We joined ISKCON during the Zonal days. Now we are old, maybe cynical, — but convinced about Srila Prabhupada and the importance of his transcendental books.

My friend Rasada Prabhu knew that his days were numbered, left his body and left his legacy funds to be spent on Srila Prabhupada’s books — a substantial amount of £166,000.

Read more: https://foodforalluk.com/vrindavan-books

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117739

I would like to offer this class to my very dear friend and Godbrother, Caru Dāsa Prabhu, who is one of the great pioneers of the saṅkīrtana movement. I always told him that if he wasn’t doing what he was doing—spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness in such innovative ways—he should have been the president of the country. He always reminded me of a president or a very highly placed senator; he was astoundingly articulate. Just listening to him was always a feast for the ears.

He started a radio station way before social media or mass communication was available. When people were still sending snail mail, he had a bustling radio station where he was regularly putting out Kṛṣṇa Conscious information. He went off to Utah—it’s a Mormon state—and made friends with all the Mormons. They love him there; everybody likes him wherever he goes. He started beautiful temples that his wife, Vaibhavī, designed herself. Both of them are highly skilled.

Anyway, I’ve been really conflicted because, hearing that he passed—I guess we heard about it on Tuesday night. On one side, I can just see the momentum he had in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Externally, I didn’t lament at all because I thought, “Well, of course, he was about 80 years old, and he just stepped out, moved on and obviously, he had a completely successful life from my perspective and the way I saw Prabhupāda talk about Jayānanda Prabhu, who passed away just before Prabhupāda.” So, we had some vision about how Prabhupāda would observe devotees leaving the world, and he wrote about it.

On the other side, I noticed I’ve been mourning very deeply. There is psychological adjustment for me happened after Badrīnārāyaṇa Mahārāja left, and after Caru Prabhu left. I’ve been having really intense dreams. I realized that after Badrīnārāyaṇa Mahārāja left, I was imagining what it would be like to have died. I actually put myself in the position of: ‘Okay, I already passed away and I came back into the life I’m in now, and I’m watching myself.’ I could just feel that it was a mourning process.

It’s one of the hardest things to cope with, and that is the loss of God siblings. We lose mothers, fathers, and so forth, but many of us—at least for me—I have known my Godbrothers and Godsisters longer than I knew my parents for. It is the hardest thing, but it’s also part of the maturing process in Krishna consciousness to lose parents and loved ones, and then cope, tolerate, and be observant of how Krishna tells us to process such things, and watch how Prabhupāda did it also.

Then, of course, when you start losing beloved Godbrothers, reality shifts. Once again, there’s another way of processing everything; taking shelter of the Holy Name and the śāstra becomes more urgent. It’s always urgent, but it seems more urgent in those cases.

When describing the length of the yugas or ages, and which yuga we are in and how far along we are in it, there is sometimes confusion about how to calculate them. Some people think we are already in the next Satya-yuga, known as the Golden Age. The problem is when the yugas are figured only according to the years in earth’s time, in which case any calculations will never be accurate. They are described in the Vedic literature according to the celestial years, or years of the devas, not according to the time we experience here on earth. This is where we have to make adjustments. Nonetheless, there are specific references in the Vedic texts which make it clear how to calculate them. For starters, the Mahabharata (Shanti Parva, 231.12-20) explains it in detail:

“The rishis, measuring time, have given particular names to particular portions [of time]. Five and ten winks of the eye make what is called a Kastha. Thirty Kasthas make what is called a Kala. Thirty Kalas, with the tenth part of a Kala, make a Muhurta. Thirty Muhurtas make one day and night. Thirty days and nights form a month, and twelve months form a year. Persons well-read in mathematical science say that a year is made up of two solar motions, meaning the northern and southern. The sun makes the day and night for men. The night is for the sleep of all living creatures, and the day is for work. A month of human beings is equal to a day and night of the departed manes [ancestors who have gone on to the subtle worlds]. That division consists in this: the light half of the month is their day which is for work; and the dark fortnight is their night for sleep. A year (of men) is equal to a day and night to the gods [devas or celestials]. This division consists in this: the half year for which the sun travels from the vernal to the autumnal equinox is the day of the gods, and the half year for which the sun moves from the latter to the former is their night. [Thus, an earth year is but a day for the devas.] Calculating by the days and nights of human beings about which I have told you, I shall speak of the day and night of Brahma and his years also. I shall, in their order, tell you the number of years, that are for different purposes calculated differently, in the Krita, the Treta, the Dvapara, and the Kali Yugas. Four thousand celestial years is the duration of the first or Krita age. The morning of that cycle consists of four hundred years and its evening is of four hundred years. [Note: This says celestial years, or years of the demigods on the higher planets. Such years are much longer than those of planet earth. So 4000 celestial years, with the morning or Sandhya of 400 celestial years and the evening or Sandhyansa, or intermediate period, of another 400 years, equals 4800 celestial years or 1,728,000 human years.]

“Regarding the other cycles, the duration of each gradually decreases by a quarter in respect of both the principal period with the minor portion and the conjoining portion itself. These periods always keep up the never-ending and eternal worlds. They who know Brahma, O child, regard this as Immutable Brahma.” (Mb, Shanti Parva, Chap.231, Text 21-22)

This means that as each age appears, from the Krita, Treta, Dvapara to Kali, each yuga decreases by a quarter of the previous yuga, in addition to the conjoining Sandhya and Sandhyansa periods with each yuga. In this way, it is roughly calculated that a whole cycle of the four yugas, namely Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali-yuga together, total about 12,000 celestial years in length.

The Mahabharata (Shanti Parva, 231.29-32) continues: “The learned say that these 12,000 celestial years form what is called a cycle. A thousand such cycles form a single day of Brahma. The same is the duration of Brahma’s night. With the beginning of Brahma’s day the universal entities come into being. During the period of universal dissolution the Creator sleeps in Yoga-meditation. When the period of sleep expires, He awakes. What is Brahma’s day covers a thousand such cycles. His night also covers a thousand similar cycles. They who know this are said to know the day and the night. On the expiry of His night, Brahma, waking up, modifies the indestructible intelligence by causing it to be overlaid with ignorance. He then causes Consciousness to spring up, whence it originates Mind which is at one with the Manifest.”

In calculating the duration of the different yugas, there are a few differences between the Puranas. The Brahmanda Purana (1.2.29.31-34) specifically states that Krita or Satya-yuga is 1,440,000 human years in length, Treta-yuga is 1,080,000 years, Dvapara-yuga is 720,000 years, and Kali-yuga is 360,000 years in length. The Linga Purana (4.24-35) also agrees with this except for Treta-yuga, which it says is 1,800,000 years in length.

However, when explaining the various measurements of time, the Vishnu Purana (Book One, Chapter Three) and the Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.11.19), along with the Bhagavad-gita (8.17) and the Vayu Purana (Chapter 57) and others, such as the Mahabharata as quoted above, all agree on the measurements of the durations of the yugas, as explained below.

In the explanations of the measurements of time found therein, one cycle of the four yugas together is 12,000 years of the demigods, called divine years. Each of these years is composed of 360 days, and each of their days is equal to one human year. So Krita-yuga is 4000 divine years in length, Treta-yuga is 3000 divine years in length, Dvapara-yuga is 2000 divine years in length, and Kali-yuga is 1000 divine years long, with the addition of the conjoining portions of the Sandhya and Sandhyansa.

