1957 February 20 : "The Hon'ble Mr. Chief Justice, I have a programme by the order of my spiritual master and I have come to Bombay to enlist some sympathisers. Will your Lordship be kind enough to hear me for a few minutes and oblige?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1947-64

1966 February 20 :
"Today, recorded Introduction to Geetopanishad, two sides, three Hours. Mr. Banerji did not come. Cohen and Salak came."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1968 February 20 : "Krishna is very kind. He does not let go anyone who might have done a little bit of service. So how can He allow you to forget Him?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 February 20 : "I lost my mother when I was only 14 years old. But in my old age, Krishna has given me so many young mothers to take care of me."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 February 20 : "Perhaps you are now the eldest amongst us living disciples of Srila Prabhupada. As your younger brother I shall always be ready for your service."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1975 February 20: "I am very interested to hear of your progress there. Are things going nicely? How is Maharaja doing? How is his preaching? How are the people accepting? You can write me these things promptly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1972 February 20: "Personal association is not so important as association through service. There are some of my Godbrothers who had constant personal association with Guru Maharaja, but who are neglecting his orders."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 20: "I was with my Guru Maharaja only four or five times, but I have never left his association, not even for a moment. Because I am following his instructions, I have never felt any separation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 20: "If we neglect even for a moment our regular program - rising early, 16 rounds, classes, street sankirtana, etc., then everything else we may try will fail."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1970 February 19: "We are all new and weak. Everyone in the hospital is diseased, and although trying to become well may relapse, still that does not mean the hospital should be closed."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 February 19: "I asked my Spiritual Master only one question, 'How shall I serve you?' If you are sincere to serve continuously and always chanting, all questions become answered automatically."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 19: "You have understood rightly. We enter without hesitation into the heart of the biggest cities and preach to anyone and everyone the message of Lord Caitanya who Himself was like the lion in strength."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1966 February 19 :
"In the evening Mr. Paul and Mrs. Leblanc came. Attended meeting from 6/8.30 pm.
Mr. Banerji invited to come here tomorrow evening
Expenditure -- Butter .40"
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1968 February 19 : "I thank you very much for the Istagosthi notes. I am very pleased to read how my students are relishing the discussions of Krishna and his associates."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 February 19 : "Many such orders will follow this in the month of April next. In the future also many Sri Murtis may be dispatched from Vrindaban and you will have to take care of them. They are all free gifts."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1973 February 19 :"Krishna is everywhere, He is even between the atoms. If your prayers are sincere then Krishna will accept and if Krishna accepts then automatically I accept."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1975 February 19: "You are invited to the opening celebration of our Krishna-Balarama Temple in Vrndavana. I am now on tour and very soon I will be in Calcutta and you can see me there. I shall advise you personally."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

We were honored to have Indradyumna Swami present for the Valentine's Day Banquet.  He speaks about the importance of Gurukula.

Dallas, TX
2009-02-14

Download: 2009-02-14 - 4 - Lecture by Indradyumna Swami.mp3

Most dolgozunk az újabb VIM magazinon. A témája a Gyereknevelés. Úgy néz ki, hogy a hétévégén befejezzük a designt. Azután a nyomdába kerül. Várhatóan március első hetében lesz készen. Már nagyon várom. Azért is, mert az egész magazin meg fog újulni. Kezdve a méretével. Kisebb lesz, könnyebb. Sankirtana barátabb. Az előzetes minta magazinokat (amik a méretét mutatták) nagyon szerették a bhakták. Emellett a belső design is finomodott, alkalmazkodott az új mérethez. Szép lesz

Reméljük, nektek is fog tetszeni.

By Matsyavatara Dasa

In the summer of 1976 I was in India, on the Himalayas. I was seriously interested in the philosophy of the sage Patanjali (rajayogasutra) and I was living in an ashram in a very austere way, where I studied attentively from dawn to sunset. There nobody knew who I was; I was 31, unmarried and in excellent health. In Europe I was living a period of great material success. In Italy I had founded six companies and I was considered one of the most famous furniture designers in the world. Plenty of money, fame, and a social life studded with VIPs no longer satisfied me, rather the feeling of solitude even among my crowd of anonymous "friends" saddened me. I felt I was wasting my best years in vain and that I was moving in a direction that was completely the opposite of my aspirations. So in 1974, to everyone's great surprise, I gave a turning point to my life: With great caution I selected my friends, eliminated many worldly commitments and directed my interests more and more towards introspection. I found worldly literature nauseating, even if it was written by the most famous authors. Though I had taken part in the student movement in 1968, I had by now lost interest in their requests, which had been betrayed and politicized. Verbal and political violence, sex and drugs, had destroyed the movement's ideals of freedom and fairness, causing it to degenerate in an unacceptable and definitive way. With this state of mind, I was losing interest in the hedonistic, materialistic western culture and, thanks to some material I had read, was starting to look towards the Orient. Likewise, the course of my travels also changed and instead of going to Paris or New York, I began visiting China and India until I finally put into focus the barycentre of my research: My interest was concentrated more and more on the spiritual. I found Vedic literature very interesting, and among this, Patanjali's "Yoga Sutra" was my favorite book. In 1976 I went to India for the third time, resolved to find a satisfying answer to my existential questions. During this, as well as my previous sojourns, I had visited many ashrams and met many yogis and gurus but none of them inspired me deeply, nor did they convince me as much as I had expected. I began to think that I was not yet ready or did not have the "correct vision" and that I would have to purify myself through study and an ascetic life. I was convinced that by doing so God would reveal to me with clarity the path to follow. In this mood, I went to an anonymous ashram to "prepare"myself for spiritual research. This same year, at the end of August in the ashram I have just mentioned, I made friends with a brahmachari of my age, who looked intelligent and ascetic. We both attended the classes on Vedanta-sutra, studying together and talking about our aspirations. Early one day, he told me gravely: " If you want to be happy you have to devote your life to Krishna and in order to do so you must meet Srila Prabhupada personally, since he can introduce you to Krishna. Leave this place, go to Vrindavana and speak with Prabhupada". I had never heard anything about this Swami and the figure of Krishna, as it was presented in the Bhagavad-gita that I had read, did not impressed me much. Struck by my friend's attitude, I asked him for more explanations and he replied that he was a Vaishnava and that he was there to preach. We started to talk about Krishna and Prabhupada and one of the first things he told me, was that the Bhagavad- gita I had read was not authentic and that Krishna can be revealed only by one of His pure devotees which was why I should have immediately gone to meet Prabhupada in Vrindavana. We stopped attending the classes on Vedanta and we regularly met on the banks of the Ganges. We would chant the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra and I would listen to him recount Krishna's and Prabhupada's pastimes. On August 27th we affectionately parted ways and I left for Vrindavana in search of Prabhupada. I did not know exactly where Vrindavana was, nor how far it was from where I was at the present. I knew only that I had to meet Prabhupada, who would introduce me to Krishna.

In this manner, thinking intensively of Prabhupada, my trip began. I left that ashram and travelled up to Haridwara, from there I took a train to Delhi, then another to Mathura, from there I took a tanga (a cart drawn by a horse) to Vrindavana. I got to Vrindavan in the early afternoon and under an implacable sun I immediately began to look for Srila Prabhupada. I only knew that he was in a Krishna temple in Vrindavana, so I asked the driver candidly to take me to the temple of Krishna. He took me to innumerable Krishna temples, where I entered and asked about Prabhupada, but even from my first impressions, I knew I was not yet in the right place. After hours spent going in and out of many temples, the tanga driver lost his temper, afraid that I was making fun of him and would never pay him, after a series of threats, he threw my baggage in the middle of the street. I was in Vrindavana, now I knew there were thousands of Krishna temples and more then one person who was claiming to be Prabhupada, but I did not know in which temple my Prabhupada was. I was alone, tired, hungry, sitting on my luggage in the middle of a dusty street, the passerbys watching me curiously. My poor knowledge of English was not of much help. Since I was standing near a fence, after a while I decided to knock on it's large iron gate, which opened at once. A bright, clean devotee appeared and I asked him the same information I had already implored so many times that afternoon: "I am looking for Srila Prabhupada...", from the open gate I could see a coloured temple and a beautiful garden and even before the devotee answered, I felt I was in the right place. The devotee, who was Italian, invited me to come in and seeing my condition, he prepared me a room where I could rest and wash, then he told me that after taking prasada, I could meet Srila Prabhupada. I was extremely happy: I felt safe and my faith in the protection of Prabhupada and Krishna was increasing. Once I had recovered from my tiredness, the devotees informed me that Prabhupada had left for Delhi the day before, therefore the following day I also left for Delhi. Before leaving, I asked the temple president to write me a letter of introduction. When I arrived in Delhi, it was very late at night: I was to meet Prabhupada the next morning.

It was ten o'clock a.m. and an italo-australian devotee (Sajanashraya dasa), eager for an opportunity to be in Prabhupada's company, agreed to act as translator and accompanied me to Srila Prabhupada's room; I came up a flight of stairs and turned to my right. I went in. The room was bright with sunshine and Srila Prabhupada was sitting between two windows on a big cushion, surrounded by some of his disciples (one of them was Gopal Krishna dasa, at that time a grihasta). The floor was covered with a white sheet. I came close to Prabhupada's desk and bowed down in front of him. I had seen this gesture of respect performed many times before in the ashrams I had visited, but personally had not yet performed it. This time, to bow in respect felt very spontaneous. Prabhupada looked grave and luminous, and we looked each other straight in the eyes for a while. Then he smiled and asked me: "Have we already met?".

I answered: "No, never, but during these days I have intensely and repeatedly thought of you."

Prabhupada: " Do you believe in God?", I answered: "Yes, I do". I thought that this was the first time that I actually meant it. Then he became grave again and told me:" Well, unfortunately modern society is not on God's side, for this reason it can't win, it's already defeated! The false progress that characterizes our society, renders it disgusting: It is a society of ignorant people, with artificial needs. Mankind's greatest victory is to realize that we are not this body, we are spirit souls, part and parcel of Krishna, His eternal servants. Therefore, without God consciousness there can be neither progress nor happiness. To have a material body means to suffer, but people are so ignorant they think that the miseries of life are natural and even enjoyable. To attain the human form is very rare. We are very fortunate to have this body, because the human form is unique among the innumerable other forms of life, in that it can allow us to re-establish our eternal relationship with God. We can attain knowledge of Krishna by leading a simple life based on cultivating the land and protecting, not abusing, cows. Krishna consciousness actually means simple living and high thinking, in harmony with nature. Many people believe themselves independent from nature, they try to take advantage of her as if she were their slave, but inevitably, they are defeated by her laws. The tendency to dominate nature and other living beings can only create a cats and dogs society."

Shrila Prabhupada asked me what I thought about this and I agreed with him. As he spoke to me I realized that meeting him was the opportunity of a lifetime and if I did not take advantage of this experience, it would be useless to continue circling the world looking for God. I felt sure that Prabhupada was totally reliable and for the first time in my life I felt I could abandon myself. All the problems that had previously disturbed me were swept away by his words.

Smiling he asked me: "So, what is the problem?"

I answered: "If I could live here with you and the devotees, dressed like this, there would be no problem. I'm worried about going back home, where I have many responsibilities. I am engaged and will soon be married, I manage various companies and collaborate with many partners. How can I conduct a spiritual life with all of these social responsibilities.

