 White House and the Lady Gaga "Born This Way Foundation" stepping up to combat bullying.
Join us for the 6th annual Atma Yoga Retreat, from Friday 27 January 2012 to Sunday 29 January 2012. $350 including all meals and accommodation at the Springbrook Theosophical Society Retreat, in the Gold Coast hinterland. Contact Param Satya at param.satya@gmail.com for more information and to book your place.
We’re closed from Tuesday December 13, 2011 to Monday January 9, 2012 inclusive. So the last class for 2011 is on Monday December 12, 2011, and the first class of 2012 is on Tuesday January 10, 2012. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season, and we look forward to seeing you again in 2012!
Click on the pictures to discover the Treasure House Of India’s Spiritual Wisdom as presented by ISKCON Founder Acharya A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Announcement by His Grace Ramkinkara Dasa Class by HH Ramgovinda Swami and Mahavishnu Swami on Climate change the vedic view. ISKCON Umlazi is having a Vegetarian Banquet on Saturday, 17 December [...]
Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 7, No. 19
By Krishna-kripa das
(October 2011, part one)
Albany and New York City
(Sent from Gainesville, Florida, on December 7, 2011) Where I Went and What I Did After leaving Philadelphia I went to Albany for a few days to visit my mother, sister, and Victor, my sister’s boyfriend. Then I spent a day visiting and serving my spiritual master, Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, in Stuyvesant Falls. I went to New York City, and did an experimental harinama on the High Line and went to the Doughnut Plant, the Hare Krishna doughnut shop with my nieces, Fern and Gwen. Then I did a harinama and Saturday feast program in Queens, and harinama for several days in Manhattan while living at the Bhakti Center, including a harinama at Occupy Wall Street. I include videos of several of these harinamas. At the end of the second week of October, I left for the New Vrndavan 24-hour kirtan on my way to my winter residence at Gainesville’s Krishna House. Upstate New York Visit to My Family
And Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami I shared prasadam sweets at my mom’s Quaker meeting as usual, and I cooked lots of meals for the family. I also brought them some great maha-prasadam burfi from Philadelphia. I chanted a little japa at my mom’s peace vigil after helping her unload the signs and park the car. For decades, every Wednesday for an hour at noon in front of the New York State Capitol in Albany she and her friends have stood with signs and banners protesting the U.S. Involvement in the latest demoniac war. My mother is in the center of the picture below. 
The vigil is described in this article from the local paper: http://blog.timesunion.com/pinehills/albany-quakers-a-passion-for-peace/4041/. I spent a day with my diksa-guru (initiating spiritual master) Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, going with him on his walk, reading to him, and cooking lunch so his servant had time to arrange a lamp for their tulasi plant. It was nice to see him fixed in his daily chanting and writing about Krishna. My Godbrother Narayana Kavaca Prabhu kindly gave me different practical gifts and a donation to help me with my travels.
Chanting in New York
I was incredibly fortunate to have the association of Ekalavya Prabhu, a very sweet brahmacari who loves to chant and to share the chanting with others. He was in the New York area as his mother had cancer and was soon to pass away. We chanted at Union Square, Adi Purusa Prabhu’s food distribution program in Tompkins Square Park, and at the Wall Street occupation. Uttamasloka Prabhu, a disciple of Indradyumna Swami, who also has a fondness for kirtana and encouraging people to chant also joined us. One nice Vaisnava youth girl, Prema Bhakti, daughter of Ranjit Prabhu, came once and played the drum with us as Adi Purusa Prabhu and his employees and volunteers distributed food. It is good to see the youth contributing to the sankirtana mission. Vani Dasi contributed by playing the karatalas for an hour, also at the food distribution.
In this video you will see a Brooklyn Sunday feast kirtan, a Queens harinama, a Tompkins Square Park harinama, a First Avenue harinama, and a Union Square harinama, the last two with devotee musician Ekalavya Prabhu leading:
Once at Union Square, chanting with Uttamasloka and Bhakta Jason, I had the best day in recent memory as far as book distribution and collections during a harinama were concerned. We sold one Bhagavad-gita, three Perfection of Yogas and two On Chanting Hare Krishnas. Because of the hundred dollar donation of a former Mumbai resident, now living in Oman but in New York to visit his daughter, the total collection was $118.70 for the three-hour experience. The last time someone gave me one hundred dollars on harinama was in San Diego in 1988. In both cases, I gave the money to the temple, as I was maintained by the temple and was representing the temple.
Once a vendor of photos, who also sells candles, gave us in charity a photo she was selling of Yajna Purusa Prabhu, Ghanasyama Prabhu, and Gauranga Kisora Prabhu chanting at Union Square.
When I was in Albany my sister told me that a former elevated railway line in Manhattan, known as the High Line, had been converted to a park which runs from 20 th Street to 30 th Street along 10 th Avenue. As she described its pleasant atmosphere, I developed the idea of doing harinama there. While in New York City I failed to convince anyone else to go there with me on harinama, but the day I arrived from Upstate, I had some free time and chanted there myself. There are many people. I would say mostly middle class and tourists, and it was a pleasant surrounding. No one, including the patrolmen, were disturbed by my chanting and occasionally someone took pictures. I hope someday to do harinama there with many devotees. I think if it is tastefully done it will be accepted and appreciated.
The chanting at Wall Street was a great experience. Many people were glad we were there. Ekalavya Prabhu, an expert musician, chanted kirtana to the beating of the many drums at the occupation site. Uttamasloka Prabhu distributed almost all my mantra cards, giving personal instruction in the Hare Krishna mantra to several people who actually began to chant with us and who did so for some time. When Uttamasloka was leading kirtana, sometimes he let others take the lead for one mantra, and it was wonderful to see the new people take part in this. One jovial, chubby man with Buddhist sign did a particularly good job. See these videos, one taken by me of my friends and another taken of me and my friends:
I went to New Vrindavan for the Karttika 24-hour kirtana, but Ekalavya Prabhu and devotees in New York City chanted at Occupy Wall Street the following weekend. One man from the audience was so impressed he took two videos and uploaded them to YouTube along with his appreciation of the experience:
“I've never seen the Hare Krishna sing the mantra in person before. I was particularly intrigued having just watched the documentary ‘George Harrison: Living In The Material World’ on HBO. George spoke of how he could repeat mantras for hours & hours. I see what he meant. I got lost in it for a half hour easy.”
