Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017
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Venables Valley, British Columbia

Here and There

They are just short jaunts from the home of Mahidhara and Nandini to the school in the valley.  Every time I come to the village of Saranagati, I make it a point to attend their morning program, where a dozen children meet to greet the deities of Krsna-Balarama.

A recording of the song, “Govindam,” is played, and each student brings forth, one by one, a small branch of a sapling with blossoms, leaves, or both, to be presented to Krsna-Balarama.  The item is offered with the right hand and waved in a circular fashion, clock-wise, around the two forms, and then placed by the feet of the two images as an offering of love.

When I attended school in rural south-western Ontario, we stood up and sang the Canadian anthem, “O Canada.”  There was also a period of time, when we would stand in allegiance to the Queen and sing, “God Save the Queen.”  My goodness, she’s been around for a long time. Her coronation was in 1952, the year I was born.

Back to the students of Saranagati—I led them in a song, “Nam Kirtan,” by Bhaktivinode Thakur, whose message is to implore the soul to surrender to the Supreme.  No particular social status is required.  Anyone from any background, from any mood or attitude is encouraged in the joyful submission through chanting.

So chanting I did, with the students.  Eating lunch with the group was also included and play practice of the presentation they will make in Vancouver this weekend.

I completed my blissful day with an extra stroll to Yoginath’s home where we read about the contemporaries of Kirtan King, Chaitanya.

May the Source be with you!


5 km

Madhuha das – Interview
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Hare KrishnaBy Michael Scherer

I met Madhuha dasa as we prepared for the Holi festival at the Hare Krishna temple in Potomac, Maryland. I was working on the stage sound, and he was setting up the stage, tents, sound system, and much of the equipment needed for such a large festival. He agreed to take a break from the work to sit for an interview. He has been working with Festival of India since 1979. Continue reading "Madhuha das – Interview
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The Tulabharam Pastime of Rukmini devi
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Hare KrishnaBy Nandini Radha devi dasi

Krishna remains a mute witness to all this drama and rubs salt into the open wounds of Satyabhama’s ego that he has now to become a slave to some cowherd and will have to suffer the separation from his dear wife. Narada suggests to Satyabhama that Rukmini may be able to get her out of the predicament. She finally swallows her pride and appeals to the devoted first wife of Krishna. Rukmini comes and with a prayer to her husband puts a single leaf of the sacred Tulasi on the scale (Tula). The scales then become all at once so heavy that even after removing all the jewels, the scales are weighed down on the side of the Tulasi leaf. Satyabhama and Rukmini are called Tulabhrami. Continue reading "The Tulabharam Pastime of Rukmini devi
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Queen Rukmini’s Pure Devotion to Lord Krishna
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Hare KrishnaBy Nandini Radha devi dasi

Murari Gupta continued narrating the story to Damodara Pandita. Murari said, "After hearing Rukmini Devi's wonderful words, Krishna's heart danced in ecstasy. His lotus eyes, reddish like the rising sun, filled with tears of compassion. Sitting on His throne, Lord Krishna gently placed Rukmini on His lap and consoled her. He held Rukmini's chin with His right hand and lovingly looked at her. Waves of nectar overflowed from the ocean of prema within their hearts. Continue reading "Queen Rukmini’s Pure Devotion to Lord Krishna
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Why did Vali attribute negative intention to Sugriva – was he already suspicious?
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Answer Podcast

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After Valis death why didn’t Sugriva console himself by focusing on Valis atrocities?
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Answer Podcast

The post After Valis death why didn’t Sugriva console himself by focusing on Valis atrocities? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Reincarnation – Myth or Reality with Spanish Translation
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[Talk at Hotel El Panama, Panama City, Panama]

Podcast

The post Reincarnation – Myth or Reality with Spanish Translation appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Prayers to Nrsimhadev
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 02 May 2015, Simhachalam, Germany, Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.8)

Lord Nrsimhadev is vigna vinasa – the destroyer of all the obstacles on the devotional path. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written these two books – the Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, which describes to us the parikrama of Sri Dham Mayapur and then he wrote the Navadvipa-Bhava-Taranga which is a book that visits the same places as in the Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya but this time, Srila Bhaktivinoda is not describing the place and what the place is dedicated to, this time he describes the inner experience that he has at the place. Therefore, it is called Navadvipa-Bhava-Taranga. Taranga means waves or the waves of bhava that is experienced in Navadvipa, the different emotional states!

So then he describes going to Nrsimha Pali also known as Nrsimha Tirtha, the place dedicated to Lord Nrsimhadev. Then Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura prays to Lord Nrsimhadev that he may take away all the obstacles on the devotional path so that he can become fully engaged in unalloyed devotional service to Radha and Krsna.

