15.07 – When fulfilling desires doesn’t translate into fulfillment
→ The Spiritual Scientist

We all have so many desires for so many worldly things.

However, because we live in a world of finite resources and a body with limited capacities, we can’t fulfill most of our desires.  But our infatuation with such desires and our frustration at being unable to fulfill them that we become blind to a fundamental reality. The reality that fulfilling such desires doesn’t bring fulfillment.

Why? Because those desires are peripheral to our identity as immortal souls, who are eternal parts of Krishna, as the Bhagavad-gita (15.07) indicates. Parts who become whole only by connecting with him through spiritual love.

To translate fulfilled desires into fulfillment, Gita wisdom urges us to cultivate desires for Krishna. The desire to be solaced and strengthened by his healing grace. The desire to share his love with the world. The desire to do justice to the gifts he has given us. The desire to bring glory to him by our conduct and character. And, most of all, the desire to please him, just as a lover desires to please the beloved.

The wonderful thing about such devotional desires is that they don’t have to be fulfilled to grant us fulfillment. Just cultivating those desires and striving to fulfill them takes us closer to Krishna, helps us remember him more and serve him better. And that enriched Krishna consciousness in and of itself brings great fulfillment.

No doubt, the more we become truly conscious of Krishna, the more we do all our activities with greater conscientiousness, seeing them as services to him. And that increases our chances of succeeding in those activities.

Nonetheless, irrespective of whether we succeed in fulfilling specific desires or not, cultivating Krishna consciousness guarantees us success in the generic mission of our life: attaining fulfillment. Fulfillment that lasts forever.

***

The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.

The translation of Manu Samhita by Linda Berce
→ Dandavats.com

I live in Latvia, in a town named Lielvarde. I am a student, studying translation. I am now working on my Bachelor’s paper. The topic is the translation of Manu Samhita. I have chosen to connect my interest, the Vedas, with education. I was introduced to the Krishna consciousness movement about four years ago and was captivated by its goals, philosophy, personalities, and the fact that I could find all the answers I wanted. Read more ›

Prabhupada Letters :: Anthology 2013-08-23 08:15:00 →

1968 August 23: "I have decided to publish Srimad-Bhagavatam in 12 volumes, naming them differently in this way; 1st vol., Creation; 2nd vol., Cosmic Manifestation; 3rd vol., Status Quo; 4th vol., Mercy of God; 5th vol., Creative Energy; 6th vol., The Rulers of the Universe; 7th vol., Activities of God; 8th vol., Dissolution; 9th vol., Liberation; 10th vol., Ultimate Goal; 11th vol., General History; 12th vol., The Age of Deterioration."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

Won’t adjusting according to time-place-circumstances lead to deviations?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

As regards the Gita daily article "Be flexible, but not fickle" I am not able to understand that how far we can stretch flexibility taking excuse of Time, Place and Circumstances say for example Women becoming Sanyasins, wearing saffron( As from Srila Prabhupada's purports in SB, Daksh-Shiva past times only a yogini when she is giving up her body can change to Saffron), homosexuals being initiated and staying in Bramcharis Ashrams. As far my understanding goes Srila Prabhupada categorically stated that whatever dilution had to be done in the practices has been done by him and there should not be any further dilution. If we just keep two practices of mantra meditation and scriptual study of Srila Praphupada intact and apply Time, Place Circumstance yardstick to others then tomorrow Onion garlic food would come to temples,gays would become gurus and the list may go on. Of course I am not an authority and have no right to comment on an institutions working, but whatever I feel from my heart, I have stated and am not even sure if this comes in the category of Vaishnav Apradha.
Could you please enlighten and reply to me?
BEST REGARDS ALWAYS,
Cdr. Sandeep Chadha(Retd.) [STOKA KRSNA DAS]

Sentence Building & Capitalization
→ TKG Academy

In 3rd Grade, we’ve begun a detailed study of English Grammar.  The focus this month has been Capitalization.  Do you know how many capitalization rules there are for the English language?  Proper nouns, uncles & aunts names, names of languages, streets, buildings, professions, parks, cities, states, and so much more!  Tons to remember!

To help student remember the long list of rules for Capitalization, we took the list from the Easy Grammar Workbook and built sentences using Grammar Cards.   Wacky and weird sentences.  With a whole variety of common and proper nouns, students had to decide which words would be capitalized and which lowercase.  They paired these nouns with exciting action verbs.  They partnered up, wrote the sentences and shared them with the class.

Some examples:
“The gorilla in the Empire State Building tumbled down the stairs.”  (I smile just thinking of their gleeful laughs as we all pictured a gorilla tumbling.)

“The owl and the polar bear got lost in Detroit.”

When their sentences were built, we shared them!  We made long imaginative stories with each one!  What fun it was!  Take a look above!

 

 

 

Janmastami Celebrations – We Need YOUR Help!
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Blog!

The countdown begins for what is the BIGGEST festival we celebrate every year - Sri Krishna Janmastami! On Wednesday, August 28, 2013, the Hare Krishna Centre will be celebrating Janmastami in a grand fashion. There is so much activity packed in one night and it requires a lot of planning beforehand. It's not an easy task trying to pull off such a huge festival and that is why we need YOUR help!

Every year, we rely on the generous time many give up to be part of the celebrations. We need help in various areas like maintaining the crowds, organizing the shoe area and prasadam (vegetarian feast) distribution.

If you have some time to help, please fill out the form below.





We hope you can join us for this most auspicious occasion!