In this way, each yuga is preceded by a period called a Sandhya, which is as many hundred years in length as there are thousands of years in that particular yuga. Each yuga is also followed by a period of time known as a Sandhyansa, which is also as many hundreds of years in length as there are thousands of years in the yuga. In between these periods of time is the actual yuga. Therefore, we have:

Krita-yuga = 4000 divine years, Sandhya = 400 divine years, Sandhyansa = 400 divine years. Total = 4800 divine years x 360 days = 1,728,000 human years.

Treta-yuga = 3000 divine years, Sandhya = 300 divine years, Sandhyansa = 300 divine years. Total = 3600 divine years x 360 days = 1,296,000 human years.

Dvapara-yuga = 2000 divine years, Sandhya = 200 divine years, Sandhyansa = 200 divine years. Total = 2400 divine years x 360 days = 864,000 human years.

Kali-yuga = 1000 divine years, Sandhya = 100 divine years, Sandhyansa = 100 divine years. Total = 1200 divine years x 360 days = 432,000 human years.

This equals 4,320,000 human years in one cycle of the four yugas together, and 1000 cycles of these yugas equals 12,000 divine years and 4,320,000,000 human years in a day of Brahma.

It is also explained that Kali-yuga began with the disappearance of Lord Krishna from the planet. This has been calculated to be 3102 B.C.. Since Kali-yuga is described as being 432,000 earth years in length, with 5,000 years and more already passed, then the age of Kali-yuga has approximately 426,000 more years to go. I hope this has clarified what is sometimes a confusing issue.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=3576

From Back to Godhead

Understanding the levels of instruction in the Bhagavad-gita can help us comprehend the overall unity of Lord Krishna’s message.

The Bhagavad-gita is no doubt a major spiritual treatise and one of the world’s greatest classics. Understanding that a hierarchical concept of reality characterizes the Gita can help us see coherence of the Gita’s message.

The Bhagavad-gita speaks on two major levels of reality and a third, intermediate, one. We can use the Sanskrit words dharma and moksha to treat the two main levels, and the word yoga for the third. Dharma refers to a set of values representing duty, religion, morality, law, order, and justice, which together sustain civilized human life. Yoga refers to the attempt to detach oneself from worldly life while trying to yoke oneself to the liberated state. Moksha refers to the liberated state of perfection and eternal existence in pure devotional service to the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna. The level of dharma represents the human or worldly condition, the level of moksha represents the real or absolute condition (liberation), and the level of yoga is intermediate. We can also define these three levels as the finite, the intermediate, and the infinite.

We can distinguish each level in terms of values and “being.” For dharma, the general rule in terms of value is to prosper. At this level, one desires worldly happiness and prosperity, seeing these as good. In terms of being, one see the living entity as the body, whether as a human being or as some other species.

On the second level (yoga), one rejects worldly prosperity, valuing instead detachment from the world and indifference to both worldly happiness and worldly distress. On this level, one also yokes oneself to a higher reality, that of moksha. In yoga, one values the superiority of being equal-minded towards both happiness and distress and seeking absorption in Brahman. In terms of being, one no longer perceives of oneself or others as the body but as eternal spirit souls bound by the laws of samsara.

On the third level (moksha), one replaces the indifference and detachment of the second level with deep love and attachment for the Supreme Person. As for being, the awakened spirit soul of the second level now becomes a pure servant and a lover of the Supreme Person.

The three levels represent internal mental states or attitudes. Thus, one who sees the world from the point of view of the first level is convinced that he is a human being and that his aim is to prosper. On the second level, one is convinced that he is an embodied spiritual self and that his aim is to get released from that condition. On the third level, one sees the Supreme Lord everywhere and tries to love and serve Him.

We can use a three-story house as a metaphor. Each story contains unlimited opportunities and paths. Moreover, the residents of each floor have their own language, terms, and assumptions. In a sense, the Bhagavad-gita speaks in three languages and constantly moves between the three levels. Once we recognise which level a particular text or section is on, that text or section becomes intelligible and we can see how it is consistent with the rest of the treatise.

An Example of the Bhagavad-gita’s Shifting Between Metaphysical Levels

When Arjuna argues against fighting the war, he does so from the first level. We can examine his arguments according to the two parameters previously mentioned: values and being. Regarding values, it is clear that underlying Arjuna’s speech is the desire to achieve worldly prosperity. One of his main points is that the war would cause the decline of dharma and the rise of adharma, and thus suffering would come upon the world. As he believes that prosperity is good, he objects to the war. In terms of being, Arjuna thinks of himself and the others there as human beings.

Krishna doesn’t answer Arjuna directly, but raises the conversation to the second level. In Krishna’s reply the values He propounds are utterly different; Krishna does not accept the idea that worldly prosperity is good, but calls for indifference to (and endurance of) both worldly happiness and worldly distress. He says these are impermanent and produced by sensual perception alone. As for being, Krishna does not refer to the soldiers present as human beings; rather, He refers to them as spirit souls.

By not directly answering Arjuna’s doubts about fighting, Krishna performs a kind of a “Copernican revolution,” changing the underlying assumptions of the conversation. Arjuna argues that killing his relatives is bad, an obvious first-story statement that assumes that people are subjected to death and that death is to be avoided as far as possible for the sake of a prosperous life. Krishna doesn’t answer Arjuna’s arguments, but shifts the conversation to a different level altogether and speaks out of different assumptions. Basically He says that death doesn’t exist at all (a second-story assumption) and therefore He doesn’t see much logic in Arjuna’s arguments. Also, Krishna challenges Arjuna’s idea that worldly prosperity and happiness are good and to be desired. He propounds the idea that indifference to both happiness and distress is good and desirable. As such, He speaks from a second-story position.

The Bhagavad-gita’s Transformational Aspect

As a practical scripture, the Bhagavad-gita offers the means for crossing the gap between the first level (dharma) and the third (moksha). Mere following of dharma while avoiding adharma is not sufficient to attain the stage of moksha. One needs a different type of endeavor or path. This process or enterprise is sometimes called self-realisation, and it involves a transformational path by which one progresses step by step, thus making advancement from the lower level to the higher one. What practical means or system does the Bhagavad-gita offer?

A major question raised in the Bhagavad-gita is whether one should choose the path of action or the path of contemplation. Arjuna raises the question twice, at the beginning of the third and fifth chapters. The Bhagavad-gita clearly recommends the path of action as the means by which the performer is to be elevated all the way from the level of dharma to the state of moksha. One performs this uplifting action according to one’s dharma and continues to work within the dharmic framework all along the way. Thus, Krishna encourages Arjuna throughout their conversation to follow his dharma and fight. However, as the text progresses, Arjuna’s motives for fighting are refined. Krishna shows Arjuna how he can fight in higher and higher inner states of consciousness. Thus, although externally we continue to carry out our prescribed duty, we undergo an internal transformation through sublimation or purification of our motives for performing action. In this way a kind of ladder is formed, by which one rises higher and higher, from dharma to moksha, along the path of self-realization.

Textual References for the Ladder of Motives

At the lowest stage, one’s actions are motivated by utilitarianism, or the desire to achieve something for oneself. Krishna first uses a utilitarian argument to try to convince Arjuna to take up arms. He assumes that Arjuna aspires to accumulate gain, such as fame, and argues that by withdrawing from the battle, Arjuna will loose his fame.

