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Here are the latest updates for   "Planet ISKCON" - 51 new articles Gaura Yoga, NZ: World traveling monk re-visits! H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Saturday 14 May 2011--Always Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude--and--How to Defeat Impersonal Philosophy? Japa Group: Drama On Attentive Chanting Japa Group: The Mood Of Lord Chaitanya Japa Group: Japa Retreat - Morning Discovery Sita-pati dasa, AU: Child Protection censure by ISKCON's GBC. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Jay Nrsimhadev! Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura: Travel Journal#7.8: Northeast USA and Europe H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Thursday, May 12th, 2011 Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: Split personality Akrura das, Gita Coaching: VAISNAVA FIREWALK WITH LORD JAGANNATHA Akrura das, Gita Coaching: Six Step Weekly Planning Process Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Care for all life Nityananda Chandra Das, Dallas TX: Pocket Vedas for iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Srila Prabhupada to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Pandu das: Censuring BKG, why not Radhanatha and Malati too? Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Infinite return on investment Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Today is Mohini Ekadasi MOHINI EKADASI - GVY Aprende: Ekadasi Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Reminder of Madan Mohan Temple - In the News: Hare Krishna Temple approved H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.137 Gradual Achievement Of The Spiritual Platform H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.013 Drama, Art, & Movies In Krishna Consciousness H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.8 Real Happiness Comes When One Surrenders To Krsna H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 5.29 Experience The Higher Realm Of Existence H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture–CC Adi 4.21-22 Do Something Practical – Video H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 3.90 In A Comatose Trance Missing Krishna’s Obvious Existence ISKCON News.com: A 14-old Reports on Bhakti Yoga Summer Camp In Vishakhapatnam ISKCON News.com: New Orleans Ratha Yatra ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Nrsimha Caturdasi Celebrations on Sunday! H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, May 9th, 2011 ISKCON News.com: India's Supreme Court Court Suspends Ayodhya Ruling ISKCON News.com: Study: 2 in 10 Atheist Scientists Are ‘Spiritual’ ISKCON News.com: In The Race... But Not A Rat... Kirtan Australia.com ISKCON News.com: Scholars Chase Bible’s Changes, One Verse at a Time ISKCON News.com: Is Cabbage The Ultimate Anti-cancer Food? H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 309—Poem for May 13 H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS ISKCON News.com: A Six-year-old Girl Writes A Letter To God - And the Archbishop of Canterbury Answers Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: Maya - the All Attractive! Vraja Kishor, JP: Rasa of the Universal Form (Gita 11.20) Gaura-shakti Kirtan, Toronto, CA: Kirtan on Boat Cruise?! Wow!!! Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Cottage Industry Design Advertisement Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: 2011 tour Malaysia – Kuala Lumpar H.H. Sivarama Swami: Pap Zoltan asks whether we can chant japa as a means of atonement and how important forgiveness is Australian News: Rathayatra – Festival of Chariots Parade, Bigge Park, Liverpool H.H. Devamrita Swami: Will the World End in 2012? Gouranga TV: Indradyumna Swami Class ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakti Sara Dasa Dandavats.com: Third Annual Ratha Yatra At Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. More Recent Articles Search Planet ISKCON Prior Mailing Archive Gaura Yoga, NZ: World traveling monk re-visits!   • Email to a friend • • H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Saturday 14 May 2011--Always Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude--and--How to Defeat Impersonal Philosophy? A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(TM) Saturday 14 May 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: Always Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA One of the most important secrets of success on the wondrous path of ultimate self-realization, Krishna consciousness, is to always maintain an attitude of gratitude. Without this gratefulness one will not be able to manifest love in one's relationships. And without this love one will be a dead man, a walking graveyard. We should especially feel grateful for all those persons who have helped us to come to the path of spiritual light because they are the harbingers of that spiritually awakened state in which we will be completely free of all anxieties and re-established in our eternal loving relationship with the source of all existence, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Loving Send Off Kirtan from the Russian Devotees 24 April 2011--Kaliningrad, Russia http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Send_off_kirtan.JPG Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: How to Defeat Impersonal Philosophy? In a recent discussion with an impersonalist scholar he asked me this question: When Lord Brahma dies, this universe is finished. This time is said to be one breathing of Mahavishnu. If so, does Mahavishnu also die after his lifespan? I tried, but could not answer him in detail. And furthermore they do some great word jugglery to try to convince us that since every person is God, there is no need to worship anyone else. Please tell me how to convince these impersonalists, who are many in number here in Chennai? If you could kindly give me the argument to defeat them, I will try my level best to try convince them of the fallacy of their philosophy. Your unworthy servant, K.C. Answer: How Can God Be Defeated by Forgetfuness? Mahavishnu never dies. He eternally exhales and inhales in an endless cycle of manifesting and withdrawing all of the material universes. According to the impersonal philosophy, the living being is God, but has somehow or other forgotten. Just see what foolishness this is! God is all-powerful. Nothing can overpower Him. But now He has become overpowered by forgetfulness. This would make forgetfulness greater than God. Therefore we can easily see that their philosophy is completely bogus. If they have a toothache, they have to run to the dentist, and they are claiming that they are the supreme all-powerful Lord, the controller of the universe. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatestservice 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 Sankarshan Das Adhikari on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SDASITE Thought for the Day on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ultimate.Self.Realization 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:   • Email to a friend • • Japa Group: Drama On Attentive Chanting Japa Group: Drama On Attentive Chanting Devotees performed a drama on attentive chanting from Sacinandana Swami's recent japa retreat. http://japagroup.blogspot.com/2011/05/drama-on-attentive-chanting.html   • Email to a friend • •   Japa Group: The Mood Of Lord Chaitanya Hare Krsna dear devotees. Here is verse from the Sri Chaitanyastakam by By Srila Rupa Gosvami. This is a prayer to Lord Chaitanya, let's meditate on the Lord's pastimes so we can be absorbed in the mood of Harinam Sankirtan. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is loudly chanting, the holy name ecstatically dancing of its own on the theatrical stage of His tongue, as He counts the names (on knots) on a strip of kaupina cloth with His effulgent hand. His eyes are large and His long arms, which are all-embracing as He performs His pastimes, reach down to His knees. When will Sri Caitanyadeva become again visible on the path of my eyes? your servant, Aruna devi   • Email to a friend • •   Japa Group: Japa Retreat - Morning Discovery Here Maharaja gives wonderful insights into chanting in the morning.   • Email to a friend • •   Sita-pati dasa, AU: Child Protection censure by ISKCON's GBC. Pursuant to the letter below, why have the GBC member(s) responsible for Gita Nagari never been called out for Vrakesvara Pandit's attendance there during the disappearance pastimes of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami in 2005? I have to confess that I am bewildered by that, and the subsequent silence on the matter by the central GBC body. Pandu das has blogged about this concern for a number of years now. I was going to send this as an email to someone in the GBC, but I don't even know where you send a concern like this. I think it's good that the GBC takes child protection seriously, but is it really taking it seriously, or is it being used capriciously as a political weapon? That's the implication of applying it sometimes and not others. 308: Letter of Censure to Bir Krishna Das Goswami Dear Bir Krishna Maharaja, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Due to the reasons stated below, you have been censured. A censure expresses disapproval of your conduct. A censure is an official note of caution. Please take due notice thereof and rectify the situation. In 1996, as GBC of ISKCON Hillsborough, North Carolina, you received a credible allegation that a member of the congregation had committed sexual abuse of a child some years earlier in another country. While some investigation was done, and some cautionary steps taken, you failed to properly report the incident to local authorities, or later to the CPO. Most significantly, the local community and householders were not notified or made or aware of this potential threat, contrary to ISKCON Law 3.5.5.1.3.9. This put the community at risk and created serious potential exposure to repetition of these incidents. Your servants on the GBC Body Source: Dandavats.com   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Jay Nrsimhadev! ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Jay Nrsimhadev! In spirit of Nrsimha Caturdasi, we thought we'd share a creative video presentation about Lord Nrsimhadev. We stumbled upon this video online and were blown away by the rare darshans of famous Nrsimhadev Deities around the world! http://iskcontoronto.blogspot.com/2011/05/jay-nrsimhadev.html ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Jay Nrsimhadev!   • Email to a friend • •   Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura: Travel Journal#7.8: Northeast USA and Europe Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura: Travel Journal#7.8: Northeast USA and Europe Kadamba Kanana Swami: [from an initiation lecture]: The initiation vows are investments like the pearls which Krishna planted and which bore fruit. The sixty-four items are to engage our senses in Krishna’s service. We must construct a shelter of these sixty-four items. Japa Group: Drama On Attentive Chanting Queen’s Day Harinama So what can I say that is new about Queen’s Day? Devotees who came last year liked it so much that they came back. These include Sacinandana Swami, and Parasurama Prabhu and his kirtana party from London. As he did last year, Kadamba Kanana Swami brought two busloads of friends and disciples from Radhadesh, so we had two hundred people for the eight-hour harinama. I took almost seventeen minutes of video before my camera’s battery ran out. Parasurama Prabhu and his kirtana group chanted nicely at our booth for four hours or so, during the time the party of two hundred was chanting throughout the city. Onlookers, at least for a few seconds, or a few minutes, forget their own parties to become absorbed in Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana party and for that they become free from a lot of karma and receive a seed of devotion, some becoming very joyful from the experience. Many people know some of the words of the mantra, and they took pleasure in chanting whatever they could remember in their inebriated condition. Bhakta Michel from Rotterdam posted many nice photos on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.207240829310371.57222.100000733651467&l=ecb151ecd0 Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 7, No. 8 By Krishna-kripa das (April 2011, part two) Princeton, Philly, NYC, London, Radhadesh, Amsterdam (Sent from Munich, Germany, on May 13, 2011) Where I Was and What I Did I went to Princeton with the Bhakti Center devotees where we heard a great discussion between Radhanath Swami and Cornel West. Then I continued to Philadelphia where I did harinama every day and one Sunday Feast lecture. I also took my niece to Govinda’s in Philly, where she and a friend enjoyed their famed vegetarian “chicken” cheese steak. I spend two days doing harinama in New York City, and one day doing two lectures and a harinama in Central London. I was happily surprised to see more devotees and more guests there in our Soho center than before. I think Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara are fulfilling the devotees prayers for more assistants. Then I went to Kadamda Kanana Swami’s Vyasa Puja at Radhadesh, where a lot of realizations, knowledge and devotional sentiments were shared about the guru-disciple relationship. I ended the month by attending the Queen’s Day maha-harinama for the fourth time. I share some nice realizations by Srila Prabhupada, Candrasekhara Swami, Sacinandana Swami, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, Ravinda Svarupa Prabhu, Kadamba Kanana Swami and other devotees. East Meets West at Princeton University (Discussion Between Radhanath Swami and Cornel West)   The discussion was sponsored by a variety of student groups, Hindu, Christian, academic, etc.   Vinit Chandra [Vyenkata Bhatta] (leader of the club which was the main sponsor): Two persons who serve as guides and role models for me, I bring together, to share with you. They each have written memoirs, and while reading them, there were amazing experiences that seem to be too good to be true, and I had to set the book down, and say to myself, “Did this really happen?” They gave me faith in the existence of miracles.   Rev. Paul Raushenbush: When we talk of East meeting West, sometimes it is not such a delicious fusion in that sometimes differences are amplified. It is exciting they have written autobiographies and thus it is not abstract but actually lived lives. They have been in the street and in the academy.   Rev. Raushenbush asked each to speak on God, love, and spiritual activism from their own traditions for ten or fifteen minutes each, and they could decide who would go first. Cornel West urged Radhanatha Swami to go first.   Radhanatha Swami:   There were four or five of us poor people in a tea stall in Afghanistan. An incident that happened there that changed my life. An incredibly poor teenager, with blind eyes, swollen and discolored, with a makeshift instrument, came in and sang the glories of God, for almost an hour with an incredibly sweet voice, and as he sang, he become more and more illuminated with joy. He was the happiest person I had seen until that time in my life. I was taught that money and power obtained by education was life’s goal. Now I was questioning that.  I recalled the words of contemporary thinkers. Martin Luther King said, “It is ironic. We have guided missiles, but misguided men.” Gandhi said, “We should be the change we want to see in the world.” Still I saw within myself seeds of the same things that plague the world, and concluded that until we purify ourselves we cannot help the world. After studying many traditions, I came across the path of bhakti.   I was impressed one verse from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, text 1.2.6, “The supreme occupational duty [dharma] for all of mankind is that by which one can attain to loving service unto the transcendent Lord. Such service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self.” I recalled one teaching I had heard. “Until we have an ideal we are willing to die for, we have nothing else to live for.” True religion is selfless love of God and every living being. True wisdom is to see that life is sacred, not just human life, but animal life and plant life as well. Every living entity is an eternal servant of God. God is the father of life. Para-duhkha duhkhi and para-sukha-sukhi, to take pain in another’s distress and to rejoice in another’s happiness, are traits of the realized soul. We are sacred children of the one supreme truth. To live by that principle is the goal of life. Brooker T. Washington, “I will not allow anyone to degrade my soul by causing me to hate him.”   In Vrndavana, Srila Prabhupada said, “Everything can be spiritualized.” When we all things are God’s property and use it that way, we can be agents for real change.   Dr. West, in your book, you say, “Pleasure, property and power corrupt us.” This principle of a spiritual foundation is most essential.   Srila Prabhupada came from India to America in 38 days on a cargo ship. When a journalist said, “We have so many religions here. Why have you come?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “To remind you of the essence of religion: to love God and to and love others. Spiritual activism is the expression of an enlightened being. We can be empowered to help people when we truly care. After reading Dr. West’s book, I concluded that although we are so different, we are nonetheless soul brothers.   I spoke to an assembly of Indian accountants, and after my speech one spoke up and said, “Everything you have said is completely useless. If everyone became a swami, like you, who would grow the food, who would run the government, etc.?” He got an applause that lasted two minutes, and I wondered what I would say to that, so I prayed to Krishna. Then I said if everyone became an accountant, who would grow the food, who would run the government, etc? We all have different skills, and all are important. Just like in the body, the different organs are necessary for it to function. Thus farmers, statements, accountants, and even swamis have a role to play. Hearing this they all applauded, even longer than before.   Cornel West:   He [Radhanath Swami] is a militant for tenderness.   Justice is what love looks like in public. Tenderness is what love looks like in private.   I have got much to learn about sentient beings. I am a Christian jazz man, and more familiar lamenting for losing some girl or guy.   We are bewildered so much weapons of mass distraction.   I like Radhanath Swami; he does not give a sermon about humility; he just is humble. Once we had a seminar at Princeton on civility, but why not just be civil?   There is no Christian tradition without the rich Jewish tradition.   