That Actually Qualifies Us
→ Japa Group

"Just as the Supreme Personality Of Godhead, Krsna, can take us back to Godhead - similarly His name also can take us back to Godhead. His name, His love-it fills our heart with the love for the Lord and that actually qualifies us to go back to the spiritual sky."

Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja
South Africa - March 30th 2013

Spiritual master is not just a person but also a truth
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Spiritual master is not that a particular man is spiritual master.
Spiritual master is a truth. So what is that truth? The truth is
samsara-davanala-lidha-loka-tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam. The whole world
is in the blaze of material pangs, threefold miseries. And a person who is
authorized to deliver people from that material pangs, he is called
spiritual master.

Sri Vyasa-puja -- Hamburg, September 5, 1969

02.45 – Possessor, possess thyself!
→ The Spiritual Scientist

“I want more.” This urge often consumes us, largely due to our culture’s glamorization of possessions and possessors.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard we work to get more, not one of our possessions will stay with us permanently.

Thankfully, we can direct the urge for possessions towards something that can be eternally ours – we ourselves, our eternal souls. The Bhagavad-gita (02.45) enjoins us to become atmavan: possessor of one’s soul. Phrased in today’s idiom, this call is: “I want myself.”

We may wonder: “When I am the soul, how can I be the possessor of the soul? The possessor and the possession have to be different, don’t they?”

Yes, they do. The verse uses atmavan in the sense of conscious awareness, not conceptual oneness. This is evident by looking at the word’s context – atmavan comes as the last word, the concluding call, after the verse has exhorted us to shed material consciousness.  It asks us to not be bogged down by considerations of material provision-protection (yoga-kshema) or by worldly dualities (dvandva) or even by parts of scripture that highlight such considerations, for they are meant for the spiritually uninformed.

Why do we need to shed material consciousness?

Because it makes us spiritually unconscious. It makes us unaware of the treasure that is ours due to our eternal devotional connection with Krishna, our supremely wealthy parent. Just as a billionaire’s child obsessed with a movie starring a pauper feels poverty-stricken due to emotionally identifying with the pauper, so do we souls obsessed with material things feel that so many things are missing in our life.

What we are actually missing is the fulfilling enrichment inherent in loving service to Krishna. When we learn to possess ourselves, that is, to live in the awareness of our true identity as Krishna’s beloved children, that enrichment becomes ours eternally.

***

02.45 - The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the self.

 

 

Freedom from Envy—The Vaikuntha Mood, September 28, Dallas
Giriraj Swami

09.28.13.0109.28.13.02——————————-
Giriraj Swami and Giridhari Swami read and spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13.60 during a home program in Dallas.

“The temple is supposed to be Vaikuntha, but it is not automatic. We have to have the Vaikuntha mood. Srila Prabhupada described the Vaikuntha mood in different ways at different times. When I joined the temple in Boston I heard that Srila Prabhupada had said that the whole temple is effected by each devotee’s spiritual position: if one devotee is doing well, the whole temple feels it; and if one devotee is having difficulty, the whole temple feels it. And he said that if a devotee is having difficulty and you think, ‘Oh, that devotee is in maya, let me avoid him’ — that is the mundane attitude. And if you think, ‘That devotee is having difficulty, let me help him’ — that is the Vaikuntha attitude. But as Srila Prabhupada wrote in the purport, ‘This mentality cannot appear all of a sudden, but it will gradually develop with Krishna consciousness; by sadhana, one can come to this platform.’ This is a very important point.” — Giriraj Swami

Home Program Talk

Is the world a playground or a battleground?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Summary: The world is first and foremost a service-ground, an arena for loving service to God and to all his children. Through such service, which can include both play and battle, we attain the highest fulfillment.

Answer:

The notion that the world is a playground is appealing, but it collides head-on with the harsh realities that we encounter frequently in real life. The regular obstacles and the occasional reversals that life sends our way remind us rudely that life is no picnic, that this world is no playground. Yet the playground metaphor retains a quaint appeal for many.

On the other hand, the notion of the world as a battleground agrees more with life’s experienced realities – we have to encounter and counter so many problems throughout our life. But the battleground metaphor militates against our heart’s aspiration for love – and the peace and the joy that love brings.