Krishna’s next argument is also utilitarian, but is somewhat higher in that it accepts scriptural authority by stating that warriors who die in battle attain heaven. Thus we can call the stage on which this argument is based the stage of “religious utilitarianism” or “dharmic utilitarianism.”

In other words, Krishna advises Arjuna to follow dharma to achieve some end in this life or the next. Still higher is following dharma for its own sake, or performing one’s duty for the sake of duty. That stage represents a pure mode of action, free from desire for its fruits, and is one of the central teachings of the Bhagavad-gita. It is still within the first story, however, as it doesn’t include an awareness of the ultimate good, which according to the Bhagavad-gita is release from samsara. Still, those who follow dharma for its own sake reach the top of the first level and can progress further, into the next stage.

The next stage rejects the value of the Vedas, considered to be engaged with worldly gains, in favor of a higher ideal: the attainment of Brahman. We can call this stage “action for the sake of the highest good (Brahman).” He who thus acts is situated in the second level, characterised by various yoga processes. He may act now in karma-yoga; uninterested in the fruits of his actions, he offers those fruits to the Supreme. He may practice jnana-yoga, ashtanga-yoga, or bhakti-yoga. All these yoga practices have the common goal of detaching oneself from worldly existence and attachments and fixing oneself to the Supreme. Enlightenment and renunciation characterize the stage of yoga. Having perfected that stage, we finally elevate ourselves to the third story, that of moksha, and continue to carry out our duty in a deep, pure, spontaneous, and unalloyed mood of loving devotion unto Krishna.

Summary

We’ve added some steps to our basic three-step ladder. Now we can summarize the stages as simple utilitarianism, dharmic utilitarianism, duty for its own sake, acting for the sake of the highest good or Brahman, the stage of yoga, and the stage of moksha or pure devotion. On this ladder of motives, the higher one’s motive for action is, the higher one is situated in the Bhagavad-gita’s metaphysical structure. In this way the Bhagavad-gita encompasses the entire realm of existence while encouraging all to ascend the ladder of motives, thus distancing oneself from samsara and absorbing oneself in Brahman. Following this structure, a student can make sense of the Bhagavad-gita as a coherent theological-philosophical treatise, firmly tied together as a single and unified text. It can offer a model for a three-story house in which the whole world can reside.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=22066

If time is relative, what about space? How to make time go slowly, or faster?

Most of us live constantly busy, living with the idea that there is not sufficient time. It would not be nice if we could stretch and contract the time at will, getting more time to do things we want, making pleasurable moments last for an eternity, and painfully experiences pass in a moment?

The good news is that time is relative. Time works differently in different parts of the cosmos. It can be stretched or contracted practically infinitely. That’s a point where modern science and Vedic literature agree.

According to the theory of special relativity by Einstein, the flow of time can change by speed or gravity. Someone traveling near the speed of light, or living very close to a strong gravitational field (like a black hole) would age much slower than someone living here on the earth. This can be empirically tested by sending clocks to space: a clock installed in a satellite orbiting the planet runs at a faster pace than an identical clock in the ground.

Similarly, the Vedic literature explains that what is one year for us, is just one day for the demigods in swargaloka. It’s not that they just have longer days: they really perceive the time differently. Similarly, what is 4.3 billion years for us, is just a day for the inhabitants of Brahmaloka. Their lifespan equals trillions of years of our time.

On the other hand, time passes faster in the lower planets. In the hellish planets, that are situated at the bottom of the universe, time passes so slowly that a 100 years there equals to just one day of our time. That’s another reason to try to not go to hell: not only the conditions are not so pleasant, but also the time passes very slowly!

The position of a living entity is determined by his consciousness, therefore we can see that souls with higher consciousness get permission to live in the higher planets, where not only they have better material facilities, but are also less subjected to the passage of time, while souls with lower consciousness are forced to live in the lower planets.

Higher beings not only perceive time in a different way, but they also perceive space differently from us. The 5th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam includes a description of the universe according to the perception of the demigods. We can see how much their higher dimensional universe is different from the gross dimension we can perceive with our senses. What is very far for us, is just a vimana drive away for the demigods. They can go from one planetary system to the other just like we go to the supermarket.

Not only the demigods are less constricted by time and space, but they are less constricted by physical laws. They can fly, create material objects, produce nuclear explosions with their voices, and control the forces of nature at will, just to mention a few examples.

As one’s consciousness evolves, he gains access to higher realms of reality and we become less constricted by time, space and physical laws. However, everyone in the material world is constricted to some extent.

The only one that is not restricted in any way is Krsna. As he mentions in the Gita: kalo ‘smi. Time is one of His energies, and just as all the other energies, time is completely under his control. He can make a night extend for the equivalent of a whole day of Brahma when he is dancing of the gopis, or can make the whole period of the life of Brahma as short as a breath in His form of Maha-Vishnu. He can also manipulate the physical laws at will, like when He lifted the Govardhana hill.

Just like the demigods see the universe differently from us, Krsna has a much higher perception of reality than even the demigods, just like he displayed when he evoked all the Brahmas of different universes in the presence of our catur-muka Brahma. As the creator and controller of the whole material creation, Krsna has complete control over it, just like a programmer has complete control over his own software.

All the experiences that there are to experiment in this material world are already created and happen cyclically. It’s just like a computer game, where all the events in the game are individually created by the developer and showed in a certain order to the player, creating an illusion of continuity. The player can’t change the order or speed of the events, but the developer has complete power. Similarly, Krsna is not under the control of space, time or any physical law. Just the opposite: he is the one that calls the shots.

As long as we are in this material world, we are not only under the influence of time, but also constricted in other ways. For example, in a game the player can’t leave a certain area, there are only certain ways he can interact with other players, certain actions he can perform and so on.

Similarly, reality appears to us in a way that limits our activities. For example, our planet is round, so we can’t leave it. If one tries to escape the planet by walking, he will just end-up going back to the same place. Not only are we imprisoned by these different forces, but our knowledge of reality is very limited.

There is only one place where people are not constricted: the spiritual world. This is the place where there is no time. Everything is eternal, all Krsna’s pastimes exist eternally and we have access to the according to our meditation, or according to the influence of yoga Maya.

There is a place where there is no past or future. Everyone just lives in an eternal present, centered in their desire to serve Krsna. This is the place we can attain as soon as our consciousness is sufficiently purified. Vrindavana is not a geographical location, but a state of consciousness. The inhabitants of the spiritual world are continuously absorbed in this eternal present of constantly chanting Krsna’s names and always glorifying the Lord. As we become absorbed in our services, we have the opportunity of connecting with this eternal present.

So, time is relative. Time flows at different rates in different parts of the cosmos, and there is a place where time does not exist at all. If time is relative, what about space? It happens that space is also relative!

For example, when Krsna was present on this planet, he manifested the whole Vrindavana, the whole spiritual sky inside the boundaries of the earthly Vrindavana, that have a circumference of a few dozen miles. It’s difficult for us to understand how an infinite space can fit into a finite space, but by Krsna’s will it became possible. As he says in the Gita, pasya me yogam aisvaram: “Behold my mystic opulence!”

Krsna’s bending of space was also shown in the pastime of Brahma stealing the calves. At a certain point, he summoned the brahmas of all universes. Every brahma was present in his own universe, just like our Brahma was situated in our universe. In the Vedic literature we get the information that the different material universes are trillions of miles apart. Still, all the brahmas were put together by Krsna’s mystic potency.

