National Institute of Education (NIE) – Sri Lanka celebrated the annual Navaratri festival during the first week of October. Participants were the Minister of Education Mr. Radhakrishnan and all leading educational officers from different districts of the country. On this occasion, ISKCON devotees were invited as guests along with Buddhist head-monks and Christian priest. As ISKCON’s representative, Vasudeva Datta Prabhu spoke in length on the importance of adding the study of Bhagavad Gita As It Is in the religious school curriculum in Sri Lanka. He stressed that the students are the future of the country, so it is great responsibility on the teachers, professors and government officers to give proper spiritual guidance to their pupils. Not only this, they should first teach by their good example – yad yad acarati sresthas tat tad evetaro janah. He explained the word “acharya” and cautioned the esteemed audience not to be like his European teacher who would with a cigarette in his hand say to the students – “It is not good to smoke”.

He also explained that ISKCON devotees are offering various seminars and giving practical guidance to university students on how to give up their bad habits and how to live a pure life based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna. At the end of the speech, the minister jubilantly came to the stage to receive a copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is in Tamil. Seeing this, the Director General of NIE Mrs. Jayanthi Gunasekara also stood up from the audience and indicated that she would also like to have a copy of the Bhagavad Gita. Vasudeva Prabhu called her on the stage and gifted her a copy of the Bhagavad Gita in English.

The Minister of Education approved on the importance of Bhagavad Gita and he was impressed with the proposal of including Bhagavad Gita in school curriculum for the Hindu students. He assured that he would try to do it. He welcomed devotees to meet him at his office anytime in the future.

NIE is very influential institute because it is the place where the school syllabus for the entire country is designed and published. Thus we hope that this step would be a turning point to disseminate the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita throughout the country through the educational system.

The photos from the event were published in Veerakesari, the most prominent Tamil newspaper in Sri Lanka.

To see more photos click here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1849171755301611.1073741889.1639909306227858&type=3

– Sudarshan Cakra dasa

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32572

GBC meetings in Mumbai.
The GBC Body today is meeting with the Indian ISKCON Bureau at Juhu in Mumbai.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32580

Damodara lila special

One of the important legends associated with Diwali is Damodara lila, a pastime in which mother Yashoda tried to tie Krishna with a rope. The rope turned out to be two fingers short. So she tied more rope, but, no matter how many ropes she tied together, the combined rope remained two fingers short.

This pastime signifies that no matter how much we try, we will always fall short in our attempts to understand God with our intelligence. Modern science is finding the same about the universe too, which, the Vedic literatures state, is a product of God’s superintelligence. Centuries of cosmological research has increased scientific information, but not scientific understanding, because of “two” unexpected trends:

1. The more scientists know, the more they realize how little they know –

Science “conquered” space – and realized how little it knew about space. To the uninformed, space missions proved human greatness. To the well informed, they showed human smallness. Space research reveals that there are more stars in the universe than all the grains of sand on all the beaches of earth, and our sun is just one of these cosmic grains. No wonder former President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Kenneth R Boulding admitted, “Cosmology… is likely to be very insecure because it studies a very large universe with a small and biased sample.”

2. The more scientists know, the more they realize what they previously “knew” was wrong –

Newton’ laws were considered bedrock truths of physics till they were found inapplicable in the microscopic and the macroscopic realms. Quantum physics was developed to explain the atomic world, and relativistic physics for the cosmic. But then both of them turned out to be violently contradictory. As both have to coexist at the origin of the universe – when both the microscopic and the macroscopic were one, science had the formidable challenge of devising with a Theory of Everything (ToE) to unify these irreconcilable pillars of science. Let’s review the history of the development of the ToE:

Initial vain roar: Physicist Leon Lederman, former president of the American Physical Society, “we hope to explain the entire universe in a single, simple formula that you can wear on your T-shirt.”

Subsequent exasperated grunt: Astrophysicist Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in physics, “As we make progress understanding the expanding universe, the problem itself expands, so that the solution always seems to recede from us,”

Final concealed whimper: Theoretical physicist John Wheeler of Princeton University, “Never run after a bus or woman or cosmological theory, because there’ll always be another one in a few minutes.”

Going back to the pastime, the rope Mother Yashoda was trying to tie around Krishna was only two fingers short. But the rope of ToE that science has been trying to tie around the universe is not only short, but also broken, as Stephen Hawking confessed, “The theories (in physics) we have so far are both inconsistent and incomplete.”

Mother Yashoda did eventually succeed in tying Krishna – but only after when Krishna, by His own grace, let Himself be bound. Similarly science can understand the universe, especially our place and purpose within it – but only when it harmonizes with super intelligence by researching and applying the verifiable spiritual science delineated in BG, thus paving the way for spiritual revelation.

That’s not as unscientific as it may sound. A scientist no lesser than founder of quantum physics Nobel Laureate Max Planck stated, ” For religion, God is at the beginning; for science, God is at the end.” And science has started reaching that end by its discovery of “fine tuning” of the universe – micro-precise adjustment of the values and inter-relationships of at least 80 parameters essential for life. Obviously fine-tuning needs a fine tuner. Of course, diehard devotees of atheism have proposed chance and multiple universe theories, but these are all intrinsically unproven and unprovable. They fit better the realm of science-fiction than science.

When scientists accept the verdict of their own evidence, they will remove the obstacle in a long-overdue spiritual leap of science. Lest they hesitate or falter in this bold step, renowned physicist Micheal Faraday’s reminder can urge them on, “We ought to value the privilege of knowing God’s truth far beyond anything we can have in this world.”

We invite readers to send their comments to ss@iskconpune.com Selected comments will be published in subsequent issues.

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Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=1891

From Back to Godhead

A time filled with love, devotion, and gratitude.

After going through the intense summer and a humid monsoon, we in India perceive sarat, or autumn, as one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. According to the vedic calendar, Sarat falls during the months of Asvin and Karttika, of which Karttika carries special significance because it is favored by Lord Krishna.

Everyone loves certain foods, drinks, clothes, and music, and Lord Krishna is no exception. In fact, we have our likes because we are parts of Krishna, who has His own personal likes. Krishna loves butter, yellow clothing, peacock feathers, cows, flutes, and the land of vrindavan. Similarly, of all months, He loves Karttika the best.

A Month of Love

Devotional service can be performed at any time, in any place, yet devotees know well that devotional service performed during Karttika is especially pleasing to the Lord. Therefore they perform additional austerities and devotional practices during this month. Although the vedic scriptures describe in detail material benefits one may derive by performing devotional service during Karttika, pure devotees of Lord Krishna have no interest in these. rather, they are interested only in pleasing the Lord. every year, ISKCON devotees eagerly await the arrival of Karttika, when they daily sing the Damodarastakam prayers and offer heartfelt love and devotion as they circle ghee lamps before the Lord. Throughout the month they are so immersed in the childhood pastimes of Krishna as damodara that you can hear them constantly sing about them.

