About 100 people, including local devotees, parents and family they had invited, and members of the Indian community attended this year’s Thanksgiving program at ISKCON’s New Goloka Dham in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Mercy means we are increasing our relationship with Krsna.

Kadamba Kanana Swami

This quote is part of the morning class on Srimad Bhagavatam 4.25.50. Kadamba Kanana Swami was in Melbourne on the 20st of Nov 2019.

Watch the video below for the whole class or visit Youtube.

The article " Mercy means… " was published on KKSBlog.

The Bhagavad-gita is also known as the Gitopanishad and is considered one of the Upanishads. The title Bhagavad-gita is sometimes translated as “The Song of God.” Gita means “song.” God, Krishna, is so sublime that whatever He speaks is music and poetry. The word bhagavan has been analyzed by Vedic authorities. Bhaga means “opulence” and is related to the word bhagya: “good fortune.” And van means “one who possesses.” So bhagavan means “He who possesses all opulence in full.”

aisvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayos caiva
sannam bhaga itingana

“Full wealth, strength, fame, beauty, knowledge, and renunciation—these are the six opulences of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Vishnu Purana 6.5.47)

All of us possess some wealth. I may have ten dollars, but if I look I will find someone who has a hundred dollars. And if I look further, I will find someone who has a thousand dollars, and a million, and a billion. But no one can say that he has all the wealth in all creation, that no one is equal to or greater than him in wealth. When we come to that person who has all wealth—no one is equal to or greater than him—that is Bhagavan, Krishna.

The Bhagavad-gita was originally spoken by Krishna to Arjuna. As stated in the Gita (4.1),

   sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave ’bravit

“The Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Iksvaku.” In this way, the knowledge was passed on through disciplic succession from one to the next to the next. But in the course of time, that chain became broken.

evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa

“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost.” (Gita 4.2) Nasta means “spoiled.” You may have a nice plate of prasada, but if you leave it aside and it becomes old and contaminated, it becomes nasta, spoiled. It is food, but you don’t get the benefit. To get the real benefit of the Bhagavad-gita, one must receive it through parampara (evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh).

Five thousand years ago, Lord Krishna detected that the chain was broken and that, consequently, the knowledge was lost. So He came again and spoke the Bhagavad-gita again, to Arjuna: “Now, Arjuna, you become the first recipient of this knowledge in the new chain, so that the knowledge is received and presented as it is.” Srila Prabhupada called his translation of the Gita the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. “As it is” means as Krishna spoke it five thousand years ago and as Arjuna understood it.

How did Arjuna understand it? First, he accepted Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead:

  arjuna uvaca
param brahma param dhama
pavitram paramam bhavan
purusam sasvatam divyam
adi-devam ajam vibhum

“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original person, the unborn, the greatest.” (Gita 10.12)

And he accepted everything that Krishna said as true: sarvam etad rtam manye yan mam vadasi kesava—“O Krsna, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me.” (Gita 10.14) “I accept whatever You say, in toto.” He did not discriminate that he liked some parts of the Gita and not other parts. Sarvam etad rtam manye: “I accept in toto everything that You have said.”

If we begin to discriminate, “I like this portion, but I don’t like that portion,” we become implicated in ardha-kukkuti-nyaya, “half-hen” logic. A farmer had a hen that was laying eggs. But the farmer thought that only the hind portion was valuable, because that part was giving eggs, but that the neck portion was simply troublesome, because it just ate food. He concluded, “I will cut the neck portion, which is just a botheration, and keep the hind portion, which gives eggs.” And when he did, of course, the hen died and there were no more eggs.

One verse in the Bhagavad-gita that is popular among some people states, karmany evadhikaras te: “You are entitled to do your duty.” They think, “I can do my duty. I can go to work. I can make and spend money. I can take care of my family, live with my family, enjoy with my family and friends. That is a precious instruction.” But when they come to sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja—give up all varieties of religiousness and surrender to Krishna—that is a little troublesome, and they want to cut that part: “We don’t really need it. We’ll just keep the really valuable part: I can do my duty.”

In order to get the full benefit of the Bhagavad-gita, it is essential to accept it as it is. Devotees who have accepted it as it is and applied its principles in their lives have undergone extraordinary transformations. This knowledge can really help people. And any genuine person who gets something good will naturally want to share it with others. Anyone who has imbibed the nectar of the Bhagavad-gita, gotten the benefit of the Bhagavad-gita, will want to share the knowledge with others. It is natural. If you are eating a nice plate of prasada and taste something really good, it is natural to say, “You should try this; it’s really good.” Anyone—any child—will do that. So, when you actually experience the benefit of the Bhagavad-gita in your life, you will naturally want to share the knowledge with others so that they too can benefit and become happy.

Now, why did Krishna choose Arjuna to be the first student of the Bhagavad-gita? Arjuna was not a sannyasi. He was a married man. And he was not a brahman. He was a warrior. Why Arjuna? Krishna explains,

sa evayam maya te ’dya
yogah proktah puratanah
bhakto ’si me sakha ceti
rahasyam hy etad uttamam

“That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.” (Gita 4.3) The main qualification for understanding the Gita is bhakto ’si me, to be Lord Krishna’s devotee. And later Krishna says that one should hear the Gita with faith and without envy (sraddhavan anasuyas ca srnuyad api yo narah). (Gita 18.71) This is a crucial point: to get the true benefit of the Gita, one must be a devotee.

