Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 08 Chapter 06 Text 21 - 28 by HH Candramauli Swami on 10 April 2013 at Bhaktivedanta Manor
(In 1986, Candramauli Swami accepted the sannyasa order and began preaching in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. In the early 1990's he became involved with the ISKCON Prison Ministries in America, and began visiting inmates, holding programs, along with writing letters to inmates and sending in Srila Prabhupada's books. )
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ISKCON Mayapur Kirtan Mela 2013 held on 11 to 15 March 2013
(Ecstatic kirtan done by various Singers like HH Loknath Swami, HH Sachinandana Swami, HH Indradyumna Swami, HH Radhanath Swami, HH Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami, HH Niranjana Swami, HG Madhava Prabhu, HG Bada Hari Prabhu, HG Janhavi Mataji, HG Bhakti Lata Mataji, HG Rupa Manjiri Mataji and more...)
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Ramanujacarya Katha with Hindi Translation by His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita Swami
(His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita Swami has preached the message of Bhagavad gita very widely, especially to the student community. He served as temple president in Mumbai, Belgaum and Vrindavan- which is the spiritual hub of world wide ISKCON temples.)
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English Kamada Ekadashi Mahatmya with Music
English Kamada Ekadashi Mahatmya without Music
Hindi Kamada Ekadashi Mahatmya with Music
Hindi Kamada Ekadashi Mahatmya without Music
English Narration: Bhakta Neeraj Kapoor
Hindi Narration: Madhava Das (BVKS)
Recording, Editing, Music mixing : Madhava Das (BVKS) at Gopal's Studio (ISKCON Desire Tree)
How to conquer this all-devouring sinful enemy - Lust? There is a method ... and it is a sure 100% method; and the Supreme Lord showed us this method in a wonderful way. He sent to this world, lust personified Ravana. Ravana was the most striking emblem of lust in the history of all creation.
Sita Devi is the wife of Rama. Sita is none other than an expansion of Lakshmi Devi, the goddess of fortune.
All the fortune of the world is the energy of Sita. What is fortune? Fortune does not simply mean money. Fortune means anything good. Fortune means good health, popularity, comforts in life, good friendship, good family, etc. Fortune means anything good in this world and to lose anything good is misfortune.
Lakshmi devi appeared as Goddess Sita. And everyone knows Sita is exclusively meant for Rama. What is the definition of love? Love means to assist Sita in Her affair with Ram. Is that not what Hanuman, Sugriva, Lakshman, and the residents of Ayodhya did? The only desire of the residents of Ayodhya was to see Ram and Sita happy.
But Ravana, he wanted to take Sita for himself. That is called kama or lust. In Caitanya Caritamrita, Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami describes - love is that natural inclination of the soul to want to give pleasure to God, but when the natural affection for God is misplaced, in trying to enjoy the property of God for our own selfish desire, then that love is transformed into lust. Love and lust is the same energy; same inclination within us. Prema is when that energy is placed toward God; when it is placed anywhere else, it is called Kama or lust.
So Ravana was very tricky. He disguised himself and stole Sita. And of course we read from the Ramayan of Valmiki Muni, how Lord Ram and His brother Lakshman looking for Goddess Sita made alliances with Sugriva and Hanuman and together with a great army, they attacked the island of Sri Lanka. And Ravana was so powerful that no one could defeat him. With Ravana, Indrajit, Kumbhakarna and the other Rakshasas, even the demigods were totally robbed of any pride and were living in utter fear. They were totally unconquerable by any jivatma.
Ravana was the symbol of Kama. And know that any desire you have to enjoy separate from the Lord is due to the presence of Ravana in your heart. Lord Sri Ramachandra wanted to really show to the world, how powerful Ravana was, how powerful lust really is.
Every time he cut off the heads of Ravana, another one grew. Doesn't that sound like our own material desires? Every time you do some yajna, sacrifice, puja and you give up one material sinful desire and immediately another head grows. And you perform penances, practice yoga, take vows, to give up this lusty propensity in your heart and finally you conquer it and then another head grows. Those who are on the spiritual path, know that as soon as you cut down one head, 10 more grows. It is an endless battle. Finally Rama shot His arrow into Ravana's heart. When the arrow pierced the heart, Ravana fell to the ground.
