Sri Caitanya-caritamrta’s Conclusion, October 19, Dallas
Giriraj Swami

Krsna das Kaviraja Goswami. A painting by Arca Vigraha dasi.

Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami

Srila Prabhupada said that in every activity, the Vaisnava should pray to the previous acarya, “Kindly help me”—that the Vaisnava always thinks himself helpless and begs help from the previous acarya. And he gave the example of Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, the author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, who at the end of every chapter prayed,

sri-rupa-raghunatha-pade yara asa
caitanya-caritamrita kahe krsnadasa

As Srila Prabhupada explained, “In every line he is thinking of Rupa-Raghunatha, previous acaryas: ’Let me surrender to the Gosvamis and they will help me how to write.’ You cannot write. That is not possible.” And Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami is saying it openly here, that “I did not write this book. I could not write this book. It was written only by the mercy of these personalities.” And he mentions the Deities of Vrndavana and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates and followers. And then he writes, “I have also been specifically favored by another supreme personality. Sri Madana-mohana Deity of Vrndavana has given the order that is making me write.” In other words, “I am not qualified, but still I am writing because I have been given the order to write.”

Caitanya-caritamrta’s Conclusion

Look for common ground
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 28 September 2014, Durban, South Africa, Sunday Feast Lecture)

Question: Can we have Krsna katha with Muslims and Christians? Will that change their hearts and make them take to devotional service?

srila prabhupada 1Srila Prabhupada said that there is a spark of Krsna consciousness in everyone; you have to find it and fan it. So, you cannot just immediately tell a Christian that Krsna is the only way! That is too much for most Christians to swallow and with Muslims too. There are differences so be sensitive to the differences. Look for common ground and then look where their devotion is.

A good Muslim is daily studying the Koran and daily bowing down five times. I mean, that is quite something. He does Ramadan and he does so many other things. So we can appreciate some piety there.

I was on a plane and I had a look at the magazine in the seat pocket. It showed a story about Muslim girls. I was sort of reading it and it said that Muslim girls always had to be covered, except with their own father and brothers. If their Aunty had breast fed them as children then also with those cousins, they may be uncovered. Very complicated and very strict rules. So, I was reading that and then a movie started on the screen in front of me. In this American movie, a young girl went into a chemist and she bought something over the counter and later on, we found out it was a pregnancy test; and she tested positive. So we have these two stories.

So we saw on the one end of the description, a very rigid society with its limits that seem to be too tight. And then, we saw in another culture, young girls of thirteen are sent out on a Saturday night… So it was interesting to see the two scenarios. I normally have time to tell the whole story but you get the idea, the rest you can fill in. Now what would you choose for? What is better? Sending a thirteen year old daughter into the streets on a Saturday night… or keep her covered?

My point is that we can see the merit of some traditions, and although we ourselves are not coming from those traditions, we can have some appreciation for the dedication that people have and for the values that they have. That is something to be appreciated. I think if we look for the common ground and then bring Krsna in, then it will be very good. Of course, that does not mean that we have to go to the Mosque and bow down five times a day and all the men have to grow beards, in the name of preaching. But still, common ground is what we look for with people who are fixed in some faith.

 

As A Result Of Chanting
→ Japa Group

"As a result of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one makes such great advancement in spiritual life that simultaneously his material existence terminates and he receives love of Godhead. The holy name of Krishna is so powerful that by chanting even one name, one very easily achieves these transcendental riches.”

Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 8.28

Visiting Pavana-sarovara, a sacred lake near Nandagram in Vrindavana (Album 135 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we visited Pavana-sarovara, a sacred lake near Nandagram. Our program was the same as everyday; hearing and chanting the glories of Lord. Such sravanam and kirtanam seems to be especially potent in the holy dhama. Local tradition says that the results of any spiritual practice done in Vrindavan dhama is magnified a thousand times. Perhaps that's why Srila Prabhupada often encouraged his disciples to come visit these sacred places and return to their country's of birth purified and ready to share their good fortune with others. Read more ›

Friday, October 17th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Tirupati, India

Under the Rooftops


A light rain hit all the rooftops before the sun rose.  I was on that veranda unaffected by wetness.  Above me is the next floor creating a natural awning.  I could chant in peace and in dryness at an hour when temperatures are coolest.

My friend, Akrura, from Canada, had previously walked the streets and made an interesting observation about trekking in the sun, “You end up sweating in places on your body you never knew were possible.”  We both concluded it is just downright muggy here in Tiruapti. 

