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"His words are sweet, His character is sweet, His dress is sweet, His posture is sweet, His movements are sweet, His wandering is sweet.
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness..." (Madhurastakam) O Lord of Sweetness, O Sri Sri Radha Ballabha, Your darsana, day by day, is sweeter and sweeter.
A from Ohio wrote: "I recently ate a sweet (not sure of the name) made with butter, milk powder and orange. It was called 'something awesome' or 'something wonderful' or something like that. Could you please give the recipe for this heavenly sweet?" My reply: Hello! The sweets are called 'simply wonderfuls'. Here is the recipe: Orange and Currant Simply Wonderfuls Simply Wonderfuls are fudge-like sweets made from butter, sugar, and milk powder. They require no cooking. Combine the ingredients, and the result is simply wonderful! PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes, YIELD: about 15 sweets 1 1/4 cups sifted icing (confectioners/powdered) sugar, 190g (6.7 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange rind/zest, 2 tablespoons currants, 1.5 cups sifted full-cream milk powder. Cream the butter, sugar, and orange rind in a mixing bowl. Fold in the currants and powdered milk and knead until a firm fondant-like dough is formed. Pinch off walnut-sized portions and roll into smooth even-sized balls. Chill and serve. NOTE: to measure the 190 grams butter, just look at the weight of a block and cut off approx right amount. Butter quantities do not have to be super-accurate. Do not melt the butter, it should be room temperature. Orange and currants are just an idea (a nice idea). You could add just about anything.
Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.40 - Srimad Bhagavatam is meant for the ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-perfect. Disappearance day of Sri Gadadhara Das Goswami, Sri Srinivasa Acarya and Sri Dhananjaya Pandit. 
Let's Get It
Toronto, Ontario
Earth's population reached the 7 billion mark. I propose it's not Earth shattering to hear that. An acquaintance of mine, she remembers when she was young, that the 4 billionth kid was born in 1987. Imagine, in such a short time we've blown up to an incredible proportion. Poor Mother Earth, poor us.
To hear about the rate of human population growth gives me the creeps. I don't know what it does to you. I personally feel a concern, like you, about the overload of energy consumption, and the subsequent waste thereafter. I picture in my mind an Earth ravaged in the not so distant future, of trees leveled and wild life carcasses found everywhere for lack of food and space.
In the time that our guru, Srila Prabhupada was with us for a decade, from the mid 60's to mid 70's, the topic of population explosion did arise from time to time. Back then he dissuaded us from being alarmed, when it was then a concern. He argued that the Earth can accommodate many people. He's right. The problem is who we are as a species and what we do with precious Earth. We are a destructive lot, expert at the ruination of our habitat. We've proven to be so, and we are not correcting ourselves at a fast enough rate. For instance, China and India, who have well over a billion population each, are supposed to be in an economic boom, but reportedly these places are being divested of good air and water to hold their astronomical supply.
The problem is that we Earthlings, more particularly, humans, just do not have our priorities straight. Going deep into matters is not our strong point. Going into our selves is not our norm, and yet, to be introspective is a gift we have over all other life forms. We shouldn't expect them to correct our wrongs. At some point in time, Goddess Bhumi (Mother Earth) and Bhagavan (Father God) will say, "Enough is enough. We flush you all down."
Isn't it better to pay heed to warnings than to selfishly pass on our crap to the next generation? It would allow us a better karma to contend with. I hope we get smart. I hope we 'get it'. I'm also guilty of contributing to the mess like everyone else. I hope I 'get it', and become a better guardian of my place, the Earth. She's too sacred. Let's enjoy her a whole lot more and walk upon her soft and hard soil, giving her the massage she deserves, and let's watch the pollution.
10 KM
Inspiration from Optimistic Words
Toronto, Ontario
Each morning Praveen faithfully reads a passage from the Gita to our small group of fifteen residents in the ashram. I particularly like today's reading from the purport of 1:21-22.
"The relationship between the Lord and His servitor is very sweet and transcendental. The servitor is always ready to render service to the Lord, and, similarly, the Lord is always ready to render service to the devotee. He takes greater pleasure in His pure devotee's assuming the advantageous position of ordering Him than He does being the giver of orders. Since He is master, everyone is under His orders, and no one is above Him to order Him. But when He finds that a pure devotee is ordering Him, He obtains transcendental pleasure, although He is the infallible master in all circumstances."
