A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(TM) Tuesday 3 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: Follow Your Training, Not Your Mind Uploaded from Riga, Latvia The time of death will be the most traumatic or the most exhilarating experience of your entire life depending on whether or not you have properly prepared yourself. So if you would like to be in for a real treat instead of the ultimate nightmare, you need to train yourself ahead of time how to handle death in the best possible way. If you know what you are doing when death comes, you won't panic in wild uncontrolled mental hysteria. You will peacefully fix your mind on the Lord and triumphantly return to your original identity in that wondrous spiritual sky. But if you are foolishly holding on to the misconception that happiness comes through the gratification of the material senses, you will have to face the reactions for all of your previous actions and be reassigned into another term of imprisonment in one of the 8,400,000 different species of life in this material world according to your karma. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Ecstatic Farewell from Lithuania--May 2, 2011 http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Farewell_1.JPG http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Farewell_2.JPG http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Farewell_3.JPG Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Prove to a 14 Year Old that God Exists Dear Gurudeva, Recently I had a debate with my 14 year old nephew. His father told me that he does not accept God's existence. During the debate I came to know that one of his school teachers brain washed him against God. I am requesting you, please give such an explanation which will prove that God exists to a 14 year old boy. A.S. Answer: Popcorn Doesn't Come From An Empty Pot It's very simple. Explain to the boy you can't get something out of nothing. Then to demonstrate give the boy an empty pot and a stove and show him that no matter how much you heat the pot it still will not produce popcorn. Then add some popcorn kernels and some oil to the pot and pop some popcorn. Now explain to him the lesson. The foolish atheists claim that the universe came out of nothing. But it is impossible to get something out of nothing. Everything comes from something. Therefore the universe must have an origin. It cannot come out of nothing. That origin can be called by different names. It can be called the Ultimate Source or it can be called God. Whether you call it the Ultimate Source or call it God does not matter. It is the scientific philosophical principle which must be clearly understood that the universe cannot come out of nothing. This means that the atheists are wrong. Then you can offer the popcorn to Krishna and let the boy eat it and have a good time. He'll remember the lesson and he'll remember the great prasadam popcorn. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? 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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.80.3 Engaging The Mind & Senses Krsna Service Is Success Of Life
SB 10.80.3: Actual speech is that which describes the qualities of the Lord, real hands are those that work for Him, a true mind is that which always remembers Him dwelling within everything moving and nonmoving, and actual ears are those that listen to sanctifying topics about Him.
SB 10.80.03 Engaging The Mind & Senses Krsna Service Is Success Of Life 2008-01-24
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.80.3 Engaging The Mind & Senses Krsna Service Is Success Of Life 2008-01-24 Melbourne.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.79.31 Chewing Till The Flavor Is Gone
SB 10.79.31: The all-powerful Lord Balarāma bestowed upon the sages pure spiritual knowledge, by which they could see the whole universe within Him and also see Him pervading everything.
SB 10.79.31 Chewing Till The Flavor Is Gone 2008-01-22
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.79.31 Chewing Till The Flavor Is Gone 2008-01-22 Melbourne "Life devoid of Krsna consciousness is like chewing the gum till the flavor is gone, spitting it out & then chewing a new one."
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.79.16-30 What Is Really Good Or Bad For Us
SB 10.79.16-17: There at Setubandha [Rāmeśvaram] Lord Halāyudha gave brāhmaṇas ten thousand cows in charity. He then visited the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī rivers and the great Malaya Mountains. In the Malaya range Lord Balarāma found Agastya Ṛṣi sitting in meditation. After bowing down to the sage, the Lord offered him prayers and then received blessings from him. Taking leave from Agastya, He proceeded to the shore of the southern ocean, where He saw Goddess Durgā in her form of Kanyā-kumārī.
SB 10.79.18: Next He went to Phālguna-tīrtha and bathed in the sacred Pañcāpsarā Lake, where Lord Viṣṇu had directly manifested Himself. At this place He gave away another ten thousand cows.
SB 10.79.19-21: The Supreme Lord then traveled through the kingdoms of Kerala and Trigarta, visiting Lord Śiva's sacred city of Gokarṇa, where Lord Dhūrjaṭi [Śiva] directly manifests himself. After also visiting Goddess Pārvatī, who dwells on an island, Lord Balarāma went to the holy district of Śūrpāraka and bathed in the Tāpī, Payoṣṇī and Nirvindhyā rivers. He next entered the Daṇḍaka forest and went to the river Revā, along which the city of Māhiṣmatī is found. Then He bathed at Manu-tīrtha and finally returned to Prabhāsa.
