No hope for justice?
→ OppositeRule

Is it too much to ask for a spiritual leadership free from corruption? Apparently it is. 

Last year I reported a violation of ISKCON Law 3.5.5.1.3.9, pertaining to Child Protection Concerns, which had occurred at Gita-nagari in 2005.  The persons I identified as violating that law were Radhanatha, Malati, and Tamohara.  In 2005, Tamohara was the director of the Child Protection Office for ISKCON. 

I did not know about ISKCON Law 3.5.5.1.3.9 until after Bir Krsna Swami was censured based upon it.  None the less, the “law” was in in effect in 2005, and those three had a duty to know and follow it.  Instead they conspired an agreement between themselves in contempt of that “law,” which created a dangerous situation at Gita-nagari.  I did my duty to deal with that situation, and my actions were nothing more than to make up for the unsafe conditions brought about by these GBC’s contempt for ISKCON Law.  Mostly I was just trying to get the facts about the situation, although ISKCON Law required the facts to be provided to householders by the Temple President or the GBC for our familys’ safety.

Because my concern for child protection exceeded my faith in these gurus after they brought a known child molester to my community, I was labeled an aparadhi against Bhakti-Tirtha and Radhanatha and treated as a demon to the point of being driven away from ISKCON and the Hare Krsna movement altogether. 

I was so upset by the injustice and Krsna’s failure to protect my spiritual life that I tried to renounce bhakti and become an atheist.  I had been doing that for about two years when I decided even though I felt quite separated from ISKCON, I still cared about their child protection problem.  So I sent a complaint by email describing the violation of ISKCON Law by those individuals, including saying that I was driven from the Hare Krsna movement because of it, along with my wife and kids.

I sent the email to the ISKCON Child Protection Office and the GBC  Executive Committee. The CPO responded that they had changed management since then and so couldn’t really do anything.  The GBC EC did not respond at all. 

So last night I learned that Tamohara dasa, the same fellow who was heading the CPO, whom I also reported as having violated ISKCON Law regarding Child Protection Concerns, is now the Vice Chairman of the GBC EC.  No wonder the EC did not respond.  The corruption of ISKCON leadership makes me sick. 

What kind of lowlifes can receive a letter saying their dereliction of duties and contempt for the laws of the spiritual society they are in charge of leading caused an innocent family to be demonized and consequently lose faith and leave, and not even have the decency to give a response?  I cannot fathom it. Apparently these people have no shame at all. 

Here is the ISKCON Law, for reference:
“3.5.5.1.3.9 Child Protection Concerns Persons, who after an ISKCON investigation, are confirmed to be guilty of child abuse must report their status to the local Temple President upon their arrival in an ISKCON community. Also, it is the obligation of a Temple President to determine for every member joining his community, if the newcomer is a confirmed child abuser. The Temple President is then obliged to notify the local householders and GBC of the offender’s presence. The local GBC should be advised if a Temple President knowingly arranges for a confirmed child abuser to be supported by a temple, or live on temple property without first notifying the householder community as per ISKCON laws. The local GBC is to supervise the situation to be sure the Temple President follows the following GBC guidelines: 1. “In no case should a confirmed perpetrator remain in the local community unless the local ISKCON authorities obtain the written authorization of no less than three-quarter of the parents of children at the project or in the community. 2. The local government authorities and/or the ISKCON Board of Education will make the final determination of the appropriate degree of segregation. (1990-119.4)” 3. Every GBC make sure the temples presidents in his zone are made aware of this resolution and GBC guidelines.”

http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Iskcon_Law_Book

The Mayapur Academy
→ Seed of Devotion

After five years of prayer, endeavor, and many, many blessings, three days ago I received a Diploma with Distinction from the Mayapur Academy.

When Nrisimha Kavacha Prabhu came through Alachua in 2007, he spoke about the Mayapur Academy. The Academy would be a place where people from around the world could come and learn the art of worshiping the Lord in his deity form.

Immediately I resolved that one day I would take this 4-month course. Year after year passed, but the time was never right. Finally, last year I graduated from college and was free to go to India.

Only... I was a broke, fresh-out-of-college student.

But this was the year. It had to be.

With much trepidation, I began a fundraising campaign. I needed to raise thousands of dollars within only two months. Would people believe in me? I faced huge walls within myself to reach out so boldly.

I swallowed my pride and began to send e-mails and then make phone calls. I soon began to realize, though, that through fundraising for this trip, Lord Chaitanya was pushing me forward to beg the blessings of everyone I knew in my life - professional colleagues, senior devotees, peers, even juniors. A tsunami of blessings rushed in.

I reached almost my entire fundraising goal.

Thus, built upon the blessings of the devotees, last November I stepped into the Mayapur Academy. For four months I have been immersed in a powerful world filled with austerity, magic, and beauty.


I have dived deep into the reality that God is a person. Be clean for God, show up on time for God, cook the best food for God, give the best clothes and jewelry and flowers to God. Sing for Him, sacrifice for Him, be soft with Him, cry for Him.


That is love.

Love is a verb, and for the past four months I have been in the fire of that verb, realizing how how icy my heart truly is. My only hope is to remain in the fire.
























Now that I have received my diploma, I am reflecting how I have been propelled forward by the blessings I received last year and every step of the way. I especially want to thank my parents - my fundraising campaign had been unfinished, and so they have supported me in these final months to finish the Academy.

I feel deeply moved by each and every person who spoke some kind word or gave even one dollar. Thank you.  

I offer my respects to each of my gurus at the Academy, especially Jananivas Prabhu and Nrisimha Kavacha Prabhu. I offer my respects to each of my fellow students, who taught me so much about humility, patience, tolerance, and respect.

I offer my gratitude to my spiritual master, Radhanath Swami, and to Srila Prabhupad. 

I pray that to repay this debt of love I may give to others what I have been given.  

***

If you are interested in attending or offering support to the Mayapur Academy, please visit mayapuracademy.org.

If you would like to give so that I may finish my time here in Mayapur, you can visit blossomofdevotion.com. Thank you.
Subscribe

The Mayapur Academy
→ Seed of Devotion

After five years of prayer, endeavor, and many, many blessings, three days ago I received a Diploma with Distinction from the Mayapur Academy.

When Nrisimha Kavacha Prabhu came through Alachua in 2007, he spoke about the Mayapur Academy. The Academy would be a place where people from around the world could come and learn the art of worshiping the Lord in his deity form.

Immediately I resolved that one day I would take this 4-month course. Year after year passed, but the time was never right. Finally, last year I graduated from college and was free to go to India.

Only... I was a broke, fresh-out-of-college student.

But this was the year. It had to be.

With much trepidation, I began a fundraising campaign. I needed to raise thousands of dollars within only two months. Would people believe in me? I faced huge walls within myself to reach out so boldly.

I swallowed my pride and began to send e-mails and then make phone calls. I soon began to realize, though, that through fundraising for this trip, Lord Chaitanya was pushing me forward to beg the blessings of everyone I knew in my life - professional colleagues, senior devotees, peers, even juniors. A tsunami of blessings rushed in.

I reached almost my entire fundraising goal.

Thus, built upon the blessings of the devotees, last November I stepped into the Mayapur Academy. For four months I have been immersed in a powerful world filled with austerity, magic, and beauty.


I have dived deep into the reality that God is a person. Be clean for God, show up on time for God, cook the best food for God, give the best clothes and jewelry and flowers to God. Sing for Him, sacrifice for Him, be soft with Him, cry for Him.


That is love.

Love is a verb, and for the past four months I have been in the fire of that verb, realizing how how icy my heart truly is. My only hope is to remain in the fire.
























Now that I have received my diploma, I am reflecting how I have been propelled forward by the blessings I received last year and every step of the way. I especially want to thank my parents - my fundraising campaign had been unfinished, and so they have supported me in these final months to finish the Academy.

I feel deeply moved by each and every person who spoke some kind word or gave even one dollar. Thank you.  

I offer my respects to each of my gurus at the Academy, especially Jananivas Prabhu and Nrisimha Kavacha Prabhu. I offer my respects to each of my fellow students, who taught me so much about humility, patience, tolerance, and respect.

I offer my gratitude to my spiritual master, Radhanath Swami, and to Srila Prabhupad. 

I pray that to repay this debt of love I may give to others what I have been given.  

***

If you are interested in attending or offering support to the Mayapur Academy, please visit mayapuracademy.org.

If you would like to give so that I may finish my time here in Mayapur, you can visit blossomofdevotion.com. Thank you.
Subscribe

All You Need is Love…
→ Trying to reach a state of equilibrium....

  I was reading Chapter 14 of Nectar of Devotion today & came across a lovely point I’d like to share. Basically jnana (knowledge) & viragya (renunciation) are not very desirable things. Too much knowledge or renunciation can lead to a hardening of the heart which is counterproductive to developing love for Krishna. Bhakti requires […]

April 2013 Yoga Retreat
→ Atma Yoga

Spend a relaxing weekend in the Gold Coast hinterland stretching and strengthening, cleansing and rejuvenating, refreshing and revitalising at the Atma Yoga April Retreat.

Friday April 5 – Sunday April 7
Cost: $275
Location: Springbrook Theosophical Society Retreat Centre, Springbrook (Gold Coast Hinterland)

What to bring: yoga mat, cushion, pillow case, sheets, insect repellent.

What you’ll do: reading, chatting, silently meditating, bushwalks, contemplating nature, yummy yoga food, fireside chants, and of course – yoga!

Podcast 10 – Jahnavi Harrison leads the mahamantra
→ Oxford Kirtan

Recorded at our February kirtan this year, a mere few weeks ago, we are very happy to present a kirtan from Jahnavi, who has regularly visited kirtans since 2007. We have had spectacular lack of success recording her kirtans in Oxford and are indebted to Vasudeva who came all the way from East London to be our technical wizard.

I found this write-up on Jahnavi on the web, where she is highly praised by two of the giants of the US kirtan circuit:

“Jahnavi Harrison was born and raised in a family of English bhakti yogis at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire. She is a multi disciplinary artist, trained in Western classical violin, South Indian dance (Bharatanatyam) and Carnatic music, as well as writing and visual arts. She aims to practise and share the rich culture of bhakti yoga as taught to her parents by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Since 2009 she has been travelling internationally with sacred music bands ‘Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits’ and ‘Sita and the Hanumen’, and regularly collaborates with kirtan artists like Krishna Das, Shyam Das, Wah!, Shantala and Jai Uttal and Shiva Rea. She frequently features articles on bhakti yoga and the arts for publications like Pulse magazine, Elephant Journal, as well as her own blog - ‘The Little Conch’. She offers workshops in mantra music, harmonium and sacred movement and currently helps to share kirtan with a broad range of Londoners through the Kirtan London project.

‘When she sings and plays one feels that one is eavesdropping on the music of the Gods. She needs no recommendation, one only has to have ears to hear her and one knows immediately that we are in the presence of grace.’ - Krishna Das

‘Jahnavi Harrison is a being of total devotion. Listen to her sing and let the doors of your heart fly open.’- Jai Uttal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSMKAXv_9w4

Podcast 10 – Jahnavi Harrison leads the mahamantra
→ Oxford Kirtan

Recorded at our February kirtan this year, a mere few weeks ago, we are very happy to present a kirtan from Jahnavi, who has regularly visited kirtans since 2007. We have had spectacular lack of success recording her kirtans in Oxford and are indebted to Vasudeva who came all the way from East London to be our technical wizard.

I found this write-up on Jahnavi on the web, where she is highly praised by two of the giants of the US kirtan circuit:

“Jahnavi Harrison was born and raised in a family of English bhakti yogis at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire. She is a multi disciplinary artist, trained in Western classical violin, South Indian dance (Bharatanatyam) and Carnatic music, as well as writing and visual arts. She aims to practise and share the rich culture of bhakti yoga as taught to her parents by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Since 2009 she has been travelling internationally with sacred music bands ‘Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits’ and ‘Sita and the Hanumen’, and regularly collaborates with kirtan artists like Krishna Das, Shyam Das, Wah!, Shantala and Jai Uttal and Shiva Rea. She frequently features articles on bhakti yoga and the arts for publications like Pulse magazine, Elephant Journal, as well as her own blog - ‘The Little Conch’. She offers workshops in mantra music, harmonium and sacred movement and currently helps to share kirtan with a broad range of Londoners through the Kirtan London project.

‘When she sings and plays one feels that one is eavesdropping on the music of the Gods. She needs no recommendation, one only has to have ears to hear her and one knows immediately that we are in the presence of grace.’ - Krishna Das

‘Jahnavi Harrison is a being of total devotion. Listen to her sing and let the doors of your heart fly open.’- Jai Uttal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSMKAXv_9w4

Podcast 10 – Jahnavi Harrison leads the mahamantra
→ Oxford Kirtan

Recorded at our February kirtan this year, a mere few weeks ago, we are very happy to present a kirtan from Jahnavi, who has regularly visited kirtans since 2007. We have had spectacular lack of success recording her kirtans in Oxford and are indebted to Vasudeva who came all the way from East London to be our technical wizard.

