From Back to Godhead

When the 2017 Super Bowl game, the summit of American professional football, was held in Houston, a devotee convinced me and a few others to try to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books at a huge pregame event downtown. Venturing into the passionate, teeming crowd, we sold a few books, but not so many. This experience reinforced what was already obvious: mundane sport certainly has a powerful allure. In fact, every year over six hundred billion dollars are spent worldwide on the sports industry, which caters to an ever more fervent fan base.

Why are sports so popular? According to Vaishnava teachings, everything here, including the sporting propensity, is an imperfect or distorted reflection of the original, blissful activities of all-attractive Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, although in this material realm sports may be attractive, their charm is illusory. We can’t enjoy the Real Thing here. At best we can try to squeeze pleasure out of a perverted representation, like a mirage in the desert.

When it comes to genuine, pure fun or sport, Lord Krishna is the unrivaled champion, the unabashed connoisseur, as we see in Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.18.19: “Krishna, who knows all sports and games, then called together the cowherd boys and spoke as follows: ‘Hey cowherd boys! Let’s play now! We’ll divide ourselves into two even teams.'”

Ravindra Svarupa Dasa has explained how the Lord’s pleasure in sport or play, unlike ours, is not materially motivated or contaminated; it is transcendentally ecstatic and pure:

God is playful: the Sanskrit term for divine activity is, in fact, lila – play. By His inconceivable power God seamlessly unites in His descents very serious purpose (to save humanity) with sheer sport. Thus, as Matsya [His incarnation as the divine fish], He frolics in the waves of the deluge; as Varaha [the transcendental boar-avatara] He enjoys a good fight. In all descents we see Him delighting in drawing out the possibilities of a particular role, a player in a play. The idea of lila captures a defining element of divine activity: it is unmotivated. All human acts spring from motives, desire for what we lack or fear we will lack. But God already has everything. He has nothing to gain or lose. (“The Descent of God,” Back to Godhead, May 1985)

The Tenth Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.44.29) describes how Krishna and Balarama celebrated Their victory over King Kamsa’s demoniac wrestlers Canura, Mushtika, Kuta, Sala, and Toshala: “Krishna and Balarama then called Their young cowherd boyfriends to join Them, and in their company the Lords danced about and sported, Their ankle bells resounding as musical instruments played.” The purport to this verse, by Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, notes: “Nowadays we see that in championship boxing matches, as soon as there is a victory, all the friends and relatives of the victorious boxer rush into the ring to congratulate him, and often the champion will dance about in great happiness. Exactly in this mood, Krishna and Balarama danced about, celebrating Their victory with Their friends and relatives.”

Scriptures describe how when Krishna dances playfully on the hoods of the poisonous serpent Kaliya, the demoniac snake is humbled and purified. The Bhagavatam (2.7.34–35) says that even when Krishna kills inimical attackers – humans like the evil King Kamsa or animals such as the aggressive bull-demon Arishtasura – “The demons, thus being killed, would attain either the impersonal brahmajyoti or His personal abode in the Vaikuntha planets.”

Indeed, Lord Krishna’s sportive lilas yield only spiritual benefit and bliss for everyone, even “spectators” like you and me when we simply read or hear about them. In the material world, however, anyone who tries to imitate the Lord’s sporting nature becomes implicated in the law of karma. For example, unlike the entirely positive results when Krishna killed the bull-demon, when a bullfighter kills a bull the result is suffering for the bull and the bullfighter. The spectators become implicated in the karma as well.

Another problem is that nearly all the athletes we admire or idolize are not pure devotees of the Lord, and are thus unworthy of the inflated adulation they often receive. For example, even though millions of fans once practically deified the well-known American football player O. J. Simpson for his athletic skill, he was charged with murder and later imprisoned for another crime and is no longer considered a hero. Many professional, amateur, even Olympic athletes – supposed role models or heroes – have been prosecuted for doping, cheating, spousal abuse, and even homicide. Such athletes may entertain us, but they cannot free us from the material world, which, as Krishna explains to Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita 8.15, is duhkhalayam ashashvatam, a place of misery and impermanence. Try as we might we can’t really win here, and even if we do, none of us can enjoy our hard-earned victories for long.

Wasting Time

As a compassionate Vaishnava, Srila Prabhupada was para-duhkha-duhkhi, unhappy to see others’ suffering. Once, on a morning walk near a golf course in Dallas, he asked, “What are these men doing?”

When told that they were playing golf, with a tear in his eye Prabhupada declared, “See how they are wasting their time, hitting this little ball.”

The Christian evangelist Billy Graham once implied that sports are ultimately less important: “God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf course,” he joked.

For any soul fortunate enough to have attained a human birth, Prabhupada regarded mundane sports as simply a waste of time, one among many futile attempts at happiness through sense gratification.

“In this age,” he wrote, “men are victims not only of different political creeds and parties, but also of many different types of sense-gratificatory diversions, such as cinemas, sports, gambling, clubs, mundane libraries, bad association, smoking, drinking, cheating, pilfering, bickerings, and so on.” (Bhagavatam1.1.10, Purport)

Of course, participatory sports do provide exercise and recreation, but serious devotees understand that mundane sport – including watching spectator sports – can be subtly or grossly polluting. Although often touted as good clean fun, major spectator sports are often connected with vikarma, or sinful, prohibited activities, through the products sold by their sponsors. Because sport in this world originates in Krishna, who is all-attractive, it can attract us. But we should be aware that it can serve as one of the many weapons of mass distraction of Mayadevi, a dear servant of the Lord whose task is to test our priorities by offering illusory allurements.

If we see in mundane sports occasional flashes of beauty, exuberance, heroism, excitement, drama, spontaneity, creativity, determination, great teamwork, and brilliant tactics – the skill, artistry, or prowess of a Pele, Muhammad Ali, Michael Phelps, Martina Navratilova, or Usain Bolt – we can remember that Krishna tells us, “Know that all opulent, beautiful, and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor” and “I am the ability in man.” (Gita 10.41, 7.8)

Lord Krishna, however, does not want us to loiter in the material world trying to extract a mere spark of His splendor through perverted reflections in materialistic stadiums or on dazzling television screens. He beseeches us to attain His padam avyayam, or eternal spiritual realm, as Srila Prabhupada explains:

That padam avyayam, or eternal kingdom, can be reached by one who is nirmana-moha. What does this mean? We are after designations. Someone wants to become “sir,” someone wants to become “lord,” someone wants to become the president or a rich man or a king or something else.… Designations and attachments are due to our lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature. As long as we do not give up this propensity of lording it over material nature, there is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of the Supreme, the sanatana-dhama. That eternal kingdom, which is never destroyed, can be approached by one who is not bewildered by the attractions of false material enjoyments, who is situated in the service of the Supreme Lord. One so situated can easily approach that supreme abode. (Gita 15.5, Purport)

False Designations

We already have plenty of material designations: man or woman, American or Russian, black or white, Hindu, Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Do we really need to create more for ourselves? These superficial, material self-conceptions simply divide and bewilder us, causing us to forget our real spiritual identity. To get out of this dangerous material world, we must be free of all such false designations, or upadhis. Clearly, if we really want to enjoy transcendental sports with Lord Krishna and His friends in the spiritual world, we have to “give up this propensity of lording it over material nature” – and the attempt to enjoy mundane sports is rooted in just that propensity.

When we identify with worldly sports, we are simply concocting more unnecessary, artificial material designations for ourselves. We proudly wear T-shirts glorifying our favorite sports team. Although these teams carry imaginary names, many are fittingly named after animals or various creatures, and we often consider the players our heroes.