SB 10.79.16-30 What Is Really Good Or Bad For Us 2008-01-21 Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.79.16-30 What Is Really Good Or Bad For Us 2008-01-21 Melbourne.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.79.1-15 Be Part Of The Material Or Spiritual Pastimes
SB 10.79.1: Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Then, on the new-moon day, O King, a fierce and frightening wind arose, scattering dust all about and spreading the smell of pus everywhere.
SB 10.79.2: Next, onto the sacrificial arena came a downpour of abominable things sent by Balvala, after which the demon himself appeared, trident in hand.
SB 10.79.3-4: The immense demon resembled a mass of black carbon. His topknot and beard were like molten copper, and his face had horrible fangs and furrowed eyebrows. Upon seeing him, Lord Balarāma thought of His club, which tears to pieces His enemies' armies, and His plow weapon, which punishes the demons. Thus summoned, His two weapons appeared before Him at once.
SB 10.79.5: With the tip of His plow Lord Balarāma caught hold of the demon Balvala as he flew through the sky, and with His club the Lord angrily struck that harasser of brāhmaṇas on the head.
SB 10.79.01-15 Be Part Of The Material Or Spiritual Pastimes 2008-01-20
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.79.1-15 Be Part Of The Material Or Spiritual Pastimes 2008-01-20 Melbourne.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.78.17-40 Process Of Hearing Bhagavatam With Rapt Attention
SB 10.78.17: Lord Balarāma then heard that the Kurus were preparing for war with the Pāṇḍavas. Being neutral, He departed on the pretext of going to bathe in holy places.
SB 10.78.18: After bathing at Prabhāsa and honoring the demigods, sages, forefathers and prominent human beings, He went in the company of brāhmaṇas to the portion of the Sarasvatī that flows westward into the sea.
SB 10.78.19-20: Lord Balarāma visited the broad Bindu-saras Lake, Tritakūpa, Sudarśana, Viśāla, Brahma-tīrtha, Cakra-tīrtha and the eastward-flowing Sarasvatī. He also went to all the holy places along the Yamunā and the Ganges, O Bhārata, and then He came to the Naimiṣa forest, where great sages were performing an elaborate sacrifice.
SB 10.78.21: Recognizing the Lord upon His arrival, the sages, who had been engaged in their sacrificial rituals for a long time, greeted Him properly by standing up, bowing down and worshiping Him.
SB 10.78.22: After being thus worshiped along with His entourage, the Lord accepted a seat of honor. Then He noticed that Romaharṣaṇa, Vyāsadeva's disciple, had remained seated.
SB 10.78.23: Lord Balarāma became extremely angry upon seeing how this member of the sūta caste had failed to stand up, bow down or join his palms, and also how he was sitting above all the learned brāhmaṇas.
SB 10.78.17-40 Process Of Hearing Bhagavatam With Rapt Attention 2008-01-19
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.17-40 Process Of Hearing Bhagavatam With Rapt Attention 2008-01-19 Melbourne.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.78.16 The Killing Of Dantavakra
SB 10.78.16: Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master all mystic power and Lord of the universe, is ever victorious. Only those of beastly vision think He sometimes suffers defeat.
SB 10.78.16 The Killing Of Dantavakra 2008-01-18
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.78.16 The Killing Of Dantavakra 2008-01-18 Melbourne
SB 10.47.19: Faithfully taking His deceitful words as true, we became just like the black deer's foolish wives, who trust the cruel hunter's song. Thus we repeatedly felt the sharp pain of lust caused by the touch of His nails. O messenger, please talk about something besides Kṛṣṇa.
SB 10.47.19 Invoking Feelings Of Separation 2007-01-13
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.19 Invoking Feelings Of Separation 2007-01-13 Melbourne.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.47.18 Krishna Consciousness Exposes The Real Scandal
SB 10.47.18: To hear about the pastimes that Kṛṣṇa regularly performs is nectar for the ears. For those who relish just a single drop of that nectar, even once, their dedication to material duality is ruined. Many such persons have suddenly given up their wretched homes and families and, themselves becoming wretched, traveled here to Vṛndāvana to wander about like birds, begging for their living.
