Nrsimha Chaturdashi 2013 – Sandhya Arati
Nrsimha Chaturdashi 2013 – Sandhya Arati
Cooking Classes
→ The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland
New Vegan/Vegetarian Cooking classes Every fortnight on Fridays at 6pm This week, Friday 5th July, it is with Madhava sangani (Meredith) …………………………………………... Theme this week: Gluten Free Buckwheat Crepes, Buckwheat crackers Roasted beetroot dip Raw cashew cheese Salad (for serving with the crepes) Banana surprise Remember BOOK NOW – parking is free after 6pm and only [...]
The post Cooking Classes appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.
June 13, ’13 Photos
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May 31, 13 Candle Light Kirtana Photos
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June 6, ’13 Photos
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air freshener anyone? living under the influence…
→ everyday gita
There is a phrase that the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada, often uses in reference to the soul. That phrase is:
"one's constitutional position"
I love this description because it strips away everything that is irrelevant and gives us the essence. Sometimes, when things are wrapped up in nice and glitzy packages, we get distracted. Case in point - many of us are so fixated on the body with all it's functions, abilities and appearance that we may forget what's really important - the soul inside.
Equally important to realizing that we are eternal souls, is the nature of the soul. Its nature can be summed up in two words: to serve.
Everything really falls in place if we understand these two points of service and the soul. Our desire to find our true calling and contribute to the world is in fact rooted in our innate nature to serve.
But...we face a challenge. We encounter it on a minute to minute basis and may not realize that it is in direct opposition to the soul's propensity and inherent nature of service. That challenge is otherwise known as: the false ego.
The false ego is like a voracious eater and the food it subsists on is control and recognition. Now before going any further, it's important to highlight that desiring control and recognition is not wrong or negative. It does, however, become a challenge when the false ego, which is always screaming to take credit of all activities that are being performed, interferes with our inherent nature to appreciate and recognize the Divine.
In fact, the soul doesn't crave recognition, control or anything else. It simply craves eternal and ever-lasting love. Under the influence of the false ego, we get bewildered into thinking that these other externals may somehow lead to that love.
In today's verse, Krsna is very beautifully explaining how the false ego affects us. It acts as an influence. That in and of itself gives great hope for all those who want to be freed from the tyrannical demands of the false ego. If the soul is under the influence of the false ego, it implies that the soul can also become freed from it!
Just as the air takes on the smell of any environment that it passes over, similarly the soul (having been in contact with the false ego for so many lifetimes) also takes on the influence of the false ego's association.
The temptation may be there to cover up the outward manifestations of the false ego, similar to trying to cover up a bad odor with a pleasant one. However, it just doesn't work. It may be a temporary fix, but those tendencies always comes out, often at the most inopportune times!
The only way to give up the influence of the false ego is by changing our association. By practicing mantra meditation, introspection and spending time with advanced bhakti yogis, we'll start to recognize the stink of the false ego. After all, it's only when you recognize the stink that you'll want to disassociate from it! By becoming aware of the ways that the false ego lures us in, we'll learn to not only ignore it, but gradually give up it's association completely.
air freshener anyone? living under the influence…
→ everyday gita
There is a phrase that the great bhakti yogi, Srila Prabhupada, often uses in reference to the soul. That phrase is:
"one's constitutional position"
I love this description because it strips away everything that is irrelevant and gives us the essence. Sometimes, when things are wrapped up in nice and glitzy packages, we get distracted. Case in point - many of us are so fixated on the body with all it's functions, abilities and appearance that we may forget what's really important - the soul inside.
Equally important to realizing that we are eternal souls, is the nature of the soul. Its nature can be summed up in two words: to serve.
Everything really falls in place if we understand these two points of service and the soul. Our desire to find our true calling and contribute to the world is in fact rooted in our innate nature to serve.
But...we face a challenge. We encounter it on a minute to minute basis and may not realize that it is in direct opposition to the soul's propensity and inherent nature of service. That challenge is otherwise known as: the false ego.
The false ego is like a voracious eater and the food it subsists on is control and recognition. Now before going any further, it's important to highlight that desiring control and recognition is not wrong or negative. It does, however, become a challenge when the false ego, which is always screaming to take credit of all activities that are being performed, interferes with our inherent nature to appreciate and recognize the Divine.
In fact, the soul doesn't crave recognition, control or anything else. It simply craves eternal and ever-lasting love. Under the influence of the false ego, we get bewildered into thinking that these other externals may somehow lead to that love.
In today's verse, Krsna is very beautifully explaining how the false ego affects us. It acts as an influence. That in and of itself gives great hope for all those who want to be freed from the tyrannical demands of the false ego. If the soul is under the influence of the false ego, it implies that the soul can also become freed from it!
Just as the air takes on the smell of any environment that it passes over, similarly the soul (having been in contact with the false ego for so many lifetimes) also takes on the influence of the false ego's association.
The temptation may be there to cover up the outward manifestations of the false ego, similar to trying to cover up a bad odor with a pleasant one. However, it just doesn't work. It may be a temporary fix, but those tendencies always comes out, often at the most inopportune times!
The only way to give up the influence of the false ego is by changing our association. By practicing mantra meditation, introspection and spending time with advanced bhakti yogis, we'll start to recognize the stink of the false ego. After all, it's only when you recognize the stink that you'll want to disassociate from it! By becoming aware of the ways that the false ego lures us in, we'll learn to not only ignore it, but gradually give up it's association completely.
