Planet ISKCON

The Hindus who visit our Krishna temples perceive ISKCON as an orthodox movement, appreciating the traditional temple service and how beautifully the altars are maintained. Many of our western friends might appreciate the Krishna movement differently: as a modern and relevant movement that advocates vegetarianism, honors the Earth, and offers meditation through joyous singing and dancing.

One might say Vaisnavism is the most stable and orthodox of all the Vedic traditions. Everyone knows how at the dawn of creation, a lotus flower grew from Lord Vishnu’s navel, and upon opening gave birth to the four-headed Lord Brahma, Brahma was the first Jiva and the empowered creator of our universe. From his mouths emanated the Vedas, the ancient teachings. This spiritual linage came to be known as the Brahma Madhva Vaisnava Sampradaya.

Vaisnavism means to worship the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna (Vishnu) exclusively, and not just worship Him as another deity in the pantheon of Vedic demigods, the controllers of universal affairs. In the Bhagavad Gita, 4th Chapter, Sri Krishna explains how time and again He appears in different ages to reestablish the understanding of the atma (the soul) and the paramatma (the Lord Within the Heart), along with the abiding principles of Dharma.

This tradition was continued throughout the three ages: the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara Yugas. But in this present age, the Kali-yuga, the Vaisnava teachers, gradually revealed a more intimate mood of devotion to God. In the Kali-yuga the Vaisnava tradition becomes more accessible than at any time in the other yugas, even more than the time Lord Krishna Himself appeared on the planet to speak the Bhagavad Gita over 5000 years ago, at the end of the Dvapara-yuga. Then, Krishna again, as Caitanya Mahaprabhu, appeared 500 years ago to radicalize the Vaisnava Movement by presenting sankirtana, the chanting of the Holy Names in the mood of bhakti (devotion to the Lord). This is the process of liberation, the Yuga Dharma, in this age of Kali. Thus, the conditioned souls break the cycle of birth and death and enter into the divine mellows of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna in His eternal abode.

Caitanya is a transcendental revolutionary Who has no interest in limiting the process of liberation simply to an exclusive few. In this age of Kali everything is contaminated: the water we drink, the air we breathe, as well as our minds and thinking process. No one is qualified to enter the spiritual mellows. But Krsnadas Kaviraja in his history on the life of Caitanya (Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7:23) declares:

“In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was `not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.” The author continues in Adi 7:25, “The flood of love of Godhead swelled in all directions, and thus young men, old men, women, and children were all immersed in that inundation.”

At the time, Caitanya’s Movement was dismissed as heretical. He brought people from different castes and different traditions together to chant the Holy Names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. The caste brahmanas were furious and complained to the local Muslim magistrate. Caitanya, they explained, was making the sacred names of God available to the unqualified masses and that He was simply a madman usurping a sacred tradition for His own ends.

After He began His Sankirtana Movement, Caitanya contradicted His own God-center philosophy. Interestingly enough, He accepted initiation into the Sankaracarya sannyasa order, the main linage of the impersonalists and mayavadis (begun circa 9th century). Caitanya’s reasoning for this act was to gain the respect of this popular linage, as well as of the public in general.

Caitanya also introduced the philosophy of acintya bheda bheda tattva – that we are all inconceivably one with God and at the same time unique individuals meant to develop a loving relationship (bhakti yoga) with the Lord. He linked together the philosophies of the Vaisnavas and that of the impersonalists. He also proclaimed the Muslim-born Haridas Thakor as the Nama Acarya, the Master of the Holy Name. While these were actually in harmony with the Vaisnava teachings, these inclusions of Caitanya were at the same time a seemingly radical departure from the overall Vedic tradition. And also, Caitanya predicted that the chanting of Hare Krishna would eventually spread all over the world, to every town and village.

Now, this linage expanded into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya. Gaudiya meaning Caitanya and the Bengali Vaisnavas He inspired. And even more, Lord Caitanya affirmed the Brahma Gaudiya connection when He discovered the surviving fifth chapter of the Brahma Samhita in an ancient temple in South Indian.

Over 150 years later, amid challenges against the Gaudiya Vaisnava sect, Baladeva Vidyabhushana represented the Gaudiya Vaisnavas at a conference in Jaipur to establish that theirs was indeed a bona fide movement. But by the mid 19th century, however, this outsider movement of Gaudiya Vaisnavas had practically fallen into obscurity. The British colonialists in India were busy undermining the Vedic tradition. The Bhagavat Purana, one of the most important Sanskrit literatures of the Vaisnavas, was denigrated by the British as childish mythology and fables.

But Bhaktivinode Thakur, a British educated Indian and a court magistrate of their government rose up to defend Vaisnavism by writing numerous books, poems, and songs to reestablish and advance the path of bhakti. In the early 20th century, his son Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati spoke out against the perverted Hindu caste system, and this act warranted a threat to his life. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was probably the first holy man to ride in a car, and at times was also seen wearing a British overcoat gifted to him. These were certainly radical enough that other saintly persons wouldn’t even think of such things, and especially at that time when Gandhi urged his own followers to burn their British made clothing. Indeed, Caitanya’s Vaisnava Movement was quite un-orthodox.

Bhakisiddhanta Saraswati asked one of his disciples to bring Caitanya’s movement to the West, and present the message of Bhagavad Gita and the Vaisnava teachings in the English speaking world. That person was A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Swami Prabhupada arrived in American in 1965 in his seventieth year, practically penniless, having begged a ride on a freighter. He founded ISKCON on a shoestring. He also did something no one else did before him; even though his students were born outside of India in the countries of meat eaters, and outside the Hindu system, still, he initiated them as brahmanas; and not only the men but women as well. Some Hindus were outraged, and yet many were amazed and delighted with what Swami Prabhupada had accomplished.

In 1973 Prabhupada defiantly addressed his critics in one passage in his books:

“Sometimes jealous persons criticize the Krsna Consciousness movement because it engages equally both boys and girls in distributing love of Godhead. Not knowing that boys and girls in countries like Europe and America mix very freely, these fools and rascals criticize the boys and girls in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness for intermingling. . . . . . . However, since both the boys and the girls are being trained to become preachers, those girls are not ordinary girls but are as good as their brothers who are preaching Kṛṣṇa Consciousness. Therefore, to engage both boys and girls in fully transcendental activities is a policy intended to spread the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. . . . . . . . Therefore, what we are doing is perfect by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, for it is He who proposed to invent a way to capture those who strayed from Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” Caitanya Caritamrita, Adi 7 – 31 & 32, Purport

Today, his disciples and grand-disciples are active in Prabhupada’s mission and distribute the many books he translated and published. Prabhupada’s story is a rags to riches success story that we so much love in America. But Prabhupada’s success was not for himself, but was his humble offering to his guru and to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. Prabhupada spent the last ten years traveling around the world fourteen times, fulfilling the 500 year old prophecy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Today, Hindus worship regularly at the ISKCON temples, and interested westerners visit and engage in the movement as well. The Vaisnava tradition, it seems, can be a contradiction in terms: an orthodox movement, or a movement with modern-day sensibilities? Or, could it be both?

Sankirtana Das , a disciple of Swami Prabhupada, is a longtime resident of New Vrindaban Community and an award-winning author and storyteller. His most recent book, Hanuman’s Quest, is acclaimed by scholars and has received a Storytelling World Resource Honors. For more info about his work visit www.Mahabharata-Project.com

The post ISKCON and the Vaisnava Paradox appeared first on ISKCON News.

• 

• 

Mahesa Pandita used to dance in the ecstasy of krsna-prema just like a madman. In the Gaura-ganodesa-dipika it is written that in vraja-lila he was the cowherd boy named Sriman Mahabahu. He was an especially close friend of Nityananda Prabhu, and was present at the festival of yogurt and chipped rice in Panihati that was held by Nityananda Prabhu.

His birthplaced was in what is now called Cakadaha. According to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, some people say that he was the younger brother of Sri Jagadisa Pandita from the Yasodara district of West Bengal. Bhaktivinoda Thakura, on the other hand says that some doubt remains as to his birthplace, as there is a lack of conclusive evidence on this subject. 

The eight wave of the Bhakti-ratnakara observes that when Sri Narottama dasa Thakura visited Khadadaha he visited Sri Mahesa Pandita and took darsana of his lotus feet.  There the Bhakti-ratnakara points out that Mahesa Pandita was an extremely exalted soul, a great mahanta.

In Caitanya-Bhagavata, Vrndavana dasa Thakura also refers to him as a great mahanta, and says that Mahesa Pandita was especially dear to Nityananda Prabhu.  Mahesa Pandita passed away on the 13th day of the dark moon in the month Pausa, which corresponds to December-January. 

• 

• 

Giriraj Swami begins at 1:20.

We are entering the New Year, 2022, and on such occasions we take stock of what and how we did in the previous year and what we want to do in the next. Studies have shown, and probably many of us have experienced, that most New Year’s resolutions are broken during the first week. Still more are broken in the first month, and almost all are broken within the first three months.

Why does this happen, and what can we do? Man is a creature of habit. We have developed certain habits over however many years—perhaps lifetimes—and to change our habits requires sincere desire and determined effort. One study showed that when a person is trying to develop a new habit, he has to consistently, diligently strive to adhere to the new practice for at least thirty days. After thirty days, he is able to follow more easily but can be derailed by stress or changes in his life. After ninety days it becomes just as easy to follow the new habit as not, and after a year it is easier to follow the new habit than not.

So, what new habits do we want to develop in the next year? That depends on our goals. When I visited Pune some years ago, the Malhotra brothers arranged a program for me in the main hall, and at the end of the talk the general in charge of the Southern Command of the Indian Army asked an important question: “What is the aim for which we are born—what is the aim of our life? It certainly could not be to amass some wealth and ultimately die, or to make a building and then die, or to marry and procreate and then die. For our minor activities in life, we have the aims set first, before we get going to achieve them. When we train our people in the army, whatever they have to do, we first tell them what the aim is. And once they are clear what the aim is, then we decide what means to adopt to achieve it. And invariably we don’t go wrong. Now here it is—to my mind, my whole life is going to waste; I am still not very clear what is the aim of my life. Would you kindly enlighten us about the aim of life so that thereafter we can be very, very clear as to what we have got to do to achieve that aim?”

Srila Sanatana Gosvami asked the same question of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:

“‘ke ami’, ‘kene amaya jare tapa-traya’
iha nahi jani—kemane hita haya

“‘sadhya’-‘sadhana’-tattva puchite na jani
krpa kari’ saba tattva kaha ta’ apani”

“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited? Actually I do not know how to inquire about the goal of life and the process for obtaining it. Being merciful upon me, please explain all these truths.” (Cc Madhya 20.102–103) He said, “In ordinary dealings people consider me to be a learned scholar (pandit), but I am so learned I do not even know who I am. So please tell me who I am and what is the goal of life.” And Lord Chaitanya replied, “By constitution you are an eternal servant of Krishna —jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’—and the goal of life is to be reinstated in your constitutional position as His loving servant.”

