Prasad Distribution in the “Land of Saint’s and Scholars”
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Last week we took on the challenge of cooking subji and popperdoms for 5,000 people in Cork city; Our team consisted of Dharmatma Prabhu,Sanaka Prabhu, and Achintya Rupa Prabhu.

Srila Prabhupada says in the Srimad Bhagavatam: “The Krishna consciousness movement is based on this principle: chant the Hare Krishna mantra every moment, as much as possible, both inside and outside of the temple, and, as far as possible, distribute prasad. This process can be accelerated with the cooperation of state administrators and those who are producing the country’s wealth. Simply by liberal distribution of prasad and sankirtana,
the whole world can become peaceful and prosperous.”

SB 4.12.10 purport

The concept of the “Feeding the 5,000″ festival is to high light the food waste and attempt to divert that perfectly good food away from the landfills and back into the community. This project is up our street.

The Mayor of Cork came to help and all the media was there to report. These festivals are great preaching but also give our movement a good name. While looking on the Internet for media coverage on the event I came across an article in the “Independent” newspaper, titled “Why do so many people hate the harmless Hare Krishnas?” ‘ In a survey published last week,they were second only to drug addicts as the group we most want to avoid’.

Harinam and prasad is our way forward and if we get government help then we can move faster.

Enjoy the movie!

Your servant
Parasuram Das

Gaura Purnima Lecture – HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami
→ Mayapur.com

[Kindly transcribed by Sheela Ravishankar Mataji) Download the audio of this lecture here: Download From: Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir! Date: 16 March, 2014, Sri Gaura Purnima class 2/2 Speaker: HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami So all of you were enjoying HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj giving nice Gaura Katha. I could see they were all drowning in […]

The post Gaura Purnima Lecture – HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-03-25 09:49:00 →

1967 March 25: "There are so many Sanatana Dharma establishments in India but no body has tried to preach the principles of Bhagavad-gita in the Western countries. Swamis who came to the West before me manufactured their own ideology not in conformity with Bhagavad-gita. I am trying now to implement the truth of Bhagavad-gita in the Western countries and it is the duty of all Hindus and Indians to help me in all respects."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-03-25 09:43:00 →

1970 March 25: "There is no cause for being disappointed because of the demons being condemned by the Lord. I thank you very much for being compassionate upon the demons. The preaching work of Krishna Consciousness Movement is specifically meant for delivering the demons. And the Lord is so powerful that through His pure devotee anyone can be delivered, never mind how fallen or condemned they are."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Pilgrimage to Muktinath, 3,710 meters above sea level (Album 150 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday we made one last pilgrimage to Muktinath, 3,710 meters above sea level at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass. The air was so thin that we had to stop and catch our breath every few meters. There we had darshan of a lamp that Lord Brahma offered to Krsna at the beginning of creation. Miraculously the flame is still burning. Then we paid our obeisances to the deity of Lord Narayana, established by Sri Ramanujacarya over 1,000 years ago. I prayed to Lord Narayana to grant my dear godbrother, Bimal Prasad das, entrance into the spiritual world where he could serve the Lord to his heart’s content. We then began the long trip down through the mountains to Kathmandu and on to India. Read more ›

Maha Gaura Purnima, March 22, Laguna Beach, California
Giriraj Swami

03.23.14_04.LagunaGiriraj Swami read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 13.32.

“When we were little we went to the amusement park, and there were little cars that children would drive. As small children we were in the illusion that we were driving the cars independently, that we were going to crash into this one or bump into that one, but actually all the cars were on tracks. So what Srila Prabhupada and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta are saying here is that there are tracks laid out and all we have to do is get in the car. We may imagine that we are driving and that this calamity is coming and that calamity is coming—that we can crash like bumper cars—but actually it is all prearranged. Some architect has planned the whole thing. And you are in this little car thinking that you are the doer.

“The initial impetus that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave to the Krishna consciousness movement—the sankirtan movement—set in motion something that will spread all over the world and all over the universe. And we have the amazing opportunity to take part. Although in his purport Srila Prabhupada does not really mention himself directly, what he did with this initial impetus from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is practically unimaginable.”

03.23.14_01.Laguna03.23.14_02.Laguna03.23.14_03.Laguna03.23.14_05.Laguna

—————————————

Maha Gaura Purnima, Laguna Beach, 2014

How to Recognize an Advanced Devotee?
→ The Enquirer

Certainly many, many people have very confused ideas about this.

