Many times devotees would like to shift lifestyle to a more self-reliant, natural way of life and produce their own food. Hearing about personal experiences of people like us who have been doing this for years is absolutely valuable!

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Ocean of Mercy (feat. Nadiya Mani) · Bada Haridas · Nadiya Mani

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When the world around him seemed to be falling apart, yoga helped George Harrison overcome depression and dependency. If being a Beatle had taught him anything, it was to always go with the best, and going with yoga to overcome a dark time in his life was no exception.

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By Yogesvara dasa

The Bhagavad Gita has something to say about anger—two “somethings” that seem to contradict one another. One is shockingly violent. In a startlingly passage (2.32) Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that when there is a chance for righteous battle, “happy are the warriors to whom such fighting opportunities come unsought, opening for them the doors of the heavenly planets”—essentially advising Arjuna to prepare to die. Krishna proceeds to say that He Himself takes up the call to fight (4.8) when there is a decline of religious principles and a rise of irreligion. At such time, He comes "to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants." He follows this (4.42) by making it painfully clear to Arjuna that, however long they may discuss the matter, He expects Arjuna to “stand and fight.” As if to underscore the seriousness of His expectations, He goes so far as to warn Arjuna that if he fails to show the righteous anger needed to enter into battle, he will “incur sin for neglecting [his] duties and thus lose [his] reputation as a fighter.” (2.33) Continue reading "Anger in the Gita
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Featuring special guest Martin Fleming (Akhandadhi das). Joshua Greene and Martin Fleming (Akhandadhi) discuss the recent findings in consciousness studies, the nature of consciousness, and the challenges in studying subjective experiences.

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HH Bhakti Charu Swami Memorial - 2020-07-07

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Answer Podcast

Download by “right-click and save content”

 

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Question: How can we decide the upper limit of tolerance?

Answer: The level of tolerance can not be determined during our own phase of intolerance because when we are angry, even a small misbehaviour seems intolerant and when we are in a good mood, even a big problem seems manageable. That is why, even if somebody is angry unreasonably, we should not act impulsively. The best option is to “press the pause button”.
Basically, in any situation that we are in, there are three options –
(i) change the situation or the person,
(ii) change ourselves or
(iii) just walk away from the situation.
Walking away is not running away, it is a mature thoughtful choice.

If somebody is working in a job and he finds the job very difficult, it maybe because the boss is very demanding, or colleagues are very troublesome. So, one can try to communicate better with them and understand their concerns or one can try to go to a different team. The reason could also be due to lack of skills which we can try to learn and develop. Therefore, ideally, there are three options and at different times different options can be chosen.

In the Mahabharata, initially when the Pandavas came, at that time, the Kauravas did many terrible things to them. There was an incident where the Kauravas tried to poison Bhima but fortunately he was protected. When Yudhishthira came to know about this, he decided not to tell anyone in order to avoid a family feud. Eventually, the Pandavas were sent to Varnavrat and an attempt was made to burn them alive. However, the attempt was foiled and the Pandavas were saved and after returning back to the kingdom, they again did not accuse the Kauravas for trying to burn them alive. Later, Dhritarashtra gave Pandavas a part of the kingdom to settle the feud between the brothers but again it was an unfair settlement since the Pandavas were given a Khandava (a barren land). Still, the Pandavas accepted it and kept tolerating. But eventually, when the Kauravas dishonoured Draupadi, at that time, a particular line was crossed which led to the possibility of a war. Even then, Krishna went as shantidoota (peace messenger) and tried to settle the feud peacefully so as to avoid the war, but Duryodhana was completely adamant. The Pandavas understood that this was not a time for tolerance but a time for active and assertive action. However, this was not based on impulse. Before the war took place, every possible action to avoid the war was taken.

We have to understand that tolerance does not mean that we let others trample us. Tolerance simply means that we don’t let small things come in the way of big things. Our practice of Krishna bhakti is most important to us but while practicing it, if some small things go wrong, and we get too overwhelmed by it, then we cannot practice Krishna bhakti very nicely. For example, if we are going to our office for an important meeting where we have to give a nice presentation and while going along, somebody cuts us across the road then this can make us feel irritated. If we are not aware and do not take control of our emotions, we may get into a bad mood and might not be able to give a good presentation when we reach office. Instead we could have chosen the option to tolerate it. Therefore, tolerance does not mean passive acceptance of anything or everything. Tolerance simply means that we do not let small things come in the way of big things. However, if something critical or urgent comes up in the way of big things then it is no longer a small thing. It then requires appropriate response.

