There is a revolution building. It started five hundred years ago and has been slowly leaking into cracks and crevices ever since. It’s slow moving, but very patient. It needs no one to thrive, but a chosen few are given the gift of being able to spread it. This revolution uplifts the heart and makes it dance, makes it sing, makes it laugh. It has the power to transport anyone to the best place ever. A place where there is nothing but love, where every word is a song and every step is a dance. This revolution is kirtan. We take up war against pride, envy, and greed every time we do kirtan and we re-dedicate ourselves to the cause: being loving, gentle, humble more full human beings. Our battle-cry and our armor is the Hare Krsna mantra and we can be heard singing at the top of our lungs. We sing into battle and defeat our opponents with dance, taking over their hearts and holding them captive. We hold onto our prisoners of war and only ask that they help take up our mission and spread kirtan as far and wide as they possibly can. This is As Kindred Spirits, this is our revolution. Our mission was the theme of the kirtan at the East Village Temple Yoga Studio performance. We implored that people look at the revolution that has been getting bigger and bigger and to become a part of it. We negotiated with them, telling them all the good points about it, and in the end, we did the one thing that we knew would capture them fully and bring them whole-heartedly to the cause…we did kirtan. (more…)

Are we aware of the problems of individuals coming out of Brahmacarya life into Grhastha? Should they be supported, guided? It is without a shadow of a doubt that temple life is the best, but practicality means that a majority will leave and take up household life. The transition can be difficult especially when it comes to the [...]

1969 February 9 : "I am glad to know that you are anxious to begin tending the Deities in grand style. Before I instruct you further, let me know how you are conducting temple worship now from morning till night."
Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9 : "It is up to the sons to obey the father and keep the relationship natural. A father cannot be displeased with his sons, but sometimes they create disturbances, and the father has to tolerate. "
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9 : "I am not displeased with any of my disciples. The little disturbances created by them were temporary. Now again they have come to their real consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1966 February 9 :
"Today morning I met Manager of 33 Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y. for occupying apartment No 307 on rent. Agreed and in the evening at 4/30 $140.00 was paid.
Expenditure: Bus fare .30 and rent above total $140.30"
Journal :: 1966

1969 February 9: "On hearing from you, I shall start for London by the end of this month. When I go there I am sure I shall find out a suitable temple-house."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "The articles like Dr. Spock, the Beach Boys, or nonsense book reviews should be completely avoided. Avoid the hippy advertisements as far as possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 9: "I shall be very happy to know what is happening to the second issue of our Back To Godhead. I hope the new issue will be ready very soon. Please inform me what is the problem in this important matter."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

Mukunda Datta das singing the Mangala Arati Kirtan.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 20 - 12 hr Bhajans - Mukunda Datta das - Mangala Arati Kirtan.mp3

 

We were invited by our dear friend Ray Ippolito to perform at the Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors (CoSM) one last time on New Year’s eve. This being the last time because CoSM is closing down it’s location in Manhattan to Upstate NY. We had a great jam session with master of bass and drums Sri Shyam and Gaura Vani on flute, vocals and harmonium. (more…)

Aravade India—This small village of 5,000 residents, approximately 250 kilometers south of Pune, Maharashtra, is expected to increase its population 10 fold by the end of today, the last of a four day celebration opening the newest ISKCON temple in India.

We will be posting the happenings in Sridham Mayapur in a daily basis beginning from today. Pictures, interviews, videos, stories and official announcements will make you feel that you are in Sri dhama Mayapur, though physically you may be miles far away. These reports will also be sent to Pamho conference and Mayapur live. If you wish to receive these mails by e-mail, please register with us. Just type in the subject line,’register me’ and we will add you to our mailing list.

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By Krishna Kathamrita Magazine

We are pleased to announce that issues #194 and 195 of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu magazine have been posted. You can read or download from the link included

Dear devotees, disciples and friends,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I am writing to you from Aravade, the birthplace of His Holiness Lokanatha Maharaja. We are just concluding the grand festival for the installation of the Deities Sri Sri Radha Gopala, and the opening of their beautiful temple here. It’s been an amazing experience.

As we were leaving Minsk Bhaktin Natasha, one of the devotees who came with me for our parikrama of Sri Vrindavana Dhama in October and November, approached me asking how she could keep that mood of parikrama and being in the dhama in her heart, and not lose it due to having to deal with household duties and so on. I told her she should get all the photos she could find of her own and from other devotees, of our visit to Vrindavana and put them together in a slide show on her computer, and then watch them every day and remember the places and the pastimes there.

I told her she could also print the best ones and put them all around her house so she can see them every day. Then I told her a story of Srila Raghunatha das Goswami in his relationship with Lord Caitanya. Srila
Raghunatha das Goswami wanted to leave home and join the Lord, but Lord Caitanya thought he was not ready to do that, and also his family was not ready to let him go. But the Lord told him a special strategy he could adopt which would help him.

Lord Caitanya told Srila Raghunatha das Goswami he should be like a married woman who has a boyfriend. She doesn’t want her husband to suspect anything, so she does her housework so nicely that he thinks she is the ideal housewife, but internally she is always absorbed in remembering her beloved boyfriend. Similarly we must function nicely in our worldly duties, but we have to keep remembering Krishna and His holy dhama always.

I flew back to Durban and  on Sunday January 25th we had a wonderful boat festival in the moat surrounding Sri Sri Radha Radhanatha temple. It was a rather grey day, and as we were about to begin a few drops of rain fell.

That day I actually did the Sunday programme in our Phoenix temple in Durban, New Jagannatha Puri, being driven there and back by my disciple Rasamrita devi dasi and her 12 year old daughter (Jivani) Devaki. On the way back Jivani became ill and we thought she was going to vomit on us or faint, but somehow she made. As soon as we got back I had to go into the moat and push the boat around, along with a few of the adult devotees and some children, when suddenly Jivani appeared in the water, laughing and smiling as she helped push the swan boat around. A miraculous recovery!

As I was coming back from Europe I came to a conclusion on an important subject. I need to go on a diet. As I grow older I’m less able to digest rich prasadam nicely, and almost every day I have to undergo some minor
indigestion and nausea, and now I decided that enough was enough.

Previously I had been on a diet of soup and salad, with occasional baked vegetable, all with a minimum or even zero oil, and it helped tremendously, so I decided to do it again. My assistant, Nitai prabhu started informing the devotees who cook for me, and we got off to a good start with a simple but tasty pea soup the first day. This is going to be good, I thought.

However one devotee he couldn’t get through to was Bhaktin Cheron, whose place I had been invited to on Wednesday the 28th, along with Raghava Pandita prabhu and Jai Sacinandana prabhu, and some of the other senior devotees from Sri Sri Radha Radhanatha temple. Nitai was going to tell her that I am on this special diet of only soup and salad, but as a special concession we would allow her to also do some baked vegetables. Fortunately or unfortunately he couldn’t get through to her, and as a result she very kindly prepared a major feast with a printed menu. The following is the menu. You may not be able to believe it, let alone be able to eat all of the things on it.

