It is an odd development of the modern world that being excessively anxious about our children is considered a virtue. We consider ourselves good parents if we make life easy for them, reward them for the smallest achievement, and are anxious for their safety and well being at all times.
There is, however, a hidden message in all of this anxious attention and it’s not good. As a teacher and school principal for 20 years, I saw all kinds of kids and all kinds of parents. For those who had confidence in their child, their child did great. Those who worried, who expressed that worry regularly, who tried to ‘fix’ every challenge the child had – their children had a weak sense of self. The hidden message was clear – “My parents are worried because they think I am not competent, I’m not capable.”
Being a mother is not easy. But it’s not that hard either. It is said that if a child has a self-assured and guiding adult in their life, they will grow up to be self-assured and self-guiding adults. Mothering means being there, but also not being there. It is patience, it is trusting that the child will figure it out, and it is watching from a distance as they do so.
There are many aspects to good mothering, but this one is key. We have to give our children the skills and emotional strength to make it through life by letting them experience and learn through real life. And that means letting them experience their own struggles. If we smother them, if we overly fret and protect, then we extinguish the fire of trust and competence. It’s a fine line, but we need to have the maturity and wisdom to make the call. 
This famous poem can also inspire us be the balanced and stable parents our children need us to be:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
– On Children by Kahlil Gibran

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31713

Each single verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam tastes like transcendental condensed milk of a Surabhi cow mixed with kesar, simply delicious and a nectar most satisfying to even conditioned souls (although it is meant to be tasted by paramhansas – liberated souls).  No wonder that, along with Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam is the specific scripture meant for kali-yuga.

I am sharing another transcendental verse and its nectarean purport by Srila Prabhupada, for the pleasure of devotees, describing causeless mercy of Krishna.

yatha tvam krpaya bhutya
tejasa mahimaujasa
justa isa gunaih sarvais
tato ’si bhagavan prabhuh

O my Lord, because You are endowed with causeless mercy, all opulences, all prowess and all glories, strength and transcendental qualities, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone.

(SB 6.19.5)

This verse, more specifically Srila Prabhupada’s purport, describes how kind is Krishna and how He bestows His causeless mercy on His devotees. Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport (I have taken the liberty to break the purport into short sentences) :

In this verse the words tato ’si bhagavan prabhuh mean “Therefore You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of everyone.”

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all six opulences in full, and moreover He is extremely kind to His devotee. Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless wants all the living entities to surrender unto Him so that they may engage in His service. Thus He becomes satisfied.

Although He is full in Himself, He nonetheless becomes pleased when His devotee offers Him patrampuspam phalam toyam — a leaf, flower, fruit or water — in devotion.

Sometimes the Lord, as the child of mother Yasoda, requests His devotee for some food, as if He were very hungry. Sometimes He tells His devotee in a dream that His temple and His garden are now very old and that He cannot enjoy them very nicely. Thus He requests the devotee to repair them. Sometimes He is buried in the earth, and as if unable to come out Himself, He requests His devotee to rescue Him. Sometimes He requests His devotee to preach His glories all over the world, although He alone is quite competent to perform this task.

Even though the Supreme Personality of Godhead is endowed with all possessions and is self-sufficient,He depends on His devotees.

Therefore the relationship of the Lord with His devotees is extremely confidential. Only the devotee can perceive how the Lord, although full in Himself, depends on His devotee for some particular work. This is explained in Bhagavad-gita (11.33), where the Lord tells Arjuna, nimitta-matrambhava savyasacin: “O Arjuna, merely be an instrument in the fight.” Lord Krishna had the competence to win the Battle of Kuruksetra, but nonetheless He induced His devotee Arjuna to fight and become the cause of victory.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was quite competent enough to spread His name and mission all over the world, but still He depended upon His devotee to do this work.

Considering all these points, the most important aspect of the Supreme Lord’s self-sufficiency is that He depends on His devotees. This is called His causeless mercy.

The devotee who has perceived this causeless mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by realization can understand the master and the servant.

I strongly suggest that we go back to the beginning of the purport and slowly and carefully read it again, chewing it slowly this time, relishing the sweet nectar.

Could we see any practical application while reading the purport? Here is some food for thought

1. Do I feel and behave like a master in my day to day dealings or do I take, and feel, shelter of Krishna in every step?

2. When I daily offer bhoga to Krishna then do I make each offering to please Him? (or is to please my own senses?)

3. Am I surrendered to Krishna (or my spiritual master) and properly engaged in His service. Do I even desire to surrender to Krishna? Can I take some steps to progress in that direction. Rather than endlessly waiting for some future ‘favourable’ circumstances  can I make a small beginning today?

4. Can the Lord depend upon me for any task? Have I purified my consciousness by endeavoring to daily chant offenselessly and by being sincere & serious in my sadhna bhakti.

5.  Do I have even have a desire to become His (or His instrument’s) instrument. If Yes, then do I share my desire with Krishna by daily praying to Him for the same?

6.  Which special devotee Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sent : Srila Prabhupada! (phew! this was easy)

7. Do I feel causeless mercy of Lord, and His devotees, on me or am I busy speculating being a victim of family, job, circumstances,……

8. Do I understand, and hence relish & taste, the sweet relationship between Krishna and His devotees or do I read such pastimes merely as stories from which I try to take ‘moral of the story’?

9. And, last but not the least, am I reading, and tasting, and relishing, Bhagavatam daily ? How much time does it take to read one verse, and its purport, daily? Do I get the time to read newspaper (or browse internet) daily?

But I am a conditioned soul?

Srimad-Bhagavatam is so carefully presented that a sincere and serious person can at once enjoy the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge simply by drinking the nectarean juice through the mouth of Sukadeva Gosvami or his bona fide representative.

(SB 1.1.3p)

All glories to the causeless mercy of Krishna.

All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31710

Mahavrata Devi Dasi: Maharaja spoke on the need for Nigerians to shun any forms of violence and take to Krishna consciousness. He advised Nigerians to stop the killing of animals so that they can remain peaceful.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31719

This is our new bronze pot :-) It’s weight is 1090 kg and capacity is 1350 liters…price..almost 8 lakhs..

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31719

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja (CC Madhya 19.151)

Life after life, we are travelling through this material universe. Sometimes we reside in higher planetary systems and sometimes we reside here, in the middle planetary systems. Krsna is said to be neutral. This is very interesting because elsewhere in the Gita it says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram hetunanena kaunteya jagad viparivartate (Bhagavad-gita 9.10), that everything in this universe is going on under Krsna’s control. This is a fact because we are dealing with the energies of Krsna but Krsna is also neutral. Why is it so? Because all Krsna’s desires are directed to spirit and not to matter. Therefore, Krsna’s desires are aimed at the spiritual world, are aimed at the living beings who are also spirit. Krsna has no desire for this material world. In fact, the material world was the desire of the living being who wanted to be independent from Krsna then Krsna provided.

Srinivasa Acarya describes kṛṣṇot-kīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī (Prayers to the Six Goswamis). He says that the six goswamis are always engaged in Krsna utkirtan, not just Krsna kirtan. Krsna utkirtan means loud kirtan, loudly chanting the holy names of the Lord, loudly glorifying the Lord. Krsna utkirtan and gāna-nartana-parau, they are chanting and nartana, they are dancing also.Premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī, they are fully absorbed in the ocean of transcendental love. So this ocean of transcendental love exists between Krsna and his devotees. It exists between Krsna and the devotees in the spiritual world and it also exists between Krsna and the devotees in the material world. Loving exchange – as the devotee makes offerings to Krsna, Krsna also makes offerings to the devotee.

But offerings to Krsna cannot be cheap. One should not have a business mentality. In India, in Vrindavan, there are money changers. At the money changers, for one rupee, you can get a hundred one paisacoins. Now, in India, for a long time, one paisa coins are no longer in circulation. They do not use them anymore, no shop will take a one paisa coins but the money changers have all the one paisa coins. People buy one paisa coins and put them in donation boxes or they put them on the altar. Temples have all the one paisa coins and the only thing the temples can do is sell them to the money changers. What can I say!? So we had kilos and kilos and kilos of one paisa coins in Vrindavan. Anyway, it is going on and we pray, ‘Jaya jagadisha hare, ham ko ek lakh chaahe,’ for this one paisa, we want hundred thousand, one lakh of rupees! So that is business.

