Planet ISKCON

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In 2017 and 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Surabhi-kunda, where Indra met Krsna after the Govardhana lila to ask for forgiveness for acting out of anger. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans and lectures below, along with a few photos, at Surabhi-kunda during Parikrama 2017 and Parikrama 2018.

Indra allowed himself to fall prey to anger by being proud. When one is proud, one gives undue importance to oneself and everything that one experiences is extremely important. When we are humble, then whatever happens to us is secondary. As soon as we are proud, then everything in relation ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘mine’ is very important. ‘All my attributes are sacred’, we think. So due to his pride, Indra was in an attached position. Indra forgot that he was a representative of Krsna; this was his first and foremost offence. He forgot because he was carried away by his own position.

We will find something to take pride in when we take proprietorship, but when we give everything to Krsna, we realise that whatever recognition we receive is simply Krsna’s mercy. It is only because we did something for Him. Service is a gift. Service is given by the Vaisnavas, not taken. So when we remember that service is given by Vaisnavas, then we can avoid pride.

Indra knew that he needed forgiveness, so he ordered his elephant, Airavata, to also offer abhiseka to Krsna at the same time. Airavata had water from the heavenly Ganga, Akasa-ganga, kept in his trunk. In this way, Krsna got a full abhiseka with milk and Ganga jala and was crowned as the original Indra. Meanwhile, Indra had to stand there quietly and Krsna forgave him. So the significance of this place is forgiveness – forgiveness for all our mistakes. In Deity worship, we use this mantra: hinam kriya-hinam bhakti-hinam janardhana: Please forgive me for anything offered without mantra, anything offered without a proper arrangement and without any devotion. We can apply this to our daily lives also, regarding everything that we do without the mantra and without proper devotion. This mindset creeps into our daily activities so we need a lot of mercy. We make many mistakes and we ask for forgiveness for our mistakes, but then we should not commit them again. Prabhupada also said, “Oh, you commit a mistake? First time – yes, I will forgive you. Second time – yes, I will forgive you. Third time – get out of here, you rascal!” So we cannot forever keep making the same mistakes!

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 13 – Surabhi-kunda " was published on KKSBlog.

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Transcription :

Transcribed by: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Raji Nachiappan

Question: Why does God not answer our prayers?

Answer: Prayers always work. God always answers our prayers, but we do not understand his answers because those do not always come in terms that we expect. If we truly understand God, then we should understand both his omnipotence and his omniscience. He is both supremely strong and supremely wise. We often go to God when we have a problem we cannot solve. We pray to him, that since you are much stronger, please utilize your strength to solve our problem. However, this is trusting only half of God. We are trusting only his strength, but not his intelligence. We are trusting only his omnipotence but not his omniscience. God knows what is best for us and because he knows, he will do what is best for us.

Sometimes, only by facing the problems, we will grow. If we are prematurely relieved of the problem, the opportunity for growth will be missed. Nature also tells that growth happens through struggle. Once a city-dweller was going through the forest and saw a bird’s egg that had fallen. Inside the egg was a birdlet who was struggling to come out. The wings were coming out partially through the cracked shell while the birdlet kept pushing and pushing. The tiny creature was applying all the force it could but was not able to crack the shell. The birdlet was in distress. The city-dweller out of compassion cracked open the shell and let the birdlet come out. When the birdlet started moving, suddenly a cat appeared and charged towards him. The birdlet tried to fly, but since its wings were not fully developed, it could not. It was then caught and devoured by the cat. The city-dweller realised that he had actually done a disservice to the birdlet. Nature had arranged in such a way that by struggling to push against the shell of the egg, the birdlet’s strength would grow. When the birdlet’s strength grows adequately enough to break the shell on its own, birdlet’s wings will also grow. Those developed wings will strengthen him to fly. Hence by pre-mature breaking of the shell, the birdlet was not helped, rather he was harmed.

We should not, therefore, think that God’s purpose is only to solve our problems. God’s purpose is primarily to help us grow. Problems are sometimes like the shell that are covering us. God allows us to go through those problems and that is why sometimes our problems may not be solved. It may appear to us that our prayers are not answered. However, if we pray to God, not with a demanding mood, but by saying that since he knows what is best for us, please guide us. By approaching him with such attitude, we will find ourselves internally strengthened. By such prayers, we will get the strength to face the problem.

Rather than telling God how big our problem is, we have to tell our problem how big God is. When we have this attitude, we will go to God not so much for solutions, but for guidance and strength. We trust not only God’s strength, but also his wisdom to do what is best for us. That he not only provides us the strength to face the problem but also the intelligence to find the right way to go through the problem. Then whatever problem we face, we will be able to go through and grow through the problem by his grace.

End of transcription.

Transcription in Hindi

प्रश्न: भगवान हमारी प्रार्थनाओं का उत्तर क्यों नहीं देते?

उत्तर: प्रार्थनाऐं सदैव भगवान तक पहुँचती हैं और वे सदैव हमारी प्रार्थनाओं का उत्तर भी देते हैं। किन्तु उनके उत्तरों को हम इसलिए नहीं समझ पाते क्योंकि वे प्रायः हमारी आशा के अनुरूप नहीं होते। वास्तव में यदि हम भगवान को भली-भाँति समझते हैं तो हमें यह समझ होनी चाहिए कि वे सर्वशक्तिमान भी हैं और सर्वज्ञ भी। वे परम शक्तिमान और परम बुद्धिमान दोनों है। प्रायः हम भगवान के पास तब जाते हैं जब हमारे पास कोई ऐसी समस्या होती है जिसको हम हल नहीं कर सकते। हम उनसे प्रार्थना करते हैं, कि चूँकि आप हमसे अधिक शक्तिशाली हैं, तो कृपया अपनी शक्ति का प्रयोग करके हमारी समस्या को हल करें। किन्तु यह तो भगवान पर मात्र आधा ही विश्वास करना हुआ। हम केवल उनकी शक्ति पर विश्वास कर रहे हैं, किन्तु उनकी बुद्धि पर नहीं। हम केवल उनके सर्वशक्तिमान होने पर भरोसा कर रहे हैं लेकिन उनके सर्वज्ञ होने पर नहीं। भगवान भलीभाँति जानते हैं कि हमारा भला किसमें है अतः वे वही करते हैं जिसमें हमारा हित हो।

कभी-कभी समस्याओं का सामना करने से ही हमारा विकास होता है। यदि हम समय से पहले ही समस्या से मुक्त हो जाऐं, तो भीतरी विकास का अवसर चला जाता है। प्रकृति भी यही शिक्षा देती है कि संघर्ष करने से ही विकास होता है। एक बार एक नगरवासी जंगल से गुजर रहा था। उसने देखा कि एक पक्षी का अण्डा गिरा हुआ है। अण्डे के भीतर एक चिड़िया का बच्चा था, जो अण्डे के बाहर आने के लिए संघर्ष कर रहा था। अण्डे के टूटे हुए खोल से उस बच्चे के पंख आंशिक रूप से बाहर आ रहे थे। वह बच्चा निरंतर अपने खोल को तोड़ने का प्रयास कर रहा था। वह नन्हा जीव पूरी शक्ति लगा रहा था, किन्तु आवरण को तोड़ नहीं पा रहा था। बच्चा बड़ा व्याकुल था। उस नगरवासी ने करुणावश अण्डे का खोल तोड़ दिया और उस बच्चे को बाहर आने दिया। जब बच्चा हिलने-डुलने लगा तब अचानक एक बिल्ली आई और उस बच्चे पर झपटी। बच्चे ने उड़ने का प्रयास किया, पर चूँकि उसके पंख पूरी तरह से विकसित नहीं हुए थे, इसलिए वह उड़ नहीं सका और बिल्ली ने उसे खा लिया। नगरवासी को एहसास हुआ कि वास्तव में उसने बच्चे का अहित किया है। प्रकृति की व्यवस्था के अनुसार यदि बच्चा अण्डे के खोल को धक्का देने के लिए संघर्ष करता तो इससे उसकी शक्ति में वृद्धि होती। जब उस बच्चे की शक्ति इतनी हो जाती कि वह स्वयं अपने बल पर खोल को तोड़ने में सक्षम हो जाता, तो उसके पंख भी शक्तिशाली हो जाते। उन विकसित पंखों से वह उड़ पाता। अतः खोल को समय से पहले तोड़ने से उस चिड़िया के बच्चे को सहायता नहीं मिली, बल्कि उसका नुकसान हुआ।

अतः हमें यह नहीं सोचना चाहिए कि भगवान का उद्देश्य केवल हमारी समस्याओं का समाधान करना है। भगवान का मुख्य उद्देश्य हमारे विकास में हमारी सहायता करना है। समस्याऐं कभी-कभी उस आवरण की तरह होती हैं जो हमें ढक देती हैं। भगवान हमें उन समस्याओं से जूझने देते हैं, अतः कभी-कभी हमारी समस्याओं का समाधान नहीं हो पाता। तब हमें ऐसा प्रतीत हो सकता है कि हमारी प्रार्थनाओं का उत्तर नहीं दिया जा रहा है। यदि हम भगवान से इच्छापूर्ति के लिए नहीं, बल्कि यह प्रार्थना करें कि आप जानते हैं कि मेरे लिए सर्वश्रेष्ठ क्या है, कृपया मेरा मार्गदर्शन करें। इस मनोवृत्ति के साथ उनके पास जाने से हम आंतरिक रूप से सशक्त होंगे। ऐसी प्रार्थनाओं से हमें समस्या का सामना करने की शक्ति मिलेगी।

भगवान को यह बताने की बजाय कि हमारी समस्या कितनी बड़ी है, हमें अपनी समस्यायों को यह बताना चाहिए कि भगवान कितने बड़े हैं। जब हमारे पास ऐसा दृष्टिकोण होगा, तो हम समाधान के लिए नहीं, बल्कि मार्गदर्शन और आत्मबल के लिए भगवान के पास जाऐंगे। हम न केवल भगवान की शक्ति पर विश्वास करें अपितु उनकी बुद्धि पर भी विश्वास रखें। वे हमें न केवल समस्या का सामना करने की शक्ति प्रदान करें अपितु समस्या से जूझने का सही मार्ग खोजने की बुद्धि भी प्रदान करें। इस प्रकार हम जिस भी समस्या का सामना करेंगे, हम भगवान की कृपा से न केवल समस्या से जूझ पाऐंगे बल्कि उस समस्या के माध्यम से अपना

End of transcription.

Answer Podcast:

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Transcription :

Transcribed by: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Raji Nachiappan

Question: Why does God not answer our prayers?

Answer: Prayers always work. God always answers our prayers, but we do not understand his answers because those do not always come in terms that we expect. If we truly understand God, then we should understand both his omnipotence and his omniscience. He is both supremely strong and supremely wise. We often go to God when we have a problem we cannot solve. We pray to him, that since you are much stronger, please utilize your strength to solve our problem. However, this is trusting only half of God. We are trusting only his strength, but not his intelligence. We are trusting only his omnipotence but not his omniscience. God knows what is best for us and because he knows, he will do what is best for us.

Sometimes, only by facing the problems, we will grow. If we are prematurely relieved of the problem, the opportunity for growth will be missed. Nature also tells that growth happens through struggle. Once a city-dweller was going through the forest and saw a bird’s egg that had fallen. Inside the egg was a birdlet who was struggling to come out. The wings were coming out partially through the cracked shell while the birdlet kept pushing and pushing. The tiny creature was applying all the force it could but was not able to crack the shell. The birdlet was in distress. The city-dweller out of compassion cracked open the shell and let the birdlet come out. When the birdlet started moving, suddenly a cat appeared and charged towards him. The birdlet tried to fly, but since its wings were not fully developed, it could not. It was then caught and devoured by the cat. The city-dweller realised that he had actually done a disservice to the birdlet. Nature had arranged in such a way that by struggling to push against the shell of the egg, the birdlet’s strength would grow. When the birdlet’s strength grows adequately enough to break the shell on its own, birdlet’s wings will also grow. Those developed wings will strengthen him to fly. Hence by pre-mature breaking of the shell, the birdlet was not helped, rather he was harmed.

We should not, therefore, think that God’s purpose is only to solve our problems. God’s purpose is primarily to help us grow. Problems are sometimes like the shell that are covering us. God allows us to go through those problems and that is why sometimes our problems may not be solved. It may appear to us that our prayers are not answered. However, if we pray to God, not with a demanding mood, but by saying that since he knows what is best for us, please guide us. By approaching him with such attitude, we will find ourselves internally strengthened. By such prayers, we will get the strength to face the problem.

Rather than telling God how big our problem is, we have to tell our problem how big God is. When we have this attitude, we will go to God not so much for solutions, but for guidance and strength. We trust not only God’s strength, but also his wisdom to do what is best for us. That he not only provides us the strength to face the problem but also the intelligence to find the right way to go through the problem. Then whatever problem we face, we will be able to go through and grow through the problem by his grace.

End of transcription.

The post Why does God not answer our prayers? (PK answered 5) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

GODS, DEMONS AND HEROES.

The condensed version of Mahabharata, the world’s greatest epic.

