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"Planet ISKCON" - 42 new articles
- Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: 2011 tour – Sydney reunion Day Two
- H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Sunday 5 June 2011--Welcome to Paradise--and--Is Global Islamization Anti-Krishna?
- 16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: Hindus and Demons in a Galaxy Far, Far Away?
- ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
- 16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: The Whole & A Part
- Vraja Kishor, JP: About Shankaracarya and Advaita Non-Dualism
- Vraja Kishor, JP: Sobre la No-Dualidad de Shankaracarya y de Advaita
- Sita-pati dasa, AU: Some Thoughts on Vaccinations
- 16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: June 2011
- H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
- Japa Group: Please Join The Japa Group
- 16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: April 2011
- Dandavats.com: A new site that opens the door to a daily glimpse of Mayapur….
- David Haslam, UK: We always and without fail know best
- ISKCON News.com: Food For Life Soup Kitchen Forced to Move by Budapest Municipality
- ISKCON News.com: Ratha Yatra: The Blockbuster is Coming to a Town Near You
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 331–Poem for June 4th
- H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS
- 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
- Srila Prabhupada's Letters
- ISKCON News.com: Shyamasundara Dasa: Preaching to the Choir
- ISKCON News.com: Krishnasthakam by Adi Shankara
- ISKCON New York, USA: Videos of New York Ratha Yatra
- ISKCON News.com: Popular Indian Guru Swami Ramdev to Start Hunger Strike Against Corruption
- ISKCON New York, USA: Lord Jagannath’s Snana Yatra Festival tonight @ Radha Govinda Mandir!
- ISKCON News.com: Shrimad Bhagavatam in Turkish
- ISKCON News.com: Fifth Annual BBT Art Seminar Now Open For Registration
- Giridhari das, Brasilia, Brazil: May Yoga Retreat with Laurent Dauzou in Pandavas Paradise
- H.H. Sivarama Swami: I ask myself
- Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura: Travel Journal#7.10: London and Birmingham Kirtana
- Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Mood Board : Wood You In The Kitchen
- ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakta Prabhu
- Japa Group: Please Follow Very Carefully
- Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: A transcendental journey
- Gouranga TV: Iskcon Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan 2011
- Australian News: Mayapur Days: A blog to take you home
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Hari Sauri das, Mayapura, IN: 2011 tour – Sydney reunion Day Two
Saturday 21st A great day made memorable by a maha-harinama with over 200 devotees chanting around Circular Quay and up to the famous Opera House.
We kicked off with the morning program beginning with SB class given by HDG Srila Prabhupada,
followed by a great Guru-puja lead by Madhudvisa prabhu, whom Srila Prabhupada once called the “emperor of kirtana“. Even though we are all now a good deal more creaky and lacking in the physical spring and bounce we had in the early 70s when Madhudvisa was GBC here and his kirtans would rock the whole house, we still managed a fair simulation.
Srila Prabhupada; Sabbo, Ajamila, Alalanath, Madhudvisa
Kurma cooks it up Madhudvisa heating up the kirtana
Dipaka leads with Kurma and Ramai Swami in back; Ragatmika and Sukhla step out
The greeting of beautiful Sri Sri Radha Gopinatha was delayed till after the kirtana so the pujaris could have a little extra time to decorate Them. It was worth the wait, and nice special touch was the Sydney Harbor back drop
After breakfast it was time to head out for the maha-sankirtana .
But before doing so a small group of us went to hospital. Dipak, Gauramandalabhumi, Ajamila and myself went to see another ISKCON Australia veteran, Dwaipayana prabhu.
Dwaip crashed his motor bike into the side of a car a few weeks ago and broke both his legs. He had a 10 hour operation to put them back together and its going to be at least 5-6 weeks before he can even begin to try and walk again. He fully accepted everything as Krsna’s arrangement the instant it happened and is in good consciousness. He has at least agreed that at 64 years old he is past the use by date for riding motorcycles.
He was still determined to attend the festival but a last minute infection prevented him from gaining release. So as compensation he received a steady stream of visitors at his bedside.
Hari-sauri dasa, Gauramandalabhumi, Dwaipayana, Ajamila and Dipak
Dwaip was one of our original cooks in the early days. I always remember his motto for Ekadasi potato soup prasada -”Ekadasi means twice the ghee!”
Needless to say he was a popular guy. A bit of a ghee-whiz (sorry, couldn’t resist that one).
He was extremely disappointed to miss seeing his old friends but very grateful for our visit and we left him with tears in his eyes
as we went to join up with the chanting party at Circular Quay. [see the next post]
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H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Sunday 5 June 2011--Welcome to Paradise--and--Is Global Islamization Anti-Krishna?
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Sunday 5 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: Welcome to Paradise Uploaded from Mauritius 4 June 2011--Upon landing in Mauritius this morning, just before entering the customs area, we were greeted by a large sign, Welcome to Paradise. I chuckled upon seeing this because any place where there is birth, death, old age, and disease is certainly not paradise, no matter how paradisial it may be from the material point of view. But we can make Mauritius or any place in this material world into a real paradise by awakening the sleeping souls in that place to the underlying truth beyond this material existence: that we are all eternal spiritual beings, the servants of God. So this is our purpose for coming to Mauritius. You will not find us loitering on the beach here for so called fun in the sun. We have come here to help the people become reconnected with Krishna. This is the real fun in the sun. It's better than any beach. My activities here remain the same as they are everywhere else in the world: chanting, worshipping, lecturing, counseling, reading, and writing. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Mauritius Morning View--Is this Paradise? http://www.backtohome.com/images/2010_Tour2/Mauritius_Sunrise2.JPG Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Is Global Islamization Anti-Krishna? Dear Gurudeva, All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and Sri Krishna Caitanya! Can you please clarify this for me: What is the difference between worldwide Islamization and Krishna consciousness globalization? I.O. Answer: Not If It Is Genuine Islam. Since the real meaning of Islam is submission to the will of God and obedience to His law, global Islamization and Krishna conscious globalization are exactly the same thing. But if a person's conception of God is limited and sectarian, then we have problems. God is not limited to one name because He is unlimited. If even an ordinary man in this world be known by different names, why God should be limited to only one name? This does make any sense. It's time for all religious people of the world to come off of the sectarian platform and realize the true universal nature of God. This will solve all of the world's problems. 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:
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16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: Hindus and Demons in a Galaxy Far, Far Away?
No films have had as huge an impact on global popular culture as the Star Wars film series. The Jedi in the Lotus: Star Wars and the Hindu Tradition is the latest book by the well-known scholar of Hinduism, Steven J. Rosen. Steven has previously published over twenty books, primarily on the school of Hindu, or Vedic, philosophy known as Vaishnavism. His latest book analyzes the influence of the Vedic tradition on the Star Wars films and discusses the many themes that they share. With the upcoming re-release of the entire series of films in 3D, it is a timely study which will help to bring to light many aspects of the saga which may have previously gone unnoticed by viewers. Steven was kind enough to answer a few questions about his intentions in writing it.
John B. Morgan: How did you first develop the idea of studying the influence of the Vedic tradition on Star Wars? What inspired you?
Steven Rosen: I was approached by a Hindu foundation, who wanted such a book to be written. Somehow, my reputation as a writer and scholar preceded me, and they contacted me to do it. Well, I must say that I was initially cautious: I hadn’t really looked into it. Did the Star Wars series represent what is today referred to as Hindu culture? Was there really overlap? Was George Lucas influenced by the sacred texts of India?
I told the Hindu foundation that I would have to look into it. So I rented all the Star Wars movies. I watched carefully. In the end, I was certain of the Hindu influence. That is to say, it became clear to me that Lucas, at least through Joseph Campbell, was led to many East-Indian ideas about good and evil, divinity, karma, reincarnation, and so on. It’s really very clear. There are parts of the epic series that seem too close to the Indian epics to be coincidental. When you see Star Wars and then go back to the Ramayana or the Mahabharata, you see what the prototype was. You see where it all comes from.
John B. Morgan: Most previous studies have looked for Buddhist or Christian influences in Star Wars, and yours is the first to examine it from a Vedic perspective. In the book you make the case that Star Wars owes more to the Vedic tradition than to any of the others. Can you give a few examples that demonstrate this?
Steven Rosen: First of all, I wouldn’t use the word “Vedic” – Star Wars does not draw on the Vedic samhitas or its appended texts. No. Rather, I would say that there is much in India’s epics and Puranic literature that made its way into Lucas’s films. Well, you need look no further than the Ramayana – the first Star Wars film is almost an exact replica of this story, down to the half-human/half animal Chewbacca, who is very clearly a Hanuman-type figure. I explain all of this in my book. The parallels are uncanny. And many.
Yoda’s teachings are right out of the Bhagavad-gita. Anyone who knows the Bhagavad-gita can see it. No doubt, there are Buddhist and Christian resonances in the Star Wars universe as well. I think Lucas drew on everything he knew. But, clearly, by his own admission, his main influence was Joseph Campbell, and it is no secret that Campbell was partial to Indian stories, myths, and its ancient culture as well. His inclination toward the land of the Ganges, its mysticism and exotica, is laid out in his posthumous book, Baksheesh and Brahman: Asian Journals – India. I quote from that book quite a bit. In the end, Lucas used much that he gleaned from Campbell, who was influenced by India’s sacred literature.
John B. Morgan: Before reading The Jedi in the Lotus, I would have said that the philosophy of the Jedi Knights in the Star Wars films is more similar to the Advaita, or impersonalist, monistic school of philosophy than it is to Vaishnavism, but you claim in the book that this is a misreading which is a result of the prejudices that we Westerners have about “Eastern” philosophies. Can you elaborate?
