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Congregation program at Abudhabi, United Arab Emirates
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During my five-day visit to Bahrain in 2016, I spoke a four-part series on the Bhikshu Gita, a section from the Uddhava Gita in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. This song of the mendicant contains penetrating insights about the nature of the mind and its pivotal role in aggravating our distresses.

During the series, the discussion spontaneously evolved towards how the mind affects our relationships. I analyzed how our mind’s preconceptions and misconceptions lead us to snap judgments about others, thereby hurting our relationships with them. Overall, I tried to open the audience’s minds to appreciate the difficulties others have in overcoming their conditionings.

Later, I heard from devotees about their overall positive experiences while practicing bhakti in Bahrain. As a part of the government’s “This is Bahrain” program, the devotees had done their first public kirtan recently and had even been included as a part of a Bahraini delegation to a global summit of inter-religious harmony.

It was revealing to know that when Bahrain had its own version of the Arab Spring a few years ago, the protesting Bahrainis had conscientiously avoided targeting any of the immigrants’ vehicles (“We have nothing against you.”) or even the government buildings (“Our protests are against the rulers – why should we damage our own nation’s property?”) Although the protests had eventually been crushed violently by the government, the protestors hadn’t resorted to vandalism, thus countering the prevailing stereotype that people of a particular religion resort to violence at the slightest provocation.

I was reminded forcefully that no blanket label applies to any group of people. People everywhere are essentially the same – and the wide spectrum of various kinds of people can be found in any cross-section of society. The Bhagavad-gita (18.20) states that knowledge in the mode of goodness means to see the similar spiritual essence in all living beings, whatever be their bodily coverings. It struck me that while I was speaking to help my audience open their minds, hearing from them was opening my mind too. During traveling preaching, this realization has come upon me repeatedly: what I teach may benefit others, but what I learn benefits me much more.

On a separate note, I had just returned from a two-month tour of the West, where having over a hundred people attend a program was a luxury reserved only for Sundays. But here in Bahrain, having nearly two hundred people attend programs every day, for five days in a series, was an encouraging testimony to our movement’s vibrancy – and to the Bahraini devotee-leaders’ dedication.

Apart from the series on the mind, I also gave five other classes. To the teenagers of the community, I spoke on “Navigating the emotional and social turbulence of adolescence.” To a well-wisher whose brother had suddenly passed away, I spoke on “Learning from the guru named death.”
My trip to Bahrain was coordinated by Krishna Prema Prabhu, who was one of the founding doctors of the Bhaktivedanta Hospital and is doing powerful preaching in Bahrain. He has attracted many doctors to the practice of bhakti. Rarely do I have to ask others for the meanings of English words, but when he introduced the doctors he had cultivated, many of them were specialists in areas that I was only vaguely familiar with. I was encouraged to see that our movement in Bahrain was attracting such well-educated, intelligent people – not just the masses, but also the classes.

Much of Bahrain comprises land that has been reclaimed from the ocean – something that is considered a remarkable feat of material progress. I felt enlivened to see that our movement in Bahrain has achieved a similar spiritually remarkable feat: amidst the ocean of Kali yuga in the middle of a place that was traditionally considered deeply in the throes of the darkness of illusion, our movement has reclaimed many, many souls.

The links for the lectures I gave in Bahrain are here:

Bhikshu Gita 1 – Minimize misery by identifying the misery caused by the mind (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.42)

Bhikshu Gita 2 – The mind makes it difficult for people to change – be understanding (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.43)

Bhikshu Gita 3 – The mind makes the unreal seem real and the real seem unreal (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.44)

Bhikshu Gita 4 – The mind distracts us from bhakti in the name of bhakti (Srimad Bhagavatam 11.23.45)

QA on Practical application of bhakti

Demystifying Gita 18.66 – Does surrender mean giving up dharma?

Navigating the social and emotional turbulence of adolescence

Learning from the guru named death

The post Opening minds while getting one’s own mind opened (Reflections on visit to Bahrain 2016) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

Prabhupada’s Chant Versus LSD

Reading Srila Prabhupada’s Light of the Bhagavata, I was struck by text 12 and his commentary on it:

“The mountains, although being struck by torrents of rain during the rainy season, are not shaken, just as those whose hearts are dedicated to the transcendental Personality of Godhead are never disturbed, even when harassed by great misfortune.” (LOB 12)

“Because a person who is spiritually advanced accepts any adverse condition of life as the mercy of the Lord, he is completely eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom. Even though a person takes to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, he may sometimes become diseased, impoverished, or disappointed by life’s events. A true devotee of the Lord always considers these sufferings to be due to past sinful activities, and thus without becoming disturbed he patiently awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Such devotees are compared to high mountains, which are never agitated in any way, even when struck by powerful torrents of rain in the rainy season. Rather, such devotees remain humble in spiritual enlightenment. Free from pride and envy, they easily gain the mercy of the Lord and go back home, back to Godhead.” (LOB 12 purport)