Here are the two videos, totaling 18:27 minutes! The second begins with some awesome dancing! It is like the sixties all over again.
Insight from Lectures Candrasekhara Swami [Brooklyn Sunday Feast]:
Chanting Hare Krishna is the most effective way to cleanse our consciousness.
If we had a deep, all-consuming love of God, we would find that everything else is adjusted automatically.
Without this love, we find we act in a very superficial way, and the only recourse is to gradually try to develop our love for God in the recommended way.
If you are actually spiritually advanced, then you think that you are not spiritually advanced, and if you think you are spiritually advanced then you most likely are not spiritually advanced. It is of course possible to think that you are not spiritually advanced and to be not spiritually advanced.
Most people do not understand love of God is the goal of life. We are not taught about it in grade school.
It does not matter your occupation is as long as you try to purify your consciousness by chanting Hare Krishna.
Lord Caitanya was that kind of person that upon meeting Him one would want to give up everything and follow Him. In most cases, He did not encourage the people to act like that.
Sometimes people who appear to be very devoted to God within their hearts want to merge into God’s existence or to become God.
If your heart is in the mood of serving, it does not matter if the Lord is present or not.
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the supreme scripture because it does not beat around the bush but stresses that human life is meant for developing love of God, and it tells how to do so.
Tattva-sandarbha [translation and commentary by Gopiparanadhana Prabhu]:
From the glossary:
bhasya. A first commentary on a sastra text or other major scripture. A bhasya is usually written by the founder of asampradaya [spiritual lineage].
Itihasas. Epic histories, including the Mahabharata and Ramayana. In contrast to the more encyclopedic Puranas, eachItihasa usually tells one heroic story.
When Krishna descended to earth, Yogamaya appeared as His sister, Subhadra. Mahamaya, the material energy of illusion, is her partial expansion.
Uttamasloka Prabhu [from Russia, at Bhakti Center]:
When you present Krishna consciousness it immediately polarizes people. Those with godly qualities are attracted while those who are demoniac want it stopped.
When I was becoming interested in Krishna consciousness in Russia, the person who showed Bhagavad-gita to me would not sell it to me although I offered to pay any price because he was afraid of punishment. At those times, possession of aBhagavad-gita got you a minimum of three years in jail.
In 1989 when Soviet authorities in the transitional government did not allow distribution of the newly printed Russian books, the leaders of the Hare Krishna in the Soviet states got together and organized harinama [public chanting] for at least eight hours a day for several days in protest. One day the police watched the devotees, and the next they tried to arrest them, but the devotees nonviolently resisted in many creative ways like smashing the whompers [cymbals] in their faces and taking their hats and throwing them. The crowd protested about the unfair arresting of the devotees. The police desisted and sent riot police who used rubber clubs and eventually arrested half the devotees. The devotees who went through that experience consider that although externally those were the worst times, because they brought the devotees together in one big family, they were actually the best times, and they can understand how Queen Kunti could pray to Krishna for calamities.
Gadadhara Pandit Prabhu [Bhakti Center, Manhattan]:
Karttika is Krishna’s favorite month.
Radhika is the presiding deity of the month of Karttika.
There is a famous story in the Skanda Purana about a mouse who accidentally tried to eat a burning ghee wick. Lord Vishnu accepted the mouse’s dancing in pain with the ghee wick in His mouth as an offering of arati (worship) and so mouse ultimately attained the spiritual world.
When we do outreach, we must remember that we do not need to get anything from the people we contact for we are already getting the topmost benefit by pleasing Krishna by sharing His knowledge with others.
To allow Yasoda to do service for Him, Krishna allowed Yasoda to tie Him up.
We are a mercy based movement.
Nic Prabhu [Bhakti Center, Manhattan]:
My father was Jewish and my mother was Catholic, so I did not know what to think. We just celebrated Hanukah and Christmas, and both of them were about getting presents.
The first time I remember praying to God was when I got into an argument with my parents, and I was was crying so much I could not sleep. I felt relieved as a result.
I read a book about spiritualizing your life which had forty chapters, and you were supposed to read a chapter a day. I got to about day sixteen, and there was a powerful prayer of dedication of one’s life to Christ. I said that prayer, and it made me cry which I guess was a spiritual experience.
I did not maintain that interest and took religion more seriously again only when I had a girlfriend who brought me to church with her family. When I broke up with her for two weeks, I stopped going to church, and then recommenced when we got together again. Then when finally broke up for good, I stopped for a while. But after some time, I went to church with my ex-girlfriend’s family, even though she had stopped going. Then I was more serious about religion as it was my own choice.
Prabhupada considers praying to God in distress as foolish because God already knows our problems.
Father Joseph [Ukrainian Orthodox priest, from a conversation]:
I showed up to do my service of food distribution with Adi [Purusa Prabhu] once when I was dressed as an Eastern Orthodox priest. The people who saw me were confused seeing a Eastern Orthodox priest helping a Hare Krishna with food distribution. I explained that we may have our differences in the theology, but helping hungry people is something we can all appreciate.
Dauji Prabhu [Bhakti Center, Manhattan]:
We cannot surrender to someone who cannot maintain us, thus Krishna explains how He is maintaining everyone.
If we see we get angry in the course of devotional service, we should introspect and see what is wrong.
Krishna says to offer leaves and flowers to him. It sounds simple, but it is not as simple as you think. One devotee who is now initiated, previously for many years would offer marijuana to Krishna and enjoy the remnants.
Sometimes the actions of pure devotees are bewildering. According to Rupa Goswami, devotional service must be favorable to Krishna, but Bhisma was fighting against Krishna on the battlefield. Why did he fight Krishna? Krishna wanted to show that even if you are the greatest warrior in the world, if you fight against the Lord and his pure devotees, you will lose.
If you act according to the line of spiritual teachers, you are protected from sinful reactions.
Anonymous lecturer:
There is one saint to prays to Krishna in a humorous mood. “Why should I deal with You? You are so troublesome. Simply I will chant Your holy name, and I will attain all satisfaction.”
Chris Fici Prabhu [NYU Cooking Class]:
Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption, increasing risks of colon cancer.
