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Humans are hardwired for stories. Ancient epics, first oral and later written, have long shaped individuals, cultures, and civilizations. Truly great stories preserve the values, beliefs, and identities of societies, transmit wisdom and moral lessons, and inspire our art and music.  Growing up in the West, I was shaped by stories and characters from the […]

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The Governing Body Commission (GBC) hereby encourages and directs all ISKCON leaders, temples, and communities to arrange special celebrations for the 150th Anniversary of the appearance of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja during the months of February and March 2024. This is an important celebration for ISKCON recognizing the very special and
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Appearing as the nephew of Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis, Sri Jiva Gosvami displayed all the charming features of a mahapurusa (divine person). He had lotus eyes, a high nose and forehead, broad chest, long arms, and a radiant golden body. 

In his boyhood he made a Deity of Krishna-Balarama. Ex­pressing his pure devotion, he would often cry while worshiping Them. After offering clothes, candana, flowers, ornaments, and tasty sweets to Krishna-Balarama he would take some and give maha-prasadam to his playmates. 

From the beginning Jiva showed his kindness to other jivas (living entities). Jiva was so much at­tached to Krishna-Balarama that at bedtime he would embrace his Deities and fall asleep. His parents thought he was only playing. But the villagers rejoiced to see Jiva’s love for Krishna-Balarama.

 In school he quickly mastered Sanskrit grammar, poetry, logic, philosophy. Srimad Bhagavatam gave life to his life. Knshn’d-katha filled him with happiness. No one dared to speak to him about anything but Krishna. 

He toured Navadvipa-dhama with Sri Nityananda Prabhu, studied Sanskrit in Benares, and then resided in Vrndavana. After humbly serving Sri Rupa Gosvami by washing his feet, preparing his manuscripts, and editing his books he received diksa.

After the disappearance of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana Gos-vamis, Sri Jiva Gosvami became the Gaudiya Sampradayacarya to guide all Vaisnavas in Navadvipa, Vrndavana, Jagannatha Puri. 

Although he was the undisputed leader, he always acted as a humble servant of all the jivas. Whenever Bengali Vaisnavas visited Vrndavana he would lovingly receive them, arrange for prasadam and comfortable rooms, an even guide them on Vraja mandala parikrama.

A superexcellent Sanskrit scholar, Sri Jiva Gosvami would compose Sanskrit verses in his mind and write them down without changing anything. Write them down means he used a metal stylus to permanently etch them in palm leaves. 

This inscription method left no room for erasing, editing, rewriting, or running a spell-check. Yet, each verse was a priceless gem of perfect meter, rhythm, poetry, and meaning. He was the greatest philosopher in all of Indian history. Contemporary Sankritists call him the greatest scholar who ever lived.

Sri Jiva Gosvami was the youngest but most prolific writer among the Gosvamis. He wrote an astounding half million Sanskrit verses (about 25 books). His books prove that Sri Caitanya’s philosophy gives the essence of Vedic wisdom and the perfection of religion. Gopala Campu, Sat Sandarbhas, and Had Nama-vyakarana are three of his most famous works. 

The San­darbhas firmly establish the transcendental truths of Srimad Bhagavatam. They also confirm that Lord Sri Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth (svayam bhagavan), the cause of every­thing and the source of all avataras. Anyone who faithfully reads these books will become a devotee of Krishna.

At the request of Acaryarani Jah-nava Devi Thakurani, Sri Jiva Gosvami had Srinivasa Acarya, Narottama Dasa Thakura, Syamananda Prabhu take the Gosvami’s writings from Vrndavana to Bengal. They translated them into Bengali and distributed them throughout Bengal and Orissa. They also preached extensively and initiated hundreds of devotees. 

In 1542, Sri Jiva Gosvami established the worship Sri-Sri Radha-Damodara in Seva Kunja, Vrndavana. His samadhi stands in the temple compound. Sri Jiva Gosvami is Vilasa-manjari in Radha-Damodara’s nitya Vrndavana lila.

All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga! Respected Vaisnavas, All glories to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada! It is with great spiritual joy and reverence that we, the Sarasvata Gaudiya Vaisnava Association (SGVA), announce the grand celebration of the 150th Vyasa-puja of Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya 108 Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, slated
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1. Zonal Update In the zonal report, Malati Devi Dasi shared an inspiring update of the continued development of Krishna Consciousness in different areas of the US Midwest including Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Detroit, amongst others. Highlights included; the commencement of the construction for a grand temple in the greater Columbus area in Ohio, the […]

The post Report of GBC Meeting Highlights – January 10, 2024 appeared first on ISKCON News.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten describes the branches of the tree named Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 1

sri-caitanya-padambhoja-
  madhupebhyo namo namah
kathancid asrayad yesam
  svapi tad-gandha-bhag bhavet

TRANSLATION

Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. If even a doggish nondevotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The example of a dog is very significant in this connection. A dog naturally does not become a devotee at any time. But still it is sometimes found that a dog of a devotee gradually becomes a devotee also. We have actually seen that a dog has no respect even for the tulasi plant. Indeed, a dog is especially inclined to pass urine on the tulasi plant. Therefore the dog is the number one nondevotee. But Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement is so strong that even a doglike nondevotee can gradually become a devotee by the association of a devotee of Lord Caitanya. Srila Sivananda Sena, a great householder devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, attracted a dog on the street while going to Jagannatha Puri. The dog began to follow him and ultimately went to see Caitanya Mahaprabhu and was liberated. Similarly, cats and dogs in the household of Srivasa Thakura were also liberated. Cats and dogs and other animals are not expected to become devotees, but in the association of a pure devotee they are also delivered.