—Giriraj Swami

As a child, Nimai cried a lot and would not stop until everyone sang “HAR! HARI!” and clapped their hands. His golden ankle bells tinkled as He kicked His legs while an Sachimata’s lap and as He took His first faltering steps while learning to walk. Being promised sweets and ksira, the ladies coaxed Nimai to dance for them. That same Supreme Lord who is unapproachable even to great sages and demigods, danced awkwardly on His short chubby legs and smiled sweetly at the ladies as they chanted “HARI” and clapped their hands. Two thieves attempt to steal the Lord’s ornaments One day two thieves saw the Nimai roaming about the streets alone. Seeing His fine ornaments, they conspired to steal them. One of the thieves picked Him up saying "O dear! O dear!" while the other joined him saying, “Where have You been for so long?” Continue reading "Two thieves attempt to steal the Lord’s ornaments
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We all want to know who we really are, what role we are meant to play in God’s plan, what contribution we are meant to make to God’s work. And, by God’s grace, we may get a sense of our calling, what we are meant to do in His service. But even then, we may shrink from what we know is our duty, shirk what we know is our responsibility. We may fear the challenges ahead and retreat into what we imagine will be a safer, more comfortable place. We always have that choice--to face God and the mission he ordains for us, or to flee from Him, and in doing do, depart from our true self. Especially as we grow older, we may wonder what fruits our efforts will bear, whether we should even bother to make the effort. Even those who have labored faithfully in the service of the Lord may wonder what will come of the efforts they have made, the projects they have undertaken. Continue reading "Finding Ourselves – Who We Are and What We Are Meant to Do
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Bhagavad-gita and Lord Jesus Christ.
I was showing the Bhagavad-gita to one gentleman, he expressed his interest but said he was a Christian. He said, “If you can show me in this book where Jesus is praised I’ll take it.” I showed him 11.55 purport where Prabhupada says, “There are many examples in history of devotees of the Lord who risked their lives for the spreading of God consciousness. The favorite example is Lord Jesus Christ. He was crucified by the nondevotees, but he sacrificed his life for the spreading of God consciousness.”

Prepare!
The verb, prepare, means: to make something ready for use or consideration. Great thinkers everywhere speak enthusiastically about the power of preparation. For instance, George Clason writes: Opportunity is a haughty goddess who wastes no time with those who are unprepared. And William Shakespeare remarks: All things are ready, if our mind be so. Wise people know that ones destiny in this life and the next are dependent on the way in which one prepares oneself in the present. Or stated concisely: Our preparation leads us to our destination. The great master teachers of bhakti similarly direct us to prepare ourselves during our short lives for going to the highest destination, the spiritual world. Srila Prabhupada: According to our activities in this life, we either rise or sink. This life is a preparation for the next life. If we can prepare, therefore, in this life to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely, after quitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just like the Lords. (Bhagavad-gita As it Is; introduction.) Vaisesika Dasa

Initiations of new disciples in Vrindavan and Braj Parikrama 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Let us forget past incidents and let us look forward to rectify our defects. So far you are concerned, I am very much convinced of your sincere service. Go on with your work, and other instructions will follow. Simply become more concerned with increasing the spiritual content of our lives, and in this way all other problems like management will be easily solved, not that they can be solved by making some legal formula and having big big meetings and talks. The politicians have been holding such meetings and talks for some time now and the world is no better place for it, and they have only made things worse. We should not follow their example. The world is in a very precarious condition simply for lack of God-consciousness, so this should be our point of stressing, that we should revive this emphasis on God-consciousness everywhere in the world and that will be our contribution. Srila Prabhupada, Letter to: Jagadisa – Tokyo 2 May, 1972.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/ZhVvp4

Devamrta, Niranjana, Sivarama Swamis.

Kanchipuram, also known as Benares of Southern India or The City of Temples, is one of the most ancient and sacred cities of India. Kanchipuram is an eternally holy place and has some of the most magnificent temples. The Garuda Purana enumerates seven sacred cities (sapta-moksha puri) as giver of moksha. They are Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kasi, Kanchipuram, Avantika (Ujjain) and Dwarka. Kanchipuram is one of among such holy place. It is 75km from Chennai, 130km from Tirupati and 32km from Sriperumbudur (birthplace of Sripad Ramanujacarya). Continue reading "Kanchipuram Yatra
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BBT represented at the American Academy of Religion Conference 2016.
The American Academy of Religion (AAR) is the world’s largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association, serving as a professional and learned society for scholars involved in the academic study of religion. It has some 10,000 members worldwide, with the largest concentration being in the United States and Canada. AAR members are university and college professors, independent scholars, secondary teachers, clergy, seminarians, students, and interested lay-people.

