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Srila Prabhupada's Letters1965 Friday, August 13: "Today at 9 a.m. embarked on M.V. Jaladuta. Everything is nice and thanks to Lord Sri Krishna for His enlightening Smti. Sumati Moraji for all these arrangements. The ship started at 1/30 p.m. very slowly from the dock. The voyage was again stopped at 3/30 a.m. at Kalpi near Diamond Harbor. The delta of the Ganges quite wide with shallow water."   • Email to a friend •  •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1969 August 13: "Your endeavor to induce the Beatles to cooperate with us is successful. Now when I come to London I shall bring various other recordings sung by me. When they are presented through Mr. George Harrison and his company, I am sure people will like them very much."  • Email to a friend • •
Srila Prabhupada's Letters1969 August 13: "When I heard the wheels of the cart collapsed it was so great a shock that the whole day I was sick and morose. Now after receiving this letter I am very much enlivened that as a result of this collapse you have got now the sympathy of all the people of London."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1974 August 13: "Regarding moneys collected, do not keep this money. Immediately spend on printing books. This should be strictly followed: 50% for printing and 50% for building. No money should be invested for any business."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1974 August 13: "Regarding the society's leaders emphasizing business, you should understand what is the meaning of business. Business means to help the preaching. Preaching needs financial help - otherwise, we have no need for business."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1974 August 13: "Our book business is sufficient to support our movement. I do not want the preaching to be at the expense of managing. Manager must also be a preacher - otherwise who will want to follow him?"  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1974 August 13: "Regarding book sales, please endeavor in this way. The book sales - this is the only solace in my life. When I hear that my books are selling so nicely, I become energetic like a young man."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1974 August 13: "We have to plan our activities in such a way that we become stronger, not weaker. Physically I am becoming weak, so now you boys must become strong."  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Padayatra 'Walk for Peace' Braves London Riots
• Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Family Finds Real Wealth in Cows and the Land
• Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
"In His vaibhava-prakasa feature, Lord Krsna manifests Himself as Balarama. The Balarama feature is as good as Krsna Himself, the Only difference being that the bodily hue of Krsna is dark and that of Balarama is fair" (Teachings of Lord Caitanya Chap.7) Happy Balarama Purnima everyone. Enjoy today's grand darsana. • Email to a friend • •Temple of the Vedic Planetarium: Amazing AchievementMr. Mafatlal (Krsna Chandra Das) has been an active Member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) for over 26 years. He, along with his wife Rekha and their three children have whole-heartedly adopted the Vaishnava practices in their personal lives. They are engaged in a variety of services connected, in particular, with Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, thus acting as active members in developing ISKCON, Chowpatty under the guidance of his Guru H.G Radhanatha Swami. He also acts as a Trustee there, as well as in the Lady Northcote Hindu Orphanage (LNHO), and is Chairman of the Bhaktivedanta Hospital at Mira Road. • Email to a friend • •Jayadeva das, USA: Death Is Our Foundation
 • Email to a friend • •Japa Group: A Letter Of Appreciation
From time to time I get messages and feedback about the Japa Group website. Today I received one of those messages from a 55yr old devotee - name truncated for privacy reasons. This website has inspired such an old (55) aspiring devotee! I live 2 hours from the nearest temple so this keeps me intouch with the "work" of Krishna around the world. Keep up the good work and chanting your rounds - it makes a difference. I hope you had a good week of quality chanting of the Holy names.  • Email to a friend • •Sita-pati dasa, AU: Radha Krishna Swing Festival - live stream From 5pm - 7pm Saturday August 13. It's at 14 Young St, Graceville, Brisbane if you want to come in person, or you can watch it below. • Email to a friend • •Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: With Lord Balarama\'s Mercy, Krishna Consciousness blankets the GTA for the next 48 hours! The above picture from Nama Yagna 2011 with Gauranga spreading His merciful arms over the Toronto skyline pretty much tells the story in the Greater Toronto area this weekend! For the next 48 hours pretty much morning, afternoon, night or even in the middle of Saturday night you can enjoy Krishna Conscious nectar in the form of kirtan, association, discourse or prasadam. No need to sleep or cook (except for your deities) but a change of clothes every 12 hours or so is reccomended :-) So for example you can hit ISKCON Scarborough this evening and enjoy a program with HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja or you can head to ISKCON Toronto to help the youth clean and prepare for a busy festival weekend. Tomorrow morning you can hit ISKCON Toronto for morning class with HH Gopal Krishna Goswami, followed by an initiation ceremony and special abishek and feast. At around the same time the 24 hour Nama Yagna 2011 kirtan starts in Etobicoke with at least 24 kirtaniyas from accross North America, Europe, India and beyond. There is non-stop kirtan and prasadam and in service to Srila Prabhupada our family will be doing ISKCON book distribution at this event. Speaking of book distribution, there is multiple efforts going on this weekend to get Srila PRabhupada's mercy in the hands of the masses which includes street sankirtan and ISKCON Brampton setting up a book stall at Panorama India. In the evening, with Lord Balarama's mercy you can go south, north, east or west and partake in celebrations. All three GTA (Greater Toronto Area) ISKCON temples will celebrate Lord Balarama's Appearance day as well as Nama Yagna 2011! Not enough? Well the harinama goes all night long and into Sunday morning! And just when you thought you were done the branch temples in Scarborough and Brampton will be gearing up with their Sunday afternoon programs. Of course mixed into all of this is home programs, an exclusive Friday evening program for yoga enthusiasts at Bhakti Lounge/Uban Edge Yoga and more.... And then Sunday evening ends off with a bang! ISKCON Toronto has a Sunday feast with a special discourse by HH Gopal Krishna Maharaja who will be leaving us again early next week. And then Nama Yagna 2011 holds a special Bhajan Shandhya complete with non-stop prasadam from 6pm to well into the night. So as ISKCON Toronto's program winds down this program is heating up. Last time this bhajan shandiya was breath taking and at one point everyone was dancing in ecstasy. So the question is...what are you doing this weekend? Toronto is the place to be as Krishna Consciousness blankets the city with the mercy of Lord Balarama. We offer Lord Balarama our pranamas again and again for so much mercy... namas te halagraha namas te musalayudha namas te revati-kanta namas te bhakta-vatsala namas te dharani-dhara namas te balanam srestha pralambare namas te 'stu ehi mam krsna-purvaja More information on these events can be found at: ISKCON Scarborough: http://iskconscarborough.blogspot.com/ ISKCON Brampton: http://iskconbrampton.blogspot.com/ ISKCON Toronto: http://iskcontoronto.blogspot.com/ Ashtaprahar Nama Yagna 2011: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189180961142107 • Email to a friend • •Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Balarama praises Krsna"What is the value of a throne to Lord Krsna? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Laksmi and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads." When the Kauravas, to flatter Baladeva so that He would become their ally, spoke ill of Sri Krsna, Lord Baladeva became angry and spoke this verse (SB 10.68.37). • Email to a friend • •New Vrndavan, USA: Schedule for Lord Balarama's Appearance Day Celebration on Saturday, August 13, 2011.Dear Brijabasis, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! 7:45 AM Jhulana-yatra on this Friday, Saturday and Sunday *************************************** Here is the Schedule for Lord Balarama’s Appearance Day Celebration on Saturday, August 13, 2011. 6:00 PM Lecture On this most Auspicious Occasion, everyone is encouraged to prepare as many preparations for Lord Balarama. Any and all that you love preparing for Him, making this Evening Offering at least a total of 56 wonderful preparations. This rare opportunity is especially meaningful to all those who are partial to HIS Special mercy. All preparations should arrive in the Temple Pujari Room no later than 6:00 PM for this special offering. Thank you for your consideration. Hare Krishna. Your servant, Jaya Krsna das • Email to a friend • •Madhavendra Puri, New Govardhana, AU: Won-Durr Boiz in Poland (Part 10) – A Mad Magic Monday [Siemysl][The Won-Durr Boiz diary series is based on four ex-gurukuli brothers (surname: Durr) coming together for the first time to share Krsna consciousness with the outside world. Madhavendra Puri (the author and middle elder) has been waiting in Radhadesh (Belgium) for his brothers to arrive. Nitai Canda (the eldest) and Rupa Gosvami (the youngest) arrive first, and Bhisma Deva (the middle younger) is scheduled to come half way through. Their adventure takes them through Belgium, Germany and Poland, for rathayatras, festival tours and kirtana events. These diaries aim to bring inspiration and joy to the readers, and hopefully encourage others to entangle themselves in Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement – whether for the spiritual benefits or simply for the fun.]
Monday 18th, July 2011.
I was added by one boy on facebook in the morning, named Kamil. At first, I was a little suspicious but then I realized he was one of the guys we had met in Dzwirzyno. HH Indradyumna Swami had blessed me, saying "I empower you", in the midst of talking with Kamil and his friend. Now that there was some reciprocation, I could tell that the blessing had changed the hands of fate in this boy's life.
