Planet ISKCON

International Shravanam Week address by GBC Chairman, His Holiness Ramai Swami

“So we tried to discuss our left brain, right brain approaches to Scripture. And then you started by how this brain researcher, she had a different way of looking after a stroke. So, that's one scientific way of saying that, you know, the science way of looking at reality is not the only way. The another layers of chances are through all paranormal research, where there is various kinds of research done in Stanford and other places.

Love , we are told is all we need. It is the most deliberated topic of countless movies, articles, songs, poems, books and discussions. The ultimate purpose of our life is to develop love towards the Supreme Person- Lord Krishna. This podcast discusses amongst other things, how to appreciate love in this world to appreciate Krishna’s love for us.

The following is a video by His Holiness Indradyumna Swami speaking about the historic Grand Installation of the new Prabhupada Murti in the TOVP in February, 2021 to celebrate the 125th Appearance Anniversary Year of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada.

2021 celebrates the 125th Appearance Anniversary Year of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder/Acharya of ISKCON. The TOVP will be recognizing this auspicious appearance year of the Samstapak Acharya (acharya for the next 10,000 years) with a 3-day festival beginning with the Appearance of the adi-guru, Lord Nityananda Himself, on February 25th, along with a worldwide Prabhupada Abhisheka observance. February 26th is dedicated to the opening ceremony of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Maharaja’s samadhi and remembrances by Godbrothers and disciples. On February 27th we will complete the celebration with the installation of a specially designed, one-of-a-kind, life-size murti of Srila Prabhupada created by master sculptor, Locan das (ACBSP). Like no other Prabhupada murti in the world, this murti sits in a ‘worship pose’ personifying his statement, “Mayapur is my place of worship”. He will sit gloriously on his grand Vyasasana for hundreds of years to come, eternally worshiping his Lordships and welcoming all the pilgrims who come to see Them.

February 25 – Nityananda Trayodasi / Worldwide Prabhupada Abhisheka

February 26 – Bhakti Charu Maharaja Samadhi Opening

February 27 – New Prabhupada Murti Installation

Donate today towards our worldwide combined guru dakshina campaign for Srila Prabhupada to help open the TOVP by sponsoring one or more of six kinds of abhishekas.

Go to the link below to sponsor an abhisheka: https://tovp.org/donate/prabhupada-murti-installation/

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Wasaga, Ontario

We Pulled Up

Vishal, from Toronto, and I pulled up at Jiva’s beach home, just after ploughing through a massive puddle of storm water. I had informed Vishal of the scary news, that another one of our senior monks was tested positive for Covid 19. However, Gopal Krishna Goswami is fairly stable at the moment. Like a wave that comes at you, like a surprise, we did not anticipate another swami would be stricken with the virus.

On the way up to Wasaga, Vishal and I had a conversation—a good one—the theme of which was “you can know your scripture, you can know your rituals and have many verses memorized, you can know all the etiquette and protocols, but in your heart of transformation, do you know how to be kind and caring to others?”

Vishal and I continued to have great discussions with Jiva, both before and after our swim. How to understand life? What is our purpose and contribution to the world? There are ugly truths existing; issues, both political and social. Can we affect a change?

From Jiva’s home we visited his wife, Sita, at her farm. There is luxuriant growth of veggies including hemp. We trekked a distance of the hundred acre property. Wild grapes, sumac, cattails and all wild plants are abound. No pesticides.

On our return to Toronto we stopped at the farm in Caledon. To our surprise Vishal (another one) was sitting beside a distraught cow—Durali. She is suffering from trauma since her mother Durga died. She also gave birth to a bullcalf – Subhal. Perhaps post-trauma from this experience also struck her. She hasn’t eaten substantially in 10 days. We hope she makes it.

May the source be with you!

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Ballantrae, Ontario

New House — Go Spiritual

Kishor and Nita, as well as their son (a master chess player) and daughter, made a great move. It became official, or at least a spiritual venture, today as it was the blessing of their new home in Ballantrae. It’s a new subdivision, with trees and trails all around. I couldn’t, as a guest, manage to find time for trekking on any of the trails, but I did participate in the fire ceremony indoors. That’s the way it’s done at such a home’s blessing.

With the influence of Covid 19, a limited number of people were able to participate. The house is large enough to accommodate 100 people. We endorsed “the move” with Agni, fire, and also mantra chanting.

Most often weekends are for community endeavours, for home blessings like this. Home owner Kishor, who was a happy man at the conclusion of the ceremony, expressed, “We can use the space for future devotional gatherings.” This adds another home to our list of houses used for this purpose. Our congregants are absolutely crazy about using their space for God. To me, it’s a good sign. There’s got to be something holy going on in this frustrated, confused world.

While mingling some of the attendees spoke about the shooting in Wisconsin, by a white officer on a black man, and this escalated the already agitated social strife in the States. It was a sobering moment over a delicious meal.

