Planet ISKCON

God’s energy is beyond our conception, beyond our thinking jurisdiction, and is therefore called inconceivable (acintya). Who can argue this point? He pervades this material world and yet is beyond it. We cannot comprehend even this material world, which is insignificant compared to the spiritual world – so how can we comprehend what is beyond? Acintya means that which is beyond this material world, that which our argument, logic and philosophical speculation cannot touch, that which is inconceivable. Therefore intelligent persons, avoiding useless argument and speculation, should accept what is stated in scriptures like the Vedas, Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam and follow the principles they set down. This will lead one to understanding.

 Bhagavad Gita As It Is 8.9 purport

BY SHANTHI RUPA DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - The Indescribable Beauty of Srimati Radharani 

"O Radharani, O Queen of Vrindavana, Your complexion is like molten gold, Your doe-like eyes are captivatingly restless, a million full and brilliant moons wane before Your lustrous countenance, and a blue sari, having stolen the hue of a fresh rain-laden cloud, has enwrapped Your exquisite form. O Radha, You are the crest-jewel of all the dallying damsels of Vrindavana, fragrant and pristine like a budding jasmine flower. Your sublime form is adorned with priceless jewelry, and you are the best of all the charming and intelligent gopis. You are decorated with all wonderful excellences and surrounded by eight dedicated and beloved cowherd girls known as the asta-sakhis.

"The ambrosia of Your beautiful lips, red as the bimba fruit, is life-giving syrup to Krishna. O Radha, I am rolling on the banks of the Yamuna, my poor heart filled with anticipation, praying to You with all humility. I am guilty of being an offender, a rascal, a useless wretch -- yet I beg You to kindly engage me in even the smallest service to Your lotus feet. O most merciful Lady, it will not become You to ignore this most distressed soul, for Your heart is always overflowing with compassion and love." - [Sri Prarthana-paddhati [Stavamala], Srila Rupa goswami]

Nandisvara dasa is second from the left

 
By Nandisvara dasa, Sarajevo, Bosnia

Sometimes at the twilight I feel
That something is awakening in me
Then a pleasant silence governs
Then I feel this

I feel a desire is being born

Desire arouses longing
Love takes over my heart
I start shivering in ecstasy

I surrender unto You
I open up and expand
That feeling permeates everything
And He is present in a connection

Silence rules over me
Body shivers, it is warm
Pleasant goosebumps lift me up
My skin gets wet, I feel ...

I feel love awakening
Feeling awaken which cry
You are present, yes I feel it
Mercy is here, I am happy

You give me as much as I want
I feel as much as I can
I feel warmth that touches me
That you lord over me

I feel the warmth of tears
I feel them on my lips
Heart shivers and yearns
I feel, I feel, I feel ...

"Please know that by chanting the holy name all anarthas will be removed. When our heart is cleansed from all this anartha dust, the form, qualities and pastimes of the Lord will automatically manifest themselves on the clear mirror of the purified heart. All this will be understood clearly when the coverings are removed from our heart. But it is important that you make special effort to avoid the offenses so that the holy name can come through purely and gives you all the perfections."

Sacinandana Swami

An idea of the reality—and the impact—of the timeless principles that govern all life can be captured in a paradigm-shifting experience as told by Frank Kock in Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute.


Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.


Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”


“Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out.


Lookout replied, “Steady, captain,” which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.


The captain then called to the signal man, “Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees.”


Back came a signal, “Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees.”


The captain said, “Send, I’m a captain, change course 20 degrees.”


“I’m a seaman second class,” came the reply. “You had better change course 20 degrees.”


By that time, the captain was furious. He spat out, “Send, I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees.”


Back came the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”


We changed course.


The Paradigm Shift experienced by the captain—and by us as we read this account—puts the situation in a totally different light. We can see a reality that is superseded by his limited perceptions—a reality that is as critical for us to understand in our daily lives as it was for the captain in the fog.

Principles are like lighthouses. They are natural laws that cannot be broken. As Cecil B. deMille observed of the principles contained in his monumental movie, The Ten Commandments, “It is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law.”

VICARU DAS
BHAKTIVEDANTA MANOR
ISKCON UK

SB 7.15.8
Naitadrsah paro dharmo
nrnam sad-dharmam icchatam
nyaso dandasya bhutesu
mano-vak-kayajasya yah

persons who want to advance in superior religion are advised to give up all envy of other living entities,whether in relationship to the body, words and mind.There is no religion superior to this.

