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We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”
TEXT 18
tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam
samahitam sura-sutena devi
dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam
kastha yathananda-karam manastah
SYNONYMS
tatah—thereafter; jagat-mangalam—auspiciousness for all living entities in all the universes of the creation; acyuta-amsam—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never bereft of the six opulences, all of which are present in all His plenary expansions; samahitam—fully transferred; sura-sutena—by Vasudeva, the son of Surasena; devi—Devaki-devi; dadhara—carried; sarva-atmakam—the Supreme Soul of everyone; atma-bhutam—the cause of all causes; kastha—the east; yatha—just as; ananda-karam—the blissful (moon); manastah—being placed within the mind.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, accompanied by plenary expansions, the fully opulent Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is all-auspicious for the entire universe, was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki. Devaki, having thus been initiated by Vasudeva, became beautiful by carrying Lord Krsna, the original consciousness for everyone, the cause of all causes, within the core of her heart, just as the east becomes beautiful by carrying the rising moon.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
As indicated here by the word manastah, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the core of Vasudeva’s mind or heart to the core of the heart of Devaki. We should note carefully that the Lord was transferred to Devaki not by the ordinary way for a human being, but by diksa, initiation. Thus the importance of initiation is mentioned here. Unless one is initiated by the right person, who always carries within his heart the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot acquire the power to carry the Supreme Godhead within the core of one’s own heart.
The word acyutamsam is used because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sad-aisvarya-purna, full in the opulences of wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation. The Supreme Godhead is never separated from His personal opulences. As stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.39), ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan: the Lord is always situated with all His plenary expansions, such as Rama, Nrsimha, and Varaha. Therefore the word acyutamsam is specifically used here, signifying that the Lord is always present with His plenary expansions and opulences. There is no need to think of the Lord artificially as yogis do. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah (Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.1). Yogis meditate upon the Supreme Person within the mind. For a devotee, however, the Lord is present, and His presence need only be awakened through initiation by a bona fide spiritual master. The Lord did not need to live within the womb of Devaki, for His presence within the core of her heart was sufficient to carry Him. One is here forbidden to think that Krsna was begotten by Vasudeva within the womb of Devaki and that she carried the child within her womb.
When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure, unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Krsna. The appearance of the form of Krsna anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhama. Dhama refers not only to Krsna’s form, but to His name, His form, His quality, and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.
Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki, exactly as the setting sun’s rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.
Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devaki from the body of Vasudeva. He was beyond the conditions of the ordinary living entity. When Krsna is there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Narayana, and incarnations like Lord Nrsimha and Varaha, are with Him, and they are not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devaki became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devaki became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was within the house of Kamsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot or is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devaki was kept within the prison walls of Kamsa’s palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty, which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Commenting upon this verse, Sri Viraraghava Acarya writes, vasudeva-devaki jatharayor hrdayayor bhagavatah sambandhah. The Supreme Lord’s entrance into the womb of Devaki from the heart of Vasudeva was a heart-to-heart relationship.
COMMENT by Giriraj Swami
We have gathered here at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna to remember and celebrate His appearance in this world. According to Vedic literature, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). He is the Absolute Truth, the origin of all that exists. And He is realized in three features, nondual (advaya), as explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.11):
vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate
“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma, or Bhagavan.”
Brahman is the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord; Paramatma is the localized feature of the Lord, within the heart; and Bhagavan is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna Himself, full in six opulences.
The form of Krishna is not material. Our bodies are material, distinct from the soul, which is spiritual. The Bhagavad-gita (2.13) explains,
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.” The soul is a nonphysical, nonchemical particle of spiritual energy, and it is the soul that animates the body. As long as the soul is in the body, we say the body is alive. Actually, the body is never alive; the body is just a machine. But it appears to be alive when the soul is present to animate it. And when the soul leaves the body, the body has no capacity to act, to function, and then we say that the body is dead. In conditioned beings, such as us, there is a distinction between the body, which is made of material energy, and the soul, which is composed of spiritual energy. But in the case of Krishna, there is no difference between His body and soul. Being absolute, His body and He are the same. In our case, there is a difference between us and the body, because our real identity is the soul. If someone’s father passes away, he or she will cry, “Oh, my father has left. My father is gone.” Although the body of the father is there, why do we say, “My father has gone”? Intuitively we know, especially at a time like death, that the body lying there in the room is not the person. The body is just a bag of chemicals. The real person is the soul who has left the body, and so the children and other relatives and friends cry, “Oh, he’s gone,” because he is the soul, not the body.