Steven Rosen: Yes, most people think that the East teaches only impersonalism, or that God is some abstract void, Brahman, the oneness of the universe. This is only one part of what is taught in the East. There is a strong monotheistic thread in Indian thought, too — worship of a personal Divinity. You have both forms of theism in India, as you do in the West. It seems clear to me that Lucas, being influenced by the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, brought a personal theism into his conception of the Force. Oh, don’t get me wrong: there is plenty of impersonalism there too. It’s all mixed up, as it is in most religious traditions. In fact, when the Vedic tradition – or even later Hindu tradition – is not studied under a bona fide spiritual master, impersonal conceptions of the Supreme rise to the fore. It’s only the legitimate Vaishnava lineages that teach otherwise. One must study these texts under a teacher. That’s the point. Only then will one “get” what the scriptures are really trying to say. Ultimately, the teaching of these texts are achintya-bheda abheda tattva, which means simultaneous oneness and difference between God and the living entity. A portion of this understanding tells us that God is both personal and impersonal. Of course, Lucas is not a theologian – really, Joseph Campbell isn’t either! – so, naturally, the end product will be a little confused. But one can see a personal divinity in the Force for sure. I am quite pleased with the way my chapter on that subject came out.
We're doomed!
John B. Morgan: A concern you discuss in the book, which you say both Star Wars and Vaishnavism share, is a skepticism of science and technology – not an outright rejection, but rather a belief that science itself is not inherently good or bad, but only the uses to which it is put can be one or the other. However, in the book you seem quite pessimistic about what humanity is doing with science at the present time. Can you discuss your views on this?
Steven Rosen: Science is naturally based on the body. So it is limited to that sphere – the body and mind. The spiritual element is beyond its purview. So that’s one thing. The other is this: scientists depend on funding and grants to do their work. To survive, they often have to manipulate facts and truth to fit their theories. And people eat it up. They love it. The Vaishnava master Prabhupada called it “the cheaters and the cheated.” People want to believe convenient truths, and there are others who make a living supplying or nurturing these “truths.” But in fact both lose out in the end: the cheaters and the cheated.
Now, science, when used by perceptive, insightful people – people with a spiritual dimension – will yield a different result. Such people are honest. You see, as humans we tend to indulge four defects: we make mistakes, we are prone to illusion, we have imperfect senses and, yes, we have the propensity to cheat. With this as a backdrop, our chances of uncovering truth – which is arguably the goal of science – become slim. It requires people of great integrity to break through these barriers. But beyond that, they must take guidance from those who see beyond the veil, who are free from illusion. I am talking about lovers of God, pure devotees, and the sacred texts given by God. This is our only chance. One can easily doubt if such a thing is possible, but the sages say it is. The pure souls recommend this method.
John B. Morgan: Another aspect of this problem that you mention is the startling fact that several of the Nazi leaders were very interested in Vedic philosophy, and that the Nazis conducted research into Vedic texts. Considering that the Nazis could hardly be described as spiritually realized people, what are we to make of this?
Steven Rosen: They only were able to get technical knowledge and clinical information. They couldn’t get at the essence of those texts or penetrate the inner wisdom. Why? Well, firstly, because they were rife with the lesser characteristics I just mentioned. They were totally engrossed in the bodily concept of life, as is well known. But also – they had no guru. The whole process of Vedic revelation means getting it at the feet of a master. Otherwise, it remains quite concealed. It’s like going to a foreign country without any guidance or without the virtues of seeing the terrain through the eyes of a native, of one who knows. You miss so much. In regard to the Vedic literature, you really miss everything.
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.
The Nazis were after information about flying machines and technical know-how, so they could have an edge in the war, in conquering others. This is obtainable by acquiring even a rudimentary knowledge of Sanskrit – you can get the external meaning of the texts, which were very advanced, even from a material point of view, and find all kinds of information that will allow one an advantage…
John B. Morgan: One of the more interesting parallels you draw is the possibility that there was something like Star Wars technology in ancient India, such as the flying vimanas (machines) described in the ancient epics. This is certainly at odds with what mainstream scholars are saying about the development of civilization. Do you believe that ancient India had such devices, and if so, what is the evidence for this?
Steven Rosen: Yes, I discuss all this in the book. Indian texts describe a culture and civilization that was well ahead of its time. These ancient Sanskrit texts are like blueprints for the planet, with more knowledge on more subjects than anyone can imagine. Just consider: flying machines. Who would have thought, but it’s there. Sanskrit scholars – who are divorced from the tradition, certainly not practitioners – have seen it and admit that it’s there. So what do you do with that? You have to accept it. If you don’t know, you don’t know. But if you’re a Sanskritist, you’re between a rock and a hard place: you can see for yourself that these ancient texts describe knowledge and technology that they couldn’t possibly know. It’s a great mystery. Of course, the greater mysteries are spiritual, and these exist in abundance in Vedic texts.
John B. Morgan: The Jedi in the Lotus can be seen in part as an introduction to Vedic philosophy for Star Wars fans. What do you think the Star Wars films have to teach someone who is trying to learn more about spirituality?
Steven Rosen: If they read The Jedi in the Lotus, they can learn much from the Star Wars films. This will make the connections for them. If not, it would be difficult to get any real spiritual knowledge from the film series. That’s just the sad truth of it. But, hey – read the book!
John B. Morgan: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Steven.
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
"O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, please hear my request...
...You are my only hope, and therefore I have taken shelter at Your lotus feet. I am now Your eternal servant...
...O Gopinatha, You are the ocean of mercy. Having come into this phenomenal world, You expand Your divine pastimes for the sake of the fallen souls..."
('Gopinatha' from Kalyana-kalpataru by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)
O Gopinatha, please grant us Your wonderful darsana every day until we make it to Goloka Vrndavana where we can take darsana of Your sweet form endlessly.
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16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: The Whole & A Part
There is a belief that liberation from material bondage is merging our individuality to become one entity- to essentially become God.
The belief states that because we are spirit souls- qualitatively the same with the Supreme, we are God ourselves.
However, the validity of such thought is questioned. How can God be under the influence of illusory material energy? If God were ever entrapped by His own illusory energy, than that energy would be more powerful than god. And how can his be the case if by very definition God is All-powerful?
As we can see from the scene above, the part clearly is unequal to the whole, and put into context of our own precarious situation- we (living entities) are spirit souls, the same in quality with God, but not in quantity; mere spiritual sparks of the Supreme cosmic fire. Equating the individual self with God, who is the complete whole, is to be confused. We would not equate a thread from a blanket to the blanket itself.
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Vraja Kishor, JP: About Shankaracarya and Advaita Non-Dualism
What I realize this – just as so many people claim to be doing “Vedic astrology” but really cannot quote a single shloka from any jataka shastra or hora shatra (they cannot quote a single verse from any Vedic book) – similarly everyone thinks they know what Vedic spirituality is all about – without being able to even quote a single sutra or shloka from any Vedic scripture.
In Kali Yuga everyone will consider themselves an authority, without giving reference to any authority.
Here are the essential facts:
1) There are six visions (darshans) of Vedic philosophy.
- Nyaya: logic (which is expressly dedicated AGAINST the “absolute oneness” theory of Shankaracarya)
- Vaisesika: science (a subset of Nyaya)
- Samkhya: scrutiny (which differentiates 24-26 parts of existence to help us understand and become free from misery)
- Yoga: application (a subset of Samkhya, applying the principles for the sake of linking the individual soul to the personal godhead, Ishvara)
- Mimamsa: ritual (pristine performance of ritual as the means of salvation)
- Vedanta: philosophy (also called uttara-mimamsa because it focuses on the PURPOSE of ritual)
2) The theory of absolute oneness propounded by Shankaracarya and made famous by his parampara disciple Vivekananda is a SUB-BRANCH of Vedanta.
Therefore the following statement is undeniably, objectively true: It is a wild misconception that Vedic culture supports the absolute destruction of ego in favor of merging with a spiritual oneness or nothingness. This is a vastly minority opinion, held only by the relatively few followers of Sankar-acarya and some of the followers of Shakya-Muni (Buddha). The vast majority of Vedic philosophy completely opposes the idea that there is no eternal individual ego.
The indisputable fact is that the vast majority of Vedic philosophy holds that the individual is an eternal being, with an eternal individual identity – temporarily placed into illustion and thus obtaining a debased form of disconnection with the divine and an illusory life and ego.
I know this is facebook, but please have the courtesy and humility to defer to facts and more importantly to the authority of the Sastra.
Here is the VERY BEGINNING of the essence of the Upanishads – Gita Upanishad, Bhagavad Gita – the 12th verse of the 2nd chapter – the very BEGINNING of the philosophy of the Gita:
na tvevAhaM jAtu nAsaM na tvam.h neme janAdhipaaH .
na chaiva na bhavishhyAmassarve vayamataH param.hHere are the meanings of the words:
na — not
tu — emphatically not
aham.h— I
jAtu—at any time
nAsaM—was I not
natvaM—nor you
na ime —–nor these
janAdhipAH —-kings
na cha —- and not
eva – emphatically not
nabhaviShyAmaH —-shall we cease to be
sarve vayaM—- all of us
ataH param.h—-hereafterHere is a translation into English: Certainly there was never, ever a time where there was not I, you, and all these kings. And certainly there will never, ever be a time that any of us cease to be.
I = Krsna, who represents brahman, bhagavan – the enlighened being, Godhead.
You = Arjuna, who represents the jiva, the soul.
Kings = All the kings on the Kurukshetra battlefield, representing multiplicity among Jivas.
Thus the clear and direct meaning is that there has always been a difference between godhead and the soul, and that there has always been invidivuality. And there allways well be, in both the conditioned state (represented by Arjuna and the kings) and the enlightened state (represented by Krsna).
This fundamental, basic, simple verse is one which completely SHATTERS the conclusions of Shankaracarya and the advaita-vadi school. Shankaracarya dealt with this and similar verses by stating that the author of the Vedas, Srila Vyasadeva WAS IN ILLUSION! There is no other way around it. However if the author was in illusion, than no part of the Vedas (not tat-tvam-asi or any other so-called “maha-vakya”) is of any merit so Shankaracarya has no basis of authority.
Shakaracarya has no fault whatsoever, for he is Mahadeva Shiva and was ordered to perform these tasks as part of the gradual reformation of understanding. However those who insist on sticking with these conclusions even after the reformation has moved forward, are unfortunate.
Vraja Kishor, JP: Sobre la No-Dualidad de Shankaracarya y de Advaita
Qué deseo expresar con esto - que hay muchas personas interesadas en la Astrologia Védica pero no se puede coger realmente ni un solo shloka de ningún jataka shatra u hora shastra (él no puede coger ni un solo verso de ningún libro védico) - cada uno piensa de este modo, saben qué la espiritualidad védica está alrededor nuestro - sin poder incluso coger ni un solo sutra o shloka de cualquie escritura védica.