Nrsimha Chaturdashi 2013 – HG Urmila Mataji
→ Gouranga TV - The Hare Krishna video collection
Nrsimha Chaturdashi 2013 – HG Urmila Mataji
ISKCON Scarborough- 4th Annual Harinam Sankirtan cruise- Kirtan by HG Ajamil das prabhu
→ ISKCON Scarborough
ISKCON Scarborough- 4th Annual Harinam Sankirtan cruise- Kirtan by HG Ajamil das prabhu
→ ISKCON Scarborough
ISKCON Sankirtan cruise- Kirtan by HG Gaura das
→ ISKCON Scarborough
ISKCON Sankirtan cruise- Kirtan by HG Gaura das
→ ISKCON Scarborough
Devotional Service Committee (DSC) meeting on Saturday June 15th @ 11:00 am
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG
Sunday Feast, June 16th @ 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 Subhavilasa Prabhu
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)
Upcoming event:
Sunday School Picture Day - June 23rd 2013
Bring your smiles and finest Vaisnava attire! (dhoti, kurta, lengha/gopi dress, tilak)
For more information, please contact the Sunday School teachers -sundayschool108@gmail.com
Devotional Service Committee (DSC) meeting on Saturday June 15th @ 11:00 am
→ ISKCON BRAMPTON'S BLOG
Sunday Feast, June 16th @ 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 Subhavilasa Prabhu
1:20 pm - 2:00 pm Prasadam (Vegetarian feast)
Upcoming event:
Sunday School Picture Day - June 23rd 2013
Bring your smiles and finest Vaisnava attire! (dhoti, kurta, lengha/gopi dress, tilak)
For more information, please contact the Sunday School teachers -sundayschool108@gmail.com
These things happen
→ Jayadvaita Swami
This letter was sent to me and Dravida Dasa, the chief editor at the North American BBT.
Respected Maharaj and Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I request to read the following purport of SB 9.10.29
“After giving up the body, one is transferred to another body, but sometimes, if one is too sinful, he is checked from transmigrating to another body, and thus he becomes a ghost. To save a diseased person from ghostly life, the funeral ceremony, or sraddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized sastra, must be performed. Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Ramacandra’s advice, Vibhisana, Ravana’s brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Ramacandra was kind to Ravana even after Ravana’s death.”
Shouldn’t the word “diseased” be “deceased”?
Your servant,
Anuj Agrawal
Banswara
Rajasthan, India
Yes, it certainly should!
(This will be fixed in the next printing.)
The post These things happen appeared first on Jayadvaita Swami.
These things happen
→ Jayadvaita Swami
Respected Maharaj and Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I request to read the following purport of SB 9.10.29 “After giving up the body, one is transferred to another body, but sometimes, if one is too sinful, he is checked from transmigrating to another body, and thus he becomes a ghost. To save a diseased person from ghostly life, the funeral ceremony, or sraddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized sastra, must be performed. Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Ramacandra’s advice, Vibhisana, Ravana’s brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Ramacandra was kind to Ravana even after Ravana’s death.” Shouldn’t the word “diseased” be “deceased”? Your servant, Anuj Agrawal Banswara Rajasthan, IndiaYes, it certainly should! (This will be fixed in the next printing.)
These things happen
→ Jayadvaita Swami
This letter was sent to me and Dravida Dasa, the chief editor at the North American BBT.
Respected Maharaj and Prabhu,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I request to read the following purport of SB 9.10.29
“After giving up the body, one is transferred to another body, but sometimes, if one is too sinful, he is checked from transmigrating to another body, and thus he becomes a ghost. To save a diseased person from ghostly life, the funeral ceremony, or sraddha ceremony, as prescribed in authorized sastra, must be performed. Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra and was destined for hellish life, but by Lord Ramacandra’s advice, Vibhisana, Ravana’s brother, performed all the duties prescribed in relation to the dead. Thus Lord Ramacandra was kind to Ravana even after Ravana’s death.”
Shouldn’t the word “diseased” be “deceased”?
Your servant,
Anuj Agrawal
Banswara
Rajasthan, India
Yes, it certainly should!
(This will be fixed in the next printing.)
Nrsimha Chaturdashi 2013 – Drama
→ Gouranga TV - The Hare Krishna video collection
Nrsimha Chaturdashi 2013 – Drama
ISKCON Scarborough- 4th Annual Harinam Sankirtan cruise – Kirtan by HG Jagannath Misra das
→ ISKCON Scarborough
ISKCON Scarborough- 4th Annual Harinam Sankirtan cruise – Kirtan by HG Jagannath Misra das
→ ISKCON Scarborough
ISKCON Scarborough- 4th Annual Harinam Sankirtan cruise- Interviews with Devotees
→ ISKCON Scarborough
ISKCON Scarborough- 4th Annual Harinam Sankirtan cruise- Interviews with Devotees
→ ISKCON Scarborough
think before you speak
→ everyday gita
Ever get so excited about something that when you get a chance to talk about it with others you just talk their head off? If so, you're not alone!
In some cases though, you may find out that the person you were speaking to got turned off by your rambling because they just couldn't relate to what you were saying.
At some point in time our lives, I think most of us have been both the source of such over-exuberance and the recipient of it! Today's verse speaks to this type of situation by offering some extremely practical advice to the super excited individual who is just bursting at the seams to speak:
Think before you speak.
Communications 101 teaches us that knowing your audience is just as important as how, what and why you're sharing information. The most effective communication occurs when we address the needs, interests and concerns of whoever we are talking to. Also extremely important is the relationship we have with the person we are conversing with.
