Here are the latest updates for you
"Planet ISKCON" - 38 new articles
- H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Thursday 9 June 2011--How to Discern Your Level of Advancement--and--Should We Pray for Health or Wealth?
- ISKCON News.com: New Members of the New Vrindaban Community
- Kirtan Australia.com: Kirtan at Insync Institute, Canberra: Friday June 17th
- Kirtan Australia.com: Canberra Annual 24 hour kirtan: June 18 – 19
- ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu
- Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Rather take out the marble stone and sell it and publish books...
- ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Harinama Melbourne
- ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
- Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Giriraj Swami - SB 10.3.15-17 - Being Vegetarian Isn't Enough
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 335–Poem for June 8th
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS
- New Vrindavan, USA: New Members of New Vrindaban Community
- Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: remain distinct from all these cheaters
- H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
- H.H. Devamrita Swami: The Bhakti Sport
- Japa Group: Today I Could Not Sleep
- Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: ISKCON Farmers Leave European Conference with New Ideas
- ISKCON New York, USA: Lord Jagannath needs YOU!
- Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: The reach of Bhagavad gita
- H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kesava Bharati Maharaja speaks on CC Madhya-lila 6.83
- H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kirtana at Karuna Bhavana
- H.H. Sivarama Swami: Going back to godhead in this life
- Akrura das, Gita Coaching: GOD IS PERPLEXED
- Akrura das, Gita Coaching: DEVOTEE CARE COMMITTEE PROMOTES THE CULTURE OF CARE
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- Mayapur Online: VisitMayapur.com
- Gouranga TV: 12 Hour Kirtan Kadamba Kanana Swami Melbourne 2011
- Dandavats.com: North American Leader’s Meetings – New Vrindavan
- Dandavats.com: Bangalore Case Update
- Dandavats.com: The Holy Walk (Padayatra Spain 2011)
- New Vrndavan, USA: NEW MEMBERS OF THE NEW VRINDABAN COMMUNITY
- More Recent Articles
- Search Planet ISKCON
- Prior Mailing Archive
H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Thursday 9 June 2011--How to Discern Your Level of Advancement--and--Should We Pray for Health or Wealth?
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Thursday 9 June 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: How to Discern Your Level of Advancement Uploaded from Mauritius Faith means unflinching trust in something sublime. That which is most sublime is to re-awaken your lost loving relationship with the Supreme Person, the source of all existence. You can easily measure your own degree of progress on this path of awakening your love for God by seeing how much your faith has developed. Some persons take the pathway of Krishna consciousness with some idea of benefitting themselves materially. They do not have faith in the process of reawakening their dormant love of God. These are known as third class persons in Krishna consciousness. Others, who have firm faith that surrender to Krishna is the goal of life and have thus seriously taken it up but are not very advanced in understanding the devotional scriptures, are known as second class persons in Krishna consciousness. And those who have unflinching faith in the process of Krishna consciousness and at the same time are very expert in the devotional scriptures and presenting the philosophical conclusions of the Vaisnava acharyas are known as first class persons in Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada explains that the third-class person in Krishna consciousness may fall down, but that when one is in the second class or first class position there is no chance of his falling down. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Presenting the Science of Krishna Consciousness at the University of Mauritius--6 June 2011 http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Univ_of_Mauritius .JPG Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Should We Pray for Health or Wealth? When praying to Lord Krishna what should we ask for: health or wealth?. Your servant, S.G.D. Answer: Neither You should pray for pure devotional service and nothing else. If you pray for health or wealth, you may achieve them temporarily. But you will again become diseased and impoverished in the cycle of birth and death within this material world. However, if you will pray for pure devotional service, you will attain eternal wealth and health in the spiritual sky. So now you decide, which is better: to pray for health and wealth or to pray for pure devotional service. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed: http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought 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:
•ISKCON News.com: New Members of the New Vrindaban Community
 | Baby swans are called cygnets, and on May 13, four cygnets emerged from their eggs on the shore of New Vrindaban’s lake. The proud parents took their babies onto the water the very next day after their hatching. The cygnets swam alongside the adults like experts. |
•Kirtan Australia.com: Kirtan at Insync Institute, Canberra: Friday June 17th
On Friday June 17th, 7:30pm at Insync Institute join the Mantra Central crew – Sitapati, Krishnapada, Vishnu, Shantanu, Param Satya, and Prahlad – for an evening of ecstatic chant.
