Planet ISKCON

Bhagavad-gita 4.20-24 Lecture
New York - August 9, 1966

Holy Name Meditation Podcast

Devotional service is more or less a declaration of war against the illusory energy. As long as one is not strong enough to fight the illusory energy, there may be accidental falldowns. But when one is strong enough, he is no longer subjected to such falldowns.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 9.30 purport

Where our heart is, that’s where we are. Usually, our heart is in material things; we long for them fervently. As all material things are temporary, our attachment to them ensures the inevitable breaking of our heart. Again and again. Lifetime after lifetime.

Gita wisdom opens the door out of this tradition of heartbreaks by informing us of our spiritual identity and glory. We are indestructible souls who have an eternal loving relationship with Krishna – a relationship that we have forgotten. Our misguided attempt to replace Krishna with worldly surrogates is at the root of all our heartbreaks.

Bhakti-yoga offers us an easy and effective process for redirecting our love towards Krishna. When we learn to love him, we insure our heart against heartbreaks. Krishna never rejects or neglects us; he never lets us down; he never leaves us. Rather, through his unfailing and unwavering love, he heals and fills our heart – he heals the heart of the wounds caused by past heartbreaks, and he fills the heart with his warmth and strength.

Though this world is unchangeably a place of duality, Krishna’s love provides us a stability that takes us above that duality. The Bhagavad-gita (06.22) indicates that those relishing the supreme spiritual reality stay unshaken even amidst life’s severest reversals.

Bhakti-yoga is so inclusive that it grants us access to this supreme reality by developing love for Krishna without demanding that we reject all love in this world. It integrates that love with our love for Krishna. We see others as parts of Krishna by loving whom we can love Krishna better. This vision enables us to ive them a place in our heart without giving them the power to break our heart. Because ensuring the presence of Krishna at the center of our heart makes it unbreakable.

***

06.22 - Upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty.

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From the Daily Athenian

New Vrindaban, West Virginia’s only Hare Krishna community and home of the awe-inspiring Palace of Gold, hosted the second annual Festival of Colors Saturday.

The festival, which is modeled after the traditional Indian festival Holi, drew more than 5,000 attendees to the outskirts of Moundsville, W.Va.

The festival blends together elements of a traditional Holi celebration, during which Hindus throw brightly colored perfumed powders into the air in celebration of springtime, with elements of a Western music festival.

Although traditional color festivals are deeply rooted in religious tradition, the event Saturday was a secular celebration of the ideas of The International Society Krishna Consciousness.  The event was open to participants of all ages, races, beliefs and walks of life.

Vrindavana Das, project manager for the festival, said the event was meant to be a symbolic celebration of life, unity and peace.

“We are all here today to live our lives and be with one another,” he said. “This is meant to be fun and joyful and to bring us closer to those who are around us.”

Throughout the course of the afternoon, four Krishna-centric bands played; each leading the crowd through their own unique interpretations of the Maha Mantra (including a version which incorporated the melody of a Led Zeppelin song).

While they danced and chanted along with the musicians on stage, the audience doused one another with continual bursts of organic vibrantly colored powders.

As the day progressed, the chanting and dancing became increasingly manic and expressive. The crowd responded to this heightened tempo with an equally measured increase to the frequency and randomness of the miniature kaleidoscopic explosions rolling from their frenzied mass.

The participants, most of whom had arrived dressed in pristine white T-shirts, quickly became stained from head to toe with a dusting of colors, all blending and converging into a psychedelic mess reminiscent of tie-dye.

“All I see is a collection of beautiful souls, sparkling in the sun like diamonds,” said Jai Krishna Das, lead vocalist of the Ananda Groove as he surveyed the splattered, smudged, splotched and spotted crowd.

In addition to bombing one another with colors, attendees had the opportunity to tour New Vrindaban’s grounds and partake in heaping plates of traditional Indian vegetarian cuisine. The food was doled out by the steaming spoonful by a line of cheerful monks who could be heard chiding   attendees for not being colorful enough.

