The beautiful deity of Gopinath was discovered at Vamsivat in Vrindavan 500 years ago by Madhu Pandit and Paramananda Bhattacarya. Madhu Pandit served Gopinath with great love and devotion for many years. Centuries later Gopinath was moved to Jaipur where He has been worshipped along with Srimati Radharani ever since. The temple is popular with the people of Jaipur, who come together daily to chant Radha Gopinath’s glories. Indradyumna Swami's parikrama party eagerly visits the temple each Kartika. A video by Ananta Vrindavan.

ISKCON 50, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York City in 1966, was celebrated in Houston over four consecutive days, beginning with a formal gala dinner on Thursday, December 8 at the society’s state-of-the art new temple on West 34th Street. The Houston festivities were part of another major “ISKCON 50” celebration held in the U.S. in 2016, following the highly successful Washington, D.C. gala in November.

The U.S. House of Representatives Library in Washington D.C. recently purchased an entire set of Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, during the House’s Diwali celebration on October 31^st. The books came from ISKCON Baltimore’s Jiva Daya Sankirtana Team, which is working hard during ISKCON’s 50^th anniversary to place Srila Prabhupada’s books at various prestigious locations such as government offices, libraries, and embassies in the Washington D.C. area. 

Motivational philosopher Jay (Ghanashyam) Shetty explains how failure may not build resumes, but builds character and helps us learn to adapt to change.

Comfort Zone (Audio) by Mahatma das.
A comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress. In this zone, a steady level of performance is possible.
Or a settled method of working that requires little effort and yields only barely acceptable results. “if you stay within your comfort zone you will never improve”
Listen to it here: https://soundcloud.com/mahatma-das/comfort-zone?in=mahatma-das/sets/reality-check

RABBI: In the Torah, Moses describes to the people some of the requirements of a king. One of the requirements is, "When [the king] is established on his royal throne, he must write a copy of the Torah as a scroll edited by the Levitical priests. [This scroll] must always be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life. He will then learn to be in awe of God his Lord, and carefully keep every word of the Torah and these rules. He will then [also] not begin to feel superior to his brethren, and he will not stray from the mandate to the right or the left. He and his descendants will thus have a long reign in the midst of Israel." [Torah, Duet., Shoftim 17:18] Do the Vedas give any description of the qualities of a king similar to these? Continue reading "Rabbi and I: Equality Based on the Soul – Exploring The Jewish root in the Vedas
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Maktar the bhakta.
We were distributing in front of a church in New Town, Sydney. One African bodied man popped his head out of an African restaurant next door. He said “What you got?” So I showed him Bhagavata Gita. He said “I got no money but can I have the little book (Perfect Escape written by HH Devamrita Swami)?” Though I thought he had been a bit abrupt I gave it to him and continued my service.
The next time I went to New town he rolled up on his bike, he is a chef at the restaurant. He said “I want the big one!” So I gave him the Gita with my phone number and he gave a nice donation. I was very surprised because I thought he was probably a Muslim and he seemed a bit arrogant so I didn’t think he would have liked the small book I gave him. Anyway I invited him for dinner at Govindas but I didn’t think he would call.
1 or 2 weeks later I was in Parramata and he called. His name is Maktar and he was really eager to meet for dinner. I was in ecstasy! We arranged to meet at Govindas.
I didn’t know what to expect, maybe an argument, so I just prayed to Krsna. Before I went to meet him I was talking to my godbrother Shastra Krit prabhu. I asked him ‘How can we keep going on doing books everyday?“ Shastra Krit prabhu said that Lord Caitanya lets you taste the nectar of bringing someone closer to Krsna and you will become addicted to it. After an amazing dinner with Maktar the bhakta I understood what my godbrother was saying.
My first impression of Maktar was way off. He is a the sweetest young man from Senaga, west Africa. Very sincere seeker of the absolute truth. We spoke about God the hole time but there was no clashing. He told me of cheating spiritual leaders (maybe voodoo) in Africa and he told me of his being influenced by Christianity and Muslim teachings.
He is very busy working full time for his sponsor to Australia. He is also studying english so he can get his permanent residency. Whenever he has spare time he calls me to come and meet again. He even gets someone to cover for him for a few hours to come and visit.
We had met three times at Govindas, I thought it time to bring him even closer to Krsna so I invited him to my home for dinner. I cooked nice prasadam. While we were taking prasad he asked me "Can Krsna appear in a dream?” I told him yes, I’m reading in CC about the lord appearing in His devotee Madhavendra Puri’s dream. Also when I was a young boy on New Govardhan farm I would sometimes have nightmares of drowning or sometimes demons would attack the farm and Krsna would save us.“ I also told him that recently I was preaching to an old (non-devotee) friend of mine, telling her all about Krsna and the nature of the material world. One day she wrote to me telling about Krsna’s appearance in her dream! She was in a boat and Krsna was there with her. So I sent her some beads, books and a picture of Krsna and the Gopies in a boat. She was in ecstasy!
I told Maktar that because the Lord is absolute, if He appears in someone’s dream He is really there. Then Maktar said to me, "I think Krsna appeared in my dream.” I said, “Really!!!!” Maktar said “Yes three times. Once as the blue person on the cover of 'Perfect Escape.’ Then he appeared as a white lady kneeling with Her hands as if offering something?” He showed me how She was holding Her hands. Straight away the picture of Srimati Radhika kneeling in front of Krsna offering flowers to His lotus feat came into my mind. At this point my hairs raised up all over. Then Maktar said “The third time He appeared as a Lion?!!!”
Maktar didn’t quite know what to make of it all, especially because all he had was the Gita and Perfect Escape so he had never seen any other pictures of ours, but I was finding it hard to contain myself! We were eating at the time so I just told him I have some pictures to show him after prasadam.
After prasad I got the Srimad Bhagavatam 7th canto and the Krsna Book and showed him the picture of Radharani offering flowers to Krsna. He was satisfied when he saw Her. Then I carefully showed him a picture of Lord Nrsimhadeva after Prahlada Maharaja had pacified Him and I explained the whole pastime in a nut shell using all the pictures, showing him Ugra Nrsimha and explaining how the Lord protects his devotees. Maktar was very pleased with it all.
Bhakta Maktar has sincerely said to me that he knows spiritual life is more important than anything else and that he wants to spend more time with us and meet our Gurumaharaja. So please everybody pray to Krsna to remove all the obstacles for him.
Lord Caitanya really gave me a drop of the nectar. Srila Prabhupada’s books KI JAI!!
Your Servent
Uddhava Dasa

