Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-09-10 03:41:00 →

1965 September 10: "Today the ship is plying very smoothly. I feel today better. But I am feeling separation from Sri Vrindaban and my Lords Sri Govinda, Gopinath, Radha Damodar. I have left Bharat Bhumi, I have taken up this risk just to carry out the order of His Divine Grace. I depend fully on Their mercy so far away from Vrindaban."
Jaladuta Diary :: 1965

Monday, September 8, 2014
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Etobicoke, Ontario

Making My Way
 
 
I was making my way westward on Davenport, the ancient trail for the Huron native people.  It was once at the edge of waters called Iroquois. The water receded to where it is now.  It was a major thoroughfare connecting the current Humber and Don Rivers.  It’s now a narrow street.  I feel honoured to be on a trail that’s thousands of years old.
 
While trekking I met a series of guys who were, let’s say, expressing themselves individually.  The first one was angry.  While pushing his baby in a carriage, a person in a slick black Cadillac stopped right in front of him with cell phone in hand, oblivious to what she had done.  The father demanded while having to go around the vehicle, “Stop using your phone!”  He repeated it again and again as the driver of the car paid no attention.
 
Blocks later I came to a stoplight.  So did the driver next to me.  With his car window open he was singing at the top of his lungs.  I was trying to catch the song.  It sounded like an Engelbert Humperdinck tune.  Anyways he sounded happy.
 
Some blocks later a guy on his bike going the other direction spotted me and broke into a string of mantras.  I was thinking we’re not doing too bad for a Monday late afternoon.
 
Finally I made a turn to Weston Rd., then Eglinton West until my prearranged driver came to pick me up 10 kilometres later.  He drove me to his home to initiate an annaprasana, a first grain ceremony for his five month old son.  Both dad and mom were thrilled.  So was I.  I got my walking in.  I witnessed happy men and one in a drama.  These things happened while walking so I could see all this and be entertained.
 
May the Source be with you!
 
10 KM

Sunday, September 7th, 2014
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Pelee Island, Ontario

Kidding Around


I enjoy being a kid at times.  Before the journey to Pelee Island, I ventured my way to the Humber River in pilgrimage style, that is, chanting mantras, but I got a little distracted.  A skunk hit my trail, I started to chase him.  He was a beaut with lots of white on him.  I’ve dealt with these guys for years.  By now I know how close I can get and be alert to watching the tail spring up in defense, which would mean a nasty spray.  My motive apart from being frivolous, is to have the creature hear a Sanskrit mantra, which is pure sound and can even subliminally effect him positively. 

Now, the trip to Pelee Island took us first to Kingsville, where a ferry awaits.  It’s on this ferry, after boarding, that we applied the same philosophy that I did for the skunk.  Only this time it was a group first.  Chanting melodiously we did for human ears.  I should not forget the trailing behind seagulls flying in the air as the cruiser, The Jiiman, was creating a wave behind it.  The sound of mantra must have also fell on their ears. 

The kirtan (chanting session) was arousing.  People came from every level of the cruiser to listen – staff and passengers.  They joined us in the singing and dancing. 

This is becoming an annual event, visiting Pelee, while being a kid.  Devotees of Krishna from both Detroit and Toronto come together to swim the water and toss a ball trying to keep it volleyed to the count of 108.  Considering the long, drawn out winter as of late, squeezing out today’s wholesome bonding type of fun is most treasured. 

By the way, the main portion of the Detroit contingent was a couple, Jambavan and Samvit, with their 8 offspring.  How can you not be like a kid with them around? 

May the Source be with you!

6 KM

Saturday, September 6th, 2014
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Scarborough, Ontario

Going to a Fair


“Are you going to Scarborough Fair?  Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme…”

Simon and Garfunkel. 

A god brother, Kala, drove me to Scarborough, and to a type of fair.  Actually, it was the 2nd annual Chariot Fest for that community.  It was not ‘parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme’, but more like, ‘curry, cumin, turmeric and lime’.  Actually the prasadam, (food) was very yummy.

Dr. Cho, who hails from South Korea, is a city councilor, he came to participate along with other dignitaries.  Naturally, they had good things to say in support of the event. 

I was also impressed with the number of Chinese folks standing by in delight as our Krishna community passed by in chanting formation.  Milliken Park was the venue – a great spot.  When I think about it, over the stretch of one day, I get to trek in several locations, this being one of them.  Yes, it’s good to get around. 

Our drama troupe did a great rendering of ‘Little Big Ramayan’ judging by the response.  In my position, I can engage some people in walking, some in theatre, some in administration, and some in driving me one place to another.  The diversity is sweet, variety is the spice of life.

