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Bliss In The Buckeye State (4 min video)
Indradyumna Swami: Our show in New Albany, Ohio was attended by a number of government officials, including the mayor of the city. After the program, he very kindly told us, “Your show is better than any Broadway theater.”
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/PvkZFg
Answer Podcast
Transcribed by: Sudeep Naik
Question: While being in family life how can we be detached?
Answer: The word detached sometimes have a negative connotation. Sometimes people think that if I become detached I will become uncaring, irresponsible but detachment does not mean becoming uncaring or unfeeling. It simply means that we do not let anything control our feelings.
Dhritarashtra was attached to Duryodhana, and because of his attachment he just went along with whatever Duryodhana wanted. Duryodhana acted viciously and Dhritarashtra consented to that. In Mahabharata when Yudhishthira becomes a king, Narada Muni comes to meet him. Normally when we meet someone we generally say – “how are you”. However, Narada muni asks similar question but in a more informed way. He says, “O King, are you pursuing dharma, artha and kama in balance? Do not pursue dharma at the expense of artha and kama, do no pursue artha at the expense of dharma and kama and do no pursue kama at the expense of dharma and artha.” Dharma refers to our religion or spirituality, artha refers to our profession, kama refers broadly to our family. Mahabharata is telling us to pursue all these three in balance.
By detachment, if we think that I will only be pursuing dharma and neglecting artha and kama then that is a misunderstanding. We have to pursue all three. However, some people are workaholics. They pursue artha so much that they neglect their family, their spirituality. They just become super achievers in their profession but they become utter failures in their life. Their families break apart, children go on a wrong track and they are unhappy. Success in one area of life cannot compensate for failure in another. Professional success cannot compensate for family failure. Similarly, family success cannot compensate for spiritual failure. All these three are separate tracks and we need to progress on all these three tracks in a harmonious way and see that Krishna as God is not just limited to dharma.
It is not that we worship Krishna only when we go to temple, Bhagavad-gita offers us an inclusive vision of God. Krishna says “sva-karmana tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati manavah” (by your work worship the divine). It means that we do not see our family members as just family members but seen them that they are entrusted to us by God. They are also God’s part. Our children are not our children alone, but they are God’s children. We can serve God by taking care of them also. We have certain talent, ability, which we use in our profession. Those talents are gifts given by God to us. Arjuna had archery skill, he excelled in that skill and used it in Krishna’s service. God is not just limited to dharma. If we have proper attitude of service, then artha and kama can be permeated with bhakti bhava. Bhakti integrates dharma, artha and kama, in a spiritual trajectory of our life.
End of transcription.
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[Congregation program at Chicago, USA]
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Q&A Programme)
Can you tell us a bit about the time you entered into the grhasta ashram. How was that a factor in your spiritual life?
Generally sanyasis do not speak about their purva janma (previous life) but since you are asking, I will briefly tell you. I was married for 24 years before I took sannyasa. My former wife is also from the Netherlands and she came to Krsna consciousness 1 year after I did. Even though she was drawn to Krsna consciousness, she was not so sure about the movement initially, specifically with respect to the movement’s attitude towards women, which was a little difficult for a capable lady from the West to swallow. But she made it. Anyways, so I was in the grhasta ashram for all those years that I stayed in India.
Were you pushed to taking sannyasa or did you jump?
It was more of a natural progression for me. I was married for a very long time but somehow it worked out that we never had any children. I lived in Vrndavan which is a holy place and after spending so much time there, it somehow started to feel like vanaprastha. So what else was there for us to do? Grow old, hand in hand? I was a leader and a temple president for some years where I had started managing things, but eventually my role was one of managing and coaching people. So it was going in that direction for me where the next step seemed one of spiritual leadership as I was dealing more and more with people.
The article " Q&A with KKS: Changes in ashram " was published on KKSBlog.
Photos of a recent event in London: On Friday 21st September, Sivarama Swami opened up about his life as a Monk in an interview with filmmaker Ravinol Chambers at Bridewell Hall. It was a great evening which finished off with Mantra-meditation and a delicious Vegan dinner. 
Harinama Sankirtana in Union Square park Wednesday September 26th (Album of photos) Srila Prabhupada: One must engage his tongue in the service of the holy name. Our Krishna consciousness movement is based on this principle. We try to engage all the members of the Krishna consciousness movement in the service of the holy name. (Sri-Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, 8.16 Purport) 
New Prasadam outlet at Isodyan guest house opened today in Mayapur.
For only Rs.100, a grand lunch prasad with a menu of 12 items will be served at the new AC prasadam hall at the ground floor of Isodyan bhavan . At the inaugural function today with kirtan, all the management members, division heads honored prasadam and gave blessings for the success of this endeavor by Mayapur Guest house . With the increasing number of guests, this additional venue for prasadam will be highly welcomed by the guests. Next time, on your visit to Mayapur, make sure to have lunch in Isodyan guest house. 
Radhanath Swami: Yoga is often misunderstood as merely breath control, asanas or exercises; for some it is about practising some rules and regulations based on morality and for others it is cultivation of scriputral knowledge. But the real purpose of Yoga is to fix our mind on the Supreme.
Mayapur Academy: The Deity Dressing Unit in Hindi has started this week. Students first learned the theories of art as well as the importance of not scratching the deities head, not even a practice head. The students were asked to first pin pieces of paper to their classmates head to stress the importance of treating the deity as a person.
Each student receives so much hands on assistance during this unit. Head facilitator Kurma Chaitanya prabhu and his assistant Krishna Kanta prabhu spend time with each devotee to make sure they understand how to demonstrate each of the principals of art they have learned earlier in the week. Mayapur Academy would also like to thank the dedicated translators and helpers Bimala Prasad prabhu and Ananda Lila mataji. 
On 18th Septembar 2018 H.G. Adi Purush Prabhu took Sannyasa at ISKCON Ujjain Temple from H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja. His new Sannyasa name is: Bhakti Dayita Adi Purush Swami. 
Decades ago, HH Indradyumna Swami met HH Vishnujana Swami and other devotees for the first time in his life right at the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. That started his spiritual journey. Many of us have heard of the famous 'Silver Spoon' story. So it was the dear-most desire of our heart that when Maharaja is in Michigan after such a long time, we would visit that place with him and hear the epic event that changed not only his, but in due course of time, many lives on this planet. So despite heavy rain we went on Harinam because maharaja called for it. We all gathered at the 'Krishna's Corner' of the University campus which is famous for Harinam and Maharaja joyfully lead a very ecstatic kirtan. The rain also made it's appearance from time to time, pouring down tears of ecstasy. Gradually a huge number of people joined and, dancing their way, they learned to sing Hare Krishna. Afterwords, came the moment we all have been waiting for. Maharaja asked everyone to follow his lead and took us under a nearby tree. Then he showed us where it all started. He narrated the whole story glorifying HH Vishnujana Swami. It was such a beautiful story, many of us were in tears. Please relish the pictures of this memorable day. Answer Podcast
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[Seminar at ISKCON, Naperville, USA]
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Giridhari Swami: Devotees from Hong Kong, China and the Philippines came together at Vraja Eco Village to glorify Srila Prabhupada through their spoken offerings and song. Some devotees wrote offerings in advance, while others spoke extemporaneously. I could not help but be moved by their expressions of heartfelt appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and all that he done from them.
I was reminded of what Srila Prabhupada wrote about this own spiritual master in the preface pages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam:
"He lives forever by his divine instructions and the follower lives with him." 
In every adversity there is something to learn not only about ourselves but also about material nature and our progression in Krishna Consciousness; sometimes we share these thoughts other times we keep them to ourselves.
Last month I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid, I knew all wasn’t well for a while as cronic fatigue set in and slow impairment of cognitive ability declined. But so much to do and after all it’s been a busy time so all will be well upto the point the body and mind collapsed, with the GP signing me off work whilst investigation were entered. So thyroid was the reason and a few weeks into treatment some slow recovery, however I still have to deal with some of the fallout.
As HH Mahavishnu Swami once said “the material body the embarrassment of the spirit soul’s
Indeed it is
But it has given me time to pause, think and gain insight, indeed so captivated by this material body we hardly question it as we progress manipulate and put so much emphasis on me an I untill difficulty. Indeed like many I started to take an interest in Krishna Consciousness due to difficulties why is it?
As my thyroid slowly slowed down I had no real cause for concern and similar in material life we go on with no concern; by good fortune intelligence kicks in and questions are sought until we get the answer needed. My suffering is simply because I wanted independence from Sri Krishna and enjoy, and due to continued participation in material nature we suffer.