This was read in a pleasant and sincere tone as the message is.
I had spoken to a good friend of mine, Ugresh, whom I used to travel with when he was single, a monk, as I was (and still am). In our dialogue it came up that pleasant remarks, positive words and encouragement is the true spirit and culture of Krishna. We made mention of the sad internet culture of bashing and put-down. This is unwanted. Again, I look to the lines in the Gita's purport, "He takes greater pleasure" and "He obtains transcendental pleasure." That's the spirit - the willingness to serve and take pleasure in doing so.
I had taken a walk to see some people who were decked out in Hallowe'en ghoulishness (frankly, they are Krishna devotees in disguise). They externally cut the ghastly profile but in spirit they resonated what is totally optimism.
They couldn't scare me even if they tried.
8 Km
4:29 A.M. Poem for November 2 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates were very happy to observe how Lord Jagannatha began the Ratha-yatra. The strongly built daityas were as powerful as elephants. They manually carried Lord Jagannatha from the throne to the car. Strong puffed up cotton pads were spread out from the throne to [...] Poem for November 2 is a post from: EVERY DAY
From My Autobiography "'Satsvarupa dasa. That is the name you will remember me by. You won't say, 'Satsvarupa? I don't remember. When did he join?' Or maybe you will. But I can refresh your memory. I shouldn't think I'm the only Satsvarupa, just as Brahma thought he was the only Brahma. When Lord Brahma of [...] Selected Writings is a post from: EVERY DAY
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, June 2011)  Just imagine Krishna as the Supersoul and what He has to go through to be conscious of all these thoughts of all the living beings! Oh my God, just the thought of it makes my mind feel intense, and if I would know all the thoughts of everyone in this room, then that would really be too much!
Can you imagine Krishna knowing all the thoughts of all living beings, in all of the universes as well as the spiritual world! It's just something else……inconceivable. But by just seeing the material universes, then Krishna has to deal with all these thoughts: The positive ones; the negative ones; the envious ones; the greedy ones, and so on. We would say: "Oh no! Here we go again. Oh my God……oh no not greed again! Not anger again!" If we read someone else's thoughts, then it's not only beautiful thoughts of nice poetry…..no! It can be all kinds of negative experiences. What to speak of the animal forms, such as Krishna being situated in the heart of the spider, that is sitting there in the sun waiting for the mosquito to fly into the net: "And then I will wrap my sticky string around this mosquito and strangle him for a bit. When he is sufficiently flat for a while, than I'll sting him with some poison, and I'll suck him dry!" What a consciousness, and Krishna has to tolerate all of this! So Krishna is extremely tolerant……extremely tolerant! 
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, June 2011)  As we understand from Srila Prabhupada's explanation that, Krishna's appearance is just like the sun. As the sun is rising and setting, it is not that actually the sun turns red in the morning and then turns red in the evening – as if the flame of the gas has been turned down, or something like that, and the colour changes. No! The sun keeps its same bright effulgence, but because the sun is disappearing from our vision, then from our perspective it appears to become reddish, and setting and so on. But the fact of the matter is that the sun is shining somewhere else!
One who flies can experience that. For example, if you fly from Australia, towards Europe and you kind of leave at sunrise, then you can have sunrise for ten hours! The sunrise just stays – that's possible, you can have those kind of experiences. So a variable sun rise. It is from our own perspective that the sun has this reddish colour but actually the sun is always shining somewhere!  In the same way the pastimes of Krishna are always going on somewhere else. Krishna lifted Govardhana Hill here five thousand years ago on this planet. Now in another universe………….just right now, Krishna is lifting Govardhana Hill! In another universe – just now, Krishna is killing Putana! And again, in another universe, Krishna is killing Aghasura. Like that these pastimes of Krishna are going on eternally in unlimited universes, and all are simultaneously going on. By Krishna expanding himself like that, is not a problem……or difficulty at all!
Class given on Wednesday. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.39 - A cent-percent devotee of the Lord is immune to the dreadful material miseries of repeated birth and death.
