Planet ISKCON

Sri Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura appeared in 1838 in a wealthy family in the Nadia district, West Bengal. He revealed that he is an eternal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by his extraordinary preaching activities and prolific writing.

Living as a, mahabhagavata Vaisnava, he stayed in the grhasta ashram until the last few years of his life. Then he renounced everything, accepted babaji, and entered samadhi, totally absorbed in the loving service of Gaura-Gadadhara and Radha-Madhava.
 
 “He had a responsible government position as the District Magistrate (high court judge), maintained a Krishna conscious family, and wrote almost one hundred books on Krishna consciousness. At the same time, he served the Supreme Lord in so many ways. That is the beauty of his life. After a full day of government service he would sleep four hours, get up at midnight and write until morning. That was his daily program.” (Srila Prabhupada)

Biographers list three major preaching achievements of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura:
 
(1) Wrote 100 authorized spiritual books. (2) Discovered appearance place of Lord Caitanya. (3) Introduced preaching innovations. Besides books (in Bengali, Oriya, English) reviving and explaining Mahaprabhu’s message, he wrote hundreds of poems and songs full of spiritual sentiments and sastrie siddhanta (philosophical conclusions). 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 3 May 2021, Simhachalam, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.19.27)

Sometimes we see that on the ocean there is a big disaster. There is an oil tank that has had a big spill, and then the whole water surface becomes covered by oil. What happens then is that all the animals that are on the surface of the water, like birds, are getting a very bad reaction. But the animals that are deep in the water remain largely unaffected.  It is on the surface that the reaction from the oil spill is happening. Similarly, in the process of bhakti, the kanistha adhikari (the neophyte devotee) stays only on the surface of bhakti and does not go very deep. It is mostly external whereby he is not deeply involved with the process. He chants Hare Krsna but more mechanically for the sake of just fulfilling a quota. And he is reading the books but falling asleep and if at all remembering more in the sense of learning but not in the sense of life changing experience. But for the madhyam-adhikari, reading the books is a life changing experience. At each moment there, his faith is growing. Each moment, he reflects how wonderful this is!

The article " Fulfilling a quota " was published on KKSBlog.

Today we have gathered for the most auspicious celebration of the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was one of the most prominent acharyas in the disciplic succession after Lord Chaitanya, and his contribution to Gaudiya Vaishnavism and to the world is so great that one devotee called him the Seventh Gosvami. Much of the present Krishna consciousness movement founded by Srila Prabhupada is being conducted under the guidance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and today I will focus on some of the areas in which the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is continuing his work and mission.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was born in an aristocratic, devotional family, but throughout his life he was afflicted by various illnesses. So we shouldn’t think that he had an easy life or that everything just came to him; the tremendous contribution he made was in the face of physically trying conditions. Of course, in a way it did all come naturally, but he really had to face many obstacles, even in terms of his physical health. In this year’s Vyasa-puja book His Grace Kalakantha dasa wrote an offering in which he listed different trials that Srila Prabhupada had faced, and he suggested that Prabhupada had actually suffered. It wasn’t just an appearance of difficulties; he actually suffered. But in spite of the difficulties, he continued. And that is a lesson for all of us. We shouldn’t expect that things will always come easily or go smoothly, and in spite of the difficulties and miseries we should persevere in our efforts in Krishna consciousness.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was appointed to a government position—assistant magistrate—that was practically the highest position that any Indian held during the British rule. The British had the idea to inculcate in the Indians the idea that Indian culture was inferior to the British or Western or Christian culture. So in general they kept the Indians down, but Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so qualified and so popular that they were obliged to appoint him to a high position.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a grihastha with ten children. But even with all his heavy responsibilities in his government service and as a family man, he still did so much direct service to the cause of Krishna consciousness. He utilized his time expertly. After coming home from work, he would have a light meal and take rest at about eight o’clock, and then he would get up at midnight and write books. He wrote over one hundred books and songs. He made so many contributions. From this we can learn how we can also engage in direct service to the cause of Krishna consciousness even with our many responsibilities of family and work, by efficiently and enthusiastically using our time—every moment possible—for devotional service.

As a magistrate, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was very efficient and would dispose of many cases in short order. Judges are also judged—by how many cases they dispose of and how many of their cases are appealed and how many of their cases are overturned. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had the most outstanding record of any judge or magistrate. He disposed of so many cases so quickly, and people were satisfied with his judgments, and so his decisions were not appealed or overturned.

One famous case involved a yogi who falsely claimed to be an incarnation of Vishnu, or Krishna. He would have an imitation rasa-lila every night, and foolish people were sending their wives and daughters to dance with him. But some more intelligent or sober persons complained to the British government, and the administration, knowing Kedarnath Datta, as Bhaktivinoda Thakura was known then, to be a religious man and also the deputy magistrate, assigned the case to him.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in plain dress and accompanied by some police constables, went to the village where the yogi was engaging in his nefarious activities. “You are a great yogi,” he told the man. “Why are you in this remote rural area? Why don’t you go to Jagannatha Puri and see Lord Jagannatha and be happy?” Upon hearing these words, the yogi’s offensive mentality came out and he said, “Oh, Jagannatha? That is just wood. I myself am the Supreme Lord, Vishnu!”

Bhaktivinoda Thakura could conclude beyond any doubt that the yogi was a pretender, and so he had him arrested and brought to trial. Srila Prabhupada remarked, not specifically in relation to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura but in a more general sense, that the government should oversee the activities of sadhus and people who take the position of guru—that the government should license them. Just like nowadays you can’t just call yourself a doctor and begin to practice medicine; you have to take a course of study and be licensed to practice. If you are going to entrust your body, your medical care, to a doctor, you want to go to a doctor who is licensed. And the body is not as important as the soul. So Srila Prabhupada said that if people entrust their whole lives, their spiritual lives, to some spiritual teacher, the teacher should be tested according to certain standards, which are given in scripture. And if he doesn’t meet the qualifications, he should be declared disqualified.

So, this yogi, Bishkishan, was creating a disturbance with his immoral, illicit activities, and thus Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered him arrested. This is also interesting, because Indian culture is so advanced and evolved that even the demons and rascals can be cultured and knowledgeable. In diplomatic behavior, one first tries reason and logic, good argument, and if that fails, one tries bribery. So, the yogi told Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “If you cooperate with me, I will give you great powers and you will become the king of India.” But that didn’t work; Bhaktivinoda Thakura had him apprehended and taken to Puri.

The yogi threatened Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and all the people associated with him: “If you do this, I will cause you all to become sick, and you will all die.” And the yogi actually did have powers, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura and his family members all became deathly ill. They had very high fevers, and it looked like they could die. Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s wife appealed to him, “Please let the yogi go. It is not worth the cost of our lives to bring the yogi to justice.” But Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, “No, let us all die, but this rascal must be punished.”

Eventually the day of the trial came, and Bhaktivinoda Thakura understood that the yogi had conserved his mystic powers in his hair, which Srila Prabhupada said was not entirely uncommon. There is the biblical story of Samson and Delilah: Samson was very powerful, but when his hair was cut he lost his power. Some of the modern yogis also have power in their hair. So, when the trial began, Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered, “Bring a barber to cut his hair.” But no barber dared. The yogi did have mystic powers, and he made threats, and sparks actually came out of his hair, but Bhaktivinoda Thakura personally took the scissors and cut it, and he sentenced the yogi to six months in jail. There, the yogi wrote a note admitting that he had been an imposter, and he managed to get some poison and took his own life. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so fearless, so courageous, so determined.

Although Bhaktivinoda Thakura was posted in Orissa and was also the superintendent of the Jagannatha temple, his heart hankered to be closer to the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He wanted to be posted in Nadia, but he was rendering such valuable service in the government that they didn’t want to let him go; they didn’t want to grant him a transfer. But his desire was so strong that even though he did have such a responsible and prestigious position and a big family to maintain, eventually he said, “If you don’t transfer me, I am going to give up government service and retire and just go.” So then they posted him in Krishna Nagar, which is near Navadvipa.

From there, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura sought to ascertain the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Over time, the Ganges River had changed its course and the landscape, the terrain, had changed, so there was a question as to the birthplace’s location. So he studied maps and consulted local people, and eventually he had a vision of a mound of earth out of which tulasis were growing. And when he went to the place that he believed was the birthplace, the local people confirmed that it was, as did his siksa-guru, Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura built a bhajana-kutira in Godrumadvipa at Surabhi-kunja, where four hundred years earlier Lord Nityananda had established the nama-hatta. And he revived the nama-hatta and turned it into a powerful preaching movement in Bengal especially. It was also later revived by Srila Prabhupada and his followers, notably Sripada Jayapataka Swami Maharaja, who spread the nama-hatta in Bengal and Orissa and all over the world.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura built a house near Surabhi-kunja, overlooking the Jalangi River. Devotees go there on parikrama when they go to Navadvipa. You can see his bedroom—his chair, his table, his bed. Next to it is another room, where his son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would sometimes stay. And there is the bhajana-kutira of his disciple, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja. It is a very sacred place.

There’s a balcony where he would chant japa, and one day he was looking across the river from the balcony and had a vision of a wonderful temple and a whole community of devotees engaged in the service of Lord Chaitanya—a whole township, a whole city. This temple, adbhuta mandira, was mentioned by Locana dasa Thakura in one of his books, that Lord Nityananda had predicted that there would be an astounding temple rising up in Mayapur, with a whole community of devotees engaged in the service of the Lord.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura wanted to build a temple at the birthplace, and he personally took up a collection. He was such a prestigious person, but he went door-to-door begging people to contribute whatever they could for the construction of the temple. And one of the main newspapers in Calcutta, the Amrita Bazar Patrika, appealed to the citizens that the noble Bhaktivinoda Thakura would be coming and everyone should contribute to the worthy cause. Prabhupada knew Tarun Kanti Gosh and his father, Tushar Kanti Gosh, a prominent Bengali intellectual who published the paper. And Tushar’s father, Shishir Kumar Ghosh, called Bhaktivinoda Thakura the Seventh Gosvami.

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was so humble that he went door-to-door, and he raised a collection and built the original temple of Lord Chaitanya at His birthplace in Mayapur. As for a whole community of devotees, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s son and, in a way, disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, took up that project. He made a beginning, and you can see some cottages in Mayapur; a few of his disciples built cottages. He himself established the Gaudiya Matha there with brahmacharis and sannyasis.

This project also came through disciplic succession to Srila Prabhupada, and he really wanted to develop the Mayapur city. Certainly more has been done to establish the city than ever before, and it is growing, taking shape. Srila Prabhupada also wanted to build a magnificent temple to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, to the Pancha-tattva, in Mayapur.

One year, I was serving in the Calcutta temple and Srila Prabhupada arrived from London and was so enthusiastic about the Mayapur project, the big temple, that in London he had actually drawn a design for what the temple—the first building—would look like. When he arrived in Calcutta he was so enthusiastic that he pulled out the blueprints and was showing everyone. He had worked on them with our dear godbrother Nara Narayan Prabhu. He was so enthusiastic, so excited, and that enthusiasm spread to us.

But then he did something very interesting and instructive. He called a meeting with the senior devotees, and right when everyone was at the peak of their enthusiasm for the project, he raised the question of the flooding in Mayapur, because quite frequently during the rainy season the Ganges floods and the area is submerged under water. So, he was saying that if we built the city there, built the temple there, they could be flooded, and the whole thing could be lost. He questioned whether we should even build the temple and try to establish the city there. Of course, he was Srila Prabhupada—he had so much authority—and on top of that, his logic and his intelligence were so powerful. So, he took that position, and he suggested that we consider alternative locations. He suggested Birnagar, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s birthplace and one of his residences, a very nice place in Bengal, with a very nice atmosphere. So we were convinced, swayed—and then he brought up Mayapur again, and in the end he concluded that we should go ahead and do it in Mayapur. Even though there was a risk, we should go ahead.