While medical researchers find meat to be a health risk, President Obama posed for pictures with guests he was entertaining eating meat. An official from responsible medicine advises the President to lead America in a healthy diet.
ataeva saba phala deha’ yare tare khaiya ha-uk loka ajara amare jagat vyapiya mora habe punya khyati
sukhi ha-iya loka mora gahibeka kirti Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Distribute this Krishna consciousness movement all over the world. Let people eat these fruits and ultimately become free from old age and death. If the fruits are distributed all over the world, My reputation as a pious man will be known everywhere, and thus all people will glorify My name with great pleasure. (Caitanya-caritamrita Adi9.39–40)
"The transcendental vibration of Krsna's flute blocked the movements of the rain clouds, struck the Gandharvas full of wonder, and agitated the meditation of great saintly persons like Sanaka and Sananda.
It created wonder in Lord Brahma, wrought intense curiosity that agitated the mind of Bali Maharaja, who was otherwise firmly fixed, made Maharaja Ananta, the carrier of the planets, whirl around, and penetrated the strong coverings of the universe.
Thus the sound of the flute in the hands of Krsna created a wonderful situation..." (Sri Vidagdha Madhava Text 27b) Here is the darsana of Sri Krsna dexterously handling His eternal musical companion.
The essential effect on Arjuna of hearing the Bhagavad-gita was a thorough re-evaluation of his own role and relationship with the Supreme, Sri Krishna. Before hearing the Gita, Arjuna saw himself as the controller and Krishna as the cooperator. After hearing the Gita, Arjuna saw Krishna as the controller and himself as the cooperator. Often things “go wrong” and thus rudely remind us that we are not the controllers– as happened with Arjuna when he was confronted with the “wrong” task of fighting his own relatives. When things “go wrong”, we covertly hold on to our cherished desire to be controllers by taking on the role of advisors to God and start advising about how he should be doing things – as did Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita. Advising God is one service that everyone loves to offer to God – even, and especially, atheists whose normally non-existent God pops into existence whenever they feel like advising him and vanishes into non-existence after gratefully accepting their counsel. However, as Arjuna experienced in the start of the second chapter of the Gita, such advising God only frustrates and confuses us: frustrates us because we can’t change the inevitable will of providence and confuses us because our mind keeps coming up with new and self-contradictory advices. If we surrender to Krishna and become open to hearing his version of things – as Arjuna did in Gita 2.7, then we slowly realize, as did Arjuna by Gita 18.73, that everything was going according to God’s perfect plan; the only thing that had gone wrong was that we had assumed the wrong role of controllers and advisors to God.
Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.12 - Bad memory? Might be kali-yuga.
By His Holiness Danavir dasa Goswami– of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Founder-acarya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada A FEW QUESTIONS TO ASK RITVIK PROPONENTS: 1. Why has every single Vaisnava acarya in the Brahma-madhva-gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya, including its founder, Lord Sri Krsna, and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, accepted Vaisnava diksa in the standard manner? 2. Who takes the karma for disciple at initiation? 3. Who promises to take the disciple back to Godhead at the time of a so-called ritvik initiation? Note: If you say Srila Prabhupada to both of the above questions, that is not possible because he said the new disciples would be his granddisciples. If you say the ritvik acaryas, appointed by Srila Prabhupada before his departure take the karma and promise to take the new disciples back to Godhead, then there are problems. Devotees in ISKCON don’t accept the ritvik theory and consequently do not perform such ritvik initiations. That only leaves those outside ISKCON to perform the initiations. If you put forward others to act as ritvik initiators besides those appointed by Srila Prabhupada, what is their authorization? 1. What are the qualifications for becoming a new ritvic initiator? Are they similar to those for becoming a bonafide guru? 2. Is there a governing body to direct the ritvik movement? 3. If not, how are decisions made? 4. If there is a ritvik governing body, are the members more qualified than ISKCON’s GBC members? If you say yes, how do you determine that? A FEW DRAWBACKS OF THE RITVIK THEORY 1. Ritvik theory is based on faultfinding (hati mata) rather than scriptural evidence. For example the recent “poison theory” also emanated from the ritvik proponents. 2. Ritvik theorists blaspheme ISKCON Vaisnavas in good standing and thus cause themselves and others to become spiritually weakened. 3. Ritvik theory makes it convenient for so-called disciples to maintain an immoral position without the intervention of a physically present guru. This is much like so-called Christians who say that Jesus is in their heart and he died for their sins and therefore they are saved. 4. Ritvik theory disregards Srila Prabhupada’s instructions by opposing ISKCON and the GBC. 5. Ritvik theory seeks to deprive new devotees the opportunity of following the parampara properly and receiving real initiation. 6. Ritvik theory seeks to deprive Srila Prabhupada’s disciples the chance of fulfilling Lord Caitanya’s order to become gurus (guru haya). 7. Ritvik theory contorts Srila Prabhupada’s words about becoming gurus. 8. Ritvik theory encourages lower standards by propounding that it isn’t possible to attain the high position of becoming a bonafide spiritual master. 9. Ritvik theory paves the way for dismantling the entire Vedic system based on daivi varnasrama since the main function of sannyasis and brahmanas is to teach and accept disciples. If the gurus are eliminated then disciples are eliminated as well. Perhaps this is why we do not see new devotees joining the ritvik camp. They only draw bewildered, weak devotees having a hard time following Srila Prabhupada’s strict standards. 10. Ritvik theory is similar to some sects of modern Christianity, and other so-called Vedic sects who, influenced by Mayavada philosophy, improperly attempt to catapult their leader up to the platform of Godhood. Let us not make this mistake within ISKCON. The jiva is fallible but a pure devotee never misuses his free will to deviate from Krsna consciousness. It is incorrect to think that only a nitya-siddha saktyavesa avatara is eligible to become a bonafide spiritual master. 11. Ritvik theory propounds changing the parampara system of initiation, and ushers in the thinking that there is no need for initiation.  
