G-20 Parade
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The G-20 conference is a forum for the governments of 20 major economies around the world. Collectively, the G-20 economies account for 85% of the gross world product.

This year, the conference is being held in Brisbane and leading up to it the city is celebrating with various events around town.
The devotees were invited to attend a G-20 parade starting from the Goodwill Bridge on the Brisbane river. About 60 devotees attended, chanting and dancing, much to the delight of the crowds that had gathered for the event.
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Taking advantage of mercy by making an effort
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 October 2014, Vrindavan Dham, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.13.22)

kartik_2014Question: You have mentioned that logic can sometimes make us dull and this maybe is an example of how that works. In your class, I am trying to be logical and I am having a little difficulty, as what you have said seems like a circular kind of reasoning. You were saying that we are all running to apparent limitations and we have to break through these, we have to extend ourselves in order to get the mercy. But then you said that if we get the mercy then we will be able to go beyond our limitations. So it sounds like that in order to go beyond our limitations, we have to go beyond our limitations! Limitations, you have said, make us stumble, we are very much challenged by it, and because of it we cannot do it. But then, you are saying that in order to get the mercy that will enable us to do it, we have to do it – we have to put some effort. So it seems that even before getting mercy, we have to do something anyway. Could you please explain it a bit more?

Your question is refining things and that is appreciated. Yes, we have to make an initial effort to take the mercy which is so widely available. But we have to make that initial effort to take advantage of it. It is something like ‘stretching’. Stretching means we are stiff and our hands can barely get passed our knees, so we have to make that first effort. One day, as we stretch, our hands will be on the ground. So, like that, first we receive some causeless mercy, mercy we never asked for, mercy that just appeared in our life. Then it is up to us to take that mercy and take advantage of it. As we take a little advantage of some mercy, immediately we get more and that will give us more strength and enthusiasm to again take some more shelter. So, it is simultaneously going on: we make a little effort to take a step and immediately so much mercy will come our way which will give us strength for another step and for more mercy coming. In this way, we will make progress as it is a combination of both personal effort and mercy. Damodar-lila shows us those two fingers – one for the mercy and one for the personal endeavor of Mother Yasoda. Only then Yasoda was able to tie Krsna.

 

Srila Gaura Kishore dasa Babaji Maharaja’s Disappearance Day, November 2, Dallas
Giriraj Swami

gaura-kisoraGiriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava by Bhakti Vikasa Swami.

“After much hullabaloo a babaji remonstrated. ‘Siddhanta Saraswati is not a renunciate, and therefore not eligible to establish a samadhi for a renunciate.’ Prabhupada thunderously retorted. ‘I am the only initiated disciple of Paramahamsa Babaji Maharaja. Even though I am not officially a renunciate I am a celibate bramachari. By the grace of Babaji Maharaja I’m not secretly addicted to abominable habits nor engaged in fornication as are certain simian people.'”

—Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava

Disappearance of Gaura Kishor dasa Babaji

The Сhairman of the TOVP project, Ambarisha das together with…
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The Сhairman of the TOVP project, Ambarisha das together with his wife Svaha dasi visited Mayapur recently.
(Album 8 photos)
They were very impressed to see how everything is progressing nicely and how quickly the construction is going. Anybody who comes to the construction site can now get a clear picture of the temple as its transcendental form takes shape, how grand it looks, and how much we have achieved in such a short period of time – from 2010 when the construction started.
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Tuesday, October 28th, 2014
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Alachua, Florida

To Choose

3 miles or 5 kilometres is what it takes to get on foot to the local temple. 3 miles or 5 kilometres is the same distance it takes to return. The return or my accommodation place is at the home of Ananta Sesa and Vaishnavi, a south Indian couple and two sons, who very well look after me.

I had delivered the Bhagavatam class before my return. And the topic was about the choices we make in life. There is a tremendous amount of freedom experienced by all of us in this world of choice. When trained how to see the world in its proper perspective bearing in mind our true identity as a spirit that can mingle in the atmosphere of the three energies (modes) then good decisions can be made on the basis of knowing.

The three energies are satva (thoughtfulness), rajas (passion) and tamas (darkness). When our perspective on life is clouded by tamas (darkness), when everything is clouded with respect to goals, it is difficult to make objective decisions. You are too subjective to see the good choice you have.

The text which I spoke from referenced from Canto 10 and although the topic about Krishna and Princess Rukmini was clearly from another world, they mutually chose each other as spiritual lovers. The choice was vast. But nothing was as organic as the natural attraction they had for each other. When it came time to pick and choose for tying the knot a letter was written by her, sent to Krishna by a brahman priest about the mutual fondness and so, as a natural consequence, an elopement took place.