•Kirtan Australia.com: Canberra Annual 24 hour kirtan: June 18 – 19
1pm Saturday 18th June – 1pm Sunday 19th June, 2011At Canberra ISKCON Temple
Saturday 18 June
1pm – 1:30am Krsnapada Das (bris)
1:30pm -2pm Bhakta Akash (melb)
2pm-2:30pm Bhakta Kartik (syd)
2:30 -3pm Atulya Amrta Krsna Das (cnb)
3pm-3:15pm Bhaktins Yavi and Kushi (cnb)
3:15 -3:45pm Param satya devi dasi (bris)
3:45pm-4pm Bhakta Atharva (cnb)
4pm-4:30pm Druvananda das (syd)
4:30pm-5pm Naikatma das (cnb)
5pm – 5:30pm Bhakta girish (melb)
5:30pm -6pm Jadbharat das (melb)
6pm-6:45pm Bhakta Janardhan (bris)
6:45 – 7:30pm Bhakta Atul kumar (cnb)
7:30 – 8:15pm Sitapati Das (bris)
8:15pm-9pm Krsnapada Das (bris)
9pm-9:45pm Bhakta Kartik (syd)
9:45 -10:30pm Bhakta akash (melb)
10:30 -11pm Jadbharat das (melb)
11pm-12am Bhakta janardhan (bris)
Sunday 19th June
12am-1230am Bhakta Girish (melb)
12:30am-1am Ayodhya dev das(cnb)
1am-1:30am Bhakta shantanu (syd)
1:30am-2am Bhakta vikku (cnb)
2am-2:30am Naikatma das (cnb)
2:30am-3am Bhaktin sashi (cnb)
3am-3:30am Atulya Amrta Krsna Das (cnb)
3:30am-4am Vrndavana chandra das (cnb)
4am-5am Sitapati das (bris)
5am-5:30am Druvananda das (syd)
5:30 – 5:45am Bhakta vikku (cnb)
5:45 -6:15am Pandit shailesh (cnb)
6:15 -6:30am Bhakta vishwajit (cnb)
6:30 -6:45am Bhakta kwaku (cnb)
6:45am-7am Vrndavan chandra Das (cnb)
7am-7:15am Bhakta sunil (cnb)
7:15-7:30am Bhakta girish (melb)
7:30am-8am Bhakta kartik (syd)
8am-8:30am Vishnucharan das (cnb)
8:45am-9am Bhakta prahlad (bris)
9am-9:30am Ananda Devi Dasi (cnb)
9:30am-10am Druvananda das (syd)
10am-10:30am Bhakta Akash (melb)
10:30am-11am Vamsidhari das (syd)
11-11:30am Bhakta janardhan (bris)
11:30-12:15am Krsnapada Das (bris)
12:15 – 1pm Sitapati Das (bris)
•ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.9.7 - We should try to attache our mind to the beautiful form of Krsna (smeran bhangi-traya-paricitam saci-vistirna-drstim...).
•Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Rather take out the marble stone and sell it and publish books...
I have gotten to know him and his family well over the last 10 years and he has known my ISKCON/Hare Krishna affiliation for most of that time. I ended taking him to our local ISKCON centre a couple of years ago when we were in San Diego as a result of a series of unplanned events...which is a story in itself. Anyhow, he started taking an interest in Krishna Conciousness, reading the Bhagavad Gita and even attended a few classes.
Now he is going to land in Banagalore and when he picks up the newspaper to read...I wonder what interesting article he will find to read.
In the last few days there have been well over 100 articles plus of course TV coverage and more. The most recent headline from a couple hours ago is as follows:
In God' Name
''The fighting groups should find a solution.''
So usually when I am thinking of Bangalore I am thinking about development task lists...but this week I have been thinking about what my employees must be thinking of ISKCON/Hare Krishnas.
I wonder if the next time I go to Bangalore if the to the guys will automatcally add a trip to Hare Krishna Hill on the itenerary or rather ask me an awkward question? I wonder what will happen to the sprouting interest of my engineer manager? I wonder what will happen to the spirtual journey of countless others?
Now we can understand the sentiments of Srila Bhaktiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura when he told Srila Prahupada that he would rather take out the marble stone and sell it and publish books. Perhaps there is a lesson in all of this since previous history shows the ultimate results. Srila Prabhupada warned us of all of this.
One thing everyone has in common is their love for Srila Prabhupada...but where is the demonstration? So perhaps the newspaper headline's suggestion is right.
~ Indresh
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in the post is my (Indresh's) personal opinion and may not reflect the opinion of others.
•ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Harinama Melbourne
Friday nights' harinamas are becoming more and more explosive. Last Friday's one was potent enough to revive the dead.
In fact, in one of the verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam it is stated how anyone who is not on the path of rendering loving service to the Supreme Lord is but a living dead!
Strong statement that will hopefully enthuse us to join the Harinama Resuscitation Crew and animate the walking corpses down Swanston Street.
Harinam Harinamananda Das
Subido por meye999 el 29/05/2011 Subido por russellprabhu el 04/06/2011 http://iskcon.net.au Harinam with Harinamananda Das, (Hari-nama-ananda), Friday June 3, 2011.Swanston St. Melbourne Australia.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Recorded with Sony HDR-CX110E and Flycam Nano. Edited on iMac with Final Cut Express.
Here is a video of what you can expect: an ambrosial expedition from beginning to end!
•ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
Srila Prabhupada prayed on board on the Jaladuta, September 13, 1965:
"... O Lord Krsna, You are my eternal companion. Forgetting You, I have suffered the kicks of maya birth after birth. If today the chance to meet You occurs again, then I will surely be able to rejoin You...
... Today that remembrance of You came to me in a very nice way. Because I have a great longing I called to You. I am Your eternal servant and therefore I desire Your association so much. O Lord Krsna, except for You there is no other means of success."
Lest we forget, it is thanks to the great efforts and sense of sacrifice of our founder-Acarya that we are able to relish the daily darsana of that same Lord Krsna who is so dear to Srila Prabhupada.
•Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Giriraj Swami - SB 10.3.15-17 - Being Vegetarian Isn't Enough
Rupa Madhurya das, TX, USA: Lecture - Giriraj Swami - SB 10.3.15-17 - Being Vegetarian Isn't Enough
SB 10.3.15-17: The mahat-tattva, the total material energy, is undivided, but because of the material modes of nature, it appears to separate into earth, water, fire, air and ether. Because of the living energy [jīva-bhūta], these separated energies combine to make the cosmic manifestation visible, but in fact, before the creation of the cosmos, the total energy is already present. Therefore, the total material energy never actually enters the creation. Similarly, although You are perceived by our senses because of Your presence, You cannot be perceived by the senses, nor experienced by the mind or words [avāń-mānasa-gocara]. With our senses we can perceive some things, but not everything; for example, we can use our eyes to see, but not to taste. Consequently, You are beyond perception by the senses. Although in touch with the modes of material nature, You are unaffected by them. You are the prime factor in everything, the all-pervading, undivided Supersoul. For You, therefore, there is no external or internal. You never entered the womb of Devakī; rather, You existed there already.
SB 10.3.15-17: En la energía material total, el mahat-tattva, no hay divisiones, pero, debido a las modalidades materiales de la naturaleza, parece dividirse en tierra, agua, fuego, aire y éter. Por la acción de la energía viviente jīva-bhūta], esas energías separadas se combinan para hacer visible la manifestación cósmica, pero, de hecho, la energía total ya existe antes de la creación del cosmos. Por lo tanto, la energía material total nunca entra realmente en la creación. Del mismo modo, Tú, aunque manifiestas Tu presencia y nuestros sentidos Te perciben, en realidad los sentidos no pueden percibirte, y la mente y las palabras no pueden tener experiencia alguna de Ti [avāń-mānasa-gocara]. Con los sentidos podemos percibir algunas cosas, pero no todo; con los ojos, por ejemplo, podemos ver, pero no podemos probar los sabores. Por esa razón, Tú estás fuera del alcance de la percepción de los sentidos. Aunque estás en contacto con las modalidades de la naturaleza material, no Te ves afectado por ellas. Tú eres el factor primordial en todo, la Superalma omnipresente e indivisa. Para Ti, por lo tanto, no existe ni lo interno ni lo externo. Tú nunca has entrado en el vientre de Devak…; en verdad, Tú ya existías en él.
PURPORT
This same understanding is explained by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9:4)
mayā tatam idaḿ sarvaḿ
jagad-avyakta - mūrtinā
mat - sthāni sarva - bhūtāni
na cāhaḿ teṣv avasthitaḥ
"By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them."
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is not perceivable through the gross material senses. It is said that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa's name, fame, pastimes, etc., cannot be understood by material senses. Only to one who is engaged in pure devotional service under proper guidance is He revealed. As stated in Brahma - saḿhitā (5:38)
premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti - vilocanena
santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti
One can see the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, always, within oneself and outside oneself, if one has developed the transcendental loving attitude toward Him. Thus for people in general, He is not visible. In the above-mentioned verse from Bhagavad-gītā, therefore, it is said that although He is all-pervading, everywhere present, He is not conceivable by the material senses. But actually, although we cannot see Him, everything is resting in Him. As discussed in the Seventh Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, the entire material cosmic manifestation is only a combination of His two different energies, the superior, spiritual energy and the inferior, material energy. Just as the sunshine is spread all over the universe, the energy of the Lord is spread all over the creation, and everything is resting in that energy.
Yet one should not conclude that because He is spread all over He has lost His personal existence. To refute such arguments, the Lord says, "I am everywhere, and everything is in Me, but still I am aloof." For example, a king heads a government which is but the manifestation of the king's energy; the different governmental departments are nothing but the energies of the king, and each department is resting on the king's power. But still one cannot expect the king to be present in every department personally. That is a crude example. Similarly, all the manifestations that we see, and everything that exists, both in this material world and in the spiritual world, are resting on the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The creation takes place by the diffusion of His different energies, and, as stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, He is everywhere present by His personal representation, the diffusion of His different energies.
One may argue that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who creates the whole cosmic manifestation simply by His glance, cannot come within the womb of Devakī, the wife of Vasudeva. To eradicate this argument, Vasudeva said, "My dear Lord, it is not very wonderful that You appeared within the womb of Devakī, for the creation was also made in that way. You were lying in the Causal Ocean as Mahā - Viṣṇu, and by Your breathing, innumerable universes came into existence. Then You entered into each of the universes as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Then again You expanded Yourself as Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and entered into the heart of all living entities and entered even within the atoms. Therefore Your entrance into the womb of Devakīis understandable in the same way. You appear to have entered, but You are simultaneously all-pervading. We can understand Your entrance and nonentrance from material examples. The total material energy remains intact even after being divided into sixteen elements. The material body is nothing but a combination of the five gross elements — namely earth, water, fire, air and ether. Whenever there is a material body, it appears that such elements are newly created, but actually the elements are always existing outside of the body. Similarly, although You appear as a child in the womb of Devakī, You are also existing outside. You are always in Your abode, but still You can simultaneously expand Yourself into millions of forms.
