Planet ISKCON

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, Belgium, 10 April 2003, Q&A Session)

Question: What happens to an aspiring devotee who may have read Srila Prabhupada’s books, heard his lectures, loves serving and associating with devotees but cannot find a spiritual master on the level of Srila Prabhupada? Srila Prabhupada has said that a disciple should accept a spiritual master as good as God and be ready to sacrifice his life to him. If such an aspiring devotee feels this way towards Srila Prabhupada but cannot find anyone who satisfy the “as good as God” requirement, is he then forced to take initiation from someone for whom he does not have full respect?

I can say that I appreciate the search for the spiritual master who is like Srila Prabhupada. At the same time, I think that Srila Prabhupada was not the “ordinary” spiritual master, as there are no ordinary spiritual masters, but Srila Prabhupada certainly was more than a spiritual master; he was more than a sannyasi.

Srila Prabhupada was such a wonderful, pure devotee of the Lord, that such a spiritual master may not always be here. We must take it that Krsna has a plan. So, we are in this predicament that we find ourselves in spiritual life and we need to make advancement. So we can wait, and wait and wait, and say, “This one is too light; this one is not heavy enough – I have heard that guru means heavy.”

So, we are waiting and each spiritual master is not heavy enough! Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur says that guru is heavy but not in the sense that he speaks heavy – he may speak very sweet or he may speak heavy – but he is heavy because he never changes his position.

So, every time we may find that no one compares to Srila Prabhupada. That may be, but we are always looking for the qualifications of spiritual master. We may think, “Well, is he powerful enough?” But are we looking at our own qualifications as a disciple? We should also look at our own situation and we are probably worst off than all these spiritual masters that we are looking at. We may look at these spiritual masters and find that maybe they are really not up to the level, but where are we? We are in a position where we need all the help we can get, and for us we can find only Srila Prabhupada suitable to give us guidance, but the only problem is that now we cannot directly ask him a question or now he will not directly turn to us and correct us as we need it.

If we find a vaisnava who is truly a dedicated servant of Srila Prabhupada and mature in that service to Srila Prabhupada, then we will find that this vaisnava can help us very much to increase our relationship with Srila Prabhupada. As Srila Prabhupada had a relationship with his spiritual master, his spiritual master had a relationship with his and that is how the entire sampradaya works…

In our movement, Srila Prabhupada is the founder-acarya and in that way, always the guru of all members of this movement. Some may have that relation with Srila Prabhupada by serving the servant of Srila Prabhupada, not to the exclusion of Srila Prabhupada but rather to enhance their relationship with Srila Prabhupada. So, we can spend a whole lifetime thinking, “I cannot find anyone as qualified as Srila Prabhupada,” and meanwhile we don’t accept any guru and in that way we actually become our own guru. There is a statement, “One who is his own guru accepts a fool for a disciple.”

 

 

On our last day in Gujarat we participated in Ratha Yatra in Surat and held a final festival program downtown in the evening. We are now on our way to Mumbai for yet another Ratha Yatra and our final two festivals of the tour.

International group of devotees perform Sankirtana in the Surat city of Gujarat Read more ›

Basu Ghosh Das: Pictures taken at the inauguration of the Sri Sri Radha Govinda temple by myself, Natavara Krishna Das, Premabhakti Das, Haridas Iskcon Coventry, and others with the Canon E0S 6D camera and the Canon 28-300 lens Read more ›

1968 February 12: "The train, on two tracks, moves forward. The bona fide Spiritual Master and Krishna are like these two tracks, they must be served simultaneously. You cannot serve Krishna without Spiritual Master, or serve Spiritual Master without serving Krishna. They must be served simultaneously."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 12: "Our process of Krishna Consciousness and Sankirtana movement is counteracting the spell of Maya. We cannot cheat people. We must say the truth. We must present the genuine thing before the public and if they are intelligent enough they will take it up and realize it."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 12: "The matter is little more risky but if you take the risk for Krishna's sake, Krishna will supply you the required money undoubtedly. So far I am concerned I always take risk for Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 February 12: "Yes introduce Krishna Consciousness in these two universities. This is the real course of study for human beings and we should use such opportunities. I am glad to learn you are also holding successful Kirtana in the high schools. These young people are our future in Krishna Consciousness so try your best to convince them."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which publishes the spiritual literature of ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada, has reached a new watermark of success. Thanks to the efforts of book distributors around the world, it has sold over half a billion books -- 503,385,383 to be exact -- since Srila Prabhupada began ISKCON in 1965. 

