A Talk by Giriraj Swami October 17, 2005 Sri Sri Radha-Radhanatha Temple Durban, South Africa

We welcome you to this most auspicious place, the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Radhanatha, on the most auspicious occasion of the beginning of Kartika, in the most auspicious association of Lord Krsna’s devotees. Kartika is also known as the month of Damodara (dama means “ropes,” and udara means “abdomen”), or Krsna who allowed Himself to be bound about the waist by the ropes of His devotee’s love.

Srila Rupa Gosvami compiled the law book of Krsna consciousness, the science of devotion, in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, translated by Srila Prabhupada in a summary study as The Nectar of Devotion. There the observance of Kartika is mentioned as one of the sixty-four items of devotional service. Rupa Gosvami quotes from the Padma Purana that just as Lord Damodara is favorably inclined toward His devotees, so the month of Kartika, which is also dear to Him, bestows great favor upon His devotees, even for a little service or a little practice. It is even said that the benefit gained for service performed in the last five days of Kartika is equal to that gained from service performed for the entire month. In other words, for a very small performance of devotional service in the month of Damodara, one gets a very big result–especially in Vrndavana. Also, Srila Prabhupada has explained that wherever the deities of Radha and Krsna are installed, that is also Vrndavana. So even here our devotional service will be magnified “one thousand times.”

Srila Prabhupada gives us the example of a store that has a sale. Often when a new store opens they will have a sale, and a customer can get a very valuable item by paying a very small amount. So, the month of Kartika is like a sale, a transcendental sale. By a little investment in terms of spiritual practice and service, you can get a great benefit. Of course, the management of the store hopes that you will come to appreciate its goods and patronize the store even after the sale is over. So we, too, hope that you will continue with your spiritual practices, or increased practices, even after the month of Kartika.

There is a special potency to the month itself. Just as certain times of the day, such as the brahma-muhurta, which begins one hour and thirty-two minutes before sunrise and continues until the sun rises, are more auspicious for spiritual progress and enhance the value of one’s practices, so, too, within the year, the month of Kartika is most auspicious. Devotees try to take advantage of the facility offered by Kartika by on the one side increasing their spiritual practices and doing extra service–they chant more rounds, read more scripture, recite more prayers, distribute more books, and make special offerings–and on the other side decreasing their material involvement, their sense gratification. As it is, we are in the four-month period of Caturmasya, so every month we forgo a certain type of food, but in Kartika devotees may do extra austerities. They may eat only once a day, or give up sweet or fried foods, or rise earlier than usual, or whatever–work on some area of their spiritual life that they want to improve–and they get special mercy in the month of Kartika to fulfil their vows and improve their spiritual practices.

Today also is sarat-purnima, the full-moon night of the sarat season, the night on which Krsna played upon His transcendental flute at Vamsivata by the Yamuna River in Vrndavana and called the gopis to dance with Him. Now, we may take it that He played on His flute and in a figurative way called the gopis to dance with Him, but actually Krsna’s flute is one of His messengers, and so the gopis not only heard the beautiful, melodious sound of the flute, but they actually received the message that Krsna wanted to meet them. And because their only desire was to please Krsna, to fulfil His desires and make Him happy, they all went to Him–not with the aim of fulfilling any selfish desire of their own, but only with the aim of fulfilling Krsna’s transcendental desire to dance with them.

Because the rasa dance superficially resembles the dancing of men and women in the material world, it can easily be misunderstood, and there are critics of Lord Krsna and Srimad-Bhagavatam and Krsna consciousness itself that find fault with the rasa-lila. I know religious groups outside of the Vedic tradition that criticize and challenge: “Oh, Krsna is a womanizer. How can you worship a god that enjoys with women?” They do not understand the pure love exchanged by Krsna and the gopis. In Caitanya-caritamrta, Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami explains the difference between love, or prema, and lust, or kama. In lust, the person wants to gratify his or her own senses, whereas in pure love, the devotee wishes to satisfy Krsna’s transcendental senses. The two may resemble each other, but actually they are completely different.

kama, prema,–donhakara vibhinna laksana lauha ara hema yaiche svarupe vilaksana

atmendriya-priti-vancha–tare bali ‘kama’ krsnendriya-priti-iccha dhare ‘prema’ nama

“Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures. The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kama, but the desire to please the senses of Lord Krsna is prema.” (Cc Adi 4. 164-165) Iron and gold are both metals, but there is a great difference between them, between their values. The pure love of the devotees for Krsna is like gold, and the lust of people in the material world who want to gratify their senses is like iron.

Another point of contention related to the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam is that the name of Radha is not mentioned. Some people challenge, “You are worshiping Radha and Krsna, Radha-Radhanatha, but on what authority? We don’t find the name of Radha in the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam.” But in the five chapters that describe the rasa-lila, we find that after Krsna called the gopis and began to reciprocate with them, He disappeared. The gopis then plunged into separation from Krsna, and they began to search all over the Vrndavana forest for Him. In time they found two pairs of footprints: Krsna’s and a gopi’s. Then the other gopis, in their separation, exclaimed:

anayaradhito nunam bhagavan harir isvarah yan no vihaya govindah prito yam anayad rahah

“Certainly this particular gopi has perfectly worshiped the all-powerful Personality of Godhead. Therefore Govinda was so pleased with Her that He abandoned the rest of us and brought Her to a secluded place.” (SB 10.30.28) “Because She worshiped Lord Hari better than all of us, She has gotten to be with Krsna now.” The word aradhito, which means “worshiped” or “perfectly worshiped,” refers to Radha, as confirmed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and other acaryas. They explain that Her name does appear in the Vedas, Upanisads, and other Puranas, and that in this verse, although Her name is not mentioned explicitly, the superexcellent glories of Sri Radha are nonetheless proclaimed.

Ultimately Krsna also left Srimati Radharani, and when the other gopis came upon Her, they found Her in such a state of intense lamentation in separation that they felt, “Actually, She loves Krsna more.” There is a technical discussion of what actually took place in the rasa-lila, why Krsna left with Radharani and why eventually He left Her too. But His ultimate purpose was to reunite all the gopis, and when the other gopis saw Srimati Radharani in such a state of ecstasy in separation, they felt sympathetic toward Her. They did not feel any envy at all.

Thereafter they all searched for Krsna together. But they could not find Him anywhere. Finally they decided, “We cannot find Krsna unless He wishes to be found. We cannot force Him to come before us.” So they considered, “How can we attract Krsna’s attention? How can we move Krsna to come back to us?” And they concluded that the best method was sankirtana, chanting the glories of Krsna together, along with crying.

So they returned to the banks of the Yamuna where they had originally met Him, and they began to sing the glories of Krsna–very beautiful songs in separation, known as the Gopi-gita. And when Krsna heard the loving prayers of the gopis, sankirtana, His heart was moved and He could no longer stay away from them. He came to them, reappeared before them in His most attractive feature:

tasam avirabhuc chaurih smayamana-mukhambujah pitambara-dharah sragvi saksan manmatha-manmathah

“Then Lord Krsna, a smile on His lotus face, appeared before the gopis. Wearing a garland and a yellow garment, He directly appeared as one who can bewilder the mind of Cupid, who himself bewilders the minds of ordinary people.” (SB 10.32.2)

Then followed a very interesting dialogue between Krsna and the gopis. The gopis felt some transcendental anger because Krsna had abandoned them. After all, He had called them to Him, they had risked everything to go to Him in the dead of night, and then He had left them. So they wanted Krsna to explain why.

In a most tactful and intelligent way, they began, “There are three kinds of lovers.” They presented three categories of lovers, or different ways that lovers deal with others, and asked Krsna to explain them. Indirectly, they were asking Krsna, “In which category do you fit?”

