Planet ISKCON

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The devotees at New Gokula invited me to come for their two day festival of Diwali and Govardhana puja. The events were outdoors and the weather was glorious so everyone was happy enjoying the transcendental atmosphere.

Around two or three hundred guests came for the first day and three or four hundred for the second. All the Covid conditions like social distancing were observed and everything went smoothly. The main day was Go-puja and Govardhana-puja.

When Indra heard that his sacrifice had been stopped and a festival for Govardhan Hill performed in its place, he became furious. Unleashing the samvartaka clouds used at the time of cosmic destruction, Indra sent them to destroy Vraja.

Wishing to save themselves, the gopas and their families, with the children in front, ran to Nanda’s palace. Terrified, the people of Vraja bowed down before the two Supreme Lords, Krishna and Balarama, surrendered to Them, and took shelter of Them.

Sri Krishna said: Don’t be afraid. With your dependents go to Govardhan Hill. He accepted our worship. He will protect us. After speaking these words, Lord Krishna went, with His own people, to Govardhan Hill. Lifting the hill, Krishna playfully held it aloft with one hand. As a child effortlessly holds a mushroom, or as an elephant holds a lotus in its tongue, so Sri Krishna, the prince of Vraja, the kind Supreme Personality of Godhead, held Govardhan Hill. 

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I think of Giri Govardhana as being similar to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, because Giri Govardhana is Krishna Himself. But although he is Krishna Himself, according to the acharyas, he is in the mood of a devotee. And many devotees worship Giri Govardhana in that mood—that he is a devotee of Krishna and of the devotees of Krishna. There is a famous verse in Srimad-Bhagavatam in which the gopis, specifically Srimati Radharani, praise Govardhana Hill as the best servant of Lord Hari.

hantayam adrir abala hari-dasa-varyo
  yad rama-krsna-carana-sparasa-pramodah
manam tanoti saha-go-ganayos tayor yat
  paniya-suyavasa-kandara-kandamulaih

“Of all the devotees, this Govardhana Hill is the best! O my friends, this hill supplies Krsna and Balarama, along with Their calves, cows and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities-water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respects to the Lord. Being touched by the lotus feet of Krsna and Balarama, Govardhana Hill appears very jubilant.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.21.18) They describe his service to the Lord, and his service includes service to the Lord’s devotees, go-ganayoh, the cows and the people associated with the cows—namely the cowherd men and women, the cowherd boys, and the younger gopis. Srila Prabhupada comments in the Krsna book that Govardhana Hill knew how to please the Lord by pleasing the Lord’s beloved associates. So we also learn from Govardhana Hill how to serve the devotees. And we pray to Govardhana Hill that he may enliven us and enlighten us in the service of the devotees.

So, I think of Govardhana Hill in relation to Lord Chaitanya, because just as Govardhana Hill is Krishna Himself in the mood of a devotee, Lord Chaitanya also is Krishna in the mood of a devotee. Specifically, Lord Chaitanya is in the mood of Srimati Radharani, who is the best, or greatest, devotee. Yet according to Srila Sanatana Gosvami, the verse spoken by the gopis in praise of Govardhana Hill was spoken specifically by Srimati Radharani, although the Bhagavatam simply says that “the gopis” sang the Venu-gita. But Sanatana Gosvami specifically states that Srimati Radharani proclaimed that Govardhana Hill is the best servant of Lord Hari.

We can also understand the mood of devotees by the reciprocation between Srimati Radharani and Govardhana Hill. Srimati Radharani is very humble. She considers that Govardhana Hill is the best servant of Lord Krishna. And Govardhana Hill feels that he is the most humble servant of all of the devotees, who are fit to walk on him with their feet, and not only just the devotees in human forms, but even the devotees in the form of cows and other animals who flock to Govardhana Hill to serve Sri Krishna and His associates in their pastimes.

In Mayapur, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura established a replica of Vrindavan with Syama-kunda, Radha-kunda, and Govardhana Hill. The Govardhana Hill is about the size of this room and is composed of Govardhana silas. In principle, one is not supposed to take Govardhana silas from Vraja, and if one does, one is supposed to leave the equivalent amount of gold. So, only Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had the potency to bring so many Govardhana silas, and he created a mountain with them. And at that “Govardhana Hill” is a plaque with a verse, perhaps from the Padma Purana. The verse is very nice, and I thought we could recite it responsively. First I shall translate the words, so that you can understand what they mean as you repeat them.

Namaste girirajaya—I offer my obeisance to the king of mountains; govardhana namine—who is named Govardhana; asesa klesa nasaya—he destroys unlimited afflictions; paramananda dayine—and bestow the highest bliss.

Please repeat:

namaste girirajaya govardhana namine
asesa klesa nasayaparamananda dayine

[Devotees repeat three times.]

“I offer my respectful obeisances unto the king of mountains whose name is Govardhana. He destroys unlimited miseries and bestows the highest bliss.”

We pray to Govardhana Hill, not just for ourselves individually but for all of us, that he will free us from the miseries of material existence and bestow upon us the supreme bliss of Krishna consciousness.

After Lord Krishna performed the Govardhana-puja with the paraphernalia that the cowherd men had gathered for the Indra-puja, Indra, the king of heaven and lord of rains and thunderbolts, became angry because he felt he was being deprived of his sacrifice. So he sent torrents of rain to inundate Vrindavan. He wanted to take revenge. His mood was just the opposite, in one sense, of Govardhana’s. Indra’s mood was to take revenge on Krishna by causing distress to the residents of Vrindavan, whereas Govardhana’s mood was to give pleasure to Krishna by giving service to the residents of Vrindavan. Lord Krishna at first thought, “Well, let Me just kill Indra.” But then He reconsidered and decided, “No, I will just deal with him in such a way that he becomes humble, that he becomes freed from his false prestige in being the king of heaven.” And so Lord Krishna, to smash the false pride of King Indra, lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of His left hand and held it as an umbrella over the residents of Vrindavan, thus demonstrating that He could defeat the pride of Indra with the tip of His little finger.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has raised the question, “How could Govardhana Hill, which is just a medium-sized hill, provide shelter to a large cowherd community with thousands of cows, calves, bulls, and other paraphernalia?” And he gives the answer that Govardhana Hill was in so much ecstasy, being touched by the lotus hand of his worshipable lord and beloved master, that he expanded in size (and increased in potency). There are different symptoms of ecstatic love described in the scriptures, and one is elongation of the body. We read, for instance, about the symptoms of Lord Chaitanya’s ecstasy. Sometimes His body would become elongated and expand in size; sometimes it would contract. There are so many different symptoms of ecstasy, and Govardhana Hill manifested many of them. In fact, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the grasses on Govardhana Hill are the hairs on his body standing up in ecstasy. And the waterfalls are the tears from his eyes pouring forth in his ecstasy. And the moisture—sometimes moisture oozes out from stones, from between the stones—is his ecstatic perspiration in love of Krishna and Krishna’s devotees. But specifically, it was the ecstatic symptom of elongation of the body that allowed Govardhana Hill to expand in size so that all the residents of Vrindavan could take shelter under him. And he offered his shelter to everyone. (Here, too, he reminds me of Srila Prabhupada, who extended his shelter to everyone.) So even dogs and other animals, and of course the cows and calves and cowherd men and women, all took shelter under Govardhana Hill. And all of the devotees—those in the mood of servants in dasya-rasa, those in the mood of friends in sakhya-rasa, those in the mood of parents in vatsalya-rasa, and even the gopis who were in the mood of madhurya-rasa got to be with Lord Krishna continuously for seven days.

