Virtual Istagosthi: ISKCON Orlando, USA: Trivikrama Swami Srimad Bhagavatam Class 04/09/2011

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H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 12 April 2011--This Material World is a Royal Rip-Off--and--Are We Guilty of Killing Vegetables?

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu

ISKCON Orlando, USA: Trivikrama Swami Srimad Bhagavatam Class 04/09/2011

H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, April 10th, 2011

H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, April 11th, 2011

H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, April 9th, 2011

H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, April 8th, 2011

Ekendra das, Alachua, USA: Shells

H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 277—Poem for April 11

H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS

Kurma dasa, AU: Once Upon a Time In a Parallel Universe

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji

Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: A prayer to Lord Ramacandra

Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Eggless Tahini Cashew Butter Cookies

Jahnavi, UK: It’s cliched, but Spring demands haiku!

Japa Group: We Owe It To The Lord

Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Srila Prabhupada speaks on Ramanavami

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Small Rama Navami Celebrations on Tuesday!

Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: New Arrivals In The Garden

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Requiem for a solar panel driven flower

Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Kitchen Buzz : The Beehive Knob

H.H. Sivarama Swami: This year we experienced and are going to experience four unusual dates

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Here is the culprit in action

Bhakta Ryan, Brisbane, AU: Lord Nrisimhadeva sculpt

Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - 24hr Kirtan - Radhika - 14/26

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday April 9, 2011

Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: In the news: Hare Krishna beliefs and lunch explained at demonstration

Mayapur Online: New facility, a first in Mayapur

Mayapur Online: Vyasa Puja Festival of HH Jayapataka Swami 2011

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: "Working Bee"

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: New Schedule: Seminar Series with Narayani Dasi

Gouranga TV: Indradyumna Maharaj – Lecture – Gaura Purnima

Dandavats.com: Intensive training in Sanskrit grammar

Japa Group: Chant With Proper Consciousness

Kurma dasa, AU: Cooking with Kurma in Your Home

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H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 12 April 2011--This Material World is a Royal Rip-Off--and--Are We Guilty of Killing Vegetables?

A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(tm) Tuesday 12 April 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger image.) Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. Today's Thought: This Material World is a Royal Rip-Off Uploaded from en route to Riga, Latvia Although we perpetually try to get a good deal from this material world, we will never be able to do so because in the final analysis it is nothing but a royal rip off. Try as we may and try as we might we will always be defeated by the stringent laws of the material nature. We try to always be healthy, but yet we are forced to get sick. We try to remain young, but yet we are forced to get old. We try to live forever, but yet we are forced to die. So it's time we learn our lesson and realize that this is not a fit place for our residence and get out of here as soon as possible. But due to our conditioning we think, Home sweet home and we continue to have hope against hope that someday we will be able to make all the suitable arrangements for being happy here. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Are We Guilty of Killing Vegetables? My son tells me that I am killing vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, etc whenever I eat them. How literally do we take the law, Thou shalt not kill? Joe Answer: Yes, If They're Not Offered to Krishna It's a fact that just as meat eaters are guilty of killing, vegetarians are also guilty of killing because many vegetables are killed when we eat them. This is why Krishna instructs that before eating our vegetarian foods we must first offer them to Him so that we become free from the karmic reaction of killing. While Krishna offers this facility for the eating of vegetables, He does not offer this concession for the eating of meat. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed: http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714185709 Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address:

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

Aren't we so fortunate in Melbourne to get a first hand experience of the non-permanent appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons; the transition can be so swift ...a matter of minutes sometimes!

We thus get sufficient practice, on a daily basis, on to how to learn and tolerate such changes without being disturbed.

Here is the darsana, however, of that realm where it is consistently pleasant and where the flavour of the day is steady, if not ever-increasing, transcendental enjoyment.

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu

Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47

SB 12.3.45: In the Kali-yuga, objects, places and even individual personalities are all polluted. The almighty Personality of Godhead, however, can remove all such contamination from the life of one who fixes the Lord within his mind.
SB 12.3.46: If a person hears about, glorifies, meditates upon, worships or simply offers great respect to the Supreme Lord, who is situated within the heart, the Lord will remove from his mind the contamination accumulated during many thousands of lifetimes.
SB 12.3.47: Just as fire applied to gold removes any discoloration caused by traces of other metals, Lord Vi??u within the heart purifies the minds of the yogis.

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47 - One of the main purposes of Srimad Bhagavatam is to glorify the Holy Name (...yoginam nrpa nirnitam harer namanukirtanam)
12/4/11; 11:26
12.5MB

Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47 - One of the main purposes of Srimad Bhagavatam is to glorify the Holy Name (...yoginam nrpa nirnitam harer namanukirtanam)

Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44

SB 12.3.44: Terrified, about to die, a man collapses on his bed. Although his voice is faltering and he is hardly conscious of what he is saying, if he utters the holy name of the Supreme Lord he can be freed from the reaction of his fruitive work and achieve the supreme destination. But still people in the age of Kali will not worship the Supreme Lord.

Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji
Bhagavatam class given on Monday, 11th April 2011
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44 - In Kali-yuga people are materially very active but spiritually very lazy (...mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagyah hy upadrutah)
14.1MB
Posted by Bhakti Sara Dasa at 12/4/11; 6:11:12 AM

Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44

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ISKCON Orlando, USA: Trivikrama Swami Srimad Bhagavatam Class 04/09/2011

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H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Sunday, April 10th, 2011

What the Leaves Told Me

Toronto, Ontario

I was going on little sleep. The cause – worries, but never mind. Move on, little doggie, that’s me. Goura and I took to the Belt Line ravine and the Evergreen Brickworks. It felt good. I had fine thoughts about the previous day’s Kirtan Standard Workshop. We trudged through mud and chanted, softly. Then I noticed the leaves strewn along the ravine’s slopes. The snow, now melted, exposes these sleepy guys who are relieved of their wet and white blanket.

It seems leaves play a major role in avoiding erosion, as do the trees anchored in with their serious roots, as do fallen trees and branches. They hold it, the soil, all in place.

And I thought dharma is like that: the path of duty checks morality and all that’s stable from slipping away. Dharma is our foundation and it becomes the springboard for transcendence. You practically cannot be truly ‘spiritual’ or a transcendentalist until you establish duty and obligation first.

I have never viewed nature’s debris in this manner before. Roots I knew about. They are like security guards seeing the soil behave but the leaves fallen from six months before? I have never appreciated this aspect of their existence. They just form this spongy coat on the slopes of a beautiful setting and assist the guards.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is said that Krishna descends to the world with three intentions. 1) He protects the virtuous. 2) He establishes dharma. Since the community had celebrated Rama-nauvami today on a large scale, I had a chance to reflect on Krishna in the form of Rama as the upholder of dharma. He exemplified it well and I had the pleasure to speak to the crowd at our Sunday Open House about this great avatar.

At least for me, when Rama comes to mind it’s the scene of Rama and consort, Sita, brother Laksman in the Dandak forest with all the leaves at their feet. I worry less when I see that mental picture.

8 KM

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H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, April 11th, 2011

Monk’s Suit

Toronto, Ontario

As I had done last time a trip overseas with a stopover at Dubai means I must appear there in plainclothes. I will change in the plane while we are in the air. I will do like Clark Kent. Instead of a telephone booth, I will use the washroom to change in. But it will be reverse to what he does. He goes in the booth to change into his attire of empowerment.