Our rap group Is called premaculture and it consists of 7 krsna conscious cats , Ravi, kraj, ramananda raya, Izaak, Rhys, krsna murti and myself. our aim is to share the message of the bhagavad-Gita in rap format for the benefit of ourselves and the hearers. It’s an attempt to serve according to our nature as artists.. We hope to share our culture - the culture of prema or the highest love. Rap is our form of expressing our gratitude to the source - Sri Krishna. Human society is missing out on real benefit. Real benefit is Self realization - realizing our real position as servant, no one can say their not a servant because even the master Is serving. So premaculture illuminates essential facts of the spiritual reality that lay burried underneath the dense blanket of illusion that is covering us all to varying degrees. Hear us out and let your heart come alive in Bhakti. Tracks coming soon
Muchukunda Das
by Yasodeva das The most coveted day in the history of democracy is approaching while the eyes of the world keenly observe the revolutions taking place in North Africa and the Middle East. Never before in the history of modern civilizations have we seen that the indefatigable strength of the democratic ideal, the power of collective consciousness, has been so effectively and swiftly applied, augmented by the most basic technology in the marketplace. What used to be the exclusive privilege of the educated classes of society, by utilization of the printing press, is now available amongst commoners, and any passionate proletarian with a hot idea can make his or her message heard by thousands or millions of persons just by the clever use of a cell-phone camera and a social networking website. Subjugated people in nations around the world are fighting vehemently for this right to be heard and accounted for, while other nations, in which democracy is already irrefutably established, are fighting to insure that this sacred principle is similarly embraced by others, especially in places where lucrative business opportunities are evident… I’m hesitant to indulge in a critique of the inevitable inequities of a self-regulating, free-market economy and the disastrous effects borne out of that hypocrisy, unless the readers consider the alternative I present to be viable and timely. Who am I to propose a substitute for democracy, especially at a time when it’s considered to be the defining characteristic of a civilized society? Rather, I intend to suggest that somewhere along the way, while all the bombs were going off and flags were being waved and the marches and demonstrations and legislations were happening at break-neck speed… somewhere we missed the point, and that inspired ideal that so many generations in the past and present have struggled for has degraded into the same stymied mess that we’ve seen throughout history; that an entire class of people feels dejected and hopelessly pitted against a system, societal and political, which dictates to them their individual and collective destinies. Whether you call it communism or democracy, this fight is always going on. Freedom from oppression has not been attained. Progressive human beings may find it’s much more beneficial to envisage the democratic principle in the light of the timeless yoga knowledge of ancient India. Consider the wise words of America’s founding fathers, penned on the fourth of July, 1776, in the Declaration of Independence. Words which historian Joseph Ellis has dubbed “the most potent and consequential words in American history.” Since this treatise has become the archetype for all modern democracies, it’s worthwhile to understand its original premise: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Forgive me for being impertinent but on what grounds do Jefferson and the like stake their claim that all men are equal? In a general survey of millions of humans, in which their characteristics were compared, you would not find any two persons who are exactly equal in all respects, even among fraternal twins. By the mixture and admixture of the various qualities of wealth, education, influence, health, culture, physiognomy, psychology, ability, race, religion and creed we get a plethora of unique individuals, none of whom are equal to any other on all accounts. Nor would any amount of political upheaval change the fact that there is an unlimited scope of distinction between the various classes of men. So where is that equality upon which our “unalienable rights”, which we hold so dear, is resting? With all due respect to the founding fathers, it might not be self-evident for everyone; however, even those who have only flirted with rudimentary yoga philosophy can appreciate the equality of living beings on the spiritual platform. As for those who make a regular practice of its principles, they alone can enjoy liberation from the oppressive nature of this material environment, and can inspire the most effective revolution in others. In the Bhagavad Gita (5.18), the preliminary yoga text, Lord Krishna states: “The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle scholar, a cow, an elephant, a dog and an outcaste.” That every living creature (and not just humans) is a conscious entity, part of the Supreme consciousness, is the common denominator which binds a progressive and intelligent society and which compels them to advance towards life’s perfection. Harmonious community and the actualization of one’s complete potential in life is never the product of a frail sentimentalism or a portentous habituation to reckless consumption… Nor, as history has shown us time and time again, will it ever manifest from any amount of powerful or persuasive legislation, but it is, however, the irrepressible result of true knowledge, and it is, in my humble opinion, still worth fighting for! So I wish to propose that people in general, and specifically the younger generation, have been oppressed, not just by a culture of inequity, but by a culture of ignorance. We’ve been led to believe that blind faith in materialism will bring peace of mind and peace in society, although there is scant evidence for either of these… more so to the contrary. And I wish to propose that all of the frustrated people of the modern era should learn how to fight back in a superlative style, not with sticks and stones and video phones, but by applying the spiritual technology taught by Lord Krishna. By virtue of this ancient knowledge one can appreciate the fellowship of all living beings on the spiritual platform, one can be genuinely inspired to serve others over and above oneself, and one can realize that “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is more than just a recurring political trend, but the absolute nature of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, Sri Krishna.
A new App which allows you to track the activities of HH Radhanath Swami has been released into the Apple App Store. You can download the App to your iDevice for free. The App, which is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad allows you to access articles, talks, photo and videos of Radhanath Swami wherever you have internet access. You will need iOS 4.0 or later to make it work. Click here to visit iTunes where you can download the App Cick here to visit www.radhanathswami.com 
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Here's a new website just starting up, especially featuring information and recipes for strict vegetarians It's especially useful for those who embrace the Bhakti Yoga perspectives on cookery. Give it your support. 