In one category are people who reciprocate exactly with the other party. In other words, “If you are kind to me, I will be kind to you; if you ignore me, I will ignore you.” Krsna said, “They are like merchants. They give only with the expectation of return, and they give only as much as they expect in return. Actually, they are selfish.”

In the next category are those who love the other even though the other does not love them. For example, at least in principle, parents love their children no matter what the children do. The children may not even appreciate the parents’ service, but the parents go on loving and serving them. And even better than parents are devotees, because although parents serve their own children, devotees love and serve everyone. Whether others appreciate them or not, they try to help everyone. Krsna said, “Those who love others even if others don’t love them in return, they are following the true path of dharma and they are the true friends of humanity.”

In the third category are those who don’t reciprocate even when others love them. The first category is “I reciprocate only if you love me.” The second category is “Even if you don’t love me, I love you.” And the third category is “Even if you love me, I don’t reciprocate.” So, the gopis wanted Krsna to admit that He was in the third category. They did not want to say it themselves, but they wanted to hear it from Krsna’s own mouth. They wanted to trap Him with their subtle network of wise and clever words.

Now, within the third category there are four divisions. There is the atmarama: He is completely self-satisfied. Even if you love him, he won’t reciprocate, because he is self-satisfied; he is situated in transcendental bliss. Then there is the apta-kama: He has desires, but they are already satisfied, so he doesn’t need you. Even if you love him, he won’t reciprocate. Then there is the third division, akrta-jna: he is ungrateful. And then there is the last division, guru-druhah. In the first three, “You love me, but I don’t reciprocate; I remain indifferent,” but in this last category, guru-druhah, “You love me, and I am not just indifferent to you; I become inimical.” Actually, the gopis wanted Krsna to admit that He had been ungrateful.

Ultimately Krsna had to respond to their question, and His answer was, “I did not neglect you, nor was I indifferent to you. I was always thinking of you. But in order to increase your love for Me, I hid Myself from you.” Krsna gave the example of a poor man who gains some wealth and then loses it. He will be so anxious that he can think of nothing except his lost treasure: “What happened to my money? How can I get it back?” Krsna said, “So I was reciprocating with you, because your desire was to increase your love for Me, and by hiding Myself from you I created a situation by which your attachment for Me would increase. So I was reciprocating with you.” Although Krsna’s argument sounded good, it did, however, contain one defect: the gopi’s love was already unlimited, and even so, by its very nature it was always increasing. So that could not have been the real reason.

Again, there is an intricate and elaborate discussion by the acaryas about the dialogue between Krsna and the gopis, but at the very end Krsna admits defeat. He says,

na paraye ‘ham niravadya-samyujam sva-sadhu-krtyam vibudhayusapi vah ya mabhajan durjara-geha-srnkhalah samvrscya tad vah pratiyatu sadhuna

“Actually, I am unable to repay my debt for your service to Me even with the prolonged life of Brahma, because you have given up everything for Me. You have given up family ties, which are so difficult to break. You have given up the dictates of the world, of the Vedas, and of your relatives. You have forsaken everything for My sake–which I could not do for you. You have given up all other relationships for Me, but I could not do that for you. I still have My father and mother and friends. You came running out of your houses in the middle of the night, but I sneak out and return in the morning so that no one catches Me. But you, with complete abandon, have come to meet Me without any consideration of the consequences. And I have so many devotees with whom I reciprocate: devotees in madhurya-rasa, in vatsalya-rasa, in sakhya-rasa, in dasya-rasa, and in santa-rasa. I also reciprocate with the sadhakas in the material world who are struggling and trying to become devotees. I reciprocate with everyone who approaches Me. But you love only Me. So I cannot equal your love. I admit it: I can never repay My debt to you.” He concluded, “I am defeated by your love.”

The gopis were so touched by Krsna’s words that they thought, “Now He has defeated us! We could not admit to Him that He defeated us, but He has admitted to us that we defeated Him. So He has defeated us.” [laughter] Of course, this is all on the platform of transcendental love. And it is said that later, when Krsna left Vrndavana to go to Mathura and Dvaraka and the gopis were left in separation from Him, they would think of His words to them, na paraye ‘ham, and that would give them solace to bear the separation. Of course, here we come to another subtle and intricate discussion, because even in separation from Krsna they experienced His presence.

After hearing Krsna’s reply, the gopis were appeased, and so He began the pastime of the rasa dance. All of the gopis were dancing in a circle, and Krsna expanded Himself to be next to each one. Each gopi felt, “Krsna is with me alone,” and each was completely satisfied by Krsna.

One of our godbrothers, Garuda dasa Adhikari (Graham M. Schweig), is a professor at a university in the United States, and he has written a translation and study of the five chapters of the rasa-lila, rasa-panca-adhyaya, that has been published by Princeton University Press, one of the most prestigious presses in academia. There he uses the image of the rasa dance as a symbol for interfaith harmony. It is a symbol that is most appropriate, especially for a diverse country such as South Africa.

The idea is that there were so many gopis, and each was individual, but that Krsna was by the side of each one, reciprocating with each perfectly. He accepted all of them, and all of them accepted each other, and there was complete harmony–not only between Krsna and the gopis, but also among the gopis themselves–in this dance of divine love. So, different worshipers serve God in different ways. They have different practices and rituals, and different scriptures and languages. But God reciprocates with all of them. And if they can come into harmony, not only with God but with each other as well, in the dance of divine love, then there can be complete harmony in the world.

So, today is a most sacred occasion: the beginning of kartika-vrata, and sarat-purnima, the night Krsna enjoyed His rasa-lila with the gopis–after removing Himself from their presence in order to demonstrate to the world, in their separation from Him, their supreme love.

Thank you very much.

Hare Krsna

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=8953

Russian Padayatra Report by Narada dasa

We started 13 May 2016 from Samara
Finished 9 September (Radhashtami) in Ershov village
69 devotees participated (39 men and 30 women)

Lasted for 120 days

76 harinam-sankirtan on the streets

3080 Srila Prabhupad books distributed
342 audio disks with kirtans and lectures
350 «Golden Age» magazines

29 cities

16000 km the total distance covered

Total income $10,453
+ donations by devotees 304 339,23 Rub
+ donations on sankirtana 267 253,60 Rub
+ selling the car (at the end) 63 000 Rub
+ mehendi 23 403,00 Rub

Total expenses 602 116,59 расход
– Petrol 197 099,03 Rub
– Books from BBT 98 875,00 Rub
– Prasadam 94 232,25 Rub
– Old car 50 000 Rub
– Repairing cars 50 593,80 Rub
– Sound system 41 950,00 Rub
– Technical stuff, musical inctruments and so on 69366,51 Rub

more about Russian padayatra:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1757929814441434/

This summer our Padayatra came to Rostov city. On the first harinam in the park one little girl with her mother were passing by. Little girl, maybe 4-5 year old, liked harinama so much that after watching a little began to dance with us. She was dancing the whole harinam, and become very sad, when it was over. She started to cry so sincerely that her mother asked where the next harinam will be. Next day they came to the other park and they both mother and daughter were dancing with us and they were very happy. After two days I met them on sunday programm with Prabhavishnu prabhu and asked them how they are doing. Mother said that daughters first question every morning was if we are going to Hare Krishnas today? She couldn’t wait to meet devotees. And thee both were very happy during the programm. Now they attend bhakti-vriksha group.