Another peer, Madhusevata, told another dynamic which took place when he was a young brahmachari monk in Kolkata in the 70’s, “At night the cockroaches would come out, but what’s worse were the rats chewing on the back of our feet as we were asleep.  The rats had this habit to blow on the wound in order that you wouldn’t feel the pain quite so severely.  You couldn’t detect what they were doing until you woke up.  They would bite then blow.”

Madhusevata hails from Italy.  When he joined he wasn’t yet married.  He pioneered Krishna Consciousness with his Indian friends in this very congested city.  I guess you could say he’s a real success story.  He went on to become a major leader with a mission in his homeland Italy and built up Hare Krishna Villagio, in a village not but a few miles from Milano. 

It was Madhu, Akrura, and others who enjoyed kirtan in the morning as I did in the exotic temple right next to where I did my pacing on the veranda.  The murtis  (sacred images) are named Radha Govinda.  They are decorated stunningly each day.  When the pujari priest brought his jasmine flowers towards the deities, and strikes the clothing, suddenly there’s a shimmer from the cloth which adds to the divine glamour which each morning displays the quality of otherworldliness. 

Far beyond being drenched in sweat or rain, harassed by roaches or rats, is the spiritual world. 

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

Thursday, October 16th, 2014
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Tirupati, India

Day of Thought


It was quite the day.  I do enjoy the company of my swami friends, godbrothers.  There are good talks amongst us, with godsisters as well.  We talked philosophically which means we as a group are going deeper into the field of life.

Physically though, anyone amongst us would admit that humidity and heat is intense, and would resort to the use of AC with or without the addition of ceieling fans.  In coolness, there is an eeasier chance of processing information. 

It was quite the day and after talks, I did my walk up and down the veranda.  Then I submitted to my room and plopped my body on one of those fancy Rajasthani chairs.  I reached up for the Bhagavad Gita while acknowledging the wording on the rear side of the book’s cover, “The most widely read edition of Gita in the world.”  I flipped over to verse 13.35.  This resonates.  “Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body and can understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature attain to the supreme goal.”

Further enlightening words arise from the purport:

“One can understand that the body is matter.  It can be analyzed with its 24 elements.  The body is a gross manifestation, and a subtle manifestation is the mind and psychological effects, and the symptoms of life are the interaction of these features.  Yet over and above this, there is a soul.”

Food for thought!

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

Wednesday, October 14th/15th, 2014
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Tirupati, India

The Bat and Me


I doubt very much that he was the same bat I met two years ago in the same spot. He was fluttering about in the space that wasn’t really mine. I can’t reach that high, but almost. He can carefully manoeuvre himself just above arms-length, stretched up. These bats normally do.

I was chanting my japa, (mantras on beads) along the lengthy veranda at the Tirupati ISKCON Guest House when I met this fellow. It was his eating time, night-time. Like you see a lot of western youth with their invincible tummies having pizzas at night, this nocturnal winged wonder my bat friend got his munching in at what folklore calls the witches hour.

I think he was doing well due to the bugs galore. I can’t fault him for not eating veggies and not devouring with honour that which we call prasadam, food blessed by brahmins. My little bat friend was preying on what’s natural for him.

As humans we have so many choices for food. I had a brief four-hours-stay in the guest house at Hyderabad. During that time I was asked to speak to the brahmachari monks from a Bhagavatam verse, Canto One. The interesting topic was about looking at emergency situations where meat consumption may be permitted. In general, under normal circumstances, we humans commit to satvic food, food in goodness. Ultimately the choice is yours.

Again, my friend, was following his natural aptitude, his dharma. And that’s why I call him my amigo. I was glad not to be alone, in fact, at that quiet hour on the veranda. I still wondered if he was the same fella of two years past.

The answer hangs in the air like a bat at night time. If it’s a new guy, then I have two friends now. The more the merrier. I hope to meet him tomorrow.

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

HH Jayapataka Swami heath update
→ Mayapur.com

New Delhi, October 18, 2014 – His Holiness Jayapataka Swami was discharged yesterday for a few days from the hospital where he stayed for 11 days. He is still under medical supervision as an Outpatient, and is meant to return to hospital to continue further treatment. The Doctors have agreed to discharge him under the […]

The post HH Jayapataka Swami heath update appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The following is the message and picture I received from Prithvi-pati, father of Venu-gopala age 7
→ SivaramaSwami.com

Its the kind of news that gives on real life.

