Devotee Youth
→ Ramai Swami

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Maharati das, Govinda devi Dasi and Ravinjaya are all second generation devotees who live in Bali. Maharati is studying for his masters in pharmacy, Govinda works in management with a local company and Ravinjaya is finishing off his studies at school.

There are many devotee youths in Indonesia who are following in the footsteps of their parents and helping to spread Krsna Consciousness in their local area. They recently participated in the National SAKKHI meeting of management leaders and gave a presentation to the assembled devotees about their ideas and activities for the future.
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(ISCOWP): Three Baby Calves rescued from going to the slaughterhouse (9 photos)
→ Dandavats.com

International Society for Cow Protection (ISCOWP): It is always so wonderful to rescue cows/oxen/calves from the horrible meat/dairy industry. Our current herd of 18 animals needed to be increased so we decided to go to the Sale Barn Auction and rescue another cow. We had our planes and Lord Krsna had His plans as we came home with two little bull calves and one little heifer(girl) calf. We wish we could have bought them all. So many innocent souls in cows bodies suffering so much and being treated so badly Read more ›

Should we avoid debates with argumentative people who believe that technology is beneficial?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From: Nikhil Kulkarni

Prabhuji, I had a discussion today with my colleagues, I was trying to say that all so ca lled scientific advancement, scientist has made is all bogus and has created more problems than solutions, they were quoting examples like many ppl used to die out of plague before, now they are saved and made many more facilities, so we have progressed and they quoted many examples like irrigation, as we have dams built, we can have better water supply for irrigation. What should be our stand on that?
It's clear to me that all so called scientific advancement has created more problems, but I was not able to convince to them.
Should a devotee avoid this kind of debate completely as other person is in mood of just argument? Or should we try to answer them? Please guide me.

Answer Podcast

Is our capacity to practice devotional service limited by our prarabhda karma and the resulting guna configuration?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

What is the role of Prarabdha karma in devotion? The configuration of our three modes is in coherence with our prarabhda karma, so how does one conquer their prarabdha so that he or she can at least begin to think about Krishna? Is not our ability to pray determined by the configuration of the modes? Similar, is not the purity of our devotion and our devotional progress linked to our prarabhda and therefore to the guna configuration?

If this is not so, why is devotion interrupted by distractions? If we say it’s our freewill, then even the freewill is not free. The freewill is also under the influence of our gunas if we end up taking a wrong turn. And if it’s guru’s and krishna’s mercy, then that mercy shouldn’t let us fall down or fall away.

Sorry, i am a bit lost. Please do shed light on these questions and doubts.

Answer Podcast

Who has the proof or knowledge that incredibly well-designed natural crystals, the natural arches, or even complicated biological things were designed by someone ‘intelligent’?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Vinayak

A comment of yours from the article 'atheism refuted': "All of us have the knowledge that well-designed things have a designer. ". That is absurd when read in isolation. We know that the airplane is designed by an intelligent man. But we do not have any proof or knowledge that incredibly well-designed natural crystals, the natural arches, or even complicated biological things were designed by someone 'intelligent'.

Answer Podcast

If the mechanisms of evolution are just imagination, then isn’t religion also just the imagination of some sages?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Vinayak

A comment of yours from the article 'atheism refuted': "And even if somebody could imagine some mechanism involving natural selection by which certain complex features in some organisms came up, that doesn’t at all prove that it happened that day. That is imagination at work, not science at work." - Well said, then pray tell, why don't you say that the Bhagvada Gita and the entire Hindu philosophy was the combined imaginations of a group of really clever and intelligent sages? Maybe all the Hindu, Christian, Islamic Gods are nothing more than the imagination of clever humans!

Answer Podcast

 

Tuesday, October 15th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

I Tried
 
Amsterdam/Mumbai
 
I tried to get some walking in Concourse E in Schipoel Airport, Amsterdam was the best place to do so - up and down, then maybe go for Concourse F as well.  It’s not totally practical with luggage to drag along.
 
At the end of E I was approaching a glass wall.  Perhaps at a left or right of it, I could explore another hall.  But “No.”  A security person came towards me.  Maybe I walked beyond a barrier I shouldn’t have?  It was a young woman, looking quite fair, looking rather Dutch.  In her uniform she came rather unofficial.  In fact she put her palms together and affixed “Namaste” as a salutation.  It turns out she’s taking yoga and aspires to become a teacher of the art.  We conversed about ego and its tendency to get in the way, of many things, just about everything.  I told her of my being a teacher of kirtan.
 
“Doing mantras?” she asked.
 
“Exactly!  If you open a yoga studio, I’ll be glad to come and give lessons on bhakti-yoga.”
 
