Planet ISKCON

At the age of five was my first memorable introduction to the Bhagavad-gita. I participated in a Gita verse recitation competition in Chandrapur, Maharashtra. I remember feeling both happy and nervous: happy to have memorized several verses, and nervous about recite them on stage in front of many people. However, that encounter with the Gita had no lasting impact on me, at least not visibly. I forgot the Gita and went on with my life, pursuing the great Indian student dream of academic excellence.

 

From achievement to fulfillment

Though I had left the Gita, the Gita hadn’t left me. I retained a subconscious attraction to Gita verse recitation, an attraction that was unusual because I had no interest or talent for singing or music. Little did I know that Gita recitation would draw me back to the Gita fifteen years later.

I was in the third year of my engineering in Electronics & Telecommunications at the Government College of Engineering, Pune. I had just fulfilled my lifelong dream of becoming a topper: I had scored 2350 out of 2400 and stood first in Maharashtra. I expected to be elated and I was, but for a heartbreakingly brief period. There was no happiness in just looking at my mark-sheet. Only when someone congratulated me for my marks did I feel joy. And if anyone didn’t congratulate me, I felt miserable. I realized that my life’s most desired achievement had not made me happy; it had made me more dependent on others for my happiness. By working hard, I could top in another exam, but what would I get? At best, a repetition of the same brief elation. Wasn’t life meant for something better?

When our heart is ready for wisdom, wisdom finds its way there. While I was pondering such questions, a friend gave me a copy of the Bhagavad-gita. I read the Gita (06.22) description of spiritual absorption: a state that takes us beyond dissatisfaction and disturbance. Having just tasted the shallowness of worldly achievements, I felt inspired to pursue this as my life’s ultimate achievement.

As I studied the Gita, recited its verses and applied its teachings, I found my anger decreasing, my mind becoming calmer and my life becoming more purposeful. I started sharing the Gita’s message with friends and several of them became transformed, some to a greater degree than me. They broke free from bad habits and became more positive and productive.

So sublime and transformational was the wisdom I found in the Gita that I decided to dedicate my life to studying and sharing it.

 

Spiritual science

The Gita transformed me not just experientially but also intellectually. It infused my life with holistic meaning. Since my school days, I was fascinated by science, especially by how it uncovered law-like order in nature. And yet I felt disappointed, disturbed even, that science provided me islands of meaning while sentencing me to drown in an ocean of meaninglessness. Science, or more precisely scientism, told that my life was ultimately pointless; that I was just a lucky accident, a parcel of protoplasm somehow come alive for a brief lifetime.

The Gita helped me understand that the order science had discovered in the material universe was a subset of a higher order that permeated all of existence. I felt that the Gita was a masterpiece of spiritual science. It taught that:

• We have an indestructible spiritual core.
• The universe is a university.
• Life is an eternal journey of spiritual evolution.
• Everything we do can contribute to our growth in wisdom and love.
• Such growth can take us beyond the body’s mortality to an eternity of ecstasy.

 

A Morale-Restorer

 

The Gita begins by acknowledging that life can hurt, and hurt terribly. Arjuna was a battle-hardened warrior, the embodiment of fearless virility, trained to face death without flinching. Yet such a warrior who could tearlessly endure wounds caused by the deadliest arrows was reduced to a state of uncontrollable tears (02.01) – such are life’s overpowering vicissitudes. This traumatic beginning shows that the Gita speaks our language; it understands and addresses our predicaments as we face our life’s battles, small or big.

At the Gita’s start (01.46), Arjuna put aside his bow, disoriented and disheartened. By the end of the Gita (18.78), he picked up his bow, ready to answer the demanding call of duty. Such is the morale-restoring power of Gita wisdom.

Arjuna’s bow can be said to represent our determination. Life sometimes afflicts us with perplexities and adversities. Disheartened, we put aside our metaphorical bows. But on hearing the Gita, we become animated with spiritual devotion and connect with the supreme source of strength that lies deep inside us. Being thus empowered, we get the wisdom and strength to raise the bow of our determination and face life with confidence.

 

Transforming a Battlefield into a Classroom

No other book in the world has a setting as dramatic as the Gita: It is spoken in the middle of a battlefield, after the blowing of the conches that signified the start of the war. A parallel that may illustrate the momentousness of this setting is a cricket World Cup Final. Thousands of spectators are cheering, the fielders have taken their positions, and the bowler has started the run-up. Suddenly, the batsman calls the non-striker to the middle of the pitch and they start talking and keep talking, on and on.