Generally, in the regular cycle of Krishna’s daily activities, Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja would be with Krishna in the morning when He woke up had breakfast, but they would be separated from Him during the day when He would go out with the cowherd boys and calves. And then they would be reunited with Him in the evening when He came back. The cowherd boys would get to be with Krishna during the day, but then they would again be separated from Him in the evening. And they had to bear the separation until the next morning. All the residents of Vrindavan always wanted to be with Krishna all the time, but because of the regular cycle of the days’ activities, they would sometimes be separated from Him.

During the Govardhana lila, however, they all got to be with Krishna continuously day and night for seven days, and they could have their hearts’ desires fulfilled. But the most special opportunity was afforded to the young gopis who were in madhurya-rasa, because they always had to conceal their feelings for Krishna and could only furtively glance at Him from their windows or the rooftops of their houses. (At that time they had not yet begun to sneak out at night; it was only the next year that Krishna inaugurated the rasa dance.) Under the shelter of Govardhana Hill they got to be with Krishna continuously for seven days. And that was a wonderful thing for them. One incident is mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion: While all the gopis were observing Krishna’s wonderful achievement, Krishna was also smiling at the gopis. When Krishna’s eyes happened to glance over the bodies of the gopis, He became so affected that His hand began to tremble. Upon seeing His hand shake, the cowherd men became disturbed. They thought the mountain might fall upon them. There was a tumultuous roar, and they all began to pray to Krishna for safety. Then Lord Balarama began to smile, seeing how the cowherd men had become frightened by the shaking of Govardhana Hill. But Krishna, seeing Balarama smile, imagined that Balarama had understood His mind in observing the bodies of the gopis, and He immediately became bashful.

In any case, Govardhana Hill extended his shelter to everyone, in all forms of life and all moods of service. And so Govardhana Hill also reminds me of Srila Prabhupada.

Devotee: I heard a rumor that Govardhana Hill is shrinking. If so, why is that?

Giriraj Swami: According to one account, Pulatsya Muni was carrying Govardhana to Kasi—on the condition that Govardhana would remain wherever he first put him down. The powerful sage carried Govardhana in his right hand, passing over land, mountains, and oceans, eventually reaching Bharata-varsa and the land of Vrindavan. Govardhana immediately recognized his eternal residence and the home of Lord Krishna. Not willing to go further, he made himself very heavy and, bewildering the mind of the sage, caused him to rest for some time. Pulastya Muni thus placed Govardhana in Vrindavan and attended to the call of nature. Thereafter, the sage was unable to lift the mountain again. Try as he might, he could not budge Govardhana. Angry and indignant, Pulastya said, “Come! O great mountain, why do you make yourself so heavy and hesitate to continue our journey?”

Govardhana replied, “O sage, there is no fault on my part. I promised to stay where you first put me down; now I will never move from this place.” Abandoning his attempt to move Govardhana, seething with anger, the sage cursed the best of mountains, saying, “O arrogant mountain! You dare thwart my desire! By the measure of a mustard seed your size will decrease every day until you are no more!”

Also. according to our acharyas, Govardhana Hill is shrinking—the size of one mustard seed every day—because of separation from Krishna. One devotee in ISKCON calculated the size of a mustard seed multiplied by 365 days per year for 5,000 years and how much Govardhana Hill would have shrunk, and considering how much of Govardhana Hill is left now, how long it will take for the whole hill to be disappear. (But I don’t really want to think about that.) At the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, when the devotees were trying to dig a well to get water at the front of the land, they very soon came to rock. And then, when they dug at the back of the land, they could dig deeper before they came to the rock, suggesting that the slope of the Hill was under the level of the ground. But we want to celebrate the presence of Govardhana. But that’s what they say—separation.

We will read a poem written by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, and I hope that you will be able to at least join in the last line of each verse, which repeats. One of Govardhana’s names is sarva-abhista-padata, which means “he who fulfills all desires.” And of course, specifically, the best devotees desire only pure devotional service to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. So implicit in all of the prayers here, all of the verses here, is the desire to serve Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and Their servants. Therefore Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura concludes each stanza with govardhano me disatam abhistam: “May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

This is the Sri Govardhana-astakam, eight verses glorifying Govardhana Hill, by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura:

krisna-prasadena samasta-saila-
  samrajyam apnoti ca vairino ’pi
sakrasya yah prapa balim sa saksad
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“May Govardhana Hill, which by Krishna’s mercy became the king of all mountains and received the respectful tribute of its arch-enemy Indra, fulfill my desire.”

sva-prestha-hastambuja-saukumarya-
  sukhanubhuter ati-bhumi-vrtteh
mahendra-vajrahatim apy ajanam
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“As it was held above the earth it became so filled with happiness by experiencing the softness of its beloved Krishna’s lotus hand it did not even know it was being struck by Indra’s thunderbolt.  May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

yatraiva krsno vrsabhanu-putrya
  danam grhitum kalaham vitene
sruteh sprha yatra mahaty atah sri-
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“Trying to collect a toll, Krishna quarreled there with King Vrsabhanu’s daughter. The personified Vedas yearn to listen to that quarrel. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

