When Maharaja Yudhisthira asked this question to Lord Krishna, the gist of the Lord's reply in the Shrimad Bhagavatam (10.88.8) is that material adversities are often the essential, unavoidable means to make his devotees aware of their spiritual prosperity. The eternal, unchangeable reality is that our relationship with Krishna – and our remembrance of Krishna therein – is the basis and essence of our real happiness and actual prosperity. However, we often get distracted from this source of ultimate prosperity to worldly relationships, engagements and infatuations that we mistakenly imagine will bring us prosperity. That's why Krishna sometimes allows adversities to take away our pseudo-prosperities so that we are left with no alternative except to turn to him for shelter – and thereby realize how his remembrance alone heralds and constitutes our true prosperity. Of course, it is not Krishna, but our own past karma, that causes those adversities. But Krishna orchestrates those adversities so that they also become opportunities for us to realize our actual prosperity. That is why when material adversities strike us, rather than resenting them in godless ignorance, let us pray for god-gifted wisdom to see in them the opportunities to realize our hitherto undiscovered or untapped spiritual riches.
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, June 2011) The desire to enjoy the material world or the need of wanting to get out of this material world, is the same thing…..it's still considered selfish.
'Bhukti-mukti-siddhi-kāmī, sakali 'aśānta.'
The sense enjoyer, the karmi or 'mukti' – the one who looks for liberation. ….or the 'siddhi' – the yogi who looks for mystic power – They're all selfish. Still selfish…..still driven by self interest!
So all these kinds of things (that are described in the Srimad Bhagavatam) are meant to make us introspective….are meant to bring us to the point and recognise the selfishness within us! How self centred we are? How much is everything about me? And my personal position? And even in devotional service….my position in devotional service, where I am and from that platform serving Krishna – and this is also tested!
We were moving in a weaving fashion between tree trunks walking light as on air (or clouds), actually leaves, layers upon layers. Madhu, Ram and I drove a short distance from Ram's house to Allum Creek State Park for a fresh air experience. It was Ram's first time to this place. I like to think that wherever I travel I contribute to helping my host explore his/her neighbourhood territory. I insist, "Let's go for a walk and see what you haven't seen in your own backyard."
To my own surprise, Ohio has lots of great woodsy escapes. And talk about it being a spacey place, well, astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong come from Ohio. And there's also the Wright Brothers who claimed Ohio as their home. Wilbur Bright wrote: "Let in the autumn of 1878, our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands, and before we could see what it was, he tossed it into the air. Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew across the room 'til it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor... a toy so delicate lasted only a short time in the hands of small boys, but its memory was abiding."
It appears that fascination for flying really took off for the two boys. In 1903 they built the first aircraft.
The Krishna community in Columbus this evening showed a fascination for my pilgrim pastimes. Students from U of Columbus wanted to hear and so that's what I delivered. In speaking about trekking for the soul you should never assume that it's only a topic about moving on the ground. In any of these talks I let people know that there is a big sky up above where a whole world exists beyond what you could imagine - a world not dependent "on sunlight or moonlight or electricity", a world of lightness where life carries no exertion of weight.
I like to explain that in long distance walking you travel very light and you might keep in mind a hero like Narada, the sage, who does interplanetary travel between both the material and anti-material worlds.
Ah Ha! There ya go. There is this monk who is an actual astronaut who moves continuously into outerspace.
Tiffany and Kaustubha got married. It happened in the summer. They did it the way they wanted, they were determined. The young couple wanted a Krishna Conscious style marriage. Their pundit, or priest, was Dayal Nitai, AKA, Don Foose, who is a hardcore rocker. Could a priest be both a man who solemnizes marriages and at the same time rocks the punk crowd with over amplified music muddled on high decibel music?
If you meet Don, or Dayal as he's known by his Sanskrit name, you'll understand. He's a sensitive man who has embraced the philosophy of Indian sage, Vyasa. He loves Mantras as much as he does his personal lyriced Rock. He's a fabulous vegetarian cook to boot and he also does construction work for his livelihood, when he's not tattooed torsoed at his concerts. Imagine that, he's all that, all wrapped in one.
Kaustubha, the happily married man, is much like Dayal, whom he assists at concerts. Kaustubha is creative, does hairdressing, builds and renovates, in addition to serving the devotional gathering that takes place at Dayal's every Wednesday night. He's a multitasker. 'Kaustubha', in Sanskrit, is a particular precious stone, and this Ohio kid of the same name, is a gem of a soul.