Basmati Rice with Cashew Nuts Petite Pous Peas Mini Corn Cobs and Lemon
Wedges
Whole Green Moong Dhal
Black Chick Pea Soup
Karela with Blanched Almonds and Grilled Coconut
Bhindee with Roasted Potatoes and Macadamia Nuts
Blue Pumpkin
Bhaji and Sautied Chick Peas
Aubergines ( Brinjal/ Eggplant) with Grilled Halloumi cheese
Cauliflower Koftas with Farfalloni Pasta
Sweetcorn and Paneer with Hokkien Noodles
Grilled Asparagus with Black Pepper
Pizza Scrolls/Mediterranean Pizza
Corn Bread
Fresh Fried Spiced Mealies
Baby Marrow Patty Pan Parisienne Carrot and Potato Pie
Nutty Wheat Puris
French Loaf
Mixed Fresh Salad
Mint Chutney with Ground Apples and Chillies
Thengai Thuvaiyal (Coconut Chutney)
Carrot and Spinach Brownies
Broccoli Carrot and Molasses Ginger Bread Spice Loaf
Banana and Date Cake
Carrot Hearts
Mini Loaves
Peach Banana Cinnamon
Mango Pistachio Kulfi
Assortment of Fresh Fruit
Chevda
Sarishas’ Original Strawberry Marshmallows
Assortment of Health Bars
Carob Teddy Bears/Discs/Chess Chocolates
Butter/Mint Toffees
Soft Scoop Caramel Swirl ice cream
Soft Scoop Strawberry ice cream
Soft Scoop Vanilla ice cream
Blueberry Cheesecake Milkshake
Ginger Beer
Grapetizer
Still Valpre Mineral water
Decaffeinated Coffee
Assortment of Chai Tea

Somehow we survived.

After some days of preaching around the Durban area I flew to Mauritius on my way to India for the opening of Lokanatha Maharaja’s Radha Gopala temple at his birthplace, Aravade in Maharastra, about 600 kms south of Bombay, and then on to the GBC meetings in Mayapur.

I didn’t really sleep on the plane from Mauritius on the 5th night, and practically as soon as I arrived in Aravade, after flying from Bombay in the late morning of the 6th, I had to go on stage with Radhanatha Maharaja to tell some Nityananda katha, as the 7th was His appearance day.

Anyone who knows Radhanatha Maharaja knows that he is the ultimate reservoir of pastimes from Krishna lila and Caitanya lila, and this was to be no exception. Maharaja talked for about 90 minutes about Lord Nityananda, and as I watched the audience from time to time I saw some of the devotees in tears, such was the transcendental sweetness and richness of his speaking. At the end he told the story of Jagai and Madhai in such detail it was like we were seeing the pastime in front of us. But then he turned it over to me.

After something like that it can be very difficult presenting anything else. As they say in material life “it’s a really hard act to follow”. But anyway I thought I should say something for his and the other devotees’ pleasure. I carried on the story of Jagai and Madhai, talking about the experience of the demigods when they were watching the pastime from the heavenly planets. Yamaraja, the judge of the human beings was watching, Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda deliver Jagai and Madhai, who were famous for being the greatest sinners and demons, and he then turned and asked his chief secretary, Citragupta:

“What is the extent of sin that these two persons have committed, and what does it mean that they have been delivered from them?” Chaitragupta replied, “O Yamaraja why pursue this matter, it is futile?

“If my assistant writers sit down to write down the sins of these two they will never finish even after a month and if you want to sit and hear their sins, if even after hearing many millions of them you want to hear more then it is up to you. All the writers constantly write down their sins, so much that they always feel harassed unable to cope up with the voluminous scores of sins.”

Citragupta said, “The amount of sins they commit forces us to the brink of complete exhaustion and break down from writing them. The bottomless pits where these records are kept will bear witness to my plight. These two have made us writers weep. But now so easily Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda have absorbed all their mountable pile of sins, now please give me permission to throw them into the ocean.”

Such is the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda.

That evening we went on a procession through Aravade. First we unveiled the new name of the road in front of the Radha Gopala temple - Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg - and then we walked through the town with an elephant, horses and hundreds and hundreds of devotees.

It was a truly amazing experience. From practically each house people came out and offered us arati and then sugar and fruit prasadam. Most houses sent out a 10 litre container of water to wash the feet of Lokanatha Maharaja, Subhaga Maharaja, Radhanatha Maharaja, Candramauli Maharaja, Hari Sauri prabhu and I, and there were fireworks being set off on all sides. In several of the small squares around the village we had to stop for spectacular and dangerous fireworks exhibitions. Everywhere throughout the village there was sanji (pictures and designs done in coloured powders on the ground).  What an evening!

The most wonderful thing was visiting Lokanatha Maharaja’s family home. It’s a very simple one room village house, and outside was a sanji picture on the ground of him taking birth. I’ve included a photo of it in the photos accompanying this letter.

When I had asked Maharaja how long the procession would take he had said about half an hour, but by the time we got back to the temple nearly 3 hours had passed!

The following day was the installation of Radha Gopala. It was one the most wonderful installations I’ve taken part in, with a wonderful abhiseka, particularly with water coloured with metallic green, orange, yellow and red. Everyone cried out when these colours went over the Deities. I’ve also included some of those photos with this letter.

During the prana pratishta ceremony of requesting the Deities to accept service, I was fortunate enough to hold little Srimati Radharani’s lotus feet while all the mantras were being chanted. As I watched Her from a few inches away I was meditating on Srila Raghunatha das Goswami’s verse to Srimati Radharani in Vilapa Kusumanjali:

“I am Yours! I am Yours! I cannot live without You! O queen, please understand this and bring me to Your feet. O restless-eyed girl, Your lake is the eternal home of You and Your beloved. My residence is there. There I stay. O beautiful lake, my queen eternally enjoys amorous pastimes with Her beloved on your shore. If you are most dear to Them, then, please mercifully show me now the girl who is my life and soul. My queen will not leave your company for even a moment. Because You are both the same age you are the realm of Her playful joking pastimes. O girl with the beautiful face, O Visakha, please show me my queen and save the life of me, on the verge of death because I am separated from Her.”

Of course I’m not on that level at all, but still, being so close to such a beautiful little Deity reminded me of those prayers.

There is a little more to say about the festival, but I’ll include it in the next letter. Tomorrow I leave for Mayapur. I’ll tell you what happens there shortly.

Hoping this meets you well.

