Iskcon Center Bharuch Ratha Yatra
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Hare KrishnaBy Jagannath Damodar das

A glorious Rathyatra festival was organised on 24-2-18 in the town of Bharuch ( Bhrigu kuchh). This is a historical place connected way back crores of years back, when Lord Vaaman Dev enacted His wonderful pastimes of covering the whole universe with His two steps and keeping the 3 rd on King Bali's head. In the same way in this Rathyatra, approximately 50 devotees covered the whole area of Bharuch with their powerful 2 foot steps and distributed 3000 loose BTG magazines to the people of Bharuch on behalf of Lord Vaaman Dev. All the senior devotees attended this wonderful Rathyatra, with 3000 persons taking Dinner prasaadam and 10000 persons getting Bundi Prasad packets. Continue reading "Iskcon Center Bharuch Ratha Yatra
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Friday, February 23rd, 2018
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Toronto, Ontario

Walking the Airport Maze

Every airport interior layout is standardized like the massive one in Delhi, where passengers walk through the duty-free aisles before getting to their gates.  I guess dollars must be made and it is happening.  Those items such as liquors and colognes don’t interest a man of the renounced order.  I just literally ‘walk through’,  but a good bulk of people don’t.  They stop.  They ponder.  They buy.  It’s a shopping mall concept.

Now, if I may not overly judge, I would still offer to say that if aisles, or mazes, were some form of mandalas, they could be a labyrinth that leads to the heart.  Buddhists tend to capitalize on the walking of mandalas.  And to my knowledge, Hindus would use more circular mandalas (a Sanskrit word) with some squares and diagonal lines to gaze upon, helping concentration and promoting healing.

At some of our yajnas, or fire rituals that we use in Krishna consciousness, coloured powders are used to form yantras, like a mandala, upon a tray of sand.  Rangoli is a similar art form that is used in India and Mayapura, where I just came from, and these colourful formations are laid out on the ground and shaped with dry, rice flour, flower petals and coloured sand.  They are welcome symbols and are placed at doorways and walking paths.  Definitely they are beautiful images to take your eyes on a journey.

Too bad people step on them.

Personally, I would rather get my attention lost in some rangoli, a yantra or mandala than the booze trail.  I hope I didn’t sound too judgemental.  Sometimes I feel good telling it like it is.

May the Source be with you!
2 km

Thursday, February 22nd, 2018
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Noida / Delhi

Good Buddhi and Bad Boy

Buddhimanta, the co-ordinator for the ISKCON Noida Centre did all the right things.  Almost.  The one thing he couldn’t supply me with during my stay, in the progressive limb-of-Delhi City, was a quiet, safe place to walk.  A substantial length of traffic-free footpath would have been nice, but then I don’t expect him to be a miracle worker.  That is reserved for Bhagavan.

Buddhimanta did measure up to being that gentleman of a host, plus he got the show together.  For our “Many Mothers, Many Fathers,” productions, he did good promotion for a Thursday night event.  Even in India, the weekend is always the best scenario.

A huge sign was posted—my guess is about 8’ x 10’—in front of the temple.  Announcements were made about the “thrilling, chilling story from the Bhagavatam,” and tickets were sold.  Buddhi also saw to it that echo absorbers of any kind—carpets, chairs, foam around the pillars—were set up to address the sound quality.

The auditorium was packed.  Buddhi and I were pleased.  The audience was spontaneous.  Our techies and actors were spot on.  You could feel the power of the play.

It was our last performance—the tenth.  My emotions were high; one of them, a stored up anger, aroused from seeing one young man filming the whole play from his phone.  I have to mention this because swamis can be upset like anyone else.  The question is do you store anger, bottle it or channel it in some favourable way?  I had been seated in the front doing some voice-over for one actor and noticed the culprit.  I went over to him after the production and let him know of my disappointment and the lack of respect it was since we had announced, “No phones, no cameras.”  I felt better telling him.

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Wednesday, February 21st, 2018
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Noida, India

Spiritual Culture

I read with interest Devaki Devi Dasi’s book, Spiritual Culture, just recently released.  I find her insights into the psychology of the male and female interesting.  I can’t say that I agree with all of her points but I can appreciate her old values /old school approach.  She supports the very definitive roles for men and women, and although her opinions strike me as somewhat right-wing, I would back her on family values.

Family values!  Great topic!