I will strip down from my robes, my attire of empowerment, to put on my civies (civilian clothes). It’s not by choice. I love my clothes, my devotional clothes.

Remember the lyrics by Donovan where he sings, “I love my shirt, I love my shirt... I love my jeans, I love my jeans.” Well, I feel the same way about my devotional wear, my monk suit. I like my dhoti, kurtan and chauddar for comfort and for what they represent.

I recall years ago when going to a woman’s shelter to deliver, after cooking it, meals of tasty Krishna prasadam (blessed veggie meals). The women, some of whom were not of the highest grade, enjoyed it so much. One lady asked with all frankness why I was wearing a monkey suit and I corrected her, with no offense, “A monk’s suit, ma’am!”

The coordinator of the shelter said, “You handled that one very well, Mr. Swami.”

After all, one has to protect one’s domain and as a monk the clothes on your back is about all you’ve got except for a few books, a set of meditational beads and a tooth brush.

I will travel with this meagre paraphanelia to Mauritius today via Dubai with an enviable lightness.

8 KM

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H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Saturday, April 9th, 2011

A Friend Sends Me

Toronto, Ontario

I have a terrific friend from Saranagati Village in British Columbia. His name is Yamala Arjuna and I'm on his list of recipients to his bi-yearly package of jokes. I'll pull out some of the Zen sarcasm remarks to do with walking. They're good.

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone.

2. The journey of a Thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

3. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

And here are some dillies that deal with health, and God, etc.

1. One danger of overeating - it may cause you to live beyond your seams.

2. Blessed are the hard of hearing, because they miss much small talk.

3. It's what we learn after we think we know it all that counts.

4. If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep.

5. In order to mold His people, God often has to melt them.

Thanks Yamala, for some great one liners.

5 KM

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H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Friday, April 8th, 2011

Another Cool School

Brampton, Ontario

I really like these school engagements. Today I found myself with Rajasuya from our ISKCON Brampton centre at Notre Dame Secondary School. The teacher, Judy Bella, was most gracious and she arranged for our presentation in the school's chapel. It's a great space.

With chairs at the perimeter of the room ample room was there for students in two periods to be briefed on the yoga asana of the lotus posture. I also led them through salutations to the sun, but the real highlight was the chanting of Hare Krishna (as usual) and the dancing that accompanied it. And through the talk when mentioning about doing three cross Canada walks the eyebrows rose.

In my travels in the west it's common to hear about guys, boys or men in general, having a bad rap. It's less prominent in eastern countries. Indeed, when Raja and I first entered the school and waited at the main office to be shown the chapel, a young male student came in and expressed his anger with a brunt, something I wasn't expecting. It's not always a super trait of glory that guys demonstrate.

Overall, what impressed me is in both classes that I gave that some of the boys stood out to be real gentlemen. You could pick out three or four that were like that. And that's not to say the girls were bad at all I would give credit to Judy and staff, and of course, parents of those teens, what to speak of the male teacher who told the outburst boy to behave. Good job done!

It's important to observe trends amongst our young.

Sadly, though, as Judy was telling us, technology has got them. After school hours like a noose (my words) video games lock kids in a cell and that's voluntary. we discussed with Judy after the class that for young men, over exposure to these gadgets causes a lowering of the sperm count. We don't know yet the damage for girls.

Judy is like Raj and I. We're into the outdoors, countryside and walking trails. That is so much what this blog is about. It's about getting out and getting a life.

8 KM

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Ekendra das, Alachua, USA: Shells

I'm walkin' on sunshine, whoa oh

I live near the beach now. In the morning I see solitary beachcombers out, heads down, walking very slowly, pausing to pick up shells. I’ve done this. You look for ones that stand out—colors, shapes, something especially large or intricate.
The beach where we live is made up entirely of shells. There’s hardly any sand, just trillions and quadrillions of shells—some almost as tiny as grains of sand, some larger, some crushed, some whole—as far as the eye can see in either direction. They’re hard to walk on. Maybe that’s why ours isn’t the most popular beach in Florida.
Shells are the bones of shellfish. So the beach is like a pile of dead bodies, an enormous graveyard. And the shell collectors pace it up and down every day, looking for shellfish bones with that certain special quality that makes you want to stoop down and add it to your jar so you can put it on your kitchen windowsill and gaze upon it forever more.
There’s no denying the shells themselves are beautiful. I’ve seen the insides of shellfish, and they’re nowhere near as attractive as the outsides. Dead bodies generally look a lot worse than live ones. But seashells have so much intricate detail, such symmetry, such geometric precision, so many different hues and textures and colors. I’ve seen people spend hours combing the beach for pretty shells, and I don’t blame them.
It occurred to me that this is what we’re all doing, us living creatures. Once inside our temporary bodies—our shells—we spend lifetimes looking for just the right significant other pretty shell. Meanwhile we’re walking on top of infinite stockpiles of other shells, other bones of long-departed beings—which ought to be reminders that the time we get to spend in our own little shell is ridiculously brief. But no, we keep moseying down the beach; heads down, stuffing our jars with more and more fascinatingly formed skeletons.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 277—Poem for April 11

www.sdgonline.org.
5:25 A.M.
A Writer of Pieces
New format—I will begin with a poem written on the day of its printing. Then I will print random excerpts of books I have printed over the last 30 years. I hope this variety will be pleasing.
Poem for April 11
Waiting for my morning poem
like a beggar by the roadside,
I want it to be praise of Krishna,
the speaker of Bhagavad-gita.
I’ve started reading the new commentary
by Tripurari Swami, and it is good.
But it is a long book and demanding.
I am also re-reading the autobiography
of Mark Twain.
Today I woke
late, and I’m behind on my japa rounds,
but I’ll catch up.
I won’t take a morning nap.
I try to share my life with
readers on the Web, hope the
little life contains something
they can like. I am looking
forward to a seasonable
spring with lilacs
and holly in our yard. As
yet, we have not been able
to grow Tulasi in our house,
a discouragement to our
devotion.
At breakfast Saci will
read to me from the long
chapter
“Prayers of the Personified
Vedas” while I honor
porridge.
Today I have a
yoga class. I am satisfied
with the temper of my life and go on writing
personal
episodes of an autobiography.
Krishna is in control of my time,
and I helplessly use the
hours and try to make it
devotional service to
the Lord.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS

www.sdgonline.org.
From In Praise of the Mahajanas and Other Poems (1983)
The Four Kumaras
“Four young boys looking five years old,
going naked to the higher planets,
all the way to Vaikuntha,
go the four young boys
Sanat, Sanaka, Sanatana, and Sanandana Kumara.
They are all empowered with transcendental knowledge
and self-satisfied.
“Yet when they smelled the Tulasi at Lord Vishnu’s feet
it turned their minds to personal devotion,
Brahman-knowledge was never so sweet,
impersonal bliss was a small emotion
compared to this.
“When their father bade them to marry
they refused. Brahma was not amused
and in anger from his brow burst forth
a blackish crying babe.
Yet the boys are not condemned by sages,
since they disobeyed in favor of the truth.
They remained ever-youthful throughout the ages
with luster, memory and celibate proof
that transcendental life is the highest taste
and of knowledge, bhakti is the best.
“Like Narada they come and go
with no worldly appointment,
received by kings,
their feet are washed,
and the water drunk and sprinkled
over the heads of pious leaders.
What they eat is taken as maha-prasadam,
and their potent speeches break Maya
like dynamite through rock.
“The four Kumaras show us
eternal wisdom in the bodies of young boys.
They didn’t learn it by broken hearts,
deceived by a woman’s love
or through the pangs of lost youth,
disappointed tears ending in death.
The four Kumaras show us
worldly pain can be avoided
and happiness attained
by transcendental knowledge,
which never grows old.
Yet even they learned love
when they caught the aroma
of the green Tulasi buds
at Lord Vishnu’s lotus feet.”
From Living with the Scriptures (1990)
“‘As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.’ (Bhagavad-gita 2.13)
“When Srila Prabhupada left to open the temple in San Francisco, we devotees tried out our new-found transcendental knowledge by lecturing ourselves. In our lectures the first words we spoke was usually something involving “You’re not this body.” And when a few other devotees, and I went to Boston, we divided up the morning and evening lectures so that everyone got a chance to repeat the analogies and examples spoken by Lord Krishna and Prabhupada. One devotee even complained, ‘Always the same lectures, “You’re not this body.” Doesn’t anyone know something more?’ Actually most of us did not know much more. Yet even the ABCs of spiritual knowledge were far beyond any knowledge realized by 99% of humanity, including the prizewinning scholars and religionists. As Srila Prabhupada said, ‘How simply, how easily explained, but this simple thing they cannot understand.’
“Krishna consciousness is not based on sentiment or speculation but on transcendental knowledge. It is the science of the soul, the science of God, and this verse in the Bhagavad-gita has always represented for me the essence of transcendental knowledge. Transmigration of the soul is not just a nice idea, a wish, or a poetic metaphor. It is a fact. And Srila Prabhupada would often use this verse in that way, as scientific proof. In the analogy used by Lord Krishna, the soul remains steady through the changes of body in this lifetime. We should therefore accept the fact that death will only be another change, after which the permanent soul will transmigrate once again.
“But different questions or doubts sometimes arise. As a visitor challenged, ‘My self is not permanent, even in this lifetime. I, myself, am actually changing from boyhood to youth. And what is the empirical truth that the soul does survive the body and take another birth?’ The Vaisnava siddhanta is competent to answer these doubts.
“The proof of the soul is not offered empirically because it lies beyond the ability of the senses or the materially speculative mind. The proof descends from a reliable authority:
“‘As far as the existence of the soul is concerned, no one can establish his existence experimentally beyond the proof of sruti, or Vedic wisdom. We have to accept this truth because there is no other source of understanding the existence of the soul, although it is a fact by perception.’ (Bhagavad-gita 2.25, purport)
“In the case of the dehino ’smin verse, the authority is Sri Krishna, who is accepted in all Vedic literature and by all the bona fide acaryas throughout the ages as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because it is spoken by Krishna, it is therefore an axiomatic truth. But it is also a fact confirmed by observation, compelling logic, and analogy.
“Material scientists inform us that all of our bodily cells are replaced every seven years. We see that when the lease on one’s apartment runs out, one must take a new place of residence. And when one’s clothes become old and worn, one must select new clothing. We see that our bodies do grow from tiny infant bodies to boyhood bodies. And when one is in the body of boyhood, where is the body of his infancy? It is gone; he has changed bodies. Yet his sense of self, or identity, remains. That same self will inevitably change into another body at old age. These are the arguments and examples by which to present the transmigration of the soul. Based on the undeniable fact of the changing body, Lord Krishna states that a sober person is not bewildered to know that after death he will continue, and that he will take a new body.
“How is it that one who is not raised in believing the knowledge of transmigration comes to accept it as axiomatic truth? The enemies of Krishna consciousness sometimes call this ‘brainwashing’ or ‘snapping,’ indicating that no sane, reasonable process could lead one to such a conversion. More polite and liberal critics of spiritual life say that a devotee’s acceptance of Lord Krishna’s authority is dogmatic or an act of blind faith. The nondevotee’s attempt to assess spiritual knowledge is like a person’s trying to taste honey by licking the outside of the honey jar. The Krishna conscious person, however, asserts that such nonbelievers simply do not know what they are talking about.
“I have already given some of the arguments for transmigration, and I have mentioned the basis of accepting transcendental knowledge by hearing from higher authorities. Just how a devotee becomes transformed in his thinking from ‘normal,’ worldly conscious to Krishna consciousness is what I am trying to explain in these essays. But from the Krishna consciousness point of view, it is do or die—one accepts this authority and the conclusion of the dehino ’smin verse, or his spiritual life dies. Spiritual life may start with intelligent doubt, grow into theoretical allegiance, and finally manifest in firm realization, but if one flatly denies the method of learning from the scriptures, there is no hope.”
From Japa Walks, Japa Talks
“We cannot overestimate the importance of sastra for understanding and entering the nectar of the holy name. Earlier this morning I read in the Sixth Canto, Chapter 2, ‘Ajamila Delivered by the Vishnudutas’ the sastra gives us strength when we read with faith. Our own individual weakness is not a great thing, but the power of the holy name is very great indeed and can overcome our inadequacy.
“‘. . . Ajamila unconsciously accumulated the results of bhakti. Indeed, even his first utterance of the holy name was sufficient to nullify all the sinful reactions of his life . . . In the sastras it is said that if one chants the holy name of the Lord even once, the reactions of past or future sinful life do not affect him . . . Similarly, if a devotee chants the holy name even once inoffensively, this protects him eternally. He need only wait for the results of the chanting to mature in due course of time.’ (Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.2.49, purport)
“‘The time of death is a time of bewilderment because bodily functions are in disorder. ‘At that time, even one who throughout his life has practiced chanting the holy name of the Lord, may not be able to chant the Hare Krishna mantra very distinctly. Nevertheless, such a person receives all the benefits of chanting the holy name. While the body is fit, therefore, why should we not chant the holy name loudly and distinctly? If one does so it is quite possible that even at the time of death, he will properly be able to chant the holy name of the Lord with love and faith. In conclusion, one who chants the holy name of the Lord constantly is guaranteed to return home back to Godhead without a doubt.’
“It is guaranteed. There is no doubt. But we have to chant with faith and love.
“I was out the gate this morning before 5:00 A.M. The metal gate was wet from the rain overnight, and the sky was covered with remnants of last night’s rain clouds. I’m feeling uneasy because of the little moths who dove into my candlelight as I was chanting japa. Now I have decided not to use votive candles in the summer anymore. It should have occurred to me earlier because all these creatures had to sacrifice their lives. Of course, I can’t protect them from dying if it is their time, but I don’t have to turn out the lights and invite them into the flames just because the candles help me to concentrate. Whatever I gain in concentration, I lose by my unintentional or half-intentional killing of other creatures. When this finally became clear to me, I tried chanting in the mood of seeking forgiveness, remembering how Ajamila was protected from sin by the holy name.
“The disturbing picture is still in my mind of sitting to chant, aided by a concentration produced by votive candles, while at the same time moths dove into the flames. I want to be offenseless in my chanting, but I commit violence to other living beings. So what if they are in a lower form of life and cannot chant Hare Krishna? They still have a right to live.
“Very, very few of us can spend our full time chanting. Prabhupada says that constant chanting is the activity of a very mature—in fact, liberated—devotee. But we may feel that we are not doing enough by only sixteen or twenty-five rounds. One way to feel better about this is to realize that all of our activities can contribute to good japa. Be conscious of it, be deliberate. Understand that if you are cruel to someone, or if you find fault, or overeat, or are a nonsense, in one way or another it’s going to affect your japa. Everything you do either contributes to or works against your chanting. It makes me think of the athletes who train for years to perform in the Olympics. Their actual performance is over in a few hours, but they train for it and protect themselves from injury twenty-four hours a day. They make sure they get sufficient rest, eat the best foods and don’t do anything that could jeopardize their chances for success. And they think positively.
“It is also nice to think about saintliness in a general way. Certainly to intone or chant the holy name of Krishna is saintly life at its best. Especially in Kali-yuga, the sankirtana yajna is a life of saints. If we want to become more saintly, we are to behave properly and observe all the rules and regulations of Vaisnava life. Krishna consciousness is not something you just switch on and off. It’s a fulltime occupation.”

