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The post Ravana -Ten Heads, Zero Brains – Keeping our desires in control appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

There is as always an interesting thought when listening to class when the discussion on Sri Krishna fulfilling all desire, I wonder if this is really the case as many of my deep desires have never been fulfilled including the one that would mean doing more seva.

Desire is an interesting thing as I’m sure each and every one of us have desires, some fleeting and some like me deeply held, but as time passes the realisation is that many won’t be fulfilled and in some ways this is a good thing.

It’s also of note that in some ways full fulfilment of desire cannot be there, my Karma comes into play, wealth, length of life, health act. all come into play and although chanting Hare Krishna diminishes the effects of  Karma the reality is that whilst in this body I cannot avoid it’s effects. However how I manage it well that I do have some control of.

Popular Sri Krishna fulfills all desires may in fact not be good for me as overwhelmingly the desire to enjoy all that material nature has to offer is primary, due to being in this material body. And could be a hindrance in my making progress in Krishna consciousness are add to the illusion that I am the cause of my success, I desire it happens.

Unfulfilled desires although in some instances is disappointing and even if a deep desire painful (especially when the realisation due to time it won’t and you see others achieve this); in the long term looking back it has been a good thing. Indeed it’s the difficulty of living in the material world and the frustrations caused by unfulfilled desires accumulated in my seeking the reason why; and eventually to my good fortune of meeting the devotees, reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and then the opportunity to serve both the devotees but also Sri Krishna.

Indeed celebrating the fact that we actually have desires and understanding the beauty of some being fulfilled whilst others aren’t is a very healthy thing; as reflecting on why if Sri Krishna fulfills all desire and mine aren’t means either I’m doing something wrong or Sri Krishna has turned his back on me.

Desires come, desires go; love of Sri Krishna and sincerity in service should be our ultimate goal and desire and for this I’m sure Sri Krishna will fulfil this desire. But by his great mercy many of my desires are thankfully ignored.

But I’m as always interested to hear others thought and realisations

Hare Krishna

Young kirtaniya in action (3 min. video)
Srila Prabhupada: If one hears a person say even once the word “Krishna” that person should be accepted as the best man out of the common group. (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 15, 106)

Today is the most auspicious occasion of Sri Gadadhara Pandita’s appearance day. As many of you know, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself in the role of a devotee. He is Krishna, but with the complexion and mood of Srimati Radharani. There are different purposes for the Lord’s advent. The internal reason for Lord Chaitanya’s appearance was that He wanted to experience the glory of Srimati Radharani’s love for Him, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She experiences the sweetness of His love for Her—which only She can experience. The external reason (not that it was any less significant) was to propagate the yuga-dharma, the recommended method for God realization in each particular age (yuga).

To assist the Lord in His pastimes, four principal associates descended with Him—Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Srivasa Thakura, and Gadadhara Pandita. Together with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, they comprise the Pancha-tattva. In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 1.14) the author offers his respects to all five together:

panca-tattvatmakam krsnam
  bhakta-rupa-svarupakam
bhaktavataram bhaktakhyam
  namami bhakta-saktikam

“I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krsna, who is nondifferent from His features as a devotee, devotional incarnation, devotional manifestation, pure devotee, and devotional energy.”

Krishna appeared in the form of a devotee (bhakta-rupa), as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; as the expansion of a devotee (sva-rupakam), as Nityananda Prabhu; as an incarnation of a devotee (bhakta-avataram), as Advaita Prabhu; as a devotee (bhakta), as Srivasa Thakura; and as the devotional energy that inspires a devotee (bhakta-saktikam), as Gadadhara Pandita. Together they all came to propagate harinama-sankirtana as the yuga-dharma for the present age.

We are now in Kali-yuga, the worst age. But although Kali-yuga is the worst, it affords us the best opportunity to realize God, through the chanting of the holy names. At the end of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami says, kaler dosa-nidhe rajann: this Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults. An ocean—you cannot measure the length or breadth of an ocean. Asti hy eko mahan gunah: but within Kali-yuga there is one great opportunity. What is that? Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet: by chanting the holy names of Krishna, one becomes liberated from material association and attains the supreme goal of life.