SB 10.47.18 Krishna Consciousness Exposes The Real Scandal 2007-01-12
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.18 Krishna Consciousness Exposes The Real Scandal 2007-01-12 Melbourne (Cows) "Making hearing and chanting about Krishna the basis of one's life."
SB 10.47.15: In heaven, on earth or in the subterranean sphere, what women are unavailable to Him? He simply arches His eyebrows and smiles with deceptive charm, and they all become His. The supreme goddess herself worships the dust of His feet, so what is our position in comparison? But at least those who are wretched can chant His name, Uttamaḥśloka.
SB 10.47.16: Keep your head off My feet! I know what you're doing. You expertly learned diplomacy from Mukunda, and now you come as His messenger with flattering words. But He abandoned those who for His sake alone gave up their children, husbands and all other relations. He's simply ungrateful. Why should I make up with Him now?
SB 10.47.17: Like a hunter, He cruelly shot the king of the monkeys with arrows. Because He was conquered by a woman, He disfigured another woman who came to Him with lusty desires. And even after consuming the gifts of Bali Mahārāja, He bound him up with ropes as if he were a crow. So let us give up all friendship with this dark-complexioned boy, even if we can't give up talking about Him.
SB 10.47.15-17 Inconceivable Nature Of Transcendental Emotions 2007-01-11
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.15-17 Inconceivable Nature Of Transcendental Emotions 2007-01-11 Melbourne.
SB 10.47.14: O bee, why do you sing here so much about the Lord of the Yadus, in front of us homeless people? These topics are old news to us. Better you sing about that friend of Arjuna in front of His new girlfriends, the burning desire in whose breasts He has now relieved. Those ladies will surely give you the charity you are begging.
SB 10.47.14 Experience The True Spiritual Happiness 2007-01-10
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.14 Experience The True Spiritual Happiness 2007-01-10 Melbourne
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.20.49 4 Months Rainy Season Vacation For Health & Spirituality
SB 10.20.49: The merchants, sages, kings and brahmacārī students, kept in by the rain, were at last free to go out and attain their desired objects, just as those who achieve perfection in this life can, when the proper time comes, leave the material body and attain their respective forms.
SB 10.20.49 4 Months Rainy Season Vacation For Health & Spirituality 2006-01-25
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.20.49 4 Months Rainy Season Vacation For Health & Spirituality 2006-01-25 Melbourne
SB 10.20.22: The cranes continued dwelling on the shores of the lakes, although the shores were agitated during the rainy season, just as materialistic persons with contaminated minds always remain at home, despite the many disturbances there.
SB 10.20.21: The trees had grown thin and dry, but after they drank the newly fallen rainwater through their feet, their various bodily features blossomed. Similarly, one whose body has grown thin and weak from austerity again exhibits his healthy bodily features upon enjoying the material objects gained through that austerity.
SB 10.20.20: The peacocks became festive and cried out a joyful greeting when they saw the clouds arrive, just as people distressed in household life feel pleasure when the pure devotees of the infallible Supreme Lord visit them.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.20.19 Dont Jump Over The Basics
SB 10.20.19: During the rainy season the moon was prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the clouds, which were themselves illumined by the moon's rays. Similarly, the living being in material existence is prevented from appearing directly by the covering of the false ego, which is itself illumined by the consciousness of the pure soul.
SB 10.20.19 Dont Jump Over The Basics 2006-01-07
Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 10.20.19 Dont Jump Over The Basics 2006-01-07 Melbourne.
H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 10.20.18 Stop Being A Fly & Get Off The Web 2006-01-06 Melbourne
SB 10.20.18: When the curved bow of Indra [the rainbow] appeared in the sky, which had the quality of thundering sound, it was unlike ordinary bows because it did not rest upon a string. Similarly, when the Supreme Lord appears in this world, which is the interaction of the material qualities, He is unlike ordinary persons because He remains free from all material qualities and independent of all material conditions.
SB 10.20.18 Stop Being A Fly & Get Off The Web 2006-01-06
Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 10.20.18 Stop Being A Fly & Get Off The Web 2006-01-06 Melbourne.
GRANDSIRE: The Life of Bhismadeva - Mayapur, March 2007
Two Worlds
Toronto, Ontario
A royal wedding, Bin Laddin's death and a national election is what a mundane world is engrossed in. They are relevant but relative. Over the Internet devotees were drawing an interesting comparison to a more Absolute world - the marriage of Sita to Rama, the death of mega-demon, Kamsa and citizens happy with a life-long Vedic monarch. This all makes for lively discussion.