As far as Tiffany is concerned, the lovely bride of August last, well, I'm just getting to know her more, and that was possible shortly after arriving from Canada via bus to Cleveland. I have been cooped up in the Greyhound all day and needed to unleash the legs, so Tiffany suggested for us to take the trails at Metro Parks. She had the right idea. Together, the couple and I and dear friend, Akhila, trod down the oak and maple trail near Rocky River. It was a creative, active and devotional group that blazed the path of bhakti, getting to know each other more before departing for the gathering, where we all get to know more of Krishna.
In the style of Mertonian homage, a simple meditation on thoughts, ideas, and realizations from our discussion of "Thoughts in Solitude" by Thomas Merton at our recent meeting of the Bhakti Center Book Club
We find a great, if unhealthy, solace in simply remaining in the role of the observer, yet the practical demands of this world, and the practical orders of the great teachers who carry us forward, demand that we transcend the restraints of the observer. They demand we come down from the clouds of our head-space into the ground of our heart-space.
In this ground of our heart, we come to understand the deeper truth of solitude, found in the acceptance, understanding, and communion with everyone else's solitude. We cannot accept how alone we are, how much pain we feel, how much joy we are capable of, and the presence of the Divine in our own heart until we can gradually see all these things in the heart of everyone else. The feeling of liberation we receive upon this revelation transcends all the fear and hesitation that ruins our ability to fully communicate with each other.
Having this revelation, we fully understand the meaning of solitude and silence in our own being, because the reality of who we are becomes incredibly clear, reflected with such illumination from the hearts of everyone else.
The pillars of greed, lust, envy, and all the other fantasies of the selfish heart has made our civilization barren practically to its core. Yet this is all a projection and reflection of the more imposing desert we face within our own heart, which is the source of all the anxiety we face in our individual and collective lives. This imposition from within has created the tangle of contradictions which we rage against, or which we die quietly but so painfully from.
The first instinct upon facing our contradictions is to run away as fast as we can, to dive into the spirits of our comforts. The experience of our actual consciousness is so painful, so nauseating, so disorienting, that most of us (myself especially) are still stuck in the energy of that initial instinct to flee, unable to go any further on the walk through the desert of the heart.
We are stuck once again on the observation deck, attempting to re-strategize for the next assault, but we are missing one great tool, one great weapon, which is found in the silence of our own heart. It is the space of our faith, where we understand that God is always carrying us and always protecting us, especially in the greatest tribulations and purification. In this space, feeling the warm embrace of our Beloved holding us close, we gain the proper perspective.
The great sage of solitude, Thomas Merton, explains this perspective:
"Contradictions have always existed in the soul of man. But it is only when we prefer analysis to silence that they become a constant and insolvable problem. We are not meant to resolve all contradictions, but to live with them and rise above them and see them in the light of exterior and objective values which make them trivial by comparison"
Thoughts in Solitude
The closest space in our heart, closer still even than the spaces of our stored bitterness, is this silent space where God lives with us, and where we can communicate with Him in prayer, meditation, study, and also properly and divinely guided action. In this space, the heart becomes big and the mind becomes clear. Love and truth begin to come together, for love is what the heart wants and truth is what the mind wants. We move closer to no longer being a victim to the pendulum swings between our contradictions.
Humility is the essential cloth we must wear to enter into this space of faith. Beginning with the fundamental level of our language, we must learn to speak to each other in a tone which renounces the aggressive and competitive spirit ingrained into our conditioning, turning instead towards a tone which offers a substance and meaning based on our common values of divinity.
This is a task which requires a great deal of attention and sacrifice, for our natural humility in all of its expressions is buried under the layers of our disconnection from each other, from God, and from ourselves. One of the reasons for this is that humility itself brings its own paradoxes into our consciousness. For example, humility is something we know that we need, and we desperately desire its presence, but when we know we have it in our grasp, it is that very recognition which causes us to lose it.
Humility is not necessarily we are meant to enjoy, yet there is a certain and sure pleasure which comes in the genuinely humble moment. It is when we turn the simple glory of that moment into an inauthentic construct of pride that we lose control of what has been given to us. To be vigilant in our humility actually means to be vigilant against the pride within us.