Similar is the Gita’s setting. The Gita’s speaker Krishna, whom tradition considers God incarnated on earth, demonstrates extraordinary teaching expertise: he converts a battlefield into a classroom. By his presence and presentation, he raises Arjuna far above the battlefield as they scale heights of wisdom that the world has rarely seen before or after.

The Gita’s battlefield setting conveys that no worldly problem is too mundane for God’s voice to reach us. If Arjuna on a battlefield could take time out to seek Gita wisdom, we all can too. Studying the Gita doesn’t consume time; it contributes time. Investing time in studying the Gita helps us protect the time that is otherwise stolen by our disturbed mind. The Gita helps us put first things first, thereby ensuring that we put our time to best use.

Also, just as Krishna converted a battlefield into a classroom, his message can help us convert life’s experiences into learning experiences.

 

The Gita’s Contemporary Relevance

1. Harmonizing right and left brains

On the Kurukshetra battlefield, Arjuna was fighting a battle within, a battle between reason and emotion. Emotion had caught reason in a stranglehold. The Gita’s message helped Arjuna win his inner battle, not by helping reason defeat emotion, but by harmonizing both reason and emotion through a higher vision of life. Similarly, the Gita can help us harmonize our emotional right brain and logical left brain, thereby enabling us to bring out our best.

 

2. Spiritual activism

The Gita (18.46) urges us to work as worship. The mood underlying this could be re-phrased as: “What we are is God’s gift to us; what we become is our gift to God.” God wants us to discover our talents, develop them and use them for constructive contribution. The more we work in a mood of service to him and to all living beings in relationship with him, the more we grow both externally and internally. Externally, we contribute to the world; internally, we connect with the source of the supreme peace and joy. The Gita reveals an activist vision of spirituality. Modernity romanticizes the world, making us believe that everything will be hunky-dory if we just adjust a few things. Some spiritual traditions demonize the world, claiming that everything in it is simply a source of temptation and tribulation. In positive contrast to such romanticization or demonization, the Gita recommends utilization: using the things of the world for humanity’s spiritual evolution.

 

3. Non-sectarian religion

In today’s multi-cultural world, especially relevant is Gita (18.66): “Give up all religions – just surrender to me.” This verse doesn’t reject religion per se, but connects religion with its defining purpose: to love God. When religion is being increasingly misappropriated for promoting sectarian extremism, the Gita’s stress on religion as a means to spiritual devotion can offer precious healing to a hurting world.

 

4. From self-destruction to self-realization

Millions the world over succumb to various self-destructive behavioral patterns such as depression, addiction and suicidal urges. Such self-destruction begins with a misleading inner voice that makes us do things that hurt us and hurt others. Pertinently, the Gita (06.05) cautions: “Elevate yourself with yourself; don’t degrade yourself with yourself. The self is the friend of the self and the self is the enemy of the self too.” Gita wisdom is an illuminating inner torchlight to identify and rectify the misleading voice. Thus, it can serve as an invaluable spiritual complement to psychology and psychiatry in healing those who have become their own worst enemies.

 

Personal realization and contribution

On occasions too many to count, the Gita has solaced and strengthened me. By reciting it, I access the spiritual sound that raises my consciousness above my circumstance. By meditating on it, my intelligence becomes equipped to return and face the circumstance with greater maturity and clarity.

In 2011, while I was on a morning walk in Mumbai, I slipped on some spilled water. The fall fractured severely my left leg which had been afflicted with polio when I was one and had thereafter hollowed with osteoporosis. The fracture caused pain of the kind I had never experienced before. As I struggled to endure the pain, suddenly Gita verses from the second chapter came out of my mouth, and I felt immediate relief from the pain. From that moment onwards for the next five hours till I was given anesthesia for a surgery, I was continuously reciting the Gita’s verses. By such recitation, I found my consciousness rising above my bodily pain and going deep into the Gita’s wisdom.

After this exceptional spiritual experience, I felt inspired to do something special for serving the Gita. While exploring options, I found that no one was sharing the Gita’s wisdom through concise daily reflections. Several Christian pastors were mailing daily Bible messages, and some Muslim mullahs were mailing daily Koran messages. I felt troubled: Why was the Gita not receiving similar daily service? After praying and seeking my mentors’ blessings, I took up this service on November 1, 2011.

For over five years since then, I have been writing daily a small three-hundred-word reflection on the Gita and publishing it at gitadaily.com. I feel grateful for the opportunity and the ability to do this service to the Gita. And I feel even more grateful to see that these daily reflections are connecting thousands of readers from all over the world with the Gita.