Another example is Krsna showing the whole universe inside his mouth to mother Yashoda. To a mundane observer, Krsna was situated on our planet, that is part of the universe of the catur-muka Brahma. If Krsna was situated inside one particular universe, how could the whole cosmos be situated in his mouth? It’s described that mother Yashoda could see herself and Krsna inside Krsna’s mouth. Therefore, not only the whole universe was situated inside Krsna’s mouth, but Krsna Himself was situated inside His own mouth! That’s definitely a feat that our material brains have a hard time conceiving.

Apart from Krsna, even mundane yogis can bend space to a certain extent. A yogi can stretch his hand and grab something that is thousands of miles away by bending space around him. The hand actually stays in the same place, the space around it that bends, shortening the distance and allowing the yogi to grab the object he desires. Similarly, by bending the space around his body, a yogi can become very big, or very small. Again, he doesn’t need to change the structure of his body, it’s the space around him that bends.

These are examples that can be observed in this material world. If we go to the spiritual world, things become even more amazing. In the spiritual world, space (as a limiting factor) doesn’t exist at all. All the inhabitants can freely go from one place to the other simply by thinking. Everything is just one remembrance away! Similarly, in the spiritual sky there is no matter that needs to be manipulated, and consequently no physical laws. Anything can be created simply through thinking, out of one’s own consciousness. The gopis doesn’t have to spend hours cooking in front of the fire manipulating different substances to make a preparation for Krsna. Whatever they want to cook, is created simply by their meditation.

We can understand that just as matter, both time and space are a phenomenon that affects only conditioned souls. Although time and space can be defined as real in the sense that someone created and someone is experiencing it, both are actually ephemeral, not more real than a game running on a computer. We become attracted to this ephemeral manifestation simply because of our own foolishness. Self-realized souls are capable of seeing things in the proper perspective, and thus they become indifferent to this phenomenal world.

So, accepting the idea that both time and space are relative, and thus illusory, what is real? Actually, the only thing that is real is consciousness. The reality is simply a manifestation of consciousness. By changing our consciousness we can (literally!) change our reality. One with the appropriate consciousness can travel all around the universe, like Narada Muni, or even reach the spiritual sky, without even having to leave his body! Even Druvasa Muni, an ordinary mystic that is far from being a pure devotee was able to do that, going all the way up to the Vaikunta planets.

From this, we can see that although expressed in simple language, the Vedic literature brings us ideas that go much further than the most far-out science fiction. The universe is much bigger and more mysterious than we can imagine, and the key to unlock its mysteries is the purification and expansion of our own consciousness.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=82384

durlabha tnanava janama sat-sange taroho e bhava-sindhu

Human life is extraordinarily rare, and the rarest, most precious blessing in life is the association of devotees. Lord Caitanya revealed his own heart when he exclaimed that all the wealth in Brahma’s creation cannot equal the value of one sincere devotee.

Caring for devotees is perhaps the most important responsibility we have. When we create an atmosphere where devotees feel loved, valued, and encouraged, we can empower them to cross over the inevitable obstacles on the path of bhakti and experience happiness on the spiritual platform.

In relation to devotee care, Srila Prabhupada said that he had shed buckets of blood to bring each devotee to our movement. He expected our leadership to recognize his sacrifice by creating a Vaikuntha atmosphere, a family of Vaisnavas where respect, affection, and a desire to serve each other is in the forefront, and the motive behind all of our efforts. A “movement that is so satisfying that no one will want to be anywhere else. We should ensure, as far as possible, that every devotee is educated in the teachings and culture of Srila Prabhupada and our parampara and given the tools to follow the path through all phases of life. Our joy should be to see each devotee developing Vaisnava character while enthusiastic in devotional service. When a devotee is weak, is having difficulty, or in a spiritual crisis, the Vaisnava family should be there to uplift and restore their strength and enthusiasm.

Selfless service to each other, with Krishna in the center, creates trust. Trust nourishes love. Loving relations in Srila Prabhupada’s service is the string that binds all of us together on the necklace of bhakti. The Devotee Care sangam is dedicated to helping keep our spiritual family focused on this sacred blessing. Let us unite on this higher principle and attract the world to the beauty of Krishna.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=88966

Recently I was in New York attending an initiation ceremony. As I watched the new devotees, young and old, take their vows, I reflected on my own beginnings.

Over 35 years ago I sat before the fire and took the same vows. I am grateful to still be practicing. Later that day I heard a talk which shared 4 reasons why devotees sometimes give up the process of Krishna consciousness, the one they once started so enthusiastically. Turning them into positives, here are 4 things, if we do them well, that can bring us success in our spiritual endeavor, which is to awaken love for Krishna and live to in congruence with that wholesome truth.

1) Humility – the heart of a spiritual practice is humility, accepting the fact that we can’t succeed alone, we need help. As the years go by we gain knowledge and spiritual insights and feel our relationship with Krishna deepening and sweetening. This is a good thing. It means the process, the practice, is working. However, we may also grow the weeds of pride, making us feel like the big cheese in the spiritual community. We should watch out for those thoughts and throw them out the window. We are as big as our gratitude to, and utter acknowledgement of the role, of our spiritual teachers and fellow devotees in our spiritual journey. Anything other than that will trip us up and cause us to struggle.

2) Offenses – when we hurt, disrespect, or in any way short change other devotees of the Lord, we are offending. It can be by speech, by action, or by inaction. In any number of ways, offending brings clouds of discontent to our life. If we are feeling discouraged, or have little taste for our daily chanting, we can often trace it back to offending others. We may compound that by blaming everyone else but ourselves. Press the pause button. Slow down. Go for a walk alone or talk to a trusted spiritual advisor. Recognise the grip offensive or negative attitudes may have over your way of living in the world and change it. Small offences can build up over time so be careful to treat everyone with affection and care. After all, they too are trying their best to serve the Lord.

3) Sanga – sanga means association, a gathering of those interested in spiritual subject matters. Make sure you have time in your week to be together with devotees to hear and chant about Krishna, to serve together or to have meaningful conversations. When we have good friendships with other devotees it not only makes the good times better, but we have support and love when we are facing difficulty. Who we ‘hang out with’ shapes who we become. Find good Krishna devotee association and make time in your life to be with them. It is one of the most essential aspects of a successful spiritual practice.

4) Knowing the Path – this last one is perhaps the one we might neglect the most. Life, and also spiritual life, is full of ups and downs. When times get rough we might think – “Krishna, what’s going on? I’m serving you and why are things not going my way?” When we expect difficulty, and expect to be challenged as part of the growing process, the purifying process, we are ready for it when it comes along. Oh, there you are – now what am I to learn from this? What I am to change or grow into?

When we make a commitment to the practice of Bhakti Yoga, to following strong principles and compassionate teachings, we make a commitment to make ourselves better. Such a practice has the potential to bring us extraordinary results, beyond even our wildest imagination. Don’t sell yourself short. Dive into the deep end, swim with courage, and honor the wisdom of those who have gone before us. If we do, we’ll make it to the end in one piece (and more).

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=47092

Springville Police said Christopher Caru Warden, 79, was traveling south on Main Street near 1400 North when his car went into oncoming traffic. He later died from his injuries. Others who were involved suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117720

This eulogy honors HG Caru Prabhu as an exceptional disciple and servant, deeply appreciated by his spiritual master and community. He is remembered as a “Prabhupada man”—someone who went above and beyond in dedication and service.

