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[Bhagavatam class at Radha Kunjabihari Mandir, ISKCON, Pune, India]

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Transcribed by: Raji Nachiappan

Question: What is the role of vairagya in grihasta life?

Answer: Vairagya is not an aspect of bhakti. Among the sixty-four items of bhakti that Rupa Goswami specifies, there is no mention of vairagya. For example, activities like chanting the holy names, reading the scriptures and worshipping the deities are all aspects of bhakti. Vairagya, in that sense, is not an aspect bhakti among the sixty-four items.

Vairagya, rather, is a natural result of bhakti. In the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.2.7), it is said that

vasudeve bhagavati, bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
janayaty asu vairagyam, jnanam ca yad ahaitukam

When one practices bhakti, one experiences such higher happiness that material happiness becomes distasteful. That’s the technical and philosophical point about the relationship between bhakti and vairagya. From the practical point of view, however, even to practice bhakti and to avoid sins, we need some renunciation. Some element of detachment is required to follow the four regulative principles, live a moral and spiritual life.

However, when the scriptures discuss vairagya, this is not entirely what they mean. Vairagya means not only to give up sinful activities, but to give up all activities. Arjuna asked this question in the Bhagavad Gita (18.1) and Lord Krishna replies:

kamyanam karmaṇam nyasam, annyasam kavayo viduḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyagam, prahus tyagam vicakshanaḥ

“The giving up of activities that are based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life [sannyasa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call renunciation [tyaga].”

Lord Krishna says that giving up all fruitive activities is sannyasa. With respect to our devotional life, what we can focus on is simple living and high thinking, according to our situation. This principle has to be applied intelligently. For example, we have Krishna Chandra Prabhu (aka Hrishikesh Mafatlal) who is a big industrialist. For him, what simplicity means will differ from what simplicity means to someone working in a simple job for a small company. If Krishna Chandra Prabhu starts living in a small one BHK or two BHK apartment because he has become a devotee, that is not only going to become difficult for him, but it can significantly impede services that he may be capable of doing.

Therefore, what does vairagya mean practically? Sometimes devotees may think they do not need a big house for themselves and that they will live simply. However, if there is a desire to preach to the elite class of people, then those people may not come to a small house for a program. They may want to come to a program which is conducted in an opulent environment. For example, if ISKCON’s restaurant Govinda’s at Juhu was constructed as a small restaurant, it will not attract the kind of people that it is attracting today.

The point is that, there can be simplicity at different levels. What is simplicity for a person from one particular financial background may be different from what simplicity is, for another person from a different financial background. Therefore, we should not impose one definition on everybody. The general definition of simplicity is, seeking that level of material position which does not overly complicate one’s life. For example, suppose we have enough finances to buy a two BHK flat, but we want to buy a big bungalow and for that we take a big loan. Then to pay that loan we are forced to take a job which requires us to work sixteen hours a day. Then what is happening? It clearly becomes a case of over-endeavour, atyaharaḥ prayasas cha.

If we have that kind of education and competence, by which we can get a bungalow by working eight or ten hours, then we do not have to live in a one BHK flat. If by our education, we get a high paying job by which we can live in an upwardly mobile locality, then we will still be simple. Therefore, it is not that devotees have to live in a house with practically nothing in order to be simple. If that is what one feels inspired by, then one can do that. However, one should not reduce bhakti to such things alone. We have the example of Pundarika Vidhyanidhi. He was living opulently, yet he was an exalted devotee. When he had remembrance of Lord Krishna, he started rolling on the floor. Therefore, our focus should be on getting into material professions that do not complicate our lives too much by taking too much of our energy and leaving none for bhakti.

Vairagya in the grihastha ashram would mainly mean two things: (i) following the four regulative principles (ii) not being caught up in materialistic pursuits that one does not get time and energy for spiritual life.

At another level, vairagya also means giving charity. Charity is not just an activity; it is a mentality. Sometimes, devotees think that since they are not earning as much right now, they will not be able to give in charity. They mentally vouch to themselves that in the future, they will give even more than half of their salary in charity. Currently, however, they feel they cannot even give one percent of their income. This is not the right attitude. What should be done is that, charity should be cultivated as a mentality. Whatever we earn is by Krishna’s grace and we should give a part to Lord Krishna. If we cannot even give one percent now, then we will not be able develop the habit of giving. Then eventually even if we have the capacity to give more, we will still be attached.

Entering the vanaprastha ashram can vary according to time, place and circumstance. Generally, grihasthas are situated in very influential positions in society. If after attaining such a position if they take to a life of renunciation, then their social reach becomes limited. On the other hand, if one takes to a less demanding job or saves enough so that they do not have to work anymore but still live in the society with a nominal position, then they will have respectability in society. Then, with that respectability, along with the increased availability of time, one can reach out to people with Krishna’s message. Rather than focusing on changing ashrama in the future, one should focus on serving Krishna better. Therefore, devotees can take up high paying positions not only to save enough for taking up less demanding jobs later but also to attain respectability to utilise in spreading the message of Lord Krishna.

That is how we can gradually move towards decreasing the time and energy we spend with the material energy and have more and more time for Lord Krishna.

End of transcription.

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[Bhagavatam class at online Bhakti Sanga Conference, USA]

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By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada

From this statement by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu we can clearly understand that the word yavana does not refer only to a particular class of men. Anyone who is against the behavior of the Vedic principles is called a yavana. Such a yavana may be in India or outside of India. Continue reading "The Glories Of Srila Haridasa Thakura
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By Chandan Yatra Das

Sri Siddha-Bakula is located near Gambhira Temple on Bali Sahi road in Sri Jagannatha Puri Dhama. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally arranged for Srila Haridasa Thakura to reside at this place. This is the place where he performed his daily bhajana of chanting 192 rounds (3,00,000 names) of Hare Krishna maha-mantra Continue reading "SRI SIDDHA-BAKULA Bhajana Kutir of Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura at Sri Ksetra Jagannatha Puri Dhama
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Bhaktivinoda Thakur (2 September 1838 – 23 June 1914), born Kedarnath Datta, was a leading philosopher and spiritual reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, who almost single-handedly effected its resurgence in India in the late 19th and early 20th century and was hailed by contemporary scholars as the most influential Gaudiya Vaisnava leader of his time. Along with his son Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, he pioneered the propagation of Gaudiya Vaisnavism in the West and its eventual global spread.

In his youth Kedarnath spent considerable time researching and comparing various religious and philosophical systems, both Indian and Western. His spiritual quest led him at the age of twenty nine to becoming a follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533). He engaged in deep study and committed practice of Chaitanya’s teachings, soon emerging as a reputed leader within the Chaitanya Vaishnava movement in Bengal.