SB. 7.15.17
Sada santusta-manasah
sarvah sivamaya disah
sarkara-kantakadibhyo
yathopanat-padah sivam

For a person who has suitable shoes on his feet,there is no danger even when he walks on pebbles and thorns.for him,everything is auspicious. similarly,for one who is always self satisfied there is no distress;indeed,he feels happiness everywhere.

SB 7.15.18
santustah kena va rajan
na vartetapi varina.
aupastha-jaihvya-karpanyad
grha-palayate janah

My dear king, a self satisfied person can be happy even with only drinking water.However, one who is driven by the senses,specially by the tongue and genitals,must accept the position of household dog to satisfy his senses.

SB 7.15.22
asankalpaj jayet kamam
krodham kama-vivarjanat
arthanartheksaya lobham
bhayam tattvavamarsanat

By making plans with determination, one should give up lusty desires for sense gratification.similarly,by giving up envy one should conquer anger, by discussing the disadvantages of accumulating wealth one should give up greed, and by discussing the truth one should give up fear.

SB7.15.23
anviksikya soka-mohau
dambham mahad-upasaya
yogantarayan maunena
himsam kamady-anihaya

By discussing spiritual knowledge one can conquer lamentation and illusion, by serving a great devotee one can become prideless,by keeping silent one can avoid obstacles on the path of mystic yoga, and simply by stopping sense gratification one can conquer envy.

Our daily life, with its many obligations, requires hard work. So, if we make time to meditate, we expect meditation to serve as a break, to de-stress us.

Mantra meditation does indeed offer that break, but not in the way we expect. Let’s understand.

Krishna is non-different from the mantras centered on his holy names. Mantra meditation thus offers us the opportunity to relish Krishna’s energizing presence. However, we can’t relish Krishna’s presence if we lethargically give in to the mind’s default restlessness, for it doesn’t let us connect with Krishna. Consequently, meditation leaves us feeling bored and burdened. It becomes another chore – a difficult, demanding chore.

The problem is our faulty expectation that meditation should be a break from hard work. But authentic meditation requires concentration of the mind and so is hard work. No wonder the Bhagavad-gita (09.14) urges serious practitioners to endeavor with determination.

Intriguingly, this endeavor is not like mundane hard work – it doesn’t strain and drain, but relaxes and rejuvenates.

How?

By cleansing and animating the mind with the power of love.

We are parts of Krishna, just as the hand is a part of the body. Whatever we offer Krishna returns to us as devotional energy, just as the food the hand offers to the body through the stomach returns as physical energy. When we offer our love to Krishna through our attentiveness during meditation, he reciprocates by releasing his infinite love into our heart. This love pacifies and purifies the mind – and redirects it towards positive reality, ultimately towards Krishna. The resulting devotional energy recharges us far better than any break.

To benefit from this recharge, we need to approach meditation positively – not as a mere break, but as a rewarding challenge.

 

***

09.14 - Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Name Meditation podcast

Balarama Jayanti Celebration in Iskcon Stockholm (116 photos) Read more ›

05-09-2013 Bhagvad Gita’s Message, Vinolin and Prashna’s Home, Johannesburg, South Africa.mp3

In Literature, the 4th- 7th graders are learning the basic elements of a story through the plot diagram, which is map of a story’s structure. Fourth and fifth grades are reading the fantastical story The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, while sixth and seventh grades are reading the heartwarming classic The Incredible Journey. As students progress in their reading, they are adding details from their respective books to the storyline diagram.

BY SHANTHI RUPA DEVI DASI 

KUALA LUMPUR - More on Srimati Radharani

Gaura lila - Appeared as Gadadhara Pandit / Lord Chaitanya
Age: 14 years 2 months 15 days
Father: Maharaja Vrsabhanu;
Mother: Kirtida devi;
Grandfather (Paternal): Mahibhanu;
Grandmother (Paternal): Sukhada devi;
Grandfather (Maternal): Indu;
Grandmother (Maternal): Mukhara devi who is also young Yasoda and Radha's nursemaid;
Uncles (Paternal): Ratnabhanu, Subhanu, Bhanu;
Uncles (Maternal): Bhadrakirti, Mahakirti, Kirticandra;
Aunts (Maternal): Menaka-devi, Sasthi-devi, Gauri-devi, Dhatri-devi and Dhataki-devi;
Mother's sister is Kirtimati-devi, whose husband is Kasa;
Father's sister is Bhanumudra-devi, whose husband is Kusa;
Brother: (elder) Sridama;
Sister: (younger) Ananga manjari;
Husband (so-called): Abhimanyu;
Father-in-law is Vrkagopa;
Mother-in-law: Jatila;
Sister-in-law: Kutila;
Brother-in-law: Durmada;

