Kārttika could be thought of as the ultimate “buy one, get a-whole-lot-more free” sale, or the equivalent of a “super, multi-triple word score” in the game of Scrabble. For a limited time only, whoever is lucky (or greedy, or intelligent) enough to do some service for Krishna during this special month gets a uniquely huge return on their investment. The ultimate return: one becomes more Krishna conscious. Read more ›
When driving in India anything goes. No speed limits, no lane discipline, no right of way... do what you want, just make sure you horn so that everyone’s aware! Once, I witnessed a head-on collision, causing both vehicles serious damage. As the two drivers emerged unscathed, they came face-to-face and began debating whose fault it was. There was loud argument, fiery gesticulation and a crowd of excited onlookers who offered their “two rupees” worth. Within a few minutes, however, they came to some resolution, headed for a tea stall, and sat down together for a good old natter! It was an incredible sight! No animosity, no grudges, no bad feeling. It taught me something about their culture: chaos on the outside, calm on the inside.
Our modern culture is often the complete opposite: orderly on the outside, but chaotic on the inside! We have complex infrastructure, documented rules for everything and refined social niceties that govern day-to-day dealings. External social intercourse may be prim and proper, but many individuals experience huge chaos within. People are often inhibited from revealing their hearts, and instead lock up things within, causing destructive emotions to brew up and eventually surface in unhealthy ways. While modern culture may have succeeded in organising society into a well-oiled machine, there are clear deficiencies in the areas of community, relationships and meaningful human interaction. We’ve learnt how to live a life of organised chaos; bottling everything up, it’s often a case of smiling faces but parched hearts.
A self-development guru once held up a glass of water in front of her audience. While everyone was expecting the usual “half empty half full” exercise, she instead asked them how heavy the cup was. The answers varied from 3 oz to 10 oz. She then explained that the weight and volume of the water is not what makes it heavy – rather it’s the length of time for which we hold it. Similarly, everyone goes through challenges, anger, frustration and unrest in their life (the water in our cup). The problem is when we carry these things and fail to let go. Good social structures allow people to ‘get things off their chest’ and get on with living life. The freedom of expression helps keep things in perspective. We need to free up some internal breathing space, lest we choke our consciousness.
Indradyumna Swami: Today we visited the temples of Radha Raman, Radha Gokulananda and the sacred samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The devotees were deeply touched. May our prayers to all the saints and deities be answered, for such prayers were for the welfare of all conditioned souls Read more ›
Currently New Talavana produces wheat, fruit, and vegetables. We also have about sixty acres set aside for hay and collect hay from another 100 acres not owned by New Talavana. Krishna's cows also produce fresh milk from which the devotees supply our presiding deities with delightful milk sweets. Read more ›
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 October 2011, Melbourne, Australia, Home Program)
In the Bhagavad-gita10.35, Krsna says that of all the months, “I am marga-sirsa,” which is a name for the November-December period. It is said that before Krsna, first comes Radha – Radha-Krsna, Radha-Syam, Sita-Ram, like that. First the consort of the Lord is mentioned. Therefore the month of Kartik, which comes before this month of marga-sirsa, is a month of Radharani. It is a month when we are meditating on pure devotional service because she is the proprietor of pure devotional service! No compromise at all, no self-interest whatsoever, only the interest of Krsna in mind and nothing but the interest of Krsna.
That is pure devotional service and that is found in Srimati Radharani, so this month of Kartik is about that. So everyone who is ordinarily sort of compromised in his devotional service, in the month of Kartik, will try for pure devotional service. In this month, one can take vows to perform some special service because this month is the month of Srimati Radharani. She is especially noticing the service that we render and when she recommends us to Krsna, then Krsna will also be inclined towards us. Radharani is very compassionate and soft-hearted. Therefore, this month is especially a very favorable time to try and attract the mercy. In that way, we prepare for the month of Kartik and see what special service can we offer?
The drama troupe aims to entertain, educate and inspire its audiences. It brings scriptures to life and provides a unique service to the community and to the general public Read more ›
Radhadesh is a spiritual community based in a 19th century chateau in the Belgian Ardennes. There are presently around eighty people living in the community, which was founded about 1980. In the Château, which has been beautifully renovated by the present inhabitants, you can see a gorgeous temple-room which is unique in Belgium and the Netherlands. Yearly we have about 40.000 visitors. Radhadesh is the main center for ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in the Benelux Read more ›
Today we visited the temples of Radha Raman, Radha Gokulananda and the sacred samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The devotees were deeply touched. May our prayers to all the saints and deities be answered, for such prayers were for the welfare of all conditioned souls.
Mahabaleshwar There was a high concentration of saffron at our morning sadhana program. This simply means that monastic fellows were in good attendance. The venue was the conference room at Ram Sukh Resort. We enjoyed singing in gratitude to guru, to Krishna, to His pleasure potency Radha - Female Divine. And for meditation on the Earth green we praised Tulasi, the sacred herb mentioned over and over in ancient texts of bhakti (devotion).
To prove our amicable nature towards the earth's bounties coupled with a fever for seeing old and antiquated anythings, a few of us set foot to trek in the local wilderness. We had in mind to explore. Two groups went their own chalked out routes. Lokanath Swami heading the first group and Dominique was our guide for the second group. It was a two and a half hour exploration through the low jungles of the area. We then ventured to a Siva Lingam Temple, a structure from another era; rewinding time 5000 years to when the warrior Bhima of the famous Pandavas erected this piece of wonder.
While Bhakti Bhringa Govinda and Radhanath Swamis were being treated for leech attacks, the balance of us zealously stepped into a moment of great honor in time. At this temple courtyard a stone carving of Siva's bull Nandi spouts out from his mouth the pure water source of one of India's sacred rivers, The Krishna. The river flows for hundreds of kilometers to the southern state of Kerala - awesome. We stand to be corrected however, because just a few meters in elevation is another temple where apparently 5 rivers converge in the form of spring water, which come forth like little trickles before they transform into volumes of Bhumi's (earth) elixir.
Prahlad Rathi, our resort owner, so kindly ventured with us. And although he may be classified as being in the big-shot category as a swanky businessman, on the contrary he is as humble and accommodating as they come. It is not that saintly hood only comes in packages of saffron or in the dress of the royal order like the hero Bhima, but you can find it streaming from anywhere and everywhere like the many springs that rhythmically descend to the base of the Krishna Valley. By the end of the day we fondly looked at the sun's bowing out in this magical valley.
From Juhu a bus load of us elders (I guess you could say) journeyed to the Shayadri Mountains, one of three major ranges in India. We ventured to a secluded place at the summit of a hill station - The Ram Sukh Resort in Mahabaleshwar where we were to chill for three days.
Juhu was our place of business, discussion, and strategic planning. This resort was to be a place to relax with a non-compulsory program. It's a first. Yet it is understood that sadhana or the minimum requirement of japa chanting was still standard.
