Planet ISKCON

Japa Group: 4 Ways to Avoid Inattention

Rasa Rasika (noreply@blogger.com) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:05:15 +0000

Over the years I have discovered some effective ways to overcome inattention:

1. Don't do anything else whilst chanting Japa

2. Listen very carefully to the sound coming out your mouth...choose a quiet place to chant so that you are able to hear your own chanting properly

3. Pronounce each word very clearly...even if it means slowing down your chanting

4. Read the Mantra whilst you chant (in Temples this was a common addition to the Temple room...the Maha Mantra on the wall)...I personally found this along with hearing to be a very effective way to keep the mind from wandering.

Japa Group: Japa - The Selfless Service

Nityananda Chandra Das (noreply@blogger.com) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:05:15 +0000

Although I have no qualification of speaking about Japa, I do however have the qualification of speaking about my disqualifications. I had a small realization last night. It was about 12.10 am and the baby was still awake, so I thought to myself what should I do occupy my time as Visakha Anjali was being nursed to sleep.
Immediately I thought of reading...there is that wonderful book Saratha Varshani Tika from which Srila Prabhupada quotes from regularly in the Bhagavad Gita As It Is. Then I thought to myself why not Japa...when Japa is not done with love and attention there is often no observable spiritual or material result. However this may not be the case with other devotional practices.
With bhajan, even without love and attention, one gains musical aptitude by which one can use to impress others. With reading sastra without love and attention one can gain knowledge by which one can feel themselves superior to others and impose themselves as authority, but with Japa materially there is not much gained. However this same Japa, done with love and attention, will enable us to perform all other devotion practices in pure a manner, also with love and attention.

Japa Group: Devotional Mood When Chanting

Aruna (noreply@blogger.com) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:05:15 +0000

Recently I was asking Mahatma prabhu a question about chanting with the heart and not like a tape - repeating the words mechanically...he gave me a newsletter link to read and while reading I got into a very important point again inattentive Japa - what he calls "Courtesy Japa".
It's a really bad habit and if we keep on going it gets harder and harder to fix. Attentive Japa requires faith, determination and love for our spiritual master. There is also something very important that my Gurudev used to say - pure devotional service requires strong desire to attain...eagerness. This is the only way. Getting advanced in Krsna consciousnesss depends on good chanting...its the basis of everything we want to get and then everything is pure devotional service.

"It’s all about fighting apathy in our japa. As Lord Caitanya said, playing the part of a conditioned soul, “I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for chanting Your Holy Names.” So we have two choices during japa. One is to go with the flow and just let the mind wander. The other is to go against the flow and make a valiant effort to focus on the holy name and chant in a prayerful, devotional mood. That’s not so easy. It takes effort. It goes against everything “courtesy japa” stands for. And this is not much fun for lazy japa chanters like me. After all, concentrating is hard work."

Putting an End to Courtesy Japa by Mahatma Das

Haribol

Aruna dd

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Sunday 6 July 2008--Krishna is God

course@ultimateselfrealization.com — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Krishna is the center of all existence because everything emanates from Him. Since we come from Him, we are of the same quality as Him. He is eternal; we are eternal. He is full of bliss; we are full of bliss. He is full of knowledge, and are we are full of knowledge. But at the present moment due to bodily consciousness we are misidentifying ourselves...

Sita-pati dasa, AU: Malice and Misinterpretation

sitapati — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:51:24 +0000

Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by misinterpretation.

Japa Group: The Nectar of the Holy Names

Aruna (noreply@blogger.com) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 22:21:41 +0000

I want to share something very auspicious that happened today while I was chanting on my beads.
My brother and I usually wake up at 5am to chant...today when I woke up he was already chanting and I felt more inspired to do it. When I was praying, I asked Krsna to give me association of the devotees and use me and my family as instruments for preaching. My brother never disturbs me while we are chanting but today I noticed he stopped his chanting and came to talk to me.
He said that he was chanting in the garden and a worker was passing on the street and asked him - "Are you praying? Is this a mantra? Everyday I go to work and I listen to this sound and I feel some peace...can you explain more about this mantra?"
That was all my brother wanted...to find an opportunity to preach and the Holy names gave him this chance. He got into the living room, picked a book from Srila Prabhupada and gave it to this man and told him - "The mantra is here on this page." The man took the book and went to work. I was amazed how the Holy names purify people just by listening.
In this case the Holy names made the preaching and maybe a new devotee. This is how Krsna works and this is the purpose of this Sankirtan movement...preaching KC through chanting, hearing and distributing prasadam.

Haribol.

Aruna dd

Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: tragedy...

ananda (noreply@blogger.com) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:16:37 +0000

I was listening to H H Radhanath swami maharaj lecture and he talked about tragedy of life. I was thinking what is the tragedy of life?

A destitute child begging her way through life...tragedy!

A one legged man feeling his way through...tragedy!

The inequalities of the material world. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. A man pulling more than he can pull to make ends meet...tragedy!

A burning Buddhist monk demonstrate against the repressive government, he died without moving a muscle...tragedy!

The photo was taken during the wars in Former Yugoslavia. It shows a column of Krajina Serbs being expelled by Croat forces in 1995 during Operation Storm. Over 450,000 Serbs were expelled in total...tragedy!

The famous 9-11 terrorist strike. The fall of the twin- towers. More than 3000 people died...tragedy!

A fall to death. A man is plunging to his death from the 9-11 attack...tragedy!

An image of a father trying to protect his son in an Israel gunfire, the son died into his father's lap from the crossfire. The image was taken just before the son's demise...tragedy!

The photo won a Pulitzer prize taken during the Sudan famine. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat him...tragedy!

These are powerful pictures depicting the condition of the material world. Only a fool will enjoy in this place!

While these are tragic conditions prevailing around us...what is the most tragic of them all?

wasting our human form of life in mundane sense enjoyment in the name of education, career, family, art, architecture, literature, movies, philanthropy, religion etc etc etc

It takes millions and millions of births to attain a human body, and then wasting it over mundane sense enjoyment is the highest tragedy of them all. So more than all the heart breaking photos above, the most tragic situation is when we frivol away our human life for mundane enjoyment. The Upanishads calls those types of people as "atma-ha" or soul-killers.

ṛṣabha uvāca
nāyaḿ deho deha-bhājāḿ nṛloke
kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāḿ ye
tapo divyaḿ putrakā yena sattvaḿ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaḿ tv anantam
SB 5.5.1

Lord Ṛṣabhadeva told His sons: My dear boys, of all the living entities who have accepted material bodies in this world, one who has been awarded this human form should not work hard day and night simply for sense gratification, which is available even for dogs and hogs that eat stool. One should engage in penance and austerity to attain the divine position of devotional service. By such activity, one's heart is purified, and when one attains this position, he attains eternal, blissful life, which is transcendental to material happiness and which continues forever.

Here in Lord Rishabadev a great saint and incarnate of Krishna clearly defines the role one should take when one reaches the human form of life. Lord Rishabadev prescribes devotion for Krishna as the ultimate purpose of human life. However it is not easy. Krishna says in the Gita

manuṣyāṇāḿ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāḿ
kaścin māḿ vetti tattvataḥ
BG 7.3

Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.

bahūnāḿ janmanām ante
jñānavān māḿ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti
sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
BG 7.19

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

We can infer from the verses above that human life is attained after millions of births and takes millions and millions more just to surrender to Krishna. So if we waste this one golden chance of human life in mundane affairs, then what can be a bigger tragedy than this?

so much suffering, so much pain, so many tragedies...all can be averted by simply chanting

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

This is the benediction in this golden age!

Please chant!

Hare Krishna

ISKCON News.com: Ratha Yatra Part of July 4th Festivities

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:25:30 +0000

By Vyenkata Bhatta Dasa on 5 Jul 2008

Washington, D.C. – Dubbed “America’s official birthday party,” the National Independence Day Parade, held on the Fourth of July, attracts more than three hundred thousand spectators each year. This year, the Washington D.C. Chapter of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was again invited to join the procession, adding an authentic Indian chariot, deities of Lord Krishna, and devotees dressed in traditional dhotis and saris.

Devadeva Mirel, Pennsylvania, USA: What a Pickle

noreply@blogger.com (Devadeva Mirel) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:23:00 +0000

This past week Gita Nagari Farm was visited by the North American Krishna Culture Tour. The kids on the tour were busy cleaning up the temple, ashrama and property to prepare for an upcoming festival which will be taking place here in a few short weeks. In addition to making Gita Nagari a more beautiful place, they also graced our community with their wonderful devotional talent. Kirtan performances, a drama directed by Bhakti Marg Swami and spontaneous song and instrumentation enlivened the atmosphere with youthful spiritual energy.

Apurva Prabhu, who used to cook for Govinda's restaraunt in Denver, was along for the ride and was the official chef in residence on and off the bus. I know Apurva from our Hillsborough, North Carolina days where I learned a lot cooking-wise from both he and his daughter (who likes to put a little jam surprise in the center of her cupcakes). When Apurva asked me to cook something with him, I couldn't refuse. Really, I couldn't. I tried, saying that with my husband away, it was not practical. But he countered my excuse by saying I could make something at home. Since I was feeling so encouraged as a mother by seeing these kids who were not only having fun, but seriously exploring their own spiritual identities, I had to say yes. Barbecued gluten for eighty was put on the menu for the next evening's dinner.

After mixing 25 cups of gluten flour and boiling, boiling, boiling until the gluten was cooked, I realized I was going to need some help. Thankfully, there was a whole crew waiting in the kitchen. I made the sauce, wrote out a list of instructions, and brought the boiled gluten, sauce and skewers over to the temple kitchen where 3 girls were waiting to help. While I went off with my kids, these girls did the hard work, taking some raw ingredients and assembling it into something edible (and fun...food on a stick....woo-hoo!).

Prtha (Alachua, FL) and Subhadra (Sandy Ridge, NC) cooking up the gluten.

In addition to the gluten, I made a peck of fresh pickles. Brummer's had pickling cukes on sale for $6 a peck and I couldn't resist. I scrubbed the cukes, cut them in half and marinated them in a seasoned brine. They marinated for a few hours, but still, I think it would have been better if it was overnite. Everyone seemed happy with the fresh pickles and I think they added a certain summer cook-out je nes se quas to the meal, which consisted of barbecued gluten kabobs, mashed potatos, pickles and salad. Oh, and a special Bengali sweet rice which closely resembled Italian rice pudding because of its oppulent thickness.

Here is the recipe for the pickle juice. I used slightly less than a peck of pickles.

1 gallon water

1/3 cup citric acid

2/3 cup evaporated cane juice

2/3 cup sea salt

2 teaspoons hing

1/4 cup red chili flakes

1 teaspoon black pepper

shredded ginger

Stir it up, add cukes and soak. This is a really nice alternative recipe to fermented pickles made with vinegar. Freshly squeezed lemon juice would make a lovely, flavorful replacement to citric acid and can be substituted at the ratio of one quarter cup of lemon juice per 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid.

Old fashioned pickles were first treated with lime, to increase crispness, and then washed from the cucumbers. Today, commercial pickles contain either alum or calcium chloride, a food additive which the USDA has deemed very low in toxicity, but still, I just don't want to go there. The calcium chloride is used to make the pickles crisp (there was also a product called "Pickle Crisp" on the market, containing calcium chloride, but has recently been discontinued). But by going with a marinated cucumber, you get a pickle which is really not a pickle because it is not pickled, but tastes pickley nonetheless. And it is fresh and chemical free. What to speak of vinegear-, garlic- and onion-free as well! Essentially, it is a pickle fit for a Vaidya.

ISKCON News.com: ISKCON Mayapur Steals the Show at Kolkata Tourism Fair

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:11:28 +0000

By ISKCON News Staff on 5 Jul 2008

ISKCON Mayapur took part in Kolkata’s annual Travel and Tourism Fair for the first time this year, setting up a large pavilion at the Swabhumi-based event from June 20th to 22nd.

The fair had been advertised widely in Kolkata’s print and visual media, and crowds flocked to see the video show and panoramic photographs of Mayapur’s scenic delights, eager to learn more about the sacred travel destination.

H.H. Giriraj Swami: Ratha Yatra 2008

Damodar das — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 18:29:20 +0000

A Talk by Giriraj Swami
March 15, 2008
Dallas

Today we will travel with Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra in procession, and we will chant the holy names of the Lord and dance for His pleasure. So we shall read from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter Thirteen: “The ecstatic Dancing of the Lord at Ratha-yatra.”

TEXT 1

sa jiyat krsna-caitanyah
sri-rathagre nanarta yah
yenasij jagatam citram
jagannatho ‘pi vismitah

TRANSLATION

May the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna Caitanya, who danced in front of the car of Sri Jagannatha, be all glorified! By seeing His dancing, not only was the whole universe held in wonder, but Lord Jagannatha Himself
became very much astonished.

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-krsna-caitanya nityananda
jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

TRANSLATION

All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya and Prabhu Nityananda! All glories to Advaitacandra! And all glories to the devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!

TEXT 3

jaya srota-gana, suna, kari’ eka mana
ratha-yatraya nrtya prabhura parama mohana

TRANSLATION

All glories to the listeners of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta! Please hear the description of the dancing of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu at the Ratha-yatra festival. His dancing is very enchanting. Please hear of it with great attention.

TEXT 23

panca-dasa dina isvara maha-laksmi lana
tanra sange krida kaila nibhrte vasiya

TRANSLATION

For fifteen days the Lord [Jagannatha] had remained in a secluded place with the supreme goddess of fortune and had performed His pastimes with her.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The fifteen-day period of anavasara is also called nibhrta, in honor of the solitary place where the supreme goddess of fortune lives. After living there a fortnight, Lord Jagannatha took permission from the goddess of fortune to leave.

TEXT 24

tanhara sammati lana bhakte sukha dite
rathe cadi’ bahira haila vihara karate

TRANSLATION

Having taken permission from the goddess of fortune, the Lord came out to ride on the Ratha car and perform His pastimes for the pleasure of the devotees.

PURPORT

In this connection, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that as an ideal husband, Lord Jagannatha remained fifteen days in a secluded place with His wife, the supreme goddess of fortune. Nonetheless, the Lord wanted to come out of seclusion to give happiness to His devotees. The Lord enjoys Himself in two ways, known as svakiya and parakiya. The Lord’s conjugal love in the svakiya-rasa relates to the regulative principles observed in Dvaraka, where the Lord has many married queens. But in Vrndavana the conjugal love of the Lord is not with His married wives but with His girlfriends, the gopis. Conjugal love with the gopis is called parakiya-rasa. Lord Jagannatha leaves the secluded place where He enjoys the company of the supreme goddess of fortune in svakiya-rasa, and He goes to Vrndavana, where He enjoys the parakiya-rasa. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura therefore reminds us that the Lord’s pleasure in parakiya-rasa is superior to His pleasure in svakiya-rasa.

In the material world, parakiya-rasa, or loving affairs with unmarried girlfriends, is the most degraded relationship, but in the spiritual world this type of loving affair is considered the supreme enjoyment. In the material world everything is but a reflection of the spiritual world, and that reflection is perverted. We cannot understand the affairs of the spiritual world on the basis of our experience in the material world. The Lord’s pastimes with the gopis are therefore misunderstood by mundane scholars and word-wranglers. The parakiya-rasa of the spiritual world should not be discussed except by one who is very advanced in pure devotional service. The parakiya-rasa in the spiritual world and that in the material world are not comparable. The former is like gold, and the latter is like iron. Because the difference of the two is so great, they cannot actually becompared. However, just as a knowledgeable person can easily distinguish gold from iron, one who has the proper realization can easily distinguish the transcendental activities of the spiritual world from material activities.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

Fifteen days before the Ratha-yatra festival in Puri, Lord Jagannatha is brought from inside His temple onto a rooftop of the complex and is bathed, in public view, in the ceremony called Snana-yatra. After the bathing ceremony the Lord retires to a secluded place in an area inside the temple reserved for the supreme goddess of fortune. For fifteen days she serves Him with great love and devotion, and after that period, called anavasara, the Lord wants to come out of seclusion to give pleasure to His devotees, and with the permission of the goddess of fortune He goes out in the procession called Ratha-yatra.

The temple of Lord Jagannatha in Nilacala is compared to Dvaraka, where Lord Krsna lives with His married queens, and the temple at Sundaracala, called the Gundica temple, after King Indradyumna’s wife, is taken to represent Vrndavana. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His internal mood is Srimati Radharani when She feels separation from Krsna after He leaves Vrndavana for Mathura and Dvaraka. And Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mood during the Ratha-yatra is that of Srimati Radharani wanting to take Krsna back to Vrndavana. In krsna-lila, after Krsna had gone to Dvaraka and resided there for some years, a solar eclipse took place. And as recommended in the Vedas, many people went to Kuruksetra to take bath. Eclipses are considered inauspicious, and to counteract the inauspiciousness people submerge themselves in sacred bodies of water and chant the holy names of the Lord. When Krsna was informed of the eclipse He decided, “We shall go to Kuruksetra to observe it”–because Kuruksetra is a holy place (kuru-ksetre dharma-ksetre). And when the news spread that Lord Krsna was going to Kuruksetra, devotees from all over the world decided that they would go too–not so much to observe the rituals for the eclipse but to see Lord Krsna. So devotees, jnanis, yogis, saints, sages, and kings from all over India went to Kuruksetra. And the residents of Vrndavana decided that they would go too. So Nanda Maharaja, Mother Yasoda, the elders of Vrndavana, the cowherd boys, the young gopis–they also went. It was an emotional exchange when Krsna met with His mother and father from Vrndavana after such a long separation, and He became so choked up that He could hardly speak. Yet within His heart, He was most eager to meet the young gopis, and eventually He excused Himself to approach them. But when they met, Srimati Radharani and the other gopis could not feel the same pleasure that they experienced with Him in Vrndavana, because there was no Yamuna River, no Vrndavana forest, no Govardhana Hill. And instead of the humming of bees and chirping of birds, there were the sounds of horses and elephants and chariots rattling. And instead of Krsna being dressed in His yellow dhoti (pitambara), with a peacock feather in His hair and flute in His hand, He was dressed as a royal prince, accompanied by great warriors and surrounded by all opulence. So even though He was the same Krsna and She was the same Radha, They could not enjoy the same happiness, and thus Srimati Radharani wanted to bring Krsna back to Vrndavana so They could relish the same ecstasy They had enjoyed in Their youth.

The Ratha-yatra festival as observed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers is the emotional exchange between Srimati Radharani and Lord Krsna in which Radharani wants to bring Krsna back to Vrndavana. This is the internal mood of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. As Sri Caitanya-caritamrta explains, Sriman Mahaprabhu appeared for two reasons. Internally, He wanted to experience Srimati Radharani’s love for Krsna–the glory of Her love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness that She feels in His love. Ultimately, He wanted to broadcast the glories of Srimati Radharani’s love for Him and try to repay His debt to Her. And externally, He wanted to propagate the yuga-dharma for Kali-yuga–hari-nama-sankirtana.

We shouldn’t think that one purpose of the Lord is higher than the other. On the absolute plane, they are equal. Because Krsna is absolute, there is no difference between His inside and outside. In conditioned souls there is a difference between the soul within and the body without, but in Krsna, who is absolute spirit (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha), there is no difference between His inside and outside. Similarly, on the absolute platform there is no difference in value between the internal and external reasons for the Lord’s descent.

Lord Jagannatha, as Krsna, wants to reciprocate Srimati Radharani’s love for Him, and He wants to give mercy to all of His devotees and indeed to all living entities. And both take place during the Ratha-yatra. Generally devotees go to the temple to see the Lord, but people in Kali-yuga are so fallen that they have no time to go to the church or temple–or no inclination. So the Lord comes out of the temple to give mercy to the devotees and fallen souls.

The Lord comes out in two forms: one is the Deity, Lord Jagannatha, and the other is the holy name, the hari-nama-sankirtana. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta states that the holy name of Krsna, the Deity of Krsna, and the original form of Krsna are all the same. There is no difference between them.

‘nama’, ‘vigraha’, ’svarupa’–tina eka-rupa
tine ‘bheda’ nahi,–tina ‘cid-ananda-rupa’

“The Lord’s holy name, His form, and His personality are all one and the same. There is no difference between them. Since all of them are absolute, they are all transcendentally blissful.” (Cc Madhya 17.131) In the Ratha-yatra, the Lord gives His association to the devotees and even to ordinary conditioned souls as the Deity–Lord Jagannatha–and as the holy name, the Hare Krsna maha-mantra– both of which are the Lord Himself. The Lord also gives His association in the form of His chariot and the ropes that pull the chariot, because on the absolute platform the Lord’s paraphernalia and the Lord are the same.

The king of Orissa at the time of Mahaprabhu was Maharaja Prataparudra. He was a great devotee, and many of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates wanted to arrange for Lord Caitanya to meet him, but because Caitanya Mahaprabhu was playing the part of a sannyasi in a very strict society, He refused to meet the king. He heard the glories of the king, but He said, “Still, the king has one fault: he is a king.” The very name king suggests material opulence and sense gratification. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as a sannyasi in that culture, did not want to be associated with a king. He did not want His
reputation to be tarnished. Even then, the devotees appealed to the Lord to be merciful to the king, because they knew how attached he was to Lord Caitanya; he was ready to give up his kingdom and live as a mendicant if he did not get Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. Within the court of the king were many of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s intimate associates. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya was the chief priest or spiritual advisor of King Prataparudra, and Ramananda Raya was the king’s governor in South India. The king was so kind and generous that he relieved Ramananda Raya of his service as governor and allowed him to come to Jagannatha Puri to serve Caitanya Mahaprabhu. These devotees informed Caitanya Mahaprabhu of the king’s good qualities and strong desire to obtain His mercy. Still, although His heart was softened, Caitanya remained adamant.

Finally, Nityananda Prabhu made a proposal. He suggested that Caitanya Mahaprabhu send a piece of His worn cloth to the king, which would give the king hope that Mahaprabhu would indeed show him mercy. And when the king received the cloth, he began to worship it exactly as if it were Lord Caitanya Himself. On the absolute platform, the Lord and the Lord’s paraphernalia are the same. They are equally worshipable. In fact, the worship of the Lord’s paraphernalia and associates may be even more favorable than the worship of the Lord directly. Lord Siva told Parvati,

aradhananam sarvesam
visnor aradhanam param
tasmat parataram devi
tadiyanam samarcanam

“O Devi, of all types of worship, the worship of Lord Visnu is best, and better than the worship of Lord Visnu is the worship of anything belonging to Visnu.” (Padma Purana) Thus the king, with great bliss, received the cloth and worshiped it as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself.

On the absolute platform, the Ratha-yatra car and the ropes of the car, as the Lord’s paraphernalia, are worshipable, and if people touch the car or the ropes, they benefit as if they were touching the lotus feet of the Deity–the Lord Himself. So, the Lord is extremely munificent in distributing His mercy during Ratha-yatra. And when He smiles and casts His glance upon His devotees and all other souls as He passes in the procession, they receive His most sublime mercy and love.

The Ratha-yatra is a very jubilant festival, because the Lord is coming out to give His darsana, His audience, to His devotees–to give His mercy. And as Srila Prabhupada said, it is a very feeling festival. Srimati Radharani, meeting Krsna in Kuruksetra after such a long separation and then not finding the same happiness, is tugging Him back to Vrndavana.

When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu observed the Ratha-yatra festival, He would sometimes recite a verse from mundane poetry, and no one could understand the reason; no one could understand the inner meaning. In the verse the beloved says to her lover, “I am the same person as when we met in our youth, and you are also the same person, but where is the tree beside the river where in moonlit nights we enjoyed together? I want to go back there.” Again and again, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would recite the same verse:

yah kaumara-harah sa eva hi varas ta eva caitra-ksapas
te conmilita-malati-surabhayah praudhah kadambanilah
sa caivasmi tathapi tatra surata-vyapara-lila-vidhau
reva-rodhasi vetasi-taru-tale cetah samutkanthate

“That very personality who stole away my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of malati flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Reva under the Vetasi tree. That is my desire.” (Padyavali 386, quoted as Cc Madhya 13.121)

Apart from Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, practically no one could understand the meaning of that verse. But one year Srila Rupa Gosvami happened to be present at the Ratha-yatra, and he heard the Lord singing the verse. After the procession he returned to his quarters and on a palm leaf wrote his own verse explaining the original verse, stuck the leaf in the thatched roof of his hut, and went to bathe in the sea. In the meantime, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to his hut to meet him. Three great personalities–Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, and Haridasa Thakura–were not allowed to enter the Jagannatha temple. Haridasa Thakura was born in a Muslim family, and Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami had served in the government of Nawab Hussain Shah and had intimate association with Muslims. Thus they were all considered to be fallen–unqualified. So, Caitanya Mahaprabhu would go to visit them daily, and on this occasion He happened to notice the palm leaf stuck in the thatch. He took the leaf and read Rupa Gosvami’s verse–a very beautiful verse in which he describes Srimati Radharani’s feelings on meeting Krsna at Kuruksetra, echoing the poetic verse that Mahaprabhu had recited. Here, Radharani says to Her friend, “He is the same Krsna, and I am the same Radha, but without Vrndavana We cannot experience the same happiness. How I wish to take Him back with Me to Vrndavana.”

priyah so ‘yam krsnah saha-cari kuru-ksetra-militas
tathaham sa radha tad idam ubhayoh sangama-sukham
tathapy antah-khelan-madhura-murali-pancama-juse
mano me kalindi-pulina-vipinaya sprhayati

“My dear friend, now I have met My very old and dear friend Krsna on this field of Kuruksetra. I am the same Radharani, and now We are meeting together. It is very pleasant, but still I would like to go to the bank of the Yamuna beneath the trees of the forest there. I wish to hear the vibration of His sweet flute playing the fifth note within that forest of Vrndavana.” (Padyavali 387, quoted as Cc Madhya 1.76)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was astonished: “How could Rupa Gosvami know My intention?” Later, Caitanya Mahaprabhu showed the verse to Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, His personal secretary and most intimate associate in Puri. Svarupa
Damodara understood the purport of that apparently mundane verse, but no one else did, and he kept it confidential. So, Lord Caitanya asked him, “How could Rupa Gosvami know My heart?” And Svarupa Damodara Gosvami replied, “He must have received Your special mercy. Otherwise, no one can know Your heart.”

Srila Prabhupada remarks that he received a similar blessing from his guru maharaja. One year he wrote a beautiful essay for his guru maharaja’s Vyasa-puja ceremony, which he read at the Bombay Gaudiya Matha, along with a poem he composed in appreciation of his guru maharaja. One verse in particular pleased his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

Absolute is sentient
Thou hast proved
Impersonal calamity
Thou hast moved

That verse went to the essence of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s realization of his preaching mission. And just as Lord Caitanya showed Rupa Gosvami’s verse to Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura would show Prabhupada’s verse to his confidential devotees: “How could he have understood my intentions?”

Thus, by the mercy of Srila Rupa Gosvami, the confidential, internal mood of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at the Ratha-yatra was revealed, and this confidential information was compiled and elaborated upon by Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami in his Caitanya-caritamrta. Kaviraja Gosvami did not personally witness Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, but he resided in Vrndavana and heard about them later. After Caitanya Mahaprabhu and most of His close associates disappeared, Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was heartbroken and considered, “What is the use of living without Mahaprabhu and His associates in Puri?” So he decided to go to Vrndavana to commit Vaisnava suicide, to jump from Govardhana Hill. But before doing so, he wanted to offer respects at the lotus feet of Rupa and Sanatana.

When he met them, they appealed to him, “Don’t do this. Better you stay with us.” They accepted him as their younger brother, as their third brother. “Because you were with Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri, you know all about the Lord’s later pastimes. You should narrate them to us.” He agreed, and every day he would discourse for three hours about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes in Puri–and one devotee in the audience was Kaviraja Gosvami. Also, both Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami took notes when they were with Mahaprabhu. (In a similar way, Srila Prabhupada’s personal attendants also took notes, and thus we have Hari Sauri’s Transcendental Diary, TKG’s Diary, and other such works.) So, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami took notes, and Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami got their notebooks. And based on what he had heard from Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and learned from the notebooks and other authoritative sources of information, he compiled Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and disclosed these most confidential facts about Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s internal mood at Ratha-yatra.

Externally during the Ratha-yatra, there was tremendous hari-nama-sankirtana. We shall read about that now, to just get some idea of it and perhaps to gain some inspiration in our own performance of hari-nama-sankirtana.

TEXT 25

suksma sveta-balu pathe pulinera sama
dui dike tota, saba–yena vrndavana

TRANSLATION

The fine, white sand spread all over the path resembled the bank of the Yamuna, and the small gardens on both sides looked just like those in Vrndavana.

TEXT 26

rathe cadi’ jagannatha karila gamana
dui-parsve dekh’ cale anandita-mana

TRANSLATION

As Lord Jagannatha rode in His car and saw the beauty on both sides, His mind was filled with pleasure.

TEXT 27

The pullers of the car were known as gaudas, and they pulled with great pleasure. However, the car sometimes went very fast and sometimes very slow.

COMMENT

In the first Ratha-yatra in ISKCON, celebrated in San Francisco with a flatbed truck as the chariot, the truck developed some difficulty and stalled going up a hill, and the devotees didn’t know if they’d get it to work again. At the time, Srila Prabhupada was ill, recuperating at Stinson Beach, outside San Francisco, and was unable to attend the Ratha-yatra. But the next day, when the devotees came to visit and report to him about the Ratha-yatra, they told him about the crisis with the truck stalling. And Srila Prabhupada remarked, “This is Lord Jagannatha’s pastime. The same thing happened when Lord Caitanya attended the Ratha-yatra in Puri. And now that Ratha-yatra has come to the West, this pastime of Lord Jagannatha’s has come too.”

TEXTS 28-30

Sometimes the car would stand still and not move, even though it was pulled very vigorously. The chariot therefore moved by the will of the Lord, not by the strength of any ordinary person.

As the car stood still, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gathered all His devotees and, with His own hand, decorated them with flower garlands and sandalwood pulp.

Paramananda Puri and Brahmananda Bharati were both personally given garlands and sandalwood pulp from the very hands of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This increased their transcendental pleasure.

COMMENT

They were considered senior to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and He worshiped and served them on the same level as He served His spiritual master.

TEXTS 31-34

Similarly, when Advaita Acarya and Nityananda Prabhu felt the touch of the transcendental hand of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, They were very pleased.

The Lord also gave garlands and sandalwood pulp to the performers of sankirtana. The two chief performers were Svarupa Damodara and Srivasa Thakura.

There were altogether four parties of kirtana performers, comprising twenty-four chanters. In each party there were also two mrdanga players, making an additional eight persons.

When the four parties were formed, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, after some consideration, divided the chanters.

COMMENT

Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also an expert organizer.

TEXTS 35-37

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ordered Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Acarya, Haridasa Thakura, and Vakresvara Pandita to dance in each of the four respective parties.

Svarupa Damodara was chosen as the leader of the first party and was given five assistants to respond to his chanting.

The five who responded to the singing of Svarupa Damodara were Damodara Pandita, Narayana, Govinda Datta, Raghava Pandita, and Sri Govindananda.

TEXT 38

advaitere nrtya karibare ajna dila
srivasa-pradhana ara sampradaya kaila

TRANSLATION

Advaita Acarya Prabhu was ordered to dance in the first group. The Lord then formed another group with Srivasa Thakura as the chief man.

PURPORT

In the first group, Damodara Svarupa was appointed chief singer, and the responding singers were Damodara Pandita, Narayana, Govinda Datta, Raghava Pandita, and Govindananda. Sri Advaita Acarya was appointed as a dancer. The next group was formed, and the chief singer was Srivasa Thakura.

TEXTS 39-54

The five singers who responded to the singing of Srivasa Thakura were Gangadasa, Haridasa, Sriman, Subhananda, and Sri Rama Pandita. Sri Nityananda Prabhu was appointed as a dancer.

Another group was formed consisting of Vasudeva, Gopinatha, and Murari. All these were responsive singers, and Mukunda was the chief singer.

Another two persons, Srikanta and Vallabha Sena, joined as responsive singers. In this group, the senior Haridasa [Haridasa Thakura] was the dancer.

The Lord formed another group, appointing Govinda Ghosa as leader. In this group the younger Haridasa, Visnudasa, and Raghava were the responding singers.

Two brothers named Madhava Ghosa and Vasudeva Ghosa also joined this group as responsive singers. Vakresvara Pandita was the dancer.

There was a sankirtana party from the village known as Kulina-grama, and Ramananda and Satyaraja were appointed the dancers in this group.

There was another party that came from Santipura and was formed by Advaita Acarya. Acyutananda was the dancer, and the rest of the men were singers.

Another party was formed by the people of Khanda. These people were singing in a different place. In that group, Narahari Prabhu and Raghunandana were dancing.

Four parties chanted and danced in front of Lord Jagannatha, and on either side was another party. Yet another was at the rear.

There were altogether seven parties of sankirtana, and in each party two men were beating drums. Thus fourteen drums were being played at once. The sound was tumultuous, and all the devotees became mad.

All the Vaisnavas came together like an assembly of clouds. As the devoteeschanted the holy names in great ecstasy, tears fell from their eyes like rain.

When the sankirtana resounded, it filled the three worlds. Indeed, no one could hear any sounds or musical instruments other than the sankirtana.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu wandered through all seven groups chanting the holy name, “Hari, Hari!” Raising His arms, He shouted, “All glories to Lord Jagannatha!”

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu then exhibited another mystic power by performing pastimes simultaneously in all seven groups.

Everyone said, “Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is present in my group. Indeed, He does not go anywhere else. He is bestowing His mercy upon us.”

Actually, no one could see the inconceivable potency of the Lord. Only the most confidential devotees, those in pure, unalloyed devotional service, could understand.

COMMENT

Sri Krsna, during the rasa dance, also expanded Himself, to be by the side of each gopi. He dealt with each gopi in such an affectionate and personal way that each thought, “Krsna is with me. Krsna cannot leave me. Krsna favors me.”

TEXTS 55-59

Lord Jagannatha was very much pleased by the sankirtana, and He brought His car to a standstill just to see the performance.

King Prataparudra was also astonished to see the sankirtana. He became inactive and was converted to ecstatic love of Krsna.

When the king informed Kasi Misra of the glories of the Lord, Kasi Misra replied, “O king, your fortune has no limit!”

The king and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya were both aware of the Lord’s activities, but no one else could see the tricks of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Only a person who has received the mercy of the Lord can understand. Without the Lord’s mercy, even the demigods, headed by Lord Brahma, cannot understand.
TEXT 60

rajara tuccha seva dekhi’ prabhura tusta mana
sei ta’ prasade paila ‘rahasya-darsana’

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had been very satisfied to see the king accept the menial task of sweeping the street, and for this humility the king received the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He could therefore observe the mystery of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s activities.

PURPORT

The mystery of the Lord’s activities is described by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Lord Jagannatha was astonished to see the transcendental dancing and chanting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and He stopped His car just to see the dancing. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu then danced in such a mystical way that He pleased Lord Jagannatha. The seer and the dancer were one andthe same Supreme Person, but the Lord, being one and many at the same time, was exhibiting the variegatedness of His pastimes. This is the meaning behind His mysterious exhibition. By the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the king could understand how the two of Them were enjoying each other’s activities. Another mysterious exhibition was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s simultaneous presence in seven groups. By the mercy of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, the king could understand that also.

COMMENT

The king was eager to have Lord Caitanya’s darsana, but because he was a king Caitanya Mahaprabhu refused to meet him. But when the king offered menial service to Lord Jagannatha, sweeping the road in front of Him, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s heart softened, and He gave the king such specialmercy that he was able to perceive the mysterious activities of the Lord in Ratha-yatra. Now, we might take it lightly that the king swept the road in front of the Deity, but it was no small thing then. In fact, the king was criticized by other royalty: “What kind of a king is this? He is sweeping
the street.” But the king didn’t care about mundane reputation. He sincerely rendered menial service to the Lord. And because of his humble service, Lord Caitanya, who is not different from Lord Jagannatha, gave him some special mercy to actually be able to observe the mystery of the Lord’s activities.

TEXT 61

saksate na deya dekha, parokse ta’ daya
ke bujhite pare caitanya-candrera maya

TRANSLATION

Although the king had been refused an interview, he was indirectly bestowed causeless mercy. Who can understand the internal potency of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu?

PURPORT

As Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was playing the part of a world teacher, He did not agree to see the king, because a king is a mundane person interested in money and women. Indeed, the very word “king” suggests one who is always surrounded by money and women. As a sannyasi, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was afraid of both money and women. The very word “king” is repugnant to one who is in the renounced order of life. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu refused to see the king, but indirectly, by the Lord’s causeless mercy, the king was able to understand the Lord’s mysterious activities. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s activities were exhibited sometimes to reveal Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and sometimes to show Him as a devotee. Both kinds of activities are mysterious and appreciated only by pure devotees.

COMMENT

There are many mysteries here. Vasudeva Ghosa, a great poet and singer among Mahaprabhu’s associates (mentioned in Text 43), has written, jei gaura sei krsna sei jagannath: “He who is Gaura is He who is Krsna is He who is Jagannatha.” Lord Caitanya is Krsna, Lord Jagannatha is Krsna, and Krsna is Krsna, but They assume different forms and different moods to reciprocate in loving pastimes–even with each other. And King Prataparudra, by the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, could see and understand all this. He could also see that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu expanded Himself into multiple forms andwas moving amidst the seven kirtana parties. Not everyone could see that. So that was also the Lord’s special mercy upon him. But the greatest mercy, which the king had long desired, was bestowed upon him later, when Lord Caitanya went to rest in a garden nearby. There Caitanya Mahaprabhu finally gave him personal audience (darsana). He embraced the king, and together they cried in ecstatic love.

When at Balagandi the chariots halted for some time to allow devotees to offer food (bhoga) to Lord Jagannatha, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers, exhausted from their dancing, went to relax in a nearby garden. At that time, the king, shedding his royal dress, assumed the garb of a Vaisnava. He entered the garden and began to massage Mahaprabhu’s legs very expertly–and to recite for Him the Gopi-gita, the thirty-first chapter of the Tenth Canto, “The Gopis’ Songs in Separation from Krsna,” which served to enhance Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mood at the Ratha-yatra. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was already ecstatic, but when He heard the king recite the Gopi-gita, He became delighted beyond limit and repeatedly said, “Go on reciting. Go on reciting.” And when King Prataparudra came to recite the verse beginning tava kathamrtam, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as if He didn’t know who the king was, rose in ecstatic love and embraced him. And, taking a phrase from the verse, He exclaimed, “You are the most munificent! You are the most munificent!”

tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam
kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham
sravana-mangalam srimad-atatam
bhuvi grnanti ye bhurida janah

“My Lord, the nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those who are always aggrieved in this material world. These narrations are transmitted by exalted personalities, and they eradicate all sinful reactions. Whoever hears these narrations attains all good fortune. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Those who spread the message of Godhead are certainly the most munificent welfare workers.” (SB 10.31.9, quoted as Cc Madhya 14.13)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had been moved by the king’s humble, expert service, and He gave him His mercy–His personal audience–while at the same time preserving the integrity of the sannyasa-dharma practiced at the time.

Such is the mercy of guru and Krsna. One can see Caitanya Mahaprabhu as guru and Lord Jagannatha as Krsna, and as Srila Prabhupada said, by the combined mercy of guru and Krsna one can become completely successful in devotional
service. Because of the king’s humble, menial service to Lord Jagannatha, Lord Caitanya also became pleased with him, and by the combined mercy of guru and Krsna the king’s devotional service became successful. Thus we can see how by humble service one can please the spiritual master and the Lord, and how by their mercy one can attain success in Krsna consciousness.

In devotional service there is no distinction between higher and lower, because all service is absolute. On the absolute platform there is no difference between cleaning the toilet of the devotees and cleaning the paraphernalia of the Deity. And if someone renders service in a humble mood (trnad api sunicena), feeling himself lowly and fallen, the Lord will be especially inclined to give him mercy. As it is said, “Those who exalt themselves are humbled, and those who humble themselves are exalted.” This is a great lesson to be learned from the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Jagannatha at the Ratha-yatra.

To conclude this chapter of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami quotes a verse from Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Caitanyastaka (7):

ratharudhasyarad adhipadavi nilacala-pater
adabhra-premormi-sphurita-natanollasa-vivasah
sa-harsam gayadbhih parivrta-tanur vaisnava-janaih
sa caitanyah kim me punar api drsor yasyati padam

“Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced down the main road in great ecstasy before Lord Jagannatha, the master of Nilacala, who was sitting on His car. Overwhelmed by the transcendental bliss of dancing and surrounded by Vaisnavas who sang the holy names, He manifested waves of ecstatic love of Godhead. When will Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu again be visible to my vision?” (Cc Madhya 13.207)

And he blesses his readers and listeners:

iha yei sune sei sri-caitanya paya
sudrdha visvasa-saha prema-bhakti haya

“Anyone who hears this description of the car festival will attain Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He will also attain the elevated state by which he will have firm conviction in devotional service and love of Godhead.” (Cc Madhya 13.208)

Hare Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Sri Jagannatha Ratha-yatra ki jaya!
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ki jaya!
Gaura-bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

Gaura Nitai das, Mayapura, IN: Born across the street from the center of the World.

Gaura-Nitai das (Eric Rush) (noreply@blogger.com) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 16:08:19 +0000

Prakash is in the middle rear with the red jacket

I posted this a few months back with no response…so I am asking again…Thank you for reading.

For the last five years or so our school in Mayapur (SMIS) have had a very special student in our school. This boy, named Prakash, was born right across the street from the Yogapitha (the appearance place of Gauranga Mahaprabhu). His father helped build Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi and has performed many other services for the community. Prakash has had the opportunity to attend our school for the last five years only because of the financial sponsorship from a generous well wisher. He is a very bright student, well liked among the students and has a pleasant demeanor. Unfortunately, the sponsor is no longer able to continue the sponsorship. We are trying to find a sponsor or sponsors so that he continue his academic, social and spiritual education with us . If we do not find a sponsor soon then he will have to go elsewhere for his education. He has strong desire to stay here with his friends and well wishing teachers. So if you would like to do some service for one of Mayapur’s dhamabasi’s please let us know. The approximate fees are as follows (note-The immediate need is to provide for at least the day schooling $60/monthly; he desires to joing the ashram but the regular schooling finds is needed ASAP):

Monthly

Rs 2200/USD $60 day school fees

Rs 4400/USD $115 for ashrama (provides room and board, many extracurricular activities, good association and guidance)

If you would be willing to help with his tuition or would like more information please write to me at gaura.nitai.rns@gmail.com or you can contact the school directly at e-mail: smis@pamho.net Phone (03472) 245 363. Money can be sent any in number of ways: paypal, check in the mail, bank transfer etc, etc.

I have written a few articles about our school on my blog at gauranitaidas.com and the schools website is mayapurschool.com

Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: south Indian samayal

ananda (noreply@blogger.com) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:47:36 +0000

Samayal means cooking and the other day i got inspired to cook south indian style cooking. My wife was browsing a south indian cooking blog and seeing the blog, i decided to try couple of recipes.

I made kolukattai (coconut jaggery filled dumplings), rava dosa (semolina crepe) and coconut chutney

Kolukattai is a tradtional Sout Indian sweet that is made with rice flour and coconut jaggery filling. Growing up, my mother used to make this all the time for Ganesh Chaturthi. It is a traditional sweet that fills the tummy. I remember i used to stuff myself with just this sweet to my stomach's full. It is very easy to make.

Rava doasa (semolina crepe) is another traditional south Indian dish that is popular among the tamil speaking masses. Although i am not a big fan of Rava dosa, on the request of my wife, i made this dish. Rava in english is semolina/farina. The semolina really gives the crispiness to the dosa and it gives a tasty combination with different chutneys. I made coconut chutney as a side.

Folks...if you want to taste a traditional south Indian style dish....it cannot get more traditional than this.

For the kolukattai recipe, please visit the link - http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/vara-lakshmi-viratham-24th-august/

For the Rava dosa recipe, please visit the link - http://theyumblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/06/rava-dosa/

There are many more recipes in the link, you can try them as well.

Hare Krishna

New Vrndavan, USA: Sri Nathji’s 25th Birthday

mg — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:41:25 +0000

About Nathji’s installation ceremony:

““Radha-Vrindaban Chandra, Gaura-Nitai, and Gopala Nathji were placed on Their altars, which had been drilled with nine small holes. In the holes were placed nine precious jewels of the nine major planets. They were then filled with turmeric. A yantra—a small piece of gold plated copper, inscribed with a six-pointed star, an eight-pointed lotus flower, and the mula and gayatri “mantras of each Deity, was placed under the Deities. . .”

Read the whole story at:

Deity Stories: A New Temple For Radha Vrindaban Candra (Part Two)

The back story of how Nathji came to New Vrindaban:

“In 1979, many Gujarati Vaisnavas and life members were desiring to worship Sri Nathaji in New York’s ISKCON center. A devotee sculpted Sri Nathajl’s murti, and it was exhibited in the New York temple. Every Sunday evening, Veda Vyasapriya, who now lives in New Vrindaban*, arranged for the life members to perform puja ceremonies for Sri Nathaji…”

Read the whole story at:

How Sri Nathaji Came to New Vrindaban

*this was written in 1984

ISKCON News.com: Family Meltdown Leads to Hell

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:27:54 +0000

By Krishna Dharma Dasa on 5 Jul 2008

Exactly echoing a message found in the Bhagavad-gita, a senior judge recently declared that “almost all of society's social ills can be traced directly to the collapse of the family life.”

In a speech in Brighton to lawyers from Resolution, formerly the Solicitors' Family Law Association, Mr Justice Coleridge warned of a "cancerous" increase in broken families and said the government must take "comprehensive action".

Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: A Quest For Him Who Is Above All

Madhava Gosh — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:21:45 +0000

“It is well known that in the Orient, in China, India, Japan, and Indonesia, the religious and contemplative life has been fostered for centuries and has known a development of unparalleled richness. Asia has for centuries been a continent of great monastic communities. At the same time the solitary life has flourished, either in the shadow of the monasteries or in the wilderness of jungle, mountain, or desert.

“Hindu yoga, in its various forms, has become almost legendary of Eastern contemplation. Yoga makes use of a variety of disciplines and ascetic techniques for the “liberation” of man’s spirit from the limitations imposed upon him by material, bodily existence. Everywhere in the East, whether in Hinduism or Buddhism, we find that deep, unutterable thirst for the rivers of Paradise.

“Whatever may be the philosophies and theologies behind these forms of contemplative existence, the striving is always the same: the quest for unity, a return to the inmost self united with the Absolute, a quest for Him Who is above all, and in all, and Who Alone is Alone.”

Thomas Merton. The Inner Experience. Edited by William H. Shannon (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003): 29-30

ISKCON News.com: Hundreds Attend Bathing Festival at Rajapur Temple

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:54:33 +0000

By ISKCON News Staff on 5 Jul 2008

This June, devotees at ISKCON Mayapur’s satellite temple of Lord Jagannath in Rajapur, Simantadvipa joyfully celebrated their annual Snana-Yatra festival.

The ancient Snana-Yatra, or “bathing festival” is considered to be the birthday of Lord Jagannath and has been practiced at Jagannath Puri for hundreds of years.

Dandavats.com: What is the matter with the world

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:27:45 +0000

By A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

A time is nearing when there will be no wheat paddy in the field and no politician will be able to make a quick supply of bread. The food problem is already acute. The atheistic civilization is to be troubled more and more with the progress of materialism. We have such foretellings in the pages of Srimad-Bhagavatam. The more the people are turning to the atheistic, the more things of disturbing elements do appear before us. And that is the thing which matters at present. This is a wrong type of civilization.

ISKCON News.com: A Million Taiwanese Vow to Give Up Eating Meat

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:09:00 +0000

Radio Taiwan International on 5 Jul 2008

More than one million people in Taiwan have pledged to help cut carbon emissions by being a vegetarian. Taiwan's population is about 23 million, and the one million vegetarians would reduce at least 1.5 million tons of carbon emissions in Taiwan in one year.

Dandavats.com: Studio Appartment for Sale in Vrindavana

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:05:56 +0000

Nanda Gopa das: For sale a studio appartment furnished with ac and 24 hour hot water and electricity in Sri Vrindavan, India, in a nice and well protected ashram very quite and peaceful with nice view.

Devadeva Mirel, Pennsylvania, USA: Pucker Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Devadeva Mirel) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:02:00 +0000

Sweet & Sour Cherry Conserve has made its way onto the Sabjimata Store's shelves.

Hand pitting 3 gallons of cherries was not as bad as I thought it would be. Who needs a cherry pitter when you have opposing thumbs?

Whole sour cherries, cooked in a sweet cherry puree, tartly burst in the mouth. The taste is complex and refreshing, with just the right amount of sweetness to balance the pucker (relax, it's an ever so mild pucker).

Because Sweet & Sour Cherry Conserve is not too sweet nor too sour, it goes wonderfully just about anywhere you would put your favorite cherry jam--be it on top of toast, cheesecake or rice pudding. And like many other Sabjimata products, Sweet & Sour Cherry Conserve also tastes great eaten straight from the jar. Lower in sugar than a traditional jam, and packed full of fruit, Sweet & Sour Cherry Conserve is a fat free, wheat free, peanut free, gluten free, meat free alternative to fat, wheat, peanuts, gluten and meat.* Of course it is! It's jam. But a conserve.

My husband commented that the Sweet & Sour Cherry Conserve is addictive, as are most sweet and sour foods. Personally, I like that the sweet base is blended while the sour cherries remain whole. Sheer genius, if i do say so myself. Not only are there a mix of tastes but also textures. The acidity of the sour cherries creates a much thicker jam, making Sweet & Sour Cherry Conserve perfect for baked fillings. I can almost gaurantee it will not volcano-ize in your oven, oozing forth from whatever pastry is supposed to be hedging it in.

Honestly, I am just so happy I had the opportunity to work with such a wonderful fruit! When I was pregnant with my son, the two foods I craved were apples and cherries. I still don't understand why I craved the humble, vitamin bereft apple, but cherries! That's rich man's fruit. Full of vitamins, texture, color and taste, I'm glad I don't have to again go through the commitment of child-raising in order to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

*Sorry. I really like making jam. I even really like keeping this blog. But let me tell you, it is very difficult to try to write about jam over and over (and over and over and over...) again while trying to make it sound new and fresh. It's jam! And while it is true that different fruits behave differently in the pot, as well as taste differently on the tongue, they pretty much look the same in the jars. Especially the red ones. You may also notice me getting a little experimental with the mise en scene of my pictures. Hey, I'm just trying to keep things interesting for you. And me!

ISKCON News.com: India Unveils Climate Change Plan

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:59:26 +0000

BBC News (UK) on 5 Jul 2008

The Indian government has unveiled a national action plan to confront the threat posed by climate change.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the plan envisaged a gradual shift to greater reliance on sustainable sources of energy.

Dandavats.com: Teen Suicide

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:31:18 +0000

Jusaniya devi dasi: (Compiled by Sangita devi dasi, RN, CHPN, Certified Hospice Educator) It is difficult to comprehend that suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 10-24, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Dandavats.com: A Warrior’s Prayer

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:28:19 +0000

Bhakta Antony Alexander: I give thanks and praises to The Master of Edged Weapons, The Thrower of Divine Missiles, who never misses a target, whose projectiles do not stray. I give my humble obeisances to The Remover of Obstructions, The Breacher of All-Obstacles, The Transcendental Wave that overflows banks, whose tide can never be stopped.

ISKCON News.com: IIT Students Show Bengalis How Krishna Relieves Stress

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:15:40 +0000

The Telegraph (Kolkata) on 5 Jul 2008

Iskcon is enlisting its ex-IIT devotees to conduct stress management sessions at its Rathyatra fair on the Park Circus Maidan this year.

Responding to the increasing number of suicides and stress-related diseases among the youth, the Krishna devotees have decided to highlight the malaise in society and offer stress management solutions through its Iskcon Youth Forum.

ISKCON News.com: IIT Army Marches to Rescue Krishna's Lakes

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:12:57 +0000

By Tapas Chakraborty for The Telegraph (Kolkata) on 5 Jul 2008

IIT engineers and water experts have pooled resources and skills to salvage the ancient kunds (ponds) of Vrindavan, Krishna’s childhood home. The water bodies, a big draw for tourists who throng Mathura, of which Vrindavan is a part, disappeared over the past 25 years, swallowed by encroachments and illegal constructions that changed the landscape.

Avadhuta-priya dd, Jaipur, India: 108 - Indian Emergency Call Number

Avadhuta-priya dasi (noreply@blogger.com) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:06:16 +0000

If you are ever in trouble while in India, simply dial 108! India recently launched a new scheme and 108 has become an emergency number for some of some states. Here is an article about it form http://www.india-server.com/news/dial-108-for-emergency-in-india-1805.html:

"You may have often seen in the movies or even read in books about ‘911’ the number the United States denizens dial incase of emergency situations! Now a similar service is being introduced in India by the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), which is soon about to launch this service in Madhya Pradesh. In a recent statement, Health minister Ambumani Ramadoss was intimated by Union Telecom minister A Raja that 108 is being finalized as the national toll free trauma care number to the institution.

It was further informed that 108 is already being used as the toll free emergency number in Indian states such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. On the other hand, even states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have inked MoU with the EMRI Institute for availing this service. Indian states like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Kerala too are charting plans for fixing the number 108 for all emergency purposes.

Every time a caller dials 108, his or her call will be received by a 24 hour call centre which will take down all important information from the caller. After this, the call centre will locate an ambulance, fire vehicle or the police vehicle depending on the type of emergency through GPRS technology and dispatch it to where the help is needed. The EMRI Institute has received top recognition in the health care category at the 2008 computer world honours programme."

Namahatta.org: Book Review: Holy Cow

phani — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:59:19 +0000

by Vasumurti das

In his book, Holy Cow, author Steven Rosen (Satyaraja dasa) does an expert job of explaining the philosophy and history of the sankirtana movement to nondevotees. He begins by quoting Srila Prabhupada as saying, "Real philosophy is nothing more than this: 'friendliness to all living entities.'"

Rosen explains that devotees do not artificially renounce the material world, but rather engage it in Lord Krishna's service. Offering one's food to Krishna is a standard Vaishnava practice, which Rosen compares to the Eucharist in Christianity—sacramental food.

General Content

Mayapur Online: A nice opportunity has come up to serve Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura!

Bhaktajana Priya das — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:22:37 +0000

We celebrated Bhakti Vinod Thakura’s disappearance day in Mayapur. Devotees fasted till noon, offered arti, bhoga and pushpanjali to Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakura. On this occassion, we would like to inform of a nice seva opportunity to preserve the temple in his birth site. He was born in Ulagram or Birnagar in his maternal grandfather’s place. Thakura was brought up as a young boy and did his primary schooling there.

ISKCON News.com: Kazakh Officials Close Down Religious Meetings Across the Country

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:04:56 +0000

Forum 18 News (Norway) on 5 Jul 2008

Kazakh authorities continue to apply pressure against religious communities across the country, Forum 18 News Service has found. The latest example of the authorities' attempts to take places of worship away from religious minorities is a court case against Grace Protestant Church in Semey, in Eastern Kazakhstan Region.

ISKCON News.com: BBT Brazil Makes A Comeback

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:38:56 +0000

By Madhava Smullen for Friends of the BBT Newsletter on 5 Jul 2008

The Brazilian BBT harks back as far as 1975, when Srila Prabhupada held the first Portuguese Bhagavad-gita in his hands. Director Ishvara Swami ran the organization impressively, translating all of Prabhupada’s books and turning out huge print runs of between 100,000 and 400,000, with an unprecedented one million copies of Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers flying off the presses.

ISKCON News.com: Srila Prabhupada - Don't Live, Don't Die

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:29:53 +0000

ISKCON News.com: -

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:10:23 +0000

Dandavats.com: New Raman Reti School Enrollment Announcement

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:50:03 +0000

Visvambhara das: The New Raman Reti School, a Krishna-centered educational institution located in Alachua, Florida, is now accepting enrollment for Pre-K thru 6th grade for the 2008 / 2009 school year.

Dandavats.com: ISKCON Ludhiana welcome Rathayatra

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:43:32 +0000

Bhakta Kaplish: ISKCON, Ludhiana welcome Sri Sri Jagannath Rathayatra which was traditionally held by Jaganath Temple, Civil Lines locality of the city. The temple is being run by the Orissa people living in and around city.

Dandavats.com: A Culture of Respect

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:40:03 +0000

Madhavananda Das: Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us that offering all respect to others is essential for our spiritual advancement. However that respect is not something that should be given sentimentally. Offering cheap external respect is detrimental both to the individual and to society.

Dandavats.com: IIT army marches to rescue Krishna kunds

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:36:33 +0000

Tapas Chakraborty: The water bodies, a big draw for tourists who throng Mathura, of which Vrindavan is a part, disappeared over the past 25 years, swallowed by encroachments and illegal constructions that changed the landscape.

Dandavats.com: On watching Movies and TV

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:33:32 +0000

Sivarama Swami: Regularly watching TV and movies: there are two main defects in this activity, whether they’re done regularly or even occasionally. The first is that this media always includes intoxication, graphic sex life, violence, and gambling.

Dandavats.com: BBT Brazil Makes A Comeback

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:29:05 +0000

By Dina Sharana dasa

Mahavira put me in touch with Devi-Deva Prabhu, who gave an amazing donation of $25,000 to print our first deluxe Bhagavad-gita, and it was exactly the injection of money and hope we needed—with the profits from its sales, we could print new books, and get back on our feet.

H.H. Mukunda Goswami: Not In Vaikuntha

Mukunda Goswami — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:00:00 +0000

An often-quoted verse from the Padma Purana (Uttara Khanda 92.21.22) is as follows: “I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I remain where my devotees engage in glorifying My activities.”

Gouranga TV: Trivikrama Swami lecture

admin — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:41:58 +0000

Trivikrama Swami lecture in Krakow

Ekendra dasa, AU: Why We Should Take Srila Prabhupada's Words Seriously

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:39:49 +0000

"God is everywhere, but He has got a special planet, which is called Goloka Vrndavana. You can enter there and mix with the Supreme Lord just like we are here, mixing one another. I can see you, you can see me, similarly, you can go directly, see God and live with Him, dance with Him, play with Him, eat with Him. That is the perfection of life."

- Srila Prabhupada's Class on Bhagavad-gita 7.1-3 -- Paris, June 13, 1974

ISKCON News.com: Walnut and Chickpea-Flour Fudge balls (Laddu)

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:34:51 +0000

By Kurma Dasa on 5 Jul 2008

You can purchase chickpea flour at Italian grocers, or at Indian grocery stores under different names such as gram flour, dal flour, chana dal flour, or besan. When toasted in butter and sweetened it forms the basis of this delightful and popular confectionery, laddu. Enjoy!

ISKCON News.com: Ratha Yatra Celebrated in West Bengal

Ekendra Dasa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 06:28:10 +0000

The Hindu (India) on 5 Jul 2008

Kolkata (PTI): The Rathayatra of Lord Jagannth was celebrated here on Friday with Information and Broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi flagging off the brightly painted chariots with the ritual of sweeping the road with a golden broom.

Srila Prabhupada's Letters