Back to our world. A group of us took to a late-coming spring walk. If Toronto is the raccoon capital of the world, there is no reason to doubt. A whole group of them perched on lofty branches had their loud screeching party. It certainly caught our attention. And to add to Sunday morning joy a brilliant red cardinal bird appeared to follow us monks on our trail. "Is he looking for a mate?" asked one of our renunciates.
"Yeah, everyone's got a problem," joked another one.
Monks can joke too.
Our evening temple open house program featured the launch of this year's Ratha Yatra season. You could feel the intense spiritual drive motivated by a youthful committee who unveiled this year's (the 39th) promotional image - a bearded happy-faced wheat-toned Vaishnava male suspending in the air a musical drum in celebration of the colourful event. The image has that Oriya-edge to it and it looks great, not mundane in the least.
I had to sit there feeling blessed about the culture of transcendence that I'm part of. I became a monk thirty-eight years ago and have had a chance to flip both sides of the coin. I've seen the mundane and swam in the insane. Now I'm locked in God's arms and things will never be the same. There's all these beautiful bright images and a spiritual way of viewing these objects.
New Vrndavan, USA: Damodara dasa on Comcast Newsmakers
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PALACE OF GOLD & PALACE ROSE GARDEN TO BE FEATURED ON CNN HEADLINE NEWS
This May and June, the Palace of Gold and the Palace Rose Garden will be featured on CNN Headline News. The five-minute interview with Damodar dasa, Vice President of Guest Services in New Vrindaban Community, will air approximately 50 times in over 875,000 homes in the Pittsburgh, Laurel Highlands and Ohio Valley regions. The interview was conducted by Comcast Newsmakers, whose guests include federal and state legislators, local elected officials and nonprofit organizations. Comcast Newsmakers is seen on CNN Headline News by Comcast subscribers.
“The Palace of Gold is being featured due its international and historical significance,” said Damodar. “The Palace Rose Garden is being featured due to the extraordinary beauty of the rose varieties, as well as the fact that this garden blooms three times a year from June through September.”
Last year, the Palace of Gold received over 15,000 visitors from around the world. “The Palace was a labor of love,” explained Damodar. “It was built by young Hare Krishna devotees as an for their teacher or guru, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the modern Hare Krishna movement.”
The Palace was originally intended be a home for Srila Prabhupada, but he passed away shortly before the seven-year construction was completed. Thus, the Palace of Gold was converted into Srila Prabhupada’s pushpa-samadhi or memorial. For this reason, the Palace of Gold is a place of pilgrimage for the international community of Vaishnavas, Hindus and Asian Indians.
Moreover, the Palace of Gold is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Ohio Valley due to its architectural beauty and historical significance. “The Palace of Gold is America’s Taj Mahal,” said Damodar. “A visit to the Palace is like a visit to India. It is a cultural experience.”
Outside, the Palace Rose Garden boasts over 100 different varieties of roses. The Palace Rose Garden is one of 130 gardens in North America that is accredited by the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the vitality, strength and beauty of garden roses. Currently, close to half of the 850 rose plants at the Palace of Gold are AARS winners, ensuring the exceptional overall beauty of the garden.
Inside the Palace, there are thirty-one stained glass windows, including four peacock windows with over 1,500 pieces of cut glass in each window. The floors and walls are all polished marble inlay and include fifty-two varieties of marble and onyx from Europe, Asia and Africa. All the furniture is carved teakwood from India. In the Grand Hall, there is an unusually large French chandelier that is over 150 years old, as well as a 4,200 piece crystal ceiling designed in a style similar to the ceiling in the Dilwara Jain Temple in Mount Abu in Rajasthan.
Please visit the Palace of Gold and the Palace Rose Garden this summer. The entire site is surcharged with the spiritual potency of Srila Prabhupada and his presence is especially manifest there.
  PALACE OF GOLD & PALACE ROSE GARDEN TO BE FEATURED ON CNN HEADLINE NEWS This May and June, the Palace of Gold and the Palace Rose Garden will be featured on CNN Headline News. The five-minute interview with Damodar dasa, Vice President of Guest Services in New Vrindaban Community, will air approximately 50 times [...]
Although spiritual emotions are indestructible, they destroy material qualities. Our yearning for selfless devotional service and immersion in it gradually leads to the reemergence of our dormant spiritual personalism. The vibrant rainbow of genuine emotions in the sky of that authentic personalism reveals material qualities for what they are—pale and dry.
