(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 February 2019, New York, United States of America, Bhagavad-gita 7.7)
We can see how everything is connected with Krsna. We can see that Krsna is the seed of all existence. We can see that Krsna is present everywhere. Just like it is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gita by Krsna Himself – raso aham apsu kaunteya; I am the taste of water. Prabhasmi sasi suryayo; I am the light of the sun and the moon. Pranavah sarva-vedesu; I am the syllable om in the Vedic mantras. Sabdah khe paurusam nrsu; I am the sound in ether and also the ability in man (Bhagavad-gita 7.8).
So everywhere Krsna is present, everywhere. It is not that we have to artificially try to be Krsna conscious while being busy with all this material energy, doing so many things everyday, and then somehow or other fix our mind on that form of the Supreme Lord; realising how difficult it is because we are busy from Monday to Friday and then the weekend comes along and we always have so many things on your mind and then we think to ourself – “How will I think of Krsna when there are so many other things going on around me?“. But then we must see how everything around us is connected with Krsna, everything. Everything is simply the energy of Krsna and Krsna is the origin of everything. Therefore sutre mana-gana iva (Bhagavad-gita 7.7); He is behind everything and He is the thread that connects everything.
Creation, maintenance, and destruction in the course of time are not features of the spiritual nature. The Upanishads say that before the creation there was no Brahma and no Siva, no sun, stars, or sky. There was only Vishnu, His expansions, and the pure souls who have no desire for a life separate from Him. With only Vishnu, and no Siva or Brahma, there is only maintenance, with no creation or destruction. Time exists in the spiritual nature without its destructive side, and without the type of creative side that is merely destruction’s necessary counterpart. And yet the spiritual nature is said to be full of activity, more so than its material reflection. Lord Vishnu and His devotee servants expand spiritually there to enrich, vary, and perpetually increase the pastimes of blissful loving devotion. Continue reading "Time and Again → Dandavats"
Answer: When dealing with angry people, we need to understand two underlying motivations for anger: (i) is it due to person’s weakness or (ii) is it due to person’s wickedness.
Weakness is something that we all have. When there is an urge to become angry, it empowers us, due to which we do something that we later regret. When anger is due to weakness, we apologise, feel bad about it and acknowledge it was wrong.
We have our conscience and intelligence. Conscience tells us in an emotional way that we should not be angry because later we will feel guilty. Intelligence tells us in a rational way as to why we should not be angry. These are two inner checks that stop us from acting angrily. However, due to wickedness, the conscience is muted and instead of controlling the anger the intelligence is controlled by the anger.
Weakness makes us hot-headed whereas wickedness makes us cold-blooded. When a person is cold-blooded, he makes a systematic diabolic plan to hurt the other person in the most painful way. Anger is basically like a hot emotion whereas hatred is cold, manipulative and calculative. Generally, most people around us are not wicked. The range may vary from weakness being the most common and wickedness being exceptions.
To give forgiveness to wicked is foolishness. What will happen if a group of terrorists, who are on a rampage killing innocent people beg for forgiveness when ambushed by police and the police forgives them? Terrorists will ultimately kill the policemen mercilessly. When somebody is at the extreme edge of wickedness, then strong action has to be taken against them. A wicked person may not even feel any wrongdoing. We need to maintain a safe distance from such people. If needed, we should take strong action against them.
On a routine basis, if we see people getting angry, best is to help them deal with their anger. We can do so by (i) separating the person from their problematic behaviour (ii) avoid labelling them e.g. “short-tempered”, “hot-headed” etc. If we label them, we reduce them to their problematic behaviour. Eventually, we and they end up being an antagonist and consider ourselves a victim who has to hit back at his aggressor.
At a practical level, we may have to deal with it in an appropriate way but internally we see the person separate from their anartha. One way of dealing would be to know the triggers of the other person and try as much as possible avoiding those triggers. When we drive on a road for the first time, we may be jolted by an unnoticed speed bump. However, next time, we will drive carefully on the same road and will be able to avoid the bump. Once bitten twice shy.
