Planet ISKCON

By displaying a great abundance of transcendental wealth, love for Vrndavana Forest laughs at millions of Kuveras. By displaying great power of intelligence, love for Vrndavana forest eclipses a great host of intelligent Brhaspatis. That love removes the lamentation of separation from wife, children and others. Because it is filled with the nectar of love for Lord Krsna, love for Vrndavana is the supreme object of worship for Sukadeva Gosvami, Prahlada Maharaja and the great devotees.

Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-51, Translation.]

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How Srila Prabhupada made ISKCON the embodiment of the Visva Vaisnava-raja Sabha.

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This article was published on Sunday, 1-6-14, in the Speaking Tree weekly paper with the title "I promise to." It can also be read here:

http://www.speakingtree.in/spiritual-articles/science-of-spirituality/i-promise-to/147682

Millions watched with eager expectation as the new Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Damodardas Modi, took the oath of service to the nation.

The grand ceremony centered on the grave words of commitment such as “I will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.” The script of the oath is so robust and potent that if the cabinet lives by it, India can become a superpower in no time.

The elections have led us to expect a lot from our leaders, but how much can they do without our support? Just as in cricket, a captain can be only as good as the team, so in a country, the head of state can be only as good as the citizens. The Father of our nation, Gandhiji, put it well: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” We need to complement the top-down change with bottom-up change – a quiet commitment to honor our words as citizens.

The formalization of trust

 We all know that it is not easy to trust the words of others. What to speak of trusting others’ words, we know for ourselves that keeping our word is no small challenge.

When words need to be specially infused with trust, oaths come into play. The public, often ceremonial, declaration of one’s intent brings gravity, legality and even sanctity to the words of commitment. That’s why taking oaths is an activity that cuts across races, cultures and nations. In our times, it manifests in the oath before the magistrate in a courtroom, the vow before the priest during weddings or the declaration of commitment before the employer. It also appears in the reimbursement claims we submit, the tax returns we file and the deeds we sign. In fact, Ram Rajya was glorious because one of its defining features was the principle of honoring of one’s word, come what may. This is enshrined in the famous verse: raghukul riti sadaa chali aayi, pran jaaye par vachan naa jaaye. That motif continues till date with Bollywood featuring Salman proclaiming in Dabaang: Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di, fir main apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta.

But our times are so shallow that even words under oath tend to be without substance. When a suspect solemnly swears to speak the truth, people still tend to be skeptical. Turning the lens on ourselves: do we even remember all the promises we have taken, leave alone keep them?

The Spiritual Foundation of Integrity

Most of us usually want to honor our words. Yet that intent is often sabotaged by, among other things, weakness of character.

How can character be strengthened?

In a culture that provides fixes through pills, pastes and potions, we find no quick-fix for character weaknesses. Perhaps the answer lies in another, subtler p: purification. Purification of our intention from accumulation to contribution, from grabbing to sharing, from me to we.

For such purification, India’s timeless philosophical classic, the Bhagavad-gita, offers a strong intellectual boost. At one level, the Gita’s approach is top-down, for it is spoken to a state ruler, Arjuna, to remind him of his responsibilities. In fact, the Gita (03.21) explicitly emphasizes the role of leaders as social torchbearers.

And yet at another level, the Gita’s approach is bottom-up, because despite its intent to reorient a leader, it doesn’t get into the intricacies of politics and statecraft. Instead it goes straight the to universal heart of all issues: the spiritual substance of our character. The Gita indicates that harmonization with our spiritual side comprises the strongest character-builder. By such harmony, we relish a profound non-material fulfillment that makes us resistant to the pressures and lures that jeopardize our integrity.

Given the Gita’s integrated top-down and bottom-up approach, it’s no surprise that its words resonate with the words of the oath of the nation’s office-bearers. The Gita (02.38) enjoins: “Work without considerations of pleasure-pain, gain-loss and victory-defeat.” Such work, that would be “without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”, is declared later in the Gita (02.50) to be “the art of work.” In fact, such selfless work, the Gita (18.46) indicates, can even become a form of worship.

Two meanings of integrity – and their link

Integrity refers to “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles,” as in “a man of high integrity.” And it can refer to “the state of being whole and undivided,” as in “the territorial integrity of the country.”

Gita wisdom links these two meanings. It declares that we are parts of the Whole, the Absolute Truth. When we play the part of the part and contribute to the Whole, then the Whole fills the hole in our heart, granting supreme fulfillment. We see that our interest runs not contrary to, but in harmony with the interests of others, for we are all members of one cosmic family centered on the Supreme Spirit. With this inner enrichment coming from spiritual integration, moral integrity naturally develops.

How can we get such spiritual enrichment?

Some prominent ways are yoga, prayer and meditation. Interestingly, in meditational traditions of sonic spirituality, words play a central role. Sacred words embodied in timeless mantras purify us from self-centeredness to selflessness.

Significantly, spiritual fulfillment doesn’t come only from meditational activities that draw us away from the world. It can come even from practical activities that engage us with the world, provided we do those activities in a mood of selfless spiritual service.

Gita wisdom assures that each of us has the power to be an agent of positive change. By going to our spiritual roots and by taking ownership of our words and actions, we all can find the inner strength necessary for change – individually and socially.

25 May 2014 Sringar Aarati Darshan ISKCON Juhu

Srila Prabhupada at the original New Vrindaban farmhouse, 1969.

Srila Prabhupada Envisions New Vrindaban Janmastami Celebrations To Be Held “With Great Pomp” And For His Followers To Make Pilgrimage Annually – May 1970.

From a series of letters written by Srila Prabhupada outlining his vision for New Vrindaban.

Thanks to Vanipedia for the source material.

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May 22, 1970

My Dear Hayagriva,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 16th May, 1970. I am very glad you are coming here by the 6th of June next, and it will be a great opportunity to discuss at that time about New Vrindaban, and other affairs.

Your remark on the student demonstration is quite appropriate. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura said that materialistic knowledge is another expansion of the influence of Maya. The result of material education is that the living entity forgets his own identification and takes to the business of a particular type of body which is given to him by the grace of Maya. The Vedic education means one has to understand his real identity as brahman or the spirit soul. Unfortunately the modern educational system is so defective that everyone is educated to accept this body as self. At the present moment they have no clear idea of identification, so much so that even a person who is partially advanced about the importance of the soul does also improperly identify himself with the Supreme Brahma.

So Krsna Consciousness Movement is meant for defying both classes of men; namely the karmis and the jnanis or yogis. That is our mission. Now among our students those who are advanced should take up this matter more seriously, and the Movement which you have started may not be stopped for want of adequate preachers—that is my request to you all. I am very glad to know that Kirtanananda Maharaja has now taken up this matter seriously and is preaching. Similarly I expect our advanced students like you, Rupanuga, Bhagavan das, Brahmananda, etc., may be seriously engaged now for preaching this cult.

Yes, I have received the tape as well as your “Chant” booklet. I am sorry they were not acknowledged earlier. I have asked Boston to send you the KRSNA tapes for part II. They are already edited, and it is nice, still you can have a final glance over it. After your final editing is the work retyped by Syama dasi.

If I go to New Vrindaban, I will go during Janmastami festival there to see how Kirtanananda Maharaja has arranged. We have to make program that the Janmastami ceremony is held in New Vrndavana with great pomp—as much as the Rathayatra festival is to be performed in San Francisco. Similarly I propose to have great festival in Honolulu which is now New Navadvipa. This festival is to be observed during the Advent of Lord Caitanya’s birthday. In this way the students should meet in these different important places at least 3 to 4 times in a year so that the work in different centers may go on uniformly.

Hope this will meet you in good health.

Your ever well-wisher,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS:db

Though elsewhere he is worshipped and  revered by all as the  Supreme Lord, here [in Vraja], as the life of all the inhabitants, he sometime descends to the worshipper's level and   sometimes becomes  his subordinate. If  it were  not like this, could  the  lowly  living  entity  have  a relation of  love with  God?   Can  the  Lord,  who  is filled with  the highest sport,  endowed with  free will, and  eager  for  the love of the soul, hanker for  man's  offering  of worship or  feel genuinely satisfied with  it?     Krsna,  the reservoir of sweet  pastimes,  thus  covers  his   majestic  aspect  with  sweetness, accepts equality with or  subordination to qualified souls in transcendental Vrndavana, and feels bliss.

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

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

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From Sitesh Goel

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 At the Sadhu Sanga Retreat, Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.21.

“The mind can tell us things like, ‘All this chanting is a nuisance. It is getting in the way of our sense gratification.’ The mind can give us the same kind of message as the demons outside of us give: ‘Why should you be chanting Krishna’s name? People should be chanting your name. Why should Krishna be the center? You should be the center—people just haven’t recognized it yet.’ Our false ego creates a whole false identity and false conception of the world. There are seven billion people on the planet, and each one is thinking that he or she should be the center and everyone else should do what he or she wants. It’s like everyone is walking around thinking, ‘Excuse me, I have an important announcement to make: I am the center of the universe and you all should do what I want.’ So, what do we do when there are enemies or difficulties? We take shelter of Krishna. We see this with every surrendered devotee, and especially with the residents of Vrindavan. When our mind gives us difficulty—which may be every day, every hour, or every minute—we must take shelter of Krishna and the devotees of Krishna. And in a way, the devotees are more merciful than Krishna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that when a person wants to pick up something that has fallen on the ground he extends his hand; so when Krishna wants to pick up a soul that has fallen into the material world, he extends his hand in the form of a sadhu, or devotee. So karunika—the sadhu is very merciful.”

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The Qualities of a Sadhu, SB 3.25.21

Attentive Japa?
16 round’s done to the best of my ability?
It’s an interesting question and one I would readily answer with a Yes!
16 rounds done initiation promise kept!
Each year I take my niece away for a week and as she doesn’t raise till late it allows me to take time improving my japa (it’s been an annual retreat)
Taking time to listen to each word of the Mahamantra with no pressure that a working day brings.
The normal for me suspect’s had slipped in rushed rounds and slurred/shortened pronunciation of the Mahamantra, the focus on completing the prescribed number of round’s not the overall quality confusing this as good attentive japa.
Being away allows that breathing space clearing the mind without the need to keep one eye on the clock, slowly pronouncing each word:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

Each bead each round slower more precise, more fulfilling the joy of Japa seeping through and along with that comes deep realisation’s a deeper understanding of bhakti and personal responsibility.
Each year I benefit from these break’s for me I call them mini japa retreat’s a reminder of the joy that comes from true. Attentive japa and as in previous years making the same promise to keep this standards going, the reality is sidetracked by work the same bad habits will slip in sadly.
However it reminded me of this when we complain their is no joy that the chanting is dry and a little stale it is not a problem with the Mahamantra or Bhakti but our or should I say my own personal mentality
This annual time out to personally reconnect and improve my japa always brings with it the greatest rewards and going of my own experience I would encourage other’s to also take the time to focus solely on japa.

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From Vaishakh P

It seems to me that a way out of this will be to first understand ourselves to be eternal souls in which case our existence is a necessity. Then, its indeed fascinating that the world around us is moulded in a way that we can exist. From there on, the design argument seems to make perfect sense.

So could you kindly clarify if there is a way that the design argument can stand on its own without the idea of accepting ourselves to be eternal souls or is this idea so fundamental within spirituality that we don't mention it explicitly?

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From Vaishakh P

Some of the atheistic forums is the question of design itself. Their claim is that there's no intelligent design. Now, one may say that there's order that's visible to us, such as the beautiful mountains and how the environment is 'just right' for life to exist.

But their idea is that our existence is insignificant. So out of all the possible configurations that the universe could be in, our current universe is no different from the other possible configurations (which can't sustain life) in terms of design. That we simply feel our configuration to be special because it has enabled our existence. In fact the whole "Anthropic Principle" idea is based on this.

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From: Gopalacarya Das

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