The vibhavas, prabhavas and anubhavas of Krishna’s para shakti
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Krsna  has  one  personal   energy called  svarupa sakti  or  para  sakti. This para  sakti has three  vibhavas, three  prabhavas and three  anubhavas by Krsna's  will. The three  vibhavas are the cit sakti,   jiva sakti  and  maya  sakti.   The three  prabhavas are the iccha sakti, kriya sakti and  jnana sakti. The three  anubhavas are sandhini, hladini and samvit. By the  influence of  the  iccha  sakti  (Supreme Will),  the  cit  sakti  manifests  Goloka, Vaikuntha and  other  places  of the  Lord's  pastimes, Krsna's  names, the  Lord's  various two  handed or  four  handed or  six handed forms,  the  pastimes with  his  associates in Goloka,  Vrndavana, and  Vaikuntha, and  spiritual qualities such  as mercy,  forgiveness, and    generosity.   By the  influence of the  jnana  sakti,  the    cit  sakti  produces various perceptions: aisvarya,  madhurya,  and   beauty  of  the  spiritual  world.    Krsna   alone possesses the iccha sakti.  The controller of the jnana sakti is Vasudeva and  the controller of the  kriya  sakti  is Baladeva, or Sankarsana. By the  influence of the  iccha  sakti,  jnana sakti  and  kriya  sakti   upon the jiva sakti,   the forms  of eternal associates, devatas, men, demons  and   raksasas appear.    By  the  influence  of  Krsna's   kriya   sakti,   the  Lord's activities become  manifest. Within  the  cit sakti,  the  sandhini, samvit and  hladini saktis  combine to produce the distinctive ecstasies  of prema.

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

 

Non-vegetarians healthier than vegetarians?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

- Chaitanya Charan das and Sukadeva das, PhD

Hierarchy of evidence

"Vegetarians are unhealthier than non-vegetarians." So claimed a recent study:
http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/04/01/study-vegetarians-less-healthy-lower- quality-of-life-than-meat-eaters/

The article stated: “Vegetarians were twice as likely to have allergies, a 50 percent increase in heart attacks and a 50 percent increase in incidences of cancer. The cross-sectional study from Austrian Health Interview Survey data and published in PLos One examined participants dietary habits, demographic characteristics and general lifestyle differences.”

At the bottom of the ladder of credibility 

What this article didn’t care to mention was the significance of the term “cross-sectional study.” Most readers would probably pass over the technical sounding term, assuming it to be something that indicates credibility and reliability. Their assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. Researchers, especially in the medical and health fields, have a variety of studies of different levels of reliability; and in that hierarchy, cross-sectional studies fall somewhere near the bottom.

A quick analysis of some of the problems of the studies lower in the hierarchy is as follows:

  • Cross-sectional studies are weak because they provide no direct evidence of the sequence of events.
  • True prevalence surveys—cross-sectional studies of a defined population—guard against selection bias but are subject to measurement and confounding biases.
  • Case-control studies are vulnerable to selection bias and can be susceptible to confounding and measurement bias.
  • Well-conducted cohort studies are better because they can be performed in a way that minimizes known confounding, selection, and measurement biases.
  • Randomized trials are better still because the research design protects against possible biases and provides stronger evidence for a cause-and-effect relationship.
  • Systematic reviews are the highest level of evidence.

Fletcher et al - http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Epidemiology-Essentials-Robert-Fletcher/dp/B00D9TDLT6

Readers interested in learning more about this hierarchy of evidences can refer here for an introductory analysis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_of_evidence

or here for a more technical analysis

http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/118/16/1675.full

For those who are not into the technical stuff, the simple point is that this study, being none-too-reliable, needs to be taken with due skepticism.

More reliable studies confirm the health benefits of vegetarianism

And an even greater reason for skepticism is that this study is contradicted by many studies of a far higher level of reliability, as can be seen by a quick search of the relevant medical literature. Here are a

A systematic review published in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism found that vegetarians have a significantly lower ischemic heart disease mortality (29%) and overall cancer incidence (18%) than nonvegetarians.