CHAPTER ONE Five Godly Boys

Spring had arrived in the mountains. The atmosphere was delightfully fresh. Pandu strolled through a field of fragrant flowers, admiring the celestial scenery. Cuckoos sang in the nearby champaka trees, and black bees hummed as they swarmed around the bright yellow blossoms. Pandu’s young wife Madri walked ahead of him, her long silk robe flowing in the gentle breeze. She sang softly to herself as she stooped to gather flowers. As Pandu approached, she turned and smiled at him. The warm sun shone from behind her. Pandu could see the silhouette of her graceful form through her billowing dress. She was indeed beautiful. The bright sunlight shone through her golden hair, framing her perfect features. Pandu felt his heart stirring. It had been more than seven years since he had embraced her. An irresistible urge overpowered him. Placing on the ground the sack of wild vegetables he had gathered, he took a step towards his wife.
Madri could immediately understand his feelings. Seeing him seized by desire, the princess was fearful. “O king, remember the sage’s words!” She spoke urgently, but Pandu seemed not to hear. She put up her hands to stop him, shaking her head. “My lord! Stop! O great hero, control your mind. A deadly danger now threatens you.”
But Pandu was oblivious to her warnings. Her attempts to make him desist only fuelled his desire. Taking hold of her outsretched arms he pulled them around his body and took her in a firm embrace. Madri struggled desperately, trying to free herself. Entirely overcome by lust Pandu laughed. He dropped to the soft grass, dragging Madri down with him. With the princess clasped in his powerful arms he rolled over. Pinning her to the ground he sought her lips with his own.
Suddenly Pandu felt a terrible pain gripping his chest. He gasped and his limbs froze. As his horrifed wife looked on he fell from her body. With a stifled cry he breathed a final choking breath and his lifeless body went limp.
Madri cried out and scrambled toward him, great sobs wracking her frame. It was too late. The rishi’s curse had come to pass. Pandu was gone. The queen fell on his body and wept uncontrollably. She lamented piteously, addressing her dead husband. “O unconquerable one, how were you conquered by lust? Alas, I blame myself. Why did I go alone with you to these woods? How was I so foolish? O lord, I cannot live without you. I shall surely follow the path you have taken.”
Her cries rose up and were carried on the breeze. They echoed through the woods. Not far away, in Pandu’s forest ashram, his other wife Kunti was preparing a fire to cook their evening meal. Madri’s wails reached her and she stood still, trying to ascertain where they were coming from. Madri’s two young sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, were with her and they too heard the cries. “What is it, mother Kunti?” they asked. “Who is that?”
“I am not sure, but I will go and see. Where are your brothers?”
“They are just coming from the river,” Nakula replied.
“Then you two boys should stay here and wait for them. Tell them to follow me when they get here.”
Kunti made her way into the woods, quickly going toward the direction of the cries. She was sure it was Madri. What could have happened? Was it Kindama’s curse?
As she came out of the woods into the field her fears were confirmed. To her horror she saw the fallen Pandu, his head cradled in Madri’s lap. For some moments—moments that felt like hours—she stood staring in shock. Then, her legs feeling leaden, she ran toward them. She dropped to the ground by Pandu’s side. When she realized he was dead Kunti wailed in uncontrolled sorrow. She looked with streaming eyes at the anguished Madri. “O sister! What happened?”
Kunti’s voice was accusatory. How had Madri allowed the king to become allured? She knew well about the curse. “O Madri, I was ever careful in our lord’s presence. I would hardly even smile at him. He was always grave and self-controlled, remembering Kindama’s words. How did he lose his composure in your presence?”
Kunti’s words came between sobs. Her head fell on Pandu’s chest. Where had he gone? How could she live without him?
Madri buried her face in her hands, weeping silently. She already felt guilty for having caused Pandu’s death. Kunti’s words only exacerbated her pain. She took a deep breath. “O noble Kunti, dear sister, with tears in my eyes I tried to stop the king. But I was helpless.”
Seeing Madri’s piteous expression, Kunti felt compassion. She spoke more softly. “You are surely more fortunate than me, for you saw our lord’s face light up with joy as he approached you.”
That thought deeply pained Kunti. She fought back her envy as Madri shook her head and replied, “I am utterly undone. It seemed the king was intent on making the rishi’s curse come true. There was nothing I could do.”
Kunti felt her anger subside. Madri was surely being truthful. Somehow this terrible tragedy must be the Lord’s will. What now was her duty? She looked at the face of her husband, serene in death. The virtuous monarch had certainly gone to the higher worlds. Could she follow and serve him there? Doubtlessly Madri would also wish for that. But someone would have look to after the boys. Kunti took hold of Madri’s hand. “O sister, I am the senior wife. It is therefore my right to go with our husband to the region of the dead. Do not prevent me. Rise up and rear our children. I shall enter the fire with our husband.”
Madri looked up pleadingly. “See how I am still clasping our lord and have not allowed him to go. Let me follow him. He came to me with the desire for intercourse. That desire is not yet satiated. Should I not therefore go to Yamaraja’s kingdom in order to gratify him?”
Madri saw that Kunti had stiffened slightly. Sensing that her natural womanly jealousy was being aroused, she changed tack. She reached out to hold Kunti’s hand and said, “O revered sister, how could I raise the children as well as you? Unlike you, I will not be able to see them all with an equal eye. Please stay and serve our lord by looking after his sons. Grant me leave to enter the fire and go where he has gone.”
Kunti looked at Madri, fallen again onto Pandu’s body. It would be hard for her to carry on living with the memory of this moment. Guilt would consume her. And she was right about the boys. One of Pandu’s wives had to remain in order to take care of his sons, and Kunti, with the greater number of sons herself, knew that it was more her duty than Madri’s. It would be better to let Madri go.
Kunti rose to her feet and said softly, “Let it be as you wish, dear sister.”
Getting up slowly, she walked back toward her cottage. The boys would have to be told.

* *

Not long after Kunti had left the cottage, her three sons returned. They saw the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, sitting alone. The eldest of the brothers, Yudhisthira, asked them, “Where is mother Kunti? We heard cries. Was it her?”
The twins shook their heads. Nakula replied, “No. Mother Kunti also heard the cries and has gone into the woods. She said you should follow her.”
Yudhisthira looked at his two brothers, Bhima and Arjuna. “Come on! Let’s go quickly. Mother may need us.”
He raced off into the woods, followed by all four of his brothers. The cries had stopped and he was not sure which way to go, but he chose the path leading to the fields. That was the way father usually went to collect vegetables for their meals. Yudhisthira had a feeling that the cries were something to do with him. As he ran he saw his mother ahead, stumbling toward them, her head in her hands. Obviously something terrible had happened.
As Kunti approached the brothers they could see the tearstreaks on her face. Seeing her sons, she tried to smile. With the five boys gathered round her, she said, “Dear sons, our only shelter now is the Lord. Father is no more. He has gone to the abode of your ancestors.”
The boys looked at her in shock. None of them could speak. Kunti wept softly. Finally Yudhisthira said, “How did it happen? Surely no one could have killed Father. Was it an accident?”
Yudhisthira knew his father to be a powerful warrior. He also knew that they were living in a place where practically everyone was an ascetic, devoted to meditation and the practice of religion. Who could have harmed his father?
Struggling to contain her grief, Kunti replied, “Your father has fallen victim to a rishi’s curse. He is lying on the other side of this wood. Madri is with him.”
The boys ran past their mother and burst out of the woods. Seeing their father lying dead and Madri next to him they cried out. They dropped to the ground, wailing and rolling about in grief. Madri, feeling more peaceful knowing that she would soon follow her husband, spoke gently to the twins, who had run to her side. “My dear sons, the ways of the Lord are mysterious. You must now serve your mother Kunti with love. She will take care of you. I must follow your father into the next world.”
The twins stared at their mother. They did not know what to say. This was only their eighth summer and they could hardly comprehend what was happening. The situation was completely overwhelming. They ran to Kunti and she held them to her bosom, her tears falling on their heads. Their three brothers continued to vent their grief with loud wails. Hearing the cries, a number of rishis came into the field. Seeing the dead king they went over to him and immediately began performing his last rites. As they rythmically chanted the holy mantras the boys felt soothed and they stood up with folded palms. The distraught Kunti stood by their side, watching as the rishis led Madri away from Pandu. They lifted his body onto a bier and began carrying it out of the woods toward the river, followed by the weeping Madri.
Supported by her two eldest sons, Kunti walked behind Madri. Some of the rishis led the younger boys back to the ashram as Pandu’s body was taken to the riverbank. It was garlanded with forest flowers and daubed with the sacred Ganges clay. A large pyre was built by the water’s edge and the body was placed upon it. With the rishis constantly reciting Vedic mantras, Yudhisthira set fire to the sandalwood pyre. As the flames rose up Madri suddenly threw herself onto the body, crying out, “My lord!” Within moments both she and Pandu’s body had been reduced to ashes.
Kunti cried terribly. Her sons stood by with tears streaming down their faces. As the flames subsided the rishis spoke wisdom from the Vedas, describing the eternality of the soul. Pacified by the sages’ words, Kunti and the boys slowly returned to their ashram. It seemed empty and lonely. They looked at each other in silence, realising that they could not stay there any longer without Pandu.
As they sat in sorrow a leader of the rishis came into the cottage and spoke to Kunti. “Now that your protector has gone you must return to your family in Hastinapura. In due time Yudhisthira must assume the throne, assisted by his mighty brothers.”
The boys knew their father had been the king in Hastinapura, the great capital of the world and seat of the powerful Kuru dynasty. He had told them he came to the forest as a result of a rishi’s curse, but they did not know the full details. It must have been a truly terrible imprecation. What had he done to deserve it? They looked querulously at their mother.
Devastated by the sudden loss of her husband and co-wife, Kunti found it difficult to speak. “I will try to explain as we travel to the city,” she said, wiping her face with the end of her sari. “Your father and I had been meaning to tell you.”
The sage said they should leave at once. He and the other rishis would accompany them to the city. Kunti agreed and she began gathering her few belongings together, telling the boys to do the same. Within a short time they were ready to go.
A long line of rishis set out for Hastinapura, with Kunti and her sons in their midst. They were accompanied by a number of Siddhas and Charanas, celestial beings who also dwelt on the mountain where they lived.
As they walked Kunti tried to gather her senses. She had to tell her sons about the curse—and especially about their births. Bringing the boys around her, she said, “Once when your father was hunting in the forest he accidently slew a rishi called Kindama who had assumed the form of a deer. To free him from the reaction of that sin the rishi uttered a curse. Your father had shot Kindama when he was just about to beget a child on his wife. The sage therefore told the king that if he ever tried to beget children he would immediately die. Your father then decided to live a life of asceticism.”
Kunti explained that Pandu, unable to beget children, had sought some other way of continuing his line. “I told him of a boon I had received from another rishi when I was a girl. That sage, named Durvasa, had been pleased by my service. He blessed me that I would be able to summon any god I desired. Thus your father had me call various great deities. First of all, Dharma, the god of religion.”
She looked across at her eldest son, who was listening intently. “Dear Yudhisthira, that powerful god is your seminal father.”
Kunti said that Bhima was the son of Vayu, god of the winds. Arjuna was the son of Indra, the king of the gods, and the twins were born of the twin Ashvini gods, the celestial physicians. “Thus were you three eldest boys born of myself, and the twins of Madri, who had begged me that she be allowed to use the mantra. A heavenly voice was heard at each of your births, prophesying great things for all of you. Yudhisthira will be the lord of the earth, Bhima the most powerful man, Arjuna the greatest among archers, and the twins possessed of celestial beauty and energy.”
The boys looked at each other. They had never guessed the truth. Sons of the gods. Their father had often told them that a great destiny awaited them—that one day they would return to Hastinapura to become rulers. But he had never explained how they had been born.
Kunti smiled a little through her grief. “Your ancestors have long ruled the earth, keeping it firmly on the path of religion. That duty will surely fall to you boys in due course.”
In what seemed only a short while, they saw the city ahead of them. They were walking on a broad paved road that had great archways over it, carved with numerous representations of the gods. Cultivated fields lay on either side of the road, filled with neat rows of vegetables and patches of golden wheat. Everywhere farmers worked the land, tilling the ground with teams of black oxen. They looked in wonder at the procession of celestials and rishis, saluting them as they walked by, and the sages offered them blessings.
By late afternoon the procession reached the city gates, which were set in the huge granite wall that surrounded the entire city. Messengers went quickly to inform the king, and soon a large crowd of citizens came out of the city. They were astonished to see the many rishis and other celestial beings, which resembled an assembly of the gods.
When the greetings were complete, a leading rishi told the king what had happened. “Steadily adhering to the path of virtue, Pandu has ascended to heaven along with his chaste wife Madri. Here are his five sons, born of the gods.”
The rishi named each of the deities who had fathered the five boys. After instructing the king to take care of their welfare and studies, he rejoined the other rishis. Then, before the eyes of the amazed citizens, all the sages and celestials disappeared from the spot.
One of the leading Kurus came up to Kunti and greeted her with folded palms. She introduced him to her sons. “This is your grandfather Bhishma.” The boys all bowed low in respect. Bhishma then led Kunti and the five boys into the city, arranging their accomodation in the royal palace.
The last rites ceremony was performed for Pandu and Madri. All the leading Kurus along with thousands of citizens entered the Ganges and made offerings for the departed souls. A twelve day period of mourning then followed for the whole city, concluding with a great feast. Large amounts of wealth were given in charity to the brahmins and everyone in the city was fed sumptuously by the king. Life then returned to normal and Pandu’s sons took their place in the royal family.

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Prema-sarovara, where Radha and Krsna once met, and in a moment of separation, They shed so many tears that it formed the waters of this sarovara. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans and lectures below, along with a few photos, at Prema-sarovara during Parikrama 2017 and Parikrama 2018.

In the Prema-sarovara, all the holy rivers manifest. There is a story explaining how all the holy rivers came here on a pilgrimage. This place came about because of viraha – separation. In the philosophy presented by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, viraha-bhava (mood of separation) is listed as the topmost state of love of God. It is a bit of a mystery and it is difficult to understand because in our world, separation is no fun. Some people are homesick here, wondering, “Oh Vrndavana, so austere!” Some people feel separation from someone, something or some place. How is separation the highest state in relation to Krsna? Feeling separation from Krsna is supposed to be the highest experience. How? Is separation fun? Is it ecstasy? It is difficult to understand this from an ordinary point of view. The only reason these feelings are the highest is because as soon as one is separated from Krsna, one begins to remember Him.

When we remember Krsna, it is special; it is not the same as remembering an ordinary, mundane thing. When we remember mundane things, then we are separated. When we chant the holy name of Krsna, He is actually there, but by chanting the name ‘water’, water never manifests. There is a clear distinction. By remembering Krsna, He immediately manifests Himself through that remembrance and the result is that one becomes ecstatic. Separation on the spiritual platform therefore immediately leads to remembrance, which leads to ecstasy. As such, separation is actually a cause of great ecstasy. We may understand this intellectually, but do we emotionally understand it? When Radharani and Krsna meet, this seems to be the highest experience.

Krsna is suhrt. He is our dear-most friend. Prabhupāda said that Krsna is our best friend and the devotees responded, “No, Prabhupada, you are our best friend! We do not know Krsna; we only know you!” Prabhupada explained, “No, Krsna is your best friend because He is omniscient and knows everything, whereas I do not and may disappoint you.” This quality of omniscience means that Krsna knows the deepest desires within our hearts. He knows everything and as a result, He will never disappoint us. Not that He gives us everything we want, but if we stick with Krsna we will surely become completely fulfilled. So we should have this meditation with us as well. We must remember that Krsna is not far away from us. Even here, in this material world, Krsna is actually present with us.

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 12 – Prema-sarovara " was published on KKSBlog.

Video – SB 1.8.26 The Enemy of Perfection 2020-11-08 Ljubljana

The post Video - SB 1.8.26 The Enemy of Perfection 11/8/2020 first appeared on Prahladananda Swami.

In 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Narada-kunda, a place to reflect on Narada Muni, a pure Vaisnava, and the meaning of true bhakti. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtan and lecture below, along with a few photos, at Narada-kunda during Parikrama 2018.

Narada Muni desired to join the pastimes of Krsna as a gopi. He went to Kusuma-sarovara, took his bath there and transformed into Narada gopi. That, of course, was very convenient for him to enter the pastimes of the gopis. When Krsna saw Naradi, He began, “My Dear Narada, how nice it is that you are here to experience the pastimes of bhakti. I request that you write a book about the nature of bhakti that you are absorbing here!” So we can see that Krsna was not fooled by Narada Muni’s disguise and the book that is then written is the Narada-bhakti-sutra.

Narada Muni is, by his consciousness, a resident of Vaikuntha who worships Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is His representative. He is one of the mental sons of Lord Brahma who is pure and transcendental. His body is spiritual and therefore he is actually a resident of the spiritual world. As such, wherever he goes, he takes the spiritual world with him. He takes many personalities into that spiritual realm. Narada Muni acts as a spiritual master. He is the personification of the spiritual master because he is cent per cent transcendental. There is no question of any fault in Narada. Anything that Narada does is an act of mercy, even he makes politics, which he sometimes does.

Narada is basically teaching sambandha. There are three stages, sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana. In sambandha, we make a connection with Krsna and we look towards the goal. What is bhakti actually? It creates a focus, like a zoom lens. In abhidheya, we get information on the process of purification. In these verses, Narada is still defining bhakti and where it is to be found, therefore it is sambandha-jnana. An example of prayojana-jnana is when we speak about Narada being Naradi gopi and entering into the pastimes of Krsna and His gopi associates. Such Vraja bhakti or pure unadulterated love is found in five rasas as displayed by the residents of Vrndavana.

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 11 – Narada-kunda " was published on KKSBlog.

For Vaishnavas, especially Rama Bhaktas, Diwali is a celebration of the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after killing the demon-king Ravana. Philosophically it symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. Diwali also falls on an even more important day for Krishna bhaktas, Govardhana puja, the day the Lord lifted Govardhana Hill to protect His devotees in Vraja from the torrential rains sent by King Indra. Both have a spiritual tie to the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Consider the far-reaching effects the TOVP will have on the history of the world by awakening millions of people to real spiritual knowledge and the mercy flow of Krishna prema from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is the manifestation of the vision of Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Lord Nityananda’s prediction that, “from this unique mandir the eternal service of Lord Caitanya will spread.”