Here the reference is to the dana-keli-lila, which was performed at Dana-ghati, which is very near to the Bhaktivedanta Ashram. In fact, the general area there is called Dana-ghati. The idea is that Srimati Radharani and her gopi girlfriends wanted to pass to the other side of Govardhana Hill with their yogurt and butter and other dairy products, because there was a sacrifice being performed on the other side of the hill. And there was just one path in the middle of the Govardhana Hill at what is now called Dana-ghati. So when Srimati Radharani, Lalita and Visakha, and the other young girls came with pots of yogurt on their heads, Krishna and His friends blocked the way and demanded that the gopis pay a toll to go through the passage. Lord Krishna went so far as to say that He had been appointed by King Kamsa to collect the toll from all the citizens who wanted to pass. So, many joking words were exchanged between Srimati Radharani and Sri Krishna, with many amorous innuendos and double meanings.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the personified Vedas yearn to hear the quarrel, the jokes between Krishna and the gopis, implying that the exchanges between Krishna and the gopis are more exalted than even the hymns of the Vedas. Srila Rupa Gosvami wrote a drama called Lalita-madhava, which is filled with separation from Krishna, and in particular the separation of Srimati Radharani from Krishna after Krishna left Vrindavan and went to Dvaraka. After Raghunatha dasa Gosvami read the play, he was so afflicted with separation that he cried and cried and cried and cried, and nothing could console him. He was just crying and crying, day after day, and nobody knew what to do. So, then Rupa Gosvami wrote another drama called Dana-keli-kaumudi, about the joking exchanges between Krishna and the gopis at Dana-ghati. And when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami read Dana-keli-kaumudi he felt pacified that Radha and Krishna were together, enjoying pastimes.

snatva sarah svasu samira-hasti
  yatraiva nipadi-paraga-dhulih
alolayan khetali caru sa sri-
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“Bathing in the nearby lake, the elephant of a pleasant breeze, covered with the pollen of kadamba and other flowers, gracefully plays there. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

kasturikabhih sayitam kim atrety
  uham prabhoh svasya muhur vitanvan
naisargika-sviya-sila-sugandhair
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“How is it that the sweet fragrance of the musk deer and the various natural scents there make the Lord so calm and relaxed? May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

vamsa-pratidhvany-anusara-vartma
  didrksavo yatra harim harinyah
yantyo labhante nahi vismitah sa
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“Searching there for Lord Hari on the path of His flute music, the astonished deer do not find Him. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

yatraiva gangam anu navi radham
  arohya madhye tu nimagna-naukah
krsno hi radhanugalo babhau sa
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“As the divine couple traveled on the Ganges there, the boat began to sink in the middle. Krishna was splendidly handsome as Radha clung to His neck. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

Here the pastime relates to Manasi-ganga, which is near Dana-ghati. Again, the only way to get to the other side of Govardhana Hill was either by walking through the passage at Dana-ghati or by taking a boat across Manasi-ganga. So, once, Srimati Radharani and Her close friends came to Manasi-ganga and wanted to cross to the other side by boat. Srimati Radharani saw one boatman and said to him, “Boatman, we want you to take us across the lake.” Guess who the boatman was? It was Lord Krishna! And in the guise of a boatman, He agreed to take Srimati Radharani and the others across. But as the boat was moving out into the water, clouds began to gather in the sky and pour down rain, and the boat began to fill with water. Srimati Radharani and the other gopis became very much afraid, but the boatman didn’t do anything about it; much to the horror of the gopis, he just stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and was watching it fill up. The gopis were becoming more and more fearful, and they thought the boat was going to sink at any moment. And because krsna-lila is nara-lila, humanlike pastimes in which the gopis all think that they are ordinary human beings and all have the sentiments of ordinary human beings, the gopis thought that they could drown and die. So they panicked and appealed to the boatman, “Boatman, please help us. Please do something.” But Krishna never does anything for free; He always takes a price. And the price that He wanted for bringing the girls to safety was an embrace from Srimati Radharani. And because She was so desperate that although She was a very chaste girl, She felt that She had no choice. So She threw Her arms around the boatman and asked for His mercy to take them across. Then Krishna very neatly put His toe into the hole that He had unplugged to allow the water to come in, and He rowed the girls to safety on the other side. So, Visvanatha Cakravarti summarizes the whole pastime very beautifully and succinctly: “As the divine couple traveled around the Ganges, the boat began to sink in the middle. Krishna was splendidly handsome as Radha clung to his neck. May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

vina bhavet kim hari-dasa-varya
  padasrayam bhaktir atah srayami
yam eva supreme ni jesayoh sri-
  govardhano me disatam abhistam

“Without taking shelter of the feet of the hill that is the best of the Lord Hari’s servants and full of love for divine King and Queen, how it is possible to attain pure devotional service? May Govardhana Hill fulfill my desire.”

Then at the end of the astaka, as is common, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura composes a ninth verse that contains a benediction:

etat pathet yo hari-dasa-varya-
  mahanubhavastakam ardra-cetah
sri-radhika-madhavayoh padabja
  dasyam sa vinded acirena saksat

“May the reader of these eight verses glorifying Lord Hari’s greatest servant, his heart melting with pure love, quickly attain direct service to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha- Madhava.”

Sri Sri Giri Govardhana ki jaya! Sri Govardhanastaka ki jaya! Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

So, after Lord Krishna held Govardhana Hill for seven days and the hill gave shelter to all of the residents of Vrindavan, Indra came to his senses, realized his mistake, and humbly withdrew the rains. (Ultimately he came to beg forgiveness and offer prayers to Lord Krishna.) When the rains subsided, Lord Krishna placed Govardhana Hill back in its place. Then He walked around the hill to see what damage King Indra’s thunderbolts had caused to His beloved Govardhana.

Indra was very much afraid because of the offenses he had committed to Lord Krishna and the residents of Vrindavan. So he went to Lord Brahma for advice, and Lord Brahma advised, “If you try to approach Krishna directly, He may be very angry with you. But Lord Krishna is very favorably disposed to the cows, so if you approach Surabhi and she approaches Him first, His mood may change, and then you may approach Him and offer your prayers.”

So, King Indra approached Surabhi, the heavenly cow. And Surabhi came to Vraja, followed by King Indra on his elephant. And together they coronated Krishna, Govinda, as the king of the cows, at a place called Govinda-kunda. All these places are marked here on our mountain: Govinda-kunda, Surabhi-kunda. Surabhi-kunda is where Surabhi offered her prayers to Krishna and gave her milk for the abhiseka of Lord Krishna.

So, krsna-lila is nara-lila. The devotees consider themselves to be human beings, and they consider Krishna also to be another human being. But they have intense, spontaneous, pure love for Him—not because He is God, but because they just love Him. But when He held Govardhana Hill over His head for seven days on the tip of the little finger of His left hand, the Vraja-vasis realized that Krishna could not be an ordinary human being. So, after the Govardhana lila, all the cowherd men assembled and addressed Nanda Maharaja. “Your son is not an ordinary child,” they said. “He is not an ordinary human being. He must be some demigod, or maybe the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. You must not chastise Him, you should not frighten Him, you should not punish Him. He is not an ordinary child.” And they gave all the evidence—all of the feats Krishna had performed, especially the latest one of holding Govardhana Hill.

