Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.23.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke on Bhagavad-gita 9.14

Today I heard a nice talk by Srila Prabhupada in which he said, “A devotee is not afraid of dying”—and explained why:

Here in the material world, padam padam vipadam. At every step there is vipada; there is danger. So don’t think that “She is dying” or “He is dying, and I shall not die.” Everyone will have to die. At every step, there is danger of dying. It is not that . . . Everyone has to die. So before that death we must become fully Krishna conscious so that ante narayana-smrtih. [“The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.” (SB 2.1.6)]

The end will come today or tomorrow or day after tomorrow. Nobody here will live. But the success is if we can remember Narayana at the end of life. That is success. Ante narayana-smrtih. We should practice that. Don’t bother about that “I shall die tomorrow. You are dying today, so I am better than you.” Nobody here will live. Everyone will die, and we must be prepared for death. And the devotee has no fear of dying, because if he is completely surrendered to Krishna, then he is going back to Him. Tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti. [“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” (Gita 4.9)] Simply by surrendering to Krishna.

And what is that surrendering? Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru, mam evaisyasi asamsayah [Gita 18.68]. Without any doubt. He is giving assurance. Four things only. Always think of Krishna. Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam. Anyone can do it. Everyone can offer Krishna patram puspam phalam toyam. [“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Gita 9.26)]

Everyone can hear from Krishna what is Krishna. Where is the difficulty? The difficulty is that we want enjoyment in this material world. That is the difficulty. Therefore it is recommended that akincananam mayi bhakti-bhajam. For a devotee there is no problem. He is not attracted by liberation or by Svargaloka or by yogic perfection. He is not at all interested. Bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kami—sakali ‘asanta’. They cannot get santi, because they want something. For bhukti, the karmis are working so hard. They want some material profit or go to the Svargaloka to enjoy more. This is bhukti. And for mukti, they are also undergoing severe austerities, penance, tapasya, for becoming one. Kaivalya sukha. Kevaladvaita. They are also working. And the yogis, they also work very hard. Yoga practice is not so easy. Dhyana, dharana, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, samadhi. It requires. . . And especially in this age it is not so easy. It was easier in the Satya-yuga. Krte yad dhyayato visnum. [“Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Visnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord’s lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.” (SB 12.3.52)]

Samadhi was possible. Now it is not possible. Our bhakti-yoga is so easy, simply man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru—very simple thing. So we should take to bhakti, devotional service, and reject everything. Niskincana. That will make your life successful.

—Srila Prabhupada, talk on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.25, November 12, 1976, Vrindavan

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 8 April 2019, Amritsar, India, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.6.37)

Krsna’s beauty is not only external. His beauty is not only in His form and in His lotus eyes and so on, the beauty is in His very nature. Krsna is very noble. Our Krsna is extremely kind. When Draupadi was in the assembly of the Kurus and Shakuni was carrying out his tricks with the dice and cheating, the Pandavas lost everything. Even Yudhistira himself was totally lost. He lost all his brothers, then he lost himself and then he wagered Draupadi. So Draupadi was saying that it was not a proper bet because Yudhistira, at that point, had already lost himself. But no one in the assembly cared about Draupadi’s declaration that this bet was illegitimate. Dushashan still came and tried to pull out her sari, in an attempt to expose her in public since she was now considered to be a slave. Despite holding onto her sari, what could she possibly do in comparison to Dushashan’s powerful arms? So instead, she just threw her arms in the air and cried, “Hey Govinda!” It was in this moment that Draupadi had totally surrendered to Krsna and so in return, the more sari that Dushashan pulled out, the more sari Krsna supplied. There was unlimited cloth, so much so, that the entire assembly hall filled up with this cloth.

So think about this very deep point. Krsna says that He never forgets His devotee. We keep forgetting everything, and the one thing I especially forget is my passwords. In fact I put all my passwords in one place which is protected by a password, and then I forget that password too. But Krsna does not forget. Krsna says that whenever He remembers how Draupadi surrendered, His appreciation for her increases, and then He remembers her surrender again and again. This way, Krsna’s appreciation is increasing eternally.