TEXTS 2–6

jaya jaya sri-krsna-caitanya-nityananda
jaya advaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda! All glories to Advaita Prabhu, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by Srivasa!

ei malira-ei vrksera akathya kathana
ebe suna mukhya-sakhara nama-vivarana

The description of Lord Caitanya as the gardener and the tree is inconceivable. Now hear with attention about the branches of this tree.

caitanya-gosanira yata parisada-caya
guru-laghu-bhava tanra na haya niscaya

The associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu were many, but none of them should be considered lower or higher. This cannot be ascertained.

yata yata mahanta kaila tan-sabara ganana
keha karibare nare jyestha-laghu-krama

All the great personalities in the line of Lord Caitanya enumerated these devotees, but they could not distinguish between the greater and the lesser.

ataeva tan-sabare kari’ namaskara
nama-matra kari, dosa na labe amara

I offer my obeisances unto them as a token of respect. I request them not to consider my offenses.

TEXT 7

vande sri-krsna-caitanya-
  premamara-taroh priyan
sakha-rupan bhakta-ganan
  krsna-prema-phala-pradan

I offer my respectful obeisances to all the dear devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the eternal tree of love of Godhead. I offer my respects to all the branches of the tree, the devotees of the Lord who distribute the fruit of love of Krsna.

PURPORT

Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami sets the example of offering obeisances to all the preacher devotees of Lord Caitanya, without distinction as to higher and lower. Unfortunately, at present there are many foolish so-called devotees of Lord Caitanya who make such distinctions. For example, the title “Prabhupada” is offered to a spiritual master, especially to a distinguished spiritual master such as Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, Srila Jiva Gosvami Prabhupada, or Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada. When our disciples similarly wanted to address their spiritual master as Prabhupada, some foolish people became envious. Not considering the propaganda work of the Hare Krsna movement, simply because these disciples addressed their spiritual master as Prabhupada, they became so envious that they formed a faction with other such envious persons just to minimize the value of the Krsna consciousness movement. To chastise such fools, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami very frankly says, keha karibare nare jyestha-laghu-krama. Anyone who is a bona fide preacher of the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu must be respectful to the real devotees of Lord Caitanya; one should not be envious, considering one preacher to be very great and another to be very lowly. This is a material distinction and has no place on the platform of spiritual activities. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami therefore offers equal respect to all the preachers of the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who are compared to the branches of the tree. ISKCON is one of these branches, and it should therefore be respected by all sincere devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

Even among Gaudiya Vaishnavas, we must be careful to avoid offenses. We must respect and recognize the service of all Vaishnavas. As Srila Prabhupada once said, if we do not give credit where credit is due, we will become envious.

TEXT 85

tanra madhye rupa-sanatana-bada sakha
anupama, jiva, rajendradi upasakha

TRANSLATION

Among these branches, Rupa and Sanatana were principal. Anupama, Jiva Gosvami and others, headed by Rajendra, were their sub-branches.

PURPORT

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (195) it is said that Srila Jiva Gosvami was formerly Vilasa-manjari gopi. From his very childhood Jiva Gosvami was greatly fond of Srimad-Bhagavatam. He later came to Navadvipa to study Sanskrit, and, following in the footsteps of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, he circumambulated the entire Navadvipa-dhama.

COMMENT

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has described Jiva Gosvami’s Navadvipa parikrama, and this parikrama of Nityananda Prabhu and Jiva Gosvami forms the basis of the Navadvipa parikrama we perform now, under the guidance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

PURPORT (continued)

After visiting Navadvipa-dhama he went to Benares to study Sanskrit under Madhusudana Vacaspati, and after finishing his studies in Benares he went to Vrndavana and took shelter of his uncles, Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana. This is described in Bhakti-ratnakara. As far as our information goes, Srila Jiva Gosvami composed and edited at least twenty-five books. They are all very celebrated, and they are listed as follows: (1) Hari-namamrta-vyakarana, (2) Sutra-malika, (3) Dhatu-sangraha, (4) Krsnarca-dipika, (5) Gopala-virudavali, (6) Rasamrta-sesa, (7) Sri Madhava-mahotsava, (8) Sri Sankalpa-kalpavrksa, (9) Bhavartha-sucaka-campu, (10) Gopala-tapani-tika, (11) a commentary on the Brahma-samhita, (12) a commentary on the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, (13) a commentary on the Ujjvala-nilamani, (14) a commentary on the Yogasara-stava, (15) a commentary on the Gayatri-mantra, as described in the Agni Purana, (16) a description derived from the Padma Purana of the lotus feet of the Lord, (17) a description of the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani, (18) Gopala-campu (in two parts), and (19–25) seven sandharbhas: the Krama-, Tattva-, Bhagavat-, Paramatma-, Krsna-, Bhakti-, and Priti-sandharba. After the disappearance of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami in Vrndavana, Srila Jiva Gosvami became the acarya of all the Vaisnavas in Bengal, Orissa, and the rest of the world, and it is he who used to guide them in devotional service. In Vrndavana he established the Radha-Damodara temple, where, after retirement, we had the opportunity to live from 1962 until 1965, when we decided to come to the United States of America. When Jiva Gosvami was still present, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami compiled his famous Caitanya-caritamrta. Later, Srila Jiva Gosvami inspired Srinivasa Acarya, Narottama dasa Thakura, and Duhkhi Krsnadasa to preach Krsna consciousness in Bengal. Jiva Gosvami was informed that all the manuscripts that had been collected from Vrndavana and sent to Bengal for preaching purposes were plundered near Visnupura in Bengal, but later he received the information that the books had been recovered. Sri Jiva Gosvami awarded the designation Kaviraja to Ramacandra Sena, a disciple of Srinivasa Acarya’s, and to Ramacandra’s younger brother Govinda. While Jiva Gosvami was alive, Srimati Jahnava-devi, the pleasure potency of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, went to Vrndavana with a few devotees. Jiva Gosvami was very kind to the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, the Vaisnavas from Bengal. Whoever went to Vrndavana, he provided with a residence and prasada. His disciple Krsnadasa Adhikari listed all the books of the Gosvamis in his diary.

