Lord Jagannatha Rathayatra – Perth
→ Ramai Swami

The Perth temple devotees switched from having Rathayatra in Fremantle to down town Perth city. This was right in the main Murray Street mall area where there is a big stage set up, which the devotees took advantage of to perform kirtan and give speeches etc.

The India Perth Consul General addressed the crowd, swept the path in front of Lord Jagannatha’s cart and participated in the parade through the mall, which lasted over an hour. Overall, it was a blissful day and along with the other activities, there were a good number of stalls serving sumptuous prasadam and Srila Prabhupada’s books.

New Vrindaban Leads Beach Retreat
→ ISKCON News

Tropically settled on the southern coast of the Sunshine State, Delray Beach is a welcome home to many- especially those looking to catch some waves or connect body, mind, and spirit! A month before the Bhakti Lifestyle Retreat, five New Vrindaban devotees had scoped out the area during a short fall vacation earlier. At the […]

The post New Vrindaban Leads Beach Retreat appeared first on ISKCON News.

Bhakta Dasa Again Elected as Chairperson for FCCV
→ ISKCON News

As the representative for the Hare Krishna Movement and the Vaisnava Hindu Community in Victoria, Bhakta Dasa was again voted in as the Chairperson for the third year of the Faith Community Council of Victoria (FCCV) in Australia. Established in 2010, the Faith Communities Council of Victoria is Victoria’s umbrella multifaith body. FCCV was created […]

The post Bhakta Dasa Again Elected as Chairperson for FCCV appeared first on ISKCON News.

Youth Interfaith Walk
→ ISKCON News

The Youth Interfaith Walk was a three-day hybrid event to bring together individuals of different religious orientations and cultures. With the objective of enhancing social cohesion and interactions among youths of different religious communities, Ms. Fatima Jiwani decided to launch this initiative as part of her fellowship with the ‘King Abdullah International Center for Interfaith […]

The post Youth Interfaith Walk appeared first on ISKCON News.

When a helpless girl is raped, does the Gita say that it happened due to her past karma? (Hindi)
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Podcast:

Transcription

Question: When A Helpless Girl Is Raped, Does The Gita Say That It Happened Due To Her Past Karma?

Answer: Whenever an event occurs, there are reasons based on different levels, and the Gita puts emphasis on our dharma. Here, dharma refers to our responsibility, meaning what responsible actions we should take. Neither in the Gita nor in the Mahabharata is it emphasized that when Draupadi is subjected to humiliation and attempts are made to disrobe her, no one says that this was all due to your past karma. When we interact in this world, we need to see what particular actions a person has done with regard to his present birth and situation, and if they haven’t done any wrong action and something wrong happens to them, then it is injustice, and that injustice should be retaliated against.

So, that retaliation happens at many levels. There should be a system in society where there is no injustice, but if there is injustice, then the one who has committed it should be punished. When such events occur, it is injustice at the level of this present birth, hence it is highly inappropriate to even mention the karma of their past life here. If we attribute every wrong thing happening in the world to past lives, then where do we stop? For example, if a newborn baby is crying, will the mother say that due to the baby’s past karma it is unhappy and suffering? Rather than attributing it to the baby’s past karma, the mother should take cognizant of what her duty is. So, it is the duty of the mother to feed the child, take care of the child, check if there is any illness and get it treated appropriately. As much as possible, she should try to relieve the baby of its pain, reduce its crying, and provide relief. It is possible sometimes that the child may have some pain, some illness that they can’t understand or find a solution to, and the baby keeps crying. At that time, when we cannot change a situation and it is essential to accept what has happened, then in order to console himself, that person can think that maybe this happened because of my past karma, but blaming the person who has suffered the injustice, holding him responsible for what has happened, is called “blaming the guilty”, that is, one who has been victimized is held guilty. You must have done something, that’s why they did that to you. When such a thought occurs, it is entirely wrong.

So, the teaching of the Gita is for all of us to do our duty well, not to attribute others’ suffering to their own karma and allow injustice, abuse, or any wrongdoings without retribution. If we look at the Bhagavad Gita which is a part of the Mahabharata, when Draupadi is subjected to humiliation, then Krishna miraculously intervenes and provides her with clothing. But after that, when Duryodhana remains adamant and does not accept the peace offer, he is punished. There is even a war for that purpose. This means that it is the responsibility of a person to retaliate against injustice, abuse, and especially for Kshatriyas, it is a still more significant responsibility. So, when something bad happens to anyone, rather than focusing on the person’s karma, we should see what our dharma is. If anyone misuses tattva-jnana (spiritual knowledge), we can safely say that it shines a poor light on their humanity. If qualities such as humanity, empathy, compassion towards others, service to others, etc., are declining, then we should understand that it amounts to a misuse of the tattva-jnana.