After an interesting zig-zag ride with tight curbs on a windy trail our bus could go no further due to lack of ample maneuvering space. Conveyance by car took us to the entrance of the resort, a full-vegetarian heaven-on-earth tourist trap. The rear parking lot has a sign attached to it which reads "HORN NOT OKAY PLEASE." Not all motorists read the message. As I made my way with luggage to the Solitarie Building for accommodation, a person insisted on tooting.
We lunched with Bhanu Swami (a Japanese Canadian monk), Bhakti Purusottam Swami from Bengal, and Madhusevata (a guru from Italy). Then it was American-born Kavichandra Swami and I who took to a mediocre-rough trail after lunch. When Kavichandra was young he was like a Tarzan in spirit. At the outskirts of his Minniapolis family house were woods galore and he trained himself to move with speed through the forest.
Our guide was Dominique Saunders from Madhya Pradesh and he let us know that we should expect wild buffalo, wild boar, deer, and monkeys along our trail of numerous Ayurveda herbs and trees. We spotted monkeys who appeared to want privacy as we watched them springing from tree to tree. Deer hoof-prints were on the foot path but no trace otherwise. Wild boars made their mark with turned-over soil which happens to be richly red. And as for the wild buffalo - yes, footprints were there. One nonchalant foot placement by Kavichandra happened to not clear a fresh patty on the forest trail. I'm sure Tarzan stepped in a lot of this stuff in his time.
Fascinating was the presence of volcanic rock in addition to a splendorous view of the Krishna Valley that is spring fed, fueling one of India's sacred rivers that goes by the same name - Krishna. We happened to be near its source.
In December of 1976 our guru, Srila Prabhupada, came to Mahabaleshwar. Unfortunately the journey to and fro created motion-sickness.
Radhanath Swami advises us to ignore the mind while chanting Hare Krishna, lest it deludes us and distracts us from the path of spiritual progress:
“In life, some of the most dangerous enemies cannot be seen, we don’t even know they are there; we may even consider them as our friends. That is the way the mind works.” Radhanatha Swami
As the human ego is on a tragic increase, this video helps us understand our small position in the astronomical world.
What does Srila Prabhupad have to say?
“Goloka-namni nija-dhamni. There is a planet in the spiritual world. The material world, you can see the material sky, limit of the sky, the horizon, but you are not able to reach even the moon planet, the nearest planet. But within this universe, within this horizon, there are innumerable planets. Asesa. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti kotisv asesa-vasudhadi vibhuti-bhinnam [Bs. 5.40]. By the shining effulgence from the body of Krsna… That is called brahmajyoti. Within that brahmajyoti or effulgence there are innumerable universes. Ananta-koti. Yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti. Koti means innumerable. One million, ten millions equal to one lakh. Such hundred lakhs makes a koti. So actually we see there are innumerable planets but beyond this creation, this is material creation, one-fourth manifestation, one-fourth manifestation of God’s creation, this, this material world… This is also only one universe. There are innumerable universes clustered together and beyond this clustering of universes there is another sky which is called paravyoma or spiritual sky. If you want to go there, then you have to penetrate through the material coverings — earth, water, fire, water, fire, air, like that. Each layer so big. And the next layer is ten times more than the first layer. In this way there are seven layers. So penetrating through that seven layers you reach the spiritual sky. And after reaching the spiritual sky, there are so many Vaikuntha planets, spiritual planets.”
KUALA LUMPUR - ISKCON Malaysia will be celebrating the 1Malaysia Deepavali-Damodara festival at Panggung Anniversary, Kuala Lumpur Lake Gardens this Saturday, 26 October from 6pm-9pm. Many exciting cultural programmes and a grand vegetarian dinner awaits you. Entrance is free! Kindly share this message with all your friends. Please help us spread this message on behalf of our sweet Lord Krishna.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Lalita Sasti Lecture)
Krsna’s message must be delivered. Prabhupada made it very clear.
Prabhupada came to this world as a messenger and dedicated his whole life to being a messenger. He humbly requested us to be messengers so that we would assist him. He alone, of course, did more to spread the message than all of us are doing together. But still, everyone has to take something of the message and carry it a bit further along the way. He carried it with great steps in enormous quantities. We carry little drops of mercy. But something of a messenger we must be. That is the first principle.
When I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square for a few days last April, the devotees would chant 4 hours a day and 6 hours on Saturday. Now they chant 6 hours a day and 12 hours on Saturday! That is an increase from 30 to 48 hours per week! Read more ›
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 19 By Krishna-kripa das (October 2013, part one)
New York City (Sent from New York City on October 22, 2013)
Where I Went and What I Did
Niranjana Swami encouraged me to support Rama Raya Prabhu’s program of chanting for hours each day in New York’s Union Square, and so I decided to do it for two months this year, October and November. Devotees chant on the southwest corner of Union Square, right in front of the subway entrance, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day, except Saturday when they try to begin at 10 a.m. and continue to 10 p.m.! On weekend evenings sometimes we would also have a walking chanting party in Times Square beginning at 8:30 p.m. Once we visited Tompkins Square Park. Also during the beginning of October, Karen, my sister, visited New York City for four days for a seminar, and I arranged she have three Krishna prasadam lunches.
The insights section includes quotes from my reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books and hearing his lectures, from reading Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami’s blog, and from hearing a recorded lecture by Niranjana Swami.
Harinama in Union Square
When I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square for a few days last April, the devotees would chant 4 hours a day and 6 hours on Saturday. Now they chant 6 hours a day and 12 hours on Saturday! That is an increase from 30 to 48 hours per week!
When we start at 2:00 p.m. we may have only 4 or 5 people chanting, playing the instruments, or dancing, but by 6:00 p.m. or so, we often have 20.
On three occasions over the last two weeks I counted over 27 people altogether.
Sometimes we attracted quite a crowd.
Perhaps 6 or 7 people in our group do not do any other Hare Krishna practice. They are local people who have just become attached to regularly taking part in the sankirtana in Union Square by playing instruments, clapping, dancing, and/or sometimes chanting.
Sally, the eldest of the regularly attending locals, is 78 years old and still works as a clinical psychologist.
She comes out almost every day and sits in a chair the party has provided for her.
She chants for an hour or so, puts a donation in our box, and goes on her way. I met her in November 2012 when I spent several days on the party. One of those days she spontaneously exclaimed, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over 40 years ago!” During my visit this time she surprised me by coming out twice in the same day. I asked her about it, and she said she likes to come because the chanting has a good effect on her mind. She explained that it has the unusual ability to make you feel both relaxed and energized at the same time. She said when she comes to Union Square to chant with us, if she had problems on her mind, when she leaves, she cannot remember what the problems were. She was thankful about that.
Our chanting party sets up in Union Square directly across East 14thStreet from a shop with a sign “FOREVER 21.”
