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​Sunday feast class at ISKCON, Los Angeles, USA

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The post ​Seek not moments of bhakti – seek momentum in bhakti appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.

The post Living with the limitations of this world appeared first on SivaramaSwami.com.

By HH Jayapataka Swami

"Make Homes Into Centers" Congregational development is an untapped field that presents new opportunities for all kinds of preachers,. It incorporates a systematic method for contacting and cultivating new devotees and engaging them in service. New people and potential devotees should, as far as possible, be brought into the loop, their details taken and follow-ups commissioned. As Srila Prabhupada said, we have to fan the fire and cause it to burn. Continue reading "Congregational preaching
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By Varsana Swami

The efforts, austerities, and practices involved with the acceptance as a disciple do not end with initiation. Rather they begin, in a formal sense, at that point. Whatever outer challenges or inner demons we have, will be overcome by Krishna’s grace for those who persevere in their vows. It is only those who quit who will suffer defeat. Even as the connection and dependency between the words “disciple” and “discipline” are obvious, some devotees tend to be more attentive to the fruits than the root. Disconnected from her root, the bhakti-lata will wither. However much we may balk or resist the concept, it is discipline that forms the soul of vaidhi-bhakti and reveals the heart of raganuga-bhakti in due course of time. Discipline applies to four levels of spiritual development, each successively deeper and subtler: body, mind, words, and emotions. Herein lies the comparison of the outcome of a disciple’s life in contrast to the undisciplined one. Continue reading "Discipleship
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By Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir

1) Who is a guest? The Sanskrit word atithi means ‘not scheduled’. An ‘unscheduled’ or unexpected guest is considered a representative of the Supreme Lord, since his arriving unannounced is just what the Lord might do to test His devotee and see how ready he is to serve Him in any situation. With this understanding, we should offer the unexpected guest full hospitality. Members of the general public, invited guests, life members, V.I.P.s, visiting Vaishnavas, relatives of Vaishnavas all should be treated in such a way that they will feel comfortable and want to return. A single thumb rule is that we should treat guests as we ourselves would like to be treated. Continue reading "Role Of Guest Reception Service
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Old maps depicting Mayapur discovered (Album with photos)
Bhaktivedanta Research Centre: These maps were found within Sundaranand Vidyabinode collection. These images show a government map of Burdwan and Nadia districts from 1917-18, the year that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura took sannyasa and began his preaching through the Gaudiya Matha.
Present day Mayapur in those days was called “Miapur bil” and was simply rice paddies.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/H5hrcl

The post Daily Darshan: October 3, 2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Harinama at Byron Bay, Australia - 02 October 2016 (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: While dying, Ajamila chanted the holy...

Rathayatra in Witbank, South Africa (Album with photos)
Bhakti Caitanya Swami: We had a wonderful Rathayatra on Sunday in Witb...

This article has significance for all Russian preachers, but especially for foreigners preaching in Russia: The first known victims of Russia’s new anti-evangelism laws have been convicted and fined, according to the Forum 18 news service.
Two individuals, one a US citizen and one Ghanaian, have been heavily fined.
On October the 2nd one of them also lost the appeal against his conviction for evangelising.
An earlier case brought against a Hare Krishna devotee resulted in the acquittal of the accused, Vadim Sibiryev.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/DI8pG2

Preaching program in Kiev, Ukraine (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Keep your health in good condition and work very hard ...

Legendary rapper KRS-One expresses his appreciation for Krsna prasada (6 min video)
KRS-One, the award winning Hip Hop artist, who rose to international fame in the mid 90’s, made a visit to ISKCON Leicester today (Sunday 2nd October), while he was in the City for a show.
In a completely surprise visit, KRS-One, expressed his appreciation for prasada, telling the devotees that he used to receive prasada as a homeless youth in New York. “You never know who you are feeding…I was one of them,” he said.
After taking darshan of Sri Sri Radha Madhava, and receiving a copy of the Bhagavad-gita, KRS told the devotees about how he came into contact with Krishna consciousness as a youth. Clutching his copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, he recalled how the New York devotees would distribute prasada to the homeless, and gave copies of the Gita to those who would help to serve. KRS-One was immediately drawn to the philosophy, and said that it sparked the beginning of his spiritual journey. His affinity to the Hare Krishnas led him to be nicknamed ‘Krsna’, and the name eventually stuck, as he used to graffiti the name Krsna on the NYC subway. His tag became KRS-One, and he eventually rose to international fame.
While in Leicester, KRS, whose acronym is: ‘Knowledge Reigns Supreme’, and is a vocal vegan, said that he wanted to share his philosophy and release a spiritual album. He also did a ‘freestyle’ rap, much to the delight of the devotees present.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/srpx7e