What does it mean to be a devotee? Sometimes the word devotee is used quite broadly. To begin, let us understand devotee in contrast to karmi, jnani, and yogi. These are all technical (as well as general) terms. A karmi engages in fruitive work. He works for personal gain: “I have worked and earned. Now I have the right to enjoy the fruit.” That is 90 percent of the world. People work, and they feel, “I have earned the money, so I have the right to spend it—on myself, on my family, on my community, on my country” (or whatever limited or extended concept of sense gratification they have). But the Gita says no. Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana: “You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action.” (Gita 2.47) The fruits belong to Krishna.

If you invite a carpenter to your house and give him wood and nails and glue—everything he needs—and say, “I want you to build me a cabinet,” in the end, to whom does the cabinet belong—to the carpenter or to you? It belongs to the proprietor, not the worker. The worker has assembled the ingredients supplied by the proprietor, but that doesn’t make him the owner.

This entire material creation, this entire cosmic manifestation—the elements are provided by Krishna. The earth we tread; the water we drink; the air we breathe; the fire, or electricity, we use—everything belongs to Him, and we cannot rightly claim any of it for ourselves. We may assemble the elements in different ways, but it all belongs to Krishna and is meant to be used for His purposes.

A karmi engages in work and wants to keep the fruits for himself. A karma-yogi engages in work but gives the fruits to Krishna. A man may grow a tree that produces fruits. A karmi will keep the fruits for himself, whereas a karma-yogi will give the fruits, or some of the fruits, to Krishna. The sakama-karma-yogi has selfish desires, but he still gives something to Krishna. If the tree produces a hundred mangoes, he may give one or two or ten or twenty to Krishna. And as he becomes purified, as he develops more faith and becomes more attached to Krishna, he will give more to Krishna. Eventually he may give all one hundred mangoes to Krishna, without any selfish desire (niskama-karma-yoga). But he will not be the loser. Krishna will give him His prasada, His mercy.

The jnanis and often the yogis are impersonalists; they believe that God is ultimately impersonal—nameless, formless, without qualities, without activities. They may even go so far as to think that Krishna’s form is material, that just as we have a physical body made of flesh and bones and blood, so does Krishna. And according to them, if Krishna is material, then His name, form, qualities, and activities are also all material. People may chant His name, but ultimately they have to go beyond that. People may worship His form, but they have to go beyond that. People may talk about His qualities and activities, but they have to go beyond that. Ultimately, according to them, we have to go beyond all these illusory forms and names and come to the all-pervading impersonal light and merge and become one with it. Then there is no you, no me, no Krishna—nothing. Just oneness.

In theory, that is also a possibility. But it is very rare to achieve that state, and very difficult. Lord Krishna explains in the Bhagavad-gita (12.2–7):

mayy avesya mano ye mam
nitya-yukta upasate
sraddhaya parayopetas
te me yuktatama matah

“Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.

ye tv aksaram anirdesyam
avyaktam paryupasate
sarvatra-gam acintyam ca
kuta-stham acalam dhruvam

sanniyamyendriya-gramam
sarvatra sama-buddhayah
te prapnuvanti mam eva
sarva-bhuta-hite ratah

“But those who fully worship the unmanifested, that which lies beyond the perception of the senses, the all-pervading, inconceivable, unchanging, fixed and immovable—the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth—by controlling the various senses and being equally disposed to everyone, such persons, engaged in the welfare of all, at last achieve Me.

kleso ’dhikataras tesam
avyaktasakta-cetasam
avyakta hi gatir duhkham
dehavadbhir avapyate

“For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.

ye tu sarvani karmani
mayi sannyasya mat-parah
ananyenaiva yogena
mam dhyayanta upasate

tesam aham samuddharta
mrtyu-samsara-sagarat
bhavami na cirat partha
mayy avesita-cetasam

“But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Prtha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.”

Not only is the impersonal path difficult, but the result is not very satisfying, because ultimately everyone wants happiness and love. The two most basic human needs are to love and to be loved. We want friends, we want family, and we want community; we are not happy without them. If you were a billionaire but could never see another living being, would you be happy? No. You would be so desperate for company, for relationship, that you would say, “I don’t want this wealth. I just want to be with people I love and who love me.” In a way, this was Arjuna’s thinking at the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita. He considered, “What is the use of winning a kingdom if in the course of the battle all my friends and family die? What’s the use? With whom will I enjoy my kingdom?” The thought of being without family and friends so overwhelmed Arjuna that he said to Krishna,

na hi prapasyami mamapanudyad
yac chokam ucchosanam indriyanam
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham
rajyam suranam api cadhipatyam

“I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on earth with sovereignty like that of the demigods in heaven.” (Gita 2.8)

There is much truth to what Arjuna said at the beginning of the Gita, but that truth is on a lower level. And by the mercy of Lord Krishna, after hearing the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna was elevated to a higher, better understanding. He came to realize that perfect happiness and love are to be realized in relation to Krishna, and so Arjuna surrendered unto Him.

Krishna gave Arjuna the choice. Krishna did not force him, because true surrender, or true love, must be voluntary. He gave Arjuna the freedom to deliberate and then decide:

iti te jnanam akhyatam
guhyad guhyataram maya
vimrsyaitad asesena
yathecchasi tatha kuru

“Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.” (Gita 18.63) Yathecchasi tatha kuru—“You can do whatever you like.” We all have free will, given to us by God. But after hearing the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna immediately responded, karisye vacanam tava: “I will do whatever You say.” That is the position of the surrendered devotee.

   arjuna uvaca
nasto mohah smrtir labdha
tvat-prasadan mayacyuta
sthito ’smi gata-sandehah
karisye vacanam tava

“Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.” (Gita 18.73)

Now, we may be a little worried. We are back to that troublesome sloka, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” And we may wonder, “What are the implications of karisye vacanam tava: ‘I am prepared to act according to Your instructions’? What if Krishna tells me to give up my wife, my children, my business, my home? Then what?” This is a problematic question, and some people may not want to pursue the course of surrender to Krishna, because they are afraid of the consequences.