This story happened in Vityazevo. As usuall, harinama was passing by different litle summer shops, people were staring and so on. I notised one girl among them she was unusual. She was very beautiful with big black eyes, black hair. She was look like indian girl. She couldn’t take her eyes of harinam, in return, I couldn’t take my eyes from her. Some book distributors offered books to her but she had no money.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32383

Yashomatinandana das: Sometimes Prabhupada was very tolerant of his devotees.
After he read some letters from New York about Bali Mardan and his wife, Prabhupada said,
“The whole problem is sex life. Yan maithunadi-grhamedhi-sukham hi tuccham. Tuccham means insignificant. One may think that sex is the greatest platform of happiness, but actually that happiness is insignificant. In fact, sex life is a source of distress. We have so many problems because of sex life.”
Although the situation in the New York temple was a big problem, Prabhupada spoke in this way for five minutes and then dropped it.
He reduced every problem to a philosophical understanding because he saw everything from a philosophical viewpoint.
I saw that in his every action Prabhupada never thought of himself as the doer but fully dependent on Krishna.
He would pursue a certain line and leave success or failure up to Krishna.
Some devotees wanted to go from Juhu to Bombay by taxi, and being a miserly man, I agitated them by saying, “Why should you go by taxi?”
I told Prabhupada, “When I tell the devotees that it’s too expensive to go to Bombay by taxi, they get agitated.”
Prabhupada said, “Just consider that before becoming devotees they were eating flesh and blood like tigers. Now they are chanting Hare Krishna, they are dancing and they are enjoying spiritually. Haven’t they accomplished something great? So if they want some extra money, give it to them. Don’t worry about their faults.”
Then in a lecture the next day he said, “Money is very hard to earn. Money is like Krishna’s blood and we should not waste it. Every rupee should be considered as a brick in the temple.”
So to me he said, “You tolerate,” while to them he said “Don’t waste money.”
In other words, he helped me increase my tolerance in the service of Krishna, and he helped them increase their frugality in the service of the Lord.
He approached the difficulty from different angles and instead of feeling discouraged, everyone saw a way to increase the quality of their service.
This was a key principle in Prabhupada’s dealings with every devotee, and that’s why he was able to produce so many managers.
In spite of our many mistakes, the movement grew because of Prabhupada’s kind and affectionate dealings.
The last verses of the Nectar of Instruction say, vaikunthaj janito vara madhu-puri tatrapi rasotsavad,
“Greater than Vaikuntha is Mathura mandala, and greater than that is Vrindavan where the rasa dance takes place. And greater than Vrindavan is Govardhan. And in Govardhan, Radha-kunda is the best place. Where is a knowledgeable person who will not serve the holy place called Radha-kunda?”
When that book came out, Prabhupada’s secretaries complained that devotees wanted to give up distributing books to stay in Radha-kunda.
Prabhupada said, “Just see the rascals. They have not followed the first verse of Upadesamrta and they are jumping to the eleventh verse.”
The first verse is vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam jihva-vegam udaropastha-vegam,
“One who controls the pushes of the senses is fit to be guru and make disciples everywhere.”
Sarvam apimam prthivim sa sisyat. Prabhupada said,
“Let them control their senses first, then they can think of Radha-kunda. Their mentality is called markata-vairagya, the renunciation of the monkeys. Monkeys also live in the forests, eating only fruits and leaves, but they are thinking, ‘Where is the she-monkey?’ The desire to give up one’s service and go to Radha-kunda is simply monkey business.”
—Jashomatinandana
.Excerpt from “Memories-Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint” 
by Siddhanta das

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32389

Srila Prabhupada: Instead of actively taking part in politics, saintly persons should engage in the chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. By the grace of Lord Caitanya, by simply chanting this Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the general populace can derive all benefits without political implications. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.14.12 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/J6eMdr

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32334

The Vaishnava observance of Damodara Utsav seva during Kartika (Damodar mase)

[Srimad Bhagavatam 10:9:1-2 txt] : Sri Sukadeva Gosvami continued: One day when Mother Yasoda saw that all the maidservants were engaged in other household affairs, she personally began to churn the yogurt. While churning, she remembered the childish activities of Krsna, and in her own way, she composed songs and enjoyed singing to herself about all those activities.

PURPORT
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quoting from the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of Krsna’s breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by Mother Yasoda took place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika.

Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay (and in Sri Vrndavana Dhama and ISKCON Temples all over the world). It is to be understood that among all the cows of Nanda Maharaja, several of Mother Yasoda’s cows ate only grasses so flavorful that the grasses would automatically flavor the milk.

Mother Yasoda wanted to collect the milk from these cows, make it into yogurt and churn it into butter personally. She thought that this Child Krsna was going to the houses of neighborhood gopas and gopis to steal butter, because He did not like the milk and yogurt ordinarily prepared.

While churning the butter, Mother Yasoda was singing about the childhood activities of Krsna.

It was formerly a custom that if one wanted to remember something constantly, he would transform it into poetry or have this done by a professional poet. It appears that Mother Yasoda did not want to forget Krsna’s activities at any time. Therefore, she poeticized all of Krsna’s childhood activities, such as the killing of Putana, Aghasura, Sakatasura and Trnavarta. While churning the butter, she sang about these activities in poetical form.

This should be the practice of persons eager to remain Krsna conscious twenty-four hours a day. This incident shows how Krsna conscious Mother Yasoda was. To stay in Krsna consciousness, we should follow such persons.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10:9:1-2. purport.)

Sri Damodara-ashtakam

(found in the Padma Purana of Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa, spoken by Satyavrata Muni in a conversation with Narada Muni and Saunaka Rsi)

“In the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodara-ashtakam, which has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata and which attracts Lord Damodara. (Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2:16:198)

In Iskcon Temples around the world and in the homes of devotees…everyone gathers for the entire month of Damodar (Kartika) to offer lamps (candles – dipas) and in great happiness, we sing the glories of Sri Damodara. Check locally for the timings of that ceremony in your nearby ISKCON Temple. Usually it is done in the evening, but some temples and communities perform the ceremony morning and evening.

1
namamisvaram sac-cid-ananda-rupam
lasat-kundalam gokule bhrajamanam
yasoda–bhiyolukhalad dhavamanam
paramrstam atyantato drutya gopya

To the Supreme Lord, Whose form is the embodiment of eternal existence, knowledge, and bliss, Whose shark-shaped earrings are swinging to and fro, Who is beautifully shining in the divine realm of Gokula. Who due to the offense of breaking the pot of yogurt, that His mother was churning into butter and then stealing the butter that was kept hanging from a swing,…is quickly running from the wooden grinding mortar in fear of Mother Yasoda. But, Who has been caught from behind by her who ran after Him with greater speed- to that Supreme Lord Sri Damodara, I offer my humble obeisances.

2
rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrjantam
karambhoja-yugmena satanka-netram
muhuh svasa-kampa-trirekhanka-kantha-
sthita-graivam damodararm bhakti-baddham

Seeing the whipping stick in His mother’s hand, He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes, but with His mother’s pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.
3
itidrk sva-lilabhir ananda-kunde
sva-ghosam nimajjantam akkyapayantam
tadiyesita-jnesu bhaktair jitatvam
punah prematas tam satavrtti vande

By such Childhood pastimes as this, He is drowning the inhabitants of Gokula in pools of ecstasy. He is revealing to those devotees who are absorbed in knowledge of His supreme majesty and opulence, that He is only conquered by devotees, whose pure love is imbued with intimacy… and is free from all conceptions of awe and reverence. With great love, I again offer my obeisances to Lord Damodara hundreds and hundreds of times.

4
varam deva moksam na moksavadhim va
na canyam vrne ‘ham varesad apiha
idam te vapur natha gopala-balam
sada me manasy avirastam kim anyaih

0 Lord, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor the highest liberation of eternal life in Vaikuntha, nor any other boon. O Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as Bala Gopala in Vrndavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides this?

5
idam te mukhambhojam atyanta-nilair
vrtam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais’ ca gopya
muhus cumbitam bimba-raktadharam me
manasy avirastam alam laksa-labhaih

O Lord, Your lotus face, which is encircled by locks of soft black hair tinged with red, is kissed again and again by Mother Yasoda. Your lips are reddish like the bimba fruit. May this beautiful vision of Your lotus face be ever manifest in my heart. Thousands and thousands of other benedictions are of no use to me.