There was a big fuss for us all to go see a doctor in the morning, for the Woodstock health regulations. I was on the list but managed to skip out, a massive time saver. A lot of the guys were heading out via bus to Kolobrzeg that Monday, just to have a break from our little town of Siemysl, and our seemingly endless, compact lifestyle.
The feast was another spectacular addition to the Monday, filling us all to satisfaction. It was announced that in the evening we would have a magic show and then an Istha-gosthi (meeting) with Maharaja after that. We scurried off to our rooms to digest before everything went on its way.
The man who had come to do the magic show was Polish and he was wearing a sleek suit. He and his partner had sat with us for lunch prasadam also. He mentioned (in Polish) that he had come to our festival and really liked us. He had made friends with our festival magician, and now he had come to do a show for us out of some spontaneous attraction and appreciation. His tricks were simple, but he masked them with lots of razzle-dazzle and good humour. It was a rather sweet exchange of interaction between him and the gathered assembly of devotees.
The Istha-gosthi was nice. It was good to see HH Indradyumna Swami so pleased in comparison to other Monday meetings I had experienced on tour. He was rather pleased with the dedication and behaviour of the devotees on this year's tour. There were many new devotees this year and they all seemed to be cautious to follow the examples of the devotees who were veterans on the tour. Maharaja expressed his appreciation first and then began to tell some recent stories.
Maharaja mentioned how one man was walking on the beach with his family on one of the days of our festivals. The man had come to a festival eight years before but, simply by hearing Maharaja's voice in the kirtana, he made his way to our recent festival, travelling up the lighthouse path just to reach it. The path was not the shortest or flattest path so the man made it at the end of the festival but he managed to express his appreciation personally to Maharaja. Maharaja was also visited by a sophisticated man in the middle of the festival, who had bought a Bhagavad-Gita. When Maharaja asked who he was, he mentioned he was the head of the philosophy division of the local university. It was a tribute to the effort of HH Indradyumna Swami and the devotees to see so many nice people captivated and always coming back for more. Maharaja suggested that these were only a few stories of many.
The fun was settled in the first twenty minutes and then the meeting became business orientated. Maharaja mentioned that at the end of the Niechorze festival he looked out and there were no devotees on the festival site. It was a cold and windy day so all the devotees were keen to catch a warm spot in the bus, but in doing so they had left all the guests alone and confused on the festival site. Maharaja spoke on this point for a whole hour, stating Vaisnava etiquette, making many jokes, giving many examples and really drumming it in. He decided that he would make a hand sign at the end of every festival when we could all leave, just so we lingered on for another ten minutes or so.
After the meeting, it was time for the weekly soccer match. I had sorted out my priorities today so I was free to take part. It was a bloody battle of the devotees, activating their ksatriya moods, and it went on for the longest duration. A small handful of the players had to limp off the field but everyone else pushed on. It was a great way to catch some oxygen, exchange some laughs, and lose the week's anxieties, gearing us up for another extended week of festivals.
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• Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Gopinath's Kids' Camp in Toronto
• Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Tibetan Monks Leery of China-backed Lama's Visit
• Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Ratha Yatra Inivtation ISKCON Villaggio Hare Krishna.Click on picture for enlarged view Sent by His Grace Venu Gopala Prabhu Hare Krishna! Bring all your family and friends to the Ratha Yatra! • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1965 August 12:  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 August 12: "GBC does not mean to control, GBC means to see that the activities of a center go on nicely. I do not know why he is exercising absolute authority. That is not the business of GBC. The president, treasurer and secretary are responsible for managing the center. GBC is to see that things are going nicely."  