I found this write-up on Jahnavi on the web, where she is highly praised by two of the giants of the US kirtan circuit:

“Jahnavi Harrison was born and raised in a family of English bhakti yogis at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire. She is a multi disciplinary artist, trained in Western classical violin, South Indian dance (Bharatanatyam) and Carnatic music, as well as writing and visual arts. She aims to practise and share the rich culture of bhakti yoga as taught to her parents by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Since 2009 she has been travelling internationally with sacred music bands ‘Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits’ and ‘Sita and the Hanumen’, and regularly collaborates with kirtan artists like Krishna Das, Shyam Das, Wah!, Shantala and Jai Uttal and Shiva Rea. She frequently features articles on bhakti yoga and the arts for publications like Pulse magazine, Elephant Journal, as well as her own blog - ‘The Little Conch’. She offers workshops in mantra music, harmonium and sacred movement and currently helps to share kirtan with a broad range of Londoners through the Kirtan London project.

‘When she sings and plays one feels that one is eavesdropping on the music of the Gods. She needs no recommendation, one only has to have ears to hear her and one knows immediately that we are in the presence of grace.’ - Krishna Das

‘Jahnavi Harrison is a being of total devotion. Listen to her sing and let the doors of your heart fly open.’- Jai Uttal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSMKAXv_9w4

Glow Party! Sunday 16 March
→ Bhakti Lounge - The Heart Of Yoga in Wellington

Moonlit Shrine – Glow Party!

Sunday 16 March 6pm
On this upcoming full moon day it’s the birthday of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – the leader & founder of mantra music meditation. It’s a big day in the Bhakti-Yoga calendar, so come for a Glow Party! … it’ll be a dazzling decorated evening for the eyes and ears with Kirtan, a live drama performance & gourmet food, then after dinner we’ll dive into more Kirtan interwoven with a candlelit arati ceremony, koha entry.

Mailchimp_Festival


Free Book Download: Bhakti Life
→ Tattva - See inside out

We may read a lot of spiritual knowledge, but sometimes the practical application can be ambiguous and unclear. What practices should I perform on a daily basis? How can I change my lifestyle to support my spirituality? When challenges and obstacles arise, how should I react? “Bhakti Life” is a humble attempt to answer some of these questions and offer some practical information for the aspiring spiritualist.

Bhakti-yoga is not an armchair philosophy, a religious doctrine or a Sunday ritual. It is a way of life. In the Bhakti-Rasamrita Sindhu, a 16th century thesis on the science of devotion, the great teacher Rupa Goswami perfectly outlines how to practice bhakti-yoga in one’s daily life. Drawing from these timeless teachings, we have attempted to distil 18 simple steps that will aid one’s journey to Krishna. Engaging in these practical acts of bhakti-yoga will awaken a deep sense of fulfilment, happiness and enduring satisfaction. Indeed, Krishna assures us that the individual who is steadfast and determined in such spiritual practices can see Him face-to-face. It’s that simple.

Download "Bhakti Life" by clicking here (right click and "save link as...")

Free Book Download: Bhakti Life
→ Tattva - See inside out

We may read a lot of spiritual knowledge, but sometimes the practical application can be ambiguous and unclear. What practices should I perform on a daily basis? How can I change my lifestyle to support my spirituality? When challenges and obstacles arise, how should I react? “Bhakti Life” is a humble attempt to answer some of these questions and offer some practical information for the aspiring spiritualist.

Bhakti-yoga is not an armchair philosophy, a religious doctrine or a Sunday ritual. It is a way of life. In the Bhakti-Rasamrita Sindhu, a 16th century thesis on the science of devotion, the great teacher Rupa Goswami perfectly outlines how to practice bhakti-yoga in one’s daily life. Drawing from these timeless teachings, we have attempted to distil 18 simple steps that will aid one’s journey to Krishna. Engaging in these practical acts of bhakti-yoga will awaken a deep sense of fulfilment, happiness and enduring satisfaction. Indeed, Krishna assures us that the individual who is steadfast and determined in such spiritual practices can see Him face-to-face. It’s that simple.

Download "Bhakti Life" by clicking here (right click and "save link as...")

The Best of Both Worlds
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY GUNACUDA DEVI DASI

MAYAPUR - Experience the best of both worlds in Mayapur where excellence in academic and spiritual life can be experienced simultaneously.

Due to a large increase in student numbers Sri Mayapur International School has the following service opportunities beginning August 2013:
High school Chemistry Teacher. 
Proven experience of teaching high school level Chemistry is essential. SMIS is a Cambridge International Examinations Centre so the successful candidate should be willing to be trained in the IGCSE, AS and A level syllabus of Cambridge International Examination Board and be responsible for carrying out practical activities in the school laboratory. 
Middle school English Teacher
The school requires an experienced English teacher who can plan , deliver lessons and assess students from Grades 7 to 9 (11 to 14 years olds). Candidates with B.Ed or equivalent are preferred. This is for English as a first language not ESL. This service involves teaching small classes (under 12 students) of bright, eager to learn children aged 11 to 14 years old. There are separate classes for girls and boys. The candidate needs excellent spoken and written English and experience of working in a classroom environment with children of mixed ability.
Primary School Teacher
Our wonderful Grade 3 teacher will be teaching in the High school next year so we require a Primary school teacher. Requirements for the position of Primary teacher: The successful applicant will have either a recognised teaching qualification, and/or a proven track record of successfully teaching in schools, and have the ability to plan, deliver, assess and report student outcomes according to the U.K. curriculum. The applicant should be computer literate and have excellent English skills. Experience in teaching children who have English as an additional language is desirable. 

Applications from experienced and qualified teachers of other subjects will also be considered.
For more information visit:www.mayapurschool.com
All positions would be on an ongoing basis after a trial period of 3 months. The remuneration includes:
• Modest monthly maintenance wage commensurate with experience
• Teacher's apartment provided (subject to availability) or assistance with accommodation
• Lunch meal provided
• Free education for first child of teacher, half price for subsequent children
This is a unique opportunity to live and work in Sri Mayapur Dhama, and serve Srila Prabhupada's movement at the headquarters of ISKCON. 
Please email your resume and supporting references to gunacuda@yahoo.com

What’s in a Name?
→ OppositeRule

My first upset as an initiated devotee was during my initiation ceremony.  The chief desire that motivated me to seek initiation was that I hoped it would somehow help improve my chanting of the Hare Krsna mahamantra.  I really wanted that, but it didn’t seem to happen.  I also wanted to be accepted in the parampara with a name indicating a servant of Krsna.  When I heard my name given as “Pandu das,” a feeling of dread came over me.  I had viewed Pandu Maharaj as the chief material cause of the war at Kuruksetra. 
 
When the initiation ceremony was over, I was instructed to go around and beg some dakshin for my guru.  I did that, and after giving it I asked him what was Pandu’s relationship with Krsna.  He said Pandu was Krsna’s uncle by marriage.  I asked if Pandu had ever met Krsna, and he asked me if I had read Mahabharata.  I said that I had, but it was a Hindu version from before I met devotees, so he advised that I read a specific devotee translation.  I did, but it didn’t answer the question.
 
Later he said he gave me the Pandu name because of Maharaj Pandu being a good father.  I was dumbfounded by this.  Pandu was cursed because of inadvertently killing a brahmana by reckless hunting in violation of the applicable rules of the time.  The curse said he would immediately die if he tried to have sex.  Consequently, Pandu could only be a stepfather thanks to a prior benediction given to Kunti, whom he insulted by being overcome with lust for his younger wife. 
 
Pandu knew he would die if he tried to have sex, but he attempted it anyway, even before his stepchildren were grown.  He knew this would leave his stepchildren without a father, and I presume he understood that this would create a potential conflict for control of the monarchy.  Sometimes it’s considered that Bhishma was to blame for the war because he did not break his vow of celibacy when it became a possible solution to the growing conflict, but it does not make sense to me that Bhishma should be blamed for not breaking his great vow to solve a problem created by Pandu’s inability to control himself. 
 
It could be said that Pandu had to die in order for the course of events to occur that led to the speaking of Bhagavad-gita, but I do not believe that Krsna can be thwarted by a course of material events.  To my understanding, Maharaj Pandu consciously abandoned his children just to have a moment of sex, and his inability to restrain his lust was the chief material cause of the war at Kuruksetra.  Getting named after him felt to me like a curse of failure upon my spiritual life, and unfortunately it seems to be one that has so far come true.

A Riven Cloud
→ OppositeRule

I seem to be in a very weird circumstance.  The mean behavior of devotees made me quit aspiring for Krsna consciousness and try to believe that Krsna is imaginary, but associating with atheists renewed my faith in Krsna.  I had been trying my best to serve devotees according to my duty, but the GBC contemptuously broke ISKCON Law pertaining to child protection in my community, and consequently my performance of duty was seen as offensive.  Wanting to impeach me from my service, several brahmanas lied to me and also induced my guru to lie to me.  There are no words for the grief I suffered because of this.  It still hurts me seven years later.
 
I endured feeling almost like a ghost for almost two years, and then decided to accept blame for whatever caused me to leave devotee association, although I did not actually understand any fault on my own part.  Because this humility was artificial, despite being a sincere attempt, I could not sustain it.  I simply did not trust my guru anymore, nor the brahmanas in my community.  I became attracted to ISKCON because of Srila Prabhupada’s books and not due to having met any devotee.  I had already read Bhagavad-gita As It Is three times and was convinced before ever meeting a devotee.  My faith in Krsna consciousness was due to Srila Prabhupada and Krsna’s intervention.  Accepting a substitute guru in accordance with ISKCON standards has been a disaster for my spiritual life.
 
One day our local GBC came to the temple and explained that new bylaws were being imposed because the Rtvik supporters were “enemies of ISKCON.”   I thought if anyone is to be my enemy, I should understand their beliefs.  Upon doing so, I became convinced that the rtviks understanding was better than what ISKCON was asserting.  Unfortunately this made me an “enemy of ISKCON,” although I did not want to be.   After some time, I realized that the rtvik view could not prevail because Srila Prabhupada had given enough authority to the group who would designate themselves as “Zonal Acaryas” that no one would be able to successfully challenge them.  It became my belief that Srila Prabhupada wanted to accept people like me as disciples, but that he failed to manifest that fact.  Some say he was poisoned, but I don’t know.  It’s almost irrelevant.  Getting poisoned by one’s disciples is also a failure.
 
My desire to uphold child protection standards made me an enemy of my community.  My desire to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada made me an enemy of ISKCON.  My inability to divorce ISKCON’s scandals from its Founder-Acarya made me an enemy of the rtviks.  One day the last straw came upon me, and despite chanting 16 rounds per day until then, I put my japa bag away and have not chanted a single round since.  That was in summer 2010. Previously I had completed about 55,000 rounds.   I had no other spiritual faith except for Krsna and Srila Prabhupada, so I resolved to attempt forgetting Krsna and become an atheist.  It took me about a year to stop hearing Hare Krsna in my mind, enough so that I could feel sort of normal by ordinary standards.  I identified with the atheist community for more than a year, almost two, but it bothered me that they did not seem to know Vaisnava philosophy.  I found their arguments inadequate against Vaisnava philosophy, so I presented it in an attempt to elicit their arguments against it.  It soon became apparent that they did not understand Vaisnava philosophy because they did not want to understand it.  Consequently, from atheistic association, I was able to recover my faith in the Vedas.
 
This strikes me as extremely odd, even despite the name choice for my blog.  I sought devotees because Krsna said to get their association, but then devotees made me stop believing in Krsna until atheists inadvertently helped me to again recognize the Vedas as authoritative. 
 
This puts me in a dilemma, because it doesn’t change the fact that my guru lied to me or that the brahmana leaders in my community lied to me to separate me from my duty, because the “guru” wanted to glorify a child molester in contempt of ISKCON Law.  My guru also said he would arrange a mediator to come help me resolve the problem with my community, but he never did it.  Until recently I haven’t paid attention to ISKCON politics for the past few years, but of course nothing has changed.  Devotees are still fighting among themselves.  I practically have no guru so I do not feel welcome in any devotee association.  ISKCON could easily solve this problem (by simply allowing within ISKCON both regular guru initiations and rtvik initiations with Srila Prabhupada as the guru), but clearly they won’t, and consequently I seem to have no hope for spiritual association unless my next birth gives a new opportunity.   I would like to be able to make peace with my “guru” and with the brahmanas who lied to me, but my apologies to them were never reciprocated, so I lack the experiential basis for trusting them. 
 
How can a person surrender to someone who is not trusted?  How can I trust a guru who lied to me but apparently is not sorry about it?  How can I become a devotee without devotee association, trust in brahmanas, or faith in a guru?  Devotees are supposed to be knowledgeable and merciful, but I seem to be unable to get the help I need to confidently understand what Krsna wants me to do. 