Here, the Gita is saying that it takes time to understand bhakti. That's why it's important to start at the beginning. If you recall, one of the key topics Krsna speaks to Arjuna about (the first being the importance of the soul), is the necessity of working according to one's nature. Note: Krsna did not advice Arjuna to give up everything and run away to the forest to meditate.
Essentially, Krsna addressed Arjuna's needs, interests and concerns on a very practical level. Now as we continue to journey through the Gita, we'll learn more about the intricate nature of bhakti and how the most advanced bhakti yogis are not obligated work. But....that takes time, knowledge and the practical and steady application of the bhakti process.
Sometimes when we get really excited or inspired, we can overwhelm our listeners. What I love about this verse is that it's so applicable and relevant in our everyday lives. After all...I don't think anyone can argue that it's always best to think before we speak
Death of a Yogi
→ Bhagavatam By Braja
This is a partial excerpt from the manuscript to Beautiful Tales of the All Attractive, Vol. 2 – the topic at hand does continue past the end of the excerpt.
19-21
Parīkṣit: Please explain how those yogīs actually discard the body.
Śuka: They sit with the heel pressing the rectum so their life-air[1] can rise through the six stations, conquering weariness.
The thoughtful use their intelligence to gradually draw out and raise their life-air from the navel to the heart, and then upwards to the chest and throat. Finally, they bring their life-air between their eyebrows and close all the seven bodily outlets completely. Existing for half a moment in this independent state, they set their sights upon Viṣṇu’s worriless position and give up their body by bursting out from the top of the head, towards that supreme destination.
22
Parīkṣit: Do they make it successfully all the way to the supreme destination?
Śuka: Not if they still have personal ambitions, O King. On the path to the supreme they might want to use their mind and sensual faculties to enjoy the multifaceted world as supernatural beings who have eight mystic powers.
23
Parīkṣit: How is this different than the paradisiac goal achieved by ritual and responsibility?
Śuka: Yogic masters who have cultivated knowledge, austerity, yoga, and meditation can attain material destinations without being limited to them. They continue to progress within and beyond these destinations in a purified, subtle body. Those who perform the rituals and responsibilities of karma cannot attain such perfection.
24
Parīkṣit: How do they continue moving towards the supreme destination?
Śuka: They reach the heavens, where the Sun presides, by traversing the path of space. Then they follow the Sun’s ray towards to Moon[2] and progress further on the path towards Brahmā. Finally, when they are completely pure, they move upwards into Hari’s circle of stars.[3]
[1] The life air is the medium transmitting consciousness to the physical realm. So “raising the life-air” amounts to raising the focus of consciousness.
[2] Suṣumṇa
[3] Śiśumāra

The Death of a Yogi
→ The Enquirer
This is a partial excerpt from the manuscript to Beautiful Tales of the All Attractive, Vol. 2 – the topic at hand does continue past the end of the excerpt.
19-21
Parīkṣit: Please explain how those yogīs actually discard the body.
Śuka: They sit with the heel pressing the rectum so their life-air[1] can rise through the six stations, conquering weariness.
The thoughtful use their intelligence to gradually draw out and raise their life-air from the navel to the heart, and then upwards to the chest and throat. Finally, they bring their life-air between their eyebrows and close all the seven bodily outlets completely. Existing for half a moment in this independent state, they set their sights upon Viṣṇu’s worriless position and give up their body by bursting out from the top of the head, towards that supreme destination.
22
Parīkṣit: Do they make it successfully all the way to the supreme destination?
Śuka: Not if they still have personal ambitions, O King. On the path to the supreme they might want to use their mind and sensual faculties to enjoy the multifaceted world as supernatural beings who have eight mystic powers.
23
Parīkṣit: How is this different than the paradisiac goal achieved by ritual and responsibility?
Śuka: Yogic masters who have cultivated knowledge, austerity, yoga, and meditation can attain material destinations without being limited to them. They continue to progress within and beyond these destinations in a purified, subtle body. Those who perform the rituals and responsibilities of karma cannot attain such perfection.
24
Parīkṣit: How do they continue moving towards the supreme destination?
Śuka: They reach the heavens, where the Sun presides, by traversing the path of space. Then they follow the Sun’s ray towards to Moon[2] and progress further on the path towards Brahmā. Finally, when they are completely pure, they move upwards into Hari’s circle of stars.[3]
[1] The life air is the medium transmitting consciousness to the physical realm. So “raising the life-air” amounts to raising the focus of consciousness.
[2] Suṣumṇa
[3] Śiśumāra

Travel Journal#9.9: Holland, London, The North of England, Northern Ireland
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2013, part one)
The man also knew of Inis Rath island and their Sunday feast, and the lady in the office lived in Dunmurry, the Belfast suburb where our temple is, and she knew of our Sunday program there.
Travel Journal#9.9: Holland, London, The North of England, Northern Ireland
→ Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2013, part one)
The man also knew of Inis Rath island and their Sunday feast, and the lady in the office lived in Dunmurry, the Belfast suburb where our temple is, and she knew of our Sunday program there.
Special Seminar on Thursday: Internally Developing Your Devotional Service
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Blog!

This Thursday, June 13th, Laxmimoni prabhu will be leading a discussion on how we can develop our devotional service internally, starting at 6:30pm. A lot of the times, we are busy with services but we are not able to go internally and focus on developing our spirituality within.
Looking into our ancient scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna contemplated whether to stay and fight on the battlefield or to head to the forests, chanting in seclusion. As a question to fuel Thursday's discussion: was Arjuna more internal about his spiritual practice on the battlefield or in the forests?