During the time it took to make the short trek from New Vrindaban’s grounds to the parking lots, the attendees left cloudy trails of color behind them, making the receding lines of revellers look like live-action long-exposure photographs.

As they dusted themselves off for the drive home, many could be heard still reciting the Vaishnava mantra: “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”

 

Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever

Today marks the 175th anniversary of the birth—the appearance—of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “the pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness Read more ›

Today marks the 175th anniversary of the birth—the appearance—of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “the pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness.” To honor the occasion, I have written a short piece about “Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada.” We pray for their continued guidance and mercy.

“Dedicated to the sacred service of Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who initiated the teachings of Lord Chaitanya in the Western world (McGill University, Canada) in 1896, the year of my birth.” These words are Srila Prabhupada’s dedication to Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, the first book he published after coming to America. They also apply to Srila Prabhupada’s life, which was dedicated to the sacred service of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and his own spiritual master—Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s son—Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

Srila Prabhupada furthered many of Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s projects: engaging householders in local preaching initiatives (nama-hatta); establishing the principle that Vaishnavas, even not born brahmans, are greater than brahmans (and are brahmans too); translating, explaining, and publishing important Vaishnava scriptures for the understanding of the contemporary audience; implementing the vision of a wonderful temple and spiritual city in Mayapur; and, perhaps most significant, fulfilling the desire and prediction that the holy names and teachings of Sri Krishna Chaitanya—Krishna consciousness—be propagated all over the world.

In 1885, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote,

“Lord Chaitanya did not advent Himself to liberate only a few men in India. Rather, His main objective was to emancipate all living entities of all countries throughout the entire universe and preach the eternal dharma. Lord Chaitanya states in Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, ‘In every town, country, and village My name will be sung.’ There is no doubt that this unquestionable order will come to pass. . . . Although there is still no pure society of Vaishnavas, Lord Chaitanya’s prophetic words will in a few days come true . . .

“Very soon the unparalleled path of hari-nama-sankirtana will be propagated all over the world. . . . Oh, for that day when the fortunate English, French, Russian, German, and American people will take up banners, mridangas, and karatalas and raise kirtana through their streets and towns. When will that day come? Oh, for the day when the Western fair-skinned men, from one side, while chanting ‘Jaya Sacinandana ki jaya!’ will extend their arms and, embracing the devotees of our country coming from another side, treat us with brotherly feelings. When will that day be?”

In the caption to Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s photo in Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Srila Prabhupada described him as “the pioneer of the program for benedicting the entire world with Krishna consciousness”; and he saw himself as the Thakura’s humble servant in that effort, fully dependent on his mercy. In a conversation in Mayapur in March 1974, Srila Prabhupada, hearing a kirtana party in the background, commented that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had desired “that ‘Europeans and Americans will come, and they will dance here with the chanting, “Jaya Sacinandana, Jaya Sacinandana!” ’ So that is being done. . . . When they chant and dance, I simply remember Bhaktivinoda Thakura. That’s all. I pray to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, ‘Now they have come to your shelter. Give them protection.’ That’s all. What can I do more? I cannot do anything more.”

So it is by the mercy of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, coming through parampara, through Srila Prabhupada, that we have been engaged in devotional service to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, His devotees, His holy names, His teachings, and His divine dhama—Mayapur.

 

In 1971, as a young devotee in Calcutta, I approached Srila Prabhupada, “I have been trying to understand what your desire is. And two things seem to please you most: distributing your books and building the big temple in Mayapur.” Prabhupada’s face lit up, his eyes opened wide, and he smiled. “Yes, you have understood.”