If someone understands that he is not the body, that he is the soul within the body, and that his real relationship is not with the body or things related to the body but that, as he is a spiritual soul, his real relationship is with the Supreme Soul, then he can adopt the methods that are suitable for reviving his eternal relationship with the Supreme Soul, Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people this knowledge: We are not the body but the soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. Our real relationship is with Him, and our duty and goal in life is to revive our eternal loving relationship with Him, with God, Krishna. The whole process of sadhana-bhakti is to help us to awaken that eternal love for God.

nitya-siddha krsna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya

“Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” (Cc Madhya 22.107) That love is eternally there within the heart, just as fire is within a match. You just have to strike the match and the fire will come out. Similarly, we just have to strike the heart by chanting and hearing about Krishna and that love will come out.

The main process is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. We are in a Hare Krishna temple. We are part of the Hare Krishna movement, and we are known as Hare Krishna people. We are meant to chant Hare Krishna. And by our chanting Hare Krishna, the mirror of our minds can be cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam), the blazing fire of material existence extinguished (bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam), and ultimately our dormant love for Krishna awakened. Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam.

But there is also the matter of the quality of the chanting. Queen Kunti prays to Lord Krishna,

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
  edhamana-madah puman
naivarhaty abhidhatum vai
  tvam akincana-gocaram

“Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education, and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” (SB 1.8.26) People on the path of material advancement want good birth (janma), material opulence (aisvarya), material learning (sruta), and physical beauty (sribhih). They cannot approach the Lord with feeling. And when we chant the holy name, we are trying to approach the Lord. The holy name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same.

nama cintamanih krsnas
  caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
purnah suddho nitya-mukto
  ’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh

“The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.” (Padma Purana, Cc Madhya 17.133)

Commenting on Kunti’s prayer, Srila Prabhupada cites scripture, that by uttering the holy name of the Lord even once, one can destroy the reactions to more sins than one is able to commit. “Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually, the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency.” We are all suffering because of sinful reactions. If we were freed from sinful reactions, we would no longer have to suffer. As Prabhupada explains, however, “there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere.” Lord Krishna is akincana-gocaram, easily approached by those who are akincana, who have no material possessions.

Now, these statements may give rise to some questions. This word akincana means “without material possessions,” or “without a sense of false proprietorship.” Of course, there should be no duplicity in the matter, but this principle allows us, for example, to have an opulent temple here. We have a beautiful property, but as long as we remember, “This is Krishna’s property. This is Srila Prabhupada’s property. It is not my property; I am here only to serve them and use this property in their service,” we can be free from false proprietorship, false prestige, and false designations. And in that mood we can chant the holy name with feeling, approach Krishna with feeling. Otherwise, there is a subtle rivalry going on between us and Krishna. We come into the material world out of envy of Krishna. In effect, we want to take His position. We want to be the proprietor and controller and enjoyer (isvaro ’ham aham bhogi), which is actually Krishna’s position. While chanting Krishna’s name, we may be thinking, “Why should I be chanting Krishna’s name? People should be chanting my name—‘Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!’ ” That is our sorry plight. We don’t want Krishna to be the center; we want to be the center. So we chant the holy name with ourselves in the foreground and the holy name in the background. That is our tendency as conditioned souls.

The proper process is to chant with attention. We let go of all those thoughts about ourselves—“I” and “me” and “mine”—and focus on the holy name, on Krishna. Those other thoughts are irrelevant. They may come up, but we don’t pay them heed. We just focus our attention on Krishna, on the sound of Krishna’s holy name. And when we do that, we can actually feel His presence. We can appreciate that the holy name is Krishna Himself reciprocating with our sincere desires to serve Him.

This practice requires effort. We are habituated to think that we are the center of existence and that everything revolves around us. We see everything in terms of ourselves, not in terms of Krishna. But our habits can change. There is a saying that up to the age of twenty, you think that people are looking at you and like you, from the age of twenty to forty that they are looking at you and don’t like you, and then, after the age of forty, that they aren’t even looking at you or thinking of you. So, we have to reform this habit of thinking that we’re the center, always thinking about ourselves and that everyone else is thinking about us, too. We must know that Krishna is the center.

Once, when I was chanting my rounds at the beach in Carpinteria, I was sitting alone, chanting with attention—making a serious effort to be attentive—somehow thinking of different people who were close to me, and feeling how much they were suffering. I was actually feeling their pain. As I continued chanting, that sense of feeling for others expanded to people who weren’t so close to me, and then to the people on the beach, whom I didn’t even know. There weren’t many, but there were a few people surfing. And I was really feeling their suffering. Srila Prabhupada had joked that the surfers were actually “sufferers,” but I was actually feeling their suffering.

Then the feeling went beyond the human beings. There were pelicans at the beach. They fly very high and then suddenly zoom down and crash into the water. I understood that they were hovering high in the sky looking for prey and that when they saw some potential food they came straight down and crashed into the water. Ordinarily I would think, “Oh, how picturesque—flying so high and then diving into the ocean.” But now I was feeling, “They are in anxiety. They are hungry. They need food and are searching: ‘Where is food? Where is food?’ And when they see something and dive straight down and crash into the water, although they are birds, still, coming from that height at that velocity and crashing into the water is bound to be a shock to their system. And they don’t know whether they will actually get that fish or not. And whatever happens, after they come down, they go up and start the same process all over again. They are never satisfied—‘Now we can just relax.’” I was thinking, “What a life, full of anxiety, full of pain!”—and feeling it.

And the dolphins and the sandpipers and the seagulls—the same thing. I was feeling so much suffering on all sides. It was as if the illusion of material happiness and charm had been lifted, and this whole beautiful panorama became a horrible scene of intense suffering, which I was feeling. And I was just chanting, chanting, chanting. Then a little lady bug landed on my hand. Growing up, I thought that lady bugs were auspicious and cute. But this time I looked at the lady bug and thought, “This lady bug is suffering”—and, again, feeling it. Looking at the lady bug, I thought, “I don’t think I can take much more of this. I am feeling too much suffering; I am going to have a breakdown.” I wanted to help these creatures. I was feeling their suffering and desiring to help them, but it was getting to be too much.

Then I had the type of breakthrough that one gets when one chants with attention, with the effort to chant with attention. Suddenly I felt as if Krishna were speaking to me, revealing something to me. I got the intuition, or inspiration, in my heart that Krishna loves these creatures more than I do, more than I can even imagine. He loves them so much that He accompanies them as the Supersoul in whatever species of life they enter. And not only does He love them more than I can ever imagine, but He can actually do something to help them. I may feel for them and want to help them, but what is my capacity to help them? I may not even understand what’s troubling them. Parents sometimes experience that their baby is crying and they want to help but don’t know what the baby wants. They may think the baby is hungry, but the baby may be troubled by something completely different. Or even if they do understand what is causing the suffering, they may be unable to relieve it.

So, I was thinking, “Not only does Krishna love them, but He can actually do something to help them.” And then I came to the bottom of it. The problem was that I was trying to take the position of Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gita (5.29) Lord Krishna says,

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
  sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
  jnatva mam santim rcchati

“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

When one recognizes that Krishna is the enjoyer, Krishna is the proprietor, Krishna is the best friend, he attains peace. I thought of what Srila Prabhupada often said, so simple yet profound—that your best friend is not he or she who poses as your best friend but he or she who tells you that Krishna is your best friend. Suddenly this whole problem of how to help these suffering souls became very easy. I didn’t have to help them personally; I just had to direct them to Krishna, who could really help them. And it was such a relief.

So, this is our mission: to serve Krishna. And serving Krishna means doing what Krishna wants, and Krishna wants that we should bring other souls to Him. As He says at the end of the Bhagavad-gita (18.69), His dearmost servant is he who preaches the message of the Gita. Na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah/ bhavita na ca me tasmad anyah priyataro bhuvi: “There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa: “Wherever you go, whomever you meet, just present the message of Krishna.” And that is something any of us can do. It is actually very easy. Any of us can do it.

When devotees, myself among them, first came to Bombay, two of Prabhupada’s early disciples, Syamasundara and Malati, had a small daughter, Sarasvati, who used to approach respectable gentlemen who visited our center. Although only three or four years old, she would approach them and say, “Do you know who is Krishna?” And then she would answer, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Srila Prabhupada commented, “That is preaching. She is repeating what she has heard from authorities, and even if she doesn’t have full realization, what she is saying is perfect, because she has heard it from authorities— Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So, any of us can preach. We can simply repeat what we have heard from authorities—“Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” “Chant Hare Krishna and your life will be sublime.” “Come to the Hare Krishna temple.” And that will please Krishna.

In December now, I could feel the enthusiasm to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. I thought, “Srila Prabhupada is pleased. They have the spirit to distribute his books.” The books are as potent and effective now as ever. So many people I meet—when I ask them how they came to Krishna consciousness, it goes back to a book. They got a book. The formula that Srila Prabhupada gave us forty years ago still works. By giving them Prabhupada’s books, we are giving them Krishna and Prabhupada, the message of Krishna through Prabhupada, and that is enough to awaken their sense of Krishna consciousness and begin them on the path. Many of us are here because of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

So, we should try to develop the habit of putting Krishna in the center, putting the holy name in the center, putting Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada and their mission in the center, and that will make all the difference. Our spouse can be there, our children can be there, our house can be there, our work can be there—everything can be there—but with Krishna in the center, everything will be beautiful and peaceful. And as long as we persist in habits that may have been with us for many lifetimes—thinking that we are the center, we are the lords, we are the enjoyers, we are the proprietors—there will be so many problems, and in the end whatever we have will be taken away from us anyway.

So, it is most auspicious that we are beginning the New Year in the association of devotees. My request is that we use this coming year, and this valuable human form of life, for their proper purpose, in Krishna consciousness, and that in this endeavor we help and support one another. We can’t do it alone. And I pray that I can always remain in the association of such wonderful devotees, because I am sure that in this association, hearing their instructions, I will be nudged along on the right path, back home, back to Godhead.

Hare Krishna.

[Adapted from a talk by Giriraj Swami, January 2, 2010, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England]

Twenty years ago, with a group of three people, I went to the ancient Russian city of Suzdal to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. It was a bold decision to go to a place where almost every second resident was a nun or a priest, and almost every corner had a church or a temple.

On the first day, inspired by the morning program, I was walking around this exotic little town for about nine hours and offering books everywhere I could, but I was unsuccessful. All the residents refused, as if they had conspired, and everyone had almost the same answer: “This is not our belief.”