HH Indradyumna Swami highlights his outstanding character: a perfect gentleman with impeccable behavior, compassion, and devotion. What made him especially remarkable was his ability to innovate while preserving tradition, following the example of his spiritual master. He found creative ways to spread Krishna consciousness according to time, place, and circumstance—such as founding a Hare Krishna radio station and building a thriving community in a challenging environment like Utah.

Despite limited support, he and his wife worked tirelessly, demonstrating unity, determination, and leadership. He was also a powerful and captivating speaker who could reach all levels of society.

The eulogy expresses both grief and gratitude: grief from separation, as losing a devotee is deeply painful, and gratitude because he dedicated his life fully to spiritual service and likely attained a glorious destination. The speaker emphasizes that rather than focusing on his death, we should remember how he lived—as a bright spiritual light whose departure leaves the world a little darker.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117736

Our consciousness is a very important factor. The most important factor in anything we do is our consciousness. And if we have material consciousness we will suffer, for sure. And if we have vaisnava consciousness we will be able to assimilate and digest different situations.

It may be one of those situations like walking through fire; and when you come out the other side you’ll be a new person. Many times with think if we walk through fire we will just get burned to ashes. And sometimes Krishna gives us situations which are like walking through fire. And if you surrender to the Lord and you come out the other side you’ll be a new person.

I seriously think that since we made that “mistake” of chanting Hare Krishna and asking Krishna to give us service, and Krishna is like a magician, He’s got big sleeves, and Krishna has got so many things inside of his sleeves, so many tricks that He is planning to use on us to make us walk through fire. Because we asked for it. If we didn’t ask for it – he wouldn’t do it. But we asked for it!

Just remember – nobody ever told you that Krishna Consciousness is going to give you life free from problems.

Everybody told you that coming to Krishna consciousness is the endeavor to attain the highest thing.

Just like the majority of you here went to the university. And you know there’s like a regular diploma and the red diploma. So much work to get the red diploma, so much study and so much sacrifice! So much development of the intelligence. 
Even to get a red diploma so hard work. Two red diplomas – double work. Krishna Prema Bhakti – so hard work!

Sometimes we have to walk through fire. Krishna wants us to walk through fire. And we say “No-no-no, I can’t walk through fire”, and Krishna is going “Come on” and we’re like “No-no-no-no-no”, and Krishna is like “Come on”, and then we walk through fire…

Sarvopadhi vinirmuktam tat paratvena nirmalam, nirmal means spotlessly pure. See just like if you take gold from the ground, you take it out and it doesn’t shine like gold. But they burn it, and they burn it, and they burn it, and they burn it, then it shines like gold. So Krishna will burn us many times – then we will shine like gold. And then we get that stamp: “Yes, this is a Devotee”.

Or what does Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur say? He says: “If you think you’re a Devotee – you’re not a Devotee. If you think you’re a Guru – you’re a resident of hell, permanent resident visa. Because Krishna is our Guru as the knowledge is coming from Krishna. And all of us we are simply meant to repeat the knowledge.

«Become pure devotees!»

All of us we should really be on the first command when it comes to Krishna consciousness. That is my request to all of you wonderful people, all of you wonderful devotees out there. Take it seriously. The only thing that will make us become advanced is deepening our hearing and chanting about Krishna.

If you’re one of the ones who are practicing for over 20 years and sometimes you feel like: “Gosh, when is it ever going to end?”

Increase the quality of your chanting.

Increase the quantity of your chanting.

Read more Srimad Bhagavatam. Read Caitanya Caritamrita. Read prayers.

Acaryas have written so many prayers. Read prayers of acaryas. Pray to Krishna. Krishna will hear you, when you read the prayers of acaryas – He hears you. When you speak in your own words: “Krishna, help. Krishna, save me”, Krishna will hear you.

But if we wish to become advanced we have to take the responsibility to do it.

Take the responsibility to do it. Like I can’t depend on him [points to a devotee in the audience] to make me advanced. I I can’t depend on Sri Krishna to make me advanced. The process is called self realization. Self-realization. So take the tools. The knowledge that comes in these books and the knowledge that comes in chanting Hari Krishna. Become Krishna’s pure devotee… Go back to the spiritual world! Go back to the spiritual world and serve Krishna with love!

And be with Krishna so that He can serve you with love. That’s another enigma, you know, we want to be the servants of God, we want to be the servants of Krishna – He is the best of all servants. He’s the greatest! But no one is as servant than Krishna.

So become a pure devotee and go back to the spiritual world! And it will be based, again, upon what? Hearing and chanting about Krishna. And the foundation of that is what? Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=63232

“So far your question regarding women, I have always accepted the service of women without any discrimination” (Letter to: Gurudasa — Los Angeles 26 May, 1972)

In terms of our personalities and abilities, no two of us are alike. Why should we be? And why would anyone want us to be? Variety, Srila Prabhupada tells us, is the mother of enjoyment. Whatever our personality, whatever our talents, Prabhupada wants us to use them in Krishna’s service.

Yet when we learn from Prabhupada’s teachings that women are to be chaste, tolerant, shy, and subservient, it may seem that while men have variegated personalities, women’s personalities are expected to be uniform. But in fact, in their service to Krishna, women’s personalities differ from one another’s as much as men’s.

To accept the wonderful variegatedness inherent within each of His devotees, Krishna is unlimitedly variegated. Srila Rupa Goswami describes Krishna’s personality in his Bhaktirasamrita- sindhu. Krishna, he says, is dhirodatta, or grave, gentle, forgiving, merciful, determined, humble, highly qualified, chivalrous, and physically attractive. He is also dhiralalita, or naturally funny, always in the bloom of full youth, expert in joking, free from all anxieties, domesticated, and submissive to His lover.

As a dhira-prasanta Krishna is peaceful, forbearing, considerate, and obliging. And as a dhiroddhata He is envious, proud, easily angered, restless, and complacent.

We may ask how someone can have four quite opposing personality traits, but as Krishna is the reservoir of all transcendental qualities and activities, and as He exhibits limitless varieties of pastimes, there’s no contradiction in Him possessing all types of character traits and exhibiting them at different times and in different circumstances.

Krishna’s devotees also have different character traits. Among His wives, for example, Rukmini is grave, always engaged in her service to Krishna, and always feeling satisfied in that service. Satyabhama, on the other hand, has quite a different nature. She sometimes feels inferior to Rukmini, is sometimes envious of her, and competes with her.