The sahajiyas level three accusations against Srila Jiva Gosvami. This is certainly not congenial for the execution of devotional service. The first accusation concerns a materialist who was very proud of his reputation as a great Sanskrit scholar and approached Sri Rupa and Sanatana to argue with them about the revealed scriptures. Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, not wanting to waste their time, gave him a written statement that he had defeated them in a debate on the revealed scriptures. Taking this paper, the scholar approached Jiva Gosvami for a similar certificate of defeat but Jiva Gosvami did not agree to give him one. On the contrary, he argued with him regarding the scriptures and defeated him. Certainly it was right for Jiva Gosvami to stop such a dishonest scholar from advertising that he had defeated Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, but due to their illiteracy the sahajiya class referred to this incident to accuse Srila Jiva Gosvami of deviating from the principle of humility. They do not know, however, that humility and meekness are appropriate when one’s own honor is insulted but not when Lord Visnu or the acaryas are blasphemed. In such cases one should not be humble and meek but must act. One should follow the example given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Caitanya says in His Siksastaka (3):

trnad api su-nicena
  taror iva sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena
  kirtaniyah sada hari

“One can chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking himself lower than the straw in the street. One should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.” Nevertheless, when the Lord was informed that Nityananda Prabhu was injured by Jagai and Madhai, He immediately went to the spot, angry like fire, wanting to kill them. Thus Lord Caitanya has explained His verse by the example of His own behavior. One should tolerate insults against oneself, but when there is blasphemy committed against superiors such as other Vaisnavas, one should be neither humble nor meek: one must take proper steps to counteract such blasphemy. This is the duty of the servant of a guru and Vaisnavas. Anyone who understands the principle of eternal servitude to the guru and Vaisnavas will appreciate the action of Sri Jiva Gosvami in connection with the so-called scholar’s victory over his gurus, Srila Rupa and Srila Sanatana Gosvami.

COMMENT

In the olden days in India, Sanskrit scholars tried to show their proficiency by traveling and challenging other scholars and learned persons to debate, and if one was successful, he would be the champion. And if the person could actually go throughout India and defeat all of the other scholars, he was digvijaya, the greatest champion in Sanskrit knowledge or in scriptural arguments. Just like today there is competition among the cricket teams: they go all over the world and face rival cricket teams, and there is fierce competition to win the match. So, in the olden days, there used to be competition to win debates about Sanskrit and shastra.

But Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami were pure devotees of the Lord. They had no desire to waste time arguing and debating, to gain name and fame. So when the scholar came to debate, Rupa and Sanatana said, “You want to claim that you have defeated us? All right, you can tell people.” And they each gave him a certificate: “You have defeated me.” But when the same scholar came to Jiva Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami did not like the fact that the scholar was falsely advertising that he had defeated Rupa and Sanatana. Therefore, to uphold their honor, Jiva Gosvami engaged in debate with the scholar and defeated him.

Sahajiyas disrespect genuine acharyas. Generally, sahajiyas lack knowledge of scriptures. They think that study of scripture and discussion of siddhanta are for lower–class Vaishnavas. They want to hear krsna-lila, talks of the pastimes of Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan, not philosophy. Once, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura visited Radha-kunda, the babajis became excited because they thought that, as an acharya, he would speak about krsna-lila. But to curb the sahajiyas’ pride, he spoke on the Isopanisad—not even the Bhagavad-gita—to establish the fact that the sahajiyas should first learn the basic knowledge of the revealed scriptures.

