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Pathology Lab Inauguration at Mayapur Community Hospital (Album of photos)
HH Jayapataka Swami inaugurated the brand new pathology lab in the Mayapur Community Hospital. The Pathology department will be overseen by Dr. Bhaktin Kate, trained and educated in the USA and Dr.Santhosh Kumar Roy, who received his degree from the JIPMER University.
Sacinandana Swami: Lord Nityananda’s furthest reaching mercy.
As we reflect on our lives, we can agree that the help and support of others has always brought about desired changes that would otherwise not have been possible if we kept struggling on our own.
By the help of others, possibilities – starting with our birth in the present body – suddenly come into our reach. Doors open, unexpected connections are made, inspirations given, etc. All by the initiative of others.
By Dinanukampa dasi The Maharashtra Marathi Journalist Association undertakes several responsibility programs and as one of its activities awards the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” to personalities who have immensely contributed to society. This year the nominee of this prestigious award was one of Srila Prabhupada’s senior disciples, HH Lokanath Swami. Continue reading "Lifetime Achievement Award to Lokanath Swami
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Today is Varaha Dwadasi, the auspicious appearance day of Lord Varahadev, Boar incarnation. vasati dasana-sikhare dharani tava lagna sasini kalanka-kaleva nimagna kesava dhrita-sukara-rupa jaya jagadisa hare 0 Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of a boar! All glories to You! The earth, which had become immersed in the […]
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Today is Varaha-dvadasi, the appearance day of the boar incarnation, Varahadeva. To celebrate His appearance, we shall read one verse about Him from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven, “Scheduled Incarnations with Specific Functions.”
TEXT 1
brahmovaca
yatrodyatah ksiti-taloddharanaya bibhrat
kraudim tanum sakala-yajna-mayim anantah
antar-maharnava upagatam adi-daityam
tam damstrayadrim iva vajra-dharo dadara
TRANSLATION
Lord Brahma said: When the unlimitedly powerful Lord assumed the form of a boar as a pastime, just to lift the planet earth, which was drowned in the great ocean of the universe called the Garbhodaka, the first demon [Hiranyaksa] appeared, and the Lord pierced him with His tusk.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
Since the beginning of creation, the demons and the demigods, or the Vaisnavas, are always the two classes of living beings to dominate the planets of the universes. Lord Brahma is the first demigod, and Hiranyaksa is the first demon in this universe.
COMMENT by Giriraj Swami
From the beginning of creation, there have been two classes of human beings within the universe. One is the demigods, or the devotees, who are favorable to Lord Vishnu, and the other is the demons, who are against Lord Vishnu. The difference between them has existed from the beginning of creation, and the competition between them has continued until now. There are always struggles and fights between the devotees and the demons.
Even to get the place where we are so comfortably sitting now, Hare Krishna Land, Juhu, there was a great struggle. Srila Prabhupada, the devotee, wanted to purchase the land to build a temple for Radha and Krishna, and so many enemies joined together to oppose him. Month after month the struggle continued, until ultimately Srila Prabhupada and the devotees were successful.
Even after they acquired Hare Krishna Land, the struggle continued. So many enemies tried to stop the construction of the temple, but again, in the end, the devotees were successful and Srila Prabhupada was able to build this temple for Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihariji.
Even after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, so many enemies tried to capture Hare Krishna Land and take the management of the temple from the devotees. They accused the devotees: we were CIA, we were spies, we were smugglers, we were this, we were that. They even claimed that the chakras on top of the temple domes were radio antennas for sending and receiving secret messages, and such ridiculous stories were published all over the newspapers. Finally, these enemies induced the police to make a thorough search of the entire premises.
The police came to look for radios, contraband, and whatnot, and eventually they wanted to search Srila Prabhupada’s personal quarters on the fifth floor of the west tower. At the time, His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami was the GBC for Bombay and I was the temple president. So Tamal Krishna Goswami accompanied the officer to Prabhupada’s quarters. When the officer saw the quarters, he paused and asked Tamal Krishna Goswami, “Do you know why we are searching Hare Krishna Land?” Goswami Maharaja thought and replied, “Because there are so many foreigners here.” The inspector in charge of the investigation said, “There are more foreigners at the Holiday Inn, so why are we not searching there?” Tamal Krishna Goswami replied, “I don’t know. Maybe you should say.” Then the officer said, “At the Holiday Inn they eat meat, they take intoxicants, they gamble, and they have illicit sex, so no one bothers about them. But here you don’t eat meat, fish, or eggs; you don’t take intoxicants; you don’t have illicit sex; and you don’t gamble. And you broadcast very loudly that people should not eat meat, should not take intoxicants, should not have illicit sex, and should not gamble. That is why we are investigating you. People are comfortable with sense gratification, so where there is sense gratification they feel comfortable. But you are giving up sense gratification, announcing it, and telling others to give it up as well. So people get disturbed, they become suspicious, and they want to know what’s happening, because they can’t understand how people can actually give up sense gratification. That’s why we are investigating you.”
Shortly thereafter, I happened to read a purport in Srimad-Bhagavatam in which Srila Prabhupada states that the demons want to create a godless society in which they can enjoy sense gratification without restriction: “Demons are very much disturbed when devotees worship the Lord in the prescribed ways recommended in the scriptures. In the Vedic scriptures, the devotees are advised to engage in nine kinds of devotional service, such as to hear and chant the holy name of God, to remember Him always, to chant on beads Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, to worship the Lord in the form of His Deity incarnation in the temples, and to engage in various activities of Krsna consciousness to increase the number of godly persons for perfect peace in the world. Demons do not like such activity. They are always envious of God and His devotees. Their propaganda not to worship in the temple or church but simply to make material advancement for satisfaction of the senses is always current. . . . Demons are always anxious to have a godless society for their sense gratification.” (SB 3.18.5 purport)
So, that is the motive of the demons. They want to create a state of godlessness where they can indulge in sense gratification without restriction, and the devotees stand opposed to godlessness, opposed to sinful activities in defiance of God’s laws. Therefore there is always conflict and struggle. From the beginning of creation to the present, there is always a struggle between the devotees and the demons. The devotees want to establish the order of God, and the demons want to tear down God and God’s order.
So, Hiranyaksa is described as the first demon, and he was killed by the boar incarnation at the beginning of the creation.
PURPORT (continued)
Only under certain conditions do the planets float as weightless balls in the air, and as soon as these conditions are disturbed, the planets may fall down in the Garbhodaka Ocean, which covers half the universe. The other half is the spherical dome within which the innumerable planetary systems exist.
COMMENT
The universe is a hollow sphere. In the lower half of the sphere is the Garbhodaka Ocean, and in the upper half is space, and within space so many planets are floating or orbiting. There is a very delicate balance that keeps the planets in space, and if the balance is disturbed the planet may fall down into the Garbhodaka Ocean.
PURPORT (continued)
The floating of the planets in the weightless air is due to the inner constitution of the globes, and the modernized drilling of the earth to exploit oil from within is a sort of disturbance by the modern demons and can result in a greatly harmful reaction to the floating condition of the earth.