"One has to understand Your appearance with great intelligence because the material energy is also emanating from You. You are the original source of the material energy, just as the sun is the source of the sunshine. The sunshine cannot cover the sun globe, nor can the material energy — being an emanation from You — cover You. You appear to be in the three modes of material energy, but actually the three modes of material energy cannot cover You. This is understood by the highly intellectual philosophers. In other words, although You appear to be within the material energy, You are never covered by it."
We hear from the Vedic version that the Supreme Brahman exhibits His effulgence and therefore everything is illuminated. We can understand from Brahma - saḿhitā that the brahmajyoti, or the Brahman effulgence, emanates from the body of the Supreme Lord. And from the Brahman effulgence, all creation takes place. It is further stated in the Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord is the support of the Brahman effulgence. Originally He is the root cause of everything. But persons who are less intelligent think that when the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes within this material world, He accepts material qualities. Such conclusions are not mature, but are, made by the less intelligent.
2011-03-11 - Giriraj Swami - SB 10.3.15-17 - Being Vegetarian Isn't Enough
Download: 2011-03-11 - Giriraj Swami - SB 10.3.15-17 - Being Vegetarian Isn't Enough
•H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 335–Poem for June 8th
4:20 A.M.
A Writer of Pieces
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 June 8th
Up early chanting silently,
it’s sublime even when counting
the numbers you enter the concentration
on Nama Prabhu and everything else falls
away, your mind doesn’t dwell on last
night’s movie or sports or dentist’s
visits or today’s lunch, just hearing
the names repeatedly, rapidly and
absorbed in that bhava.
Lord Caitanya teaches ragatmika, the
stage where one covets the service of
an associate of Krishna in Vrndavana in
one of the five mellows. Externally
he goes on following the sadhana-bhakti
of chanting and hearing like Rupa and
Sanatana but internally he serves
the devotee of Radha-Krishna in
spontaneous love. The sahajiyas are
different. Debauchees and
paramahamsas are not on the
same level. The sahajiyas’ imitation doesn’t follow the
principles of Rupa Goswami and
will lead them to the lowest
region of hell. For a long time
one has to follow the strictures
of vaidhi-bhakti.
Now I am speaking on Guru Reform
Notebook and will tell the whole
background to that time. I intend
to put the entire booklet as an
appendix to the autobiog. I was
the first of the eleven gurus
to confess my mistakes and apologize
in an attempt to rectify and
bring about reunion. Hridayananda
Maharaha said I was ‘impertinent,’
but the grass-roots men of ISKCON
welcomed it although they saw me
as a “Johnny-come-lately.”
Each book I’ll do and digress,
extending the autobiography beyond
its original limits. Like Mark
Twain, I write on what comes to my mind, now using the
books I have written.
Narayana got his driving
license yesterday and was
not present for lunch. I’m not sharing with him at
10:00 A.M. because that’s
when I work with
Bala on my books. I proposed we can
read poetry at 4:00 P.M.
and he said that was
fine with him.
The poem rides on
wings of swing.
It’s a creative song
focused on Krishna.
Prabhupada described spontaneous devotional
service as beyond the
rules and regulations of the
scriptures when you
have deep love for Krishna and think continually of
Him. You should
live in Vrndavana and if
you cannot do it physically,
do so in your mind. I attempt it sometimes
when I’m resting
or reading or when we
talk about it. It should be practiced
if we really want
to go back to Godhead
following an associate
of Krishna in His
intimate lila.
•H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS
From Prabhupada Meditations, Volume III
Grasping At Ways To Be With Him
“Each day is a new chance to be with Prabhupada.
“One way to do it is to see him in your present activities. As you go out on a morning walk, you see a three-quarter moon and the puddles from last night’s rain reflecting the sky which is just beginning to turn blue—and you share the joy of it with Srila Prabhupada. You do this by thanking him and being with him in the present moment. You do it also by correcting any errors in your point of view. For example, I may be intoxicated by the animal sensations in my body, the tingling of health at being outdoors. So I gently remiond myself, ‘This is only Krishna’s material energy. The thrill and beauty here is only a fraction of Krishna’s splendor.’ I thank Prabhupada for guiding me on an enlightened morning walk.
“We may go back in time to be with Prabhupada. Maybe it takes a little imagination to get it started, but once you give yourself a prod, you can live in the past again, right now. The past is as real as water running down the stream, or the surf from the ocean, or the gull’s calls. Why can’t you remember?
You went on a walk with Prabhupada; ducks started quacking. He said, “They think they are disturbing us, and we think we are disturbing them.’ Devotees laugh with Prabhupada. We were all close to him. Since his departure, we have not been able to gather around a great soul like that.
“You can mix the past and the present. Take a walk with him today, just as he used to walk.
“We might say, ‘Prabhupada, this is the countryside of Ireland. They divide the land with rock walls so the sheep can graze. Ireland’s role in the European Common Market is to supply beef.’
“How would Prabhupada reply? I cannot say for sure, but according to his teachings he might say, ‘Beef is their industry, and therefore their young men are being slaughtered in the war fields of Iraq.”
From From Imperfection, Purity Will Come About: Writing Sessions While Reading Bhaktivinode Thakura’s Saranagati.
“The ways of saranagati are humility, dedication of the self, acceptance of the Lord as one’s only maintainer, faith that Krishna will surely protect, execution of only those acts favorable to pure devotion, and renunciation of conduct averse to pure devotion.
