Planet ISKCON

Durban, South Africa

Trail Break

I had been pining for an African trail to come my way, and so it came to pass that Tamohara dispelled the dream, and had in most practical terms, arranged for a drive by his dad, Thayalan, to take Kala, Jambavan and I to a gorgeous gorge at Krantz Kloof.  We arrived there at the hour of dawn when trees drop dew and the aromas of plants perk the nostrils.  The rubber tree was there to greet us, perfectly circular mushrooms of a rustic tone were also there.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, no big game crossed our paths.  In fact, the largest form of wildlife that we sighted came in the form of a microphone length (you can tell I’ve been on the stage lately) centipede of sorts.  It was perfectly coiled as it clung on to the side of a tree.  A creek appeared and disappeared, snaking its way to its own natural whim, and making its own descension to manifest as waterfalls. 

Being in this green zone was a great break from the asphalt at the festival site.  And, as always, when you trek the softened and uneven path under nature’s canopies, it is such a far cry from moving over the hardened, flat surfaces of city constructs.  I felt certain leg muscles stretch – muscles that become lazy from plying over the terrain of manmade evenness. 

‘Twas a treat. 

Back to a baking sun at the old Durban Drive-In Theatre grounds, and this day, at the Bhakti Cloud tent, we danced out the eight stanza “Chaitanya’s Verses”.  Verse three especially resonated with volunteers as I rapped out,

It is best to chant with humility
To be as humble as you can possibly be
It’s like a blade of grass you see
And be more tolerant than a tree…

From executing the dance I could appreciate the dynamics of flatness. 

May the Source be with you!

5 KM

May Lord Syama’s beloved Radha, who from each of Her limbs floods Vrindavana forest with charming, effulgent, wonderful golden nectar oceans glistening with drops of intense sweetness flowing from the original source of the nectar of all love and filled with the happiness of wild amorous pastimes, play within my heart.


[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-21, Translation.] · 

Please click here for more photos

"The Gosvamis, especially Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, strictly followed all the regulative principles. The first regulative principle is that one must chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra loudly enough so that he can hear himself, and one must vow to chant a fixed number of rounds."

Caitanya-caritamrta Antya 11.24 purport

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 01 April 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Evening Lecture)

We may think, “What about my security? I need some security; like a little money in the bank, a credit card maybe. You know, just in case, something happens. Need to be prepared. What about my security?”

But a vaisnava’s security is his goodwill; his goodwill with the people. That is the best security because goodwill goes much further than the bank. You know, the banks may say, “Well, sorry!”  If you have maybe 150 000 and the bill is 160 000. The bank is not paying the extra 10 000. No way! But goodwill, oh, goodwill can pay anything. Yes!

“A million? Alright, what to do. We’ll pay.” Goodwill is like that because goodwill has a heart and the bank has no heart; that’s for sure. The bank is just cold, making profit and impersonal. So what kind of security is that?

You know, plastic! Plastic money, plastic card and one day, there might be no money in the bank! It happened already, in some places there was no money in the bank. People went to the bank to take their money and the bank had no money. What do you do? Put your money in the bank all this time and when you want to take it out, it’s not there! So what kind of guarantee is that? But goodwill will never be depleted. So this is really how the vaisnava community functions, away from this artificial society which is based on impersonal security.

Insurance!? Previously, again goodwill was the insurance. When relationships were there, that was the insurance. It still works for many people in the world. The family is your insurance and life was going on as much it is going on now. It is not like, “Oh my God, before we invented insurance, life was so terrible. People were dropping dead like flies, left and right! Serious! Imagine – they were depending on their friends and family and maybe even on the village! That must have been terrible!” No, it worked fine! It helped also to have good relationships.

In countries where the government took over – an interesting country is Sweden because it has a very socially supportive structure, a socialistic structure actually. Basically the idea is the state takes care of everything. So family is something that is really not relevant. You rely on the state and not on your family. Therefore people don’t really want families.They want to minimize families – less family and more state; everything comes from the state. It’s interesting how it really works like that. The state is very benevolent, gentle and always provides. No problem! Everything provided by the state. But you know, everything is impersonal, very impersonal in such a condition.