The shop reminded me of a selection from Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is, verse 4.6, purport, where he describes the transcendental nature of Lord Krishna’s body:
“And although His body does not deteriorate like a material body, it still appears that Lord Krishna grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth. But astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth. At the time of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, He had many grandchildren at home; or, in other words, He had sufficiently aged by material calculations. Still He looked just like a young man twenty or twenty-five years old. We never see a picture of Krishna in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation — past, present, and future.” In the spiritual world, which anyone can attain by pure chanting of the holy name of the Lord, all the residents have transcendental bodies like Krishna’s which are not subjected to aging, and it was wonderful to be reminded of that truth by seeing the shop sign.
I was discussing about “Forever 21” with our party leader Rama Raya Prabhu, in the presence of my sister, Karen, who was visiting. Having come on one harinama with me briefly in London in May during a stopover on her flight to South Africa, Karen pointed out that the Hare Krishnas also chant outside young adult clothing shops in the UK, a humorous similarity that I would have never noticed!
Our chanting set up includes an altar facing the singers for inspiration.
We have no dress code. Some devotees dress in dhotis and saris. Some were casual clothes. Some coming from or going to work, wear more formal Western clothes.
We bring lots of extra instruments for both the devotees and the onlookers to play.
Children especially like to play instruments.
Sometimes the parents get into it too.
Also the children would sometimes dance. And adults would clap. Guys often like to play the djembe, the one-headed African drum.
One guy plays that drum, while his daughter plays the shakers.
Some people bring their own instruments. One man likes to drum with drum sticks on an inverted bucket.
Some people both play the instruments and dance.
One guy enjoyed dancing with us.
And then sat down to chant with us.
Srila Prabhupada’s books can attract even kids.
Often Lila Padma dd would make great cookies which Candra Mohini dd would distribute.
Sometimes locals would sweep before the party.
One danced and swept at the same time!
A local artist occasionally comes by and makes a drawing of our party.
One evening on the Union Square harinamaI had a wonderful experience. One couple stood watching us for over an hour, smiling, singing, clapping, dancing, and ultimately playing the shakers. The lady came up to me and asked if I was in Rishikesh in March of 2012. I had been there assisting Navina Nirada Prabhu with “The Bhakti Experience,” a two-week program of gathering each noon with lots of chanting, a little talk about bhakti (the yoga of devotion), and spiritualized vegetarian food. She said that time in Rishikesh was the second time she met the Hare Krishnas, but the nearly two hours of chanting made it especially profound. She showed me the chanting beads she bought from us then and said she chants on them every day. She has been to our temple in her home country of Kazakhstan and has met B. B. Govinda Swami, our leader there. She told me she has a 15-year-old son and wanted to know of an ashram in the west where he could spend the summer doing harinamaevery day. I told her about Rama Raya Prabhu and the program in New York City, and I will tell her about the programs with regular harinamas in Soho, Bhaktivedanta Manor, and Ann Arbor, as well.
The next day she came back to Union Square to talk with Rama Raya and stayed to chant for a few minutes before her flight home, playing the personal set of karatalas she was traveling with. We always wonder about the effect of our outreach programs, especially when we and those attending them are from different countries and may never meet again, and so it was very inspiring for me to hear her story.
Another day at Union Square, an older man who was photographing the harinamaparty told me that he used to sing with the Hare Krishnas and the Swami in Tompkins Square Park. He said later he did a photo article on Prabhupada’s Palace for Lifemagazine.
Sara was wandering around New York City in a depressed state of mind, until she encountered the Harinama NYCchanting party in Union Square, and then her fortune changed. She was amazed to see so many happy people. She listened for several minutes, got a pamphlet “On Chanting Hare Krishna,” talked for quite a while with Rama Raya Prabhuand a another devotee, who liberally gave her a Gitaalthough she did not have the money. She was very grateful.
She told me her birthday was coming up on Wednesday, and she did not have any friends in New York City to celebrate it with. I invited her to celebrate it with us as we would be singing here at Union Square from 2 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, and I said I would try to bring her a special sweet. She liked the idea and said she would come. Satya dd, wife of Ramabhadra Prabhu, temple president in Brooklyn, kindly donated a Hare Krishna T-shirt and a couple cupcakes as a gift, and I obtained some Radha-Govinda maha-sweets, but unfortunately Sara did not remember her plan to return to see the devotees at Union Square on her birthday. We keep the T-shirt with us, for her next appearance.
Michael Collins from Gainesville is one of my favorite singers.
He played in a band and is really talented, and he just puts a lot of energy into the kirtana. He chooses lively tunes that are easy to sing, and the passersby are often attracted as you can see in these video clips (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGerEnGdI0xLr23RqjCzrPXxcGe18SbR8):
A couple groups of friends all decided to dance with us, and Candra Mohini dd was their leader with Phalguni Radhika dd helping out later. You can see how happy they were.
When Rama Raya Prabhu was leading the chanting, the man with angel wings danced with the guy in purple underwear as you can see in this video (http://youtu.be/6vcoVRR2ltM):
One day when I was singing, Candra Mohini dd invited two girls to sit on the blanket next to her. She taught them to chant which they did for twenty minutes, and then they began to dance. After I finished I thanked them for dancing, and asked them about their experience with Hare Krishna. They said they had seen the chanting in Union Square many times but had never stopped before. That was the first time. They mentioned they were now thinking of going to the Sunday program at the Bhakti Center. They asked if there was early morning chanting in the park. I told them the Bhakti Center does chanting indoors at 6:30 a.m. The only outdoor morning chanting I know of is in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, near the pier at 7:00 a.m. on Sundays. They seemed very happy that they stopped and chanted and danced with the Hare Krishnas and got pamphlets and invitations, and I hope they come by again.
Two girls who are in a masters program in media studies had to record sound for a course project. One of the girls was born in Kolkata and attended our largest temple in Delhi, while getting her undergraduate degree there. As she regularly passed by the Union Square harinama, her school being nearby, there was no doubt about what sound she was going to record for her course! In addition to recording ten minutes of chanting with professional equipment, she and her American-looking friend got prasadam cookies, and her friend got the pamphlet “On Chanting Hare Krishna.”
Dustin, a new devotee from Canada, who comes twice a year to New York City to work with the Metropolitan Opera, joined us one day on the Union Square harinama. Although Dustin prefers to listen, considering kirtana to be another style of singing than his own, Rama Raya appreciating his booming, resonant voice, engaged him in leading a Hare Krishna tune, which turned out to be my favorite and I had a great time dancing to it. Many people were attracted to listen to his nice singing.
One girl in purple tights who came by, showing a little interest, explained that her dog was named Krishna.
One morning in our Brooklyn temple, I was surprised to encounter Citraratha dd, a Prabhupada disciple from Geneva, who I had once chanted Hare Krishna with on the Paris metro a few years ago. She is vacationing in New York City, desiring more association with Hare Krishna devotees than she gets in Geneva, where we do not have a temple. I told her about the Union Square harinama party, and she came out that very day. She sang the response and talked to people who appreciated the chanting. One lady she spoke with came from a Muslin background and then married a Christian man. As as result, neither had a spiritual practice for many years, and now they are on a spiritual search. Citraratha, after talking with the lady for several minutes, invited her to a Hare Krishna program in the local area and is hopeful that they will come.