When Krishna appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Rukmini’s mood was exhibited by Gadadhara Pandita. “Gadadhara Pandita’s pure ecstatic love for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also very deep. It was like that of Rukminidevi, who was always especially submissive to Krishna. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sometimes desired to see Gadadhara Pandita’s affectionate anger, but because of his knowledge of the Lord’s opulences, his anger was never invoked.” (Cc. Antya 7.144, 145). Satyabhama’s mood was present in Jagadananda Pandita: “The affectionate loving exchanges between Jagadananda Pandita and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued in this manner, exactly like the exchanges between Satyabhama and Lord Krishna related in Srimad- Bhagavatam.” (Cc. Antya 12.152)

Srila Prabhupada comments, “In the pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Jagadananda Pandita was always in disagreement with the Lord like Satyabhama, whereas Gadadhara Pandita was always awed by the Lord’s opulence and was therefore submissive to the Lord under all circumstances.” (Cc. Antya 7.145)

In other words, Krishna engages with His devotees according to their different natures and relishes all the many varieties of loving exchanges He has with them. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada attracted a wide gamut of people, from former pickpockets to PhDs, from the reticent to the rebellious and, whatever we were, engaged us in his service and the service of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. It wasn’t that we, his followers, had to fit some stereotyped personality, but that we could, while following the principles Srila Prabhupada prescribed, be who we were – both in terms of our qualities and our work – for Krishna’s pleasure. As no one can claim that Krishna loved Rukmini more because she was gentle and Satyabhama less because she was feisty, so because he saw their intent, Srila Prabhupada loved all his followers despite what others might consider character flaws. Prabhupada wrote, “Because devotees are persons, therefore there will always be some lacking – but the difference is that their lacking, because they have given up everything to serve Krishna – money, jobs, reputation, wealth, big educations, everything – their lackings have become transcendental because, despite everything they may do, their topmost intention is to serve Krishna.” (Letter to: Atreya Rsi, Bombay, February 4, 1972)

Among Srila Prabhupada’s women followers, some were (and are) quiet and tolerant, and others, opinionated and outspoken. Prabhupada did not expect strong, assertive women to give up their personalities; he accepted and engaged every type of woman, just as Krishna accepts love from all His wives with all their diverse moods. Characteristically practical, Prabhupada taught us to use our personality in Krishna’s service, because to try to give up something so deeply embedded in us won’t last, will cause needless suffering, or both. In fact, Prabhupada saw that his women followers could help him fulfill the sacred mission given to him by his spiritual master, namely to spread Krishna consciousness throughout the world. He wrote, “In India all the acaryas and their descendants later on acted only from the man’s side. Their wives were at home because that is the system from old times that women are not required to go out. But in Bhagavad-gita we find that women are also equally competent like the men in the matter of Krishna Consciousness Movement. Please therefore carry on these missionary activities, and prove it by practical example that there is no bar for anyone in the matter of preaching work for Krishna Consciousness.” (Letter to Himavati, London, December 20, 1969)

When his female followers avidly distributed his books with amazing success, Prabhupada was very pleased, but some of those followers had some doubts. They found that they couldn’t distribute books and at the same time be shy, a primary feminine quality that Prabhupada emphasized. Rather, they were obliged to be bold. Some presented this quandary to Prabhupada. He responded, “Regarding the problem of how to be aggressive on Sankirtana and submissive in the temple, my request to you is that you should go on being aggressive on Sankirtana. I myself was aggressive in coming to your country. No one invited me. Even you boys and girls did not invite me. But, I came and I preached aggressively, and therefore you are now my disciples. So now you well know you have to approach the men and women of your country, and it may appear that superficially that you have to disturb them. They are doing their business peacefully, and you come and disturb them, ‘Please take this Krishna book.'” (Letter to: Jagaddhatri, Pasupati, Sailogata, and Pamela, Dallas, July 30, 1975)

In Prabhupada’s view, aggressiveness used in Krishna’s service is purifying. He continues in the same letter, “If you are completely aggressive on Sankirtana, there should be no material aggressiveness and pride remaining. You have to distinguish between devotees and non-devotees. Aggression for the cause of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is pure. If you become completely absorbed in such aggression to spread Sankirtana Movement, there will be no question of wanting to lord it over in the temple. Preaching purifies us of these material tendencies for sense gratification. It is simply a matter of time that you will see this. Do not worry. Krishna will help you.”

We are, after all, multi-dimensional creatures. To try to hammer ourselves into a box not meant for us is to make us into dismal caricatures of ourselves – hollow, inconsequential, fleeting, and miserable. Let us not confuse unity with uniformity – with actions, feelings, and words that are identical. This is not unity; it is conformity. Instead, whatever our personality, let us use it in Krishna’s service and for His pleasure. That is unity in diversity.

In Srila Prabhupada’s words, “In the material world there are varieties, but there is no agreement. In the spiritual world there are varieties, but there is agreement. That is the difference. The materialist without being able to adjust the varieties and the disagreements makes everything zero. They cannot come into agreement with varieties, but if we keep Krishna in the center, then there will be agreement in varieties. This is called unity in diversity . if we fight on account of diversity, then it is simply the material platform. Please try to maintain the philosophy of unity in diversity. That will make our movement successful.” (Letter to Kirtanananda, Bombay, October 18, 1973)

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20529

To some people, “devotion to God” may conjure grave activities: prayer, worship, and religious observances. They may not associate joy with devotion. Yet in fact, joy is a natural result of devotion.

One of Krishna’s primary teachings in the Gita is that we are not the body that we inhabit but we are a soul. He says, “As the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the soul, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.” (Gita 13.34) That soul is not some random, foreign particle but is part of Him, of Krishna, as Krishna Himself declares: “The souls in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts.” (Gita 15.7)

Just as a drop of ocean water has the qualities of the vast ocean, so as part of Krishna, we, as spiritual entities – souls – have His qualities. Krishna, for example, is eternal, and we (as spirit souls) are too, as Krishna explains: na jayate mriyate va kadacin, “For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time.” (Gita 2.20)

Besides being eternal, Krishna is also blissful (ananda). (Brahma-samhita 5.1) And as part of Him, we are also blissful by nature. To be blissful – to be joyful – is our birthright. It’s part of who we are; it’s our natural constitutional nature. And we revive that nature when, with an attitude of devotion, we come in touch with Krishna or His devotees.

In the words of Barbara Holdrege, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California in Santa Barbara, “The joy of bhakti is actually Krishna’s own bliss. What the bhakta is tasting when the bhakta experiences joy is actually just a reflection of Krishna’s own nature that they are partaking of.”

Perhaps we can feel an ember of joy lying beneath our daily weighty problems and stresses. Perhaps when we’re chanting Hare Krishna or serving Krishna in any one of a myriad of ways, we can feel the dichotomy between our deepest identity as a joyful being and what we tend to experience in daily life. In other words, maybe we can occasionally glimpse the fact that this world is not offering us the happiness that’s our birthright; it’s not giving us everything we seek.

Not Getting What We Seek

Govinda Dasi, one of Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples, relates that when she first met Prabhupada he asked her about her life.

When she told him that she’d traveled extensively in Europe, he said, “Oh, you are so young and you’ve traveled so much?”

“Yes,” she said. “But none of it made me happy.”

Prabhupada smiled beautifully and said, “Ah yes, that is required.”

In other words, what can propel us toward devotional service to Krishna is the understanding that this world does not and never will give us what we seek – lasting joy. In Krishna’s words: “Four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me – the distressed, the desirer of wealth, the inquisitive, and he who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute.” (Gita 7.16)

But devotional service to Krishna can transform our life: The first symptom of pure devotional service, Rupa Goswami says, is immediate relief from all kinds of material distress.

Just as when a hungry person eats a nutritious meal her hunger abates and she feels pleased, similarly when we, as souls, revive our relationship with Krishna, we feel detached from all that’s material and we feel fulfilled. We feel joyful. In Krishna’s words, brahma-bhutah prasannatma na shochati na kankshati samah sarveshu bhuteshu: “One who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity.” (Gita 18.54)

Or, in the words of the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.2.19): “As soon as irrevocable loving service is established in the heart, the effects of nature’s modes of passion and ignorance, such as lust, desire, and hankering, disappear from the heart. Then the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy.”