“At first the six symptoms of surrender may seem vague. Yet they are clear and demanding: do whatever is favorable to Krishna consciousness and avoid what is unfavorable. The Lord is our protector. We don’t need any other protection. He is our maintainer. We don’t need to worry about anything. Nothing happens except by the will of Krishna—we may know this and depend on His mercy all ways we are surrendering. We think of ourselves as lowly and fallen and in need of His direction. The basic symptoms include a devotee’s whole state of being: ‘This saraganati is the very life of a true devotee.’
“A pure devotee is surrendered at every second. He manifests these symptoms. Those who are in the imperfect stage are not only successful at seeing Krishna as the maintainer and being dependent on Him, they examine themselves, ‘Why don’t I do what is favorable for my Krishna consciousness? What is favorable?’ They are not always sure. Is remaining a brahmacari surrender? Is becoming a grhastha surrender? Is surrendering to the temple commander surrender? Is preaching surrender? O Krishna, please teach us the science of surrender.
“There are two definitions of ‘surrender’ in my Webster’s paperback: ‘1. To give up control or possession of to another on demand or under compulsion. 2. To give “oneself” over, as to an emotion.’ (Surrender can act as a verb or a noun. In the song title Saranagati it acts as a noun: the act or way of surrender.)
“According to Webster’s first meaning, we can understand that the compulsion is coming from Krishna. He is demanding, ‘Surrender to Me.’ We don’t like to surrender to another person, so most people reply, ‘Who are You? Why should we do as You say?’ That is their misfortune. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has a right to demand surrender. He is interested in our own good. Only when He takes charge of us can He take away our sinful reactions. ‘Surrender, you rascal, and don’t be afraid.’
“‘The particular words used here, ma sucah, “Don’t fear, don’t hesitate, don’t worry,” are very significant. One may be perplexed as to how one can give up all kinds of religious forms and simply surrender unto Krishna. But such worry is useless.’ –Bg. 18.66, purport
“Krishna doesn’t take away our tiny free will. We actually have the power to refuse His offer of protection. But surrender we must. If we don’t surrender to Krishna, then we have to surrender to the material energy, to repeated birth and death. Therefore Krishna’s representatives move among the conditioned souls, imploring them, ‘Just surrender unto Krishna. Don’t worry what will happen to your body and soul. Krishna will take care of that.’
“The second dictionary meaning is to give in to an emotion. This may have the opposite significance of what we mean by surrender to Krishna. It can mean yielding to the lower nature. In Srimad Bhagavatam we read how Diti induced her husband, Kasyapa, to have sexual intercourse with her at an inauspicious time. ‘Understanding his wife’s purpose, he was obliged to perform the forbidden act, and thus, after offering his obeisances unto worshipable Fate, he lay down with her in a secluded place.’ (Bhagavatam 3.14.31) They both knew better, but they gave in to sex desire. This is a destructive form of surrender whereby even one who is learned and enlightened, who knows the rules and regulations, fails to protect himself from material desire. The conditioned soul routinely surrenders to the dictates of the mind, speech, anger, the tongue and belly. He jokes, ‘All right, I surrender,’ and does what he should not do, consigning himself to fate in the form of sinful reactions.
“The Vaisnavas are not interested in that kind of surrender. Facing Maya and her agents, the devotee is like a warrior who refuses to surrender, even against such formidable foes. When the British asked John Paul Jones to surrender, he replied, ‘I have not yet begun to fight.’ When Satan tempted Christ to bow down to him, ‘and I’ll give you everything,’ Christ replied, ‘Get thee hence, Satan!’ He did not surrender.
“‘My stony heart is devoid of devotion and grows despondent upon hearing the arduous process of self-realization and the devotional discipline undertaken by great souls like Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Ambarisa. I feel hopeless and incapable. But looking around me once more I see the waves of mercy that You showered on Lord Brahma and upon even the most fallen reprobate. This gives me great hope and soothes my troubled heart.’
–Srila Rupa Gosvami.
“Our work is to discriminate between the elevated and the degrading forms of surrender and choose the favorable one. I especially try to do that in writing. Sometimes my offering is not the deepest act of voluntary love, but Prabhupada says that sometimes we have to act like soldiers under a military command. Lord Krishna says, ‘If you do not act according to My direction and do not fight, then you will be falsely directed. By your nature you will have to engage in warfare.’ (Bg. 18.59)
“‘The Supreme Personality gives directions as to what is good and bad, and one simply has to act in Krishna consciousness to attain the perfection of life. No one can ascertain his destiny as the Supreme Lord can; therefore the best course is to take direction from the Supreme Lord and act. No one should neglect the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or the order of the spiritual master, who is the representative of God. One should act unhesistatingly to execute the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That will keep one safe under all circumstances.’ –Bg. 18.59, purport
“Bite the bullet. Surrender to Krishna can sometimes be like that. Get in line, stop speculating, stop your sense gratification fantasies. Follow the orders of your spiritual master no matter what the course. Get off the mental plane and surrender.
“There are limits to surrender when it is only offered out of fear or duty. Are we afraid of Krishna’s punishment? Why do we withhold a part of ourselves—the part that is not fully convinced? Don’t we trust Krishna? Don’t we trust ourselves? “This is vaidhi-bhakti—mechanical surrender to the rules and regulations. It will eventually lead to a higher stage, but we shouldn’t misidentify obedience to the rules and regulations as surrender.
“Surrender doesn’t mean losing yourself. You don’t have to renounce your true ego. The liberated devotees of the Lord who please Him most have a full sense of their own desires and selfhood—but they are completely in love with Krishna. Krishna isn’t looking for slaves or indentured servants. He doesn’t want conscripted soldiers in His army. He is giving us the choice: ‘What do you want to do? Do you want to come to Me, or do you want to stay in the material world?’ When we choose sin, He may order His foolish devotees, ‘No! Surrender!’
“There is a class of devotees, ragatmikas, who render all their service voluntarily because they love Krishna. These devotees are experiencing all freedom, and in that freedom, sometimes they order Krishna to carry out their desires. Krishna loves these exchanges because the orders are coming from His surrendered servants. As Krishna tells the gopis, ‘Your connection with Me is beyond reproach.’ (Bhagavatam 10.32.22)
(To be continued)
•New Vrindavan, USA: New Members of New Vrindaban Community
Baby swans are called cygnets, and on May 13, four cygnets emerged from their eggs on the shore of New Vrindaban’s lake. “I brought the parents to New Vrindaban from Ohio four years,” said Malati devi dasi. “They have been laying eggs every year since then.”
The proud parents took their babies onto the water the very next day after their hatching. The cygnets swam alongside the adults like experts.
‘These swans are not ordinary birds,” said Malati with excitement. “Srila Prabhupada told us many times that the residents of Vrindaban in India are advanced souls. Otherwise, how could they have taken birth in the Holy Dhama of Lord Krishna’s pastimes? New Vrindaban is non-different from Vrindaban, so any soul who takes birth here is special!”
In Sanskrit, a swan is called a hamsa. The ancient Vedic scriptures describe that if a hamsa is offered a bowl of milk mixed with water, the hamsa will separate the two substances and drink only the nutritious milk. Similarly, a paramahamsa is a self-realized spiritualist who appears on this planet Earth, but separates spirit from matter and associates only with spirit.
“Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of New Vrindaban, is recognized world-wide as a paramahamsa,” explained Malati. “He created New Vrindaban so that others could follow in his footsteps and also become paramahamsas.”
•Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: remain distinct from all these cheaters
I was very glad to learn from Gargamuni that Brahmananda refused to place my identification with so many cheater svvamis. We shall always remain distinct from all these cheaters. If we can convert one person in Krsna consciousness that is our success of life. We don't want too many rascal followers. Let us perform this movement sincerely with faith in Krsna and people will gradually appreciate our service.
Letter to Satsvarupa, 23rd December, 1967
•H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Snap!
Toronto, Ontario
"Snap! Crackle 'N Pop!" It wasn't the sound of rice krispies exploding in the cold milk that I heard. I don't eat that stuff.
At 4 AM the sound came from above - with a thunderous volume. The gods were displaying a light and sound show. The threatening rain was a deterrent to my venturing too far away on foot from the ashram as the rowdy party ensued above.
The sky was the stage for a real drama, short, but real. The cracking with resounding echo and strobe effect that I physically witnessed seemed a precursor to the reading of this morning's Bhagavatam verse.
Our small band of monks, about a dozen, sat down to hear about a major conflict between one of the gods and a demon. the demigod, Indra, wielded his thunderbolt weapon in the battle against Vitrasura, a demon of extraordinary valour. According to the text, Vrtrasura out shone Indra while in action by the use of his eloquent philosophical insight and his expert use of weaponry. Tridents, clubs, and thunderbolts were divine weapons employed in the field of action. Sparks flew. You could just imagine the fireworks.
Vrtrasura's strength was so intimidating that all the gods were retrieving. It became apparent to him that they were avoiding the struggle of battle. "Struggle should be welcomed" was our message to the monks after the reading. And our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had emphasized that in order for there to be victory it must be preceded by struggle.
What we learned from the display of explosions in the sky and the Bhagavatam message on ground level was that in this world there will be clashings. In the choice of battles, particularly the battle of mind and senses, must be accepted and in the end may we be victorious.
8 Km
•H.H. Devamrita Swami: The Bhakti Sport
How do serious bhakti practitioners enjoy life? Onlookers often want to know where is our mirth and merriment—how do we let the good times roll? Indeed, you can't blame them for wondering, when sometimes even our own devotees want to know!
Kirtan is recreation, honoring prasada is festive. Our sport? The blissful game is sanga, associating with other practitioners in ways that mutually illuminate, inspire, encourage, and stimulate.
Often I explain that relating to devotees is not a mundane social skill: "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Vaishnava interaction is a spiritual talent bestowed by Krishna. We should beg Krishna for this transcendental ability to descend upon us, so that we can effectively get out on the field, play, and benefit.
By the Pacific Ocean in California, walking the beach every evening for several hours with my dear Godbrother H.H. Giriraja Swami, I thanked Krishna for the divine experience of Vaishnava loving exchanges. (Also, briskly walking on sand is great exercise.)
Discussing service to our divine master Srila Prabhupada, as well as the nectar of Krishna's name, form, qualities, and pastimes, the hours sped by imperceptibly. The goal:
"The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me."