Bhaktivinoda edited and published over one hundred books on Vaishnavism, including major theological treatises as Krishna-samhita (1880), Chaitanya-sikshamrita (1886) Jaiva-dharma (1893), and Hari-nama-cintamani (1900). Between 1886 and 1910, he also published a monthly journal in Bengali entitled Sajjana-toshani (“The source of pleasure for devotees”). In 1886, in recognition of his prolific theological, philosophical and literary contributions, the local Gaudiya Vaishnava community conferred upon Kedarnath Datta the honorific title Bhaktivinoda (“the pastime or pleasure of bhakti or devotional service”).

In his later years Bhaktivinoda founded and conducted nama-hatta – a traveling preaching program that spread the teachings of Lord Chaitanya throughout rural and urban Bengal, by means of discourses, printed materials and Bengali songs he had written. Bhaktivinoda opposed numerous distortions of Lord Chaitanya’s original teachings and authoritatively established the true teachings. He also re-discovered the lost site of Chaitanya’s birth in Mayapur near Navadvip, which he commemorated with a prominent temple.

The revival of Gaudiya Vaisnavism effected by Bhaktivinoda spawned one of India’s most dynamic preaching missions of the early 20th century headed by his son and spiritual heir, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Of Bhaktisiddhanta’s many disciples who carried on his mission, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (1896–1977) is known throughout the world for introducing Gaudiya Vaisnavism to the West and subsequently around the globe.

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The Russian Yatra Mega-Festival (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Over 5,000 devotees attended this year’s Sadhu Sanga Festival in Russia. The sheer volume of devotees and the prestigious presence of senior devotees made it a most memorable event. [ Photos by Kartamashi dasa ]

Ratha-yatra parade and Mantra festival in Turin, Italy.

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

So, today is a very auspicious day, Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s birthday. Here is the picture of Thakura Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda. He was one of the acharyas of this disciplic succession from Krishna. We have got a succession table from Krishna—a genealogical table. There are two kinds of genealogical tables, one by the semen—the father, his son, his son, like that. That is a material genealogical table. And there is a spiritual genealogical table—disciplic succession. Just like Krishna, the original father, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahma. Lord Brahma spoke to Narada, Narada spoke to Vyasa, and Vyasa spoke to Madhvacharya. So, in this disciplic succession, Lord Chaitanya—from Lord Chaitanya to the Six Gosvamis, and similarly, coming down, down, to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, then my spiritual master, and then we are the next generation, my disciples. Continue reading "Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Appearance Day
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A lecture by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s appearance day, September 3, 1971,  London.

So, today is a very auspicious day, Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s birthday. Here is the picture of Thakura Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda. He was one of the acharyas of this disciplic succession from Krishna. We have got a succession table from Krishna—a genealogical table. There are two kinds of genealogical tables, one by the semen—the father, his son, his son, like that. That is a material genealogical table. And there is a spiritual genealogical table—disciplic succession. Just like Krishna, the original father, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, spoke the Vedic knowledge to Brahma. Lord Brahma spoke to Narada, Narada spoke to Vyasa, and Vyasa spoke to Madhvacharya. So, in this disciplic succession, Lord Chaitanya—from Lord Chaitanya to the Six Gosvamis, and similarly, coming down, down, to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, then Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, then my spiritual master, and then we are the next generation, my disciples.

So there is a disciplic succession, and the acharyas are authorities. Our process of knowledge is very simple. We take it from authorities. We don’t speculate. Speculation will not help us to come to the real knowledge. Just like when we are in difficulty, in some legal implication, we go to some authority, a lawyer. When we are diseased we go to a physician, the authority. There is no use in speculation. Suppose I am in difficulty in some legal implication. If I simply speculate, “I shall be free in this way and that way,” that will not help. We have to go to a lawyer who knows things, and he will give us instruction, that “You do like this; then you’ll be free.” Similarly, when we are diseased, if we speculate at home, “My disease will be cured in this way and that way”—that is useless. You go to an authorized physician, and he will give you a nice prescription, and you’ll be cured. That is the process of knowledge. But in the modern age people think, “I am free, I am independent, and I can make my own solution.” That is rascaldom. That’s not good. Arjuna was talking with Krishna as a friend, but when he saw that there was no solution talking like this, he surrendered to Krishna. He said (Gita 2.7), sisyas te ’ham, aham: “Myself, I surrender unto You as Your disciple.” Sisyas te ’ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam. Prapannam means “surrendered.” So that is the Vedic injunction, that if you want to know transcendental knowledge or science . . . “Transcendental” means beyond the scope of your direct perception.

Spiritual knowledge is beyond the scope of your sense speculation. When a soul, only a spiritual spark, leaves this body, you cannot see it. Therefore, the atheistic class of men speculates, “There may be a soul; there may not be soul.” Or, “The bodily function was going like this; now it stopped. The blood corpuscles have ceased. It is no more red; it is white; therefore life . . .” These are speculation. This is not actual knowledge. Actual knowledge you get from the authority, Krishna. He says, tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati. Just like the soul is passing through different stages. Dehino ’smin yatha dehe. (Gita 2.13) Deha means this body. Asmin dehe, in this body there is dehi. Dehi means the owner of this body. That is the soul. That is passing through childhood, boyhood, babyhood, youth, old age. Everyone can perceive that you were a child—you were a baby, you were a boy, and now you are young man or old man. So you are there. And as you are passing through different types of bodies, similarly, when you give up this body you will accept another body. What is the difficulty? Tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati. (Gita 2.13) There is no question of becoming astonished, how transmigration of the self, the soul, takes place. The vivid example is there. Simply you require a little intelligence. That intelligence is developed through the instruction of the acharya. Therefore, the Vedic injunction is not to acquire knowledge by speculation. That is useless.

athapi te deva padambuja-dvaya-
prasada-lesanugrhita eva hi
janati tattvam bhagavan-mahimno
na canya eko ’pi ciram vicinvan
(SB 10.14.29)

Ciram vicinvan. Ciram means for thousands of years you can speculate, but you cannot understand what is God. That is not possible. But if you receive knowledge from the devotee, he can deliver you. Therefore the Vedic injunction is tad-vijnana. Vijnana means science. If you want to know the transcendental science, then you must approach a guru. If you are at all interested to understand the spiritual science, tad-vijnartham sa gurum eva abhigacchet, you must approach a guru. (MU 1.2.12) Guru means this succession, as I have explained.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura was an ideal guru. He was not a sannyasi; he was a grihastha, a householder, living with family, wife, children. Still, he was guru. So anyone can become guru—not that only a sannyasi can become guru. A householder also can become guru, provided he knows the science. When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was talking with Ramananda Raya . . . Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a sannyasi, born in a very high brahman family, a very learned scholar. He was talking with Raya Ramananda, a grihastha, governor of Madras. And He was questioning, and Ramananda Raya was answering. That means Ramananda Raya was taking the part of guru, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was taking the part of a disciple. So, Ramananda Raya was hesitating. He thought, “I am a grihastha, and not even a brahman. And besides, I am dealing in material affairs, politics. I am a governor. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a sannyasi, born of a high-class brahman family. So it does not look well that I teach Him.” He was hesitating. And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Oh, why you are hesitating?”

kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya
yei krsna-tattva-vetta, sei ‘guru’ haya
(Cc Madhya 8.128)

He said, “Don’t hesitate. Either one may be a brahman or one may be a sudra (kiba vipra, kiba sudra). Vipra means brahman, and sudra is the fourth-grade human being. So, kiba vipra, kiba sudra: he may be a first-grade human being or the lowest-grade human being, or he may become a sannyasi or a grihastha. It does not matter. Anyone who knows the science of Krishna, he can become a guru.” This is the verdict. Because spiritual science does not belong to the bodily platform. It is on the spiritual platform. It is very nice. Just like when you go to a lawyer or an engineer or a physician, you do not inquire whether he’s a brahman or a sudra. Simply you have to know whether he’s a lawyer; that’s all—whether he’s a physician. If he knows the medical science, he may be a brahman, he may be a sudra, he may be a sannyasi, he may be a householder—it doesn’t matter. Your business is with a physician, with a lawyer. Similarly, our business is to understand Krishna. So anyone who knows Krishna perfectly, we have to go there. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet. The Vedic injunction is not that you have to approach a sannyasi or a grihastha or an Indian or American. No. Gurum. And guru means who knows the science of Krishna.

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a grihastha, a very responsible officer, magistrate. And he was so exalted that he would come from his office generally at five o’clock, then take his supper, and immediately go to bed. Immediately. Say at seven o’clock in the evening he went to bed and he woke up at twelve o’clock—it is sufficient sleep, five hours. One should not sleep more than five to six hours. Minimize as far as possible. The Gosvamis used to sleep not more than one and a half or two hours. Sleeping is not a very important thing. Even big politicians, they used to sleep for two hours. Especially in the spiritual line, one should minimize as far as possible eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Minimize. And gradually it will come to nil. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was eating only a little piece of butter every alternate day, not even daily. So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, regularly he was coming from his office, and after taking his supper immediately he would go to bed, and he would wake up at twelve o’clock, and write books. He left behind about one hundred books. And he excavated the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya, organized how to develop that birth site, Mayapur. He had so many businesses. He used to go to preach about Chaitanya’s philosophy. He used to sell books to foreign countries. In 1896 he attempted to sell Life and Precepts of Chaitanya in McGill University in Montreal. So he was busy, acharya. One has to adjust things. Not that “Because I am grihastha, householder, I cannot become a preacher; it is the business of the sannyasi or brahmachari.” No. It is the business of everyone. The whole world is suffering for want of knowledge. The present civilization is animal civilization. They do not know anything beyond eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That’s all. This is animal civilization. An animal does not know beyond these four principles of life: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That’s all. No, human life is meant for something else: “What I am? What is God? What is my relation with God? What is this material world? Why I am here? Where I have to go next?” So many things one has to learn. Athato brahma jijnasa. This is human life. Not to eat and sleep and have sex life and die some day like cats and dogs. Therefore there is need of acharyas, teachers, for propagating spiritual knowledge, Krishna consciousness. Although Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a grihastha, householder, a government officer, magistrate, still he was acharya. So from his dealings, from his life, we should learn how one can become a preacher in any stage of life. It doesn’t matter what one is.

There was one incident, very interesting, when he was magistrate in Jagannatha Puri. Jagannatha temple is a very big establishment. In the temple fifty-six times daily bhoga is offered. And you’ll find in the temple always at least five hundred to one thousand people gathered. They come from outside, and prasada is ready. If you go and ask in the Jagannatha temple, “We are one hundred men come from outside. We want prasada,” yes, immediately ready. So it is a huge temple. This is one temple, but there are many other thousands of temples in India where prasada is distributed. Now it is minimized by our present government. They think that it is an unnecessary expenditure. They are minimizing. But it is not an unnecessary expenditure. They do not understand. Formerly in India there was no necessity of hotel. Anyone goes anywhere, even in a village, he goes to a temple—prasada is ready. There is no need of going to a hotel. You pay or don’t pay. If you say, “I want a little prasada,” “Yes, take it.” That is the system still. There is the Nathadvara temple in Rajasthan. You pay two annas only. Two annas means one cent. You get sumptuous prasada for two annas, all very nice prasada, still. So prasada distribution in the temple is a longstanding tradition. The Jagannatha temple is managed by a body, and it is the custom that the local magistrate of the district becomes the president, or manager. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura was manager in that sense, because he was magistrate. The managing committee was being presided over by him. So, there was a complaint. In Orissa—this Jagannatha temple is situated in Orissa. Utkala. This state originally belonged to Dhruva Maharaja. His son’s name was Utkala, Maharaja Utkala. So, in this Utkala there was a pseudo-yogi. Just like you’ll find nowadays also, there are so many rascals declaring, “I am incarnation of God.” And they know some mystic power, play some jugglery, and foolish people take them: “Oh, he’s God.” So there appeared one such pseudo-God, pseudo-Vishnu, in a village of Orissa. And he was dancing rasa dance, and foolish people were sending their daughters and wives to dance with him. You see? There were so many. People are so foolish, they do not know . . . They want to be cheated, and these cheaters come. He declared, “I am God. I am Visnu.” There were sane men also. They took objection: “What is this nonsense? This man is dancing with ladies and girls.” So they filed a complaint. At that time it was British rule. They complained to the governor or the commissioner, very high officer. The commissioner knew that Bhaktivinoda Thakura . . . His name was Kedaranath Datta, his household name. So the commissioner of the division, he knew that Kedaranath Datta was a religious man, and he was the magistrate in charge. So he handed over the case for inquiry: “What is this complaint? You please inquire and do the needful.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a pure devotee, and he understood: “This rascal is a bogus man, cheating people. I must inquire.” So he went to the village in plain dress with some police constables. They also were in plain dress. And as soon as he approached, that rascal yogi said, “Oh, you are Kedaranath Datta. Very nice. I shall make you king of India. Please don’t try to bother me.” Because he could understand, “He has come to inquire about my rasa-lila.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura first said, “Sir, you are such a great yogi. Why you are in the village? Why don’t you go to Jagannatha Puri? There is temple, and Lord Jagannatha is there. Better you go there and see the Lord and be happy. Why you are in this village?” “Oh, Jagannatha?” replied the pseudo-yogi, “That is made of wood. I am personally the Supreme Lord. That is made of wood.” Oh, then Bhaktivinoda Thakura—he was a devotee—he became fire. The yogi was insulting. Arcye sila-dhir gurusu nara-matih. According to shastra, if somebody thinks . . . Just like here is Deity. If somebody thinks, “Oh, it is made of stone . . .” It is stone to the eyes of the nondevotee, but to the devotees it is personally the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It requires the eyes to see. So, devotees see from a different angle of vision. Just like Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, when He entered the Jagannatha temple, immediately He fainted: “Oh, here is My Lord.” And the nondevotee is seeing: “It is wood, a lump of wood.” Therefore, to the nondevotee, He remains always as wood, but to the devotee He speaks. That is the difference. Premanjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena. (Bs 5.38) If God is everything, why He cannot manifest through wood or stone? That’s a fact. God is omnipotent. He can express Himself even through wood and stone. That is God’s omnipotence. Not that God is unable to express Himself through wood or stone. Then how He’s omnipotent? Omnipotent means His potency can be expressed through anything. Because anything, everything, is the expansion of God’s energy. Parasya brahmanah saktis tathedam akhilam jagat. The whole world is a manifestation of different energies of God. Just like through the energy of electricity the electric powerhouse, although far, far away from this place, was expressing. There is electricity. Through this glass, through these wires, the power can be expressed. There is a process.

