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.
ISKCON Desire Tree's Posts (19908)
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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)
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
True spirituality teaches one how to live a dutiful life of contentment and true compassion.
Contentment comes from sincere service to God and all living beings. True compassion is to engage a living being in the service of the Lord so that that living being can find contentment.
Contentment is the foundation of real happiness and since the Lord is eternal, contentment in His service leads to everlasting happiness. Contentment does not mean passivity; it means to be happy with one's sincere efforts to serve, knowing well that the results are not determined by one's efforts alone.
Compassion without connection to God is incomplete and one-sided, and hence it's ineffectual in the ultimate analysis. Godless material well-being alone cannot lead to contentment and happiness, nor can it naturally lead to spiritual sentiments. On the other hand, spirituality does not preclude material well-being at all; in fact most material activities, including compassion in terms of material well-being, can be spiritualized easily. Spiritualized welfare activities are in fact spiritual activities of true compassion since they use material situations to connect people to God; such service leads to contentment and happiness for both the servers and the served.
May all social workers, who really want to do all-round good to all, provide the God-connection to all whom they serve.
Source:http://thebandwagonofmoltengold.blogspot.in/2014/12/contentment-compassion-and-god.html
I hear the geese before I see them. The loud calls cause me to look up and watch their beautiful V formation move across the sky. They are heading south, to warmer shores. Wise birds.
Life is a journey and we are also going somewhere. Whether we are flying, or being flown, we will arrive somewhere. Nothing is static in this world, we are at all times being pushed forward. Where do we want to go? – that’s the question we should ask ourselves. Or, Where must we go? Or where can we go to find our best, most complete and fulfilled self?
I remember a song from my younger days, “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like what life is showing you?” At that time my answer to both questions was No. I know more now.
There is a longing in the heart that comes from the deepest part of our essential being, our soul-self (I say soul-self, as we often speak of the soul as a part of us, forgetting that the soul is us). In any case, this longing, this pinch in the heart, calls us to question our life, our time, our very existence. This is a very good thing and if we seek to truly answer these questions we will find our way, not only in this life, but beyond.
Life is short, the days are long, and the journey often zig-zagged. How can we stay in charge of the journey and not give up and be pulled in all directions? Here is what those enduring (and endearing) geese taught me:
Find our Group – spend time with those who are flying in the same direction, and our energy and achievements are doubled. Fly with those who nourish, enliven, and inspire us in spiritual life.
Fly High – stay above the fray of everyday life. Let it disappear beneath you at days end. It’s over and let it go. Keep your spirits, your head, and your heart in the higher altitudes of refined and gracious spirituality.
Take Turns – the geese are so great they rotate leadership, sometimes leading, sometimes supporting but always participating. Become a servant and a support for all.
Make Noise – geese make noise along their journey and so should we. Talk, laugh, share, be open, and constantly communicate. Write, sing, and dance along the way. Chant your mantras with great joy! If we have faith that the end of the journey is good, then we should make exuberant noise along the way. Let others look at us and smile.
Fly from the Cold – not the weather, but the cold thoughts that ice up our brains. Fly south like the birds, to the warm energies of forgiveness, generosity, gratitude, gracious acceptance, respect, service, and devotional moods.
Atheists write volumes of books explaining how or why God does not exist. But they cannot even explain why or how things that they believe exist exist; unless of course you consider chance as a logical, reasonable, and convincing explanation.
Due to some reason the atheists have got estranged from God. So much so that they are willing to be dogmatic about their chance explanation rather than allowing even a possibility of God.
Science was initially hailed as the search for truth but now it has become more of a rigid institution that is stifling free enquiry into the nature of truth. If trying to prove that there is nothing beyond matter is encouraged, then trying to prove otherwise should be equally encouraged.
What is the goal of humanity? To spread happiness and joy by harmonizing with the truth or to stop further fundamental enquiries about truth and try to be happy in potential ignorance?
The whole world is more or less is ignorant of the spiritual dimension of life. More research into matter is not bringing any fundamentally new knowledge to mankind.
It is now time to enquire into the spiritual dimension of life, individually and collectively.