After our drama practice—in now out latest and last stop before the flight home—a group of us were compelled to speak about relationships between the ‘hes’ and ‘shes’.  There are definitely many opinions out there about family life, as to what’s ideal and what’s practical, even from the sector of bhakti yogis.

“You now have a generation of Krishna children that don’t go for marriage,” expressed a father of four.  He and his wife are on the same page when it comes to commitment.  The couple went on to say that the experience of his family, and all the younger folks accompanying us on our short tour, is that they are having the time of their life.

It was late afternoon before I could free myself of duties and practice in the ISKCON Noida theatre, where a number of adjustments had to be made to address acoustic issues.  Bulgarian born Stoyan and I took to a quiet trail in Noida behind the gorgeous temple.

That’s hard to find, but we found it.

May the Source be with you!

3 km

Tuesday, February 20th, 2018
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Vrndavana, India

Wake Up With Water

Anywhere in a holy place in India, the first sounds you are most likely to hear are those of bells ringing and water splashing.  The water is pouring out from showers nearby and filling the provided buckets for the ultimate dumping of H2O beginning with the top of the head.

Folks in India are committed to the bucket approach.  Pilgrims from elsewhere stick to the traditional shower.

Once sunlight makes an appearance, birds come alive and the world follows, or so it seems.

I made my visits today.  One was to see my ailing friend, Gunagrahi Swami, who’s been fighting cancer.  I also met Peter from California, a dear friend, who says he is physically deteriorating. I lunched at Param’s pad, or home.  Nice Punjabi parathas.  His back yard is crawling with white bunnies and scurrying chipmunks.  Cute!

Today was special, also, in that our group performed twice.  “Many Mothers, Many Fathers” delighted the boys of the Bhaktivedanta International Gurukula School and a second audience, the general public, packed the house, as well, for a mesmerizing show.  The actors are becoming quite accomplished, and because they are, we treated them to an all-out dinner at the MVT Restaurant.  Here you get eastern / western cuisine.

The group /troupe was very deserving.

May the Source be with you!

4 km


That was one life-changing photography thesis! Durban – When…
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That was one life-changing photography thesis!
Durban - When American photography student John Griesser took a flight to India in the early 1970s on an assignment to document the Hare Krishna movement, he did not only earn credits to finish his course; it sent him on a spiritual path that changed his life.
Visiting Durban this week, Griesser (whose initiate name is Yadubara Das) is in town to promote his film Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It All, which will show at Suncoast cinemas on February 21 and 22.
His film is a documentary on the life of Srila Prabhupada, the 70-year-old Indian religious teacher who arrived in America without support or money in the 1960s and started the Hare Krishna movement.
“The long journey towards making Hare Krishna! started almost 50 years ago in 1970, when I found myself, camera in hand, smack bang in the middle of frenetic and beautifully intoxicating India, in a little town, steeped in ancient spirituality, called Surat. It was here that I first met Swami Srila Prabhupada.

“At the time I was a student enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York doing a master’s in photography, and I had travelled to India to do my thesis on the origins of the Hare Krishna movement,” recalled Griesser.

He had also produced a documentary in 1978 that captured the spiritual and traditional cultures of India, in a documentary titled Vrindavan: Land of Krishna.

“I was not prepared for the impact of that first meeting with Prabhupada. In person, he was diminutive and yet exuded a powerful presence that was both attractive and mystifying.

“During the following months in his company, surrounded by the rich spiritual culture of India, I found never-ending sources of inspiration from behind my camera.

“I experienced something beyond explanation, and felt that I had finally come home to people and places I had known before.

“In the following years, Jean (my then girlfriend and later my wife) and I continued to document Prabhupada and his movement, up until his passing in 1977,” said Griesser.

Much of the film’s content had been shot during the Griessers’ travels with Prabhupada from 1970 to 1977.

There are about 30 interviewees in the film, including Beatles guitarist George Harrison and American poet and philosopher Allen Ginsberg.

Griesser said the movie was special because it had allowed him to tell the story of Prabhupada.