An Israeli scholar on the Gita, Dr. Ithamar Theodor, has called my Gita presentation an expression of “humanistic Hinduism.” The Gita speaks to us through many voices. Dr. Theodor verbalized what I had inchoately sensed: The Gita is meant for all of humanity, for bringing the best out of humanity and for helping humanity get the best out of life.

When I give talks on the Gita in various parts of the world from Australia to America, people often introduce me as a Gita teacher. But I see myself as a Gita student who seeks to understand it better by speaking and writing on it. I don’t teach the Gita – the Gita teaches me and teaches through me. I am profoundly grateful to the many Gita teachers, past and present, whose insights have helped me dive deeper into the Gita. As a service to them, I do my small part in keeping the Gita’s legacy of wisdom alive and accessible.

My life’s greatest fortune is to savor and share the Gita. I hope and pray that I can serve it by writing on it daily till my life’s last day.

The post What I have learned from the Gita appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk.
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, By Krishna-kripa das.
Inspiring quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s books, conversations, and letters. I add a quote by Krishna Himself from Srimad-Bhagavatam. I include quotes from the books of previous acaryas, namely Rupa Goswami and Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Ramesvara Prabhu, who did great service for the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, gave a class after breakfast on Thanksgiving at The Bhakti Center on the philosophy behind book distribution. The class was very inspiring and filled with a lot of realizations, and I share my notes on that. I also share notes on the morning classes at The Bhakti Center given by Adi Purusha, Rama Raya, Karuna Gauranga, Paramananda Gopal, Murali Gopal and Mahotsaha Prabhus, and by Bhaktas Josh and Cesar. I also include quotes from articles in Back to Godhead, Vol. 51, No. 2, by Krishna Dharma Prabhu, Nagaraja Prabhu, Caitanya Candra Prabhu, Nikunja Vilasini Devi Dasi, and Madhava Smullen. I also share one note from an internet lecture by Vaisesika Prabhu, which I overheard.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/7UhnlW

Jagannath Rath Yatra 2017 at Iskcon Pune (1 min promo video)
Nara-narayana: When you came to the Western world, no one anywhere believed that it would be successful, I think. But actually it has become very successful, by preaching. Prabhupada: I myself did not believe I shall be successful, [laughs] what to speak of others. But because I did in the proper line, so it has become successful. From Srila Prabhupada’s Morning Walk – December 12, 1973, Los Angeles
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/2GI8Yr

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya by Tarana & friends (7 min musical video)
One can attain salvation simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.18.7
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/mexdHg

Bhagavad Gita for children ( Chapter 2 Text 59) By Radha Padma Mayapur 2016 (9 min video)
Vaisnava Seva das: Yet another amazin...

Notes from Ramesvara prabhu’s recent sankirtana seminar at The Bhakti Center on Thanksgiving Day: In some confidential conversations with his disciples, Srila Prabhupada indicated that he was sent from the spiritual world to write his books and distribute them worldwide, much in the same way as the Six Goswamis were.
It was Srila Prabhupada’s genius to illustrate his books with fantastic, colorful, and glorious artwork to attract the conditioned souls to read them.
London was considered the capital of the world because of the British Empire, but after World War II, New York City became more prominent.
Srila Prabhupada envisioned presenting the Srimad-Bhagavatam in 60 volumes of 400 pages each. Most religions have one book about God, and they think that is amazing. In the introduction to the first printing of the second volume of the First Canto, Srila Prabhupada recalls a conversation with someone who found it hard to believe he was producing so many volumes about God. He replied that he was only producing 60 volumes because the puny brains of the residents of Kali-yuga can only take so much. In the higher planets, they have millions of volumes.

Of all of our activities, this activity of book distribution is our most important activity.

Srila Prabhupada gave up everything to write these books, and if we give up everything to distribute them, that will be proper reciprocation, and we will experience a deep satisfaction.

Every embodied soul in every body has a deep-rooted desire to enjoy sense objects. If we had that desire in the spiritual world, it would create a lot of disturbance, and thus Krishna created this world for us. This material sense enjoyment is not this world’s only purpose. Krishna has not forgotten us, and enters into the heart of each body as Paramatma. To come to the human form takes millions of births.

A rich person dies, a poor person dies, a famous person dies, and an unknown person dies. Why should I endeavor for wealth and fame if my end is the same. A human being can question this.

If you are not focused on this philosophy, when you walk out of the door, you will look after one sense object after another, because it is a deep-rooted habit.

No love in the material world could motivate someone to follow his friend in every abominable birth he takes, and thus no one has love like Krishna, who is willing to do that.