Speaking of color, one Zoom call today was with a group of people who wanted to know of Chaitanya. Our themed message was “From black to gold.” Chaitanya had a gold complexion and he was an incarnation of the very beautiful and dark-complexioned Krishna.

May the Source be with you!

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Seaton Village, Toronto

Clothes

There were bright moments, even minutes, of the day. For instance, Sanjit was kind enough to take me to Cherry Beach once again, for a physio session. By that I mean submerging in the water for some time, which was the best approach to soothing any stiffness. Today’s grain-less diet, due to the ekadasi fast, was also a high point. And then there was the walk with Victor.

Victor, a young school teacher, who sprang upon me in Ramsden Park some months ago, has been keeping in touch. On our evening trek to Bloor and Manning we talked about clothing. We both concurred on how clothes play a major role in one’s life. There we were walking, he in his Islamic attire—all white, even to the white socks with the “puma” insignia on them, as well as white shoes. And there I was in a spanking new set of saffron robes from India, with sandals to boot.

We passed by a middle aged pedestrian male who said, “You guys look alike!”

“Thank you!”

We carried on talking, quiet on the same page about proper attire. Clothing should not be irritable, but comfortable. Pants are one of the worst inventions. Clothing should not be so tight that you have to peel it off before going to bed. (Chuckle). Our attire should cover the body. We admitted it’s orthodox to say; I suggested “if you don’t dress chaste you will be chased.”

Have you ever noticed how people are embarrassingly tight with their clothes, and don’t have the figure for it? It looks bulgingly ridiculous. Never wear a design with horizontal stripes. You’ll appear twice the size. Of course we are not these bodies but we should apparel ourselves in respectful ways.

May the Source be with you!

4 km

Christie Pits, Toronto

From Wind to War

From Christie Pits Park we took ten minutes for contemplation. Sanjit, Chris and I sat on a bench, tilted our heads back and did a bit of stargazing. The moon, Jupiter and Saturn were close to each other. Clouds, white ones, skirted by, obscuring those luminaries. The wind was just the best of breezes. It was a wind bath. “Of purifiers I am the wind,” Krishna states.

The morning began with contemplation on Krishna’s words from 13.21 of the Gita:

“Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.”

You betcha, world! There is suffering in the world. It came up in our Gita discussion on Zoom. One person asked, “With all the corruption—from child trafficking to rioting, looting, destruction of properties, war etc.—why doesn’t God descend now to help the situation?”

Yes, thoughtful people will ponder such concerns. It also came to mind during sleep. I actually woke up in the middle of the night feeling myself trapped in the midst of war. I thought of a Communist takeover. I thought that numbers will do it, population-wise. And discipline. I thought that our western culture has weakened to high levels of drink, drugs and sex and that conquest upon us is inevitable. It was disturbing to bear such thoughts.

“There is one way to drive the peace formula,” which was an actual question posed by friend, Visvakarma, from Hamilton, over the phone, and the answer is peace-making through the power of mantra.

May the Source be with you!

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Today is the divine appearance day of the transcendental twins: Rangadevi and Sudevi Sakhi. In the year 1992, the last of the four Asta-sakhis, or principle associates of Srimati Radharani, appeared in Mayapur and took their places on the altar. Rangadevi and Sudevi, were two of these four and they stand third and fourth on […]

The post The Transcendental Twins! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

We are pleased to see that some sets went to the homes of our congregation who are eager to begin their spiritual journey on the path of Bhakti. Thank you to all of you who purchased or gifted Srimad Bhagavatam on this most auspicious day. You have made great advancement today.

Srila Prabhupada was not just another Eastern scholar, guru, mystic, yoga teacher or meditation instructor. He was the embodiment of an entire culture and implanted that culture in the West.

In answer to your several questions, first; what is meant by conditioned soul? Conditioned soul means one who has accepted something illusion as reality. Conditioned means that due to imperfect desires the spirit soul becomes dependent on material conditions for his satisfaction

Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.13) states, “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.”

Bhadra Dana Yajna 2020 - Knowledge is the best gift - Ahobilam, India

We have the most complete philosophy, and Srila Prabhupada has given us the wonderful process of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Part of that process is taking care of the devotees. Actually, Krishna says that He has nothing else to do but to take care of His devotees. And since His devotees are always thinking about Him, He is also always thinking about His devotees. So actually, devotee care is one of the primary angas or aspects of Krishna consciousness. Continue reading "We need a culture of care
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Sometimes ISKCON members think about ISKCON as an institution, or as the "leaders" of the temples, or the GBC, or someone else other than us. We expect ISKCON to care for devotees, and we may feel hurt or disappointed when care is not given as we would expect or as we would like. ISKCON is a society made up of members. Each of us is ISKCON. When each one of us feels that we have the responsibility to care for one another, then ISKCON will be a caring organization, with a family atmosphere based on love and trust, as Srila Prabhupada wrote. If, however, we wait for such a society to come only from leadership, or from some vague idea of institution, it will be very hard to achieve the real devotee care we desire. So, let us look in the mirror, perceive that "I am ISKCON and I care", and decide today how each of us can exemplify devotee care in our own lives. Continue reading "I care
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Srila Prabhupada Gives Me His Blanket and Sweater. Selected Quotes on Devotee Care - Vision. Excerpts from Conversations with Leaders. Upcoming Events - Sept 2020

