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The main purpose for my visit to Pune Temple, India, was to attend the midterm GBC and Indian leader’s meeting. Devotees came from around the world to discuss various topics about how to best spread the samkirtan movement of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

It was nice to have the transcendental association of so many senior devotees in one place and the kirtana in the temple was ecstatic. The Pune devotees organized wonderful prasadam for all, much to everyone’s appreciation.

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! September was a fantastic month. Nearly every temple increased its book distribution, and so many had a 999% increase. Lord Krsna used His devotees as His instruments and showered the world with His teachings. Dhaka-Swamibag in Bangladesh stands out the most, because it had a
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At a side part of the Radha Vrndavancandra Pune temple property is a temple of Sri Balaji, where you need to climb quite a few steps to get to.

Normally, ISKCON temples don’t worship this specific form of the Lord, but a friend of ISKCON who was a Sri Vaisnava donated a substantial amount so the property could be bought. He begged the devotees for an exception to be made so the Lord could be installed before he passed away.

The temple is very beautifully constructed in South Indian style and worship is performed daily according to ISKCON standards. At the front there is a deity of Garuda who faces the Lord as one enters the temple.

Everywhere in the material creation, there is duality. Light and dark. Hot and cold. Wet and dry. Happiness and suffering. And much, much more. The external person we present to others through our behavior also contains duality. Our positive side is how we want to behave and be viewed. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung used the term […]

The post COMING OF AGE #9 – Shadows that Go Bump in the Night! appeared first on ISKCON News.

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Question: During online outreach if we rely on say YouTube guidelines or analytics or view counts then does that take away from our dependence on Krishna?And Krishnas arrangement whatever he makes for our outreach.

Answer:Yes, that’s certainly a possibility which we need to be cautious about guard against.

But it doesn’t have to be that.

Using our intelligence.Using contemporary strategic planning methods.And retaining our dependence on Krishna.Sentillions and dependence don’t have to be mutually exclusive.If you consider right going back to the time of the Mahabharata.

Arjuna.Did land strategy.Before especially the.Kurupshit raw and every morning.They would have a.Planning meeting and every evening after the war got over.For that day, they would have the review meeting.And the planned who would be confronting which enemy.

So war is extremely serious business and without strategy it’s unlikely that one can be effective leave alone successful.

So.Physically also.

His whole vision of going to the west.When things are not working out in India.Was strategic planning.And it did work, of course, it’s not that in the west, he got success immediately.I was in a certainly not that.In the profit not Arjuna were not dependent on Krishna.

Profile would often tell devotees, double it.With respect to book distribution, he said that I will come to the temples where there is maximum solution being done.And that way.

He felt that he would be able to.Encourage devotees to distribute more and more books.

Now, it is true that.Somebody would have got so consumed by Buddha distribution that they forgot other things. Sometimes they would try to.Sabotage other people devotees book distribution, so that they could be the ones who distribute the maximum number of books.

That certainly was.Counterproductive and anti-spiritual.

What to speak of entity devotional.

Krishna is pleased by the offering of our heart and Krishna provides us facilities.For us to make that offering.At the same time is a matter of the heart.It’s not just a matter of the heart.Because that heart is to be expressed in this world.And while expressing in this world.

A certain level of competence in certain level of success are essential.If we want.Our service to benefit the world.So if we consider.

Sharing spiritual wisdom to be like.Sharing a spiritual therapy or treatment to people who are sick with everybody in the material world being sick with materialism though, they may not be sick of materialism.That means they don’t think that materialism is the cause of the problem, they don’t want to give it up but still materialism is a part of their problem.

Then we should then we are meant to be like the medical support staff.With surgeons doctors nurses whatever who are meant to heal people.Now.The more people are healed.The more it is fulfilling for us but then healing has to be a holistic parameters not just that we give some pain medication cover up the pain and people say that I feel good and now we are successful.

So,If medical research shows that particular ways of treating people.Particular methods and modalities.Are more effective than others then.Using those nothing wrong at all.If you maintain our service attitude, and if we try to.Consider that various strategies are simply aids for us in serving Krishna.

Then we can move forward in that direction.With studyers.If.Statistics and numbers become the soul definer of our success, then definitely we could.We couldn’t we will get distracted from Krishna that will be entirely a material conception of service. But just as in the book the philosophy matter is not intrinsically Maya.

