. . . The person in material consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything. He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kṛṣṇa. The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently, and that is the symptom of his nescience. . . 

This verse keeps me from getting proud about my achievements, keeps me from getting depressed about my failures, keeps me from getting disturbed by others' success, and keeps me focused on my path spiritual goals.

When I come across those who just keep talking about themselves, especially about the good that they are doing, my mind immediately takes shelter of this verse. No doubt these people are doing many good things, but they forget that it's their nature that is driving them to do what they are doing. It's not them.

The fundamental spiritual truth is that we are spiritual souls who currently occupy a material body. This material body, along with its nature, is awarded to the soul based on its desires and past activities. But, as this verse states, the materially engrossed soul thinks that he is independently working even though he is always under the control of the nature he has been awarded by forces beyond him.

This illusion is perpetuated by others similarly illusioned who praise the successes of these illusioned souls. Real success is to get out of the control of material nature and reestablish oneself in one's constitutional position of being a selfless loving servant of God. When this happens, our original nature drives us to continuously serve the Lord with great joy.

The path to perfection is to just use one's current material nature in the service of God. Gradually the material covering will get eroded and one will get established in ones original nature that is selfless, loving, and God centered.

Source :http://thebandwagonofmoltengold.blogspot.in/2015/03/is-my-success-mine.html

To equate the individual soul with God is a mistake most atheistic spiritualists make. This is an obvious mistake, but due to the power of illusion, the deluded soul is convinced that he can become the supreme or that his powers are unlimited, independent. To take shelter of pure devotees of God is the only way to get out of this dangerous illusion.

Source : http://thebandwagonofmoltengold.blogspot.in/2015/03/spiritual-fundamentals.html

If i let myself think, “aparadha-bhajan is better than no bhajan at all,” then i probably won’t stop this aparadha bhajan for a long time to come. 

Bhajan with aparadha is  worse than no bhajan at all.

Bhajan with aparadha is  worse than no bhajan at all. Just as having a negative experience with a person is worse than having no experience with them at all. But the solution is not to stop the bhajan. The solution is to stop the aparadha.

Bhajan with mistakes and failures is certainly better than no bhajan at all.

First, let me reiterate what aparadha actually is. It is not a mistake or a failure. Mistakes or failures in our bhajan are natural and inevitable because we are complete beginners. Bhajan with mistakes and failures is certainly better than no bhajan at all. It is by doing sincere bhajan with mistakes and failures that we gradually overcome the mistakes and failures – just as practicing a musical instrument gradually gets rid of our mistakes in playing it.

Love expresses itself in celebration(kirtan) and adoration (bhajan). Hate expresses itself in slander and criticism(ninda). 

Aparadha-bhajan is something else.

What is aparadha?

Aparadha literally means Anti (apa-) love (radha). What is “antilove” – it is “hate.”

So, you see, aparadha means to intentionally choose do do the opposite of love. Love expresses itself in celebration (kirtan) and adoration (bhajan). Hate expresses itself in slander and criticism (ninda). 

Not all criticism is hateful, but all hate maifests in criticism (ninda). Therefore we have to be very careful of ninda. We don’t have licence to criticize anyone -  unless we have some practical reason to expose a flaw for the sake of benefiting those adversely affected by it. Even then, we should measure our pulse. It is so easy for beginners like us to think we are expressing “constructive criticism” when in fact we are just venting anger as a result of frustration and hatred.

We have to dilligently curb our habbit of inflating our own stature by deflating the stature of others.

Unfortunately we constantly saturate ourselves in ninda. It is even a socially accepted part of many asrama  cultures! Often I have heard entire lectures supposedly about Bhagavatam or Krishna which in truth were nothing but fourty-five minutes of nonstop ninda – full of criticism of “karmis” and making fun of “mayavadis” and “christians” and so on. [Pointing this out is not a ninda, but part of the effort to rid myself of ninda and its sources].

It is almost a requirement for joining one asrama  that you must criticize every other asrama  on the marg. This is why many of us feel we are better off not “joining” any asrama  at all.

