Planet ISKCON

The grass hasn't grown that high yet,  but the cows were so eager to roam the pastures after such a harsh, long winter that we let them out a few days ago. In fact, Madhava, the ox,  had broken out twice to munch the grass on the other side of the fence which really made the other cows envious.

We performed artik to our deity Giriraj and the cows and fed them the cows treats. Vegan Indira, the cow who was recently saved by ISCOWP members from the dairy industry, met the rest of the herd and green grass for the first time in her life as did the calves Indraneela and Anasuya who had been saved from the auction barn last fall. It was an auspicious time for the cows.

"One should be merciful and not cause anxiety to any living entity. The heart should always be filled with compassion for others. Exhibiting mercy to all living entities is one of the limbs of devotional service."

- Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhaktyaloka

When we wake up in the morning, our thoughts should turn to Japa - it's the beginning of our spiritual day and the most important.
You may remember the times when your Japa was focused and concentrated and you felt the purification of the Holy names - it affects our whole day, how we see the world and how we interact with the world.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 March 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 10.39.39)

Because we have been in the material world for many lifetimes, we have accumulated many desires that are stored within our subconsciousness and all these desires are still influencing us now. Again, we are trying to enjoy them one more time; again and again, although we were not satisfied in previous lives, not fulfilled but still, we try again! So this is where we are at. That is why spiritual life involves an element of struggle due to the influence of previous association with the material world.

But, just by hearing about Krsna, seeing Krsna in His deity form, chanting His name, taking prasadam or taking shelter of any other form in which Krsna manifests Himself, is enough to burn up so much of that previous karma; therefore we do change!

That verse which I used to forget a lot. It happens that you forget one line of a verse and this one, I always used to forget. Then one time, I was in Bombay and I took a taxi and the taxi-driver quoted the verse so then, I felt a little embarrassed, “Here is the swami and he couldn’t quote the verse.” I got defeated by a taxi-driver so my false-ego got to me and that worked better than my devotion because since then I can remember the verse. So, I am going to try it now, let’s see:

namno hi yavati saktih

papa-nirharane hareh

tavat kartum na saknoti

patakam pataki narah (Brhad-visnu Purana)

 

All glories to the taxi-driver! No problem, I can easily remember it! It is amazing that when you get motivated by false-ego, it is so easy and when you have to do something on the strength of pure devotion, it is a struggle! This verse says that if you chant the holy name once, you burn up more sin than you can commit in a life-time! Think about that…

 

Mahavishnu Swami Lecture | Rhythm Tree Festival 2013Rhythm Tree World Music Festival, located on the Isle of Wight, England - 20 July 2013 Continue reading →

The Mayapur Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP), under construction, recently opened an office in the ISKCON Juhu temple, at Hare Krishna Land in Mumbai. In honor of the occasion, and to further the cause, I thought to share an excerpt adapted from my article “Memories of Sridhar Swami” in my book Many Moons.

In November 2003, Srila Prabhupada’s staunch disciple Sridhar Swami phoned me from Bombay and told me that he was planning to go to Vancouver in April for four to six months. Soon thereafter, however, he sent an e-mail saying that he had been diagnosed with liver cancer and was going to Vancouver immediately to see if he could get a liver transplant, which was his “only hope.”

There the tests revealed that his cancer had spread beyond the limit allowed for transplants, and so his “only hope” was dashed, and it seemed like he was soon to leave his body.

I phoned Maharaja from Santa Barbara and eventually got him on his cell phone. “Where are you?” I asked. “I’m shopping,” he answered. He seemed so jolly—like always. But then he confirmed my worst fears: “The doctor says that I could go at any time. Phone me back later. We have to talk.”

After that, we would speak every day, usually twice a day. And we had wonderful talks. Then the question arose whether he should go to Mayapur—and when. He decided he would go to Mayapur and concluded that he should go as soon as possible.

He had three desires, he said: “I just want to survive until I reach Mayapur. Then, if possible, I want to live to see the Panca-tattva installed. And then, if possible, I want to live until Gaura-purnima. And then—whatever.” (He meant, of course, “And then—whatever Krishna wants.”) No one knew how much travel Maharaja’s weakened body could bear, but with these three desires in his heart, he flew to London and then to Kolkata, and eventually he arrived in Mayapur.