But in the case of Krishna, He and His body are not different because He is absolute. There is no difference between His inside and His outside. He is completely spiritual. The Brahma-samhita says, isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah: “Krishna is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body.” Anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam: “He is the origin of all, but He Himself has no origin. He is the prime cause of all causes.” That is Krishna.
Continue reading "Sri Krishna Janmashtami—Lord Krishna’s Appearance
Giriraj Swami"
ISKCON Secunderabad - Janmastami Celebration
Podcast
Video:
The post Gita key verses course 32 What does Gita say about the caste system Does the Gita support social justice – Gita 09.32 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
A video by GBC Executive Secretariat.
The post Janmasthami Greetings from GBC Chairman Ramai Swami appeared first on ISKCON News.
A video by GBC Executive Secretariat.
A video by GBC Executive Secretariat.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ISKCON devotees have adjusted to staying at home by organizing a whole host of creative online events in place of in-person festivals and seminars. One of the most popular virtual events, drawing at least 1.2 million viewers, engaging multiple generations of devotees and inspiring many others to hold […]
The post Looking Back on the Pandemic Kirtan That Reached 1.2 Million and Inspired a Flood of Virtual Kirtan Events appeared first on ISKCON News.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most popular virtual events, drawing at least 1.2 million viewers, engaging multiple generations of devotees and inspiring many others to hold their own major online kirtan events to this day, was the Global Pandemic Kirtan.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most popular virtual events, drawing at least 1.2 million viewers, engaging multiple generations of devotees and inspiring many others to hold their own major online kirtan events to this day, was the Global Pandemic Kirtan.
By ISKCON Communications The North American press release for Janmastami. Janmastami celebrations at the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temples in North America and around the world will look different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Janmastami falls on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 in North America. ISKCON temples in North America will be hosting simple, socially distanced Janmastami programs where guests and devotees are invited but can only stay for a short period of time and only pre-packed meals are served. All guidelines by local governments such as masking will also be strictly followed. Continue reading "Media Release: ISKCON Celebrates Birth of Lord Krishna Amidst a Global Pandemic
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 9 September 2018, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Janmastami Lecture)
Watch out for the enemies this Janmastami – the bed, the pillar, a comfortable arm chair, soft pillows, the wall. Beware of these enemies that try to eat away our time from Krsna!
Janmastami is an opportunity for us to spend our whole day with Krsna. We cannot waste a second! Krsna’s qualities are so unlimited, that being absorbed in them leave us no time to eat and definitely no time to sleep. Watch out! Watch out for the enemies this Janmastami – the bed, the pillar, a comfortable arm chair, soft pillows, the wall. Beware of these enemies that try to eat away our time from Krsna! Oh no, not today. It is Sri Krsna Janmastami! It is the day to serve Krsna all day!
Watch the full video below or by checking out the ISKCON Ljubljana YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxXe3kPni-s
The article " Janmastami Meditation #2 " was published on KKSBlog.
This year is a special Janmastami festival. It is said that when Janmastami falls on Wednesday, it is very powerful. This year, as Janmastami will be celebrated on 12th August on Wednesday, we invite everyone to take advantage of this great opportunity to take part in serving Sri Sri Radha Madhava in the merciful abode […]
The post Submit your offering for Janmastami 2020! appeared first on Mayapur.com.
We bid farewell to four of our senior students, in this Samavartana Samskara that concludes the studies of a brahmachari.