Hare Krsna dear devotees. I hope your week of chanting is blessed and very inspiring. Last week in the japa room some devotees were sharing very nice realisations and it's always very enthusing to see devotees caring about their chanting.
Today in a class a devotee said that when we say Hare we address Srimate Radharani and She is the only one who can take us to Krsna. So I was praying to Her so She could help me chant and serve Her in my everyday life with devotion. Whenever I chant, I chant with devotion....whenever I cook, cook with love. By doing that everyday, I can be reminded that my position in this world is to serve and I need to dedicate to my chanting and purify my heart. I am very grateful everyday to have been introduced to this movement and to have the mercy of the vaisnavas and Srila Prabhupada.
Wishing you have a great end of week.
your servant,
Aruna devi
A week or so ago, a friend of mine recommended that I read the book Conversations with God, by Neale Donald Walsch. Basically, it's a guy who sits down one night, picks up a pen, writes down a question, and God responds through the guy's pen. You know, a conversation. Yes, Neale Donald Walsch had a conversation with God. If you don't believe me, go read the book yourself. All I can relate is my own experience in reading it, and for the past two weeks I feel like I've been going through life in technicolor. It's like every moment is a jewel because it has been given to me by God. And tonight was a jewel! For one of my college classes, I have this assignment to attend various events with high school age kids. The catch is that it must be different from my own upbringing. Nervous that the assignment deadline is approaching, I finally did some Google searches today and found a youth Bible Study in Gainesville. I decided to go tonight - hey, carpe diem! So at around 7pm, I walked through the doors of The Rock school/ministry. I felt a little nervous yet also happy to have an excuse to dive into another world. I struck up some conversations and immediately felt at home. The evening began with worship - a rock band played a devotional song and everyone sang along. I was surrounded by teenagers with rapt expressions on their faces, eyes closed, their palms raised to the sky. When the song ended, the pastor got up to announce the subject of tonight's Bible Study: hearing the voice of God. I stood there, gaping in shock. Whaaat? He told the story of how many years ago, he couldn't sleep and he felt that God was trying to speak to him, so he sat down and wrote and wrote - four or five pages, he just wrote everything he felt God was trying to tell him. He saved those pages, and many years later he still lives that timeless wisdom, and how what he wrote has come to pass. Just like the Walsch guy, I thought. We broke off into groups, and I followed the 11th and 12th graders upstairs. We arranged our chairs into a circle, and the young woman leading the Bible Study group asked the first question: "Describe a moment when you think God was trying to speak to you." The entire Bible Study, I just sat there dumbfounded. I contributed at times, but mostly I was absorbing every single word said. Some teenagers were more outspoken than others - they spoke in such a real way, that God was a part of their everyday lives, and how they listen to their intuition. I felt so deeply humbled - although I am chronologically older, I experience these young people as having such a deeper connection with God in their hearts. There was no sacrilege here to say that one can hear the voice of God. Frankly, it was conversed about in the most chill, down-to-earth way - even encouraged. "I listen to the voice of God. God is real, God is in my heart," one girl put it so simply. Of course, not everyone felt such a connection, which brought us to our next question: Why is it sometimes difficult to hear God's voice? "Movies, bad music, bad habits..." some teens volunteered. "Maybe we ignore the voice of God, so our channels get clogged up... If we are an instrument, we must be properly tuned to hear the Lord's voice." When the leader of the group asked if anyone would like to add anything, I decided to speak up. "You know, I'm actually college age and I come from a different spiritual tradition, but I would like to express how grateful I feel to be here with all of you. This has been an important experience for me for the past two weeks or so, about listening to the voice of God. I feel that God has directed me to this very room to be here with all of you tonight. Every word that you've shared I've taken it to heart, you have all been my teachers. I realize how God transcends all boundaries. God is in my heart, He is your heart. I feel humbled. So thank you!" A boy or two began to applaud, and then everyone applauded, smiling. I grinned in surprise and did a little bow where I was sitting. "Thank you!" I said again. What an adventure life is when every moment, every breath is infused with God... including this one! The Lord in your heart has brought you to these very words. So what are you waiting for? Go have a conversation with God! 