When the demigods and the demons churned the milk ocean, nectar appeared. But the demons snatched it away. The demons are envious, selfish and aesthetic in nature and are not qualified to drink nectar. The demigods who are devoted to the Lord are the meant to drink the nectar. So, the Lord appeared in the form of Mohinī-mūrti, a beautiful woman and distributed all the nectar to the demigods and bewildered the demons with Her feminine attributes and didn’t give them even a drop. Similarly, the Bhāgavatam reveals its inner meanings to sincere devotees and baffles those who approach it insincerely, for selfish purposes of making money and earning fame. Such people make a show of studying and speaking the Bhāgavatam and give out deviant meanings to impress their audiences. Continue reading "The BOOK That Does MULTITASKING
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Visvarupa-mahotsava is the date on which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother, Visvarupa, took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. And on the same date some four hundred and fifty years later, our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, also accepted sannyasa.

According to Vedic literatures, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in the present age in the role of a devotee. In the previous age, Lord Krishna came in His original feature and spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and at the conclusion He instructed, sarva-dharman parityaja mam ekam saranam vraja: give up all other duties and surrender unto Me. But people could not understand or appreciate Lord Krishna’s instruction. So later, about five hundred years ago, Krishna came again, not in His original form but in His devotional form as Lord Chaitanya. And Lord Chaitanya taught us how to serve Krishna, how to worship God in the present age.

Lord Chaitanya taught various methods of worship, but He especially emphasized the chanting of the holy names of God, or Krishna. In particular, He quoted a verse from the Brhan-Naradiya Purana (38.126):

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

“One should chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name of Hari, Krishna. In this age of Kali, there is no other way, no other way, no other way for spiritual realization.”

He acted like a teacher who shows students how to write the alphabet. The teacher stands in front of the class and writes on the board, “A, B, C, D.” The teacher has no need to practice writing, but he shows by his own example how to form the letters properly. In the same way, God, Krishna, had no need to worship, but to set the example for us, so that we could learn how to worship God in the best way in the present age, He came as Lord Chaitanya and taught and demonstrated the chanting of the holy names of Krishna.

When Lord Chaitanya appeared, the social and spiritual system called varnashrama-dharma was still prevalent in India. In this system there are four social and four spiritual divisions, all necessary for society to function properly. Although we may not refer to them by the same terms, and although the system has not been developed as systematically and scientifically as in Vedic culture, still, by the arrangement of nature, the divisions still exist. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah: “According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me.” (Gita 4.13) So, the four social orders, or broad divisions of occupational duties, are created by Krishna.

The four divisions include, first, the intelligent class, who are teachers and priests, but mainly teachers. Then there is the martial, or administrative, class, who are rulers and warriors; they govern and protect the citizens. There is the vaishya, or productive class, who engage in agriculture—farming and cow protection—and, with any surplus, in trade. And there is the service class, or workers, who perform services to support the other three classes.

When a person hears the description of the different social orders and duties, he or she may be alerted to the possibilities for exploitation and domination of the “lower” classes by the “higher.” But in Vedic society the different members work cooperatively for the common good, ultimately for the pleasure of God. In the physical body there are natural divisions—the head, the arms, the stomach, the legs—and they all have different functions. But they all cooperate for the benefit of the whole. In the social body, the brahmans are compared to the head—they give guidance. The kshatriyas are compared to the arms—they protect the body. The vaishyas are compared to the stomach—they provide food for the body. And the sudras, or workers, are compared to the legs—they carry the rest of the body where it wants to go. There is no question of competition among the different parts of the body—or of exploitation. They all work for the good of the whole.

Apart from the social divisions, there are four spiritual divisions. These are also natural, especially in a culture meant for self-realization and God realization, which Vedic culture is. The first order is the brahmacharis, celibate students. In the traditional system, the brahmachari would study in the ashram of the guru, in the gurukula. He would be trained mainly in principles of good character. And because the main emphasis was on good character and spiritual development, the teachers had to be spiritually qualified.

Here we can see the defect in modern education, where emphasis is given to material knowledge without much consideration of personal character. Now practically no spiritual or moral qualification is required of teachers. They may drink, they may smoke, they may gamble, they may do all sorts of nonsense in their “private” lives, but if they know the subject in a material way, they are considered qualified to teach. But in the Vedic system, because the emphasis was on moral character and spiritual development, the teachers, the brahmans, had to be exemplary. And in addition, they had to know the content of the subjects they taught. The exemplar in the Vedic system was called acharya. Acharya means “one who teaches by example”— not that in the classroom the teacher says, “You should not smoke” but then outside the classroom he or she smokes, or that the teacher says, “You shouldn’t drink” but then outside he or she drinks.