So in that way, our primary reason for worshipping Lord Nrsimhadev is not protection. Or at least not protection from outside dangers, not protection from all kinds of Hiranyakasipu’s who are living next door or wherever they are. Okay, maybe to an extent but this is secondary.

Primarily, we are trying to overcome the demoniac tendencies in ourselves and Lord Nrsimhadev as vigna vinasa, purifies us from this contamination and takes away all the obstacles. Sarva vigna vinasa, all the obstacles on the devotional path are being removed and that is our prayer, that is Prahlad’s prayer also which is very nice.

Nrshimadev – the personification of soft-heartedness
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 December 2010, Cape Town, South Africa, Lecture)

Lord Nrshimadev is the personification of soft-heartedness. That is particularly the manifestation of the Lord of soft-heartedness. Why did he become roaring mad? Out of his deep affection for Prahlad… Out of deep affection for his devotee. So actually the external thing is his anger but the real thing is his deep love for his devotee. For me, this is an important point in my relationship with Nrshimadev that he appeared due to soft-heartedness.

 

A visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor. As a stay at home mum I have…
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A visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor.
As a stay at home mum I have plenty of free time to help at my children’s school. This is something I love to do. Every week I listen to children read for a couple of hours and I’ve helped on a few school trips too.
Last term I was lucky to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor with my son and his year group. Their topic was religion and we had previously visited the local Church of England Church.
Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple, just outside Watford. The Manor is owned and run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), better known as the Hare Krishna movement. It is ISKCON’s largest property in the United Kingdom, and one of the most frequently visited Radha Krishna temples in Europe. This temple is vey popular with school trips as there is plenty to see and learn.

The Manor house is Grade II listed and stands in 70 acres of landscaped grounds. It was bought and donated by the former Beatle, George Harrison, in 1973. It’s a beautiful building and I felt very lucky to be able to visit.

Our visit started with a trip to visit the Dairy Farm to see the sacred cows, oxen and bull and have a ride on the tractor. We walked around the grounds and saw one of the temples. Then it was time to go into the house for dressing up and a talk by some of the women who worked there. Everyone had to take off their shoes before they went in the house, it was a very busy place with lots of shoes!
It was really interesting to learn a little about Hinduism and the children got the chance to dress-up in traditional dress. I was able to take a photo of my son as long as no-one else was in the picture. I was so glad I was able to see him like this! Then we went downstairs to see the amazing shrine of Krishna, the Deities and watch the arati ceremony. After this it was time for an amazing hot vegetarian feast which was the best meal I’d had in ages.

Our day went very quickly and the children just about had time to get their faces painted before we got on the bus and went back to school.
I think I must have learned as much as the children did and I would recommend a visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor. The atmosphere is amazing and the people were incredibly welcoming. There are lots of opportunities to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor from school trips, to attending one of the daily services, the Festivals or visiting the shop. Admission and parking is free!
Read more: https://goo.gl/ffBwPa

The Karma Conundrum – Does our destiny make us or do we make it?
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[Talk at Princeton University, USA]

Podcast

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Does our desire for freedom from parents come from resentment towards them or from a genuine need for self-expression?
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Answer Podcast

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“Graying” disciples of Srila Prabhupada
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Srila Prabhupada: By practice of kumbhaka-yoga, the yogis increase the duration of life by many, many years. A Krsna conscious person, however, being always situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, automatically becomes the controller of the senses. His senses, being always engaged in the service of Krsna, have no chance of becoming otherwise engaged. So at the end of life, he is naturally transferred to the transcendental plane of Lord Krsna; consequently he makes no attempt to increase his longevity. Srila Prabhupada, BGAII 4.29 ppt

If traditional cultures aren’t against love, why are love marriages banned in ISKCON?
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Answer Podcast

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Select emotions with intelligence – Hindi
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[Talk at Swaminarayan Center, Panama City, Panama]
Podcast

Podcast Summary

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Ratha Yatra at Brisbane – 06 May 2017 (Album with photos) Srila…
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Ratha Yatra at Brisbane - 06 May 2017 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: So especially you must encourage the students to read our books throughout the day as much as possible, and give them all good advice how to understand the books, and inspire them to study the things from every point of view. Better to boil the milk very vigorously and make it thick and sweet–that is the best progress. So let us concentrate on training our devotees very thoroughly in the knowledge of Krsna consciousness from our books, from tapes, by discussing always, and in so many ways instruct them in the right propositions. (From Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Hamsaduta, June 22, 1972)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/YhQUjT