Formerly in America it was against the law for black man to worship God without white supervision.   It does not make any sense to love your enemy, unless you are backed by a power greater than yourself.   How do we convince the Princeton students that to be the smartest person in the class and to be the richest person is not the goal?   We are morally constipated, and even if we do know what is right, it won’t flow. We are spiritually malnourished.   You think you are well equipped with your Princeton degree, and then your mother dies. How are able to handle that?   Question by Rev. Raushenbush to both: Share something unique in your tradition.   Cornel West:   My question is why did Socrates not cry and Jesus not laugh? Krishna does laugh and dance? Doesn’t He? [Radhanath Swami replies, “Yes.”]         B. B. King sang, “Nobody loves me but my mother and she might be jiving too.” [Radhanath Swami interjects, “I talked to your mom, and she loves you.”] We are all unique souls.   Radhanatha Swami:   Na dhanam na janam… Lord Caitanya advises not to seek after wealth, popularity, or an intimate relationship with the opposite sex, but rather He stresses selfless service. Selfless service is a way to express love of God through our actions. God has His all-pervading feature, and His aspect within the heart, but His feature as the supreme person is most complete. The idea of having an intimate relationship with the supreme person I found unique and attractive.   What attracted me is the Krishna likes music.   Question by Rev. Raushenbush: How do you address the existence of evil.   Cornel West:   The existence of evil. That sounds too textbookish for me. Even if you have everything, there is still psychic suffering.   Radhanatha Swami:   Evil is darkness and good is light. If we turn to the sun, we see light, if we turn away from sun, we see darkness. Today there is light and dark in all our hearts. Bhakti Tirtha Swami told me on his deathbed to write my autobiography. I said, “Is it not an act of arrogance to write about yourself?” He replied, “Not if your writing can help others to realize themselves. Then it would arrogant not to write.” He said there are two dogs in our hearts, a good dog and a bad dog, and they are fighting. The dog that will win is the dog that we choose to feed by the choices we make in life.   Question by Rev. Raushenbush to both of them: How can we maintain God consciousness in our studies?   Cornel West:   I think that has already been answered. We have to feed the right dog! We do not put a premium on courage but complicity and conformity. The dominant paradigm is “to be adjusted to injustice.”   Radhanatha Swami:   Balance is crucial for living in this world and not of this world. The Bhagavad-gita taught how to keep divine ideals on a battlefield, the most unlikely place.  We can take shelter of the Lord and try to be in an instrument of the Lord in any capacity. If someone is so absorbed in the athletics or academics that they cannot eat or sleep, how long can it last? Similarly we have give time for a spiritual practice, to go to a spiritual place, to connect with spiritual people, and in this way have a spiritual foundation for our life.   In India, I had a friend Narayan, who had a Moslem friend, Mohammed, who was his best friend. They would share realizations sincerely for an hour a day from their traditions. I asked Narayana how is it that you are from such different traditions, traditions that have been in conflict for centuries, yet you are such good friends? He said, “A dog will recognize the master in any way the master dresses. If we cannot recognize our supreme master when He comes to other people in another dress, we have so much to learn from the dog.”   After the discussion concluded, and as people were rising to leave, a respectable, older lady sitting near me asked me to quote one verse Radhanath Swami mentioned in the lecture. From her paraphrase of it, I understood it to be the fourth verse of the Siksastaka, the eight verses of instruction left by Lord Caitanya, and so I gave her a translation of it, and my email, if she had any more questions. That is certainly a victory that a respectable senior lady was inquiring about theSiksastaka as a result of Radhanath Swami’s presentation.   I think it was clear from the discussion both spiritual leaders had great admiration for each other, and I think many attendees were impressed with Radhanath Swami’s presentation, so much so that they would probably come to hear him speak again.   The Daily Princetonian ran the following article on the discussion the next day: http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2011/04/20/28334/   Philadelphia Harinamas   I chanted at Rittenhouse Square Wednesday through Friday myself during the afternoon, in addition to the advertised Friday evening and Saturday afternoon chanting. The first two days were sunny and many people were out. One young lady caught the plate I was using for donations when the wind blew it away. Turned out she was studying yoga, liked the maha-sandesa I gave her, and gave a donation. Another was sitting near where I was playing for half an hour, so I thought she might be favorable. She asked about veganism. I explained that because there was cruelty in the dairy industry, I could understand people becoming vegan, but it is God’s arrangement that cows give more milk than their calves need, and that is meant for human society. Krishna spent his youth as a cowherd boy, so we are not vegan. I asked if she was vegan. She said not, and that she worked on a diary farm. She expressed interest in coming to the temple. She also invited me on a march protesting against fracking, a kind of natural gas prospecting which damages the environment. As it turned out the march came through the park when I was chanting on Saturday, so I joined the parade and distributed some prasadam to the participants and talked to some about the spiritual cause of environmental problems. Another time while I was walking back to Govinda’s from the park and singing on the way, one girl said “Hare Krishna” to me in great happiness. I asked how she knew the devotees, and she explained she knew about kirtana from a local yoga studio run by a devotee where they have kirtana. She also said she would like to come to the temple and check it out. I met a guy named Mike, who comes often to the Sunday feast. He sat down and listened to the kirtana for half an hour. Once a photographer named Ashly Kim took some pictures of me chanting at Rittenhouse Square, including the one above, which she kindly sent me.   I just met a lot of nice people in Philadelphia and that reminded me of the meaning of its name, the city of brotherly love.   The scheduled harinamas I did with other people did not turn out as nicely as I hoped as the weather was bad both Friday night and Saturday afternoon. For Friday night, three other devotees came with me anyway, and we found the entrance way to a business that was closed which sheltered us from the intermittent rain. I was happy to see the devotees were enthusiastic enough to come out in spite of the poor weather conditions. Saturday I was alone as it sky looked like rain might fall at any moment, and no one wanted to chance it.   The best harinama was the one we decided to do at U. Penn on Sunday, before the feast, with about eight devotees mostly students attending. One boy was so enthusiastic that he stayed out till 2:00 p.m., just two hours before his international flight to New Zealand. Most of the devotees were students of an Indian background, and they all had a great time chanting at the campus.   I would hand out temple invitations, getting people’s attention by smiling and saying, “Yoga? Meditation?” One girl stopped, and I was explaining that we taught the yoga of devotion. She inquired, “Is this bhakti?” I said, “Yes,” marveling that now society has been educated to the point where people you meet on the street know about bhakti. Manasi, a young Indian student who lives near the temple, is a leader of the campus club and was enthusiastic to arrange the harinama. She told me about one passerby who inquired about our chanting party, saying, “Is this bhajan?” Hare Krishna terminology is catching on more than I had realized in America.   I thank the three devotees who came out in the rain on Friday, and those on Sunday at U. Penn who chanted there and who thus made my trip to Philly a success.   Kadamba Kanana Swami’s Vyasa Puja   Different senior devotees and disciples offered some words of praise, and often Kadamba Kanana Swami would make a few comments after them. These are just very few things that were said, and not always the most important, but I can only write so much. Sometimes I reorder my notes, listing the senior people first, but here I just follow the original flow.   Samba Prabhu:   I find seeing Kadamba Kanana Swami as a guru and sannyasi to be very inspiring. When I worked with him in the Samadhi in Mayapur, I saw him as a very efficient householder administrator, but didn’t think he would become a sannyasi.   Kadamba Kanana Swami:   When taking care of the godbrothers of my guru, Jayadvaita Swami, I realize that from a lifetime of service, they have become treasure houses of transcendental potency. It is my wish that you also become treasure houses of transcendental potency.   Rupa Sanatana Prabhu:   Rupa Sanatana praised Kadamba Kanana Swami  for being a public hermit, with an exemplary sadhana, chanting whenever he gets a chance, while also manifesting the generosity of preacher, using time to help others.   Krishna-kripa Das:   Vasudeva Prabhu and Sad-bhunja Prabhu, the moderators of the Vyasa Puja event, asked if I wanted to say anything. I consider Kadamba Kanana Swami an instructing guru, especially when it comes to preaching in Europe. I made some notes quickly while others spoke. I am not sure if I said everything I wrote down, but these are my notes, with some elaboration.   First I glorified Jayadvaita Swami, Kadamba Kanana Swami’s guru, for his steadiness in devotional service and his wonderful lectures. I met Jayadvaita Swami in 1979 when I was a new devotee in New York. At that time, we had a special lecture on Sunday during the feast program for those who were more interested in Krishna consciousness and that was given by Jayadvaita Swami. Some of the new devotees, the bhaktas, would serve the prasadam meal after the class, and so we also got to hear the lecture. For me, hearing Jayadvaita Swami, and serving the favorable people prasadam was the perfection of life. I loved his Bhagavad-gita classes. I praised Kadamba Kanana Swami for his choice of such an exemplary guru as Jayadvaita Swami.   I met Kadamba Kanana Swami when I was taking the bhakti-sastri course in Mayapur. I remember that once he told us that now we had been living in the holy dhama of Mayapur for several weeks that we probably realized it was our real home. That was my feeling, and I was encouraged to hear him express it. He led wonderful parikramas on many of the Saturdays while teaching in Mayapur, and we loved hearing his kirtanas and realizations.   When Kadamba Kanana Swami gives classes I always learn a lot and have a lot to share with others in my journal.   A real sadhu is someone who by his association you experience practically an increase in your devotional service, and Kadamba Kanana Swami is such a sadhu, expanding my program of outreach in many ways.   He invited me to come to Queen’s Day back in 2008, and I have come each year, and even wrote a Back to Godheadarticle about it.   He also got me involved in doing harinama and lecturing in Switzerland over the last couple of years, and he encouraged me to go to the less visited areas of the United Kingdom, outside of London.   He kindly invited me to South Africa, paying my ticket, and engaging me in writing about the different ways the devotees there are sharing Krishna with others.   There are different special qualities that advanced devotees have that are striking. I am impressed with Kadamba Kanana Swami for being a staunch sadhaka (spiritual practitioner), committed to going back to Godhead.   He is a person of integrity, and he inspires integrity in others. He is very friendly and very practical.   I love his enthusiasm for the congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The extra kirtana he did at the end of the stage show after the Prague Ratha-yatra made it my favorite of all the Ratha-yatra festivals last summer.   I mentioned how Kadamba Kanana Swami was saying we needed a thousand sannyasis to spread the mission all over the world, and that one of my Godbrothers encouraged me in sannyasa and Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami approved. I suggested that Kadamba Kanana Swami could aid in the transformation of this spaced out brahmacari into a sannyasi.   Kadamba Kanana Swami:   Sannyasa means “I am not just going to live for myself, but I am going to give myself for the welfare of others.” Of course, we have are looking for responsibility in whatever ashram one is in. The biggest problem in the marriages, in most cases, is that the men are irresponsible.   Mother Svaha of Pretoria, South Africa:   I hope Krishna gives you at least twenty more years because it will take me that long to get to the platform you want be to be on.   Working for the government of South Africa, I really see degradation perhaps more than anyone else. Srila Prabhupada said there really is no United Nations, and he was speaking the truth. Now more than ever, I realize that Krishna consciousness is the real solution.   Sacinandana Swami:   I will speak as a friend. It is valuable to see the different kinds of relationships a great personality has.   I appreciate that Kadamba Kanana Swami is a genuine seeker who is desirous of doing what is necessary to go back to Godhead.   He is exemplary among the older devotees for sacrificing his life and energy. I appreciate his honesty in sharing his thoughts.   The stories he tells make important and relevant points in his lectures.   He once said in a lecture, “If you come to Krishna consciousness, come to stay. Burn your old cloth.”   I want for him excellent health, the support of Lord Balarama, the protection of Lord Nrsimha, attraction to Radha Krishna in Vrindavan, and good disciples to relieve his burden of service, so he can write of Lord Caitanya.   I could talk much more about Maharaja, but he would feel embarrassed, and I do not want to do that on his birthday.   Kadamba Kanana Swami:   Sacinandana Swami says, “Listen my dear devotees very carefully, for I am going to tell you something very valuable.” And then he shares his deep thoughts.   The devotees make us want to do the sacrifice for Krishna.   Mother Sukhayanti from Israel:   Forgive me for being emotional, matajis like to cry.   You are not just speaking exemplary words, but you are living them. We want to live it [the life of a Krishna conscious person] too. By your living it, you make us want to live it to.   You do not make it smooth or beautiful, maybe by your jokes you make it easier to accept. You do not compromise. You want perfection and ask for it.   You are really my spiritual father.   Kadamba Kanana Swami:   Thank you for remaining fixed. Sometimes we have preaching opportunities and sometimes not, but we remain fixed, and that will bear fruit.   Yudhisthira Prabhu from Norway:   I am nervous, but I would rather be nervous than overconfident.   Reading his journal from his travel in summer 2010 with Kadamba Kanana Swami: Kadamba Kanana Swami said that Srila Prabhupada was great because of his devotion for Krishna. His instruction to drink milk is perfect. The spiritual benefit the cows get from our offering their milk for Krishna exceeds the vegans attempts to benefit them by material calculation.   Mother Ragalehka of Capetown:   It is a easily task to glorify you because of your many glorious qualities, but it is also a difficult task because the extent of them.   Vasudeva Prabhu: The servant of the guru is serving him on behalf of the other disciples.   A personal servant of Maharaja:   Kadamba Kanana Swami did not like my policy of petting the temple cats. Once when I was caught in the act, I defended myself by saying that I saw Indradyumna Swami petting a cat with his foot. Kadamba Kanana Swami then said, “If Indradyumna Swami is petting a cat with his foot, he is blessing the world, but for you it is only material.”   It is amazing to see you never get tired of preaching to people and helping them out.   Once when you were sick, you came down from your sick bed, and gave one of the most wonderful classes on Caitanya-caritamrita I ever heard, and then you returned to your bed.   Once we were worried because Maharaja’s health was weak, so we reduced his schedule without consulting him. When he saw the reduced schedule, he was angry, and said, “I gave you so much service, but if you take it as your service to reduce my service, then I will reduce your service.” The point was clear.   Another servant:   Traveling with Maharaja changed my life. Living outside the temple was difficult for me, and I wasn’t able to follow the Krishna conscious program and now I am enthusiastic to live in the temple as a brahmacari and distribute books.   Kadamba Kanana Swami:   I want to hear from Sutapa Prabhu who is a leader of devotees, developing a brahmacari asrama and book distribution, significant services in the householder community of the Bhaktivedanta Manor.   Sutapa Prabhu:   I was practicing for six years without a guru. Some people thought I was a rtvik. Then I was convinced through different lectures that I needed a guru. I prayed more and more about that, and I got the feeling in my heart that you were my guru.   I was a devotee for eight years and had no plan to go to dhama, and when you found out you chastised me, and I spend the month of January in Vrindavan, and it was a wonderful experience.   On your Dutch passport, for place of residence, you have written Vrindavan.   Kadamba Kanana Swami:   Vyasa Puja is purification for all of us. By hearing your words of appreciation, I realize what I must be. We both reconfirm our commitment to the relationship.   I was a song writer, but my guru did not want me to use that skill in the Lord’s service. Now I am happy to have a disciple who is a song writer. I never graduated from high school, and now I have many disciples with advanced degrees.   I want to do many things through you, just like Lord Caitanya said to Sanatana Goswami, but I am not Lord Caitanya and you are not Sanatana Goswami. But we can play our small role in the mission in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.   We have duty, and I am trying to awaken the sense of duty within you. But if it is all duty, and no relish, how long will be last. We should try to go deep.   