I did not know it then, but that desire for a big temple in Mayapur (and even for profuse book distribution) came from Thakura Bhaktivinoda. He had a vision of an effulgent city with a wonderful temple at its center, in Mayapur. And he wrote,

eka adbhuta mandira ei haibe prakasa
gaurangera nitya-seva haibe vikasa

“An astounding temple will appear and will engage the entire world in the eternal service of Lord Caitanya.” (Sri Navadvipa-Mahatmya, Parikrama Khanda, Chapter 4)

After my exchange with Srila Prabhupada, he spent several months in Europe and America and then returned to Calcutta with a design for the big temple. And in the meantime, Tamal Krishna Goswami had fulfilled Prabhupada’s longstanding, ardent desire to acquire some land in Mayapur. But there had been flooding in Mayapur, and the flooding there can be very severe. Therefore—although Prabhupada was so enthusiastic about the project, and had struggled so hard to get the land in Mayapur, and had personally brought the plans for the first building there—still, right when we were at the peak of our enthusiasm, he raised the question: “What will happen if the Ganges floods? What will happen to the temple, to the project?”

He then suggested that we not build the temple in Mayapur but at Birnagar, Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s birthplace—another indication of how important Bhaktivinoda Thakura was to Prabhupada, and to the world. Eventually, Prabhupada brought us back to the conclusion that we should proceed with the project in Mayapur. And he declared, “If you all build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”

Through his empowered service, Srila Prabhupada has made Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s shelter available to all of us, and now we are also “dedicated to the sacred service of Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura.” We beg and pray for pure devotional service under their lotus feet and depend fully on their mercy.

—Giriraj Swami

Two day kirtan mela for the pleasure of Srimati Radharani Read more ›

Lecture Podcast

Lecture Podcast

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The Mahabharata is the longest Sanskrit epic. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana... Read more ›

Answer Podcast

O Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a dwarf-brahmana! All glories to You! O wonderful dwarf, by Your massive steps You deceive King Bali, and by the Ganges water that has emanated from the nails of your lotus feet, You deliver all living beings within this world Read more ›

By hook or by crook Krsna makes us surrender everything, and not only can’t we complain, he wants us to be happy about it.

View the gallery: Vamana’s Appearance Yesterday we had a very sweet festival in honor of Vamanadev’s appearance. Srila Prabhupada had told the devotees that to honor these festivals they could dress up, and worship, a small boy as the particular avatar, in this case Vamanadev. Here in Mayapur one of our gurukula boys acted as Vamanadev, […]

From Keshav Nimai P

Answer Podcast

From: Latha M
"This material world is the manifestation of the inferior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." BG 9.8
how can lords energy be inferior? He is supreme and everything about the lord is superior. can you please clarify this doubt .

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Welcome to the ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple in Brooklyn New York – Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir. Come and Visit the Temple! ISKCON - Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir. 305 Schermerhorn Street Brooklyn, New York. 11217. (718) 875 6127 / (347) 249-4064 Read more ›

From Rahul

Srila Prabhupad had said " All Men should remain as Brahmacharis and All Women should get married" . So by saying so , does srila Prabhupad mean sexless marriages are the best kind of marriages and are highly respected.What is the Vedic prespective on the topic of sexless marriages?

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From Rahul

Answer Podcast

For our yatra festival on Saturday.

Lecture Podcast

Bhaktivinode Thakura, in his Sri Chaitanya Siksamrita, has described that the soul naturally evolves upwards, first from animalistic materialism, to the theistic morality of varnasrama, to vaidhi bhakti and finally to raganuga bhakti, but none of these transitions are automatic. Each requires great effort and desire to overcome the attachment to the former rung Read more ›

HH Radhanath Swami – Radharani leaves Vrindavan and comes to London to be with Londonisvara?

Niranjana Swami, Indradyumna Swami and famous international kirtaniyas as Madhava Naidoo and Bada Haridas have arrived in Evpatoriya, Ukraine for the annual Bhakti Sangam Festival. According the organizers over 10,000 devotees have registered. Yesterday night (September 16th) took place the first kirtan in the main tent. Read more ›

Presentations and People

Calgary, Alberta

We enjoyed a packed house attendance, what was literally true, a house that was packed with people in Calgary’s north east section.  It was in the residence of Asitosh and Shirpal, a Bengali family which included a feast of green subji and sweets of misty dahi and rasagula.  I’m not a great fan of sweets, but am surrendered to the mild sweet yogurt of dahi.  Nice chanting session and an attentive group was special – all an experience of previous nights.