It seemed to me necessary to make some sense of our visit. What did this mean—according to God’s plan? I thought that I should return to the hotel and find out the other devotees’ results. If they were the same, then maybe we should just leave immediately.

Going to the hotel, I passed churches where I was unafraid to go with the books, but I couldn’t even imagine how I would offer them there. Yet I decided strictly: “Krishna, just for Your sake, I will go to this church now and offer books to the first person who catches my eye. And, if Your will be done, then please help me distribute at least one book.”

The church premises were well taken care of. I spotted an almost unnoticeable sign above a small door: “Church Bench.” The door led to a downstairs area that turned out to be a basement. I carefully went down the steps and quietly opened a door and saw a frightened elderly monk with a big beard. When he saw me, he hid something under the table with a quick motion. I pretended that I didn’t notice.

I politely introduced myself: “Christ is risen! Hello, we came from Arkhangelsk and brought very valuable books about God. As a believer, you might be interested in them. Can you tell me your name?”

“Good evening. My name is Father Gabriel.”

“Father Gabriel, it is clear from your eyes that you are wise. Please look at our books.”

I noticed a strong excitement and confusion in his eyes, which quickly changed to joy and revitalization. He looked at me with love and said loudly, “I’m so glad. How lucky I am. God finally answered my prayers. I’ve been looking for these books for several years. I prayed to Jesus, to the mother of God, to my guardian angel, and even to Krishna to send me these books.”

He suddenly pulled out from under the table Srimad-Bhagavatam, Second Canto, the object he had hidden when I had walked in. He said, “When you came in, I was reading this book, which I do every day for a few hours, and I sit in obedience. I got this book from my late father. He bought it in Moscow. Being a Christian, he repeated your Hare Krishna mantra every day along with the Jesus prayer. Before he died, he pushed me to read it, despite my former negative attitude toward this book. And now this is my most dear and valuable book. Without it, I don’t see the meaning of living. I read this every free minute. It opened my eyes to a true idea of myself and God. And after I had read it seven times in a row, I began to pray that God graciously send me the rest of the books of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. And now a miracle has happened: You brought them to me. Please tell me the price and let me buy all the books you have.”

I listened to him and was surprised at how the Lord arranges everything in such a perfect way. I also began to express my feelings to him by telling him how I walked around Suzdal the whole day and finally asked God to send me at least one sincere person who would want these books.

We were both in ecstasy. I named the price, and Father Gabriel immediately got the right amount. He bought all the Bhagavatam cantos I had (thirteen books). We talked more about his spiritual journey and his humble attempts to do japa meditation. I gave him some practical advice and told him how to make homemade beads.

Thanks to this meeting, I always remember and try not to forget one important truth: If you sincerely pray to God, He will surely answer.

I suppose that since I wanted to give some meaning to our visiting Suzdal, it is obvious what it was—the highest meaning: God hears and fulfills the desires of all His servants.

Thank You, Krishna! This is Your glory, wisdom, and greatness!

Your humble servant,
Valmiki dasa

Podcast:

Podcast:

Radhanath Swami: This morning I was listening to the recording of Srila Prabhupada on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day in Hyderabad (I think it was 1972), and it is very, very special, because Srila Prabhupada wrote that beautiful poem for him in 1936, and that poem was lost. Srila Prabhupada was saying in this talk that he thought it had been gone forever; he hadn’t seen it in decades. He said, “One of my disciples, Gurudasa, discovered it in a library in London. There was a big pile of Harmonists where it was published.” So, Prabhupada was reading from that poem he had written for Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, and he was giving a commentary with each verse. It was so beautiful.

It begins, “Adore ye all.” Do you remember?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Adore ye all,
The happy day.
Blessed than heaven,
Sweeter than May.
When He appeared at Puri,
The holy place,
My lord and master
His Divine Grace.

Radhanath Swami: In India, May is the worst month, because it is so hot. He was saying, “My guru maharaja told me to preach in the Western countries, and I had heard that May is very pleasing there.” Then he said, “They call ‘May Day’?” The devotees replied, “Yes, Srila Prabhupada.”

He was talking about how Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura so much appreciated this poem. And as Srila Prabhupada was reading each stanza, he was describing his life in relation to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, how when he was a young man, in 1922, he had just joined Gandhi’s movement for independence. At that time, it was part of the movement that they would boycott anything British. Srila Prabhupada was in his last year in college, and he quit and rejected his degree. And he took a job at Kartik Chandra Bose’s chemical, pharmaceutical factory. Prabhupada said that Kartik Chandra Bose was the founder of the chemical industry in India, that he started the Bengal Chemical company and that it is still there today. He said that there’s even a street in Calcutta named Kartika Chandra Bose Street. Prabhupada wore khadar—he said khadar—and one day Kartik Chandra Bose told him, “This is the only thing I like about your whole Gandhi’s movement—this khadar.” When Prabhupada asked why, he said, “Because this hand spinning will give impetus to industry.”

It was around this time that Srila Prabhupada’s friend Narendranath Mullik wanted him to meet a sadhu. He said, “There is a very nice sadhu. Let us go and see him.” Prabhupada commented that he did not very much like sadhus, because in those days he was a nationalist. He replied, “I have seen many sadhus at home, and I was not very pleased with their behavior.” His friend said, “No, I have heard that this person is very exalted.” Prabhupada said, “He forcibly dragged me.” It was on the rooftop of the first Gaudiya Matha outside of Mayapur, which was at Ultadanga Junction Road. They didn’t own it; it was a rented house.

Srila Prabhupada and Narendra were brought up, and on the rooftop the first thing Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said was, “You are educated young men. Why don’t you preach Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s gospel in the Western countries?” Prabhupada had a discussion with his guru maharaja, and Prabhupada later said, “I was very happy to be defeated by my guru maharaja.”

Prabhupada had recently been married and had a child, and he remained with Kartik Chandra Bose and was asked to be the representative for the chemical company and open a branch in Prayag, Allahabad. So, Prabhupada went there.

Then he talked about how he got initiated. His guru maharaja came to Prayag and remembered him: “This young boy likes to hear. He is patient and he does not go away. So I am very pleased with him, I like him, and I will initiate him.” Prabhupada said that, “The high standard of philosophy which he was speaking at that time, practically I could not follow what he was speaking”—Prabhupada is so humble—“but still, I liked to hear him.” And that’s when he was given initiation, in 1933.

And then at Radha-kunda, when Srila Prabhupada met him, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was expressing his concerns about the Gaudiya Matha and said, “If you ever get money, print books.” At Radharani’s most intimate, dearmost place, he was given that instruction. Sri Varsabhanavi-dayita dasa—Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji gave Bhaktisiddhanta that name, how he was dear to Radharani.

And then Srila Prabhupada described that in 1936 for his guru maharaja’s Vyasa-puja he wrote this poem. And he wrote a letter just about two weeks before the disappearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura—he was living in Bombay then. Srila Prabhupada had actually started the Gaudiya Matha in Bombay. It’s really interesting because in Allahabad the Gaudiya Matha was already there, but this was, as far as I know, the only Gaudiya Matha that Srila Prabhupada actually started in the lifetime of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Was it on Grant Road?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Radhanath Swami: So, Srila Prabhupada started it there, along with his godbrothers Bhakti Raksaka Sridharadeva Goswami Maharaja and Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaja—they were really close friends of Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada had his pharmaceutical business there, and they depended on him. He would lead the kirtans, he would raise the funds—he founded the place. Really, he got that temple and his godbrothers were preaching with him. And at that time, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada came to install the deities in Bombay. And his godbrothers were telling Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, “Abhay Babu should be the president of our matha here.” And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said, “Let him do what he is doing now. In due course he will do everything.”

And then from Bombay Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in Puri and asked, “Most of your disciples—sannyasis and brahmacharis—are serving you full-time, but I am a grihastha.” By this time he had several children. “So, how can I best serve you?” And Srila Prabhupada got a letter back from him from Puri, and it contained the exact same instruction he had gotten in 1922 with the first meeting. It was his first and last instruction: “You are an educated young man; in the English language you should spread the message of Lord Chaitanya in the Western world.”

And then, within two weeks of Prabhupada’s receiving that letter, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, on the day that we are celebrating today, disappeared. It was December 31, late at night, which was January 1st early in the morning, and he disappeared amongst his devotees in Calcutta. It was at the Gaudiya Math, surrounded by his loving disciples.

There are publications of his last instructions to his disciples which he spoke just a day or so before he left the world, lying on his bed. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada had a few devotees who were scribes and wrote down everything he spoke. There was Ananta Vasudeva. That was the service of Bhakti Pramoda Puri Maharaja too. And I think also—what was the other devotee’s name, whose library was given to us eventually? I am not remembering. But the three of them, as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada would speak, they would write everything down. There were no tape recorders. And then they would together compare to make sure they got every word he had said. His instructions are there, and in those last instructions he said, “I advise all to preach the teachings of Rupa-Raghunatha [two of the Six Gosvamis, direct disciples of Lord Chaitanya] with all energy and resources. Our ultimate goal shall be to become the dust of the lotus feet of Sri Sri Rupa and Raghunatha Gosvamis.” And he explained that we should not be discouraged when there is disappointment or when there are challenges or reversals. We should never give up our service to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga. “Do not, please, give up the service of Godhead, in spite of all dangers, all criticisms, and all discomforts. Do not be disappointed, for most people in the world do not serve the Personality of Godhead; do not give up your own service, which is your everything and all; neither reject the process of chanting and hearing of the transcendental holy name of Godhead.” And he was very concerned with devotees honoring and respecting each other as Vaishnavas and sustaining unity within his Gaudiya Matha.

And then, surrounded by his living devotees, he departed from the world. Srila Prabhupada was in Bombay at that time. And it’s so special. Srila Prabhupada had started a center for his guru maharaja in Bombay, he got his last instruction of his guru maharaja’s life when he was in Bombay, and he wrote that beautiful poem, which his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, loved so much, in Bombay. And when Srila Prabhupada returned to India, his first major preaching program was in Bombay, at Cross Maidan, and that also happens to be where I first met Giriraj Swami.

And Srila Prabhupada made Giriraj Maharaja the president of the temple that Prabhupada personally started at Juhu in Bombay. He said, “Giriraj is Bombay, and Bombay is Giriraj.” How special Bombay is. And somehow or other, I kind of just got dropped off in Bombay to relish the scraps left to me by Giriraj Swami Maharaja.

