Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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The post Gita 13.10 Detachment is not meant to make us hard-hearted appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

FEAST OR FAMINE FOR MANY FACILITIES OR PREFERRED ACTIONS: These days I am in somewhat of a famine, or at least some restriction, in terms of writing, which I consider so central to my life lived in the pursuit of being a giver. This makes me sad, but also brings introspection on the way my life --a very good practice!

Our lives have their demands which require our attention to deal properly with them. This seems to be just the nature of material reality even for spiritual practitioners in bhakti. Though our ideal is to be fully absorbed in seva, still, we can't completely escape material necessities that require payment and thus bring certain ebbs and flows in our life aspirations. We could also describe these ebbs and flows as cycles.

This is certainly no big revelation, but for me, at certain times, it is more painfully evident (during the ebbs) then during those inspiring flow states when everything seems divinely ordered and empowered. As always, in addition to just sharing, my intention is for you to think over your own life and how this might apply to you.

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With the hoisting of Garuda flag , in a colorful ceremony at Lotus park, HH Bhakti Charu Swami, GBC chairman, announced the official start of Gaura Purnima 2017 festival. As the Garuda flag started raising with divine chanting of Gurukulis & harinam, thousands of colorful flower petals showered all over the devotees with sweet bliss. Assembled Sanyasis broke coconuts as an auspicious way to begin the festival, infront of hundreds of cherring devotees. For the upcoming 21 days, festivities are lined up one after another, beginning from Kirtan Mela and for the next five days, kirtan rasa from Mayapur shall inundate the whole world. HH Gopala Krishna Goswami mentioned that Mayapur Gaura Purnima festival is the mother of all festivals. By coming to Mayapur during the festival, one can recharge his spiritual batteries in the wonderful sanga and go back to their home countries to preach with great vigor to distribute the mercy of Mayapur. Continue reading "Gaura Purnima Festival begins
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Sri Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has described in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta that the first sprout of the desire tree of devotion was manifested in the person of Sri Madhavendra Puri, and that that sprout developed into a sapling in the person of Sri Isvar Puri. Then, in the person of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Who was also the gardener Himself, that sapling become the trunk of a enormous tree, the desire tree of devotion. [C. C. Adi 9.10-11]

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Parikrama in Javat - Ter Kadamba 17-02 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: Yesterday we did my favorite parikrama, going to ...

Varnasrama series.

New Raman Reti Policy on Non-ISKCON Vaisnava Groups.
The President: Alachua is the home of the largest ISKCON temple in North America. A vibrant Gurukula, world famous Deity darshans, exhuberant kirtan and daily prasad distribution are just some of the features that make the Alachua Temple attractive to devotees far and wide. Within our small town there is also a Gaudiya Math temple and devotees who have separated themselves from our International Society for Krishna Consciousness in a variety of ways. New Raman Reti has a clear and posted policy on our relationship with any non ISKCON group or person visiting our temple. Please read the Policy below over for your edification. We take the policy seriously. Our devotees should feel comfortable and safe when they spend time here. It is their place of worship and seva, it is their family of devotees. Although we are cautiously open to others with views opposing ISKCONs we will not allow proselytizing those views to our devotees and guests. We spend buckets of energy, time and money to keep our temple open for everyone, to grow our community and create programs that enrich the spiritual lives of those who come. It attracts a lot of people. But those who choose to move away from the organization must respect our right to present and protect our efforts to spread Krishna consciousness as we understand would be pleasing to Srila Prabhpada. Our temple is neither a soapbox for a few rebels without a cause to put forth their ideas, or a place to pull new recruits to their side. Neither will be tolerated, and anyone who comes here and engages in this way will no longer be invited to come. Our Position: ISKCON of Alachua, Inc., the New Raman Reti Temple and home of Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara, Sri Sri Krishna Balarama, and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, is a temple within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, as established by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acharya. We are loyal to, preach from, promote the books of, and espouse the teachings of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. We serve within the greater ISKCON society, under the direction of the ISKCON Governing Board Commission (GBC). Reason for the Policy: It is recognized that spiritual movements will inevitably develop many branches over time, particularly after the passing of the Founder Acharya. Since the physical departure of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, we have seen a number of devotees join groups associated with the Gaudiya Math or other Vaisnava groups, as well as those following alternative philosophies regarding disciplic succession. Our Goal: Although Alachua is a large community with philosophical and organizational diversity, our goal is to exist peacefully with all elements. However, to preserve the purposes of ISKCON, certain policy standards regarding activities on Temple property need to be clarified: Policy Standards: Welcomed Activities: All devotees are welcome to come to the NRR Temple and engage in the following activities: Join in kirtan Attend classes and programs Take darshan of the Deities Offer service as deemed appropriate by the Temple management. Leaders and sannyasis of non-ISKCON groups will limit their attendance at the Temple to only taking darsana of the Deities, and taking prasadam in the Welcome Center. Restricted Activities: No persons shall be allowed to engage in the following activities on the Temple grounds and property: Promote beliefs, personalities or organizations that are not directly endorsed by ISKCON and its representatives, or unduly criticize ISKCON and its authorities Distribute literature that promote such beliefs Influence guests or devotees in the above beliefs/criticisms. This includes inviting congregational members to attend their functions and/or join their groups Also, members of non-ISKCON group may not lead kirtan or perform bhajans* Consequences: Anyone in violation of this policy will be asked to leave the Temple property. Conclusion: In making this policy statement, we are in no way denying the freedom of thought and speech of any person. We respect an individuals rights to other philosophical positions. However, we are upholding the purpose of the New Raman Reti Temple property and projects, which is to promote Srila Prabhupadas teachings as enunciated by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) under the direction of the Governing Board Commission. * Exceptions to the kirtan/bhajan policy will be made on a case by case basis by the Temple President and GBC