Oneness with God.
Oneness is actually based on oneness of interest. A pure devotee has no interest but to act on behalf of the Supreme Lord. When one has even a tinge of personal interest, his devotion is mixed with the three modes of material nature. (SB 3.29.9p)
The devotee therefore endeavors to apply everything in the service of the Lord because he knows that everything is the property of the Lord and that no one can claim anything as one’s own. This perfect conception of oneness helps the worshiper in being engaged in His loving service. (SB 2.6.23p)
Our philosophy of Krishna consciousness is the same, but instead of becoming one with Krishna, we depend on Krishna. That is actual oneness. If we simply agree to abide by the orders of Krishna and have no disagreement with Him, we are situated in actual oneness. (TQK, 10p)
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/fyUA0G

The post Daily Darshan: October 2,2016 appeared first on Mayapur.com.

Q: Krishna is in love with Radha. Radha’s love is so great  it makes Krshna so mad about her that even if He is with another beautiful Gopi,  He can not stop thinking about her. A soul who is in love with Krishna will give Him their entire heart, their entire self – but it seems Krishna can never do same as He is always longing for Radha only. 

Is there no hope for anyone other that Radha? Is it possible to have direct experience and emotional exange with Him? If not, it does not sound very interesting or satisfying. We are persons, and we want a relationship, full and direct, with the person we love. But how can a small insignificant jiva can expect to have a direct, fully satisfying, overhelming emotional exange with Krishna, when Krishna is completely overwhelmed with his relationship to Radha?

I agree with your first premise: Rādhā’s love for Krishna is so intoxicating and extreme that Krishna is completely fascinated and enchanted by it, and cannot withdraw his heart and attention from it at any time, and is never really satisfied or happy without being fully absorbed in it. I agree with this completely.

I also agree with your second premise: that love is anāvṛta, it wants to give itself fully, completely, and directly to the beloved.

How then can anyone besides Rādhā ever achieve perfect divine love to the fullest extent?

It is impossible for anyone who ignores Rādhārānī.

It is impossible for anyone who ignores Rādhārānī. Actually, those who ignore Rādhārānī cannot even comprehend Bhagavān Krishna at all. Śaktimān simply does not exist without śakti.

Those who do not ignore Rādhā relate to Krishna in context of her relationship with him.

Those who do not ignore Rādhā relate to Krishna in context of her relationship with him. This is not “indirect” or “less” than a one-to-one singular relationship. A many-to-one relationship actually “more” and equally direct (considering that the beloved is Krishna who is unlimited. See the paintings of the Rāsa dance, etc). Further, the relationship which includes Rādhā has two inspirations for love: Rādhā and Krishna, rather than only one: Krishna alone.

Our participation in Rādhā and Krishna’s relationship integrates with and augments it. There are two ways of doing this: direct and indirect.

The queen of those who take the indirect approach is Candrāvalī. Not only her and her associates, but also all the gopas and elders in Vraja also embrace the indirect approach. The essence of the indirect approach is to enhance the value of Rādhā by making her availability more precious, rare, difficult to attain, etc. And also by inspiring Krishna for it (increasing his appetite) and inspiring Radharani (competition is an important inspiration). Candravalī takes the outward appearance of competing with Rādhā, but the fact is that she is Rādhā[‘s primary expansion], and she serves Rādhā by providing competition.

Among those who take the direct approach: Lalitā is the queen. She and the gopīs like her, and all their friends directly augment the relationship of Rādhā and Krishna by literally and directly participating in it. They are flowers augmenting a central flower. This is the literal meaning of the word “mañjarī” – flowers that do not stand alone, but cluster together. There is a central diamond on a ring, but the gold and other stones around that diamond add their beauty to its. In fact the entire ring is usually appreciated as one unit, with special attention to the central stone.

It isn’t easy for us to conceive of Krishna’s love life, because our own love-lives are doomed to be so meager and paltry by comparison.