Real Heroes

In his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.25.25, Srila Prabhupada notes, “Material activities are false heroic activities, whereas restraining the senses from material engagement is great heroism.” In a letter in 1975 to a devotee who was distributing his books, Prabhupada suggested that even greater heroism than controlling one’s own senses is giving others transcendental knowledge. “During war time, a farm boy or ordinary clerk who goes to fight for his country on the front immediately becomes a national hero for his sincere effort. So Krishna immediately recognizes a preacher of Krishna consciousness who takes all risks to deliver His message.”

In his book Our Family Business, Vaisheshika Dasa explains that a true hero – a genuine champion – is “an ambassador of goodwill,” a sincere servant of the Lord who helps countless losers rise above the illusory game of material life altogether by introducing them to Krishna consciousness, especially through Srila Prabhupada’s books. The miracle of this transcendental literature is that if even convicted athletes, or you and I, are somehow blessed to read and follow it – in a dingy jail cell, a temple ashram, or a fancy penthouse – any of us can become actual winners. Our petty infatuation with illusion’s endless games, lifetime after lifetime, can come to an end, and one day we can participate in the real thing: we can sport face-to-face with Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate sportsman.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=65072

From “The Aims of Life” in Back to Godhead, Vol. 57, No. 3 (May/June 2023):

“Srila Prabhupada, in describing the aim of life with both common sense and scriptural citations, included the quest for happiness as a suitable goal. Yes, he would say, we seek happiness above all else, but our attempts to achieve it through material pursuits must ultimately fail. True and lasting happiness can be found only though self-realization. Our aim in life, therefore, should be self-realization, which becomes complete only when it includes God realization, or realization of the Absolute Truth.

“Because real happiness must include freedom from unhappiness, Srila Prabhupada often stressed that the aim of life is liberation from the various kinds of suffering we all endure as captives of the material energy. He would often point out that the desire to find the solution to our suffering in the material world is the defining quality of human life. Without that desire, human beings are no better than animals.”

“Still, one doesn’t have to listen to Srila Prabhupada for long to learn that he directed our aim to things higher than just liberation. Freedom from suffering entails only the convalescent stage of the soul. The soul is active by nature, and its natural, eternal desire is to act in a loving relationship with God.

“So Prabhupada often framed the aim of life as reviving our relationship with God, or Krishna. The name of his society – the International Society for Krishna Consciousness – indicates that aim. He wanted to teach the world that life is meant to be aimed at knowing, loving, and serving Krishna. There’s nothing as valuable as pure devotional service to the Lord. We must set our sights on that. When we do, Krishna becomes satisfied, and when He’s satisfied, He responds by fully satisfying us.

“While Prabhupada spoke of liberation as an inferior goal, he nonetheless strongly encouraged us to aim at going “back home, back to Godhead,” the highest form of liberation. By using the word home for the spiritual world, he implied that it’s natural for us to want to go there, to that place where Krishna lovingly and eagerly awaits us. Because the most highly advanced devotees are always fully aware of Krishna’s company, they may be indifferent to their location. Still, the Lord’s pure devotees generally leave this world at death and attain the spiritual world, which is fully saturated with devotion for the Lord. Our aim in life should be to follow their example and achieve both pure love for Krishna and eternal residence in His love-filled abode.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=105985#

How not to become spiritually foolish in an age of smart phones, smart appliances, smart everything.

The technological innovations of modern times can empower a life of vice or virtue.

It is the age of devices – smart appliances, smart weapons, smart phones. Scientists, engineers, and research students spend years in careers dedicated to increasing the efficiency, convenience, comfort, and profit from such devices. Yet finding ourselves in the midst of the wealth of these innovations can be confusing. Drawing a line between their wonderful utility and what may be undesirable can be challenging. For instance, mass communication is as rapid as lightning but with no guarantee of truth or illumination. Medical technology is highly developed, but disease and death have not at all decreased. That unimaginably fantastic new gadget waiting for us just around the corner may indeed be the agent of results we do not at all desire.

The Vedic literature offers instruction to help us gauge when we have enough devices in our lives and when desiring or acquiring another one is a vice and it’s time to “de-vice.” We need to consider a device’s value for our devotional service to Lord Krishna.

A Historical Account

In the days of yore there was no quest for electronic devices, which provide only minor abilities, but people sometimes worshiped demigods to achieve powerful subtle yogic powers. These powers could be dangerous if given to someone with ill motives. In Canto Ten, chapter eighty-eight, of Srimad-Bhagavatam Shukadeva Goswami relates a historical account that exemplifies this principle. The story sheds light on how a devotee of Lord Krishna is empowered to use things in His service, and it exposes the vice of a device in the hands of a ruthless demon.

Lord Shiva, the lord of Kailasa Mountain, was once put into danger by awarding the benediction of a special mystic power to a sinful person. It all began when a peculiar person named Vrikasura asked Narada Muni whom he should worship to get a swift benediction. Narada told him to worship Lord Shiva because he easily becomes pleased by his worshiper. Why, Shiva even became pleased by personalities such as Ravana and Bana, two notorious demons, although as a result he was beset with great difficulty.

So advised, Vrika began to offer pieces of flesh from his own body into the sacrificial fire (which in a bona fide sacrifice, unlike Vrika’s, represents the mouth of Lord Vishnu). After doing this for seven days and not receiving the audience of Lord Shiva, Vrika grew impatient. He bathed and prepared to lop off his own head. Lord Shiva rose from the fire and grabbed the demon by both arms. Shiva’s compassionate touch reconstituted Vrika’s body.

“Stop! Stop!” cried Shiva. “Ask from me what you want!”

Vrika did not hesitate: “May death come to whomever I touch on the head with my hand.”

With an ironic smile, as if giving milk to a poison-toothed snake, which only increases its poison, Lord Shiva reluctantly granted the benediction. Hardly a moment passed before the demon wanted to test it, and he tried to put his hand on his benefactor’s head. Lord Shiva was quick, and he fled from Kailasa, running to the limits of the earth, the sky, and the universe. None of the demigods he found could help him. Eventually he reached Svetadvipa, where Lord Vishnu saw Shiva’s difficult situation.

Lord Vishnu decided to appear before Vrika in the form of a brahmachari student. He humbly greeted the demon, telling him he looked tired and should sit down and rest after so much travel. “After all, it is one’s body that fulfills all of one’s desires,” He told Vrika, knowing that demons place great value on the condition of the material body. Vrika easily accepted the advice. The charming brahmachari boy spoke in a pleasing voice, inquiring why Vrika had come so far and what he intended to do. Vrika said he was trying to test his newly acquired powers on the body of Lord Shiva. Lord Vishnu smiled.

“We cannot believe the words of Shiva,” Lord Vishnu said. “He is not in a sane mental condition. He was cursed to become a carnivorous hobgoblin by his father-in-law, Daksha. O best of demons, if you have any faith in him, because he is, after all, the spiritual master of the universe, then without delay put your hand on your head and see what happens.”

Bewildered by Vishnu’s coy reasoning, foolish Vrika placed his hand on his head. Instantly his head shattered as if struck by a lightning bolt, and the demon fell down dead. From the sky were heard cries of victory. “Obeisances!” “Well done!”

Lord Vishnu addressed Lord Shiva, who was now out of danger. “Just see, O Mahadeva, how this wicked man has been killed by his own sinful reactions.”

Similar Modern Behavior

There are interesting similarities between the strategy of Vrikasura and that of modern people who employ innovation. Though Vrika worshiped Shiva to achieve Shiva’s benediction, and modern people tend not to employ worship to achieve their goals, in both cases the achievements are hard sought. Billions of dollars and man-hours are exhausted in the quest of the engineer or entrepreneur. Materials such as steel, titanium, and oil must be extracted from nature. For this, disputes arise over land and manpower, the natural environment is damaged, and wars at the cost of lives are fought. Similarly, in order to excel, Vrika was willing to sacrifice his flesh for seven days, to devastate others, and ultimately to destroy himself.