I wanted to phone Maharaja every day, but the way it worked out with the time difference and all the difficulties in just getting through to Mayapur, we only managed to speak every third day or so. The last time, two days before he left, he was having a good day. The previous day had been a bad one, but the night before, they had given him some additional medication. So when I spoke with him that last time, he was having a good day, and we had one of the best talks I have ever had with anyone in my entire life. We spoke mainly about the Mayapur project and Srila Prabhupada’s mission. It’s really something that I’ll cherish for my whole life—the experience of it and the lessons it contained.

That was Thursday, March 11. The next day, Friday, we installed beautiful brass Deities of Gaura-Nitai in our Carpinteria ashram. They had come from Vrindavan, originally commissioned by Mother Kirtida for Tamal Krishna Goswami. I felt that Their coming was also part of Sridhar Swami’s mercy, because he so fervently desired that the glories of the Panca-tattva be spread and that we build the great temple for Them in Mayapur. So, two representatives of the Panca-tattva had come, and I felt that Their arrival was his desire.

On Thursday I had told Maharaja, “I don’t know if I will be able to phone you again before then, but the Deities have come and we will install Them Friday evening, and by your mercy we’ll try to serve Them and Their dhama.” And now, whenever I look at Their beautiful forms and appealing faces, I feel that we have to do something for Them—we have to build Their wonderful temple, as Sridhar Swami always reminded me.

I think this may have been Maharaja’s main contribution in recent years, at least to me in my service: He impressed upon me—and upon our entire movement—the importance of the Mayapur project, of the “wonderful temple” (adbhuta mandira) that Nityananda Prabhu had desired for the service of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and that Bhaktivinoda Thakura had envisioned. (One day, when Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was chanting japa on the balcony of his house in Godruma-dvipa, he looked across the Jalangi River to Mayapur and had a vision of a transcendental city with a magnificent temple rising like a mountain in its midst.) Maharaja’s whole life was dedicated to Srila Prabhupada, and I think he felt that this was one of Srila Prabhupada’s main desires left to be fulfilled. And he felt that we had to do it—and that we had to do it; it would benefit the whole society, and the whole world. He would quote Ambarisa Prabhu: “This will be the tide that will make all the boats rise.” So, although Sridhar Maharaja left so many wonderful legacies for us in terms of his personal qualities and activities, I think one legacy that may serve to unite the movement and fulfill one of Srila Prabhupada’s main desires is his inspiration to push on the construction of the great temple in Mayapur.

When I was a new devotee, maybe less than two years in the movement, I approached Srila Prabhupada one day while he was getting his massage on the veranda of the Calcutta temple. “Srila Prabhupada,” I said, “I have been thinking about what pleases you most.” Srila Prabhupada was so pure he took every word into his heart. He replied, “Yes.” I said, “The two things that seem to please you the most are distributing your books and building the big temple in Mayapur.” Srila Prabhupada smiled with great appreciation and said, “Thank you very much.”

So, those were Srila Prabhupada’s two main strategies for spreading Krishna consciousness, and Sridhar Swami helped him in both. In his early days, Sridhar Swami was instrumental in developing book distribution in North America. And in his later years, he was very involved with the Mayapur project, planning and raising funds for the great temple. And by Maharaja’s mercy, on Gaura-purnima, standing in front of the Panca-tattva Deities in Laguna Beach, I got the inspiration: “Now it’s time for Mayapur. Sridhar Swami understood that long ago. Now it’s time for you [me] to join the effort, too.” And that was important for me in other ways as well—to let go of the past: “Forgive and forget. Now let’s all work together for Mayapur, for Sridhar Swami, for Srila Prabhupada, to build the wonderful temple.”

When I asked Sridhar Swami how I could help, he requested me to speak about my experiences of Srila Prabhupada related to Mayapur. So, in 1973, when Srila Prabhupada came to Calcutta from England, he was very excited and enthusiastic about Mayapur. Tamal Krishna Goswami had gotten the first land, we had observed the first Gaura-purnima festival there, and now Srila Prabhupada had come with the plans for the first building. There was a detailed discussion, and at the end Srila Prabhupada said, “If you build this temple, then Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”

Now I think, “That might be my only hope, so I’d better get to work. We’d better build the Mayapur project, because I don’t know how else I will ever get back to Godhead.”

His Holiness Sridhar Swami has given me a lifetime of work in service to Srila Prabhupada. Although jivo va maro va, to live or die is the same for a devotee—and certainly that was true of Maharaja—my own feelings are mixed. I think, “He has left so much service for me, given me so many instructions. So I must stay and execute his mission.” I think the same about Tamal Krishna Goswami. Even though part of me misses them terribly and wants to be with them, mainly I think, “They left me so many instructions. I have so much service to do for them here.”