The whole exercise illustrated an important principle that Srila Prabhupada often mentioned, that in whatever we do we should be careful and cautious and use our intelligence. He defined intelligence as seeing the same thing from different angles of vision, different points of view. He didn’t want us to just blindly rush forward like, “Now we are going to fulfill Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s prophecy; we are going to fulfill Nityananda Prabhu’s desire.” We are in the material world, and in the material world there are many dangers—padam padam, there is danger at every step—and Prabhupada wanted us to be cautious and careful and to see things from different angles of vision, not just rush ahead based on blind faith or enthusiasm.

Then, at the end of the discussion he had with the devotees, Srila Prabhupada said, “If you all build this temple for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura has that power. In fact, before we end we will sing a song by him, Ohe! Vaisnava Thakura, in which he prays to the Vaishnava, “Krishna is yours, and you can give Him to me, for such is your power. So I am running behind you, crying out, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’ ” That is the truth: The Vaishnava possesses Krishna. Krishna comes under the control of the love of the pure devotee, and if the pure devotee is pleased with our service, he can deliver Krishna to us. And that is really how we progress. Yes, we have to make our effort, but ultimately our success depends on the mercy of higher authorities. If we please them by our sincere efforts to serve and follow their instructions, if they are satisfied, they can deliver Krishna to us. So we should submit ourselves at their lotus feet, roll in the dust of their lotus feet, and beg them for their mercy. We have no other hope. Our effort isn’t really what brings success. Our effort is there because we have to make our effort; it is our duty.

I read in His Holiness Radhanath Swami’s memoir The Journey Home that Maharaja was once spending the night with Ramesh Baba in Varsana when there was news that a man-eating leopard was on the prowl and that it had already massacred some cows and villagers. In those days, Varsana—the whole area of Vraja—was much less built up than it is now. Srila Prabhupada’s friend Bhagatji, who had a house near the Krishna-Balarama temple, said that when he had moved to Vrindavan, in the 1930s or so, the forest was so thick that he could walk from Raman Reti to Govardhana Hill in the middle of the day and never see the light of the sun. That was just forty years before Prabhupada began the Krishna-Balarama temple.

So, Ramesh Baba was taking rest outside Mana-ghata and with the leopard nearby, Radhanath Swami thought, “If he is going to stay there, I will stay there with him.” So he lay down, and Ramesh Baba had a wooden stick by his side. When Radhanath Swami asked about it, Ramesh Baba said, “Yes, there is a leopard on the prowl.” Radhanath Swami asked, “What will that small stick do to protect us from a wild leopard?” “Nothing,” Ramesh Babaji replied. “Only the Lord can protect us. Our duty, however, is to show Krishna that we are doing our part.”

The same principle applies to all of our devotional practices. We have to show that we are making the effort, but without mercy we have no ability to move forward one inch in devotional service. Of course, the more effort we put in, you could say, the more result we will get, because we are showing how sincere and eager we are, but it is really the mercy of the acharyas and the Supreme Personality of Godhead that enables us to move forward even one iota. Bhaktivinoda Thakura was in that mood. Every acharya is in that mood, because that’s how they get the mercy and strength to practice and preach Krishna consciousness. And that’s how we have this song, Ohe! Vaisnava Thakura.

Srila Prabhupada demonstrated this principle in a unique way in a very special context. When I was in Madras—I was the first devotee from ISKCON to go there to preach—I was meeting various prominent people, and many of them were interested, but one who took very keen interest was the chief justice of the high court, Justice Veeraswami. Toward the end of Prabhupada’s visit to Madras, after a successful five-day program, Justice Veeraswami arranged a pandal program for Srila Prabhupada and the devotees. And he invited all the other high court judges and high court advocates to attend.

In his talk, Srila Prabhupada quoted the verse from Sad-gosvamy-astaka about the Six Gosvamis: tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati-srenim sada tuccha-vat, that although they had been very highly placed people (mandala-pati) they had rejected it all as insignificant (tuccha-vat) and joined the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Prabhupada was appealing to these leaders, these high court judges and advocates, that they too should give up their prestigious positions and join Lord Chaitanya’s mission.

After the program, the chief justice invited Srila Prabhupada and the devotees to his home for prasada, and there he presented Srila Prabhupada a beautiful, small silver statue of Krishna. Amongst all the adult devotees there was one child, Saraswati, the three-year-old daughter of Shyamsundar and Malati, and Srila Prabhupada engaged her in a very dramatic way. He held the little statue of Krishna in front of her and he said, “Saraswati, who is this?” And Saraswati said, “It is Krishna.” Then he held the deity behind his back and said, “Saraswati, where is Krishna?” Saraswati started looking everywhere, and when she couldn’t find the deity, she became filled with anxiety: “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?”

Then Malati said, “Saraswati, who has Krishna?” And Saraswati’s eyes opened wide and her face lit up and she said, “Prabhupada has Krishna!” And then she looked at Prabhupada with such joy and expectation and ran up to him, and Prabhupada brought the deity of Krishna out from behind his back and gave it to her.

I thought, “Wow!” Prabhupada had illustrated such a profound truth. It was like Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: “You have Krishna, and you have the power to deliver Him to us.” But to get Krishna from a Vaishnava, to get love of Krishna, we have to be eager like Saraswati. She was so eager to find Krishna and so anxious without Him: “Where is Krishna? Where is Krishna?” Prabhupada quoted that last verse of the Sad-gosvamy-astaka: he radhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-suno kutah, sri-govardhana-kalpa-padapa-tale kalindi-vanye kutah/ ghosantav iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair maha-vihvalau, vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau, that the Six Gosvamis were wandering all over Vrindavan, crying, “O Krishna, O Radharani, O Lalita—where are you? Are you at Govardhana Hill or are you at the banks of the Yamuna?” These were their moods in executing Krishna consciousness. When we have that eagerness and intense longing and desire in separation, Krishna, by the mercy of the devotee or devotees, will gradually manifest Himself to us. But we have to have that eagerness. And that eagerness arises when we become purified, and we become purified by making a concerted effort.

I had a dream a couple of years ago in which Srila Prabhupada told me, “You have to be mad for Krishna.” It was a nice dream. Shortly thereafter, Radhanath Swami came to stay with me and I mentioned the dream to him, and when I said that—“mad for Krishna”—he said, “Oh, that’s a very advanced stage.” So that is not something to be taken lightly, but it should be our goal, and we approach that goal by making strenuous, unstinting effort, not holding anything back, not like, “So much for Krishna and so much for me,” but, “Everything for Krishna and nothing for me”—in that mood. Of course, we have to keep our body and soul together—that’s also one of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s instructions. But yes, our goal is kirtaniyah sada harih, to always chant the holy name of Krishna.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura raises a question: “Well, what about maintaining our body, or our families’ bodies?” He says that taking care of the body, or taking measures necessary to maintain the body, which also includes working, earning money, and spending money, does not violate the principle of kirtaniyah sada harih, always chanting the holy name of Krishna, if we do it just enough to meet our requirements so that we can use all our other time for Krishna kirtan.

So, he was also very practical. So many instructions, so many wonderful books. Hari-nama-cintamani is a small book about chanting the holy name; Jaiva-dharma; Sri Caitanya-siksamrta is so full of valuable instructions.

In Jaiva-dharma Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses kanistha, madhyama, and uttama devotees. Of course, everyone, all of our acharyas, follow the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam; they are the basic authorities. The Bhagavatam says in relation to the madhyama-bhagavata: prema-maitri-krpopeksa, yah karoti sa madhyamah, that he gives his love to Krishna, makes friendship with devotees, is merciful to the innocent, and neglects (upeksa) the envious. Almost everyone in the material world is envious of Krishna. Unless you are a pure devotee, you have some envy of Krishna. But there are people who are really envious. They don’t want to hear about Krishna, and if you are pursuing Krishna consciousness they discourage you. They may try to put up obstacles; they might try to convince you—so many things, sometimes even our own family members.

So, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses this neglect, avoiding the association, of nondevotees: asat-sanga-tyaga,—ei vaisnava-acara, ’stri-sangi’—eka asadhu, ‘krsnabhakta’ ara. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says asat. Sat is a word for “devotee,” so asat means “nondevotees.” Asat-sanga- tyaga: we should give up the association of nondevotees. And who are nondevotees? ’Stri-sangi’—eka asadhu. One is a person who is attached to sense gratification, especially to the opposite sex for sense gratification. And ’Stri-sangi’—eka asadhu, ‘krsnabhakta’ ara: the other is just an abhakta, someone who is not a devotee of Krishna. So, we are supposed to shun the association of nondevotees, but what do we do if we have family members who are nondevotees? What do we do if we are in a place with nondevotees, or work with them? Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura answers that avoiding the association of nondevotees does not mean that we cannot have normal human interaction with them as is expected in the workplace or in family; it means that we should not associate with them in relation to our spiritual advancement. We shouldn’t take their advice in relation to our spiritual progress.

In the Seventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Narada’s instructions on the ideal family life, Narada says the same thing: that if you are a devotee and a family member tells you that you should lead a different kind of life, outwardly you should say, “Yes, what you say is very good,” but inwardly you should continue in your own determination and keep your life simple.

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that we should not abandon family members who are not devotees. Of course, that would depend on one’s ashrama, but he says that we should not abandon them, but that for our spiritual advancement we should keep the association of only devotees.

In Hari-nama-cintamani Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura first discusses the holy name in general and then discusses the ten offenses. The first offense is sadhu-ninda: blaspheming devotees. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is very analytical and precise, and with each of the ten offenses he begins by defining the terms. So, sadhu-ninda. Ninda is easy. Ninda means “to criticize,” “to blaspheme,” “to find fault.” But sadhu—who is a sadhu? Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses the different qualities of a sadhu mentioned by Krishna in the Eleventh Canto, and one is krsnaika-sarana: he has taken exclusive shelter of Krishna. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami also lists twenty-six qualities of a devotee, based mainly on those mentioned in the Eleventh Canto, and out of the twenty-six qualities, one is krsnaika-sarana, taking exclusive shelter of Krishna, or the holy name of Krishna. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if one has that primary qualification, he or she is considered a sadhu even if he or she does not have the other twenty-five qualities. And if one has the other twenty-five qualities but does not have the qualification of having taken exclusive shelter of Krishna, the other twenty-five qualities are of little value. So that—taking exclusive shelter of Krishna—is the real qualification for a sadhu, and if someone has that, he or she is a sadhu.

Then Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura discusses possible grounds for criticizing a sadhu. One may say, “Okay, this is a sadhu; this person has taken shelter of Krishna,” but criticize the person because he has taken a low birth or is of a lower caste or had previously engaged in sinful activities or still has vestiges of sinful activities even after coming to the association of devotees. One might think one can criticize like that. But Bhaktivinoda Thakura says no, these are all sadhu-ninda. So we have to be careful about this, because our spiritual advancement depends on the association of sadhus and our practical service to the mission depends on their cooperative effort. So if we blaspheme, find fault, backbite, we will destroy our devotional service.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura then discusses people who could be considered sadhus but who actually are not sadhus, because we don’t want to mistake a sadhu for an asadhu. Sometimes people will say, “You are not a devotee. Devotees are humble. You are not humble, so you are not a devotee.” But Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if you are surrendered to Krishna, even if you don’t have the other twenty-five qualifications, such as humility, you are still considered a sadhu. Sadhur eva sa mantavyah.

But we also don’t want to mistake an asadhu for a sadhu. Bhaktivinoda Thakura mentions three categories of asadhus who are often mistaken for sadhus. One is the Mayavadi. Although Mayavadis may dress as sadhus and be considered by others as sadhus, they are not actually sadhus. Another category is the atheist. And the third category is dharmadvaji. Dharma means “religion” and dvaja means “flag.” So dharmadvaji means a pretender, someone who is waving the flag of religion but is not really a devotee.

These are three categories of asadhus, nondevotees who are sometimes mistaken as sadhus. Srila Prabhupada regularly criticized people who were revered as spiritual leaders in India. “Perhaps for the first time,” he said, “I am the only one who is exposing them as fools and rascals.” A very heavy statement. Many people became upset with him when he criticized India’s revered, popular, “religious” figures.