How Can I Become a Peacemaker?
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari

Part II

Every religious tradition, if  authentically lived, conveys a universal vision because it teaches, even though in different fashions and manners, that nothing is separated from the rest, that each part is connected to the whole and that the whole is connected to each part. The term “religion” comes from the Latin "religere" which means ‘gather, unite’, the same as the word yoga derives from the Sanskrit root yuj having the same meaning: ‘connect, unite’. Without Yoga, without the reconnection between the individual consciousness to the cosmic Consciousness, peace cannot be sustained because we can realize it only when the person has acquired a deep awareness of the marvellous subtle network we are part of, when we perceive the common Source that all is connected to the whole and that our well-being implies the well-being of the others. 
Love for God is the highest warrant of peace because loving God means to love all living beings too, by considering the common origin and the indissoluble reunion with Him. One of the fundamental texts of Indovedic spirituality, Bhagavad-gita (V.29) explains that peace is reached by those who, through the recognition of  God as the beneficiary of  all sacrifices and of all austerities and the Supreme friend of all human beings, offer their service and their pure devotion to Him. The essence of Bhagavad-gita is bhakti or love for God that includes love for the world and all the creatures, as expansions (and Epiphany) of the Absolute. In this tradition the value of ahimsa or “non-violence”  is not intended solely in the respect of human beings, rather in the respect of all living creatures because compassion, solidarity and mercy cannot be and must not be reserved to a sole race or a biological specie. The path that leads to peace follows inevitably the way of consciousness,  because its vision is not seen apart from a universal vision, indeed it is aware that there are indissoluble ties that unite mankind to wholeness.
The progressive understanding of this union and a conduct coherent to it, contribute to the diffusion of the harmony among all creatures. This exercise of comprehension should be developed in the respect and appreciation of every authentic path, on the laic and religious levels,  with the awareness that there are different modes and multiple ways to approach progressively the holy Reality that is the essence of all that exists, in all its infinite manifestations, that is revealed as the Divine as supreme source of life, superior principle of harmonization, unity and peace.

How Can I Become a Peacemaker?
→ Matsya Avatar das adhikari

Part II

Every religious tradition, if  authentically lived, conveys a universal vision because it teaches, even though in different fashions and manners, that nothing is separated from the rest, that each part is connected to the whole and that the whole is connected to each part. The term “religion” comes from the Latin "religere" which means ‘gather, unite’, the same as the word yoga derives from the Sanskrit root yuj having the same meaning: ‘connect, unite’. Without Yoga, without the reconnection between the individual consciousness to the cosmic Consciousness, peace cannot be sustained because we can realize it only when the person has acquired a deep awareness of the marvellous subtle network we are part of, when we perceive the common Source that all is connected to the whole and that our well-being implies the well-being of the others. 
Love for God is the highest warrant of peace because loving God means to love all living beings too, by considering the common origin and the indissoluble reunion with Him. One of the fundamental texts of Indovedic spirituality, Bhagavad-gita (V.29) explains that peace is reached by those who, through the recognition of  God as the beneficiary of  all sacrifices and of all austerities and the Supreme friend of all human beings, offer their service and their pure devotion to Him. The essence of Bhagavad-gita is bhakti or love for God that includes love for the world and all the creatures, as expansions (and Epiphany) of the Absolute. In this tradition the value of ahimsa or “non-violence”  is not intended solely in the respect of human beings, rather in the respect of all living creatures because compassion, solidarity and mercy cannot be and must not be reserved to a sole race or a biological specie. The path that leads to peace follows inevitably the way of consciousness,  because its vision is not seen apart from a universal vision, indeed it is aware that there are indissoluble ties that unite mankind to wholeness.
The progressive understanding of this union and a conduct coherent to it, contribute to the diffusion of the harmony among all creatures. This exercise of comprehension should be developed in the respect and appreciation of every authentic path, on the laic and religious levels,  with the awareness that there are different modes and multiple ways to approach progressively the holy Reality that is the essence of all that exists, in all its infinite manifestations, that is revealed as the Divine as supreme source of life, superior principle of harmonization, unity and peace.

Elephant Pillars in Progress
- TOVP.org

The Art Department has been actively expanding over the recent months. The images from the drawings are coming to life as sculptors and masons shape their masterpieces on the temple site.

The most exciting endeavor has been the recent development of one of the elephants at the main entrance to the temple. There will be two elephants which will serve as decorative ornamentation, each built around a pillar. The sculptures will be six meters high and will conceal the supporting pillar structure.

This first prototype will serve as a visual aid so the artists can modify the design if needed. The towering figure was first shaped by straw then covered by plaster of Paris to show more detail. Once the plaster is completed, the art team will judge the creation and make any necessary refinements. Though this is quite a laborious process, the elephant will be dismantled once the artists are satisfied with the final template. Building models is a crucial aspect in the progress of many of the TOVP’s special features. It allows the artists to see how the dimensions from the drawings translate into tangible forms. To help with this process, a clay elephant was sculpted by Drdha Vrata Das so the sculptors on site would also have a visual to work from. Changes to the clay elephant have also been made throughout the creative process since the team could see which elements worked and which details needed to be adjusted. A short distance from the elephant sculpture, another pillar is being intricately disguised. This pillar is being ornately molded by bricks a mason chisels into the desired shape. His fluid movements are amazing to watch as he artfully models each brick to fit cohesively with the others. Watching the artists work with their respective ‘canvases’ is an amazing event because it showcases the pure ecstasy of Divine inspiration.

Sri Nityananda Trayodasi 2013
→ A Convenient Truth


I haven't written in a long ass while. This "real" life in the "real" world has taken precedent over any online existence. My trials and tribulations, while not many, have been intense and energy draining (mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically). But that's nothing new, is it? I'm sure everyone else can also relate with their own tales of woe. After all, that's what this material world is all about, isn't it? Suffering and misery? (Of course it's our consciousness that makes it heaven or hell, but that's a whole different topic that I didn't come here to discuss).

Tomorrow is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, that divine incarnation of Sri Balarama, who appeared with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu back in the 1500s. The divinity and importance of these personalities is a matter of faith and debate, but that is also not the reason I'm here writing.

I'm here to express my meager realizations about Sri Nityananda Prabhu. "Realizations" from one as fallen as myself are something of a joke, yet I believe no matter what our position is in devotional service that we can all have some kind of personal experience and realization. While inherently personal, intimate and private, it's also important to share these things with others, for in sharing both the speaker and the listener become immersed in the ocean of transcendence.

I don't claim to be advanced...at all. I don't claim to follow all of the rules and regulations very strictly. I don't claim to have attained my siddha-deha or to be experiencing bhava. I am nothing. I have nothing, yet I have a deep faith in Sri Nityananda Prabhu that has come from some previous sukriti from some previous births. There has always just been an inexplicable attraction there ever since I came in contact with the devotional process.

The connection is fundamentally rooted in my connection with Sri Guru. Sri Guru is Sri Nityananda Prabhu. And Sri Guru is not just our diksa-guru. Sri Guru is not just one being in a physical body that appears before us as the diksa-guru. Sri Guru is the principle of Guru: guru-tattva. This Sri Guru pervades the entire fabric of existence, for He is non-different than Sri Balarama, Sri Nityanandarama.

This may all sound very esoteric, but it's very simple: Sri Guru is in everyone and everything. He is in every interaction with other living and non-living beings. Your family? Your friends? That stranger on the street? Externally they appear as these different beings that we identify with according to our bodily relationships, but deeper than that, in the essence, there is nothing but our self and Sri Guru. All of the other external appearances are illusions.

When we get mad at someone or feel hatred or anger towards someone, it's not that person who is to blame. It's Sri Guru trying to teach us something, trying to stir our souls to bring us to a deeper level of understanding and spiritual experience. But we so often fail. We so often can't hear Sri Guru because of our false egos and our full absorption in our physical bodies and minds. We don't relate with the world as an eternal spiritual being. We relate with the world as this false identity of being male, female, human, black, white, Chinese, poor, wealthy, happy, sad, etc.

It's said that a maha-bhagavat, a great devotee of Krishna, cannot preach when they are situated on the highest platform of realization. Why? Because they don't see anyone as fallen. They see themselves as fallen. They see everything that is happening as the direct movements and hand of Sri Krishna. Remember King Rishabadeva? People were spitting on him, throwing rocks at him, throwing shit at him, etc. yet he didn't protest. He didn't fight back. He saw everything in the context of Krishna and Krishna's energy.

This is a lofty platform indeed and one that cannot be imitated. But we're not out to imitate. We're out to try and understand, appreciate and move towards that ideal. It begins with realizing this presence of Sri Guru in everyone and everything. We have to stop blaming others for our problems. We have to stop externalizing our inner issues on the world around us. There is no one to blame for our misery other than our very self. This takes humility to admit and humility to actually live it.

I am no great devotee. Everyone knows my failings. I have no reason to try and deceive anyone about my devotional practices. I have fallen, gotten back up and fallen again and got back up again. This is our struggle against the material energy, against illusion. Sri Nityananda Prabhu is well aware of our dilemma in this kali-yuga. He is with us at every moment, yet we fail to see Him. For someone deeply absorbed in Krishna Consciousness they find it strange that one cannot see Krishna, when Krishna is everywhere and everything. How can we not see Krishna in a metal spoon? Because we're conditioned souls who only look at the externals.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble in a stream of wonderful, blissful consciousness, meditating on Sri Nityananda Prabhu and His presence in our moment-to-moment existence. I wish I could leave my physical body right now, while I'm swimming in these reflections. That would be the perfection of my existence. Perfection is not having material success, wealth, beauty, fame. Perfection and true wealth are the lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. And not in some kind of abstract, conceptual way, but in really realizing what that means to have His lotus feet in your heart. He is not some mythical figure. He is not a story in a book. He is eternal, living Divinity that is the basis of all existence, representing the sat (the potency of eternality) in sat-cit-ananda. His energy pervades all existence for both the material and spiritual realms. We cannot escape Him or avoid Him, yet somehow we foolish jivas still cannot see Him.

Sri Nityananda Prabhu is wonderfully manifest as the principle of Guru. For those of us who cannot see and appreciate Him in everyone and everything (just as the avadhuta brahman in the Srimad Bhagavatam did: http://srimadbhagavatam.com/11/8/summary/en1 ) then He comes in the manifest form of our diksa and siksa gurus. Those gurus are our means to interact with and serve Sri Nityananda Prabhu. I cannot claim to love Sri Nityananda Prabhu and then neglect or ignore my Spiritual Master. This also means ignoring his instructions, which I have failed miserably at following and maintaining. Therefore my attraction to Sri Nityananda Prabhu is meaningless if I cannot strictly follow the instructions of my Gurudeva.

I am so unfortunate and weak-hearted that the thought of chanting 16-rounds everyday seems impossible. The thought of giving up any form of sexual gratification seems impossible. The thought of rooting out all selfish desires and desires for sense gratification (like watching mundane movies or listening to mundane music) sounds impossible. I do not possess the strength to overcome my anarthas. None of us do, really. That strength must come from the mercy of Sri Guru, Sri Nityananda Prabhu. We have no power or ability of our own. We cannot make ourselves spiritually advanced by our own endeavors or devotional practices. We could stictly follow all of the rules and regulations, yet still have no spiritual realization or genuine experience of transcendence. Everything in kali-yuga is dependent upon the mercy of Sri-Sri Gauranga-Nityananda, and that mercy descends through the agency of our Guru. Dedication to the Spiritual Master must become our life and soul. It must become the reason we live and breathe and move through this world. Through that seva and dedication, the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu flows into our hearts and we can begin to experience the higher stages of devotional service.

In conclusion, I make this heartfelt prayer to Sri Nityananda Prabhu:

My dear Nityananda Prabhu, you are the source of all material and spiritual worlds. You are the source and shelter of all living entities. The ignorant, conditioned souls cannot see or appreciate You and Your glories. They are absorbed in bodily identification and false ego and waste their time pursuing temporary sense gratification. My dear Lord, I am one of these foolish jivas. I have wasted so much time in the material worlds trying to find happiness and pleasure, yet all I have endured is suffering, anxiety and confusion. I wish you would allow me to stay under the shade of Your lotus feet. Please shower me with the benediction that I may never forget your Lotus feet under any circumstances, whether in happiness or distress or while awake or asleep. Forgetting You is the source and cause of all misery. Remembering You is salvation, liberation and pure ananda. I don't want anything else in this world except the boon of remembering You and Your wonderful pastimes. I pray that my mind may remain absorbed in thoughts of You even until the time of my death. Some people pray to become gopis and manjaris, but for me my dear Nityananda Prabhu, I only pray that you keep me close to Your lotus feet and Your divine associates. Besides You and Your mercy, I have no other recourse or shelter in this world. Please be merciful to me! Please Nitai! Please!

Sri Nityananda Trayodasi 2013
→ A Convenient Truth


I haven't written in a long ass while. This "real" life in the "real" world has taken precedent over any online existence. My trials and tribulations, while not many, have been intense and energy draining (mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically). But that's nothing new, is it? I'm sure everyone else can also relate with their own tales of woe. After all, that's what this material world is all about, isn't it? Suffering and misery? (Of course it's our consciousness that makes it heaven or hell, but that's a whole different topic that I didn't come here to discuss).

Tomorrow is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, that divine incarnation of Sri Balarama, who appeared with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu back in the 1500s. The divinity and importance of these personalities is a matter of faith and debate, but that is also not the reason I'm here writing.

I'm here to express my meager realizations about Sri Nityananda Prabhu. "Realizations" from one as fallen as myself are something of a joke, yet I believe no matter what our position is in devotional service that we can all have some kind of personal experience and realization. While inherently personal, intimate and private, it's also important to share these things with others, for in sharing both the speaker and the listener become immersed in the ocean of transcendence.

I don't claim to be advanced...at all. I don't claim to follow all of the rules and regulations very strictly. I don't claim to have attained my siddha-deha or to be experiencing bhava. I am nothing. I have nothing, yet I have a deep faith in Sri Nityananda Prabhu that has come from some previous sukriti from some previous births. There has always just been an inexplicable attraction there ever since I came in contact with the devotional process.

