Websites from the ISKCON Universe
From Praveen S
Srila Prabhupada meets Kaliya, New Vrindaban’s original cow, on the path to the New Vrindaban farmhouse, 1976.
Madhava Gosh Recalls Srila Prabhupada Reuniting with Kaliya, New Vrindaban’s First Cow.
Originally published in Volume 3 #9 of the Brijabasi Spirit 1976.
We waited at the gate on the Vrindaban road the morning Srila Prabhupada took darshan at the temple of Radha Vrndavana Natha. He arrived surrounded by two busloads of prabhus from Radha Damodara who had walked up behind him, only taking time off from flooding the country with Prabhupada’s books to see His Divine Grace. As Prabhupada got out of the truck that brought him part of the way up the road, the devotees made a path through the assembled cows for him to walk, and we fell in behind.
The green foliage canopying the road glistened with dew in the early morning sun. Prabhupada more flowed than walked over the foot-trodden dirt road, deftly avoiding the water-filled holes, and we ducked branches to keep up. In the woods alongside, the cows swished the brush aside, flashing colorfully amongst the verdant growth.
As we turned onto the last stretch, the over-growth opened up into a grazing area, and Mother Kaliya could be seen walking alongside. She was the first cow at New Vrindaban, and Prabhupada drank her milk when he spent a whole month at Vrindaban a long time ago. In the karmi world cows know they are going to be slaughtered at the end of their economic usefulness and they will not let humans come near them without attempting to flee. Yet Kaliya seemed totally calm despite the large crowd, keeping pace with aged gait (No one knows how old she is, probably fifteen or so).
Advaitacarya dasa asked Prabhupada if he had named her and he nodded yes. Just as if she had heard, Kaliya turned from the path on which she was walking and lightly skipped down the short steep bank to the road, causing the devotees there to stop and let her pass right next to Prabhupada, as close as she could without causing him to break stride. Then she briskly headed down the road. She stopped once and looked back over her shoulder, then continued on towards the abode of Radha Vrindaban Natha.
Srila Prabhupada takes darshan of Sri Radha Vrindabannatha at the original New Vrindaban farmhouse, 1976.
East London Rath 2012
“How could I have even thought of such a thing?” We may react thus in dismay on catching ourselves entertaining grievously sinful desires.
How can we avoid thinking of such things?
Based on the characteristics of brahmanas outlined in the Bhagavad-gita (18.42), we can adopt a two-pronged approach: ban sin (shama - peacefulness) or banish it (dama – self-control).
Let’s understand these two steps better:
1. Ban sin: Peacefulness results when we meticulously avoid wanton desires that agitate us. Once we have resolved to lead a life of moral integrity, we simply waste our time and mental energy playing with desires that we are not going to enact. Contemplating on the futility of entertaining such desires inspires us to resolutely ban them from our heart.
2. Banish sin: Despite our ban, some sinful desires keep returning. Then we need to banish them. That means we exercise dama (self control or, more precisely, sense control) by refusing to act physically on those desires. Our uncompromising refusal disempowers those desires, for they are parasites that suck energy from our fantasies about them. And as their power decreases, it becomes easier to drive them out. When we reject them determinedly and repeatedly, they gradually realize they are persona non grata and so stop visiting. That is, they accept the ban.
Banning refers to disallowing sinful desires entry and banishing refers to dismissing those desires that force their way in. By cultivating steady inner remembrance of Krishna and relishing higher happiness, we fill our mind with Krishna-thoughts, thereby making banning sin easier. And by keeping ourselves busy in external service to Krishna, we leave ourselves no time to act on sinful desires, thereby de-energizing them and making banishing them easier.
Thus does bhakti-yoga empower us to ban and banish sin.
***
Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness – these are the natural qualities by which the brāhmaṇas work.
The Lord is always eager to take him back to the spiritual energy, but due to his minute independence the individual entity is continually rejecting the association of spiritual light. This misuse of independence is the cause of his material strife in the conditioned nature. The Lord, therefore, is always giving instruction from within and from without. From without He gives instructions as stated inBhagavad-gītā, and from within He tries to convince the living entity that his activities in the material field are not conducive to real happiness. “Just give it up and turn your faith toward Me. Then you will be happy,” He says. Thus the intelligent person who places his faith in the Paramātmā or the Supreme Personality of Godhead begins to advance toward a blissful eternal life of knowledge.
From Kalanidhi Pr
Discussing organ donation, You mentioned that devotees do not usually like to interfere in the course of nature. The citing of exceptional example of Shyam Sundar Prabhu to prove the rule was brilliant.
