Kamika Ekadasi and the TOVP, 2022
- TOVP.org

Kamika ekadasi is celebrated as Krishna Paksha ekadasi in the month of Shravan. Observing this ekadasi is considered as auspicious as performing an Ashwamedha Yajna. As Gaudiya Vaishnavas, our main aim during ekadasi is to decrease bodily demands so we can spend more time in seva, especially hearing and chanting about the Lord’s pastimes and name.

It’s recommended to chant extra rounds and stay up all night chanting and hearing the Lord’s glories. It is also auspicious to donate to Vaishnavas and Lord Krishna’s service on ekadasi and we invite our readers to consider this Kamika ekadasi to donate towards the Give To Nrsimha 2023 Fundraiser. We are focusing on the completion and opening of the entire Nrsimhadeva hall and altar by the Fall of 2023 as a forerunner to the Grand Opening of the TOVP in 2024 when all the Deities will be relocated into Their new home. Please go to the Give To Nrsimha 2023 Fundraiser page TODAY and help complete this offering to the Lord.

  NOTE: Kamika ekadasi is observed on July 24 in most parts of the US and on July 25 in India, other countries and some parts of the US. Please refer to your local calendar through www.gopal.home.sk/gcal.

  View, download and share the TOVP 2022 Calendar​.

The Glories of Kamika Ekadasi

From the Brahma-vaivarta Purana

The saintly king Yudhisthira Maharaja said, “Oh Supreme Lord, I have heard from You the glories of fasting on Deva-sayani Ekadasi, which occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Ashadha. Now I would like to hear from You the glories of the Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight (krishna paksha) of the month of Shravana (July -August). Oh Govindadeva, please be merciful to me and explain its glories. Oh Supreme Vasudeva, I offer my most humble obeisances unto You.”

The Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, replied, “Oh King, please listen attentively as I describe the auspicious influence of this holy fast day, which removes all sins.
Narada Muni once asked Lord Brahma about this same topic.

‘Oh regent of all beings,’ said Naradji, ‘Oh you who sit upon a water born lotus throne, please tell me the name of the Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the sacred month of Shravana. Please also tell me which Deity is to be worshipped on that Holy day, the process one must follow to observe it, and the merit it awards.’

Lord Brahma replied, ‘My dear son Narada, for the benefit of all humanity I shall happily tell you everything you wish to know, for just hearing the glories of the Kamika Ekadasi bestows merit equal to that obtained by one who performs a horse sacrifice. Certainly, great merit is attained by one who worships, and who also meditates on the lotus feet of the four-armed Lord Gadadhara, who holds conchshell, disc, club and lotus in His hands and who is also known as Sridhara, Hari, Vishnu, Madhava, and Madhusudana. And the blessings achieved by such a person/devotee who worships Lord Vishnu exclusively are far greater than those achieved by one who takes a sacred bath in the Ganges at Kashi (Varanasi), in the forest of Naimisharanya, or at Pushkara, which is the only place on the planet where I (Lord Brahma) am formally worshipped.

‘But one who observes this Kamika Ekadasi and also worships Lord Sri Krishna achieves greater merit than one who has darshan of Lord Kedaranatha in the Himalayas, or one who bathes at Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse, or one who donates the whole Earth in charity, including its forests and oceans, or one who bathes in the Gandaki River (where the sacred Saligrams are found) or the Godavari River on a full moon (purnima) day that falls on a Monday when Leo (Simha) and Jupiter (Guru) are conjoined (conjunct).

‘Observing Kamika Ekadasi bestows the same merit as donating a milk-cow and her auspicious calf, along with their feed. On this all auspicious day, whosoever worships Lord Sri Sridhara-deva, Vishnu, is glorified by all the devas, Gandharvas, Pannagas, and Nagas. Those who are afraid of their past sins and completely immersed in sinful materialistic life should at least observe this best of Ekadasis according to their ability and thus attain liberation. This Ekadasi is the purest of all days and the most powerful for removing sins of the native.