Sanga—association. Sangat sanjayate kamah. Desire comes from association. Generally, people in the material world are associated with the three modes of material nature: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, and tamo-guna. Because of their association with the three modes, they develop material bodies made of the three modes, and mentalities influenced by the three modes. And it is very difficult to overcome the influence of maya, which consists of these three modes.

daivi hy esa guna-mayi
  mama maya duratyaya
mam eva ye prapadyante
  mayam etam taranti te

 In the Bhagavad-gita (7.14) Lord Krishna says that this material nature, which consists of the three modes, is very difficult to overcome but that one who surrenders unto Him can easily overcome it and become free from the influence of these modes.

Lord Chaitanya and His associates in the Pancha-tattva came to taste love of Godhead and to distribute love of Godhead—to taste the holy names of Krishna and to distribute the holy names of Krishna. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta describes that the storehouse of love of Godhead had remained sealed but that the members of the Pancha-tattva broke open the seal, plundered the storehouse, ate the contents, and became intoxicated with love of God. But they didn’t want to enjoy the contents by themselves. They also wanted to share the contents with others. And that was their life—tasting ecstatic love of Godhead and distributing it.

The main method by which they distributed love of Godhead was through the chanting of the holy names of God, in particular the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The members of the Pancha-tattva would become so intoxicated chanting and dancing that they didn’t know whether it was day or night. They didn’t know where they were. Once, Nityananda Prabhu led a party of devotees from Puri, and they were chanting and dancing all the way. They were trying to make their way back to Bengal but were so intoxicated with love of God that they didn’t know which way they were going. They would start in one direction, and days later they would realize that they didn’t know in which direction they had gone. Then they would ask someone to set them in the right direction. Again, days would pass in chanting and dancing. They wouldn’t even eat or sleep. And after some time they would realize that again they didn’t know where they were. This was the high level of their kirtan in ecstatic love of God.

So, that is what they were tasting, and that is what they wanted to distribute. And reciprocally, that is what they wanted us to accept: the great gift of the holy name, the great treasure of love of God. Golokera prema-dhana, hari-nama-sankirtana: the great treasure of love of God has descended from Goloka Vrindavan, the spiritual world, as the congregational chanting of the holy name. The holy name is not a material sound vibration. Krishna’s name is Krishna Himself. It is completely spiritual.

nama cintamanih krsnas
  caitanya-rasa-vigrahah
purnah suddho nitya-mukto
  ’bhinnatvan nama-naminoh

Nama cintamanih krsnas: the holy name of Krishna is a transcendental touchstone that bestows all spiritual benedictions. Caitanya-rasa-vigrahah: it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is complete (purnah), pure (suddha), and eternally liberated (nitya-muktah) from the influence of maya, the modes of material nature. ’Bhinnatvan nama-naminoh: the holy name of Krishna is in all respects the same as Krishna Himself.

When we chant Hare Krishna, we are, in principle, associating with Krishna. Srila Prabhupada has explained that in the material world the name of a thing and the thing itself are different. So if you are thirsty and you chant “water, water, water, water,” just chanting “water, water” will not quench your thirst because the word water and the substance water are different. But in the spiritual world, the absolute world, the name of the thing and the thing itself are the same. So when you chant “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,” Krishna is personally present, dancing on your tongue. And great devotees who realized Krishna through the process of chanting wanted to do nothing but chant. Srila Rupa Gosvami prayed, “With one tongue and two ears what can I chant, what can I relish? If I had millions of tongues and billions of ears then I could begin to chant.” That is the stage of relishing the holy name, when one is able to chant purely.

We, unfortunately, have no such attraction. In the second verse of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Siksastaka we find the word durdaivam, which means “misfortune.” We are unfortunate. Of course, we are also fortunate, because we have come in touch with Srila Prabhupada, who served the Pancha-tattva by executing their mission, traveling all over the world and distributing the holy name of Krishna. We are fortunate, but at the same time we are unfortunate because we do not experience ecstatic love when we chant—because we commit offenses. The great value of the holy name can be realized only when we chant without offense.

But here too, the Pancha-tattva help us, because they do not consider offenses. They are so liberal and magnanimous that they do not take any offense. Thus, if one chants the holy names of the Pancha-tattva with enthusiasm, with complete absorption, one will feel ecstatic, and when one feels ecstatic one can chant the holy names of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra without offense.