So Bhaktivinoda Thakura became hot with anger. Because a devotee cannot tolerate blasphemy of another devotee or of God. So as soon as the yogi said, “Why shall I go to Jagannatha Puri to see the wooden Jagannatha? I personally am Vishnu,” Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered his constables, “Arrest him. Arrest this rascal.” So he was arrested. And when he was arrested—he had some yogic mystic power—all the constables, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and his family members became affected with high fever, 105-degree fever. So when Bhaktivinoda Thakura came back, his wife became very much disturbed: “You arrested Vishnu, and we are all going to die. Now we have got high fever.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, “Yes, let us all die, but this rascal must be punished.” This is the view of a pure devotee. So the yogi was taken into custody, and a date was fixed for his trial. All these days, Bhaktivinoda Thakura and his family especially, they were suffering from high fever. Maybe that yogi was planning to kill the whole family, but it was going on as fever. So, on the trial day, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Kedaranath Datta, when he came to the bench and the man was presented, the so-called yogi had big, big hairs. So Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered, “Bring one barber and cut his hair.” No barber dared. The barbers thought, “Oh, he’s Lord Vishnu. If I offend, as he’s suffering from fever, so I shall also die.” So Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered, “Give me the scissors. I’ll cut.” So he cut his hairs and ordered him to be put in jail for six months, and in jail that Vishnu incarnation managed to take some poison, and he died.

This is one of the incidents. There are many incidents. He was a very strong man. He punished many pandas in the tirthas who exploited visitors. So, this is the position of a devotee. In spite of his becoming a responsible magistrate, a householder, still, Bhaktivinoda Thakura was acharya.

We have to follow the acharyas. If we are at all interested in spiritual science, we must follow the Vedic instruction tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet. We must approach. You cannot have spiritual knowledge simply by speculating. Impossible. Simply waste of time—srama eva hi kevalam. (SB 1.2.8) You must go to the authority. Therefore, the Bhagavad-gita (13.8) recommends, acaryopasanam. Acarya-upasana—worshiping not only the Lord, but also the acharya. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija. (Cc Madhya 19.151) Guru, acharya; and Krishna. One should seek the favor of both. Not that “I am now seeking the favor of Krishna. What is the use of guru or acharya?” No. You cannot overstep the acharya and go to Krishna. That is not possible. Krishna will not accept you. Just like if you want to see a big man you should go through his secretary, through his orderly, doorkeeper; similarly, our process is to go through the acharya (acaryopasanam). That is the injunction of the Vedas.

 Tarko ’pratisthah: if you want to enter into the spiritual world, you cannot get through simply by arguments, because there is no limit to arguments. I place my argument in one way. Then another man, who is better in argument, places his argument in a different way. So if you simply go on arguing, it is not possible. Tarko ’pratisthah. Argument will never help you. And srutayo vibhinnah. If you think, “I shall read scriptures and understand God,” no, that also is not possible. Srutayo vibhinnah: scriptures are also different, because scriptures are made according to time, circumstance, and people. Just like the Bible. Lord Jesus Christ preached in the desert, Jerusalem—or wherever—to people who were not so advanced. Therefore his first instruction was “Thou shall not kill.” That means they were very much engaged in killing affairs; otherwise, why this instruction? And actually, it so happened that they killed Jesus Christ. So that society was not very enlightened. So, a scripture for a society that is not very enlightened and a scripture for a society that is very enlightened must be different. Just like the dictionary: For the schoolboy a pocket dictionary, and for a college student the big international dictionary. Both of them are dictionaries, but the small pocket dictionary is not equal to the big dictionary, because it is made different for different classes of men. So, scriptures are made according to different classes of men. There are three classes of men: first-class, second-class, and third-class. The third-class man cannot understand the philosophy and scriptural injunctions of the first-class man. That is not possible. Higher mathematics cannot be understood by the small schoolboys who are simply trying to understand “Two plus two equals four.” But “Two plus two equals four” is equally good for the higher mathematics student. But still, higher mathematics and lower math are different. Therefore it is said, srutayo vibhinnah: the scriptures are different. So if you try to understand what is God simply by reading scriptures, you cannot succeed. You must approach a guru. Just like a medical book may be available in the market. If you purchase one medical book and study and think you can become a doctor—that is not possible. You must hear the medical book from a medical man in the medical college. Then you will be qualified. And if you say, “Sir, I have read all the medical books; recognize me as a medical practitioner,” no, that will not do.

So, srutayo vibhinnah: scriptures are different. And argument also is not helpful. One man may argue better than me. And then philosophy. It is said, nasau munir yasya matam na bhinnam: One philosopher differs from another philosopher. Just today Syamasundara has purchased one book about different philosophers. By that also you cannot ascertain what the truth is. Therefore shastra says, dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam. The truth is very confidential. If you want to know that truth, mahajano yena gatah sa panthah: you have to follow the great acharyas (Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.117, quoted as Cc Madhya 17.186). Then you will understand. Therefore acarya-upasana is essential. In all the Vedic shastras the injunction is that. Tad-vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet, srotriyam brahma-nistham. (MU 1.2.12) Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam (SB 11.3.21): one who is inquisitive to understand higher truths must surrender to guru. Tasmad gurum prapadyeta, jijnasuh sreya uttamam—one who is inquisitive, who is now inquiring about transcendental subject matter. Tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya. (Gita 4.34) All the shastras say. In our Vaishnava shastra also, Rupa Gosvami says, adau gurv-asrayam: “First, in the beginning, you must take shelter of a bona fide guru.” (Brs 1.2.74)

We should adore, we should worship, Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s birthday, because in the modern age he reintroduced the disciplic succession from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Five hundred years ago, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught this philosophy, but within two hundred years . . . Because this material world is so made that whatever you introduce, in due course it will deteriorate. You make a nice house, but after one hundred years, two hundred years, or nowadays, after fifty years, it becomes dilapidated. That is nature’s law. Kala, time, will destroy everything. Now the British Empire, such a big, vast empire, is finished. Kala, time, will finish everything. Anything material, it has birth, it has growth, it has got some opulence, then dwindling, then finished. That is the way of material nature. So, we are interested in spiritual subject matter. Therefore the process is adau gurv-asrayam: one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master. That is our process. Without accepting a bona fide spiritual master, we cannot make any progress. It is impossible.