“You (Sri Krishna) are the playful king of Goloka and She is Your playful companion. When You are the king of Vaikuntha, She, the daughter of Vrsabhanu, is Goddess Lakshmi. When in this world You are Ramachandra, She is Janaka's daughter Sita. When You are Lord Hari, She is Kamala. When You are Yajna-avatara, She is Sri Daksina, the best of wives. When You are Nrsimha, She is Rama. When You are Nara's friend Narayana Rsi, She becomes Goddess Santi and follows You like a shadow. When You are Brahman, She is Prakrti. When You are Time, the wise know She is Pradhana. When You are the Mahat-tattva, from which the universes have sprouted, Radha is the potency Maya, filled with the three modes. When You become the four things in the heart [heart, mind, intelligence, and false ego], She becomes the power of understanding something from a hint. When You become the universal form, which includes everything, She becomes the earth”. Continue reading "Sri Radha – The Giver Of Never Enough
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Not only is Srimati Radharani’s love golden—that is the color of maha-bhava—but the color of prema is also like that. So our attachment to Krishna, our love for Krishna when it is offered to Him, it will also increase the greenness of all things, and green of course means that things are growing very nicely. When things become burnt out they turn brown, or when they die they wilt. So similarly, if our thoughts are always green with remembrance of Krishna’s pastimes, then that means we have a healthy state of Krishna consciousness. And it indicates that soon there will be many beautiful leaves of real attachment to Krishna developing, and from those leaves there will come very, very beautiful flowers of ecstasy and love for Krishna. And those flowers are very aromatic. They draw Krishna just like a bumble-bee to that devotee, and whereas bees usually take from the flower and the flower becomes bereft, when Krishna comes and He touches—Srila Prabhupada uses the word “kisses”—the flower-like devotees, then they begin to bear the fruits of rasa, or real relationship with Krishna. And once again our eternal relationship, our mellow of friendship, or parental, or conjugal attraction for Krishna becomes manifest and we find ourselves in our eternal home, Goloka Vrindavan, in loving exchanges with Krishna. Continue reading "Krishna Meditation
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 April 2013, Stockholm, Sweden, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.17.1)

Although it is mentioned that harer nāma harer nāma, harer nāmaiva kevalam, kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva, nāsty eva gatir anyathā (CC Adi 7.76), that this chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra is the only way by which we can overcome the influence of this age of kali, we see that at the same time, it is the most difficult activity.

It is very interesting that this is the activity that will free us from the age of kali but it is exactly the one thing that devotees find like so difficult – chanting japa! Somehow or other, to chant is the big struggle; very few are chanting japa in ecstasy. Most are just going through it but are experiencing it like a struggle, like a burden. That is interesting.