COMMENT
The demons do not appreciate the order of the universe created by God. They take everything for granted. They think they can transgress the laws of God without any reaction. They do not know that the creation is engineered very precisely and that if they disturb the natural order there could be severe consequences. Now people are becoming aware of the threat to the planet and the environment. Just a slight shift in the earth’s axis or orbit will completely change the temperature, change the seasons, change the climate, and affect the ecology. But the demons don’t understand or care that by drilling the earth and extracting oil they can actually disturb the orbit of the earth, what to speak of other harmful effects. The devotees understand the laws of God and the laws of nature and try to act accordingly. And the demons defy the laws of God and do whatever they want. But the result of such independent activities is that they create disturbance for themselves and for others. The earth is surrounded by air and space. We cannot measure the atmosphere around the earth, it is so vast. But the biggest things we know—the oceans and the air—are now being polluted because of disregard for the laws of God and nature.
It is not that the devotees are competing with the demons because they want to enjoy supremacy. Actually, devotees have no selfish interest. They just want to see that the people of the universe, all living entities within the universe, are peaceful and happy. But they know that people can be happy only if they surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead and follow His orders. So out of compassion for others—not for any personal self-interest—they want society to be organized according to the laws of God. And because the demons disturb the natural order and cause the innocent people to suffer, devotees feel concerned, and therefore, if necessary, they intervene. They fight with the demons to place the universe in the right hands, in the hands of persons who are submissive to the will of God, to the scriptures.
PURPORT (continued)
A similar disturbance was created formerly by the demons headed by Hiranyaksa (the great exploiter of the gold rush), and the earth was detached from its weightless condition and fell down into the Garbhodaka Ocean. The Lord, as maintainer of the whole creation of the material world, therefore assumed the gigantic form of a boar with a proportionate snout and picked up the earth from within the water of Garbhodaka.
COMMENT
Sri Varaha Bhagavan ki jaya!
The Lord is the creator of the universe. As the father of all living entities, He is concerned for all of His children in the universe. So when the earth fell down into the Garbhodaka Ocean, the Lord assumed the form of Lord Varaha in order to pick it up. He assumed a form that was suitable for the purpose—the form of a boar with a long snout, which could enter into the water and lift up the earth planet.
PURPORT (continued)
Sri Jayadeva Gosvami, the great Vaisnava poet, sang as follows:
vasati dasana-sikhare dharani tava lagna
sasini kalanka-kaleva nimagna
kesava dhrta-sukara-rupa
jaya jagadisa hare
“O Kesava! O Supreme Lord who have assumed the form of a boar! O Lord! The planet earth rested on Your tusks, and it appeared like the moon engraved with spots.”
Such is the symptom of an incarnation of the Lord. The incarnation of the Lord is not the concocted idea of fanciful men who create an incarnation out of imagination. The incarnation of the Lord appears under certain extraordinary circumstances like the above-mentioned occasion, and the incarnation performs a task which is not even imaginable by the tiny brain of mankind. The modern creators of the many cheap incarnations may take note of the factual incarnation of God as the gigantic boar with a suitable snout to carry the planet earth.
COMMENT
So, as any sensitive and intelligent devotee would have noticed, most of the public media is controlled by demons. They use the media to promote materialism, and quite often they use the media to mar spiritualism. During the struggle for Hare Krishna Land, the demons were very active. And apart from the articles that appeared against us, there were many articles that were designed to make a farce of religion. There was a journal called The Illustrated Weekly of India that was very popular, and the editor then was Khushwant Singh. From the editorial policy of the weekly, he seemed to be a demon. “Demon” doesn’t mean having ten heads and twenty arms. Demons can also look like you and me. But they are considered demons because they are against the supremacy of the Lord. So, this Khushwant Singh published an article by one Agehananda Bharati, an Austrian scholar who had become a sannyasi, in which Dr. Bharati gave his account of his debate with our Hridayananda dasa, in which he had claimed that Lord Shiva was supreme and advocated the chanting of Lord Shiva’s name.
I could understand that the idea of the article was to make both Bharati and us look foolish—religious fanatics fighting like children over nothing: “Krishna is supreme.” “No, Shiva is supreme.” “You should chant Hare Krishna.” “No, you should chant Shiva Shiva.” So, I wrote Srila Prabhupada what the editor had done, and Srila Prabhupada agreed: “Yes, Giriraj is right. Bharati is a fool, but the editor is a demon.”
Demons try to make religious people look silly so that intelligent people reject religion. Of course, much of what passes as religion is actually fanaticism, and Srila Prabhupada even commented that in the present age intelligent people will be skeptical because so many cheaters adopt the guise of religious leaders. But then again, Srila Prabhupada also said that just because there is counterfeit money, it doesn’t mean there is no real money. Just because there are false religious leaders or false incarnations, it doesn’t mean there are no true representatives of God or true incarnations of God.
A real incarnation of God does things that no one else can do, that ordinary human beings cannot even imagine. The Lord assuming the form of a boar and lifting the earth from the bottom of the Garbhodaka Ocean? We can’t even imagine it. So these are the activities of real incarnations—not making ashes. Anyone can make ashes just by burning agarbatti, incense. You don’t need an incarnation to make ashes. So we should judge. Who is an incarnation? One who can do something that no one else can do.
In one sense, Srila Prabhupada is also an incarnation, saktyavesa-avatara. He did what no one else could do: spread Krishna Consciousness to every town and village in the world. Of course, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of Krishna for the age of Kali described in the scriptures, had desired it: prthivite ache yata nagaradi-grama/ sarvatra pracara haibe mora nama: “In every town and village in every country of the world, the glories of My name will be chanted.” (Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya 4.126) But five hundred years passed, and it was actually Srila Prabhupada who fulfilled the prediction and desire of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which no one else had been able to do. Therefore Srila Prabhupada is accepted as saktyavesa-avatara, a living entity who is imbued with the potency of God. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 7.11) confirms:
kali-kalera dharma-krsna-nama-sankirtana
krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana
“The fundamental religious system in the Age of Kali is the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Unless empowered by Krsna, one cannot propagate the sankirtana movement.” The religious system for Kali-yuga is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, sankirtana. And krsna-sakti vina nahe tara pravartana: unless one is blessed with krsna-sakti, the energy of Krishna, one cannot spread the chanting of the holy name all over the world. Because Srila Prabhupada was blessed with krsna-sakti he was able to spread the sankirtana movement throughout the whole world.
Still, Srila Prabhupada presented himself as the humble servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord, and generally we also worship Srila Prabhupada as the humble servant of the servant of the servant of Lord Krishna. And we want to be his servant, or the servant of his servants. That is the position of a Vaishnava: gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. Even Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu presented Himself as such:
naham vipro na ca nara-patir napi vaisyo na sudro
naham varni na ca grha-patir no vanastho yatir va
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramananda-purnamrtabdher
gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah
“I am not a brahmana, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, the maintainer of the gopis. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.” (Cc Madhya 13.80)
“But if you are not a brahman, not a kshatriya, not a vaishya, and not a sudra, if you are not a brahmachari, not a grihastha, not a vanaprastha, and not a sannyasi, then what are you?” Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah: “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis of Vrindavan.” That is the identity of a Vaishnava. He has no other identity. He doesn’t identify with the material varnas and ashramas. He identifies himself as the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord.
