Thoughts for the New Year
Giriraj Swami

A talk by Giriraj Swami on January 2, 2010, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England.

We have gathered at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada in this wonderful temple of Sri Sri Radha-Gokulananda, Sri Sita-Rama-Laksmana-Hanuman, and Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, in the presence of His Holiness Radhanath Swami and so many exalted devotees. We are entering the New Year, 2010, and the next decade, and on such occasions we take stock of what and how we did in the previous year and what we want to do in the next. Studies have shown, and probably many of us have experienced, that most New Year’s resolutions are broken during the first week. Still more are broken in the first month, and almost all are broken within the first three months.

Why does this happen, and what can we do? Man is a creature of habit. We have developed certain habits over the past however many years—perhaps lifetimes—and to change our habits requires sincere desire and determined effort. Another study has shown that when a person is trying to develop a new habit, he has to consistently, diligently strive to adhere to the new practice for at least thirty days. After thirty days, he is able to follow more easily but can be derailed by stress or changes in his life. After ninety days it becomes just as easy to follow the new habit as not, and after a year it is easier to follow the new habit than not.

So, what new habits do we want to develop in the next year? That depends on our goals. When I visited Pune some years ago, the Malhotra brothers arranged a program for me in the main hall, and at the end of the talk the general in charge of the Southern Command of the Indian Army asked an important question: “What is the aim for which we are born, what is the aim of our life? It certainly could not be to amass some wealth and ultimately die, or to make a building and then die, or to marry and procreate and then die. For our minor activities in life we have the aims set first, before we get going to achieve them. When we train our people in the army, whatever they have to do we first tell them what the aim is. And once they are clear what the aim is, then we decide what means to adopt to achieve that. And invariably we don’t go wrong. Now here it is—my whole life is going to waste, to my mind; I am still not very clear what is the aim of my life. Would you kindly enlighten us about the aim of life so that thereafter we can be very, very clear as to what we have got to do to achieve that aim?”

Srila Sanatana Gosvami asked the same question of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:

“‘ke ami’, ‘kene amaya jare tapa-traya’
iha nahi jani—kemane hita haya

“‘sadhya’-‘sadhana’-tattva puchite na jani
krpa kari’ saba tattva kaha ta’ apani”

“Who am I? Why do the threefold miseries always give me trouble? If I do not know this, how can I be benefited? Actually I do not know how to inquire about the goal of life and the process for obtaining it. Being merciful upon me, please explain all these truths.” (Cc Madhya 20.102–103) He said, “In ordinary dealings people consider me to be a learned scholar (pandita), but I am so learned I do not even know who I am. So please tell me who I am and what is the goal of life.” And Lord Chaitanya replied, “By constitution you are an eternal servant of Krishna —jivera ‘svarupa’ haya—krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’—and the goal of life is to be reinstated in your constitutional position as His loving servant.”

If someone understands that he is not the body, that he is the soul within the body, and that his real relationship is not with the body or things related to the body but that as a spiritual soul his real relationship is with the Supreme Soul, then he can adopt the methods that are suitable for reviving his eternal relationship with the Supreme Soul, Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada formed the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to give people this knowledge: We are not the body but the soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Soul. Our real relationship is with Him, and our duty and goal in life, is to revive our eternal loving relationship with Him, with God, Krishna. The whole process of sadhana-bhakti is to help us to awaken that eternal love for God.

nitya-siddha krsna-prema ‘sadhya’ kabhu naya
sravanadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya

“Pure love for Krsna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens.” (Cc Madhya 22.107) That love is eternally there within the heart, just as fire is within a match. You just have to strike the match and the fire will come out. Similarly, we just have to strike the heart by chanting and hearing about Krishna and that love will come out.

The main process is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. We are in the Hare Krishna temple. (On the way, we saw the sign, “Hare Krishna Temple,” with an arrow.) Somehow, we are part of the Hare Krishna movement, and we are known as Hare Krishna people. We are meant to chant Hare Krishna. And by our chanting Hare Krishna, the mirror of the mind can be cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam), the blazing fire of material existence extinguished (bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam), and ultimately our dormant love for Krishna awakened. Param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam.

