Planet ISKCON

By TOVP staff

This miraculous visit to New Ekachakra Dhama on Wednesday, April 18th has become another history making event on the TOVP Euro Tour. So much so that we will also include some related lilas that led to the planning and arrival of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari in Slovakia. The story begins in 2015 with Mahasankarsana prabhu, one of the temple leaders from New Ekachakra Dhama, speaking with Tukarama prabhu in Mayapur. Continue reading "TOVP Euro Tour Day 6 – Slovakia, New Ekachakra Dhama
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By Vijaya Dasa

March was another great month of book distribution, with almost 500,000 books and magazines distributed. Surely Srila Prabhupada is pleased with the steady distribution of his books more than forty years after his departure. It's still going strong. For many decades the European devotees have been having Nrsimhadeva marathons. Usually they last for a week, or in some places a few days. It would be very pleasing to Lord Nrsimhadeva if around the world devotees could increase their distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books by having these mini-marathons. Or at least try to arrange your day to go out before or on Nrsimha-caturdasi and distribute some books. Lord Nrsimhadeva and Srila Prabhupada will be pleased. Continue reading "WSN March 2018 – World Sankirtan Newsletter
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Stars and Ribbons On the Domes

Headed by Premavatar Gauranga prabhu, the TOVP Construction Manager, we recently began mounting the decorative stars and ribbons onto the domes, beginning with the Planetarium dome.

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We would like to present a summary report of our last Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF). This article has been written by one of our younger members of the community, Krishna Rajesh. We will be featuring more of these reports so you can follow along with all of the exciting developments and learn how to get involved!

On Saturday, March 31st 2018, Toronto Sankirtan Team (TST) celebrated its 106th consecutive Monthly Sankirtan Festival (MSF) – a monthly outing on the last Saturday of each month, where devotees take with them the beautiful message of Krishna Consciousness to the public in the form of Srila Prabhupada’s books, Krishna Prasad and the Hare Krishna Mahamantra! Started in June 2009, MSFs are now organized across the GTA by TST regional teams: TST East, TST Brampton, TST West, TST Etobicoke, TST Markham, and TST Central.

Fig 1: Jennifer (left) and Zara (right) from China get Srila Prabhupada’s mercy. The mother, Jennifer, borrowed money from her daughter Zara to get the books so she received the blessings of 3 books!

The March MSF was a lot of fun as 6 teams went out for door-to-door Sankirtan spending 3-5 hours knocking doors, and sharing transcendental knowledge and smiles to those who opened their doors! With the introduction of Language Cards, the TST Warriors distributed Srila Prabhupad’s books in cumulative effort to people of various ethnicities, gender, and age.

From devotees as young as pre-schoolers, to seasoned warriors, everyone got together and united under one goal: the goal of distributing Srila Prabhupad’s books. TST West knocked approximately 110 apartments, visited one grocery store, and distributed 84 transcendental literatures, collected lots of Bhoga and Laxmi.

TST Central visited two apartment buildings, knocked almost 270 doors and distributed 87 transcendental books, collected $90 of Laxmi and Bhoga.

• 4:00pm to 6:00pm: Special Kirtan by HH Niranjana Swami
• 6:00pm to 6:30pm: Arati and Nrsimha Pranam
• 6:30pm to 6:35pm: Welcome & Announcements
• 6:35pm to 7:30pm: Discourse on Lord Nrsimhadeva
• 7:30pm to 8:00pm: Abhiskeka (bathing ceremony)
• 8:00pm to 8:30pm: Arati
• 8:30pm: Prasadam (vegetarian feast)

The Toronto Hare Krishna Temple is excited to welcome both Niranjana Swami and Madhavananda Dasa to our community from Thursday April 26, 2018 to Monday, April 30, 2018. They both visited last year and enamoured our entire community with their kirtans, in-depth classes and overall association!

madopaśamanaṁ śāstraṁ khalānāṁ kurute madam
cakṣuḥ prakāśakaṁ teja ulūkānām ivāndhatām

madopaśamanam — removers of arrogance; śāstram — scriptures; khalānām — for the wicked; kurute — they increase; madam — arrogance; cakṣuḥ-prakāśakam — eye illuminating; tejaḥ — brilliance [of the sun]; ulūkānām — for the owls; iva — like; andhatām — blindness.

“The arrogance of the wicked increases on studying scripture, which is actually meant to remove arrogance, just as the darkness owls experience increases with the rising of the sun, which is actually meant to remove darkness.”

— Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram, ku-paṇḍita-nindā, Verse 11.

To properly perceive even ordinary reality, we need humility. While driving along a road, if we become overconfident, thinking that we know the way, we may become neglectful and get jolted by newly-formed potholes. For our life-journey, scripture is a guidebook. If we become over-confident, thinking that we know the way and don’t need scripture, we won’t see life’s spiritual side and will find ourselves coming to a dead end at the end of our life with death. Even along the way to that gloomy destination, we will be tormented and thwarted by the temporariness and emptiness of the world’s many allurements. Given this blinding power of arrogance, the Bhagavad-gita (13.08-12) places humility first in its list of twenty items of knowledge.

Humility means to acknowledge that reality is bigger than our conceptions. And since scripture is a guide to reality, humility in the study of scripture means acknowledging the complexity of scripture too. No matter how learned we may be in scripture, it will still have many subtleties and nuances unknown to us.

This Subhashita illustrates the pitfall of pride with the example of owls. With the rising of the sun, all living beings start seeing, but owls stop seeing. Scripture is like a sun – it illumines our life-journey with the light of knowledge. However, if we are owl-like, we shut ourselves to that illumination. Pertinently, the Ishopanishad (mantra 9) cautions that those in ignorance enter into darkness, but those with so-called knowledge enter into far greater darkness. To understand this paradoxical statement, consider the metaphor of blindness. To be blind is problematic; to be blind and to believe that one can see is even more problematic; to be blind, to believe that one can see and to believe those with vision are blind is most problematic. Similarly, to be in ignorance is bad; to be in ignorance and to claim to be in knowledge is worse; to be in ignorance, to claim to be in knowledge and to deem those in knowledge to be in ignorance is worst. Such is the condition of those proud of their scriptural knowledge – they remain blind to the essence and purpose of scripture.

While it is easy to minimize or even demonize others as being owl-like, we ourselves may have owl-like tendencies too. We all tend to zero in on things that reinforce our understanding and tend to explain away things that problematize our understanding. That’s just basic human tendency to seek intellectual security. Nonetheless, if we have humility, or at least if we don’t have arrogance, then we remain open to re-examining and revising our understanding when presented proper reasoning and references.