Krsna acts neutral in the material world. Krsna is not really neutral. In another sense, he not neutral at all. Krsna has a very strong desire that every living being returns to the spiritual world and that every living being returns to the eternal pastimes. BUT as long as the living beings remain preoccupied with their material activities, Krsna remains neutral. He is witnessing – anumanta. He is overseeing – upadrasta. Yes, some enjoyment will come and some frustration will come. He knows, he is tri-kala-jnana, he knows past, present and future. He knows there is more to come. He knows you already went through so much. But is it enough? Is it enough to come to the point where you say, “Krsna, I am yours”? Prahlad was young but he said, “Krsna, I am yours.” Bhismadev was old and Bhismadev said, “Krsna, I am yours.” But in all cases, Krsna did not immediately give up that neutrality which he reserves for the conditioned souls. Oh, no. He wanted to see genuine offerings, genuine devotion first.

Narada was only five years old when his mother died of a snake bite. Somehow or other, he had served some great guests at home – great saintly personalities, Bhaktivedantas, great devotees who were fully knowledgeable of the Vedic conclusions. With the permission of these sages, he had taken their remnants. Then the sages had given him instructions; they had told him how to meditate actually. After the sages left, Narada remained alone with his mother. Then early one morning, as his mother went out to milk the cow, she got bitten by a snake and died. Although the boy was shocked and obviously affected by the death of his mother because of the transcendental instruction of the sages, he remembered, “The Supreme Lord is my shelter.”

Therefore, he went to the forest and sat down under a tree and meditated on the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord at first did not respond. Narada was meditating and meditating and meditating but there was no sign from the Lord. Did the Lord even exist? Was he really there? How could he know that it was not all imagination? All that meditation and yet no sign.

Then, suddenly, the boy saw the Lord very clear in the eye of the mind. It was so clear as if he was really there. Next moment, he opened his eyes and he saw that the Lord was there. Then the Lord disappeared. That was too much for a five-year-old, “How can you disappear? I have done all this and now you were here and now you are disappearing.” He became angry. So then the Lord returned and the Lord said, “You have meditated but you are not yet completely qualified, not yet completely pure. Therefore, in this life, you will not see me anymore but if you continue your practices, then at the end of your life, then you will again see me and you will attain a spiritual body…” So in this way, the Lord returned to neutrality. Again, even with his devotee, he was maintaining this neutrality which he normally reserves for the materialist. Why so? To test us… Are we really serious? We are chanting but we you really want it? Or is it just rock n roll? Are we ready to give our life? Onepaisa is not enough. Krsna is not that cheap!

Source:https://www.kksblog.com/2016/09/elusive-krsna/

Verse 4.20: Abandoning all attachment to the results of his activities, ever satisfied and independent, he performs no fruitive action, although engaged in all kinds of undertakings.

As someone who spent numerous years studying Science, the scientific method is ingrained in my head. You start off with an objective, follow it up with a hypothesis, design the tests and run the experiment, collect and analyze your observations and draw a conclusion. 

You can imagine my surprise when I realized that the process of bhakti yoga is actually very scientific! Specifically, the teachings of the Gita. What may throw readers off, as I personally discovered, is the fact that sometimes the expected results are given before the objective is presented in said text. It's important to remember at such times, that this is due to the fact that Arjuna was already following the path of bhakti and that's why Krsna didn't need to get into all the details.

It's kind of like coming into a conversation when you haven't heard the beginning. You can get an idea and start to surmise what the gist of it is, but if you don't have someone walk you through the background, you'll never get the full picture. For anyone who has read the Gita on their own and tried to make sense of it, perhaps you are nodding your head in agreement.

Again, this only serves to reiterate the need for a teacher who has themselves been taught the Gita and is practically applying it in their own lives. In fact, as we will hear shortly, the need to evaluate a genuine bhakti teacher is done by observing their behavior and noting the results.

Here the conclusion obtained from performing the bhakti experiment of "working without being attached to the results" is given: one feels ever satisfied and independent. Independent from what? From the rolling waves of happiness and distress. One instead feels peaceful and calm.

Now for anyone who has worked in or run labs, you'll remember that you need to perform the experiment a minimum of three times and get the same result three times for it to be valid. From personal experience, I'll tell you - it's very rare to get the same result three times in a row! That's because the procedure needs to be followed exactly and the conditions have to be replicated perfectly. The same holds true for the bhakti experiment of working without attachment to the results.

If one doesn't follow the methods and conditions outlined in the Gita, then it is only natural that the result will not be the same. Practically this translates to: don't give up! If the experiment doesn't work for you, it could mean that something is off. Don't blame the method (as any lab researcher/scientist will tell you!), but go back and analyze what you did.

The outcomes from this bhakti experiment vary depending on what you put into it. So if you sincerely want to get the results outlined in the Gita, such as those of peace, satisfaction and happiness, you have to follow the method given accurately. Good luck and feel free to share what you come out with in the comments below!

Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/the-bhakti-experiment.html

Of late, there are some devotees I know, who are having difficulties in life; health issues, impoverishment, depression, etc. Sometimes I am asked for advice or support. I generally don’t like to give advice, as I consider myself fallen by nature. But thinking along these lines of ‘advice and support’ I did a search in Srila Prabhupada’s books to see how a devotee of the Lord deals with suffering. I have posted a couple of nice verses that deal with the Lords Mercy.

The mountains, although being struck by torrents of rain during the rainy season, are not shaken, just as those whose hearts are dedicated to the transcendental Personality of Godhead are never disturbed, even when harassed by great misfortune. (Light of the Bhagavata 12)

Because a person who is spiritually advanced accepts any adverse condition of life as the mercy of the Lord, he is completely eligible to enter into the spiritual kingdom. Even though a person takes to the devotional service of the Supreme Lord, he may sometimes become diseased, impoverished, or disappointed by life’s events. A true devotee of the Lord always considers these sufferings to be due to past sinful activities, and thus without becoming disturbed he patiently awaits the mercy of the Supreme Lord. Such devotees are compared to high mountains, which are never agitated in any way, even when struck by powerful torrents of rain in the rainy season. Rather, such devotees remain humble in spiritual enlightenment. Free from pride and envy, they easily gain the mercy of the Lord and go back home, back to Godhead.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Canto One, Chapter 5, Text 19

na vai jano jātu kathañcanāvrajen
mukunda-sevy anyavad aṅga saṁsṛtim
smaran mukundāṅghry-upagūhanaṁ punar
vihātum icchen na rasa-graho janaḥ

na—never; vai—certainly; janaḥ—a person; jātu—at any time; kathañcana—somehow or other; āvrajet—does not undergo; mukunda-sevī—the devotee of the Lord; anyavat—like others; aṅga—O my dear; saṁsṛtim—material existence; smaran—remembering; mukunda-aṅghri—the lotus feet of the Lord; upagūhanam—embracing; punaḥ—again; vihātum—willing to give up; icchet—desire; na—never; rasa-grahaḥ—one who has relished the mellow; janaḥ—person.

TRANSLATION

My dear Vyāsa, even though a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa sometimes falls down somehow or other, he certainly does not undergo material existence like others [fruitive workers, etc.] because a person who has once relished the taste of the lotus feet of the Lord can do nothing but remember that ecstasy again and again.

PURPORT

A devotee of the Lord automatically becomes uninterested in the enchantment of material existence because he is rasa-graha, or one who has tasted the sweetness of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. There are certainly many instances where devotees of the Lord have fallen down due to uncongenial association, just like fruitive workers, who are always prone to degradation. But even though he falls down, a devotee is never to be considered the same as a fallen karmī. A karmī suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. The sufferings of an orphan and the sufferings of a beloved child of a king are not one and the same. An orphan is really poor because he has no one to take care of him, but a beloved son of a rich man, although he appears to be on the same level as the orphan, is always under the vigilance of his capable father. A devotee of the Lord, due to wrong association, sometimes imitates the fruitive workers. The fruitive workers want to lord it over the material world. Similarly, a neophyte devotee foolishly thinks of accumulating some material power in exchange for devotional service. Such foolish devotees are sometimes put into difficulty by the Lord Himself. As a special favor, He may remove all material paraphernalia. By such action, the bewildered devotee is forsaken by all friends and relatives, and so he comes to his senses again by the mercy of the Lord and is set right to execute his devotional service.

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is also said that such fallen devotees are given a chance to take birth in a family of highly qualified brāhmaṇas or in a rich mercantile family. A devotee in such a position is not as fortunate as one who is chastised by the Lord and put into a position seemingly of helplessness. The devotee who becomes helpless by the will of the Lord is more fortunate than those who are born in good families. The fallen devotees born in a good family may forget the lotus feet of the Lord because they are less fortunate, but the devotee who is put into a forlorn condition is more fortunate because he swiftly returns to the lotus feet of the Lord, thinking himself helpless all around.