But there is also the matter of quality to the chanting. Queen Kunti prays to Lord Krishna,

janmaisvarya-sruta-sribhir
edhamana-madah puman
naivarhaty abhidhatum vai
tvam akincana-gocaram

“Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education, and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling.” People on the path of material advancement want good birth (janma), material opulence (aisvarya), material learning (sruta), and physical beauty (sribhih). They cannot feelingly approach the Lord. And when we chant the holy name, we are trying to approach the Lord. The holy name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are the same.

nama cintamanih krsnas
caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
purnah suddho nitya-mukto
’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh

“The holy name of Krsna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krsna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krsna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krsna Himself. Since Krsna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krsna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krsna and Krsna Himself are identical.” (Padma Purana, Cc Madhya 17.133)

Commenting on Kunti’s prayer, Srila Prabhupada cites scripture, that by uttering the holy name of the Lord even once, one can destroy the reactions to more sins than one is able to commit. “Such is the power of uttering the holy name of the Lord. There is not the least exaggeration in this statement. Actually, the Lord’s holy name has such powerful potency.” We are all suffering because of sinful reactions. If we were freed from sinful reactions, we would no longer have to suffer. As Prabhupada explains, however, “there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere.” Lord Krishna is akincana-gocaram, easily approached by those who are akincana, who have no material possessions.

Now, these statements may give rise to some questions. This word akincana means “without material possessions,” or “without a sense of false proprietorship.” Of course, there should be no duplicity in the matter, but this principle allows us, for example, to have an opulent temple here. We have a beautiful property, a large estate, but as long as we think, “This is Radha-Gokulananda’s property. This is Srila Prabhupada’s property. It is not my property; I am here only to serve them and use this property in their service,” we can be free from false proprietorship, false prestige, and false designations. And in that mood we can chant the holy name with feeling, approach Krishna with feeling. Otherwise, there is a subtle rivalry going on between us and Krishna. We come into the material world out of envy of Krishna. In effect, we want to take His position. We want to be the proprietor and controller and enjoyer (isvaro ’ham aham bhogi), which is actually Krishna’s position. While chanting Krishna’s name, we may be thinking, “Why should I be chanting Krishna’s name? People should be chanting my name. ‘Giriraj Maharaja ki jaya!’ ” That is our sorry plight. We don’t want Krishna to be the center; we want to be the center. So we chant the holy name with ourselves in the foreground and the holy name in the background. That is our tendency as conditioned souls.

The proper process is to chant with attention. We let go of all those thoughts about ourselves—“I” and “me” and “mine”—and focus on the holy name, on Krishna. Those other thoughts are irrelevant. They may come up, but we don’t pay them heed. We just focus our attention on Krishna, on the sound of Krishna’s holy name. And when we do that, we can actually feel His presence. We can appreciate that the holy name is Krishna Himself reciprocating with our sincere desires to serve Him.

This practice requires effort. We are habituated to think that we are the center of existence and that everything revolves around us. We see everything in terms of us, not in terms of Krishna. But our habit can change. There is a saying that up to the age of twenty, you think that people are looking at you and like you, from the age of twenty to forty that they are looking at you and don’t like you, and then, after the age of forty, that they aren’t even looking at you or thinking of you. So, we have to reform this habit of thinking that we’re the center, always thinking about ourselves and thinking that everyone else is thinking about us too. We must know that Krishna is the center.

Once, when I was chanting my rounds at the beach in Carpinteria, I was sitting alone, chanting with attention—making a serious effort to be attentive—somehow thinking of different people who were close to me, and feeling how much they were suffering. I was actually feeling their pain. As I continued chanting, that sense of feeling for others expanded to people who weren’t so close to me, and then to the people on the beach, whom I didn’t even know. There weren’t many, but there were a few people surfing. And I was really feeling their suffering. Srila Prabhupada had joked that the surfers were actually “sufferers,” but I was actually feeling their suffering.

Then the feeling went beyond the human beings. There were pelicans at the beach. They fly very high and then suddenly zoom down and crash into the water. I understood that they were hovering high in the sky looking for prey and that when they saw some potential food they came straight down and crashed into the water. Ordinarily I would think, “Oh, how picturesque—flying so high and then diving into the ocean.” But now I was feeling, “They are in anxiety. They are hungry. They need food and are searching—‘Where is food? Where is food?’ And when they see something and dive straight down and crash into the water, although they are birds, still, coming from that height at that velocity and crashing into the water is bound to be a shock to their system. And they don’t know whether they will actually get that fish or not. And whatever happens, after they come down they go up and start the same process all over again. They are never satisfied—“Now we can just relax.” I was thinking, “What a life, full of anxiety, full of pain”—and feeling it.

And the dolphins and the sandpipers and the seagulls—the same thing. I was feeling so much suffering on all sides. It was as if the illusion of material happiness and charm had been lifted, and this whole beautiful panorama became a horrible scene of intense suffering, which I was feeling. And I was just chanting, chanting, chanting. Then a little lady bug landed on my hand. Growing up, I thought that lady bugs were auspicious and cute. But this time I looked at the lady bug and thought, “This lady bug is suffering”—and, again, feeling it. Looking at the lady bug, I thought, “I don’t think I can take much more of this. I am feeling too much suffering; I am going to have a breakdown.” I wanted to help these creatures. I was feeling their suffering and desiring to help them, but it was getting to be too much.