So the cure.
For my thyroid it’s medication but it will be life long miss the medication my ability to function both physically and mentally will be compromised. As a devotee the cure for material suffering is a life time if japa and reading and studying along with sharing Srila Prabhupada’s books; so others like me can be cured.
Like me
So I was in denial that there was anything wrong, I’m just a little older and so….. there will be a reason not to seek help; same as when suffering in material nature well it’s like this….
But once we get to the point we sincerely ask and seek help it will be there, but it will be lifelong.
So during this period of absence from work by good fortune I got the association not only of my God Brother and his lovely family but also my own guru Maharaj, both good for the material body and spirit soul. Most notably the words of my guru Maharaj who said finally I was worthy of my name Dhirabhakta Das, but I noted that this does not mean I’ve achieved perfection simply that I must keep on going.
For in all of the recent illness I am reminded that the worst illness of all is not knowing Krishna
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 07 January 2018, Brisbane, Australia, Q&A Programme)
Since you accepted the sanyas order, you have been travelling around the world. Can you tell us a bit about your current preaching activities.
For the last 20 or so years, I have been travelling a lot. I started off as a sanyasi in 1997 and then in 2001 I became a spiritual master. Once I started to have disciples, I had ongoing personal relationships with people across the world. So naturally, my travels related to these relationships, so I could stay in contact with my disciples. One thing I do in my travels is to maintain these relationships, and through them, I am trying to push forward Krsna consciousness.
When I started in the movement, it was a very missionary movement, like that in Prabhupada’s time. It was really about changing the world. Nowadays it is not so much about that, but it is more about living a Krsna conscious lifestyle and finding a way as a devotee to be doing that. As a sanyasi, I am still a part of the missionary or revolutionary side of the movement. Here, I am trying to help people get situated in a nice spiritual life, like a nice boat, and after a while, I rock that boat in order for them to do something. Not just to live their life nicely, where they feed the family cat some prasadam and that all the flowers in the garden are offered to Krsna. This is nice, but we want something more than that. We do not just want the cat to take the prasadam, we want the whole world to take it! So this is my mission, to build this revolutionary spirit within all my disciples!
The article " Q&A with KKS: Current preaching mission " was published on KKSBlog.
Представляем официальный трейлер нашего первого полнокупольного фильма в формате 360 градусов под названием «9 шагов к вечности», показ которого сейчас проходит в полнокупольном кинотеатре в Шри Майяпур-дхаме в Западной Бенгалии, Индии!
Данный фильм был создан нашей собственной командой режиссёров иммерсионного кино из департамента выставок ХВП с использованием (с разрешения) картин из архива Би-би-ти и уникальных работ в формате 3D и 2D нашей группы талантливых художников со всего мира. В настоящее время фильм доступен на английском и бенгали!
Главным вызовом для нас было самостоятельно обучиться производству полнокупольных видео, но мы это сделали! А сейчас – создавать более длинные и качественные полнокупольные фильмы.
The post Отдел экспозиций ХВП представляет … appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Presenting the official trailer of our first Fulldome 360 film – 9 Steps to Eternity, now playing at the Mayapur Fulldome Theater in Sri Mayapur Dham, West Bengal, India!
This film was developed by our in-house team of immersive film makers at the TOVP Exhibits using (with permission) paintings from the BBT Archives, and unique 3D and 2D content by our talented ensemble of international artists. Currently in English and Bengali languages!
The challenge was to learn the fulldome production pipeline on our own, but we did it! Now to make bigger and better Fulldome films
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В первой части данной статьи мы объяснили, что, если говорить в общем, причина строительства ХВП (или любого храма Вишну/Кришны) заключается в том, что духовное возвышение общества важнее любого мирского служения телу, такого как помощь бедным, открытие больниц и т.д. В этой части мы еще глубже раскроем данную тему и назовем несколько конкретных причин.
Истории из шастр подтверждают вышеизложенный момент, и мы можем сами испытать это в своей собственной жизни. Цель жизни – любовь к Богу, все остальное является результатом этого. Как написано в шастрах, нитйо нитйанам четанаш четананам, единственный верховный, вечный и наделенный сознанием нитья, Бог, поддерживает Свои бесконечно малые обладающие сознанием частицы, нитьянам. В этом нет ничего удивительного, потому что Он – наш божественный Отец. Как Господь Кришна говорит в «Бхагавад-гите», йаджнартхат кармано ’нйатра, все жертвоприношения следует выполнять для Вишну, это принесет нам счастье в материальном плане и высшее освобождение – достижение духовной сферы.
Таким образом, можно возводить неограниченное количество храмов Вишну, даже наш собственный дом может стать храмом. И то невероятное благо, которое человек получает от строительства здания храма Господа, такого как ХВП, несопоставимо ни с чем другим. Об этом Вы узнаете из цитат из «Агни-пураны» и других шастр в третьей части данной статьи. Но вначале, назовем некоторые важные причины, почему мы строим Храм Ведического Планетария:
Посетите ХВП: www.tovp.org
Читайте о ХВП: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Смотрите о ХВП: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
Загрузите приложение ХВП для мобильного телефона: www.tovp.org/ru/announcements-ru/new-tovp-phone-app-goes-live/
Подпишитесь на новости ХВП: https://goo.gl/forms/ojJ2WcUUuqWh8bXt1
Поддержите ХВП: www.tovp.org/ru/donate/seva-opportunities/
The post Зачем строить ХВП? Нам действительно нужен еще один храм? Часть 2 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
In Part 1 of this series of articles we explained that the overall reason for building the TOVP (or any temple of Vishnu/Krishna) is that the spiritual upliftment of society is more important than any mundane services to the body like helping the poor, opening hospitals, etc.. In this part we will elaborate further and present some specific reasons.
The recorded histories in the shastras prove the above point, and in our own personal lives we can experience this. The goal of life is love of God; everything else comes as a result. As stated in shastra, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam, the one supreme eternal, conscious nitya, God, is maintaining His infinitesimal eternal, conscious parts, nityanam. There is no mystery in this because He is our divine father. And as Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita, yajnarthat karmano nyatra, all sacrifice must be performed for Vishnu and that will bring about our happiness on the physical plane and ultimate liberation into the spiritual plane.
So there can be unlimited temples for Vishnu, even one’s own home can be made so. And the astounding benefits of personally helping to build an actual temple structure for the Lord like the TOVP are incomparable to anything else as you will read in Part 3 of this article from the Agni Purana and other shastras. But first, here are some other important reasons as to why we are building the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium:
Visit us at: www.tovp.org
Follow us at: www.facebook.com/tovp.mayapur
Watch us at: www.youtube.com/user/tovpinfo
Phone App at: http://tovp.org/news/announcements/new-tovp-phone-app-goes-live/
Mailing List at: https://goo.gl/forms/ojJ2WcUUuqWh8bXt1
Support us at: www.tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities
The post Why Build the TOVP? Do We Really Need Another Temple? Part 2 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
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Giriraj Swami read and spoke on Bhagavad-gita 9.14 during the Sunday Krishna Fest.
“This verse is the summary of the previous verses. The Lord tells Arjuna that those who are purely in Krsna consciousness and do not know anything other than Krsna are called mahatma; yet there are other persons who are not exactly in the position of mahatma but who worship Krsna also, in different ways. Some of them have already been described as the distressed, the financially destitute, the inquisitive, and those who are engaged in the cultivation of knowledge.” (Bhagavad-gita 9.15 purport)
[Talk to Yoga students at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago, Chicago, USA]
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Today is Visvarupa-mahotsava, the date on which Lord Chaitanya’s older brother, Visvarupa, took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. And on the same date some four hundred and fifty years later, our own spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, also accepted sannyasa.
According to Vedic scripture, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, come in the present age in the role of a devotee. In the previous age, Lord Krishna came in His original feature and spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and at the conclusion He instructed, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: give up all other duties and surrender unto Me. But people could not understand or appreciate Lord Krishna’s instruction. So later, about five hundred years ago, the same Krishna came again, not in His original form but in His devotional form as Lord Chaitanya. And Lord Chaitanya taught us how to serve Krishna, how to worship God in the present age.
Lord Chaitanya taught various methods of worship, but He especially emphasized the chanting of the holy names of God, or Krishna. In particular, He quoted a verse from the Brhan-Naradiya Purana (38.126):
harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha
“One should chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name of Hari, Krishna. In this age of Kali, there is no other way, no other way, no other way for spiritual realization.”