Reading Srimad Bhagavatam along with chanting will make a huge difference. It is mentioned in the Caitanya Caritamrta, first chapter, that Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda are driving out the influence of ignorance through the Bhagavat. This is interesting that it does not say through the influence of the holy name, it says through the influence of the Bhagavat. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami makes that a major point in the first chapter, emphasising spreading the knowledge of the Bhagavat. So without knowledge it is not possible for anyone to be motivated to chant.

Therefore Srila Prabhupada spent so much time to provide knowledge – not only by quoting from scriptures, not only by translating but by logic and argument – by logically explaining why there is no alternative to Krsna consciousness and why it is the only way.

And Srila Prabhupada never took it for granted that those who had joined the Hare Krsna movement were convinced. We tend to take that for granted, “Oh, you know, he is a devotee.” But Prabhupada did not take it like that. Prabhupada asked his leaders, his best men, “Are you convinced?” And they looked down to the ground. They could not look him in the eyes when he asked that question.

So that was a fact. Now the times may have changed, in the sense that there is more responsibility with the individual. The movement is maybe in a more individualistic era and there is more individual responsibility. So each for himself has to actually take shelter of Srimad Bhagavatam and become convinced. Maybe no one will come to convince us. Maybe no one will knock on our door and asks us, “Are you convinced?” But we will have to convince ourselves if we want to be able to carry on.

Gita Nagari Eco Farm (6 min video)
Gita Nagari is a 350-acre farm situated in scenic Port Royal, Pennsylvania. The community lo...

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this report contains the following North American results of book distribution for the month of January 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 January 2017 – North American Sankirtan Newsletter
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The year 2016 was a very marvelous year ​for the TOVP as all the works planned were completed.
The superstructure has been fully completed with many major works.

In 2017 we look forward to commence the prime internal and external detailing work such as blue tiles and ribs on the domes.
We will see the Kailash completed and even the Chakras will be installed!

We would like to thank Ambarish Prabhu, the fund raising team, the construction team and all the devotees that are participating in bringing this extraordinary offering to Srila Prabhupada and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to life.

Let’s keep on working together to please Srila Prabhupada!

The post TOVP Update 2017 appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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The post Gita 13.09 To cultivate detachment from matter, contemplate the distresses of material existence appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

We have a significant problem on our hands: the Vedas are very clear that Śrī Guru is an absolute necessity, the very foundation of every educational and developmental methodology; yet gluts of cults knowingly or unknowingly exploit the guru principle for gross and subtle wealth. Searching from Harlem to the Himalaya, it is difficult to find even one truly realized Guru-Disciple pair; but everywhere we look we find thousands upon thousands of gurus and disciples in the transcendental disciplines who, upon close examination, aren’t giving or getting anything earth-shatteringly transcendental at all.

Some will say, “The very idea is wrong. The Vedas are wrong. You don’t need a guru.”

I don’t say that. Instead, I think, “The way we comprehend and understand the Guru Disciple relationship is wrong. And I don’t need that.”

So, what’s wrong with it?

Ideal Gurus and Disciples

In his Gītā, Śrī Krishna expresses the perfect Guru-Disple relationship in a nutshell:

तद्विदधि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः

tad-viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ

Dīkṣā [enlightenment] can happen when you try to understand spirituality from a wise person who has actually experienced the reality of consciousness and perception. That person can enlighten you through your submission, rigorous inquiry, and service.

This statement has two parts. The first part establishes what a real guru is. The second part establishes what a real disciple does.

A real guru is ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः (jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ) – a person who has “actually experienced the reality of consciousness and perception.”