Rama is the only one who has this arrow. That arrow cannot be obtained by any mortal, any jiva, any living entity. It is the exclusive power of Ram. That is why Lord Krsna says in the Gita, this material energy is very very difficult to overcome. But one who surrenders unto Me I take the war in My own hands. I will conquer lust. I will conquer Ravana within your heart. For me it is not difficult. I will kill all the demons in your heart with My arrows.
When we surrender to the Lord, Ram appears within our heart. When we remember Krishna, when we remember Lord Ramchandra ji, He is non-different from that remembrance.
The process of Bhakti is to always remember the Lord, to be His devotee, to always worship Him and to offer homage unto Him.
Through this process Ram appears within our heart and with His mighty arrows, he shoots right into the heart of Ravana and all his heads and everything else falls and disappears from our life eternally.
- H.H. Radhanath Swami
Source : www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151649514772265&set=a.85735502264.98086.667582264&type=1&theater
Among the sacred cities of the world, Vrindavana is probably the least well known. Yet this small town in northern India ranks with Rome, Jerusalem, and Mecca as a center of worship. It was in Vrindavana that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, displayed His transcendental pastimes during His appearance on this planet some five thousand years ago. Over the course of centuries, the places of Krishna’s pastimes were lost to human memory, until they were rediscovered in the sixteenth century by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna Himself in the role of His own devotee. But Vrindavana is more than a place of historical importance. According to the teachings of Lord Chaitanya, the earthly Vrindavana is a replica of Goloka Vrindavana, Lord Krishna’s eternal abode in the spiritual sky. Great souls with transcendental vision can actually perceive this and worship Vrindavana as nondifferent from the Lord Himself. This consideration led one of Lord Chaitanya’s dearmost associates, Sri Gadadhara Pandita, to say to Lord Chaitanya as He departed from the city of Jagannatha Puri on His journey to Vrindavana, “Wherever You stay is Vrindavana. Although where You stay is Vrindavana, You still go to Vrindavana just to instruct people.” Srila Prabhupada explains, “It was not essential for Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to go to Vrindavana, for wherever He stayed was immediately transformed into Vrindavana.
He said that His very mind was Vrindavana (mora mana vrindavana). Because His mind was Vrindavana, all the pastimes of Radha [Lord Krishna’s eternal consort and the personification of His supreme pleasure energy] and Krishna were taking place within Himself. Nonetheless, just to teach people, He visited bhauma-vrindavana, Vrindavana- dhama in this material world. In this way the Lord instructed everyone to visit Vrindavana-dhama, which is a very holy place.” The Lord departed Jagannatha Puri at the end of the night, unseen by others. Taking only two brahmana assistants with Him, He avoided the main roads and passed into the Jharikhanda forest. Chaitanya’s biographer, Krishnadasa Kaviraja, states that while Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was passing through the jungle, all the does and five or seven tigers came and began to follow the Lord. “Seeing the tigers and deer following Him, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately remembered the land of Vrindavana. He then began to recite a verse describing the transcendental quality of Vrindavana: ‘Vrindavana is the transcendental abode of the Lord. There is no hunger, anger, or thirst there. Though naturally inimical, human beings and fierce animals live together there in transcendental friendship.’ When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, ‘Chant Krishna! Krishna!’ the tigers and deer began to dance and chant “Krishna!”’ After passing through the Jharikhanda forest, Lord Chaitanya arrived in Benares and proceeded to Prayaga, finally arriving at Mathura, where forty-five centuries before, Krishna had taken birth in the prisonhouse of King Kamsa. Immediately after Krishna appeared, His father Vasudeva had carried Him across the river Yamuna to the region of Vrindavana, where Krishna displayed His childhood pastimes for the pleasure of His devotees. In Mathura, Lord Chaitanya met a brahmana devotee of Lord Krishna, who served as His guide to the Vrindavana area. Krishnadasa Kaviraja states, “The mind of Sri Chaitanya was absorbed in ecstatic love at Jagannatha Puri, but when He passed along the road on the way to Vrindavana, that love increased a hundred times.