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Kurma dasa, AU: Once Upon a Time In a Parallel Universe

Apologies to Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci.

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji

Bhagavatam class given on Monday, 11th April 2011

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44 - In Kali-yuga people are materially very active but spiritually very lazy (...mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagyah hy upadrutah)

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47 - One of the main purposes of Srimad Bhagavatam is to glorify the Holy Name (...yoginam nrpa nirnitam harer namanukirtanam)

Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44

SB 12.3.44: Terrified, about to die, a man collapses on his bed. Although his voice is faltering and he is hardly conscious of what he is saying, if he utters the holy name of the Supreme Lord he can be freed from the reaction of his fruitive work and achieve the supreme destination. But still people in the age of Kali will not worship the Supreme Lord.

Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji
Bhagavatam class given on Monday, 11th April 2011
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44 - In Kali-yuga people are materially very active but spiritually very lazy (...mandah sumanda-matayo manda-bhagyah hy upadrutah)
14.1MB
Posted by Bhakti Sara Dasa at 12/4/11; 6:11:12 AM

Daily Class - Yamuna Lila Mataji - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.44

Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47

SB 12.3.45: In the Kali-yuga, objects, places and even individual personalities are all polluted. The almighty Personality of Godhead, however, can remove all such contamination from the life of one who fixes the Lord within his mind.
SB 12.3.46: If a person hears about, glorifies, meditates upon, worships or simply offers great respect to the Supreme Lord, who is situated within the heart, the Lord will remove from his mind the contamination accumulated during many thousands of lifetimes.
SB 12.3.47: Just as fire applied to gold removes any discoloration caused by traces of other metals, Lord Viṣṇu within the heart purifies the minds of the yogīs.

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47 - One of the main purposes of Srimad Bhagavatam is to glorify the Holy Name (...yoginam nrpa nirnitam harer namanukirtanam)
12/4/11; 11:26
12.5MB

Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.45-47

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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: A prayer to Lord Ramacandra

O Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have accepted the brahmanas as Your worshipable deity. Your knowledge and memory are never disturbed by anxiety. You are the chief of all famous persons within this world, and Your lotus feet are worshiped by sages who are beyond the jurisdiction of punishment. O Lord Ramacandra, let us offer our respectful obeisances unto You.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 9.11.7
(for Ramanvami)

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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Eggless Tahini Cashew Butter Cookies

This twist on the classic peanut butter cookie updates the original with ample amounts of tahini and cashew butter. The resultant cookie has a deliciously nutty taste with depth. And the best thing about it is it’s familiar and comfortable without being boring. A great cookie for grown-ups and kids alike.

Recipe

2.5 c flour

2 c brown sugar

1/2 c cashew butter

1/2 c tahini

1 tspn baking powder

1 c coconut oil

1 tbspn Greek yogurt

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Thoroughly combine all ingredients.

Roll into balls by the tablespoon. Flatten with hand slightly and imprint with potato masher.

Bake @ 375 for 9-11 minutes.

Cool a few minutes before transferring to wire cooling rack.

print

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Jahnavi, UK: It’s cliched, but Spring demands haiku!

Gazing up at the
fat pink pom-poms, I sometimes
lose my balance.
Hesitant blossoms
have the last laugh, those that pop first
get rained on

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Japa Group: We Owe It To The Lord

A meditation came to me today. We owe it to our spiritual master and the Lord to chant with respect - the Lord has given this precious and rare opportunity to chant His holy names - it's up to us to make the decision to take full advantage of this. At every second we make a decision....whether to listen to our minds during Japa, or to listen to Krsna's holy names - let us all make the right decision.

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Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Srila Prabhupada speaks on Ramanavami

Spoken by His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Hawaii on March 27, 1969

Prabhupada: (chants mangalacarana prayers)

ramadi murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvaneshu kintu
krishnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.39]

This is a verse from Brahma-samhita in which the incarnation of Lord Ramacandra is described. Ramadi. Not only Rama, but there are many other, innumerable incarnations. They are compared with the waves of a river. As the waves of the river or the waves of the ocean cannot be counted, similarly, how many incarnations are there of the Supreme Lord it is not possible to count. But out of them, the principal names are mentioned in the sastras. Therefore it is said ramadi. Ramadi means Rama and also other, many incarnations. And they are existing. Not that one incarnation appeared and it is finished. No. Not like that. Just like Lord Ramacandra appeared on this planet, say millions of years before. He appeared in the Treta-yuga. Treta-yuga means... We have passed only five thousand years of this age, Kali-yuga. Before that, there was Dvapara-yuga. Dvapara-yuga means 800,000 years. And before that, there was Treta-yuga, which continued for twelve hundred thousands of years. That means at least two million years before Lord Ramacandra appeared on this planet.

So now Lord Ramacandra appeared in Ayodhya. There is a place in Ayodhya, in northern India. There He appeared. As Krishna appeared in Mathura... That is also northern India. And Mathura is about ninety miles down southward from New Delhi. You have heard the name of New Delhi, the capital of India. So Ayodhya is also situated about five hundred miles northeast of New Delhi. So Lord Ramacandra appeared on this day. Today is called Sri Rama Naumi. On the ninth day of the moon Lord Ramacandra appeared. His father was the king of Ayodhya, and he had three wives. So out of... No. He had two wives. So out of two wives he got four sons. Ramacandra is the eldest son. The life and activities of Lord Ramacandra is... [break] ...in a book which is called Ramayana. You have heard the name of Ramayana. Ramayana is also accepted as history. Vedic literatures are histories also. The Puranas, the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Mahabharata, and Ramayana, they are counted amongst the history. The history of Ramacandra is that His father wanted to retire. Dasaratha, Maharaja Dasaratha. And he decided to enthrone Lord Ramacandra and retire. So everything was settled, but just one day before, his youngest wife turned the whole thing into different way. Sometimes Maharaja Dasaratha was suffering from what is called whitlow, some trouble in the finger? And this queen served him very nicely, and he was pleased. And he said, “My dear Sarmishtha, if you want some benediction from me, I can give you.” And she replied that “I shall ask you for the benediction when I require it. Not now.” So just one day before Lord Ramacandra’s coronation, she approached her husband Maharaja Dasaratha and reminded him, “My dear husband, you promised to give me some benediction, and I told you that I shall ask you when I require it.” Maharaja Dasaratha said, “Yes, I remember. You want some benediction just now?” She said, “Yes.” “And what is that?” She said that “Ramacandra cannot be seated on the throne. My son should be coronated, Bharata.” He was surprised. It is a big demand. So he said, “All right. That will be done. Your son.” Because formerly, the kings... Not only formerly, even up to date, there are many kshatriya kings in India. They have more than one wife. And they are, naturally, there is rivalry between different wives. So the same thing. Human psychology is the same. Even two million years ago the same mentality was there, and she asked that “My son should be the king, not Ramacandra.” Ramacandra happened to be the son of Kausalya, the elder queen.