The connection is fundamentally rooted in my connection with Sri Guru. Sri Guru is Sri Nityananda Prabhu. And Sri Guru is not just our diksa-guru. Sri Guru is not just one being in a physical body that appears before us as the diksa-guru. Sri Guru is the principle of Guru: guru-tattva. This Sri Guru pervades the entire fabric of existence, for He is non-different than Sri Balarama, Sri Nityanandarama.

This may all sound very esoteric, but it's very simple: Sri Guru is in everyone and everything. He is in every interaction with other living and non-living beings. Your family? Your friends? That stranger on the street? Externally they appear as these different beings that we identify with according to our bodily relationships, but deeper than that, in the essence, there is nothing but our self and Sri Guru. All of the other external appearances are illusions.

When we get mad at someone or feel hatred or anger towards someone, it's not that person who is to blame. It's Sri Guru trying to teach us something, trying to stir our souls to bring us to a deeper level of understanding and spiritual experience. But we so often fail. We so often can't hear Sri Guru because of our false egos and our full absorption in our physical bodies and minds. We don't relate with the world as an eternal spiritual being. We relate with the world as this false identity of being male, female, human, black, white, Chinese, poor, wealthy, happy, sad, etc.

It's said that a maha-bhagavat, a great devotee of Krishna, cannot preach when they are situated on the highest platform of realization. Why? Because they don't see anyone as fallen. They see themselves as fallen. They see everything that is happening as the direct movements and hand of Sri Krishna. Remember King Rishabadeva? People were spitting on him, throwing rocks at him, throwing shit at him, etc. yet he didn't protest. He didn't fight back. He saw everything in the context of Krishna and Krishna's energy.

This is a lofty platform indeed and one that cannot be imitated. But we're not out to imitate. We're out to try and understand, appreciate and move towards that ideal. It begins with realizing this presence of Sri Guru in everyone and everything. We have to stop blaming others for our problems. We have to stop externalizing our inner issues on the world around us. There is no one to blame for our misery other than our very self. This takes humility to admit and humility to actually live it.

I am no great devotee. Everyone knows my failings. I have no reason to try and deceive anyone about my devotional practices. I have fallen, gotten back up and fallen again and got back up again. This is our struggle against the material energy, against illusion. Sri Nityananda Prabhu is well aware of our dilemma in this kali-yuga. He is with us at every moment, yet we fail to see Him. For someone deeply absorbed in Krishna Consciousness they find it strange that one cannot see Krishna, when Krishna is everywhere and everything. How can we not see Krishna in a metal spoon? Because we're conditioned souls who only look at the externals.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble in a stream of wonderful, blissful consciousness, meditating on Sri Nityananda Prabhu and His presence in our moment-to-moment existence. I wish I could leave my physical body right now, while I'm swimming in these reflections. That would be the perfection of my existence. Perfection is not having material success, wealth, beauty, fame. Perfection and true wealth are the lotus feet of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. And not in some kind of abstract, conceptual way, but in really realizing what that means to have His lotus feet in your heart. He is not some mythical figure. He is not a story in a book. He is eternal, living Divinity that is the basis of all existence, representing the sat (the potency of eternality) in sat-cit-ananda. His energy pervades all existence for both the material and spiritual realms. We cannot escape Him or avoid Him, yet somehow we foolish jivas still cannot see Him.

Sri Nityananda Prabhu is wonderfully manifest as the principle of Guru. For those of us who cannot see and appreciate Him in everyone and everything (just as the avadhuta brahman in the Srimad Bhagavatam did: http://srimadbhagavatam.com/11/8/summary/en1 ) then He comes in the manifest form of our diksa and siksa gurus. Those gurus are our means to interact with and serve Sri Nityananda Prabhu. I cannot claim to love Sri Nityananda Prabhu and then neglect or ignore my Spiritual Master. This also means ignoring his instructions, which I have failed miserably at following and maintaining. Therefore my attraction to Sri Nityananda Prabhu is meaningless if I cannot strictly follow the instructions of my Gurudeva.

I am so unfortunate and weak-hearted that the thought of chanting 16-rounds everyday seems impossible. The thought of giving up any form of sexual gratification seems impossible. The thought of rooting out all selfish desires and desires for sense gratification (like watching mundane movies or listening to mundane music) sounds impossible. I do not possess the strength to overcome my anarthas. None of us do, really. That strength must come from the mercy of Sri Guru, Sri Nityananda Prabhu. We have no power or ability of our own. We cannot make ourselves spiritually advanced by our own endeavors or devotional practices. We could stictly follow all of the rules and regulations, yet still have no spiritual realization or genuine experience of transcendence. Everything in kali-yuga is dependent upon the mercy of Sri-Sri Gauranga-Nityananda, and that mercy descends through the agency of our Guru. Dedication to the Spiritual Master must become our life and soul. It must become the reason we live and breathe and move through this world. Through that seva and dedication, the mercy of Sri Nityananda Prabhu flows into our hearts and we can begin to experience the higher stages of devotional service.

In conclusion, I make this heartfelt prayer to Sri Nityananda Prabhu:

My dear Nityananda Prabhu, you are the source of all material and spiritual worlds. You are the source and shelter of all living entities. The ignorant, conditioned souls cannot see or appreciate You and Your glories. They are absorbed in bodily identification and false ego and waste their time pursuing temporary sense gratification. My dear Lord, I am one of these foolish jivas. I have wasted so much time in the material worlds trying to find happiness and pleasure, yet all I have endured is suffering, anxiety and confusion. I wish you would allow me to stay under the shade of Your lotus feet. Please shower me with the benediction that I may never forget your Lotus feet under any circumstances, whether in happiness or distress or while awake or asleep. Forgetting You is the source and cause of all misery. Remembering You is salvation, liberation and pure ananda. I don't want anything else in this world except the boon of remembering You and Your wonderful pastimes. I pray that my mind may remain absorbed in thoughts of You even until the time of my death. Some people pray to become gopis and manjaris, but for me my dear Nityananda Prabhu, I only pray that you keep me close to Your lotus feet and Your divine associates. Besides You and Your mercy, I have no other recourse or shelter in this world. Please be merciful to me! Please Nitai! Please!

Lord Nityananda’s Special Monthly Sankirtan Festival – This Saturday!
→ Toronto Sankirtan Adventures


This coming Saturday is our 2nd MSF (Monthly Sankirtan Festival) for 2013 and it’s a special one! You may ask why? well... because its theappearance day of the most merciful Lord Nitai!
 
Lord Nityananda who is none other than Lord Balaram. He appeared over 500 years ago to assist Lord Caitanya in flooding the hearts of many materialistic souls with the Love of Krishna! In the spirit of Lord Nityananda, we will reach out to everyone and anyone on the streets of Toronto and share with them this wonderful message of Krishna Consciousness!
 
It will be a day of festivities, beginning with mangal aarti and an ecstatic morning program, followed by MSF and a grand evening program. Please come for as long as you can. We look forward to celebrating this most glorious day with you!
 
Schedule:-
4:30 am - Mangal Aarti followed by complete morning program
7:30 am - Special Bhagavatam Class by Apurva Prabhu
9:30 am - Building the mood 
11:00am-2:00 pm - Sankirtan Festival
2:30 pm - Sharing Nectar Stories with Lunch Prasadam
 
In your service,
Toronto Sankirtan Organizing Team
 
O Lord Caitanya, kindly offer me shelter at Lord Nityananda's Lotus feet. I am able to sing about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya because of my love for  Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda knows no other designation than being Lord Caitanya's servant. Only through serving Lord Nityananda is one eligible to become a devotee of Lord Caitanya. As by Lord Nityananda's grace one can know Lord Caitanya in truth, similarly to fully comprehend the truth about devotional service one must receive the blessings of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda is very dear to all the devotees. Everyone can receive from Lord Nityananda entry into the path of devotional service. But if someone disregards Lord Nityananda, Lord Caitanya condemns him to eternal suffering.
 
Caitanya Bhagavat

Lord Nityananda’s Special Monthly Sankirtan Festival – This Saturday!
→ Toronto Sankirtan Adventures


This coming Saturday is our 2nd MSF (Monthly Sankirtan Festival) for 2013 and it’s a special one! You may ask why? well... because its theappearance day of the most merciful Lord Nitai!
 
Lord Nityananda who is none other than Lord Balaram. He appeared over 500 years ago to assist Lord Caitanya in flooding the hearts of many materialistic souls with the Love of Krishna! In the spirit of Lord Nityananda, we will reach out to everyone and anyone on the streets of Toronto and share with them this wonderful message of Krishna Consciousness!
 
It will be a day of festivities, beginning with mangal aarti and an ecstatic morning program, followed by MSF and a grand evening program. Please come for as long as you can. We look forward to celebrating this most glorious day with you!
 
Schedule:-
4:30 am - Mangal Aarti followed by complete morning program
7:30 am - Special Bhagavatam Class by Apurva Prabhu
9:30 am - Building the mood 
11:00am-2:00 pm - Sankirtan Festival
2:30 pm - Sharing Nectar Stories with Lunch Prasadam
 
In your service,
Toronto Sankirtan Organizing Team
 
O Lord Caitanya, kindly offer me shelter at Lord Nityananda's Lotus feet. I am able to sing about the pastimes of Lord Caitanya because of my love for  Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda knows no other designation than being Lord Caitanya's servant. Only through serving Lord Nityananda is one eligible to become a devotee of Lord Caitanya. As by Lord Nityananda's grace one can know Lord Caitanya in truth, similarly to fully comprehend the truth about devotional service one must receive the blessings of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda is very dear to all the devotees. Everyone can receive from Lord Nityananda entry into the path of devotional service. But if someone disregards Lord Nityananda, Lord Caitanya condemns him to eternal suffering.
 
Caitanya Bhagavat

Slow Progress
→ Tattva - See inside out

Over the years I’ve managed to keep a journal with some daily thoughts and reflections. Today I looked back to read my entry on 21st February 2003. It was disappointing. The exact same character frailties, unhelpful desires and spiritual blocks I had then, are still affecting me now. It can be disheartening to see a lack of transformation and progress, and naturally calls one to question themselves. Am I consistently bringing my full attention and care to the basic spiritual practices? Does my lifestyle support and foster deeper spirituality? Could certain activities be checking my spiritual growth? Have I approached other spiritualists to receive their feedback and advice? This kind of regular honest introspection is essential for a healthy spiritual life. We have to identify our blocks and make a concerted effort to create change.

However, there is another perspective. Once, a disciple approached his guru with a similar quandary regarding his perceived stunted spiritual progress. The guru responded by handing him two seeds, one for a fern tree, the other for a bamboo tree. He told the disciple to sow and cultivate them both.
  • After one year the fern tree had grown 1 foot high, but the bamboo tree had not appeared. 
  • By the second year the fern tree had reached 2 foot high, but there was still no sign of the bamboo tree. 
  • Three years in, the fern tree had steadily progressed to 3 foot high, while the bamboo tree remained invisible.
The disciple was slightly bewildered, but the guru simply smiled and told him to be patient. At the conclusion of the fourth year the fern tree had progressed to 4 foot high, but the bamboo had now miraculously shot up to 5 foot high. When the disciple reported back, the guru explained the reason – “yes, the bamboo was spending 3 years spreading its roots. That was the invisible part of its growth process”. Thus the guru assured the sincere disciple that he was indeed progressing, though it may not be externally perceivable at this moment in time.

Advancement in the spiritual discipline is not necessarily linear. It’s not that with each progressive year of sincere practice a certain amount of visible and perceived character progress is guaranteed. The effect of our day-to-day practices may be on a much more subtle and internal level, and if we continue on with enthusiasm, patience and determination, we can be assured that progress is taking place. Like the trees, we all grow in different ways. Since inner transformation is a divine gift, we cannot force it to occur. Through sincere and concerted endeavour we can only attempt to attract grace, yet we are not in ultimate control of that transcendental commodity. With each passing year, I am realizing that the defects of envy, lust, pride, ego and anger are incredibly deep-rooted. Although we see hints of improvement over time, it will likely take many years of concerted effort to truly reconfigure the psyche, and manifest our pure spiritual character. I'm not disappointed - it’s worth the wait!

Slow Progress
→ Tattva - See inside out

Over the years I’ve managed to keep a journal with some daily thoughts and reflections. Today I looked back to read my entry on 21st February 2003. It was disappointing. The exact same character frailties, unhelpful desires and spiritual blocks I had then, are still affecting me now. It can be disheartening to see a lack of transformation and progress, and naturally calls one to question themselves. Am I consistently bringing my full attention and care to the basic spiritual practices? Does my lifestyle support and foster deeper spirituality? Could certain activities be checking my spiritual growth? Have I approached other spiritualists to receive their feedback and advice? This kind of regular honest introspection is essential for a healthy spiritual life. We have to identify our blocks and make a concerted effort to create change.

However, there is another perspective. Once, a disciple approached his guru with a similar quandary regarding his perceived stunted spiritual progress. The guru responded by handing him two seeds, one for a fern tree, the other for a bamboo tree. He told the disciple to sow and cultivate them both.
  • After one year the fern tree had grown 1 foot high, but the bamboo tree had not appeared. 
  • By the second year the fern tree had reached 2 foot high, but there was still no sign of the bamboo tree. 
  • Three years in, the fern tree had steadily progressed to 3 foot high, while the bamboo tree remained invisible.
The disciple was slightly bewildered, but the guru simply smiled and told him to be patient. At the conclusion of the fourth year the fern tree had progressed to 4 foot high, but the bamboo had now miraculously shot up to 5 foot high. When the disciple reported back, the guru explained the reason – “yes, the bamboo was spending 3 years spreading its roots. That was the invisible part of its growth process”. Thus the guru assured the sincere disciple that he was indeed progressing, though it may not be externally perceivable at this moment in time.