As Prabhupada comments in the purport, regarding hearing the Gita and Bhagavatam in the association of eager bhakti-yogis: "Thus the realized souls in Krsna consciousness take continual pleasure in hearing such transcendental literatures, just as a young boy and girl take pleasure in association." Well, that's an analogy almost everyone can always relate to . . . .
•Japa Group: Today I Could Not Sleep
Today I could not sleep.....I don't know why but I could only sleep 2 hours then I had to rise and I immediately took my beads and took advantage of the very early hours of the morning 2.45am.
•Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: ISKCON Farmers Leave European Conference with New Ideas
“…Shyamasundara explains that the annual Farm Conference is very practical—it gives devotees a chance to see what people on other farms are doing, and the knowledge to implement new initiatives on their own farms. But it’s also a very important event for rejuvenating devotee farmers, for leaving them feeling that their project is important and an essential part of the ISKCON mission. For, unfortunately, it seems that they don’t get that inspiration much elsewhere.
“ ‘Recently, when I did a tour of all the European farms, it became clear that temples are not supporting agriculture or cow protection—and ISKCON leaders are not talking about their importance anymore,’ Shyamasundara says.
He explains that this is because of an unrealistic expectation of farms, which also stunts the growth of farm projects in ISKCON.
“ ‘Leaders are not getting behind farms because they’re trapped in the idea of farmers living in mud huts and not earning anything from their work,’ he says.
“ ‘Even though you can’t have farming in today’s times unless people can make a living from it. And temples are not buying the food that ISKCON farms produce, because it’s double or triple the price they’d pay in supermarkets, and comes with some dirt and insects on it, some natural elements. The same goes for milk from protected cows—it has a naturally higher cost.
“ ‘So farms can be very successful, and do wonderful preaching as they are in Hungary—but only if ISKCON leaders accept the naturally higher prices of protected-cow milk and homegrown food, and tell the temples to buy it. It would also help if they spoke more about farms during their regular preaching tours, which would support and energize the farmers.’ …”
Filed under: Cows and Environment
•ISKCON New York, USA: Lord Jagannath needs YOU!
Dear Devotees and Friends,
Lord Jagannath’s Ratha-Yatra down Fifth Avenue, the world’s most famous street, in the world’s most famous city, is less than 3 days away! Radha Govinda Mandir is buzzing with excitement as devotees are coming every day to assist the devotees and volunteers headed by Satya devi dasi in preparing for this grand celebration!
Although the Supreme Lord, Sri Jagannath Deva is completely independent of his creation, He is giving all of us the supreme opportunity to render personal service to Him and His pure devotees through the Ratha Yatra festival. For this festival to take place without a hitch, we need devotees to come forward and volunteer to render as much service as they can.
On Friday June 10, we will need volunteers to come in the morning to help make garlands to decorate the Lord’s chariots. Around noontime we will need devotees to come to help cut vegetables for Saturday’s festival prasadam feast, made for up to 10,000 people, and will be served in Washington Square Park all afternoon.
Friday evening will require the help of volunteers to help load the trucks with festival equipment which will be sent to the festival site early Saturday morning in preparation for the day’s events.
Please give some time and come to the temple on Friday June 10, 2011 at any time to assist the devotees in serving the Supreme Lord Jagannath.
For more information, please call the temple @ 718 875 6127 or 347 249 4064
Your servants,
NY ISKCON
•Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: The reach of Bhagavad gita
I saw this guy with a little beard standing near his scooter, getting his stuff out and I approached him. He was really curious about spiritual stuff, though i started from perfection of yoga we quickly settled for a Bhagavad gita and he said he would come visit us. His Iron Maiden t-shirt with a half lion half man t-shirt caught my eye. He expressed his interest in spirituality, spiritual music and even wrote an email later saying he would like to come see us.
•H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kesava Bharati Maharaja speaks on CC Madhya-lila 6.83
•H.H. Sivarama Swami: Kirtana at Karuna Bhavana
Scotland June 7th
•H.H. Sivarama Swami: Going back to godhead in this life
Questions and answers after class in Scotland.
•Akrura das, Gita Coaching: GOD IS PERPLEXED
Just like the Christians go to the church for meeting the problems of bread; similarly, the Hindus or the Muslim, everyone goes to church, temple or mosque to pray something material:
"God, I am very distressed. Kindly get me relief from this distressed condition."
Or "God, I am in need of money, I am very poor. Kindly give me some money."
Or any other, "I am now implicated in war."
Just like Churchill, he introduced that everyone should go and pray for victory.
So England was also praying for victory, and Germany was also praying for victory.
So God is perplexed. (devotees laugh)
The thief is praying to God that "This night, I may steal without any hindrances."
And the householder is praying, "My Lord, thief may not come here and steal my goods."
And God has to adjust everything.
So just imagine how much busy is God.
There are millions and trillions of living entities.
Each one of them, if they are at all interested in God -- not all -- so they are praying.
Everyone is praying, "God, give me this benediction. Give me this benediction."
So this is not pure devotional service.