En Kali Yuga cada uno se considerará una autoridad, sin dar referencia a ninguna autoridad.
Aquí están los hechos esenciales:
1) Hay seis visiones (darshans) de la filosofía védica.
- Nyaya: lógica (que es expreso dedicada CONTRA la teoría de la “unicidad absoluta” de Shankaracarya)
- Vaisesika: ciencia (un subconjunto de Nyaya)
- Samkhya: escrutinio (que distingue 24-26 porciones de la existencia para ayudarnos a entender y a quedar libres de miseria)
- Yoga: uso (un subconjunto de Samkhya, aplicando los principios por el lazo del alma individual al dios personal, Ishvara)
- Mimamsa: ritual (funcionamiento prístino del ritual como los medios de la salvación)
- Vedanta: filosofía (también llamada uttara-mimamsa porque se centra en el PROPÓSITO del ritual)
2) La teoría de la unicidad absoluta propuesta por Shankaracarya y hecha famosa por su discípulo del parampara Vivekananda una Sub-rama del Vedanta.
Por lo tanto la declaración siguiente es innegable, objetivo verdad: Es una idea falsa salvaje que la cultura védica apoya la destrucción absoluta del ego a favor de la combinación con una unicidad o una nada espiritual. Esto es sumamente una opinión de la minoría, llevada a cabo solamente por los relativamente pocos seguidores de Sankaracarya y algunos de los seguidores de Shakya-Muni (Buddha). La gran mayoría de filosofía védica se opone totalmente a la idea que no haya ego individual eterno. El hecho incuestionable es que la gran mayoría de la filosofía védica sostiene que el individuo es el ser eterno, con una identidad individual eterna - puesta temporalmente en la ilusión y así la obtención de una forma rebajada desconetada de la vida y del ego divinos e ilusorios. Sé que éste es facebook, pero que tiene por favor la cortesía y la humildad a diferir a los hechos y más importantemente a la autoridad del Sastra. Aquí está el MISMO PRINCIPIO de la esencia del Upanishads - El Gita Upanishad, Bhagavad Gita - el 12º verso del 2º capítulo - el mismo PRINCIPIO de la filosofía del Gita:
na tvevAhaM jAtu nAsaM na tvam.h neme janAdhipaaH
na chaiva na bhavishhyAmassarve vayamataH param.hAquí están los significados de las palabras:
na - no
tu - enfáticamente no
aham.h - Yo
jAtu - en caulquier momento
nAsaM - no soy Yo
natvaM - ni usted
na ime - ni éstos
janAdhipAH - reyes
na cha -- y ni
eva - enfático no
nabhaviShyAmaH - dejaremos de ser
sarve vayaM - todos nosotros
ataH param.h - de aquí en adelante
Aquí tenemos una traducción en inglés:
Ciertamente nunca hubo un tiempo, donde no estuviera Yo, usted, y todos estos reyes. Y ciertamente allí la voluntad nunca, en ningun tiempo cualesquiera de nosotros dejaron de ser.
Yo = Krsna, que representa al brahman, bhagavan - Iluminado siendo, Dios.
Usted = Arjuna, que representa la jiva, el alma.
Reyes = todos los reyes en el campo de batalla de Kurukshetra, representando multiplicidad entre Jivas.
Así el sentido y el significado correcto es que ha habido siempre una diferencia entre el Dios y el alma, y que ha habido siempre individualidad. Y allí los que siempre manan están, en el estado condicionado (representado por Arjuna y los reyes) y el estado aclarado (representado por Krsna).
Este verso fundamental, básico, simple es uno que ROMPE totalmente las conclusiones de Shankaracarya y de la escuela del advaita-vadi. ¡Shankaracarya se ocupó de este y de versos similares indicando que el autor del Vedas, Srila Vyasadeva ESTABA EN LA ILUSIÓN! No hay otra manera de verlo sino así. Sin embargo si el autor estaba en la ilusión, que ninguna parte del Vedas (no tat-tvam-asi o cualquie otra “Maha-vakya supuesta ") está de cualquier mérito así que de Shankaracarya no tiene ninguna base de la autoridad. Shakaracarya no tiene ninguna avería cualesquiera, porque él es Mahadeva Shiva y fue ordenado para realizar estas tareas como parte de la reforma de la comprensión gradual. Sin embargo los que insisten en apegarse con estas conclusiones incluso después de que la reforma ha seguido hacia adelante y se ha corregido, son desafortunados.
NOTAS:
SANKARA (788-820): Filósofo y reformador religioso indio, gran maestro de la Vedanta en la doctrina monísta Advaita, que defendió tenazmente de las escuelas que negaban o ignoraban la unidad e identidad de los seres. La leyenda rodeó los hechos de su vida, plenos de prodigios, y se le considera el más grande filósofo de la India. Escribió comentarios a los Brahma-sutras, Upanishads, etc. (Dicc. Esot. ZANIAH, Ed. Kier, S.A.).
ADVAITA (sáns.): No-dualismo o monismo, la idea del Absoluto, del Dios impersonal. La doctrina o filosofía vedantina de Shankara que sustenta que únicamente un Principio Esencial (Brahman) tiene existencia y que toda la manifestación fenoménica es ilusoria (maya). Está resumida en esta frase: "Tú eres Aquello" es decir: Tú (Espíritu Humano) eres el Espíritu Universal. Las otras dos escuelas vedantas son Dvaita (dualista) y la Vishishtadvaita (dualista con diferencia o monismo calificado). (Dicc. Esot. ZANIAH, Ed. Kier, S.A.).
ADVAITA-VEDANTA (Hinduismo) (sáns.): Uno de los tres sistemas de El Vedanta; su principal representante es Sankara. El Vedanta Advaita enseña que el mundo fenoménico en conjunto, el alma y Dios son idénticos. Así como la física moderna, al investigar las partículas subatómicas, descubrió que la materia consiste en campos de fuerzas donde la energía se halla en continuo movimiento, así los sabios (Risis o Ṛṣis) del Advaita reconocieron que la realidad consiste en energía en forma de conciencia (cit) y el ser humano percibe un universo grosero (sthula-sarira) a través de órganos sensoriales groseros, debido a una identificación con el cuerpo condicionado por el yo empírico. Algo que es real, inmutable, es recubierto (viksepa) por el pensamiento con la idea de un mundo fenoménico en continuo cambio, constituido por nombre y forma (namarupa).
El ejemplo más célebre de Sankara es el de la cuerda que en la penumbra es confundida con una serpiente. Una serpiente que nunca ha nacido ni puede morir, sino sólo existe en nuestro pensamiento, provoca angustia, miedo, palpitaciones cardiacas. Si con ayuda de una luz se reconoce la cuerda como una cuerda, ya no puede volver a aparecer como serpiente. No se trata sólo de no reconocer lo efectivamente dado, sino además de recubrirlo (viksepa) con una representación que no tiene en rigor nada que ver con lo efectivamente dado. El Advaita enseña que, en nuestro desconocimiento, constantemente recubrimos la "cuerda" (el Brahman) con la representación de una "serpiente" (el mundo fenoménico). En un dístico sánscrito, dice Sankara: "Esta sentencia resuma lo que en mil libros se encuetra: Real es Brahman; apariencia el mundo; el Sí-mismo es Brahman." (Dicho de los Sabios del Advaita Vedanta).
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Sita-pati dasa, AU: Some Thoughts on Vaccinations
A friend recently wrote me asking what I think about vaccination. Here's my reply:
All medicine has different effects on different people. If statistically 1 in 1000 dies from a particular medicine, that doesn't necessarily mean that you have a 0.1% of dying - 999 people may have 0% chance of dying, and 1 person may have a 100% percent chance of dying. Pharmacogenetics will be the first major application of gene sequencing (still some time away) - where they will be able to tell you what the statistical chance is for you specifically, rather than as a average across a human population with diverse gene sequences.
On the whole, vaccinations, along with hygiene measures, have eradicated a number of diseases in modern populations. At the same time, some individuals are adversely affected by them. Overall a positive result, but one that involves sacrificing some individuals to save a greater number.
Awesome if you are one of the greater number, but a bummer if you are one of those adversely affected.
Genes and environment can both combine to make vaccines have an adverse effect.
I had all the standard vaccinations, didn't seem to do me any harm. Prahlad hasn't had any, and he got Type 1 diabetes.
If I were a national administrator I would probably promote vaccination. As a parent of a child, I would be worried about my child.
Ultimately everything is in Krishna's hands.
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16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: June 2011
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H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami: Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
To Ottawa
Highway 401/416, Ontario
Anthony and I descended the temple stairs of the temple to walk to the UTS University of Toronto School where we would be picked up by a student teacher for the overnight car ride to Ottawa, a smooth four and a half hour sail on asphalt. We chose to save money, which in my case doesn’t belong to me. All that you do in the life of a monk is to function on behalf of your guru. Nothing belongs to you, even the funds that you carry or hold in the bank belongs to the guru. You do what you can to be frugal.
Instead of spending $78 on a one-way bus fare or $100 plus on a train or $300 on a plane, if you can spare $30 for a shared car ride then that’s what you do. The principle is nirmana, nothing is mine.
When Anthony and I did reach our pick up spot to meet the driver, Patrick, we hauled our meager luggage into his automobile’s trunk after which Anthony graciously insisted on paying my $30 as well as his. Another passenger, Carrine, drove along with us. Patrick noticed my robes, a freshly dyed new set of clothes, but my vocation didn’t interest him and so c’est la vie, that’s life. Being a Phys Ed student and teacher he did take some interest in my marathon walks across Canada and other countries. But the conversation went only so deep. So be it.
Some folks tread deep waters. Some wade in where it’s shallow.
Before dosing off I reflected on my last impressionable image as Anthony and I left Govinda’s Dining Room at the temple. Under the facilitation of instructor, Rami Bleckt, seventy Russian enthusiasts of the Ayur Veda science sat with eyes closed chanting the maha-mantra “Hare Krisha Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. “
I believe they were absorbing their peace.