It isn’t easy for us to conceive of Krishna’s love life, because our own love-lives are doomed to be so meager and paltry by comparison. Our appetite and capacity for enjoyment is limited by the restricting prakṛti in which we enjoy, and also by the fact that we are infinitessimal (we are only “infinity to the power of one” while Krishna is “infinity to the power of infinity, infinite times”). Krishna has incalculable appetite for pleasure, and incalculable ability to enjoy it. The concept of romance held by we kali-yuga mortals falls a billion light-years short of what happens in the groves of Vrindavana! Vedic culture has some reflection of it, you can see some of it still in ancient sculpture from that culture and epoch. It came into the world through Kāmadeva and Rati, and was propogated by their paramparā, esepcially the scholar Vatsāyana. It is not exactly “monogamy” by any means, although there is one central lover who is the main focus of the beloved’s attention and enjoyment.

Krishna has incalculable appetite for pleasure, and incalculable ability to enjoy it. The concept of romance that we kali-yuga mortals have falls a billion years short of what happens in the groves of Vrindavana.

It is quite a lot like how Vedic theism is neither poly- nor mono-theistic – there is an abundant plurality of divinity, yet a central figure as the unifying link through it all. Similarly, in Vrindavana the romance of the Supreme Enjoyer is neither polygamous nor monogamous – it is both. There is an abundant, infinite plurality of gopīs / lakṣṁīs, yet a singular central figure unifying and coordinating them all as the focal point – Śrī Rādhā.

I aologize if my discussion of sexuality has startled any reader who might be unprepared for such discussions. I thought it was necessary background information to help express my understanding of why Krishna’s relationship with Sri Radha doesn’t preclude our participation. We add our beauty and talent to Sri Rādhā’s, augmenting her, supporting her, assisting her in every way. There are many girls involved (polygamy) but Sri Radha is their central focus and queen (monogamy). Krishna’s one pointed attention on Rādhā doesn’t preclude the fact that Śrī Rādhā manifests herself as and thorugh counteless divine goddess gopīs who all simultaneously coperate in a singular mādhurya-rasa.

This is why the poets and scriptures describe Krishna as “surrounded/covered by gopīs.” This is where we fit in. Our relationship with Krishna is never independent of Sri Radha’s relationship with Krishna, but this should not be envisioned as meaning we sit 20 miles away knitting a sweater for them while they make love.

In fact, our ability to taste, feel, smell, see, and hear Krishna is augmented to the power of infinity by our directing our senses primarily into the seva of Śrī Rādhā. By considering her interest to be ours, her heart to be ours, her mind to be ours, her senses to be ours and dedicating our emotions, thoughts, and actions accordingly – we (as a natural concomitant result, not a separate pursuit) experience Krishna through her – which is not at all indirect but rather is an immense, incalculable magnification of the experience of Krishna’s tan-mātra. (Similar in a way to how a telescope can hardly make our experience of Jupiter less intense and direct).

Thank you for this wonderful question. I have explained only whatever I can explain. I do not claim to know the whole story, but I hope my angle on the story may be helpful to you.

Vraja Kishor das (www.vrajakishor.com)

Tagged: Gopi, gopi-bhava, madhurya rasa, Manjari, Manjari-bhava

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 18 September 2016, Midrand, South Africa, Sunday Feast Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 9.9)

Continued from Surrender unto Me.

When we read about Krsna’s neutrality, we need to understand it in proper perspective. Krsna is looking at all the living beings and thinks, “Please, do not get so entangled in the material energy. Just somehow or other, avoid all this. Use what you need to live but never for a moment think that this is the place to be! The spiritual world is the place where we should be.”

Do not love the place of your birth because birth is not loveable, birth is painful. If you love the place of your birth, you will take birth again and again, bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.84.13). The type of intelligence where we love the place of our birth, śva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ (Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.19), is like hogs, dogs, camels and asses as Bhagavatam is stating. This is not intelligent. Our real love should be reserved for the spiritual world, for Krsna and everything there and the devotees in the spiritual world.

We know what this material world like by now. When you are a child, you think, “Maybe this is a wonderful world.” But by now, I mean… it is not that. We are meant to have nothing to do with the material world. Zero! Prabhupada said that we should reduce our material involvement to zero, really. We should have nothing to do with it.