Matter is also energy of Krishna.And depends on our vision whether we see matter as connected to Krishna or separated from Krishna.Similarly.

Material success.Can also be a parameter of.For measuring our devotional success, but it should be the sole parameter.You destroy Maharaj became an emperor of a performing large and performed yeah as a means of glorifying Krishna his material success was also in that at that context a part of a spiritual success later on when he lost his entire kingdom and the entire welfare had got to go to the forest at that time also he was spiritual successful because you still connected with Krishna and depending on Krishna and absorbing Krishna.

But.That didn’t lead that time doesn’t the opposite of material success.So.We couldn’t conclude talking about a pendulum where one extreme is to equate devotional success with some material success, even that some even more narrowly some numerical success or.Equate spiritual effectiveness of our service with with to reduce spiritual effectiveness of our service to somebody else strategies.

The other extreme the pendulum is to.Oh consider that spiritual service has nothing to do with material strategies at all.But at the balance of the pendulum would be if we understand that Krishna.Is.

A part of who that Krishna the material world is also included in in Krishna and with and within our domain of service to Krishna and material strategies and material statistics.Are one parameter of success not the sole parameter of success and the intelligence to utilize the statistics also comes from Krishna.

But we are not just our intelligence we are souls and these are hard that is to be offered to Christiana if you keep that in mind.And.Make sure that strategies and statistics and material successes total consumer consciousness.But are just one part of our consciousness then.We can perform bhakti.

In a way that is both going to connect our heart with Krishna and also.Connect us with the world so that we can take Krishna’s message.And mission.From our heart to their heart.

End of Transcription.

• Damodarashtakam verse 1 line 2_ Prayer for better chanting
• Damodarashtakam verse 1 line 1_ Prayer for better chanting

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Transcription:
Lasat-kuṇḍalaṁ, gokule bhrājamanam
My dear Lord Krsna, as I try to remember You, You are not just a generic reality; You are a specific person with specific attributes. Just as Your beautiful earrings, kuṇḍala, have charmed the heart of Satyavrat muni, my dear Lord, may Your specific attributes charm my heart. With those specific attributes—Your bluish-black complexion, Your flute, Your threefold bending form—some or the other, may my heart be captivated towards You. Gokule bhrājamanam, my dear Lord, beyond this world of constant agitation is your eternal abode of unending love. May I be able to turn away from this world and immerse myself in You, knowing that Your world is the Supreme shelter.

End of Transcription.

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Hare Krsna
Meditating on the Damodarastakam as a prayer for improving our remembrance of Krsna and our chanting. So, in this meditation, we can take one line from each verse and meditate on that.
namāmīśvaraṁ sac-cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ
īśvara refers to the controller. Oh Krsna, You who are the Supreme controller, please help me to control my uncontrollable mind. Alone I cannot do it, but You can control my mind, for You and how do You control the mind, oh Lord sac-cid-ānanda-rūpam,̇ You are all attractive. You can attract my heart and thus control the mind, not by force, but by beauty, by the attractiveness of Your divine form.

End of transcription

Chaitanya Charan Das, “The Spiritual Scientist,” is one of ISKCON’s premiere teachers and prolific authors. He graciously agreed to share his two-part reflections on the Damodarashtakam with ISKCON News to help devotees enter this month of spiritual auspiciousness more fully.  Here is Part II: Verse 5: Devotion catapults us to the summit of yogic meditation […]

The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam with Chaitanya Charan Das (Part 2 – Verses 5 to 8) appeared first on ISKCON News.

We invite you to observe the Sri Damodar Month, a time of heightened devotion and spirituality, from October 30th to November 27th, 2023. This auspicious month is dedicated to deepening your spiritual connection and offering heartfelt prayers to Lord Krishna.

During this special month we invite you and your family to visit Sri Sri Radha Giridhari Temple an offer a lamp (diya) to Their Lordships.

🌟 Srila Prabhupada's Disappearance Day 🌟

Join us on Friday, November 17th, 2023, as we honor the life and teachings of Srila Prabhupada on his Disappearance Day. This special festival is dedicated to remembering and celebrating the legacy of our beloved Founder-Acharya.

