I have a story about Andre who lived in Amsterdam. Andre was an unusual person, because he was bold. When other people were holding back, Andre didn’t. Andre went to see the director of the biggest chain store (the big multi storey warehouses that are all over the country). He went and said to the director: “In your book department, you do not have any books by A.C. Bhaktivedenta Swami Prabhupada. That’s not correct. You should have them!”
And the director said:
“You know, you are bold! No one has ever walked into my office like that! I like you. I’ll take them!”
And he put all the books …..full set of Prabhupada’s books on the shelf of the chain store”.
He was bold. He got himself from the society… a house for ‘food for life’, and like that Andre was extraordinary, but he had another side – his dark side. He was a little weak on the regulative principles and was living in Amsterdam, which is not a very safe place if you are having difficulties of that nature.
So I heard at one point, when I was in India, that Andre got AIDS. I happened to be coming through to Netherlands, and they told me:
“He’s very ill now, and that these were his last days and if you wish, you can go to see him.”
So I went to see him in a special clinic. When I was there, he coughed a ball of mucus…the size of the tennis ball came out! I couldn’t believe it! Then he said:
“I like your singing.”
So I said:
“Thank you very much.”
He said:
“Can you sing on my funeral?”
I didn’t know what I to say. I could say no, but I was thinking that it was best to get out! I was thinking:
“Do I have to stay here? I was meant to leave in three days”.
Anyway he did leave his body very quickly, and I did make it for the funeral. It was an amphitheatre, and on the stage there was a box. So they asked me to start the kirtan. But before that someone had read out a letter, that Andre had written, which said:
“So all of you are my friends. You all think that I am dead, but you are wrong! I’m still alive and I’m still around. All of you are my friends, and all of you are very different, since you have all come from very different backgrounds. But for today for my sake, I want you to all appreciate each other. Now in a few moments, some of the Hare Krishna movement will come forward and will start to sing the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, and I want all of you to sing along…..and not a little bit, but from the heart! Afterwards, there will be a feast served in my honour at the temple and you are all invited!”
So that was all read. So they started singing….and really got into it, and there was this big lady who started to sing in an operatic style! Of all the things….god not like that! The kirtan ended in twenty five minutes, and we got the signal to stop as per our agreement. As I stopped, they played ‘Govinda’ on tape and then the box sunk into the stage and below the stage they burn the box! The people cracked….they cracked. When the tune ‘Govinda’ was heard, they fell into each other’s arms and they emotionally just cracked. After that one said:
“We never went to a funeral like that!”
Actually Andre had forgotten to mention that in his last days, he got initiated by P.D. Govinda Maharaja….just as a last thing and that was when he became Madhan Gopal…..so Madhan Gopal Ki Jay! Yes, I always thought that he struggled, but he really did something at the same time, and it really did attract the mercy. Of course, it is best not to struggle and to just take shelter, and one who faithfully takes shelter is doing a great thing. But still we cannot become complacent. We must give ourselves with our heart and do something…do something….especially us!
We should never think that, ’I’m special’ since that’s when the danger comes in…as soon as we start to think that we are special, then we are a good prey for life. We should understand that one should always remember that:
“I am where I am, not by any credit of my own……………..”.
I would have never taken to Krishna Consciousness if Srila Prabhupada wouldn’t have gone to the West. First of all, we are simply a product of business, and without him we would have been totally lost! And this movement and so on, it is through that, that we are getting the mercy. So we remember it like that, and then we can take shelter of Krishna.
Any success we cannot claim it as we like, since it is simply Krishna who gave it! Because it is like that in the material world, where many times success kind of happens by accident….how many times did it happen for me:
“Wow it worked”.
It wasn’t an accident that it worked. It wasn’t like:
“Great expertise….I knew what I was doing”.
That is what we show off to the world, but most of the times somehow or other it worked by Krishna’s mercy…somehow or other by the grace of the vaisnavas!
4:34 A.M. Poem for November 28 Vallabha Bhattacarya invited Lord Caitanya for lunch and the Lord introduced the brothers Rupa and Vallabha to him. When Vallabha Bhattacarya walked toward them they ran away to a more distant place. Rupa Goswami said, “I am untouchable and most sinful. Please do not touch me.” Sri [...]