So Maharaja Dasaratha agreed and called for Ramacandra. “My dear boy, your...” She asked also that... She was very diplomatic. She wanted that Ramacandra go to forest for fourteen years. The idea was political, that “The king may agree to install my son just now. Now, after a few days, this Ramacandra may come with His army, and there may be some difficulty to continue the kingdom.” So she wanted that Ramacandra should go to the forest and He should not come back till the end of fourteen years from this day. So Maharaja Dasaratha agreed. Because he was kshatriya. Just see the promise. A kshatriya never goes back from the promise, never refuses any challenge. If a kshatriya is challenged by somebody, that “I want to fight with you,” oh, he cannot refuse. This is kshatriya spirit. He cannot say that “I am now busy.” Suppose somebody comes to you, that “I want to fight with you.” You may say, “What nonsense fight? I have no time. We are in the temple.” But a kshatriya cannot deny that. A kshatriya at once must accept. “Oh, yes. Come on.” And the weapon should be, if he has no sword or weapon, he should be supplied weapon and fight. This is kshatriya spirit. They were highly charitable and chivalrous and keeping promise and with a great tendency for ruling over. They shall rule over. Administrators. Their business is...

There are different prescription for different classes of men for their livelihood. The brahmanas, they can pull on their livelihood by six ways. Pathana pathana yajana yajana dana pratigraha. Six. And they must be qualified with twelve high qualities. We have many times discussed. Out of that qualification, truthfulness is the first item for a brahmana. A kshatriya may speak lies. That is allowed, because he has to be diplomat, politician. But a brahmana, oh, he’s not allowed to speak lie. This is the system, caste system or varnasrama system. Everyone was trained. Because these four classes of men are required in a society. For proper upkeep of society, one class of men must be very intelligent, highly qualified, with all good qualities. They must be trained in that way, ideal character so that people can see and follow them. Therefore brahmanas were taken to so much respect because they’re ideal character, learned, and godly, knows the science, spiritual science. Therefore they’re held in high estimation and topmost of the society. The next, the administrator, administrative class, kshatriyas. They are trained how to kill. The kshatriyas were allowed to hunt in the forest to learn the art of killing because that was necessity for the kshatriyas. Kshatriya, if he... If the king, if he finds somebody is doing wrong, he can immediately chop off his head if he likes. The king was so powerful. And it is not that if there was some war, it is not that the president or the king shall sit down comfortably at home and ordinary soldiers will go and lay down their life. No. Formerly, the king or the head of the state, he should first of all go there in the fight. You see in the picture, the chief men of the fighting in the Kurukshetra, both sides, they were arrayed, this side, that side, with their chariot. Not that the head man, the chief man, or the commander is taking shelter back side, protecting himself, and poor soldiers are (chuckles) thrown into the fighting. No. These were kshatriya spirit. And it is necessary that a class of men should be trained up in that way, kshatriya, fighting men. In India, because this training was there since a very long time, so there is no difficulty in recruiting soldiers there. There is a class of men, they are very much forward in fighting still. They are called... Just like the Gurkhas, the Nepalese. You have heard the name of Nepal. Still a small state, independent state. They are not within India. Between China and India. The whole Nepal population, they are kshatriyas. Oh, they are very good fighters. Similarly, the Sikhs, the Jatas. There are classes. So they’re always forward for fighting. And you’ll be surprised that the British Empire was voluntarily liquidated because they lost India. The Britishers, they understood that because we are now losing India, there is no more possibility to keep our eastern empire. Therefore they liquidated. Why? Actually, the whole British Empire were being administered or managed by Indian soldiers, these Sikhs and Gurkhas. They extended their empire. After taking their position with India, they extended British Empire in the Middle East and Far East simply by these Sikhs and Gurkha soldiers. They got supremacy on the Burma and everywhere.

So there is necessity of a class of fighting men. You are finding in your country difficulty in recruiting because the recruiting process is wrong. You are recruiting from persons... You are training persons just like sudras, and you want them to fight. How they can fight? It is not possible. So as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gita, that catur-varnyam maya srishtam guna karma vibhagasah... [Bg. 4.13]. Lord Krishna said that “The four classes or orders of the society, brahmana, kshatriya, vaisya, sudra, is planned by Me according to work and quality.” So this kshatriya quality men is also required, the brahmana quality of men is also required, the mercantile community, they are also required, and the laborer class, they are also required. Of course, laborer class, they do not require any training. Laborer class means one who cannot do anything, neither become brahmana, nor become kshatriya, nor become vaisya. That means the last balance of the population, they are called laborer class, sudra. Sudra means one who has no training. Sudra has no samskara. Samskara means training. Everyone is accepted as sudra by birth. Janmana jayate sudra. Janmana means by birth. By birth, everyone is born a sudra, a fourth-class man. It is to be accepted, and actually so. Just like a child, innocent child, what does he know? He has to be trained. Either you train him as a brahmana or train him as a kshatriya or train him as a vaisya. Or otherwise, he is sudra already, born sudra. Sudra has no training. Everyone, the basic principle, basic foreground, everyone, it is accepted sudra. Now, if you train him as a brahmana, then he becomes a brahmana. If you train him as a kshatriya, then he becomes a kshatriya. If you train him as a vaisya... So I think this is, this system is very scientific so that if you want help of a really intelligent man or God realized man, it is ready, the brahmana class. Just like if you require the help of a lawyer, we have got so many lawyers. If you require the help of medical man... Because there are trained men. Similarly, the society requires to train a certain class of men to become brahmanas. Just like we are training the Krishna conscious. The Krishna consciousness is meant for the brahmanas. They are not meant for fighting because they are not being trained for fighting. They have been trained for becoming brahmanas. Who is brahmana? Brahma janati iti brahmana. The four divisions are described like this. Janmana jayate sudrah, everyone is born sudra. That is accepted. Samskarad bhaved dvijah. Now if you train him, never mind in which family he’s born, you have to train him. Just like boys are sent to school for being trained. So everyone is accepted as sudra, but you now train him. He goes to the guru-griha.