A real disciple is someone who gets that experience too, from the wise, by means of three things:

1. प्रणिपातेन
   praṇipāt(ena)
   Submission
2. परिप्रश्नेन
   paripraśn(ena)
   Rigorous inquiry
3. सेवया
   seva(yā)
   Service

In Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindu, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī exactly echoes this Gītā verse in what he identifies as  the three most essential initial steps of sādhana-bhakti:

1. गुरुपादाश्रय
   guru-pāda-āśraya
   This echoes Krishna’s advice to be receptive, humble and submissive to the guru
   (praṇipāta – submission)
2. कृष्णदीक्षादिशिक्षण
   kṛṣṇa-dīkṣa-adi-śikṣāna
   This echoes Krishna’s advice to ask many questions from many angles while trying to put everything into practice in the real world
   (paripraśna – thorough inquiry)
3. विश्रम्भेणगुरोःसेव
   viṣrambheṇa-guroḥ-seva
   This echoes Krishna’s advice to make oneself useful
   (seva – service)

Now let’s examine how the gluts of fruitless or marginally-fruitful contemporary guru-disciples implement the above advice.

The Reality about Gurus

Krishna explicitly said that a guru must be tattva-darśana. This phrase literally means “sees reality” – which means a guru must directly experience the real essence of the subject they are teaching.

Compare this with the hoards of people willing to “accept disciples”. Some of them pull a coin from your ear (or some equivalent “miracle”) to impress you into believing they are tattva-darśanaḥ. Others claim they are tattva-darśana because they can surreptitiously hold their breath for 15 years (by not having sex, eating grains, standing on their tiptoes, or whatever). Others claim they are tattva-darśana because they have, “fully dedicated their lives to their spiritual master’s mission”. Others don’t even bother claiming anything at all, they just let your own desire for a messiah work its own magic.

Indeed that’s powerful magic! We are eager for a messiah. That’s why we don’t find much fault with any of the above – even though it is just like a person proving they are rich by showing us a picture of a mansion, or a doctor claiming we have cancer by pointing to our fatigue instead of showing the actual cancer cells. It takes significant knowledge of medicine to be able to tell a real doctor from a quack. The combination of our inherent laziness and our desire for a miraculous messiah make us accept the idea that we don’t really need all that troublesome, time-consuming, and complicated medical knowledge anyhow, because this doctor standing before us is obviously so charming and wonderful.

At the very least, “tattva-darśan” means the guru must have fluent conversance (darśan) in all the details of their subject (tattva), which, in our context, means the śāstra. 90% of the guru’s on display today do not even know the Vedāṅga, what to speak of the Veda; they do not even know Sanskrit grammar, what to speak of the secrets locked in the Sanskrit mantras and ślokas of the Veda and Purāṇa. Most of them have not even carefully studied their own guru’s commentary on their own main śāstra, when, in fact, the minimum qualification is to thoroughly know not only the interpretations and implications of the primary texts of the primary ācāryas of one’s own school, but to also thoroughly know how those relate to the interpretations, implications and texts of the other significant Vedic schools.

You may look for the maximum qualification or you may look for the minimum qualification in a guru. You’ll be hard pressed to find either. This doesn’t mean you should give up, but it does mean you should be prepared for the reality that you will need to do a lot of homework and have a lot of patience to be able to tell the difference between a diamond and a cubic zirconia.

The Reality about Disciples

As mentioned, a real disciple is someone who directly experiences reality as a result of interacting with the wise guru in three ways:

1. प्रणिपातेन
   praṇipāt(ena)
   Submission
2. परिप्रश्नेन
   paripraśn(ena)
   Rigorous inquiry
3. सेवया
   seva(yā)
   Service

The majority of modern “disciples” hardly do any of these at all. We think that we are disciples because we underwent some formality like changing our name or getting a mark on our foreheads or a pat on our back in front of a burning banana. End of story. Now we have the immigration document required for the Pearly Gates.

“Guru saves.”

Just as kitchari requires beans, rice and water – discipleship requires submission, inquiry, and service. Leave one out and you don’t get “kitchari.”

For example, we may give a donation, or feed our guru, but if we ask no questions and have no interest in changing our inner lives – we are not disciples. Or, if we expect gurus to answer our minuscule questions minutely but ask for yard-sale “merciful” discounts on the seva to be given in return – we are not disciples. Some ignorant people even lambast the very concept of practical service in reciprocation for education as, “prostitution.”  This is certainly not going to give us guru-darśana.

All the ingredients — “rice, beans, and water” — are required. The combination of praṇipāta (desire to change / submission) and paripraśna (through inquiry) is a particularly important, inseparable compound.