May the Source be with you!

8 KM

Friday, September 5th, 2014
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Toronto, Ontario

Rivers of People and Rivers of Water


In the course of a day I meet a good number of people, they show up at our temple ashram for a different number of reasons.  People come for darshan, viewing of the Krishna deity, some sample food at our Govinda’s, a vegetarian restaurant within the building, some people come to hear and learn from classes that we offer and from seminars on the bhakti sciences.  Others are volunteers who come to help with kitchen work, or cleaning, or maintenance work.  The numbers add up over a day’s stretch.

So I meet these great people, but I haven’t developed the skill to remember their names very well.  Today a walkers’ club came to eat at Govinda’s.  They are a seniors group and they come quite regularly.  One of the members has a daughter in Kelowna, BC, a place that was a stop over for me during this year’s Trans-Canada trek.  I met her daughter at that time, she is a staunch mother, wife, and devotee of Krishna.  As mentioned, I failed to remember the names, but I am taken by the small world in which we live – the world of knowing someone who knows someone who knows you, even if you’re a relative nobody from another part of the country. 

Of course, when you meet somebody who shares the same walking passion as you, you get excited.  It made my day to meet a person who has a love for pilgrimage.  I was also thrilled to hear from her that the Pan Am Games are coming to Toronto next year, and will encourage the building of a Pan Am trail, which is really a series of trails that will be recognized as a unique route beginning from the northern part of the Humber River, leading to Lake Ontario, and then going east along the waterfront, and then north on either the Don or the Rouge Rivers.  This is ecstatic news.

The winding down message which I slept on at the end of the day, after a gathering with our Brampton community where we indulged in the Gita’s words, was from 17.15.  Here, the verse talks about favourable speech:

Austerity of speech consists of speaking words which are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature. 

May the Source be with you!

2 KM

Radha and Krishna are Immoral (!) (?)
→ The Enquirer

Q: Srimati Radharani used to meet Krsna although she was not married to Him. She used to neglect her husband. This is completely against what a lady should be doing ideally. How can we explain this behaviour?

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is not a human woman, and Śrī Krishna is not a human man. In the Bhagavad Gītā Krishna (9.11) says,

avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam |
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśvaram ||

“Those who think I am a human being are fools, they don’t understand me.”

One thing about human beings, and almost all other embodied forms of life, is that we have a specific body, and this body delimits out identity. For example, I have a certain body, and I exist within it. I don’t exist within my shadow or my reflection, nor in the body of another living thing, nor in any other object outside of my body. My consciousness exists in my body, and that’s all.

Extraordinary beings can bend these limits slightly.

Śrī Krishna and Śrī Rādhā are the most extraordinary of all beings. Certainly they are not ordinary human beings, they are param-brahman, Supreme Spiritual Substance. They have form, shape, color and so on, but these forms, shapes, etc. are not limiting like ours. Rādhā and Krishna exist in infinite different forms at the same time.

Krishna is the original entity, and Rādhārāṇī is Krishna’s power to expand. Krishna, the original entity, is composed of pure joy. Joy includes the desire and power to expand. Rādhārāṇī is the expanding joy of Krishna. She generates the eternal amplification of perfection in the joy of the Supreme Being.

She is joy itself (hlādinī) so she perfectly knows the secrets of happiness. Thus she is perfectly aware of five basic facts:

1) The supreme joy is tasted in pure love.

2) Love is tasted by being shared between lovers and beloveds.

3) The fullest taste of all the flavors of love is experienced in intimate romance.

4) Joy is heightened the more it is valued and desired

5) Joy is heightened by newness and variety.

This is why she generates Krishna’s svarūpa as an infinitely lovable, attractive young hero; and her own svarūpa as an infinitely loving, beautiful young heroine. And this is why she manifests challenges which stand as obstacles for Krishna to experience her love. And this is why she manifests many different ways for him to taste it.

She becomes Candrāvalī and all the Gopīs so that Krishna can experience her love for him in infinite varieties. All of the gopīs are Rādhārāṇī, who expands them autonomously from her own self. Rādhārāṇī is not limited by a form, she exists in multi-forms, as does Krishna. All of the Gopīs are Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, but she gives them autonomous character and consciousness to facilitate the reality of variety for Krishna.

Some of the obstacles she creates include Krishna’s having duties and chores that preclude him from spending as much time as he wants to spend with Rādhārāṇī and her Gopīs. And she manifests the idea that the gopīs and herself are all married to other men – making it a really serious challenge and adventure for Krishna to attempt to experience their blissful love.

All the men and women, gopas and gopīs of Vṛndāvana are her expansions, including their so-called husbands.