So, Bhaktivinoda Thakura is acharya, one of the acharyas. And he left behind many important books—Caitanya-siksamrta, Jaiva-dharma—in Bengali and Sanskrit. And many songs. He prepared many books of songs. The song Sri Nama (gay gora madhur svare) is Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s. We are trying to present Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s books also in English translation. Gradually you will get them. So our adoration, our worship to Bhaktivinoda Thakura today, is because he may bless us to peacefully progress in Krishna consciousness. Acarya-upasana—simply by the blessings of the acharyas we can make rapid progress. Vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau. (Bs 5.33) Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. (Sri Gurvastaka) We sing every day, “By the mercy of the spiritual master, acharya, we immediately get the blessings of Lord.” Immediately. Yasya prasadat. Yasya means “whose”; prasadat, “benediction.” By the benediction of the spiritual master (yasya prasadad), bhagavat-prasadah: if spiritual master, acharya, is pleased, then you should know that Krishna is also pleased. You should know. This is not very difficult. Just like you are working in office, if your immediate officer, boss, is pleased, that means the proprietor of the firm is also pleased—although you do not see him. This is fact—if your immediate boss is pleased. Similarly, we, our business, this spiritual line, is guru-åç-krpa. We have to first receive the merciful benediction of the acharya, and then Krishna will be pleased and He’ll also give His blessings. There is a verse in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.19.21), mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika. Krishna says, “If anyone worships Me directly and if anyone worships Me through the acharya, he’s a better devotee who is coming to Me through the acharya (mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika).

This Vaishnava philosophy, process, is to go through the acharya—servant of the servant of the servant. We should try to become servant of the servant. Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah. (Padyavali 74, quoted as Cc Madhya 13.80) We should not approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. That is not good. In the Vedic injunction also it is said, yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau. (SU 6.23) If one has got unflinching faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead (yatha deve), and similar faith in guru . . . Of course, we must accept a bona fide guru, in the disciplic succession. That is also not very difficult to select, who is bona fide guru. Bona fide guru means he presents himself as servant of God—he does not pose falsely that “I am God”—this is bona fide. It is not difficult to find out bona fide. But this is the test. If anyone says that “I am God,” then he cannot be guru. Because he has no knowledge. How he is God? He can cheat some people—that is a different thing. You can cheat all people for some time and some people for all time, but not all people for all time. That is not possible. So, any guru who poses that “I am God” is a false guru. The bona fide guru will say, “I am servant of the servant of the servant of Krishna, God.” That is the business of guru. He serves Krishna as Krishna desires; that is his business. That is also not very difficult. Krishna desires, Krishna says (Gita 18.66), sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: “You give up all other engagements and just surrender unto Me, and I’ll give you protection.” Krishna says. So guru’s business is that “You simply surrender to Krishna.” What is the difficulty? He simply repeats the same thing—not for himself, but for Krishna. He’s bona fide guru.

So, this Krishna consciousness movement is bona fide because we say the same thing as Krishna says. We don’t make any addition or alteration. Not like big scholars who say, “It is not to Krishna . . .” Krishna says (Gita 18.65), man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru, and the scholar interprets, “It is not to Krishna.” Just see the foolishness. Krishna says directly, “unto Me,” and the scholar says, “not to Krishna,” misleading. Such a misleading guru will not help you. Therefore, to find out a bona fide guru means to find one who does not change the words of Krishna. That is his position. He presents everything as it is, and he has understood the science thoroughly (jijnasuh sreya uttamam). What is the symptom of a guru? Tasmad gurum prapadyeta jijnasuh sreya uttamam. (SB 11.3.21). Those who are inquisitive to understand higher scientific knowledge (uttamam)—uttama means higher. There are three words: uttama, madhyama, adhama—first-class, second-class, third-class. Spiritual knowledge is uttamam. Anyone who is inquisitive to understand first-class knowledge, he requires a guru. Those who are interested in third-class knowledge, they do not require any guru. Third-class knowledge means animal knowledge: how to eat, how to sleep. How to make arrangement for eating, how to make arrangement for sleeping—that is third-class knowledge. Because the animals also try for this kind of knowledge, how to eat, how to sleep. Therefore this kind of knowledge is third-class knowledge. And second-class knowledge is “What I am?” Athato brahma jijnasa—the Vedanta. That is second-class knowledge. And first-class knowledge, when he actually understands what he is—he is eternal servant of Krishna—and engages himself in the service of the Lord, that is first-class knowledge. And therefore, as soon as he comes to the first-class knowledge platform, he becomes happy:

brahma-bhutah prasannatma
na socati na kanksati
samah sarvesu bhutesu
mad-bhaktim labhate param
(Gita 18.54)

After being liberated from the material concept of life by the blessings of Krishna and guru, one comes to the platform of first-class knowledge, where he engages himself directly in the service of the Lord. That is first-class knowledge. First-class knowledge is beyond liberation. Second-class knowledge is trying for liberation. And third-class knowledge means being in bondage, like animals. The animals are bound up by their particular types of body and have no possibility of becoming liberated. That is animal life. But human life is better than animal life because if he likes, a human can make himself liberated from this bondage of material body. That is the facility. He can understand himself, what he is. He can understand what is God. He can understand the relationship between God and himself. He can understand what is this material world. Because there are thousands of books of knowledge. Take Bhagavad-gita. Everything is there. And it is meant for human beings, not for cats and dogs. Cats and dogs cannot understand, but a human being can understand.

So, this Krishna consciousness movement is to enlighten people to utilize this very nice life, human form of life, properly. To utilize it properly means to revive one’s dormant Krishna consciousness. The Krishna consciousness, or God consciousness, is there already. It is developed in the human form of life, but it is now covered due to our background of association with this material world for unlimited years. We are coming through different species of life, over millions and millions of years. Suppose I was a tree sometimes; I was standing up for ten thousand years in one place. We have passed through. That’s a fact. That is evolution. Now we have the opportunity of light. If you don’t use this opportune moment and again go back to the cycle of evolutionary process, jalaja nava-laksani sthavara . . . So this is a great science. Unfortunately, there is no opportunity for the people to study this science in schools, colleges, or universities. They are simply teaching people, “You work hard and gratify your senses.” That’s all. Therefore a section, younger section, has been disgusted. They have refused to cooperate with this materialistic society on account of this disappointing education. And it will increase, because this sort of education cannot give peace or prosperity to people. Problems are increasing. Therefore, our request is that if you want to decrease or completely finish all the problems of life, take to Krishna consciousness through the process of disciplic succession and you’ll be all happy.

Thank you very much.

Syamasundara dasa: If anyone has any questions pertaining to the lecture, you can ask them at this time.