The Damodarastakam prayers, composed by Satyavrata muni, beautifully describe the damodara pastime, in which Yasoda binds mischievous Krishna to a grinding mortar. The prayers also give information about God, His devotees, and the science of devotional service. The essential lessons we learn from the pastime and the Damodarastakam prayers is that the all-pervading, allpowerful Lord is easily conquered by the love of His devotee and that the love-saturated devotees desire nothing except to constantly hear and glorify His pastimes.

O Lord damodara, although You are able to give all kinds of benedictions, I do not pray to You for the boon of impersonal liberation, nor for the highest liberation of eternal life in vaikuntha, nor for any other, similar boon. o Lord, I simply wish that this form of Yours as baby Gopala in vrindavana may ever be manifest in my heart, for what is the use to me of any other boon besides thisn Your supremely enchanting face, encircled by shining locks of dark-blue curling hair, resembles the fully blossomed lotus tinged with a reddish luster due to its being kissed again and again by mother Yasoda. may this vision of Your lotus face, with lips as red as a bimba fruit, remain forever in my heart. millions of other benedictions are of no benefit to me. Damodarastakam 4–5

This prayer reveals the mood of pure devotional service and the life of pure devotees the essence and the sweetness of the month of Karttika.

The Damodara Pastime

According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Lord Krishna enacted the damodara-lila on the day of dipavali (diwali). In this pastime, which is described in the Tenth canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krishna angered His mother, Yasoda, by breaking a pot of butter. He then ran away when He saw a furious Yasoda chasing Him. After a great struggle, Yasoda caught baby Krishna and tried to bind Him with rope to a grinding mortar. but surprisingly, she found the rope she was using was two inches too short. Although she added more rope, every time she tried to bind Krishna she found the rope was short by exactly two inches. Finally, Krishna, appreciating His mother’s hard endeavor, agreed to be bound. devotees then began to call Him damodara, “one whose udara (belly) is bound by dama (ropes).” Srila Prabhupada writes:

Yogis, mystics, want to catch Krishna as Paramatma, and with great austerities and penances they try to approach Him, yet they cannot. Here we see, however, that Krishna is going to be caught by Yasoda and is running away in fear. This illustrates the difference between the bhakta and the yogi. Yogis cannot reach Krishna, but for pure devotees like mother Yasoda, Krishna is already caught. Krishna was even afraid of mother Yasoda’s stick. . . . Krishna is afraid of mother Yasoda, and yogis are afraid of Krishna. Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.9.9, Purport

When devotees see the master of the entire universe bound by the love of His devotee, their hearts are filled with extreme gratitude. Attracted by Krishna’s divine qualities, their hearts are uncontrollably pulled toward Him. Although devotees do not wish to subdue the Lord, He takes extra pleasure in being ordered and controlled by His devotees. each tries to be controlled by the other, because where love is present, happiness lies not in winning but in being won over. Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.16.34), “The Lord and the devotees both conquer. The Lord is conquered by the devotees, and the devotees are conquered by the Lord. because of being conquered by one another, they both derive transcendental bliss from their relationship.”

After immersing their minds in this wonderful pastime for an entire month, devotees feel much more closely connected to their Lord. You can also try this immersion. If possible, visit an ISKCON temple and take part in the Damodar- astakam prayers throughout Karttika, offering your own devotion to Lord damodara with your lamp. If you cannot visit an ISKCON temple, please arrange to sing these prayers and offer lamps at home.

Other Events in Karttika

After killing the demon ravana, Lord ramacandra entered Ayodhya on dipavali. To celebrate this event the residents of Ayodhya used lamps to illuminate the city, which in the Lord’s fourteen-year absence had come to resemble a city haunted by ghosts.
Damodarashtakam – Back To Godhead
Ayodhya is like our heart, and Sita-rama are the life-force within that heart. Ayodhya was once a wealthy city, but when Sita and rama left it, the residents felt they had lost their hearts and behaved like moving corpses. It is impossible to describe the mental agony these people suffered in separation from their beloved Lord. They performed their daily duties only as a formality and maintained their lives only in the hope that one day they would again see Lord rama. caitanya mahaprabhu expressed His own feelings of separation in His Siksastaka (7): sunyayitam jagat sarvam govinda-virahena me. “In Your absence, I feel that the entire universe is a dreary void.”

When Lord rama returned to Ayodhya, the city’s residents regained their life and their distressed hearts lit up with joy. This light became manifest in the form of lighted lamps.

Govardhana Puja also falls in the month of Karttika. When Krishna convinced nanda maharaja to stop the family’s traditional Indra Puja, an infuriated Indra sent a heavy downpour of rain over vrindavan. but because Krishna protected vrindavan, Indra could not destroy even a particle of dust of this holy land. With the little finger of His left hand, Krishna effortlessly lifted Govardhana Hill and crushed Indra’s pride, thus protecting the devotees of vrindavan.

This pastime, too, proves Krishna’s unlimited love for His devotees. In the Bhagavad-gita (18.66) Krishna assures us that if we abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender to Him, He will protect us in all situations. by lifting Govardhana Hill, Krishna showed how He will go to any extent to protect His loving devotees. by meditating on this pastime, devotees feel extremely grateful and are ready to give up everything and surrender to Krishna.

Finally, for devotees of ISKCON the month of Karttika holds another importance: ISKCON’s founder-acarya, His divine Grace A. c. bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, left this world during this month and rejoined Lord Krishna in His eternal pastimes in the spiritual world. everyone, especially devotees in ISKCON, will remain eternally indebted to Srila Prabhupada, without whose guidance we would have never understood the significance of damodara-lila, dipavali, Govardhana Puja, or Karttika, nor would we have appreciated the inconceivable love between the Lord and His devotee.

Glories of the Month of Karttika

From Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Sixteenth Vilasa, Volume One

In The Skanda Purana it is said: “The pious result obtained by bathing in all holy places and giving all charities is not equal to one ten-millionth part of the result obtained by following the vow of Karttika.”

In the Padma Purana it is said: “of the twelve months, Karttika is the most dear to Lord Krishna. To anyone who even slightly worships Lord visnu during its time, the month of Karttika gives residence in Lord visnu’s transcendental abode.”

“Lord Krishna is pleased by the offering of a single lamp during the month of Karttika. Lord Krishna glorifies anyone who lights a lamp for someone else to offer.”

“O tiger of sages, a person who during the month of Karttika hears the topics of Lord Hari becomes free from the sufferings of hundreds and millions of births.”

“They who during the month of Karttika bathe, keep an allnight vigil, offer lamps, and protect a tulasi forest attain spiritual forms like Lord vishnu’s.”

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20910

Authorities and Lawyers (2:10:51)

Any question that is put forward may be answered by quoting the authority, and that satisfies the saner section. That is the system even in the law court. The best lawyer gives evidence from the past judgement of the court without taking much trouble to establish his case. This is called the parampara system and learned authorities follow it without manufacturing rubbish interpretations.