We may sometimes ask a question, but we don’t really listen carefully to the answer. Listening carefully (praṇipāta) would result in followup questions (paripraśna) and a change in how we experience and live life (seva). We don’t listen very carefully because we don’t really care. We have no praṇipāta — what we really want is a guru who will ratify and justify the convictions and opinions we already have. When such “disciples” become “gurus,” they create perversions of their school, and this is a phenomenon rampant to dangerously rabid proportions in contemporary Hindu / Vedic circles.

The Guru-Disciple Cult Reality

The above illustrates the danger of inquiry without submission, but now let’s look at the danger of submission without inquiry. This is where the cults come from. “Follow your guru!” is the essence of their “philosophy.” To distribute and share the power in larger cults they say, “Follow your guru’s friendly neighborhood local representative.” In a cult, the level of our submission and “surrender” is the only important barometer of our sincerity and “advancement.”

Cults are thriving these days, because the gurus are inept, and cults protect that. Too much inquiry would expose the guru’s ineptitude, so the cult-culture dissuades it. This is sometimes called “a culture of faith” and deceitfully purported to be the genuine Vedic culture.  It drums up the importance of submissive “surrender” (praṇipāta) loudly and enthusiastically enough to drown out the cries for help from rigorous inquiry (paripraśna). Those who ask too many questions are ridiculed and made to feel like something is wrong with them.

Of course, cults also drum up the importance of seva (practical service), because hey, since nobody, guru or disciple, is getting anything transcendental from this whole shebang after all, the guys on top can at least eek out a nice iPad and three hot meals a day (if only they were so renounced) as a sādhya salary for the sweat they seem to break by accepting all those ignorant obeisances and accolades every day.

Now What?

The world seems to be full of half-assed disciples and cult-gurus who encourage them to remain like that. If we want real enlightenment, what should we do? We should go back and read the section, “Ideal Gurus and Disciples,” strive for that, and let the rest of the world keep on in their merry escapades.

Vraja Kishor dās

www.vrajakishor.com

My God-brother, Jagjivan Prabhu, passed from this world last November 2016. He joined ISKCON at New York temple in 1970 and left for South America in 1974.

He helped to establish many centres there and lived the last years of his life in Paraguay.

The GBC body honoured him in Mayapur and his ashes were taken by Mayapur Mandir’s new boat, the Jaladuta 2, to the Ganga where the devotees performed puja and kirtan.

HG Jagajivan das’s ashes immersed in Ganges (2 min video)
Here is a link to a video of HG Jagajivan das ACBSP ashes immersed in the Ganges on Monday, Feb 20th, Sridham Mayapur. In attendance were many GBC, Sannyasis, and Senior devotees.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/FXHe1v
Offering of lamps to Mother Ganga after the ceremony.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2ISkWV

Day of art and culture of West Papua, Pebruary 6, 2017 was celebrated by cultural parades from all ethnic groups who live in that area. Arts and culture serves as an adequate medium to unite the people. Language in form of arts and culture is universal which everybody can understand. The varied colours of arts and culture makes the world a beautiful place. The cultural parade in Manokwari, capital city of West Papua, attracted many visitors. This also attracted devotees to take the opportunity to spread the glories of Lord Krishna in the land of Papua. The ratha yatra team worked with the Manokwari Hindu Parisad and participated in the cultural parade, pulling Lord Jagannath’s chariot on Ratha Yatra. Continue reading "Manokwari, West Papua, sees the first Jagannatha Ratha Yatra
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No Ugly Gopis, Please!
Srila Prabhupada: I don’t know who has given you this idea of shaving your head and wearing white garments. In India only the widows are allowed to shave their head. I have never suggested to your husband to take sannyasa. We can discuss this matter further when we shall meet again in London for Ratha-yatra. You remain the beautiful maidservant of Krishna. That is your business, and you should dress yourself always very nicely so that by seeing you Krishna will be pleased. Don’t try to be ugly before Krishna. Krishna does not like ugly gopis. We are transcendental artists, musicians, writers, so everything should be beautiful for Krishna. After all we are members of Krishna’s family, just like Krishna had 16,000 wives and each wife had thousands of servants and maidservants, and all of them were very beautiful for serving Krishna and his queens. So the servants of the gopis and queens cannot be ugly; they are as beautiful as the queens. In the Vaikuntha world there is no need of serving anything because everything is already clean and beautiful. It is so clean that just like a mirror when the maidservants would sweep the floor they could see the reflections of their bodies. So remain always in Vaikuntha y a; na, simply by thinking of the glories of the Lord. Don’t try to do anything artificially. That is sahajiya, which means a class of men that take everything very cheap. You want to perform sacrifice so continuously read our Vedic scriptures and perform the Vaikuntha yajna. It — Letter to Himavati. 15 June 1972.
To read the entire article click here: https://archive.org/details/bindu394