There was one man in Juhu who had attended the first Bombay pandal where Prabhupada had criticized Shankaracharya. He was very intelligent and austere and well read, and years later he told me, “I was attending that pandal program, and when Prabhupada criticized Shankaracharya, I thought, ‘Who does this man think he is? Shankaracharya is perhaps the greatest acharya in the history of India. Who does this person think he is to criticize him?’ ” So, he had negative thoughts about Srila Prabhupada, but later he got one of Srila Prabhupada’s books, either Teachings of Lord Caitanya or Caitanya-caritamrta, in which Prabhupada relates the history of Lord Shiva coming as Shankaracharya to bewilder the atheists by preaching Mayavada philosophy. The man read it and came to me and said, “After reading this book, I realized that everything that Prabhupada was saying was true.” And then he surrendered; he became a devotee.

Another incident involved Srila Prabhupada’s regular companion on his morning walks on Juhu Beach, Dr. C. P. Patel. One morning in particular Dr. Patel praised some famous, popular, Indian religious figure. When Srila Prabhupada said, “He is a rascal,” Dr. Patel got upset: “How can you say he is a rascal?” Prabhupada said, “I am not saying. Krishna is saying: na mam duskrtino mudhah, prapadyante naradhamah. It is a simple test. Is he surrendered to Krishna or not? If he is not surrendered to Krishna, he is a rascal, he is a fool, he is a demon. I am not saying. Krishna is saying.”

Dr. Patel got really upset; Prabhupada had picked on someone he cherished. So he raised his voice, and Prabhupada raised his voice, and then he raised his voice more, and Prabhupada raised his voice more, and finally they were literally shouting at each other. It was scary, actually. Dr. Patel’s cronies tried to restrain him, saying, “Swamiji has a heart condition. Don’t upset him so.” They were physically . . . it was like in a boxing ring: the bell rings, signaling that the round is over, but the fighters are still pounding each other, and the referee and their trainers are trying to pull them apart. They wouldn’t stop. Then finally Dr. Patel’s people pulled him away.

After that, for the first time in years, Dr. Patel stopped coming on Srila Prabhupada’s walks. For years he had come to Prabhupada’s room and escorted him in his car or walked with him to the beach or at least met up with him at the beach. But after the argument, he didn’t come. Prabhupada also said, “All right, from now on no discussion. We will only read the Krsna book on morning walks.” So we would read the Krsna book. And Dr. Patel was avoiding us.

Then one morning, Prabhupada was walking in one direction, toward the ocean, and Dr. Patel was walking in the opposite direction, away from the ocean. And the way Dr. Patel described it, something in his heart just made him change direction and walk straight to Srila Prabhupada. He bowed and touched Srila Prabhupada’s lotus feet and said, “Prabhupada, I am sorry, but we have been trained to respect all the accredited saints of India.” And Prabhupada replied, “Our business is to point out who is not a saint.” Acharyas have to do that, but it is not ninda. It can be, but it is not ninda if it is done to help people who could be misled by a demon or rascal, to keep them from falling into bad association thinking that they are getting the association of a saintly person.

But otherwise, ninda sunya. Rupa Gosvami says that one should take shelter of a Vaishnava whose heart is completely free from the propensity to criticize others. A pure devotee wants only to chant the holy name and hear about Krishna and preach the message of Krishna. He has no interest in criticizing others, even nondevotees, demons, but for the sake of preaching, for the sake of Krishna’s mission, Mahaprabhu’s mission, the previous acharyas’ mission, they do it to help others, to free them from false attachments so they can take to Krishna consciousness. Or even if they are in Krishna consciousness, to prevent them from unknowingly falling into bad association and being diverted. So, that’s the mercy of the acharya, the sadhu, the preacher, but otherwise they have no interest in criticizing anyone or anything. They are happy just to chant and hear about Krishna.

So, today is a most auspicious day. Our system is parampara. We approach our immediate spiritual master and serve him, and through him the predecessor acharyas, but on special days like today, on appearance days and disappearance days, by the mercy of our spiritual master we can approach the previous acharyas directly, like when we offer them puspanjali. And we can beg them, “Please give me your mercy. Please give me some of what you have, which I want desperately, and even if I don’t have the desire, the desire is not very strong, please give me the desire and make my desire stronger.” Wherever we are on that path of desire, we can pray to get the desire, to increase the desire. Because it all depends on desire—everything depends on desire. Krishna fulfills all desires, and if what we really desire is Krishna and Krishna’s service, that is what He will fulfill.

The way we show our desire is by making the effort, by spending the time. If we spend the time chanting, trying to chant with attention, even if we aren’t even able to pay attention that well and our mind is still unsteady or distracted, if we just take the time to make the effort, Krishna will see, “Oh, this person is taking the time to try to develop his relationship with Me.” Or reading Srila Prabhupada’s books—even if we don’t understand exactly what we are reading, even if we can’t appreciate it or relate to it, if we just spend the time reading, trying to understand, hoping to come to appreciate, then Krishna, the previous acharyas, will say, “Oh, this person is spending the time.” It is association. Chanting means associating with Krishna; reading Srimad-Bhagavatam means associating with Krishna. “This person wants My association. He is taking the time to be with Me.” And Krishna will reciprocate.

We just have to show Krishna that we want to develop a relationship with Him. We are not qualified. By His mercy He will give us the qualification, but our part at first is just to show Him that we want to develop our relationship with Him by spending time with Him. To develop a relationship with someone, you have to spend time with the person. So, chanting with attention, reading Prabhupada’s books, worshipping the Deity, sraddhaya, with faith and veneration, not just mechanically, externally—spending time with Krishna. When Krishna sees that we want to spend time with Him, develop our relationship with Him, He will help us. We just have to spend the time and make the effort.

Srila Prabhupada was holding Krishna for Saraswati. He actually wanted to give Him to her, but he could do so properly only when she was sufficiently anxious, sufficiently eager, when her desire was strong enough that she would really appreciate it. So Srila Prabhupada and our other acharyas have Krishna—they want to give Him to us, and they have the power to give Him to us—but they don’t want to cast pearls before swine. They want us to value what they have to give us, and when we understand what that most valuable treasure is and really want it, and when we take the time to develop our relationship with Krishna and they see that it, and nothing else, is really what we want, they will fulfill our desire—by their mercy. If that’s what we want, if Krishna and Krishna’s service is all we want, we will get it by their mercy.

Hare Krishna.

I’ve requested Mukunda Datta Prabhu to lead that song, Ohe! Vaisnava Thakura, in which Bhaktivinoda Thakura expresses the mood that we all want to develop; and, like offering a drop of Ganges water to the Ganges, we can offer that mood, in his words, to him so that he will give us a drop of faith in the holy name.

Ohe! Vaisnava Thakura
(from Saranagati)

                       ohe!
vaisnaba thakura, doyara sagara,
  e dase koruna kori’
diya pada-chaya, sodho he amaya,
  tomara carana dhori

O venerable Vaishnava, O ocean of mercy, be merciful unto your servant. Give me the shade of your lotus feet and purify me. I hold on to your lotus feet.

chaya bega domi’, chaya dosa sodhi’,
  chaya guna deho’ dase
chaya sat-sanga, deho’ he amare,
  boshechi sangera ase

Teach me to control my six urges; rectify my six faults, bestow upon me the six qualities, and offer unto me the six kinds of holy association.*

ekaki amara, nahi paya bala,
  hari-nama-sankirtane
tumi krpa kori’, sraddha-bindu diya,
  deho’ krsna-nama-dhane

I do not find the strength to carry on alone the sankirtana of the holy name of Hari. Please bless me by giving me just one drop of faith with which to obtain the great treasure of the holy name of Krishna.

krsna se tomara, krsna dite paro,
  tomara sakati ache
ami to’ kangala, ‘krsna’ ‘krsna’ boli’,
  dhai tava pache pache

Krishna is yours; you have the power to give Him to me. I am simply running behind you shouting, “Krishna! Krishna!”

*The six urges are those of speech, the mind, anger, the tongue, the belly, and the genitals. The six faults are overeating, over­endeavoring for material objectives, talking unnecessarily of mundane affairs, being too attached to or too neglectful of scriptural rules and regulations, associating with worldly-minded persons, and desiring mundane achievements. The six good qualities are enthusiasm, confidence, and patience, and performing the regulated activities of devotional service, giving up the association of nondevotees, and following in the footsteps of the previous acharyas. The six methods of holy association are offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada from devotees, and offering prasada to devotees.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Bhaktivinoda Thakura’a appearance day, September 1, 2009, New Dvaraka, Los Angeles]

While the world was still gripped by the Covid madness, the 29th Czech Padayātrā took place in the second half of July, and according to its participants, it was one of the best padayātrās they have ever been to. For the second year in a row, we were able to find a sweet spot during […]

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Seed banks are instrumental for collecting, saving, and exchanging indigenous seed varieties that would otherwise be lost. According to Biodiversity International, plant diversity is part of the solution for helping farmers cope with global warming and extreme weather outcomes.  ISKCON News published a fascinating external article on an Indian seed bank in 2013. This issue is now […]

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On September 9th, team members of the Food For All charity were invited to meet with the Lord Mayor of the City of London William Russell, at his official residence the Mansion House, to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. Equivalent to an MBE, the QAVS is the highest award given to local voluntary […]

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Last week on Radhastami devotees around the world offered worship and service to Srimati Radharani – Lord Krishna’s eternal consort and the feminine aspect of the Absolute Truth – in different ways, hoping to receive Her mercy. One creative offering, presented to Sri-Sri Radha Gokulananda at the UK’s Bhaktivedanta Manor by a team of dedicated […]

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We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Eight, Chapter Twenty-two: “Bali Maharaja Surrenders His Life.” We begin with the chapter summary:

“The summary of this twenty-second chapter is as follows. The Supreme Personality of Godhead was pleased by the behavior of Bali Maharaja. Thus the Lord placed him on the planet Sutala, and there, after bestowing benedictions upon him, the Lord agreed to become his doorman.

“Bali Maharaja was extremely truthful. Being unable to keep his promise, he was very much afraid, for he knew that one who has deviated from truthfulness is insignificant in the eyes of society. An exalted person can suffer the consequences of hellish life, but he is very much afraid of being defamed for deviation from the truth. Bali Maharaja agreed with great pleasure to accept the punishment awarded him by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bali Maharaja’s dynasty there were many asuras who because of their enmity toward Visnu had achieved a destination more exalted than that of many mystic yogis. Bali Maharaja specifically remembered the determination of Prahlada Maharaja in devotional service. Considering all these points, he decided to give his head in charity as the place for Visnu’s third step. Bali Maharaja also considered how great personalities give up their family relationships and material possessions to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Indeed, they sometimes even sacrifice their lives for the satisfaction of the Lord, just to become His personal servants. Accordingly, by following in the footsteps of previous acaryas and devotees, Bali Maharaja perceived himself successful.

“While Bali Maharaja, having been arrested by the ropes of Varuna, was offering prayers to the Lord, his grandfather Prahlada Maharaja appeared there and described how the Supreme Personality of Godhead had delivered Bali Maharaja by taking his possessions in a tricky way. While Prahlada Maharaja was present, Lord Brahma and Bali’s wife, Vindhyavali, described the supremacy of the Supreme Lord. Since Bali Maharaja had given everything to the Lord, they prayed for his release. The Lord then described how a nondevotee’s possession of wealth is a danger whereas a devotee’s opulence is a benediction from the Lord. Then, being pleased with Bali Maharaja, the Supreme Lord offered His disc to protect Bali Maharaja and promised to remain with him.”

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The Lord appears in various incarnations to favor the devotees. Bali Maharaja was also a devotee, and although he was born in a family of demons, Vamanadeva still appeared to favor him, as well as to favor the demigods, who were also devotees.

The Lord reciprocates with the particular mentality of each individual devotee. Bali Maharaja was inclined to give charity. In fact, he had achieved his opulence by the favor of the brahmans to whom he had given so much in charity. Therefore Lord Vishnu, in order to take service from Bali Maharaja, assumed the form of a brahman and begged some charity from him. And because Bali Maharaja was so inclined to give charity to brahmans, he agreed to give Vamanadeva whatever He asked. Vamana replied by saying, “I would like three steps of land.” Bali Maharaja was surprised. He said, “I thought you were more intelligent. You could ask for a whole planet. Why do you ask only for three steps of land?” And Vamana replied, “If I cannot be satisfied by three steps of land, I will not be satisfied by even a whole planet.” Srila Prabhupada enunciated the same principle for devotees, especially for brahmacharis: “All you need is a little service, a little prasada, and a little place to lie down at night”—three steps of land and a little prasada and service. Vamanadeva Himself played the role of a brahmachari, so He set the example.