Then I had the type of breakthrough that one gets when one chants with attention, with the effort to chant with attention. Suddenly I felt as if Krishna were speaking to me, revealing something to me. I got the intuition, or inspiration, in my heart that Krishna loves these creatures more than I do, more than I can even imagine. He loves them so much that He accompanies them as the Supersoul in whatever species of life they enter. And not only does He love them more than I can ever imagine, but He can actually do something to help them. I may feel for them and want to help them, but what is my capacity to help them? I may not even understand what’s troubling them. Parents sometimes experience that their baby is crying and want to help but don’t know what the baby wants. They may think the baby is hungry, but the baby may be troubled by something completely different. Or even if they do understand what is causing the suffering, they may be unable to relieve it.

So, I was thinking, “Not only does Krishna love them, but He can actually do something to help them.” And then I came to the bottom of it. The problem was that I was trying to take the position of Krishna. In the Bhagavad-gita (5.29) Lord Krishna says,

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati

“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

When one recognizes that Krishna is the enjoyer, Krishna is the proprietor, Krishna is the best friend, he attains peace. I thought of what Srila Prabhupada often said, so simple yet profound—that your best friend is not he or she who poses as your best friend but he {or she }who tells you that Krishna is your best friend. Suddenly this whole problem of how to help these suffering souls became very easy. I didn’t have to help them personally; I just had to direct them to Krishna, who could really help them. And it was such a relief.

So this is our mission: to serve Krishna. And serving Krishna means doing what Krishna wants, and Krishna wants that we should bring other souls to Him. As He says at the end of the Bhagavad-gita (18.69), His dearmost servant is he who preaches the message of the Gita. Na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamah/ bhavita na ca me tasmad anyah priyataro bhuvi: “There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also said, yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa: “Wherever you go, whomever you meet, just present the message of Krishna.” And that is something any of us can do. It is actually very easy. Any of us can do it.

When devotees, myself among them, first came to Bombay, two of Prabhupada’s early disciples, Syamasundara and Malati, had a small daughter, Sarasvati, who used to approach respectable gentlemen who visited our center. Although only three or four years old, she would approach them and say, “Do you know who is Krishna?” And then she would answer, “Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Srila Prabhupada commented, “That is preaching. She is repeating what she has heard from authorities, and even if she doesn’t have full realization, what she is saying is perfect, because she has heard it from authorities— Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” So, any of us can preach. We can simply repeat what we have heard from authorities—“Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” “Chant Hare Krishna and your life will be sublime.” “Come to the Hare Krishna temple.” And that will please Krishna.

I was very happy when I passed through England on my way to South Africa at the end of November and saw all the books around Srila Prabhupada’s vyasasana. I could feel the mood in the atmosphere to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. I felt, “Srila Prabhupada is pleased. They have the spirit to distribute his books.” The books are as potent and effective now as ever. So many people I meet—when I ask them how they came to Krishna consciousness, it goes back to a book. They got a book. The formula that Srila Prabhupada gave us forty years ago still works. By giving them Prabhupada’s books, we are giving them Krishna and Prabhupada, the message of Krishna through Prabhupada, and that is enough to awaken their sense of Krishna consciousness and begin them on the path. Many of us are here because of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

So, we should try to develop the habit of putting Krishna in the center, putting the holy name in the center, putting Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada and their mission in the center, and that will make all the difference. Our spouse can be there, our children can be there, our house can be there, our work can be there—everything can be there—but with Krishna in the center, everything will be beautiful and peaceful. And as long as we persist in habits that may have been with us for many lifetimes—thinking that we are the center, we are the lords, we are the enjoyers, we are the proprietors—there will be so many problems, and in the end whatever we have will be taken away from us anyway.

So it is most auspicious that we are beginning the New Year in the association of devotees here at Bhaktivedanta Manor. My request is that we use this coming year, and this valuable human form of life, for their proper purpose, in Krishna consciousness, and that in this endeavor we help and support each other. We can’t do it alone. And I pray that I can always remain in the association of such wonderful devotees, because I am sure that in this association, hearing their instructions, I will be nudged along on the right path, back home, back to Godhead.

Hare Krishna.

NEWS FROM THE BRAHMACHARY ASHRAMA
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NEWS FROM THE BRAHMACHARY ASHRAMA
It’s been a productive year in the brahmachary ashrama at New Govardhana (Iskcon Farm Community in Australia) in 2019. The ashrama is headed up by Krishna Gana dasa, who has not only been traveling around Australia catering but also took Govinda’s catering over to France to help the New Mayapur team begin their catering venture.

