Thursday, July 11th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Comparing Notes

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami and I trekked along the Great Gorge. He liked it, it’s quite impressive. We even took to the aero car, a moving suspension unit that ski lifts you over a whirlpool of water. Who says that a monk can’t be a tourist and have some fun?

In all frankness we are far from being hermits. Our time together provided the opportunity to gain each other’s association. The exposure to the public is also good. Bhakti Chaitanya and I are both world travelers, although we travel in different directions and end up in different places. Generally we are always with people, formally, for meetings, and less so at festivals. Downtime is necessary, he just came from Siberia.

We compared notes. He said ticks are a big problem over there in Siberia. Many people die contracting fever from them. Also, Russian mosquitoes are huge and aggressive he said. He never heard of our vicious black flies that we have in Canada. The main principle is that there are many little vampires about in both lands in the raw of Siberia and Canada.

What about comparing the people? It seems that wherever there has been a communist regime, people are left with a curious mind, whereas capitalistic folks have become over stimulated. I leave it to you, the readers, to figure out who is who in this regards.

6 KM

Thursday, July 11th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Comparing Notes

Niagara Falls, Ontario

Bhakti Chaitanya Swami and I trekked along the Great Gorge. He liked it, it’s quite impressive. We even took to the aero car, a moving suspension unit that ski lifts you over a whirlpool of water. Who says that a monk can’t be a tourist and have some fun?

In all frankness we are far from being hermits. Our time together provided the opportunity to gain each other’s association. The exposure to the public is also good. Bhakti Chaitanya and I are both world travelers, although we travel in different directions and end up in different places. Generally we are always with people, formally, for meetings, and less so at festivals. Downtime is necessary, he just came from Siberia.

We compared notes. He said ticks are a big problem over there in Siberia. Many people die contracting fever from them. Also, Russian mosquitoes are huge and aggressive he said. He never heard of our vicious black flies that we have in Canada. The main principle is that there are many little vampires about in both lands in the raw of Siberia and Canada.

What about comparing the people? It seems that wherever there has been a communist regime, people are left with a curious mind, whereas capitalistic folks have become over stimulated. I leave it to you, the readers, to figure out who is who in this regards.

6 KM

Put Your Heart Into It
→ Japa Group

Hare Krsna my dear devotees, I hope your chanting is blessed and you are being able to chant with your heart.

Today I was listening to a class of a devotee from Vrindavan and he said some stories of how some devotees are so attached to the Holy names that they can't stop chanting for a minute - I thought it was a very good feeling to have because when we feel attached there is no need to think of anything else - our mind won't wander anymore and we will be able to give 100% to the Lord through chanting.

This is an amazing goal to achieve and it can happen to anyone, even the ones that are in the beginning of devotional service. The main thing is to hear the mantra and  the Lord Himself who is the His holy names come and join us & enter in our hearts and we can feel the eternal relationship of service with Him.

I pray so I can reach this level of service and I can chant with my whole heart absorbed in  the process.

Hoping you all have a nice weekend of chanting and service.

your servant,

Aruna devi

Put Your Heart Into It
→ Japa Group

Hare Krsna my dear devotees, I hope your chanting is blessed and you are being able to chant with your heart.

Today I was listening to a class of a devotee from Vrindavan and he said some stories of how some devotees are so attached to the Holy names that they can't stop chanting for a minute - I thought it was a very good feeling to have because when we feel attached there is no need to think of anything else - our mind won't wander anymore and we will be able to give 100% to the Lord through chanting.

This is an amazing goal to achieve and it can happen to anyone, even the ones that are in the beginning of devotional service. The main thing is to hear the mantra and  the Lord Himself who is the His holy names come and join us & enter in our hearts and we can feel the eternal relationship of service with Him.

I pray so I can reach this level of service and I can chant with my whole heart absorbed in  the process.

Hoping you all have a nice weekend of chanting and service.

your servant,

Aruna devi

Levels of worship: Part 6 – Vaisnavism, the topmost level
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 16 May 2013, Simhachalam, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 9.7.21)

reincarnationSo Christianity got rid of all these personal elements in the universe. We see how it became a vehicle of impersonalism and how impersonalism, in this way, gradually has taken over and how now, we again systematically have to begin to think in a personal way, which is difficult. Which brings us back to the topmost level of God consciousness – vaisnavism or personalism.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur states that even Christianity, in its original form, is also there in this personalist category and in that way, we can see that there is a history of personalism. There is a scholar, a devotee named Jan Olof Bengtsson who wrote a book. I forgot the exact title but the topic is the history of personalism in the Western world. He traces out exactly where personalism was existing. It’s a useful book, a little academic but useful; he’s a devotee.