  • Strictness
  • Renunciation
  • Learning and Knowledge

Many think that these are sure signs of advancement in bhakti-yoga. Some are so dull that they actually think “tenure” (how many years you’ve stuck around) is a measure of advancement. Others are of such a brick-n-morter mentality that they actually seem to think numbers can describe advancement: number of devotees in a temple, number of disciples, number of books sold and so on…

Why should we care at all for any of these confused ideas? So many people might be so confused about what constitutes advancement in bhakti yoga, but its really not confusing at all:

Bhakti means love, particularly love for Krishna. Therefore the more love you have (particularly for Krishna), the more you have progressed in Bhakti-yoga. It’s that simple.

But how do you measure or recognize love? Leaving aside instinct as overly subjective and prone to bias, there is a simple method: the more love you have for something, the more attracted to it you are. So, the more you love Krishna the more you are attracted to Krishna. Again, it’s simple. Attraction to Krishna is the measure of advancement in Bhakti-yoga.

But how do we measure or recognize attraction to Krishna?

In this world (i.e. in the sādhaka-deha) there is no tangible way to express that attraction to Krishna except through the 64 limbs of sādhana. The essence of the 64 limbs is constant remembrance of Krishna, and there are five essential mechanisms of that remembrance – the two most essential of which are hearing Bhāgavatam and performing Krishna-saṅkīrtana.

Therefore the only true measure of our advancement in bhakti-yoga is the extent to which our mind gravitates magnetically towards learning about Krishna (directly, Krishna himself) from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and in how much taste we have for performing Krishna-Saṁkīrtana – especially Krishna-nāma-saṁkīrtana.

We can thus easily assess our own progress on the path. If there is a need to assess the progress of others, we measure the same principle by observing how easy or difficult it is to move the person away from discussion of Krishna (Krishna himself, directly – not stuff-remotely-connected-somehow-to-Krishna-because-of-x-y-z). We can do this by observing how much or how little time the person remains enrapt in Kīrtan and discussion of Krishna.

A person who is always deeply enrapt in Krishna Kīrtan and Kathā is a very advanced Vaishnava, they are very easy to engage in kīrtan and kathā for a long time with enthusiasm, and are very slow to moving the topic of discussion or celebration away from Krishna.


How to Recognize an Advanced Devotee?
→ The Enquirer

Certainly many, many people have very confused ideas about this.

  • Strictness
  • Renunciation
  • Learning and Knowledge

Many think that these are sure signs of advancement in bhakti-yoga. Some are so dull that they actually think “tenure” (how many years you’ve stuck around) is a measure of advancement. Others are of such a brick-n-morter mentality that they actually seem to think numbers can describe advancement: number of devotees in a temple, number of disciples, number of books sold and so on…

Why should we care at all for any of these confused ideas? So many people might be so confused about what constitutes advancement in bhakti yoga, but its really not confusing at all:

Bhakti means love, particularly love for Krishna. Therefore the more love you have (particularly for Krishna), the more you have progressed in Bhakti-yoga. It’s that simple.

But how do you measure or recognize love? Leaving aside instinct as overly subjective and prone to bias, there is a simple method: the more love you have for something, the more attracted to it you are. So, the more you love Krishna the more you are attracted to Krishna. Again, it’s simple. Attraction to Krishna is the measure of advancement in Bhakti-yoga.

But how do we measure or recognize attraction to Krishna?

In this world (i.e. in the sādhaka-deha) there is no tangible way to express that attraction to Krishna except through the 64 limbs of sādhana. The essence of the 64 limbs is constant remembrance of Krishna, and there are five essential mechanisms of that remembrance – the two most essential of which are hearing Bhāgavatam and performing Krishna-saṅkīrtana.

Therefore the only true measure of our advancement in bhakti-yoga is the extent to which our mind gravitates magnetically towards learning about Krishna (directly, Krishna himself) from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and in how much taste we have for performing Krishna-Saṁkīrtana – especially Krishna-nāma-saṁkīrtana.

We can thus easily assess our own progress on the path. If there is a need to assess the progress of others, we measure the same principle by observing how easy or difficult it is to move the person away from discussion of Krishna (Krishna himself, directly – not stuff-remotely-connected-somehow-to-Krishna-because-of-x-y-z). We can do this by observing how much or how little time the person remains enrapt in Kīrtan and discussion of Krishna.

A person who is always deeply enrapt in Krishna Kīrtan and Kathā is a very advanced Vaishnava, they are very easy to engage in kīrtan and kathā for a long time with enthusiasm, and are very slow to moving the topic of discussion or celebration away from Krishna.