Although the souls have attained the human form, they are victimized by Kali-yuga and encouraged to desire like animals, and thus lose their opportunity for perfecting their human lives. When you see with that vision when you go out, that is seeing spiritually. Everyone is part of Krishna like we are and is a family member.

Approaching them, knowing they are our brothers and sisters, although they do not recognize that we are their brothers and sisters, is an art.

The secret on sankirtana is to really care about the people, and Krishna will give the person the ability to see that you really care.

If they get a book, even if they do not read it, they will get a human birth.

If you perform the austerity of trying to distribute the books, although it is not your nature, you will become very dear to Krishna. Krishna sees that you are trying to come up to a soul He has been watching for so many births and get him to turn away from sense enjoyment.

In the beginning it is very hard, but at the end it is nonstop spiritual ecstasy, and that is because Krishna is so pleased that someone is finally trying to turn each soul away from sense enjoyment and toward Him.

We should always think, “These are my brothers and sisters. They are living in a culture that causes them to waste their human lives. I have to give them the opportunity to be delivered.”

Japa is a prayer. It is a call for help. If you pray to Krishna to always give you that sankirtana consciousness, he will do that.

Those ecstasies of sankirtana are waiting for you, like an ocean to swim in.

I cannot describe how dear you become to Krishna if you dedicate your life to connect others with Him.

Q (by Cesar’s father): What did Srila Prabhupada think of when he came to America all alone?
A: This is recorded in his poem “Markine Bhagavata-dharma.” First he thought, “Krishna, why did You bring me here?” For thousands of years in India, the mood was to not associate with such degraded souls. Then he considered that Krishna brought him there for a purpose. And he prayed for Krishna to give him words to say to the people and to make him a success, if He desired.

It has nothing to do with us, but some impossible things occur because Krishna is working through us.

You may think “that person will never take a book,” but Krishna can give you the words to say so he will take a book.

Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Satsvarupa Maharaja one paragraph for me to tell the book distributors. In essence it was, “Because I have sacrificed so much to write these books and you are sacrificing so much to distribute them, we have an intimate and intense relationship, like actors on a stage, and I am the director, and through this the people of the world will be saved.”

Srila Prabhupada said that he liked to work at night because he had to have it very quiet so Krishna could speak to him the translation and purport from within the heart and he could hear it.
Source: https://goo.gl/7UhnlW

By Chirag Bhatt

Special guests also included Harris County District Attorney, Kim Ogg; Pat Hallisey, Mayor of League City and his wife Janice; Dr. Catherine O’Brien, vice chancellor of San Jacinto College; David Williams, Principal at Seabrook Intermediate School; Matt Khan of Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, who remarked, “The hospitality was exceptional and I learned a great deal about the history of ISKCON.” Also attending were Rev. Gena Davis of Houston’s grace Episcopal Church, a certified yoga teacher who incorporates yoga in her ministry; Rev. David Carter of the Unitarian Church of Wichita, Kansas perhaps the first Gaudiya Vaisnava devotee to lead such a church and congregation; representatives of the local Focolare community; board members of Houston’s Rothko Chapel; and Dr. Zahra Jamal, Associate Director of the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance at Rice University. Representatives of Hindu organizations included those from BAPS, Voice of Sanatan Hinduism, Hindus of Greater Houston, ICC, the Hindu Heritage Foundation, Ashtalaksmi Temple, Sri Sita Ram Foundation, Mahatma Gandhi Library, Banke Bihari Pariwar, the Indo American Political Group and the Youth Leadership Development Program (YLDP). The gala also featured art and devotional music (kirtan) by local devotees and a unique ice sculpture and rangoli (colored powder) depiction of the ISKCON logo. Continue reading "Houston’s Four-Day ISKCON 50 Celebration a Grand Success
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Here is the Divali presentation, Hungarian/English: https://youtu.be/mOe7owy6BlA

By Giriraj dasa

But now, scientists say that meditators may be benefiting from changes in their brains. The researchers report that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. M.R.I. brain scans taken before and after the participants’ meditation regimen found increased gray matter in the hippocampus, an area important for learning and memory. The images also showed a reduction of gray matter in the amygdala, a region connected to anxiety and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes. Continue reading "Modern science discovers the benefits of meditation
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Mayapur Institute New Campus Walkthrough. (video)
This thirty five minutes walking tour of Mayapur Institute’s new campus gives you a overview of the upcoming MI Campus at Sridham Mayapur. You can see how the new Mayapur Institute Campus is taking its shape.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/Woxcd3

Her Grace Yamuna Devi.
Nirmala Devi: On this day, 5 years ago, our dear Yamuna Devi departed from this world. Daily we carry her with us. Her love, friendship and complete attachment to Srila Prabhupada, has nourished my soul and greatly enhanced my spiritual journey. I am eternally and deeply grateful for her pure association.
If you would like to get a glimpse into this great devotees life, you can dive into her biography, Yamuna Devi, “A life of Unalloyed devotion”.
http://krishnamagic.com/

Kalash and Chatri Parts Being Readied for Shipping.