Amazing enough, in the first half of October, we had only one rainy day. Then we chanted in a crowded, but very loud area of the Union Square subway station, just above the downtown 4, 5, and 6 trains.
To see the rest of the pictures I took, but which I did not use to illustrate this journal, most of which are of harinama at Union Square, go to this link:
Times Square is so crowded in the evenings it is a great place to share the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra with people. Sunanda Prabhu, and his party from our Krishna Balarama temple in Queens, would join devotees from the Union Square harinama party, and chant from 8:30 p.m. onward.
Sometimes we would chant on the subway to Times Square.
Once Yadubara Prabhu, who produced the Following Prabhupada DVD series, as well as many other video and photographic Hare Krishna projects, came and sang with us at Times Square.
Some young people very much enjoyed clapping, dancing, and playing instruments with us.
Once in Times Square, one man exclaimed as the harinamaparty passed, “I thought they were extinct!”
Tompkins Square Park
Deva Madhava Prabhu, who comes from Michigan one week a month to chant in Union Square, describes an amazing experience he had at Tompkins Square Park, also in New York City, where Srila Prabhupada began outdoor chanting with his disciples back in 1966:
“These children are standing around ‘the Hare Krishna Tree’ in Tompkins Square Park in New York City, famous as the place Swami Prabhupada began singing Hare Krishna. Their teacher Deborah asked me, ‘Is their a spirit in this tree?’ While I assured her all tree’s have souls, I did let her known about the saint who had began his teachings their over 40 years before. Deborah has for the last 11 years been bringing her classes to the tree to sing ‘The Tree Song.’ They sing to the tree, hug the tree, draw the tree and even kiss the tree. October 9 is the anniversary of Swami Prabhupada’s first time chanting under the great elm. I could feel him there last Friday when I asked the teacher if the children would like to learn the song the saint sang under the same tree years ago, and as they chanted Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare I remembered a miracle is not seeing that God has done one thing, but realizing that He does everything.”
On October 9, after finishing our chanting at Union Square, the harinama team came to celebrate the 47thanniversary of Srila Prabhupada and his followers first chanting in that park back on that day in 1966. Some of the devotees chanted in a procession there from Union Square.
We chanted as we circumambulated the park’s famous Hare Krishna tree, and then sat down and talked about spreading the chanting of the holy name and Srila Prabhupada’s mission.
My Sister Karen’s Prasadam Lunches
Karen, my sister, is a licensed mental health counselor living in Albany, and occasionally comes to New York City, as she did the second weekend in October, for a four-day seminar on counseling techniques for people working with refugees. The person giving the seminar was from India and incorporated ideas from different traditions in his course, including Ayur Veda and the conception of the subtle body.
Friday I met Karen and brought her salad, bread, koftas, and eggplant parmesan from Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch, the restaurant run by Satya dd in the Radha Govinda temple in Brooklyn.
Saturday I saved some subji, rice, and dal from the temple breakfast for her lunch and she met me at the kirtana party at Union Square.
Sunday we went to the Doughnut Plant, a doughnut shop in Manhattan owned by Mark, a Hare Krishna devotee. Karen bought me a peanut butter and banana cream-filled doughnut as a belated birthday present and had a chocolate cake doughnut for herself. I also gave her some cheese cake that Satya dd gave me and a piece of pera and a tulasi leaf from Radha Govinda. All and all Karen did well taking lots of Krishna prasadam during her trip to New York!
Over meals, when discussing conflicts between those of different faiths, I happened to mention about the three levels of devotees mentioned in our Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and their different qualities. The neophytes are those who recognize God and the saints only within their tradition but not beyond. The second level can identify God, the saints, the innocent, and the those averse to God by their qualities in whatever tradition or in whatever place they appear. People on this level serve the Lord with love, make friends with those devoted to Him, enlighten those open to spirituality, and avoid those antagonistic to spiritual life. Those on highest level see God in everything and in everyone, and so are very kind to every living being. My sister commented that it seemed practical that those on second level could make the distinctions needed to run the society so those on the highest level could be free to show kindness to everyone. That observation impressed me.
Living in New York City
I live in our Brooklyn temple where I have the incredibly good fortune of seeing Radha Govinda for mangala-arati every day, as well as honoring their maha-prasadam, and doing service for Their restaurant.
They were the first Radha Krishna deities I ever saw, and when I was a new devotee in Their temple on 55th Street, I would transfer Their mangala-arati sweets.
Although not a tourist, I saw the famed Statue of Liberty in the distance, both from the air while arriving in New York and from the subway daily enroute to Union Square from Brooklyn.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
from Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 8.310, purport:
“All Vedic literatures declare that transcendental subjects cannot be understood simply by argument or logic. Spiritual matters are far above experimental knowledge. Only by Krishna’s mercy can one who is interested in His transcendental loving affairs understand them. If one tries to understand these transcendental topics simply by using one’s material brain substance, the attempt will be futile. Whether one is a prakrita-sahajiyaor a mundane opportunist or scholar, one’s labor to understand these topics by mundane means will ultimately be frustrated. One therefore has to give up all mundane attempts and try to become a pure devotee of Lord Vishnu. When a devotee follows the regulative principles, the truth of these talks will be revealed to him.”
fromSri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 9.8, purport:
“The holy names of Krishna and Hari, or the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,are so spiritually powerful that even today, as our preachers go to remote parts of the world, people immediately begin chanting Hare Krishna. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There cannot be anyone who can compare to Him or His potencies. However, because we are following in His footsteps and are also chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra,the effect is almost as potent as during the time of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Our preachers mainly belong to European and American countries, yet by the grace of Lord Caitanya they have tremendous success wherever they go to open branches. Indeed, everywhere people are very seriously chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”
from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.14 on August 17, 1972, in Los Angeles:
“Krishna consciousness is so nice even those who are incorrigible can be delivered. This is mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam [2.4.18]:Kirata hunandhra pulinda pulasa.”
“If you say why are you interested to save the human society—that is Krishna’s business. Krishna wants, God wants that all these living entities they should back home back to Godhead. Why are they suffering? Therefore Krishna comes personally. . . . He wants, “Come back home. Dance with Me. Eat with Me.” . . . Because we are Krishna conscious, we are servants of God, therefore, it is our duty to save this civilization.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.29, purport:
“Those who are not narayana-para,pure devotees, must be disturbed by this duality of the material world, whereas devotees who are simply attached to the service of the Lord are not at all disturbed by it. For example, Haridasa Thakura was beaten with cane in twenty-two bazaars, but he was never disturbed; instead, he smilingly tolerated the beating. Despite the disturbing dualities of the material world, devotees are not disturbed at all. Because they fix their minds on the lotus feet of the Lord and concentrate on the holy name of the Lord, they do not feel the so-called pains and pleasures caused by the dualities of this material world.”
from Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.31, purport:
“One who engages in unalloyed devotional service to Vasudeva, Krishna, automatically becomes aware of this material world, and therefore he is naturally detached. This detachment is possible because of his high standard of knowledge. The speculative philosopher tries to understand that this material world is false by cultivating knowledge, but this understanding is automatically manifested in the person of a devotee, without separate endeavor.”
