Srivasa Pandit Thakur Disappearance
→ Ramai Swami

Srila Srivasa Pandit, the fifth member of the Panca-tattva, appeared in Srihatta, West Bengal, about 30 years before the appearance of Lord Gauranga. Srivasa Pandit lived in Navadvip before the advent of Lord Chaitanya. 

Living the traditional brahminical life, he and his younger brothers, Srinidhi, Sripati and Srirama, worshipped Lord Krishna, performing devotional service and bathing thrice daily in the Ganges. On his order, they moved to Navadvip and began to associate with the senior and respected Sri Advaita Acharya.

They regularly used to attend the assembly of devotees who gathered at Sri Advaita Acharya’s house to hear the Srimad-Bhagavatam and engage in congregational chanting of the Holy Names. 

“Intelligent Srivasa had previously been Narada Muni, the best of the sages. Srivasa’s younger brother, Sriman Rama Pandit, had previously been Narada’s close friend Parvata Muni” (Gaura Ganodesh Dipika 90).

Srivasa Pandit and his wife Malini Devi became intimate friends of Jagannatha Misra and Sachi Devi. When Lord Visvambhara appeared, the hearts of all the devotees were filled with parental affection for the child. After the birth of Nimai, Malini would regularly visit and give advice to the younger Sachi mata on how to raise her mischievous child.

Nimai looked upon Srivasa Pandit and Malini just like His parents. Gaurachandra loved Malini as a second mother. Malini Devi was Krishna’s wet nurse in Vraja, Ambika. (Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika 90)

Srila Vrindavan das Thakur, the Vyasadeva of Sri Gaurasundara’s pastimes, has sung the praises of Srivasa Pandit in this way:

“It was in Pandit’s house that Sri Chaitanya enacted His pastimes of sankirtana. Those four brothers (Srivasa, Sri Rama, Sripati and Srinidhi) were continuously engaged in singing the names of Sri Krishna.” 

Person Worship
→ Seed of Devotion

One early morning, dressed in a traditional sari and acting in my role as a kind of priestess [pujari], I was seated in front of two small brass deities of the divine couple, Radha and Krishna. I intoned, “Su swagatam,” then immediately said, “Idam asanam,” and gestured with an open palm from the deities to two small, elaborately stitched sitting cushions. 

The first mantra I spoke simply translates as “Welcome!” and the second one translates as “Please, have a seat” - I was welcoming these deities to please, metaphysically, have a seat on these cushions. 

This welcoming of brass deities to please have a seat could seem strange. But within my spiritual tradition, deity worship is an expression of love and devotion, and I have been surrounded and inspired by this culture since I was a child. Ten years ago, I traveled to a holy village in India to formally study at a renowned Academy this ancient science. 

It sounds archaic to be intoning mantras and making mystical hand gestures (mudras) and learning obscure recipes. Sounds maybe, even, a little Harry Potter-ish. But by the time I graduated from the Academy, I had the most profound realization that deity worship is a practice to learn how to treat God as a person. 

One of the core practices is to offer Reception, which is, basically, hospitality.  

You are welcome here, come on in. 

That's all. 

Just treat God like a person. As the saying goes, we should love people and use objects, but so often we use people and love objects. 

I had the epiphany: What if I used some of these principles to treat PEOPLE like people?? 

I began to apply the principles of deity worship to how I offer hospitality in my own home. Whenever someone walks through my front door, I will immediately say some variation of: “Welcome, so good to see you! Come on in!” and then I will say, “Please, have a seat,” and actually physically gesture to a chair or the sofa. This simple physical movement, or mudra, is nothing mystical. It’s a powerful gesture from host to guest that communicates, “You belong here.” And then I will offer a glass of water (idam paniyam) - I never ask, I just place the cup of water in their hands or on a saucer on the table. 

The response of gratitude by my guests over the years has been astonishing, some even crowning me as the “Queen of Hospitality” but I just have to laugh because ultimately most times what I’ve offered was so simple - a welcome, a seat, some water.  

Hospitality is transcends religion or culture or time and place because it is the science of transformation of heart. Deity worship is not "idol worship", it is "person worship" - a brass deity of the Lord becomes a person, a person we can serve and know and love. 

And when I apply the principles of deity worship with other people in my life - whether family or strangers - they truly become persons I can serve and know and love. 


For the Wisdom of the Sages Ashram Month this August, I will be teaching a one-week segment on the culture of bhakti yoga. You will learn the principles of character and practices that create a transformational culture of love and devotion. Come join us! For more information, follow this link to the Wisdom of the Sages website: https://www.wisdomofthesages.com/ashram-month
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The perfection of life
→ Dandavats

Guest: What is the highest devotion, the highest bhakti, please? Prabhupada: To love Krishna. If you become expert how to love Krishna… The idea of loving is not unknown to you. You love somebody. You love your wife. You love your children. You love your country. You love your society. There are so many lovingRead More...
(This post has been viewed 4 times so far)

The great apostle of love of God
→ Dandavats

SB Introduction: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the great apostle of love of God and the father of the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, advented Himself at Śrīdhāma Māyāpura, a quarter in the city of Navadvīpa in Bengal, on the Phālgunī Pūrṇimā evening in the year 1407 Śakābda (corresponding to February 1486Read More...
(This post has been viewed 10 times so far)

Food for All Supports World Refugee Day
→ ISKCON News

June 20th is World Refugee Day and it is Refugee Week up until the 24th of June. Food For All’s great friend Jennie Matthias has released a new single in support of World Refugee Day 2022. All proceeds will go towards supporting refugees in London, by offering them food, work, and rehabilitation. You can help […]

The post Food for All Supports World Refugee Day appeared first on ISKCON News.