In summary, no matter if somebody’s behaviour is intolerable, we should not react impulsively but should press the pause button instead and we should evaluate our responses rationally. We can try to persuade the person, change ourselves or just walk away from the situation. Also, tolerance is not a virtue in isolation, it is a virtue that is in service to devotion. Tolerance means that I tolerate smaller things so that they don’t come in the way of big things but if something big and important or a critical thing is already coming in the way of our Krishna bhakti then we may have to take necessary steps to deal with it. Therefore, based on understanding of the bigger purpose of our life, we can decide whether we need to change or tolerate, or just get out of the situation.

End of transcription.

The post How can we decide the upper limit of tolerance? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

From Rekha Mathkarr Mataji

I believe and trust Krishna and follow all the scriptural regulations, but what we are experienceing weather wise in united States is beyond tolerance. Since last two wks.there are snow storms after snow storms. People are striended at airport unable to rich there destination. Schools are closed. People are unable to go to work. Elderly people like me are unable to see Dr.and stuck at home unable to get groceries.
How do you apply Gita wisdom in such situations?
Is there anything left to us other than keep praying?

Answer Podcast

 

Transcription :

Transcriber: Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Keshavgopal das

Question: When natural calamities disrupt our lives beyond tolerance point, what can we do other than pray?

Answer: These are very difficult situations which sometime come upon us by the very nature of this material world. As devotees, we can see this at three different levels. At first level, we see it as a practical problem which requires practical solution. Devotees should not live in a eutopia thinking that problems will not come upon us and be prepared to deal with them. When devotees would go out in cold for harinam sankirtan, Prabhupada would ask them to wear proper clothes to keep warm.

Secondly, at a philosophical level we see how this is confirmation of the Vedic teachings that this world is a place of misery (dukhalayam) and things can go wrong at any time (ashashvatam). Our situation can be reduced from “comfort” to “misery and helplessness” in a moment. However, such teachings do not mean that we develop a pessimistic attitude towards life. Rather, we should become intelligently realistic.

Vedic culture has two aspects – (i) practical preparedness and (ii) philosophical preparedness. Practical preparedness means that when natural calamities come, we do not reason that it is due to past karma, rather do what is required. We see this in the example of Prithu Maharaj in Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 4. Philosophical preparedness means that we have a realistic outlook towards life. Krishna consciousness is not just a cosmetic philosophy offering rosy picture of life. Rather, it can be emetic, where it purges out our misconceptions and forces us to understand the reality of this world. Calamities can act as eye openers and educators, in this regard.

At a practical level, there will be inconveniences and we will have to deal with them in all possible ways. Vedic culture did not just have brahmanas who gave philosophical education, but also had kshatriyas who would make sure that administration is taken care off. ISKCON, at this stage, is primarily focusing on developing brahmanical community. However, as the spiritual culture starts to spread, there will also emerge a kshatriya community of responsible administrators who will administer society competently to ensure that society is prepared for calamities.
Thirdly, at a personal spiritual level, we can see this as an opportunity to pray and take shelter of Krishna. There is nothing wrong to pray in emergency situations. It is not considered contamination to pure devotional service. Along with that, we can also take the situation as an opportunity to experience the limited power of non-material shelter which we seek (money, knowledge etc.).

The process of spiritual advancement essentially means relocating our shelter to Krishna. This happens only when we are forced to do it. In a normal situation, the extent to which we take genuine shelter of Krishna may not be much. In critical situations, to the extent we are internally disturbed, to that extent it is a reminder that our internal shelter is not yet in Krishna. Srila Prabhupada, a pure devotee of the Lord, during the second world war, was thinking that the falling bombs are Krishna, but not in a very palatable form. People are attracted to the beautiful three-fold bending charming forms of Krishna, but Prabhupada saw bombs also as Krishna (kaalosmi – Time I am).