A systematic review published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reported that vegetarians have lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease, lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates than nonvegetarians. Additionally, contradicting the popular myth that vegetarian diets are nutritionally inadequate, the study reported that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful and nutritionally adequate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.

A randomized control trial published in the Journal of the American Dietic Association found that a very-low-fat vegan diet increases intake of protective nutrients that combat several chronic diseases and minimizes intake of dietary factors implicated in several chronic diseases.

A randomized control trial published by Cancer Research confirmed that red meat enhances the colonic formation of the DNA adduct O6-carboxymethyl guanine, thereby reiterating the well-known association of red meat with colorectal cancer.

Readers who prefer a non-technical analysis can the various benefits of vegetarianism – health being just one of them – summarized in an acronym: HELP: Health, Environment, Livestock, Poor.

http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/2012/01/are-there-any-logical-reasons-to-choose-vegetarianism/

The overall verdict of scientific research confirms the time-tested wisdom of the Vedic spiritual tradition: we are meant primarily to be vegetarians.

 

 

Safe, Danger and Relapse Zones in the War against temptation
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Lecture Podcast

Lecture Outline:

Safe Zone (shama)
•Absorption in Krishna due to taste
•Focus on something constructive due to liking or due to urgency
Danger Zone (Dama)
•Exposure to triggers
•Ext triggers - billboards and Int triggers - boredom
Relapse Zone (Papa)
•What defines us is not how we fall, but how we rise
•Don’t cover – recover
Gita 02.60 refers to internal trigger and 02.67 refers to external trigger

The nine tensions in the Bhagavatam
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Lecture Podcast

Outline

Every book has a part of its concept development a surface tension and a substance tension.

The tension in the Puranas is more difficult to understand than that in the Itihasas.

The Bhagavatam progresses towards establishing the glory of pure devotion of the gopis in Vrindavan through various tensions

Seekers' material postion

1. Varna -

2. Race - Vritrasura, Prahlad and Bali vs Indra

3. Gender - Yajnik brahmanas vs their wives

4. Ashrama - Amabarisha vs Durvasa

5. Worldly position - Jada Bharata vs Rahugana

Seekers' conceptions of Absolute Truth

6. Brahman vs Bhagavan - Sukadeva G and Kumaras

7. Vishnu vs Krishna - Maha-vishnu steals brahmana's sons to get darshan of Krishna

8.  Aishvarya Krishna vs Madhurya Krishna - Uddhava in Vrindavan

9. Samyoga vs Vipralambha - Gopis (Rasa Panchadhyaya)

 

 

 

New Vrindaban Daily darsan @ June 8, 2014.
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

01

Filled with amorous desires, Sri Sri Radha and Krsna gracefully enter the palace of vines. Their glistening eyes, words, limbs, and motions are all filled with nectar, and Their eyes move with amorous playfulness. Seeing all this, Radha’s maidservants begin to discreetly go outside, but the smiling divine couple brings them back in. They are plunged in shyness and bliss at the same moment. These teenage maidservants of Srimati Radharani have complexions as splendid as gold. They are ravishingly beautiful, with beautiful slender waists and very large breasts and hips, and each wears in her nose a pearl studded with jewels and gold. Their braided hair, their garments, and their ornaments, are all very beautiful. Please meditate on Srimati Radharani’s maidservants in this way.

Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-57-58, Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

Kolkata Devotees Purchase Srila Prabhupada’s Birthplace
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY MADHAVA SMULLEN
KOLKATA - Devotees in Kolkata, India headed by GBC Radhanath Swami, have purchased Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace and plan to develop it as a beautiful memorial to the ISKCON founder Acharya. Fifteen years ago, devotees acquired a house and land in the Tollygunge suburb of Kolkata that had belonged to Prabhupada’s maternal grandfather. But the exact site where Prabhupada was born on September 1st, 1896 remained elusive until now.