Then in his talk, Srila Prabhupada explains how in 1965, which was thirty years after he got that last instruction, he finally departed to the West, and he said, “Better late than never.” And in his talk, he also explained how he was a grihastha and his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, was appearing to him again and again in dreams, telling him, “Come with me, come with me.” Srila Prabhupada understood that that meant that his guru maharaja wanted him to take sannyasa and preach. And he said that he was horrified. Those were the words he used sometimes, but he said, “My guru maharaja forced me. He forced me to take sannyasa.” And then, in 1965, he took sannyasa in Mathura, and he was living at Radha-Damodara Mandir in Vrindavan, and then he came to the West.

The next year, Srila Prabhupada gave a lecture on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day here in Los Angeles, and it’s one of the most emotional recordings that have ever been given to bless the world. Srila Prabhupada told the same kind of stories about his relationship with his guru maharaja and spoke beautiful philosophy. And then at the end he looked at all his devotees and said, “So this is a memorable day. What my guru maharaja desired, I am trying a little bit, and you are all helping me. So I have to thank you more. You are actually representatives of my guru maharaja”—Prabhupada began to cry—“because you are helping me in executing the order of my guru maharaja.”

He was expressing his gratitude to all the devotees, and you could hear how he was choking up and crying. Because Srila Prabhupada took Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s instructions as his life and soul, and anybody who came forward to help him, Srila Prabhupada considered to be the representative of his guru maharaja; he considered it the blessing of his guru—every devotee who was sent to assist him to carry out his mission.

His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja is one of the few devotees whom Srila Prabhupada really took into his innermost circle of confidential disciples and personally entrusted with his movement. And we understand how important Bombay is. Not only was it the first major preaching program in India, not only was it the place where Prabhupada opened the first center for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, but in His Holiness Giriraj Maharaja’s wonderful book I’ll Build You a Temple, we read about how it was the most challenging project in Srila Prabhupada’s life. And throughout, from the beginning till Srila Prabhupada’s last breath, he entrusted the whole project to Giriraj Swami Maharaja.

What is so transformative to my heart is the implicit faith that Giriraj Maharaja has in Srila Prabhupada and how Srila Prabhupada recognized that. Even among Prabhupada’s disciples, for Prabhupada to recognize implicit faith and surrender was something rare, and reciprocally Srila Prabhupada had implicit faith in Giriraj Swami. Therefore, Srila Prabhupada could entrust him with the project that he put the most money into of any project in his entire lifetime. He put the most money into the Juhu project, and he promised the Deities Radha-Rasabihari that he would build a temple. I don’t think there’s any other historical event like that, when Srila Prabhupada put the Deities in a shack and promised Them a temple. He entrusted the fulfillment of that promise to His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja.

I don’t want to embarrass you, Maharaja, and I know that you are just hearing your little brother talking, but I am just so honored to be here with you today, because you have been so much a part of Srila Prabhupada’s loving life of dedication to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would cry in separation from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, and at the same time as he was crying in separation, he would say, “There is never a moment when I am not feeling the presence of my guru maharaja.”

Hare Krishna.

Giriraj Swami: In the history of ISKCON, we didn’t know about Vyasa-puja, and in Boston Srila Prabhupada said that we should each write an appreciation of his guru maharaja. I didn’t really know much about him in terms of historical detail, but I was thinking how great he must have been for Srila Prabhupada, who is so great, to have surrendered to him. And I knew that it was his instruction to Srila Prabhupada to preach the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English language in the Western world. So, I felt very grateful to him for having given Srila Prabhupada that instruction.

Srila Prabhupada had our appreciations put together in a little book, and then we got the idea that “Oh, this is what you do for your spiritual master.” It was very subtle, because Srila Prabhupada wasn’t going to tell us to write appreciations of him and produce a book, but he had us do it for his guru maharaja and then we got the idea we should do that for him.

Radhanath Swami: That’s amazing.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. And once, I was with Srila Prabhupada in Los Angeles for his guru maharaja’s disappearance day. He arranged that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s seat was higher than his. That was very special.

I visited the Bag Bazaar Gaudiya Matha and saw the room where Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura left. The bed is there, and all his different paraphernalia.

Radhanath Swami: They left it exactly as it was—every detail.

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Radhanath Swami: He disappeared on his bed there.

Early this coming year, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s appearance day, which I believe in India is February 21, a festival for which I have been yearning, longing, and praying for decades is going to take place, because it’s the one hundredth anniversary of when Srila Prabhupada met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, in 1922. And we have possession of the first Gaudiya Math at Ultadanga Junction Road, that rented place. I think they were there for five years, or maybe eight, and then they moved to Bag Bazaar. They gave up that place, and it was taken up by families—four or five families lived in that little building. And just a year and a half ago we got possession of the whole building. We had to seal parts of it, but we got possession, and just last year we started renovation. And the way they are renovating it—they got as many photos as they could, and they interviewed people, and they are trying to make it exactly the way it was when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati lived there.

When he went there, there were only three people who lived there with him. I think Bhakti Pradip Tirtha Maharaja and Kunjabihari (later Bhakti Vilasa Tirtha Maharaja) and one other. It was just three people who lived in the Gaudiya Matha with Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. And then, over the years, he preached, and almost all of his main sannyasi disciples joined there at this little house at Ultadanga Junction Road. And because this house was small, he would give his main lectures on the flat rooftop, and that was where Srila Prabhupada first met him and got the order that changed the whole world—the seed of our movement.

So, on the one hundredth anniversary of Srila Prabhupada getting that instruction, on his guru maharaja’s birthday, we are having an opening of the fully renovated Ultadanga Junction Road preaching center.

About a week ago, they sent me some photos of how the renovations were going, and they have to work hard to get it done in time. All these craftsmen are carving wood, mixing cement, and laying bricks. It’s really a project to make it the way it used to be, because it was totally dilapidated. But we’ll be able to sit right in the very place on the rooftop where Srila Prabhupada, when he was twenty-five years old, sat. In this recording I heard today, he said he was twenty-five years old when he got that instruction. So, I invite you to come for that festival or any time after it.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s bhajana-kutira, where he lived, was right on the rooftop. Everybody else lived on the ground floor. It’s just a ground floor and a rooftop—that is all it is. But on the roof there’s a room, and that’s where he lived. It’s still there. The building is exactly the same—the way it always was.

And it is interesting, because just earlier this year we got full possession of Srila Prabhupada’s birthplace, and Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, actually made an extraordinary exception and gave us that government land. Only the chief minister could make such an exception, and she gave the land. We had a little tiny piece a few years ago, but just this year we have about an acre of land. And all the tenants were moved out.

Srila Prabhupada was born under a jackfruit tree, and at Ultadanga Junction Road, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was speaking on the rooftop, and right behind him, giving shade where he spoke and where he met Srila Prabhupada, was a jackfruit tree. So Srila Prabhupada took his physical birth under a jackfruit tree and then he received his spiritual birth under a jackfruit tree in Calcutta.

Before Bombay, you were serving in Calcutta?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, I was.

Radhanath Swami: You are living history. The most intimate, precious moments of Prabhupada’s pastimes you were not only witnessing, but you were assisting and participating. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: In Mayapur in 1972, the first Gaura-purnima festival, Srila Prabhupada called for me to come into his quarters—that little hut near the front gate—and he said, “During the British rule, they had three provinces: Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras. So, which do you want?”

Radhanath Swami: He said that to you.

Giriraj Swami: He explained that when the British were ruling India, they divided the country into three province—Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta—each ruled by a governor. Prabhupada had never spoken to me about Indian politics or history, and I did not know where this was all going, but I was fascinated—spellbound—and hung on every word, waiting to find out where he was heading.

“Which one do you want?”

Prabhupada’s question left me speechless. I had never made an independent decision about my service. I told him that I would do whatever he wanted. But he did not accept my answer; he wanted me to decide. So, I asked if I could have time to think about it, and he agreed.

I thought and thought, but I just couldn’t decide. The preaching in Calcutta was good, but Madras also had potential. And I already knew people in both places. Then again, Bombay was the biggest field. Actually, all I really wanted was to please Srila Prabhupada. But how?

After a few days, Prabhupada drove from Mayapur to the Calcutta temple, and the rest of us followed by bus and train. Once there, I felt that my main service, my assignment, was to determine where I should serve. Whenever I could, I would stand before the beautiful Deities of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda and chant and pray to Them for guidance.

I soon realized that Prabhupada was forcing me to come to a higher level of Krishna consciousness. As he sometimes explained, there are three classes of disciples. The third-class receives an instruction from the spiritual master and then forgets it, or neglects to act upon it—or argues. The second-class disciple receives an instruction from the spiritual master and executes it perfectly. And the first-class disciple knows what the spiritual master wants and does it even without being told. To obey the order of the spiritual master requires some basic submission, but to know the desire of the spiritual master without being told requires much more spiritual advancement. I was being compelled to become sincere enough and pure enough to hear the guru in the heart.

But although I thought and thought and prayed and prayed, no answer came. Where did Prabhupada want me to serve?

Not knowing what else to do, I devised a plan to get Prabhupada to reveal his desire. So, one day, sitting before him in his room, I ventured that I had decided to go to Bombay.

Prabhupada’s response was noncommittal: “That’s all right.” His face was inscrutable.

“But then again, the preaching potential in Madras is very good,” I continued, hoping that either by word or gesture or facial expression he would indicate his approval or disapproval.

Once more, he simply replied, “That’s all right.”

“But then again,” I said, “I was thinking of staying in Calcutta.”

“That’s all right.”

How could I try to trick Srila Prabhupada? I felt so ashamed, trying to cheat my spiritual master. But I also felt exhilarated: my spiritual master was so great and perfect that he could not be fooled.

So, I went back to chanting and praying, and then suddenly I had an insight that I should go to Bombay, because the most important program in India was life membership. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you just get me,” us collectively, “if you just get me three life members a day, I’ll do everything.” And I saw that if we took good care of the life members, they themselves would make more members, and if we didn’t take care of them, even if we ourselves went to make someone a member, they might not have become a member, because they had heard that we didn’t fulfill our promises.

 So, after many days of thought and prayer, the answer came: I should go to Bombay. The most important program in India was life membership. Srila Prabhupada had written, “If you all get me at least three life members daily, I shall do the rest.” And he was pleased that I was making so many life members. But many members were up in arms against us, because we had not given them everything we had promised.

We were making life members, I reasoned, but were we taking care of them? If we took nice care of them, they would be so pleased that they themselves would make more members. But if we neglected them, they would feel cheated and speak ill of us. Then, even when we ourselves approached people, they would not agree.

I felt that I should go to Bombay and organize the life-membership program on an all-India basis. I wrote Prabhupada my conclusion: since Bombay had the most life members and was our head office, I should come and, if required, take care of the life members and attend to other affairs related to the head office.