“During production we revisited Prabhupada’s extraordinary life, piecing together clips and audio of his, and telling his own story. After the release in 2017, it was good to experience the excitement of viewers who saw Prabhupada come to life on the screen,” Griesser said.
Source: https://goo.gl/FYA7gD

Letters of Yamaraj, the God of Death
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In a small town situated close to the banks of the River Yamuna there lived a man called Amrita. Nothing in life caused him more anxiety than his fear of death. One day he had an idea that if he befriended Lord Yamaraj, he would be able to keep death at a distance, and so Amrita practiced austerities and meditated upon the Lord of Death, who was verily pleased and granted him a vision.
Lord Yamaraj said, ‘I know by the aid of my divine powers that you seek to befriend me - your wish has come true. My presence is only available to those upon whose death my messengers or I take their souls to my domain. Those that are born must die and those who die will be born again, this is the eternal law. No one can escape death, yet I grant you my vision while you are still living.’


Read More...

ISKCON of Philadelphia
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Hare KrishnaBy Vrsabhanu dasa

In the late sixties Hare Krishna devotees from New York went to Philadelphia to open a temple. Many people were attracted by their kirtans and by the philosophy and lifestyle that they were teaching. Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra were installed in 1972 and taken out for the first Ratha-yatra festival on the East Coast of the USA. Srila Prabhupada visited the temple in 1975 and attended the Ratha-yatra that year. The current temple in the beautiful suburb of Mt. Airy was acquired in 1977 and two years later Sri Sri Radha Sarad-Bihari were installed there. The devotees are in the process of building a new temple room for the pleasure of the deities. In downtown Philadelphia there is a popular Govinda's restaurant which attracts people from all walks of life. The devotees organise regular programmes including japa meditation, study of the Bhagavad-Gita and kirtan evenings. Continue reading "ISKCON of Philadelphia
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Creating Vrindavan Anywhere
Giriraj Swami

Listening to a talk Srila Prabhupada gave in Vrindavan on December 10, 1975, I was struck by how he defined Vrindavan and said we could create Vrindavan anywhere.

“So this Krishna consciousness movement means everything is there; it has to be purified by diverting the same thing for Krishna. Just like we have got feelings for raising children—attachment. That is attachment. What is Mother Yasoda doing? She is attached to Krishna, and that is Vrindavan. Vrindavan life means all attachment for Krishna. Mother Yasoda is attached to Krishna, Nanda Maharaja is attached to Krishna, the cowherd boys are attached to Krishna, the calfs and cows are attached to Krishna, Radharani is attached to Krishna, the trees are attached to Krishna, the flowers are attached to Krishna, the water is attached to Krishna—that is Vrindavan. Vrindavan means the central attachment is Krishna. That is Vrindavan.

“So if you can create that central attachment for Krishna, then it is Vrindavan. Then you can create Vrindavan anywhere. Any family, any society, any country—just make the point of attachment Krishna, and it is Vrindavan. That is required. That is Krishna consciousness movement.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Gita 17.10 Food in ignorance isn’t nourishing, satisfying or appealing.mp3
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 17.10 Food in ignorance isn’t nourishing, satisfying or appealing.mp3 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

A day for Krsna
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, December 2011, Pretoria, South Africa, Caitanya Caritamrta Lecture)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained to Sanatana Goswami that we must follow in the footsteps of the eternal residents of Vrindavan. We must always act for the pleasure of Krsna. In our sadhana, Krsna must always be in the centre.

My first big festival in the temple was Gaura Purnima. I was celebrating it at the Bhaktivedanta Manor and I had just returned from India. We were in a very big room and we, the brand new devotees, our service was to roll sweet balls the whole day. We were fasting and it was just too much for my mind to be sitting with an ocean of sweet balls. I was thinking, ‘What kind of movement is this? They are fasting and then the whole day they are in the kitchen cooking and busy with and all kinds of prasadam preparations. What is this process?’

I thought it was strange because I was self-centered. I was thinking that it was all austerity which we were performing for our own purification. I did not understand that for one day, for one day, it was a day for Krsna and on that day, instead of worrying of our own senses, as we usually do, on a special festival, we put all our own sense enjoyment aside. There will be no arrangements made for our sense enjoyment. All the arrangements are made only for Krsna’s pleasure, everything! The residents of Vrindavan do that every day!

