Planet ISKCON

On Saturday August 21^st, devotees from the ISKCON Auckland congregation in New Zealand will hold Harinama Sankirtana in multiple suburbs around Auckland, as well as on the city’s main thoroughfare Queen Street in celebration.

To celebrate the 125^th birth anniversary of ISKCON Founder-Acharya Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban in West Virginia is set to hold the Prabhupada 125 Tournament from Friday September 24^th to Sunday September 26^th.

Following a global edition in April/May, the 18-hour Online Devotee Care Course, subtitled “Embedding Care in Krishna Conscious Communities,” will be offered specifically for devotees in North American timezones starting September 18th. The ISKCON GBC Devotee Care Committee, an initiative of the GBC Strategic Planning Team, was officially mandated in 2017 and supported by GBC […]

The post Online Devotee Care Course Aims to Embed Care in Krishna Conscious Communities appeared first on ISKCON News.

Following a global edition in April/May, the 18-hour Online Devotee Care Course, subtitled “Embedding Care in Krishna Conscious Communities,” will be offered specifically for devotees in North American timezones starting September 18^th.

Evergreen Bricksworks, Toronto

 

All Good Stuff

 

We have such a great philosophy. I am not this body. I am spirit soul. I am here to serve. All good stuff.

 

When this body receives pain, the pain is eased because you tell yourself, “That is not me. It may be connected to me but it is notme.” I have to convince myself of this reality from time to time. One of those times is now. Weaning off painkillers and accepting some uneasiness. That’s the way to go through the healing of my left leg.

 

It was so generous of my friend, Paramahamsa, to drive me to the Brickworks; that little piece of heaven I’ve written about before. The ponds are appealing, the multiple species of trees, the goldfish, the turtles and beavers.

 

A young couple, just married, were getting their pictures taken by a professional photographer. It’s a common place for newlyweds. I told this couple, as we were leaving the place, with me on crutches, “You guys look good!” As in western style, the groom was in dark duds and she wore a white gown.

 

That’s something I didn’t do in this life — get married. It was never meant for me. I married a mission when I was 20.

 

“I’ll be 70 next year.” I tell the next generation, “Prepare to take over and become captain of the ship.”

 

Being at the brickworks gave me a change of scenery, some fresh breeze and a chance to walk with my four legs, two of which are not mine (crutches). In fact, all four are not me.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

Podcast:

Summary Podcast:

Video:

Hare Krishna dear devotees! Please accept our humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada! ISKCON Mayapur TV – Hindi is organizing special Krishna Lila Katha in the forthcoming weekends to set the stage for the upcoming Janmashtami festival. Schedule is as follows: Aug 15: Radha Gopinath Prabhu (6pm) Aug 21: Amogh Lila Prabhu (8pm) Aug […]

The post Sri Krishna Janmastami Special Lila Katha – Mayapur Tv appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Podcast:

Video:

Podcast:

Summary podcast:

Video:

 

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

 

Results Will Come

 

“You’re one of the top five,” said the therapist at Toronto West General Hospital.

 

“Meaning?” I asked.

 

“Of the five years I’ve looked at knee replacement patients you’re in the top five for recovery.”

 

Well, that certainly made me feel good. I had mentioned I’m a monk, a walking one, and I wore down my cartilage. The reaction to the marathon walks I’ve done astounded the physiotherapist, as did the Vietnamese doctor and a local assistant from Canada. Yes, I had three guys look at the leg and give me new exercises to work on.

 

The left leg looks improved, the normal colour has returned. Swelling has gone down. And most definitely the knee is bending much better. For such improvement you listen to what your doctor says, follow directions and be a real live patient.

 

Spiritual life is like that. You admit to weakness, apply the process of healing and be patient for the results. So, in devotional life you gain sadhana, practices, sangh, which means keeping positive company and apply sastra, study of scriptures. When you have these three items in your life you’re good to go, provided it is all approached with sincere feeling.