Pure devotional service is so spiritually relishable that a devotee becomes automatically uninterested in material enjoyment. That is the sign of perfection in progressive devotional service. A pure devotee continuously remembers the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and does not forget Him even for a moment, not even in exchange for all the opulence of the three worlds.

Source:https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2016/09/25/the-lords-mercy/

Verse 4.21: Such a man of understanding acts with mind and intelligence perfectly controlled, gives up all sense of proprietorship over his possessions, and acts only for the bare necessities of life. Thus working, he is not affected by sinful reactions.

Although we have so much in terms of technology, facilities and entertainment, dissatisfaction is running rampant in the world today. Conversations seem to be peppered with the phrase "Life is really complicated these days," and are frequently accompanied with a long suffering sigh!

How did we make our lives so complicated and what can we do to make it more simple?

It's a question that so many people ask these days and today we find the answer in the Gita. Our lives become complicated....

When we try to claim proprietorship over something, someone or someplace

The moment we do so, we immediately inherit complications.

In simple words, proprietorship means claiming something is "Mine". As was explained in the 'Attachment Trap', as soon as we identify ourselves with something (i.e. become attached to it) it can pave the way to lust, anger, delusion etc... if we don't approach it with the right attitude.

There's the potential for things to get complicated....fast! 

So what can we do to make things more simple?

When we let go of any sense of proprietorship, recognizing that everything is the energy of the Divine and is on loan to us from Him, a huge burden is removed from our shoulders. Instead of seeing people and things as possessions to own and control for our own pleasure, we start to see everything as they really are - people and things that are worthy of our respect. Instead of trying to gain happiness from them, our mindset changes to how we can give happiness to the one who has given us all these treasures.

Gratitude starts to awaken within our hearts. Things that we may have perceived as obstacles transform into gifts and lessons and our lives become peaceful and happy.

That's what a life less complicated is really about. It's about living a life where our hearts are filled with gratitude and lightness. The only thing we need to do is: appreciate more and think about ourselves less.

Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/a-life-less-complicated.html

Srimati Radharani, the eternal divine consort of Sri Krishna, is known as the Queen of Vrindavan. Vrindavan is where Krishna loves to be, because of Her love – and the love of all those who live there.

Vrindavan is at the center of the lotus of the spiritual world – no place is sweeter or more beautiful because it is saturated in the purest, most intimate love for Krishna. It is there that every word is a song, and every step is a dance. And the flute is Krishna’s constant companion.

As we approach Radhastami (details here) we can relish Vrindavan and Radharani’s love for Krishna and be inspired to seek shelter and inspiration there. It is asked – As Krishna plays the flute to call Radharani, why is He still playing His flute on the altar if Radha is standing beside Him. Who is He calling? It is answered that He plays the flute to call all of us.

Don’t go down to the banks of the Yamuna
and hear Krishna’s flute
for your life will never be the same
The bamboo flute causes rivers to flow backwards,
stones to melt, and animals to stand still,
Some tunes call the cows home and others,
especially the fifth note, pulls the hearts of the gopis
to the dark forest, to meet their Lord
and they dance and dance until the sun comes up
and then curse the sun and run home
brimming with love and happiness

The flute calls all of us
If we listen, if we allow ourselves to hear
It is softer than breath, and quieter than a heartbeat
It is hidden deep within the sacred names of Krishna,
Just try to hear yourself chant sincerely, Prabhupada said
Trust the mantra to lead us to the right place
To bring us to life – in love, in service, in essence
In relationship with Krishna.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/the-flute-player-of-vrindavan/

Verse 4.22: He who is satisfied with gain which comes of its own accord, who is free from duality and does not envy, who is steady in both success and failure, is never entangled, although performing actions.

One's desires and ambitions develop according to the company one keeps

For regular readers, you might recognize this phrase. It's one of my favorites and one that I quote often. 

Today though, I viewed this phrase in a whole new light which caught me off guard. Ever feel like you've gotten all you can out of something? That you just can't learn anymore? Well...I definitely used to think that about the above mentioned phrase. So you can imagine my surprise when a new insight suddenly came to me.

I always used to think that "the company one keeps" referred to individuals. Reflecting upon the fact that lately I've been experiencing the words of the Gita come to life, suddenly a whole new context to the words "company" unveiled itself:

"The company one keeps is not only limited to the people we associate with; it also includes the books we read and the environments we expose ourselves to."

That's how subtle the soul is. When we are constantly exposed to something, we naturally become affected by it. Reading and writing about working without attachment has become such a constant fixture in my life, that I can't help but think about it more frequently! 

I invite all of you to perform an experiment. Make the time for the next five days to absorb yourself in reading about one topic that uplifts you. Perhaps it can be on a quality that you hope to develop or a habit you would like to form. Spend ten minutes reading about it and at the end of the five days, take note of how often you think about it. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that you've already made some positive progress.

Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/the-company-one-keeps.html

The Sacred Texts tell us that without receiving mercy from the Spiritual Master and from the Supreme God it's impossible to overcome for good the egoistic attachment toward mundane things. In order to succeed, not only we need to have received divine benevolence, we must have kept it too.

In which way we can receive mercy? Firstly by seeking it ardently, and behaving consequently, by dedicating ourselves with diligence and faith to spiritual practices and so awaken Love and Awareness.

And in which way we can keep it? By offering it to others. Then and only then, through constant and coherent efforts toward achieving Bhakti in our lifespan, we will be increasingly able to discriminate reality from illusion, the essence from appearance, the eternal from ephemeral.

Mice see the cheese but not the trap. In the same way conditioned souls see the promises of pleasure in this world's things, but hardly can understand that this pleasure hides a trap. A mortal trap.

How to be detached from the world and its overwhelming beauties? How can we resist when we see something appealing, pleasing, good smelling and shining? We should think about it in connection to God. It is difficult to deny this world; the more we deny it the more we are attracted to it, risking to become hypocrites who refuse the world's attractions outwardly while inwardly craving them (Bhagavad-gita III.6). Therefore we should not refuse this material world's beautiful things, but to use them to serve God with Love, correlating them to our spiritual origin, and living them in the vision of eternity. Accordingly, in any circumstance of our life we can connect to the Lord and to our deepest spirituality. Even bitter experiences, the biting words we received, the mistakes we made, at the end can turn into gifts, only if we can learn from the lessons they offer us. Gratitude and appreciation can permeate everybody and everything appear in this world, because we make use of every experience to get closer to God.

This gratitude can be felt and can be expressed both when we receive "good things", and when we get "bad things", being conscious that the light of the day cannot be appreciated without the night's darkness.

As you would expect, it is necessary that we learn how to discriminate between vice and virtue, between good and evil, so we can choose once far all righteousness and be firm in sattva-guna, but also we must be aware that Reality is beyond. It is that pure spiritual dimension in which mundane good and evil are transcended, and they merge in the "sommum bonum": the supreme goodness beyond duality. And supreme goodness is unconditioned pure Love that change and purify everything. Such dimension can be reached when any desire we have becomes an offering to the Lord and all our perceptions are dedicated to His service.

By living in this perspective we will find treasures around each corner, hidden in any occurrence of our life. And we will walk toward death full of gratitude because we understood that by practicing Bhakti even death leads us to life.

Source:http://matsyavatara.blogspot.in/2013/09/school-of-life-how-to-learn-from-good.html

The following is an excerpt from a lecture given by Srila Prabhupada in London in 1969:

So our today prayer to Rādhārāṇī…We pray to Rādhārāṇī because She is the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa means “all-attractive.” But Rādhārāṇī is so great that She attracts Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, and She is attracts Kṛṣṇa. So what is the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī? We should try to understand this today and offer our obeisances to Rādhārāṇī – Rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī.

tapta-kāñcana-gauraṅgī rādhe vṛndāvaneśvarī vṛṣabhānu-sute devī pranamāmi hari-priye
Our business is “Rādhārāṇī, You are so dear to Kṛṣṇa. So we offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”

Rādhārāṇī is Hari-priyā, very dear to Kṛṣṇa. So if we approach Kṛṣṇa through Rādhārāṇī, through the mercy of Rādhārāṇī, then it becomes very easy. If Rādhārāṇī recommends that “This devotee is very nice,” then Kṛṣṇa immediately accepts, however fool I may be. Because it is recommended by Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa accepts. Therefore in Vṛndāvana you’ll find all the devotees, they’re chanting more Rādhārāṇī’s name than Kṛṣṇa’s. Wherever you’ll go, you’ll find the devotees are addressing, “Jaya Rādhe.” You’ll find still in Vṛndāvana. They are glorifying Rādhārāṇī. They’re more interested, worshiping Rādhārāṇī. Because however fallen I may be, if some way or other I can please Rādhārāṇī, then it is very easy for me to understand Kṛṣṇa.