We have to dilligently curb our habbit of inflating our own stature by deflating the stature of others. Yes its very tiring and difficult to do this, but we will never really getanywhere  in bhakti-yoga until we make this effort, and make it fully. We must avoid criticizing people – anypeople. Especially we have to avoid expressing hatred for people who love the same person we are supposed to love, Krishna! This includes other beginners as well, as bungling and annoying and dumb as we all are. There is so much criticism of sadhus who are on even minutely different paths than we are. It is almost a requirement for joining one asrama  that you must criticize every other asrama  on the marg. It is so awful and so detrimental to bhajan. This is why there are no shining, self-effulgent acaryas. This is why we all remain such dunderheads and dullards. And this is why many of us feel we are better off not “joining” any asrama  at all.

People who love Krishna also include all the various adhikṛta-dasa divinities, (Siva, Brahma, Indra, Varuṇa, etc.) and their followers – and not only in their obviously Vedic manifestation but also in their cross-cultural cross-pollenated faccimilies (like Thor, Odin, and so on). Why criticize them? What do we gain from it? Nothing. Rather than gain, in fact, we lose the most important thing – the devotional attitude (which is soft, forgiving, tolerant, and gentle by nature).

People who love Krishna certainly also include the intermediate and advanced devotees who should be treated as sadhu and guru. 

Obviously, it also includes Krishna himself. We must not slander, criticize (or cause others to do that by our pathetic misrepresentation of) Krishna’s manifestation as the Veda (yes, all of them, including the karma-khanda and jñana-khanda – and culminating in Srimad Bhagavatam), as Sri Murti, as Sri Nama, and as Sri Dhama.

We should stop our aparadha by increasing our radha. We should do more kirtan and bhajan

Rather than only trying to stop our aparadha, we should also take a positive approach. We should stop our aparadha and increase our radha. We should do more kirtan and bhajan with better sincerity, while giving up our spite and jealousy and need for superiority and eminance and recognition. Then aparadha decreases and radha takes its place in our hearts. Then our progress is swift and perfect.

We must stop our aparadha immediately and entirely. We can’t go around resting on slogans like, “something is better than nothing.”

Vraja Kishor das

Source : https://vicd108.wordpress.com/2016/09/06/is-aparadha-bhajan-better-than-no-bhajan-at-all/

Verse 4.37: As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities.

Motivation. It's the hidden catalyst behind everything we do. Whether we acknowledge those reasons or turn a blind eye to them, the fact remains, we are motivated beings.

Those motivations lead us to act which naturally bring some type of result; that is essentially what karma is all about.

This verse, however, indicates that there is a missing component to the karma equation. That component is intention. 

The difference between motivation and intention is a subtle, but an important one. Whereas motivations deals with the reason or willingness to do something, intention reflects a specific purpose or attitude in performing an action.

It is the intention behind our actions that deems whether any karma is associated with it. An action in and of itself is neither good or bad. It is neutral. It is our intention that colours it.

Today's verse highlights the power of intention.

It also encourages us to do the inner work that is necessary. This begins by taking a good look at our motivations. Although we can try to change our intention without looking into our motivations, it can, sometimes be premature. Looking into the reasons why we do things, forces to face what we are looking for, whether it be validation, power, security, love, etc. 

Personally, it is something I struggle with on a daily basis since it can be extremely confronting and disheartening. It's much more convenient to turn a blind eye to our motivations.

But turning a blind eye handicaps us. When we see the reason why we do things, we become aware of not only ourselves but why we behave in certain ways with certain people. From there, we can start to tangibly work on transforming our intentions.

Every week now, we are challenging ourselves to practically apply the Gita in our lives. This week's challenge is to take five minutes out of your day to reflect on one action you took and ask yourself why you acted the way you did. Feel free to leave your observations in the comments below!

Source : http://gita-asitis.blogspot.in/2015/03/ask-yourself-why.html

One of the few physical features that distinguish Buddhi Wilcox is a small pigtail.  But the otherwise ordinary appearance hides a compassionate being, dedicated to helping the less well off in his community.

Buddhi, a member of the Hare Krishna faith, set up the Food For Life programme in Whangarei, feeding the poor, the homeless and children who would otherwise go hungry.  But behind the good work is a big team of supporters committed to the vision.

“It’s not just the community we feed but we meet a need for other sectors such as businesses who want to donate their products, money or services to Food For Life. There’s also a large number of people who want to volunteer their labour to help others in the community with worthy projects such as Food For Life.”

Buddhi says organisations such as the Northland Regional Council and the Whangarei District Council have also played a role in the success story of Food For Life.

“Both councils have been quite helpful [regional council provides the building rent and rates free and district council has helped with food hygiene oversight] but it’s really the relationships we have that have made the difference.”