As an analogy, we can compare the TOVP to Govardhana Hill. Just as Krishna lifted Govardhana and held it up for seven days with the ‘help’ of the cowherd men and boys to protect them from Indra’s rains, in the same way Lord Caitanya is raising the TOVP with all our ‘help’ to protect humanity from the ignorance and illusion being poured down on the human race for the next ten thousand years.

So, let us continue to “Raise Lord Caitanya’s Temple by the Hands of Every Devotee” and bring forth the deepa (light) of knowledge for the next ten thousand years, as Srila Prabhupada said:

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

June 21, 1976

You can help today on this auspicious occasion and during the month of Damodar, the month of prayer and giving, by sponsoring one of five abhishekas for the Grand Installation Ceremony of the new Prabhupada murti in the TOVP in October, 2021, his 125th Appearance Anniversary Year. This will be our combined guru dakshina and welcome to the TOVP for our Founder/Acharya, and every ISKCON man, woman and child can participate in this historic celebration.

Sponsor an abhisheka today!.

We wish you a most auspicious and spiritually uplifting celebration, and a healthy and safe remainder of the year.

    When we talk about sankirtana, we are, of course, talking about the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names, specifically in the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. For many people, this is the first way they come in contact with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and with Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement, by hearing the devotees chanting the holy names. But what is it about this process that makes it so effective, and so important in the way people are first exposed to it?
    To answer this, we find specific evidence in the works of Jiva Goswami who explains it a most insightful way.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SANKIRTANA IN KALI-YUGA

    First of all, we find information about the importance of sankirtana for this age of Kali-yuga. In his Sri Krishna-sandarbha, Anuccheda 82, Jiva Goswami explains: “Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His holy names, qualities, and pastimes are sublime and unequaled. That no other holy name of the Lord is equal to the name of Krishna is confirmed in the following verse from the Sri Krsnastottara-shata-nama-stotra, found in the Brahmanda Purana: ‘By chanting the holy name of Lord Krishna only once, one achieves the same purifying effect obtained by chanting other names of the Supreme Lord three thousand times.’”
    Then, continuing in his Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, we find important additional information which clarifies things even further. Starting at Anuccheda 270, he explains how and why kirtana is the recommended process for Kali-yuga:
    “This devotion to the Lord in the form of kirtana is unlimitedly merciful to devotees who are humble and devoid of the pride associated with wealth, prestigious birth, admirable qualifications and praiseworthy accomplishments. This is understood from the Vedas and the Puranas. As stated in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana:
    “‘Therefore in Kali-yuga, activities such as penance, yoga, study of the Vedas and sacrifices, cannot be properly performed, even by those who are highly competent.’
    “Therefore sankirtana, appearing amidst the people of Kali-yuga, who are naturally meek, easily confers upon them all the results derived from the practices prominent in other yugas and thus makes them perfect. For this reason, the Lord is especially pleased in Kali-yuga only by sankirtana, as stated in the Caturmasya-mahatmya of the Skanda Purana: ‘In this world, singing about Lord Hari is the best penance. In Kali-yuga especially, one should perform kirtana for the pleasure of Lord Vishnu.’
    “The same point is made by sage Sukadeva: ‘What is attained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Lord Vishnu, and in Treta-yuga by propitiating Him with elaborate sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by worship of the deity, is attained in Kali-yuga by singing about Lord Hari’ (Bhagavatam 12.3.52)
    “Also, ‘Whatever one achieves in Satya-yuga by meditation, in Treta-yuga by the performance of sacrifices [rituals], and in Dvapara-yuga by worship of the deity, is attained in Kali-yuga by singing about Lord Keshava.’” (Vishnu Purana 6.2.17)
      Furthermore, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.36-37) says: “Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age, all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of sankirtana. Indeed, there is no higher possible gain for embodied souls forced to wander throughout the material world than the Supreme Lord’s sankirtana movement, by which one can attain the supreme peace and free oneself from the cycle of repeated birth and death.”
    So, in many ways, the Lord is so merciful that since this is the worst age, the Lord has given us the easiest way to be delivered from this situation of the repeated cycles of birth and death. In whatever other method of spiritual development that is possible, in Kali-yuga a person can attain whatever is necessary by the process of sankirtana. It cannot get much easier than that.
    Jiva Goswami continues to elaborate on the above verse, “… supreme peace means that one attains the pinnacle of fixity in the Lord, which is unattainable even by meditation and other methods, and as a concomitant result, one’s material bondage is also destroyed. Thus, even the people of Satya-yuga, who were established in meditation, could not attain such fixity in the Lord.
    “In the Skanda Purana it is said: ‘In Kali-yuga great devotees always perform kirtana.’ In other yugas, the Lord, who bestows special grace only upon the meek, did not reveal the process, or the glory, of kirtana, which is the cause of such fixity in Him. According to the above statement from the Skanda Purana, the reason why the Lord did not promulgate kirtana in other yugas is because the people of those times had the ability to follow the processes recommended for their respective ages. Consequently, the people of those ages, who were fit for meditation and other practices, would not have considered the mere movement of the tongue and lips as much of a spiritual practice, and thus they would not have faith in kirtana.”
    This is the benefit of Kali-yuga. The processes that take years to develop in other ages can be quickly accomplished in a short life in Kali-yuga. For this reason, as related in the Bhagavatam (11.5.38), “The inhabitants of Satya-yuga and other ages eagerly desire to take birth in this age of Kali, since in this age there will be many devotees of the Supreme Lord.” This also indicates that there will be the process of sankirtana that will be popular amongst those devotees, which is all that makes the age of Kali-yuga attractive.
    Therefore, as it is said in the Skanda Purana, the Vaisakha-mahatmya of the Padma Purana, and the Vishnu-dharma, “At all times and in every place one should sing the names of the Lord, the wielder of the disc.” And in the Skanda Purana again, “the chanting of the holy names is not dependent upon any particular place, time, condition or purity of the heart. Rather, it is fully independent and awards the result desired by the aspirant.” And again in the Vishnu-dharma, “For one in whose heart Lord Govinda is situated, the age of Kali is Satya-yuga, and for one in whose heart Lord Achyuta is not present, the age of Satya is Kali-yuga.”

THE SUPERIORITY OF KIRTANA

    Going back to Jiva Goswami’s Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, Anuccheda 273, he explains how kirtana is the superior process for all. “In the Vishnu Purana it is said: ‘By fixing the mind on Krishna, one does not go to hell. Those who have fixed their hearts and minds on Krishna consider even the pleasure of heaven as an obstacle to meditation on Him. Then, even Satya-loka, the planet of Brahma, appears insignificant. It is no wonder then that the sins of those who sing the names of Lord Achyuta are destroyed, because the imperishable Lord, becoming situated in the hearts of those who are pure in mind, grants them liberation.’ (Vishnu Purana 6.8.55)
    “This verse of the Vishnu Purana shows by the kaimutya principle the superiority of kirtana over remembrance of Krishna, which continues even in the state of trance.
    “Therefore, it was said earlier: ‘O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, and also those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, as well as those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.’ (Bhagavatam 2.1.11)
    “And in the Vaishnava chintamani, ‘The remembrance of Lord Vishnu, which destroys sin, is attained through tremendous effort. Therefore, singing is superior to remembrance because it is accomplished merely by moving the lips.’
    “The superiority of kirtana is shown elsewhere also: ‘O descendant of Bharata, the names of Lord Hari are always present on the tongue of one who has properly worshiped Lord Vasudeva for hundreds of previous lives.’
    “The preeminence of kirtana is also understood from the Namaparadha-bhanjana-stotra, already cited in Anuccheda 265, which states that the holy name delivers one even from offences to Lord Hari.
    “Thus, in all yugas, singing the Lord’s name has the same power. Nonetheless, in Kali-yuga, the Lord personally advocates the method of kirtana out of His grace, and for this reason kirtana has been specifically praised in scripture for the age of Kali. So, if one performs any other type of bhakti in Kali-yuga, it should be accompanied by kirtana, for it is said (Bhagavatam 11.5.32): ‘In the age of Kali-yuga, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions.”
    In Anuccheda 265, Jiva Goswami explains that “After the glorification of the Bhagavata Purana, Sri Suka begins the narration. From the very outset, although there are many limbs of devotion, he instructs the king that singing the Lord’s names is the chief of all methods for attaining perfection. Furthermore, he informs the king that such singing of the Lord’s names is also the supreme goal for all.
    “O King, constant chanting of the holy name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, and also those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, as well as those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge.” (Bhagavatam 2.1.11)
    [The great commentator on the Bhagavatam] “Sridhara Swami comments: ‘There is no method more beneficial than singing the Lord’s names, both for practitioners and for those who have already attained perfection. Sri Suka speaks this verse just to make this clear. For those desiring material enjoyment, singing the Lord’s names is the very means by which their desires can be fulfilled. For those who seek liberation, this alone is the means of salvation. And for those who seek knowledge of the Absolute, this also has been determined as the goal. By saying that this has already been concluded, it indicates that there is no need for further evidence in this regard.’
    Then Narada Muni describes his own experience after being instructed by the Lord, and just before leaving his material body to be transferred to a spiritual body, “Thus I began chanting the holy name and fame of the Lord by repeated recitation, ignoring all the formalities of the material world. Such chanting and remembering of the transcendental pastimes of the Lord are benedictory. So doing, I traveled all over the earth, fully satisfied, humble and unenvious.” (Bhagavatam 1.6.26)
    This is the power of the process of chanting and singing about the glories of the Lord, which is attained only after many lifetimes of spiritual pursuits, or by the rare blessing of a pure devotee. Nonetheless, it is also recommended to avoid the ten offenses to the holy name if a person wants to make rapid progress. 

SPEAKING ABOUT THE LORD IS REALITY

    Also, simply remembering Krishna is itself the epitome of yoga, as Lord Krishna says in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.13.14). Therefore, anything that helps us remember Krishna, whether singing, chanting, or reciting and reading about Him, puts us in touch with Him as the Supreme Reality.
    In this connection, in Anuccheda 269 of Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami explains how speaking about the Lord is real, by quoting the verses from the Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.12.49-50): “Words that do not describe the transcendental Personality of Godhead but instead deal with temporary matters are simply false and useless. Only those words that manifest the transcendental qualities of the Supreme Lord are actually truthful, auspicious and pious. Those words describing the glories of the all-famous Personality of Godhead are attractive, relishable and ever fresh. Indeed, such words are a perpetual festival for the mind, and they dry up the ocean of misery.”
    “The word asatih here means false, and asatam, extracted from the compound asat-katha, refers to speech about people other than the Lord and His devotees. These adjectives describe speech that is unrelated to the Lord. On the other hand, that speech in which the fame of the glorious Lord is sung is alone real and endowed with the other virtues mentioned in these two verses. This refers specifically to recitations of the Lord’s pastimes. And why is this speech true and auspicious? In answer to this, Suta says that this speech causes the Lord’s qualities to be revealed in the heart of the speaker. This means that such discussions generate love for the Lord.”

HOW SANKIRTANA EFFECTS OTHERS
BY AROUSING LOVE

    Now we are starting to approach the unique view that I want to highlight in Jiva Goswami’s explanation of how and why sankirtana is so potent. It is because it invokes and inspires the love that all conditioned souls are continually looking for. No matter what a person does, it is done for expressing or seeking love. But that love outside the connection with the Supreme Person is only a reflection of the real love for which the soul is always seeking. And that real love, which is spiritual, is often first experienced to some degree by someone who hears the transcendental sound of the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.
    The sound of the holy names enters the ears, and then passes through the mind, which may interpret it as being attractive. But the vibration goes deeper through the intelligence until it reaches the soul, which then reverberates the sound because of the love that is invoked in the soul. It is that love, or even the reflection of it, that captures the soul. The soul wants to dive more deeply into this feeling and then focuses on the chanting and singing of the holy names. This is more than merely playing the mridunga drums in a traditional or attractive way, which may indeed attract some people. It is more than singing the traditional melodies. But it is the love for Lord Krishna which the kirtan leaders inject into the vibration of the holy names which inspires the listeners to want to become part of the kirtana. Even Srila Prabhupada once explained in a lecture (Bg. 7.1, in LA, Dec. 2, 1968) that in leading a kirtana, our first business is to please Krishna. Then we give the crowd Krishna, which will then please the participants.
    This reflects on the fact that if there is a universal language, it is music. Music can capture moods, attitudes, longings, and inspirations even when the language of the words are not fully understood. And when the language is the transcendental, spiritual vibrations of the Lord’s holy names, qualities and characteristics, a person can feel like they are coming home, or have even arrived at what they have been searching for over many lifetimes, which is the divine love in connection with Lord Krishna.
    This is also why it is important that the kirtana leaders use a melody which is easy to follow, in which people can easily join in and participate. That is the key–they become participants in this form of devotional service. For many, it may be the first act of devotional service to the Lord that they have ever performed. And if they can join in, then they get the added benefit of not merely listening, but in participating in the sankirtana. Otherwise, if the melody is complicated or difficult to follow, then the audience may simply stand or sit there and become mere observers, and cannot easily participate in singing along. Listening is also greatly beneficial, but participating in the kirtana is even better. Plus, the more people who join in the singing, the more powerful it becomes.
    It is like the explanation of the difference between the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana. The Vishnu Purana often contains the same stories, even elaborations of details not found in the Bhagavatam. But it is said that the Vishnu Purana is described from the point of view as a reporter telling the stories. But the Bhagavata Purana is sweeter because it tells the stories from the view of a participant, someone who is actively involved in the events that are being described. So, it is much more intimate and endearing.
    As described by Jiva Goswami in Anuccheda 266, “When the beauty of Lord Krishna’s form is glorified, it creates an attraction for the speech of the poets who sing the glories of the Lord’s form.    
    “Therefore, the four Kumaras also prayed: ‘O Lord, we pray that You let us be born in any hellish condition of life, just as long as our hearts and minds are always engaged in the service of Your lotus feet, our words are made beautiful [by speaking of Your activities] just as tulasi leaves are beautified when offered unto Your lotus feet, and as long as our ears are always filled with the chanting of Your transcendental qualities.’” (Bhagavatam 3.15.49)
    In this way, the more love there is in the descriptions of the glories of the Lord, the more it attracts the listeners who then can feel that love. The extent of the feeling of love for the Lord is expressed in the verse from the Bhagavatam (11.2.40), “By chanting the holy name of the Supreme Lord, one comes to the stage of love of Godhead. Then the devotee is fixed in his vow as an eternal servant of the Lord, and he gradually becomes very much attached to a particular name and form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As his heart melts with ecstatic love, he laughs very loudly or cries or shouts. Sometimes he sings and dances like a madman, for he is indifferent to public opinion.”
    Furthermore, in Anuccheda 264, Jiva Goswami says that the effect of chanting or singing the Lord’s names also grants one direct experience of the Lord’s attributes. Through this process, it opens the channels for direct experience and realization.