From My Autobiography The autobiography is a work-in-progress. I have written of my pre-Krishna conscious memories and my career in ISKCON, and I will continue to do so. Now I am now writing on the books I have written. Because writing is so important to me it is a crucial part of my life story. [...]
THE FOLLOWING LECTURE ON SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM, CANTO 3, CHAPTER 25, THE GLORIES OF DEVOTIONAL SERVICE, TEXT 20, WAS GIVEN BY HIS HOLINESS BHAKTI CARU SWAMI IN ISKCON UJJAIN, INDIA ON 13th OCTOBER 2010. Transcription : Her Grace Ranga Radhika Dasi Editing : Ramananda Raya Dasa Audio-reference : Click here Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya Om Namo Bhagavate [...]
'Bonjour' means 'good day'. Such was the way we addressed Sunday afternoon pedestrians along La Rue de la Fontaine as they passed by us. I was with one of our Halifax monks, and we were talking. I was pleased to hear that he had definite plans about his future. He was clear that the student period of his life as a brahmachari, monk, would terminate for a pursuit at furthering his education and in preparation for his next phase in life of a hopeful family person. I appreciated that he approached several devotionally successful people before making his decision.
There’s nothing shameful about entering into a future relationship with someone. There is a mature way to approach it and so he wanted to do everything in “the right way”, as he put it. “Thoughtful” would be the word to describe the steps he is taking to shape what’s ahead. He is applying himself in a focused manner. As in the direction of the Gita, where it states, ekeha kuru nandana, resoluteness is required.
For the Sunday talk to the congregants at ISKCON Montreal, I capitalized on the point of sharing Krishna with others and to conjure up creative and innovative ways for this to happen. One sure way to make rapid spiritual advancement is by investing in sharing your spirituality with others. Since December is a month designated to the gesture of giving, one just needs to apply some conviction and then you have a recipe for success.
All over the world, people are participating in the Prabhupada Marathon with great determination in distributing and disseminating the message of Krishna Consciousness. There are various ways to do that.
I looked up at the trekking trail in a different way today. I looked up with trees barren, all kinds of things were exposed. Apart from black and grey squirrels ‘hanging out’, wiggling their tails, there were master crafted nests. In a short half an hour stretch I counted 6 hornets’ nests, some high and some low, practically dangling from the edge of a branch. The rest of the dwellings belonged to the bird family. There were hundreds. They come in dimensions from the size and shape of a small mug to that of the size of a small osprey’s nest.
I was amazed by the diversity of them and it was adventurous for me to explore this all. The last time I tilted my head slightly and looked at what’s above instead of what’s directly in front of me or below me, was when in Manhattan on Broadway I was looking at all the skyscrapers and flashing signs. That, right there, is the contrast of two worlds. The man made versus nature.
There’s not a day that goes by while walking when I question the direction of our techy and also ticky tacky world. Whether in Buenos Aires, Delhi, a US or Canadian city, the increase of the use of automation is creating a congestion that will be beyond our belief in our lifetime. In fact, automobiles for example, are the real hornets nests that are the sting of our society.
Srila Prabhupada, our guru, had the vision for a protected environment with eco-agro-friendly elements, as a way to counter the world of mass distraction and mass destruction. I sometimes feel like I’m living in this heaven walking through a tree zone. I often flashback to 500 years before and how simpler times were more wholesome times.
I will continue to look up, but not just at hornets or birds’ nests, but at a dream of a permanent, clear sky, that won’t be blackened by our own greedy residue of manufactured nonsense. We live in excess and for that there will be no success. Show me a horse, show me a buggy, and I’ll be humbled. Show me a car to drive and I’ll think I’m God in big time control.
I came back from this walk today to step into a wedding. Rupanuga, a very committed member devotee and attendee at this occasion of Suneet and Mahasundari’s wedding, mentioned to me that travelling can be increasingly a challenge to deal with, even to get to a wedding.
Yes, Rupa, you’re right. What are we all going to do about it? Here’s my crazy answer, stop driving and start living, so we can count the nests.