6
namo deva damodarananta visno
prasida prabho duhkha jalabdhi-magnam
krpa-drsti-vrsyati-dinam batanu-
grhanesa mam ajnam edhy aksi-drsyah

O Supreme Godhead, I offer my obeisances unto You. O Damodara! O Ananta! O Vishnu! O master! O my Lord, be pleased upon me. By showering Your glance of mercy upon me, deliver this poor ignorant fool who is immersed in an ocean of worldly sorrows, and become visible to my eyes.

7
kuveratmajau baddha-murtyaiva yadvat
tvaya mocitau bhakti-bhajau krtau ca
tatha prema-bhaktim svakam me prayaccha
na mokse graho me ‘sti damodareha

0 Lord Damodara, just as the two sons of Kuvera-Manigriva and Nalakuvara–were delivered from the curse of Narada and made into great devotees by You in Your form as a baby tied with rope to a wooden grinding mortar, in the same way, please give to me Your own prema-bhakti. I only long for this and have no desire for any kind of liberation.

8
namas te ‘stu damne sphurad-dipti-dhamne
tvadiyodarayatha visvasya dhamne
namo radhikayai tvadiya-priyayai
namo ‘nanta-lilaya devaya tubhyam

0 Lord Damodara, I first of all offer my obeisances to the brilliantly effulgent rope which binds Your belly. I then offer my obeisances to Your belly, which is the abode of the entire universe. I humbly bow down to Your most beloved Srimati Radharani, and I offer all obeisances to You, the Supreme Lord, who displays unlimited pastimes.

Sri Damodar astakam ki jaya!

PADMA PURANA OF KARTIKA VRATA
quoted by Srila Sanatana Gosvami in his Hari-bhakti Vilasa

Glories of Kartika Vrata-Kartik is the best, the purest of purifiers, and most glorious of all months. Kartika month is particularly dear to Lord Sri Krsna.

This month is full of bhakta vatsalya. Any vrata, even the smallest, will yield huge results. The effect of performing a Kartika Vrata lasts for one hundred lifetimes, whereas ordinary vratas only last for one lifetime!

As Krsna says in Gita that He is the month of Nov-Dev, similarly, Srimati Radharani is the holy month of Kartik which precedes His month. Rupa Gosvami and others refer to Radharani as the Kartika-devata or Kartika Devi, in other words, Radharani is the goddess or presiding Deity of the Kartika Vrata.

Daily, one can offer Tulsi arotik, ghee lamp to the Deities in your temple and sing Damodarastakam, bathe in Yamuna if possible, give in charity to devotees, chant 16 attentive rounds or more, read Srila Prabhupada’s Books, attend Morning and Evening Program whenever possible, go on Parikramas, and serve the Vaisnavas.

Do not find faults in others.

Prayer before beginning:
“O Srila Prabhupada! By your mercy, may Radha and Krsna be pleased with my Kartika Vrata.”

Benefits observing Kartik Vrata:
All sins flee from the heart. Perform other vratas one hundred times not equal to one performance of Kartik Vrata. All the holy places will live within your body. Proper performance of Kartik Vrata gives one a million times the result of chanting mantras. Those who worship Sri Damodara in Vrndavana even once… easily attain Krsna bhakti. Dhruva Maharaja attained Hari darsana by worshiping Krsna in Mathura during the Kartika month.

Suggestions during Kartika Vrata:

Remember–Kartika Vrata is a special time to worship Radha Damodara, and especially one gets the mercy of Radharani, since it is Her month, and She is very very easily pleased this month… if one worships Her along with Her beloved Damodara.

Srila Prabhupada on When to Start Kartika Vrata: “In Vrndavana we should have Kartika Vrata, Urja Vrata, for one month… beginning on Ekadasi (Pasanukusa) (Srila Prabhupada Tape 10/6/72)

Pasanukusa Ekadasi Morning: Offer prayer-“O Janardana, O Damodara, O Devesa who are accompanied by Radhika. During the month of Kartika, I will bathe early every morning for Your satisfaction.”

Rise early every day by Brahma Muhurta, bathe, chant japa offer Mangala Arotik

Hear Srimad Bhagavatam daily in association of Vaisnavas. By regularly reading Srimad Bhagavatam during Kartika month, one gets the benefit of reading all the 18 Puranas. All other duties should be given up in favor of hearing from Srila Prabhupada’s Books from devotees during this month.

Chant extra rounds and more kirtana with family.

Give up favorite prasadam for entire month (sweets, salties) Try to eat only once in a day. *If you can do and carry on ordinary works*

No eating honey, eggplant, portal, pickles, red rajma beans, or sesame seeds, or urad dahl (no kichoris)…unless maha prasad is offered to you:)

Daily sing the Damodarastakam, meditating on meaning…..throughout the day.

Daily offer arotik and prayers to Tulsi devi praying for eternal residence in Vrndavana and eternal service at the Lotus Feet of Srila Prabhupada, NitaiGoura, Krsna Balarama, and RadhaSyamasundara. And to the feet of all the assembled devotees…..asking whenver possible, “Prabhu, may I be of some service?”

Donate charity or seva to devotees whenver possible

Offer special nice foods to your personal Deities for entire month.
Chant
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare …..

and taste the sweet feeling of spending the entire month absorbed
in serving Srila Prabhupada and assembled Vaisnavas!

Bilvamangala Thakura expresses very nicely this intense eagerness in his book Krishna-karnamrita. He says,

“I am eagerly waiting to see that boy of Vrindavana whose bodily beauty is captivating the whole universe, whose eyes are always bounded by black eyebrows and expanded like lotus petals, and who is always glancing over His devotees and therefore moving slightly here and there. His eyes are always moist and His lips are colored like copper, and from those lips there comes a sound which drives one madder than the mad elephants. I want so much to see Him at Vrindavan!”

O, ocean of mercy, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
Let there be an awakening of Your auspicious mercy,
which easily drives away all kinds of material lamentation.
By Your mercy, everything is made pure and blissful.
It awakens transcendental bliss and covers all gross material pleasure.
By your auspicious mercy,
quarrels and disagreements arising among different scriptures
are vanquished.

Your auspicious mercy causes the heart to jubilate
by pouring forth transcendental mellows.
Your mercy always stimulates devotional service,
which is full of joy.

May transcendental bliss be awakened in my heart
by Your causeless mercy.
(CC Madhya 10.119)

JAI SRILA PRABHUPADA
who has so kindly given us
the Holy Names and Pastimes of
KRSNA

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4625

According to Vedic astronomy, the day begins at sunrise, so I can pretend it’s still yesterday, the first day of Kartika. It’s late at night and I may not be at my most coherent, but it’s also the time when the mind is most free, the unconscious sprinkling its droplets of intuition, dreams, poems, visions, and hopes like a fine autumn mist on one’s awareness. Yes, I’m sure I sound deranged, but bear with me for a moment or two more. Then I’ll go to sleep, to dream in earnest.

It’s Kartika, damn it!

This is the time of year when the efforts we make in spiritual life—our sadhana, our devotions, our prayers, our study of sastra, our kirtana, and our service—reap extra rewards, far, far out of proportion to what we might expect in ordinary hours. Of course, it’s all causeless mercy anyway; it’s not as if we usually punch some bhakti-yoga time-clock and God hands out our weekly paycheck.

But still, Kartika is special. During this month, the supreme personality of Godhead, Krishna, turns up the mercy knob to 11, maybe even 12 or 13, depending on how much He thinks we can handle. Devotees choose to perform vrata, or vows, to take advantage of this “clearance sale.” “Buy one, get one free.” “No offer too low, all the mercy must go!” We might decide to read more, chant extra rounds, eat only once a day, go on pilgrimage, do extra service. There are really too many choices to mention.

