Websites from the ISKCON Universe
There are many who make as their destination different demigods, and by rigid performance of the strict respective methods they reach different planets known as Candraloka, Suryaloka, Indraloka, Maharloka, etc. But all such lokas, or planets, being creations of Krishna, are simultaneously Krishna and not Krishna. Such planets, being manifestations of Krishna’s energy, are also Krishna, but actually they serve only as a step forward for realization of Krishna. To approach the different energies of Krishna is to approach Krishna indirectly. One should directly approach Krishna, for that will save time and energy. For example, if there is a possibility of going to the top of a building by the help of an elevator, why should one go by the staircase, step by step?
We naturally think of those close to us.
People can be close physically or emotionally. Because our senses perceive the physical reality around us, our thoughts easily go to those in our physical proximity. And we think of those emotionally close to us spontaneously, even if they aren’t close physically.
Rarely do we realize that Krishna is the closest to us both physically and emotionally.
Physically, Krishna is closer to us than anyone can ever be, even a person who holds us in the fondest, tightest embrace. Krishna resides permanently in our heart right next to us.
Emotionally too, Krishna is closer to us than anyone else. Unfortunately, we are not close to him because we don’t realize how much he loves us. Gita wisdom provides us that understanding.
Others who love us can care for us for at the most for one lifetime. But Krishna cares for us eternally through his immanent and transcendent features. In philosophical parlance, things existing within matter are called immanent and things existing beyond matter are called transcendent. The Bhagavad-gita (08.09) urges us to meditate on the immanent (anor aniyamsam) and transcendent (tamasah parastat) attributes of Krishna. Meditating thus opens our eyes to his love. He loves us so much that the transcendent Bhagavan becomes the immanent Paramatma to help us find our way to transcendence.
As the Paramatma, he accompanies us wherever we go, for as long as our journey through material existence continues. And when that journey ends, we enter into the care of Bhagavan, who resides eternally in the spiritual world.
Remembering Krishna’s immanence reassures us that he loves us even now, when our love for him is neither strong nor pure. Meditating on his unflinching, unfailing love gives us resilience on our march to transcendence.
***
08.09 - One should meditate upon the Supreme Person as the one who knows everything, as He who is the oldest, who is the controller, who is smaller than the smallest, who is the maintainer of everything, who is beyond all material conception, who is inconceivable, and who is always a person. He is luminous like the sun, and He is transcendental, beyond this material nature.
From Jacob
From Labhesh P
Does it prove that Draupadi was partial towards Arjuna, as a controversial novel claims?
There have been many successful commercially published books by ISKCON devotees in the fields of theology, religion, cooking, and other genres. But Lost & Found in India, published this July by Hay House India and distributed by Penguin, is one of the few books by an ISKCON devotee to be released in the mainstream genre Read more › 
Sacinandana Swami: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu requested them all to return home and begin chanting the holy name congregationally. He also requested them to worship Krishna, chant His holy name and discuss His holy pastimes Read more › 
Kecskemét Animation Film Festival is an animated film festival held biennially in Kecskemét, Hungary. Although the bulk of the festival is oriented toward efforts in Hungarian animation, the associated KAFF-sponsored Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials (Hungarian: Európai Animációs Játékfilm Fesztivál) has opened the festival to international works as well Read more › 
Let’s walk through our own ordeal by fire to take his gift.
The post September 23rd, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.
The ISKCON Temple under the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a famous temple situated at Ashoka Enclave in Faridabad. The temple is more popularly known as Sri Sri Radha Govind Temple and is one of the many ISKCON temples in India. Like most of the other ISKCON temples, this shrine is also dedicated to Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha. Read more › 
Five devotees from ISKCON were invited to participate in the event. HG Vrajendranandan Das (Director - ISKCON National Communications) addressed the gathering in the presence of respected President of India on the topic of ahimsa quoting from Bhagavad Gita. The speech was well received and appreciated by all the participants Read more › 
Indradyumna Swami: Yesterday was a very sad day for the Russian Yatra. Moscow authorities evicted ISKCON from the land they had been allocated several years ago for a temporary temple, while devotees applied for permission to build a permanent centre just outside the city. Permission for that centre has also been denied, so for the time being there is no temple in Moscow. Read more › Niranjana Swami — Kirtan on Janmastami, Almaty — August 28, 2013
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By Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s gentle arrangement, I was asked to explain as best I could why the Hare Krishna mahāmantra is the way it is – why the words are ordered and patterned the way they are. I actually answered this question in Japanese, which must have been at least semi-comical for the native Japanese audience. Here is an English version.