The bhakti emotions devotees feel in the course of their dedicated daily service are glorious. Beyond these emotions budding in the practice stage of devotional service is the crest jewel, the highest and confidential emotions of spiritual perfection—in short, the second part of Nectar of Devotion. Descriptions of these zenith emotions in Krishna's pastimes may perplex us. In our immature stage, misunderstanding may arise.
To clear the way forward, Raghunatha das Goswami, humbly assuming the position of an aspiring devotee, questioned Lord Caitanya's personal secretary, Svarupa Damodara Goswami:
"About Krishna's intimate pastimes, I am unable to comprehend the narrations of divine love so wondrously sung by exalted Vaisnavas like Candidas and Vidyapati. I only grasp an external message of mundane love in such songs, which seem to present ordinary feelings of male-female attraction.
"How can ordinary lust ever be considered pure spiritual love? Please instruct me—grant me a drop of genuine understanding. What is the nature of divine love in Krishna's pastimes?
"Lord Caitanya relishes these songs and their mood in your company, but I have no entrance into this world of intimate exchanges. Since Mahaprabhu has placed me under your guidance, kindly help me to properly apprehend such confidential truths. Be gracious upon me and and explain the dimension of pure love. Then, free from doubt, I will remain eternally grateful."
I have been observing, with interest, developments in "the Cause for Beatification and Canonization of The Servant of God John Paul II".
Pious souls do see the need for guidance by saints. Our lives are frought with pain and difficulty, and the common man feels a need for assistance.
I'm reading the fourteen-volume medieval spiritual classic Sri Caitanya-caritamrta at the moment. This heartfelt prayer of the humble aspirant transcendentalist in the appropriate mood of eager dependence is one of my all-time favourites.
durgame pathi me ‘ndhasya, skhalat-pada-gater muhuh, sva-kripa-yasti-danena, santah santu avalambanam.
'My path is very difficult. I am blind, and my feet are slipping again and again. Therefore, may the saints help me by granting me the stick of their mercy as my support'.
In spirit of the Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) Launch yesterday, here is a spectacular video of a kirtan led by Madhava prabhu, one of our special guests this year! It just goes to show that even oceans apart, ecstatic chanting can bring anyone and everyone to their feet. Don't forget to look out for our very own HH Bhaktimarga Swami CROWD-SURFING! :
Japa is an important part of devotional life. If your japa is not up to standard, this is serious. You must reform. That is, out of your regret may come success. Prabhupada used to say, ‘Failure is the pillar of success.’ Assess yourself, and try to improve your chanting of Hare Krishna.
From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami
This is the second part of the “Angry Birds™ Yoga” series. Other parts will be published in the upcoming days. Click here for Part I.
The Yellow Bird
Fast and penetrating, the Yellow Bird represents your intelligence. Yoga means using your intelligence in carving out your path in life and sorting out your priorities, in knowing what is true and what is false, what is valuable and what is useless. Too often we misuse our intelligence and let green pigs in our life bring us misery and defeat. Like the Yellow Bird, our intelligence can attack a problem from different angles, with great precision and impressive results. But, misused or poorly directed, it can be utterly useless, flying off into nothingness, missing the target. Intelligence can be applied to solving mundane objectives, but you can achieve far greater wellbeing when you learn to apply your intelligence to life’s deeper questions, to seeking your true place in life, to finding what will make you look back in your life and say, “yes, that was worth it, that was a life well lived, I did the best I could with my life”.
What’s red and has been there with you from the very beginning? What’s common, yet very useful? Your tongue! Yes, this most valuable, yet often unappreciated appendage is given special importance in yoga. The tongue is said to be the most difficult part of your body to control. Its importance lies in the fact that you can redefine your life by two simple every-day acts, in which the tongue plays a central role: eating and speaking. By eating unhealthy foods, you become unhealthy, and by eating foods obtained through violence, you become violent. So too, by speaking foolishly, you become a fool. On the other hand, by eating pure and healthy foods, you become pure and healthy. Similarly, by speaking words that are beneficial, true and pleasing, or by remaining silent otherwise, you become peaceful and happy. And lastly, by vibrating transcendental mantras, you will be able to transcend all kinds of material problems.
Red Bird Yoga Lesson: use your tongue wisely!