Pictured here are some of the parts that will be used with the Kalashes and Chatris, being manufactured by the company in Moscow, Russia that we previously reported on in this article.

They were loaded into crates and into a large container on December 14th and will be shipped to Kolkata shortly. In two months when they arrive and make their way to Mayapur we will begin the process of assembling them onto the domes in preparation for the Kalashes and Chatris.

The post The First Container From Moscow appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Plug in to the divine.
Each month, we pay our electric bill to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E).
PG & E sends electricity from their power station through a labyrinth of wires, some of which terminate in the walls of our home. Plugged into an electrical socket in the wall of my room, my computer drinks in this electricity, transforming it, through digital technology, into images and sounds.
This afternoon, as I awakened from a short nap, I heard my computer playing a lecture by Srila Prabhupada; just as I opened my eyes, Srila Prabhupada said, “Krsna is akhila-rasamrita-sindhu, the immortal blissful ocean of transcendental rasa.”

Hearing these words, I thought of Krsna.

Simultaneously, I marveled at how electricity – one of Krsna’s energies – was being transformed – through the technology in my computer – to produce the transcendental sound of Srila Prabhupada’s voice.

The computer is an unconscious machine that I, a sentient being, control. If I had chosen to set my computer to play a song by Beethoven, the very same electrical energy that produced the sound of my spiritual master’s voice, would have stimulated the computer to play a song by Beethoven.

Hearing Beethoven, rather than the voice of my spiritual master, would have certainly affected my mind in an entirely different way.

Moreover, I could have sent that same electrical energy through a radio to hear the news, a ball game, or a nationalistic song like the Star Spangled Banner. Each one of these would have affected my mind and consciousness in various ways.

Krsna’s separated inferior energies – earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego – are activated by the superior energy, the soul.

As a soul, I may choose how I activate the inferior energies that surround me.

Those who read Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-bhagavatam, and who associate with advanced devotees, not only learn how to use Krsna’s energies wisely, they also get the impetus to do so.

Each one of Krsna’s energies can be used in His service; or any one of them can be used for sense gratification. My choice in using them either way leads to my elevation or degradation, respectively.

In the Gita 4.24, Krsna says, “A person who is fully absorbed in Krsna consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.”

And in his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada writes: “The Absolute Truth covered by maya is called matter. Matter dovetailed for the cause of the Absolute Truth regains its spiritual quality. Krsna consciousness is the process of converting the illusory consciousness into Brahman, or the Supreme.”

Progressive spiritual life lies in dovetailing Krsna’s energies astutely, by engaging them in His service.

The sensible devotee does not shun the energies of the material world, knowing that they can be engaged in Krsna’s service. The devotee also has no interest in enjoying these multifarious energies, knowing well that they belong to Krsna. Rather, the devotee enjoys a higher pleasure by connecting all energies to Krsna thus uncovering their ever fresh spiritual essence.

Be aware today that all the energies that surround you come from Krsna.

Engage them in devotional service and feel Krsna’s divine presence, wherever you may be.
Vaisesia Das

By Panchatattva Dasa

On our way we noticed a wedding ceremony being held and as we got closer, to our surprise, all the baratis or wedding guests came out to join us in the kirtana. The newlywed couple even took the chance to offer incense to the Lords –we are certain that they received Their blessings. Amazingly, we ended the padayatra in an Arya Samaj Hall, even though it is well known that the Arya Samaj in Mauritius do not accept deity worship in their compound. However, we were warmly welcomed with our deities. Asim Krishna Dasa, originally from India, gave a wonderful lecture bringing the padayatra to a close. Continue reading "The Mauritius Harinama Team Organized 2 Padayatras For Iskcon 50Th Anniversary
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By Paramadayala Nityananda Das

The title is meant to call attention to the fact that this question assumes the either/or fallacy. Pusta Krishna: He said that morning "What can we do, Prabhupada?" He said, "What can we do? If we do not compromise, we will make enemies." Prabhupada: No, you'll not compromise; at the same time, you'll not make enemies. That is tactics. If you make enemies, then what is your tactics? You must speak the truth; at the same time he'll not be displeased (Morning walk, 6/11/1974). Continue reading "Is it Better to Compromise or offend?
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By Janananda Gosvami