One of the rules of Kartika is that  you’re not supposed to advertise your vow, at least not too specifically, lest others get some of the credit for your austerities. I think the threat of losing some of the credit is intended to prevent people from trying to fatten their false egos, even as they restrict themselves in other ways: Oh, me? Oh, ha-ha, I’m not doing much, just chanting sixty-four rounds. No, really, I’m not advanced at all, just a worm in stool . . . Stop! You mustn’t touch my feet (hops from one foot to the other to avoid being touched), etc., etc.

I don’t know if such scenarios have ever played out in real life. In my head they do, all the time. It’s the struggle between the desire for worship and the hunger for humility. Still, I’m going to share with you my vrata, because I think it might help somebody. I’ve got several going on, but this is the most important:

Do the thing you find difficult to do, and do it for Krishna.

That’s it. All day, every day, for thirty days, do those petty, mundane, boring, non-nectarean household chores, procrastinated projects, and tiresome tasks that you just don’t feel like doing. Dirty dishes in the sink and it’s not your turn to wash them? Wash them, and let your scrubbing be a bubbly glorification of the Lord. Is it your day to do your cardio workout but you’re just too tired? Do it for Krishna, every drop of sweat the evidence of your surrender.

It’s not that we shouldn’t read verses, or chant extra, or any of those other goodies we never seem to find the time for except during Kartika, and it’s not that there’s anything inherently spiritual about scrubbing out the toilet, but it’s interesting how we think we get to choose those ostensibly spiritual activities, as if they’re chocolates in a Godiva sampler and not the very staff of life, spiritually speaking. We decide how we’re going to serve Krishna, but what if Krishna has other plans? He usually does, doesn’t He?

How much of an austerity can something be if we get to decide when, where, and how much to do? Maybe that’s part of the mercy upgrade, we get an energy burst to do (some of) what we ought to be doing all the time. But those other things we ought to be doing, the ones we tell ourselves we have no choice but to do and then avoid anyway . . . well, we keep avoiding them, or we do them with a bad attitude, or else we just don’t see how Krishna is connected to them. But if He’s not connected to the wet laundry waiting to be hung, then hanging it is just srama eva hi kevalam, useless labor.

The occupational activities a man performs according to his own position are only so much useless labor if they do not provoke attraction for the message of the Personality of Godhead.

We’re going to die, and sooner than we think, and clean sheets will be the last thing on our mind then. But how will we surrender to Krishna in the form of death, if we can’t even surrender to Him in the form of laundry piling up while we’re still alive? This is the “yoga of the everyday”:

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform — do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.

For me, that kind of surrender takes the form of dealing with lawyers, tax professionals, credit card companies—this week. Next week the austerity will be trying to chant my quota of Hare Krishna mantra while visiting my husband’s family for a few days. This is what life throws at me. I can either see the Lord’s hand in it, always, or I can spend my life resisting what is. The “what is” is always Krishna. That’s what “absolute truth” means.

For most of my life I’ve avoided doing those things that make me too uncomfortable, with the result being that I’ve accomplished very little, for all the dreams I’ve had, and for all the potential my teachers in high school told me I embodied. The potential I was full of has turned to something else with the passage of years: regret, excuses, and general BS. I have served neither God nor man nor even my own senses to the degree I’m capable of.  Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura expressed it well:

After being born, my childhood was spent simply playing around frivolously, according to the nature of children. Then my youth quickly passed by in executing many different obligations according to social customs. All those days having been wasted uselessly, I now suffer old age in the end as my only reward. (Ami Ati Pamara Durjana)

As I see how little time I have left in this life, I’ve started making more of an effort. Moving out of my inertia was painful, but only briefly, like getting a rusty wheel to turn. It makes a lot of noise at first, but then it develops momentum. The funny thing is that it’s not any harder than whining and worrying. With a little help from my B-complex vitamins, I’m actually feeling more energized by doing all this unpleasant stuff than by avoiding it.

At the risk of losing more Kartik Kredits, I’ll tell you that my main vrata this year is to keep my hand in the beadbag whenever it’s not required elsewhere. In spite of having a lot to do, I managed to fulfill my quota today. But if I happen to remember at 11pm that there’s a load in the washer that is on the verge of mildewing (not that that happened tonight, for example), I’m not going to resent the boring necessity of hanging them up for taking me away from my chanting. It’s Kartika, damn it! This is my opportunity to surrender to what ever life-fate-Krishna dishes out, and get the big bhakti bucks back for doing so.

Today I surrendered to laundry, online shopping, and talking to the tax man. What did you surrender to today? What did you not surrender to?

The URL for the article is http://www.easternside.com/

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=8967

The Midterm Meetings of the ISKCON GBC Society are taking place at ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai, India.
They will last from October 15-20, 2016.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32350

During this month of Damodar, there is the chance of making special advancement. Those who go to Vrindavan during the month of Kartik are very fortunate. It is said that in Vrindavan during Kartik, one can make many times more advancement than under normal conditions – a thousand times more. Therefore, being in Vrindavan for Kartik is very, very special. But not all of us have the opportunity and the time to leave everything and just go to Vrindavan but at least one can go there in consciousness!

Sometimes the acaryas, like Jiva Gosvami in the Sandarbhas, are pointing out that Vrindavan, or rather Mathura, is not a place; it is a state of consciousness. So, the consciousness of Mathura or Vrindavan is what really transports us there. Therefore, we can also invoke that atmosphere wherever we are and in that way one can reside in Vrindavan, by remembering Vrindavan. Because remembrance on the spiritual platform is as good as being there – we simply remember the spiritual world. So, it is a month to meditate on Krsna.

Source:https://www.kksblog.com/2016/10/kartik-part-3/

Political pundits last weekend were calling the second presidential debate “the darkest and nastiest in modern history,” full of scandals, personal attacks and insults. And the ongoing drama may be what’s taking over the news lately.

But not everyone, even in Washington, is being dragged down by it. On Saturday October 8th, thousands of people from different faiths and backgrounds gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for a “Chant 4 Change,” trying to bring some light into the darkness.

Throughout the ten-and-a-half-hour event, they chanted God’s names together in each other’s traditions. They sang songs of peace, unity and love. They sang to change the consciousness that has caused so much violence, racism, corrupt leadership, environmental destruction and economic collapse recently.

“You can point to so many outward problems,” says organizer Gaura Vani, a second-generation ISKCON devotee and kirtan artist. “But when you trace it all back, it goes back to one’s own heart. If we change who becomes president this year, but we don’t change the consciousness of the nation, the city, our community, and ultimately our families and our own selves, we will not have lasting change for good.”

Although a rainy day made for a smaller crowd than expected, the 2,000 people who attended, according to Gaura Vani, “were 100% clear why they were there.” Meanwhile, thousands more regular visitors to the Lincoln Memorial witnessed and heard the chanting, and many others watched on a Facebook livestream.

“People could feel that something incredibly special was happening,” says Gaura. “And the fact that it was held not only at the same spot where Martin Luther King gave his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, but also exactly fifty years after ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada’s first public kirtan in Tompkins Square Park, added to that historic atmosphere.”

Chanting together were people from the Sufi, Buddhist, Vaishnava, Sikh, Hindu, Native American, Jewish, Christian and yoga communities. And they hailed from Spain, Colombia, Argentina, India, Russia, Ukraine, and all over the U.S. The scene perfectly brought to life Vaishnava saint Bhaktivinode Thakur’s words from his Chaitanya Siksamrita:

“The Church of Kirtan invites all classes of people, without distinction to engage in the highest cultivation of the spirit. This church, it appears, will extend all over the world, and take the place of all sectarian institutions which exclude “outsiders” from the precincts of the mosque, church or temple.”

