We have just finished another stage of the Japa Room...it's always very inspiring and purifying discussing Japa and the Holy names...I then found this quote from Srila Sanatana Goswami:
By Ila devi dasiNow that the Mayapur Nagar Sankirtan Department has been in existence for a year, the need for engaging the youth more, even from a very young age, has resulted in the formation of the Junior Harinam Team – for children below 10!
by Chakra Pani dasa, from the Sept. 1981 Issue of the Brijabasi Spirit
On July 12th, another phase of Vrindaban history opened. Big Lord Jagannath, feeling grievously homesick, decided to stay in Vrindaban after the culmination of the usual cold He usually gets at this time of the year. Not having room to sit next to Radha-Vrindaban Candra and Their ecstatic friends on the Bahulaban altar, He has decided to retreat to the original Vrindaban forest.
Brijabasis know how to have a festival. Simply come to Vrindaban, and automatically, it is a festival. Kirtananda Swami briefly interrupted the sweaty, ecstatic installation kirtan to explain what glamour this shanty-like farm was for us. Many of the devotees there were initiated in the Vrindaban farm scene. Bodies were packed in the temple room like canned peas, and the heat was intense. Kirtananda Maharaja, pointing his finger toward the upper level, declared to Sridhar Maharaj that Prabhupada had spent a month right there, making Vrindaban an extra special place. “When Srila Prabhupada saw that we had cow dung on the kitchen floor, he was very pleased.” Maharaja stated. “He used to take His bath right out there in the meadow. Prabhupada once told us, “A man could go out all day, work hard and come back with ten dollars. But if a man simply stays in one place, using his intelligence, he can make one hundred dollars a day.” Similarly, by staying here in one place, living simply and thinking purely, we can make people come to us. There is no need for us to travel far and wide. Now Krishna is giving us so much facility for spreading Krishna consciousness with an opulent palace and so much land. If we simply stay in this one place and chant and remember Krishna everything will come.
Most likely, I was not the only person in the room experiencing a dire thirst amid the heat and scarce air. This thirst was satisfied, however by the sweet, cool katha coming from Kirtananda Swami. Also during the heat of the kirtan, considerations of comfort were transcended by the “ocean of bliss” we were tapped into.
In Vrindaban, the gopis had Rasa-lila with Krishna. Out of pure affection, without hesitation, they sacrificed all mundane consideration to please Krishna. To experience the love they had for Him, Krishna incarnated five hundred years ago with the first amongst the gopis, Radharani, and took the form of Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. In the mood of Radharani, He has shown His most sublime causeless mercy by appearing in this dark age of Kali and inaugurating the Sankirtan movement.
We spread Krishna-lila by dancing, and by the chanting of His holy name: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Although we’ve committed the most abominable activities, in this age we can also enter into the Rasa-lila with Krishna by engaging in the kirtan and giving up sinful dealings. To establish a foundation for His movement, Lord Caitanya excavated the old Vrindaban in India where Krishna originally performed His past-times on this planet. His principle associates developed it as the center for Krishna-bhakti by building wonderful temples and writing literature on Vaisnava behavior.
Now, in the last few decades, Srila Prabhupada with the help of his disciples has expanded this movement around the globe so that not just in India, but everywhere, practically everyone has heard the name of Krishna. He has deputed his disciple, Kirtanananda Swami to establish this New Vrindaban in America so that Westerners will also have a holy place to make pilgrimage and come closer to
Krishna. It is offensive to consider the boundaries of Vrindaban to be limited. Wherever a sadhu stays and glorifies Krishna, there is where
Krishna is performing His pastimes. Therefore Prabhupada stated that this New Vrindaban is non-different from the old Vrindaban. In a letter to Kirtananda Maharaja, written during the first years of it’s founding, Prabhupada told him that due to his pure devotional service, Krishna had followed him to this place.
It was here, on this remote ridge that New Vrindaban was established. Mountain living was new to the original devotees, who settled here. Being conditioned by years of city conveniences, all of them left during the winter months, except for Kirtananda Maharaja. Living for months on only oats and roots he dug from the ground, Kirtananda Maharaja made garlands for his deities with colored leaves and berries or whatever he could find. He gradually attracted others by his determination. In that same letter, Prabhupada declared, “Just be steady in your deity worship, chant your sixteen rounds early, before you do anything else. Then Krishna will be pleased and He will send others.”
Only a handful of the approximately three hundred and fifty devotees who now reside in New Vrindaban crowded into the small, hot temple room where it all began, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the dancing devotees upon the occasion of Lord Jagannath’s rein-stallation. Kirtananda Maharaja said, “This farm too will be part of the whole scheme for Krishna-land. Besides Srila Prabhupada’s Palace and Radha-Vrindaban Candra’s new temple, there will be the seven principal temples of Vrindaban built on the farm. Within a one or two mile radius, visitors will be able to do Parikram and see all the principle sites of Vrindaban.”