I told her my name.  “Bhaktimarga” means path of devotion.  This was intriguing to her and that I have a reputation for doing pilgrimage.  She was floored when I told her I’m known as “The Walking Monk.”
 
“I don’t believe it.  I just read about you on the internet.”
 
“Ah, yes the internet, a blessing and a curse at the same time,” I thought.
 
We had to part and I had to leave to catch my flight to India.  Yes, India.  Before long I would get hit with a wave of heat and musty smells.  Traffic would be busy and roads very dusty.  But I love the people.  I love them.  I can’t wait to be, in a sense back home.
 
May the Source be with you!
 
2 KM

Monday, October 14th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Give Thanks!

Vancouver/Minneapolis
 
It’s Canada’s Thanksgiving Day.  Families come together.  Like Christmas the holiday has come to be more secular than spiritual.  Original intent - almost vanished.
 
Being on flight from Canada to the USA to Amsterdam and finally to Mumbai (India) gives little time for celebration.  Thanks can be expressed any day and any time.  The attitude of gratitude lightens the spirit.  It leaves a damn good feeling.  Entitlement has the opposite effect.  Growing up Christian it was the thing to do.  You say “grace.”  You acknowledge.
 
When the meals come around on Delta Airlines I see few people carry the mood of thanks.  Of course, you can never know what’s going on in a person’s mind, but the general spirit is, “let’s eat!”  The original seed-giver to the food is taken for granted.  Nothing comes automatically.  It’s also with hard labour and incredible use of machinery that makes possible the substance for the stomach.  I hope sensitivity in this area will increase.
 
My parents tell of the Great Depression and great war (II) that they endured.  They saw people being killed.  Nazis would come into your home at night and help themselves to anything.  The boys and men would have to be hidden away so as not to be forcibly taken away.  In my father’s home an extremely narrow hallway behind a facade wall was the place of retiring for the night when the Nazis would come.  I also read a newspaper article where my father and uncle hid in a hay stack when they were being searched for.  We also heard of the hunger in that pressing time.  In the Netherlands, where my family is from, some people resorted to eating tulip bulbs (at least it’s vegetarian).  People were fearful of others and tightly bonded to others.  The war polarized.  Ironically the war can bring out the worst and the best in you, but you valued what commodities were there.  Relationships and interdependence took on a powerful meaning.  For a lot of people God and religion meant everything.  It was natural to be grateful.
 
What are we missing today?
 
May the Source be with you!
 
0 KM

The Holy month of Kartik begins coming Friday – 18th Oct 2013‏
→ ISKCON Scarborough



Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

According to Padma Purana, quoted by Srila Sanatana Goswami in his Hari-Bhakti Vilasa:


Kartik is the best, the purest of purifiers, and most glorious of all months. Kartik month is particularly dear to Lord Sri Krsna. Any vrata, even the smallest, will yield huge results. The effect of performing a Kartik Vrata lasts for one hundred lifetimes, whereas ordinary vratas only last for one lifetime! Srimati Radhika is the presiding deity of the holy month of Kartik. Rupa Goswami and others refer to Radharani as Kartik Devi; in other words, Radhika is the goddess or presiding Deity of the Kartik Vrata.


Specifically in the month of Damodara, one should daily worship Lord Damodara and take bath early in the morning, give charity and follow a fasting vow. This is the duty of Vaisnavas. - (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 16/3 from SKANDA PURANA)

Oh son Narada, those brahmanas who do not give charity in the month of Karttika, perform sacrifice, chant japa and fast for Lord Hari are the lowest of mankind. - (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 16/25 from SKANDA PURANA)

There is no other month equal to Karttika and there is no other yuga equal to Krta-yuga. There is no other scripture equal to Vedas. There is no other place of pilgrimage equal to Ganges, therefore, the month of Karttika is very dear to the Vaisnavas (people dedicated to Visnu). - (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 16/39,40 from SKANDA PURANA)

Oh great sage, after giving up all varieties of religious functions, one should follow Karttika fast and listen to the narrations of Lord Sri Hari before His Deity form. - (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 16/76 from SKANDA PURANA Lord Brahma speaks to Narada Muni)


Glories of offering a lamp in Kartika

  • In the skanda Purana, Lord Brahma and Sage Narada, converse that "the month of Kartika is very dear to Lord Krsna". 
  • When one offers a lamp during the month of Kartika, his sins of many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink.
  • Even if there is no mantras, ni pious deeds, and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Kartika.
  • A person who during the month of Kartika offers a lamp to Lord Keshava has already performed all yajnas (sacrifice for the pleasure of the Lord) and bathing in al the holy rivers.
  • The ancestors say "when someone in our family pleases Lord Keshava by offering Him a lamp during the month of Kartika, then by the mercy of the Lord who holds the Sudarshan-Chakra in His hand, we will all attain liberation.
  • To one who either at home or in a temple offers a lamp during the month of Kartika, Lord Vasudeva gives a great result.
  • A person who. offer a lamp to Lord Krishna during the month of Damodara (Kartika) becomes very glorious and fortune.
  • No sins exist anywhere in the three worlds that will not be purified by offering a lamp to Lord Keshava during Kartika.
  • A person who offers a lamp to Lord Damodara during Kartika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering.