Otherwise, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu kaścid yatati siddhaye yatatām api siddhānāṁkaścid vetti māṁ tattvataḥ (Bg. 7.3). If you go by the speculative process to understand Kṛṣṇa, it will take many, many lives. But if you take devotional service, just try to please Rādhārāṇī, and Kṛṣṇa will be gotten very easily. Because Rādhārāṇī can deliver Kṛṣṇa. She is so great a devotee, the emblem of mahā-bhāgavata. Even Kṛṣṇa cannot understand what is Rādhārāṇī’s quality. Even Kṛṣṇa, although He says vedāhaṁ samatītāni, “I know everything,” still, He fails to understand Rādhārāṇī. Rādhārāṇī is so great.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/our-prayer-to-radharani/

Verse 4.24: A person who is fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is sure to attain the spiritual kingdom because of his full contribution to spiritual activities, in which the consummation is absolute and that which is offered is of the same spiritual nature.

When reading this verse today, my attention was captured by the word "offer". 

In one sense, the whole world revolves around offerings. Whether working or in school, we are constantly "putting forth something for consideration or acceptance". When we are applying for a job, we are offering our services and intelligence to work. When we enter into and maintain relationships, we offer our heart and emotions. 

In fact, one could say that every minute of every day is filled with offerings.

After all, it is one of the main functions of the mind. The mind is constantly putting forth ideas and thoughts as to how we can increase our happiness and minimize distress.

But the mind's offerings are often limited. Unless exposed to the culture of gratitude and selflessness, it can be difficult to comprehend the concept of "offering one's life in service." And that, ultimately, is what yoga is all about.

For some, including myself, contemplation of this "career path" can bring up a lot of insecurities and revelations as to where we place our faith and trust. Offering one's life in service, from the yoga perspective, is not just dedicating oneself to a job. It's about utilizing this life to realize who we really are and why we are here. That is - realizing that we are spiritual beings having a material experience. 

It requires deep introspection and a willingness to confront our frailties. It takes courage, proper guidance and support to realize that we are not in this world just to enjoy it but to learn from it. By being able to see the lessons that are ever present in all opportunities and experiences that we undergo, we start to learn that there is more to life than just satisfying the senses. It is then that the desire to go deeper burns stronger and we in turn can really start tuning into who we really are through the wisdom of great texts such as the Bhagavad gita. That knowledge, when realized, allows us to become empowered instruments to help others and affect positive change in this world.

But that first step requires a leap of faith to dig deep. Are you ready?

Source:http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2013/09/dig-deep.html

Dear devotees, please accept my obeisances;

All glories to Shrila Prabhupada and Shri Shri Radha Govinda Deva.

Jaya Shri Shri Nityananda Gauranga!

Jaya Shri Jagannath, Shri Baladeva, Subhadra Maharani Shrimati!

I hope to find you in good health and spiritually inspired.

Some days ago my dear disciple - Omkrishna Mataji - left the body and this mortal world and headed for the supreme eternal abode of Shri Krishna.

The two sons, daughters in law and grandchildren attended to her all the time in high spiritual consciousness, lovingly and with devotion.

Besides being herself a sincere devotee, Omkrishna Mataji had the great blessing in this life to live in a family of special devotees, all of them very dear to me.

One of her sons was next to her at the very moment she passed away, and has accompanied and sustained her by chanting uninterruptedly the Holy Names.

My most fervent prayers go to this disciple so dear to me, who was always cheerful, playful and joyful, who was so moved every time we met, and I’m also asking you to pray for her too.

I pray she can soon play happily in the company of Lord Krishna and His eternal companions and friends.

With deep emotion,

Matsyavatara dasa

Source:http://matsyavatara.blogspot.in/2013/10/the-great-departure.html

We are not free to live life just as we want to: prakrteh kriyamanani, gunaih karmani sarvasah, the bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities which are in actuality carried out by nature, Bhagavad-gita 3.27.

Rather, there is a script and this script is going along even though we have so many desires. In the middle of all that, “I want this, I want that. I want to be here, I want to be there. I want to do all these things.” But ultimately, the script will determine what we are allowed to do and what we are not allowed to do, where success will be and where failure will be. With time, we begin to realize more and more that things are not in our control because with time, we see in so many situations that we wanted things and it did not happen. We are controlled by the material energy, simply by circumstances.

Sometimes, we are successful and we are surprised. It was something very difficult and it worked; everyone says, “Wow, you did that very expertly.”

But actually the truth is, it just happened, somehow or other, it just happened and was successful. Other times, you work so hard, you know you worked so hard and it was just not successful, “It is just not logical. I’ve done it a hundred times and it worked a hundred times. Now it’s just not working; why not?”So like this, we are in the material world, depending on the arrangement of Krsna and who is providing things to us through the material energy.

Spiritual life is different. In spiritual life, you can be sure. In material life, you are never sure. You never know, you cannot be sure about anything in material life but in spiritual life you can be sure, actually. The result is guaranteed; it is certain.

When you engage in devotional service, success will be there, etavaj janma-saphalyam (CC Adi 9.24), if you want to make this life successful, dehinam iha dehishu (CC Adi 9.24), while we are now in this body, then use it in the service of Krsna. Then surely, it will be successful. This is the injunction of scripture.

Source:https://www.kksblog.com/2016/09/spiritual-guarantee/

Of course the dying always make us stop
those dying and those left behind
stuck in a time frozen into itself
as the everyday world disappears
and we are at once pushed into the present
and all that facing an ebbing life brings.

Life totters like a drop of water on a lotus flower
sparkling in it’s beauty while present
and then gone, in an instant
gone forever in that form it took
but not gone completely
the soul begins a new journey and we ask
where do we come from and
where do we go?
destiny is not arbitrary; we have a part to play
where we are now and what we do
makes the path ahead
who does not want to be free
from the chains of destiny that bind us
as this young man, a freedom lover,
is now bound to the hospital bed with tubes
and life keeping machines.

It’s a stark world we live in, merciless in it’s karmic clock
and we idle away the time thinking it will never happen to us
we are fools that live half lives
we need to wake up and sing another song
we need to let the caged bird fly
to know thyself in the quiet moments of lost love
and seek shelter within
we need to speak to the Lord in heart
and listen
for the wise are awake to the movements of the soul
and life is not lived until death has been around.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/life-and-death/

Identity of Lord Chaitanya
By A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine 1960 Vol. 3 Part 16

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is no other than the combined form of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. He is the life of those devotees who strictly follow the footprints of Sri Srila Rupa Goswami.

Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatan Goswami both are principal followers of Sri Swarup Damodar Goswami who acted as the most confidential servitor and constant companion of Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whose name was known as Viswambhar in His early life.

And from Srila Rupa Goswami, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami comes as the direct disciple and the author of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita i. e., Sri Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami stands to be his direct follower.

From Goswami Krishna Das Kaviraj the direct disciple is Srila Narottam Das Thakur who accepted Viswanath Chakrabarty as his servitor. Viswanath Chakrabarty accepted Jagannath Das Babajee from whom Srila Bhaktivinode Thakore was initiated and Srila Gour Kishore Das Babajee the spiritual master of Om Vishnupada Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupad-the Divine spiritual Master of our humbleself.

The above is the chain of disciplic succession from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu down to our humbleself. As such in this English Commentation of the Chaitanya Charitamrita there will be nothing new manufactured by our tiny brain. It will contain only the remnants of foodstuff that was originally eaten by the Lord Himself. Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does not belong to the mundane plane of three qualitative modes. He belongs to the transcendental plane (spiritual sky) which is beyond the reach of imperfect sense perceptions of a living being domiciled in the material sky. No living being including the highest erudite mundane scholar because of his residence in the material sky can approach the transcendental plane unless he submits himself to the transcendental sound transmitted from the far beyond spiritual sky and received through the aural sources in a receptive mood. In that mood only the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can be realised. As such everything that will be described here has nothing to do with any sort of experimental thought created by the speculative habit of an unrest mind. It is not a mental concoction but spiritual experience in fact which can be mentioned only by acceptance of the line of disciplic succession as described above keeping the transmission of sound in perfect order. Any deviation from that line will bewilder the reader in understanding the mystery of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita which is a transcendental literature meant for postgraduate study of a student who has not only heard but also has realised all the essence of Vedic literatures such as Upanishad, Vedanta etc. and their natural commentations, Sri Bhagwat Gita and Srimad Bhagwatam respectively. This commentation of Chaitanya Charitamrta is presented for the study of sincere English scholars who are really seeking the Absolute Truth. It is not an arrogance of scholarship of a mental speculator but it is a sincere effort to serve the order of a Superior Authority whose service is the life and soul of this tiny effort.

