Planet ISKCON

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[Talk at KLE JNMC college, Belgaum, India]
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[Talk at BIMS Medical College, Belgaum, India]

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[Youth meeting at ISKCON, Belgaum, India]

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“Missing? Misplaced? Stolen!” I felt the blood rush to my head as I realized with horror that someone had sneaked into my room and taken off with my laptop.

It was 3.45 am at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. I was at the guestroom of the ISKCON temple, waiting for the ride that would take me to the airport for my flight to Panama. Shanta Vigraha P, the devotee who had coordinated my visit there and who was to drive me to the airport, had been slightly delayed. Meanwhile, I had thought of using the restroom, which was in an adjacent room. Before going there, I had locked the door of the guestroom. But then I went back to open that door slightly, thinking that as the atmosphere outside was hot and mosquito-ridden, Shanta Vigraha P would be more comfortable inside the guestroom than outside. When I returned a few minutes later, he had still not reached, but apparently someone had come in and stolen my MacBook Air laptop.

As the reality that I had been robbed sank into me, I felt first numbed and then infuriated. I rushed out, but, as expected, no one was there. The temple passageway was deserted. I called Shanta Vigraha P and told him about the theft. He too was shocked and assured me that he would reach in a few minutes.

The outer theft and the inner tirade

I was beating myself up mentally, at my stupidity in keeping the door open. When things go wrong, anger is natural. Amidst such anger, we often seek some channel for expressing that anger by directing it to whoever we can blame for things going wrong. But when we ourselves are to blame, the anger that gets concentrated on ourselves can be stultifying and paralyzing.

In my pre-devotional days, a major problem I faced was self-hatred. I used to be angry with myself most of the time for not being the kind of person I wanted to be. Self-acceptance and the ensuing freedom from self-flagellation had been one of the unexpected benefits of practicing bhakti. Gita wisdom had helped me understand that Krishna accepted me the way I was. Despite my flaws and follies, he didn’t abandon me; he always remained in my heart, trying to guide me to become better. Undoubtedly, Krishna wanted me to improve, but he still accepted me as I was. Meditating on his acceptance of me had helped me accept myself, and that self-acceptance had freed my mental energy to work on self-improvement.

Despite this self-acceptance, traces of that old weakness of self-hatred remain and resurface intermittently. After the theft of my laptop, I found myself being targeted by my mind’s full-fledged attack: “Why did you have to be so dumb as to keep that door open?” This question was pounding inside me, as if on an auto-loop; and with each iteration of the loop, the volume of the question was rising.

Meanwhile, Shanta Vigraha P reached the temple and enquired about the laptop. In a few minutes, he came to me and informed that no one in the temple had seen anyone with the laptop, but at around one am, a stranger had been seen loitering about in the kitchen.

I asked him, “Should I postpone my flight so that we can register a complaint with the police?” He replied, “Going to the police won’t help much because the police don’t even have a proper fingerprint database of all the citizens – they aren’t all that organized. Trinidad is a third-world country.”

Exasperated, I wondered if there was anything at all that I could do. Then, I remembered that Apple had some facility to lock stolen devices. I googled on my phone and found the necessary information. But by this time, I had reached the airport and had to start the check-in procedure. I called up Mumbai, India, and arranged with the devotee who helps me with all things IT, Vraja Kirti P, to have the laptop locked through the online settings.

Whenever I travel, I fall back on my daily writing because of the many classes and meetings. So, whenever I fly from one place to another, I try to catch up on the writing. However, now being without the laptop, I confronted the situation of having no tangible engagement while my mind was busily engaged in beating me up internally. Of course, on this day, I had most of my rounds remaining. I felt I was in no condition to focus on the holy name with my mind in full attack mode. But then as I started chanting, it struck me that if ever I needed a weapon to counter-attack the mind, I needed it now – and the holy name was a potent weapon. The next ninety minutes of chanting was among the most intense of my life with my mind trying to beat me and I trying to beat it with the holy name. After I completed my chanting, I felt exhausted, but also enlivened – I realized that had it not been for the holy name, the mind’s relentless attack would have left me internally bruised and battered. Through the battle to focus on the holy name, I got some experience of Gita 18.37: that which tastes like poison in the beginning tastes like nectar in the end.

Aid to shelter or alternative shelter?

While seeing me off at Port of Spain, Shanta Vigraha P had been very apologetic about the theft of my laptop. HH Guru Prasad Maharaj had coincidentally been staying in Trinidad when I visited there and he had freely given his association over lunch on the three days of my visit. After my flight, when I landed in Panama, I found that Maharaj had emailed me with an apology for the theft. I felt embarrassed on reading his apology. I wrote back with the same reply that I had given Shanta Vigraha P: the theft was not their fault – it was my fault that I had kept the door open.