Humility, best Vaishnava quality?
Humble: “having or showing a modest or low estimation of one’s own importance.” (Apple Dictionary)
“Humility means that one should not be anxious to have the satisfaction of being honored by others.” (Srila Prabhupada, Bg. 13.8, purport)
“The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us in our daily conduct.” –Andrew Murray
“God descends to the humble as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys.” –Tikhon

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura made a blueprint for a marketplace of the holy name called the “Nama Hatta.” He designed a system through which people all over the world might not only take up the chanting of the holy names, but also learn the philosophy behind the chanting.

In drawing the plans for this sacred marketplace, Srila Bhaktivinoda listed various positions like, Chief Trader, Broker, and numerous kinds of salespeople.

He also gave himself a position: the sweeper of the marketplace.

Srila Bhaktivinoda’s illustrious son, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said, “I am but one straw in the broom of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the sweeper.”

To chant the holy names with feeling, I must cultivate such humility, feeling myself to be lowly, bereft of qualification, and dependent on the mercy of Krsna and His devotees.

Lord Caitanya taught that a person who maintains a humble state mind could go on chanting the names of the Lord without stoppage.
Vaisesika Dasa

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 December 2016, Melbourne, Australia, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.26.41)

In this verse, we are reading about how the living entity in the embodied state is interacting with the material energy. Through the material senses, the living entity is experiencing material “rasa”. This is really the purpose of our material existence, to try and taste “rasa” because the soul by nature is meant to relish or taste varieties of “rasa”.

Now this tendency for “rasa” has become perverted and thus in the material world, we are interacting with the material energy trying to squeeze out a few drops of material pleasure. It is very difficult because this material energy is basically designed to frustrate us. The script is the same!

You can change the characters in script… you can change their names… you can change the names of places… you can go to valleys or to the top of mountains but the essence of the script is to squeeze out a few drops of enjoyment and the result is that one becomes frustrated! Whether on top of the mountain or in a valley… whether on this side of the ocean or the other, frustrated we will be in different ways. It is like that! Whether married or whether unmarried, still not fulfilled! Fulfillment cannot be found on the material plane.

Of course, once Krsna comes into the equation, everything changes. Srila Prabhupada was closely communicating with the son of Rupanuga, his name was Ekendra and Ekendra took a great liking to Srila Prabhupada and always stayed in touch with him on a personal level. So he wrote Prabhupada a letter about having to learn mathematics and then Prabhupada said, “5 + 5 is 10, 2 + 2 is 4, and everything plus Krsna is Vrindavan!”

Such a simple formula but an amazing one because that is the nature of the sankirtan movement and that is the nature of Krsna, that when Krsna is added everything becomes transcendental! Because ultimately the root of material existence is spiritual in the first place.