Acknowledging our emotions but not acting impulsively on them
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[Brahmachari class at ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai]

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary

Video:

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Members of Parliament and police in Iskcon Auckland’s Holi…
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Members of Parliament and police in Iskcon Auckland’s Holi (Album with photos)
Auckland NZ held its annual Holi festival today with over 10 thousand guests turning up to our hare Krsna temple in Riverhead. We served out over 5 thousand plates of prasadam and distributed lots of Srila Prabhupada’s books.
We started the Holi festival 5 years ago with around 1500 guests, the feedback is Super positive lots of the guest saying it one of the best festivals they have been to and are planning to return the following year, they are amazed how they can enjoy a day without any intoxication and love the vegetarian meal.
One of the many great things about our Holi festival is that we can hold it at our temple so its full on Hare Krsna.
The guests got the opportunity to have Darshan of Lord and hear the Kirtan which goes on in the temple during the day.
The local members of Parliament were the special guests, and the police always enjoy spending the day with us and they are favorites for throwing the colors at. Also, the Fire Brigade turn up each year and spray the guest with colored water.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/Y9vfyG

2018 Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama Day 7 (Album of photos) Hare…
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2018 Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama Day 7 (Album of photos)
Hare Krishna! After offering the most auspicious Mangalarati to Nitai Pada Kamala, and Madan Gopal -the deity of NilambarkaChakravarti -Saci mata’s father- the devotees paid their respects to Belpukur and proceeded towards Simantadvipa, the island of hearing. At the second stop there was Guru Puja led by HG Sikhi Mahiti Prabhu. Soon after the devotees were happily surprised to see HH Subhaga Swami Maharaja who so kindly gave his association. There was another surprise at Jagannatha Mandir hidden inside buckets… that was pasta prasadam. Every year at Jagannatha temple pasta and fruit salad is served. After breakfast parikrama moved towards the fields just behind the temple, where the house of Kolaveca Sridhara lies. There HH Bhakti Caitanya Maharaja as well as HH Bhakti Nityananda Maharaja spoke about the relationship between Sridhara and Lord Gauranga. Sridhara’s humility touched everyone’s heart. Although the camp had been reached by breakfast time. That was not the end of the day. In the evening we had a drama on Chand Kazi and then HH Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja gave a most nectarean lecture about the nature and relationship between Lord Caitanya and Lord Jagannatha. At last like every year we had a realization session, which was being watched by HH Jayapataka Swami through Mayapur TV. A young mataji from Mongolia shared: “ This is my first time to India and thus first time on Parikrama. My father is a devotee so he has always been advising me to chant Hare Krishna, but I never really understood who Krishna is. And I didn’t want to start doing something just because I had to. After this parikrama I saw how all the devotees are so kind and caring. My faith increased a lot, and now I want to become a devotee” HH Jayapataka Maharaja spoke to the devotees through a phone call reassuring them that he was waiting to hear everyone’s realizations. Being touched by Maharaja’s care most devotees came up to share the jewels which they had received during this Parikrama. Someone said: I wish this would continue for more days" Someone else said: “ This is the best time of the year for me. To come to Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama and chant and dance with all of you for 7 days. Thank you so much.” In this ways it went on for 2 hours, until the lights had to go off. In conclusion it is not possible to express sufficiently the blessing, the bliss and the transformation that parikrama brings to a devotee. The mercy of these two Lords Gaura and Nityananda are a bottomless ocean. They embrace one and all. What to speak of those who come to Navadvipa and even more those who perform parikrama. Be prepared to be overwhelmed by Krishna prema!
Find them here: https://goo.gl/9u83t1

2018 Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama – Huge Success!
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Hare KrishnaBy Mayesvara Dasa

Because of the success of the BBT book distributors all over the world… the volume of pilgrims attending have become so high the parikrama groups have had to be divided into smaller groups. What is further impressive is that those responsible for coordinating the logistics of this operation arrange for ALL the pilgrims to get both breakfast and lunch served at the location sites where they arrive at! There is yet another group of very hearty individuals who camp and bath at the places of worship where huge tents are set up for them to sleep and they get an evening meal as well! This is all because of the extraordinary teaching of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Continue reading "2018 Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama – Huge Success!
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TOVP Chakra Installation Ceremony 2018 Video
- TOVP.org

This beautiful and emotionally stirring video documentary produced by Prananantha das about the TOVP Chakra Installation Ceremony on February 7th, 2018 is sure to arouse in your heart a further appreciation for this historic and visionary project initiated by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder/Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The placing of the three Chakras, the crown jewels of the TOVP onto the domes is now complete and we expect full protection and auspiciousness as we proceed for the next four years with MISSION 22, the marathon effort to complete the TOVP by 2022 and celebrate its Grand Opening to the world.