Still, I had my defense, which I didn’t verbalize as I didn’t want to pile on their distress. The guestroom where I had been staying was on the first floor, way inside the temple premises. To reach it, one had to come up through a set of narrow stairs and then walk through an alley that had rooms of resident devotees all around. So, I had thought that no one could sneak all the way till there without being noticed. Unfortunately, my thinking had been mistaken, as experience had taught me painfully.

When I landed in Panama, my host there, Shyama Chandra P, offered me their family laptop – fortunately, they too use Apple computers, and his family was going to Trinidad for the upcoming Rath Yatra.

I was still dismayed at the robbery. After my bead-bag, my laptop is the single most important possession. A devotee who stayed with me for some time had commented, “You live at the lotus feet of your laptop.” Ouch! That jab hurt, all the more so because I couldn’t deny the truth in it. I knew that I was attached to my laptop. Still, I had justified my attachment, saying that the laptop was essential, even indispensable, for my services. On days when I don’t travel or give classes, I use the laptop for anywhere between twelve to sixteen hours, reading, noting, hearing, writing, emailing, journaling and recording audios and videos. Even on days when I travel or give classes, I use the laptop for preparing and recording my classes.

But now with the theft of my laptop, my moment of truth had arrived. When something vital for our service is taken away, we can become disheartened, questioning, “Why is Krishna letting my service to him become more difficult than necessary?” That was my initial reaction too. Thankfully, after some time, my thoughts went to the incident from the Mahabharata that often inspires me: Draupadi’s predicament in the Kuru assembly.

She had five husbands, who were all exalted devotees and powerful warriors. As a faithful wife, she would naturally have expected to be protected by her husbands.

But when her husbands remained silent, she was distraught and could have become devastated. However, her subsequent actions reveal the depth of her devotion.

While a wife is usually protected by her husband, her ultimate protector – like the ultimate protector of everyone – is Krishna. Traditionally, a wife takes shelter of Krishna by taking shelter of her husband. But when the Pandavas couldn’t offer Draupadi shelter, she sought and got direct shelter of Krishna. Circumstantially, when our protectors are unable to offer us protection, Draupadi exemplifies how we should respond – by raising our consciousness upwards to the supreme protector, not by letting it go downwards in resentment. And this principle applies not just to people but also to things. If the things that help us take shelter of Krishna are sometimes unavailable, we need to take shelter of Krishna directly.

This reflection brought me a sublime calm, as I intuited a constructive purpose amidst the robbery. My laptop might have gradually changed from become an aid to the shelter of Krishna to an alternative shelter. Such is the insidious nature of illusion – the very thing that takes us towards Krishna can take us away from him. I prayed to Krishna, begging for his shelter, whether I had the laptop or not.

Thereafter, when I started working on Shyama Chandra P’s laptop, I soon realized that I didn’t have that much of an issue working with a new laptop. I wasn’t overly concerned about which laptop I was working on – I just needed a laptop to work on.

The recovery

While in Panama, I decided to get another laptop and ordered a refurbished MacBook Pro online. After my programs in Panama, I flew to Central New Jersey, where my host and US tour organizer, Devakinandan P, offered me his Surface book Pro for using. Though it was a Windows machine, I found it not too inconvenient to use. On the day when my new laptop arrived, I got a brief message from Guru Prasad Maharaj informing me that my stolen laptop had been recovered.

Surprised and intrigued, I called him up and came to know that a devotee had been offered a Mac for sale by someone. That devotee, having been alerted about the theft of my Mac, immediately checked the piece offered for sale. On noticing that it had my name on the login id, he immediately agreed to purchase it from him.

When asked how he had got the Mac, he said that someone had sold it to him. The devotees suspected that this seller had himself been the thief. However, he was of African descent, was a known drug user prone to violence and was suspected of having links with ISIS. So, the devotees decided not to pursue matters further legally, lest it provoke racial or religious tensions.

Possibly, the thief had expected that we devotees wouldn’t escalate matters and had planned all along to sell the laptop back to us. His mentality was something similar to that seen in thieves-markets. In such markets, vendors stock stolen objects bought from thieves. People who have been robbed can often get their stolen possession back from such vendors. Of course, they have to pay to get it back, but at least they can get it back, and get it for less than what they would have to shell out for a replacement.

Shipping the laptop from Trinidad to me took time. It reached me during my last days in London, where I had gone from Central New Jersey. When I finally got the laptop, curiously, I didn’t feel anything at all – no joy or even relief. I just turned it on, opened my favorite picture of the Deities altar in it, and offered my gratitude to Krishna.

Within a few minutes, I started typing a new article on it. Soon, I lost awareness of which laptop I was working on – except, of course, feeling the peculiar comfort of typing on a keyboard whose keys had become faded due to prolonged use.