Vrikasura’s sacrifice reached its fruition when Lord Shiva appeared to him. Similarly, a researcher may sometimes reach a turning point and out of sheer frustration and passion pray to God, witness His blessings of enlightenment according to the researcher’s need, and receive secret, mystical information by which a novel piece of software is created or a vaccine proves potent. But just as Vrika had no affection for Shiva and no desire to worship him once he got what he wanted, modern people have no time for God. Srila Prabhupada spoke of this mentality in a lecture: “Big spacemen, they are praying, ‘May God speed; may God protect us in our rocket ship,’ but once having achieved their goal and returned to earth, they exclaim, ‘We don’t talk of God! We are big scientists!’” Similarly, having achieved his goal of meeting Shiva, Vrika had no gratitude toward him.

Lord Vishnu coaxed Vrikasura into thinking that his newfound device of destruction might be a hoax. Vrikasura’s doubt had the effect of making him, for the moment at least, unaware of how much power he had. Similarly, even a high-ranking soldier today may be unaware of the magnitude of the lethality of modern weapons and strategies under his command.

In Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, chapter eighty-eight, Srila Prabhupada writes:

Sometimes, for example, materialistic scientists invent a lethal weapon. The scientific research for such an invention certainly requires a very good brain, but instead of inventing something beneficial to human society they invent something to accelerate death, which is already assured to every man. They cannot show their meritorious power by inventing something which can save man from death; instead they invent weapons which accelerate the process of death. Similarly, Vrikasura, instead of asking Lord Shiva for something beneficial to human society, asked for something very dangerous to human society.

Devotees of the Lord

So what of devotees of Lord Krishna who wish to use a range of material devices in Krishna’s service? Are they in the same category as materialists who enjoy the use of possessions in the “vice device” category? In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, chapter eighty-eight, titled “Lord Shiva Saved from Vrikasura,” we find a complete delineation of the position of a devotee of the Lord in regard to the devotee’s material assets. The power and opulence of a pure devotee of the Lord are shown there to stand in a unique category. A pure devotee is described as nirguna, or freed from the modes of nature, and thus on the same level as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is always transcendental to the modes. Moreover, the pure devotee can act as a perfect instrument of Lord Krishna’s will, and that is called naishkarma, or the position in which one’s actions have no material effect, no resultant karma.

In a lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.8.26), Srila Prabhupada said:

Lord Shiva, he voluntarily accepts all poverty. His wife is Durga Devi, so powerful. She can make a new universe, she is so powerful. But this couple, Lord Shiva and Parvati [Durga], they have no house even to live in. They live under a tree. So poor, no residential house even. Parikshit asked, “So when one becomes a devotee of Lord Shiva, he gets material opulence, he becomes rich, he gets good wife, he gets all material opulence. And when one becomes the devotee of Vishnu, the husband of the goddess of fortune, he becomes poor. Why this contradiction?”

This is a contradiction. The worshiper of the Lord of the goddess of fortune is becoming poorer, and the worshiper of the vagabond, who has no house even, who lives underneath a bael tree . . . his devotee becomes so opulent materially. So why this difference?

So Shukadeva Goswami said to Parikshit Maharaja, “This very question was raised by your grandfather, Maharaja Yudhishthira, to Lord Krishna. ‘We are your friends, and why are we put into such tribulations that we have lost our kingdom? We are now living in the forest. Our wife is insulted. Why?’

“Krishna said, ‘When I make one especially favored, then I take away all his riches to make him nishkiñcana.’”

Nishkiñchana refers to a person who possesses nothing. This may mean that the person literally owns nothing, but it may also refer to someone who, though having possessions, considers that they all belong to Krishna. This way of thinking is characteristic of a pure devotee. The way such a person employs invention is rarely seen in human society because of the rarity of pure devotees. For the ordinary person, material possessions may be an impediment to devotional service and thus objectionable from the spiritual point of view. But the devotee of the Lord may use a whole battery of otherwise objectionable devices in the service of the Lord, to the extent that the Lord is fully pleased by their use. Arjuna’s fighting is an example of this principle. He used a grand variety of highly evolved mystical weapons gifted to him by demigods such as Indra, but he never thought of using them solely for his own purposes. He did not waver in his service to Krishna. Arjuna’s example is in line with a verse from Srila Rupa Goswami’s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.2.255–56) describing true renunciation: “Whatever is favorable in the service of the Lord the devotee accepts for His service, and whatever is unfavorable to the Lord the devotee rejects. One who rejects that which is favorable is not as complete in his renunciation.”

Krishna’s Pleasure Is the Criterion

In regard to using material devices in Krishna’s service, Srila Prabhupada gave the apt example of a microphone. A microphone is made of material ingredients, and its inventor likely had no Krishna conscious purpose in mind for it. However, by devotees’ using the microphone to amplify the recitation of Krishna’s instructions and glories, it becomes, in effect, spiritualized. In fact, due to advances in technology, today a microphone can distribute Krishna’s glories to one’s ears from a voice speaking on the other side of the planet. Sadhu-sanga, association with learned devotees of Krishna, is available through online conferencing, live broadcasts, social media, and the like, in the form of classes, seminars, and meetings. In an elaborate, artistic museum, devotees have created dioramas that exhibit the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita via animatronics software. On a computer screen we can experience the wonder of transcendence in the vibrant sound and colors of the far-away holy places of Mayapur and Vrindavan. Online social media conferences that feature training in techniques for the distribution, sales, and shipping of books such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita have increased their proliferation in recent years. And Krishna conscious missionaries use demographics software to locate institutions and populations that still await the opportunity to receive the spiritual message of these books.

While human society has certainly taken to a plethora of amazing and powerful devices for better or worse, devotees discover the true potential of devices by appropriate use of them to serve the spiritual master and Krishna. The historical account of Vrikasura illustrates for us the boomerang effect of a device used in the lower modes of material nature. Devices used for furthering the cause of Krishna consciousness, however, do not produce karma; rather by worshiping the Supreme Lord, the devotee achieves freedom from passion and ignorance as well as karmic reactions. Lord Krishna, who alone can award us the opportunity of transcendence, is realized by pure devotees who use His energies to serve Him.

Source: https://btg.krishna.com/removing-the-vice-from-device/

What is the difference between the spiritual and the material worlds? In the spiritual world, everyone is serving Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. And these lovers of Krishna are also serving one another. Even Krishna relishes serving His devotees. It cannot be fathomed. No one wants to get ahead, be the best, or have the most. Everyone is situated in a transcendent state of joyfulness and knowledge. Vaikuntha, the spiritual kingdom free from anxieties, is permeated with loving exchanges arising from the various types of affection in serving the Supreme Lord.

The material world is very different. There are unlimited activities of exploitation, cheating, and duplicitousness. For the most part, the material world is permeated with greed and envy. Everyone is eager to conquer others physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Everyone is running after false pleasures that soon dissolve into suffering. The material world is a madhouse—a world of the cheaters and the cheated.

At its core, the Vedic culture is gentle, a culture of high principles guided by the brahmanas, with the aim of helping us all to return to Vaikuntha. Ideally in the Vedic culture, assistance, service, and protection are provided on all different levels.

The living entities, entangled in the material world, are often confused and trapped. Because of the constant dangers and calamities, the Vedic culture is arranged to provide guidance and protection to ensure a regulated and prosperous lifestyle. Protection must be offered to everyone, especially women, children, cows, the brahmanas, and the elderly. Human society cannot foster a peaceful and prosperous atmosphere without this element of protection in place, protection which extends to all citizens of the land, even the animals and trees. In the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam – 3.16.10), the Lord explains that protection must be extended to “defenseless creatures,” who are an extension of His own body. The material world is a ruthless place, and the defenseless are especially vulnerable.