The event started at noon with representatives from different faith traditions speaking invocational prayers. They included Father Don Rooney, pastor of the Saint Bernadette Catholic Church in Springfield, Virginia; Episcopalian Minister Alan Gates from the California Bay Area; Washington D.C. rabbi Tamara Miller; Matt Regan, Secretary to the International Buddhist Committee of Washington D.C.; and Mary Aubry, a teacher from the Buddhist Vipassana tradition.

Source: http://iskconnews.org/rain-cant-dampen-spirits-at-dcs-historic-chant-4-change,5859/?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=twitterfeed

We read in the Bhagavad-gita that happiness is a characteristic of a person acting in the mode of goodness. Is this happiness the result of being in the mode of goodness? Or is being happy a way to cultivate the mode of goodness?

To put it another way…

Does happiness come from success? Or does success come from happiness?

This entertaining and insightful TED Talk gives an interesting and very practical perspective.

Let me know what you think in the comments below

Source:http://successfulvaisnavas.com/happiness/

This photo was taken in the office of the CEO of Dai Nippon printers in Tokyo.
Japan was wonderful. All the young guests who came to see Srila Prabhupada at the temple humbly offered Him flowers and bowed down at His lotus feet, many of them offering full dandavats.
Respect is part of the Japanese culture, and very beautiful.
At Dai Nippon, which was so big that the offices and factory took up an entire city block, they offered His Divine Grace the chance to see their dentist to replace the single lower front tooth He had just lost.

He went to their dental clinic, which was part of their very large medical office, and met the young dentist who would make the solid gold tooth and bridge for Him.
Since gold is good for the heart, and was an ingredient of the heart medicine Srila Prabhupada used every other day, “yogendra-ras” (it also contained pearls and coral and came in a small red pill form), He asked if they could use gold and they immediately agreed. 
The young dentist was so joyful, honoring and respectful, and bowed over and over to His Divine Grace as He did the needful and took a plaster cast of His lower jaw and teeth.
The gold replacement was ready the next day, and when the dentist put it into Srila Prabhupada’s mouth, He moved His mouth around and exclaimed… “This is very nice… I can hardly feel it!”!
He reached up and pulled the dentist’s head to His heart, hugged him and messed up his hair (as He did with George Harrison once in London) and thanked him over and over… the young saintly dentist was in bliss, as you can imagine, and was smiling from ear to ear :-)

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32306

Just as the last of the monsoon clouds dispersed and the balmy October sun shined bright, hundreds of unsuspecting people in Pune were caught in a sudden tsunami last weekend. Yes, 130 supercharged devotees from ISKCON Pune spread out across 10 chosen spots in the city and distributed nearly 700 books of Srila Prabhupada within a matter of just 2 hours on Saturday, 8 October 2016. This was indeed an unprecedented spiritual deluge for the city!

What was the occasion? ISKCON Pune just held their first ever Monthly Sankirtana Festival (MSF) with the guidance and encouragement of His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu (ACBSP), who delivered a two-day seminar on the significance and implementation of regular and systematic book distribution. MSF is a strategy of book distribution where a large number of devotees go out together for book distribution on one weekend every month. It has been a great success in the US and Canada since many devotees doing a little bit adds up to big results and strong relationships in the devotee community. Adding to the spiritual weaponry at ISKCON Pune is “Our Family Business – The Great Art of Distributing Srila Prabhupada’s Books” – the first book written by His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu about the principles, practice, techniques, as well as the history of book distribution in ISKCON. More than 100 devotees in Pune received copies of Our Family Business signed by him, and more copies are available at both temples in Pune.

Under the excellent leadership of His Grace Radheshyam Prabhu, ISKCON Pune has taken up the MSF formula, gearing up to double their marathon scores and increase their overall scores this year. Every month from now, teams from the Pune congregation including kids and matajis will organize themselves, load up book bags, pack prasadam, and jump into vehicles one day a month to continue the barrage of books and drown the city in spiritual bliss. HG Nama Prabhu (Sankirtana Leader at ISKCON Pune) and Bhakta Anand Patil Prabhu (MSF Incharge) will work together and conduct regular MSF every month. Bhakta Anand Patil Prabhu is an enthusiastic book distributor and leader, who was inspired by His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu in Wellington, New Zealand. As a global inspiration, ISKCON Pune is all set to step up their book distribution to the next level, with their first MSF drawing amazing experiences for the participant devotees and the public:

One devotee implemented the law of “Always leave a good impression” by treating the people he met with openness, kindness, and compassion. By seeing his interactions with the people who did not even take books, one owner of a restaurant said he would keep a shelf in his shop filled with Srila Prabhupada’s books and let his customers take. So, an outlet for book distribution was created by sincerely applying the principles of good book distribution.

Another devotee who joined the MSF was initially not having much success on the field, and then, he desperately prayed to Srila Prabhupada. Within a few minutes, he met a young man who not only took a book but also said that he has previously read Bhagavad Gita As It Is and is eager to join ISKCON full-time! The devotee was positively surprised and invited him to the Sunday Feast. Well, Krishna has a wonderful plan for everyone, and devotees become active instruments in the plan by taking the trouble to go out and distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books.

The event was hosted by both ISKCON temples in Pune, Sri Sri Radha Vrindavana Chandra (NVCC) and Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari (Camp), and facilitated by a team of volunteers from the ISKCON Sankirtana Leaders Team – India. To host such training events or to get copies of Our Family Business, please write to brihatmridanga@gmail.com.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32309

Kartika

In the Padma Puräëa it is said, “The Lord may offer liberation or material happiness to a devotee, but after some devotional service has been executed, particularly in Mathurä during the month of Kärttika, the devotees want only to attain pure devotional service unto the Lord.” The purport is that the Lord does not award devotional service to ordinary persons who are not serious about it. But even such unserious personswho execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Kärttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathurä in India, are very easily awarded the Lord’s personal service.

(NoD chapter 12)

As we read the above lines from Nectar of Devotion, we can not help but appreciate that if ‘unserious’ persons can be awarded so much benefit then surely Krishna may bestow on us, aspiring devotees, something even more valuable to hold on to and cherish all our life. Kartika is the month which is most dear to Krishna. We receive so many articles/ whatsapp messages/emails glorifying Kartika and how Krishna is easily pleased by anyone who renders even little devotional service to Him during this special month. So we can not even imagine what great benedictions await each one of us, aspiring devotees, if we make some sincere and serious endeavour to please Krishna, and Srimati Radharani, this Kartika.

It is known as Kartika because..

The predominating deity of Kartika month is Kirtika-kumari, the young daughter of Kirtika, Srimati Radharani. So  this month is called Kartika. It a great month to please Srimati Radharani by keeping special vows to please Her. We may offer whatever little benediction we earn in this month at Her lotus feet. If, somehow, we are able to please Srimati Radharani then Krishna too would be very pleased.

Month of Lord Damodara

“During this month, in Vrndavana it is the regulative principle to pray daily to Lord Krishna in His Damodara form. The Damodara form refers to Krishna in His childhood when He was tied up with rope by His mother, Yasoda. Dama means ‘ropes,’ and udara means ‘the abdomen.’ So mother Yasoda, being very disturbed by naughty Krsna, bound Him round the abdomen with a rope, and thus Krishna is named Damodara.”

(NoD, Chapter 5)

We can keep devotional vows to please Lord Damodara this Kartika and pray to Srimati Radharani to bestow upon us a drop of pure love by which a devotee can bind Krishna!

Sing Damodarastakam

“In the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarastaka, which has been spoken by Sage Satyavratra and which attracts Lord Damodara.

 (Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa 2.16.198)

We hanker all our life to somehow attract Krishna and now simply by singing the most sweet Damodarastakam prayers in right consciousness we can attract the most attractive!