Devotee girl: Bhaktivinoda Thakura, he also took sannyasa in later years? Is this right?

Prabhupada: Yes. In very late years, in his retired life.

Devotee: Prabhupada, you say that an animal has no chance for liberation. What would happen if an animal came in contact with a pure devotee?

Prabhupada: Yes, there is a chance of deliverance. Yes, even an animal, because he’ll hear Hare Krishna from the pure devotee. That will not go in vain. The devotee will give prasada. The animal does not know, but the devotee, out of compassion, gives prasada and chants Hare Krishna. So the animal also gets the opportunity of hearing. So he’ll also be liberated. One dog, during Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s time, he also became liberated. There is a history. Sivananda Sena’s dog, he was liberated by the grace of Lord Chaitanya. So by the association of a pure devotee . . . Therefore Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in one song, prays to the Lord, kita-janma hau yatha tuya dasa. Kita means “insect.” “My Lord, if I have to take my birth again”—because a devotee does not pray to God for liberation; he simply prays, “Wherever I may take my birth, may I never forget You.” That’s all. That is a devotee’s prayer. A devotee does not say, “Elevate me to the heavenly planet or Vaikuntha planet.” No. “You can put me anywhere.” Just like Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, kita-janma hau: “My dear Lord, I have no objection if I have to take my next birth as an insect”—what to speak of human being or other thing—“as an insect, but I must be in the house of a devotee.” An insect, by eating the remnants of foodstuffs left by the devotee, will be delivered. Kita-janma hau yatha tuya dasa/ bahir-mukha brahma-janma nahi asa: “I don’t want my next birth as Lord Brahma if I forget You. I don’t want.” A devotee prays to the Lord that he be able to constantly remember the lotus feet of the Lord, never mind whether as insect or as king or as dog—never mind. That is pure devotee. That is wanted.

Indian man: If one has accepted a bona fide spiritual master and does not receive much knowledge from him, can he change his spiritual master later?

Prabhupada: A bona fide spiritual master, where is the necessity of changing?

Indian man: No, he has not got the knowledge from him, but can I change?

Prabhupada: No, no. Bona fide spiritual master means he must get knowledge. He must get knowledge. He must inquire from the . . . The student must inquire from the spiritual master. If he remains dumb, then what the bona fide spiritual master can do? Adau gurv-asrayam sad-dharma-prcchat—jijnasuh. He must be jijnasuh. We get so many letters daily, so many inquiries. The student must be very inquisitive. Otherwise, how will he make progress? If he remains dumb, then what can the bona fide spiritual master do? If you go to a very nice school but you do not study, if you do not inquire, then what is the use of going to the nice school? You must also be very alert to inquire, to understand, to make progress. Then it will be all right. If you do not utilize the benefit of having a bona fide spiritual master, then that is your fault. You must utilize the opportunity. We are publishing so many books, so many literatures, magazines. Why? Just to enlighten more and more. But if you don’t take advantage of this, then how can you make progress? Change of spiritual master is required when the spiritual master is not bona fide. Otherwise there is no necessity of changing.

Indian lady: How does one contact the spiritual master? Through a book can you contact the spiritual master?

Prabhupada: No, you have to associate.

Syamasundara: “Can you associate through a book?” she asked.

Prabhupada: Yes, through books, and also personal. Because when you accept a spiritual master you have got personal touch—not that in air you make a spiritual master. You make a spiritual master concrete. So as soon as you accept a spiritual master, you should be inquisitive.

English man: If the spiritual master, Prabhupada, worships God through a demigod, is he bona fide?

Prabhupada: No. He does not know how to worship. How he can be bona fide? Krishna says (Gita 18.66), sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam. Why he should go to the demigods? That means he has no knowledge. Krishna says, mam ekam. Why should you go to others? That means he’s insufficiently qualified. Why should you go to the demigods? What is the necessity? He’s not bona fide, because he has insufficient knowledge. Bona fide spiritual master must have sufficient knowledge. Krishna says, God says, mam ekam. Why he should go to demigods? That is proof that he’s not bona fide.

Devotee: If one accepts initiation from a bona fide spiritual master but continues to perform material activities, is he still bound by his karma?

Prabhupada: He has to do everything under the instruction of the spiritual master. That is his duty. Sisya. Sisya means one who voluntarily accepts disciplinary measures from the spiritual master. He’s ruled by the spiritual master.

Indian lady: Can the death of a spiritual master take us too? . . . Is that spiritual master still guiding after his death?

Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Just like Krishna is guiding us, similarly, the spiritual master will guide. We are being guided by Krishna, by the Bhagavad-gita, although Krishna is not physically present, so-called. Krishna is always present. But even if we say that Krishna is not physically present as He was present before Arjuna, still, His book Bhagavad-gita is there. And that Bhagavad-gita is nondifferent from Krishna. Krishna and Krishna’s teaching are the same, absolute. That is Absolute Truth. Krishna and Krishna’s . . . Here, the form [indicating the Deity], the same. It is not that we are making a show of offering Krishna some food. No, we are offering directly to Krishna and He’s eating. Krishna, being absolute, can act through anything, provided we are sincere and serious.

By Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

“One who has unflinching devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead has all the good qualities of the demigods. But one who is not a devotee of the Lord has only material qualifications that are of little value. This is because he is hovering on the mental plane and is certain to be attracted by the glaring material energy.”. Learned sages have described the meaning of auspiciousness as love for the entire creation, caring affection for all living entities, saintly character, happiness, and other such qualities. The person in whom bhakti has arisen bestows affection to the whole world and becomes the object of attachment for everyone in the world. He effortlessly becomes the recipient of all saintly qualities and attains all types of pure happiness and auspiciousness. Continue reading "Good Qualities and Devotion
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H.G. Bhurijan Prabhu’s lecture in Vrindavan about the Appearance Of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

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[Talk at Charlotte, USA]

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The post Vamana pastime analysis 1 – When good people do good things at a heavy cost appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavat Shravanam class at The Bhakti Center, New York, USA]

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The post 3 ways to engage our desires with Krishna 2 – Desiring Krishna and desiring for Krishna appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Bhagavatam class at The Bhakti Center, New York, USA]

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Podcast Summary

 

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The post 3 ways to engage our desires with Krishna 1 – Desiring from Krishna appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Talk to New York University students, New York, USA]

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The post Is the Bhagavad-gita relevant in the age of science – MAIL acronym appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Bergen Country, USA]

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The post Why do bad things happen to good people – QA appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Today is Vamana-dvadasi, the appearance day of Vamanadeva. “Urukrama is a name for Lord Vamanadeva, who performed the wonderful act of occupying the three worlds with three footsteps. Lord Vamanadeva requested three paces of land from Maharaja Bali, and when Maharaja Bali agreed to grant them, the Lord immediately covered the entire world with two footsteps, and for His third step He placed His foot upon Bali Maharaja’s head. Sri Jayadeva Gosvami says:

chalayasi vikramane balim adbhuta-vamana
pada-nakha-nira-janita-jana-pavana
kesava dhrta-vamana-rupa jaya jagadisa hare

‘All glories to Lord Kesava, who assumed the form of a dwarf. O Lord of the universe, who take away everything inauspicious for the devotees! O wonderful Vamanadeva! You tricked the great demon Bali Maharaja by Your steps. The water that touched the nails of Your lotus feet when You pierced through the covering of the universe purifies all living entities in the form of the river Ganges.’