We continue our discussion of love and hate and their interrelationship, with the idea of sowing love where we find hate. When we feel unloved, and by extension, that life is unloving, we tend to deny the existence of love all together, and thus decry the reality of God. In such pain, it is easier to deny God and think that the Universe has no Source or ultimate purpose than to think that love could exist at all, and that God is merciful and kind. Such persons become cynical and angry. Everyone has their conditioned angle of vision, and we tend to see life as we are, or according to our limited experience, forgetting that we haven’t experienced all of life. Thus we find that some children are taught by their parents and elders to hate other groups of people and see them as the enemy. This perpetuates the world’s conflict and strife, generation after generation.
I have a whole host of germinating seeds at the moment. The little pots below are called jiffy coco pots because they are made of coconut fibre. I purchased them compressed, then I soaked them in warm water for 10 minutes. After they expanded, I planted Tabasco chili seeds in them.
When the seedlings become mature little plants, I will place the whole tiny pot into soil, the outer layer will dissolve and the plant will snuggle into its new home with the minimum of fuss. This replaces the need for transplanting, and root shock.
From my driveway I can see three forsythia bushes. They are splits from one that used to be too close that I transplanted when we first moved into this house. I placed them so when you top the hill driving in a car and start coming down there are square in the middle of the view. They are enjoying the mild November weather and have some sporadic blooms on them.
I see an odd dandelion in bloom here and there also. Just a reminder that the yet unmanifest winter won’t last forever.
I planted a mix of radishes and Austrian winter peas for a ground cover. Here it is in full glory, edible leaves still vibrant as of today.
I was too lax calibrating the seed when I planted it, just grabbing a few handfuls and tossing them out, and badly overseeded it. Which meant that the radishes crowded out the winter peas. You can see some peas if you look closely but they survived not thrived.
The plus side is the radishes also crowded out the winter weeds so that is a good thing but next year I need to measure the bed, then weigh out the seed so I get closer to the recommended rate.
With rye or oats I just toss them out and do want it a little thick because it is for green manure and not harvest, but those radish seeds are exponentially smaller than the cereal grains so I blew it going the Zen route of grab and go with the flow.
Here is a picture of the same mix planted outside the fence.
It grew pretty well for the first two months it was planted, August and September, but once October arrived I could see the tops grazed off from 18″ (46 cm) high by about a third. In the past two weeks it has been grazed to the ground.
Not only did I lose the surface green biomass (the roots will still provide a lot) but the deer have done a lot of structural damage with their hooves in effect working the clay soil while it is wet.
In net I may have been better off to not plant this mix where the deer can access it. They bother rye but not to this extent.
I have two plots outside the fence I rotate potatoes in. The problem with rye is that it has to be dealt with in the spring before you can plant potatoes. The Groundbreaker mix winter kills and mulches the winter garden bed but is not in the way for early spring turning under.
When you turn a cover crop under, it ties up all the available soil nitrogen for a couple of weeks in the early stages of decomposition. All that plus becomes available after two weeks, but it isn’t the best to have that delay when you are dodging wet soils and trying to get in an early potato crop.
Next year I will try oats for the potato beds. They come on in the fall but winter kill so they are out of the way in the spring.
We would like to inform all of the devotees that we are just finishing a migration of the photo gallery after a crash of our software. All of our old photos are slowly being moved to the new host. Starting today you will be able take darshan of their Lordships once again.
Whatever you do for Krsna, even insignificant, you can experience Krsna's protection and reciprocation. He is in everybody's heart. He reciprocates not only with the big devotees, but also with insignificant devotees. That is His nature and this is what He wants to be known - that He is bhrtya-vasyata, subordinate to His servants
[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.]
[Cruising in Kolobrzeg might have sounded more innocent but it wouldn't sound as cool and honestly you guys know how sheltered I am.]