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 (at) gmail.com
ys
Rasa Rasika dasa
During my one week trip to Rio de Janeiro, I had the opportunity to give lectures in three different places. Thursday, Oct. 27, was the day we celebrated Govardhana Puja. The event took place at the Rio ISKCON Temple. 
The Deities were beautiful. 
And here's a picture of the Govardhana Hill wth the Temple's Govardhana Sila on top. 
I talked about the importance of the day, focusing on the different ways of taking shelter of Krishna and its importance in our spiritual lives. 
On Saturday, the 29th, I went to the pleasant mountain town of Miguel Pereira where the devotee couple, Tulasi Bhakta and Radharani, have a preaching center. There I lectured on Dattatreya's teachings from the Srimad Bhagavatam, “Enlightenment by the Natural Path.” The next day we observed Srila Prabhupada's dissappearance day. I spoke about the unique importance of Srila Prabhupada and how we are fortunate to have him as our founder-acharya. And on Tuesday, November 1st, I spoke on the subject of karma at the new ISKCON center in Rio de Janeiro called "Govinda." This yoga preaching center, organized by the ever enthusiastic Chandramukha Maharaja, is well decorated and comfortable and located in the heart of downtown Rio. 
A group of more than 25 people attended the event. My next trip will be to Nova Gokula, on the 11-15th November, where we'll have our Brazil National Council meetings, with the presence of Devamrita Maharaja, our GBC.
       
I want the benediction to go on fighting for Krsna up to my last breath.
- Srila Prabhupada
During the last few days of May 2011, Indradyumna Swami visited Dallas for a weekend filled with amazing Bhajans and Kirtans by Bada Haridas and Indradyumna Swami and discourses collectively called the "Festival of the Holy Name". During this time there was also the celebration of Indradyumna Swami's Vyas Puja and an Initiation Ceremony for many new disciples. These incredible days are now available as a set of DVDs. Purchase just the events you want or get all three for a discount: 
1967 November 2: "Anyone following the order of Lord Caitanya under the guidance of His bonafide representative, can become a Spiritual Master and I wish that in my absence all my disciples become the bonafide Spiritual Master to spread Krishna Consciousness throughout the whole world. I want it but he was too much puffed up."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967
1967 November 2: "Nobody can become a bonafide Spirtual Master by dissatisfying his Spiritual Master. He wanted to become a spiritual master by dissatisfying his spiritual master and as such he has fallen down. He cannot say anything genuine any more till he has had revival of his pure consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967
1972 November 2: "Yes, I always think of you. You are one of my first disciples and I am always praying to Krishna to give you His all blessings. Wherever you may be, it doesn't matter, don't give up the principles of spiritual life, that is my request."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
I am experiencing watching my 11 year old granddaughter spend a great deal of time on her smart phone. This doesn’t seem to be unusual as we were picking her up from school the other day and I observed that over 60% of the kids exiting the school had their eyes glued on their phones. One was so intent that there was this temporary sign stuck in the grass by the sidewalk, the kind on a u shaped piece of wire, and she walked right over it, transfixed by what was on her screen at the expense of her immediate reality, There a brahmacari in New Vrindaban who needs to write a computer coding project to finish the requirements for his college degree. I suggested he write an app for New Vrindaban and he has taken it up. He can work on one for the Droid on a regular computer but needs an Apple to write for the iPhone. WE have someone who will lend him a Mac for that but it needs a power cable and a mini-display adapter to a monitor cable. Could anyone help us out with these things? Please let me know if you can. This app isn’t just for kids, more it would be of assistance to anyone contemplating a visit to New Vrindaban or wanting to keep up with what is going on. But we do want to be on those smart phones when the tweens grow up a little and start looking for answers to the mysteries of life.
Filed under: News, Ramblings or Whatever        
By ISKCON News Staff for ISKCON News on 2 Nov 2011  | The Vedic culture and its philosophy is one of the most deeply spiritual and all encompassing traditions in the world, and has been a major contributor to philosophical thought and the development of civilization. It does not take that long to understand this, but it can take some serious consideration.
