Your complaint is that you have met two of my young disciples in California and they appeared to you to have “a very negative outlook toward the people they meet.” Of course, I do not know the case and what the circumstances are, but kindly forgive my beloved disciples for any unkindness or indiscretion on their part. SSR 7

Source:http://www.harekrishnamelbourne.com.au/apology-from-prabhupada/

I felt we were being elevated to the spiritual world. He quoted from Visnujana Maharaja. Visnujana had a program in which he went by boat along the Ganges River, in Bengal, and chanted the holy names all day, stopping at villages along the way and chanting and speaking and distributing books about Krsna. Once, when I was in Los Angeles recovering from being sick in India, Srila Prabhupada received an issue of Back to Godhead with an article by Visnujana Swami, and he remarked that Visnujana had such nice realizations because he spent so many hours every day chanting.

While Niranjana Swami was speaking, I thought of an instructive incident that took place in Calcutta. The temple president there became very preoccupied in a business that he had started to raise funds for the temple, and meanwhile the temple had almost no money. Somehow, in the course of his absorption in the business, there was some neglect of the devotees in the temple. They were barely surviving. A strong-bodied devotee named Sudama Vipra, who had belonged to the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang, was so famished that he would take the remnants of the ghee wicks that had been burned in the arati and squeeze out whatever little ghee was left, just to get a little more nutrition.

The devotees were just waiting for Srila Prabhupada to come so they could explain the situation to him and get some help. There were not very many devotees in India then, and Prabhupada allowed them to meet him quite freely. And when he came, devotees did meet with him and speak with him. Eventually Prabhupada called a meeting of all the devotees to give them a chance to express themselves. One by one, they spoke about their difficulties. At one stage Tamal Krishna Goswami, the GBC for India, protested: “Srila Prabhupada, my only intention was to execute Your Divine Grace’s will.” And Prabhupada replied a little sarcastically, “Is it My Divine Grace’s will that the devotees should be disturbed?”

Srila Prabhupada listened very patiently and sympathetically to what all the devotees had to say, and he formed a committee to manage the temple. He said that they should meet every week and discuss all the programs and problems–how to do things in the best way–write their resolutions in a book, sign it, and then follow what they decided together.

But at a certain point Srila Prabhupada’s mood seemed to change. He told the devotees, “As long as we are in the material world, there will always be problems, but if we focus too much on the problems, we will forget our real business, which is to become Krsna conscious. Instead of thinking and talking about Krsna, we will think and talk about problems.” Then Srila Prabhupada spoke about himself, how much he had endured to spread Krsna consciousness. He had suffered two heart attacks at sea on the way to America, and in America he had a buzzing in his ears and terrible headaches. “I do not wish even to tell you how much I suffered. But I never complained. My principle was always, ‘Everything for Krsna, nothing for me,” and because that was my principle–everything for Krsna, nothing for me–I never had any complaint.”

Once, Svarupa Damodara dasa, who later became Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, told Srila Prabhupada, “I have just one program, the Bhaktivedanta Institute, and I am always struggling with so many problems, and you are managing the whole society, the whole mission. How do you deal with all the problems?” And Prabhupada replied, “Problems? I don’t see any problems. I only see service to my spiritual master.” That was Prabhupada’s mood, and that was his vision, and if we maintain the same spirit, we will not be inclined to find fault with other devotees or with external arrangements.

Srila Prabhupada was expert in inspiring and accepting service from devotees and potential devotees–everyone. When he first began at 26 Second Avenue in New York City, there was a bum who heard him speak. Srila Prabhupada said, “It doesn’t matter what a person was doing before, what sinful activities. A person may not be perfect at first, but if he is engaged in service, then he will be purified.” Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta describes:

“Suddenly a Bowery derelict enters, whistling and drunkenly shouting. The audience remains seated, not knowing what to make of it.

“Drunk: How are ya? I’ll be right back. I brought another thing.

“Prabhupada: Don’t disturb. Sit down. We are talking seriously.

“Drunk: I’ll put it up there. In a church? All right. I’ll be right back.

“The man is white-haired, with a short, grizzly beard and frowzy clothing. His odor reeks through the temple. But then he suddenly careens out the door and is gone. Prabhupada chuckles softly and returns immediately to his lecture.

” ‘So it doesn’t matter what a person is doing before, if he engages in Krsna consciousness–chanting Hare Krsna and Bhagavad-gita–it should be concluded that he is a saint. He is a saintly person. Api cet suduracaro. Never mind if he may have some external immoral habit due to his past association. It doesn’t matter. Some way or other, one should become Krsna conscious, and then gradually he will become a saintly person as he goes on executing this process of Krsna consciousness. . . . Krsna says that in such conditions, when one has decided to stop all immoral habits and just take to this process of Krsna consciousness, if by chance he does something which is immoral in the face of society, that should not be taken account of. In the next verse Krsna says, ksipram bhavati dharmatma: because he has dovetailed himself in Krsna consciousness, it is sure that he will be saintly very soon.’

“Suddenly the old derelict returns, announcing his entrance: ‘How are ya?’ He is carrying something. He maneuvers his way through the group, straight to the back of the temple, where Prabhupada is sitting. He opens the toilet room door, puts two rolls of bathroom tissue inside, closes the door, and then turns to the sink, sits some paper towels on top of it, and puts two more rolls of bathroom tissue and some more paper towels under the sink. He then stands and turns around toward the Swami and the audience. The Swami is looking at him and asks, ‘What is this?’ The bum is silent now; he has done his work. Prabhupada begins to laugh, thanking his visitor, who is now moving towards the door: ‘Thank you. Thank you very much.’ The bum exits. ‘Just see,’ Prabhupada now addresses his congregation. ‘It is a natural tendency to give some service. Just see, he is not in order, but he thought that, “Here is something. Let me get some service.” Just see how automatically it comes. This is natural.’ ”

Srila Prabhupada was also expert at utilizing, or dovetailing, different things in devotional service. Another time, someone brought a bunch of Mayavadi leaflets, some papers advertising a Mayavadi program. Srila Prabhupada was very strong against the Mayavada philosophy. He often said, “Anyone who says that he is god, he is dog.” So we were wondering what action Srila Prabhupada would take in protest to these Mayavadi leaflets, but he found a way to engage them in Krsna’s service. At the end of the program, when the devotees were distributing prasada to the guests, he had them hand out the Mayavadi leaflets for the people to use as plates for their prasada, thus engaging even the Mayavadis in Krsna’s service.

An interesting event took place some time later, when Srila Prabhupada was in Mayapur. He had taken prasada, and his servant had taken the plate with his remnants into the next room. Soon thereafter, Srila Prabhupada heard sounds of a conflict coming from the next room, so he asked his servant to find out what was happening. When Srila Prabhupada heard the report, he called for his two assistants, Tamal Krishna Goswami and Harikesa dasa, who had been arguing.

It turned out that several days earlier, Tamal Krishna had asked Prabhupada if he could eat what was left in the pots of prasada that had been prepared for Prabhupada, because he found the rice the devotees ate in Mayapur too coarse to digest. Prabhupada had approved Tamal Krishna’s request, but Harikesa, his cook, had previously been instructed by Srila Prabhupada that Prabhupada’s remnants should not be monopolized by his immediate staff but should be distributed to other devotees. Harikesa objected to Tamal Krishna’s taking possession of all the leftovers–thus the dispute.

As related in Hari-sauri’s Diary, “Prabhupada called them both onto the veranda. After hearing their arguments, he managed to resolve the issue to everyone’s satisfaction. . . . He gave his permission for Tamal Krishna to eat what was left in the pots, but also confirmed his desire that his prasadam be distributed. . . .

“Then he went on to explain that the Vaisnava attitude in dealing with one another is one of humility. He gave the example of the pilgrims that come here to Mayapur. As one man comes along the road, another tries to touch his feet. The former shies away from being so honored because he is thinking, ‘I am not a Vaisnava, I am just an ordinary man. I am simply trying my best to become a Vaisnava.’ On the other hand the person who is touching his feet is thinking that unless he gets the dust of a Vaisnava on his head he will not be able to advance.

” ‘Actually,’ Prabhupada said, ‘this is a fact. One has to be blessed by a devotee to become a devotee. And he who is the servant of the servant of the servant–one hundred times removed–is not worse than one who directly serves the guru. If one thinks, “Because I am direct servant, I am better than others,” then he is not a Vaisnava. To offer one’s respects to guru and not to his disciples, this is wrong. This is not Vaisnava. One has to be humble and try to serve all Vaisnavas–not some and not others.’ ”

A situation arose, I believe in New York, in which there was a lot of judging and criticizing among the devotees, and Srila Prabhupada said that we should be very careful about judging other devotees, because we never know what their actual consciousness is and we may not be able to properly assess their consciousness based on external appearances and behavior. He told a story about a brahmana and a prostitute who lived opposite each other on the same street.

All day the brahmana would sit before his window with his Bhagavad-gita, and across the street the prostitute would be doing her business with her customers. One day a calamity occurred and they both died. The Yamadutas and the Visnudutas came, the former to take the sinful soul to Yamaraja to be judged and punished, the latter to take the purified soul to Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Visnu. When the Yamadutas came to take the soul of the brahmana, he protested. “No, no. You are making a mistake. You are supposed to be coming for the prostitute. The Visnudutas are supposed to be coming for me.” But the Yamadutas replied, “No, we are not making a mistake. All the time you were sitting with your Bhagavad-gita, you were looking out your window at the prostitute, absorbed in her activities. So by your consciousness you are fit to be taken to hell and punished. And the prostitute, all the time she was with her customers, was glancing out the window at you and thinking, “Oh, that pious brahmana is so fortunate. All day he is absorbed in thoughts of Krsna–‘Krsna is driving Arjuna’s chariot, Krsna is speaking the philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna’–and in this way she was constantly absorbed in Krsna’s teachings and activities. By her consciousness she is fit to go back home, back to Godhead.”

Srila Prabhupada told this story to make the point that we should be careful about judging devotees–or anyone. We don’t know what their consciousness is. And if we become absorbed in their faults, real or imagined, our consciousness becomes faulty.

On separate occasions, when asked what the devotees should do about quarrelling in temples, Srila Prabhupada gave different but complementary answers. In one instance he said that if each devotee considers that he is a servant of the servants, there will be no fighting. In another case he said that the way to overcome dissention and dissatisfaction and fractions, to become united, was for the devotees to engage together in common activities. And as devotees, our main common activities are chanting and hearing about Krsna, engaging in kirtana, and taking prasada.