Nowhere in scriptures, when someone is subject to injustice, does the person who was responsible for their protection ever say that it’s the result of your own karma, consequently you should suffer now? No! They realize that they have not been able to fulfil their duty and how they can now do their duty. When Sita was abducted, no one says it’s her own karma that caused her to be abducted and she would be better off in Ravana’s captivity. No! Ram and Lakshman consider themselves to blame for having left her alone, and realize it’s their responsibility to find her and rescue her from the one who abducted her. So, the example of how to apply the knowledge of scriptures in our life can also be found in the scriptures itself. If someone is drawing a conclusion contrary to the examples given in the scriptures, then it is a misuse of spiritual knowledge.

End of trasncription.

Gita – Jayanti Celebration Review In Mayapur
→ Mayapur.com

“Anyway, print books, distribute profusely, and that will be the best preaching work. What will your three minutes’ preaching do? —but if they buy one book, it may turn their life. So, make this your important task, to print our books…and distribute widely, and that will please my Guru Maharaja. Never mind it takes little […]

The post Gita – Jayanti Celebration Review In Mayapur appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Isn’t Vidura a Mahajan?
→ Dandavats

Suvarna Radha Devi Dasi   In the Bhagavatam, there are twelve individuals considered Mahajan and Yamaraj is one among them. Vidura, Yamaraj’s sudra incarnation, is not explicitly mentioned as a Mahajan. For punishing Mundaka Muni, Yamaraj was cursed by the Muni to become a sudra (lower birth).  Is there a reason why Yamaraj punished Mundaka Muni?
Read More...

The Power Of Harinam
→ Dandavats

By Maharishi Das I wasn’t having a good day at all today. Breathing was difficult and I’d vomited blood in the morning and had a black out, and was generally unwell so when the phone rang I picked it up with a heavy heart, not really wanting to answer. It turned out to be one
Read More...

WSN October 2022 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats

By Vijaya Dasa

Wow, check this out! Chattagram, Bangladesh: 70,904 book points! Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, but the devotees are so sincere that tens of thousands of books are going out for the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada. And it's a small temple. There must be a lot of concentrated, fired-up devotees there. In the USA, Atlanta Krsna Life is on fire as usual. The devotees did 26,036 book points. Mahotsaha Prabhu is leading the way, selling sets like anything. How he does, only Krsna knows. It's inconceivable. Continue reading "WSN October 2022 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

Wednesday, November 30, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Varadero/Matanzas, Cuba

Theresa is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is one of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who came to Cuba vacationing. Like so many people, she likes the sun, the white sand, the ocean, water, and the social interaction. When we met this middle-aged, very grounded woman outside the Grand Memories café she had nothing but good things to say about Hare Krishna.

“You are a community. You stand for peace and for good values. I am a Ukrainian Catholic, but I respect you folks. You believe in a higher power, and so do I.” Theresa went on to express that our discussion with her and I and our group from Toronto/Montreal, was already the highlight of the trip. I have mutual feelings on this.

After a swim combined with sadhanaat the ocean, our monks and I, in swimwear and towels wrapped around us, were actually detected by a Montreal man. He held palms together in pranamformat, and described himself as a Buddhist. It is not uncommon to meet Caucasian people taken to Buddhist ways. Anyways, he was most happy to see us.

In the nighttime cafeteria, a middle-age guy spotted us and broke out into singing the maha-mantra. Naturally, we joined him in this song, which drew lots of attention.

The most unforgettable moment of today came from our visit to Matanzas, where local people partook in kirtan, and hearing from us about the story of the young prince Dhruva, who, through determination, succeeded in the pursuit of discipline to conquer over anger. This enthusiastic group gave so much of their love.

May the Source be with you!

0 km



 

Tuesday, November 29, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto/ Varadero

Back to Cuba

2019 was the year of my last visit to Cuba. It was at the end of the year, December, and our retreat destination, Hotel Memories, was decorated most elaborately. In its lobby was sparkles and color, addressing the up coming year. There were these massive number 2020, attempts, to put all attendees in the party mode. I recall thinking that this might be prophetic as the year of greater vision.