So this is the nature of Krsna and this is the nature of devotional service. Krsna is appreciating His devotees more and more and more, regardless of what service His devotees render. That is Krsna. So if you think about how beautiful Krsna’s nature is, we can see that it is amazing!

The article " Krsna’s beautiful nature " was published on KKSBlog.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.22.

“Engagement in such worship of the Deity, under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master, will greatly help the householders to purify their very existence and make rapid progress in spiritual knowledge. Simple theoretical book knowledge is not sufficient for a neophyte devotee. Book knowledge is theoretical, whereas the arcana process is practical. Spiritual knowledge must be developed by a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge, and that is the guaranteed way for attainment of spiritual perfection.” — Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.22 purport.

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Deity Welcoming (Right click to download)

Barrier: Balancing the Visual Connection

Now that the building is manifest into its glorious form, several intriguing deliberations are stemming up.

Balancing the building mass and volume with balustrades (decorative railing supports) has been one of the exercises on the drawing board. We are undertaking some mock-ups of appropriate size and proportions to determine their aesthetic feasibility. Please read on – the design meditations as they progress…

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

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

Over four million people around the globe walked out of their schools and workplaces on Friday September 20^th to demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. The protests were organized by young people led by 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg. The campaign has seen students walk out of their schools on Fridays to demand their political leaders take urgent action to address climate change.

“I am happy to hear that you continued to chant despite so many doubts and skepticism. That is the process. Even there may be doubts and skepticism, but if one continues the chanting process, the doubts will all disappear, and real knowledge will be revealed by the grace of Krishna. The example is given of the jaundice patient. He is suffering from disease, and when given sugar candy, which is the cure, he finds it very bitter and distasteful. But that does not mean the sugar candy is not sweet and delicious; it is simply due to his diseased condition that it seems bitter. In order to be cured from his disease, he must take the medicine of sugar candy, despite the apparently bitter taste, and as he becomes cured, the real sweet taste of the candy is gradually revealed. Similarly, we are diseased, and only if we take to this chanting process may we be cured. Maya may put so many doubts and worthless arguments into our minds, but if we continue the chanting, the curing process will go on, never mind the doubts, and gradually we will get a taste of that sweet nectar of Krishna nama-sankirtana. That is the process. And you may explain it to all your friends, so they may understand the nature of their doubts and skepticism, and be benefited.”

—Srila Prabhupada, letter to Terry and associates, March 22, 1968

Thank you very much.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

A spiritual tradition is known by its luminaries. When one looks at a tradition in the abstract, much is missed, but if you look at the lives of people who live it on a daily basis, you see what the tradition is really all about.

The researchers calculated that under the current climate conditions, Earth’s land could support 4.4 billion hectares of continuous tree cover. That is 1.6 billion more than the currently existing 2.8 billion hectares.

A video by VICE News.

Kartika is glorified in the Puranas as very special for making spiritual advancement and the best place to be in Kartika is Sri Braja Dham

The bullets fired from the most sophisticated weapon may harm a person physically but the harsh words said to others torn apart a person emotionally.

(This article is provided courtesy of ISKCON Medchal)

Don’t miss the once in a lifetime opportunity to personally bathe the Padukas (footwear) of Lord Nityananda Prabhu and the Chatari of Lord Narasimhadeva from Mayapur and be blessed with pure devotion.

ISKCON Medchal and Secunderabad invites you to join us in the divine presence of HG Ambarisa Prabhu (A disciple of Srila Prabhupada, Chairman of TOVP and Great Grandson of Henry Ford of Ford Motors) and HG Brajavilas Prabhu (Director of Development for TOVP) to celebrate the manifestation of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) in Mayapur which will fulfill the prophecy of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Date : 13th October 2019 (Sunday)
Time : 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Venue : ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, St. John’s Road, Secunderabad

Followed by sumptuous feast prasadam for everyone.