I began by explaining that the mahāmantra is infinite, and so there are infinite varieties of meanings, explanations, and beautiful details within it. What I am explaining here is simply a comprehension of the mantra that I personally can somewhat grasp and recommend, as a result of the grace absorbed in the course of practicing devotional service for a little while under the unparalleled guidance of Śrīla Prabhupāda and his dedicated followers.
There are sixteen words in the mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
But if you look closely for a minute you’ll see that there are really only three unique words:
Understanding the mahāmantra begins by understanding these three words.
Krishna means enthralling, attractive, alluring and similar adjectives. The word “Krishna” means the person whom no other person can surpass in being charming, mesmerizing, and attractive.
Rāma means, delightful, pleasing, blissful, ecstatic and so on. The word “Rāma” denote the person whom no other person can surpass in pleasure, delight, ecstasy, and enjoyment.
My recommendation is to comprehend that both of these names refer to the same person (svayaṁ bhagavan śrī vrajendra-nandana śyāmasundara), although those with different devotional perspective may naturally feel otherwise, and I would respect their different outlook.
The word Hare refers to the energy (śakti) that has the power to bring us into contact with all-attractive, all-blissful Śyāmasundara. “Hare” is the power that makes it possible for Śyāmasundara to exhibit, experience, and expand his all-attractive, all-delightful inherent nature. And thus, “Hare” is the entity who makes it possible for you and I to participate in that ever-expanding exploration of beautiful pleasure.
Hare is the “glue” between your soul and Krishna.
When we approach Krishna to please him from a sweet, romantic point of view, we experience “Hare” to be Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Thus one can look at the altar, at the deities of Rādhā-Krishna, and see the words “Hare Krishna” and “Hare Rāma.” This is the paramount outlook, objectively speaking. Subjectively also, I recommend this outlook, but it is up to your heart to express its own devotional perspective. From other perspectives one can experience “Hare” to be other personifications of hlādinī-śakti. Even within the romantic perspective, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has so many infinite expansions – all of which exist within the transcendental vibration “Hare.”
The biggest pattern in the mahā-mantra divides it into two halves. The first half, “hare kṛṣṇa, hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa, hare hare,” focuses on Krishna – the all-attractive. The second half, “hare rāma, hare rāma, rāma rāma, hare hare,” focuses on Rāma – the all-enjoying.
Why this order?
That is the Way of Love.
First there must be attraction, and then there can be enjoyment. A mundane example: first a girl must attract the desires of a boy, and after this is accomplished it is possible for there to be enjoyable romantic exchanges. The first half of a relationship is “Krishna” – attraction. The second half, after attraction is effective, is pleasure, “Rāma.”
So, the mantra is arranged in this order that we may express our emotions to Śyāmasundar something like this, “Oh Śyāma, please attract me to you! (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare) And once you have me, please enjoy me to your heart’s content! (Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare).”
Never forget that all this – the attraction and enjoyment – does not take place independently of “Hare,” Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Therefore the whole expression is directed towards her, and becomes, “Dear Śrī Rādhā, please make me attractive to Krishna (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare), so that I might please him (Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare).” Furthermore, and of paramount importance, the whole context of being attractive and pleasing to Krishna takes place within the shelter and direction of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, not independent of Her.
This explanation is offered as a more detailed purport on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s basic instruction to chant with the mood, “O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in your service.”
Three words are repeated so many times that the mantra ends up with sixteen words. Why so much repetition?