Activities (Material and Spiritual) & Milk Preparations (4:30:19)

Material activities for sense gratification are the cause of material bondage, whereas the very same activities for the satisfaction of Krsna are the cause of liberation. How the same activity can be the cause of bondage and liberation can be explained as follows. One may get indigestion due to eating too many milk preparations condensed milk, sweet rice, and so on. But even though there is indigestion or diarrhea, another milk preparation yogurt mixed with black pepper and salt will immediately cure these maladies. In other words, one milk preparation can cause indigestion and diarrhea, and anoher milk preparation can cure them.

Atheists and Criminals

When there is too much lawlessness and there are too many criminals, the state becomes overburdened and disturbed, and the state administrator are puzzled about what to do. Similarly, when the world is overrun by demons and atheists, they create a burden, and the demigods, the pious administrators of the universe, become perplexed. When the people of a state abide by the laws, administration is easy, but if people are criminals they overburden the state administrators. A similar situation sometimes upsets the balance of the cosmic affairs of this material world. Both he demons and the demigods always exist, but when the demoniac power increases, the world is overburdened. It is the system that the demigods approach Lord Brahma for assistance.

Body and Fortress (3:14:20)

Of the four orders of human society, the householder is on the safe side. The bodily senses are considered plunderers of the fort of the body. The wife is supposed to be the commander of the fort, and therefore whenever there is an attack on the body by the senses, it is the wife who protects the body from being smashed. The sex demand is inevitable for everyone, but one who has a fixed wife is saved from the onslaught of the sense enemies.

Bodies and Firewood (3:28:43)

As fire is exhibited in different forms of wood, so, under diferent conditions of the modes of material nature, the pure spirit soul manifests itself in diferent bodies.

Body’s Occupant and Apartment’s Tenant (TQK, P.158)

Although one may claim that the body is his, he does not even know how it is working. A tenant in an apartment may pay rent and somehow or other occupy the apartment and enjoy its utilities, although he may not actually know how the heat and tap water are working. Similarly, although we do not know the details of how the body works, we are using this body, which actually belongs not to us but to Krsna.

Body in Krsna Consciousness and Iron in Fire (POP p.4)

The spiritual body is developed through the practice of Krsna consciousness. This material body is spiritualized by this bhakti yoga process. If you place an iron within fire, the iron becomes so hot that it also becomes fiery. When the iron is red hot, it aquires all the qualities of fire. If you touch something with that iron, that iron will act as fire. Similarly, although this body is material, it can become spiritualized through Krsna consciousness and act as spirit.

Creation and Goat’s Neck Bags (1:3:2)

We should not expect milk from the fleshy bags on the neck of a goat, although they look like breastly nipples. Similarly, we should not expect any creative power from the material ingredients; we must believe in the power of the purusha who impregnates prakrti, or nature.

Creation and Dreams (2:1:39)

Being an emanation from the glancing potency of Narayana, the whole material creation is nondiferent from Him. But because it is the effect of His external energy (bahiranga maya) and is aloof from the internal potency (atma maya), the whole material creation is different from Him at the same time. The example given in this verse very nicely is that of the dreaming man. The dreaming man creates many things in his dream, and thus he himself becomes the entangled seer of the dream and is also affected by the consequences. This material creation is also exactly a dreamlike creation of the Lord, but He, being the transcendental Supersoul, is neither entangled nor affected by the reactions of such a dreamlike creation. He is always in His transcendental position, but essentially He is everything, and nothing is apart from Him.

Creation and Seasons (4:31:15)

During the rainy season, water is generated from the sun, and in due course of time, during the summer season, the very same water is again absorbed by he sun. Similarly, all living entities, moving and inert, are generated from the earth, and again, after some time, they all return to the earth as dust. Similarly, everything emanates from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and in due course of time everything enters into Him again.

Creation and Marriage (TLK p.202)

One may ask why Narayana has created us, why it is we are part and parcel of Narayana. Eko Bahu shyam. Why has Narayana become many? He has created us for enjoyment. Anandamayo ‘bhyasat. He has created us in the same way a gentleman accepts a wife. If one takes on a wifw, he will beget children. A man takes on the responsibility of maintaining a wife and children because he thinks that through them he will enjoy life. In the material world we see that during the evening a man tries to enjoy life with his wife, children and friends. Therefore he takes on so many responsibilities. This is supposed to be ananda, bliss, but because it takes place in the material world, the ananda is converted into something distasteful. However, we can enjoy this ananda when we are with our Supreme Father, Krsna.

Cosmic Dissolution and Sleep (3:5:24)

The cosmic manifestation gives the conditioned souls a chance to go back home, back to Godhead, and that is its main purpose. The Lord is so kind that in the absence of such a manifestation He feels something wanting, and thus the creation takes place. Although the creation of the internal potency was manifested, the other potency appeared to be sleeping, and the Lord wanted to awaken her to activity, just as a husband wants to awaken his wife from the sleeping state for enjoyment.

Conditioned Soul and Diseased Man (3:28:44)

After Brahman realization, one can engage in the activities of Brahman. As long as one is not self realized, he engages in activities based on false identification with the body. When one is situated in his real self, then the activities of Brahman realization begin. The Mayavadi philosophers say that after Brahman realization, all the activities stop, but that is not actually so. If the soul is so active in its abnormal condition, existing under the covering of matter, how one can deny its activity when free? An example may be cited here. If a man in a diseased condition is very active, how can one imagine that when he is free from the disease he will be inactive? Naturally the conclusion is that when one is free from all desease his activities are pure. It may be said that the activities of Brahman realization are different from those of ocnditional life, but that does not stop activity.

Coverings of Lust and Smoke, Fire and Embryo (BG 3:38)

As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of lust.

PURPORT:Ther are three degrees of covering of the living entity by which his pure consciousness is obscured. This covering is but lust under different manifestations like smoke in the fire, dust on the mirrror, and the womb about the embryo. When lust is compared to smoke, it is understood that the fire of the living spark can be a little perceived. In others words, when the living entity exhibits his Krsna consciousness slightly, he may be likened to the fire covered by smoke. Although fire is necessary where there is smoke, there is no covert manifestation of fire in the aearly stage. This stage is like the beginning of Krsna consciousness. The dust on the mirror refers to a cleansing process of the mirrror of the mind by so many spirirtual methods. The best process is to chant the holy names of the Lord. The embryo covered by the womb is an analogy illustrating a helpless position, for the child in the womb is so helpless that he cannot even move. This stage of living condition can be comapred to that of the trees. The covered mirror is compared to the birds and beasts, and the smoke covered fire is compared to the human being.

Devotees of the Lord, Karmis, King’s Son and Orphans (1:5:19)

A karmi suffers the result of his own fruitive reactions, whereas a devotee is reformed by chastisement directed by the Lord Himself. The suffering of an orphan and the suffering 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.

Devotee and Magnate’s Son ((2:6:6)

The parts and parcels of the Lord are endowed with specific powers for rendering service unto the Lord, just as a big business magnate’s son is empowered with specific powers of administration. The obedient son of the father never goes against the will of the father and therefore passes life very peacefully in concurrence with the head of the family, the father. Similarly, the Lord being the father, all living beings should fully and satisfactorily discharge the duty and will of the father, as faithful sons. This very mentality will at once bring prosperity to human society.