Another paradox of the humble cloth is that it is best represented in the most obvious action, rather than a passive tolerance or non-violence. By the most obvious action I mean, in the spiritual context, the most selfless and most needed action to be done, considering the time, place, and circumstance. This action remains clothed in humility when it does not reinforce our "hero construct", or the self-obsession of our prideful mind.
This action, even if done with force, with tough love, with power and confidence, can only help and never harm, because it is centered on the true balance between the mind and the heart, between Love and Truth.
If we can absorb these concepts through our intelligence into our heart, and if we pray for courage and guidance from our teachers and friends, our spiritual life truly opens into the solitary spaces of our inner life, into our space of faith, with the silence of our embrace with God against the raging of our mind/body and of our society's endless noise brigades.
We finally receive what we have always wanted, an embrace that will always stay with us and not be like the empty gestures which has left our heart crusted with grief. We will be alone, but united. Silent, but dancing to the ecstatic rhythms of the Lord's steps, and our struggle will be renewed and strengthened.
When they encouraged their son Nimai to pursue his own interests while homeschooling, Washington D.C. husband and wife couple Vidarbha Suta Dasi and Lokadhyaksha Dasa saw his personality grow and his individual skills thrive exponentially.
No….the child is carrying with it the experiences from last life. They’re there….the previous life is there. We cannot remember, but they are present in the sub-consciousness.
I also find very interesting is that the Srimad Bhagavatam recognises a sub-consciousness. Then it’s not Freud who invented the sub-consciousness! But actually we do recognise the sub-consciousness, and sub-conscious influences….that is very interesting. Generally that is considered Freudian – he invented that, but we can see that the Vedic literature contains a concept of sub-consciousness.
However, there is a difference between Vedic psychology and Freudian psychology, in that the driving forces that come from the sub-consciousness are in the Vedic concept of being rooted in the previous lives.
How many previous lives? Not only the last life, but how many?
All of them! Krishna knows all of them! Therefore Krishna understands in full the depth of our contamination!
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Thank you for your participation in ISKCON Canberra temple’s activities.
This Saturday we are planning to hold Harinam during 10.00 – 11.30 am. Please gather at the temple by 10.0 am and we will proceed to city together. Kindly contact Ayodhyadeva prabhu (ndrw_connell@yahoo.com.au ) for any further information on this matter.
Please feel free to contact the coordinators directly if you are interested in taking part in any of these activities. Anything not covered above, you may contact Ranganath das.
Yhs Ranganath das Temple President ISKCON Canberra
As we enter the last week of this special month of Kartik, we wanted to share with you a beautiful video of the Damodarastakam prayers being led in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.
By Sutapa Das for sutapamonk.blogspot.com on 3 Nov 2011
We all know the famous saying; money is the root of all evil. There are now over 1 million compulsive gamblers in the US. For some, when it comes to gambling, enough is never enough, and the risk of greed and insatiable desires is uncomfortably high. When money is at stake, perfectly respectable citizens seem to have a spell cast over them.
I From my perspective my poems only work if the heart’s accessed the soul remembered Krishna searched for: everyone’s journey is valuable provided they’re sincere trying to be better as a human and spiritual being.
Honey is known for its many healing properties. Many believe that adding unfiltered, unprocessed, unheated honey to your daily diet can alleviate arthritis, reduce heart disease, lower cholesterol and reduce allergies.
What if you were eating right and following the advice of all your doctors to eat more "healthy grains" but continued to gain weight with worsening blood work?
The world is meant to make us frustrated, and you never get what you want! Just like when I was a kid, I made my list of birthday presents that I desired. My father had a habit of buying what I liked, and what I wanted but the quality was cheaper! Oh God that was the worst – better if you have something just a little cheaper.
I knew him so I specified it, because there’s no leeway…… everything there is exactly what I want, and still he buys the one that is of a cheaper quality. It was so frustrating!
So in the material world it begins at a early age with frustration. Why do babies cry? Because they are frustrated, and so on and so on……it just continues until it deeply sets in!
A warm invitation has been passed along to Toronto's Hare Krishna community to attend a special presentation by the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company. Menaka Thakkar has been a friend of our temple for a number of years and has helped arrange beautiful dance programs at our annual Festival of India.
“In the Further Soil” is subtitled the transplantation of a dance tradition because it illustrates the journey that Ms. Thakkar has forged in founding the first professional school of Indian dance in Canada as well as founding the first professional Indian dance performance company which became the first culturally diverse dance organization to receive funding from Canada Council for the Arts. The title of this production comes from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore in which he speaks of the Banyan Tree that not only grows in its own soil but reaches its roots to the further soil which is an apt metaphor for the growth of Indian dance in Canada through the activities of Ms.Thakkar.