It is to evoke more emotion in the chanter. When we call out a name two or more times in a row, it expresses great feeling. A lover may say the name of her beloved, but it is really special if she is not satisfied to say it just once, if she repeats it immediately: “My darling, O my darling.” Similarly when a mother feels very emotional about her child she will repeat the child’s name, often accompanied with a sigh. The song “Maria” from West Side Story is a fine example of this in ordinary literature.
So, out of a rise of emotion in the heart, we don’t just say “Hare Krishna / Hare Rāma” – we repeat: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna / Hare Rāma Hare Rāma.” The first time expresses meaning, the second time expresses feeling.
What remains to be explained now is the second half within each half of the mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
These portions of the mantra exist to introduce the dimension of “union and separation.” This is another important principle in the Way of Love. If there is only union – if two lovers can always very easily see each other all the time – their unity will gradually become cheaper (being so easy) and the unity they enjoy will lose some of its excitement and sparkle. On the other hand if two lovers can never see each other and are always separated it also reduces the beauty of the relationship – they will eventually begin to forget about one another, or develop emotional calluses to cope with the pain of separation. So the Way of Love dictates that union and separation must balance each other – then the relationship can be eternally dynamic and enchanting.
“Hare Krishna” expresses the union of Rādhā (Hare) and Śyāmasundara (Krishna). So does “Hare Rāma.” In both phrases, the two words naming Rādhā and Krishna are right next to each other, united. But the second line of each half of the mantra separates the divine couple. “Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare” they are not paired with one another, they are separate – and again repeated out of emotion.
This separation is not “cruel” – it is a service to their relationship, enhancing the value of their unity. They are not kept apart forever, because the very next line brings them back together.
Union: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Separation: Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Union: Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma
Separation: Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare
Thus those who have deeply realized the inner purports of this mantra describe it as “not only a yugala mantra (a mantra of the divine couple united), but a vipralambha-māyī yugala mantra (a mantra of the divine couple permeated with the dynamics of union and separation).” As such it is a mantra capable of unlocking the highest perceptions of ecstatic prema.
Effective chanting of a mantra requires contemplation of the meaning of the mantra. This is why Śrīla Prabhupāda endeavored to explain, theoretically and practically, the meaning of the mahā-mantra - and this is why our ācāryas like Bhaktivinode Ṭhākur recommend “mantra-artha-cinta” (contemplating the mantra’s meaning while chanting it). The meaning of the mantra should, by repetition, become so second nature that it is evoked naturally simply by hearing the mantra – it is not an artificial imposition on the mind, it arises naturally from the inherent content within the divine words themselves.
If even one soul amongst all the readers of this humble article begins to chant more purely, lovingly, and attentively as a result of reading it – then I will surely have pleased Śrī Guru and Gauranga, which is non-different than pleasing Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. I one can please Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī there is nothing else let to want. I pray that at least one of you will grant me this blessing and improve your relationship with Krishna’s delightful names. May there be no other result from this sharing of what is uncommonly intimate and secret.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 August 2013, Abenthuer, Germany)
om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
cakshur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
You once mentioned to Bhavananda Prabhu that while you were a resident of the spiritual sky, Krsna approached you and said, “I want you to go to the material world to deliver the conditioned souls.” You replied that you didn’t really want to go because you didn’t like austerity. Krsna then said, “Don’t worry. All you have to do is write books. I will do the rest.” So, you descended into the material realm. You wrote books indeed. Books that are pure and spotless such as translations of Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, with perfect commentaries. However, your service didn’t end there. Rather, you left no stone unturned. You took endless austerities to preach.
In 1944, in the middle of the war, there was no paper available in Calcutta market so you could not publish your Back to Godhead magazine. All paper was reserved for the use of the army. You did not give up. You met a big officer who said, “Swamiji, all the paper has to be reserved for the war,” and you replied, “Exactly! My paper is directly in the interest of the war because my paper will bring peace.” And you got the paper and published Back to Godhead. You stood up against the odds, against opposition all along in so many situations and Krsna made you successful and miracles happened.