To be part of this discussion, please don't miss Thursday's class. We promise a stimulating discussion!
Special Seminar on Thursday: Internally Developing Your Devotional Service
→ The Toronto Hare Krishna Blog!

This Thursday, June 13th, Laxmimoni prabhu will be leading a discussion on how we can develop our devotional service internally, starting at 6:30pm. A lot of the times, we are busy with services but we are not able to go internally and focus on developing our spirituality within.
Looking into our ancient scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita, Arjuna contemplated whether to stay and fight on the battlefield or to head to the forests, chanting in seclusion. As a question to fuel Thursday's discussion: was Arjuna more internal about his spiritual practice on the battlefield or in the forests?
To be part of this discussion, please don't miss Thursday's class. We promise a stimulating discussion!
“In His Own Words”—from Indradyumna Swami, June 9, 2013
Giriraj Swami
Diary of a Traveling Monk, Volume 13, Chapter 12
Anatoli Fedorovich Pinyayev (Ananta-santi dasa) was the first Soviet Hare Krsna devotee. Because of his active preaching throughout the USSR and because of the spiritual influence he had on many people, he was subjected to severe persecution for five and a half years at the hands of the staff at various Soviet psychiatric hospitals. The following excerpts are from an interview with him conducted in February 1988.
I started preaching Krsna consciousness after Srila Prabhupada visited Moscow in 1971. Gradually people in the Soviet Union became more and more attracted to
Krsna consciousness and it became quite widespread. The authorities, however, became afraid because so many from the intelligentsia were interested in Krsna consciousness. Everything spiritual was considered to be criminal and thus they started repressions.
It was just like an explosion of Krsna consciousness in the Soviet Union. The authorities were terrified so they tried to discredit the movement and present it as simply a group of crazy criminals. Because I was the first one to preach and the only disciple of Srila Prabhupada, they tried to repress me and present me as a crazy criminal. The court accused my godbrothers and me of teaching vegetarianism, which they said is harmful to the body, and of teaching mantras and praying, which they said is harmful for a person’s mental condition. On this ridiculous pretext they were accusing us.
I was imprisoned, and they tried to present every person who was following Krsna consciousness in this country as crazy. They then put me in a mental prison, a mental jail. There the doctors said that they were taught that religious believers are insane, and that only insane persons can think that there is a God, that there is spirit, and that we are not these bodies but spiritual sparks.
I was given courses of medication for many months. They gave me drugs three times a day. It was so bad that I was only able to lie in bed. This drug was special; it made it impossible to concentrate on anything. If I tried to chant loudly they would give me such large doses that I could have died. Lying on the bed I had so much material discomfort; these drugs make you restless and force you to change the position of your body all the time. I was feeling very weak and so much discomfort. It was just like torture for months and years. The only pause in the torture was when I was sleeping at night.
Initially, when the psychiatrists considered me crazy, they brought me from the regular prison to a psychiatric prison in Smolensk. It was on the same site as the ordinary prison but it had special cells for psychiatric prisoners. It had the bad aspects of both a mental asylum and prison. We were living in small cells with about twenty people in each. There was not enough fresh air. We took baths irregularly, sometimes not for 23 days. Many people there had insects on their bodies.
The entire place was very dirty. The food was prepared very badly. People there often had their teeth fall out, and their gums would bleed. I was taking very little food. Everything was a problem there. Even the janitors where criminals. It was a place for crazy criminals, and there was constant fighting amongst them. There was pressure from the doctors, the janitors, the criminals, everyone. Everyone was very much disturbed. My relatives were told that I would never be released.
The prisoners were punished for everything. I was trying to wash my clothes and every morning I tried to wash at least parts of my body. But I was punished many times for this. They did not like this. The janitors tried to beat me up several times.
There was psychological pressure all the time. Drugs were given for any reason and on any pretext. Somehow or the other the doctors decided I was eligible for release from this special psychiatric prison to a normal psychiatric prison. The KGB did not like this because their aim was to keep me there for my whole life. So instead I was transferred to another special psychiatric prison in the city of Oryol.
Everyone in that place was astonished by the fact that I was imprisoned for preaching religion. They saw that the authorities were especially oppressive towards me; they could not understand why.
I found out from my mother that my godbrothers all over the world had started a campaign for my release, as well as the release of other imprisoned devotees in the Soviet Union. The situation changed a little. During the last half year in Oryol some changes where expected, so I started to preach more at that time.
In Smolensk I was kept in one ward where there was a doctor who was famous for his sadistic inclinations. In Oryol, however, my last doctor told me that I was completely sane. He said he understood that I was in the mental prison because of the political situation. Before “perestroika” every aspect of spiritual and intellectual life was oppressed in our country. He said, “Time is working for you. Because of the changes in our society and because of the help from abroad, sooner or later you will be released.” He was a little compassionate towards me, and I preached to him. I was very thankful to my godbrothers and people all over the world who did something to somehow release me.
I was released from the Oryol psychiatric prison in a very strange and unusual way. One day my doctor called me in and said he was a little bit agitated. He told me that some papers had come from Moscow saying that I should be released. He said that there would be a special professor coming from Moscow to be part of a medical commission that would release me.
When the professor came, he talked to my doctor for a long time about me without me being present. In the end he told my doctor, “Yes, he is completely sane. We will release him, but we will leave his diagnoses for now because his condition may appear again in the future.” When my doctor told me about this, I requested him to ask the professor, “Who can guarantee that YOU will not go crazy after some time?” My doctor told me, “Yes, I asked him this question and he told me that he also finds the symptoms of mental disease within himself.”