Now we come to the point at which Prahlada Maharaja appears in the arena where Bali Maharaja had been arrested and bound by the ropes of Varuna because of his failure to keep his promise. After Bali Maharaja agreed to give three steps of land, Vamanadeva expanded Himself into a gigantic form. With one step He covered the entire upper planetary system and His toe actually pierced the coverings of the universe. Spiritual water from the causal ocean entered the universe through the hole made by His toe, and that spiritual water became the Ganges River. Then with His second step He covered the entire lower portion of the universe, and so with two steps He had covered the entire universe. Thus He concluded that Bali Maharaja would be unable to fulfill his promise and should therefore be arrested and punished. Now, in the present chapter Bali Maharaja will find the most intelligent solution to the problem and tell the Lord, “You can place Your third step on my head, and thus I will fulfill my promise.”

So, Prahlada Maharaja came and made a statement that is important for today’s verse:

TEXT 16

 sri-prahrada uvaca
tvayaiva dattam padam aindram urjitam
  hrtam tad evadya tathaiva sobhanam
manye mahan asya krto hy anugraho
  vibhramsito yac chriya atma-mohanat

TRANSLATION

Prahlada Maharaja said: My Lord, it is Your Lordship who gave this Bali the very great opulence of the post of heavenly king, and now, today, it is You who have taken it all away. I think You have acted with equal beauty in both ways. Because his exalted position as king of heaven was putting him in the darkness of ignorance, You have done him a very merciful favor by taking away all his opulence.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As it is said, yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih (SB 10.88.8). It is by the mercy of the Lord that one gets all material opulence, but if such material opulence causes one to become puffed up and forget the process of self-realization, the Lord certainly takes all the opulence away. The Lord bestows mercy upon His devotee by helping him find out his constitutional position. For that purpose, the Lord is always ready to help the devotee in every way. But material opulence is sometimes dangerous because it diverts one’s attention to false prestige by giving one the impression that he is the owner and master of everything he surveys, although actually this is not the fact. To protect the devotee from such a misunderstanding, the Lord, showing special mercy, sometimes takes away his material possessions. Yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada remarked that one astrologer in India had predicted that he would become the wealthiest man in India, and in the beginning he was very successful in business—first as the manager of Dr. Bose’s chemical laboratory in Calcutta and later as the proprietor of his own business. But in time his business began to fail, and he came across the verse he quoted in the purport here (yasyaham anugrhnami), in which Lord Krishna says that the first installment of His special mercy upon a devotee is to take away the devotee’s opulence so that the devotee has no recourse other than surrendering unto Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And if the devotee tries to build up his opulence again, the Lord will take it away again—and again, until the devotee gives up the vain attempt to enjoy material opulence without the Lord.

Now, someone may hear about the Lord’s special mercy and become fearful: “I don’t want to lose my opulence. If I become a devotee and have to lose my opulence, then I better not become a devotee.” But actually, the Lord does not always take away the devotee’s opulence; sometimes He gives the devotee more opulence, according to whatever is best for the particular devotee in their particular circumstance. So, we should have faith in the Lord, that He will do whatever is best for us.

In Bombay I have seen cases of devotees who have become extremely opulent by the grace of the Lord. One, Dr. Narendra Desai, who was later initiated as Nathaji dasa, had a father who was a very shrewd businessman and a member of parliament but suddenly passed away and left Dr. Desai, who was still relatively young, with the responsibility of taking over the family’s businesses. I used to meet many of the more affluent people of Bombay, and I heard talk about Dr. Desai, that he was a good person but not as shrewd as his father had been and therefore might not do so well in business. But Dr. Desai increased the business many times over from a business that was already very big into something many times bigger. And he was very strict in his spiritual practices. He would get up early every morning, have mangala-arati at home, and then chant his rounds. He lived in a nice area of Bombay, and in the same compound there were five buildings situated around a large lawn or park, with{ }a driveway running in front of the buildings and encircling the park. So, in the morning, he used to take a japa walk in the garden, and people would come up to him. Especially after he took initiation, people would approach him—people who hardly knew him—and say, “Oh, you have taken initiation. Why didn’t you consult me? I would have advised you differently.” But he opened new companies, and the new businesses flourished, and he became even more opulent.

So, sometimes, to encourage a devotee, Krishna will grant more opulence, but if the devotee becomes bewildered by the opulence, Krishna may take it away so that the devotee becomes free from false prestige and realizes his constitutional position as the eternal servant of Krishna. Whatever Krishna has to do for the benefit of the devotee, He will do. Thus the Lord is like a parent. The father will do whatever is best for the child. Sometimes he will give bitter medicine to the child, and sometimes he will give sweet candies; sometimes he will indulge the child, and sometimes he will discipline the child. But whatever he does is meant for the child’s benefit. So, the Supreme Lord is the Supreme Father, and whatever He does is for the devotee’s benefit. Whether He gives the devotee opulence or takes it away, He acts with equal care.

And the devotee accepts the Lord’s dealings equally. He is completely surrendered to the Lord, with full faith that the Lord will do whatever is best for him. Thus Prthu Maharaja prayed:

tvan-mayayaddha jana isa khandito
  yad anyad asasta rtatmano ’budhah
yatha cared bala-hitam pita svayam
  tatha tvam evarhasi nah samihitum

“My Lord, due to Your illusory energy, all living beings in this material world have forgotten their real constitutional position, and out of ignorance they are always desirous of material happiness in the form of society, friendship, and love. Therefore, please do not ask me to take some material benefits from You, but as a father, not waiting for the son’s demand, does everything for the benefit of the son, please bestow upon me whatever You think best for me.” (SB 4.20.31)

Srila Prabhupada said that in his own case, in the beginning Krishna tested him by taking everything away—his business failed—and in the end Krishna tested him by giving him everything. And Srila Prabhupada, as Krishna’s representative and servant, actually did become the richest man in India—not just spiritually, but even materially. Of course, he did not think anything was his own. He saw everything as Krishna’s, but he did have very nice places to stay, very nice servants, and very nice prasada according to his taste, and he was blessed with all opulence by the grace of the Lord.

Now we come to today’s verse:

TEXT 17

yaya hi vidvan api muhyate yatas
  tat ko vicaste gatim atmano yatha
tasmai namas te jagad-isvaraya vai
  narayanayakhila-loka-saksine

TRANSLATION

Material opulence is so bewildering that it makes even a learned, self-controlled man forget to search for the goal of self-realization. But the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, the Lord of the universe, can see everything by His will. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

PURPORT

The words ko vicaste gatim atmano yatha indicate that when one is puffed up by the false prestige of possessing material opulence, he certainly neglects the goal of self-realization. This is the position of the modern world. Because of so-called scientific improvements in material opulence, people have entirely given up the path of self-realization. Practically no one is interested in God, one’s relationship with God, or how one should act. Modern men have altogether forgotten such questions because they are mad for material possessions. If this kind of civilization continues, the time will soon come when the Supreme Personality of Godhead will take away all the material opulences. Then people will come to their senses.

COMMENT

The same principle that operates in an individual’s life also operates in the evolution of a society’s collective life. Here Srila Prabhupada gives the warning that if modern civilization continues to be mad after material acquisition and neglectful of the real goal of life—to be reinstated in one’s constitutional position as the eternal servant of Krishna and go back home, back to Godhead—then, to show favor to the bewildered souls of the modern age, Krishna may take away their opulence.

Srila Prabhupada often related the story of the yogi and the mouse. Once, a mouse approached a yogi and said, “I am being harassed by a cat.” So, the yogi said, “Then what do you want?” The mouse replied, “I want to become a cat.” “All right,” said the yogi. “Now you become a cat!” And he fulfilled the mouse’s desire. After some time, the cat approached the yogi and said, “I’m being harassed by a dog.” The yogi said, “What do you want?” And the cat replied, “I want to become a dog.” “All right; so be it.” After some time, the dog approached the yogi and said, “I am afraid of a tiger.” “Do you want to become a tiger?” “Yes.” “So be it.” But as soon the dog became a tiger, he started to look at the yogi as if he was going to pounce on him and devour him. And the yogi immediately said, punar musiko bhava—“Again you become a mouse.”

Srila Prabhupada explains that by the grace of the Lord, modern civilization has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. But if in their opulence now people think they can finish the Lord and enjoy their opulence without Him, then the Lord may say, punar musiko bhava—“Again you become a mouse. No more skyscrapers, no more superhighways, no more mega-computers. Go back to the fields. Go back to the jungles.” Then people may become sober. They may wake up from their dream. They may consider, “Boy, we’ve put all our efforts into material civilization, and look what happened.”

Srila Prabhupada thought that the means for taking away the opulence of the maddened materialistic civilization could be a world war or a nuclear war. When I was in the Western European zone, the GBC for the zone showed the leaders there a movie about a town in England called Sheffield and what would happen there if an atomic bomb were dropped on it—what would happen to the people. It was quite a terrifying look into a possible future of the world. So, Srila Prabhupada has given the hint that if we remain maddened by material opulence and sense gratification, and forget God and the real purpose of life, then God may take away our material opulence to make us sober. And He may do it through devastation. But then again, if by our preaching and distributing books people can realize their actual identities and purpose of life, they may not need to suffer the consequences of atomic warfare to wake up.

One day in 1971, when Srila Prabhupada was staying in a house in Delhi, the father of the boy who was translating Srila Prabhupada’s books from English into Hindi came there to visit him. The father was also sort of a devotee, but he had a bad habit—smoking. So, Srila Prabhupada asked the father, “Have you given up smoking?” And the father answered, “No. But isn’t there some special mercy? Can’t I get some special mercy so that I can give up smoking?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Special mercy? Yes, there is special mercy: yasyaham anugrhnami harisye tad-dhanam sanaih. The Lord can give special mercy, and when He gives that special mercy, the first thing He does is He takes away the devotee’s material opulence. And, as the verse continues, then the devotee becomes poverty-stricken, and when he becomes poverty-stricken all of his friends and relatives reject him. So he suffers doubly. He suffers because he has lost his opulence, and he suffers because his so-called friends and family rebuke him and neglect him. So, yes, there is special mercy.” Then Mr. Gupta said, “No, no. That’s all right. I don’t want any special mercy. I’ll make my own efforts.”

That is the basic choice. As long as we are faithful to Krishna, He won’t forsake us. He will give us the chance to come to Him voluntarily, but if He sees that there is an impediment that we are unable to overcome—and one such impediment can be material opulence—He will remove the impediment so that we can come to Him more easily. And if the Lord does choose to take away the obstacle of material opulence, the devotee accepts it. But if the devotee is strong enough to remember his position as the Lord’s eternal servant and use the material opulence to serve Krishna, then the Lord does not have to take it away. As Srila Prabhupada said, “In the beginning the Lord tested me by taking everything away, and in the end He tested me by giving me everything.” So, if Krishna feels we are ready, He can give us any amount of opulence to be used in Krishna’s service.

Sometimes Srila Prabhupada would say, “Krishna is the proprietor of the universe, and He can give you the whole world, but what would you do with it?” When we preach, opulence does come, but as we become more and more pure, Krishna will entrust us with more and more opulence, because He knows that we will use it in His service and won’t become bewildered. As Srila Prabhupada once wrote to me, “If we work sincerely without any material aspirations, Krishna will help in all respects.”

In any case, our mood should be like that of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who prayed, manasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor: “Whatever I have—my mind, my body, my words, my family, my household paraphernalia—it all belongs to You. In life or in death, in happiness or distress, in opulence or poverty, You are my Lord and I will serve You.”

manasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor
arpilun tuwa pade, nanda-kisor!