Whereas owls just can’t see in light, we can, provided we use our free will to seek holistic understanding of scripture. We need to study scripture to understand our place and purpose in the overall scheme of things, not to reinforce the place and purpose we have assigned to ourselves without considering the overall scheme of things.

The Bhagavad-gita states that the ultimate purpose of all knowledge is to know Krishna (15.15), and that those who have devoted themselves to him have attained all knowledge (15.19). Without humility, even if we study scripture extensively, we can neither know Krishna nor love him.

Why not?

Because as long as we are filled with thoughts of our greatness, we have no room within us for appreciating Krishna’s greatness. Even if we study scripture and even if we use our scriptural knowledge to glorify Krishna, we end up doing it with an erroneous motive – we long to be glorified for being learned and devoted, not to savor and share Krishna’s glories.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.23) describes the pastime of the pompous priests engaged in elaborate ritualistic sacrifices. Being inebriated by their prestigious position as officiators of that grand sacrifice, they neglected the unimpressive-looking cowherd boyfriends of Krishna and thereby neglected Krishna, who was the Lord and purpose of their sacrifices. In contrast, their wives, though not as learned as them, grabbed the opportunity to serve Krishna. They had the humility to not judge people based on external appearances – they could see that the simple cowherd boys were offering them the greatest privilege of their lives: a chance to directly serve the Lord of their hearts, who was the master of all living beings and the purpose of life itself.

When we cultivate humility, our consciousness becomes increasingly available for realizing and relishing Krishna’s unlimited glories. The more we accept our insignificance, the more we taste his magnificence. Indeed, humility opens the floodgate for our head and heart to be inundated with Krishna’s supremely sweet glories.

The post The knowledge of the arrogant defeats the purpose of knowledge appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

[Narasmiha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers 5.18.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on 5.18.10 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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Sunday 22 April the devotees in Den Haag organized the Premiere of Hare Krishna, the film. The sold-out event in the Pathe theatre was adorned with the speeches of H.H. Kadamba Kanana Swami, H. G. Yadubara Prabhu, H.G. Hrdaya Caitanya prabhu (GBC) and 7 disciples of Srila Prabhupada of Holland and Belgium.
The mood was pleasant, friendly and in a renewed appreciation of Srila Prabhupada’s lilas when establishing Krishna-consciousness all over the world.
Jaya Bhadra (ACBSP) said that when Srila Prabhupada was leaving this mortal world, he said to his disciples that now he hands over the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to them. Jaya Bhadra Mataji continued that now the disciples are slowly leaving and the time is there to hand over the mission of Gauranga to us. This will please Srila Prabhupada the most. We need to take good care of this treasure that we have received.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 May 2015, Simhachalam, Germany, Nrsimha Caturdasi Morning Lecture)

om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah

When Srila Prabhupada was lecturing on the appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadev in Bombay, he was lecturing immediately after a play and he was glorifying Hiranyakasipu because the part was played so well. Then he explained more about the pastimes of Lord Nrsimhadev and at the end he said, “If I had more time, I would have spoken about the prayers of Prahlad.” These prayers of Prahlad were particular favourites of Srila Prabhupada and in a sense, the most important, because Prahlad is a devotee and we are following in his footsteps and are trying to be devotees of the Lord. Therefore, in these prayers, when Prahlad is praying from his position as a devotee, these are especially relevant for us. Of course, when we hear about Hiranyakasipu, we realize that there is a little Hiranyakasipu in us too! So every aspect of the pastime has its relevance but still, because Prahlad is a devotee, we want to give some special attention to his words.

So, I shall start with a very short introduction. The situation was that Lord Nrsimhadev´s anger had been aroused by Hiranyakasipu. Lord Nrsimhadev’s anger was so extreme and so strong that it was still raging even after Hiranyakasipu had been killed. This whole pastime took place in the celestial regions and the demigods who were present felt the incredible, overwhelming anger! Due to the heat of that anger, they felt thrown back and they were just overwhelmed by fear and by no means could they go near the Lord. Even Laxmi Devi did not dare go near the Lord but for another reason. Laxmi Devi had never seen this form of the Lord and because Her chastity is to the Lord Visnu, She had some doubt whether She was really dealing with Lord Visnu. So, even Laxmi did not appear before the Lord. No one could. Lord Brahma could not, Lord Siva could not. None of the demigods could possibly go near the Lord!

So Lord Brahma pushed Prahlad forward and said, “Well, He appeared because of you, so you go and pacify Him!” Well, it does not look very heroic when you shove a five year-old boy forward like, “You go and deal with Him!” (Laughter)

No, we should not take it in that way, we should see that Lord Brahma is most intelligent and therefore very deeply analysed the situation and also realized that Prahlad is not just a five-year-old boy, he is extremely powerful – nothing could kill him, nothing could possibly kill Prahlad! So many attempts were made to kill him but nothing worked.

Then the Lord benedicted Prahlad and placed His lotus hand – I guess it is a hand or transcendental paws or whatever it was. He placed His hand on the head of Prahlad and then, it is said that Prahlad was purified, further purified from any possible influence of his demoniac birth and subsequently Prahlad started to offer prayers.

So after having offered various prayers, Prahlad comes to this prayer that I chose, (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.11)

naivātmanaḥ prabhur ayaṁ nija-lābha-pūrṇo
mānaṁ janād aviduṣaḥ karuṇo vṛṇīte
yad yaj jano bhagavate vidadhīta mānaṁ
tac cātmane prati-mukhasya yathā mukha-śrīḥ

Translation: The Supreme Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is always fully satisfied in Himself. Therefore when something is offered to Him, the offering, by the Lord’s mercy, is for the benefit of the devotee, for the Lord does not need service from anyone. To give an example, if one’s face is decorated, the reflection of one’s face in a mirror is also seen to be decorated.

And I will read Srila Prabhupada’s purport which is not so long:

In bhakti-yoga it is recommended that a devotee follow nine principles; śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam/ arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam (SB 7.5.23). This service of glorifying the Lord by hearing, chanting and so on is not, of course, meant for the benefit of the Lord; this devotional service is recommended for the benefit of the devotee. The Lord is always glorious, whether the devotee glorifies Him or not, but if the devotee engages in glorifying the Lord, the devotee himself automatically becomes glorious. Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanaṁ bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam (Siksastakam 1). By glorifying the Lord constantly, the living entity becomes purified in the core of his heart, and thus he can understand that he does not belong to the material world but is a spirit soul whose actual activity is to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness so that he may become free from the material clutches. Thus the blazing fire of material existence is immediately extinguished (bhava-mahā-dāvāgni-nirvāpaṇam)…

So to comment a little bit… I found this quite important that the Lord does not need our glorification, especially because we are members of the sankirtan movement which is a movement dedicated to constant glorification of the Supreme Lord. Sometimes the question is raised, “But why does the Lord need to be glorified all the time? Is He enjoying this to hear His own glory? Is it almost like vanity? What is this quality in the Lord that He likes to be glorified and that we have to chant all His glories all the time? Why? What is this in the Supreme Lord?”