Prabhupada seemed pleased. “I am very glad to inform you that today we have laid down the cornerstone for our Bombay center here in Juhu,” he replied, “and the ceremony was very wonderful, with many important people attending. I am very much glad that you are doing so nicely in Calcutta by making many life members daily, so now I think you should join me in Bombay immediately as soon as you are free, after training up a competent replacement there. . . . The program now in India is an immense task, so I am very much encouraged that you feel yourself enthusiastic to help me in this way, by taking a bold lead for pushing on this movement here. . . . [C]ome here at the earliest possible . . . at the latest by the 27th March 1972.”

Bhavananda arranged for my ticket, and within a couple of days I reached Bombay.

At that time, Srila Prabhupada was staying in Mr. Acharya’s apartment, and I heard that when he entered he said, “Now I am taking shelter of the Acharyas.” But yes, Padmanabha Acharya really sort of flourished. Recently he was the governor of some Northeastern—

Radhanath Swami: Yes, yes. He came to one of the events I recently attended in Mumbai. He came down. He was governor of Nagaland.

Giriraj Swami: Yes. So, when I arrived, Prabhupada greeted me, took me around the property, and pointed out the coconut trees, and he was saying how valuable it would be. And a few days later, he held a meeting to discuss who would take charge of the project, because Madhudvisa Prabhu, who had been the temple president of Bombay, needed a change, and then he went to Australia. So, it was quite tense; we were all crowded in the house there.

Radhanath Swami: In Mr. Acharya’s house?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. With Brahmananda soon returning to Africa and Madhudvisa proceeding to Australia, Prabhupada had to find someone to fill the position. He called a meeting with his senior disciples. I was present, but more, I thought, as an observer. I was not among the most senior or important devotees, and I had never had a say in such matters.

To begin, Prabhupada raised the question: “So, who will take charge?”

No one said a word. The atmosphere was charged with anxious uncertainty.

From behind his low table, Prabhupada looked up at the group and then directly at me. “So, Giriraj,” he said, “you will take charge?”

I was stunned, silent. My mind was reeling; I didn’t know what to say. It was not at all what I had been expecting; in fact, it was the last thing I could have imagined. I had come to Bombay to preach and develop the life-membership program and had neither the inclination nor any special ability to manage. This project was on a whole other level, and the responsibility seemed too much for me.

Still, I knew that obeying and pleasing the spiritual master was the secret of success in Krishna consciousness. So somehow I managed to stammer, “Well, Srila Prabhupada, if that is what you want me to do, I will.” I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea, but I couldn’t refuse Prabhupada.

“Yes!” he exclaimed with a bright smile.

A day or two later, I went into Prabhupada’s room and sat down in front of his desk. “So now, Giriraj,” he began, “the whole responsibility is on you.” I winced, and he chuckled.

I couldn’t understand why Prabhupada was laughing. Didn’t he know how I felt?

I rarely had such thoughts about the spiritual master. “Why am I thinking like this?” I asked myself. But I was also wondering, “How could Prabhupada be so insensitive? I am reluctant to take this responsibility, and he is rubbing it in by saying, ‘Now it’s all on you’—and on top of that, he is laughing.”

At the same time, I understood that the spiritual master could discern what was best for his disciple, and based on all my experience with Prabhupada, I knew that he must have foreseen that my taking responsibility for the project would be good for me, even though that was hard for me to imagine.

I just had to surrender. I had heard that whenever the spiritual master gave an order, he also gave the potency to execute it. And I knew that for the project to be successful, Prabhupada would have to empower me to act on his behalf.

So, I did surrender, so to speak. At one stage he said, “Giriraj is the only one who understands my vision for this project.”

When he was leaving, we went to the airport—I guess we had arranged a VIP room for him–-and Madhudvisa was still there; he led the kirtan. Srila Prabhupada said, “If you go on having kirtans like this, our mission will be successful.” Mrs. Nair came. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Oh, Mrs. Nair, you are becoming one of us!’’ Then he left, and then I did a lot of praying. But yes, he was there to support us with his letters.

To accommodate the Deities without the large hired pandal, Nara Narayan and his wife, Dinadayadri, constructed a small and simple yet festive pandal-like structure. He went to Bhuleshwar and bought bolts of red and yellow cloth, and she sewed it with her special sewing machine from America. He had observed that when Indians built a pandal, they dug holes, put in bamboo poles, and repacked the dirt around them. Then they built a framework, and over that they laid the covering of interlocking pieces laced together. One could make a pandal with just a single piece, or it could be hundreds of yards long. The bamboo was usually covered with striped cloth sleeves, but we didn’t have a way to make them, so our bamboo was just bare. With help from a couple of devotees, Nara Narayan dropped in the poles, packed in the dirt, and put it all together with his own hands. We had almost no money, so there was no hired labor; the devotees built the whole thing themselves. And on a wood-plank platform were the Deities.

To protect the Deities and Their paraphernalia, a devotee stood guard all night, but one night in April the devotee on duty fell asleep and some thieves slipped under the canvas and stole the Deities’ crowns and flute. There was no door—the pandal was really just a tent—so the robbers had just walked in, stepped over the sleeping brahmachari, taken the flute and crowns, and left.

When Prabhupada heard about the incident, he wrote me, “I have got some reports that the Deities in Bombay are being much neglected. This is most abominable affair. Radha and Krishna should not ever be neglected or left unprotected, so I am wondering what you have done to rectify this situation. I have heard that Madhudvisa intervened to get the Deities a better place, so he has done nicely.”

Radhanath Swami: He wrote it to you?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. My mind was reeling. I was shaken to the core that Prabhupada had criticized me so severely, saying that the Deities were neglected and calling the situation abominable. Still, I tried to maintain my spirit and formulate a proper reply. “You are so merciful to take the time to chastise this useless soul,” I wrote. “My sluggishness and thoughtlessness are very shameful, and worst of all, before receiving your letter, I was so unconscious of them. But your absolute mercy is such that your chastisement is as good as your blessings. So, I pray that my determination and enthusiasm shall not be shaken in trying to follow your instructions.”

Srila Prabhupada wrote back a very instructive letter in which he said, “Actually it is the duty of the spiritual master to find fault with his students so that they may make progress, not that he should always be praising them. So, if you find some criticism, kindly accept it in that spirit. I am only interested in that you along with all my other students should become Krishna conscious.”

Sometimes Srila Prabhupada quoted Canakya Pandit that leniency encourages bad qualities in a son or disciple, and strictness helps develop good qualities. He wrote, “My only interest is that you and all of my disciples should make advancement in Krishna consciousness. So if you find some criticism, kindly take it in that way.”

But later I heard or read that Srila Prabhupada said that the one thing he didn’t like about being a spiritual master was that he had to chastise his disciples and they are all Vaishnavas.

Once, I made a mistake, and as Srila Prabhupada was speaking to me about it, he could see that I was looking downcast, and he said, “Don’t lament; I just want you to learn from what happened.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ki jaya!
His Holiness Radhanath Swami ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!

Radhanath Swami: His Holiness Giriraj Swami Maharaja ki jaya!

[Discussion by Radhanath Swami and Giriraj Swami on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s disappearance day, December 22, 2021, Carpinteria, California]

Are you interested in empowering students, becoming a role model, and making an impact? TKG Academy, a spiritually-based, Pre-K thru 12th grade school in Dallas, TX, […]

Podcast:

• 

• 

Devananda Pandita lived in Nabadwipa-dhama, in the section known as Kuliya, or Koladwipa (near where the present-day Sri Caitanya Saraswata Math of Srila Sridhara Maharaja is now located). Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used him to manifest the glories of Srimad-Bhagavatam to the world.  Devananda Pandita was highly renowned for his expertise in considering the sayings of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Many people used to go and study the Srimad-Bhagavatam under him. 

One day Srivasa Pandita went to hear the Srimad-Bhagavatam class given by Devananda Pandita. After some time, Devananda began giving his lecture.  He was surrouned on all four sides by his students, who listened carefully to his reading. Srivasa Pandita was a highly exalted rasika bhakta, a devotee experienced in tasting the mellows of devotion.

Hearing the sweetness of the verses of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srivasa Thakura fell to the ground with tears of ecstasy in his eyes.  Weeping and wailing with tears of ecstasy in his eyes, he began rolling on the ground with his voice choked up with emotion.  Seeing all this, the students of Devananda said, “This man is mad. He is not properly giving his attention to the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Throw him out! Eject him!” In this way, the foolish followers of Devananda, who were devoid of knowledge. 

Devananda Pandita saw all this, but did nothing to prevent his disciples from ejecting Srivasa Pandita from the class.  If a disciple commits a sin as a result of the guru’s ignorance, the guru partakes of the sinful reaction. Therefore Devananda Pandita also partook of the sinful reaction of offending Srivasa Pandita. Without saying a word of this to anyone, and without telling anyone of his suffering at the hands of Devananda Pandita, Srivasa Thakura returned home.

One day, as Mahaprabhu was wandering through the towns of Nabadwipa, he came upon the road near where Sarvabhauma’s father, Mahesvara Visarada Pandit used to live. There was the house of Devananda Pandita.  And at that time, within the house of Devananda Pandita a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam was being held. 

From a long way off, Caitanya Mahaprabhu could hear this.  Upon hearing Devananda’s Bhagavatam class, Mahaprabhu became enraged. Caitanya Bhagavata records: “With sharp words, the Lord said, ‘What does this fellow know about the meaning described by the Bhagavatam? He will never know the Bhagavatam even in many lifetimes. 

The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary avatara of Krsna Himself.  The Bhagavatam promotes bhakti as the ultimate goal of life. The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the essence of the four Vedas; it is the literary form of divine love. The four Vedas are like milk; the Srimad-Bhagavatam is like butter. Sukadeva Goswami is the churner of the butter, which was eaten by Pariksita Maharaja.

That Sukadeva Goswami, who is dear to me, knows the meaning of  Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sukadeva expressed the truths about Myself; he expressed my own opinions.  Me and My servants are glorified in the Srimad-Bhagavatam; one who finds a difference between Myself and My servants will find all his good intelligence destroyed. An irreligious person who rejects bhakti and finds some other meaning in the Srimad-Bhagavatam will never understand the Bhagavatam.”

After saying all these things in an angry mood, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, began to flee away from the house of Devananda Pandita, which he considered condemned. 

From far away,  Devananda Pandita could hear all these different instructions.  But at the time, he did not pay any mind to all this. 

After some time, Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and went to Jagannatha Puri.  At that time, Devananda remembered the instructions the Lord had given.  He began to think, “Such a great person as this came near my residence, and I did not get to meet him? I could not understand the glories of such a great and exalted Personality as Caitanya Mahaprabhu who was filled with krsna-prema? 