There are many instances in the Bhagavata Purana where the issue of protection arises. In the great city of Dwarka, a brahmana came to the king’s palace each time a child of his died shortly after birth. He declared that this was happening because the leaders of the kingdom were unqualified, envious, greedy, and not at all attentive to the welfare of the citizens. It seemed the leaders of Dwarka felt helpless, and Arjuna stepped forward to find the brahmana’s deceased children.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/vedic-culture-means-protection/

By Tattvavit Das

On May 25, 2024, a new exhibition featuring the paintings of Annapurna Dasi (Anna Johansson) opened at the Museum of Sacred Art (MOSA) in Radhadesh, Belgium. Titled “Illuminations from the Ramayana,” it will be on display for one year and showcase more than 350 of her pencil-and-ink and water-color paintings. 

Originally from Sweden, Annapurna Dasi has spent the last 25 years creating the artwork, mainly for the award-winning trilogy “Sita’s Fire,” written by her daughter, Vrinda Sheth. This mother-daughter collaboration on the trilogy began when Vrinda was nineteen, about to leave Sweden to study Bharat Natyam dancing in Chennai, India. In India, Advaita Chandra Dasa, the director of Torchlight Publishing, greatly encouraged Vrinda, and their first book appeared in 2012. 

Annapurna’s inner vision to illustrate the Ramayana appeared in her heart when she lived at ISKCON’s eco-village in Almviks Gard, Sweden. It grew and coincided with the inner healing of her anxiety and depression.

Annapurna’s passion for book illustration was inspired by European and American artists who were active in “the golden age of illustration,” 1880–1920: Arthur Rachman, Edmund Dulac, and Warwick Goble. During that time, new printing techniques (such as the half-tone process) and cheaper paper production coincided with railways shipping books and magazines. 

Alone in her studio, Annapurna spent many hours collecting online images of action scenes, buildings, animals, weapons, fauna, and more. To her, visual art was a meaningful, important way to share the deep wisdom of the Ramayana. 

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/annapurna-dasis-illuminations-from-the-ramayana-exhibit-debuts-at-mosa/

Though emperor of the world and a powerful warrior, Yudhishthira Maharaja displayed the character of a compassionate Vaishnava.

By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Lecture given in Los Angeles on May 15, 1973.

After the Battle of Kurukshetra, Maharaja Yudhishthira’s lament was not limited to concern for the loss of human lives alone.

“Suta Goswami said: Being afraid for having killed so many subjects on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra, Maharaja Yudhishthira went to the scene of the massacre. There, Bhishmadeva was lying on a bed of arrows, about to pass away.” – Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.1

The most important point here is that King Yudhishthira was so responsible that he became afraid. “I have killed so many praja.” It is not said “human beings.” No. Praja. Pra means prakrishta-rupena, or “complete,” and ja means jayate, or “takes birth.” Every living entity takes birth somewhere. Consider nationalism. What is the meaning of “American nation” or “Indian nation”? The human being is the same in both places – two hands, two legs. And they eat. Everything is the same. Why the difference in nationality? Nationality is only there because that particular human being has taken birth in that particular land. That is called praja.

If an Indian girl has given birth to a child in America, the child becomes an American national because the child was born in America. So if this fact is to be accepted – that anyone who takes birth in the land of America becomes an American immediately, and the American government takes charge of his protection – why is this restricted to only the human child? If this is the definition – praja, “one who takes birth” – then the animals also take birth. The trees also take birth. So many other animals, other living entities, also take birth. So yes, therefore they are all prajas.

It is miserly to limit your praja conception, your national conception, to human society only. Expand it. Even if it is taken nationally, anyone who takes birth in this land is a national, whether human being or animal or tree or plant. That is the definition of praja. Prakrishta-rupena jayate: any living entity who has taken birth. In America there are so many jungles and trees. If an outsider like me comes and begins to cut the trees, will the American government tolerate that? Immediately I shall be prosecuted. I can say, “What is the harm? It is a tree that I am cutting.” “No, you cannot cut this tree, because it is on American land.”

Yudhishthira Maharaja is not only thinking of the human beings who were killed on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra. He is thinking of all the horses, elephants – because they are also living entities. They are also praja, nationals.

We don’t find the word “national” in the Vedic literature. It is a modern invention. But if we feel nationally, then we feel for every living entity who is born in that land. That is real Krishna consciousness, not the sectarian idea that “I feel for this living entity, not for that one.”

Iti bhitah. Yudhishthira Maharaja was very much afraid. “I have killed so many animals and men. So what to do?” Praja-drohat. Droha means to become an enemy. Unless you become my enemy, you cannot kill me, neither can I kill you. So when the prajas were killed, the king became their enemy. He is thinking, “Otherwise, how I could induce them to be killed?” He was thinking like that. Praja-drohat. If you rebel against the king it is a great fault; similarly, if the king rebels against the prajas, that is also a great fault. Therefore Yuldhishthira Maharaja is afraid. Bhitah praja-drohat. “Now what to do?”

Sarva-dharma-vivitsaya: “for understanding all acts of religion.” This is the way to approach a guru when you are bewildered, when things are not in order, when your brain is puzzled. Arjuna accepted Krishna as guru when he could not ascertain whether he shall fight or not. Bewilderment. So similarly, Yudhishthira Maharaja also became bewildered. “I have killed so many prajas. What is my position? I have become so sinful. How can I rule over the empire?”

When all these questions puzzled him, he decided to go to Bhishmadeva, who was lying on the bed of arrows before his death. As I told you, Bhishmadeva could not die as long he did not wish to. That was the benediction given by his father. “My dear boy, you have taken such a strong vow. So I give you a benediction.” Formerly everyone was so powerful. Of course, the father’s benediction is always there, but formerly they were actual benedictions. Everyone was so powerful.

For example, the brahmana’s son who cursed Parikshit Maharaja was only twelve years old, a boy, and because he cursed Parikshit Maharaja, “Within seven days he will have to die,” Parikshit Maharaja had to die. Just a small brahmana boy – how powerful he was. And the curse could not be changed. Although Parikshit Maharaja was competent to change it, he did not change it. He showed honor to the brahminical curse. That is discussed by his father in Srimad-Bhagavatam.

The Need for a Guru

Those who were powerful could actually give benedictions. Yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasadah. As we read in the Gurvashtaka, “By the benediction of the spiritual master, one becomes benedicted by the Supreme Lord.”

When Yudhishthira Maharaja became puzzled, he went to Bhishmadeva. This is the process. One must approach a superior person, who is called a guru. Tad-vijñanartham sa gurum eva abhigachchet: “To understand these things properly one must humbly approach a spiritual master.” (Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12)

In this material world we are confused step by step. This is our position. Padam padam yad vipadam. Padam padam means every step; vipadam, danger. It is such a nice place, this material world, that at every step there is danger. And as soon as there is danger, we are confused. And as soon as we are confused – “How to solve this?”

Tad-vijñanartham sa gurum eva abhigachchet. Therefore the Vedic instruction is “Because you are confused, because you do not know which path to follow, you must approach a guru.” This word, abhigachchet, is used when something is compulsory: “You must.” You cannot say, “Without going to a guru I shall chalk out my own path.” No, that is not possible. Therefore this very word is used, gachchet. In Sanskrit all words are meaningful. Gacchet means it is a question of must, not that I may or may not.

Nowadays there are many rascals who come here to your country to preach that “There is no need of a guru. You can become your own guru.” That is not the Vedic injunction. The Vedic injunction is you must go to a guru in order to understand the transcendental science – tad-vijñanartham.

That is natural. When we are confused in our ordinary life, we go to a senior friend or experienced friend and ask him, “My dear friend, I am in this condition. I am very much confused about what to do.” That is natural. Similarly, when Yudhishthira Maharaja was so afraid that he had killed so many prajas, he knew, “Now, still, there is a superior person, my grandfather, who is lying on the bed of arrows. Let me go there.” Tato vinashanam pragat. He decided, “Let me go to Bhishmadeva. He can give me instruction.” What is that instruction? Sarva-dharma: instruction on all kinds of religious systems.