While I intuitively agree with the healthiness of this sentiment, I am curious, how far can I stretch it in practical terms? Sometihing unnatural yesterday has become natural today. Like bypass or even assisted breathing.
One thought is, do unto others that you would like others do unto you. If I would seek blood donation in need, I may donate to others too! Is this thinking OK?
Another question is, when i get sick, how much treatment is appropriate? Whether Ayurved is more desirable than other systems. Is going under surgery is less natural than medication? . How much money should I put away for unforeseen economic or health problems? Going by the trends of sophistication in expensive medicine, sky would be the limit.
I sometimes feel a sudden death is more desirable than a prolonged one, when you agonise over various , often expensive options. How does one deal with self or family in the latter type events?
To hear the answer podcast, please click here
From: Keshav
I took Electronics & Communication
Engg. due to my keen interest in Science
& passion to know the mysteries of universe,
But after i came in touch with Prabhupada's
books , the aim of life completely changed .
But now when i am in my last semester
I think that the ultimate reason to study any material book is to earn livelihood .
As you know that Engineer's mostly devote their life , in research & that too for material organisations, it keeps them away from the actual goal of life i.e Krsna Conciousness .
There are many exams like GATE , IES , IAS.
All requires extensive material brainstorming sessions to reach the goal.
Now each of us have in front of us
Spiritual & Material choice , but the material compulsions are so much that they are making us forget our spiritual identity .
To make us more inclined toward research and Development we are given allurements like Incentives,Gadets,Name ,Fame etc .
How can engineer's overcome such things
there is so much competition that unless you focus on your goal completely submerged in it , you can never reach it . You have to study hard , very hard for very long hours.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 March 2013, Amsterdam, Netherland, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.1.33)
When I was a child, there used to be a television series called Twilight Zone. It was intense. There were always these weird things going on and in this one episode, there was a landing from outer space and these beings came out! They were like human beings but they had heads that were like four storeys, instead of our one storey, and they had like a lot more brain.
So, they were walking around like that with their big heads, coming to show friendship to human beings. In this way, they were visiting earth and it all seemed very nice. Then they organised a tour for people from earth to go see their planet. And as people entered this spaceship, they were suddenly put in cabins, in captivity! Food came through a little tunnel. One of the people had figured out that they were actually being transported to this other planet for food; that they were treating them like cattle, and that they were going to breed them and then eat them.
So, okay, there was also a hidden critique in the movie of the way we treat animals. But whatever it was, I was a kid when I saw it; it freaked me out and the reason why it freaked me out was because it opened up my eyes to new possibilities – things I haven’t thought about. No one could give me any reasonable arguments that there were no such beings out there. For days I looked up at the sky, wondering what was out there, “What kind of creatures would be out there? Anything is possible!”
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 13 March 2013, Amsterdam, Netherland, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.1.33)
When I was a child, there used to be a television series called Twilight Zone. It was intense. There were always these weird things going on and in this one episode, there was a landing from outer space and these beings came out! They were like human beings but they had heads that were like four storeys, instead of our one storey, and they had like a lot more brain.
So, they were walking around like that with their big heads, coming to show friendship to human beings. In this way, they were visiting earth and it all seemed very nice. Then they organised a tour for people from earth to go see their planet. And as people entered this spaceship, they were suddenly put in cabins, in captivity! Food came through a little tunnel. One of the people had figured out that they were actually being transported to this other planet for food; that they were treating them like cattle, and that they were going to breed them and then eat them.
So, okay, there was also a hidden critique in the movie of the way we treat animals. But whatever it was, I was a kid when I saw it; it freaked me out and the reason why it freaked me out was because it opened up my eyes to new possibilities – things I haven’t thought about. No one could give me any reasonable arguments that there were no such beings out there. For days I looked up at the sky, wondering what was out there, “What kind of creatures would be out there? Anything is possible!”
Practice to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. Do not chant like the parrot who may learn to utter “Hare Krsna,” but when grabbed at the throat cries, “Caw caw!” Prabhupada said practice so that when death comes you will chant Hare Krsna.
Practice to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. Do not chant like the parrot who may learn to utter “Hare Krsna,” but when grabbed at the throat cries, “Caw caw!” Prabhupada said practice so that when death comes you will chant Hare Krsna.
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BBT press release
The BBT is pleased to announce the release of the annotated scans for chapter eight of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. They are now online at www.BBTedit.com/changes.