Click on the video below to see the class on Ustream Click here to go to Ustream to see more classes by HG Krsna Kshetra at Sydney Temple Put these dates in your diary to get to the temple or get online to Ustream Srimad Bhagavatam Overview 12 cantos in 12 classes
7th -18th of December 2011 at ISKCON temple North Sydney
7th – 9th of December – 7:30PM – 9PM
10th of December 7:45AM – 9AM
11th -16th of December 7:30PM – 9PM
17th of December 7:45AM – 9AM
18th of December – 7:30PM – 9PM
Regular morning Srimad Bhagavatam classes 7:45AM – 9AM on 11th and 18th of December HG Krsna Ksetra Prabhu is a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, and an initiating Guru. He has dedicated his life to understanding teaching of Krishna Consciousness. In 1994 he compiled a handbook for deity worship ‘pancaratra Pradipa’, in order to establish a standard of worship in ISKCON temples. From 1991 to 1995 he helped to develop Vaisnava library at the Gurukula in Mayapur, and also he passed the Bhakthi-sastri exam in Vridavan. From 1999 to 2000 he took up studies at Oxford University and become involved in Oxford Centre for Hindu studies while completing a ‘Master of Studies’ degree in the ‘Study of Religion’. In 2003 he completed his doctoral study in Gaudiya-Vaisnava Theology at Oxford University. ‘Attending Krishna’s Image: Caitanya Vaisnava Murti-Seva as Devotional Truth’ is a remarkable book published by Routledge, developed from the doctoral dissertation that Krsna Ksetra Prabhu submitted to the University of Oxford. In year 2006 he taught courses in the religion department at University of Florida, and he continues (since 2002) to teach at Bhakthivedanta college in Radhadesh, Belgium. Share this story your way:PrintFacebookTwitterGoogle BookmarksStumbleUponYahoo! Buzzdel.icio.usDiggLiveMySpacePDF
my sisters krsna-ized wall
1975 December 7: "As the father always wishes that his son may be more successful than himself, you always have my blessings. We are running only on the mercy of the Spiritual Master - to understand this point is to get mercy more and more."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
1975 December 7: "Upon seeing the photos of the doll exhibit I thought it was our devotees play acting. This is excellent. Now make a museum for the public. This doll making was my Guru Maharaja's program and his original exhibit is still touring India today."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
1969 December 7: "You have said so many things in bereavement. I could not check my laughing. A child sometimes commits mistakes, and the father says 'Don't do like this.' So there is no question of being very seriously bereaved."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1969 December 7: "Srila Prabhupada desired that a temple should be established in the center of London, so you will be pleased to know this is going to take place on the Odansasthi Day. I am submitting herewith our humble invitation for your blessings."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1969 December 7: "I am requesting a small piece of land within the vicinity of Caitanya Math. It is not for my personal use or satisfaction of personal whims. It is in pursuance of the desire of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1969 December 7: "I have requested him to donate this land to our institution because the land was meant for the service of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So if you can advise him in this way then we can fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupada by mutual coooperation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969
1973 December 7: "This is not a good style of painting. This type of painting is sentimental and not authorized. It is an artistic style for sense gratification only. I cannot encourage this style - it should be stopped immediately."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973
1975 December 7: "Cleanliness within and without, that is very important for brahminical life. Instruct the newly initiated Brahmins about taking bath three time daily and taking bath after passing stool. They must chant at least 16 rounds daily, that will keep them strong."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975
Click on the pictures to discover the Treasure House Of India’s Spiritual Wisdom as presented by ISKCON Founder Acharya A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Transcription : Her Grace Rasa-Mandali Devi Dasi Editing : Ramananda Raya Dasa Guru Maharaja recites: om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah sri-caitanya-mano-’bhishtam sthapitam yena bhu-tale svayam rupah kada [...]
A number of motel owners in the USA have decided to include the Bhagavad-gita in their next-to-the-bed drawer along withGideons Bible. Here's a few comments: 
"I got my first Gita in a hotel room and ever since I read the first verse my life has been ever increasingly in Krsna Consciousness. Life is a journey back to Krsna. Peace..." — Terrence, a guest who read the Bhagavad-gita at a motel in CA "We have replaced many Bhagavad Gitas in the room that the guests have taken along with them." — Jitubhai Patel, owner Holiday Inn, Ukiah, CA "I have developed respect for the Hindu culture now that I have read and understood a little about it." — Vivian Browne, Guest at Rodeway Inn at Monrovia,CA "The Bhagavad-gita is a profound literature. I thank the motel authorities who allowed me this opportunity. It has helped me to understand who am I and what is this life about. Life is much happier and less stressful. I still cant believe my luck. Thank you!" — Jon Rodriguez, Guest who dropped a complimentary Thank You letter at Best Western, Memphis "This is very interesting. I curiously picked up this new book lying besides the bible and I found it very nice. It has so much depth. I have taken a copy along with me and will certainly read everything. It has opened a new horizon, hitherto unexplored by me." — Andrew Spencer, Guest at Howard Johnson, Houston "People here are very inquisitive and would always like to try new and different things. Hence, I kept Bhagavad-gita at both my motels. I see that the guests like it too." — B Patel, Motel Owner, San Francisco, CA "I often see guests coming in for breakfast with Bhagavad-gita in hand and reading it while they are in the lobby or in the reception room. It is satisfying to know that I have contributed in spreading this knowledge." — Nilesh P, Manager, Super 8, Sacramento "One of our guest, a middle age lady, approached me at the reception counter and asked me if she could take the Bhagavad-gita along with her. She said that she picked up this book (Bhagavad-gita) just out of curiousity as she was not able to sleep at night. After reading it she found it so profound that she could just not put it down. I gladly allowed her to take the Bhagavad-gita along." — Dilip Patel, Manager, See Breeze, Pacifica, CA.
Grey Day
Toronto, Ontario
The day is grey, just like the previous one, and the one before that. That most dismal of colours is on a roll. It's out of our control.
I roamed Cabbagetown, the place of early Irish settlers. Cabbages is what they grew and hence, the name. Potatoes failed them. A new veg arose.
I passed by Pembroke St. In 1975, our beleoved guru, Srila Prabhupada, took residence in an apartment there for two to three days. His visit was cut short due to a meeting that became scheduled with Indira Gandhi. Prabhupada had to rush back. That sign, when I read it, caused a yank at the heart strings. There was 187 Gerrard, once an ashram, now a house. It's where I joined. I also walked by a billboard. There was a friend of mine posing as a homeless person for the Salvation Army. He is gestured as reaching out for a blanket neatly folded above him, yet beyond reach.
"Hey, Durward, you're all over town, as a poster boy, relaying the message that there's hope."
Hope is a topic we discussed this morning during our Bhagavatam lesson at the temple ashram. Without searching for a dictionary definition I openly asked our dozen attendees. The replies came, "It's something for the future." "It's light at the end of the tunnel." "A promising sign." "It's Krishna reaching out."
As we analyzed this great virtue an optimism was rising. Apart from the greyness of colour, darkness came my way. A friend from PEI wrote, "I have Parkinson's, a type they can't cure." Another message said, from another devoted soul from Halifax, "I'm having surgery. It's a risky situation." A phone call from BC told that a family I know is breaking up. Through all of this, the japa chanting made it possible to bear challenging bits of news tolerable.
As a renunciant one cultivates a feeling for others, it compels one to wish well those sufferers of this mundane existence. It stimulates compassion and empathy. Without these components the world has no heart.
9 Km
Who Can Claim Perfection?
Toronto, Ontario
We all have human frailties. I have plenty. Gurus in our order list or identify four major defects found in humans.
1. Our senses are imperfect.
2. We have an inclination to cheat.
3. We are constantly deluded, for instance we surmise that the body is the self.
4. WE are all prone ot make mistakes.
Hers' one of my personal weaknesses. I sometimes start to fade while someone's talking to me. My eyelids get heavy and they begin to shut until I realize (or the person talking to me realizes) he/she is losing my attention.