“Acharya” the mega movie about Srila Prabhupada, near completion.
Yadubara and Visakha’s film “Hare Krishna” (“Acharya” film renamed) will be previewed at Iskcon Alachua’s Govinda’s Restaurant on Thursday Dec. 22, 2016, starting at 6:00 pm.
RELEASE UPDATE: Production on Acharya is projected to continue into 2016 with the aim to complete post-production on the film by December 2016. Upon completion, the plan is to enter the film onto the film festivals’ circuit, aiming primarily for a North American premiere in 2017, before hopefully seeing it travel around the world.

After premiering, the film will then be open to theatrical distribution. We also have plans for a grassroots distribution campaign, where global communities will host screenings of the film in their locality. Towards the latter half of 2017/2018, the film will be available on DVD or as an online download. The film also has exciting broadcast opportunities on television, especially in India and Europe.

Our Facebook and You tube site traffic already denotes a captive audience for the film. To give an indication of just a fraction of those figures, our Facebook page has over 48,000 likes and our two preview trailers together have had over 55,000 views.
Read more: http://www.acharyathemovie.com

Beautiful Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir in Vrindavana (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the beginning, a conditioned soul is bereft of Krsna consciousness and is always morose in his material activities. Later, by associating with a pure devotee, one becomes inquisitive to know the Absolute Truth. In this way one begins to engage in the transcendental service of the Lord. Next, by the Lord’s grace all misconceptions are vanquished and the heart is cleansed of all material dirt. It is only then that the pleasure of transcendental bliss is awakened. By the Lord’s mercy one is completely convinced of the value of devotional service. When one can see the pastimes of the Lord everywhere, he is firmly situated in transcendental bliss. Such a devotee is relieved of all kinds of material desires, and he preaches the glories of the Lord all over the world. These Krsna conscious activities separate him from material activities and the desire for liberation, for at every step the devotee feels himself connected with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although such a devotee may sometimes be involved in household life, he is untouched by material existence due to his constant engagement in devotional service. Thus everyone is advised to take shelter of devotional service to become happy and liberated. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Madhya 10.119
Find them here: https://goo.gl/vn4grF

ISKCON Auckland NZ: Rathyatra festival 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: His [the Supreme Lord’s] existence can be realized by one who has the single qualification of submissiveness and who thereby becomes a surrendered soul. The development of submissiveness is the cause of proportionate spiritual realization, by which one can ultimately meet the Supreme Lord in person, as a man meets another man face to face. [Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 1.55 purport]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/NT5dxJ

Harinama in a freezing Moscow (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: This is Vedic civilization, not to waste a single moment of life for useless attempt. That is Vedic civilization. Every moment should be utilized. Especially for the human being, it’s so valuable. And they are finding out sporting, swimming and surfing — simply all programs of wasting time, especially in the Western countries. How much they have invented, I see only and laugh. The elderly men of your age, of course, maybe my age also, they are swimming and surfing. (Srila Prabhupada, Morning Walk, November 11, 1975)
Find them here: https://goo.gl/vuhg39

Prabhupada never accepted anything for himself, nor did he ever enjoy the facilities offered to him by his disciples and followers. Those who had the good fortune to personally serve or spend time with Srila Prabhupada all attest to this fact. He was cent percent engaged in the service of Krishna 24 hours a day. It was his total surrender and dedication to the Lord's service which inspired so much love and adoration in the hearts of his followers. Srila Prabhupada not only talked the talk, but he walked the walk. Everyone respected Prabhupada, even those who didn't agree with his philosophy. Poet Allen Ginsberg said it well: "The main thing, above and beyond all our differences, was an aroma of sweetness that he had, a personal selfless sweetness like total devotion. And that was what always conquered me, whatever intellectual questions or doubts I had, or even cynical views of ego. In his presence there was a kind of personal charm, coming from dedication, that conquered all our conflicts." Continue reading "Respecting Srila Prabhupada
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The post Daily Darshan:December15,2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

How to judge whether the hearing is being done properly by measuring its effect: "A devotee should always see that his Vaisnava qualities increase with the advancement of his Krsna consciousness. A devotee should be blameless because any offense by the devotee is a scar on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The devotee’s duty is to be always conscious in his dealings with others, especially with another devotee of the Lord." (Bhagavatam 3.16.5, purport) Herein lies the secret to improving our dealings with one another and, by the cooperative spirit that results from such amicable dealings, to solve seemingly intractable problems. Continue reading "The Necessity of Reading Srila Prabhupada’s Books to Keep Him in the Center
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Deliverer of a Rich, Eternal Message