The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird represents knowledge of our three bodies. Though the Blue Bird seems to be one, it can only achieve its maximum potential when activated into three. Likewise, we have three bodies: the physical body, the mental body and the spiritual body. We must understand them and learn to engage the three of them in a single objective to achieve our highest potential. Top athletes, dancers, martial artists, etc. know that unless the mind is clear and highly focused, there is no possibility of excellence in their respective fields. In Yoga we learn to become aware of not only our body and mind, but also our core eternal self. This is the original meaning of the word “self-realization”. Not only should we learn to distinguish one from the other, but we should also learn to direct all three with a single purpose – aligned, in unison and, most importantly, for the benefit of the eternal self. Too often we act while barely aware of our physical body, with our minds shut down or somewhere else and in complete forgetfulness of our eternal self. Of course, this brings us no joy, nor good results.
Blue Bird Yoga Lesson: develop knowledge of your three bodies, activate them in all you do and prioritize the needs of your eternal self, the real you.
Okay, a few days late and, as always, a few dollars short. It’s Monday. Maybe a little Weekly Round-up will help take the edge off.
To view the links, click the pics.
Onward.
Modwalls gave a sneak peak at their forthcoming tiles by artist Rex Ray. This collaborative series will be available in Modwall's Lush line in 4" X 12" glass by summer's end.
My crafty blogging friend Scissors & Spice has been channeling Rex Ray in recent art projects lately featured on her blog. Snoop around over there and let her know what you think of her stuff.
Ever wonder how girl crushes develop? Well, I took one look at Leela Cyd's pretty food photography and knew right then and there that this woman must have a stash of gorgeous vintage tablecloths and that was it. Girl crush. Do check out her pictures and become inspired.
Kitchen designer and Horton Brasses Contest Judge Susan Serra has launched her updated blog. New look, new features and lots of highlights from KBIS 2011.
In DC? Need pretty cake? Maggie Austin. She does that.
There are girl crushes and then there are just girls who make you feel crushed. Amy Butler's perfect life is fully revealed on Apartment Therapy. Her house is amazing. Her job is a dream. Her husband is handsome. Her teeth are not overly white. It all looks so good I don't even care that it's in Ohio.
Because life is not a straight line. You should buy this floor. At least that is what the Bolefloor ad campaign is shilling. Their hardwood flooring is unique as it follows the natural curves of a tree, Okay, I don't totally get it since that would involve both reading the site and higher conceptualization on my part. And I am tired. Which is why this round-up is appearing on Monday. But this floor does look pretty cool.
Lastly we have Yankee Magazine's reviews of a book about the making of Jaws. Timely considering my in-laws just hopped up to the Vineyard for the weekend. My husband remembers Jaws hullaballoo from when his family spent the summer there while filming was going on.
Dear fellow devotees, please accept my obeisances; all praises and glories to Shrila Prabhupada and to Shri Shri Gaura Nitai! Shri Gaura Purnima, ki jay! He Krishna! He Govinda! He Gopala! Param vijayate Shri Krishna Sankirtanam! I'd like to share with you the rasa with which I hope we can spend the time tomorrow, celebrating the sacred recurrence of Shri Caitanya Deva's birth in this world.
I wish we could celebrate Gaura Purnima dipped in God’s Love, praying the merciful Lord by an uninterrupted invocation of His sacred Nouns, in order to give Him the chance of purifying us from all contaminations. Even though there are great faults in our personality which trouble our spiritual life, you have to know that the day of tomorrow is so powerful - thanks to Shri Caitanya Deva’s mercy - that, if we devote ourselves to Nama-yajna with a sincere longing for freeing and for purifying ourselves from all material desires, in a short time we can make great improvements on the way towards real Happiness and real Love. From mangala arati until evening we will devote ourselves to chanting japa, to singing bhajans, to reading from the Scriptures, meditating on episodes of Shri Caitanya’s life, in order to get dipped in His spiritual qualities, relying for our salvation on that extremely powerful strength - God’s love - which has become human through the divine figure of Shri Caitanya himself. May the Divine Name resound in our minds, straight into the deepness of the soul, and may we appeal to the unconditioned mercy of Shri Caitanya, begging sincerely with mind, body, intellect and soul to take part in His Love. As Shri Caitanya is God’s Love himself in its highest expression of pitifulness and mercy, for all of us the day of tomorrow could be an unforgettable day, if we dedicate it to that divine Love which can allow us to turn towards the right, constructive, virtuous and spiritual direction all our energies, our wishes and affection, in order to turn them to clear, flowing water that nourishes and gives life, instead of keeping them as foul stuff that taints with the conditionings, the claims and the greediness of the ego. The day of tomorrow should be spent merged in the invocation of God’s glories, in order to go back to our original purity, to that Happiness and Love which are already inside ourselves, but which in daily life are hardly able to show themselves and for which we feel an undescribable longing. Shri Caitanya Deva, ki jaya! Shri Gaura Purnima, ki jaya! Hoping you can be with us tomorrow at Bhakti Bhavan to celebrate Shri Caitanya Deva, with love!