The kirtana is at its climax The leader from the top of his lungs bursts forth with a resounding Gurudeva, Gurudeva, Gurudeva Gurudeva ..... Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva Jaya Gurudeva etc. Some devotees look at each other - who am I supposed to be singing to or should I be singing it at all. Who is the leader referring to? A kind of silent unsurety lingers in the background or foreground. Some say we should not at all chant others say at specific occasions and times, others anytime, anywhere. Some say before Jaya Prabhupada is okay some after. Some say it is to Srila Prabhupada, some to their initiating guru, some to all the gurus, some the predecessor guru. On behalf of the Kirtan standards committee I would like to hear what the esteemed assembly of learned and experienced devotees could kindly contribute to this topic. Not just our sentiments and likes but what is correct. Continue reading "Requesting Your Help
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Malaysia Kirtan Mela 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: There are two ways of association–by vani and by vapuh. Vani means words, and vapuh means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vani continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vani, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gita, for example, is the vani of Lord Krsna. Although Krsna was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gita continues. (Srila Prabhupada: Cc Antya Concluding Words)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/EWR5PB

Sunday Harinama in Vladivostok, Russia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Perhaps, throughout the whole world, it is the first time – we are preaching Bhagavad-gita as it is. We are the only institution in the world that we are preaching Bhagavad-gita as it is, and people are liking it. Before that, for the last two hundred years, so many swamis, yogis and…, they tried to preach Hindu philosophy, Vaisnavism. Not a single person was a devotee of Krsna, not a single person. Now you see so many young men. Why? Why this difference? Because we did not present Bhagavad-gita adulterated. Presented as it is, that’s all. What is the use of preaching adulterated things? Srila Prabhupada – April 12, 1975, Hyderabad
Find them here: https://goo.gl/qjKYLN

A rare video footage of HDG Srila Prabhupada (1 min video)
He is interviewed by a journalist in his arrival in Australia.
...

The Cleansing Power of Swamiji’s Hare Krishna Mantra

Tattva Darsi; Sankirtana and Book Distribution News

The post Daily Darshan: December 20th, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Although anger sometimes has a positive use in motivating us to act or to fight for a righteous cause (like Arjuna and Hanuman) and give protection to the oppressed, anger is an energy that is usually criticized since it frequently has negative consequences. We are urged in Bhagavad Gita to control our anger, lest it get out of control and cause us to act in ways we may later regret. In the Bhagavatam’s account of Dhruva Maharaja. After he became king when his brother was killed by a yaksha, although he had heard from Lord Vishnu that his death was inevitable, Dhruva still became angry and killed many yaksha warriors unnecessarily, until he heard spiritual philosophy from Manu.

Because Dhruva was a great soul, he could also give up his anger in the face of reason and Vedic wisdom. We saw in Shrila Prabhupada that he would sometimes become angry to instruct someone to change, but that anger never stayed for long, and the incident that caused his anger would generally not be mentioned again. We find that many people are not able to do this and may get some secondary gain from remaining angry.

For example, in psychology the appearance of frequent anger in a person can alert us to look deeper to find the underlying causes or emotional wounds we would rather not look at or want to feel, like feeling worthless or ashamed of our past. In such an unfortunately mentality anger seems more desirable and motivating that our low self-concept.

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Pictured here is our small deity of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura on his disappearance day, just before we offered him bhoha, pushpanjali, and arati. My spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, said, “Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura came in this world to execute the of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So he executed it. And when it was required, he left this place and went to another place to do the same business.” And Srila Prabhupada prayed to his spiritual master, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, to be merciful to us, Srila Sarasvati’s servant’s servants.

—Giriraj Swami

 