But from this verse, we see what the key is to the entire glorification of the Supreme Lord because Prahlad makes it very clear. Now Prahlad, as Srila Prabhupada states, is one of the mahajans (Srimad Bhagavatam 6.3.20).

svayambhūr nāradaḥ śambhuḥ, kumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ

Prahlad Maharaj is one of the twelve mahajans, one of the authorities, therefore whatever Prahlad speaks is to be taken as authorized instruction. And Prahlad is stating that the Supreme Lord is atmarama, He is satisfied within the self, He does not need our glorification but the amazing thing is that by glorifying the Lord, the person who glorifies Him is purified. Just as when we decorate our face and when we look at our reflection, it is also decorated. So when we decorate the Lord in glorification, we ourselves become glorified and purified. As it is said in the Caitanya Caritamrta, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami says (CC Madhya 22.75) sarva mahā-guṇa-gaṇa vaiṣṇava-śarīre, and then it says kṛṣṇa-bhakte kṛṣṇera guṇa sakali.

He says that all the good qualities of Krsna will manifest within a vaisnava. So it is very interesting that by serving Krsna, the vaisnava gets the qualities of Krsna. The entire glorification of the Lord is actually decorating ourselves. Although we offer Him this praise and endless glorification, our own glories are increasing. And that is a  very important point made by Prahlad which really struck me very much.

Then I would like to go to one more prayer of Prahlad and then I will end, (Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.15)

nāhaṁ bibhemy ajita te ’tibhayānakāsya-
jihvārka-netra-bhrukuṭī-rabhasogra-daṁṣṭrāt
āntra-srajaḥ-kṣataja-keśara-śaṅku-karṇān
nirhrāda-bhīta-digibhād ari-bhin-nakhāgrāt

Translation: My Lord, who are never conquered by anyone, I am certainly not afraid of Your ferocious mouth and tongue, Your eyes bright like the sun or Your frowning eyebrows. I do not fear Your sharp, pinching teeth, Your garland of intestines, Your mane soaked with blood, or Your high, wedgelike ears. Nor do I fear Your tumultuous roaring, which makes elephants flee to distant places, or Your nails, which are meant to kill Your enemies…

So throughout scripture, Lord Nrsimhadev is described as frightening, like in Nrsimha Tapani Upanisad, He is called bhisana or very frightening appearance. But the frightening appearance of the Lord is not at all frightening for the devotee, not frightening for Prahlad nor for the devotee because as Srila Prabhupada explains, a lion is very fearsome to all animals but not to his own cubs, right!

His own cubs are not at all afraid of the lion because the lion is their protector, so rather than being afraid, they feel very well-protected. Just as children like to say, “My father is a policeman,” or something like that, just to scare off other kids, “You can’t do anything to me. My father…” So when your father and protector is Nrsimhadev, then one is very comfortable. So in this way, the devotees are rather very comfortable, very happily discussing the intestines of Hiranyakasipu hanging as a garland around the neck of the Lord…

Srila Prabhupada says, “Prahlad stands next to the killer of his father and he has a garland ready. He wants to garland the killer of his father.” It is very transcendental and quite difficult to understand for the materialists. Sometimes people come into our temples and they see the painting of Hiranyakasipu and they see it for what it is and they say, “What is this?” And the devotees say, “Oh, it’s our Lord Nrsimhadev.” Because we see this all as the great mercy of the Lord, who is so affectionate, so much full of love towards His devotees that He will not tolerate, not tolerate any violence towards His devotees and thus the devotees, by worshiping Lord Nrsimhadev, become fearless.

Bahir nrisimho hridaye nrisimho, He is everywhere and outside of us is Lord Nrsimhadev, the Lord is in the heart. Yato yato yami tato nrisimho, everywhere we are Lord Nrsimhadev is there. In this way, we are feeling very safe and very happy to commemorate this pastime with all its bloody descriptions. I´ll end here. Thank you very much!

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!

The article " The prayers of Prahlad " was published on KKSBlog.

HH Candramauli Swami - Overview of “Sri Harinam Cintamani” (video) Published on Apr 22, 2018.

Hare Krishna! the movie’s premiere in London attended by many devotees and Patti Boulaye, a singer, actress, and artist friend of Krishna. (Album with photos)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/r6G9Z1

The highlight of Chandan yatra festival in  Mayapur is that different veshas depicting various pastimes of the Lord are offered to small Sri Radha-Madhava. Devotees wait eagerly for the curtains to open to reveal the day’s pastime. Today, being the last day of Sri Radha-Madhava boat & Swing festival, very aptly, Khat Dholi or swing […]

The post Chandan Yatra Day 7: Khat Dholi Pastime appeared first on Mayapur.com.



The post Daily Darshan: April 24,2018 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

HH Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami: Everything is temporary. Sometimes we get into difficult situations and we’re really attached to something, we think it’s the most important thing in the world and we’re terribly, terribly frustrated about everything. And then some simple devotee comes to you and says “Well, everything is temporary. Don’t be attached…”. And then we get very angry, we think “Why doesn’t this idiot actually understand my real crisis that’s going on!”. Everyone ever been in this situation? [saying with a smile]

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Big gathering of Hare Krishna devotees in London for the screening of the Hare Krishna! movie at The Odean
Movie Theater (Albu...