Of course, how long we have to do what they have asked—what they would want—all depends on Krishna. Therefore, whatever time we do have left we should use in the best possible way—in Krishna consciousness.

Hare Krishna.

—Giriraj Swami

In the Bhagavad-gita (6.41-43) it is stated that a man who enters upon the path of self-realization but does not complete the process, despite having sincerely tried to realize his relationship with God, is given a chance to appear in a family of suci or srimat. The word suci indicates a spiritually advanced brahmana, and srimat indicates a vaisya, a member of the mercantile community. So the person who fails to achieve self-realization is given a better chance in his next life due to his sincere efforts in this life. If even a fallen candidate is given a chance to take birth in a respectable and noble family, one can hardly imagine the status of one who has achieved success.

- Srila Prabhupada, Sri Isopanishad Mantra 3

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A new artist has joined the TOVP. Straight from the shores of Australia, Bhakti Vardhana das has made the banks of Mother Ganga his new home. The Art Department quickly deployed him to lend his talents in the construction of the TOVP scale model.

His current task is building and painting the kailash and its supporting structures. The model of the kailash is first made from a mixture of fiberglass and plaster which is poured into a mold. Once hardened, it is ready to be painted and attached to the rest of the fixture.

Bhakti Vardhana, a name bequeathed to him by Srila Prabhupada, comes from a formidable lineage of ISKCON artists. His father, Ram Prasad das, spent decades doing dedicated seva for the BBT. Many of his paintings are featured in ISKCON books. His depiction of Paramatma graces the covers of some, such as The Science of Self-realization. Bhakti’s uncle, Bhaskara das, is the manager of the TOVP Art & Research Department. He is the creative force behind much of the project’s design and finishes, constantly generating new ideas.

Pioneered and pursued by Paravata Muni das, this model plays an integral role in visualizing the super-structure and the components of the temple, such as the domes, which will rest upon it. This allows artists, engineers and architects to foresee potential obstacles as well as adjust visual ornamentation. It is an encompassing undertaking, fortunately both Parvata and Bhakti enthusiastically execute the seva.

The post Kailash Model appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Celebrating the upcoming Mother's Day.

Join Inc.500 entrepreneur, Amish Shah, as he investigates the secrets of the ancient submerged city of Dwarka. Follow his journey, inspired by the Mahabharata and other Vedic texts, as he explores the validity of their detailed accounts of ancient technology, powerful beings, and epic wars.

Coconut Grove, Florida

A Small Band of Us

A small band of us trekked to the ocean, and on our way we passed by a pizza shop which looked to be a 24/7 outfit.  The owner of the shop came out and broke out into a chant when he saw us.  It turns out that he knows one of our boys, a monk who passed away no less than two years ago. 

“I love that guy,” said the pizza man with his hand to his heart. 

“You mean, Siddha Vidya, my god brother monk?”

“Yeah, that’s the guy, that’s his name,” he said.  “I’ll make some pizzas for you guys,” and we declined saying it’s a little early in the morning.  It was 5:30 AM. 

Those of us who walked together knew of this extraordinary soul – Siddha Vidya, who made an impression on so many people with his visits to shop owners.  He made so many friends with all the people he had met.

Now, we continued on through Peacock Park, where hippies frequented, played Frisbee and enjoyed the food and fun that Krishna monks provided in the ‘70’s.  Vishnujana Swami, a most renowned monk of his time, drew the crowds. 

Much later in the day, or let’s say at 1-ish, a second group of us made our way to the docks for a boat ride and swim.   The operator of the boat called “Pearson” with the Shake A Leg establishment, was one of those guys that used to hang out at Peacock Park with the Krishnas in the ‘70’s.  Being sensitive about our needs, he took us to a beach area away from the sex, drugs, and rock and roll scene, bless his heart.  Hence, we played hard in the water.  I still prefer fresh water though.  Jambavan, from Michigan, was with us, and told about his father’s t-shirt, which held a caption in support of the Great Lakes, where there’s fresh water.  The caption read, “No Sharks, No Salt, No Worries”.  When I asked the operator of the boat about sharks in the area, his facetious response was, “Whoever amongst you is a poor swimmer, just keep him near you.”

The evening wrapped up at the ISKCON Centre with Jambavan and I doing a duet on the Gita’s message.  I will also say that the kirtan that preceded it was electrifying.

May the Source be with you!