The cowherd men all had parental affection for Krishna, but Nanda Maharaja’s parental affection for Krishna was the strongest of all. So he listened to what they said, but when he started to think of his pastimes with Krishna, his interactions with Krishna, his experience of Krishna, he said, “No. Even ordinary yogis can control the urges of their senses. But my son Krishna has no control at all. If mother Yasoda is feeding Him and she sets Him down for a minute to attend to some other business, He becomes so angry that He starts breaking butter pots and eating butter. Even ordinary yogis are fearless. But as soon as Krishna hears thunder and sees lightning, He becomes afraid. And if we don’ take Him in our arms and pacify Him, He remains fearful.”

In this way Nanda Maharaja remembered all of his parental pastimes with Krishna, and he was merged into the ocean of vatsalya-bhava. He could not consider for a moment that Krishna was anything other than his own beloved son, in need of his nourishment, care, and protection. And all the other cowherd men also merged into the ocean of vatsalya-bhava, and they also again thought of Krishna as just a beautiful little child, the son of Nanda and Yasoda. And thus they remained merged in the ocean of transcendental nectar of pure spontaneous love for Krishna without any consideration of His opulence and without any impediment to their pure love for Him and their intimate mood of service.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Govardhana-puja, November 17, 2001, Carpinteria, California]

Hare Krishna!
Please accept our humble obeisances!
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

Date: 15th Nov 2020
Day: Sunday
Time: 11 am to 12 noon
Speaker: HG Rohinipriya das


Link to join the class from your desktop or laptop:

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

HG Rohinipriya das

His Grace Rohinipriya Prabhu is a BACHELOR in MEDICINE & a BACHELOR in SURGERY (M.B.B.S) from BYRAMJEE JEEJEEBHOY GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE AND SASSOON GENERAL HOSPITALS (B.J.M.C), PUNE, INDIA. In the early 90s, he came in contact with ISKCON and consequently, joined the ISKCON Pune temple as a fulltime brahmacari. In 1995, he moved to ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai, India. He served as the Director of ISKCON YOUTH FORUM (IYF), ISKCON Chowpatty for many years. Then, he served as a Temple Management Committee(TMC) Member at ISKCON Chowpatty. He also served as a Member of the Committee for Spiritual Vision(CSV) at ISKCON Chowpatty. From 1996, he started travelling to Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, in addition to his services in Mumbai. He fills the lives of people with the joy of Krishna Consciousness, by his practical, mesmerising, scriptural discourses. He also counsels & guides many people, specially, the youth. He currently serves as the General Manager at ISKCON Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. Under his able guidance ISKCON Aurangabad is a dynamic and flourishing offering & tribute to Srila Prabhupada’s legacy and glory.


He visits North America regularly, especially, the USA & Canada and shares the message of the Bhagavad Gita & the Srimad Bhagavatam. He, also, travels worldwide for serving the people of all denominations. He has been actively distributing the message of the Bhagavad Gita to 1000s of Engineering & Medical students and other professionals all over India. He is an inspiration to many professionals & youth all over the world. He presents the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita & the Shrimad Bhagavatam in a very attractive, eloquent and practical manner.




ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough, Ontario,
Canada, M1V4C7
Website: www.iskconscarborough.org
Email:
iskconscarborough@hotmail.com
scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

Every year from 2014 to 2019, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Govardhana. In some years, we did a full parikrama of Govardhana, in other years we visited places of significance around Govardhana such as Surabhi-kunda and Puncari, and in other years we celebrated Govardhana-puja at the Krsna Balaram Mandir in Vrndavana. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans, lectures and puja below, along with a few photos, at and around Govardhana and also on Govardhana-puja during Parikramas 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

In worshipping Krsna, we are also worshipping the cows because Krsna and His cows are inseparable. Krsna is always thinking of the welfare of the cows. Krsna is therefore making many arrangements for the cows to be taken care of. The land of Braja or Vrndavana is described as Gokula, the land of the cows. Goloka Vrndavana is the eternal spiritual world and is also known as the abode of the cows. On this day of Govardhana-puja, Krsna convinced his father to not make an offering to Indra and instead make arrangements to worship Govardhana and also the cows and brahmanas in particular. So Krsna ensured that whatever was brought for the sacrifice to Indra was now used in service to Govardhana. So the residents of Vrndavana worshipped the cows and fed everyone extensively – no species were going hungry and everyone was provided for. That is the spirit! In worshipping cows, the human society remains protected. In worshipping cows, life becomes auspicious as everything offered to us by the cows is auspicious.

Govardhana has also been described to increase the pleasure and welfare of cows (“go” meaning cows and “vardhana” meaning to increase nourishment). By producing so many grasses and fresh water, Govardhana provides for the health of Krsna’s cows. Govardhana is also described as the greatest servant of Krsna. In fact, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, after receiving a Govardhana shila, was worshipping Govardhana as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This can be interesting to understand, but we remember how Lord Balarama is also worshipped as the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is simultaneously the greatest servant of Krsna. The Lord manifests Himself in many forms and amongst these forms, there is one form out of which all the other forms appear, and that original form is Krsna. So in this way, Govardhana is Krsna but now manifesting in the mood of a servant, and that is why we worship Govardhana.

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 15 – Govardhana " was published on KKSBlog.

In a letter dated October 10, 1968, Srila Prabhupada wrote,

“Diwali ceremony can be observed in the temple by illuminating hundreds of candles in different parts of the temple and offering special prasada to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya, the kingdom of Lord Ramachandra. While Lord Ramachandra was out of His kingdom due to His fourteen years’ banishment by the order of His father, His younger stepbrother, Bharata, took charge of the kingdom, and the day on which Lord Ramachandra took back the charge from His brother and was seated on the throne is observed as the Diwali function. This is the original idea of Diwali. Dipawali means the same thing. Dipa means candles, or lamps, and wali means numerous. When numerous candles are lighted it is called Diwali. In India, this Diwali function is celebrated in a special auspicious occasion.”

May Lord Rama—Lord Krishna—sit on the throne of our hearts.

Hare Krishna.

Hare Rama.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Answer Podcast

 

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Editor: Raji Nachiappan

Question: How can we increase our determination for waking up in the morning?