He acted like a teacher who shows students how to write the alphabet. The teacher stands in front of the class and writes on the board, “A, B, C, D.” She has no need to practice writing, but she shows by her own example how to form the letters properly. In the same way, God, Krishna, had no need to worship, but to set the example for us, so that we could learn how to worship God in the best way in the present age, He came as Lord Chaitanya and taught and demonstrated the chanting of the holy names.
When Lord Chaitanya appeared, the social and spiritual system called varnasrama-dharma was still prevalent in India. In this system there are four social and four spiritual divisions, all necessary for society to function properly. Although we may not refer to them by the same terms, and although the system has not been developed as systematically and scientifically as in Vedic culture, still, by the arrangement of nature, the divisions still exist. In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah: “According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me.” (Gita 4.13) So, the four social orders, or broad divisions of occupational duties, are created by Krishna.
The four divisions include the intelligent class, who are teachers and priests—mainly teachers. Then there is the martial or administrative class, comprised of rulers and warriors; they govern and protect the citizens. There is the vaishya, or productive class, who engage in agriculture—farming and cow protection—and, with any surplus, in trade. And there is the service class, or workers, who perform services to support the other three classes.
When a person hears the description of the different social orders and duties, he or she may be alerted to the possibilities for exploitation and domination of the “lower” classes by the “higher.” But in Vedic society the different members work cooperatively for the common good, ultimately for the pleasure of God. In the physical body there are natural divisions—the head, the arms, the stomach, the legs—and they all have different functions. But they all cooperate for the benefit of the whole. In the social body, the brahmans are compared to the head—they give guidance. The kshatriyas are compared to the arms—they protect the body. The vaishyas are compared to the stomach—they provide food for the body. And the sudras, or workers, are compared to the legs—they carry the rest of the body where it wants to go. There is no question of competition among the different parts of the body—or exploitation. They all work for the good of the whole.
Apart from the social divisions, there are four spiritual divisions. These are also natural, especially in a culture meant for self-realization and God realization, which Vedic culture is. The first order is the brahmacharis, celibate students. In the traditional system, the brahmachari would study in the ashram of the guru, in the gurukula. He would be trained mainly in principles of good character. And because the main emphasis was on good character and spiritual development, the teachers had to be spiritually qualified.
Here we can see the defect in modern education, where emphasis is given to material knowledge without much consideration of personal character. Now practically no spiritual or moral qualification is required of teachers. They may drink, they may smoke, they may gamble, they may do all sorts of nonsense in their “private” lives, but if they know the subject in a material way, they are considered qualified to teach. But in the Vedic system, because the emphasis was on moral character and spiritual development, the teachers, the brahmans, had to be exemplary. And in addition, they had to know the content of the subjects they taught. The exemplar in the Vedic system was called acharya. Acharya means “one who teaches by example”— not that in the classroom the teacher says, “You should not smoke” but then outside the classroom he or she smokes, or that the teacher says, “You shouldn’t drink” but then outside he or she drinks.
A friend of ours in Mumbai was attending an international conference on drug abuse in Delhi. She is a devotee, and she works with a lot of underprivileged people in the slum areas of Mumbai. And in her own way, she tries to introduce Krishna consciousness, seeing how it can transform people’s lives, how people who were addicted to drugs can give them up with the spiritual strength gained by chanting and other practices—by the grace of God. So, she went to the conference, and during the evenings her colleagues would get together and have parties and drink and smoke and take drugs. Then, during the day, they would meet to discuss what to do about the problem of substance abuse. Socially, she would be with them. After all, they were her friends and colleagues, but when she attended their parties, they would insist, “Why don’t you have a drink? Have a smoke. Have this, have that.” And she would always refuse.
One night, their party was busted by the police. The only one of them of good character, of spotless character, was our friend, the devotee. They knew that her word would be accepted because she was strict in her habits. So her colleagues appealed to her to make up some story that they were doing some experiment, some research, on taking drugs. Whatever happened in the end, the point I am making is that in Vedic culture the teachers were supposed to be exemplary. Their character was considered one of their main qualifications as teachers.
So, the first order is brahmachari—celibate students living in the ashram of the guru, the spiritual preceptor. The second order is grihastha—married, or household, life. At the age of twenty or twenty-five, the young man could choose to enter the grihastha-ashrama. At such a time he would take permission from the guru to leave the gurukula, and there would be a ceremony comparable to today’s graduation. The young man would leave and go out into the world, bringing with him all the principles of moral character and spiritual development that he had learned in the ashram of the guru.
Then, after living in the grihastha-ashrama, having children and providing for their future, the husband and wife would enter the vanaprastha-ashrama, retired life. They would retire, not to while away their time in idle pursuits and reminiscences, but to realize God. Of course, there is no harm in reminiscing sometimes, but they had a positive engagement, and their positive engagement was spiritual perfection.
The first instruction of the Bhagavad-gita is:
dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” (Gita 2.13) In other words, the soul is distinct from the body.
Later in the Gita Krishna says that He has two energies: the superior energy, or para-prakrti, which is spiritual, and the inferior energy, or apara-prakrti, which is material.
bhumir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyam me
bhinna prakrtir astadha
apareyam itas tv anyam
prakrtim viddhi me param
jiva-bhutam maha-baho
yayedam dharyate jagat
“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies. Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.” (Gita 7.4–5) The spiritual energy is conscious and eternal, whereas the material energy is unconscious and temporary. Physical bodies are made of the eight material elements, inferior energy, but the soul within each body is made of the superior, spiritual energy.
The soul continues to live after the death of the body. In one sense there is no death of the body, because the body is always dead. It is just a machine, and the soul is the driver of the machine who makes the machine work. When the soul is in the body, the body appears to be alive. When the soul leaves the body, we declare that the body is dead, because the soul has left. Now, someone might argue that the soul, or life, is created by a particular chemical combination, that when the chemicals or atoms and molecules combine in a certain way, life is produced. But if that were the case, death would be merely a breakdown in the chemical combination. If life were created by a certain combination of chemicals, then death would mean that the combination had broken down, and the implication would be that if we restored the combination, the person would come back to life. A car is a combination of material elements. The car may break down, but if you keep replacing the material elements, the car will work again. Even if the car is from 1900, if you replace the engine, replace the carburetor, replace the steering—whatever the parts are—if you keep replacing them, it will work again. Yet although people have tried to become immortal since the beginning of time, they have never succeeded in bringing a dead person back to life, because life is not a combination of material elements. Life is the quality of the spiritual soul, the superior energy of the Lord. Once the spiritual soul leaves the body, we can do nothing to bring the body back to life, because the living force has left.
So the question is, “What happens to the living force when it leaves the body? What happens to the soul?” According to the Bhagavad-gita, the soul, depending on its activities, or karma, will enter a particular type of body. If the car breaks down and is not worth fixing, the driver will get another car. Now, what kind of car he gets will depend on how much he can afford. If the person has been earning and saving, he can get a luxury car. If the person has been working but not earning so much, or has been saving but not that much, he might get an ordinary car. If the person has been irresponsible or is unemployed, he might not be able to afford a car at all. He might have to get a motorcycle or a scooter or a bicycle, or he may just have to walk. In the same way, the body we get in the next life will depend on how we conduct ourselves in the present life. If we are responsible and follow a disciplined, moral, spiritual life, we will get a better body. In fact, if we are fully self-realized or God-realized, fully surrendered to God, we can get a spiritual body and go to the spiritual world and live with God in the spiritual kingdom. Otherwise, if we are not perfect but are good, we will get a good material body in the material world; we will take birth on a higher planet—on a heavenly planet—or on earth in a better situation, with better opportunities for education; we may be born with more intelligence, with more opulence, with better looks, and so on. And if we have been negligent in our duties toward God, if we have been immoral or irreligious, we will be born in an unfortunate situation on earth in a human body or even in a lower species of life. Or we may have to take birth on a hellish planet and suffer there for some time.
In the Vedic system, by the time a person reaches the age of fifty or so, he or she should have fulfilled his or her family responsibilities and be free to leave the work and assets to the next generation, to concentrate on spiritual development. Old age is a warning or a reminder that one will have to leave the body, and so one will consider, “How can I use my time to reach the best destination?” It is as if you are living in a house and you get notice that you will have to vacate. Of course, you will continue to take care of the house to some degree, but you will not put all your energy into taking care of a house that you must soon vacate. Rather, you will consider, “Where am I going to move?” That is the guiding principle in Vedic civilization: “Where am I going to go after I leave the present body, this present habitat?”