Gita wisdom explains that we are not just physical creatures; at our core, we are spiritual beings. Spiritually, we are meant for a life of love with God and with all living beings in his one universal family. In that family, with God at the center, we all reciprocate love with each other through service. Our life in this world is intended to serve as a preparation for reclaiming that life – a preparation that centers on internalizing an attitude of loving service. The more we learn to serve God and all living beings in relation to him, the more we regain the joyfulness that is natural to us as souls.

However, we have a lower nature that wants to exploit others, not serve them. We have to fight against this nature to stay true to our higher spiritual nature. That’s how while striving for service, the world becomes a battleground, wherein we battle against our lower nature and others’ lower nature and the complications resulting from those natures.

As the highest spiritual reality, Gita wisdom also offers us an endearing revelation of God as Krishna, as the Supreme Person who delights eternally in the play of love known as lila. He conceals his divinity to relish playful pastimes with his devotees and he invites us to join in his eternal love-play.

It is in that arena of pure love that our longing for the world as a playground is completely and eternally fulfilled. But before we can enter that sweet level of existence, we need to do battle in our inner world for internalizing the mood of service. When we learn to serve God intelligently and responsibly, we do justice to our talents in his service and contribute to others’ complete well-being – and progressively attain life’s ultimate fulfillment.

 

 

 

 

Devotees in Moscow to be given by the government another piece of land in the South of Moscow – but not offer received yet
→ Dandavats.com

Meanwhile, a new building in a different part of Leningradsky Prospekt has been rented and is being renovated for the Deities to move into by mid-October. The pujari (priest) department and the Deities’ kitchen, along with a temple room for daily programs, will also be included at this new location. Another building will be rented for Sunday programs. Read more ›

Aren’t we blaming the victim when we say that women’s revealing dresses are the cause of crimes against them?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

From Kamalaksi Rupini dd BhS

Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada

Hare Krsna, prabhu.
I must say I don't agree with what you wrote.
We have plenty of examples of women who were raped and were not dressing anything indecent. We also have plenty of examples of kids being raped or even very old women, who were definitely not dressed in such a way to "provoke" man.
That is the same kind of argument that makes muslim women to cover themselves from head to toe and also the same kind of argument that makes them sometimes be forced to be at home. Although it is an ok argument from the perspective of mental exercise of thinking, it is not completely according to the truth, as I said, since even kids are raped, and also it does not address the real problem - that is men behaving like animals. Women are NOT responsible for men's lack of control or lack of intelligence, and they should not shape their behavior or life as if they were the culprit. That would be like legitimating what men are doing, even though it can be covered under a speech that "ok, women are not to be blamed but..." but actually it is blaming women when it said it is because of the way they dress they are inviting these kind of things.
Please, don't take it as an offense. I have a deep respect for you and I appreciate your articles a lot. But I must give my opinion on this matter.

Answer Podcast

The JAX Krishnas are having FUN blissfully chanting together in their Krishna Club Meeting (4 min video)
→ Dandavats.com

JAX Krishnas is a community of people in the Jacksonville, Florida area who love coming together to grow in spiritual life and have FUN. This community is for EVERYONE, is not sectarian, and provides a forum to announce all our upcoming events, classes, parties, and festivals, and a space to share our experiences and pictures with one another Read more ›

Tuesday, October 1st, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

When I Walk…

Toronto, Ontario

When I walk a trail such as the one near Brick Works I naturally feel good.  Part of it, my feeling, has a shadow.  There is admittedly some guilt (I’ll explain), and part of it, some resentment (also to be explained).

Firstly, and happily, I’m taken by the diversity of vegetation and the incredible fall colours that throws you into a child’s wonderland.  That is 90% of the composition of my feeling.  Another 5% leaves me feeling ignorant as I hardly can identify a Norway maple to be distinct from other maples.  “Woe is me,” I thought.  I don’t know the names of my friends.  The flip side of this ignorance is that here is an opportunity to learn.  The 5% of my emotions strike the chord of a resentment.  Why wasn’t I educated on the subject matter on these ever existing companions?  Was learning algebra more important than getting acquainted with these guys that offer beauty, fragrance, oxygen, food, fuel, warmth?  Time could have been better spent I think.

I guess I will tread the path of the seniors, delight in birding and plants and feeling the elements like never before.  I have for some time dabbled in the exploration of these marvelous creatures.  When I was young I never thought I’d get there, to that age I meant.  It leads me to believe that the biggest illusion in life is that when you’re young you’ll retain youthfulness forever.  Youthful energy and youthful mindset can be so foolhardy.