Blissful installation of SP’s murti (Album with photos)
Bhakti Chaitanya Swami: On Sunday we had an installation ceremony for a life-size Deity of Srila Prabhupada, belonging to some devotees from Zhelesnogorsk, a yatra outside Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/N7pkvg

Srimad Bhagavat Katha at ISKCON Gaya (Album of photos)
On behalf of upcoming Nrisingh Chaturdasi, Srimad Bhagavat Katha being held for 3 days at ISKCON Gaya by HH Bhakti Ashray Vaishnav Swami from 20th April to 22nd April. Maharaj discussed about Lord Nrisingh pastimes which more than 500 people relished. Maharaj told people should start devotion from early age because in old age body does not permit to serve Krishna enthusiastically. He said if Lord is pleased, then automatically all the souls of universe will be pleased. So everyone should learn how to please Krishna under guidance of spiritual master. Each day program started with kirtan and vaishnav bhajans followed by Katha. Then question and answer session, Srimad Bhagavat aarati and complete dinner prasadam. Being inspired by maharaj ji’s talk, 40 people started chanting and reading Bhagavat Gita.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/XiAVbE

By Urmila Devi Dasi

Dozens of prayers, verses, references, and ideas for fun, deep service and mediation on the Lord. Several summaries of the story are included for absorption in the Lord’s pastimes. Here are a free e-book and colorful posters to enhance your festival. While the focus of the activities is for guiding children aged 2-18, devotees of all ages are finding this a handy reference guide. As one temple president said, “I couldn’t put it down until I’d read the whole thing!” Continue reading "For Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance Day
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This miraculous visit to New Ekachakra Dhama on Wednesday, April 18th has become another history making event on the TOVP Euro Tour. So much so that we will also include some related lilas that led to the planning and arrival of Lord Nityananda’s Padukas and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Sitari in Slovakia.

The story begins in 2015 with Mahasankarsana prabhu, one of the temple leaders from New Ekachakra Dhama, speaking with Tukarama prabhu in Mayapur.

“He took me inside the TOVP and showed and explained everything. I was immediately inspired and had the desire that the Slovakian Yatra must support this project. I was thinking how to do this ever since that time. Then, recently I saw the Euro Tour poster on the TOVP Facebook Page and to my surprise, Slovakia was included. I immediately called Trilokatma prabhu the temple president and he confirmed the visit on April 18th, but it would only be a stopover with no special program. I was very disappointed to hear this and after some discussion it was arranged with Braja Vilas and Sukanti Radha devi dasi, the tour coordinator, that we would have a full program at the temple. She wrote us a really inspiring letter to encourage us and confirm the importance of the TOVP for every devotee to support.”

Sukanti Radha devi dasi is the UK TOVP office manager and coordinator of the TOVP 2018 Euro Tour. Many European countries offered to participate at the 2017 Euro GBC meetings in 2017. After praying to Mahaprabhu for help and guidance on how to proceed with the planning of the tour, Sukanti Radha experienced a vision that nine countries would participate. In the meantime and to her surprise, many countries withdrew from their participation and nine countries miraculously remained. She then received a surprising letter from Trilokatma prabhu (New Ekachakra temple president) stating that he was also withdrawing from the tour because the country and devotees were very poor and he didn’t want the TOVP Team to come all the way to Slovakia and not receive any good donations. However, Sukanti Radha convinced Trilokatma that Lord Nityananda wanted to come there at least for a stop-over on the way to Hungary. After all, Ekachakra Dhama is the birth place of Lord Nityananda and He would surely want to pay a short visit to New Ekachakra. The vision of nine countries remained intact and in the end the Slovakia ‘stopover’ on the way to Hungary also became a full-fledged fundraising event.

Mahasankarsana prabhu continues,

“On the day of the program over 70 devotees, some from the Czech Republic, attended, as well as His Holiness Smita Krishna Swami. What a great blessing for all. We had a huge welcome for Lord Nityananda’s Padukas with a big kirtan, then an abhishek, then speeches from Maharaja, Jananivas prabhu and Braja Vilas prabhu. When the fundraising began it was really amazing. In the first moments one devotee pledged for a Srivas Coin (EUR 9,000/USD 11,000), then another, and another, five in all! Almost every devotee offered a nice pledge and in the end the total pledges came to almost USD 90,000. Everyone was very happy and blissful, and amazed at what had just happened. All the devotees invested a lot of energy into this event and the results came, like everything that we do for the pleasure of the Lord.”

Miraculously and without prior planning, the TOVP Tour arrived in Slovakia on the most auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya. Through the mercy of Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda this became a most successful fundraising event that surprised everyone and is now the 3rd highest collection on the transcendental TOVP Euro Tour fundraising score board.

All glories to Lord Nityananda! All glories to Lord Nrsimha! All glories to all the devotees of the Lord!

The next stop on the tour is Hungary. The complete Euro Tour schedule is below.

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The post TOVP Euro Tour Day 6 – Slovakia, New Ekachakra Dhama appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Today (24 April) is the appearance day of Srimati Sitadevi , the consort of Lord Ramachandra and Srimati Jahnava devi, the eteranl consort of Lord Nityananda. Glories & pastimes of Srimati Sita devi: “Srimati Sitadevi is the mother of the three worlds and the wife of Lord Ramacandra. Among chaste women she is supreme, and […]

The post The Dear Most wife of the Supreme Lord Sri Ramachandra appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Today is Sita-navami, the appearance day of Srimati Sitadevi, the eternal consort of Lord Ramachandra. To begin, we shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter Nine: “Lord Caitanya’s Travels to the Holy Places.”

TEXT 178

daksina-mathura aila kamakosthi haite
tahan dekha haila eka brahmana-sahite

TRANSLATION

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arrived at southern Mathura from Kamakosthi, He met a brahmana.

TEXTS 179–193

The brahmana who met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu invited the Lord to his home. This brahmana was a great devotee and an authority on Lord Sri Ramacandra. He was always detached from material activities.

After bathing in the river Krtamala, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the brahmana’s house to take lunch, but He saw that the food was unprepared because the brahmana had not cooked it.

Seeing this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “My dear sir, please tell Me why you have not cooked. It is already noon.”

The brahmana replied, “My dear Lord, we are living in the forest. For the time being we cannot get all the ingredients for cooking.

“When Laksmana brings all the vegetables, fruits, and roots from the forest, Sita will do the necessary cooking.”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very satisfied to hear about the brahmana’s method of worship. Finally the brahmana hastily made arrangements for cooking.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took His lunch at about three o’clock, but the brahmana, being very sorrowful, fasted.

While the brahmana was fasting, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked him, “Why are you fasting? Why are you so unhappy? Why are you so worried?”

The brahmana replied, “I have no reason to live. I shall give up my life by entering either fire or water.

“My dear Sir, Mother Sita is the mother of the universe and the supreme goddess of fortune. She has been touched by the demon Ravana, and I am troubled upon hearing this news.

“Sir, due to my unhappiness I cannot continue living. Although my body is burning, my life is not leaving.”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, “Please do not think this way any longer. You are a learned pandita. Why don’t you consider the case?”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, “Sitadevi, the dearmost wife of the Supreme Lord Ramacandra, certainly has a spiritual form full of bliss. No one can see her with material eyes, for no materialist has such power.