Advancement in the spiritual discipline is not necessarily linear. It’s not that with each progressive year of sincere practice a certain amount of visible and perceived character progress is guaranteed. The effect of our day-to-day practices may be on a much more subtle and internal level, and if we continue on with enthusiasm, patience and determination, we can be assured that progress is taking place. Like the trees, we all grow in different ways. Since inner transformation is a divine gift, we cannot force it to occur. Through sincere and concerted endeavour we can only attempt to attract grace, yet we are not in ultimate control of that transcendental commodity. With each passing year, I am realizing that the defects of envy, lust, pride, ego and anger are incredibly deep-rooted. Although we see hints of improvement over time, it will likely take many years of concerted effort to truly reconfigure the psyche, and manifest our pure spiritual character. I'm not disappointed - it’s worth the wait!

Gearing Up for the Weekend
→ Toronto Sankirtan Adventures

This coming Saturday is our 2nd MSF for 2013 and its a special one! You may ask why? well... because its the appearance day of the most merciful Lord Nitai!
More details to follow soon, but here's an article from ISKCON News from 2011 that gives us a glimpse into the un-ending compassion of Nityananda Prabhu
Nityananda Prabhu: The Embodiment of Compassion

See you Saturday?

Gearing Up for the Weekend
→ Toronto Sankirtan Adventures

This coming Saturday is our 2nd MSF for 2013 and its a special one! You may ask why? well... because its the appearance day of the most merciful Lord Nitai!
More details to follow soon, but here's an article from ISKCON News from 2011 that gives us a glimpse into the un-ending compassion of Nityananda Prabhu
Nityananda Prabhu: The Embodiment of Compassion

See you Saturday?

India’s Rice Revolution
→ The Yoga of Ecology

Click here to read the full article from John Vidal at The Observer
"It is a set of ideas, the absolute opposite to the first green revolution [of the 60s] which said that you had to change the genes and the soil nutrients to improve yields. That came at a tremendous ecological cost," says Uphoff. "Agriculture in the 21st century must be practised differently. Land and water resources are becoming scarcer, of poorer quality, or less reliable. Climatic conditions are in many places more adverse. SRI offers millions of disadvantaged households far better opportunities. Nobody is benefiting from this except the farmers; there are no patents, royalties or licensing fees."

For 40 years now, says Uphoff, science has been obsessed with improving seeds and using artificial fertilisers: "It's been genes, genes, genes. There has never been talk of managing crops. Corporations say 'we will breed you a better plant' and breeders work hard to get 5-10% increase in yields. We have tried to make agriculture an industrial enterprise and have forgotten its biological roots".

India’s Rice Revolution
→ The Yoga of Ecology

Click here to read the full article from John Vidal at The Observer
"It is a set of ideas, the absolute opposite to the first green revolution [of the 60s] which said that you had to change the genes and the soil nutrients to improve yields. That came at a tremendous ecological cost," says Uphoff. "Agriculture in the 21st century must be practised differently. Land and water resources are becoming scarcer, of poorer quality, or less reliable. Climatic conditions are in many places more adverse. SRI offers millions of disadvantaged households far better opportunities. Nobody is benefiting from this except the farmers; there are no patents, royalties or licensing fees."

For 40 years now, says Uphoff, science has been obsessed with improving seeds and using artificial fertilisers: "It's been genes, genes, genes. There has never been talk of managing crops. Corporations say 'we will breed you a better plant' and breeders work hard to get 5-10% increase in yields. We have tried to make agriculture an industrial enterprise and have forgotten its biological roots".

Travel Journal#9.1: New York City
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part one)
New York City
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 19, 2013)

Harinama in Times Square Subway Station, January 10, 2013.

Where I Went and What I Did

For the first two weeks of January 2013, I continued chanting in Manhattan with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, and I continued living in our Brooklyn temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attending the morning program there, and spending two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park, or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and still continue till 8:00 p.m. By the influence of Rama Raya I spent an extra week in New York City with his harinama party, missing the first week of the spring semester at Gainesville’s Krishna House.

I did not hear so many live lectures in New York City, but I have some notes from the many Prabhupada recordings I heard while chopping vegetables, the Prabhupada books I daily read, the articles I proofread for both Back to Godhead magazine and Viraha Bhavan, the daily journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I did hear one morning lecture by Romapada Swami, whose informative points I also share.

Harinama in New York City
New Years Day, the 76thanniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s disappearance according to both the solar and lunar calendars, was auspicious for us on harinama.


Elizabeth, who just graduated from college in New Paltz and who is originally from New Jersey, listened over an hour to us chant in the Times Square subway station. She explained that she had once lived for two weeks in our ashram in Wellington, New Zealand. She was happy to encounter the Hare Krishnas for the first time in the New York City area, and we told her about our Manhattan and Brooklyn temples and their programs.


Supervisor Nandan Vyasadev, originally from Gujarat, was very happy to have the Hare Krishnas chant in the Time Square subway station where he is in charge. We gave him prasadam cupcakes and laddus, which he appreciated, and we were happy to have found a place indoors where the authorities like us.

Rama Raya Prabhu, the leader of the Manhattan harinama program asked me to stay another week on the party, as he did not have three people committed to the full four-hour harinama. I told him I planned to go to Gainesville for three months and return to New York City for a week of harinama in April, but he preferred that I do that week of harinama in January. The weather is better in April and my friend, Ekalavya Prabhu, may also be back on the party in April, so April was my preference. I decided to ask Kalakantha Prabhu if he cared whether I came back a week later and stayed an extra week in April. He said it was better for him if I came back when I planned to and not week later, but he liberally said that I could decide for myself. During our harinama in the Times Square subway station, I was thinking about the dilemma and I decided that I should pray to Krishna for a sign indicating what I should do. While I was thinking in that way, a young lady passed our party with a bright smile on her face, her eyes fixed on the party as she walked by. I thought she definitely looked interested and offered her a pamphlet on chanting, so she came over to me. I thought she was so attracted she must have some previous experience with Hare Krishna so I asked her. She replied that she had just heard some people singing in Union Square Park a few times but that was all. I smiled and explained that we were the same people singing at Union Square and that we chant in the subways in the cold weather. She explained that she loved the chanting, and concluded with a smile, saying “that sound is pure joy!” “Wow!” I thought, it is not often that someone says, “That sound is pure joy!” We know that Krishna is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, and that His name is similarly qualified, but it is not often that people in the crowd have the realization that “that sound is pure joy!” Then and there I decided to stay in New York City another week, and give thousands of New Yorkers each day a chance to hear the “pure joy” of the Hare Krishna mantra. That was sign I was looking for!

At Union Square Park, I talked to a lady who was videoing our chanting, and asked her if she knew about Hare Krishna. Yes, she replied, saying she frequently goes to Govinda’s Restaurant in Stockholm, where she was visiting from. I gave her an invitation to Govinda’s in Brooklyn, and she promised to go on her next visit to New York, as she was returning home the next day.

One girl from Arkansas was videoing the party at Union Square with a big smile on her face. She said she likes to come to New York and see cultural opportunities not present in Arkansas, despite its pleasant scenic natural beauty. From that I could understand the harinama gives people from all parts of the USA, and even the world, a chance to come in touch with Krishna in the course of their pursuing the adventure of a New York City vacation.

Sally, who lives a block from Union Square, and looks to be in her sixties, comes for an hour or two to chant with the devotees each day and throws a donation in the basket before returning home. One day she spontaneously said about the daily kirtana, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over forty years ago.”


In Times Square subway station, just above the platform for the “7” train, we were chanting peacefully when a Christian preacher decided to pace back and forth across the hallway from us, giving his hell, fire, and brimstone speech to anyone who could hear him over the kirtana. After I while I decided to advise him that if he moved down the hallway a few yards, it would be easier for people to hear his message. He protested that he has been coming here for years, and it was his place. Then he began to criticize our philosophy. I could see I was not going to get anywhere with him, so I returned to dancing and giving out invitations to people with obvious interest. After a few minutes a well-dressed Afro-American gentlemen convinced the Christian to move down the hallway a few yards, and continued talking with him for some time. Then that man who relocated the Christian came up to where I was standing, and I thanked him for helping us out. He told me he saw from the staircase above how the Christian was harassing us, and thinking that it wasn’t right, he came down to tell the man so. He explained to me that when dealing with Christians, you just have to ask them two questions, “When was the Bible compiled?” and “How many books does it have?” Usually they do not know, and it is embarrassing for them and they are humbled, and then you are able to deal with them. He told me his name was Carlos, and he was a trumpet player for years in that subway station and he knew the Christians well. Then he surprised me by asking for some karatalas, and he played with us for awhile, throwing a donation in the basket as he left.


On the hallway from Grand Central Station to the Times Square shuttle, a man passed by our party, smiling and speaking a few friendly words. Then having a second thought, he returned to look at our books on display. I showed him Bhagavad-gita, and he said he had one. I decided to show him the Krishna book, explaining it was a biography telling of Krishna’s activities in this world. He glanced through it and decided to buy one for ten dollars. He told me he was retired professor with a doctorate in world religions and has been a Christian Brothers monk for fifty years. Then he offered respect with folded hands to each and everyone in our chanting party as he left with a smile.

One night at Union Square, as I taking a breaking from our chanting party to warm my body and to use the rest room, I noticed a young lady who was standing not far away for quite a while and watching us for part of the time. I asked her if she liked the music, and she said she did. She went on to explain that several times she visited a Hare Krishna restaurant when she lived in Arizona. I asked if it was the one in Tucson, and she said it was. I told her how I had spent two months in Tucson, singing three hours a day at the University of Arizona, and eating at our restaurant Govinda’s, and that I really liked the whole experience. I asked her what she was doing in the city, and she said she worked at Carnegie Hall on 57thStreet. I told her we had a Krishna lunch program in at our temple in Brooklyn and that it was just 5 stops on the “Q” train to get there from 57thStreet. She said she had an hour off for lunch, and she would like to go and check it out sometime, so I gave her an invitation. Usually we do not talk to people unless they are obviously very favorable, so I took a risk talking to that young lady, but she was very happy to hear she could get some Krishna food in New York, so I felt happy about it.

Special thanks to Rasika Gopi dd and Bhakta Alex for their wonderful pictures of the harinamas in Manhattan.

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.38, purport:

‘sadhu-sanga,’‘sadhu-sanga’— sarva-shastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
(Cc. Madhya 22.54)
Even by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get out of this miserable material condition. This Krishna consciousness movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Krishna consciousness society must themselves be perfect sadhus [saints] in order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best humanitarian work.

from a lecture on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day in Gorakhpur on Feb. 15, 1971:

“Except the devotee of Krishna, everyone is simply giving Krishna trouble, trouble, trouble. . . . Don’t make any plan. Accept Krishna’s plan. . . . A devotee’s principle is not place any plan to Krishna. Let Krishna do . . . . As far as possible our business is to induce persons how to become Krishna conscious. That’s all. For that reason you can make your plan, because that is Krishna’s plan.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 in Delhi on November 13, 1973:

“A mahatma (a great soul) is not under the control of the material energy. He is under the the shelter of the spiritual energy. . . . He has no other business than to serve the Supreme Lord.”

“We are reminding people that ‘you are son of such great personality, of Krishna, why don’t you go back to your home?’”

“People are searching after God. . . . . God may be like this, God may be like that. Why ‘may be’? Why not say you don’t know? Just admit that you do not know. Why are you cheating.”

Scholars claim to be searching for God, and although the Lord appears as Krishna and is accepted by great spiritual authorities, the scholars foolishly continue to search for Him elsewhere, making different theses.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 given in Hyderabad on March 15, 1975:

“Is it very difficult to constantly remember Krishna? You can do it. You are remembering something. The mind is occupied always with something. Just practice occupying the mind with Krishna. That’s all. Where is the difficulty?”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.8 in Hyderabad on April 22, 1974:

“Anyone who accepts the supremacy of God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his process of worship has to be considered in the category of bhakti-yoga.”

You cannot say, “Let us all become technologist sudras.”Then you can get money for wine and meat but the ideal life is lost.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11 in Vrindavan on October 22, 1972:

That the sunshine spreads all over the universe does not make it more important than the sun globe. Similarly the all-pervading Brahman is not more important than the Personality of Godhead from whom it emanates.

By chanting Hare Krishna we immediate contact Krishna, while by other yogic processes that can take many births.

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 9.50 verse and purport:

“When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the great gardener, sees that people are chanting, dancing and laughing and that some of them are rolling on the floor and some are making loud humming sounds, He smiles with great pleasure.”

“This attitude of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very important for persons engaged in the Hare Krishna movement of Krishnaconsciousness. In every center of our institution, ISKCON, we have arranged for a love feast every Sunday, and when we actually see people come to our center, chant, dance, take prasadam, become jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhuis always present in such transcendental activities, and He is very pleased and satisfied. Therefore the members of ISKCON must increase this movement more and more, according to the principles that we are presently trying to execute.Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, thus being pleased, will smilingly glance upon them, bestowing His favor, and the movement will be successful.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.3, purport:

“If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the maha-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Krishna consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Krishna consciousness.”

