Photos from Jagannath Ratha Yatra 1st Time ever in Dhulikhel & Banepa. Stage Program at Dhulikhel on 23rd April and Jagannath RathaYatra at Banepa, Kavre, Nepal on 24th April 2014.. With His Holiness Mahavishnu Swami, HG Patri Prabhu, and 1500+ Devotees for the Festival of Chariot. Read more ›
Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
The Lenten season is closing now in Holy Week. It comes around each year to remind Christians of Christ’s suffering and the suffering that we all endure in life. But, of course, the question of suffering extends to all faiths and is experienced by people regardless of religion.
David Brooks wrote recently in the New York Times that, in a culture chasing happiness, it is suffering, and suffering well, that truly defines us.
We suffer, and people suffer around us, in so many different ways. Some of it is widespread, the suffering of whole societies under war. Some of it is deeply personal, the death of a loved one or a divorce or a financial collapse. Whatever the circumstance, suffering can be profound.
How can faith sustain us through suffering and how should suffering inform our faith? Is suffering essential to being whole as a human? And what does it mean to accept suffering rather than reject it?
NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas
Suffering comes about as a karmic reaction for past deeds to encourage the self to not act against the laws of nature. Because a saintly person realizes that he is not the body, he does not identify with sufferings related to his body and mind.
A simple example is man who works hard and is very attached to his car, when the car gets damaged he practically feels pain. Another man, perhaps extravagantly wealthy, in the same circumstances does not feel the same pain as the man with great attachments to his car.
Therefore, those who are spiritually rich with practical realization of the self beyond the body do not suffer like those who are in the bodily conception of life.
Human life is distinguished from animal life due to its heavy responsibilities. Those who are cognizant of these responsibilities and who work in that spirit are called suras (godly persons), and those who are neglectful of these responsibilities or who have no information of them are called asuras (demons).
Between the first release of the MacMillan edition and the year 1977 in which Srila Prabhupada disappeared there would have been many reprint of Bhagavad Gita As it is, why these changes were not incorporated at those times?
Where is the documentary evidence that Srila Prabhupada wanted those changes made to his Bhagavad Gita As it is?
Now justifying the changes is like argument between lawyers where the more powerful in arguing wins no matter what the truth is.
We don't need sophisticated flowery language nor the best use of the English language. For us the words come out from a pure devotee is enough that will do everything required spiritually. Please leave us with the original manuscript, we don't want the book written in your best Language.
Making changes is not the issue, but it should have been approved by the Acharya Srila Prabhupada. Now how does one know whether the changes are authorized? Leaving the decision to the readers is not acceptable, because we are not pure devotees.
The book should have been left "As it is" because even without those so called 'corrections' the potency of a pure devotee Srila Prabhupada's words will never be diminished and there is no doubts that the readers' heart will be cleansed in spite of the absence so called corrections.
If at all the changes were made, it should NOT have been marketed in the original name used by Srila Prabhupada, instead it should have been sold with Bhagavad Gita with the devotee who made the changes as the author.
Srila Prabhupāda knew there were mistakes in his books, and he wanted those mistakes fixed. Consider this excerpt from a class in Hawaii (January 1, 1974):
Prabhupada [interrupts the word-for-word reading]: Hm? Purusadaih—by men? Purusadaih. . . purusadaih means raksasa, the cannibals. So there has been. . . ‘Cannibals,’ it should be. You [Pradyumna, presumably] can have a notebook. . . Whenever there is some discrepancy, you note in the next [that is, for the next printing]. Purusadaih means ‘by the cannibals, raksasas.’ [word-for-word reading continues]
HH Giriraj Swami's wonderful answer! 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. Read more ›
Easter is a time of family gatherings and feasting for those of the Christian faith. However in Durban, Easter also represents a time of celebration for Hare Krsna devotees as it is time for the annual Ratha Yatra festival. The four day festival took place from 18-21 April and is widely considered to be the largest of its kind outside India. A great fascination about this Ratha Yatra is its sheer size in terms of the number of people that attend.
Devotees travelled from all over South Africa to be part of it. There were also many prominent international guests including BB Govinda Swami, Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Partha-Sarathi Das Goswami, Rama Govinda Swami, Veda Vyasa Priya Swami, Bhakti Brhad Bhagavat Swami, Bhakti Marg Swami, Bhakti Ashraya Vaishnava Swami and Madhava Prabhu. For the eighteenth consecutive year, Kadamba Kanana Swami participated as well.
The festival started-off with the Ratha Yatra itself. As it happens every year, Maharaj took lead of one of three kirtans that accompanied each of three massive chariots mounted by Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra. Singing for two hours under the blazing African sun, in front of Baladeva’s cart, Maharaj had the crowd dancing in ecstasy.
This festival has become famous for many exhibitions that have endured over the years, for example: the main stage cultural entertainment, Q&A tents, an onsite Jagannatha temple and various Govindas food stalls. Some newer features of the festival were the youth tent called Bhakti Cloud – Up Your Soul Game and Kirtanuity tent which as the name suggests had ongoing kirtan through the duration of the festival. This year Bhakti Marg Swami directed the local youth in two dramas called Big Fish, Little Fish and Little Big Ramayana.
On Sunday, 20 April an initiation ceremony took place. Kadamba Kanana Swami initiated six devotees (one first initiation and five received second). Anisha from the KKS Blog team is now Amrtavani devi dasi! In this address to the initiates and audience, Maharaj emphasized the importance of receiving mercy in our lives.