The child was very repentant and exclaimed, “Oh, what evil thoughts I have had! Throughout my whole life I shall not eat these again. This is the right punishment for one ruled by greed.” He made the promise and observed it throughout his whole life. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada comments on this incident: “Whenever we offered him mango he said, ‘No, I am an offender. I cannot take mango.’ He was thinking that I have offended [Krsna] in my childhood by taking the mango of the Deity. So this is the characteristic of the acarya. They teach by their life’s action-one should be so much determined. A child took the mango, there is no offense, but he took that vow.”
His mantra meditation
In 1905, at the age of 31, he began his great vow, following the example of Namacarya Haridasa Thakura, of chanting three lakhs of names (192 rounds) per day. He determined that at the rate of 300,000 names daily, it would take about 9 years to complete one billion names. He resided in a grass hut at the Yogapitha for four years, and in February of 1909 he built a cottage near the Yogapitha at Vrajapattana (town of Vraja) on the site of the house of Sri Candrasekhara Acarya, the uncle of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This place is considered to be non-different from the banks of Radhakunda. There he remained, uninterruptedly executing his chanting. He strictly followed his vow and observed Caturmasya, cooking rice (which had been dried in the sun) in ghee and eating it from the floor in the manner of a cow. He would take rest lying on the ground, never using any pillows and constantly chant and study the scriptures. Seeing his renunciation, his Gurudeva, Srila Gaura Kisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja said, “I observe that the renunciation of Sri Rupa-Raghunatha is manifest in my Prabhu.” He used to address his disciple as “my Prabhu.”
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada commented on Siddhanta Sarasvati’s strong preaching against the caste gosvamis and smartas:
“My Guru Maharaja’s contribution is that he defeated the caste gosvamis. He defeated this brahmanism. He did it the same way as Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, kiba vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya, yei krsna tattva-vetta, sei ‘guru’ haya: ‘There is no consideration whether one is a sannyasi, a brahmana, a sudra, or a grhastha. No. Anyone who knows the science of Krsna, he is all right, he is gosvami and he is brahmana.’
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam īśvaraḥ — the controller; paramaḥ — supreme; kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa ; sat — comprising eternal existence; cit — absolute knowledge; ānanda — and absolute bliss; vigrahaḥ — whose form; anādiḥ — without beginning; ādiḥ — the origin; govindaḥ — Lord Govinda; sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam — the cause of all causes.
Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.
Commentary by Bhaktisiddhanta saraswati takura
Kṛṣṇa is the exalted Supreme entity having His eternal name, eternal form, eternal attribution and eternal pastimes. The very name “Kṛṣṇa” implies His love-attracting designation, expressing by His eternal nomenclature the acme of entity. His eternal beautiful heavenly blue-tinged body glowing with the intensity of ever-existing knowledge has a flute in both His hands. As His inconceivable spiritual energy is all-extending, still He maintains His all-charming medium size by His qualifying spiritual instrumentals. His all-accommodating supreme subjectivity is nicely manifested in His eternal form. The concentrated all-time presence, uncovered knowledge and inebriating felicity have their beauty in Him. The mundane manifestive portion of His own Self is known as all-pervading Paramātmā, Īśvara (Superior Lord) or Viṣṇu (All-fostering). Hence it is evident that Kṛṣṇa is sole Supreme Godhead. His unrivaled or unique spiritual body of superexcellent charm is eternally unveiled with innumerable spiritual instrumentals (senses) and unreckonable attributes keeping their signifying location properly, adjusting at the same time by His inconceivable conciliative powers. This beautiful spiritual figure is identical with Kṛṣṇa and the spiritual entity of Kṛṣṇa is identical with His own figure.
The very intensely blended entity of eternal presence of felicitous cognition is the charming targeted holding or transcendental icon. It follows that the conception of the indistinguishable formless magnitude (Brahman) which is an indolent, lax, presentment of cognitive bliss, is merely a penumbra of intensely blended glow of the three concomitants, viz., the blissful, the substantive and the cognitive. This transcendental manifestive icon Kṛṣṇa in His original face is primordial background of magnitudinal infinite Brahman and of the all-pervasive oversoul. Kṛṣṇa as truly visioned in His variegated pastimes, such as owner of transcendental cows, chief of cowherds, consort of milk-maids, ruler of the terrestrial abode Gokula and object of worship by transcendental residents of Goloka beauties, is Govinda. He is the root cause of all causes who are the predominating and predominated agents of the universe. The glance of His projected fractional portion in the sacred originating water viz., the personal oversoul or Paramātmā, gives rise to a secondary potency — nature who creates this mundane universe. This oversoul’s intermediate energy brings forth the individual souls analogously to the emanated rays of the sun. This book is a treatise of Kṛṣṇa; so the preamble is enacted by chanting His name in the beginning.