There is not a bit of deviation from the revealed scriptures and anyone who is in the line will be able to catch up the essence of this book simply by the method of submissive aural reception.

The purport of the first part put up as an essay is as follows:-

There are in the beginning fourteen Sanskrit Slokas as it will appear in the text portion describing the Absolute Truth. The next three slokas in Sanskrit describe the three principal deities of Vrindaban namely Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Deva and Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Ji.
Out of the first 14 slokas, the first one is the symbolic representation of the Supreme Truth. And the whole of the first part is as a matter of fact devoted to this single sloka. In that description, relevant facts in the matter of the spiritual master all described. The spiritual Master is bifurcated into two plenary facts called by the names of initiator spiritual master and instructor spiritual master. Both of them are one and identical because both of them are phenomenal manifestations of the Supreme Truth. Then there are devotees who are divided into two classes namely, the apprentice and the passed. The Supreme Lord exists with innumerable beams and expansions. Such expansions are called incarnations of the potency, incarnation of the quality and incarnation of authority. They are therefore three in all. The Lord is described in His manifestive and pastimeous features. His potencies are described to be three principally. Such potencies are described as the consorts in the kingdom of God, the Queens of Dwarkadhama the highest of all of them are the damsels of Braja. Lord Sri Krishna and His different plenary portions are all in the category of the Lord Himself while His devotees are considered as eternal associates. As such the devotees are also His potencies. The potent and the potency being unavoidably one and the same thing they are fundamentally one. But the function of the two being differently exhibited, they are simultaneously different also. Thus the Absolute Truth is manifested by diversity in one Unit. This philosophical truth in pursuance of the Vedanta Sutra is called ‘Achinta Veda Ved Tatwa’ or the conception of simultaneously one and different from the Absolute Truth. And in the later portion of this Chapter the transcendental position of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and that of Sri Nityananda Prabhu is described with reference to the above theistic facts.
The author of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita has begun practically with a respectful obeisance unto the three deities of Vrindaban namely Sri Radha Madan Mohan, Sri Radhagovinda and Sri Radhagopinath ji. These three deities of Vrindaban are the life and soul of the Bengali Vaishnavas who have a natural aptitude for domiciling in Vrindaban and they are known as the Goudiya Vaishnavas. The Goudiya Vaishnavas who are strictly in the line of Sri Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu do worship the Divinity by chanting the Mantra composed of eighteen letters. Such chanting of transcendental sound belonging to spiritual sky is meant for developing a sense of transcendental relation with the Supreme Lord reciprocation of mutual affectionate mellows and takes on to achieve the desired success in loving service. The three deities mentioned above are the object of worship in three different stages of development and the followers of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu scrupulously follow these principles of approach.

Goudiya means the Bengali. The part of land in India between the southern side of Himalaya Mountain and Northern part of Vindiya Hills is called Aryavarta or the land of the Aryans. This portion is divided into five parts or provinces called by the name of Pancha Gouda. Such divisions are called Saraswat (Kushmere Punjab), Kanyakubja (Uttar Pradesh encircling the city of Lucknow), Mudhya Gouda (M.P.), Maithila (Bihar and part of Bengal) and Utkal or Orissa. Bengal is called by some as Gouda Desha partly due to her forming portion of Maithila and partly because the capital of Hindu king Raja Lakshman Sen who was known as Gouda. Later on this portion of Bengal’s old capital came to be known as ‘Goudapura’ and gradually as Mayapura. The devotees of Orissa are called the Orias and in the same way the devotees of Bengal are called ‘Goudiyas.’ That is the summary history of the Goudiya Vaishnavas, and the devotees of the Southern India are known as Drabiras Devotee. As there are five provinces in the Aryavarta so beyond there is Dakshinatya which is also divided into five provinces called Pancha Dravirs. All four Vaishnava Acharyas as well as Sripad Sankaracharya of the Mayavad school all of them appeared in the provinces of the Pancha Dravir. Amongst the Vaishnava Acharyas, all of whom are accepted by the Goudiya Vaishnava, Sri Ramanuja Acharya appeared in the southern part of Andhra Desha at Mahubhutapuri. Sri Madhyacharya appeared at ‘Pajakam’ in the district of Mangolese near Vimangiri. Sri Vishnu Swami appeared at Pandya and Sri Nimbarkar appeared at Mengyerpattam in the extreme southern end. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for all practical purposes accepted the chain of disciplic succession of Madhyacharya. His line of Vaishnavas do not accept the Tatwavadis who also claim as descendant of Madhyacharya. To keep a clear distinction from them the Vaishnavas of Bengal call themselves as Goudiya Vaishnavas. Besides this, Shri Madhyacharya is known by another name called Sri Goudiya Purnanda. And therefore Madhya Goudiya Sampradaya is just the suitable name of the Goudiya Vaishnava.
Now coming again to the first fourteen slokas the author wishes to offer his obeisances to his spiritual master, the Vaishnavas or devotees of the Lord and to the Lord Himself. By doing so the author desires success in his great attempt. By remembering these three foremost guardians of success one can overcome all stumbling blocks in the path of devotional service. And as such one can achieve the desired object very easily.

Such auspicious functions can be ascertained in three different ways. The 1st one is to ascertain the object of worship, the second one is obeisances and the 3rd one is benediction.

Out of the 1st fourteen slokas, two only are meant for offering respectful obeisances to the object of worship particularly and ordinarily.
In the third sloka the object of worship is ascertained which gives us direction to the path of the Absolute Truth. In the four slokas the author offers his holy benedictions to the people in general by wishing the Divine Grace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
In the fourth sloka, the object of Sri Chaitanya’s appearance is superficially described. But in the 5th and 6th Slokas the confidential reasons of Sri Chaitanya’s appearance are distinctively described.

Therefore out of the fourteen slokas, six are devoted for delineating the Truth of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu whereas from the 7th to the 11th slokas the truth about Sri Nityanand Prabhu is elaborately described. In the next two slokas, i.e., by the slokas Nos. 12 & 13, the truth about Sri Adwaita Prabhu is described. In the 14th sloka the summary is made as five Tatvas or five principal factors of the Absolute Truth.
The acts of auspiciousity are therefore chronicled in these fourteen slokas. And in the midst of such auspicious action, the object of worship is definitely ascertained.

Now the author wishes to offer his respects to all the readers and audience of Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita just in the manner of a humble Vaishnava before he makes a vivid analysis of each and every one of the above 14 slokas. After offering his obeisances to all the audience he requests them to hear him attentively what he says about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with reference to the context of revealed scriptures.
The first one of the above 14 slokas is described as follows:-

Vande Gurunisaabhaktani-
shamustavatarakan Tatprakash-
amascha tachahhakti Krishna
chaitanya Samgakam

Shri Krishna the Personality of Godhead enjoys by His six different potencies and expansions as follows:-

(1) Krishna Himself, (2) His incarnation, (3) His plenary manifestation (4) His devotees who act as two kinds of spiritual masters and (5) His different energies. The author offers his obeisance to all these six principles of the Absolute Truth.

The two spiritual masters are (1) the initiator and (2) the instructor. He is first of all offered respectful obeisances. There is no difference between the initiator and the instructors spiritual master. Although there is influence of functions of the two types of spiritual master, there is no difference in identity.

The instructor spiritual masters are the six Goswamins called by the name (1) Sri Rupa, (2) Sri Sanatan, (3) Sri Bhatta Raghunath, (4) Sri Jiva, (5) Sri Gopal Bhatta and (6) Sri Raghunath Das Goswami. The author accepts them as his instructor spiritual masters. By such acceptance it is specifically made clear that nobody should be accepted as a Goudiya Vaishnava who has no obedience to these six Goswamins. He therefore offers his respectful obeisances unto them.

He proceeds on further

to pay his respects unto those unalloyed devotees to which Sribas Thakur is the leading one. After this the author desires to pay his homage unto Adwaitaprabhu who is the plenary portion of the Lord. And then he proposes to make his obeisances unto Sri Nityananda Prabhu, counter manifestation of the Lord Himself.

Shri Gadhadhar Prabhu is the eternal energy of the Lord Himself and the author offers his obeisances unto Him with all respects.
Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Personality of Godhead Himself and this author offers his obeisance more than thousand and one times at His Lotus feet.