SANKIRTANA INVOKES THE LORD’S ATTRACTION FOR THE DEVOTEES

    The other aspect of how sankirtana invokes love, is that singing and chanting about the Lord attracts the Lord Himself. As Jiva Goswami continues to explain in Anuccheda 269: “In the Skanda Purana it is said ’O King, Lord Hari goes wherever stories about Him and His devotees are sung, just as a cow follows her calf out of great affection.’
    “In the Vishnu-dharma and in the Skanda Purana the Lord says: ‘I never abandon a person who always narrates my stories, one who is intent on hearing them, or one whose mind is captivated by My stories.’ 
    “The verb anugiyate, meaning ‘is repeatedly sung,’ in the above verse from the Bhagavatam (12.12.50) implies that if one has a melodious voice, he or she should sing the pastimes of the Lord. This implies that singing the pastimes of the Lord is superior to simple hearing and recitation. The same is true about singing about the holy names, forms and qualities of the Lord.”
    In Anuccheda 262, we find “The chanting of the holy name of Lord Vishnu is the best process of atonement for a thief of gold or other valuables, for a drunkard, for one who betrays a friend or relative, for one who kills a brahmana, etc… Simply by chanting the holy name of Lord Vishnu, such sinful persons may attract the attention of the Supreme Lord, who therefore considers, ‘Because this person has chanted My holy name, My duty is to give him protection.’ (Bhagavatam 6.2.10)
    “Sridhara Swami comments: ‘This alone is the best form of atonement. The reason for this is that when a person chants God’s names, it attracts the attention of Lord Vishnu, who thinks, ‘This person belongs to Me, and as such, I should protect him.’
    “Therefore, because the Lord’s name is part of His constitutional nature, it naturally impels Him to become absorbed in love for His devotees, who chant His names. As such, hearing even a part of the Lord’s names induces love in the great devotees of the Lord.”
    In Anuccheda 268, Jiva Goswami uses the verse from the Bhagavatam (2.8.4) to explain that the Lord becomes so attracted to the devotee that He enters their heart. “Persons who hear [and recite the activities of the Lord as in] Srimad-Bhagavatam regularly and are always taking the matter very seriously will have the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna manifested in their hearts within a short time.”
    “The adverbial phrase nati-dirghena kalena, qualifying the verb ‘enters,’ means that the Lord enters the devotee’s heart without delay. The verb vishate, meaning ‘He enters,’ means that the Lord directly appears in the devotee’s heart.”
    In this way, as the devotee becomes qualified for the Lord to enter his or her heart, so does the recitation or the singing of the holy names as in sankirtana become all the more potent and attractive. It is the love within the heart of the devotee that makes the sankirtana such a beautiful experience for those who hear it. The more love that is there, the more the Lord directly manifests within, and the more the listeners become enlivened by that spiritual vibration. 

THE LOVE FOR KRISHNA FOUND IN SANKIRTANA IS THE ETERNAL RESULT OF ALL SPIRITUAL PURSUITS

    In Jiva Goswami’s Sri Bhakti-sandarbha, Anuccheda 267 we find the verse from the Bhagavatam (1.5.22) that explains how all spiritual pursuits reach their zenith in bringing us to engage in reading, chanting and singing the holy names and characteristics of the Supreme Being: “Learned circles have positively concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, namely austerities, study of the Vedas, sacrifice, chanting of hymns and charity, culminates in the transcendental descriptions of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry.”
    “The word srutam means study of the Vedas; svishtam, sacrifices; suktam, recitation of mantras; buddham, scriptural knowledge; and dattam means gifts given in charity. When all of such acts are offered exclusively to the Lord, they bear eternal fruit. And what is that eternal fruit? Being able to engage in regular recitation of the virtues of the glorious Lord.
    “Even after attaining the supreme goal in the form of recitation of the Lord’s qualities out of love, one experiences ever-fresh delight in continuing to describe those qualities. It is for this reason that the adjective avichyuta has been used, which means that this result does not come to an end. Thus, the adjective avichyuta, ‘eternal [fruit]’ indicates that love for the Lord is the actual fruit of the recitation of His virtues.”

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!

As Toronto will move into the Red – Control category of the Province’s colour-coded system for COVID-19 restrictions beginning Saturday (14th Nov), the temple will remain closed on Sunday 15th Nov.

As the health of the devotees is paramount, we had to make this difficult decision to keep the temple closed on the day of Govardhan puja.

ISKCON Scarborough

3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,

Scarborough, Ontario,

Canada, M1V4C7

Website: www.iskconscarborough.org

Email:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

scarboroughiskcon@gmail.com

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Today, Sri Rama-ekadasi, is a very special day. It is the first Ekadasi in the month of Kartik, or Damodara, and it has special significance as the day on which Srila Prabhupada completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the most important book on the life and precepts of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which was originally published in seventeen volumes. Every devotee should read it. Actually, every devotee should read every book of Srila Prabhupada’s, from Sri Isopanisad, Bhagavad-gita As It Is, The Nectar of Devotion, and Srimad-Bhagavatam, to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. Although Sri Caitanya-caritamrta covers a wide range of topics, it is a very advanced book of study, and we will read from the end of it.

jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

“All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityananda! All glories to Advaitacandra! And all glories to all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

On this date, Sri Rama-ekadasi, in 1974, we went up the stairs to Srila Prabhupada’s quarters in the F-block in the back of the Juhu property. It was usual for us to go every morning at six o’clock to accompany Srila Prabhupada for his walk on Juhu Beach. But this time we were surprised to find that the door was locked. In fact, both doors—to his quarters and to his staff’s quarters—were locked, and we could not understand why. We knocked on the doors, and eventually Srila Prabhupada’s secretary Harikesa Prabhu opened the staff’s door and told us that Srila Prabhupada had just completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, that he had written the most beautiful glorification of his guru maharaja at the end, that he was in a very jubilant mood, and that he said we should celebrate by having a feast.

Now we shall read Srila Prabhupada’s “Concluding Words” to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta:

CONCLUDING WORDS

Today, Sunday, November 10, 1974—corresponding to the 10th of Kartika, Caitanya Era 488, the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, the Rama-ekadasi—we have now finished the English translation of Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in accordance with the authorized order of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Gosvami Maharaja, my beloved eternal spiritual master, guide, and friend. Although according to material vision His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada passed away from this material world on the last day of December, 1936, I still consider His Divine Grace to be always present with me by his vani, his words. There are two ways of association—by vani and by vapuh. Vani means “words,” and vapuh means “physical presence.” Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gita, for example, is the vani of Lord Krsna. Although Krsna was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gita continues.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada sets the theme for his Concluding Words in the very first sentence by saying that he had completed his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in accordance with the authorized order of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja—the order, the instruction, the words, the vani. Although Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura had passed away on the last day of December in 1936, Srila Prabhupada was still connected with him by serving his instructions. Almost forty years after his guru maharaja disappeared, Srila Prabhupada was pleased to offer him his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. In other words, his relationship with his spiritual master was not diminished by the passage of time, because the association of vani continues eternally. In Srila Prabhupada’s dedication to his translation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, he wrote, “To my eternal spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja. He lives eternally by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him.”

We never need to feel bereft of the association of the spiritual master or the parampara, because their association is always available through their words (vani), and as Srila Prabhupada wrote, we must take advantage of the vani. For example, Srila Prabhupada’s vani is available in his books. So we have to take advantage of his books. If we don’t read his books, if we don’t study his books, if we don’t discuss his books, how will we have his association? And we want his association.

A householder devotee in England told me that he was concerned about his son—not only his son, but also many other members of the congregation—because his son was focused on only his immediate authority in Krishna consciousness, whom he accepted as his guru. The devotee was concerned that his son should also develop his relationship with Srila Prabhupada, understanding that everything in ISKCON, including Prabhupada’s disciples, was the result of Prabhupada’s mercy. He felt that his son should have a proper, tangible, substantial relationship with Srila Prabhupada.

So, the father prevailed upon the son to start listening to Srila Prabhupada’s tapes and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books—systematically. And that boy started to awaken his relationship with Srila Prabhupada in a very tangible way. He hadn’t understood it before. He hadn’t understood that he could have a real, substantial, tangible relationship with Srila Prabhupada even in Prabhupada’s physical separation by hearing his words, reading his books. And then Srila Prabhupada started to come in his dreams. The boy is very pure. In his teens he went to Vrindavan and joined the twenty-four–hour kirtan party and was ready to live the rest of his life in Vrindavan just chanting the holy name. In particular, he was a very good mridanga player. So, he had a dream in which the deity of Srila Prabhupada sitting on his vyasasana in Vrindavan came to life. Many devotees have had dreams in which the deity of Srila Prabhupada comes to life. And he had another dream in which Srila Prabhupada was standing at the entrance to the temple room at Bhaktivedanta Manor, observing all the youth, including him, doing kirtan. After the kirtan, Srila Prabhupada walked over to him and said, “It is very good that you are engaged in kirtan. However, if one does kirtan simply to attract the opposite sex, this kind of kirtan will take one to the darkest regions of hell.” The boy took the dream as real and took the instruction to heart. And of course, what Srila Prabhupada said is true.

This is just one example of how we can establish our relationship with Srila Prabhupada—or any of the previous acharyas—through vani, through hearing the words, through reading the books.

Srila Prabhupada would take rest at about ten o’clock at night and then wake up at about midnight and translate. While practically everyone else was sleeping, he was translating for us. He was translating so that we would have these books to study and apply. So it is our duty, it is our privilege—it is a blessing, but it is also our duty—to read the books. Otherwise, it means that Srila Prabhupada was wasting his time writing books for us and we don’t even care enough to reciprocate and make the effort to study them. And Srila Prabhupada said that we should not only distribute his books but also read them. He said of his devotees that sankirtana will keep them happy and reading his books will keep them. So, we shall continue.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

In this connection we may call to memory the time when I was fortunate enough to meet His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, sometime in the year 1922. Srila Prabhupada had come to Calcutta from Sridhama Mayapur to start the missionary activities of the Gaudiya Matha. He was sitting in a house at Ulta Danga when through the inducement of an intimate friend, the late Sriman Narendranath Mullik, I had the opportunity to meet His Divine Grace for the first time. I do not remember the actual date of the meeting, but at that time I was one of the managers of Dr. Bose’s laboratory in Calcutta. I was a newly married young man, addicted to Gandhi’s movement and dressed in khadi. Fortunately, even at our first meeting His Divine Grace advised me to preach the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in English in the Western countries. Because at that time I was a complete nationalist, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi’s, I submitted to His Divine Grace that unless our country were freed from foreign subjugation, no one would hear the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu seriously. Of course, we had some argument on this subject, but at last I was defeated and convinced that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s message is the only panacea for suffering humanity. I was also convinced that the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was then in the hands of a very expert devotee and that surely the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would spread all over the world. I could not, however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his order, although I was quite unfit to do so.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada was the leader of his circle of friends, and thus when Narendranath Mullik met Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he wanted our Srila Prabhupada also to meet him, to give his verdict about him. Srila Prabhupada also described how across from his home in Calcutta there was a large building with many rooms and many men living there. During the day they would go out and earn money, and then in the evening they would come back and cook and eat their dinner and go to sleep, and then the next morning they would again go out to earn money and come back in the evening. Among them there was one man who, before going out each morning, would put on the robes of a sadhu and go out and collect money and later come back, take off his robes, eat with the other karmis, go to sleep, get up in the morning, and go out again.

Many sadhus would come to Srila Prabhupada’s father’s home, and Prabhupada was not very satisfied with their dealings. So when his friend invited him to meet the sadhu, he was not very eager to go, because he thought, as there were so many bogus sadhus who were cheating innocent people, that this might be another one. So he didn’t want to go. But his friend insisted, and ultimately Srila Prabhupada relented and went and met his eternal spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

When Srila Prabhupada arrived, Srila Sarasvati Thakura was sitting on a raised platform (maybe on a cot that was set up as an asana), and everyone else was sitting down. There were some other seats, and Srila Prabhupada sat on one. And from the very first meeting, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ordered him to preach the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the English language throughout the world. Srila Prabhupada, as a nationalist, as a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, argued, “Who will listen to India’s message, to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s message, when India is still under foreign subjugation? Even uncivilized countries like Japan have political independence. First India should gain political independence, and then people will be ready to hear the message.” But Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura did not accept his argument. He said, “The message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is transcendental. It will act independent of factors such as political independence or dependence, and the world needs the knowledge now. We cannot wait for India’s independence. We must present the message now.” And Srila Prabhupada said that he was defeated in argument by his guru maharaja. He said that he had never before been defeated in any argument but that he had been defeated by his guru maharaja and was happy about it.

Srila Prabhupada was newly married and had a small child, and so he could not take up the order of his spiritual master immediately. But he kept the instruction in his heart and was always thinking about when he would be able to take it up. This is an important instruction for us—that if due to circumstances we are unable to take up an instruction from the spiritual master, we should always keep that instruction in our heart and think of how we can execute it, pray to be able to execute it, and wait for the opportune moment when we will be able to do so.

I had an interaction with Srila Prabhupada in which he enunciated the same principle. In 1971 in Gorakhpur we were staying as guests of Sri Hanuman Prasad Poddar and the Gita Press in what had been Mr. Poddar’s estate, Sri Krishna Niketan. A new issue of Back to Godhead magazine had arrived, and the issue had an article that I had written. Srila Prabhupada read the article and called for me. “I’ve read your article,” he told me. “It is very nice. You should write.” And he added, “You can travel with me, and I will personally instruct you how to write.”

Some days later, one of the senior devotees, Hamsaduta, wanted to begin his world sankirtana party, and he asked Srila Prabhupada if he could have me on his party. And Srila Prabhupada agreed. I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to travel with Prabhupada and get personal instructions on how to write, but I had faith that whatever he did was ultimately the best for all concerned. So I accepted the decision to go with Hamsaduta.

This was before computers; in India even typewriters were rare. If you needed a document typed, you had to go to the court and find someone outside the courtroom to type your document. The materials for writing were pen and paper. So, when I got the instruction from Srila Prabhupada to write, I went out and bought pens and lined paper. But travelling with Hamsaduta, I did not have much time. We had a very busy schedule, going to Agra and Aligarh. And then Hamsaduta Prabhu got a telegram from Srila Prabhupada saying, “We are planning a big pandal program in Bombay. Come with party immediately.”

So, we all packed up and came to Bombay. Shyamasundar Prabhu was the temple president. He had a meeting with everyone to divide up the duties, and he asked me to collect advertisements for the souvenir magazine to raise funds for the pandal program. I told him that Srila Prabhupada had instructed me to write as my main business. Shyamasundar Prabhu said, “You can write anytime, but this is a special occasion, a time when we can go into any man’s office in Bombay and ask him to give an advertisement for the souvenir. We need to get advertisements to raise funds for the pandal. So do this now, and you can take up your writing later.” I thought that what Shyamasundar Prabhu said made sense, and I also knew that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to cooperate with our authorities, so I agreed.

Then, some days later, Srila Prabhupada arrived, and, as usual, all the disciples entered his sitting room with him, and he glanced around the room, at each disciple, maybe exchanging some few words. When he came to me, he said, “So, Giriraj, how is your writing going?” I was completely flustered; I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to speak, but nothing clear was coming out. Srila Prabhupada said, “Okay, we’ll discuss later.” Then, after a while, he called for me. I was alone in the room with him, and he asked me, “So, what about your writing?” I was in anxiety, because I wasn’t sure if I had done the right thing. But I explained what Shyamasundar Prabhu had said and how it made sense to me and also how I knew that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to cooperate with our authorities, so I thought I should cooperate. “Did I do the right thing?” I asked. He replied, “One can suspend temporarily the order of the spiritual master, but one can never neglect it.” And then he gave his own example: “Like me—my guru maharaja also instructed me to write, but I’m so busy travelling in India, I hardly have time to write. You can suspend the order of the spiritual master, but you can never neglect it.”

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

I could not, however, immediately take up his instructions to preach, but I took his words very seriously and was always thinking of how to execute his order, although I was quite unfit to do so.

In this way I passed my life as a householder until 1950, when I retired from family life as a vanaprastha. With no companion, I loitered here and there until 1958, when I took sannyasa. Then I was completely ready to discharge the order of my spiritual master.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada describes how he would have dreams in which his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, would come to him and call him to follow him. Srila Prabhupada would wake up in anxiety because he would think, “Oh, Guru Maharaja is calling me to follow him. He wants me to preach. He wants me to leave my family.” And he was in a panic because he was thinking, “How can I leave my family? How can I live alone?” Then one of Srila Prabhupada’s godbrothers, another disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, His Holiness Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, encouraged him, “You should take sannyasa. You cannot really take up the order of Guru Maharaja to preach unless you take sannyasa.” When that godbrother passed away in 1968, Srila Prabhupada gave a nice talk about him, saying how that godbrother had forced him to take sannyasa. “Actually, he did not force me to take sannyasa,” he said. “My guru maharaja forced me to take sannyasa through my godbrother.” So, this is another instruction—that a sincere disciple can receive instructions from his spiritual master through others.