Introducing “Aquafaba”
Citraka dasa: One more useful vegetarian and vegan ingredient, discovered recently, for rendering Krishna’s cuisine more attractive.
Aquafaba is the name for the cooking liquid of beans and other legumes like chickpeas. You may know it as the typically discarded liquid found in retail cans and boxes of beans, or as the liquid left over from cooking your own.
To give you a brief glimpse of what you can do with aquafaba, here are just a few vegan recipes you can make: Raw: Fluffs, whips, nice creams, and drink and pie toppings
Baked: Meringues, macarons, and pavlovas
Confectionery: nougat, marshmallows, fudge and icing
Savory: cakes, waffles, cookies, mayo, burgers, cheese, butter, breads, etc
It is all very simple, you do not need any particular kitchen tool or uncommon ingredient. It is cheap and easily available.
It DOES NOT taste like the beans of its origin. It doesn’t require much time for its preparation. I think Iskcon temples, restaurants, and vaishnava families will benefit by implementing its use. And of course it is healthy.
To learn more about it: http://aquafaba.com/faq.html
Articles in the media about it: http://aquafaba.com/news.html
Community with tons of recipes: https://www.facebook.com/groups/372343816286624/
Video-tutorials: https://goo.gl/nHkaqD
Or just google “Aquafaba”

Srila Prabhupada is the soul of ISKCON and ISKCON is his body. Because ISKCON is a spiritual organization, both body and soul are non-different. Srila Prabhupada continues to act effectively in this world so long as ISKCON remains the instrument of his will. He holds a unique position in ISKCON as its Founder-Acharya: “Just like if I am taken as the origin of this Krishna consciousness movement, that means I know everything directly and indirectly of all this movement. If I do not know directly or indirectly everything of this movement, then I cannot be called the Founder-Acharya.” (Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture, Caracas, 21 February 1975) Continue reading "The Soul of ISKCON
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Srila Prabhupada: “From your letter, I can understand that you are reading my books nicely and understanding our philosophy. This is wanted. By reading my books carefully, you will become enthused to distribute them more and more in greater quantities. If you continue in this way being very much determined to achieve success in this lifetime, following all the rules, chanting at least sixteen rounds, and reading my books, then all of your desires to advance in Krsna consciousness will be fulfilled and you will surely attain spiritual perfection and be able to go back to Godhead, very soon.” Continue reading "Srila Prabhupada Book Distribution Marathon Message
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How to Chant and Meditate Better.
As we move towards the end of the year we should be thinking how to do better in 2017. Endings are a natural time to reset, to take a good look at where we are and where we want to be. As chanting japa (mantra meditation) is one of the key ways we develop our relationship with Krishna the following excerpt by HH Sacinandana Swami shares some ways to be more focused and move to deeper levels of meditation in our chanting:
“At the very least, try to chant without external interruptions. Attach your mind to the Divine Names, one by one as They move over your tongue. To be attentive, you must be present ‘in the here and now’ – relentlessly. Practice it! Bind your mind to the ‘naked now’ – weld it to the Name, which is right now! Seize the present Name.

To be attentive and present you must be patient. Endure your inner dryness that always pushes your thoughts into seeking relief in the ‘oasis’ of past or future possibilities. There is no past or future; they are only figments of the mind. Krishna will be watching all this from a hidden place. He is especially interested to see where you will run for relief in those dull moments of dryness. Convince Him that you know that only he can truly relieve you, and then He will come out of hiding. He will respond to you in the heart when the time is right.

Meanwhile, be happy to stay in His presence. No matter how much you try to quiet your mind, thoughts are bound to disturb the peace, eventually. It is similar to the blue cloudless sky; eventually clouds are sure to form and roam across its vastness. There is no need to battle the mind in the hopeless effort to annihilate distracting thoughts. Let the impersonalist yogis try to fight the mind; they will find out that it will not work. Our strategy is positive. Instead of trying to empty the mind of what is bad, let us fill it with what is good: the Names.

If you fight the mind it will only get more strength from your attention. Attentive chanting is simply to lay aside our thoughts. It is not a savage fight of furious repression. It is a soft, beautiful, persistent act of engaging the thoughts within the Holy Name. Look up! Turn to the Lord! Ask for help with the expression of a joyful child turning to its mother. Then you will see the spiritual world unfold, not by your own power but by the power of the Name.