The best destination one can achieve is the spiritual kingdom of God, and for that one must engage in spiritual practices, especially the chanting of the holy names of God, by which one will develop love for God. Such practices are common to different religious traditions. Although here we speak on the basis of the Bhagavad-gita, on the basis of Vedic knowledge, the principle of chanting God’s name is in practically every tradition; the principle of praying to God, glorifying God, learning about God from scriptures and teachers, and serving God and His creatures—ultimately to develop love for God—is part of every bona fide religious tradition. As the Bible says, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shalt be in thine heart. Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. . . . Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him.” This passage from Deuteronomy (6.5–9, 7.9) pretty well describes the life of devotees. While at home or on a path, sitting or walking, lying down or getting up—wherever they are and in whatever they do—they are conscious of God, and they teach their children the same principle: to be God conscious.
Again, the ideal of singing the name of the Lord or praising the name of the Lord is common to every tradition. The Bible, for instance, enjoins us: “Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him, talk yet of all His wondrous works. Glory ye in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually.” (I Chronicles 16.7–11) But the actual process of chanting, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, is elaborated most scientifically in Vedic literature. Srimad-Bhagavatam in particular gives precise and detailed information about God and the process to reach Him. Otherwise, one could question, “If the principles are the same, why did you have to take to Krishna consciousness? Why could you not have just been a good Christian or Jew or whatever?” The answer is that this method, technically called bhakti-yoga, is scientific and practical, and that the knowledge of God given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam is most detailed. To love someone, you must know the person: “To know him is to love him.” To know God is to love Him. Otherwise, we may talk theoretically about loving God, but if we don’t know Him, how can we really love Him?
God in the most complete conception is both male and female: Radha and Krishna. Still, for simplicity’s sake, we often use the masculine pronoun. In any case, we learn about God in detail from shastra, especially Srimad-Bhagavatam. As our spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, used to say, “Every religion will teach that you should love God, but who is God? The Vedic scriptures tell you His name, His address, His telephone number—all the details—about His family, His friends, His habits, His hobbies, His pastimes.” That is why we have taken to Krishna consciousness: to learn about God and how to reach Him—in detail. Even then, as Srila Prabhupada said, “You don’t have to give up being a Jew or a Christian or a Muslim or whatever; you can add Krsna consciousness and become a better Hindu or a better Christian or a better Jew.” It is not a religion in the sense that you have to convert, like one gives up one faith and accepts another, but you can remain whatever you are and add bhakti-yoga. With the physical practices of yoga, hatha-yoga, people don’t mind—they may be Christian or Jewish or Muslim and still practice yoga. So too you can practice bhakti-yoga whatever your faith may be. But this yoga will help you to come closer to God and have direct realization of God.
In varnashrama-dharma, the last stage, after retired life, is called sannyasa, renounced life. Although in retired life the husband and wife may stay together, their aim is God consciousness. They often retire to a holy place to worship and serve God, associating with learned scholars and saintly persons, so that they can come closer to God and be with God in their next life. But in the fourth stage, which is not meant for everyone and is not generally recommended in the present age, the husband and wife do not remain together. Also, although the brahmachari will usually marry and have children, in exceptional cases he may not; he may remain in the brahmachari-ashrama for his entire life, or at some point proceed directly from the brahmachari- to the sannyasa-ashrama. In the renounced order too there are different stages, four stages, but in the present age the recommended process for the renounced order is to spread the message of Godhead—to travel and preach the message of Godhead, and to write articles and books on the science of God.
So, these are the four social and spiritual orders, and from that background we come to today’s occasion: Visvarupa-mahotsava. As mentioned earlier, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself, and He appeared on earth, as did Krishna, like an ordinary person. Yet although He seemed to take birth like an ordinary person, His birth was not ordinary; it was divine. Just as a dramatic actor plays the part of a family member on stage, so Lord Chaitanya appeared in a particular family on earth. And in the family in which He chose to appear, He had an older brother named Visvarupa (who Himself was an incarnation of Lord Balarama, Krishna’s first expansion).
From the very beginning, Visvarupa was attracted to devotional service to Lord Krishna. As soon as He was old enough, He would go daily to bathe in the Ganges and then proceed to the home of Advaita Acarya to engage in topics of Krishna. He had no interest whatsoever in material life. And so, when he heard that arrangements were being made for his marriage, Visvarupa left home and took sannyasa. At that time, Lord Chaitanya tried to console His aggrieved parents: “My dear mother and father, it is very good that Visvarupa has accepted the sannyasa order, for thus He has delivered both His father’s and His mother’s family.”
As a sannyasi, Visvarupa’s name was Sankararanya Svami. He traveled from one place of pilgrimage to another, throughout the country. Finally, He attained perfection—entered the spiritual world after giving up His mortal body—in Pandarapura, a holy place in Maharashtra. As cited by Srila Prabhupada, the Gaura-candrodaya states that after His departure, Visvarupa remained mixed within Sri Nityananda Prabhu. The date on which Visvarupa took sannyasa is celebrated today as Visvarupa-mahotsava.
Now we come to our spiritual teacher and founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He was born in Calcutta in 1896 in a very pious family. He was well educated and attended Scottish Churches’ College, one of the most prestigious colleges in Calcutta. As a young man he married and had a child, but soon he met a very saintly person, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja, and was impressed by him. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta requested that Srila Prabhupada take up the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and spread His message all over the world, specifically in English. From their very first meeting in 1922, Srila Prabhupada accepted Srila Bhaktisiddhanta in his heart as his spiritual master, and eleven years later, in Allahabad, he was formally initiated as Abhay Caranaravinda dasa. Abhay means “fearless” and caranaravinda means “the lotus feet” of Krishna. By taking shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna one becomes fearless—even of death, the most fearful situation in the material world.
Srila Prabhupada always remembered the order of his guru maharaja, and in his household life he began the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead. He personally wrote all the articles, got the issues printed, and distributed them. He would go on foot to the teashops in Delhi and approach the customers with his magazine. Later, a friend suggested that magazines might be thrown away but that books would remain forever. And so Srila Prabhupada turned his attention to translating the Bhagavad-gita, and later Srimad-Bhagavatam.
In 1950, Srila Prabhupada retired from family life as a vanaprastha. He traveled to Jhansi and tried to start his guru maharaja’s mission there. He was on the verge of acquiring an ideal property to use as a center, but in the end there was some politics with the governor’s wife and the deal fell through. So he left Jhansi and came to Mathura, a holy place associated with Lord Krishna’s pastimes, to the Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha, where he served in cooperation with one of his godbrothers, His Holiness Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Maharaja.
Even in his household life, Srila Prabhupada had dreams in which his guru maharaja was calling him to leave his family and follow him. Srila Prabhupada would wake up and feel horrified: “How can I take sannyasa?” He continued to have the dream, and in Mathura, Kesava Maharaja advised him, “To really preach the message of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and fulfill Guru Maharaja’s order, you must take sannyasa.” So, on September 17, 1959, on Visvarupa-mahotsava, the same date that Visvarupa, the older brother of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, took sannyasa, Srila Prabhupada accepted the renounced order of life at the Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha in Mathura. At the end of the ceremony Kesava Maharaja asked him to speak. Although the common language was Hindi, Srila Prabhupada thought of his mission and the order of his guru maharaja, and he spoke in English. Now he was Bhaktivedanta Swami, and “completely ready to discharge the order of his spiritual master.”
It is most fortunate for all of us today that Srila Prabhupada did take sannyasa. After he translated Srimad-Bhagavatam, First Canto, in three volumes, he felt ready to travel. Later he would remark, “When I decided to go to foreign countries, I thought of New York. Generally they go to London, but I thought, ‘No, I will go to New York.’ ” He managed to procure free passage in the passenger cabin on a cargo carrier of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, and so he crossed the Atlantic on board the Jaladuta, suffering two heart attacks on the way. Then, in New York, for almost one year, he struggled alone. No one took up his message seriously. He would stay at different people’s places, but he had no place of his own—and almost no money. He felt so discouraged that from time to time he would go to the Scindia office to see when the next boat was departing for India. But—again fortunately for us—he never left.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Visvarupa-mahotsava, September 17, 2005, Carpinteria, California]
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Thakura Haridasa was present during most of the Lord’s pastimes in Nadia, and when the Lord went to Jagannatha Puri, Haridasa also went and took up residence there. Everyday, after attending Lord Jagannath’s mangal arati, Lord Caitanya would come to see Haridasa Thakura and would bring him some of Lord Jagannath’s prasadam.
When Sri Sanatana Goswami and Sri Rupa Goswami would come from Vrindavana to Puri they used to stay with Haridasa Thakura. Haridasa, in order to maintain the etiquette, would not go near Lord Jagannatha’s temple but would offer his obeisances to the Cakra on top of the temple, from a distance. As he was considered to be a Mohammedan by birth, his presence in the temple would be objectionable to those who were caste conscious.