I had one exchange here in Juhu that suggested the same idea. Srila Prabhupada was staying upstairs in his new quarters, and he was very ill. He was not meeting anyone, he was hardly speaking or eating, and no one was allowed to see him. Tamal Krishna Goswami was Srila Prabhupada’s personal secretary, and he would sit in the front room.

One day, I went up to Prabhupada’s quarters to see Tamal Krishna. Mindful not to disturb Prabhupada, we met in the furthest outside room, where Tamal Krishna had his desk, and spoke in whispers—with two sets of closed doors between us and Prabhupada. Tamal greeted me with a warm embrace and then asked me to go to the bank to make a deposit.

“I am the temple president,” I thought. “I have so much important work to do that nobody else can do. Why me? Why do I have to go to the bank? Anyone can go to the bank and make a deposit.” So I told Tamal, “There are so many devotees who can make a bank deposit, but there are many things that only I can do, so better I do those things and let someone else make the deposit.” Perhaps on some deeper level, based on envy and false ego, I may have been considering, “Who are you to tell me to go to the bank?” Anyway, we were discussing back and forth, in hushed tones, so as not to disturb Prabhupada.

Suddenly Srila Prabhupada rang his bell, and Tamal Krishna and I raced around the outside hallway and entered Prabhupada’s room. Especially then, it was a rare treat to be summoned into his presence.

“Now you have to do so many things,” Prabhupada said to me straight away, chuckling. “Again, another burden. You have to do all these things. So, how is your preaching?”

I wasn’t sure exactly what Prabhupada meant, but he knew that I sometimes felt burdened by management and preferred to preach.

I gave him a report about our recent preaching successes, and he spoke about the mood of a Vaishnava and the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. “If one does not present Bhagavad-gita as it is,” he asked, “then where is its authority?” And then, apparently to illustrate his point, he said, “If I say, ‘Giriraj, you go there, to the bank,’ and ‘No, no, I cannot do this; I can do only this,’ then where is my authority?” Then he laughed. “Just see.”

I didn’t think Prabhupada could possibly have heard my exchange with Tamal Krishna; we had been separated by a room and two closed doors. Krishna, I thought, must have inspired him from within. And further, he had pointed out a defect in my mentality, that I was seeing Tamal Krishna independent of him, thinking he was just my godbrother, and that I should have seen him as Prabhupada’s representative, that it was Prabhupada’s order coming to me through him.

I thought of Prabhupada’s opening words: “Now you have to do so many things. Again, another burden. You have to do all these things.” He had spoken with emphasis: “You have to do all these things.” And I understood that if I saw the service as coming from Prabhupada, I wouldn’t feel it a burden.

Later, when I described the incident to our godbrother Tejyas Prabhu, Tejyas opined that Srila Prabhupada had highly acute senses and could hear things that no one else could hear. We could be whispering, and no one else could hear it, but because of his highly attuned senses, he could have heard the discussion.

In any case, the point is not that Prabhupada knew that I was arguing with Tamal Krishna; his real instruction came in the statement “If I say, ‘Giriraj, you go there, to the bank,’ and ‘No, no, I cannot do this; I can do only this,’ then where is my authority?” Srila Prabhupada was asking me to go to the bank through Tamal Krishna Goswami. I was thinking, “We’re godbrothers. Yes, he is a little more senior, but we’re both godbrothers, and he can’t really tell me what to do. I am the temple president, and as temple president, I am my own authority.” But Srila Prabhupada was saying, “If the spiritual master asks you to go to the bank and you refuse, where is the surrender?” He wanted me to understand that he could be giving me orders or instructions through others, that the orders or instructions didn’t have to come through him directly, and he manifested that mood in relation to his godbrother Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja—“My guru maharaja forced me to take sannyasa through my godbrother.”

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu through this magazine. After I took sannyasa, a well-wishing friend suggested that I write books instead of magazines. Magazines, he said, might be thrown away, but books remain perpetually.

COMMENT

Here’s another example: he took the advice of his friend very seriously because his friend’s advice was in support of his spiritual master’s instruction.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

Then I attempted to write Srimad-Bhagavatam. Before that, when I was a householder, I had written on Srimad Bhagavad-gita and had completed about eleven hundred pages, but somehow or other the manuscript was stolen. In any case, when I had published Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, in three volumes in India, I thought of going to the USA. By the mercy of His Divine Grace, I was able to come to New York on September 17, 1965. Since then, I have translated many books, including Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Teachings of Lord Caitanya (a summary), and many others.

In the meantime, I was induced to translate Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and publish it in an elaborate version. In his leisure time in later life, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would simply read Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. It was his favorite book. He used to say that there would be a time when foreigners would learn the Bengali language to read the Caitanya-caritamrta. The work on this translation began about eighteen months ago. Now, by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, it is finished. In this connection I have to thank my American disciples, especially Sriman Pradyumna dasa Adhikari, Sriman Nitai dasa Adhikari, Sriman Jayadvaita dasa Brahmacari and many other boys and girls who are sincerely helping me in writing, editing, and publishing all these literatures.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada translated seventeen volumes in eighteen months. That’s one volume a month. No one can do that. No ordinary human being can do that, and while it was happening, Srila Prabhupada was chiding us like anything for not bringing out the books. He had the manuscripts ready, but the books were not being published. So he told Ramesvara Prabhu, who was head of the BBT in Los Angeles, that he wanted all the volumes published in four months. Only maybe two or three had been published, so there were fourteen volumes left. Using material calculation, Ramesvara said, “It is impossible.” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Impossible is a word in a fool’s dictionary.” Then Ramesvara said, “Well, what if we can’t do it?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “Disqualified.” In other words, “If you can’t do it, you are not qualified to be in charge of the BBT and we’ll have to find someone else.”

So, they surrendered to the order. It is said that when the spiritual master gives an instruction, the power to execute that instruction comes with it. And the devotees totally surrendered to the instruction. They reorganized the BBT and were working day and night, hardly eating or sleeping, and they did it.

Here in Juhu, too, Srila Prabhupada had the design for the temple, and he kept complaining that the work was going too slowly. I was bringing people from the construction line to meet him, and finally I brought Mr. G. L. Raheja, who was a big builder in the suburbs. Srila Prabhupada showed him the plans, the blueprints, and said, “I want this temple complex finished in six months. Do you think it can be done?” Mr. Raheja said, “Yes.” So Prabhupada said, “Okay.” Now, it is a long story, but ultimately it was built in two years and eight months, and during that time we felt that we were doing nothing. Prabhupada was constantly asking us, “Why is it going so slow? Why is it going so slow?” Now, when people hear that this huge temple was built in two years and eight months, they think, “That’s really fast. How could you build it so quickly?” But in Srila Prabhupada’s presence it was not fast—it was way too slow.

What I am saying is that Srila Prabhupada could do things that no human being could do, and he gave us instructions that were beyond our capacity. But if we surrendered to his instructions and tried our best, sincerely and with intelligence, we could do things that would be very difficult for ordinary people to do.

Now we come to the penultimate paragraph, and this is revolutionary, so please listen with rapt attention.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

I think that His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura is always seeing my activities and guiding me within my heart by his words. As it is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye [SB 1.1.1]. Spiritual inspiration comes from within the heart, wherein the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His Paramatma feature, is always sitting with all His devotees and associates.

COMMENT

We all accept that Krishna is in the heart. It is a basic instruction in the Bhagavad-gita: sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto. But here Srila Prabhupada says that his translation of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta was guided by his spiritual master within the heart. Now, of course, Srila Prabhupada received the instruction to write in English from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and kept that instruction in his heart, but here Prabhupada seems to be saying more that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was actually sitting in his heart as one of the associates of the Supersoul and from within the heart could give active, dynamic guidance.

This subject is discussed in the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam in relation to the disappearance of the spiritual master. It is actually a metaphor—that a king and his wife entered the vanaprastha-ashrama and went into the forest, and the king died, leaving his widow alone. Figuratively, the king is the spiritual master and the widow is the disciple. After the king died, an old friend came to the widow—the old friend who came in the form of a brahman is considered to be the Supersoul, or a representative of the Supersoul.

So, there’s a lot of discussion how one can get guidance from the spiritual master after the disappearance of the spiritual master. The widow was ready to enter into fire—sati—and Srila Prabhupada explains that this means that the disciple should be ready to lay down his life for the mission of the spiritual master. When the disciple is ready to take up the order of the spiritual master or the mission of the spiritual master without any consideration of personal gain or loss, he is ready to lay down his life to execute the order of the spiritual master; he would rather die than fail to execute the order of the spiritual master. At that time the spiritual master appears to the disciple to give him instruction.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

It is to be admitted that whatever translation work I have done is through the inspiration of my spiritual master, because personally I am most insignificant and incompetent to do this materially impossible work.

COMMENT

There was another time when Srila Prabhupada was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter in America after having published so many books in such a short time. And he said that actually he hadn’t written the books; Krishna had. The newspaper reporter was a little confused about what that meant, and one of Prabhupada’s disciples explained that Prabhupada had meant that Krishna had given him the intelligence to write the books. But Srila Prabhupada said, “No. Krishna wrote directly.” And he would read his own books. Any ordinary author, when he writes a book, that’s the end of it; he doesn’t read the book he just wrote. And he’ll go on to the next book. But Srila Prabhupada would read his own books. What author reads his own books? Only if the subject is transcendental will an author read his own books.

Srutakirti Prabhu went into Srila Prabhupada’s room one day when Prabhupada was reading Krsna book. “These books are so wonderful,” Prabhupada said. “If you just read this book Krsna, you can become completely Krishna conscious.” Then he said, “Not even the whole book—if you read just one chapter, you can become completely Krishna conscious.” And then he said, “Not even one chapter—if you read one page, you can become completely Krishna conscious. Not even a page—if you read just one paragraph, you can become completely Krishna conscious. Not even a paragraph—if you read just one sentence, you can become completely Krishna conscious. Not even a full sentence—if you read just one word, you can become completely Krishna conscious.” Because these books are Krishna. They are written by Krishna or Krishna’s pure devotees, and they are Krishna. You are associating with Krishna. By associating with Krishna, you can become fully Krishna conscious, which is what we are meant to do.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

It is to be admitted that whatever translation work I have done is through the inspiration of my spiritual master, because personally I am most insignificant and incompetent to do this materially impossible work. I do not think myself a very learned scholar, but I have full faith in the service of my spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. If there is any credit to my activities of translating, it is all due to His Divine Grace.

COMMENT

Prabhupada is not taking any credit for himself. He is giving all credit to his spiritual master.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

Certainly if His Divine Grace were physically present at this time, it would have been a great occasion for jubilation, but even though he is not physically present, I am confident that he is very much pleased by this work of translation. He was very fond of seeing many books published to spread the Krsna consciousness movement. Therefore our society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has been formed to execute the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

COMMENT

So, we come back to the theme of the order of the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada began by saying that he translated Sri Caitanya-caritamrta under the authorized instruction of his spiritual master. Now he is saying that he formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to execute the order of the spiritual master and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. What order? The order to print and distribute books. There are other orders, of course, but specifically Prabhupada is focusing on the order to print and distribute books.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

It is my wish that devotees of Lord Caitanya all over the world enjoy this translation . . .

COMMENT

The same thing: we shouldn’t just distribute the books; we should read them. We should relish them, we should enjoy them, we should make ourselves one with them.

CONCLUDING WORDS (continued)

. . . and I am glad to express my gratitude to the learned men in the Western countries who are so pleased with my work that they are ordering in advance all my books that will be published in the future. On this occasion, therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work . . .

COMMENT

We are all disciples—some siksa disciples, some diksa disciples.

CONCLUDING WORDS (concluded)

On this occasion, therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work to continue their cooperation fully, so that philosophers, scholars, religionists, and people in general all over the world will benefit by reading our transcendental literatures, such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta dated November 10^th, 1974, at the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, Bombay.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta ki jaya!
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust ki jaya!
Hare Krishna Land ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!

So, it is very good that today is Ekadasi, because we don’t have to worry about prasada. We can follow Srila Prabhupada’s instruction, or Rupa Gosvami’s instruction, that on Ekadasi one should spend the day and night chanting and hearing the glories of the Lord. Still, I do not want to cause any disturbance, so I will limit the questions and answers according to my discretion.

Premanjana dasa: My question is that I—most of us—have never seen Srila Prabhupada, so how can we have a strong attachment to him? How can we love him? How can we serve him more and more, and how can we know more about him? We have his books, of course. But personal association makes a difference. There is a difference between my speaking with you and my reading your books.

Giriraj Swami: That’s true. So, your question is how to increase your attachment for Srila Prabhupada?

Premanjana dasa: Right now Srila Prabhupada’s disciples are present, but maybe after twenty or thirty years, there will be no one. So who will guide us who have never seen Srila Prabhupada?

Giriraj Swami: As you said, there are the books, and there are recorded talks and conversations, but there are also books about Srila Prabhupada, such as Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta. Everyone should read Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta. And Yadubara Prabhu has compiled a wonderful video series called Following Srila Prabhupada with all the live footage of Srila Prabhupada, with, where possible, live recorded sound, or, otherwise, memories from devotees who were there. Another disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Siddhanta dasa, has brought out the series Remembering Srila Prabhupada, in which disciples share memories of Srila Prabhupada. And, as you hinted, the direct disciples of Srila Prabhupada who have imbibed his mood and are following his instructions—by their association you can get a sense of Srila Prabhupada.

Still, there is a difference between books and physical presence. Srimad-Bhagavatam states, nasta-prayesv abhadresu nityam bhagavata-sevaya: by serving the book Bhagavata or the person bhagavata, one gets the same result. A disciple once asked Srila Prabhupada if one was better than the other, and Prabhupada replied that the person bhagavata was better, because the person bhagavata can catch you by the ear. The theme of the Concluding Words is that the book Bhagavata is better, because the books continue perpetually. So in that sense the book Bhagavata is better, but in another sense the person bhagavata is better.

Devotee (2): Maharaja, first of all it was a very nice krsna-katha. My question is: We know that we have to give importance to the instructions of the spiritual master or the orders of our authorities, which sometimes seem to be different, even contrary to each other. And we are always fearful if we try to follow the orders of our spiritual master that in fulfilling the orders of the authority we somehow fail to follow the orders of our spiritual master. Then what?

Giriraj Swami: This is a very intelligent question. Such a situation took place in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Svayambhuva Manu, the first manu in this period of time, had a son named Priyavrata. Narada Muni instructed Priyavrata that he should not marry but should dedicate himself fully to spiritual life. But Svayambhuva Manu wanted Priyavrata to marry and take charge of the kingdom, because Svayambhuva Manu himself wanted to retire to enter vanaprastha-ashrama, and he needed Priyavrata to manage the kingdom.

Now, both were authorities. Not only was Svayambhuva Manu Priyavrata’s father, but he is also one of the mahajanas, one of the twelve mahajanas—Svayambhu, Narada, Sambhu. Manu is one of the twelve. So, Priyavrata was in a dilemma because he received one instruction from one bona fide authority and a different instruction from another bona fide authority. What to do?

So, it was a very tense situation. Then Lord Brahma came personally. Lord Brahma is also a mahajana—Svayambhu, Narada, Sambhu, Kapila, Manu. And he was superior to both because he is the father of Manu and Narada. He told Priyavrata that he should marry because his father wanted to renounce his material responsibilities and dedicate himself to God. Priyavrata was in a dilemma.