🐄 Sri Govardhan & Go Puja Festival 🌿

Immerse yourself in the sacred festivities of Sri Govardhan & Go Puja. Join us for this spiritually enriching event on Sunday, November 19th, 2023, starting at 11:00 AM.

📅 Date: Sunday, November 19th, 2023
🕚 Time: 11:00 AM Onwards

Here are the highlights of the event:

🐄 Go Puja: Experience the deep reverence for the sacred cow, symbolising nourishment, protection, and motherly love. You're invited to actively take part in the Go Puja with your friends and family.

🎶 Kirtan: Immerse yourself in the captivating melodies of kirtan, the heart-soothing devotional songs that connect us with the divine.

🪔 Maha Arati: Witness the grand arati, creating an atmosphere of purity and spiritual awakening.

🍛 Bhoga Offerings to Govardhan Hill: Participate in the offering of sumptuous bhoga (food) to our own Govardhan Hill !

🍽️ Maha Prasadam: Indulge in a delectable feast of Maha-Prasadam, a sanctified meal that nourishes the body and soul.

This event is a unique opportunity to deepen your spiritual connection, learn more about the profound significance of Go Puja and Govardhan Hill. Bring your family and friends to share in the blessings and joy of this auspicious occasion.

The first full moon of the autumn season marks the celebration of Krsna’s dancing with the gopis.

On this day the deities of Vrndavana are nicely decorated in white. Krsna lila dramas are enacted. Because the moon is very auspicious, the vraja vasis leave pots of sweet rice exposed to the full moon for the whole night, to turn the sweet rice into ambrosial amrta.

The Pune temple devotees decorated the area just in front of the altar with a beautiful depiction of Vrndavan forest with the small Radha Krsna deities and the gopis.

Podcast:

Podcast:

I was distributing books in Balboa Park (in San Diego) and met a guy named Matthew. He was waiting for me while I spoke to a Mexican couple for five minutes. Then he came to the table and said that he’s very interested in meditation. He’s been practicing it for the past nine months. He
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By Pavni Gaurangi A grand temple project reaches its completion to help the people of Ludhiana, Punjab, serve the Lord better. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, the Spiritual Master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, wanted him to preach the holy name, far and wide. This gave birth to his mission of introducing
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The TOVP Fundraising Department would like to let all devotees know that we will soon be winding up the Nrsimha Brick Campaign. During the historic Grand Opening of the Nrsimhadeva Wing at the 2024 Gaura Purnima Festival, from February 29 – March 2, all the Nrsimha Bricks with engraved donor names will be placed under the Lord’s altar to remain for hundreds of years.

This is the last call to action to sponsor a Nrsimha Brick with the name of your choice engraved on the top. Put your name, a family members’, gurus’ or departed relatives’ name and receive the benefit of such a sankalpa to help build Mayapur Nrsimhadeva’s new home in the TOVP. You will also be an instrument in completing the largest Prahlad-Nrsimhadeva temple in the world, the effect of which will influence the whole of humanity far into the future.

Go to the Give To Nrsimha Fundraiser page on the TOVP website TODAY! Installment payments are available so you can spread out your pledge fulfillment over time.

Miracle in the Making ~ Home of Our Divine Protector

 

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After WWII, a new hopefulness was in the air. The United Nations had been established to help solve the world’s problems. The economy was booming.  Suburbs were being built at a fever-pitch rate. The G.I. Bill allowed returning veterans free college educations, and there were more students in college than ever before. Every family wanted […]

The post The Ugra-Karma Wasteland   appeared first on ISKCON News.

We welcome you to this most auspicious place, the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Radhanath, on the most auspicious occasion of the beginning of Kartik, in the most auspicious association of Lord Krishna’s devotees. Kartik is also known as the month of Damodara (dama means “ropes,” and udara means “abdomen”), or Krishna who allowed Himself to be bound about the waist by the ropes of His devotee’s love.