A friend of ours in Bombay was attending an international conference on drug abuse in Delhi. She is a devotee, and she works with a lot of underprivileged people in the slum areas of Bombay. And in her own way, she tries to introduce Krishna consciousness, seeing how, by God’s grace, it can transform people’s lives, how people who were addicted to drugs can give them up with the spiritual strength gained by chanting and other practices. So, she went to the conference, and during the evenings her colleagues would get together and have parties and drink and smoke and take drugs. Then, during the day, they would meet to discuss what to do about the problem of substance abuse. Socially, she would be with them. After all, they were her friends and colleagues, but when she would attend their parties, they would insist, “Why don’t you have a drink? Have a smoke. Have this, have that.” And she would always refuse.

One night, their party was busted by the police. The only one of them of good character, of spotless character, was our friend, the devotee. They knew that her word would be accepted, because she was strict in her habits. So her colleagues appealed to her to make up some story that they were conducting an experiment, doing research, on taking drugs. Whatever happened in the end, the point I am making is that in Vedic culture the teachers were supposed to be exemplary. Their character was considered one of their main qualifications as teachers.

So, the first order is brahmachari—celibate students living in the ashram of the guru, the spiritual preceptor. The second order is grihastha—married, or household, life. At the age of twenty or twenty-five, the young man could choose to enter the grihastha-ashrama. At such a time he would take permission from the guru to leave the gurukula, and there would be a ceremony comparable to today’s graduation. The young man would leave and go out into the world, bringing with him all the principles of moral character and spiritual development that he had learned in the ashram of the guru.

Then, after living in the grihastha-ashrama, having children and providing for their future, the husband and wife would enter the vanaprastha-ashrama, retired life. They would retire, not to while away their time in idle pursuits and reminiscences, but to realize God. Of course, there is no harm in reminiscing sometimes, but they had a positive engagement, and their positive engagement was spiritual perfection.

The first instruction of the Bhagavad-gita is:

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” (Gita 2.13) In other words, the soul is distinct from the body.

Later in the Gita Krishna says that He has two energies: the superior energy, or para-prakrti, which is spiritual, and the inferior energy, or apara-prakrti, which is material.

bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha

apareyam itas tv anyam
prakrtim viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho
yayedam dharyate jagat

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies. Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.” (Gita 7.4–5) The spiritual energy is conscious and eternal, whereas the material energy is unconscious and temporary. This physical body is made of the eight material elements, inferior energy, but the soul within the body is made of the superior, spiritual energy.

The soul continues to live after the death of the body. In one sense there is no death of the body, because the body is always dead. It is just a machine, and the soul is the driver of the machine who makes the machine work. When the soul is in the body, the body appears to be alive. When the soul leaves the body, we declare that the body is dead, because the soul has left. Now, someone might argue that the soul, or life, is created by a particular chemical combination, that when the chemicals or atoms and molecules combine in a certain way, life is produced. But if that were the case, death would merely be a breakdown in the chemical combination. If life were created by a certain combination of chemicals, then death would mean that the combination had broken down, and the implication would be that if we restored the combination, the person would come back to life. A car is a combination of material elements. The car may break down, but if you keep replacing the material elements, the car will work again. Even if the car is from 1900, if you replace the engine, replace the carburetor, replace the steering—whatever the parts are—if you keep replacing them, it will work again. Yet although people have tried to become immortal since the beginning of time, they have never succeeded in bringing a dead person back to life, because life is not a combination of material elements. Life is the quality of the spiritual soul, the superior energy of the Lord. Once the spiritual soul leaves the body, we can do nothing to bring the body back to life, because the living force has left.

So the question is, “What happens to the living force when it leaves the body? What happens to the soul?” According to the Bhagavad-gita, the soul, depending on its activities, or karma, will enter a particular type of body. If the car breaks down and is not worth fixing, the driver will get another car. What kind of car he gets will depend on how much he can afford. If the person has been earning and saving, he can get a luxury car. If the person has been working but not earning so much, or has not been saving, or not that much, he might get an ordinary car. If the person has been irresponsible or is unemployed, he might not be able to afford a car at all. He might have to get a motorcycle or a scooter or a bicycle, or he may just have to walk. In the same way, the body we get in the next life will depend on how we conduct ourselves in the present life. If we are responsible and follow a disciplined, moral, spiritual life, we will get a better body. In fact, if we are fully self-realized, or God-realized, fully surrendered to God, we can get a spiritual body and go to the spiritual world and live with God in the spiritual kingdom. Otherwise, if we are not perfect but are good, we will get a good material body in the material world; we will take birth on a higher planet—on a heavenly planet—or on earth in a better situation, with better opportunities for education; we may be born with more intelligence, with more opulence, with better looks, and so on. And if we have been negligent in our duties toward God, if we have been immoral or irreligious, we will be born in an unfortunate situation on earth in a human body or even in a lower species of life. Or we may have to take birth on a hellish planet and suffer there for some time.