Some sahajiyas think that initiating disciples is another form of materialism. And they blaspheme genuine acharyas for having many disciples. They cannot understand that the discussion of shastra and the training of disciples are transcendental, and so they blaspheme bona fide spiritual masters like Srila Jiva Gosvami. When Jiva Gosvami defeated the scholar, the sahajiyas thought that he was being proud and wanted to show that he knew more than others. They could not understand his real motives—to defend the names of Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami and to curb the false prestige and false propaganda of the scholar. One of the basic principles of devotional service is that one should not tolerate blasphemy of the Lord or a devotee. Sahajiyas think that being humble means to tolerate all sorts of insults. And personally we should tolerate insult. But when there is insult to the spiritual master or the Vaishnavas or Krishna, we should not tolerate. If we are able, we should defeat the opposing party. The sahajiyas like the verse trnad api su-nicena taror iva sahisnuna / amanina mana-dena kirtaniyah sada harih. But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the author of the verse, Himself showed the example that although for one’s own sake one can be meek and humble and tolerate all sorts of insults, in relation to the spiritual master and the devotees one should not tolerate. Therefore, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to the place where Jagai and Madhai had insulted Nityananda Prabhu ready to kill Jagai and Madhai. And thus He showed the real meaning of trnad api su-nicena.

PURPORT (continued)

Another story fabricated to defame Srila Jiva Gosvami states that when Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami showed him the newly-completed manuscript of Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Jiva Gosvami thought that it would hamper his reputation as a big scholar and therefore threw it in a well. Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami was greatly shocked, according to this story, and he died immediately. Fortunately a copy of the manuscript of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta had been kept by a person named Mukunda, and therefore later it was possible to publish the book. This story is another ignominious example of blasphemy against a guru and Vaisnava. Such a story should never be accepted as authoritative.

 

COMMENT

Mundane people are so envious that they do not hesitate to criticize such a great personality as Srila Jiva Gosvami. They even manufacture stories. Here the story is that Jiva Gosvami was afraid that Sri Caitanya-caritamrta would diminish his reputation as a devotee and scholar and therefore out of envy he threw the manuscript in a well so that the book would be lost. Indirectly, they charge that Jiva Gosvami was responsible for the death of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. Such a claim is absurd—and offensive.

PURPORT (continued)

According to another accusation, Srila Jiva Gosvami did not approve of the principles of the parakiya-rasa of Vraja-dhama and therefore supported svakiya-rasa, showing that Radha and Krsna are eternally married.

COMMENT

Svakiya-rasa means relationship with one’s own wife. And parakiya-rasa means relationship with someone who is not one’s wife, who is either not married at all and thus is under the protection of her parents, or who is married to someone else and thus is under the protection of her husband.

PURPORT (continued)

Actually, when Jiva Gosvami was alive, some of his followers disliked the parakiya-rasa of the gopis. Therefore Srila Jiva Gosvami, for their spiritual benefit, supported svakiya-rasa, for he could understand that sahajiyas would otherwise exploit the parakiya-rasa, as they are actually doing at the present time. Unfortunately, in Vrndavana and Navadvipa it has become fashionable among sahajiyas, in their debauchery, to find an unmarried sexual partner to live with to execute so-called devotional service in parakiya-rasa. Foreseeing this, Srila Jiva Gosvami supported svakiya-rasa, and later all the Vaisnava acaryas also approved of it.

COMMENT

 

 

Once, a man asked Srila Prabhupada, “Krishna enjoyed with the wives of others, so did He not commit adultery?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Everyone and everything is the property of Krishna. Your wife is also Krishna’s property. So, who is committing adultery?” Because all souls belong to Krishna, Krishna’s relationship with them is svakiya.

PURPORT (concluded)

Srila Jiva Gosvami was never opposed to the transcendental parakiya-rasa, nor has any other Vaisnava disapproved of it. Srila Jiva Gosvami strictly followed his predecessor gurus and Vaisnavas, Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, and Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami accepted him as one of his instructor gurus.

COMMENT

If Jiva Gosvami had actually deviated from the line of Rupa and Sanatana, how could Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, who elaborately described radha-krsna-lila in parakiya-rasa, especially in Sri Govinda-lilamrta, have accepted him as siksa-guru? All the acharyas in the line following Rupa Gosvami accept the transcendental parakiya-rasa, and they also accept Srila Jiva Gosvami as siksa-guru. When they accept Srila Jiva Gosvami as siksa-guru, there cannot be any fault or deviation in him. He argued in favor of svakiya-rasa simply to pacify some ignorant disciples who could not appreciate the transcendental parakiya-rasa, and to curb the sahajiyas, who would falsely try to imitate parakiya-rasa and thus go to hell. Jiva Gosvami is faultless, and bona fide followers of Sri Jiva, or of any acharya, will defend the acharya from false accusations. Jiva Gosvami did it for his gurus, Srila Rupa and Sanatana Gosvamis, and here Srila Prabhupada is doing it for Srila Jiva Gosvami.

We too should follow this principle. We should not tolerate blasphemy of the acharyas and pure Vaishnavas; we should defend them to the best of our ability. And if we are not able to defeat the criticism, then at least we should not hear it. We should leave the place.

Hare Krishna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Devotee: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: The spiritual master may not protest, because he is following the principle of humility, but the disciples can. When Sisupala blasphemed Krishna, none of the Pandavas could tolerate the insults, and they were ready to kill him. But Krishna said, “No!” He tolerated. Then finally He Himself killed Sisupala and delivered him. But the Pandavas were bound to become upset, and they were bound to take action.