He says that is especially true of Whangarei District Mayor Sheryl Mai.

“She has been generally supportive for what we do and it means a lot to have that. Sheryl has had more to do with our work and organisation – especially on the cultural side – than you would normally expect from a mayor.

“She has a strong sense of community.

“We’re a minority group and we rely on the support of the community – having the backing of the mayor is significant for what we do.”

Buddhi added that Sheryl’s involvement reflects a wider ‘caring’ within the community.

“Whangarei has one of the highest rate of volunteers per capita in the country – it’s a great place to live.”

Source : http://sherylmai.com/strong-community-connections/food-for-life/

World Holyname Week is celebrated throughout ISKCON fraternity every year to propagate congregational chanting of the holy name.

The world holy name week (WHNW-16) was celebrated globally from 28th Jul – 14th Aug 2016. Devotees in Singapore at the Gauranga Centre, played their part of spreading the glories of holy name by doing harinaam sankirtan.

Indeed, the holy name week had a rousing start as devotees were led by a senior kirtaniya to an ecstatic round of kirtan. In Singapore owing to a hectic work schedule, devotees decided to dedicate their evenings after work to engage in the service of the holy name sankirtan for over ten days.

In what is the 50th year of incorporation of our society it was just apt that the devotees were able to account for over 50+ hours of harinaam sankirtan during the 2016 WHNW celebrations. This included 3 days of intense 12 hour harinaam sankirtans apart from the daily two and half hours of kirtan that was done on weekday evenings.

Devotees coming together and chanting the holy name after their hectic day was a treat to the eyes, ears as well as souls present. After all the soul stirring kirtans were just the right relief for the fatigued souls.

What better way could there be then to offer the over 50 hours of kirtan at the lotus feet of our beloved grandfather HDG AC Bhakti Vedanta Srila Prabhupada.

This year we had different congregations getting together on different days to come to along and for the pleasure of the lord and his devotees not only engage in doing the kirtan but also engaged in various other services aligning with the celebrations.

The enthusiasm for kirtan was there for all to see as devotees engaged in various services and kept themselves involved in the various engagements related to the WHNW.

It was indeed befitting to the occasion that the devotees asked for more and more frequent kirtan and we were also requested to do 12 hour kirtans more frequently.

At this unique occasion, we pray to his divine grace to give us the serenity and the capacity to endeavour to spread more and more of the holy name to the people in general who are in extreme need of this medicine and to give us the strength to be an instrument for the same in the hands of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev and at the same time seeking the blessings of Vaisnavas to achieve the same.

Kaliyug Tapavan Bhuvan Mangal Harinaam Sankirtan Yagya ki Jay

Srila Prabhupad ki Jay

Srila Gurudev ki Jay

Source : http://www.dandavats.com/?p=31079#prettyPhoto

Radha Damodar Das, One of the First Devotees in the Soviet Union passed away on September 3rd evening succumbing to lung cancer.

ISKCON Communications Director Anuttama Dasa remembers:

"Radha Damodara prabhu was a true, humble and dedicated servant of his guru maharaja and Srila Prabhupada. Despite the dangers and troubles of being a Krishna devotee in the early years in Russia, Radha Damodara was fully committed to Lord Caitanya's mission.

Later as leader of the Communications team in Russia he was a steady and sattvic voice, looking towards the long term development of our society while dealing appropriately with short term challenges and opportunities.

Radha Damodar prabhu was a Vaishnava gentleman. He didn't just talk about devotion, he was a practical example of a dedicated Krishna conscious person. He was an inspiration for many devotees, both inside Russia and beyond. He was a kind person, a thoughtful person. A true friend.  

He will be sorely missed."

Source : http://iskconnews.org/radha-damodar-das-one-of-the-first-soviet-devotees-passes-away,5788/

Question: I was wondering why earth is so special? Why did Krishna manifest his pastimes here instead of some other planet?

Well, what “other planet” should he appear on? Life is centered on Earth.

Yes, there are many dimensions to the earth, sky, heavens, and under-earth, but these multi-dimensional realms (loka) are not literally identical to our modern astronomical conception of “planets.” The modern astronomical model is not the same model presented in the Purāṇa. It also describes reality, yes, but from a different point of view and for a different purpose.

The Purāṇic point of view is that the Earth is the central focus of life, but there are many Earth’s paired with many Suns, each with their own “solar-system” (to use modern lingo) of multi-dimensional realms (loka).