One day in Kuliya, or Koladwipa as it is now known, Sri Vakresvara Pandita went to visit the house of a devotee. That evening Vakresvara Pandita was absorbed in kirtana and dancing. Hearing the news of this, people gathered from all around to take part in the kirtana. As the night went on, more and more devotees began arriving there.  Hearing this news, Devananda Pandita could not maintain his steadiness.  He also hurried to the place where the kirtana was going on. 

Seeing the empowered figure of Vakresvara Pandita and hearing his sweet kirtana Devananda Pandita was astonished. He stood transfixed for what seemed like hours. As the night wore on, the crowd grew and, in attempts to push forward and see the dancing of Vakresvara Pandita, it became boisterous and rowdy. 

At that time, Devananda Pandita, with a cane in his hand, held the crowd back and quieted the mob. When Vakresvara Pandita, after dancing and dancing, fell to the ground overwhelmed by ecstasy, Devananda Pandita carefully picked him up and held him on his lap.  With his own scarf, Devananda wiped the dust from the holy body of Vakresvara Pandita.  In this way, it was on that day that Devananda Pandita began his bhakta-seva, his service to devotees. 

     One day, five years after he took sannyasa, Sri Caitanya Mahpaabhu returned to Nabadwipa-dhama from Jagannatha Puri.  Upon his return the devotees felt that their lives had returned.  Their joy knew no bounds. In order to see the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu thousands of people gathered there. Whoever had previously committed offenses to the lotus feet of the Lord when he had manifested his lila in Nabadwipa was eager to be forgiven. They all came there to beseech the Lord’s forgiveness for whatever offenses they might have committed.  At that time, in the place known today as the aparadha-bhanjanam, or the place of amnesty (where Srila Sridhara Maharaja now has his temple), Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu granted forgiveness to all who gathered there and instructed them in the science of devotion.

 At that time, Devananda Pandita took darsana of the lotus feet of  Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.  Offering his obeisances unto the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya at a distance, Devananda cowered and shrank away from the Lord, standing off to one side.  At that time the Lord saw him and said, “You are the servant of my dear devotee Vakresvara Pandita. By your service to him you have greatly pleased Me.  As a result of your service to him you have come close to Me. Vakresvara is empowered by krsna-sakti.  By serving my dear devotee Vakresvara Pandita you have attained the mercy of Krsna.”

Hearing these words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Devananda was overwhelmed with the sentiments of bhakti. His voice was choked with divine emotion, and he said, “O My Lord; O Supreme Master—You have appeared in Nabadwipa just to deliver all the fallen souls. I am a sinner. I have commited great sins against divinity.  I have failed to worship your lotus feet. As a result of this, I have cheated myself out of your causeless mercy. O Lord of all creation; Supersoul of all that lives! You are supremely merciful. By your causeless mercy I have been able to take darsan of your holy feet on this day. O Supremely merciful one—please be kind upon me and instruct me in the goal of life. Please explain the meaning of Srimad-Bhagavatam to me as well. Hearing this humble request of Devananda Pandita, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke as follows:

“Listen carefully, O brahmana. Always praise Srimad-Bhagavatam. Never let any explanation of  Srimad-Bhagavatam other than bhakti issue forth from your lips.  From beginning, middle to end, this is its meaning: constant devotion to Krsna is eternally perfect flawless, and infallible.  It is the highest goal of life. The Supreme Lord appears in innumerable avataras beginning with Kurma. His appearance and disappearance is transcendental. In the same way, Srimad-Bhagavatam is not a material creation: its appearance and disappearance is completely divine.  In a trance of bhakti-yoga Vyasa compiled the Srimad-Bhagavatam. It passed through him and appeared on his tongue as a result of the mercy of Krsna. 

If one doesn’t understand that the Srimad-Bhagavatam is divine truth on the level of God Himself he will never realize its meaning.  This is the verdict of all authorized scriptures.  One who understands the Srimad-Bhagavatam in that way has real knowledge. If one approaches the Srimad-Bhagavatam with material knowledge he will never understand it.  If, however, one is unlearned but takes shelter of the Srimad-Bhagavatam he will be enlightened with its meaning.  The Srimad-Bhagavatam is filled with divine love, prema.  It is an extension of Krsna Himself and it reveals his confidential pastimes of divine love. 

 “O brahmana! Previously you committed an offense to the lotus feet of Srivasa Pandita.  You must go to him and beg forgiveness at his lotus feet. There is no difference between the book Bhagavata and the bhakta bhagavata.  If you get the mercy of the bhakta bhagavata then you will easily attain the mercy of the book Bhagavata.”

 Having thus heard the words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Devananda Pandita immediately went to Srivasa Thakura and begged forgiveness for his offenses. At that time, Srivasa Thakura embraced Devananda and forgave his offenses. The four directions were filled with the sound of the holy name of Hari as the devotees were all jubilant upon Mahaprabhu’s return to Nabadwipa-dhama. From that day on, Devananda Pandita was accepted in the midst of the followers of Mahaprabhu as a great devotee.

Devananda Pandita’s disappearance day falls on the dark moon ekadasi of the month of Pausa, which corresponds to the month of December.

• 

• 

Oakville, Ontario

 

In the Boxing Ring with Maya

 

When someone uses the word “boxing,” as in Boxing Day, it refers to the day after Christmas when shoppers go bananas over deals on sale. But in the more popular context, it’s a sport. I did a little research on the aggressive punching history of boxing.

 

The Egyptians were at the game about 3000 B.C. Greeks and Romans took it up. Boxing appears in the Greek epic “The Iliad.” Commonly, leather straps were tied around the wrist to the knuckle. Romans added metal strapping. In about 400 AD, the game was abolished by Romans for it being too brutal.

 

Europeans took it up in the 1600’s and some boxing schools opened up in the 1700’s. in the 1800’s it began to appear in America, and Theodore Roosevelt somewhat popularized it and involved himself in it to keep fit and in shape. The sport reached professional levels, generating oodles of money and making Joe Frazier, Joe Louis, and Mohammad Ali famous.

 

How does boxing fit into our lives? Well, most recently I gave some Zoom talks on the subject with a few communities – Toronto, Barrie and Scarborough – on how it is necessary, figuratively, to put up your dukes (slang for hands) against the opponent Maya, our illusion and temptation. In one sense, even the gentle seekers of truth require to take a defensive stance and battle with our subtle demons within.

 

We are all hearing about fighting viruses these days. The meanest of all viruses is our own selfishness. It is realistic to admit that that is our real enemy. So how about we put up a good defense in pro- and re-activeness. Put on your boxing gloves and knock Maya down.

 

May the Source be with you!

2 km

 

Etobicoke, Ontario

 

Quietest Day

 

This is the quietest day of the year. Even Walmart is closed. This, then, is a time, a mere 24 hours, when people have a greed-break. However, tomorrow, the 26^th, all hell breaks loose again. It is Boxing Day.

 

Boxing Day started when the rich gave their servants boxes of gifts, gestures of appreciation. I consider my gift at Christmas/Boxing Day time to have good health, to be able to lead the singing of a song with chorus (mantras), to be able to go on Zoom, on the phone, delivering a class on Krishna Consciousness and to go for a walk.

 

Our programs have somewhat canceled out due to the newly arrived virus O M _ _ _ _ _. Today’s gig was with a group in Barrie, Ontario, and the topic was once again, “In the Boxing Ring with Maya.” When I saw that the recipients on this call were aged seven to fourteen for the most part, I quickly had to shift gears, to make my presentation more child friendly. While speaking, I kept scrolling to see if those young ones in the frames were staying focused. I believe they were and their parents as well.

 

Christmas, after all, has become a magical time for kids. When opportunities arise like this, when I have a chance to say something of truth, I can easily catch myself telling these young folks that St. Nicolas is real and Santa is not. Also, Jesus is more important than Rudolph. Parents don’t seem to mind. I’m a monk and I like to bring out the funk in life.

 

For walking, Nimai and I hit the streets, first in rain, and covered a blessed five kilometers.

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km (or 3 mi)

 

 

 

Vancouver/Toronto

 

Christmas Eve

 

I’ve been telling people that I’m going to catch Santa’s sleigh with his reindeer after his last chimney delivery. Well, timing-wise it couldn’t have been closer. It’s Christmas eve and I flew on a five-hour flight towards the east and not the North Pole.

 

I left Vancouver with good feelings. The community there treated me well. There’s still lots of work to be done in terms of developing cohesion. On the good side, there are a lot of good devotees doing lots of good devotional tasks, exceeding those of Santa. The restriction on gathering is hurting, like in all communities around the world. For instance, I’m coming back home to Toronto and I’ll be on some kind of self-quarantine, just to be on the safe side. No, I didn’t come in contact with anyone. Just being cautious.

 

I deplaned in the evening and was picked up by Nimai Nitai. Some message came that I’m to be on Zoom for a Gita class. Oops! Missed that one. Looks like I’m up for giving an apology. I’ll also have to get back to a sweet couple who left me a gift to carry back from Vancouver. I just didn’t have room or the extra space in my luggage. Another apology!

 

This time of year our spirits are supposed to be up. Even the Gitastates that margasirsha (Nov. – Dec.) is a good time.

 

Here’s my small take on the first stanza of Gershwin’s “Summertime,” only I’ll call it “Wintertime.”

 

Wintertime, and the livin’ ain’t easy

Snow is fallin’ and virus counts are high

Oh! God is rich and His consorts good lookin’

So hush little baby, don’t you cry

 

May the Source be with you!

Hare Krishmas!

 

 

Burnaby, British Columbia

 

Of Geese and Men

 

Some geese just do not fly south for the winter. Here, at least, some prefer to stay. As long as green grasses linger and temperatures remain mild enough, they just might stick around.

 

Karan and Sukshi are a marvelous couple, who more recently sprung upon consciousness of Krishna, and they joined me on my walk along Willard Ave., by the Asian farms. A flock of geese decided to munch away next to our walking street. I suppose the geese do contribute their dung to the farmer’s field by way of fertilizing. In any event, these birds, so popularly seen on land and in the sky, were right there absorbed. Meditation was not their preoccupation and likely won’t be.

 

The couple I’m with, walking companions, were showing their sweet and sincere spiritual side. I asked, “What is your goal in life?” In jovial tone they replied, “We’re happy being with the Maharaja (me).”

 

Well, that was simplistic. I was hoping for going a little deeper. It is what it is. They are happy campers – walkers.

 

I also had the fortune to walk through select pages from the Gita, about Arjuna’s compassion for humankind. He said he believed deeply in the Lord, but for the sake of others stated, “Please reveal your Universal Form.” And so, Krishna did let loose, manifesting something beyond imagination.

 

My last supper here in Burnaby was also beyond imagination.

 

May the Source be with you!