 

Chanting, also, is a major factor in developing the heart towards a sensitivity that Krishna can accommodate. Chanting is a calling out for attention and love. It’s what we always need.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

 

Moments of Liberation

 

The items of bhakti that I’m missing these days leave me in a mood of separation. Although healing, my replaced knee is still restricting my movements. Tomorrow I get the chance to feel a quaint notion of liberation by going down the stairs, with crutches, of course, for a trip to the Toronto West General for Physio. I did manage to make my way along the balcony, which opens up to the temple room. It was noon-time and I found myself sitting and leading a kirtan before the deities of Krishna.

 

From the elevation point the acoustics are just perfect. One level below me, one of the monks, Karuna Sindhu, was following to my lead on the harmonium. Though vastly distanced from each other, the sound came out so well. I began singing with pranam mantras to Prabhupada, our guru, then more praise to guru, then a mantra expressing five features of God and, finally, THE mantra, the great one addressing two features of the absolute as Divine She and Divine He; Radha and Krishna.

 

In general, I feel like I’m in a lockdown keeping the right leg raised for most of the day and at periods held down by a device for ice pack freezing, however, it is part of a healing process and I must learn my patience.

 

A year ago I was free as a bird and, along with another one of our priests, Ananda, we married Cameron and Katie in the forest. It is their first anniversary. We all felt free and non-restricted.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

 

WLL

 

A whole lotta love came my way today. I gave one of those Zoom classes on the topic of gossip — once again. Giving me the opportunity to speak about an adversary to spiritual life translates into giving me some love. I enjoy delivering talks that I hope will deepen peoples Krishna Consciousness. Thanks Amanda, from Scarborough, for asking. From Brampton came a couple, Bhagavat and Krishna Smaran, who delivered veggie burgers along with baked French-fries, and Satya brought cooked and spiced beans grown in her garden. That’s love!

 

I can go on.

 

July 25^th is a date I always remember because I have a brother and sister who, by providence sat together in my mother’s tummy for nine months. Yes, indeed this set of twins, Paul and Pauline, had a birthday today. Every time that us siblings honour the day of our hatching, we celebrate by talking, praising and joking via zoom.

 

I took a few minutes to reciprocate my love with them by just saying what I think of them. Paul is steady, loyal; a real family man, and is jovial and optimistic. Pauline is a sweetheart, a beautiful woman and like a lotus; something you can admire and want to protect.

 

So far, the hour that we were online we were praising and sending a lot of kisses through our phones because, as siblings, we really do love each other. That is what Krishna teaches — love.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

 

Leading to the Latte

 

Since the early hours of the day, they were forecasting a rain storm and I was encouraging the boys, including those who came to ‘Monk for a Weekend’, to get out there before the raging rains came. Well, they made it to High Park, to be more specific, for chanting.

 

Nick, who lives in that area of town, warned “It’s getting real dark here.” The clouds are thick. So luckily the team made it and, for the most part, evaded the rains that came later.

 

I was the jealous one. I’m just not fit enough to get around. However, I can say with pride that by the end of the day, the fourth day since surgery, I can walk and without the crutches. Of course, I can’t get too overconfident. But it was Madhava and Gabriel, who were watching me making my rounds about the circular decaffeinated coffee table, crutch free, hooray! Hare!

 

It was something to celebrate, which we did, with some adaptogenic elixir; a powdery turmeric ashwagandha mixed into almond milk. Lovely! Madhava kindly went to the store to acquire the almond substance and the intake of that extraordinary latte, Indian superfood, marks the end of his day. Mine was to linger on until I got tired.

 

The final real appearance of a serious rain happened quite late and it helped to soothe a wild mind. Summer rains can be magical as long as they have a way to drain and do not flood the earth. In doing the day’s inventory I can say I had lots of visitors on a one-to-one basis. “All good, man”, someone from Jamaica may say. I slept and woke up to the sight of wet streets.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

243 Avenue Rd.

 

Accepting Visitors

 

I am accepting visitors, masked of course, and one of them was a pleasant Dr. Juta who happened to be my family physician. He rather surprised me when he told me he moves between nursing homes and that, in the not so far past, he lived in Belle River, near my stomping grounds in Ontario’s Southwest. Also, he is one of those outstanding, soft-spoken but hard, self-driven professionals that come out of South Africa; where current political struggles prevail.