So in paintings trying to depict a hint of rāsa-līlā one sees countless expansions of Rādhārāṇī, each with individual autonomy and features, dancing intimately with countless expansions of Śrī Krishna. This is the love of one woman for one man, but it is the love of the Supreme Woman for the Supreme Man, expressed infinitely. So where does the funny idea come from that any human being can emulate such a thing, or that such a thing has anything to do with anything in human experience? All we can experience in our human reality is a very very remote, dim, distant hint of a reflection of the kind of love being infinitely relished in rāsa-līlā.

Thus there is no impropriety at all in Vṛndāvana Prema, but a superficial survey of it will not show this deep truth. It takes spiritual depth and knowledge of tattva to comprehend the pure bliss and absolute perfection of Vṛndāvana Līlā.

Still, one can complain… “But what kind of example does this set for us!?”

And that is a valid complaint. However…

Krishna does not set an example for us. Setting an example for others to follow is work, and Krishna does not work, he plays. In his avatars as Vāsudev, Rām, and so on, he often accepts the work of setting the right example to help ordinary people live ordinary lives in the least spiritually-destructive manner possible. However, it is not Krishna’s task to set examples. Vṛndāvana Krishna is not on permanent display is a storefront window like most avatāras are. Krishna only reveals his Vṛndāvana līlā once in about 8 billion years, when he feels inspired to give a chance for some very few souls to transform from mundane existence to the Vṛndāvana level of pure bliss. Krishna līlā is not about setting examples for mundane people, rather it is to show mundane people what real joy, real bliss, real ecstasy actually looks, feels, tastes, smells, and sounds like in its raw, primal, absolutely pure and unedited form — being enjoyed intimately and privately between the original being (Krishna) and his original energy (Rādhā). He momentarily pulls back the curtains to his private Vṛndāvana groves in the hope that catching a glimpse of such beauty will snap some of us out of our haze and delirium in chasing meager drops of fleeting happiness through a desert of selfishness. Then, much like a darśan and Bankebihari Mandir, he quickly shuts the curtains again for a long time.

Krishna līlā is not about setting examples for mundane people, rather it is to show mundane people what real joy, real bliss, real ecstasy actually looks, feels, tastes, smells, and sounds like in its raw, primal, absolutely pure and unedited form — being enjoyed intimately and privately between the original being (Krishna) and his original energy (Rādhā). He momentarily pulls back the curtains to his private Vṛndāvana groves in the hope that catching a glimpse of such beauty will snap some of us out of our haze and delirium in chasing meager drops of fleeting happiness through a desert of selfishness. Then, much like a darśan and Bankebihari Mandir, he quickly shuts the curtains again for a long time.

 

Radharani


World Holy Name Week: Day 6
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY GAURAVANI DASA

KUALA LUMPUR - "What is the necessity for studying such voluminous works as the Vedic literature and its corollaries? And why do people visit innumerable holy pilgrimage sites? One who truly desires to liberate his soul from illusion, let him constantly chant Lord Govinda's Krishna's holy name.

The chanting of the holy name is the highest spiritual activity, far superior to all other pious activities. One who chants with this realization is automatically executing all other prescribed religious duties. Pious activities like giving lakhs of cows in charity on solar eclipses; residing in Prayaga in the month of Magha December-January and observing strict vows and baths; performing countless sacrifices and disbursing mountains of gold are not equivalent to a minute fraction of a fraction of the spiritual potency of chanting the holy name." - Vamana Purana

Charity Car Wash
→ TKG Academy

TKG Academy Upper Elementary students held a Car Wash Fundraiser in the temple parking lot on Saturday, September 6th.    The weather was perfect, and guests visiting the restaurant were eager to shine up their vehicles by the enthusiastic students.    For almost 3 hours students worked hard,  polishing and brushing, all the while raising funds for their upcoming camping trip to Cleburne Park.  Covered in soapy bubbles, and laughing with their friends, they learned valuable lessons, such as teamwork, responsibility and finances!   Take a look at some pictures.

 

The Nature and Destination of the Soul, September 5, ISKCON Berkeley, California
Giriraj Swami

soul_leaving——————————-
Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Bhagavad-gita 8.5.

“Where does the atma [soul] go when it leaves the body? That is something that we all should consider, because we don’t know how long we will be in this body—100 years, 100 days, 100 hours, 100 minutes, 100 seconds—we don’t know how long we have. Sooner or later we must leave this body. And the duration of our life within this body is much less than the duration of our life after we leave the body, because we are eternal and will continue to live, forever, after leaving this body. So that is a question we have to ask: ‘Where do we go after we leave this body?’ And here Krishna explains that according to our thoughts at the time of death, we attain to our next position.”

