[Online Gita key verses course]

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Podcast Summary

Video:

The post Gita key verses course 1 – What is the Gita? How is the Gita relevant today? Gita 1.1 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Answer Podcast

The post Is the Gita a later insertion in the Mahabharata? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The devotees in Bali always enjoy kirtan, whether at the temple, on harinama, or at home programs. The TP of Jagannatha Gauranga temple invited me to a program at his new shop in Sanur.

The atmosphere was surcharged with chanting and I also gave a lecture extolling the virtues of the holy name of the Lord. Everyone was happy and at the end there was wonderful prasadam.

Srila Prabhupada’s quarters in Vrindavana prior to his coming to the West
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Been serving for so long but still… not even the aroma of Krishna?
BB Govinda Swami: Sometimes devotees say: “Oh, He has forgotten us. Oh, I’ve been chanting Hare Krishna for five years, so much sincere service I’m doing, but still…. not even the aroma of Krishna. What to speak of seeing Krishna! Has He forgotten us? Is He hard-hearted? Is He indifferent? Why doesn’t he respond? Why doesn’t He reciprocate with us?

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 8 January 2017, Brisbane, Australia, Govinda’s Program Lecture)

The material world is dominated by lust. That is what this world is all about; lust somehow or another in so many varieties and forms. The spiritual domain however, is dominated by love. 

Lust is self-centred; lust is ultimately asking, “What is in it for me?” Love on the hand is giving, love is aiming to please others. So that is spiritual consciousness, pleasing others. That is the essence of the spiritual world. This mantra that we are chanting, it comes directly from the spiritual world. And it is this mantra that leads us to the spiritual world, it lifts us up. At first a little, and then more and gradually fully to the spiritual platform, where we begin to understand that giving is the essence of existence. That is the only way we will be satisfied. And it is at this point that we realise that service to the Supreme Lord is really what our existence is all about. That is the perfection of life. 

The article " From lust to love " was published on KKSBlog.

Chandelier Model of the Universe

Architecture lies where science and spirituality meet. This nexus endures the aesthetic impressions coupled with functional propositions. Our unprecedented chandelier has taken the entire team on a beautiful journey, which has finally arrived at the brink of reality.

Special gratitude to Antardwip Prabhu who has consistently poured his heart, talent, and intelligence into this mind-blowing venture for years.

Click here to see it in your browser or download a copy to your desktop for offline reading.

The post TOVP Architecture Department Report – December, 2019 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

So the conclusion is if Krishna saves, nobody can kill; and if Krishna wants to kill, nobody can save. Therefore our conclusion should be that we should always be under the protection of Krishna. Avasya raknibe Krishna this is saranagati, or surrender. Surrender means, “I am surrendering to Krishna with full faith that He is quite competent to give me protection.” This is called surrender. Continue reading "Krishna’s Presence Ensures Protection
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Every civilized person is familiar with the concept of seva or service. Service can be of different types and of different qualities. At home, every member of the family is serving everyone else. Traditionally, the father traditionally earns for the family and is therefore known as the “breadwinner,” while the mother takes care of the home itself by cooking, cleaning, and creating a comfortable and congenial atmosphere. The children obey their parents and perform basic chores or run minor errands, according to the desires of the parents. Continue reading "The Highest Charity
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I remember years ago my sister arguing with my mum and dad. "How can we eat animals? Isn't it cruel?" Don't be silly, she was told; they are meant to be our food. What else is the point of their existence? But the Vedas tell a different story. Like any human, animals are living beings in this world trying to enjoy. Just our bodies differ, but our basic desires are the same. We all want happiness. Sometimes, due to the nature of our desires, we may be obliged to accept an animal body. In fact the word used in the Vedas for meat is mamsa, which means, "you shall be me (if you eat me)." Continue reading "Poor Cows
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The cow is integral to the economic, cultural and spiritual well being of Hindus (and all human beings)
HH Krishna Ksetra Swami: I presented a copy of my book ‘Cow Care in Hindu Animal Ethics’ to Dr. Nanditha Krishna, President of the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation and author of several books, here in Chennai. Dr. Krishna kindly wrote an endorsement for the book, on quite short notice, prior to its publication (included in the book’s front matter):

The TOVP Architecture Department has produced this second inspirational video in an effort to express their profound appreciation for the magnificent project which they are dedicated to, and to celebrate the devotees who work together on this creative and innovative team.