“Since the Supreme Lord is all-powerful, He can do things that seem wonderful for a common man. Similarly, a devotee who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord can also do wonderful things unimaginable to a common man, by the grace of the dust of those lotus feet.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.1.35 purport)

We pray to serve the Lord in such a way that He will be pleased to give Himself to us.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (195) it is said that Srila Jiva Gosvami was formerly Vilasa-manjari gopi. From his very childhood Jiva Gosvami was greatly fond of Srimad-Bhagavatam. He later came to Navadvipa to study Sanskrit, and, following in the footsteps of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, he circumambulated the entire Navadvipa-dhama. After visiting Navadvipa-dhama he went to Benares to study Sanskrit under Madhusudana Vacaspati, and after finishing his studies in Benares he went to Vrndavana and took shelter of his uncles, Sri Rupa and Sanatana.

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Crawley Ratha Yatra.

This is the 12th year where their Lordships have graced the town of Crawley with their presence for the annual Ratha Yatra Festival organised by the local devotees. The devotees lovingly get together every year without fail headed by Ajay Prabhu to spread the yuga dharma outside of their Bhakti Yoga Centre.
HG Parasurama Prabhu provided the cart, deities and free Prasadam, which he tirelessly cooks, distributed out to everyone. Srila Prabhuapda’s books were distributed by the local devotees, and there was also henna and face painting to bring in the crowd. There was also sweet stage kirtan led by Gurukulis.

KIRTAN FEST 2019 at ISKCON of Houston.
The 3rd Annual Kirtan Fest at ISKCON of Houston was attended by over 350 devotees who traveled from across the USA and beyond. Each year the festival brings more kirtaniyas and more devotees are taking advantage. This year’s event was led by a mix of young and senior devotees including HH Bhakti Sundar Goswami, HH Rtadhvaja Swami, HG Havi Dasa, HG Sri Prahlad Dasa, HG Param Dasa & HG Gaura Mani Devi Dasi, HG Namarasa Dasa & HG Tulasi Priti Devi Dasi, HG Amala Harinam Dasa & HG Nadia Bihari Devi Dasi, HG Krishna Kishore Dasa, HG Balaram Tirtha Dasa & HG Dhanya Devi Dasi, HG Krishna Prasad Dasa and more. In addition, two second-generation budding singers, Mayuri Mahajan and Revati Buchwald created enthusiasm among devotees by their heart touching kirtans. At the welcome address, HG Nityananda Dasa (GBC Secretary for Texas) encouraged all attendees to participate in Kirtan Fest every year and thanked the local committee for organizing the event.

HH Gopal Krishna Goswami met with Hon'ble Lieutenant Governor of NCT of Delhi, Shri Anil Baijal Ji to extend a cordial invitation t...

Yoga retreat at Almviks gård, Sweden (5 min. video)
An international group of yogis gathers at Almvik for a two-week-long retreat focusing on Ayurveda and bhakti-yoga.

Bali maharaj, who is the grandson of Prahlad maharaj, who was king of the daityas, he worshipped Visnu, and he was able to defeat Indra. He became the ruler of the whole universe. So all the devas and the deva mata Aditi came before Visnu, and offered their prayers and obeisances. So Visnu agreed to […]

The post Happy Vamana Dwadasi! appeared first on Mayapur.com.

By Giriraj Swami

“According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, one should never consider one’s spiritual master to be mundane or on an equal level with one’s self. One should see the spiritual master as being always under the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. One should never try to engage the spiritual master in one’s personal service with the mentality of lording it over the spiritual master and attaining through him some material gain. One who is actually advancing will become more and more eager to serve the spiritual master, and thus such a disciple experiences the pleasure of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Continue reading "Glorious Tests
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By His Divine Grace A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada

So when Vamanadeva appeared, Bali Maharaja was attracted by His beauty as a Dwarf Brahmin, and as he was charitably disposed, he wanted to give Him some charity. But Sukaracharya, being elevated in mystic yogic powers, he could understand that Vamanadeva was Visnu. And in order to favor the demigods, He had come there to cheat Bali Maharaja in the shape of begging some charities. Bali Maharaja was puffed up with his material vanities, and Vamanadeva as He is Visnu, all-peaceful, without interrupting his attitude, just approached him in the form of a Brahmin, Who has a right to beg something from the princely order. And the principle orders also are always disposed, to make charities to the Brahmins. Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada on Lord Vamanadeva
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Answer Podcast

 

Transcription :

Transcription by: Suresh Gupta

Question: Is spirituality the only way to overcome bad habits?

Answer: Definitely there are people who are non-devotees and who have given up bad habits. Basically, the mind is like a programable device. It is running a particular program and we need to re-program it. It depends on what new program we try to put in. Some people may give up drinking but replace it with smoking. If they smoke they may replace it with drinking. They might reprogram their minds into thinking that smoking is not as dangerous as drinking or vice versa. Ultimately this does not really get them out of bad habits, it is just replacing one bad habit with another.

Similarly, somebody might replace a bad habit with a good one. However, some people succeed, and some people fail. Along with the impetus that makes them pick a bad habit, it is also due to the strength of impressions. For example, if somebody is a social drinker then all that they need to do to give up their bad habits is change their social circle. Just by hanging out with more sober people, their drinking will go away. Such people are not so much interested in drinking but are more interested in the sense of belonging and acceptance.

Other than that, somebody might be drinking so that they may get some break from life’s worries. Even if such people change their social circle, they might not give up their drinking because their need is different. Maybe when such people start doing something else that gives them a break (for example, hearing music, gardening etc) then they might give up drinking. Therefore, in terms of specific extreme expressions of anarthas, by certain practices which may not be necessarily devotional, people can give up those habits. However, in terms of complete anartha nivritti, that is difficult because in the conditioned stage, anarthas are what are seen as a source of pleasure. One may think, if I give them up then what will I do with my life?

However, should we complement our practice of bhakti with something else? It depends on what we are doing. Many devotees, in their chanting, when their mind is just wandering too much, they stop for some time and take a few deep breaths. What happens by this, the deep breathing itself just calms the mind down. Taking deep breaths and breathing slowly for some time can help calm the mind and then one can chant. However, if somebody says, “Okay, actually breathing calms my mind and chanting does not. Then instead of chanting, I will just do slow breathing for two hours”, then this will be a wrong understanding.