The Annual conference was held this year in San Antonio, Texas. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust was represented by several Iskcon devotees such as HH Jayadvaita Swami, Dr. Graham M. Schweig (Garuda Das), Stuart Kadetz (Sura Das), Dr. Ravi M. Gupta (Radhika Ramana Dasa), Jaya Chaitanya Das and others.

AAR hosts an Annual Meeting each year in November. The AAR Annual Meeting is the world’s largest meeting for religious studies scholars. Over 400 events, including meetings, receptions, and academic sessions, occur on the AAR program alone; hundreds more, hosted by affiliated societies and institutions, occur over the course of the meeting. Some 10,000 people attend the AAR Annual Meeting; the location of the meeting changes each year. The AAR Annual Meeting program is developed entirely by volunteers involved in program units representing disciplines and sub-disciplines within the field.

Visit Flickr to see the full album

Photo credits: Gour Mohan das and Kalindi Nivasini dd

Historic archive of photos from Iskcon Brasil (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Don’t think preaching is so easy going – eating, sleeping, and sometimes chanting “Haribol,” that’s all. [laughs] That is not preaching. We must be ready to implant Krsna consciousness ideas throughout the whole world. Just like these people, either in India or here, they remain simply Churchianity, going to the church without any understanding. Therefore it is failing. Now churches are being closed. Similarly, if you do not keep yourself fit to preach, then your temples will all be closed in due course of time. Without preaching, you’ll not feel enthused to continue the temple worship. And without temple worship, you cannot keep yourself pure and clean. The two things must go on, parallel. Then there is success. In modern time, either Hindus, Muslim or Christian, because in these places there is no teaching of philosophy, therefore they are closing, either mosque or temple or church. They will close. Therefore we are writing so many books. Unless we take care of the books and preach and read ourself, understand the philosophy, this Hare Krsna will be finished within few years. Because there will be no life. How long one can artificially go on, “Hare Krsna! Haribol!” That will be artificial. No life. ———————————— From Srila Prabhupada’s Morning Walk – December 12, 1973, Los Angeles
Find them here: https://goo.gl/jz3jLd

Hare Krishna Festivals UK: Hemel Hempstead Festival - 18th Nov 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: The chanting process is that you chant with your tongue Hare Krsna and hear. That’s all. Then you are saved. Hare Krsna must be chanted by the use of tongue, and you hear it, that’s all. Where is the difficulty? Everything may come, but this is the process. This is the process. Chant Hare Krsna and become happy. Nothing is difficult in Krsna consciousness movement. One has to execute it very seriously and sincerely. Then it will come. Nothing is difficult, not at all. harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha Chant Hare Krsna and hear, and everything will come. Krsna’s… By chanting purely, without any offense this Hare Krsna mantra, then you will understand Krsna’s form, Krsna’s qualities, Krsna’s pastimes, Krsna’s entourage -everything. ———————————— From Srila Prabhupada’s lecture on Bhagavad-gita 4.4 – February 12, 1974, Vrndavana
Find them here: https://goo.gl/krJPPX

Huge Ratha Yatra Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Simply our prayer should be, “My dear Krishna, please remind me to always chant Your holy name, please do not put me into forgetfulness. You are sitting within me as the Supersoul, so You can put me into forgetfulness or into remembering You. So please do not put me into forgetfulness. Please always remind me to chant, even You send me to hell, it doesn’t matter, just so long as I can always chant Hare Krishna.” [Srila Prabhupada; letter to Devananda, Los Angeles, 23 November, 1968]
Find them here: https://goo.gl/73jCtd

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“Let me offer my obeisances unto Lord Nrisimhadeva who is always enlightening Prahlada Maharaja within his heart and who always kills the nescience that attacks the devotees. His mercy is distributed like the moonshine, and His face is like that of a lion. Let me offer my obeisances unto Him again and again.”

[ Painting by Mahaveer Swami ]

Prabhupada’s “Aroma of Sweetness” Conquers Ginsberg

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 06 September 2016, Cape Town, South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.26)

In this purport, we read about the brahmanas and the kshatriyas, and Srila Prabhupada put the emphasis, especially for the brahminical class of men, on controlling the senses. He said, “For the intelligent men, controlling the senses is the essence,” and then he expands on that, “… sex indulgence even with the legitimate wife must also be controlled and therefore family control will automatically be followed.” So this is intelligence and it is a different definition than the modern definition of intelligence in that conduct is also considered. It is not that one just knows standards or better ways of life but one must also embody it. If one does not embody the intelligent conclusions then one is not intelligent at all. Therefore intelligence must translate into a higher moral standard of life otherwise, as Prabhupada said, it is misused and this is the result of modern education which does not offer morality.