Another symptom of pure devotional service that Rupa Goswami mentions is that it automatically puts one in transcendental pleasure. Sria Prabhupada elaborates:

It is stated that as the personal attendants and maidservants of a queen follow the queen with all respect and obeisances, similarly the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification and liberation follow the devotional service of the Lord. In other words, a pure devotee does not lack any kind of happiness derived from any source. He does not want anything but service to Krishna, but even if he should have another desire, the Lord fulfills this without the devotee’s asking. (The Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 1)

There is, however, much more dimension to the joy a devotee experiences than the joys of religiousness, economic development, sense gratification, and liberation. There’s even more than the external joy that’s so clearly present in the minds and hearts of the devotees when they’re smiling, dancing, and laughing as they chant Hare Krishna and do other services for Krishna’s pleasure.

For example, in the pastime of Krishna’s chastising Kaliya, when Krishna understood that the multi-headed serpent was poisoning the water of the Yamuna River, He jumped into the river and swam around in it, challenging Kaliya. Kaliya grabbed Krishna in his thick black coils and apparently trapped Him there. Seeing this, Krishna’s friends, the cowherd boys, who were on the riverbank, became overwhelmed with grief. They’d devoted their activities, affection, thoughts, and lives to Krishna and knew no one but Him. When the other residents of Vrindavan heard what was happening, they rushed to the riverbank and on seeing Krishna in that condition were, like the cowherd boys, overcome with anxiety and fear and grief. Krishna’s mother, Yashoda, tried to enter the water but, restrained by the others, fainted. Krishna remained seemingly trapped in Kaliya’s grip for two hours, and by that time His friends and relatives on the shore were practically dead from grief. Seeing their condition, Krishna freed Himself, danced on Kaliya’s many hoods, and soundly defeated him.

The fear, anxiety, grief, dread, and near-death state these devotees felt are not what we usually identify as joy, but in the transcendental understanding, these emotions are not just joy, but are extreme joy. They are not due to any material cause, nor are they tinged with anything material. They are purely in relation to Krishna and are therefore ecstatic.

Another example of the absolute nature of emotions in the transcendental realm is when Krishna left His dear girlfriends, the gopis. Their overwhelming sorrow at separation from Him is understood to be the highest of all ecstasies, vipralambha-bhava, the feeling of being apart from their most beloved.

Emotions Beyond Duality

This material world that we know is a relative one. It’s full of dualities: pleasure and pain, enjoyment and suffering, honor and dishonor, good and bad, young and old. In Krishna’s world, however, the absolute world, there are no dualities. Whatever is in relation to Krishna is all good, however it appears externally.

What can we, who are still in the grip of the relativities of this world and have not yet reunited with Krishna enough to feel any sort of ecstasy in relation to Him, do with this knowledge of the absolute nature of spiritual emotions? Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gives us a hint when He prays, “I know no one but Krishna as My Lord, and He shall always 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, yet He is always My worshipful Lord, unconditionally.” Sikshashtaka 8)

This attitude of “Whatever happens, my dear Krishna, whether apparently good or apparently bad, I am Yours” is pleasing to Krishna and pleasing to us, too. It’s a commitment and resolve we can strive for. It means we give ourselves over to Krishna and depend on Him for shelter, knowing that in the final analysis, whatever happens, there is no other shelter anywhere in the creation. By remembering Krishna in good times, those times become better. By remembering Him in difficult times, those times become less difficult.

After Krishna had saved Queen Kunti and her sons from constant dangers – poisoning, arson, cannibals, a vicious assembly, sufferings during their exile in the forest, the great battle of Kurukshetra, and a nuclearlike attack – Queen Kunti prayed, “I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths.” (Bhagavatam 1.8.25)

This is a world of calamities, and chief among them are the inevitable dwindling, suffering, and demise of the body that we’re in. But Krishna is more powerful than those calamities, and by remembering Him we overcome material calamities and associate with Him.

“He who meditates on Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me, undeviated from the path, he, O Partha, is sure to reach Me.” (Gita 8.8)

I, for one, can’t pray as Queen Kunti does; I don’t want calamities in my life. But I can appreciate her mood of complete dependence on Krishna and her implicit faith that by seeing Him we will no longer experience birth, death, old age, and disease. I can appreciate that her mood is the result of becoming detached from this world and taking full shelter in Krishna.

In the Innermost Core of Our Hearts

There’s a fascinating verse toward the end of the Chaitanya-charitamrita (Antya 4.176):

‘dvaite’ bhadrabhadra-jnana, saba—‘manodharma’
‘ei bhala, ei manda’,—ei saba ‘bhrama’

“In the material world, conceptions of good and bad are all mental speculations. Therefore, saying ‘This is good’ and ‘This is bad’ is all a mistake.”

Srila Prabhupada comments on this point in a letter (May 20, 1976): In this material world, to say this is good and this is bad has no value. To us, everything material is bad as it is lacking Krishna consciousness. Just like wet stool and dry stool. Stool is stool, but somebody is saying that wet stool is better than dry stool. What is this good and bad? The top side of some stool is dry and the bottom side is wet, but anyway that you take it, the material world is stool, and it must be given up. Therefore, we are trying to get out of the material world and go back to home, back to Godhead. In this world of duality, this is good and this is bad has no meaning, it is called manodharma, mental concoction. However, the real truth is that Krishna says that duhkhalayam ashashvatam, the world is a place of misery wherein repeated birth and death take place. Now is this good misery or bad misery? Misery is misery; and you have to die, good die or bad die. So to us everything material, without connection to Krishna, is to be rejected as stool, otherwise we will waste valuable time needed to solve the real problems of life, namely, birth, death, disease, and old age.

Joy is our birthright because we are part of God and He is joyful. Since joy is inherent to us, we are driven to search for it, but we spend our lives searching in the wrong place – in the material world – having forgotten that we’re spiritual beings. Lasting joy, however, cannot be found anywhere within the material world. It’s there within each of us in the innermost core of our hearts; it’s in our relationship with Krishna, with His devotees, and with everything related to Him. Joy is amply available to us, but we need guidance to access it. When we receive that guidance, the direction of a qualified spiritual teacher, we find there are unimagined facets of joy.

When Srila Prabhupada founded ISKCON, he created seven purposes for it, the third of which is “To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, and thus to develop the idea, within the members and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).”

And what do the members of the Society – the devotees – do when they come together? Krishna Himself explains: “The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in Me, their lives are fully devoted to My service, and they derive great satisfaction and bliss from always enlightening one another and conversing about Me.” (Gita 10.9) Simply by keeping the company of and serving Krishna’s devotees we can experience the joy of devotion. And that joy is meant for everyone.

Source: https://btg.krishna.com/joy-of-devotion/

Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 7: The Science of God Chapter 14: Ideal Family Life

Summary

Maharaja Yudhisthira inquired from Narada Muni: O my lord, O great sage, kindly explain how we who are staying at home without knowledge of the goal of life may also easily attain liberation, according to the instructions of the Vedas.

Narada Muni replied: My dear King, those who stay at home as householders must act to earn their livelihood, and instead of trying to enjoy the results of their work themselves, they should offer these results to Krsna, Vasudeva. How to satisfy Vasudeva in this life can be perfectly understood through the association of great devotees of the Lord.

A grhastha must associate again and again with saintly persons, and with great respect he must hear the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Lord and His incarnations as these activities are described in Srimad-Bhagavatam and other Puranas. Thus one should gradually become detached from affection for his wife and children, exactly like a man awakening from a dream.

While working to earn his livelihood as much as necessary to maintain body and soul together, one who is actually learned should live in human society unattached to family affairs, although externally appearing very much attached.

