Planet ISKCON

Written by Sesa Das

Starting his morning in Radhadesh and continuing to give Srimad Bhagavatam class on the topic of Gajendra’s return to the spiritual world, Maharaj spoke about how Gajendra was sufficiently offering realized prayers and therefore got the mercy & darsana of the Lord. Maharaj went on to speak how when Gajendra was touched by the Lord he attained his spiritual body & so we also touch the Lord’s body in deity worship, but we sometimes know the deity is God, but haven’t got the full real belief it’s true. Srila Prabhupada went to many places and turned them into tirthas. He transformed Tompkins Square park and the tree, Matchless Gifts is surcharged with transcendental energy as all the Krsna Consciousness in Srila Prabhupada is in that storefront! We sometimes get shadow ecstasy in the presence of these great devotees, and are therefore able to do super nature things beyond the impossibles. And via this association with pure devotees and the dhamas we can make this ecstasy permanent!

Just like if you leave some money with a devotees usually it will stay, however if you leave a book with a devotees, rest-assured it’s gone! So we transform through Krsna’s touch and the ecstasy which is dormant and transcendental acts and awakens it all.

The class and QnA came to a close by Maharaj stating we only see the tip of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy, because like an iceberg you see the tip or part sticking out of the water, however the majority of it is underneath the water! So there’s more mercy than we can imagine…

Later the same Maharaj flew to Vienna, Austria and would begin his Slovakia tour. Welcomed at the airport by a dozen or so devotees (including Gopali dd, Yamunacarya prabhu, Navadvipa prabhu, Teja Gauranga prabhu, Jalasaya dd and many others) Maharaj was driven from Austria over the board to the Bhaktiloka temple in Slovakia, where he would stay for the night.

Early next morning Maharaj set off to Markiza TV studio for an interview on their livestream morning show, which is the most popular news broadcasters in Slovakia. All had been expertly arranged by Gopali. As we came into the studio complex, many of the team began to come over and introduce themselves and Maharaj was mic’d up for the interview. The set was outdoors as the sun was shining, but a cooling breeze was they so we weren’t in the scorching heat. As you’ll see in the pictures there was 5 cameras set up from various angles, a live band set up & playing in the intervals, coffee machines with snacks and a pond in the background. The two presenters took a key interest in Maharaj from the start of their meet. Fredy, a celebrity in Slovakia & Hungary who now travels teaching Yoga explained a little about Maharaj to them in Slovakian stating that Maharaj is a Bhakti Yoga teacher, so he teaches the Yoga of love. When they went live, the lady presenter gave quick introduction to Maharaj and out excitement, eagerness and maybe a tinge of nerves she stated Maharaj teaches loves (although in short this is the essence so she was right). The male presenter began to ask why Maharaj left everything and what made him turn to this path he pursued over 45 years ago. Maharaj began to talk about the situation of Holland as he was growing up and how to intense spiritual culture of India really touched him when he visited the country, leading him to pursue spirituality further. Gopali also expanded about the Bhakti Yoga process and how we focus on chanting the Hare Krsna Mahamantra.

Afterwards we travelled to the border of Slovakia & Hungary, where Fredy lives in a wonderfully natural and peaceful house. His garden accommodates peacocks, African sheep, rabbits, ducks, and much much more (over 100 animals peacefully live in harmony there). Over the next few days he kindly accommodated Maharaj and organized many programs for him.

Staying at Fredy’s was interesting and full of nature. As soon as the sun began to rise the noise began. No the devotees, no, this time it was all the animals, especially the cuckoos in his back garden jungle. For the next hours the cuckoos would be constantly sounding.

During the day Maharaj spend breakfast and sometimes talking to Fredy & to find out what about you’ll have to listen to the evening lecture! One not to be missed! Later in the day Maharaj went on his walk with a few disciples, however no-one knew the area and we were all figuring out and bearings and where would be peaceful and quiet. Maharaj took the lead taking us to a near by lake. Being used to going at a fast speed on the high hills of Radhadesh, Maharaj was now on an unusual flat surface in Hungary and going very slowly. None the less it was a very peaceful & explorative walk. Towards the end we passed a house with a sign saying AG UTCA & Maharaj stared at it saying “mmmm, Acyuta Acyuta.”

Later that evening we went to The Yoga Vidyadarya in Bratislava, Slovakia. As many devotees assembled from Czech also as it’s just across the border Maharaj began a kirtan which very soon turned into a rip roaring kirtan. Maharaj as always had taken everyone out of the city centre & placed us all in the spiritual world. & then he began sharing his reflections on the birth of Parikshit Maharaj, as he read and spoke on the 1^stCanto of Srimad Bhagavatam descriptions of Krsna saving Parikshit within the womb of his mother & then went on to glory and explain the high calibre of Parikshit’s character & ruling ability.