Eight dearest friends - Asta-Sakhis:

Lalita;
Visakha;
Sucitra;
Campakalata;
Ranga-devi;
Sudevi;
Tungavidya;
Indulekha.

Rädhä Krishna Ganoddesa Dipika - Rupa Goswami

Rädhikä, Rädhä, Rädhäräni

Srimati Radharani appeared exactly two weeks after the appearance of Sri Krishna on the eighth day of the waxing moon of Hrsikesha (Bhadra) mase, at noon. She was found on a lotus flower by Vrashabhanu and his wife Kirtida near the village of Barsana, a few miles away from Nandagrama. It is said that Srimati Radharani first opened Her eyes only when Sri Krishna appeared before Her. Until that time Her eyes were closed.

Govinda Lilamrita, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami 11.124

"Radhika never was initiated, nor did She study or hear from a siksa guru, but still She became the teacher of the arts to all the Vraja Gopis, who astonish all the ladies of the three worlds with their skills and who give the highest satisfaction to Sauri, the ocean of all the arts!" 

Her Favorite Pets:

• Surabhi cows: Sunada, Yamuna and Bahula;
• Calf: Tungi
• Female monkey: Kakkhati;
• Parrots: Süksmadhé and Subhä;
• Swan: Tundikeri
• Doe: Rangini;
• Chakori bird (Himalayan partridge): Carucandrika;
• Elephant: Madhuri.

Srimati Radharani, wears dress made of Her youthful bluish modesty woven with syama colored threads, and also uttaria, which is red due to extreme attachment for the company of Krishna;

She is outwardly very clever and contradictory while at heart is submissive;

She has a complexion like a yellow campaka flower and lightening;

Her lips are reddish due to Her deep attraction for Krsna.

Her personal beauty is compared to kumkuma and Her friendship with Her associates is compared to sandalwood pulp. The sweetness of Her calm sobriety is compared to camphor. These three ingredients decorate the body of Srimati Radharani - kumkuma, sandalwood pulp, and camphor.

Srimati Radharani is the eternal consort of Lord Sri Krsna and the embodiment of His hlädini potency. She is known as mahäbhäva-svarüpini, the personification of the highest ecstasy of divine love. She is the internal pleasure potency of the Lord; the incarnation of love; the queen of Vrindavan; and the crest jewel of the gopis.

The name Radha comes from the word arädhäna: One who can serve, who can worship, who can give respect, who really loves Krishna, who can render loving service.

Like Sri Krishna, Srimati Radha also has innumerable qualities, among which twenty-five are prominent:

1. She is sweet (madhura), that is, She is incomparably beautiful in appearance;
2. She is an ever-fresh youth;
3. Her eyes are restless and inclined to give sidelong glances;
4. She has a radiant, gentle and sweet smile;
5. She has beautiful lines, indicating auspiciousness;
6. She maddens Krishna with the fragrance of Her bodily limbs;
7. She is expert in the musical arts;
8. She speaks sweetly;
9. She is expert in making jokes;
10. She is very polite and modest;
11. She is merciful;
12. She is cunning;
13. She is expert in all duties;
14. She is shy;
15. She is always steadfast on the path of righteous conduct;
16. She is patient;
17. She is grave, so that it is very difficult to understand the import of Her mind;
18. She is fond of enjoying pastimes;
19. She is acutely eager to manifest the supermost excellence of mahäbhäva;
20. When the residents of Gokula see Her, their hearts immediately overflow with prema;
21. Her fame pervades the entire universe;
22. She is the object of affection for Her superiors (guru-jana);
23. She is controlled by the intense love of Her sakhis;
24. She is prominent among all Krishna's sakhis;
25. Kesava always remains submissive to Her orders.