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Japa Group: Please Join The Japa Group
Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:
rasa108@gmail.com
ys
Rasa Rasika dasa• Email to a friend •
16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: April 2011
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Dandavats.com: A new site that opens the door to a daily glimpse of Mayapur….
By Braja Sevaki dasi
Alas! Alas! How will the desire creeper of pure devotional service sprout in the desert of my heart? In my heart there is only one hope: that I shall reside in Lord Gauranga's holy abode. Then I shall never again lament
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David Haslam, UK: We always and without fail know best
Just over a week ago I had my cash-card with held from a cash-point machine that was somewhat faulty; although the funds were in my account it became impossible in just a split second to access it. Frustrations followed; as although the bank had transferred some of the funds to pay-point so I could access [...]
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ISKCON News.com: Food For Life Soup Kitchen Forced to Move by Budapest Municipality
After a decade of distributing free vegetarian food in the busy Blaha Lujza square, ISKCON devotees in Budapest, Hungary have been forced by the Municipal Government to move their Food For Life soup kitchen to the less-than-ideal Teleki square.
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ISKCON News.com: Ratha Yatra: The Blockbuster is Coming to a Town Near You
This summer’s biggest blockbuster is not a movie—it’s Ratha Yatra, The Festival of Chariots. And what does that mean? It means Lord Jagannath, the most merciful Lord of the Universe, is coming to a town near you very soon!
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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 331–Poem for June 4th
4:48 A.M.
A Writer of PiecesNew format–I will begin with the poem written on the day of its printing. Then I will print random excerpts of books I have published over the last 35 years. I hope this variety will be pleasing.Poem for June 4th
Up at two grinding
them out in vaidhi
bhakti, eyes closed and
opened racing the clock.
all get done before 4:00 A.M.
but no time to complete your
poem.When Vidura went to meet
Maitreya it was expected he
would ask him about the
qualities and pastimes of
Lord Krishna but instead he
started with a common question—
How to find happiness in life?
That was because he was asking
on behalf of the general mass
of humankind who don’t know the
difference between spiritual and
material. Later he would ask
directly about the Lord.I started a little writing on
a new project just one page
something about internal life but
I don’t know if I can keep it
up. I still wait for Baladeva
to approach me with interview
questions for oral history on
the autobiog.Narayana is concerned about
Baladeva. He works so hard
always absorbed in service
errands on my behalf or for
the benefit of the Stuyvesant Falls
community. He has a higher taste
but Narayana doubts that he
finishes his japa quota. His
service is so surrendered it almost
seems all right but we are
supposed to chant sixteen rounds
so when is he going to settle
and do that?Bhakti-rasa has written
me a letter reminiscing on the
time he spent here in Dec.-
January when I went into the
hospital and he read to me a
book by John Steinbeck on
World War II and Aindra’s
book on harinama sankirtana.
It’s sweet that he has
a personal bond with
me, but it’s not likely
I’ll read the book he
sent me by Steinbeck
about King Arthur’s court.The poem is personal
and surcharged with music.
People don’t read poems
much compared to prose.
The difference is the poem
is melody. It focuses
on Krishna, who can only
be understood by hearing
from a pure devotee.
Bhurijana wrote me, ‘Prabhupada
was from a different realm,
wasn’t he?’ and that’s true.
He was always absorbed in
Krishna consciousness and intent
on glorifying Him and
convincing you with logic
and scripture to accept Him
as the summum bonum. I
have accepted Him entirely
and the Vedic way is mine.
My poem is Krishna
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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS
From Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name
“It is a pleasure to walk on these roads and chant on my beads alone in the early morning. When I wake up the house dogs and they start barking, I remember to be forbearing. In a secluded section out of the dogs’ range, I stop and pick some yellow wildflowers. Think about the plant kingdom, how it is suffering and how it appears beautiful to man. But mainly I walk and chant, walk and chant. This is real wealth. There’s nothing more important to do. Italy is not Vrndavana and I am not Haridasa Thakura, but the name is pure, and some abhasa rays filter down to dispel my inner darkness. As the electric power is humming through that steel electric tower, so I am buzzing and crackling with spiritual electricity.
“The more I chant, the more things change around me. This morning while I was walking, I suddenly imagined that someone was running to catch up to me from behind. I remember how thirty years ago some tough guys did that to me. I was leaving a building at Staten Island Community College and they surrounded me and my friend, John Young. They claimed we had made fun of them while they were singing a rock and roll ballad together outside our school. Afraid of a fight, John and I denied the truth. Today I recalled it. The past runs up from behind and catches you again and again. Will you be cowardly again and deny the truth? Will you make fun of others and catch karma. I thought, ‘No. I am in a deeper reality. If someone runs up from behind, I will take it not only in the sense of who they are and what they want, but I will remain rooted in Krishna consciousness and see them as agents of karma. I will not forget aham brahmasmi.’
“Such a mixed line of thought takes place in less than a moment, followed by another and another. But don’t mind it so much, go on chanting as you walk.
“Now in the van, looking out at sparrows pecking the earth. ”
.
Readers inspired by this excerpt from the Krishna conscious volume Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name are encouraged to visit www.amazon.com.
From A Litany for the Gone
“Young people come into the movement and leave it through the big revolving door. In and out. A pure devotee goes on preaching and worshiping regardless. If someone comes in, then revolves out, then comes in again, great. But why does he come back, to disturb us? To bring new ideas into the society of devotees? He must surrender to guru and Krishna to live with us. Otherwise, he should go and live his life as he thinks best.
“Some are borderline cases. We used to call them ‘fringies,’ which was a derogatory word. Maybe I’m a fringie now according to someone’s estimation. Who is in and who is out? He who is furthest in by appearance might actually be out, or eventually be out. You know the story of the respectable brahmana and the prostitute. The brahmana used to publicly denounce the prostitute. Every time she had a customer he would note it by adding a stone to a pile. Eventually, he built a wall as evidence of her sinfulness. At the time of death, the brahmana thought of the prostitute’s sins, so he wasn’t liberated. The prostitute died feeling remorse for her sins and was purified and liberated by her contrition.
“Therefore who has left, and how am I to judge? Should I complacently praise myself and those on a list who are still active? I cannot make a judgment on devotees or Krishna will judge me. Do I want Him to forgive me? Then I had better forgive others.
“We’ll have to watch as this roll call goes on, and if there is no other S. dasa, then this is the S. dasa who is Prabhupada’s disciple by first initiation, offer obeisances to him, ask forgiveness, and offer a handshake. Don’t assume he must be pumping gas, that he has become a ne’er-do-well or that he is in maya. Say, ‘How are you doing?’ and mean it. Do you think that just because someone took initiation from you and later dropped out of your sight that he has dropped out of the universe, out of God’s sight? Don’t think like that. But I am entitled to my litany, I guess. It’s a free country. I can remember if I want to. And if I like, I can wish them to return to this specific shelter of Krishna in the Swami’s movement, the life of chanting Hare Krishna and following the four rules.”
.
Readers inspired by these Krishna conscious reflections from Litany for the Gone are encouraged to visit www.amazon.com, where the entire volume is available..
From Passing Places, Eternal Truths: Travel Writings
“The great Gosvamis of Vrndavana wrote books based on Vedic evidence. Yes, I know you cannot write like that, and whatever little scholarship you could attain, you have abandoned in favor of a river of doubts and exultation.
“We are parked outside a ristorante connected to an Agip petrol station. At 7:30 P.M., a truck began backing up right in front of us. He didn’t even see us and was about to hit us when Madhu started honking his horn and flashing his lights. The truck stopped less than a foot in front of us. I was asleep at the time and it seemed unreal. I simply wanted to get back to sleep.
“There’s not much time to read this morning, but I notice in the purport, the summaries of Brhad-bhagavatamrta and Hari-bhakti-vilasa by Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, Ujjvala-nilamani and Laghu-tosani.
“The details of the spiritual world in regard to being a maidservant of Lord Krishna were not revealed to Lord Brahma. But by dint of his self-scrutiny, tapasya in devotional service, the Lord revealed to him the slokas of Brahma-samhita, which Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura advises the reader to recite as a daily function.
“Oh, he said, ‘I find many mistakes in our spiritual master’s books because they weren’t edited by competent persons.
“I could have replied that the First Canto states that even if literature is irregularly composed, it will create a revolution among impious people, bringing them to Krishna consciousness. Such literature will be appreciated by those who are thoroughly honest.
“I have mistakes in my books because I am not perfect. That man attacked in many pages the presentations of Prabhupada’s biography.
“These notes, written October 8th, reflect my true state for the next few minutes. I am wearing a coat, a sweatshirt and a sweater, and reading and writing by battery-run light. I’m trying to help myself.
“What help do I need? I don’t need to examine the maps to see how to get to Brescia or to brush up on my Italian. Madhu takes care of those things so that I can be free to read and write truths on the path of spiritual life. When I say I write to cope or to help myself, that I write to create art, then what does that mean?
“Why the truth eludes the farmer (free writer) is a puzzle. Hunters cross fields, rifles slung at the ready. We don’t see the NATO planes, but they fly overhead nevertheless. On the outskirts of power we drive, and the world of spirit is recorded in the Vedas and prescribed by Prabhupada’s followers for the peace and prosperity of humanity. We sigh and wish we were better. This is our field.
“This field,
mole work,
true stead, self, piths, piln,
potter’s wheel, Ekadasi—we are somewhere in Italy. I am merely announcing the start of another day with a cock’s crow and going through other motions within this heart that beats under the simultaneously wooden and sensitive exterior of nerves and tension-producing headaches,
all wrapped around
myself, my spirit soul.“We all seek to make sense out of chaos and to find the tender essence of our lives. We have no choice but to go through the motions in our ISKCON and to serve partly out of fear of censure. Few of us like the schisms and critics, and most of us like to criticize them (and other things) out of love and attachment or because we are afraid to leave Prabhupada’s lotus feet.
“9:15 Brescia
We are at the dentist. He asks Madhu why I still don’t speak Italian. They have a long conversation while the dentist works on me. He gives his prognosis on what’s wrong with ISKCON’s public relations and preaching programs in Italy. (See what I mean? We all have something to say, for better or worse.) My gums have shrunk, so he coats my dentures with some kind of glue and tells me to come back in five days. He says that by then the glue will have baked onto the dentures and that they will fit better.