Don’t miss this for anything! Be there! Be Blessed!

The post GOOD NEWS for devotees of Twin City appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Srila Prabhupada: There is a nice story. You'll appreciate it. In India, especially in Bengal, there are many rivers. The land is full of rivers. Because it is on the bank of the Bay of Bengal, all rivers are falling. Therefore Bengal, the land of, especially the East Bengal, is full of rivers. One student of technology was going home, and he was on the boat.

Read More...

On my way to speaking at Ohio State University (OSU) last night, I visited Hitchcock Hall, where Srila Prabhupada and Allen Ginsberg had presented a program. And I reread the account of the event in BTG, which began, “On the night of May 12, 1969, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and poet Allen Ginsberg filled a campus auditorium at Ohio State University in Columbus to twice its capacity. About two thousand students flooded the stage and aisles, and soon after His Divine Grace led the chanting, students jumped from their seats, crowded the stage, and danced and chanted ecstatically to a mantra most of them had never heard before. His Divine Grace jumped up and down on the dais and threw flowers from his garland at the students, who scrambled for them and then joined arms to dance. Continue reading "Pilgrimage to Hitchcock Hall
→ Dandavats"

Answer Podcast

The post What are our movement’s core values? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Giriraj Swami read and spoke on Bhagavad-gita 3.13.

A video by ISKCON Desire Tree.

Radhadesh Mellows, 2011.

ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry has recently announced the appointment of several new regional co-ministers. 

The program, which was conceived and initiated by Keshav Murari Das, Temple President ISKCON Rohini, saw participation of various spiritual leaders from different faiths and communities, who shared their views and realization on the Holy Name as per their practice and faith. 

Kartik Navadwip Mandal Parikrama organized by the Mayapur Chandras is a small and intimate gathering of devotees travelling to various holy places hearing and chanting about the glories of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai and Their associates.

Trip to Tip Festival and the Devil

It all started in the old days before the saints arrived. Back then Ireland was a pagan hotspot. The people were not fond of others telling them who to worship, especially not new religions from far flung desert countries where it never rained. The whole world back then knew that Ireland was the gateway to Hell at the time. It was the end of the known world and had a network of caves guarded by fallen angels which the Devil used as a shortcut between Hell and Earth.

The only people who went to Ireland in those days were serious individuals who wanted to pick a fight with the devil. Most people were glad to see them go. They were too fundamental for the sophisticates of Rome.

One of the fellows who ended up in Ireland around this time was a fellow by the name of Patrick, later know as Saint Patrick, and we perform Kirtan on his parade every year in the month of March.

Some say he came from Wales. Some say he came from France. Wherever he came from he was one of these types that was on a mission. With a traumatic past,( kidnapped, a slave, took care of pigs and forced to eat out of the pig troft with the same pig food), with voices-in-the-head-experience and a one-track mind, he would not rest until Ireland was the godliest country in the world.

That meant getting rid of the the druids and hunting down the devil. While he found the druids easy, the devil was a slippery character and he evaded him for a long time. Eventually Patrick was approached by an old man from Templemore who told him that the mountains of Tipperary had a mighty stink coming out of them that could only be the brimstone from Hell.

Patrick, being the spiritual warrior that he was, decided to corner the devil, as you do. The old man made Patrick bring along a young drummer boy for protection.They made their way to the cave in the mountain and sure enough there was a great stink of rotten sulphur about the place, worse than a hikers socks. Inside was the devil, plotting his evil plan to plunge Europe into the Dark Ages and invent pop music. There were snakes too. Two big monstrous slimy snakes that hissed like the head of Medusa and attacked Patrick.

The first he did some early medieval karate moves on and dashed its head against the cave wall. The second didn’t hang around. It slithered out of the cave with its tail between its non existent legs and left the island. On its way it told all the other snakes to get out of the country because it was no longer safe here. And that is why there are no snakes in Ireland.