“Mind, body, and family, whatever may be mine, I have surrendered at Your lotus feet, O youthful son of Nanda!”

sampade vipade, jivane-marane
day mama gela, tuwa o-pada barane

“In good fortune or bad, in life or death, all my difficulties have disappeared because I have chosen those lotus feet of Yours as my only shelter.” (Saranagati)

That should be our mood in devotional service. Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Sankara Pandit dasa: Do we have to reach any particular stage to understand that the Lord is reciprocating with our mentality?

Giriraj Swami: I would say that a devotee can perceive the Lord’s reciprocation in any stage. Here I think of the different stages that begin with annamaya, appreciating the Lord’s mercy in the form of food. When we were traveling in India with Srila Prabhupada, one tourist from England joined us, and sometimes he would sit next to me during prasada. And he would say, “I am so degraded. I am so fallen. I am so bad. But still the Lord is giving me prasada. The Lord is very merciful.” He would remark, “Krishna is there. Krishna is there. Otherwise, how could I get nice prasada every day, even though I’m such a fallen soul?” He saw that the Lord was associating with him, or reciprocating with him, by giving him prasada. So, I think that any devotee in any stage can more or less appreciate the Lord’s kindness.

Higher levels of reciprocation will come as we advance—although in principle there is no difference. Krishna says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly.” (Gita 4.11) But the higher stages come as one progresses. Then one may realize that he or she wants to serve the form of Lord Narayana, so the Lord will appear as Lord Narayana. Someone will want to serve the Lord in the form of Ramachandra, so He will appear to that devotee in the form of Ramachandra. Someone will want to serve the Lord in the form of Krishna, and the Lord will appear in His original form as Krishna. Then too, if one wants to serve Krishna in vatsalya-rasa, Krishna will appear as baby Krishna in kaumara age. If one wants to serve in sakhya-rasa, Krishna will appear in pauganda age, about five to ten. And if someone wants to serve in madhurya-rasa, Krishna will appear in His attractive feature as Kisora, in kaisora age—Kisora-Kisori. So, in the liberated stage when one actually begins to develop his or her eternal relationship with the Lord in the spiritual world, the Lord will reciprocate by manifesting Himself in the particular form in which the devotee wants to see Him and serve Him.

Candramauli Swami: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Candramauli Swami says that the Lord will favor a devotee by giving him the association of advanced devotees and more and more opportunity for service.

Yes, that is very true, very true.

Devakinandan dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Devakinandan Prabhu says that as the world is becoming more materialistic, we can expect that the situation will become more hellish. But at the same time, we are in the golden age of Lord Chaitanya. So can we expect that the world will become better?

One thing I have heard that makes sense—and Srila Prabhupada was not making predictions based on some mystic power or astrological calculations; he was just explaining the law of action and reaction—is that if you are sinful you will suffer and if you are pious you will enjoy. If the people continue to be sinful, they will suffer more, and, as he said, the ultimate loss is the loss of the body—death. Death is the ultimate calamity. One scenario that Srila Prabhupada mentioned is that if people do not become God conscious, there could be a nuclear devastation that would destroy much of the modern civilization and make people more sober. As Srila Prabhupada says here, “The time will soon come when the Supreme Personality of Godhead will take away all the material opulence. Then people will come to their senses.” So, after people start to come to their senses, there will be more and more devotees. At present the number of devotees is insignificant compared with the number of demons. And the demons are much more powerful than the devotees. But after the devastation there will be many devotees, though there will still be many demons. So, the first war will be between the demons—one group of demons killing another group of demons. Then many devotees will come. And then the next war will be between the devotees and the demons, and the devotees will win. And then the world will become God conscious and happy.

Murari Chaitanya dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Murari Prabhu heard that Srila Prabhupada said that the day will come when we won’t have temples. We will just have the holy name.

Murari Chaitanya dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Well, the way you explained it, yes, it is true. We may not have temples, but we will always have the holy name. That’s more of a principle. As far as a prediction for the future, we do hear that at the end of Kali-yuga the world will be so bad that devotees will not be able to practice Krishna consciousness openly. Then they may have only the holy name. They won’t be able to have temples and deities. We saw during the communist era in Russia that in some places devotees were not allowed to practice Krishna consciousness freely. But even in jail, even in prison camps, even in psychiatric hospitals, they had the holy name.

Question: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: The point is that whatever happens, we will always have the holy name. Here the emphasis is on the importance of the holy name and the mercy of the holy name, not that Prabhupada was predicting that Krishna would take away our temples or any such thing.

Question: Can we determine whether someone is more Krishna conscious or less Krishna conscious by either the presence of or the absence of material opulence?

Giriraj Swami: There is no absolute answer, because anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam: devotional service is beyond karma and jnana. So there is no material qualification or disqualification for devotional service. Some devotees are opulent by destiny or by the will of the Lord, and some are poor by destiny or by the will of the Lord. And all can be pure devotees. For example, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was born in a very opulent position, but gradually he gave up more and more and more, until finally he had nothing—by the grace of the Lord. But Pundarika Vidyanidhi continued to be materially opulent. Once, Mukunda took Gadadhara Pandit to meet Pundarika Vidyanidhi, and Vidyanidhi was sitting like a prince, dressed in fine garments, amidst luxurious furniture and opulent paraphernalia, being fanned with long peacock feathers by two servants. Gadadhara Pandit doubted him: “He is supposed to be a devotee and he is living in such luxury?” Mukunda detected the doubt in Gadadhara Pandit’s mind, so he sang a beautiful verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam. When Pundarika Vidyanidhi heard the verse, he was overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy. Tears flowed from his eyes, and his body began to tremble and manifest all the symptoms of ecstatic love for Krishna. Then Gadadhara realized that Pundarika was an exalted devotee and that he (Gadadhara Pandit) had committed an offense by questioning how he could be an exalted devotee when he was enjoying an extravagant life. To atone for his offense, Gadadhara Pandit resolved, “I should accept him as my spiritual master. I should become his disciple and take instruction and initiation from him.”

So, we cannot say definitely that if someone is poor he is more advanced or that if someone is rich he is more advanced. There is also markata-vairagya, the renunciation of monkeys. Srila Prabhupada says that monkeys appear to live like advanced babajis: they have no clothes, they have no house, and they eat only fruits and berries from trees. Yet each monkey has two dozen girlfriends. That is markata-vairagya, the renunciation of monkeys. So, we cannot conclude that just because someone is living without opulence he is Krishna conscious, but neither can we conclude that just because someone has been graced with opulence he is Krishna conscious. He may have opulence by virtue of past pious activities, but right now he could have a hellish mentality—and still be enjoying material opulence because of his karma. But pure devotional service is beyond karma (jnana-karmady-anavrtam). Good karma or bad karma, it does not matter. In any case, one can still serve Krishna.

Candramauli Swami: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Candramauli Swami says that we can judge by how their material position affects their devotional service. In other words, if one is attached to Krishna, he won’t be attached to maya—to the extent that he is attached to Krishna. So, when someone who is poor and attached to Krishna gets opulence, he won’t be disturbed. He will continue to serve Krishna. And if someone is opulent and attached to Krishna and then loses his opulence, he also won’t be disturbed. He will continue in his service to Krishna. So, the real factor is service to Krishna in any condition.

Devakinandan dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Devakinandan Prabhu says that Lord Chaitanya instructed that one should not dress luxuriously or eat opulent food but that sometimes we see that devotees do dress opulently and eat delicious food and still they advance in love of Godhead.

There are some verses:

vairagi bhai gramya-katha na sunibe kane
gramya-varta na kahibe yabe milibe ane

 bhala na khaibe ara bhala na paribe
hrdayete radha-krsna sarvada sevibe

“My dear brother, you are in the renounced order of life and should not listen to talk about ordinary worldly things, nor should you talk about worldly things when you meet with others. Do not eat luxurious dishes or dress in fine garments, but always remain humble and serve Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Krsna in your heart of hearts.” (Prema-vivarta, Chapter Seven)

These instructions were given for one in the renounced order of life. But then too, we have the example of Srila Prabhupada. He was in the renounced order of life, but he was also the acharya, the “world preacher of bhakti cult.” He didn’t indulge in different types of new fashion, but he did accept nice clothes and nice quarters and nice prasada. Not excessive, but nice. Sometimes in America he rode in a Rolls Royce, and sometimes in India he rode in a rickshaw, but he was the same. And that is the point: whether he was riding in the rickshaw or riding in the Rolls Royce, he was the same. He was detached and fully absorbed in devotional service, in Krishna consciousness.

Candramauli Swami: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: That’s nice. Candramauli Swami says that in Boston he heard that Srila Prabhupada had said that for himself he would like to go back to the Radha-Damodar temple and live in the simplicity of Vrindavan, but that for him to do so would be sense gratification. Yes, Krishna wanted Srila Prabhupada to spread Krishna consciousness all over the whole world, and to do something opposed to what Krishna wants is sense gratification.

Devakinandan dasa: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: Devakinandan Prabhu says that George Harrison at one stage wanted to give up everything—his career—just to serve Krishna. But Srila Prabhupada wanted him to stay in his position and serve Krishna from his position. Yes, I also heard that Srila Prabhupada said, “You remain as a Beatle and you write songs about Krishna.”

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Sri Kisora-Kisori ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Vamana-dvadasi, August 15, 2000, Chicago]

Vamana avatar, an extraordinary astonishing incarnation of Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as the son of Kasyapa Muni and Aditi to regain the universe for His devotees- the demigods from the great King Bali who had ruled over the entire universe. He appeared as Lord Vamana, a brahmana dwarf and tricked Bali Maharaja by asking for three steps of land. Continue reading "Lord Vamanadeva – The Dwarf Incarnation of Supreme Lord
→ Dandavats"

On October 14 and 15 ISKCON will combinedly celebrate the Grand Welcome Ceremony of Srila Prabhupada’s new murti to the TOVP – Prabhupada Vaibhava Darshan Utsava. Prabhupada will now be personally present in the TOVP to inspire and direct us for its completion.

Five abhisheka options are available to sponsor, of which the most popular is the Sahasra Jal Abhisheka (Sacred Water Abhisheka). This abhisheka is composed of water from 125 sacred rivers, kundas and sarovaras gathered throughout India. This sponsorship is affordable by every man, woman and child in ISKCON for $25 / ₹1,600 / £20. Your name will be read to Srila Prabhupada as he is being bathed, and at the same time you are helping to support the construction of his most cherished and desired project, the TOVP.

Alternatively, you may wish to sponsor one of the four ‘bathing coins’ also available. You will receive the coin in a beautiful, specially designed card.

Below is a list of all the sacred rivers, kundas and sarovaras that are included in the Sacred Water Abhisheka.

SPONSOR THIS ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME SEVA OPPORTUNITY TODAY!

DONOR COIN CARDS

Donors will receive the coin used to ‘bathe’ Srila Prabhupada in these beautiful, specially designed cards.

SACRED WATER ABHISHEKA RIVERS, KUNDAS AND SAROVARAS

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Lord Vamana, the dwarf, is the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He is also the first incarnation of Treta Yuga. The Srimad Bhagavatam states that Lord Vishnu descended as the Vamana avatar to restore the power of Lord Indra in heaven, which was taken by King Bali. The lila is summarised as follows:

Bali Maharaja had conquered the demigods through great religious practice and asceticism. He drove out Lord Indra, the king of heaven. Indra went to Lord Vishnu for help in conquering Bali and taking back his rightful place in heaven. Lord Vishnu agreed and took birth as a Brahmin. He went to King Bali’s sacrificial ceremony. The King honoured Lord Vamana and invited Him to receive charity from him. Sukracarya, Bali’s guru, recognised the Brahmin as Lord Vishnu. He warned the king, but in vain. 

The Brahmin, Lord Vamana, then requested Bali to grant Him as much land as He could cover in three steps. The king did as he promised but when Lord Vamana took His first two steps, He encompassed the earth, the middle world, and the heavens. The Lord then asked where He should put His third step. To complete his promise, Bali offered his own head to Lord Vamana for His final step. Vamana taught King Bali that pride and wealth is transitory and can easily disappear.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the Samstapak Acharya Seva opportunity as one of our service options for Srila Prabhupada’s new murti Welcome Ceremony on October 14 and 15. It is titled as such because it recognizes ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya as the prominent acharya of Caitanya Gaudiya Vaishnavism for the next 10,000 (samstapak) years.