Real Dharma

Dharma means occupational duty. Dharma does not mean a religious sentiment, as it is translated in English. “Animals have no soul.” This is not dharma. Without any scientific knowledge, if somebody says in some religion, for eating meat, “Animals have no soul; you can kill as many as you like,” that is not dharma. The real meaning of dharma is occupational duty, not sentiment.

Dharmam tu sakshad bhagavat-pranitam: “Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Bhagavatam 6.3.19) It is just like state laws. The state laws are given by the state. You cannot manufacture laws. Similarly, dharma, which we call religion generally, cannot be manufactured by your concoction. Dharma is stated by the Supreme Lord. That is dharma.

Krishna says, “I am the father of all living entities.” Sarva-yonishu kaunteya murtayah sambhavanti yah. (Gita 14.4) He is accepting not only human society. Sarva-yonishu means in all species of life. Krishna claims, “Beginning from fish, aquatic life, these living entities are My sons. The birds are also My sons. The beasts are also My sons. The trees are also My sons. The human beings are also My sons. The demigods are also My sons.” Sarva-yonishu: in every species of life. This is the conception of Krishna consciousness. We do not say that simply the human being has a soul. No. Every living entity. Even a small ant or a small plant is a living entity. By its different work it has got a different dress only. Just as we, so many persons, are sitting here and we have got our different dresses according to our different choices, similarly we get these bodies.

We are all sons of God. There is no doubt about it. We are all spirit souls, whether in the human form of body or the animal form of body or the tree form of body – anything. Sarva-yonishu. We are all living entities. But we have got different dresses, that’s all, according to karma. This is the philosophy. So we cannot say, “These living entities dressed in this way are more important than the living entities dressed in another way.” No. Panditah sama-darshinah: “The humble sage sees with equal vision.” (Gita 5.18)

Equal Vision

Those who are actually learned – pandita, sama-darshinah – are equal, equipoised: “Never mind. Here is a dog; he is also a living entity. And here is a brahmana; he is also a living entity. By their work one has got the body of a brahmana, and the other has got the body of a dog. But as living entities they are equal.”

Without Krishna consciousness, the philosophy of equality and fraternity as they profess in your country is not possible. Artificial. Without people coming to Krishna consciousness and understanding that every living entity is part and parcel of Krishna, or God, then equality, fraternity, universal brotherhood – big, big words – these are impossible. Therefore one has to become a learned scholar, panditah sama-darshinah. Then he will be able to see equally.

Maharaja Yudhishthira is thinking of all prajas. Otherwise, the language would have been “human being.” No. Praja. “All kinds of praja.” This is the universal understanding.

Hare Krishna. Thank you very much.

Source: https://btg.krishna.com/a-king-with-the-vision-of-a-sage/

By Yasoda-dulal Das 

“The Four Questions: A Pathway to Inner Peace” by Vaisesika Dasa is a remarkable, compact book that not only summarizes the wisdom of ancient Vedic texts into four multi-layered questions but also provides practical answers that are highly relevant to the complex dilemmas and frustrations we all face in today’s world.

The four questions that the book answers are:

1) What is my purpose?

2) How may I be of service?

3) What is the lesson?

4) Where am I investing my attention right now?

In the book, Vaisesika provides wise, nuanced, and multi-layered answers to these four questions. Interspersed with these answers are sub-questions and answers to those sub-questions, as if anticipating readers’ challenges and doubts.

Readers of ISKCON News likely already know him as a brilliant scholar of Vedic texts. His wisdom is practical, relevant, and highly applicable to devotional practice in today’s world. What lends added impact to the teachings in this book is that Vaisesika practices these teachings fully himself, in partnership with his saintly wife of several decades, Nirakula Devi Dasi.

Taken together, the answers provided in this book add to the growing body of literature on emotional intelligence, resilience, and happiness and are consistent with numerous studies done on these topics.

By Parabhakti Dasa 

June 1, 2024, marked a historic turning point for Yatra Italia as it moved closer to achieving the Agreement with the State, the highest recognition for a religion in Italy. This status will enable devotees to access grants, media spaces, schools, hospitals, prisons, and many other opportunities. A conference was held at the prestigious Protomoteca of the Campidoglio to celebrate this significant milestone and honor Srila Prabhupada, who visited Rome exactly fifty years ago and sanctioned the birth of ISKCON Italy.

The event was attended by prominent figures such as Ugo Papi, from the Mayor of Rome’s office, the Indian Ambassador to Italy, Mrs Vani Sarraju Rao, Monsignor Michael Santiago from the Roman Catholic Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (DID), the famous Italian sociologist of religions Massimo Introvigne, Nuccia Colosimo, the lawyer who has long been assisting ISKCON Italy in the recognition procedures, and Senator Giulio Terzi of Sant’Agata.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-italy-celebrates-50th-anniversary-with-prestigious-gathering-and-ratha-yatra/

Sri Namamrta

1. The Holy Name Revives One’s Dormant, Eternal Krsna Consciousness
2. The Role of the Holy Name in the Progression of Devotional Service
3. The Holy Name Frees One from the Reactions to Sins
4. By Chanting the Holy Name, the Mind Becomes Controlled
5. The Holy Name Protects One from Pride
6. By Chanting, One Develops Forbearance
7. The Holy Name Eradicates Material Desires and Sinful Activity
8. The Holy Name Cleanses the Heart and Frees One from Material Contamination
9. The Holy Name Brings Faith in Krsna Consciousness
10. The Holy Name Liberates One from the Miseries of Material Existence
11. By Chanting the Holy Name One Becomes Enlightened
12. If One Chants His Holy Name, Krsna Becomes Pleased and Obliged
13. Krsna Helps the Sincere Chanter
14. By Chanting His Holy Name, One can Remember Krsna
15. By Chanting, One Associates with the Lord Directly
16. The Holy Name Attracts One to Krsna
17. The Holy Name Invokes an Attitude of Service to the Lord
18. By Chanting the Holy Name, One Achieves Direct Service to the Lord
19. By Chanting the Holy Name, One Comes to Understand / Realize / See Krsna
20. The Holy Name Evokes Love of God
21. The Holy Name Evokes Ecstasy
22. Chanting of the Holy Name In the State of Ecstasy
23. By Chanting the Holy Name, One Returns Home, Back to Godhead
24. Even Improper Chanting of the Holy Name Yields Beneficial Results
25. A Devotee Can be Satisfied in Any Condition of Life Simply by Chanting
26. The Holy Name Protects the Devotee from Falldown
27. The Holy Name Protects One from Danger and Fear
28. Other Instructions on the Transcendental Effects of the Holy Name
B. The Transcendental Effects of the Holy Name

Read more: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85505

By Chirag Dangarwala

Complacency is a dangerous element in the progress of Spiritual Life.  It is very essential for an endeavoring spiritualist to always remember that the material world is not a place of comfort. It has been certified by the Creator, Lord Sri Krsna himself as dukhalayam and asasvatam, which means it, is full of misery and temporary. 

mäm upetya punar janma
duùkhälayam açäçvatam
näpnuvanti mahätmänaù
saàsiddhià paramäà gatäù [ B.g. 8.15]

“After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogis in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.”

One may ask that, if the world is temporary and Miserable then why have we come here. The reason of our coming here is our desires to imitate Lord Sri Krsna. The only purusa, which means enjoyer is Lord Krsna and others all are his prakriti that is they are to be enjoyed. We the ordinary living entities constitute his marginal energy who can either be under the control of His Divine energy i.e. Radharani or in the control of his material energy that is Mahamaya or Durga Devi. When we desire to become the Lord and try to enjoy like him we come under the control of his material energy that is maya which means ” which is not” or in other words illusion and As soon as we recognize that we are not the enjoyers but are supposed to be enjoyed and surrender our propensity to lord it over the material nature we come under the control of spiritual energy which makes us feel happy and free from all anxieties.