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1968 November 2: "He is one of the disciples of my God-brother and instead of replying my letter, he has the impudency of writing to Rayarama. He appears to be as venomous as the other Maharaja. They are all envious of my activities here."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1972 November 2: "You are seeing Vrndavana actually, the paintings are so nice. Now you distribute these books by millions all over the world, then everyone will see how wonderful is Vrndavana. That is the best preaching work."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1973 November 2: "As your President Lincoln gave the blacks equal rights, let us cooperate with them. If black men read our books, it will be a great achievement. When a devotee is actually advanced racial distinction disappears."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1973 November 2: "Regarding that rascal, yes, capture and defeat him in debate and prove him as rascal number one. Our propaganda should be for the educational institutions. I am anxious to see these scholars."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1974 November 2: "Use your intelligence for Krishna's service and not for any personal ambition. This is my only concern. We have worked very hard to establish a great institution - but if we think it is for our personal benefit then it will become ruined."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
 | Rasanath Das was an atypical member of the city's investment-banker class. The 32-year-old MBA earned a $170,000 salary working long days negotiating deals at Bank of America. But on his free nights, he slept on the floor of a bare room shared with 13 other Hindu monks in a monastery in the East Village.
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By ISKCON News Staff for ISKCON News on 2 Nov 2011  | A few month back, Yadunath Das treasurer of the historical 26 2nd Avenue center in New York turned to the ISKCON community for help to keep Prabhupada's first western temple up, running and under ISKCON`s care. As it stands now, losing this important site is a distinct possibility.
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4:18 A.M. Poem for November 1 The next day marked the performance of Netrotsava. This great festival was the life and soul of the devotees. Everyone was unhappy for a fortnight because they could not see the Deity of Lord Jagannatha. Upon seeing the Deity at the festival the devotees were very happy. When Lord [...] Poem for November 1 is a post from: EVERY DAY
From Memories "Our Memories, Our Truths" "Sometimes we think our memories are either too mundane, too painful, or too self-serving and self-centered. Or perhaps they are too gossipy, even when they are devotional remembrances. Admittedly, those are dangers. I would like to contend that although some memories have those defects, they are also a life, [...] Selected Writings is a post from: EVERY DAY
See two hundred more pictures here 
This kind of experience (referring to knowledge) you will find even in ordinary man, even in bird. They have some sort of specific intelligence or knowledge. That is not knowledge. You will find even in animals that there are wonderful activities which we cannot perform. That is not knowledge. Knowledge means to understand SPIRIT and MATTER. That is knowledge.
-Srila Prabhupada lecture New York 01-04-1967
This definition of knowledge given by Srila Prabhupada is a stark difference from modern day definition of knowledge. In today's world, knowledge is simply collection of information and the ability to repeat the information in a timely manner much like a computer. Knowledge also refers to any skill or art one possesses as a result of this information & subsequent training he or she gathers. This is knowledge from the perspective of modern day world.
According to the great spiritual teachers of the Vedic tradition, knowledge is the ability to find the root cause of all causes, thus finding one frees oneself from the problems of life. Actually, in one sense, modern day philosophers and scientists are also in quest of the same truth – that is – to find the root cause and solution to problems of life. But their attempts end in frustration because they do not distinguish SPIRIT from MATTER and thus operate solely on the material platform.
When we intellectually perceive the presence of something "OTHER" than the normal operations of matter, and we start to enquire into that something "OTHER", this enquiry is the beginning of knowledge. This enquiry will ultimately lead us through a path where we can find the root cause of all causes. While every singular individual living being has to undertake the journey of enquiry (like flying our own plane), there are perfect enlightened masters ready to guide us through this journey. Seeking guidance from these enlightened masters, if we take up this journey of enquiry we will ultimately reach to the point where we can distinguish SPIRIT from MATTER. At this enlightened stage, we will see all beings equally and neither hanker for the future nor lament for the past. Continuing on the enlightened stage, we will stop our journey when we find KRISHNA or SUPREME SPIRIT.
Along this continuum of enquiry from MATTER to SPIRIT to KRISHNA, there are innumerable theories and philosophies. This singular non-dual entity KRISHNA where all conflicts resolve and beyond which there is no more enquiry and hence the root cause of all causes, is the destination and pinnacle of all knowledge & problems of life- for all seekers, scientists and philosophers.