Similarly, when we observe people and try to understand what triggers anger in them, it will help us avoid doing anything that will provoke them. We all have willpower, but that willpower is a finite resource. Sometimes when stressful, people may have ten things going on in their head that will frustrate them. If not communicated properly, this anger could be unnecessarily vented out on something trivial. If such people share a bond with us where they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, this would help. We should spend time with them periodically which will minimise the instances of them getting angry.
We can help people manage their triggers better. Everybody has things which set them off. We should make sure that we do not become a trigger for them. If they are very close to getting triggered, we help them come off the cliff and not push them further down the cliff.
Generally, words spoken in anger should not be taken seriously. We do not have to hold it against the other person for their entire life.
In the Ramayana, when Lord Rama was chasing a demon disguised as golden deer and shot it down, the demon before dying imitated Rama’s voice and called out to Lakshmana and Sita for help. On hearing the call, mother Sita became overwhelmed with anxiety and agony. However, Lakshmana remained unperturbed and reassured Sita that the voice is not Rama’s. But Sita did not feel reassured. Instead, she felt agitated Lakshmana’s response. Fearing that Rama might be in danger, she urged and begged Lakshmana to go for Rama’s help. On seeing him unmoved, in a frenzy of anxiety, she accused him of having ill intentions towards her and that he wants to enjoy her in the absence of Rama and was waiting for such an opportunity. Sita’s words cut Lakshmana deeper than had the sharpest arrows of the fiercest demons in the toughest of the battles he had fought. He had always venerated Sita like his mother. However, there is no mention in the Ramayana that when Sita was rescued back, Lakshmana held those words against her. He did not tell her, “See, I had told you it was a demon. How dare you speak like that to me? Now apologise.” The point is, “do not see intention in what is spoken in tension”.
Unfortunately, sometimes situations bring out the worst in us but just like we would want others to look through us, understand us and not hold anything against us, similarly we should not hold the other person’s words against them when they have an emotional outburst. However, if a person is habitually angry, aggressive or violent then we need to create some distance. We can help such a person when they at least acknowledge that they have an issue and needs correction. However, if the person thinks they do not need any help then it is better to maintain some distance. Maybe they will learn when the consequences of their actions hit them. It is painful but that is what we may have to do.
To conclude, we can deal with people who are angry by (i) understanding their trigger and making sure we do not trigger them (ii) see them as separate from their problematic behaviour and help them as much as we can (iii) when there is weakness and someone succumbs to it, do not see the intention in what is spoken in tension. However, if someone has wickedness, we should maintain a distance and protect ourselves.
Introducing Krishna conscious education in a school that is open to students of all backgrounds, in a school where competitive mentality is very prevalent among parents can be quite challenging. But the school is unique since it is established by Srila Prabhupada and also because it is in the holy dhama of Sri Vrindavana.
London Rathayatra Festival 16th June 2019We are looking for volunteers to help cook the greatest feast ever for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath and his devotees. Volunteers are needed all day Saturday chopping veg and all night cooking Saturday night/ Sunday morning. There is a special gift for all those who help, Srila Prabhupada’s blessings!
London Rathayatra 2018
The Narada Purana (uttara kanda 52.12) reveals the conversation between Lord Narayana and Lakshmidevi about Purushottama kshetra (Jagannatha Puri),
pratimam tatra tam drstva svayam devena nirmitam anayasena vai yanti bhavanam me tato narau
“A person who sees the Deities there built by the Lord Himself will easily find the path to reach My abode.” Anyone seeing the Deities of Lord Krshna, Balarama and Subhadra at Jagannatha Puri during their leisure outage of Rathayatra means buying a ticket to reach the Supreme Abode of Vaikuntha, the eternal world of no worries.
Rathe ca vamanam drstva punar janma na vidyate.