Your ever well wisher,

Bhakti Caitanya Swami

Lord Vishnu appeared before King Nâbhi with four arms. He was very bright, and He appeared to be the best of all personalities. Around the lower portion of His body, He wore a yellow silken garment. On His chest was the mark of S'rîvatsa, which always displays beauty. He carried a conchshell, lotus flower, disc and club, and He wore a garland of forest flowers and the Kaustubha gem. He was beautifully decorated with a helmet, earrings, bangles, belt, pearl necklace, armlets, ankle bells and other bodily ornaments bedecked with radiant jewels.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 3 Verse 3

Simhachalam

Hare Krsna everyone. We had very nice sessions in the Japa Room and were blessed by nice and rare association of devotees. One good topic that struck my attention was the importance of prayer so we could be forgiven for our offenses. In order to avoid the offensives and inattentive chanting, we should pray....pray to our spiritual master to help us....to Srila Prabhupada and also to the Holy Names so we could be freed from the root of all other offenses and be able to chant nicely.
Complete faith in the holy names, as Rasa prabhu has just emphasized on his last post, brings us the right mood we should have while chanting. Remember that Krsna will protect us in any situation and we don't need to keep on maintaining material attachments or think we still need them while practising spiritual life. If we take shelter in this process and have complete faith that the Lord will supply what we need and mantain what we have, then we will be blissful and see in our lives how Krsna is already acting to our benefit.
I learned with my spiritual master to always be grateful - this mood is developing in me a sense of surrender, being happy with what I already have and notice that Krsna has given me so much and I have never seen it because my complaints didn't allow me to see. Now I am learning, trying to reach goals based on what I have been taught by guru, sastra and sadhu and this is making me stronger and keen to experience a deeper relationship with chanting and develop pure devotional service.
I am still in the first stage of chanting so I need to be reminded all the time of the opulences and the power of the Holy Names, here follows a verse from the Sri Krsna Namastakam by Srila Rupa Goswami:

"O Harinama, You destroy the many sufferings of those who take shelter of You. O Holy Name, You are the playful embodiment of intense spiritual bliss, a festival of happiness for Gokula. O perfect and complete Holy Name of Krishna, I offer pranam unto You time and again." Sri Krsna Namastakam Verse 7

Wishing you a great week with attentive chanting and realisations from good association.

your servant,

Aruna dd

I recently gave a talk at the Krishna Fest at Gaura Yoga on the “Vedic System of Self-Development”. Thanks to Sivarama Swami for the inspiration for this talk.

You can view the talk synchronized with slides here:

or download the source AAC file vedic system of self-development.m4a

or download the source MP3 file vedic system of self-development.mp3

Take advantage of this rare opportunity of this human form of life. There are 8,400,000 different species of life through which we are rotating lifetime after lifetime. So getting a human body is not an every day affair. This most auspicious opportunity only comes after many millions of lifetimes in the lower species. Anyone who does not utilize their...

Wednesday, 7th Jan, 2009. Me and Sadhu found ourselves up in an uba late session. We didn’t quite make it to mangal arti but it was ridiculous. On tour you tend to loose your body clock. You also tend to build up a lot of energy and adrenaline (KC translation: Mode of Passion) and so you vent it out with a few to many ice creams and having a sleeping pattern resembling the introspective sage of introspective sages.

I awoke feeling spectacular. Sarcasm in this case is a virtue. I settled off the sloth with a good ole fashion Gujarati breaky. After breakfast I did a little computer wonder. It just became apparent to me that Sita Pati Prabhu was feeding my diary from face book onto his site Planet ISCKON. I was talking to Mother Driti from New Govardhana on face book and she broke me the news. I had people all over the world, more particularly all over Brisbane area and New Govardhana, reading my diaries. I was sitting there next to feeds from prestigious devotees and Swamis like HH Indradyumna Swami’s diaries and a feed from HH Mukunda Goswami! I felt not exactly worthy to be posted to such Krsna Conscious saints with my not so Krsna Conscious diary about ditching seva and eating ice creams. I toyed with the idea how great it would be to be a tour writer. It would be cool to just be sponsored to go to all the happening festivals and shpiel about them but that was a pipe dream.

I kicked back and waited for the call. I was going to pick the boys up and take them for harinam in the city. Eventually the call came through and I was to return to Sakhi’s with my troopers. When I arrived I was excited to see Sakhi Roy himself, in the flesh. He had been travelling overseas. We had last seen him on a freak night in Sydney. He looked a bit jet lagged but otherwise joyful.

We were waiting while Indradyumna Swami was watching a vid on Polish tour. I slipped in the room when there were enough of my friends from the tour crowding that I didn’t feel I was obstructing. It was up to Woodstock. It was a great big flash back and exciting to see some old friends. I caught a single glimpse of myself in the kirtana tent dancing in a small circle of punks. I remembered the incident on the third night when the punk boys initiated their own dance circle and invited me in. I was not sure if they realised I was a devotee or thought I was a punk. It was hard to tell by the way I was dressed.

The video came to an end. The whole tour group was almost all cram packed into the little room. It was time for harinam. We mounted our chariots and rode into the city. It was a whole case with parking. We dropped the paratroopers in and then found yourself a landing strip. The pilots excited their vehicles and we assembled. It was Domo, Gaura, Sakhi and I. We rolled out of the car park and sniffed the air for a scent of our harinam party.

The 4 of us split up. Gaura and Domo went one way and Me and the main man Sakhi hit the other block. It was a race who could find the harinam first. We caught the lead when we started to find stray fliers on the ground. It was like following bread crumbs. We quickly found the party and got stuck into it. I found myself with kartalas and a load of enthusiasm.

We danced and sang on the streets of Brisbane. We gave it our all. The party was trying to slow and we were building a mighty thirst. Just as it looked like we would droop off our epic pace we passed something miraculous. The new NW (Nutrient Water) company was doing a promotional give away. They were throwing bottles out by the van load. Gaura caught on and nudged Gurudeva who lead by example. We all sculled down our share and even stashed a few for later. We were all bursting with a buzz of Vitamins: B3, B5, B6, B12 and C. It was more than a couple bananas in pyjamas for us. The drinks were also filled with the extra essentials like Echinacea and of course pyridoxine hydrochloride.

We passed some interesting sights on the way including the notable: Christian supply store. A lady came out and was shocked to see what must have appeared to be “an army of cultist sect members”. We went past some Irish club also. Gurudeva tried to push Gaura Hari back to his natural environment. It was like those sad Disney films where they have to finally say goodbye to some furry friend as they release them back into the wild. It was not a sad ending though as Gaura decided to stay.

We rolled into Govindas after for a well needed restock. Maharaja was hooking into some cake. Niti, Sakhi Roy’s daughter, was getting a little worried Maharaja was consuming to much cake. Her and sister Shruti were making it everyday it seemed. I was feeling only a little peckish so I followed maharaja’s example. I sweet talked my into pacifying my sweet tooth on a tasty honey cake.

After a good feed it was time to head…to the zoo? We found ourselves parked in the bus bay at a local wildlife sanctuary. After relocating out parking we were out and Sakhi shouted us a trip to see some native Aussie wildlife. This was a big event for all our internationals and was a good chance to chill out with some of my rellies. The first mission was to find Gurudeva a koala. We found a few of the sleepy guys hanging round. After scoping the dopes we found our way into a large enclosure full of kangaroos and other novelties.

While the crew distracted themselves on the kangaroos I was trying to bring an emu over to socialise. We dubbed my emu friend Jhotis after my Manipruri friend. He was pretty cool once the crew warmed up to him. I didn’t manage to get anyone to have a staring contest with him (knowing that this would most likely incline the animal to either bite or head butt them). After waving goodbye to Jhotis we moved to the side of the enclosure.