Perhaps the invincibility syndrome of youthfulness is what went on in the tiny mind of this 3 inch baby snake as he slithered across the path today.  A barefoot woman stood by the little guy and warned me of his vulnerable presence.  I stopped, looked at him, but momentarily as it felt like the woman wanted and needed her solo experience with him.  I thought to honour her wish and I carried on with the trail and  continuing to be caught in awe and wonder at what was all around me.

I should note that I was not the only one enwrapped in the autumnal loveliness.  There were dozens and dozens of people each moving on their own stride in cooperation with nature.

Before the night’s rest, I read a passage from our guru, Srila Prabhupada as he defined the word, ‘cooperation’.  In simple logic and terms he said in a talk in Seattle in 1968, “When you do something in cooperation with the Lord, that is called bhakti, devotion.”

10 KM

We Work Hard For The Money, So You Better Samadhi Us Right
→ The Enquirer

The commentaries on SB 2.7.31 by Viśvanātha and Prabhupāda are very interesting to compare. The verse itself is

nandaḿ ca mokṣyati bhayād varuṇasya pāśād
gopān bileṣu pihitān maya-sūnunā ca
ahny āpṛtaḿ niśi śayānam atiśrameṇa
lokaḿ vikuṇṭham upaneṣyati gokulaḿ sma

He freed Nanda, his father, from the fearful noose of Varuṇa; and freed the cowherd boys from the caves that Maya’s son locked them in. When all of Gokula lay down at night, so exhausted from working hard throughout the day, he showed them Vaikuṇṭha.

It’s interesting that this verse, which starts by saying how Krishna freed his father from ropes, comes right after the previous verse, which was about how Krishna’s mother couldn’t bind him with ropes. It is impossible to overestimate how beautifully cinematic and artistically exquisite Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is. We who are born without knowledge of Sanskrit and its cultural context are really disadvantaged by birth – we should frankly admit. Those who have direct access to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam are potentially the most fortunate beings in existence.

Anyway, the part I intended to post about…

 ahny āpṛtaḿ niśi śayānam atiśrameṇa

This is the part that says “during the day, working, at night, sleeping, so exhausted” [literal translation]. Viśvanātha’s commentary is that this refers directly to what happened after Nanda was arrested by Varuṇa. Krsna entered the waters, and the rest of Gokula spent the whole day looking everywhere in extreme distress for Krishna and his father. After they were completely exhausted, they collapsed at night – then Krishna and Nanda emerged again from Varuṇa’s realm and came of from the waters. Krishna encouraged everyone by showing them Gokula’s Vaikuṇṭha majesties.

Following the previous verse, this verse keeps the same theme – how the sweet, intimate affection of the Vrajavāsīs is so powerful that it overwhelms and subsums the awareness of Krishna’s majesty, which they do certainly possess (previous verse showed Yaśoda Mātā fully aware that all of existence was within her child, this verse shows all of Gokula fully aware that all of Vaikuṇṭha is within Vṛndāvana).

Prabhupāda’s translation and purport comes from a different angle, very interesting. He makes the point that the residents of Gokula were working hard day and night for Krishna – they were not practicing yoga or studying scriptures or even doing Bhakti-Sādhana. But because their activities were already at the highest level of Krishna consciousness (giving 200% of their energy constantly to pleasing Krishna), they attain the highest spiritual revelations.

Image

ISKCON members would certainly be tempted to misuse this purport to justify the “Work now, samadhī later” abuse. Certainly it will appeal to the idea that, we just have to work hard for Srila Prabhupada there is no need to concentrate on bhajan, on sadhana. However, I have to point out my opinion that this is a ludicrous metaphor resulting from latent sahajiya outlooks. It is cheap (sahajiya) to equate ones own daily activities with the eternally liberated activities of the eternally liberated Vrajavāsīs. Our activities of managing affairs in ISKCON are heavily mixed with our own karmic propensities. Our activities of studying scripture are similarly heavily mixed with our own propensities to become wealthy in knowledge for the purpose of being promoted to positions of respect and command. We cannot say that our busy-ness is equal to the business of the Vraja Vasis. It is offensive. We need - urgently – to practice bhakti-sādhanas so that one day we can be fit to absorb the compassionate mercy of the Vrajavāsī nitya-siddhas. This must scrupulously be understood and no compromise should be allowed – in my opinion, for whatever it may be worth. 

