Planet ISKCON

1975 June 2: "Regarding registration with the Endowments dept., we're not going to be controlled by them. That is not good. They are all worldly men. Why should we be controlled by them? Regarding your preaching, what is the use of criticizing Sai Baba and creating some enemies? Do not do this in public meetings."
1975 June 2

It has become a routine for devotees in Sri Jagannatha Mandir Kuala Lumpur to take part in the monthly harinama palanquin procession. Originally started with a few people now it has become lika a small ratha yatra in the nook and corners of Kuala Lumpur and Klang valley. The enthusiasm of devotees to participate and distribute the Holy name is ever increasing. On 31 May 2014 devotees headed by H G Krishna Chandra prabhu went out on harinama at Taman Teratai, Sungai Choh, Rawang which is a one hour drive from the city. Harinam was well appreciated and accepted by the residents. Needless to say it was the first ever harinama at this area.116 residents offered archana to their Lordships Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. 58 books were distributed and 123 chanting beads were given out along with the mantra cards. Devotees made sure to make those who bought the beads to chant at least once the Hare Krsna mahamantra. 300 full meal prasadam was also distributed in the locality. Harinama went on for almost 5 hours with devotees tirelessly chanting until 10:30pm. Sumptuous prasadam was served to all the devotees at the end. Everyone returned home with the satisfaction of getting an opportunity to be part of the Sankirtana movement once again. Read more ›

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

Answer Podcast

Lecture Podcast

Lecture Highlights:

Three trajectories:

1. Forgive and forget

2. Forgive but don't trust

3. Forgive internally but be assertive and corrective externally

This lecture is based on this article: Is forgiveness practical?

(At the request of several readers and with the inputs from Back to Godhead editors and other senior Vaishnavas, I present this as an expanded and edited version of an earlier brief article with the same title)

The great spiritual wisdom-traditions of the world often exalt forgiveness as a glorious virtue, indispensable for authentic spiritual growth. Here are a few examples:

• Judaism: “When asked by an offender for forgiveness, one should forgive with a sincere mind and a willing spirit. . . forgiveness is natural to the seed of Israel." (Mishneh Torah, Teshuvah 2:10)
• Christianity: Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22
• Islam: The Koran explains Muslims to be those who “when angered they forgive.” (Qur'an 42:37)
• Buddism: “He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me’ — in those who harbor such thoughts hatred will never cease. He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me’ — in those who do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease.” (Dhammapada 1.3-4)

In the Vedic literature, forgiveness is repeatedly glorified as a praiseworthy virtue:

• In the Bhagavad-gita (16.3), Lord Krishna declares forgiveness to be a godly quality foundational for liberation and is contrasted with the anger and harshness that characterize the ungodly who stay in bondage.
• In the Srimad Bhagavatam (9.15.40),the sage Jamadagni glorifies forgiveness: “The duty of a brahmana (a spiritual intellectual) is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving.”
• In the Mahabharata (Udyoga Parva Section XXXIII), Vidura talks about the importance of forgiveness to Dhritrashtra, "There is one only defect in forgiving persons, and not another; that defect is that people take a forgiving person to be weak. That defect, however, should not be taken into consideration, for forgiveness is a great power. Forgiveness is a virtue of the weak, and an ornament of the strong. Forgiveness subdues (all) in this world; what is there that forgiveness cannot achieve? What can a wicked person do unto him who carries the sabre of forgiveness in his hand? Fire falling on the grassless ground is extinguished of itself. And unforgiving individual defiles himself with many enormities.”

Even our contemporary culture recognizes the importance of forgiving: according to Gallup poll conducted in 1988, 94% Americans felt forgiving was desirable. At the same time, 85% Americans felt the need for some guidance about how to forgive. This article attempts to offer some insight on the practicality of forgiving based on the Vedic wisdom-tradition.

Forgive, but don’t forget?

The need for guidance while forgiving often arises from a valid question: wouldn’t we be opening ourselves to repeated hurts by forgiving a habitual wrongdoer? That the Vedic tradition are not blind to this ground-reality is evident from the above Mahabharata quote, wherein Vidura acknowledges this possibility when he says that a forgiving person may be seen as weak. To ensure that forgiving doesn’t open us to repeated abuse, it is important to discern the subtle but crucial difference between forgiveness and trust: even when we forgive wrongdoers, we needn’t always trust them. Let’s explore this difference by starting with the semantics of these words.