 The practice of Spiritual life is the struggle to get out of the clutches of material energy to reach the spiritual energy of the Lord and be situated in the His eternal service as loving servants. It is very difficult for the living entity to come out of the material energy by his own. It is only by the mercy of Spiritual master and the Lord himself one can progress in the spiritual understanding. After receiving the mercy of Spiritual master and the Lord it is very important for a serious practitioner to safeguard against the falls down to material energy itself.

Complacency is one of the weapons by which the material energy tries to bring the living entity under its grip. Complacency creeps into the consciousness of a living entity when everything around him is going well and every one looks happy and satisfied with him or her. When one is able to fulfill his desires easily without much effort, the modes of nature act in such a way that one starts feeling that ” After all material world is not such a bad place, may be I can enjoy a little bit here”. It is very easy to fall trap to such thinking especially when everyone around us is thinking in this manner. As again and again stressed by great sages and the Lord himself one must be aware that in this material world there is no happiness whatsoever.  The illusory happiness that we feel for a moment or two in this world is not actually happiness, but it is a lack of distress for a while. The example given here is that, in the olden days when the kings used to punish some criminal, they used to forcefully dip the criminals face in the water and keep it there for a long time, just when the criminal is about to pass out they would bring him out of the water for a short period to breathe, the criminal would consider that to be happiness, but again his face would be plunged into the water to suffer more. So in this material world the so called happiness is the little relief from misery that is awarded to one as per once’s karma, if one mistakes it to be real happiness we must understand that we are being pulled by the material energy.

The only way by which one can save one self from this agony and misery of this material world is to chant the holy names of the Lord, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, for this is the method prescribed by the scriptures for this age of Kali. Always associating with the devotees keeps the momentum and enthusiasm for spiritual life going on. Eating Prasadam and reading Scriptures purifies one from the contamination and protects one from falling into the complacency.

kaler doña-nidhe räjann
asti hy eko mahän guëaù
kértanäd eva kåñëasya
mukta-saìgaù paraà vrajet [S.B. 12.3.51] 

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9049

The History of the Balaram Mridangas

 My name is Ishan das. I created the Balaram mridanga in L.A. It is really quite a story. But I’ll give you the brief version.

Some time in 1972-73 Srila Prabhupada saw that the East Indians were not carrying on the tradition of making the original mridangas and kartals. The younger generation who would normally take over the arts from their fathers were becoming more and more interested in going to school and going to the cities. They were thinking that working with leather making the drums and such was a lower class of activity. So Srila Prabhupada sent out a letter to all the GBCs indicating that some men should be sent to India to learn these arts.

At that time I was in the temple of Jagadisha who was Srila Prabhupada’s Minister of education and a GBC member. Somehow by being alone in Jaggadish’s office I glanced at what was there on the desk, etc. and saw a letter expressing Srila Prabhupada’s desire in this connection.

That was all I had to see. This was the project for me. It was a way that I could do something that Srila Prabhupada wanted done. Jaggadisha sanctioned my participation in this adventure. But I would have to raise my own fare. Because I was married and had one child, the decision was made that Brajadevi would go to Gurukula in Dallas and my wife and I would go to India.

I have never been very adept at raising money. I did have in my possession a set of the three Bahagawatams that Srila Prabhupada had brought from India. I sold the set for about $200 dollars to a man who used to visit the Toronto temple. When I returned to Canada, after my time spent in India, I begged that man to please, please sell them back to me. But he would not hear of it.

In that letter from Srila Prabupada, he also mentioned that he wanted some devotees to take up the practice of making “dolls”. All these things had to be learned from the masters or those arts in India. Srila Prabhupada had personally selected the teachers. The learning was to be done on our land in Mayapur. The professional drum and doll makers would come to teach the devotees, during the daytime and then return to their villages in the evening.

So I reached Mayapur Dham and began my learning process. There were about half a dozen devotees who had come from various temples in order to learn. For the drums there were two processes. The clay man made the shells, and the leather man made the drums.

Learning from these men was not according to the western way of learning. In the first place these men were very proud of their trades, and would not easily part with their secrets which were passed down from generation to generation. Secondly, they had a good thing going. Gargamuni Maharaja who was temple president in Calcutta, was in the business of taking charge of the drums that these men were making, and then shipping them to the west as a way of raising funds and helping the movement. One of the men later confessed to me, “If you learn how to make these drums, our jobs are finished.” So they had a vested interest both in sharing the skills , but not sharing them too fast. There was a language problem as well. These were Bengalis and we were English speaking.

Another issue in regard to learning from these men was that in India, the teacher took the position of a guru, and the student became the apprentice. In other words, the student was, according to their culture, to become a menial servant, in all sincerity. I would bring these men water to drink. I would bring them prasadam. And I was the gofer. With the clay man, I had to take the clay that was dug out of the fields and minutely remove, by hand, every little twig, splinter, and grain of sand. And this I had to do in a crouching posture. This was no picnic.

As far as the leather man was concerned, when someone came from a local village with a freshly removed skin from a cow, someone had to clean it. The skin was still wet with blood. It would be folded in on itself like a package. Then the bloody skin was placed in a gunny sack for transportation. And this is the way that the new skins were delivered to our land. Therefore my first task was to take the wet skin out of the sack and stake it out in the filed, fleshy side up, to be baked crisp by the sun. Then there were the packs of wild dogs who were beside themselves wanting to get at that skin. When the skin was good and crisp, there was the hair to be removed from one side, and the course layers of dry fleshy material to be removed form the other side. This was my daily routine. The teachers loved it. Not only because there was someone to do the Joe-jobs. But here was a white western person who was willing to be their menial servant.

Well the learning went on. Somewhere along the way, Gargamuni Maharaj found a more local source for a good supply of clay drums to ship to the west. Closer to Calcutta. Now I was a problem for him. If I learned how to make these drums, this could interfere with his drum business. So he told Bhavananda Maharaj and Jayapataka Maharaj, who were overseeing everything at our Mayapur project, that Srila Prabhupada changed his mind. He no longer wanted us to learn these arts. The whole process was then suspended.

Along the way, I remembered that Srila Prabhupada also wanted someone to learn how to make the “dolls” so that we could have exhibitions in the west. So I wrote to Baradraja, who I knew from 1968 in the Montreal temple, when it was run by Hansadutta Prabhu. Baradraj and I were friends before we came in touch with devotees. We were in a rock band together, and Baradraj was living in a rooming house that I was running, to bring the landlord some income. There were a lot of devotees living in that house, but we were not devotees until Hansadutta Prabhu moved into the building. From that house the following persons joined up. There was Baradwaja, Chandan Acarya, Sripati, and Gopal Krishna Maharaja. Gopal Krishna was very hesitant to move in with us. He used to say “I cannot move in with you, because I am too impure.” But finally he also moved in. Hansadutta was on fire and everyone around him became a devotee.

So I wrote Baradwaja and told him that Srila Prabhupada wanted this “doll” learning process to go forward. Very soon Baradwaj appeared in Sridham Mayapur, learning the art of making dolls that looked like they came from the higher planets.

By and by Srila Prabhupada inquired as to how the drum project was going. Srila Prabhupada was told that Gargamuni had said that Srila Prabhupada no longer wanted us to make the drums. Srila Prabhupada was disturbed and said he had never given such instruction. So it was back to cleaning clay and scraping skins.

The other boys who were there to learn the drum process used to come to the mridanga-making hut armed with clipboards. They would watch and ask questions through an interpreter. One day, one of the clipboard team, asked the teacher why he did such and such aspect of the process in a certain way. Why did he not do it in another way that this godbrother thought would be a good idea. The teacher did not look up from his work. He was sitting in his regular squat position. He looked at the ground for a little bit. Everyone was very quiet. then the teacher looked up and said to the interpreter, in Bengali, “My father did it this way.” That was that. He continued with his work, and continued giving me assignments. Clean this. Move that. Bring this. Scrape that.