In fact, Sisupala, who was also a great demon, criticized Lord Krishna, “No one knows Your caste. Sometimes You act as a cowherd boy, and sometimes You act as a warrior. So nobody knows Your caste, whether you are a kshatriya or a vaishya or what.” In Vedic civilization, to accuse someone of being without a caste is a great insult. Yet although Sisupala meant to criticize Krishna, indirectly he was glorifying Him, because the Lord—and the Vaishnava—is transcendental; he doesn’t belong to any caste. He doesn’t belong to any varna or any ashrama. So, mundane people or demonic people may criticize, “What are you? You are not a brahmana, not a kshatriya, not a vaishya, not a sudra. What are you? You don’t fit into our categories.” Or in the West, when we used to perform hari-nama-sankirtana in the streets of major cities, people would come up to us and shout, “Get a job!” But our business is to serve Krishna, and Krishna’s business is to enjoy transcendental bliss. Actually, Krishna and Krishna’s devotees are beyond material designations and categories. So although materialists may try to fit them into some category and then become bewildered or disturbed that they don’t fit, devotees know their own identities: they are just the servants of the servants of the servants of Krishna, the maintainer of the gopis of Vraja.
PURPORT (continued)
When the Lord appeared to pick up the earth, the demon of the name Hiranyaksa tried to create a disturbance in the methodical functions of the Lord, and therefore he was killed by being pierced by the Lord’s tusk. According to Srila Jiva Gosvami, the demon Hiranyaksa was killed by the hand of the Lord and after being killed by the hand of the Lord, the demon was pierced by the tusk. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura confirms this version.
COMMENT
The Lord is absolute: He can perform any function with any limb. But He chose to kill the demon with His hand, and then He pierced the demon’s body with His tusk.
Now, what can we as devotees learn from this pastime? Of course, there are many lessons to learn from every pastime of the Lord. But we are also like planets in the sense that we stay afloat in Krishna consciousness by a delicate balance and if there is a disturbance to that balance we may fall down into the ocean of material existence. So we have to be careful to maintain our wholesome condition in spiritual life. And what is the balance? In general, Srila Prabhupada said that the balance is between hearing and chanting about Krishna in the morning and the evening and working for Krishna during the day. Thus Srila Prabhupada established the daily schedule for ISKCON: every morning from 4:30 to 8:30 the devotees come together in the temple and hear and chant about Krishna, and then again every evening from 7 to 9 they gather in the temple to hear and chant about Krishna, and during the day they engage in so many different activities for the spreading of Krishna consciousness. I don’t know if Srila Prabhupada himself used the term, but some devotees use the term “transcendental sandwich.” A sandwich is two pieces of bread with a filling in the middle. Similarly, we have the morning and evening programs, and in the middle we have our practical activities to spread Krishna consciousness. So we have to keep the balance. We cannot imitate Haridasa Thakura and think that we can sit down and chant 300,000 names daily, because we can’t do it and don’t have the time to do it. Nor should we work like materialistic people, just keeping busy going here and there to get and spend money with no time to hear and chant about Krishna. So we need to do both: hear and chant about Krishna and engage in practical service to spread Krishna consciousness.
And we should cultivate favorable relationships with devotees. Because man is a social animal, if we don’t develop relationships with devotees we will make relationships with nondevotees, demons. Relationships with nondevotees will lead us into nondevotional activities or sinful activities, and ultimately we will commit offenses against devotees. So, to maintain the delicate balance, we need the association of devotees. Otherwise, if our outside engagements become too much and our spiritual association becomes too little, we may fall down into the material ocean.
But even if we fall down grossly or subtly, the Lord is very kind and He will pick us up. Specifically, the spiritual master will come and pick up the devotee if by chance the devotee falls from the standard of pure Krishna consciousness. So we are not alone in our struggle. We do our best to follow the instructions we have received from sadhu, shastra, and guru. Still, because the material energy is very powerful, we may become bewildered and fall from the pure principles of Krishna consciousness. But the spiritual master will not leave us. As long as we are sincerely trying to serve him, he will not leave us; he will pick us up again and again. Just like a child who is learning to walk—because the child is weak, sometimes he or she might stumble and fall, but the parent will pick up the child and help him or her to walk again. The parent will actually hold the hand of the child, and the child, being helped by the parent, will walk without any fear or difficulty. So, in Krishna consciousness we are not alone. We don’t try to succeed by our own strength or our own intelligence. Rather, we are helped by the hand of the Lord, who extends Himself in the form of the spiritual master. And if we allow ourselves to be guided by the spiritual master, we can be relieved from all distress and disturbance.
For example, Arjuna was so confused; he did not know what to do. He saw arrayed on the battlefield before him his uncle, his cousin-brothers, his teachers, his superiors—people who loved him, who had fed him, who had trained him—and he was thinking, “How can I fight with them? How can I kill them? Even if I win the kingdom, how will I be able to enjoy it?” People want to enjoy some kingdom or some success or some facility with people they love. He was thinking, “Even if I win the battle and gain the kingdom, I won’t be able to enjoy it, because all the people I would want to enjoy it with will be dead, and I will be responsible.” He was bewildered, and eventually he became overwhelmed with grief. His limbs were shaking, and his eyes were full of tears. Although he was such a powerful kshatriya, such a fierce warrior, the material energy is so strong that even he was trembling, his eyes brimming with tears.
And then Arjuna made a critical decision. He decided to surrender to Krishna and accept Krishna as his spiritual master. He had been enjoying a relationship of friendship with Krishna. They used to sit together as equals, dine together as equals, and in general they used to enjoy together as equals. Arjuna used to relish that friendly relationship with Krishna. But when he was bewildered about what to do and what not to do, he could not get any solution just by being friends with Krishna and talking as equals with Him. It was only when Arjuna decided to surrender to Krishna and accept Him as his spiritual master and take instruction from Him that Lord Krishna began to teach him the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita. Arjuna said, “I am confused about my duty—I do not know what to do—so now I am surrendering unto You. Please instruct me.”
karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah
prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me
sisyas te ‘ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam
“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Gita 2.7) When Arjuna surrendered to Krishna, he asked Krishna to instruct him—what to do, how to solve this problem. And when he accepted Krishna’s instructions, all of his problems were solved.
Srila Prabhupada once wrote to a disciple, “Your enthusiastic response to my instructions is very encouraging. Actually, the disciple is supposed to find relief from all of his problems just by carrying out the orders of the spiritual master. In the beginning Arjuna was completely confused and lamenting, but after accepting Krishna and hearing from Him he said, ‘Now my illusion is over, and I am prepared to do whatever you say.’ If the guru is a representative of the Supreme Lord in disciplic succession and the student is sincere, only then he can get him out of the clutches of the material energy to become situated in spiritual happiness above all material desires, in Krishna consciousness.” (SP letter dated 4.5.1974)
So, this is our process. We don’t try to stay afloat by our own efforts, by our own intelligence. We take help from Krishna and Krishna’s representatives, and that will lift us up. Even if we have fallen down and become bewildered and confused—we don’t know what to do and what not to do—when we surrender to Krishna’s representative, he will pick us up by his guidance and mercy.