The Oxford online dictionary explains ‘forgive’ as meaning ‘stop feeling angry or resentful towards (someone) for an offence, flaw, or mistake’ and ‘trust’ as meaning ‘firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something.’ While the meanings of these words have many context-specific nuances and connotations, the above generic meanings convey a good sense of their essential thrust: forgiveness is for the past; trust is for the future

Whatever wrongs a person has done in the past can’t be changed; as long as we resent the past, we stay stuck in it. Consequently, our thoughts, words, actions and even lives may become resentment-driven, causing us to either clam up or blow up. When we clam up, we drive our anger deep within, thereby unnecessarily inflicting ugly scars on our psyches that may distort our personality. When we blow up, we drive our anger outward not just to the wrongdoer, but to whoever crosses our way at the time of blowing up, thereby unnecessarily creating a public image of being irritable. Thus both the resentment-driven responses – clamming up or blowing up – are unproductive, if not counter-productive. These negative emotions created by an unforgiving attitude affect our physical health too. Many studies, including those at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin, and many books, including those like “Learning to forgive” by Stanford University researcher Dr Fred Ruskin, have documented that more forgiving people have less health problems, whereas less forgiving people develop more health complications.   Scientific studies like these suggest that, at least for the sake of our own mental and physical health, it is beneficial to forgive and thereby free ourselves from negative emotions by forgiving.

Forgiving becomes a bit easier when our vision is enhanced by Vedic insights about the law of karma, which points out that we are likely to have hurt someone in the past, just as someone has hurt us now. We then see the wrongdoer not as the cause, but as the vehicle, of our suffering, which originated in our own past insensitivity. Underscoring this philosophically informed vision, Srila Prabhupada would recommend that we eschew becoming angry with “the instruments of our karma.” Even if our indignant feelings make the logic of karma difficult to digest, still forgiveness retains its potential to free us from resentment – even when the other person doesn’t ask to be forgiven.

Nonetheless, even when forgiveness is asked for and granted, we shouldn’t assume that the relationship is now restored to the earlier level of trust. If we re-start trusting prematurely, we may unwittingly grant that person the power to continue hurting us. Conveying our forgiveness helps that person avoid the pitfall of self-justification, and holding back our trust avoids the pitfall of that person remaining oblivious to the past wrongdoing. Forgiving a person certainly doesn’t mean that we let the other person continue the hurting behavior; that would be masochism and there’s nothing laudable or spiritual about masochism. At the same time, it needs to be stressed that there’s nothing intrinsically laudable or spiritual about cultivating and actualizing revenge fantasies. So, we need to find that balanced course of action which allows both us and the other person to grow spiritually. If we don’t forgive, we may keep suffering the past due to our heart’s ongoing resentment. If we trust, we may keep suffering the past due to the other person’s continuing misbehavior.  By forgiving-without-trusting, we let the past go so as to give the future a chance to come in.

Vidura: patient yet vigilant

How forgiveness-without-trust brought a better future is illustrated in the Mahabharata in the dealings of Vidura with his elder brother and the reigning monarch, Dhritarashtra. The saintly Vidura, who is also the speaker of the celebrated Vidura-niti (the moral codes of Vidura), repeatedly counseled the blind monarch, Dhritarashtra to choose morality over nepotism. Unfortunately, the king, due to his attachment to his son, Duryodhana, continued tacitly sanctioning the latter’s nefarious schemes to harm the Pandavas, who were the rightful heirs to the throne. At one time after the Pandavas had been dispossessed and exiled in a rigged gambling match, Vidura’s beneficial but unpalatable pronouncements about the vicious nature of Duryodhana and its dire consequences became intolerable to the attached Dhritarashtra, who censured and banished his well-wishing younger brother. However, the king soon came back to his senses and sent his secretary, Sanjaya, to seek forgiveness from Vidura and to call him back. Vidura returned and forgave Dhritarashtra, but didn’t trust him; by withholding his trust, he was able to keep track of further recurrences of nepotism. But by not withholding his forgiveness, he was able to maintain a congenial relationship with Dhritarashtra, thereby eventually helping the king see the futility and folly of his attachment and to finally take up the path to wisdom and enlightenment.

Thus, forgiving-without-trusting enables us hold the door open for the other person to improve without letting ourselves be trampled in the process. This approach ensures that we don’t terminate our relationships when they could be restored. After all, we too are fallible human beings like the offender; we too may err tomorrow and be in need of forgiveness. Would we not want a similar chance to improve ourselves when we happened to do a wrong? If the wrongdoer demonstrates reformed behavior consistently over a period of time, then we can forget along with forgiving and restore the relationship to the earlier trust level.