Mahamaya devi took initiation in the maha-mantra from Haridasa Thakura and Caitanya Mahaprabhu appointed him as the acarya of the Holy Name. His departure from this world, in the presence of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is fully described by Sri Krsna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami in the Antya-lila of Sri Caitanya Caritamrta.
Today is Bhadra-purnima. Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.13.13) states, “If on the full moon day of the month of Bhadra one places Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne and gives it as a gift, he will attain the supreme transcendental destination.” As explained in the purport, “One should place Srimad-Bhagavatam on a golden throne because it is the king of all literature. On the full-moon day of the month of Bhadra, the sun, which is compared to this king of literatures, is present in the constellation Leo and looks as if raised up on a royal throne. (According to astrology, the sun is said to be exalted in the sign of Leo). Thus one may unreservedly worship Srimad-Bhagavatam, the supreme divine scripture.”
In Krsna-lila-stava (412–416), Srila Sanatana Gosvami prays, “O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O nectar churned form the ocean of all the Vedic scriptures, O most prominent transcendental fruit of all the Vedas, O You who are enriched with the jewels of all spiritual philosophical conclusions, O you who grant spiritual vision to all the people of the world, O life-breath of the Vaisnava devotees, O Lord, You are the sun which has arisen to dispel the darkness of the Kali-yuga. You are actually Lord Krsna, who has returned among us.
“O Srimad-Bhagavatam, I offer respectful obeisances unto You. By reading You one attains transcendental bliss, for Your syllables rain pure love of God upon the reader. You are always to be served by everyone, for You are an incarnation of Lord Krsna.
“O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O my only friend, O my companion, O my teacher, O my great wealth, O my deliverer, O my good fortune, O my bliss, I offer respectful obeisances unto you.
“O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O giver of saintliness to the unsaintly, O uplifter of the very fallen, please do not ever leave me. Please become manifested upon my heart and my throat, accompanied by pure love of Krsna.”
Bhadra-purnima is also the date on which Srila Prabhupada took sannyasa. When asked, “Are you going to America?” he replied, “No, Srimad-Bhagavatam is going to America—I am going with it.”
Sri Bhadra-purnima ki jaya!
Srimad-Bhagavatam ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Today is the disappearance day of Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura, so we shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter Eleven, “The Passing of Haridasa Thakura”:
“The summary of this chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya as follows. In this chapter Brahma Haridasa Thakura gave up his body with the consent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and how the Lord Himself personally performed the funeral ceremony and carried the body to the sea. He personally entombed the body, covered it with sand, and erected a platform on the site. After taking a bath in the sea, He personally begged prasada of Jagannatha from shopkeepers and distributed prasada to the assembled devotees.”
TEXT 1
namami haridasam tam
caitanyam tam ca tat-prabhum
samsthitam api yan-murtim
svanke krtva nanarta yah
TRANSLATION
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Haridasa Thakura and his master, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who danced with the body of Haridasa Thakura on His lap.
TEXTS 2–9
jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya dayamaya
jayadvaita-priya nityananda-priya jaya
All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is very merciful and who is very dear to Advaita Acarya and Lord Nityananda!
jaya srinivasesvara haridasa-natha
jaya gadadhara-priya svarupa-prana-natha
All glories to the master of Srinivasa Thakura! All glories to the master of Haridasa Thakura! All glories to the dear master of Gadadhara Pandita! All glories to the master of the life of Svarupa Damodara!
jaya kasi-priya jagadananda-pranesvara
jaya rupa-sanatana-raghunathesvara
All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya, who is very dear to Kasi Misra! He is the Lord of the life of Jagadananda and the Lord of Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.
jaya gaura-deha krsna svayam bhagavan
krpa kari’ deha’ prabhu, nija-pada-dana
All glories to the transcendental form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krsna Himself, the Supreme Personality of Godhead! My dear Lord, kindly give me shelter at Your lotus feet by Your causeless mercy.
jaya nityananda-candra jaya caitanyera prana
tomara caranaravinde bhakti deha’ dana
All glories to Lord Nityananda, who is the life and soul of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! My dear Lord, kindly give me engagement in devotional service at Your lotus feet.
jaya jayadvaita-candra caitanyera arya
sva-carane bhakti deha’ jayadvaitacarya
All glories to Advaita Acarya, who is treated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as superior due to His age and respectability! Please give me engagement in devotional service at Your lotus feet.
jaya gaura-bhakta-gana,—gaura yanra prana
saba bhakta mili’ more bhakti deha’ dana
All glories to all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, for the Lord is their life and soul! All of you, kindly bestow devotional service upon me.
jaya rupa, sanatana, jiva, raghunatha
raghunatha, gopala,—chaya mora natha
All glories to Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Jiva Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, and Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana! They are all my masters.
COMMENT by Giriraj Swami
Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami is reciting the names of Lord Chaitanya and His associates—both His expansions and His servants. Just by reciting the names of the devotees, one becomes purified and enlivened in devotional service.
Once, in 1969, hooligans attacked the Boston temple in the middle of the night. They broke in the front door and with chains and knives and sticks they started to beat the devotees. Eventually we managed to call the police. Although the hooligans tried to run away, the police caught some of them, and ultimately the matter went to court.
In the temple at that time was a very nice, simple, humble devotee named Nanda-kisora Prabhu. Nanda-kisora had never been in court before and had hardly ever spoken in public, so he was bashful. The lawyer for the hooligans tried to make the case that we were followers of some weird cult. He was extremely aggressive, and Nanda-kisora didn’t really know what to say or do. The lawyer began by asking, “Who was present on the night of the crime? Who was sleeping with you in the temple?” So Nanda-kisora started to list the names of the devotees. He said, “Satsvarupa was there, Murari was there, Madan Mohan was there . . .” and by reciting the names of the devotees, which were also names of the Lord, all of his apprehensions and fears and hesitation went away and he became completely enlivened and ready to speak. The lawyer for the hooligans tried to bewilder Nanda-kisora, and he began with the definition of Krishna from some dictionary or book, that Krishna was “the Hindu god of love and fertility.” After Nanda-kisora had chanted the names of the devotees, he felt quite empowered. So he said to the judge, “Your Honor, may I quote my authority?” When the judge assented, Nanda-kisora quoted the Brahma-samhita, “Isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda vigrahah/ anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam: Krishna who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful, spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.” And in the end, we won the case.
Here Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami does the same thing. He recites the names of the devotees in order to invoke auspiciousness and get blessings for the work of narrating the pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
TEXT 10
e-saba prasade likhi caitanya-lila-guna
yaiche taiche likhi, kari apana pavana
I am writing this narration of the pastimes and attributes of the Lord by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. I do not know how to write properly, but I am purifying myself by writing this description.
TEXT 16
eka-dina govinda maha-prasada lana
haridase dite gela anandita hana
One day Govinda, the personal servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, went in great jubilation to deliver the remnants of Lord Jagannatha’s food to Haridasa Thakura.
TEXT 17
dekhe,—haridasa thakura kariyache sayana
manda manda kariteche sankhya-sankirtana
When Govinda came to Haridasa, he saw that Haridasa Thakura was lying on his back and chanting his rounds very slowly.
TEXT 18
govinda kahe,—“utha asi’ karaha bhojana”
haridasa kahe,—“aji karimu langhana”
“Please rise and take your maha-prasada,” Govinda said. Haridasa Thakura replied, “Today I shall observe fasting.
TEXT 19
“sankhya-kirtana pure nahi, ke-mate khaiba?
maha-prasada aniyacha, ke-mate upeksiba?”
“I have not finished chanting my regular number of rounds. How, then, can I eat? But you have brought maha-prasada, and how can I neglect it?”
TEXT 20
eta bali’ maha-prasada karila vandana
eka ranca lana tara karila bhaksana
TRANSLATION
Saying this, he offered prayers to the maha-prasada, took a little portion, and ate it.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
Maha-prasada is nondifferent from Krsna. Therefore, instead of eating maha-prasada, one should honor it. It is said here, karila vandana, “he offered prayers.” When taking maha-prasada, one should not consider the food ordinary preparations. Prasada means favor. One should consider maha-prasada a favor of Krsna. As stated by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, krsna bada dayamaya karibare jihva jaya svaprasada-anna dila bhai. Krsna is very kind. In this material world we are all very attached to tasting various types of food. Therefore, Krsna eats many nice varieties of food and offers the food back to the devotees, so that not only are one’s demands for various tastes satisfied, but by eating prasada he makes advancement in spiritual life. Therefore we should never consider ordinary food on an equal level with maha-prasada.