But there is some leniency here, some considerateness. Lord Krishna gives us a gradual process to come to the stage of surrender, because surrender is based on faith. When we have faith in someone or something, we can surrender. If we don’t have faith, we won’t surrender. In this present Age of Kali, genuine faith is rare; it is very difficult to come by. Society is materialistic, and everyone is acculturated in the idea that they are independent, free to think and do whatever they like, without restriction. In fact, they are envious. Material life means envy—first of Krishna. People think, “Why should I surrender to Him? I am also intelligent. I also know things. I can also speak and argue. Why should I surrender?” And people find fault with Krishna: “Why did He tell Arjuna to fight? Why did He cause so many people to die?” In particular, people who are envious find fault with Krishna. They can never understand the Bhagavad-gita. Therefore Lord Krishna says,

idam te natapaskaya
nabhaktaya kadacana
na casusrusave vacyam
na ca mam yo ’bhyasuyati

“This confidential knowledge may never be explained to those who are not austere, or devoted, or engaged in devotional service, nor to one who is envious of Me.” (Gita 18.67) One must be a devotee, a bhakta. Only devotees are without envy.

Still, Krishna, like a loving father, wants to bring all His sons and daughters to the highest perfection, even though He knows that it may take some time. A parent will want his child to grow to be strong and healthy and happy and intelligent and competent, and to take over the family business. A genuine, loving parent will want to give everything to the child, but the parent first wants to see that the child is responsible enough.

As I grew up, my father gave me a weekly allowance. My first allowance was five or ten cents. I was just a child, and he wasn’t sure how I would use the money. Eventually he raised my allowance to twenty-five cents. And I felt so proud: “My father really trusts me.”

Parents want to give to their children, but they also want to see that their children are responsible enough to take care of what they give them. In a similar way, Krishna wants to give us everything—even Himself—but He wants to see that we are qualified.

Another analogy is a teacher in a classroom. The study of math begins with one plus one equals two. There is much more, but the students proceed step by step: addition, then subtraction, then multiplication, then division—so many processes they have to learn.

In the Bhagavad-gita, the first instruction is that you are not the body but the soul within the body. Aham brahmasmi. That is the beginning, and if we understand even one line of the Bhagavad-gita, from the very beginning, our lives will change.

dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” (Gita 2.13) If we just understand that we are not the body but are the atma, the jivatma, within the body, that alone is enough to change our whole life. We will no longer act on the basis of the body, for sense gratification, but on the basis of the soul, for self-realization. In today’s materialistic society, one’s whole endeavor is to get things for the body—my body, my wife’s body, my children’s bodies, my parents’ bodies—to make the body comfortable. But the body is just dress for the soul. And which is more important—the clothes or the person wearing the clothes? The person, of course. The body itself is just dress, which changes. The real person is the soul, who exists always.

vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi

“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.” (Gita 2.22)

If we understand just this one point, we will work for the benefit of the soul, which is our actual self and is part and parcel of the Supreme Self, God, Krishna, knowing that our real relationship is with Him. And then, gradually, step by step, we will come to the conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita:

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaisyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me

“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” (Gita 18.65)

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Gita 18.66)

Man-mana—always think of Krishna. If you do that, you will naturally become His devotee (mad-bhakto). You will worship Him (mad-yaji) and offer obeisance unto Him (mam namaskuru). It is so simple.

The critical point is man-mana, to always think of Krishna. And how can we always think of Him? In the ninth chapter of the Gita Krishna says,

satatam kirtayanto mam
yatantas ca drdha-vratah
namasyantas ca mam bhaktya
nitya-yukta upasate

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” (Gita 9.14) Satatam kirtayanto mam—if we always (satatam) engage in glorifying Krishna, chanting His holy name (kirtana), we will always think of Him.

We are Hare Krishna devotees, and we are speaking about the Bhagavad-gita. What is the connection? The chanting of Hare Krishna is the real way to follow the instructions of Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gita. Sri Krishna Chaitanya, the incarnation of Krishna for the present Age of Kali, who inaugurated the Hare Krishna movement five hundred years ago, taught, kirtaniyah sada harih: “Always chant the holy name of Hari [Krishna].” And in the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Krishna gives the same instruction: satatam kirtayanto mam—always engage in kirtan, chanting the holy name of Krishna. The chanting of Hare Krishna is really the fulfillment of Lord Krishna’s ultimate instruction in the Bhagavad-gita: man-mana—always think of Krishna. Chanting is the best—and easiest—way to think of Krishna.