Jiva Goswami says all devotional service should be preceded and followed by the holy name. That is where we can relish. The secret for having time for hearing and chanting is to rise early and the secret to rising early is to go to sleep early.   Because I joined in the holy dhama and lived many years in the dhama, and because residence there is one of the five processes, I realized that is an important part of our spiritual life.   We must take time to relish and take time to give.   We have to take care of the spiritual life of others. To do this we have to take care of our own spiritual life. We cannot cheat.   We should not think, “What will ISKCON do for me?” We are making ISKCON. We have inherited ISKCON, and we can really develop it into something. We cannot sit and point at ISKCON. We are ISKCON, a part of ISKCON, and we can make our part very nice.   We can have our own nature, but we also have to sacrifice everything.   I am demanding and yet liberal. You can do the worst nonsense, and I will not reject you, but I will remind you of the qualification to actually to make it to the spiritual world.   There is a great opportunity. There is a raging age of Kali around us. You can express your individuality, but if you do it so much you lose the association of devotees, then you will make it very difficult for your spiritual life.   The whole world likes cheese, but until you meet a Dutchman, you will not see a real cheese lover. The world loves freedom, but until you meet a Dutchman, you have not seen a real freedom lover. And I love freedom even more than your average Dutchman, but still have I had to adjust to the needs of the institution.   It not everyone has to become a book distributor. But everyone does have to reach out.   I am glad you came, and I hope you keep coming. It is like a samskara. We take something with us that benefits us.   It is a fashion that “you have to find a life outside the temple,” it has not always been like that, and it will not always be like that.   Try to do something to make ISKCON better. By doing that Srila Prabhupada will smile and all blessings will be there. The devotees who did a drama on attentive chanting from Sacinandana Swami's recent japa retreat shared the drama with attendees at the Vyasa Puja festival:   Kadamba Kanana Swami: [from an initiation lecture]:   The initiation vows are investments like the pearls which Krishna planted and which bore fruit. The sixty-four items are to engage our senses in Krishna’s service. We must construct a shelter of these sixty-four items.   When we are tested, when things are taken away in our life, we can see how Krishna conscious we are.   At initiation there is no going back. We cannot walk away. We may not follow the vows, but if we do not they will beat our heart. At first initiation we begin to practice the brahminical life so we can ultimately take brahmana initiation in due course. By brahmana initiation we affirm our determination to go back to Godhead. The brahmana is generous, the opposite of miserly.   We may feel that our only impediment is our material desires. We feel doubt because we are attracted to both material and spiritual, and we may worry that we cannot make it. But by Krishna’s mercy, it is possible. Therefore material desires are not the problem. It is offenses. Offenses can create new material desires.   Only Vishnu can give liberation, and only Krishna can give love of God.   Srila Prabhupada wrote Gargamuni Prabhu a letter and signed it “your ever well wisher,” and for that, he said at one Srila Prabhupada’s disappearace day in Vrndavana, he would never leave.   A few of the initiates:   Klausse became Ter Kadamba. He plans to attend the 12-year course by Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami in Mayapur.   As a devotee child, Nimai Caitanya, gradually decided he wanted to take initiation. As Lord Caitanya changed His name so I will change yours to Visvambhara Caitanya das.   One initiate he told, “You gradually came to understand the philosophy in the course of time. You did not passionately accept it, and this is auspicious. Thus I named you Prasannatma, one who is always satisfied.   Kumari is another Vaishnava youth who came to decide to accept the path of Krishna consciousness. I name her Kumari Kunti. Suzan from Slovakia became Seva-kunja Dasi.One lady became Gayatri Devi.   Queen’s Day Harinama http://krishnamonk.blogspot.com/2011/05/t.html Queen’s Day Harinama   So what can I say that is new about Queen’s Day? Devotees who came last year liked it so much that they came back. These include Sacinandana Swami, and Parasurama Prabhu and his kirtana party from London. As he did last year, Kadamba Kanana Swami brought two busloads of friends and disciples from Radhadesh, so we had two hundred people for the eight-hour harinama. I took almost seventeen minutes of video before my camera’s battery ran out. Parasurama Prabhu and his kirtana group chanted nicely at our booth for four hours or so, during the time the party of two hundred was chanting throughout the city. Onlookers, at least for a few seconds, or a few minutes, forget their own parties to become absorbed in Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana party and for that they become free from a lot of karma and receive a seed of devotion, some becoming very joyful from the experience. Many people know some of the words of the mantra, and they took pleasure in chanting whatever they could remember in their inebriated condition. Bhakta Michel from Rotterdam posted many nice photos on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.207240829310371.57222.100000733651467&l=ecb151ecd0   Insight from Lectures   Srila Prabhupada:                                                                Sudra means he does not know the aim of life. In passion there is creative impetus. In goodness there is real knowledge.   I am not God but godly, having the quality of God.   Our dharma is to serve. If one has no one to serve, he picks up some cat or dog to serve. Instead of serving Krishna, I am serving my lusty desires. When we realize that we are eternal servants of Krishna and engage in Krishna’s service, that is self-realization.   By serving Krishna, one transcends all pious and impious activity.   Without knowledge and detachment our consciousness is like that of an animal.   Dharma is the law given by God, just as ordinary law is given by the government. You cannot manufacture dharma anymore than you can make your own laws.   Even a child can attain knowledge and detachment by simply chanting and dancing. This movement gives people the chance to associate with knowledge and detachment. There is no more attraction to cigarette or cinema.   The boys and girls are captivated to me not by miracles but chanting.   Candrasekhara Swami:   The world is not a perfect place in the sense it fulfills all our desires. It has other purposes. Sometimes we encounter people who actually work against us.   Mahabharata brings up different philosophical, social, and religious issues.  Sometimes Vyasadeva comments on the issues and sometimes he just reports them. Vyasadeva was not satisfied by writing the Mahabharata nor the other Vedas until he wrote Srimad-Bhagavatam. Mahabharata does not always give us the ultimate truth, but we can take the viewpoint of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and analyze the stories of Mahabharata.   Brahmanas are detached from society. They give advice to society but are not dependent on society.   King Yudhisthira’s subjects wanted to follow him into his exile. They argued, “As a cloth gains a good aroma by being associated with flowers, a person gains good qualities by association with good people.” Thus they did not want to associate with the demoniac Duryodhana, but rather the righteous Yudhisthira. King Yudhisthira advised the citizens to return home, saying it was inappropriate to follow him, and that they should try to be loyal to the present king. The citizens did return home, but the brahmanas did not.   The Pandavas’ situation was not at all good. But people who are close to the Supreme Lord suffer for different reasons than those who are far from Him. Sometimes those close to the Supreme Lord suffer because of trying to help others and getting caught up in their suffering. They also suffer so that others can see their good qualities. Otherwise, their good qualities may not be obvious. Also to remove the last traces of contamination from righteous people they sometimes suffer by the grace of the Lord. And finally, to focus people’s attention on the virtuous people, the Lord also sometimes puts them into extreme situations.   The Pandavas are the perfect examples of those who did nothing wrong but still suffered. If anyone had a right to complain about how the Lord dealt with them, it would be the Pandavas.   I see myself often to be situated like Dhrtarastra. Sometimes we do the wrong thing even though we know it is the wrong thing just because we are committed to the wrong thing from past habits.   Vidura, after the Pandavas’ exile, told Dhrtarastra that he should call the Pandavas back and tell Duryodhana to work with them, and if he is unwilling, then he should reject him. Dhrtarastra saw Vidura as siding with the enemy and sent him away.   Duryodhana’s attitude was that he wanted to be rid of the Pandavas, but is that a viable attitude? Duryodhana wanted what the Pandavas had, but he could not really understand what that was. He thought it was their kingdom or wife, but it was actually the inner beauty that comes from goodness, something he could not have until he changed his consciousness.   Maitreya tells Duryodhana that he cannot expect good fortune until he makes up with the Pandavas and that duty and righteousness are followed by victory, but Duryodhana shows through body language he does not care for Maitreya’s advice, though he does not say anything. Understanding his mind, Maitreya cursed Duryodhana to have his thigh broken by Bhima and to be killed along with his brothers.   It is easy to accept the will of God when it is in our favor, but when it is not in our favor then the test comes.   Spiritual life is cultivating the right attitude, and if one can offer respect to the Lord with body, mind, and words, while experiencing suffering, he can acquire the consciousness to enter the kingdom of God.   Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami [from Here is Srila Prabhupada, quoted in Viraha Bhavan, April 18, “Old Friends”]: August 6, 1991 You [Srila Prabhupada] said, ‘Keep on with this business of writing articles . . . go on writing something glorifying the Lord and put our philosophy into words. Writing means to express oneself, how he is understanding the philosophy. So this writing is necessary for everyone.’    Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu:   From a conversation in his room:   In chapter 7 of  Bhagavad-gita Krishna said that he would tell Arjuna everything and there will be nothing remaining for him to know and amazingly enough, He actually did it. It took me three years to realize this, maybe more.   Harinama [our public group chanting] should be seen as a positive contribution to the urban environment.   When we are doing outreach, we are saying in effect, “You should be like me.” And the onlookers are thinking, “Do I want to be like them?”   With the development of edge cities with malls and parking lots, I think our next phase of outreach might be to book a convention hall on a long weekend, and have a full schedule music, dance, entertainment, educational seminars,etc. People, like our friends in the yoga centers, would easily be willing come to such a spiritual conference and pay enough to easily cover costs.   From his weekly phone conference call lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.14.8:   Parampara literally means “one after another.” In addition to the line of spiritual succession, it could also mean from one generation to another.   Pasanda is translated as infidel, imposter, or atheist, in different places.   Astikyam indicates that one accepts the Vedas, and derives from the word asti, “there exists.”   There is sometimes more disagreement within a single religion than between one religion and another.   Sreyas and preyas can be thought of as long term and short term benefits. Real sreyas is to understand your self, God, and your relationship with Him. People not interested in this are compared to children who do not want to go to school but play all day.   Krishna says that some say ultimate benefit is attained by dharma, fame, sense gratification, truthfulness, self-control, peacefulness, self-interest, opulence, renunciation, consumption, sacrifice, charity, austerities, vows, or regulated religious duties. Nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, celibacy, and not coveting the things of others are yamas. Cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study of scripture, and devotion to God are niyamas.   Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that desire for fame is the root cause of all unwanted desires.   Perfection is absorption in trance, not just material contentment.   In an industrial society, cow protection is a very expensive hobby unless the bulls are engaged and children are also a very expense hobby. But in an agrarian society the children would help out on the farm and not just be consumers.   When women entered the workplace it was an indication that child rearing was no longer considered a valuable occupation.   In the atheistic Sankyha the liberated state is a plurality of isolated purusas without attachment to prakrti and the pain coming from that.   Kadamba Kanana Swami [Cc.  Adi 7.20-21]:   “The more they tasted it [love of Krishna], the more their thirst for it grew.”   Badrinarayana Prabhu decided to preach in some place there was no preaching going on. He looked at a map, and chose New Guinea. After a long flight from the West Coast he finally arrived there, and found at the hotel the man behind the reception desk was reading one of Srila Prabhupada’s books.   It is not possible to stay enlivened without the devotees, who are endowed with generosity. When I was new devotee I was happy to receive a feast of fifteen preparations, all you can eat for free, and I felt like reciprocating.   Without friendship, how can we stay on the path?   I have received many, many blessings from the Vaishnavas, especially Jayadvaita Swami, who encouraged me in taking up the renounced life,   Hanuman offered to kill the Raksasis who were torturing her. Sita declined and told the story of the hunter, the bear, and tiger. The hunter pursued a tiger, who ended up pursuing him. He ran up a tree, but discovered a bear higher in the tree. The tiger told the bear to kick down the hunter, a mutual enemy, but the bear declined, saying the hunter was a guest in his home, and he could not possibly do that. Then the man did something to mistreat the bear, and the tiger again appealed to him to kick down the man who proved himself disreputable, so he could kill him, but the bear again refused to harm the guest in his tree.   We have to become Vaishnavas of noble character.   My spiritual master [Jayadvaita Swami] is dedicated to being a man of ideal character.   Generosity means giving more than money, things like appreciation.   Do not worry about what you are getting. Start giving. Do that and you will find that you do not need the things you thought you did.   Our security is our purity. If our purity is there, Krishna and His devotees will take care of us.   One devotee was becoming a householder and was planning to become a professional. I said, “That is only one option.” You can go to a new city, rent a place, and start preaching. People will appreciate, and things will expand. He replied that he did not have enough faith. That is our problem.   There are many devotees in this movement who have not read Srimad-Bhagavatam. If you have not read Srimad-Bhagavatam, you are below the poverty line.   We are in need of spiritual nourishment. And we need to nourish others. To do this, we need to become Vaishnavas of noble character.   Q: How hard should we try to develop our love for Krishna? A: We must try with all our heart. We must try with every cell in body, with every thought that comes into our mind. We must try completely. Of course, we do not do that. And so we should pray for mercy.   I want Krishna prema [love of Krishna], but I am not willing to pay the price for it.   Q: In Vrndavana, so many swamis came around. Why did you choose Jayadvaita Swami as your guru? A: He always treated me as if he was completely in charge of me, so I just surrendered to it.   Krishna Book reading realizations:   Vishnu Gada: Consider the magnitude of the Brahma’s offense, he kidnapped thousands of kids for one year.   Mataji: Calves drink only two liters of milk, but the cows may give ten or fourteen liters.   Q: Do the cows have vatsalya-bhava for Krishna? It appears from the Brahma-vimohana-lila they do.   Mataji: My husband said they brought a cow into the temple for Govardhan Puja in Mayapur, and when the cow saw Radha-Madhava, she started mooing and milk flowed from her udder onto the temple room.   Vishnu Gada: The elephant that carried the Deity regularly at festivals at the Guruvayur one night started banging on his stall, and his keeper took him out. The elephant went to the temple, bowed down in the direction of the altar. Then he left his body. We know that whatever state on remembers at death he attains, and so the elephant attained Krishna.   Gadadhara Pandit Prabhu:   Just by hearing about the Lord we can become free from the influence of material nature. It is really that simple. It just takes a long time to reach that platform.   If we do not understand that Krishna is beyond the modes of nature after reading the first nine cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam, we will be bewildered in understanding the tenth canto. Just as in the west, people get intimately involved with others before they even get to know them, and ultimately due to familiarity, the relationships end in failure.   The same supreme Lord who is the source of the light and heat of the entire universe, the pure souls embrace in the spiritual world.   Contemporary scientist Penrose proposes a theory the Big Bang is just one of many Big Bangs.   To understand the Supreme Person is the source of everything requires engagement in devotional service. This begins with the humility that I do not know everything. This understanding of ourselves as servants of God must be backed up by service to get realization.   The more we choose devotional service, the more we experience liberation, and the more we reject devotional service, the more we become bound up.   Before becoming a devotee, at least I believed in God enough to blame Him for my suffering.   