Hare Krishna
Srila Prabhupada's day of departure from this world was celebrated in grand style here in Sri Dham Mayapur, begining with Srila Prabhupada's tour of the ToVP. Following the visit to the ToVP everyone assembled in Srila Prabhupada's Pushpa Samadhi auditorium to watch an enthralling class by Srila Prabhupada read more
We thought we would share another beautiful video of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (we posted one several months back). The project is continuing at a rapid pace!
On the 34th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada's dissapearance the devotees in Mayapur were given the monumental opportunity to perform sankirtan in the temple hall of the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. This was the first time a group of devotees have been able to come together in the new temple to perform the yuga dharma. read more
Question: Spiritual wisdom-traditions often glorify forgiveness as a virtue, but isn't it impractical and foolish to forgive someone who repeatedly hurts us? Answer:  When someone hurts us, forgiving that person is our best response. But often our indignant emotions make us overlook the subtle but vital line that differentiates forgiving a person from trusting a person: forgiveness is for the past; trust is for the future. We are urged to immediately forgive, but not immediately trust, the wrongdoer. Let's explore this difference.
Whatever wrongs a person has done in the past can't be changed; as long as we resent the past, we stay stuck in it. Consequently, our thoughts, words, actions and even lives may become resentment-driven, causing us to either clam up or blow up. When we clam up, we drive our anger deep within, thereby unnecessarily inflicting ugly scars on our psyches that may distort our personality. When we blow up, we drive our anger outward not just to the wrongdoer, but to whoever crosses our way at the time of blowing up, thereby creating an undesirable public image of being irritable. Thus both the resentment-driven responses – clamming up or blowing up – are unproductive, nay counter-productive. Therefore, the best response is that which frees us from resentment – and forgiveness alone can do that. When we forgive a person, we accept the ground reality that the other person being a fallible human is imperfect – as are we. We too may err tomorrow and be in need of forgiveness. In fact, the logic of karma suggests that we may have hurt someone in the past, just as someone has hurt us now. We then see the wrongdoer not as the cause, but as the vehicle, of our suffering, which originated in our own past insensitivity. Underscoring this philosophically informed vision, Srila Prabhupada would recommend that we eschew becoming angry with "the instruments of our karma." Even if our indignant feelings make the logic of karma difficult to digest, still forgiveness retains its potential to free us from resentment. So, we needn't make our forgiveness conditional to the other person's seeking it, but we should certainly make our trust conditional to that person's earning it by sustained improved behavior. Conveying our forgiveness helps that person avoid the pitfall of self-justification, and holding back our trust avoids the pitfall of that person remaining oblivious to the past wrongdoing. Forgiving a person certainly doesn't mean that we let the other person continue the hurting behavior; that would be masochism and there's nothing laudable or spiritual about masochism. At the same time, it needs to be stressed that there's nothing intrinsically laudable or spiritual about cultivating and actualizing revenge fantasies. So, we need to find that balanced course of action which allows both us and the other person to grow spiritually. This balance can be better grasped through historical and practical examples. - A good scriptural example of offering forgiveness-but-not-trust comes in the tenth canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam in the dealings of king Vasudeva, the father of Lord Krishna, with the demoniac tyrant Kamsa. When due to an unexpected turn of events, the tyrant had an apparent change of heart and sought forgiveness from Vasudeva for the past atrocities. Vasudeva promptly forgave Kamsa, but didn't naively trust him and divulge Krishna's whereabouts; in fact, Vasudeva cautiously and tactfully did all that was possible for him to keep Krishna's whereabouts hidden from Kamsa. It soon became evident that Kamsa's change of heart had been only momentary; he relapsed into his past malevolence by re-imprisoning Vasudeva and by repeatedly sending deadly demons to kill Krishna. Thereupon Lord Krishna, taking cognizance of the demonstrated incorrigibility of Kamsa and the need to protect the innocent from his viciousness, chose the necessary punitive measure of freeing Kamsa's soul from the vengeful mentality inherent in his material body, thereby enabling the thus-purified soul to progress on the onward spiritual journey. In this incident, we see that when Kamsa did not use the forgiveness graciously offered to him to mend his ways and re-earn the lost trust, then eventually he was administered the required purificatory punishment commensurate to his misdeeds.