In relation to both accepting service from a person and not causing distress to any living entity, there was an incident in Indore, in the state of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. Srila Prabhupada was invited with some disciples to have lunch at the home of a relative of the royal family. There, we were served lunch in a beautiful room with chandeliers and a carved wood banquet table. Srila Prabhupada sat at the head of the table, and I was to his right. I felt very nervous, because the hosts served a really opulent feast, and I was trying to be very controlled, partly because I was afraid of getting diarrhea (something we were all prone to) and partly because I didn’t want Srila Prabhupada to think that I was a sense enjoyer. The prasada was really good but really rich, drenched in ghee.

I got through the meal, but then the host’s elderly father came around the table with second helpings of rasagullas. All the other devotees took seconds, but I refused. I was a brahmacari, and I was being staunch–and showing Srila Prabhupada. But the gentleman really wanted me to take. He repeatedly tried to give me one more, and each time I staunchly refused. Prabhupada saw that the host’s father was becoming disappointed. Finally Srila Prabhupada glanced at me, and with great love and compassion in his eyes and voice, he said, “You can take a sweet to make an old man happy.” And so I accepted another sweet. Srila Prabhupada wanted the old man to be happy, though later one devotee commented that by taking the sweet I had also made another old man happy–Srila Prabhupada.

It was really instructive to be with Srila Prabhupada and see how he, the world acarya and at the same time a spontaneous devotee, responded in different situations.

How Krsna, or a devotee of Krsna, can magnify the service of an aspiring devotee, can be seen in an incident that took place in Bombay. At the time, Srila Prabhupada was still struggling to get the Juhu land, and one morning he was sitting in his room discussing with his leading managers and even some guests how to solve this problem. Suddenly a very rough-looking man appeared at the door. He had a dark complexion and a muscular, sinewy build and was wearing only a simple white cloth around his waist. He was obviously a laborer. As we looked on, he walked into the room, came right up to Prabhupada’s desk–Prabhupada always sat on a cushion behind a low desk–and placed on the table a bunch of flowers that he had collected from somewhere. Then he bowed down, got up, and walked out.

Srila Prabhupada was so moved that he could not speak. For some moments he just looked down, and when finally he did speak, his voice was choked up. He said, “Just see this man; how did he even know I was here? Somehow he heard that there was a saintly person in the house, and he went and collected some flowers, the best he could, and came and presented them as an offering. I am so much moved.” Then he said, “In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati, that if one offers Him even a leaf or a flower with devotion, He will accept it. Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He is moved even by a simple offering of a flower or a leaf, and I am just an insignificant living entity, so how much more I will feel moved.” So, that is Krsna’s nature, and that is Srila Prabhupada’s nature, to take the smallest service and magnify it.

Srila Prabhupada mentioned different categories of devotees. He said that in the lowest category one will find a slight discrepancy in someone’s behavior and make a big thing out of it, in the next category one will see both the good and the bad but give more emphasis to the bad, and in the next category one will see both the good and the bad give equal consideration to both; the more advanced devotee will see both the good and the bad but give more importance to the good, and the highest devotee will see someone do a little service and make a big thing out of it.

Of course, we cannot artificially imitate someone on a higher platform, but by associating with more advanced devotees, we can learn from them how devotees think and feel, and also see practically how they behave–learn from them how to see the good rather than the defects in others and how to appreciate others’ service and not demand anything for ourselves.

One example that comes to mind is His Holiness Niranjana Swami, but I am really torn, because if I use him as an example, he may feel distress, but at the same time, it will be very informative and purifying for us. Because his mood is always to encourage other devotees, he might be willing to tolerate that discomfort, but at the same time, I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. Anyway, I already have, so I better just finish it up quickly.

I had the opportunity to host Maharaja in California and, with a team of devotees, serve him. Being naturally inspired by his presence, we all really wanted to give him the best we could, but once, it came out that we hadn’t provided him something that he could have used, because we didn’t know that he needed it. Two or three things came up like that, and I asked him, “Maharaja, why didn’t you say anything? Weren’t you disturbed by our lacking?” And he replied, “I don’t feel I deserve anything. That’s why I don’t ask, and that’s why I’m not disturbed.” That is a Vaisnava.

Association. I gain so much from the association of my godbrothers, who are so exemplary in so many ways. We shouldn’t think that we can learn only from our guru. We can learn from any devotee who is exemplary in any way. Part of being a servant of the servants is that you learn from the servants you serve–from their examples, their behavior, even small comments they make. They don’t have give a discourse or a class. You can learn from just a few words or a small action or gesture.

It is very purifying, because we come into the material world out of envy of Krsna, and that envy can be very deep-rooted and ongoing for countless lifetimes, but by serving and appreciating devotees and learning from them, from their exemplary behavior and words, we can become purified of that longstanding envy. Glorifying devotees is extremely purifying. In a way, it is easier to glorify Krsna–or Srila Prabhupada or our personal spiritual master–because He is in a different category, but to glorify our godbrothers and godsisters is very purifying, because we can see ourselves as being in the same category, so in a way it is easier for us to fall into bad ways of thinking–being envious and jealous and competing and wanting what they have and wishing we had it, and so on.

The association of my godbrothers has been extremely nourishing and encouraging and purifying for me ever since Srila Prabhupada’s departure. In an exchange I had with Tamal Krishna Goswami in Dallas, he confided in me that even with all his association with Srila Prabhupada and all three initiations–hari-nama, Gayatri, and sannyasa–he still didn’t feel that his relationship with Srila Prabhupada alone was enough to sustain him in his spiritual life. He said that he also felt the need for siksa-gurus, godbrothers whose instructions he took very seriously. And he named a number whom he considered to be his siksa-gurus–Sivarama Swami, Bhurijana Prabhu, and others. At that time my mood was different, because I had put a lot of faith in some godbrothers who had fallen down and left the association of devotees, and after those incidents I practically vowed, “I am never going to put my faith in anyone again–except Srila Prabhupada.”

So I heard what Tamal Krishna Goswami said, and I took it seriously, but it went against my resolution. The next morning, we went for the morning program, and after mangala-arati Goswami Maharaja and all the devotees chanted japa in the temple. The japa was very intense, and there were many nice paintings of krsna-lila on the walls. I was chanting and chanting, going deeper and deeper, when this thought just overpowered my mind–that what Goswami Maharaja had said was true: we can’t do it on our own. I realized, “I can’t do it on my own, just on the basis of my relationship with Srila Prabhupada. I do need siksa-gurus in my life.” And it came to me almost equally clearly that Goswami Maharaja was meant to be my siksa-guru, or at least one of them. I didn’t want to disturb him during his japa, but I felt that I just had to tell him. So I turned to him and said, “I thought about what you said, and I believe it is true. I also need guidance, and I think you are meant to be my siksa-guru.” He gave a knowing glance and a little smile, and we continued with our chanting.

The night before, I had told Goswami Maharaja that I felt very isolated, because at that time some of the biggest leaders in the movement had left, and there was chaos in large geographical areas of the movement. I was trying to deal with things in Mauritius and South Africa, and I wanted godbrothers to come there, but they were dealing with similar crises in other places–England, most of Europe, Australia, and parts of America. So I told Goswami Maharaja, “I really feel isolated in Mauritius and South Africa. No one can come there. I don’t know what to do for association.” He said, “You have to go out of your way to get it.” So if it has to be Kazakhstan, I will come to Kazakhstan–or Ukraine, or wherever. You all are really blessed, because Krsna sends senior devotees to visit you.

Although in general we don’t want to find faults in devotees, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that sometimes in order to protect a dependent devotee from bad association, we have point out the faults of another person. In other words, because the association and service of devotees is so important, we have to be able to distinguish between who is a devotee and who is not. Someone might be regarded as a devotee in popular circles who may actually not be a devotee. He could be a Mayavadi or a pretender or an atheist, and to protect innocent people from such association, we might have to point out who is actually a devotee and who is not. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that if any person argues that criticizing such nondevotees is an offense, that person’s association should also be avoided.

One of Srila Prabhupada’s friends in Bombay, Dr. Patel, had been born in a Vaisnava family and followed Vaisnava principles of purity, but he often talked like an impersonalist, and when Prabhupada would accuse him of being a Mayavadi, he would beg to differ: “No, Sir. I am a Vaisnava.”

One day, on a morning walk on Juhu Beach, Srila Prabhupada happened to criticize a famous Indian religious figure whom Dr. Patel revered, and Dr. Patel became very upset. “You cannot criticize like this!” he said. But Srila Prabhupada replied, “I am not saying. Krsna is saying: na mam duskrtino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah–anyone who does not surrender to Krsna is a fool, rascal, demon, the lowest of mankind. I am not saying; Krsna is saying.”

Still, Dr. Patel kept insisting, “You cannot criticize like that!” The argument escalated to the point where Dr. Patel was shouting at Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada was actually shouting back. Dr. Patel was a leader among his friends–he was a little intelligent, educated in England, a doctor–but even his friends were catching hold of his arm and saying, “Swamiji has a heart condition. Don’t upset him.” They tried to drag him away. He was shouting, and Prabhupada was shouting, and we all were very disturbed. Finally they pulled Dr. Patel away.

Back in Srila Prabhupada’s room, Tamal Krishna Goswami asked Prabhupada, “Why do you tolerate him? What is his actual position? Is he a Vaisnava? Is he a Mayavadi? What is he?” In response, Srila Prabhupada told a story about a man who could speak fluently in many languages. He came to a place, but nobody could figure out where he was actually from. In whatever language people addressed him, he immediately responded perfectly in that anguage. So it was a big topic among the village people–where he was from. Finally one man said, “I will find out.”

One day that man snuck up behind the speaker of many languages and gave him a very hard whack, and then the linguist began cursing in his original language. Srila Prabhupada said that Dr. Patel was like that. “He can speak like a Vaisnava, he can speak like a Mayavadi, he can speak like a nationalist,” Srila Prabhupada said. “He can speak many different languages expertly. But when I hit him where it really hurt, his real language came out.” So then Tamal Krishna Goswami asked, “Well, then why do you tolerate him?” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “It is our duty to engage everyone.” That is real compassion.

Of course, Srila Prabhupada accomplished many things in what he did. He also created a lot of interesting discussions for us to hear. And I think he actually liked Dr. Patel, and Dr. Patel actually liked and respected him, but they just had that relationship.

The next story also involves Dr. Patel and shows how Prabhupada appreciated his disciples and protected them. When Dr. Patel first heard about the devotees, we had just come to the Juhu land and were living in very simple tents. It became so hot that devotees often just slept outdoors, and they were getting bit by mosquitoes, and some got malaria, jaundice–so many diseases. Dr. Patel was really impressed by their sacrifice and surrender, so he took up a collection to give each devotee a thin mattress, a pillow, a mosquito net, and a blanket for the winter. He was a proud man, but he went to the big cloth market in Bombay, from stall to stall, to beg, and eventually he presented twelve sets, for all the devotees.