So if you ask, “Why did Krishna manifest his avatāra only here on our Earth,” the answer is that he does not. He manifests on every Earth in synchronous successions, such that his manifestation constantly appears on one Earth or another.

Question: I also understand that the anti-gods have tried to capture the earth in efforts to further their advance on the upper heavenly realms. Does the earth really hold such a special place in the cosmos?

The anti-gods are not interested in Earth, but are interested in Paradise, which is a higher-dimensional realm connected to the heavens from our point of view – called svarga in Sanskrit. However, the earth is like a “mining colony” or “powerplant” for Paradise – because the humans here perform sacrifices which make the gods there more powerful. So, the anti-gods have a strategy to disrupt religion, sacrifice, etc. and thereby weaken the gods, making it much easier for them to storm Paradise.

Question: Is bhakti available only here on Earth?

The human form of life is unique. Only human beings generate karma. The rest of the forms of life are for experiencing the results of karma. Microbes, plants, and animals don’t generate karma because their intellect is not sufficiently developed to permit the possibility of true freedom of choice. Superhuman life forms (like gods and anti-gods, for example) do have very developed intellect, but don’t have much opportunity for choice between good/bad right/wrong because they mostly experience only good things and good situations.

There is a difference between a “sin” (adharma orpapa) and a “hatred” (a.k.a “offense” – aparadha). “Hatred” is “sin” but not all “sin” is “hatred.” “Hatred” is a special subset of “sin” – it is the worst type. It is so bad that it is considered in a separate category.

A “sin” is simply failure to fulfill our duty, responsibility and function. A father, for example, sins if he cannot provide physical and mental security for his family. The acts he does which contribute to this failure are also “sins.” 

A “hatred” (aparadha) is an intentional hurt or slander against a person who deserves to be respected or loved. Sin can happen by mistake or out of weakness, but hatred (aparadha) is willful and intentional by definition. 

One example of aparadha: The teacher comes into the room, and the studentrefuses to stand. Another example: A father yelling at his daughter for wanting his attention and affection. 

An aparadha is not a mistake, it is intentional. Because aparadha are intentional, they are worse than ordinary “sin.”

A student who didn’t know he was supposed to stand when the teacher entered the room isn’t so much an aparadhi as a mild papi. A father who unintentionally fails in his relationship with his daughter is again more a papithan an aparadhi.

It is far worse to be an aparadhi than to be a papi. In Gita, Krishna says that the worst type of sin is kama – selfish desire. This is because kama is the root of aparadha. When we want things for ourself (kama), we will inevitably hate (aparadha) those who frustrate our desires. 

We have wasted a lot of our time and breath criticizing “materialistic people” for their “sins” but we are far, far worse than they are because of our aparadhaagainst the most lovable entity, Krishna.  We know that we should be attentive and affectionate towards Krishna’s name, image, wisdom (the Veda) and to those who teach and exemplify it (the gurus and sadhus), but we continue to refuse to make that effort.

Our lack of progress in bhakti-yoga is due to aparadha, but aparadha is based on our failure to develop proper comprehension of the goal (prayojana), the process (adhideya), and the components of reality (sambandha). The tendency for hatred goes away the more deeply we comprehend our relationship to other people and reality as a whole – i.e. the more deeply we understandsambandha-jñana. So the best cure for the worst evil is careful study of śastraunder the guidance of a guru who deeply understands them.

..so this is the biggest problem …on the one hand we think I really want Krishna, I really do, I really want spiritual life but on the other hand we can’t: on the other hand there is another part in us that wants something else. Sometimes when we are in the spiritual mode we don’t want that part of our self, we say “I wish I didn’t have that” but then we snap out of the spiritual mode and we again don’t want spiritual life, so much. Somehow we are accepting and then we are giving up and we are accepting, giving up and sometimes take to spiritual life and sometimes take to material life. 