“Simply by seeing the Lord on the chariot, one makes advancement for stopping the repetition of birth and death.”
It is said that the participants in Rath Yatra will be blessed immensely by Lord Jagannatha (Krishna) such as (1) By the sight of Jagannatha’s merciful large two eye globes, the devotee will be blessed with astute purity of mind and spiritual elevation; (2) Observing the Rathayatra will dissipate the sins committed by the embodied person in the past births; (3) The accompanying person in the Rathayatra will receive opulence at par with Lord Vishnu even if he hails from a poor family; (4) Dancing, singing and chanting in the Ratharatra entourage, the participant will be elevated to a level superior to yogis; and (5) Active participation in the Rathayatra by any means will receive the utmost blessings of Lord Jagannatha
Moksha Laxmi dasi holding a copy of the 1973 Rathayatra magazine
1973This was a special year because the Rathayatra was attended by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada Founder Acharya of ISKCON. Although Srila Prabhupada was 74 years of age, he chanted and danced throughout the entire procession. He ignored the elegant seat on the chariot, which was offered to him, much to the delight of the assembled devotees. This festival was Srila Prabhupada’s triumphant moment looking out at thousands of people chanting the Holy name in Trafalgar Square. This festival was organised by the young Maha Vishnu Swami who donated £10,000 pounds left to him in a will to make this an extraordinary festival with publicity on public buses and a feature film made. The Police commentated “this was the most delightful of public displays that they had ever seen, everyone was perfectly mannered”. The next day front page headlines of the Guardian newspaper read “ISKCON Rathayatha is rival to Nelson’s column”. Srila Prabhupada writes in Caitanya Caritamrita. “Just as the residents of Puri compared the Rathayatra cart to Mount Sumeru, the residents of London considered the cart rival to the Nelson Monument.”
Dnipro is one of the main cities in Ukraine. Indradyumna Swami and his group arrived just in time for the local temple's celebration of Nrsimha Caturdasi and next day's Ratha Yatra. A thousand devotees attended both programs.There are over 10,000 devotees in Ukraine. It is a paradise for those sharing Krsna consciousness.
New Vrindaban is home to the first and longest-running cow-protection program in ISKCON and, amazingly, in the entire Western world. The credit goes to many heroic souls, but few as dedicated as Ranaka Dasa. By Krishna’s divine arrangement, he had been a farmhand before joining ISKCON in 1977. And so for more than forty years he has lovingly served New Vrindaban’s cows. This gives him the distinction of being the longest-serving cowherd in all of ISKCON.
Balimardana Das: Lil’ Krishna Kidz is a spiritual enrichment program that offers Krishna Conscious teaching and activities to kids in a fun-filled atmosphere. Lil’ Krishna Kidz was started in the San Franciso Bay Area, California, USA in May 2011 under the able guidance of H. H. Hanumatpreshaka Maharaja and H.G. Vaisesika Prabhu. These children are in 3-11 year age group.
What is KRISHNA VILLAGE?
Aindavi devi dasi: Have you ever wondered what actually happens in Krishna Village? Recently I found out directly from New Govardhana’s director himself, Ajita dasa. He explained Krishna Village’s relationship with the burgeoning curiosity about spirituality and ecological accountability in society.
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!
Day Two of the European Communications Conference began with a very relevant and hard-hitting talk by Willy Fautre of Human Rights Without Frontiers. Next was an enlivening discussion where ISKCON leaders from across Europe and the US shared their experiences of using advocacy, engaging with politicians and examples of when this has been successful.
Question: How can we become determined like Hanuman?
Answer: We usually hear people say that they have no determination. For example, some are alcoholic and have no determination to give up alcohol. However, the funny part is they have determination to keep drinking alcohol. Some say they have no determination to wake up in the morning but interestingly they have determination to keep sleeping. Everyone is trying to wake them up, calling them lazy, giving dark looks but still they are determined to keep sleeping. It is not that they have no determination, it is just that the determination is misguided. Everybody has determination but, in most cases, it is not directed.