By Sam Calvert for Religious News Services on 3 Nov 2011
Oxford animal theologian Professor Andrew Linzey has been awarded a top university honour for his pioneering work around the world. "Animal ethics is now an emerging discipline with scores of university courses world-wide, the awardee said, and this is a tremendous boost to those working in this field."
According to the William Glasser institute, the best way to learn something is to teach it.
We learn:
10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30% of what we see 50% of what we see and hear 70% of what we discuss 80% of what we experience 95% of what we teach
If this is true, then find something you want to learn and start teaching it. It will benefit you and others too.
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.
“ENIAC was completed in 1945 and is regarded as the first successful, general digital computer. It weighed more than 27,000 kg (60,000 lb), and contained more than 18,000 vacuum tubes…” (60,000 lbs = 30 tons)
“To use the EDSAC, one would program an application using a punch card. The punch card would be read by the EDSAC and then the data transferred to its two ton mercury delay lines, which were capable of holding a whopping 1.44 megabytes of memory after their expansion in 1952…” (2 tons = 4000 lb (1818 k)(two tons for the memory alone!))
By Bharat Chandra Das for ISKCON News on 3 Nov 2011
ISKCON`s Global Village Initiative Committee (GVIC) met for the second time after it's inception last year. The committee was fored under the ausipices of GBC as part of strategic planning initiative.
Carob cake yum. It is was so good. Thanks to Mother Lakxmipriya and family. Bhakta Giovanni the expert chef, Radha Kunda for all her kind help. Mother Mita and well as Randy, Sri Rupa, Vrinda and everyone else that I forgot.
We had about 20 Occupy Dallas kids and 20 more college students, pretty fun. Started off rough, all the drummers were upstairs getting ready for the awesome play but then it got pretty ecstatic.
Last Sunday we had our 8 foot x 4 foot mountain of cake celebrating Sri Krishna's lifting of Govardhan Hill. It was a great event that drew in a large crowd. One week earlier I had given a several classes on Bhagavad Gita to a total of about 150 students of Brookhaven college, thanks to our great friend Dr. Trish Dodd. She had informed them that if they come to the festival they would earn extra credit. About 20 students showed up from Brookhaven. Another person that I met at my yoga class brought eight of their friends and we had over another 20 that showed up from Occupy Dallas, thanks to Lavanga and the prasadam distribution crew.
Each year we make a carob cake mountain and here you can see Chef Giovanni expertly frosting the mountain of Mother Laxmipriya’s cakes. Radha Kunda, Mita, Randy, Sri Rupa, Vrinda, Mother Sucharya & others were also a great help.
Carob cake yum. It is was so good. Thanks to Mother Lakxmipriya and family. Bhakta Giovanni the expert chef, Radha Kunda for all her kind help. Mother Mita and well as Randy, Sri Rupa, Vrinda and everyone else that I forgot.
We had about 20 Occupy Dallas kids and 20 more college students, pretty fun. Started off rough, all the drummers were upstairs getting ready for the awesome play but then it got pretty ecstatic.
From my good friend and fellow community member Yadunath Das
Did you just experience the same sinking feeling in your heart upon reading this headline that I did upon writing it?
A few months back, I wrote you all asking for monthly financial support to help keep Prabhupada’s 1st western temple up, running and under ISKCON care. My reasoning was that this temple is of global concern and surely the worldwide ISKCON community has a stake in whether or not its bills can be paid.
I may have been wrong.
Since posting my plea (titled “Seeking Matchless Gifts”), only one devotee has stepped forward to make a monthly donation (I thank you again, prabhu). I know when I read a worthy solicitation like this I often think that many others will come save the day, so the small donation that I would be able to give will probably be rendered moot. Please know that that is not the case. And as for the above headline, it is not true.
Yet.
It’s a distinct possibility, though. Once again, I reach out to you—Prabhupada’s disciples, grand-disciples and followers—to save this historic place for the legions of future followers who will marvel at being able to actually visit the exact spot where Prabhupada started his movement; the “small storefront” that they read about in the Prabhupada-Lilamrita; the place where it all began.