No one is more dear to Krishna than Srimati Radharani. Srimati Radharani is not inferior to Sri Krishna in any way. It is Krishna Himself who enjoys Himself in two separate forms, as the enjoyer and the enjoyed. Krishna's beauty is so stunning that He Himself becomes enchanted by His own beauty. But if the beauty of Srimati Radharani were not greater than that of Sri Krishna, She could not enchant He who can enchant the whole universe. That is why She is called Bhüvan-mohän-mohini. She is the effulgence of Krishna, who is like the full moon (Krishnachandra). Sri Krishna is the sum total of all ecstasy, all beauty. He is the original reservoir of all wealth, prowess, and knowledge. So the greatness of Radharani, is beyond the limit of human knowledge, even beyond the limit of understanding of many liberated souls.

 

BY SHANTHI RUPA DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - More on Srimati Radharani from Sri Krsna and Subala

Concerning Her sixteen items of beautification, Subala says to Sri Krsna, "After bathing, Sri Radhika decorates the tip of Her nose with an effulgent jewel. She dresses in blue clothing, with a sash (nivibandhana) around Her waist. Her hair is plaited and She wears ornaments on Her ears. Her limbs are smeared with camphor, musk and sandal paste. She wears flowers in Her hair and a garland around Her neck. In Her hand She playfully carries a lotus flower. In Her mouth She has tambula, and on Her chin a dot of musk. She wears kajjala around Her eyes and on Her cheeks are muskpaintings of dolphins, etc. The bottoms of Her lotus feet are painted red and She wears tilaka on Her forehead."

Janmastami is the holiest day for Vaisnavas around the world and here at TKG Academy that feeling is no different. Students spent the week hearing about Lord Krsna’s pastimes and anticipating having Janmastami day spent at the temple helping the older devotees in seva. With freshly washed hair and clothing, tilak applied beautifully, the children made their way to Sri Sri Radha Kalachandji mandir with open hearts and helping hands to show Lord Krsna that even the youngest of the community are eager to please him, especially on his appearance day. Shortly after noon, the students of grades 2-8 gathered around to the front of the temple room to take turns reciting the story of Lord Krsna and the demon, Agasura accompanied by a flute player. Then home to rest and prepare for the evening celebration of the Lord Krsna with friends, families, and devotees.

 

BY SHANTHI RUPA DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - Artistic Qualities of Srimati Radharani. Excerpted from Brahma-samhita

• Singing
• Playing on musical instruments
• Dancing
• Theatricals
• Painting
• Painting the face and body with colored unguents and cosmetics
• Preparing offerings from rice and flowers
• Making a covering of flowers for a bed
• Applying preparations for cleansing the teeth, cloths, and painting the body
• Making the groundwork of jewels
• Covering the bed
• Playing on music in water
• Splashing with water
• Practically applying an admixture of colors
• Designing a preparation of wreaths
• Practically setting the coronet on the head
• Practically dressing in the tiring room
• Decorating the tragus of the ear
• Practical application of aromatics
• Applying or setting ornaments
• Jugglery
• Kaucumara - a kind of art
• Art of sleight of hand
• Preparing varieties of salad, bread, cake and delicious food
• Practically preparing palatable drinks and tinging draughts with red color
• Needleworks and weaving
• Playing with thread
• Playing on lute and small x-shaped drum
• Making and solving riddles
• Caping or reciting verse for verse as a trial for memory or skill
• Practicing language difficult to be answered by others
• Reciting books
• Enacting short plays and anecdotes
• Solving enigmatic verses
• Designing preparation of shield, cane and arrows
• Spinning by spindle
• Carpentry
• Engineering
• Testing silver and jewels
• Metallurgy
• Mineralogy
• Practicing medicine or medical treatment, by herbs
• Knowing the mode of fighting of lambs, cocks, and birds
• Maintaining or knowing conversation between male and female cockatoos
• Healing or cleaning a person with perfumes
• Combing hair
• Talking with letters and fingers
• Fabricating barbarous or foreign sophistry
• Knowing provincial dialects
• Knowing prediction by heavenly voice or knowing preparation of toy carts by flowers
• Mechanics
• The use of amulets
• Art of conversation
• Composing verse mentally
• Designing a literary work or a medical remedy
• Practicing as a builder of shrines called after him
• The use of lexicography and meters
• The art of concealment of cloths
• Knowing specific gambling
• Playing with dice or magnet
• Using children’s toys
• Enforcing discipline
• The art of gaining victory
• The art of awakening with music at dawn