‘Oh Naradaji, Lord Sri Hari Himself once said about this Ekadasi, “One who fasts on Kamika Ekadasi attains much more merit than one who studies all the spiritual literatures. Anyone who fasts on this particular day and remains awake throughout the night will never experience the anger of Yamaraja, the King of death personified.”

‘It has been seen that whoever observes Kamika Ekadasi will not have to suffer future births, and in the past too, many yogis of devotion who fasted on this day went to the spiritual world. One should therefore follow in their auspicious footsteps and strictly observe a fast on this most auspicious of Ekadasis.

‘Whosoever worships Lord Sri Hari with Tulsi leaves on this day is freed from all implication of sin. Indeed, he lives untouched by sin, as the lotus leaf, although in the water, is untouched by it. Whosoever offers Lord Sri Hari but a single leaf from the sacred Tulsi tree attains as much merit as one who gives away in charity two hundred grams of gold and eight hundred grams of silver. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is more pleased by one who offers Him a single Tulsi leaf than by one who worships Him with pearls, rubies, topaz, diamonds, lapis lazuli, sapphires, gomeda stones (gomaz), cat’s eye gems, and coral.

‘One who offers Lord Keshava newly grown manjari buds from the Tulsi plant gets rid of all the sins he has committed during this or any other lifetime. Indeed, mere darshana of Tulsi on Kamika Ekadasi removes all sins, and merely touching her and praying to her removes all kinds of disease. One who waters Tulsi devi need never fear the Lord of death, Yamaraja. One who plants or transplants Tulsi on this day will eventually reside with Lord Sri Krishna in His own abode. To Srimati Tulsi devi, who awards liberation in devotional service, one should therefore daily offer one’s full obeisances.

‘Even Chitragupta, Yamaraja’s secretary, cannot calculate the merit obtained by one who offers Srimati Tulsi-devi a perpetually burning ghee lamp. So dear is this sacred Ekadasi to the Supreme Personality of Godhead that all the forefathers of one who offers a bright ghee lamp to Lord Shri Krishna on this day ascend to the heavenly planets and drink the celestial nectar there. Whoever offers a ghee or sesame oil lamp to Shri Krishna on this day is freed from all his sins and enters the abode of Surya, the Sun-god, with a body as bright as ten million lamps. This Ekadasi is so powerful that if one who is unable to fast simply follows the practices as mentioned herein, he is elevated to the heavenly planets, along with all their forefathers.

“Oh, Maharaja Yudhisthira”, Lord Shri Krishna concluded, “These were the words of Prajapati Brahma to his son Narada Muni concerning the incalculable glories of this Kamika Ekadasi, which removes all sins. This sacred day nullifies even the sin of killing a brahmana or the sin of killing an unborn child in the womb, and it promotes one to the spiritual world by making one supremely meritorious.
One who kills the innocent, i.e., a brahmin, a child in the womb, a pious and spotless woman, etc., and then later hears about the glories of Kamika Ekadasi will be relieved of the reaction to one’s sins. However, one should NOT think beforehand that one can kill a Brahmin or other innocent people and then go unpunished simply by hearing of this Ekadasi. Such knowing committing of sin is an abomination.”

Whosoever hears these glories of the Kamika Ekadasi with faith becomes free of all sins and returns home, back to Godhead – Vishnu-loka, Vaikuntha. Thus ends the narration of the glories of the Sravana-krishna Ekadasi or Kamika Ekadasi, from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana.

This article has been used courtesy of ISKCON Desire Tree).

The Story of Kamika Ekadasi

Once there lived a strong and powerful warrior. During one of his adventures the warrior happened to kill a pious devotee of Sridhara Vishnu. The warrior wanted to perform austerities to get rid of the sin of killing a pious man.

He inquired with the learned saints about an austerity that would help in cleansing the sins of killing a virtuous devotee of Vishnu. The saints asked him to perform the Ekadasi fasting falling during the waning phase of moon in Shravana month as per traditional panchang followed in North India.

The warrior performed the Ekadasi fasting by offering prayers to the Sridhara form of Lord Vishnu. After the fasting and prayers, he gave food to poor people and helped them financially to overcome their difficulties.

Pleased with the devotion of the warrior, Vishnu appeared before him in His Sridhara form and gave him liberation from the sin of accidentally killing a pious man.