Devotee of the Lord and Father’s Child (4:20:31)

It is the duty of the son to depend upon his father without asking anything from him. The good son has faith that the father knows best how to benefit him. Similarly, a pure devotee does not ask anything for spiritual benefit. The pure devotee is fully surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord takes charge of him, as stated in Bhagavad Gita (18.66): aham tvam sarva papebhyo moksayisyami. The father knows the necessities of the son and supplies them, and the Supreme Lord knows the necessities of the living entities and supplies the sumptuously. Therefore the Isopanisad states that everything in this material world is complete (purnam idam). The difficulty is that due to forgetfulness the living entities create unnecessary demands and entangle themselves in material activities, life after life.

Devotee and the Married Man (3:5:47)

The devotees derive more transcendental pleasure while engaged continously in the service of the Lord than when they have no such engagement. In the family combination of a man and a woman there is much labor and responsability for both of them, yet when they are single they feel more trouble for want of their united activities.

Devotee and the Calf (4:9:17)

The Lord is so merciful that not only does He fulfill the desires of a devotee who is driven by ignorance and desires for material benefit, but He also gives such a devotee all protection, just as a cow gives milk to a newly born calf.

Devotee Serving and Coconut Drying (4:12:18)

When a devotee completely forgets his bodily existence, he should be understood to be liberated. He is no longer encaged in the body. The example is given that when a coconut becomes completely dry, the coconut pulp within the coconut shell separates from the bondage of the shell and the outer covering is no longer attached to the shell or to the covering. Similarly, when one is fully absorbed in devotional service, he is completely disconnected from the two material coverings, the subtle and the gross bodies.

Devotee and Millionaire (9:5:27)

When one is very eager for more and more money, he is not satisfied even when he is a millionaire or a multimillonaire, but wants to earn more and more money by any means, the same mentality is present in a devotee. The devotee is never satisfied, thinking, “This is the limit of my devotional service.” The more he engages in the service of the Lord, the more service he wants to give.

Devotee and Rich Man’s Son (9:4:64)

Although the Supreme Lord is full in six opulences, He does not feel transcedental bliss without His devotees. An example that may be cited in this regard is that if a very rich man does not have sons in a family he does not feel happiness. Indeed, sometimes a rich man adopts a son to complete his happiness. The science of transcendental bliss is known to the pure devotee. Therefore the pure devotee is always engaged in increasing the transcedental happiness of the Lord.

Devotee and Cat’s Kitten (9:13:9)

For a devotee there is no pain, pleasure or material perfection. One may argue that at the time of death a devotee also suffers because of giving up his material body. But in this connection the example may be given that a cat carries a mouse in its mouth and also carries a kitten in its mouth. Both the mouse and the kitten are carried in the same mouth, but the perception of the mouse is different from that of the kitten. When a devotee gives up his body tyaktva deham, he is ready to go back home, back to Godhead. Thus his perception is certainly different from that of a person being taken away by Yamaraja for punishment.

Devotee and King’s Coterie (TQK p. 151)

A king gives protection to every one of his citizens, for that is his duty, but he especially protects his own circle of men. This is not unnatural. If one directly engages in the service of the President, when one is in some difficulty he is especially protected. Although the president gives protection to all the citizens, those who personally associate with him, giving his service, receive special consideration. That is not actually partiality. that is natural. When a gentleman loves all children but has a special love for his own children, no one will say, “Oh, why are you loving your own children more than others?” No, that is natural. Similarly, Krsna says in Bhagavad gita, samo ‘ham

sarva bhutesu: “I am equal to everyone.” Krsna, being god, loves everyone because everyone is part of Him. Nonetheless, He takes special care of His devotees.

Devotee and Housewife (TLK p.220)

One may engage in many activities, but in all cases, one’s mind must be fully absorbed in Krsna. Although a haousewife is always busy working around the house, she always takes care that her hair is nicely combed. Regardless of her engagements, she never forgets to arrange her hair in an attractive way. Similarly, a devotee engages in many activities, but he never forgets Krsna’s transcedental form. This is the meaning of perfection.

Devotee and Schoolboy (TLK p.117)

Because we are not expert in approaching the Supreme Lord, we have to follow the principles of bhakti yoga enunciated by the acaryas. When a boy goes to school, he has to follow the rules and regulations, but after a while he becomes accustomed to them and does not have to be taught. In other words, he learns automatically to come to school at a certain time, take his seat and study nicely. Similarly, in this Krsna consciousness movement, we have certain rules and regulations. We must rise early in the morning for mangala arati, chant sixteen rounds of Hare Krsna daily, and execute all the functions of bhakti yoga. In this way we become practiced in the science. When we attain this stage, we immediately become self realized.

Death and Sleep (2:1:15)

After death one forgets everything about the present bodily relations; we have a little experience of this at night when we go to sleep. While sleeping, we forget everything about this body and bodily relations, although this forgetfulness is a temporary situation for only a few hours. Death is nothing but sleeping for a few months in order to develop another term of bodily encagement, which we are awarded by the law of nature according to our aspiration.

Demigod Worship and Travel Ticket (2:3:9)

One should not desire any sort of material enjoyment, being sensible enough to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The leaders of nonsensical persons are still more nonsensical because they preach openly and foolishly that one can worship any form of demigod and get the same result. This sort of preaching is not only against the teachings of the Bhagavad gita, or those of Srimad Bhagavatam, but is also foolish, just as it is foolish to claim that with the purchase of any travel ticket one may reach the same destination. No one can reach Bombay from Delhi by purchasing a ticket for Baroda.

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Kurma dasa: Our Australian Godbrother and disciple of Srila Prabhupada Sriman Yugatita Dasa passed away today Sunday 23 October at 3:40pm in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
Condolences for his family, especially to Yuga Avatar (Jingara Hart) and Suniti.
To pass away in the Holy Month of Kartik is a very great blessing.
Yugatita Prabhu ki Jaya! We deeply appreciate your many years of feisty, larger-than-life, prabhu-of-all-trades, sometimes grumpy, but always endearing, enthusiastic service to Srila Prabhupada.
We love you and thank you. Safe journey old friend.
Hare Krishna!

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32619

Chapati means hot!
Sravanananda das: While in Madras we had a nice facility for Srila Prabhupada to stay at in a life member’s home at night. But during the day he would come to the temple.

One day I was asked if I would cook for him. I said that I had never cooked for Prabhupada before, so Harikesh said, “I’ll cook.” We made a little sitting area for Srila Prabhupada and when I brought him his plate, he touched the chapati and said, “Chapati means hot.”

I ran back to Harikesh and told him what Prabhupada said. He said, “Okay, I’ll cook the chapati and you run it into his room.” The floors were made of marble so I was literally sliding to give it to Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada again tapped the chapati, and again he said, “Chapati means hot.”