So this personalism was everywhere in the world. But now, it is our business to very thoroughly appreciate it like that. Therefore we are appreciating all the great saintly personalities that have existed in the past – the demigods, the great empowered sons of Brahma, or other great personalities who existed in previous yugas – because it is by these personalities that auspiciousness has been created.

Sometimes, you get these kind of stories that a Buddhist’s stupa is broken somewhere is in the Himalayan mountains and suddenly, all these disasters start to happen in the world. Have you ever heard such stories? I have. Of course, we don’t believe so much in the benefit of Buddhist stupas but definitely we believe in the benefit of devotional service on the planet.

What if there would be no devotees on the planet? Then what would it be like right now? The influence of the devotees is felt. It’s greater than we think.  Sometimes we wonder, “What happened to all those books?” I forgot the number but it’s more than 500 million books that have been distributed up to this moment – all over the world.  And how many devotees do we have?

Oh no, many people have read these books. Many! There was some advertisement some years ago by Microsoft and we all had this little clip which showed a child taking birth in a hospital. And the child was shooting out of the womb – flying out of the window, flying in the sky and growing, growing! And as he was flying in the sky, there’s the whole changing of bodies diorama going on – like from a baby to a grown up to an old man and at the end, he lands in a grave – crash! That was clearly inspired by Prabhupada’s books – no doubt about it.

asta-gopisOne day, you know I walked into a room somewhere and there was a Bhagavad-gita of Sai Baba. So okay, I had a look at it and there were whole passages that were copied from Prabhupada’s Gita – plagiarism!

Really! I mean, exactly the same you know, but, the only difference was that whenever Krsna was saying, “Surrender unto me,” then Sai Baba was saying, “Surrender unto ME!”

I could see that Sai Baba had also read Prabhupada’s books, without a doubt. So, there are a lot of people who’ve read the books and have used them for their own purposes – naturally.  They did it to Krsna and they did it to Prabhupada also.

In Bombay, there was a dentist who wrote a commentary to the Bhagavad-gita where Krsna was a dentist and Arjuna was a patient. I mean… what is this… what do you call this? I call it business! That’s all it is.  So, the Gita has been used. Krsna’s Gita… Krsna’s words have been used for people’s personal profit and Prabhupada’s words are also everywhere in society and used for people’s personal profit – but still these words act and they penetrate invisibly into all nooks and corners of society.

We can push it forward consciously in many ways but first, we ourselves have to overcome the contamination of impersonalism, the contamination of being Shakta’s, the contamination of being Surya’s, the contamination of being Ganapatya’s, the contamination of being impersonalists and become pure devotees of the Lord!

 

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Make It Light

Toronto, Ontario

A day becomes light when a friend is in your company. That's how I felt in the presence of god brother Bhakti Chaitanya Swami, a New Zealand native who had come to visit us for the first time in Canada. He delivered a brilliant class based on the Bhagavatam concerning the book itself which is virtuous although from a literary point of view it may not be perfect.

The deeper you go in penetration of philosophy, the lighter appears a day's drudgery because you have entered the larger picture. And after that a fruit and smoothie breakfast was followed by grave topics of concern. When shared, grave topics appear to relieve some weight and pressure on the heart.

We also had a planned drive through of all the places that our mission made history in Toronto and including the pilgrimage sites where our guru, Srila Prabhupada, did tread. On Beverly Street a Victorian period home was the first location of Krishna Love Feasts in the city. That was in '69/'70. On 187 Gerrard Street, we pointed out to our monk guest, Bhakti Chaitanya the second location for Krishna Conscious activity - a rented house in the heart of Cabbage Town, a slightly more dodgy section of town.

We then ventured by car along Lakeshore Blvd to reach the Beaches area and the boardwalk where in '75 Prabhupada was taken for a sunrise walk. Bhakti Chaitanya was determined to touch with feet the path once trodden. It's always great getting out of a car and doing what's natural. The feeling in the heart becomes feather light when you know that a path is worn out for you. Starting a trail is hard work, treading a seasoned one becomes easy.