Okay, we have to eat, that is alright as long as we offer it to Krsna. We have to pay the bills. As long as it sustains a life that is offered to Krsna then it is not material anymore. Then suddenly, it becomes spiritualized. So we spiritualize all these things that we use…

I mean everyone can appreciate a new car especially when you have to drive in this rainy weather. To have a super slow phone is also very frustrating, it is nice to have one of the better models. When the house is too cramped, it is nice to have some space. These are all nice but we cannot take it serious, “Oh this is my life… this is what I am living for.” It is not what we are living for, we just use these things. We want things that are nice while we are living in the material world but we cannot take it serious. Krsna is the goal of our life, the spiritual world is the goal of our life, getting out of the material world is the goal of our life. As soon as we get to that point, that is when we purchase Krsna, then Krsna is eager to give up that neutrality because it is an external façade. It is only a façade!

Prabhupada said Krsna is more eager for us to go back to Godhead than we are. Prabhupada said that his father used to tell him that Krsna has ten arms. He said if you want to hold on to material things, can you hold on if you deal with someone with ten arms? Those ten arms can come from all sides and he will get it out of you somehow. But if he starts giving with ten arms, then he will give more than you can receive. So ultimately that is it!

We must just remember all of the above while we are here in the material world; using all the things that we are using; living the busy life that we are living, working, making money, surviving. All our time is for Krsna consciousness. It is about the depth. It is about the understanding. Cultivation is like watering the plant but it is not the bhakti plant itself. Therefore, our Krsna consciousness is not the watering of the plant. Our Krsna consciousness is the conviction inside, it is about our consciousness and then we must water the plant by our practices, by our sadhna. But you may not have a lot of time to water your bhakti plant but do it anyway. 

It is easy because we chant early in the morning before the world gets up, so they will never know. In this way, we do these things but the essence of Krsna consciousness is our conviction. The conviction is, let us just understand: Krsna does not want us to be here! We are here because of foolishness. This is not a place to be. Krsna wants us to return to the spiritual world but until we really want to, we will remain here. We will remain here. Let us somehow or other serve Krsna to the point where we purchase him and he will reveal himself, bestow his mercy and take us back to the spiritual world.

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​Congregation Program at Los Angeles, USA

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​Congregation Program at Irvine, California, USA

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“Tompkins Square Park, New York, Prasadam for the homeless” (Album with photos)
Dharmatma Das Acbsp: I had the opportunity to take part again in this wonderful program started and maintained by Adi Purusha prabhu for over 16 years. One of the hardest working devotees I’ve known. He and his partner Evangel cook delicious and hot meals that are greatly appreciated by all those who receive them. Everyone in the Lower East Side knows Adi. If you’d like to donate to this worthwhile project contact Adi at: 212-473-3558 or when in the City come by and lend a hand.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/jHP7oi

Newly married Vaishnavas celebrate their wedding by going to Harinama (Russia) (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: Kirtana m...

Brisbane Boat Festival (Album with photos)
Ramai Swami: One of the recent events celebrated for ISKCON’s 50th anniversary by the Brisbane devotees was a boat ride on the Brisbane River.
About 140 devotees ( that’s all the boat could fit ) assembled at a Southbank jetty in central Brisbane to board the “Jaladuta 2”, which was a reenactment of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival into Boston on September 17th 1965.
On board we started with guru puja to Srila Prabhupada and for the next 4 hours there was kirtan, speeches, stories and wonderful prasadam.
Special guests were Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, HH Vedavyasapriya Maharaja, Gunarnava das, Vilasini dd and myself.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/N4eOE8

Travel Adventures of a Krishna Monk. Journal by Krishna-kripa Das.
Excerpt: There is a story in the Hassidic tradition about a great doubter named Simon. He attended a festival at which they reserve a seat for Elijah, a great prophet of the past. Simon wondered if Elijah actually could come there. Then he saw a hand reach down from the ceiling. He had doubts about grabbing it, but he decided to. Elijah brought him up to the kingdom of God. He saw how everyone was living in harmony. Then Elijah brought him back. He saw the trivial quarrels and bickering between nations and families due to selfishness.
Srila Prabhupada said to the GBC at their first meeting, “When you all agree, I will be there in the decision.”
The Native Americans have games in which everyone wins or no one wins. Such games teach that you have to work together.
The Quakers make decisions by consensus. If 299 agree, but one doesn’t, the 299 think, “What does he see that we do not see?”
We think democracy is really great, but in reality, it generates power politics where people form alliances to exclude others.
Krishna expertly and mercifully gives us situations where we cannot proceed until we consider everyone in our decision.
To read the entire article click here: https://goo.gl/RSdMj1

International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
But what Is Krishna Consciousness?
These are notes found in a handwritten diary kept by Srila Prabhupada, outlining how he intended to present the teachings of Krishna consciousness to the Western world.