To download PDF version of this Diary Chapter please go to:
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/605ba73a2b9f5142f3211b238/files/Diary_VOL13_12.pdf
Digesting Life
→ Tattva - See inside out
An interesting concept indeed. Sometimes we allow life’s challenges to overwhelm us. We become emotionally entangled and visibly frustrated. Not nice. On the other extreme, however, we may artificially erect a tough exterior and shut it all out. We resist the desire to react and opt to ignore. Facing challenges, however, is not just about gritting your teeth, disregarding emotion, and getting on with life. The external resilience will not cover up the internal unrest forever.
Undigested food turns and twists in the stomach; neither comfortable nor nourishing. Similarly, if we don’t internally digest life’s challenges, the emotions we neglect today will likely come back to haunt us in the future. Real tolerance is about good digestion. You accept what has happened, assimilate the events with spiritual insight, identify the lessons to learn, and let the rest go and move on. This approach liberates us from any negativity and helps us grow from the experience. The karmic law is all about character development.
Digesting Life
→ Tattva - See inside out
An interesting concept indeed. Sometimes we allow life’s challenges to overwhelm us. We become emotionally entangled and visibly frustrated. Not nice. On the other extreme, however, we may artificially erect a tough exterior and shut it all out. We resist the desire to react and opt to ignore. Facing challenges, however, is not just about gritting your teeth, disregarding emotion, and getting on with life. The external resilience will not cover up the internal unrest forever.
Undigested food turns and twists in the stomach; neither comfortable nor nourishing. Similarly, if we don’t internally digest life’s challenges, the emotions we neglect today will likely come back to haunt us in the future. Real tolerance is about good digestion. You accept what has happened, assimilate the events with spiritual insight, identify the lessons to learn, and let the rest go and move on. This approach liberates us from any negativity and helps us grow from the experience. The karmic law is all about character development.
Making Peace with Anger
→ Seed of Devotion
When I got older, at times I faced an anger so deep that fire seemed to course through my veins. I would shake, tears would stream from my eyes. I would fling words like knives from my mouth. Afterwards I felt like a monster, for surely I had betrayed the trust of those around me. How could anyone love me again?
Through emotional education with Satvatove Institute and my own exploration over the years, I have been on a long, painful and beautiful path of healing. I have learned so much about the dynamics of anger, being in integrity, and being assertive. I would say that I had made a tentative peace with anger.
Then, about a month and a half ago, I was tested. For the upcoming drama here in Mayapur, I was asked to play the part or Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha is God in His most ferocious, terrible form as the personification of anger to protect His devotee.
I agreed to play the part.
This particular production was unique, for we would be portraying Lord Narasimha with four people, to represent the aspect that God is everywhere. In practice, I would roar and kill and destroy, my rage filling the entire auditorium.All four of us girls seemed to go deeper and deeper into the experience of divine anger.
But as practices wore on, I would sometimes leave late at night feeling so exhausted and empty. For a week or so I lost my voice so profoundly that my words came out in squeaks. I was supposed to be a lion but I felt like a kitten!
The day of the performance, the director kept insisting on using dramatic bloody guts that I would rip out of the abdomen of the demon I was killing. At her insistence, inside of my chest I felt a brick wall come up.
No.
I wouldn’t do it.
I said I didn’t want to because I had never practiced the whole killing scene before. There were so many other things that were last minute. I didn’t want to ruin my entire costume.
Etc. Etc.
Deep down, I knew the reason why I didn’t want to rip out the demon’s guts.
I was scared.
I was scared of my own anger, of expressing anger to that utter point of rage. In practice, I had always mimed ripping out the demons heart and placing his intestines around my neck. But to actually have blood on my hands, for blood to fly everywhere…
I cowered inside.
That was taking anger too far.
When I was having my lion face make-up done, I remembered the story of how Jadurani dasi had been painting this same killing scene with Lord Narasimha and the demon, Hiranyakashipu. The original painting had had a few drops of blood here and there. Srila Prabhupad had frowned and then ordered her to paint blood and gore everywhere. So she did. Only then was Prabhupad satisfied.
If this is what Srila Prabhupad would want, I thought, then my resistance to this violence is only out of my own personal fears.
Just before the crowds started to arrive, we went on stage and practiced ripping open the armor. I went through the practice with tight lips and a frowning face. Clammy hands.
There was no backing out now. After the practice, I nodded curtly, silently, that I would do it.
The drama began. Scene after dramatic scene, I could feel the tension building. The demon Hiranyakashipu kept trying to kill his son, Prahlad, but the Lord kept coming to protect the little boy. Prahlad's demon father was at wit's end.
The finale scene came. A giant, Styrofoam pillar was moved onstage. We four Lord Narasimhas lined up behind the pillar, and I stepped inside the pillar itself. I could feel the entire auditorium watching us on the other side of the styrofoam walls. The air seemed to crackle with electricity.
I turned to the other Narasimhas and whispered, “Let us pray. Let us pray to Lord Narasimha that we may represent Him as a service to the devotees,” All of our faces became grave and we folded our palms.
I turned back around, folded my palms, and closed my eyes. I felt feverish. I murmured over and over again, “Jai Nrisimha, Sri Nrisimha, Jai Jai Nrisimhadeva,” I could hear my voice echo off of the pillar walls.
Something curious happened. Chills went up and down my whole body.Then suddenly, a deep calm settled over my entire body. I stopped murmuring out loud. I opened my eyes.