The above is the process of approaching the Supreme Lord by gradual appreciation. That is the way of devotional service. If anyone desires unalloyed devotional service, one must keep his aim for associating with the devotees of Shri Krishna. By the association of the devotees only, a conditioned soul can achieve a taste for such transcendental love. By such association of devotees only one can revive his eternal relation with Godhead in His specific manifestation as well as in the specific transcendental mellows which one has eternally imbibed in him. If any one of such neophyte devotees wants to know more about the Supreme Truth Sri Krishna such fortunate devotee takes shelter of one or more than one spiritual masters and submissively enquires from them in the science of devotion. There are two ways of understanding the truths about Sri Krishna. A devotee who is already attracted by the Name, Form, Quality etc. of the Supreme Lord may be directed to the specific manner of devotional service without wasting time in the matter of logical approach. The expert spiritual master knows well how to engage one’s energy in the matter of transcendental loving service of the Lord and thus according to the devotees special tendency, he is engaged in the species of devotional service. The initiator spiritual master is one only because in the scriptures acceptance of more than one initiator spiritual master is always forbidden. But there is no limit for accepting a number of instructor spiritual master. Generally a spiritual master who constantly instructs a disciple in the matter of spiritual science becomes the initiator spiritual master later on.

We should always remember that a person who is reluctant to accept a spiritual master for initiation is sure to become baffled in his endeavour to go back to Godhead. Such person who is not properly initiated may present himself as a great devotee but in fact he is sure to encounter many many stumbling blocks on his way of progressive march towards spiritual realisation and the net result is that he has to continue the term of his material existence without any relief. Such helpless person is compared with a ship without a rudder as such a careless ship cannot reach her destination. It is imperative therefore to accept a spiritual master if at all anyone desires to gain the favour of the Lord. Service of the spiritual master is essential in this matter.

If there is no chance of directly serving the spiritual master, then the devotee does serve him by remembering his instructions only. There is no difference between the spiritual master’s instructions and the spiritual master himself. In his absence, therefore, his words of direction shall be the guide of the disciple. If a man thinks that he is above all suspicion and therefore there is no need of consulting any other else including the spiritual master, he becomes at once an offender in the lotus feet of the Lord and an offender can never go back to home back to Godhead. It is imperative also that a seriously inclined person must accept a bonafide spiritual master in terms of the Shastric injunction and give up the company of a pseudo spiritual master in terms of social usages and hereditary or customary and ecclesiastic conventions.

Srila Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami is one of the authorised spiritual masters and as such he teaches us worship of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu along with His all constant associates. Such associates are principally six such as (1) Guru or the spiritual master (2) Isabhakta or the principle of servitorship (3) Isaprakasa or the principle of manifested Godhead (4) Isavatara or the principle of incarnations of Godhead (5) Isasakti or the principle of potency of Godhead and Isaswarupa or the principle of Supreme Lordship in Person.
These principles are adored at once by chanting the following transcendental sound namely-

Sreekrishna Chaitanya
Prabhu Nityananda.
Sree Adwaita Gadhadhar
Sreebasadi Gour Bhakta-Vrinda.

In this arrangement Shrikrishna Chaitanya is the Personality of Godhead Himself and Shri Nityananda is manifested Godhead available to everyone and all without any distinction. As such He is the original spiritual master as well. All spiritual masters therefore must be as good as Shri Nityananda Prabhu without imitation. The followers of Nityananda Prabhu both in theory and practice are all descendants of the Lord. The family of Nityananda Prabhu is not fixed up in a particular type of flesh and blood or the bones ever. Shri Nityananda Prabhu does not belong to any ingredients of the mundane world. There is no difference between His body and self as ordinary living being. It is an offense therefore to bring in Nityananda Prabhu to the characteristics of mundane plane and falsely claim to become His flesh and blood. Anyone following the instructions of Shri Nityananda Prabhu and duly authorised by an Acharya can perform the duty of bonafide spiritual master. Such spiritual master is intimately connected with Shri Nityananda Prabhu but he can never claim to be identical with Him although he is no lesser than Him in the matter of spiritual mastership.

Shri Adwaitaprabhu is the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, Shri Gadhadhar Prabhu is His Internal Potency and Shri Nivas Prabhu is the Chief of His innumerable devotees and servitors. The external potency of Godhead is called Maya who can never stay as intimate associate of the Lord as much as darkness cannot remain in the presence of light, although darkness has no independant existence without light. Darkness is an illusion and temporary cover of the light.

The relation of a disciple with his spiritual master is as good as his relation with the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master shall always represent himself as the humblest servitor of the Personality of Godhead but the disciple must look upon him as the manifested representation of Godhead. The author of Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita explains this fact very nicely in a number of Payars (Sonet). He says that according to the tenets of authoritative scriptures the spiritual master is equal in position like Shri Krishna because he bestows mercies upon his disciple.
A spiritual master is not therefore an enjoyer of facilities offered by a disciple but on the contrary he (the spiritual master) is a constant servitor as the parents are to their children. Without the most attentive service of the parents no children can grow up to a manhood and similarly without the care of the spiritual master nobody can rise up to the plane of transcendental service.

In the Sreemad Bhagwat (SB 11.17.22) Srikrishna the Personality of Godhead instructed Shri Uddhava as follows:

“My dear Uddhava, you can accept the spiritual master as Myself. You should not, as a matter of fact, consider the spiritual master as an ordinary man and thus belittle his personality. Guru or the spiritual master represents all the dominating gods.”

As we have already discussed the two principles of spiritual master namely the initiator spiritual master and the instructor spiritual master are one. So Srila Kaviraj Goswami says that the instructor spiritual master is as much a bonafide representative of Srikrishna, because Shrikrishna Himself also teaches us as instructor spiritual master from within and without. From within He teaches us as Paramatma our constant companion and from without He teaches us as it is in the Bhagwat Geeta and so also as the instructor spiritual master.

The spiritual master is called Acharya or the transcendental professor. Such professors of spiritual science initiate the disciple in the studies of spiritual science and the ceremony observed in this connection is called Upanayan or to bring one nearer the spiritual master. One who cannot be so brought nearer to the spiritual master is indicated as sudra who remains without any sacred thread. The sacred thread hanging on the body of a Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya is the symbol of such initiation by the spiritual master and the thread is not worth even a pie if the same is put on as a matter of boasting a high parentage. It is the duty of the spiritual master to initiate the disciple by thread ceremony and after such Samaskara or purificatory process, the spiritual master begins to teach the disciple Vedas. A Sudra born man is not debarred from such spiritual initiation but he must be approved by a spiritual master who is authorised to award the right of becoming a Brahmin, if he at all finds the disciple to be perfectly in order. Such spiritual master can be bonafide only if he has himself a perfect knowledge of the Vedic shastras and he himself is accustomed to abide by the injunctions of the Shastras. Specific description of this spiritual mastership as well as the sign of bonafide disciple are described both in the Manu Samheeta (2.140) as also in the Vayu Puranam.

In the Srimad Bhagwatam also (S.B. 11.29.6) Shri Uddhava Ji, after hearing from Shri Krishna all necessary instruction about Yoga, said, “Oh my Lord! transcendental poets or experts in the spiritual science cannot express their indebtedness unto You even though they are endowed with a prolonged life of a Brahma. They are so unable because nobody can estimate the volume of Your mercy which You manifest in the shape of a spiritual master from without and as the super soul from within; all for dissipating the unfavourable conditions of a living being and for revealing Yourself in his pure heart.”
In fact the Personality of Godhead out of His immense compassion only reveals Himself as the spiritual master. Therefore in the dealings of an Acharya there is nothing except a servitorship attitude on behalf of the Personality of Godhead. He is the Supreme Personality of Servitor Godhead. Therefore if any person poses himself as an Acharya without such servitorship attitude, then he will be considered as offender and such offensive attitude cannot be a qualification of the Acharya. Cent percent servitorship attitude of an Acharya makes him a bonafide manifestation of the Supreme Lord and a real representative of Shri Nityananda Prabhu. Dissatisfied by an attitude of sense-gratification by mundaner one criticizes a real Acharya, dictated by envious temperament. But a bonafide Acharya is nondifferent from the Personality of Godhead and therefore to maintain an envious attitude toward an Acharya is to envy the very Personality of Godhead producing a subversive effect in the matter of transcendental realisation.