Guru-griha means teacher’s house. Formerly, for being trained, there was no such big scale school and colleges. Every village... Still, fifty years before in India, in every village there was a small school conducted by the brahmana, and the village children would be trained up there. So he was sent for training. And there was no school fee. The boys will go there, and on behalf of the teacher or spiritual master, they will go, brahmacari, door to door, and beg and bring forth alms, rice, dahl, grains, and everything. That was the system. There was no school fee. There was no problem how to send a boy to the school. Samskara. Now he’s trained up. The teacher sees the psychology of the boy, in which way he should be trained. Either he should be trained as a vaisya or he should be trained as a kshatriya. So everyone was trained like that, but generally, the son of a kshatriya... Just like Maharaja Ramacandra or Arjuna, from the very beginning they were trained as kshatriya. Naturally, if somebody is the son of a medical man his father trains him to become a medical man in future. That is the natural tendency. If the boy is different altogether that is another question, but naturally, that is the tendency. So a kshatriya’s son was trained as kshatriya. A brahmana’s son was trained as a brahmana and a vaisya’s son was trained as a vaisya, and sudra had no training. So gradually this became a caste system. Brahmana’s son became brahmana. Because formerly, the training was there. But when it is vitiated, although a person born in the family of a brahmana, he is doing the work of a sudra. So according to Vedic scripture, one is classified according to his work and quality, not by birth. That is the classification of sastra. Just like in the Bhagavad-gita the Lord says catur-varnyam maya srishtam guna-karma-vibhagasah [Bg. 4.13]. Guna means quality and karma means work. One must be qualified for the work and he must actually work. Then he is counted classified into that, I mean to say, category. Just like if you are simply trained or educated as a lawyer, and if you are not practicing in the court, nobody comes to you to consult as a lawyer. Nobody cares for you. You must be practicing also. Similarly, to become a brahmana means first of all, he must know what is Brahman and he must be actually situated in the activities of Brahman. So devotional service are activities of Brahman. Activities in Krishna consciousness means activities in Brahman. Brahme carati iti brahma brahmacari. Carati means acts. Actually, he acts in life, applies the principles of brahmana in his life, he is called brahmacari. So these were the trainings.
So just see how the training was, that a kshatriya cannot refuse his promise. So Maharaja Dasaratha, he fulfilled the promise of his youngest wife and asked his son, eldest son Ramacandra, “My dear boy, You’ll have to go to forest for fourteen years. That is the desire of Your youngest mother. And I promised that I shall fulfill her promise, uh, request. So please accept.” Ramacandra said, “Yes father, I am ready.” Just see. This is the quality. Out of the six opulences of God, this is one quality.

aisvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayos caiva
shannam bhagam itingana
(Vishnu Purana 6.5.47)

How one becomes God? God is not manufactured by vote. There are definition who is God. God must be the proprietor of all the riches. Aisvaryasya samagrasya. Samagra means all. Nobody can compete with Him. Here, in this world, material world, I am rich man, and there is another rich man who can compete with me. There is another rich man who can compete with him. But nobody can compete with God in richness. That is one qualification of God. Nobody can say that “I am richer than God.” You can say “I am richer than Ford or Rockefeller” or this or that. You can say. But nobody can say that “I am richer than God.” Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita it is said mattah parataram nanyat asti kincid dhananjaya. Mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya [Bg. 7.7]. Dhananjaya is a name of Arjuna, and Krishna said that, “My dear Arjuna, there is nobody greater than Me.” So if anyone claims that he is God, he must prove by practical example that nobody is richer than him. That is the first. But unfortunately, we are accepting so many Gods. A rascal in the street, he also claims that “I am God.”

So similarly, the other qualification, nobody can be stronger than God, nobody can be wiser than God, nobody can be more beautiful than God, and nobody can be more renouncer than God. So here Ramacandra, Lord Ramacandra exhibited the quality how He renounced the whole kingdom simply on the order of His father, His obedience to father. He could have argued with His father, “My dear father, you, simply for keeping your promise and actuated by the dictation of a woman, you are doing this. Let us stop it. Everyone is expecting that tomorrow My coronation will be there, and they love Me so much.” Because He... Just like Krishna was so much loved, similarly, Lord Ramacandra was the life of the people. They were very much expecting that Ramacandra was going to be enthroned tomorrow. So how they were celebrating, how they were decorating the whole city. Everything. He never argued. He accepted immediately: “Yes, father. I am ready.”

So then one of the brothers, Lakshmana, He also requested Ramacandra, “My dear brother, You also take Me. I am Your constant companion. I must go with You.” So He said, “That’s Your wish. Voluntarily, if You want to come, You can come with Me.” Then Sita, His wife, young wife, She also said, “I’ll go with You.” Ramacandra requested His wife, “Oh, you cannot go with Me. It is very difficult. You are a king’s daughter, and you are brought up in so nice way, and you are so beautiful. You cannot go. You cannot take the trouble of living in the forest.” So she said, “Oh, I am Your wife. Married wife. So I must go even if You go to hell.” This is ideal wife. She could have refused: “Oh, Your father has ordered to go to forest. You can go. I shall go to my father’s house or I shall remain here.” No. This is ideal wife. She must be prepared to accept any circumstances of the husband. Not that when the husband is rich the wife is very faithful, and when he has come down to be poor or he’s going to forest the wife gives up his company. No. Wife means better half. She must abide. Just like, it is said, just like a shadow follows the reality, similarly, the wife is the shadow of the husband. Wherever the husband goes, she must go. Whatever the husband wants, she must carry out. Of course, in this country this interpretation is taken differently, that wife is made a slave. But actually, it is not so. When Sita was kidnapped in the jungle, Ramacandra expected that, that she was beautiful, she was young, and “We shall be in open jungle. It may be some demons may come,” and actually it so happened. So for Sita, Lord Ramacandra massacred the whole family of Ravana. Only for Sita. So as the husband, so the wife. The wife was so faithful that she could not remain alone. She must accompany the husband even in the forest. And the husband was so faithful that, “Oh, my wife has been kidnapped.” So He massacred the whole family of Ravana.

So these are ideal history how... Ramacandra, Lord Ramacandra appeared on this world to educate or to place ideal example of a king. How the king should be. Therefore when there is good government... The example is given, Rama-rajya. Rama- rajya. It is the kingdom of Lord Rama. Because everyone was happy, everyone. There are so many instances in the life of Ramacandra. One brahmana... Not brahmana exactly. Somebody came to Ramacandra. Because at that time there was no court like this, that you have to go to a court and apply with stamp fee. Then your judgment will be delivered after six years. It is not like that. Anyone who has got some complaint, he should... The king used to sit in the open audience, and the citizens were allowed to approach the king and place their complaints. Because there was no complaint practically. Everyone was happy. Very minor complaint. So somebody came to Ramacandra, and he charged Ramacandra, “My dear king, my son has died. How is that, in the presence of his father, son can die? There must be something wrong in Your government.” Just see. The charge is “Why my son has died before my death? This is unnatural.” So there was nothing unnatural. The king was responsible even for severe cold, severe heat. That we get from history of Srimad-Bhagavatam. That is stated. So the kings were so much responsible. They were always thinking of the happiness of the citizens, and the citizens were also so nice. One citizen approached Lord Ramacandra and His next assistant, His brother, Lakshmana, informed Him that “He is a brahmana. You were absent on Your tour for, I think for a fortnight or a month, and this brahmana has not eaten even a drop of water during Your absence.” Why? “Because he comes here to see You, darsana.” Just like we come here in the temple to see the Deity. So Lord Ramacandra was present personally. So he used to come. After seeing Ramacandra, offering his obeisances, then he would go home and take something, his breakfast. That was his vow. And because he could not see for a fortnight or a month Lord Ramacandra because He was out on political tour, he did not eat even. Just see. The citizens were similar to the king. So at that time, there was a statue of Ramacandra which was being worshiped in the family from Maharaja Ikshvaku. Maharaja Ikshvaku, the son of Manu, happens to be the forefather of the family in which Ramacandra appeared. So he was devotee of Lord Rama, and he was worshiping the statue of Lord Rama. So that statue was being worshiped by the family one after another. But when Ramacandra was actually present He kept that statue in the closet of the room, and when this brahmana approached and Ramacandra was informed by Lakshmana that he is so steady and strong in his vow, so Ramacandra ordered that he may be delivered that statue so that in My absence he can offer respect to the statue and do with this. That form, I mean to say, statue, or arca of Ramacandra is still existing in South India. It is being worshiped from that time.