The fact that people just love to hear stories is one reason why some of the Vedic codes were gradually transmitted in story form, like the epic histories Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Puranas. When such stories concern the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees, they are called lilas. Being labeled Lord Nrisimhadeva's pujari in Mayapur, I have been asked to recount some stories in connection with Him, but unlike the sastras, these "lilas" have no authority except for the testimony of the devotees who told them.
One way to draw the public into chanting is to hold a microphone out as pedestrians approach and aim it towards their mouth. When put under the spotlight individuals appear to swiftly formulate a remark that is like a bullet but which is meaningful. I was somewhat selective when aiming as I said to the person, "Any quick message for the world?"
I was out at the corner of Spadina and Bloor Streets with a chanting party. I was leading the chant with a microphone attatched to a small Roland amplifier when I would hold out the device to a prospective candidate. Its somewhat unpredictible what people would say and you would expect being put on- the-spot and having a bunch of Hare Krishnas chanting in front of you that it would likely be a message of "love, peace, goodwilll" or just plain old "Hare Krishna!" That's what transpired.
That became our experience yesterday. With perfect weather in our midst and it being Saturday we found this a more inclusive approach and provided all the ingredients for positive remarks by the public. Of course, you must approach with a smile and then the contagion begins. Often times a chanting party puts itself out on-the-limb into an "us and them" type of paradigm. A gracious gesture of putting a mic to the mouth allows involvement. We found that people, in fact, felt honoured. It was a little trick that worked.
At dispersement time, 2:30PM, three participating monks and I walked the twenty minute convenient stretch back to the temple ashram in preparation for a great evening event.
I was handed a microphone once more for the day. At the temple some members had organized a cultural evening with Channdan Dance Co. and Toronto Tabla Esemble. Being the swami present, I was asked to express opening remarks. With that mic I was heard and with that mic I invoked a command.
It was the first time I was called a "robot". What can you expect from a bunch of drunken party animals? When you're roudy and your faculty powers are somewhat distorted you become a little daring and bold in what you say to someone who looks a little different. I was trekking and chanting eastbound on St. Clair Avenue at 3:15 AM when the group passed by me in their vehicle. The simple thrill of name-calling for one take wasn't quite enough. The party U-turned a few times following my course and gave me more of the same. Oh well! What to do?
The day previous, early again, brought with it a different encounter. I trekked Younge St. near our temple ashram when a loud-speaking group huddled in slurred conversation when they stopped suddenly and gave out the happiest "Hare Krishna" you ever did hear. It was most welcoming.
What else to do with walking, encounters and monks? Well I'm happy to see two fine visiting brahmacaris, Dhruva and Yogendra, taking to a regular work-out which entails some yoga and varied forms of exercise. They came back from India rather sickly. I'm no doctor, but my layman's diagnostic says that they need to build up their immunity and strength. It is now a part of their schedule which I'm very happy about. After all, if you are in a spiritual institution you want to see it's members happy, holy and healthy.
"By beholding the Deity forms of the Divine Couple, Sri-Sri Radha Krsna, I feel the greatest joy. By honoring the Lord's prasada I conquer over all wordly illusions."
(Suddha-bhakata in Saranagati from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)
So let us honour the Divine Couple's mercy with our eyes by beholding the darsana of Their Deity forms.
Today is the appearance day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita and Srila Svarupa Damodara Goswami has glorified him so well in the Sri Gadadharastakam that I do not want to spoil it with any of my commentary...
I worship the greatly learned and exalted spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu, who appears very splendid, engaged in the Lord’s devotional service. He always performs pastimes in Vraja, where he is very prominent among the gopis, who are very dear to Lord Hari. Lord Caitanya, the Son of Saci is the dear Lord of Gadadhara Prabhu, who is preaching the service of Radha and Krsna.