If you’ve ever lived in an ashram, you know how it is. After a while, one blanket went missing, then two pillows disappeared, and gradually the hard-earned gift that Dr. Patel had begged for the devotees was down to just a few remnants. And finally, the last mosquito net, the last pillow, the last blanket, and the last mattress all disappeared–there was not even a trace, not a single thread.

So one day, again on a morning walk, Dr. Patel brought up the topic of his gift of the twelve sets of bedding, complaining to Srila Prabhupada that the devotees hadn’t take care of them and that now nothing was left. Srila Prabhupada replied, “You know the reason? These boys and girls who have come to serve me don’t identify with the body. They don’t care if they have a mattress or a pillow or a mosquito net or a blanket. As long as they can chant the holy name and serve their spiritual master, they’re satisfied.” And then he said, “That moksa that you are so eager to get, they already have.”

In a very skillful and intelligent way, Srila Prabhupada had expressed his appreciation for the devotees, and he had spoken in such a way as to humble Dr. Patel and make him understand how exalted the devotees actually were. Of course, as we’ve matured, we’ve understood more about the principle of yukta-vairagya, about taking care of Krsna’s property–not for our sense gratification, but for Krsna’s service. But still, what Srila Prabhupada said was true.

So, Srila Prabhupada was merciful to us, his disciples, and he was merciful to Dr. Patel. He was merciful to everyone. He was an ocean of mercy. And if we can come close to that ocean, if some waves from that ocean hit us and eventually carry us into that ocean, our lives will be perfect, and we will be able to touch others with some waves from that ocean, and they will also benefit.

Hare Krsna.

[A talk by Giriraj Swami, September 5, 2010, Sri Vrindavan Dham, Kazakhstan]

Source:http://m.dandavats.com/?p=21850

One of the most memorable experiences during our last visit to Houston was our trip to the Estelle Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice near Huntsville, Texas on September 19, 2015.
Although we had not planned it into our schedule, Krishna apparently had, so we went along with Krishna's plan. It's always good to cooperate with Krishna's plan.
We were invited to participate by Gopal Krishna Prabhu of the Houston Temple. An enthusiastic and dedicated prison-preacher and alternates with Sridhara Shyama Prabhu from the Dallas Temple, to conduct regular, open-call Hare Krishna services—which comes under the wider umbrella of "Eastern Religions." But this was not just any ordinary program. It was their Janmastami celebration, so they had invited a huge number of inmates for the festival.

After clearing security, we entered a room full of men--maybe forty or fifty--who sat ready and waiting for the Hare Krishna Festival to begin. Comfortable sitting cushions were arranged around the edge of the room, and the devotees had set up a microphone and amplifier with speakers.

My husband started the kirtan. The inmates joined in enthusiastically from the very start, singing robustly like old kirtan veterans. As the kirtan picked up to a livelier pace, the men almost all stood up to dance. They bounced and jumped back and forth, up and down the length of the room, chanting more and more loudly and grinning from ear to ear as they felt more and more jubilant with the intoxicating sound of Lord Krishna's holy names. Even His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami joined in the dancing. The men formed a train, each man holding onto the shoulders of the man in front of him. They weaved and hair-pinned around the room like expert dancers from the old Agnideva kirtans of the seventies.

After the kirtan, His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami and Haripada Prabhu took turns speaking about Krishna conscious philosophy and answering the men's questions. They reminded the prisoners how we are all imprisoned in material bodies because of our desires and our actions in the past, and how the chanting of Hare Krishna breaks the chains of our imprisonment in this material world. Haripada Prabhu compared the chanting of God's holy names to a spiritual alarm clock that wakes up the soul to his true identity. Maharaja challenged the men to improve their lives by deepening their relationship with God and making loving service to

Him their life's prime focus. Some of the men asked questions and Maharaja suggested that my husband answer first. After my husband answered, then Maharaja would give his perspective on the topic. So altogether it was an enlightening, enlivening group discussion.

After the pravachan, a delicious and colorful feast of Krishna prasadam was served by the devotees who had come from both Houston and Dallas to help out with conducting the Huntsville Janmastami program. With satisfaction, I watched the eager faces of the inmates as they were served sumptuous helpings of paneer subji, rice, whole wheat bread and carrot halavah, all cooked and offered with love to Lord Kalachandji. The devotees also served generous helpings of sweet, juicy, crisp green grapes that had been brought by Sridhara Shyama Prabhu and his good wife Lalita-sakhi devi dasi.

During the feast, one very nice, sincere young man--I'll call him Haridas--sat with my husband and me and asked deep, soulful questions about how he could become more sincere and serious in his Krishna consciousness. We felt extremely satisfied preaching to Haridas, a deep soul connection.

As we said our good-byes to all the inmates and to the Dallas devotees as well, Haridas shook our hands warmly and looked into our eyes with an expression that said, “Please do come back again.”

As we drove back to Houston, we shared our impressions and experiences, which were all positive. We reminisced about the exhilarating kirtan, the exuberant dancing, the heartfelt questions, and how the men enthusiastically honored Krishna prasadam. We vowed to come back to the Huntsville Prison for another preaching program next time we're in Houston, Krishna willing.

Phalini and her husband Haripada now live in India most of the year.

Source:http://www.krishna.com/blog/2016/06/4/janmastami-huntsville-texas

ISKCON of Radhadesh, Belgium hosted the 2nd European Yoga Congress from May 27th to 29th, sharing insights and techniques with thirteen different yoga schools from twelve countries.

The seeds of the event were sewn in November 2014, when many different yoga organizations met at Yoga Vidya in Germany, Europe’s largest yoga ashram, to explore commonalities and possibilities for cooperation.

That gathering, attended by a delegation of a dozen ISKCON members, resulted in the creation of the European Yoga Confederation, and an agreement to hold a European Yoga Congress every two years.

This year’s event in Radhadesh was held in a giant nearly 1,000 square-foot tent on the grounds, as well as a satellite classroom in the temple. Some 160 to 180 people attended.

Yadunandana Swami, Rector of the Instituto de Estudios Bhaktivedanta in Spain, and Vaiyasaki Das, a Prabhupada disciple and renowned kirtaniya,  represented ISKCON Belgium along with several other devotees.

Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda, whose Portuguese Yoga Confederation has forty centers in that country, brought 70 people. Sanatan Dharma, an organization from Spain that has sixty centers, brought 30 people.

Other schools represented were Yoga Vidya from Germany; Yoga Surya from Czech Republic; Pauls Stradinš Clinical University Hospital from Latvia; the Russian Classical Yoga Federation; and the Association of Hungarian Yoga Teachers.

Swami Nirliptananda from the London Sevashram Sangha in the UK also attended; as did Dr. Bhandari Chandra Mohan from the Sulislaw Institute of Yoga and Ayurveda, Poland; and Master Sricharan Faeq Biria – a Sri Vaishnava and direct disciple of B.K.S Iyengar – from the Paris Iyengar Yoga Centre in France.

Proceedings began with a “pre-opening” at midday on Friday, during which ISKCON devotee yoga teachers Anandini Dasi and Ekachakra Dasi taught yoga asanas, culminating in a Hare Krishna kirtan.

The official opening followed with an invocation by the Omkara Choir from Portugal, who sang the Ganesh Sharanam to destroy any obstacles and create auspiciousness. Representatives from each yoga organization then spoke a few words, introducing themselves to the students.

The next three days included classes on hatha yoga, pranayamas, asanas, relaxation, meditation, karma yoga and iyengar yoga. There were also sessions on holistic health and wellness through a combination of yoga and Ayurveda; openining and harmonizing of chakras; and the physiological effects of asanas on the cardio-vascular and respiratory systems.

Other classes focused more on yoga philosophy. There were talks on conquering fear; self discipline and freedom; classical yoga education as an alternative to modern yoga trends; and the relevance of yoga for European society and world peace.

Some, like members of the Yoga Shivananda group, where more inclined towards worship of Lord Shiva, or had other differing approaches to ISKCON’s. Devotees, however, found commonality due to a strong message of cultivating virtue, spirituality and transcendence across all groups’ presentations.

In his talk on “The Need for a New World Order,” for instance, Swami Nirliptananda of the London Sevashram Sanga spoke about Dharma and spiritual values; how sense enjoyment is the source of problems in society; and how youth should be educated in yoga principles for a better world.

“Many speakers also quoted the Bhagavad-gita in a nice, respectful way, so that was another common denominator,” says Yadunandana Swami.

ISKCON, of course, emphasized Bhakti. In his well-received talk drawing from the Gita, Yadunandana Swami gave six reasons why Bhakti is powerful in yoga: it integrates karma and jnana; is the goal of karma and jnana; naturally fixes the mind; reveals all transcendental secrets; is easily performed; and invokes the blessings of God, which counteract any shortcomings.

Meanwhile Dhira Nitai Das from ISKCON Simhachalam, Germany, spoke about his Bhakti Yoga Teachers Association, an ISKCON-associated group that is trying to create a unified approach to presenting bhakti through classical yoga.

Finally Vaiyasaki Das gave a seminar on japa and kirtan, and held three interactive kirtans that escalated from meditative to getting everyone up on their feet, dancing and chanting. 

These kirtans were a major part of the event’s cultural programs every evening, which also included performances by renowned flute player Hariprasad Chaurasia and Latvian master Bharat Natyam dancer Gaura Nataraja Das.

“Gaura Nataraja performed beautiful dances dedicated to Lord Krishna and His devotees, Suryadeva, and Lord Shiva,” says Yadunandana Swami. “He also did one on the verse from the Ishopanishads “Tamaso ma jyotir gamah,” going from the darkness into the light, that delighted the yogis in attendance.”

Meanwhile guests were thrilled at the hospitality and accommodation provided by Radhadesh devotees, and the delicious prasadam with vegan and gluten-free options prepared by Gundica Das from Barcelona and Shyamananda Das from ISKCON London.

The cherry on top came when the hosts offered gifts of books to all the presenters and prasadam from the Radhadesh bakery to all participants during the closing session.

“Many expressed that they were happy to have been hosted in such a friendly atmosphere, and that they felt very welcome,” Yadunandana Swami says. “Some yoga teachers said they want to come back to Radhadesh, and even bring their students for a retreat.”

On Tuesday May 31st, after the Congress, all the participating organizations also attended a session at the European Parliament in Brussels on what yoga and spirituality can contribute to the betterment of society.

Speakers included many of the same yoga masters who spoke at the Congress, as well as MEP Carlos Zorrinho, Indian Embassy Councelor Ankan Banerjee, and General Secretary of the Quality Council of India Ravi P. Singh.