Not long after the year 2020 set in, when the calendar page flipped to January, everyone was talking about a dreaded virus, corona. I was the least exposed to the media onslaught of this new virus – a little naive, perhaps. At a devotional gathering in Milton, after my talk, a woman raised her hand, and, in an anxious tone of voice, said “Can you give us some guidance on what we should do with Corona, which is now called COVID-19?” I thought she said the word Karuna, which means “mercy.” The question sounded odd to me. Why do we have to be concerned about mercy or grace? Isn’t that what we need in life; some compassion to see us forge ahead? Let the mercy pour on. I was slightly embarrassed when I understood she was referring to fear of the deadly virus.

Anyway, the virus came and it turned the world upside down. Now I am returning to Cuba for a restart, here, not on vacation, but for a visit to devotees of Krishna, who await us in various locations after a long drought of association. The crew includes myself, Vallabha Hari, Prana Gauranga, and Emile. We are a happy bunch.

May the Source be with you!

0 km


 

Monday, November 28, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Yorkville, Toronto

The Positive and the Pejorative

Once again, I ended up at St. Mary’s Street when a seven-foot-tall pedestrian stopped to say something.

“Hey!” Said the bespeckled man in a longish coat, and a tuque on his head. “Hare Krishna, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I met one of you guys not so long ago. I got three sticks of incense from him. Do you guys still have an open house at your place on Avenue Road? I used to go there when I was a kid.”

“Our open house is on Sunday, at 6 pm, and we have a Govinda’s Restaurant in the building with the most delicious food.”

He then apologized for stopping me in the course of my walk. This politeness is quite stereotypical of being Canadian. We just say sorry all the time. Well, not all of the time. While I was waiting at the red light to cross Bloor St., at Yorkville, A cyclist used the F word towards a young woman, who was just slightly on the bike trail.

“He’s definitely not in the Christmas spirit,” I expressed to her. She smiled and took his remark with a grain of salt. There is a saying, “loose lips sink ships.” Harsh words find no place in a spiritually surcharged space. Unfortunately, our world is of the secular nature, and so you can expect pejorative thoughts and pejorative remarks.

Anyways, seasons greetings.

May the Source be with you!

5 km


 

Sunday, November 27, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Scarborough, Ontario

Wrong Song

Although temperatures were reporting above freezing, the intermittent raindrops were cold, and the general overcast nature of weather was rather dismal. That didn’t stop people from being true pilgrims and visiting our center in both Scarborough and Toronto. As mentioned before, Sundays are busy days, which in someway restricts me from getting on the pavement to walk.

The crew, or rather congregation, is a lively one. Our fearless leader, Dwarka, recently became hospitalized, putting her out of physical service to the community. However, members of that community stepped up to compensate for the vacancy. That’s what I mean by the word “lively.” Also, the fine kirtan led by Madhava and Annapurna really drew the emotions; sentiment of devotion.

The Toronto community means a lot to me, although also on my mind are places like Cleveland, Buenos Aires, Vancouver, etc. and others. I just happen to live in Toronto and that’s why I’m attached, to some degree.

My talks in both Scarborough and Toronto were on the topic, “This song can’t be wrong,” in reference to the oldest song in the world, “Bhagavad-Gita.” Sometimes unscrupulous, so-called pandits take this song and distorted it. It reminds me of a song by Melanie Safka, entitled, “What have they done to my song, Ma?”

May the source be with you!

0 km


 

Saturday, November 26, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Burlington, Ontario

The Special Season

I took three other monks on foot to Toronto’s Old City Hall for kirtan on an interesting navigational route. One of the fellows, Giridhari Lila, recently arrived from the Ukraine, remarked, “You know all the good places,” to which, I replied, “I’ve been around and taken the time to know the unique alleyways. After all, to know a place, whether the countryside or the city, means you have to walk it.”

We arrived at queen and bay, the Old City Hall, where chanting had begun already, with an enthusiastic person on the drum. Radha Mohan, who hails from India, is a fabulous family man. He and his wife, Shyama Mohini, raise their two kids in a Krishna-conscious atmosphere involving a monthly trip to the hall for sharing Krishna in the form of sound to the public. His approach to chanting and drumming has spunk.

Just nearby, in front of City Hall, were four men erecting a rustic dwelling for a nativity of baby Jesus. I was reminded of how every year I see the parallels of Christ and Krishna, and how Christ was born in humble circumstances; in a manger with cows. This is similar to Krishna, making His appearance in the pastoral area of Gokula, in India, where cows roam in pleasure.

From the Old City Hall, a group of three, including me, made our way west to Burlington and to the united church off of Walkers Lane. There we engaged in Krishna caroling. Weekly the ISKCON Burlington branch holds their bhakti program, and today we were the invited guess. We received the mercy of Jesus and Gopal, which is a name of Krishna who is the pal to the cows.

May the Source be with you!

4 km