On the side fence we found a closed enclosure with some really big red kangaroos. Indradyumna Swami was a little disappointed at their inactivity and wanted to bring them to life some how. I took this opportune chance to produce I piece of carrot I had robbed from an emu feeding bay (I know. I am sick). Maharaja accepted it quite quickly and thrust it towards the kangaroos. It rustled through some foliage and woke all the kangaroos with a startle.

After scaring the giant kangaroos we decided to hit the road back home. We all walked off back through the enclosures and said goodbye to our furry Aussie friends. On the way we stagnated in the gift shop. People were deciding which boomerang was worth buying. The decision was based on: how big it was, how heavy it was, if it would return when thrown, the over all look and it’s damage capability. Maharaja and Gaura Hari took home some serious weapons of mass confusion home with them.

We all assembled at Sakhi Roy’s establishment. There was an surprise ishta goshti. We found most of the tour devotees in Sakhi’s lounge room. We were all anxious. There was some energy in the air. Gurudeva seemed to be pretty excited. Maharaja started talking. It unfolded like I would have never expected. We started with some formalities and thanks for all on the tour and then it moved on into some “transcendental irresponsibility”. Indradyumna Swami proposed a world tour! From the Polish tour we would travel on for 9 months. Poland, Ukraine, Russia…I lost track on the countries we would travel in Asia, a trip to Bali, Hong Kong, New Zealand and four months in Australia. Then Maharaja became excited and suggested 3 more months in China! He then asked us all individually “what do you say Maddy. Would you like to come?”

I was totally on board. I might have had the laxmi to make at least half of it but either way I was on board. I was thinking of it over and over as I dropped the boys back at the temple and made my way home. I called my family in the car and told them the news. They were excited and in full support. I must have startled them with my excitement. I proposed to Indradyumna Swami before I left that I would like to take my older brother along also. Nitai had been travelling even longer than I had and he would be more useful in such a tour so I thought, what’s better than one Durr brother is two. The idea was not concrete but it was enough to bring me back some enthusiasm to plot along at a new pace.

I came home to find Sadhu watching BOLLYWOOD!? I cut into all the singing and dancing and slander of Indian culture to tell Sadhu the plans he had missed out on hearing. After telling him this I quickly removed myself from the brain drain of Indian Western pop culture and did some reading.

For those who watched the Le Carnaval Spirituel on our first tour would remember our MC quoting “if you Google such and such you will come up with so many hits.” So if you Google your own name how many hits will come up? In the old days I would say zero but now there were TOO MANY. Most of them were coming from Planet Iskcon. I couldn’t hide now. All those secret agencies that were out to arrest me would now know where I was hiding.

I found Ajita online and sought his blessings. Ajita Prabhu is my TP (for the short amount of time when I stay in one place). With no protest I was set for another world tour. I had blessings from all the gurus. I could hear our hosts and Domo upstairs now having philosophical debates while eating large portions of ice cream. I was offered to attend but I was ready to sleep. I had a lot on my mind. A world tour? Now I had a lot to write about. I just had to keep up with it all. For now I still had two more festivals in Brisbane and the whole Melbourne leg.

Today's Sunday Feast recording can be viewed by clicking the image below. Due to technical difficulties, we were able to record only the 8pm arati.

As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our new ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.

1969 February 8: "There is no question of imperfectness. This is a genuine movement for the total spiritual rejuvenation of human society. Every sincere boy or girl must immediately join with us in this movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 February 8: "Sriman George Harrison has certainly done a unique service. He saw me four times and he was very submissive and devout and was not at all proud of his material position."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 February 8: "Our main business is to vibrate the Holy Name of Krishna everywhere. Musical training is not so important as it is to keep ourselves spiritually fit. If we are in spiritual strength, there will be no scarcity of money."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

our book distribution is the most important task in our society. Therefore I am giving so much stress and I am working so hard on this. Because this is my life and soul according to the order of my Guru Maharaja. And by his grace it is to some extent successful. And I took it seriously. I take it seriously still now. That is my life and soul.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Room Conversation -- December 31, 1976, Bombay

According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, there are two kinds of impediments to devotional service. The first is an offense at the lotus feet of a Vaisnava. This is called vaisnava-aparadha. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu warned His devotees not to commit vaisnava-aparadha, which He described as the mad elephant offense. When a mad elephant enters a [...]

Well I feel that at times it is appropriate to apologise and this is one of them The posting made earlier this week directing to a set of clips by HH Sivarama Swami was actually run by a ritvik, this mistake was flagged by a vigilant devotee so a big Thank you. The link has been updated. I [...]

Recently I've gotten a few emails from old customers looking to replenish their Sabjimata stock. Sad that I've taken the store offline and living miles upon miles away from my home base, they want to my jam. Whatever I have left.

Laura was exhausted. By the drama, by the tension, by the pain of heartbreak. She wanted to be free, and she knew that God was the only one who could help her do that. She searched for Him, both in the temple – where devotees, thinking she was looking for their celibate monk Jaya Govinda, still gave her the cold shoulder – and in the church. “I need you now,” she beseeched Jesus angrily one day. “I need to know if you are God or not.”

You may have seen the latest ad campaign. Seeing people passionately assert and preach atheism has always baffled me. The idea that we die forever, that there is nothing more than this and that life ultimately has no spiritual value... they basically condemn themselves to complete NONEXISTENCE yet are very inspired and enthusiastic to talk about it. Maybe its just me, but it all seems a bit strange.

To logically prove or disprove God is very difficult – yet people fervently hold themselves to the atheistic viewpoint which provides no tangible benefit. This can only be out of some emotional issue and predisposition to deny God in any shape or form. No offence, but it almost seems stubborn and irrational.

Lets take out all the failings of religion. Lets forget all the hypocrisy and ritualism in the name of God. Lets forget all those fire and brimstone sermons aimed at inciting fear in the people. Lets forget our anxieties of everything that we'd 'miss out on' if God really did exist and we had to follow him. For a moment, lets just look at the world rationally as a neutral observer. Atleast as a working hypothesis, would it not be fair to assume there is some intelligence behind it?

Kancana-valli Devi Dasi: Several devotees have been working on a new website for Radhadesh temple to better serve the needs of the many different kinds of visitors to the site.

Jagabandhu Dasa: A few weeks ago, my good friend Raghavendu Prabhu joked about someone he knew being 'kicked out of the temple' for chanting "Nitai," because he had apparently begun to chant "tiny" instead.

Each week I select a verse from the Bhagavad-gita and compare/contrast four different translations. These translators all subscribe to the Gaudia-Vaisnava philosophy. This examination isn’t to prove one more superior to another, but to highlight the similarities and learn from the differences in ideologies.

The four Gitas are:
-Bhagavad-gita: As It Is by Srila Prabhupada (1972 edition)
-Bhagavad-gita: It’s Feeling and Philosophy by Tripurari Swami
-Srimad Bhagavad-gita by Narayana Maharaja
-Bhagavad-gita: The Beloved Lord’s Secret Love Song by Garuda dasa (Graham Schweig)

Though I’m hardly qualified to do so, I dissect each translation, sometimes interjecting my own unsolicited commentary. More on this can be found here.