On another not it is with full congratulations that I appreciate the choice made by two people and the community to move ahead in their devotional life. Scott became Shasvata and Nirmala became initiated as Namamrita.

May the Source be with you!

11 KM

Monday, October 27th, 2014
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Alachua, Florida

It Dawned on Me


It dawned on me.  There are two things that I like to have near me, at least two.

A road under my feet and a microphone at my mouth.

I get a charge out of the sand at the side road enroute to the Krishna Balaram temple.  It’s a faint worth doing with the softness underneath.  I was on my way to this particular destination when I dwelt on the prospect of saying a few things, perhaps anecdotes, about the guru on the anniversary of his passing.  By lunar calculations, Srila Prabhupada passed on this day back in 1977.  I was slotted to say a few words, not many, because I was at the head of a queue (being the guest) while others were anxious to say something too.

I did get the mic, by the way, but I ended up over-extending myself.  There is always much to say in appreciation of the person who’s done so much to improve your life.  When I think about the multiple benefits one word comes to mind that I’ve achieved and which I’m grateful towards.  The word would be “confidence.”

When I was in my last year in my teens and I met the monks that represented him (our guru) I was a jittering, nervous person.  I was shaking like a leaf but I knew if I spent enough time with them I might evolve as a stout tree trunk, ready to accept a challenging world.

The world that I knew before and after taking up the simplicity of a monastic are really two different universes. I’m grateful to be where I am but anticipating greater gains of spiritual maturity.  It is necessary to penetrate deeper into the realms of bhakti.  More focus and concentration is required.  As one martial artist, an acquaintance, put it, “It’s better to dig deep one hole instead of jumping to numerous shallow holes.”

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

Sunday, October 26th, 2014
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Toronto, Ontario

Re-define the Celebration


I believe it’s not only leaders of the Abrahamic faiths (Christians, Jews, and Muslims) that get busy on week-end days. I think it holds true for most monks, swamis, and brahmanas too.  People make an extra effort by way of convenience on those days to push the spiritual button and engage their communities more so than on other days.

It really doesn’t matter which time of the week one reserves for the spirit, or what time of day, or special observances at certain times of the year, as long as you do something.

Today, Sunday, the temple packaged a festival of Diwali (a common celebration as a New Year), Anna-kuta, a festival of food to honor Krishna’s Govardhan Hill and the Kartik month, a focus on baby Krishna—all combined.

To accomplish the good time that comes out of the event, the kitchen was a busy bee-hive, as was the altar, the temple room itself and living quarters with extra overnight guests staying over.  Oh I forgot the office.  Frankly, that’s where I spend a good amount of time.  It’s a meeting place, really and it’s hard to get out of that box for a stretch or a walk.

I managed after the fun of the fest to reacquaint myself with quiet only to walk through a modern-day version of an old Celtic celebration by mere displays of Halloween’s orange and black.  Yes, residents go all out to exhibit massive inflatable black cats, ghosts, zombies, headless horsemen and everything ghoulish.

“Where are the good ol’ fashion pumpkins? You know, the jack-o-lanterns?” I asked within.  In one sense the whole affair appears a weird twist to the eve of All Saints Day.  People seem to get a chill and a charge out of anything scary.

One thing I’ll keep in mind is what our guru, Srila Prabhupada, once said about people not having a sufficient scare or fear of maya the illusion of the world.  Rather we flirt with temptation and dance with delusion.  To be honest, it’s time for all to re-define our weekend and big-time fun.

May the Source be with you!

3 KM

Saturday, October 25th, 2014
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Mississauga, Ontario

Out and A Boot


Michael and partner, Saskia, came to have lunch with me.  Michael and I have been friends since we found each other via internet.  He’s a follower of God.  He also likes the road and walked the expanse of it across Canada.  That’s what we have in common. 

I listened to the time he was in Grand Forks, British Columbia, as he walked through.  I hope he doesn’t mind me saying it.  When a guy asked him where he was from, he said he was from Toronto.

“So how’d you get here?”

“I walked.”

“You walked all the way from T.O.?” said the guy in disbelief (we’re probably looking at 3 – 4 thousand kilometres.   He alerted his friends.  They came over and shouted, “Boot!  Boot!  Boot…”  The town’s custom is that you drink beer from a boot.  So Michael did that.  Actually, he ended up drinking two boots worth, and that pretty much finished his walking for the day.  We had a good laugh as Michael told his story.