“The visit over, we rushed to the autostrada, parked for an Ekadasi breakfast, and rushed to another autostrada exit for a rendezvous with Nanda-kishore and Dina-dayadra, who will escort us to the campground.
“1:18 P.M.
“What is my purpose while traveling? Seems confused. When Nanda told me of a Godbrother who is going to America to meet with Hridayananda Maharaja in Berkeley regarding university preaching, I perked up. Why? It signaled to me that just as they have their academic field, so I have my writing field–and I’d like to awaken to it more. One difference is that they are able to work by combining their strength, and I have to work alone. Give me more alone. That seems to be the sole benefit of thinking about Bach sitting at the harpsichord composing his chamber music: it makes me feel alone. There are parts of the creative process—of anyone’s creative process—where you have to go alone to create. The sharing comes later. First you have to sit in the dark, small space in the back of the van, or in a cluttered room on the dark, hard bench and create. There’s no superstition or falsity involved. The work is the work. There is no point in trying to categorize it or justify it. Just be. Let emotions play over you, feel the subtle, and if possible, sublime variations of feeling . . . until it feels tedious.
“And then? And then nothing. You remain your spiritual master’s cela.
“Even in this Italian campground
While the wind buffets and it rains and
it’s quiet despite the fact that Italian pop music
is drifting over here like wet leaves on
the wind. And then?
You remain true, and you sit for a while to ask the Lord to convey a new direction.
.
Readers inspired by the retelling of this Krishna conscious story from Passing Places, Eternal Truths: Travel Writings are encouraged to visit www.amazon.com, where the entire volume is available.• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1970 June 4: "Anyone of my students can inquire from me in the matter of serving Krsna directly. So you are at liberty to send your letters directly, and I will reply them duly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1974 June 4: "I am very concerned you have left the association of the devotees in the temple. You cannot remain in firm Krsna Consciousness without the association of devotees. We must stand united."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1975 June 4: "The situation is a great discredit for us. This is because of nasty management. Why it cannot be made clean? He has proved his poor management, so he must be replaced."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1975 June 4: "In 1933 he was given the first chance to preach Lord Caitanya's movement in London. He could not do anything appreciable, and he was called back by Guru Maharaja. Then where is his authority?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1975 June 4: "If his motive is to suppress me and if that is why he has come here, how we can receive him? If he comes to our center, give him prasadam, honor him as an elder Vaisnava, but he cannot speak or lecture."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1975 June 4: "Nobody says Swami Bon has done it or any other swami. There are so many swamis coming, but they are giving the credit to me. If Krishna accepts me as authority, then who can deny it?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1966 June 4:
"Pratipada. Today the temperature was very warm. For the first time in America I took bath in the evening. In the Sanskrit class the Contribution was only $9.00 and Myke paid the balance for book $4.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1970 June 4: "It is very, very encouraging that London temple is receiving so many inquiries form the different European countries. So open branches there. Wherever we may open a center, Hare Krsna mantra will be chanted with great delight."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970• Email to a friend •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters
1970 June 4: "I was sure that you would not allow anyone to sit on the Vyasasana, and therefore when I read your statement I was little surprised. Anyway, that is alright. Please keep me informed at least once in a fortnight about the good progress of your temple."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970• Email to a friend •
ISKCON News.com: Shyamasundara Dasa: Preaching to the Choir
A Hungarian music teacher has brought together two beautiful yet unlikely companions—Western classical music and traditional Vaishnava songs.
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ISKCON News.com: Krishnasthakam by Adi Shankara
A peaceful bhajan: Krishnasthakam by Adi Shankara
A peaceful bhajan: Krishnasthakam by Adi Shankara.
If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.• Email to a friend •
ISKCON New York, USA: Videos of New York Ratha Yatra
ISKCON New York, USA: Videos of New York Ratha Yatra
In anticipation of the upcoming 2011 NY Ratha Yatra, here’s some videos from previous years of this most awesome festival:
ISKCON New York, USA: Videos of New York Ratha Yatra
ISKCON New York, USA: Videos of New York Ratha Yatra
Special Ratha Yatra Footage from 1976
Special Ratha Yatra Footage from 1976
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ISKCON News.com: Popular Indian Guru Swami Ramdev to Start Hunger Strike Against Corruption
“There will be over 1 crore (10 million) people who will fast,” Ramdev told reporters at Delhi’s airport after holding talks with four government ministers, rushed there by the prime minister to urge him to call off his fast.
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ISKCON New York, USA: Lord Jagannath’s Snana Yatra Festival tonight @ Radha Govinda Mandir!
Dear Devotees and Friends,
Please Join us in the celebration of Lord Jagannath’s Snana-Yatra (bathing) festival on Saturday June 4, 2011, starting at 5pm.All devotees visiting the temple will be given the chance to bathe the deities.
If you would like to help sponsor any part of the festival, please contact the temple at (718) 875-6127
Please remember: Lord Jagannatha’s Ratha-yatra is now 7 days away! Please consider committing to service and charity in support of New York’s annual Jagannatha Ratha-yatra. We need your active participation to please Srila Prabhupada.For information on how to help via charity and/or volunteering, please call the temple at the # above or visit the Ratha-Yatra website:
www . radhagovinda108 . com
your servants,
NY ISKCON
305 Schermerhorn Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
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ISKCON News.com: Shrimad Bhagavatam in Turkish
It was a dream of the devotees and many friends in Turkey to read Srimad Bhagavatam in their own mother tongue. After many years of preparation and actual work Srimad Bhagavatam First Canto Part One recently have been published in Turkish language.
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ISKCON News.com: Fifth Annual BBT Art Seminar Now Open For Registration
The BBT will be holding its fifth annual art seminar in Vrindavana, India, from October 28th (the day after Govardhana Puja) to November 17th, 2011. The seminar will led by veteran ISKCON artists Dhriti Dasi and Ramdas Abhirama Das.
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Giridhari das, Brasilia, Brazil: May Yoga Retreat with Laurent Dauzou in Pandavas Paradise
During May 20-24th, we had another yoga retreat with Laurent Dauzou here in Paradise Pandavas. This time we had a smaller group, ladies only, with the upside that the group bonded very quickly, creating a very friendly atmosphere.
On the first day of the retreat we had a little rain – I think that was the last rain we’ll have now until the start of the next rainy season in September. Winter has come, with temperatures falling, getting as low as 12ºC at night (yes, that’s cold for us!) and the relative humidity now in 50-65% range. The expansive Chapada sky is a gorgeous deep blue and the clarity is amazing (the above picture was taken by one of our guests!). At night we clearly see the constellations, the Milky Way shines in the sky and shooting stars and satellites are easily spotted – there is practically no light pollution here as we’re hundreds of kilometers from any big city. This month we had the rare conjunction of Mars, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter in the sky, very close to one another, being visible in the horizon just before sunrise.
Taking advantage of the fine weather, we had some great walks. On the first day we went to three of our waterfalls.
On the second day, we climbed to the lookout and then bathed in our Mahavira Kunda.
One of the main focuses of the retreat was the Iyengar yoga classes with the renowned French teacher, Laurent Dauzou. His classes are intense, but his ability is such that even with only one weekend, participants feel the difference in the alignment of their bodies (as well as, of course, the sore muscles!).
The prasadam prepared by Charana Renu was a real treat. Every meal got “oohs” and “ums” from the guests. The challenge was not to over-eat three times a day!
On the first two nights I lectured on yoga philosophy and the last two nights we did question and answer sessions.
We had our regular aratiks twice a day and chanting of japa (mantra meditation) in the mornings. One of the guests, who had never chanted japa before the retreat chanted a full hour of concentrated japa on the last day, sitting in one position the whole time!
See here comments from some of the participants of this retreat:
“The retreat was wonderful! From the moment I arrived I felt totally welcome and at every moment I was surprised to see me the affection and love with which all things were prepared – the food, the rooms, a flower placed in different places, a jar of water… Wow! And what about the lectures? Spectacular! I am sure that many of the teachings will remain in my daily life. It was a great learning experience. Anyway, the place is divine and the people who take care of it are beautiful. I loved you all. May God bless you always. Namaste! “- Alice, Aracaju-SE.
“I really enjoyed taking part in this yoga retreat in Pandavas Paradise this weekend. The place is very special. I felt very reinvigorated afterwards. Everything was wonderful. Waking up early in the cold, chanting mantras, meditating, doing yoga classes, hiking and swimming in the waterfall… it was all I needed. I was very tired and came back renewed. I loved the people, the place, the food, which is divine. In short, I can only thank God and my friend Berê who organized everything. Thank you! “- Lara, Praia do Forte-BA
“Thank you for your attention and kindness, Giridhari! I loved the weekend and came back with renewed energy. The classes with Laurent were wonderful, the place is beautiful, my retreat colleagues super friendly and wonderful people, and the food was something else altogether. Everything was very tasteful and classy! “- Fernanda, Brasília-DF
“I am very thankful to God for the wonderful days I spent there. Waking up in Pandavas Paradise always enchants me and to start the day chanting alongside such special people is a blessing. I also feel spiritually renewed and more open. I really needed it and I loved our group. Thank you for the opportunity. I will return soon. “- Angela Berenice, Brasília – DF
“It was a real pleasure to be able to have participated in this retreat in Pandavas Paradise. I am very grateful to be able to have experienced divine moments in the company of such nice people.” – Aurelia, São Paulo-SP
Click here to see more pictures of the retreat!
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H.H. Sivarama Swami: I ask myself
I ask myself
June 4th, 2011
“Is my faith still strong in the ingredients and spirit of Srila Prabhupada’s cultural revolution based on Krsna consciousness.”