Again I ran back to Harikesh and said, “Prabhupada is not eating the chapatis! He said, ‘Chapati means hot!’” So he puffed up a chapati the next time like a puri. I ran and slid to Prabhupada, putting it on his plate.

He poked the chapati that was puffed up and this time steam came out. Prabhupada said, “Ahhh, that is chapati.” I’ve always remembered that cooking instruction.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32625

Bahulastami or appearance day of Radha-kunda comes in the month of Kartik. In this month of Kartik the presiding deity of the month is Srimati Radhika and in the same month is also the appearance day of the lake which is the embodiment of the Love of Radharani. In Front of Radha Madhava Asta Sakhi altar a Radha kunda and Shyam Kunda was made for the pleasure of the divine couple. Following is the description of Radha Kunda in Navadvipa Dham by Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Bhakti vinoda thakura and Sri Chaitanya Mahabrabhu.

In the island of Rtudvipa, in the village known as Ratupura, Lord Nityananda along with Dvija Vaninatha and many devotees arrived. Lord Nityananda became entranced and called out, “Bring My sringa (horn) immediately! All the calves have gone far away from here. Kanai is still sleeping in the house. He is so childish that He has not come here yet. Where are Subala and Sridama? I, Balarama, am alone here. I cannot go alone to fetch the cows.” The most powerful Lord Nityananda shouted, “Kanai! Kanai!” and started leaping in the air. By seeing Lord Nityananda in this mood, the devotees immediately approached Him and said, “O, Lord Nityananda! Your brother is Gauracandra. Now He is not here. Gaurahari has taken sannyasa and gone to Nilacala, leaving us beggars behind.” When Lord Nityananda heard that Gaurahari was not there, He felt great distress and started crying and rolling on the ground, feeling separation from His Gaura. Lord Nityananda addressed Gauranga as Kanai, “O, My brother Kanai! For what reason have You taken sannyasa and left us behind here to go to Nilacala? I will not maintain this life anymore. I will jump into the water of the River Yamuna!” Having spoken these words, Lord Nityananda fainted. The devotees started harinama- sankirtana realizing that Lord Nityananda had developed mahabhava. Four dandas (one danda equals twenty four minutes) of the day had passed, but Lord Nityananda had not come back to His external senses. Then the devotees started to chant gaura-gita (songs about Gaura). When Lord Nityananda heard the name of Gauranga He immediately got up and said, “This place is Radhakunda. Here Lord Gaurahari along with His devotees would perform Nama Sankirtana every afternoon. Just see the beauty of Syama-kunda, attracting the minds of the whole universe. Just see the kunjas of the different sakhis. Here Gauracandra would come with his sankirtana party and please everyone by distributing love of Godhead.

O My brothers, there is no place equal to this in the three worlds. This is the best spot for devotees to perform bhajana. Whoever resides here will get love of Godhead and his heart will be pacified.” That day all the devotees along with Lord Nityananda stayed there chanting the holy name of Gauranga, immersed in love. The next day they proceeded to Vidyanagara.

Radha Kunda in Ratupura
In the Navadvipa Bhava Taranga Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakura writes the mood and activities of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as he came to Rtudvipa.

Ritudvipam tato gatva
drishtva sobham vanasya ca
radha-kundadikam smritva
ruroda saci-nandanah

“Arriving at Ritudvipa and seeing the beauty of the forest, Saci-nandana started crying while remembering Radha-kunda and other sacred places.” right Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, Pramana-khanda 4.44)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s meditation – When will I wander about the island of Ritu-dvipa, seeing the beauty of the forest and remembering these pastimes of the Lord? Suddenly I will catch a glimpse of the pastimes being performed at Radha Kunda and become completely stunned by such a wonderful vision. Here on the bank of the Manasa Ganga river, Balarama and Krsna along with Their cowherd boyfriends named Dama, Bala, and Mahabala head countless calves to secluded forests. While sporting numerous pastimes and playing tricks, all the boys sing the glories of Krsna.

The cowherd boys then sit down and engage in various types of funny conversations. Meanwhile, the calves keep grazing and grazing until they wander off to distant woods. Losing sight of them, all the boys become alarmed, but at the sound of Krsna’s flute the calves immediately come running back. While I am watching and watching this pastime with full attention, suddenly the scene vanishes and I will fall to the ground unconscious…

Radha Kunda in Chaitanya Math
Chaitanya Math is the house of Chandrashekhar Acharya, the maternal uncle of Mahaprabhu and also the headquarters of Gaudiya Maths established by Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. In this temple Sri Radha Kunda, Shyama Kunda and Giri Govardhan, Keli Kadamba and Tamal Vriksha are present. Sri Navadvip Dhama is non-different from Vrindavana and called as Gupta Vrindavana or hidden Vrindavana. These Kundas and Govardhana were made by Bhakti Siddhanta Sarawsati Thakur in memory of these holy places in Vrindavan. They are also known as Smriti Radha Kunda and Smriti Shyama Kunda.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32629

Shri Radhakund on Bahulashtami Night

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32631

My first striking encounter with Srinathji Prabhu highlighted his extraordinary attention to specifics. About a decade ago, when I was a fledgling author, I would feel encouraged whenever anyone appreciated my writings. Once after a Pune yatra, while everyone was taking prasadam and preparing to depart, I happened to meet Srinathji Prabhu. And he spontaneously started appreciating my writings; he mentioned several articles by their titles and went into specific details of an article that had described how I came to Krishna consciousness. I was doubly astounded firstly because I was a little-known brahmachari and secondly because that story had appeared in BTG at least two years ago. And yet here he was, immediately remembering its specifics in just a chance encounter with me. 

Over the years and my several encounters with Srinathji Prabhu, one image of him that has crystalized within me is that of an intellectual patron of intellectuals. He supported several of our movement’s authors, enabling them to focus on research and writing without having to worry about pecuniary considerations. 

But he was not just a patron of intellectuals – he was an intellectual himself; he read widely and took intellectual responsibility for the tradition he had chosen to practice. He noticed that the version of the Hare Krishna mahamantra we chanted was different from its version chanted in the broader Hindu culture, which began with Hare Rama, not Hare Krishna. So, he embarked on an extensive research into manuscripts to support our tradition’s rendition of the mahamantra. After much searching, he finally found in a remote, little-known library the manuscript of the Kali-Santarana Upanishad that contained the mahamantra starting with Hare Krishna – and he published a book with that manuscript. His meticulous attention to detail during this manuscript research paralleled, if not superseded, that of a careful scholar.

He was a patron for not just intellectuals but also for many of our movement’s most important projects. And yet he wasn’t patronizing towards anyone – he maintained a humility that was inspiring and disarming.

His significance extends far beyond his lifetime. Over the last decade, I have been studying and contemplating ISKCON history. And I feel that Srinathji Prabhu represented the rich flowering of the bhakti tradition in modern India and particularly in ISKCON India. 

He embodied the dream success chart for most Indians. He achieved extraordinary academic success, earning degrees from both England – which was the cherished educational destination for pre-Independence Indians – and from the USA, which is the cherished educational destination for post-Independence Indians. And he went on to achieve remarkable success not just as a white collar executive but also as a business magnate, pioneering several technological innovations in India in his companies. 