Today I read a letter from a devotee in Mauritius. In the beginning he related how after spending some few minutes with me and discussing some problems he had, his chanting had improved. But then, after some time, the same problems came again, not as bad as before, but still, the same problems came. I had given him five instructions, and he was not following one of them. So he wrote, “Please give me your mercy that I may follow your instructions.” Now, that appeal may sound nice, but in one case when a disciple prayed to Srila Prabhupada, “Please give me your mercy that I may follow your instructions,” Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is like a man who has fallen to the bottom of a well. I come and send down a rope to pull him out, and the man at the bottom prays, ‘Please give me your mercy. Please make my fingers curl around the rope.’” And with that, Srila Prabhupada made such a face of disgust. The person is giving you his mercy by sending down the rope. All you have to do is hold on to it and he will lift you up, and you are praying, “Please give me your mercy that my fingers will curl around the rope.” So, the spiritual master comes and sends down the rope of his instructions, and all you have to do is follow his instructions and he’ll lift you out of the deep, dark well of material existence and situate you at the lotus feet of Krishna. But at least you have to hold on to the rope. At least you have to try to follow the instructions—not even follow perfectly, but at least try to follow the instructions—and he will lift you up.
Actually, our process, the descending process, is very easy. Knowledge descends from above. Mercy descends from above. We just have to accept it, and then the Lord will lift us up out of our abominable condition, just as Lord Boar lifted up the earth when it had fallen into the Garbhodaka Ocean. So this is the mercy of Krishna. Sometimes Krishna comes personally, as so many incarnations, but generally He sends His representatives. And for us, the rope that can take us out of the material world back to Krishna is the disciplic succession. So we just hold on to the rope of the disciplic succession—the instructions of the disciplic succession—and the disciplic succession will lift us out of the well of material existence and situate us at the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari in pure devotional service.
Hare Krishna.
Are there any questions or comments?
Mataji: [inaudible]
Giriraj Swami: The question is: When we do something wrong, is it misuse of our free will, or is it the Lord’s arrangement to purify us? Both may be true. We may misuse our free will and come into difficulty, but even then we are not alone. The Lord is there, and He wants us to learn from our mistake and rectify it. So, although the Lord is not responsible for our mistakes (nadatte kasyacit papam)—we are responsible—by the Lord’s mercy we can learn from our mistakes and be reinstated in our constitutional position and be stronger and better than we were before we made the mistake. Because we have learned from the mistake, we are actually better situated than before.
Mataji: [inaudible]
Giriraj Swami: Yes, by the misuse of the free will we make the mistake, and by mercy of the Lord we get the intelligence to realize our mistake and rectify it. Of course, the Lord’s mercy is open to everyone. So it is the devotee’s openness to receiving the Lord’s mercy and being rectified that allows the devotee to be reinstated. Not everyone who makes a mistake is purified. But it is to the credit of the devotee that even after making the mistake he or she tries to take shelter of the Lord, to take shelter of the spiritual master, and by the mercy of the Lord and the spiritual master is able to improve, to come back to the proper standard.
Mataji: [inaudible]
Giriraj Swami: She says that in Bombay people work late at night and then sleep late in the morning, so how to make our transcendental sandwich—how to strike a proper balance between spiritual activities and the material world? Everyone has his minute independence. In most cases, if someone wants to take rest early and get up early, he or she can. Although there may be some jobs that require one to work late, still, if we give priority to hearing and chanting about Krishna, we will be able to find time. “Be there a will, and wisdom finds a way.” Many people watch television at night, or read the newspaper or go to clubs. They find time, because nobody can work day and night without recreation. They need some recreation. Generally, people work in the mode of passion, so they want relief from that mode. Sinful people get relief through the mode of ignorance: they go to a bar and get drunk; they engage in meat-eating, illicit sex, and gambling. They try to get relief from the mode of passion by plunging themselves into ignorance. And pious people get relief through the mode of goodness. They want to rise early, to chant Hare Krishna, to attend mangala-arati, to read Srimad-Bhagavatam. So, there is time for recreation. Nobody can work day and night, without recreation. And according to the person’s desire, he or she can seek recreation in sinful life or spiritual life.
And if someone really is confused about how to organize one’s time, he or she can speak to some experienced devotee and get some suggestions. There are many devotees, even in Bombay, who work during the day, but they still chant sixteen rounds, come to the temple, attend satsangas, and read Prabhupada’s books. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Prabhuji: [inaudible]
Giriraj Swami: He says that he read in an article by Khushwant Singh himself that Singh came to Hare Krishna Land, stayed in the guest house, closed the doors so that he wouldn’t be disturbed by conchshells, and drank whisky. He himself has written so.
When the sun rises, the owl goes into the cave; the owl doesn’t like sunlight, so he goes into the darkness of the cave. Krsna-surya-sama; maya haya andhakara/ yahan krsna, tahan nahi mayara adhikara. Godhead is light, and nescience is darkness. Where there is Godhead, there is no nescience, or darkness. Singh came here; he could have been in the light of Krishna consciousness, in the glory of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari. But he went to his room, closed the door, turned out the light, and drowned himself in the bottle. That was his free will. We do not force. Even Krishna does not force. After explaining everything to Arjuna, Krishna did not force him to fight. Rather, He told Arjuna, “Now you have heard everything that I have said; now yathecchasi tatha kuru—whatever you like you can do.” And immediately Arjuna replied, smritir labdha: Now my memory has come back; now I remember my actual position. Now I am prepared to act as You instruct me. Karisye vacanam tava: I am prepared to act according to Your order. Krishna never forces. He gave Arjuna the choice. He explained everything, but in the end He gave Arjuna the choice, and Arjuna voluntarily surrendered. Karisye vacanam tava: Now I am prepared to act according to Your order.
So, I am sure that those who want to take the benefit of Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari’s splendor and mercy and glory will do so. And those who want to close the door and open the bottle—they too have their free will. They too are free to do as they like—and enjoy or suffer the consequences.
Sri Sri Radha-Rasabihari ki jaya!
Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Varaha-dvadasi, February 8, 1998, Bombay]
It’s all Prabhupada’s mercy! (video)
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami, Feb 4, 2020, in ISKCON Vrindavan.
Mayapur Times is a newsletter of the Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir. The newsletter aims to inform and inspire the local ISKCON community by reporting monthly activities, events, developments and news. You can download the November – December, 2019 issue here: Click here to download the Nov-Dec 2019 issue!
The post Mayapur Times: Nov-Dec 2019 Newsletter appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Therefore to make food antiseptic, eatable and palatable for all persons, one should offer food to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Answer Podcast
Transcription :
Transcription: Suresh Gupta
Question: If work is worship, is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals?
Answer: Bhagavad Gita 18.46 says,
yatah pravrttir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah
(By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.)