But we have to work. We have to practice. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Chanting is easy, but the determination to chant is not so easy.” We have to be determined to chant with attention, without offense. And if we can chant without offense, we will obtain the great treasure of love of God. Chanting is so important, as Lord Chaitanya instructed.

tara madhye sarva-srestha nama-sankirtana
niraparadhe nama laile paya prema-dhana

“Of the nine processes of devotional service, the most important is to always chant the holy name of the Lord. If one does so, avoiding the ten kinds of offenses, one very easily obtains the most valuable love of Godhead.” (Cc Antya 4.71)

There are ten offenses mentioned in the Padma Purana. Srila Jiva Gosvami has discussed them in detail in his Bhakti-sandarbha, and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has also discussed them, in Sri Harinama-cintamani. In Srila Prabhupada’s books we find lists and explanations of the ten offenses in different places. The list in The Nectar of Devotion is often read in temples as part of the morning program after mangala-arati, as devotees prepare to chant their rounds, for just reading or reciting the list, hearing it and praying, will help us to avoid the offenses. The last offense in this list is “to not have complete faith in the chanting of the holy names and to maintain material attachments, even after understanding so many instructions on this matter.” And then devotees often add, “It is also an offense to be inattentive while chanting.” Actually, at the end of the Sanskrit for the eighth offense we find the words api pramada. Pramada means “inattention.” In the Hari-nama-cintamani, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has taken pramada as a separate item, as the ninth offense—inattentive chanting. He states that by attentive chanting one can destroy all other offenses and that inattentive chanting allows the other offenses to grow and flourish.

So we have to make a concentrated effort to overcome this offense (pramada) and chant and hear with attention. As the Bhagavad-gita (6.26) says,

yato yato niscalati
  manas cancalam asthiram
tatas tato niyamyaitad
  atmany eva vasam nayet

“From wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, one must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the self.” So, that is our work.

And when we observe the activities of the mind while we are chanting and really consider what is happening—“Why is my mind always wandering? What is it thinking about?” (There is a whole list of things we think about, which we can’t even begin to discuss.)—if we consider, “What is going on? Why am I having all these other thoughts when I should be hearing the holy name?” we will find (at least in my experience) that it basically comes down to thinking we are the doers, the controllers, the proprietors, the enjoyers. Actually, the holy name is Krishna, and He is the controller, He is the proprietor, and He is the enjoyer. So let us surrender to Him. Let us surrender to the holy name, surrender to Krishna in the form of transcendental sound, and let Him take over.

When we are chanting our sixteen rounds, those two hours—or however long it takes—are our time with Krishna. At least in those two hours we should have no other thought but to be with Krishna, to associate with Krishna. Srila Prabhupada has explained that the chanting is a prayer to Radha and Krishna. The name Krishna refers, of course, to Krishna, and Hare is a way of addressing Radha. Thus Hare Krishna means “O Radha, O Krishna.” When we call people’s names, we want to get their attention, and when we get their attention they may respond, “Yes, what do you want? What can I do for you?” So when we get Radha and Krishna’s attention by chanting Their holy names, Hare Krishna, what are we going to ask? A pure devotee will ask for only one thing, and that is service. “I want to serve You. Please engage me in Your service.” That is our prayer when we chant.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written much about the Siksastaka and the holy name, and in Sri Bhajana-rahasya he has explained that the eight prayers of the Siksastaka correspond with the eight pairs of names in the maha-mantra. So when we are chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—the verses of the Siksastaka are included. And if we are really concentrating, we can focus on each pair of names and know that the corresponding prayer of the Siksataka is included. We should not be racing through our rounds, just to finish them—“Oh, God, okay, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna . . . Okay, one down, fifteen to go.” Not racing through. This is our time with Krishna. In one sense, it is the most important time of the day—our time with Krishna. And we should give ourselves to Krishna. Of course, we do serve Him throughout the day—in principle, twenty-four hours—but this is our special time to associate with Him directly, with hari–nama directly.