6 km

 

 

 

Surrey, British Columbia

 

Events

 

One of the most inspiring figures of saintliness is Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. He is our param-guru, or guru’s guru. Today we honoured his passing from this world and we did so at the temple with ghee lamps, flowers, chants and love. New governmental restrictions are limiting the number of people gathering due top the breakout of Omicron. Our turn-out for the event, to dedicate appreciation to Bhaktisiddhanta, was small for this reason. We try to keep to the standard code.

 

With rather unpredictable weather these days and freezing water on the ground, I moved on foot cautiously, in solo, after the event (and a great feast). I made my way to the tiny park off of Willard to chant one round of mantrason my beads. Routinely I make myself content by sitting and swaying on the actual swing. Today was no exception. For me, this humble gesture is a major event.

 

At nightfall, Jaya Govinda, Vrnda, and I drove to the home of Rupa R. For a small gathering in remembrance of his nineteen-year-old daughter’s passing. Last week she was killed when an irresponsible motorist struck her, ending her life abruptly.

 

We are confident that her soul moved on, still this mishap weighs heavily on the hearts of parents, siblings and friends. Our way of dedicating good vibrations to nineteen-year-old Prem Manjari was through an hour-long, meaningful chanting session. The vibrations were good.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

 

Burnaby, British Columbia

 

Winter Solstice

 

It is winter solstice this very day

Nights now shorten, nature does portray

While days lengthen through months May

And June and weeks pass away

 

It’s an annual turning point

A seasonal juncture, a seasonal joint

A slot in time set not to disappoint

Rather an insertion to bless, to anoint

 

It’s merely a half year’s completion

Yet some curse this very harsh season

Could it be nature’s way of treason?

Why the harsh cold? Is there a reason?

 

As the North pole tilts away from the sun

We can learn to accept duality as one

Cold, hot, glad, sad, all extremes on the run

Can trigger tolerance, even make it fun

           

-Composed by Bhaktimarga Swama, The Walking Monk©

 

May the Source be with you!

 

Surrey, British Columbia

 

By the Asian Farms

 

Stephen was with the Canadian Forces some years back and so I thought to ask him to accompany me on the Sunday night walk, brisk and cold so it was. I thought he was tough enough to accept the cold. He accepted the offer. I also thought, “I’ll get to know him more.” He has that commanding officer’s voice. He used it as we carefully ambled along avoiding black ice on the road’s surface. He carries a good conversation. At one point I requested, “I hope you don’t mind but I spend some time chanting japa on these walks.” He was happy to comply.

 

As is routine, in the area I walk by Asian farmland and a mini-park is where I stop for a break. Yes indeed, I sit on a swing and then do swing for some sky gazing. Stephen joined me for the star studded endless and wondrous gaze. This practice always confirms, “We are small!”

 

Now, Monday, as the sun tucks himself away, I took to the same trail, by the Asian farms, but not alone again. This time Arjuna called me from his home in Tampa, Florida. The cell phone can do that for you or it can do it “to you.” Technology is both a blessing and a curse. With Arjuna, I’m always happy to hear from him. It was a walking dialogue, confidential, between clergy and layperson – between guru and sisya (student). I got my walking in and my talking in.

 

Evening was a blessing; a drive to a Surrey household for dinner. When it came to kirtan time, we headed for the kitchen to grab utensils as our musical instruments.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

 

Surrey, British Columbia

 

The Here and Now

 

I’ve been in touch with Neil who’s a sculptor from Ontario and who forwarded me some pics of his new wood sculpting assignment. This is a project we’ve been speaking about since the summer last. The pics show the select maple wood he’s going to use for rendering two pieces – one of a flute-playing life-size Krishna and another of a Radha who will pose with a blessing from the hand, also life-size.

 

These two exciting pieces will adorn the future project for Huntsville. Neil is most excited about it and so am I. It will attract attention for our upcoming restaurant/temple project.

 

While plans are underway for some gorgeous wood images to manifest, I’m quite involved in the here and now. I’m physically and mentally absorbed in our existing Burnaby project. The attention to the building is one thing, but more importantly are the people; the congregants. We pulled off two fabulous seminars, such as the “Nine Devotions Workshop” and another one, the “Kirtan Standards” seminar. Both events served to bond all that were there.

 

Today was significant in that temple evening and morning programs were focused and meaningful with our community, but in between Vrnda, Jay-Go, and I drove to Surrey for a sweet visit to the home of Chaitanya Hari, where he resides with his parents and new wife. The blessed or consecrated food we call prasadamwas to die for.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

 

As a tamala tree with a vine of golden flowers,
as a dark cloud with a lightning flash,
and as a dark mountain with a mine of nikasha stones,
so Lord Hari was with beautiful Sri Radha.

~Garga Samhita 15.40

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10220855034748619&set=pcb.10220855035148629

 

 

Podcast:

 

 

Once again, we are approaching the end of another year as Kali-yuga progresses. As the saying goes, “Time and tide wait for no man.” Imperceptible time rolls on, and representing Krishna Himself, is the destroyer of all things. For devotees, however, time brings us to Krishna as we continue to endeavor in His service and glorification. Time, in that sense, becomes our friend, taking us closer and closer to His lotus feet in Goloka Vrindaban.

Here at the TOVP, time is bringing us to the fruition of this wonderful project desired by Srila Prabhupada. And if all goes well, 2022 should be a very eventful year in our construction progress.

This year we are also celebrating 5 important ISKCON anniversaries, especially related to ISKCON Mayapur.

• 50th Anniversary of Chota Radha Madhava’s Installation
• 50th Anniversary of the ISKCON Mayapur Gaur Purnima Festival
• 50th Anniversary of Prabhupada Laying the TOVP Cornerstone
• 50th Anniversary of Jananivas Prabhu as Mayapur Head Pujari
• 100th Anniversary of Prabhupada Receiving Bhaktisiddhanta’s Order

From March 2-5 we are organizing the Radha Madhava Golden Jubilee Festival to commemorate the above 5 Anniversaries in 1 Festival. I personally invite you to join us, either physically or via Mayapur TV, to participate in this marvelous festival. There are also several Chota Radha Madhava abhisheka sponsorships available, as well as Paschatya Desha Tarine Medallions to honor Srila Prabhupada’s 100th Anniversary of receiving Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s order to preach. Sponsoring these will help ensure we have the required finances to complete the project. Find out more about the Radha Madhava Golden Jubilee Festival.

Additionally, you can now view, download and share the TOVP 2022 Calendar on our Flipbook Page on the TOVP website. There are both a North America and India version with all the Vaishnava and important secular dates.

I wish you and your family a Happy Krishna Conscious New Year and all the best in your service to Guru and Gauranga.

Your servant,
Ambarisa das
Chairman

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp2
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

“Who is a saint? A saint is tolerant, very tolerant—tolerant to the utmost. You have got a very good example in Lord Jesus Christ, a great saint or sadhu. Of course, he was more than a sadhu. Now, just see his behavior, how much tolerant he was. He was being crucified, and he was praying to God, ‘O Lord, forgive these people what they are doing.’ This is the significance of sadhu. Titiksavah karunikah. For their personal sake, they’re always very tolerant, and they are very kind to all people, all living entities. Very kind. In spite of all their disadvantages, they try to give something, real knowledge, to the people in general. Karunikah.”

—Srila Prabhupada, talk on Bhagavad-gita 4.6–8, July 15, 1966, New York

Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

Date: 26th Dec 2021

Day: Sunday

Time: 11 am to 12 noon EST

Topic: "In the Boxing Ring With Maya"

Speaker: H.H Bhaktimarga Swami

Link to join the class

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9150790510?pwd=Wk5GYXVRMkJmdk84MzZJRXBKYUgwUT09.

 

HH Bhaktimarga Swami:

Bhaktimarga Swami, popularly known as "The Walking Monk", took to a monk’s life in 1973 as a youthful 20-year-old. Prior to becoming a monk, he did chores on the family farm in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, and was a college student of Fine Arts. His walks are extensively and internationally featured on radio, television, in the newspaper, and film

ISKCON Scarborough

3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,

Scarborough, Ontario,

Canada, M1V4C7

Website: www.iskconscarborough.org

Email:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

Podcast:

“Now these Christmas holidays have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you’ll observe nice festivities. Why? It began with God consciousness. Jesus Christ came to give you God consciousness, and in relation to him these festivities are going on. It may have degraded into another form, but the beginning was God consciousness. Now we may have lost it. But people cannot be happy without reviving God consciousness. It may be named differently—‘Krishna consciousness’—but that means God consciousness. That is the necessity. We want to love somebody. Our love will be perfected when we love Krishna, or God. We are teaching that. Try to love God, and if you love God, if you love Krishna, then automatically you love everybody. That is the perfection of love.”

—Srila Prabhupada, December 2, 1968, Los Angeles (adapted)

 

Podcast:

Podcast:

Video:

• 

• 

Jesus Christ was such a great personality—the son of God, the representative of God. He had no fault. Still, he was crucified. He wanted to deliver God consciousness, but in return they crucified him—they were so thankless. They could not appreciate his preaching. But we appreciate him and give him all honor as the representative of God.

Of course, the message that Christ preached was just according to his particular time, place, and country, and just suited for a particular group of people. But certainly he is the representative of God. Therefore we adore Lord Jesus Christ and offer our obeisances to him.Once, in Melbourne, a group of Christian ministers came to visit me. They asked, “What is your idea of Jesus Christ?” I told them, “He is our guru. He is preaching God consciousness, so he is our spiritual master.” The ministers very much appreciated that.

Actually, anyone who is preaching God’s glories must be accepted as a guru. Jesus Christ is one such great personality. We should not think of him as an ordinary human being. The scriptures say that anyone who considers the spiritual master to be an ordinary man has a hellish mentality. If Jesus Christ were an ordinary man, then he could not have delivered God consciousness…

The Science of Self Realization
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 4

• 

• 

Saphala Ekadashi is one of the most pious and favorable fasting days. It takes place in the ‘Pausha’ month during the Krishna Paksha on the 11th day (waning phase of the Moon). The Saphala Ekadashi is also well known as ‘Pausha Krishna Ekadashi’ which usually falls in the months of January or December as per the Gregorian calendar.

This being the final Ekadasi of the year 2021, we encourage devotees to take advantage of this auspicious day by giving in charity and contribute to the TOVP construction. This is an ideal opportunity to sponsor an abhisheka for Chota Radha Madhava at Their Radha Madhava Golden Jubilee Festival or a Paschatya Desha Tarine Medallion to honor Srila Prabhupada’s 100th Anniversary of receiving the order to preach in the West by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasawati.