I could see that the material world was a miserable place. But I had difficulty with a couple issues:  (1) How I could have left such a nice place as the spiritual world? (2) Why after attaining perfection I could end up coming back to the material world again? Even after moving into the ashram, these continued to plague me. Finally, after some time they did not bother me anymore. I had to accept I have free will that is eternal, and I could potentially misuse it.   If we remember the final goal, we will be happy to execute the activities that help us reach it. Q: People tend to blame God for their suffering. How do we bring them to accept that they are the cause of their suffering? A: Usually we do not bring that point up until they have had a lot of prasadam. [Laughter.] Then we talk about the mind and how we come into the world with certain mentalities. Then we introduce the idea of past lives. And in this way, we very gradually introduce the idea.   Chris Prabhu [statistics from a NYU cooking class]:   Organic milk has 70% more Omega 3 fatty acids than regular milk. Cold milk causes rheumatism and arthritis.   -----   tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva darsinah   “Just to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him and render service unto him. Self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.” (Bhagavad-gita 4.34)   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Thursday, May 12th, 2011 Restless and Stormy Moundsville West Virginia The sun greeted us with a bleeding red. He moved so fast with a passion, above the hills summit. So impatient he was. There was something in the air, in the night past, a restlessness that restricted a number of us from a good sleep. Rompada Swami was one of them along with myself. A lack of phyiscal activity and too much chair sitting for meetings will do that for me. Meetings can be a curse while they are necessary and a responsibility. It would be good to incorporate downtime or chill-out time doing something creative together as a group as part of our recession. I was given a specific sedentary service in addition to six hours of sit down discussing by laws, trademarks, and also including more visionary subjects. I was asked to give class from the Bhagavatam Canto 10. And in the evening I was asked to offer the first grains (kheer) to the six month old Hladini. Her parents whose names are Mary and Hotus arranged a venue, as they are visiting from the Carolinas. The samskar(sacrament)annaprasanna was done. Simple but sweet was the method. As the day began with passion, so did the night. Humidity attacked us all day and now for its grand finale thunder and lightening came to interaction. It was dramatic and eventually ceased to a calm. 6 KM   • Email to a friend • •   Sutapa das, BV Manor, UK: Split personality Many of us on the spiritual path lead double lives. Carefully avoiding the image of a Bible-bashing religious nerd, we often end up hiding our spirituality and even compromising our principles just to fit into the crowd. Initially, people may appreciate the added spiritual dimension to life, but when ones interest grows, commitment deepens and priorities begin to change, that’s when the alarm bells start to ring. Parents are happy with the morality and principles that practice of spirituality brings, but later they fear you may become too detached from the world, lose your drive for success and renounce your duties towards the family. Friends think it’s cool and funky to ’think deeper’, but later they complain that you’ve changed and how your company no longer stimulates them. How do we balance our spiritual journey with our worldly relationships? Is it possible to maintain your principles without becoming a social outcaste? In the second chapter of the Bhagavad-gita Krishna explains that “what is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.” Once, when asked what the purport of this statement was, Srila Prabhupada replied “they think you are crazy and you think they are crazy!” Materialists look at spiritualists and pity what they see as a conservative life of self denial and childish fairytale. Spiritualists look at materialists and lament their illusory pursuits for pleasure, foreseeing the frustration that comes from seeking substance in the shadow. Everyone has their own take on life. I guess the most important thing for a spiritualist is to come to terms with who they really are. There comes a point when you realize that life is too short to put up false pretenses and masks. If you’re not comfortable with yourself, don’t expect anyone else to be. Interestingly, as a spiritualist matures, he is not only unaffected by the skepticism of others, but by his conviction and inspiration he can often influence and transform those very same people. Going to a deeper level, we realize we have lots in common with others. Everyone, despite their desires, aspirations and goals in life are all actually looking for the same things – peace, love, achievement, relationships, security etc. The only difference is that we are all looking in different places. In this way, a spiritualist need not see himself as a black sheep, standing out like a sore thumb in society. Rather they can be likened to a drop of red ink thrown into a pool of water – by boldly taking the plunge and confidently expressing themselves, they will colorfully enrich the lives of everyone around them.   • Email to a friend • •   Akrura das, Gita Coaching: VAISNAVA FIREWALK WITH LORD JAGANNATHA This is a photo from 1908. Maybe you have heard that people do firewalk during courses of a motivational speaker Tony Robbins, to overcome their fears and limitations. Here you can see Krishna devotees walking with the Deity of Lord Jagannatha on a red-hot coal around the temple in Varanasi, India.   • Email to a friend • •   Akrura das, Gita Coaching: Six Step Weekly Planning Process Click on the title to access the Six Step Process. If you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail. TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS 1. Organize and execute around your highest priorities 2. Ask yourself often during the day: What is the most valuable use of my time - right now. 3. Manage time based on relationships not tasks.   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Care for all life I met nice lady a few days ago and she was walking into Starbucks with her daughter when we met. She was telling me about how she likes to be careful of ants that get crushed as we traverse through the world. Remembering Jada Bharata and his interaction with King Rahugana I pointed out that this was the sign of a transcendentalist. She got all inspired and started to speak about her passion for animal rights. . She was big on animal rights and could appreciate the picture on Karma from animal killing that we have in the Gita. She instantly appreciated the philosophy of reincarnation and took a Bhagavad gita and Bhakti yoga. SB 5.10.2: The palanquin, however, was very erratically carried by Jaḍa Bharata due to his sense of nonviolence. As he stepped forward, he checked before him every three feet to see whether he was about to step on ants. Consequently he could not keep pace with the other carriers. Due to this, the palanquin was shaking, and King Rahūgaṇa immediately asked the carriers, "Why are you carrying this palanquin unevenly? Better carry it properly."   • Email to a friend • •   Nityananda Chandra Das, Dallas TX: Pocket Vedas for iPhone, iPod Touch, & iPad Nope, not talking about the tiny but readable Sanskrit Bhagavad Gita that resides in my bead bag pocket But rather the newly updated Vedabase app which is now available for not only iPhone & iPod,  but now iPhone 4 & iPad with its improved retina display.  Previously known as Pocket Vedabase, Pocket Vedas works great.  There is a night and day font and I have used it for reading in dark for hours quite comfortably while the children are sleeping.  Here are list of the books in the app.  ● Bhagavad-gītā As It Is ● Śrīmad Bhāgavatam ● Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta ● Teachings of Lord Caitanya ● Nectar of Devotion (fixed missing sections from website) ● Nectar of Instruction ● Teachings of Lord Kapila ● Teachings of Queen Kuntī ● Śrī Brahma-saṃhitā ● Śrī Īśopaniṣad ● Mukunda-mālā-stotra ● Nārada Bhakti Sūtra Retaining all the great features of it previous version such as dynamic book marks, which keeps your place in various books, this update includes a lot of other great features.  All the verse only pages are now available, so you can now read the index page that has all the verses for the each chapter.  Also all the hyperlinks now work.  Meaning any verse that is in the purport or in the index can be clicked on to go directly to that page. The reading format is also improved, a simple tap on the screen (instead of the previous tiny ‘+’) brings up various menus.  On the two bottom corners you have the page turn.   If you click on one of those hyperlinks you can also click on the back and forward buttons to return back to the spot in the previous book that you were reading.                        Updated for iOS 4, Pocket Vedas does not only open back to the exact spot you were reading from it also starts up with no boot time once opened. However the main addition is the ability email booksmarks, verse links from Vedabase.net, and links that open the reader’s own Pocket Vedabase app to the desired verse.  This opens many uses such as updating reading notes to Evernote.  Or updating Facebook or Twitter status with a favorite quote with a link.  There a little work that can be done to improve the emailing.  Currently the links appear as such, “In time, learned philosophers or scientists might be able to count all the atoms of the earth, the particles of snow, or perhaps even the shining molecules radiating from the sun, the stars and other luminaries. But among these learned men, who could possibly count the unlimited transcendental qualities possessed by You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have descended onto the surface of the earth for the benefit of all living entities?” This does not allow editing of the link.   Just a Translation with with link embedded.  I have left a suggestion in a correspondence to just include the raw link, such as http://vedabase.net/sb/10/14/7 which allows the user to decide what text they want to post and also allows the link to work when updated in FB and Twitter via email. I hope to see this updated in the near future. All in all I am very happy with the update.  Your humble servant, Nityananda Chandra Das PS.   For those who are updating, if you cannot see the hyperlinks and index pages when first updating app there is a simple and one time fix.  Go to the settings make any adjustment and apply and now it will work fine.  You can go back to your original settings again and it will still work, just a one time adjustment. for more info see Dancing Ganesh   • Email to a friend • •   Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Srila Prabhupada to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra At least in India where this knowledge was generated there must be some institution to know it perfectly and distribute it throughout the world. That will glorify India’s prestige. To broadcast India’s glorification is the duty of every Indian without any political differences. I wish that you may take some active part in this movement and thus magnify the prestigious position of India. >>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: S.B. Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, 3 April, 1977   • Email to a friend • •   Pandu das: Censuring BKG, why not Radhanatha and Malati too? A few days ago I read the 2011 GBC Resolutions and was surprised to see the “Letter of Censure to Bir Krishna Das Goswami.” I don’t have any special interest in BKG, having never met him, but I noted the reference to ISKCON Law 3.5.5.1.3.9. and was awestruck. If I had known about that law six years ago, it seems like I’d still be an aspiring devotee today. Instead, largely because of three prominent GBC members — Bhakti-Tirtha, Radhanatha, and Malati — violating that law in my community, ISKCON and the whole Hare Krishna movement is becoming less relevant to me with each passing day. It so happens that Bhakti-Tirtha was dieing and is mostly excusable on that account. Malati has been kind to me on several occasions, but it doesn’t change the facts here. Radhanatha just blew me off and left town when I asked to meet with him about his bringing someone whom the ISKCON Child Protection Office had found guilty of child molestation, although I was told he was agreeable to meeting with my wife without me! Nobody seems to know much of ISKCON Law, but I was able to get the actual text of this section with some help from a friend. It reads: “3.5.5.1.3.9 Child Protection Concerns Persons, who after an ISKCON investigation, are confirmed to be guilty of child abuse must report their status to the local Temple President upon their arrival in an ISKCON community. Also, it is the obligation of a Temple President to determine for every member joining his community, if the newcomer is a confirmed child abuser. The Temple President is then obliged to notify the local householders and GBC of the offender’s presence. The local GBC should be advised if a Temple President knowingly arranges for a confirmed child abuser to be supported by a temple, or live on temple property without first notifying the householder community as per ISKCON laws. The local GBC is to supervise the situation to be sure the Temple President follows the following GBC guidelines: 1. “In no case should a confirmed perpetrator remain in the local community unless the local ISKCON authorities obtain the written authorization of no less than three-quarter of the parents of children at the project or in the community. 2. The local government authorities and/or the ISKCON Board of Education will make the final determination of the appropriate degree of segregation. (1990-119.4)” 3. Every GBC make sure the temples presidents in his zone are made aware of this resolution and GBC guidelines.” I was further surprised to see that the GBC issued this letter of censure fifteen years after the fact, which tells me that the law has been in effect at least that long. I so much wish I knew of it back in 2005. That was a very pivotal year for my aspiring Krishna consciousness. It was the same year I started this blog, intending to document my happy progress in Krishna consciousness. However, it did not continue on that trajectory very long. At the beginning of that year, I was very enthused about trying my best at Krishna consciousness, and I suppose that was noticed because I was elected to the Gita-nagari community board that spring, although not on my own initiative. I chose not to vote for myself, deciding that I would only accept the service with substantial support from the community. I was also afraid of the potential for offenses that would come with having authority over devotees, so I sincerely prayed to Sri Sri Radha-Damodara to help me serve Them nicely and protect me. It seems that They had something more disruptive in mind. It was around that time that Vakresvara Pandit arrived as a guest of honor with full red-carpet treatment. I would later learn that it was done through an agreement between the Child Protection Office and Radhanatha and Malati, because Bhakti Tirtha Swami had come to Gita-nagari to die, and he wanted Vakresvara Pandit to lead kirtan as he was dying. The CPO, its Director later told me, intended to authorize something minor but it so happened that this “benediction” made Vakresvara into a big celebrity and he clearly exploited that for his sense gratification. I saw him engage with kids in several dangerous activities that I thought put the whole community at risk, which I won’t go into now but which were documented at Oppositerule when they happened.. During the same period, I happened to learn that Vakresvara Pandit had a behavior problem including a child molestation record and was not following the rectification plan assigned to him by ISKCON’s Child Protection Office (“CPO”). Since my wife was on the Child Protection Team, and I on the Community Board, that seemed like something we should find out about. To my surprise, I was unable to get much help from the CPO, but fortunately I was able to get from someone else a copy of the Official Decision finding Vakresvara guilty of child molestation and prescribing a rectification plan for him. In short, the Official Decision found that when Vakresvara was about 40 years old, he had sexual intercourse about 8 times with a vulnerable devotee girl over the course of a year, beginning when she was thirteen years old. One devotee attorney I who was familiar with the details indicated in correspondence with me that in his view Vakresvara was a sexual predator. The Official Decision stipulated several conditions that Vakresvara had to obey to participate in ISKCON, with maximum importance stressed upon the first two conditions: 1, That Vakresvara write a letter of apology to the girl, submitted to the CPO; and 2, that Vakresvara pay $3,000 in restitution. The Official Decision stipulated that unless Vakresvara complied with at least these two requirements, he could not be allowed on ISKCON property or any affiliation with ISKCON projects. Not only did he fail to comply with these requirements, he actually displayed serious contempt for them and for the Child Protection Office. As I was learning of this, I felt great anxiety because the mood at Gita-nagari was overwhelmingly absorbed in Bhakti-Tirtha Swami, whom I was repeatedly told was a pure devotee. I was upset because he was leaving his body, and I was never able to get to know him very well. I was also perplexed over his invitation to Vakresvara, why a pure devotee would want an unrepentant child molester to sing for him at such a special time. I tried to have my concerns addressed as discretely as I could, but months went by without any progress. Then the night BTS passed away, I found myself in a little altercation with Vakresvara over his neglecting the big bonfires he had built in the woods. It might have been a minor disagreement, considering the circumstances, but I was upset at the notion of arguing with a devotee and offered him my humble obeisances, which he expressly rejected. I was shocked, unprepared for such Vaisnava behavior, and I was glad to see him leave because it had seemed like he was going to hit me. The next day my guru, Bhaktimarga Swami, arrived and I asked for his advice about my concerns over Vakresvara Pandit, and he encouraged me to follow through with it. I also found out around that time that while Vakresvara was at Gita-nagari, he had an appeal trial over the child molestation determination, but I was initially unable to get information from the CPO. Eventually I broke down and begged him to have mercy, and