[ 7:40 ]
I ask myself
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Krishna-kripa das, Mayapura: Travel Journal#7.10: London and Birmingham Kirtana
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 7, No. 10
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2011, part two)
London, Birmingham
(Sent from Belfast on June 3, 2011)Where I Went and What I Did
After the Nrsimha festival at Simhachalam, I flew to London, where I did harinama and many lectures for just over a week. Almost the entire brahmacari ashram was attending the weekend Nrsimha festival and Sivarama Swami Vyasa Puja ceremony at the New Vraja farm in Hungary, so Kasinatha Prabhu, the temple commander, invited me to London to help out in their absence. Although so many regulars were absent, we still had between three and six people on harinama every day on Oxford Street. On Saturday, I attended the Weekend Warriors, a book distribution and harinama program, at Lewisham, a London suburb they had not visited for some time. A good number of people were attracted to hear, take invitations, and visit our book table. I also taught a bhakti-sastri course for three hours on Sunday. It was the first time I recall doing a three hour lecture, but it covered two verses and there were plenty of notes to discuss, so it went smoothly. I did the Sunday feast lecture also, and then three hours of questions after that, so I definitely felt fully engaged in London. In fact, Thursday, the day after I arrived, I gave three lectures and went on two harinamas!
As last year, I attended the Birmingham twenty-four-hour kirtana, regularly attended by Sacinandana Swami and Madhava Prabhu, and this year also with Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami and Kadamda Kanana Swami. I describe that briefly and then share some great notes from senior devotees about the chanting of the holy name.
In the “Insights from Lectures” I include notes from Srila Prabhupada’s lectures, some by Kadamba Kanana Swami from the Friday program at Kings Cross, some from Vaiyasaki Prabhu, and the rest from the local London devotees.
Itinerary
Belfast: June 4–June 12
London: June 12
Travel with Janananda Swami in UK: June 14–16
Crawley Ratha-yatra: June 19
Stonehenge solstice festival: June 21
Empowerment and the Sacred conference, Leeds: June 24–26
Leeds: June 28
Sheffield: June 29
Preston: June 30
Manchester: June 1
Newcastle: July 2–4
Scandinavian Ratha-yatras: July 8–16
Prague Ratha-yatra?: July 17
Croatian Harinama Tour: July 18–31
Poland Woodstock: August 1–6
Berlin: August 7–10
Polish tour: August 11–17
Trutnov Open Air Festival (Czech Woodstock): August 18–21
Leipzig, Czech or Slovakia: August 22–23 (Janmastami, Vyasa Puja)
Kirtana-mela, Leipzig: August 29–September 4
Lvov, Ukraine: September 6
Kharkov, Ukraine: September 7–beginning of Ukraine Festival
Ukraine Festival: September 9–15?
Boston Ratha-yatra and Prabhupada festival: September 17–18
New York: September 19–23?
Philadelphia Ratha-yatra: September 24–25
Albany: September 26–30?
Florida, Arizona, Nevada: October–December
Lewisham Weekend WarriorsAlmost every weekend London devotees go with books, invitations, and a harinama to some nearby region outside central London. The program is called Weekend Warriors, and Sacin, one of the leaders, remembering my participation last year, invited to come out when I came through London for just one day in April, but I could not make it till May. This time the devotees were going to a place they do not usually go. It is always nice to make arrangements for new people to come in touch with Krishna consciousness. It was a young party, except for me, and Sacin was the main mrdanga player and I was the harmonium player.
We chanted from the temple to the train station, and from the train station to Lewisham market.
There we set up a book table and chanted for two hours, and curious visitors came by, until the authorities said we could not have a table or sing in one place, despite our getting permission previously.
So we did harinama a few times around the market.
Then we did harinama to the train station.
There we posed for a group photo.
Once we got to London, we chanted from the train station to the temple. So altogether we must have chanted about five hours that day!
Thanks to Mother Ambika, in the purple sari, and her assisting photographers, for the photos.
Harinama on Oxford Street
I was chatting with someone on Krishna.com who had seen devotees chanting on Oxford Street, and he decided to send me a link to a YouTube video someone had posted of such a chanting party. As it turned out, to both my surprise and his, I was the person playing harmonium in the video:
Harinama on Oxford Street
This year several young people from Paris joyously danced on Oxford Street harinama, encouraged by Krishna Vidhi Prabhu, for at least ten minutes. Just to celebrate my final harinama in London this visit, I was singing my favorite harinama tune, although it is tricky to sing and I do not play it well on the harmonium. The dancers were happy to receive from me an invitation to our temple in Paris. I started recording the video myself, but as I was playing the harmonium, I gave the camera to another devotee, which explains its serious discontinuity:
The Twelfth Annual Birmingham Twenty-four Hour Kirtana
The Twelfth Annual Birmingham Twenty-four Hour Kirtana
After briefly describing my experience at the event, I share realizations by great souls such as Sacinandana Swami, Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami, Kadamba Kanana Swami, Padmanabha Goswami, and Aindra Prabhu.
I liked this event so much last year, I decided to time my UK visit to include it. Thirty-one devotees got the chance to lead kirtana in the twenty-eight and a half hour period the kirtana went on. Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami asked when I was going to lead, and I said because I was not good enough a singer, I just lead on harinamas. Turns out the next day someone asked where my friend Gopal Hari Prabhu was, and I recalled that he was on the schedule to sing. I described him to the devotee scheduler and added that I would be glad to sing if he did not show up, and so I became the next singer. Before I began I saw the wife of one of Germany’s best bhajana leaders, Gopati Prabhu, and I told her that I got a half hour slot to sing and if she and her husband wanted they could have the last fifteen minutes. She agreed, and I sang the first Hare Krishna tune I ever learned, one from Lokanath Swami’s Eternal Bliss album for 15 minutes. Then Gopati Prabhu sang, playing harmonium, while his wife played drum. It was their first visit to the event, and they were so happy to be able to sing for the devotees. Amala took over, expertly getting another harmonium and continuing the same tune that the German couple began. Later Gopati praised him for the perfect transition, mentioning that he taught bhajana and would instruct his students to do transitions in that way. Both Gopati Prabhu and myself never expected to lead kirtana at the event, and Krishna kindly fulfilled both our desires, and Gopati was grateful for me making the arrangement to facilitate him, a rare selfless move on my part. He is so much a better singer than me, I figured he should have a chance, but I was too attached to also singing to give him my whole half hour.
Because the twenty-four hour kirtana began on Ekadasi, I decided to stay up all night chanting to observe it, to the end of mangala-arati, and then take rest for up to three hours, and then continue chanting. I was still too tired, however, and I also ended up taking a nap for half an hour at 2:30 p.m.
The event is held in the community room of a local Balaji temple, but the beautiful ISKCON Birmingham temple deities, Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, along with Srila Prabhupada, and Gaura Nitai blessed the stage with their transcendental presence.
A lot of great souls chanted wholeheartedly, and it was wonderful. The only drawbacks were the room was sometimes too packed for me to dance, a painful situation, and sometimes the prasadam line went too slowly. Otherwise it was a great event, and I plan to return next year.
Read the great realizations on chanting below:
Sacinandana Swami:
We struggle for sixty or seventy years and then we are extinguished. There is just a coffin at the end. But those who use their days and nights to chant the holy name of the Lord will not be inconvenienced. This is best achieved by chanting with many others. Krishna tells Narada this, “yatra gayanti mad-bhakta, tatra tishtami narada” [I am where My devotees are chanting about Me]. When we chant together for 24-hours we can offer a group petition to the Lord.
The 24-hour kirtana is an opportunity to remember our relationship with Krishna, being His parts, so bring your hearts to the kirtana.
My secretary Sadanandi asked, “If I die before you, will you write a poem about me and share it with others?” So I agreed. I wrote a poem called “Don’t Cry.” [Sacinandana Swami just quoted one stanza of the poem, but I found it on his web site, www.saranagati.net, and used a couple translation programs to translate it to English.]
Don’t Cry [Weine Nicht]
By Sacinandana SwamiIf you see me on the day of my death
lie with a pale face in a cold coffin,
do not cry.
Do you weep when the shell of an oyster is broken
and the pearl rolls in freedom?
Are you crying when the battle is finally over
and the butterfly leaves the dead cocoon?
This is just one of the evenings in my life.
The sun has set in the west
but somewhere she goes again
and announces the dawn of a new birth.
Maybe I’m even in
the divine dance
on the sandy banks of the Yamuna
in the immortal world.Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami:
Advice for all-night chanting: Don’t stop moving. Don’t stop chanting. Don’t sit down.
The King of Puri used lead one all-night program. The Puri kept a lamp on his head. If you fall asleep, the lamp falls on your lap, and then your wife yells at you, and so you are highly motivated to stay awake!
If you have lectures, end them by 10:30 p.m. Then have kirtana and have the expertise of the performers increase as the night wears on. Count the people you have at 1:00 a.m. for they will stick with you until the end. Leave with the Name on your lips.
Keep on moving and keep on dancing with your friends. Get an experience you can take with you to improve your life.
Aindra Prabhu [from a video]:
When the spark comes close to the fire, the spark glows brighter. The fire is glorified by having many sparks around it.
Sankirtana is dancing in the vicinity of Radha’s love flame.
We become enlightened by association in sankirtana.
What do we get if we do not chant suddha-nama? We do not get bhakti. We just get freedom from material existence which useful, but not much.
Nama descends and Nama dances, making it look like the devotee is chanting.
We should cry for Krishna’s mercy. We can start this crying at any stage. It does not take much intelligence, just enough intelligence to recognize that you are fallen, and thus you should take shelter of the yuga-dharma established by Lord Caitanya. The maha-mantra is the principle mantra for the age of Kali. The other mantras given by the Goswamis can be seen expansions of this principle mantra.
We learn that we are meant to satisfy guru and Krishna from the very beginning. In our chanting of sankirtana, we must remember that we are instruments in the hands of the processor acaryas [spiritual teachers]. Our purpose is to augment bhakti in our hearts and the hearts of others. There should be no other purpose.
Padmanabha Goswami:
Last year I saw this via Internet from Delhi, and my father was here at this event. Now he is in Goloka, from where he is watching us from, and I am here.
Many liquids are there, but they cannot be mixed with everything like water can mix with everything. The maha-mantra is like that, it can go with everyone and everything.
Krishna was asked, “When You were respectfully having your feet massaged while you comfortably resting on Ananta Sesa, how is it You came to Vrndavana? There they call you ‘cowherd boy’ or ‘thief!’ There You are forced to beg butter door-to-door. You have to deal with cow dung. What is it that the gopis have that attracts you?”