This Movement is particularly for intelligent people because it is not so simple to understand how to act. The other day, I addressed the topic of fundamentalism and how it is a form of reductionism where we try to reduce everything to very simple principles that apply at all times and where we just switch off the intelligence – no need to judge any circumstances, no shades of grey, just all black and white, no need to apply a principle and see how to fits in the circumstances and find an appropriate solution.

An example that comes to mind is that of Ashwathama and Arjuna. Ashwathama was the son of Dronacharya, a brahmana, but he had misbehaved because he had revenged the death of his father by killing the sleeping sons of Draupadi. So it was outright murder, a most heinous act and at that stage Ashwathama lost his brahminical status. Arjuna pursued him, defeated him, captured him and brought him back bound-up. This was very shocking, to see a brahmana bound up like an animal. Draupadi found this very difficult to see as Ashwathama was the son of their teacher.

Then a whole discussion unfolded where the Pandavas and Krsna were all divided. Krsna asked what will be done – Ashwathama was the killer of man therefore he should be killed. Bhima agreed that he should be killed immediately but then Draupadi said, “No, he is the son of our teacher and a brahmana. How can we kill him? And I don’t want his mother to go through what I am going through so he should be spared.” Yudhishthir also said they should consider that throughout his life, Ashwathama was a brahmana of high qualification and even though he had committed a heinous act, he should not be considered an ordinary man, therefore he should not be killed.

Then Krsna asked Arjuna, “So, what will you do now?” Then Arjuna had a difficult task and he figured it out with intelligence. He cut off the jewel on Ashwathama’s head. This jewel was the symbol of Ashwathama’s brahminical qualities and in this way, he killed him but he also did not kill him. Arjuna killed Ashwathama’s identify as a brahmana but he did not take his life. In this way, Krsna was very satisfied. So just see, it was not all fundamentalism – just kill him – it was about intelligence!

Despite the chilling cold and rainy weather of Nairobi, a large group of more than 250 devotees assembled at the Sri Sri Radha Banke Bihari Mandir to commemorate the ISKCON’s golden jubilee. Amongst them were Bhakti Narasimha Swami (South Africa), Akhandadhi Das (UK), ISKCON Nairobi Vice President Rukuma Das, Manasi Ganga Dasi, and 90 jubilant students who celebrated attaining a Certificate of Ethics and Morality after a year-long course on Vaishnava philosophy. The program is run by the Hare Krishna Training Center, part of ISKCON Nairobi. 

Lord Caitanya says: one should offer ALL respect to others and should not demand or seek respect for himself. When your peers do better than you, are you happy? Do you appreciate what they’ve done or do you feel concerned or upset that you are not getting as much attention as they are? Do you sometimes not even acknowledge that they have, in fact, been successful (“Anyone could have done that. It’s no big deal”)? Do you seek more to be appreciated than to appreciate? Bhaktivinoda Thakura explains that grass doesn’t resist when it is walked on or thrown around. It doesn’t complain or scream out, “How dare you step on me or throw me here and there?!” As we say in California, “It goes with the flow.” Dale Carnegie said the desire to be appreciated is one of our greatest needs. It seems to me like it’s right up there with eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Tell someone how great they are and even if they know you are exaggerating, they’ll still eat it up. We are hungry for appreciation and respect. Continue reading "Humility Means No Resistance
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In an unprecedented event, Santiago's main street, Avenida Libertador Bernado O'Higgins, was used exclusively by the majestic chariot that carried the Lord of the Universe and the people who pulled its ropes, filling the streets of Santiago with joy and colors like never before. 

In a parking lot in Budapest…
I approached a middle-aged lady. She was favorable, and I offered her the Krishna book, but she didn’t want to accept it. She started to explain why.
“You know, when I was seventeen, I read the Bhagavad Gita, and while reading it, I was constantly crying, because it was what I was always looking for. I directly felt Krishna’s presence.
“When I was a little girl, I always felt that this world is not my home. I told my parents many times: ‘You are not my parents. I want to go home!’
The last fifteen years I have lived a mundane life with my husband and children, but I have always desired Krishna’s association. I meditate every day, and I read the Gita, but I feel that in this world everything is gray and empty, and I desire to go to Krishna’s home to be with Him. He is like my secret lover.”
Finally she bought the Krishna book and said that at first she didn’t want to, because if she would read more about Krishna, then she would cry a lot again. She actually cried several times during our conversation.
She also said that she regularly visits people in the hospital who have cancer and preaches to them, because the last part of human life is the most important.
And she told me that it’s very difficult for her to try to become Krishna conscious alone, so she was happy that I invited her to the temple and to join our community.
She came to the temple for the Sunday program with her husband, and they liked it very much.
Your servant,
Mohana Dasa

By Radhanath Swami.

The sharp growth in online video consumption suggests the people of the world are becoming more enraptured by visual content than anything else. But for teachers of the ancient Vedic tradition, sound is seen as capable of having a much deeper transformational effect on a human being.