Devotee: [inaudible]

Giriraj Swami: The associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are in the highest grade. Among devotees in the highest grade we shouldn’t distinguish between big and small in a material way, just as we shouldn’t distinguish between the leaves of the tulasi tree—“That one is big, so it is better” or “This one is small, so it is lesser.” All are the same because they are parts of the tulasi plant. We may distinguish between a tulasi leaf and another type of leaf, which is not sacred like tulasi, but among the tulasi leaves we should not distinguish.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami Srila Jiva Gosvami’s disappearance day, January 14, 1994, Mauritius]

1. Zonal Update In the zonal report, Malati Devi Dasi shared an inspiring update of the continued development of Krishna Consciousness in different areas of the US Midwest including Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Detroit, amongst others. Highlights included; the commencement of the construction for a grand temple in the greater Columbus area in Ohio, the
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Some fifty years ago in Bombay, when I first began to meet people to encourage them to support ISKCON, I was guided by the fourth verse of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Upadesamrta, kindly explained by Srila Prabhupada. It instructed me to reciprocate with the people whom I met in exchanges of love. The more care and affection we gave them, the more they would reciprocate and want to support our cause. And I knew that if they engaged in devotional service, they would enhance their spiritual lives.

dadati pratigrhnati
guhyam akhyati pricchati
bhunkte bhojayate caiva
sad vidhim prithi laksanam

“Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasadam, and offering prasadam are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.”

The same six principles apply today. I’ll examine them in relation to cultivating donors in Krishna consciousness and conclude with some thoughts on fundraising in today’s ISKCON.

Dadati: Giving Gifts

Our greatest gift is the holy name, but because many people are at first unable to accept it, we also give them other gifts. I used to carry maha-prasada and tulasi leaves in a silver box, and I would always bring a Krishna conscious book, cassette, or picture. Back to Godhead subscriptions also encouraged people. Srila Prabhupada had stated that the whole purpose of BTG was to get people to chant Hare Krishna. In Bombay he also suggested that we send a monthly newsletter to members, informing them of our latest developments, “so they do not think we are dead.” So, we developed a regular local publication with news, announcements, advertisements, and our yearly audited accounts.

Our experience was that everyone should receive a BTG and a newsletter. Special gifts were given personally and thoughtfully, and the entire basis of our relationship with the donors was how to encourage them in Krishna consciousness. If we’d had any other motive, donors would have perceived our duplicity and the sublime quality of our relationship would have been spoiled.

Pratigrhnati: Accepting Gifts

In other words, when we engage in dadati, offering gifts, we should not be unduly anxious to engage in pratigrhnati, receiving charity. Rather, we should be convinced that by helping people advance spiritually, Krishna will be pleased. And when Krishna is pleased, others are also pleased—and our mission is successful. Pratigrhnati will follow naturally after the relationship is sufficiently developed along the other five principles of loving exchanges.

In practice, after giving someone a gift, I would never accept any payment or donation on the spot, even if they offered it. Only later, when we needed substantial help for a major project, would I ask. By then they were already eager and glad to help.

In one temple I saw this policy work in a practical way. A new devotee took over as the temple’s guesthouse manager. Instead of charging for the rooms, he focused on caring for the guests and asking for donations at the end of their stay. And the guesthouse revenues went up fourfold.

Bhojayate: Giving Prasada

Srila Prabhupada instructed us to hold Sunday feasts and to make a special effort to invite our friends and members to these and other feasts. When special guests would come in Bombay, I would often sit and talk with them, direct the serving, and see that they were satisfied in every respect. Srila Prabhupada himself personally organized the first Life Member feast in Bombay, and he strictly forbade the members from carrying away their dirty plates. He insisted that the devotees, acting as hosts, should perform all of the services for the members, while the members should simply enjoy as guests.

Whenever Srila Prabhupada had special guests, he would insist that they take full prasada. Sometimes members protested that they could not take prasada in front of Srila Prabhupada, but he always insisted: “No, I will be happy to see you take prasada.”

Srila Prabhupada once said, “If you give a man full prasada, he will do anything for you.” I witnessed an example of this recently at a temple that was still being constructed. Seeing guests going to the prasada hall at 6:00 one evening, I asked a devotee if there was a special program. “No,” he said. Guests came every night for prasada—without being charged, and the devotees had raised half the money for the temple without even asking.

Guhyam akhyati prcchatti: Inquiring About and Explaining Confidential Topics.

While offering gifts and giving prasada we also must explain the confidential topics of Krishna consciousness and give donors a solid philosophical background for further devotional service. When the time comes to engage a person in some particular service, we should present the rationale for the service on the basis of reason and philosophy and then disclose our request in a perfectly straightforward manner. When speaking we should present our philosophy very intelligently, without compromise, but to the understanding of the individuals whom we are addressing. This ability develops with our realization of Krishna consciousness.

Through our conversations we should learn to perceive our friends’ doubts about Krishna consciousness even without their expressing them. Then we can speak in such a way as to remove their doubts. During my training in Bombay, I went with a senior devotee to visit a wealthy man who had promised to donate but later reneged. I had expected the devotee to say, “You promised to give. How can you change your mind?” Instead, he just talked with the man for twenty minutes. Then, almost mystically (to me), the man opened his desk drawer and wrote out his check for Life Membership.

When I first went out on my own and asked a man to become a member, he said, “First I have to ask my brothers.” When I came and reported this to a senior devotee, he told me, “That’s just an excuse. You have to be intelligent enough to understand the person’s doubts and address them without him even bringing them up.”