Often this is translated as “Work is Worship” but that is not what Krishna says. If we simply consider work as worship, then we could say that the donkey is the greatest worshipper because the donkey works so hard. On the other hand, “Work is Worship” is a valid and valuable ethical principle which teaches that everybody should work diligently, responsibly. Nobody should think that “My work is too small and worthless and so it should not be done”. If we are contributing in any role in the society then we have to do it properly and at the same time, nobody should be looked down upon for the kind of work they are doing. Everybody is contributing in their own way and so, all forms of work should be considered valuable. Therefore, in that ethical sense, “Work is Worship” is a valid principle but it is not a philosophical principle and is not a teaching of Bhagavad-gita.
Teaching of Gita is – By your work worship the Supreme. This essentially means that God is not disconnected from the world. Some people think, in order to worship God, one needs to renounce the world, go to a secluded place and worship God. Even Arjuna thought in this way and wanted to give up his kshatriya duty before the Mahabharata war.
If we look at the above verse, in first half, Lord Krishna is talking about connectedness of the world with God, that is, yatah pravrttir bhutanam (the whole world has come from God) and then, yena sarvam idam tatam (by Him the whole world is pervaded). Therefore, when we work in this world, we can worship the Supreme through our work. The stress in this verse is on the connectedness of God with the world and connectedness of our work with God.
Having said that, it is also important to note, what we do in this world affects our consciousness. There are certain works like the work where one has to kill animals daily which if seen from an objective perspective, means that such people have to desensitise themselves to the pain of other living beings, stop seeing those animals as living beings and see them just a source of income. This attitude will diminish their consciousness. If I am not conscious of your pain, then that is actually a decrease in my consciousness. If one cannot perceive the consciousness of beings around them, how can one perceive the consciousness of the Being who is beyond us. Their consciousness will get shrunk, it will get diminished and will not expand towards God. Everything comes from God, but everything does not take us to God. There are things in this world which take us away from God also.
I was in Australia and one person asked me, “If God is good then why are the good choices so few and bad choices are so many in this world?” I answered, “That is how it is in any multiple-choice exam, five options – four are wrong and one is correct.” This does not mean that the student could sue the teacher saying, “You gave me four wrong options, my chances of getting right is only twenty percent but to pass I need forty percent. You are responsible that I failed.” This is not a valid argument because the teacher has also given education to the student. The student has to study, and the choices are not guess-work, the choices are based on intelligence and study.” Similarly, in this world, we have to study Vedic scriptures and understand which actions take us towards and which take us away from God. We then need to choose actions which takes us towards God.
If somebody is a butcher, then what should they do? It is good if they at least think of God when working. Srila Prabhupada, at one time said, if somebody is alcoholic and they cannot give up alcohol then let them think that the taste of alcohol is Krishna. Everything attractive comes from God, so the taste of alcohol which the alcoholics find attractive also comes from God. If they think like this, then one day they will become a devotee of Krishna. Prabhupada is not saying that by drinking alcohol they will become devotee of Krishna, but thinking about Krishna while drinking, that thought of Krishna will stimulate the spiritual connection. Similarly, if somebody is a butcher and they cannot give up their profession, for whatever reason at that particular time, then at least they should do some activity to worship God, connect themselves with God and give the fruits of what they are earning in his service. By doing so, some level of connection will be established with God. It should be noted that butchery in itself cannot be a form of direct worship and is not going to take the butcher towards God. In BG 18.46, Krishna says, “Worship the Supreme with your work”, which means apart from direct worship, your work can also be engaged in worship. Different works have different consequences and effects on the consciousness. Hence, not all work can be equally considered to be a form of worship. The choice of profession is to be based on how it affects the consciousness. Will our work increase our consciousness towards God? Will it increase our receptivity for God?
One may also ask a similar question, “Can a woman, who is a prostitute, worship God by being in prostitution?” Certainly not because same prostitution may be causing some family to break apart. It may also cause this woman to do abortions and kill a life. Is that worship then?
There are things which connect us with God and there are things which disconnect us from God. Even if we cannot give up the things that disconnect us from God, at least, we should take up things which connect us to God. That is the beginning which will keep us on the spiritual path. However, if we start thinking that the things that disconnect us from God (like being a butcher, being a prostitute) are my connections with God, then we are fooling ourselves.
End of transcription.
The post If work is worship is a butcher also worshiping by slaughtering animals? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
In the Garga-samhita there is a beautiful exchange between Nanda Maharaja and Srimati Radharani as they cross paths in Bhandiravan, one of the principle forests of Vrindavan:
Srimati Radharani spoke: “O noble one! This divine form of Mine is very difficult to see, but for one who has seen it, nothing is out of reach. Ask Me for a boon!”
Bowing his head, Nanda Maharaja humbly replied:
yadi prasannasi tada bhaven me
bhaktir drdha kau yuvayoh padabje
satam ca bhaktis tava bhakti-bhajam
sangha sada me ‘tha yuge yuge ca
“Millennium after millennium, may I have firm devotion to You and Krishna. May I always live in the company of Your pure devotees and may my devotion to them equal my devotion to both of You.”
“So be it!” said Srimati Radharani, Vrindavan’s queen.
[ Garga Samhita, Canto One, Volume Three, Chapter 16, Text 11 ]
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MY EXPERIENCE AT GURUKULA
By Toshan Krishna Rose (aged 12 years)
Toshan Krishna Rose giving an end-of-year address at the Bhaktivedanta Swami Gurukula at New Govardhana, Australia, in 2019.
SPREADING GOOD CHEER
Recently, New Govardhana devotees (Australia) have been traveling to Surfers Paradise on Friday evenings for hari-nama sankirtana.
TOVP Pujari Floor Grand Opening Preview (4 min. video)
HG Braja Vilasa prabhu gives a preview of what’s to come when the TOVP Pujari Floor opens.
Answer Podcast
Transcription :
Transcription: Suresh Gupta
Question: How is the Gita applicable for students?
Answer: Primarily, the biggest relevance of Gita is in terms of the mind. In student life, there are so many different pressures that come – studies, parent’s expectations, stress of assignments, peer pressure etc. – that our mind can go wild due to hormones rising in our body during teenage. If we can learn to manage our mind, we will be able to do better.
Arjuna was a great warrior but his mind went wild at the start of Mahabharata war. He could not function properly or carry out his duty. Comparatively, the specifics of Arjuna’s wild mind maybe different from ours, but on hearing the message of Gita he could calm the mind. Thus, all of us should study the Gita regularly and understand its core message – that we are not our body and we are not our mind also.
We are different from our mind and Gita gives us a lot of practical guidelines on how to manage our mind. If we can learn to manage our mind, we can create a better life for ourselves. As students, we spend so much of our time on waste thoughts. Our time is not only spent in activities like studying, experiments, assignments etc., but our time is also taken by our thoughts. For example, if you go in a lab and greet another person but that person snubs you, neglects you or worse, insults you, then this single thought can dominate your mind for the next one hour. You will be sitting in the class but not one word spoken by the teacher will go in your mind because you will be thinking of revenge (next time in front of everyone I will snub this person). Externally you may appear to be in the class, but your mind has taken you somewhere else. Stray thoughts, wild thoughts take so much of our time. If we could manage to regulate our thoughts, we would save a lot of time.