Surely Krsna’s help was there with you when you embarked on your mission to preach in the West and boarded the Jaladuta to cross the Atlantic Ocean. However, first you went through heart attacks on the rough sea and you were close to death, but Krsna appeared in your dreams rowing a boat, telling you not to worry. Then the surface of the Atlantic became unusually calm and smooth and you made it to America. Among many qualities as a preacher, one stands out. No matter how great the obstacles were, you never gave up. No matter how much effort was needed, you rose to every occasion. Alone to far foreign land, in old age, without money or support, you never gave up! You never gave up when you were alone on the Lower East Side, living on a loft with a drugged-out crazy boy. You never gave up, not in Bombay in the fight with Mr. Nair over the Juhu land. When all your leaders threw in the towel and cancelled the sales agreement then you did the impossible and somehow or other got Nair to sign a new one.
You never gave up on anyone. When one of your leading disciples in Calcutta was having difficulties and fell back into smoking undesirable substances, you told your secretary Tamal Krsna Goswami to get him on the phone. With the devotee of Calcutta on one end of the line and you, in your room on the side of the world while Tamal Krsna Maharaj was holding the phone, “Tell him, that if he doesn’t give up this nonsense that I will reject him,” you said. Tamal Krsna Maharaj passed on the message and put down the phone. Then with a state of shock about what had just transpired, Tamal Krsna Maharaj asked, “Prabhupada, would you really reject him?”
“Of course not,” you replied, “I’m just trying to scare him.”
No-one can say now that it is so difficult to preach Krsna consciousness when you’ve made it easy for us. You gave us books, temples, an institution with a respectable name, assets and money in the bank. You gave us all facility while personally you had to struggle single-handedly. One old man, alone, in the sinful Western world to tell people what they did not want to hear. They did not want to follow the four regulative principles or chant the holy name. You searched with determination and intelligence and found people who were ready to listen. You tolerated confusion and degradation and pushed this movement forward.
Prahlad Maharaj said:
My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, no-one can be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet. Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.44
My dear Srila Prabhupada, you performed the true austerity connected with compassion. Just like Vasudeva Datta, you were ready to deliver the entire universe at any cost. You were ready to offer anyone, no matter how fallen his background, a chance and was prepared to take the sinful reactions. You said you gave initiation liberally and that you were prepared to go to hell. Many of us have a feeling that you didn’t leave it at this one universe but that now you’re still preaching somewhere else. Little-by-little, you chisel at the stone-like hearts of the residents of this age of Kali. You’re prepared to one-by-one conquer the heart of everyone you meet. I, a little dwarf in the preaching field, stand in amazement at the giant steps you take to deliver all. I could only imagine how deep is your love for Krsna. I could only imagine how much you’re willing to fulfill his desire to bring back all the fallen souls to the spiritual world. I cannot understand your greatness. So, finally, I can only pray to you. You never gave up, kindly also never give up on me.
The servant of your servant,
Kadamba Kanana Swami
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 29 August 2013, Abenthuer, Germany)
om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
cakshur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah
Dear Srila Prabhupada,
Please accept my humble obeisances.
All glories to Your Divine Grace.
You once mentioned to Bhavananda Prabhu that while you were a resident of the spiritual sky, Krsna approached you and said, “I want you to go to the material world to deliver the conditioned souls.” You replied that you didn’t really want to go because you didn’t like austerity. Krsna then said, “Don’t worry. All you have to do is write books. I will do the rest.” So, you descended into the material realm. You wrote books indeed. Books that are pure and spotless such as translations of Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, with perfect commentaries. However, your service didn’t end there. Rather, you left no stone unturned. You took endless austerities to preach.
In 1944, in the middle of the war, there was no paper available in Calcutta market so you could not publish your Back to Godhead magazine. All paper was reserved for the use of the army. You did not give up. You met a big officer who said, “Swamiji, all the paper has to be reserved for the war,” and you replied, “Exactly! My paper is directly in the interest of the war because my paper will bring peace.” And you got the paper and published Back to Godhead. You stood up against the odds, against opposition all along in so many situations and Krsna made you successful and miracles happened.