Determination means concentrated desires directed constructively. We all have desires but to stay focused on something the desires need to be concentrated.
When someone say they have set hundred goals for the month, mostly those are not goals, but a wish list. There maybe many things that we want to do but need to focus on the most important ones to achieve them. If we focus on too many things at once, then determination gets dissipated. Once we prioritize and decide, we need to plan and follow a process to achieve our goals.
Setting achievable daily goals and meeting them consistently while also raising the bar periodically also helps us build our determination steadily.
Determination is like muscles. When we lift weights, the muscles become stronger and we can lift more weights. That is why, we should start with whatever determination we have and eventually it will grow.
It is said that Hanuman is buddhi matam varishtam – he is the best among wise people. Although Hanuman had a very strong desire to serve Lord Rama, he used his intelligence to direct the desire properly.
Do you love your body? Should you love your body? Whose body do you love? Has society been hit with a dose of body fever?
Maddened by the waves of body consciousness, the fever is rising. Urban monk and international Bhakti teacher and speaker Devamrita Swami will strip bare the facts with a dose of cooling yoga wisdom to combat the heat!
Travelling the globe for 50 years, visiting every habitable continent to share and teach the wisdom of higher-happiness principles and practice, Devamrita Swami describes himself in one interview as “a talent scout”: “I’m looking for persons who want to go beyond the hum-drum. [..] To go deep within and uncover what is real happiness, beyond the body and mind”.
Listen to a recent interview with Devamrita Swami here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/melbourneweekends/devamrita-swami/10933982
Don’t miss this special and exciting opportunity to cross paths with a monk! We hope to see you there!
Book now on our website. $10 includes talk and dinner and dessert.
Do you love your body? Should you love your body? Whose body do you love? Has society been hit with a dose of body fever?
Maddened by the waves of body consciousness, the fever is rising. Urban monk and international Bhakti teacher and speaker Devamrita Swami will strip bare the facts with a dose of cooling yoga wisdom to combat the heat!
Travelling the globe for 50 years, visiting every habitable continent to share and teach the wisdom of higher-happiness principles and practice, Devamrita Swami describes himself in one interview as “a talent scout”: “I’m looking for persons who want to go beyond the hum-drum. [..] To go deep within and uncover what is real happiness, beyond the body and mind”.
Listen to a recent interview with Devamrita Swami here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/melbourneweekends/devamrita-swami/10933982
Don’t miss this special and exciting opportunity to cross paths with a monk! We hope to see you there!
Book now on our website. $10 includes talk and dinner and dessert.
Do you love your body? Should you love your body? Whose body do you love? Has society been hit with a dose of body fever?
Maddened by the waves of body consciousness, the fever is rising. Urban monk and international Bhakti teacher and speaker Devamrita Swami will strip bare the facts with a dose of cooling yoga wisdom to combat the heat!
Travelling the globe for 50 years, visiting every habitable continent to share and teach the wisdom of higher-happiness principles and practice, Devamrita Swami describes himself in one interview as “a talent scout”: “I’m looking for persons who want to go beyond the hum-drum. [..] To go deep within and uncover what is real happiness, beyond the body and mind”.
Listen to a recent interview with Devamrita Swami here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/melbourneweekends/devamrita-swami/10933982
Don’t miss this special and exciting opportunity to cross paths with a monk! We hope to see you there!
Book now on our website. $10 includes talk and dinner and dessert.
Do you love your body? Should you love your body? Whose body do you love? Has society been hit with a dose of body fever?
Maddened by the waves of body consciousness, the fever is rising. Urban monk and international Bhakti teacher and speaker Devamrita Swami will strip bare the facts with a dose of cooling yoga wisdom to combat the heat!