Sri Radha-rasa-suddha-nidhi (The Book of Radha) by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja translated by Dasaratha Suta Prabhu
“(257) A Prayer to Sri Govinda for Bestowing Maidservice to Sri Radha
O Sri Govinda! That crown jewel among all Vraja gopis Her lotus feet’s sheer splendor and majesty is supremely dear to You even greater than millions upon millions of hearts
—Please accept me in Her maidservice full of the most unique fresh new rasa—
Again and again—every moment, O Lord of lords! I beg this of You with all my heart and soul!”
“(259) Krishna-bhajana as a Feature of Radha-dasya
Constantly meditating on He who wears the peacock-feather crown incessantly singing His nama-sankirtana [congregational chanting of His name] worshipfully serving His lotus feet chanting quietly His best of mantras . . . holding in my heart only the supremely cherished eternal service to the lotus feet of Sri Radha.
When, O when, by His grace will I become a participant in Their extremely astonishing festival of divine love?”
“Today’s drawing shows four bhaktas dancing and chanting
with upraised arms. Where are they located? Are they with Rama-raya’s harinama party in Union Square? Are they at the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville? Are they in some remote countryside with no one in sight? Use your imagination and place them where you will. It’s bound to be auspicious wherever Hare Krishna is sung.”
[This poem was striking to me because I chanted at the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville in September, and I chanted with Rama-raya’s harinama party in Union Square in October, and my diksa-guru, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, mentioned both places in this poem!]
Niranjana Swami:
Visvanatha Cakravati Thakura says that Krishna does not consider maintaining a devotee who is fully dependent on Him to be a burden just as a family man does not consider taking care of his family a burden or a man does not consider carrying his lover a burden.
In his copy of Bhagavad-gita, Arjunacarya changedthe wordvahami to the word karomi in verse 9.22, because he did not think that Krishna personally provides for His devotee.
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krsir bhu-vacakah sabdo
naś ca nirvriti-vacakaḥ
tayor aikyaḿ paraḿ brahma
krishna ity abhidhiyate
“The word ‘krish’ is the attractive feature of the Lord’s existence, and ‘na’means spiritual pleasure. When the verb ‘krish’is added to the affix ‘na,’it becomes ‘Krishna,’ which indicates the Absolute Truth.” (Mahabharata,Udyoga-parva 71.4, quoted in Śri Caitanya-caritamrita,Madhya 9.30)
The GBC body is thinking and acting more globally with a greater commitment to openness and transparency. One example of this is the GBC’s engagement of over one hundred talented devotees (known as the strategic planning network) who work in committees to support the GBC’s strategic planning initiatives Read more ›
The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna's transcendent pastimes. Lord Chaitanya wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. By His divine spiritual power, He was able locate all the important places of Lord Krishna's pastimes in and around Vrindavana Read more ›
In this episode I share my Vyasa puja offerings to Srila Prabhupada from 2012 and from 2013. I thought you might find it interesting to compare them and note the progress. I picked up a few themes as I listened again. What did you pick up? What has changed since 2012? What has stayed the […]
In this episode I share my Vyasa puja offerings to Srila Prabhupada from 2012 and from 2013. I thought you might find it interesting to compare them and note the progress.
I picked up a few themes as I listened again. What did you pick up? What has changed since 2012? What has stayed the same? I am interested to hear your feedback.
Please leave a comment below, or leave a voice message through the Speakpipe button on the right.
Hare Krishna and welcome back to Successful Vaisnavas.
In this episode, it’s gonna be a little bit different. Instead of having an interview, I thought I would share the Vyasa Puja offerings which are made to Srila Prabhupada. I thought it would be interesting to see how things have changed or not. See what progress have made because I’d like to share last year’s Vyasa Puja offering from 2012 as well as Vyasa Puja offering from this year.
For me, it is interesting to know that many of the themes are very similar and it is also encouraging to see some of the things I had committed to at the last Vyasa Puja are some things that I’ve actually started and I am continuing to do which is basically this Successful Vaisnavas project.
Anyway, I thought the message in the Vyasa Puja offerings is an important one as well and I hope you get some inspirations out of it – that was the intention.
So I’ll be playing those in a few moments. Just before we get on to that, I’ll share a little bit of news that’s happening with me. I haven’t checked all the statistics but the Facebook page is really growing nicely. There’s more than 1200 followers on Facebook at present. Even last week alone, I think we have about 100 people that liked the page so that’s fantastic. If you know anybody that could be interested in what we are talking about here on this podcast or in Successful Vaisnavas please let them know about it. They can go to the Facebook page or they can come straight to the website http://successfulvaisnavas.com . The more people that get to know about it, the more of an impact that we can have to inspire devotees to take some initiative to improve their own Krishna consciousness and also help our society. So basically, I have been quite busy since the last podcast. I’m working with one devotee who is starting a business which is very closely related to Krishna consciousness. And something which he’s planning to offer to the big world out there and also he’s very much interested in helping devotees within ISKCON through the things that he’s teaching. So stay tuned for that, I will reveal more as time goes by. Because of the work there and some other business trainings that I’ve done, haven’t made much progress on the online course. But once I’ve completed this podcast today, that’s the top of my priority list – it has been for a while. Anyway, we’ll keep working on it and I hope you forgive me for my imperfections. And look forward to really seeing it very soon.
Last episode, I mentioned about a Kindle book which I’ve released. I’ll let you know what that book is. That book is a fun story about a toy dinosaur and a boy. It is a rhyming story with some neat pictures which were done by one devotee’s mother. The devotee’s name is Lila-Mayi and the illustrations were done by her mother, Margeretha Carolina van Dyk. If you have any children or grandchildren that might be interested in dinosaurs, you might want to go and have a look at it. It might also give you some ideas, perhaps you have interest in producing a book and this might give you an idea of one way you can produce it. Basically preparing the whole book like physically through drawing pictures. You’re just adding the text after scanning the pictures and putting it together and it can become an ebook that can be read on Kindle. So anyway, if you are interested to check it out, you can find it easily if you go to http://kklikes.com/dinosaurtoy.
So go ahead and take a look into it and let me know what you think of it. For me, it’s really an experiment. Ultimately I would like to do Krishna conscious books whether it’s a children’s book or adults books related to Successful Vaisnavas and things like that. So this was just my first attempt just to find out how the process works so give a look at it at http://kklikes.com/dinosaurtoy and tell me what you think. Let me know how your children or grandchildren enjoy the story. So anyway, enough about that.