Offering Deep daan

“By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one burns away a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt.”

(Skanda Purana)

The only doubt is in our mind! With faith and conviction in the words of shastras all sins could get removed this Kartika.

Offer Tulasi to Krishna

“The result one obtains by giving ten thousand cows in charity can be obtained by offering only one tulasileaf to the Supreme Lord during the month of Kārttika.”

(Sri Hari-Bhakti-Vilasa, 7.335)

Daily offer Tulasi leaves to deities at home and/or temple.

Visit Sri Vrindavan Dhama

Spectacular, magical, spellbinding, miraculous, mysterious, enchanting, otherworldly, extraordinary, astonishing, inexplicable, stupefying, incredible, unfathomable, enigmatic or simply transcendental ! No words can describe the experience of offering lamp to Lord Damodar with hundreds of devotees from all over the world, their eyes tinged with salve of love.

Krishna has given us so much, so easily. Still it is finally up to us to take advantage of it. Our conditioned nature may sometimes have trouble with this, for such nature tends to be a little gross, doubtful and forgetful. Perhaps the preciousness and potency of what Krishna has given us has not really impressed upon our hearts. Perhaps with the passing of time our enthusiasm has waned or perhaps been crushed by following the process mechanically. So let us take a vow to take advantage of the most Holy month Kartika and who knows we may discover that I had one devotional life before 2016 Kartika and altogether another one after this Kartika!

Just as a mother picks up her child and feeds him her breast milk, the compassionate Lord affectionately gives shelter to sincere devotees who offer Him prayer with devotion.

(Sri Hari-Bhakti-Vilasa, 8.351)

In the meanwhile, in Vrindavan, Gopīs sing of Kṛṣṇa as He wanders in the forest this time of the year..

The gopīs said: When Mukunda vibrates the flute He has placed to His lips, stopping its holes with His tender fingers, He rests His left cheek on His left arm and makes His eyebrows dance. At that time the demigoddesses traveling in the sky with their husbands, the Siddhas, become amazed.

O girls! This son of Nanda, who gives joy to the distressed, bears steady lightning on His chest and has a smile like a jeweled necklace. Now please hear something wonderful. When He vibrates His flute, Vraja’s bulls, deer and cows, standing in groups at a great distance, are all captivated by the sound, and they stop chewing the food in their mouths and cock their ears. Stunned, they appear as if asleep, or like figures in a painting.

My dear gopī, sometimes Mukunda imitates the appearance of a wrestler by decorating Himself with leaves, peacock feathers and colored minerals. Then, in the company of Balarāma and the cowherd boys, He plays His flute to call the cows. At that time the rivers stop flowing, their water stunned by the ecstasy they feel as they eagerly wait for the wind to bring them the dust of His lotus feet. But like us, the rivers are not very pious, and thus they merely wait with their arms trembling out of love.

Kṛṣṇa moves about the forest in the company of His friends, who vividly chant the glories of His magnificent deeds. He thus appears just like the Supreme Personality of Godhead exhibiting His inexhaustible opulences. When the cows wander onto the mountainsides and Kṛṣṇa calls out to them with the sound of His flute, the trees and creepers in the forest respond by becoming so luxuriant with fruits and flowers that they seem to be manifesting Lord Viṣṇu within their hearts. As their branches bend low with the weight, the filaments on their trunks and vines stand erect out of the ecstasy of love of God, and both the trees and the creepers pour down a rain of sweet sap.

Maddened by the divine, honeylike aroma of the tulasī flowers on the garland Kṛṣṇa wears, swarms of bees sing loudly for Him, and that most beautiful of all persons thankfully acknowledges and acclaims their song by taking His flute to His lips and playing it. The charming flute-song then steals away the minds of the cranes, swans and other lake-dwelling birds. Indeed they approach Kṛṣṇa, close their eyes and, maintaining strict silence, worship Him by fixing their consciousness upon Him in deep meditation.

(SB 10.35.2-11)

Let us pray, and keeping our material mind and intelligence aside, and again read the most nectarean songs gopīs sing to express their feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa when He goes to the forest during the day. Let us read these lines slowly, relishing each word as as we fix our consciousness on Krishna, His Name, His Form, His qualities and His pastimes. Who knows what may happen to our heart!

All glories to the most glorious Kartika month.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Source:http://www.forthepleasureoflordkrishna.com/2016/10/14/kartika-is-coming/

Sacinandana Swami: Throughout the year Krishna’s devotees pursue various projects: their devotional practices (sadhana), their various services (seva), work projects, various family projects, building projects, private projects, etc. Once a year comes a time when another project arises: the Karttik project, which offers a rare chance to come close to the Lord. Srila Prabhupada told his disciples that even ‘unserious persons’ who execute devotional service during this month of Karttik are easily awarded the Lord’s personal service (1)
What is the Karttik project?
It is a 30-day vow taken during the month of Karttik. (This year according to our sun calendar Karttik begins on 16 October and ends on 14 November.) During this time the Lord’s internal potency, who is the presiding deity of this month and who is therefore known as Karttika Devi, is pleased by serving the Lord of Her heart – Damodara Krishna. It is stated in the scriptures that during Karttik all the holy places of pilgrimage with their rivers and lakes also come to Vraja. It is certainly a very special time of the year…
In this world we know of special times of the year that bring certain gifts: the summer gives us warmth, the beginning of autumn many fruits, late winter gives us snow and early spring brings flowers, etc. According to the 16th chapter of Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Karttik gives us inexhaustible benefits. There are many descriptions how even little amounts of devotional service are regarded by the Lord as very special – because they are done during this month of His beloved Radharani.
For this special month the devotees take to various devotional practices, which bring them more in contact with Srimati Radharani and Krishna. Traditionally these vows are executed on the sacred land of Vrindavana, but are certainly not limited to Vraja. If you cannot be in Vrindavana physically during this time make sure your heart is there – by remembering the pastime places or looking at the many beautiful pictures of Vraja taken by the devotees on their many pilgrimages.
What can you do to observe the Karttik vrata?
The first point is that a personal vow should be something we do regularly and unfailingly each day of the month. Srila Prabhupada encouraged the devotees in all temples around the world to execute the Damodara vrata by offering a light to the Lord each morning or evening (or both).
Let me give you some suggestions based on what I do personally:
1) Rise early and offer a little aratik. You can choose how many items you wish to offer but certainly there should be at least a ghee lamp offered to Lord Damodara (by placing a picture or deity of the Lord on your altar)
2) Chant extra rounds – or you can at least make sure that you increase the quality of rounds
3) Increase your reading of Vaisnava scriptures – especially Srimad Bhagavatam
4) Recite various prayers, like the Saranagati Prayers
5) Worship Tulasi devi
6) An absolute must – recite the Sri Damodarastakam
These are minimal requirements, but of course you can add any devotional practice that brings you closer to the Lord. The main point is that it is done daily as a loving offering.
Additionally, it is recommended to observe some austerities with regards to eating. There is an absolute restriction on the consumption of urad dal. I always like to desist from all kinds of sweets, but this is optional.
Please know the main point is to increase positive devotional practices.
You can expect that your resolve will be tested – rest assured that you will pass all tests if you remember your priority: to please Srimati Radharani by engaging in devotional service to the Lord.
Let me end with a wonderful verse written by Raghunatha Dasa Goswami about the mercy of Srimati Radharani:
“From birth Srimati Radharani has been naturally affectionate to all… She is the protectress of the poor and unfortunate.” (2)
Special Karttik inspiration
Many devotees have requested me to give a regular audio message as a day-by-day Karttik inspiration. As a servant of the Vaisnavas, I have happily accepted this service. It is my desire to try to nourish devotees during this month with short inspirational messages. Thus, please be so kind to share these with anyone you know who would be interested to hear. These Karttik inspirations can be downloaded and heard from www.sacinandanaswamipilgrimage.com starting on Sunday 16 October.
Let us associate through sound at this most exciting time: Srimati Radharani’s month which carries the name of Her beloved Damodara.
Wishing you all the best and lots of spiritual strength
Your humble servant,
Sacinandana Swami

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32320

Recently I visited one very special temple named 'Gita Mandir' where all the verses of Bhagvad Gita were engraved on the walls of temple but I was also amazed to see that hardly anyone was reading it!! Visitors were busy with their cameras to have own photos. I also observed them putting photos immediately on social networking sites to tell others that they are at holy site. People forgot the purpose why they were at that place(to read Gita), they were taking advantage of place in other way.