  NOTE: Saphala Ekadasi is observed on Wednesday, December 29 in North America, and Thursday, December 30 in India. Please refer to your local calendar through www.gopal.home.sk/gcal

The Glories of Saphala or Pausha-krishna Ekadasi

From the Bhavishya-uttara Purana

Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “O my Dear Lord Sri Krishna, what is the name of that Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Pausha (December-January)? How is it observed, and which Deity is to be worshipped on that sacred day? Please narrate these details to me fully, so that I may understand, Oh Janardana.”

The Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna then replied, “O best of kings, because you desire to hear, I shall fully describe to you the glories of the Pausha-krishna Ekadasi. I do not become as pleased by sacrifice or charity as I do by My devotee’s observance of a full fast on Ekadasi. To the best of one’s ability, therefore, one should fast on Ekadasi, the day of Lord Hari.

“O Yudhisthira, I urge you to hear with undivided intelligence the glories of Pausha-krishna Ekadasi, which falls on a Dwadasi. As I explained previously, one should not differentiate among the many Ekadasis. O king, to benefit humanity at large I shall now describe to you the process of observing Pausha-krishna Ekadasi.

“Pausha-krishna Ekadasi is also known as Saphala Ekadasi. On this sacred day one should worship Lord Narayana, for He is its ruling Deity. One should do so by following the previously described method of fasting. Just as among snakes Shesha-naga is the best, and among birds Garuda is the best, among sacrifices the Ashvamedha-yajna is the best, among rivers Mother Ganges is the best, among gods Lord Vishnu is best, and among two-legged beings the brahmins are the best, so among all fasting days Ekadasi is by far the best. O foremost of kings who took your birth in the Bharata dynasty, whoever strictly observes Ekadasi becomes very dear to Me and indeed worshipable by Me in every way. Now please listen as I describe the process for observing Saphalaa Ekadasi.

“On Saphalaa Ekadasi My devotee should worship Me by offering Me fresh fruits according to time, place and circumstance, and by meditating on Me as the all-auspicious Supreme Personality of Godhead. He should offer Me jambira fruit, pomegranate, betal nuts and leaves, coconut, guava, varieties of nuts, cloves, mangoes, and different kinds of aromatic spices. He should also offer Me incense and bright ghee lamps, for such an offering of lamps on Saphalaa Ekadasi is especially glorious. The devotee should try to stay awake the Ekadasi night.

“Now please hear with undivided attention as I tell you how much merit one gets if he fasts and remains awake throughout the entire night singing and chanting the glories of Narayana. O best of kings, there is no sacrifice or pilgrimage that yields merit that is equal to or better than the merit one gains by fasting on this Saphala Ekadasi. Such fasting – particularly if one can remain awake and alert the entire night long – bestows the same merit upon the faithful devotee as the performance of austerity for five thousand earthly years. O lion among kings, please hear from Me the glorious history that made this Divine Ekadasi famous.

“Once there was a City called Champavati, which was ruled by the saintly King Mahishmata. He had four sons, the eldest of whom, Lumpaka, always engaged in all manner of very sinful activities – illicit sexual encounters with the wives of others, gambling, and continual association with known prostitutes. His evil deeds gradually reduced the wealth of his father, King Mahishmata. Lumpaka also became very critical of the numerous devas, the empowered universal attendants of the Lord, as well as toward the brahmins, and every day he would go out of his way to blaspheme the Vaishnavas.

“At last King Mahishmata, seeing the unrepentant brazen fallen condition of his son, exiled him to the forest. Out of fear of the king, even compassionate relatives didn’t come to Lumpaka’s defense, so angry was the king toward his son, and so sinful was this Lumpaka.

“Bewildered in his exile, the fallen and rejected Lumpaka thought to himself, ‘My father has sent me away, and even my kinsmen do not raise but a finger in objection. What am I to do now?’ He schemed sinfully and thought, ‘I shall sneak back to the city under cover of darkness and plunder its wealth. During the day I shall stay in the forest, and as night returns, so shall I to the city.’

“So thinking, the sinful Lumpaka entered the darkness of the forest. He killed many animals by day, and by night he stole all manner of valuable items from the city.
The city-dwelling folk apprehended him several times, but out of fear of the king they left him alone. They thought to themselves that it must have been the accumulated sins of Lumpaka’s previous births that had forced him to act in such a way that he lost his royal facilities and came to act so sinfully like a common selfish thief.

“Though a meat-eater, Lumpaka would also eat fruits every day. He resided under an old banyan tree that unknown to him happened to be very dear to Lord Vasudeva. Indeed, many worshipped the tree as the demi-god of all the trees in the forest. In due course of time, while Lumpaka was doing so many sinful and condemnable activities, the Saphalaa Ekadasi arrived. On the eve of the Ekadasi (Dasami) Lumpaka had to pass the entire night without sleep because of severe cold that he felt due to his scanty bedclothes. The cold not only robbed him of all peace but almost of his very life.

“By the time the sun rose, near dead, his teeth were chattering and he was near comatose. In fact all that Ekadasi morning he remained in that stupor and could not awaken out of his near comatose condition. When midday of the Saphala Ekadasi arrived, the sinful Lumpaka finally came to and managed to rise up from his place under that banyan tree. But with every step he took, he stumbled and fell to the ground. Like a lame man, he walked slowly and hesitantly, suffering greatly from hunger and thirst in the midst of the jungle.

“So weak was Lumpaka that he could neither concentrate nor muster strength to go and kill even a single animal that whole day. Instead, he was reduced to collecting whatever fruits had fallen to the ground of their own accord.
By the time he returned to his banyan tree home, the sun had set.

“Placing the fruits on the ground next to him (at the base of the sacred banyan tree), Lumpaka began to cry out, ‘O, woe is me! What should I do? Dear father, what is to become of me? O Sri Hari, please be merciful to me and accept these fruits as an offering !’

“Again, he was forced to lie awake the whole night without sleep, but in the meantime the all-merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Madhusudana, had become pleased with Lumpaka’s humble offering of forest fruits, and He accepted them. Lumpaka had unwittingly observed a full Ekadasi fast, and by the merit he reaped on that day he regained his kingdom with no further obstacles.

“Listen, O Yudhisthira, to what happened to the son of King Mahishmata when but a fragment of the merit spouted up within his heart. As the Sun beautifully rose in the sky on the day following Ekadasi, a handsome horse approached Lumpaka as if seeking him out, and stood next to him. At the same time, a voice suddenly boomed out from the clear blue sky saying, ‘This horse is for you, Lumpaka! Mount it and ride swiftly out of this forest to greet your family! O son of King Mahishmata, by the mercy of the Supreme Lord Vasudeva and the strength of the merit you acquired by observing Saphala Ekadasi, your kingdom will be returned to you without any further hindrances. Such is the benefit you have gained by fasting on this most auspicious of days. Go now to your father and enjoy your rightful place in the dynasty.’

“Upon hearing these celestial words resounding from above, Lumpaka mounted the horse and rode back to the city of Champavati. By the merit he had accrued from fasting on Saphala Ekadasi, he had become a handsome prince once more and was able to absorb his mind in the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari. In other words, he had become My pure devotee.

“Lumpaka offered his father, King Mahishmata, his humble obeisances and once more accepted his princely responsibilities. Seeing his son so decorated with Vaishnava ornaments and tilak (udhvara pundra), King Mahishmata gave him the kingdom, and Lumpaka ruled unopposed for many, many years. Whenever the Ekadasi came, he worshipped the Supreme Lord Narayana with great devotion.
And by the mercy of Sri Krishna he obtained a beautiful wife and a fine son.

“In old age Lumpaka handed his kingdom over to his son – just as his own father, King Maahishmata, had handed it over to him. Lumpaka then went to the forest to dedicate and concentrate his attention to gratefully serve the Supreme Lord with controlled mind and senses. Purified of all material desires, he left his old material body and returned back to home, back to Godhead, attaining a place near the lotus feet of his worshipful Lord, Sri Krishna.

“O Yudhisthira, one who approaches Me as Lumpaka did will become completely free of lamentation and anxiety. Indeed, anyone who properly observes this glorious Saphala Ekadasi – even unknowingly, like Lumpaka – will become famous in this world. He will become perfectly liberated at death and return to the spiritual abode of Vaikuntha. Of this there is no doubt. Moreover, one who simply hears the glories of Saphala Ekadasi obtains the same merit derived by one who performs a Rajasuya-yajna, and at the very least he goes to heaven in his next birth, so where is the loss?”

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Pausha-krishna Ekadasi, or Saphala Ekadasi, from the Bhavishya-uttara Purana.

This article has been used courtesy of ISKCON Desire Tree

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

Visit: www.tovp.org
Support: https://tovp.org/donate/
Email: tovpinfo@gmail.com
Follow: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch: www.youtube.com/c/TOVPinfoTube
View at 360°: www.tovp360.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOVP2022
Telegram: https://t.me/TOVP_GRAM
WhatsApp: https://m.tovp.org/whatsapp2
Instagram: https://m.tovp.org/tovpinstagram
App: https://m.tovp.org/app
News & Texts: https://m.tovp.org/newstexts
RSS News Feed: https://tovp.org/rss2/
Store: https://tovp.org/tovp-gift-store/

Podcast:

Video:

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 17 November 2018, Prema-Sarovara, Vrndavana, India, Parikrama 2018 Lecture)

Krsna is suhrt. He is our dear-most friend. Prabhupada said that Krsna is our best friend and the devotees responded, “No Prabhupada, you are our best friend! We do not know Krsna; we only know you!” Prabhupada then explained, “No, Krsna is your best friend because He is omniscient and knows everything, whereas I do not and may disappoint you.” The quality of omniscience means that Krsna knows the deepest desires within our hearts. He knows everything and as a result, He will never disappoint us. Not that He gives us everything we want, but if we stick with Krsna, we will surely become completely fulfilled. So we should have this meditation with us and remember that Krsna is not far away from us. Even here, in this material world, Krsna is actually present with us.

Krsna is also very accessible. Once I was preparing a seminar on prayer. While researching on the internet, I ended up on a website with prayers dedicated to St Anthony. I had read a lot of the prayers online and many of them were just, “Please help me, St Anthony,” or “Help me with my exams,” or “My aunty has a problem with her knee, please help her!” A lot of these prayers were quite materialistic but then I saw a prayer by a mother who said, “My daughter is only three years old and she has kidney failure. She has to be on this machine in the hospital. Oh, dear St Anthony, please transfer her pain unto me. Please save my daughter from this suffering.” This was a deep prayer. One prayer on the website said, “When I pray, I realise just how far away I am from God.” This made me realise how different our movement is. We do not think about how far away we are, but about how close we are to Krsna. When we chant, we feel close to Krsna. That is our meditation. It is not like He has left us alone here, to pray and chant and somehow or the other get purified and thereby get qualified. No. He hasn’t left us at all. He is our dear-most friend.

The article " Close to Krsna " was published on KKSBlog.