Above all, stay conscious of the people you are addressing – the ones named by the names. Then you can chant with a devotional mood and an inner attitude of worship, making the effort to please the Divine Couple by calling on Their names.”
Ananda Vrindavanesvari Devi Dasi

Roundtable “Bhagavad-gita, in the context of Hinduism and united world” (Album with photos)
Bhagavad-gita in the context of Hinduism and one world MOSCOW TEMPLE
Find them here: https://goo.gl/lev2y0

Let Srimad-Bhagavatam cleanse your heart from the dust of material association, such as lust, anger and hankering.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is an unlimited source of spiritual knowledge and association. In his purport to SB 1.5.11, Srila Prabhupada notes that Narada Muni has personally appeared in the chapter!
This means by reading Srimad-Bhagavatam we actually associate with the Lord and His great devotees.
Those who develop an appreciation for the teachings and prayers of various great devotees in the Srimad-Bhagavatam become enlightened and enlivened, and there is so much one can choose from.

For example, in Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.5.1-27 Rsabhadeva imparts His teachings to His one hundred illustrious sons. Rsabhadeva’s teachings are extremely practical and memorable. For instance, in verse three, Rsabhadeva tells His sons how householders should balance their family and spiritual duties.

Another vital section of Srimad-Bhagavatam is the first canto, second chapter called Divinity and Divine Service. The thirty-four verses that make up this chapter clearly explicate the science of bhakti and give encouraging advice about how to make progress.

Discover (or rediscover) the magic of carefully reading and studying the prayers and teachings given by the great souls and Avataras who appear within the pages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Even if you only take a few minutes to scrutinize one small section of Srimad-Bhagavatam, you’ll feel new impetus for your spiritual practice; you’ll gain priceless spiritual insight; your questions will be answered and your doubts will be dissipated.

Lord Caitanya was particularly fond of hearing the sections of Srimad-Bhagavatam about Prahlada Maharaja and Dhruva Maharaja.

Some of my favorite sections are (but not at all limited to):

Divinity and Divine Service
The Prayers of Queen Kunti
All the teachings of the Nava Yogendras
Prahalada’s prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva
Lord Brahma’s prayers (10 th canto, chapter 14)
Find, mark and regularly read your favorite sections of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Doing so will awaken love for Krsna in your heart.

“The sound incarnation of Lord Krsna, the Supreme Soul [i.e. Srimad-Bhagavatam], enters into the heart of a self-realized devotee, sits on the lotus flower of his loving relationship, and thus cleanses the dust of material association, such as lust, anger and hankering. Thus it acts like autumnal rains upon pools of muddy water.” (SB 2.8.5)
Vaisesika Dasa

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 03 December 2016, Melbourne, Australia, Bhagavad-gita 10.10)

People are striving for wealth; they try to make material progress. This is not easy because we are not in control of destiny. One may get wealth but then, other circumstances may interfere and all the wealth may get plundered by some calamity. Therefore trying to secure wealth in the material world is an ongoing effort of hard work and one cannot be sure as to how destiny will unfold.

Today we are discussing a topic from the Bhagavad-gita of the eternal benefit of devotional service. Whatever that is cultivated on the spiritual path is never lost. In the second chapter, it is mentioned,

nehābhikrama-nāśho ’sti pratyavāyo na vidyate,
svalpam apyasya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt (Bhagavad-gita 2.40)

That by devotional service, whatever spiritual activity we perform, the benefit will remain, it cannot be destroyed by any external force or by ourselves. In this way, the benefit of devotional service is lasting because it is of spiritual nature and anything spiritual in nature is ‘sat’, not bound by time.

Srila Yamunacharya said that spirit is not bound by time, space or thought. In this way, the spiritual world is never limited like how in this world where everything is limited by time. So many things are achieved but only to be limited by time and yet we invest so much energy. Therefore, it is said, that one should not waste time on these temporary things but mind you, some essentials may be required.

Previously, in India, if one could keep material needs to a minimum that was considered the highest progress, that person was held in the highest esteem in society and not someone who through business could become very wealthy. One who could become very wealthy through business was a vaishya. Vaishya was not considered to be of a very high nature.

Actually, in the Vedic culture, there were two higher classes of man – brahmana and kshatriya, and there were two lower classes – vaishya and sudra. The two lower classes were preoccupied with material things – the vaishya was busying making money and the sudra was enjoying his senses. The two higher classes were living for dharma; they dedicated their life to a higher goal, to a life of sacrifice for the benefit of the Supreme Lord.

Is it is interesting that in previous times, one who was making a lot of wealth was not considered to be high-class! Nowadays, this is the most important thing. Nothing else matters, if you are very wealthy then you are very aristocratic and then you matter! In this way, material wealth is valued out of proportion.

The sudras, as I said, are engaged in enjoying the senses, especially sexual activity and thus we see that the whole world is making too much out of sexuality. Sexuality has a place in life but it is not the goal of life nor is it the key to happiness. This is a big mistake! This is all going on because gradually we have lost the long-term vision and we have engaged in so many activities blindly which bind us to material life.