The original farm has gone through phases since the beginning. To realize the goal of building Krishna Land, it became necessary to centralize the community’s activities in the less remote location of Bahulaban farm. Vrindaban farm became known as the place of pilgrimage within the place of pilgrimage, because Srila Prabhupada had lived there a month, and Kirtananda Maharaja, by his austerities and devotion attracted Krishna to that place.
Krishna’s personal presence can especially be felt by the devotees who lived there or visited the “city.” (Bahulaban) For five years, until the first grand opening festival for the Palace in ‘79, it had been the resting place for Radha-Vrindaban Natha and most of the brahmacaris on the farm. Atmabhu Maharaj, who had been the temple president and construction manager extraordinaire for most of this period, said that “without the seclusion this farm had afforded to us, the Palace would never have been built.” Kirtananda Maharaja says, “Staying in this one place, we shall change the whole world.” Indeed, although one’s respective social position may change, the simple brahmacari life which has been exhibited here seems most natural for the soul. If we can duplicate this mode of simple life and high thought as far as possible, then we shall be admitting others into this land of Vrindaban, whose boundaries are not limited.
Since Krishna never leaves Vrindaban, it is no surprise that Lord Jagannath chooses to appear and reside there. The devotees, in the mood of separation may appear to have lost their sight of Krishna in Vrindaban, but actually, how can we ever take Vrindaban out of our minds.
By Indradyumna SwamiI understood Chandrasekhar's anxiety. He and a team of local devotees had been organizing the festival for six months. At great cost they had rented an auditorium with 1,000 seats for two evenings at a prestigious university in downtown Hong Kong. Never before had the small yatra attempted such a bold preaching program.
No, it’s not really a rocker. It’s simply a devotee chanting sastra over the drone of a sitar. I’m not really sure when this came out or why it was recorded and released, but here it is.
1. Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 12)
2. Srimad Bhagavatam
3. Dasa Avatara
4. Sloka Mala
5. Cintamani Prayers
6. Mangalacarana
7. Sri Sri Guruv Astaka
8. Sri Siksastaka
9. Upadesamrta
10. Sri Isopanisad
11. Damodarastaka
Click here to download (80MB)
[or right click and save link as…]
By Friends of the BBTA very touching incident happened in downtown Atlanta. I presented the Bhagavad-gita to a fellow with a guitar, and he liked it very much. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any money, since he’d just spent whatever he had for lunch.
Lelki erő is szükséges a helyes cselekvéshez.
(by Madhava Gosh first published in the Brijabasi Spirit May,1979 Vol. VI, #5)
White…….Sterile………Lightbright
Red………..Potent………Disdread
White patterned with red
Creepers nurtured when read.
Krsna’s loving hand seen in all
Saving us after our fall.
Books his message will bring.
Guru’s light illuminating the spring.
White and red,
Krsna is blue. He loves you,
Does your country?
At one time, a great amount of time ago, a powerful demon, Hiranyakasipu, became so greedy for gold that he mined the earth planet so extensively that her natural balance was upset, causing her to fall into the ocean at the bottom of the universe.
This ocean is a dirty place, collecting the debris of the planets floating in the sky, so in order to rescue her, Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, incarnated as a boar to retrieve her, boars being accustomed to wallowing in such places. This event is elaborated in the Srimad Bhagavatam and is celebrated yearly by the Vaisnava devotees of our sampradaya on Madha-Dvadasi. in the month of February.
Maha Dvadasi in New Vrindaban this year found us deep in accumulations of snow, with temperatures plummeting to 0°F and below daily. Winter was in full display, the variegatedness of summer’s full vegetative cloak smoothed into sheets of whiteness that stretched from stark treeline to forest.
Even the hustle and bustle of communal life at Bahulaban succumbed to the shroud of frequent snowfalls and the entire compound was blanketed, embroidered by paths trodden hard by the feet of devotees moving from bathhouse to temple to prasadam room to work places and schools; paths dark with ashes, remnants of the trees that burned to cook the foodstuffs offered to Vrndavana Candra and now serving again, this time turning paths unslippery.
Looking across Hare Krsna Ridge road to the triangular cleared hillside opposite the smooth whiteness was broken only by the ripples in the creekside garden. The dirt had been tossed up the previous fall by Daivata using a three bottom moldboard plow with the forward bottom removed. He had plowed one way, then turned around and gone back in his same tracks, creating a raised bed.
Come Spring, this thick mound of topsoil would dry out faster and become warmer earlier than a flat piece of ground moving sooner the earliest germination dates, but now that was only a mental image, planned but unplantable.