So we are caught in these changing states of consciousness. When we embrace spiritual life, as they say in English “the grass is greener on the other side” so when we are enjoying the material energy we want to give it up and we want to take to spiritual life and when we are practicing spiritual life then we start to think about the material energy. So we are going up and down in these two states. So this is a very intense state in spiritual life. That is the state where one has to hold on very close…very close to devotees. One should always be with devotees. Not for a moment go away from the devotees. “never go out alone,” as they used to say to us in the early days when we joined that “you can not go out alone” it was not allowed, it was against the codes of the temple …nowadays noone really cares about that but in the old days, “oh no you can not be alone for a moment ..always associate with the devotee”

Well it is a fact that when one is in the stage of (Sanskrit)(up and down) it is dangerous not to associate with the devotee because one is so weak…maya is still so strong. Although we desire spiritual life we just don’t feel we have the strength for spiritual life. So the more we are with devotees who are betyond this state of (Sanskrit) who are no longer giving in into the senses, who are actually living a life free from sense gratification, a life free from sexual involvement , a life free from just satisfying the tongue this way and that way and who is only taking Krsna Prasadam and everything is pure…..then we get strength from this association. ….So one must be in that association.

Source : https://www.kksblog.com/2009/08/getting-strength-from-association/

I have read and re-read the Foreward to The Science of Self Realization by Mukunda dasa Goswami many times now, and every time I am moved by this written account.

From the very start, I knew that His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the most extraordinary person I had ever met. The first meeting occurred in the summer of 1966, in New York City. A friend had invited me to hear a lecture by “an old Indian svamī” on lower Manhattan’s Bowery. Overwhelmed with curiosity about a svamī lecturing on skid row, I went there and felt my way up a pitch-black staircase. A bell-like, rhythmic sound got louder and clearer as I climbed higher. Finally I reached the fourth floor and opened the door, and there he was. (Mukunda dasa Goswami from Foreward to The Science of Self Realiztion)

The Science of Self Realization
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Foreword
by Michael Grant
(Mukunda dasa Goswami)

From the very start, I knew that His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the most extraordinary person I had ever met. The first meeting occurred in the summer of 1966, in New York City. A friend had invited me to hear a lecture by “an old Indian svamī” on lower Manhattan’s Bowery. Overwhelmed with curiosity about a svamī lecturing on skid row, I went there and felt my way up a pitch-black staircase. A bell-like, rhythmic sound got louder and clearer as I climbed higher. Finally I reached the fourth floor and opened the door, and there he was.

About fifty feet away from where I stood, at the other end of a long, dark room, he sat on a small dais, his face and saffron robes radiant under a small light. He was elderly, perhaps sixty or so, I thought, and he sat cross-legged in an erect, stately posture. His head was shaven, and his powerful face and reddish horn-rimmed glasses gave him the look of a monk who had spent most of his life absorbed in study. His eyes were closed, and he softly chanted a simple Sanskrit prayer while playing a hand drum. The small audience joined in at intervals, in call-and-response fashion. A few played hand cymbals, which accounted for the bell-like sounds I’d heard. Fascinated, I sat down quietly at the back, tried to participate in the chanting, and waited.

After a few moments the svamī began lecturing in English, apparently from a huge Sanskrit volume that lay open before him. Occasionally he would quote from the book, but more often from memory. The sound of the language was beautiful, and he followed each passage with meticulously detailed explanations.

He sounded like a scholar, his vocabulary intricately laced with philosophical terms and phrases. Elegant hand gestures and animated facial expressions added considerable impact to his delivery. The subject matter was the most weighty I had ever encountered: “I am not this body. I am not an Indian…. You are not Americans…. We are all spirit souls….”

After the lecture someone gave me a pamphlet printed in India. A photo showed the svamī handing three of his books to Indian prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The caption quoted Mr. Shastri as saying that all Indian government libraries should order the books. “His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupada is doing great work,” the prime minister said in another small tract, “and his books are significant contributions to the salvation of mankind.” I purchased copies of the books, which I learned the svamī had brought over from India. After reading the jacket flaps, the small pamphlet, and various other literature, I began to realize that I had just met one of India’s most respected spiritual leaders.

But I could not understand why a gentleman of such distinction was residing and lecturing in the Bowery, of all places. He was certainly well educated and, by all appearances, born of an aristocratic Indian family. Why was he living in such poverty? What in the world had brought him here? one afternoon several days later, I stopped in to visit him and find out.

To my surprise, Srila Prabhupada (as I later came to call him) was not too busy to talk with me. In fact, it seemed that he was prepared to talk all day. He was warm and friendly and explained that he had accepted the renounced order of life in India in 1959, and that he was not allowed to carry or earn money for his personal needs. He had completed his studies at the University of Calcutta many years ago and had raised a family, and then he had left his eldest sons in charge of family and business affairs, as the age-old vedic culture prescribes. After accepting the renounced order, he had arranged a free passage on an Indian freighter (Scindia Steamship Company’s Jaladuta) through mutual friends. In September 1965, he had sailed from Bombay to Boston, armed with only seven dollars’ worth of rupees, a trunk of books, and a few clothes. His spiritual master, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhakura, had entrusted him with delivering India’s vedic teachings to the English-speaking world. And this was why, at age sixty-nine, he had come to America. He told me he wanted to teach Americans about Indian music, cooking, languages, and various other arts. I was mildly amazed.