Srila Rupa Gosvami compiled the law book of Krishna consciousness, the science of devotion, as the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, translated by Srila Prabhupada in a summary study as The Nectar of Devotion. There the observance of Kartik is mentioned as one of the sixty-four items of devotional service. Rupa Gosvami quotes from the Padma Purana that just as Lord Damodara is favorably inclined toward His devotees, so the month of Kartik, which is also dear to Him, bestows great favor upon His devotees, even for a little service or a little practice. It is even said that the benefit gained for service performed in the last five days of Kartik is equal to that gained from service performed for the entire month. In other words, for a very small performance of devotional service in the month of Damodara, one gets a very big result—especially in Vrindavan. Also, Srila Prabhupada has explained that wherever the Deities of Radha and Krishna are installed, that is also Vrindavan. So even here our devotional service will be magnified “one thousand times.”

Srila Prabhupada gave the example of a store holding a sale, when a customer can get a valuable item by paying a small amount. So, the month of Kartik is like a sale, a transcendental sale. By a little investment in terms of spiritual practice and service, you can get a great benefit. Of course, the management of the store hopes that you will come to appreciate its goods and patronize the store even after the sale is over. And we too hope that you will continue with your spiritual practices, or increased practices, even after the month of Kartik.

There is a special potency to the month itself. Just as certain times of the day, such as the brahma-muhurta, which begins one hour and thirty-two minutes before sunrise and continues until the sun rises, are more auspicious for spiritual progress and enhance the value of one’s practices, so too, within the year, the month of Kartik is most auspicious. Devotees try to take advantage of the facility offered by Kartik by on the one side increasing their spiritual practices and doing extra service—they chant more rounds, read more scripture, recite more prayers, distribute more books, and make special offerings—and on the other side decreasing their material involvement, their sense gratification. As it is, we are in the four-month period of Chaturmasya, so every month we forgo a certain type of food, but in Kartik devotees may do extra austerities. They may eat only once a day, or give up sweet or fried foods, or rise earlier than usual, or whatever—work on some area of their spiritual life that they want to improve—and they get special mercy in the month of Kartik to fulfill their vows and improve their spiritual practices.

Today also is sarat-purnima, the full-moon night of the sarat season, the night on which Krishna played upon His transcendental flute at Vamsivata by the Yamuna River in Vrindavan and called the gopis to dance with Him. Now, we may take it that He played on His flute and in a figurative way called the gopis to dance with Him, but actually Krishna’s flute is one of His messengers, and so the gopis not only heard the beautiful, melodious sound of the flute, but they actually received the message that Krishna wanted to meet them. And because their only desire was to please Krishna, to fulfill His desires and make Him happy, they all went to Him not with the aim of fulfilling any selfish desire of their own, but with the sole aim of fulfilling Krishna’s transcendental desire to dance with them.

Because the rasa dance superficially resembles the dancing of men and women in the material world, it can easily be misunderstood, and there are critics of Lord Krishna and Srimad-Bhagavatam and Krishna consciousness itself that find fault with the rasa-lila. I know religious groups outside of the Vedic tradition that criticize and challenge: “Oh, Krishna is a womanizer. How can you worship a god that enjoys with women?” They do not understand the pure love exchanged by Krishna and the gopis. In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains the difference between love, or prema, and lust, or kama. In lust, the person wants to gratify his or her own senses, whereas in pure love, the devotee wishes to satisfy Krishna’s transcendental senses. The two may resemble each other, but actually they are completely different.

kama, prema,—donhakara vibhinna laksana
lauha ara hema yaiche svarupe vilaksana

atmendriya-priti-vancha—tare bali ‘kama’
krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare ‘prema’ nama

“Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures. The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kama, but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krsna is prema.” (Cc Adi 4. 164–165) Iron and gold are both metals, but there is a great difference between them, between their values. The pure love of the devotees for Krishna is like gold, and the lust of people in the material world who want to gratify their senses is like iron.

Another point of contention related to the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam is that the name of Radha is not mentioned. Some people challenge, “You are worshipping Radha and Krishna, Radha-Radhanath, but on what authority? We don’t find the name of Radha in the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam.” But in the five chapters that describe the rasa-lila, we find that after Krishna called the gopis and began to reciprocate with them, He disappeared. The gopis then plunged into feelings of separation from Krishna, and they began to search all over the Vrindavan forest for Him. In time they found two pairs of footprints: Krishna’s and a gopi’s. Then the other gopis, in their separation, exclaimed:

anayaradhito nunam
  bhagavan harir isvarah
yan no vihaya govindah
  prito yam anayad rahah

“Certainly this particular gopi has perfectly worshiped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead. Therefore Govinda was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place.” (SB 10.30.28) “Because She worshiped Lord Hari better than all of us, She has gotten to be with Krishna now.” The word aradhito, which means “worshipped” or “perfectly worshipped,” refers to Radha, as confirmed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and other acharyas. They explain that Her name does appear in the Vedas, Upanishads, and other Puranas, and that in this verse, although Her name is not mentioned explicitly, the superexcellent glories of Sri Radha are nonetheless proclaimed.