A lot of people are talking about HH Mukunda Maharaja’s new book, Miracle on 2nd Avenue. Well, another miracle is needed now, 45 years later—one that preserves a big part of ISKCON’s heritage, and you can be a part of it. Our total expenses are under $2,000 a month. Won’t you please consider becoming a regular monthly sponsor to save 26 2nd Avenue?
Please contact me at yadunath@bhakticenter.org or go to krishnanyc.com/giving.html to create a secure subscription via PayPal. All donations are tax deductible.
Yours in the service of ISKCON, Yadunath das Treasurer, 26 2nd Avenue
Starting tomorrow, Friday, November 4th, the Toronto Hare Krishna temple will be facilitating weekly classes on one of our most beautiful and essential books, The Nectar of Instruction. The concept of instruction being sweet like nectar can be seen when it melts your heart, lights your path, and bring tears of love for God to your eyes.
Let this Nectar pour forth into your being! These eleven short verses give essential instructions on how to clean your heart and prepare it for loving devotion to Krishna, God. The classes are part of the wider Bhakti-Sastri Certification program and will be conducted every Friday from 6:30pm to 9pm over the next few weeks in the classroom in the temple basement.
The classes will take place every Friday evening for the next three months and will cover the following major themes:
Mind and Sense Control
Attitude
Guru and Disciple
ISKCON’s Purpose
Sadhu-sanga
Devotees
Bhakti
If you have any questions regarding the Nectar of Instruction classes, please email Vrndavana das.
By Sri Krishna Murti Das for ISKCON News on 3 Nov 2011
Between November 11th and 15th, taking advantage of a national holiday, Nova Gokula, the biggest Hare Krsna rural community of Latin America, will have the honor to host a 48 hours Kirtana, the biggest one ever done in the continent.
1968 November 3: "We know very well what is the world situation. It is my personal opinion that except for a few persons, practically there is no man in the world who is strictly religionist, either Hindu, Moslem, Christian, or Buddhist." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1968 November 3: "Officially they claim some sectarian identification but practically the whole world is without religion. A man without religion is nothing but an animal and being every man is irreligious, therefore, the whole human society is certainly animalistic." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1968 November 3: "We do not mind that we could not get any place in the Church Center and there is no cause for your being sorry for this. We do not calculate the so-called success or failure we are simply to discharge our duties and chant HARE KRISHNA loudly. Now as you are free you can come and join me here." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1970 November 3: "Your ability to present Bengal Gaudiya Vaisnavism in its proper perspective is very much welcome. We are trying to present Krishna Consciousness all over the world in a very scientific and philosophical way, and your help will be greatly valued. Immediately we can start a Bengali edition of Back to Godhead magazine under your expert editorship." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1972 November 3: "You are one of my older disciples and I see that you are sincerely applying your knowledge to expand Krishna Consciousness movement with good result. That is very much appreciated by me. Now go on in this way, distributing my books profusely and preaching and making devotees, and that activity will be the perfection of your life." Prabhupada Letters :: 1972
1974 November 3: "Krishna is so kind that although he is unconquerable, He can be possessed by the devotee. From love He allows this. Every morning I go to the temple and see the Deity and offer obeisances, so I expect each and every one of my disciples should also follow." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1974 November 3: "Our mission is to put Krishna as first, and others may take it or not. It is from Krishna that one has the faith by which one can worship the demigods. 'Nobody is greater than Me.' Is Krishna speaking a lie? Should we reject Krishna's statement?" Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1974 November 3: "To an animal in the modes of ignorance, how can we preach? Then we are helpless. Our fundamental principle is the teaching of the Bhagavad-gita. Those persons who cannot understand this on account of particular modes of nature, such persons require further education, and until such time is fulfilled, we are helpless." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
The bird of my heart does not know what past sinful activities it has committed to cause this inability to chant HareKrsna properly.
O forest bird! I have kept something for you very carefully within the cottage of my heart – the holy name of Hari, which is overflowing with puresweet honey. O bird, you could learn the chanting of this name if you were taught.
A bird is easily able to speak all names; why then does this bird of my heart refuse to chant HareKrsna? Oh, why does my heart not weep from chanting the holy names HareKrsna?
So we, our… One of the items of this mission, Krishna consciousness, is to establish real varna ashram by qualification. We have to pick up brahmanas from everywhere, throughout the whole world, not that we have to pick up brahmanas in India in some class. No. There are brahmanas jn every part of the world. We have to pick up.