The next day Fredy & Gopali had arranged for Maharaj & the Hare Krsna’s could come to an annual Yoga gathering. Over 30 other yoga and spiritual societies had gathered with stalls, exhibitions and rooms hired for practical yoga sessions. The venue was actually a sports centre which meant it was very spacious and ideal for the intention of this gathering. Over 500 spiritual minded individuals had gathered, inquisitively viewing the stalls, products and at all part of the day in the main court yard was a stage & loads of grass land for people to assemble to practice the yoga that was being taught on stage.

As soon as Maharaj arrived and came to the main arena Fredy welcomed him, then although there was a bhajana session happening Maharaj stole the attention of everyone on the lawn, including the performers who stopped and invited him on stage to sing and play kartals with them.

A couple of hours later Maharaj had his own slot on stage & many devotees and disciples joined him on stage as he lead a kirtan. Somehow I came on & was given the whompers. As I played I realized it’s a deadly combination to be sitting next to Maharaj & playing these as he pushed me harder & harder to go faster & faster. Not knowing if the sun was going to burn me or Maharaj. As soon as the tune changed I quickly passed the whompers to Patrick from Slovakia, who is millions of times better than me and gladly changed for the kartals. The last 15 or 20 minutes of the slot Maharaj began to speak about the real meaning of yoga, starting by describing how Brahma came into the world as the first living being & then did years of austerities & ending the class linking back to this about how now the world is filled with people but without real yoga we may deep within feel like we are the only living being in the whole world due to loneliness. As the class went on people’s attention was tuned in and locked on Maharaj’s words. Many heads nodded in acknowledgement and agreement, and phones where being drawn out of bags and handbags to take videos of what was being said. Afterall a video often lasts longer than our memory at times. Maharaj finally ended his slot with a kirtan and then invited people to the room booked for the Hare Krsnas if they wanted to further meditate, discussion or had any questions.

The TV crew from Markiza had also come to video part of the kirtan, talk & after the slot began to ask Maharaj several questions about his life. The link for this is below:

As we made our way to the room, at the beginning on a few were present & Maharaj began then soon the room began to fill up & many questions were flying around the room. Maharaj left all that came with a warm and pleasant personal experience. As the day went on the room was used for various seminars and interactive sessions and Maharaj went around meeting people who had come, spending time with many yoga students, signing their books and spending time with the organizers who had great affection for him.

After a long day we all looked forward to the night of sleep ahead. Maharaj had done so much preaching and spent so much time cultivating many.

The following day the yatra gathered at the Bratislava temple house for the Sunday congregational celebrations for Balarama Jayanti. Although officially Balarama Jayanti was on the following day, due to making it practical for more to attend there would be celebrations on Sunday also. During the morning Maharaj was meeting many devotees & then after noon the program began with Maharaj leading a kirtan. Grab the recording to this kirtan! It’s on the 6^th of August! Just before the kirtan a few of us where discussing some of the wild kirtans in South Africa, the extent to which I hadn’t experienced anywhere else yet. Little did I know what Maharaj had instore for today! After around 10 minutes of warming us up, Maharaj began to rock & then he rocked more & more & more & the whole temple room was up, although there was not so much space Maharaj made it irresistible to stay seat and not sing til our lungs ran out of air. He got us chanting Krsna bursting out of our throats, breaths, into our ears & making our minds go crazy! There was nothing but Krsna Krsna Krsna! Maharaj then slowed the kirtan down, 40 minutes into the recording he began singing the “Hari Haraye Namah” bhajana. Although many of us had been there whilst he lead this bhajana, it was different this time! It started the same but Maharaj knew the build-up he was beginning and taking us on. After minutes the room had the divine words “sri caitanya nitayananda sri advaita sita” bouncing off all the walls. We had all innocently come to see and spend the evening with Maharaj & he turned it into a completely ecstatic, mind blowing experience. No-one had anything but this bhajana and the desire to not stop chanting going through their head. I spoke to many after the program and everyone had the same feeling of complete madness during this kirtan. There was no other cares! Just hearing or re-thinking about the kirtans made us all go back to the madness! Listen at your own risk.

After the kirtan Maharaj gave a class on Balarama, explaining how He’s always ecstatic as He’s always serving Krsna and so this is the real key to life. It’s so simple and sublime. We try for ourselves and so many walls come up but when really serving Krsna we experience the eternal happiness (Nityananda). Maharaj explained that we can try all & it’s not enough! Therefore we need to turn to Balarama, the giver of spiritual strength. When we are happy what can touch you? What else do you need? But when we are depressed we think and feel all has gone wrong, all didn’t happened right and will never happen. & the real secret of Balarama is that He gives His whole life for others! In this way Maharaj began explaining that yes we do take austerities, but to keep going & attract others we need to have fun! He then went around the room asking what several individuals do to have fun. Some said they eat prasadam, some jump and dance, some read, some sleep, and a few other answers were given. Then at the end of the whole class during the QnA Gopali dd who was translating, asked Maharaj what he does to have fun. A great question, to which Maharaj replied he finds it really fun to drive people mad in spiritual life. He likes to made people go mad for Krsna and then he sees them go beyond any of their limits and that is his fun. He ended the class stating that we all have to find something which inspires & pulls us through to Krsna prema & share it! & then in the mood of making us mad again he lead a 20 minute kirtan before the feast was served.