After some months of this frozen scenery, I sometimes feel despair of the Spring’s ever arriving, but just as Maha Dvadasi celebrated the appearance of Lord Varaha who saved the earth from a seemingly hopeless position. Krsna also did an amazing thing here. Undeterred by the inimical environment, He started planting. As the moon approached full, one day the sun beamed away, unhindered by the clouds.
The snow blindingly, dazzlingly reflected the light and as 1 walked to the prasadam hall, I noticed seeds, red, fuzzy sumac seeds, broadcast in profusion. Suspended more than a foot from the ground, their redness absorbing the solar energy reflected by the snow, they were patiently melting their way towards the fertile earth.
The next day, the snow fell again, hiding everything but the following day once more the sun shone and once more red seeds were scattered, just as in this dark age of Kali-yuga, when men’s hearts are frozen, Prabhupada’s books are being distributed everywhere, so that as the thaw of Lord Caitanya’s Golden Age comes, the creeper of devotional service can take root in everyone’s heart.
Past the sumac grove, through the boot room and into the prasadam hall, I saw Kirtanananda Maharaja’s vyasasana surrounded by the assembled devotees, waiting for the noon Bhagavad-gita class to begin. Glancing opposite, I could see the greenhouse annex where Tulasi stays. Here, another planting was occurring. In the shelter of the most worshipable plant-like devotee, the seeds for next summer’s flower and vegetable offerings were germinating, harbingers of the thaw to come, an enclave of kinetic plant energy in the midst of thousands of acres of potential plant energy outside.
So even in this most materialistic era, the message of love of God has been kept alive by the chain of disciplic succession coming down from Krsna Himself, and what now appears to be a tiny group of neophytes taking shelter of the present manifestation of the unbroken chain of spiritual masters is actually a preview of what the whole world can be.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada, who is gardening in the tradition of Lord Caitanya. All glories to Kirtanananda Maharaja who has appreciated Srila Prabhupada and is building the Palace to reveal his glories to the entire world. All glories to the residents of New Vrindaban, who are assisting Kirtanananda Maharaja in his great endeavor, and all glories to all the devotees who are spreading Lord Chaitanya’s message everywhere, giving everyone the opportunity to enter Vrindaban which is unbounded by geographical limitations.
Dear Readers,
Just a filler really to keep you updated. Arrived back in the country from India on the 27th November 2007. Pretty much launched into the December book marathon from there, basing myself in ISKCON Lenasia. The Temple President, Caitanya prabhu and the GM, Bhakta Adrian, were really helpful and it was a reasonably eventful marathon. I have a lot of plans for preaching in SA, so my head is swimming with thoughts. Still, the marathon was focussed and I did okay (by my standards).
The brahmacaris, few they may be, in South Africa are taking to the road - like those in America. Examples of this phenomenon include Gaura prabhu, Savya-saci prabhu, myself and, of course, Jagat Guru prabhu. South African brahmacaris generally have three choices - go west, go to India, serve in local Temples or go on travelling sankirtan. Nothing new, really.
I’ve been based in Lenasia from December to February with my travelling sankirtan partner Bhakta John Robbie. We spent a few weekends at ISKCON Pretoria and stayed at a devotee family in Johannesburg. We rented a vehicle and distributed books in the malls of Johannesburg. It’s been an adventure, but a tiring one.
I’ll take a couple days break at my parents’ place. Thereafter, I will go to Pretoria until Durban Ratha Yatra on the 22nd of March. I’ll pick up my vehicle in Cape Town after the Festival, then it’s back on the road.
Today Partha Sarathi Maharaja will speak at ISKCON Lenasia.
Hope this meets you well,
Mukunda Charan das (Johannesburg, South Africa)
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Known as moong ki chat, this very popular salad is eaten as a road-side snack in India, especially in Delhi. The chili, lemon, and tongue-tingling spice combination chat masala give it a pleasant bite. Home sprouted mung beans taste best. |
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Tata has produced a new car for $2500, but BBC says it is partly plastic, held together with adhesive, with terrible pollution standards. When will someone produce a cheap car that does not run on petrol? That would be news. |
by course@ultimateselfrealization.com at March 02, 2008 03:30 AM
LONDON: Karen Janody was so annoyed by the mounds of free newspapers blowing around the streets of London she decided to build a house with them
And the video - one and a half hours of kirtan in 11 minutes!
Nityananda Mahajana ki jay!
Here are all the posts in this thought stream together.
You can also download them all together in this pdf: Community - Real and Apparent.pdf.
I am personally disqualified in so many ways. I am sharing these thoughts because internally right now in this area I am feeling a lot of pain, and this is cathartic for me. The past two years have held a lot of lessons for me. Trying to help people means that you become vulnerable, and you can be disappointed. At the same time, we are all simply servants of the parampara, and must do our duty, regardless of "good" or "bad" results, and irrespective of the "honor" or "dishonor" that it may bring us.