I seem to keep coming back to Chapter Four - Jnana Yoga; Transcendental Knowledge. There’s quite a bit of good here. Krishna does a lot of explaining and it’s definitely a good place to start. In the Padma Purana, Lord Vishnua glorifies the fourth chapter specifically. Must be important.

This verse, 4.7, is one of the more popular. It’s often pulled out for Sunday Feast classes on appearance days. I first heard it in 1994 or ‘95 in Philly for Nrsimhadeva’s Appearance Day.

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion - at that time I descend Myself.
-Srila Prabhupada

Whenever, O descendant of Bharata, dharma is diminished and unrighteousness is on the rise, at that time I myself manifest.
-Tripurari Swami

O Bharata! Whenever there is a decline of dharma and an increase in adharma, at that time I manifest My eternally perfect form in this mundane world.
-Narayana Maharaja

Indeed, whenever there is
    a decline of dharma,
    O Bharata,
And an emerging
    of what opposed dharma -
    at that time I send forth my Self.
-Garuda dasa (Graham M. Schweig)

From the translation of the first line, yada yada hi dharmasya, we immediately find a difference between the translations. I’ve said before that Srila Prabhupada’s Gita is more of an interpretation than a direct translation. This certainly isn’t a bad thing. A neophyte, for example, could read only the verses of all four of our translations and come away from the experience having learned more for Srila Prabhupada’s edition. He provides exposition and explanation within the verses, whereas the other translators give a pretty straight-forward translation.

Some folks will see this as a fault. Thankfully, there are alternatives for them. But for our purposes, it’s a blessing to have a variety to work with.

Srila Prabhupada translates yada yada as “whenever and wherever.” The others simply translate it as “whenever.” Even in his word-for-word, he glosses the first yada as “whenever” and the second as “wherever.” The word yada means whenever, but he is taking a liberty to further explain that it is also whenever.

The next word, hi, seems to have been left out of all of the translations. It means “assuredly” or “certainly.” Nothing like that appears in any of the verses. This is a mystery since I don’t really know Sanskrit. My best guess would be that Krishna is assuring Arjuna that what He is saying is true.

The line ends with dharmasya. The second line begins with glanir. This is actually one thought, split by the poetry of Bhagavad-gita. Dharmasya glanir, according to Srila Prabhupada, means “a decline of religious practice.” Tripurari Swami puts it to mean that “dharma is diminished.” Narayana Maharaja and Garuda dasa both translate it as “a decline in dharma.”

Dharma is a word often used, but rarely understood. On the surface, it means religious practices. But deeper than that, it means “spiritual duty.” Many Hindus will use it like “my dharma is to be a doctor” or some such silliness. Dharma does not equal job, dharma equals spiritual duty, or at the very least, religious practices.

The first two lines set up the verse. “Whenever there is a decline in the practice of spiritual duty….” The second line ends with bharata. Here, that is a name that Krishna calls Arjuna meaning “son of King Bharata.” King Bharata was the ruler and sort of founder of Vedic India. The term bharata was placed in different locations of the first part of the translated verse, depending on the style of the author. Both Srila Prabhupada and Garuda dasa keep it at the end of the second line. Narayana Maharaja and Tripurari Swami place it at or near the beginning.

Not only does there have to be a decline in religious practice, but there must be abhuyutthanam adharmasya, a rise of “irreligion,” as Srila Prabhupada coined. Tripurari Swami simply translates, “unrighteousness is on the rise.” Narayana Maharaja keeps with the Sanskrit terminology of adharma, the opposite of dharma.

Garuda dasa has an interesting angle on it. He translates the third line with “And an emerging of what opposes dharma.” What the other translators cover as a rise of unrighteousness or irreligion, he throws in a nearly personal touch. Something is in opposition to how it should be. It’s not just that things aren’t right, there is something knowingly making these things not right.

Krishna delivers in the fourth line, tadatmanam srjamy aham, “at that time, I [Krishna] manifest myself.” The word atmanam means “self” (or in this case, Self). Srjami is glossed by all as “manifest,” though Srila Prabhupada uses “descend” in his verse. Garuda puts it as “send forth” rather than “manifest” or “descend.” I feel it’s an odd choice. “Manifest” is probably most proper, though “descend” is a bit more specific.

Within his purport, Srila Prabhupada again hits upon his use of the word “wherever” in the first line. He knew that while much of what he was bringing could be seen as strictly Indian that God, Krishna, was not an Indian God.

“It is not a fact that the Lord appears only on Indian soil. He can advent Himself anywhere and everywhere, and whenever He desires to appear. In each and every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood by the particular people under their particular circumstances. But the mission is the same - to lead people to God consciousness and obedience to the principles of religion. Sometimes He descends personally, and sometimes He sends His bona fide representative in the form of His son, or servant, or Himself in some disguised form.”

One of the last videos of Sadaputa prabhu where he presents the Vedic point of view of creation together with Drutakarma prabhu

Fridays are always interesting. On Fridays, while many Torontonians lurch home from a tough week at work, looking forward to weekends filled with partying, sleeping and God knows what else, devotees have a special way of spiritualizing their weekends.

This Friday evening, February 6th, the Hare Krishna Temple will be celebrating the appearance of Lord Varahadeva, the boar incarnation of Krishna. Srimad Bhagavatam describes the wonderful pastime when Lord Krishna once assumed the form of a splendid, gigantic boar (Varaha) and dove to the bottom of the universal ocean to gently lift up Mother Earth on His tusks to the surface.

The schedule for the evening's program is:
6:00pm to 6:30pm - Arati
6:30pm to 6:40pm - Welcome & Announcements
6:40pm to 7:05pm - Class - HG Rupanuga das
7:05pm to 7:20pm - Offerings to Lord Varahadeva
7:20pm to 8:00pm - Prasadam
8:00pm to 8:30pm - Arati

Join us as we celebrate this wonderful pastime of Lord Varahadeva, the boar incarnation of Krishna!

The Panca Tattva Abhiseka of the Holy Name calls upon all pure devotee kirtana singers from around the world to attend the Fifth Annual hari-nama-sankirtana festival commemorating the installation of Their Lordships Sri Sri Panca Tattva!

Along with the special maha-abhiseka of the large Panca Tattva Deities this year, we will also hold 72 hours of nonstop maha-hari-nama-sankirtana for the divine pleasure of Sri Sri Panca Tattva and the inspiration of the worldwide community of devotees.