The rest of the day Maharaj spent time with the devotees and having several private darsans.

The following day (7^th August) was Balarama Jayanti, Maharaj woke up early to chant & spontaneously decided to take a visit to Paramesvara prabhu’s house to spend some time with him & the Harinama ruci group who were staying there. Amazing Krsna arranged everything worked to get there and back as nothing was planned.

Later in the day Maharaj was scheduled to go to Aupark, Slovakia to meet an influential celebrity rapper named Majk Spirt (prounced Mark Spirit). Aupark is a popular shopping centre, with a funfair outside, & we gathered in a gigantic park, which personally I thought was similar to & reminded me of Central Park, NYC. It was huge & very open, a good place to choose for the picnic. There was an amazing feast put together – samosas with chutneys, pastries, salad, fruit salads, and a variety of sweets like Sandesh, date balls, & a few Slovakian sweet sauces. Maharaj met Fredy in the park and with a few disciples sat down in the park to later on receive Majk. Spending a couple of hours together Maharaj and Majk exchanged many of their personal reflections and life experiences. Majk informed us how he had been God conscious and praying for many years, and over a decade ago came in contact with the Bhagavad-gita. He told Maharaj how he really wanted to visit India and was just awaiting the time to be freed up from his career schedule. Maharaj told him about a few key places to visit in India such as Vrindavan, Mayapur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, along with the cultural background of each place. Having a pleasant time together Maharaj then had to leave for to be on time for the evening program in Vienna. As Maharaj & Majk departed they had a final few exchanges and Majk out of gratitude gave a few of his latest CDs to Maharaj. He was a wonderful person, we saw many crowding around him, lining up to take a selfie & he had a desire to help the youth shape a better future for themselves & this is tried to do through his music. Hopefully we will meet him again in the future.

From Aupark Maharaj was picked him by Paramesvara prabhu in a smooth & almost silent car. On the way I being tired fell asleep & Paramesvara said to Maharaj: “I must be a good driver as he’s asleep within seconds.” To which Maharaj replied: “No, he’s a brahmacari. Just give him any time or space to sleep and he’ll take it.” As we approached Vienna the Harinama was going on for an extra hour and therefore Maharaj although fasting and having a full on day thus far thought to take advantage on this day & went straight into town to meet the Harinama ruci team. Within a few minutes of locating them in the town centre Maharaj was mic’d up and leading the harinama.

Then around 6pm the temple began to fill up as the program was about to begin. Maharaj began with a mellow kirtan & then gave a class on Lord Balarama. During the QnA Harinamananda prabhu asked if there was any difference between Nityananda and Lord Balarama. To which Maharaj began to remember and recite the pastime when Saci mata had a dream of Lord Caitanya fighting Krsna & Nityananda fighting Balarama over the food offering. Then Nityananda prabhu & Balarama began fighting with more vigour & Nityananda said: “Get out of here! This is our yuga not yours! This is for us!” So in this way we see they are the same but this yuga is for approaching Nityananda & He is Balarama in His most merciful mood. Maharaj explained that Nityananda is Balarama who is completely drunk from service & therefore doesn’t care but gives the highest to anyone & all.

Then Maharaj for the final time began leading a kirtan & got everyone up singing and dancing ecstatically. The madness of kirtan had returned and everyone was up and jumping wildly!

The next morning Maharaj had an early flight to Brussels where he would have a few days to rest before the Janmastami celebrations in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Links for the Markiza TV show interviews:

http://videoarchiv.markiza.sk/video/telerano/cele-epizody/69460_telerano

Please watch the above link from 1 hour 40 mins to see Maharaj’s interview.

http://videoarchiv.markiza.sk/video/televizne-noviny/televizne-noviny/69554_televizne-noviny

If you want to watch our part only then scroll down and find Najvacsi jogovy festival and click on it.

Visit Flickr to see more photos.

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Black Sea festival #7. Questions and Answers.