A collection of people coming together to satisfy their individual desires is not community - it is convenience. And when convenience ends, so does the coming together.
The principle is the same whether you are talking about two people or twenty.
It is always painful to my heart to see people get swept away into ISKCON's illusory sangabhasa - "the shadow of community".
A mouse is attracted to the trap by its desire to taste cheese. The fish is hooked by the flashy lure. In the same way, a person is swept into the sangabhasa by their selfish desires. They come to Krishna Consciousness with mixed motives, and they hear an alluring message: "You mean I can be Krishna Conscious and be selfish at the same time? Woohoo!"
Sadly this is not true. The sangabhasa idea of "being on your own program, together" is intrinsically contradictory. People in the sangabhasa are not experiencing community. Although they keep up the appearance of community they are each alone, isolated and vulnerable, but too attached to following their own program, satisfying their own desires, to participate in real community. Still, "misery loves company", so they keep encouraging people to join them on their program, appealing to their individual desires and offering the empty promise of fulfilling that within Krishna Consciousness.
Take a look at that word: misery. It comes from the word miser. In Sanskrit a miser is called krpana. Krpa na - "no mercy".
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is giving mercy freely - namo maha-vadanyaya krishna-prema padayate - with no regard to qualification or disqualification. All we have to do is throw our arms up into the air to receive it, but the miser is too intent on clutching on to their own desires, their own program, that they will not do that. You cannot get the higher taste without giving up the lower taste. Clutching on to our own program means that we miss out on Krishna's wonderful program that fulfills all our own desires and enables us to participate in the harmony of Krishna Conscious community.
New people are easily bewildered by the illusory community. They come along with the desire to participate in Krishna Consciousness, but still with significant material (separate) desires just below the surface. When they meet people who externally have mastered aspects of the external culture of Krishna Consciousness, and who tell them that they can have their cake and eat it, it seems too good to be true.
"Those others are fanatics," the sangabhasa tells them, conveniently ignoring the fact that it was through the sacrificial program of "those others" that they got the opportunity to know about Krishna Consciousness and were cultivated over the past months or years. "You don't want to hang out with them. They're naive, they are being used. You should just be yourself and do what you want, and you can be Krishna Conscious, along with us, while you do it."
Thus they enter into the shadow of community, the external, superficial appearance only. I have seen it happen many times, and I see the same process play out. You put your hopes and trust into a shadow, only to be again disappointed. Srila Prabhupada was such a powerful mystic that he manifested the spiritual world within the material world. We are so much in maya, however, that we have again manifested the material world within that spiritual world.
You know that I usually prefer to focus on the positive, but in this regard, at this point in time I feel such a burden internally that I wanted to say this. It is so painful to see someone come so close, and then again choose maya over Krishna.
Note to self:
"A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and a person not in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are differentiated by different desires. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not do anything which is not conducive to development of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He may even act exactly like the ignorant person, who is too much attached to material activities, but one is engaged in such activities for the satisfaction of his sense gratification, whereas the other is engaged for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the Kṛṣṇa conscious person is required to show the people how to act and how to engage the results of action for the purpose of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. "
- Bhagavad-gita 3.25
The opposite is also true. A person may externally act as a devotee, but internally they are engaged in the activities for sense gratification. As Srila Prabhupada goes to say in his purport to 3.27: "Two persons, one in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide gulf of difference in their respective positions."
A person can dress up as a Hare Krishna and even become expert in singing kirtan, chanting slokas, doing yajnas, or any of the other external practices that make them look like an advanced devotee, especially to new people. However, internally they remain committed to "their own program", and at crucial moments when "their program" and Krishna's program (which is the common program for Krishna Conscious communities) come into conflict, they consistently choose "their own program", because that is what they are really all about.
The effect of this is to destroy community, because it removes the common program from the center, and places their own program there. How can that work if everyone keps trying to put their own program in the center?
Of course all of us are afflicted with this to a greater or lesser degree, but some people are infected with it as a superbug. It's "antibiotic-resistant" - they've worked out how to carry out the bhakti process in such a way that they retain this internal orientation.
You can spot these people, in spite of their mastery of the external symbols of belonging, because they are actually unable to participate in community. They cannot participate in teams, nor can they form a stable team. They can whip something up for a while, but they can't sustain it because teams and community require subordinating your own individual program to a common program, and that is not what they are all about.
Don't be like that. Mundane selfishness and Krishna consciousness are mutually exclusive, and there is no nectar in life without Krishna consciousness.
The process of bhakti will progressively purify you from this, because we are all infected with it to a greater or lesser degree, but be aware of what you are infected with and be committed to getting rid of it. Don't become one of these people who have diluted and modified the process to retain their internal selfishness.