At this point, I will just play the Vyasa Puja recordings from 2012 and 2013. I’ll be really interested to hear your comments which you can write at http://successfulvaisnavas.com/13 . Go to that website and just let me know what you felt by hearing these offerings. And if you have any comments about the changes that you heard between the 2012 offering and the 2013 offering. Really looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Kalas was looking for a Brahmacharya, couldn’t find one, so I’ll just have to be the next best thing.
It’s kind of ironic, I suppose, that I mention that because when I’m standing here, I’m thinking, actually, as a father, you know, I’ve been in the Brahmacharya ashram, and now I’m a father. And I’m starting to think to myself—what does the future hold for my sons? I’ve got two sons, and I’m just reflecting like how was the movement—how is it now, and how’s it going to be for him? When I think about how things are today, things that occur to me is that this movement is very well-established.
In the early days when Prabhupada was here, it was a massive growth period. And since that time, it’s just incredible what is actually—out there in the Krishna Consciousness movement, just in terms of temples and the number of people who are being influenced by this Krishna Consciousness movement. Also, as time has gone by, devotees have matured. You know, as we were hearing in the early days, many devotees, that joined were hippies. But now, after many years of Krishna conscious practice, they’re very mature and experienced. And one of my personal realizations is that, perhaps, in the early days, there was an enthusiasm that Krishna Consciousness is a very simple process and just follow it, and it was a very high standard.
Now, today, I think there’s a real honesty for many devotees that actually practicing Krishna Consciousness is not so easy. It’s a wonderful and blissful process, but there are challenges that we have to face when we try to practice Krishna Consciousness. So, that’s one of the other things that I appreciate today is that devotees have—they’re very honest. And from your experiences, they have wisdom that we can—that they can share with other devotees, which in the early days wasn’t nearly so much. Prabhupada was the very senior devotee, and everybody else was enthusiastic to follow him, but maybe not as much wisdom that we have today.
I also look around, and coming here today, hearing about the different projects that different devotees have been involved in. Just straight off the top of my mind, I think of The Loft, The Loft preaching programs, and Bhakti yoga preaching. And this is just here in Auckland. We have Food for Life programs, restaurants, and then world-wide, there’s so many, you know, things that devotees are doing. At the same time, I feel that there’s so much potential that devotees have that’s not being tapped. And once again thinking to myself as a father when my sons are growing up, what opportunities will there be for them to contribute to Prabhupada’s movement?
There’s a famous letter from Karandhara and from that letter, I have grasped two main points. The first point is that in order to remain enthusiastic in Krishna Consciousness, we need to strictly follow sadhana, to chant 16 rounds, follow the regulative principles and to engage as much as possible in the processes that Prabhupada has given us. Prabhupada states there that if these things are followed, he will have enthusiasm to preach and speak Krishna Consciousness.
The second point that Prabhupada made in that letter is that this movement is for making people who are independently thoughtful and competent in all there is in thought and action. So, this is a very interesting point, in that I feel from talking to many devotees, that sometimes devotees have a feeling that
“I’m just a follower. It’s not for me to decide to do anything. I have to wait for my guru to tell me, or I have to wait until some great leader comes, and then, I can follow on behind that person.”
But from this letter, we can understand from Prabhupada that he wants people to take initiative, and to use their own gifts and intelligence, their own thoughts and to develop skills in order to spread the Krishna Consciousness movement.
So, with this in mind, I was thinking that when I’m raising my son, I want to encourage him to find out what talents he has and to use it in Krishna service. Last year, I spoke a similar type of thing, and I said that Srila Prabhupada, I want to do something significant. Boy, it sounds so easy to say, right? But to actually put it into practice is another story. But I would like to offer just one small step that I’ve made to fulfilling this promise to you, Srila Prabhupada. I promised that I’ll do something significant, which it’s taken a year, but at least thing I’ve started, I feel—I don’t know if it’s the right way to put it, but I feel proud to say, Prabhupada, that I’ve done one small thing to try to help. I’ve set up a website called Successful Vaisnavas.com. The idea of this website is—I’ve already interviewed several devotees who’ve achieved success in different areas in Krishna Consciousness. Maybe, they’re preachers, or they’ve done a particular project, or even they’ve just been a steady devotee for many years. And I’ve interviewed them and asked them to share some of the things that help them to achieve the success that they have in their Krishna Consciousness.
So, in my pledge to Srila Prabhupada, is to continue this website, which I’ve named Successful Vaisnavas.com so that devotees all over the world can hear about the successes in our movement. Because it’s easy to dwell on the things are not going so well and think about the shortcomings. And I’ve had the experience that I’ve looked around and seen things that I didn’t like, and, then, I try to change that other person. And all that did was give me a headache and give other people a headache as well. It wasn’t effective. So, taking the points from Prabhupada’s letter as well, instead of trying to change other people, let me try to do something within my own capability independently to try to help, and so, through this website, I hope devotees can become inspired to see that actually in the Krishna Consciousness movement, there are really amazing things happening. And I’m sure you’ve picked up that vibration today by hearing from the devotees.
And also on that website, we hope to offer some training, which can help devotees to practice that independent thoughtfulness and competence to help us learn to work together better, how to develop our mindset, so that we can actually do something significant to please Srila Prabhupada. So, here I am again. It’s been one year since I said that I would want to do something significant. So, this is my attempt to please Prabhupada through Successful Vaisnavas.com. When I come next year, I hope I can share that I’ve actually continued on this Successful Vaisnavas, and it’s made a difference for your devotees. And once again, my thinking is—I’m a father. I have children, and there are many children growing up in our society. I’m trying to do something small so that other devotees can also do something great for Srila Prabhupada, just as Prabhupada has done great things for us.
Jay Srila Prabhupada!
I’ve been reflecting how you’ve come to the West and just everything you have done in your life you had to face so many challenges and obstacles. You left India and come to the West at the age of 70 and even today in our society there are very few devotees that are even age. You are still the most senior person in our society. At that late age you came to the West on a ship and had heart attacks on that ship. When you came to America you have nothing (materially speaking). You had no money and you ended up staying with drug-crazed people that even attacked you. You had to step over drunk people just to enter your apartment. These are just some of the challenges and austerities you had to face.
And as I reflect on that Srila Prabhupada, I realize whatever challenges I have to face are nothing compared to what you had to do. You basically had nothing (materially speaking) to start from. But having said that, spiritually speaking you had everything because you were fully committed to Krishna. You had 100% dedication to the mission of your spiritual master. You are a pure devotee.
So when I compare myself to you it is quite a sad situation because I can see that materially speaking I have so many opportunities. Like in the West we are not lacking in terms of money and comfortable living. And thanks to you we have this wonderful society of Krishna consciousness that provides a wonderful opportunity to do anything we want within Krishna consciousness. But I can see where I am lacking is in the Krishna consciousness.
Even though you had nothing materially because you had Krishna you had everything. And I can see for myself, that everything has been put in front of me to use for Krishna’s service, but because I don’t have the devotion, I am not able to use that properly to advance in Krishna consciousness and to help spread your movement.