They discussed how yoga could help solve today’s problems like the environment, corruption, wars, and terrorism; the benefits of yoga practice in physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual well-being; and how it can help people develop virtues like compassion, a spirit of selfless service, and peacefulness.

“More than one speaker also mentioned the principle of service to God as an essential to success in transforming society from the present difficult situation of degrading values, to an experience of peace and happiness for individuals and communities,” says Yadunandana Swami.

Ultimately, despite any differences in approaches, it was this that bonded all the participants of the 2nd annual European Yoga Congress. 

Source:http://iskconnews.org/iskcon-hosts-2nd-european-yoga-congress,5606/ 

Much can be said about compassion, and although we’ve covered many of its different facets, there is still much more that can be said, specifically in terms of our relationships with each other as practitioners of Krsna consciousness.

This whole theme expands from one line in The Nectar of Devotion—that one should not give unnecessary trouble to any living entity. This is a principle of Krsna consciousness that every Vaisnava should aspire to achieve because, as we say every day, vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca, krpa-sindhubhya eva ca/ patitanam pavanebhyo, vaisnavebhyo namo namah. “We offer obeisances to the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord, who are full of compassion for the fallen, conditioned souls.” It is a very important quality of a Vaisnava to be compassionate with others. And one of the symptoms of this compassion is that a devotee cannot tolerate seeing others suffer.

It is extremely important to not criticize others. Criticizing causes unnecessary disturbance, not only to those whom we are criticizing, but also to others who have to hear it. Of course, there may be some who are not disturbed—who actually relish hearing others criticized. In a letter, Srila Prabhupada compares such persons to flies, who like to go into sores. So, some may not be disturbed, but inevitably criticism of other will cause some disturbance.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in Sri Bhaktyaloka, talks about the necessity of controlling the tongue. He says that if a person cannot control his tongue, he will speak unnecessarily about others, and by doing so, he will cause disturbance and create enmity. That—prajalpa—is a whole topic in itself. One time I gave five lectures on prajalpa, all from Bhaktyaloka. Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives a lot of good instruction about the necessity of controlling the tongue when speaking about others, because speaking about others is actually a natural proclivity of the soul, but usually the topic is Krsna, at least for those who understand the primary purpose for utilizing the tongue.

So naturally, Vaisnavas and the residents of the spiritual world are always filled with topics about somebody else, but they are usually speaking about a dark blue boy who plays the flute. The gopis all get together in little groups and are also talking about this dark blue boy, giving various descriptions about His behavior and especially about the different activities He’s done.

So it is natural to speak about somebody else, but unfortunately, if the tongue is not controlled, then immediately when we get in the association of others, we will begin speaking about somebody else and will be looking for something to say about them. And if we are not careful, or if we do not control our propensity to speak about others, eventually we may say something that may be disturbing either to the person about whom we are speaking or to somebody who has a relationship with that person, and before we know it, we are causing harm to others.

Actually, causing harm to others is equally distributed—it comes back to us. There are many sastric references about how we suffer by causing suffering to others.

Those who are not on a platform on which they can always speak about Krsna but have a desire to always speak about Krsna may restrict themselves from speaking about others out of fear of suffering. And generally that’s good. At least they are not speaking unnecessarily about others and causing disturbance to others, but the motivation of not wanting to suffer is not completely pure. When a devotee actually has awakened his spontaneous attraction to always speak about Krsna, he doesn’t have to worry about speaking critically or unnecessarily about others.

In the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.13.2), in a discussion with Pariksit Maharaja, Sukadeva Gosvami says that paramahamsas are those who have accepted the Supreme Personality of Godhead within the core of their hearts and that they are naturally inclined to always speak about Krsna in the same way as materialists are always inclined to speak about women and sex. In other words, paramahamsas—those who have accepted Krsna within the core of their heart—have a spontaneous attraction to speak about Krsna. Why? Because their minds are always absorbed in thoughts of Him. And because their minds are always absorbed in thoughts of Him, everything they see reminds them of Him. That is their vision. Therefore they are always speaking about Krsna. What are materialists always absorbed in thoughts of? It doesn’t take much to trigger some discussion about mundane subjects for people whose minds are always absorbed in mundane thoughts.

When I was working in construction, the people I worked with were generally attracted to these topics. Not only would they speak about them quite often, but any object that would pass by would immediately be a topic for discussion. Spontaneous. People like this don’t have to practice; it is spontaneous. Why? Because their minds were always absorbed in these thoughts. As soon as they see a catalyst, immediately it comes out—spontaneous discussion about these topics.

So Sukadeva Gosvami uses this analogy. It is something we can relate to, though we understand that the paramahamsas’ spontaneous inclination to always speak about Krsna is borne from their deep love for Krsna within the core of their hearts. Prabhupada used the example of a parent who loves his or her child: Whenever the parent sees the toy of the child, immediately the parent sees the child; whenever the parent hears the voice of the child, he or she sees the child. If the parent sees the shoes of the child, he or she sees the child. And so on. The parent immediately makes these connections because anything that is connected to the child immediately elicits thoughts of the child.

So, we are speaking about the necessity of controlling the tongue, to not cause disturbance to others or, simultaneously, to ourselves. This is also connected with the topic of compassion. We should always overlook the shortcomings of others and simply see the desire that is there in their hearts to do something for Krsna. And we should be willing to accept whatever offering somebody makes, no matter how small—just like Krsna, who considers whatever benedictions He gives to be very insignificant in comparison with even a very small offering from the hand of His devotee. The Lord magnifies, increases, the size of whatever may appear to be a very small offering. He magnifies it to make it very, very great.

Since that is the Lord’s nature, the Vaisnavas, who are representatives of the Lord, are also meant to embody that compassionate nature of the Lord. Ultimately, the highest embodiment of the Lord’s compassionate nature is none other than Srimati Radharani, because She pleases Krsna the most. Therefore She is very compassionate. Although doing something that could please Krsna is otherwise very difficult for us, Krsna makes Himself accessible to be pleased when we offer something to Radharani. Not only is Radharani the embodiment of this compassion, but the spiritual master, who is also in that same line, is an embodiment of compassion as well. In fact, all Vaisnavas should be compassionate by being willing to accept whatever little bit someone may offer and to utilize it for the service of Krsna.

In a letter dated February 4, 1972, Srila Prabhupada, covering the same theme, wrote:

“It is not so much that because there may be some faults in our godbrothers and godsisters, or because there may be some mismanagement or lack of cooperation, that this is due to being impersonalists—no. It is the nature of the living condition to always have some fault. Even in the spiritual world there is some fault and envy.”

Prabhupada appears to have been addressing a devotee who wrote to him complaining about mismanagement or lack of cooperation. He is going to explain that actually, people who think that everything is going to be utopia are the impersonalists. He says:

“In the spiritual world there is some fault and envy—sometimes the gopis will quarrel over Krsna’s favor, and once Krsna was so much attracted to Radharani that by mistake he tried to milk the bull instead of the cow, and sometimes when the gopis used to put on their dress and makeup for seeing Krsna, they would be too hasty and smear kumkum and mascara in the wrong places and their ornaments and dresses would appear as if small children had been trying to dress themselves and they were not very expert—like that. There are so many examples. But it is not the same as material fault or material envy. It is transcendental because it is all based on Krsna. Sometimes when one gopi would serve Krsna very nicely, the others would say, ‘Oh, she has done so nicely; now let me do better for pleasing Krsna.’ That is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice.”

Prabhupada is saying here that there are faults and there is envy. Krsna is milking a bull instead of a cow, the gopis are not dressing themselves properly, and some of the gopis are competing with each other. They say, “Oh, this gopi is doing well. I want to do better than her.” Ordinarily we would think that there’s envy, but Prabhupada is explaining that, yes, there is envy in the spiritual world, but no malice.

Still, we should not confuse the envy in the spiritual world with our envy in the material word. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura describes lust, anger, greed, bewilderment, madness, and envy and discusses how these can be dovetailed for the service of the Lord. He says, “Lust I will dovetail by offering the fruits of my work for Krsna’s satisfaction; anger I will dovetail with the service of the Lord by becoming angry at those who are envious of Vaisnavas; greed I will dovetail by becoming greedy to hear topics of Krsna, in the association of Vaisnavas; bewilderment will be there because I will feel bewildered without achieving my worshipable Lord.” And he will be mad—with ecstasy—while singing the glories of Krsna.

But he explains that envy cannot be dovetailed. We cannot be envious of somebody and use it for Krsna’s service. But still, as Prabhupada is explaining here, completely purified envy exists in the spiritual world. What is the symptom of purified envy? That it is always to increase Krsna’s service—without ever any malice. In contrast, when we are envious in the material world, we want to put others down. We want to either do better than others or achieve something better than them, and the way we do it is by diminishing what they are doing.

For instance, we might be envious of a devotee who gets a lot of respect; we might think, “I want that respect too.” Sitting in the middle of a group of devotees who are speaking respectfully about the devotee, about a particular service he did and how he got mercy, we might think, “He didn’t do so much; I did better than that, I did more than that. How can they be speaking about what he did when look at how much I did?” When there is envy, the mind immediately diminishes—makes insignificant, insubstantial—what the person has done. It begins with a thought. Then it may progress to a few statements, especially if we become intolerant—“He is getting too much glorification. Wait a minute—look.” You may say something, examine what he has actually done. That is malice. We want to diminish somebody else’s service, and by diminishing their service we try to raise ourselves up.

In the material world people make progress, move up, by pushing everyone else down. If I push everyone down and criticize them, then, “Here I am! I haven’t spoken about any of my faults, because they don’t exist. Now you recognize who I am.” That’s envy, and it becomes very dangerous in a society of devotees because, as we explained, the devotee’s mentality should be to always want to push others forward but him- or herself stay back. Gopi-bhartuh pada-kamalayor dasa-dasanudasah—to become the servant of the servant of the servant.

Generally, the gopis don’t want to be in Krsna’s personal association; they don’t want to enjoy with Krsna. They get higher pleasure, millions of times higher, from taking the position of service—service to the Divine Couple—and staying in the background. But Srimati Radharani makes all sorts of different arrangements to bring the gopis forward in their connection with Krsna, and when She does that, She experiences a pleasure that is ten million times greater. She is not doing that because She is thinking, “I want that bliss.” No, actually She makes all these arrangements to bring others forward in their relationship with Krsna because She is so compassionate, so merciful. And in doing so, She experiences a bliss ten million times greater than being with Krsna, because Her only desire is to please Him. How could She experience so much bliss unless Krsna was pleased? It is not possible to experience so much bliss unless Krsna is pleased by that service.

