Thoughts on April Fools’ Day
Giriraj Swami

April Fools’ Day is celebrated yearly on April 1, and today I thought of Srila Prabhupada’s instruction that we remain fools before the spiritual master, as stated in a room conversation in Bombay, August 16, 1976.

A devotee asked, “Even nitya-siddha has guru . . . Even the liberated soul, nitya-siddha?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Liberated soul never says that ‘I am liberated.’ As soon as he says ‘liberated,’ he’s a rascal. A liberated soul will never say that ‘I am liberated.’ That is liberation. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He is God—guru more murkha dekhi’ karila sasan [Cc Adi 7.71]: ‘My Guru Maharaja saw Me fool number one, and he has chastised Me.’ He’s God. This is the example. If one remains always a servant, everlastingly, of guru, then he is liberated. And as soon as he thinks that he is liberated, he’s a rascal. That is the teaching of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Guru more murkha dekhi’. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is murkha? Why He is posing Himself that murkha, ‘I am fool number one’? That means that is liberation. You must be ready always to be chastised by guru. Then he’s liberated. And as soon as he thinks that ‘I am beyond this chastisement. I am liberated,’ he’s a rascal. Why Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says guru more murkha dekhi’ karila sasan? This is sahajiya-vada, thinking, ‘Oh, I have become liberated. I don’t require any direction of my guru. I’m liberated.’ Then he’s rascal. . . . So better remain a foolish person perpetually to be directed by Guru Maharaja. That is perfection.”

I pray to be directed by Srila Prabhupada eternally, as his everlastingly humble servant, or servants’ servants’ servant.

Hare Krishna.

Your servant,
Giriraj Swami

TOVP Website Launches in Over 70 Languages
- TOVP.org

With the help of the most developed translation technology and a few website plugins, the TOVP is launching its website in over 70 languages to expand our viewership Internationally.

The TOVP website administrator has managed to integrate the website system with state-of-the-art translation software through a company that provides plugins with numerous features for this purpose. This will expand our readership considerably and also allow for more fundraising opportunities that were never before possible. And, of course, when the TOVP opens people from every corner of the earth will be able to visit the website for more information about this historic, world-changing project.

Go to www.tovp.org and look for the translation tab on the lower left-hand corner of the page, and select your language of choice.

  Please note that as this is an automatic machine translation there may be some inaccuracies in some translations.

 

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Why I Decided that Getting Vaccinated Against Covid-19 Was the Right Choice for Me
→ Dandavats

By Jayadvaita Swami

But now we’re seeing widespread evidence of a third result: so-called long-tail or long-haul COVID, in which one recovers from the disease but suffers side effects that can be seriously troublesome or debilitating and may last for no one knows how many months or years. I’m close with several devotees thus afflicted. Protection against long-haul COVID seemed to me to outweigh the uncertainties and the small inconvenience of the vaccination. And so I’ve had my two jabs. And the rest is up to Krishna. Continue reading "Why I Decided that Getting Vaccinated Against Covid-19 Was the Right Choice for Me
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Madhurastakam – Easthampton Mellows 2021 (musical video)
→ Dandavats



Hare Krishna! We hope you enjoy our humble offering of love and devotion. The Madhurastakam, often called the Song of Sweetness, is a beautiful poem written in the 15th or 16th century- an ode to the sweetness of Lord Krishna. Many thanks to the beautiful, generous, and talented musicians who gave freely of their time to this project. And a special thank you to Matthew Andrews who transliterated the original Sanskirt and wrote the poem he performs in the video based upon it.

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Cure of Souls in Vaishnava communities (audio)
→ Dandavats

By Ravindra Svarupa Dasa

“The Cure of Souls in Vaishnava Communities,” at the Vaishnava Institute for Higher Education in Vrindavana, India. " Then we come to the term “isolation.” “A term used in this book to denote an inner attitude or state of mind characterized by the sense of estrangement from those with whom the individual seeks identification. We have explained it as due to the presence within the individual of instinctual tendencies out of harmony with the fellowship to which he aspires and which he is unable either to renounce or control or to acknowledge without fear of condemnation.” So that’s what he sees as the central problem that one has to deal with Continue reading "Cure of Souls in Vaishnava communities (audio)
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Festival of Jagannatha Misra
→ Ramai Swami

The Festival of Jagannath Mishra is an observance of the Jata karma samskara for baby Nimai (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu). Following the fast for Gaura Purnima, which is broken upon the rising of the moon, the next day is held for feasting. On Jagannath Mishra festival day, the devotees meditate upon the Jata karman ceremony. The festival is also known as Anandotsava amongst the Gaudiya Matha devotees.