In a family situation, everything depends on relationships. So vaisnavism depends on that, depends on service, depends on giving people something valuable, giving them valuable knowledge so that they become indebted. Giving them valuable support, giving answers, real answers…  It works, there is no difficulty at all in maintaining in such an environment and yes, that is how the world should be. The world should not depend on an artificial, global economy and so on. No need for families to be spread out over six countries; every family is sort of going that way these days. A relative in one corner, a relative in another corner. What a weird world? Strange!

Just a village – everyone in the village and then, it all is simple because there are relationships and relationships become important. It’s like when you live in a city, it doesn’t really matter because people are just faces. You don’t know them. There are all these faces of people you don’t know. So it’s just endless faces, meaningless faces. But living in the village, you know everybody and well, you have to live with them, so you, you know, you better invest in the relationships so that it works. So that is actually the natural way of life.

 

Renowned activist and author Michael Pollan argues that cooking is one of the simplest and most important steps people can take to improve their family's health, build communities, fix our broken food system, and break our growing dependence on corporations. 

Constant change has become the underlying theme of the age – update your fashion, contrast your scenery, evolve your goals and upgrade your gadgets. After all, variety is the mother of enjoyment.

The Vaishnava tradition is famous for its festivals. And within ISKCON, the New Vrindaban community in West Virginia has become one of the most renowned places to celebrate. As New Vrindaban finds a fresh start and rebuilds itself, festivals have been found to be one of the best ways to inspire and bring together devotees, as well as to develop a mutually appreciative relationship with the local public.

“Sankirtan will always be appreciated because it is the special blessings of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the people of this fallen age of Kali”

Letter to Achyutananda 1975

The general public of London are appreciating more and more the devotee’s Kirtan on the streets. There was a time when we would get arrested for chanting and book distribution, now the police just walk by and nod to us with a smile.

We started the Maha Harinam at 1pm and continued till 6pm took prasad and went out again till about 10pm. 350 books were distributed, 280 medium and 70 maha big. This was organised by Sutapa Prabhu of the Manor brahmacaris and the Soho temple devotees.

The first part of the video show the “Hari Haris” Kirtan band chanting on Soho street, then Guru Das brahmacari leads Kirtan and then HG Parividha Prabhu. Enjoy the movie:

(put together by Achinta Rupa Prabhu )

Your servant Parasuram Das

24-09-2013 SB 8.20.16-19 Simplicity and Duplicity, ISKCON Cape Town, South Africa.mp3

1970 April 23: "Materialism means forgetfulness of Krishna. A man may possess the whole world and be a perfect transcendentalist or one may be a gross materialist without possessing a farthing. This distinction must be made on the basis of consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

This weekend myself and Bada Haridas prabhu will continue with our travels. Our first destination is Moscow. While studying the itinerary, I suddenly realised that 22 years ago on the same weekend in April,1992 I was doing samkirtan in Moscow with my godbrothers. Srila Prabhupada, may we continue to serve your orders until our dying [...]

A tree lives for hundreds and hundreds of years, but there is no point in living a long time like trees, or breathing like bellows, or begetting children like hogs and dogs, or eating like camels. A humble God-centered life is more valuable than a colossal hoax of a life dedicated to godless altruism or socialism.