So the two commitments I would like to make today are:
First of all to really focus on developing my spiritual Krishna consciousness. To really develop my sadhana and to remember that is the key most important thing.
Secondly, to take advantage as much as I can of the facilities that are available to serve you Srila Prabhupada and to help this mission.
You went through so many challenges. What we face is nothing compared to that. Therefore Srila Prabhupada, please give me the determination to do everything I can to help your mission. To not let any small difficulty overcome the determination to help you. And even though I am not very devoted. Please give me some small mercy that I can develop that devotion and actually do some service.
In order to do this I have developed a project called Successful Vaisnavas. My purpose in this is two things:
One: To highlight what is being successful in our society. It is very easy to find faults in anything, but if we can really look at examples of people who are doing inspiring things in Krishna consciousness I can only see that that will be uplifting and inspiring for myself and everybody else in our society.
Secondly: I want to do whatever I can to help any devotee who has inspiration to help serve your mission by using whatever skills I have.
So that is how I am trying to serve you Srila Prabhupada.
Taking the plane, car, or train to the land of Lord Chaitanya? Let's get into the spiritual technology. Don't worry—it's not too complex.
Our great predecessor-acharya Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur explained that as a result of spiritual advancement, the all-spiritual realm of Navadvipa-dhama, including Mayapur, can appear to us via three avenues: dreams, meditation, and naked eyesight.
You see, the entirety of Gaura-mandala, the apparently geophysical area surrounding Lord Chaitanya's pastimes, is cent percent spiritual. Even the water, the land, the trees defy material categorisation.
We all know that unqualified eyes see just ordinary aspects of material nature. Nevertheless, the elements composing Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai's essentially nonmaterial area are eternity, complete knowledge, and ever-escalating bliss.
Spiritual scientists know that these three spiritual ingredients are the gifts of Krishna's internal potency, swarupa-shakti. This internal energy manifests in three divisions, always present. One of those three "departments" is the "eternal-existence potency," sandhini-shakti, which attains its "peak performance" by manifesting the eternal dhama, the nonmaterial neighbourhood or spiritual base supporting and facilitating the supreme pastimes.
Materialists suffer from overconfidence in the power and scope of their tiny intelligence. Gunned down by ignorance and illusion, they observe in Mayapur, Navadvipa-dhama, and the Gaura-mandala only the activities of material nature.
A common example our acharyas give us is the sun. Have the clouds truly covered the sun itself or have they simply covered only our vision? Blinded by the fog of Krishna's illusory, external potency, the bewildered conditioned soul sees the Gaura-mandala, the entire pastime-arena of Lord Chaitanya, as just routine geography, the usual product of material nature.
How to break out of this trap? Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur reminds us that the master of the department eternally manifesting and supporting the dhama, the boss of that sandhini-shakti, is Lord Nityananda Himself. Get His mercy and ye shall indeed see—the full spiritual reality of Mayapur, Navadvipa-dhama, and the Gaura-mandala.
A small farm in the Netherlands has started a new program for people seeking to reduce their stress levels. No, it’s not meditation, the psychologist’s couch or a deep tissue massage – it’s cow hugging Read more ›
Read this inspiring story about two people’s recent visit to New Vrindaban:
“My fiance and I are working on a travel blog as we journey across the US. One of the places we stopped was New Vrindaban. We just posted about our incredible time there in my blog. The story is called “My Sweet Lord: New Vrindaban, WV”.
PICTURE: Swami Prabhupada, Patti Harrison, George Harrison, and Dhananjaya Das, circa 1974.
Here is my blog (just click on it) with a sneak preview, below.
“Swami Prabhupada’s message was simple: Krishna – an avatar of the god Vishnu – is the Supreme Godhead, and the chanting of his name will bring about a legion of good. For strict adherents, there is a code of morals and ethics, but taking up the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra** was offered as a simple practice for anyone and everyone. The only other prescription Prabhupada had for the general public was to give up eating meat.”
With free Wi-fi, contemporary public art projects, design fairs and a new cafe policy, Gorky Park is one of the most popular places in Moscow. What could be a better place for the devotees to stage a congregational glorification of Lord Shri Krishna! Read more ›
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday, by the Lord's grace, we walked the sacred grounds from Yavat to Ter Kadamba and on to Asesavan. It's one of the most beautiful and mystical journey's through Sri Vrindavan Dhama Read more ›
The Ahimsa Dairy Foundation is a non-profit organisation that produces and delivers entirely slaughter-free and organic milk to the London and Home Counties. Cows are retired when they are too old to give milk and male calves are spared from being killed as most are in a conventional dairy. We treat all of our animals with dignity until the end of their lives. Read more ›
Antardwip das: View the cool camerawork and editing and the great Bhajans and Kirtans of Polish Woodstock - also the complete three days of the recent HH Jayapataka Swami European Retreat.
All in one place. All with the original tweets. All just for you! Read more ›
Yesterday, by the Lord’s grace, we walked the sacred grounds from Yavat to Ter Kadamba and on to Asesavan. It’s one of the most beautiful and mystical journey’s through Sr Vrindavan Dhama.
Came across this short video of a man in Australia who tracked his mother back in India after he lost his real family after having fallen asleep as a small boy in a train. While watching the video, these thoughts flashed across my mind:
1. One has to be prepared to put in their heart and hard work if they want to achieve something
2. We must all take up a journey to find what we have really lost in life – spirituality
3. The Lord is also waiting for us anxiously and patiently for us to come back and knock at His door.
4. One must have the right tools in life to achieve the right destination – spiritual teacher and devotee friends are what we actually need.
In all cases, the endeavor has to be ours while the mercy awaits us.
Came across this article on a news website where a top exec and the head of his company’s engineering division is planning to live forever by relying on 150 vitamins/day, regular body check-ups and reliance on future scientific developments. He seems convinced about his planning. The link above takes you to the actual news report.
What does Srila Prabhupada have to say?
Nobody wants to die. Everyone knows that “I shall die.” But if there is immediately some danger, fire, immediately you go away from this room. Why? I do not wish to die. I do not wish to die. Although I know I must have to die. Still, why do I go away? I know that… “Oh, let there be fire. I have to die today or tomorrow. Let me die.” No. I do not wish to die. Therefore I go away. This is psychology. So everyone wants to live forever. That’s a fact. So if you want to live forever, then you have to take to Krishna consciousness. So Krishna consciousness is so important and nice. Everyone wants to live. So actually, if you want to live, then you take to Krishna consciousness. This verse confirms it. Ayur harati vai pumsam udyann astam ca yann asau. The sun is rising early in the morning. As it is rising, gradually it is taking your life. That’s all. That is the business. But if you want to defeat the sun… Sun is very powerful. It is very difficult to fight. But you can fight with the sun. How? Simply by reading Krishna-katha, the words of Krishna. Uttama-sloka-vartaya. Vartaya. Uttama-sloka, Krishna. So this is the simple process. You don’t waste your time by talking nonsense.