 

Dr. Juta took off the surgical dressing of my left knee to offer a new, reincarnated attire of gauze bandage. What was revealed, to my eyes and the eyes of my physio assistant, was the cut line of my surgery and the staples holding it together; not the prettiest sight.

 

I relayed to the good doctor my experience during surgery. “When you enter the hospital, from the rear on Murray Street, due to construction, you see some scaffolding and other related renovations going on. I went inside for a three-hour procedural wait and then came the moment for the critical cut. I was awake most of the time and noticed the sound, of what seemed to be sledgehammers and chainsaws, and I wondered that these sounds are particularly close by and loud enough.

 

Reason entered and I figured it out, “Wait a minute, that noise is closer than I thought. That is the surgeon working on me, cutting through my bone.” I was numbed — frozen — from spine to toe so I couldn’t feel anything. I had to calm myself knowing I’m in good hands and that Krishna is watching over me.

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km (but many kilometers/miles covered is on my mind)

 

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto

 

Smallness is Greatness

 

Bhagavad-Gita 10.7 and 10.8 offer a strong message of realizing our true position in this world; I am small and everything else collectively (God) is big. The moment this thought awakens in us then weare big — MAHATMA. This understanding of my smallness, compared to the greatness of all else, compels me to act in humility and devotion.

 

There’s something very attractive about humility. It means you are willing to learn, be on an adventure and ultimately crush the ego.

 

I would like to say that it is blissful to be in the presence of cooperative, modest-like people. My physiotherapist is someone by the name of Paramahamsa. He is 32 (looks 20) but is just the nicest individual getting me through this rehabilitation of the knee. I trust him as he pays attention to detail with his therapeutic approaches. He is taking me through a good regimen of exercise designed for a new-knee person. He is seeing to my regulated eating and the painkillers to be consumed.

 

All is going well with the healing process. Part of healing and feeling good emanates from discussing topics such as the ones raised above. 10.7 and 10.8 from The Gita are an upliftment and, despite the occurring grogginess I’m experiencing, I still decided to conduct a Zoom class on the subject of “My Smallness is Actually Greatness.”

 

May the Source be with you!

0 km

 

As Gaudiya Vaishnavas, our main aim during ekadasi is to decrease bodily demands so we can spend more time in seva, especially hearing and chanting about the Lord.

It’s recommended to chant extra rounds and stay up all night chanting and hearing the Lord’s glories. It is also auspicious to donate to Vaishnavas and Lord Krishna’s service on ekadasi and we invite our readers to consider this Kamika ekadasi to donate towards either the new Pankajanghri Das Seva Campaign to complete Lord Nrsimha’s Wing in the TOVP, or sponsor an abhisheka for the Welcome Ceremony of Srila Prabhupada’s new murti to the TOVP in October. You can also make a pledge payment towards your TOVP donation pledge.

Below are links to both campaign pages and to make a pledge payment on the TOVP website:

Prabhupada Murti Abhisheka and Welcome Ceremony
Pankajanghri Das Seva
Pledge Payments (Pledge Payments for Indian residents)

The Glories of Kamika Ekadasi

From the Brahma-vaivarta Purana

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Story of Kamika Ekadasi

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

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

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

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

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

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

Hare Krishna dear devotees, we would like to invite you to Online Home Deity Dressing Course which is organized by Mayapur Academy in collaboration with IDWM. Everyone can learn different styles of dressing – Gaura Nitai – Radha Krishna – Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra @ home.   More details on attached poster Your servants, Mayapur […]

The post Deity Dressing Course – ISKCON Mayapur Academy appeared first on Mayapur.com.

By ISKCON Gainesville

I’d like to you all honor and praise to my elders and my ancestors that came before me that allowed me to participate with you today. um and I’m just going to tell a couple quick anecdotes about um what the Krishna community has meant to me and what it’s meant to Gainesville. I think at large when I grew up in Gainesville. I moved here between my fifth and sixth-grade year and when I got to be a little bit older in high school, I attended Gainesville High School, one of our highlights so we could feel like a little bit older and a little bit wiser and more connected. We had days off at at at Gainesville High School. The thing that we always make sure we did was come down to the plaza, the Americas and have lunch with the Krishnas and that was that I thought it was such that we look forward to it. We celebrated it and we really felt like we were part of a much larger global community. I then ended up attending the University of Florida actually a couple times and I was down here being nourished both physically and spiritually. most days of the week. Continue reading "The speech of the mayor of Gainesville Florida for the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Gainesville
→ Dandavats"