Srila Jagannath Mishra

Jagannath Mishra was born in the village of South Dhaka in Sylhet (Sylhet). His grandfather, Madhu Mishra, had four sons: Upendra, Rangada, Kirtida, and Kirtivasa. His father and mother, Upendra Mishra and Kalavati, had seven sons: Kamsari, Paramananda, Padmanabha, Sarveshvara, Jagannath Mishra, Janardana and Trailokyanath. (Prema-vilasa, 24). According to the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika, Upendra was Krishna’s grandfather, the cowherd Parjanya, while Jagannath was Nanda Maharaj in Krishna’s Vraja pastimes (Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 37). Nanda or Jagannath were, in Krishna’s various appearances, Kashyapa, Dasharath, Sutapa and Vasudeva.

pura yashoda-vrajarajanandau
vrindavane premarasakarau yau
shaci-Jagannath-purandarabhidhau
babhuvatus tau na ca samshayo’tra
amu avishatam eva devavaditikashyapau
shrikaushalya-dasharathau tatha shriprishni-tatpati

The king of Vraja has become Chaitanya’s father, Jagannath; the queen of Vraja is his mother Sachi. The son of Nanda is Chaitanya Gosai, and Baladeva is his brother Nityananda.
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.17.294-295).

Holy Name just penetrates
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 5 March 2021, Goloka Dhama, Abentheuer, Germany, Preparing For Gaura Purnima Lecture)

The soul is buried in layers of consciousness but the Holy Name just penetrates!

The soul is deeply buried in layers of consciousness. It is like being covered in blankets. Layers of mental energy, intellectual energy, sensual energy and these are like the blankets that cover us. So the soul is in a dormant state and all the blankets are on top. But the Holy Name just penetrates it. Some people walk around with lots of blankets, so the soul is penetrating only a little, not so deep into their consciousness but it has some effect. That is the nature of the chanting of the Holy Name!

Check out the full lecture below on our YouTube channel:

The article " Holy Name just penetrates " was published on KKSBlog.

TOVP Book of the Week #6
- TOVP.org

Mysteries of the Sacred Universe

By Sadaputa Dasa (Dr. Richard L. Thompson)

From the flat earth to the sun’s chariot — traditional spiritual texts seem wedded to outmoded cosmologies that show, at best, the scientific limitations of their authors.

The Bhagavata Purana, one of the classical scriptures of Hinduism, seems, at first glance, to be no exception. However, a closer examination of this text reveals unexpected depths of knowledge in ancient cosmology. Mysteries of the Sacred Universe shows that the cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana is a sophisticated system, with multiple levels of meaning that encode at least four different astronomical, geographical, and spiritual world models. By viewing the text in the light of modern astronomy, Richard Thompson shows how ancient scientists expressed exact knowledge in apparently mythological terms. Comparison with the ancient traditions of Egypt and the Near East shows early cultural connections between India and these regions — including a surprisingly advanced science.

Author: Sadaputa Dasa (Dr. Richard L. Thompson)
Published: December 28, 2017
Book size: 374 pages
Formats: Kindle, Paperback

 
BUY ON AMAZON  

  Residents of India will have to search for this book on www.amazon.in

WSN February 2021 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats

By Vijaya Das

A little surprise coming out of India: Angul, a small city north of Jaganatha Puri, was the No. 1 temple worldwide in the Medium Category in February, with 3,065 book points. I had never heard of Angul. Another interesting thing was that all the top-ten temples in the Small Category each did more book points than all of the top-ten temples in the Medium Category. The small temples are more fired up than the medium temples. Continue reading "WSN February 2021 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

WSN February 2021 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats

By Vijaya Das

A little surprise coming out of India: Angul, a small city north of Jaganatha Puri, was the No. 1 temple worldwide in the Medium Category in February, with 3,065 book points. I had never heard of Angul. Another interesting thing was that all the top-ten temples in the Small Category each did more book points than all of the top-ten temples in the Medium Category. The small temples are more fired up than the medium temples. Continue reading "WSN February 2021 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

The Worlds Largest Vedic Temple – Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
- TOVP.org

This is a short tour of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) hosted by Amogha Lila das with Braja Vilasa das, TOVP Vice Chairman, produced by MayapurTV.com. It is spoken in both English and Hindi.