"Are you fading?" asked my friend who was seated across from me at a table.
"Yes. I'm tired, sorry!" I said and I was tired from lack of sufficient rest the night before. I didn't have the guts to say that I wanted to have more of a two way dialogue which was clearly not happening. That was another weakness. I could be frank and be less polite.
You learn something about yourself as time passes, or you should be. I learn new things about our neighbourhood. On my walk today I explored at least two locations in our vicinity where I'd been walking for years, locations where two of my favourite artists (during the time when I hit adolescence) churned out masterpieces of acrylic work in a studio that I pass by regularly. It was a personal discovery. I didn't know all this time what's right under my nose.
What else did I realize about myself? Well, maybe age is slowly creeping up. At A group reading of the Bhagavad-gita, a length of two and a half hours, in Sanskrit through transliteration, on this Advent of the Gita, I realized I couldn't read with a gusto as before. Partially it was not the greatest lighting arrangement for which to read the seven hundred verses, but it was also a slow stamina deterioration.
I took the lead with the reading but my recitation was not the greatest and pronunciation, not the best. It was an offense to the Sanskrit language what people were hearing and therefore in pursuit of following, they in turn were left confused. After reading the first twelve chapters with six to go, I asked the crowd, "Shall we recite in English? Let's vote." So we did. Only one person preferred to stick to the mother tongue while the rest vied for rendering it in a language we could understand.
We all admitted to a weakness in pronunciation of the divine language. What to conclude? We're not perfect. If we were, we'd be God.
5 Km
Devamrita Swami’s discussion at the Krishna Lounge on December 1, 2011.
“A Chanter of the kirtan of Hari is necessarily the uncomprimising enemy of wordliness and hypocrisy”
- Bhaktisiddhanta saraswati thakur
Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction message and I will be happy to make you a member:
rasa108 (at) gmail.com
ys
Rasa Rasika dasa
I have been following the recent Leveson Inquiry into media ethics and the role of the police in the ‘phone-hacking’ events. Here’s the background info: The Prime Minister announced a two-part inquiry investigating the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal, on 13 July 2011. Lord Justice Leveson was appointed as Chairman of the Inquiry. The first part will examine the culture, practices and ethics of the media. In particular, Lord Justice Leveson will examine the relationship of the press with the public, police and politicians. He is assisted by a panel of six independent assessors with expertise in key issues being considered by the Inquiry. The Inquiry has been established under the Inquiries Act 2005 and has the power to summon witnesses. It is expected that a range of witnesses, including newspaper reporters, management, proprietors, policemen and politicians of all parties will give evidence under oath and in public. It will make recommendations on the future of press regulation and governance consistent with maintaining freedom of the press and ensuring the highest ethical and professional standards.
After the ‘phone-hacking’ and use of private detectives by the now defunct News of the World newspaper, the inquiry was set up to investigate other cases of media intrusion and possible police collusion. Notable celebrities have been telling their stories of shady characters intruding into their privacy, bribing friends or colleagues for juicy gossip, or hiding in bushes with long-range lenses for that saucy snap. People who are famous got to be that way with the help of media exposure. So when it helps them become loved by the public, they love the media. When it reveals too much, or shares unhelpful details of their personal life, or acquires stories by unscrupulous means, they hate it. The newspapers, on the other hand, and their happy-snappy camera people, say that it is ‘in the public interest’ for their readers to be able to read about the latest goings-on in the world of the rich and famous. Having helped to create someone’s fame, so to speak, the newspapers often feel they have a right in creating their infamy, too. Thus, like all things in the material world, there is an ‘arc of fame,’ from the time a person does something outstandingly well in sport, politics or entertainment, and attracts favourable attention; right through to the time when they do something wrong and come crashing down in the eyes of the public. Newspapers help to establish both fame and infamy, they know that, and so they feel a certain power over an individual – especially someone they’ve helped. The News of the World did a lot of good in its time, no doubt. The newspaper exposed dodgy politicians, scandalous clergy, bent coppers, and all manner of crooks, from pound-pinching swindlers to paedophiles – all were named and shamed by the newspaper in its long history. More than anything, it was probably that public service which made them feel invincible and which made them feel they could cross a line of moral propriety. They knew the public liked them because of their crusades against injustice. Even the police were on their side. And that was the problem. Although the facts are still murky and no-one wants to own up, the police would share certain stories with the paper, and the paper would follow them up with their own hired private detectives. A powerful crime-fighting combination. Only it wasn’t a legal combination, and that was the problem. Newspapers operate for profit and the police force must never be in collusion with media, government or church. So when it became known that those same private eyes were spying on the rich and famous – for no other reason than salacious gossip – the newspaper became unstuck. Indeed, it wasn’t even anyone rich and famous that finished them off in the end; it was the hacking of a young girl’s phone, a young girl who had been murdered. This one incident was enough to disgust the very same public, and as more details of other nastiness became known the newspaper curved through its own arc of fame, crashed, and closed its doors forever. The revelations of just how far the News of the World had gone in its quest for stories, faked or otherwise, became the news for other newspapers, and then it was discovered those other, more respectable papers, had also been involved in illegal news-gathering. The accusations and counter-accusations became an almost daily occurrence and the story ran and ran. Somewhere along the line, the very subject of the ethics by which media ran its business became the essence of the discussion. Shrinking sales figures due to internet news provision had caused newspapers to take desperate risks in their bid to attract readers. And while printing unsubstantiated stories with no supporting facts, and creating stories entirely from imagination are not unusual practises, the desperate newspapers had gone to even greater lengths to provide ‘news in the public interest.’ That was essentially the issue. The public liked to read not only about the great and the good, but also how the great and good aren’t actually that great or good in real life. Stories about the actress found in bed with the bishop, or the politician found hunting men on Clapham Common, or the eccentric behaviour of the aristocracy – all titillated the readers and sold newspapers. Unfortunately the great British public just loves a good scandal, particularly when it involves someone slipping on a banana skin – or the social, political, moral or financial equivalent. Somehow, discovering that people who are ‘better’ than us, richer than us, more famous than us; or just cleverer than us, are actually worse than us in real terms – is very reassuring. It makes us feel not so bad about our under-achievement or our relative lack of fame or education. We shouldn’t really be insecure, but we are, and we need to feel safe about who and where we are. Journalists know this and shamelessly prey on it, writing stories in just the right way to capture our attention and give us that warm fuzziness. And by buying the papers we pay them to do that. So in the great debate about media ethics, we should also look within – because our choices helped to create the ethical dilemma.