One devotee was in Gujarat with some of his relatives and unfortunately their place was hit by floods. They were staying on the fifth floor of a five-story building and the poor detection system could not detect the floods. Initially, the water was at first floor but eventually started rising to second, third and fourth floor. The family (they were not devotees) realised the severity of the situation where the water may rise to the fifth floor and drown them. The devotee in the family thought that now they have no refuge apart from taking shelter of Krishna and decided to start doing kirtan. All of them did kirtan continuously for seventeen hours in turns and they did it very intensely because they needed help desperately. Fortunately, they were saved, and the water subsided. This experience gave them a glimpse of – how dangerous material world can be and how wonderful Krishna’s shelter can be? The faith of other relatives in Krishna also deepened and they began the process of bhakti and later became serious devotees.

We can see calamities not just as troubles but also as opportunities that impel us to take real shelter of Krishna and relish the security. Hence, such events can become an opportunity for spiritual advancement. At the same time, if we are in trouble, we should not be utopians. If others are in trouble, we should not be insensitive, where the only thing we tell them is to take shelter of Krishna. Whatever is practically possible should be done in order to help and deal with the situation at a practical level.

End of transcription.

The post When natural calamities disrupt our lives beyond tolerance point, what can we do other than pray? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

It was the Ministry of West Bengal led by the Honorable Chief Minister Sushri Mamata Bannerjee who facilitated the final journey of the vapu (body of ISKCON-guru Bhakti Charu Swami, who passed away on July 4th in Florida, back to Mayapur. The Chief Minister also arranged a pilot car, and all the police stations from  the […]

The post Chief Minister of West Bengal Arranged the Smooth Return of Bhakti Charu Swami’s Vapu to Mayapur appeared first on ISKCON News.

<p><span>It was the Ministry of West Bengal led by t</span><span>he Honorable Chief Minister Sushri Mamata Bannerjee&nbsp;</span><span>who facilitated the final journey of the vapu (body of ISKCON-guru Bhakti Charu Swami, who passed away on July 4th in Florida, back to Mayapur.</span></p>

Life is often defined in the Bhakti teachings as ‘a struggle for existence’. The daily grind, the showing up, the making it to the end of the week in one piece. Verse 14 in Chapter 2 of the Gita sums it up: “O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their […]

The post Spiritual Resilience appeared first on ISKCON News.

<p>H<span>ow to become resilient and, despite the ups and downs, not give up on our spiritual journey, our search for the self?</span></p>

ISKCON News is inviting talented designers from around the world to help redesign ISKCONnews.org and the site's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ISKCONnews/.

The Annex, Toronto

 

Our Idea of Leisure Walking

 

Judging by the amount of people in cafés and outdoor bars, things are opening up. At least that’s what Jivan Mukta, my walking companion for tonight, and I were observing. The problem with one, or two or more drinks is that you leave your guard down, and then social distancing can easily turn into social mingling. It looks like you could call it “opening up for trouble.” Oh well, I’m glad I don’t drink. I can’t, I’m a monk. Drinking toxins is a major taboo for us on the bhakti-yogapath. Drinking challenges your health, brain, family, bank account, relations with others, your business, etc.

 

I’m sure there are ways to socialize without harming yourself. There are so many approaches to ‘fun’ and some of us have figured them out by following old ancestral traditions, especially from the Vedic perspective of ancient India.

 

As mentioned, my companion today was Jivan Mukta and he’s a rather strict practitioner—he doesn’t mess around with substance abuse. What we did fancy was the simple act of moving along the promenade—a leisurely walk. While we walked, we chanted and sometimes took a break to observe some workmanship in the form of a dazzling piece of architecture; though frankly, most structures are contemporary works of blandness.

 

Anyway, viewing some of the old edifices, trees, and landscapes were our weakness or our little maya.

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Deer Park, Toronto

 

To the Beltline

 

Sanjit and I decided to take a night walk going north to the Yonge and Davisville area, where walkers, runners and cyclists know the Beltline only too well. It was a former railway track and is now a trail used voraciously by feet and wheels—of a gentler kind. I mean to say no motorists here. The Beltline is characterized by a generous tree line on both sides, which is so much needed for a city like Toronto. I imagine many deer roamed here centuries ago. Not anymore.