By Vaisesika Dasa

Krishna is the well-wisher of everyone. He is simply waiting within the heart to give facility to anyone who wants to approach Him. "Tesam satata-yuktanam, bhajatam priti-purvakam, dadami buddhi-yogam tam, yena mam upayanti te" [B.G. 10.10] So when a devotee decides to come forward to take up this .. accept this initiation into the sampradaya, Krishna becomes pleased. In fact sastra says this over and over again. The acaryas state this very clearly, that this official entry and declaration, as we are doing here today, is very pleasing to the Lord. Many people "almost" do something. A lot of people "think about" doing something. So when someone actually "does" something, rather than "almost" doing something, then it moves everyone else. So we are very fortunate today that Bhakta Ramaswamy and Bhakta Leon have decided to formally enter into the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, and that is why we are having this ceremony today. So, a sampradaya means, Krishna's mercy. He is eager that we come back home, back to Godhead. It's not His idea that we stay here. His idea is for us to come back home back to Godhead. Continue reading "Harinama Initiation Lecture
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The ceremony of diksha, initiation, is that by which the spiritual preceptor admits one to the status of a neophyte on the path of spiritual endeavor. The ceremony tends to confer spiritual enlightenment by abrogating sinfulness. Its actual effect depends on the degree of willing co-operation on the part of the disciple and is, therefore, not the same in all cases. It does not preclude the possibility of reversion of the novice to the non-spiritual state if he slackens in his effort or misbehaves. Initiation puts a person on the true track and also imparts an initial impulse to go ahead. It cannot, however, keep one going for good unless one chooses to put forth his own voluntary effort.... Unless the soul of its own accord chooses to serve Krishna after obtaining a working idea of his real nature, it cannot long retain the spiritual vision. The soul is never compelled by Krishna to serve him.

- By His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Takur Prabhupada, Sajjana-toshani, volume 26, number 7 December 1928

My take away points on initiation are;

1. Sets the neophyte on the spiritual path
2. Confers enlightenment through canceling of sinful behavior
3. Progress depends on cooperation of the disciple to the instructions' of the spiritual master
4. It is a voluntary process (no force)

TOVP: First sample of the iron casting of the grills, fences and railings (Album with photos)
Sadbhuja Das: This is the first s...

Ludhiana Rath Yatra (3 min video)
Amazing, Astonishing and Aflatoon devotion and enthusiasm for Lord Jagannath.
Watch it h...

Harinama and distribution of prasadam in Santiago de Cali
City in Valle del Cauca, Colombia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Let us remain in our position, but at the same time, simultaneously, side by side, let us have spiritual culture. Just like we are holding this class. This is also spiritual culture, sravanam kirtanam [SB 7.5.23]. With your multifarious duties you come here thrice in a week and try to understand. This is also spiritual culture. This will not go in vain. This will give you impression. Even you stop coming here, that impression will never go. I tell you the that impression will never go. It is such a thing. But if we take it up very seriously and go on molding our life in that way, then it becomes quickly successful. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.49-51 – New York, April 5, 1966
Find them here: https://goo.gl/dq8u5Y

Festival Sadhu Sanga 2016 in Warsaw, Poland (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Life should be molded in such a way that in every step or action, we shall feel the presence of the Lord. That is spiritual life. That is spiritual life. You need not change your present occupation. … The aim is toward Krsna. … Now, suppose a man or woman is in love, and the man is a third person, beyond the husband of the wife, beyond the, of the woman. Now, it is a example given in scripture that the woman who is fallen in love, the woman of man with other woman, other man, opposite sex. So he may be engaged in so many duties, but his mind is always to that point when he or she will meet his lover. With all his duty, or her duties, during the daytime, she or he always thinks, “Oh, when that moment will come when we shall meet together?” That means the mind is always there. The example is said because when there is ecstasy, when there is ecstasy of love, even within our, within the midst of our multifarious duties, we can remember that thing always. Similarly, God consciousness, we shall have to mold our life in that way that in the midst of our very grave duties, serious duties, we shall always remember the Supreme, the Supreme, in every step. That discrimination, that much love, we have to develop. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.49-51 – New York, April 5, 1966
Find them here: https://goo.gl/6rZNjk

Vrinda Kunda 16-12-16 (Album with photos)
Deena Bandhu Das: Last week we visited Ter Kadamba and Vrinda Kunda. Near Ter Kadamb...

