraj Swami

Dhruva Maharaja

“The devotee wants only one thing which is to always remember Krishna and to never forget Krishna. In happiness or distress, in good health or illness, in riches or poverty. In that state one is satisfied. It doesn’t mean that if one becomes a devotee the dualities of the material world will stop. They will continue. Pleasure and pain, heat and cold, happiness and distress, sickness and wellness—when one is in the material world these things will go on. A devotee doesn’t mind. He just wants to have the benediction that whatever happens—no matter what the situation—that he will always remember Krishna. Let whatever comes come. This state can be achieved through the grace of Krishna and guru.”

11.09.14, Phoenix, Arizona

Can’t stop smiling
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 September 2014, Pretoria, South Africa, House Program)

BudbXwUCIAI5wSUAnother story that I have about Brahmananda – once in Vrindavan, Madhudvisa, another sannyasi, arranged that a picture would be taken. This picture was a group photo of devotees in ISKCON and Madhudvisa organized it all, with everybody nicely in the right position.

Brahmananda stood right in the middle next to Prabhupada…naturally. Madhudvisa was behind the camera but what Madhudvisa had done is that he had put a timer on the camera. So he put the timer, he clicked and then he ran over and stood right in front of Brahmananda, right next to Prabhupada.

So Brahmananda said, “Get out of here,” in a deep voice, sort of like in a way that Prabhupada could not hear but that Madhudvisa could. Right in his ear, “Get out of here.” Madhudvisa did not move an inch. So then Brahmananda, being a big and powerful wrestler, pinched Madhudvisa as hard as he could in the back. Pretty hard! Madhudvisa, you can see on the photo, Madhudvisa was just standing there with the biggest smile on his face and Brahmananda was pinching as hard as he could (laughing), but Madhudvisa, for nothing in the world, you know, would stop smiling.

 

This Is It For Me
→ Japa Group

"I like chanting the maha-mantra. I’m familiar enough with the words ‘Hare,’ ‘Krishna’ and ‘Rama.’ They please me as they pass through my mind and lips. I’ve been doing it so long it’s become a love and deep attachment. I could never switch to another kind of prayer of another religion, or even another mantra in the Vedic religion. This is it for me. I began in 1966 and I’ll continue it until the end."

From Japa Transformations
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

A Mahabharata For Today
→ NY Times & Bhagavad Gita Sanga/ Sankirtana Das




Dharma teaches us that human life is all about regulation. Morality means regulation. Children and young people getting an education requires regulation. Married life requires regulation. And driving safely on the road requires regulation. Why shouldn’t this apply to businesses? After all, as some proclaim, “businesses are people too.” So why do some politicians insist that de-regulation, or absolutely no regulation, is the best thing for business?  Imagine the chaos if this unregulated dynamic were allowed to be played out by drivers on   the  road. It would mean pandemonium, pileups, meltdowns,  and death.

But it’s become a cycle.  Wall Street & big business demand deregulation.  When they get it, like little children, they run recklessly after quick profits.  Because of their foolish behavior, the investors become fearful and the stock market plunges. Regulation comes back and people feel secure again and stocks go up.  After a short while, people forget, and the cycle begins again.

To govern properly, and to live peacefully, requires education.  People need to be educated so they can  understand and identify the qualities of good leadership. When uneducated voters elect unqualified leaders, it becomes a case of the blind leading the blind. The foundation of an honest government is an honest and informed citizenry.  The main focus then must be on a higher and more profound level of education; an education that promotes the  principles of honesty,  compassion and sacrifice. This, in part, is the teaching of Dharma.

Most people have an intuitive sense of this.   People make sacrifices to get an education, to raise their children and to protect the country. Why shouldn’t big businesses make sacrifices and practice self restraint to keep our economy solvent. If Wall Street and big businesses are people, then some of them act like bullies or spoiled brats who think they are entitled to special treatment.

My book, Mahabharata: The Eternal Quest,  offers a contextual understanding of  dharma and identifies the qualities of true leadership. Unfortunately, all to often our so-called political and business leaders find ways to exploit their positions for their own personal gain. But leadership must assume the greatest responsibility and make the greatest personal sacrifice in time of hardship. They  must also be considerate of the most vulnerable citizens. The story speaks of a time when it would be a great embarrassment if leadership were remiss in giving proper protection. If citizens were robbed, it would be the responsibility of leadership to retrieve the stolen goods. And if they were unsuccessful in doing that, then they would have to replace the goods. When citizens are truly educated, they would demand more from themselves and their leaders.