Similarly, worry takes up so much of our time. Worry is essentially the interest that we pay on loans we have not yet taken. The problem may or may not have happened, but we spend time thinking about all the possibilities about – what if it happens or that happens? If we practice bhakti and understand Gita, we will learn that the Gita teaches us: Do not focus on “what if” rather focus on “what is”. “What if” means – what if this happens, that happens etc. “What is” mean – what is the exact problem right now, what is the right thing to do, what should I focus on right now? Therefore, in the Gita, there are a lot of powerful resources by which we can manage our mind, face all the stresses of student life and very responsibly create a brighter future for ourselves.
Along with that, Gita also gives us overall purpose and direction for our life. We all have talents and careers to look after. There are three questions pertaining to our talents and careers – (i) what to do (ii) how to do (iii) why to do. Gita gives us higher inspiration for our life by answering the most important question why to do (third one in the list).
In Gita 18.46, Lord Krishna says,
yatah pravrttir bhutanam yena sarvam idam tatam
sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah
(By worship of the Lord, who is the source of all beings and who is all-pervading, a man can attain perfection through performing his own work.)
Krishna says, “Through your work, worship the divine.” We can actually do our work in a way, that it takes us closer to Krishna and as we grow internally, we see that whatever abilities and talent that we have, it can be used in Krishna’s service. What we are is God’s gift to us and what we become is our gift to God. If we learn in this way then as a student, we can contribute more and more. Irrespective of the path we have chosen in our life, if we have spiritual purpose, then that will inspire us to do much more in whatever work we are doing. When we work in spiritual consciousness, we develop a mood of service and contribution. The light of God can shine through each one of us and if that light shines through us, it can make our life and our world better. Not just better, but also brighter.
Whichever field we choose, that is secondary, but what consciousness we are working in the field, that is primary. If we can make ourselves a little more disciplined, more mature, more patient, we can do so much more in our life. All that can happen if we simply become connected to Krishna. Devotion to Krishna will certainly give us the strength to do better in life. This improvement can be marginal or dramatic. Discovering how much better we can do is life’s ultimate adventure and Gita invites each of us to embrace that ultimate adventure.
End of transcription.
Transcription in Hindi
प्रश्न: छात्रों के लिए भगवद्गीता कैसे सार्थक हो सकती है?
उत्तर: छात्र जीवन में गीता की मुख्य प्रासंगिकता है – हम अपने मन पर नियंत्रण कैसे करें। एक छात्र के रूप में, हम जीवन में कई सारे दबावों का सामना करते हैं – पढ़ाई-लिखाई, गृहकार्य, कक्षा में अव्वल आना, माता-पिता की अपेक्षाऐं इत्यादि। इन सब दबावों और किशोरावस्था के दौरान हमारे शरीर में तेजी से होने वाले बदलावों के कारण, छात्रों को अपना मानसिक संतुलन बनाने में कठिनाई हो सकती है। यदि हम अपने मन को नियंत्रण करना सीख लेंगे तो कक्षा में हमारा प्रदर्शन श्रेष्ठतर हो पाऐगा।
हम अपने मन से भिन्न हैं, और गीता हमें अपने मन को नियंत्रित करने से सम्बन्धित कई व्यावहारिक दिशानिर्देश देती है। यदि हम अपने मन को नियंत्रित करना सीख सकते हैं, तो हम अपने लिए एक बेहतर जीवन का निर्माण कर सकते हैं। छात्रजीवन में, कई बार हम अपना अधिकांश समय व्यर्थ के विचारों पर व्यतीत करते हैं। यदि हम अपने विचारों को नियंत्रित करना सीख जाऐं, तो हम अपना बहुत सारा समय बचा सकते हैं।
इसी प्रकार, व्यर्थ चिंता करने में छात्रगण बहुत सारा समय गँवा देते हैं। चिंता अनिवार्य रूप से उस ऋण का ब्याज है जो हमने अभी तक लिया ही नहीं। गीता हमें ऐसे शक्तिशाली संसाधन प्रदान करती है जिनके द्वारा हम अपने मन को साध सकते हैं, छात्र जीवन के सभी तनावों का सामना कर सकते हैं और पूर्ण उत्तरदायित्व से अपने लिए एक उज्ज्वल भविष्य का निर्माण कर सकते हैं।
गीता हमें अपने जीवन के लिए एक समग्र उद्देश्य और दिशा भी प्रदान करती है। हर छात्र के पास कोई न कोई प्रतिभा है और हर छात्र किसी न किसी व्यवसाय को आने वाले जीवन में अपनाएगा। हमारी प्रतिभा और हमारे व्यवसाय से संबंधित तीन प्रश्न यहाँ अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण हैं: (i) हम क्या करें (ii) हम कैसे करें (iii) हम क्यों करें। प्रथम दो प्रश्नों का उत्तर तो हमें मिल जाता है जब हम डिग्री लेकर अपने शिक्षण संस्थान से बाहर निकलते हैं। किन्तु गीता हमें इन तीनों में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण, तीसरे प्रश्न का उत्तर देती है – कोई भी कार्य हमें क्यों करना चाहिए।
गीता १८.४६ में कृष्ण कहते हैं, “अपने कर्म द्वारा परमात्मा की पूजा करो।” हम जो हैं वह हमारे लिए ईश्वर का उपहार है, और हम जो बनते हैं वह ईश्वर को हमारा उपहार है। हम अपने जीवन में चाहे जो भी मार्ग चुनें, किन्तु यदि हमारा उद्देश्य आध्यात्मिक होगा, तो हम जो भी कार्य करेंगे, उसमें अपना अधिक से अधिक योगदान दे पाऐंगे। इसका कारण यह है कि जब हम आध्यात्मिक भावना से कार्य करते हैं, तो हम सेवा और योगदान की भावना विकसित करते हैं। यदि हम चाहें, तो भगवान की कृपा हम में से किसी के भी माध्यम से प्रकट हो सकती है और हमारे जीवन को श्रेष्ठ से श्रेष्ठतर बना सकती है।
End of transcription.
Dear Mahatma prabhu! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I hope you won’t mind a godbrother glorifying you in honour of your appearance day celebration, which is still some days away. I’m sure the demigods sing your praises, so why not me? You are an illustrious disciple of our glorious spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, so we as his followers have a solemn duty to recognise your unique qualities and service to His Divine Grace.
Your many seminars on diverse subjects of devotional service are attended and heard by thousands of devotees. In so many ways you are a spiritual master, a life coach, a transcendental psychologist, a best friend and well-wisher of so many of us. Through various preaching programs people join this great movement. But the secret is to carefully guide them step by step through the process of devotional service. That includes educating them, helping them overcome obstacles on the path of Krsna consciousness and teaching them how to remain enthusiastic at all times. You are an expert in helping devotees in all these facets of Krsna consciousness. We all thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And I have no doubt that Srila Prabhupada is also grateful for all the service you have rendered to him through the years. He is smiling graciously upon you today!