Through all this dazzling success, he maintained his piety and bhakti, which he had acquired from his parents, both of whom were Vaishnavas – his mother from the Vallabha sampradaya and father from the Ramanuja sampradaya. 

Even after having this combination of material prosperity and religious piety, it’s telling that he found spiritual fulfillment in the teachings of bhakti as expounded by Srila Prabhupada. 

When Srila Prabhupada was present in his manifest form with us, a remarkable number of wealthy and influential Indians purity and potency. And several of them became important supporters of our movement. But somehow after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, many of them couldn’t take the step forward from being patrons to becoming practitioners. 

Srinathji Prabhu was prominent among the very few who took that step forward – and he could do so primarily because he was able to see Srila Prabhupada’s enduring presence in his dedicated disciples. He treasured the personal association of Srila Prabhupada that he had got. But he also saw that Srila Prabhupada lived on through his followers; and he committed himself to serving His Divine Grace through them and with them. 

For most of us, second-generation devotees in ISKCON, who have never had the personal association of Srila Prabhupada, our ability to appreciate him depends largely on our ability to see him in his dedicated followers. In this, Srinathji Prabhu set an example for all of us. 

Through him, the bhakti culture flourished within its Indian motherland. And through remembering him, I pray that bhakti may flourish in my heart too. 

While this letter was being read, I snapped two pictures of Prabhupada. He was smiling the biggest smile I had ever seen!  He was so overjoyed to hear her reply!  To him, this was the beginning of the conquest of the demonic atheism that had invaded the land of the rishis, Rishiya.

The Glories Of Damodara Masa
Whatever one does for Krishna – at any time, at any place, under any circumstance – is to one’s eternal benefit
Such is the benefit of devotional service in general. However, during certain times of year–such as appearance anniversaries of Lord Krishna and His devotees–the benefits of one’s service are compounded.

During the month of Damodar, or Kārttika (October/November), rewards for service to Krishna are greater than at any other time of year. For instance, Krishna always likes tulasi leaves, so it’s always a good time to offer tulasi leaves to Krishna. However, in the Hari-bhakti-vilas of Sanatan Goswami, we find these statements:

“The result one obtains by giving ten thousand cows in charity can be obtained by offering only one tulasi leaf to the Supreme Lord during the month of Kārttika.” (7.335) and…

“Those who worship Lord Hari with an offering of one hundred thousand tulasi leaves during the month of Kārttika certainly advance on the path of pure devotional service, which includes liberation, with each leaf offered. (7.336)”

“Kārttika could be thought of as the ultimate “buy one, get a-whole-lot-more free” sale, or the equivalent of a “super, multi-triple word score” in the game of Scrabble.”
It is also recommended to offer malati (very fragrant white jasmine-like flowers) to Krishna, and here’s what Hari-bhakti-vilasa says about malati offerings during Kārttika:

“It is better to offer malati flowers to Lord Kesava in the month of Kārttika than to donate gold, cows, or land to worthy recipients.“
Malati flowers are pleasing to Lord Kesava (Krishna) in whatever month they are offered. In the month of Kārttika, the offering of malati flowers awards one the merit of performing a horse sacrifice.

It would take some research to find exactly what the merit of performing a horse sacrifice is.

It is easy to understand the importance of the following statement, though, considering that Yamaraja is the universal superintendent in charge of meting out punishment to those who transgress karmic law:

“For a devotee who worships Lord Vishnu with offerings of malati flowers in the month of Kārttika, Yamaraja orders the removal of all his sinful reactions from the account book.” (7.90-92)
Not bad. And the list goes on. Whatever you offer–tulasi, malati, ghee lamps, time, energy, attention–takes on greater significance this month.

Kārttika could be thought of as the ultimate “buy one, get a-whole-lot-more free” sale, or the equivalent of a “super, multi-triple word score” in the game of Scrabble. For a limited time only, whoever is lucky (or greedy, or intelligent) enough to do some service for Krishna during this special month gets a uniquely huge return on their investment. The ultimate return: one becomes more Krishna conscious.

It was during Kārttika that Krishna allowed Himself to be bound with ropes by His mother, Yasoda. Out of loving anger at her transcendentally naughty child, she tied him (dama) around the abdomen (udara) with ropes. Thus the month of Kārttika is also known as the month of Damodara, “He Who was bound around the abdomen”.

Srila Prabhupada discusses this at some length in Nectar of Devotion (quoting Padma Purana):

“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.” (Chapter 5, page 42)

He elaborates on this in the section “Performing Devotional Service in Kārttika:” “… in the month of Kārttika (October-November); especially in Vrndavana, there is a specific program for temple worship of the Lord in His Dāmodara form. “Dāmodara” refers to Krishna’s being bound with rope by His mother, Yaśodā. It is said that just as Lord Dāmodara is very dear to His devotees, so the month known as Dāmodara or Kārttika is also very dear to them.

The execution of devotional service during Ūrja-vrata in the month of Kārttika is especially recommended to be performed at Mathurā. This system is still followed by many devotees. They go to Mathurā or Vrndavana and stay there during the month of Kārttika specifically to perform devotional services during this period.”

Prabhupada makes a point to say it is “especially recommended” to perform devotional service during Kārttika in Mathura, or Vrindavana. This is not to say that Kārttika’s benefits are exclusively available there, but devotees who are able to go make the trip if at all possible.

“Urja-vrata” refers to the acceptance of special vows during Kārttika. Devotees often take vows to increase their hearing, chanting, worship, or to observe restrictions in their eating. Making and keeping such vows during the month of Damodara guarantees compounded benefits.
Prabhupada ends Nectar of Devotion’s section on Kārttika with an interesting commentary from Padma Purana:

“…the Lord does not award devotional service to ordinary persons who are not serious about it. But even such unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Kārttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathurā in India, are very easily awarded the Lord’s personal service.” (N.O.D., Chapter 12)
If even an “unserious” person can attain Krishna’s personal service, simply by “executing devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Kārttika”–wouldn’t it then also be a seriously good time to get serious?

Damodara Masa ki Jai!

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32478

It is with great shock and sorrow that we have learnt of Sri Nathji’s passing away. His Grace Sri Nathji was a very dear and dedicated servant of Srila Prabhupada. He personally served Srila Prabhupada and his devotees in glorious ways since their first meeting in 1971. He was a Vaisnava who exemplified the perfect balance, leading a fully dedicated Vaisnava life along with his career as a very successful leading industrialist in India.

Due to his exemplary example, Back to Godhead magazine published an article on him in the May 1981 issue. With his strong business mind and very gentle Vaisnava heart, he never missed an opportunity to help any individual soul or project that needed his expert guidance and financial support. He strongly believed in helping anyone who sincerely expressed a desire to serve Krishna and fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

In that mood he stepped forward to help and ensure financial stability when Back to Godhead in Mumbai began printing in 1995.