“To say nothing of touching Mother Sita, a person with material senses cannot even see her. When Ravana kidnapped her, he kidnapped only her material, illusory form.

“As soon as Ravana arrived before Sita, she disappeared. Then just to cheat Ravana she sent an illusory, material form.”

TEXT 194

aprakrta vastu nahe prakrta-gocara
veda-puranete ei kahe nirantara

TRANSLATION

“Spiritual substance is never within the jurisdiction of the material conception. This is always the verdict of the Vedas and Puranas.”

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As stated in the Katha Upanisad (2.3.9, 12):

na sandrse tisthati rupam asya
  na caksusa pasyati kascanainam
hrda manisa manasabhiklpto
  ya etad vidur amrtas te bhavanti
naiva vaca na manasa
  praptum sakyo na caksusa

“Spirit is not within the jurisdiction of material eyes, words, or mind.”

Similarly, Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.84.13) states:

yasyatma-buddhih kunape tri-dhatuke
sva-dhih kalatradisu bhauma ijya-dhih
yat-tirtha-buddhih salile na karhicij
janesv abhijnesu sa eva go-kharah

“A human being who identifies his body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of his body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of his birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than to meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow.”

These are some Vedic statements about spiritual substance. Spiritual substance cannot be seen by the unintelligent, because they do not have the eyes or the mentality to see the spirit soul. Consequently they think that there is no such thing as spirit. But the followers of the Vedic injunctions take their information from Vedic statements, such as the verses from the Katha Upanisad and Srimad-Bhagavatam quoted above.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

We know from Srila Prabhupada, from the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu:

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

Namah cintamanih krsnah: the holy name of Krishna is Krishna Himself. Caitanya-rasa-vigrahah: it is the form of rasa, the reservoir of pleasure. It is purna, complete; suddha, pure; and nitya-mukta, always free from material contamination. Why? Because there is no difference between the holy name of Krishna and the possessor of the name, Krishna Himself (abhinnatvan nama-naminoh).

Now the question arises, When the Lord is spiritual and beyond the jurisdiction of material senses, how can one with materially covered senses touch, or chant and hear, the holy name of Krishna? In the next verse of the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Srila Rupa Gosvami explains:

atah sri-krsna-namadi
  na bhaved grahyam indriyaih
sevonmukhe hi jihvadau
  svayam eva sphuraty adah

Atah means “therefore,” as in athatho brahma-jijnasa. Atah: therefore (that is, because the holy name of Krishna is completely spiritual, like Krishna) one cannot chant or hear the holy name—touch the holy name—with materially contaminated senses. However, if we engage our senses in the service of the Lord and the Lord becomes pleased with our service, then the Lord will reveal Himself to us.

In other words, although we cannot perceive the Lord with materially contaminated senses, the Lord can reveal Himself to us when He is pleased by our service: He can purify our senses and make Himself visible to us.

When even a sadhaka, a devotee who is practicing devotional service, cannot touch even the holy name of the Lord, how could a demon like Ravana see or touch Mother Sita, who is directly the spiritual energy of the Lord? It is not possible. What Ravana saw and touched was not the original Sita but maya Sita, an illusory representation of the original Sita. Thus Lord Chaitanya was consoling the brahman: “Don’t lament that Mother Sita has been touched by the demon Ravana. The demon Ravana could not even see her, what to speak of touch her. There is no need to lament.”

TEXT 195

visvasa karaha tumi amara vacane
punarapi ku-bhavana na kariha mane

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then assured the brahmana, “Have faith in My words and do not burden your mind any longer with this misconception.”

PURPORT

This is the process of spiritual understanding. Acintya khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet: “We should not try to understand things beyond our material conception by argument and counterargument.” Maha-jano yena gatah sa panthah: “We have to follow in the footsteps of great authorities coming down in the parampara system.” If we approach a bona fide acarya and keep faith in his words, spiritual realization will be easy.

COMMENT

In the material world everyone is acting independently. Actually, people are not independent, but they imagine themselves to be independent. They want to think for themselves, see for themselves, make their own decisions, make their own plans. Even when they come to the subject of God, they keep the same attitude: “I don’t need anyone to tell me about God. I can think for myself; I can decide for myself.” Or they may accept some authority according to their liking. Many people go to various authorities and pick and choose what they like from each, and in the end they find confirmation for whatever they thought or wanted to begin with. That is not the way to understand God. Rather, one must approach a bona fide spiritual master and surrender. Surrender means “no wavering to this side or that side.” One must remain fixed in submission and obedience to the spiritual master and accept the spiritual master’s instructions without argument.Of course, the whole process is based on faith, and therefore Lord Chaitanya’s first words are visvasa karaha tumi amara vacane: “Have faith in My words.” If you do, He says, you will be relieved. But if you don’t have faith in His words, you’ll go on suffering and nobody will be able to help you.

visvasa karaha tumi amara vacane
punarapi ku-bhavana na kariha mane

“Have faith in My words and do not burden your mind any longer with this misconception.”

TEXT 196

prabhura vacane viprera ha-ila visvasa
bhojana karila, haila jivanera asa

TRANSLATION

Although the brahmana was fasting, he had faith in the words of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and accepted food. In this way his life was saved.

COMMENT

The brahman was fasting because he thought that Ravana had touched Sita and kidnapped her. He was ready to give up his life, but because he had faith in the words of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he gave up his misconception, took prasada, and saved his life.

TEXT 197

tanre asvasiya prabhu karila gamana
krtamalaya snana kari aila durvasana

TRANSLATION

After thus assuring the brahmana, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu proceeded further into southern India and finally arrived at Durvasana, where He bathed in the river Krtamala.

TEXT 199

setubandhe asi’ kaila dhanus-tirthe snana
ramesvara dekhi’ tahan karila visrama

 TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Setubandha [Ramesvara], where He took His bath at the place called Dhanus-tirtha. From there He visited the Ramesvara temple and then took rest.

PURPORT

The path from Mandapam through the ocean to the island known as Pambam consists partly of sand and partly of water. The island of Pambam is about seventeen miles long and six miles wide. On this island, four miles north of Pambam Harbor, is Setubandha, where the temple of Ramesvara is located. This is a temple of Lord Siva, and the name Ramesvara indicates that he is a great personality whose worshipable Deity is Lord Rama. Thus the Lord Siva found in the temple of Ramesvara is a great devotee of Lord Ramacandra. It is said, devi-pattanam arabhya gaccheyuh setu-bandhanam: “After visiting the temple of the goddess Durga, one should go to the temple of Ramesvara.”