Prabhupada said to me: "Don't worry, just become a devotee, chant Hare Krishna, read the Bhagavad-gita and Krishna will reveal Himself to you. In the Gita you can find the solution to any material problem. In order to put an end once and for all to samsara, the transmigration of the soul from body to body, species to species; animal, plant, human, we have to know Krishna. Don't waste time. You are a gifted man. Do you know where talent comes from? What is it's source, to whom it belongs? It is the property of God, just like everything else that exists, including the fruits of your labor. Therefore you have only one responsibility: put all of your talent to the service of Krishna because the goal of life is to know Krishna and He can be attained only if we serve Him with love and devotion. Go home, chant Hare Krishna, talk about Krishna to the people you meet, Krishna will take care of you, don't worry. Hare Krishna!

A few hours after my encounter with Prabhupada, I left New Delhi to return to Italy. I was determined to follow Prabhupada's instructions, and I planned, after some time, to go back to India to inform him how things were going in my life. During the return trip I was worried about the impact I would have on my surroundings, on my family. How would my girlfriend, friends, parents and partners react to my conversion? But Prabhupada's words rang in my ears, giving me hope: "Don't worry. Simply study the Bhagavad-gita, chant Hare Krishna, and Krishna will take care of you". In this state of mind, on the return trip, I started reading "The Bhagavad-gita As It Is", printed by the Macmillan Company, the first edition of the B.G. printed by Prabhupada in America. Something extraordinary happened. Even though my knowledge of written english was very scarce and I had no pretense of understanding the profundity of a philosophic discourse, I had, instead, the clear sensation of understanding it's significance!

After landing in Rome I took a train to Livorno where my family was waiting to pick me up. On the train I began to think about planning a concise and delicate explanation for my family about how I was going to organize my life, but Krishna and Prabhupada had another plan! The ticket controller, curious about the strange Indian clothes that I was still wearing, started to ask me questions and I spoke to him about Krishna, Prabhupada and existential topics for the whole trip. I was so happy to have glorified the Supreme Lord and His pure devotee, that I realized I was in Livorno only as the train pulled into the station. I hadn't given even a moments thought to what I would say to my family and friends!

At the station, my father and my girlfriend, Marisa were waiting for me. My father drove us back to our home in Perignano di Lari, province of Pisa. My father was driving, I was by Marisa in the back seat. Right away, I started talking to her about Krishna consciousness, about my encounter with Prabhupada and my intention to accept him as my spiritual guide. After listening to me attentively, Marisa told me that everything that I had just explained to her were the values that she had always admired most in life and that she was determined to follow me on the path of Krishna consciousness. My father listened to my whole story without saying one word. In the meantime, we arrived home, where my mother had prepared a sumptuous meal in honor of my return . Unfortunately, as is common in most of Italy, the table was laid with foods not acceptable to a spiritual life. I spoke to my mother alone and explained to her that it was my firm conviction to change my lifestyle and become a devotee of the Lord, Shri Krishna. She had always been profoundly religious and to hear the message of Krishna was like rediscovering something which for some reason had been forgotten. Almost desperate, with her hands in her hair she cried:"What have we been doing all these years? We've wasted time, we've wasted our lives. We have to put ourselves back on the right path and serve the Lord with love and devotion, like Prabhupada says."

My father did not accept all this right away. He was a person with a strong character, solid and concrete and he could not consider changing his life from one day to the next. After some days of observation, reflection and exchanges of points of view between us on various practical and philosophic aspects, more precisely after a few weeks, even he started on the path indicated by Srila Prabhupada, gradually becoming an excellent devotee, generous, loyal and dynamic. From then on, for the rest of his life, he was dedicated to Prabhupada's mission. Among his various services, the last was the realization of the marvelous policrome marble temple for the worship of Shri Sri Radha Vrajasundara at Villa Vrindavana near Florence, Italy.

Srila Prabhupada was right. By his causeless mercy my family was now a family of devotees, and my home was a temple. In the spring of '77 Marisa and I were accepted as disciples of Prabhupada, married and initiated, with the spiritual names of Manu patni devi dasi and Matsya avatara dasa. The following summer I returned to Vrindavana to thank His Divine Grace for the priceless gift he gave to me and to my family.

Srila Prabhupada Ki-jaya!

Hari-sauri dasa: Here's a couple of remembrances about Mr. PL Sethi a very loyal and faithful servant of Srila Prabhupada who, although he never took initiation, always regarded Srila Prabhupada as his guru.

It is with a lot of happiness in our heart that we inform the devotees that our beloved Gurumaharaja HH Jayapataka Swami will arrive at Sri Mayapur Dham on Friday 20th of February 2009, to be present in the very transcendental and great Mahaabhisheka to the Panca Tattva Bhagavan Deities, that he loves and worship the most along with Sri Sri Radha Madhava asta sakhis and Lord Narasimhadeva, the very merciful and presiding Deities of our Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir.

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18 Feb 2009, Sri Mayapur, SBG 3.24.1-3

maitreya uvaca

nirveda-vadinim evam manor duhitaram munih

dayaluh salinim aha suklabhivyahrtam smaran

TRANSLATION: Recalling the words of Lord Vis?n?u, the merciful sage Kardama replied as follows to Svayambhuva Manu’s praiseworthy daughter, Devahuti, who was speaking words full of renunciation. Listen to Audio File

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No one likes to possess anything that is like a will-o'-the-wisp or a flower in the sky, for everyone knows very well that such things do not exist. When Lord Rishabhadeva ruled this planet of Bhâratavarsha, even common men did not want to ask for anything, at any time or by any means. No one ever asks for a will-o'-the-wisp. In other words, everyone was completely satisfied, and therefore there was no chance of anyone's asking for anything. The people were absorbed in great affection for the King. Since this affection was always expanding, they were not inclined to ask for anything.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 4 Verse 15

We've heard that the sky is blue because it's a reflection of Lord Krsna's body. Modern science probably wouldn't agree. Here are some things Srila Prabhupada said about this (excerpted from a lecture in Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.9 in Montreal on 4 July 1968: "Yes. Krsna is bluish. Krsna's color is the sky. When you see the clear sky, bluish sky, are you not very happy? ,Krsna's body, there is a ray, brahmajyoti. That brahmajyoti is reflected in the sky. That brahmajyoti is outside this material sky, but that is being reflected. Therefore the sky's color, it appears bluish,."

Date: February 19, 2009
Verse: Srimad Bhagavatam 3.24.4
Speaker: Badrinarayan Prabhu

sa tvayaradhitah suklo
vitanvan mamakam yasah
chetta te hrdaya-granthim
audaryo brahma-bhavanah

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Chanting The Hare Krishna Mahamantra opens Your…

Nowadays people have become maddened by the pursuit of money, money, money. They think that they can purchase happiness by accumulating a large quantity of money. But of what value is this money? Practically it has no value. It is paper only. What has real value is food, water, clothing, and shelter. Can we eat, drink, wear, or make a house out of money?...

BY ILA DEVI DASI MAYAPUR, INDIA - As part of the regular Saturday practical Krishna Conscious activities, children from the Sri Mayapur International School went on harinama around Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi on Saturday afternoon. Nanda-Nandana mesmerized everyone with his expert kirtana leading, boys played their mrdangas enthusiastically, and the girls displayed some of their best [...]

BY ANANDA TIRTHA DAS MAYAPUR, INDIA - The second day of the GBC meetings opened with a presentation by the Law Book Committee. Aniruddha Prabhu presented the progress of the committee in revising the current law book which contains constitutional principles, action orders, rules of order, administrative guidelines and governing law. The committee is working to [...]

BY ANANDA TIRTHA DAS MAYAPUR (INDIA) - The 2009 Annual General Meeting of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission commenced with arati and guru-puja kirtana to Srila Prabhupada, who is present in murti form in the meeting hall. Apart from the large murti, this year there is a small murti of Srila Prabhupada fixed on a beautiful altar [...]

The following is a breakdown of the schedule for the upcoming programs with HH Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das:

This Sunday, February 22, 2009, Toronto's Hare Krishna temple will be celebrating Siva-Ratri as we welcome HH Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das for what will surely be grand festivities!

In the Krsna consciousness movement these monkey disciples, being unable to follow the strict regulative principles, sometimes fall down and try to form societies based on sex. This is proof that such people are descendants of monkeys, as confirmed by Darwin.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 5.14.30

I am now in Baroda

20 Feb to Vallabh Vidyanagar 23 midday to Baroda and return to VV 24 or 25 to Ahmedabad (farm) March 6 afternoon to Dahod 7 morning to Baroda 8 Narmada yatra (all devotees are welcome to attend); evening return to Baroda 11 Gaura Purnima in Baroda; initiation ceremony 12 early morning to Dubai; afternoon to Bahrain 13 afternoon to Kuwait 14 to Dubai 20 to India

Toronto, Ontario

I was so happy to meet at my bedside a young man who recently came to join the ranks of monks. Jeffrey is a young twenty-year old from southern Ontario with a farming background who joined our boys in Halifax. He’s come to Toronto to greet my dear friend Indradyumna Swami, an inspiring senior monk in our society. Jeff is a promising human being, good-natured and well mannered. It gives me hope in the world when I see people of his calibre who decide to be a part of a monastic vocation.

Jeff may decide to become a family man in the future and that is his choice. He comes from a conservative Dutch Reform Church and all that high-moral-family-stuff has paid off in the end to mold a good person out of him.

When a quality person enters into the realm of an ashram seeking knowledge, strength and direction it usually boosts the morale of the resident monks as well. It’s encouraging when young blood comes to mix with the old. Energy plus experience blend well together.

It’s comforting for me to see that not just second generation Vaishnavas (devotees) are demonstrating great enthusiasm but that new recruits are also trickling in through our doors. It means that as a group we have what’s called “staying power”. Dr. E. Burke Rockford Jr., a sociologist, has said of the Hare Krishna society that we have passed some kind of endurance test. “ISKCON has lasted well beyond the average life expectancy of such (surging) organizations. It has without a doubt shown its ability to endure.”

So for Jeff, he carries this big smile and sports the Hare Krishna signature look of shaven head and tuft of hair in the back and above all chants, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare - Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.”

Pt. Willunga: On the South Coast of Adelaide, South Australia

My son and I are heading to South Australia for the weekend. It's a client's private birthday party, and we're conducting a cookery class luncheon to celebrate.

With its protective reef shelf to the south and a broad bay on Gulf St Vincent, this highly photographed spot was once all about sailing ships bound for South Australia to pick up slate and wheat, but Port Willunga is now all sea change and holiday houses high on the clay and limestone cliffs.

This was a significant site for the Kuarna aboriginal people, as their dreaming warrior and law-giver ancestor Tjilbruke wept tears here, creating fresh water springs up the broad and sandy beach. Our beach house venue is high on the cliffs overlooking the vast Southern Ocean.