Bhakti Chaitanya along with driver, Savyasachin, parted and I went about my day in preparation of the busiest weekend of the year for the Ratha Yatra fest. The final hour before sundown I spent in the ravine catching up on chanting my prescribed number of beads on the strand of meditation which makes the day brighter, even in darkness.

6 KM

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Make It Light

Toronto, Ontario

A day becomes light when a friend is in your company. That's how I felt in the presence of god brother Bhakti Chaitanya Swami, a New Zealand native who had come to visit us for the first time in Canada. He delivered a brilliant class based on the Bhagavatam concerning the book itself which is virtuous although from a literary point of view it may not be perfect.

The deeper you go in penetration of philosophy, the lighter appears a day's drudgery because you have entered the larger picture. And after that a fruit and smoothie breakfast was followed by grave topics of concern. When shared, grave topics appear to relieve some weight and pressure on the heart.

We also had a planned drive through of all the places that our mission made history in Toronto and including the pilgrimage sites where our guru, Srila Prabhupada, did tread. On Beverly Street a Victorian period home was the first location of Krishna Love Feasts in the city. That was in '69/'70. On 187 Gerrard Street, we pointed out to our monk guest, Bhakti Chaitanya the second location for Krishna Conscious activity - a rented house in the heart of Cabbage Town, a slightly more dodgy section of town.

We then ventured by car along Lakeshore Blvd to reach the Beaches area and the boardwalk where in '75 Prabhupada was taken for a sunrise walk. Bhakti Chaitanya was determined to touch with feet the path once trodden. It's always great getting out of a car and doing what's natural. The feeling in the heart becomes feather light when you know that a path is worn out for you. Starting a trail is hard work, treading a seasoned one becomes easy.

Bhakti Chaitanya along with driver, Savyasachin, parted and I went about my day in preparation of the busiest weekend of the year for the Ratha Yatra fest. The final hour before sundown I spent in the ravine catching up on chanting my prescribed number of beads on the strand of meditation which makes the day brighter, even in darkness.

6 KM

Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Millions of Ways

Mississauga, Ontario

My theme for the marathon walk in southern Manitoba has been dubbed as "a friend-raiser, not a fundraiser." Yet, today, for the sake of fueling, the coming Festival of Chariots financially, I took to raising cash, coin, card, or in kind to address the budget. My dear friends Rupa Manohar and Vishva drove us to the suburbs visiting annual donors.

At some obscure mall in the outskirts of Toronto's downtown, we popped in to a "Sara Lee" dress shop. We had a great chat with the owners in their back store room flanked by gorgeous evening gowns that were hanging all around us. For assistance it was mission accomplished. We then moved to a dental office to the head of the clinic who is a yearly contributor. Despite his extreme absorption with his profession he had enough time to drop everything for a few minutes (even his patients) to greet us and to leave us a generous donation. From here we shifted to a car dealership whom had never entertained a monk in his establishment before. Again, kindness was demonstrated.

Thank you all.

In the evening I slotted time for an hour long kirtan at Bhakti Lounge. This brought me to the downtown when I did not ask for donations but rather, time. Attendees were invited to the weekend spiritual festival. Being students, most of them are not in a strong position 'to give', but indeed they can contribute in some other way by serving the exotic free feast, keeping the grounds at the festival site clean, loading and unloading things. And if none of the above fits in, then at least a person's presence tells a whole lot about getting down to the spirit.

There are millions of ways to serve and millions of ways to surrender.

9 KM

Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
→ The Walking Monk

Millions of Ways

Mississauga, Ontario

My theme for the marathon walk in southern Manitoba has been dubbed as "a friend-raiser, not a fundraiser." Yet, today, for the sake of fueling, the coming Festival of Chariots financially, I took to raising cash, coin, card, or in kind to address the budget. My dear friends Rupa Manohar and Vishva drove us to the suburbs visiting annual donors.

At some obscure mall in the outskirts of Toronto's downtown, we popped in to a "Sara Lee" dress shop. We had a great chat with the owners in their back store room flanked by gorgeous evening gowns that were hanging all around us. For assistance it was mission accomplished. We then moved to a dental office to the head of the clinic who is a yearly contributor. Despite his extreme absorption with his profession he had enough time to drop everything for a few minutes (even his patients) to greet us and to leave us a generous donation. From here we shifted to a car dealership whom had never entertained a monk in his establishment before. Again, kindness was demonstrated.