By ISKCON Gainesvill

Thank you Bob (Brahmatirtha). It really is a delight to join you all and Mayor Poe in celebrating 50 years of the Hare Krishnas in our community of Gainesville and 50 years here at the University of Florida and 50 years here on the plaza. I understand indeed that nearly 3 million meals have been served here at the University of Florida by you all brothers and sisters in the Hare Krishna and I wanted to say that universities have traditions that their alumni remember, we have mister Tots which is an important tradition at the University of Florida for about 50 years but we also have, as you have heard from Mayor Poe and you all know the tradition of the Krishna Lunch which indeed has nourished bodies as well as souls nearly 3 million meals that have span many university presidents and generations after generations of University of Florida graduates. Continue reading "The speech of the President of the University of Florida for the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s visit to Gainesville
→ Dandavats"

Taking advantage of the newest technology in book reading, the TOVP website has launched the beginnings of our digital Flipbook Collection. A digital flipbook is an online book, magazine or other multi-paged publication that turns pages manually and, depending on the service used, offers a variety of related services to the reader.

The TOVP Flipbook Collection consists of various promotional and Mayapur related publications, as well as TOVP calendars for the current year. We are using the best flipbook service in the world to create digital books with various helpful features. These features include turning the pages with realistic sounds, the ability to share the book link via text, email, social media, etc., downloadability, printability, adding the link to your computer Bookmarks for storage, a Notes feature to add notes to individual pages and more.

Please proceed to Flipbook Collection page and enjoy reading the current books, utilize the calendar, and share with others.

Hare Krishna.

 

TOVP NEWS AND UPDATES – STAY IN TOUCH

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

Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

Date:1st Aug 2021

Day: Sunday

Time: 11 am to 12 noon

Topic: "How the devatas are both one and different from Krishna"

Speaker: HG Chitanya Charan das

Link to join the class from your desktop or laptop:

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

HG Chitanya Charan das

Chaitanya Charan is a monk, mentor and spiritual author. He has done his Electronics & Telecommunications Engineering from the Government College of Engineering, Pune. He subsequently served as a software engineer in a prominent multinational software corporation. He also secured 2350 out of 2400 in GRE, gaining the top rank in Maharashtra.

Seeing the prevalent problems of stress, depression, addiction and overall misdirection – all caused by a lack of spirituality – he felt inspired to dedicate his life to the cause of sharing the spiritual wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita under the aegis of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness).

He travels all over the world from Australia to America, giving talks on spiritual subjects in universities such as Princeton, Harvard, Stanford and Cambridge and companies such as Intel, Google, Amazon and Microsoft. See Chaitanya Charan’s talks across the world

He is the author of the world’s only Gita-daily feature, wherein he writes daily a 300-word inspirational reflection on a verse from the Bhagavad- Gita. Till now he has written over seventeen hundred Gita meditations that are posted on www.gitadaily.com and are read through daily feeds by thousands from all over the world. He also answers questions by seekers on his site www.thespiritualscientist.com, where his over three thousand five hundred audio answers and several hundred articles are available.

His articles have been published in many national newspapers including Indian Express, Economic Times and Times of India in the Speaking Tree column. His writings in English have been translated into several foreign languages including German, Chinese and Romanian and several Indian languages including Kannada, Telgu, Bengali, Hindi and Marathi.

He is a member of ISKCON’s leading intellectual body, the Shastric Advisory Council, and is the associate-editor of ISKCON’s global magazine, Back to Godhead.

He has authored several wonderful books

ISKCON Scarborough

3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,

Scarborough, Ontario,

Canada, M1V4C7

Website: www.iskconscarborough.org

Email:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

• 

• 

Shri Gopal Bhatta Goswami was the son of Vyenkatta Bhatta, a brahmana resident of Shri Rangam, who was initiated in the Shri Sampradaya.