OK.
I'm back thanks to another push from Jackson. "Whats going on in YOUR life Kesh?" Just some "monkin' business? Do tell..."
So, the winter months just totally kicked my robes, I've taken two more monks under my care; or more like I get to think I'm the boss every now and then. Luckily, in our philosophy we're all loving servants of each other and ultimately, of the Supreme Lovable, Krishna. Training new monks, adventures with the police in Bible Belt villes, giving lectures, cooking a lot- especially this of late love affair with corn bread and fried okra...
Most of all I've been growing within. Looking at the world around me and wanting to share a simplier space and time with each individual I meet has awakened in me a need to go out on the road and share this wonderful time with as many others as possible.
The order Given five hundred years ago By Lord Caitanya was to make every living being fortunate by giving them a glimpse of India's spiritual wisdom. When I look at the western world and all its development in terms of technology, or science or whatever other craze people are after, yet still unsatisfied, I can't help but wonder how, the people of this so called third world place are so happy! Its an inner satisfaction I see when walking around the villages of Vraj. And then it dawns on me. This is what has been given to me, a true sense of peace; one that I'm now obliged to share with whoever I meet, whereever I may meet them. So come next week I'm on the road, and meeting and sharing is what I plan to do.
Hope this is a good start Jackson... I'll write more soon. I'll be back on track in no time. Twice a week, something new.
Just consider me coming out of hybernation at the moment.
And guess what? First stop... In your neigbhorhood.

Date: 7 February 2009

Dear Members of the GBC, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

By now, many of you are shocked to have seen the news headline “Hridayananda Das Goswami Blesses Gay Male Couple.” As I had confirmed with Maharaja himself, the report is accurate. Yet as shocking as the headlines may be, Hridayananda’s present statements and actions are in fact consistent with this public statement he made four years ago:

“I am not convinced that marriage is the best means in all cases, but some serious, formal and public recognition and appreciation of gay monogamy is, in my view, in the best interest of ISKCON and its members.” (http://chakra.org/discussions/GenDec19_04.html)

That so many of us are so surprised by this event points to a larger problem: amongst ISKCON’s leaders there is a serious disengagement from matters of philosophy.

Over the years, GBC members whom I have encountered often describe their own aloofness in terms of putting their prabhu-datta-desh first, before all other concerns. They are preaching in some particular area, and they don’t feel worthy of being a member of the GBC unless they are doing that first and foremost. That kind of dedication to preaching also leaves little time for being up-to-date on current news and events. Some GBCs and sannyasis consider it a virtue to not read the popular devotee news websites, and this policy does indeed have some merit.

As noble as that sentiment is, it also presumes that matters of philosophy and theology will “roll along on their own,” requiring little if any superintendence. If anything, the unrest Hridayananda and some of his followers have created proves that philosophy and theology, or what we teach others, requires careful monitoring and superintendence. Neglecting philosophical matters to this extent is to invite such disturbances.

Yet the problem we face now will not be solved by organizing an action committee to “do something” about it. By now, the problem is too deep to solve quickly. Hridayananda’s radical ideas about human sexuality have been out in the public and in several languages for the last four years. During that time, devotees have come to Krishna consciousness under his guidance. Some of these devotees are now old enough to have received the sacred thread and are worshiping the temple Deities. Older followers and disciples, such as Sarvatma Das, who officiated at the event, are naturally inclined to follow their gurus and naturally do so. We are no longer dealing with a one-off incident but with an appreciably large group of devotees who have developed a very different understanding about some key aspects of Krishna consciousness than the rest of ISKCON’s members have.

As I pointed out in my essay two years ago, as published on Dandavats [please see attached file], Hridayananda’s view of human sexuality in general, not just homosexuality, opposes the GBC’s officially stated position on the matter.

--- QUOTE ---

"[Hridayananda:] in a strict sense, all initiated devotees must vow to give up illicit sex, ie sex that is not for procreation. That is the ideal, however it is not the real. The real situation in ISKCON is that many, many householders follow the easier, less ideal version of the rule: no sex outside of marriage. *Prabhupada himself at times taught both the ideal and, for many, the “real” version of this rule, the version they can actually follow.*5"

Compare the last sentence in the above statement with an official statement made by the GBC in 2001 (bolding emphasis added):

"it is resolved THAT: the GBC Body wishes to clarify that *according to Srila Prabhupada's teachings, sex life according to religious principles followed by Gaudiya Vaisnavas is for the propagation of children, not for any other purpose. . .*6"

Indeed, the GBC addressed the very same problem of some devotees’ inability to follow their vows:

"[GBC] While Srila Prabhupada’s definition of illicit sex is clear, it is also clear that some devotees have difficulty maintaining this initiation vow. The GBC recognizes this, and suggests that rather than trying to adjust Srila Prabhupada’s definition we should go on with devotional service and humbly and sincerely keep endeavoring to reach the proper standard.7"

Srila Prabhupada either taught his disciples two versions of this rule, as [Hridayananda] Goswami claims, or, as the GBC claims, Srila Prabhupada taught only one version. Because there cannot be both a dual version and a single-only version of the no illicit sex rule, Goswami’s statement and the official GBC statement are incompatible. Both statements cannot be true at the same time.8

-- END QUOTE --

The net effect is that we have a significant section of ISKCON’s devotees growing up with a very different idea of what illicit sex means. Not opposing Hridayananda’s radical teachings about human sexuality when they were first aired has allowed this unnecessary disturbance to take place. It could have been prevented had the GBC not been as disengaged as it presently is from matters of philosophy.

As our society is currently structured, only the GBC can effectively attend to such matters. When Hridayananda aired his radical views, devotees did speak out against them. Some of these devotees were gurus, sannyasis, godbrothers of his, and even disciples such as myself. Although a number of us have tried to humbly approach Hridayananda and speak with him about his views, he has persistently ignored all such attempts. [Proof of this can be submitted upon request.] This means that important philosophical disputes sometimes require political or executive intervention, much as how police intervention is sometimes required to quiet down a rowdy party or evict a disagreeable tenant. Only the GBC is in a position to deal with someone of Hridayananda’s stature and character.

The problem, however, has been getting the GBC to recognize it has an interest in such matters before they get out of hand. This means that more members of the GBC have to take a personal and active interest in dealing with philosophical issues on a society-wide basis. It cannot be delegated to a subcommittee and forgotten about by the rest. However, it may be that the very natures of management and GBC duties work against this interest.

Some GBC members I have spoken with have frankly agreed that within our society philosophical matters do need to be looked after more. However, they also admit that personally making time for this has been difficult. Some of you might want to consider whether at this point you could be of better service to ISKCON by not acting in the capacity of a GBC member (or at least reducing your own GBC duties) in order to devote more time to theological and philosophical study. As many GBC members are sannyasis, this is a full-time occupation that is well suited to that ashram.

Serving Srila Prabhupada’s mission as a representative of the GBC is glorious. Fundamental grass-roots preaching such as harinam and book distribution is also glorious. Yet protecting Srila Prabhupada’s mission from philosophical deviation is also as necessary as it is important. Srila Prabhupada said that if our own men become sahajiyas, they will become very dangerous. Doing as much as we can to keep this from happening is in ours best interests.

When a government neglects the safety of its citizens, its citizens eventually take the law into their own hands. If through inaction issues of theological and philosophical importance continue to be neglected, as they have been now for a long time, then someone or some group will act, and the consequences will be unpleasant but perhaps necessary.

Your servant,

Krishna Kirti Das (Albuquerque, New Mexico USA)

p.s. One last request I have of you is to take some time out of your busy schedules and read the essay I have attached with this message, and judge for yourselves as to whether my analysis is accurate and that the some of the things I have predicted are in fact taking place.

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The cars were at high tide - parked way up the street, the rain sewers were gushing. The daffodils moist, brown at the edges, and droopy. A German Shepherd clutching a red ball in his jaws. A woman walking an enormous, white dog, a big, fluffy Something-or-other, bigger than she was, bigger than me, like a gigantic, [...]

By Ananda Tirtha das

Thanks to Sukirti Madhavi DD from Chennai and other devotees who are doing the entire transcriptions you can read the SB classes given in Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir!

If you have Jayo+Yamaraja's e mails Can you send them to me ? I sincerly request that if you have the E mail address's of my 2 Godbrothers Yamaraja Das (BTG) Jayo das (B. I.)

TKG Academy (Dallas Gurukula) held a wonderful banquet on Valentine's day to honor the students, teachers, community, and to raise funds to build a multipurpose building for the school.  His Holiness Indradyumna Swami and Sri Prahlad das were the guests of honor.

Relive this wonderful evening by purchasing this DVD which includes the full evening's performances. Or, if you weren't able to attend, see it for the first time with this DVD.

• Introduction
• Drama by the Gurukula students (The Witness by Bhaktimarga Swami)
• Mrdanga Presentation by Gurukula Alumni
• Speech by HH Indradymna Swami on the importance of Gurukula
• Appreciation of Mother Jayanti (school principal)
• Ecstatic Bhajan / Kirtan by Sri Prahlad das

My two children love watching the drama and mrdanga presentation!  Own this DVD for only $10 plus $5 shipping in the US.  International orders -- shipping is $13.

Visvambhara das: The latest issue of the Bhaktivedanta Academy newsletter is now online. The Bhaktivedanta Academy (formerly New Raman Reti School), a Krishna-centered educational institution located in Alachua, Florida, currently serves 50 Pre-K thru 6th grade students, making it the largest devotional school in North America.

By Janmastami dasa

In the early ‘70’s, when Srila Prabhupada was arriving at the New York airport, a reporter asked, “Why have you come to the West?” “I have come”, Prabhupada replied, “to give you a brain. Your society”, he continued, “is headless.”

Brajahari Dasa Temple President, ISKCON, Juhu: Sethiji was 88 years old. He was a building contractor and was one of the first devotees in Mumbai who came forward to assist Srila Prabhupada in his mission to acquire and build the temple in Juhu.

As indicated in an earlier post, we will be streaming live, on the web, many of the programs being held by HH Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das during their visit to ISKCON Toronto this weekend.  All live streaming events can be found by visiting this blog!

This weekend, Toronto's vibrant Hare Krishna community will be warmly welcoming HH Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das! Each year Indradyumna Swami circles the globe teaching the message of the Bhagavad-gita and introducing people to kirtan chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra. Sri Prahlad das is a world famous kirtan leader who is known for his amazing and blissful kirtans!

Lessons to Learn

Lead a natural life of divine love

in harmony with God.

Think of Him always.

Serve Him with your senses.

Worship and prostrate yourself before Him.

Conduct your physical, emotional, and social life

in a way that supports your spiritual development.

If you don’t know how seek competent advice and learn to live.

Have courage to be yourself,

a happy, free servant of eternity.

Follow what I came to teach.

When you do, surely I will give you peace and leave you.

Be blessed.

As many of you may already know, HH Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das will be visiting ISKCON Toronto this weekend to visit our burgeoning New Remuna Dhama community!  As a special treat, HH Bhaktimarga Swami will also be joining some of the weekend-long festivities!

 

 

 

 

Megvan már az új, ingyenes krisna.hu magazinod? 

 

 

Ha nincs, küldd el a neved, címed az mrd@1108.cc címre és postázni fogjuk neked.

Sunday, 11th Jan, 2009. I stayed up after the show. I needed something to unwind. I found myself back home in the early early hours of the morning after dropping the boys at the temple. I checked my transcendental emails. I received one from Julie! This was the first signs of successful follow up work from Peat’s Ridge. She still hadn’t picked up her Gita?! But it was staring her in the face and she mentioned she had a positive experience. I joyfully replied, encouraging her to read her Gita and then hit the hay.

Domo woke me. He was accusing me of over sleeping. I had only slept maybe six hours but that meant nothing because he was too excited. I struggled my way out of bed/rubber mat and started to pack. We rolled to Sakhi’s for some MORE PACKING. Domo went into Tetris mode until the car was slanting unnaturally backwards.

We headed off after some quick goodbyes. Some how Domo manifested a large collection of soft drinks. We forgot to steal the supply of chocolates from the garage but there would be time. Is that legit by the GBC still??