Śrīla Prabhupada and Śrīla Viśvanātha say that the Vrajavāsīs worked all day trying to find Krishna. Let us follow that example.


Radha Rasesvara Temple
→ Ramai Swami

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Radha Rasesvara temple is located in a coconut tree and cocoa plant area in the hills outside Denpasar. The devotees were able to buy a good amount of land to build an asrama and temple. Since then more land has been acquired for a goshalla, vegetable garden, pond and shop.

Many grhasthas have also bought land to build their residences around the temple so they are close with their families ready to engage in service for Their Lordships. Land nearby has been secured and a school for primary school students will service devotee and local village children.. In the future the community will build a bigger temple at the back.
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Compassion and happiness
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 August 2013, Goloka Dhama, Germany, Hamsaduta Seminar Part 1)

radha syamasundarCompassion means that when we experience something ourselves then, we can do something for others who are going through what we are going through. I have thought about compassion as a topic and dealt with the topic. Every year, I have been going to Mamgachi in Mayapur, particularly to the place of Vasudev Datta, to meditate on his extraordinary compassion. Vasudev Datta was ready to take all the sinful reactions of the whole universe upon him. Every year when we went there, we were praying, meditating and speaking about Vasudev Datta.

Subsequently, I went to Bangladesh and I went to the birthplace of Vasudev Datta and I spoke in that particular place and meditated further on Vasudev Datta. Gradually, I began to think of how can one become compassionate if one is not experiencing something better? When one is experiencing that Krsna consciousness is blissful, only then can one be really compassionate. Otherwise, it is artificial. Otherwise, we are just trying to put it within the frame of mind. But when we are actually experiencing the happiness of Krsna consciousness, then compassion becomes really possible otherwise, it will be hard.

That happiness is not a mystery; that happiness is not something like, “When will it happen?” It is not that we are in Krsna consciousness but still not happy. That simply means that we are not following the path of Krsna. It means that we are not spending our time in absorbing ourselves in Krsna, his activities and then glorifying those activities to the world. If that is what we would be doing, then everything would just become perfect.

prabhupada-with-chaddarBut we have excuses. We say, “Yeah but I’m alone! I need companionship! I mean, if only I have companionship then I can do it but I’m alone!” What mundane companion can satisfy the heart? Since when has any mundane relationship ever satisfied the heart? Even the wives of demigods are not happy as described in Bhagavatam. They are enjoying on the banks of the heavenly Alakananda (river) and yet are still unfulfilled. If we are unfulfilled in our lives, we should not blame the external circumstances; we should blame our attachment to wanting the material circumstances to be according to the script that we have written.

We should rather just simply follow the path of Krsna, absorb ourselves in the activities of Krsna, just glorify Krsna and then everything becomes blissful. Then we will see whether we will be alone or not alone. The more one gets absorbed like that in Krsna consciousness, the more people will never leave one alone. See how many people are just looking at Srila Prabhupada for inspiration and turning to him constantly. Then, where is the question of loneliness? One who is with Krsna is never alone. I think this is one thing about Srila Prabhupada that sort of really stands out because he went all alone into those harsh conditions of New York but he was never alone. He was always very close to Krsna. So, that is the only way to actually be really happy.

 

05.05 – See beyond divergent ideas to convergent ideals
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Some people ask: “How can we find harmony among the many different spiritual paths?”

By looking beyond divergent ideas to convergent ideals, answers Gita wisdom.

The Bhagavad-gita (05.05) states that true seers see the same ultimate destination of the paths of sankhya (analytical contemplation) and yoga (detached action). Sankhya focuses on analyzing the material elements to progress towards the transcendental substance, spirit. In contrast, yoga focuses on action while fixing the mind on spirit and thereby cultivating inner detachment from matter.

People often talk of looking beyond externals to find commonalities. When we consider the paths of sankhya and yoga, not only are their externals different – one focuses on inaction; the other, on action. But even their internals are different: one stresses analysis; the other, meditation.

Gita wisdom helps us understand that there are levels in the internal too – there is the subtle material or mental level, where ideas reside; and beyond that is the spiritual level or the level of the heart, where ideals reside.  To find the ultimate common ground, we need to go beyond not just the physical but also the mental – and there find the spiritual. Though the ideas of sankhya and yoga are different, their ideals are the same: both seek the same Absolute Truth.