Srila Prabhupada explains that the disciple must be intelligent enough to reconcile different instructions from bona fide authorities—from the spiritual master and the grand spiritual master—because Narada was Priyavrata’s spiritual master and Brahma was his grand spiritual master. So, what did Priyavrata do? Externally he got married and took charge of the kingdom, but internally he remained detached, like what we read and discussed earlier. Although he could not immediately execute the order to renounce material responsibilities, he always kept it in his heart and abided the time when he could take up the order. Then, when he was sufficiently old and there were others to take charge of the kingdom, he and his wife, who had faithfully assisted him, renounced their material responsibilities—though, in a way, it is all spiritual—and fully absorbed themselves in God. The Bhagavatam describes that at the end Priyavrata went back home, back to Godhead, and his wife also went back home, back to Godhead.

So, as Srila Prabhupada said, the disciple has to be intelligent enough to reconcile different bona fide instructions from different bona fide authorities and somehow fulfill the demands of all the instructions of all the authorities.

Devotee (3): Throughout your talk, you used the title Srila before “Prabhupada.” That honorific title is often omitted by speakers. This shows deeper love and reverence. Are others also supposed to use Srila before “Prabhupada”?

Giriraj Swami: I feel more comfortable using the honorific Srila. In the early days of the movement we used to call Prabhupada Swamiji, but then he commented that Swamiji was not a very good term. So we started to call him Prabhupada, and then the Srila got added. I’m used to that culture, and I feel it is more respectful, but I would hesitate to judge someone on the basis of whether or not he says “Srila.”

Devotee (4): Maharaja, you spoke about how Prabhupada emphasized surrender. In the Bhagavad-gita there is a verse that in surrendering one should not fear. So, can you explain that? Even Priyavrata was fearing, in his surrender. So, is there a role of fear in surrendering, or one should not fear at all?

Giriraj Swami: Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Surrender unto Me.” Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo: “I will free you from all sinful reactions.” Ma sucah: “Do not fear.” So we should not fear that Krishna will not protect us if we surrender to Him. We should not fear that if we are following the orders of Krishna and perhaps neglecting some mundane duties, that we are doing the wrong thing or that we will suffer. But we should be afraid of deviating from Krishna’s instructions. In other words, we should be afraid of maya. That type of fear is healthy, but we should not be afraid that if we surrender to Krishna we will lose. We should not have that fear. But the surrender has to be genuine, with sincerity and intelligence. Surrender to Krishna doesn’t mean that we sit down and do nothing and wait for Krishna to put food in our mouth. Yes, we depend on Krishna for our necessities, but we do our duty—and depend on Krishna for the result. If we neglect our duty in the name of depending on Krishna, that is not actual surrender. We do our duty and depend on Krishna. Only when one is in the paramahamsa stage is he considered completely transcendental to one’s duties in varna and ashrama, and then he can just chant Hare Krishna and depend completely on Krishna. But preachers such as Srila Prabhupada, even if they are on the most advanced stage, when they take responsibility to preach, they act like madhyama-bhaktas to set the example for others.

Devotee (5): We want to follow the instructions of our spiritual master wholeheartedly, but seeing that in ISKCON there are many gurus who have many disciples and sometimes there is politics and partiality, how should we respond to such a situation?

Giriraj Swami: In The Nectar of Devotion Srila Prabhupada writes, Rupa Gosvami writes, that the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu will deal with principles but not details. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that to follow the orders of the spiritual master is a principle and that the fact that one spiritual master’s orders may differ from another spiritual master’s orders is a detail. In other words, one spiritual master may give an instruction, and another spiritual master may give a different instruction, but that’s a detail; the principle is that we should follow the order of the spiritual master.

Coming back to the example of Priyavrata, Srila Prabhupada is the founder-acharya and either the spiritual master or grand spiritual master of all the devotees in ISKCON, so we should follow Srila Prabhupada—but Srila Prabhupada also told us that we should follow his representatives. That’s also following Srila Prabhupada. For example, Srila Prabhupada told me to write and Shyamasundar Prabhu told me to collect, but Prabhupada also said to follow his representative. Shyamasundar was his representative—he was the temple president—so by following him, I was following Srila Prabhupada’s other instruction to follow his appointed representatives. So, somehow we have to reconcile these things.

As far as partiality, in principle the authorities should be impartial. They shouldn’t favor their disciples. But my question to you is, Why does it bother you? Bhakti Tirtha Swami was born in a black body, and he told Srila Prabhupada, “Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON is supposed to be a spiritual movement, but there’s prejudice against black devotees.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “If you identify yourself as a black devotee and get disturbed by the prejudice against black devotees, you’re the same as they are.”

But to be given contradictory instructions by superior authorities is a difficult situation to be in. The best thing is for the superior authorities to discuss between themselves and together agree upon a conclusion for you. So one approach, if practical, would be for you to say, “Guru Maharaja, you are telling me one thing and the other authority is telling me something else—I am in an awkward situation.” Or you tell the other authority, “You are telling me something and my guru maharaja is telling me something else—I am in an awkward position. If the two of you could please discuss what you want me to do and when the two of you agree, let me know, I will be happy to do it.” That would be the best thing. Otherwise you are caught in between.

Thank you very much.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Rama-ekadasi, October 23, 2011, Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari Temple, Juhu, Mumbai]

On the eighth day of the waning phase of the damodara month the appearance day of Radha Kunda is celebrated by the residents. Bathing in Radha Kunda is especially benefical on this day. By this one gains the favor of Radha, by which one gains the favor of Krsna. Radha Kunda appeared at midnight.

People go to Radha Kunda and offer prasadam, garlands and pumkins (gords) into the water, then at midnight take bath in Radha Kunda and then bathe in Syama Kunda. Many people like to bathe at a ghat where Lord Nityananda’s sakti, Jahnava Mata used to bathe.

The holy place known as Mathura is spiritually superior to Vaikuntha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathura puri is the transcendental forest of Vrndavana because of Krsna’s rasalila pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vrndavana is Goverdhana Hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Sri Krsna and was the site of his various loving pastimes.

And, above all, the superexcellent Sri Radha Kunda stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of gokula, Sri Krsna. Where, then, is that intelligent person who is unwilling to serve this divine Radha Kunda, which is situated at the foot of Goverdhana Hill?

After killing a bull-demon named Aristasura, Krishna approached Radharani to engage in loving affairs. However, She rebuked Him, stating He was impure because of committing the sin of killing a bull, the symbol of religion. She suggested that to counteract this sin He should bathe in all the sacred rivers.Krishna, being eager to engage in loving affairs with Srimati Radharani, immediately shoved His lotus foot into the ground, making a large hole, and called all the sacred rivers to enter into it.

They appeared before Him and formed Syama-kunda (the bathing place of Syama–one who is the color of a dark rain cloud).After bathing, Krishna stated that He had become pure by bathing in Syama-kunda, but that the gopis had become impure, having sided with a demon, even though he appeared in the form of a bull.

Radharani, along with some of Her gopi friends, broke their bangles and dug a hole with the broken pieces. But there was no water – so Krishna laughed. The gopis then formed a line to the Manasi Ganga and started to fill the hole with water that was passed from one gopi to another. At that time, all the sacred rivers again arrived in person and requested permission to enter into Radharani’s kunda, which they did after receiving Radharani’s blessing. 

Rosedale, Toronto

Doing A Loop

My cousin, Corry, her hubby, Eric, and our young Muslim friend, Victor, came together to talk spiritual. And it wasn’t a conversation devoid of opinions about the American election. Political opinions often tend to polarize people. It occupies many peoples’ lives. Spiritual conversations can do the same—occupy and polarize. At least our group succeeded in hitting common ground when talking stayed on the other-worldly thoughts.

I had shared my realizations with Gabriel of St. Mary’s. We dwelt on Chapter 2 of The Gita, which deals with the qualities of the soul. He picks up on spiritual thought very quickly. Very enthusiastic he is!

Then it was time for checking outdoor temperatures. Yes, it was very inviting. Very Krishna! We managed to follow a loop I’ve now done, on and off, for 30 years. I’m not sure what other pedestrians are doing. It is very individualized when it comes to chalking out a trail for an hour or so of walking.

Studies have been done on raccoons about their prowling in the night. The researchers have concluded that they do their nocturnal hunt while following some pattern. It is a repeated route, moving within a two block radius of their tree home.

The one hour loop went great. No conversations though, but chanting on my beads was in progress. The job was done.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Yorkville, Toronto

Full

Ramsden Park was full of life and teaming with energy. It was as Sunday should be, spent as down-time.  The basket-ball court was the most congested with so many participants, all young men, bouncing the ball and shooting the hoop, sometimes missing. Baseball interest seems to be waning these days. The diamond was quiet. And tennis courts? Also full with people cued up in the sidelines.

Then I saw a group of men and women had set up a game of croquet. I thought it was an old man’s sport, but here I could see that maybe it’s of interest to a younger set. In the centre of the park you have youngsters at the monkey bars and other playground equipment while at the west end a fenced dog area drew yet another crowd.

As an observer I participated while also becoming a sun bather. No, I didn’t strip down to the waist, I’m too old. Besides, I never had a physique that would attract anyone, even in pre-monk years. I was a skinny something-or-other. Sitting on a park bench I was soaking in the sun before it does its dip to mark the night.

With orange to gold yellows as trees around one cyclist said, “You blend right in to the environment.” referring to my monk’s attire.

The only thing missing in the whole park, being busy like a bee-hive of activity, was the simple spiritual touch. At least for a short while I fit the bill. I was on the bench chanting the mantra.

May the Source be with you!

3 km 

Toronto, Ontario

Lift

Much like yesterday, while I walked and turned corners, making my way in diverse directions, I came upon these two cyclists repeatedly.  Both they and I had the same thing in mind—don’t venture in a straight line but snake about. It was like a game of Snakes and Ladders, but we were avoiding the ladders.  Each time we bumped into each other it came as a surprise.

“Hey, there you are again!” type of thing.

It was an evening smile that repeated itself again and again.  I counted five times.  It seems that random wanderings can be synchronized.  I like these bright moments in the day or at night.

In the morning, at around 5:10am, those of us at the ashram were captured by a moment that always gives us a lift. It occurs during the time of tulasi puja, the honouring of the holy basil plant.  We sing/chant, circle around the plant, praising this sacred green one, and then end up in a period of dance.  It then becomes free-style at said time.  The few of us that are there (5 or 6) delight in our own little jig.  It is a moment where a smile comes to everyone’s face.  The moves are individual, unique and fun.  It is uplifting and makes our day.

For today I had my lift in the morning and capped off the day with another lift.  We sometimes use the phrase “feeling elevated.” Well, it is a bit like that.

May the Source be with you!

3 km

The Annex, Toronto

Friday Evening

We spent six hours at the Brickworks, not the Brick, the Brickworks.  It is a little piece of heaven on earth and we chose it as a location to film another scene from our drama, “Rolling the Dice.”

Stephen, Balaram, Michaela and I were out there working tediously, but with love, just to pull the story together and have it ready for the “MANtra Retreat.”  The main focus of this story is extracted from The Mahabharat and is about greed.

Regardless, we toiled hard in what we, as a group, are not used to.  We’ve done stuff on the stage.  Well, this is a new frontier—filming—and it’s Covid-19 that is forcing it.

We went on with filming a compelling exchange between Vidura and the blind king, Dhritarastra, and those familiar with the story know what I’m talking about.  We completed the final act and did it all on empty stomachs.

While heading back to our homes, with Stephen as the driver, to make a stopover at the ashram to fill our bellies, we could hear a band playing at Yonge and Bloor.  They were good.  Motorists, which we were, and pedestrians alike enjoyed the Friday night fun.  It’s Friday night, there has to be some spark.

That is what it became for me.  Then, after a read from the Chaitanya Charitamrita and our usual Staircase Kirtan, I relaxed and headed out to the Annex for a japa walk.

One fellow on a bicycle saw me and asked, “Are you the same one?”

“Yeah, that was me. You saw me at Bloor and now I’m here (Avenue Road).” I yelled out.

May the Source be with you!

6km

Toronto, Ontario

Through the Arched Window

Through the arched window

I see a couple crossing

The road of intensity

No pleasant walk night here

Through that lofty window

Men are thinning the tree

I don’t know why

I wish I did though

Through this broad window

I can view four homes

Sheltering good families

Our neighbours and friends

Through the part-frosted window

I admire binds in flight

Not destined for the south

They wish to stay here

Through that wood-framed window

I am blocked from the air

I hear leaves are rustling

And people in a chatter

Through this divided window

I see its symmetry

A clear design of balance

A bravo and jay-ho

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Christie Pits, Toronto

All Are Moving

The weather was favourable for moving through. Temperatures were the best. The sunshine darted out from the west. Breezes were like a yogi’s exhalation—easy and consistent. I was inclined to go east-west and not to miss this fun.

Others were out. I met Mrs. Sharma. Also another Sharma, a Mister. No relation to each other. “Sharma” is the “Smith” equivalent of India. I also got greeted by, let’s say, Miss New-Age.

“Are you doing kirtanat Christie Pits?” she asked.

“Not now, but later, at 7, on the temple’s outdoor staircase. You’re always welcome.”

“I’ll make it some time.” she reassured.

You see, every time I go out I’m in a position to invite. We are supposed to be a giving community. That’s how we were trained by our guru, Prabhupada. To give Krishna, in some form, is our mandate.

I saw cyclists moving, automobiles and pedestrians. I thought, where is everyone going, really? Towards a casket or an ash-filled urn? In one form of analysis it appears we are all moving, only to be stopped; we are living to die.

It can’t be so grim.Let us think beyond the external. Let motivation behind mobilization be of the spirit.

With somewhat of a warming in our midst we through to go back to the staircase and the kirtanat 7pm. We did serenade the night. Our hearts softened. I wish all the Sharmas and Smiths were with us.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

In 2016 and 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Varsana, the village of Srimati Radharani. It is here that various deities such as Lord Brahma and Lord Visnu have manifested themselves in the form of hills, as they carry the Lord and His devotees on their heads. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans and lectures below, along with a few photos, at Varsana during Parikrama 2016 and Parikrama 2018.

There is Goloka Vrndavana, Bhumi Vrndavana and a third Vrndavana – the internal Vrndavana. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says more mana Vrndavana. We approach the holy dhama and we come to all kinds of exalted places where Krsna performed His pastimes, but to what extent can we understand the pastimes of Krsna? When we speak about Radha and Krsna, we can understand that They did everything with great intensity and completely from the heart. Nothing was ever mechanical for the residents of the spiritual world; everything was focused on Krsna. They were totally oblivious to anything else but Krsna. Everyone was totally absorbed in thoughts of Krsna.

In Varsana, many pastimes took place. Sometimes the relationship between Radha and Krsna was parakiya-rasa, the forbidden relationship, where every moment was a stolen moment. I made this point about the difference between parakiya and svakiya many times. Svakiya implies that one is married and have ‘tied a knot’ or ‘put a ring on the finger’. When that ring is on, something changes. There is an element of being obliged in a marriage relationship. Where in parakiya, there are no obligations whatsoever. Forget it! The beloved may leave at any minute, therefore one really has to conquer Krsna again and again. In Dvarka, Krsna was married and there was no such thing as a divorce, therefore Krsna was obliged. In Vrndavana however, Krsna showed His real features, especially how He had to always be conquered. That is parakiya-rasa. Again and again, we have to conquer Krsna. We have to impress Him at each moment. We can never say, “Now, I am done!” Surrender is not once off, but all the time and that is pure devotional service. Surrender is needed at every moment and that is the spirit of Vrndavana.

Therefore, we are here with Srila Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krsna! To perform devotional service means to follow in the footsteps of Radharani, and devotees in Vrndavana put themselves under the care of Radharani in order to achieve perfection in their devotional service. We have fleeting moments of meditation and then the material world comes in. So we really need the mercy of Srimati Radharani and that mercy comes through Srila Prabhupada. We can meditate in so many ways but through Prabhupada, we can meditate with real quality.

The full kirtan and lecture at Varsana from Parikrama 2016 can be found using the following link: https://www.kksblog.com/2016/12/vrindavan-braj-parikrama-2016-recordings/

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 10 – Varsana " was published on KKSBlog.