So that is the mentality. The Vaisnava is not thinking of how to push others down and obstruct service to Krsna—because pushing others down, diminishing them, means that we are actually obstructing, getting in the way of, others’ service to Krsna. Then we think, “My service is the most important. And because my service is most important, everybody should simply assist me in my service and then everybody will be rightly situated.” Such envy—thinking that “I am the source of all service to Krsna. Everything is emanating from me. The wise who know this perfectly engage in my service and worship me with all their hearts.” That is envy. We have to be very careful; the Vaisnava mentality means “How can I increase Krsna’s service?”

So, in the spiritual world there is envy, but there is never any malice. No gopi is ever thinking of obstructing another gopi’s service or causing harm to another gopi. That is what Prabhupada is saying here. He just presents the Absolute Truth—there is envy, but it is transcendental, without malice.

“So we shall not expect that anywhere there is any utopia. That is impersonalism. People should not expect that even in the Krishna Consciousness Society there will be utopia. Because devotees are persons, there will always be some lacking—but the difference is that their lacking, because they have given up everything to serve Krsna—money, jobs, reputation, wealth, big educations, everything—their lackings have become transcendental because despite everything they may do, their topmost intention is to serve Krsna. ‘One who is engaged in devotional service, despite the most abominable action, is to be considered saintly because he is rightly situated.’ The devotees of Krsna are the most exalted persons on this planet—better than kings, all of them—so we should always remember that and, like the bumblebee, always look for the nectar, or the best qualities, of a person. Not like the utopians, who are like flies, who always go to the open sores, or find the faults in a person, and because they cannot find any utopia, or because they cannot find anyone without faults, they want to become void, merge, nothing. They think that is utopia—to become void of personality.”

Prabhupada is saying here that actually utopians are impersonalists, because they think utopia means that there are no faults. Prabhupada is explaining that everywhere in creation you are going to find some fault—even in the spiritual world. Utopians think that there should be no faults (though what are they always thinking about? Other people’s faults!). But Prabhupada said no, faults exist everywhere. But what is a devotee, what is a Vaisnava? A Vaisnava is one who always overlooks these faults and just simply sees the good qualities. A Vaisnava is called adosa-darsi—“he sees no faults.” These words are used in Caitanya-caritamrta in relation to a Vaisnava named Haridasa Pandita. He could not see others’ faults. He just couldn’t see them, because all he could see was the good qualities in everyone, and he would always glorify the good qualities he would see. Although faults would be there, he wasn’t interested in looking at them.

We have to see the spark, the potential for devotional service in every living being. Everyone has it. If they don’t display that potential, then as Vaisnavas, as preachers of Krsna consciousness, we should be compassionate upon them and be thinking that if they are not displaying their potential for devotional service, maybe it is because some Vaisnava hasn’t been merciful to them and hasn’t touched their heart. Instead of looking at their faults or looking at their material qualification, we should see their spiritual qualification. Visnujana Swami gave the example of a person who comes to the temple and has the desire to sweep the floor for Krsna. All the rest of his life may be totally abominable, but he has some desire, he wants to do something for Krsna.

So, a Vaisnava should always try to bring that out in others, that desire to do something for Krsna. He is not always trying to push them down by saying, “No, everything has to be done my way.”

Now, of course, we know that sometimes in management there are certain decisions that must be made, and that everyone has to work in a single direction to cooperate with the authorities. But in another letter, Prabhupada talks about the duty of leaders to bring out the voluntary spirit in others:

“So, the future of this Krsna consciousness movement is very bright, so long as the managers remain vigilant that sixteen rounds are being chanted by everyone without fail, that they are all rising before four every morning, attending mangala-arati. Our leaders must be careful not to kill the spirit of enthusiastic service, which is individual and spontaneous and voluntary. They should try always to generate some atmosphere of fresh challenge for the devotees, so that they will agree enthusiastically to rise and meet it. That is the art of management: to draw out spontaneous loving spirit of sacrificing some energy for Krsna. But where are so many expert managers?” (SP letter dated December 22, 1972)

The point, as Prabhupada is saying, is that the Vaisnava, by preaching, should awaken people’s spontaneous, voluntary desire to do something for Krsna. Everybody should be encouraged to do something for Krsna. Of course, we cannot whimsically do something and say that it is in Krsna’s name. But a Vaisnava is always very merciful in how he engages others and accepts whatever small offering they present, and utilizes it for Krsna’s service.

Inspiration comes from hearing. It comes from Vaisnava relationships that are free from envy, free from pride, and filled with compassion. Compassion means wanting to see others advance even if they have to step on your head to go forward. That is compassion; that is Vaisnava mentality. Then inspiration is there and everybody volunteers—“Can I do this? Can I do that?”—because it is based on the proper platform: Vaisnava principles, freedom from envy, and a desire to see everybody engaged in Krsna’s service. This is the Vaisnava way. Prabhupada talks about this in so many places. In the Seventh Canto, Fifth Chapter of the Bhagavatam there is a wonderful purport about Vaikuntha mentality.

We will let Prabhupada’s letter conclude this discussion:

“So if there are sometimes slight disagreements between devotees, it is not due to impersonalism, but it is because they are persons, and such disagreements should not be taken very seriously. The devotee is always pessimistic about the material world, but he is very optimistic about the spiritual life; so in this way, you should consider that anyone engaged in Krsna’s service is always the best person.

“I am very pleased that you are assisting your godbrothers so nicely. Yes, this is our real position, to be servants of the servants of the servants. And by your quiet and humble attitude, you shall set the example of Vaisnava so that all may learn from you, and very soon their puffed-up attitude will disappear and they will come to you and seek your advice in matters.” (SP letter to Atreya Rsi, Bombay, February 4, 1972)

Thank you very much. Are there any questions?

Devotee: In Srimad-Bhagavatam class today a devotee said that when a person glorifies you to your face, you should consider him your enemy and that when someone criticizes you, you should consider him to be your very good friend. But now you are saying that a devotee doesn’t see the mistakes of others. So what is the correct understanding?

Niranjana Swami: Sometimes a person may have the responsibility to find fault. Prabhupada said, “It is my duty to find some fault.” If somebody actually has a position that requires him to educate, train, or discipline others, he may have to point out some fault. But if the devotee who is the recipient of that criticism is sufficiently inspired in devotional service, he will want to know what his faults are—he will relish the opportunity to hear them—so he can make progress in Krsna consciousness. But if everybody thinks it is his or her duty to find fault in the same person, it can be a little hard to swallow. Of course, that person may be so humble that he is ready to accept criticism from everybody. And it is certainly to his (or her) advantage to be so genuinely humble that he see everybody as his superior and is ready to take instruction from anyone.

But the questions are whether it is the proper time and place to find fault in someone and whether you are the proper person to do so—in a compassionate way. If you can’t do it in a compassionate way, better to hold your tongue and to look inside and ask yourself, “Am I seeing this fault in this person because I have the same fault but don’t want to recognize it in myself?” It is very easy to find fault in those around us. What is difficult is to find it in ourselves. Generally, what disturbs us most is the same fault that we have but don’t want to confront in ourselves. It is a lot easier to point it out in someone else. So, if I can’t be compassionate, better to hold my tongue. If it is really something that is detrimental for that Vaisnava, I can tell it to someone who can be compassionate, and go back and look into my own heart.

Hare Krsna.

[A talk by Niranjana Swami, September 5, 2010, Sri Vrindavan Dham, Kazakhstan]

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=9853

Lexington, a small city in Massachusetts and home to one of the sites where the American Revolutionary War began, enthusiastically welcomed Lord Jagannath during the Patriot’s Day Parade celebrated on April 18 this year. Devotees of the Lord participated in the parade pulling the Lord’s cart or ratha and were very warmly applauded and encouraged by the Town and the over 10,000 residents attending the parade. Lord Jagannath’s cart also won the second place in the float competition for the most beautifully decorated and attractive display. Over 80 local residents joined in partaking Lord Jagannath’s prasad and then pulling the cart for a 3-mile walk through Lexington’s downtown area. 11 little girls led the parade performing Bharatnatyam and Odissi dances for the pleasure of the Lordships. We hope Srila Prabhupada accepts this as a small offering on his 50th anniversary year. We are very encouraged by the Town and residents’ overwhelming support and enthusiasm and pray to the Lord that he continues to bless the Town and its residents.

Source:http://m.dandavats.com/?p=21864

IN THE NAME OF philanthropy … people are feeling compassion for suffering humanity throughout the world,” (SB 5.8.10) Srila Prabhupada writes. But “no one knows where compassion should be applied. Compassion for the dress of a drowning man is senseless. A man fallen in the ocean of nescience cannot be saved simply by rescuing his outward dress the gross material body.” (Bg. 2.1)

“Without knowing the need of the dormant soul, one cannot be happy simply with emolument of the body and mind. The body and the mind are but superfluous outer coverings of the spirit soul. The spirit soul’s needs must be fulfilled.” (SB 1.2.8)

“Material compassion, lamentation, and tears are all signs of ignorance of the real self. Compassion for the eternal soul is self-realization. …” (Bg. 2.1)

“A Vaisnava is para-duhkha-duhkhi; he is always unhappy to see the conditioned souls in an unhappy state of materialism.” (SB 6.10.9)

“It should be understood that sages, saintly persons, and devotees are not unconcerned with the people’s welfare. … Actual devotees and saintly persons are always anxious to see how the people can be made happy. …” (SB 4.14.7)

“Forgetful men do not know the right path of peace and prosperity. However, the sages know it well, and therefore for the good of all men they are always anxious to perform acts which may bring about peace in the world. They are sincere friends to all living entities, and at the risk of great personal inconvenience they are always engaged in the service of the Lord for the good of all people.

“Lord Visnu is just like a great tree, and all others … are like branches, twigs, and leaves of that tree. By pouring water on the root of the tree, all the parts of the tree are automatically nourished. … The modern materialistic society is detached from its relation to the Supreme Lord. And all its plans which are being made by atheistic leaders are sure to be baffled at every step. Yet they do not wake up to this.” (SB 1.1.4)

“A nondevotee works for his personal sense gratification or for the sense gratification of his family, society, community, or nation, but because all such activities are separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they are considered asat. The wordasat means bad or temporary, and sat means permanent and good. Activities performed for the satisfaction of Krsna are permanent and good, but asat activity, although sometimes celebrated as philanthropy, altruism, nationalism, this “ism” or that “ism,” will never produce any permanent result and is therefore all bad. Even a little work done in Krsna consciousness is a permanent asset and is all-good because it is done for Krsna, the all-good Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is everyone’s friend.” (SB 8.9.29)

“One should understand that in the material world, however one may try to make adjustments, he cannot be happy. To cite an example I have given many times, if you take a fish out of water, you can give it a very comfortable velvet bedstead, but still the fish cannot be happy; it will die. Because the fish is an animal of the water, it cannot be happy without water.” (TYS, Chapter 3)

“Anyone who misunderstands this perishable body to be the self and who works for it in the name of sociology, politics, philanthropy, altruism, nationalism, or internationalism, under the false plea of the bodily conception of life, is certainly a fool and does not know the implications of reality and unreality.” (SB 3.5.11)

The Mission of Life

Lord Krsna taught, “It is the duty of every living being to perform welfare activities for the benefit of others with his life, wealth, intelligence, and words.”