Of course, we think of Krishna when we hear about Him from the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, but for that we need a book or a reader. We think of Krishna when we see His Deity form, His murti, but for that we need a temple, a mandir, with a murti. There are so many ways of thinking of Krishna, but the beauty of chanting, either kirtan or japa, is that we need only our tongue and ears. In the Bhagavad-gita (10.25) Lord Krishna recommends, yajnanam japa-yajno ’smi: “Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa].” This, anyone can do. Young or old, black or white, man or woman, educated or uneducated—anyone and everyone can chant Hare Krishna and fulfill Krishna’s instruction in the Bhagavad-gita.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the authorized biography of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, relates an instructive story. While touring South India, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to the holy place of Sri Ranga-ksetra, where, in front of the temple, He saw a brahman holding the Bhagavad-gita and crying, surrounded by people who were laughing and criticizing him. Sri Chaitanya asked the brahman, “Why are these people laughing?” And the brahman replied, “I am holding the Bhagavad-gita, but I am more or less illiterate. I don’t know how to pronounce the words properly, and I do not know what they mean. But my guru ordered me to read it, and so I read all eighteen chapters every day.” Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inquired, “Why are you crying?” And the brahman replied, “When I hold the Bhagavad-gita I see before me Krishna and Arjuna on the chariot. Krishna is acting as Arjuna’s chariot driver. Taking the reins in His hands, He appears very beautiful. While seeing Lord Krishna instructing Arjuna, I weep in ecstatic happiness.” Then Lord Chaitanya told the brahman, “You are the true authority in the reading of the Bhagavad-gita. You know the real purport of the Bhagavad-gita.” And He embraced him.

Proud people may think, “Oh, these Hare Krishna people can’t understand much. They don’t know Sanskrit. They don’t have the samskaras. Let them chant. It is good.” But actually, by chanting the holy name of Krishna one awakens one’s love for Him, which is the real purport of the Bhagavad-gita. By chanting, one fulfills the Lord’s instructions in the Bhagavad-gita to always think of Him and sing His glories. Although some who chant may not be very learned or knowledgeable in a certain sense, if they are genuine devotees of Krishna, they are fulfilling the Gita’s real purport.

aho bata sva-paco ’to gariyan
yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
brahmanucur nama grnanti ye te

“Oh, how glorious are they whose tongues are chanting Your holy name! Even if born in the families of dog-eaters, such persons are worshipable. Persons who chant the holy name of Your Lordship must have executed all kinds of austerities and fire sacrifices and achieved all the good manners of the Aryans. To be chanting the holy name of Your Lordship, they must have bathed at holy places of pilgrimage, studied the Vedas, and fulfilled everything required.” (SB 3.33.7)

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness not only presents the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita but also gives the practical means by which one can fulfill its purport—to become a devotee of Krishna, always think of Him, worship Him, offer homage to Him, and preach His message. After personally surrendering to Krishna (sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja), one can go further and teach this knowledge. This is Lord Krishna’s last instruction:

ya idam paramam guhyam
mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyati
bhaktim mayi param krtva
mam evaisyaty asamsayah

“For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.

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.” (Gita 18.68–69) The real conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita, built upon one’s full surrender to Krishna, is to spread this message and become most dear to Krishna.

This is the opportunity we all have. On Gita Jayanti we think of Krishna, recite the Gita, and perform the yajna, but the real essence of the celebration is to bring more people to Krishna, to the wisdom of the Gita. As devotees, we want to bring others to Krishna, and when we do, Krishna is even more pleased. And that is what Gita Jayanti is really meant to do: to please Krishna, to bring the Bhagavad-gita to more people and bring more people to Krishna—and make us dear to Krishna.

It is a wonderful opportunity. I have been chanting Hare Krishna and reading the Bhagavad-gita for forty years, and it is ever-fresh. Once, Srila Prabhupada told a New York Times interviewer, “Every day your employer is printing so many newspapers. On Sunday especially the paper is so big that one can hardly carry it. But after reading it for an hour, people throw it away. Here is this book—the Bhagavad-gita—and people keep it and read it for a lifetime, and in this way it has been read for the past five thousand years. Give people such literature that will be taken and kept forever.” And the reporter laughed—and agreed.

I am very grateful to all of you for having come this evening, after what was probably a long, hard day at work. I am grateful that you came and spared your valuable time. And I look forward to working together with all of you on this project, which will be so beneficial to so many people. Srila Prabhupada’s guru instructed him to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gita in English all over the world, telling him, “This will do much good for you as well as for your audience.” So, it is win-win-win. It will be beneficial for you, it will be beneficial for the people in general, and ultimately Krishna will be pleased. And that is our goal—that is what bhakti means—to please Krishna. When Krishna is pleased, our life is successful and we are naturally pleased and satisfied.

Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

[An address by Giriraj Swami to leaders of Hindu organizations in Houston, October 23, 2009.]

A new paperback edition of “Hope This Meets You in Good Health,” a book by ISKCON guru and Prabhupada disciple Prahladananda Swami, is now available on Amazon.com and on Barnes & Noble’s website in English. The book has also been translated into Spanish, Polish and Russian.

Our "Paramahamster" comic strip follows an enthusiastic devotee as he navigates a 9 - 5 work day in the corporate world. Please check back weekly for new episodes!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, devotees at ISKCON Boise, Idaho launched a new annual “Festival of Gratitude” this year, with the motto: “Appreciating Deity, Devotee, Nama, Dhama, Bhagavatam.”

Why is Sankirtan the prime benediction of this age? Every day morning, after Mangla Arthi, Srila Prabhupada quote will be read! Being book marathon month, to inspire and motivate devotees to push the book distribution, we read Srila Prabhupada quote on book distribution. Today’s quote is a beautiful letter to German disciples in the month […]

The post Sankirtan- The Prime benediction! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Tomorrow is the eightieth birthday of Sripada Satsvarupa dasa Goswami Maharaja. He was my first temple president, and he has been my inspiration in writing, especially about Srila Prabhupada, which has been my main service. 