- Srila Prabhupada
•Akrura das, Gita Coaching: DEVOTEE CARE COMMITTEE PROMOTES THE CULTURE OF CARE
The Devotee Care Committee (DCC) met during the GBC Strategic Planning Meeting held in Mumbai from 15-23 October 2008. Interestingly, the Devotees Care Committee was born of the Preaching Committee. Members of the Preaching Committees reflected that if the devotees are not well taken care then preaching would not have any lasting effect. They understood that preaching can attract people but it doesn't keep them.
The GBC body recognized the need to care for devotees individually and collectively and thus formulated the DCC. The first Committee members included Jayapataka Swami, Kavicandra Swami, Bir Krishna Goswami, Bhakti Purshottama Swami, Revati Ramana Das, Prasanta Devi Dasi, Achutya Priya Das and Chandrashekhar Das. Now there are many more.
Members of DCC realize that caring for devotees is a matter of consciousness and culture where every devotee is concerned about the needs of another devotee. In ISKCON we aim to promote higher understanding of the Absolute Truth and if devotees are unhappy then they would extend a similar spirit to the society at large. Vaishnava culture is a culture for caring and the DCC strives to create facilities through which devotees can access help whenever they need it.
The DCC plans to connect with devotees requiring assistance in various ways. The Committee will soon host a website which will include exhaustive information, resource guide and references of devotees and projects in various parts of the world. The DCC hopes to collect information and give access to the various resources available for devotees' needs.
The prime focus of the DCC is to instill and implement the idea that every devotee is cared for within the Vaishnava community. Sometimes devotees are insensitive to other devotees while in some cases devotees don't' want to express their concerns for whatever reasons. Either they think 'I don't want to complain to anyone' or they feel that nobody is interested.
There are examples were devotees don't feel cared for. For instance, devotees feel the Temple President doesn't care for them, wives think that the husbands don't care for them, some full-time devotees feel insecure about the future and the practical aspects of dealing with hospitalization, old age, etc. The DCC plans to address these and many more concerns of the devotees.
His Holiness Kavicandra Maharaja, a member of the DCC said, "Lord Caitanya stressed that Vaishnava seva is really important. We want to gradually work towards caring for devotees. When devotees realize that we care for them they feel a sense of belonging and can express what they feel and what they need. We want to realize this goal and work on every level possible to make it a reality. We want devotees to know that they are most important and projects is a result of people".
Devotee Care wesbite will soon be up at this link:
http://www.devoteecareiskcon.com/eng/
And here is a Devotee Care website of South Africa:
http://devoteecare.org/
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1964 June 8: "My dear Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastryji, I thank you for your granting me an interview yesterday but I was not successful in my mission because your dealing with me was more official than heartfelt."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1947-64
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1968 June 8: "I am anxious to know when our Back To Godhead will be again published, even on our mimeograph machine. It is too much important that it must be distributed regularly, as it is the backbone of our mission."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1969 June 8: "We have to work very intelligently to prove our advancement in Krishna Consciousness. There is a Sanskrit proverb - if somebody is cunning, we must also become cunning. To a cunning person we must not be a simpleton."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1966 June 8: "Panchami. A letter received from Harvey. There was meeting in the evening about 16 persons attended one of which was a Chinese woman who became very much interested."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1971 June 8: "We require at least 100 of our American boys to make propaganda all over India. So if you can arrange to send 50 or 60 men here to Calcutta and Bombay, that will be very nice. They need not be important men. Assistant men will do nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1973 June 8: "Regarding your taking sannyasa, I think you are already a sannyasi although not in saffron colored cloth. So, I know you'll take sannyasa sooner or later but wait for the time when Krsna will decide for this action."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1974 June 8: "I have asked you to stop the political program because t is not so easy to do politics, moreover it is a filthy atmosphere. So do not indulge in it. I am glad to hear all the participants have stopped."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
•Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1975 June 8: "Yes, preach as much as possible. Preaching is our life. Travel, here and there, holding kirtana, distributing prasadam and books and speak our philosophy very nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
•Mayapur Online: VisitMayapur.com
Hare Krishna our dear devotees, we are happy to announce that we have launched the new Mayapur Tourism website www.VisitMayapur.com. The new website is geared toward all people whether they are practicing devotees or not. The site will be able to provide general information regard Mayapur's places to visit, festival information and calendar, tour packages, accommodations, and transportation options.
•Gouranga TV: 12 Hour Kirtan Kadamba Kanana Swami Melbourne 2011
12 Hour Kirtan Kadamba Kanana Swami Melbourne 2011
Subido por russellprabhu el 30/05/2011
http://iskcon.net.au 12 Hour Kirtan at ISKCON Melbourne Mahaprabhu Mandir with Kadamba Kanana Swami, March 12, 2011.
Kadamba Kanana Swami:
http://www.kkswami.com/
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Recorded by Shiva Nanda Prabhu with Sony HDRXR150. Edited on iMac with Final Cut Express.
12 Hour Kirtan Kadamba Kanana Swami Melbourne 2011
•Dandavats.com: North American Leader’s Meetings – New Vrindavan
By Nanda Suta Das
ISKON NA leaders held their by-annual meeting of 2011 at New Vrindavan Dham. During first two days, North American Executive Committee and GBC meetings were held. The Temple presidents, GBCs, and other ISKCON leadership met on subsequent two and half days from Friday, May 13th through noon on Sunday, May 15th