Holy Name Festival in Nueva Vrajamandala, Spain (95 photos) Read more ›

The post September 9th, 2013 – Darshan appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Thanks to Srila Prabhupada the Raha Yatra Festivals are taking place in all major cities of the world and distribute like this the mercy of Lord Jagannath to thousands of participants! Jaya Jagannath! Read more ›

Panama Ratha Yatra with Vaiyasaki Das and the Kirtan Explosion Band (25 photos) Read more ›

Bir Krishna Goswami leads bhajan 02/09/13 (4 min video) Read more ›

Bhakti Vijnana Goswami is one of the leaders of ISKCON in Russia and is working tirelessly towards establishing a large new temple in Moscow. He was a brilliant graduate student, attending chemistry classes at Moscow State University before he meet devotees in 1977. In spite of heavy opposition from the state he decided to serve full time in the mission of Srila Prabhupada. He tirelessly preaches and gradually has made large number of devotees in Russia and surrounding former states of USSR Read more ›

Sachinandana Swami Kirtan – Holy Name Festival – New Vrajamandala, Spain – Aug 24, 2013

Q: Why did lord Krishna not marry Radha?

To understand Radha correctly you need to somewhat understand the mysteries of “rasa” and “prema” – the ecstatic experience of spiritual love. Krishna and Radharani playfully married once, as children sometimes do. They did not really marry, however, because their love is more primal, profound, and unbounded than what wedded love facilitates. Wedded love is a very elevated type of divine union with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet in marriage the intimacy and spontaneity is not limitless. Some limitation is imposed by the sense of “duty” that husband and wife naturally acquire towards one another. This sense of duty is beautiful, but the highest type of love is even more beautiful. It is so profound that it requires no sense of duty – and flows absolutely spontaneously – breaking all things that stand in its path. Thus the pure transcendental love that Radha and Krishna enjoy on the highest level of bliss (paramānanda) expresses itself in the form of being paramours, not being husband and wife.

Q: How many wives did Krishna have? What was the names of his wives? How many sons did Krishna have? 

Krishna does not marry anyone or have any children.

However, Krishna’s first expansion, as the king of Mathura and Dvaraka does marry. This “Krishna” is slightly distinct from the original svayam-bhagavan Krishna, who never exits his Dhāma, Vṛndāvana. This first expansion of Krishna is known properly as Vāsudeva Krishna.

Vāsudeva Krishna first married Rukmini, and then married another seven goddesses, headed by Satyabhama. Jambavati is another prominent one of these original wives. A little while later, Vāsudeva rescued 16,100 ladies from their abduction into a harem, and then married them all. He personally lived with each of his 16,108 wives simultaneously.

We hear that he had 10 sons with each wife. I have seen lists of names for the sons only of the 8 original wives. The most famous are Pradyumna, Samba, etc. I am not sure if he also had many children with the thousands of other wives, nor am I sure how many daughters he had. When Vāsudeva Krishna departed from the earth, there was a terrible event that allowed almost every single one of his family members to leave the world at about the same time.

Q: Was Radha realy Krishna Aunti?

Radharani is the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu and Kīrtidā. Krishna is the son of Yaśodā and Nandā (Vāsudeva Krishna, a little different, is the son of Devakī and Vasudeva). There may be some distant relationship which would make Rādhā and Krishna some type of cousins, but if that is the case, I am not aware of it. So far as I know there is no family relationship between Rādhā and Krishna, and certainly Radharani is not Krishna’s aunt. That is rather preposterous.

We should mention that Krishna’s mother, Yaśodā has so much motherly affection for Sri Rādhā that she treats her exactly like her own daughter, you can say, exactly like her own “Daughter-in-law.”

Q: Why is Krishna blue in skin color?

Blue is a word that is moderately useful towards describing the transcendental color of the Supreme Personality Śrī Krishna. Here is a more elaborate and accurate description: imagine a mountain of dark-blue sapphire. It would be almost jet-black. Now imagine the sun rising behind that mountain. That is something to give a clearer idea of the color of Krishna. Very black, but with a blue brilliance.

If you understand how light produces color, it will make clear sense why Krishna is so black. Black is the color that attracts light absolutely, and no light bounces off a black object. Krishna is all-attractive. Therefore he is black, every energy is completely attracted to him and never departs from him.

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