Of course, the possibility remains that the other person may not always walk through the door of improvement opened by us. The unpalatable yet undeniable reality of the world is that there will be times when we may need to shut the door, but forgiving-without-trusting ensures that we don’t shut it prematurely.

Actions, not kneejerk reactions

A relevant scriptural example is from the tenth canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam in the dealings of king Vasudeva, the father of Lord Krishna, with the demoniac tyrant Kamsa. When due to an unexpected turn of events, the tyrant had an apparent change of heart and sought forgiveness from Vasudeva for the past atrocities. Vasudeva promptly forgave Kamsa, but didn’t naively trust him and divulge Krishna’s whereabouts; in fact, Vasudeva cautiously and tactfully did all that was possible for him to keep Krishna’s whereabouts hidden from Kamsa. It soon became evident that Kamsa’s change of heart had been only momentary; he relapsed into his past malevolence by re-imprisoning Vasudeva and by repeatedly sending deadly demons to kill Krishna. Thereupon Lord Krishna, taking cognizance of the demonstrated incorrigibility of Kamsa and the need to protect the innocent from his viciousness, chose the necessary punitive measure of killing Kamsa. This capital punishment freed the real Kamsa – the soul – from the vengeful mentality inherent in his material body, thereby enabling the thus-purified soul to progress on the onward spiritual journey. In this incident, we see that when Kamsa did not use the forgiveness graciously offered to him to mend his ways and re-earn the lost trust, then eventually he was administered the required purificatory punishment commensurate to his misdeeds.

Thus, the principle of forgiveness is counterbalanced by the principle of justice, and if abuses escalate to a criminal level, we may have to administer punishment. However, even punishment can be administered without hatred or vengefulness for the other person, but with concern that the person shouldn’t continue hurting others and incurring further bad karma. This is illustrated in the conduct of Lord Rama in the Yuddha-Khanda of the Valmiki Ramayana.

When the demon Ravana abducted Sita, the consort of Lord Rama, the Lord offered to forgive the demon’s grievous misdeed if he just reformed and returned Sita. When Ravana scornfully rejected Rama’s kind offer, Lord Rama did the needful to punish and slay Ravana, but after the demon’s death, Rama personally instructed Vibhishana, Ravana’s younger brother, to carry out an honorable funeral for Ravana. Vibhishana was initially unwilling to perform the last rites for a person who had committed so many lusty atrocities. But Lord Rama revealed his compassionate heart when he instructed Vibhishana, “No disdain should ever be felt for the soul. Once dead, a person’s soul leaves his body and proceeds to its next life. Ravana’s sinful body is now dead, but his pure soul continues to live. The soul is always worthy of respect. You should therefore carry out the rites for the eternal good of your brother’s immortal soul.”

Thus Lord Rama revealed his loving concern for Ravana’s spiritual well being; however, his concern for Ravana was balanced by his concern for the many victims of Ravana’s atrocities. Because Ravana had shown no inclinations to reform his exploitative devilish ways despite Lord Rama’s repeated reminders, the Lord took the necessary disciplinary action against him – but without hatred.

Individualized application

How does all this apply practically in our contemporary scenario? Each of us is different, each of our relationships is different and each situation is different. So we need to be thoughtful, sensitive and mature while applying general principles to our specific circumstances. Often we will need to seek guidance from Krishna through prayerful contemplation and from Krishna’s devotees through heartfelt discussion. Then we will be able to intelligently choose among the three major alternatives that we discussed above:

1. Forgive and forget
2. Forgive but not forget by withholding trust
3. Seek redressal without a hateful attitude.

 

 

 

 

Fernie, British Columbia

Miles and Milestones

 After a hearty campout next to gorgeous waterfalls nestled in the mountains, Karuna Sindhu and I emerged from our tent at 3 AM.  In the second tent and automobile slept Michael and Daruka who both deserved the extra mileage of slumber.  In the pitch black of the evening, Karuna and I made our way along on what in broad daylight is viewed as a pure emerald lake.  We then crossed a creek that feeds that magical lake.  Only our mini flashlight guided us through a mountain trail and to Crowsnest Pass going westward.

The stars were multiple sparkles in the sky, and trees discharged their special perfumes as the sun started peeking.