My dear Satsvarupa das Goswami Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

As you know, you are my mentor, exemplar, and inspiration for writing about Srila Prabhupada, which has been my main focus for the last several years, and so I have been thinking of you. I recently finished the first draft of my book about Srila Prabhupada and Juhu, and while working on the book I would refer to Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta and marvel at how beautifully it was written.

Now I am contemplating writing about Boston, where we first met and where you nurtured me in Krishna consciousness and encouraged me to write. And I will be referring to your writings about that period as well.

In my initiation letter, dated July 5, 1969, Srila Prabhupada mentioned you: “With my blessings, I am sending herewith your beads, duly chanted upon by me. You should avoid the ten offenses as far as possible, and follow the four regulative principles, as Satsvarupa will instruct you. I know your good godbrother Satsvarupa will always help you in this connection.” And even now, your emphasis on your personal japa is guiding and inspiring me.

So I feel very grateful to you, for you have nurtured me in Krishna consciousness from my very first days, as a student at Brandeis University, until today. And I know that you will continue to do so.

How you protected me is exemplified in a small exchange. Once, at breakfast, Saradia was sitting at the end of the sheet on which we had our plates, kitty-corner to me, and you were next to me. Saradia, glancing at me, said, “Satsvarupa, since when do we let hippies stay with us?” You winced and replied incredulously yet firmly, “Glenn isn’t a hippie, Saradia. He’s a devotee.”

Later, at North Beacon Street, feeling especially wretched and lowly, I said, “I feel so fallen, I don’t think Rupa Goswami would want me in the spiritual world,” and you replied, “No, he thinks that you’re nice and that you should be with there with them.”

Unfortunately, my health has not allowed me to visit you again, but I often recall my visit to Stuyvesant Falls and the association and instructions I got from you there.

If there is anything I can do for you, it would be my great honor and pleasure, so please ask without hesitation or reservation.

I love you, Maharaja.

Hare Krishna.

Your eternal, indebted, aspiring servant and younger godbrother,
Giriraj Swami

During this year of anniversary of 35 years, ISKCON Finland is not only preparing for Srila Prabhupada Book Distribution Marathon, but also trying to secure the future of the Krishna temple and our headquarters in Malmi, Helsinki.

ISKCON Finland has an opportunity to purchase the land where the present temple building lies in Malmi, Helsinki. The size of the land is 0.6 hectares, and the price is 300 000 €. For more info visit: https://krishna.fi/product/temppelitontti/?lang=en

A video by Be Inspired.

A video by Ananta Vrindavan.

A video by Veuwr Kirtans.

A new BBC film explores the threat of the meat industry to the planet. 

On Monday, Nov. 25, Trump signed the bipartisan Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act into law, making it federally illegal to engage in cruelty to animals. 

A video by ISCOWP.

A Visit to Mayapur by Ambarisa Prabhu

Ambarisa Prabhu’s visit to Mayapur in October, 2019 spawned a noticeable inspiration to the TOVP family.

In the course of creating the various presentations to capture the annual milestones of the Construction and Architecture Department, it gave us an opportunity to step back and dive into the years of progress, gradually pronouncing the grandness and magnanimity of the project.

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

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

A couple of days after the 20th anniversary of the installation of Sri Radha Rasesvara, I attended the 10th anniversary of the installation of Sri Radha Kunja Bihari, in Klungkung.

This is a little smaller temple but the deities and temple grounds are very beautiful. The leaders started the evening telling the history of acquiring the land and constructing the temple and I gave a lecture and led kirtan.

After that we greeted Their Lordships with arati, which was followed by drama, dance and feast prasadam.

Answer Podcast:

Download by “right-click and save content”

Transcriber: Dr Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Sharan Shetty

Question: What is the difference between destiny and freewill?

Answer: What happens to us is our destiny, how we respond to it is our free will.

Our life is determined less by what happens to us and more by how we respond to it because destiny determines the consequence of our actions, not our actions itself.
Destiny is about things which are not in our control whereas freewill is about what is in our control. We cannot determine what is going to happen, but we always have the option to choose our responses.

The more spiritual we become the more freedom we have to choose responsibly. This is because our freewill is maximised due to our connection with God which frees us from dependence on circumstance. When we are depended on circumstances, our options to choose are limited. For example, if a very ego-centred person feels insulted by someone then he constantly thinks about the insult. He uses his free will to come up with numerous ways to get back to the person to make him suffer. The thought process of such a person becomes constricted and filled with negative focus. However, if the same person is practising spiritual consciousness, then he is likely to use his free will to think maturely that although the person insulted me there is no need to let the negative thoughts dominate me.

In this case, destiny was that somebody insulted the person although he did not do anything wrong. His freewill was to choose between (i) there is no need to dwell on that person or (ii) get into a vengeance complex. A spiritual person would use his free will more constructively by choosing to respond appropriately and eventually move on with his life. Free will shapes how we respond to events, and destiny determines what events will happen in our life.

End of transcription.

The post What is the difference between destiny and free will? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

We have again reached December, that most auspicious time of year when the book-distribution marathon takes place. In honor of the occasion, I quote two verses from Srimad-Bhagavatam that embody the devotee’s mood in distributing Krishna consciousness.