Answer: Firstly, denying the body’s needs should not be mistaken as a sign of determination. If the body has a habit of sleeping for six-seven hours, suddenly expecting one to manage with five hours or less and considering inability to do so to be lack of determination, is not a correct understanding of determination. Determination is a matter of will power, which is basically the soul’s capacity to desire which is expressed through the mind on to the body.

The body is like a vehicle. The driver may have a lot of will power but if the vehicle does not have any fuel, then will power alone will not work. Therefore, we cannot deny body’s needs. It is true that Prabhupada said that as we become spiritually advanced, the needs of the body will decrease. Srila Prabhupada gave the example of Goswamis who slept and ate very little. That is true, however, that alone is not the sign of spiritual advancement. It is also not that, by artificially eating or sleeping less we will make more spiritual advancement. Srila Prabhupada also said that if we sleep too much we will become lazy and if we sleep too less we will become crazy. This means that when we sleep too less, the mind will not work properly. Even if we are awake, we will be half asleep or inattentive or sometimes even irritable. Therefore, the inability to decrease the body’s needs in sudden steps is not a lack of determination. The body’s needs will decrease organically. That means as we find more and more absorbing things to do in Krishna’s service, then naturally we will not spend so much time sleeping and as a result, the body’s sleep will decrease.

Practically speaking, we can decrease our sleep in steps – from six hours thirty minutes to six hours fifteen minutes and then to six hours. As the body adjusts, we can try to decrease sleep over a period of time. However, just decreasing sleep alone is not the sign of spiritual advancement nor is the inability to decrease amount of sleep a sign of lack of determination. If we want to improve our sadhana and we want to wake up in the morning, generally it is good to sleep earlier, so that we get adequate rest.

With respect to waking up three different things can be done:

I. Team-up: If there is another devotee who wakes up early, teaming up will help. When we set the alarm, we battle with our own mind. However, if we team up, then the devotee also helps us in our battle.
To some extent, the association of the devotees helps us to use the power of our ego in devotional service. For example, we do not want the other devotees to think of us as lazy or lacking in determination. This thought process is not necessarily wrong – It is said yena kena prakarena manah kṛishne niveshayet – somehow or the other we should fix our mind on Krishna. Hence, at a lower level, we do not want others to think bad about us. At a higher level, when another devotee is waking up early, we feel inspired.

II. Keep track: It is especially important to keep a track of our late-night activities to ensure that we sleep on time. Generally, if we start to wind up from 9 pm, we can retire to bed soon. Otherwise, it become late and difficult for us to wake up.

The activities done in the evenings or in the late nights generally fall in three categories: (i) urgent (ii) not so urgent (iii) not necessary.
Urgent activities have to be done. As devotees we do not want to give up our regulations but we do not want to become attached to regulations also. We should see regulations as a means to become attached to Krishna and not see them as goals. Not so urgent activities can be deferred for a later time. Sometimes, in the rush of things, we feel such activities to be necessary and we extend ourselves. For such activities, if we can catch ourselves and then we can avoid them. For unnecessary activities we should just say no. Generally, we succumb to them due to our weaknesses.

III. Power of sound: It is always helpful to use the power of sound, for raising our consciousness. That means, we can either write down a small diary or make some resolutions ourselves. It can be something like, ‘I will wake up in the morning’ and couple it with a verse from the Gita or a quote of Prabhupada to inspire and regulate ourselves.

Also, on days we are able to wake up early and our sadhana goes well, if we write a journal how it helped, that will help increase our determination. Basically, determination involves our getting the conviction that the prize is greater than the price. The mind however confuses us saying that that it is not worth it. Therefore, even though we know it conceptually, if we write it down, it helps. On the other hand, if we sleep too long, then we feel disgusted. If we can write down a little bit about both these things, then our resolve to wake up will be greater. Keeping our resolutions outside of us, so that we can slightly distance ourselves from them and evaluate them, makes those resolutions tangible. The resolutions are not just inside, they are outside which we can see and evaluate also, to know if they are realistic.

If our resolutions are not realistic, we can modify them. If they are realistic, then our resolve to try to stick to them increases because they have got a more tangible form. In the Bhagavad-gita 6.17-18, Prabhupada says that a devotee cannot bear to spend even one moment without serving Krishna. Any time spent unnecessarily in sleep is considered to be a great loss. Such quotes may also help inspire us.

Determination has multiple aspects. It has the aspect of intellectual conviction, which means we are convinced to do it and sacrifice involved will give back us a significant reward. Then, there is the practical aspect, in terms of getting adequate rest and recognising the body’s needs. Next is the emotional aspect, where we try to connect with other devotees and mutually encourage each other. Beyond that, there is the spiritual aspect, where we pray to Krishna. The Supersoul is one who switches our consciousness from jagruti (wakefulness) to swapna (sleep) and therefore he can switch the consciousness back from swapna to jagruti also. Some devotees chant one round just before bed with the prayer of wanting to wake up early.

If we have something which we like to do when we wake up as the first thing in the morning (a nice prayer or some shlokas or a few lines of a Vaishnava song) then that helps snap the lethargy. It is also good to write down the prayer so that we can speak the prayer aloud properly when we wake up.
Therefore, if at a physical, practical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual level, we do these activities, then surely it is possible over a period of time to get the determination to wake up in the morning or do other aspects of sadhana with more determination.

End of transcription.

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Podcast

Video:

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Toronto, Ontario

 

Krsnanandini

 

Some of my dear friends hail from Cleveland. One outstanding person was American born; a monk of amiable character. His name was Bhakti Tirtha Swami. Another person from the same town was a saintly lady, Krsnanandini. She passed away this morning after a bout with cancer. I wrote a poem in her honour.

 

Krsnanandini

 

A motherly type of moral strength

A person whose devotion was of great length

It was hard for her to see others suffer

Her words and actions were always a buffer

Always there to encourage the other

She was the soul sister; Tariq, the soul brother

Believing in the family as the human backbone

Was a solution to those prone to be alone

Interfaith work was to bring the holy together

It is love that is the thing that acts as a tether

A speaker, a teacher and everyone’s friend

A devotee whose love for humanity comes to no end

An inspiration, and surely Prabhupada’s daughter

He gave such mercy in all he taught her

She will leave sublime memories behind

We’ll oblige to please her by being very kind

 

May the Source be with you!

 

Yorkville, Toronto

 

Moosey Lights

 

I was walking and taking photos of a moose family, no the actual animals, which are the largest of the deer family, but effigies of the clan made entirely of white lights. I was in the middle of snapping shots from my phone when Godbrother, Krishna das, from Lindsay, called to talk about Diwali, the festival of lights.