Over time, I really developed a love for this man. He was a Bengali, maybe in his fifties or sixties. Maybe five feet tall, and extremely thin and wiry. His face showed his cheek bones and he had beautiful eyes. His black hair was oiled and combed straight back. His determination was was like steel, and he quietly went about his activities. He had seen all that life had to show him in this rural environment. He was a survivor. He had the demeanor of a fox. Quiet and patient, and knowing his objectives. He wore a white shirt and a small piece of cloth around his waist down to his knees. He wore no shoes when he worked on the drums. He had to use all hands and feet to make the drum. He would apologize to the drums for putting his feet on them. There was no other way.

One hot summer day in Mayapur, at the bamboo drum hut, we were working in the hut. The front wall was half open. It was about six feet by eight feet. And the dirt floor was raised so that we were about two feet above the outside land. The clipboard team was outside the hut taking notes. My drum guru, Jotinda, was working quietly. There were flies and he paid them no heed. there was the clipboard team and he paid them no heed. Then still in a crouched position, he stopped his work. His fine thin hands lowered until the leather knife he was holding rested on the dirt floor. A sly smile rested on his face. And one by one he pointed to the members of the clipboard team, and as he pointed at them one at a time, he made an announcement. “Mridanga mistree nay! mridanga mistree nay, mridanga mistree nay! ” Then he paused, and looked at me who was working beside him, in the hut, on some assigned task. His face wore one of his rare smiles, and he said, :”Ishan prabhu – mridanga mistree!” Then with one of his tools, he drew a map on the dirt floor. In the center of the map, was Sridham Mayapur. And all around the center were the other continents. And he said it once more, “Ishan prabhu – mridanga mistree!” It had the air of prediction, of giving me a blessing.

The work went on. Time passed. I learned the process, step-by-step. I completed my first mridanga, from start to finish, ghab and all. It was time. Srila Prabhupada was in Vrindaban.

I made the trip to Vrindaban alone, by train, and by horse-drawn cart. Raman Reti. the property was all dug up. Big holes in the ground for laying foundations. Boards and debris scattered. Big piles of earth beside the large holes. Srila Prabhupada was ill. It was summertime and the the nights were very warm. Srila Prabhupada chose to sleep on a cot in the midst of what looked like a war field. It was a war. A war against maya. And Srila Prabhupada was the commander-in-chief. I made my bed on a mat a few yards away. During the night I could hear Srila Prabhupada making sounds of distress. He was purifying the Dham.

A few days went by. Srila Prabhupada was getting stronger. He wanted to go on a morning walk, a short walk. He knew about my drum. I was told that I was to accompany Srila Prabhupada on his morning walk. We were a small group – maybe five or six. After a short time, Srila Prabhupada turned off the road and enterd an open field an sat down. We followed suit.

Srila Prabhupada asked his assistant if he had brought along a tape recorder. He hadn’t. Srila Prabhupada turned to me. It concerned the mridanga. I was ready, I said, to remain in India the rest of my life and make these drums for our movement.

Srila Prabhupada said, “It takes so much work to make one of these drums. And our men throw them down like pots. So go to the west. Use your western technology. Make a drum that they cannot break. And put a strong strap on it. The day will come when there will be big, big sankirtan in the streets. And the people will want drums. And we will give them drums.”

After a day or so, Srila Prabhupada had us come to his room. I was to bring my drum. Srila Prabhupada said, “Ishan has made this drum. We can have kirtan. Harikesh will play the drum” We had kirtan. Harikesh was delighted with the drum. He arranged to buy it from me.

The kirtan ended and Srila Prabhupada began to speak. “Ishan is going to the West to make mridangas. Where would you like to make these drums, London?” “In Los Angeles Srila Prabhupada. Los Angeles is the place where there is so much plastics industries.”

Jayatirtha, GBC, was in the room. Los Angeles was his headquarters. “I think he should go to London, Srila Prabhupada.” “London?”, Srila Prabhupada said. “No, Srila Prabhupada,” I said, “Los Angeles.” Srila Prabhupada looked at Jayatirtha. “Ishan will go to Los Angeles. Jayatirtha will give him all facility.” He looked at Jayatirtha, waiting for a sign of agreement. Jayatirtha agreed.

We had barely left Srila Prabhupada’s room and Jayatirtha descended on me. “O.K. Ishan”, he said, annoyance and hostility radiating from his face. “How much space do you need?” It was a very short discussion. I was to wait at the temple in Delhi. Jayatirtha would send me the travel funds from L.A.

Time passed. I waited. The funds never came. After recovering from malaria, I approached the Indian authorities, who in turn aquired the funds from my parents.

I went to several western temples canvassing for financial support for the project. Montreal, Toronto, New Orleans. It was a good idea, but results were slow in coming. Temple presidents thought I should do something more usefull.

From New Orleans I called Baradraj who was now settled in Los Angeles. He was given facility to have a “doll” making studio, with a staff of devotees. Srila Prabhupada wanted dioramas. Baradraj sent me the money to get a ticket to L.A. He would help me, give me some space.

Meeting Jayatirtha in L.A., he was not pleased. But I had reached L.A.

It was Karandhar Prabhu who really set things in motion. “Give me some figures, Ishan. How much space, what materials do you need, how much will it cost, how long till you come up with a product?” I submitted a detailed proposal. Karandhar funded the whole thing, himself. Even an apartmernt for my family.

Time went by. Maybe six to eight months. So many attempts. All failures. I would have given up. One thing kept me going. If I could do this thing, maybe Srila Prabhupada will be pleased with me.

Then it happened. I had a shop. It was set up. Ranadhir was my liason to the different suppliers. Metal rings, raw urethane, fiberglass shells, inserts, straps, heads from special molds made by Remo Drum Company. We had all the equipment, the materials. Production began. And so did distribution.

Meanwhile Rameswara put me in charge of the Bhakta program, the new Brahmachari ashram, and the kitchen. I needed help in the drum shop. I got one man. He was very sincere and gifted. He was on dialysys, regularly, but he gave it all he had..

In 1977 after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, all insanity came to bear. I was threatened with violence for naming it. Perhaps I made a huge mistake. I left the movement and the association of devotees. Sadhana with devotees, morning and evening. Participation in the Diety program. All gone. My service left behind, with one man to run the drum shop.

But the drums are still rolling out. I am so fortunate to have been a part of it. Actually, when the guru gives an assignment to a bhakta, the bhakta is empowered to do the job. Otherwise, how could a cripple-minded insect have come up with a synthetic mridanga, “a drum that the men can’t break”? So once more we have to say, “All glories to Srila Prabhupada!”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18364

A tornado struck the Tongaat area, just north of Durban, 2 nights ago, causing massive destruction and even some deaths. We went out yesterday to do some Food for Life to help the residents there. Thanks to Gomatila prabhu and the FFL devotees for the service, and to Sudarsan Dhari prabhu for the photos.

Source: https://dandavats108.blogspot.com/2024/06/iskcon-devotees-distribute-prasadam-in.html

Sorry I’ve not written anything in a while but often think maybe me writting gets a bit too much and will just bore all of you, however I have been moved to write of a sweet simple loving exchange that I had recently. Every day I am meeting people through my work and everyday I get to realise how special all living things are. I never cease to be amazed how the Lord is everywhere, in one’s hearts whether known or unknown to them.