Travelling the globe for 50 years, visiting every habitable continent to share and teach the wisdom of higher-happiness principles and practice, Devamrita Swami describes himself in one interview as “a talent scout”: “I’m looking for persons who want to go beyond the hum-drum. [..] To go deep within and uncover what is real happiness, beyond the body and mind”.
Listen to a recent interview with Devamrita Swami here: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/melbourneweekends/devamrita-swami/10933982
Don’t miss this special and exciting opportunity to cross paths with a monk! We hope to see you there!
Book now on our website. $10 includes talk and dinner and dessert.
KOFTA BALLS! GOVINDAS ON THE MOVE.
Tom Adams: New Govardhana resident Krsna Gana is well-known for his enthusiasm for prasadam distribution. Ten years ago, he began catering for Govindas and since then has been traveling all over Australia successfully serving prasadam, especially kofta balls. Indeed, in his own words, “everywhere we go, everyone loves kofta balls”.
Meet HG Prabhupada dasa and his wife, HG Rajni devi dasi.
Prabhupada dasa and his wife, Rajni devi dasi, moved to London in the early 1960s to study: Rajni in Education and Prabhupada dasa to do Law. They first came in contact with Srila Prabhupada in 1969.
GRAND OPENING!
Padmalochan dasa: A second Govindas Restaurant, located at 72 Griffith Street, Coolangatta, opened on 16 May with fanfare. With seating for 70, including outdoor dining, the restaurant will be managed by Nitai Chandra dasa with the help of his brother Rupa Durr.
Australian Conference: New Govardhana
New Govardhana has mastered the art of hosting volunteers. Its “Krishna Village” hosts over thirty “WWOOFers” at a time, functions as a department of the farm, offers training in Yoga and other subjects and generates over a million dollars every year. The farm has also just opened a new state-of-the-art Goshala and operates a first-class cow protection project, with retired animals, oxen training and milking cows departments. Animals are loved, healthy and happy.
Partnering with the Ministry, New Govardhana will host the first Australian Farm Conference from November 15th to 17th, which will offer training on building an ecovillage, holistic management for pasture lands, and syntropic farming.
Harinama in Rome, Italy (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “Although Kali-yuga is full of faults, there is still one good quality about this age. It is that simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 12.3.51 Purport)
The word is out that excellence is the way to go. But what about the other 95% of ISKCON’s membership- our Grihastha ashram? Will aiming for Okay make them happy, will it provide an inspiring example for their children to emulate? I don’t think so!
We are looking for volunteers to help cook the greatest feast ever for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath and his devotees. Volunteers are needed all day Saturday chopping veg and all night cooking Saturday night/Sunday morning.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 8 March 2019, Durban, South Africa, Kendra nama-hatta)
The Lord is one without a second. He is inconceivable and He takes unlimited forms. Of all these forms, the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is particularly extraordinary because in this form he is the maha vadanyaya avatar, the most merciful incarnation.
He appeared in the land of Gauda, specifically in the land of Navadvipa Mandala, being in Sri Dhama Mayapur, particularly in the Yoga-Pitha, in Antardvipa, in the central island of the 9 islands of Navadvipa. The Lord appeared under a neem tree at the time of a lunar eclipse when Rahu was attacking the moon. It is considered to be an inauspicious time, therefore everyone, in order to counteract this inauspicious time, entered into holy waters.
The Ganga was filled with people, and all these people were chanting the holy names of the Lord. And so Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared at a time which was apparently inauspicious in terms of the lunar eclipse, but that inauspiciousness became completely auspicious when there was the congregational chanting of the holy name. Suddenly everything was transformed and the spiritual world manifested in this world. Everyone was touched by the transcendental influence and became completely blissful. And so this is how it is said that the Lord appeared in Sri Dhama Mayapur.
New Zealand Annual General Meetings (Album of photos)
Ramai Swami: Devamrta Maharaja and I flew from the AGM in Australia to attend the AGM in New Zealand, which was held at New Varshana in Auckland.