Source:http://thebandwagonofmoltengold.blogspot.in/2015/01/its-now-time-to-enquire.html
We live in the age of Kali, which is a difficult age. Here’s what is said about it: “O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men but have short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.”
With such a flattering background, it’s not surprising that early morning spiritual practices are hard for us. If it’s the choice between more sleep or getting up for meditation, it can be a battle between the mind and the mattress. We know getting up is good for us, but…
The key is the night before. I know someone who turned his whole life around by working on ‘the night before’. So here are some night before tips to guarantee a good early morning japa meditation the next day:
1. Find our beads: There is nothing worse than getting up and being ready to start chanting and we can’t find our beads. We can’t remember where we left them – maybe the car, or the kitchen, or our backpack? Find them and put them in an obvious and visible place.
2. Put clothing out: It’s good to take a shower before chanting. Set out clean clothes so you don’t have to think about it then.
3. Establish a meditation area: Make a place with a good sitting cushion or chair. It should be clean and tidy.
4. Place the alarm clock/ phone on the other side of the room: Sleep is powerful. It is considered the mode of ignorance, and it is hard to pull ourselves out of it. When the alarm goes off and we have to get out of bed and cross the room to turn it off, there is a better chance we will stay out of bed.
5. Get enough sleep: 6.5 to 7 hours is good for most people. Some need less, some more. If we sleep at 10pm we can get up at 4.30am and get at least a good hour of chanting in before we start the rest of our day.
6. Unplug early: Wind down by turning off the computer and reading an inspirational book or having a good conversation. It’s also a good time to reflect on the day or write in a journal. In the morning don’t go online until later. Nothing worse than reading some disturbing early-morning e-mail or the latest news of the world before we start our meditation. Both will be patiently waiting for us after our japa.
The main point is to get to our early morning practice with the least amount of difficulty or distraction. Each one of us will have our own circumstances to contend with. But for all of us, the early morning hours are pure gold when it comes to meditation. Treasure this quiet time and draw from it. It is one of the biggest factors that influence our quest for spiritual knowledge and realization.
Source:http://iskconofdc.org/the-night-before/
There seems to be a tension between comfort and aspiration in our lives. We seek to explore, to grow, to achieve, yet we also desire security, safety and certainty. It’s clear, however, that we often have to sacrifice one to get the other. If we opt to remain in the comfort-zone, we may have to live with the inevitable feelings of being humdrum, run-of-the-mill and unexciting. On the other hand, if we dive for our dreams we’ll have to ready ourselves to brave the rocky road of uncertainty and opposition. Every significant achievement has its price tag.
In reality, we usually go for something in between. Decisions on where to pitch our life are largely based upon the prevailing social mood of the day. What is everyone else doing? What are the expectations of society? What will keep everyone happy?Breaking free of such barriers and pursuing our ‘inner calling’ is a tough job. As life responsibilities increase, it’s easy to get boxed in, sealed tight and shelved up. Shifting the daily routine becomes more and more taboo. Doing something different may be seen as unintelligent, rash and irresponsible. And even when there are no grounds for such accusation, we conveniently accept those opinions just to reinforce our comfortable life and maintain the status quo.
Life has its way of grounding us down. Very few people have a dream, even fewer seriously consider how to fulfill it, and only a rare soul actually has a decent shot. In an age where security, establishment and balanced prosperity have become the guiding beacons for our comfortable life, a pause for thought may be worthwhile. The Bhagavad-gita reminds us of a broader vision that needs to be etched into our consciousness. The inevitable laws of nature mean we come to this world empty-handed and we leave empty-handed. Everyone, without exception, is guaranteed to lose everything. Although our temporary constructed situations of life seem so real, they are all washed away by the ruthless waves of time. We’re building castles in the sand. It sounds counterintuitive, but I’m trying to invest quality time in developing this “vision of eternity”, hoping that it will make me a whole lot more dynamic in this temporary phantasmagoria.
As I wander around in the spiritual hub known as Vrindavana, I’m reminded of a local saying which is beginning to make more and more sense to me: “All reality outside of Vrindavana is actually a dream, and all dreams in Vrindavana are actually a reality.”
Source:http://sutapamonk.blogspot.in/2015/01/living-dream.html