A Vaishnava derives joy by glorifying devotees. Devotees are the reservoir of good qualities. If out of hundreds of good qualities, someone displays one bad quality, it should not be magnified. Make it a point to create a very nice atmosphere by glorifying others. That is what Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wanted. Desiring no respect, glorification, adoration for ourselves, we should offer all respect, glorification and adoration to the Vaishnavas: “See how wonderfully he is rendering his service. He has offered himself to Srila Prabhupada.” That is how we should see every Vaishnava, what to speak of a very senior devotee. Continue reading "Vaishnavas are like swans
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mukam karoti vacalam pangum langhayate girim yat-krpa tam aham vande sri-gurum dina-taranam By the mercy of the guru, even a dumb man can become the greatest orator, and even a lame man can cross mountains.-  Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya Lila, chapter 17 text 80 At Srila Prabhupada’s birth, it was predicted that when he reached […]

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We continue with travel stories by Sesa Das from July and August after Kadamba Kanana Swami’s visit to New York.

A few more days in Radhadesh

What would you do after an 8 hour flight from USA to Europe (18 July)? With your body clock set to being 6 hours behind European timing? Most would take a day off, sleep, relax, etc… But not our Dearest Kadamba Kanana Maharaj. Maharaj arrived in Brussels and after unloading & unpacking he was active with the devotees in Radhadesh. We all gathered outside his room at 6pm, somewhat anticipating that there wouldn’t be an evening walk. Due to the slope I can imagine some may have been thinking maybe today will be an easier walk… Maharaj came out and within minutes was walking ahead in full pace, as if there hadn’t been a flight from USA or time change at all. My body was energized and present, however my mind was completely in another time zone which I realized when I was thinking to call one devotee in the UK & thought it’s 6pm here so it must be 11pm there, they will be asleep. After a while of laughing about it with Maharaj it began to sink in that we are back in Europe.

The following few mornings, in full force Maharaj gave a series of classes on Gajendra’s prayers & return to the spiritual world, from the 8^th Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. And what an amazing series it was! You must listen to them! Maharaj spoke about the life of Narada Muni, the opulence of Rajasthan & Jaipur, how Gajendra became fully surrendered, and much more!

One devotee asked Maharaj: Have you ever felt lonely? And how to cope with loneliness?

Maharaj essentially answered: when people are lonely, some get married! In material life things are very lonely, many problematic & painful relationships which lead to loneliness. Otherwise if we have pleasant relations then even if we are alone we don’t feel lonely. Then Maharaj explained that yes at one point early in his youthful times he felt lonely. Then he realized that from this one can go into depression or think let me get out & have a better quality of life.

Loneliness disappears when we are positive to everyone, because then we are always with friends.

I will leave you with this, as I don’t want to spoil the classes, but if you want a good solid dose of spiritual bliss, & elevation via guidance you must hear these classes which were given on the 19^th & 20^th July in Radhadesh.

Sadhu sangha in the Swiss Alps

After a brief one day stopover in the UK, where Maharaj gave a morning Caitanya-caritamrta class & evening program at Krsna Kirtan prabhu’s house, Maharaj proceeded to the Swiss Alps for a retreat with roughly 100 devotees. This is an annual retreat with special guest speakers such as HH Sacinandana Swami, HH Niranjana Swami, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, HG Trai prabhu, HG Mandakini Mata ji, HG Adi Purusa prabhu & many more! & this year they had specially organized HH Subhag Swami to come for the final few days.

Having hire out a retreat centre, which by the looks of it is a healing health spa centre, the devotees as we always do turned the whole place into a temple for the upcoming week. The main room was transformed into such a transcendental temple room! In the morning everyone would take their deities and do puja & then bring their deities back and place them on a big altar. & it was quite an amazing altar! The set up was inspired many years ago by HH Sacinandana Maharaj & you must see the pictures! Kadamba Kanana Maharaj commented to me several times how much he liked it.

Each of the special guests would give seminars on a special selected topic. HH Sacinandana Swami was enlivening us with talks about how to relish the Srimad Bhagavatam & then went on to speak about the dynamics of the Vrtasura vs Indra pastime.

HH Kadamba Kanana Maharaj wanted to speak about Gaura Lila and did so by beginning from the Srimad Bhagavatam paribhasha sutra (1.3.28) and establishing how Lord Caitanya came to this world by Advaita Acarya’s sincere prayers for His advent. The later seminars Maharaj did reading various biographies of Lord Caitanya’s life such as Caitanya Mangala, Caitanya caritamrta and various other sources.

The final seminar Maharaj carried on with Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement and returned back to the Srimad Bhagavatam’s final chapter (12.13.21), which speaks about Srimad Bhagavatam giving the essence of transcendental knowledge and at the core of Lord Caitanya’s mission. Maharaj expanded by stating that without this transcendental book we can’t think properly, the mind is made of a stream of thoughts & is not under our influence. And it’s the nature of the soul to flow spontaneously towards the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. At the start we need to stream & guide our thoughts otherwise they go everywhere & won’t make it back to Krsna, however reading Srimad Bhagavatam we get uplifted to the transcendental platform as it first touches our heart & creates faith. Maharaj finishes the seminar by emphasizing the point of systematically studying the Bhagavatam. Although, yes, Srila Prabhupada said the Srimad Bhagavatam is sugar doll like sweet anywhere you bite it. But for us to dive deep and really relish Srimad Bhagavatam there’s a need for systematic study.