This particular Seva Opportunity is especially significant and meaningful. Srila Prabhupada said on several occasions that his books, his instructions and his Institution would be the guiding light for humanity for the next 10,000 years of Kali-yuga. We cannot imagine our good fortune in being a part of this historic legacy, and you can again express your gratefulness for Srila Prabhupada’s mercy by sponsoring this seva.

“I have given you instruction, it will never stop; it will go on. At least for ten thousand years it will go on.”

June 21, 1976

“It will increase. That is also stated, that for 10,000 years Krishna consciousness movement will increase. Yes, within 10,000 years, if they become Krishna conscious, then life is successful.”

July 22, 1973, London

“This movement will go for 10,000 years without any impediment….Many fallen souls will be delivered back to home, back to Godhead.”

June 10, 1976, Los Angeles

“My books will be the law books for humanity for the next 10,000 years. That is how I think as I write each word.”

To Ramesvara das, car conversation

Sponsors of this seva opportunity will be blessed to receive a 5# replica of the actual Prabhupada murti being welcomed to the TOVP, a murti specially designed by ISKCON’s most well-known Prabhupada murti-maker, Sriman Locana das. It is carefully designed internally with a reinforcing steel structure to avoid heat related effects, and in a unique worship-pose. This beautiful and highly detailed 5# replica murti is pictured below.

The $10,000 sponsorship cost is payable in three-year installments and will help with our ongoing construction needs. Please visit the Samstapak Acharya Seva Page on the TOVP website to sponsor a murti today while they are still available, as only a limited number have been made.

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This article is being presented in honor of the divine appearance day of the original pioneer of the Krishna consciousness movement, His Divine Grace Sri Srimad Bhaktivinoda Thakur, September 18, 2021.

namo bhaktivinodaya sac-cid-ananda-namine
gaura-shakti-svarupaya rupanuga-varaya te

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda, who is transcendental energy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He is a strict follower of the Gosvamis, headed by Srila Rupa.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote:

“Alas! When will that day come when all greatly fortunate souls in countries such as England, France, Russia, Prussia and America will take up banners, kettle drums, mrdangas and karatalas and thus cause the ecstatic waves of Hari Nama Kirtan and the singing of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s holy name to rise in the streets of their towns and cities? O when will that day come, when pure and transcendental Krishna prema (love of God) will be the only religion of all souls and all tiny sectarian religions will meet in the unlimited and universal religion of devotional service to Krishna, as rivers merge into the great ocean? O when will that day come?”

Sajjana-tosani

This was the heart’s desire of the Thakur, the spreading of the chant of the Holy Names and pure Krishna prema all over the world in fulfillment of Lord Caitanya’s prophecy:

pṛthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama

“In every town and village, the chanting of My name will be heard.”

As an empowered Vaishnava acharya, his life was full of deep sadhana and bhajana, preaching activities through various programs, writing of devotional books, songs and poetry, and teaching actively to the public, all while maintaining a household and working as a Government Magistrate. His life is a perfect example of a householder fully infused with devotional service.

Amongst his innumerable accomplishments was the discovery of the janmasthan (birthplace) of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Nabadvipa and the building of a magnificent temple at this Yogapitha. His vision of preaching worldwide inspired him to write, Caitanya Mahaprabhu – His Life and Precepts, copies of which he personally sent to several Institutions throughout the world.

Because of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s being the pioneer of the Krishna consciousness movement and the force behind its progression into the modern world, Srila Prabhupada took it as his great service to him to build the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium in Sridhama Mayapur as the fulfillment of the Thakura’s vision. So important was this to Srila Prabhupada that he said to Giriraja Swami, “If you all build this temple, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will personally come and take you all back to Godhead.”

On this most auspicious occasion we request devotees to consider intensifying their dedication and desire to see the completion of the TOVP for the divine pleasure of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Srila Prabhupada. In particular, the opportunity to sponsor an abhisheka for the historic Grand Welcome Ceremony of Srila Prabhupada’s new murti to the TOVP on October 14 and 15 is being offered.

To read more about the life and accomplishments of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur click the link below to an article by His Grace Sri Nandanandana Das (ACBSP).

https://www.stephen-knapp.com/srila_bhaktivinoda_thakura.htm

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🌸🌸𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗶🌸🌸 Campakalata is the third of the varistha-gopis. Her complexion is the color of a blossoming yellow campaka flower and her garments are the color of a blue jay’s. She is one day younger than Srimati Radharani, and her age is 14 years, 2 months and 13 1/2 days. Her father […]

The post 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗢𝗳 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗶 – 15th Sep 2021 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

𝗦𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗵𝗶𝗸𝗮 Sri Radhika is a princess and She has many maidservants led by Ragalekha-devi, Kalakeli-devi and Bhurida-devi. Palindri-devi serves Srimati Radhika by dressing and decorating her. And Citrini-devi decorates Her with various cosmetics. Mantriki-devi and Tantriki-devi are astrologers who reveal future influences and happenings to Sri Radha. Also included among Her servants are many […]

The post Sri Radhashtami – Appearance Of Srimati Radhika appeared first on Mayapur.com.

In the Brihad-Gautamiya Tantra, Radharani is described as follows:

devi krishna-mayi prokta

radhika para-devata

sarva-lakshmi-mayi sarva

kantih sammohini para

“The transcendental goddess Srimati Radharani is the direct counterpart of Lord Sri Krishna. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord.”

To explain further, Srimati Radharani is also the source of the other goddesses, who are expansions of Her. Just as Lord Krishna is the source of all other expansions and incarnations of God, Radharani is the source of all other expansions of the energies of God, the shaktis, or other goddesses. Thus, Vishnu, Rama, even Shiva are all expansions of the one Supreme Being, and similarly Lakshmi, Sita, and even Durga are all expansions of this Supreme Feminine form of God, Radharani.

It is explained that the beloved consorts of Lord Krishna are of three kinds, namely the goddesses of fortune or Lakshmis, His queens, and the milkmaids of Vraja called the gopis. All of them proceed from Radharani. The Lakshmis are partial manifestations, or plenary portions, of Srimati Radharani, while the queens in Vaikuntha and in Dvaraka are reflections of Her image. The Vraja-devis or gopis are Her expansions and assist in the increase of rasa, or the divine loving pastimes. Among them there are many groups that have various sentiments and moods, which help Lord Krishna taste the sweetness of the rasa dance and other pastimes. (Cc.Adi-lila. 4. 75-81)

“Among the gopis of Vrindavana, Srimati Radharani and another gopi are considered chief. However, when we compare the gopis, it appears that Srimati Radharani is most important because Her real feature expresses the highest ecstasy of love. The ecstasy of love experienced by the other gopis cannot be compared to that of Srimati Radharani.” (Ujjvala-nilamani 4.3 of Srila Rupa Gosvami)

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Berlin, Germany, 20 August 2021, Zoom Disciple Meeting)

If you fix your hearing, chanting will happen automatically.

Watch the full lecture below or on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJbeNIDiYCg&t=302s

The article " Fix your hearing! " was published on KKSBlog.

We have gathered on this most auspicious occasion, the sacred day of Sri Radhastami. The Vedic literatures describe that Krishna is the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Lord, and the origin of all that be:

isvarah paramah krsnah
   sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
   sarva-karana-karanam

 “Krishna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all, although He Himself has no origin. And He is the prime cause of all causes.” (Bs 5.1)

The Brahma-samhita further explains that Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead and that He expands Himself into various plenary portions and portions of plenary portions. Still, Krishna is the supreme, original Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam: Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam. (SB 1.3.28)

The Brahma-samhita gives the example that if you have one candle, from that one candle you can light a second candle, from the second candle you can light a third candle, and from the third candle you can light a fourth candle. All may have the same candlepower, yet one of them is still the original candle. In the same way, Krishna expands Himself into so many incarnations who all have the full powers of Godhead. Still, Krishna is the original Personality of Godhead, and His first expansion is Balarama.

Just as Krishna expands on the side of the all-powerful Personalities of Godhead, He also expands on the side of the power of the all-powerful Personality of Godhead. The direct expansions of the all-powerful are called visnu-tattva, and the expansions of the energy of the Lord are called sakti-tattva. The first expansion on the side of the energy is Srimati Radharani. From Srimati Radharani all of the gopis are expanded, all of the queens in Dvaraka are expanded, and all of the consorts of the Lord in various incarnations are expanded. Thus, Sita of Sita-Rama is expanded from Srimati Radharani and Laksmi of Laksmi-Narayana is expanded from Srimati Radharani. Srimati Radharani is the origin of all of the expansions of Krishna’s energy. She also has an indirect expansion, called the material energy. Srimati Radharani is the personification of the spiritual energy, and Durga is the personification of the material energy. Thus, Durga is an indirect expansion of Srimati Radharani.

We also are expansions of Krishna, the marginal potency of Krishna. Krishna basically has three energies: the spiritual energy, the material energy, and the marginal energy. We, the living entities, are called the marginal energy because we can come under the influence of either the spiritual energy, personified as Srimati Radharani, or the material energy, personified as Durgadevi. Srila Prabhupada compares the marginal position to the seaside. Sometimes, when the tide is low, an area is part of the land, and sometimes, when the tide is high, the same area is submerged under the water and becomes part of the ocean. Similarly, we can be part of either the spiritual world, under Srimati Radharani’s protection, or the material world.

We can see the image of Srimati Radharani, standing with Her right hand raised in benediction to bless the devotees. Or we can see the image of Durga, who has ten hands with ten weapons to punish the miscreants. Unfortunately, to some degree all of us are miscreants. And so we are bound to the prison house of the material world. And Durgadevi is the warden of the prison. She punishes the conditioned souls with the different weapons in her various hands. Especially, Durgadevi is known for her trident, or trisul. The three prongs of the trident represent the threefold miseries of material existence: the miseries we suffer because of other living entities, the miseries we suffer because of acts of nature, and the miseries we suffer from our own bodies and minds. Thus the goal of life is to transfer ourselves from the control of the external energy, or the material energy, to the control of the spiritual energy, Srimati Radharani.

Now I shall read one verse from the Bhagavad-gita that will give us a practical idea of how, in our own positions, we can take shelter of Srimati Radharani and come under Her protection.

We read from Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter Nine: “The Most Confidential Knowledge.”

TEXT 13

mahatmanas tu mam partha
   daivim prakrtim asritah
bhajanty ananya-manaso
   jnatva bhutadim avyayam

TRANSLATION

“O son of Partha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.”

PURPORT

In this verse the description of the mahatma is clearly given. The first sign of the mahatma is that he is already situated in the divine nature. He is not under the control of material nature. How is this effected? That is explained in the Seventh Chapter: One who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, at once becomes freed from the control of material nature. That is the qualification. One can become free from the control of material nature as soon as he surrenders his soul to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the preliminary formula. Being marginal potency, as soon as the living entity is freed from the control of material nature, he is put under the guidance of the spiritual nature. The guidance of the spiritual nature is called daivi prakrti, divine nature. So when one is promoted in that way—by surrendering to the Supreme Personality of Godhead—one attains to the stage of great soul, mahatma.

The mahatma does not divert his attention to anything outside Krishna, because he knows perfectly well that Krishna is the original Supreme Person, the cause of all causes. There is no doubt about it. Such a mahatma, or great soul, develops through association with other mahatmas, pure devotees. Pure devotees are not even attracted by Krishna’s other features, such as the four-armed Maha-Visnu. They are simply attracted by the two-armed form of Krishna. They are not attracted to other features of Krishna, nor are they concerned with any form of a demigod or of a human being. They meditate only upon Krishna in Krishna consciousness. They are always engaged in the unswerving service of the Lord in Krishna consciousness.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The definition of mahatma is given here. The mahatmas are under the protection of the divine nature, the spiritual nature, personified by Srimati Radharani. Once, when Srila Prabhupada was preaching in Bombay, one of the leaders of the most prominent Hindu organization in India came to meet him. He asked Srila Prabhupada, “How is it that India, which is a land of so many mahatmas, has so many problems?”—because in principle, the presence of mahatmas should remove the problems. Srila Prabhupada replied, “The reason India has so many problems is that you cannot distinguish between who is a mahatma and who is not.”