In the year 1511, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at the house of Vyenkatta Bhatta. Vyenkatta Bhatta lived with his two brothers, Prabodananda Saraswati and Trimalla Bhatta. At that time, Shri Prabodhananda Saraswati was a tridandi sannyasi of the Ramanuja Sampradaya and Vyenkatta Bhatta and Trimalla Bhatta were also Vaishnavas in the Ramanuja Sampradaya.

Vyenkatta’s son was Gopala Bhatta and when Lord Chaitanya visited, he was only a child. When the little boy offered his respects at the feet of Shri Chaitanya, the Lord picked him up and held him on his lap, affectionately embracing the boy.  Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to call the boy and give him the remnants of his prasadam. By giving him his prasada in this manner, he was blessing Gopal Bhatta Acharya to become a great acharya in the future.

Within a short time, Shri Gopal Bhatta Goswami learned Sanskrit grammar, poetry, rhetoric and became expert in all the scriptures, beginning with the Vedanta sutra.  His uncle, Shripad Prabodhananda Saraswati instructed him extensively in the different bhakti-shastras. His scholarship was unparalleled. 

After he had been blessed by having darshan of the lotus feet of Shri Gauranga, Gopal Bhatta Goswami’s mind was always absorbed in thoughts of the Lord’s lotus feet. He began thinking, “When will I again obtain a vision of the Lord?”  Day and night he posed this question in his mind and could think of nothing else. And yet, he thought, “I cannot just give up my aging father and mother and go away.” 

In this way, some time went by.  At length his mother and father arrived at their final days. They called Gopal Bhatta to their side and said, “Boy, after we pass away, you must go to Vrindavana and take shelter of the lotus feet of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.” Taking the order of his mother and father on his head, Gopala Bhatta went to Vrindvana, always remembering the lotus feet of Mahaprabhu.

After receiving initiation from Sri Prabodhananda Sarasvati, Gopala Bhatta came to Vrndavana and became a dear friend of Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis. He did bhajana in Vrndavana for forty-five years, mostly at Radha-kunda.

On pilgrimage he obtained twelve Salagrama silas. Later the Damodara sila manifested Himself as the beautiful Radha Ramana Deity. Since 1542, Radha Ramanaji has been worshiped with pure devotion following precise sastric rituals.

 Lord Caitanya ordered Gopala Bhatta to write a book to check the spread of pseudo-loving rasas and negligence to vaidhi bhakti. In corroboration with Sri Sanatana Gosvami he compiled the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, the authorised book explaining the ritual and devotional practices of the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya. He also wrote Sat-kriya-dipika and the outline for Sri Jiva Gosvami’s Sat Sandarbhas.       

He eternally serves Srimati Radharani as one of Her asta manjaris, Guna-manjari. His samadhi is within Radha Ramanaji’s temple compound behind the appearance place of the Deity. Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami initiated Gopinatha (Pujari Gosvami), a lifelong brahmacari who served Radha Ramanaji for his whole life. Gopala Bhatta Gosvami initiated Srinivasa Acarya and many other stalwart Vaisnavas.

• 

• 

Today we had the extreme good fortune to visit the prestigious Vrindavan Research Institute where there are more than 32,000 Gaudiya Vaisnava scriptures, including many original writings of Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Jiva Goswami, Srila Sanatana Goswami and Srila Narottam das Thakur. In fact, many of their writings are unknown and yet unpublished. A number of these scriptures had been kept for centuries in the Radha Damodar Temple in Vrindavan and were donated to the institute over 60 years ago. I could not believe my eyes when I was shown Srila Rupa Goswami’s original handwritten Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu and Srila Narottam das Thakur’s handwritten Prarthana. Touched by the graciousness of the persons in charge, I offered to help in the restoration and maintenance of these sacred scriptures so dear to our hearts.