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Protected by Krishna”:

“This is the crucial point. Dehantara-prapti: one has to accept another body. If you can find a means so that you do not accept another body, then you are safe. Otherwise, as soon as you take another birth, then you must die also. And between birth and death are disease and old age.”

“How are these European and American boys and girls advancing, realizing? Simply by using the tongue to chant Hare Krishna and take prasada. You can introduce this process all over the world. Give people a chance to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. But it is difficult also. There was a cartoon. One old lady is requesting her husband, “Chant chant, chant,” and the husband is replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” [Laughter] We are requesting everyone, “Please chant,” and they are replying, “Can’t.” They will not chant. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, we can deliver all the people on this earth back home, back to Godhead, simply by this process: chanting and taking prasada.”

“They cannot give up that small piece of meat. The same thing can be made from milk. Prepare cheese and fry it, and you’ll get the same taste. Let the animal live, take its milk, and prepare so many milk preparations. But these rascals will not do that. They will kill simply for the tongue.”

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Prabhupada Speaks Out”:

[From aconversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples which took place in September 1975 on an early-morning walk in Vrindavana, India.]

But how have you become embodied if you are the Supreme? What made you embodied? You don’t like to be embodied—the body is bringing so much suffering—so you want liberation. But whoever made you embodied—He is the Supreme. You are not the Supreme.

Romapada Swami:

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explained that in the pastime of the cursing of Jaya and Vijaya, the Lord accomplished several purposes. He satisfied Laksmi, Jaya and Vijaya, and the Kumaras. Here is how:

Once Narayana wanted to rest so he posted Jaya and Vijaya to guard the door to his room and not let anyone in. When Laksmi, the eternal consort of the Lord, arrived, they turned her away, and she did not say anything, but she was not happy about it, and later she let Narayana know that she wanted them punished for that mistake.

Jaya and Vijaya knew that the Lord had a chivalrous nature and liked to fight but had no suitable combatant, and so they had a desire to play that role for the Lord.

When Narayana arrived on the scene, He pleased the brahmana Kumaras by supporting the position of the brahmanas by His words and actions.

In steadiness, there may be some residual materialistic inclination, but the bhakti is so powerful it overshadows that slight material tendency.

In disagreements between devotees, it is best not to take sides but to understand the Lord has some plan in that.

The Lord rules the hearts of the residents of Vaikuntha so there is diversity but no conflict and thus no fear, just as there is no conflict between the different organs of the body.

In Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s autobiography, he tells of a scholar who wrote a book of fictional stories about Krishna and showed it to him before publishing. He spent four days without eating or sleeping, explaining to the scholar why one could not write a fiction book about Krishna, and finally the scholar agreed and rewrote the book. Later that scholar recalled, “Whenever I was in his association, very quickly Bhaktivinoda Thakura would begin to talk about acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva [the truth that the living entities are inconceivably and simultaneously one and different from the Supreme Lord].

Recognizing the majesty of the Lord and being satisfied simply to serve Him in that mood is the qualification to live in Vaikuntha.

The love that the residents of Vrindavan have for Krishna is what Lord Caitanya came to give and what people are receiving from Him, step by step, whether they know it or not.

You can be steady in faith, but not steady in the execution of bhakti only because of external circumstances beyond your control.

It is my experience that once a person has regulated his life in a spiritual way, if he again takes to an unregulated life, it is very, very difficult to become regulated in spiritual life again.

The Kumaras generally agree, but occasionally express their individual non-conflicting views.

Q: Is it enough to understand bhakti is the essence and not absorb oneself in all the details?
A: It is certainly good to understand that bhakti is the essence, but appreciating the details we can increasingly relish the pastimes.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from an online poem:

“Radha controls Krishna, yet He is the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

from Qualities of Sri Krishna:

“The Nectar of Devotionspeaks of Krishna offering obeisances to Maharaja Yudhisthira before the rajasuya sacrifice as an example of His gentleness, but His most amazing act at the rajasuya sacrifice was His volunteering to wash the feet of the arriving guests. How gentle Krishna is. What other great and powerful king would be willing to overcome his own arrogance to touch the feet of so many people? Krishna did not agree to bathe the guests’ feet out of political motivation; He bathed their feet as an exchange of love. Krishna is both father and mother to all living beings. He likes to care for them in a way that eases their hearts. Certainly, His washing the guests’ feet is an example of His quality of gentleness.

Urmila dd:

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Offering Dandavat”:

One Sanskrit word Srila Prabhupada translates as “surrender” is prapadyate, which literally means “to throw oneself down at someone’s feet.”

Caitanya-carana Prabhu:

from Back to Godhead, Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “The W.R.I.T.E. Service”:

“Though different people may be able to forget worldly miseries by absorption in various activities, devotees know that the transcendence attained by absorption in Krishna is unique because it comprises a this-worldly glimpse of the eternal, ecstatic absorption that awaits them in the next world.”

Vamsi Vihari Prabhu:

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Sickess: A Friend and Teacher”:

One of my devotee friends shared his realization that Krishna takes the risk of being blamed: “Oh! I am trying to serve You, Krishna, and You are giving me problems. What kind of God are You?” But as a true well-wisher, Krishna is concerned not about being blamed but about ending our material existence as soon as possible.

Sickness can reveal the true level of our spiritual connection by showing whether our foundation is shallow or deep—that is, based on a genuine desire to practice Krishna consciousness in any circumstance. If we are open, we may find the revelation humbling, which in spiritual life is helpful. So, illness can be a turning point in our life. We may understand that we have forced Krishna to put us into this predicament to take us out of the illusion that life in the material world is “the good life.”

Years ago I read the poem “Reduced,” by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

My list of Things to Do
falls to the side.
All I do is rest.
Yet one cry to Krishna
is worth a hundred days
of marching in pride.

Sickness can become a golden opportunity for us to realize our smallness and helplessness and take shelter of Krishna. We have to remember that if Krishna is allowing something to happen to us, it must be good. I have met devotees who feel that the best time of their Krishna conscious lives was when they were going through some difficulty. Not finding any other shelter, they intensely took Krishna’s shelter and felt His presence more evidently than at any other time. That’s why Kunti Devi, the glorious mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Krishna for more and more calamities. “Because,” she reasoned, “calamities inspire me to see Your lotus face, which means I’ll no longer see the face of repeated birth and death.” We need not imitate Kunti Devi by asking for more hardship, however; our destined calamities should be enough for us to turn to Krishna.

-----

tasmat sankirtanam visnor
jagan-mangalam amhasam
mahatam api kauravya
viddhy aikantika-niskrtam
“Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.31)

Travel Journal#9.1: New York City
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 9, No. 1
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2013, part one)
New York City
(Sent from Tallahassee, Florida, on February 19, 2013)

Harinama in Times Square Subway Station, January 10, 2013.

Where I Went and What I Did

For the first two weeks of January 2013, I continued chanting in Manhattan with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, and I continued living in our Brooklyn temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir, attending the morning program there, and spending two hours afterward chopping vegetables for the temple and its weekday restaurant program, Govinda’s Vegetarian Lunch. Every afternoon from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. I would chant with Rama Raya Prabhu and his harinama party, consisting of from three to seventeen devotees, at Union Square Park, or on the cold days, in various subway stations at Union Square, Grand Central, Times Square, and Columbus Circle. Sometimes, especially on weekends, we would begin at 3 p.m. or even 2 p.m., and still continue till 8:00 p.m. By the influence of Rama Raya I spent an extra week in New York City with his harinama party, missing the first week of the spring semester at Gainesville’s Krishna House.

I did not hear so many live lectures in New York City, but I have some notes from the many Prabhupada recordings I heard while chopping vegetables, the Prabhupada books I daily read, the articles I proofread for both Back to Godhead magazine and Viraha Bhavan, the daily journal of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I did hear one morning lecture by Romapada Swami, whose informative points I also share.

Harinama in New York City
New Years Day, the 76thanniversary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saravati Thakura’s disappearance according to both the solar and lunar calendars, was auspicious for us on harinama.


Elizabeth, who just graduated from college in New Paltz and who is originally from New Jersey, listened over an hour to us chant in the Times Square subway station. She explained that she had once lived for two weeks in our ashram in Wellington, New Zealand. She was happy to encounter the Hare Krishnas for the first time in the New York City area, and we told her about our Manhattan and Brooklyn temples and their programs.


Supervisor Nandan Vyasadev, originally from Gujarat, was very happy to have the Hare Krishnas chant in the Time Square subway station where he is in charge. We gave him prasadam cupcakes and laddus, which he appreciated, and we were happy to have found a place indoors where the authorities like us.

Rama Raya Prabhu, the leader of the Manhattan harinama program asked me to stay another week on the party, as he did not have three people committed to the full four-hour harinama. I told him I planned to go to Gainesville for three months and return to New York City for a week of harinama in April, but he preferred that I do that week of harinama in January. The weather is better in April and my friend, Ekalavya Prabhu, may also be back on the party in April, so April was my preference. I decided to ask Kalakantha Prabhu if he cared whether I came back a week later and stayed an extra week in April. He said it was better for him if I came back when I planned to and not week later, but he liberally said that I could decide for myself. During our harinama in the Times Square subway station, I was thinking about the dilemma and I decided that I should pray to Krishna for a sign indicating what I should do. While I was thinking in that way, a young lady passed our party with a bright smile on her face, her eyes fixed on the party as she walked by. I thought she definitely looked interested and offered her a pamphlet on chanting, so she came over to me. I thought she was so attracted she must have some previous experience with Hare Krishna so I asked her. She replied that she had just heard some people singing in Union Square Park a few times but that was all. I smiled and explained that we were the same people singing at Union Square and that we chant in the subways in the cold weather. She explained that she loved the chanting, and concluded with a smile, saying “that sound is pure joy!” “Wow!” I thought, it is not often that someone says, “That sound is pure joy!” We know that Krishna is eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, and that His name is similarly qualified, but it is not often that people in the crowd have the realization that “that sound is pure joy!” Then and there I decided to stay in New York City another week, and give thousands of New Yorkers each day a chance to hear the “pure joy” of the Hare Krishna mantra. That was sign I was looking for!

At Union Square Park, I talked to a lady who was videoing our chanting, and asked her if she knew about Hare Krishna. Yes, she replied, saying she frequently goes to Govinda’s Restaurant in Stockholm, where she was visiting from. I gave her an invitation to Govinda’s in Brooklyn, and she promised to go on her next visit to New York, as she was returning home the next day.

One girl from Arkansas was videoing the party at Union Square with a big smile on her face. She said she likes to come to New York and see cultural opportunities not present in Arkansas, despite its pleasant scenic natural beauty. From that I could understand the harinama gives people from all parts of the USA, and even the world, a chance to come in touch with Krishna in the course of their pursuing the adventure of a New York City vacation.

Sally, who lives a block from Union Square, and looks to be in her sixties, comes for an hour or two to chant with the devotees each day and throws a donation in the basket before returning home. One day she spontaneously said about the daily kirtana, “This is the best thing that has happened in Union Square since I moved here over forty years ago.”


In Times Square subway station, just above the platform for the “7” train, we were chanting peacefully when a Christian preacher decided to pace back and forth across the hallway from us, giving his hell, fire, and brimstone speech to anyone who could hear him over the kirtana. After I while I decided to advise him that if he moved down the hallway a few yards, it would be easier for people to hear his message. He protested that he has been coming here for years, and it was his place. Then he began to criticize our philosophy. I could see I was not going to get anywhere with him, so I returned to dancing and giving out invitations to people with obvious interest. After a few minutes a well-dressed Afro-American gentlemen convinced the Christian to move down the hallway a few yards, and continued talking with him for some time. Then that man who relocated the Christian came up to where I was standing, and I thanked him for helping us out. He told me he saw from the staircase above how the Christian was harassing us, and thinking that it wasn’t right, he came down to tell the man so. He explained to me that when dealing with Christians, you just have to ask them two questions, “When was the Bible compiled?” and “How many books does it have?” Usually they do not know, and it is embarrassing for them and they are humbled, and then you are able to deal with them. He told me his name was Carlos, and he was a trumpet player for years in that subway station and he knew the Christians well. Then he surprised me by asking for some karatalas, and he played with us for awhile, throwing a donation in the basket as he left.


On the hallway from Grand Central Station to the Times Square shuttle, a man passed by our party, smiling and speaking a few friendly words. Then having a second thought, he returned to look at our books on display. I showed him Bhagavad-gita, and he said he had one. I decided to show him the Krishna book, explaining it was a biography telling of Krishna’s activities in this world. He glanced through it and decided to buy one for ten dollars. He told me he was retired professor with a doctorate in world religions and has been a Christian Brothers monk for fifty years. Then he offered respect with folded hands to each and everyone in our chanting party as he left with a smile.

One night at Union Square, as I taking a breaking from our chanting party to warm my body and to use the rest room, I noticed a young lady who was standing not far away for quite a while and watching us for part of the time. I asked her if she liked the music, and she said she did. She went on to explain that several times she visited a Hare Krishna restaurant when she lived in Arizona. I asked if it was the one in Tucson, and she said it was. I told her how I had spent two months in Tucson, singing three hours a day at the University of Arizona, and eating at our restaurant Govinda’s, and that I really liked the whole experience. I asked her what she was doing in the city, and she said she worked at Carnegie Hall on 57thStreet. I told her we had a Krishna lunch program in at our temple in Brooklyn and that it was just 5 stops on the “Q” train to get there from 57thStreet. She said she had an hour off for lunch, and she would like to go and check it out sometime, so I gave her an invitation. Usually we do not talk to people unless they are obviously very favorable, so I took a risk talking to that young lady, but she was very happy to hear she could get some Krishna food in New York, so I felt happy about it.