Just see. None of these boys are born in India or a brahman family, but they have got the symptom. They have got the brahminical… They have either acquired willingly or by some way. So we have to pick up. Anyone who is truthful, who is controlling the senses, no illicit sex life… That is controlling senses. There are many other things. This is the most important thing.
Samo dama tattiksa They are tolerant. To these American boys, to take up another culture, which they are not accustomed from the birth, that is tolerance. This is tolerance. But it is not painful, but it is tolerance. I am asking the American boys, “Don’t smoke. Don’t take intoxication.” They are accustomed to this habit from the very childhood, but they are doing this. This is tolerance.
So these are brahminical qualification, tolerance, truthful. And sauca, sauca, this Sauca. Anyone who is chanting Hare Krishna, he is pure, bahyabhyantaram, inside and outside. So in this way, in this age, the chance should be given. Not that when the Satyakam spoke the truth of his life… So he was accepted. So you are being accepted as qualified brahmana, but keep your qualification. Then your life will be sublime. Keep your life. Yes.
So this is a chance given by the Pañcaratrika system. It doesn’t matter how he is born. Nobody is responsible for his birth, but everyone is responsible for his work. So you work like a brahmana, like a Vaisnava, and chant Hare Krishna, and chant this gayatri mantra, and your life will be sublime. So don’t neglect it.
You are being initiated according to the order of our predecessors, Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama. We should have to preach this Krishna consciousness movement in every village, in every town of this planet. Therefore we have come to your country. You are kindly cooperating. You also spread.
I am old man. I may not live very long. Any moment I can be finished. But try. That is actually feeling. That is actually fellow feeling, that people are simply… Anadi bahirmukha krsna bhuli gela. They have forgotten Krishna from time immemorial.Athaeva krsna veda purana karila. Therefore this propaganda, this literature, Vedic literature, is there to remind them.Aham eva sarva-yajñana blokta ca prabhur eva ca. Krishna says, “I am the Lord of everything.” So we have to capture Krishna. So this is the… Namo apavitrah pavitro va sarvavastham gato ‘pi va. This is explanation of this verse. And now we begin our ceremony.
On Moscow eviction, Bhagavad-gita court case, reprint of Venu Gita and prayers for sankirtana. How to take brahmacaris’ preaching on renunciation and why are Lord Caitanya’s associates tired in kirtana. (Russian/English)
On the day of Govardhana-puja, one individual approached me. I knew he had shared loyalties. He asked me, “How is your bhajana?” I replied by saying that generally, devotees pursue sadhana Bhakti until, with mercy, they qualify themselves… “That is why you need a ‘rasika’ guru who can help you,” he replied confidently
If you think walking across Canada is an impossible feat, think again. Hare Krishna monk Bhaktimarga Swami has conquered that feat not once, not even twice, but three times over
Rohininandan das: ISKCON NEW OLREANS, Cordially invites you all for the “RATH YATRA FESTIVAL” Date: 12th and 13th Nov, 2011 Parade on 12th Nov, 2011, starts from Canal Street and Decatur Street at 12:00 noon. Parade ends at Washington Square Park
Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp): 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
Dhanvantari Swami: The young people are subjected to an accelerated developmental pace. Brazilians have really got into that pace. See, for example, how Bahia´s devotees decided to buy land and build a temple for Jagannatha. Yes, the overall pace is such that 17-year boys and girls go out of high school completely decided to go to university and to compete with an innumerable amount of contestants in the fight for an opportunity
Ekalavya Das: By the will of the Supreme Lord Krishna, my mother, Karen Lowens, passed from this world, 29 October 2011 at 3 pm @ Calvary Hospital, New York
This Saturday 5th November, Shabda will be playing at the LOFT in Auckland central, @7pm til 9ish. So come and experience a night of sacred sounds that will soothe the heart and energize the spirit. Kirtan is the most powerful form of meditation & yoga practise. It cures stress, worry, anxiety & sadness not to [...]
THE FOLLOWING LECTURE ON SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM CANTO 3 CHAPTER 24, THE RENUNCIATION OF KARDAMA MUNI, TEXT 40, WAS GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CARU SWAMI ON 8TH SEPTEMBER 2010 IN ISKCON UJJAIN, INDIA. Ttranscription : Her Grace Ranga Radhika Dasi Editing : Ramananda Raya Dasa The lecture can be read from www.bcswami.com Audio reference: click here [...]