The Lord’s ecstatic love increased a hundred times when He visited Mathura, but it increased a thousand times when He wandered in the forests of Vrindavana. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was elsewhere, the very name of Vrindavana was sufficient to increase His ecstatic love. Now, when He was actually traveling in Vrindavana Forest, His mind was absorbed in great ecstatic love day and night. He ate and bathed simply out of habit.” While in Vrindavana, the Lord rediscovered many important places of Krishna’s pastimes. Among such places are Radha- kunda and Syama-kunda, two ponds that featured prominently in Krishna’s Vrindavana pastimes five thousand years ago. When Sri Chaitanya asked the local inhabitants about the location of these two places, they were not able to tell Him. By virtue of His supreme knowledge, the Lord then located the two ponds (in areas that were then being used as rice fields) and took His bath there. He prayed, “Of all the gopas [Krishna’s confidential spiritual associates, the cowherd girls of Vrindavana], Radharani is the dearmost. Similarly, the lake known as Radha-kunda is very dear to the Lord because it is very dear to Srimati Radharani. In that lake, Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani used to sport daily in the water and have a rasa dance on the bank. Indeed, Lord Krishna gives ecstatic love like that of Srimati Radharani to whoever bathes in that lake even once.” The Lord then visited Govardhana Hill. Seeing it from a distance, He was overcome with ecstasy, and when He arrived He fell down upon the ground as if mad. Dancing and chanting, He recited this verse: “O My friends, this hill supplies Krishna and Balarama [Krishna’s elder brother in His Vrindavana pastimes], as well as Their calves, cows, and cowherd friends, with all kinds of necessities—water for drinking, very soft grass, caves, fruits, flowers, and vegetables. In this way the hill offers respect to the Lord. Being touched by the feet of Krishna and Balarama, Govardhana Hill appears jubilant.” In this spirit, the Lord visited all the places connected with Lord Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavana. Eventually, the Lord returned to Puri in Orissa. On the return journey He gave confidential instructions to His chief disciples, Srila Rupa Goswami, and Srila Sanatana Goswami. He advised them to reside in Vrindavana and reconstruct the places of Krishna’s pastimes. Krishnadasa Kaviraja states, “Srila Sanatana Goswami collected some books about archeological excavations in Mathura, and wandering in the forest, he sought to renovate all those holy places.” Sri Kavikarna-pura states in Chaitanya-candrodaya: “In the course of time, the transcendental news of Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavana was almost lost.
To enunciate explicitly those transcendental pastimes, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, at Prayaga, empowered Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami with the nectar of His mercy to carry out this work in Vrindavana.” In addition to discovering the sites of Krishna’s pastimes, Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami, along with other followers of Lord Chaitanya, erected many beautiful temples that pilgrims may still visit. Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), following in the footsteps of Lord Chaitanya and His confidential associates, also assisted in the renovation of Vrindavana as an important place of pilgrimage. He was especially eager to give Westerners the opportunity to visit Vrindavana, which lies off the main tourist routes and lacked accommodation suitable for those unaccustomed to the austere facilities preferred by Indian pilgrims. For this purpose Srila Prabhupada established the Krishna-Balaram temple and the adjoining international guesthouse, with clean, nicely furnished rooms with baths. A first-class vegetarian restaurant provides nourishing, spiritually purifying meals of krishna-prasadam,food offered to the Supreme Lord with love and devotion. In the opulent temple itself, very much beloved by the residents of Vrindavana, are found exquisite Deities of Krishna and Balarama, who five thousand years ago played with Their cowherd friends in the very same area, called Ramana-reti. On separate altars, worshipers also may find Deities of Radha and Krishna—and of Lord Chaitanya, whose visit to Vrindavana in the sixteenth century reestablished its importance as a place of pilgrimage. The price of passage to Vrindavana cannot be calculated in monetary terms. Srila Prabhupada once said, “Sometimes, materialistic people who have no spiritual understanding go to Vrindavana as tourists. One who goes to Vrindavana with such materialistic vision cannot derive any spiritual benefit.” The real price is purification of consciousness through the process taught by Lord Chaitanya: chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and avoiding the sinful activities of meat-eating, gambling, intoxication, and illicit sex. Anyone can start their journey to Vrindavana by putting Lord Chaitanya’s process into practice in their own life. (Travel preparations can also include a visit to the nearest ISKCON temple, where you can experience the spiritual atmosphere of Vrindavana. Srila Prabhupada explains, “Because we live in the temples of Radha-Krishna and continuously hold hari-nama sankirtana—chanting of Hare Krishna—we consequently live in Vrindavana and nowhere else.”) Knowledge of Vrindavana and the opportunity to visit this important holy place are great gifts to humanity, and we are indebted to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His followers. If life is a journey, we should carefully choose our destination. Lord Chaitanya taught that life’s goal should be to return to Goloka Vrindavana, Krishna’s eternal abode in the spiritual sky. A journey to the earthly Vrindavana can be a vital part of that greater journey.