Hiranyakashipu shouted, “If He is everywhere, even in this pillar, then I shall kill Him!” and struck the styrofoam walls.
I reached one hand through the crack. Then the other hand. With one move, I tore the pillar to both sides of the stage, leapt out of the pillar and roared from a place deep within. The roar of all four of us filled the auditorium. Cheers joined our roars.
As Lord Narasimha, I killed the demons one by one, like crushing insects. My heart pounded. I went through the motions of how we had done it in practice two dozen times, but suddenly this didn’t feel like practice anymore.
This was real.
We fought and danced through the fight scene. At last the moment came when I placed the demon into a backbend over my knee. I drew my claws and the demon screamed when he looked up at me.
My eyes were fire. My mind spun with the emotions, but mostly with the words: How dare you?
How dare you?
I plunged my hands into the demon’s armor, wrestled with the saran wrap that covered the blood soaked garlands. I lifted the garlands out and suddenly blood exploded everywhere. The audience roared. I kept ripping the garland and then slammed the pieces to the side of the stage.
I drank the demon’s blood. In one final move I mimed placing his intestines around my neck. In deep disgust, I looked down at the demon’s broken body and flung him away. I roared twice more until my entire body shook.
When the play continued, I saw that blood had gotten all over the entire stage.
I only ceased my anger when the boy, Prahlad, came to offer his prayers. My face slowly softened, my claws slowly relaxed. At last I gestured to the boy to come close and I petted him with tender affection.
The fire had left my body and my heart.
When I got backstage, I saw that I had gotten blood not only all over my costume, but the other three Narasimhas as well. What I had feared the most had happened. A part of me wondered if others would shy away from me after witnessing such ferocity.
But there was no fall-out. In fact, all the other actors and the audience was delighted that blood had gotten all over everything. I was shocked. I kept insisting on somehow or other washing out the stains.
I walked home, quietly reeling from what had just happened. I went to sleep that night exhausted to the bone, as if I had just fought a war.
The next morning I woke up deeply reflective. I began my spiritual practice of chanting God’s holy name, and images from the night before began to flash before my mind’s eye. The demon, the four Narasimhas, the roars, the blood flying everywhere. Everywhere.
As I continued to chant and the images wheeled through me faster and faster, my body was swept with chills.
At last. At last I had not only faced my anger, God had given me the opportunity to purify that anger. God had allowed me to channel His anger as a service.
Gratitude rolled through my body in waves.
Days went by and men, women, and children in the Mayapur community approached me. They expressed their gratitude that I had portrayed such a ferocious form of Lord Narasimha. I could only bow and quietly offer their appreciation to Lord Narasimha.
Thank you, Lord Narasimha. Thank you. Thank you. May Your divine anger purify my heart.
Making Peace with Anger
→ Seed of Devotion
When I got older, at times I faced an anger so deep that fire seemed to course through my veins. I would shake, tears would stream from my eyes. I would fling words like knives from my mouth. Afterwards I felt like a monster, for surely I had betrayed the trust of those around me. How could anyone love me again?
Through emotional education with Satvatove Institute and my own exploration over the years, I have been on a long, painful and beautiful path of healing. I have learned so much about the dynamics of anger, being in integrity, and being assertive. I would say that I had made a tentative peace with anger.
Then, about a month and a half ago, I was tested. For the upcoming drama here in Mayapur, I was asked to play the part or Lord Narasimha. Lord Narasimha is God in His most ferocious, terrible form as the personification of anger to protect His devotee.
I agreed to play the part.
This particular production was unique, for we would be portraying Lord Narasimha with four people, to represent the aspect that God is everywhere. In practice, I would roar and kill and destroy, my rage filling the entire auditorium.All four of us girls seemed to go deeper and deeper into the experience of divine anger.
But as practices wore on, I would sometimes leave late at night feeling so exhausted and empty. For a week or so I lost my voice so profoundly that my words came out in squeaks. I was supposed to be a lion but I felt like a kitten!
The day of the performance, the director kept insisting on using dramatic bloody guts that I would rip out of the abdomen of the demon I was killing. At her insistence, inside of my chest I felt a brick wall come up.
No.
I wouldn’t do it.
I said I didn’t want to because I had never practiced the whole killing scene before. There were so many other things that were last minute. I didn’t want to ruin my entire costume.
Etc. Etc.
Deep down, I knew the reason why I didn’t want to rip out the demon’s guts.
I was scared.
I was scared of my own anger, of expressing anger to that utter point of rage. In practice, I had always mimed ripping out the demons heart and placing his intestines around my neck. But to actually have blood on my hands, for blood to fly everywhere…
I cowered inside.
That was taking anger too far.
When I was having my lion face make-up done, I remembered the story of how Jadurani dasi had been painting this same killing scene with Lord Narasimha and the demon, Hiranyakashipu. The original painting had had a few drops of blood here and there. Srila Prabhupad had frowned and then ordered her to paint blood and gore everywhere. So she did. Only then was Prabhupad satisfied.
If this is what Srila Prabhupad would want, I thought, then my resistance to this violence is only out of my own personal fears.
Just before the crowds started to arrive, we went on stage and practiced ripping open the armor. I went through the practice with tight lips and a frowning face. Clammy hands.
There was no backing out now. After the practice, I nodded curtly, silently, that I would do it.
The drama began. Scene after dramatic scene, I could feel the tension building. The demon Hiranyakashipu kept trying to kill his son, Prahlad, but the Lord kept coming to protect the little boy. Prahlad's demon father was at wit's end.