Surely Krsna’s help was there with you when you embarked on your mission to preach in the West and boarded the Jaladuta to cross the Atlantic Ocean. However, first you went through heart attacks on the rough sea and you were close to death, but Krsna appeared in your dreams rowing a boat, telling you not to worry. Then the surface of the Atlantic became unusually calm and smooth and you made it to America. Among many qualities as a preacher, one stands out. No matter how great the obstacles were, you never gave up. No matter how much effort was needed, you rose to every occasion. Alone to far foreign land, in old age, without money or support, you never gave up! You never gave up when you were alone on the Lower East Side, living on a loft with a drugged-out crazy boy. You never gave up, not in Bombay in the fight with Mr. Nair over the Juhu land. When all your leaders threw in the towel and cancelled the sales agreement then you did the impossible and somehow or other got Nair to sign a new one.
You never gave up on anyone. When one of your leading disciples in Calcutta was having difficulties and fell back into smoking undesirable substances, you told your secretary Tamal Krsna Goswami to get him on the phone. With the devotee of Calcutta on one end of the line and you, in your room on the side of the world while Tamal Krsna Maharaj was holding the phone, “Tell him, that if he doesn’t give up this nonsense that I will reject him,” you said. Tamal Krsna Maharaj passed on the message and put down the phone. Then with a state of shock about what had just transpired, Tamal Krsna Maharaj asked, “Prabhupada, would you really reject him?”
“Of course not,” you replied, “I’m just trying to scare him.”
No-one can say now that it is so difficult to preach Krsna consciousness when you’ve made it easy for us. You gave us books, temples, an institution with a respectable name, assets and money in the bank. You gave us all facility while personally you had to struggle single-handedly. One old man, alone, in the sinful Western world to tell people what they did not want to hear. They did not want to follow the four regulative principles or chant the holy name. You searched with determination and intelligence and found people who were ready to listen. You tolerated confusion and degradation and pushed this movement forward.
Prahlad Maharaj said:
My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, no-one can be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet. Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.44
My dear Srila Prabhupada, you performed the true austerity connected with compassion. Just like Vasudeva Datta, you were ready to deliver the entire universe at any cost. You were ready to offer anyone, no matter how fallen his background, a chance and was prepared to take the sinful reactions. You said you gave initiation liberally and that you were prepared to go to hell. Many of us have a feeling that you didn’t leave it at this one universe but that now you’re still preaching somewhere else. Little-by-little, you chisel at the stone-like hearts of the residents of this age of Kali. You’re prepared to one-by-one conquer the heart of everyone you meet. I, a little dwarf in the preaching field, stand in amazement at the giant steps you take to deliver all. I could only imagine how deep is your love for Krsna. I could only imagine how much you’re willing to fulfill his desire to bring back all the fallen souls to the spiritual world. I cannot understand your greatness. So, finally, I can only pray to you. You never gave up, kindly also never give up on me.
The servant of your servant,
Kadamba Kanana Swami
By analyzing all these different energies of Krishna, one can ascertain that for Krishna there is no distinction between matter and spirit, or, in other words, He is both matter and spirit. In the advanced stage of Krishna consciousness, one therefore makes no such distinctions. He sees only Krishna in everything.
Since Krishna is both matter and spirit, the gigantic universal form comprising all material manifestations is also Krishna, and His pastimes in Vrndavana as two-handed Syamasundara, playing on a flute, are those of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,
Please accept my humble obesiances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada
Please see below link which contains alot of kirtans I recorded at Villa Vrindavana during this year’s P.S. trip, so has the likes of HH BB Govinda Swami, HG Gaur Gopal das as well as Janhavi Mataji
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6sLNKIcRdBVQmtmZm5iTHFMTU0/edit?usp=sharing
Please note the kirtans are all in .wav format so you can edit / convert as per your liking.