Special thanks to Rasika Gopi dd and Bhakta Alex for their wonderful pictures of the harinamas in Manhattan.

Srila Prabhupada:

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.14.38, purport:

‘sadhu-sanga,’‘sadhu-sanga’— sarva-shastre kaya
lava-matra sadhu-sange sarva-siddhi haya
(Cc. Madhya 22.54)
Even by a little association with devotees, the conditioned soul can get out of this miserable material condition. This Krishna consciousness movement is therefore trying to give everyone a chance to associate with saintly people. Therefore all the members of this Krishna consciousness society must themselves be perfect sadhus [saints] in order to give a chance to fallen conditioned souls. This is the best humanitarian work.

from a lecture on Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day in Gorakhpur on Feb. 15, 1971:

“Except the devotee of Krishna, everyone is simply giving Krishna trouble, trouble, trouble. . . . Don’t make any plan. Accept Krishna’s plan. . . . A devotee’s principle is not place any plan to Krishna. Let Krishna do . . . . As far as possible our business is to induce persons how to become Krishna conscious. That’s all. For that reason you can make your plan, because that is Krishna’s plan.”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 in Delhi on November 13, 1973:

“A mahatma (a great soul) is not under the control of the material energy. He is under the the shelter of the spiritual energy. . . . He has no other business than to serve the Supreme Lord.”

“We are reminding people that ‘you are son of such great personality, of Krishna, why don’t you go back to your home?’”

“People are searching after God. . . . . God may be like this, God may be like that. Why ‘may be’? Why not say you don’t know? Just admit that you do not know. Why are you cheating.”

Scholars claim to be searching for God, and although the Lord appears as Krishna and is accepted by great spiritual authorities, the scholars foolishly continue to search for Him elsewhere, making different theses.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 given in Hyderabad on March 15, 1975:

“Is it very difficult to constantly remember Krishna? You can do it. You are remembering something. The mind is occupied always with something. Just practice occupying the mind with Krishna. That’s all. Where is the difficulty?”

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.8 in Hyderabad on April 22, 1974:

“Anyone who accepts the supremacy of God, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his process of worship has to be considered in the category of bhakti-yoga.”

You cannot say, “Let us all become technologist sudras.”Then you can get money for wine and meat but the ideal life is lost.

from a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.11 in Vrindavan on October 22, 1972:

That the sunshine spreads all over the universe does not make it more important than the sun globe. Similarly the all-pervading Brahman is not more important than the Personality of Godhead from whom it emanates.

By chanting Hare Krishna we immediate contact Krishna, while by other yogic processes that can take many births.

from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 9.50 verse and purport:

“When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the great gardener, sees that people are chanting, dancing and laughing and that some of them are rolling on the floor and some are making loud humming sounds, He smiles with great pleasure.”

“This attitude of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is very important for persons engaged in the Hare Krishna movement of Krishnaconsciousness. In every center of our institution, ISKCON, we have arranged for a love feast every Sunday, and when we actually see people come to our center, chant, dance, take prasadam, become jubilant and purchase books, we know that certainly Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhuis always present in such transcendental activities, and He is very pleased and satisfied. Therefore the members of ISKCON must increase this movement more and more, according to the principles that we are presently trying to execute.Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, thus being pleased, will smilingly glance upon them, bestowing His favor, and the movement will be successful.”

from Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.16.3, purport:

“If one rigidly observes the regulative principle of chanting sixteen rounds of the maha-mantra every day, his dealings with the material world for the sake of spreading the Krishna consciousness movement are not different from the spiritual cultivation of Krishna consciousness.”

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Protected by Krishna”:

“This is the crucial point. Dehantara-prapti: one has to accept another body. If you can find a means so that you do not accept another body, then you are safe. Otherwise, as soon as you take another birth, then you must die also. And between birth and death are disease and old age.”

“How are these European and American boys and girls advancing, realizing? Simply by using the tongue to chant Hare Krishna and take prasada. You can introduce this process all over the world. Give people a chance to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. But it is difficult also. There was a cartoon. One old lady is requesting her husband, “Chant chant, chant,” and the husband is replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” [Laughter] We are requesting everyone, “Please chant,” and they are replying, “Can’t.” They will not chant. That is the difficulty. Otherwise, we can deliver all the people on this earth back home, back to Godhead, simply by this process: chanting and taking prasada.”

“They cannot give up that small piece of meat. The same thing can be made from milk. Prepare cheese and fry it, and you’ll get the same taste. Let the animal live, take its milk, and prepare so many milk preparations. But these rascals will not do that. They will kill simply for the tongue.”

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Prabhupada Speaks Out”:

[From aconversation between His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and some of his disciples which took place in September 1975 on an early-morning walk in Vrindavana, India.]

But how have you become embodied if you are the Supreme? What made you embodied? You don’t like to be embodied—the body is bringing so much suffering—so you want liberation. But whoever made you embodied—He is the Supreme. You are not the Supreme.

Romapada Swami:

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explained that in the pastime of the cursing of Jaya and Vijaya, the Lord accomplished several purposes. He satisfied Laksmi, Jaya and Vijaya, and the Kumaras. Here is how:

Once Narayana wanted to rest so he posted Jaya and Vijaya to guard the door to his room and not let anyone in. When Laksmi, the eternal consort of the Lord, arrived, they turned her away, and she did not say anything, but she was not happy about it, and later she let Narayana know that she wanted them punished for that mistake.

Jaya and Vijaya knew that the Lord had a chivalrous nature and liked to fight but had no suitable combatant, and so they had a desire to play that role for the Lord.

When Narayana arrived on the scene, He pleased the brahmana Kumaras by supporting the position of the brahmanas by His words and actions.

In steadiness, there may be some residual materialistic inclination, but the bhakti is so powerful it overshadows that slight material tendency.

In disagreements between devotees, it is best not to take sides but to understand the Lord has some plan in that.

The Lord rules the hearts of the residents of Vaikuntha so there is diversity but no conflict and thus no fear, just as there is no conflict between the different organs of the body.

In Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s autobiography, he tells of a scholar who wrote a book of fictional stories about Krishna and showed it to him before publishing. He spent four days without eating or sleeping, explaining to the scholar why one could not write a fiction book about Krishna, and finally the scholar agreed and rewrote the book. Later that scholar recalled, “Whenever I was in his association, very quickly Bhaktivinoda Thakura would begin to talk about acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva [the truth that the living entities are inconceivably and simultaneously one and different from the Supreme Lord].

Recognizing the majesty of the Lord and being satisfied simply to serve Him in that mood is the qualification to live in Vaikuntha.

The love that the residents of Vrindavan have for Krishna is what Lord Caitanya came to give and what people are receiving from Him, step by step, whether they know it or not.

You can be steady in faith, but not steady in the execution of bhakti only because of external circumstances beyond your control.

It is my experience that once a person has regulated his life in a spiritual way, if he again takes to an unregulated life, it is very, very difficult to become regulated in spiritual life again.

The Kumaras generally agree, but occasionally express their individual non-conflicting views.

Q: Is it enough to understand bhakti is the essence and not absorb oneself in all the details?
A: It is certainly good to understand that bhakti is the essence, but appreciating the details we can increasingly relish the pastimes.

Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

from an online poem:

“Radha controls Krishna, yet He is the independent Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

from Qualities of Sri Krishna:

“The Nectar of Devotionspeaks of Krishna offering obeisances to Maharaja Yudhisthira before the rajasuya sacrifice as an example of His gentleness, but His most amazing act at the rajasuya sacrifice was His volunteering to wash the feet of the arriving guests. How gentle Krishna is. What other great and powerful king would be willing to overcome his own arrogance to touch the feet of so many people? Krishna did not agree to bathe the guests’ feet out of political motivation; He bathed their feet as an exchange of love. Krishna is both father and mother to all living beings. He likes to care for them in a way that eases their hearts. Certainly, His washing the guests’ feet is an example of His quality of gentleness.

Urmila dd:

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Offering Dandavat”:

One Sanskrit word Srila Prabhupada translates as “surrender” is prapadyate, which literally means “to throw oneself down at someone’s feet.”

Caitanya-carana Prabhu:

from Back to Godhead, Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “The W.R.I.T.E. Service”:

“Though different people may be able to forget worldly miseries by absorption in various activities, devotees know that the transcendence attained by absorption in Krishna is unique because it comprises a this-worldly glimpse of the eternal, ecstatic absorption that awaits them in the next world.”

Vamsi Vihari Prabhu:

from Back to Godhead,Vol. 47, No. 2, March–April 2013, “Sickess: A Friend and Teacher”:

One of my devotee friends shared his realization that Krishna takes the risk of being blamed: “Oh! I am trying to serve You, Krishna, and You are giving me problems. What kind of God are You?” But as a true well-wisher, Krishna is concerned not about being blamed but about ending our material existence as soon as possible.

Sickness can reveal the true level of our spiritual connection by showing whether our foundation is shallow or deep—that is, based on a genuine desire to practice Krishna consciousness in any circumstance. If we are open, we may find the revelation humbling, which in spiritual life is helpful. So, illness can be a turning point in our life. We may understand that we have forced Krishna to put us into this predicament to take us out of the illusion that life in the material world is “the good life.”

Years ago I read the poem “Reduced,” by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:

My list of Things to Do
falls to the side.
All I do is rest.
Yet one cry to Krishna
is worth a hundred days
of marching in pride.

Sickness can become a golden opportunity for us to realize our smallness and helplessness and take shelter of Krishna. We have to remember that if Krishna is allowing something to happen to us, it must be good. I have met devotees who feel that the best time of their Krishna conscious lives was when they were going through some difficulty. Not finding any other shelter, they intensely took Krishna’s shelter and felt His presence more evidently than at any other time. That’s why Kunti Devi, the glorious mother of the Pandavas, prayed to Krishna for more and more calamities. “Because,” she reasoned, “calamities inspire me to see Your lotus face, which means I’ll no longer see the face of repeated birth and death.” We need not imitate Kunti Devi by asking for more hardship, however; our destined calamities should be enough for us to turn to Krishna.

-----

tasmat sankirtanam visnor
jagan-mangalam amhasam
mahatam api kauravya
viddhy aikantika-niskrtam
“Sukadeva Gosvami continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the sankirtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.31)

My Heart is an Altar
→ Seed of Devotion

Several days ago, after the temple had been closed for the afternoon, we ladies of the Mayapur Academy went onto the altar of Pancha Tattva to do an annual cleaning. When I first stepped onto the cool marble floor of the altar, I just gazed up in wonder at each of the five, magnificent golden forms of the Pancha Tattva.

Please allow me to serve You today, I prayed.

We all grabbed buckets and rags and began our work in reverential silence. I scrubbed the walls and the floor until my arms and body began to sing with soreness. Cobwebs, grime, and soot kept coming off the walls in rivulets.

With each passing minute, I began to feel sick to the stomach. Weaknesses and faults in my heart churned and churned to the surface.

Pain, disgust, sickness.

Hatred, doubt, cynicism.

I felt so humbled, so sad to be feeling such things in the presence of the magnificent golden forms of Pancha Tattva.

But what could I do? I wanted to run, but I knew that there was no hiding from God. So I just kept scrubbing.

When the walls, doors, and marble floors had all been scrubbed to a sparkle, most of the ladies left the altar to wash out buckets. I stayed on the altar. I knelt down with folded palms and gazed up at the face of Lord Chaitanya.

In my mind, I murmured the Sanskrit prayer of forgiveness over and over again. "Oh Lord, whatever worship I have offered to You today is without proper knowledge, method, attitude, with no devotion. Please forgive me. I pray that You may accept whatever little effort I have made. Now I shall remember Lord Krishna and He shall make everything perfect."

Those moments seemed so suspended. I was practically alone on the altar with Pancha Tattva, the doors closed, the temple quiet. Looking at Lord Chaitanya, I felt as though the contents of my heart were laid bare before Him. All of the gunk and beauty.

With that, I offered my obeisance, touching my forehead to the cool marble floor. Then I left the altar.

A couple days later, I attended an international kirtan festival in Mumbai. That first afternoon, I sat in the whorl of a powerful kirtan, in the midst of hundreds of people crying out the holy names of God. Each name that I sang seemed to hang and shine in the air for a moment. My heart felt quiet and peaceful.

Clean.

I sang for hours and hours; my cheeks began to ache from so much smiling. Through it all, whenever I would close my eyes, engraved upon my mind were the five golden forms of Pancha Tattva.


(photo courtesy of flickr)

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My Heart is an Altar
→ Seed of Devotion

Several days ago, after the temple had been closed for the afternoon, we ladies of the Mayapur Academy went onto the altar of Pancha Tattva to do an annual cleaning. When I first stepped onto the cool marble floor of the altar, I just gazed up in wonder at each of the five, magnificent golden forms of the Pancha Tattva.

Please allow me to serve You today, I prayed.

We all grabbed buckets and rags and began our work in reverential silence. I scrubbed the walls and the floor until my arms and body began to sing with soreness. Cobwebs, grime, and soot kept coming off the walls in rivulets.

With each passing minute, I began to feel sick to the stomach. Weaknesses and faults in my heart churned and churned to the surface.

Pain, disgust, sickness.

Hatred, doubt, cynicism.