Just as it started, the festival ended with a Ratha Yatra procession on Monday night and an ecstatic final kirtan. There are many pictures in the slide-show below trying to capture the spirit of this wonderful event. We hope that you will enjoy it. If you cannot view the slide-show then please visit flickr.
After a very busy tour of South Africa, on Tuesday night Kadamba Kanana Swami departed for Europe. The celebration of his Vyasa Puja takes place today (25 April) in Radhadesh and tomorrow is the world famous Kingsday Harinam in Amsterdam.
Did Srila Prabhupada want to re-write the Bhagavad-gita As It Is and put fresh commentaries in it? I am asking this because someone told me that Srila Prabhupada worked very fast on the gita as he just wanted to print it out as early as possible.
1969 April 25 : "In Buffalo, we had three meetings, and it was found that the students, both boys and girls, especially the girls, they were very much receptive and encouraging. Please organize the Sankirtana Party very nicely, and try to preach amongst the student community, and I am hopeful that the result will be very great." Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1970 April 25 : "Yes, the conditioned souls are parts and parcels of the Lord and thus they were with Krsna before being conditioned. Just as the child must have seen his father because the father places the child in the womb of the mother, similarly each soul has seen Krsna or the Supreme Father" Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
"Those who are in complete Krsna Consciousness are not ultimately responsible for their actions." (Purport of verse 14, chapter 18 of Bhagavad-gita As It Is)
You have stated in a previous QA podcast (What is the meaning of 'cause' in the verse 2.47), that we are responsible for our actions. You gave the farmer analogy that if the farmer sows bad quality seeds he will obtain bad quality grains.
So how do we reconcile the two statements?
Can the 'adhisthanam' in gita verse 18.14 refer to some place of action other than the body? For example, the place of action for a businessman is the market place, for student it is college or university.
Krishna says in the Gita: "Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities." (2.47)
If we are not the cause of the fruit of our work then what is the cause of the fruit of our work? Is it only the material nature as mentioned in the verse 5.14, or is it all the five factors of action collectively as mentioned in the verse 18.14? Answer Podcast
Krishna says in the Gita (3.4) "Not by merely abstaining from work can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one achieve perfection."
In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17) we have- tyaktva sva dharmam caranam bujam harer...
So how to understand these seemingly contradictory instructions?
Sri Radha’s charming teen-age maidservants in Vrindavana have braids that swing to and fro, beautiful broad hips, slender waists, splendid necklaces decorating the flower buds of their beautiful breasts, various splendid ornaments and garments, glistening golden complexions the color of saffron, and youthful beauty that is as sweet as nectar. Please meditate on Sri Radha’s maidservants in this way.
[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, Sataka-2, Text-22, Translation.]
1972 April 25 : "There were four listeners when Krishna instructed Arjuna, so there are four bona fide Visnu sampradayas. Besides the Visnu sampradayas, there are other sampradayas, but they are following the directions given under off-shoot authorities. They have created so many, but these are not recognized by us." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1972 April 25 : "Yes, you do not know how to serve Krishna, so you simply assist your Guru - we must always think like this. In this way we can offer one plate and many plates are distributed." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1972 April 25 : "I have included one photograph of our proposed skyscraper in Los Angeles and so I want that our skyscraper in Juhu should also be looking like this. I do not like the round towers you have proposed, it is too fanciful." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1973 April 25 : "These principles of Krishna consciousness, if strictly followed, will keep you always in a purified condition and will give you spiritual strength to defeat maya, and when this body is finished, no more material bodies, but back to home, back to Godhead." Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1974 April 25: "The construction fund should only be used for construction items. Because you need these checks urgently I am sending, but please send a letter giving a proper account." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
Rudyard Kipling wrote, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Perhaps he was exposed to the rich tradition of story-telling in Gaudiya Vaishnavism during his time in India. Indeed, stories are an honored means to understand the pastimes and philosophy of this spiritual practice.
What of ISKCON’s history? How will future generations of devotees imbibe not only Srila Prabhupada’s persistent determination, but also appreciate the dedicated service of his disciples and their disciples? The TOVP serves as a monument to Prabhuapa’s vision and sacrifice and commemorates those devotees whose united efforts built it. The temple carries stories of Prabhupada’s ambition while each day of construction accrues new tales of their own. Noteworthy are those of the main dome, the latest being that the second tier has just been completed and the third segment will begin being raised by the end of the month.
Grounded in the roots of ISKCON’s history, the temple will also play an integral role in the development of its future. It will be a home for discussion and sadhu sanga. Devotees are the troubadours, poetic lyricists spreading transcendental knowledge across the plains.
Photos from Jagannath Ratha Yatra 1st Time ever in Dhulikhel & Banepa. Stage Program at Dhulikhel on 23rd April and Jagannath RathaYatra at Banepa, Kavre, Nepal on 24th April 2014.. With His Holiness Mahavishnu Swami, HG Patri Prabhu, and 1500+ Devotees for the Festival of Chariot. Read more › 
Dallas Morning News,
HH Giriraj Swami's wonderful answer! 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. 
One of the kids was asking if the lady close to Krishna is His girlfriend! 
Chanting and dancing! 
Part of the concert with Aditi-Dukha ha Prabhu and Symphony orchestra. Arranged by Shri Harinam Mandir, ISKCON, Tallinn, Estonia.