In the Vedic system, by the time a person reaches the age of fifty or so, he or she should have fulfilled his or her family responsibilities and be free to leave the work and assets to the next generation, to concentrate on spiritual development. Old age is a warning, or a reminder, that one will have to leave the body, and so one will consider, “How can I use my time to reach the best destination?” It is as if you are living in a house and you get notice that you have to vacate. Of course, you will continue to take care of the house to some degree, but you will not put all your energy into taking care of a house that you must soon vacate. Rather, you will consider, “Where am I going to move?” That is the guiding principle in Vedic civilization: “Where am I going to go after I leave the present body, this present habitat?”

The best destination one can achieve is the spiritual kingdom of God, and for that one must engage in spiritual practices, especially chanting the holy names of God, by which one will develop love for God. Such practices are common to different religious traditions. Although here we speak on the basis of the Bhagavad-gita, the basis of Vedic knowledge, the principle of chanting God’s name is in practically every tradition; the principle of praying to God, glorifying God, learning about God from scriptures and teachers, and serving God and His creatures—ultimately to develop love for God—is part of every bona fide religious tradition. As the Bible says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shalt be in thine heart. Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. . . . Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him.” This passage from Deuteronomy (6.5–9, 7.9) pretty well describes the life of devotees. While standing up, sitting in house, walking on a path—wherever they are and in whatever they do—they are conscious of God, and they teach their children the same principle: to be God conscious.

Again, the ideal of singing the name of the Lord or praising the name of the Lord is common to every tradition. The Bible, for instance, enjoins us, “Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk yet of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually.” (I Chronicles 16.7–11) But the actual process of chanting, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is elaborated most scientifically in the Vedic literatures. Srimad-Bhagavatam in particular gives precise and detailed information about God and the process to reach Him. Otherwise, one could question, “If the principles are the same, why did you have to take to Krishna consciousness? Why could you not have just been a good Christian or Jew or whatever?” The answer is that this method, which is called bhakti-yoga, is scientific and practical, and that the knowledge of God given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam is most detailed. To love someone, you must know the person: “To know him is to love him.” To know God is to love Him. Otherwise, we may talk theoretically about loving God, but if we don’t know Him, how can we really love Him?

God in the most complete conception is both male and female: Radha and Krishna. Still, for simplicity’s sake, we often use the masculine pronoun. In any case, we learn about God in detail from the Vedic literatures, especially Srimad-Bhagavatam. As our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, used to say, “Every religion will teach that you should love God, but who is God? The Vedic scriptures tell you His name, His address, His telephone number—all the details—about His family, His friends, His habits, His hobbies, His pastimes.” That is why we have taken to Krishna consciousness: to learn about God and how to reach Him—in detail. Even then, as Srila Prabhupada said, “You don’t have to give up being a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim or whatever; you can add Krishna consciousness and become a better Hindu or a better Christian or a better Jew.” It is not a religion in the sense that you have to convert, like one gives up one faith and accepts another. You can remain whatever you are and add bhakti-yoga. With the physical practices of yoga, hatha-yoga, people don’t mind—they may be Christian or Jewish or Muslim and still practice yoga. So too you can practice bhakti-yoga whatever your faith may be. But this yoga will help you to come closer to God and have direct realization of God.

In varnashrama-dharma, the last stage, after retired life, is called sannyasa, renounced life. Although in retired life the husband and wife may stay together, their aim is God consciousness. They often retire to a holy place to worship and serve God, associating with learned scholars and saintly persons, so that they can come closer to God and be with God in their next life. But in the fourth stage, which is not meant for everyone and is not generally recommended in the present age, the husband and wife do not remain together. Also, although the brahmachari will usually marry and have children, in exceptional cases he may not; he may remain in the brahmachari-ashrama for his entire life, or at some point proceed directly from the brahmachari- to the sannyasa-ashrama. In the renounced order too there are different stages, four stages, but in the present age the recommended process for the renounced order is to spread the message of Godhead—to travel and preach the message of Godhead, and to write articles and books on the science of God.

So, these are the four social and spiritual orders, and from that background we come to today’s occasion: Visvarupa-mahotsava. As mentioned earlier, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, and He appeared on earth, as did Krishna, like an ordinary person. Yet although He seemed to take birth like an ordinary person, His birth was not ordinary; it was divine. Just as a dramatic actor might play the part of a family member on stage, so Lord Chaitanya appeared in a particular family on earth. And in the family in which He chose to appear, He had an older brother named Visvarupa (who Himself was an incarnation of Lord Balarama, Krishna’s first expansion).

From the very beginning, Visvarupa was attracted to devotional service to Lord Krishna. As soon as He was old enough, He would go daily to bathe in the Ganges and then proceed to the home of Advaita Acharya to engage in topics of Krishna. He had no interest whatsoever in material life. And so, when He heard that arrangements were being made for His marriage, Visvarupa left home and took sannyasa. At that time, Lord Chaitanya tried to console His aggrieved parents: “My dear mother and father, it is very good that Visvarupa has accepted the sannyasa order, for thus He has delivered both His father’s and His mother’s family.”