The final day Maharaj was at the retreat was a 12 hour kirtan day, from 10am in the morning into the evening. His Grace Madhava prabhu came for this day and in the evening played mrdanga for HH Niranjana Swami and then lead beautiful kirtans for several hours at the end. The recordings of these are also available on the blog. Although the Swiss Alps are very beautiful, a scene like no other & we all had amazing walks with Maharaj. Maharaj took us through the valleys, up rocky hills, over the river bridges. Although being in such a tranquil heavenly environment surrounded by nature’s finest beauty the day of kirtan had such a strong spiritual atmosphere & guidance from the sadhu sangha took us way way beyond the heavenly atmosphere and into the transcendental realms.

The next few days Kadamba Kanana Maharaj spent in Leipzig, Germany at Jaya Sacinandana prabhu & Nitya Manjari mata ji’s house. A nice cosy apartment where Maharaj was able to get some peace & quite to recoup a little & was really expertly taken care of by Nitya Manjari mata ji. Instead of going for a walk Maharaj went cycling through the town centre. A hobby that he loved to do from a young age, being from Amsterdam one of the cycling centres of the world.

Saturday 29^th July marked the Berlin Rathyatra which was an ecstatic day as many gathered for the procession. HH Sacinandana Swami, HH Indradyumna Swami, HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, HG Vaiyasaki prabhu, Harinama Ruci & hundreds of devotees got together. What a day it was as everyone danced and sang with so much bliss through the main street of Berlin.

At the end Maharaj led a kirtan on the stage, getting many dancing and singing & without any break he had to shoot off to the airport for his flight back to Radhadesh.

Another few more days in Radhadesh

Maharaj came back to his apartment in Radhadesh for a few days before he flew into Slovakia for a week. Maharaj carried on with his series of seminars on Gajendra’s prayers & return to the spiritual world. I honestly thought the previous few classes he gave were the best I’ve heard. Maharaj shows us that yes he has a humorous side but way beyond that he has a deeply grace, reflective and practical side. So many highly deep topics are there in the Srimad Bhagavatam and when he presents them he enables us to engage our life with the pastimes and imbibe such depth to enhance our life. So this time he took the classes to a whole other level. On the 31^st July, then 1^st & 2^nd of August Maharaj spoke from Canto 8.3.33 to 8.4.6.

Again no amount of descriptions from me would even be near to giving glory to these classes so please hear them! But just to give you a little glimmer, here’s a snippet from one of the classes:

Maharaj began the first of these classes speaking about how in previous yugas (ages) people would get reactions just for their thoughts! Imagine if that was so now, when we can’t control our flow of thoughts, he stated. So we see in previous ages the high calibre of these special sages. We see they are deeply committed and highly advanced through their level of control and purity of thought, which is something very rare to find. Only in the disciplic succession do we find such alignment of purity in actions and thoughts. So for us there’s a great need of commitment to the pure process given, and we are thankful there’s no reaction for the bad thoughts that come in Kali yuga!

Keep tuned in for the week ahead in Slovakia, where some incredible preaching occurred!