We were on our way. Down the New England Highway which ironically is the older of the Highways (as far as I know) and doesn’t seem to have anything to do with England that I can pick. We decided to pass the time we would acquire as many flavours of Magnum that we could get our hands on. We went through the lot, minus peppermint. It was a total of 5 ice creams. There are 5 pandavas and we ate 5 ice creams. There, I related it to Krsna so now I am guilt free.

After and between our ice cream extravaganza me and Domo had some nectarian association with ourselves. We talked of different plans for travelling preaching. It was all about how to engage devotees in constant travel and preaching. For us it was service of the mind and voice. It was an offering ready to be made with the facility that didn’t seem to be available and the funds that were no where to be seen. This is a preachers version of a “pipe dream” or in this case “a magnum dream”.

We stopped into the petrol station. Possibly to purchase ice creams, possibly to use to toilets. There was a McDonalds attached to the building and they shared a (in American terminology) bathroom. On the way out I saw two big Macs roll through, almost literally. I had heard of our country of obesity but this was the first time I had seen it for real. The fat people have been hanging at Macas. I would never have guessed. My cholesterol levels rose just passing these poor victims of sense indulgence and advertising campaigns.

After shaking off horrifying images we moved on down the Ole English. We discussed after tour plans. The boys were discussing doing a program in Tasmania, just for fun, just to bring the holy name their way. Domo talked about sussing out some venues on the coast on the drive home. We could do some 3 person harinam with ourselves and Rajesvari.

We decided to get serious for dinner. We got some chips, some dip and some olives. We were having conversations on the Mahabharata. We were talking about some of the misdeeds of Ashvatama, how he and his friends invaded the pandavas camp when the battle was over, killing hundreds of unarmed soldiers.

Still on the road. Domo lost it and attacked me with a chocolate bar. He covered my face, arms and shirt in chocolate. I scrambled in the back through piles of items to find some entertainment. I wrote some diary till it was my time to drive. It was gettttttttinnnnngg laaaate. Did I just run a red light? I concentrated knowing the day was nearly over and home was getting close. I had enough in me to make it home and slot into bed. By home I mead Sydney which would be our home for the night.

Monday, 12th Jan, 2009. We made it! Alive! It was just over the buzzer of 12 when we rolled in. No rooms were waiting for us, no grand reception. We cruised up into the spare prasadam hall and crashed out. Waky waky. It was minimal sleep and time to roll. Domo showed me a shower trick, dumping a cold bucket of water over my curtain. I was ready for it lucky enough. As far as I remember I was having a cold shower anyway so it made not much difference.

We started our day by filling the car EVEN MORE. We slotted a meal in the middle and had to position ourselves in strategic security viewing spots as there were some suspicious characters hanging around our car. We were reminded of Sydney temple lifestyle with an epically heavy breaky. We saw off our friends as we greeted them. Saw off the Peruvians, Arka Prabhu, Nitya Mangala, an epic Bengali singer, Pujan who continually repeats our drama line “oh my god!” and Rohini, who is some nationality?? I bid Sydney’s wireless connection farewell with it’s usual sluggish pace. We scoped out some ways to Melbourne on the Google maps before we hit the road.

We were in and out of Sydney like secret agents. One minute we were there and the next minute we were gone. We left no trace of our presence. We rolled down our usual road we took, the ole Eastern Distributor. I pointed out that our chocolate bar was still unfinished. Domo decided to use it as a sword on me before we threw it out. We stopped down the run to get the peppermint that hadn’t purchased the day before. Domo decided to share some of his magnum with my arm.

We started passing the time first off with a Gita Quiz. Domo questioned me on some of the inner realisations of this holy epic. By the end of the trip the heat and the dry withered me into ignorance so there was no choice of thinking high to go with my simple driving. It was just kick back and delve into the fiery bliss of the heat. Normally, on this side of the hemisphere, the further south you go the colder it becomes. This was not the case.

We rolled into a country town. Hunger had set in. We took it seriously this time. No more snacking, it was time to be serious. We pulled into my fav, Aldi, for a soul vehicle fuel up. It reminded me of my shopping sprees in the UK at Tesco.

We cruised our way down the highway till we were only a few hours from Sydney. There were hordes of junk food wrappers and other items collecting under my feet. I hesitate to list all the mess in fear of Vaisnava scoldings.

All was good and well on our little trip. We were full, we were almost finished out 20 hour car trip and we were only hours away from being reunited with our beloved tour buddies. “The non permanent appearance of happiness and distress…” Of course this happy scene did not last very long. Ok well it lasted a few hours but it was time for the downside of the coin.

“Something is wrong” said Domo. I tried to read his expression for sarcasm. The only signs I could find were the warning lights on my dash going crazy. We came to a slow hurling stop on the side of the highway. “Pop the bonnet Domo” I said. I have almost zero mechanic experience but I could at least see if something had disconnected, or a fan belt had snapped (as I asked the mechanics to check it). “What is the bonnet?” asked Domo. It obviously was not a word he had in his vocab yet. I quickly told him what it was and where exactly the lever was. I then showed him where the lever was, more specifically, after he had opened the fuel latch.

I busted out my NRMA card. I dialled the number on the back. The lady on the assistance line was not very nice. Let us all bless her with good attitude. I was being heckled. I had to go for a little walk to find where we were because it apparently wasn’t straight forward enough with a crossroad and the name of a local town. I don’t know why this crazy lady couldn’t just Google map us. I mean who can’t google map something? I managed to forget the Highway number and had been totally lost with the heat to pay attention to anything. It was a BIG highway so it was pretty hard to miss. Anyway I found a sign.

While I was on the phone Domo was fiddling around with things. I spotted something that seemed to be the problem. A TINY TINY pipe had come loose from the motor. Domo was trying to tell me to forget about calling a mechanic and considered super gluing it all together. I was pretty confident this was not the right action. A man pulled over to check how we were. I showed him the problem. He suggested it was the vacuum line which propelled the fuel. This was sensible to our total car failure theory as the starter motor was clicking over when I attempted to start the motor. The only problem with this little bit of help was he accidentally snapped the a few more vacuum pipes while inspecting.

The man left without realising the problem was now not one vacuum line but a couple. Domo was furious. Now he REALLY couldn’t superglue it back together. I then inspected the pipes and managed to break another bunch. I declared them ready to be replaced. The repair man made it just as we were looking like loosing our minds (a little more). It seemed that a vacuum line was one of those rare parts that no one had and had to be repaired with the help of computer recorders. Ki jai. So it was tow truck time.

The tow truck showed up in good time. After rigging the car up he attempted to pull it onto the tray. The car was SOOO overloaded that the back bumper was scraping on the ground and pealing back. The tow truck driver didn’t seem to care much. He dropped us off in at a train station on the way to the town the car would be stored at (Kilmore).

So was a train going to come at this hour? It was starting to head on into the night. The train finally arrived. We were the only people almost in the train. The confused train attendant gave us concession tickets and assumed we were ready to show him our concession cards. He was an Indian man, which may or may not have sparked conversations of radical Indian train rides. We were also upgraded to first class for free because the train driver was tired and spaced out.

So there we were in Melbourne. Should we catch a taxi? A bus? Ride a tram? Hey lets walk! We were still in an adventuring mood so me and Domo saddled up our bags and rolled through the back streets of Melbourne. Not the smartest thing you say? We had officially lost our minds after 20 hours + of car, tow truck and train travel. We needed to stretch our legs also. So we walked, asked the dodgiest guys we could find for directions and stopped down the road from the temple for water and ice cream. The night was at an end as we sneaked our way through the Dank St Temple of Melbourne and into the entry room of the brahmacari ashram. We earned our self a good ole fashion crash sess. Sleeeeeeeeep!

A few days ago, Sarah perfected her pizza crust. It’s pretty amazing. I’m not at all one for baking, so I’m glad she thought of something. She posted about it on her blog and here it is on mine as well!

Here’s what you will need…
-2 1/2 tsp yeast (or one small packet)
-3 cups unbleached flour
-1/3 cup warm water
-1 tsp salt
-1 cup warm water

And here’s how to do it!

*preheat your oven to 200 degrees

1) Add the 1/3 cup warm water to the yeast in a small cup. Mix the yeast and water until it’s dissolved and then let it stand for about 10 minutes. While you’re waiting measure out your flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.

2) After 10 minutes, add the yeast mixture to the flour. Mix together with a fork.

3) Add 1/2 cup of warm water and again mix.

4) Add another 1/2 cup of warm water and now kneed with your hands until it’s one big sticky ball of dough.

5) Cover with a towel and place in over for about 10 minutes.

6) After ten minutes, remove from oven and let rise for another 10 minutes.

7) Set the oven heat to 450 degrees.

8) Sprinkle some flour on a baking sheet and gently pry the dough from the bowl. You’ll probably need to sprinkle some flour on the dough so it doesn’t stick to your hands and it doesn’t stick to the bowl again.

9) When the dough is out of the bowl, gently powder it with some more flour and stretch it out a bit. Now you can put it on the baking sheet and stretch it to the edge of the sheet.

10) All you have to do after this is add your sauce and vegan cheese! Try mine!

11) You only have to bake the pizza for about 8-10 minutes. the crust will be done, but it’s not too hard! of course you can bake the pizza longer depending on your likes and needs.

isvare tad adhinesu
balisesu dvisatsu ca
prema maitri krpopeksa
yah karoti sa madhyamah

“An intermediate or second class devotee, called madhyama adhikari, offers his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a sincere friend to all the devotees of the Lord, shows mercy to ignorant people who are innocent, and disregards those who are envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Class:

So this is now the description of the three classes of devotees:  kanistha, madhyama and uttama adhikariiand this of course is the description of the madhyama adhikari, or middle class devotee. This is one verse describing the main characteristics, but there are 10 or 11 more verses elaborating on the uttama adhikari, because the uttama adhikari is so uniquely important.  It is not that 10 madhyama adhikaris can equal one uttama adhikari.  So the uttama adhikari is in a special category of their own, and their association
is something extraordinary.  The kanisha adhikari;their association can also help.  It just depends on the circumstances.  But the madhyama adhikari can definitely help the living entities, because the madhyama adhikari is systematically engaged in the process of devotional service, and is systematically trying to give the process of devotional service.  And in this way, in very practical and real terms, help the conditioned souls get out of their entanglement.  So the madhyama adhikari then, is a very important type of devotee.

Kanistha adhikaris are not important.  Sometimes, something positive may be there. But otherwise it’s just really a matter of his good fortune that he happens to be engaged in devotional service.  There’s no real qualification. But the madhyama adhikari is showing qualification, and this is described here, in terms of the four particular characteristics displayed by the madhyama adhikari:  offers his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a friend to the other devotees, is merciful to the innocent and disregards the envious.  Why?  On the basis of his or her Krsna consciousness.  The kanistha adhikari does not love the Supreme Lord, although there is an acceptance, and he may associate with all different types of people really, depending on the circumstances.  He is not so clear in his mind, about the different types of people.  And in many cases, just in terms of his sense gratification and different material considerations, he may choose to associate with different types of people.  He may also attribute more importance to certain types of devotees, not in terms of their real advancement in Krsna consciousness, but also on the basis of some
more material types of consideration, like “they are apparently nice to me”.