The post A TOVP Architecture and Design Department Video appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

HH Radhanath Swami offered the title deed of the Bhakti Center in Manhattan to Srila Prabhupada (4 min. video)
This happened yesterday (Dec 16, 2019). HH Radhanath Swami offered the title deed of the Bhakti Center in Manhattan, NYC, to Srila Prabhupada and the Deities before he left to fly back to India. See beautiful 3-min video shot by Susan Hu. Powerful Kirtan by Acyuta Gopi and her family!
Thanks to the generous support of our donors and the Bhakti Center’s able management headed by Vira Tansey and Sundarnath prabhu, the Bhakti Center’s mortgage was paid off last week. Onward and upward!

Answer Podcast

The post How can we know if worldly desires come from our heart or our mind – What happens if such desires come while chanting? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

But why are the best things so hard to do?
Monday morning. It’s cold, wet and windy. It’s time to face the world. It’s another day on book distribution! I remember returning from my first day on book distribution and being advised to do the unthinkable – “go and have a cold shower!” What! I’d already been standing in the freezing cold all day! The logic was that a warm shower cleanses your physical body, but a cold shower cleanses your subtle body – all the negative energy that we absorb from a day in the urban jungle is cleansed away by cooling waters. After an intense bout of mental warfare, I did it, and it was actually amazing (but only after it was finished!). I’ve never seen the scientific evidence for it, but you can definitely feel the purifying effect. The same person told me that book distribution was like a cold shower – in fact, he said, progressive life is like a cold shower – the beginning is always the most difficult, but everything works out if you muster up the determination and drive to make the first steps. Building momentum takes bucket loads of energy, but once you’re flowing, it’s effortless.

An actual pair of shoes worn by Srila Prabhupada that are kept in safe custody in Radha Govinda Mandir (NYC), benedicting HH Radhanath Swami. RGM’s temple President Hansarupa Prabhu is holding them.

Jaya and Vijaya are the celebrated gatekeepers of Vaikuntha, and in most major Vishnu temples their murtis are found guarding the temple entranceway. The TOVP will also have their murtis placed at its entranceway.

Here is a clip we shot in the honor of moving Jaya to his rightful place. This is a very celebratory moment for us, and we are glad to finally see it happen! We will soon commence the painting of this monumental murti with wonderful pastel shades. He will be supported by a wonderful pink sandstone base which will compliment the surrounding embellishments made of sandstone such as the Jaipuri windows and columns. Jaya is looking very grand and majestic at the entrance of the temple.

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The post Moving Jaya to His Proper Location appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Material attachment weakens our heart whilst spiritual affection strengthens it. Most of our material desires remain unfulfilled. And if somehow some gets fulfilled then soon we find that it does not give us same pleasure as we had expected and soon we get bored. This is why great minds in the past and holy scriptures have always spoken about the futility of material cravings. Then why to waste our invaluable life running after worldly things? Instead let us take a bold decision, step out from the material mindset and look towards Krishna. Continue reading "Calm the hungry and angry heart
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Some people hold that, having been prophesied by scripture, by Lord Chaitanya and by the previous acharyas, if Srila Prabhupada had not spread Krishna Consciousness, some other devotee, or some group of devotees, would have been empowered to do so in Srila Prabhupada's place. In other words, the prophecy to spread Krishna Consciousness around the world relied on empowerment, rather than an empowered individual, for its fulfillment. It is similar to saying that if we were empowered like Hanuman, we could also jump to Lanka. But is empowerment all that is needed? Can anyone by empowerment do any prophesied task as well as anyone else? Continue reading "Who went West – Srila Prabhupada or the Holy Name?
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Srila Prabhupada wanted us to set up ISKCON as an almost self-contained, devotional society, with our own schools, farms, economy, and social system. So far we have not completely realized that ambition, though there are some very good schools and options for those who want to live a life of 'full-time' engagement in ISKCON. But we also have large 'outside congregations' of devotee (like myself) who have our own jobs, careers, and community engagements. Continue reading "Spiritual Communism, Organized Religion, Varnasrama-Dharma, and Self-Reliance
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Answer Podcast

The post What is the role of attachment or detachment in householder life? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Disappearance Day (Album of photos)
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami Prabhupada, the spiritual master of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, left this world in 1937 in Sri Gaudiya Math, Baghbazar, Kolkata. His samadhi mandir currently is located in Sri Mayapur Dham in Sri Chaitanya Math, which is the parent math of all the Gaudiya Maths. We were very fortunate to visit both the places and especially enter his room in Baghbazar Gaudiya Math where entry is restricted. We were able to photograph his belongings and the bed on which he departed.
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Judging others? (15 min video) by HH Radhanath Swami.
Judgment shuts us down and keeps us from understanding the full situation. If we’re being honest, most judgments about people are based on incomplete information.

Ananda Vrindavaneswari Devi Dasi: A simple definition of meditation is to ‘think deeply about something’. A broader definition includes ‘to think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.’ Other good words for meditation are – to ponder, reflect, contemplate, muse, ruminate, or lost in thought.