As a sannyasi, Visvarupa’s name was Sankararanya Svami. He traveled from one place of pilgrimage to another, throughout the country. Finally, He attained perfection—entered the spiritual world after giving up His mortal body—in Pandarapura, a holy place in Maharashtra. As cited by Srila Prabhupada, the Gaura-candrodaya states that after His departure, Visvarupa remained mixed within Sri Nityananda Prabhu. The date on which Visvarupa took sannyasa is celebrated today as Visvarupa-mahotsava.

Now we come to our spiritual teacher and founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He was born in Calcutta in 1896 in a very pious family. He was well educated and attended Scottish Churches’ College, one of the most prestigious colleges in Calcutta. As a young man, he married and had a child, but soon he met a very saintly person, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, and was impressed by him. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta requested that Srila Prabhupada take up the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and spread His message all over the world, specifically in English. From their very first meeting in 1922, Srila Prabhupada accepted Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in his heart as his spiritual master, and eleven years later, in Allahabad, he was formally initiated as Abhay Caranaravinda dasa. Abhay means “fearless” and caranaravinda means “the lotus feet” of Krishna. By taking shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna, one becomes fearless—even of death, the most fearful situation in the material world.

Srila Prabhupada always remembered the order of his guru maharaja, and in his household life he began the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead. He personally wrote all the articles, got the issues printed, and distributed them. He would go on foot to the teashops in Delhi and approach the customers with his magazine. Later, a friend suggested that magazines might be thrown away but that books would remain forever. And so Srila Prabhupada turned his attention to translating the Bhagavad-gita, and later Srimad-Bhagavatam.

In 1950 Srila Prabhupada retired from family life as a vanaprastha. He traveled to Jhansi and tried to start his guru maharaja’s mission there. He was on the verge of acquiring an ideal property to use as a center, but in the end there was some politics with the governor’s wife and the deal fell through. So he left Jhansi and came to Mathura, a holy place associated with Lord Krishna’s pastimes, to the Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha, where he served in cooperation with one of his godbrothers, His Holiness Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Maharaja.

Even in his household life, Srila Prabhupada had dreams in which his guru maharaja was calling him to leave his family and follow him. Srila Prabhupada would wake up and feel horrified: “How can I take sannyasa?” He continued to have the dream, and in Mathura, Kesava Maharaja advised him, “To really preach the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and fulfill Guru Maharaja’s order, you must take sannyasa.” So, on September 17, 1959, on Visvarupa-mahotsava, the same date that Visvarupa, the older brother of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, took sannyasa, Srila Prabhupada accepted the renounced order of life at the Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha in Mathura. At the end of the ceremony Kesava Maharaja asked him to speak. Although the common language was Hindi, Srila Prabhupada thought of his mission and the order of his guru maharaja, and he spoke in English. Now he was Bhaktivedanta Swami and “completely ready to discharge the order of his spiritual master.”

It is most fortunate for all of us today that Srila Prabhupada did take sannyasa. After he translated Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, in three volumes, he felt ready to travel. Later he would remark, “When I decided to go to foreign countries, I thought of New York. Generally they go to London, but I thought, ‘No, I will go to New York.’” He managed to procure free passage in the passenger cabin of a cargo carrier of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, and so he crossed the Atlantic on board the Jaladuta, suffering two heart attacks on the way. Then, in New York, for almost one year, he struggled alone. No one took up his message seriously. He would stay at different people’s places, but he had no place of his own—and almost no money. He felt so discouraged that from time to time he would go to the Scindia office to see when the next boat was departing for India. But—again fortunately for us—he never left.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Visvarupa-mahotsava, September 17, 2005, Carpinteria, California]

In the Brahma-samhita, Lord Brahma states, “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Radha, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency hladini. Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.”

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 21 August 2020, Radhadesh, Belgium, Serving devotees and Srimati Radharani Lecture)

More so than us becoming attracted to Krsna, let us do something that attracts Krsna to us!

Devotional service is about attracting Krsna. It is not just about us getting attracted to Krsna. In the beginning, we think that devotional service is about us becoming attracted to Krsna but we can think of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, who was standing a bit off to the side for the darshan in the temple of Sri Sri Gandharvika Giridhari in his head headquarters in Mayapur. He did not actually get a good darshan of the deity. So one devotee said, “Oh, you are not getting good darshan of the deity.” But his mood was, “It is actually about the deity seeing me. It is about Sri Krsna akarshini – Sri Krsna becoming attracted.”