Krishna replied, “They are always chanting my holy name. They have such love for my holy name that I am attracted!Kadamba Kanana Swami:
Goloka prema-dhana harinama-sankirtana. Everything in Vrndavana is meant to please Krishna. This Vrndavana is coming in the holy name. Unfortunately, we are subjected to the stream of our endless, useless thoughts so we cannot experience Vrndavana.
As a result of this twenty-four-hour kirtana, we have been permanently transformed by the holy name. This is meant to bring us to the point of realizing that this chanting is so nice, why do we do anything else?
Amazing Outreach Opportunity:
The National Trust, a UK Charity, a 99% white middle class group, has renovated the former devotee property at Croome Court, once know as Caitanya College, and is willing to use the facility for a three-day yearly Hare Krishna festival, this year August 27–29, which they will pay for and advertise to their 250,000 member mailing list. We hope the festival will bring the devotees and the general public together. If you can help, let us know.
Kirtana-mela:
Sacinandana Swami invites us to experience five days of twelve hours kirtana, August 29 to September 4, near Leipzig, Germany. Each singer will share five minutes of realizations before singing about how to do kirtana in the best way and more inspiring way. See www.kirtana-mela.com for more details.
Insight from Lectures
Srila Prabhupada:
Lecture on SB 1.10.5, Mayapur, June 20, 1974:
In the Bible, it is said the animals are given under the control of human beings, man. Is it not? They have taken it. And because the animals are given under the control of man, therefore man should open slaughterhouse and eat them? Suppose if somebody gives his son, “Sir, will you take my son? Keep him under your control.” Does it mean I shall eat him? These rascals interpret in that way. Because the animals are given under the control of man, therefore there should be slaughterhouse, the animals will be killed, and they will eat. This is their interpretation of the Bible, is it not?
Lecture on SB 6.1.15:
If we hold on to our animal propensities, we will remain like animal.
If one does not take advantage of a university education, he remains a fool. So it is with spiritual education.
Human life is for going back to Godhead.
The most intelligent seek that which is not obtainable in this material world by going back to Godhead and having a relationship with Krishna.
Learn Bhagavad-gita very carefully, everything is there.
A sputnik is not required. By worshiping the demigods, one can attain their planets. (Bg. 9.25)
Death is an artificial imposition on me because of my desire for sense enjoyment.
The bhakti is for the first class. Not all can accept it.
Kevalya means without any motive,
So many empires are finished, so also your estate. Take advantage and use it for Krishna. If you can sacrifice for Krishna, that is good,
Rupa and Sanatana could understand their ministerial posts were insignificant, and thus joined Lord Caitanya. Why? They were compassionate. Their business and ours is to spread this sankirtana movement for the benefit of these rascals who are working hard day and night, not knowing the aim of life.
By living simply and dressing simply you are following in the footsteps of the Six Goswamis.
In India they are imitating American technology and giving up their own culture.
Don’t adopt artificially a life of renunciation. That will not stay. The Goswamis were not artificial because they were absorbed in the mood of the gopis. Lord Caitanya said there is no more wonderful way of worshiping Krishna than that conceived by the gopis.
As a sannyasi one should be very strict.
In the Vaikuntha, the women are very attractive, but the devotees are so much absorbed in glorifying the Lord, there is not sex attraction. If you have higher taste, you can give up the lower taste. The devotees there have the potency for sex life, but they are not interested.
Kadamba Kanana Swami [at a Friday night program at Kings Cross]:
Krishna is unlimitedly kind in that he is making many arrangements to have a transcendental exchange with each living being. He is always making such arrangements. It difficult to wholeheartedly surrender because of the deep tendency to act independently. Time is very short.
Something went wrong in the last life, and we blew it, so we are here. What was the quality the blocked us? If we look within, we can see.
To carry the weight of austerity for a long time is difficult. Thus we must get a higher taste.
Duty is a word I was allergic to before becoming a devotee. Thus I would argue the Krishna consciousness is su-sukham-kartum avyayam, joyfully performed. The problem is we are absorbed in looking for the taste from things other than Krishna has given us.
Transcendental knowledge shows us a way out. All my life I was forced to do things I that I never chose, and there was no way out. But Krishna consciousness is actually the way out. Previously I thought that the problem was other people and how they arranged society, but by the association of devotees, we understand that is the nature of the material world to be problematic. The meager enjoyment of the material world can never fulfill us. We see it doesn’t work.
Faith in Krishna becomes strong when we give up faith in the material world. We may be attached from past experience, but we should not have faith that material enjoyment will make us happy. The problem is one may still have an undying hope that material pleasure may be possible.
We need mercy. How else can we hope to follow? Krishna is merciful. And Lord Caitanya is even more merciful. Beyond even that is Srila Prabhupada’s mercy.
Hari Bhakti Vilasa says that if you eat anything on Ekadasi, you become a hog in your next life.
Sometimes devotees performed more austerities than Srila Prabhupada recommended, but they did not impress him as much as those who increased their arrangements to share spiritual knowledge with others.
To stop being so self-centered and to care more for others is what spiritual life is all about.
It is like in the beginning of spiritual life we are given a little cup to gather nectar. But when we begin to give out nectar to others, our cup grows and we find that we can both enjoy more nectar and give more nectar out.
Because of his great service, Srila Prabhupada has endeared himself so much to Krishna that if he desires our welfare then Krishna must fulfill his desire. This gives us hope.
If we use the holy name from material purposes, we will not get the taste from spiritual life, then we will not be able to avoid sinful activities, and then we will come up with some philosophical justification for our sense enjoyment, and then we will become sahajiyas.
Because we have not collected so much mercy, we cannot give out very much.
The real fun is in the giving.
It is good to love all the living beings. With love them by giving them Krishna.
Vaiyasaki Prabhu:
From a personal conversation:
Devotional service cannot be done mechanically. We have to have a sense of what Krishna wants us to do at each moment, otherwise it is all theoretical.
In 1992, I decided I had to go on to the next level in my devotional service. I prayed to Krishna, “From now on I do not want to make my own arrangements, I just want to surrender to you and act according to your will.” After that I saw my devotional opportunities expand in many ways. At one point, because it is difficult to know Krishna’s will, I prayed to Krishna that if a devotee asked me to do something, I would take that as His will. In this way, I have been traveling around the world and chanting at different places for six years. If devotees invited me, but could not fund my travel, I explained that I could not afford to stop preaching to make money to pay for travel. Whatever places the devotees want us to go we go. We have a place in Vrndavana, if ever we run out of engagements, but we have not had the chance to stay there yet.
From Bhagavatam class:
The great saints see both the spiritual and material and deliver knowledge of the spiritual to human society, but most of humanity rejects this simply because they cannot perceive it with their senses.
The more love we offer to Krishna the more He raises us up and puts us in a superior position.
Service for others perfects our life.
When you take a biology or chemistry class, you divide up into groups and perform the experiment. Perhaps one group gets it right the first time. And one group usually never gets it right.
It takes the same amount of time and energy to do devotional service wrong as it does to do it to do it right, but you do not get the good result if you do it wrong.
Srila Prabhupada said in Los Angeles in 1975, “Don’t be Krishna unconscious. First become conscious. Then become Krishna conscious.”
When you chant japa, do you ever get to the end of round and not remember how you got there? You then have a choice. Count it as one round chanted or chant it again. What you should do is chant it again.
The process of devotional service is transcendental, but we are not always in a transcendental position when we do it.
The purpose of bhakti-yoga is to attract the attention of Krishna. The descending path is I put myself in such an attractive position of devotion and service that I attract the attention of Krishna. This is the feminine approach. The ascending path is a masculine approach. Because we are prakrti, the feminine approach is more appropriate.
Would Krishna be attracted by our knowledge, our prowess, or our beauty? Of course not. We have no other recourse than to please Him by our devotion.
We do not only have to attract Krishna, but we have to attract the gopis to assist us in attaining Him.
The practice of bhakti-yoga is experiential.
Only we know what we are doing wrong. Therefore we must become introspective. Everyone is different. Everyone has to come up with his own program for controlling the mind.
Q: What does it mean to chant with humility?
A: I chant to please guru and Krishna, and to become empowered to help others spiritually.When you met people, they look at you, they hear what you have to say, they see your body language, and they think, “Do I really want to become like this person?”
Before you begin a round, make a prayer to Krishna, saying that you want to offer him an offenseless mantra. And then just chant the first mantra of the round attentively. Then at least you will have 16 attentive mantras each day. Then after a week, try chanting the first two, and then you will have 32 attentive mantras. Increase one more each week.
After you finish sixteen rounds, instead of just throwing down the beads for the day and going on with the rest of your life, apologize to Krishna for not being able to chant as many as sixty-four rounds, but tell Him you will try to serve Him throughout the day, and you hope He will accept it.
If you mind becomes a devotee, won’t your path back to Godhead be a lot easier?
Doing puja (worship) with the mind (known as manasa puja) is more powerful than just doing puja with your body. Moreover if you do this manasa puja your whole life, then at the end, when your body becomes dysfunctional, you can easily continue doing puja in your mind.
From a talk at Mind Body Spirit, London 2011:
Yoga is not meant to be practiced merely for one’s own benefit, but ultimately it is to benefit others.
To sing from the heart in glorification of God is kirtana.
God has given us so many things, but we have never said, “Thank you.” Kirtana is a way of saying, “Thank you” to God for all the gifts He has given us.
[Vaiyasaki Prabhu had some nice conversations with appreciative people after a half hour of chanting there at the Mind Body Spirit event, with some people buying books.]
Bhagavatananda Prabhu:People are hungry for this knowledge. Only their bad habits are impediments. But if the knowledge is explained nicely, they are attracted.
Rama Charan Prabhu:
We may be very busy for doing so many things but lazy about hearing and chanting about Krishna. Do not just be busy, but be conscious of what you are doing and how you can serve Krishna in this situation.
Gandaki Prabhu:
The goal of the devotee is to be a fit instrument for the Lord’s service. We have to tune in to the Lord’s will.
Srila Prabhupada warned his followers not to hear about Krishna from people who were not devotees. He was very strict about this.