So these were the dealings of Ramacandra. Then He, His younger brother Lakshmana and His wife went to the forest, and His wife was kidnapped by the diplomacy of the demon Ravana, and there was fight between Rama and Ravana. Ravana was very, materialistically, he was very strong. But the thing is for fighting with Ravana, Ramacandra did not come back to His kingdom and take His army. No. He did not come back because He was ordered to live in the forest. So He organized army with the jungle animals, the monkeys. The monkeys. He fought with Ravana, an organized materialist, with the monkeys. You have seen the picture. And He constructed a bridge between India’s last point to the other side. Ceylon is considered to be the kingdom of Ravana. So there was a bridge, and the stones were floating.

So there are so many historical incidences in the life of Ramacandra, and we should remember, because if we remember why we are observing today fasting for Ramacandra... There were many kings like Ramacandra. Because the kings were trained in that way. Maharaja Yudhishthira was also as good as Ramacandra, and Maharaja Parikshit was as good. There were many such kings. But we are not concerned because He was a king. He is the King of all kings, paramesvara. Because He is God, therefore we are observing today. Ramadi-murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan [Bs. 5.39]. So He is not original form of God. The original form of God is Krishna, and Krishna expands Himself in various other forms. Advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Bs. 5.33]. Ananta-rupam means millions and millions. The Manu is also incarnation of Krishna. So in one day of Brahma there are fourteen Manus. So Brahma lives for one hundred years. Just see how many incarnation of Manus are there even for one Brahma, and there are innumerable Brahmas also. So, as stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam that nobody can count how many incarnations are there, but some of the chief incarnations are mentioned, and Lord Ramacandra is one of them. So Lord Ramacandra, He killed Ravana and He installed his brother. His brother was devotee, Vibhishana. So He did not go to conquer Ceylon, because He was emperor. He went to punish that culprit Ravana, and He installed his younger brother Vibhishana in that... And He came back with Sita, and again He was installed after fourteen years, and His brother was so faithful that so long His eldest brother was away, Ramacandra requested Him that “Your mother wants that You should be king, and I also wish that in My absence You should be king.” Bharata, He was so faithful brother, He replied, “No. You are king. So long You are living, nobody can be king. So I cannot be king.” Then He requested, “At least You administer.” Because after the departure of Lord Ramacandra, Maharaja Dasaratha died out of the shock because Ramacandra was very pet son, eldest son. He was going to be king, and by his order He was sent to the forest. The father could not tolerate the shock. He died.

So Ramacandra’s life, God’s activities, pastimes, if we hear, that means we are associating with Ramacandra. There is no difference between His form, His name, His pastimes, and Himself. He’s absolute. Therefore either you chant the holy name of Rama or you see the statue of Rama or you talk of His pastimes, transcendental pastimes, everything, that means you are associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So we take advantage of these days when the incarnation of God appears or disappears, and we try to associate with Him. By His association we become purified. Our process is purification. Krishna consciousness means simply we are purifying our consciousness. From the birth, as I have explained, everyone is sudra. Sudra means one who laments. That is called sudra. For a slight loss or slight inconvenience, one who laments, he is called sudra. And brahmana means one who tolerates. A sudra has no toleration. So kalau sudra sambhava. Kalau means... This age is called Kali. So it is the statement of the sastras that in this age the whole population is sudra. And formerly also, by his birth, everyone was considered sudra, but there was training, samskara. At the present moment, there is no samskara, there is no training. The training is only for earning livelihood. No other training. How one can earn money and enjoy senses—that is the training at the present moment. But actually, to make successful the human life or the mission of human life, the Vedic culture is very nice. And by spreading Krishna consciousness, by adopting the process of Krishna consciousness, you can revive that cultural life, sublime life. If not wholesale, if there are a few people trained up in this line, and they become ideal examples to the society, immense benefit can be derived from their examples of life. What is time? [break] (kirtana) (end)

(His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.  March 27th 1969. The Appearance day of Lord Rama - Ramanavami, Hawaii, USA.)

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Small Rama Navami Celebrations on Tuesday!

While the appearance of Lord Ramachandra was celebrated in grand style yesterday during our weekly Sunday program, smaller celebrations will be held tomorrow (Tuesday, April 11, 2011). The program will be as follows:

6:00pm to 6:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)
6:30pm to 7:30pm - Reading from English Ramayana (novel by Krsna Dharma das)
7:30pm to 8:00pm - Light Vegetarian Dinner (Prasadam)
8:00pm to 8:30pm - Kirtan (Arati)

Devotees are welcome to come out for this nice, intimate evening to celebrate the appearance of Lord Ramachandra, the incarnation of Lord Krishna who was the perfect monarch.

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Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: New Arrivals In The Garden

We had really soaking rains and then drying so our clay soils tend to crust and need hoed to make a dust mulch which will happen as soon as dry enough (working clay soils wet ruins their structure) but two of the 4 pea varieties I planted emerged yesterday.
I know 4 varieties are too many (and that doesn’t count the sweet peas I planted for fragrant cutting flowers) but I wanted both sugar pod peas and shelling types. Of the shellers, one is an early and one is a later to spread the season, and one sounded too good not to try. Next year less varieites, I promise. :-)
It was the warmest day of the spring so far and an event occurred that brought joy to my heart. The first asparagus shoots broke the surface of its compost comforter, which means tomorrow we eat asparagus, one of our favorite vegetables and a great spring tonic.
Last year we started a bunch of lovage from seed and that was our pass around gift for the year. As with most perennials, they were first year sleeping, this year they will be creeping, third year leaping.
Lovage is great because the new shoots taste like celery. Too stringy for eating with peanut butter like you might celery sticks, but fine if chopped up into soups. After picking a few for eating, we let the plant go. Mature height we have had them 7 ‘ (2 meters) and as the first of the umbelliferous plants to flower in spring it attracts scads of natural pollinators to the garden, including tiny little beautiful wasps that are gorgeous to look at and unseen otherwise.
The above were newly emerged and join rhubarb as early spring guests in the garden.
This is the third year since I divided the old plants I had and set out the fresh new roots so they should be really productive this year. We have way more than the few we use so if anyone wants to come get some to cook for the Deities, let me know.

Filed under: Cows and Environment

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Requiem for a solar panel driven flower

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Requiem for a solar panel driven flower

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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Kitchen Buzz : The Beehive Knob

Guess who is a beehive knob know it all? There is lots of history to the beehive knob. Read up on it and be armed for your next venture in inane small talk! You will amaze your friends with all there is to know about this fabulous knob. Read on…
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H.H. Sivarama Swami: This year we experienced and are going to experience four unusual dates

SRS: Interesting!
This year we experienced and are going to experience four unusual dates:
1/1/11
1/11/11
11/1/11
11/11/11
that’s not all … take the last two digits of the year in which you were
born; now add the age you will be this year, and the result will be 111 for
everyone!
For example – Harry was born in 1957, and 57 + 54 = 111
This is the year of Money!!!
This year October will have 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and 5 Saturdays.
This happens only every 823 years.
These particular years are known as ‘Moneybags’ – the proverb goes that if
you send this to eight good friends, money will appear in the next four days
as is explained in Chinese feng-shui.