 

I relayed to Sanjit that some of our best devotees live at Yonge and Davisville and that’s another reason for walking to this destination. Two summers ago, a kirtan was held in a nearby green space.  The vibes are good.

 

With Sanjit’s bike next to him as he walked it, and with both of us armed with beads in hand, we each chanted at our own pace while our legs moved in synchronized stride. The weather was just right—low twenties, Celsius, of course—apologies to those who may not prescribe to a metric system. I was raised on Fahrenheit but that changed for us in the north in the late ’70s.

 

At the green space, we met Ajaneya, Krsna Katha, and Vyenkath—all extraordinary bhakti-yogis. Our union was brief, but meaningful, before my cyclist companion and I did the turnaround from a mid-town district toward the downtown area. With some more mantras under our belt and distance under our feet, we completed a sweet six kilometres.

 

May the Source be with you!

6 km

<p><span>During the night at around 1:30 AM on July 14th, one of the brahmacaris heard a cracking sound and went to check it. He saw the temple building on fire. Brahmacaries quickly took the Deities out to safety from the burning building.&nbsp;</span></p>

A video by My Ashraya.

An internship program has been launched to help build a website and carry out important research for the still under-development project “ISKCON at the United Nations.” After applying and going through a rigorous approval process, The Office of Communications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) received ECOSOC status with the UN in 2016, […]

The post Internship Program Launched to Help Develop ISKCON at the UN appeared first on ISKCON News.

<p><span>After applying and going through a rigorous approval process, The Office of Communications for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) received ECOSOC status with the UN in 2016, the highest level at which an NGO can be associated with the UN.</span></p>

<p><span>This year we won't get the chance to pull Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Subhadra Devi's chariots through the streets but don&rsquo;t let that dampen your spirits. Get ready to welcome Them into your hearts this weekend!&nbsp;</span></p>

Can one who has sinned be a saint?
Sometimes people think that once a person has performed sinful acts, especially acts that are grievously sinful, he must be regarded as a sinner forever. This notion runs contrary to Vaishnava philosophy.

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Manorama dasa: I found this 1973 London Ratha-yatra news video by British Movietone / now Associated Press. Footage shows Srila Prabhupada walking in the parade, along with various early UK devotees from that time. Devotees dancing in the kirtan at Marble Arch, then the procession on the way to Trafalgar Square.

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Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja lecture in English on Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12 Chapter 10 Verse 2 recorded on the 14th of November 1990 in ISKCON Melbourne, Australia.

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By Nrsimha Kavaca Dasa

With Janmastami just around the corner, there is still so much uncertainty about whether temples will be open for festivals or not ISKCON Deity Worship Ministry has put together a document guiding devotees how to observe Janmastami at home. Continue reading "How to observe Janmastami at home
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By Mahatma das

A lot of times when we talk about ISKCON, people think that it’s just an organization, and organizations have so many problems, and I am devoted to Prabhupada, but not to ISKCON. Bhakti Charu Swami never made that distinction, he didn’t want us to make that distinction. He made it very clear that if you are criticizing ISKCON, you are criticizing Prabhupada. If you love Prabhupada, you will work to make ISKCON better. That’s really important because as ISKCON grows, there will always be people who will make that distinction - I am devoted to Prabhupada but I just don’t like ISKCON, I don’t like what the movement is doing, I don’t like where it is going, I don’t like the leadership. Continue reading "Understanding the heart of Bhakti Charu Swami
→ Dandavats"

Answer Podcast

Download by “right-click and save content”

 

Transcription :

Transcription: Suresh Gupta

Question: How do we reconcile Bhagavatam cosmology with scientific cosmology? For example, Bhagavatam cosmology talks about fourteen planetary systems whereas we have nine or ten planets, so how do we reconcile this?