- by Drutakarma dasa
Attendance of Srila Prabhupada,s Disciples :
HH BB Madhava Swami, HG Deena Bandhu Prabhu, HG Yasomatinandan Prabhu, HG Bhima Prabhu, HG Sarbhabhuma Prabhu.
The Narada Purana (uttara kanda 52.12) describes the conversation between Lord Narayana and Lakshmi devi about Purushottama kshetra (Jagannath Puri),
pratimam tatra tam drstva svayam devena nirmitam
anayasena vai yanti bhavanam me tato narau
“A person who sees the Deities there built by the Lord Himself will easily find the path to reach My abode.”
Anyone who sees the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra during their Ratha yatra procession will be quickly rid of his miseries and is bound to reach Vaikuntha-loka, the eternal, spiritual world where anxiety does not exist.
Rathe ca vamanam drstva punar janma na vidyate.
Simply by seeing the Lord on the chariot, one makes advancement for stopping the repetition of birth and death.”
Similarly, Krishna and Balarama and Their sister Subhadra, They also came in royal fashion, with so many soldiers, and so many…, just like king. So these residents of Vrindavana, they met Krishna, and especially the gopis, they saw Krishna, and they lamented that “Krishna, You are here, we are also here, but the place is different. We are not in Vrindavana.” So there is a long story how they lamented and how Krishna pacified them. This is a feeling of separation, how the inhabitants of Vrindavana felt separation from Krishna. So this… When Krishna came on chariot, that is called Ratha-yatra. This is the history of Ratha-yatra. So any pastimes made by Krishna, that is observed in ceremonial form by the devotees. So that is Ratha-yatra.” (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Seattle, October 18th 1968)
Seminar on Bhakti Sadachar by HG Chaitanya Charan Prabhu
(Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 05)
(His Grace Caitanya Charan Prabhu is a editor of Back to Godhead, which is the official international magazine of the Hare Krishna movement. Presently he conducts seminars at various reputed educational institutes all over India including IITs and NITs as well as leading MNCs like Tech Mahindra.)
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Japa Kirtan Retreat 2012 by His Holiness Sachinanadana Swami
(His Holiness Sachinanadana Swami was born in 1954 in Hamburg, Germany, At a young age, he began searching for answers anywhere they could be found from the esoteric teachings of the old world spiritual traditions to the modern theories of psychology and parapsychology. )
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Sri Rama Katha with Hindi Translation by His Holiness Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Swami
(His Holiness Bhakti Madhurya Govinda Swami was initiated by His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in October 1968, about two months before HH Jayapataka Swami, awarding him the name “Makhanlal das”.)
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Seminar on Helping those Who are Experiencing Depression by His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami
(His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami directly oversees projects in the United States as a senior member of ISKCON's Governing Body Commision particularly Washington D.C., Potomac, Maryland, Detroit, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, West Africa, South Africa, Croatia and Bosnia. )
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Seminar on Importance of devotee association by His Holiness Bhakti Caitanya Swami
(Bhakti Caitanya Swami initially served in the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and also distributed Srila Prabhupada’s books from 1973 until 1980.)
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Seminar on Knowledge of the Absolute by His Holiness Bhakti Bringa Govinda Swami
(Bhakti Bhringa Govinda Swami joined the Krishna consciousness movement in Buffalo, NY in 1971 and received initiation from Srila Prabhupada later that year.)
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Ratha Yatra season arrives with the beginning of summer. It’s a time when ISKCON introduces Srila Prabhupada, prasada, the holy name, and especially Lord Jagannatha to thousands of people worldwide! The Bhakti Writers Community is hosting a writing competition sponsored by the Philadelphia Ratha Yatra Committee. We’re looking for fiction and nonfiction pieces that present Ratha Yatra, kirtan, or Srila Prabhupada.
The winning submission will be published in Philadelphia’s Annual Ratha Yatra souvenir magazine, and there will be other prizes.
Want to build your confidence in your writing? The Bhakti Writers Community offers writers help and support from idea to polished piece.
For submission guidelines and information on prizes: Bhaktiwriters.com/competition.
Deadline: June 15
Writing Prompt : Write a 500-word creative nonfiction piece on the meaning, importance, and/or your experience of kirtan, Ratha Yatra or Srila Prabhupada. Your piece should be engaging, thought-provoking, and resonate with devotees and nondevotees alike. Creative nonfiction communicates factual information through the literary techniques common to fiction. Biography, personal essay, memoir, and travel writing are examples of creative nonfiction.
Seminar on Grihasta Ashrama by His Holiness Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami
(His Holiness Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami comes from a Jewish American background. He is a person of high integrity who had traveled a long way to find a spiritual framework in which he could live happily.)
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Bhakti Shashtri Course by His Grace Bhurijana Prabhu
(H.G.Bhurijana Prabhu first meet Srila Prabhupada at 26 Second Ave, and was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1968. After preaching in Japan for about a year, in 1970 he opened ISKCON's first Hong Kong center.)
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Urgency of Krishna Consciousness by HG Sesa Prabhu at ISKCON Gainesville on 01 July 2011
(Sesa Dasa was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in 1974 while he was traveling as a member of the initial Bhaktivedanta Book Trust library party. Sesa Dasa has a portfolio of two ministries: Minister of Educational Development and Minister of Justice, under which ISKCON Resolve works.)
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These are the rooms used by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada whilst staying at the Krishna -Balaram Mandir in Vrindavan. Fondly known as Srila Prabhupada he founded ISKCON, the Hare Krishna Movement way back in 1966. By his unique potency he managed the movement as if single handed. Within 11 years of his personal presence he oversaw phenomenal success and growth which by 1977 had translated into over 108 temples and centres worldwide.
He was a prolific writer who unselfishly would work hours that normal mortals could not sustain. His greatest works were Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Srimad Bhagavatam and the Chaitanya Charitamrita which anyone who reads will quickly attain love of God. His books are the law books for the next 10,000 years. His legacy will never fade and his rooms are places of pilgrimage. This Krishna Balaram Temple in Vrindavan will become so famous that eventually the whole world will know who Srila Prabhupada is and how he saved the world from its headlong rush into the depths of hellish existence. It will be seen and recognised that he, and he alone brought a truth so powerful that all other personal luminaries will appear to be eclipsed in his presence.
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On 16th April, Monday, Sri Jagannath Rath yatra was organised By ISKCON Ahmedabad. Rathayatra started 5pm till 10pm.
Thousands of devotees joined the rath yatra. A 35-feet tall chariot, with the deities of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev and Devi Subhadra, Radha-Govinda and Ram-Lakshman Sita Devi on board, was pulled on the road. Music bands and floats depicting scenes from Gita were part of the rath yatra.
HH BB Madhav Swami, HG Deena Bandhu Prabhu, HG Yasomatinandan Prabhu, HG Sarvabhauma Prabhu and 20 foreign devotees present at Rathayatra.
The length of the route selected was about 8 km, which concluded at our ISKCON temple. Our Ratha is 30 feet high and huge all around. We adopt traditional style of Ratha pulling by using ropes on two sides of the Ratha. One side is for matajis and the other for prabhus. In-between the Kirtan parties chant Hare Krishna mahaa-mantra and dance in ecstasy in the mood as that of Mahaaprabhu. There are two tractors in the front with artifacts on subjects like Bhaagavatam and cycle of birth & death. After these tractors is a royal chariot driven by a white horse with Srila Prabhupada in it. Professional music band party follows Srila Prabhupada’s chariot singing the mahaa-mantra.
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http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/photo/albums/jagannath-ratha-yatra-festival-at-iskcon-ahmedabad-on-15-april
Seminar on Relationships by HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at ISKCON New Vraja Dham on 10 August 2007
(HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami is Principal of Sri Rupanuga Paramarthika Vidyapitha, ISKCON Mayapur. He trains gurukul kids to be perfect vaishnavas)
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