New, huge kitchen equipment arrives for Iskcon Melbourne, Australia (Album with photos)
Aniruddha Dasa: Along with the solar i...

Where Lord Caitanya Traveled (Album with photos)
Indradyumna Swami: On our final day in Sri Rangam we visited many historic sites, culminating in a special darshan of the famous Ranganath deity. We also took darshan of Jagannatha deities said to be carved and installed in Sri Rangam by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu himself. Though our visit to Sri Rangam was short, our hearts were completely satisfied.
“All those places where my Lord Gaura Sundara traveled for pastimes I will visit in the company of loving devotees.” [ From Saranagati, by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur ]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/wgrXDR

Las Vegas Vantage Convention (Album with photos)
Last week MotelGita participated in Las Vegas Vantage convention. Many corpor...

Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books dressed as Santa Claus.
Drumila das: 1rst time was in San Francisco. I had never been out on Sankirtan before, I was only three months in the movement. A brahmacari named Hrdayagovinda dressed me up in a Santa suit, and put me on the streets of San Francisco, where I was immediately mobbed by about 15 kids attacking me, literally for the candy canes that I started to hand out. I started running and had to ditch them inside a building. I was petrified. Somehow I mustered up the determination to keep going and I became a damn good Santa at the end of it all. I probably did about three years total, tours of Santa.
There was one Officer Small a sheriff who didn’t like us Hare Krishnas. This was back in the early 80s in Laguna Beach. There was one unincorporated city, that he patrolled. And he ran us out of there on more than one occasion. One Christmas a devotee named Krsna Kirtana and I were going door to door as Santas in his area, passing out candy canes and asking for donations. Someone called the authorities, and Officer Small showed up in his sheriff’s car. He put us in the backseat and said he was going to arrest us, but Amerendra Dasa who was our lawyer at the time had given us paperwork saying to the effect that we were legal to solicit donations in unincorporated areas. We had that paperwork and handed it to him saying he couldn’t arrest us. I told him to call his supervisor. We both watched in the backseat of his car, as a forlorn look appeared on his face when he was told by his superior officer, that in fact, he would have to let us go. To say the least, he was extremely disappointed, as he had his heart set on taking us in.
One time Krsna Kirtana and I, dressed as Santa’s were soliciting donations inside a drugstore (my bright idea), in a strip mall. The manager of the store walked down one isle, to see me, a large Santa with a big red bucket outstretched, and a lady, her arm hovering over it to place a five dollar bill there. The manager was furious and outraged and shocked to find me and his story collecting donations. He had me come up to the front counter, and on the way-in counter, the other Santa Claus! He was even more dismayed! He had us stand near him at the checkout stand while he audibly called his friend who is a law-enforcement officer. Yeah ask him if he could send a squad car down to pick us up. I looked at the other Santa Claus, and lean towards him, and in a soft voice, I said to him, “Santa, Exit… stage left, when I say go.” GO!!!! We ran towards the front doors of the store, and bolted for the parking lot, me from going with my keys while running there and candy canes falling out of my box. The manager was rather heavy-set, he must’ve been about 300 pounds. It was quite comical to see him running towards the front door, and then seeing the two doors, violently swing open crash into them. He was yelling, “Come back here! As he was trying to chase after us.” By this time, I had started the engine, and through the car in reverse, making skidmarks. And then I threw it in drive, and screeched out of there, us laughing merrily all the way!
Krsna Kīrtana and I used to go into bars together dressed at Santa’s, and I would walk up to grown men, pinch their cheeks, and ask them if they been a good boy this year. They would say, “Yes ”, and I would say, “Look what Santa’s brought you this year!” Placing the candy cane in their hand. I would proceed then, to ask them for a donation, telling them to ‘pitch-in!’ to my big red bucket full of candy canes and dollar bills. We would then proceed, to dance arm in arm the other Santa and I, all the while boisterously chanting Gaura Nitai and Nitai Goura to various famous Christmas melodies. Sometimes we would do this, before we went around asking for donations. I never had so much fun!
One Christmas I was going door to door as Santa Claus. I came across a butcher shop, which was very busy during rush hour. There must’ve been a line of about 15 people. I started from the back and was asking each person to place a donation in my bucket. I was quite successful! Just then the owner, an elderly Korean woman came up, and started yelling at me, saying, “Who are you!” It was quite surreal, and it startled everyone in the store, who all became very quiet. I would definitely put on the spot, and at first didn’t know what to do. But then I gathered my wits, and I looked at her, and said, “Why don’t you recognize me? I’m Santa Claus!” Clearly frustrated, she inquired again, even more intensely, yelling, “No! Who are you!?” I said innocently, “Why I’m Santa. Don’t you recognize me?!” Then I scolded her in my deep, thick Santa voice, shaking my finger at her, saying “Why, Santa can tell that you haven’t been a good girl this year!!!” The whole butcher shop, all of its patrons were laughing hysterically to see the fun. And most of them had already given a donation anyway by the time she discovered me. I really felt that day, that I was part of Lord Caitanya’s pastime of saving the most fallen souls. In a butcher shop of all places! And how he had save me that day.