Thank you all.

In the evening I slotted time for an hour long kirtan at Bhakti Lounge. This brought me to the downtown when I did not ask for donations but rather, time. Attendees were invited to the weekend spiritual festival. Being students, most of them are not in a strong position 'to give', but indeed they can contribute in some other way by serving the exotic free feast, keeping the grounds at the festival site clean, loading and unloading things. And if none of the above fits in, then at least a person's presence tells a whole lot about getting down to the spirit.

There are millions of ways to serve and millions of ways to surrender.

9 KM

New Vrindaban’s Pink Building: The Rise and Fall
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

Rise and Fall of The Pink Building

Before the Palace Lodge, there was the Bahulaban Administration Building, aka the Guest House, known to some as the “Pink Building”.

Anyone who knows about New Vrindaban in the early 1980’s knows the “Pink Building”. This structure served many functions.  Upstairs were the guest house rooms and some residents’ rooms, as well as offices for some of the Brijabasis. The topmost floor was a men’s ashrama.  Downstairs was a big, marble-floored prasadam hall, the laundry room, the marble shop, bath houses, and a kitchen.  In other words, the pink building was the heart of downtown Bahulaban.

In the late ‘70’s and ‘80’s, the building was teaming with life.   Although there were not many guests in town, if someone’s parents ever came on a rare trip to spend the night, they would often get a room at the Guest House.

Rasalila dasi tells us, “We had regular short and sweet Bhagavad Gita classes before lunch in the prasadam hall in the pink building.  A great midday pickup.   And, in the mornings, during the Srimad Bhagavatam classes in the temple room, when your baby would kick up a fuss, the prasadam room was the place to go!”

Dharmakala spent some time in the “pink building”. As a matter of fact, she helped build it.

“One day, we had an administration building marathon.  Everyone had to stand in a long row, holding  up the wall of the pink building, while the construction crew came along and banged in the nails as quickly as they could. That’s how we put up the walls of the pink building!” relates Dharmakala dasi.

Dharmakala also recalls, “At a certain point in time, before we were allowed to have lunch, everyone had to go to the garden on the hill across the road from the temple, and work for a little while, clearing weeds or picking vegetables. We did a lot of work together. “

The Pink Building suffered a fire in  the late 1990’s, and it has been deteriorating ever since.  So, a decision has been made by the New Vrindaban Boards of Directors to put it out of its misery.  The demolition team will salvage as much of the building materials as possible to reuse and recycle .

Although it’s sad to see the Pink Building being demolished, it served Krsna and His devotees very well in its prime.  Pictures and pastimes of the activities in the pink building will remain in the hearts of many people.  It will be gone, but not forgotten.

If you have some Bahulaban Pink Building stories to share, please contact Lilasuka at 304 843 1600 ext 106 or lilasooka@msn.com

Pink House Under Construction 1976

Pink House Under Construction 1976

Summer 1976 Bahulaban

Summer 1976 Bahulaban

Pink Building Demolition

Bahulaban Pink Building Demolition, 2013

 

 

20th Anniversary of the First New Vrindaban Gurukuli Reunion
→ New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

New Vrindaban Gurukuli Reunion, 1993.

New Vrindaban Gurukuli Reunion, 1993.

It was twenty years ago that the first Gurukuli Reunion was celebrated in New Vrindaban. This was an annual event that brought together second generation devotees who had grown up in and around ISKCON. Between 1993 and 2000 there were eight New Vrindaban Gurukuli Reunions.

2006 marked the inaugural Kulimela festival, held in New Vrindaban. In Sanskrit, “Kuli Mela” is “A Celebration of Community,” with an aim to inspire and empower a global tribe connected by shared experiences in loving service, Bhakti Yoga. This was a natural evolution of the Gurukuli Reunions, meant as a way for the participants to network and showcase their talents as well as to give focus and attention to the up and coming third generation.

Since then there have been 10 Kulimela events across the globe, in as diverse places as Radhadesh (Belgium), Moscow and Tomsk (Russia), New Mayapur (France), New Govardhan (Australia), New Varshana (New Zealand), New Raman Reti (Alachua, FL) & New Dwarka (Los Angeles, CA).

The 2013 festival will be held the first week of August at the Simhachalam Farm in Germany.