More so than us becoming attracted to Krsna, let us do something that attracts Krsna to us. Just like when someone mentions, “When I am doing certain types of services, I feel really connected to Krsna”. Okay, that is nice, certainly very good. But when Krsna wants to connect with us, that is just another thing. When Krsna becomes attracted to us for the service we have done, that is greater! Just like Gurudas, when he was in involved in the construction of the Krsna Balaram Mandir in Vrndavana, he complained to Srila Prabhupada that he had no time to think about Krsna. Prabhupada’s reply was, “Do you think when Arjuna was on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, he was thinking about Krsna?” No, Arjuna was just thinking about how to fight. How to fight next? Weapons were flying in from all sides, and Arjuna had to block all of them. He was in total alertness. There was no question of thinking about anything else. So this spirit of sacrifice is a higher spirit. The spirit of doing something that is so dear to Krsna, that it will certainly attract Krsna. That is the most wonderful thing.

Watch the full video below or by checking out our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSdbLoRI6Fo&t=1726s

The article " Attracting Krsna to us! " was published on KKSBlog.

The Janmashtami festival held at Bhaktivedanta Manor was unsurprisingly not the usual with more than 30,000 attendance with tents, shows, exhibitions and plenty of free prasad. The temple did the best they could within the parameters of present government restrictions: They introduced a 'pre-booked ticket' system for darshan, spread over a number of days.

If you visit the town of Puri on the Bay of Bengal, you will find, amid palm trees and small houses, a stone shrine marking the place where the great saint Haridasa Thakura sat alone or with a devotee companion and worshiped Krsna. There he passed almost the whole day and night simply chanting the Hare Krsnamaha-mantra. He softly repeated the sacred syllables hour after hour, keeping count on his prayer beads until, long after sunset, the holy names had crossed his lips no less than three hundred thousand times. Not far from Haridasa Thakura's secluded hermitage lived Lord Caitanya and His followers, who loudly chanted the maha-mantra, proclaiming the glories of Krsna. People honored Lord Caitanya as an extraordinary devotee, and a select few knew that He was an incarnation of Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that He had come to this world to spread the chanting of the mahamantra. Continue reading "The Passing of Haridasa Thakura
→ Dandavats"

Devotees and members of ISKCON are pained to learn about the passing of Shri Pranab Mukherjee Ji, Former President of India. Our hearts go out to family and friends of Mr Mukherjee and pray to Lord Krishna for strength in this our of grief.

HG Radhika Raman Prabhu Srila Jiva Goswami Appearance day Iskcon of Philadelphia

Podcast

Video:

The post The Monk’s Podcast 58 with Krishna Kshetra Maharaj – Using our imagination in Krishna’s service appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Lord Brahma prays, “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept at playing on His flute, whose eyes are like the petals of a blooming lotus, whose head is bedecked with peacock feathers, whose beauty is tinged with the hue of blue clouds, and whose unique loveliness charms millions of Cupids. ”

Dhira prabhu is the sole breadwinner of the family, and his work is not salaried (no benefits). It is a per-job pay, living paycheck to paycheck. I am concerned how, during the 6 to 12-week recovery period of a triple-bypass, he and his wife Kalindi will survive financially.

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Please join us for this next TOVP TALKS ZOOM webinar with His Holiness Radhanath Swami speaking about his strategies for spreading Krishna consciousness to the elite and upper-class members of society: TOVP Facebook Page.

Zoom Registration Information:

TOVP TALKS Webinar – September 11

Time: 7:30pm IST/10:00am US EST/3:00pm UK
Speaker: His Holiness Radhanath Swami
Topic: Spreading Krishna consciousness to the Elite and Upper Class Society.
ZOOM Registration: https://m.tovp.org/radhanathswamitovptalks

Program Description

For this TOVP TALKS webinar we are pleased to host His Holiness Radhanath Swami. Maharaja is reputed for spearheading a very specialized preaching field among the world’s leaders such as Presidents, Congressmen, Parliament members, entertainers, and other renowned and distinguished people. In this discussion he will reveal his style and strategy when meeting such eminent personalities, as well as his thoughts on how the TOVP fits into this important platform of preaching worldwide.

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Update: At 9AM on September 1st, Dr.Krishna Priya Das, on behalf of the HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja Health Care Team, delivered some encouraging news: “After last night’s rest, Guru Maharaja’s [Gopal Krishna Goswami’s] temperature is normal, as is the blood pressure, his pulse rate and the Oxygen Saturation is at 97%. This is very encouraging. […]

The post Gopal Krishna Goswami Tests Positive for COVID-19: Health Stable, Prayers Requested appeared first on ISKCON News.

His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami has tested positive for COVID-19. His condition is stable with a low-grade fever. Devotees are requested to offer sincere prayers at the lotus feet of Sri-Sri Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva to protect this very exalted and kind-hearted Vaishnava.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 4 August 2020, Radhadesh, Belgium, Last Journey to London Notes)

The sraddha-bindu, the drop of faith that we get from the devotees, is the greatest possession of a devotee. The main thing about a devotee is his deep faith in Krsna. As a result, he has no faith in anything else. Having strong faith in Krsna means that we lose our faith in the material energy. We do not believe anymore that the material energy will bring us the greatest benefits. No, when we have sraddha-bindu, when we have a drop of faith in Krsna consciousness, then all other faith will be diminished – all the faith that we have in a glorious birth, the faith in material possessions, the faith in great education, the faith in great bodily beauty – they all disappear.