Srila Prabhupada comments, “This is the mission of life. One’s own body and the bodies of his friends and relatives, as well as one’s own riches and everything else one has, should be engaged for the benefit of others. …

“Of course, in human society there are many institutions to help others, but because philanthropists do not know how to help others, their propensity for philanthropy is ineffectual. They do not know the ultimate goal of life (sreya), which is to please the Supreme Lord. If all philanthropic and humanitarian activities were directed toward achieving the ultimate goal of life to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead they would all be perfect.” (SB 6.10.10)

“Humanitarian work may be temporarily beneficial for the body, but because a living entity is spirit soul, ultimately one can show him real mercy only by revealing knowledge of his spiritual existence.” (SB 4.29.1b)

The true humanitarian, therefore, is one who gives spiritual knowledge.

Such a person must be spiritually qualified as a servant of God.

“Only a person who is fully in Krsna consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Krsna is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone.” (Bg. 5.25)

“If man does not serve God, how can he know how to serve humanity? If he does not receive information from God about how to serve humanity, what is the value of his humanitarianism? The best way to serve mankind is to preach the message ofBhagavad-gita so that everyone can become a faithful servant of God.” (DS p. 251)

“When a person is advanced in spiritual consciousness, or Krsna consciousness, he naturally becomes very sympathetic toward all living entities suffering in the material world. Naturally such an advanced person thinks of the suffering of the people in general. However, if one does not know of the material sufferings of fallen souls and becomes sympathetic because of bodily comforts, … such sympathy or compassion is the cause of one’s downfall. If one is actually sympathetic to fallen, suffering humanity, he should try to elevate people from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness. … As far as the material body is concerned, we cannot do anything for anyone.” (SB 5.8.9)

“There are different kinds of welfare activities in this material world, but the supreme welfare activity is the spreading of Krsna consciousness. Other welfare activities cannot be effective, for the laws of nature and the results of karma cannot be checked. It is by destiny, or the laws of karma, that one must suffer or enjoy. For instance, if one is given a court order, he must accept it, whether it brings suffering or profit. Similarly, everyone is under obligations to karma and its reactions. No one can change this.” (SB 8.7.44)

“However, by the grace of Krsna, we may raise a person to spiritual consciousness if we ourselves follow the rules and regulations. If we give up our own spiritual activities and simply become concerned with the bodily comforts of others, we will fall into a dangerous position.” (SB 5.8.9)

“Love of humanity means raising people to the point where they can understand the real goal of life. We do not serve humanity by keeping people in darkness. We must enlighten others with knowledge, and ultimate knowledge means understanding God, our relationship with God, and the activities of that relationship. That is real humanitarian work. Mankind must be informed of the nature of the body and the soul and the necessities and goal of the soul.” (DS p. 409)

Everyone’s Friend

“Because people are without Krsna consciousness … they are being punished by the laws of material nature…. No one can check this, not even by introducing so many relief funds and humanitarian institutions. Unless the people of the world take to Krsna consciousness, there will be a scarcity of food and much suffering.” (SB 4.18.8)

“One should try to raise the consciousness of the conditioned soul to the platform of understanding that Krsna is his actual friend. If one makes friendship with Krsna, one will never be cheated, and he will get all help needed. Arousing this consciousness of the conditioned soul is the greatest service, not posing oneself as a great friend of another living entity.

“The power of friendship is limited; therefore we cannot be of any real benefit to the people in general. The best service to the people in general is to awaken them to Krsna consciousness so that they may know that the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend is Krsna. Then this illusory dream of lording it over material nature will vanish.” (SB 3.27.4)

“People are lacking knowledge of God, and we are preaching this knowledge. This is the highest humanitarian work: to elevate the ignorant to the platform of knowledge.” (Dialectic Spiritualism p. 16) Therefore, “Everyone … with a materially comfortable condition in this world should join the Krsna consciousness movement to elevate the fallen souls. … Instead of wasting one’s life for temporary bodily comforts, one should always be prepared to give up one’s life for better causes. After all, the body will be destroyed. Therefore one should sacrifice it for the glory of distributing religious principles throughout the world.” (SB 6.10.8)

Spiritual Philanthropy

Srila Prabhupada started the International Society for Krishna Consciousness on the principle that everyone should work for the highest welfare. While others were opening hospitals to attend to the needs of the temporary body, Srila Prabhupada was opening hospitals for the soul.

“There are medical clinics to cure bodily diseases,” he writes, “but there are no such hospitals to cure the material disease of the spirit soul. The centers of the Krsna consciousness movement are the only established hospitals that can cure man of birth, death, old age, and disease.” (Cc Adi 10.51)

In the centers for Krsna consciousness and elsewhere, people can solve the problems of life by performing the simple and easy sacrifice recommended for this age: “If people somehow or other assemble together and are induced to chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, all the purposes of yajna [sacrifice] will be fulfilled. The first purpose is that there must be sufficient rain, for without rain there cannot be any produce….

“Therefore, in this age of Kali people all over the world should refrain from the four principles of sinful life illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication, and gambling and in a pure state of existence should perform the simple yajna of chanting the Hare Krsnamaha-mantra. Then the earth will certainly produce all the necessities for life, and people will be happy economically, politically, socially, religiously, and culturally. Everything will be in proper order.” (SB 9.20.26)

Source:http://m.dandavats.com/?p=21858

The movement of Lord Caitanya is accommodating all kinds of people but that is not an excuse to stay how we are. We bring all this negative stuff with us, in our hand luggage… just like how when you fly onRyanair, you put on a coat with big pockets and stuff each possible pocket because you not going to let them cheat you out of your money for that extra little kilo. No way! There are devotees who have special vests with special pockets; like a forty kilo vest. Anyway, that is going on and at one point we say, “Do we really need that much luggage?”

If you are a regular traveller and every time you have some extra kilos, you got to cheat! You put your suitcase on the scale for it to be weighed and meanwhile you keep the end hanging over a little bit and with your foot you lift the suitcase… and there five kilos saved, just like that! And if you are strong, then even more. There are so many tricks being employed when boarding a plane when we want to bring on extra luggage.

That is what we are doing here in this movement also, in our spiritual life – we are just bringing on this extra luggage which is causing lots of extra dead weight. So in our movement, there is a lot of dead weight. I know people who are perfect in saying, “Haribol, jaya, nectar, bliss prabhu!” And who can offer the flowers at exactly the right moment but they are not chanting sixteen rounds. That is ballast, dead weight, and that kind of association makes our movement heavy. When we are living in a community and there are lots of people who are not very much into actively cultivating the spiritual activities then that creates a burden on the community and weighs down the community.

Source:https://www.kksblog.com/2016/06/a-heavy-issue/

Tilak, the clay “V” marking found on the foreheads of devotees of Krishna around the world, is called Gopi Chandan, but sastra says the Gopi’s tilak is made from sandalwood, not clay. So why the name?

It is sometimes thought tilak is clay from the bank of the sacred Ganges, but this is also not correct. If you do a little research, you will find that tilak is mined from a dry river bed in Dwarka, Gujarat, nowhere near Vrindavan.

So what’s the connection with the Gopis?

It is in the Gargha Samhita that the origins of the pale yellow Gopi Chandan that devotees in ISKCON place on twelve places of their bodies every day is found.

During the the time that Lord Krishna was playing the role of a King in Dwaraka five thousand years ago, the Gopis of Vraja went on pilgrimage to Kurukshetra. Unbeknownst to anyone, they secretly met Krishna during the night in a forest outside of royal city to perform Rasa dance with their beloved. After dancing and playing musical instruments for what seemed like a day of Brahma, the Gopis were very fatigued.

Krishna took them to a nearby lake where they refreshed themselves by bathing and sporting with Shyamasundara in the cool water. As they swam, all the sandalwood, mascara, fragrant oils, saffron and musk they had applied to adorn their beautiful, transcendental bodies washed off and settled at the bottom of the lake, merging with the clay of the lake bed.

It is this same riverbed where we get our tilak from today. It is literally the divine  Chandan coming from the bodies of Gopis themselves, and has been used by devotees of Krishna to decorate their bodies since that time.

Some people say this tilak still carries the fragrance of those heavenly substances.

It is said in the Padma Purana that because this clay is so supremely pure, if one is wearing this Gopi Chandan while performing Yajnas, Homas, or other Vedic rites, even if mantras are chanted without proper pronunciation or an error is made in ritual, one will still get the full benefit of those acts.

We will continue describing the glories of Gopi Chandan tilak in a future article.

Source:http://www.iskconvrindavan.com/why-we-call-tilak-gopi-chandan/

Small temples are where the big action is! ISKCON Nellore is famous as a fired-up preaching center in Andhra Pradesh. Under the leadership of His Holiness Sukadeva Swami Maharaj, the temple is doing exceedingly well on all grounds. Preaching is on full steam, with their large congregation now actively preparing for the upcoming “Gudur Rath Yatra,” set to happen in another one month. Devotees also distribute books regularly. During a recent program, they distributed 300 copies of Bhagavad Gita As It Is at Jammalpalem, near Kavali, on the occasion of Antyesti of late Ketureddy Kesava Reddy.

ISKCON Nellore also recently held a public preaching program on Hanuman Jayanti at Gudur,. Temple leadership is actively inspiring the congregation to get involved and develop the land into a well-shaped, thriving devotional farm community that is dependent simply on the Lord’s mercy and the provisions of Mother Nature. Moving towards a sustainable ISKCON Nellore, the temple leadership has already implemented standards for deity worship such as:

a. Use of Ahimsa Milk for all deity bhoga offerings; the temple is protecting 4 cows for this purpose

b. Use of Cow dung dhoop/incense sticks worship in the temple

c. Use of fire-wood for cooking of bhoga for the deities.

Since I am visiting from ISKCON of Silicon Valley His Holiness Sukadeva Swami Maharaj gave me the opportunity to present Sets book distribution presentation and SriSurabhi Campaign topics to the devotees in Sunday feast and Srimad bhagavatam classes. All Glories to His Holiness for spearheading the entire Nellore ISKCON yatra.