“Do have a look at a big animal from the Zoo-gardens!”
“Assuming Responsibility of Being Guru”
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Maharaja: We have taken upon ourselves the responsibility of welcoming this grave charge. All the audience have accepted ordinary seats, I alone have been provided with a lofty seat. All are being told in effect - “Do have a look at a big animal from the Zoo-gardens. What arrogance! So foolish! So wicked! Have you ever seen such a big brute? Garlands of flowers have been put round his neck! What laudations! What bombastic long-drawn, and hyperbolic adjectives! And how complacently too he is listening to the praise of his own achievements, how intently, and with his own ears! He also evidently feels delighted in mind! Is he not acting in plain violation of the teaching of Mahaprabhu? Can such a big brute, so selfish and insolent, be ever reclaimed from brutishness? ”
I happen to be one of the greatest of fools. No one offers me good advice on account of my arrogance. Inasmuch as nobody condescends to instruct me I placed my case before Mahaprabhu Himself. The thought occurred to me that I would make over the charge of myself to Him and see what He would advise me to do. Then Shri Chaitanyadeva said to me:
“Whom-so-ever thou meet'st, instruct him regarding Krishna, By My command being Guru deliver this land; In this thou wilt not be obstructed by the current of the world; Thou wilt have My company once again at this place.”
In these verses is to be found the proper explanation of the apparent inconsistency noticed above.
He whose only teaching is humility greater than that of a blade of grass, said- “By My command being Guru save this land!” - In this instance Mahaprabhu Himself has given the command. His command being “Perform the duty of the Guru, even as I do it Myself. Also convey this command to whom-so-ever you chance to meet.” Chaitanyadeva says, “Tell them these very words, viz. By My command being Guru save this land Deliver the people from their foolishness.” Now who-so-ever happens to hear these words would naturally protest with palms joined - “But I am really a great sinner, how can I be Guru? You are Godhead Himself, the Teacher of the world. You can be Guru.” To this Mahaprabhu replies:
“Do not practice the craft of a Guru for the purpose of injuring others through malice. Do not adopt the trade of a Guru in order to get immersed in the slough of this world. But if you can, indeed, be My guileless servant you will be endowed with My power–then you need not fear.
I have no fear. My Gurudeva has heard this from his Gurudeva. And it is for this reason that my Gurudeva has accepted even such a great sinner as myself and has told me. "By My command being Guru save this land.” It is only those who have never heard these words of Gaursundar who say “How odd! to listen to one’s own praise!” While the Guru is instructing his disciple in the eleventh Skandha of the Bhagavatam what a great sin, in their opinion, is he not perpetuating! What is the Acharya to do when he has to explain the Shloka Acharya Mam Vijaniyat: “Never disregard the Acharya; never entertain the idea that the Acharya is your equal in any sense.” These are the words of Shri Krishna Himself by which the jiva is to be benefited. Is the Guru to take himself off, to desert his seat–the seat of the Acharya–from which these words are to be explained? That office his Gurudeva has conferred on him. If he does not act up to its requirements he is doomed to perdition by reason of his offense against the holy Name in the shape of disrespect towards the Guru. He has to do it in spite of the fact that such procedure is apparently open to the charge of egoism. When the Guru imparts the mantram to the disciple should he not tell him by this mantram to worship the Guru? Should he say instead, “Give the Guru a few strokes of the shoe or the horse-whip?” The Guru is never to be decried. The Guru is the abode of all the gods. Should the Gurudeva abstain from communicating these words to his disciple while reading the Bhagavatam to him? “To him alone who possesses guileless spiritual devotion, similar to the transcendental devotion that is due to Krishna Himself, to the Gurudeva, the holy mysteries are manifested.” Is the Gurudeva not to tell these things to his disciples? “Athau Gurupuja: the worship of the Guru has precedence over all others.” The Guru is to be served just as Krishna is served. The Guru is to be worshiped in a particular way. Is the Guru to desert his seat without telling all these things to the disciple? In the angle there is always the defect in the shape of absence of the fullness, the evenness of level, of 180 degrees or of 360 degrees. But in the plain surface, in 360 degrees, there is no such defect. That in the emancipated state no defect is possible, this simple truth ordinary foolish people entirely fail to grasp.
As the saying goes, “having started on the dance it is no use to draw close the veil.” I am doing the duty of the Guru, but if I preach that no one should shout “Jai” to me, that is to say, if I say in a round about way, “sing Jai to me,” it would be nothing short of duplicity. Our Gurudeva has not taught us such insincerity. Mahaprabhu has not taught such insincerity. I have to serve God in the straightforward way. The word of God has come down to the Gurudeva; I have to obey it in all sincerity. I will not disrespect the Guru at the instance of any foolish or malicious sectarians. Especially as Shri Gurudeva has directed me saying, “By My command being Guru save this land.” This command has my Gurudeva preached. My Gurudeva in his turn has conveyed the command to me. I will not be guilty of any insincerity in carrying out that command. In this matter I will not accept the ideal of ignorant, insincere, pseudo-ascetic sectarianism. I will not learn insincerity. The worldly-minded, the malicious, the pseudo- renunciationists, the selfish cannot understand how the devotees of God, spurning at everything of this world by command of God, never, not even for a second, deviate from the service of God through all the twenty-four hours.
Hypocritical sectarians, pseudo-Vaishnava sects, those sects that cherish internally the longing for earthly fame, naturally enough think “what a shame it is for one to listen to the eulogies of disciples occupying the seat of the Guru.” But every Vaishnava regards everyone of the Vaishnavas as the object of his veneration. When Thakur Haridas exhibits the attitude of humility Mahaprabhu says - “You are the greatest of the world, the crestjewel of the world. Be agreeable, let us have our meal together.” He carried in His arms the body of Thakur Haridas which is eternally existent, self-conscious and full of spiritual bliss. In the community that follows Srila Rupa, the qualities of desiring no honor for oneself and of readiness to duly honor others are fully present. Those who detect any disparity are, like the owl, blind while the sun shines. They commit an offense by such conduct.
If I disobey the law which has come down to me through the chain of preceptorial succession, the offense due to omission to carry out the command of the Guru will sever me from the lotus-feet of Shri Gurudeva. If in order to carry out the command of the Vaishnava Guru I have to be arrogant, to be brutish, to suffer eternal perdition, I am prepared to welcome such eternal damnation and even sign a pact to that effect. I will not listen to the words of other malicious persons in lieu of the command of the Gurudeva. I will dissipate with indomitable courage and conviction the currents of thought of all the rest of the world, relying on the strength derived from the lotus feet of Shri Gurudeva. I confess to this arrogance. By sprinkling a particle of the pollen of the lotus-feet of my Preceptor crores of people like you will be saved. There is no such learning in this world, no such sound reasoning in all the fourteen worlds, in no man-gods, that can weigh more than a solitary particle of the dust of the lotus-feet of my Gurudeva. Gurudeva in whom I have implicit trust can never spite me. I am by no means prepared to listen to the words of any one who wants to hurt me or to accept such a malicious person as my preceptor.