COMMENT
Maha-prasada is nondifferent from Krishna, and therefore we honor it; we don’t eat it. But sometimes devotees do get in the mood of eating it. Once, in Juhu, two devotees had a big fight and both ran to Srila Prabhupada, each to complain about the other. Srila Prabhupada heard from both sides and then delivered his judgment: the reason for all the fighting was that both devotees were eating too much maha-prasada. Because of eating too much opulent food, they were becoming passionate and fighting with each other. He said that we should take all the maha-prasada from the Deities’ plates and mix it all together so that someone wouldn’t feel that he or she was sitting down to a delicious meal, but actually recognize that it was the Lord’s mercy and honor it and appreciate it as the Lord’s mercy, not as various types of tasty preparations.
TEXT 21
ara dina mahaprabhu tanra thani aila
“sustha hao, haridasa”—bali’ tanre puchila
The next day, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Haridasa’s place and inquired from him, “Haridasa, are you well?”
TEXT 22
namaskara kari’ tenho kaila nivedana
“sarira sustha haya mora, asustha buddhi-mana”
Haridasa offered his obeisances to the Lord and replied, “My body is all right, but my mind and intelligence are not well.”
TEXT 23
prabhu kahe,—“kon vyadhi, kaha ta’ nirnaya?”
tenho kahe,—“sankhya-kirtana na puraya”
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu further inquired from Haridasa, “Can you ascertain what your disease is?” Haridasa Thakura replied, “My disease is that I cannot complete my rounds.”
PURPORT
If one cannot complete the fixed number of rounds he is assigned, he should be considered to be in a diseased condition of spiritual life. Srila Haridasa Thakura is called namacarya. Of course, we cannot imitate Haridasa Thakura, but everyone must chant a prescribed number of rounds. In our Krsna consciousness movement we have fixed sixteen rounds as the minimum so that the Westerners will not feel burdened. These sixteen rounds must be chanted, and chanted loudly, so that one can hear himself and others.
COMMENT
The association of devotees is very important, and we can benefit from their watchful glance; they can help us keep up to standard. So, Srila Prabhupada says that one should chant loudly, for oneself and others.”
Haridasa Thakura says that his disease is that he cannot complete his rounds. Sometimes we may think that we have so much important service, we don’t have time to finish our rounds. And of course there are emergencies. Maybe on a particular day we cannot finish. But then, as Srila Prabhupada instructed, we should make up the rounds later. Once, an American boy joined our party when we were at the Ardha-kumbha-mela in 1971. From there we went to Gorakhpur, and in Gorakhpur the boy asked Srila Prabhupada, “If all service is absolute, why do we have to chant sixteen rounds?” Elsewhere in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Srila Prabhupada explains that the basic principle of vaidhi-bhakti is to always remember Krishna and never forget Him, and that although we have so many other duties in relation to Krishna, in order to actually remember Krishna and never forget Him we must chant sixteen rounds every day. If we do not chant sixteen rounds, we may forget Krishna, even though we are engaged in activities that are meant for Krishna. But the boy asked Srila Prabhupada, “If all service is absolute, why do we have to chant sixteen rounds?” There was some discussion, and the boy didn’t really accept Srila Prabhupada’s answer. Again he raised the question. Finally Srila Prabhupada became very grave and said, “Why do you have to chant sixteen rounds? Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead wants you to. You can sleep the rest of the day. This is a special prerogative for you. But you must finish sixteen rounds.”
The idea, of course, is not that we should sleep all day, but that we should chant sixteen rounds. Srila Prabhupada is making the point that we shouldn’t allow other services to eclipse chanting. The emphasis here is on chanting sixteen rounds. Even if you don’t do any other service but just chant sixteen rounds, Srila Prabhupada says, “I will be satisfied; Krishna will be satisfied.” But if you work day and night doing various services but don’t chant sixteen rounds, Krishna and Krishna’s representatives may not be pleased.
TEXT 24
prabhu kahe,—“vrddha ha-ila ‘sankhya’ alpa kara
siddha-deha tumi, sadhane agraha kene kara?
TRANSLATION
“Now that you have become old,” the Lord said, “you may reduce the number of rounds you chant daily. You are already liberated, and therefore you need not follow the regulative principles very strictly.
PURPORT
Unless one has come to the platform of spontaneous love of God, he must follow the regulative principles. Haridasa Thakura was the living example of how to follow the regulative principles. Similarly, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was also such a living example. In the Sad-gosvamy-astaka it is stated, sankhya-purvaka-nama-gana-natibhih kalavasani-krtau. The Gosvamis, especially Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, strictly followed all the regulative principles. The first regulative principle is that one must chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra loud enough so that he can hear himself, and one must vow to chant a fixed number of rounds.
COMMENT
Some years ago one of the leaders who left the movement tried to change this formula and said, “You don’t have to chant loudly; you can chant silently within the mind.” He also said, “You don’t have to chant a fixed number of rounds, but you just chant for a certain period of time.” But here Srila Prabhupada states very clearly that we must chant loudly so that we and even others can hear, and that we must chant a fixed number of rounds. It’s very simple. But we have to be simple and follow it. As Srila Prabhupada remarked, Krishna consciousness is “simple for the simple but difficult for the crooked.”
TEXT 25
“loka nistarite ei tomara ‘avatara’
namera mahima loke karila pracara
TRANSLATION
“Your role in this incarnation is to deliver the people in general. You have sufficiently preached the glories of the holy name in this world.”
PURPORT
Haridasa Thakura is known as namacarya because it is he who preached the glories of chanting hari-nama, the holy name of God. By using the words tomara avatara (“your incarnation”), Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu confirms that Haridasa Thakura is the incarnation of Lord Brahma. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that advanced devotees help the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His mission and that such devotees or personal associates incarnate by the will of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord incarnates by His own will, and, by His will, competent devotees also incarnate to help Him in His mission. Haridasa Thakura is thus the incarnation of Lord Brahma, and other devotees are likewise incarnations who help in the prosecution of the Lord’s mission.
COMMENT
Here Lord Chaitanya is saying, “You incarnated for a particular purpose, which was to preach the glories of the holy name, and you have preached the glories of the holy name sufficiently. So you need not follow so strictly now. Because you are old, you are not able to follow strictly.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura instructed Srila Prabhupada to preach Krishna consciousness in the English language, especially in the Western world. But after some time, Srila Prabhupada returned to India with some disciples and began to concentrate his efforts here. One disciple asked Srila Prabhupada, “Your guru maharaja ordered you to preach in the West, but now you seem to be spending more time in India. Can you please explain?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “Yes, my guru maharaja did order me, and I have done that. Now I want to do this.” So, after fulfilling one instruction from the spiritual master, or one mission, a disciple may proceed to the next.
TEXT 26
ebe alpa sankhya kari’ kara sankirtana”
haridasa kahe,—“suna mora satya nivedana
The Lord concluded, “Now, therefore, please reduce the fixed number of times you chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.” Haridasa Thakura replied, “Kindly hear my real plea.
TEXT 27
“hina-jati janma mora nindya-kalevara
hina-karme rata muni adhama pamara
“I was born in an inferior family, and my body is most abominable. I always engage in low work. Therefore, I am the lowest, most condemned of men.
TEXT 28
“adrsya, asprsya more angikara kaila
raurava ha-ite kadi’ more vaikunthe cadaila
“I am unseeable and untouchable, but You have accepted me as Your servant. This means that You have delivered me from a hellish condition and raised me to the Vaikuntha platform.
TEXT 29
“svatantra isvara tumi hao icchamaya
jagat nacao, yare yaiche iccha haya
“My dear Lord, You are the fully independent Personality of Godhead. You act by Your own free will. You cause the whole world to dance and act as You like.
TEXT 30
“aneka nacaila more prasada kariya
viprera sraddha-patra khainu ‘mleccha’ hana
TRANSLATION
“My dear Lord, by Your mercy You have made me dance in many ways. For example, I was offered the sraddha-patra, which should have been offered to first-class brahmanas. I ate from it even though I was born in a family of meat-eaters.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, in his Anubhasya, quotes from the Visnu-smrti in reference to the sraddha-patra.
brahmanapasada hy ete
kathitah pankti-dusakah
etan vivarjayed yatnat
sraddha-karmani panditah
According to this verse, if one is born in a brahmana family but does not behave according to brahminical standards, he should not be offered the sraddha-patra, which is prasada offered to the forefathers. Advaita Acarya offered the sraddha-patra to Haridasa Thakura, not to a brahmana who had been born in a brahmana family. Although Haridasa Thakura was born in the family of meat-eaters, because he was an advanced devotee he was shown more respect than a first-class brahmana.