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas
  tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah
soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-
  maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan

“O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies, and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.” (SB 7.9.43)

prayena deva munayah sva-vimukti-kama
  maunam caranti vijane na parartha-nisthah
naitan vihaya krpanan vimumuksa eko
nanyam tvad asya saranam bhramato ’nupasye

“My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himalayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.” (SB 7.9.44)

To distribute Krishna consciousness, we must have Krishna consciousness. These verses are about Prahlada Maharaja, and in a way they are also about Srila Prabhupada, who in his purport expressed his own mood—and about us, how Srila Prabhupada wants us to execute Krishna consciousness. Prahlada Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada were each on a very high level of Krishna consciousness, but even on our own level we can experience something of what they experienced, that wherever we are we can get relief from material miseries and anxieties by taking shelter of the holy name. We can joyfully chant in the temple room, in the association of devotees, before the Deities, and in the presence of Tulasi-devi—but one can chant anywhere, even on traveling sankirtana. One can close one’s eyes and chant and hear and no longer be in the material world—actually be with Krishna.

Devotees need that connection with Krishna not just for their own sakes but also for the sake of others. Once, in a meeting with Srila Prabhupada in the Atlanta temple, Svavasa Prabhu asked, “How can we increase our devotion and our desire to distribute more books?” He and the other devotees were eagerly anticipating some special formula to expand their book distribution. Srila Prabhupada didn’t look at them; he looked upward, as they waited in suspense. Finally he said, “If you want to increase book distribution, if you really want, I have only one recommendation. . . . You must chant your rounds uninterrupted. After you begin your chanting, do not stop until you finish.” As Svavasa Prabhu explained, if you win that fight, you will win all day, but if you lose it and allow your mind to carry you to something else, you will have a difficult day.

Svavasa Prabhu still follows that policy. He gets up at two in the morning and chants all his rounds before even coming to the temple for mangala-arati. A while ago I stayed with Vaisesika Prabhu at his home in Burlingame, and his morning program was blissfully intense. He did things that we do every day—and some things that we may do only on occasion—but he did them with so much enthusiasm and so much relish that the practices came to life. I felt, “Wow, that’s what reciting these verses and prayers actually is.” We spoke later about the book he was writing on book distribution, and he said that one of the themes was that the energy to distribute books comes from the overflow of the ecstasy we feel from our spiritual practices, from our own Krishna consciousness.

I’ve also experienced that if you chant your rounds in the morning before going out you will get extra energy and intelligence for your service, and if you don’t, not only may you be a little depleted in your spiritual energy, but you may also be in anxiety about when you’re going to finish your rounds.

So this practice of rising early and chanting all your rounds is very much part of the process of sharing Krishna consciousness with others. In the first verse, Prahlada said that he has no anxiety for himself because wherever he is he can merge himself into the nectarean ocean of Krishna consciousness—and that’s true for us as well. Wherever we go, we can have that experience of tasting the nectar of Krishna consciousness by chanting the holy names and by reading, studying, and discussing Srila Prabhupada’s books.

So the two—tasting and distributing—go together. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that the best gosthyanandi is a bhajananandi who likes to preach. Gosthyanandi means someone who takes pleasure in preaching and sharing Krishna consciousness with others, and a bhajananandi is someone who takes pleasure in his own bhajana, his own spiritual practices. Prahlada Maharaja exemplifies that principle, because personally he can experience pure bliss anywhere at any time just by chanting and hearing and remembering his Lord. Yet he is not content to go back home, back to Godhead, alone; he wants to bring the krpanan with him.

Krpana is a very significant word. It is discussed by Srila Prabhupada in the Bhagavad-gita, in relation to Arjuna’s admission that he was overcome by miserly weakness.

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah
  prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me
  sisyas te ’ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

“Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of miserly weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me for certain what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple, and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me.” (Gita 2.7)

Krpana means “miser.” But how does it apply? A miser is someone who has an asset but doesn’t use it. He may have a lot of money but not spend it for any good purpose; he will just hoard it. So, we have this human form of life, which is extremely rare and valuable—valuable because it can be used to realize God. And if we don’t use it for that purpose, we are krpanas, misers.

labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante
manusyam artha-dam anityam apiha dhirah
turnam yateta na pated anu-mrtyu yavan
  nihsreyasaya visayah khalu sarvatah syat

“After many, many births one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life before his body, which is always subject to death, falls away. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being.” (SB 11.9.29)

And not only do we have this form of life, but we have the knowledge of Krishna consciousness, which is most valuable, and we should not keep that knowledge to ourselves; we should distribute it.

Of course, preaching directly about Krishna can sometimes be an austerity. As Srila Prabhupada said, “If you tell people ‘Give up all your nonsense and just surrender to Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,’ they might not like it. A few might, but most probably won’t.” And the same applies to distributing books. It can be an austerity, because people don’t like the message of Krishna consciousness. They came into the material world to be God, and they don’t want to hear that someone else is God and that they have to surrender to Him. But if we can get them to take a book, the book will tell them. Some time ago, I was visiting a nice devotee family, and the mother’s mother, who was visiting from India, was a pious lady and was very respectful and appreciative of devotees but expressed some wild, impersonalist ideas. I thought, “What am I going to do?” We were having a nice visit, the fulfillment of my hosts’ long-cherished desire, and everyone was very happy. If I contradicted her it could have led to an argument and had a bad effect. But I couldn’t just let the comments stand.

So I prayed to Prabhupada in my heart, and I got the answer: “Just be polite and pleasant, and I’ll preach to her; I’ll correct her.” Without challenging anything the grandmother had said, I asked, “Have you read Srila Prabhupada’s books?” And we concluded that she would begin to study them regularly.