Tamohara (the CPO Chief) relented and shared the Appeal Decision with me. I looked and immediately noted that they found all of his objections without merit and affirmed the finding of guilt. The only two points in Vakresvara’s favor were based on errors, and these points were corrected after I pointed them out to the CPO. Specifically, appeal judges opted to declare Vakresvara’s rectification period complete with time served and noting that the sex was consensual; however there was more than sufficient proof available to show that he never followed the rectification plan and practically flaunted his disobedience to it. Also, nowhere in the USA is there legal validity to the notion of a thirteen year old child consenting to sex. In the end, the CPO appeal panel had affirmed Vakresvara’s guilt but waived the apology letter and restitution and maintained some very minor restrictions for one year. After about three months of headaches worrying about this, realizing that going through “proper channels” is exhausting and wholly unproductive, I posed a question to the BTSwami e-mail group, asking if anyone knew what BTS thought about Vakresvara’s child molestation issue. The response was harsh. In short, my community rejected me and undermined my relationship with my guru by getting him to try to bring me in line. Unfortunately, in this situation my guru lied to me, broke a promise to me, and changed his advice supporting me into an order to stop (with no discussion of why). He also rejected me as a candidate for brahmana initiation because I was documenting these events on my blog, apparently without personally reading it. That put me into about 18 months of severe depression, which I eventually sought to end, knowing no other way besides rejoining devotee society. I apologized to everyone and begged for forgiveness, but the only apology anyone gave me was from the fellow who had actually threatened me. To come back, I had internalized all the faults and accepted them as my own, but I eventually realized that was unnatural and I could not sustain it. In due course I got on board with the rtviks, but I could not stay with them because I consider Srila Prabhupada responsible for ISKOCN and the chain of command that he put in place. After fifteen years and chanting Krishna’s names around 100 million times, the Krishna consciousness has become painful to think about, enough that it has become a relief to forget about Krishna when possible. I’m reached the point where I don’t want to care about this movement anymore and I am trying to get free. There is so much hypocrisy that my head could explode. So now I learn about ISKCON Law 3.5.5.1.3.9. It could have done me a lot of good back in 2005, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking. However, maybe I’d still be trying to be a devotee if that law were respected. As I read this law, the responsibility initially falls upon the Temple President, but the responsibility for ensuring compliance goes to the GBC. Our TP then was a disciple of BTS, who was our GBC. Of course, BTS was in no condition to act as GBC, but we had two other GBC members on extended visit: Radhanatha Swami and Malati Mataji. As I understand it, they were the ones who somehow got the CPO to stick its head up its ass and pretend that everything was OK with having an unrepentant child molester as a V.I.P. at Gita-nagari. I had wanted, along with my wife, to meet with Radhanatha Swami about our concern over Vakresvara, but he would only agree to meet with my wife if I was not there! I have to admit I felt insulted and that it was a very improper condition for a sannyasi to impose. We said my wife would not be comfortable with that arrangement, and instead of giving a reply, he just left with no meeting. Radhanatha and Malati, as the responsible GBC members at Gita-nagari in spring-summer 2005, should have been making sure that “In no case should a confirmed perpetrator remain in the local community unless the local ISKCON authorities obtain the written authorization of no less than three-quarter of the parents of children at the project or in the community.” Instead of trying to get permission from my wife and me, for bringing Vakresvara to our community, they were collaborating with the CPO to prevent the Gita-nagari community from knowing that their good friend Vakresvara whom they had invited as a great Vaisnava was in fact an unrepentant child molester. I was trying to get the information needed to understand the situation, so I could properly perform my duty as a community board member and assist my wife on the Child Protection Team, and for this I was rejected by my so-called Vaisnava community and sent down a path where I eventually lost faith in Srila Prabhupada’s teachings due to the gross misbehavior of his leading disciples and the chain of command he established. I won’t hold my breath waiting for ISKCON poster-boy Radhanatha to be censured by his pals. LOL.   • Email to a friend • •   Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Infinite return on investment A few days ago I met a young woman near Yonge and Finch and she gave me 14c to get a perfection of Yoga. She was very apologetic about not having more money but promised to read it. I didn’t think much about the exchange, until she turned up at Urbanedgeyoga a few days later. When asked about if she read the book or not - she said she read the entire book and that is the reason she came. This time she bought a Bhagavad gita from Urbanedgeyoga and 5 days later she turned up for the Bhagavad gita. Much to my surprise she had read 313 pages in 5 days and said 'every word spoke to me as the truth'. With tears in her eyes she explained how the book explained her entire life, like this is what she was looking for. She has done bachelors and masters in social work, degrees in de-addictions and wanting to help everyone. Knowing her passion we had her reading the preface to Nectar of devotion and with a choking voice she read "In the primary stage a child loves his parents, then his brothers and sisters, and as he daily grows up he begins to love his family, society, community, country, nation, or even the whole human society. But the loving propensity is not satisfied even by loving all human society; that loving propensity remains imperfectly fulfilled until we know who the supreme beloved is. Our love can be fully satisfied only when it is reposed in Kṛṣṇa. This theme is the sum and substance of The Nectar of Devotion, which teaches us how to love Kṛṣṇa in five different transcendental mellows."   • Email to a friend • •   Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Today is Mohini Ekadasi Sorry for the late post. Better late than never. Today is Mohini Ekadasi and did not get a chance to post this yesterday... Sri Yudhisthira Maharaja said, "Oh Janardana, what is the name of the Ekadasi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Vaisakha? What is the process for observing it properly? Kindly narrate all of these details to me. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna replied, "Oh blessed son of Dharma, what Vasishtha Muni once told to Lord Ramachandra I shall now describe to you. Please hear Me attentively. "Lord Ramachandra asked Vasishtha Muni, 'Oh great sage, I would like to hear about the best of all fasting days that day which destroys all kinds of sins and sorrows. I have suffered long enough in separation from My dear Sita, and so I wish to hear from you about how My suffering can be ended.' "The sage Vasishtha replied, 'Oh Lord Rama, Oh You whose intelligence is so keen, simply by remembering Your name one can cross the ocean of the material world. You have questioned me in order to benefit all of humanity and fulfill everyone's desires. I shall now describe that day of fasting which purifies the whole world. 'Oh Rama, that day is known as Vaisakha-sukla Ekadasi, which falls on Dvadasi. It removes all sins and is famous as Mohini Ekadasi. Truly, Oh dear Rama, the merit of this Ekadasi frees the fortunate soul who observes it from the network of illusion. Therefore, if You want to relieve Your suffering, observe this auspicious Ekadasi perfectly, for it removes all obstacles from ones path and relieves the greatest miseries. Kindly listen as I describe its glories, because for one who even just hears about this auspicious Ekadasi, the greatest sins are nullified. 'On the banks of the Sarasvati River there was once a beautiful city named Bhadravati, which was ruled by King Dyutiman. Oh Rama, that steadfast, truthful, and highly intelligent king was born in the dynasty of the Moon. In his kingdom was a merchant named Dhanapala, who possessed a great deal of wealth of food grains and money. He was also very pious. Dhanapala arranged for lakes to be dug, sacrificial arenas to be erected, and beautiful gardens to be cultivated for the benefit of all the citizens of Bhadravati. He was an excellent devotee of Lord Vishnu and had five sons: Sumana, Dyutiman, Medhavi, Sukriti, and Dhrishthabuddhi. 'Unfortunately, his son Dhrishthabuddhi always engaged in greatly sinful activities, such as sleeping with prostitutes and associating with similar degraded persons. He enjoyed illicit sex, gambling, and many other varieties of acts aimed at gratifying the senses. He disrespected the demigods, the brahmins, the forefathers and other elders of the community, as well as his family's guests. The evil-hearted Dhrishthabuddhi spent up his father's wealth indiscriminately, always feasting on untouchable foods and drinking alcohol to excess. 'One day Dhanapala kicked Dhrishthabuddhi out of the house after he saw him walking along the road arm-in-arm with a known prostitute. From then on all Dhrishthabuddhi's relatives were highly critical of him and distanced themselves from him also. After he had sold all of his inherited ornaments and become destitute, the prostitute also abandoned him and insulted him because of his poverty. 'Dhrishthabuddhi was now full of anxiety, and also hungry. He thought, "What should I do ? Where should I go ? How can I maintain myself ? He then began to steal. The king's constables arrested him, but when they learned who it was, and that his father was the famous Dhanapala, they released him. He was caught and released in this way many times. But at last, sick of his arrogance and total disrespect for others, and their property, the ill-mannered Dhrishthabuddhi was apprehended, handcuffed, and then beaten. After whipping him, the king's marshals warned him, "Oh evil minded one, there is no place for you in this kingdom. 'However, Dhrishthabuddhi was freed from his tribulation by his father and immediately thereafter entered the dense forest. He wandered here and there, hungry and thirsty and suffering greatly. Eventually he began killing the jungle animals, the lions, deer, boars, and even wolves for food. Always ready in his hand was his bow, always on his shoulder was his quiver full of arrows. He also killed many birds, such as chakoras, peacocks, kankas, doves and pigeons. He unhesitatingly slaughtered many species of birds and animals to maintain his sinful way of life, the sinful results accumulating more and more each day. On account of his previous sins, he was now immersed in an ocean of great sin that was so relentless that it appeared that he could not get out. 'Dhrishthabuddhi was always miserable and anxious, but one day, during the month of Vaisakha, by the force of some of his past merit he chanced upon the sacred Ashrama of Kaundinya Muni. The great sage had just finished bathing in the Ganges River, and water was dripping from him still. Dhrishthabuddhi had the great good fortune to touch some of those droplets of water that were falling from the great sage's wet clothing. Instantly Dhrishthabuddhi was freed of his ignorance, and his sinful reactions were reduced. Offering his humble obeisances to Kaundinya Muni, Dhrishthabuddhi prayed to him with joined palms: "Oh great brahmana, please describe to me some of the atonement I may perform without too much endeavour. I have committed so many sins in my life, and these have now made me very poor. 'The great rishi replied, "Oh son, listen with great attention, for by hearing me your life will change, and you will become free of all your remaining sins. In the light fortnight of this very month, Vaisakha there occurs the sacred Mohini Ekadasi, which has the power to nullify sins as vast and weighty as Mount Sumeru. If you follow my advice and faithfully observe a fast on this Ekadasi, which is so dear to Lord Hari, you will be freed from all the sinful reactions of many, many births. 'Hearing these words with great joy, Dhrishthabuddhi promised to observe a fast on Mohini Ekadasi according to the sage's instructions and direction. Oh best of kings, Oh Ramachandra Bhagavan, by fasting completely on Mohini Ekadasi, the once sinful Dhrishthabuddhi, the prodigal son of the merchant Dhanapala, became sinless. Afterwards he achieved a beautiful transcendental form and, free at last of all obstacles, rode upon the carrier of Lord Vishnu, Garuda, to the Supreme abode of the Lord. 'Oh Ramachandra, the fast day of Mohini Ekadasi removes the darkest illusory attachments to material existence. There is thus no better fast day in all the three worlds than this.' Lord Sri Krishna concluded, "and so, Oh Yudhishthira, there is no place of pilgrimage, no sacrifice, and no charity that can bestow merit equal to even one sixteenth of the merit a faithful devotee of Mine obtains by observing the Mohini Ekadasi. And He who hears and studies the glories of Mohini Ekadasi achieves the merit of giving away one thousand cows in charity. Thus ends the narration of the glories of Vaisakha-sukla Ekadasi, or Mohini Ekadasi, from the Kurma Purana. sábado 7 de abril de 2007 GVY: Mohini Ekadasi 12 MOHINI EKADASI Maharaja Yudthithira dijo: Oh, Janardana!, cuál es el nombre del Ekadasi que ocurrió durante la quincena del mes de Vaisakha? ( Abril - Mayo ). Cuál es el proceso para observarlo apropiadamente. Por favor narramelo a mí. El Señor Sri KRSNA respondió: ¡Oh, bendito hijo de Dharma!, Vasistha Muni cierta vez le dijo al Señor Ramacandra, lo que yo ahora te describiré. Por favor escuchame atentamente. El Señor Ramacandra le preguntó a Vasistha Muni, Oh, gran sabío!, me gustaría que me hablaras acerca del mejor de todos los ayunos, ese día que destruye toda clase de pecado y de pesares. Yo he sufrido durante mucho tiempo por la separación de mi querida Sita y así Yo quiero escucharte acerca de como mis sufrimientos pueden terminarse. El sabio Vasistha respondió: Oh, Señor Rama!, Oh, tú de inteligencia astuta simplemente por recordar tu nombre uno puede atravezar el Océano de esté mundo material. Tú me has preguntado en orden, para beneficio de toda la humanidad y para cumplir los deseos de todos. Yo ahora te describiré ese día de ayuno que purifica al mundo entero. Oh, Rama!, este día es Vaisakha - Sukla Ekadasi que cae en Duadasi. Este remueve todos los pecados y es famoso como Mobini Ekadasi. Verdaderamente el mérito de este Ekadasi, libra al alma afortunada que lo observa, del enredo de la ilusión. Así si tu quieres librarte de tus sufrimientos observa este auspicioso Ekadasi perfectamente, porque este remueve todos los obstaculos de la senda de uno y lo libera de las más grandes miserias. Escucha amablemente como Yo te describo sus glorias porque para aquel que escucha acerca de este auspicioso Ekadasi los más grandes pecados son anulados. Sobre las riberas del río Sarasvati había una vez una hermosa ciudad llamada Bhadravati que estaba gobernada por el Rey Dyutiman. Oh, Rama!, el firme, el fiel y el más inteligente Rey que ha nacido en la disnastía lunar. En su reino vivía un mercader llamado Dhanapala que poseía una gran riqueza de granos alimentícios y dinero. El era también muy piadoso, El construía lagos para que bebieran las entidades vivientes, erigía templos para realizar sacrificios y construía hermosos jardines para que fuesen cultivados para el beneficios de todos los habitantes de Bhadravati. El era un excelente devoto de Visnu y tenía 5 hijos: Svmana, Dyutrman, Medhavi, Sykiti y Dhrstabvddhi. Desafortunadamente su hijo Dhrstabvddhi siempre estaba ocupado en las más grandes actividades pecaminosas como dormir com prostitutas y asociarse con personas degradadas. El se divertía con sexo ilícito, juego de azahar y muchas otras variedades de gratificación sensorial. Era el más poderoso de los semidioses brahmanas, de los antepasados y de otras personas y de la familia de sus invitados. Dhrstabvddhi pasaba gastando la riqueza de su padre indiscriminadamente siempre comiendo comida intocable y tomando vino en exceso. Un día Dhanapala expulsó de su casa, a su hijo Dhrstabvddhi después de verlo caminando por el campo abrazado con una protitúta. Desde entonces los parientes de Dhrstabvddhi estaba criticándole exageradamente y se distanciarón Ellos mismos de él. Después El había vendido sus ornamentos y quedó desamparado, las prostitútas también lo abandonarón y lo insultarón por su pobreza. El pródigo Dhratabvddhi estaba ahora lleno de ansiedad y también hambriento. El pensó: que podré yo hacer?. Dónde podría yo ir? Cómo podré mantenerme yo mismo? El entonces empezó a robar. Los alguaciles del rey lo arrestarón pero ellos se enterarón que su padre era el gran rey y ellos lo soltarón. El fue arrestado y soltado muchas veces. Dhrstabvddhi fue amarrado y golpeado. Después de azotarlo, los mariscales del rey lo advirtierón: Oh, perverso!, aquí no hay lugar para ti. Sin embargo Dhrstabvddhi quiso quedar libre de la tribulación de su padre e inmediatamente entró al denso bosque. El vagabundeó de aquí para alla, hambriento y sediento y sufriendo gravemente. Pasado el tiempo el comenzó a matar leones, ciervo, chancho y lobos para comer. Siempre listo en su mano estaba sus arco y carcaj llenas de flechas. El así mató muchos pájaros como cakoras, pavos reales, kankas. Sin vacilar mató a muchas especies de pájaros y animales y de ese modo sus pecados aumentaban cada día. Además de sus incontables pecados previos El estaba ahora inmerso en un Océano de Grandes Pecados. Dhrstabvddhi estaba siempre miserable y ansioso pero un día durante el mes de Vaisakha por la fuerza de algún mérito, pasaba El casualmente encontró el sagrado asrama de Kaundinya Muni. El gran sabío había terminado su baño en el río Ganges y el agua goteaba de El. Dhrstabuddhi tuvo la gran fortuna de tocar algunas de sus ropas del gran sabio, instantaneamente Dhrstabvddhi estaba libre de ignorancia y sus reacciones pecaminosas quedaron reducidas. Ofreciendo sus humildes reverencias a Kaundinya Muni, Dhrstabvddhi le oró con sus palmas juntas: Oh, gran brahmana!, por favor describe algún tipo de expreción que yo podría ejecutar sin mucho esfuerzo. Yo he cometido muchos pecados en mi vida y así yo me he hecho ahora muy pobre. El gran Rsi respondió: Oh, hijo!, escucha con gran atención por escucharme podras volverte libre de todos tus pecados. En la quincena de este mes Vaisakha, ocurre el sagrado Mohini Ekadasi que tiene el poder de anular los pecados como vasto y ancho como el Monte Sumeru. Si tú sigues mi advertencia y fielmente observa un ayuno es este Ekadasi que es tan querido al Señor Hari tú podras quedar libre de toda reacción pecaminosa de muchos, muchos nacimientos. Escuchando estas palabras con gran alegría Dhrstabvddhi prometió observar un ayuno en este Ekadasi, Mohini Ekadasi de acuerdo a las instrucciones del sabio. Oh, mejor de los Reyes!, Oh, Rama!, por ayunar completamente en este Ekadasi una vez el pecaminoso Dhrstabvddhi, el hijo prodigo del mercader Dhanapala se volvió sin pecado. Después El adquirió una hermosa y trascedental forma y libre de todos los obstáculos fue llevado por Garuda el transportador de Visnu a la morada del Señor. Oh, Rama!, el día de ayuno de Mohini Ekadasi remueve la ilusoria existencia material. Allí no hay mejor día de ayuno en todos los tres mundos. El Señor KRSNA concluyó: Y así, Oh, Yudhisthira!, no hay lugar de peregrinaje ni sacrificio ni caridad que pueda conceder igual merito diez y seis veces del mérito de un devoto fiel obtiene por observar Mohini Ekadasi. El quien escucha y estudia las glorias de Mohini Ekadasi ejecuta el mérito de dar mil vacas en caridad. Así termina la narración de las glorias de Vaisakba-Sukla Ekadasi o Mohini Ekadasi de Kurma Purana. NOTAS 1.