 

 

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The TOVP Announces a Unique Sponsorship Opportunity: The 31 Dresses Campaign
- TOVP.org

Unique Sponsorship Opportunity: The 31 Dresses Campaign – sponsor an entire set of 31 Deity dresses for one day during the 3-month long TOVP Grand Opening Festival, scheduled for the Fall of 2024. This includes Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva, Sri Nrsimhadeva and the fifteen new sampradaya acharya murtis. A new set of outfits will be offered every third day of the festival allowing for only 31 sponsorships.

The 2024 Marathon is full-steam ahead. The Pujari Floor is completed and being prepared for the relocation of our beloved Mayapur ISKCON Deities. Now we want to have Their new dresses made as an offering to Them in Their new home to enhance our loving service to Their lotus feet.

This wonderful seva opportunity is available for individual or group sponsors or temples. Already several ISKCON temples such as Vrindaban, Mumbai, Chowpatty, Tirupati and Hyderabad have committed to this service. An individual or group can pay us the cost of the dress design and making ($25,000 by the end of 2023), or a temple can arrange for the design, making and payment themselves and provide the outfits no later than January, 2024.

If you are eager to offer direct service to Radha Madhava, Pancha Tattva, Nrsimhadeva and our acharyas and personally welcome Them to the TOVP, go to the TOVP 31 Dresses Campaign page TODAY before these sponsorships run out.

 

 

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Sanatana Goswami Disappearance
→ Ramai Swami

Sri Sanatana Gosvami appeared in 1488, five years before Sri Rupa Gosvami, in a Sarasvata brahmana family in Bengal. Sanatana and his two brothers, Rupa and Anupama, were always absorbed in bhava bhakti from early childhood. Remembering Vrndavana, they named the forests in which they played after Vraja’s twelve forests (Talavana, Madhuvana, Kamyavana, Mahavana). They called their favorite bathing ponds Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda.

In his youth, Sri Sanatana dreamt that a beautiful brahmana boy gave him a Srimad Bhagavatam.Feeling ecstatic he awoke. But seeing neither the boy nor the Bhagavatam he felt sad. When Sanatana began his puja that morning, however, Krishna Himself, disguised as a beautiful brahmana boy, came and said, “Take this Srimad Bhagavatamfrom Me, always study it, and you will attain perfection.”

Forced to submit to the ruling Muslim government, Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana became ministers and lived at Ramakeli. But their real engagement was teaching sastras which they learned from Vidyavacaspati, brother of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. Pan­dits and brahmanas from all over India came to study under the two brothers. Sri Rupa and Sanatana were acclaimed as the “crest jewels of the Gaudiya Vaisnava scholars.”

After the Lord visited Ramakeli and freed them, they renounced everything for Lord Gauranga’s service. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis to move to Vrndavana and perform four services: (1) Uncover Sri Krishna’s pastime places. (2) Install Deities, arrange for Their puja. (3) Compile bhakti scriptures. (4) Propagate the rules of devotional life.

“Entering Lord Caitanya’s service, they resolutely gave up power, riches, and position to live in Vrndavana as humble beggars absorbed in bhajana. One cannot properly perform Krishna bhajana until one renounces all attach­ments both internally and externally, and adopts a life of simplicity and humility.” (Sri Vraja Mandala Parikramd).

They traveled extensively through Vraja mandala discovering many lila sthanas [pastime places] of Radha-Madhava. Having no fixed residence, they would catch a few winks of sleep (no more than one and a-half hours per day) under a tree or bush. Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Gosvamis spent all their time writing, discussing Krishna’s pastimes, and chanting Krishna’s holy names.

The Radha-Madana Mohana mandir established by Sanatana Gosvami was the first one opened in Vrndavana by the six Gos-vamis. Described as “the personal extension of the body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,” Sri Sanatana is the ideal spiritual master because he gives one shelter at the lotus feet of Madana Mohana.