Sri Nathji and his family have always been imbued with a humble but very high standard of respect and service toward the Vaisnava community. Sri Nathji’s dedication and service mood will always remain very inspirational to our Global BTG team and especially the BTG team in India.

We offer our respects and heartfelt condolences to his wife Maithili Priya, sons Keshava das and Chaitanya Chandra das, daughter Vrinda Priya, and daughters-in-law Namarita and Jinisha.

–Prema Manjari devi dasi, on behalf of the Global BTG Team and BTG India Team.

N. D. Desai—Industrialist with a Mission

A successful Bombay engineer seeks to inspire purity
in his daily world of business and finance

by Yogesvara dasa

Every evening at 6:00 Narendra Desai leaves his office in downtown Bombay. His chauffeur drives him home through streets crowded with cars, trucks, ox-carts, rickshas, eight million people, and an occasional elephant. They pull up at a seven-story building overlooking parks, swimming pools, and the Arabian Sea. Upstairs, Dr. Desai bathes, changes into white silk robes, applies two lines of sacred clay to his forehead, and enters the marble temple in his apartment. He places three drops of water in his right hand, then three drops in the left, lights three sticks of incense, and begins reciting Sanskrit verses of prayer.

Soon his wife and three children join him. Tiny burning wicks of clarified butter throw soft light on the devotional paintings and tapestries. Everyone’s attention is focused on the smiling Deities of Lord Krsna and His consort Radha. After the last prayer has been recited and the last flower offered, parents and children bow to the floor in submission to the Deities and then prepare for a dinner of vegetarian dishes first offered to the Lord.

The Desai family repeats the procedure each morning and evening, seven days a week, 365 a year. Brought up by pious, well-to-do parents, Dr. Desai has known the significance of the arati ceremony since childhood. In fact, so have most Hindus. The same elaborate offering to the Deity takes place in millions of homes across the subcontinent and around the world. Krsna, the ceremony proclaims, is the Supreme Lord and enjoyer of all works and sacrifices. He is the real master of the home, and His pleasure is the true goal of one’s daily activities.

For Dr. Desai, however, the ceremony does not end with the last ablution. As an initiated devotee of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, he has dedicated his words, wealth, intelligence, and life to spreading the teachings of Lord Krsna. His spiritual name, Nathji dasa, means “servant of Lord Krsna, who is the master of all creation.”

An ordinary day for Nathji begins at 4:00 A.M. After morning duties he takes a brisk walk around Seaface Park while chanting Hare Krsna on prayer beads and then joins his family in their temple room by 6:30 for ceremonies and a reading from Bhagavad-gita. At breakfast, father and children trade stories from the epic histories Ramayana and Mahabharata. At 8:00 Nathji brings his children to school and continues on to his office, where duties may include reviewing company accounts, evaluating new equipment, calling the minister of finance in Delhi about a new export factory, or visiting the refinery in Trombay, a Bombay suburb. Nathji returns home by 7:00 for evening temple ceremonies, an offering of foods to the Deity, and then dinner with his family. Before retiring at 10:00 he may read from scriptures or prepare notes for his Sunday lecture at ISKCON’s Bombay temple and cultural center.

Nathji is the chairman of the board and managing director of several private companies, whose total combined sales exceed $40 million annually. Among his factories are India’s largest producer of light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and other lighting supplies and the country’s second largest supplier of active electronic components. Despite the importance of his various enterprises, Nathji’s real attention remains focused on his projects for spreading Krsna consciousness. In addition to providing financial backing for temples, cow protection centers (go-salas) like the one at the ISKCON asrama in Hyderabad, and the printing of Vaisnava literature, he has designed a traveling temple, built on a large Tata company truck chassis that will broadcast Bhagavad-gita to villages all over India. He sponsors gatherings as well—sometimes in tents holding fifteen thousand people, sometimes in the privacy of his own apartment—to teach bhakti (devotional service to Lord Krsna) and encourage membership in ISKCON. Nathji also serves as General Secretary to Bombay’s Bhaktivedanta Institute, a branch of ISKCON dedicated to presenting Vedic scriptural conclusions in scientific terms.

At age twenty-one Nathji graduated with a masters’ in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. That same year he secured a contract from Sunoco to open a nonfuel oil refinery outside Bombay. and soon thereafter he finished his Ph.D. One evening in 1971 he met devotees for the first time at his parents’ house. His father, a member of Indian Parliament and president of several Bombay factories, often received religious people at his home. He greatly appreciated Srila Prabhupada’s purity and world preaching efforts and invited him to come with disciples for chanting and a lecture. That evening Nathji’s father became one of ISKCON’s first Life Members, but Nathji remained skeptical. He had read several editions of Bhagavad-gita commented upon by impersonalistic scholars, and the nondevotional, monistic school appealed to him more than the idea of a personal God.

Still, Nathji began to visit Srila Prabhupada whenever Prabhupada came to Bombay. “I would argue that the Vedas describe every living entity as brahman, spiritual energy, and that Krsna is just one expression of that spiritual energy. Srila Prabhupada would correct me immediately. ‘You may bebrahman, but Krsna is the Supreme Brahman. He is the source of everything, including the brahmanenergy. You are a tiny particle of brahman, and He is the complete whole. Where have you picked up this nonsense impersonalistic idea? You are God? Did you create the universe? What is your authority to speak? Krsna spoke Bhagavad-gita. Can you speak such wisdom?’ In this way he would defeat me.”

Despite philosophical differences with Srila Prabhupada, Nathji was attracted by his explanations and broad vision of theological matters. Studying the books of Krsna consciousness and attending classes at the Bombay temple led Nathji to adopt the chanting of Hare Krsna as a daily meditation. Eventually he even relinquished his impersonal conceptions of truth in favor of the Vaisnava explanation that the soul retains individuality eternally in loving service to the Supreme Person.

Just when Narendra Desai was feeling ready to take initiation into Krsna consciousness, Srila Prabhupada left this material world. Dr. Desai approached Giriraja Swami, the president of ISKCON Bombay, and asked where he was to find a bona fide spiritual master now that Srila Prabhupada was gone. Giriraja Swami handed him some cassette recordings of Srila Kirtanananda Swami, one of the disciples Srila Prabhupada had entrusted with the duty of initiating new devotees. Nathji listened and found Kirtanananda Swami’s explanations nondifferent from those of Srila Prabhupada. Each point was clearly and authoritatively presented.

“That was when I knew I had found my guru. Just as the Ganges water is the same at Devaprayag, Hrsikesa, and Hardwar, so the teachings coming down in disciplic succession from Lord Krsna are the same, whether delivered by Srila Prabhupada or his faithful representative. I know that by hearing from Srila Kirtanananda Swami I receive the same wisdom passed down through the entire history of Vaisnava spiritual masters.

Relatives and acquaintances looked askance at the idea of a highborn Hindu taking initiation from an American. “I told them there was nothing American left in him, that he had completely dedicated himself to Krsna’s transcendental loving service. But many of them remained socially offended. I had been in Bombay five years, accumulating ‘friends’ like sins, and after my initiation many of them at first shunned me.”