You are a wonderful example of all that you teach. That is why devotees have so much faith in you. That is why I look up to you and try to follow you. You have an uncanny ability to see and understand what each devotee needs and you take whatever time is required to help them. You are very personal with everyone. That is very rare in this day and age.
Then there are your kirtans! You were a famous and much sought after kirtan man long before many of ISKCON’s famous ‘kirtaneers’ appeared on the scene. You were an inspiration for them as they made their own valuable contributions to spreading the holy names. Please keep watering our seeds of devotion with your melodious voice and expert musical skills.
My prayer is that your many followers and well-wishers will join together to support your services to ISKCON and the general public. You are getting older now, 70 years of age today, and shouldn’t have to be personally raising funds. That service should fall as a privilege to those who love you and can appreciate the positive changes you are making in their lives and can make in the lives of so many people in this world.
On this auspicious day I fall at your feet, my dear godbrother, and wish you well in all your endeavours. May the Good Lord grant you many more years of preaching and counselling. I also offer my obseisances to all your fortunate disciples and loved ones.
Please always keep me in your prayers, as you are in mine!
With affectionate regards,
Indradyumna Swami
**********************
“Radha and Krsna. Radha’s name is first. Why? Nobody can be a better devotee than Radharani. As soon as Radha’s name is there, Krsna is more pleased. That is the way. If we glorify the devotees, the character of the devotees, before the Lord, He is more pleased than to glorify Himself, directly.”
[ Srila Prabhupada, room conversation, Hawaii, April 24, 1969 ]
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Today is the appearance anniversary of Sripada Ramanujacharya, the principal acharya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote that “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacharya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (Letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in India, before we had Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is in Hindi, he would refer people to read the Hindi edition of the Gita with Sri Ramanujacharya’s commentary.
Prabhupada often told a story about Sri Ramanujacharya’s merciful, compassionate nature. As he related it in Ahmedabad in 1972, “The servants of Krishna take all risk for Krishna’s sake. Just like Ramanujacharya. Sri Ramanujacharya’s spiritual master said, ‘My dear son, the mantra which I am giving, you chant silently and you will be delivered. It is so powerful. Don’t chant this mantra loudly so others can hear.’
“Ramanujacharya thought, ‘If this mantra is so powerful that if others hear it they’ll also be delivered, then why not?’ He immediately went to the market and began to chant the mantra. So, his spiritual master became very angry, that ‘I told you not to chant loudly, so others may not hear.’ And Ramanujacharya replied, ‘My Lordship, I have done offense unto you. That’s all right. For this I am prepared to go to hell. But if this mantra is so powerful, I must speak it to everyone.’ ”
In this mood, following in the footsteps of Sripada Ramanujacharya, Srila Prabhupada broadcast the Hare Krishna maha-mantra and the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita everywhere, to everyone.
We pray and aspire to follow in their footsteps.
Hare Krishna.
Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami
Braja Vilasa prabhu, TOVP Director of Development, gives a preview of what’s to come when the largest Pujari facility in the world measuring over 2.5 acres with 20+ rooms, opens on February 13.
Heralding the relocation of ISKCON’s beloved world Deities, Sri Sri Radha Madhava, Sri Pancha Tattva and Sri Nrsimha to Their long-awaited new home in 2022, this historic event is another milestone in the construction progress of the TOVP. The entire five-hour celebration will be viewable live or recorded on www.mayapur.tv. Below is the complete schedule.
9:00 – Svagata: Welcoming the Deities, Padukas and Srila Prabhupada
9:30 – Invocation Prayers
9:45 – Addresses by Senior Vaishnavas
11:30 – Vastu Puja/Homa Yajna
12:15 – Puspanjali for H.D.G. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur
12:30 – Pujari Kaksha Udghatana: Pujari Rooms Opening
2:00 – Bhandara: Celebration Feast
The post TOVP Pujari Floor Grand Opening Preview Video with Braja Vilasa Prabhu appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
BHAKTI IN BALI
Bali in the 1970s was a slow-paced, tropical island with its Hindu culture based around Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Its verdant rice fields, temples, gamelan music, dance, art and peaceful rural villages and social and religious life centred on the supporting family units. At this time it attracted around 300,000 international tourists.
Youth development in New Govardhana, Australia.
Srila Prabhupada said of the younger generation: “You are the flower of your country and society”
WOODFORD REPORT: Last night a kofta ball saved my life!
The yearly tradition of catering at the Woodford Folk Festival (an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, 72 km north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) continued once again. Twenty devotees from New Govardhana farm loaded up the bus with their camping gear and spent one week at the Folk Festival serving copious amounts of prasadam in the unique Govinda’s tent.
By Gauranga Das Honorable Governor mentioned on this occasion, “The spiritual power of Govardhan Ecovillage and the prosperity and wealth of BSE along with the intellectual capacity of IIM Ahmedabad will lead to ultimate prosperity of India and not just of Palghar district and it will prove as a milestone. We wish that through Govardhan Ecovillage, message of serving the people in villages will go to entire India and to the entire world.” Continue reading "Honorable Governor of Maharashtra, Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari inaugurated the incubation centre and accelerator at Govardhan Ecovillage
→ Dandavats"
By Amy Fallon For many devotees, the journey involving Krishna consciousness often begins with food. “If you come here and you’re hungry, we’ll feed you – no problem,” says Ajita Cozzi, 57, the director of New Govardhana, a lush 400-hectare site that is Australia’s largest Hare Krishna farm. It's located in the village of Eungella in northern NSW. Followers of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), founded in 1966, sometimes referred to their movement as the “kitchen religion”. It makes sense when you see how Hare Krishnas, who adhere to a lacto-vegetarian diet, dish up food at restaurants and temples around the world. Their traditional “love feasts”, which started in the '60s, can involve huge scoops of dahl and rice, kofta balls and chunks of halva, a semolina pudding. Continue reading "How the “kitchen religion” uses food for good!
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The Sacred India Gallery (5 min. video)
We recently hosted The Get Away Club, a local senior citizens organization, for a morning at The Sacred India Gallery
By the Blessings of Their Lordships, Srila Prabhupada, Vartaman Acharyas, Vaishnavas & the Extreme Hard Efforts by Devotees of Iskcon Pune
Srimad Bhagavatam class by HG Rohini Suta Prabhu in ISKCON Vrindavan (video)
By Srimati Dasi The body of Nityananda Svarupa was most enchanting. He glanced mercifully on everyone. Whether He was eating, sleeping, or wandering about, He did not waste a moment without sankirtana. Wherever He performed dancing and congregational glorification of Krsna, many people became overwhelmed with ecstatic love. Even the householders’ children, who did not know anything, uprooted large trees. They roared loudly, uprooted trees, and ran around exclaiming, “I am a cowherd boy.” Each boy possessed such strength that even a hundred people were unable to control him. The children would joyfully roar like lions and call out, “All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya and Nityananda! All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya and Nityananda!” Continue reading "Nitai’s Prema Sankirtana Festival Begins
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Friday, February 7th marks the auspicious appearance of Nityananda prabhu who is best known for his compassionate nature. The name Nityananda means eternal happiness. He was the closest associate of Lord Krishna when he incarnated as Lord Caitanya over 500 years ago. Together they helped spread the chanting of the holy names of the Lord far and wide. Nityananda Prabhu is considered to be the most merciful incarnation of the Lord. Nityananda prabhu's boundless mercy is highlighted by the most famous pastime of the deliverance of the perpetrators, Jagai and Madhai (click here to learn more about this pastime).