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Why Religious People Are Nerds, Too The great "What is a nerd?" debate might be tired, but this video makes the whole argument worthwhile just by having a really great kicker. After laying out in pretty convincing detail the ways in which religious people are, in fact, nerds, it ends with the most convincing piece of evidence. (We'll let you watch to find out what that is — zing!) Beyond that, CollegeHumor's Religious People Are Nerds video makes some fairly valid points about how religious fanatics and, say, Firefly fanatics aren't that different: Both groups quote their respective texts with precision, both look to dudes with beards for official teachings, and both gather weekly to commiserate over their respective passions. But, as most observers understand, traditional nerds stick to flame wars to get their points across while religious nerds have from time to time gotten into actual wars for their beliefs, leading this video to conclude that maybe some should put down the scripture and find Serenity. • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 August 12: "Encourage him as much as possible. Give him daily a little prasadam and give him opportunity to hear Hare Krishna Mantra. That will induce him more and more. He has got an inclination so if you give him a chance to associate with you then he may turn out to be a great help to our movement."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1965 August 12: "Srimat Bhaktivedanta Swami, a resident of Vrndavana, is departing from Calcutta for New York this 12th day of August. People from far off America have invited him to meet him in person and acquaint themselves with his work." [from Dainik Basumati]  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1968 August 12: "Several devotees arrived from San Francisco to begin preparations for opening our center in London, England. While they are here, we are having rehearsal of Kirtana daily so we are going to try to make it as successful a venture as Krishna desires."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 August 12: "In the midst of your heavy duties go on writing something glorifying the Lord and put our philosophy into words. Writing articles means to express oneself how he is understanding the whole philosophy. So this writing is necessary for everyone."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 August 12: "If Indira Gandhi is not available, then forget this program. If it is not possible, then there should be no ceremony. But she has not flatly denied us. She said if she is on the Bengal side she would come. So find out the date when she will be on that side."  • Email to a friend • •Srila Prabhupada's Letters1971 August 12: "So you all have been trained up under the expert guidance of Visnujana Swami. Stay fit in spiritual life by strictly following. If you will follow faithfully then your going back to home back to Godhead will be certain."  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Cultic Organizations See ISKCON in "New Light": Barcelona Spain International Conference
• Email to a friend • •Sri Prahlad, AU: Chant Fest-Spring ImmersionKirtan with THE MAYAPURIS & SRI PRAHLADA
Kangaroo St Manly NSW | | | | More info | | The Mayapuris only Sydney concert! THE MAYAPURIS & SRI PRAHLADA When: Saturday 15TH October 2011 7.00 pm Sri Prahlada info@manlyyoga.com.au *** Please bring your own cushion. • Email to a friend • •H.H. Sivarama Swami: Szöllőssy Dániel asksAbout offering prayers to negative beings like adharma in order to be free from their influence. • Email to a friend • •Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: “The Jester” By Margaret WiddemerI have known great gold Sorrows: I dance where in the screaming market-place I have known great gold Sorrows . . . Filed under: Poetry         • Email to a friend • •Japa Group: The Life And The Soul
I would like to share with you one verse of the Siksastakam: Let there be supreme victory for the chanting of the holy name of Sri Krishna, which cleanses the mirror of the heart and exstinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. Sri Krishna sankirtana diffuses the soothing rays of bhava that cause the white lotus of good fortune for all living entities to bloom. The holy name of Krishna is the life and soul of all transcendental knowledge and increases the ocean of transcendental bliss. The holy name bathes and cools the body, mind and soul and enables one to taste full nectar at every step.I wish you can have a great weekend. your servant, Aruna devi  • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Jhulan Yatra Day2
Here are some shots from the second day of Sri Sri Radha Krishna's Swing Festival. • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Cinnamon May Hold The Key To Alzheimer`s Disease Prevention And Treatment
• Email to a friend • •Mayapur Online: Sri Balarama PurnimaOn 13th of August, we will be celebrating Lord Balarama's appearance in Sri Dham Mayapur. A day full of festivities has been planned so that we may absorb ourselves more in the mercy of Lord Balarama. There will be a special class in the morning on Lord Balarama's appearance, followed by amazing bhajans, kirtans, along with a Maha-abhisheka and pushpanjali at noon. • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: US Religion Communicators Call For Civil Discourse About 9/11
• Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Rising Restrictions on Religion
• Email to a friend • •ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Join Us for a Full Day of Celebrations for Lord Balarama's Appearance Day with HH Gopal Krsna Goswami!