As objectively as I can say this, I was a damn good Santa! I had the deep voice down, the long flowing white beard, and a big jolly belly cause I would stuff a big pillow in my suit.
Well, I had been going door to door all day long, and it was starting to get dark, and most all the shops were closing up for the day. So I thought I’d just do one more and go home. Well I went into this florist shop, and no one was at the front counter, so in a very deep Santa voice I said, “HELLO THERE!!! Is anybody home?!!” No sound. Then again I said, “HELLO!! Is anybody here?!”
From the back of the shop I could hear, growing louder and louder, a scampering, scratching sound, produced by the nails of an animal as he slid across the floor( about 10 ft.)all excited. It was a little hairy dog!! Then I heard a loud, sweet and simultaneously scolding voice coming from the back of the room yelling, “Krsna! Krsna!”
A young 16 yr. old girl came out, and I exclaimed (in my deep Santa voice),“ OH!!! What did you say little girl?” In a very calm, and mellow sweet voice she said “Krishna.” I said “Oh! (in a very deep Jolly voice full of surprise), and why did you name your dog Krsna?” (the whole time keeping in character as Santa) She thought for a moment and said, “I just liked the sound of it.” “And how long have you had this little dog?”, I said. She said, “Since he was a little puppy 5 yrs. ago.” I said, “And you’ve been calling him Krishna, all this time?” She said, “Yes.”
Then I said, “Well, do you know anything about Krishna?” She looked thoughtful and said, “No.” I pulled out a Hard bound Yoga for the Modern Age and as I handed it to her, in my deep Santa voice, I said,“ Here…this book, will tell you ALL about Krishna!” She was very grateful, and I remember clearly her giving a 5 dollar donation( although I don’t remember exactly at what juncture). Cool story huh? How fortunate was that dog, and that little girl!!
In the photo there is Kurma prabhu, the famous cook, dressed as Santa and ready for Sankirtana.

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His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami gave an amazing class today, 14th December 2016, at ISKCON Kolkata on Srimad Bhagavatam 8th Canto, 2nd Chapter, verse 32 on Gajendra pastime. The theme of the lecture was how to conquer the most fearful situation of the material world...

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The Reality

People have such a hard time understanding Vrindavana Krishna!

Even if they figure out that the specificity of paramātmā is more infinite than the indefinite abstraction of brahman, they still have to figure the mystery of bhagavan: that the specific personhood and form of divinity does not exist merely for our sake, but has it’s own intrinsic desire and purpose that we are meant to participate in.

Even if they sort all that out, and comprehend bhāgavan, they will still have to figure out why unabashed intimacy with pure beauty (madhurya) expresses spiritual bliss (ānanda) more fully than awestruck reverence for absolute majesty (aiśvarya). 

Even if they comprehend madhurya-bhagavan Krishna, they will still have to figure out that the oneness of romantic intimacy (śṛṇgara-ujjvala-mādhurya – which causes God to be a teenage boy and us to be teenage girls), expresses more concentrated ānanda than mere friendship, or even the heart melting affection of motherhood (sakhya or vatsalya – which causes Krishna to be our peer, or even our baby).

Even if they sort all that out and comprehend the Romantic Divinity, Śrī Krishna, they still have not grasped Vrindavana Krishna. They still have to comprehend that romantic love expressed with the all devouring intensity of lust (kāmarūpa) expresses more intense ānanda than love which obeys norms, and stays within boundaries (dharmarūpa). To comprehend Vrindavana Krishna, they will not only have to be able to grasp this, but to take it to its ultimate extreme: realizing that the apex of Divine Bliss will manifest in forms which resemble what we conceive of as scandalous and adulturous affairs (parakīya) rather than lawfully wedded (or even mildly adventurous) nuptual bliss (svakīya).

Oh God… It’s a long way from brahman to braja, indeed!

The fullest perception of the Absolute Original Consciousness is a gorgeous heartbreaker engulfed in endless waves of coordinated multitutdes of mind-bendingly beautiful and mind-bogglingly talented mistresses of erotic bliss.