It’s always a pleasure visiting New Varshana because of the beautiful deities and temple and because we have 100 acres of rural style living, but we’re only 25 minutes from downtown.
The meeting was held at the school and the leaders discussed relevant issues and challenges facing ISKCON. As always, the kirtan, association and prasadam was blissful.
Find them here: https://is.gd/Wu8sBK
In the one hour Kids Bhagavatam session at Sadhu Sanga Retreat 2019, attended by 35-40 kids 5 years and above, we discussed SB 1.1.1. We started with Srila Vyasadeva paying obeisances to Krsna because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We discussed the following...
Number one in Arabic book distribution is, believe it or not, a farm project in Germany, the Simhacalam temple. They more than doubled everyone else in the world distributing 182 Arabic books. For the second time Padayatra India is the number one temple in the small temple category in the world with 5,716 book points and a 96% increase. This isn’t your normal temple. It’s a moving temple, but a temple non the less. Continue reading "WSN April 2019 – World Sankirtan Newsletter → Dandavats"
Devamrta Maharaja and I flew from the AGM in Australia to attend the AGM in New Zealand, which was held at New Varshana in Auckland.
It’s always a pleasure visiting New Varshana because of the beautiful deities and temple and because we have 100 acres of rural style living, but we’re only 25 minutes from downtown.
The meeting was held at the school and the leaders discussed relevant issues and challengers facing ISKCON. As always, the kirtan, association and prasadam was blissful.
Karuna and I check out the weather practically by the hour just to see what will be favourable for a kirtansession in the park. It's a funny year, weather-wise. The sun seems to have abandoned our spring. But wait, it did break through at mid-day and so our decision was made. Off to Grange Park, we went.
After a thirty-five-minute jaunt we reached this newly-renovated facility—green and clean. I admired the Henry Moore sculpture. His work was my favourite during my Fine Arts period, before I became a monk. I took a minute to sit on his masterpiece, "Two Large Forms." It's a good place to chant. Better still was the mat on the grass. The chant there began and like Bellevue Park, people started to notice. Some joined in. Then came Michelle. Born and raised in Toronto, she has somewhat taken to sacred sound and speaks of God as the Divine. Michelle is sold out to chant and dance.
I invite you to Christie Pitts Park for Friday, May 31st, for a more elaborate kirtan session from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Bring a mat. And if you can't make it to the city to watch and experience the little miracles in the park then simply wish to be there. We will receive you in mind.
My reflective Gita verse for the day is 9:30: "Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated in his determination."
By Mathuresha Dasa
Introducing Krishna conscious education in a school that is open to students of all backgrounds, in a school where competitive mentality is very prevalent among parents can be quite challenging. But the school is unique since it is established by Srila Prabhupada and also because it is in the holy dhama of Sri Vrindavana.
Balimardana Das: Lil’ Krishna Kidz is a spiritual enrichment program that offers Krishna Conscious teaching and activities to kids in a fun-filled atmosphere. Lil’ Krishna Kidz was started in the San Franciso Bay Area, California, USA in May 2011 under the able guidance of H. H. Hanumatpreshaka Maharaja and H.G. Vaisesika Prabhu. These children are in 3-11 year age group.
The word is out that excellence is the way to go. But what about the other 95% of ISKCON’s membership- our Grihastha ashram? Will aiming for Okay make them happy, will it provide an inspiring example for their children to emulate? I don’t think so!
We are looking for volunteers to help cook the greatest feast ever for the pleasure of Lord Jagannath and his devotees. Volunteers are needed all day Saturday chopping veg and all night cooking Saturday night/Sunday morning.
Please find below photos from Snana Yatra 2019 at the ISKCON-London Radha-Krishna Temple
In the one hour Kids Bhagavatam session at Sadhu Sanga Retreat 2019, attended by 35-40 kids 5 years and above, we discussed SB 1.1.1. We started with Srila Vyasadeva paying obeisances to Krsna because He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We discussed the following...
By Vijaya dasa