 

Apparently he and I, as well as other God-siblings, will be conducting a Zoom presentation on the 18^th. It is according to the Vedic calendar, the time of viewing lights and lamps and flaunting flames to commemorate what, to many folks in India, is the New Year. There is, including south-east Asia and those around the globe, more than a billion people who will honour Diwali, a celebration in remembrance of Rama, the avatar hero, who destroyed Ravana, virus personified. Upon Rama’s heroic return to his homeland, Ayodhya, he was greeted by so many lamps made of ghee wicks.

 

Diwali is a time of brightness and a time to get lit, for sure.

 

The location of the brilliant moose adorned the entrance of a huge condo building on Yorkville Avenue, and right next to it was the rustic looking fire station, also lit up, but only at the top of its tower.

 

Somehow or other, in a synchronized fashion, Christmas, which is traditionally decorated with lights in the night and with trees (a pagan custom), and our precious Diwali, from Vedic/Hindu practices, are both plugged in at the same time.

 

In any event I’m enjoying the festive spirit of the atmosphere, and it lit up my short but eventful walk.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

In 2019, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to the Sri Sri Radha Madana-Mohana Mandir in Vrndavana in anticipation of the trip to Jaipur during that year’s parikrama. It is here where a shipwrecked captain constructed a temple for the Madana-Mohana Deity in accordance with the advice he received from Sanatana Gosvami. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtan, lecture and tour below, along with a few photos, at the iconic Sri Sri Radha Madana-Mohana Mandir during Parikrama 2019. If you watch the whole video, you will see that an unexpected visitor decides to join the lecture at around 1:23:50!

Advaita Acarya first found the Madana-Mohana Deity in Vrndavana and placed the Deity in the care of a brahmana in Mathura. However, Sanatana Gosvami was not happy with the brahmana’s standard of worship. One night, the Deity appeared in both their dreams instructing them that He wished to go with Sanatana Gosvami. Sanatana Gosvami, being a renunciate, hung the Deity from a tree and fed Him wood-fired capatis but the Deity requested a little salt. Madana-Mohana wanted salt because there is not a moment when Krsna is not enjoying.

Krsna is the Supreme enjoyer. There is never a moment when He is not enjoying. He is never suffering – that is His eternal activity. This is also the activity of His eternal associates. Now, at this time, this seems completely inconceivable – to constantly be enjoying. It is an impossible thought – how can you be enjoying all the time?! Maybe we think that there would be some breaks in the middle, but not for Krsna. Krsna is enjoying during the breaks too! That is the nature of the spiritual world – everything is enjoyable. Everything is ecstatic, beyond our imagination! Every time we experience something, it continues to expand the experience more and more. So in this way, the living entity becomes very overwhelmed, overwhelmed by transcendental love and overwhelmed by attachment to Krsna. Just like Prabhupada said that his role was to increase the attachment for the devotees, Krsna is increasing our attachment to Him.

Madana-Mohana is the Deity that represents the first connection – He is the attractor of cupid. He is so attractive that He can even attract cupid! Cupid strikes everywhere, all across the universe. But Madana-Mohana is so attractive that He can take away the attraction to material love, material enjoyment, material pleasures. That is Madana-Mohana! We must see and pray to Him because we need that assistance. We need Him to take away our attraction to material desires because that poses as a problem to our spiritual life. Material desires, we think of all day. Material desires, they never go away! So we can appreciate Madana-Mohana very much here.

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 14 – Sri Sri Radha Madana-Mohana Mandir " was published on KKSBlog.

We wish you all a happy Diwali. Diwali, or Dipavali, marks the end of the year, and by the year’s end we want to pay our debts, rectify our relationships—and then try to do better the next year.

The Vedic literatures inform us that in the present age, Kali-yuga, the recommended process for self-realization, or God realization, is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Lord Krishna appeared about five thousand years ago and spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and at the end of the Gita (18.66) He instructed:

sarva-dharman parityajya
  mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
  moksayisyami ma sucah

“Give up all varieties of religiousness and just surrender unto Me. I will deliver you from all sins. Do not fear.”

But how do we surrender to Krishna, practically? It is a big question. Therefore Krishna Himself came again about five hundred years ago as Sri Krishna Chaitanya and showed us how to serve Krishna and develop love for Krishna, especially in the present age of Kali. He quoted one verse from the Brhan-naradiya Purana (3.8.126):

harer nama harer nama
  harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
  nasty eva gatir anyatha

“One should chant the holy names, chant the holy names, chant the holy names of Lord Hari. There is no other way, no other way, no other way for success in the present age of Kali.”

Lord Chaitanya Himself demonstrated how to chant the holy names. Actually, there are two methods: In japa, one chants softly but loud enough that at least he himself, or she herself, can hear. Our acharyas have recommended that we chant on beads, japa-mala. I suggest that as a New Year’s resolution you all begin to chant at least one mala (round) every day, and that those who are chanting already try to increase. Suppose someone is chanting two malas every day. In the New Year that person can decide to do four malas, or whatever he or she can manage. One mala will take five to ten minutes. So, that is japa.

The other method is kirtan. Kirtan means loud chanting, all together, usually with musical instruments such as mridanga, kartals, and sometimes harmonium. That collective chanting of the holy names of God is very effective in the present age of Kali.

What does chanting do? As Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explains, ceto-darpana-marjanam: chanting cleanses the dirt from the mirror of the mind. If you want to know what you look like, you have to look in a mirror. But if the mirror is covered with dust, you cannot see. So we have to cleanse the dust from the mirror of the mind; then we can know who we are. In ignorance, we may think we’re the body. We may think that we’re black or white or red or yellow; man or woman; American, Russian, Chinese, or African. We have so many designations based on our falsely identifying with the body. But ceto-darpana-marjanam—when we clear the dust from the mirror of the mind by chanting, we can actually see who we are: not the body but the soul within the body. The soul is not black or white or male or female or Russian or Chinese. The soul is pure spirit, part and parcel of God, the Supreme Spirit, Krishna.

So chanting will cleanse all the dirt from the mind, or the heart. But how does chanting work? A verse from the Padma Purana (quoted as Cc Madhya 17.133) explains:

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

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

The holy name of Krishna is Krishna Himself. Abhinnatvat nama naminoh: there is no difference between the name and the person who has the name. In the material world, or the relative world, there is a difference between the name, or word, and the object. For example, if I am in the desert dying of thirst and I chant “water, water, water, water,” just chanting “water, water” will not quench my thirst, because the word water and the substance water are different. But in the spiritual world, the absolute world, the name of the thing and the thing are the same. So when we chant the holy name of Krishna, Krishna is actually present, dancing on our tongue. Thus, because Krishna is all pure, when we associate with Him by chanting His holy name, we become purified (ceto-darpana-marjanam). And when we become purified—when we become Krishna conscious—we automatically develop all good qualities.