8 KM

Coconut Grove, Florida
 
These Trees
 

The three of us, Angelo, Ananda Rupa and I, took to the sidewalk along Main highway.  The name is somewhat misleading, it’s only a two lane expanse of asphalt in the Coconut Grove area, and it runs along the Atlantic Ocean, separated by a lean stretch of land with high end properties and private schools.  Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had strolled here on this very sidewalk under the banyan trees.  Nice place.  “Trees” was the topic of our discussion. In regards to the story of the pracetas, yogis, who had submerged themselves in water, as their venue for meditation.  They came out of the water after an extended time of trance, and noticed that the land they once knew was overgrown by trees.  They then arranged for clearing these forests, and like most projects conducted by man, it was taken to the extreme.  The moon objected to the destruction, to quote, “Soma, the king of the moon and the king of all vegetation, forbade the pracetas (from further destruction) since they, the trees, are the source of food for all.”
 
Trees are so essential for our sustenance in so many ways.  As the day rolled out, the trees at Cocounut Grove at Virginia Street, provided a welcoming shade for our mini Festival of Chariots.  The sun was baking us alive, so we, the participants, took shelter of the coconut trees as the deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra, were carried out by priests.  The kirtan resounded and was energetic.  I did tolerate some tone deaf chanting leaders.  There was a glorious comment that came out by a Catholic mother of one of our devotees.  She was told that this drumming and singing was our version of high mass.  She found it quite lively 
 
Our brief procession culminated under the shady mango tree, where dance, song and slide show, were on display on a stage.  Once again, the tree did so much to offer relief to our situation.  God bless our trees. 
 
May the Source be with you!
 
6 KM

03-04-2014 Introduction to Bhakti Yoga, University of Johannesburg, Doorfontein Campus, South Africa.mp3

1968 April 29: "I am going to Boston where there are so many nice college engagements arranged. Just recently we went to Temple University, Philadelphia where we held kirtana and lecture. Tomorrow we have got engagement at New York University. So we are spreading this Sankirtana very nicely here. Please keep me informed of your activities there."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 April 29: "I was very much pleased with the student community in Buffalo and similarly in San Francisco, Columbus and North Carolina. So our future hope is this student community. The child is the father of the man and if the fathers of the children of this country are not taking part with us then the future fathers will surely be sympathetic. That is a great hope for us."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 April 29: "Regarding KRSNA Book chapter 31, page 4, top, the word Hrdaya is correct. You must always ask the Lord's grace to make you in the right position. It is not for your sense gratification, it is for the Lord's service. For the Lord's service we can ask for His grace and mercy a hundred times but for our sense gratification we cannot pray or ask anything - that is pure devotion."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Give up the sand bags of material desires and let the Helium of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra take you back home, back to Godhead.

1970 April 29: "Come here sometime soon at your convenience and we can discuss your proposals in more detail. Take inspiration from the temple activities and we can discuss together our future plans for India. I will be very glad to see you both at that time."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 April 29: "Regarding reading Mahabharata, why divert your attention in this way? Bhagavatam is also Mahabharata. There are so many books I have presented already, so whatever you have got, just become expert in that. There are many things still yet to be learned."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 April 29: "Yes, we can invest $70,000 and purchase the Washington D.C. Temple. So you negotiate, and we shall purchase in name of MV Trust. So you consult and do the needful. What happened about the Columbia house?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 29: "So I am very much encouraged by this political field in America. Preach on the basis of the division of society into four orders. Without this, society is useless and people cannot be happy or even have the necessities of life. In India they do no take it very seriously so it is up to you Americans to actually accomplish something."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 29: "Our presentation is so scientific that learned persons are appreciating all over the world. Fix up a time when I can come conveniently to visit if you like. Schedule meetings with some of the leading citizens and important men of your country who may be interested to meet with me."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

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Sunday lecture in Istanbul. (English/Turkish)

The post The meaning of raising our arms while chanting Hare Krsna (Part 2) appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

How does one achieve the highest benefit in all devotional practices by nama-sankirtan? When Krishna sees that someone is helping others by giving them the opportunity to hear the holy name, then Krishna from within and from without lifts the curtain of yogamaya from that person. He thus allows them to see the actual nature of the Deity and to penetrate and realize the deepest imports of the Bhagavata, the path of spontaneous devotion. Read more ›