Plans are underway to bring this event back to New Vrindaban over the summer of 2015 and we are eager to see its return!

For more info, and regular updates, please visit and “like” the Kulimela Association Facebook page.

Seminar Recordings: on Householder Life and The Qualities of a Disciple
→ ISKCON Melbourne, AU

Here are links to recently uploaded videos:

Sankarshan.jpg Householder Life: An Equal Opportunity For Going Back to Godhead, by His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari on June the 26th.

Question and Answer session by His Grace Sankarshan Das Adhikari on June the 27th.

The Qualities of a Disciple, by His Grace Keshava Prabhu on July the 8th.

Audio links can be found following the descriptions accompanying each video.

New Govardhana Rathayatra
→ Ramai Swami

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Rathayatra at New Govardhana is celebrated twice a year, in July and in January. Many years ago the Australian devotees asked Srila Prabhupada whether it would be alright to hold a Rathayatra parade in January because in Australia that is summer time. He said, yes, Rathayatra could be held at the traditional time and at other times of the year for the pleasure of Lord Jagannatha.

This year’s parade at New Govardhana attracted over 700 devotees and guests. There was also a small Ratha cart built for Lord Jagannatha, which the children pulled around the temple area.

It is said that Lord Jagannatha is very merciful and anyone who sees the Rathayatra parade, many lifetimes of karma are vanquished. If one remembers the Rathayatra at the time of their passing, that person goes back home, back to godhead.

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A significant dream
→ KKS Blog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 25 May 2013, Simhachalam, Germany)

rivers and lakesOnce I was staying in a particular town which has a path along a river and I used to take walks along that river during the day. So, one night I was dreaming… I was on a road that was leading to the path next to the river… I was not yet so close to the river. Suddenly, I saw a huge green snake in this river, in the European river. What was a huge green snake doing in a European river?

So, I was totally out of place and an enormous boa constrictor type of snake was swimming in the water. I was just looking at it, “Wow, look at that.” There were some ducks swimming in the river and he swallowed them just like that, “Wow this snake means business!”  And next moment, this snake suddenly crawled onto the shore so I turned around and said, “Okay, time to go.” And just as I was about to go, “whoop,” I just went straight into the air. I flew up into the air and then made a landing again, and then I woke up. What a dream!

When you have a dream like that, at first you don’t know quite what to do. Then later, it started to dawn upon me, that the snake was representing lust! This all-devouring sinful enemy lust that was swimming on that river and devouring various living entities that are swimming on the river of sense enjoyment. And then, when the snake came in my direction, I flew up into the air and then I was thinking, “What did that mean?” I was thinking, “Yes, I was too light,” and I tried to remember that as I was flying up, I was sort of thinking, “I am too light.”

kks_euMost people will not have that problem, in this modern world. I was too light and most people cracked the earth wherever they walked! Then something came into my consciousness, a sudden remembrance, a faint memory appeared, “too light”. Yes, when the bhakta is “too light”, when there is not enough weight in his worship, when he has not sufficiently become absorbed, then a devotee becomes “too light”.

That is just the opposite of guru. The word guru, as we may know, the etymological word is “heavy”. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that the word guru means heavy because guru is always fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna and nothing can move him from that. That heaviness comes from his worship, from his devotional service. There is bhakta-ābhāsa which is sometimes translated as the dim reflection of a devotee and nāma-ābhāsa which is a dim reflection of the holy name.

So only in the beginning, yes when the absorption is not there, one becomes pliable. Absorption must be there and that is what gives us the spiritual weight.

 

 

 

318. Gooseberry
→ 9 Days, 8 Nights

It’s back !

When i was a kid growing up in my ancestral home, one of my favourite activity was to bring down the bunch of gooseberries up on the trees. We had 2 of those trees and a million of them in all sizes would rain down upon my head. Then filling my pockets with as many as i could carry, i would wander up to a secret spot (usually up on a tree) and relish biting into the juicy and extremely bitter fruit. Loved it ! As years went on, other food items took it’s place – biscuits, chocolates, junk food, chewing gum etc. After many many years, I recently went to a South Asian grocery store and got myself a packet of fresh gooseberries. And diving my teeth into them brought back memories, especially the bitter part. No other fruit I know can you eat with one eye closed. Give it a try, won’t you?

Did some hunting on the internet for some health benefit info to push you further !