As mentioned above a disciple shall always behave with his spiritual master as manifestation of Shri Krishna. But at the same time it would be remembered always that a spiritual master cannot imitate or is authorised to imitate every one of the transcendental pastimes of Shri Krishna. False spiritual master poses himself as identical with Shri Krishna in every action and exploits the sentiments of an innocent disciple in various ways. The impersonalist only can mislead the disciple that the spiritual master is identical with Krishna in every respect as such impersonalist desire ultimately to become one with Him. The real philosophy is Achinta Vedaved Tatwa which establishes everything as simultaneously one and different from the Personality of Godhead. That is the real position of a bonafide spiritual master. Srila Raghunath Das Goswami confirms this fact and says that we should always think of the spiritual master in terms of his intimate relation with Mukunda (Srikrishna). Srila Jiva Goswami, in his Bhakti-Sandarva (216), has clearly defined that a pure devotee’s observation of the spiritual master and that of Lord Shiva as one with the Personality of Godhead is estimated in terms of their becoming very much dear to Him (the Personality of Godhead) being identical in all respects. Following the footprints of Srila Das Goswami and that of Srila Jiva Goswami later Acharyas like Srila Viswanath Chakrabarty has also confirmed the same truth in his celebrated prayers on the spiritual master that the spiritual master is accepted as identical with the Personality of Godhead in all the revealed scriptures but he is so accepted for his becoming very much dear and confidential servant of the Lord. The Goudiya Vaishnavas therefore worship Srila Gurudeva (the spiritual master) in that light of being the servitor Personality of Godhead and in all old literatures of devotional service or in the songs of Srila Narottamdas Thakur, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur or any other unalloyed Vaishnavas the spiritual master is always considered either as one of the confidential associate of Sreemati Radharani or the manifested representation of Srila Nityananda Prabhu.

A spiritual master who has to teach in the matter of transcendental science cannot be a mannerless and senseless deviated person. A mannerless person deviated from the truths of spiritual science cannot be designated as the bonafide Acharya. The Acharya spiritual master is divided into two as (1) liberated soul fully absorbed in meditation of devotional service and (2) as the invoker of spiritual consciences of a man by means of relevant instruction. The science of devotion is divided in respect of (1) the object of worship and (2) the means of worship. The Acharya who is authorised to deliver Krishna in the true sense of the term enriches the disciple with full spiritual knowledge and thus awakens him in the act of devotional service. To become initiated by the spiritual master means the beginning of submissive aural reception of transcendental instructions and thus to awaken him in the practical service of Vishnu. This procedure of devotional service is known as Avidheya or actions which one is duty bound to do, the initiator spiritual master is the Personal manifestation of Shri Shrila Madan Mohan Vigraha while the instructor spiritual master is the Personal representation of Shri Shrila Govinda Deva. Both these deities are worshipped in Vrindaban. Shrila Gopinath ji is the last attraction of spiritual realisations.

In the Bhagwat Geeta (Bg. 10.10) it is clearly stated as how Lord Shrila Govinda Deva instructs his bonafide devotee. He says that persons who are constantly engaged in His transcendental loving service are awarded by Him an attachment for Him by enlightenment of theistic knowledge. And by this awakening of Divine Consciousness the devotee is enabled to relish the specific transcendental mellow in which he is eternally related.
This awakening of Divine Consciousness is awarded to such persons only who are convinced by devotional service about the transcendental nature of the Personality of Godhead. They know that the Supreme truth is the one without a second all Spirit and powerful Person full with senses transcendental and from Him everything is generated. He is the fountain Head of all emanance. Such pure devotees are always merged in the knowledge of Krishna and being absorbed in Krishna Consciousness the pure devotees exchange thoughts and realisations like big scientists exchange their views and result of researches in scientific academy. By each exchange of thoughts in regard to Krishna gives pleasure to the Lord and as such with pleasure only Sri Krishna favours them with all enlightenment. The maxim in English ‘God helps them so to help themselves’ is also appreciable in this transcendental realm.

There are many such instances in the scripture about the Personality of Godhead’s action as the instructor spiritual master from within. He was the instructor spiritual master of Brahma the original living being of the cosmic creation. When Brahma was first created within this universe he was overwhelmed with and as to how he could apply his creative energy to decorate the whole cosmic situation. At first there was only sound and it resounded with the word ‘Tapa’ or to take trouble for spiritual realisation. One should voluntarily accept all sorts of troubles for spiritual realisation refraining from sense enjoyment. That is called ‘Tapa.’ The sense enjoyer can never realise God and His science. When Brahma thus initiated by Shri Krishna engaged himself in ‘Tapasya’ or in the acts of transcendental realisation, he was by the pleasure of Vishnu able to visualize the transcendental world in spiritual sky known as Vaikuntha. Modern science can affirm this statement by its several discoveries like radio electrons, television, automation, transmission of radio messages etc. But the science which was applied in the painstaking of Brahma the original father of mankind was still more subtler than modern science and in time the material scientist may be able also how we can communicate with the Vaikuntha world which is far beyond the material sky. When Brahma was able to enter into the Vaikuntha world, he enquired about the potencies of the Supreme Lord and the enquiry was met by the Personality of Godhead in six consecutive statements. They are as follows and they are exactly the instructions from the Personality of Godhead as the Supreme spiritual master (Bhagwat 2.19.30-35).

(1) Transcendental knowledge about Shri Krishna is deeper than the impersonal knowledge of Brahman. Such knowledge is not only related with the fame and Personality of Shri Krishna but also it includes all other knowledge which are all related with Shri Krishna. There is nothing in existence which is not related with Shri Krishna. In a sense there is nothing except Shri Krishna and yet nothing is Shri Krishna except His Primeval Personality of Godhead. All these knowledges make a complete transcendental science. And Vishnu wanted to give Brahma the full-fledged knowledge of all about them. The mystery of this transcendental knowledge eliminates in personal attachment for the Supreme Lord with a resulting effect of detachment for everything non-Krishna. And there are nine different transcendental means for attaining this stage which are substantiated by the submissive process of ‘hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet, worshipping, praying, assisting, fraternising and sacrificing everything for Him.’ These are different parts of the same devotional service which is full of transcendental mystery. The Lord said to Brahma that He was pleased upon Brahma and by His Grace only the mystery was being opened.

(2) The mystery is about His Personality and His transcendental Personal Form. The mystery is about the symptoms of His Form which is distinct from any form of mundane elements. The mystery about His immemorable forms as Shyamsunder, Warayus, Rama, Gour Sunder and His colour of the form namely whitish, yellowship, reddish, and cloudish. The mystery is about His qualities as responsive Personality of Godhead to the pure devotees and impersonal Brahman to the dry speculators. His uncommon activities like lifting of the Govardhan Hill, marrying as many as sixteen thousands of Queens at Dwaraka or to enter into Rasa Dance with the damsels of Braja expanding Himself in as many forms as there were the damsels. And many many other uncommon acts of which only one aspect of scientific knowledge is presented in the body of the Bhagwatgita so widely read and adored all over the world by all classes of scholars with as many interpretations as there are the number of empiric philosophers. Thus He disclosed Himself in all the above mysterious aspects. The truth was revealed to Brahma by the process of descending knowledge without any help of the ascending process. His mercy descends from Him to a devotee like Brahma or from Brahma to Narada and from Narada to Vyasa and Vyasa to Sukhdeva etc. in the bonafide chain of disciplic succession. We cannot discover the mystery by any of our mundane endeavour but it is opened only by His Grace to the proper devotee. And there are different stages of such devotees. The mystery is gradually opened in the proportion of gradual process of development of service attitude. In other words, the impersonalists who simply depend on the strength of their poor fund of knowledge by a speculative habit without any submissive service of hearing etc. as mentioned above, cannot penetrate into that mysterious region of transcendence where the Supreme Truth is a transcendental Person without a tinge of material elements. Discovering the mystery means eliminating of the impersonal feature realised by a common class of servitor.

(3) In the course of disclosing the mystery of transcendental Personality of Godhead, the word ‘Aham’ is deliberately used. This ‘Aham’ word is extensively used in the Bhagwad Geeta also which is the preliminary study of Shreemad Bhagwat. Impersonal feature of the Absolute Person is called Brahman is clearly explained in the Bhagwat with emphasis on the word ‘Aham.’ The Lord is never a created being of the cosmic manifestation. He exists prior to the creation of this material world. The impersonal Brahman or the inexplicable unknown are all subordinate to the transcendental person. And after the annihilation of this cosmic creation He shall exist eternally. In the Srutis or Vedas the same truth is explained in the following words namely, “There was Vasudeva only before creation and there was neither Brahma nor Shankara.” “Only Narayana was there and none else including Brahma and Rudra” etc. His existence means His Name, Fame, Form, Qualities, Paraphernalia everything. The king is there means the king is there with all his associates and aristocracy. The king is never alone. When the name of the king is uttered, all his estates and para- [this article ends here – Ed.]