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Here is the culprit in action

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Bhakta Ryan, Brisbane, AU: Lord Nrisimhadeva sculpt

Tonights 2 am sculpt mission see's Lord Nrisimhadeva amour/Bling, helmet and back unfold
His back muscle and shoulder girdle are forming

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Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Bhajan - 24hr Kirtan - Radhika - 14/26

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ClassesAndBhajans/~3/UljfV0vS9U0/791-Bhajan-24hr-Kirtan-Radhika-1426.html

Radhika singing a Hare Krishna bhajan for Dallas' New Year's 24hr Kirtan

Radhika singing a Hare Krishna bhajan for Dallas' New Year's 24hr Kirtan.
Dallas, TX
2010-12-31

2010-12-31 - 15 - 24hr Kirtan - Radhika

2010-12-31 - 15 - 24hr Kirtan - Radhika · MP3

Download: 2010-12-31 - 15 - 24hr Kirtan - Radhika.mp3

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday April 9, 2011

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Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: In the news: Hare Krishna beliefs and lunch explained at demonstration

Posted: Sunday, April 10, 2011 11:30 pm
Rachel Stephens, Alligator Contributing Writer The Independent Florida Alligator

The chiming of tiny hand cymbals and chanting of the Hare Krishnas fill the Plaza of the Americas at lunchtime during the week.

The Hare Krishnas serve 700 to 1,000 plates of vegetarian food each day at $4 a plate, according to A. Ashkuff, senior ambassador for the UF Multicultural and Diversity Affairs Religious Diversity Committee.

In order to explain the spiritual implications and history behind this plaza lunch, Krishna Demonstration was put on by the UF Multicultural and Diversity Affairs at the Reitz Union on Friday night.

In the first event of its kind on campus, about 20 people participated in a guided discussion with the Hare Krishnas and sampled free food.

Former UF student Charles Morris, 23, who attended the demonstration, said he used to eat Krishna Lunch because it was a cheap and delicious.

“I think it’s really cool because it exposes you to another culture on a daily basis in a very mundane way,” he said.

But Morris said he knew little about the background of the more than 30-year-old Krishna Lunch tradition until he came to the demonstration.

He and the other participants first watched a short documentary filmed by Ashkuff.

The film explained that Krishna Lunch is served to Lord Krishna before it is served in front of Library West. After Krishna eats his share, the food becomes “karma-free” and is given to people.

Andres Salim, a 23-year-old UF student and resident at the Krishna house, explained to the group what it means to be “karma-free.” When someone does something bad, he or she should expect a bad reaction, Salim said. When something good is done, a good reaction should be expected.

But Hare Krishnas serve food as an act of worship for Lord Krishna, which eliminates karma from this action.

“When you do things for God, it transcends the idea of right and wrong,” Salim said.

Then Salim clarified the meaning behind the chants that are sung during Krishna Lunch.

The song has only three words, “Hare,” “Krishna” and “Rama,” he said. These are all different names for their god, and chanting the names is an act of worship.

The audience was able to join the chant along with the Hare Krishnas as they played the traditional Indian cymbals called kartals, a drum called a Balarama and an accordion keyboard instrument called a harmonium.

Salim also said that the food used in Krishna Lunch is locally grown. Some is grown at the Krishna House, located just behind Krispy Kreme on 13th Street.

The food is always vegetarian because the Hare Krishnas don’t believe in hurting other animals. There is also never garlic, onions or mushrooms in the food because these ingredients have bad karma, Salim said.

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Mayapur Online: New facility, a first in Mayapur

We would like to announce to the community of devotees at Mayapur and to all visiting devotees that a new facility is now available at 'GAURADESA' Foreign Currency Exchange, #129, Chakra Building, ISKCON Mayapur.

read more

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Mayapur Online: Vyasa Puja Festival of HH Jayapataka Swami 2011

HH Jayapataka Swami’s 62nd Vyasa Puja festival will be celebrated in Sri Mayapur on 14th April. As the event follows Sri Rama Navami, disciples and wellwishers of HH Jayapataka Swami arriving at Mayapur will take part in both the celebrations. For those who cannot attend the festival, can watch the program broadcasted at mayapur live. Mayapur.tv The Program schedule is as follows:
read more

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: "Working Bee"

Our Hare Krishna Valley needs your strong arms! Below is Kesava Prabhu's appeal:

"We are having another 'Working Bee' Day at Hare Krishna Valley on Saturday the 16th of April beginning at 10am. A delicious vegetarian lunch will be provided at 2pm for all of those participating.

This working bee will focus on the vege garden and the flower garden, so bring your gloves and any appropriate tools and your smiles for the day.

If you are interested in coming, please let me know how many people you will be bringing by Thursday 14th April, so that we know how many people to cook for."

Kesava Prabhu can be contacted on: 0405 577 453.
You can have a browse on the Farm's website if you want to know a bit more about what we do there.

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: New Schedule: Seminar Series with Narayani Dasi

We need to upgrade our schedule for Narayani Prabhu's upcoming seminar series on 'The Prayers of Queen Kunti'. This is to allow everyone to celebrate Rama Navami nicely on Wednesday evening.
Please note the changes.
Seminars 1-2 will be given on Thursday April the 14th. and Friday April the 15th. (7pm. till 8:30pm.)
Seminar 3 will be given on Saturday April the 16th. from 10am. till 1pm.
Seminars 4-5 will be given on Wednesday April the 20th. and Thursday April the 21st. (7pm. till 8:30pm.)

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Gouranga TV: Indradyumna Maharaj – Lecture – Gaura Purnima

Indradyumna Maharaj – Lecture – Gaura Purnima
ISKCON Orlando, USA: Trivikrama Swami Srimad Bhagavatam Class 04/09/2011

Indradyumna Maharaj – Lecture – Gaura Purnima

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Dandavats.com: Intensive training in Sanskrit grammar

Maharsi dasa: Srimad-Bhagavata Vidyapitham, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust's Sanskrit school in Govardhana, is inviting applicants for joining its program at the start of its sixth year of operation on October 1, 2011

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Japa Group: Chant With Proper Consciousness

Krishna has descended in this age in his name. And all the power of all the incarnations is within the name, because Krishna is non-different from his names. We simply have to chant with proper consciousness and reciprocate with his love that has descended in his name. When Krishna physically appeared five thousand years ago, very few people recognized him. So many people considered that he was just a powerful person. Similarly, when Krishna appears in his name—without association of Krishna’s loving devotees—we cannot understand, appreciate or reciprocate with the mercy of the name.

Radhanatha Swami

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Kurma dasa, AU: Cooking with Kurma in Your Home

Hey all you foodies out there! Temperatures are dropping and we're poised on the brink of another Australian winter. Here's an idea - why not invite Kurma into your home along with a dozen or so of your friends for a cookery class dinner party!

Kitchen camaraderie and a fully loaded banquet table is a perfect way to ward off the cold-weather blues. For more details....

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