The 2014 West Coast Vaisnava Women's Retreat was held April 25-27, 2014, at Radha’s Garden in the San Diego area. The three day event included: VIP Guest Speaker Narayani devi dasi VIP Guest Speaker Malati devi dasi VIP Guest Speaker Sandamini devi dasi VIP Guest Speaker Vrajalila devi dasi San Diego Rathayatra parade Read more ›

With Dayanidhi prabhu. Read more ›

2014 04 20 SB 10 44 05 Inconceivable Krishna Kills Kamsa Radhanath Swami ISKCON Chowpatty

Śāstra and ācāryas have given an elaborate explanations of various types of “eternality.” To  break it down in a simple way:

1. something which has no beginning and no ending is eternal in the fullest sense.
2. something that has a beginning but no end is also eternal in a sense (its ending point is undefinable by time)
3. something that has no beginning but has an end is also eternal (its starting point is undefinable by time)

When śāstra wants to refer to #2 or #3 it uses these words “an-ādi” (without beginning, #2), and “an-anta” (without an end).

See Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s own teaching on this issue in cc madhya 20, especially…

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’
kṛṣṇera ‘taṭasthā-śakti’ ‘bhedābheda-prakāśa’ (108)

“The constitutional nature of the jīva is to be an eternal servant of Krishna, because it is a one-yet-different manifestation of Krishna’s own energy (‘taṭasthā-śakti’).”

The question arises, if the jīva is Krishna’s eternal servant, why is it not currently engaged in service to Krishna, but instead is engaged in serving itself through Māyā? Mahaprabhu addresses this question in his next instruction to Śrī Sanātana Goswāmī:

kṛṣṇa bhuli’ sei jīva anādi-bahirmukha
ataeva māyā tāre deya saḿsāra-duḥkha (117)

“Disregarding Krishna, the Jīva  beginninglessly turns away from him. Therefore Māyā gives him to the miseries of saṁsāra.”

The question then arises, can the jīva ever fulfill its original, constitutional purpose and become engaged in Krishna’s service? Mahaprabhu addresses this in his next instruction:

sādhu-śāstra-kṛpāya yadi kṛṣṇonmukha haya
sei jīva nistare, māyā tāhāre chāḍaya (120)

“If through the mercy of sādhu and śāstra he turns towards Krishna, that jīva becomes liberated, Māyā lets go of him.”

So, the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya siddhanta concludes that the jīva is eternally bound by māyā, but “eternal” in the sense of being from the very beginning of existence (“anādi”, without a markable beginning), not in the sense of being endless. Therefore the jīva can turn towards Krishna and become free from saṁsāra-duḥka.

—

Q: I thought they are called nitya-baddha figuratively. That is, the nitya-bhaddhas are ever-conditioned because they do not know when they came in touch with this material world.

Yes, no one knows when it happened, because it is anādi – it does not have a traceable beginning. It begins with the beginning itself.

Q: On the other hand, the nitya-siddhas never come in contact with this material world, and even when they descent under the order of the Supreme Lord, they do not tangle in the material world, and remain always transcendental.

This is perfectly correct, in my opinion — and vividly demonstrates the principle that no associate of Krishna can fall into the grip of māyā.

Q: Are all of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates nitya-siddhas?

No. Nor are  all of Śrī Krishna’s associates nitya-siddha. The descent of the līlā to this world is for the purpose of inducing souls from this world to the higher plane. So when it descends, the nitya-siddhas are joined by sādhana-siddhas and a few kripa-siddhas. Even non-siddhas also participate by observing (directly, or by hearing the recordings – Śrīmad Bhāgavatam) or participating incidentally, and thus being induced to join ASAP.

Q: Is there any  clear sastric statement that every being in the spiritual realm is a nitya-siddha?

Certainly there are many. Śrīla Jīva Goswami’s analysis of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Bhāgavata Sandarbha, Anuccheda 51 is devoted to this exact statement. He says “tato’skhalanam” (no one falls from there), and quotes dozens of verses from Bhāgavatam and Śruti to support the statement.

 

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

"[The devotee] feels no apathy or attachment to mundane morality. On the other hand, morality waits like a maidservant to assist spiritual morality in the service of the Lord of Transcendental Love. At the same time we should understand that the character of one culturing spiritual love is never devoid of morality. One hostile to morality or fallen from it can never be a spiritual man. In the blazing core of the teaching of Shri Chaitanya Deva’s ideal—debauchery is not devotion. The evidence is abundant when reflecting on the character of Sri Chaitanya Deva and his followers."

Conversation between Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and Prof. Albert E. Suthers, January 1929, Krishnanagar