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1974 February 8: "Please come back and if you feel inconvenience, it doesn't matter whether from Indians or Americans, you can live with me because I am an Indian."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 February 8: "If Indians are bad then I am also bad, as I am an Indian. But they have accepted an Indian as their guru. So Indians are both bad and good according to the behavior."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 February 8: "A good example is better than precept. The brochure is precept, but if we don't follow the precepts ourselves then such advertisement is not good."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1972 February 8 : "Today I have signed an agreement for a large property in Juhu and I have paid Rs. 50,000 as earnest money. I shall have to pay another Rs. 1 1/2 lakhs 30 days after completion of the conveyance deed. That I have got."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1970 February 8 : "The purpose of World Sankirtana Party will be to establish a center in each and every city of the world. It should consist of members who can impress spiritual ecstasy into the hearts of people."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 February 8: "Our main business is to vibrate the Holy Name of Krishna everywhere. Musical training is not so important as it is to keep ourselves spiritually fit. If we are in spiritual strength, there will be no scarcity of money."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 February 8: "Sriman George Harrison has certainly done a unique service. He saw me four times and he was very submissive and devout and was not at all proud of his material position."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1969 February 8: "There is no question of imperfectness. This is a genuine movement for the total spiritual rejuvenation of human society. Every sincere boy or girl must immediately join with us in this movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

In ISKCON, traveling festivals are one of our main methods of outreach with devotees traveling cross-country to share their spiritual food, music and philosophy with others. So wherever you are, and whatever time of year it is, if you feel like attending a Hare Krishna festival – you’re likely to find one close to your location soon.

In his book Contemplative Prayer, Thomas Merton implores those in the life of prayer to not be afraid to go deep.

Moreover, he wants us to understand that for prayer to be truly genuine, we must express a sincerity, coming from the core of our heart, for God or Krsna to give to us what we truly need, rather that what we may merely want to happen.

How we pray is a clear reflection of where we stand spiritually, where we stand on the dividing line between selfishness and selflessness.

Merton does not mince words. If we are not receptive to God's true will and calling in our life through our prayer, then we are simply fooling ourselves, and treading water instead of swimming towards the most sublime goal.

He writes:

"Far from establishing one in unassailable narcissistic security, the way of prayer brings us face to face with the sham and indignity of the false self that seeks to live for itself alone and to enjoy the 'consolation of prayer' for its own sake. This 'self' is pure illusion, and ultimately he who lives for and by such an illusion must end either in disgust or madness" Our prayer must be intense, constant, and selfless. We must become an open vessel for the mercy of the Lord, no matter what form it may take. There is no ifs and or buts if we want to reach the platform of self-realization and return home"

***
Merton mentions one such example of those immersed in sincere prayer: The Desert Fathers of early Christianity. He describes these austere souls as not seeking mystic realization or political gain, but instead being only concerned with developing purity of heart and the control of their thoughts.

Their method: The chanting of the name of Lord Jesus Christ. This chanting also appears, Merton explains, in the traditions of Eastern Orthodox churches in nations such as Greece and Russia. Here is an excerpt Merton quotes from a traditional Orthodox text:

"Our glorious teachers, in whom liveth the Holy Spirit, wisely teach us all, especially those who have wished to embrace the field of divine silence (i.e monks) and consecrate themselves to God, having renounced the world, to practice hesychasm with wisdom, and to prefer His mercy with undaunted hope. Such men would have, as their constant practice, and occupation, the invoking of His most holy and most sweet Name, bearing it always in the mind, in the heart and on the lips."

Sounds familiar, hmm? Prabhupada often encouraged sincere Christians in his discussions that to chant the name of Christ is just as important as chanting the name of Krsna...."and thus You have hundreds and millions of names."

The Lord's appearance in the form of His Holy Name is as dynamic as His appearance in His many forms, always according to the desires of His devoted servants.

As I've discussed with devotees here, for someone who chants the name of Christ with full purity and sincerity, it can be expected they will fully revive their eternal relationship with Krsna in this form, and they will no longer suffer the pangs of anxiety.

The simplicity, austerity, and full-hearted prayer of the Desert Fathers can inspire even us who are living in the urban wastelands of the 21st Century even today. I know my own chanting has been inspired by reading their example.

It comes down to adding depth to the prayer of our chanting of the Holy Name. Going beyond our comfort zone. Jumping over our shadow. Letting our prayer, our chanting, act as our support while at the same time allowing it to change us exactly how we need to be changed in order to become pure servants of Krsna.

In these lean economic times, the progressive thought and now action makes it a reality that you can reap the benefits for bringing alternative energy into your home.

Click here to check out this article from Mother Earth News on tax credits for you and yours for bringing energy efficiency into your home.

Sastra-Dana, the US program that places donated copies of Srila Prabhupada’s books in public locations where they are properly kept and read, is now supplementing its main course with a lighter snack: its own full-color newspaper.

The Panca Tattva Abhiseka of the Holy Name calls upon all pure devotee kirtana singers from around the world to attend the Fifth Annual hari-nama-sankirtana festival commemorating the installation of Their Lordships Sri Sri Panca Tattva!

Along with the special maha-abhiseka of the large Panca Tattva Deities this year, we will also hold 72 hours of nonstop maha-hari-nama-sankirtana for the divine pleasure of Sri Sri Panca Tattva and the inspiration of the worldwide community of devotees.

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*”Lord Jagannath is famous for His Mahaprasadam. This is the way to worship Him by distributing His Mahaprasadam”* -Srila Jananivas Prabhu.

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Prague, Taichi akademie

Partha-sarathi Dasa, a Hare Krishna devotee from New York City, separated from the US Army on Monday, January 26, 2009. He held the rank of Sergeant First Class. Partha-sarathi enlisted in the Army in 1995 at age 17. He served in Bosnia in 1998, in Kosovo in 1999, and in Iraq for thirty-six months between 2003 and 2008.

Yesterday on 7 February 2009 we held the most auspicious initiation ceremony here at Bhaktivedanta Ashram in Austin, Texas USA, bestowing 1st initiation upon Shanti, who is now Guruvani devi dasi, and giving 2nd initiation to Jagannatha das, who is now a duly qualified Vaisnava Brahman. Our first birth is from our mother and father, and our second birth...

Just before they went to bed one night a mother told her daughter barely 6, "When the time comes to leave my body i want to do so in midst of kirtan." The daughter spontaneously hugged the mother and replied, "I will be the first to sing for you Amma." That mother is me and that daughter is my little girl. I do not know if she even understood the import of leaving the body, losing your mother,

Updating Facebook from Twitter

I have my Twitter account set up to update my facebook status. Instructions on doing this are available here: How To Sync Your Twitter and Facebook Status Updates.

To clarify: if you set your status in facebook using the twitter app, twitter will update. If you set your status in facebook using the normal facebook status update twitter will not update. When the twitter app is set up, twitter updates will update your facebook status. That's how I use it. I update twitter, and my facebook status updates.

Updating Twitter from Facebook

For Param Satya I needed to set it up in reverse - so that updating her facebook status using the normal facebook status update will update her twitter account (@paramsatya). A caveat here: don't set both of these up - for the obvious reason that you will create an infinite feedback loop and may destroy the universe.

You need this: How to Get Your New Facebook Status RSS Feed.

And use that feed with this: Facebook Status on Twitter .

Once you've done this twitterfeed will update your twitter account from your facebook status every half hour or every hour, depending on how you configure it on twitterfeed.