At present we have qualities that are good, and we have other qualities that are not so good. Usually at the end of the year people make resolutions for the new year—how they will improve. It may be that one will try to not lose one’s temper anymore, or try to not overeat. We make so many resolutions, but after some time we fail in our determination because of weakness in the heart. The one resolution that will eventually help us develop all good qualities and keep our other, secondary resolutions is the resolution to chant the holy names of God.

Diwali also commemorates the return of Lord Ramachandra to Ayodhya. You all know the history of how Rama was banished from His kingdom into the forest. In the forest Ravana kidnapped Sita and took her to Lanka. Then Rama and Laksmana searched for Sita. They made alliances with many monkey warriors, and eventually They came to the southern tip of India. They built a bridge across to Lanka, and eventually Rama killed Ravana, which is commemorated by Dasara, or Rama-vijaya-dasami. Then Mother Sita was tested in fire, and she emerged pure. Rama, Laksmana, and Sita, accompanied by other associates, returned to Ayodhya. So the residents of Ayodhya, to prepare for the Lord’s arrival, placed lamps on the rooftops and balconies—and celebrated His return. Then Lord Ramachandra was installed on the throne.

So, we also want to welcome Lord Rama (Lord Krishna) into our hearts. Just as we clean the temple before we install the Deity so that the temple is a fit place for the Lord to reside, similarly we each want to welcome Lord Ramachandra into our heart, to install Him on the throne in our heart. But to make our heart a proper place, a fit place, for Him, we have to cleanse it. Therefore, on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, we chant the holy names of Rama and Krishna—Hare Krishna, Hare Rama—so ceto-darpana-marjanam: the heart is cleansed. Then we can welcome Lord Rama into our hearts and install Him on the throne of our hearts and celebrate His presence.

So this should be our resolution: to purify our hearts so that the Lord will have a proper place to sit there. And who could be more fortunate a person than he who has Lord Rama, or Krishna, with him?

There are many Ramayanas, or histories of Ramachandra, but the most authorized in Sanskrit is the Valmiki Ramayana. Consistent with that version, the Ninth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam also contains a short Ramayana. And at the end of the Bhagavatam’s Ramayana, there is a statement that during the reign of Lord Ramachandra all of the citizens were peaceful and happy, just like in Satya-yuga. There are four ages that repeat in cycles, like the seasons. Satya-yuga is the best of the ages, the golden age. Then come Treta-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, and Kali-yuga. The Bhagavatam describes that during the rule of Lord Ramachandra all the citizens were religious and completely happy, healthy, and peaceful, just like during Satya-yuga, although it was actually Treta-yuga. Srila Prabhupada comments that by God consciousness, Krishna consciousness, one can invoke Satya-yuga, or Rama-rajya, even in Kali-yuga. Therefore the same Krishna who appeared in Treta-yuga as Lord Ramachandra appeared in Kali-yuga as Lord Chaitanya to introduce the chanting of the holy names—Hare Krishna and Hare Rama.

So, if we take up the chanting of the holy names, we can not only invoke the presence of Lord Rama within our hearts, or welcome Lord Rama into our hearts; we can also recreate the situation of Satya-yuga, the situation of Rama-rajya. Sometimes Srila Prabhupada remarked, “People want the kingdom of God without God.” But we cannot have the kingdom of God without God. We cannot have Rama-rajya without Rama. But if we invoke the presence of God, of Krishna, by chanting His holy names, we can have the same experience of Satya-yuga in Kali-yuga. We can have the same experience of Rama-rajya, when, as described in the Bhagavatam, Rama loved all of the citizens just like a father loves his children, and all of the citizens loved Lord Rama and obeyed Him just like children love and obey their father. By Krishna consciousness, we can have the same situation even today. And if on this Diwali you can take a vow, make a resolution, to chant every day in the next year—and in all the years to come—that will bring you all auspiciousness.

We pray that the Lord will bless all of you in the year to come, and that you will also take the blessing of chanting into the New Year.

Hare Krishna.

[A Talk by Giriraj Swami, October 25, 2003, Houston]

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quoting from the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of Krsna’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by mother Yasoda took place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay. It is to be understood that among all the cows of Nanda Maharaja, several of mother Yasoda’s cows ate only grasses so flavorful that the grasses would automatically flavor the milk. Mother Yasoda wanted to collect the milk from these cows, make it into yogurt and churn it into butter personally since she thought that this child Krsna was going to the houses of neighborhood gopas and gopis to steal butter because He did not like the milk and yogurt ordinarily prepared. SB 10.9.1 purport

The Significance of Dipavali (Right click to download)

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BG 7.12 says that modes of nature comes from Lord, but 13.20 says that modes comes from Prakriti, how to reconcile such contradiction?
Answer Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save content”

 

Transcription :

Transcribed by: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Raji Nachiappan

Question: Do the modes come from Krishna or from prakriti?
Bhagavad Gita 7.12 says that modes of nature comes from Lord, but 13.20 says that modes comes from prakriti, how do we reconcile this contradiction?

Answer: Both statements are true. The different levels of causation are being described here. For example, we can say that a child comes from its parents and that is true. At the same time, we can also say that the child comes from Krishna. That is also true because Krishna is the ultimate cause. Therefore, the ultimate cause and immediate cause are not contradictory, rather they are complementary.

Similarly, if we look at the context in the seventh chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, which Prabhupada titles as Knowledge of the Absolute, Krishna focuses on showing the connection of everything with him. Hence, he says that material nature and the modes of material nature, come from him.

If we look at the thirteenth chapter, Krishna says prakritim purusham chaiva viddhy anadi ubhav api vikaramsh ca gunamsh chaiva viddhi prakriti-sambhavan (13.20) – (Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless. Their transformations and the modes of matter are products of material nature). Earlier also in thirteenth chapter verse 6 and 7, Krishna talks about various material elements coming from material nature. Here, Krishna is discussing in terms of the sankhya frame of analysis, wherein everything is being analysed in terms of purusha and prakriti. Therefore, the material gunas which comprise material nature, are said to come from prakriti. For that purpose, Krishna states that the gunas, come from prakriti.