The Vedas are compared to the desire tree because they contain all things knowable by man. They deal with mundane necessities as well as spiritual realization. The Vedas contain regulated principles of knowledge covering social, political, religious, economic, military, medicinal, chemical, physical and metaphysical subject matter and all that may be necessary to keep the body and soul together. Above and beyond all this are specific directions for spiritual realization. Regulated knowledge involves a gradual raising of the living entity to the spiritual platform, and the highest spiritual realization is knowledge that the Personality of Godhead is the reservoir of all spiritual tastes, or rasas.
So today i woke up at around 7..rolled out of bed grabbed my japa beads and did a round of maha and that immediately dragged me out my “zombie-like” state into one of energy and mirth.then went to my course which i really dislike.But its ok cause i just studied the Gita and ate prasadam and…
Woke up really late 8 o’clock stambha said late nights ruin spiritual life. I thought about that. Unless the reason for the problem is known the problem cant actually be solved. Actually in this case I can say the problem is insincerity towards pleasing my spiritual master and krsna. This problem can be solved by adressing the external manifestation of the problem. In self leadership this works. By acting as though your sincere you realize how nectar it is and then you become sincere. Fake it till u make it” is an applicable skill. In other words though i don’t want to wake I want to want to so I’ll just do it and that will get me in the habit. Otherwise I’ll just say nah I’m not sincere so I’ll just be lazy. No one must do it ad a service. Otherwise it’s like trying to enjoy the facilities of krsna consciousness which is offensive to god. And polutes the temple atmosphere. If one wants to live in the temple one must always attend programs and be sincere. Then I chanted then stambha gave me a bead bag which im i starting using straight away. Then i gave him a book. then went to have lunch with Jono an old surfing friend. He said he’s going on a 4 day detox eating only lemon honey and cayann spice. Quite austere if you ask me. He also said he will start meditating so I gave him a mantra mediation book to help him. It has all the benefits of mantra meditation listed and tells how to do it. And even exclusive conversations with George Harrison and srila prabhupada on the power of mantra. Mantra means to heal, free or engage the mind in spiritual sound. Spiritual sound liberates the mind by putting it in touch with krsna the eternally transcendent lord known as mukunda the giver of liberation. Then I saw izaak the co editor of the zine called prema and we stapled that at office works. Theres a pic underneath . Then books on the way back to x ways then I came back to temple to pack the car for tomorrow mornings adventure around Vic distributing books on the ancient but fresh philosophy of life called krsna Bhakti or devotion to krsna the all attractive one. These books must be read if one would like to be acquainted with the highest understanding of our spiritual identity in relation to everything and the source of everything. Written in the sabskrt language They present the most complete picture of time, karma, the universe, us and the supreme making them pretty relevant if you ask me. I mean conscious come on if thats not relevant to us I dunno what is cos that’s what we Are! We like watching tv about other irelevent ppl enjoying.
These are the first four of a total of thirteen lectures of Kadamba Kanana Maharaja’s seminar about the Caitanya Caritamrita, given from the 7th to the 23rd of November 2011 in Mayapur, India.
In this course, Maharaja explains the book from different angles, while approaching it through overviews of personalities, pictures, quotes and slokas.
You can click on each title to download the lectures.
TOn my trip to Vietnam to purchase marble I thought that I would continue doing research on bronze work as well. This will be for the temple and the disciplic succession. I found some superior information regarding mixing color with bronze. The base material we will use for the acharyas for the altars will be made in bronze but painted over so it looks real. What they do in Thailand is that they cast the metal in the color they want and lacquer (car paint) it. We want the colors to stay for a long time, such as decades. Please take a look at some samples that were done with the car lacquer on top of the bronze work. This will give you a rough idea of how it looks. I think it will be very appealing to the eye and will work well with the rest of the deities on the altars.