Our godbrother Gopala Bhatta Prabhu owns a large business and has many responsibilities and projects, but he told me that when he chants his rounds he takes off his eyeglasses and his wristwatch. This is his time with Krishna, and he will not think about anything else. Of course, he is very organized. He makes long lists of what he has to do, so when he is chanting he doesn’t have to worry about remembering or forgetting things. That is a common fault, a common form of inattention—while we are chanting, within our minds we are making our to-do lists. We have to hear. And if what we have to do is important enough, we will remember it later. But we have to let go of all other thoughts when we chant, and just hear. Sometimes it may be that in that purifying process of chanting, Krishna is trying to tell us something, trying to remind us of something. And it really builds up. Even though we try, we just can’t let it go. Then it might be better to make a note of it, and then our mind might settle down. Otherwise, in principle, whatever it is, just let it go and hear—tac chrnu—hear the holy name of Krishna.

This is the great mission of the Pancha-tattva, to propagate pure chanting of the holy name, and through it, ecstatic love of Godhead.

Gadadhara Pandita appeared one year after Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And in their childhood the two were inseparable. They were so attached to each other. Together, they attended Gangadasa Pandita’s tola, school, and as classmates they enjoyed many pastimes with each other. In His childhood, Lord Chaitanya was called Nimai, because He was born under a nima tree. So, Nimai and Gadadhara would go to Ganganagara and attend class together. They would walk home together. They would study together. They would take bath in the Ganga together. They were inseparable. They could not bear to be separated from each other for even a moment.

Later, when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa and went to reside in Jagannatha Puri, Gadadhara Pandita followed Him. Most of Mahaprabhu’s other associates in Navadvipa remained in Bengal; they came to Puri only once in a year, for the four months of the rainy season, to attend the Ratha-yatra and to see Mahaprabhu. But Gadadhara Pandita couldn’t bear to be separated from the Lord, and the Lord couldn’t bear to be separated from him. So he was permitted to stay with Mahaprabhu in Puri, and there they engaged in pastimes. Gadadhara Pandita accepted ksetra-sannyasa: he took a vow to never spend a night outside the dhama, Jagannatha Puri. And he engaged in the service of the Deity called Tota-gopinatha. The first time Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left Puri to travel to Vrindavan, Gadadhara Pandita followed Him—even at the cost of his ksetra-sannyasa and his service to Gopinatha. And when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu finally compelled him to return to Puri, Gadadhara fainted. He could not bear the separation. And for Mahaprabhu too, the separation was difficult. But Mahaprabhu tolerated it because He wanted to keep Gadadhara’s vow and service intact. Gadadhara Pandita and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had many intimate, loving pastimes together in Puri, which are described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would come regularly to relish Gadadhara Pandita’s reading of Srimad-Bhagavatam. And it is said that in the end Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu entered the Tota-gopinatha temple and never came out, that He entered into the Deity of Gopinatha to return to His eternal pastimes.

After Mahaprabhu left, Gadadhara Pandita felt such intense separation that his body—although he was only forty-eight years old—began to age very quickly. In time, he was unable to stretch out his arms even to offer a garland to the Deity. So, as we hear, the Deity, to facilitate Gadadhara’s loving service, sat down (one can still visit Tota-gopinatha and see the sitting Deity), and soon Gadadhara himself entered into the Deity to join Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His eternal pastimes.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta states that Gadadhara Pandita was an incarnation of the pleasure potency of Sri Krishna. And Sri Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika confirms that Srimati Radharani appeared in gaura-lila as Gadadhara Pandita. When the Lord descends, He doesn’t come alone; He comes with His eternal associates. Thus, when Lord Krishna came as Sri Krishna Chaitanya, in the role of a devotee, His eternal associates accompanied Him, as devotees, to assist Him in His pastimes. And the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, written by Kavi-karnapura, also an associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, explains what roles the associates of Krishna in krsna-lila played in gaura-lila. Sri Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (147–149) states, “Srimati Radharani, who is the personification of pure love for Krsna and who is the queen of Vrndavana, appeared as Sri Gadadhara Pandita, who was very dear to Lord Chaitanya. Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami has also confirmed that the goddess of fortune, who appeared in Vrndavana and was very dear to Lord Krsna, appeared as Sri Gadadhara Pandita, who was filled with love for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