Answer Podcast
The post How can we keep our emtions steady amid varying situations? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
HH Jayapataka Swami inaugurated the brand new pathology lab in the Mayapur Community Hospital. The Pathology department will be over seen by Dr. Bhaktin Kate, trained and educated in the USA and Dr.Santhosh Kumar Roy, who recieved his degree from the JIPMER University. The Mayapur Community Hospital has always been an important project, serving Mayapur […]
The post Pathology Lab Inauguration at Mayapur Community Hospital appeared first on Mayapur.com.
Ten Days of Jainism
HH Krishna Ksetra Swami: The International School of Jain Studies offers a ten-day (Dec. 27 to Jan. 7) introduction to Jainism each December-January for university students, especially those engaged in the academic study of religion. Jainism is a very ancient tradition, at least as old as Buddhism, with a rich literary canon and highly developed philosophy, centered around the principle of ahiṁsā—“nonviolence”. We were 23 students altogether, from several countries and varied backgrounds, including some undergraduates, some post-graduates, and some doctoral candidates doing research specifically on Jainism. The ahiṁsā ethic, so central to Jainism, was of particular interest to me, as I had been thinking and writing about this theme for the Cow Care book. A related interest was simply to learn “first-hand” about this lesser-known tradition to broaden my horizon of religious life, in pursuit of my interest in interreligious dialogue.
Roop Gaur Das: As a medical doctor and a practicing devotee, I sometimes happen to help devotees with their medical illnesses in my community. And it is saddening to see how devotees neglect their health and pay a much higher price later.
New Varshana Holi Festival (Album of photos)
Ramai Swami: The management at New Varshana had the Holi celebration a little earlier than the actual date. This year it fitted in very nicely with the long weekend and Auckland day on Monday
By Rachael Nichol 'It was a calling' - Sunderland man reveals what life is really like as a Hare Krishna monk Daniel King describes his journey of dedicating his life to his faith and how it gives people a happier and more fulfilling life. In this fast-paced world that we live in, this Hare Krishna monk believes his lifestyle is the solution to a happy life. After living in a temple in Scotland for 13 years, following strict rules such as not drinking alcohol or eating meat, Daniel King has dedicated his life to his faith. Now Daniel, from Sunderland, has lifted the lid on what life is really like as a monk. The 39-year-old said: "It made a lot of sense to me, it was what I've been looking for. Continue reading "I found inner peace with Hare Krishna
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Lecture on the passing away of Bhishmadeva in the presence of Lord Krishna by HG Vraja Bihari Das in ISKCON Delhi
Answer Podcast
Transcription :
Transcription by: Suresh Gupta
Question: Does science come from spirituality or is it made by man?
Answer: Science, as a body of knowledge, is clearly a human product. If we consider scientific books, they are written by human beings. Scientific concepts (such as gravity), their explanation and their mathematical postulation have also come from human beings.
Spirituality is the study of the totality of reality, whereas science is the study of a subset of that reality. Science studies the physical reality and especially the measurable parameters within physical reality. If we consider total reality as a big circle, then physical reality is a small circle within that big circle and science studies that physical reality. Therefore, in that sense, we could say that science is the subset of spirituality.
However, it is also true that science studies certain things and spirituality studies certain other things. They both have their own focus. Spirituality is the study of consciousness and its source. Unless there were consciousness, there would not be the longing for understanding and we would not search for anything. The animals have existed for millennia, but animals did not develop science, and neither did they question as to why things exist or how things work. Why? Because we humans have a longing to understand and that longing essentially is for spirituality. That longing comes because the soul in a human body has developed consciousness by which he can think about such topics whereas animals simply think about their immediate need. For example, instead of Newton, if the apple had fallen on the head of a monkey, it would have simply picked it up and ran away. But when the apple fell on Newton, he asked the question, why does the apple fall? Although human beings too have a biological drive (just like the monkey), we also have a spiritual drive. Spiritual drive is basically the drive to make sense of things and to understand what-is-what? That desire to understand things, led to the theory of gravity, and further led to the development of science.
Hence, study of science and the development of scientific knowledge, ultimately comes from our longing to understand and know If we were simply insentient matter like a table, then just like a table does not understand anything but simply exists, similarly we too would have understood nothing. In fact, a table does not even understand that it exists. It exists without understanding that it exists; but we have consciousness and hence we seek spirituality.
Therefore, spirituality is the study of the totality of reality and science is study of subset of reality. If spirituality is defined as our longing for higher understanding, then that longing for higher understanding can lead us to spiritual understanding. But that longing can also lead to scientific understanding. Therefore, science is created by human beings, but the reason it is created by human beings is because humans have a longing for understanding and that longing for understanding comes from our spiritual nature.
End of transcription.
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The management at New Varshana had the Holi celebration a little earlier than the actual date. This year it fit in very nicely with the long weekend and Auckland day on the Monday.
There were an estimated eight to ten thousand people who attended and the majority were westerners. The festival has become very well known throughout the area.
Apart from the throwing of dyes, there was lots and lots of prasadam served and as you can see from the pictures, everyone had a good time.
Jagannath Rides The Oceans
Dear Prabhus,
Please accept my humble obeisances,
All glories to Srila Prabhupada,
We have 12 days to build the Jaladuta, please spread the word.
The mercy of Srila Prabhupada is freely available, Carpe Diem.
“Your program for extending Sankirtana Party activities to the nearby towns and cities and universities is very welcome. I have received similar good report of such extended Sankirtana Party tours or trips from many other centers in Europe as well as America. Lord Caitanya’s desire was that this chanting of the Holy Names be spread to every town and village on the face of the globe, and now His desire is being fulfilled. That is to your credit as sincere servants of the Lord.”
Srila Prabhupada November 1970
https://mailchi.mp/08b83446bf47/new-temple-in-the-uk?e=eb62a8fca8
Have you any handyman skills, artistic skills, or some Laxmi to contribute.
https://foodforalluk.com/donate/
We are renovating the interior of the ship.We need to transform the appearance this vessel to look life a certain medieval ship.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Your servants Food for All team
April 23rd Thursday Start 6am Holiday Inn Brentford, on canal near Thames.Go through London to Woolwich past Houses of Parliament, London Eye, HMS Belfast, London Bridge ..30 miles arrive 10am Woolwich Woolwich 10am to Hernesbay 62 miles arrive 7pm , rest first night.
April 24th Friday. Day 36am start,Hearnsbay, Margate, Dunkirk to Zealand 7pm rest
April 25th Saturday Day 4Zealand to Amsterdam
April 26th Sunday. Day 5 extra day Sunday Program on the deck
April 27th Monday. Day 6 Kings Day
April 28th Return Journey