Seeing spiritual reality
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 March 2014, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.7.52)

Because wPrabhupada_animatede are in the spiritual world, we are not really here in this material world. We’re only here because the spiritual world is covered by some cloud of illusion and it seems that we are in the material world, but actually we are not. We are actually in the spiritual world.

We see that Srila Prabhupada had that kind of consciousness and became very tolerant and sort of unaffected by material things. Prabhupada was so focused on Krsna that he didn’t identify so much with the material world. Hari Sauri, who was Prabhupada’s personal servant, described that Prabhupada had a swollen cheek one day.

So Hari Sauri said, “Prabhupada, you have a toothache?”

Prabhupada said, “Yes, yes. Some discomfort”.

And that was all! He never mentioned it again. Prabhupada never brought it up again. I mean, you try that when you have a toothache. You know, it is not so easy. I mean, every three minutes you sort of have to go like, “Sssssss,” and everyone goes like, “Oh! You have a toothache?”

how-to-temporarily-relieve-tooth-painWe need this sympathy, you know what I mean!? We need all the people around us to sort of suffer with us. We need that constant support, that emotional support, that people share our suffering. So we are like, “Mmmm, aaaah, ooooh”. We get into it, “This cheek and it’s swollen and the tooth is throbbing!” The mind just becomes a tooth, right. The mind is just a tooth. The whole consciousness is in the tooth. There is nothing else. The universe has become a tooth!

But we can see for Prabhupada that was not the case, that didn’t happen. His mind didn’t go into the tooth. His mind stayed with Krsna and therefore he could tolerate it, without painkillers and anything, which to us, is inconceivable. An intense toothache without painkillers is very tough but Prabhupada could do because he was so absorbed in the spiritual world.

So that is the idea which Bhagavatam is waking us up to. Bhagavatam is awakening that kind of vision, the vision of the spiritual world, the spiritual reality and one begins to see like that. So in this way, the Bhagavatam is more than just a book, it gives us an outlook.

 

New Vrindaban Daily darsan @ March 24, 2014.
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

01

When will I renounce all material duties, cut off all contact with the affairs of the material world, and alone enter the abode of Va?nda?vane to pass my time absorbed in the topics of Sri Krishna, Vrinda?vana’s master?

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-97 Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

From the Garden — 3/23/14
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Greetings from the Garden:

After a few weeks spending time in the garden I have now seen its huge potential. Many hours have been spent trimming, pruning, and doing a thorough pest investigation of  the blackberries and red raspberries. I found raspberry crown borer. The borer lives in the roots and crown of the plant.  It can be identified by knots at the base of the canes and sawdust like material around the plant base. The swelling at the base of the cane is the most common way to identify. There is also a cane borer that lays the larva in the cane of the plant. It is also identified by knots or bulges in the upper sections of the cane. The infestation can kill prima canes (first year growth). The removal of damaged canes and crowns is the most efficient and organic method for the removal of borers.  Now they are just about ready for spring.  Our next project will be building the trellis to make for easier picking and better sunlight for the fruiting canes.  Right now is a great time for anyone to catch up on winter pruning especially for brambles.

Plans for the season are starting to develop. Many of my goals will be focused on providing food throughout the season. This will be achieved with multiple plantings, up to four times, of the same crop.  I am planning on three plantings of green beans, multiple plantings of beets, lettuce, kale, and more.  I will be trying some new plants such as yellow watermelon and pumpkin eggplant. Also, for both their beauty and their bounty of edible seeds I am planning on a large plating of sunflowers. Looking forward to our first spring plantings. This week I would like to end with a quote by Francis Bacon~ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures.

Sunday, March 23rd, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Regina, Saskatchewan

Any Little Walking…

Any little walking done today was in sections.  I did a stretch of a Saskatoon suburb, a stretch along Highway 11, also Albert Street in Regina, and also including a little piece of the Trans Canada Highway, Highway 1.

In between I visited two mandirs (temples), primarily to speak and to chant.  At the Lakshmi Narayan Temple, I spoke from Bhagavad Gita, 2.1, wherein Arjuna addresses Krishna as Madhusudhana, which refers to Him as the slayer of a demon.  With this nomenclature, Arjuna appeals to Krishna, and hopes that Krishna will extinguish the demon of doubt.

Doubt isn’t always necessarily a negative feature.  It could simply represent a sign of intelligence and that one is craving to clarify some internal confusion.  A serious doubt that lingers, however, could hamper one’s moving ahead, and therefore, one may push on to clear this blockage.  This was the situation with Arjuna, and so he referred to the confusion within as a demon that needed to end. 