The conventional sankhya focuses primarily on the analysis in terms of purusha and prakriti. The Bhagavad-gita presents the analysis in a devotional perspective by describing the presence of prakriti, purusha and the Purshottama and establishing that the Purushottama is the source of both purusha and prakriti. Krishna has mentioned earlier in seventh chapter that he possesses two prakritis – para and apara prakriti.

Hence, the point here is that there is no contradiction between the two because they are talking about different levels of origin. At the ultimate level, the modes come from Krishna and at the level of sankhya analysis, the modes come from prakriti.

End of transcription.

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Casa Loma, Toronto

 

No Wasting Time

 

Christopher, Nick and I took a memorial walk to honour those who sacrificed their lives, their youth and their dreams in the wars of the more recent past. When a walk is in dedication to someone I feel it offers greater dimension to our steps. Walking is never a waste of time and especially when done so for someone in mind.

 

The other day, while walking on Bloor Street, a street musician was strumming the strings of his guitar while singing that sweet old classic from Otis Redding, “Sittin’ on the Dock at the Bay” and the next lyrical line goes, “wasting time.” So, I got to thinking about how time is very precious and that we shouldn’t squander a minute of it.

 

Prabhupada, our guru, encouraged us to utilize every second for Krishna. In modern or more contemporary phrase, “no zoning out” is the order of the day. The clock ticks. The rooster cries. The sun rises. The sun sets. The moon moves. All are indicators that time marches on and we need not waste at the dock or in an easy chair. Also, we are getting older.

 

Our group of three made it to Casa Loma. It’s relatively close to where I live, just one and a half kilometers away. I believe my two walking amigos relished the trek for the company and also the intent. It was not a walk in vain.

 

I would recommend that all people take that break for a walk and do so with a dedication in mind. Someone or some issue is deserving our attention.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km 

 

Queen’s Park, Toronto

 

Those Who Gave and Those Who Gave Up

 

On this eve of Remembrance Day we give homage to those who sacrificed their lives in defence of innocent citizens. I saw that pedestrians passing by the park bench where I relaxed were bearing the symbolic poppy.

 

Saurav, 19, a student at U of T, whom I sat with, is from a Punjabi descent and I assume he knows not a lot about the gruesome world war of the 20^th century. However, his ancestors may well know of the years of British occupancy and of the Partisan riots. These events are just ugly all the same.

 

Saurav told of how, recently, an Indian student had committed suicide on the campus by hanging in one of the university’s buildings. Students were having protests and carrying the sentiments that the institution isn’t doing enough for students under pressure. I certainly believe that these young persons should have every chance for a good life of balance.

 

Saurav is himself a kind and helpful person. He considers himself a counsellor. I encouraged him that, in general, these types of services require training.

 

As we were talking I bent over behind the bench to grab a golden maple leaf that lay there. It was pretty, except for a dark blotch, a kind of blight I believe, indicating the leaf was diseased. I held it up to my young friend, letting him know that we are all like this leaf, beautiful and golden. However, there’s something in everyone that is dark, which we have to tackle. I strongly recommended that he invite personal training and discipline into his life in order to be most effective.

 

May the Source be with you!

3 km

 

In this gloomy time, there can never be too many sources of light. So it’s apt that on Diwali day (November 14th) this year, there are at least two new devotional songs set to be released. As well as Govinda Priya’s first single “Achyutam: Your Names,” another UK-based artist, Radhika Ranjana Das (affectionately known as […]

The post Radhika Das Spreads Joy and Devotion with Diwali Single Ram Sita Ram appeared first on ISKCON News.

In this gloomy time, there can never be too many sources of light. So it’s apt that on Diwali day (November 14^th) this year, there are at least two new devotional songs set to be released.

Mediation is a process conflict resolution, in which a trained intermediary assists disputants to arrive at a mutually agreeable settlement. In this intriguing interview by Integral Yoga Magazine, Joshua Greene (Yogeshvara Dasa), a seasoned mediator and instructor of the Gita, evaluates the Bhagavad Gita through the lens of mediation. Integral Yoga Magazine: Would you consider […]

The post Conflict-Resolution and the Gita appeared first on ISKCON News.

Mature spiritual understanding is not relinquishing responsibility, but assuming responsibility with wisdom. 

  I heard them first before they rose above the tree tops Black against the evening sky with warm westing sun Their guide to the great south and their home away from home Their formation of open diamond shape is art at work Their calling and rhythm of wings is a performance As they carry […]

The post Poetry: Fall Birds appeared first on ISKCON News.

"Calling Krishna together as we head home / Making others stop in wonder at our joy"

Achyutam: Your Names, the soulful, joyous debut single from Govinda Priya, is set to be released at 8am UK time on Diwali day, Saturday November 14th. Diwali is known as the Festival of Lights, and the song promises to shed some light during a dark time.  “At the moment everything is so dull and difficult, […]

The post Govinda Priya Releases Uplifting Debut Single “Achyutam: Your Names” appeared first on ISKCON News.

“At the moment everything is so dull and difficult, and everyone is really struggling,” Govinda Priya says. “So we wanted to offer something uplifting.”

Christians and Hindus:Rekindling Positivity and Hope during the Covid-19 Pandemic and Beyond.

  Her Grace Krsnanandini Devi Dasi, a beloved and inspirational pioneer for Vaishnava families, passed away today (November 13th 2020) after a long struggle with cancer. She was in the company of her children and her husband Tariq Saleem Ziyad, at their home in North Carolina. Krsnanandini Devi Dasi was a Srila Prabhupada disciple, Certified […]

The post Krsnanandini Devi Dasi, Pioneer for Vaishnava Families, Passes Away appeared first on ISKCON News.

Krsnanandini Devi Dasi was a Srila Prabhupada disciple, Certified Family Life Educator, a member of the ISKCON Grihastha Vision Team, and the co-director of the Dasi-Ziyad Family Institute with her husband Tariq.

Video by GBC Executive Secretariat.

In their new book, “An Endangered Species: ISKCON Ashramites in the West,” Kalakantha Das and Jitamitra Dasi posit that ashrams are still an important part of today’s ISKCON. They explain how to create an ashram program that attracts devotees from all backgrounds in the West, especially in North America. “Some say that the idea of […]

The post New Book Discusses An “Endangered Species: ISKCON Ashramites” appeared first on ISKCON News.

In their new book, Kalakantha Das and Jitamitra Dasi posit that ashrams are still an important part of today’s ISKCON. They explain how to create an ashram program that attracts devotees from all backgrounds in the West, especially in North America.

Animation.

Video by Sadhvi Sanga.

A video by https://www.tulsigabbard.com.