But, if we can put aside all our preconceptions and all our emotional and intellectual baggage, and just look at the above with fresh eyes, it does make perfect sense: the fullest perception of the Absolute Original Consciousness is a gorgeous heartbreaker engulfed in endless waves of coordinated multitutdes of mind-bendingly beautiful and mind-bogglingly talented mistresses of erotic bliss.

Ladies and (well… just ladies)… I introduce to you…. Śrī Krishna! The real one, behind all the closed doors and closed curtains. Vrindavana Bihari.

Objection!

Objection: Krishna says he doesn’t break the codes of dharma because whatever great people do, common people immitate!

Reply: Yes, but first of all he says that in Bhagavad-Gītā as a grown man, a kṣatrīya, and a king. When he was a kid living as a vaiṣya in a farmer’s villiage, he was not yet a “great man” of that sort, he was just a teenager. In Vraja, as a Kishor (teen) has no need to set any example for common people to follow.

Vraja Vrindavana is where Krishna gets to be himself. Elsewhere he is doing things for our sake, dharma-samsthāpana and so on (establishing morality, etc). But God’s existence is not limited to how he guides and helps and serves us (in fact, that is closer to a paramātmā conception than a bhagavān conception). God has his own life! And we can participate in it! We can serve, and help, and even guide and protect and delight him! The venue for this existence manifests in Vaikuṇṭha, and most fully in Vraja Goloka Vrindavana. There, and especially in Vraja, he isn’t busy setting examples – he is just being himself and sharing the feast of Supreme Bliss.

Śruti śāstra, with its oft-repeated and paraphrased “so kāmayata bahu syām prajāyata” phrase and several other key statements, describes the Absolute Consciousness as this Vraja Kishor Krishna, enjoying unabashed bliss in its most intense, “lusty” form.

We have a hard time understanding Vrindavana Krishna’s kāma-līlā because of our own experiences with lust. We experience it as something extremely selfish, and we assume that our experience of lust is accurate. However, we are avidya-baddha (bound by lack of knowledge) and our experiences are therefore more or less inaccurate. An accurate perception of Krishna’s “lust” is possible, but not easy. A) We have to be willing to have it. Not just willing, but wanting, really wanting. B) We have to find someone who has it and can explain to us how they obtained that from the ultimate source of accurate perception, śāstra. Only then can we too hope to directly see the indescribable beauty and dharma of Rādhā Krishna Parakīya Prema – the “lusty love” between Radha and Krishna.

What we will see is that, even in Vrindavana, Krishna is setting the right example.

The Bhāgavatam opens with “oṁ namo bhāgavate vāsudevāya” – explaining that Krishna is Vāsudeva, the Original Consciousness. It immediately follows this by, “janmādyasya yatā” – explaining śruti’s “kāmayata” point: that everything in existence manifests as a result of the perceptual hunger of this Original Consciousness; “unvayad itarataś cārtheṣu abhijñā” – explaining that everything comes from him and exists for the sake of manifesting his bliss. Everything is from him and for him.

Therefore there is no such thing as “parakīya” in a literal sense!

Rādhā and the Gopīs of Vrindavana are Krishna’s sva-māyā, svayaṁ prakṛti, svarūpa-śakti. They are inseparable components of Krishna himself! There is no literal truth to the concept of them being “unmarried.”

The parakīya-bhāva is a bhāva! A mood! A sense! The husbands of Radha and so on are abhiman (“big ideas”) only. Parakīya is the form that everything takes, to allow the Divine Bliss of the Original Consciousness to manifest its all-devouring, all-consuming, all-conquering nature to the fullest, most radical, wild, unrestrained extreme. It is the form of gopī-prema, but the tattva of gopī-prema is svakīya. More than any husband or wife we have ever experienced, they are eternally, constitutionally, inseparably married.

The example he sets, therefore, is that we should enjoy only what is constitutionally ours to enjoy. This is conformant with all dharma-śāstra.

If we are sincere, we will find that nothing is constitutionally ours to enjoy. Our proprietorship is never more than conditional. So what Krishna’s example is really showing is the example of what everyone really wants: unrestrained, unmitigated trilling bliss. And it is showing us how we can get it: not by trying to enjoy it as a proprietor, but by participating as something that belongs constitutionally to Krishna, the root of our very existence.

This is what Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are meant to show us: That we too  can also become a part of that most exquisitely blissful love.

Vraja Kishor dās

www.vrajakishor.com

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His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj came to Kolkata on 8th December 2016. Maharaj gave seminar in Bengali on “Teachings of Lord Chaitanya” for thousands of devotees from 9th December to 11th December. On 12th, Maharaj awarded initiation in the family of Srila Prabhupada to...

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