It is inspiring to see these fresh and exciting developments at ISKCON Nellore. As a visiting devotee, I felt that these are simple practices that can be easily implemented by other ISKCON centers; for the continued glory and bright future of ISKCON, 50 years from inception by Srila Prabhupada.

“Book distribution and farms: these are our solid programs. They can change the whole world’
— Srila Prabhupada

Source:http://m.dandavats.com/?p=21875

Sacred chanting on the Emerald Isle will mark 30 years of blissful service.

The title read, “Now Irish Eyes are Smiling”, an article in the Back to Godhead magazine by Mathuresa Dasa covered the installation ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Govinda, the presiding deities at ISKCON Northern Ireland’s Govindadvipa temple. The year was 1986, Ireland was still in the midst of a guerrilla warfare conflict, and it was a cover feature and multiple page spread in the publication that was the mainstay of ISKCON media coverage in the pre-internet and social media era. The installation of the most beautiful Deity form of Radha and Krishna came just under two years after the Hare Krishna island, locally known as Inis Rath (island fort), was purchased by the devotees.

The temple building, an old manor house, once witnessed top business families, associates of Lords and Ladies and even the famous Winston Churchill, all of whom used the scenic area of Upper Lough Erne in the border Lakelands of Ireland for hunting. Now it was claimed as a religious settlement and home for Krishna and His devotees, continuing the other tradition of the region, monastic settlements and religious prayer albeit previously in the Christian tradition.

In weeks of rain, mass activity and imported help, a crew of devotees excitedly worked to prepare for the big event the installation of Their Lordships presided over by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami. Late night construction, sewing and cooking all climaxed in a splendidly sunny day when Sri Sri Radha Govinda were greeted by hundreds of people eager to see this ancient Vedic ritual for calling God into His murti form. Multiple fire sacrifices were held simultaneously, dignitaries spoke, the local community came for the first ‘open day’ on the island. Entertainment continued in a major festival atmosphere, which was covered by the television, national and local media. A helicopter repeatedly brought people high overhead to witness the spectacle. The first arati/worship ceremony took place and everyone thronged to see the beautiful forms that have now graced Govindadvipa for 30 years!

Fast forward to 2016 and ISKCON worldwide are celebrating 50 years of serving founder acarya’s vision for an international and worldwide society that preached love of God, Krishna, on a mass scale. Ireland is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the installation of the most beautiful forms of The Lord, Sri Sri Radha Govinda.  Like many other centres, changes in management, fluctuations in resident numbers and financial demands have been issues, but still the worship goes on. Some of the same personnel are present and Their Lordships look as beautiful as ever. Others that were involved all those years ago will also attend the celebrations witnessing how the legacy that they were involved with at the start still continues.                  

A weekend of kirtana (congregational sacred chanting) is planned to mark the 30th Anniversary, commencing on 22nd July (Friday evening) and finishing on 24th July (Sunday evening) with a focus on kirtana being the fundamental way to preach love of God in this age and accessible to all.  IT is expected that this will build into the annual Govindadvipa kirtana festival reflecting the revived interested and mood in the movement. While facilities are limited and simple, camping is available and the devotees welcome people to join in this celebration. It is hoped that those who have had the great mercy of visiting and seeing Sri Sri Radha Govinda will share memories and support the occasion and these can be done via a Facebook page by following the link where readers will also be kept up to date on scheduling and sponsorship/birthday gift opportunities. Simultaneously a crowd funding appeal has been launched to repair the temple on Go Fund Me.

With memories come videos and photographs, reflecting the pre-digital age, and invitations to share these between devotees from the global community are open. These can be uploaded up-loaded to the Facebook link or emailed directly for inclusion to rg302016@gmail.com.  Devotees old and new are welcome to participate and devotees worldwide can get involved by logging onto the Facebook page where birthday gift ideas and necessities are listed, sponsorship opportunities and updates to the schedule.

Source:http://iskconnews.org/irelands-iskcon-5030-sri-sri-radha-govindas-installation-event-celebrations,5611/

Lord Krishna protects Iskcon Delhi from terroristic attack.
Times of India: NEW DELHI: In the winter of 2015, when Indian agencies were busy tracking down alQaida modules, two Jaish-eMuhammed terrorists had quietly sneaked into the capital. Intelligence sources said the duo rented a room in Lajpat Nagar, assembled six improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and recced at least four places for a strike, including the Taj Mahal and two city spots -Iskcon temple and the Select Citywalk mall in Saket.
The IEDs were specially prepared, using ingredients such as shampoo, a highly placed source told TOI. By mid-December, the two were ready to carry out the strike. A control room was set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and instructions were being passed by the handler, who was in touch with the mastermind, codenamed MAR.
Fortunately, things went wrong. During a dry run a day before the attack, an IED “leaked” while being detonated in the bathroom. This led to a thick cloud of smoke in the building, caused the Jaish duo to panic and hurriedly flush the IEDs and all other material down the toilet.
Still out of the Indian agencies’ radar, the two men took a return flight to Kabul.
Their act may have remained under wraps forever. But things changed in 2016. Since January this year, the noose around Jaish tightened after the attack on the Indian consulate. Four terrorists neutralized in that attack wrote about the planned 2015 strike being a revenge for Afzal Guru, who was executed for his role in the Parliament attack of December 2000.
Two months later, around Holi, the Kabul police arrested two Jaish operatives named Ahamd Khan Durrani, an Afghan national, and Abdul Qadri, a Pakistani, and recovered explosives and ammunitions from them. During interrogation, they spilled the beans on their plot to attack the Indian capital. Their travel details corroborated their claims. The Indian consulate was informed and the intelligence establishment taken in loop.
To read the entire article click here: http://goo.gl/LWSmiQ

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jaish-came-close-to-striking-Delhi-last-December-deterred-by-IED-leak/articleshow/52442081.cms

Lecture on Bhakti is joyful and fruitful by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu

(Bhagavad Gita Chapter - 10, Text - 17)

(His Grace Caitanya Charan Prabhu is a monk and spiritual teacher in the time honored tradition of bhakti yoga. He is a editor of Back to Godhead, which is the official international magazine of the Hare Krishna movement.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Hearing good news about others affects people in different ways. Personally, the feelings it evokes within me serves as a barometer of how emotionally healthy I am and my relationship with the individual. Feelings of joy and "they totally deserve it" are what I aim for. However, in instances where it dredges up not so pleasant emotions, I realize I have internal work to do. 

Just as pain serves as an indication that something is wrong with the body, similarly, negative emotions can serve as an indicator that we need to pay closer attention to an unfulfilled need or issue. That something can vary from person to person, but it's important to identify it and work to see what is needed to heal it. The importance of this topic was highlighted again by something that recently happened. 

I have been extremely fortunate to be surrounded by practitioners of bhakti yoga my entire life. In order to invoke the blessings and share in the good news that I am to be married soon, my dear parents have been personally inviting well-wishers and friends for the occasion. Today I'd like to share with one reaction that melted my heart.

Although I wasn't physically present to witness the reaction, my parents later narrated that upon hearing the news and receiving an invitation, one well-wisher, who is an extremely deep and advanced bhakti yoga practitioner, immediately started to inquire as to my parents' assessment of my future husband's character. Satisfied with their responses, he expressed his heart-felt congratulations. That in itself totally melted my heart. An uncle-like figure in my life, I don't often get to see this well-wisher, but his genuine concern and care for my well being was palpable even through my parents voices.

Not soon after, he came back and immediately pressed a small gift in my father's hand. This was totally above and beyond the realm of anything any of us expected as his sincere well-wishes were all that we were seeking. 

Although this may seem quite simple and ordinary, I assure you, it was anything but. The sense of reciprocation and gratitude to have such an exemplary well-wisher in my life was and is still overwhelming. In fact, while meditating on the incident a few days later, it was all I could do to restrain the tears filling my eyes.

As an aspiring practitioner of bhakti this is what I too long to be: the happy well-wisher to others, especially in their time of success and joy.

Source:http://theaspiringchanter.blogspot.in/2014/10/the-effect-of-good-news.html

I received this gift of a figurine on the first day of Kartik, the sacred month we are presently observing. Since I’m mostly confined to my recovery room it has been a welcome gift. I look at it many times during the day and remember the lilas (sacred stories) connected to it.

The figurine is of baby Krishna and His mother, Yasoda. If we are all ready to accept God as a person then it means there are other persons around him. He has parents, aunts, uncles, friends, lovers, community –  interacting with Him at different times and in different places. All this in the timeless realm of eternity where nothing ends yet everything is new, changing, and full of variety. Hard to fathom but fathom we must if we are to begin a serious relationship with God…as a person.

In this story, Krishna is in trouble. In a fit of anger over his mother’s lack of attention he broke pots of fresh butter, fed his friends and the monkeys too. It was quite a mess and Yasoda was furious. He ran when he saw her coming but she caught him and decided to keep him close to her, and out of trouble, by binding him to a large grinding mortar.

Sometimes we may think our children are little gods and we are afraid to control them. Here, Krishna actually is God and he is afraid of his mother. This is what bhakti-yoga is all about – understanding God beyond awe and reverence. Understanding God as a person in loving relationships with others who forget he is God and love him for who he is. That is the mood of the innermost part of the spiritual world – Vrindavan. That’s where we will find Krishna.

In our search for Krishna we must learn this Vrindavan mood. It is where love reigns supreme. We all know how love makes us feel in this world. It trumps everything. So too for Krishna. When we can start to feel our love for Krishna we will experience another kind of love – something way bigger and brighter than anything of this world. That’s the kind of love bhakti is.

This bhakti is within all of us. When we make an ardent search we can find it. And when we do we will touch a reservoir of love so unlimited, have a relationship with Krishna so extraordinary, that our lives will never be the same. We will find our true and complete self. Such is the power of bhakti. Such is the power of love.

I’ll leave you with an invitation to read more about Mother Yasoda and Krishna in Krishna Book http://vedabase.com/en/kb/9.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/gods-mother/

The problem is not really the storms. We know they will come sooner or later. The problem is the shelter.

We are all blasted at some point – hit hard by inevitable pain due to loss or damage. Sometimes it’s a huge nature storm that will take our house away or an emotional storm due to loss and broken-heartedness. It could be a disaster that forces big changes in our lives that is totally our doing and we saw it coming, or something that seemed to come ‘out of the blue’. And don’t think that just because we are living godly lives that we are storm-free. Nope. Devotees of Krishna get big storms like everyone else.

When we get hit we may ask – why me? Where did this come from? What did I do to deserve this? The source of the storm doesn’t really matter at that moment. When it rains hard we have to find shelter. Where do we go?