We then hit a milestone – the Alberta/British Columbia border.  That’s 9 down and 1 to go, provincially.  It became a moment of victory I shared with Karuna.

At one point, I ventured on foot alone while Karuna joined Daruka in order to take to camping kitchen duties.  I came to a town called Sparwood, and entered the tourist visitors’ centre.  While there I was informed that Clara Hughes, Canadian Olympic winner for speed cycling and speed skating, had been in the facility earlier that day. This unique athlete, I realized, I met on the road two days earlier.  She was accompanied by two other cyclists near Lundbreck and was having a break when I appeared on the prairie shoulder of the road.  Positioned to reconvene their riding, she saw me, and raised her arm for a high five, and then shouted aloud, “Hey!”  She was all smiles, I didn’t know who she was at the time, but when Michael showed me her picture via the iPhone, sure enough, that was her.  It was another milestone.  I do hope she succeeds in her dreams. 

May the Source be with you!
 
37 KM

21-04-2014 The Scriptural Basis of Krishna Consciousness, Durban, South Africa.mp3

The post June 2nd, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

From Amoghalila P

In a times of high talked personality and related events many will read this article (This comment refers to this article published in The Speaking Tree, Times of India.). Though well intended, looks shallow and poor in KC perspective. As there is not even once the name Krishna is used. You may say that you have emphasis on BG, but it ultimately misleads if not BG As It Is - pre1977.

Answer Podcast

Answer Highlights:

Prabhupada didn't use the word "Krishna" too often in Easy Journey to Other Planets and Ishopanishad as in his other books

Outreach in the public media is bridge outreach and one article is like one brick. A brick can't be expected to do the work of entire bridge.

The question about the editing of the Gita is answered here

Answer Podcast

Answer Highlight:

There are hardly any hard surveys on which to base such a big claim.

Nonetheless, problems do sometimes arise partially because we let the philosophy make us more judgmental, not more understanding,  about each others' physical, emotional, financial and social needs.

 

Answer Podcast

Answer Summary:

Three types of reasoning used in science: deduction (most authoritative), induction (reasonably authoritative), abduction (far less authoritative).

All scientific theories about the past and especially about origins are based on abduction

In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions. SB 11.5.32 Read more ›

Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Tretä-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dväpara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. SB 12.3.52 Read more ›

The post May 31st, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

The post May 29th, 2014 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

How Srila Prabhapuda received that honorific and what it meant in the greater plan of Mahaprabhu.

The post Still on the founder-acarya topic appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Why Worship Nitai-Gaura Deities at Home? Srila Prabhupada says: "Irregularity in worshipping Guru and Gauranga can be tolerated, as They are always kind and forgiving, but irregularity in worshipping Lord Jagannath and Sri Sri Radha-Krishna is not good." Srila Prabhupada letter to Karandhara das, 19th September, 1970) "Lord Chaitanya is very kind and He accepts the simplest worship or sincere chanting of the holy name of Krishna." Srila Prabhupada letter to Sridhama das, 8th July, 1970) Read more ›

My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kåñëa mahä-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. SB 12.3.51 Read more ›

New Godruma Dham, Iskcon Lithuania Read more ›

Mangala Arati of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath, ISKCON Temple,Chowpatty,Mumbai;25th May 2014

The body,  house  and  objects meant for worship can all be used  in yukta vairagya.   All  that  is  necessary is  the  internal steadiness of  the  devotee to  achieve success.     An  external show  of steadiness is only  for others  to see.   If there  is internal devotion and  steadiness, very quickly  the bondage of the material world will disappear.

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Listen audio...

This talk is a part of the "Fascinating Mahabharata Characters" series. To know more about this course, please visit: bhakticourses.com

Scandinavian Rathayatra tour schedule

Fri 4: Aarhus Rathayatra, Denmark

Sat 5: Copenhagen Rathayatra, Denmark

Sun 6: Malmo Rathayatra, Sweden

Mon 7: Gotenburg Rathayatra, Sweden

Wed 9: Oslo Harinam, Norway

Thur 10: Oslo Rathayatra, Norway

Sat 12: Stockholm Rathayatra, Sweden

Sun 13: Aalborg Rathayatra, Denmark

Here is the full schedule of upcoming tour’s hare krishna festivals full schedule

Yours Humbly
Ratnavali

On Saturday 5th July one of the UK’s biggest music festivals “British Summer Time” takes place in Hyde park.