Sahadev, the coordinator of the Krishna community, took me to a prospective new lot with building which indicates the need for an expansion for the now existing Radha Madhava Cultural Centre in downtown Calgary.  It was a healthy sign to see a bursting attendance here also for a morning session on topics from the Gita.

Last evening we spoke from verse 6.25 which reads:

“Gradually step by step, one should be situated in trance by means of intelligence sustained in full conviction.  And thus the mind should be fixed on the Self alone and should think of nothing else.”

And this morning I spoke from 3.7 where in our guru, Srila Prabhupada, in his commentary on the verse about karma yoga, expressed this:

“A sincere sweeper in the street is far better than the charlatan meditator.”

I was thrilled to be part of a second speaking engagement today at the home of a Fijian family when another squeezed in group came to listen.  It was a reading and interactive discussion on Krishna’s entering the ancient city of Mathura.  The light that glared the most for today was a three hour kirtan chanting session at Princess Island, which is hugged by the fresh water flow of the Bow River.  The public response was tremendous.

0 KM

Highway Home

Walsh, Alberta

A Doctor Brewster Higley had composed in 1870s a well known song, ‘Home On The Range’.  His description of the countryside and the atmosphere is quite spot on when venturing through the Prairies.

Oh give me a home where the buffalo roam
And the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard
A discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

I had three hours to trek before reaching a landmark – the Alberta border.  Two provinces to go.  Hip Hip Hari!  That milestone, Brenda and Victoria, from the town East End, joined Daruka and I for that special moment.  This called for a celebration with a picnic, compliments of our friends, the two additional walkers.  For me, the hummus was the main feature of the roadside meal before we picked up to meander the quiet streets of Walsh, population 52.

The cross-the-border-feat entailed Daruka and I leaving Highway 13 which had turned to gravel in a practically peopleless zone, and making one more leap north to the only nearby east west passage, Highway 1, or the Trans Canada Highway.  It was not so much by choice that we came to this much busier four lane road.  There is less charm here, but it was a practical move we had to make.

Obligations for an evening talk in Calgary cut the pleasant walk short today and the three of us, most notably Daruka, and let’s not forget our feathered friend Billy, and I will revisit this piece of the road Tuesday, and resume trekking the amazing trail.

I was left to contemplate on our three hour ride to Calgary of memories stuck in the mind of some fine exchanges with people from Highway 13.  It left me pining over that ‘back home feeling’.  And then, one farmer, a cattle rancher we met, who had actually turned vegetarian for a time and who had been reading the Gita, remarked in a warm tone, “I’ll be ending up life meeting a big guy who’s blue and has an extra pair of arms.”  To that, I had a laugh at the cowboy’s genuine remark.

Home, home on the range!

18 KM

I think it’s sort of funny (even maybe a little disturbing?) that a post about garlic gets more views that a post about Radharani.

BY SANTI VARDHANA CAITANYA DASA

KUALA LUMPUR - HH Bhakti Vrajendranandana Swami is in ICU Mawar hospital now.

Maharaja's mucus lining inside stomach is gone or eroded because of the liver problem.The acids are attacking the blood capillaries directly and wounding the stomach. So, blood coughs.

The Doctor just examined Maharaja, who is 10% conscious, and said if the blood shot occurs again, it may be fatal. 

Doctors say it need a miracle and prayers are the only answer.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 25 July 2013, Durban, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.6)

In the opening verse of the Hamsaduta, Srila Rupa Goswami says that he is praying that a certain blissful personality may enter into his heart. It is a nice way to start writing – about a certain blissful personality. We can see that he is meditating on how blissful Krsna is.

We don’t think like that. We are just so covered by ignorance that we think, “Alright, I have to serve Krsna otherwise I’m going to have to suffer in the material energy. Krsna gives us so many rules and…”

How often do we think of Krsna as a nice blissful personality? Actually we don’t. So our attitude has not yet developed into an attitude of appreciating Krsna, of actually seeing him as amazingly blissful.

Blissful Krsna! Everything about him is just blissful. He is the most blissful personality and everyone is looking for somebody blissful.