       
In recent weeks, my daughter Minakshi devi dasi with the ISKCON Toronto Sankirtan Team placed over 700 Bhagavad-Gitas in over 30 hospitals covering every major hospital in the greater Toronto area. These books were accepted in an official capacity within a managed program where they will be in the chapel as well as distributed to interested patients and their families.
Some of the boxes are still being delivered to the hospitals but what follows is a few of the unsolicited emails of gratitude from these hospitals for receiving Srila Prabhupada's books.
It would be nice to replicate this program in cities throughout North America and beyond. Perhaps this will also encourage readers to give generously towards Sastra Dhana at ISKCON Toronto or wherever you local ISKCON centre may be for placements within libraries, prisons, hotels and beyond. By presenting Srila Prabhupada's books in an authoritative and professional manner, we are making strides with wonderful developments in these channels as well.
Dear Minakshi,
On behalf of the patients and staff at Joseph Brant hospital, please accept my sincere thanks for the donation of books to our Prayer room and patients. There have been times in the past when we have been unable to fulfill a request for this resource so I am grateful for the donation. Please express my thanks to all those who have donated to make this a possibility.
Wishing you a good day.
Moe _______________
Hello Minakshi
I wanted to thank you once again for your kind donation of the boxes of Gitas for our 3 sites of Halton Healthcare.
They arrived safely and are already out in the Meditation room for use.
With Appreciation
Catherine Thompson
________________
Dear Minakshi,
Your shipment of Bhagavad Gita's has just arrived. Thank you very much. I sat down to write you a note and then realized I didn't have your address, so I hope you don't mind me sending my thanks this way. We will place the hard covers in our chapel for reference and keep the soft covers to give away. Your generosity is much appreciated. If I might be so bold as to ask, if there is anyway that you might have a large print copy, our residents at the Seniors' Health Centre could benefit from that.
Thank you again for your kindness to our patients, residents, and their families.
Blessings,
Joan Silcox-Smith
______________
Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Krishna conscious books. Whoever gets a book is benefited. If he reads the book he is benefited still more, or if he gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person is benefited. Even if one does not read the book but simply holds it and sees it, he is benefited. If he simply gives small donation towards the work of Krishna consciousness he is benefited. And anyone who distributes these transcendental literatures, he is also benefited. Therefore Sankirtana is the prime benediction for the age. ~ Srila Prabhupada [Letter to German disciples, 6 May 1977]
From Susan Korsnick 
Filed under: Cows and Environment        
The essence of devotee care are six loving exchanges given by Rupa Gosvami:
dadati pratigrhnati
guhyam akhyati prcchati
bhunkte bhojayate caiva
sad-vidham priti-laksanam
Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.
 Q: Why have you come to Radhadesh? A: To do a Team Building Workshop for the temple department heads, presentations on Devotee Care and Guidance, and personal coaching sessions with individual devotees. And to play some devotional music. Q: What is the best way to build an effective team? A: Make a plan based on sound principles like mutual respect, personal trustworthiness, trust, encouragement, and alignment with Srila Prabhupada's teachings. Then follow up with an attitude of helping each other succeed. Read this Srimad Bhagavatam text to learn the basis of building spiritual teams: http://vedabase.net/sb/4/30/8/en1 Q: What are the main principles that will help teams succeed? A: 1) Krsna's mercy, 2) Building trust, 3) Sincere attitude of helping each other succeed (HEOS), 4) Mutual appreciation.
Click on the pictures to discover the Treasure House Of India’s Spiritual Wisdom as presented by ISKCON Founder Acharya A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. Article Sent By His Grace Ramkinkara Dasa, Iskcon South-Africa Walking the talk, on my way to work a good samaratan Mr Bevlen Sudhu, a Sai Baba follower, working for Green Office, [...]
Damodara Pandit das: We are working towards scheduling in quality entertainment for the ILS (ISKCON Leadership Sanga) Feb 10 - 17 and Gaura Purnima Festivals (23 Feb - 8 March) in Mayapur 2012. Thus we are now advertising for performers and artists
by tea cups
Si crew
Tribute piece for Bali one of the best mrdanga drummers in the world.
 And update on the Church Law in Hungary.
What Pariksit Maharaja could do 5000 years ago – keep Kali at bay – can now only be done if people in general keep Kali out of their lives by chanting Hare Krsna.
A concise yet systematic overview of the Gita focussing on the theme of Krishna's love as expressed consistently from the start to the end of the Gita. To hear, click here
I had the immense pleasure to interview His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami regarding his thoughts and feelings about Mayapur and the ToVP. Being such a key member in the development of the community, I was interested to hear how maharaja perceived the progress and future of the Dham. I was delighted to find out that Kadamba Kanana Swami has full faith that Srila Prabhupada's mission to spread Caitanya Mahaprabhus sankirtan movement throughout the whole by means of the ToVP will be a major success. “...There is no doubt that this temple will attract the attention of the world. The preaching will increase tremendously.” 1. Maharaja, you were here doing Srila Prabhupada's Samadhi, and now things have rapidly progressed into the big temple project. How do you feel about all the development in Sridham Mayapur? Kadamba Kanana Swam: The development in Mayapur is not going on by ordinary mundane dynamics, it is happening directly by the mercy of Lord Caitanya and His pure devotee Srila Prabhupada. They make it all happen they inspire us from within and without. The lotus of Lord Caitanya's mercy is opening more and more.
Question: When God is spiritual, how can we use material analogies to explain his nature and related spiritual truths?
Answer: Material analogies serve an important but intermediate step in assimilating spiritual truths.
The process of assimilating spiritual truths involves the following broad stages:
1. Know about them through scriptural revelation
2. Understand them through reasoning that uses material analogies
3. Realize and experience them through individual application and practice
The use of material analogies to illustrate spiritual truths is a time-honored Vedic tradition, often referred to as shakha-chandra nyaya, the logic of using the branches to show the moon. Consider a group of children who are accustomed to looking only sideways and not overhead. If they are to be shown the moon, their vision needs to be raised. For this purpose, a teacher points first to a tree that can be seen by looking sideways, then to its branches that extend laterally and finally to the moon that lies between the branches.