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Professor Hill, principal of Stonewall Elementary School in Dallas, Texas, recently requested local ISKCON devotees to stage a Vedic music and dance performance for his students. When a small group of four devotees arrived at the school on Friday February 22nd, they were welcomed by students and teachers all dressed in Indian attire, including saris, punjabi suits, kurtas, and yogi pants. |
Just to reiterate that point, which should be self-evident, but evidently is not:
A collection of people doing whatever they want is not a community.
Here is the live album that we recorded at Urban Yoga in November, 2007, for you listening pleasure. It's called "Heart of Devotion" and there are two tracks:
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Tension was in the air as GBC member Praghosa Das traded insults and criticisms with ISKCONResolve Director and meeting facilitator Braja Bihari Das during a presentation by Praghosa. As the debate got uglier and began to resemble a “Daksa-yajna”, worried attendees looked to the Chairman to pacify the situation. Some considered leaving. Some were considering removing the two antagonists before the situation got out of control. |
You can do whatever you want, or you can participate in community.
You can't do both because they are mutually exclusive.
You can mimic all the externals of belonging - the dress, the language, the mannerisms - but it's the internal orientation that counts - the prioritization. When the choice arrives, what do you choose? You own program, or the common program? Do you really belong, or are you just superficially pretending?
Because that's what it is really all about: "Do whatever you want, or participate in community."
Do you know where you end up when you are "on your own program"?
Alone.
And the Oscar goes to….a Vaishnava animator was on the team that made the award- winning short animation
I’ve just completed my three days of teaching at the Bhaktivedanta College in Belgium. My students were all kind to me and stayed keen right to the end and seemed to find the subject genuinely interesting. I tried to make it all topical, relevant and fast-paced for a thoughtful and lively 18-25 group.
We did a role-play called “Not the Best Bhagavad-gita Study Group” in which all the eight participants exhibited ‘bad group member behaviour’ and the observers tried to guess what was going on, and how it might be corrected. As well as discussing styles of preaching, different modes of sanga, and helpful systems and structures, we also spent time on the contemporary issues in ISKCON that our members might find disappointing - and therefore an obstacle to our growth.
Many of the students are on a three-year course which will gain them a Bachelor of Theology degree from the University of Wales. Some ISKCON members have described this level of study and formal accreditation as a controversial innovation. They reason, quite rightly, that bhakti does not depend on prolonged study of comparative philosophy, Sanskrit, or university recognition.
While this is true, it is also true that Srila Prabhupada wanted us to challenge the contemporary philosophical worldviews, and was not opposed to devotees learning more in order to do that. Certainly some former students - all respectable and practising devotees - are using their new qualifications to communicate our messages to audiences they might never have met previously.
Speaking of bright young people and audiences, I learned this morning that one of our devotees over in Hungary was a main artist on the team that have just won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film (Foreign). Suzi Templeton and Hugh Welchman won the most coveted prize in the film industry for their British-Polish production of Peter and the Wolf.
A couple of summers ago, I remember Bhakta Kasha at the Manor. At that time he was trying to get a job with Ardman Animation, makers of Wallace and Gromit. A fellow animator from Hungary, his former student, was already there. He was unsuccessful but I told him that Krishna had given him a great gift - he’d shown me a few short films he’d made - and that he should keep trying and aim high. And keep on chanting. Now he is overwhelmed with job offers, so my hearty congratulations to him.
Devotees are talented people, and their friendliness, spirit of service, and offering of their work to Krishna all seem to help them get where they want to be. I have known many hundreds of Vaishnavas who regard their spiritual life not as a chance to opt out of society, but as a means to become more innovative and make an even greater contribution to society. To all our young students everywhere - good luck and Krishna’s blessings!
For all those who always wanted to print Prabhupada posters and never had the chance here are some photos for all of you to download.
Each photo is aroung 20mb and 6000 pixels wide. Enjoy and distribute to all your friends!
The quality, quantity, speed topic is always an ongoing discussion. We can't sacrifice quality but quantity is important also...as well as our speed. If for example it's taking us 3 hours to chant 16 rounds then we need to increase our speed. My understanding is that we should not be taking more than 10 minutes per round.
By Pandava Vijaya dasaMahamantra Prabhu kindly called me and told me that he was visiting and would be speaking just a few blocks from the temple. Mathuranatha Prabhu, Amala Kirtan Prabhu and Lakshmi Priya and her family went to see him and offer him a Divine Nature.
Today we had a celebration at the temple in honor of a great soul who recently departed from this world.
"Bhismadeva said: Let me now invest my thinking, feeling and willing, which were so long engaged in different subjects and occupational duties, in the all-powerful Lord Sri Krishna. He is always self-satisfied, but sometimes, being the leader of the devotees, He enjoys transcendental pleasure by descending on the material world, although from Him only the material world is created.