TEXT 31
“eka vancha haya mora bahu dina haite
lila samvaribe tumi—laya mora citte
“I have had one desire for a very long time. I think that quite soon, my Lord, You will bring to a close Your pastimes within this material world.
TEXT 32
“sei lila prabhu more kabhu na dekhaiba
apanara age mora sarira padiba
“I wish that You not show me this closing chapter of Your pastimes. Before that time comes, kindly let my body fall down in Your presence.
TEXT 33
“hrdaye dharimu tomara kamala carana
nayane dekhimu tomara canda vadana
“I wish to catch Your lotuslike feet upon my heart and see Your moonlike face.
TEXT 34
“jihvaya uccarimu tomara ‘krsna-caitanya’-nama
ei-mata mora iccha,—chadimu parana
“With my tongue I shall chant Your holy name, ‘Sri Krsna Caitanya!’ That is my desire. Kindly let me give up my body in this way.
TEXT 35
“mora ei iccha yadi tomara prasade haya
ei nivedana mora kara, dayamaya
“O most merciful Lord, if by Your mercy it is possible, kindly grant my desire.
TEXT 36
“ei nica deha mora paduka tava age
ei vancha-siddhi mora tomatei lage”
“Let this lowborn body fall down before You. You can make possible this perfection of all my desires.”
TEXT 37
prabhu kahe,—“haridasa, ye tumi magibe
krsna krpamaya taha avasya karibe
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, “My dear Haridasa, Krsna is so merciful that He must execute whatever you want.
TEXT 38
“kintu amara ye kichu sukha, saba toma lana
tomara yogya nahe,—yabe amare chadiya”
“But whatever happiness is Mine is all due to your association. It is not fitting for you to go away and leave Me behind.”
TEXT 39
carane dhari’ kahe haridasa,—“na kariha ‘maya’
avasya mo-adhame, prabhu, kara ei ‘daya’
Catching the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Haridasa Thakura said, “My Lord, do not create an illusion! Although I am so fallen, You must certainly show me this mercy!
TEXT 40
“mora siromani kata kata mahasaya
tomara lilara sahaya koti-bhakta haya
“My Lord, there are many respectable personalities, millions of devotees, who are fit to sit on my head. They are all helpful in Your pastimes.
TEXT 41
“ama-hena yadi eka kita mari’ gela
eka pipilika maile prthvira kahan hani haila?
“My Lord, if an insignificant insect like me dies, what is the loss? If an ant dies, where is the loss to the material world?
TEXT 42
“‘bhakata-vatsala’ prabhu, tumi, mui ‘bhaktabhasa’
avasya purabe, prabhu, mora ei asa”
“My Lord, You are always affectionate to Your devotees. I am just an imitation devotee, but nevertheless I wish that You fulfill my desire. That is my expectation.”
COMMENT
We can see how humble Haridasa Thakura is. He feels himself to be fallen, less than other devotees. In fact, he does not even consider himself to be a devotee. He refers to himself as bhaktabhasa, an “imitation devotee.” Thus he demonstrates the qualities necessary to chant the holy name constantly:
trnad api su-nicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena
kirtaniyah sada harih
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.” (Siksastaka 3) And he did chant the holy name constantly—at least three lakh names (one hundred ninety-six rounds) daily.
TEXT 43
madhyahna karite prabhu calila apane
isvara dekhiya kali dibena darasane
Because He had to perform His noon duties, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu got up to leave, but it was settled that the following day, after He saw Lord Jagannatha, He would return to visit Haridasa Thakura.
TEXTS 44–65
After embracing him, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left to perform His noon duties and went to the sea to take His bath.
The next morning, after visiting the Jagannatha temple, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, accompanied by all His other devotees, came hastily to see Haridasa Thakura.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the other devotees came before Haridasa Thakura, who offered his respects to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and all the Vaisnavas.
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu inquired, “My dear Haridasa, what is the news?” Haridasa Thakura replied, “My Lord, whatever mercy You can bestow upon me.”
Upon hearing this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu immediately began great congregational chanting in the courtyard. Vakresvara Pandita was the chief dancer.
Headed by Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, all the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu surrounded Haridasa Thakura and began congregational chanting.
In front of all the great devotees like Ramananda Raya and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu began to describe the holy attributes of Haridasa Thakura.
As He described the transcendental attributes of Haridasa Thakura, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu seemed to possess five mouths. The more He described, the more His great happiness increased.
After hearing of the transcendental qualities of Haridasa Thakura, all the devotees present were struck with wonder. They all offered their respectful obeisances to the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura.
Haridasa Thakura made Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sit down in front of him, and then he fixed his eyes, like two bumblebees, on the lotus face of the Lord.
He held the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on his heart and then took the dust of the feet of all the devotees present and put it on his head.
He began to chant the holy name of Sri Krsna Caitanya again and again. As he drank the sweetness of the face of the Lord, tears constantly glided down from his eyes.
While chanting the holy name of Sri Krsna Caitanya, he gave up his air of life and left his body.
Seeing the wonderful death of Haridasa Thakura by his own will, which was just like a great mystic yogi’s, everyone remembered the passing away of Bhisma.
There was a tumultuous noise as they all chanted the holy names “Hari” and “Krsna.” Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became overwhelmed with ecstatic love.
The Lord raised the body of Haridasa Thakura and placed it on His lap. Then He began to dance in the courtyard in great ecstatic love.
Because of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s ecstatic love, all the devotees were helpless, and in ecstatic love they also began to dance and chant congregationally.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced for some time, and then Svarupa Damodara Gosvami informed Him of other rituals for the body of Haridasa Thakura.
The body of Haridasa Thakura was then raised onto a carrier that resembled an airship and taken to the sea, accompanied by congregational chanting.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced in front of the procession, and Vakresvara Pandita, along with the other devotees, chanted and danced behind Him.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu bathed the body of Haridasa Thakura in the sea and then declared, “From this day on, this sea has become a great pilgrimage site.”
Everyone drank the water that had touched the lotus feet of Haridasa Thakura, and then they smeared remnants of Lord Jagannatha’s sandalwood pulp over Haridasa Thakura’s body.
COMMENT
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu placed the divine form of Haridasa Thakura in samadhi in the earth, covered it with a mound of sand, and on top of the mound planted a tulasi tree. Then He went into the marketplace and begged maha-prasada for the devotees. When He began to distribute the prasada himself, however, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami advised Him, “My Lord, this is not a proper service for You. You sit down and take prasada with the devotees. Until You take prasada nobody else will honor it.” And then Svarupa Damodara Gosvami distributed the prasada with a few other confidential devotees.
TEXT 89
bhojana kariya sabe kaila acamana
sabare paraila prabhu malya-candana
After all the devotees finished accepting prasada and had washed their hands and mouths, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu decorated each of them with a flower garland and sandalwood pulp.
TEXT 90
premavista hana prabhu karena vara-dana
suni’ bhakta-ganera judaya manas-kama
Overwhelmed with ecstatic love, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered a benediction to all the devotees, which all the devotees heard with great satisfaction.
TEXTS 91–93
“haridasera vijayotsava ye kaila darsana
ye ihan nrtya kaila, ye kaila kirtana
“ye tanre valuka dite karila gamana
tara madhye mahotsave ye kaila bhojana
“acire ha-ibe ta-sabara ‘krsna-prapti’
haridasa-darasane haya aiche ‘sakti’
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave this benediction: “Anyone who has seen the festival of Sri Haridasa Thakura’s passing away, anyone who has chanted and danced here, anyone who has offered sand on the body of Haridasa Thakura, and anyone who has joined this festival to partake of the prasada will achieve the favor of Krsna very soon. There is such wonderful power in seeing Haridasa Thakura.
TEXT 94
“krpa kari’ krsna more diyachila sanga
svatantra krsnera iccha,—kaila sanga-bhanga
“Being merciful upon Me, Krsna gave Me the association of Haridasa Thakura. Being independent in His desires, He has now broken that association.
TEXT 95
“haridasera iccha yabe ha-ila calite
amara sakati tanre narila rakhite
“When Haridasa Thakura wanted to leave this material world, it was not within My power to detain him.
TEXT 96
“iccha-matre kaila nija-prana niskramana
purve yena suniyachi bhismera marana
“Simply by his will, Haridasa Thakura could give up his life and go away, exactly like Bhisma, who previously died simply by his own desire, as we have heard from sastra.