Of course, this search for common ground doesn’t license an uncritical acceptance of all spiritual paths as equally valid. The paths need to have convergent ideals; otherwise, the common ground may be more an imagination than an insight. The Gita’s (09.25) delineation of different destinations for those with different ideals reflects a spiritual rigor that refuses to apply a naïve whitewash on all paths.

Still, in a world torn by sectarianism, the Gita’s inclusive spirit of focusing on ultimate ideals is a beacon that promotes authentic harmony.

***

05.05 - One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.

3 nice videos by Radhavallabha Das, animating 3 songs by Titiksava Karunika Das
→ Dandavats.com

Titiksava Karunika Das AKA T.K. is the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the Namrock Band. Namrock plays rock music in the style of 60's and 70's rock and roll with uplifting lyrics and also employs the use of sacred mantras. Mantras are used to elevate the consciousness of the listener. Sacred sound vibration in a rock candy coated package. Read more ›

Sri Prahlad awarded a PhD at University of Technology, Sydney
→ Dandavats.com

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) is a university in the CBD of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was ranked in the 401st-500th bracket and 17th-19th in Australia in the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities.[1] The university was founded in its current form in 1981, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. It is part of the Australian Technology Network of universities and has the fifth largest enrolment in Sydney Read more ›

I Love My Mind, Don’t You Love Yours?
→ Devamrita Swami's Facebook notes

Yes, life will be peaceful when we trust our mind, relaxing and basking in it. Loosen the reins—in fact, drop them. After all, it's our very own mind, near and dear, worshipable and adorable. So my mind tells me.

Material existence, the Bhagavatam teaches, is a drama that happens through the mind. Fabricating superficial stuff known as happiness and distress, the mind drags us into one existential absorption after another, swinging us from body to body. 

As Krishna explains in the Gita, higher than the mind is the intelligence, and higher still is the soul. Bhakti-yoga means to  use the mind to think of Krishna and His service (the same) and to supervise the mind with its immediate superior——deliberative intelligence. Then gradually our real self the soul becomes uncovered, and as we become more advanced, the Supersoul begins to personally educate us.

On our way to Krishna, Sukadeva Goswami gives some crucial advice to bhakti practitioners: 

"After capturing animals, a cunning hunter does not put faith in them, for they might run away. Similarly, those who are advanced in spiritual life do not put faith in the mind. Indeed, they always remain vigilant and watch the mind's action.

"All the learned scholars have given their opinion. The mind is by nature very restless, and one should not make friends with it. If we place full confidence in the mind, it may cheat us at any moment." (S. bhag 5.6.2-3)

Let's protest. 

Isn't this warning mainly for new devotees, "new believers"? I've been around for a while now—time to just "let it be."

Give me a break, after all these years, I've internalized all the spiritual practices, so I don't have to be regular anymore. I just want to be a good human being, who does mostly as everyone does while believing, of course, in God, Krishna.

Foolish devotee, listen to Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur detail how the mind, like a chameleon, constantly assumes a new condition. One moment it flickers pure, the next, impure. 

A  cunning cheater shows friendship to trusting persons; then robs and kills them. Similarly the mind of the conditioned soul sometimes demonstrates its potential purity, shaking free of lust and anger, submitting to devotional activities. Eventually, one unsuspecting day, after the devotee has slackened and eased, suddenly the material mind storms back, betraying us, as we drown in a tsunami of material pollutants. Down goes the bhakti practioner. 

Cakravartipada further enunciates how when long-term yogis maintain an ongoing faith in the mind, such trust and confidence will eventually reveal itself to have drained away their accumulated potencies, corroding their austerities. In time, the escalating ugly truth pounces, catching them completely off-guard.

Sukadeva Goswami (5.6.4-5) continues his crucial instruction:

"An unchaste woman is very easily carried away by paramours, and it sometimes happens that her husband is violently killed by her paramours. If the yogi gives his mind a chance and does not restrain it, his mind will give facility to enemies like lust, anger and greed, and they will doubtlessly kill the yogi.

"The mind is the root cause of lust, anger, pride, greed, lamentation, illusion and fear. Combined, these constitute bondage to fruitive activity. What learned man would put faith in the mind?"

We shall ignore this essential advice at our own peril.