More important than the recovery of my laptop, I had recovered something much more valuable – the reminder and the realization that Krishna alone was my ultimate shelter. In one of his celebrated songs, Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that whatever he has, he offers to Krishna. He gives an indicative list of most people’s cherished possessions – body, mind, home. With a smile, I thought that I, serving in today’s digital age, needed to add one more item to that list: my laptop.

I pray that I can always be engaged in Krishna’s service with whatever facilities he sees fit to provide, and without them too, if that’s what he sees fit.

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In anticipation of tomorrow’s solar eclipse, I read the beautiful chapter in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.82), entitled “Krsna and Balarama Meet the Inhabitants of Vrndavana,” about when Lord Krishna and other pilgrims traveled to Kurukshetra to observe a solar eclipse there. The purport to the second verse says, “Vedic astronomers of five thousand years ago could predict eclipses of the sun and moon just as well as our modern astronomers can. The knowledge of the ancient astronomers went much further, however, since they understood the karmic influences of such events. Solar and lunar eclipses are generally very inauspicious, with certain rare exceptions. But just as the otherwise inauspicious Ekadasi day becomes beneficial when used for the glorification of Lord Hari, so the time of an eclipse is also advantageous for fasting and worship.”

When the gopis of Vrindavan met Krishna there after a long separation, they prayed to Him,

ahus ca te nalina-nabha padaravindam
yogesvarair hrdi vicintyam agadha-bodhaih
samsara-kupa-patitottaranavalambam
geham jusam api manasy udiyat sada nah

“Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogis and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs.” (10.82.48)

I pray to follow in the footsteps of the gopis.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 14 March 2009, Stockholm, Sweden, Lecture)

We encounter so much envy in the world. Envy is a driving force which we really cannot ignore. We see different aspects of envy. There is the normal envy – the jealousy of a neighbour who wants what you have. But we also see a different kind of envy, like the example of a wolf and a lamb. It is not that the wolf wants anything that the lamb has. It is not like that! He is not envious of the possessions of the lamb at all, he simply does not

But also we see a different kind of envy, like the example of a wolf and a lamb. It is not that the wolf wants anything that the lamb has. It is not like that! He is not envious of the possessions of the lamb at all, he simply does not want to allow the lamb any existence because of his own feeling of dissatisfaction. The wolf takes it out on the weaker entity. The wolf has a feeling of hatred which comes from his own frustration, and he takes it out on someone else. Like that, envy exists in so many ways and in all kinds of relationships.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 23 August 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.29.55)

There is a price to pay for everything in this material world. You get nothing for nothing! Everything has strings attached which can be very entangling. I remember that when I stayed at the Amsterdam temple, at one point the government wanted to charge us for having a television! We said, “We don’t watch television!” and they replied, “That doesn’t matter, you have the right to watch television so you have to pay for those rights.”

This is the nature of the material energy. The material energy always has a relationship with other things – if you have a house and then you have to paint it and repair it. You get attached to it and before you know it, you have to make a phone call so then you need a telephone but there are other complications with the telephone. So,

ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham

aśvatthaṁ prāhur avyayam (Bhagavad-gita 15.1)

This entanglement of material existence is just like the banyan tree described in the 15^th chapter of the Bhagavad-gita which is upside down with so many branches and from each branch, new roots are growing. In Kolkata botanical gardens, there is an enormous banyan tree and this tree is so huge that you can go inside it! The banyan tree has aerial roots that grow in the tree and in the ground as well as the ends so you can no longer see where the original trunk is. New aerial roots are wrapped around other aerial roots and they look like the trunk – the entanglement of the banyan tree is like the entanglement of the material energy.

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[Bhagavatam class at ISKCON Belgaum, India]

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In a few days is the appearance of HH Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami.
This book is a free download. We offer it free as a gift for Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami’s Vyasa Puja.
This is the link: http://tvpbooks.com/2017/05/the-exalted-bhakta-bhagavata/

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of July 2017. North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors. Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5 Continue reading "NASN July 2017 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
→ Dandavats"

Vaishnava Songs App.
A Music App for Devotees.
Vaishnav Songs gives you instant access to all devotional songs.
Just hit play to stream anything you like.
Promo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q-R-vxhfhk
As every non-devotee has some kind of music app, we’ll have one for devotees too! It will help us to murmur and remember more Vaishnav bhajans which can be sung now and then. We are all very grateful to our great Vaishnava acharyas for compiling such nice bhajans for us.
This app will definitely add an extra bit to our devotional practice.
Download it here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.krishna.vaishnavsong
Happy listening Vaishnav Bhajans!