Over 80,000 people are expected, the festival is nearly sold out. Pete Doherty whose band “The Libertines” headlines the event, but there will be another band on the stage that day, a Kirtan band called the “Food for All band”,and the aim is to bring true ecstasy to the event in the form of the Yuga dharma, the Holy Name.
We will also distribute Prasad at the event to make it complete. We are requesting the blessings of the Vaisnavas, to make the project a success.

Kirtan is by nature attractive , as all 80,000 souls by constitution belong to the spiritual energy, so success is guaranteed. Lately most of the Laxmi required to fund the 1,000 daily plates of Prasad have been coming from our rock star friends in the form of charity gigs, and we hope that this will be the first of many such events.

Your servant Parasuram Das

ya eko ‘varṇo bahudhā śaktiyogād varṇān anekān nihitārtho dadhāti 

“He is a single ‘color’ which manifests all the countless ‘colors’ through the power of his many energies, and for his own inner purposes.”

This last Memorial Day weekend my wife and I attended the 2014 Sadhu Sanga Retreat, located near Boone, NC. Conveniently located only 2 hours plus 15 minutes or so from our house in North Carolina, the retreat center, situated on a high ridge, featured a panoramic view of the surrounding area in a stunning secluded setting. The Vedic style architecture of the facility felt very friendly and appropriate. All the events were held in a spectacularly spacious hall that could comfortably accommodate thousands. While the four day kirtan event was itself enticing for us to attend, we came mainly to promote our Grihastha Vision Team’s [GVT’s] new book, “Heart and Soul Connection”, (which gives tools to improve marital and family relationships) and to invite couples to our September 12-14 couple’s retreat in at Gita Nagari, Pennsylvania.

I talked to many devotees throughout the retreat, selling about 70 books. I spoke to spouses having difficulties in their marriages, and to those devotees who were trying to help couples in their communities but didn’t have the training to really help counsel them. These conversations reminded me of the critical need in our devotional communities for mental health services, couples counseling, and the training of mentor couples. Temple leaders should have basic training as to when to refer devotees with mental health problems to appropriate professionals and have available trained mentors to help couples having marital difficulties.

read more

"....we should be certain that we will face a constant battle with many other thoughts that might pour in. However, we should chant and hear the name through all this noise and not break down thinking why am i not able to chant properly. Slowly but steadily and for sure the quality of your chanting will change for the better."

Lokanatha Swami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 May 2014, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England, Caitanya Caritamrta Adi Lila 8.27)

The Nectar of Devotion speaks about the person with a heart which is like a cotton swab – a tiny, little, fine thread of cotton that at the slightest breeze starts trembling; then it speaks about a person with a golden heart – these two prototypes are given. One is a person who is very easily emotionally moved; the slightest thing will bring out a lot of emotional reactions, “Krsna… Krsna… Krsna… Oh God!” (dramatic)

Then there is the other person who has the golden heart, who is very grave, and all these emotions are deep and internal. It says in the Nectar of Devotion that from both these platforms, the heart can melt – sneha takes place; where the heart actually melts. It is not that one is closer to melting than the other; whether you have a cotton swab heart or a golden heart. What kind of heart did Srila Prabhupada seem to have? You can think about it… Very grave! Remember how Jadurani was talking about that handbill that Prabhupada carried with him on the Jaladuta – it was a picture of himself with the corners of the mouth deep down and she was supposed to make a painting of that. She said, “Oh, I think you were not so happy when this picture was taken.”

Prabhupada said, “What do you mean, this was my moment of greatest ecstasy!” I kind of like that; it is a nice detail about Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada displayed this mood of the golden heart, not to speak out against the cotton swab, but Krsna chose Srila Prabhupada to be his representative…

 

With Radhanath Swami. Read more ›

20-04-2014 The Implications of Reincarnation, Durban, South Africa.mp3

Thousands of people get the mercy in a crowded Rome while the devotees of Krishna chant and dance happily with enthusiasm and bliss! Read more ›

Several local people came running towards our car. We saw the completely surprised looks on their faces. They inquired if we were all fine and went on to say, . “Your god is great, Oh my god! We cannot believe this. We saw how the car was spinning and landed crashing into the drain. We thought you guys are finished. But not even a scratch? Uhhhh!” In less than a minute, out of nowhere, a tow truck arrived at the scene! It was middle of the night, somewhere at the outskirts of the city, in Accra and a tow truck appearing in less than a minute? Yes, totally unbelievable! Read more ›