In this area there are twenty-four different holy places, one of which is Dhanus-tirtha, located about twelve miles southeast of Ramesvara. It is near the last station of the South Indian Railway, a station called Ramnad. It is said that here, on the request of Ravana’s younger brother Vibhisana, Lord Ramacandra destroyed the bridge to Lanka with His bow while returning to His capital. It is also said that one who visits Dhanus-tirtha is liberated from the cycle of birth and death, and that one who bathes there gets all the fruitive results of performing the yajna known as Agnistoma.

COMMENT

It is said that when Lord Rama was on the way to Lanka, He worshiped a deity of Lord Siva. Some ignorant people say, “Because Lord Rama worshiped Lord Siva, Lord Siva is the Supreme and Lord Rama is subordinate to him.” But actually, the opposite is true: Lord Siva himself is a great devotee of Lord Rama. Sometimes, however, the Lord likes to serve His devotees, as in the case of Krishna and Yasoda. Krishna used to obey the dictations of Yasoda, but that doesn’t mean that Yasoda is God. Krishna used to carry the shoes of Nanda Maharaja, but that doesn’t mean that Nanda Maharaja is God. Krishna drove the chariot of Arjuna, but that doesn’t mean that Arjuna is greater than Krishna. Krishna washed the feet of Sudama Vipra, but that doesn’t mean that Sudama is superior to Krishna. The Lord takes pleasure in worshiping His devotees. Lord Ramachandra wanted to glorify His devotee Siva, and therefore He may have worshiped him.

Other ignorant people say that because Ravana was a devotee of Lord Siva, Rama approached Lord Siva to ask his permission before killing Ravana. Once, at Juhu Beach, a disciple mentioned this idea to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada replied that people who say that Lord Rama had Lord Siva’s permission to kill Ravana want to say that Lord Siva is a rascal, that he would give permission for someone to kill his devotee: “Oh, yes. He is my devotee, but it’s all right—you can kill him.” So Prabhupada said they want to prove that Lord Siva is a rascal. Rather, Srila Prabhupada said (and he quoted the shastra) that when Rama was in the process of killing Ravana, Mother Parvati asked Lord Siva, “Ravana is your great devotee, and now he is in trouble. Why don’t you do something to help him?” And Lord Siva replied, “Lord Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; when He wants to kill Ravana, what can I do?”

TEXT 200

vipra-sabhaya sune tanha kurma-purana
tara madhye aila pativrata-upakhyana

TRANSLATION

There, among the brahmanas, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu listened to the Kurma Purana, wherein is mentioned the chaste woman’s narration.

PURPORT

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura remarks that only two khandas of the Kurma Purana are now available, namely the Purva-khanda and Uttara-khanda. Sometimes it is said that the Kurma Purana contains six thousand verses, but according to Srimad-Bhagavatam the original Kurma Purana contains seventeen thousand verses. It is considered the fifteenth of the eighteen Maha-puranas.

TEXT 201

pativrata-siromani janaka-nandini
jagatera mata sita—ramera grhini

TRANSLATION

Srimati Sitadevi is the mother of the three worlds and the wife of Lord Ramacandra. Among chaste women she is supreme, and she is the daughter of King Janaka.

TEXT 202

ravana dekhiya sita laila agnira sarana
ravana haite agni kaila sitake avarana

TRANSLATION

When Ravana came to kidnap Mother Sita and she saw him, she took shelter of the fire-god, Agni. The fire-god covered the body of Mother Sita, and in this way she was protected from the hands of Ravana.

TEXT 203

‘maya-sita’ ravana nila, sunila akhyane
suni’ mahaprabhu haila anandita mane

TRANSLATION

Upon hearing from the Kurma Purana how Ravana had kidnapped a false form of Mother Sita, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very satisfied.

TEXT 204

sita lana rakhilena parvatira sthane
‘maya-sita’ diya agni vancila ravane

TRANSLATION

The fire-god, Agni, took away the real Sita and brought her to the place of Parvati, goddess Durga. An illusory form of Mother Sita was then delivered to Ravana, and in this way Ravana was cheated.

TEXT 205

raghunatha asi’ yabe ravane marila
agni-pariksa dite yabe sitare anila

After Ravana was killed by Lord Ramacandra, Sitadevi was brought before the fire and tested.

TEXT 206

tabe maya-sita agni kari antardhana
satya-sita ani’ dila rama-vidyamana

TRANSLATION

When the illusory Sita was brought before the fire by Lord Ramacandra, the fire-god made the illusory form disappear and delivered the real Sita to Lord Ramacandra.

TEXT 207

sunina prabhura anandita haila mana
ramadasa-viprera katha ha-ila smarana

TRANSLATION

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard this story, He was very pleased, and He remembered the words of Ramadasa Vipra.

TEXT 208

e-saba siddhanta suni’ prabhura ananda haila
brahmanera sthane magi’ sei patra nila

TRANSLATION

Indeed, when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard these conclusive statements from the Kurma Purana, He felt great happiness. After asking the brahmanas’ permission, He took possession of the manuscript leaves of the Kurma Purana.

TEXT 209

nutana patra lekhana pustake deoyaila
pratiti lagi’ puratana patra magi’ nila

TRANSLATION

Since the Kurma Purana was very old, the manuscript was also very old. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took possession of the original leaves in order to have direct evidence. The text was copied onto new leaves in order that the Purana be replaced.

TEXT 210

patra lana punah daksina-mathura aila
ramadasa vipre sei patra ani dila

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned to southern Mathura [Madurai] and delivered the original manuscript of the Kurma Purana to Ramadasa Vipra.

TEXTS 211–212

sitayaradhito vahnis
  chaya-sitam ajijanat
tam jahara dasa-grivah
  sita vahni-puram gata

pariksa-samaye vahnim
  chaya-sita vivesa sa
vahnih sitam samaniya
  tat-purastad aninayat

TRANSLATION

“When he was petitioned by Mother Sita, the fire-god, Agni, brought forth an illusory form of Sita, and Ravana, who had ten heads, kidnapped the false Sita. The original Sita then went to the abode of the fire-god. When Lord Ramacandra tested the body of Sita, it was the false, illusory Sita that entered the fire. At that time the fire-god brought the original Sita from his abode and delivered her to Lord Ramacandra.”

PURPORT

These two verses are taken from the Kurma Purana.

TEXT 213

patra pana viprera haila anandita mana
prabhura carane dhari’ karaye krandana

TRANSLATION

Ramadasa Vipra was very pleased to receive the original leaf manuscript of the Kurma Purana, and he immediately fell down before the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and began to cry.