- Srila Prabhupada, Sri Isopanishad Mantra 2

1971 April 23: "You and your university are interested in hearing about Krishna philosophy. My life is dedicated to spreading this culture all over the world. This culture is so well planned that it would be acceptable by any thoughtful man throughout the whole world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 April 23: "Our latest edition Krsna Book can be distributed to every student and to the whole English speaking public. Make one advertisement: 'Read KRSNA the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Available in all bookstores, 3 Volumes - Rs. 15.'"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 April 23: "Our temple should be the via media for feeding the poor with food and spiritual knowledge. So we invite all hungry and naked people to come to us and we will give them food and clothing as well as Krishna consciousness. Our program should be based on this."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 April 23: "So it is very nice Mr. Neil Diamond has given $3,000.00to my Book Trust, that is practical help. Now you have to impress upon him that when talent is used to glorify the Supreme Lord, that is perfection of talent. So you become convinced of this Krishna consciousness movement and you will get the strength to convince others nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 23: "The first preaching work is to become an ideal devotee. That will be strong preaching by behavior. There is no point in telling a man to stop smoking if you are still smoking. First make yourself perfect and then attempt to instruct others."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

The bell works as anti-dote to the chaos of your mind. Before you enter temple, it prepares you for the calming taste of of spiritual awareness you are going to experience.

Just a single serving of legumes a day can significantly improve cholesterol levels and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.

With thousands of toxins circulating in the world it can be very easy to become overwhelmed. These are 5 toxins to be especially concerned about.

The 3rd Annual Baltic's Kirtana Festival - Kirtana Mela Tallinn 2014 - will take place in Sri Harinam Mandir, Tallinn, Estonia on April 25 - 27th. To register: http://kirtana-mela-tallinn.weebly.com/

“Srila Prabhupada: The Founder-Acarya of ISKCON,” was written by ISKCON scholar Ravindra Svarupa Das and published by ISKCON GBC Press. “Our main concern [in writing this book] was that, in the very near future, our movement faces a time when all the devotees who had direct experience of Srila Prabhupada will no longer be on the planet,” says Ravindra Svarupa. “And I know from the history of religions that this is always a critical time.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam.

The post Material solutions to the problems of life become further problems, the only solutions lie in the orders of the Lord, in dharma appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

In the days preceding the Ratha Yatra festival, Kadamba Kanana Swami did programs around Durban. Audio recordings and photos are presented below. These include Maharaj’s address at the disciple program which took place on 12 April as well as lectures on the glories of Hanuman in commemoration of Hanuman Jayanti.

 

Audio

KKS_SA_12 April 2014_DBN_Disciple Meeting

 KKS_SA_13 April 2014_Tongaat_Lecture_Hanuman

KKS_SA_15 April 2014_PMB_Lecture_Hanuman

KKS_SA_16 April 2014_DBN_Lecture_SB 1.7.34

KKS_SA_16 April 2014_NJP_Kirtan

KKS_SA_16 April 2014_NJP_Lecture_NOD

 

Photos

If you cannot view the slide-show below then please visit flickr.

 

Radhanath Swami uses a humorous incident to impart a profound lesson. Read more ›

The Durban Ratha Yatra festival has evolved into one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of its kind outside of India. Read more ›

Every April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day. It is the single biggest environmental celebration in the world participated in by more than 150 countries and over a billion people worldwide. This year it was held @ Quezon Memorial Circle. Various Group hand in hand to thank Mother Nature as well as Private and Business Sector and Government Agencies such as DENR. Different Prayers from Various Group has been contributed for Mother Earth. ISKCON Devotees introduced Krishna Consciousness and had performed bhajans on the stage and ecstatic harinam. Food For Life team distributed 500 plates of prasadam (pancit, lilot, bread and cookies). Lord Krishna states in Bhagavad gita(18.69) that there is no one in this world dearer to Him than one who preaches His message.Preaching is an integral part of our temple's activities. Srila Prabhupada writes "Preaching is the easiest way to realise the Supreme Personality of Godhead" (Srimad-Bhagavatam,7.6.24 purport). Read more ›

Answer Podcast

Talk Podcast

HG Parividha Prabhu – CC Madhya 17.1-14 – 19.04.2014

Video of Ananta Govinda dasa leading New Vrindaban’s 24 Hour Kirtan - June 15th, 2013.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

From Sushant Kulkarni

Answer Podcast

Special Day Meditation Podcast

raso vai sah rasam hy evayam labdhvanandi bhavati.