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The Shree Krishna Haveli, a feat of architecture!
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The Shree Krishna Haveli is a feat of architecture, built from traditional materials that reflect the character of local Hertfordshire, such as timber, brick and tile. It features a reception area with a bakery and café; a Kirtan Hall with a stage and lighting for festivals, visiting speakers, Sunday programs and play performances; and a Seva Hall for serving prasad, as well as youth clubs, weddings and other samskaras.

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Kirtan Mela in Dnipro, Ukraine (Album of photos)
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Kirtan Mela in Dnipro, Ukraine (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the sastras it is said that if a person only once chants the holy name and completely surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, the Lord immediately considers him His ward and is always inclined to give him protection. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.49 Purport)

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Happy New Year! For us, every day is a New Year!
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Happy New Year!
HH Giriraj Swami: “For us, every day is a New Year. Nava-nava-rasa-dhamany. Our Krishna consciousness is so nice, the more you advance, the more you see new year, new year. That’s all. Nothing is old. People are seeing that ‘They are simply chanting the same old slogan, Hare Krishna.’ But we are feeling new pleasure in every moment. Take any other chanting, you cannot chant more than a few hours. But the Hare Krishna mantra we can chant perpetually. So, unless there is new enlightenment, how we can do that?”

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Why do some bad habits stay on despite our devotional practice – how to deal with them?
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Answer Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save content”

 

Transcriber: Dr Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Sharan Shetty

Question: Why do some bad habits stay on despite our devotional practice – how to deal with them?

Answer: Bad habits are a result of certain anarthas which are deep rooted and which may have come from our past life. By the initial practice of Krishna consciousness, some or many of those habits go away but some remain due to multiple reasons. One reason is that such impressions are deep, but another important reason is that we indulge in them quite often. For example, if a person has got rashes on his skin, the doctor may advise two things – avoid scratching it and apply some medicine. If the person follows both the instructions, the rash will be cured but if the person applies the medicine and at the same time secretly scratches the rash, then it will take much longer to cure. In general, habits persist longer when we also indulge in them. Before coming to Krishna consciousness, many devotees found it difficult to give up tea but after practising Krishna consciousness, they found that the temptation went away. If we minimise indulging on our indulgences then it is relatively easier for us to experience the purifying potency of Krishna consciousness, but when we indulge privately, then it will take a long time to cure.
Sometimes fault-finding is not necessarily bad. If we are in a leadership position where we have to train someone, then it may involve some fault finding to improve them. Thus, the problem is – when one finds faults all the time. If our relationship with others is based only on finding faults in them, then we strain the relationship.

His Holiness Satsvarupa Maharaj, in one of his books writes that once Srila Prabhupada was going for some TV programme. At that time, Prabhupada was little sick and had just recovered. In that state, he applied his tilak little twisted. So Satsvarupa Maharaj was wondering whether to tell Srila Prabhupada about this or not. He thought, “Should I tell my spiritual master that the tilak is twisted or should I consider that in the case of my spiritual master, the tilted is straight.” While thinking, he remembered that in the early days, once when Prabhupada was writing his book, he had stated a word while dictating that was not present in the dictionary. So all the devotees gathered and were thinking what to do in this situation. One of them said that since a pure devotee has used it rather than changing the pure devotee, we should change the dictionary and avoid using it in this case. One of the devotees suggested that we should ask Srila Prabhupada and hence they later changed the word as per Prabhupada’s instructions. This shows how eminently practical Srila Prabhupada was. The point here is that there are certain situations where fault finding is simply to facilitate or increase the service of Krishna.

The question may arise, how to avoid fault finding from becoming the basis or centre of our relationship? The answer is by trying to see the positive things in others. If we find it difficult to see good things in a person then we can talk with someone who has a good relationship with that person. Through them we can learn the positive side of that person which will help us see the good in them. So, fault-finding is definitely not the same as constructive criticism. Srila Rupa Goswami explains in The Nectar of Instruction Text 4 – guhyam akhyati pṛcchati which is one of the limbs of sadhu sangha (association of devotees) to share our heart with the other person and to hear from them. Therefore, it is not that all fault finding is bad, but when fault-finding becomes centre of relationship then it becomes a problem. There is a prayer in the Upanishads which says, “let good thoughts come to me from everywhere” and this is an exercise which we can try if we are having lot of relationship problems. It may sound simple but its practical application is very tough.