- Another example of giving forgiveness-without-trust, wherein the wrongdoer reformed himself, comes in the Mahabharata in the dealings of Vidura with his elder brother and the reigning monarch, Dhritarashtra. The saintly Vidura, who is also the speaker of the celebrated Vidura-niti (the moral codes of Vidura), repeatedly counseled the blind monarch, Dhritarashtra to choose morality over nepotism. Unfortunately, the kind, due to his attachment to his son, Duryodhana, continued tacitly sanctioning the latter's nefarious schemes to harm the Pandavas, who were the rightful heirs to the throne. At one time after the Pandavas had been dispossessed and exiled in a rigged gambling match, Vidura's beneficial but unpalatable pronouncements about the vicious nature of Duryodhana and its dire consequences became intolerable to the attached Dhritarashtra, who censured and banished his well-wishing younger brother. However, the king soon came back to his senses and sent his secretary, Sanjaya, to seek forgiveness from Vidura and to call him back. Vidura returned and forgave Dhritarashtra, but didn't trust him; by withholding his trust, he was able to keep track of further recurrences of nepotism. But by not withholding his forgiveness, he was able to maintain a congenial relationship with Dhritarashtra, thereby eventually helping the king see the futility and folly of his attachment and to finally take up the path to wisdom and enlightenment.
- Returning to our contemporary scenario, if the hurting behavior continues, we may need to create a safe, healthy distance between the person and the facility or the power or the position used to perpetrate the hurting behavior, so as to provide that person the room necessary to reform. If a spouse becomes overly dominant, we may have to do the needful to prevent abuse, but if we refuse to forgive our partner, who thereby feels branded as an abuser, we may soon find ourselves at the receiving end of a spate of counter-brandings, thereby taking the relationship on a doomed downward spiral.
- If a child repeatedly neglects studies due to being infatuated with video games, we may have to restrict access to those games, but we needn't restrict access to our love. A child who feels unloved, un-forgiven and labeled as irresponsible may get mentally caught up in trying to justify the video games, maybe as an 'aid to learning', instead of focusing on actual learning through studies. But a child who feels reassured of the parents' love and forgiveness, and inspired by the opportunity to re-earn their trust by studying wholeheartedly, may secure good marks, get a taste for studies and thereby naturally give up the video-game infatuation.
- On the spiritual path, if a practitioner misappropriates a resource meant for outreach for one's personal benefit, we may have to withhold that resource till the errant tendency is reformed, but we needn't withhold our forgiveness, for that forgiveness may well be the impetus necessary to inspire the desired reformation.
To summarize, forgiveness involves our cultivating virtue independent of the other person, whereas trust is our reciprocation conditional to that person's cultivating virtue. By carefully understanding the difference between the two, we can transform unfortunate episodes in our relationships into spiritual growth opportunities at least for ourselves – and possibly even for the other person.
THE FOLLOWING LECTURE ON SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM CANTO 3 CHAPTER 32, ENTANGLEMENT IN FRUITIVE ACTIVITIES, TEXT 39-40 WAS GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CARU SWAMI ON 5TH SEPTEMBER 2010 IN ISKCON UJJAIN, INDIA. Transcript : Ramananda Raya Dasa Editwork : Ramananda Raya Dasa Audio-reference : click here This lecture with picture can be read on bcswami.com Om [...]
Govardhan Puja at Houston ISKCON – Annakut Darshan 2011 in HD
"His lips are sweet, His face is sweet, His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet, His loving heart is sweet, His gait (walk) is sweet.
Everything is completely sweet about the Lord of Sweetness..."
(Madhurastakam by Sripad Vallabha-acharya) Here is the sweet darsana of that Lord of Sweetness.
Yesterday was the disappearance day of our beloved Srila Prabhupada. For the celebration we invited him to come on his palanquin after Guru-puja to the new temple for a special kirtan and circumambulation. Along with His Grace, devotees were also invited to join the parikrama to the ToVP site. What transpired inside the temple room was a shared feeling of awe and reverence for the vision Srila Prabhupada had for Mayapur.