Some of the health benefits of gooseberry are as follows:
• Gooseberry helps in treating various eye ailments including nearsightedness and cataract. You should take gooseberry juice with honey to enhance your eye sight.
• Gooseberry is an important ingredient of many hair tonics. Gooseberry enhances hair pigmentation and hair growth. It strengthens your hair from the roots and maintains the color and luster of hair.
• Gooseberry is a potent appetizer and as such, it enhances your appetite. You should consume gooseberry powder with honey and butter before meals so as to increase your appetite.
• Gooseberry also regulates the nitrogen levels of your body, thereby helping you gain weight in a healthy way.
• Gooseberry is also an anti ageing agent. It prevents hyperlipidaemia by reducing oxidative stress in the ageing process.
• Gooseberry also helps in preventing diabetes. Gooseberry is rich in chromium which has immense therapeutic value in treating diabetes. Gooseberry stimulates the isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin. As such, it is instrumental in relieving the symptoms of diabetes.
• Gooseberry also prevents the incidence of heart ailments. It strengthens your heart muscles and as such, facilitates the free flow of blood in the body without any obstruction.
• Gooseberry also strengthens your immune system, thereby protecting you against various ailments.
• Gooseberry is antibacterial and an astringent and as such, it protects your body against various infections.
• On account of its cool and laxative properties, gooseberry may also be used to cure diseases like diarrhea and dysentery. Gooseberry provides relief in gastric syndrome and hyperchlorhydria (inflammation of the alimentary canal).
• Gooseberry forms an important component of any detox diet. Gooseberry contains twenty times the content of Vitamin C as compared to lemon and as such, has high levels of antioxidants that detoxify your body.
• Gooseberry is also instrumental in regulating the cholesterol level of the body, thereby preventing the incidence of heart attacks.
• Gooseberry is rich in proteins and as such, acts as a body building agent by repairing old cells and forming new ones.
• Gooseberry is a rich source of iron and helps in promoting the normal functioning of the circulatory and reproductive systems.

 


are you aware of what’s going on?
→ everyday gita

Verse 3.43: Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Kṛṣṇa consciousness] and thus — by spiritual strength — conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.

Once in awhile I am startled by how unaware I am of everything going on around me. At such times, I realize that I'm functioning on automatic pilot and have to remind myself that I'm not a robot but a sentient being that has the power to observe and discriminate!

One such moment happened to a friend of mine recently. She was mentioning how she became jealous upon hearing good news of someone who is close to her. It's not that she didn't wish well for the individual, as she later remarked to me, but it was the fact that she wasn't the recipient of that good fortune. She's gotten over it now and having introspected a bit, said to me, "I wasn't aware that I could become jealous like that!"

I was struck by that phrase:

"I wasn't aware that..."

This entire 3rd Chapter of the Gita has been encouraging us to become more "aware'. It's been pointing out that we, as embodied souls, are prone to being influenced by lust and the mentality of having things go our way (i.e. being attached to the fruits of our work). Krsna has taken the time to stress the importance of awareness because...

It's only when we are aware of a lack, need or challenge that we are inspired to do something about it.

This awareness is so crucial and necessary to the practice of bhakti yoga. In fact, often when I'm asked what bhakti yoga is all about, I give a standard answer - "It's the process by which we can connect to ourselves, the Divine and one another through love and service."

However, as my own understanding of bhakti is deepening, I'm starting to include an additional line in my explanation:

Bhakti yoga is also about becoming conscious of who we are and our eternal relationship with all living entities.

After all, if we don't know who we are and what our relationship is with one another, then it becomes irrelevant as to why we should want to connect to anyone through love and service. As the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada, said, "First be conscious; then become God conscious."

Isn't that just so practical and beautiful? Ultimately, this means realizing that we are eternal souls who have nothing to do with this temporary material world. This is just one stop in our journey and like an actor in a drama, the body we are in, the situations we face and the emotions we feel are just part of one scene in that drama.

When we become aware that we are not the body, but the eternal soul, it is only then we'll stop sweating the small stuff. Things will start to fall in the proper perspective and we'll be well on our path to lasting happiness.

are you aware of what’s going on?
→ everyday gita

Verse 3.43: Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Kṛṣṇa consciousness] and thus — by spiritual strength — conquer this insatiable enemy known as lust.