There are two things – pacification of the mind and purification of the mind. Deep breathing will basically just pacify the mind. It is not really removing the anarthas, it is just distancing us from them for a particular time. This is more like a pain killer and not a curative medicine. Pain killers are cheap but provide immediate temporary relief whereas curative medicines are expensive and require patience. Out of temptation for immediate relief, one cannot say, that if pain killer can give immediate relief then why to take curative medicine at all. Similarly, when we do something which brings us temporarily to sattva guna then such an alternative might seem easier. For example, there are people who do laughter therapy. We might laugh at it but those who do it get some relief. It is not that they are being foolish but If someone thinks that this is all I need to do then that is a problem.

With respect to pain killers, it is best to do what one needs to do. Do not campaign for it and do not campaign against it, because each person’s pain might be different and a pain killer that works for someone, may not work for someone else. Someone may not even need it, but another person might need it. However, if one starts campaigning for it then they are just burdening people with something which they do not need. Similarly, if we campaign against it then we are depriving someone of something they need. Therefore, it is best that if there are certain practices which calm our mind, then we can adopt them. It is only when we start seeing them as alternatives to bhakti, that is when it becomes a problem.

End of transcription.

The post Is spirituality the only way to overcome bad habits? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Gaura Lila – Conscious of Being Separated from Krishna 2015-03-05 Vrindavan

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Mahabali, the grandson of Prahlada and son of Virochana, was a renowned leader of the asuras. He had the strength of a hundred lions, but he was also as gentle as a lamb. Like his grandfather, Prahlada, he was devoted to Lord Vishnu.

Mahabali led his men out of Patala, conquered Bhuloka, and wrested control of Svarga-loka from Indra.

Bali’s cousin Indra, the Lord of devas, desperately wanted his celestial kingdom back. He prayed to Lord Vishnu to restore the lost heaven to him. The Lord agreed to help and manifested himself as Lord Vamana.

Bali Maharaja announced that he would perform a sacrifice and give away all his possessions to charity. People came from far and wide including the Lord.

Looking at his guest Bali thought to himself: “A Vamana emanating an extraordinary lustre!”

Mahabali offered his guest a seat and washed his feet with water poured by his wife.

“You’ve come at an auspicious time,” he said. “I’m giving away my wealth. Ask for anything and I shall give it to you. Cows, pasture lands, gold…you have but to ask!”

“Give me all the land that I can cover in three strides,” said Vamana.

“What?” asked Bali, wondering if he had heard right. “You want all the land that you can cover in three strides? I can give you much, much more! I’m Lord of the Three Worlds, in case you don’t know! I can give you three villages or three cities, or three or four or even five hundred kingdoms!”

“Three strides of land is what I want,” said Vamana, smiling.

Bali’s advisor and guru, Shukracharya, intervened. “Don’t entertain this guest. He’s an imposter. This is none other than Lord Vishnu in disguise. Give him an inch, he will take away a yard. He may take away all the land you have conquered here on earth and above, and hand them over to your cousins, the devas.”

Bali thanked his advisor for his concern. “Acharya, I’ve taken a vow to give in charity whatever anyone asks for. Please do not stop me. “

Then Bali turned to Vamana. “I look upon a guest as Lord Vishnu himself. I request you to measure out your land!”

Vamana stood up and put his leg forward; but while bringing it down he grew taller and taller, and his leg spanned further and further, until it covered the whole earth.

Bali looked up at the lad with wonder. He had grown into a Trivikrama, a giant, reaching up to the sky.

“Where shall I place my next step?” asked Vamana with a smile.

By now Mahabali had realized that his guest was none other than Mahavishnu, whom he worshipped. Numbly, he pointed to the sky, with his little finger. Vamana lifted his other foot and raised it to the sky. The foot arched over the whole of heaven.

Looking down kindly at the emperor of the three worlds, the Lord asked, “Where shall I keep my third step?”

With head bowed in surrender, hands joined in salutation, Bali said: “In my arrogance I thought everything in the three worlds was mine to give. You’ve shown me my rightful place. Place your foot on my head.”

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Yesterday, in continuation of the Radhastami celebrations, the devotees in Dallas had a boat festival for Sri Sri Radha-Govinda. Here are some images and a video clip.

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2nd Jagannath Ratha Yatra in Negara City 2019 - Indonesia

Negara is a city situated in Western Bali around two and a half hours from Denpasar. It is the capital of Jembrana and has a population of around 300,000. The 124th anniversary celebration of the city was held on the 1st of September 2019. ISKCON Indonesia, by presenting the Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra parade, enlivened the annual festival and cultural program organized by the Jembrana district government

A video by ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor - Hare Krishna Temple Watford. (2003)

A popular vacation spot in the south of Russia, Jubga is bordered on one side by lush greenery and on the other by the picturesque Black Sea. It has been the site of Sadhu Sanga for the past five years, although the festival was launched over two decades ago.

The Lord appeared as Sri Vamanadeva in order to honor His devotees – both the demigods, who required His help to gain back their kingdom from the demons, and Bali Maharaja, whose exemplary qualities and characteristics were revealed in his dealings with Lord Vamanadeva. 

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 17 July 2019, Bhaktivedanta Manor, United Kingdom, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.45)

Bhismadeva was not only a pure devotee, but very much a self-reliant devotee. He was a devotee who chose the transcendental position even though he was in a condition of life which was mundane. Living in a royal court is not the ideal situation for a brahmacari. Generally, brahmacaris are nicely locked away in the brahmacari ashramas, where they are protected from the heavy aspect of sense gratification straight in their face. But here, Bhismadeva was living in royal opulence, a very difficult condition for a brahmacari. But somehow or other, Bhismadeva managed to do so because his vision was completely transcendental and therefore he was totally detached. He was not a brahmacari who simply wanted to avoid the troubles of material life and on that basis decided that, “I am not going to get married. I do not want to pay all those bills.” But rather, he was attached to Krsna and because he had such deep attachment to Krsna, his renunciation was therefore based on genuine detachment.

So on this basis, Bhismadeva was able to take that glorious position of pronouncing that he would remain a brahmacari for life. At that time, the demigods resounded their drums. It rained flower petals from the sky. Then Bhismadeva’s life unfolded further and as it unfolded, he would see that he was always the one to bring the spiritual influence amongst the Kurus. Particularly the Pandavas, who were pious by nature, took advantage of that transcendental association.

We see however that Bhismadeva is on the side opposing the Pandavas. However, that is only external. If we really look at it on a deeper level, it is simply an arrangement for him to express that vira rasa – the mood of chivalry. This mood of being a warrior is so deeply engrained in that satya spirit that even in his relationship with Krsna, he desired to have that warrior exchange. While others offered flowers, Bhismadeva offered arrows. When these arrows were showing wounds on Krsna’s body, that was the perfection. And of course, it was not only Bhismadeva who was relishing this exchange of chivalry, it was Krsna as well. Because Krsna also enjoys a good fight!     

The article " A spiritual influence " was published on KKSBlog.

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