Hare Kṛṣṇa Food for Life Auckland NZ (Album of photos)
Celebrating the Xmas/end of the year with the community by serving plates of delicious plant-based food to a full house of appreciative guests at Massey Community Hub.
One of many FFL outreach programs organized by Haripriya dd with help from Sukhomala dd.

Chanting On The Shores Of Africa (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: This weekend we chanted on the Durban beachfront here in sunny South Africa. Spontaneously so many people joined in with us. Seeing this I realized once again how universal is our process; simply chanting, dancing and feasting. Thank you Lord Caitanya! Afterwards, we returned to New Jagannath Puri, our temple north of Durban and continued with kirtan.

ISKCON farms have some great successes, and some great failures too, but with the money ISKCON now has, and the large congregation of young devotees, it has tremendous opportunity for self-sufficient farms. The idea that the modern age has changed the opportunity for simple living and high thinking on farms is not true. Self-sufficiency as it was on 1950's farms could be easily replicated today by any young and very hard working devotee couple. Continue reading "Tomatoes from Heaven
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The famed Time Machine is now a serious inevitability, according to many. One scientist says that he wants to go back to the past to see his deceased father and possibly help him with present-day medicine.If Krishna says that He is Time and is the destroyer of all things, including our karma, then what type of power or technology can oppose this? Going back into the past means to undo karma and to undo history. Continue reading "Black Holes And Gaping Mouths
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Cow protection, as set forth by Srila Prabhupada was not merely that the cow and the bull lead a full and natural life, but that they also be jolly, as a member of a family would feel. Cows and bulls are happy to be fed and brushed. While cows like to be milked, the main source of pleasure for the ox has been obscured by the tractor. An ox is a bull who has surrendered his procreative potential, transforming that energy into a submissive and manageable temperament capable of being trained and utilized for agricultural and transportation services. As a father figure he loves to provide for his family of humans by pursuing his occupation in the field which assures a source of income and prosperity to mankind. Continue reading "Prosperity of the Earth Culture
→ Dandavats"

Our Radha Govinda temple is in the hills outside of Jakarta at an area called Puncak. It’s very beautiful but getting there can take a long time depending on the traffic conditions.

I regularly visit and it’s always a pleasure having darshana of Their Lordships in the very peaceful atmosphere. It’s a small acreage but full of flowers, fruits, vegetables and an area for a goshala.

Answer Podcast

Transcription :

Transcriber: Sharan Shetty

Edited by: Keshavgopal Das

Question: How can we know if we are sincere?

Answer: There are different levels of sincerity in our practice of bhakti. It does not necessarily be either zero or one.

In Gita 12.8-12, Lord Krishna explains a progression. First, he says, be spontaneously absorbed in me. If it is not possible then be conscientiously absorbed. If you cannot be conscientiously absorbed, then serve me. If you cannot serve me, then work and give the fruits to me. If you cannot do that, then work and give the fruits to some good cause.

Lord expectation is that we get out of our self-obsession and connect with him. Hence, he has given us various levels by which we can gradually reach him.

Rather than thinking whether we are sincere or not, we focus on what best we can do. It can be as simple as listing down three things which we can do better and offer a sincere prayer to Krishna asking for strength to help us achieve those things. Therefore, there is internal prayer and remembrance of Krishna and external action.

We can judge the purity of water with the help of a meter but there is no meter to judge the purity of our heart. Therefore, we should make sure that overall our actions are going in the right direction and when they go wrong, we do the needful to get them in the right direction.

It is difficult, at our level, to look at sincerity as a virtue that we can evaluate in our hearts. We can look at our actions and try to make those more sincere. If we act like that, then gradually sincerity will be cultivated.

Another thing we can do is observe our responses when non-devotional or anti-devotional emotions come within us (and they will come up inevitably). Do we welcome them, or do we try to avoid them? Krishna sees not just our feelings but also feelings about our feelings. For example, sometimes we just don’t feel like chanting, reading, or associate with devotees etc. These are just temporary moods. Mind is a machine of its own which works according to the modes of material nature. Sometimes such unfavourable feelings may come up, but Krishna sees how we deal with them when they come.

He sees if we are taking such occasions as an excuse to avoid our sadhana or are we trying to avoid such feelings and desiring to connect with Krishna. Such a positive attitude is also an indicator of our sincerity.

Just the presence of non-devotional feelings does not mean lack of sincerity. Similarly, just the presence of devotional feelings does not mean the presence of sincerity. Feelings will keep changing. Our overall attitude, purpose and action are the best ways to understand our sincerity.

End of transcription.

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