The finale scene came. A giant, Styrofoam pillar was moved onstage. We four Lord Narasimhas lined up behind the pillar, and I stepped inside the pillar itself. I could feel the entire auditorium watching us on the other side of the styrofoam walls. The air seemed to crackle with electricity.
I turned to the other Narasimhas and whispered, “Let us pray. Let us pray to Lord Narasimha that we may represent Him as a service to the devotees,” All of our faces became grave and we folded our palms.
I turned back around, folded my palms, and closed my eyes. I felt feverish. I murmured over and over again, “Jai Nrisimha, Sri Nrisimha, Jai Jai Nrisimhadeva,” I could hear my voice echo off of the pillar walls.
Something curious happened. Chills went up and down my whole body.Then suddenly, a deep calm settled over my entire body. I stopped murmuring out loud. I opened my eyes.
Hiranyakashipu shouted, “If He is everywhere, even in this pillar, then I shall kill Him!” and struck the styrofoam walls.
I reached one hand through the crack. Then the other hand. With one move, I tore the pillar to both sides of the stage, leapt out of the pillar and roared from a place deep within. The roar of all four of us filled the auditorium. Cheers joined our roars.
As Lord Narasimha, I killed the demons one by one, like crushing insects. My heart pounded. I went through the motions of how we had done it in practice two dozen times, but suddenly this didn’t feel like practice anymore.
This was real.
We fought and danced through the fight scene. At last the moment came when I placed the demon into a backbend over my knee. I drew my claws and the demon screamed when he looked up at me.
My eyes were fire. My mind spun with the emotions, but mostly with the words: How dare you?
How dare you?
I plunged my hands into the demon’s armor, wrestled with the saran wrap that covered the blood soaked garlands. I lifted the garlands out and suddenly blood exploded everywhere. The audience roared. I kept ripping the garland and then slammed the pieces to the side of the stage.
I drank the demon’s blood. In one final move I mimed placing his intestines around my neck. In deep disgust, I looked down at the demon’s broken body and flung him away. I roared twice more until my entire body shook.
When the play continued, I saw that blood had gotten all over the entire stage.
I only ceased my anger when the boy, Prahlad, came to offer his prayers. My face slowly softened, my claws slowly relaxed. At last I gestured to the boy to come close and I petted him with tender affection.
The fire had left my body and my heart.
When I got backstage, I saw that I had gotten blood not only all over my costume, but the other three Narasimhas as well. What I had feared the most had happened. A part of me wondered if others would shy away from me after witnessing such ferocity.
But there was no fall-out. In fact, all the other actors and the audience was delighted that blood had gotten all over everything. I was shocked. I kept insisting on somehow or other washing out the stains.
I walked home, quietly reeling from what had just happened. I went to sleep that night exhausted to the bone, as if I had just fought a war.
The next morning I woke up deeply reflective. I began my spiritual practice of chanting God’s holy name, and images from the night before began to flash before my mind’s eye. The demon, the four Narasimhas, the roars, the blood flying everywhere. Everywhere.
As I continued to chant and the images wheeled through me faster and faster, my body was swept with chills.
At last. At last I had not only faced my anger, God had given me the opportunity to purify that anger. God had allowed me to channel His anger as a service.
Gratitude rolled through my body in waves.
Days went by and men, women, and children in the Mayapur community approached me. They expressed their gratitude that I had portrayed such a ferocious form of Lord Narasimha. I could only bow and quietly offer their appreciation to Lord Narasimha.
Thank you, Lord Narasimha. Thank you. Thank you. May Your divine anger purify my heart.
9pm arati nrsimhadev festival
→ Gouranga TV - The Hare Krishna video collection
9pm arati nrsimhadev festival
A Little More About Chanting Hare Krishna
→ The Enquirer
In Bhajana Rahasya, Srimad Bhaktivinode Thakur explains the following verse from Sri Sanatana Goswami’s Haribhakti-vilasa:
manah samharanam saucam maunam manträrtha-cintanam
avyagratvam anirvedo japa – sampatti – hetavah
The Thakur says that this instruction applies to both nama-japa and mantra-japa (a.k.a “gayatri”). The advice here is: “Take complete control of your thoughts, making them pure and silent. Contemplate the meaning and intention of the mantra. Be resolute, but patient – then you will bring about the full realization of chanting.”
The Thakur elaborates on mantrartha-cintana (“contemplating the meaning and intention of the mantra“) with five specific instructions:
1) Educate yourself in the meaning of the mantra, and the on the persons named by the mantra. In other words, learn the various multifaceted meanings of the words “hare, krishna, rama” and learn the qualities, form, and pastimes of the persons named by those words.
2) Consider the person(s) named in the mantra to be your only true protector, and chant the mantra many times (instead of just once) for their pleasure.
3) Consider that there is nothing existing at all outside of the mantra. The mantra, being non-different from the divine beings it names, encompases all of reality.
4) Give yourself to the mantra in the mood of needing to be rescued by it.
5) Give your heart and soul to the mantra. If chanting it conflicts with other interests, sacrifice those interests. Sacrifice everything for the mantra, but never sacrifice the mantra for anything.
Bhaktivinode Thakur says that if we chant in this manner, we will attain astonishing results extremely rapidly.

TEXAS FAITH 102: What does it mean to be an American today?
→ Nityananda Chandra Das' Blog, ISKCON Dallas
Dallas Morning News,
Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
What does it mean to be an American today?
This question is more than an academic one. It goes to the heart of the immigration debate that is growing hot in the Senate this month.