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Nanda Maharaja was naturally very magnanimous, and when Lord Sri Krsna appeared as his son, he was overwhelmed with jubilation. He first bathed and purified himself and dressed himself properly, and then he invited brahmanas who knew how to recite Vedic mantras. After having these qualified brahmanas recite auspicious Vedic hymns, he arranged to have the Vedic birth ceremony celebrated for his newborn child according to the rules and regulations, and he also arranged for worship of the demigods and forefathers.
Ordered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva took his son from the prison. The night was very dark, but as soon as Vasudeva picked Krsna up and went out, he could see everything just as in the sunlight.
The new kitchen for the Deities of Mayapur is ready! (Album of photos)
The Deities have...Read More...
Just one day to go for Sri Krishna Janmastami festival. On 11th August, we will be offering Sri Hari Toshanam yajna or Krishna Priti yajna to please Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna to bestow peace upon the Universe. You can become a Yajaman for Yajna and your name will be read during yajna with […]
The post Sri Krishna Janmastami Sevas! appeared first on Mayapur.com.
By Sankarsana Rama Das It was a great honor to meet New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Arden today. I gave her the gift of the most valuable transcendental knowledge Bhagavad Gita. She mentioned that she has heard Mahatma Gandhi talked about Bhagavad Gita quite a lot and she was very happy and grateful to receive it. Continue reading "Prime Minister of New Zealand receives Bhagavad-Gita
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Please pray for HG Syamali dasi.
Indradyumna Swami: Dear devotees: My beloved disciple, Syamali dasi, departed this world a few hours ago in Alachua, Florida with her husband, Bhismadeva dasa, and family members by her side. By Krsna’s mercy, I was also able to chant for her by video conference during her last hours. She was a very sweet and dedicated devotee who passed away peacefully. We will miss her. Please say a prayer for her as you start your day.
More photos: https://bit.ly/3ivXvSV
How is life in Mayapur during the Moonsoon?
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Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the current Home Secretary of India visits ISKCON Delhi
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Lord Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with Balarama, played like a human being, and so masked He performed many superhuman acts.
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By the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team The glorious advent of Lord Krishna or Janmastami is celebrated with charming grandeur and magnificent pomp worldwide by millions of exuberant Vaishnavas. Due to the outbreak of a global pandemic, the entire devotee community has been urged to celebrate Janmastami at home. Since the pandemic, the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team has been providing useful resources online. For this Janmastami we have compiled a celebrate-at-home Janmastami portfolio, which is a compilation of guidelines and instructions to make your Janmastami experience delightful and filled with personal loving service to the Lord. Continue reading "2020 Janmastami Resources – to celebrate at home and with family and friends
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By the GBC Executive SecretariatStatement by GBC Executive Chairman, Ramai Swami, on the occasion of Sri Krsna Janmastami (3 min. video) Continue reading "Statement by GBC Executive Chairman on the occasion of Sri Krsna Janmastami
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By Dravida dasaDue to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, this year the BBT published Srila Prabhupada's Vyasa-puja book in pdf format only. You can download the book by clicking the llink included Continue reading "2020 Vyasa Puja book for Srila Prabhupada
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Jagannatha Kirtanananda Das speaks to Bob Cohen (HG Brahmatirtha Das) on the conversation Bob had with Srila Prabhupada which resulted in the world-renowned book ‘Perfect Questions Perfect Answers’.
Podcast
Video:
The post The Monk’s Podcast 48 with Bhakti Vinoda Swami – The Indian outreach landscape appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
On August 7, Giriraj Swami spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.13 with ISKCON Atlanta.
HH Giriraj Swami Maharaj speaking Krishna Katha.
HH Giriraj Swami Maharaj speaking Krishna Katha to ISKCON Atlanta.
Posted by ISKCON Atlanta on Friday, August 7, 2020
Question: Why is there so much suffering in India, so much deprivation? HH Bhakti Charu Swami: Good point. Now tell me are they following Krishna? Are those people who are suffering, accepting Krishna?