Modernization Without Westernization – Reflections on the Middle East’s spiritual potential.
Chaitanya Charan Das: While in a prominent city in the Middle East, I stayed with a devotee whose house was on the seventeenth floor of a skyscraper. During my travels to Australia, USA, Canada and UK, the devotees who have hosted me have had houses ranging from one-room apartments to multi-story villas. But this house was the highest height at which I had stayed. Though I may have spoken at greater heights in hotels, I didn’t have the time to contemplate the view from there.
During the course of the day, while observing the city from the window, I could see the well-organized roadways, the crowded yet orderly buildings, the impressive domes of the mosques interspersing the concrete expanse and the skyscrapers towering above everything else. In several metropolitan Middle Eastern cities, many buildings are designed with exquisite artistry. This view was far different from the aerial view of Mumbai that I would see whenever my return flight would descend in that financial nerve center of India. This view was more reminiscent of the modernization I had seen in the West.
A major difference between the West and the Middle East, however, was the level of public sensuality. Because of the conservativeness of Islamic culture, no immodest imagery can be seen either on the streets or on the billboards. Although I could see some Bollywood actors on the billboards, their pictures were far more modest than those seen in India. The decreased sensual temperature of the culture makes it easier for spiritual aspirants to keep their mind peaceful for practicing spirituality. The phrase that popped up in my mind for describing the situation was modernization without westernization.
Ultimately, no place in the material world is fully conducive for spirituality. What spiritualizes people is their own intention to be spiritual and the guidance of saintly teachers.
Still, the principle of modernization without westernization can significantly facilitate spiritual growth. Srila Prabhupada would compare the spiritually uninformed west to a blind man and the technologically under-equipped India to a lame man. If the two would come together, if western technology could be joined together with Indian spirituality, that synergy could substantially raise human consciousness, thereby helping promote greater peace and joy, both individually and globally. In this metaphorical merger, Srila Prabhupada could be said to be recommending modernization without westernization. And that has been actualized to some extent by ISKCON, which is working to globalize the message of the Gita using the latest technology.
If India at large could implement modernization without westernization, Indians would have to struggle less for getting life’s necessities and utilities, and would have more time and energy for spiritual cultivation.
But then, categories such as modernization and westernization are porous, and influences from one can easily seep into the other. Ultimately the key to our spiritual protection and purification is not our country’s orientation, but our consciousness’ intention.
If we are determined to grow spiritually, we may still have our struggles and lapses because of our circumstances and conditionings. But we will gradually be guided by Krishna from within, as he assures in the Gita (10.10). And with that guidance, we will learn to adeptly adapt and adopt for doing the things necessary for moving closer to him.
Such adeptness is demonstrated by the devotees in the Middle East, who have found ways to grow devotionally even while being far away from their devotional homeland. In fact, during my world travels, I have seen sincere souls practicing bhakti seriously in all kinds of circumstances – western and non-western, modern and pre-modern (and post-modern too). These devotees are living testimony to the reality that whatever our situation, we can always open the door of our heart to Krishna, and he will mercifully manifest his presence there.

Detachment from material pleasures by HG Akruranath Prabhu Recorded on 12-11-2016, ISKCON of Silicon Valley (video)
Srila Prabhupada: Krsna’s mercy is always there. It is your misuse of free will. You are given the opportunity – that is fortune. But you do not accept the fortune. That is your misfortune. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritamrita. Lord Caitanya said, ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva [Cc. Madhya 19.151]. Kono – some fortunate man can accept it. Because mostly they are unfortunate. Just see, throughout the whole of Europe and America we are making propaganda. How many students have come? A very insignificant number, although they have come. They are fortunate. Amogha: Sometimes we see that a devotee may be very sincere, but at the same time he becomes weak somehow, and he falls down. Prabhupada: Even if he falls down, still he is fortunate, because the injection is there. It will act, some day or another. Still he is fortunate. As fortunate man he took it, but he fell down. That does not mean he’s unfortunate. Still he’s fortunate, because the poison is already there. It will develop. That is called ajnata sukrti. Therefore he is not loser. He continues to be fortunate. It will take some time. Amogha: So he became weak because he misused his individual will. Prabhupada: He misused the instruction of his spiritual master. Therefore he became unfortunate, or he fell down. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk – Perth, May 10, 1975
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/q9YkTw

Vrindavan is becoming cold.
Vrindavan Lordships draped in warm clothes to ward off cold.
As winter continues to grip Vraja with its harshness, even the Lordships of Vrindavan do not remain unaffected. The winter ‘seva’ began in the Saptadevalaya Temples from Vyanjan Dwadashi. The ‘Khichdi’ made of varieties of pulses is being offered to the deities.
Not only is a change in their attire and cuisine, there a variation in their routine too with a late rise from sleep and early schedule to bed.
At the various temples of Vrindavan, the priests are adorning the deities with woolen and velvet fabrics while the devotees coming in for the darshan are bringing bhogs according to the chilling climate.
The deities can be seen draped in warm clothes, and a sigari (heater burn from coals) is kept to ward off cold. The temple priests are protecting their deities in various temple of the city by offering woolen blankets and warm clothes apart from arranging hot water and hot foods for the presiding deities.
Various eatable items, which are considered healthy and best suited for the winter season, are being offered to the deities.
Special arrangement for the winter is done at Radha Ballabh Mandir. Peanut gazak, til papdi rolls, Urd daal laddos, moong daal barfis, dry fruits kaju badam, pista and anjeer have become an integral part of the daily offerings.
The devotees can be seen buying the warm clothes for their deities in the markets to protect their beloved from the chilling cold.
Here we see beloved Radha Raman with socks.

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