More about my book at www.Mahabharata-Project.com 
Ask about the current sale at story108@juno.com






Moments of Spiritual Joy (Album 32 photos) These past few years,…
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Moments of Spiritual Joy (Album 32 photos)
These past few years, I have followed the Hare Krishna movement with my camera. Doing so has changed my whole perspective and understanding of the world and of life. This spiritual tradition has geared me towards a new genre of candid, raw, emotional and real photography. Through this experience I have learnt to anticipate and photograph beautiful expressions of love, joy and relationship between the soul and the divine.
http://goo.gl/AFqJj9

Moods of Devotion (Album 33 photos) Over the past few years, I…
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Moods of Devotion (Album 33 photos)
Over the past few years, I have been so fortunate to have observed and captured deep moods of devotion within the spiritual culture of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (popularly known as the Hare Krishna tradition). This time old tradition first touched my heart in 2007 and inspired me towards a new genre of candid, raw, emotional and real photography. It is through this experience, whereby I have learnt to anticipate and photograph beautiful expressions of love, longing, prayer, meditation and contemplation of the soul towards the divine.
http://goo.gl/n2WmbU

The Medicine Will Act
→ Japa Group

"....so whether you take knowingly or unknowingly, the medicine will act. It will act even without his knowledge because its potency doesn't depend on patient's understanding. Similarly, even though one does not know the value of chanting the holy name of the Lord, if one chants knowingly or unknowingly, the chanting will be very effective."

Lokanatha Swami
Germany Bhagavat Saptha

Love Thy Neighbour?
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 17 September 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, BYS Lecture: Leadership and Compassion)
kks_amsterdam_feb2012“Love thy neighbour” is a very good principle. The only problem is, I don’t! I don’t know if you love your neighbour, but I can not force my heart. My heart is what it is. It loves what it loves and I can not tell it what to love, it just does it on its own! I can not dictate it! So unless there is something in my neighbour that awakens love in me, it is hard. I can not just love on command, “Love!”

Not happening! Nothing coming.

Love comes only when someone really does something that touches us; when someone does something and you say, “Wow! That’s really nice!”  Then you get a soft spot for a person.

You can have some sort of universal love which is not connected to anything or anyone, but I don’t see that as real love.  Of course, there may be a level of love which goes beyond the performance of people, a level of love where you say, “Well, I just want to be kind to everyone, even if they are not kind to me.”

You can have some sort of general sense of love. Let us say you have a classroom of kids – they are not from a privileged background and it is your job to bring these kids up. You do it out of idealism. You stand in front of the class and you really want to help, but still, there are some kids in the class that you like more than others. It is natural, because they did something that stood out or they have some special quality. So for love to go deeper, there has to be a personal element.

 

How to Become Free from Suffering, November 8, Home Program, Phoenix, Arizona
Giriraj Swami

SanatanaGoswamiGiriraj Swami read and spoke from Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 22.

kona bhagye karo samsara ksayonmukha haya
sadhu-sange tabe krsne rati upajaya

Translation: “By good fortune one becomes eligible to cross the ocean of nescience, and when one’s term of material existence decreases, one may get an opportunity to associate with pure devotees. By such association, one’s attraction to Krsna is awakened.

Purport by Srila Prabhupada: Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains this point. Is this bhagya (fortune) the result of an accident or something else? In the scriptures, devotional service and pious activity are considered fortunate. Pious activities can be divided into three categories: pious activities that awaken one’s dormant Krsna consciousness are called bhakty-unmukhi sukrti, pious activities that bestow material opulence are called bhogonmukhi sukrti, and pious activities that enable the living entity to merge into the existence of the Supreme are called moksonmukhi sukrti. These last two awards of pious activity are not actually fortunate. Pious activities are fortunate when they help one become Krsna conscious. The good fortune of bhakty-unmukhi is attainable only when one comes in contact with a devotee. By associating with a devotee willingly or unwillingly, one advances in devotional service, and thus one’s dormant Krsna consciousness is awakened.

—Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Madhya-lila 22.45

CC Madhya 22, Home Program, Phoenix

ISKCON Youth Honored for Literary Contributions Nimai is a 10th…
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ISKCON Youth Honored for Literary Contributions
Nimai is a 10th grader who attends Stanford University’s Online High School. He has been writing for KidSpirit for the past three years and enjoys the opportunities the magazine has given him to learn about others’ viewpoints. Nimai practices Vaishnavism, a monotheistic tradition within Hinduism, and much of his writing for KidSpirit deals with his relationship with his faith. He tells HuffPost that he spends at least one hour deep in meditation every day.
http://goo.gl/cc3Pm0