 

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HG Srutidharma Das Memorial Program: Bhaktivedanta Manor 2021 (video)
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By Bhaktivedanta Manor

HG Srutidharma Das Memorial Program - Bhaktivedanta Manor celebrates the life and selfless service of His Grace Srutidharma Das. For forty years he was a major pillar in the activities and achievements of Bhaktivedanta Manor, a genuinely caring and affectionate devotee, a spiritual teacher to thousands, and a sadhu who united all in service to Krishna, the Lord of his life. Continue reading "HG Srutidharma Das Memorial Program: Bhaktivedanta Manor 2021 (video)
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COMPASSION TUESDAY (video)
→ Dandavats



Sacinandana Swami, a spiritual teacher and monk in the Bhakti tradition, is known for his significant contribution to the practice of meditation and kirtan. Dedicated to the process of inner transformation, he has spent fifty years in pursuit of genuine spiritual experiences.

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(This post has been viewed 337 times so far)

Can scripture be understood in multiple ways? (video)
→ Dandavats

By The Monk's Podcast

I have found that it's impossible to put Srila Prabhupada in a box, he's like a multi-faceted jewel and everyone appreciates that jewel from a different side and their appreciation of Prabhupada is true, it's genuine, it's not actually possible it's like Krishna entering the assembly of the wrestling arena, each one sees Krishna in a different light in a different way, some as a beautiful little boy, some as a powerful king and ruler so people appreciate Srila Prabhupada in different ways and their appreciations are not wrong. Continue reading "Can scripture be understood in multiple ways? (video)
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Spiritually Empowered Mothers in Vedic Literature
→ Dandavats

By Syamanandini dasi

In another epic scripture known as the Ramayana we find Sita devi, the devout wife of Lord Rama and the mother of Lava and Kusha. Sita devi’s many sublime qualities serve us with an exceptional example to follow. Although born and raised in royalty, she voluntarily accepted the austere life of living in the forest in order to serve her husband when he was exiled. Continue reading "Spiritually Empowered Mothers in Vedic Literature
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Krishna as King
→ Dandavats

Hare KrishnaBy Karuna Dharini Devi Dasi

Krishna is no ordinary ruler. Kings or presidents represent what is grand and powerful in this world. Yet even the finest and most awesome personality is only a small indication of the opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His very body is constituted of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Though Krishna as Dvarakadhisha enjoys many sporting battles, He has no one to conquer and nothing to achieve, being always complete in Himself. He always knows exactly what to do in His regal duties in relationship to His citizens, ministers, and soldiers. His brows are never furrowed with the anxiety of diplomatic responsibilities. Though Krishna rules as an adult, He is in fact nava yauvanam, eternally youthful. According to Brihad-bhagavatamrita, by Sanatana Goswami, the king of Dvaraka has “all of the beauty of youth made even sweeter by traces of childlike innocence.” Continue reading "Krishna as King
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ISKCON Mayapur Master Plan Brochure
→ Mayapur.com

Hare Krsna.Dear devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. On the auspicious occasion of Gaura Purnima 2023, Sridham Mayapur is pleased to launch Mayapur Brochure based on ‘Srila Prabhupada’s Vision for Mayapur’. In the pages of this brochure, you will be invited to envision the future of Mayapur Dham with concept […]

The post ISKCON Mayapur Master Plan Brochure appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Mayapur Management Co-Director Structure Re-established
→ Mayapur.com

Dear Mayapur Community Devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! On behalf of the Mayapur Executive Board (MEB), I am very happy to share with you the good news that we have made adjustments in the Mayapur Management structure so as to realign it with the way it was originally set […]

The post Mayapur Management Co-Director Structure Re-established appeared first on Mayapur.com.