“He himself is rasa, the taste or mellow of a particular relationship. And certainly one who achieves this rasa becomes anandi, filled with bliss.”

(Taittiriya Upanisad 2.7.1.)

Special Day Meditation Podcast

Hare Krishna Giriraj Swami

Please accept my humble obeisances

All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda

Yesterday I mentioned my doubt about the eko bahu syam verse.  My understanding is that this verse is in relation to the material world. In the following purport to CC Adi 6.14-15 it seems to hint at that, although the verse is not directly quoted. 

"He desired to expand Himself into many living entities, and with such a desire He first created a vast expanse of water within the universal space and then impregnated that water with living entities.”

In addition to that there are the extensive commentaries on the first verse of the catur ślokī, aham evasam evagre. 'It was I in the past, and only I in the future, and I in the present.'

In the commentaries the acharyas present that I in the past means with associates and abode. Then sastra is quoted that the abode and associates exist prior to this creation and are transcendental to it. 

However the way that this verse is sometimes quoted seems to indicate some sort of creation or existential aspect of Krishna existing alone at some point. Which doesn't seem correct to me. Perhaps it is an acintya subject and therefore cannot be understood by plain philosophy.  I do not know if there is any commentary on that verse to give a clear indication as to what it is regards to.

The way that I see it is that the Lord and his abode is a confidential subject and those subjects are not always directly spoken about in the Vedas and are rather more intimately revealed in books like Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.  So in this verse it is speaking just in regards to the material realm, Maha Visnu impregnating the pradhana.  Please let me know how you understand it. Thank you. 

Your humble servant,
Nityānanda Chandra Dās

My dear Nityananda Chandra Prabhu,
Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

When you first approached me with your question, I thought to share with you the following passage, and having read your letter now, I still think the passage is relevant. It is an excerpt from a talk that Srila Prabhupada gave in NYC in 1967, which was later edited and rendered as the Introduction to CC.

"Radha and Krsna are one, and when Krsna desires to enjoy pleasure, He manifests Himself as Radharani. The spiritual exchange of love between Radha and Krsna is the actual display of Krsna's internal pleasure potency. Although we speak of 'when' Krsna desires, just when He did desire we cannot say. We only speak in this way because in conditioned life we take it that everything has a beginning; however, in spiritual life everything is absolute, and so there is neither beginning nor end. Yet in order to understand that Radha and Krsna are one and that They also become divided, the question 'When?' automatically comes to mind. When Krsna desired to enjoy His pleasure potency, He manifested Himself in the separate form of Radharani, and when He wanted to understand Himself through the agency of Radha, He united with Radharani, and that unification is called Lord Caitanya. This is all explained by Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja in the fifth verse of the Caitanya-caritamrta."

What I have understood is that Lord Krishna and His energies exist eternally, simultaneoulsy, but because Krishna is primary and His energies are subordinate, we say that they come from Him. For example, we say that the sunshine comes from the sun, because the sunshine is secondary to the sun, but as long as the sun has existed, the sunshine has also existed.

In his introduction to the Bhagavad-gita, Srila Prabhupada states, "Isvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakrti (nature), kala (eternal time), and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature, and time are eternal. . . . This material nature is the separated energy of the Supreme Lord, and similarly the living entities are also the energy of the Supreme Lord, although they are not separated but eternally related. So the Lord, the living entity, material nature, and time are all interrelated and are all eternal. However, the other item, karma, is not eternal."

The same thing seen from different angles will appear different and be described differently, thus to properly understand the Vedic knowledge one must see it from different angles, and then apparent contradictions are reconciled. And, as you mentioned, the subject is acintya - acintya-bhedabheda-tattva.

Anyway, I hope these few thoughts help.

And incidentally, I thought your presentation of the question and your discussion of it were very thoughtful and thought-provoking. Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

May this meet you in good health and enthusiastic spirits.

Yours in service to Srila Prabhupada,
Giriraj Swami