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=indradyumna&set=a.10220102280930244

 

 

 

 

Today I thought to read a verse and purport about him from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Branches of the Caitanya Tree”:

TEXT 105

sri gopala bhatta eka sakha sarvottama
rupa-sanatana-sange yanra prema-alapana

TRANSLATION

Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches of the tree. He always engaged in discourses about love of Godhead in the company of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was the son of Venkata Bhatta, a resident of Sri Rangam. Gopala Bhatta formerly belonged to the disciplic succession of the Ramanuja-sampradaya but later became part of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. In the year 1433 Sakabda (A.D. 1511), when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was touring South India, He stayed for four months during the period of Caturmasya at the house of Venkata Bhatta, who then got the opportunity to serve the Lord to his heart’s content. Gopala Bhatta also got the opportunity to serve the Lord at this time. Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was later initiated by his uncle, the great sannyasi Prabodhananda Sarasvati. Both the father and the mother of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami were extremely fortunate, for they dedicated their entire lives to the service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They allowed Gopala Bhatta Gosvami to go to Vrndavana, and they gave up their lives thinking of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Lord Caitanya was later informed that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami had gone to Vrndavana and met Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami, He was very pleased, and He advised Sri Rupa and Sanatana to accept Gopala Bhatta Gosvami as their younger brother and take care of him. Sri Sanatana Gosvami, out of his great affection for Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, compiled the Vaisnava smrti named Hari-bhakti-vilasa and published it under his name. Under the instruction of Srila Rupa and Sanatana, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami installed one of the seven principal Deities of Vrndavana, the Radharamana Deity. The sevaits (priests) of the Radharamana temple belong to the Gaudiya-sampradaya.

COMMENT

Actually, one of the families entrusted with the Deity service at the Radha-ramana Mandir has a history of relations with the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Visvambhara Gosvami’s father or grandfather had relations with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the family maintained relations with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and then Visvambhara Gosvami had very friendly relations with Srila Prabhupada. And he spoke very nicely about Srila Prabhupada. Now Visvambhara Gosvami’s son Padmanabha Gosvami is also very favorable to ISKCON. In fact, ISKCON devotees often honor prasada at his home at the Radha-ramana Mandir. When I took prasada there with His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami, Padmanabha Gosvami showed us a letter that Srila Prabhupada had written to his father, Visvambhara Gosvami, about how all Vaishnavas should cooperate. So, not only does the Radha-ramana temple belong to the Gaudiya-sampradaya, but at least some of the sevaits have had close relations with the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

PURPORT (concluded)

When Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami took permission from all the Vaisnavas before writing Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami also gave him his blessings, but he requested him not to mention his name in the book. Therefore Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has mentioned Gopala Bhatta Gosvami only very cautiously in one or two passages of the Caitanya-caritamrta. Srila Jiva Gosvami has written in the beginning of his Tattva-sandarbha, “A devotee from southern India who was born of a brahmana family and was a very intimate friend of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami has written a book that he has not compiled chronologically. Therefore I, a tiny living entity known as jiva, am trying to assort the events of the book chronologically, consulting the direction of great personalities like Madhvacarya, Sridhara Svami, Ramanujacarya, and other senior Vaisnavas in the disciplic succession.” In the beginning of the Bhagavat-sandarbha there are similar statements by Srila Jiva Gosvami. Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami compiled a book called Sat-kriya-sara-dipika, edited the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, wrote a foreword to the Sat-sandarbha and a commentary on the Krsna-karnamrta, and installed the Radharamana Deity in Vrndavana. In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (184) it is mentioned that his previous name in the pastimes of Lord Krsna was Ananga-manjari. Sometimes he is also said to have been an incarnation of Guna-manjari. Srinivasa Acarya and Gopinatha Pujari were two of his disciples.

COMMENT

Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami ki jaya!

One story about Gopala Bhatta Gosvami is that on the eve of Nrsimha-caturdasi all the other Gosvamis and Vaishnavas in Vrindavan were preparing to worship their Deities and hold festivals. Gopala Bhatta Gosvami had only a salagrama-sila; he didn’t have a Deity with arms and legs and a body that he could dress and decorate. So he was feeling deprived of the opportunity to serve like the other devotees who had Deities they could serve in these ways. And out of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s strong desire, a salagrama-sila became manifest in the form of Radha-ramana. Radha-ramana is considered the most beautiful Deity of Krishna. He is the one original Deity of the Gosvamis that has remained in Vrindavan, while the others had to be taken elsewhere for fear of the Muslim invaders. And near the temple of Radha-ramana in Vrindavan is the samadhi of Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami.

Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s uncle and siksa-guru was Prabodhananda Sarasvati. His samadhi is also located in Vrindavan, just off the parikrama path near Kaliya-ghata, quite near our Krishna-Balaram Mandir. So, often when we go on parikrama down the path near the Yamuna, we visit Prabodhananda Sarasvati’s samadhi and bhajana-kutira. And then we proceed to Srila Sanatana Gosvami’s samadhi. Srila Sanatana Gosvami was the most senior of the Gosvamis and was also a close associate and instructor of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. In fact, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami worked with Sanatana Gosvami to produce the great treatise Hari-bhakti-vilasa.

I feel that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami has been especially merciful to me on two occasions. On one, I visited his bhajana-kutira at Sanketa, a place between Nandagrama and Varsana where Radha and Krishna used to meet and sometimes perform rasa-lila. Gopala Bhatta would sit and chant underground in a deep cavern accessible only through a long, narrow passage. At the end of the passage was a somewhat roomier place where Gopala Bhatta used to chant, now marked as his bhajana-sthala. I remember going there with Tamal Krishna Goswami and others on a very hot day and struggling to crawl through the passage to the bhajana-sthala. It was difficult, but when I finally reached there, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was very merciful: he allowed me to chant with a glimpse of taste. And after all the devotees emerged from the cavern, I stole back in. I crawled back to Gopala Bhatta’s lotus feet, and I sat there chanting. I will never forget his mercy to me there, and I pray that he will enable me to chant with relish and love.

On the other occasion, during Kartik of 1999, shortly before my surgery, I visited Gopala Bhatta’s samadhi near the Radha-ramana Mandir. We arrived just after raja-bhoga-arati, and the pujari was closing the doors to the samadhi-mandira. But he was kind enough to open them for us and allow us darshan of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. He gave us some flowers and caranamrta and invited us to stay for prasada. Thus our small party, along with some local sadhus, honored Gopala Bhatta’s maha-maha-prasadam with great relish, and we even stayed to take a little rest before we continued on our way, filled with bliss. So, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami is very kind.

 Years later, when some of my disciples from Bombay went to Vrindavan on pilgrimage, they visited the samadhi. They told the pujaris about me, how my health no longer allowed me to visit Vraja, and asked for some prasada for me. And one of the pujaris kindly gave them a piece of cloth from the samadhi. It is very special. Now, twice a year, once on Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s appearance day and once on his disappearance day, we bring it out and touch it. So now we shall pass it around and touch it to our heads and to our hearts—and pray to Gopala Bhatta Gosvami for his sublime mercy.

Thank you.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on  July 31, 2002, Carpinteria, California]

 

Source: GORA Research 

GORA গোରା Gaudiya Odiya Research 

GORA is Madhavananda Das’ offering to Srila Prabhupada and Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja who was a lover of rare Gaudiya Odiya literature and wanted to begin a Vaishnava university in Odisha. This project is also due to the inspiration and blessings from the learned professor and devotee Sripad Fakir Mohan Das who wanted to open a research center in Odisha to preserve rare Odiya literature and requested Madhavananda to assist him. Fakir Mohan Prabhu dedicated his life to searching out, preserving, and publishing these rare books. It is our hope that this endeavor will please these personalities. We pray for their blessings and the blessings of all the dear devotees of Jagannath, Gopinath, and Gaudiya-Odiyanath Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

 This project is intended to be a resource for scholars, devotees, and researchers and our slogan is: Preserve, Publish, Practice.

To support please visit: gofundme

Source: Fanna-Fi-Allah

The fourth purpose of ISKCON: "To teach and encourage the Samkirtan movement
congregational chanting of the holy name of God as revealed in the
teachings of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

Lives of Service is an ISKCON News interview series that recreates the feel of sitting down for a chat at the Sunday Feast with an old friend or a devotee you’d like to get to know. Told in their own words, it’s an insightful, inspiring, lighthearted, and at times humorous look at their stories and […]

The post Lives of Service: The Kalasamvara Das Interview appeared first on ISKCON News.

Kalasamvara Das is one of the most joyful, ecstatic and dedicated devotees we’ve had the fortune to speak to. We hope you enjoy this chat with him!