Sri Krishna is the intimate friend of Arjuna. He has appeared on this earth in His transcendental body, which resembles the bluish color of the tamala tree. His body attracts everyone in the three planetary systems [upper, middle and lower]. May His glittering yellow dress and His lotus face, covered with paintings of sandalwood pulp, be the object of my attraction, and may I not desire fruitive results.
On the battlefield [where Sri Krishna attended Arjuna out of friendship], the flowing hair of Lord Krishna turned ashen due to the dust raised by the hoofs of the horses. And because of His labor, beads of sweat wetted His face. All these decorations, intensified by the wounds dealt by my sharp arrows, were enjoyed by Him. Let my mind thus go unto Sri Krishna.
In obedience to the command of His friend, Lord Sri Krishna entered the arena of the Battlefield of Kuruksetra between the soldiers of Arjuna and Duryodhana, and while there He shortened the life spans of the opposite party by His merciful glance. This was done simply by His looking at the enemy. Let my mind be fixed upon that Kåñëa.
When Arjuna was seemingly polluted by ignorance upon observing the soldiers and commanders before him on the battlefield, the Lord eradicated his ignorance by delivering transcendental knowledge. May His lotus feet always remain the object of my attraction.
Fulfilling my desire and sacrificing His own promise, He got down from the chariot, took up its wheel, and ran towards me hurriedly, just as a lion goes to kill an elephant. He even dropped His outer garment on the way.
May He, Lord Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who awards salvation, be my ultimate destination. On the battlefield He charged me, as if angry because of the wounds dealt by my sharp arrows. His shield was scattered, and His body was smeared with blood due to the wounds.
At the moment of death, let my ultimate attraction be to Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead. I concentrate my mind upon the chariot driver of Arjuna who stood with a whip in His right hand and a bridle rope in His left, who was very careful to give protection to Arjuna's chariot by all means. Those who saw Him on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra attained their original forms after death.
Let my mind be fixed upon Lord Sri Krishna, whose motions and smiles of love attracted the damsels of Vrajadhama [the gopis]. The damsels imitated the characteristic movements of the Lord [after His disappearance from the rasa dance].
At the Rajasuya-yajna [sacrifice] performed by Maharaja Yudhisthira, there was the greatest assembly of all the elite men of the world, the royal and learned orders, and in that great assembly Lord Sri Krishna was worshiped by one and all as the most exalted Personality of Godhead. This happened during my presence, and I remembered the incident in order to keep my mind upon the Lord.
Now I can meditate with full concentration upon that one Lord, Sri Krishna, now present before me because now I have transcended the misconceptions of duality in regard to His presence in everyone's heart, even in the hearts of the mental speculators. He is in everyone's heart. The sun may be perceived differently, but the sun is one.
Thus Bhismadeva merged himself in the Supersoul, Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with his mind, speech, sight and actions, and thus he became silent, and his breathing stopped.
Knowing that Bhismadeva had merged into the unlimited eternity of the Supreme Absolute, all present there became silent like birds at the end of the day.
Thereafter, both men and demigods sounded drums in honor, and the honest royal order commenced demonstrations of honor and respect. And from the sky fell showers of flowers."
By Ananda Tirtha dasTension was in the air as GBC member Praghosa Das traded insults and criticisms with ISKCONResolve Director and meeting facilitator Braja Bihari Das during a presentation by Praghosa. As the debate got uglier and began to resemble a “Daksa-yajna”, worried attendees looked to the Chairman to pacify the situation. Some considered leaving. Some were considering removing the two antagonists before the situation got out of control. The good will that had permeated the meetings thus far was being threatened...
By Kurma Rupa dasaOur March 2008 Care for Cows Newsletter has been posted. Please review it at your earliest convenience
By Arjuna dasFood For All England open Sweet Water Project for the village of Baledan near Vrindavan. This village was suffering due to lack of good drinking water. This year we plan to open two more such projects in Vrindavan.
by Rev. Mr. Jonathan Romanoski, FSSP (Posted by Petrus1962 on 02/09/08)
“Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent, yet today we do not fast. The Church rather began her fast this past Wednesday, so as to imitate most faithfully the life of our Lord in a fast for exactly 40 days, 6 days being taken off for the Sundays of the 6 weeks of Lent. Notice the care with which the Church has observed this fast from most ancient times.