In this chapter, the revisions made are extensive. In fact, so much of what Srila Prabhupada originally wrote has been restored – and this so enriches the chapter – that lovers of Srila Prabhupada’s words may well ask themselves, “How could we not want this in?”
You’ll see:
In several places the revisions and restorations are so extensive that the scans include attached tables to show you the old and new versions side by side with the original transcription of Srila Prabhupada’s words.
You’ll see all the revisions done for the purports, along with explanatory notes. And for nearly all the changes you’ll see images from the earliest manuscripts in the BBT’s files.
Apart from images for specific changes, also included are six complete sample pages from the transcriptions of Srila Prabhupada’s original tapes.
Whether you’re for “the changes,” against them, or neutral, here’s another opportunity to see what the changes actually are.
See for yourself in the annotated scans for chapter eight, now online at www.BBTedit.com/changes.
The changes for the Preface, the Introduction, and the previous chapters are already online. See them all at www.BBTedit.com/changes.
The post “Gita changes” for chapter eight an eye-opener, now online appeared first on Jayadvaita Swami.
BBT press release
The BBT is pleased to announce the release of the annotated scans for chapter eight of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. They are now online at www.BBTedit.com/changes.
In this chapter, the revisions made are extensive. In fact, so much of what Srila Prabhupada originally wrote has been restored – and this so enriches the chapter – that lovers of Srila Prabhupada’s words may well ask themselves, “How could we not want this in?”
You’ll see:
BBT press release
The BBT is pleased to announce the release of the annotated scans for chapter eight of Bhagavad-gita As It Is. They are now online at www.BBTedit.com/changes.
In this chapter, the revisions made are extensive. In fact, so much of what Srila Prabhupada originally wrote has been restored – and this so enriches the chapter – that lovers of Srila Prabhupada’s words may well ask themselves, “How could we not want this in?”
You’ll see:
Prabhupada Sangam at the Palace
By Sachimata Prins
July 24, 2013
On Tuesday, July 23rd, there was a wonderful evening program organized at the Palace in New Vrindaban to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s first tour of the Palace being built in his honor. Many devotees attended.
We heard how, forty years ago, the Palace was really in its rough stages – only the foundation and a few walls. But the devotees were anxious for Srila Prabhupada to see their devotion, and Kirtanananda Swami wanted to give him the grand tour, along with some of the devotees who were actually building the Palace. Soma das recalled that Bali Mardhana mentioned in Krishna Book, that Krishna’s Palace in Dwarka was illuminated with jewels. Srila Prabhupada turned to him, and spoke one of his now most memorable quotes, “These devotees, my disciples, are my jewels.”
After learning about all the elaborate plans for Prabhupada’s study, bedroom, kitchen, bath and temple room, Prabhupada turned to Kirtanananda Swami and asked, “So are you going to install Radha-Vrindaban Chandra here, and Kirtanananda replied, “No, Srila Prabhupada, we are going to install you here.”
To which Srila Prabhupada replied, “This is proper.”
A few senior Prabhupada disciples, namely Yudhistira das and Rasa Lila dasi, also contributed wonderful stories and personal experiences about his visit at that time. We learned that Rasa Lila was initiated on that visit, along with Bhakta Marga Swami, Advaita, and Meghamala. Varsana Maharaj, who was Kashyapa das at that time, took 2nd initiation. Yudhistira’s pastimes were centered on Prabhupada’s desire that New Vrindaban be a beacon of light in the process of establishing self-sufficiency in Iskcon farm communities. That we should depend on the cows, and train the oxen, so we could grow our own food, etc. All in all, it was a wonderful and interesting evening.
I personally am so happy that these monthly programs are being organized by Kripamaya prabhu. I’ve been to three so far this summer, and I’ve noticed that Srila Prabhupada always seems to have a big smile on his face, which tells me how pleased he is to have some of the local N.V. residents, newcomers, and guests visit him in his home and glorify him.
I just know that anyone who takes advantage of these sweet get-togethers will not be disappointed. They are all centered on pastimes of
Srila Prabhupada, his instructions, and his vision for New Vrindaban.
Besides our regular daily sadhana, it’s so important for devotees to come together and relish the stories and history of New Vrindaban. Hope to see you at the next one.
Haribol, your servant,
Sachimata devi dasi
Vaikuntha Lake Evening Programme with Mahavishnu Swami
"Desiring to understand the glory of Radharani's love, the wonderful
qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the
happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the
Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the
womb of Srimati Saci-devi, as the moon appeared from the ocean." (Chaitanya-caritamrita Adi-lila
1.6)