Thursday, June 16, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Home Visits

Visvambhar mentors international students from India and they are receptive, indeed, to Krishna Consciousness. Each morning while in Winnipeg, being accommodated in a quaint temple at 124 Hazelwood Ave., a portion of those students embark on a walk in the area of St. Vital. It is one of those sections of Winnipeg settled by the French.

My meals are provided by congregants, which I am grateful for. The zonal supervisor within ISKCON Zone 1 (Canada and six northern states) is Vrnda, a sincere and competent manager and devotee. She is steering people in the area in a good direction.

Kirtan is something I do in practically all the households I visit. In one home we were without musical instruments, so we innovated and I used the refrigerator as my drum. It worked quite well. I could hit different intonations due to the different compartments within, the highest pitch coming from the freezer compartment up top.

The final visit today was at the home of Philip Wilford, whom I haven’t seen in thirty-nine years. His home is one he seriously and artistically works on. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s a haven of a place within seventy trees planted on a small lot, resembling a solemn and meditative cave. St. Francis is there in wood, as an inspirational deity.

Conversations went so fine at all the home visits.

May the Source be with you!

3 km



 

Wednesday, June 15, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Transcona, Manitoba

Reunited with Billie the Parrot

It was with great pleasure that I could see Daruka, my support person for my fourth walk across the country, and also the second half of the third trek. This meeting with Daruka was very special, in his home area of Winnipeg/Transcona. His parents, especially his mother, wanted to meet me. Sometime in the past, I prayed for her when Daruka told me of her physical challenges. That touched her, even though I never met her. Although skeptical about her son getting “involved in a cult” years ago, she warmed up to Krishna to a degree and got curious, so Daruka drove me to their home along with Billie Jean, his blue-fronted Amazon parrot.

Here’s what I wrote about her in the book, The Saffron Path:

“When Daruka joined me on my third Canadian walk, Billie Jean came along too. It was not my intent to interfere with their strong bond, but since we were going to be travelling companions, I thought I would offer a gesture of friendship by petting her head. My attempt failed and I became a regular beneficiary of serious “kisses” from her sharp beak. My attempt at having her perch on my shoulders was also met with defeat, as the darling usually gifted me with her posterior blessing. I forgave the aggressive behaviour because she played a key role in our efforts to share the message of simple living and high thinking.”

I re-tested Billie Jean in seeing if she remembered me. Indeed, she did. On the backyard patio of Daruka’s parents’ home she climbed on my arm and rested on my shoulder for a good hour. What a trooper she is!

I want to thank the Winnipeg students for taking me on that Bishop Grandin Greenway for a walk.

May the Source be with you!

4 km


 

Tuesday, June 14, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Another Mercy Day

Rain is prevalent these days, but somehow or other the presiding God of all Gods seems to make way for some walking to take place. Thank you, Krishna. The water from above appears to get tossed around intermittently. It’s not a solid downpour. I understand, though, that Manitoba farmers are unhappy about the collective wetness.

During some rain, I had the pleasure to get interviewed indoors by R. Jamnu Radio, with host Apna, at 10 am. Initially it was going to be a twenty-minute talk, then it was stretched to thirty minutes. The questions and subsequent answers were compelling enough that our conversation went on for an hour.

The questions (at least some) were: How did you go from being a Catholic to becoming a devotee of Krishna? How did ISKCON come into being? Tell us about your walking and your book, “The Saffron Path.” How do you deal with negativity and a world so materialistic?

Apna began with some history, my history, but she eventually ended up delving deeper into philosophy. It was good.

I also made home visits and in between delivered Zoom classes from our very precious literatures, Bhagavad-gitaand Bhagavatam. One stop was at Affinity Restaurant, downtown. I do not frequent restaurants as a habit, but when someone invites, and it’s a plant-based food outlet, I will accept. This Buddhist business became our venue for meeting friends and supporters of our community. The food was good and healthy, and the company was sweetly Vaishnava.

May the Source be with you!

5 km


 

Monday, June 13, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Lorette/Winnipeg

The Airy Prairie

I could not resist going down an endless prairie dirt road for the friendly skies of Krishna – blue clouds, great air, and no stop signs or intersections to worry about. The road I chose is located where I’ve been staying; I didn’t catch the name of it but it is edged by lots for new housing units. Out of nine lots, seven are sold and one of them is already under construction, at least the foundation. Three men were up and at it, hard hats and all. They were surprised to see a spec of saffron ambling along in the distance. As I got closer to the working crew, I waved. They reciprocated. I shouted, “Good luck with the project!” A second handwave followed. I guess they appreciated the encouragement. While in the prairies, I thought for a moment about the B.C. mountains and the Frazer River. Perhaps it was Paramatma, God in the heart, sending a message – “you have a Zoom call to tend to with the Vancouver community – a class on the Bhagavatam.” So, I rushed back to the home of my hosts, Amit and Priyanka, for that monthly call.

It was a sweet call. Here we were reading a portion of the ultimate literature, commenting on it with reflections deep. A great way to air out the mind.

Amit took me to St. Vital, a subsection of Winnipeg. Once I settled, I took to an urban stroll with Manitoba maple lining the streets; earth-toned rabbits running all around.

My day completed with a Zoom call with our east-coast devotees at this time, a bi-weekly Gita Chat.

What a perfect day!

4 km


 

Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Seva Opportunity 2022!!!
→ Mayapur.com

Hare Krishna, Jai Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra Maharani! All glories to Sri Mayapur Dham Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Lord Jagannatha after being away from the eyes of everyone from Snana Yatra day, the Lord emerges very beautifully after 15 days of recovery to give Darshan to all […]

The post Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Seva Opportunity 2022!!! appeared first on Mayapur.com.