Bringing the Temple to the Street.
Kripamoya Dasa: In a small temple near Jagannatha Puri is this small piece of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s blanket. The lid of the box holds a garlanded painting of the Lord.
I gave class this morning at the temple. The subject was the ninth chapter of the Antya-lila portion of the Caitanya Caritamrita, the life and teachings of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. We study it every weekend. The ninth chapter is all about an incident that took place while the Lord was living in Jagannatha Puri, the seaside pilgrimage place in the present state of Orissa, east India. In those days the region was known as the kingdom of Utkal.

A man had five sons and two of them had become great devotees of Krishna. The other, a tax collector named Gopinath, was squandering his life - and the taxes - on parties and going to see dancing girls. He’d run up a huge debt and now the king wanted his money back. Unable to pay immediately, he offered twelve horses in lieu of payment. The king’s eldest son came to value the horses. The prince had a nervous tic, which caused him to twitch his head up to the sky every so often. When the prince underestimated the value of the horses the tax collector angrily said: “You should have given me a much better price, at least the horses don’t twitch their heads all the time.”

This was too much for the prince and he arrested Gopinath and prepared to have him executed the following morning. A huge, noisy crowd gathered outside Chaitanya’s rooms. They explained what had happened and he was reluctant to intervene.

Eventually, by a process of diplomacy involving several messengers, a more than peaceful solution was reached. Gopinath was forgiven, restored to his position, and the king was able to render some indirect service to Chaitanya. Everyone concerned fully understood that even though he’d taken no direct action, by the compassion of Chaitanya all things had become possible.

After class, and hoping for my own personal blessings from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, I went to Ilford in east London to try to sell a few books. The support team could not have been better.

At the side of the pedestrian walkway was a full altar set up, with colourful displays of leaflets, books and sweets for the public to look at and taste. Next to that, a group of Vaishnavas, sitting down on blankets singing the Hare Krishna mantra to the accompaniment of hand cymbals, clay drum and harmonium. There must have been around ten devotees - some of whom had only done this sort of thing a few times. The atmosphere was just like a temple - outdoors.

Although it was bitterly cold we managed a few hours and passers-by took a fair number of books on the subject of Krishna consciousness. At least enough to make our efforts worthwhile!

Feeling that warm glow that always happens when you distribute books for Krishna, we were all taken a few levels higher when we looked up the street and heard the unmistakable sound of a sankirtan party coming towards us through the crowded street. Dressed in bright yellow scarves with the maha-mantra written in red Sanskrit writing they looked as if they’d just stepped out of mediaeval Jagannatha Puri themselves. They sang, danced, smiled and played the accordion and drums. People gathered round, clapped their hands, took the sweets from the table, bought more books, and generally warmed to the Hare Krishnas for bringing something bright and happy to cold streets of Ilford.

Black Sea festival #4

Black Sea festival #3

The beautiful Iskcon Temple in Helsinki, Finland’s southern capital (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: Here are some more photos from our ISKCON Temple in Helsinki, Finland. It’s a beautiful large manor house which the devotees managed to acquire from the city administration for an extremely reasonable price. It’s actually an amazing facility, in beautiful grounds and surroundings. Ideal for a Krishna conscious center. I’m sure Srila Prabhupada is very happy with them for getting this.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/yBPYPW