I saw that Srila Prabhupada slept on a small mattress and that his clothes hung on lines at the back of the room, where they were drying in the summer afternoon heat. He washed them himself and cooked his own food on an ingenious utensil he had fashioned with his own hands in India. In this four-layer apparatus he cooked four preparations at once. Stacked all around him and his ancient-looking portable typewriter in another section of the room were seemingly endless manuscripts. He spent almost all of his waking hours - about twenty in twenty-four, I learned - typing the sequels to the three volumes I had purchased. It was a projected sixty-volume set called the Srimad-Bhagavatam, and virtually it was the encyclopedia of spiritual life. I wished him luck with the publishing, and he invited me back for Sanskrit classes on Saturdays and for his evening lectures on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I accepted, thanked him, and left, marveling at his incredible determination.

A few weeks later - it was July 1966 - I had the privilege of helping Srila Prabhupada relocate in a somewhat more respectable neighborhood, on Second Avenue. Some friends and I pitched in and rented a ground-floor storefront and a second-floor apartment, to the rear of a little courtyard, in the same building. The lectures and chanting continued, and within two weeks a rapidly growing congregation was providing for the storefront (by this time a temple) and the apartment. By now Srila Prabhupada was instructing his followers to print and distribute leaflets, and the owner of a record company had invited him to record an LP of the Hare Kṛṣṇa chant. He did, and it was a huge success. In his new location he was teaching chanting, vedic philosophy, music, japa meditation, fine art, and cooking. At first he cooked - he always taught by example. The results were the most wonderful vegetarian meals I had ever experienced. (Srila Prabhupada would even serve everything out himself!) The meals usually consisted of a rice preparation, a vegetable dish, capatīs (tortilla-like whole-wheat patties), and dal (a zestfully spiced mung bean or split pea soup). The spicing, the cooking medium - ghee, or clarified butter - and the close attention paid to the cooking temperature and other details all combined to produce taste treats totally unknown to me. Others’ opinions of the food, called prasadam (“the Lord’s mercy”), agreed emphatically with mine. A Peace Corps worker who was also a Chinese-language scholar was learning from Srila Prabhupada how to paint in the classical Indian style. I was startled at the high quality of his first canvases.

In philosophical debate and logic Srila Prabhupada was undefeatable and indefatigable. He would interrupt his translating work for discussions that would last up to eight hours. Sometimes seven or eight people jammed into the small, immaculately clean room where he worked, ate, and slept on a two-inch-thick foam cushion. Srila Prabhupada constantly emphasized and exemplified what he called “plain living and high thinking.” He stressed that spiritual life was a science provable through reason and logic, not a matter of mere sentiment or blind faith. He began a monthly magazine, and in the autumn of 1966 The New York Times published a favorable picture story about him and his followers. Shortly thereafter, television crews came out and did a feature news story.

Srila Prabhupada was an exciting person to know. Whether it was out of my desire for the personal benefits of yoga and chanting or just out of raw fascination, I knew I wanted to follow his progress every step of the way. His plans for expansion were daring and unpredictable - except for the fact that they always seemed to succeed gloriously. He was seventyish and a stranger to America, and he had arrived with practically nothing, yet now, within a few months, he had single-handedly started a movement! It was mind-boggling.

One August morning at the Second Avenue storefront temple, Srila Prabhupada told us, “Today is Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance day.” We would observe a twenty-four-hour fast and stay inside the temple. That evening some visitors from India happened along. One of them - practically in tears - described his unbounded rapture at finding this little piece of authentic India on the other side of the world. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined such a thing. He offered Srila Prabhupada eloquent praise and deep thanks, left a donation, and bowed at his feet. Everyone was deeply moved. Later, Srila Prabhupada conversed with the gentleman in Hindi, and since what he was saying was unintelligible to me, I was able to observe how his every expression and gesture communicated to the very core of the human soul.