Answer: We have a very simplistic notion of the cosmology that is given and explained in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Usually we say, heaven is up but if the earth is round and America and India are more or less on opposite sides of the earth then the question would arise – is the heaven above America or is it above India? There are two upper opposites. When the scriptures talk about heaven being up, that is not a simplistic geographical “up”. The Bhagavatam is talking about different levels of the cosmos. There are different levels of reality in the universe and we live at a particular level of reality. Within the Indian knowledge of cosmology, there are two broad systems of cosmological knowledge – one is called as Puranic cosmology and the other is called as Jyotisha cosmology. Jyotisha is also called as Siddhantic cosmology and Surya Siddhanta is one famous book from that set of books. Both these give very different vision of the cosmos and if we go to the Jyotisha cosmology, it gives many figures which are very similar to the figures that are in modern cosmology. For example – the distance between the earth and the moon and the earth and the sun as described in Jyotisha cosmology is found to be remarkably similar to what science has found in modern cosmology.

In the same system of knowledge, these two systems of cosmology were very closely connected. Astronomy is the study of planetary distances and astrology is study of their effects on people. For any astrological calculation, even the Vaishnava acharyas or devotee scholars have never used the Bhagavatam cosmology. They all use Jyotisha cosmology which shows that they knew that these two branches of astronomy existed. They themselves had their primary life dedicated to teaching the Bhagavatam, living the teachings of Bhagavatam, explaining the Bhagavatam, but when it came to astrology, they did not use the Bhagavatam cosmology, they used Jyotisha cosmology. What this means is that they too recognised that the Bhagavatam cosmology is not for functional purposes in this world, it is more for a vision of theistic universe (when I say vision, it does not mean that this is just a conception). It is a way of looking at the world which shows how God, devotion, dharma – are all pervading the universe. As far as operating in this universe is concerned, they used Jyotisha cosmology and they never put the two in conflict. Bhagavatam itself describes two important things in Canto 5. First is, studying this will enhance our devotion and second, ultimately because this cosmos manifests the glories of the Lord and since the Lord is infinite and cannot be completely understood, similarly the cosmos cannot be fully understood. Therefore, the Bhagavatam itself is telling that if we do not understand its vision of the cosmos, we do not need to agonise over it too much because the purpose is to enhance our devotion. For functioning in this world, we do use the modern cosmology and there is nothing wrong in that.

We need not position scripture as a competitor of science. Scriptures are primarily about spiritual knowledge, to learn how to evaluate our consciousness. When we position scripture as the competitor of science, we devalue scripture. Scripture has given us spiritual knowledge to elevate our consciousness and Science can give us some material knowledge about how to function in this world. There may be some areas of overlap or some contradictions and how to resolve all of them is for specialist to discuss. I have seminars on this where I have told how good scholars are already working on this but as far as we are concerned, we don’t have to unnecessarily highlight or aggravate this conflict because within the tradition itself there are the example of two different vision of the cosmos and both being used – the Bhagavatam cosmology for increasing ones focus on the Lord and the Jyotisha cosmology being used for doing practical functioning in the world.

Similarly, we can have for modern cosmology and Bhagavatam cosmology.

The Srimad Bhagavatam talking about fourteen planetary systems is talking about cosmos, seen from a different scale of perception, it is not a human centred scale of perception. If whatever Sukadeva Goswami was describing in the Bhagavatam was readily visible to the eyes, then Parikshit Maharaj could have simply looked at the sky and saw it. Sukadeva Goswami is describing it because that is not visible through the naked eyes. It is a different vision of universe, seen from a different scale of observation and the scale of observation can significantly change the object of observation. For example, if we have a chalk and charcoal and we mix them together, we will see grey powder but if we see the same thing under microscope, we would not see grey powder but instead would see black particles and white particles. So, the question arises, what is it really? Is it white particle or black particle or is it grey powder? Well, what it is, depends from where we perceive it.

Therefore, we see the universe a particular way through science which is from our level of perception. The Srimad Bhagavatam gives us another level of perception of the universe and we need not necessarily see them as contradictory because there is a different level and different kind of perception for different purposes.

End of transcription.

The post How do we reconcile Bhagavatam cosmology with scientific cosmology? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

<p><span>The hallmarks of ISKCON, its seven purposes were reaffirmed through a series of interviews and dialogues by the exemplary leaders of ISKCON who personify these seven purposes in their own exquisite ways.&nbsp;<span>This symposium was the brainchild of a brilliant disciple of Bhakti Charu Swami who embodied Srila Prabhupada&rsquo;s instructions and worked towards uniting everyone.</span></span></p>

A video by Radhadesh Mellows.

A video by Mayapur TV.