- Si el Santo ayuno cae en Dvadasi este es aun llamado Ekadasi en la literatura Vedica. De esa manera en el Garuda Purana (1. 125 l) El Señor Brahma dice a Narada Muni: Oh, brahmana!, este ayuno podría ser observado cuando allí hay un Ekadasi lleno (una mezcla de Ekadasi y Duadasi o una mezcla de 3 Ekadasis Duadasi y Trayodasi), pero nunca en un día de mezcla de Dasami y Ekadasi.   • Email to a friend • •   Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Reminder of Madan Mohan Temple - In the News: Hare Krishna Temple approved The below article is great since it talks about another Hare Krishna Centre coming to uplift mankind. It brings alive Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's precept that His glories will be sung in every Town and Village... What really stood out was the design of the temple which brings you back to the classic Vrindavan image, the Madan Mohan temple. Also at the end of the article there are a couple of comments that were excellent reads...in fact even more interesting that the actual article...read on... Madan Mohan Temple in Vrindavan Hare Krishna temple for Seventeen Mile Rocks by Luke Royes A controversial plan to build a Hare Krishna temple in Seventeen Miles Rocks has been approved by Brisbane City Council despite raising the ire of the local councillor and environmentalists. Councillor Matthew Bourke (Jamboree) and Centenary and District Environment Action group vice-president Warner Dakin have vowed to continue to fight the proposal which incorporates an 18-metre spire on Jennifer St. The development proposes a temple, ashrams, a common room, administration rooms, food court and restaurant on the 9753sq m site on the ridge above popular Rocks Riverside Park Proposed temple A couple of comments at the end of the article... John Smith writes: Posted on 12 May 11 at 12:22pm Is the opposition of environmentalists some kind of joke? The Hare Krishnas are the biggest environmentalists on this planet - they were advocating vegetarianism as an environmentally sustainable way of life LONG before people jumped on the climate change/veganism bandwagon. Their whole lifestyle is centered around simple living, high thinking - using as little of Nature's resources as possible to maintain themselves, while pursuing higher objectives with regard to other people, animals and the environment. Their Food For Life program distributes hundreds of thousands of hot, fresh vegetarian meals to the most underprivileged people around the world - many in areas other NGO's refuse to enter. People really need to do their research before choosing what stance to take. To all the environmentalists out there, may I suggest reading the book "Higher Taste". It outlines the Hare Krishna's policy viz. the environment very clearly. It is impossible not to be impressed. Daniel Bradman writes: Posted on 11 May 11 at 02:52pm Excellent decision. Great environmentalists, great neighbours and great food. Will be a land mark development. The CDEA's agenda on this issue is what needs investigating. Bourke needs to get back to looking at traffic lights and bicycle lanes and make himself useful.   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.137 Gradual Achievement Of The Spiritual Platform H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.137 Gradual Achievement Of The Spiritual Platform CC Ādi 10.137: Mādhavīdevī, the seventeenth of the prominent devotees, was the younger sister of Śikhi Māhiti. She is considered to have formerly been a maidservant of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. CC Ādi 10.137: Mādhavīdevī, el decimoséptimo de los devotos destacados, era la hermana menor de Śikhi Māhiti. Se considera que en el pasado fue una sirvienta de Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. CC Adi 10.137 Gradual Achievement Of The Spiritual Platform 1995-11-05 Lecture - Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 10.137 Gradual Achievement Of The Spiritual Platform 1995-11-05 Radhadesh H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.137 Gradual Achievement Of The Spiritual Platform   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.013 Drama, Art, & Movies In Krishna Consciousness H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.013 Drama, Art, & Movies In Krishna Consciousness CC Ādi 10.13: Ācāryaratna was also named Śrī Candraśekhara Ācārya. In a drama in his house, Lord Caitanya played the goddess of fortune. CC Ādi 10.13: Ācāryaratna también recibía el nombre del Señor Candraekhara Ācārya. En una representación teatral que tuvo lugar en su casa, el Señor Caitanya desempeñó el papel de la diosa de la fortuna. CC Adi 10.013 Drama, Art, & Movies In Krishna Consciousness 1995-05-21 Lecture - Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 10.13 Drama, Art, & Movies In Krishna Consciousness 1995-05-21 Radhadesh H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.013 Drama, Art, & Movies In Krishna Consciousness   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.8 Real Happiness Comes When One Surrenders To Krsna H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.8 Real Happiness Comes When One Surrenders To Krsna CC Ādi 10.8: The two brothers Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and Śrī Rāma Paṇḍita started two branches that are well known in the world. CC Ādi 10.8: Los dos hermanos Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita y Śrī Rāma Paṇḍita comenzaron dos ramas bien conocidas en el mundo. CC Adi 10.008 Real Happiness Comes When One Surrenders To Krsna 1995-05-14 Lecture - Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 10.8 Real Happiness Comes When One Surrenders To Krsna 1995-05-14 Radhadesh H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 10.8 Real Happiness Comes When One Surrenders To Krsna   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 5.29 Experience The Higher Realm Of Existence H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 5.29 Experience The Higher Realm Of Existence CC Ādi 5.29: Although His pastimes are His only characteristic functions, by His causeless mercy He performs one activity for the fallen souls. CC Ādi 5.29: Aunque Sus pasatiempos son Sus únicas funciones características, por Su misericordia inmotivada, Él lleva a cabo una actividad por las almas caídas. CC Adi 05.029 Experience The Higher Realm Of Existence 1995-01-01 Lecture - Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 5.29 Experience The Higher Realm Of Existence 1995-01-01 Radhadesh H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 5.29 Experience The Higher Realm Of Existence   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture–CC Adi 4.21-22 Do Something Practical – Video H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture–CC Adi 4.21-22 Do Something Practical – Video CC Ādi 4.21-22: "If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him. CC Ādi 4.21-22: «Si alguien abriga una devoción pura de amor hacia Mí, pensando en Mí como su hijo, o su amigo, o su amado, viéndose grande él mismo y considerándome su igual o su inferior, Yo Me subordino a él. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture–CC Adi 4.21-22 Do Something Practical – Video H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture–CC Adi 4.21-22 Do Something Practical – Video Lecture on Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi Lila, Chapter 4, Texts 21-22 titled “Do Something Practical” (External Pastimes) Dallas, TX 2010-07-11 Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 4.21-22 mora putra, mora sakhā, mora prāṇa-pati ei-bhāve yei more kare śuddha-bhakti āpanāke baḍa māne, āmāre sama-hīna sei bhāve ha-i āmi tāhāra adhīna TRANSLATION "If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him. PURPORT In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta three kinds of devotional service are described — namely, bhakti (ordinary devotional service), śuddha-bhakti (pure devotional service) and viddha-bhakti (mixed devotional service). When devotional service is executed with some material purpose, involving fruitive activities, mental speculations or mystic yoga, it is called mixed or adulterated devotional service. Besides bhakti-yoga, the Bhagavad-gītā also describes karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga. Yoga means linking with the Supreme Lord, which is possible only through devotion. Fruitive activities ending in devotional service, philosophical speculation ending in devotional service, and the practice of mysticism ending in devotional service are known respectively as karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga. But such devotional service is adulterated by the three kinds of material activities. For those grossly engaged in identifying the body as the self, pious activity, or karma-yoga, is recommended. For those who identify the mind with the self, philosophical speculation, or jñāna-yoga, is recommended. But devotees standing on the spiritual platform have no need of such material conceptions of adulterated devotion. Adulterated devotional service does not directly aim for love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore service performed strictly in conformity with the revealed scriptures is better than such viddha-bhakti because it is free from all kinds of material contamination. It is executed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, solely to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Those who are spontaneously devoted to the Lord and have no aims for material gain are called attracted devotees. They are spontaneously attracted to the service of the Lord, and they follow in the footsteps of self-realized souls. Their pure devotion (śuddha-bhakti), manifested from pure love of Godhead, surpasses the regulative principles of the authoritative scriptures. Sometimes loving ecstasy transcends regulative principles; such ecstasy, however, is completely on the spiritual platform and cannot be imitated. The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is the perfection of pure devotion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service. Flawless execution of regulative principles is exhibited in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. By strictly executing these principles one can be elevated to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. But spontaneous pure loving service is found in Kṛṣṇaloka alone. CC Adi 04.021-22 Do Something Practical 2010-07-11   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 3.90 In A Comatose Trance Missing Krishna’s Obvious Existence H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 3.90 In A Comatose Trance Missing Krishna’s Obvious Existence CC Ādi 3.90: Those whose nature is demoniac cannot know Kṛṣṇa at any time, but He cannot hide Himself from His pure devotees. CC Ādi 3.90: Aquellos cuya naturaleza es demoníaca no pueden conocer a Kṛṣṇa jamás, pero Él no puede esconderse a Sus devotos puros. CC Adi 03.090 In A Comatose Trance Missing Krishna's Obvious Existence 2010-11-07 Lecture - Caitanya Caritamrta Adi 3.90 In A Comatose Trance Missing Krishna's Obvious Existence 2010-11-07 Radhadesh H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 3.90 In A Comatose Trance Missing Krishna’s Obvious Existence   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: A 14-old Reports on Bhakti Yoga Summer Camp In Vishakhapatnam By Trishika for ISKCON News on 13 May 2011 I rarely go to a temple except of course before exams. It took lot of coaxing from my parents` side, promises and bribes (Sony Play station if I complete the whole week there) and finally my bag was packed and I was on my way to the ISKCON temple at Sagarnagar.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: New Orleans Ratha Yatra By Ramkant Das for ISKCON News on 13 May 2011 This year the New Orleans Rath Yatra festival will be on May 21st, and 22nd, 2011. The featured artists are Surdas from Los Angeles and TK's NamRock Band. World renowned Indian Singer, Suresh Wadkar will perform live Bhajan Concert.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Nrsimha Caturdasi Celebrations on Sunday! Nrsimha Caturdasi celebrations mark the appearance day of Lord Nrsimhadeva, Krishna’s half-man half-lion incarnation who appeared in order to protect the saintly child Prahlada who was being tormented by his father, Hiranyakashipu. This year, Nrsimha Caturdasi falls on Monday, May 16th however, celebrations will be taking place at the Hare Krishna Temple on Sunday, May 15th during our weekly Sunday Feast. The festival will begin at 6:00pm and will feature a grand abhisheka (bathing ceremony) of Lord Nrsimhadeva, an interesting discourse on his appearance and qualities and amazing kirtan! The schedule for the program is as follows (subject to change): 6:00pm to 6:25pm - Kirtan (Arati) 6:25pm to 6:30pm - Nrsimhadeva Prayers led by the Sunday School Children 6:30pm to 6:40pm - Welcome and Announcements 6:40pm to 7:25pm - Discourse on Lord Nrsimhadeva 7:25pm to 8:00pm - Special Abhiskeka (bathing ceremony) 8:00pm to 8:30pm - Kirtan (Arati) 8:30pm - Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam) Due to the grand celebrations on Sunday, we wont be having a special program for Nrsimha Caturdasi on Monday. We hope to see you and your family at the celebrations!   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 Committed Couples Moundsville, West Virginia There have been alot of talking about parenting, coupling, and overall healthy relationships. Husbands and wives have united here at ISKCON's Moundsville country retreat, New Vrndavan, to take advantage of the seminars, a spin-off of "The Festival of Inspiration." These seminars are basically a reinforcement of the family unit. Called the Grhasta Vision Team these successful couples from various locations in North America do not exactly renew their marriage vows from decades past but they are here priming themselves for marriage counselling to others. There is a great need-an understatement. My personal admiration goes out to the cause and to those who have taken it up. It is a brave challenge. The war on the family is on. The state of ruined relationships that had potential to survive is disheartening. However, in spiritual circles such as the Grhasta group (grhasta meaning married person) is created. This past weekend, and the follow up last two days have been encouraging for hopeful future couples as mentors sharpened their tools. I have sat in on some of these seminars as time allows and have come out feeling that warriors against the weakening of families are now well prepared. I have made one observation about a couple I adore who are just totally committed to each other. I see them ever day in the waking hours as I do my walk, a loop around the lake. This morning they were sitting together. Usually he was swimming in that very lake at whose edge they live. He enjoys the swim, actually more of a glide, while she is under a tree resting. He is most patient and she, maybe more. There on a pile of her homemade nest she roosts. She's expecting. She's a swan, a white swan and so is he. Each night they rest by each other's side expressing full loyalty. Good role models, I'd say 5 KM   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 In Order Wheeling West Virginia I don't always bother with names to county roads. We just walk them. Today the Miami crew and I took to the curvy northwest direction down a valley. We dropped in at a ghee factory and just beyond that a barn of mature cows and bulls, referred to as "aging cows" Ghee, cows, country trails, walking. You can't get more satvic (mode of goodness). For day two of Wheeling our chanting party set oursevles up at a park on the Ohio River. Not only was the spot more pretty than the previous day, people were also pleasant along the natural ambiance. A municipal statue of Walter Reuther, auto union leaders, and father of a friend, Lekhasravanti, looks over the the river. It was the first time I had a violinst to play along as we broke from sitting. Allan a novice devotee of Puerto Recan decendt played a sweet violin as we passed by the city arena, and entered the "vibrant warehouse district". I was rather pleased with his sound. It grabbed my attention a tough thing to do especially due to my meticulous nature when doing street chanting. Today as in all times in the public I insisted on a standard of discipline beginning with playing of the instruments to the way of the walking down the street. There must be some formation. I may tend to be a trite artistically militaristic about it. Our devotees are not always too accustomed to the approach. "Two by two, two lines please." I shouted over their responsive voices to the mantra. Somehow they accepted the command until I must say it again because the lack of order has become a habit. I believe in "Take order and there will be order." 12 KM   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Monday, May 9th, 2011 Feeling Out Wheeling Wheeling West, Virginia. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," was the theme of the class from Canto 10 of the book, Bhagavatam. Dravida, an expert at Sanskrit recitation of spiritual-evolved verses, was the morning's pundit. He affirmed that topic of a lofty nature is interaction between Krishna and His most cherished devotees involves being aware of thier confidentiality but to take a cautious path when entering into such mysteries. Such topics could be taken as mundane affairs and perceived as cheap. The phrase he used to describe premature advances into spiritual confidentiality as "sahajiya" which means easy. In any event Dravida's delivery was insightful. After the class and a bulky breakfast a small band of pilgrims including myself and a brand new monk from Miami, Allen, set foot on an abandoned road trails in the area-trails that led to more abandonment. Homesteads now left to nature's whim were sights we came upon. Even the home, where our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had stayed in the seventies, still for the most part it remained intact. Wander we did. Explore also. Plants of numerous kinds intrigued us. Signs of wild life by way of footprints and feces made us aware. People rarely hit the trail of our journey. Tics did land on us and our diligence at flicking off the little unfavorable bugs was a must. They seemed to like my legs. Upon returning for a shower before a chanting party engagement, these lyme disease carriers ended up crawling the with of my dhoti(lower robe). Disposing of them was not easy. We spanned ten kilometers of bush trekking. And then three more in the city of Wheeling in the shape of a chanting party, caught people's interest. Here also in the city a human being is hard to find. The streets appeared to be abandoned. Motorists were abundent. As we moved along these streets with our forty-strong chanters, both men and women, I caught at an eye's glance a piece of history from the municipals plaques. Apparently the famous cross country US trekkers Lewis and Clarke camped out here at Wheeling on the Ohio River in 1805. Their adventures were well recorded. Also of interest was that the American Civil War began here in the hills of West Virginia, near this area. Rich history. Yes. And now Wheeling's downtown maybe all the more rich with some awesome sound vibration in the air. 13 KM   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: India's Supreme Court Court Suspends Ayodhya Ruling By Correspondent for BBC News on 13 May 2011 India's Supreme Court has suspended a ruling over the fate of the Ayodhya holy site, where Hindu zealots destroyed a mosque in 1992. Last September the Allahabad High Court said the land should be divided and that the razed 16th Century Babri Masjid should not be rebuilt.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: Study: 2 in 10 Atheist Scientists Are ‘Spiritual’ By Adelle M. Banks for Religion News Service on 13 May 2011 More than 20 percent of atheist scientists consider themselves to be “spiritual,” according to a Rice University study. These scientists view both spirituality and science as “meaning-making without faith,” the study authors said.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: In The Race... But Not A Rat... By Sutapa Das for sutapamonk.blogspot.com on 13 May 2011 The competitive spirit pervades the world we live in. Students fiercely compete to clinch university placements and graduate positions. Colleagues deviously compete to intercept each other in the ascent up the corporate ladder. Believe it or not, even aspiring spiritualists can end up competing with each other in the quest for distinction, fame and adoration.   • Email to a friend • •   Kirtan Australia.com Mangrove Ashram Akhanda Kirtan - 27 Hours of Mahamantra   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: Scholars Chase Bible’s Changes, One Verse at a Time By Bruce Nolan for Religion News Service on 13 May 2011 Bible scholars in New Orleans are buried in a 20-year project to codify the thousands of changes, verse by verse, word by word — even letter by letter — that crept into the early New Testament during hundreds of years of laborious hand-copying.   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: Is Cabbage The Ultimate Anti-cancer Food? By Neev M. Arnell for Natural News on 13 May 2011 Men with early signs of developing prostate cancer were able to prevent tumor growth by eating broccoli four times a week, according to a British study covered on MSN. But broccoli is not the only cruciferous vegetable with anti-cancer properties.   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 309—Poem for May 13 www.sdgonline.org. 5:06 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 35 years. I hope this variety will be pleasing. Poem for May 13th I slept peacefully but woke at 2:30 and rushed through my rounds. I was still chanting when Baladeva came up. Too much rushing isn’t good for meditation on the names. Lord Caitanya teaches Sanatana the three phases of devotion to the personal Lord. First is sambandha, establishing your relationship as His eternal servant. Next is abhideya, rendering service to Krishna. And finally prayojana, reaching the goal, back to Godhead. I am at the stage of abhideya, knowing my place as the servant and engaging in activities of service. The room is warm. The air conditioner turns on for five seconds and then kicks off. The birds are chirping mightily in the 4:45 darkness piercing the otherwise silence of pre-dawn. I have read the poets, but I’m begging alms from my Muse. Today Nitai from Bangladesh arrives to visit us in New York. He is sweet but overworked managing a big factory, and he suffers from stress. He’s in America to meet with big customers and their rigid demands for high qualities of goods. Poor Nitai has a burden on his shoulders. Krishna is in control of my hand. I ask Him to let me sing. A lively melody wants to come out to cheer the readers in the swing of Spring. Laksman played his Little League game yesterday and tonight Saci is going to Yankee Stadium to watch the game with the Red Sox. I will go to bed early resting my head on the pillow in peaceful repose. There’s nothing more to say. A devotee in Mayapur is bathing daily in Ganga-devi on my behalf, and I am receiving the blessings. At her request I am praying for her daughter and for all the devotees in our family. I hope my prayers have some effect.   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS www.sdgonline.org. From Japa Reform Notebook “Prabhupada instructed everyone to chant sixteen rounds a day. That is a fact; we chant Hare Krishna because Prabhupada told us to. Although the name of Krishna is fully nectarean and we should chant it spontaneously, we actually chant it on the order of our spiritual master. And whatever sweet taste we get progressively in chanting we also know is due to the mercy of our spiritual master, who has given us the harinama. “We want to serve Krishna, and chanting itself is service. In fact, the maha-mantra, consisting of the three words Hare, Krishna, and Rama, means, ‘O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your service.’ So the chanting in itself is a prayer to Krishna to engage us further in His devotional service. If one is able to continue chanting like this, he can become purified of all sinful reactions from previous lives, because the chanting washes away the accumulated dirt in the heart, ceto-darpana-marjanam. “If we chant the holy name, Krishna takes that as giving love even though our hearts are hard and devoid of feeling. Krishna regards any little effort favorably. A gulf of qualitative difference lies between the little love offered in our beginning chanting and the love of Haridasa Thakura and Lord Caitanya’s chanting. In the prayers of lamentation by the acaryas like Narottama dasa Thakura and Bhaktivinoda Thakura, they take the role of the conditioned soul. They cry out that they have no devotion to Krishna, and yet within this lamentation is purification. If I lament my sinful nature and yearn for Krishna conscious love, then that is also an expression of love, is it not? At least I desire to have that love. So this is sadhana. Although I lack spontaneous love, I chant Hare Krishna, because I have some love for the order of my spiritual master, rascal that I am. “Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati says dusta mana, tumi kisera vaisnava? ‘My dear mind, what kind of devotee are you? Simply for cheap adoration you sit in a solitary place and pretend to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. But this is all cheating.’ So he is speaking to the heart about the cheating propensity that we all have to some degree; it can manifest itself even in such a pure activity as chanting Hare Krishna. He’s talking about solitary chanting—a babaji trying to get some credit. But in other ways also we may try to impress people that we are some kind of great chanter of the holy name. But especially he refers to this solitary bhajana. So we should not cheat. “Early in the morning, walking, working, chanting the holy name, bead after bead, round after round, hour after hour, it takes hard work and endurance. “I remember when Srila Prabhupada came to the humble little temple we had in Boston. We had advertised all over town, painted and cleaned the building, and made so many different arrangements for the arrival of Krishna’s pure devotee. We worked and worked and worked, and in the process, our hearts were cleansed. And when he actually came, Prabhupada was praising the glories of the holy name, how Krishna appears in the holy name in this fallen age. Krishna’s pure devotee was telling us, ‘What if Krishna Himself were to come—and Krishna can come through that door just like we can—how would you receive Him?’ So what if you heard this? What could you do? You wouldn’t know how to prepare. Certainly you would try to make the most gorgeous reception, the greatest welcome; the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself is coming. There is no limit of things you would do or the extent to which you would go to make a wonderful reception for Krishna. The point is that Krishna does come in the form of His holy name and because He is very kind, He doesn’t even require a reception. You can just chant Hare Krishna. “Krishna wants to make it easy in this age—there are no hard and fast rules for chanting. Srutadeva was very poor, but certainly he did everything he could to receive the Lord. We are poor in heart, but because we are lazy and envious, we don’t even invite the Supreme Personality of Godhead—but He comes anyway. His pure devotee carries the holy name—‘Please, you are suffering from material disease, and this is the best medicine. Except for he who is carrying the medicine, what friend do you have in this material world? Please take the medicine—harinama maha-mantra, and be happy.’ So He comes to your door. You don’t even want to receive the holy name, but He induces you to accept Him. ‘I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for the holy name.’ I am supposed to be a devotee, but when I hear that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is coming—I remain rascal number one. By my inattentiveness the reception is ruined. Krishna is coming and you remain inattentive; therefore it is called nama-aparadha. If you make an offense in cooking or Deity worship, what do you do? You chant Hare Krishna. But if you make offenses to the holy name, then what do you do? There is nothing! There is no other way, no other way, no other way! This is the last mercy, and if you don’t take this mercy then there is no other mercy. A Vaisnava poet says that, ‘What is the value of my living? Better I were dead!’ “We should learn how to make our hearts pure and avoid the offenses in chanting, so Krishna can come home. The spiritual master is representing Lord Caitanya in delivering this holy name to us, and by accepting his guidance we can chant Hare Krishna and go back to Godhead. “Your japa is a barometer of your spiritual life. Your changes of consciousness will show up there. So when your japa is strong, then you are strong. That is why I place emphasis on chanting. It is such a source of strength. “‘There are so many dangers in this material world that one may fall down from an exalted position at any time. Yet, if one keeps himself always pure and steady by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, he will be safe without a doubt.’” —Bhagavatam 6.1.63, purport From Japa Walks, Japa Talks “Indira dasi asked, ‘What does it mean that namabhasa gives liberation if it gives liberation from material reactions but doesn’t free us from sinful desires?’ “My understanding is that whatever sins we have committed up to now can be eradicated by namabhasa, or the shadow of the holy name. We are liberated, but we unliberate ourselves because the seed of material desire has not been removed from the heart. That can only be done by pure Krishna consciousness, when all our desires are fully dovetailed in Krishna’s service. “(I realize that some of the devotees want to go into these questions in more detail. And indeed, the Vaisnava acaryas have discussed these points threadbare. But I prefer to keep my answers simple. One reason I like to keep them simple is that I don’t know all the details so well. I tend to forget the details I read in Visvanatha Cakravarti’s or Jiva Gosvami’s treatises. What I do remember, however, is what Prabhupada says, and that’s good enough for me. He gives the thrust of what’s most necessary for us to remove our unwanted habits and to progress home, back to Godhead.) “Indira dasi’s questions came rapid-fire: ‘How can we develop attachment to chanting?’ “If the first question is too detailed, the second question is too big. I wish I were a master of one-liners. I could say something like, ‘Attachment produces attachment.’ But that in itself is not so brilliant, is it? Practice produces attachment. Yes, that’s good enough. Because love of Godhead is dormant in us, if we practice, genuine attachment—asakti, the craving for always being with the holy name—will take place. Practice. Ask a few questions, but then get back to chanting. “Another question from the same source: ‘Is uprooting the offenses even within our power?’ “Of course it is, or why would we recite the ten offenses every day and try to avoid them if it was impossible? Prabhupada says chanting Hare Krishna is easy, but we have to remember that he is measuring the chanting against relatively more difficult processes. It’s not as easy as pressing a few buttons on your telephone and asking the operator for the correct time. Other methods like yoga and jnana are impossible to follow to perfection in this age. Chanting Hare Krishna is easy because it’s possible. Prabhupada says we don’t have to research the evidence—Ajamila is the proof. Further evidence can be found in the case of Jagai and Madhai. Success is sure for the rigid practitioner. “‘In Madhurya Kadambhini it is described that our practice of sadhana is not the source of Krishna’s mercy on us, but there is some connection between them. Can you explain this?’ “I discussed it yesterday. We know that the mercy of the holy name comes by the descending process. It’s not that we can get it by our own endeavor. In fact, when we chant we see our minds disperse over so many subjects. We can’t control our minds, but Krishna can. He is called Yogesvara, the Master of yoga. “This explains how our sadhana is not the cause of successful japa, but why will Krishna award His mercy on one devotee and not another? Krishna says, ‘Samo ’ham sarva bhutesu, I am equally disposed to everyone. When one becomes a devotee and a friend in Him, then Krishna and that devotee have an intimate exchange. Therefore, if Krishna is pleased by our endeavor, if He likes He can award us success in chanting Hare Krishna. Therefore, sadhana is not the cause of our success. If it were, then we would be working in the karma-kandiya sense, thinking that Krishna is obliged because we chanted a certain number of rounds more attentive, shed a few tears, etc. We performed the right ritual, so we should get a response from the God. It doesn’t work that way, at least not with the Supreme God, and not in the process of chanting Hare Krishna. When one sincerely tries to follow the bona fide spiritual master’s order, following rules and regulations, giving preeminence to the chanting, then he creates a fertile situation in which to receive Krishna’s mercy. When Krishna’s independent, causeless mercy falls on his heart, shoots of good chanting sprout, and early symptoms of love of God soon appear. “This principle was taught by Lord Krishna when Mother Yasoda tried to bind Him with ropes. No matter how many ropes she collected, they always came out two fingers too short. She could not tie Baby Krishna. Thus Krishna taught her, ‘Dear Mother, although I am acting as your dependent Son, it is only by My own agreement. If I don’t agree, then you will not be able to tie Me, no matter how many ropes you string together.’ “In this pastime, Krishna eluded the control of His mother, demonstrating His supreme independence. But when Krishna saw His mother perspiring from her exertion, the flowers flowing from her hair, and her obvious frustration, He yielded to her desires and allowed her to tie Him, even though He is uncatchable by the most expert mystics and yogis. Both elements are necessary if the pure devotee is going to capture Krishna with love or chant Hare Krishna in spontaneous devotion. That is, we need to endeavor, and then, independent of that, Krishna has to will freely to dance on our tongues in suddha-nama.”   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON News.com: A Six-year-old Girl Writes A Letter To God - And the Archbishop of Canterbury Answers By Damian Thompson for telegraph.co.uk on 13 May 2011 Lulu`s teachers at a Scottish primary school asked her to write the following letter: “To God, How did you get invented?” His parents sent her letter to many Churches, but only the Archbishop of Canterbury replied.   • Email to a friend • •   Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: Maya - the All Attractive! Krishna is All-Attractive, attractive enough to attract more than million cupids put together (Kandarpa koti kamaniya). Yet we see from our daily experience and this includes my own mind that my attraction to the All-attractive is minimal to say the least. I am attracted to other things of this world such as movie stars or electronic gadgets or sports etc…but surely these personalities/objects are not more attractive than million cupids? Why then am I attracted to apparently things that are qualitatively less attractive and not attracted to a Personality who is more attractive than million cupids? The answer lies in the greatness of God -Krishna. Although Krishna’s material creation (Maya) is but a spark of His splendor, we are attracted more to the spark than the original splendor of the spark. This is the grand illusion we are in. The illusory reflection is more grandeur to our eyes than the original object it is reflecting. This is the power of Maya! Therefore we should not foolishly think we can cross-over the illusory power of Maya on our own strength and attain God. It is not possible! We have to seek a pure spiritual master and take shelter of his instructions. Then gradually the original splendor will be more splendorous than the reflection. In fact the reflection will seem trivial at that point. Take shelter of a pure devotee, and then seek Krishna. Hare Krishna   • Email to a friend • •   Vraja Kishor, JP: Rasa of the Universal Form (Gita 11.20) dyāv ā-pṛthivyor idam antaraḿ hi vyāptaḿ tvayaikena diśaś ca sarvāḥ dṛṣṭvādbhutaḿ rūpam ugraḿ tavedaḿ loka-trayaḿ pravyathitaḿ mahātman Although You are one, You spread throughout the sky and the planets and all space between. O great one, seeing this wondrous and terrible form, all the planetary systems are perturbed. What a cool text! dyāv ā-pṛthivyor idam antaraḿ hi vyāptaḿ tvayaikena The sky, the earth, and everything in between you pervade This is reminiscent of the gayatri mantra – which says bhur bhuvah svah. The divine being exists everywhere are the imagery to covey this is to say that he exists in the sky/heaven, on the earth, and in between too. In this case, Arjuna is literally seeing this imagery visually. ekena diśaś ca sarvāḥ dṛṣṭvā Although you are one, I see you in every direction Sometimes we think that the absolute being cannot really have a shape and form, because that would mean that the infinite is limited in time and space. But this text is giving the revelation that the divine form of the infinite being is simultaneously limited and unlimited. adbhutaḿ rūpam ugraḿ tavedaḿ This form of yours, Kṛṣṇa, is astonishing and fearsome We experience the divine in terms of ecstatic experiences called rāsa. Here, Arjuna is experiencing two intense rāsa – the rāsa of astonishment and the rāsa of fear. Rāsa is the medium by which we exchange true communion with Godhead. The form of Godhead with whom we commune is called the object of the rāsa (viṣaya), and we are the subject – the “shelter” in which the rāsa flourishes (āśraya). Different forms of Godhead evoke different divine experiences of Rāsa. The original form of Kṛṣṇa as the 16 year old prince of the cowheard villiage of Vraja is akhila-rāsāmṛta-mūrti – the perfect object for most fully and completely experiencing all varieties of rāsa. The current form he is taking in the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad-Gita, the Universal Form, is only evoking some secondary rāsas, because it is not the complete form of Godhead, it is only the way God reflects himself into the material world. This form evokes the secondary rāsa’s of astonishment and fear in the āśraya Arjuna. loka-trayaḿ pravyathitaḿ mahātman It perturbs the three world, O great soul! This appears to be a case where secondary rāsa is dominating without the support of a primary rāsa, and therefore may be an illustration of an unsatisfying spiritual experience. It is “perturbing.” Or, perturbation could be seen as a vyabhicari bhava of the experience of adbhuta and bhayanaka rasa. (That is to say it is a passing result of churning the flavors of astonishment and fear). I am not an expert, but it seems that the most important thing for true rāsa to be shared with divine is something called sthāyī bhava – the basic fundamental foundation of emotional relationship between the soul and God. It seems to me that Arjuna does not have the right sthayi bhava (basic emotional connection) with the universal form to be able to actually relish these two rāsas. In fact, perhaps no one really has the right sthayi bhava for that, since the Universal Form is a non-spiritual manifestation of God. Thus there are only symptoms of divine rasa here – like astonishment, fear, and perturbation, but there is no significant transcendental ecstasy. The point that His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swāmī Prabhupāda makes in his brief comment on this text is that this verse shows that Arjuna was not the only person to perceive this universal form on the battlefield. Not everyone could see it, but that does not mean that only Arjuna could see it. This is important because if an experience is not verified by others, it is less scientifically valid. So Prabhupāda states that Arjuna was not hallucinating or dreaming. Other beings in the “sky” (or the outer space dimensions, you might say?) And other great persons on earth and in the air (the “angels” and similar beings) who did have “divine vision” also saw the Universal Form and were greatly perturbed by the resulting experience of astonishment and fear.   • Email to a friend • •   Gaura-shakti Kirtan, Toronto, CA: Kirtan on Boat Cruise?! Wow!!! We are excited to announce that the Walking Monk, Bhaktimarga Swami along with Gaura-Shakti will be taking part in a special kirtan on a boat that will take us on the cruise on Lake Ontario! An amazing vegetarian feast will be served on the boat as well! If you would like to be part of this fun-filled event, please let us know by contacting us and we will book a ticket for you!  Tickets are selling fast and are expected to sell out, so please contact us within the next two weeks! Tickets are $40 and the cruise begins at 11:45am and will go until 4:30pm. More details regarding the event are coming soon. After the boat cruise, Gaura-Shakti will then hit the highway and head west as we will be taking part in the 25th Annual Guelph & District Multicultural Festival!  We'll be chanting on the main stage from 7:45pm to 8:15pm (and we hear that there will be fireworks afterwards).  Everyone is welcome to join us in Guelph for this special kirtan as well!   • Email to a friend • •   Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Cottage Industry Design Advertisement My son is in an upcoming performance of The Jungle Book at his school and I’ve purchased ad space in the Playbill. A friend of mine in NJ agreed to help me out and put together an ad for my Cottage Industry Design business. Thanks, friend! He did this one in black & white, as per my request: Then yesterday I received and email from the ad lady telling me that the Playbill was in full color! Who would have thunk it? The ad deadline was today so I had to figure out a way to take advantage of the full color sitch without making myself an uber pain in the arse to my NJ well-wisher. It was just the motivation I needed to hone my basic skills. I’m no certified Photoshop master, but I am feeling that with Google search at my fingertips, I can at least say I am at least on level with today’s fourth graders! Here’s the ad. I like it just fine. print   • Email to a friend • •   Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: 2011 tour Malaysia – Kuala Lumpar May 4th we drove back down to KL for my final evening program. The attendance was good considering that most of the devotees work and it was the middle of the week. I was especially pleased to Sriman Vrndavana Candra prabhu. He was the temple president the last time I visited in 1987. Now aged over 80 he came for the program even though nowadays he is wheelchair bound after suffering a stroke. After a final session of Srila Prabhupada The Living Bhagavatam, I showed my powerpoint presentation of the BRC to great appreciation. One last program on the morning of May 5th brought a wonderful tour to an end. HH Bhakti Rasamrta Swami (formerly Devamrta prabhu, the ex-temple president of Vrndavana temple) attended, he was on his way to Singapore. I was extremely impressed and happy to see so many devotees and centers, and so much preaching going on. My next trip to Malaysia will be longer and I won’t wait for another 24 years before going. Before departing in the evening to Brisbane I had one last meeting. Sriman Sundar Shyam prabhu came to see me with his wife Bhumi priya. He was involved in the development of ISKCON in Malaysia from early 1979. One of his old school chums was who I believe to be the second Malaysian devotee of ISKCON. His name was Jatismara dasa, and I personally knew from when he was serving in the Vrndavana Krsna Balaram temple when I was temple commander there in 1975. I had heard that Jatismara prabhu had passed away some years ago so Sundara Shyama and his wife met me to give more information on him. They brought with them some photos of Jatismara prabhu and the early Penang yatra. Jatismara was formerly know as Jacob Mahesa and hailed from a Christian Protestant background. He traveled abroad from age 17 onwards and later met the devotees and joined the temple in Amsterdam about 1974. Jatismara prabhu began preaching to his old school friends in Penang and by 1979 there was a small but active temple. HH Prabhavisnu Swami went to Malaysia in 1979 to check it out and was surprised to find a temple already established in Butterworth. It was in a small wooden shack but it was a definite start. Prabhavisnu Swami third from right back row; HH Bhakti Brajendranandan Swami 2nd from rt back row; Sundara Shyam first left front row Jatismara continued traveling especially in India. He could speak about 10 languages and spent on and off about ten years in Italy where he also built up a small following of devotees. Unfortunately he passed away in Madras at the age of 47 from a heart attack. His ashes were returned to Penang and are interred next to those of his father. Even today about 200 devotees regard him as their siksha or Patha-pradarsaka-guru According to Sundara Shyam prabhu, Jatismara prabhu could compare the contents of 40 different Bhagavad-gitas and establish the conclusion of devotional service.  Jatismara prabhu ki jaya! So that’s a final haribol from Malaysia Next stop, Brisbane Australia.   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Sivarama Swami: Pap Zoltan asks whether we can chant japa as a means of atonement and how important forgiveness is H.H. Sivarama Swami: Pap Zoltan asks whether we can chant japa as a means of atonement and how important forgiveness is H.H. Sivarama Swami: Pap Zoltan asks whether we can chant japa as a means of atonement and how important forgiveness is   • Email to a friend • •   Australian News: Rathayatra – Festival of Chariots Parade, Bigge Park, Liverpool Dear Friends,   Hare Krishna.   Open invitation to everyone to come and participate in the Rathayatra – Festival of Chariots   Parade starts from Bigge Park, Liverpool Sunday, 3rd July 2011, 10:00 am     This is an Open Free invitation to everyone to come and participate in the Ratha Yatra Festival. Festival of Chariot, is one of the oldest street parade in India and is celebrated in great fun fare at the India’s eastern city of Puri.  In India, this is one of the few iconic festivals and is also a becoming popular in other parts of the World.  It has been celebrated in a grand manner showcasing the best of Indian culture – with festival tents, entertainment stages, free-snacks booths, and a variety of cultural displays and exhibits, Dance, Drama, Music, colourful festivities and other fun filled programs.   This year’s festival includes a street parade and a cultural show. The street parade route is as follows, Bigge St, Moore St, George St, Scott St, Northumberland St, Bigge St, Liverpool. After the Street Parade there will be Cultural shows, with Classical Indian Dancing and Music, distribution of delicious Free Pure Vegetarian snacks in Bigge park. Guests will be allowed to pull the Chariot using the two ropes, sing and dance in the procession.   This street festival provides an opportunity to showcase tolerance and peaceful co-existence between many cultures of Liverpool.  Persons from Australia, Fiji, India, Sri Lanka have attended previous events.  This year its a whole day family event by including cultural show and Music for children. It is proposed to promote this event as a multicultural event and inviting other cultures to attend the event and showcase their culture as well. One of the aim of the Festival is to Increase aware of Indian Culture/Art and to showcase it’s rich heritage culture in promoting peace and harmony among communities, by connecting with youth, students, new migrants and senior citizens. This get-together aims to strengthen the local communities.   The Vedic scriptures state that anyone who sees Lord Jagannatha or pulls His chariots achieves immense spiritual benefit, attaining liberation from the material world and entrance into the eternal blissful pastimes of the Lord. Anyone who has experienced the Rathayatra has surely experienced ecstasy. The mood of the day is charged with devotion, excitement and complete surrender as devotees brush the streets before the chariot. The sea of people in the procession call out loudly for the Lord´s attention as they eagerly await their turn to pull the cart or sweep the streets. The entire atmosphere is one of happiness, joy and celebration. Ratha Yatra, the festival of the chariots, is a procession of Lord Krishna in his form of Jagannatha, Lord of the Universe. We need a lot of people to come and help pull this Ratha. Befitting the sentiment of its origins, Festival of Chariots serve as reunion for different community groups who come from far and wide to participate and learn about the Indian Art, Culture and Heritage. It will facilitate intercultural activities, multiculturalism and build a cohesive tolerant and peaceful community. Anyone interested in helping with decoration, Organsing/Setup, and Prasadam are most welcome. Bring your family and friends along. All are welcome! Free Admission!   Please forward this invitation to your family and friends   Your Humble Servant Ananda Moya Das 0412 474 295  folk108@gmail.com Share this story your way:   • Email to a friend • •   H.H. Devamrita Swami: Will the World End in 2012? H.H. Devamrita Swami: Will the World End in 2012? Will the World End in 2012? de Devamrita Swami, el Viernes, 13 de mayo de 2011 a las 8:15 Creation and destruction are the very fabric of material existence. Empires rise and fall, economies boom and bust, celebrities shine and fade. Romances sizzle and then fizzle. Most strikingly, all mental and physical pleasures flicker on and switch off. Our dear body itself births and dies, and even before its final moment, the temporary owner may lose his or her mind. Material life will always continue—an eternal option for the deluded who want it. As for the future of Planet Earth, the crucial doubt is whether we, in our present bodies, will share in it—whatever the quality—as the globe spins on. Creation and destruction are the very fabric of material existence. Empires rise and fall, economies boom and bust, celebrities shine and fade. Romances sizzle and then fizzle. Most strikingly, all mental and physical pleasures flicker on and switch off. Our dear body itself births and dies, and even before its final moment, the temporary owner may lose his or her mind. Material life will always continue—an eternal option for the deluded who want it. As for the future of Planet Earth, the crucial doubt is whether we, in our present bodies, will share in it—whatever the quality.   • Email to a friend • •   Gouranga TV: Indradyumna Swami Class Gouranga TV: Indradyumna Swami Class Indradyumna Swami Class   • Email to a friend • •   ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakti Sara Dasa Srimad Bhagavatam 12.6.61-63 - We can develop chastity towards Krsna by following the footsteps of great devotees like Pariksit Maharaja (...upadharya matim krsne auttareyah satim vyadhat).   • Email to a friend • •   Dandavats.com: Third Annual Ratha Yatra At Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. By Pariksit Dasa Devotees of the Harrisburg, PA nama hatta (Institute of Higher Understanding, IoHU, under His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Srila Prabhupada) cordially invite you to the third annual Ratha Yatra along South Front street in downtown Harrisburg. Please come and join in the festivities highlighted by the procession of Their Most Merciful Lordships, Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra   • Email to a friend • • More Recent Articles H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Friday 13 May 2011--Keep Your Life as Simple as Possible--and--Better to Work or to Renounce Work? H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 2.97-108 The Original Form Of Lord Krsna H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 2.101-109 Krsna Is The Source Of All Universes H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 2.91 Ten Subjects Described In Srimad Bhagavatam H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – CC Adi 2.39-67 The Original Source Of Everything

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Planet ISKCON - 2010  ·  Planet ISKCON - 2011

Conceptos Hinduistas (1428)SC

Category:Hindu (mythology) (3256)SC | Category:Hindu mythology (3270)SC | Categoría:Mitología hindú (3288)SC (indice) | Categoría:Mitología hindú (videos) (3289)SC | Conceptos Hinduista (A - G) SK y SC (videos) (3294)SC

Aa-Anc · Aga - Ahy · Ai - Akshay · Akshe - Amshum · Ana - Ancie · Ang - Asvayu · Ata - Az · Baa-Baz · Be-Bhak · Bhal-Bu · C · Daa-Daz · De · Dha-Dry · Du-Dy · E · F · Gaa-Gayu · Ge-Gy · Ha-He · Hi-Hy · I · J · K · Ka - Kam · Kan - Khatu · Ki - Ko · Kr - Ku · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · Saa-San · Sap-Shy · Si-Sy · Ta - Te · U · V · Ve-Vy · Y · Z

Conceptos Hinduistas (2919)SK

Conceptos Hinduistas (2592)SK
A_a-A_g · A_h-A_m · A_na-A_nc · A_nd-A_nu · A_p-A_r · A_s-A_x · A_y-A_z · B_aa-B_aq · B_ar-B_az · B_e-B_hak · B_hal-B_hy · B_o-B_u · B_ra · B_rh-B_ry · B_u-B_z · C_aa-C_aq · C_ar-C_ay · C_e-C_ha · C_he-C_hi · C_ho-C_hu · C_i-C_n · C_o-C_y · D_aa-D_an · D_ar-D_ay · D_e · D_ha-D_ny · D_o-D_y · E_a-E_o · E_p-E_z · F_aa-F_y · G_aa-G_aq · G_ar-G_az · G_e-G_n · G_o · G_ra-G_y · H_aa-H_aq · H_ar-H_az · H_e-H_indk · H_indu-H_isto · H_o-H_y · I_a-I_q · I_r-I_s · I_t-I_y · J_aa-J_aq · J_ar-J_ay · J_e-J_n · J_o-J_y · K_aa-K_aq · K_ar-K_az · K_e-K_h · K_o · K_r · K_u - K_z · L_aa-L_aq · L_ar-L_ay · L_e-L_n · L_o-L_y · M_aa-M_ag · M_ah · M_ai-M_aj · M_ak-M_aq · M_ar-M_az · M_b-M_n · M_o-M_z · N_aa-N_aq · N_ar-N_az · N_b-N_n · N_o-N_z · O_a-O_z · P_aa-P_aq · P_ar-P_az · P_e-P_h · P_o-P_y · R_aa-R_aq · R_ar-R_az · R_e-R_n · R_o-R_y · S_aa-S_am · S_an-S_ar · S_as-S_g · S_ha-S_hy · S_ia-S_il · S_im-S_n · S_o - S_q · S_r - S_t · S_u-S_z · T_aa-T_aq · T_ar-T_ay · T_e-T_n · T_o-T_y · U_a-U_q · U_r-U_s · V_aa-V_aq · V_ar-V_az · V_e · V_i-V_n · V_o-V_y · W_aa-W_i · W_o-W_y · Y_aa-Y_av · Y_e-Y_iy · Y_o-Y_u · Z_aa-Z_y

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JUDAISMO | Ärî Garga-Samhita | Oraciones Selectas al Señor Supremo | Devotees Vaishnavas | Dandavat pranams - All glories to Srila Prabhupada | Hari Katha | Santos Católicos | El Antiguo Egipto I | Archivo Cervantes | Sivananda Yoga | Neale Donald Walsch | SWAMIS | ENCICLOPEDIA - INDICE | DEVOTOS FACEBOOK | EGIPTO - USUARIOS de FLICKR y PICASAWEB | AYUDA en INFORMÁTICA | BIOGRAFIAS | BUDDHISMO | CINEMANÍA | DANDAVAT PRANAMS | DANDAVATS | HEBREO - JUDAISMO | HINDUISMO | KABALEH - CABALA | MAESTROS ESPIRITUALES | MEDICINA NATURAL | Mis Escritos | MITOS Y LEYENDAS - MITOLOGÍAS | Religión | TEXTOS BÍBLICOS | Textos Sagrados Antiguos