We urge one and all to support this project by continuing to make payments towards their pledges and others to make their pledges today. Please go here to make a contribution:

https://tovp.org/donate/seva-opportunities/

The post TOVP Chakra Installation Ceremony 2018 Video appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

How John Lennon heard the mahamantra just before he left his body
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Hare KrishnaBy Nartak Gopal Devi Dasi

Krishna arranged for devotees to be there at the time of his death. This was December 8th 1980. The New York temple was on West 55th Street in Manhattan and two devotees lived at that temple. Bakula and Surottama, and they had their daughter Shringara born that morning. She was born in the temple so by the afternoon she had developed kind of a cough so they thought well we better take this baby to the hospital because you never know. So they asked another devotee Keshiha, who now lives in Alachua where I lived, that can you please drive us to the ER the emergency room at Roosevelt Hospital. Roosevelt Hospital is up on West 59th Street and the temple is on 55th Street so at the hospital they were taken into this room and the lady doctor was examining the baby when all of a sudden she was called out of the room, there was apparently like a big emergency, and she was called out of the room so uh Surottama das followed her, he wanted to see what what is this emergency, so he followed her to and of course I mean at that time this was 1980 the devotees you know they always just dressed with their shaved head and the dhoti and kurta they didn’t wear karmi clothes to go places in America so much that because they were living in the temple. So what it was, Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s wife was walking alongside a stretcher and John Lennon was laying on it facedown lying on his stomach. He had been shot, somebody assassinated him, they shot him outside of his apartments and his apartments were up on West 72nd Street so what it means is that the hospital is right in the middle. So that’s why he went to that same hospital and when Yoko Ono Saw Surottama she said “John the Hare Krishna’s are here” and then, like a moment later he expired. Continue reading "How John Lennon heard the mahamantra just before he left his body
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ISKCON Scarborough- Gaura Purnima celebrations- Friday- March 2nd 2018 (Friday)
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Hare Krishna!

Please accept our humble obeisances!

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!


Gaura Purnima - the auspicious appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu will be celebrated in a grand manner coming Friday - March 2nd, 2018 at ISKCON Scarborough.

The actual appearance day falls on Thursday- March 1st, 2018 - On this auspicious day, all devotees fast until moon rise.


Gaura Purnima means "golden full moon" signifying that:

1) Lord Caitanya was “born” during a full moon, and

2) The Lord blesses everyone with the soothing, moon like rays of His sublime teachings.


Who is Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:

Lord Caitanya is Lord Krsna Himself appearing in the role of His own devotee.

He accepted the mood and golden complexion of Srimati Radharani, His consort and greatest worshiper.

Radha and Krsna became one to reveal the divine love of Goloka Vrindavan to the world.


Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's most important biographers, such as Shri Vrindavan das Thakur (Caitanya Bhagavat), Shri Murari Gupta (Caitanya Charita Mahakavya), Shri Locana das Thakura (Caitanya Mangal) & Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj (Caitanya Caritamrta) confirm this.


If we are to understand Shri Krishna, we must do so through Lord Caitanya. First the giver, then the gift.


Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the most merciful and munificent incarnation of the Lord, whose mercy surpassed the bounds of mundane discrimination in the matter of caste, colour and creed.


CC Adi 14.1:
“Things that are very difficult to do become easy to execute if one somehow or other simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy things become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu I offer my respectful obeisances”.

We welcome you, your family and friends to take part in the wonderful celebration coming Friday starting at 6.15 PM.

The schedule for 2nd March 2018 (Friday) is as follows:

6.15 PM to 6.30 PM - Tulasi Arti

6.30 PM to 7 PM - Maha Abhishek (bathing ceremony of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai)

7 PM to 8 PM - Class on Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu

8 PM to 8.30 PM - Arati

8.30 PM to 8.45 PM - 1 round group chanting of Hare Krishna Maha mantra

8.45 PM - free vegetarian feast


ISKCON Scarborough
3500 McNicoll Avenue, Unit #3,
Scarborough,Ontario,
Canada,M1V4C7

Email Address:

iskconscarborough@hotmail.com

website:

www.iskconscarborough.org

Let samskaras takes us beyond our scars
→ The Spiritual Scientist

[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Juhu, Mumbai]

Podcast


 

Podcast Summary

Video:

The post Let samskaras takes us beyond our scars appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Is the higher taste of bhakti available only for those who practice bhakti exclusively while living in a temple?
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Answer Podcast

The post Is the higher taste of bhakti available only for those who practice bhakti exclusively while living in a temple? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Gita 17.09 Food in passion is is sensually stimulating but eventually distressing and disease-inducing.mp3
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Bhagavad-gita verse-by-verse podcast

The post Gita 17.09 Food in passion is is sensually stimulating but eventually distressing and disease-inducing.mp3 appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Madhavendra Puri Disappearance
→ Ramai Swami

Mahaprabhu’s seniors, His parents and gurus, are all His servants and eternal associates and they take their birth prior to His appearance in order to serve Him in their own way.