The first Maha Sankirtan Party down WALL ST-NYC the center of Maya’s activities with four mridanga players-Brahmananda-right Rishi-Kumar-left behind Brahmananda -Bharadvaja-and Chandanacharya.
Vasudeva and Devaki were within Kamsa prison when Lord Krsna, in His Visnu form, appeared before them as their son. He appeared from the heart of Devaki in the dense darkness of night, like the full moon rising on the eastern horizon. The newborn child had very wonderful lotus-petal eyes and bore in His four hands a conchshell, disc, club, and lotus. On His chest was the mark of Srivatsa, and on His neck the brilliant Kaustubha gem.
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 9 September 2018, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Janmastami Lecture)
It’s not that we have to fast, it’s just that there is no time to eat because there is too much to do for Krsna.
Janmastami is about focusing on the lotus feet of Krsna, about meditating on Krsna, thinking about Him, reading about Him and just getting totally absorbed in the thoughts of Krsna. This is the purpose of Janmastami, to somehow or other be completely absorbed in Krsna. In some temples, the Krsna book is being read the whole day on Janmastami. So in this way, devotees can go in and out of this room and hear about pastimes of Krsna all day, and it is a nice thing to do for Janmastami. Many devotees remain absorbed in Krsna in other ways – some by chanting extra rounds, some by distributing books and so on. There is no time to eat on this day! It’s not that we have to fast, it’s just that there is no time to eat because there is too much to do for Krsna. So this is the spirit of Janmastami – to get absorbed in Krsna, to remember Him and to glorify Him all day.
Watch the full video below or by checking out the ISKCON Ljubljana YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxXe3kPni-s
The article " Janmastami Meditation #1 " was published on KKSBlog.
Prabhupada: My Guru Maharaja used to say that just rise early in the morning and then kick the mind with a shoe one hundred times.
Srimad Bhagavatam class given by HG Aniruddha Prabhu - 6 Aug 2020, ISKCON Melbourne.
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Krishna Prasadam, sanctified karma-free vegetarian food offered to Krishna is a healthy, tasty and nutritious option to satisfy the taste buds of people and also purify the heart. By switching over to a diet of Krishna prasadam, many in the world have overcome eating habits that involve causing violence to other creatures.
Read More...The TOVP West Wing Exhibits is currently scouting for creative talent across the entire ISKCON community base. These are paid service positions, located in Mayapur. We are looking for a skilled concept artist and a Museum exhibit script writer.
Educational Qualification:
Professional Skills:
Specific Skills:
Experience:
Hands-on experience in conceptualizing an original idea from storyboard to final design.
Involvement:
Full Time/part time
Maintenance:
Residence in Mayapur is preferred but is negotiable. Generous compensation (by Indian standards) as well as rent and utilities assistance are provided to approved candidates.
How to Apply?
Send your Curriculum Vitae (CV) by email. Please submit your work samples along with CV.
For details of services and compensation packages offered please have interested parties contact hrtovpe@gmail.com
New staff writers will be a part of the creative team, under the direction of the head writer tasked with producing exhibits scripts and ancillary written support material.
The Script writers are responsible for
Educational Qualification:
Professional Skills:
Experience:
Involvement:
Full Time/part time
Maintenance:
Residence in Mayapur is preferred but is negotiable. Generous compensation (by Indian standards) as well as rent and utilities assistance are provided to approved candidates
How to Apply?
Send your Curriculum Vitae (CV) by email. Please submit your work samples along with CV.
For details of services and compensation packages offered please have interested parties contact hrtovpe@gmail.com
By Srimati Dasi Nightmare or sweet dreams — we continue to live the illusion. So many wake-up calls, but still we stubbornly hold on to a world of I, me and mine. Dressed in the garb of a devotee, and so attentive to the external detail of the rituals and rites, we seem to have lost contact with the heart of the matter — spontaneous, selfless, loving service for Krsna! Do we have it? Do we really want it?! Do we really want to love Krsna and accept Him as our eternal master, controller and enjoyed? What does it mean to live a life beyond illusion? Can we do it now? Continue reading "Living a Life Beyond Illusion
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