The Senate is debating a reform bill that could come up for a final vote by July 1. A part of that legislation focuses on institutions that help immigrants become part of American society. I recently wrote a column about this aspect of the bill, which you can read at this link.
Tamar Jacoby of Immigration Works USA has written extensively about the concept of assimilation. As she has pointed out, what it means to be an American today is vastly different from what it meant in, say, the 1950s.
Almost a decade ago, Jacoby wrote this:
“We may need a new definition, or new understanding of assimilation — a definition that makes sense today, in an era of globalization, the Internet, identity politics, niche advertising and a TV dial that offers a choice among a hundred or more different channels.
“Even as they live out the melting pot myth, today’s immigrants and their children are searching for new ways to think and talk about it, and together, they and the rest of the nation face the challenge of updating the traditional ideal.”
(For more of her essay, see this link)I would say we still are searching for an update for that ideal, including how immigrants become part of the mainstream without losing their ethnic identity.
This is obviously hard work. As our society becomes more diverse, America develops a broader and richer culture. At the same time, nations depend upon some common core of values, beliefs and identity to hang together. And that requires some kind of definition of what it means to be an American.
So, how would you define being an American today?
NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas
The Motto on every dollar bill is “In God We Trust”
The highest ideal would be that Americans embody this motto by becoming a nation of God-conscious people. For without God Consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness, society blindly wanders after the temporary.
Those who chase after temporary gains may sometimes be lawful or may sometimes be unlawful and exploitative. However in either case such hungry souls are never satisfied. They consume, they use, they exploit, they justify, and teach others to do the same.
Only those who are invested in the eternal can be satisfied and thus be peaceful. That society whose very example is of internal peace, are the ones fit to hold the influential position in the world that is known as America.
To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.
TEXAS FAITH 102: What does it mean to be an American today?
→ Nityananda Chandra Das' Blog, ISKCON Dallas
Dallas Morning News,
Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.
What does it mean to be an American today?
This question is more than an academic one. It goes to the heart of the immigration debate that is growing hot in the Senate this month.
The Senate is debating a reform bill that could come up for a final vote by July 1. A part of that legislation focuses on institutions that help immigrants become part of American society. I recently wrote a column about this aspect of the bill, which you can read at this link.
Tamar Jacoby of Immigration Works USA has written extensively about the concept of assimilation. As she has pointed out, what it means to be an American today is vastly different from what it meant in, say, the 1950s.
Almost a decade ago, Jacoby wrote this:
“We may need a new definition, or new understanding of assimilation — a definition that makes sense today, in an era of globalization, the Internet, identity politics, niche advertising and a TV dial that offers a choice among a hundred or more different channels.
“Even as they live out the melting pot myth, today’s immigrants and their children are searching for new ways to think and talk about it, and together, they and the rest of the nation face the challenge of updating the traditional ideal.”
(For more of her essay, see this link)I would say we still are searching for an update for that ideal, including how immigrants become part of the mainstream without losing their ethnic identity.
This is obviously hard work. As our society becomes more diverse, America develops a broader and richer culture. At the same time, nations depend upon some common core of values, beliefs and identity to hang together. And that requires some kind of definition of what it means to be an American.
So, how would you define being an American today?
NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas
The Motto on every dollar bill is “In God We Trust”
The highest ideal would be that Americans embody this motto by becoming a nation of God-conscious people. For without God Consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness, society blindly wanders after the temporary.
Those who chase after temporary gains may sometimes be lawful or may sometimes be unlawful and exploitative. However in either case such hungry souls are never satisfied. They consume, they use, they exploit, they justify, and teach others to do the same.
Only those who are invested in the eternal can be satisfied and thus be peaceful. That society whose very example is of internal peace, are the ones fit to hold the influential position in the world that is known as America.
To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.
don’t be fooled by what you see
→ everyday gita

The Gita speaks of four limitations that all embodied beings face. They are:
1. tendency to cheat others
2. tendency to commit mistakes
3. tendency to fall under illusion
4. having to deal with imperfect senses
It should be noted that these conditions are attributed to the body, NOT the soul. In fact, if anyone feels slighted or even put off by this fact, take comfort in knowing that in no way do these characteristics reflect who you really are. The soul is above these limitations as it is full of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
This knowledge is there to open our eyes to the fact that identifying with the body isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
Yoga goes beyond the body and is about making soul connections. Often, when we try to connect with one another, we use our senses to interpret and understand what the other is saying.
In reading today's verse, the limitation of having to deal with imperfect senses really jumped out at me. If we solely rely on our senses to determine what is truth and what isn't, this will invariably limit our ability to understand a person, place or situation effectively. Although actions do normally give a greater glimpse into what a person is thinking or feeling, it's not always the case.
It's especially not the case for those who are practicing bhakti yoga. Living a life of gratitude and detachment by offering the results of one's work may appear externally similar to one who is completely attached to the results of their work. (i.e. two people can work the exact same job, but their consciousness may be so different). If we simply rely on our senses to understand one another, we can land in trouble because:
Consciousness is not something that can be perceived by the eyes.
Acknowledging that we face these limitations, that come hand in hand with owning a material body, actually helps the aspiring yogi to interact with the world more effectively. It reminds them that there is more to life than just the externals.
To be clear, the body itself is in no way bad. It's our attachment to identifying with the body that causes us unnecessary pain and difficulty.
When we realize that the body is an instrument by which we can utilize our talents to do good in the world and offer the results in gratitude to the Divine, we won't ever have to worry about being fooled by our senses. We'll be taking our first step to living a soul-full life. ;)