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Today is the appearance day of Sri Virabhadra Gosvami, who is described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi 11.8–12, as follows:

“After Nityananda Prabhu, the greatest branch is Virabhadra Gosani, who also has innumerable branches and subbranches. It is not possible to describe them all.

“Although Virabhadra Gosani was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He presented Himself as a great devotee. And although the Supreme Godhead is transcendental to all Vedic injunctions, He strictly followed the Vedic rituals.

“He is the main pillar in the hall of devotional service erected by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He knew within Himself that He acted as the Supreme Lord Visnu, but externally He was prideless.

“It is by the glorious mercy of Sri Virabhadra Gosani that people all over the world now have the chance to chant the names of Caitanya and Nityananda.

“I therefore take shelter of the lotus feet of Virabhadra Gosani, so that by His mercy my great desire to write Sri Caitanya-caritamrta will be properly guided.”

And in his purport to text 8, Srila Prabhupada writes, “Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura writes in his Anubhasya, ‘Virabhadra Gosani was the direct son of Srila Nityananda Prabhu and a disciple of Jahnava-devi. His real mother was Vasudha. In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (67) He is mentioned as an incarnation of Ksirodakasayi Visnu Therefore Virabhadra Gosani is nondifferent from Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. . . .’ ”

May Sri Virabhadra Gosvami bless us all.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

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In 2017 and 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Sanket, the meeting place for Srimati Radharani and Krsna. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtans and lectures below, along with a few photos, at Sanket during Parikrama 2017 and Parikrama 2018.

Sanket is the place where Radha and Krsna meet. They reside at Varsana and Nandagrama but Sanket is in the middle at the half-way point, and this is where They meet. Sanket is representative of where Krsna meets His devotee half-way. So like Radharani, we can think about how we can actually attract Krsna. What can we do to personally attract Him? Krsna hides bhakti as it cannot be attained so easily. It is explained in the Nectar of Devotion that bhakti is su-durlabhah (rarely attained), yet it is bhakti that we are after, nothing else. It is this pure devotional service which is sri-krsna-akarsani, able to attract Krsna – that is our objective. Everyone has their own capacity. Some people talk, some people are quiet; some speak three words per day and others never stop. We must engage everyone naturally, according to their capacities, but remember that it is not only about our propensities. If we want to attract Krsna, we must use all our propensities, abilities and talents in His service but then also do the needful.

Here in Sanket, Krsna comes to meet His devotee mid-way. Srimati Radharani is the top-most, pure, unalloyed devotee, but Krsna is so kind that He could also come meet us! So let us make a plan to attract Krsna. Although, I do not want to attract Krsna just for myself, but I want to attract Him for others as well. We must also try to awaken others’ feelings about Krsna.

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 9 – Sanket " was published on KKSBlog.

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University of Toronto

Sitting, Meeting, Walking

From the 10th canto of the book, Bhagavatam, I lead this morning’s discussion on how Shiva’s benediction to a follower, Vrka, had somewhat backfired on him. The good thing is that Shiva sought help from Vishnu. Vishnu is always there to assist.

Following the class was a meeting with Yasoda Priya, hailing from the Ukraine, to talk about the make-up we require for the filming of “Rolling the Dice.” Then I conducted two interviews with devotees, pioneers of our movement, for the book, “Krishna in the Maple Leaf.” These interviews are best done over the phone instead of through email correspondence.

Nayan and his sister, Neha, students from Kerala, India, then interviewed me for their Seneca College assignment. The theme of the assignment is the impact of religion and culture in the world.

In the evening I read from the book Chaitanya Charitamrita, about the renowned Chaitanya, to our two senior monks, Dharmaprana and Dakshina. That is always nice.

Now, after all that sitting, it was time to stretch the legs. I made my way to the U of T campus where there are walkways, alleys and green spaces. You can get lost. I was hoping for that. It was dark but the night was lit by lampposts. Whichever way you go there is always a major-traffic road that will lead you to somewhere familiar.

I stopped at a bench to chant the gayatri mantra. The seat was cold. I removed myself, ASAP, for fear that my buttocks will seize up. It does happen, from the cold.

May the Source be with you!

3 km

Toronto, Ontario

Pray that Elections Go Well

I’ve been doing stretching exercises before resting. It’s helping the legs and the other body parts. I would like to encourage all readers to do their bodies a favour. Exercise. Because we are independent, to some degree, we make choices. Let us be wise and make the right ones.

I would like to share an excerpt from the Gita which addresses the topic of our independence. Bhagavad-Gita 15.7 purport:

“As fragmental parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, [we], the living entities also have fragmental portions of His qualities, of which independence is one. Every living entity, as an individual soul, has his personal individuality and a minute form of independence. By misuse of that independence one becomes a conditioned soul, and by proper use of independence he is always liberated. In either case, he is qualitatively eternal, as the Supreme Lord is. In his liberated state he is freed from this material condition, and he is under the engagement of transcendental service unto the Lord….”

A cool purport.

I was blessed today to read this message. I was also blessed to deliver four classes, one via Zoom to a group in Vancouver. The others were to our group of monks in Toronto and to Cameron from Hamilton as well as Gabriel from St. Mary’s.

Let us all pray for America. Elections are tomorrow. The results of that election will impact us all.

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Of course, while giving in charity is a most admirable act of good will, we understand from the Bhagavad Gita that there are different types of charity according to the three modes of material nature. The best charity, however, is to the Vaishnavas and the service of Lord Vishnu because it is transcendental and carries far more spiritual and eternal benefits than mundane charity which is limited and temporary.

This year we would like to request devotees from all over the world to use this one day of giving to sponsor an abhisheka for the installation of the new Prabhupada murti in the TOVP in October, 2021. There are five kinds of abhishekas according to the means and desire of the giver. We at the TOVP consider this sponsorship service to be our combined way of expressing a worldwide welcome and greeting to Srila Prabhupada, and a guru dakshina offering to him as a thank you for his causeless mercy and the gift of Krishna consciousness to all of us.

To sponsor an abhisheka go to the Prabhupada Installation Page. However, if you live in the U.S. we encourage you to participate in this fundraiser exclusively through our Facebook Page, TOVP Foundation, as Facebook will match all donations to their approved nonprofits. Click here to go to the TOVP Foundation Facebook Page and follow the instructions there.

As always, we are extremely grateful to all our donors and supporters who have made this project possible, and with your continued help we will open Sri Sri Radha Madhava’s, Sri Pancha Tattva’s and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s new home in 2023.

Hare Krishna!
 

In 2018, His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami took us to Ter Kadamba, which is famous for Srila Rupa Gosvami’s bhajana-kutir. It is also here where Krsna would climb onto a Kadamba tree and call out the names of the leaders of the various herds of cows. Check out Maharaja’s full kirtan and lecture below, along with a few photos, at Ter Kadamba during Parikrama 2018.

In one sense, Ter Kadamba is the most important place for us because it is where Rupa Gosvami resided for quite some time. Ter Kadamba is very famous for Srila Rupa Gosvami’s bhajana-kutir. It is commonly stated that he wrote his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu here. Srila Rupa Gosvami describes the characteristics of pure devotional service, beginning with klesa-agni (immediate relief from all kinds of material distress). It is only in devotional service that all suffering is destroyed. This is important. I do not know about you, but I certainly do not want to be in this material world that is full of suffering: suffering from our mind and bodies, and also other living entities. Sometimes my voice is hoarse and today my legs are giving me trouble. Sometimes our family causes us suffering, at other times our neighbours (laughter). Upon our arrival here in Ter Kadamba, we were welcomed by a big black snake. Suffering from natural circumstances is also there. But all these types of suffering are destroyed by pure devotional service and everything becomes auspicious. What material happiness could we ever want? Material happiness means nothing for a Krsna conscious person, as it is the material energy that asks to serve the pure devotees. So stay steady in your practice and simply serve Krsna, then your satisfaction will automatically come! As Srila Prabhupada said, “Do not bother for material happiness!”

Atha-agnani guru-padasrayas (taking shelter of the lotus feet of our spiritual master) is the first of Rupa Gosvami’s principles and the most important one. Everything rests on that. Whatever else we do in devotional service, this principle is always with us. It is the first because it is the foundation of everything we do. We should invest in that relationship because when we do that, we will break through to the other side – the side of Krsna. Today, we try to come to the platform of pure devotional service by trying to hear and by becoming a completely dedicated servant of our spiritual master and always thinking of his satisfaction. We can pray to Rupa Gosvami, who is our original spiritual master, for that blessing. We remember that Krsna is our best friend and that we should do something to attract Him. Let us serve our spiritual master to the fullest extent and then we will surely attract Krsna. The spiritual master is dear to Krsna, therefore Krsna becomes inclined to whoever serves him.

The article " eParikrama 2020 Day 8 – Ter Kadamba " was published on KKSBlog.

Kartik is very auspicious for spiritual advancement. Another name for Kartik is Urja-vrata. Urja means power. The supreme power, the original power, is Srimati Radharani. So Urja-vrata, or Kartik-vrata, is for Srimati Radharani. Many important pastimes took place in the month of Kartik. On the full-moon night, Sri Krishna played upon His flute and enjoyed the rasa-lila, which is considered the best of His pastimes. Also during Kartik, Krishna saw that the residents of Vrindavan were preparing to worship Indradeva, and He convinced them not to worship Indra but to use the same paraphernalia to worship Govardhana Hill, the brahmans, and the cows. When Indra saw that his worship had been stopped, he became furious and wanted to take revenge against Krishna and the Vraja-vasis. So he sent torrential rains and hail. And to give protection to the residents of Vrindavan, Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill and kept it on the little finger of His left hand for seven days. Thus Indra’s pride was shattered, and he came to beg forgiveness from Lord Krishna.

In the month of Kartik also, our beloved founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, left this world and entered the eternal pastimes of Krishna.

One other event that took place during Kartik was Lord Krishna’s killing of the demon Arista, who had assumed the form of a bull. Thereafter, Lord Krishna manifested Syama-kunda and Radha-kunda. Because today is celebrated as the appearance day of Radha-kunda, we shall read a relevant verse from The Nectar of Instruction, an authorized English presentation by Srila Prabhupada of Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Sri Upadesamrta.

The Nectar of Instruction, Text Ten:

karmibhyah parito hareh priyataya vyaktim yayur jnaninas
   tebhyo jnana-vimukta-bhakti-paramah premaika-nisthas tatah
tebhyas tah pasu-pala-pankaja-drsas tabhyo ’pi sa radhika
   prestha tadvad iyam tadiya-sarasi tam nasrayet kah krti

 karmibhyah—than all fruitive workers; paritah—in all respects; hareh—by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; priyataya—because of being favored; vyaktim yayur—it is said in the sastra; jnaninah—those advanced in knowledge; tebhyah—superior to them; jnana vimukta—liberated by knowledge; bhakti-paramah—those engaged in devotional service; prema-eka-nisthah—those who have attained pure love of God; tatah—superior to them; tebhyah—better than them; tah—they; pasu-pala-pankaja–drsah—the gopis who are always dependent on Krsna, the cowherd boy; tabhyah—above all of them; api—certainly; sa—She; radhika—Srimati Radharani; prestha—very dear; tadvat—similarly; iyam—this; tadiya-sarasi—Her lake, Sri Radha-kunda; tam—Radha-kunda; na—not; asrayet—would take shelter of; kah—who; krti—most fortunate.

TRANSLATION

In the sastra it is said that of all types of fruitive workers, he who is advanced in knowledge of the higher values of life is favored by the Supreme Lord Hari. Out of many such people who are advanced in knowledge [jnanis], one who is practically liberated by virtue of his knowledge may take to devotional service. He is superior to the others. However, one who has actually attained prema, pure love of Krsna, is superior to him. The gopis are exalted above all the advanced devotees because they are always totally dependent upon Sri Krsna, the transcendental cowherd boy. Among the gopis, Srimati Radharani is the most dear to Krsna. Her kunda [lake] is as profoundly dear to Lord Krsna as this most beloved of the gopis. Who, then, will not reside at Radha-kunda and, in a spiritual body surcharged with ecstatic devotional feelings [aprakrta-bhava], render loving service to the divine couple Sri Sri Radha-Govinda, who perform Their astakaliya-lila, Their eternal eight-fold daily pastimes. Indeed, those who execute devotional service on the banks of Radha-kunda are the most fortunate people in the universe.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

At the present moment almost everyone is engaged in some kind of fruitive activity. Those who are desirous of gaining material profits by working are called karmis, or fruitive workers. All living entities within this material world have come under the spell of maya. This is described in the Visnu Purana (6.7.61):

visnu-saktih para prokta
   ksetrajnakhya tatha para
avidya-karma-samjnanya
   trtiya saktir isyate

 Sages have divided the energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead into three categories—namely, the spiritual energy, marginal energy, and material energy. The material energy is considered to be the third-class energy (trtiya saktih). Those living beings within the jurisdiction of the material energy sometimes engage themselves like dogs and hogs in working very hard simply for sense gratification. However, in this life, or, after executing pious activities, in the next life, some karmis become strongly attracted to performing various kinds of sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas. Thus on the strength of their pious merit, they are elevated to heavenly planets. Actually those who perform sacrifices strictly according to Vedic injunctions are elevated to the moon and planets above the moon. As mentioned in Bhagavad-gita (9.21), ksine punye martya-lokam visanti: After exhausting the results of their so-called pious activities, they again return to the earth, which is called martya-loka, the place of death. Although such persons may be elevated to the heavenly planets by their pious activities and although they may enjoy life there for many thousands of years, they nonetheless must return to this planet when the results of their pious activities are exhausted.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

The lowest category mentioned here is the karmi. The principle of the karmi is to work to get money for sense gratification. Ninety-nine percent of the people in the world are karmis, and they fall into two categories: those who are regulated according to Vedic principles and those who are not regulated. Those who are not regulated are like animals, cats and dogs and hogs. They simply want to eat, drink, and enjoy. They engage in all sorts of sinful activities, and as a result they are pushed down into hellish conditions. Those in the other category, the regulated, follow the Vedic injunctions in order to enjoy a higher standard of material happiness. By performance of pious activities, such as Vedic sacrifices, such persons can be elevated to the heavenly planets, where they enjoy the results of their pious deeds. But after their pious credits are exhausted, they again fall down to earth.

One time on a morning walk in the middle of New York City, Srila Prabhupada pointed to some blades of grass growing up between the cracks of the concrete pavement. “What is this?” he asked. “It’s grass, Srila Prabhupada,” a devotee replied. “Yes, I know it is grass,” Prabhupada said. “But how did it come up here between the cracks?” Nobody could answer. Then Srila Prabhupada explained that after the fruitive workers exhaust their pious credits on the higher planets, they fall down to earth. And how do the spirit souls get here from the higher planets? They come in the rain. The rain falls on the earth, between the cracks of the sidewalk, and the living entities who were enjoying life in the heavenly planets take birth as blades of grass or sprouts of grain on earth. This is because their pious credits have been exhausted.

From the point of view of one in Krishna consciousness, that happiness of sense gratification is not real happiness. But even if someone is on a lower level and thinks that material enjoyment is happiness, still he cannot enjoy for long. As soon as his pious credits are finished, he will have to suffer. Therefore, intelligent persons do not try to enjoy the material world.

PURPORT (continued)

This is the position of all karmis, including those who act piously and those who act impiously. On this planet we find many businessmen, politicians, and others who are simply interested in material happiness. They attempt to earn money by all means, not considering whether such means are pious or impious. Such people are called karmis, or gross materialists. Among the karmis are some vikarmis, people who act without the guidance of Vedic knowledge. Those who act on the basis of Vedic knowledge perform sacrifices for the satisfaction of Lord Visnu and to receive benedictions from Him. In this way they are elevated to higher planetary systems. Such karmis are superior to the vikarmis, for they are faithful to the directions of the Vedas and are certainly dear to Krsna. In Bhagavad-gita (4.11), Krsna says: ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham. “In whatever way one surrenders unto Me, I reward him accordingly.”