We may invite our friends many times for prasada, or we may visit them many times with gifts, and then we may feel that we should try to engage them in some particular service. Srila Prabhupada had such stature and potency that he would often disclose his mind at the first meeting. But according to our own ability and to the receptivity of the audience, we may choose to disclose our minds at a later stage.

If the proper cultivation has been done and the philosophical background has been presented nicely, our audience may volunteer to help without our even asking. Once, Srila Prabhupada was preaching to Mr. Ratansinh Rajda, a member of the Indian parliament, and during the discussion Mr. Rajda kept asking Srila Prabhupada how he could help. After some time, Prabhupada mentioned that his disciples were having problems getting proper visas for India, and when he did, Mr. Rajda assured him that the situation would be corrected.

When disclosing our minds about a particular request, we want to remember Srila Prabhupada’s instructions on how ISKCON supporters can engage in dadati. In one of our first Life Member meetings, in Bombay, Srila Prabhupada quoted this verse:

etavaj janma-saphalyam
dehinam iha dehisu
pranair arthar dhiya vaca
sreya-acaranam sada

“It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence, and words.” (SB 10.22.35)

Srila Prabhupada explained to the members that first of all, as individual living parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, it is our duty to give pranair, our life. But if we cannot give our life, at least we should give our wealth, because next to our life we value our wealth most. The combined effort of our intelligence, words, and time produces wealth, so by giving our wealth we automatically give our intelligence, words, and time in a concentrated form. Or, we can say that the entire effort that produced the wealth is purified and spiritualized if we give the wealth to Krishna. Now, when we ask people to give their wealth, as Srila Prabhupada said, “Some may challenge, ‘How can you sell God?’ ” In reply, Prabhupada said, we should quote the Bhagavad-gita (9.27):

yat karosi yad asnasi
yaj juhosi dadasi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kurusva mad arpanam

“Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform—do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.”

“And if you have no wealth?” Prabhupada continued. “Then you can give your intelligence. You can advise the devotees, ‘Approach such-and-such person and he can help.’ In this way you can serve by dhiya, intelligence.

“And if you have no intelligence? Then help by vaca, words. You can request whomever you meet, ‘Please chant Hare Krishna. Please visit the temple.’ ”

In this way Srila Prabhupada explained to the members that they could assist the Krishna consciousness movement by their life, wealth, intelligence, and words.

 

Exchanges of Love

There should be genuine love from the preacher for the member. Love is a big word, I know, but that’s really what it comes down to. There must be genuine care, sympathy, and respect. People in Bombay knew I cared; when there was a death or wedding or other major event, I was always there. One senior devotee taught me that wealthy people are accustomed to people coming to them for their money, so naturally they’re on the defensive. If we do not want them to feel defensive toward us, we must really care for them.

I once approached one of our friends in Bombay for a large donation for Juhu but he was hesitating. Finally I said, “So many people are coming to visit you, but who is thinking of you? They are simply thinking of their own benefit, how they can exploit you, what they can get from you. Perhaps we are the only persons in the world who actually care for your spiritual well-being.” And as soon as he heard these words, he immediately responded, “Yes. I will give.”

Much of Krishna consciousness is based on personal relationships. Thus, it’s generally best if one specific devotee deals with each member. And we must be ready to give ourselves to the members in the way that Srila Prabhupada said: “To make one devotee we have to give seven pints of blood.”

By reciprocating in these exchanges of love with our members, both we and the members will make spiritual advancement. We must simply be concerned for their spiritual well- being, how somehow or other they can be engaged in service to the lotus feet of Krishna. In reply to our sincerity and love, they will certainly respond.

 

Applying the Proper Attitude

Prahlada Maharaja says in Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.9.43, 44):

“My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies, and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.

“I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to the shelter of Your lotus feet.”

Srila Prabhupada said, “When you speak to people and by your speaking they are convinced that by giving to Krishna they will gain and they volunteer some service—that is preaching.” Later I considered that in some cases they may be seeking spiritual benefit, and in other cases they might be hoping for material blessings through pious deeds—or both. People come to Krishna for different reasons. Although we don’t encourage the concept of material results for devotional service, people do come with that mentality, and we engage them too.

Once, through some strategy, I met a big man who had been avoiding us. And when, in a rather smug way, he said, “So, what can I do for you?” I replied, “Nothing! Rather, I have come to do something for you.” The man became even more arrogant and challenged, “What can you do for me?” Eventually, though, he did make a contribution.

When Srila Prabhupada heard this account, he said that the gentleman knew that by giving to us he would benefit. “Otherwise, why should he give? Artificially he denied that he would gain from us. But unless he thinks he will profit, why should he spend? Businessmen always calculate their profit and loss, and they never spend unless they think they will gain.”