Here in the Bhagavad-gita, Krishna, the supreme authority, gives the definition of a mahatma: he is under the protection of the spiritual energy and is always engaged in the devotional service of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the original source of all incarnations and the prime cause of all causes. Obviously, India, and every other part of the world, needs more mahatmas. And how do we get so many mahatmas? One can become a mahatma through the association of another mahatma. The Srimad-Bhagavatam, considered the supreme authority among Vedic scriptures, confirms that to become freed from the clutches of material nature we must serve mahatmas.

After reading the definition of a mahatma, certainly anyone who knows even a little about Srila Prabhupada can understand that he was a mahatma, a great soul. Srila Prabhupada was always engaged in the service of Lord Krishna—as we read in the next verse, satatam kirtayanto mam, always engaged in chanting the glories of Krishna. So by taking shelter of Srila Prabhupada, who took shelter of his spiritual master, who took shelter of his spiritual master, who took shelter of his spiritual master, one ultimately takes shelter of Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna. That is the process of parampara.

The same process exists in the spiritual world. In fact, Srila Prabhupada’s activities and the activities he prescribed for his followers are in essence the same activities that the maidservants of Srimati Radharani and Her other associates perform in the spiritual world. The mahatmas in the material world are always engaged in chanting the glories of Krishna. And Srimati Radharani and Her associates in the spiritual world are always engaged in chanting Krishna’s glories. Another wonderful fact about Srimati Radharani is that She always tries to bring other gopis to Krishna; She wants other gopis to get the chance to serve Krishna and give pleasure to Krishna. And the mahatmas in the material world have the same mood. They want to bring others to Krishna, to engage others in the service of Krishna for Krishna’s pleasure.

Earlier, we read about the confidential reasons for the descent of Lord Chaitanya—how He came to propagate the sankirtana movement externally and taste Srimati Radharani’s love for Krishna internally. Not only did Krishna come as Lord Chaitanya and Lord Balarama as Nityananda and Srimati Radharani as Gadadhara Pandita, but all of Radha and Krishna’s associates came and assumed forms in caitanya-lila. Although many of the lady associates of Srimati Radharani in krsna-lila assumed male forms in caitanya-lila, the inner relationships were the same. And the methods of devotional service that Srila Prabhupada has taught us in relation to the sankirtana movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will ultimately help us develop the inner mood of Lord Chaitanya’s associates, which is the same as the inner mood of the associates of Radha and Krishna.

Srimati Radharani’s best friends in krsna-lila are Lalita and Visakha. Lalita and Visakha appeared in caitanya-lila as Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Ramananda Raya. They were the most confidential associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri. And just as Srimati Radharani, feeling intense separation from Krishna after He left Vrindavan for Mathura and Dvaraka, would open Her heart to Her friends Lalita and Visakha, Lord Chaitanya, in the mood of Srimati Radharani in separation from Krishna, used to express His lamentation to His most confidential friends, Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya.

Serving under Lord Chaitanya and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami were the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan, who in krsna-lila were Srimati Radharani’s most intimate maidservants. Yet even here we find some hierarchy. Among the Six Gosvamis, Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami were the leaders. And as we read in other works by the Gosvamis, Rati Manjari, who is Raghunatha dasa Gosvami in caitanya-lila, had the most intense love for Srimati Radharani, but still, his goal—or her goal—was not to serve Srimati Radharani directly. She and others wanted to serve under the guidance of Sri Rupa Manjari, who in caitanya-lila is Srila Rupa Gosvami. So, we find the same principle of parampara. Parampara means literally “one after the other”: one takes shelter of a mahatma who has taken shelter of a mahatma who has taken shelter of a mahatma who has taken shelter of Srimati Radharani.

Basically, what we are doing in ISKCON under the guidance of Srila Prabhupada is the same. We take shelter of Srila Prabhupada and his associates, Srila Prabhupada took shelter of his guru maharaja, his guru maharaja took shelter of his guru maharaja, and so on, up to Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Ramananda Raya, and Lord Chaitanya, or, in other words, Rati Manjari, Rupa Manjari, Lalita and Visakha, and Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna. So, we don’t have to make an artificial effort to cultivate the mood of the gopis. Of course, at a certain mature stage of devotional service we may naturally develop such a mood internally. But Srila Prabhupada said—and there are so many features to Srila Prabhupada’s genius, but one was his ability to express profound truths in brief, simple statements—he said that the way to develop the love of the gopis for Krishna is to spread Krishna consciousness all over the world.

One might wonder how the two—the gopis’ love and spreading Krishna consciousness—are connected. The connection is that Radharani and Her associates are ready to sacrifice anything and everything to give Krishna the greatest pleasure. And the greatest pleasure that we can give Krishna, at least in the material world, is to bring more souls to Him. It may sound easy, but to bring others to Krishna in the present age is not easy. There is so much opposition—from the material nature, from society, sometimes even from our own families—that we may have a tendency to compromise, because we do not want to lose our position in society, we don’t want to upset our family members, we don’t want to do anything that will have a negative effect on our material lives. But that is not the mood of the gopis. The mood of the gopis is that to please Krishna they are ready to leave everything: mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, husbands, babies—everything. Of course, we are not recommending that you should necessarily do the same, and Lord Chaitanya did teach that one can remain in one’s position and be Krishna conscious. But the point is that the gopis are ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of Krishna’s pleasure. And we should be developing the same mood. In fact, to actually preach effectively one has to have that mood, because if someone is too concerned about one’s material position and assets, he won’t want to take the risk to preach. And because the preacher does take the risk, he is especially recognized by the Lord and specially blessed by the Lord. So the duty of the spiritual master is to engage the disciple in such a way that the disciple can get the most mercy from Krishna and the Vaishnavas. And Srila Prabhupada knew that by his engaging us in spreading Krishna consciousness we would get the most mercy from Krishna and His associates. But it is not always easy.

I shall tell you one story from Madras. It is not a good one, because I am using myself as an example, which is not very becoming, but ultimately what happened was all Prabhupada’s mercy. I was the first devotee from ISKCON to go to Madras, in 1971. There were many Saivites and Vaishnavites, who have a long history of debate, there, and many impersonalists who thought, “The Vaishnavites are arguing that Vishnu is the Supreme, and the Saivites are arguing that Shiva is supreme. How silly! Actually, God has no form. He just assumes the form of Shiva or Vishnu or Durga. So why all these petty arguments?” They were some sort of jnanis, and they really thought themselves superior, both to the Vaishnavites and to the Saivites.

In Madras I began to preach in the same way I had heard Srila Prabhupada preach everywhere. We had programs, and we enrolled life members. Srila Prabhupada was very eager for us to enroll life members, mainly as a way of distributing his books to them, and as a way of giving them the association of devotees. After a few weeks, I found that there was an undercurrent of protest against the way I was preaching, and even friends began to advise me, “You should not criticize others. Whatever you want to say positively about your activities and about Krishna consciousness, say. But don’t say anything negative about anyone else or any other process.”

So, I thought about it. Over the six or eight weeks I was in Madras, I stayed at different places, and one of the men with whom I stayed cited the example of the Gaudiya Math, that the Gaudiya Math was quite well established in Madras and that every year so many thousands of people went there for Janmashtami. “They don’t criticize anyone, so why can’t you be like them?” I thought about it: Is that really what we are meant to be like? Mr. Ratnamiyer, who had his own organization, Astika Samaja, had initially offered to arrange a program for Srila Prabhupada, and his brother, Mr. Krishnamurti, who was even more favorable, said the same thing: “Don’t criticize others. Just say whatever you want in a positive way about Krishna consciousness.” So, I was getting the same thing from all sides, and I thought, Maybe Krishna is trying to tell me something. Maybe I should listen to what they are saying. So, I wrote a letter to Srila Prabhupada.

One Saturday I had an appointment with an industrialist, and I decided that I was not going to get into any controversy or debate. I was just going to show the pictures of our activities, show the books, tell him about Krishna consciousness, and not make any comments about anything else. So, I went to the man’s office—he had a large compound, with his office and his factory and his residence. I showed the pictures, showed the books, took out the life membership forms, and asked him to become a life member. He said, “What about Shankaracharya? You said so many things. Why haven’t you said anything about Shankaracharya? He is one of the great acharyas of India.” I said, “Yes, he is one of the great acharyas of India.” He said, “But you haven’t said anything about him. What about him? What about his teachings?” I tried to be very tactful and avoid any argument, but he kept provoking me, probing more and more. So, I had to explain that Shankaracharya was an incarnation of Lord Shiva, who came to bewilder the atheists and drive Buddhism out of India, but that in order to drive Buddhism out of India he had to preach a false interpretation of the Vedas. The man kept arguing, more and more. I even took out the Teachings of Lord Caitanya (we didn’t have the Caitanya-caritamrta then) and showed him the verses about Shankaracharya. But he was becoming more adamant in his position, and I remained adamant in mine. Finally I decided, “Okay. I have wasted enough time here.” I put away the pictures, put away the books, put away the membership form, closed my briefcase, and said, “Well, it was nice meeting you.” He escorted me to the door and then said, “Before you go, I want to show you my temple room.” I thought, “Oh, no. There is going to be a Shiva linga, and he is going to want me to bow down, and if I don’t he is going to become offended.” He said, “Really, I insist. I want you to see my temple.”

He escorted me to his temple room. It was quite large, as personal temples go. And facing us at the opposite end was a large marble altar, the base of which was at least three feet high. And on top of the base were large marble Radha-Krishna deities. Boy, was I ever happy to see Radha and Krishna! I hadn’t seen Them for a long time, because even the Vaishnava temples in Madras were almost all Vishnu. And there was the famous temple of Parthasarathi, which had just Krishna alone.

I was delighted. I offered my obeisances and prayers, and then I looked at the man with an expression that asked, “What is happening here?” He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Swamiji, I am a devotee of Krishna, and all my family members are devotees of Krishna. My family has worshipped Lord Krishna for many generations. Actually, I was just testing you. And you did not compromise. So I am very pleased, and I will be honored to become your life member.” Then he escorted me back to his office, I took out the forms, he took out his checkbook, and he paid the whole amount in one installment and became a life member.

So, I was really confused. I started thinking that maybe I was not doing the wrong thing after all—but still I was not sure. When I got back to the place where I was staying in Egmore, there was a letter from Srila Prabhupada. I was very excited. When I opened the letter, the words practically jumped out of the page: “The fact is that I am the only one in India who is openly criticizing, not only demigod worship and impersonalism, but everything that falls short of complete surrender to Krishna. My Guru Maharaja never compromised in his preaching, nor will I, nor should any of my students. We are firmly convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and all others are His part and parcel servants. This we must declare boldly to the whole world, that they should not dream of world peace unless they are prepared to surrender fully to Krishna as Supreme Lord.”

That was Srila Prabhupada’s mood, and that was Srila Prabhupada’s message. And for his service, he is the most dear servant of Radha and Krishna. Srimati Radharani has no desire other than the pleasure of Krishna. And who has given Krishna more pleasure—within the material world, at least—than Srila Prabhupada? Consequently, he has given the greatest pleasure to Srimati Radharani. And so Srimati Radharani would do anything for Srila Prabhupada. If we do even some little service to Srila Prabhupada, his heart is so magnanimous that he will take it as a big service. And he will be very pleased. And when we please Srila Prabhupada, Srimati Radharani is pleased. And then our lives are successful.

Now I shall comment on one other point in the purport, which will also accommodate a little story about Srimati Radharani.