Gadadhara Pandita is an incarnation of Srimati Radharani, the internal potency of Lord Krishna. But because Lord Chaitanya is Krishna acting in the mood of Srimati Radharani, Gadadhara Pandita, although Radharani, did not act in the mood of Radharani—because there can be only one Radharani. He understood, “This is Krishna’s time, His opportunity to relish the loving ecstasy of Srimati Radharani, so I will keep my mood of Radha in the background and just support Him in His experience of radha-bhava.” It is also said that if Gadadhara Pandita had manifested the nature or feature of Srimati Radharani, then Krishna, who was trying to absorb Himself in the mood of Radharani, would have become attracted to the Radha outside of Him and wouldn’t have been able to maintain His inner mood as Radha. So Gadadhara Pandita, to facilitate Lord Chaitanya in His pastimes, played the perfect role to complement and support the Lord—that of a perfect brahman: very gentle, very submissive, very scholarly, very sober.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 7.166, 163–164) concludes,

panditera saujanya, brahmanyata-guna
drdha prema-mudra loke karila khyapana

“Gadadhara Pandita is celebrated all over the world for his gentle behavior, his brahminical attributes, and his steady love for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

panditera bhava-mudra kahana na yaya
‘gadadhara-prana-natha’ nama haila yaya

“No one can describe the characteristics and ecstatic love of Gadadhara Pandita. Therefore another name for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Gadadhara-prananatha, ‘the life and soul of Gadadhara Pandita.’

pandite prabhura prasada kahana na yaya
‘gadaira gauranga’ bali’ yanre loke gaya

“No one can say how merciful the Lord is to Gadadhara Pandita, but people know the Lord as Gadaira Gauranga, ‘the Lord Gauranga of Gadadhara Pandita.’ ”

On this auspicious occasion we can pray to Gadadhara Pandita, a most intimate associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and a member of the Pancha-tattva, to be merciful to us and help us to taste and distribute the nectar of the holy name, the nectar of Krishna consciousness, as humble servants of his devoted servants.

Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.

Sri Gadadhara Pandita ki jaya!
Sri Sri Pancha-tattva ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sri Gadadhara Pandita’s appearance day, April 17, 2007, Dallas]

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Sri Gadadhara Pandit reading from Bhagavatam

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The post When analyzing issues, how do we know whether we are putting them in the right context such as material or spiritual? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Gadadhara Pandit was a childhood friend of Nimai and both were students in the same school. Gadadhara’s parents Madhav Mishra and Ratnawati were natives of Chattagram district but later moved to Navadwip. Gadadhara Pandit was born in Navadwip.

In the Gaura-ganodesa-dipika, it is stated: “The pleasure potency of Sri Krishna, formerly known as Vrndavanesvari Srimati Radharani, is now personified in the form of Sri Gadadhara Pandit in the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

From his early childhood, Gadadhara was very serene, patient, calm, quiet, fond of solitude and very renounced. 

Later on, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu moved to Jagannatha Puri, Gadadhara accompanied some devotees from Navadwip to visit Him. He stayed on in Puri, not returning to Navadwip. Gadadhara started living in Jameshwar’s Tota (garden). Everyday, Gadadhara would read out aloud from the Srimad Bhagavatam for the pleasure of Mahaprabhu. 

Once, while sitting on the beach discussing topics of Krishna, Nimai decided to bestow his special grace on Gadadhara. He told Gadadhara to dig in a particular spot. After digging for some time, Gadadhara discovered the beautiful deity of Sri Gopinath. The deity was established in a temple in the garden and came to be known as Tota Gopinath. 

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances,

All glories to Srila Prabhupada,

The material world is an overrated, disappointing place where anything bad can happen .You may hope for the best , but expect the worst And the worst is always worst than you expect.

Where as Srila Prabhupada gave us the Spiritual World, Krishna Consciousness. Where we are never the looser, and we are always in bliss connected to the Supreme, ( terms and conditions apply, always read the small print……).

Even a devotee, or especially a devotee may face challenges, some serious pot holes on the Royal road. It is the association of devotees that is our saving grace, sadhu sanga. Krishna is know as Bhakta Vatsala , for Krishna the devotees are very precious. Thus hats off to the devotees around the world who care for elderly and dying devotees.

It is very easy to loose your health, can’t pay the rent and end up on the streets homeless, and alone. We all know some devotee who had fallen into this situation. Even Srila Prabhupada had a son who became homeless, living on the streets. He would sometimes ask his disciples from Calcutta if they had seen him, Prayag.

Here is a link to a TV show, that I helped put together, about a young billionaire boy who takes a challenge of being homeless on the streets and pulling himself out of the gutter.

