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 ]

https://www.facebook.com/indradyumna/posts/10216261894442982

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.

Grand Opening 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.

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
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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)

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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Answer Podcast

The post How can we keep our emtions steady amid varying situations? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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.

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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

'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

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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.

The post Does science come from spirituality or is it made by man? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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

Krsna’s Deity and Krsna are not different. I was explaining this morning, Krsna has come, kindly, to accept your service as you can deal with Him. If Krsna comes in His gigantic form – Krsna has got gigantic form also, as it was shown to Arjuna – you will not be able to capture Him, neither you have any means to dress Him. Suppose the universal form of Krsna is there, and you have to dress Him, [laughter] so the whole cloth factory will be finished. [laughter] Is it not? How you can dress? You have no capacity to dress. But Krsna has kindly accepted a form, the Deity.

As we are gearing up for the upcoming festivities in Shri DhamMayapur, this post is intended to give Mayapur Community and devotees visiting Mayapur for festival, comprehensive overview and guidance on the Corona Virus outbreak which is already announced by WHO as a global emergency. In Mayapur, the presence of a wonderful local and international […]

The post Visiting Mayapur for Festival- Advisory on Corona Virus appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Pune was the No. 1 temple in the world, with 663,371 book points. Who would have thought twenty years ago that Pune will be on top? Back then, the temple had just a little center in the city, and now there’s also an enormous temple, an immense congregation, and over a hundred brahmacaris. ISV also had a huge marathon and ended up No. 2 in the world, with 161,211 book points. For 2019, ISV was No. 1 in the Western hemisphere. This is a temple no one lives in, except the Deities. It's a congregational temple, inspired by the famous Vaisesika Prabhu, completely fired up to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books Continue reading "WSN December 2019 – World Sankirtan Newsletter. Pune No. 1 temple in the world! ISV No. 2!
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Material life is when we put the flickering pleasures and securities of the mind and the senses in the center of our lives, our decisions, our aspirations, our goals are according. Spiritual life or true bhakti is when we put the pleasures of God or Krishna in the center of our life— what pleases Krishna, all of our decisions, our aspirations are orchestrated accordingly. Continue reading "The Pastimes of Srila Madhvacharya
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Madhvacarya's advent was principally to counter and defeat the Mayavad conclusions. In South India despite Ramanujacarya's aggressive preaching for many years and very potent dissemination of the principle of pure bhakti there was still Mayavad that was well entrenched. And the Mayavadis were also becoming very aggressive and they were spreading like anything everywhere. So Madhvacarya's purpose of advent was essentially to be like a connecting link between Sankara and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu if one looks at it like that. Continue reading "Appearance Anniversary of Srila Madhvacarya
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Sri Advaita Acarya (video)
Caitanya-caritamrita Class by HG Mukunda Datta Prabhu at ISKCON Vrindavan

Answer Podcast

Transcription

Question: Does karma continue perpetually because we hurt others and they hurt us back as a reaction again and again?

Does karma have a perpetual succession?

Answer: It doesn’t have to have. What it means is that, say, if A comes and slaps B, and B goes back and slaps A, and A punches B, and then B punches A, then A takes a stick and beats B, and then B takes a mace and beats A. It keeps escalating. It is said that if you follow an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, then the whole world will become eyeless and toothless. It will become blind and toothless. So, it has to stop somewhere.

Now, as far as karma is concerned, what is the purpose? People are not programmed devices. Everybody has free will. If A has hurt B, now A has to get consequences for that. But if B starts giving the consequences, then it is like taking the law in one’s own hands. Nowadays, the police and politicians are perceived to be corrupt; so, there are a lot of movies coming out about vigilante justice. Vigilante justice means somebody themselves takes the law, this person has done this crime or this person is a gangster, this person is a terrorist, and some hero goes and kills all of them. Now, in movies, vigilante justice might seem like a nice thing, but actually, once you start taking the law in our own hands, then it is dangerous. Whenever a law is made, we should not just see what is the good that can be done when the law is applied, but we also need to see what is the bad that can be done when the law is misapplied. That is the responsibility of every lawful person. So, taking the law in one’s own hands, I may take the law in my own hands to kill somebody who is bad, but tomorrow, somebody else may take the law in their hand and they may kill somebody good. So, you cannot have lawlessness like that.