For anyone who is planning on visiting the Los Angeles temple, a tour of Srila Prabhupada's quarters is a must as this holy place holds very precious memories and paraphernalia which has been very lovingly preserved with great care by the devotees. A guru-puja was offered to Srila Prabhupada's murti placed on his bed which was decorated beautifully with fresh and sweet-smelling flowers
Mr.Otto Cornelis Kaligis or known famously as O.C. Kaligis is one top Lawyer in Indonesia has bought Bhagavad-gita as it is (Indonesian) from Samudrasena das. Mr. O.C. Kaligis said “I know this Vedic scripture and i need this one to read.”
“I have named this Temple Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, the Rising Moon of Mayapur. Now make it rise, bigger and bigger until it becomes the full moon. And this moonshine will be spread all over the world. All over India they will come to see. From all over the world they will come.” His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
Here is what you may experience when you enter the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
As you climb the steps to the main entrance to the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, you first sense the power of the sheer devotion that has envisioned and built such a grand structure. Your sense of proportion expands; the ten-foot tall chakra atop the main dome appears tiny where it is, more than three hundred feet above where you stand.
Passing the ornate main doors, you enter the largest room you have ever seen—a completely open, circular space more than an acre in size, effulgent with splendid devotional art along its walls. Looking up, you see hanging from the central dome a scale model of the universe as described in the Vedas, twenty stories long and a hundred feet wide, its stars and planets rotating majestically above everything.
Set just back from the center of the room stands a white marble and gold altar that itself is a large building, 134 feet wide and 49 feet tall. Before the closed altar doors, a talented bhajana party perform devotional music, filling the massive dome with sweet, pleasantly muted sound. As the intriguing fragrance of frankincense drifts from the altar, a conchshell sounds and the massive carved doors open.
Here is the purpose of your visit: the opportunity to approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Starting from the left altar, you offer your respects to the guru-parampara , murtis of the five great acaryas whose vision inspired the world wide sankirtan movement and the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.
Seeing these brilliant gurus opens your heart to the Pancha-tattva Deities on the central altar. As you proceed to your right, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His principal associates stand before you. Larger than life and radiant as molten gold, They strike graceful poses, inviting you to join in blissful dancing and chanting.
As the avatara of Krishna for the Age of Kali, Caitanya Mahäprabhu introduces us to the sublime darsana of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava. Standing before Their third and final altar, you see Sri Radha serving Her Lord with the help of eight principal gopis, all of whom embody the perfection of loving devotion to Lord Krishna.
Gazing at the incomparably beautiful Lord until His doors close, you offer respects and look around. Wonderfully decorated windows circling the main temple floor beckon you for darshan of the Ganga and the vistas of Srédhama Mayapur. To your right is the towering white and black marble altar in the adjoining domed temple dedicated to Lord Nrsimhadeva. To your left is the dome housing the Vedic Science Center and Planetarium. Spiraling above you are three terraced display floors, depicting the Brihad-bhagavatamrita’s description of the universe.
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Thursday 3 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: Bliss on the Yamuna River uploaded from Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India On 2 November 2011 we experienced the wonderful mercy of having class and a kirtan on the Yamuna River. Yamuna is the holiest of all holy rivers, the site of many of Lord Sri Krishna's transcendental pastimes. Just to be there at the Yamuna is a wonderfully enlivening and purifying experience. I gave a class on the bank, and it attracted the attention of a local holy men as pictured below. After class we cruised the Yamuna in one of the local hand-rowed boats. We purified our hearts by singing bhajans and Hare Krishna kirtan as we were refreshed by the pleasing gentle breeze blowing over the Yamuna. There is a video of that kirtan below. Sankarshan Das Adhikari 2 November 2011--Sri Vrindavan Dhama, India: Bhagavatam Class on the Yamuna River Bank http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Fall/Vrindavan_Yamuna_SB.JPG Ecstatic Kirtan on a Yamuna River Cruise l http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Fall/Vrindavan_Yamuna_Kirtan.JPG Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Qualification for Becoming a Disciple? I was just wondering what qualifications I should have in order to be able to accept a spiritual master? Thank you, Your servant, Priyesh Answer: Sincerity The number one qualification for a becoming a disciple is to have a sincere desire to surrender yourself fully to Lord Krishna. 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 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: 21
Chant Chant Chant Kirtan Weekend with Ramai Swami 
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What are we devotees doing about it to protect ourselves and help others?
By Kesava Krsna Dasa
By Angela Saieva
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