That is why, we should try to see the good in others first. It is difficult when we have a negative relation with the other person but if we put in conscious efforts then eventually seeing the good in others first becomes a habit. Lord Krishna uses the word manah prasadah (satisfaction) in Bhagavad-gita 17.16 to describe one of the austerities of mind. Interestingly, the word satisfaction is generally used as an emotion but a deeper understanding reveals that satisfaction is a conscious decision. Srila Prabhupada explains in the purport that the more we think of sense enjoyment, the more the mind becomes dissatisfied. The best course is to divert the mind to the Vedic literature, which is full of satisfying stories, as in the Puraṇas and the Mahabharata. Thus, we can see that satisfaction is not just an emotion that we feel but is also a decision that we make consciously.
Also, one very good object at which we can direct our fault-finding mentality is, at the mentality itself. This we can do by trying to find the cause of fault-finding and if we do that then the fault-finding mentality also gets utilised and we can distance ourselves from this mentality.

End of transcription.

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Happy New Year
Giriraj Swami

“For us, every day is a New Year. Nava-nava-rasa-dhamany. Our Krishna consciousness is so nice, the more you advance, the more you see new year, new year. That’s all. Nothing is old. People are seeing that ‘They are simply chanting the same old slogan, Hare Krishna.’ But we are feeling new pleasure in every moment. Take any other chanting, you cannot chant more than a few hours. But the Hare Krishna mantra we can chant perpetually. So, unless there is new enlightenment, how we can do that?”

In this conversation in Los Angeles on January 3, 1974, Srila Prabhupada referred to a verse by Sri Yamunacharya:

yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit

“Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental taste.”

May you all have a wonderful, Krishna conscious New Year.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

GBC Organizational Development Committee OPEN POSITIONS
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Gopal Bhatta das: The GBC Organizational Development Committee is a standing committee of ISKCON’s GBC. We strive to provide proper organizational structure designed to create global alignment and ensure devotional standards and ethos throughout the society. Global alignment will also provide a more unified society with clearer lines of authority, culture, strategy, and performance. We believe in “More Devotees, Happier Devotees”. We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team. This devotional opportunity offers service on a global level.
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New Ahimsa Milk truck
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New Ahimsa Milk truck. Love (and offer to Krishna) milk. Hate slaughter (of innocent cows). Raw and whole pasteurized milk are currently being delivered to doorstep/drop-point locations in the North London/within M25 area, and throughout the rest of the UK via mailorder. We already have a very long milk waiting list and therefore the list is closed to new submissions at this time. Sorry. Come and visit us at a farmers’ market if you are in London where you can still buy our raw milk.
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Sunday, December 29th, 2019
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Toronto, Ontario

The Park Bench

We both sat on the park bench, trying to catch our breath, after having ascended to a higher elevation at Chorley Park.  A former Lieutenant Governor's mansion had been at this spot quite a few  decades ago, but fire hit the building, and thus it is no longer.  Gaura and I enjoyed the scene looking far to the east, and although leaves have abandoned their trees, the sumac bushes near us have held onto their reddish bobs.  It really was a nice view.  

Our minutes there lapsed, and we moved on to right next to the Rosedale United Church.  A handsome structure it is.  

"Have you ever been inside?"  Gaura asked.

"Yes.  Once when it was raining and I needed shelter."

We agreed to check it out, now that it looked like a service was going on.  "We can sit in the back pew and chant some japa," I suggested.  So we did.  

An elderly lady smiled and offered us a pamphlet, a welcome gesture.  The minister, a woman, was at the pulpit, in front of a gorgeous stained-glass portrayal of a non-crucified Christ. She was talking about sanctuary—a place of restfulness, a home, a real shelter.  Of course, she was mostly referring to the spiritual comfort that is ours to take advantage of.  

After that segment of the sermon, she encouraged all who sat there to speak to each other about their own experiences of sanctuary.  Gaura and I participated, and then, shortly thereafter, continued our walk back to our mandir, our temple.  It was my turn on the roster to speak to our crowd.  I used the theme of "sanctuary," quoting 18:66 from the Gita.  

May the Source be with you!
5 km

Saturday, December 28th, 2019
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Toronto/Brampton

For the Young Ones

Today was a day for families and children.  For starters, my good friend Dr. Rakesh from London, Ontario, arranged for a blessing for his twin grandkids, Hamsaraj and Abiranjan.  They are one year old and just had their mundan, first hair-cutting ceremony yesterday.  With help from Mangal Arati, visiting from Philly, and our own Aradhana, we pulled off a kirtan chant, an arati to guru, Srila Prabhupada, and a lesson from the Gita verse, "The humble sages by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision, a gentle wise brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a man who eats dogs."

We also included a lesson in devotional dance, which all forty family members took part in.  And for the young twins, an application of sacred tilak reached their foreheads in the third eye region.  And to the mouth, a few drops of the sacred liquid charanamrta came to their lips with help from their parents.  Yogi and wife (sorry, can't remember all names).

The group ate scrumptious blessed food and went about their way, while I made the drive to IB (ISKCON Brampton) for their first "Spiritual Fair."  With total backing and encouragement from parents again, this community pulled off an all-kids display of the holy land of Vrindavana, India.  