Doubts cloud market surge.
Vaisesika das: Yesterday the front-page headline of The San Mateo Times read: “Doubts cloud market surge.”
The simple facts behind this headline are that hopeful economic news stimulated a weeklong stock market rally.
But yesterday, as traders got mixed economic reports, they pulled back, stopped buying, and the trading surge stalled.
The reason according to the Times: doubts.
When doubts cloud one’s mind or heart, a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction creeps in and the result is that one holds back. (The word, doubt, in fact comes from a Latin word that means, “hesitate”.)

Our free movement in any realm of life comes only when we are free from doubt.

For example, we require confidence even to cross the street.

Indeed, in the scripture doubts are often compared to clouds. And in the Gita, Arjuna refers to doubts as demons.

At Kuruksetra, Arjuna was at first paralyzed by doubts about his duty and he asked Krsna to remove them.

After hearing from Krsna, Arjuna “regained his memory, was firm and free from doubt and ready to act according to Krsna’s instructions.”

To achieve such enthusiasm, one must follows Arjuna’s example.

Confirming this, Rupa Goswami says that the first and most important steps in devotional service are:

1) Taking shelter of a vaisnava guru (adau gurv-asrayam); and 2) inquiring from the guru (sad-dharma-prccha).

Srila Prabhupada writes:

“One must accept a Vaisnava guru and then by questions and answers one should gradually learn what pure devotional service to Krsna is. That is called the parampara system.”

(Cc Antya-lila 7.53)

Any sincere person who follows this system will become free the burden of doubts and will advance to the highest stage of devotional service.

My Conversation With Krsna.
Mahatma das: I called up Krsna the other day because I was having a really hard time. There were so many things going wrong and I couldn’t understand why. So I said, “Krsna, you love me, right? “And feelingly He said, “Of course. I love you unconditionally.” So I questioned how you can love someone and at the same time make their life difficult.” “Oh yes,” Krsna said, “It’s quite possible.” And explained how.
“You know when you are sitting in a chair and after a while you become uncomfortable?”
“Yeah.”
“So what do you do?”
“I move to another position.”
“So when I see you need to get out of your present position and move to a better position, I make your life a little uncomfortable. When I do this you start wondering why it’s like this. And then you call me up. By the way, if everything were going perfectly, would you have called me up?
“Okay, okay, I get it. But will the suffering ever stop?”
“Oh sure, when you learn your lessons. Of course, you could also learn them without suffering. You know, like do what I say. But you don’t seem to do that enough and you tend to get sidetracked. So that’s when I need to give you a little push. You see I really do love you, but sometimes it’s tough love.”
“So what happens when I learn all the lessons?”
“You graduate. When you leave this world, you won’t to come back because there’s nothing more for you to learn. You are ‘out of here’ as they say in your country.”
“Yeah but I am a slow learner, and that means I must suffer a lot. It doesn’t see fair.”
“But you are the one creating your own suffering. Anyway, the material world is not a good place to stay if you don’t like suffering. So don’t keep complaining about suffering. It comes with the reincarnation package. But I use suffering to help devotees eventually overcome their tendency to cause their own suffering. Remember, my gift to you is the freedom to choose the right thing. And your gift to yourself is to choose the right thing.”
“But wouldn’t it have been better if you didn’t allow me to mess up?”
“No, you really wouldn’t be able to live without your full freedom. You’d actually go crazy. Plus, since most people n Kali yuga are not very intelligent, you will find that you usually learn best by making mistakes and suffering the consequences. And when my devotees need to make a change or learn something new, and they are stuck, I make things a little difficult for them. But I do it because I love them.”
“Yeah, it does seem like life’s difficulties carry invaluable lessons.”
“Yes. Think of the people that have hurt you or caused you some misery and consider whether you have learned anything, or grown, by going through those difficulties. Those who hurt you were some of your best teachers, but I bet you called them some pretty nasty names. You see, I put people in front of you that disturb you so you can learn to be more tolerant, forgiving and compassionate. Didn’t you always use to say ‘It’s all Krsna’s mercy’ when you were a new devotee?”
“Yeah, but …”
“So you think it’s My mercy when everything goes well and someone else’s fault when it doesn’t?”
“Well, it’s easier to see it’s your mercy in hindsight and it’s easier to blame someone when I am going through the problem because sometimes people do hurtful things to me.”
“Mahatma, there is no one to blame. They are just agents of your karma. Do you blame your teeth when you bit your tongue?”
“To be honest, sometimes I do.”
“Exactly, we always are looking for someone or something to blame, always looking to make an excuse.”
“Okay, I get it. If I am so perfect, if I have all good qualities, I wouldn’t have taken another body. So I have a few more things to learn and you are making sure I learn them.”
“That’s it. Your offender brings you valuable lessons. You honor Me and great sadhus for bringing you the gift of knowledge that life is suffering. Yet isn’t it hypocritical that you blame your “offender” when he or she brings you the same gift as a life lesson? Should you bow to me and blame the other? Is it possible that all things work to help you and there is really no one to blame and no one to forgive?