The story of Krishna lifting the great mountain of Govardhan is a story of shelter. A huge tsunami of a rain storm hit the village of Vrindavan where Krishna lives and everything was chaos. At one point Krishna lifted the mountain and told everyone to come under the ‘umbrella’. People and animals ran under even though Krishna was balancing this huge mountain on his hand. They loved and trusted Him. Trust is the key word. He offered shelter, they accepted and were safe.

The story calls us to take shelter of Krishna and gives us confidence to do so. If we hold onto Krishna during our storms we will be able to make it through it. He will help us. Why is it sometimes not easy to do that? It demands trust and vulnerability. Trusting that even when things are really bad, the bigger picture is really good, and if we hold on to Krishna He will hold on to us.

“Just surrender to me,” Krishna says in the Gita. “I will protect you. Do not fear.” We tend to cringe at the word “surrender”. Switch that word out for “trust”, or “lean on me”, or “call out my name”. Surrender means, I can’t do it on my own anymore. I need your help. Maybe that’s the hardest thing for us to say to God. The very person who can help us the most and we can’t get past our ego.

One reason we can’t ask is because we have already blamed God for the storm. We love and serve you, we think, so why are you giving me this lousy situation? Do we think God’s favorite thing to do is sit on high dishing out miseries? Do we ask ourselves, why doesn’t he intervene when things are really bad? He doesn’t. We have our independence and He doesn’t mess with that. Otherwise there is no space for voluntary love and He is not interested in being that kind of controller. If we don’t want Him in, he is not going to push himself on us. But if we do want Him in, He does help. If we open that door we will see that, and feel it.

Storms don’t last forever. They too will pass. Often taking shelter is being able to stand under his “umbrella”, even if we can’t understand everything. To accept…and be…and wait. When we do that, when we can feel that vulnerability, we will begin to feel the presence and loving touch of Krishna everywhere.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/the-storms-of-our-lives/

There comes a time, sometimes regularly, where we may feel, Oh, Krishna. I can’t do this anymore. This ‘this’ will be different for everyone. It happened to Arjuna in the Gita – he wanted to give up, not to fight, and go off to the forest to be alone. He did not want to deal with people and life’s problems. He told Krishna: I’m not fighting, I can’t do it, I can’t see the point, better if I don’t act and move to the side.

If it can happen to Arjuna, who had everything going for him, including talent, skill, health, family, and especially friendship with Krishna, it can certainly happen to all of us. The struggle for existence, as daily life is described in our teachings, can sometimes just be too much. We will feel like Arjuna and have a desire to give up and go away.

Arjuna was a good person. He did nothing wrong and still he felt despondent. Of course that was connected to him not wanting to do anything wrong; the impending war and killing was something he was having grave doubts about. And he was a warrior! In his blood was the natural desire to protect the innocent and ensure good leadership in the world. Still he was overwhelmed, doubtful, and unsure of his next steps.

Our fight may be with an illness, a slow recovery, mistakes, a sudden death, a mountain of bills or debts, a challenging work environment, tension in relationships, a loss, a failure, a breaking of the law. Or it maybe we see how broken the world is and feel helpless to help. The list is endless.

How to respond to such feelings of inadequacy? How to work through them, gathering our resolve, and moving forward? We need to be able to do this otherwise such feelings will wear away at our energy and we will slowly grind to a halt.

By the end of the Gita, Arjuna has found his understanding, found his sense of self in relationship to the context of his life. Here are three of Krishna’s teachings in the Gita that helped him recover and re-energize:

We have to do something:
We are a soul with a body. One one level, spiritually, we have nothing to do with this world. The soul remains untouched. One another level, while in the body, we are connected to the world and must move within it. We are forced to act, even if all we do is breathe and eat. And every move has an impact on our future – both action and inaction. Be careful Arjuna, Krishna says. Running from difficulty may seem like a good move, but will solve nothing.

Do what we are good at:
Krishna told Arjuna, you are a warrior. To go off and be a renunciate is not your calling. You won’t be able to do it, and it will be neither good for you nor the world. Better do what you are called to do by your natural talents and disposition than trying to avoid your duty because it’s hard. We should try to adopt this mood ourselves. What is our best way to serve, to give, to live in community with others and Krishna? What is our part to play, even though we may sometimes want to be or do something else. We have to find our best fit.

Don’t do it for ourselves, but for Krishna:
Even if we know what to do and it’s what we are good at, we can still feel off center. That’s because life becomes dry if we are only trying to live it for ourselves. Working for others is a step up, but that still wasn’t enough for Arjuna. Ultimately we need to do it for Krishna. Krishna told Arjuna, “Remember Me and fight.”

How can we apply these things? We should think, “I am doing this for Krishna so let me do it in the best way possible.” If I am cooking for friends, let me cook as if it’s for Krishna and make it fabulous. If I am repairing a wall, let me see it as Krishna’s wall and make it perfect. If I am managing, selling, planning, teaching, parenting, drawing, doctoring – whatever – let me do it to the very best of my ability. Let me develop that ability. Let me be and do the best for Krishna.

Arjuna had Krishna in his uncertainty and so do we. With Krishna, we can face anything. And that makes all the difference.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/my-arjuna-moment/

High streets are intriguing places; a microcosm of modern life. It’s where people descend in their thousands, searching for something extra to enrich their existence. These urban hubs are a melting pot of entertainers, campaigners, shoppers, beggars and advertisers, a marketplace for the latest commodities and ideas, a space for meeting, sharing and exploring. Here you’ll find people from every imaginable socio-economic background, swarming like bees around a hive.

Enter the monks. Yes, you read it right. Crazy as it may sound, this is where we spend many days and weeks; standing on street corners, speaking to random people, and showing them spiritual books. It’s quite a task to stop someone in their tracks, cut through the myriad of thoughts, penetrate the bubble of their life and begin a dialogue about deeper subject matter. Some people naturally tune in to the concept of spirituality and wisdom, while others are sceptical, uninterested and otherwise-engaged. Either way we always have a laugh, a smile and learn something from each other!

Amongst whatever else I do in life, this simple and sublime activity is what I enjoy most. It’s a humble attempt to positively contribute to the world, and something which reconnects me with my calling. Sometimes it’s agonizingly difficult, other times it feels like a dream-like drama being orchestrated by higher powers. Either way, it’s where I feel at home. My most memorable, magical and moving experiences in life have been in bustling high streets sharing spirituality with people. With the arrival of the festive season, we embark upon another month-long tour. The rough route for this year: London – Birmingham – Manchester – Liverpool – Leeds – York – Bolton – Chester – Worcester – Southampton – Poole – Bournemouth – Portsmouth – Chichester – Winchester – London (and a lot of smaller towns in between!). Maybe see you along the way...

Here are some clips from our summer adventures:

Source:http://sutapamonk.blogspot.in/2014/11/street-spirituality.html

Just as a very good sweet will have something hidden inside of it, or a company will have the inner group of key people, the Gita has a core made up of four verses. These are called the Catur Sloki (catur = four, and sloki = verses), and they summarize the entire Gita.

The eighteen chapters of the Gita are themselves divided into 3 parts. The middle six chapters focus on bhakti and are “protected” on either side by teachings on karma-yoga (the first six chapters) and jnana yoga (the focus of the last six chapters). It’s considered that the Bhakti chapters are the heart of the Gita and the catur-sloki are located in that heart.

In the catur-sloki you find the essence of the teachings of the 700 verses of the Gita. They establish the scope of the Lord’s opulence (verse 8), the result of truly knowing those opulences (verse 8), how pure devotees worship Him (verse 9), and how He reciprocates with their devotion (verses 10 and 11).

Here they are:

• 10.8 I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their heart.
• 10.9 The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.
• 10.10 To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.
• 10.11 To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

We see in these verses the loving exchanges between the Lord and us, which is the highest point of self-realization. We are trying to love Him and He is loving us by lighting up our heart in reciprocation. It’s love at the beginning, middle and end – just deeper and deeper feelings and expressions of that love.

These four verses are easy to learn and are a daily spiritual tonic to recite. One person I know has a clever way to learn verses. He sticks the verse on a door he uses a lot, and every time he goes out he recites the verse. He said he learns verses in no time by that method.

You can learn both the Sanskrit and English, or either one. Find the verses here atvedabase.com. These are great verses to have in your head. They can lead you to the heart of it all.

Source:http://iskconofdc.org/the-heart-of-the-gita/

I found today’s blog in a shop window. ‘Give Presence’, the sign said. How clever I thought. In the gifting season of the year, the greatest gift of all is the gift of our presence, on all levels. Whether it is being present in a conversation, being present with our meditation, being present while driving – what does ‘being present’ or ‘giving presence’ mean?

It’s simply ‘being with’. Not half being with, not almost being with, but fully being with. We can’t do this all the time, but we surely must have good doses of it throughout the day.

In our spiritual practice presence is essential. In Bhakti the goal is to be fully present in our relationship with Krishna. Fully present especially when we are directly serving Him – chanting on beads, singing in kirtan, studying the teachings, serving the Deity. It seems so easy but it’s often not. And here’s why.

We are spiritual in origin but we are covered by layers of material nature. First by the outer body and then by the subtle body (mind, intelligence, and false ego). This material nature, called maya or ‘that which is not’, is such a powerful illusion that it takes all our energy to remove ourselves from it. It’s like swimming upstream. It’s difficult to distinguish the body from the soul.

So when we come to our chanting or offering prayers we need to consciously work at being present. First we still our body and call it to be quiet. It could be how we sit, or where we chant, or how we breath. Then we face the mind and that’s where the real work begins. We basically live in our mind and it’s restless. Arjuna in the Gita calls the mind “restless, turbulent, and more difficult to control than the wind.”

Those of us who meditate every day know this. The mind can visit the world while we sit in one place. The mind can be totally thinking of other things while we chant Krishna’s name. We will travel down the labyrinthine ways of our mind endlessly, being more present in our mind than the spiritual practice at hand.

So when we talk of presence we speak of mindfulness, or bringing the mind to the present moment. For a devotee of Krishna, mindfulness means bringing the mind to Krishna. It means leaving this world behind and placing ourselves in Krishna’s world. It means filling our mind with the beauty and truth of that sweet Lord. It means controlling the mind by filling the mind with Krishna, leaving no space for anything else.

To be fully present, to give presence in Krishna consciousness, is to love. It is to love and be loved and to be absorbed in that exchange with Krishna. To be so fully caught in it that nothing can distract us from drawing our mind o the object of our love, like rivers moving to the sea. We can experience this to some extent in this world – a mother to her child, or new young lovers to one another. Bhakti invites us to enter that feeling with Krishna. To get there we have to practice first, while in the end it will be spontaneous – a love that cannot be stopped. A mind full of love.

Give presence this season. Give presence every day. Give presence to the most important person in your life, Krishna. It is the best gift you can give yourself and others.