TEXTS 214–218

After receiving the manuscript, the brahmana, being very pleased, said, “Sir, You are Lord Ramacandra Himself and have come in the dress of a sannyasi to give me audience.

“My dear Sir, You have delivered me from a very unhappy condition. I request that You take Your lunch at my place. Please accept this invitation.

“Due to my mental distress I could not give You a very nice lunch the other day. Now, by good fortune, You have come again to my home.”

Saying this, the brahmana very happily cooked food, and a first-class dinner was offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu passed that night in the house of the brahmana. Then, after showing him mercy, the Lord started toward the Tamraparni River in Pandya-desa.

COMMENT

The chastity of Mother Sita is glorified in similar terms in the summary of the pastimes of Lord Ramachandra in the Ninth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Because Ravana had been cursed by the anger of Mother Sita, his armies were vanquished and ultimately he was killed.

te ’nikapa raghupater abhipatya sarve
  dvandvam varutham ibha-patti-rathasva-yodhaih
jaghnur drumair giri-gadesubhir angadadyah
  sitabhimarsa-hata-mangala-ravanesan

“Angada and the other commanders of the soldiers of Ramacandra faced the elephants, infantry, horses, and chariots of the enemy and hurled against them big trees, mountain peaks, clubs, and arrows. Thus the soldiers of Lord Ramacandra killed Ravana’s soldiers, who had lost all good fortune because Ravana had been condemned by the anger of Mother Sita.” (SB 9.10.20)

After Ravana had been killed, his wife, Mandodari, praised the power of Mother Sita’s chastity, addressing her husband:

na vai veda maha-bhaga
  bhavan kama-vasam gatah
tejo ’nubhavam sitaya
  yena nito dasam imam

“O greatly fortunate one, you came under the influence of lusty desires, and therefore you could not understand the influence of Mother Sita. Now, because of her curse, you have been reduced to this state, having been killed by Lord Ramacandra.” (SB 9.10.27) In his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada explains that any woman who follows the example of Mother Sita’s chastity and service can attain similar power—and that in fact women should follow her ideal example. “Not only was Mother Sita powerful, but any woman who follows in the footsteps of Mother Sita can also become similarly powerful. There are many instances of this in the history of Vedic literature. Whenever we find a description of ideal chaste women, Mother Sita is among them. Mandodari, the wife of Ravana, was also very chaste. Similarly, Draupadi was one of five exalted chaste women. As a man must follow great personalities like Brahma and Narada, a woman must follow the path of such ideal women as Sita, Mandodari, and Draupadi. By staying chaste and faithful to her husband, a woman enriches herself with supernatural power.”

Although Mother Sita was completely pure and chaste, some ignorant citizens criticized Lord Rama for accepting her back after she had been abducted by Ravana, and to preserve His authority as king—for the benefit of the citizens—He was obliged to consign her to the care of the great sage Valmiki Muni.

By her transcendental qualities and devotional service, Sitadevi attracted her husband, Lord Ramachandra, the Personality of Godhead. And after she completed her pastimes on earth, He remained absorbed in thought of her—while perfectly executing His royal duties—until He followed her, to continue their eternal lila in the spiritual world.

munau niksipya tanayau
  sita bhartra vivasita
dhyayanti rama-caranau
  vivaram pravivesa ha

“Being forsaken by her husband, Sitadevi entrusted her two sons to the care of Valmiki Muni. Then, meditating upon the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra, she entered into the earth.” (SB 9.11.15)

tac chrutva bhagavan ramo
  rundhann api dhiya sucah
smarams tasya gunams tams tan
  nasaknod roddhum isvarah

“After hearing the news of Mother Sita’s entering the earth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was certainly aggrieved. Although He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, upon remembering the exalted qualities of Mother Sita, He could not check His grief in transcendental love.” (SB 9.11.16) Of course, the Lord’s grief upon hearing the news of Sitadevi’s entering the earth was not material. In the spiritual world there are also feelings of separation, but such feelings are a manifestation of the Lord’s internal pleasure potency (hladini-sakti) and give rise to transcendental bliss—although they resemble the miserable feelings experienced by ordinary men and women who are materially attached to each other.

tata urdhvam brahmacaryam
  dharyann ajuhot prabhuh
trayodasabda-sahasram
  agnihotram akhanditam

“After Mother Sita entered the earth, Lord Ramacandra observed complete celibacy and performed an uninterrupted Agnihotra-yajna for thirteen thousand years.” (SB 9.11.18)

smaratam hrdi vinyasya
  viddham dandaka-kantakaih
sva-pada-pallavam rama
  atma-jyotir agat tatah

“After completing the sacrifice, Lord Ramacandra, whose lotus feet were sometimes pierced by thorns when He lived in Dandakaranya, placed those lotus feet in the hearts of those who always think of Him. Then He entered His own abode, the Vaikuntha planet beyond the brahmajyoti.” (SB 9.11.19)

Sri Sri Sita-Rama ki jaya!

Now, there is an important lesson for all of us here, whether we are in the bodies of men or women: Sitadevi is the energy of Lord Rama, the property of Lord Rama, and to take the property of the Lord for one’s sense gratification is demonic. Ravana was a scholar, a devotee of Lord Siva, and he had many, many good qualifications. However, he had one fault that put him in the category of demons: he wanted to take the Lord’s property and enjoy it for himself. As we have been discussing—and maybe realizing—people in Kali-yuga have two sides: a devotee side and a demon side. The demon side wants to take the property of the Lord and enjoy it, like Ravana. So we must be careful that the demonic side does not become predominant. Otherwise, just as Ravana and his whole dynasty were destroyed, our spiritual life will be destroyed.

What is the difference between material and spiritual? When people challenge us, “You are living in a marble palace, and you are using telephones, computers, tape recorders, and automobiles, so you are involved in materialism,” how do we reply? We reply, “We are using everything in the service of the Lord. What is used in the service of the Lord is no longer material but becomes spiritual.” And it is true. The temple is spiritual because it is dedicated to the service of the Lord, and all the paraphernalia used in the Lord’s service is spiritual. So there is no contamination. However, if we use the paraphernalia meant for the service of the Lord for our own sense gratification, then it is no longer spiritual. It becomes maya. Ravana wanted to take Rama’s Sita, but he couldn’t touch the original Sita. He could get only the maya Sita. Similarly, the Lord’s paraphernalia is spiritual when engaged in the Lord’s service, but if we try to use the same things for our sense gratification, they become maya.