Why does this happen? It is not that a vaisnava does not need a place to stay. Oh, it is not that. A vaisnava may like some comfort, but everything comes with a price and then the price to pay to obtain all these things, who can pay that price? That price will take away all our energy and our time, and how much energy and time do we have? A vaisnava is always asking how much energy and time can we preserve for Krsna? Therefore, a vaisnava naturally wants to save energy and time for serving Krsna and automatically, there is less preoccupation with these material things. All these temporary gains then do not matter. Some level of comfort, yes, but then it is enough. Then we spend our time with the real meaning of life – hearing and chanting – which is our eternal wealth. Whenever we glorify Krsna, that will go to our eternal bank account and we will have eternal wealth. Daivi sampad – eternal wealth. So sraddha-bindu, this drop of faith, will change everything. It begins with a drop but the drop of faith will lead us to devotional service and that devotional service itself will increase our faith until we have a puddle of faith, until we have a lake of faith, until we have an ocean of faith, until there is only faith in Krsna and all we will want will be Krsna. That will happen! That is the nature of devotional service because it satisfies the heart. Therefore, sraddha-bindu, only a drop of faith, that is all we need!

The article " Only a drop of faith " was published on KKSBlog.

HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja's health is stable and has not deteriorated in any manner after the first night in the hospital environment.

Toronto, Ontario

From All of This

“Govinda’s,” the dining facility, which some people call “the restaurant,” was open today for the first time since the Covid-19 closure, and patrons are back. It has been a patient wait for folks. Over the months past I’ve been approached plenty of times by Govinda’s fans, in the course of my evening walks. It has been tough to tell people, “We’re closed!”

But now, that’s over. We’re closed on saying “we’re closed.” The food (prasadam) is the big attraction, as well as the atmosphere being a spacious, satvic environment. And so the response has been good. It’s a Wednesday, not traditionally the greatest day of the week for attendance, but people are hungry for the special kind of eating.

This distribution of prasadam(sanctified food) is a big part of the mission — people receive a special amount of mercy while at the same time satisfying their pallet. There are certain types of draws to this Krishna Consciousness and the sacred food is one of them.

One chap, a young guy, from small town Southern Ontario, came by and expressed how he’s quite thrilled about the lifestyle. What I gather from him is that a few items drew him to this higher consciousness and they are the philosophy, the sacred sound of kirtan, the sacred food and the love he receives from all of this.

May the Source be with you!

4 km

Christie Pits, Toronto

Exercising for the Exercise

Knee extension, leg extension, glute stretches and clamshell are all exercises I under took today, as physiotherapy for better walking performance.  Paramahansa and Krishna Chandra guided me in movements which I must keep up on a daily basis.

I set the regular walking as a service to guru and Krishna, because it is through the body that I render service. I perceive today as a time to dedicate to Radha, Krishna’s most dear.

Various functions were executed, mostly online, to honour the Goddess. A white and pink cake was also prepared by chef Sistyna. I guess that makes her a baker. The cake was excellent.

On special days like this one, one tries to do special services. It is by the inspiration of Radha that one may think and act out-of-the-box. I got passionate about wiping the southern stairs and other temple floors by an old-style method, on hands and knees (now that my knees are more fine-tuned).

The last offering to Radha, for me, after leading kirtans and delivering one class, was the walk itself. Aisvarya joined me on Dupont Street for a great urban trek. I was somewhat regretful that our fifteen minute staircase kirtan was the last at our location, since the stairwell is the entrance to Govinda’s restaurant, which reopens tomorrow.

Oh well, we will find another stair case from which to lead kirtan.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Christie Pits, Toronto

Radha on the Road

Today is a warm-up for tomorrow’s dedication to the goddess. Her name is Radha and She is the eternal partner of Krishna. Krishna has many queens but She, Radha, is the special one. We are not in a position to imitate Krishna due to the transcendent nature of Krishna, whereas we are individuals struggling to keep up our lives together. We are only able to do so with the resources that belong to the Supreme Master, Krishna.

When we chant the powerful mantra known as the maha mantra, we receive the benefit of Radha’s name included in the sound vibration. When the name “Hare” is uttered we are addressing Radha.

When I took to walking east on Bloor, I was chanting names of both Radha and Krishna. There were no interruptions on my journey to the Pits, however, on my return I met a person who once was a man and now is a woman. I had personally known this individual, who has come to our temple over the years. When she originally made the switch I had a hard time accepting the change but I’ve grown used to it. We chatted for a bit and unfortunately we became occupied in Covid conversation. I believe I mentioned about Radha’s birthday tomorrow.

Radha is the female aspect of the Divine. Krishna is the male aspect. They are two in one. They don’t need to switch as they are permanently situated as Divine Mother and Divine Father.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.13) states, “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra, one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the Supreme transcendental destination.”

The secret of humor is in TIMING.