Bhajanty ananya manaso: the great soul is engaged in the service of Krishna without any deviation. Srila Prabhupada elaborates on bhajanty ananya manaso to say that the great soul doesn’t divert his mind from Krishna for anything or to anything, not even to another incarnation of Krishna. He is not attracted even to any other feature of Krishna, what to speak of any demigod or human being. So, there is one story mentioned in the Caitanya-caritamrta, which is discussed more elaborately in other books of the Gosvamis, in which Lord Krishna was enjoying pastimes with the gopis and then left them. The gopis were searching for Him all around Govardhana Hill, and Krishna, to play a joke on them, assumed the form of Lord Narayana with four arms holding the four symbols of lotus, conch, disc, and club. When the gopis came across Lord Narayana, they offered Him namaskara and asked Him if He had seen Lord Krishna. They were not interested in Lord Narayana; they wanted only Krishna. And because Lord Narayana was not helping them find Krishna, they left Him behind. Then Srimati Radharani passed before Lord Narayana, and Lord Krishna became so attracted by Her pure love that He could not maintain His form of Lord Narayana. He had to withdraw His two extra hands and resume His original form as Lord Krishna. That is the power of Srimati Radharani’s love.

Of course, this is transcendental, and whenever Srila Prabhupada spoke on Radhastami he would discuss elaborately how the pastimes of Radha and Krishna are not material and how the attraction between Radha and Krishna is not material. He would also discuss how Sukadeva Gosvami, who was a lifelong brahmachari, recited the pastimes of Radha and Krishna and would never have done so if they had been material. And how Lord Chaitanya was a strict sannyasi but would listen to accounts of the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Had they not been spiritual, He would not have listened to them. There are so many proofs. The main one, of course, is that Krishna is the origin of everything. Srila Prabhupada would quote the saying that a sweet merchant is not attracted by sweets. Krishna has created the whole material world; He is not going to be attracted by it. So, we should always remember that the loving affairs between Radha and Krishna are completely transcendental. But transcendentally, Krishna could not restrain Himself in the presence of Srimati Radharani, and so He couldn’t maintain His four-armed form as Lord Narayana.

The main verse we discussed in class today stated that originally Krishna, The One, separated Himself into two, Radha and Krishna, and then The Two, Radha and Krishna, combined together again and became Lord Chaitanya. When we were in Calcutta, our landlord, a Bengali gentleman named Mr. Raya, told Achyutananda Prabhu his own version of Lord Chaitanya and Radha and Krishna. He said that Lord Chaitanya is the supreme and the original and that Radha and Krishna come from Him. And he said that Lord Chaitanya is even greater and more beautiful than Radha and Krishna, as rasagulla is better than milk and sugar. Achyutananda was a little confused by the landlord’s philosophy, so he approached Srila Prabhupada—a few of us were also in the room—and told him about the discussion with the landlord and asked, “Who is the original?” Srila Prabhupada replied that Radha and Krishna come first and that when They come together, that combination is Lord Chaitanya. “The same example: first the milk and sugar exist separately and then they combine together to make rasagulla.” Then Acyutananda asked, “Well, who is greater?” Srila Prabhupada paused for some moments, closed his eyes, and then answered, “Srimati Radharani is greater.” He pointed to a picture on the wall that showed Srimati Radharani sitting on a raised platform and Lord Krishna kneeling at Her feet, trying to please or appease Her so She would give up Her mana and accept Him. And he said that the devotees are the greatest, and therefore Krishna becomes the servant of the devotees.

Sometimes Srimati Radharani manifests a type of transcendental jealousy called mana, which is not like the jealousy of the material world. In the material world, jealous anger usually is an attempt by the jealous person to gain control of the situation or gain the upper hand in the relationship with the other person. But Srimati Radharani’s jealous anger exists simply to give pleasure to Krishna. And Krishna takes pleasure too in trying to remove Srimati Radharani’s mana.

There is one great devotee of Krishna, named Jayadeva Gosvami, who lived in Sri Navadvipa-dhama some centuries before Lord Chaitanya appeared. He wrote a poem called Gita-govinda, which describes the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. And what he would do (as would some of the other Gosvamis) was actually see the pastimes within his heart and then record what was manifest to him; then the poem would be accepted as authoritative scripture. So, he was writing about the pastimes of Radha and Krishna in rasa-lila. Srimati Radharani was manifesting Her jealous anger, and Lord Krishna wanted to pacify Her. Jayadeva Gosvami saw in his heart that Lord Krishna was putting His head at Srimati Radharani’s lotus feet, but he could not accept that Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, the ruler of the universe, was acting in such a way. Jayadeva Gosvami was having a debate within his mind: How could this be happening? His intelligence and heart were in conflict. He couldn’t decide. He thought, I can’t write this. He started, but he couldn’t continue. So he closed the book, left it in the care of his wife, Padma, and went for his bath in the Ganges. Very soon, “Jayadeva” came back and said, “Padma, please bring me my book.” So Padma brought his book and he took up the pen and completed the verse and went away. A little while later, the original Jayadeva came back and his wife said, “You have come back so soon. You left, then you came back, then you left again, and now you have come back again.” Jayadeva said, “I never came back.” “No, you came. I saw you.” “No, I never came back.” “Yes, you came. You said, ‘Padma, bring me my book. I want to write something.’ So I brought your book and you wrote something and left again. Then Jayadeva said, “Well, bring my book. I will see.” So, he looked in his book, and he saw that the verse he had begun had been completed by Sri Krishna Himself. The verse read, smara-garala-khandanam mama sirasi mandanam dehi pada-pallavam udaram, which means, “I am burning in the poison of separation.” Krishna is telling Radharani, mama sirasi mandana: “Please decorate My head with Your lotus feet.” That was the essence of the verse. “And I would consider that to be Your greatest favor.” Then Jayadeva realized that Krishna Himself had come and completed the verse. He offered his obeisances to Padma and said, “Padma, you are so fortunate. You saw Krishna Himself. I could not see Krishna, but you saw Him.” And Padma replied, “I am so unfortunate. I saw Krishna but didn’t know He was Krishna.” And they both were overwhelmed with different types of ecstasy.

There is a very beautiful verse by Raghunatha dasa Gosvami in which he prays to see Lord Krishna’s head decorated by the red paint—in Sanskrit and Hindi called alta—that ladies put on their feet. Raghunatha dasa prays that he might see the beautiful face of Krishna. Krishna is always beautiful, and when He comes home from the pasturing grounds with the dust raised by the cows and calves smeared on His face and hair, He looks even more beautiful. But Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami prays for the day when, in the form of Rati Manjari, he will see Krishna’s face and hair beautified by the most gorgeous of all ornaments: the red paint from the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani. He says that this will be the perfection of his meditation.

So, Lord Krishna takes pleasure in serving His devotees and worshipping His devotees. Sometimes ignorant people think Shiva is the Supreme, because when Rama went to Ramesvaram He worshipped the Shiva linga. But no, the Lord takes pleasure in worshipping the devotee and serving the devotee. Just like Krishna’s carrying Nanda Maharaja’s shoes doesn’t mean that Nanda Maharaja is the Supreme. Krishna takes pleasure in being subordinate to His devotees. Similarly, in Dvaraka, Krishna’s washing the feet of Sudama Vipra doesn’t mean that Sudama Vipra is the Supreme. Krishna likes to worship His devotees. Krishna drove the chariot of Arjuna. This doesn’t mean that Arjuna is the Supreme. Krishna likes to serve the devotees. And Srimati Radharani is the greatest devotee. Therefore Krishna likes to serve Her the most and to become the most subordinate and obedient to Her. And therefore, once a year, on Radhastami, we are allowed to see the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani, which are otherwise the exclusive property of Lord Sri Krishna’s head.

Sri Sri Kisora-Kisori ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Radhastami, August 25, 2001, Chicago]

What is Radhastami Radhastami is the day we celebrate the appearance of Srimati Radharani, Lord Krishna’s eternal consort. Radharani’s appearance occurred on the eighth day of the bright moon in the month of Bhadra. Although generally not full on that day, the moon appeared full to celebrate Radharani’s appearance in this world, because of this […]

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Radhastami is the day we celebrate the birth of Srimati Radharani, Lord Krishna's eternal consort. Radharani’s birth occurred on the eighth day of the bright moon in the month of Bhadra. Although generally not full on that day, the moon appeared full to celebrate Radharani’s appearance in this world, because of this Radhashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of the bright fortnight (shukla paksha ashtami) in the month of Bhadra (August/September). 

Source: Avelo Roy

It can be tricky to know what drives your relationship, love or lust. Vedic wisdom makes it really easy to identify that and help us structure our behavior based on the mood of service. So rather than competing we co-operate and collaborate in a relationship. It really works!

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Radharani is the pleasure potency of Krishna. Krishna is the Supreme Brahman. Just try to understand. Krishna is the Supreme Brahman. Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg. 10.12]. So when param brahma wants to enjoy... That enjoying spirit is there in the param brahma. Otherwise we cannot have this enjoying spirit. Because we are part and parcel, therefore we have got that enjoying spirit; but that is materially contaminated. But the fact is there, because Krishna,

SRI SRI LALITASTAKAM by Srila Rupa Goswami 1. I offer my obeisances to Lalita devi, who has many wonderful qualities. She worships the perspiration of Sri Sri Radha-Mukunda’s lotus feet and acts boldly, out of intense feelings of friendship for Them. 2. I offer my obeisances to Lalita devi, who has many wonderful qualities. Her […]

The post 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗶 -12th 09 2021 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Mount Sinai Hospital

Conversing With God

My knee surgeon, Dr. Backstein, saw me at the hospital where I was to take the final X-ray. He confirmed I’m doing good for 6 weeks after the knee replacement. I respect the man for having done a splendid job.

I’m proud to say I walked the entire way there and back – 6 kilometers, no sweat. No cane. In the afternoon, I met Bob back outside of the ashram quarters. Bob says he was raised Catholic but never took it too seriously. He claims Krishna has been speaking to him. I won’t deny.

“What did He tell you?” I asked.

“On two occasions, He spoke in a resonate deep voice,” said Bob. The most prominent message was, “I’m not happy with the animals you have in your stomach.” That was a scolding for sure, but Bob felt blessed to “get the sauce.” Moreover, he was really thrilled that he could talk and with me not being judgmental. He admitted he rarely could find someone he could talk to over spiritual matters. I mean, having conversations with God. It’s not everyday.

I encouraged him to connect with Prabhupada through his books, the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. “There God speaks directly to His devotee, Arjuna. You might also recite His sweet name.” Bob had read other versions of the Gita. “Here, I’ll give you this one,” so I handed him my personal copy to which he reciprocated with a 20-dollar bill.

“Call me anytime, Bob, about the book and what He is saying to you.”

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Ramsden Park, Toronto

Radha

In a few days we celebrate the birth of the goddess, Radha. I dedicate this poem to Her.

Radha

The embodiment of beauty

The spirit of purity

Her complexion resembles gold

While her senses are controlled

She’s calm, composed, collected

To all souls she remains connected

She is the epicentre of radiance

As a flower’s essence is fragrance

She is a master in the cuisine

After her craft she keeps all clean

She is a teacher of surrender

Holding no place for a pretender

For those who are morose

To Her you can’t come close

She is the epitome of the feminine

Spontaneous in love, beyond regimen

Loyal to the Prime One

Through Him devotion had begun

She is indeed the Goddess, the Queen

The only way to get to the King

Her name is Radha.

-Bhaktimarga Swami, The Walking Monk©

May the Source be with you!

2 km

The Annex, Toronto

A Living Barbie-doll

I was walking at normal pace and without a cane, back from a shiatsu session with Carlos when a unique woman of character addressed us.

“What is that?” said the woman in brown vinyl gown and looking half-glamorised half-Barbie doll. The make-up was intense enough. Her question was crass, but here goes my answer.

“I’m a monk.”

“What kind of monk?” she continued

A Krishna monk with a tradition of roots from India.”

“But you’re white!” she challenged.

“Actually, I’m beige.”

“No, you’re not. Your fricking piggy pink.”

She did take me by surprise, being maybe 30 and dressed to kill. I guess we judged each other in a similar material way, a question of are you for real? cut the superficiality. I was hesitant to give her my card. She continued speaking partly blurred saying something about when she gets to a certain point she’ll see to it that I’ll not be a smiling monk (as I was then).

That was quite a threat for sure and I really didn’t know what I had done wrong. Anyway, she was a character. And I hope I’ll be perceived as a monk, a genuine one. She walked on. So did I, but I couldn’t help thinking the encounter was surreal. Hmm! Maybe Just For Laughs had their camera person there getting peoples reactions when meeting someone obnoxious?

May the Source be with you!

3 km