“We read of the apostles fasting and enjoining it in turn on others. The third Roman Pontiff, St. Clement, who is mentioned in the Scriptures, ordained that Catholics should fast every Wednesday and Friday of the year. In the days of our Holy Fathers, the Church was fervent and her members not only fasted but abstained from all meat, eggs, cheese and milk throughout Lent, and ate but once at sundown…”
Okay, I’m not down for the whole bit, but I will do the meat and eggs part which would still seem to get me in as good as the current standard:
” Which are for those between 18 and 59 to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, eating not more than one full meal, and 2 collations which would not together equal a full meal; and for all over 14 to abstain from meat on the above and the Fridays of Lent. The faithful are still obliged to do some penance throughout all of Lent.”
Some believe the original Christians were mostly vegetarians, and that the only being so for Lent was a throwback to the early days. How did the slide happen? Back to the article:
“But the hearts of men grew cold and their wills weak, and the discipline was gradually mitigated. Abstinence was dropped, collations were added and dispensations were sought with much frequency.
“To such a point that Pope Benedict XIV, who was pope from 1740-1758, and “whose spirit of moderation,” Dom Gueranger tells us, “has never been called into question, had no sooner ascended the papal throne, than he addressed an encyclical letter to the bishops of the Catholic world, expressing his heartfelt grief at seeing the great relaxation that was introduced among the faithful by indiscreet and unnecessary dispensations.”
“In his letter he hearkens us back to the desert, and the divine dignity found therein as he writes, “The observance of Lent is the very badge of the Christian warfare. By it we prove ourselves not to be enemies of the cross of Christ. By it we avert the scourges of divine justice. By it we gain strength against the princes of darkness, for it shields us with heavenly help.
“Should mankind grow remiss in their observance of Lent, it would be a detriment to God’s glory, a disgrace to the Catholic religion, and a danger to Christian souls. Neither can it be doubted that such negligence would become the source of misery to the world, of public calamity, and of private woe.” Strong words indeed.
“Did they prove true? Dom Gueranger a hundred years later comments on this “ever-growing spirit of immortification,” which cannot but result in “a general effeminacy of character, which will lead, at last, to frightful social disorders.” He writes, “The sad predictions of Pope Benedict XIV, are but too truly verified.
“Those nations, among whose people the spirit and practice of penance are extinct, are heaping against themselves the wrath of God, and provoking His justice to destroy them by one or other of these scourges- civil discord, or conquest…[this] is one of the worst presages of the future. The word of God is unmistakable: unless we do penance we shall perish (St. Luke 13:3).” “But,” he continues “if our ease-loving and sensual generation were to return, like the Ninivites, to the long-neglected way of penance and expiation, who knows but that the arm of God, which is already raised to strike us, may give us blessing and not chastisement?” And what would they say 150 yrs. later, in our day.
” Perhaps you are still unconvinced, of the great evils that come from not fasting. Let us step back therefore and consider what evils have come from such a lack of mortification…”
Well to check out those evils, you’ll have to read the rest of the rather long article.
Don’t you hate it when you really feel you got a good thing going and then a couple of knuckleheads who think they’re really funny pop up and start telling really lame and sometimes racist jokes? You feel kind of embarrassed for them.
You let it slide for a bit under the banner of “free speech,” but then you wake up to realize that they’ve been telling crappy jokes all night. You lie there in a groggy, half-awake state trying to figure out why some people were born without that little thing in the back of their minds that tells them “seriously, dude, shut up.”
I guess it’s a birth defect or something.
Oh, and after a little more thought, you realize that it’s somehow your job to take care of the drunk guys at the party. That “el vino did flow” and now you’re stuck cleaning up after two blokes you hardly even know.
So I guess what I’m saying is that I’m throwing down the puke-stained gauntlets when it comes to the comments on The Hing.
Until further notice, the two devotees who post as “Haribol” and “Bhakta Godhead” (aka Srila BS Sajjah Maharaj/Bhakta Fundamentalist/Bhakta Not a Fundamentalist/Jadhurani dasi) are taking a little time out (please note, they’re not “banned”).
I considered making The Hing’s comments only for registered users, but that’s just annoying. I mean, do you have any idea how many times I’ve wanted to say a few words on someone’s blog, but skipped it because I didn’t want to go through the whole registration process. Seriously, a lot of times.
The next step will be to individually approve comments. I really don’t want to do that, so play nice.
In the meantime, let’s all chip in and buy these guys some self-awareness.
-Eric
Hing guy
Everyone is Welcome.
Who was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?
Sri Chaitanya is the Kali-yuga avatara, and He descended for the purpose of establishing the yuga dharma, which in this age is the chanting of Lord Krishna's names. He appeared in the guise of a devotee to perfectly show how the process of devotion should be followed and applied. It is something like a teacher drawing on the black board "A B C". We should not think the teacher is himself learning the alphabets, but he is doing it to show us how to write properly.
The inner purpose of Sri Chaitanya's incarnation was to experience the devotional love that Radharani has for Krishna. He wanted to experience the process of bhakti from the side of the devotee.