1967 November 28: "I am so much anxious to return to San Francisco and then to your place in Los Angeles. Due to political strikes I am waiting for the opportune moment, most probably Monday next. Anyway, I will be reaching you as soon as possible." Prabhupada Letters :: 1967
1974 November 28: "He says taking milk is the same as eating meat, therefore you can eat meat. Is this sound logic? If everything I eat turns to stool, does it mean I should eat stool?" Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
1970 November 28: "KRSNA Book will be accepted all over the world. Practically men are becoming life members just by seeing it. We have no greater asset. So distribute my books then I'm sure the Krishna Consciousness Movement will go forward without any hindrance." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1968 November 28: "In Los Angeles, we will soon have a new temple location. In New York, we are preparing to start our press and in Europe I require three centers, London, Paris, and Hamburg. Since you describe a necessity for warmer shoes, leather may be utilized and their is no harm." Prabhupada Letters :: 1968
1967 November 28: "If everyone of us would conduct our business in the spirit of prabhu and servant then there is very little chance of being misunderstood. Sometimes misunderstanding may take place but it should be adjusted in a spirit of service attitude to the prabhu." Prabhupada Letters :: 1967
"When Gauranga’s two lotus feet are one’s wealth and assets complete, one grasps the great truth of prema-bhakti. When Gauranga’s pleasing pastimes catch hold of the heart and the mind, one will attain perfect purity..."
(Gaurangera duti-pada by Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura)
When Gauranga's lovely darsana appears constantly in one's mind, one will attain the perfection of life.
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Monday 28 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: Captured and Tortured by Terrorists uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA At the present moment we are captured and being tortured by four terrorists known as birth, death, old age, and disease. They are terrorizing us again and again, birth after birth. Even though it hopelessly seems impossible to ever escape their grip, if we simply take shelter of Lord Sri Krishna we can easily escape them. This is confirmed as follows in the Bhagavad-gita: daiv hy es guna-may mama my duratyay mm eva ye prapadyante mym etm taranti te This divine energy of Mine, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who have surrendered unto Me can easily cross beyond it.--Bhagavad-gita 7.14 It is not difficult to surrender to Krishna. All you have to do is chant His names with love, and He will bless you to become His surrendered devotee. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Srila Prabhupada Frees Us from Material Miseries (photo taken in Mauritius, the next stop on our lecture tour) http://www.backtohome.com/images/Prabhupada/sp_in_Mauritius.jpg Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: I Cannot Give Up Family Attachment Humble pranams, Gurudeva, I love lord Krishna very much, and your sweet messages enhance that love a thousand times. However I am not able to give up my attachment for my family. Suppose if all the members of the family take to the Lord's worship. Is it possible to reach the spiritual world together? In material world we see that we don't remember our past births. Then in the spiritual world, do we remember our relations? Subrahmanyam N. Answer: Increase Your Family Attachment Family attachments are temporary because we have been attached to millions and billions of different family relationships while we have traveled since time immemorial in the cycle of birth and death. The perfection of family attachment is to guide your wife and children in such a way that they will all become delivered from the cycle of birth and death. If you and your family members all practice Krishna consciousness very seriously, you will all go back to Godhead, and you will be able to recognize each other in the spiritual world. A devotee does not give up family attachment. Rather he increases his family attachment by recognizing that all living beings are his beloved family members. Thus he dedicates his entire life for making the whole world Krishna conscious. 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. 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1970 November 28: "Maya is very strong and she can victimize anyone of us at any moment. Certainly maya attacked you a few months ago and now again you are determined to serve Krishna; that will keep you secure. I shall always pray to Krishna for your protection." Prabhupada Letters :: 1970
1974 November 28: "I also was selling my books in this way to the schools, colleges and libraries. I would write, publish, and then distribute without any help. So how much pleased I am that you are helping me. So you go on, Krishna will help you. You are sincere in purpose." Prabhupada Letters :: 1974
By Adi-purusha das