The idea is that if somebody has done bad, then there are legal ways of seeking consequences for that. In the past, there were killings, now there are governments and if those means don’t work or if those means require too much work and you don’t want to get into it, then you may decide, okay, probably this was my past karma, let me accept it and move on. You get exhausted. Now, if through some legal means, somebody is given some punishment, and if the legal system is reasonably good, then that is like a retribution or punishment for their wrong and then it gets over.

It is only when we take the law in our own hands and we start doing wrong, then that is how it goes on. Sometimes it is said that if you kill a cow, then you will become a cow in the next life and the cow will become a human and the cow will kill you. Now, this is a possibility, but it is not necessary that it has to happen like this. These kinds of descriptions are indicative of the principle of the law of karma. It is not that karma has to be perpetual because if we say that all cow killers will become cows, then can you say that all cows were cow killers in the previous life? That would be a ridiculous argument. Cows are gentle and you say all cows are cow killers in the previous life and therefore, just to give them the karmic punishment, all cows should be killed. That would be a ridiculous argument, isn’t it? So, it is not implicit that karma is perpetual. Whenever there is an action, there is a consequence, but how the consequence comes, that will determine whether it will just escalate or it will end over there.

End of transcription.

This story was heard from the pujari at Sri Advaita Acharya’s house in Shantipur, West Bengal. He came to the ISKCON Chaitanya Chandrodoya Mandir with a copy of the Back to Godhead article about Srila Prabhupada entitled “A Lifetime in Preparation.”

Just recently an amazing realization occurred to me that I wanted to share with devotees everywhere. I have been the pujari and sevaite at the house of Advaita Acharya for many years. I was also there back in the 1940s and ’50s. At that time, I noticed that one grihastha Bengali devotee was coming to the temple quite regularly. He was dressed in a white khadi dhoti and kurta, and he always came alone. He would sit in the back of the mandir without speaking and would chant harinama on his mala very quietly and deeply. He came on the weekends, usually once every month or two. After chanting there for many hours, he would always thank me when he left. His presence was profound, and I became attracted to him. Since his devotions were solitary, I never spoke to disturb him. Sometimes I happened to notice that while he was chanting, his eyes would be full of tears.

Then, for a very long time, he did not come. But in August of 1965 I saw a saffron-clothed sannyasi sitting in the back of the mandir and recognized him to be my old friend. Again he sat for a long time chanting Hare Krishna. I could see his beads moving, his eyes closed in concentrated devotion. He was weeping unabashedly, even more than he used to, while he took the holy name. Finally, as evening came, he paid his dandavata pranama for long time. When he arose he came up to me and again thanked me for my seva here at Advaita Bhavan. I asked him, “Who are you? I remember you from so long ago.”

He replied, ‘My name is Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja. I am an unworthy disciple of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada, my divine master. I have been coming here for such a long time because my gurudeva has given me an impossible mission. His desire was for me to go across the ocean to the Western countries and spread the sublime teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There are countless souls there who have never heard of Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, and so they are suffering greatly. I have not known how this mission of his will be successful, so I have been coming here to this special house of Advaita Acharya, where He, Nityananda Prabhu, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would gather together to plan the sankirtana movement. It was here that They launched the inundation of love of God that swept India and continues to this day. Thus I have been praying very earnestly here that They will all give me Their mercy that somehow They will empower me and guide me. I want to satisfy my gurudeva’s desire, but I am feeling unqualified to do this.”

As he was speaking to me, I saw tears falling down on his cheeks again. Then he continued, “Tomorrow I am leaving for Calcutta to go upon a ship across the ocean, to America. I do not know what will befall me there, but I am praying most earnestly here for help.” Then he very humbly asked me for my blessings. I was moved by this Vaishnava’s sincerity and determination as I watched him depart upon his journey.

It was a few years later that I began noticing, for the first time, white Vaishnavas coming to Advaita Bhavan. They were wearing dhotis and saris and chanting on tulasi-mala. I never spoke to any of them, but then one of them gave me this Back to Godhead magazine from America. As I looked at the photographs, suddenly I recognized a picture of the Founder-Acarya who had brought Krishna consciousness to the West. It was my friend Bhaktivedanta Swami, who had come and prayed here so many times before. Then I realized that he has actually accomplished that impossible mission of his gurudeva. I saw that it was he, starting alone and without pretense, who had accomplished this glorious miracle against all odds.

As soon as I saw this, I came here to his temple in Mayapur to tell you this information. I know that he has gone from this world now, but I thought perhaps you might want to know this story about your and my beloved Srila Prabhupada.

—Our Srila Prabhupada, A Friend to All, Compiled by Mulaprakrti devi dasi