Two links here to the same movie

https://we.tl/t-4AMb7wtHGU
This link ,you download, then goes on to a test screen for 20 seconds then bingo. 

Or
https://www.my5.tv/rich-kids-go-homeless/season-1/episode-2-2-2-2-2
This link you press then you down load an app

He fails badly to get his life together but there is a happy ending. He eats Krishna Prasad and in the end, the conclusion, the Vedanta, he declares to the world that he will donate funds to the “Hare Krishna Kitchen “,  hip hip hooray!

Your servant 

Parasuram das 

Many ISKCON devotees around the world are now aware of the conflict and court cases that took place over the past few years regarding managerial authority of the Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir in Brooklyn, New York City.

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What are your expectations for a guru? A psychologist to solve your emotional issues? A father to run to whenever you have a problem, or to replace the loving father you never had? Do you expect him to be someone who will always do what you need or want him to do, or make time for you whenever required? Do you expect him to be so self-sacrificing that he will give up his own needs for you? Do you expect him to answer every email you send within a few days, or even answer at all? Do expect to get enough of his love to feel complete? Do you want to write often about what’s going on in your life and heart, sometimes writing very long and detailed letters? And will you expect him to carefully read and contemplate every detail, and remember these details long into the future? Continue reading "What Are Your Expectations for Your Guru
→ Dandavats"

Yes. Blinded by prejudice. Who? Me?! Never!!! Prejudice is the cause of so much heartbreak and violence in this world — I don’t want to know about it! I’m a very liberal person. I’m not judgemental. I’m not blinded by prejudice! Oops! Looks like we have touched a very sensitive spot! Definitely not a good idea to tell him now that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura doesn’t agree with his self-perception and analysis.... Continue reading "Blinded by Prejudice
→ Dandavats"

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The post When nothing works, we surrender to Krishna – how can we surrender to him in the beginning itself? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

A short film by 15-years-old Calypso Camacho, a student at the Bhaktivedanta Academy in Alachua, Florida, shows how doing gardening for God helps cultivating the creeper of selfless love in the heart. (www.bhaktischool.org)

Krishna conscious paintings by Chaitanya Chandra Carana Prabhu (Iskcon GBC and guru in Russia) (Album of photos)
Srila Prabhup...

Back In The Motherland (Album of photos)
Indradyumna Swami: Our first stop on this year’s Russian tour is Ekaterinburg, a city with a population of 2 million people. Devotees have come from other cities as well - some from as far as Kazakhstan a two-day train ride away. Everyone is eager for kirtan, Krsna katha and prasadam. We hope not to disappoint them!

JAX Beach Parade 2019 - Festival of Chariots (Album of photos)
At Jacksonville Beach Parade, over 70 Alachua youth came together, dressed in all the brightest festive colors. Taking to the streets, everyone danced and chanted while interacting with the crowd and bringing smiles to thousands of faces. They distributed over 4,000 lollipops to excited children along the way. The Ratha Yatra cart trailed behind, spreading the Holy Name of ‘Hare Krishna’ to an estimated 30,000 attendees. The two-mile stretch in the city of Jacksonville is only one of many sites visited by the youth and Hare Krishna community members yearly. One of the largest festivals, the St. Augustine Rathayatra, is a spectacle of over 300 participants bringing enlivening music, dancing, and spirit to the city square. These Ratha Yatra festivals, hosted by the Festival of Chariots team and the devotees of Lord Jagannath, are a jewel of the Alachua community. They continue to exemplify the spirit of the spiritual community and are a cornerstone for God-consciousness in the western world. Every year, at these vibrant festivals, thousands of free plates of karma-free vegetarian food are distributed to people within Florida. The goal of the Festival of Chariots team is to take these parades nationally, and even internationally, beyond what is already available. They strive to one day be part of parades in Disney World and other festive venues, bringing Lord Jagannath and his chariot in front of the masses of our modern society.

Ox Training Seminar, New Vraja Dhama, Hungary (10 min. video)
What is the role of the ox in cow protection? Attendees of the Ox Training Seminar in Vraja Dhama Hungary learned about training oxen and their valuable role in sustainable agriculture.

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The post Won’t it help us spiritually if we remember our past lives? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

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The post QA on mindfulness at South Illinois University 2019 Spring appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.