Source:https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2016/09/23/identity-of-lord-chaitanya/

Always Engage in Lord’s devotional service is the prayer of every devotee utter to the Lord. In every circumstance, devotees beg that they could serve the Lord. As Srila Prabhupada mention in his letter that “Simply pray to Krsna that you may be able by His grace to serve Him nicely. Our prayer of the Hare Krsna mantra means addressing Radha and Krsna for being engaged in Their service. Hare Krsna means, ‘O Hare, O Radharani, O Krsna, please engage me in Your service so that I can get relief from the service of maya.’ (SPL to Subala dasa, 8th July 1969). Lord Krishna will answer every humble prayer of His devotees. Devotees in Indonesia got their prayers answered.

“Krsna will be pleased to shower His blessings upon you. He is very kind to sincere souls, and He gives intelligence from within to sincere devotees. We require only to become sincere in the service of the Lord, then everything is there ready for our convenience.” (SPL to Jaya Govinda, 8th February 1968)

The massive combined Jagannatha Ratha yatra in three in different places of Indonesia made the devotees think of no other thing except how to make the ratha yatra success in any circumstances. All the three Ratha yatra was done on the same day in Probolinggo, East Java and Lampung, August 29, 2016, and within less than a week, September 4, 2016, the devotees also did Ratha yatra in Jember East Java.

Rata yatra in Probolinggo was done in commemorating the Independence Day of Indonesia. The government always invited the devotees to participate in the cultural parade. The devotees also prepared the parade nicely. The chariot was decorated with beautiful flowers. A ton of oranges was prepared to distribute to the people in Probolingnggo who were lucky seeing the Lord in the parade. Devotees who stayed in Bali, Lombok and another part of Central and East Indonesia came to Probolinggo by bus. The parade started at one in the afternoon when the sun was slightly over the head. This time, devotees also observed Ekadasi Vrata. The Hare Krishna Mahamantra filled the atmosphere and the graceful movements of the dancers captured the eyes of the people. They were joyful to see and received the maha prasadam. The hot weather made some dancer collapse on the parade. They could not stand of the heat of the sun, but they were still enthusiastic to participate in the parade until the finish. Arriving on the finish line the devotees honored prasadam and they took rest and some of them talked about the Ratha yatra. Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers to the west, exactly in Lampung devotees also have a stunning Ratha-yatra. Devotees in Lampung prepared the parade joyfully. This was the second rath yatra in Bandar Lampung city, the capital city of Lampung. The parade attracted a lot of crowds of people. The Ratha yatra was started by offering bhoga to the Lord and then coconuts were offering to invoke auspiciousness and also as the sign that the ratha yatra was started. The devotees then started to pull the chariot of Lord Jagannatha.

Jagannath went to the main road of Lampung where many people already waiting. Like a great parade of the Lord in the past, two elephants led the parade. It was entering the pastime protocol of the Lord in past. The elephant, army and girls with special ornament and the last the Lord on the chariot pulled by the devotees who sang and dance in front of the chariot made, it looked like another place beyond this world. After an hour’s parade, the chariot arrived in the finished line and devotees sang a prayer of Narasimha Deva for the protection given.

A day after Ratha-yatra in Probolinggo the social media group was surprised by the news that there would be ratha yatra in Jember on September 4, 2016. It made all devotees exited. They started to collect donation and the Adiprana prabhu as the coordinator of transportation organized 2 buses for the devotees and within a short time, all seats were sold out. Srila Prabhupada stated in his letter that “The faith increases in Krsna consciousness by our voluntary increase of serving Krsna. Serving Krsna is unlimited and He can accept our unlimited service, and award us unlimited transcendental pleasure in the unlimited service of the Lord. That is the meaning of unlimited.” (SPL to Brahmananda, 20th February 1968). A day before the ratha yatra the devotees headed to Jember. The devotees arrived in Jember in the morning. The preparation was made. The pujari dressing the Lord, the other devotees decorated the chariot. This time, the chariot was new. A fire sacrifice was made to purify the chariot and also for the success of the Ratha yatra. The Ratha yatra was done in the district of Umbul Sari. The devotees joined with the local community to participate in the euphoria of the Indonesia Independence Day. The devotees pulled the chariot for about 5 kilometers. Along the parade line, both sides was full of people. The devotees sang Hare Krishna Mahamantra along the parade. The gopis dancer danced in front of the Lord’s chariot for the satisfaction of the Lord. Some devotees distributed prasadam and a group of book sankirtan distributed Srila Prabhupada book. The sky was clear and no cloud hang in the sky, it made the weather so hot. But the heat of the sun could not fade the spirit and the cheerfully of the devotees. Arriving at the end of the parade the devotees got glasses of fresh guava juice. Then they returned to the temple in Jember. Finishing their noon activity the devotees then honored prasadam before returning to Bali with a blissful feeling.

“I am so much satisfied with your successful performance of Ratha-yatra festival and I am awaiting to see similar festivals in all our other centers, including one in the prospective London center.” (SPL to Gurudasa, 16th July 1968)

We would like to take this opportunity to thank HH Bhakti Raghava Swami for his blessings and encouragement which were so essential for the devotees. Our ever grateful obeisances are due to HH Kavichandra Swami and HH Ramai Swami, the GBCs of Indonesia, for their support and guidance to always looking for new avenues for sankirtan. Our humble obeisances to HH Subhag Swami for always reminding us of the importance of the Sankirtan movement of Mahaprabhu and inspiring us with the dedication of Sriman Jayananda Prabhu, for bringing us closer to Srila Prabhupada and keeping us united in a family of ISKCON. Our gratitude to all Lampung devotees, Probolinggo devotees and Jember devotees who worked hard for the success of the festival.

Jay Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subadra Devi.

Jay Srila Prabhupada.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31630

The influence of the devotees on American culture is clearly shown in this mid-1980’s TV Guide ad for an ABC channel 7 news report by Dr. William Rader called ‘Krishna’s Kids’. 
The ad’s illustration was based on an iconic painting by American painter Norman Rockwell for the cover of the June 4, 1921 issue of the Saturday Evening Post.(https://goo.gl/yPkDlb)

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31635

We would like to cordially invite you for the occasion of Sri Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra on 17th October,2016 (Monday) in Mathura Dham. It is located about 11 kilometers, a short bus or auto-rickshaw ride from Vrindavan Dham.
ISKCON Vrindavan (Namhatta) is organizing this grand Rath Yatra festival in Mathura to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ISKCON. The event co-ordinates with the 2016 Braja Mandal Parikrama with the parikrama devotees gathering in Mathura that very day to attend the festivals. We are expecting more than 500 foreign devotees from different countries and 4000 ISKCON devotees from various parts of India.
We offer this open invitation and humbly request devotees to participate in this Rath Yatra. We want your kind and auspicious presence to grace the occasion.
Last year’s Rathayatra featured His Holiness Gopal Krsna Maharaj and His Holiness Lokantha Maharaj. They commented they have been to so many Rathayatra festivals but found it remarkable to bear witness to such a warm hearted reception of the Lord. They said never before in their lives have they seen so many flowers. In an image reminiscent of Krsna Book, the roads were rivers of petals as the local residents rained flowers from the buildings. Such was the devotion of the residents of Mathura that even the local students of Muslim colleges greeted the Lord with handfuls of flowers. 
Numerous locals spontaneously set up welcome stalls to offer refreshments to all in participation and also bhoga offerings bedecked with rangoli decorations. The transcendental prasadam of Lord Jaganatha was distributed to all living entities in attendance.
News reporters were delighted to offer coverage of the event. It was a wonderful preaching opportunity for the many devotees of the Lord from many parts of the world leading and participating in kirtan. So large was the event that there was four separate kirtan parties with sound systems. Afterwards there was a cultural presentation of dance, drama and lectures by His Holiness Gopal Krsna Maharaj, His Holiness Lokantha Maharaj, His Holiness Nava Yogendra Maharaj, His Holiness Subhag Maharaj, His Grace Dina Bandhu Prabu (ACBSP), His Holiness Bhakti Anugrah Janardhan Maharaj, His Holiness Bhakti Asraya Vaisnava Maharaj, His Holiness Probodananda Saraswati Maharaj and a special appearance by Phuldol Maharaj (head of Catur Sampradaya)
Lecture on SB 6.1.15 – London, August 3, 1971: : Yes, this is meant for the devotees of the Kṛṣṇa, or those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. But with the Kṛṣṇa consciousness people, others also can take the advantage. But if anyone sincerely sees the Ratha-yātrā festival and understands how Kṛṣṇa visited Kurukṣetra along with His brother and sister, that is very nice. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
This year’s Rath yatra promises to offer the same unique experience. Please take advantage of this opportunity to pull the Rath Cart of the Lord in a land rich with the spiritual heritage of the Lord’s devotional service.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31637