The lunar month known as Damodara/Kartik falls between October 19th and November 17th. This month is celebrated as an opportunity to dive deeper in our spirituality. This month is described as especially dear to Krishna and sincere spiritualists keep it sacred through acts of devotion and vows of austerity aimed at increasing their spiritual strength and allowing them to draw closer to Krishna.
It was during Kartik that Lord Krishna allowed Himself to be bound with ropes by His mother, Yashoda. Out of loving anger at her transcendentally naughty child, she tied him (dama) around the abdomen (udara) with ropes. Thus the month of Kartik is also known as the month of Damodara, “He who was bound around the abdomen”.
Several festivals also fall within this auspicious month including Diwali on November 3rd and Govardhan Puja on November 4th. Please stay tuned to www.torontokrishna.com for more information about Kartik celebrations at Toronto’s Hare Krishna Temple!
Additionally, Kartik is observed by offering lamps and chanting a special prayer to Lord Damodara known as the Damodarastakam (ClickHERE). The Padma Purana, an ancient text, assures:
“Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offers a lamp during Kartik becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt.”
During the month of Kartik, every day at 7am and 8pm at ISKCON Toronto we will offer ghee lamps and chant the Damodarastakam prayers *no lamp offerings on Sunday evenings.
As a special initiative for this holy month of Damodara, devotees from ISKCON Toronto will host Damodara Programs in the homes of our congregation members to spread the glories of the Lord. Please contact Program Coordinator, Satyabhama devi dasi for more information or to book a program.
This special month also presents several sponsorship Opportunities:
Diwali – Sunday, November 3rd Deity Garlands: $351 Govardhan Puja – Monday, November 4th Deity Garlands: $351
Kartik Deepa Dana
"If somebody burns a lamp in the temple of Lord Shri Hari even for a short time (in the month of Kartik), then whatever sins, he has acquired for millions of kalpas (one kalpa equals 1000 yugas) are all destroyed."
Sponsor Daily Lamp Offerings to Lord Damodara $51 Diwali Deepa Dana $108
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Initiation Lecture)
Transcribed by Radhadyuti dd
In the Caitanya Caritamrta, it is stated that if one commits the ten offences then one is delaying the result of the holy name or delays serving the holy name and ISKCON is a movement dedicated to serving the holy name.
The chanting of the holy name is not a mechanical process. Rather, it is attracting Krsna and attracting the mercy of Krsna and when offences are committed in the chanting of the holy name then Krsna withdraws himself. So when Krsna withdraws himself from the name then the mercy of the name is no longer present in the same way, depending on the seriousness of the offence.
The first offence is maybe the most important of all - to blaspheme the devotees who have dedicated their lives to preaching the glories of the holy name. Devotees are filled with mercy because devotees are carrying Krsna’s grace. Krsna is pleased. Krsna is pleased with the service that the devotees have rendered. It is said in the Krsna Book that Krsna is known as Acutya, which means he is infallible and he never fails to notice the smallest service rendered. So when devotees have dedicated themselves to pleasing Krsna so much, he reciprocates and therefore Krsna smiles upon his devotee.
So how can one criticize that devotee!? It hurts Krsna directly, therefore Krsna cannot tolerate that his devotees are being blasphemed or criticized. So we should be careful of even minor criticism of devotees. It may not uproot our bhakti creeper but it may destroy our taste in devotional service. Whereas major offences to vaisnavas are known as the mad-elephant-offence as that can uproot our devotional creeper.
Let us always be positive and glorify the vaisnavas and in that way, automatically, offences are avoided.
"During the japa session, as the mind howls, don't give up the chanting. However bad the mind's demands, don't give in; let's keep chanting till we complete our daily quota. The lake of the mind will eventually settle down. But be rest assured, tomorrow as you sit for another japa session, the mind will once again agitate. Again the solution is the same; do not react."
Kārttika could be thought of as the ultimate “buy one, get a-whole-lot-more free” sale, or the equivalent of a “super, multi-triple word score” in the game of Scrabble. For a limited time only, whoever is lucky (or greedy, or intelligent) enough to do some service for Krishna during this special month gets a uniquely huge return on their investment. The ultimate return: one becomes more Krishna conscious. Read more › 
Indradyumna Swami: Today we visited the temples of Radha Raman, Radha Gokulananda and the sacred samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. The devotees were deeply touched. May our prayers to all the saints and deities be answered, for such prayers were for the welfare of all conditioned souls 
Currently New Talavana produces wheat, fruit, and vegetables. We also have about sixty acres set aside for hay and collect hay from another 100 acres not owned by New Talavana. Krishna's cows also produce fresh milk from which the devotees supply our presiding deities with delightful milk sweets. 
The drama troupe aims to entertain, educate and inspire its audiences. It brings scriptures to life and provides a unique service to the community and to the general public 
Radhadesh is a spiritual community based in a 19th century chateau in the Belgian Ardennes. There are presently around eighty people living in the community, which was founded about 1980. In the Château, which has been beautifully renovated by the present inhabitants, you can see a gorgeous temple-room which is unique in Belgium and the Netherlands. Yearly we have about 40.000 visitors. Radhadesh is the main center for ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in the Benelux 
When I joined Rama Raya Prabhu’s harinama party in Union Square for a few days last April, the devotees would chant 4 hours a day and 6 hours on Saturday. Now they chant 6 hours a day and 12 hours on Saturday! That is an increase from 30 to 48 hours per week! 
The GBC body is thinking and acting more globally with a greater commitment to openness and transparency. One example of this is the GBC’s engagement of over one hundred talented devotees (known as the strategic planning network) who work in committees to support the GBC’s strategic planning initiatives 
The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna's transcendent pastimes. Lord Chaitanya wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. By His divine spiritual power, He was able locate all the important places of Lord Krishna's pastimes in and around Vrindavana 
New Govardhana devotees once again took to the streets of Murwillumbah to participate in this year’s Banana Festival 
A small farm in the Netherlands has started a new program for people seeking to reduce their stress levels. No, it’s not meditation, the psychologist’s couch or a deep tissue massage – it’s cow hugging 
With free Wi-fi, contemporary public art projects, design fairs and a new cafe policy, Gorky Park is one of the most popular places in Moscow. What could be a better place for the devotees to stage a congregational glorification of Lord Shri Krishna! 
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday, by the Lord's grace, we walked the sacred grounds from Yavat to Ter Kadamba and on to Asesavan. It's one of the most beautiful and mystical journey's through Sri Vrindavan Dhama 
The Ahimsa Dairy Foundation is a non-profit organisation that produces and delivers entirely slaughter-free and organic milk to the London and Home Counties. Cows are retired when they are too old to give milk and male calves are spared from being killed as most are in a conventional dairy. We treat all of our animals with dignity until the end of their lives. 
Antardwip das: View the cool camerawork and editing and the great Bhajans and Kirtans of Polish Woodstock - also the complete three days of the recent HH Jayapataka Swami European Retreat.
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