Later that year, while in San Francisco, I sent Srila Prabhupada his first airline ticket, and he flew out from New York. A sizable group of us greeted him at the terminal by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. Then we drove him to the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park, to a newly rented apartment and storefront temple - an arrangement very similar to that in New York. We had established a pattern. Srila Prabhupada was ecstatic.

A few weeks later the first mṛdaṅga (a long clay drum with a playing head on each end) arrived in San Francisco from India. When I went up to Srila Prabhupada’s apartment and informed him, his eyes opened wide, and in an excited voice he told me to go down quickly and open the crate. I took the elevator, got out on the ground floor, and was walking toward the front door when Srila Prabhupada appeared. So eager was he to see the mṛdaṅga that he had taken the stairway and had beaten the elevator. He asked us to open the crate, he tore off a piece of the saffron cloth he was wearing, and, leaving only the playing heads exposed, he wrapped the drum with the cloth. Then he said, “This must never come off,” and he began giving detailed instructions on how to play and care for the instrument.

Also in San Francisco, in 1967, Srila Prabhupada inaugurated Ratha-yatra, the Festival of the Chariots, one of several festivals that, thanks to him, people all over the world now observe. Ratha-yatra has taken place in India’s Jagannatha Purī each year for two thousand years, and by 1975 the festival had become so popular with San Franciscans that the mayor issued a formal proclamation - “Ratha-yatra Day in San Francisco.”

By late 1966 Srila Prabhupada had begun accepting disciples. He was quick to point out to everyone that they should think of him not as God but as God’s servant, and he criticized self-styled gurus who let their disciples worship them as God. “These ‘gods’ are very cheap,” he used to say. one day, after someone had asked, “Are you God?” Srila Prabhupada replied, “No, I am not God - I am a servant of God.” Then he reflected a moment and went on. “Actually, I am not a servant of God. I am trying to be a servant of God. A servant of God is no ordinary thing.”

In the mid-seventies Srila Prabhupada’s translating and publishing intensified dramatically. Scholars all over the world showered favorable reviews on his books, and practically all the universities and colleges in America accepted them as standard texts. Altogether he produced some eighty books, which his disciples have translated into twenty-five languages and distributed to the tune of fifty-five million copies. He established one hundred eight temples worldwide, and he has some ten thousand initiated disciples and a congregational following in the millions. Srila Prabhupada was writing and translating up to the last days of his eighty-one-year stay on earth.

Srila Prabhupada was not just another oriental scholar, guru, mystic, yoga teacher, or meditation instructor. He was the embodiment of a whole culture, and he implanted that culture in the West. To me and many others he was first and foremost someone who truly cared, who completely sacrificed his own comfort to work for the good of others. He had no private life, but lived only for others. He taught spiritual science, philosophy, common sense, the arts, languages, the vedic way of life - hygiene, nutrition, medicine, etiquette, family living, farming, social organization, schooling, economics - and many more things to many people. To me he was a master, a father, and my dearmost friend.

I am deeply indebted to Srila Prabhupada, and it is a debt I shall never be able to repay. But I can at least show some gratitude by joining with his other followers in fulfilling his innermost desire - publishing and distributing his books.

“I shall never die,” Srila Prabhupada once said. “I shall live forever in my books.” He passed away from this world on November 14, 1977, but surely he will live forever.

Michael Grant
(Mukunda dasa)

Source : https://theharekrishnamovement.org/2016/09/05/the-most-extraordinary-person/

Radharani’s 3 baths, 7 places, 8 pets, 8 yogapithas, 16 & 10 Names

Radhika’s Three Baths:

Karunyamrta – the nectar of grace

Tarunyamrta – The nectar of youth

Lavanyamrta – the nectar of beauty

Seven moonbeam-like Meeting Places of Radha & Krishna

1) Vrindavan (on the bank of the Yamuna river under a huge desire-tree)

2) Yavat (in the woods behind Radha’s palace there)

3) Radha-kunda (on the bank of Radha’s lake)

4) Govardhana Hill (upon the top of the hill)

5) Barshana (near the palace of Radha’s parents)

6) Nanda-gram (near the palace of Krishna’s parents)

7) Sanket (in a grove halfway between Nanda-gram and Barshana)

Radhika’s Pets

1) Many cows: Sunada (one who makes nice sounds), Yamuna (one like the Yamuna river), Bahula (the black one) etc.