In these verses we find words that Srila Prabhupada uses quite frequently: “fools” and “rascals.” If you take the meaning of krpana to its deepest level, it comes to fool and rascal, and in the earlier verse vimudhan literally means “fool.” In many places Krishna uses these words—avajananti mam mudha, na mam duskrtino mudhah. They are in the scriptures, but it may not work well if we use them with the people we are trying to attract to Krishna consciousness. Again, here’s where the books come in. We don’t have to call people fools and rascals; we give them the books, and the books will call them fools and rascals. And they need to hear it, whether in those terms or not.

His Holiness Rtadhvaja Swami used to distribute books at Florida Welcome Centers. People would park and get out of their cars, and in one case the wife went into the welcome center and the husband stayed in the parking lot. Rtadhvaja Swami handed him a Bhagavatam. “What’s this about?” the man asked. “It has ancient teachings on yoga and meditation,” Maharaja replied. “Oh, that sounds interesting.” So, the man opened the book, and the first thing he read was, “persons . . . averse to the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead . . . are compared to stool-eating hogs.” He asked Maharaja, “What does this have to do with yoga?” Just then, his wife came out and said, “Honey, what do you have there? What are you talking about?” “Oh, nothing, Honey,” he replied, and then he closed the book, handed Maharaja a donation, and walked away with the book, smiling. Although he didn’t want his wife to know he was being accused of being like a “stool-eating hog,” he wanted to hear it.

Once, Bhurijana Prabhu, knowing how some devotees can be sensitive to strong language, played a short excerpt in which Prabhupada used the word “rascal” seven times. And each time Prabhupada used the word, Bhurijana would say, “First time,” then “Second time,” then “Third time,” all the way through. He was aware of what Prabhupada had been doing, and in that little three- or four-minute excerpt Prabhupada had used the word “rascal” seven times—because pleasant or unpleasant, that’s what we need to hear.

Sometimes readers have noted that there is repetition in Prabhupada’s books. By ordinary literary standards, there shouldn’t be repetition, but Prabhupada himself said, “It is not enough to say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one purport; we will say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every purport.” So, there may be repetition, and there may be strong language, but the books have everything, and if someone is sincere he or she will get what he or she needs from them. The books have made so many devotees, they are making devotees now, and they will continue to make devotees in the future.

So yes, “Distribute books! Distribute books! Distribute books!” And to get the strength to do that, chant and hear and be steady in your spiritual practices—and read the books. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Distributing my books will keep them [the devotees] happy, and reading my books will keep them.” He has given us everything, but we have to take advantage, we have to do what he said, and if we do, we will get the results and everyone will be happy.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

  Today is the festival of Odana-sasthi. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to Lord Jagannatha*.” – Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila16.79, purport Once, Srila Pundarika Vidyanidhi and Srila Svarupa Damodara came to Jagannatha Puri and saw the festival of odana-sasthi. On this day, the Lord is offered […]

The post Odana-Sasthi -The first day of winter! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Many a times we come across people who challenge us by asking, If God exists then why can’t we see him? But there are so many things in this world which we can’t see but we believe in its existence. 

Bhaktivedanta Vidyapeet Research Centre (BVRC) in affiliation with the Mumbai University recently conducted a Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Diploma Course. The course was delivered by renowned speaker, Gauranga Das, the Director of BVRC.

Today is Odana-sasthi, the date on which Lord Jagannatha is given a winter shawl. One year, when Lord Chaitanya and His associates celebrated this festival in Puri, Pundarika Vidyanidhi, who is Vrsabhanu Maharaja, Srimati Radharani’s father, in krsna-lila, received some special mercy. His experience is instructive for us all.

Srila Prabhupada explains, “At the beginning of winter, there is a ceremony known as the Odana-sasthi. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to Lord Jagannatha. That covering is directly purchased from a weaver. According to the arcana-marga, a cloth should first be washed to remove all the starch, and then it can be used to cover the Lord. Pundarika Vidyanidhi saw that the priest neglected to wash the cloth before covering Lord Jagannatha. Since he wanted to find some fault in the devotees, he became indignant.” (Cc Madhya 16.78 purport)

And Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 16.78–81) describes the event: “Pundarika Vidyanidhi initiated Gadadhara Pandita for the second time, and on the day of Odana-sasthi Pundarika Vidyanidhi saw the festival. When Pundarika Vidyanidhi saw that Lord Jagannatha was given a starched garment, he became a little hateful. In this way his mind was polluted. That night the brothers Lord Jagannatha and Balarama came to Pundarika Vidyanidhi and, smiling, began to slap him. Although his cheeks were swollen from the slapping, Pundarika Vidyanidhi was very happy within. This incident has been elaborately described by Thakura Vrndavana dasa.”

From this incident, we can learn that the Lord does not tolerate offenses against His servants, even from an advanced devotee, and that He chastises any devotee who commits such an offense even within the mind. We can also learn that a pure devotee accepts such chastisement from the Lord with great happiness, as a manifestation of the Lord’s mercy, of His love and care for His devotees—both for those who may commit such an offense and for those who may be objects of such an offense. He thanks the Lord for rectifying him and preventing him from committing further offenses, and he feel great jubilation within his heart.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

From: Vikas Dhawan

request you to please let me know the vedic perspective on euthanasia (mercy killing). is it allowed? from SB we know that Bhisma dev had the benediction that he will leave his body only on his own accord at a time that he desired, however in euthanasia the patient is not capable enough of making a rationale decision on whether to live or leave the body. how should we understand this from a vedic perspective.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to clarify my doubts.