Ultimately Krishna also left Srimati Radharani, and when the other gopis came upon Her, they found Her in such a state of intense lamentation in separation that they felt, “Actually, She loves Krishna more.” There is a technical discussion of what actually took place in the rasa-lila, why Krishna left with Radharani and why eventually He left Her too. But His ultimate purpose was to reunite all the gopis, and when the other gopis saw Srimati Radharani in such a state of ecstasy in separation, they felt sympathetic toward Her. They did not feel any envy at all.

Thereafter, they all searched for Krishna together. But they could not find Him anywhere. Finally they decided, “We cannot find Krishna unless He wishes to be found. We cannot force Him to come before us.” So, they considered, “How can we attract Krishna’s attention? How can we move Krishna to come back to us?” And they concluded that the best method was sankirtana, chanting the glories of Krishna together, along with crying.

When they returned to the banks of the Yamuna where they had originally met Krishna, they began to sing His glories—very beautiful songs in separation, known as the Gopi-gita. And when Krishna heard the loving prayers of the gopis, sankirtana, His heart was moved and He could no longer stay away from them. He came to them, reappeared before them in His most attractive feature:

tasam avirabhuc chaurih
  smayamana-mukhambujah
pitambara-dharah sragvi
  saksan manmatha-manmathah

“Then Lord Krsna, a smile on His lotus face, appeared before the gopis. Wearing a garland and a yellow garment, He directly appeared as one who can bewilder the mind of Cupid, who himself bewilders the minds of ordinary people.” (SB 10.32.2)

Then followed an interesting dialogue between Krishna and the gopis. The gopis felt some transcendental anger, because Krishna had abandoned them. After all, He had called them to Him, they had risked everything to go to Him in the dead of night, and then He had left them. So they wanted Him to explain why.

In a most tactful and intelligent way, they began, “There are three kinds of lovers.” They presented three categories of lovers, three different ways that lovers deal with others, and asked Krishna to explain them. Indirectly, they were asking Krishna, “In which category do you fit?”

In one category are people who reciprocate exactly with the other party. In other words, “If you are kind to me, I will be kind to you; if you ignore me, I will ignore you.” Krishna said, “They are like merchants. They give only with the expectation of return, and they give only as much as they expect in return. Actually, they are selfish.”

In the next category are those who love the other even though the other does not love them. For example, at least in principle, parents love their children no matter what the children do. The children may not even appreciate the parents’ service, but the parents go on loving and serving them. And even better than parents are devotees, because although parents serve their own children, devotees love and serve everyone. Whether others appreciate them or not, they try to help everyone. Krishna said, “Those who love others even if others don’t love them in return are following the true path of dharma and are the true friends of humanity.”

In the third category are those who don’t reciprocate even when others love them. The first category is “I reciprocate only if you love me.” The second category is “Even if you don’t love me, I love you.” And the third category is “Even if you love me, I don’t reciprocate.” So, the gopis wanted Krishna to admit that He was in the third category. They did not want to say it themselves, but they wanted to hear it from Krishna’s own mouth. They wanted to trap Him with their subtle network of wise and clever words.

Now, within the third category there are four divisions. There is the atmarama: he is completely self-satisfied. Even if you love him, he won’t reciprocate, because he is self-satisfied; he is situated in transcendental bliss. Then there is the apta-kama: he has desires, but they are already satisfied, so he doesn’t need you. Even if you love him, he won’t reciprocate. Then there is the third division, akrta-jna: he is ungrateful. And then there is the last division, guru-druhah. In the first three, “You love me, but I don’t reciprocate; I remain indifferent,” but in this last category, guru-druhah, “You love me, and I am not just indifferent to you; I am inimical.” Actually, the gopis wanted Krishna to admit that He had been ungrateful.