But that is another story. Now the devil knew that Patrick was a powerful foe. He put up an invisible barrier that he used to hide behind in the cave. Patrick could not get through to him at all. Suddenly the drummer boy starts to rap out a little beat on his drum, real gentle like. Patrick picks up the rhythm and starts to recite the Breastplate , an Irish version of the Narasimha Kavacha, which was the strongest mantra at the time.

This and the beating of the drum enraged the devil and he made a dash for it out of the cave. Although he has the best tunes, the devil is obviously no match for traditional Irish musical collaborations. Patrick sees his chance and takes chase, the two of them flying about the hills and valleys of Tipperary in an epic battle. At one stage Patrick grabbed the devil by the tail but he had to let go because it burned like the fires of Hell.

The devil was eager to get away from Patrick and in fear that he would be finally cornered he bit a chunk out of the mountains and made good his escape through the gap. Patrick could do no more this time and he returned to the drummer to thank him and went back to converting the rest of the Irish.

Meanwhile, the devil was enraged so he spat out the rock from his mouth and it landed in the middle of the plains of Tipperary, this became known as the Rock of Cashel. Later on, Patrick will use that rock to convert an Irish King. The local people erected a giant cross

At the Devil’s Bit in case he decided to return, and to this day many people gather in prayer to keep this beast and his music at bay. Patrick built a beautiful church on the rock that the Devil had furiously spat out and it became the home of Christianity and all the bishops of Ireland.

Even Brian Boru received his shakti here to smash the blood thirsty heathen Viking army at the battle of Clontarf. 

After the “Trip to Tip” festival we visited the Devil’s Bit , the Rock of Cashel, offered prayers.

Then we visited the Clontarf battlefield, 10,000Vikings were put to the sword here and berried, later the Irish turned it into a golf course because of the many burial mounds. My childhood friend Bono lives nearby and has written many of his Devil music hits while praying in this historic battle field, many claim that he is an incarnation of Saint Patrick.

All glories to Ireland, “the land of saints and scholars.”

Your servant

Parasuram das 

“Trip to Tip” , Ireland’s Woodstock, the wildest drunken festival in history.

1990 was the first Trip to Tip , was also the year that Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Germany was reunified after the fall of the Berlin Wall and, away from the headlines, a computer nerd called Tim Berners-Lee was registering something called the World Wide Web. I was oblivious to all of this , I was busy chasing horses, tents and carts in an attempt to walk from Belfast to Moscow , the first traditional Padayatra outside of India, in an attempt to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s Centennial, in the association of HG Tribhuvanath Prabhu, and Giri Dhari prabhu, and a glorious crew of fearless, untameable devotees.

By July 1990 we came to Tipperary for the “Trip to Tip”, I had warned the devotees to stop asking how far it was , as that would just  trigger of the compulsory song’ it’s a long way to Tipperary’. 

The festival was wild, you can’t imagine, thousands of young Irish lads fuelled up on beer, with a serious addition to “ ceol, craic agus damhsa”, translates as wild song, fun and  dancing.

On Harinam we would be showered in beer, ( went into my mouth eeeer) and the Kirtan in the tent went on all night, they wouldn’t let us stop. They kept calling Hari Hari Hari until we started up again. Gangs of youths were climbing the tent and sliding off, even a gun was pulled in the tent.

Tribhuvanath Prabhu was in his element, rocking the tent with the Holy Name. He gave me a very valuable instruction at this festival that I took to heart as my life and soul, “ put more butter in the kitchari, Krishna likes butter”.

So the festival got resurrected again, people remembered those wild times with the “Harry Harrys’ and we were invited to kick off the festival.

Praghosa Prabhu our loveable GBC,  Tribhuvanath Prabhu’s Festival Team and the Krishna’s Castle Team came together for a deadly ( Irish slang for super) weekend.

Enjoy the video ,

Your Servant

Parasuram das