Facebook has become addiction for many, as soon as they get up in the morning they look for notifications, before sleeping they check how many 'Like' my post, and throughout the day they are thinking which photo of mine should I post to get maximum likes and comments. Facebook is good way to get entertainment and some inspiration here and there but apart from that it only sucks away our energy and time that everyone of us knows very well, still we can't give it up why? Because we don't know that there is more advanced social networking site and that is 'Faithbook'. If we make account on Faithbook, then our taste for Facebook will automatically go down because Faithbook provides extraordinary benefits.

What's this Faithbook? It is Bhagavad Gita. Gita is not just some religious book but it's a book of inspiration, management and transformation. Facebook only shows our face value, how beautiful or handsome we are but Gita reveals our heart value, how much lust, envy, greed we have and how to deal with it. Lord doesn't bother about our face but about our heart and mind. Facebook virtually connects us to friends and hardly anyone one of them can help us in critical stages of life but Faithbook connects us directly to God and His unlimited powers which gives us strength to deal with any problem of life may that be as sever and critical as death.

But our problem is that we have never opened our account on this site of Faithbook in fact we kept it out of our sight fearing it will change our life. Yes it will change our life but positively. What did you receive from Facebook since so many years? Some knowledge but mostly junk, we have wasted our precious time, I don't find anyone who became successful reading Facebook posts apart from Facebook owner 'Mark'. Believe me open your account on Faithbook(open your packed Bhagavad Gita which you have kept as it is from so many years) start reading it carefully and just see how immense emotional, mental, physical benefit you are deriving out of it. There were many in past including Arjuna, Sun God, Manu, Isvaku received benefit of this immortal knowledge and became successful in life, then why should we waste opportunity??

When traveling between different countries, a passport is required to gain access and cross the country’s borders. The purpose of a passport is to show other nations that you are a legal citizen of your particular nation of origin. Visas are another document designed to allow people access into other countries. The difference between a visa and a passport is that a visa specifies certain reasons why that person will be staying in the country.

Someone may ask, I don't want to go to foreign land why do I need passport or visa? But scriptures remind us that we are all tourists here, we all are always travelling from one specie of life to other. Body is temporary covering over soul, sometime we get body of animal, sometime of demigod and sometime human body according to our activities in present life. Soul is always touring from 84 lacs of species. Juts like we need passport and visa to go to some another country similarly if we want to have higher birth we need to have passport and visa to reach and dwell in those places where demigods live happy life.

Where can we get such visa and passport? As we discussed earlier our next birth depends upon our activities(karma) of present birth, it acts like passport and visa, we are creator of our own passport. If we do good pious activities we will be given a chance to elevate to higher planets(heavens) where demigods dwell, and if our life and activities are sinful then we won't get any passport therefore we will be thrown into lower life of animals where facilities are meagre. Till now we have talked about going to higher planets but there also exists time which throws us away at the end of our visa which means we will be back to our country after some period of time(BG 9.21).

Is there any place where we can only enjoy without time restrictions? Yes, there is planet beyond this material creation, called  as Vaikuntha Loka, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. How to go there? Which kind of passport and visa is required to go there? One can go to this planet of God only by doing Devotional service, which includes hearing and chanting about God and serving Him with love. Passport(material activities) of this earthly planet and heaven won't help us to reach Vaikuntha(place where anxiety doesn't exists), entry here will be given on the basis of activities which are done for the pleasure of God. So if we are only engaged in our own things without bothering for our purpose of life which is to develop love for God then we will not get entry to eternal spiritual world. In conclusion we must try our best to obtain this special visa to reach abode Lord by doing loving devotional service unto Him!!

Kartik is the time to tighten up the loose screws, of all the loose ends, and to bring it back to the real standard. Kartik, is our chance! It is only one month but of course, after that month, it becomes a habit! Habits are like that. If you do something for one month then it is easy to keep on doing it. So in this way, we can take so much advantage.

I thought my main objective in this month would be meditation, to increase my remembrance of Krsna and to increase my service, both in quantity and quality. I thought I will focus on quality especially because quantity is not so easy. Already there is so much to do in a day, already such a hectic life, how much more can I physically manage? And I do not want Kartik to become a total stress situation where I am just doing these very intense vows, the kind of vows that drive me to the edge and that at the end of the month, if I make it till the end, I just hate Kartik and may be even Krsna!

Not like that! No, I will not make it a month full of stress. Therefore, I thought, this year I will not do something huge, I will not take one really big vow. I have a different strategy; I will take many little vows! Also, Krsna gave me some ideas about chanting. I thought, I am going to chant extra rounds but I am not going to fix it that every day I must chant so many extra rounds but I will just fix a number for the whole month and then I can adjust it. I will have my busy days when I may chant less and on days that I have the opportunity, I will chant more; and in this way, it averages out. In this way, I will survive and I will still be chanting extra rounds. I thought it was a good idea, really!

Then I thought…Yes, I’ll read something! I thought, every night I will read for five minutes something about Krsna. I will read Krsna Book for five minutes a night. That is nice. It is not a big Kartik vow but it is something that you know is nice but that you just get slack in! It is one thing that you do not always do! But I said, in this month of Kartik, I will do it.

So, many such things… I will not tell you everything that I am going to do but I told you this much just to kind of inspire everyone of how we can do something. It is still early enough! After this lecture, you can quickly jot down a few things that you are going to do this month. Just a few things. And if we do that, if we really do it… then you will be surprised! You will surprise yourself! Really! You will find that your Krsna consciousness would have so much increased just from one month of practising, in the month of Kartik. 

Source:https://www.kksblog.com/2016/10/kartik-part-2/

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: When one is situated on the neophyte platform, one cannot understand the devotional ingredients of a pure, unalloyed devotee. However, when the novice engages in devotional service — especially in deity worship — and follows the order of a bona fide spiritual master, he is a pure devotee. Anyone can take advantage of hearing about Krishna consciousness from such a devotee and thus gradually become purified. In other words, any devotee who believes that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord is a pure devotee, even though he may be in the neophyte stage. By his association, others may also become Vaishnavas.
KK Bindu #385: With first time translation of a little known song glorifying Srila Raghunath Bhatta Goswami. CONTENTS INCLUDE:
* NEOPHYTE BUT PURE – His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada speaks about the power of someone following the process of bhakti.
* ALL GLORIES TO RAGHUNATH BHATTA GOSWAMI – A first time translation done especially for this issue of Bindu of a Bengali song by the medieval poet Radha Vallabha Das.
* VRINDAVAN SADHUS AND BHAGAVAD-GITA – Another first time translation done for this issue of of an excerpt from a little known book by a disciple of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami.
* IDEAL RESIDENCE IN VRINDAVAN – Another fresh translation from Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s Vrindavan-mahimamrtam. This issue can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/bindu385

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32241

Merciful devotees request the people they meet in the streets to chant a whole maha-mantra while they are video-recording them. In this video you will see an animated compilation of such recordings.
Watch it below or here: https://goo.gl/3EoxJ1

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32255

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32259#prettyPhoto