The closer we are to the fire of Krishna consciousness, the sooner we attain success.
Two frogs fell in a pot of milk. Both frogs were struggling to get out. One saw little hope, gave up struggling and drowned. The other continued to struggle, and from his struggling some of the milk became butter, and he was able to climb out. The moral is that we should never stop struggling, and ultimately we will attain success.
Bhutabhavana Prabhu:
The ass demon symbolizes material intelligence and ignorance of spiritual knowledge. In his previous life, he was a son of Bali Maharaja and he was enjoying with ten thousand women, and making so much of a racket, that he disturbed the meditation of Durvasa, who cursed him to become an ass who would be delivered by Balarama in 400,000 years.
According to Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the demons killed by Balarama represent the anarthas that we have to remove by our own effort.
The bona fide guru transmits the energy of Balarama.
We are never the only cause of our advancement. We are dependent on the mercy of the devotees.
If you give too much respect to a neophyte devotee, he will conclude he is on the highest platform, and that will be detrimental for him.
The holy name is the sound incarnation and is Krishna Himself, and so the holy name is alive.
If people understand the philosophy of Krishna consciousness with their intelligence then they can be steady in the practice.
If you hear the knowledge, but you do not contemplate it, you will not fully understand it.
Keeping Krishna in the center means having loving Vaishnava relationships as well as discussing Krishna philosophy.
There was one devotee who said he was a brahmana and he did not want to engage sudra work, in particular, cleaning, as he was worried he would fall down from being a brahmana.
Mother Rangavati:
The cowherd boys encourage Krishna to kill Dhenukasura, which after all, is His mission anyway.
Varsana, a six or seven year old girl, told Indradyumna Swami that she had seen Lord Nrsimhadeva. He did not take it too seriously, but then her parents told him the same thing. The story was Varsana dashed across the road when her Mom called for her for lunch. A car that was going 70 miles per hour hit the girl, and she went flying. Her father ran to her aid, but he broke his leg while climbing over a garden fence. They called an ambulance and both father and daughter were taken to the hospital. The doctor had her X-rayed three times because nothing was wrong with her, and he could not believe it. As they were returning from the hospital Varsana described, “I was a rascal because I crossed the street without looking, and I got hit by this car, and as I was flying into the air there was Lord Nrsimhadeva, and He caught me and set me down. He had a golden mane and looked very fierce, but He was very gentle. Nothing happened to me, but when He was leaving hastily to return to Laksmi He accidently scratched me.” There were just a few catlike scratches on her arm.
Now Lord Caitanya is killing the demons within us with the power of the holy names, and he sent Srila Prabhupada to give us this knowledge.
In Caitanya’s time there were demons, like Chand Kazi, who stopped the chanting and broke the drum. Lord Caitanya organized a civil disobedience of the Kazi’s order. When he met the Kazi, the Kazi told him a dream of a lion who threatened to kill him if he tried again to stop the sankirtana movement.
The demons are doing service to Krishna in the sense they give Him an opportunity to show His prowess.
Realization of one bhakta:
I took the Hare Krishna challenge, agreeing to chant one round a day for a week at the request of Sundara Nitai Prabhu. Then I learned the essentials of the devotee life, ABCD (association, books, chanting, and diet), and tried to take them up.
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harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva
nasty eva gatir anyatha“For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita Adi 7.76)
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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Mood Board : Wood You In The Kitchen
wood you in the kitchen by Devadeva Mirel on Polyvore.com
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Bhakta Prabhu
Daily Class - Bhakta Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.8.1-44
SB 12.8.1: Śrī Śaunaka said: O Sūta, may you live a long life! O saintly one, best of speakers, please continue speaking to us. Indeed, only you can show men the path out of the ignorance in which they are wandering.
SB 12.8.2-5: Authorities say that Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, the son of Mṛkaṇḍu. was an exceptionally long-lived sage who was the only survivor at the end of Brahmā's day, when the entire universe was merged in the flood of annihilation. But this same Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, the foremost descendant of Bhṛgu, took birth in my own family during the current day of Brahmā, and we have not yet seen any total annihilation in this day of Brahmā. Also, it is well known that Mārkaṇḍeya while wandering helplessly in the great ocean of annihilation, saw in those fearful waters a wonderful personality — an infant boy lying alone within the fold of a banyan leaf. O Sūta, I am most bewildered and curious about this great sage, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi. O great yogī, you are universally accepted as the authority on all the Purāṇas. Therefore kindly dispel my confusion.
SB 12.8.1: Śrī Śaunaka dijo: ¡Oh Sūta!, que tenga usted una larga vida! ¡Oh el santidad!, el mejor entre los oradores, continúa por favor narrándonos. De hecho, solamente usted puede mostrar a los hombres el camino lejos de la ignorancia en la cual están vagando.
SB 12.8.2-5: Las autoridades dicen ese Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, el hijo de Mṛkaṇḍu. era un sabio excepcionalmente duradero que era el único sobreviviente en el final del día de Brahmā, cuando el universo entero quedó sumergido por la inundación de la aniquilación. Pero este mismo Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, el primer descendiente de Bhṛgu, tomó nacimiento en mi propia familia durante el día actual de Brahmā, y todavía no hemos visto ninguna aniquilación total en este día de Brahmā. También, es bien sabido que Mārkaṇḍeya mientras que vagaba desamparadamente en el gran océano de la aniquilación, vio en esas aguas temerosas una personalidad maravillosa - un pequeño bebe acostado solo dentro de una hoja del banyan doblada (en forma de cunda). ¡Oh Sūta!, estoy desconcertar y curioso sobre este gran sabio, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi. ¡Oh, Gran yogī!, tú eres aceptado universalmente como una autoridad en todo los Purāṇas. Por lo tanto disipe amablemente mi confusión.
June 4th, 2011
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.8.1-44 - Description of how Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi performed austerities, defeated by his potency Cupid and all his associates, and offered prayers to Lord Sri Hari in His forms of Nara-Nārāyaṇa Ṛṣi.
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Posted by Jayendra at 4/6/11; 7:32:32 PM to the Daily Class dept
I ask myself
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.8.1-44 - Description of how Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi performed austerities, defeated by his potency Cupid and all his associates, and offered prayers to Lord Śrī Hari in His forms of Nara and Nārāyaṇa.
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Japa Group: Please Follow Very Carefully
Please follow very carefully the four restrictions of no eating of meat, fish or eggs; no gambling; no illicit sex; and no taking of any kinds of intoxicants. Chant at least sixteen rounds on your beads daily without fail and avoid the ten offenses in the matter of chanting the Holy Names of the Lord. They are:
1) Blaspheming the Lord's devotee;
2) Considering the Lord, Krsna, on the same level with the demi-gods or assuming that there are many Gods;
3) Neglecting the order of the Spiritual Master;
4) Minimizing the authority of the Scriptures;
5) Interpreting the Holy Name of God;
6) Committing sin on the strength of chanting;
7) Instructing the glories of the Lord's Name to the unfaithful;
8) Comparing the Holy Name with mundane piety;
9) Inattention while chanting the Holy Name; and
10) Attachment to material things while engaged in the practice of chanting.
Letter to Aditi Devi Dasi - 29 September, 1970
* Note: Inattention is included in the list of 10 offenses• Email to a friend •
Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: A transcendental journey
As I was trying to talk with different people I saw this man come up and his t-shirt read ‘need less, be more’...so I said – Hey I like your T-shirt, you are a spiritual seeker or what. He kind of smiled and even though his friend moved on he stayed and started to talk. As I showed him the perfection of yoga he told me he already had it. Curious I inquired where you got it from. He said a few months ago he was travelling in Johannesburg and he had met someone giving out books on the street and he had got the book from him. He explained that later he got invited to a Kindered spirit concert and he went with them for Kirtan. I asked him if he had the Bhagavad gita and turned out he had got that too from sankirtan devotees. By now he was already holding nectar of Instruction and I also handed him a Krishna book saying if he had the Bhagavad gita then he should have the Krishna book too as they go hand in hand. Showed him all the pictures that he greatly admired and gave a donation for both the books. He seemed like such a ripe fruit so I wanted to invite him to Urbanedgeyoga for the special programs. To my surprise he told me he was leaving for Italy in 1-2 hours and would not be back until August. I showed him the address for Italy and asked him if he could chant japa while he was away. He told me he had mantra beads but he did not know how to chant. So I took him to a shaded area at the corner of street and showed him how to hold the beads and chant – we chanted the maha mantra a few times and then I requested him to chant at least one round a day through his travels and keep in touch. I was remembering how I too on my last evening out of India, had received a Krishna book from a devotee. Little did I know where it would truly take me?
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Gouranga TV: Iskcon Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan 2011
Iskcon Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan 2011
Iskcon Birmingham 24 Hour Kirtan 2011
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Australian News: Mayapur Days: A blog to take you home
At some point in our lives, we go home. We go home to see loved ones, and when love leaves us; we go home to celebrate, and when we’re lonely; we go home when death visits, and when new life enters; we go home when we’re beaten, and when we’re proud; we go home to remember, and to forget; we go home to escape the past, or to make a new road into the future. Whatever the reason, we go home because it is the one place we belong, the place that’s ours, that doesn’t judge, condemn, misunderstand, or dismiss. It is that place we’re all looking for.
Mayapur is home. It is my shelter in every way: spiritually, physically, and emotionally. It is my retreat, my cave, my comfort zone, my fulfilled desire. The sounds of Mayapur are magical, lyrical, liberating, peaceful, and beautiful; an intoxicating array of chants, mantras, songs, and bells; a divine choir of birds and people, even dogs, jackals, and countless other beings that reside in this mystical place; a blissful view of green, green, and more green, from rice fields to jute crops, from the palm fronds that brush the window screens to the fresh, soft banana leaves we eat from. The varied aromas fill the air and wrap themselves around the senses: early morning scents of night-blooming jasmine from the garden; the curling smoke from incense offered in the temple as it sneaks into your clothes, your nose, your mind, your heart; the endless array of foods served to pilgrims or friends who visit, or bought from street stalls, or offered to the Lord in the temple, or cooked at home — all of it sharing the lingering spice of life that is Mayapur…
Click here to find yourself at Maypur days, a blog by Braja
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