His Holiness Bhakti Vigna Vinasha Narasimha Maharaja’s class during yesterday’s Sravana Utsav-2017 event in Mayapur (video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/TDcCB3

From a multi-billionaire to pauper in the street, everyone is seeking the wealth of love. The gaudy gizmos, exotic holidays, luxury cars, sports bikes, late night dance parties, Valentine ‘s day, thousands of friend lists on Facebook, millions of followers on Twitter and 70 mm celluloid screens, may titillate or stimulate the senses and mind, but in the real reel of our life it cannot quench the thirst of love in our heart. This thirst can be better apprehended by the analog of the gardener. As when the gardener waters the root of the tree, then as the natural by-product twigs, branches are nourished and ultimately we get the reward of fruit. Similarly only when we being part and parcel (soul) of Supreme God(Supersoul), offer our loving propensity in our primary and original relationship with Krishna (Supreme God) with all our heart, then as the natural by-product, we love our brother, neighbor, spouse, boss, country, humanity, dog, cat and so on . Continue reading "The Great Apostle of ‘love of God’
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On the 20th of February 2017, HH Subhag Swami Maharaj and a group of fifty enthusiastic devotees travelled to Govinda Ghosh’s residence in Agradwip. Govinda Ghosh was a close associate of Mahaprabhu as were his two brothers: Madhava and Vasudeva. The official Navadvip Mandala parikrama starts on the 28th of February, thus Maharaj decided to get us mentally prepared. The Ekadasi after Gour Purnima is the disappearance day of Sri Govinda Ghosh. On this occasion, thousands and thousands of pilgrims travel to Agradwip and visit the samadhi mandir of Govinda Ghosh and his beloved deities; Radha Gopinath. At this sacred place, Maharaj narrated two sweet pastimes of Govinda Ghosh. Continue reading "Radha Gopinath of Govinda Ghosh
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Our bass guitarist Naam Bhakti Devi Dasi (Namrata Sobti) had an inclination towards Krishna and by chance she once went to the ISKCON temple in Chandigarh. Gradually, she developed a lot of faith in Srila Prabhupada's teachings and started telling the same to rest of the band members. So, one by one each one of us started going to the temple. The band leader Nirdosh Sobti (now Nav Kishore Nimai Das) was the ‘toughest nut to crack’, so it took a bit of time for him to join others. Other band members knew that if he would build up faith in Krishna Consciousness then he would contribute a lot in the sphere of sankirtan music as he was the only one in the band who was gifted with loads of talent and was teaching other members the basics of music at the same time. He was one the best guitar players in entire North India at that time and later went to become of the best lead guitarist in India. Continue reading "Madhavas- The devotional Rock Band
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Gita verse-by-verse Podcast