While I am caressing her trunk, Laksmipriya makes soft growling sounds. She makes me reflect back to the time which made me want to care for elephants the way they deserve to be treated. April 1st, 2006 was a day when I promised myself I wanted to make a difference in the life of an elephant. It was the day when our temple elephant Gulab Kali died and a day I'll never forget.

In 2008, a new Vaisnava training initiative was launched in the city of Sotchi on Russia’s Black Sea coast. Unlike many previous versions of bhakti-sastri curriculum (in depth classes on Gaudiya literature), the present course is based on interactivity and emphasizes practical application of knowledge as its main component.

What the punctuation in the title indicates: Quotation marks: Draping the word God in quotation marks indicates that we are first concerned with the signifier, not the signified. (Compare these two sentences: I am interested in God. I am interested in “God.”) Question mark: The mark of interrogation backstopping “God” points us next to questions concerning the concept or idea of God. What does it mean? Aren’t there many different meanings? Isn’t the meaning often vague or ambiguous?

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.9 -  Lord Nityananda is the original spiritual master.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

Please visit the ISKCON Toronto Blog for more details and to download a printable file with the recipe.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

Odissi Dance by Natyashakti - Gait to the Spirit. Filmed at New Govardhana Community NSW Australia by Soolaba for SMDoyle Video Production © 2009.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

1968 February 7: "He is very clever man to collect fund. He is proposing individual mantra and he is charging and allowing his disciples to enjoy life as they like. It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss."
iPrabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 February 7: "Why this mentality of suppressing the facts? Will you kindly let me know why you have suppressed so many facts? Don't you know the history?"

1969 February 7: "This is against the will of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura and Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I therefore request you to give me a plot of land within the precincts of Sri Caitanya Math."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

Human rights defenders and religious communities remain highly concerned that the Constitutional Council will approve and President Nursultan Nazarbaev will sign a controversial Law restricting religious freedom. Many provisions of the Law have been seriously criticised in a Legal Opinion from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

What is the relevance of the charming, dark-skinned, flute-playing god, Krishna today - outside the temple altar? Why would any one care to browse through miniature paintings of a cowherd, frolicking amidst bovines and beauties? Or driving a chariot in a mystical battle? Because Krishna gives us ethics (in the Bhagavad Gita), sweetness and unconditional love (Bhagavat Purana).

The headline says it all.

Some of you may be wondering why the silence here. The answer is that up until now, I have been working quietly behind the scenes.

Then there is Hridayanda's "apology". The only funny part about it is his self-description as "conservative":

Ironically, my own views on homosexuality are seen by the world in general as rather conservative and indeed those views often disappoint gay rights activists.

Really?? Which "world in general" would that be?

Being conservative is like being funny. If you're funny, you don't have to tell people you're funny. If you're conservative, you don't have to tell people you're conservative. If you're liberal, you don't have to tell people you're liberal. Like good jokes, people "get it" in terms of what you are pretty quickly. The fact that Hridayananda has to tell us he is conservative just goes to show that he's spent way too much time in the company of radical liberals and gay activists.

Sangat sanjayate kama. I'm not suggesting what kind of association HDG should keep, but a rarefied, ultraliberal sanga would explain why there is this big-time disjunction between how he thinks the world in general sees him and how the world in general actually sees him. He shouldn't complain when both gay rights activists and the "world in general" see him as a gay rights activist.

And now for some theology (without which we couldn't call this site "siddhanta.com"):

[HDG] Clearly we please Krishna by renouncing all sinful activities and selfish desires, and I made this very clear to both parties in private conversations. In other words I offered blessings not for their sense gratification, but for the exact opposite: the giving up of any activity not pleasing to Krishna. I referred to them as "devoted souls" because I do not believe that a person genetically wired for homosexuality is necessarily "bestial" or "demonic" as some apparently feel.

There is a chapter in the Bhagavad-gita called the Divine and Demoniac Natures. It is chapter 16. Significant in this context is the "B" word--"birth":

The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demoniac qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pandu, for you are born with the divine qualities. BG 16.5 trans.

The fact is that people are born with certain natures, and, if we accept the version of the Gita, those natures can be classified as "divine" and "demoniac". It so happens that homosexuality is a sinful tendency, and being "genetically wired" for sinful activity is a consequence of merit and desire in a previous life. The body is called prarabdha-karma, it's a consequence of our acts.

So, yes, people are born with demoniac natures. The first step to overcoming one's own demoniac nature is to recognize it for what it is. If you are gay, then accept that you earned your nature. Devotees are there to help, but that help begins by admitting first there is a problem and that you are responsible for it. Devotees take great risks to help the ignorant get to this point. But rejecting this categorization is rejecting the Gita, and that rejection itself makes one an atheist.

This is not to say that homosexuals cannot transcend their sinful desires, but as with everyone else, transcendence first requires purification, and purification comes from following an authorized process, not just any process.

Within our soceity, there is some illusory idea that having limited amounts of sex (within marriage but not necessarily for procreation, or "gay monogamy" and never for procreation) is purifying. Some think that because limiting sex within a monogamous relationship is a kind of restraint, it should be considered austerity. And because some consider this an austerity, they also consider it purifying.

However, this is not true. Austerity can be in each of the three modes, and a peculiar characteristic of the mode of goodness is that some austerity or penance has the backing of shastra. Recently, for example, a former American TV star Suzanne Somers said on the Oprah Show (a popular American TV Talk Show) that she has had sex with her husband every day for the last three or four decades. (She is around 60 years old.) If having sex within marriage is somehow purifying (as HDG had claimed 4 years ago in his position paper on the matter), then how come, after 40 years of "doing it" daily with her husband, Suzanne Somers hasn't by now become Mother Theresa?

The reason is that dharmic acts also must have divine sanction. Not just any ritual, or custom, or action is purifying. At the end of the 16th chapter of the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that those who do not act according to scriptural injunctions are demons, and they cannot elevate themselves.

Then in the 17th chapter, Arjuna asks Krishna what is the state of people who do not follow scriptural injunctions, are they in goodness, passion, or ignorance? Krishna further characterizes the demoniac people in BG 17.5, and one of the characteristics Krishna mentions is that their austerities and penances are not recommended in the shastras.

However, Hridayananda is an outspoken consequentialist. As a consequentialist, he necessarily believes that no act can be ruled out as intrinsically sinful (or pious) since it must be judged on account of its effect, or consequence. But if fundamentally it is consequences that count (and the ability to anticipate consequences), then why can't factual purification roll along on its own without the direction of shastra?

Hridayananda, however, typically refers to the most abstract, highest kinds of scriptural injunctions, such as "always remember Krishna and never forget Him," as his scriptural pramanas. He will claim that the shastras are a part of the calculus in his moral reasoning. For him, these highest injunctions act as the divine guidelines on which a consequentialist moral framework can operate.

The problem that people who have a preference for abtractions face, however, is that besides being abstract shastra is also concrete. It has definite prescriptions and prohibitions, and those are always troublesome for people who prefer abstractions. Manu-smriti is quite explicit in its description of religious marriage, and religious sexual behaviors, as being between a man and a woman. Marriage, vivah-yajna, is a pennance, a sacrifice, that is recommended in the shastras for purification. Gay monogamy isn't. Hence, because Hridayananda's recommendation of "gay monogamy" is an austerity or penance not recommended in the shastras, it can be classified as being in the modes of passion and ignorance and therefore does not result in purifiation. In other words, the recommendation can be classified as being "demonic", in the sense that the word is used in the 16th and 17th chapters of the Gita.

Hridayananda, however, would counter that this is not true because his recommendation is for the sake of achieving a higher purpose, a transcendental state of life--to "always remember Krishna and never forget Him", as he says in his thesis. Yet how do we know that his recommendation will factually help someone achieve that higher purpose? How do we know that Hridayananda or whoever else makes such claims are not deluded or in illusion? The problem here, if you haven't already guessed, is that people who are conditioned souls, not liberated souls, are making such claims. And conditioned souls, of course, are subject to mistakes, illusion, imperfect senses and cheating.

The bottom line is that such otherwise questionable recommendations must finally rest on divine revelation for their authority. Especially where there is reason to believe that the standard shastras may be against such recommendations (as in the case with "gay monogamy"), the person making such a recommendation must make some claim to having some divine insight that ordinary souls do not have. Otherwise, without divine revelation, the new religious principle that departs from the standard shastras is speculation, in the modes of passion and ignorance, and therefore worthless.

To see how this works, Hridayananda is not alone in appealing to higher religious principles to justify a set of questionable purificatory rites and methods. Ironically, the ritvikists also use the very same appeal to higher religious principles to justify the ritvik system. To quote Krishnakant Desai in The Final Order:

The important point is that although the ritvik system may be totally unique, . . . it does not violate higher order sastric principles. It is testament to Srila Prabhupada's genius that he was able to mercifully apply such sastric principles in new and novel ways according to time, place, and circumstance. (Krishnakant Desai, "The Final Order", p. 31)

In defense of the ritvik system, we see here the very same kind of appeal to "higher order sastric principles" that Hridayananda himself uses. Yet here, as most ISKCON insiders would agree, the appeal is mistaken. But why is it mistaken? In the case of ritvikism, the final defense of ISKCON loyalists rested on ritvikism not being in line with the standard shastras and tradition. In the same way and for the same reasons (if we are to be consistent), then Hridayananda's own appeal to higher religious principles must also be mistaken.

If not, then Hridayananda must supply one of two kinds of evidences - concrete support from standard shastras (which he does not have) and not just the most abstract verses, which can be interpreted to support any cause, or he must stake some claim that he is the recipient of some special, divine revelation. Otherwise, the reasonable conclusion is that Hridayananda's recommendation is as speculative as the ritvikists' recommendations.

It is interesting to note that ritvikism and Hridayananda's "gay monogamy" (which is part of a broader "gay liberation movement" within ISKCON) both rely on a preference for abstraction over the concrete. This preference is simultaneously a preference for speculation, and that is a sign that as a society we are still very much infected by the modes of passion and ignorance. Without a substantial return to the mode of goodness, ISKCON will continue to endure such disturbances.

sruti smriti puranadi pancharatra vidhim vina
aikantiki harer bhaktir upathaiyavia kalpate

"Devotional service that ignores the shrutis, smritis, puranas, and pancharatras creates a disturbance in society."

This is exactly what we have in ISKCON today: speculative "devotional" systems coming one right after another and creating disturbances one right after another.

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There are songs of Thakura Narottama Dasa, one of the acaryas in the Gaudiya-sampradaya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti, another very learned acarya of the same sampradaya, has approved the songs by Thakura Narottama Dasa to be as good as Vedic mantras.

- from Srimad Bhagavatam 1.10.20

.... also ....

The prayers of Narottama Dasa Thakura, this sound is above the material platform. It is directly from the spiritual platform. And there is no need of understanding the language.

It is just like a thunderburst. Everyone can hear the sound of thunder--there is no misunderstanding. Similarly, these songs are above the material platform, and they crack like thunder within your heart. There is so much depth of meaning in Narottama dasa Thakura's prayers.

- Srila Prabhupada

There are songs of Thakura Narottama dasa, one of the acaryas in the Gaudiya-sampradaya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti, another very learned acarya of the same sampradaya, has approved the songs by Thakura Narottama dasa to be as good as Vedic mantras.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.10.20

In my location, 9 Feb is the anniversary of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura's Appearance

There are songs of Thakura Narottama dasa, one of the acaryas in the Gaudiya-sampradaya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti, another very learned acarya of the same sampradaya, has approved the songs by Thakura Narottama dasa to be as good as Vedic mantras.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.10.20

In my location, 9 Feb is the anniversary of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura's Appearance

There are songs of Thakura Narottama dasa, one of the acaryas in the Gaudiya-sampradaya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti, another very learned acarya of the same sampradaya, has approved the songs by Thakura Narottama dasa to be as good as Vedic mantras.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.10.20

In my location, 9 Feb is the anniversary of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura's Appearance

There are songs of Thakura Narottama dasa, one of the acaryas in the Gaudiya-sampradaya, composed in simple Bengali language. But Thakura Visvanatha Cakravarti, another very learned acarya of the same sampradaya, has approved the songs by Thakura Narottama dasa to be as good as Vedic mantras.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.10.20

In my location, 9 Feb is the anniversary of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura's Appearance

The time concept of modern archeology, and modern anthropology in general, resembles ihe general cosmological-hisiorical time concept of Europe's Judeo-Christian culture. Differing from the cyclical cosmological-historical time concepts of the early Greeks in Europe, and the Indians and others in Asia, the Judeo-Christian cosmological-historical time concept is linear and progressive. Modern archeology also shares with Judeo-Christian theology the idea that humans appear after the other major species. The author subjectively positions himself within the Vais nava Hindu worldview, and from this perspective offers a radical critique of modern generalizations about human origins and antiquity.

This morning the Bhaktivedanta Academy Choir performed an original song written by Mother Mrgaksi, founder of The Little Vaisnavas.  Performing in the choir were three of Mrgaksi's grandchildren. The kids did a great job. I have no idea if my own little Vaisnavas understood what the heck they were singing, but they looked cute and happy performing.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

Hare Krsna everyone. I hope your week has been blessed by the Lord and you have been able to chant nicely. Today I got so many nice inspirations from devotees and wanted to share them here.

1968 February 7 : "If some of my selected followers form a Kirtana party and have an extensive tour all over the world I am very much hopeful of being successful . We shall consult together. "
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 7 : "Regarding your proposal for opening a center in London: I am prepared to go there at any moment. Even I do not mind the severe cold."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 7 : "Man proposes, God disposes. I do not know what is Krishna's desire, but I have chalked out my program. Pray to Krishna that He may give me strength to render some service to you and humanity at large."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1975 February 7: "It is the mercy of Krishna that you are getting fair warning of your nearing death. You must be very careful and always praying to Krishna that you will not forget Him at the time of dying."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975: