Purushottam Nitai Das: How many of us remember our days in our mother’s womb? Although we spent 9 months there but we remember nothing. How many of us can recollect each and every moment of our life which we have spent till now? Of course we can remember in bits and pieces but not in entirety. In fact if we retrospect our life’s spent moments then it will pass in a flash. What does it convey? That the moment which is very precious to us now will lose its relevance in future and we will forget it. Not that we forget many incidents of this life but the Vedic books tells us that we have forgotten many lives which we have lived here in different forms and in different species. This is why when Arjuna, at the onset of the Mahabharata war, bemoans that his relatives will die then Krishna reminds him that as soul all living beings are eternal and so they will never die. When a soul loses its current bodily dress made of flesh then according to his karma he gets a new dress made of flesh. This repeated cycle of birth and death (soul getting new bodies) continues as long as we are in this world and here we have to work very hard for survival.

Krishna, the all good benevolent God does not like to see us in this precarious situation so he comes in this world with a solution which can eliminate all our sufferings for ever. One of the reasons for Krishna’s appearance is that he comes to annihilate the miscreants but most importantly he appears in this mortal world to disseminate the information about the secret of eternal happiness. He being the supreme controller, it is not very difficult for him to extricate the world from unworthy beings and he may accomplish it without descending in this world. But just like a caring father who can chat with his child who is in a hostel on skype where he can hear and see him but he still loves to go and meet his child and tries his best to make life comfortable for him, similarly Krishna comes in this world to meet us, his children, and invite us back to the spiritual world which is free from all sufferings – there is no death, no disease, no mental and physical suffering.

The ephemeral pleasure of this mortal world never satiates our heart. Moreover since our body deteriorates daily so our capacity to enjoy this world also diminishes day by day. This is why Krishna tells us not to be so obsessed with the worldly happiness and distress but to focus on permanent salvation. And for this, we can make the spiritual world our eternal home where happiness is everlasting. Krishna in Gita says that those who become part of his spiritual kingdom never come back to this material world, “Those who reach it never return to this material world” (Bhagavad Gita 15.6). This is the promise of Krishna, whom the Vedic books declare as the Supreme God – Krishna tu bhagavan svayam (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28)

So why let go this wonderful opportunity. We should in fact utilize each and every moment of our life to purify our existence so that we gain the eligibility to become part of Krishna’s abode. On Krishna’s auspicious appearance day we can make a vow to bring Krishna in our life. And the best way to do is to start chanting sincerely the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. We should not waste our time waiting for the right opportunity to start practicing devotional life because in this world there won’t be any perfect moment, we will always find ourselves busy in something or deprived of something. For e.g. a teenager has lots of time, lots of energy but hardly any money. A youth has money, energy but no time. And an old person has time and money but no energy. We will never find a favourable time to do the right thing. A boatman does not always wait for the wind to blow in a particular direction; instead he channelizes the energy of the wind to reach his desired destination. Similarly we can use any opportunity to spiritualize our life. Krishna’s invitation to return to his kingdom needs our immediate attention. In fact if we have a strong desire to spend rest of our life with Krishna then he promises that he will give us the know-how by which we can attain him – To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me (Bhagavad Gita 10.10)

(Purushottam Nitai Das works in Tech Mahindra, Milton Keynes, UK, as “Associate Solution Designer”. Check his blog http://krishnamagic.blogspot.in/)

By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Sri Krsna Janmastami
A Talk by Giriraj Swami
September 2, 2007 Ojai, California

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Ten, Chapter Two: “Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krsna in the Womb.”

TEXT 18

tato jagan-mangalam acyutamsam samahitam sura-sutena devi dadhara sarvatmakam atma-bhutam kastha yathananda-karam manastah

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, accompanied by plenary expansions, the fully opulent Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is all-auspicious for the entire universe, was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki. Devaki, having thus been initiated by Vasudeva, became beautiful by carrying Lord Krsna, the original consciousness for everyone, the cause of all causes, within the core of her heart, just as the east becomes beautiful by carrying the rising moon.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

As indicated here by the word manastah, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the core of Vasudeva’s mind or heart to the core of the heart of Devaki. We should note carefully that the Lord was transferred to Devaki not by the ordinary way for a human being, but by diksa, initiation. Thus the importance of initiation is mentioned here. Unless one is initiated by the right person, who always carries within his heart the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot acquire the power to carry the Supreme Godhead within the core of one’s own heart.

The word acyutamsam is used because the Supreme Personality of Godhead is sad-aisvarya-purna, full in the opulences of wealth, strength, fame, knowledge, beauty, and renunciation. The Supreme Godhead is never separated from His personal opulences. As stated in the Brahma-samhita (5.39), ramadi-murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan: the Lord is always situated with all His plenary expansions, such as Rama, Nrsimha, and Varaha. Therefore the word acyutamsam is specifically used here, signifying that the Lord is always present with His plenary expansions and opulences. There is no need to think of the Lord artificially as yogis do. Dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah (Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.13.1). Yogis meditate upon the Supreme Person within the mind. For a devotee, however, the Lord is present, and His presence need only be awakened through initiation by a bona fide spiritual master. The Lord did not need to live within the womb of Devaki, for His presence within the core of her heart was sufficient to carry Him. One is here forbidden to think that Krsna was begotten by Vasudeva within the womb of Devaki and that she carried the child within her womb.

When Vasudeva was sustaining the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead within his heart, he appeared just like the glowing sun, whose shining rays are always unbearable and scorching to the common man. The form of the Lord situated in the pure, unalloyed heart of Vasudeva is not different from the original form of Krsna. The appearance of the form of Krsna anywhere, and specifically within the heart, is called dhama. Dhama refers not only to Krsna’s form, but to His name, His form, His quality, and His paraphernalia. Everything becomes manifest simultaneously.

Thus the eternal form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead with full potencies was transferred from the mind of Vasudeva to the mind of Devaki, exactly as the setting sun’s rays are transferred to the full moon rising in the east.

Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, entered the body of Devaki from the body of Vasudeva. He was beyond the conditions of the ordinary living entity. When Krsna is there, it is to be understood that all His plenary expansions, such as Narayana, and incarnations like Lord Nrsimha and Varaha, are with Him, and they are not subject to the conditions of material existence. In this way, Devaki became the residence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is one without a second and the cause of all creation. Devaki became the residence of the Absolute Truth, but because she was within the house of Kamsa, she looked just like a suppressed fire, or like misused education. When fire is covered by the walls of a pot or is kept in a jug, the illuminating rays of the fire cannot be very much appreciated. Similarly, misused knowledge, which does not benefit the people in general, is not very much appreciated. So Devaki was kept within the prison walls of Kamsa’s palace, and no one could see her transcendental beauty, which resulted from her conceiving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Commenting upon this verse, Sri Viraraghava Acarya writes, vasudeva-devaki jatharayor hrdayayor bhagavatah sambandhah. The Supreme Lord’s entrance into the womb of Devaki from the heart of Vasudeva was a heart-to-heart relationship.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

We have gathered here at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna to remember and celebrate His appearance within the world. According to Vedic literature, Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). He is the Absolute Truth, the origin of all that exists. And He is realized in three features, nondual (advaya), as explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam
(1.2.11):

vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate

“Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma, or Bhagavan.”

Brahman is the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the transcendental form of the Lord, Paramatma is the localized feature of the Lord, within the heart, and Bhagavan is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna Himself, full in six opulences.

The form of Krsna is not material. Our bodies are material, distinct from the soul, which is spiritual. The Bhagavad-gita (2.13) explains,

dehino ‘smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change.” The soul is a nonphysical, nonchemical particle of spiritual energy, and it is the soul that animates the body. As long as the soul is in the body, we say the body is alive. Actually, the body is never alive; the body is just a machine. But it appears to be alive when the soul is present to animate it. And when the soul leaves the body, the body has no capacity to act, to function, and then we say that the body is dead. In conditioned beings, such as us, there is a distinction between the body, which is made of material energy, and the soul, which is composed of spiritual energy. But in the case of Krsna, there is no difference between His body and soul. Being absolute, His body and He are the same. In our case there is a difference between us and the body, because our real identity is the soul. If someone’s father passes away, he or she will cry, “Oh, my father has left. My father is gone.” Although the body of the father is there, why do we say, “My father has gone”? Intuitively we know, especially at a time like death, that the body that’s lying there in the room is not the person. The body is just a bag of chemicals. The real person is the soul who has left the body, and so the children and other relatives and friends cry, “Oh, he’s gone,” because he is the soul, not the body.

But in the case of Krsna, He and His body are not different because He is absolute. There is no difference between His inside and His outside. He is completely spiritual. The Brahma-samhita says, isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah: “Krsna is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body.” Anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam: “He is the origin of all, but He Himself has no origin. He is the prime cause of all causes.” That is Krsna.

Everything we see in the material world has a cause. On a simple level we can say, “I am caused by my parents” (or “my body is caused by my parents”). They, in turn, were caused by their parents, who, in turn, were caused by their parents. And if we keep going back, further, further, further, eventually we will come to the original cause, and that is Krsna
(sarva-karana-karanam). He is the cause of everything–the cause of all causes. But He Himself has no cause.

This is hard for us to understand in the conditioned state, because everything material has a cause. Everything has a beginning and an end, but Krsna has no beginning and no end. He is eternal (sanatana). “Eternal” means “no beginning and no end.” Even we, as spirit souls, are also eternal. We have no beginning and no end. Our life in a particular body has a beginning, which we call “birth” (or “conception”), and it has an end within a particular body, which we call “death.” But we, as spirit souls, have no beginning and no end, because we are parts and parcels of Krsna. We are of the same quality as Krsna, just in different quantity. The Lord says,

mamaivamso jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah manah-sasthanindriyani prakrti-sthani karsati

“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” (Bg 15.7)

The living entity is an eternal, fragmental part of Krsna. This is the sublime philosophy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu called acintya-bhedabheda-tattva: the “inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference” of the living entity and the Supreme Lord. We are one in quality with the Lord but different in quantity–He is infinite and we are infinitesimal. Because we have the same qualities, we can have a relationship with Him. Unless there is some commonness, we can’t have a relationship. And because of the difference in quantity–He is the whole and we are the part–our relationship is one of service. It is the natural function of the part to serve the whole. For example, the hand is part of the body, so the function of the hand is to serve the body. If the hand doesn’t serve the body, there is something wrong; it is diseased or dead. So, our natural function is to serve Krsna (jivera ‘svarupa’ haya–krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’). And we are eternal, as Krsna is eternal, and our relationship, our service, is also eternal. It never ends.

Earlier we mentioned the three features of the Absolute Truth: Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan. There are different classes of transcendentalists, who have different spiritual aspirations. Most people are materialists. They are not even interested in spiritual life. They just want to enjoy the world. But when one becomes a little more elevated, a little more purified in consciousness, one thinks of improving oneself spiritually. And when one becomes serious enough, one will actually enter into a discipline in a particular school of thought and practice. So, one category of transcendentalists is the jnanis. Their goal is to merge and become one with Brahman, the impersonal effulgence that emanates from the transcendental body of Krsna. And higher than the jnanis are the yogis. They want to realize the localized feature, the Lord within the heart
(dhyanavasthita-tad-gatena manasa pasyanti yam yoginah). And the highest are the bhaktas. They want to enter into a loving relationship with Bhagavan, Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Although in one sense, because the Absolute Truth is nondual (advaya), all transcendentalists are the same, still, from an analytical or objective point of view there are degrees of realization. As stated earlier, Krsna is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Sat means “eternal,” cit means “cognizant,” and ananda means “blissful.” The jnanis who attain impersonal Brahman realize only the sat feature, eternal existence. The yogis who realize Paramatma have perception of sat (eternity) and cit (knowledge), because they apprehend the individuality of the Lord in the heart. And the bhaktas have full realization of sat, cit, and ananda (eternity, knowledge, and bliss), because real happiness comes from loving relationships. Although one may say that there is a sort of bliss in impersonal Brahman, compared with the ecstatic happiness of loving service to Krsna, it is insignificant. There are many statements in the sastra, the Vedic scriptures, to the effect that the happiness realized in relationship to Krsna is like an ocean and that the happiness of merging (or trying to merge) into impersonal Brahman is like a puddle of water in comparison.

tvat-saksat-karanahlada- visuddhabdhi-sthitasya me sukhani gospadayante brahmany api jagad-guro

“My dear Lord, O master of the universe, since I have directly seen You, my transcendental bliss has taken the shape of a great ocean. Being situated in that ocean, I now realize all other so-called happiness, the pleasure derived from impersonal Brahman, to be like the water contained in the hoofprint of a calf.” (Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya 14.36) Practically, there is no comparison.

Furthermore, to realize impersonal Brahman is very difficult, especially in the present age. And even if one succeeds–or imagines that one has succeeded–there is every chance that one will fall down.

ye ‘nye ‘ravindaksa vimukta-maninas tvayy asta-bhavad avisuddha-buddhayah aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho ‘nadrta-yusmad-anghrayah

“O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.” (SB 10.2.32)

More likely, they just imagine that they have realized Brahman, but whether they have actually realized it or just imagine they have, because they have neglected the service of the lotus feet of Krsna they fall down (patanty adhah).

We, conditioned souls, are rotating in the cycle of repeated birth and death (samsara), and our goal is to gain release from this samsara-cakra. Such liberation is called mukti, or moksa. The impersonal type of liberation, in which the individual soul merges into the spiritual light, is very hard to achieve–if one can achieve it at all. But even if one does, it doesn’t last. Therefore the Bhagavatam says patanty adhah: they fall down. Why? Because they have no engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.

Impersonal liberation is like going to sleep. Intelligent people can perceive that there is misery in material existence, and they want relief. That is one factor that may lead someone to consider spiritual life. So, a person trying to achieve impersonal liberation is similar to someone who is suffering and tries to escape the suffering by sleeping–“The world is too much.” Well, all right, you can temporarily escape the misery by going to sleep, but how long can you remain asleep? Eventually you will wake up, and the same miseries will be there.

And being suspended in the impersonal Brahman effulgence can be boring. It is a relief–it is definitely a relief to be out of the material world–but eventually it can get boring. Someone may go on a cruise: “Oh, boy, I need to get away from things. Let me go on a cruise. I want to enjoy the sea.” And it may be nice for a while, but eventually one gets bored–just water and waves and wind. Eventually one wants to go back on dry land–even though the land is what he wanted to get away from. Although there was frustration and misery on the land, at least there was some stimulation, some variety.

So the impersonal jnanis who want to merge and become one with Brahman eventually fall down (patanty adhah), because they become restless. They want some activity, and because they have no idea of the spiritual activities of Krsna consciousness, devotional service to Krsna, patanty adhah–they fall into material activities, and again they suffer, because the result of material activity is material misery.

So, why does the Lord descend? He is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha: eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. And He lives in His spiritual abode, where everything is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. And He is served by great souls completely free of material contamination, liberated from the material bodies that cause so much pain. So why should the Lord come here at all? What does He have to gain?

Personally, He has nothing to gain. But He comes out of His mercy, to deliver us. The material world is compared to a prison house, and we, conditioned souls, are the prisoners. We are restricted, like prisoners. We can’t just go anywhere and everywhere, wherever we want. Liberated souls can travel anywhere in the universe. They don’t need spaceships or any other such contraptions. They can move about freely. But we, conditioned souls, are bound. We are not allowed to leave this planet very easily, and even if we do, we don’t really have any other place to stay. So we are bound, and at the same time we have to suffer.

I mentioned the body, that there is so much pain in the body. So someone might think, “This swami is very negative about the body.” But the Bhagavad-gita says, janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi-duhkha-dosanudarsanam: one should always perceive the miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. You might say, “Why does the swami have to be so negative? I want to enjoy the body. I want to enjoy life. I want to enjoy the here and now”–which is good in a certain context–but if I ask any of you, “Truthfully, do you want disease?” “No.” “Do you want old age?” “No.” “Do you want death?” “No.” Well, that is what comes with the body. When you get a material body, those come in the package; they are what you get with it. You may think, “But there is so much happiness in the body. I can go surfing, I can go hiking, I can eat ice cream, I can drink and eat and enjoy with the body.” Well, yes, but it is not actually the body that enables you to enjoy; it is the soul within the body. All the parts of the body may be there when the soul departs, but where is the enjoyment? There is no enjoyment in the body after the soul leaves. We may think that we are enjoying with the senses, but it is actually because of the presence of the soul that we are able to enjoy and work and live.

The body is the medium for the conditioned soul’s experience. For example, I have these eyeglasses. I see through the eyeglasses–the eyeglasses themselves don’t see. Similarly, we have these senses–eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin–and we perceive through them. The senses themselves cannot actually perceive. It is the soul that perceives–through the senses of the body. But we don’t actually need the body to perceive happiness. With the body, there is some perception of happiness–but with lots of pain.

There are different schools of philosophy–sad-darsana–and one of the philosophers has analysed and concluded that the body is meant for misery. He gives the example of your little finger. How many ways can your little finger enjoy? Not many. And how many ways can it feel pain? So many. Even a little sliver or blister can be so painful. And the finger can be cut, burned, crushed. The body is so vulnerable. But the soul is not. As the Gita says, it can’t be cut, it can’t be burned, it can’t be wet, it can’t be withered–it is beyond the range of material elements.

nainam chindanti sastrani nainam dahati pavakah na cainam kledayanty apo na sosayati marutah

“The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind.” (Bg 2.23) Without the body, the soul can enjoy freely, in every way, but without the pain.

And because the soul is part and parcel of Krsna, it derives its real happiness in relation to Krsna. We now are like fishes out of water, because originally we come from Krsna, from the spiritual atmosphere, and we have come into the material world and are suffering in a foreign atmosphere. We are always restless, anxious, and fearful.

So, why does Krsna come? He comes to reclaim us, His lost children, to bring us back home, back to Him. That is why He comes. There is no other reason. There is nothing for Him here. He comes only for our sake.

Although He comes into the material world, He doesn’t come in a physical body. He comes in His original, spiritual form (sac-cid-ananda-vigraha). And Krsna in particular comes in a form that resembles a human being. “Man is made in the image of God.” That Krsna comes in a humanlike form is very good for us, because it makes it easier for us in human bodies to relate to Him.

anugrahaya bhaktanam manusam deham asthitah bhajate tadrsih krida yah srutva tat-paro bhavet

“When the Lord assumes a humanlike body to show mercy to His devotees, He engages in such pastimes as will attract those who hear about them to become dedicated to Him.” (SB 10.33.36) He comes to reclaim us and deliver us, his lost children and devotees.

And how does He come? He does not take birth like ordinary human beings, by seminal discharge. Rather, He manifests Himself, or appears.

ajo ‘pi sann avyayatma bhutanam isvaro ‘pi san prakrtim svam adhisthaya sambhavamy atma-mayaya

“Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.” (Bg 4.6)

And that is what we read tonight. It is a very esoteric subject, how the Lord appears. But He chooses a completely purified devotee and enters the mind of that completely purified devotee. The name of the devotee whose mind Krsna entered is given here–Vasudeva. And the state that enabled him to receive Krsna within his pure mind is called vasudeva, which means completely beyond the three modes of material nature, completely transcendental–the state of pure goodness, suddha-sattva. As stated in Srimad-Bhagvatam, sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam: completely pure consciousness is known as vasudeva.

sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam yad iyate tatra puman apavrtah sattve ca tasmin bhagavan vasudevo hy adhoksajo me manasa vidhiyate

“The condition of pure goodness, suddha-sattva, in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is revealed without any covering, is called vasudeva. In that pure state the Supreme Godhead, who is beyond the material senses and who is known as Vasudeva, is perceived by my mind.” (SB 4.3.23, quoted as Cc Adi 4.66)

After Vasudeva received Krsna within his purified mind or heart, he, by his spiritual power, transferred Him into the purified heart of Devaki. There was no seminal discharge here. And the process by which the Supreme Personality of Godhead was transferred from the heart of Vasudeva to the heart of Devaki is called diksa. Diksa means “spiritual initiation.” Diksa takes place between the teacher, or guru, and disciple. When the guru is qualified enough, he can carry Krsna within his heart. And when the disciple is qualified enough, he can receive Krsna from the guru–through an exchange called diksa.

The process of diksa is essential for the realization of God (Krsna). There is an entire science of bhakti-yoga, described in Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, and it begins with this process. Guru-padasrayas tasmat: “One must accept shelter at the lotus feet of a spiritual master.” Krsna-diksadi-siksanam: “One must take initiation from him and receive instruction from him.” And visrambhena guroh seva: “One must serve him with intimacy.”

We cannot attain Krsna by our own efforts. We have to receive Krsna by the mercy of one who has Him. Thus Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, a great spiritual teacher, prays to the pure devotee:

krsna se tomara, krsna dite paro, tomara sakati ache ami to’ kangala, ‘krsna’ ‘krsna’ boli’, dhai tava pache pache

“Krsna is yours; you have the power to give Him to me. I am simply running behind you shouting, ‘Krsna! Krsna!'” (Saranagati, “Ohe! Vaisnava Thakura”)

This act of diksa, as described in today’s verse, is really the culmination of a gradual process. It is not so easy that we just decide, “Oh, let me find a guru who has Krsna, and he will give Him to me, and my business will be finished.” We have to be qualified to receive Krsna, and the process of becoming qualified proceeds gradually. We have to work to come to that stage of purity where we can receive Krsna in our hearts–and not just receive Him in our hearts, but actually see Him face to face. After residing for some time in the heart of Devaki, Krsna came before her, and they saw each other face to face. She saw Him face to face, and He saw her. That is the perfection of Krsna consciousness.

So, we have to qualify ourselves. We have to cleanse the mirror of the heart
(ceto-darpana-marjanam).

The process of purification varies from age to age. Although the basic process is the same–Krsna consciousness–in the present age the specific process recommended is to chant the holy names of the Lord:

harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha

“One should chant the holy name, chant the holy name, chant the holy name of Lord Hari [Krsna]. There is no other means, no other means, no other means for success in this age.” (Brhan-naradiya Purana 38.126)

Chant is repeated three times for emphasis. “You must do it, you must do it, you must do it.” There was once a cartoon in a newspaper, which depicted an elderly man sitting across from his wife. She was requesting him, “Chant, chant, chant,” and he was replying, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” That is our misfortune. Sastra, scripture, tell us, “Chant, chant, chant” (harer nama harer nama harer nama), and for no good reason–just some causeless aversion–we say (not necessarily by our words but by our behavior), “Can’t, can’t, can’t.” “Can’t, because I am too busy.” “Can’t, because I prefer other things.” “Can’t, because . . .”–because, because, because. So harer nama harer nama harer nama is emphatic: chant, chant, chant. And kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva: there is no other way, no other way, no other way. Now, that phrase might conjure up images of a fanatical Christian insisting, “Jesus is the only way.” But this nasty eva, the “only way,” is a little different. (And we don’t want to presume that there is anything wrong with “Jesus is the only way,” either.) But in this context, nasty eva, “no other way,” has a special meaning.

In different ages different methods for self-realization were recommended–in Satya-yuga it was meditation, in Treta-yuga Vedic sacrifice, and in Dvapara-yuga opulent temple worship. In the present age, however, harer nama, chanting the holy names of God, is prescribed. So, nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva means “not by silent meditation, not by elaborate sacrifices, not by ritualistic temple worship,” but by chanting the holy names.

But the holy names are not sectarian. In fact, there are Christian sects in which practitioners constantly repeat the name of Jesus. We don’t say that you have to chant only the holy name of Krsna. You may chant any name of God. Because God is absolute, any name of God is as good as any other. But you should chant some name. The Muslim tradition also recommends chanting the name of God, of Allah. In Pakistan I came across a book titled, Ninety-Nine Names of Allah. In the Vedic tradition there is Visnu-sahasra-nama, “A Thousand Names of Visnu.” So the principle of chanting the names of God is current in every tradition, but it is often overlooked. Then again, in any tradition, the majority are conventional. It is only the minority who are really mystical, or spiritual. But within the mystical, spiritual traditions, the chanting of God’s names is advised.

The process of chanting (sankirtana) cleanses the heart
(ceto-darpana-marjanam) and makes it a fit place for the Lord to reside. That is what we have to do to prepare to receive Him. We have to chant. And chanting is pleasant, as I hope you all experienced. It is pleasurable. That’s the other thing: although the results of Krsna consciousness are the highest, the process is also the easiest and most sublime. It’s almost too good to be true, but it is true. Chanting is easy and joyful, and at the same time it cleanses the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam) and makes it a fit place for the Lord to reside. And that process is accomplished through diksa, the continuing process of diksa, which culminates in perfect realization of Krsna. And then, when one is fully purified and realized, Krsna can’t contain Himself within your heart. He becomes so pleased with your service and so eager to see and embrace you that He comes out of your heart. (Of course, at the same time, He also stays there.) In His own way, He comes out of your heart to look at you and touch you and embrace you and take you by the hand and invite you to come with Him to His eternal abode.

That is the perfection of Krsna consciousness, and it is possible for each and every one of us. We just have to make the effort to chant without offense, and remain encouraged and steady in that effort. So we need association. In every endeavor, one needs association. In every field there are associations of people engaged in the same endeavor, because they support each other. There is the chamber of commerce, the diabetes society, the birdwatchers association–there are societies for everything, because in association with others who are pursuing the same goal, we get encouragement to stay on the path and we learn from them, from their experiences, how to improve in our own efforts and quicken our progress. It is a natural thing. And association is essential. Once we become a little serious, once we develop a little faith and attraction, the next stage is to associate with devotees (adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sangah). That association will really help us.

Chanting is simple, but the real art of chanting is to hear the chanting. Anyone can chant mindlessly, “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna . . .” and look at the trees, look at the moon, look at the newspaper, look at the television, but that’s not real chanting. Real chanting means to hear with one’s mind fixed on the sound. This is meditation, mantra meditation, and it takes practice. If you chant for five minutes, will you be able to keep your mind fixed on the sound of the holy name? It will be a challenge. Even one minute is a challenge, because the nature of the mind is to flicker. It is restless. It always wants to go every which way–like the wind. In the Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna says that it is as hard to control the mind as to control the wind.

cancalam hi manah krsna pramathi balavad drdham tasyaham nigraham manye vayor iva su-duskaram

“The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate, and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind.” (Bg
6.34)

How can you control the wind? It is always going here and there. No one can stop it. So how can we control the mind? We can’t. Still, the Bhagavad-gita says it is possible–by practice (abhyasa) and detachment.

asamsayam maha-baho mano durnigraham calam abhyasena tu kaunteya vairagyena ca grhyate

“It is undoubtedly very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable practice and by detachment.” (Bg 6.35)

And this is the suitable practice: hearing about Krsna consciousness and then chanting–and hearing–Lord Krsna’s name. We chant and we hear. We practice fixing our mind on the sound of the holy name of the Lord. That is our sadhana; that is our practice. And it is serious business, and hard work. As our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada said, “Chanting is easy”–anyone can articulate the sounds of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna–“but the determination to chant [and hear with attention] is not so easy.” So that is what we need. We need that determination
(drdha-vratah). And that determination develops in the association of devotees who are serious about chanting and hearing. Therefore the association of devotees is so valuable, and it is most important to maintain favorable relationships with devotees.

There are different offenses to be avoided when one chants. The main offense is to be inattentive while chanting, but another is to offend devotees. Devotees are our best well-wishers. They give us the holy name. They give us support in our efforts to chant. And if we offend them, we cut ourselves off from our best well-wishers, our best friends, our best support for the chanting. We cut ourselves off from the mercy that we so desperately need to progress. But if we pay attention to these two points–chanting attentively and maintaining favorable relationships with devotees–then gradually we can come to the stage of perfection. It takes time, but we can actually come to that stage when Krsna will enter our hearts. He is there already, but He will manifest Himself fully to us, and then, eventually, we will see Him face to face. So we should always, every spare moment, kirtaniyah-sada-harih, chant Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Whatever you do when you are not chanting should be to place you in a position where you can chant. You may say, “I can’t chant all the time. I have to work. I have to earn money. I have to pay the bills.” That is true, but what is the goal of it all? Why do you want a roof over your head? Why do you want food on your plate? Ultimately, it should be to keep your body and soul together so you can chant the holy names and realize God. That is kirtaniyah-sada-harih, to “always chant the name of God.” We have the body. We must take care of it. We must bathe and dress and eat and sleep. We must get the necessities of life. We must do it all. But why are we doing it? The goal should be to chant the holy names of Krsna and realize Krsna.

So, Krsna comes to give us this message, and if from this occasion, Sri Krsna Janmastami, we can just take this message–take it in our heart–that will be the beginning of our perfection. We must take it in our heart and practice it and repeat it to others–repeat it both for the benefit of others and for our own sake. And the results will be glorious. Krsna’s purpose in appearing in this world will be fulfilled, and our purpose as human beings will be fulfilled. And we will all be happy in Krsna consciousness together. Hare Krsna.

Are there any questions or comments?

Guest (1): I always ask myself a question. Christians believe in resurrection, and Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation, but personally, I always ask myself, “What is the meaning of starting something and ending something? What is the meaning of several or many lives when we can be comfortable with maybe just one life? Why we are reaching perfection through many lives?

Giriraj Swami: That is a very good question. Miguel says that Christians believe in resurrection and Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation, but what is the need of passing through many lifetimes if you can realize God in one lifetime?

We agree with you completely. That is the whole idea. Especially now that we have come to this human form of life, which is achieved after many lifetimes, and especially now that we have come in touch with devotees who tell us about Krsna and the process of bhakti-yoga, we can and should complete our purpose in this world in this life.

labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante manusyam artha-dam anityam apiha dhirah turnam yateta na pated anu-mrtyu yavan nihsreyasaya visayah khalu sarvatah syat

“After many, many births one achieves the rare human form of life, which, although temporary, affords one the opportunity to attain the highest perfection. Thus a sober human being should quickly endeavor for the ultimate perfection of life before his body, which is always subject to death, falls away. After all, sense gratification is available even in the most abominable species of life, whereas Krsna consciousness is possible only for a human being.” (SB 11.9.29)

And if we chant seriously–chant and hear and follow the regulative principles that support the chanting and hearing–we can achieve complete success in the same lifetime. And that should be our determination.

Still, the Bhagavad-gita explains that if by chance you are not completely successful, then in your next life you continue from where you left off in this one. You don’t have to start all over again. With anything material, you have to start all over again in the next life. In this life you might know seven languages, but in your next life, when you are born, all you can say is “Ga, ga, ga,” and you don’t even know ABC. Materially, whatever you acquire in this life is lost at the time of death. But whatever you gain spiritually through the practice of bhakti-yoga continues in the next life. Suppose in this life you complete only 50 percent; then in the next life you begin from 51 percent. You don’t have to start again from the beginning.

But still, we have the human form of life, and the association of devotees, so why should we take any chances? We should have that determination to be completely successful in this life, just like you said.

Guest (1): Why did we come here in the first place? Why do we have to go through so many lives?

Giriraj Swami: Actually, as mentioned, we all come from Krsna, but when we turn away from Him–when we forget Him and want to enjoy apart from Him–we come under maya and suffer in the material world.

krsna-bahirmukha hana bhoga-vancha kare nikata-stha maya tare japatiya dhare

“When the living entity desires to enjoy separately from Krsna and turns away from Him, the illusory potency of the Lord, maya, immediately takes the soul in her clutches.” (Prema-vivarta)

But in that process, we don’t start at the bottom; we start at the top. We start as an elevated being on a higher planet. So we can reverse the process from that position and go back to Godhead. We don’t start as a germ or an amoeba. But if we are careless, we can keep declining and end up as an amoeba, in the body of an amoeba. But we don’t start at the bottom. We actually start at the top, and if we are attentive and vigilant, we can reverse the whole process in one lifetime. We don’t have to pass more than one life, and we don’t have to see any lower form of life.

Guest (1): Can we say that everything around us is energy–the material world? Animals, vegetables, minerals–everything is life, even if it doesn’t have consciousness by itself?

Giriraj Swami: Well, that is true–everything is energy–but as stated in the Bhagavad-gita, there are two kinds of energies. One is the material energy, and the other is the spiritual energy. The spiritual energy is conscious, alive. And the material energy is dull, dead.

bhumir apo ‘nalo vayuh kham mano buddhir eva ca ahankara itiyam me bhinna prakrtir astadha

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence, and false ego–all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.” (Bg 7.4)

apareyam itas tv anyam prakrtim viddhi me param jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam dharyate jagat

“Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.” (Bg 7.5)

What we see alive in the material world is really a combination of the spiritual and material energies–the spiritual spark within the physical body. And as long as the soul is present, there is consciousness. But an inanimate object–say this piece of metal–has no consciousness. Of course, in an ultimate sense, we could say that there is consciousness everywhere, because Krsna is everywhere. He is expanded within the atoms and in the space between the atoms throughout the entire universe
(andantara-stha-paramanu-cayantara-stham). But practically, in terms of individual consciousness, animals and vegetables have souls; they are a combination of matter and spirit. Minerals do not have souls; they are material energy. And then there is Krsna, who is completely spiritual.

Guest (1): Are there other forms of intelligence on other planets in the universe, or is it just here on our own planet?

Giriraj Swami: There is, in fact, even more advanced intelligent life on planets other than the earth. Everything is the creation of God. We don’t believe that anything has happened by accident or chance. God has created all these planets to provide different environments for different types of people. Just as there are different relativities on earth–Ojai or Santa Barbara may be relatively more congenial than Alaska or Antarctica–so there are relativities within the universe. Some planets are more heavenly, and some are more hellish. The earth is considered to be in the middle, though a little on the lower side. But there is intelligent life everywhere–and suffering everywhere–and everyone is ultimately meant to become God conscious and go back home, back to Godhead

a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ‘rjuna mam upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate

[The Supreme Lord Krsna said:] “From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one who attains to My abode, O son of Kunti, never takes birth again.” (Bg 8.16)

Guest (2): You said that the only practice we need to do is chant the name of God. That seems to be asking God to receive from Him the grace of the holy name. But what can we do to prepare ourselves in everyday life to better understand and receive this grace?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, there are practices. Although the chanting in and of itself is enough, there are disciplines that we can undertake to make it easier for us to get the full benefit of the chanting, to get the full grace of the Lord. There are certain personal restrictions. But the beauty of the chanting is that even if it is hard at first to accept these restrictions, the process of chanting itself, the process of purification itself, will make it easier to accept them–to the point where we won’t even want to indulge in such adverse activities anymore.

The first restriction is no eating meat. The second is no taking intoxicants. The third is no illicit sex–no sex outside of marriage, no frivolous sex. And the fourth is no gambling. If we are able to follow these regulative principles, our chanting will be more quickly effective, and we will be better receptacles for God’s grace.

And there are other things as well, such as getting up early in the morning. “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” The early hours of the morning, especially before sunrise, are considered the best for spiritual practice, and therefore we generally rise early. Some devotees, when feasible, get up at two. They may take rest at eight and get up at two. Otherwise, we try rise by four. Initiated disciples have a certain quota of chanting, which takes about two hours to complete. So they rise by four and complete their quota of rounds between five and seven and still have the rest of the day ahead of them.

And the more serious you are, the more things you can learn to improve your practice. But if you can just manage those four restrictions–and get up early–you will be off to a good start. And if you want to know more, we have volumes of books . . .

Guest (2): Hard news. Thank you.

Giriraj Swami: I was going to ask if you were ready for the answer before I gave it, but I figured that you asked, and you seemed sincere, so I just said it.

But again, the good news is that if you chant, all the other things will become easier. That’s why we don’t emphasize the restrictions at first, because we know that if people just chant, they will lose interest in those indulgent acts, and they will become more and more eager to advance in Krsna consciousness.

Guest (2): Inshallah.

Giriraj Swami: When you said “inshallah” it reminded me of a group of Ahmadiyya Muslims who would sometimes meet me at our Juhu Beach temple. They told me the same thing, that the prayers offered before sunrise–almost like we say, beginning an hour and a half before sunrise–are heard by God more than prayers offered later in the day.

Inshallah, or insha’Allah, means “if Allah wills.” Allah is a name of God, so insha’Allah means “God willing.” Of course, we also accept the name Allah. Allah is the same as Krsna. But our devotees in Pakistan, instead of “insha’Allah,” would sometimes say, “insha Krsna,” to mean the same thing–“God willing.”

Krsna Bamani dasi: Maharaja, I was just going to give an example. In the beginning some people think, “Oh, I have to be a vegetarian” when they hear all the negative restrictions. But the process of spiritual life is so pleasant that they experience a higher taste. They actually prefer our food, prasada, to other things they used to eat. And it is kind of like that with all of the seeming restrictions. As we chant and associate with devotees, we develop a higher taste.

Giriraj Swami: Good point.

Krsna Bamani dasi: I was going to say one more thing. You already explained it. But in today’s world, fanatical Muslims or fanatics in any religion–they may be chanting God’s names, yet so much violence is going on. They may chant, for example, “Allah, Allah,” yet engage in so much violent activity. They are “God’s warriors,” so to speak. So, you have explained that there are ways to chant God’s names properly.

Giriraj Swami: Correct. One must avoid that offense of offending devotees, and devotees are there in every tradition. One may take the name of God in one’s own tradition, but if he is inimical to devotees in other traditions, that is an offense, not only against the devotees but against the holy name. And if one commits offenses against the holy name, one doesn’t get the benefit. In fact, it is described that when you offend devotees, the holy name is offended and withdraws its mercy. So even though such fanatics are mouthing God’s name, it is almost as if God has left. He has withdrawn His mercy from them, because they are offensive.

Of course, offending devotees is the worst, but offending anyone–causing pain to any living entity–is prohibited. That is the complete injunction. And that is one reason why we don’t kill animals or eat flesh.

So, it is not just a question of mouthing God’s name. One should be in the proper consciousness, the proper mood of service to God and to the devotees of God–in whatever tradition, culture, or community they may be. We should respect and appreciate all genuine devotees, servants of God, and encourage the devotees and chant the holy names. That will bring us all success, and one day the holy name will reveal Himself to us, and we will see Krsna face to face.

prabhu kahe,–“vaisnava-seva, nama-sankirtana dui kara, sighra pabe sri-krsna-carana”

The Lord [Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu] said, “You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krsna and always chant the holy name of Krsna. If you do these two things, you will very soon attain shelter at Krsna’s lotus feet.” (Cc Madhya 16.70)

Hare Krsna!

• What is Janmashtami?
• How is Janmashtami Celebrated?
• How to Celebrate Janmashtami at Home
• Celebrating Janmashtami with the Krishna.com/BTG Staff
• More Things To Think About When Thinking About Krishna’s Appearance

What is Janmashtami?

Janmashtami commemorates the earthly appearance of Krishna, who is described in India’s sacred writings as God Himself. One of the biggest religious festivals in the world, it is celebrated by nine hundred and thirty million people around the world–and two million in the US alone. To devotees, it’s Christmas and New Year’s in one, a day of deep spiritual renewal and celebration that effectively finishes an old year and begins a fresh one.

But why Janmashtami, you may ask? What’s so special about Krishna, as opposed to any other form of God? It’s His personable-ness. He reciprocates in unique, personal ways with every devotee who offers Him love—He is the most adorable, mischievous son, the most romantic lover, the most compassionate friend. And on Janmashtami, devotees celebrate Krishna in all of these aspects. For just as Krishna reciprocates individually with His relatives and confidantes, he responds to the distinct feelings and desires held most deeply in the heart of every single worshipper.

So remember that whatever way you worship Krishna on Janmashtami, He will reciprocate with you accordingly. It’s a meditation that makes for an extremely rewarding devotional experience.

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How is Janmashtami Celebrated?

Where Vaishnava temples exist, festivities begin before dawn and extend all day until midnight, the exact moment of the anniversary of Krishna’s appearance. Events include kirtan, singing the Lord’s name along with other devotees; and japa, private, more intimate prayer. Some devotees cook a feastof over one hundred dishes, while others perform drama and dance. Some clothe and decorate thedeity of Krishna while others string enormous flower garlands and other decorations for the temple. Incense burns, scriptures are read, and all but the young and the infirm fast all day. The deities are also bathed with a variety of auspicious liquids in a kind of ablution ceremony called abhisheka.Sometimes taking over two hours, this is performed with great pomp.

Finally, at midnight, priests pull apart the curtains to reveal the
freshly dressed deity of Krishna on a creatively festooned and colored
altar. The excitement builds, and a rousing kirtan ensues.

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How to Celebrate Janmashtami at Home

Brought to you by Krishna.com

But what if you don’t live near a temple? What if you can’t make it to a major celebration Does that mean you can’t observe Janmashtami? Of course not. It is our sincere devotion that pleases Krishna most, and this can be offered anywhere. So to help you feel more connected to the Lord and His devotees on this special day, here are Krishna.com’s tips on how to celebrate Janmashtami at home:

• Children also enjoy dressing up as Radha, Krishna and their associates, and re-enacting Krishna’s pastimes. This helps to create a very festive mood.

As you celebrate Janmashtami, remember that just as we enjoy the attention and fun on our birthday, so the Lord also enjoys our attention and gifts on His appearance day. The difference between us and Krishna is that He is able to reciprocate perfectly with each one of us. In the transcendental realm, everything that we offer to the Lord with love and devotion will benefit us unlimitedly, and those benefits will stay with us for eternity.

By Madhavananda das GGS (Gopal Jiu Publications – IN)

Notes from Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa

Texts 247 to 542 of the 15th section of Hari-bhakti-vilasa describe the glories of Janmastami and how to observe it. The introduction to this section describes three reasons for observing the Lord’s appearance day:

nityatvam ca param tasya bhagavat-prinanan matam
vidhi-vakya-visesac cakarane pratyavayatah

The observance of Janmastami is accepted as a regulative principle in three ways: 1) the Supreme Lord becomes pleased when one observes it; 2) there are special sastric injunctions requiring its observance; and 3) it is a fault to not observe it. (Hbv. 15.266)

FOR KRISHNA’S PLEASURE

That the observance of Janmastami pleases Krishna is supported with the following statement from the Skanda Purana:

prahladadyais ca bhu-palaih krta janmastami subha
sraddhaya paraya visnoh pritaye krsna-vallabha
prajapatyarksa samyukta sravanasya sitastami
varse varse tu kartavya tustyartham cakra-paninah

For the pleasure of Lord Vishnu, even great kings like Prahlad Maharaja faithfully observed the vow of Janmastami, which is very dear to Krishna. It is the duty of everyone to celebrate Janmastami every year, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the moon in the month of Sravana, when it is joined by the Rohini-naksatra, for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, who carries a cakra in his hand. (Hbv. 15.267-68)

THE FAULTS OF NON-OBSERVANCE

Texts 269 to 282 of this section of Hari-bhakti-vilasa cite the Visnu-rahasya Purana describing various ghastly reactions that one will suffer by not properly observing the Janmastami fast and offering special worship to Krishna on this day. A few examples:

Eating on Janmastami is equivalent to eating the flesh of a vulture, a crow, a hawk, or a human being. If one eats on Janmastami they get the reaction of eating all the sins of the three worlds. If one eats even a tiny bit on Janmastami they will be tortured by the Yamadutas after death…. Those who eat on Janmastami take one hundred generations of their ancestors and one hundred generations of their offspring with them to hell… It is the duty of all devotees to celebrate Janmastami, even with a very small budget, for the pleasure of the son of Devaki. One should not fail to celebrate Krishna’s appearance day, otherwise one will be forced to reside in hell for a kalpa. (Texts 270-272, 274, 282)

MATERIAL BENEFITS

Texts 283 to text 340 then go on to speak about the glories of following Janmastami as collected from various sastric sources. This section entices the reader with many material blessings. For example, Hari-bhakti-vilasa (Texts
283-284, 289-292) quotes from the Bhavisottara Purana regarding the benefits of observing this festival:

[By observing Sri Krsna Janmastami] one becomes free from the sinful reactions committed in seven lives. One gets good children, good health and great wealth…. One will not have to fear enemies, and will get sufficient rainfall and never have to suffer from drought. One will not have to fear natural calamities, hellish conditions, snakes, disease, or the attacks of rogues and thieves.

BHAKTIVINODE’S ANALYSIS

In this connection it is interesting to note Thakur Bhaktivinode’s enumeration in the first chapter of Caitanya-siksamrta of the various general motivations people have to try to please the Lord:

1) Bhaya — out of fear.
2) Asa — for satisfying material aspirations.
3) Kartavya-buddhi — out of a sense of duty (literally, “a mentality of what should be done”).
4) Raga — out of genuine attraction for the Lord.

Bhaktivinode elaborates on these motivations: Those who take to worship of the Lord out of bhaya, asa or kartavya-buddhi are not on such a pure level. Those who worship the Lord according to raga are real worshipers…. Bhaya o asa nitasta heya — Bhaya and asa are extremely low class. When a practioner’s intelligence becomes clear, he gives up bhaya and asa, and kartavya-buddhi becomes his sole motive. As long as raga towards the Lord has not appeared, the devotee should not give up worship according to kartavya-buddhi. From this sense of duty, kartavya-buddhi, two considerations arise: vidhi-samana, respect for the rules, and avidhi-parityaga, avoidance of those things contrary to the rules.

SRILA PRABHUPADA’S INSTRUCTIONS

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada also instructed his followers to abide by the rules of the janmastami-vrata, such as fasting. He wrote in his commentary on Bhagavad-gita 11.54:

There are so many rules and regulations, and if one at all wants to understand Krishna, he must follow the regulative principles described in the authoritative literature. One can perform penance in accordance with those principles. For example, to undergo serious penances one may observe fasting on Janmastami, the day on which Krishna appeared, and on the two days of Ekadasi (the eleventh day after the new moon and the eleventh day after the full moon).

FOOD VERSUS PRASADAM

As cited above, Hari-bhakti-vilasa [15.272] states that anyone eating even the smallest morsel on this day will have to go to hell. One may ask, then, why it is that Srila Prabhupada did not repeatedly stress this point, and why it is that that many vaisnavas serve prasadam to their guests on Janmastami? Although forbidding the eating of food on this day, Hari-bhakti-vilasa does not describe any adverse reactions for persons who honor prasadam. Krishna states in Bhagavad-gita (3.13):

yajna-sistasinah santo mucyante sarva-kilbisaih
bhunjate te tv agham papa ye pacanty atma-karanat

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

Prior to the section describing the glories and rules of Janmastami, Hari-bhakti-vilasa already described that prasadam is not to be considered food. Like Krishna himself, it is always situated beyond this material world. Hari-bhakti-vilasa (9.403-404) quotes the Brhad-visnu Purana:

naivedyam jagadisasya anna-panadikam ca yat
bhaksyabhaksa-vicaras ca nasti tad-bhaksane dvijah
brahmavan-nirvikaram hi yatha visnus tathaiva tat

Those foodstuffs and beverages that are offered to Krishna for his pleasure are transcendental and one should never try to distinguish them as eatables and non-eatables. Offerings to Sri Hari are transcendental, incorruptible, and non-different from Vishnu.

Honoring prasadam cannot result in any type of contamination. Rather, those who consider that Krishna’s remnants, which are non-different from him, to have sin in them, or that there is some mundane fault associated with honoring them, are great offenders. Hari-bhakti-vilasa further quotes the Brhat-visnu Purana:

vikaram ye prakurvanti bhaksane tad dvijatayah
kustha-vyadhi-samayuktah putradara-vivarjitah
nirayam yanti te vipra yasman-navartate punah

O brahmins, those who have a perverted mentality, and think offerings to Sri Hari to be material, will suffer from leprosy, and reside in hell after losing their wife and children.

As stated in Hari-bhakti-vilasa [15.282, quoted towards the begining of this article], it is the duty of all devotees to personally observe Janmastami. To not do so would be neglecting the instructions of sastra. However, understanding the following principle given in the Utkala khanda (36.19-20) of the Skanda Purana, many vaisnavas don’t hesitate to serve prasadam to their guests on Janmastami:

asucir-vapyanacaro manasa papam-acaran
prapti matrena bhoktavyam natra karya vicarana

Even if one is in an unclean state of body or mind, or engaged in irreligious acts, he should eat maha-prasada whenever it is available to him. There is no need to deliberate on this.

— This article was excerpted from Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu issue 207. The full issue can be read here:

http://www.gopaljiu.org/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=9:bindu-issues-181-210&download=212:bindu207&Itemid=70

Bibliography
— Bhagavad-gita As It Is. English translation and commentary by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Bombay. 1995.
— Bhaktivinode Thakur. Sri Caitanya-siksamrta. Sri Chaitanya Math. Mayapur. Bengali. Gaurabda 420.
— Gaudiya-vaisnava-kanthahara. Compiled by Atindriya Bhaktigunakara. Sri Chaitanya Math. Mayapur. 1960. Bengali.
— Sanatan Goswami. Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa. English translation by Bhumipati Das. Rasbihari Lal & Sons. Vrindavan. 2005.
— Sanatan Goswami. Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa. Sanskrit with Bengali translation by Kanailal Adhikari. Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math. Mayapur. 2000.

By Svavasa Dasa

A wonderful thing just happened. Tadit and I had a meeting with a rep from Amazon.com. They are launching a new program for their Prime Amazon customers in So. Cal. for take out food. We were picked as one of their vendors for take out within a three mile radius of the temple. This is really a big step up for us since they are a premier company for delivery goods as I’m sure you know.

They will take our menu put it on the Amazon site and give their customers an app and then the customer sends us their order through the special app, we put it together and Amazon sends their delivery man to pick it up and deliver it to the customer. Amazon will supply us a Kindle reader hooked up next to our register were the order will come in from a customer. We will have to punch in how much time it will take to make the order ( anywhere from 5,10, 15, 20, 25 min.) and Amazon will come about 2 to 5 minutes ahead of scheduled time for pickup. The delivery man will be on GPS so that the customer will be able to track their prasadam coming to their house or work place.

Please pray that we may accomplish this feat!

your servant,
Svavasa Dasa

By Chaitanya Chandra Das

Recently we commenced monthly book distribution venture by our temple bus in the interiors of Maharashtra, India. It is really an exhilarating experience to realize Srila Prabhupada’s statement in Srimad Bhgavatam

It is the duty of a mendicant (parivräjakäcärya) to experience all varieties of God’s creation by traveling through all forests, hills, towns, villages, etc., 1)to gain faith in God and 2)strength of mind as well as 3)to enlighten the inhabitants with the message of God. SB1.6.13

1) Gain faith in God:-

When we travel we are impelled to depend on Lord. While staying at different places every day we get to feel the hand of God in our lives especially when you are doing His work. For those who are born and brought up in cities experience of village life is something inimitable. We have experienced how miraculously our food and shelter is arranged at various places. Even animals in the forest get what they require then why God will not provide to those who are doing His work? Our itinerary is that in the early morning we take bath in nearby river or pond. The cook does cooking in the bus. After the nourishing morning program which includes Mangal Arti, Narsimha Arti, Tulasi Arti and Chanting, we honor breakfast and rush for book distribution as villagers depart for their fields by 10 AM. So we need to catch them before that. At the entry in the village we announce about the books and put up a stall. Many people gather around the stall while other devotees go door to door for distribution. We only halt at one village for 10- 15 mins max. Our formula is “Spread the net wide” OR “Find interested people rather than creating interest in people” Afternoon we take break under some tree. The cook prepares delicious lunch meanwhile. After sumptuous lunch we take nap followed by Brahmacari Class. Again we set out for second session of book distribution. At dusk we search for some local temple to stay in the night. Then we go to bed early exhausted & gratified. Village atmosphere is quiet charming and rewarding. For 7 days in a month we stay in the lap of Mother Nature. Even God Himself prefers staying in simple Vrindavan setting rather than opulent metropolis like Mathura or Dwaraka. The propensity to stay close to nature is in God Himself hence it is found in everyone of us. Although wealthy people have their base in cities they have their personal residence at countryside. It is very easy to gain faith on father ‘God’ by staying close to mother ‘nature.

2) Gain strength of mind:-

By experiencing the variety in the nature one can feel one’s mind becoming resilient. The ability to tackle different situations while travelling fortifies one’s will. If we see the practice of devotional service depends largely on the strength of mind. Mind is the greatest adversary if uncontrolled and the best comrade if controlled.

uddhared ätmanätmänaà nätmänam avasädayet ätmaiva hy ätmano bandhur ätmaiva ripur ätmanaù

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. BG 6.5

Mind can turn hell into heaven and heaven into hell. So a strong mind or controlled mind is very essential in practice of devotional service. Not only the body but our mind also becomes strong by exposing ourselves to natural elements. Of course mercy is also important factor in Bhakti. But Srila Prabhupada once said “If we have no determination then even Krishna cannot help”

3) Enlighten the inhabitants:-

Along with gaining faith in God and strength of mind most valuable service of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books to masses is being done. We ourselves get to realize the importance of devotional service while giving it to others. We meet people staying in sequestered places where they never have met any devotee and will never probably meet another. When Prabhupada’s book enters their dark den it illuminates their hearts along with their home. Once the director of a pharmaceutical company observed that his production is going down. He found out that the employees manufacturing the medicines are not putting their heart in the work. So he thought of an idea. He told them to go out and distribute the medicines to patients. After few days he saw the production has doubled! The reason was when the employees went for distribution of the medicines they observed how desperate the patients were to receive the medicines. For them it meant difference between life and death. Hence the employees realized the importance of their work and started manufacturing the medicines with redoubled efforts. Similarly when we go out for distribution of books we meet people who are in darkest of ignorance. But when they receive the book their life bears a paradigm shift. That only increases our conviction in practice of Devotional service and outreaching. When we take treatment from some doctor and our chronic disease gets miraculously cured we unconsciously preach about the doctor’s effectiveness to whomever is sick. Similarly as we have benefitted from the medicine of Krishna consciousness we should share it with others so that others can also benefit. Only one who has not benefitted from the process will not endeavor to outreach. Lord Chaitanya has told the process of Devotional Service is Kevala Ananda kanda(pure happiness ). And the process of spreading this Ananda is double Ananda. Hence Srila Prabhupada said Preaching is the essence.

Other benefits:-

Life is short. And the task at hand is great i.e to become fit to go home Back To Godhead. For that we need to become dear to Krishna then He will call us. And the easiest way of pleasing Krishna is –

na ca tasmän manuñyeñu kaçcin me priya-kåttamaù bhavitä na ca me tasmäd anyaù priyataro bhuvi

There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he(who preaches the knowledge of Me to others), nor will there ever be one more dear. BG 18.69

A pilot of a commercial plane doesn’t have to have a ticket for flying as he is carrying others to the destination. Hence his reaching is assured without much endeavors. Similarly for a Sankirtan devotee going Back To Godhead is assured because he is showing way to others.

Martin Luther King rightly said “Unless one has something in life to die for then there is nothing in his life to live for”. Preaching is such an exciting activity that one can die for it. While preaching we are put on field to test. And it is during such tests that we develop taste for Bhakti. People want to experience variety in life hence they do variety of activities. The problem is through the variety of activities the experience they get is same. Hence they get bored after some time. For a devotee the activities are same but the experience is different every time. For. E.g devotees activities are chanting, hearing, reading, serving,etc. but while doing these repetitive activities they get different and deeper experience every time. But What if option is given – different activities with different and deeper experience! Best of both! Preaching is like that you need to approach people in different ways according to time, place, circumstances and you get different experience every time. As the saying goes – Great people do not do great things they do small things in great ways.

Relationship sometimes get strained amongst devotees. Going out on Sankirtan for days resolves the relationship problem which is otherwise difficult to solve. Just like walking is a good exercise by which many diseases are cured. Walking is like refurbishing the body. Body becomes dynamic. Similarly is preaching. Things that concerns or irritates us can be overcome easily by going out on Sankirtan.

Conclusion:-

In a month we go out for 7 days for book distribution. Till now we visited places like Nasik, Satara, Pandharpur, Velhe, Mahabaleshvar etc. During Prabhupada times everyone would go for book distribution – WSF(Weekly Sankirtan Festival). Going out and giving Krishna to others is every devotee’s duty. But simultaneously if not more important but equally important is own nourishment i.e. sadhana which includes hearing, chanting, associating with equals. Sadhana develops our attitude. This is balance. Activity and attitude. At the time of creation Rudras creating havoc instead of civilized progeny is example of Activity without Attitude. Babajis or Bhajananandis is example of Attitude without activity. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said “We should be Bhajananandis who likes to preach” Many book distributors left the movement because they focused on the activity not the attitude or Sadhana.

Our reach should exceed our grasp. Aim high. If we aim at just surviving in Bhakti then we will surely not. But if we aim at thriving then we will be surviving. The activity of Sankirtan is like thriving. If one wants to rise above mental platform one should do outreach. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur used say “Pranan hetu se pracara” one who has life will outreach. Worry about others problems that will burry our problems. Rolling stone gathers no moss.

Once devotees told Prabhupada that “Prabhupada you are the heart of ISKCON”

Prabhupada replied, “My heart is book distribution”

And if we want to be situated in Prabhupada’s heart then we should go out regularly on Sankirtan.

Constant remembrance of the lotus feet of the Lord is possible only when one engages in active devotional service. – Srila Prabhupada Mukunda mala Stotra mantra 3

Lecture on Material Elements and Yoga by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 09 Jun 2015 at ISKCON New Jersey

(HH Bhakti Charu Swami was born in Bengal in 1945, he met with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at the end of 1976.From their very first meeting, Srila Prabhupada gave His Holiness the assignment of translating his books into Bengali and made him his Secretary for Indian Affairs.)

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Lecture on Krishna Avirbhav Lila by Devakinandan Prabhu on 30 Aug 2015 at ISKCON Juhu

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Lecture On Appearance Day of Lord Balarama by Prabodhananda Sarasvati Swami at ISKCON New Jersey on 30 Aug 2015

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By Kesava Krsna dasa

I had been a bhakta for about two weeks. Up until that fateful morning I had relished whatever prasadam was put in front of me, except my first taste of upma.

Upma seems to be one of those dishes we either love or loathe, except of course when it is prasada. Then again it is an acquired taste for many, and for a debutant like me it was, please bear with me, a revolting experience. Yes, it was prasadam prabhu. I think an acronym is in order here: Upstart Preliminary Masticating Assessment.

When this unknown quantity was served for breakfast, I saw how different it looked from the other tasty dishes. It could have been a mushy overcooked conglomerate of greenish beige whatever it was. I noticed some moist and dry patches which looked like sand, and some bits of cabbage protruding.

I was hungry and thought nothing of the strange appearance. It was prasadam, tasty and purifying. But my first bite, then the next, induced in me a nauseous shuddering feeling. It was disgusting. I looked around me to find that everybody else was eating with gusto. Was there something wrong with me? I couldn’t fathom how anyone could eat it. Like a wanted paranoid fugitive, I looked all around and tried to make a hasty escape to dispose of it. But we Bhaktas were a well supervised lot. From our rising in the morning to sleeping at night, watchful eyes saw our every move. How to do it?

The next moment our assistant bhakta leader, HG Kesidamana prabhu came to sit next to me. He too ate with a delight which confounded me. I asked him what it was. “Upma” he replied. “Nice, isn’t it” he said.
“I don’t like it too much” I answered. I began to fiddle with my upma. Those dry sandy crunchy areas were the worst. I remembered watching a documentary about a woman who ate sand in large quantities, remarkably without any ill effect. “If she could do it, so can I” I thought. But my next couple of bites caused my diaphragm to heave slightly in readiness to expel the contents. It was as bad as that. It was as if eating an upper body laxative. Yes, it’s prasadam prabhu.

Then prabhu began preaching to me non-stop. “Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead” he said. I was polite and obliging, and nodded in agreement to his sermon. But I didn’t want philosophy; only relief. Next I tried some mind power, to convince myself that the upma on my plate did not exist. With this state of mind I took another bite, then another. That tasteless gritty grinding sand in the teeth sensation rendered my mental power obsolete. By now, that upma took on the appearance of a detestable cold blob of completely resistible bad food. Yes, it’s prasadam prabhu.

“Krsna is the Supreme pure” he continued. “Just as He is Supremely pure, so whatever food is offered to Him with love and devotion, it becomes prasadam. It should never ever get wasted or thrown away.” Who was I to argue with this? For a good 30 to 40 minutes I continued to eat until finished.

Some time later, after I learned to cook on traveling sankirtana, I realized why my upma was so awful. The answer came while making halava. As the title of this story implies, I refer not to any science-fiction or futuristic star-trekking flight of fantasy into deep space, or some far flung area of the mind, but to a simple cooking pot. While cooking the halava, which is more or less like making sweet upma, the flavor had to be stirred in to all of the semolina, including that which is stuck on the outer limits of the pot. What I had that day, I am sure, was outer limits upma, the stuff that did not catch the flavor or moisture, the semolina which clung to the wall of the pot – dry, sandy and tasteless.

It wasn’t until after I came to South Africa in 1988, when I made my first upma. While doing book distribution from a preaching centre in Johannesburg, the devotees took turns to cook. One morning I decided to make upma. While serving the devotees breakfast, I heard some favorable comments. One devotee in particular who was relishing it was Raghubhir prabhu, now known as HH Bhakti Chaitanya Swami. He speaks such impeccable New Zealand English as to impress. “Hmm….” I heard him murmur. “Hmm….this upma; it’s very nice. Hmm…. This taste; what is it?” By now I was seated ready to eat. “I put some mustard in it, mustard powder.” I replied. He said he remembered having Sri Jagannatha prasada, some of which had a mustard flavor.

Everyone took seconds. “Everyone loves my upma.” I thought. When I tasted the upma I was delighted with the outcome. It was fabulous. It was marvelous. Please excuse my self-glorification. Fie on me. Such a wicked arrogant claim to a mere moment of culinary glory is worthy of a demoniac mind. What pride. What egotistical vainglory. Shame. O great shame on me. But that was a superb upma.

After finishing my breakfast I dearly wanted more, but did not want to appear to be a greedy. Maharaja nevertheless came and served me seconds, saying “That’s the intelligent thing to do.”

After some days, he asked if I could make some upma. “Maharaja loves my upma.” I gloated to myself. I set about the matter as before. A problem arose because most of the ingredients needed were not there. The mustard powder, the powdered coriander, cumin and other spices were gone. What to do? Maharaja came in to the kitchen to see my progress. I explained the situation. He said to just try my best. I used the seeds of coriander, cumin, mustard and so on. By now I could sense my upma was going to be a munchy, crunchy affair.

I served the devotees again. I did not hear the favorable comments. Nor did I hear negative ones. But I did look to Maharaja for his reaction. His moving his head from side to side with a no gesture indicated to me it was a flop, thus ending the tale of the rise and fall of my fabulous but, elusive upma.

In ending this story, my obeisances go to whoever made that upma. He or she taught me a lesson in respecting prasada. Though I would never recommend outer limits upma to anyone, I pray if there is such a thing as a demigoddess of upma, to forgive my not too glowing report of under-flavored semolina.

Ys, Kesava Krsna dasa.

By Praghosa dasa

Whenever it is stated that we are all eternal spirit souls, eternal servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Jivera ‘svarupa’ haya-krsnera ‘nitya-dasa’ there is rarely, if ever, any confusion, misunderstanding or contention among the devotee community. On the contrary it is a statement that we can all get behind and support. There are of course other statements and subject matters that the devotee community do not so easily see eye to eye on. Such a situation is in many ways quite natural, we even have examples from sastra where previous acaryas had varying opinions on certain subject matters.

Those varying opinions though are never described as being a source of conflict, indeed often they are the opportunity for further glorification of devotees:

SB 1.12.23 Translation

This child will be like his grandfather Yudhisthira or Brahma in equanimity of mind. He will be munificent like the lord of the Kailasa Hill, Siva. And he will be the resort of everyone, like the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana, who is even the shelter of the goddess of fortune.

Purport

Mental equanimity refers both to Maharaja Yudhisthira and to Brahma, the grandfather of all living beings. According to Sridhara Svami, the grandfather referred to is Brahma, but according to Visvanatha Cakravarti, the grandfather is Maharaja Yudhisthira himself. But in both cases the comparison is equally good because both of them are recognized representatives of the Supreme Lord, and thus both of them have to maintain mental equanimity, being engaged in welfare work for the living being.

If desired the above example could be used to get into a right old ding-dong as to who the grandfather is but as the above shows vaisnavas, rather than taking that option, simply use it as an opportunity to further glorify their fellow devotees. From this example we can understand that rather than apparent contradiction being a vehicle for full scale disagreement, a devotee takes it as an opportunity for further enlightenment and further glorification of their fellow vaisnavas.

There is a saying that goes something like this “S/he could pick a fight in an empty room” Without a doubt the urge to be argumentative is present within all of us and therefore it is important that as devotees we use it only when it is appropriate to do so:

“Of course, those who preach sometimes need to argue with the contentions of opponents, but as much as possible one should avoid an argumentative attitude” SB 7.13.7 purport

So unless there is a need to argue with our opponents contentions according to the above reference we should avoid manifesting such an argumentative attitude.

Srila Prabhupada mentions in another purport the same principle from a different angle:

We should learn from Maharaja Prthu that a Vaisnava, or devotee, must not only be fixed in the service of the Lord, but, if required, must be prepared to argue with the impersonalist Mayavadis with all logic and philosophy and defeat their contention that the Absolute Truth is impersonal.
SB 4.22.62 purport

So arguing per se is not a bad thing if it is directed at the right target such as Mayavadi’s, which is of course very important because once one engages in unnecessary argument, quarrel quickly follows and then there is little chance of any auspicious outcome. Quarrel as we know is a prime quality of kali yuga, indeed the word kali is often translated to mean quarrel.

O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed. SB 1.1.10 Translation

While discussion is undoubtedly welcome among vaisnavas it must be conducted in the right mood, we cannot allow ourselves to be dictated to by pride and false ego, thus identifying other devotees as our rivals or enemies.

Therefore the question could be raised as to whether there is ever a basis for engaging in contentious argument among devotees? For sure any such discussion of this type would have to be conducted with the proper motivation and based on a genuine need for clarification of the apparent differences of opinion. It is interesting to note that many times when differences are expressed (among our Dandavats commentators) a regular response is that there has been a misunderstanding. Just as much as the challenger should take every care that the challenge is based on a legitimate foundation, equally the challenged should not use the cover of misunderstanding as a defence, unless of course it genuinely is a misunderstanding.

For many reasons misunderstandings are always a likely occurrence and we should allow for them, giving the benefit of the doubt, particularly as our discussions are among devotees. Devotees that have spent so many hours of their lives chanting the holy name. Such persons are very special indeed.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura comments that the chanting of the holy name of the Lord has special significance that distinguishes it from the Vedic ritualistic ceremonies of atonement for severe, more severe or most severe sinful actions. There are twenty types of religious scriptures called dharma-sastras, beginning with the Manu-samhita and parasara-samhita, but herein it is stressed that although one may become free from the reactions of the most sinful activities by following the religious principles of these scriptures, this cannot promote a sinful man to the stage of loving service to the Lord. On the other hand, chanting the holy name of the Lord even once not only frees one immediately from the reactions of the greatest sins, but also raises one to the platform of rendering loving service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is described as uttamasloka because He is famous for His glorious activities. Thus one serves the Lord by remembering His form, His attributes and pastimes. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura explains that this is all possible simply by chanting the Lord’s holy name because of the Lord’s omnipotence. What cannot be achieved through the performance of Vedic rituals can be easily achieved through the chanting of the Lord’s holy name. To chant the holy name and dance in ecstasy is so easy and sublime that one can achieve all the benefits of spiritual life simply by following this process. SB 6.2.11 purport

I am sure we all have examples of classic but genuine misunderstandings in our own lives. About 15 years ago one devotee (name withheld :) was mentioning how he had been accepted in some university in London and he would be moving to the UK in the near future to study there. He said it was handy because the college was very close to Bhaktivedanta Manor and he was planning on staying at the Manor and going to college each day from there. I said to him that he might want to check with the Manor first to see if they had the facility for him to stay. I also enquired as to what service he would do while staying there, as attending full time college would not leave him much time for doing any service. His response was hilarious mainly because of his genuine (if extremely naïve) misunderstanding. He said that he did not think it would be a problem if he had no time to do any service because Srila Prabhupada had said many times that “One should take advantage of this movement”!

After managing to bring my laughter under control (which took quite a while) I explained to him that that wasn’t quite what Prabhupada had in mind by ‘taking advantage of this movement’. As soon as he heard my explanation he was quite embarrassed as he could immediately understand his oversight but the fact is it was a genuine misunderstanding and therefore he wasn’t deserving of capital punishment.

As a 6 or 7 year old kid I remember the same kind of thing happening to me. The day after my birthday (where my lasting memory was a three tier sponge cake filled with cream and jam) I was in school and the teacher was discussing sponges under the sea. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why anyone would want to put a sponge under the sea (my mind still locked onto the vision of a creamy sponge cake), it would just get all soggy and horrible. Anyway I didn’t bother to question this at the time and just put it to the back of my mind. While I wasn’t thinking about this night and day, still it was maybe a year or more later before my doubts were answered. One day I was watching a nature program on TV, and the subject matter being discussed was natural sea sponges, it was then that the penny dropped as to what my teacher was talking about all that time before.

Misunderstandings and contradictions are certainly a fact of life, indeed as often as we hear a fire brigade or ambulance siren piercing our ears or making our heart skip a beat, there is likely to be an abortion being executed or a war being planned somewhere in the world. So as we spend millions rushing to save lives, we are simultaneously wasting millions destroying them.

Hopefully we can avoid the same scenario in our dealings with devotees, namely while we are trying to achieve clarification and further enlightenment on such spiritual matters as to how best to organise society, thus making it more compatible for all to practice spiritual life, we do not destroy our devotional creepers in the process. Such an end would never be justified by the means.

Your servant
Praghosa dasa

By Premanjana Das

The festival of Balaram Jayanti was celebrated with great jubilation, pomp and grandeur here at Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Temple (ISKCON Punjabi Bagh) on 29th Aug Saturday.

Salient features of this year’s festival are:
1. The Devotee here were blessed with the association of many senior Devotees like HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, HG Vaiyasaki Pr, HH Bhakti Ashray Vaisnava Maharaja, HG Patri Pr, HG Haygriva Pr and many other leaders from Delhi NCR Temples.
2. Balaram Katha was given by H H Bhakti AsrayaVaisnava Maharaja
3. Abhishek , Kirtans (led by HG Vaiyasaki Pr) ,Prasad and esp Darshans of their Lordships enchanted everyone. A Devotional and Joyous Festival: “The Joy of Devotion”

Some Glimpses

By Premanjana Das

On 23rd Aug’ 15, ISKCON Punjabi Bagh organized its Annual Rathyatra(The Chariot Parade) which started at 3:00 PM continuing to grace the citizens of West Delhi upto 10:00 PM in the Night.

Their Lordships bestowed their merciful glance and gave their Darshans to thousands of people who pulled the chariot that day.
The festival organized at this time also serves as an awareness program and invitation to general public about the upcoming festivals of Balaram Jayanti, Janamastami, Srila Prabhupada Vyaspuja and Radhastami.

Though it rained heavily for the last half hour, devotees became more enthusiastic in their chanting/ dancing and pulling of chariot.
Special care was taken to keep smooth flow of traffic and cleanliness of the entire place after the parade. In fact, place became many times cleaner than it was before the festival.

Some Glimpses:

Seeking blessings: Devotees at the ‘Kumbha Abhiseka’ ceremony where holy water is sprinkled from the top of the temple in Seberang Jaya.

By Lo Tern Chern

BUTTERWORTH: Thousands of Hindu devotees came for the opening of the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple of Devotion and Under­standing in Seberang Jaya, which is billed as the country’s grandest Krishna temple.

The pinnacle of the day-long ceremony yesterday was the Kumbha Abhiseka, which saw holy water sprinkled from the top of the temple onto devotees after a series of prayers.

Temple co-president Kalesha Dasa Lim said the opening ceremony coincided with the 50th anniversary of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness’ (Iskcon) founding in the United States.

Among the devotees present was Universiti Malaya’s senior lecturer of linguistics Dr Sridevi Srinivass who came by bus with her three children and members of Iskcon Teluk Pulai in Klang, Selangor.

“The opening ceremony was so grand.

“It’s a temple like no other,” she said, claiming that the temple focused more on original Hinduism that dated back to more than 5,000 years ago.

The ceremony began at 6am with teachers and students from the Iskcon’s international school at its headquarters in Mayapur, West Bengal in India, performing rituals at the three-storey octagonal-shaped temple.

There were also fire rites and prayers followed by the bathing ceremony of Lord Krishna and the sanctifying of the three chakras.

The RM7mil temple, which took six years to build, features 16 ornate pavilions with three main Puti style towers and two glass skylight pyramidal domes.

Buildings located within its grounds are the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Centre that organises Food-For-Life distribution programmes and a variety of community, welfare and religious services.

There is also the Bhaktivedanta Multi-Purpose and Cultural Hall, which is a four-storey building with a 464.5 sq m hall and performance stage.

The temple is touted to be the first Hindu temple in the country to have 16 chatris (ornate dome-shaped pavilions), two octagon skylight domes and three main shikara domes.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/08/30/Grand-opening-for-RM7mil-temple-Thousands-of-Hindu-devotees-attend-daylong-religious-ceremony/