I felt so humbled, so sad to be feeling such things in the presence of the magnificent golden forms of Pancha Tattva.

But what could I do? I wanted to run, but I knew that there was no hiding from God. So I just kept scrubbing.

When the walls, doors, and marble floors had all been scrubbed to a sparkle, most of the ladies left the altar to wash out buckets. I stayed on the altar. I knelt down with folded palms and gazed up at the face of Lord Chaitanya.

In my mind, I murmured the Sanskrit prayer of forgiveness over and over again. "Oh Lord, whatever worship I have offered to You today is without proper knowledge, method, attitude, with no devotion. Please forgive me. I pray that You may accept whatever little effort I have made. Now I shall remember Lord Krishna and He shall make everything perfect."

Those moments seemed so suspended. I was practically alone on the altar with Pancha Tattva, the doors closed, the temple quiet. Looking at Lord Chaitanya, I felt as though the contents of my heart were laid bare before Him. All of the gunk and beauty.

With that, I offered my obeisance, touching my forehead to the cool marble floor. Then I left the altar.

A couple days later, I attended an international kirtan festival in Mumbai. That first afternoon, I sat in the whorl of a powerful kirtan, in the midst of hundreds of people crying out the holy names of God. Each name that I sang seemed to hang and shine in the air for a moment. My heart felt quiet and peaceful.

Clean.

I sang for hours and hours; my cheeks began to ache from so much smiling. Through it all, whenever I would close my eyes, engraved upon my mind were the five golden forms of Pancha Tattva.


(photo courtesy of flickr)

Subscribe

Global Kirtan for Yamuna Gears up Amidst Political Breakthroughs
→ Seeking The Essence

Global Kirtan for Yamuna Gears up Amidst Political Breakthroughs

Originally posted by Madhava Smullen for ISKCON News on 15 Feb 2013

Second generation ISKCON devotees working with the Kuli Mela AssociationGlobal Kirtan for Yamuna River 3.1.13 are calling out to friends and ISKCON temples all over the world to join in a Global Kirtan for the Yamuna river on March 1st.

It’s the second time the worldwide prayer will be held for the beleaguered holy river, after the hugely successful January 30th, 2010 kirtan, which saw 130 groups participating along with prominent kirtaniyas Aindra Babaji, Shyamdas Ji, Radhanath Swami, Jai Uttal, Gaura Vani, Karnamrita, and The Mayapuris.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back then, devotees were protesting the construction of a highway overpass across the river at Keshi Ghat in Vrindavan, the sacred land of Lord Krishna’s birth.

Soon after, construction was stopped when the Allahabad High Court declared the overpass illegal on the grounds that it was less than 200 meters from an ASI protected monument, the Jugal Kishor Mandir.

After this, however, an even bigger outrage came to light. Eighty-five per cent of the Yamuna, which emerged crystal clear from its source in the Himalayas, was being held back by an irrigation dam in the state of Haryana. Meanwhile, Delhi City sewage and industrial waste was being emptied into it, until not a single drop of original Yamuna water was left by the time it reached Vrindavan.

Activists and devotees headed by Vrindavan-based group Maan Mandir fought for their beloved Yamuna, forcing the government to take notice with a series of protests and marches.

On March 1st, the biggest march yet is planned, with an astonishing half a million people expected to embark on a ten-day walk from Vrindavan to Delh in protest of the sacred river’s plight.

To add devotional power to the march’s political clout, devotees around the world will hold their second Global Kirtan on the same day, raising their voices for the Yamuna river.

In Berkely, California, Global Kirtan organizer Krishna Devata McComb will be singing along with Mantralogy artist Prajna Vieira.

Major kirtan singers all over the US will join in, with Gaura Vani of As Kindred Spirits chanting in Washington D.C., the Mayapuris in New York, and the Kirtaniyas in Los Angeles.

In Canada, Govinda Ghosh will sing at the Saranagati rural village in British Columbia.

Many South American communities have also just confirmed their involvement in the Global Kirtan, from the tip of Patagonia to the mountains of Peru.

In India, participants at this year’s Kumbha Mela in Allahabad, where the Yamuna meets the Ganges, will also join in with kirtan for the Yamuna.

Finally at the historic Jugal Kishor Palace Complex in Keshi Ghat, Vrindavana, Gaura Mani of Vrajavadhus’ Kirtan will sing on the banks of the Yamuna, as 500,000 people gather to walk to Delhi.

Altogether, at least one hundred groups of chanters are expected worldwide. Some groups may be big, some may be small; some may chant for 24 hours, some just for one; but all will be praying for the Yamuna with devotion.

To Krishna Devata, a second generation devotee who grew up holding Yamuna Devi in great regard, it’s an extremely personal cause.

“Each time I dedicate myself to this meditation, I can’t help but recall my childhood days, swimming and playing in the Yamuna with my little brother back in 1981 when I was five and he was two,” she says.

Sadly, the next time Krishna Devata returned to the Yamuna–in 1998–it was to offer her brother’s ashes into the sacred waters, two years after he had passed away. There, as Yamuna Devi provided her solace, a deep bond was forged with the holy river.

So when Krishna Devata again visited the Yamuna in 2010 with her own children—now aged five and two just like she and her brother had been—and saw it blighted by pollution, garbage and construction work, the sight moved her to tears.

“I was sitting in the rickshaw with my children, and I couldn’t approach the river,” she recalls. “It struck me in a very deep place how in one generation I had seen this happen before my very eyes. And I realized that I was in for a lifetime of service.”

There may be a lifetime of caring for the Yamuna ahead. But it’s likely that Krishna Devata and the other devotees aching for the Yamuna may see developments that will soothe their hearts soon after their global chant on 3.1.13, if not before.

Radha Jivan Das, an ISKCON devotee businessman and activist working with Maan Mandir, recently reported that representatives of the organization met with Delhi head of Congress Ms Sonia Gandhi on February 8th with positive results.

“We talked to her regarding the problems with Yamuna,” she says. “She was very serious on the matter and has promised to do the best she can by speaking to the chief minister of Haryana. She said she will see to it that water is released into the Yamuna [to restore it to its original clean state].”

Maan Mandir representatives also spoke with Lalu Yadav, one of the top political leaders of Bihar state and a current member of Parliament. He promised to aggressively bring up the Yamuna’s plight at the upcoming Parliament sessions in Delhi from February 21st to March 21st and see if something could be done.

Meanwhile, awareness for the walk beginning March 1st is high all over the region of Braj, where the towns of Vrindavana, Mathura, Gokul, Govardhan and possibly even Agra will be completely closed down for the day.

“Jai Guru Dev ashram has taken responsibility to feed the 500,000 protestors every day for ten days, and bus services, shops and offices will be closed,” says Radha Jivan.

The march is expected to completely block the major National Highway 2, and Radha Jivan has expressed the expectation that the government will intervene and promise action before the protestors even reach Delhi.

Meanwhile there’s no doubt that the activists on the ground will feel hugely inspired and supported by devotees all over the world praying for their success—what to speak of the auspiciousness such vast congregational chanting will bring to the whole effort.

“Our unified voices really make a difference,” Krishna Devata says. “Just gathering and agreeing to dedicate our prayer together, is a huge act of peace and hope.”

So if you want to make a difference, please organize a kirtan in your community—long or short, small or large—on March 1st, 2013; and email Krishna Devata at thedancingmama@gmail.com to let her know the location and details.


“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”
→ kurma News

Apparently there is no record of Marie Antoinette ever having said this favourite line when told that the common people were starving.

cake:

One thing is for sure: I did bake a cake yesterday and here it is. At least this is a photographic record that it existed. As all things in this real but temporary world, it has now gone the way of all great gateaux.

For your culinary and orally-fixated pleasure: it is (or was) a two layer peach, nutmeg, coconut and lemon zest enriched sponge cake sandwiched together with mixed berry jam, frosted with a combination of sweetened cream cheese infused with lime zest. I decorated it with toasted coconut ribbon and candied lemon peel. Yes, it tasted as spectacular as it sounds.

Finally: I would like to offer my apologies that this blog is very sparse these days. I am totally absorbed in looking after my father's affairs since his health has deteriorated. If you'd like to stay in touch, I suggest you follow me on Facebook, my only regular interface with the world these days. My Facebook name is private, but if you write me by commenting on this post, I can provide you with it.

"We are aliens here, matter is strange to us" – Learn more during this Sunday’s vedic discourse‏
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG

ISKCON Brampton Youth Program - Friday February 15th 2013 @ 7:00pm

Everyone is welcomed to come and participate. The program will  start at 7:00pm sharp! So please try to make it at around 6:45pm. Sumptuous Prasadam will also be served at 9:00pm.

This event is absolutely free, but donations to the temple are always accepted.
Anyone that would like to help out with prasadam, or has any questions/queries please contact Sukhavak Das at sukhavakdas@hotmail.ca.

Sunday Feast, February 17th @ 11:00am 

The program consists of arati, kirtan (devotional chanting), philosophical discussion and prasadam.  Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

Program Schedule:
11:00 am - 11:30 am Guru Puja
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Arati & Kirtan
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Narasingadev Prayers
12:10 pm - 1:00 pm  Vedic Discourse by His Grace Mahabhagavat Das
1:05 pm - 1:20 pm Tulasi Puja
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)

The 2013 Vaisnava Calendar is still available at ISKCON Brampton. Please get some copies for your friends and families!


Upcoming events:

Saturday February 23rd - Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day

Celebrations at ISKCON Brampton starting 11:00am. Please mark your calendar for this date. 

Lord Nityananda (also known as Nityananda Prabhu, Nitai, Nityananda Balarama) appeared as Lord Chaitanya’s principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He especially spread the holy name of the Lord throughout Bengal. He is considered an incarnation of Lord Balarama.

Devotees of Lord Nityananda celebrate His Appearance Day by fasting until noon, cooking a feast, and chanting the glories of Nitai.

PROGRAMME DETAILS
11.00AM           Srila Prabhupada arati
11.30AM           Guru Ashtakam and kirtan by Acharya Thakur das
11.55AM           Nrisimhadev prayers by Shukavak das
12.00PM           Welcome announcements by Syamalangi dasi
12.05PM           Glorious pastimes of Lord Nitaynanda by Adavita Gosai Prabhu
1.00PM             A special song & video presentation of dedication to Lord Nitaynanda
1.15PM              Tulasi kirtan
2.00PM             Nityananda mahotsava feast

"We are aliens here, matter is strange to us" – Learn more during this Sunday’s vedic discourse‏
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG

ISKCON Brampton Youth Program - Friday February 15th 2013 @ 7:00pm

Everyone is welcomed to come and participate. The program will  start at 7:00pm sharp! So please try to make it at around 6:45pm. Sumptuous Prasadam will also be served at 9:00pm.

This event is absolutely free, but donations to the temple are always accepted.
Anyone that would like to help out with prasadam, or has any questions/queries please contact Sukhavak Das at sukhavakdas@hotmail.ca.

Sunday Feast, February 17th @ 11:00am 

The program consists of arati, kirtan (devotional chanting), philosophical discussion and prasadam.  Please come, get inspired and inspire others through your desire to share Krsna Consciousness!

Program Schedule:
11:00 am - 11:30 am Guru Puja
11:30 am - 12:00 pm Arati & Kirtan
12:00 pm – 12:05 pm Narasingadev Prayers
12:10 pm - 1:00 pm  Vedic Discourse by His Grace Mahabhagavat Das
1:05 pm - 1:20 pm Tulasi Puja
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)

The 2013 Vaisnava Calendar is still available at ISKCON Brampton. Please get some copies for your friends and families!


Upcoming events:

Saturday February 23rd - Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day

Celebrations at ISKCON Brampton starting 11:00am. Please mark your calendar for this date. 

Lord Nityananda (also known as Nityananda Prabhu, Nitai, Nityananda Balarama) appeared as Lord Chaitanya’s principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He especially spread the holy name of the Lord throughout Bengal. He is considered an incarnation of Lord Balarama.

Devotees of Lord Nityananda celebrate His Appearance Day by fasting until noon, cooking a feast, and chanting the glories of Nitai.

PROGRAMME DETAILS
11.00AM           Srila Prabhupada arati
11.30AM           Guru Ashtakam and kirtan by Acharya Thakur das
11.55AM           Nrisimhadev prayers by Shukavak das
12.00PM           Welcome announcements by Syamalangi dasi
12.05PM           Glorious pastimes of Lord Nitaynanda by Adavita Gosai Prabhu
1.00PM             A special song & video presentation of dedication to Lord Nitaynanda
1.15PM              Tulasi kirtan
2.00PM             Nityananda mahotsava feast

Podcast 009 – Chakrini sings Om Namo Bhagavate
→ Oxford Kirtan

Chakrini released her first kirtan recording when she was just fifteen years old, on cassette tape in those days. Since that time, and a number of albums later, she has been recognised as an important voice in the kirtan community.

In this podcast we hear Chakrini sing Om Namo Bhagavate, in Oxford, in 2011. Visit her website for more http://www.chakrini.com

Podcast 009 – Chakrini sings Om Namo Bhagavate
→ Oxford Kirtan

Chakrini released her first kirtan recording when she was just fifteen years old, on cassette tape in those days. Since that time, and a number of albums later, she has been recognised as an important voice in the kirtan community.

In this podcast we hear Chakrini sing Om Namo Bhagavate, in Oxford, in 2011. Visit her website for more http://www.chakrini.com