2) A She-calf: Tungi (the tall one)

3) An old female monkey: Kakkhati (the staunchly determined one)

4) A She-Deer: Rangini (she who is nicely-colored)

5) A Chakori-Bird: Caru-candrika (one like pleasant moonbeams)

6) A She-Swan (who stays in Radha-kunda) Tundikeri (the nicely-beaked one)

7) A Peahen: Tundika (she who has a nice beak)

8) 2 talking parrots: Suksma-dhi (she of fine intelligence) and Subhaa (the auspicious one)

Eight Yogapithas of Radha & Krishna

From Bhakti Ratnakara

1) Chandravali-duradharyam – the place that has cast Chandravali far away

2) Radha-saubhagya-mandiram – the Temple of Radha’s conjugal delight

3) Sri Ratna-mandapam – the Pavilion of divine jewels

4) Srngara-mandapam – the Pavilion of intimate adornments

5) Saubhagya-mandapam – the Pavilion of auspicious fortune

6) Maha-madhurya-mandapam – the Pavilion of grand sweetness

7) Samrajya-mandapam – the Pavilion of universal sovereignity

8) Surata-mandapam – the Pavilion of intimate amorous love

Radha and Krishna are one

anadir ayam purusa eka evasti tad-eka-rupam
dvidha vidhaya samaradhana tat parobhut
tasmat tam radham rasikanandam veda-vido vadanti

Bhagavan, Who is adi-purusa, is one and only one. But from time beyond antiquity, because of His desire to worship Himself, He became Two. Therefore, wise men well-versed in the Vedas call Sri Radha “Rasikananda” – She who delights in relishing.
 (Shyama-Rahasyopanisad)

ye radha yas ca krsno
rasabdhir dehadhaikah
kridanartha dvidhabhut

The combination of Radha-Krishna is an ocean of bliss. They are not separate entities. They assume separate forms for the purpose of lila. (play)

(Radha-Tapani-Upanisad)

Sixteen Names of Sri Radha

Spoken by Lord Narayana in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana

1) Radha – She Who is the bestower of ultimate divine bliss

2) Rasesvari – She Who is the Godess of the rasa-dance

3) Rasa-Vasini – She Who always lives within the rasa-dance

4) Rasikesvari – She Who is the Goddess of those who relish divine mellows

5) Krishna -pranadhika – She Who is dearer to Krishna than His own life

6) Krishna -priya – She Who is Krishna ’s most dearly beloved companion

7) Krishna -svarupini – She Whose form resembles Krishna ’s in many ways

8) Krishna -vamanga-sambhuta – She Who is generated from Krishna ’s left side

9) Paramananda-rupini – She Who is the personification of supreme ecstacy

10) Krishna – She Who bestows the best form of supreme liberation

11) Vrndavani – She Who always lives in Vrindavana

12) Vrnda – She Who always lives in the company of Her girlfriends

13) Vrndavana-Vinodini – She Who enjoys many pleasures in Vrndavana

14) Chandravali – She Whose forms has many moons

15) Chandra-Kanta – She Whose effulgence is like the moon

16) Sarac-candra-prabhanana – She Whose face glows like the full moon of August

Prayer Containing Ten Names of Radha, 
Ananda-candrika (The Moonlight of Bliss) by Srila Rupa Goswami

radha damodara-prestha
radhika varsabhanavi
samasta-ballavi-vrnda-
dhamillottamsa-mallika

1. Radha , 2. She who is dear to Lord Damodara, 3. His greatest worshiper,

4. the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, 5. She who is the crowning garland of

mallika flowers on the decorated braided hair of all the gopis,

Text 2

krishna -priyavali-mukhya
gandharva lalita-sakhi
visakha-sakhya-sukhini
hari-hrd-bhrnga-manjari

6. the first of Krishna ’s beloveds, 7. an expert singer and musician, 8.

Lalita’s friend, 9. She who is delighted with the friendship of Visakha, 10.

the flower blossom that attracts the black bee of Lord Hari’s heart.

Text 3 and 4

imam vrndavanesvarya
dasa-nama-manorama
ananda-candrikam nama
yo rahasyam stutim pat het
sa klesa-rahito bhutva
bhuri-saubhagya-bhusitah
tvaritam karuna-patram
radha-madhavayor bhavet

He who reads this confidential prayer, which bears the title Ananda-candrika (The Moonlight of Bliss), and which is beautiful with ten names of the queen of Vrndavana, becomes free of all troubles and decorated with great good fortune. He quickly becomes the object of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava’s mercy.