Ultimately Krishna had to respond to the gopis’ question, and His answer was, “I did not neglect you, nor was I indifferent to you. I was always thinking of you. But in order to increase your love for Me, I hid Myself from you.” Krishna gave the example of a poor man who gains wealth and then loses it. He will be so anxious that he can think of nothing except his lost treasure: “What happened to my money? How can I get it back?” Krishna said, “So I was reciprocating with you, because your desire was to increase your love for Me, and by hiding Myself from you I created a situation by which your attachment for Me would increase. So I was reciprocating with you.” Although Krishna’s argument sounded good, it did, however, contain one defect: the gopis’ love was already unlimited, and even so, by its very nature it was always increasing. So that could not have been the real reason.

Again, there is an intricate and elaborate discussion by the acharyas about the dialogue between Krishna and the gopis, but at the very end Krishna admits defeat. He says,

na paraye ’ham niravadya-samyujam
  sva-sadhu-krtyam vibudhayusapi vah
ya mabhajan durjara-geha-srnkhalah
  samvrscya tad vah pratiyatu sadhuna

“Actually, I am unable to repay My debt for your service to Me even with the prolonged life of Brahma, because you have given up everything for Me. You have given up family ties, which are so difficult to break. You have given up the dictates of the world, of the Vedas, and of your relatives. You have forsaken everything for My sake—which I could not do for you. You have given up all other relationships for Me, but I could not do that for you. I still have My father and mother and friends. You came running out of your houses in the middle of the night, but I sneak out and return in the morning so that no one catches Me. But you, with complete abandon, have come to meet Me without any consideration of the consequences. And I have so many devotees with whom I reciprocate: devotees in madhurya-rasa, in vatsalya-rasa, in sakhya-rasa, in dasya-rasa, and in santa-rasa. I also reciprocate with the sadhakas in the material world who are struggling and trying to become devotees. I reciprocate with everyone who approaches Me. But you love only Me. So I cannot equal your love. I admit it: I can never repay My debt to you.” He concluded, “I am defeated by your love.”

The gopis were so touched by Krishna’s words that they thought, “Now He has defeated us! We could not admit to Him that He defeated us, but He has admitted to us that we defeated Him. So He has defeated us.” Of course, this is all on the platform of transcendental love. And it is said that later, when Krishna left Vrindavan to go to Mathura and Dvaraka and the gopis were left in separation from Him, they would think of His words to them—na paraye ’ham—and that would give them solace to bear the separation. Here we come to another subtle and intricate discussion, because even in separation from Krishna they experienced His presence.

After hearing Krishna’s reply, the gopis were appeased, and so He began the pastime of the rasa dance. All of the gopis were dancing in a circle, and Krishna expanded Himself to be next to each one. Each gopi felt, “Krishna is with me alone,” and each was completely satisfied by Him.

One of our devotees has envisioned the image of the rasa dance as a symbol for interfaith harmony. It is a symbol that is most appropriate, especially for a diverse country such as South Africa.

The idea is that there were so many gopis, and each was individual, but that Krishna was by the side of each one, reciprocating with each perfectly. He accepted all of them, and all of them accepted each other, and there was complete harmony—not only between Krishna and the gopis, but also among the gopis themselves—in this dance of divine love. Different worshippers serve God in different ways. They have different practices and rituals, and different scriptures and languages. But God reciprocates with all of them. And if they can come into harmony, not only with God but also with each other, in the dance of divine love, there can be complete harmony in the world.

So, today is a most sacred occasion: the beginning of kartik-vrata, and sarat-purnima, the night Krishna enjoyed His rasa-lila with the gopis—after removing Himself from their presence in order to demonstrate to the world, in their separation from Him, their supreme love.

Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami,  October 17, 2005, Sri Sri Radha-Radhanath Temple, Durban, South Africa]

I was invited to the Pune temple opening in 2013 and attended with many other devotees from around the world. It was a grand affair that went over 3 days with dignitaries like the President of India and Chief Minister of Maharashtra attending.

This time I was here for a GBC and Indian leaders meeting, which took place in one of the function halls of the new guest house. There were a few other buildings, like asrama and office complex that have been added since the opening.

There are three beautiful altars and deities of Gaura Nitai, Radha Vrndavanacandra, and Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra.