Lecture on Sunday Feast Lecture - Appearance Day of Lord Rama by Tamohara Prabhu on 06 Apr 2014 at ISKCON Alachua

(Tamohara Dasa has a doctorate in educational psychology and has been a faculty member and administrator in several graduate schools and universities, including dean of the Illinois School of Professional Psychology.

To Listen and Download - click here

Lecture on Duties of Men by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami on 08 Oct 2010 at Dubai

(His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON's founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Elections are integral part of the democratic process. They take up a fever of their own. During this time the media itself is filled up with ads, analysis, reports of elections, the trends and predictions.

From spiritual perspective there may be different responses possible to this social situation.
a) There is idea that all this is temporary and nothing is going to change in this world full of miseries. Ex. One may quote Srila Prabhupad here, when congress lost power in 1970, that time elections were coming up, at that time SP told that ‘this is not going to make any difference. Adhyatmik adjustment is what is going to solve the problem. Not the social Adjustment.’ That may make some devotees dismissive towards the elections.
b) From Transcendental perspective it is true that the material changes don’t make much difference. But Srila Prabhupad himself was not indifferent towards the social situations. At one time SP encourages devotees to form a political party called ‘in god we trust’. There were devotees who campaigned in America as well as Australia. SP said that one advantage of this democratic set-up of elections is that you can freely criticize others. So as to bring the people towards the awareness of the core issues and make healthy choices.

So SP had both these attitudes. Rather to say we may find SP quotes for whichever attitude we may have. So if we look at the Vedic philosophy at large there are 3 ways to look at the world:-
1. 'Demonize the world' -----> Gyan Marg (everything in this world is dangerous, distracting and entangling so there is no need to be indulged in it)
2. ‘Romanticize the world’ ----> Karma Marg (If only a few things change, then everything will be so wonderful in this world and we will be happy. Changes at material level can bring happiness)
3. ‘Utilize the World’ ----> Bhakti Marg (Everything belongs to Krishna and should be used in the service of Krishna. Principle of Yukta Vairagya i.e. whatever is usable in Krishna’s service, shouldn’t be rejected)

Bhagwad Gita doesn’t endorse 1st and 2nd interpretations. However Bhagwat Gita supports the 3rd way.The way Democracy works is that the way citizens can express their power is through voting. There is a material level and there is a transcendental level to it. Within the material level (made up of Goodness, Passion and ignorance) there are things that are Pro-spirituality and there are things that are anti-spirituality. For example Excessive passion and ignorance would be anti-spiritual.

For Bhakti, out of these material elements:-
What is Pro-spiritual ---> is encouraged
What is Anti-spiritual ----> is discouraged (lower modes)
At one level devotees are meant to practice spirituality without getting entangled in this world. But at the same time SP told devotees to contribute to the world by raising the consciousness of the society.
So by the principal of Yukta-Vairagya whatever principle we can use for raising the consciousness we should use. And government is vastly useful and powerful machinery in today’s society. Whether that government is in the hand of those who are pro-spiritual or anti-spiritual that is something that is significantly going to determine if spiritual message that can be practiced and shared.

Irreligious Fanaticism
There are irreligious fanatics which make practice of spirituality impossible. We have in soviet Russia where devotees were tortured and prosecuted because they were practicing religious principles. Communism which rejected all the religions as doping of the masses is irreligious fanaticisms.

Religious Fanaticism
Similarly there are ethocracies that encourage practices of one religion and ban the practices of other religions (at least publically).

Indian Tradition has been a tradition of plurality and broad-mindedness. There have been different paths for different people, according to their traditions/ mentalities/ psycho-physical natures. That’s why there are gyan marg, karma marg, and bhakti marg.
So in today’s society this plurality is being endangered in the name of secularism. Often secularism should broadly mean that different religions to be allowed to practice without any interference by the state. But unfortunately in India, secularism often leads to reverse-prosecution of the majority. So what it ends up doing is in the name of being Secular the minorities are given disproportionate favors and majority is disproportionately disfavored. This sort of secular intolerance which makes the practice of the mainstream Vedic culture more and more difficult. That is undesirable. That has to be avoided.

Of course at the other extreme is the religious fanaticism that is also not a part of the Vedic tradition. The Vedic tradition was that different people can propagate their ideas. There can be intellectual debate and the one which is intellectually strongest would triumph. But there are religious fanatics who do not tolerate any intellectual debate and they go into aggression.
So both the secular fanaticism and religious fanaticism are very dangerous for the plural culture of India for sharing the spiritual wisdom. Of course the mainstream media today highlights the dangers of loss of secularism far than the dangers of religious fanaticism in terms of the disproportionate favor to the minorities.

Three concentric circles
That’s why the devotees who at one level wants to practice their spiritual life (the innermost circle) and want to share it with other and help them to come to the devotional level (the outer circle), and the outermost circle are people broadly who are not practicing spiritual life but are appreciative of the spiritual life, that what the spiritual culture would spread broader and broader.
If the government is anti-spiritual or is run by those who are anti-spiritual or anti-Vedic religion can have injurious effects not only for the core practitioners or those who want to share the devotional culture but the outer culture can also be harmful. So devotees have to be very intelligent and responsible recognizing that just as we practice Krishna Consciousness, while doing so we use technology and so many things that were not used in the past because we understand the principle of Yukta-Vairagya, that whatever can be used n Krishna’s service must be used in Krishna’s Service.

Similarly the process of democracy and elections can also be utilized by the principle of the Yukta Vairagya for making the choices that will help in establishment of broad socio-cultural governance that is favorable to India’s broad-minded tolerant and pluralistic spiritual culture. So that’s why the elections provides the devotees the opportunity to exercise their social responsibility that by participating in the electoral process, casting one’s vote to those candidates who will promote the spiritual values, who will not reject spiritual values in the name of secularism, and who will gradually enable the establishment of socio-culture thoughts that raises people’s consciousness, in that way the devotees can help in re-spiritualization of society as Srila Prabhupad desired and wrote in his preface to Srimad Bhagwatam.

Thank You,

Hare Krishna.

"I went to your country with a mission & you all good souls were sent by Krishna to me." Srila Prabhupada

One of the good souls sent by Krishna to Srila Prabhupada is His Holiness Tridandi Biksu Jayapataka Swami Maharaja who has been serving Srila Prabhupada as a "selfless worker" over the last 33 years.

Birth, Childhood and Education
Jayapataka Swami was born John Gordan Erdman on April 9, 1949 (the ekadasi after ramanavami) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA to John Hubert and Lorraine Erdman. He was born into opulent surroundings, his father's father being the founder of a large paint factory, which was a multi-million dollar concern at the time of his birth. Later HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja was glad to see that his name - Gordan John (Gour Dhan Jan) - already suggested what Srila Prabhuapda confirmed, that he and two other devotees were formerly associates of Lord Caitanya and that they had taken their birth in the west to facilitate spreading Krishna consciousness around the world.

When Jayapataka Maharaja was eleven years old, at the suggestion of his grandfather he cured himself of a skin disease by calling on the name of God. At 14, he graduated almost effortlessly in the very top of his class from St.John's academy, a college preparatory school. He was offered full scholarships including tuition, books, fooding, lodging plus incidental expenses by several major universities around America. He accepted admission into Brown University. There, as a fresh enrollee, he was so much moved by a guest lecture on the life of Buddha that he lost all interest in his studies and began searching for a spiritual teacher. After some time of searching and austerity he concluded he would have to got o India to find his teacher.

As he was preparing to leave for India, he met the devotees of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, founder acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, doing kirtan and distributing BTGs at the park. When one devotee approached him to take a copy of the BTG, he was stunned to see the tilak on his face and experiencing some strange feelings he began to run. After running a few minutes, he stopped to contemplate on what he had seen and how he had been so much affected. It was the experience of seeing something after a long time, a re-awakening of something that had been dormant and hidden from his memory. He walked back to the park but by then the devotees were gone!

There began his search for the Hare Krishna devotees. Since ISKCON was not very well known, he could not find them for a long time. It was finally during the Ratha-yatra preparations in San Francisco that he found the location of the ISKCON center. He came to the temple where HG Jayananda prabhu was making the ratha cart for Jagannatha. HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja was drawn into service of the Ratha by Jayananda prabhu. Later he met Srila Prabhupada who encouraged him by inviting him to take prasadam with him and making sure he got more than just generous servings.

In just two months after visiting ISKCON, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja decided to commit himself to the principles of ISKCON. Jayananda prabhu shaved his head and everyone was surprised to see that within two months of coming in contact with ISKCON, he had shaved up and joined in. In 1968, Gordan John took first initiation in Montreal, Canada and was given the name Jayapataka dasa brahmachari and he was very soon awarded 2nd initiation in New York.

Several years later, while discussing a difficult situation in Mayapur, Srila Prabhupada remarked upon the name 'Jayapataka' as follows:

Jayapataka Maharaja: You gave me the name Jayapataka. I hope that name comes true, that there will be victory.

Prabhupada: It has already become so.

Jayaptaka Maharaja, (then Jayapataka dasa) began to render a number of services for ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada. The first most important was the service as the president of ISKCON Montreal. Srila Prabhupada wrote him in a letter, "For the present I think you cannot leave Montreali Your service is much too valuable there."

While in Montreal, His Holiness was was engaged in the service of printing books and dispatching them to other ISKCON Centres around the world. In a letter dated 6th October 1968, Srila Prabhupada wrote him, "I am interested in starting the press, so if you can manage it will be very nice." His service to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust continued in India and continues until today as he is one of the trustees of the BBT.

Later, on the instruction of Srila Prabhupada, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja went to Toronto to open a center there. When Jagadish took over the Toronto center as president he wrote to Srila Prabhupada enquiring about his service and Srila Prabhupada told him to go to India on a long visa as "we have a great deal of work to do there".

Jayapataka Maharaja's flight to India gives already the hint of his expertise in traveling with the most mileage and least expense possible. He flew for 48 hours in what was the "cheapest flight in history" flying Montreal - London - Brussels - Bombay - Calcutta.

At Calcutta, Jayapataka Maharaja began to learn Bengali by going out to buy fruits and vegetables. Along with the other devotees, he conducted house programs, organized pandal programs, and personally went out on nagar sankirtan and book distribution though there was so much violence in the city.

Soon the devotees found a new place in Mayapur and Srila Prabhupada arrived 29th

August 1970 in India. When he arrived, it was known that Srila Prabhupada had already given sannyas initiation to 9 persons in the US. Srila Prabhupada one day called Jayaparaka das and asked him if he would take sannyasa and in response he said, "Yes, Prabhupada whatever you like".

Thus on the day of the most auspicious Radhashtami in 1970, in Calcutta, Srila Prabhupada personally performed the fire yajna and Jayapataka dasa got his sannyas initiation. This 12th sannyasi disciple of Srila Prabhupada would be henceforth known as Tridandi Biksu Jayapataka Swami.

Arriving in Mayapur and eternal service to the holy Dham 
When ISKCON got a land in Mayapur HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja went there on the instruction of Srila Prabhupada. When he first arrived in Mayapur, understanding that he was in the holy land, he offered his obeisances and then dipped his head into the cool Ganges mud to get the blessings, recollecting how Akrura, when he entered Vrndavana, saw the lotus footprints of Krsna in the holy mud of Vrndavana.

There were 5 other devotees with HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja in Mayapur. As funds were short, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja began engaging in agriculture. He studied several books, learnt different methods and got the best crop. Local farmers were surprised and wanted to learn from him. This helped build a lasting relationship with the local people. Maharaja taught them modern techniques of agriculture and the farmers taught him Bengali. He began to give classes in Bengali where his few listeners would correct him in his language and soon he began to perfect his knowledge of the language. Jayapataka Maharaja had wanted to learn even in 1968 when he was in the West but it did not seem necessary there. His desire was fulfilled automatically when he was sent down to Bengal by Srila Prabhupada.

Life in Mayapur in the initial days was very austere and full of different types of dangers. Devotees would sleep on the floor of a grass hut. Since they were living on their own crop, they would have to eat the same vegetable for three months. Once when Srila Prabhupada was there a large cobra was found in his toilet. Prabhupada called out to Jayapataka Maharaj and he very quickly managed to save Prabhupada. Eventually they got a three-room warehouse built by the main gate.

Jayapataka Maharaja soon began to oversee construction work in Mayapur and the artistic lotus building was built. But envious circles began to give the devotees a lot of trouble. With permission from Srila Prabhupada and the police, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja kept a gun for protecting ISKCON devotees and property. As a devotee who was with him at that time remarked, "He (Jayapataka Maharaj) was a great shooter".

Jayapataka Maharaja also formed different teams of devotees called "Krishna team" "Arjuna team" etc to keep guard at night. Jayapataka Maharaja was very meticulous with all his services at Mayapur. He was very careful that not an anna was unnecessarily spent. He worked hard day and night and would most often be at least two hours late for his prasadam. Devotees who worked for him always found that when they took some matter to him, he not only solved it but also added new dimensions of expansion to it. An early devotee who worked with him remarks, "There are very few people who care from the bottom of their heart about ISKCON Mayapur. Jayapataka Maharaja's experience, loyalty and capacity of Mayapur in-house are unparalleled."

Preaching in India
With the permission of Srila Prabhupada, Jayapataka maharaja applied for Indian citizenship. This meant that he could not leave the country. He utilized this time for traveling within Bengal into the villages preaching and distributing books. Srila Prabhupada told Jayapataka Maharaja to distribute 10,000 big books and 100,000 small books every month.

He found unique ways of distributing books such as market-place

distribution, pandal programs, festival programs and nama hatta. Maharaja made it a point to preach not only in the cities but also in the interiors of India, in the villages.

Kingdom of God 
Srila Prabhupada had the vision of a Temple of the Vedic Planetarium to be built in Mayapur. He was talking to the scientists and telling them to figure out the 5th canto and build the planetarium and he also told Jayapataka Maharaja to figure it out.

One time when Jayapataka Maharaja came into the room to see Srila Prabhupada, he said, "I have given you the kingdom of God. Now develop it". Jayapataka Maharaja found it as a serious and at the same time humorous statement.

During the period of the initial development of Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir, the presiding deitis of the mandira, Sri Sri Radha Madhava, were brought to Mayapur and Jayapataka Maharaja recognised Them from a dream he once had years ago while preaching in the West.

In 1977 ISKCON Mayapur was attacked by the local villagers. They tried to take away everything and devotees were arrested. At that time HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja got the locals mobilized and organized a big procession from Mayapur to the Chand Kazi samadhi and then to the Jagannatha temple. About 25,000 people participated in the march, which consisted of 168 kirtan groups.

Namahatta
In Los Angeles in 1970 before Jayapataka Maharaja had come to India, Prabhupada had stopped in front of a church and said that in the future there'd just be a few devotees in the temples but so many would be practicing in their homes. At that time it was hard for Jayapataka Maharaja to understand this as most devotees were living in the temple and there was no congregation.

However, the protest march and the discovery of the 168 kirtan groups, and his services of book distribution, pandal programs, house programs and enrolling Life Members helped him understand that there were so many people who were interested in Krishna and that they needed to be given more care.

To engage all these devotees and give them training, first HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja considered making an ISKCON Sankirtan Organization or ISO. Srila Prabhupada not only gave his blessings for this project but also told him that the villagers could come to the temple, stay for a few days, get the idea about Krishna Consciousness, and go back to their villages and establish the same thing in their own village.

After Srila Prabhupada's disappearance HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja got the Gaudiya Patrika from Bhakti Caru Maharaja, which explains in detail the system of Namahatta preaching. This inspired Jayapataka Maharaja to establish, expand and develop this method of preaching.

In the recent times, Jayapataka Maharaja has also developed the system of Bhakti Vrksa preaching which assists namahatta preaching by enabling wider preaching and giving intensive and personal training to devotees so that everyone gets the chance to train to be a pure devotee while engaging in preaching activities.

Nitai . Kamala Boat 
One devotee in Mayapur was touring down on the Ganga taking a boat from Padma down and this gave Jayapataka Maharaja the idea of a boat party. He got the permission of the devotees concerned and was sent enough money from New York to buy a boat. Jayapataka Maharaja personally went and bought a boat from Diamond Harbour, Habrah, to Mayapur. Here is an interesting conversation which shows Srila Prabhupada's interest in this preaching mode:

Jayapataka: Would you like to see the goshala or the boat today, Srila Prabhupada?

Prabhupada: Which side is boat? Straight?

Bhavananda: Boat is at Hulor Ghat.

Prabhupada: Boat is worth seeing. (laughter) [break]

Morning walk, January 17, 1976, Mayapur.

Srila Prabhupada named the boat "Nitai . Kamala". Soon a set of Gour Nitai deities appeared in Mayapur and Srila Prabhupada personally installed Them in the boat.

Food For Life 
Srila Prabhupada wrote to the devotees in Mayapur, "I want that you shall distribute prasadam at least to hundreds of persons daily, and advertise very widely all over Nadia Province for people to come there and take prasadam daily without charge." BY 1973 Srila Prabhupada wrote to them that he was glad with the prasdam distribution reports. In 1974 Prabhupada wanted a prasadam distribution pavilion built in Mayapur where one thousand people could take prasadam at the same time.

In 1978, when floods ravaged West Bengal, Jayapataka Maharaja risked his life several times, braving flood waters in inadequate boats, to deliver emergency flood relief supplies to villagers stranded on tree-tops and roof-tops. This and countless other selfless services for the masses of India caused tens of thousands of villagers to petition the Central Government to grant Jayapataka Maharaja Indian citizenship. This was granted by the Union Government Home Ministry in 1978.

Jayapataka Maharaja is the world chairman for 'Food for Life' and ISKCON's Food Relief Programs. The descendant of Advaita Acharya himself, selected HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja to be in charge of the annual Santipur mass prasdam distribution program.

Mayapur Mandala Parikrama and Pilgrimages 
Srila Prabhupada Mayapur to be a center where devotees from all over the world could conglomerate and be strengthened spiritually to continue their preaching. In March 1974, the first Gour Pournima festival was held. Four hundred devotees from America, England, Europe, South America, Australia, India, and other parts of the world joined in the festival.

So, for the first time in 1974, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja led groups of devotees on parikrama (pilgrimage) to local holy places. This visit to Mayapur would constitute the first half of the devotees' Indian pilgrimage; after ten days they were scheduled to go to Vrndavana.

The Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama has been continuing ever since with the number of devotees participating increasing each year in the thousands. During these parikramas, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja takes care of not only the spiritual earnestness of all the devotees but as a perfect host, he also sees to it that they are comfortably situated.

Jayapataka Maharaja also has recently introduced the 'Ganga Safari' to visit those holy places connected to Lord Caitanya which are approachable only along the river flow. Similarly he conducts a tour of holy places in India and neighbouring countries to give the natives a chance to see how 'foreigners' are happy by following Krsna consciousness and to give the devotes more exposure to the places of pilgrimage. All these are organized very nicely and effectively.

Life Chairman of Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust 
On November 5 1977, Jayapataka Maharaja went to Vrndavana to meet Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada told him, "I am making Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust" and added, "you are the life chairman." Jayapataka Maharaja at thist ime also got the mandate from Prabhupada to unite the Sarasvat family, preserving the holy dham of Lord Caitanya and serving the pilgrims.

The beginning of the endless travels and GBC Responsibilities

Nine years after coming to India, finally in 1979, Jayapataka Maharaja got his Indian citizenship. Syamananda prabhu gave His Holiness an 'around the world ticket',encouraging him to travel.

Then around 1980 Hridayananda Maharaja invited him to visit South America. That started his visits to South America, Chile, Peru, Bolivia. Later Ecuador came and other places in South America.

In 1982, on the requests of Hridayananda Maharaja, Balavanta prabhu and Rupanuga prabhu, Jayapataka Maharaja made a base in South-East USA. What just started as a visit soon led to becoming a GBC in that area. In this he got established.

In 1984, Hamsadutta left ISKCON and at that time there was a danger that Malaysia would be taken out of ISKCON. Then Jayapataka Maharaja was sent to Malaysia to save it and he spent 21 days there at one stretch, which was a record. Together with hari Sauri prabhu they were able to save the situation. Since then His Holiness has been looking after the preaching in Malaysia. Later on, Singapore was added.

HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja is also a GBC for Assam. The large size karatalas (whompers) that adds greatly to the ecstasy of his kirtans, are a traditional type of karatal in Assam. This was presented to His Holiness in Assam. Though it is played differently in Assam than the way Jayapataka Maharaja is used to, he developed this way of playing the karatals.

Jayapataka Maharaja started as GBC in East India which includes Bihar, Orissa and Bengal. From 1980 to 1999 he was the GBC for South-East USA, as well as South America. He is also the GBC for Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. Jayapataka Maharaja serves as Co-GBC in the far east.

He is also the Minister of Congregational Preaching and Minister of Congregational Development, the Vice-chairman of the World Hindu Federation and Convenor of the Sarasvat Family.

While stationed in India, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja traveled all along Bengal, and Bangladesh visiting villages performing sankirtana and book distribution. Later on, once he got his Indian citizenship and was invited from several eladers to visit their countries, he began what seems his endless traveling. Traveling agents are amazed at the extent of his traveling which are also done with very careful calculations and planning to get the most mileage at the least expense.

As much as HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja loves to undertake traveling to all parts of the world and accepts any harship for the purpose of preaching, it is a great austerity for him to have to hide the symbols of a vaisnava from his body when he is invited to preach in certain foreign countries.

Festivals and Celebrations 
Jayapataka Maharaja personally loves attending ratha-yatras simply because he likes Lord Jagannatha. It was during the ratha-yatra in San Francisco that he first came into ISKCON and his first service was to build Jagannatha's rath cart. Thus he believes that it is by the mercy of Lord Jagannatha that he is a devotee.

His Holiness visited Puri during the ratha-yatra in the first year of his visit to India and Srila Prabhupada also told him to build a temple for Jagannatha in Puri for which he is endeavouring.

Wherever, there is ratha-yatra devotees are eager to invite HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja to attend and inspire the devotees with his ecstatic kirtan, and tireless dancing. Jayapataka Maharaja also in turn attends as many as ratha-yatras as possible and dances and sings for Lord Jagannatha forgetting his tiredness from traveling or other services.

Uniting the Sarasvat Gaudiya family 
Initially Jayapataka Maharaja stayed in Gaudiya Matha for a few months in Calcutta and Mayapur, and earned their lifelong respect. That short period of stay in the gaudiya Math ws perhaps Lord Krishna's arangement as it has made it easier for HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja to relate with some of the Gaudiya Maths. While Srila Prabhupada was in Mayapur, since he knew Bengali, Prabhupada would send him to deliver messages to Sridhara Maharaja, Givinda maharaja and others. Thus when Prabhupada told Jayapataka Maharaja to unite the Gaudiya Matha he made an effort to connect the spiritual family. After endeavouring for more than five years finally the Sarasvat Gaudiya Vaisnava Association was formed with the blessings of Prabhupada and blessings of all the senior Vaisnavas like Bhakti Pramode Puri Maharaja and other acaryas and His Holiness is the convenor for this association.

Accepting disciples 
On two occasions HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja recollects Srila Prabhupada telling him, "You are authorized to take disciples but actually the etiquette is in the presence of guru you shouldn't do, otherwise you are authorized." And "you are a sannyasi so sannyasi is authorized to take disciples. That's what sannyasa means but you don't take in the presence of your guru."

In 1977, as Srila Prabhupada's health was getting worse, he once asked Jayapataka Maharaja "What does your astrologer say?" and Jayapataka Maharaja mentioned "that there was an astrologer in Mayapur who had read Prabhupada's horoscope to Bhavananda along with all of our Society's leaders about two weeks ago. This man said that Prabhupada was a kind of avatara especially empowered by God so that he was free to choose whether to come or go. As far as his future predictions went, he said that Prabhupada's present illness would go by November 28 when Venus entered another house, that he would take another month to recuperate, and that there would be no further illness for seven years.(from TKG's Diary)

Though all the devotees were hopeful that Srila Prabhupada would recover, His Divine Grace left the planet on November 14, 1977. Earlier, HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja was one among the eleven named by Srila Prabhupada to give initiation on his behalf when he was seriously ill.

Based on Srila Prabhupada's personal instructions about how sannyasis are authorized to accept disciples when their spiritual master is no more present, following in the teachings in Srila Prabhupada's books that initiation is given by one in the current link of the disciplic succession;

Brahma is the original spiritual master for the universe, and since he was initiated by the Lord Himself, the message of Srimad-Bhagavatam is coming down by disciplic succession, and in order to receive the real message of Srimad-Bhagavatam one should approach the current link, or spiritual master, in the chain of disciplic succession.

And the confirmation in his letters that: 
Generally the spiritual master comes from the group of such eternal associates of the Lord; but anyone who follows the principles of such ever liberated persons is as good as one in the above mentioned group. (Letter to Janardana New York 26 April 1968)

HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaja began to accept disciples as a spiritual master in the Srila Prabhupada branch of the Goudiya Vaisnava sampradaya. Several devotees who were inspired by his dedication and sincerity to ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada accepted initiation from him. Many more continue to be inspired by His Holiness and aspire to take initiation from him.

His Holiness being a senior sannyasi disciple of Srila Prabhupada has also awarded sannyas initiation to many devoteee, so far until now:

Bhakti Vidya Purna Maharaja, Bhanu Maharaja, Prabhavisnu Maharaja, Bhakti Vikas Maharaja, Mahavisnu Maharaja, Gopal Krishna Maharaja, Mukunda Maharaja, Bhakti Vrajendranandana Maharaja, Bhakti Abhay caran swami , Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja, Bhakti Vaidurya Madhava Maharaja, Bhakti Raghava Maharaja. Bhaktisidhanta Swami, Bhakti Nityananda Swami, Bhativinoda Swami, Murli Krishna swami (GGS). Gadadhara Priya Goswami, Bhakti dhira damodara swami, Bhakti Narasimha swami.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Read More About Vamshivadana Thakura on www.gaudiyahistory.com

Read More About Sri Syamananda Prabhu on www.gaudiyahistory.com

15 April 2018 - 14 May 2018
Beginning of Salagrama and Tulasi Jala Dana

In this month the sun moves into Mesha rasi (Aries), and the new year begins according to many calanders.

Read more ! Audio ! Video ! Photos

Read more about Sri Balarama Rasayatra on www.harekrishnacalendar.com

Read more about Sri Krishna Vasanta Rasa on www.harekrishnacalendar.com

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1535) is the most recent incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. He appeared 500 years ago in Navadvip, West-Bengal and started His worldwide Sankirtan mission of propagating the chanting of the holy name of the Lord (the process of self-realization for this age - to meditate upon the sound of the maha-mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare). He left us only eight verses, called Siksastakam, in which His mission and precepts are revealed.

Sri Siksastakam

Text 1
ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha--davagni-nirvapanam
shreyah-kairava-chandrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam purnamritaswadanam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtanam

Glory to the Sri Krishna Sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

Text 2
namnam akari bahudha nija-sarva-shaktis
tatrarpita niyamitah smarane na kalah
etadrishi tava kripa bhagavan mamapi
durdaivam idrisham ihajani nanuragaha

O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krishna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

Text 3
trinad api sunichena
taror api sahishnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih

One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

Text 4
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad-isha kamaye
mama janmani janmanishvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki twayi

O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.

Text 5
ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
patitam mam vishame bhavambudhau
kripaya tava pada-pankaja-
sthita-dhuli-sadrisham vichintaya

O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.

Text 6
nayanam galad-ashru-dharaya
vadanam gadgada-ruddhaya gira
pulakair nichitam vapuh kada
tava nama-grahane bhavishyati

O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?

Text 7
yugayitam nimeshena
chakshusha pravrishayitam
shunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me

O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.

Text 8
ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah

I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.

Commentary by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recommended: ceto-darpana-marjanam. Marjanam means "cleanse," and darpanam means "mirror." The heart is a mirror. It is like a camera. Just as a camera takes all kinds of pictures of days and nights, so also our heart takes pictures and keeps them in an unconscious state [Subconsciousness]. Psychologists know this. The heart takes so many pictures, and therefore it becomes covered. We do not know when it has begun, but it is a fact that because there is material contact, our real identity is covered. Therefore ceto-darpana-marjanam: one has to cleanse his heart. (SP: Science of Selfrealization)

And when the heart is cleansed, then a person becomes eligible for being freed from the clutches of maya, or the materialistic way of life. He understands that he is not this body-that he's a spirit soul, and that his business is therefore different from merely material concerns. He thinks, "Now I am engaged only in seeking these bodily comforts of life. These are not at all essential, because my body will change. Today, since I am in an American body, I think I have so many duties as an American man. Tomorrow I may be in an American dog body, and immediately my duty would change. So I can understand that these bodily concerns are not my real business. My real business is how to elevate myself-as a spirit soul-to the spiritual world, back to home, back to Godhead."

When the mind is completely washed of all material contamination, the pure consciousness acts. The sound vibration from the spiritual sky can automatically cleanse all material contaminations, as confirmed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: ceto-darpanam-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. We need only take the advice of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and chant the Hare Krishna mantra to cleanse the mind of all material contamination, and this may be considered the summary of this difficult verse. As soon as the whole material contamination is washed away by this process of chanting, all desires and reactions to material activities become immediately vanquished, and real life, peaceful existence, begins. In this age of Kali it is very difficult to adopt the yogic process mentioned in this verse.

Unless one is very expert in such yoga, the best course is to adopt the ways and means of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri-Krishna-sankirtanam. Thus one can gloriously become freed from all material contamination by the simple process of chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Just as life in this material world has its beginning in material sound, similarly a spiritual life has its beginning in this spiritual sound vibration. (SB 4.23.17 pp)

In His Siksastaka, Lord Chaitanya describes the progressive benefits of chanting Hare Krishna. First, ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]. The beginning is cleansing the heart, because we are impure on account of dirty things within our heart, accumulated lifetime after lifetime in the animalistic way of life. So everything-advancement of spiritual life, culture, tapasya-is meant to cleanse the heart. And in this process of chanting the maha-mantra, the first installment of benefit is the cleansing of the heart. Ceto-darpana-marjanam. 

Specifically, chanting the Hare Krishna mantra purifies one, and this chanting is therefore recommended by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Ceto-darpana-marjanam: [Cc. Antya 20.12] by chanting the names of Krishna, the mirror of the heart is cleansed, and the devotee loses interest in everything external. When one is influenced by the external energy of the Lord, his heart is impure. When one's heart is not pure, he cannot see how things are related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Idam hi visvam bhagavan ivetarah (Bhag. 1.5.20). He whose heart is purified can see that the whole cosmic manifestation is but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but he whose heart is contaminated sees things differently. Therefore by sat-sanga, or association with devotees, one becomes perfectly pure in heart. (SB 4.24.59 pp)

In this way the person who chants Hare Krishna purifies his consciousness. Then his materialistic activity is stopped. He knows, "This is simply a waste of time. I must act spiritually." That is knowledge, which comes from cleansing the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]). The illusion of wrongly working on the basis of the bodily concept of life is overcome simply by the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. This is the first installment of benefit from chanting. (SP: Civilization and Transcendence) 

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 08 Chapter 03 Text 25 by HG Amal Bhakta Prabhu on 09 April 2014 at Los Angeles

(Amal Bhakta was born in New York City and attended New York University. He moved to Santa Monica, California in 1954 and worked in motion pictures for three years.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Lecture on Two Excuses For Avoiding Rules by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami on 15 May 2011 at Kuwait

(His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON's founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Lecture on Is the next world war or nuclear war avoidable by Sivarama Swami

(Sivarama Swami was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1949. In 1956, during the failed Hungarian revolution, he emigrated with his family to Canada.)

To Listen and Download - click here

A 5 Days Seminar Rama Katha by Sarvabhauma Prabhu At ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai 

Sarvabhauma Prabhu was born on 6th Feb 1952, in a Puskarana Vaishnava Brahmin family, having a Radha Krishna temple for eight generations in Mithi, which is part of Rajasthan in Sindh province of Pakistan. He did his MBBS from Sindh University in Hydrabad, Sindh. He delivered a series of discourses in the TV Program Atma through ITV of Mumbai, featured by Sony and Star TV. Since 2004, he is traveling and preaching far and wide in India, Pakistan, Gulf countries, and Mauritius.

To Listen and Download - click here

Read more about Damanaka Ropana Dvadasi on www.harekrishnacalendar.com

Lecture on Relationships with the Supreme by HG Sesa Prabhu on 15 March 2014 at ISKCON Gainesville

(Sesa Dasa joined ISKCON in 1973 inspired by the political activism of the In God We Trust Party for Purified Leaders, organized by members of ISKCON.He was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1974 while he was traveling as a member of the initial Bhaktivedanta Book Trust library party.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Lecture on Shisyo krupa kar ke dhoka na de by HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami on 26 January 2014 at Jagannath Puri, Odhisha

(His Holiness Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON's founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Lecture on Ramayana - Importance of hearing from right source by HH Romapada Swami in 01April 2014 at Naperville

(Romapada Swami‘s first encounter with Krishna consciousness came in Buffalo, in the shape of a lecture at the State University of New York in 1969. The lecturer was His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The following year, Romapada Swami joined the movement in Boston and was initiated in 1971.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Give Me Shelter by HH Indradyumna Swami on 26 Mar 2014 at ISKCON Vindavan

(Indradyumna Swami is a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a Sannyasi traveling preacher, and a guru or spiritual teacher in the Chaitanya Vaishnava tradition. Each year Indradyumna Swami circles the globe teaching the message of the Bhagavad Gita and introducing people to kirtan chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra.)

To Listen and Download - click here

Lecture on Rama Katha by HG Vijaya Prabhu on 07 April 2014 at ISKCON Punjabi Bagh

To Listen and Download - click here