In Regina, at the ISKCON Centre, I spoke from Bhagavad Gita 9.30, which deals with God’s compassion over the soul who has slipped from dharma.  The message was that even if one slips from duty and commits a moral error, however big it may be, it doesn’t mean that one has slipped out of grace.  One is given another chance.  One needs only to be determined, to be rightly situated in attitude. 

I really liked some of the questions that followed after the talk, including Adrian’s query.  Adrian is only 7 or 8, “How do you get real love?” 

In short, I explained, “Generally if you give love, you’ll get love.”

May the Source be with you!

8 KM

Vyasa Puja 2014: Update
→ KKSBlog

Caitanya-Mahaprabhu-29The salt, wind blown waves of the sandy shores of Jagannath Puri dham await us all in an unlikely yet familiar place—at the 61st Vyasa Puja ceremony of our dear Guru Maharaj in Radhadesh, Belgium.

This year we will take a trip to the transcendental realm of Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes with the Lord of the Universe and try to fix our hearts in the form of the Lord that drove Chaitanya Mahaprabhu mad! So please bring your Jagannath Deities with you, to put them in the “Jagannath temple” altar that will be created in the community hall.

Guru Maharaj’s Vyasa Puja event is taking place on April 24th – 26th, Guru Maharaj himself will be staying in Radhadesh until May 1st. There is now an official flyer already on the KKS blog.

Here is the finalized SCHEDULE of the festival:

Thursday 24th          - Arrivals and Cultural Program
Friday 25th                - Vyasa puja ceremony and Initiations
Saturday 26th         - Kingsday harinam in Amsterdam
Sunday 27th             - Departures

 

If you haven’t registered yet please do so: www.kksblog.com/vyasapuja/register/ but please do not register twice.

 Entertainment 

The Cultural Program is on the evening of April 24th (Thursday), the first day of the festival.

 The Vyasa puja team is hoping that devotees of the various yatras (different countries) have something they would like to present. We were hoping to have around 4 yatras represented. What we are looking for:

  • 20 – 30 min skit/drama/slideshow/presentation

  • It must be related to the theme of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, topical or something personal to do with Guru Maharaj

  • The Vyasa Puja team should be asked for approval first.

*One idea for a skit inspiration: www.kksblog.com/2010/03/hypocrisy-in-the-heart/ This is a class that Guru Maharaj gave that could be acted out in some way?

Cultural Program Schedule 

17:30 – 18:30 Welcome message and “icebreaker” by Sutapa das
18:30 – 20:30 Entertainment
20:30 – 21:20 Bhajans (possibly in the temple room with Guru Maharaj) 

 

A few requests

1) If you are planning on staying in Amsterdam after the Kingsday please NOTIFY us now so we can make a count to let the temple management know in advance.

2) If you have not yet signed up for service on the Google Drive document please do so now. If you do not have access to Google Drive, or you do not know how to use it – please let us know what service you are interested in or if you would like to do service or we can assign you something! To sign up for service please use this link: Service list

Fundraising

We are happy to announce that we slowly reaching the desired fundraising goal, thank you! You are very welcome to donate if you have not yet.

If you are able to contribute financially, please contact Gopali  at  gopali.dasi.kks@gmail.com or send your contributions directly via paypal or bank account. This is direct link to donate by paypal.

Bank account details: Please contact us.

 

If you have any FURTHER QUESTIONS contact us at:

 vyasapuja@kksblog.com or savitri@radhadesh.com

Your servants,

Uddhava das
Gopali dasi
Anasuya devi dasi
Savitri devi dasi
Kumari Kunti
Gita Govinda
 
 

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-03-24 15:34:00 →

1966 March 24:
"Chaturthi. The temple house seems to be occupied. Do not know whether sold or rented out. I am mortified. Let Lord Sri Krishna's wish be fulfilled. But it is a great shock to me if it is now gone to others. Captain Pandiya with Mrs. Pandiya came to see me. They are happy and I was so pleased to see them. They will come tomorrow again. Three ladies and three gentlemen besides the captain and his wife attended the meeting today. Mr. Robert brought some fruits & grains for me."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2014-03-24 15:04:00 →

1973 march 24: "We are negotiating the purchase of the Bombay property and will require a loan from our New York building fund so kindly make the necessary arrangements, and await our final instructions through telegram. You will be refunded the loan with interest by the Mayapur Fund. The Bombay project will in turn pay the Mayapur construction expenses."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973