TEXT 97
“haridasa achila prthivira ‘siromani’
taha vina ratna-sunya ha-ila medini
“Haridasa Thakura was the crown jewel on the head of this world; without him, this world is now bereft of its valuable jewel.”
TEXT 98
‘jaya jaya haridasa’ bali’ kara hari-dhvani”
eta bali’ mahaprabhu nacena apani
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then told everyone, “Say ‘All glories to Haridasa Thakura!’ and chant the holy name of Hari.” Saying this, He personally began to dance.
TEXT 99
sabe gaya,—“jaya jaya haridasa
namera mahima yenha karila prakasa”
Everyone began to chant, “All glories to Haridasa Thakura, who revealed the importance of chanting the holy name of the Lord!”
TEXT 100
tabe mahaprabhu saba bhakte vidaya dila
harsa-visade prabhu visrama karila
Thereafter, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu bade farewell to all the devotees, and He Himself, with mixed feelings of happiness and distress, took rest.
COMMENT
Srila Prabhupada has explained the mixed feelings of happiness and distress that one experiences when a Vaishnava leaves: we feel happy because we know the Vaishnava has gone to Krishna, and we feel distress because we will miss the devotee’s association.
TEXT 101
ei ta’ kahilun haridasera vijaya
yahara sravane krsne drdha-bhakti haya
TRANSLATION
Thus I have spoken about the victorious passing away of Haridasa Thakura. Anyone who hears this narration will certainly fix his mind firmly in devotional service to Krsna.
PURPORT
At Purusottama-ksetra, or Jagannatha Puri, there is a temple of Tota-gopinatha. If one goes from there to the sea, he can discover the tomb of Haridasa Thakura still existing. Every year on the date of Ananta-caturdasi there is a festival to commemorate the passing away of Haridasa Thakura. At the same place, three Deities of Nityananda, Krsna Caitanya, and Advaita Prabhu were established about one hundred years ago. Near this temple and the tomb of Haridasa Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura constructed a small house called the Bhakti-kuti. In the Bengali year 1329, the Purusottama-matha, a branch of the Gaudiya Matha, was established there.
COMMENT
The same house has now come to ISKCON.
PURPORT (concluded)
In the Bhakti-ratnakara it is stated:
srinivasa sighra samudrera kule gela
haridasa-thakurera samadhi dekhila
bhumite padiya kaila pranati vistara
bhagavata-gana sri-samadhi-sannidhane
srinivase sthira kaila sasneha-vacane
punah srinivasa sri-samadhi pranamiya
ye vilapa kaila, ta sunile drave hiya
“Srinivasa Thakura quickly ran to the seashore. When he saw the tomb of Haridasa Thakura, he immediately fell down offering prayers and almost fainted. The devotees present there pacified him with very sweet and affectionate words, and Srinivasa again offered his obeisances to the tomb. Hearing of the separation that Srinivasa expressed in his lamentation at the tomb of Haridasa Thakura makes one’s heart melt.”
TEXT 102
caitanyera bhakta-vatsalya ihatei jani
bhakta-vancha purna kaila nyasi-siromani
From the incident of Haridasa Thakura’s passing away and the great care Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took in commemorating it, one can understand just how affectionate He is toward His devotees. Although He is the topmost of all sannyasis, He fully satisfied the desire of Haridasa Thakura.
COMMENT
Lord Chaitanya is described here as nyasi-siromani, the topmost of all sannyasis. Sannyasis are supposed to be detached and neutral in every situation. But although Lord Chaitanya was the topmost of all sannyasis, still He fulfilled the desire of Haridasa Thakura. He was not indifferent. His affection for His devotee prevailed.
TEXT 103
sesa-kale dila tanre darsana-sparsana
tanre kole kari’ kaila apane nartana
At the last stage of Haridasa Thakura’s life, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave him His company and allowed him to touch Him. Thereafter, He took the body of Thakura Haridasa on His lap and personally danced with it.
TEXT 104
apane sri-haste krpaya tanre valu dila
apane prasada magi’ mahotsava kaila
Out of His causeless mercy the Lord personally covered the body of Haridasa Thakura with sand and personally begged alms from the shopkeepers. Then He conducted a great festival to celebrate the passing away of Haridasa Thakura.
TEXT 105
maha-bhagavata haridasa-parama-vidvan
e saubhagya lagi’ age karila prayana
Haridasa Thakura was not only the topmost devotee of the Lord but also a great and learned scholar. It was his great fortune that he passed away before Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
COMMENT
Although Haridasa Thakura chanted the holy name day and night, he also found time to read and hear scripture, and he discoursed on the glories of the holy name with reference to scripture. And although he was fully absorbed in chanting the holy name, he was affectionate to the devotees and always tried to help them. Even now he will help us if we sincerely approach him and beg him to assist us in our efforts to serve Srila Prabhupada and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and to chant the holy names of Krishna. As Thakura Bhaktivinoda wrote of him:
He reasons ill who tells that Vaishnavas die
When thou art living still in sound!
The Vaishnavas die to live, and living try
To spread the holy name around.
Haridasa Thakura was compassionate to all living entities. He was full of love for the holy name and for his worshipable Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When the Muslim rulers threatened him with death if he did not renounce chanting the name of the “Hindu god” Krishna, Haridasa replied:
khanda khanda hai deha yaya yadi prana
tabu ami vadane na chadi hari-nama
“Even if my body is cut into pieces and I lose my life, I will never give up chanting Lord Krishna’s holy name.” (Cb Adi 16.94) Haridasa Thakura’s determination, even in the face of the worst adversity, should serve as an example and inspiration for us all.
At the end, Haridasa Thakura begged for the mercy to depart before Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in the Lord’s presence, and the affectionate Lord most kindly fulfilled his desire.
Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura ki jaya!
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Gaura-premanande hari-haribol!
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Haridasa Thakura’s disappearance day, September 26, 1996, Juhu, Bombay]
ECO-Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes 08/12/2018
Mission Statement: ECO-Vrindaban promotes cow protection, local agriculture, and above all, loving Krishna, as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON New Vrindaban’s Founder-Acharya.
Participating Directors: Anuttama, Chaitanya Mangala (chair), Jamuna Jivani (board secretary), Makara, Olivia, Ranaka, and Vraja.
Participating Advisors: Bhima and Kripamaya.
1. Ranaka’s Monthly Report
Lalita Gopi:
Ray:
Logan:
Caitanya Bhagavat – at Nandagram & Bahulaban:
Suchandra’s crew (Monique, Moriah, Madri, Nolin, Ryan, and Shyama):
Lila – at the Nandagram Garden:
Radhanath das – at Vidya’s Garden:
Ranaka:
2. Employee Education and Training
The ECO-V directors have encouraged the idea of offering ECO-V staff opportunities to seek additional education and training in their fields. Annually, ECO-V approves a budget for this purpose. At the next staff meeting, Ranaka will inform the crew there is potential funding available to them if they seek some sort of educational opportunity.
3. Internal Funding Request: $4K for November 2018 Appreciation Plaques & Gifts
WHEREAS: The ECO-V Board wishes to acknowledge the dedication of key community members, as well as offer a token of appreciation to the INV, NVVA, and ECO-V staff and volunteers.
RESOLVED: The Board approves up to $4,000 as a budget for plaques, tote bags and other gift items, to distribute during the November weekend gathering.
4. Upcoming Meetings
The date of the next regular board meeting is September 23, 2018.
The board/staff meeting will be Sunday, October 14, 2018.
The regular October board meeting will be Sunday, October 21, 2018.
The Autumn 2018 weekend gathering is scheduled for November 2 – 4, 2018.
Giriraj Swami read and discussed Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, Chapter 11, “The Passing of Srila Haridasa Thakura,” during the Sunday morning class.
09.23.18, Disappearance Pastime of Srila Haridasa Thakura, CC Antya 11, Dallas
“If one cannot complete the fixed number of rounds he is assigned, he should be considered to be in a diseased condition of spiritual life. Srila Haridasa Thakura is called namacarya. Of course, we cannot imitate Haridasa Thakura, but everyone must chant a prescribed number of rounds. In our Krsna consciousness movement we have fixed sixteen rounds as the minimum so that the Westerners will not feel burdened. These sixteen rounds must be chanted, and chanted loudly, so that one can hear himself and others.” (Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, 11.23)
The Passing of Srila Haridasa Thakura (Right click to download)
Devotees gathered to remember and glorify His Holiness Gunagrahi Das Goswami.
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Devotees remembering Gunagrahi Das Goswami
Giriraj Swami remembering Gunagrahi Das Goswami