Bhagavad-gita 8.5

The following transcriptions have been uploaded
→ The Spiritual Scientist

  • Why does the Bhagavatam, a Vaishnava book, state that Kashi is the greatest of all holy places?
  • When Dhruva Maharaj was going BTG and had got a spiritual body, how could he remember a material relationship such as that with his mother?
  • Can we preach without using technology as such use can distract one from Krishna?
  • During preaching, how important is it to provide relevant material information in addition to the paramapara’s message?
  • If the son practices bhakti, then will his non-devotee parents’ get a good next-life destination due to their son’s bhakti?
  • How is Draupadi’s polygamy justified especially when it involves the same man being required to see her alternately as wife and as sister-in-law?
  • How does attachment to result make us the cause of action, as the Gita 2.47 purport states?
  • How do see spiritual organizations that are largely Vaishnava except for considering their founder as an incarantion?
  • If someone is following an Abrahamic religion, should we encourage them to follow that religion or to take up Krishna consciousness?
  • If Prahlada learnt bhakti by hearing from Narada in his mother’s womb, why did Narada say to the devatas before this that the child in the womb is a great devotee?
  • Did Hiranyakashipu not know that Vishnu lived in the Kshira-sagara? Why did he ask Prahlad where Vishnu was and whether he was in the pillar?
  • Narasimhadeva told Prahlad that 21 generations of his family had been delivered, then how did Bali become such a demon that Vamanadeva himself had to come to deliver him?
  • We hear so much in various classes, but apply very little from it. How can we change this?
  • We often feel like doing different things in bhakti at different times – how can we steadily maintain interest in one thing?
  • When scriptures usually refer to Vishnu, do they refer to Maha-vishnu, Garbhodakshayi Vishnu or Kshirodakshayi Vishnu?
  • What is the relationship between Sadashiva, the Shiva born from Brahma and the eleven Rudras?
  • What is the difference between brahma of Mayavadis and shunya of voidists?
  • What is the difference between hatha-yoga, dhyana yoga and ashtanga yoga?
  • If our svarupa happens to be in dasya, how will be satisfied in that svarupa now that we know madhurya is highest?
  • When envy is the cause of our material bondage, how did Shishupala’s envy lead to his liberation?
  • While using a talent such as music for Krishna how can we transfer our attachment from that talent to Krishna?
  • How can we avoid frustration at our inability to follow the standards of devotional service?
  • How is Draupadi’s polygamy be justified especially when the Pandavas have to sometimes see her as a wife and at other times as sister-in-law?
  • Is conscience always the voice of the Supersoul? Does everyone’s conscience tell them that meat-eating is wrong?

Radhanath Swami’s visit to Ford Motor Company (video)
→ Dandavats.com

DEARBORN –On Friday August 1st His Holiness Radhanath Swami made a visit to Ford Motor Company – sponsored by the Ford Asian Indian Association and coordinated by Guru Palaniappan, PVT Advisor Ford Auto Alliance Plant in Thailand. H.H. Holiness Radhanath Swami was cordially welcomed to the Ford event by Ms.Felicia Fields Group Vice President Human Resources, Mr.John Sakioka Director Research Engineering, Ms.Shirleen Holland CAE Manager and Mr.NandKochar Chief Engineer Safety. It was a gala event with more than 450 people in attendance at the Ford PDC showroom and 60 people online. Read more ›

Appearance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur
→ Mayapur.com

Please view the full gallery here: Srila Bhaktivinoda’s Appearance   The Revelation in a Dream to Bhaktivinoda Thakura For the Discovery of Sri Caitanya’s Birth Site In the year 1887 Thakura Bhaktivinoda thought within himself, “Quickly taking leave from government service I will go to some forest in Vraja on the sandy banks of the Yamuna […]

The post Appearance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur appeared first on Mayapur.com.

World Holy Name Week: Day 5
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY GAURAVANI DASA

KUALA LUMPUR - "Even if my body is cut into pieces and I loose my life, I will never give up chanting the Lord's holy name. O Krsna, please be merciful upon these poor souls, kindly excuse them for their offense of torturing me." - Haridasa Thakura

Maintaining this type of determination and being compassionate to all living entities while always chanting the holy name of Krsna is the path of devotional service exhibited by the previous mahajanas. A path cannot be manufactured. Whatever path is there should be accepted by sadhus. Those who are proud and want fame try vigorously to discover new paths. Those who have good fortune from past lives give up pride and respect the established path. Those who are unfortunate promenade on a new path and thus cheat the world.” -Tat-tat-karma-pravartana, Bhaktyaloka by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura