what is the vaisnava way of celebrating new year?

Srila prabhupada told , For us everyday is new year because krishna is everfresh & evernew & we are celebrating him , but these materialist people need to drink this poison to forget all the frustrations, misgivings of past year , we dont need to celebrate by being intoxicated as that is pleasure in mode of ignorance, we can celebrate by being intoxicated in holyname.

Morever this is not new year according to vedic tradition, as per vedic calendar the new year comes on diwali where we light candles, do puja , distribute sweets , gifts, buy new clothes & celebrate on the other hand if u see the way nowadays the people celebrate by getting drunk , vomiting sleeping till next day thus they welcome the new year in hangover, bcos that is the western culture of celebrating things by getting drunk to forget all miseries, people celebrate new year according to english calendar bcos all countries were ruled by british, europeans , thus they passed on their dirty culture to us .

A vaisnava can meditate that i have got a limited time to fulfill my goal to achieve krsna & i am one year closer to death , i should become more serious, sincere , determined & bring urgency in my chanting, taking shelter of srila prabhupada books, , we can welcome the new year by attending mangal arati,chanting in association of devotees, visiting the nearest temple or hearing a tape of our guru maharaj or srila prabhupada.

Thus wishing you all a very very happy & krishna conscious new year.

(Based on talks of H.H.Radhanath swami)

Don't Be Complacent !!!
It is very important that we tune our intelligence to the good fortune that we have received & never take it for granted , That is why it is important to associate with people who truly understand the value of the gift we have received and hearing from them .
When we read srila prabhupada books , when we come to the classes of devotees ,when we listen to tapes , we should actually have this intent ,not just to hear as entertainment but to understand , I desperately need to hear to keep my consciousness aware of the good fortune I am receiving as well as the dangers of Maya & one of the greatest of all Maya's arsenal to overcome us is the danger of complacency.
Krishna tells us in gita we must give up egoism & lethargy , two terrible enemies lethargy can be both on gross and subtle platform , on gross platform we are just lazy , we just want to sleep, we don’t wanna do work , we would rather just not exert our senses , because its difficult .that’s the physical form of lethargy & more subtle form of lethargy is to take the unlimited value of the fortune of krishna consciousness as something ordinary or as they say for take it for granted
When we were new devotees we were struck with wonder of what a great fortune it is to hear Srimad Bhagvatam , its answering all my questions & the holy name is giving me relief from material existence its giving me a taste for krishna , When we first come to the temple and eat Prasad & see the deities , we can feel how it's liberating our soul & the fact its always liberating our soul , but as we become familiar we take it to be ordinary & as we take it to be ordinary we are not accepting the benefits so we must maintain enthusiasm , gratitude , to all the various subtleties of devotional service it is very important , because if we become complacent in our devotional activities than it’s a matter of time till Maya again attracts us to perform her activities .
We have to have determination therefore when we come to class , when we read the books we should really be trying to reconfirm of the awareness of the mercy I am receiving and reciprocate with that mercy , every time we chant japa we should really be praying and struggling to be grateful & reciprocate with this great mercy I have received through krishna 's holy names , it’s a miracle it’s a wonder but we just turn on the station , chant our rounds & then when it’s the time for the next show we turn it off , we should be very conscious not to fall in that trap because if we do we will lose interest in that station & then we will start turning on other stations at that time .Maya will seduce us , so we have to struggle against this complacency . We have to pray , we have to endeavor & specially we must very very attentively hear those messages that will reconfirm our awareness of the dangers of material life , the beauty & sweetness of krishna , the glories of devotional service & how fortunate we are that by the mercy of guru & krishna we have received this chance

Just Sit And Chant People Will Come

(Srila Prabhupada pasttime)

SrIla Praphupada was urging his disciples to go & preach in japan , but nobody was willing , Prabhupada told whoever goes to preach in japan I will personally take him Back to Godhead ,H.H.Sudama Maharaj agreed to go to japan , but after trying hard for many months seeing no results he returned back & met prabhupada to ask for further course of action , Srila Prabhupa told , "Just take a place for rent & put ur chair in the room & keep on chanting ".

Sudama maharaja followed the instruction & after 4 months many new devotees joined & started chanting 16 rounds , Sudama maharaja asked prabhupada how this happened , Srila Prabhupada told , " when a atom bomb is put , it is not that it affects only the immediate area to which it is hit , but it causes destruction to a large area , similarly krsna 's holy name is mor epowerful than a mundane atom bomb when u chant it with pure heart it not only purifies the immediate place but the nearby area also so it is by the power of holy name that so many people became devotees. 

EXPECT MISERIES AND CALAMITIES

(based on talks of H.H.Radhanath swami )

Just like we expect monsoon and are not surprised by the coming and going of seasons , similarly we should expect miseries,challenges, tempations to come our way & be prepared , just as we are prepared by carrying our umbrella in monsoon , simlarly we should take the shelter of lotus feet of krishna , it is such a umbrella which will not only protect you from misery but shower you with nectar .

If you think that i am very intelligent fellow and i know everything & you don't take shelter & guidance of vaisanava , than that is a very dangerous proposition, as our mind wil cheat us slowly & gradually , lord chaitany amahaprabhu who is the supreme lord used to take guidance from vaisanava then who are we .

Krsna is not attracted by ur scholarly knowledge of scriptures , or ur big donations he is attracted by love & devotion.

If krishna is pleased we are successful if he is displeased even if the whole world is glorifying us it’s a failure

Sometimes we use things and say al I skrishna but the real test comes when we are asked to leave it are we disturbed ?

The greatest purpose of king is to give an example to citizens how to perfect lif eby krishna consciousness

If our chanting , spiritual services are not pleasing krishna they will have no spiritual results

Our first duty is to chant 16 rounds , take darshan & hear bhagvatam

• Sex life destroys finer tissues , thus mind becomes dull and spiritual issues cannot be understood
  Successful materialistic life means satistying tongue & genitals
  How to tell that falldown has been accidental or premeditated?
  Sp : only Spiritual master can tell not easy to discover
• Api cet suducharo verse is not for ordinary devotees , neophytes, its for highly advanced devotees, so we have to be careful ,
• Ajamila's falldown was accidental falldown , so we should not disrespect him or compare ourself with ajamila
• The questions in bhagvatam are as important as the answers , that will guide us to focus properly .
• Don’t think that as thinking in mind has no reactions I can think whatever I want , mental deviation precedes physical deviation , dhayate visayan pumsa , nip it in the bud
• You have to sumbit your mind to training , krsanize it , only rituals will not yield you results,
• We are not ashamed of begging to material energy for comforts but don’t want to beg to krsna
• When we r chewing the chewed and don’t get any taste we start finding taste in the skin like skin of lemon , orange & say o I never tasted that its so nice, we are in total darkness but we imagine we r seeing
• The Job of material energy is to cheat you , we thing material energy will provide us money & respect if we work hard & get a good boss, it will give us perfect partner who can understand us perfectly , but that's not the reality.
• Who says I have no determination , but see even though u have been frustrated by material energy so many times but u still don’t give ur material tendency for sense gratification.
• Karmic activity means : I shall act for my pleasure,
• We think the materialistic goals I have are not so bad , I am not working for mafia or something
• Our peace formula , krsna I am chanting ur name provide me all my material necesseties and fulfill all my material desire
• As you progress in bhakti that physical association of spiritual master is not so intense as the association of his instructions his vani why is that ? Generally there is a problem with physical things , they appear & disappear , sometimes u get sometimes not , so an intelligent devotee can get constant association through vani .
• The intelligent devotee never thinks I am serving krsna enough , always looking for service more & more , tries to improve his service more and more , This is the luxury of a devotee that his illuminations keeps on increasing more and more as he progresses in dev.service.
• When we engage in sense gratification we are shaping our mind which troubles us later its like making ur own prison.
  Krsna has much better gifts for us but we are not willing to take them .
• The 1 st mistake we identify with body & mind it opens the door for mode of passion , intense longing & no satisfaction , frustration in end , u get bitter feeling, crying moan lament & search for friends to console u .
• The mind is abusing us , pushing us troubling us but we cant give it up bcos we don’t know anything better than that so a bhakti yoga & association of devotees is a very imp .
• One has to be humble enough to admit that I am being abused by my mind .
• Uddhava :Since sense objects & mind are embedded deeply how to get out of this loop ?
  Krsna says think of me , engage in my service then only its is possible to get out of this loop .
• But don’t become overly confident , material life is like walking on land mines , be very careful
• Just like a husband is careful not to get allured by other woman as a sign of his love towards wife , its not simply out of fear , its out of love , u avoid sense gratification to avoid jeopardizing ur relationship with krsna ,
  We are fearful of maya but that intelligent fear is a sign of love , we want to protect our bhakti lata that’s intelligence.

Being careful in the material world is a sign of spiritual intelligence.

Pray to krsna to appreciate devotees in their vareigatedness.

Being krsna conscious means being conscious of krsna 's part & parcels also.

Devotional service gives pleasure , nourishment satisfatcion just like when u eat food it gives pleasure , nourishment & satisfaction.

By serving krsna & not thinking about you , u will be relived of all ur sufferings ,

Material sufferings are bcos of material desires, u have the pain of wanting & even when u get ur frustrated it’s a holocaust , dev.service gives u relief.

Instead of shaping the mind through material desires shape it according to devotional principles.

Even lord chaitanya used to take consultation from vaisanavas , he is the supreme bhakti teacher .

We should not go to vrindavan for getting material fame prestige amongst devotees

Swarup damodar, gadadhar pandit , haridas thakur never went so we should be very careful while doing things .

There is a devotee, Bhaktibhava devi dasi, from Houston, texas U.S., and a disciple of HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja, who is in a cancer hospital in Kerala, India. She is in Kerala for ayurvedic treatment for cancer. She is reaching out and asking for any devotees who are in the area to please contact her.

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