They had constructed mini temples, hills from the area (including Govardhan), games to play, and information all expressed vocally while in typical Braj-style, clothes with dhotis, saris and turbans.  

These kids are real charmers.  They are sharp, articulate, cute and spiritually centred.  I would give a high rating to this fair, for sure.  I have hope for the world when I see such expertise in action.

May the Source be with you!
0 km

Friday, December 27th, 2019
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Brampton, Ontario

Get to Marketing

Vidyanidhi is a qualified architect, who has been rendering some drawings for our temple/ashram's renovations.  We have begun a project in our building which should improve our facilities for resident monks and nuns, as well as increase the number of classrooms we require for seminars on bhakti, the devotional sciences.  We appreciate the number of people who have come forward to support the effort of this prominent building project.  Our goal is to complete the project by September 2022, which is to include a solarium on the flat roof above our Govinda's Restaurant to accommodate the sacred basil plant, Tulasi.

Vidyanidhi invited me to his home in Brampton for a meal with the family, so I got to know everyone better.  What was so kind of them was to pull together a beverage (and not a brew) which is a favourite of mine.  It is simply a drink of lemon, water, ginger and jaggery, a natural sweetener.  It's delicious and healthy.  I indulged.  It goes with almost any meal.  I recommend it to anyone.  I think it should be marketed.

My evening activity went in two parts: drama practice, which is coming along, and a nighttime walk into the 4 degree Celsius weather.  It was good all around, both the drink, and then the walk, both excellent for the health.  Isn't that just about everything? Good physical and health conditions, in order to execute services to Him and to all.

May the Source be with you!
4 km

Thursday, December 26th, 2019
→ The Walking Monk

Toronto, Ontario

I See in Your Body

From the script, "The Gita," wherein Krishna reveals His Cosmic Form, Arjuna observes:

 ARJUNA: I see in your body hundreds of thousands of divine and multicoloured forms.  I see creatures of the water, creatures of the air and creatures of the land.  I see various demigods.  I see Brahma sitting on a lotus flower.  I see Shiva who rides on his bull.  I see divine serpents. 

I see in your body many, many arms, bellies, mouths and eyes expanded everywhere without limit.  I see your glaring effulgence spreading everywhere like blazing fire.  The sun, the moon, are your eyes. The host of demigods are entering into you.  They are afraid.  They are praying!  SWASTI! SWASTI! SWASTI!

Your incredible form is creating fear in the hearts of all.

I see Duryodhana.  I see Bhisma.  I see Drona.  And other chief soldiers rushing into your terrible jaws, their heads smashed between your fearful teeth.  I see you devouring people from all sides.

Oh Lord of Lords.  Please tell me who you really are?

KRISHNA: I am time, destroyer of the worlds.  I have come to annihilate the wrong.  With the exception of you, the Pandavas, all soldiers on both sides will be slain.

Arise!  Prepare for duty.  Your enemies are already put to death by my arrangement.  Be an instrument in the fight.

The above is recited while our actors play it out in our upcoming drama, "The Gita," on January 1st.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6ktt-8gR1d/?igshid=1n1jxbkrzcmg1

May the Source be with you!
0 km

Wednesday, December 25th, 2019
→ The Walking Monk

Mississauga/Toronto

More Depth

Dharma just had his birthday, and to celebrate, Rajasuya conducted an agnihotra, a mild version of a fire sacrifice.  Actually, this time he gave training to Surabhi, his wife, and so the ceremony went on in what you might say was a Vedic version of honouring Christmas.  That was in Mississauga.

Back in Toronto, I had a chat with Billy, and I asked him his feelings about the Christmas season.  It can be joyful for some.  For others—a time of depression.  He suggested that we try to deepen our feelings of devotion before trying to go up or out.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B6iE7H3AsVC/?igshid=1cbdg6763p988

I then asked him for a favour.  "Maybe you can make this a Christmas gift."

"Sure," he said.

"Drive me to a spot about seven kilometres from my home base, here at the temple, and I'll walk back."

"I can do that; I'm going to North York," he said with an eagerness to execute.  

At that moment, Durjoy, whose birthday was today (he turned twenty-eight) passed by.  He came over specifically to find me and to go for a birthday walk.  Durjoy also climbed into Billy's car, and drove with us to Glengrove and Yonge, where Billy left us to amble along, going in a gradual downhill fashion.

I would say that Durjoy and I were dipping and deepening that hour and a half by walking and chanting.  The rule was: as little talk as possible.  We completed our mission.  It was good because less chat can mean more depth.