Then Prabhupada added, “To preach, you have to be humble.” He always emphasized that one who goes to preach or collect must be humble, and he often quoted Sri Prabodhananda Sarasvati:

dante nidhaya trnakam padayor nipatya
krtva ca kaku-satam etad aham bravimi
he sadhavah sakalam eva vihaya durad
caitanya-candra-carane kurutanuragam

“Taking a straw between my teeth and falling at your feet a hundred times, I humbly submit, ‘O great personality, please give up all mundane knowledge that you have learned and just submit yourself at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.’ ”

Srila Prabhupada said, “If you approach people and say, ‘Everything belongs to Krishna, and I am Krishna’s representative, so give everything to me. Otherwise, you are a thief, and you will be punished,’ they may become angry: ‘What do you mean? I have worked hard for my money. It belongs to me.’ But if you approach them humbly and say, ‘Dear sir, I have come begging at your doorstep. Kindly give some donation for our temple,’ he will respond: ‘Oh, a beggar has come. Let me give him something.’ ”

Although, as Srila Prabhupada said, preaching means that a gentleman becomes so convinced about the value of Krishna consciousness that he willingly volunteers to contribute, and although “there is no question of force,” still, Prabhupada did allow that we may “trick,” or “induce,” them. He told the story of a young student who stubbornly refused to learn arithmetic. So, instead of asking the boy what was 4 + 4, his teacher drew a picture of two cows and asked how many legs the two cows had. Thus, through pictures and stories, she gradually taught the boy all the arithmetical processes. When one of the boy’s friends pointed out, “Hey, the teacher is teaching you arithmetic!” the boy replied, “Arithmetic? I hate arithmetic. No. I will not learn!”

Some persons are so averse to serving Krishna that we have to be very tactful and allow them to engage in devotional service without them thinking they are serving Krishna. Still, they will benefit. In other words, our real task is, somehow or other, to engage people in Krishna’s service and help them to advance in their spiritual lives (yena tena prakarena manah krsne nivesayet).

Through ISKCON, members and donors become part of a spiritual family and get the association of devotees, which is crucial for spiritual development.

 

Life Membership

Since ISKCON’s inception, many donors have become part of ISKCON’s family through Life Membership. In recent years some professional fundraisers have advised us that Life Membership is a good way to start an organization but a bad way to maintain it. I hesitate to think that Life Membership per se is a bad approach, though I agree that it has been misused.

When Srila Prabhupada first introduced Life Membership, Tamal Krishna Goswami pointed out to him that the value of the books we gave the members would eventually exceed the 1,111 rupees members were committing to pay. Prabhupada replied, “The devotees will keep going back to them, and in their lifetimes they will give five or ten times more than the membership subscription.” He also said that we will continue to make new members, so we will always stay ahead. And he emphasized that he had devised the Life Membership program as a means to distribute his books.

In Indore, Srila Prabhupada went to meet an aristocratic man and showed him all of his books. As these were the early days in India and no one else was there to ask the man to become a member, Prabhupada asked himself. When the man said, “Swamiji, we already have these books in our own language,” Prabhupada sat up straight and replied, “I have not come here to sell you some books. I have come begging at your doorstep.” The man immediately understood and agreed to become a member.

From this I learned not only how we have to be humble but also how book distribution is an integral part of Life Membership, and how people will give more based on a relationship than on external benefits.

Understanding the importance of cultivating relationships with donors, when we enrolled Life Member number 1,000 in Bombay, I thought we should stop making new members and should instead concentrate on maintaining the ones we had. Historically it did not work out that way. In many temples, less qualified devotees were enlisted to go out and sell Life Memberships based on benefits such as staying in ISKCON guesthouses. Because there was insufficient training, these devotees looked only to sell memberships, not to maintain the members they made. Thus Life Membership has often turned out to be something different than what Srila Prabhupada envisioned.

It is significant that temples that recruited qualified devotees and trained them to cultivate donors prospered, while those that simply “sold” memberships often struggled. My conviction is that we do have qualified people in our temples, and we can train them to be good preachers who can develop good relationships. Such preachers, as ISKCON Chowpatty has shown, can also come from our congregation.

In short, the principle of care and cultivation is what is truly important.

 

A Golden Opportunity

Since our success in fundraising is so connected to having meaningful relationships with our donors, an opportunity has developed for preachers in the West that I feel deserves mention here.

Parents, naturally, are concerned about their children. This is an important way we can reciprocate with our congregation. In India we used to point out to people, “Although you are Krishna conscious from childhood, you cannot explain Krishna consciousness in a scientific way to your children, to answer their questions and remove their doubts. We can do that for you.” We would also say, “Because your children are interested in the West, and we are from the West, we can help them to understand the defects and dangers of Western civilization.”

Regarding Indian families that have migrated to the West, some devotees have noted a growing generation gap between immigrant parents and their Western-born children. Not only are the parents concerned about how westernized their children are becoming, but it can work the other way as well: the children are having trouble getting their parents to understand them and what they are going through. We can help the parents by helping their children become Krishna conscious: when the children become inspired in Krishna consciousness, the parents feel better. And we can also help the children by helping their parents understand the pressures Western society puts on them and what adjustments they can reasonably make without compromising their spiritual advancement.

In any case, somehow or other, by helping parents with their children—and children with their parents—they will all feel obliged to us.

 

In Conclusion

Each of us has a particular idea of ourself that we cherish within our heart. As we speak, we disclose various aspects of this personality. So, if we hear and appreciate another person’s special qualities, that person will think, “This devotee is very intelligent and has appreciated my true nature.”

A devotee once exclaimed, “Srila Prabhupada, everybody likes you!” And Prabhupada replied, “Yes, because I like everyone.”

Let us remember the way Prabhupada welcomed and encouraged us, in spite of the fact that we came from wretched conditions and were full of bad habits. He patiently heard our trials and tribulations, sympathized with and appreciated us, and tactfully engaged us in the six exchanges of love.