Once in awhile I am startled by how unaware I am of everything going on around me. At such times, I realize that I'm functioning on automatic pilot and have to remind myself that I'm not a robot but a sentient being that has the power to observe and discriminate!

One such moment happened to a friend of mine recently. She was mentioning how she became jealous upon hearing good news of someone who is close to her. It's not that she didn't wish well for the individual, as she later remarked to me, but it was the fact that she wasn't the recipient of that good fortune. She's gotten over it now and having introspected a bit, said to me, "I wasn't aware that I could become jealous like that!"

I was struck by that phrase:

"I wasn't aware that..."

This entire 3rd Chapter of the Gita has been encouraging us to become more "aware'. It's been pointing out that we, as embodied souls, are prone to being influenced by lust and the mentality of having things go our way (i.e. being attached to the fruits of our work). Krsna has taken the time to stress the importance of awareness because...

It's only when we are aware of a lack, need or challenge that we are inspired to do something about it.

This awareness is so crucial and necessary to the practice of bhakti yoga. In fact, often when I'm asked what bhakti yoga is all about, I give a standard answer - "It's the process by which we can connect to ourselves, the Divine and one another through love and service."

However, as my own understanding of bhakti is deepening, I'm starting to include an additional line in my explanation:

Bhakti yoga is also about becoming conscious of who we are and our eternal relationship with all living entities.

After all, if we don't know who we are and what our relationship is with one another, then it becomes irrelevant as to why we should want to connect to anyone through love and service. As the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada, said, "First be conscious; then become God conscious."

Isn't that just so practical and beautiful? Ultimately, this means realizing that we are eternal souls who have nothing to do with this temporary material world. This is just one stop in our journey and like an actor in a drama, the body we are in, the situations we face and the emotions we feel are just part of one scene in that drama.

When we become aware that we are not the body, but the eternal soul, it is only then we'll stop sweating the small stuff. Things will start to fall in the proper perspective and we'll be well on our path to lasting happiness.

Devel­oped A Real Taste For Chant­ing
→ Japa Group


When one has devel­oped a real taste for chant­ing, then a sin­gle utter­ance of the holy name can erad­i­cate all pre­vi­ous sins. Some ves­tiges of sin­ful reac­tion may still remain in a par­tic­u­lar individ­ual, but these also are grad­u­ally removed by the process of chant­ing.

From Harinama Cintamani
Hari­dasa Thakura to Lord Cai­tanya

Devel­oped A Real Taste For Chant­ing
→ Japa Group


When one has devel­oped a real taste for chant­ing, then a sin­gle utter­ance of the holy name can erad­i­cate all pre­vi­ous sins. Some ves­tiges of sin­ful reac­tion may still remain in a par­tic­u­lar individ­ual, but these also are grad­u­ally removed by the process of chant­ing.

From Harinama Cintamani
Hari­dasa Thakura to Lord Cai­tanya

Eligibility for Bhakti–Faith
→ Karnamrita.das's blog

Author: 
Karnamrita Das

(this blog is recorded on the full page: quick time player needed; works best with Firefox or Explorer)
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Although Krishna reveals in his Bhagavad Gita that the purpose of the Vedic wisdom is to know, remember, serve, and love him, this truth is also the most confidential knowledge, since readers of these texts are often attracted by lessor recommendations, like the attainment of heaven, or merging into his effulgence (Brahman). What qualification is needed to uncover this truth from the jungle of sounds of the Vedas, and take up this most confidential, though obscured, path of bhakti, the greatest and most valuable treasure? One would think that such a rare gem would only be available to the most qualified persons. However, by the mercy of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, this treasure is readily available, initially requiring only one’s faith in the process. I use myself as an example to demonstrate this, not to say I’m great, but to highlight that I had no apparent qualification, and only have standing in bhakti by mercy alone. Thus there is hope for everyone.

The first time I spoke with devotees of Krishna I was very attracted to their peaceful, otherworldly, and joyful demeanor, and it was only a short time till I moved into a temple community to become a full time member. That might seem like a whimsical, spontaneous decision, but actually a lot of background took place which enabled me to do this. During the previous year, my life took a dramatic shift. I began an all-out quest to find the meaning of life, and my place in the world, concluding that I needed to become a monk in some tradition in order to immerse myself in spiritual practice.

How could this have happened to someone like me, who by all appearances was a very ordinary, not even religious, or observably pious, person—fallen even by Western standards?

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