Sometimes for example, the more advanced devotee may chastise a neophyte devotee if he is really doing something detrimental, so the neophyte devotee may then think, “Oh, he is not being nice to me, he is an angry person, or he is not a kind person.” So like this, the kanistha adhikari or very beginning devotee, is still conditioned by many different conceptions of life, and may make his or her decisions in these terms.  ”This devotee is nice to me;  I will associate with him or her.  That devotee chastised me, I was talking about the latest Bollywood movie;What’s the latest Bollywood movie?…anyway I was talking about the latest Bollywood movie with another devotee, we were having such a nice discussion, and this other devotee, more senior technically, came along and chastised us!  Why are we talking about this?  So this is very unmerciful type of consciousness”And so forth.

But the madhyama adhikari, the middle class devotee, being described here, is much more fixed in real understanding and the decisions that such a devotee makes are based on real Krsna conscious considerations.  Like Srila Prabhupada, not that He is a madhyama adhikari, but in certain respects He was exhibiting those characteristicsibut He is higher than a madhyama adhikari, but in terms of being chastised, Prabhupada told the story:  He was sitting in class, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was giving class, He was right
at the back, and next to him was another devotee, an elderly devotee, who was very hard of hearing.  And every now and then that elderly devotee would bend toward Prabhupada and ask, “What did he say? What did Srila Bhaktisiddhanta say?”  And Srila Prabhupada would turn to him and explain, quietly of course, and right at the back.  So this was ok, but it was not appreciated by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta.  So Srila Bhaktisiddhanta pointed to Srila Prabhupada, “You, Prabhu, would you like to give the class?  Would you like to speak? Why don’t you come here?  And you sit here, and you speak.” And everyone just turned and looked at Prabhupadailike who are you?!  And Prabhupada, naturally its embarassing, and Prabhupada said that afterwards, although he had been embarrassed at first, relished that experience of being corrected, and He would remember it from time to time in a very appreciative mood, that Guru Maharaj was very merciful.

And Prabhupada, we saw actually in His behaviour, that when He would give class, He would not tolerate any noise, even an innocent little kiddy wail. Like little children, they don’t mean any harm, but they just feel in one way or another, and they just cry.  And they are not trying to be irritating, but Prabhupadaiwell; there are two stages of dealing with such children.  First stage is the mother will put the hand over the child’s mouth, and if that doesn’t work, she will take the child out.  So in this regard, it’s good in temples if there is a room, where the class is channelled to, by some speaker system, but is not going to interfere with anybody in the class.

Anyway, the madhyama adhikari, the middle class devotee, is actually more advanced, and then he or she really feels some love for the Lord, not just when Krsna is nice to me.  When Krsna gives me things.  Wellilike when Krsna lets me pass my exams.  So when I pass, I will tell Krsna, “You are very nice.”  But somehow or other, not by Krsna’s fault but because I didn’t work hard enough, I don’t pass the exam, even though I prayed to Krsnaithen I think Krsna, what sort of God are you!  You are not doing Your job.  And so on, like this.  The kanistha, the lower class of devotee, will have this type of attitude, of sometimes being favourable to Krsna, and sometimes not. Sometimes enjoying the association of devotees, and sometimes preferring
some other association.  Sometimes trying to preach to the non-devotees and innocent, and other times wanting their association.  Yes

When the Bollywood stage show comes, and the Bollywood actors come to do some stage presentation, then instead of coming to the Sunday programme at the temple, we will go to see the Bollywood show.  Actually one of my own disciples told me, at the time that he was going to get second initiation, but still had to get the recommendation, so the initiation committee decided that he shouldn’t get.  And the one devotee, the main one who thought he shouldn’t get, said that he went to a Bollywood show, some show where a number of these Bollywood stars came for an evening, big show in Durban. And so this devotee on the committee said, he shouldn’t get second initiation because he was at that show.  He was at that Bollywood show.  And
they asked him in the presence of the devotee who wanted second initiation, “How do you know that? Did someone tell you?”  He said “No, I saw him there, I was there.”!! (laughter)

So you see, this is all kind of the kanistha consciousness.  And the madhyama adhikaris oppose the demons, because they can see that these people are against Krsna.  What is the point trying to present Krsna to them, because they will not accept.  But ratheriyou know, I remember, in South Africa there are these “born-again Christians”, very fired up, they will put down every other religion in very rude and inconsiderate terms, and just shout at people that they have to accept Jesus, and if not, they are going to hell.  So, we would meet these people when we go out preaching, and sometimes, for whatever reason, we would get into a discussion with them, thinking that we could present Krsna consciousness to them.  But at the end
of 10 or 15 minutes or after whatever you were talking to them, you walk away feeling disturbed.  Not like you’re thinking, “Is Krsna God? Or should I worship Jesus?” Not like thatibut its just dealing with such arrogance and such offensiveness, its just likeiwell, if you’re dealing with anything unpleasant, like if its too hot, and you just feel that heat, its not really a matter of your mental condition, its just the circumstances.  So if you are in the company of such people, not that you really become influenced to accept their ideas, but just by being so close to such horrible energy, you feel that energy.

So the madhyama adhikari, the second class devotee is on the basis of real Krsna consciousness, not just on sentiment.  ”Do they treat me like this? Do they treat me like that?  Or whatever.  But on the basis of real Krsna consciousness, the madhyama adhikari takes shelter of Krsna under any circumstances, positive or negative.

As Lord Caitanya says, “My dear Lord, You are my worshippable Lord whether You crush me with Your embrace, or make me broken-hearted by not being visible to me.”  Doesn’t make any difference, I’m always taking shelter of Your lotus feet.  Not when You embrace me and everything is feeling good, then “Hare Krsna! Haribol!” But when there’s some test, then I’m thinking, “Well, maybe I should go back, maybe I should do Kavady;Kavady is coming up?

So this is the basis of the madhyama adhikari;he appreciates the devotees, because they are devotees.  And even some devotees, if they are not much of a devotee, they have many problems and many things wrong, but still the madhyama adhikari appreciates whatever Krsna consciousness is there; and then the innocentihe is willing to make that effort to help them;  and avoiding the demons, because they are envious of Krsna.

Hare Krsna.

This Saturday, on February 14th, I celebrated my 24th birthday. Savyasacin planned a trip to Montreal, and I have to say, it was the perfect place to start off a new year.

When I turned 15, Bhakti Caitanya Swami said to me, "Use your birthday as a stepping stone in your Krsna Consciousness." Since then, my birthday has become my new year, a time when I reflect on what has been and what needs to be.

I realise that 24 is not all that old, but since I was a child, somehow 24 signalled that you were officially a grown up. 18 just meant you could drive and 21 meant you could get into certain clubs. 22 and 23 were practice runs for adulthood, and by 24 you should already have the grown-up business down - maturity, wisdom, responsibility and all the other things that come along with being an adult.

24 feels like ages away from 23. Perhaps it's because I got married last year, just after my birthday, and so much has changed in the space of one year. I have changed so much. In this last year and a half, I have dealt with my own set of issues - moving to a new country and dealing with those repercussions, being away from home and my family, the temple in Durban, my friends, Bhakti Caitanya Swami and everything that I was comfortable with. But I've also grown into a relationship that has healed a lot of old wounds, and allowed me to come out of the shell I always thought I was in.
And so, while I'm not sure that I have all the qualities of an adult, 24 has come to mean being more carefree, more playful, more light-hearted and more relaxed. I used to be chronically tightly wound. But learning to deal with all my old issues (thanks to my husband), I've taken a more laid-back, 'its-in-Krsna's hands' approach.

For a few days before, I tried to think of what I wanted 24 to be about. I wanted to use my birthday resolution as a stepping stone in my Krsna consciousness, but I also wanted to be realistic. I didn't want it to turn into a New Year resolution that lasts 3-5 days after January 1st, and then starts to lose its significance with each passing New Year, because you know you're not going to follow them anyway.

It was the morning of my birthday when we left for Montreal and I still hadn't decided. All the way there, I meditated on it. We arrived in Montreal. Still nothing.

Montreal is a beautiful, beautiful city, rich in history and culture, with a charming personality and a warm, welcoming embrace. It doesn't matter whether you're there in the summertime, or in the icy clutches of its snow laden winter, Montreal will always make you feel like there's no other place you'd rather live in.

There's a church around every corner. Over 400 to be more exact. Said Mark Twain, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window." And they are all exquisite churches, inside and out.

Below is the interior of the Notre Dame Basilica, founded in 1642, when Montreal was just a village named Ville-Marie, the City of Mary.


Montreal is littered with cafes and restaurants, quaint and modern, and coupled with the sound of French being spoken and

the low rise, equally quaint buildings, you can't help but feel that you're no longer in Canada, but in Europe, Paris perhaps.

An abstract from Thought, Emotions and Realizations,

by Matsyavatara Dasa

Life is exchanging love, we give love because it was given.

The lack of love leads to an unhappy life, dominated by its personality shade. If we do not clarify the misunderstanding of what identity is, love will never be developed: this feeling made of divine knowledge, runs the risk to downgrade as sentimentalism and we get to know life only by means of sensory mechanism.

Throughout time it was stated that two people exist within us. One is the historic self, called “false ego”: suspenseful, arrogant, proud, irritable, egocentric and substantially fearful and vile. The other one is the Self, the spiritual Self often unseen, the atman, whose clear voice of wisdom is seldom heard and even more rarely listened to. The self (word used by Yung), the soul (christian word), the atman, (vedantic word), is the only real existing identity. The ego is but a shadow of the self and it is mistaken for real due to a distorted mental image, known in our language as immedesimation.

Self immedesimation in something different from the real self, is the origin of entanglement, which is the cause of all attachments to a number of unreal objects that are by nature subjected to transformation, degradation and dissolution. The strongest among all attachments, widely spread and considered an absolutely normal symptom is the identification with the body. Although we may come to the conclusion that we are not the physical body, very few people do not identify themselves with it.

It is also true that the human body is a gift from God, a very precious instrument, but it is not our Self. The nervous system is a powerful machine created to make us successful, to take us to our original dimension, the most fascinating biological structure we could ever imagine, but it is not life in itself. When life leaves the body, for instance after an infarct, although the whole nervous system is undamaged from a physiological point of view, you can rely that a person is dead. Therefore the doer that makes this machine work wonderfully is the atman, the object of our research.

Modern civilization achieved great results in countless fields, nevertheless it produced an odd culture inclined to satisfy an obsessive identification with the body, the need to acquire richness in order to satisfy ambitions of power, by claiming to exorcise fear even knowing that, by definition, richness is like the water of the sea, the more you drink it the more thirsty you are. The fake myth of an easy going life, based on the pleasure of the senses is the heaviest calamity, the most painful and dreadful of all. Richness, aging, youth, beauty do not guarantee happiness otherwise the problems of drug, violence, alcohol addiction, tobaccoism would not be so widely spread.

In the absence of enlightenment because of the identification with the mind, pleasure is often seen as the pleasant and fleeting time of the continuous and swinging cycle through pain and pleasure. Pleasure comes from something which is outside of us, whereas joy comes from within us. What gives us joy one day, is the cause of pain the day after, for how long as it may last, sooner or later we will have to separate from it, and its absence will be the cause of pain. If we think on it, we may well find that each pleasure carries with it the seed of pain, the other face of the coin, which will be known with time.

When passion stirs the heart and the mind we feel a lot of pain because of material entanglements. Such energies will not be good for us if they are not organized, harmonized and directed well.

Many disruptive tendencies are considered harmless because the difference between the Self and the false ego is not well acknowledged or discerned, neither clear is the discrimination between what is ephemeral or real (avidya).

We need the Knowledge to direct and transform tendencies, the same as it is done with the water of a rough river when its impetuous, disruptive force is converted into electrical energy to make the mill turn pump.

A wonderful system was given to us to enable our psychological structure to succeed for the realization of our self-consciousness and upgrade our evolutionary process. The ability to reflect on our thinking process and to detach ourselves from emotions is an exclusive prerogative of mankind, which makes us different from animals, whose psychological structure is not more evolved than humans. Human beings own the prerogative to control tendencies, which instead rule among animals and they are called instincts. This is the great difference in the animal kingdom between humans and the so called animals. We can analyse our paradigms to see whether they are either real or depend from our conditionings, or impermanent situations of all kinds. Animals cannot change their tendencies, whereas humans can. Perhaps it may cost a sacrifice but it is worth it. The enterprise to elevate our consciousness, (indeed it is a true and real enterprise), and to expand our own vision of reality is the greatest decision for a human being to claim. You would have never spent your time, your health, your energy any better. Those who consume energy, health, time and money in ephemeral enterprises can only but grow their own poverty and unsatisfaction.

As a matter of fact all that you had wished for, once received would reveal its intrinsic inconsistency and temporary term. Each dream vanishes by facing its reality, except for the Self and God. For this reason the wise men of all religious traditions say that this world is meant to suffer, that the experience of life is an experience of pain. However if this may be true in a general sense, it makes no rule for each person who, by using the power of will is able to transform one’s destiny and experience success by nourishing himself with the feeling of love, the reason of living for all of us.

The ecstatic emotion of love, satisfaction and intense happiness can be experienced too, in the dimension of life we actually live, by gaining freedom from entanglement of all attachments .

The vedic literature describes the identity of jivanmukta, as a combination of two sanscrit words: jivan, which means life and mukta which is the past participle of moksha, freedom, and can be translated as a liberated being. Therefore jivanmukta means “free in life”. According to the Veda this word is used very often and it shows that it is possible to gain freedom even here, although the jiva is temporarily embodied . The ecstatic emotion is the inner nature of the soul, its more related attitude or atman svabhava. When this dimension is simply touched it is called bhava, when we enter into it it is called prema. Even a simple contact with it produces emotions which become unforgettable for the rest of our whole life.

The following is a special class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on the day of the conclusion of the yajna at ISKCON Ujjain.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

The following is a special class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on the day of the conclusion of the yajna at ISKCON Ujjain. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo;

The average person uses only about 2% of his mental ability.

- Stanford University research

Honestly facing the facts about yourself is the starting point of rapid self improvement.

Haribol Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Recently I had an interesting experience in Australia. Fifteen years ago I distributed books in Melbourne with a devotee named Atul Krsna Prabhu, a disciple of Prabhavisnu Swami, and on my last trip I distributed books in Sydney with his son, Uddhava Prabhu, a fired up book distributor. It is really encouraging to see that some third-generation devotees are now taking up the service of distributing books.

In a week or so we'll have the book distribution seminars in Mayapur. I'm trying to arrange for them to be recorded and for the recordings to be posted on the ISKCON Desire Tree website -- http://www.iskcondesiretree/ -- so you can all hear them.

Now here's some instructions from Srila Prabhupada....

"Preaching work is the best service, if you preach rightly. If you preach wrongly, that is disservice."

VedaBase => SPL 7-5: Seattle, 1968

Your servant,

Vijaya das

Whatever action is performed by a great man, common men follow.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 4 Verse 15

Haribol Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Recently I had an interesting experience in Australia. Fifteen years ago I distributed books in Melbourne with a devotee named Atul Krsna Prabhu, a disciple of Prabhavisnu Swami, and on my last trip I distributed books in Sydney with his son, Uddhava Prabhu, a fired up book distributor. It is really encouraging to see that some third-generation devotees are now taking up the service of distributing books.

In a week or so we'll have the book distribution seminars in Mayapur. I'm trying to arrange for them to be recorded and for the recordings to be posted on the ISKCON Desire Tree website -- http://www.iskcondesiretree/ -- so you can all hear them.

Now here's some instructions from Srila Prabhupada....

"Preaching work is the best service, if you preach rightly. If you preach wrongly, that is disservice."

VedaBase => SPL 7-5: Seattle, 1968

Your servant,

Vijaya das

Sometimes learned devotees have 'an (a bad) attitude,' and sometimes devotees who don't appear particularly learned have an attitude that endears them to others who consider them advanced. Here's one thing Srila Prabhupada says about 'attitude' in his Preface to "Nectar of Instruction": "Advancement in Krsna consciousness depends on the attitude of the follower. A follower of the Krsna consciousness movement should become a perfect gosvami.

Drama

Medley (definition according to dictionary.com):
1. a mixture, esp. of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge; jumble.
2. a piece of music combining tunes or passages from various sources

Krsna has been so merciful to grant me the association of so many wonderful devotees here in Mayapur dham. But as it is with life, somehow certain individuals just gravitate and get along well with each other. Those devotees who have become especially near and dear to my heart are three of my classmates: Apurva Nilacala dd, Amrta Sakhi dd and Malini Priya dd.

The interesting thing is that we are such different and unique individuals and the combination of the four of us is truly a medley. Not only could you say that we comprise a mixture of sorts, due to coming from different backgrounds and experiences, but just as a musical medley combines different tunes that accent and supplement each other, in many ways so do we! :D

Apurva Nilacala is probably one of the sweetest devotees you'll ever meet. Hailing from England, she is not only a beautiful person but has a beautiful heart. She is so caring, genuine and has so much love for Lord Jagannath. Although she is fondly referred to as the "small one" in our group because of her height, she is a vast reservoir of good qualities and kind-heartedness.

Amrta Sakhi is from Bangalore, India and is the person you need to be around if you need help developing a service attitude. Whether it be day or night, tired or well-rested, Amrta is always serving the devotees. She always thinks of everybody elses' welfare first. Amrta also is a such a shining example of a dedicated disciple who will do anything for her guru, HH Jayapataka Swami. She is smart, sincere and extremely quick and always keeps me on my toes!

Malini Priya is another Brit and a sassy one at that. Of the three, Malini and I are probably the most similar in terms of character. Upon getting to know Malini, I realize how much realization and how much sincerity she actually has in her Krsna consciousness. Innately very astute and very subtle, she has so much insight into human psychology. One of the things I love most about Malini is that she is not afraid to be herself and one can't help but admire her bold and confident nature.

This is the group of devotees I am allowed to be around everyday! Such great mercy. Even though we may have to go our separate ways in the coming weeks, I know that we will always keep in touch and find some way to do some service together.

This is the greatest mercy Mahaprabhu and Srila Prabhupada have given us-the wonderful association of devotees. vaisnavi sanga ki JAI!

In this material world the number one attraction is sex desire. Everywhere fulfillment of sex desire is being promoted as the road to happiness. We are being literally bombarded with the propaganda that satisfaction of sex desire is necessary, most wonderful and most desirable. We find this in popular songs, movies, magazines, bill boards, and conversations....

The Dallas Gurukula, TKG Academy, presented a Drama entitled "The Witness" by Bhaktimarga Swami.  This was part of our Valentine's Day Banquet.  

Please excuse some of the video -- it is challenging to get high quality video  in a dark room with bright stage lighting.

Dallas, TX
2009-02-14

Date: February 17, 2008
Verse: Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.23.57
Speaker: Prabhavisnu Swami

saham bhagavato nunam
vancita mayaya drudham
yat tvam vimuktidam prapya
na mumukseya bandhanat

read more

Guru Maharaj used to often mention in his lectures that Maya devi is an equal opportunity provider, and doesn't spare anyone. I felt that this was so relevant to the recently concluded Valentine's day celebrations held at my daughter's school. While, casually glancing at the cards and candies it did seem cute. On deeper introspection it just was another consumerist propaganda targetting these 5

More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Our terms aren't just a document that protect our rights; it's the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world. Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service.

- Mark Zuckerburg, Update on Terms

Wow.

Facebook are not trying to steal people's information and capitalise on it. That's not their business model, and if they tried to change to that as a business model it would collapse, because people would stop participating - and it's through participation that they make money.

People use Facebook, and Facebook sells advertising targeted at the "passing traffic". The content on Facebook, and the social network functionality, attracts people to it.

Facebook are navigating uncharted territory here. People are scared because they still think in terms of old business models where you copyright and make money by controlling access and reproduction of material. Facebook are in a new world where you make money by making content freely available.

Facebook are trying to write terms of use that allow them to socially network your material, but don't set off false alarms, which is what the recent terms of use update did.

Good on them for revisiting their process, and realizing that what they are doing is more like governing a country than running a corporation.

You're right, this is turning into the most sparse Kurma blog month ever. I am doing a marathon effort looking after my Dad and my 12-year old son Nitai, and that doesn't leave much time for the luxury of blogging. But hey, cup half full, here I am!

Last night I chilled-out in front of a fascinating SBS documentary about the ultra-environmentally-conscious desert-dwelling Bishnoi people of Rajasthan. As the award-winning 'breast-fed stray faun' photo above shows, the Bishnoi are serious about quietly practicing what they preach.

An offshoot of Hinduism, their philosophy is as follows:

Never cut a green tree, but wait for a tree to age and die and then use it as timber.

Bury your dead simply, so that the earth assimilates the flesh - and you save too, the wood needed for a casket or a cremation.

Practice cleanliness and a high level of hygiene, for these will guard you from disease.

Protect wildlife - they too play a role in maintaining soil fertility and in holding the balance of harmful and beneficial life forms.

Conserve water for use by man and animals, by building tanks everywhere.

Practice vegetarianism and be addicted to nothing - alcohol, tobacco or even tea!

Do not expect or seek, alms or subsidy, from king or government; believe in self-help!

Let women, those founts of life, wear bright clothes of red or orange and the men white, as a symbol of undiluted devotion to the faith.

If ever you must choose to be violent, may it be in defense of a tree, an animal or your convictions; for this, even embrace death with cheer.

Millet is their staple grain. I watched them pick, thresh, hull, and grind the hearty grains, then knead, roll and bake substantial millet chapatis over cowdung fires.

While I'm in the mood, here's a millet recipe:

Millet Pilaff with Corn, Peppers and Pine Nuts

Millet is a light, versatile and inviting grain with a mild, nutty taste, distinctive without being unusual. To bring out the flavour in millet, the tiny yellow grains are toasted in butter or oil before cooking in stock or water. Millet is a thirsty grain, so serve this pilaff alongside a juicy vegetable dish or soup. Serves 6.

2½ cups water or vegetable stock ½ cup frozen corn kernels 1 cup tomatoes, diced fine 1 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon yellow asafetida powder 2 teaspoons julienned fresh ginger root 2 small green chilies, seeded and chopped ¾ cup diced red capsicum (pepper) 1¼ cups hulled millet ¼ cup toasted pine nuts

Combine the stock, corn, tomato, salt and pepper in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer, fully covered, over low heat.

Heat the oil or butter in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add the yellow asafetida powder, the ginger, chili, green capsicum and the millet.

Saute the millet for 3 or 4 minutes, or until it darkens a few shades.

Pour the simmering stock into the toasted grains, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed, and the grains are soft. Set aside for 5 minutes to firm up.

Serve hot with a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts.

Please tell me you're Laughing Out Loud. 

In Chowpatty, one night I was chanting softly on my beads. After some time, my friend and roommate from Spain, Gopi Kumari, remarked, "You seem to sing the maha mantra. It's beautiful,"

haiku is a poem which contains three lines of alternating syllables of five-seven-five

Mei Ghar Aagayi
I have come home

exhaustion plagues me
I seek asylum in you
for I have come home

From up here on the balcony, I observed the crowd of people who gathered below in the courtyard. Their black hair shone against white marble and caramel sandstone. Kirtan filled the hot yellow air.

Suddenly, everyone rushed towards the gate, like drops of water sliding down the inside of a basin. My heart drummed in my chest. Cries arose from the crowd, and many fell to the ground to offer obeisance. But I couldn't see anything yet, so I gripped the banister and riveted my eyes to the gate.

And then, an unassuming man wrapped in orange cloth entered through the gate. I could see his smile from up here.

In the most magnificent moment of all, this man - who everyone had come to greet - fell to the ground to offer his respects. And like a drop of water falling into a basin of water, everyone offered their obeisance in return in concentric waves. Even the kirtan halted for several breathtaking moments.

I didn't fall to the floor of the balcony. My astonished eyes would simply not leave the small figure of orange bowing down on the floor, in the center of the whorl of people.

Radhanath Swami had arrived to Radha Gopinath Temple.

A Poem for Srila Prabhupad
on the occasion of his appearance, Sri Vyasa Puja
August 25th, 2008

When I first drew breath
Srila Prabhupad was the air in my chest

he is the shadow
when I enter the templeroom

he is the silver voice
just beyond the margins of a bhajan

he is the rhythm of my footsteps
when I dance in a kirtan

he is the echo of my heartbeat
in the stillness when I chant

he is the smile
when I serve the devotees

Srila Prabhupad
gives me faith -

I would draw away from the Deities
question the scripture
and refuse to chant
without his example

Srila Prabhupad
is the significance in my life
the reason I breathe
and I believe
that you, my dear Vaishnava,
feel the same.

The streets seemed almost eerie in their muted commotion. 

I had emerged from my apartment mid-afternoon, bracing myself for the insanity of Vrindavan streets.

But something was different today.

I furrowed my brow, slightly smiling. I walked on to the mukutwalla’s - the deity clothing and jewelry expert - to confirm my order and choose jewelry for my parent’s deities, Sri Radha Raman. I braced myself for this too – the shop was usually busy, the owner of Nanda Kishor usually too preoccupied with other customers to pay me much heed.

But today was different. 

I opened the glass door to the shop. The owner sat placidly in his usual spot by the door, the soft afternoon light slanting in and illuminating him and his shop as he read from a clipboard. I was the only customer.

In India, there are no superfluous greetings or niceties. The owner simply glanced up, then gestured me to sit. With few words, he had arrayed before me boxes and bags of jewelry. 

In the quiet, as I selected jewelry, he began to ask me where I was from, about my family. I felt surprised and charmed by his newfound curiosity. In turn, I asked him, “How long have you been doing this business?”

“All of my life. And my father before, and father before.”

I whistled. I continued sifting through colors and styles of necklaces. 

“You see, up there? My ishta-deva, [my personal connection with the deity form of Krishna,] is Sri Radha Raman,” he gestured to a jeweled frame placed high up on a shelf; the picture of the Krishna deity was black and white. Common history told that the deity had resided in Vrindavan for over 450 years. “It’s a very old picture,” he added.

I became curious. “How long have you lived in Vrindavan?”

“Whole life. Three generations… my great-grandfather moved here many, many years ago.”

I whistled a second time. “Wow. Vrindavan must have been so… so… hidden then. Mystical.”

“Oh yes.”

“I confess, I find Vrindavan very hectic. It’s hard for me to taste the sweetness here.”

The mukutwalla was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Ah, there is a hidden mysticism to Vrindavan. It is not on the surface. The hidden mysticism of Vrindavan…” he trailed off.

I glanced up from the jewelry array and my hands stilled.  It was just a moment, and unceremonious, but it will remain with me all of my life as the moment I began to see the real Vrindavan. 

I will never forget the expression on the mukutwalla’s face. His eyes were gazing out the window, as if focused on something far off. He seemed to be envisioning Vrindavan in the time of his great-grandfather, a land of ancient forests, hidden mysticism, and the beautiful Radha Raman deity. 

Humility washed over me in a great wave. I knew nothing. Nothing. I was simply a young girl from the West who had come to Vrindavan for barely a month. I had taken this land – and everyone in it – at face value. 

I glanced up to the antique picture of the mukutwalla’s ishta-deva. “You know, I just realized… my parent’s deities names are also Radha Raman,” I said softly.

The mukutwalla turned to me and smiled.

Touch of the Brajabasi: Prologue

***

In the golden morning, I sat in a wooden chair amidst the rooftop maze of the brahmacari asram in Chowpatty, facing Radhanath Swami’s room. I basked in the quiet. I reveled in the feeling of waiting to see my spiritual master.

Maharaj emerged in his saffron robes from around a maze corner and smiled to see me. “Ah yes, please come in,” he said.

“Maharaj, I just came to give you this letter. That’s all.” I said.

He gestured to the floor, “Please, sit, Bhakti,” he said, and he settled to the bamboo mats.

“O-okay,” I said, and sat across from him. The walls were covered in beautiful terra cotta swathes of cow dung. Pictures of the seven deities of Vrindavan hung on the wall.

“Maharaj, I am leaving for Vrindavan tomorrow. It will be my first time in the holy dham,”

“Really?” he said.

“Yes. Please, I ask for your blessings to appreciate the holy dham. What are your thoughts?”

He contemplated for long moments. He then spoke with soft deliberation, “Seek out those who are living pure lives. You can socialize anywhere in the world, but Vrindavan is special, it is the holy dham. Seek out the association of the Vaishnavas who inspire you and will guide you.”

“I shall,” I said softly.

As I lived in Vrindavan for the next month and a half, his words echoed within me. For the first full month, I struggled daily to appreciate the holy dham – the streets, the temples, and most of all the people. I just didn’t connect with anything. My mind mostly raged with grievances of the pollution and the poverty, and doubts if this land was holy at all. I saw temples as businesses, every street as a ghetto, every beggar an exploiter of charity. 

I had come during the holiest – and thus the busiest – month of the year, Kartik. When it ended, and Vrindavan slowed to its usual pace of a busy village, I began to see things I had never seen before.

I saw how hard my heart truly was.

Brajabasi means a ‘resident of Vrindavan (Braja)’. Somehow, the Brajabasis who lived pure lives reached out to touch me, they inspired me, and they guided me. They touched my heart in some deep way, softened it, changed it somehow. I’m still trying to understand.

The following three stories are my brushes of fate with the residents of Braja.  

The last day of my World Tour, I hosted a going-away party at Chowpatty Govinda's - a good excuse to amass cool people in one place. A quite eclectic group, I must say: an African gurukuli, Mumbai natives, first-time-in-India American college students, seasoned bhaktas, European adventurers, and other odd specimens (such as myself, a bald American gurukuli). We kind of took over the restaurant.

At the party, I handed out a questionairre entitled "An Ode to India". So I present to you, my dear readers, a collection of responses from all those cool people (with their permission, of course!). 

My gratitude goes out to them for their sincerity and enthusiasm to share their experience of India with me... and thus all of you. 

 "An Ode to India" Questionairre

1. What is your favorite place within India? Why? 

* Radha Gopinath Temple, especially Vrindavan Forest. It is Vrindavan inside of Mumbai.

* Mayapur, especially the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

* Varsana – I feel the sweetness of Radharani there. It’s beautiful, gentle. The natives there show me what Krishna Consciousness is about: sincerity and depth.

* Vrindavan – I love how it seems as though Sri Radhe is written everywhere.

* Banks of the Ganges.

* The gurukula [school] in Mayapur – the Maharaj there is helping to save the world. It’s a window to another, more Vedic, planet.

* Vrindavan – I feel Krishna there everywhere.

* The foothills of the Himalayas – I actually wept at the sight of the sunrise.

 

What annoys you the most about India?


2. * Pollution

   * THE BATHROOMS. OR LACK THEREOF.

   * Blaring horns as they speed past you.

   * Haggling.

   * Lack of personal space and respect for privacy.

   * Trying to wait patiently in line is impossible! If you don’t push your way onto the bus or train, it will leave without you – if you don’t push your way through the line, you will never make it to the front.

   * The monkeys. I was trying to chant in Vrindavan and one monkey stole my juice.

   * I love everything about India, otherwise it wouldn’t be India.

   

   
   
   
   

    What do you love the most about India?

* I love that people sit on the ground, eat with their hands, walk in bare feet… There is something very free about it (at least from my Western perspective, where I see people very attached to their shoes, utensils, etc.)

* Everything in India flows so well, it just works. The best example is the street traffic - it’s so crazy and there seems to be no order, but people work with each other. It’s beautiful.

* You can buy dhotis in any store.

* Temples and sadhus [saintly people].

* I love that I can meet so many people who are devoted in their spiritual practice.

* The culture of service.

* How everyone knows who Krishna is.

3. Convince someone to come (or return!) to India in one sentence.
   

* Be open and your heart will change.

* If you want to fall deeply in love with Krishna – forever – come to India.

* If you want to step out of your comfort zone and expand your realizations about this world we live in, come to India. You will be surprised at how much you are able to let go and live!

* Lots of association with Radhanath Swami.

* Himalayan sunset.

* Relationships, culture, love.

I have never acknowledged so fully my gurukuli blood than being here in India. Discussion over class, kirtan over japa any day. And I'll just leave if I'm not inspired.

So it's a huge sign for me that Radhanath Swami is my guru - my spiritual guide - when I can actually sit in his class and lose track of time.

The first day of Vrindavan Yatra, he gave a 4.5 hour-long class. Pretty standard for India. But for me, I have never sat through any class in my life for more than 2 hours, so for that first class I started getting dizzy at around 3 hours... and Radhanath Swami is my guru. But I didn't leave because I was in the center of a crowd of around 4,000.

So the following evening, I had a fully planned escape route - I sat near the exit so as not to cause a stir when I left out of non-absorption.

But I amaze myself. Or rather, Radhanath Swami amazes me. He spoke for nearly FOUR HOURS... and I was entranced the entire time. If he can get me to not only sit through a class but be attentive and inspired for four hours... that's a minor miracle. I thought for sure I would leave early out of restlessness or brain-saturation - that's just how I am.

But somehow he entranced me and thousands of others, and yet I also felt as though the two of us were the only ones present, and we were having an intimate conversation. Then every once and awhile, thousands of arms would reach for the sky. Tumultuous voices that rolled through the air like thunder would cry out the holy name... and I would know then that I was not alone.

In my humble opinion, Radhanath Swami is the certified master of hari katha.

So.

I'm falling in love with India.

A friend of my parent's who has known me since birth once said, "Oh Bhakti, knowing you, you won't experience culture shock when you go to India. Actually, it will feel like going home. The real culture shock - at least for me - was when I returned to America. That was the real shock."

I'm beginning to understand his words... and I haven't even returned to America.

In my various forays into Mumbai, I have witnessed birth, death, disease, and old age whirl before my very eyes. Trash, slums, starving women, hollow-eyed beggars, distorted limbs and faces... It's there. It's real. To me, this isn't culture shock. It's just reality. Folks, welcome to the material world.

And when I return to the temple of Radha Gopinath the end of the day, a sense of relief and peace washes over me... it's like I have entered the spiritual world, that I've returned home. More than just enough food or a place to sleep, I feel the deep concern for the welfare of my soul - not just my body - by the devotees here.

I feel such a deep, deep appreciation to whatever karma or sukriti gave me such wonderful parents, who are devotees of Krishna. Where would I be without the mercy of my parents? Krishna consciousness is the key for the solace of my soul, and I truly feel it here in India, surrounded by the rawness of the world.

In 2003, Radhanath Swami invited me to Chowpatty, India.

So. Five years later, I have finally come. I don't know what the next five hours will bring, what to speak of tomorrow, or a week from now. So I simply live in the moment, step by step.

I breathe in the rich, musty air. The roar as waterfalls of rain drench the world - people dashing from cover in their saris or dhotis. Orange cloth (lots of it) billows from bamboo rafters high above, drying in the sun. Rain patters through the fresh green leaves, and there, the pujari is a silhouette from the candlelight inside the little Laxmi Narayan temple.

Chowpatty works a slow magic. I knew it would take time, I knew I needed to be patient - this is a community based on relationships, and relationships take time. And so day by day, the petals of this community blossom for me... so very slowly.

A staggering number of people attend a morning program infused with devotion. This is not simply the dazzled observation of a newcomer. The kirtans are melodic and sincere; everyone dances together, and everyone raises their arms when they sing Hare Krishna. I sense a deep, deep connection with Krishna Consciousness here. And somehow, SOMEHOW, their enthusiasm remains fresh, even after so many years.

Ah... I sense the hands of Radhanath Swami here.

And have I mentioned that every single kirtan is beautiful? The singer, the mridanga, and the kartalas are all eloquent and expert with so much heart. And when everyone sings in response, voices flood the templeroom. Okay, I know, I've mentioned this, but kirtan is a big deal for me, and I am deeply impressed.

I don't know how I will ever attend a morning program again without remembering the soulful kirtans and japa of the people here in Chowpatty.

To those who have given their prayers and assistance for me to come to India, I offer my deep gratitude to you. The blessings of the Vaishnavas allow me to taste the magic here.

Note: The DVD on this community, The Simple Temple, is available from Krishna.com. I guarantee you, it does not exaggerate. This place really is that amazing.

A Poem for Krishna
on the occasion of His Divine Appearance, Sri Krishna Janmastami
August 24th, 2008

Your eyes
anoint my eyes
with tears of recognition

Your eyes
illuminate my horizon
a dawn in a darkened world

Your eyes
suffuse my soul
in stillness

Please
don't close Your eyes
allow me to gaze into them
for an eon

I am a beggar
I possess nothing in this world
but this desire
to rush to the temple
to see
Your eyes

These snippets are from my journal, and as I am a little at a loss for words, I think you will enjoy peering through these little windows to be transported... if just for a couple moments.

*

So here I am in the temple, writing in soft golden light. Someone just turned the overhead lights off in anticipation of Sayana Arati. High-speed fans and hums of voices fill the air. When I glance back, I see a little sea of faces, all turned to the altar, waiting.

*

I went down to Chowpatty beach today, and although it was quite filthy, I just stood on the shore and listened to the sea. Such a great, wild sound, so unlike human noises. The great sea air tangled through my hair and pressed on my sari. And I wonder what it must have been like in ancient times to stand on that beach.

*

So Harinam and I turned a corner... and there was Ban Ganga - a vast ghat that is fed by a crystal clear spring. We walked down the steps and crouched before the water. I felt so at peace there, watching the wind create ripples on the water. The world seemed to quiet a little. Various temples by various sampradayas (lineages) encircled the ghat, their architecture carving the sky like they had been for hundreds of years.

*

I am writing this in my room in Chowpatty; the fan is whirling above me, and rain pours in heavy whispers outside. Metallic drips sound through the window as water falls from the roof. A picture of Radha Gopinath is hung on the wall above me, and They seem to give Their blessings. And an old maroon copy of Srila Prabhupada's Lilamrita sits on the bottom shelf of my bookshelf, quietly telling me Srila Prabhupada's story, and that he is the reason I am even here.

To begin my Touch of the Brajabasi series, I would like to invite you to Vrindavan, and what it means to go to the most holiest of towns in a humble mood. We can truly see Vrindavan through the mercy of the Vaishnavas, or, the devotees of the Lord. 

***

 There’s a gated corner of the Chowpatty temple grounds called Vrindavan Forest. It used to be a trash dump, but by the vision of Radhanath Maharaj, five years later it is now transformed into a lush, cultivated garden, landscaped with little temples and lakes. It is a haven in the city of Mumbai.

 One morning, Sita Lila, Kumari, and I sat nervously outside of Vrindavan Forest, waiting for Radhanath Maharaj to finish speaking with someone. I had promised Kumari that I would introduce her to Maharaj, but I was getting the jitters. We were so ambushing him. Why am I always ambushing Maharaj? I berated myself.

 Then he emerged, in his glowing orange robes. The three of us stood, and a smile warmed his entire face.

 “Please, come in,” he ushered us in to Vrindavan Forest.

 We all looked at each other, speechless, then followed Maharaj’s suit into the Forest. In the pavilion, we settled down into plush bamboo sofas. “Here’s for the full effect,” he said, and he turned on the waterfall as well as the recording of Vrindavan birds singing in the morning. He smiled and settled down across from us.  

 The three of us conversed with Maharaj for a long time, inquiring and discussing about India and guru and service. Then, Kumari admired a little lake off to our side, a sculpture of Krishna dancing on the hoods of Kaliya emerging from the water.

 “Ah yes, this is Kaliya Ghat,” Maharaj explained. “And next to it, that is Vrinda Kunda… And you see all of these temples? They are replicas of the actual temples in Vrindavan, and the devotees here in Chowpatty made them. And…” his enthusiasm seemed to overflow. He grinned. “Do you have time? Come, I’ll give you a tour,” he said.

 The three of us traded delighted glances, and then we all stood to follow Maharaj to the front gate, the beginning of the Forest path.

 “This is a tamal tree,” he began, placing his hand on the trunk of a blackish tree. And so for the next fifteen minutes, Radhanath Maharaj pointed out every sacred tree and its significance, or that little piece of stone that was an original fragment of a temple in Vrindavan, or who the personalities were in their little temples. He seemed to glow with the pride of a father introducing his children – he had planted nearly every tree and plant in this garden. 

 I had been living in Chowpatty for nearly a month and a half, my room a ten-second walk from Vrindavan Forest. I had taken dozens of walks around the garden. But I had never seen the tamal tree. I had never noticed the piece of ancient stone. I had never known that Maharaj had planted these trees himself.

 At the end of the Tour, a revelation had crept into me and I was in awe. As we circled back around to the pavilion to retrieve our things, I said to Maharaj, “It's amazing, Maharaj, that this used to be a trash dump. This makes me realize that no matter where we are in the world, we can always find Vrindavan there." I paused. "Thank you. You have opened my eyes. I realize that without guru, without teacher, I simply cannot see what is there. Thank you, Maharaj.”

 He turned to look at me. “You’re welcome.”

***

Please tune in for the next several posts for the Touch of the Brajabasi series. 

Lifted from my journal:

The kirtan is building. People are amassing. The hands on the clock tick towards six o'clock.

The king is coming. Soon.

*

He's late. The crowd is growing more and more massive. Crazy. Amal is rocking the kirtan right now.... building, building... I'll see the famous Aindra for the first time any moment now... any moment now...

Aho! There he is! In tattered white, he entered the center of the kirtan from behind in a very quiet, very undramatic way. Such an unassuming man. This is Amal's hero.

*

Wow. Live at last. For years, always recordings. Now I am immersed in the spiraling voice, the mridangas, the crowd, the tumultuous clapping hands, the soft yellow light from the chandeliers, a faint breeze on my back from the fans. The rhythm of the drums reverberates in my chest.

Krishna Balaram smile upon the King of Kirtan.

About six years ago I read a book on the Kumbha Mela festival. The author described how both men and women shave their heads to be detached. "Hair is one of man's greatest vanities," the author quoted the ancients. The phrase struck me deep.

As soon as I read that, I wanted to shave my head at Kumbha Mela. But at that time, my hair was about two inches in length, as it had been for many years. What's the austerity and detachment in shaving off hair that's already so short? So I decided: I'll grow my hair out very long, and then I'll shave it off.

Over the years, my destination shifted to Tirupati, which is a place of pilgrimage of Lord Vishnu... and a traditional place where thousands shave their head every day. I prepared myself with deep prayers to Lord Balaji, the deity who resides there.

Nevertheless, as the months ticked down, I began to panic... just a little. Would I reeeeally shave off my long, beautiful, feminine hair?

But at last, long last, I ventured into the hills of Tirumala in Tirupati... and took the plunge.





Actually, I feel quite liberated.

On Balaram's Appearance Day in Nueva Vrajamandala, Spain, I entered the quiet templeroom to sing bhajans. So would the stirrings of serendipity begin.

Deva joined me on the mridanga soon after, and people began to filter in after taking prasadam from the feast. The bhajans were amazing. Afterwards, a man approached me and said, "Have you ever recorded? You need to record. With Deva."

I had only one day before I returned to Barcelona. And so the next day, we drove to Madrid. Straight up, I have experienced that level of intensity - to record in a studio - maybe 5 times in my life. My bones were exhausted by the time I returned to Nueva Vrajamandala. I think what got me through was Deva's encouragement.

Travel is like this, though. You just ride the waves of serendipity, making a plan but never quite knowing how it's going to turn out. Never in a million years would I have imagined I would record for the first time in a foreign country, working in a foreign language, with complete strangers.

On another note, I'd like to reflect on something with you. I haven't been writing in here very often, but it's not for lack of computer access. I simply find myself at a loss of what to share with the public. I have ridden the waves of many deep experiences and come to many deep realizations, but to share them seems premature. So pardon the infrequency and curtness. This blog and all of its readers mean very much to me.

Thank you for your patience. I still invite you to continue to accompany me on my travels on these waves of serendipity. We've just gotten started.

"My name is Bhakti lata. Several months ago I took a Japa Retreat and a Japa Workshop, and I was deeply affected by them. I have had a deep crisis of faith in chanting the holy name since. I am not particularly qualified or even inspired in my own japa, but I wanted to share my experience with all of you and to somehow keep growing.

"Srila Prabhupada once said that 90% of our progress in Krishna Consciousness can be determined by our relationship with the holy name. Ninety percent.

"So this workshop is about looking closer."

During the KuliMela Festival, I co-hosted two Japa Workshops, with first Govinda (Alachua), and then Manu Dasa. All I can say is: to teach is to learn. I connected deeply with the holy name through conducting others in their experience.

On Friday morning, after conducting the first Workshop, I walked over to the bhajan kutir. I felt incandescent, glowing with knowledge and experience of the holy name. In this mood, I settled into a bhajan that Jahnavi (England) was leading. I found myself singing the holy name for the call as well as the response. I just didn't want to stop singing. For the first time in many, many months, I connected with the holy name.

The following morning, I conducted the Workshop with Manu. Although I facilitated the activities, his insight and experience guided the workshop. We ran out of time and the next workshop needed our space, but the flow of realizations had just begun! And so we moved out onto the lawn beneath the trees and continued to share for another 45 minutes.

I do not claim that I am particularly qualified to give a workshop on japa, or even inspired to chant japa. I have no taste for the holy name on my own, but the grace of the Vaishnavas keep me in the fire of realization and inspiration.

¡Viva la Revolución!