“One hundred yards away from his maternal grandfather’s house is a small cottage under a jackfruit tree,” explains Radha Jivan Das, a Florida-based businessman and philanthropist. “In India in those days, when a woman gave birth, she would go back to her father’s house. So Prabhupada’s mother, Srimati Rajani De, went to stay with her joint family in Tollygunge—her parents and brothers all lived there. She gave birth to Srila Prabhupada in this small cottage, which was exclusively for ladies to give birth—a kind of birthing center, so to speak.”

Recently the cottage became available for sale. Kolkata devotees, including vice president Radha Raman Das, negotiated with the elderly lady who had owned it, and purchased it for just $25,000. The funds were raised by Radhanath Swami and Radha Jivan Das, who each paid half of the cost.

Besides being Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace, there are several interesting facts about the property.

The jackfruit tree which stands over the cottage and still bears fruit, was present when Srila Prabhupada was born 117 years ago. Radha Jivan estimates it’s at least 130 or 140 years old. The property is also special because Srila Prabhupada continued to visit it throughout his childhood. Or rather, he would visit the house of his mother’s family 100 yards from it. Whenever Srimati Rajane De would go to visit her family, Prabhupada would go with her, taking the thirty-kilometer commute from his father Gour Mohan De’s house on Mahatma Gandhi Road. During his visits to Tollygunge, Srila Prabhupada—then little Abhay Charan De—would go with his maternal uncles to visit a Madan Mohan temple just across the street from their house. One of the most interesting and little-known facts, however, is that it was actually Srila Prabhupada’s express wish that his birthplace be purchased by ISKCON.

“Srila Prabhupada’s grand nephew and disciple, Sankarshan Das, is currently managing a preaching center in Godrumadvipa, near Mayapur,” says Radha Jivan.

“When I told him what we were purchasing Prabhupada’s birthplace, he started to cry.” He said, ‘On May 5th, 1977, five months before he passed away, Srila Prabhupada personally handwrote me a Bengali letter. He said ‘Sankarshana Prabhu, this place where I was born under the tree must be acquired.’”

“Prabhupada knew who he was,” Radha Jivan says. “He knew he was the acharya of the age. He knew his birthplace could not just go to waste.”

So it is no surprise that ISKCON devotees are very excited, 36 years later, to finally own this piece of history.

“Several brahmachari disciples of Radhanath Swami are already living there,” says Radha Jivan. “They have installed a murti form of Srila Prabhupada in the cottage where he was born. They are doing kirtan, and distributing kichari prasadam to the hungry in the area. We are currently constructing some bathroom facilities and cleaning the cottage up. We invite any devotees visiting Kolkata to come and see Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace.”

In the next year, devotees hope to purchase two acres of land surrounding the cottage. They will then begin building a beautiful monument for Srila Prabhupada that will attract visitors from all over to see the birthplace of the saint who gave the world Krishna consciousness. The monument will include a museum depicting Prabhupada’s early childhood pastimes.

In the future, the memorial could expand into a full-fledged ISKCON center.

“It may include a nice temple and a school in Srila Prabhupada’s name, where spiritual and material education can be given to the local people,” Radha Jivan says.

ISKCON guru Radha Govinda Swami, upon hearing the news, summed up the importance of this acquisition by ISKCON.
“This Bhumi, this land, that gave birth to the greatest personality—who gave life to the whole world by giving knowledge of Krishna consciousness—must be worshipped,” he said. “This is a great service that has been performed by the devotees and disciples of Srila Prabhupada. They have acquired such sacred earth, which will be worshipped by millions and millions of followers in the future.”

It Is A Personal Obligation
→ Japa Group


"Always remember that you promised your spiritual master to chant Hare Krsna without offenses, including the offense of inattentive chanting. It is a personal obligation, and one should chant keeping the order of the spiritual master in mind and therefore keeping the personal connection."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

SouthPort Centre
→ Ramai Swami

IMG_0744IMG_0745

The inauguration of the Hare Krsna Cultural Centre in Southport Queensland was conducted in early June this year. This is the second preaching centre on the Gold Coast, the Bhakti Centre being the first.

The opening was well attended by many guests and devotees. Even the Real Estate agent and her husband came and danced around Tulsi Devi offering three drops of sanctified water. At the end a big feast was served for everyone’s satisfaction and pleasure.
IMG_0747IMG_0741

Food for thought
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 27 October 2010, Vrindavan, India, Lecture)


gulab-jamun-with-honey-saffronQuestion: You mentioned Dhruva Maharaj stopped eating, drinking and breathing – is it possible for us to take vows and if it is needed, how much is needed?

Yes, there are vows in devotional service that one can take and such vows are being observed by acharyas. On ekadasi, they were following quite strictly. For example, it is said that Srinivas Acharya would sit with a group of devotees on ekadasi and they would chant non-stop all day and all night, and they would tie their sikas with strings to the ceilings!

So, one can take such vows but the greatest vow is the vow to distribute mercy. So greater than fasting is to somehow or other distribute the mercy everywhere – that is our focus! So, if fasting reinforces our ability to give out the mercy then it is alright but if the fasting diminishes that ability then, “Eat and eat and eat!”

But if eating begins to diminish our ability to distribute the mercy then, “Fast and fast and fast!”

 

An Impetus to Eternal Life, June 3, ISKCON, East Hartford, Connecticut
Giriraj Swami

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAGiriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.17.

“Generally we think, ‘Old age—how terrible; disease—how terrible.’ But if those serve as an impetus to our Krishna consciousness and thus help us realize our eternal, blissful life with Krishna, they are favorable. So we should learn to take every situation as Krishna’s mercy—as an opportunity to remember Krishna more. Actually, everything we experience in this world is meant to help us think of Krishna more. Sometimes in difficulty a person’s Krishna consciousness is accelerated. When things are going well we may think we don’t need God, but then when things go wrong we realize that we do need Him.”

SB 2.3.17, ISKCON Hartford

Bath Rathayatra, UK 2014 (Album 50 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

A glimpse of Lord Jagannath on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints. The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled, is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages. This event will allow people to have glimpse of mystic India, illustrating the festival in full glory. Rathyatra is a great festival because of its ability to unite people in its festivity. The Rathyatra festival has become common in most major cities of the world. It has been regularly organized in various cities of England (London, Crawley, Birmingham, Liecester, Cardiff). This is for the 4th time it is being organized by “Bath Hindu Community” in Bath on 7th June, 2014. Read more ›

Harinama- Summer Spa Season Opening in Piestany and Gauranga Festival in Bratislava, Slovakia (Album 38 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion. SB 11.2.40 Read more ›

ISKCON Disciple Course
→ Welcome to the official site of ISKCON Perth

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I would like to inform you all that we are planning to have the above course next week facilitated by HG Aniruddha prabhu, temple president of Melbourne temple and regional secretary for Perth. Prabhu is arriving on 11 and will be doing the course from Thursday onwards.

This is a well designed course and the student will gain a lot of knowledge from this course. In fact Its a compulsory for all the new devotees to do this before they take initiation from 2015. Also good for the older devotees to deepen the understanding of the process.

I would  strongly recommend all the leaders and preachers to do this course.

For course details check the link “ISKCON Disciple Course“.

THE COURSE HAS LIMITED SEATS. SO FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS.

Registration is essential

Suggested Donation:  $40 for the entire course including all the course materials.

I know this is a bit intense to commit for 16- 18 hrs over four consecutive
days. But its worth doing this.

So please register your interest.

ITS ESSENTIAL THAT DEVOTEES ATTEND ALL 4 SESSIONS TO GET THE FULL BENEFIT.

Please reply to me or call me to secure your place. Please call me soon to
avoid disappointment

–
Sita Rama Lakshmana das

Disciples Course v2-page-001

 

Radha Nagar Kirtan Program
→ Mayapur.com

By the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, Mayapur Local Preaching received another invitation for ‘kirtan mela’ program at Krishnanagar, Radha Nagar Natun Baroary on 02.06.2014, just after Shaktinagar Kirtan Mela on 28.05.14. They where to have 3 days of continuous programs, ISKCON was the first to inaugurate with auspicious Harinam […]

The post Radha Nagar Kirtan Program appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Video recordings from Czech, May 2014
→ KKSBlog

Kadamba Kanana Swami visited the Czech Republic from 20-25 May 2014. We are grateful to the Czech devotees who not only took pictures and voice recordings but also video recorded all programs that were done by Maharaj. Lectures are given in English followed by translation into the Czech language.

 

KKS_CZ_Prague_21 May 2014_Harinam

KKS_CZ_Govinda_21 May 2014_Kirtan

KKS_CZ_Govinda_21 May 2014_Lecture

KKS_CZ_temple_22 May 2014_SB_4.28.38

KKS_CZ_Govinda_22 May 2014_Kirtan_On_the_hill

KKS_CZ_temple_22 May 2014_BG_7.20

KKS_CZ_temple_23 May 2014_SB_4.28.39

KKS_CZ_Prague_23 May 2014_Harinam

KKS_CZ_farm_24 May 2014_SB_8.15.29

KKS_CZ_farm_24 May 2014_Kirtan

KKS_CZ_Harinam Mandir_24 May 2014_Kirtan

KKS_CZ_Harinam Mandir_24 May 2014_Lecture

KKS_CZ_temple_25 May 2014_SB_4.28.41

 

 

 

How Maya can refer to both Krishna’s energy in general and to his inferior energy in specifice
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Krsna  has  one  great   energy,  which   is  called  maya   in  many   places   in  the scriptures.  Maya  means the  external manifestation of Krsna,  by the  definition "miyate anaya,"  --"that  by  which   things   are  measured". Krsna  cannot   be  understood  except through the  agency  of maya.    Learned men  divide Krsna's  energy  into  the  superior, spiritual energy  (cit sakti)   and  inferior  or material energy  (maya  sakti).   Actually the superior energy  is the  inconceivable energy.  The inferior  energy  is its shadow.      That inferior  energy  is the  controller of the  material universe. The  maya  sakti  which  is condemned in spiritual discussions is this inferior  energy,  not the spiritual energy.

Chaitanya Shikshamrita, Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Srila Prabhupada Designs A Horse Driven Cart For Use At New Vrindaban – May 1969.
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Srila Prabhupada Designs A Horse Driven Cart For Use At New Vrindaban.

Srila Prabhupada’s First Visit to New Vrindaban – May, 1969.

Excerpt from “The Hare Krishna Explosion.”

Chapter 18 titled: “Paramhansa in the Hills.”

By Hayagriva das.

As the late May days pass—beautiful, lengthening days with brief afternoon thundershowers—Prabhupada gradually builds his community, throwing out ideas, planning, even designing a two-wheel cart for the workhorses.

“With this kind of cart,” he says, showing me a drawing, “you can more readily go up and down the road. It will be easy for the horses to pull.”

Read the rest of the chapter HERE.

Prabhupada Horse Driven Cart Drawing New Vrindaban 1969

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proof
→ Seed of Devotion

On my evening walk, I reveled at every step the poetry and power and perfection of nature. I marveled at the red-brown leaves of the maple tree and how when the sun shone through the leaves the tree seemed to be made of glowing embers. Or a field splashed with the soft white globes of dandelions. The towering castles of clouds in the distance made bright by the evening sun. The air was intoxicating - the fragrance of life. New leaves, flowers, grass, earth... Truly, God is a genius. I bent towards a bush covered in thousands of little white flowers. Each one was so perfect, delicate, exquisite in color and design. The only proof that I  need that God exists is to take a walk down my road. 
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