We should not be complacent and assume, “I am a devotee and everything I do is spiritual. Even if I handle money, it is spiritual because it’s for Krishna.” If it is for Krishna, it is spiritual, laksmi, but if it is used for our sense gratification, it becomes material, maya. So we must be careful in every situation—in every activity, every transaction—to consider: Am I doing this for Krishna or for sense gratification? If an activity is done for Krishna, it becomes spiritual, but if that same activity is done for sense gratification, it becomes material. All the things we have, all the paraphernalia, which are meant for Krishna’s service, become maya if we use them for sense gratification. So we should be very careful, especially if we take donations from the public. In the temple we take donations from the public—directly or indirectly. Even if we don’t directly take donations, we are using donations for our service, so we should take care that the donations we take from the public are used exclusively in transcendental devotional service and not one cent is used for sense gratification. If we use any of it for sense gratification, we are implicated in a cheating process, because the public think they are giving the money for Krishna’s service but in fact we are using it for sense gratification.

Srila Prabhupada said that if we take money in the name of Krishna’s service and then use it for sense gratification, we become debtors to the people who gave us the money. In other words, we are supposed to be only peons, carrying the money from the donor to the Lord—like Hanuman. He went to liberate Sita from Ravana, not to keep her for himself but to deliver her to Lord Rama. So, we should be like Hanuman. We should liberate Sita from the hands of whomever and deliver her to Rama. We are not meant to touch her. If we do, we’ll have to come back in another life and pay our debt to the people from whom we took the money. These are subtle laws, and Srila Prabhupada was concerned that we should not become victims of our desires for sense gratification. Therefore he explained everything very clearly, so that we can be conscientious and use the Lord’s property only for the Lord’s service. Then we will be like Hanuman, the great devotee who got the mercy of Lord Rama. But if we try to use the Lord’s property for our sense gratification, we become like Ravana and we will be destroyed.

On this occasion, we pray to Mother Sita to bless us to become pure-hearted servants like Hanuman, Laksmana, and Mother Sita herself—and to save us. Whatever Ravana-like demonic tendencies we have, let them be vanquished by her mercy, by her will, so we may continue in our devotional service without any impediment and ultimately attain pure love (prema), our ultimate goal.

Sri Sri Sita-Rama-Laksmana-Hanuman ki jaya!Sri Sita-navami ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Sita-navami, May 9, 1995, Juhu, Bombay]

Giriraj Swami spoke to devotees in Juhu Beach via Skype.

“One amazing experience she had was that while being absorbed in Krishna katha she would be relived from the excruciating pain from her cancer.

We have so many exalted devotees in this movement. Mother Archa-vigraha was certainly one of them. These occasions are good for us because we get to remember them. But, we shouldn’t wait until the devotees leave their bodies to appreciate and glorify them. We should do it whenever we get the opportunity as a regular practice.”

Archa-vigraha’s Disapperance Anniversary (Right-click to download)

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Madhu Pandit, a disciple of Sri Gadadhara Pandit, established the temple of Gopinatha in Vrndavana, India. Before Srinivasa Acharya, Narottama dasa Thakura, and Syamananda Prabhu went to bring the books of the Goswamis from Vrndavana to Bengal, Madhu Pandit blessed Srinivasa Acharya by giving him a garland from the Sri Gopinatha Deity.

The Deity of Gopinatha was discovered at Vamsivata by Paramananda Bhattacarya, who entrusted the Deity’s worship to Madhu Pandita. On the altar in this temple are Deities of  Gopinatha, Srimati Radharani and Her sister, Ananga Manjari. Madhu Pandita arranged to have this temple built.

Vajranabha, the great-grandson of Krishna, originally installed Lord Gopinatha in Vrndavana. When the Muslims raided Vrndavana in 1670, the original Gopinatha Deity was taken to Jaipur.

[Narasimha Chaturdashi series on Prahlada’s prayers to Narasimhadeva 5.18.8-14]
[Bhagavatam class on 5.18.9 at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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[Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 December 2017, Sydney, Australia, Bhagavad-gita 1.1)

Dhrtarastra was blind; not just physically blind but also spiritually blind. This is because he did not understand the goal of life. Bhagavad-gita says that we are all also blind in that way:

om ajnana-timirandhasya
jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena
tasmai sri-gurave namah (Bhagavad-gita As It Is – Introduction)

It says that we have taken birth in the deepest and darkest ignorance. It acknowledges that we do not know what the goal of life is. We sometimes think that life is just for playing. Once Prabhupada saw a sign in New York next to a playground that said “Kid’s play land,” then Prabhupada pointed towards the entire city and said, “Adult’s play land!”

We must remember that the goal of this life is to use what we have for the service of Krsna, instead of using our resources on pointless things. The Pandavas understood this very clearly – before the battle of Kurukshetra, both Duryodhana and Arjuna went to Krsna for assistance to ensure their respective victories. Duryodhana reached Krsna first, however found Krsna resting in his quarters. So he decided to sit next to Krsna’s head where he could immediately ask Krsna upon waking up. Arjuna arrived later, and sat next to Krsna’s feet. Krsna was lying on his back, so when he opened his eyes, he first looked towards his feet and saw Arjuna. When Krsna asked Arjuna what he could do for him, Arjuna explained their precarious position with the impending war and how he was making a request to get Krsna’s assistance in the war. Krsna agreed to this, but said that he himself would not fight, only his army would. So Krsna gave Arjuna a choice, between himself and his powerful army. Arjuna quickly chose Krsna, and hearing this Duryodhana was ecstatic, thinking, “Oh, Arjuna is such a fool! He must have been in the sun for too long because no one can stand against Krsna’s army! Today I scored big time!” So even though Duryodhana left happily, it was Arjuna who truly put his faith in Krsna.

So this really is, in spirit, the summary of the Bhagavad-gita that we must put our faith in Krsna! Even though we are not fighting in Kurukshetra, we are still fighting with the three modes of material nature, our senses, our mind, and so on. So somehow we have to take control and engage our mind and senses in the loving service of Krsna.

The purpose of the Bhagavad-gita is to remind people in this material world that just like Arjuna, who was affected by the world and was struggling with it, we are also the same. The knowledge that Arjuna was receiving from Krsna is the knowledge that has been given to all of us. Srila Prabhupada came and presented the Bhagavad-gita AS IT IS (emphasis added); no compromise. He presented us with the highest standard, just like Krsna presented it to Arjuna. So our temples are dedicated to bring everyone to the point of surrender to Krsna where Krsna must always come first. And in this way, we will attain success in life, by fulfilling the purpose of the Bhagavad-gita!

The article " Fulfilling the purpose of Bhagavad-gita " was published on KKSBlog.

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