Just as the children are accustomed to seeing only sideways, most of us are accustomed to seeing only in material terms: our senses cannot perceive anything beyond material objects and our mind cannot conceive anything beyond material concepts. Just as the branches help direct our vision toward the moon, material analogies help direct our understanding toward the spiritual truths .
This basic understanding can be obtained by using material analogies carefully, provided we use the following three steps:
1. State the spiritual principle as given by scriptural revelation.
2. State the analogy
3. State the parallels between the analogy and the principle.
However, analogies being material can only point to, never fully explain the principle, as the principle is spiritual. Just as the moon doesn’t exist between the branches, the spiritual principle doesn’t exist within the framework of limited perceptions and conceptions that comprise the analogy. Just as the moon can be reached only by developing a sufficient escape velocity that takes one beyond the earth’s gravity pull, God can be understood only by developing a sufficient devotional velocity that takes us beyond our materialistic preconceptions and attachments.
To help us develop this devotional velocity, a basic understanding of spiritual truths serves as an essential launching pad. If we stretch the analogy and screw out a parallel other than the one for which it is intended, we end up with a perverted understanding. If we refuse to use the analogy, we fail to gain any understanding. If we focus on the intended parallel, then the analogy serves its purpose of increasing our understanding.
To recapitulate, reasoning using material analogies serves a valuable, even indispensable, intermediate step in assimilation of spiritual truths provided it is based on scriptural revelation and is followed by personal application and realization.
old art revamped
matter degrades.
modes of desire fight
ignorance victorious
you start out selfless but it don’t sustain
lust and hankering took over the reigns
next thing you know ur insane
your playing a rigged game
its time to through in the towel
put a gulab in your mouth
and come hear about
sri krsna balaram
stop animal harm
sustainable farm
serve in vrajadham
and absorb yourself in selfless service to the love supreme
through away the dream
material happiness a myth
its a poisoned kiss
chant hare krsna and remain alert
to the lust monster that lerks
illicit sex dont work it just gives more hurt
makes you a jerk
fruitive work makes the heart hard
till it cracks unless you dip it in the nectar or devotion
spiritual emotions more than mechanical motions
give up false notions
apply the bhakti lotion
our hearts pierced by the arrow of lust personified
to be happy we tried from distress we hide and then comes the tide next thing you know your body died time to confide and cut off your ties to begin bhakti is to begin real life
sign a petition: government in Hungary want to demolish the hare Krishna farm community, leave your name and email on this site to help stop this injustice. Hare krsna people are genioune progressive people living an ideal harmonious and co operative life simply for the benefit of every one, their also the most qualified leaders (some) because they’re decisions are based on solid truth coming from the manu samhita and bhagavad gita, which are law books for mankind. all leaders should take counsel from devotees because there selfless.
lol!
what Hare Krishna's say about mush-rooms
what people say about Hare Krsna
some pics from the last week
SB 3.1.25 HH Bhakti Vaibhava Swami ISKCON Riga 2011.10.17.
Yo Your not that body your the soul inside it
Do the experiment and then you won't deny it
Were the consciousness experience if doubt it your delirious
We think were the body by The false egos grace
Every time we look in the mirror we think that's our face
But youv had so many before just another taste
We think were these bodies and our birth place our place
But all these misconceptions prove to be unsafe
Because it's illusion and we take it as real
We think were the enjoyers and everyone else Is the enjoyed
Everything is mine and I liberally employ
In the service of my senses can't see the turmoil
And then I try to control people like their dolls
And get really disturbed if they don't give thier all
But Thankfully sri krsnas the enjoyer and master
don't need to sweat anything save except krsnas pastimes
Cos were parts of the whole and were meant to serve with love
Sets you frree like dove just try applying the above
like a hand serves the stomach By feeding the body
To the automatic benefit
of the hand
So we serve our roots by bhakti yoga
Chanting hare krsna and remaining sober. ..
Philosophers are lovers of wisdom. That wisdom that awakens our love. Philosophy in the real sense of the term means scientific realization of our position as krishnera nitya Das or eternal loving servants of the supreme whom we call Krishna which means all attractive source of existence.
Some pics from yesterday’s classes… Click to view slideshow.
       
"When Krsna, playing by the Yamuna's bank, kisses His flute, the waters of the streams become stunned and solid, the rocks become soft and melt, and the mountains, no longer standing still, tremble and walk about..."
(Sri Vidagdha Madhava) By the mercy of Guru and Gauranga and through relentlessly performing devotional service, we pray to one day have darsanaof such wondrous feats of Sri Krsna turning inanimate objects into animate ones, and vice versa.
A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Wednesday 7 December 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: Begging for the Mercy of the Six Goswamis uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram--Austin, Texas USA In the first stanza of the r r Sad-gosvmy-astaka (Eight Prayers to the Six Goswamis) rnivsa crya prays as follows: I offer my respectful obeisances to the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, namely r Rpa Gosvm, r Santana Gosvm, r Raghuntha Bhatta Gosvm, r Raghuntha dsa Gosvm, r Jva Gosvm, and r Gopla Bhatta Gosvm. They are always engaged in blissfully chanting the holy name of Krishna and dancing in ecstasy. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and the ruffians because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are fully engaged 24 hours a day in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe. I fall down at their feet and beg for their mercy that I can always be engaged in their service by being fully absorbed in assisting their mission. Sankarshan Das Adhikari The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan http://www.backtohome.com/images/Six_Goswamis.jpg Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Death and Destiny We always say that death can come at any moment. What if one's life line in his palm shows that he would live up to 80? Does this mean that he will definitely be alive until around 80 years? Could you also please explain what is untimely death? I understand that our material progress is already destined. Is our spiritual progress also destined? And is our fate after death also destined? Thank you. Your humble servant, Chandra Chaitanya Das Answer: Transcend Death and Destiny by Bhakti Whenever one is destined to die according to the law of karma, he will die at that time, whether he is eight years old or eighty years old. If one dies as a young or middle aged person that is considered to be an untimely death, even though that time of death was fated by his karma, because the natural course is that one is meant to die as an old person. Spiritual progress exists outside of the law of karma. It is not a matter of destiny. By spiritual progress one can alter his karma. By the law of karma you are destined to take birth again in this material world after leaving your present body. But if you take seriously to the path of Krishna bhakti, you will not have to take birth again. You will go back to home, back to Godhead to live an eternal life, which is full of knowledge and full of bliss. 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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