1971 February 12: "You are now Sankirtana leader. This is very good news. The spreading of this Sankirtana Movement is the best service to humanity and to all living entities. So your activities should now be on the pure spiritual platform and by your spiritual blissful strength, influence those who come in your contact."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 February 12: "When I come make extensive preparations for my speaking, etc., by advertising and propaganda, even more than this Swami. My work is to preach, so you can prepare many very nice speaking engagements, especially to the intelligent class of men."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 12: "Doctors speak surety, but there is no surety. I don't think there is guarantee of surety by taking this medicine with animal products. But if there is surety, you can take. But it is very doubtful. When I come there I shall see what is wrong."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 12: "I am very sorry to hear about your demoniac neighbor cutting down many tulasi plants, but do not worry, he shall get his due punishment in time, rest assured. If he is caught trespassing on our property again he may be severely punished by us."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

A new year offers new opportunities to take our campaign against fur to the country that buys more of it than any other in the world: Russia.

Love, we are told, is all we need. Yet despite our ability today to acquire many things, love—or loving relationships with our friends, spouses, children, parents—often eludes us. Why?

Invitation video for Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra to be held in Vasai, Mumbai, February 16th, 2014.

Does the growth in yoga's popularity, particularly in the West, mean that its spiritual content and religious roots are being neglected?

A historic film from Bengal, produced in 1957.

The post February 12th, 2014 – Nityananda’s Appearance Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

With Jayapataka Swami Read more ›

During the 1970s, Srila Prabhupada regularly visited ISKCON Melbourne to give lectures and inspire his many followers who would eagerly await his arrival. On very special occasions he came to install the Deity forms of Lord Krishna so that his devoted students could learn to worship the Lord in His archa-vigraha (Deity form). In 1973, when the temple was still located in Burnett Street, St Kilda (our first location), Srila Prabhupada installed Melbourne’s presiding Deities, Sri Sri Radha Ballabha. Much to everyone’s delight, in May 1975 Srila Prabhupada attended the opening of our current temple at 197 Danks Street, Albert Park, simultaneously installing Deities of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, Sri-Sri Gaura Nitai. Read more ›

The post Remembering Nitai and Eka-cakra from Mayapura appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

Yudhisthira inquired, "What produces the highest merit?" Bhisma replied, "Self-restraint surpasses all other activities in this regard and is therefore considered to be the highest virtue. Because self-restraint purifies and controls every aspect of one's life, it is more important than giving in charity and the study of the Vedas. By self-restraint alone one can achieve liberation from the material world. Self-restraint comprises sense-control, freedom from anger, non-enviousness, impartiality, truthfulness, steadiness and contentment. However, the essential quality of self-restraint is austerity. Thus no good can be achieved without austerity." Read more ›

Amala Harinam Kirtan

The Gopinath's Kids Camp has been a one-day annual summer event since 2006. This year, Krishna's Funskool is very happy to announce their first ever March-Break kids camp! We promise three full days of interactive spiritual learning, yummy prasadam meals and lots of fun. See attached poster for details.

You can register your child via this preliminary form

For further information, please contact kids@torontokrishna.com 

A video of Inddradyumna Swami's festival tour in Gujarat.

Biotechnology giant Monsanto is scrapping plans to win approval to grow new types of genetically modified crops in the European Union.

The devotees working at the ToVP offices in Mayapur will be very busy in the coming years finishing off not only designs for the main structure but for the internal and external ground plans as well.

Please read my book, Beautiful Tales of the All-Attractive, Volume 2.

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Lord Nityananda appeared as Lord Caitanya's principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord.

Although the opulences of liberation clutch his feet, he runs to hell. After obtaining a cintamani jewel, he throws it in the ocean. After making the Supreme Personality of Godhead his submissive servant, he becomes the lowest dog. Such is a person who, after attaining Vrndavana, again leaves.

[Source : Nectarean Glories of Sri Vrindavana-dhama by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Thakura, 1-60 Translation.]

Please click here for more photos

The other day we visited the house where Srila Prabhupada stayed with his Western disciples during a visit to Surat in 1970. Many of the local people vividly remembered His Divine Grace. To celebrate our visit we chanted in the same streets that Srila Prabhupada sent his disciples out to do harinam in 44 years [...]

"Your Devotional Service will be tested at the time of death. Practice to chant the Hare Krsna Mantra. Do not chant like the Parrot who may learn to Utter "Hare Krsna", but when grabbed at the throat cries, "Caw,Caw!". Prabhupada said Practice so that when death comes, you will chant Hare Krsna."

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 14 February 2003)

The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are essential. Without the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, one cannot ever get the mercy of Radha and Krsna. In another words, one cannot ever be an eligible candidate to go back to the spiritual world. We need that mercy of Lord Nityananda.