Now we have the opportunity to help other people with their spiritual lives. They can contribute so much. Let us remember our own fallen condition and try to please Srila Prabhupada by caring for our special guests in the same way that he would have cared for them—the same way he cared for us.

Locana Das Thakur was born in 1523 in Kograma, in the Katwa block of Burdwan district. 

His father’s name was Kamalakara Das, his mother’s Sadanandi. Locana Das studied at his maternal grandfather’s house. He displayed devotion for Mahaprabhu from his childhood.

Locana Das was married at a very young age, according to the customs of that epoque. His in-laws’ household was in the village of Amedpura Kakuöa. However, though he had entered the married station, he was extremely renounced and spent all his time discussing Krishna-katha with other devotees of Gauranga.

Lochana Dasa Thakura wrote Chaitanya Mangala which tells many pastimes of Lord Chaitanya not revealed by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura or Krishna Dasa Kaviraja.

He mentions an especially touching conversation Shri Gaurasundara had with Vishnupriya Devi the night before He took sannyasa. Being a talented musician, Lochana Dasa told Mahaprabhu’s pastimes in beautiful poetry filled with fire and rhythm.

Common people could easily understand the divine character of Shri Chaitanya and awaken their religious feelings. As Devotees regularly chant the Vedic epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, Gaudiya Vaishnava’s still wander through Bengal reciting the Chaitanya Mangala.
 
Lochana Dasa Thakura also wrote many songs praising Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shri Nityananda Prabhu, and Gauridasa Pandit. Lochana Dasa stresses that raganuga bhaktas must take shelter of Gadadhara Vrindavanishvari to attain Radha-Govinda prema bhakti.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura used to print and distribute Locana Dasa Thakura’s Sri Chaitanya Mangala. He was very fond of his bhajans.

While singing Parama Karuna Srila Prabhupada would plunge into the ocean of Gauranga prema. Prabhupada wrote an extensive commentary on this bhajana: Bhajo bhajo bhai, Caitanya Nitai, sudrdha visvasa kori …

“Locana Dasa asks everyone, ‘My dear brother, just worship Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda with firm faith and conviction.’ Don’t think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to the desired goal; it will. It is the assurance of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that one will get all perfection by this process. Therefore, one must chant with firm faith and conviction.” His samadhi is in 64 Samadhis Area. 

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/06/29/charity-reddit-mistake-bangladesh-gofundme/ The typo, which the man wrote about on Reddit, spurred thousands of people to contribute to a food relief fundraiser for poor communities in Bangladesh. A California man and his wife had recently moved into a new apartment building in San Francisco when they met a neighbor who is a Hindu priest. The
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The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) management is extremely pleased to announce the most auspicious and historic Sri Nrsimha Vaibhavitsava three-day festival from February 29 – March 2, celebrating the official opening of the Nrsimhadeva Wing in the TOVP.

We are excited to provide to all ISKCON devotees and members our festival announcement below as a six-page online flipbook which includes the complete Schedule of Events. The flipbook can be downloaded, printed and easily shared, and we encourage all ISKCON leaders and devotees to please share the announcement flipbook through social media, websites, texts and emails. The entire festival will be viewable live on Mayapur TV.

As we approach this grand event, we humbly request that all devotees continue to support the completion of the Nrsimhadeva Wing, the largest Nrsimhadeva Temple in the world by visiting our Give To Nrsimha Fundraiser page on the TOVP website.

“O devoted one, one who builds a beautiful temple for Lord Nrsimhadeva will be freed from all sinful reactions and he will enter the Vaikuntha planets.”

Narasimha Purana

VIEW, DOWNLOAD AND SHARE THE FLIPBOOK.

Miracle in the Making ~ Home of Our Divine Protector

 

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“He who was previously a very munificent cowherd boy has now appeared as Mahesa Pandita. In ecstatic love, he dances like a madman as though intoxicated to the beat of a kettle drum. [C.C. Adi 11.32]

According to Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, Mahesa Pandita was formerly Maha-Bahusakha in Krsna-lila. He was a companion of Nityananda Prabhu, and was present at the Danda Mahotsava held at Paninati.

In Bhakti-Ratnakara, Taranga Nine, it is stated that when Narottama dasa Thakura came to visit Khardaha, he had darsana of the lotus feet of Mahesa Pandita.

Vrindavana dasa Thakura has described him as a ‘param mahanta’ due to the fact that he was very dear to Nityananda Prabhu. [C.B. Antya 5.744]

Mahesa Pandita’s original Sripat at Sukh Sagor merged into the bed of the Ganges, but his worshipful deities of Sri Sri Nitai-Gauranga as well as his samadhi were moved to Palpara. There is a railway station there, between Simrali and Cakdaha stations, on the Sealdah-Krsnanagar line.

His disappearance day is on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Pausa.

Prana Das with his wife Candrakoti Dev Dasi in 2019. Beloved devotee and educator Prana Das departed on January 6th in Sri Vrindavan Dham at the Bhaktivedanta Hospice after spending several months visiting the Holy Dhams with his dedicated wife, Candrakoti Devi Dasi. He was born and raised in Melbourne in a devout Irish-Catholic family […]

The post Remembering Prana Das appeared first on ISKCON News.

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