May the Source be with you!
7 km

WSN November 2019 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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By Vijaya Das

Generally people reach the ages of 55 to 65 and gradually retire. But two devotees in the Los Angeles temple, Bhrgupati Prabhu and Sacitanoy Prabhu, now 68 and 67, respectively, are a sankirtan team. They go out daily on book distribution, except on weekends, and do huge. Recently, these two non-decrepit book distributors were in the top twenty worldwide. Brghupati is No. 6 for November, with 4,328 book points, and Saci Tanoy is No. 19, with 1,270 book points. They are good examples of what Srila Prabhupada wanted: devotees who dedicate their lives to the spreading of Krsna consciousness. Bhrgupati has been distributing since 1973 and Sacitanoy since 1979 (in Spanish and English). When you see Bhrgupati distributing, it's amazing. He has the energy of a teenager and ageless enthusiasm. I hope that they both continue for more years being great examples of devotees who give their all, from youth through old age, for Krishna's pleasure. Continue reading "WSN November 2019 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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When Ram Dass visited the Hare Krishna temple
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When Ram Dass visited the Hare Krishna temple.
Narottamananda das ACBSP: 1969, a beautiful spring day: almost 2 years after the summer of love. Many of the students at the University of Buffalo were gathered outside enjoying the sun and good weather, some throwing, some chasing Frisbees, others chatting and lounging on the grass. Perhaps only 50 or 100 students out of 20,000 came to the hall to hear the speaker, Richard Alpert, Baba Ram Dass, who had worked with Timothy Leary at Harvard and who was known for his experimentation with psychedelics.

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Where do we get our individuality from – matter or spirit?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Answer Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save content”

 

Transcriber: Dr Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Sharan Shetty

Question: Where do we get our individuality from – matter or spirit?

Answer: The spirit soul is said to be sac-cid-ananda (sat means eternal, cit means knowledge and ananda means bliss). The principle of sac-cid-ananda is very lofty because to understand that something is made of eternity, consciousness and bliss is very difficult since all three of them appear to be unquantifiable.

In general, the nature of spiritual existence is not easily comprehensible. Krishna confirms in Bhagavad-gita 2.25 with the word acintyo ’yam (soul is inconceivable) which means not only Krishna is achintya (inconceivable) but the soul is also achintya. The shastric description of sac-cid-ananda explains the composition or the defining characteristic of the soul. Along with that, the Vedic scriptures also explain that each of us are a part and parcel of Krishna.

In Bhagavad-gita 15.7, Krishna says, mamaivamsho jiva-loke jiva-bhutaḥ sanatanah (the living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts).
Each of us is a unique individual and we all have our original spiritual identity. We are not just a spark of consciousness or a small atom made of sac-cid-ananda. We have our individuality as a spiritual person. However, from a material point of view, our individual personality comes both from our subtle body (mind, intelligence, false ego) and our gross material body. Our individuality can be known by the fact that we all think differently and look different. Even if we look same, we still think differently. For example, twins may physically appear same, but they have individual personality and thoughts.

It cannot be known if there is a relationship between our material individuality and spiritual individuality and it is not necessary that there has to be a relationship. For example, those who are manjari (maidservants) in Lord Krishna’s past-times, they became Goswami in Lord Chaitanya’s past-time. If we look at the role of manjaris and the lives of the Goswami, they seem very different from a material point of view, but they are the same person manifested in a different way. Hence, there may or may not be any similarity between our present individuality and our eternal individuality. However, important point is that bhakti means the willingness to serve Krishna with whatever we have now.

In future, if we have something better then we can definitely do something better for Krishna but right now what we have, can and should be used in Krishna’s service. Thus, we see our present individuality also as a gift from Krishna and we try to use it in his service to the best of our capacity. Even if the present individuality is coming from our subtle and gross bodies, still it is in some way reflection of our original individuality. We are originally spiritual individuals and we have spiritual desires which may get reflected, refracted, distorted due to material contact because of which we manifest our material individuality. Therefore, from a material or a spiritual point of view, we are unique individuals and we should use what we have in Krishna’s service. Thus, by using our present individuality to serve Krishna, gradually our spiritual individuality will be manifested.

End of Transcription.

The post Where do we get our individuality from – matter or spirit? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Ready for 2020?
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Before we welcome 2020, here is a quick summary of 2019.

We got a new editor of KKSBlog, released new (and free) e-books, introduced a new online shop manager, published less articles but live-streamed more videos of kirtans and lectures from Maharaj’s travels across the world. With the shift in management, there has been a greater focus on free items and streaming videos on our YouTube channel, which quickly gained over 1000 subscribers in December 2019. Exciting times!

A new editor

Ragalekha Dasi has been our in-house editor for many years. She personally set the high standard of editing and tremendously improved the quality of materials published on KKSBlog. She has been an invaluable part of our team as an editor, a transcriber and, last but certainly not least, providing most of the regular media articles with audio recordings, which she personally edited. This suffices to say that we still miss her as an integral part of the KKSBlog team and we take this opportunity to thank Ragalekha Dasi for all the hard work she put into KKSBlog over the years. Haribol!

Our new editor obviously had some big shoes to fill in. As Krsna would have it, He arranged for the perfect candidate. Already in May 2018, a sincere devotee offered his services to KKSBlog as an assistant editor. And as of May 2019, we welcomed Nara Nārāyaṇa Dāsa from Australia as our new in-house editor. Together as a team, we will try to live up to the standards set by Ragalekha Dasi!

Giving

From 2019 and going forward, we are releasing more free media starting with e-books. You can download them directly from the ebook page.

Online shop

The shop and its sales has been the lifeline for KKSBlog to cover the yearly costs. This year, under the expert guidance of Gopali Devi Dasi, we distributed over 600 CDs, many e-books and created new digital download cards. The latest release is the New York kirtan album and Part 2 is already planned! If you would like to help with the distribution or have any questions regarding the sales, please contact Gopali Devi Dasi by sending all your sales & service questions to sales@kksblog.com

Spotify & Youtube

Over 1000 subscribers on YouTube, 1200 listeners on Spotify and lots of room to grow. Did you know that all recent music albums are available on iTunes, Apple Music, Google Music, Spotify and even Amazon?! Launch your favorite streaming app on your mobile device and search for Kadamba Kanana Swami. Every stream will generate revenue for us, so we can grow even bigger!

Podcasts?

We plan to add all classes, seminars, kirtans, bhajans and other media as podcasts. Check out our new SoundCloud account or take your smartphone, start your podcast app and search for Kadamba Kanana Swami. Bliss guaranteed!

Favorite articles in 2019

The Vyasa-Puja and Braja Parikrama articles always attract their fair share of views, as do the golden oldies. Luckily, we have a new contender for the Number 1 spot, and that is the new e-book page with all the freely downloadable books in PDF, EPUB and Kindle formats. Launched a few months ago, and already going up the list! Check it out for yourself.

  1. Vrindavan Parikama 2019
  2. Quotes from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
  3. Jaipur – Braja Parikrama
  4. Media VP2019
  5. The Prayers of Prahlad
  6. Vrindavan Parikrama nov. 2018 – audio recordings
  7. PDF e-book collection
  8. The Demons represent Anarthas
  9. Loneliness is Maya
  10. The Age of Forgiveness

Which city are you from?

The question you get asked a lot while travelling in India. Well, here is the answer.

world map visitors

United Kingdom has beaten the United States of America this year with almost 3000 views more than in 2018! (see last year’s article). When will they beat India?

Financial Report 2019

At the beginning of 2019, the online shop management was changed and it is now taken care by Gopali Devi Dasi. Going forward, per request of Kadamba Kanana Swami, the financing of KKSBlog will be covered by the yearly Vyasa-Puja donations.

Before 2 Mar 2019
Hosting, security & Software (KBH)€ 579.85
Shipping costs (KBS)€ 0.00
Bank, PayPal, Bandcamp fees (KBF)€ 0.00
Streaming platform costs (KBST)€ 134.44€29.96
Hardware investments (KBI)€ 339.10€765.85
Product costs (KBP)€ 0.00
Other costs (KBO)€ 0.00€110.00
Total Costs€ 1,053.39€905.81
Total Income*€ 64.10€132.10
Balance€ -989.29€ -773.71

* These were sales from Q1 2019. The balance will be covered by the donations received from Vyasa-Puja.

Thank You

From all of us here at KKSBlog, we thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm throughout 2019 and wish you all a safe holiday season!

The article " Ready for 2020? " was published on KKSBlog.

Offerings to Srila Prabhupada by Sri Sri Vishveshwara Tirth Swami of Udupi (23 min. video)
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Offerings to Srila Prabhupada by Sri Sri Vishveshwara Tirth Swami of Udupi during the annual yatra of HH Radhanath Swami to Udupi (23 min. video). Great Slokas of Sri Vishveshwara Tritha Swami talking on Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! The most beautiful video I ever saw. It is beyond words. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to all the vaishnavas.

(This post has been viewed 433 times so far)

ISKCON Congregation Newsletter December 2019
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“I am the only gardener. How many places can I go? How many fruits can I pick and distribute? It would certainly be a very laborious task to pick the fruits and distribute them alone, and still I suspect that some would receive them and others would not. Therefore I order every man within this universe to accept this Krishna consciousness movement and distribute it everywhere.” - Lord Caitanya (C.C, Adi. 9.34-36).
(This post has been viewed 357 times so far)