Festivities will begin early in the morning as our special guest for the weekend, HH Gopal Krsna Goswami, will be giving a morning class and then conducting an initiation ceremony. Spiritualists who take to the Hare Krishna tradition can formally take vows from a spiritual master (guru) and this ceremony is known as "initiation". It's a wonderful ceremony, accompanied by a fire sacrifice, discourse and then the initiates are given spiritual names! Following the initiation, there will be a special abhiseka ceremony of Gopal Krsna Goswami's Krsna-Balarama silas. An abhiseka is a bathing ceremony wherein deities are elaborately bathed with various items like water, milk, honey, etc. This is accompanied by resounding kirtan! The kirtan will lead into a delightful vegetarian feast (prasadam). The festival doesn't end there, though! The evening festival will kick off at 6pm with kirtan and will feature a special, extended class by Gopal Krsna Goswami. After the class, Toronto's Hare Krishna temple will present the Second Annual Balarama's Bake-Off! Five members of our community have been selected and have been assigned secret ingredients and have been challenged to come up creative sweet items related to Lord Balarama. After the class, the contestants will present their offerings in a fun and creative way. You won't want to miss it! Festitivies will conclude with more kirtan and a huge vegetarian feast! The schedule for the day will be as follows (subject to change):
 • Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: Radhadesh Retreat 2011 with His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami (Day 4)Share/Save • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Los Angeles Ratha Yatra and Lord Balarama's Mischief
• Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: The Radhadesh Retreat Lectures 2011 with His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami (Day 3)Share/Save • Email to a friend • •ISKCON News.com: Hare Krishna Devotees To Hold Peace March In Wake Of London Riots
• Email to a friend • •H.H. Bhakticharu Swami: The Radhadesh Retreat Lectures 2011 With His Holiness Bhakti Caru Swami (Day 2)Share/Save • Email to a friend • •ISKCON Desire Tree: Lord Balarama's Appearance - Jhulana Yatra ends<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:63t7Ie-LG7Y"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:dnMXMwOfBR0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:YwkR-u9nhCs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=YwkR-u9nhCs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:KwTdNBX3Jqk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:l6gmwiTKsz0"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:gIN9vFwOqvQ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?i=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?a=iP_vJ3tAn4Y:FCubBsCQNxw:TzevzKxY174"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Iskcondesiretree?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"></img></a> </div> • Email to a friend • •Vraja Kishor, JP: Freewill vs Habitsnānyaḿ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraḿ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati guṇebhyaś ca paraḿ vetti mad-bhāvaḿ so ‘dhigacchati Gita 14.19 The performer of actions is none other than the three modes of nature. See this through the eyes of those who can see, And come to understand something above and beyond these three modes: My spiritual nature… and you can attain it!
These words from Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad Gita could not possibly be more pertinent to an astrologer like me. After all I deal with the subject of fate vs. freewill on a constant basis.
Say you slap someone in the face – let's use that as a simple example of free choice. What happens next? Next you must suffer the consequences! The consequences are the fate which arises from your free choice. This is a simplified analogy to illustrate what karma really is. It is the marriage of freewill and fate. Fate exists because of freewill.
I cannot control my fate, but I can control how I choose to react to it. My choices in the past created my present fate; and so too will my choices in the present determine my future. Thus, "I am the architect of my own destiny."
But do I really have full control over how I react?
The answer is no. But I could get full control if I work towards it. That is what this verse is talking about.
The fourteenth chapter of Gita explains that we are habituated to react to circumstances in various predictable ways. There are three forces of habituation acting on us:
Kṛṣṇa says here in this verse, nānyaḿ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraḿ – The entity making choices ("kartāraḿ") is nothing besides these three habits, these three modes of material nature. Our habits make all our decisions for us.
But we have reincarnated as human beings – which is relatively rare opportunity to change this! We have a chance to understand that we can exist in a similar way that God exists ("mad- bhāvaḿ"): completely situated in pure freewill without any imposition. The purpose of being born as a human being is to use our freewill and stop reacting to circumstances out of instinct and habit, like animals do.
How?
First we must "know the enemy." First we must be able to spot a habit when we see it, and differentiate a habitual response from an act of freewill. This means we must have clear knowledge of what the three habituating forces are – tamas, rajas, and sattva – and be able to spot them when we see them. Thus Kṛṣṇa says, "See the habituating modes!" (yadā draṣṭa) I don't see them! How can I see them? "Through the eyes of those who can see." (anupaśyati)
If you look up at a cloud and see a clown face, you can say to me, "Hey wow! See that clown face cloud?" I'll say, "No, where?" You'll point and say, "There, see. Those are the eyes, there's the puff hair…" Then I'll see it, "oh yeah! That's cool!"
That's what anupashyati means – seeing through the eyes of those who see. So we must learn about the habituating modes by hearing about them from people who understand and can see them in action. Kṛṣṇa is one such person, and we try to see through his eyes by exerting an effort to understand what he teaches in Bhagavad Gita.
What exactly do we see when we see the eyes of those who see?
We see that the modes are not everything! There is freewill beyond the habituations enforced by material energy. Thus Kṛṣṇa says, "guṇebhyaś ca paraḿ vetti" – Seeing through the eyes of those who know, you will come to know the three habituating modes (gunebhyah) and something beyond them, too (ca param).
What is beyond the programming and habitualizations of the material world? "mad-bhāvaḿ" – Kṛṣṇa's own existence! Is that not beyond us? Is free will only for God? No! "’sah adhigacchati" – you can also attain this perfectly free level of existence!
Knowing that freewill exists and is within our reach is half the battle of attaining it. Being able to spot our conditionings is the third quarter of the battle. Being able to desist from the force of habit once we spot it is the final part of the victory.
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