Iskcon Silicon Valley - Srila Prabhupad’s Vyas puja 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: “The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity, the Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Krishna Hare Krishna. This is the reality of all Vedanta. The chanting of the holy name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.” (Narada-pancharatra)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/t2jwKS

The glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita.
I am your servant Sri Bhakti Das from Chile, please accept my humble obeisances. I hope you are fine.
I would like to share with you a recent ORISSAPOST newspaper article (Indian Newspaper from Orissa).
I spoke about the glories and importance of distributing the Bhagavad Gita, the greatness of Srila Prabhupada’s legacy, our service in Chile, etc.

Can a person with low self-esteem be spiritually advanced? Can a person with healthy self-esteem not be spiritually advanced? Is there an absolute correlation between the two? Yes, to the first two questions. But if one has low self-esteem, it can be an impediment because of the need to pull others down. Of course, high self-esteem doesn't guarantee spiritual advancement, but generally such persons have an easier time confronting and dealing with their faults. I find that many of the devotee’s problems come from not loving themselves, that is they neglect their sadhana because they don't care enough about themselves to be strict. Also, they may offend devotees, not always because of spiritual weakness, but because of negative psychological factors. Continue reading "How to separate personality from humility? Can a strong person be humble?
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Becoming Krishna conscious.
Srila Prabhupada thoroughly explains the simple technique of becoming KC. This is so relevant for all householders:
“So our life should be so formed that in our every activity there will be God consciousness. That is the technique of yoga-sthaḥ. You haven’t got to separately being seated in meditation as yoga, generally as we understand. Now, how much you can devote your time to meditation? Suppose one hour in the morning or one hour in the evening you can devote. But if you mold your life in such a way that always, twenty-four hours, you are in meditation, that is the platform of yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi. I am earning for the Supreme Lord. Then, when I earn, I bring things for cooking, I am thinking, "Oh, this thing will be cooked for Lord.” Now, your wife cooks, and she is also very clean because it is being cooked for Lord Kṛṣṇa. You see? Now, as far as I am concerned here, I also cook myself my food and offer to Kṛṣṇa, and therefore I ask my friends that unless it is offered to Kṛṣṇa, you please do not take it. You see? Sometimes I see that in your country, while cooking, they taste. They taste. But I request them that don’t taste before the cooking is finished. After cooking is finished and when it is offered to the Deity, then you take as much as you like, as much as you like. So that means there is God consciousness, that “This thing is being cooked for the Lord.” The cooking will go on. If you don’t think of God, you require cooking because you want to eat. The cooking is there in the program. But if you think that this cooking is done for God, then your God consciousness is there. The cooking you cannot avoid. As a householder you have to cook for yourself, you have to cook for your children, you have to cook for somebody else or for your own self. Just like I am cooking. I have no here family or children, but I am cooking for myself. So cooking you cannot stop. But if you cook with the understanding that “This foodstuff is being cooked for the Lord. The Lord may be offered first; then we shall take,” this is God consciousness. This is God consciousness. But is it very difficult thing? Anyone can accept this. Anyone can do it. It is not… Because your cooking business is not stopped. Simply the mode of thinking has to be changed. That’s all. A small technique, that “I am earning for God. I am cooking for God. I am eating also for God. I am eating also for God.” How is that eating you are…? “Now, because my body is dedicated to the service of the Lord, if I don’t eat sufficiently to keep my body fit, then how can I work?” So your eating is also God consciousness. Your sleeping is also God consciousness. So that is the way. We have to mold our life’s activities. Now, when I think that “I have to keep this body fit for working for God,” so then that is not, I mean to… That is not bodily conception of life. Just like when you think that “My car has to be kept very nicely so that I can take nice work for it,” then you are not identified with your car; you simply want to take some service of the car. Similarly, if you think that “This body is required for acting, for working on behalf of the Supreme Lord; therefore I must keep the body fit to work,” so that is not your identification with the body. But if I use this body for sense gratification and therefore I make my body stout and strong to enjoy sense enjoyment, that is the cause of my bondage.“

Lecture given on Bg 2.48-49; April 1st 1966

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada perfectly exemplified flawless devotion of the highest order, yet many are his severe cautions and stern admonishments against the impatient and impetuous impudence of those exceedingly foolish persons who are mistakenly disposed to consider themselves pre-eminently qualified to automatically ascend to the highest spiritual stratosphere of spontaneous devotion merely because of the apparent extent of their own imagined penultimate fitness to receive the most intimate connection conceivable with topmost Divinity. Continue reading "The Forbidden Kingdom
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 2003, Lecture)

There are no limits to HOW we can preach but we must know that when we preach in the spirit of being compassionate, trying to be kind and merciful to others and trying to see how they are suffering, then we become real preachers then our preaching becomes inspired preaching.

http://bbc.in/2uTTajU

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