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Wednesday 2 November 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. For Transcendental Association Connect With Other Members of this Course. Join this Conference: http://groups.google.com/group/sda_students Help Popularize Our Message By Liking Today's Thought on Facebook: Today's Thought: Steve Jobs and the Moment of Death uploaded from Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India Steve Job's sister, Mona Simpson, reports that Steve's last words as he was dying were, Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow. Of course, we don't know what he was thinking when he left his body. But we most certainly hope that he was remembering Krishna or the prasadam he used to relish at the Sunday Love Feast every week at ISKCON's Seattle temple. His connection with things related to Krishna is undeniable. The standard screen images that came from the Apple factory on the IPHONE 4 were a lotus flower and a peacock feather. So we hopefully wish the very best for Steve. Now we have to be concerned about what we will thinking at the time of death. If we want to conquer death, we will have to remember Krishna at life's culmination. But the time of death is a very heavy moment when our minds will naturally gravitate to whatever we have considered to be most dear throughout our lives. So if we want to be privileged to remember Krishna at that most critical moment, we must always hold Krishna in our hearts as our dearmost love by offering all of our thoughts, words, and deeds for His pleasure. If we can do so, when we leave our material bodies we will wake up as the eternal associates of Lord Sri Krishna in His most wondrous transcendental abode, Goloka Vrindavan. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture 1 November 2011--Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India: http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Fall/Vrindavan_Lect2a.JPG http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Fall/Vriindavan_Lect2b.JPG Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Is there a Vedic Rule Against Beards? Accept my humble obeisances. I want to know sages why like Narada, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, and the devotees of ISKCON always keep their face fully shaved while sages like Srila Vyasadeva had a good beard. Are there any rules in Vedic scriptures on keeping a beard? Are people including devotees who do not shave regularly criticized in the Vedic scriptures? Thanks and regards, Ravi C. Answer: Caitanya's Followers Remain Clean-Shaved Remaining clean-shaven without a beard is a trademark of the sampradaya coming from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself and is thus the very source of all the Vedas. Therefore His instructions are the most authoritative Vedic injunctions. In this connection Srila Prabhupada explains in his purport to Sri Caitanya Caritamrita, Madhya 20.70 that Lord Caitanya did not like the long hair and beard of Santana Goswami and thus asked Candrasekhara to get him shaved clean. Srila Prabhupada then further explains: If anyone with long hair or a beard wants to join this Krishna consciousness movement and live with us, he must similarly shave himself clean. The followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu consider long hair objectionable. So this is a principle for all initiated members of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sampradaya, that they must keep themselves clean shaven. Srila Prabhupada further elaborates on this in a lecture he gave on the Caitanya Caritamrita: According to the Caitanya Mahaprabhu's sampradaya, they keep themselves clean-shaven. And only single instance is there, Advaita Prabhu. He had his beard. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu never asked Him to cleanse. Because one reason is that Advaita Prabhu was just contemporary to His father, so He did not like to dictate. But otherwise, all His disciples, they were clean-shaved. That Srila Prabhupada wanted all ISKCON devotees to follow this principle is confirmed by a letter that Srila Prabhupada wrote to Brahmananda dated 11 October 1967 from Calcutta: Every Krishna conscious person must be clean shaved. That Srila Prabhupada wanted his followers to remain clean-shaven is further confirmed by what Srila Prabhupada stated in a conversation in Vrindavan on 29 May 1977: Our trademark is clean-shaven. At a recent Srimad Bhagavatam class here at ISKCON Vrindavan I noticed that about twenty of our ISKCON men present in that assembly were keeping beards. We never did like this when Srila Prabhupada was present. This reminds me of the saying, When the cat is away, the mice will play. So let us not become now mice in Srila Prabhupada's absence. Let us remain Prabhupada's men by always following Srila Prabhupada's instruction that we should remain clean-shaven. Everyone is welcome to be members of ISKCON with beard or without beard. But those who want to become initiated devotees should always keep their faces clean shaven as per the instruction of Lord Caitanya and Srila Prabhupada. So we are not at all critical of those who are not initiated into the Caitanya sampradaya who are keeping beards. As devotees we offer all respect to others. But those who have taken their initiation within Lord Caitanya's disciplic succession should note His displeasure with long hairs and always keep themselves clean-shaven. 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. 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