I worship the greatly learned spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu. He is expertly absorbed in meditation on the nine rasas of devotional service, beginning with ujjvala-rasa, and he dances in the waves of the amazing ocean of devotional service to Lord Caitanya. He preaches the path of raganuga-bhakti, and He is a fit person to attain residence in the transcendental land of Vraja.
I worship the greatly learned spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu. The best of those who are devoted to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, the Son of Saci-devi, offer respecful obeisances to him and treat him with great importance, and he is very dear to Lord Krsna, Who is seated in the middle of the lotus flower which is his heart, assuming His golden form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He preaches that Lord Mukunda has assumed the golden form of Lord Caitanya, and he returns the living entities to their constitutional position as servants of the Lord.
I worship the greatly learned and exalted spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu. It is only because of him that the truth of the exalted devotional service performed by the intimate associates of Krsna in the forests and groves of Vrndavana has been revealed. He is preaching the ecstatic love attained by the gopis, and he is indeed a personification of the mellows of devotional service. The saintly devotees take shelter of his lotus feet, and he teaches the truth of spiritual life to the living entities.
I worship the greatly learned spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu. He is very dear to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and it is as if he had sprouted from the manifestation of the Lord`s ecstatic love. He is always adorned with the garments of ecstatic love of Godhead, and He delights Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu by arousing in the Lord the ecstatic emotional love experienced by the gopis of Vraja.
I worship the greatly learned spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu, who expands the mellows of devotional service and whose lotus feet are worshipped by the kings of the brahmanas. Among his confidential associates, he reveals his actual form as Srimati Radharani. He distributes the nectar of the ecstatic mellow of the gopis conjugal love, strictly following the instructions of all the devotional scriptures.
I worship the greatly learned spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu. With delight he is giving the devotional service of Lord Caitanya which reveals the nectarean ocean of the most exalted mellows of devotional service, along with the nectar flowing from the lotus feet of the gopis, headed by Srimati Radharani, who is most dear to Krsna. Gadadhara Prabhu is decorated with the eight transcendental ecstatic symptoms of sattvika-bhava, and he is distributing devotional service to his worshippable Lord Krsna.
I worship the greatly learned spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu. Even a conditioned soul, whose mind becomes anointed by the colorful waves of spontaneous devotional service as delineated by Srila Gadadhara Prabhu, quickly attains the highest level of devotional service. He becomes like a maddened bumble bee whose mind is anointed with the mellow of ujjvala-rasa.
“These eight verses glorifying Srila Gadadhara Prabhu distribute the nectar of the most exalted mellow of devotional service, and they are like a festival for the gopis of Vraja. If one regularly reads these verses and serves the lotus feet of Srila Gadadhara Prabhu, who is an incarnation of Srimati Radharani, then he will become qualified to attain the jewel of pure devotional service for the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, the son of Sacidevi.”
Hare Krsna dear devotees. Here is a very beautiful prayer so the mind can engage in the proper activities related to the Lord.
O my dear mind, in order to attain the direct service of Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari, who are always entranced by amorous desires, and the service of Their eternal associates, one should drink the pancamrita described by Srila Rupa Gosvamipada. This pancamrita is ambroasial nectar comprised by the following ingredients of service:
1) Arcana, worship of Sri Yugala
2) Sankirtana, chanting the glories of Their names, forms, qualities and pastimes
3) Dhyana, meditating upon Them
4) Pranams, offering loving obeisances to Them
5) Worship of Sri Govardhana daily in accordance with precepts of bhakti.
Iskcon Governing Body Commission Society. Minutes Of The Annual General Meeting. Sri Mayapur Dham, February 20 – March 3, 2011. 2011 Zonal Assignments. GBC Deputies. Sannyasa Waiting List. Reaffirmation of Ministries and Standing Committees. Memorial for Jayananda Prabhu. Kirtan Standards – Instruments. Statement Regarding Umapati Das. Letter of Censure to Bir Krishna Das Goswami
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The fact that people just love to hear stories is one reason why some of the Vedic codes were gradually transmitted in story form, like the epic histories Mahabharata and Ramayana and the Puranas. When such stories concern the pastimes of the Lord and His devotees, they are called lilas. Being labeled Lord Nrisimhadeva's pujari in Mayapur, I have been asked to recount some stories in connection with Him, but unlike the sastras, these "lilas" have no authority except for the testimony of the devotees who told them.
By the GBC Secretary