In his last years, he left his beloved Deity of Madana Mohana with Krishna Dasa brahmacari, his disciple. He did bhajana on the banks of Manasi Ganga next to Cakalesvara Mahadeva at Govardhana. Daily he walked the twenty-four mile parikrama (original longer route) of Govardhana Hill. Although he was sixty-five years old, he kept his daily vow of offering 1,008 obeisances to Govardhana Hill and to any Vaisnava whom he met. 

Understanding the difficulty of His pure devotee, Sri Madana Mohana appeared one day and said, “Baba! you are too old. Don’t take so much trouble to walk around Govardhana Hill everyday.”

Out of loving compassion for His devotee, Sri Krishna stood on a large flat stone (Govardhana sila) taken from Giriraja. He played His irresistable flute. The Govardhana sila melted in ecstasy, capturing the impression of Krishna’s lotus feet.

Presenting this to Sanatana, Krishna said, “If you circumambu­late this sila everyday it will be the same as going around Govardhana Hill everyday. You will keep your vow intact and not compromise your religious principles.” 

In the form of Labanga manjari Sanatana Gosvami serves Srimati Visakha sakhi in Radha-Madhava’s nitya nikunja-lila. Sanatana Gosvami’s samadhi is behind Radha Madana Mohana’s temple. 

Finish All Business in This Life
→ Dandavats

Prabhupāda: So Kṛṣṇa is within you. He knows whether you are cheater and whether you are sincere. So therefore He says: “Those who are sincere and twenty-four hours engaged in My service, I give them intelligence.” What kind of intelligence? “To… as he may come back to Me, that kind of intelligence.” Because that is
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UF Archives 1976 – Richard L. Thompson & Svarupa Damodara das
→ Dandavats

Vintage 1976 recording from the University of Florida Digital Collections sponsored by the George A. Smathers Libraries. Michael Gannon interviews Richard L. Thompson and Svarupa Damodara das where they discuss the relationship of science to religion and the tenets of Krishna Consciousness. UF Archives 1976 – Richard L. Thompson & Svarupa Damodara das
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The Universal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead – HG Chaitanya Charan
→ Dandavats

Translation O Vidura, who can estimate or measure the transcendental time, work and potency of the gigantic form manifested by the internal potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? Purport The froggish philosophers may go on with their mental speculations on the subject matter of the virāṭ, the gigantic form exhibited by the yoga-māyā internal
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TOVP Bas Relief Panels Update: Rasa Lila and Ratha Yatra Panels
- TOVP.org

We have just installed the two remaining bas relief panels on the walls of the ventilation shafts of the Temple Room. These are large 16ft./5m. panels made of fiberglass and reinforced with metal inserts. The weight of each panel is more than 550lb./250kg.

One panel shows the Rasa Lila dance of Lord Sri Krishna and the other shows the ecstatic dance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at the Ratha Yatra Chariot Festival in Puri. These panels are ready to be painted and will wonderfully decorate the interior of the TOVP Temple Room.


 

 

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TOVP Architecture Dept. Report: July, 2022
- TOVP.org

TOVP Architecture Dept. Report From the Head Architect

The TOVP is a project that perpetually works on multiple paradigms at once: design, working drawings, and material research whilst simultaneously casting elements all across the country and building them coherently in Mayapur. The design team makes sure to put thought into the minutest detail to ensure the design is empathetic and user-friendly to the diversified devotees that will travel through the Temple for the years to come. In this report, we have highlighted various works that are ongoing at the conceptual, designing, manufacturing, and final construction levels.

Varsha Sharma
(Vilasini devi dasi)

Click here to read the entire article in your browser or download a copy to your desktop for offline reading.

 

 

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Maha-mantra
→ Dandavats

Maha means “great” and mantra means “sacred chant for deliverance.” Of all mantras in the Vedas, one is called the maha-mantra, or great mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The words “Hare” (pronounced ha-ray), “Krishna” (pronounced krish-na), and “Rama” (rhymes with “drama”), are Sanskrit
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One book
→ Dandavats

Some Burmese doctors were attending a medical convention in New York City and got a book from a devotee on the street. The book distributor showed them the Dasavatar painting in the Gita, pointed out Lord Buddha, and the doctors bought the book. When they got back to their hotel and looked through the Gita,
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