Please accept my apologies for taking so long to upload.
your servant,
dipak
EDITORIAL NOTE;
If like me you are a little bit of a numpty when it comes to technology here is the response to my question after clicking onto the link;
Hare Krishna prabhu
The .wave files are in a folder you need to download the folder which is a .rar folder, the folder is 3.6gb in size
After you download that folder right click on it and extract the files from it
I compressed the folder to save space otherwise it would have been bigger then 3.6gb in size
I hope that helps
If not please let me know
Ys
Dipak
I’ve also mastered the free to download file converter audacity it’s simple to use so you can format to the more friendly mp3 format
Inside stories frequently make big news. The sleazier the story, the bigger the news.
The drive for leaking such stories comes not just from money; big bucks can be made. It also comes from tendency – the universal lower human tendency to gossip, especially about things that shows someone considered good in bad light.
Those who know such things about us and keep them confidential are our true wellwishers; they care for us more than the world and the splash they can create in it by exposing us.
Krishna is the greatest among such wellwishers. He is situated right inside our heart, as the Bhagavad-gita (13.23) indicates. He is strategically in the best position to know not only everything we do but also everything we think. And sadly, much of what we do and much more of what we think is less than complimentary. Krishna knows this ultimate inside story about us – and he keeps it inside. Because he loves us, he wants to bring out the best within us, not the worst. That’s why he waits patiently lifetime after lifetime for us to let him help us. When we link with him in devotion, he deploys his omnipotence cleanse our heart of all the dirty stuff. Then he helps draw out the divine stuff – the essence of who we are as souls, as his beloved parts.
How God helps us to become godly is the supremely positive inside story – the toughest thing to do, the thing impossible for us to do by ourselves, the thing that makes us new persons inside-out, new persons who contribute towards shaping a better world.
That’s one inside story the world needs to know. It’s a story that Krishna is ready to help each one of us script and share.
***
13.23 - Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.
Inside stories frequently make big news. The sleazier the story, the bigger the news.
The drive for leaking such stories comes not just from money; big bucks can be made. It also comes from tendency – the universal lower human tendency to gossip, especially about things that shows someone considered good in bad light.
Those who know such things about us and keep them confidential are our true wellwishers; they care for us more than the world and the splash they can create in it by exposing us.
Krishna is the greatest among such wellwishers. He is situated right inside our heart, as the Bhagavad-gita (13.23) indicates. He is strategically in the best position to know not only everything we do but also everything we think. And sadly, much of what we do and much more of what we think is less than complimentary. Krishna knows this ultimate inside story about us – and he keeps it inside. Because he loves us, he wants to bring out the best within us, not the worst. That’s why he waits patiently lifetime after lifetime for us to let him help us. When we link with him in devotion, he deploys his omnipotence cleanse our heart of all the dirty stuff. Then he helps draw out the divine stuff – the essence of who we are as souls, as his beloved parts.
How God helps us to become godly is the supremely positive inside story – the toughest thing to do, the thing impossible for us to do by ourselves, the thing that makes us new persons inside-out, new persons who contribute towards shaping a better world.
That’s one inside story the world needs to know. It’s a story that Krishna is ready to help each one of us script and share.
***
13.23 - Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.
Giriraj Swami spoke on Visvarupa-mahotsava, the day which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother Visvarupa accepted sannyasa and the date on which Srila Prabhupada also accepted the renounced order of life. Giriraj Swami was joined by Giridhari Swami, Kesava Bharati Dasa Goswami, and Rtadhvaja Swami.
“Srila Prabhupada saw that his Guru Maharaja was forcing him to take sannyasa through the agency of his godbrother. We should learn from this example that Krishna and Srila Prabhupada—the spiritual master—can speak to us in many ways. They can speak to us even through a godbrother or godsister. If we are sincere enough we will accept their good advice, even if, as Srila Prabhupada said, they must ‘administer the medicine forcibly.’ And that is the Vaisnavas’ mercy. Although we are unwilling to accept the medicine—although we are blind to the wonderful future that awaits us if we give up our material position and surrender fully to Krishna and the desire of the guru—the Vaisnavas force us, out of their mercy.”
The indomitable Jahnavi Harrison lead us in chant with Krishna He recently in Oxford. As Autumn wove its mellow atmosphere outside, Jahnavi embroidered sacred sound on our heart inside.