The notion that only born Hindus can accept spiritual initiation or perform the initiatory rites is widespread in India yet erroneous. According to Vaisnava scriptures, offering initiation into spiritual life is the prerogative of anyone fully conversant with the science of Krsna consciousness, and any sincere person can be a candidate for initiation. Nonetheless, social custom has made guruship and discipleship the privileges of those born in brahmana, or high-caste, families. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who promulgated the Krsna consciousness movement in Bengal five hundred years ago. defied this artificial restriction and, on the authority of scripture, accepted disciples from middle-class, low-class, and even outcaste families. The spiritual masters in succession from Him have followed His example.

Nathji was not disturbed by the criticism (“I didn’t become a devotee to win friends,” he says), and he continued his devotional practices openly. Paintings of Lord Krsna and His many incarnations adorned the walls of his office and home. Holiday gifts to clients included posters of the Deities at New Vrindaban, his spiritual master’s rural community in West Virginia. Many photos of Srila Prabhupada and Kirtanananda Swami graced the tops of his desks, tables, and dressers. Nathji even printed a special pocket edition of Bhagavad-gita, just to have on hand for visitors and friends.

Not long after Nathji’s initiation, a young Communist union leader instigated a strike at one of Nathji’s factories. Nathji rejected the strike leader’s ambitious demands and instead handed him a copy of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita.

“This has nothing to do with religion,” the union organizer said. “We are talking worker-management relations.”

“Then consult the real owner of the factory,” Nathji replied. “My workers know I am a devotee of Lord Krsna. They know I manage this place on His behalf. They also know I try to encourage them by setting an example of fairness and concern for their well-being. These are qualities Lord Krsna praises in theGita. But your demands are unreasonable by any standards except your own. If you want to negotiate successfully with me, I suggest you take this book home and read it.”

Nathji noted that the workers were impressed by hearing him speak so strongly about the Gita’steachings, and after a few meetings they signed an agreement. Nathji later learned that the union leader, like many of his contemporaries, had received training in Bhagavad-gita as a boy and that the negotiations had rekindled his appreciation for its teachings. After the strike the union leader even commented that work, after all, “wasn’t everything.” Eventually he quit the Party and took to regularly studying the sacred text.

“I had never heard of a strike being argued in quite that way,” Nathji says, “but one must have the strength of his convictions. Especially in business, where corruption is so widespread, Bhagavad-gitahas been for me an important guiding force for knowing how to act in the right way.”

Acting “in the right way” is a lesson Nathji imparts gently to his children, whom he feels have been “entrusted” to him. “Lord Krsna describes in the Gita that unsuccessful yogis take their birth in affluent or devotee families, a position from which they may easily complete their course of self-realization. By Krsna’s arrangement, I am able to offer my children a favorable situation for becoming Krsna conscious, and I therefore take it that they are very elevated souls.

“When I talk to them about the eternality of the soul and our loving relationship with Krsna, they take it seriously. It’s not that I impose the Gita’s teachings on them; they actually understand and follow. Of course I still play the role of father, but they know that in a higher sense Krsna is their real Father and I am more like a guardian.”

Nathji also teaches his children not to fall for what he calls “sweet talk, “—that is, the allurement of materialism—without carefully considering the consequences. “A classmate may invite them to smoke or drink or indulge in some other distraction, so we have an agreement. Before accepting any proposal they are not sure is truly beneficial, we discuss: What do the scriptures say? What will the effect be? What is the authority behind the suggestion, its motive? Naturally, the main thing is for them to see good examples in their father and mother. Children are so perceptive, they see even the slightest flaw. In that way they are forcing us to become Krsna conscious.”

Nathji’s mother, an elderly woman who has done much social service and received several requests to run for public office, was at first suspicious that such a large organization as ISKCON might have been infiltrated by the C.I.A. Her suspicions were allayed when Giriraja Swami reassured her that any agent capable of chanting Hare Krsna on beads for the two prescribed hours daily, following the rules of a devotee—no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no intoxicants (including coffee, tea, and cigarettes), and no gambling—would be a true agent of intelligence and a most welcome member of the community. Mrs. Desai has been a well-wisher of ISKCON ever since.

“Srila Prabhupada’s message to the world was not one of artificial renunciation,” Nathji says, “but of devotion. Whatever you may be—family man, businessman, professional—add Krsna to your life and be happy. Business, after all, is an essential element of society. But if you work for Krsna, your life becomes sublime.”

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32493

By the GBC Executive Committee

His Grace Sri Nathji Prabhu was a Vaisnava of rare caliber indeed, teaching by example the true meaning of selfless devotional service.

From his youth, he was in search of a genuine guru. His mother encouraged his interest by bringing him to the feet of the perfect spiritual teacher: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Although, as Sri Nathji Prabhu himself described, he would utilize his time with Srila Prabhupada to argue in favor of Mayavada philosophy, eventually, he was convinced by Srila Prabhupada’s infallible logic that the highest path of worship is to engage in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna.

From that day forward, Sri Nathji Prabhu dedicated mind, body, words, family, wealth, intelligence–everything in his possession–to the service of the Lord and his devotees. It is practically impossible to list the many contributions he has made to ISKCON.

Certainly one of his most wonderful contributions is the creation of Sri Sri Radha-Gopinath temple in Mumbai, which has become a beacon of bhakti for tens of thousands of souls. Sri Nathji Prabhu not only gave the land upon which the temple was started, but served as a founding member and provided spiritual, managerial, and financial support throughout the decades.

At the same time, he maintained a level of material success that is rarely achieved, from his many degrees to his management of some of India’s most successful business ventures. For Sri Nathji Prabhu, this success only meant that he and his family had more to offer in the service of the Vaisnavas. He gave financial support, advice, and encouragement to projects and devotees worldwide without the slightest desire for recognition.

In fact, Sri Nathji Prabhu could easily be seen giving Bhagavatam class in the morning, brokering a high profile business deal in the afternoon, and chopping vegetables in the temple kitchen in the evening, such was his humility!

Contemplating the glorious life of Sri Nathji Prabhu, the mind naturally reflects on the parallels to exemplary devotees described in sastra. In particular, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s statement to Ramananda Raya comes to mind. Caitanya Mahaprabhu compares him, a wealthy governor and grhastha, to Sanatana Goswami saying, “[His] renunication of material connections is just like yours. Humility, renunciation and excellent learning exist in him simultaneously.” (Cc. Antya 1.201)

Like Ramananda Raya, Sri Nathji Prabhu managed his material engagements and wealth in the service of the Lord, the real test of renunciation, and exhibited the utmost humility and excellent learning through his ideal behavior.

We pray at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Sri Radha Gopinath that They continue to engage Sri Nathji Prabhu in Their eternal service and empower us to always draw inspiration from his glorious example. We also pray to Their Lordships to shower Their mercy upon Sri Nathji Prabhu’s family, particularly, his esteemed wife, Maithili Priya Devi.

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32496