Sri Damodarastakam is sung during Kartika, also known as month of Damodara. As quoted in the Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa,"In the month of Kartika one should wprship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarastaka, which has been spoken by Sage Satyavratra and which attracts Lord Damodara. (Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa 2.16.198)"


Kartik month home programs: 

Every year devotees of ISKCON Scarborough visit over 40 homes in just the month of Kartik to sing Sri Damodarastakam and perform arti on Lord Damodar. This year again the devotees will be visiting several homes to perform the spiritual activities.

Please contact Dhirnithai prabhu (647-292-5358) to book an evening. The available slots are getting filled up fast!

We warmly welcome you and your family to ISKCON Scarborough on Fridays(6.30 pm),Saturdays(6.30 pm) and Sunday(10.30 am) to offer ghee lamp to Lord Damodar


With best wishes from,

ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7

Email Address:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

You Should Be Focused
→ Japa Group

"We should be very attentive and not let our attention waver when we're chanting the holy names. And as Prabhupada states in the purport, it's a very heavy statement, "If one’s mind is distracted from worship, a mere show of worship will not be of any benefit." In other words - putting it in language you may understand - if your mind is thinking of something else what is the benefit of that? You should be focused on the holy names while you’re chanting the holy names to avoid the offenses."

Bir Krsna Goswami
Lecture SB 5.8.14
New Goloka January 1, 2013

The real thing
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 September 2013, Durban, South Africa, Lalita Sasti Lecture)

This is the prayer of the spiritual master, “May all obstacles be cast aside. For you, may your spiritual path be very easy. May it all just disappear, placing happiness and mercy in your heart.”

travelling templeWithout happiness, what kind of mercy can there be? First there must be happiness, genuine happiness in Krsna consciousness. Then with a higher taste, one can give mercy. Then one can give generously. Then one can give the real thing, not some propaganda. Of course, repeating what one has heard is always potent. But when that same transcendental knowledge is spoken with realization and happiness, then that transcendental knowledge gains in potency and the mercy increases manifolds. Then it can establish great faith.

You Should Be Focused
→ Japa Group

"We should be very attentive and not let our attention waver when we're chanting the holy names. And as Prabhupada states in the purport, it's a very heavy statement, "If one’s mind is distracted from worship, a mere show of worship will not be of any benefit." In other words - putting it in language you may understand - if your mind is thinking of something else what is the benefit of that? You should be focused on the holy names while you’re chanting the holy names to avoid the offenses."

Bir Krsna Goswami
Lecture SB 5.8.14
New Goloka January 1, 2013

16.01 – Charity is not just an activity but also a mentality
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Charity is usually thought of as an activity, the action of contributing to some worthy cause.

But the Bhagavad-gita (16.01) lists charity as a quality. Why?

Because for the godly who are described in this section of the Gita, charity is much more than an activity – it is a mentality, an inner disposition that expresses itself in regular charitable activity. When the godly give gifts to others, especially to Krishna in a devotional mood, internally they give themselves the best gift: the opportunity to relish the joy of selfless sacrifice and thereby progress towards developing divine selflessness, selflessness in the service of the divine.

Those who consider charity to be merely an activity focus not on the inner spirit but the other show. They obsess over how big and noticeable is the charity they give, and how much recognition and glorification they get. Such charity is nothing but a gift to one’s own ego – it is a characteristic of the ungodly, as the Bhagavad-gita (16.15) indicates.

Moreover, obsession with externals restricts the charity of the self-centered to those occasions when they can give a lot and thereby gain a lot of glory. Such occasional charity doesn’t foster the spirit of giving and so doesn’t give them the chance to taste the sweetness of selflessness.

In contrast, regular charity, irrespective of the amount given, helps us take steady steps towards selflessness. By cultivating the mentality to give in the service of Krishna, we relish a joy that lies beyond both the pain of losing our hard-earned money and the pleasure of being glorified as charitable – the spiritual joy of selfless devotion. This joy eventually brings complete and everlasting fulfillment, which is the best fruit of charity, indeed the ultimate perfection of life.

***

16.01- Fearlessness; purification of one’s existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity… – these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.