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The post Gita 13.08 The Gita is not a glorification of war, but a delineation of dharma appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 30 November 2012)

Tamal Krsna Maharaj used to keep this picture in his house in Vrindavan. Prabhupada is so blissful in this picture that Tamal Krsna Maharaj was taken aback by the power of that happiness. Devotional service is susukham kartum avyayam (Bhagavad-gita 9.2), is joyfully performed. And then the rain of flowers showered by the devotees is a symptom of love and respect. That loving exchange is the basis of Lord Caitanya’s sankirtan movement. Prabhupada gave so many wonderful gifts of devotional service and the devotees took up that devotional service with so much sincerity…

Jaganath Puri dham Harinam Sankirtan (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Because we are in ignorance, maya, at any time we may forget Krsna. Therefore we must always engage in Krsna consciousness so that we shall not forget Him. That is indicated by Kuntidevi by the words sravana-smaranarhani. The word sravana means “hearing,” smarana means “remembering,” and arhana means “worshiping the Deity of Krsna.” One should always engage oneself in hearing about, remembering, and worshiping Krsna. All the centers of the Krsna consciousness movement are opened only for this purpose – to facilitate chanting, dancing, and worshiping so that we shall not forget Krsna. Sada tad-bhava-bhavitah: [Bg. 8.6] if we always think of Krsna, there is a chance that we shall remember Krsna at the end of life (ante narayana-smrtih [SB 2.1.6]). >>> Ref. VedaBase => TQK 18: Liberation from Ignorance and Suffering
Find them here: https://goo.gl/BeW5bD

The year 2016 was a very marvelous year for the TOVP as all the works planned were completed. The superstructure has been fully completed with many major works. In 2017 we look forward to commence the prime internal and external detailing work such as blue tiles and ribs on the domes. We will see the Kailash completed and even the Chakras will be installed! We would like to thank Ambarish Prabhu, the fund raising team, the construction team and all the devotees that are participating in bringing this extraordinary offering to Srila Prabhupada and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to life. Let's keep on working together to please Srila Prabhupada! Haribol Continue reading "TOVP Update 2017
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I am a member of the Governing Body Commission for the Hare Krishna movement and I wanted to share the Code of Honour which is printed and placed on our seats during meeting times. It’s good and can apply to other organizations. There are ten points. Continue reading "GBC Code of Honour
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 20 September 2009, Pretoria, South Africa, Lecture)

Through saintly persons we ourselves get courage and determination. Alone we don’t get it. Therefore in spiritual life, when alone one doesn’t go very far. One must follow in the footsteps of the Mahajans, the great souls…

Harinama in London, Saturday night 18/02/2017 (videos)
One can see enlightenment among the elderly at pilgrimage sites in India, especially in Vrndavana. There one sees many old people visiting temples with intense devotion early in the morning. Hundreds of old people walk the circumambulation (parikrama) paths despite physical debilities. Some are bent nearly double! Someone might criticize that these people are not being provided with the Western medical treatment that could add a few years to their lives or ease their pain. But the sincere babajis and widows of Vrndavana who somehow make their way every morning to see Krsna in the temples and who call out “Jaya Radhe!” are actually fortunate and most intelligent. They are taking the krsna-rasayana, the elixir that will grant them eternal life in Krsna’s spiritual abode. The Vedic sastras recommend that one drink this elixir from the beginning of life, but even if one neglects to do so earlier, one should by all means drink it during the waning days of life and thus cure the disease of repeated birth and death. From the commentary to Mukunda-mala, mantra 37 The commentary to Mukunda-mala was started by Srila Prabhupada and completed by SDG
Watch them here: https://goo.gl/IK3wF9

"That place, time and condition one must resort to which are favorable for mental concentration. He should resort to that place only, seize that hour only, place himself in that condition only, see those comforts only, which are favorable to securing serenity of mind. For by time, place, etc., there is no peculiarity said to be wrought in meditation, but all inquiry about time, place, etc is meant for making the mind serene.’’ Continue reading "Chanting 16 rounds Hare Krishna must give result if properly executed
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Rangoli designs in Krishna-Balaram Mandir, Vrindavana.
Devotees from Pune made beautiful rangoli in front of the Samadhi this m...