Answer Podcast

Transcribed by: Dr Suresh Gupta

Edited by: Sharan Shetty

Question: What is the Vedic perspective on euthanasia? Can the passing away of Bhishma pitamah be called as euthanasia?

Answer: The example of Bhisma pitamah is not really relevant to euthanasia. In euthanasia, a person wants to end life unnaturally and prematurely in order to avoid incurable pain. In contrast, Bhishma pitamah, although he was in pain, still wanted to prolong his life so that he could see the prosperity of his grandsons, the Pandavas. The above two principles are radically different. Bhishma had the advantage to reduce his pain by departing from his body on the tenth day of Mahabharata war when he fell. However, he stayed on for a higher purpose despite pain. On the other hand, in euthanasia, people want to cut short their lives.

From the Vedic perspective euthanasia is certainly not acceptable. We are given the body due to our past karma and we have to live in this body for a particular period of time. In that period, we have to endure certain amount of karmic reactions. If we try to avoid them by prematurely destroying the body, then all that we gain is more karmic reactions to endure.
We endure more karmic reactions because we destroyed the body prematurely which was entrusted to us by God. It is like a suicide, which is sinful. It may seem like an easy escape from sufferings, but it is important to understand that we cannot evade sufferings by prematurely destroying the body. We will get a future body to endure those sufferings, and suicide only makes it worse because now we have to suffer even more. That is why the concept of euthanasia or mercy killing is certainly not acceptable.

According to some surveys, actually it is not “mercy killing” rather it is “convenience killing”. The person may want to live but the person’s relatives or the support staff do not want to take care of the person anymore. For the sake of convenience, often the person is given some injection to end the life.

Vedic understanding is that let nature follow its course. We do not accelerate death by taking some substances because that is nothing but a medically assisted suicide. On the other hand, Vedic philosophy also does not recommend prolonging life using artificial support systems for a very long time. When the doctors say there is not much chance of recovery and the body is in a dysfunctional state then keeping the support system is not recommended. Srila Prabhupada has explained how we are a spirit soul in a material body and if the body has become dysfunctional, the soul has to go to a new body. There is no need to stay attached.

There is another question to a similar topic whose answer you can find on this website,
Can we extend our lives by medicines?

There is one kind of voluntarily accepted death which might seem like euthanasia, but it is different. It is called prayavrata which means a person decides to fast to death. Prayavrata may seem like euthanasia or suicide but on the contrary it is a religious way of departing from the body. When a person feels he has no desire to live (out of intense material detachment or spiritual realization) then as a matter of austerity the person enters into a state of religious or devotional transcendence through meditation and shuts himself or herself off from the world. In that way, the person gives up the body. This is substantially different from euthanasia because the person has not taken any artificial substances to cut out the pain, nor has the person in any way violated the laws of the nature.

Fasting is considered to be a sacred activity. Generally, people fast for a day or so, e.g. on ekadashi and many other important tithis, but there are people who will fast longer. The purpose of fasting is not to torture the body but when the body is no longer capable of functioning then there is no point in prolonging the body. There was an ISKCON sannyasi, His Holiness Narmada Maharaj, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease which made it impossible for him to do any service. When he decided to do prayavrata, many devotees tried and encouraged him to eat food but he gave a very devotional reply (shows that although his body was out of control but his consciousness was fairly controlled). He said that my body is meant to serve Krishna but if my body cannot serve Krishna then there is no reason to maintain this body? Here is a clear understanding that we are not our body and the body is just a tool for serving Krishna. If the tool cannot serve that purpose, then what is the need to maintain that tool. This should not be mistaken as an escape consciousness, it is actually transcendental consciousness. Very few people can have this kind of consciousness.

In general, euthanasia is strongly discouraged. Instead the person should be encouraged to try and absorb his mind in Krishna so that not only he gets relief from the pain by absorption in Krishna but can also get purification. There is a story on this website (How my cancer became a blessing) about one female devotee, Surapriya Mataji, which shows that how absorption in Krishna can provide relief from the pain at the time of death.

Shortly speaking, she had breast cancer which spread through her bones and she wanted to have euthanasia administered but her sons who were devotees were against it. They told her not to do it and asked her to absorb herself in Krishna and she took that advice to her heart which changed her life. She lived an exemplary life for the last six-seven months. The point is, certainly we do not want to be hard hearted and sentence pain to people who are suffering but at the same time, we have to understand that sentimental or quick fix solutions to avoid sufferings may end up in making the sufferings worse. Whereas courageously facing sufferings and transcending those by absorbing in Krishna can offer much greater salve to the person.

End of transcription.

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[University Talk at Singapore]

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The post From Entangled to Enlightened – Lessons from Yayati story appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

One of the shared passion of the members of the band 'King of Braj' is volunteering for ISKCON Hungary’s Food for Life program, and besides helping hands-on on the field, contributin to the cause through the power of art.

HH Haladhar Swami and I were guests at the twentieth anniversary of the installation of Sri Radha Rasesvara, Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra and Sri Gaura Nitai at the temple in Bali.

When I first came here there were no temples and very few devotees. Programs were held in devotee homes. Now we have five main temples and a number of smaller preaching centres. This all due to the mercy of the Lord, Srila Prabhupada and his enthusiastic devotees here.

The evening went nicely with abhiseka, speeches, kirtan, dances and drama. This was held in the basement of the new temple that is being built. At the end the devotees greeted Their Lordships in the old temple room and had wonderful prasadam.