“Dear Guru Maharaja, Venugopal went for book distribution yesterday. He distributed 2 krishnabook, 1 Gita, 2 prabhupada, 1 josd and 7 Q&A. He collected 20.000,-ft. Ys,ppd”

unnamed

The post The following is the message and picture I received from Prithvi-pati, father of Venu-gopala age 7 appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

New Devotee Relations Dept. at New Vrindaban Aims for Happy, Healthy Devotees
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

By Madhava Smullen

A brand new Devotee Relations Department was officially established in March 2014 at the ISKCON New Vrindaban community. The new department is headed up by Sukhavaha Dasi, who joined ISKCON in New Vrindaban back in 1974 and has lived and served there for many years.

Sukhavaha holds a degree in social welfare from Penn State University, and has taken courses on leadership, leadership training, and compassionate communication. She’s also the author of the book, Revealing the Heart: The Practice of Compassion.

Sukhavaha dasi

Sukhavaha dasi

Her vision for the new department includes supporting devotees to grow and mature in the ways they relate to one another (hence the name “Devotee Relations”), as well as providing care and support to the community by empowering devotees to care for themselves.

“To me, it’s the difference between feeding somebody, and teaching someone to grow a garden so they can feed themselves and others,” she says.

The department’s new home, a house with four rooms and a kitchen located just across the road from Sri Sri Radha Vrindabanchandra’s temple, will undergo renovations this winter.

Sukhavaha hopes to turn it into a “holistic center for mind, body, spirit and emotions” by spring 2015, complete with sauna, exercise equipment and spaces for life coaching, energy healing, cooking classes, as well as medical care by visiting and local devotees in the health field.

As well as these ongoing services, the Devotee Relations Department will hold one-off courses. Sukhavaha is currently completing her pilot course, “Empowered Empathy,” to a small group, with a second run open to the whole community to begin Tuesday, October 14th.

She is also planning two weekend workshops in spring and fall 2015, entitled “Healing the Pain of Childhood Wounds,” which will be facilitated by professional psychologists. The workshops will be offered to second generation devotees free of charge, including dormitory accommodation and meals.

For the more long term, Sukhavaha aims to train devotees as mentors for those living in the temple. This mentoring system will provide care for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of devotees.

She also wants to inspire devotees to create and lead a network of small groups that will provide support for different areas of life, such as men’s, women’s, parent’s, and health groups, as well as a book club.

“In small groups, you can feel safe and comfortable enough to be yourself and express yourself,” she says. “And the power of them is that you can get nourishment and support from the other devotees, and learn from one another.”

Although the Devotee Relations Department is new and yet to develop a team, other individual devotees, like Lilasuka Dasi, have been doing their part to assist devotees in various ways. Sukhavaha hopes to train other staff in the future. But it’s something she expects to be a gradual process.

“I’m not in a rush just to throw something together, if it would be counterproductive or fall apart,” she says. “I want to very organically and methodically create structured systems that are sustainable over time.”

In the meantime, devotees who have already taken her coaching or Empowered Empathy workshop are encouraged by the results and returning for more.

Sukhavaha is delighted. “I love to see happy, healthy devotees,” she says. “Not just on the surface, but on a deep level, from the inside out.”

Ineffective Chanting
→ The Enquirer

Ineffective Chanting

You’re chanting and chanting, but are you learning any philosophy? Really learning it so it makes sense? Chanting without knowledge of what the chanting means is not very effective.

bahu janma kare yadi śravaṇa, kīrtana
tabu ta’ nā pāya kṛṣṇa-pade prema-dhana
— Caitanya Caritāmṛta (adi.8.16)

Chanting can go on ineffectively for many, many births (bahu janma). Something is required before it becomes effective. That requirement is Śrī Caitanya’s “mercy” – what is that “mercy” it is the instructions about the meaning of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam left behind by his followers, particularly the Six Goswami’s of Vrindavan. So we have to study their books (particularly bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, ṣaḍ-sandarbha, and bṛhat-bhāgavatāmṛta) until we really understand what they are saying. Then our chanting has effect very quickly, because we chant properly, without mistake, without “offense” without misconception.

Śrīla Prabhupāda therefore instructed us to study these books. We have to study Śrīmad Bhāgavatam through understanding the way Bhāgavatam is explained in these books. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s writings lay the foundation for this study, but one cannot really say he follows Śrīla Prabhupāda’s instructions unless he also takes the trouble to follow his instructions to directly study the works of the Six Goswāmīs.