Srila Madhavendra Puri appeared in the 14th century. Sri Advaita Acharya and Sri Ishvara Puri were the chief disciples of Madhavendra Puri.

His body was completely full of divine love; so were his followers. He displayed uncommon love of God. Seeing a dark blue raincloud, he would fall down unconscious. Day and night he was intoxicated from drinking the ambrosia of Krishna Prema.

In a dream, Krishna ordered Madhavendra Puri to uncover a buried Gopala Deity and install Him atop Govardhana Hill. Madhavendra Puri celebrated Gopala’s installation with an anna-kuta. This Annakuta festival, also called Govardhana Puja, is one of the most important Vaishnava festivals in Vrndavana.

Madhavendra Puri introduced the conception of madhurya bhava (conjugal love) in the Madhvacarya sampradaya. Madhavendra Puri sowed the seed of prema bhakti and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became the towering tree dropping honey sweet fruits of prema upon everyone.

Madhavendra Puri’s samadhi is in Remuna, Orissa near the Temple of Kshira-chora Gopinatha.

Monday, February 19th, 2018
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Vrindavana, India

Good Doctor!

Our boys from our troupe nicknamed him, “Dr. Pain.”  With the acrobatic nature of some of the moves made by our actors, some minor injuries came our way.  And so the person called to address sprains and spasms is someone who’s quite expert in the field of acupressure.  His name is Bilvamangal Krishnadas, but more affectionately everyone refers to him as Dr. Pain.

I had my turn.  The gain I’ve received from Dr. Pain is incredible.  Oh, he knows how to make you hurt.  He’s got all the sensitive spots down.  He presses.  And hard.  Thank God, he tackled my knees which have been an aggravation since New Year’s Eve.

I’m practically relieved of the limp I’ve been struggling with.  I can now believe that my walking will be done more easily.  And soon I’ll go back to Canada where, frankly, it can be more easily done.  Walking in Vrindavan is not a piece of cake.  Traffic—oh boy.

Dr. Pain also left me with some stretches to perform on a daily basis.  I'm truly grateful to Dr. Pain.

Now back to Vrindavana—this holy land.  It is somewhat challenging to get around here.  Motorbikes, cars, rickshaws, tractors and all man-made conveyances occupy the roads.  And then there’s the monkeys.  Hold onto your goods!  They are fast and they love to ransom.  Plus dogs, cows and sows roam every which way, and everywhere.

But there are some nice improvements in the temple courtyards and the buildings are well maintained.

Visiting Krishna’s domain, here in Vrindavana, is worth some pain.

May the Source be with you!

4.2 km

Sunday, February 18th, 2018
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Kolkata / Delhi / Vrindavan

Toward Vrindavan

All cab drivers in India pull over at some point in the day to have their chai—tea.  It’s better than beer.  Our winger vehicle could hold eleven of us, members of our drama troupe, and after being in motion, the roadside gas station provided the driver with his needs and all passengers with theirs.  I took advantage of the dabs (coconuts) for sale.

“I’ll get you one,” said Pariksit. “I still owe you one according to your sponsor, Kaustuba from Ohio.”

“Alright!”

Once done, I informed Pariksit that I was going walking down the road.  “Have the driver pick me up!”

For that one-and-a-half-kilometer stretch of the highway toward the Kolkata Airport, I saw so much more than I would as a passenger.  I greeted people and they in return got back with that iconic side-to-side head toss.  For females, it’s simply, “Hare Krishna,” but the ratio of visible women in outdoor India is small compared to their counterparts.

I could see the industrious nature of the people (a compliment), happily hard at work.  Farmers at labour had their feet sunk into the stagnant waters of rice paddy fields and merchants in stalls along the way engaged in merchandising, chatting for minutes more than a sale requires.  A Durga temple and smells of all kinds were featured in the stroll I took, along with the dust and cars I had to contend with.

The walk was beautiful.

May the Source be with you!

7 km