COMMENT

In shastra, Lord Krishna states that “the injunctions of the Vedas are My orders, and one who goes against the injunctions of the Vedas goes against Me.” So, one who follows the Vedic injunctions follows the orders of Krishna, and he tends to be dearer to Krishna than one who goes against them.

PURPORT (continued)

Krsna is so kind that He fulfills the desires of the karmis and jnanis, what to speak of the bhaktas. Although the karmis are sometimes elevated to higher planetary systems, as long as they remain attached to fruitive activities they must accept new material bodies after death.

COMMENT

In the Bhagavad-gita (8.16) Lord Krishna says, a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ’rjuna: from the highest planet in the material world, Brahmaloka, down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. So even if one is elevated to a heavenly planet, he still has to die and take birth again. As stated in the Gita (2.27), “For one who has taken birth, death is certain. And for one who has died, birth is certain.” He remains caught in the repetition of birth and death.

PURPORT (continued)

If one acts piously, he can attain a new body among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, or he may attain some other position in which he can enjoy a higher standard of material happiness. On the other hand, those who are engaged in impious activities are degraded and take birth as animals, trees, and plants. Thus those fruitive actors who do not care for the Vedic directions (vikarmis) are not appreciated by learned saintly persons. . . .

One should therefore be eager to understand the science of the soul (atma-tattva). Unless one comes to the platform of atma-tattva, by which one understands that the soul and not the body is oneself, one remains on the platform of ignorance. Out of thousands and even millions of ignorant people who are wasting their time simply gratifying their senses, one may come to the platform of knowledge and understand higher values of life. Such a person is called a jnani.

COMMENT

Higher than the karmis are the jnanis. The karmis are bound to remain in the material world to enjoy and suffer the fruits of their work. They may enjoy for a while, but mainly they suffer. The jnanis are more intelligent because they see that fruitive work brings one to suffer, but they don’t know about devotional service. They know only material activity, and that material activity brings material misery. So, to become free from material misery, they resolve to refrain from all activity. But the soul by nature is active. The soul cannot remain inactive for long. So the jnani too must engage in activity, and having no knowledge of spiritual activity, he will again engage in material activity, and thus he will fall down. Therefore Srimad-Bhagavatam says that although jnanis imagine that they are liberated, actually they are not, because they neglect the service of the lotus feet of the Lord.

ye ’nye ’ravindaksa vimukta-maninas
   tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah
aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah
   patanty adho ’nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah

“O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.” (SB 10.2.32)

Because they neglect the Lord’s service, they fall down. Such impersonalists, after renouncing material activities, become restless. They want some activity. And because they are unaware of the spiritual activities of bhakti-yoga, devotional service, they fall into material activities and become karmis again. There are many examples of impersonal jnanis and yogis who go to the Himalayas to become one with Brahman, declaring, brahma satya jagan mithya: Brahman is truth, and the world is false. They leave the world to engage in impersonal meditation, but they cannot maintain it; they fall down. So they come back to the world they have declared is false, back to the cities, and engage in material welfare activities such as opening schools and hospitals, and sometimes they fall so low that they become involved in politics. So, patyanti adah: they fall down.

The impersonal philosophers don’t have real knowledge. If someone actually has knowledge, he surrenders to Krishna and engages in devotional service.

bahunam janmanam ante
   jnanavan mam prapadyante
vasudevah sarvam iti
   sa mahatma sudurlabhah

 “After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.” (Gita 7.19) After being a jnani for many lifetimes, when the jnani actually becomes wise, he surrenders to Krishna and becomes a bhakta, a rare great soul.

The bhakta is superior to the karmi and the jnani. The bhakta begins with the process of sadhana-bhakti, but even the sadhaka is considered higher than the best of the karmis and jnanis. And when the sadhaka becomes more advanced, he attains krsna-prema. Among the devotees, he who has prema is the best. And among the devotees who have prema, the active servants are better than those who have neutral appreciation; the friends are higher than the servants; the fathers and mothers are higher than the friends; and the lovers, or the young gopis, are the best of all. And among the gopis, Srimati Radharani is the best—She is the best of all.

PURPORT (continued)

Of all these devotees, the gopis are recognized as superior because they do not know anything other than satisfying Krsna. Nor do the gopis expect any return from Krsna.

COMMENT

The gopis are the best because they have no personal desire for enjoyment. They want only Krishna’s happiness. Srila Prabhupada told the story of the time Krishna declared that He had a headache and that only the dust of the feet of His devotee could cure Him. He sent His messenger to so many devotees, but they all said, “If the dust of our feet goes on the Lord’s head, we will commit a great offense and have to go to hell.” So they all refused. The messenger became discouraged. He went back to Lord Krishna, and the Lord said, “You should go to the gopis of Vrindavan and ask them.” So he went, and immediately all the gopis gathered around him and inquired, “How is Krishna?” The messenger replied, “Krishna is not well. He has a headache.” The gopis immediately became disturbed. “Krishna has a headache! What can we do? What can we do?” The messenger said, “The only thing that will cure Krishna’s headache is the dust of the feet of His devotee.” “Oh, then take as much dust as you like, take it all!” “But if the dust from your feet goes on Krishna’s head, you will be committing a great offense and could go to hell,” the messenger said. And the gopis replied, “As long as Krishna’s headache is cured, we don’t care if we go to hell.”

This is the standard of the gopis’ love. They have no desire for personal happiness. They want only Krishna’s happiness, and if their unhappiness gives Krishna happiness, they consider their unhappiness to be the greatest happiness. We cannot experience such feelings in the material world. Only someone who has come to the stage of bhava- or prema-bhakti can know what such selfless love is, to some extent. “Of all these devotees, the gopis are recognized as superior because they do not know anything other than satisfying Krishna.”

Srila Prabhupada often gave the example that Krishna would go into the pasturing grounds and the gopis would be at home, crying. Why were they crying? Because they were thinking that the paths of Vrindavan were filled with so many thorns and stones and that if the soft lotus feet of Krishna were pricked by some pebble or thorn, He would feel pain. And thinking of Krishna’s pain, they would cry.

 “Nor do the gopis expect any return from Krishna.” Srila Prabhupada used to say that when Krishna returned from the pasturing grounds in the afternoon, the gopis would not approach Him and say, “Krishna, You have been working all day. What have You brought for me? Let me look into Your pocket and see if You brought something for me.” They were not like that.

PURPORT (continued)

Nor do the gopis expect any return from Krsna. Indeed, sometimes Krsna puts them into extreme suffering by separating Himself from them. Nonetheless, they cannot forget Krsna.

COMMENT

In the material world we may think that we love someone, but after some time we may forget. Somebody will die, and we will cry for some days, but gradually we may forget. But the gopis never forget Krishna.

PURPORT (continued)

When Krsna left Vrndavana for Mathura, the gopis became most dejected and spent the rest of their lives simply crying in separation from Krsna. This means that in one sense they were never actually separated from Krsna. There is no difference between thinking of Krsna and associating with Him.

COMMENT

Krishna is absolute. Therefore Krishna’s name, Krishna’s form, Krishna’s qualities, and Krishna’s pastimes are all the same as Krishna. So when one remembers Krishna’s name, form, qualities, or pastimes, one is in Krishna’s association. In the extreme mood of separation from Krishna, the gopis actually experience Krishna’s presence. And they feel great ecstasy. The bodies of the gopis are ananda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhavitabis (Bs 5.37). They’re made of ananda cinmaya-rasa, or mahabhava. Their constitution is ananda-maya, full of bliss. It cannot be anything but bliss. And not only bliss, but the highest ecstasy of mahabhava. Their feeling of separation appears externally to be misery, but actually it is not misery—it is ecstasy. Srila Sanatana Gosvami gives the example for extreme separation, that ice acts like fire. For example, dry ice is so cold that if you touch it you get burned. It’s cold, but it produces the opposite effect—burning. So the mood of the gopis’ separation is so extreme and intense that in separation they experience meeting Krishna, and they experience ecstasy in Krishna’s association.

PURPORT (continued)

There is no difference between thinking of Krsna and associating with Him. Rather, vipralambha-seva, thinking of Krsna in separation, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu did, is far better than serving Krsna directly.

COMMENT

We should try to develop Krishna consciousness in the mood of separation. We are not liberated now, not in Krishna’s pastimes now. And if we imagine that we are meeting Krishna and serving Krishna and not factually realizing it, we can become sahajiyas. Srila Prabhupada didn’t want us to become sahajiyas. He wanted us to worship in the mood of separation, like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the Six Gosvamis.

PURPORT (concluded)

Thus of all the devotees who have developed unalloyed devotional love for Krsna, the gopis are most exalted, and out of all these exalted gopis, Srimati Radharani is the highest. No one can excel the devotional service of Srimati Radharani. Indeed, even Krsna cannot understand the attitude of Srimati Radharani; therefore He took Her position and appeared as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, just to understand Her transcendental feelings.

In this way Srila Rupa Gosvami gradually concludes that Srimati Radharani is the most exalted devotee of Krsna and that Her kunda is the most exalted place. . . .

yatha radha priya visnos
   tasyah kundam priyam tatha
sarva-gopisu saivaika
   visnor atyanta-vallabha

 “Just as Srimati Radharani is dear to the Supreme Lord Krsna, so Her bathing place is equally dear to Krsna. Among all the gopis, She alone stands supreme as the Lord’s most beloved.”

Therefore everyone interested in Krsna consciousness should ultimately take shelter of Radha-kunda and execute devotional service there throughout one’s life. This is the conclusion of Rupa Gosvami in the tenth verse of Upadesamrta.

COMMENT

We’re not really qualified to discuss Radha-kunda, but because today is Radha-kunda’s appearance day, we may say something about the appearance of Sri Radha-kunda, which we can respect and appreciate from a distance—not too close.

As I mentioned earlier, Krishna killed the bull demon, the aristasura, and after killing him He approached the gopis for pastimes, but they refused. “You have killed a bull,” they said. “So You are contaminated. We do not want to associate with You.” Krishna asked, “What do I have to do to become purified from the sin?” The gopis replied, “You must take bath in all the sacred rivers in all the sacred places in all the three worlds.” Then Krishna thought, “Better I call all the holy places here.” He pushed His heel in the ground, and immediately all the personified holy places came before Him and started offering prayers and obeisances. Srimati Radharani said, “I don’t see any holy places.” Then Lord Krishna told the holy places to identify themselves. So, the holy places personified began to say, “I am Yamuna, I am Ganga, I am Sarasvati, I am Sindhu, I am Prayag, I am Puskhara,” and so on. Then, on Krishna’s indication, they became liquid and flowed into the kunda created by the impression of Krishna’s foot, and they filled up the kunda with water. Thus Krishna-kunda, or Syama-kunda, came into existence. Krishna took His bath and then announced to the gopis, “Now I am completely pure. I have taken bath in all the sacred places in all the three worlds. But you are not pure. You are contaminated, because although Aristasura was in the form of a bull, still he was a demon. You took the side of a demon, so you are contaminated. So you also have to take bath and become purified. Take bath in My kunda, and you will be free.”

Srimati Radharani said, “No, no. Your kunda is contaminated by the terrible sin of killing the bull. I am not going to take bath in Your kunda. I am going to make My own kunda.”

Aristasura’s hooves had made a shallow ditch just west of Sri Krishna’s pond. So, the gopis began digging up lumps of soft mud with their hands, and very quickly they manifested a beautiful kunda. Srimati Radharani had said from the beginning, “I will make My kunda more beautiful than Krishna’s.” Now Krishna said, “Well, Your kunda is very beautiful, but it has one defect: it has no water in it. So why don’t You take some water from My kunda?” “No, no, no, no. Your water is contaminated by Your sin. We will bring our own water.”

There are thousands and millions of gopis. On Srimati Radharani’s indication, they made a long chain from Manasi-ganga to Radha-kunda, filled pots with water, and passed the pots from one gopi to the next to the next, all the way from Manasi-ganga to Radha-kunda. But Lord Krishna, seeing the labor of the gopis, was not happy, because He cannot bear to see even one drop of perspiration on the face of Srimati Radharani. So He appealed to Her, “Please take water from My kunda.” But She refused—“No!” Then Lord Krishna called the representative of all the holy places, who began to offer prayers to Srimati Radharani: “Even Krishna likes to serve Your lotus feet, and He rejoices and feels most fortunate simply by satisfying the tips of the toes of Your lotus feet. So we also want to serve Your lotus feet. If You fulfill our desire, our lives will be successful.”

Srimati Radharani was pleased and, glancing at Krishna from the corners of Her eyes, She smiled and replied, “Please come.” So the holy waters in Syama-kunda broke through its boundary walls and quickly filled Radha-kunda. Then Sri Radha and the gopis took bath, and in the end Krishna was so pleased that He told Her, “Your kunda will become even more famous than Mine. I will always come here to bathe and enjoy My water pastimes. Your kunda is as dear to Me as You are.” Srimati Radharani was pleased, and She said to Lord Krishna, “I will also come and take bath in Your pond, even if You kill hundreds and thousands of Aristasuras. Anyone who has devotion for Your lake and bathes or resides there will become very dear to Me.” Both Sri Radha and Krishna became so pleased after the formation of Syama-kunda and Radha-kunda that They inaugurated a great festival of rasa dance.

I’ll mention just one more point from the verse. The Sanskrit in the verse concludes, prestha tadvad iyam tadiya-sarasi tam nasrayet kah krti: “What fortunate person will not take shelter of Radha-kunda?” This is what the Sanskrit says. But what does Srila Prabhupada say? “Who, then, will not reside at Radha-kunda and, in a spiritual body surcharged with ecstatic devotional feelings, render service to the divine couple who perform Their eternal eight-fold daily pastimes?” In other words, this is what it really means to take shelter of Radha-kunda—not to go there and live like a monkey.

Once, a disciple told Srila Prabhupada that he wanted to go and stay in Radha-kunda, and Srila Prabhupada replied that there were already enough monkeys at Radha-kunda; they didn’t need another.

Taking shelter of Radha-kunda doesn’t mean going there and living like a monkey, thinking of the demands of the body. Monkeys appear to be very renounced because they don’t wear clothes, they eat only fruits and berries, and they live in the jungle in trees. But Srila Prabhupada said that each monkey has two dozen girlfriends. So they actually are not renounced. Now, if someone goes to Radha-kunda without being able to take shelter of the holy name as described by Srila Prabhupada in the translation, he may become just like a monkey—outwardly appearing renounced but internally full of desires for sense gratification. So we go step by step. Srila Rupa Gosvami describes the exalted position of Srimati Radharani and Radha-kunda and asks, “What fortunate person will not take shelter of Radha-kunda?” But here we are at the end of Rupa Gosvami’s instructions. There are so many instructions earlier in the book, and to take shelter of Radha-kunda properly, we have to follow all the other instructions, from text one to text nine—not jump like monkeys to texts nine, ten, and eleven.

What is the first instruction? Vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam/ jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam—we have to control the urges. First is the urge to speak. We speak so much nonsense. Whenever we get the chance we discuss politics, we discuss boy-girl affairs, or still worse, we criticize devotees. So, vaco vegam, and then manasa krodha-vegam: we have to control the mind. Anyway, I need not elaborate. We all can assess our present positions. And we should proceed step by step from the first verse up to the last ones, nine, ten, and eleven.

Still, by the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Srila Rupa Gosvami, and Srila Prabhupada, we have had the opportunity to remember Sri Radha-kunda and discuss the conclusions of Srila Rupa Gosvami given here in Sri Upadesamrta, so kindly explained by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

Hare Krishna!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami Radha-kunda’s appearance day, November 7, 1993, Bombay]

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