Historical video: Hare Krishna in Czestochowa Poland 1976.
(Memories by Gurudas Prabhu)
Suchandra, Avensh, and myself met a young man named Kasmerichek in his apartment late at night.
He was anxious, and we had to whisper, no kirtan. He told us he could arrange some programs for us.
The next night we were in a private apartment with about 6 people, besides our selves.
We explained Krishna consciousness basics, and we chanted together.
We went to a campground and later met Kasmerichek again who arranged a very nice program at a museum in Swednica. Many people came.
We were in a large room with high ceilings and surrounded by many swords and shields, and paintings of famous and courageous people.
I spoke and a man named Roman translated.
The people kept turning the lights down and lit candles. Suchhandra led the kirtan.
They asked sincere questions like do you need God with Yoga?
I explained that Yoga means Link to God not gymnastics. Etc.
Everyone expressed their appreciations and bought all the books we had. I kept some books back so we would have enough for each event. I was told that 100 people shared one book, each book.
A nightclub was our next venue that was officially closed.
We opened it secretly.
Ten people enjoyed the kirtan, listened politely but asked no questions. Like every place in Poland they all bought our smuggled books of Srila Prabhupad.
We slept in a campground at night.
The next day we were taken to the famous cathedral of Chestahova, Jasna Gora wherein foreign invaders hit the Madonna deity. Blood flowed from her wounds and the enemies fled.
We arrived at the large cathedral to a flurry of excitement, on one side young people on the sprawling grass lawn, playing guitars and laying about on another side of the Hugh church were dressed pilgrims circumambulating the building with large images of Lord Jesus jutting twenty feet high out of the forest.
People preparing for death were on cots in the wall surrounding the area.
This reminded me of bhajan ashram in Vrindavan where also many pilgrims live simply preparing for the transmigration of our souls. We saw the opportunity to spread the holy names and Krishna Consciousness.
The next day we went in the middle of the young people, pulled up the van that had a kitchen and cooked prasadam and invited people and chanted and invited people for a love feast the next day, and asked them to invite their friends, and please bring offerings.
The next day many people showed up with flowers fruit, vegetables grains and friends. We also went to markets and bought a lot of bhoga necessities rice, lentils, boxes of potatoes and veggies, however everyone brought other foodstuffs, which we added to the love feast.
The whole side of a hill was filled with people. And I spoke with translator. At the end of my talk I raised my hand in the form of a Vee and yelled out Vishnu Vishnu.
The chanting was especially nice. We left as the sun went down.
On the way to Warsaw, many young people recognized and waved us the sign of the Vishna or Vee.
We picked up some hitchhikers and preached to them. Years later I am pleased how nicely the seeds planted have grown into full-bloomed Krishna Consciousness.
Prabhupad is pleased as he always encouraged the idea of Krishna Consciousness in “The Communist countries”
The people of Poland were the friendliest that I encountered in that part of the world.
Rercently I met a Sridhar Swami who is from Poland and came to Krishna from that event. He said there were others also.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/4TQZgU

Beautiful rendition of Lord Nrsimhadeva’s mantra from the younger generation of devotees of ISKCON Kiev, Ukraine (7 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/GGa6UV

Like many ISKCON programs today, the University of Southern California’s Bhakti Club drew mainly people with an Indian background who were already familiar with the tennets of Krishna consciousness. But a new rebranding and a broader vision based on building relationships has seen a flood of Western students who can’t get enough.

Regal Cinemas will show the documentary film Hare Krishna!, about the life and teachings of ISKCON Founder Srila Prabhupada, as a one-off event screening in over eighty cities across the United States. The screening will be held at 7pm in all time zones on Sept 21^st, the International Day of Peace. It’s apt timing, considering Srila Prabhupada’s message: “When we understand that we are not these bodies but are spirit souls, then there will be peace.”

Bhakti Sangam Ukraine 2017 (Album with photos)
5 days of festival packed with seminars and Kirtan in Ukraine on the coast of Black Sea near Odessa … what an experience in all aspects! The best prasadam, the best vegetables I have ever seen, the most serving humble devotees … everyone is hungry for Krishna Consciousness like I have never seen before. 8000 devotees turned this small coastal village into a “second Mayapur” for a week.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qygTsy

A few days ago the clay form of the next murti for the Guru Parampara altar was completed. This is the murti of His Divine Grace Srila Gaura Kishore Das Babaji, the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. He will sit on the front line of the altar between the murtis of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati.

The clay mold of Srila Gaura Kishore was readied for further processing through the manufacture of a fiberglass mold from which the permanent murti will be cast in brass.

On the Guru Parampara altar fifteen acharya murtis will be installed. Thirteen of them have already been completed. The remaining two are, Srila Jagannatha Das Babaji and Srila Prabhupada.

Guru Parampara ki jaya!

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Answer Podcast

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[Bhakti Vriksha Program at Edison, USA]

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The post Cultists, Fanatics and Spiritual Shoppers – Making sense of the world’s religious scenario appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Although Bhaktivinoda Thakura is especially recognised for re-discovering the birth place of Lord Caitanya, he in fact re-discovered and re-established Lord Caitanya’s movement. 

People often want to rise to the top in their fields and delight in being high above everyone else. Even if they attain a lofty position like that of a king on a throne, that majesty often makes them lonely.