Michael went through a lot of personal transformations during that walk.  He helps people currently with addictions and is moving on with producing a documentary of the wisdom you learn from the road.

Michael and Saskia are a great couple.  We parted when I was whisked away for a program where a family was honouring their new house.  A homa (fire ceremony) was held and conducted by priests.  I spoke from The Gita to a full house.  We chanted and then feasted.  In the process, I felt as if I landed in my stomach boot-loads of coconut water.  I was definitely in the mood to walk after that, especially to burn off the calories of the curries. 

May the Source be with you!

6 KM

Friday, October 24th, 2014
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Thornhill, Ontario

Clicked Away


I clicked away with camera (on my phone) to capture what I’m seeing.  Posterity has it’s place when you fall in love with your trails.  Mud Creek was my path.  The people who are also on the path were glowing as much as the leaves were. 

The leaves!  Yes, they are on top of you, they are under you and they are all around you because it’s autumn. 

The other day I was talking ot one of our congregants, The Leafs, the hockey team.  His sons are fans of the players.  Whether the team loses the game or not, the boys are faithful. 

In Sanskrit the word for faith is called shradha.  It means, as our guru put it, “Trust in something sublime”.  It would make sense that the power behind the creation, including a hockey team, would be the most sublime entity of all.  In fact, I would say there should never be a disconnect between creation and its Creator.  That would be the greatest illusion to even think about separating them. 

So here I am shooting away, registering great scenery and appreciation of what’s there.  This venture repeated itself in the evening.  Two monks, Brihat, Hayagriva, and I took to a woodsy trail in a Thornhill forest before conducting a 9 Devotions Workshop.  The group we engaged was a Russian community.  Very receptive they are, and very responsive.  Here again, the folks were aglow, but in devotional practices because the workshop is very much hands on and heart touching. 

A quote from Vladimir Borisov, “Some people listen with their stomach, some through their knowledge, and some with their mind.  Very few listen with their heart.” 

May the Source be with you!
 
8 KM

Lord Damodara Witnesses Weddings and Engagements in Malaysia
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BY JAI SITA RANI DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - This Damodara month saw three lucky couples tying the knot in Malaysia. May they also be able to tie Lord Damodara with their ropes of love.

(Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.

 Wedding of Vinod Kesavan and Pravina Raja Gopal

Engagement of Dharmeswar Chaitanya Das and Swarna Vathy

Registration of Sacisuta Das and Vishaka Susevini Devi Dasi

The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram (Album 136…
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The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram (Album 136 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram in the countryside, just on the banks of the Yamuna river, is a perfect replica of what all of Vrindavan must have looked like hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. We relished hearing and chanting in the sanctified atmosphere of that holy place realizing that our Kartika parikrama is almost over. We are all wondering how we will ever leave Vrindavan! But we know must, if only to share our good fortune with others.
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Annakut at Govardhan Hill (Album 49 photos) Today we had an…
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Annakut at Govardhan Hill (Album 49 photos)
Today we had an amazing Annakut offering to Govardhan just nearby. A large group of devotees from Tirupati cooked so many preparations at the ISKCON Palace and brought them to the place, on the eastern side of Govardhan on about 10 flat bed rickshaws. One by one the devotees took their offerings, all nicely covered in new cloth, and placed them on an altar of new cloth on the ground. More new cloth was held above the offerings to protect them from sun and dust. While a large kirtan party sang, the offerings were all prepared, then HH Bir Krishna Maharaja did the offering to Giriraja. Then all the preparations were loaded back onto the rickshaws and taken back to the Palace for a huge feast. I sat in the Temple in an area reserved for sannyasis etc. HH Dhanurdhara Swami was there as well as another famous ISKCON Maharaja. They started serving the feast. So many preparations were coming. One after another, more and more. It was incredible. I kept thinking that I can’t possibly allow them to put any more prasadam on my plate, because it would be an offence not to eat it all. But the devotees would come around with new preps, and just put it on the plate anyway. Finally I felt I was making some headway, and I did manage to clear my savouries plate. But the three sweet bowls I decided to keep for later. I distributed a few fried preparations to the beggars outside. What struck me as most amazing is that I ate so much, yet I didn’t feel any indigestion at all, nor did I feel sleepy or tired all afternoon. It’s now after 9pm and I still feel wide awake! Anyway, it was a very sweet festival. Will post some pics tomorrow. Giriraja Maharaja Ki Jai!
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