In other ages the Lord incarnates along with His weapons for destroying the demons, but in Kali yuga He shows special mercy to the demons by delivering them with nama-sankirtana. In the Kali-yuga there are practically only demons on this earth, so if the Lord were to kill the demons there would be nobody left. Instead He chose to kill the demoniac tendency within the heart of the demons by giving them Krishna bhakti.
Sri Chaitanya is described in the following verse composed by Sri Rupa Goswami:
namo maha-vadanyaya
krishna-prema-pradaya te
krishnaya krishna-caitanya-
namne gaura-tvishe namah
"I offer my respectful obeisances unto Sri Chaitanya, who is the most merciful incarnation. He has appeared in a golden color for the purpose of freely distributing pure love of Krishna."
In other incarnations, Lord Krishna would require the devotee to first surrender to Him: sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja. But in the incarnation as Sri Chaitanya, He would go to the non-devotees and freely distribute krishna-prema to all. This is the unique blessing of this age of Kali. Despite it being the most sinful age, the process of self-realization is the simplest and most accessible to all classes of men.
Lord Chaitanya's incarnation is mentioned and predicted in numerous scriptures. The following are some of the important references.
In the Atharva Veda (Purusha-bodini Upanishad) it is said:
"In the seventh manvantara, the Supreme Lord will, accompanied by His own associates, descend in a golden form. He will teach the chanting of His own holy names."
It is further stated in the Atharva Veda:
"The Supreme Lord Himself says: When between four thousand and five thousand years of Kali-yuga have passed, I will descend to the earth in a place by the Ganges' shore. I will be a tall, saintly brahmana devotee of the Lord, and have a golden complexion. I will be renounced and free from all desire. I will accept the order of renunciation (sannyasa). I will be a devotee advanced in bhakti-yoga. I will chant the holy names of the Lord. I will taste the sweet mellows of My own devotional service. Only the great devotees will understand Me."
In the Sama Veda the Lord states:
"To deliver the people devoured by the sins of Kali-yuga, I will, accompanied by My associates, descend to the earth in a place by the Ganges shore. I will be a brahmana avadhuta sannyasi. Again and again I will chant the holy names of the Lord."
In the Krishna Upanishad it is stated:
sa eva bhagavan yuge turiye 'pi brahma-kule jayamanah sarva upanishadah uddidirshuh sarvani dharma-shastrani vistarayishnuh sarvan api janan santarayishnuh sarvan api vaishnavan dharman vijrimbhayan sarvan api pashandan nicakhana
"In the Kali-yuga, Lord Krishna will appear in a brahmana's family. He will teach the message of the Upanishads and the dharma-shastras. He will defeat the atheists and offenders and He will establish the truth of Vaishnava dharma."
In the eleventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam the following verse is found:
krishna-varnam tvishakrishnam
sangopangastra-parshadam
yajnaih sankirtana-prayair
yajanti hi su-medhasah
"In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead, who constantly sings the name of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions."
In the seventh canto of Srimad Bhagavatam is the following verse describing the Lord's incarnations:
channah kalau yad abhava tri-yugo 'tha sa tvam
"Because in Kali-yuga You appear in a covered incarnation, you are therefore known as Tri-yuga (one who appears in only three yugas)."
The incarnation of Sri Chaitanya is a hidden incarnation because He appears in the guise of His devotee. This covered incarnation is confirmed in both the Adi Purana and the Narada Purana in the following verse:
aham eva dvija-shreshtho
nityam pracchanna-vigrahah
bhagavad-bhakta-rupena
lokam rakshami sarvada
"My true identity always concealed, I will assume the form of a brahmana devotee of the Lord. In this form I will deliver the worlds."
While giving a book distribution seminar in Pune, India, recently, I mentioned that a man may receive a book from a devotee and never read it. But he may put it on his bookshelf, and when he eventually leaves his body and his son inherits the house, the son may read the book and become a devotee. After the class, a devotee raised his hand and said his father had bought a Bhagavad-gita and Krsna book from a devotee and put it on the bookcase at home. Seventeen years after his father purchased the book, he read them, and became a devotee.
Krsne matir astu.
Your servant, Vijaya Dasa
Beszélgetés Mayapurban puja közben Abhirama prabhuval és Gadagraja prabhuval.
This is a lecture on the occasion of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur’s Appearance day and Srila Gour Govinda Swami’s Disappearance day on 26 February 2008 in Mayapur.
The speakers are H.H. Jayapataka Swami and H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami.
This is a lecture on the occasion of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur's Appearance day and Srila Gour Govinda Swami's Disappearance day on 26 February 2008 in Mayapur. The speakers are H.H. Jayapataka Swami and H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami.
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March 02, 2008 06:24 PM
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