A few weeks ago there was a festival at Cheltenham headed by the festival team who continue tirelessly to bring people to the lotus feet of the Lord. I offer my utmost respects to all involved. I contacted a client, Jonathan, who lives in the local vicinity with the view he might like to go. However, he is 83 and I guessed it would be a tough sell as he is very set in his ways. I have never held back on my faith, and always mention how important what I do is to me; so Jonathan respectifully listened. He was not sure he’d feel at home going, being in an unfamiliar environment amongst strangers felt a bit much for him. I explained that everyone was welcome and he should go. Not convinced, he replied, “Not this time, OK?” I was sad he made that decision, but didn’t press him any further. Festivals are great and deliver trancendental sound in abundance.

I had been sending him videos of the Saturday night London Harinam knowing that everyone of hears the harinam is captivated by the sounds they hear and he had always told me how much he had enjoyed them. It was satisfying just knowing that he did not take any offence to me sending them. As it happens, I was flying to Munich for the hi-end hifi show (around 700 exhibitors and 30,000 visitors). For 35 years I have been working with sound reproduction of the highest leval, and everyone I meet is in search for the highest leval of sound possible and is trying to find peace and tranquility through sound and inturn search for something higher. Tribhuvanatha Prabhu would often say to me when he would visit me in Neasden, if someone could spend a price of a house in search of the of sound we know what they are looking for as they are not oridinary souls they actually deeply understand the importance and power of sound. And what we have can bring them closer to the ultimate sound the sound of god and yes god makes too a sound that will blow there minds I smiled, and for years reflected on what he said.

Jonathan asked me if could I get him a trade pass so he could come on the Friday which is strictly for trade guests. I managed to wangle a pass for him and on the Friday I met up we Jonathan and we walked around the show. After a while Jonathan said he would like to get a drink, so we to a cafe and got one. I told Jonathan that I had some chanting to catch up on. He looked a bit stunned, but I thought, ‘this is an opportunity for him to hear the holy name aloud’. While mundane sound is undoubtedly powerful, transcendental sound can’t be compared to anything of this world. We get a hint of that fact in the beginning of Bhagavad-gita (1.14), where we learn, “On the other side, both Lord Krishna and Arjuna, stationed on a great chariot drawn by white horses, sounded their transcendental conchshells.” The sounds that Krishna and His sincere devotees make are all transcendental; they are qualitatively different from mundane sounds. I chuffed thinking here I am in a place thinking I am around 30000 spirit souls all in search for the sounds that only the lord can provide.
I explained that I chanted around two hours everyday and Jonathan told me “Please go ahead”. I reached for my bead bag and started chanting the Mahamanta on my initiation beads. I could slowly see Jonathan was gaining interest and was relaxing, listening me me chant each word. Jonathan said, “This is so beautiful. I can see why you always look so peacful.” I replied, “I have my problems as everyone does, but this certainly helps me to put a perspective on things.” Jonathan asked if he could chant with me. I said, “Of course,” so he repeated the Mahamantra after me. It was quite amazing! This is a 83 year old man, very set in his ways, who never had any contact with any sort of spiritual practice, but was now chanting the Mahamantra! It was almost surreal. I felt the Lord’s touch at this moment. Incredible! I could feel Jonathan’s sincerity and we finished the chanting.

Then Jonathan smiled and remarked that this was one of the most incredible experiences he had ever had. More so than any record he had listened to. I just smiled. He told me that being an audiophile and having a vast record collection he understood how important sound is, but this really got to the core of his heart. It was amazing! Prior to this Joanathan had no experience with the holy name and did not want to go to the festival in Cheltenam. But me just being his friend, and not being scared of revealing who I actually am, made him feel comfortable. I made an excuse to go back to my hotel so I could go and get him some books. Fortunately I had them in my luggage and I gave him a ‘Chant and Be Happy’ together with a SSR.

Jonathan looked thrilled then he sadly revealed that his daughter has been suffering with anxiety and depression and had been quite angry with him. I hugged him and said that try and take shelter in the Lord. He said, “If you say so, I will try, but am really not sure if this can help. She has attempted suicide.” I said, “You have to reassure her that there is help and must not loose hope.”

I had to return to the show as I had multiple meetings to attend before leaving for the airport. I quickly wrote the Mahamantra for Jonathan on a piece of paper and said, “If you like you can continue this chanting.” He thanked me but still looked sad. I wondered if he would? How many 8o year olds take to chanting after being so set in their ways? A week went by and I got a phonecall from Jonathan and he thanked me for giving him the gift of chanting. He told me he was chanting every day for 25 minutes. I was completely astounded. I said, “Wow! This is incredible, really incredible.” He said it gave him so much peace of mind and extra energy. I said, “Now you understand the power of faith, and have experienced the Lord’s spiritual energy in your life. It will transform your life and improve it.” He said he’d also started reading the books I had given him.

I asked him how his daughter was. He replied she has been listening to him chant and said she feels a very positive energy from it. I aked if would he like me to send him some beads in the post so he could chant ‘on bead’? He said “Yes please!” So I quicky went to the post office and sent him some beads. Another week went by and Johanthan told me he is now chanting 5 rounds on beads and his daughter wanted to speak to me. She said she had felt down and paranoid but hearing her dad chant has made her feel calmer and has enabled her to think more clearly. Her dad’s calmness has enabled her to feel more loved and cherished by him and she wishes to chant too. She promised me she will chant one round a day. I explained how pleasing this is to the Lord himself. She asked, “How?”

I replied “When someone chants the Lord’s name, the Lord’s mind dwells on them. Krishna thinks, ‘This person has come to me and I will always protect them!’ She replied that she now felt protected and that her father is more qualified to protect her. She said, “This is weird! He has somehow transformed into a sweeter person.”

I got off the phone and reflected how we just have to be ourselves. Yes I did enjoy going to the show and catching up with old friends in industry, but more was the uplifting joy of helping my friend and his daughter. Today I heard from them both and they agreed that chanting the holy name is helping them so, so much. They are extremely thankful that I introduced them to chanting the holy name. By just being a friend to all so much can be achieved.

Chanting the holy name of the Lord is the doubtless way of success for all; the more attentively and sincerely we chant the names of the Lord, the more spiritual progress we will make and the more He will reveal Himself to us. In Srila Prabhupada’s words (Chaitanya-charitamrita, Adi 17.212, Purport), “Any man from any part of the world who practices chanting of the holy name of Krishna can be liberated and after death go back home, back to Godhead.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=112608

Young devotees from the Bali Jagannatha Gauranga Temple organized a camping trip to the beautiful lakes area, half way between Denpasar and Singaraja. The accommodation was a comfortable cabin style and over one hundred youth and parents attended.

Kavicandra Maharaja and I were invited to give class and lead kirtan in the mornings and evenings. During the day the devotees took each others’ association and went out on canoes around the lake. Prasadam was wonderful and everyone had a great time.

Read more: https://www.ramaiswami.com/devotee-youth-camp-bali/

By Atma Tattva Das

In the heart of Vrindavan, amidst the vibrant colors of the Holi festival of India in 2024, devotees from around the globe converged to honor the Tirobhava & Samadhi Festival for Kadamba Kanana Swami. This sacred gathering, rich in devotion and celebration, marked a significant milestone in the ongoing spiritual journey of his seniors, disciples, peers, and admirers.

From the outset, the festival’s preparations demonstrated the community’s unity and dedication. By Saturday, March 23, devotees from all continents had arrived in Vrindavan. The spirit of Holi enlivened the visitors, with colors flying everywhere. The Krishna Balarama temple grounds, a sanctuary amidst the revelry, served as a serene focal point for those seeking solace from the festivities.

The construction of the samadhi monument for Kadamba Kanana Swami, nearing its completion, was a significant element of the preparations. The monument’s intricate details, including engravings and inscriptions, needed final touches, and the door protecting the inner sanctum was yet to be installed. This meticulous care highlighted the homage’s importance. Devotees regularly visited the site to meditate, with late afternoons reserved for melodious bhajans until dusk, creating an atmosphere of remembrance and spiritual introspection.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/a-festival-of-devotion-honoring-kadamba-kanana-swami/