Does bhakti come from bhakti or from puny?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

n SB 10.12.11- ittham satam brahmasukhanubhutya.., there is the word krita punya punjah- which means those who have accumulated pious deeds- the verse is saying that such persons can play with the Supreme Lord. I have heard you explain that bhakti only comes from bhakti, not from punya? Does the word 'punya' here mean 'bhakti'?  BG 7.28 and its purport also seem to suggest that one's sins need to end first through pious activities before bhakti can begin.In general, there seems to be some confusion on this point. Some devotees talk about 'sukriti' in the context of bhakti, others say that sukriti is irrelevant, that it is the *causeless* mercy of the Vaisnavas and point to Srila Prabhupada's disciples who were hippies and led sinful lives before becoming Vaisnavas. It would really help to get a clear discussion of this point.

Answer Podcast

02.45 – Be flexible, but not fickle
→ The Spiritual Scientist

As students of the Gita, we may face this question. “How can we live according to the Gita’s ancient tradition in today’s world?”

By being flexible but not fickle.

Being fickle means changing our actions based on the moods of the mind, doing whatever recommendation of the Gita feels good and avoiding whatever doesn’t feel good. By being fickle, we stay stuck on the mental level without rising to the spiritual level.

Being flexible, on the other hand, means adjusting our behavior according to time-place-circumstance by clearly understanding what is essential and what is peripheral in the tradition.

The Bhagavad-gita points to such focusing on the essential when it urges Arjuna (02.45) to rise beyond the Vedic rituals that are material, being within the three modes. This verse concludes with a call to become atmavan – the possessor of the soul.

When we are ourselves the soul, what does being a possessor of the soul mean?

It means staying conscious of our spiritual identity and choosing our actions so that our spiritual consciousness becomes strengthened, not weakened. We don’t change the essential spiritual practices such as mantra meditation and scriptural study, because such monkeying with the tradition will injure our spiritual health. But that which is peripheral – certain cultural specifics, for example – can be adjusted so that we don’t exhaust our limited energy in fighting over externals, and so are left with no energy for the internals.

Being a possessor of the soul doesn’t imply mere abstract theoretical mentation about the soul. It implies concrete practical action in devotional service to Krishna, for such service is the real life of the soul. The more we internalize this attitude of service, praying, “Krishna, how can I serve you best?” the more we will gradually gain, by Krishna’s grace, the insight to focus on the essential.

**

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.

No reason to be depressed
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 May 2012, Melbourne, Australia, Bhakti Bhavan Program)

Question: I feel that I suffer from depression. Can we please talk about it and do you have some solution?

15aug2013_3Well, it is good to be depressed about material life but one should be very optimistic about spiritual life. So, if we are depressed then we are one sided because in spiritual life, one is always optimistic as no one loses. In spiritual life, there are no losers! No one. Anyone who comes to the temple is getting benefit. It is not that some are always the lucky ones and I am always missing out. No, in spiritual life, no one misses out as everyone makes advancement, everyone gets blessings and for everyone there is improvement.

When we are depressed, it means that we are thinking about material life. I agree with you that there many reasons to get depressed about material life. I would be depressed also about material life, “Is this all there is, is this all there is, is this all there is? What the point of this?” That is material life – all reasons to be depressed. So, don’t worry about it. It is totally normal. You are healthy and all you have to do is take up some spiritual activity and the positive element will come into your life.

 

 

Please Chant Hare Krsna
→ travelingmonk.com

“We are going door to door: ‘Please chant Hare Krsna.” This is our only propaganda. But it is very difficult. Yet innocent children, they take part. Just now we went to some gentleman’s house. We began kirtan and small children immediately began responding. Children are not yet polluted. Krsna consciousness doesn’t require much education, intelligence [...]

Second Diwali Invite attempt
→ simple thoughts

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Hare Krishna

As mentioned in a previous blog I’m putting together the second Diwali festival for the local community were I live; this year we will also advertise so this is my second attempt:

Thank you to the very eagle eyed devotee who spotted my mistake on the first flier, Yes the year does make a big difference it’s not quiet 2014 yet.

I will be at Bhaktivadanta Manor on the day of Diwali and so it is planned during the month of Kartika but when the community hall and groups I’ve been working with are available just incase anyone’s wondering about the dates on it

As always any humble corrections thought’s suggestions on how I can make it attractive to as many people as possible would be fabulous

A New Video For You From Villa Vrindavana
→ simple thoughts

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This arrived in my inbox today, I’m always pleased when receiving such wonderful devotee links; it also demonstrates why I feel more mataji’s should lead kirtan:

Hare Krishna Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obesiances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Below is a link of the kirtan I recorded on the last day of our trip together at Villa Vrindavana.

I pray I see you all at Janmashtami.

your servant,
dipak

Gopinath Kids Camp
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG

Imagine a day full of games, laughter, delicious prasadam, chance to make new friends and especially, NO PARENTS! ISKCON Toronto is providing just that and more for the younger members of our community with the 7th Annual Gopinath's Kids Camp!

This year, the 7th Annual Gopinath's Kids Camp will be held on Saturday, August 24th from 8:30am-6:00pm, strictly for kids aged 4-12 years. The purpose of this one-day camp is to provide an opportunity to ignite the spiritual spark in our children while doing fun and interactive activities that they enjoy. In addition to outdoor games, some of the primary activities being planned for the day are a Mega Scavenger Hunt, fun cooking classes, learning how to play different musical instruments, sumptuous prasadam and many fond memories.

 All this and much more for registration fees of only $25! You can register at the temple or use our online form by clicking here (last day to register is August 23rd). For further information, please don't hesitate to email us at info@torontokrishna.com. 

They can always go on the Toronto blog to sign up as well.


Thank you!