An intelligent man in human society should make his own program of activities very simple. If there are suggestions from his friends, children, parents, brothers or anyone else, he should externally agree, saying, “Yes, that is all right,” but internally he should be determined not to create a cumbersome life in which the purpose of life will not be fulfilled.

The natural products created by the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be utilized to maintain the bodies and souls of all living entities. The necessities of life are of three types: those produced from the sky [from rainfall], from the earth [from the mines, the seas or the fields], and from the atmosphere [that which is obtained suddenly and unexpectedly].

One may claim proprietorship to as much wealth as required to maintain body and soul together, but one who desires proprietorship over more than that must be considered a thief, and he deserves to be punished by the laws of nature.

One should treat animals such as deer, camels, asses, monkeys, mice, snakes, birds and flies exactly like one’s own son. How little difference there actually is between children and these innocent animals.

Even if one is a householder rather than a brahmacari, a sannyasi or a vanaprastha, one should not endeavor very hard for religiosity, economic development or satisfaction of the senses. Even in householder life, one should be satisfied to maintain body and soul together with whatever is available with minimum endeavor, according to place and time, by the grace of the Lord. One should not engage oneself in ugra-karma.

Dogs, fallen persons and untouchables, including candalas [dog-eaters], should all be maintained with their proper necessities, which should be contributed by the householders. Even one’s wife at home, with whom one is most intimately attached, should be offered for the reception of guests and people in general.

One so seriously considers one’s wife to be his own that he sometimes kills himself for her or kills others, including even his parents or his spiritual master or teacher. Therefore if one can give up his attachment to such a wife, he conquers the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is never conquered by anyone.

Through proper deliberation, one should give up attraction to his wife’s body because that body will ultimately be transformed into small insects, stool or ashes. What is the value of this insignificant body? How much greater is the Supreme Being, who is all-pervading like the sky?

An intelligent person should be satisfied with eating prasada [food offered to the Lord] or with performing the five different kinds of yajsa [pasca-suna]. By such activities, one can give up attachment for the body and so-called proprietorship with reference to the body. When one is able to do this, he is firmly fixed in the position of a mahatma.

Every day, one should worship the Supreme Being who is situated in everyone’s heart, and on this basis one should separately worship the demigods, the saintly persons, ordinary human beings and living entities, one’s forefathers and one’s self. In this way one is able to worship the Supreme Being in the core of everyone’s heart.

When one is enriched with wealth and knowledge which are under his full control and by means of which he can perform yajsa or please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one must perform sacrifices, offering oblations to the fire according to the directions of the sastras. In this way one should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna, is the enjoyer of sacrificial offerings. Yet although His Lordship eats the oblations offered in the fire, my dear King, He is still more satisfied when nice food made of grains and ghee is offered to Him through the mouths of qualified brahmanas.

Therefore, my dear King, first offer prasada unto the brahmanas and the demigods, and after sumptuously feeding them you may distribute prasada to other living entities according to your ability. In this way you will be able to worship all living entities — or, in other words, the supreme living entity within every living entity.

A brahmana who is sufficiently rich must offer oblations to the forefathers during the dark-moon fortnight in the latter part of the month of Bhadra. Similarly, he should offer oblations to the relatives of the forefathers during the mahalaya ceremonies in the month of Asvina.*

One should perform the sraddha ceremony on the Makara-sankranti [the day when the sun begins to move north] or on the Karkata-sankranti [the day when the sun begins to move south]. One should also perform this ceremony on the Mesa-sankranti day and the Tula-sankranti day, in the yoga named Vyatipata, on that day in which three lunar tithis are conjoined, during an eclipse of either the moon or the sun, on the twelfth lunar day, and in the Sravana-naksatra. One should perform this ceremony on the Aksaya-trtiya day, on the ninth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartika, on the four astakas in the winter season and cool season, on the seventh lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Magha, during the conjunction of Magha-naksatra and the full-moon day, and on the days when the moon is completely full, or not quite completely full, when these days are conjoined with the naksatras from which the names of certain months are derived. One should also perform the sraddha ceremony on the twelfth lunar day when it is in conjunction with any of the naksatras named Anuradha, Sravana, Uttara-phalguni, Uttarasadha or Uttara-bhadrapada. Again, one should perform this ceremony when the eleventh lunar day is in conjunction with either Uttara-phalguni, Uttarasadha or Uttara-bhadrapada. Finally, one should perform this ceremony on days conjoined with one’s own birth star [janma-naksatra] or with Sravana-naksatra.

All of these seasonal times are considered extremely auspicious for humanity. At such times, one should perform all auspicious activities, for by such activities a human being attains success in his short duration of life.

During these periods of seasonal change, if one bathes in the Ganges, in the Yamuna or in another sacred place, if one chants, offers fire sacrifices or executes vows, or if one worships the Supreme Lord, the brahmanas, the forefathers, the demigods and the living entities in general, whatever he gives in charity yields a permanently beneficial result.

O King Yudhisthira, at the time prescribed for reformatory ritualistic ceremonies for one’s self, one’s wife or one’s children, or during funeral ceremonies and annual death ceremonies, one must perform the auspicious ceremonies mentioned above in order to flourish in fruitive activities.

Narada Muni continued: Now I shall describe the places where religious performances may be well executed. Any place where a Vaisnava is available is an excellent place for all auspicious activities. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the support of this entire cosmic manifestation, with all its moving and nonmoving living entities, and the temple where the Deity of the Lord is installed is a most sacred place. Furthermore, places where learned brahmanas observe Vedic principles by means of austerity, education and mercy are also most auspicious and sacred.

Auspicious indeed are the places where there is a temple of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, in which He is duly worshiped, and also the places where there flow the celebrated sacred rivers mentioned in the Puranas, the supplementary Vedic literatures. Anything spiritual done there is certainly very effective.

The sacred lakes like Puskara and places where saintly persons live, like Kuruksetra, Gaya, Prayaga, Pulahasrama, Naimisaranya, the banks of the Phalgu River, Setubandha, Prabhasa, Dvaraka, Varanasi, Mathura, Pampa, Bindu-sarovara, Badarikasrama [Narayanasrama], the places where the Nanda River flows, the places where Lord Ramacandra and mother Sita took shelter, such as Citrakuta, and also the hilly tracts of land known as Mahendra and Malaya — all of these are to be considered most pious and sacred. Similarly, places outside India where there are centers of the Krsna consciousness movement and where Radha-Krsna Deities are worshiped must all be visited and worshiped by those who want to be spiritually advanced. One who intends to advance in spiritual life may visit all these places and perform ritualistic ceremonies to get results a thousand times better than the results of the same activities performed in any other place.

O King of the earth, it has been decided by expert, learned scholars that only the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, in whom all that is moving or nonmoving within this universe is resting and from whom everything is coming, is the best person to whom everything must be given.

O King Yudhisthira, the demigods, many great sages and saints including even the four sons of Lord Brahma, and I myself were present at your Rajasuya sacrificial ceremony, but when there was a question of who should be the first person worshiped, everyone decided upon Lord Krsna, the Supreme Person.

The entire universe, which is full of living entities, is like a tree whose root is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Acyuta [Krsna]. Therefore simply by worshiping Lord Krsna one can worship all living entities.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has created many residential places like the bodies of human beings, animals, birds, saints and demigods. In all of these innumerable bodily forms, the Lord resides with the living being as Paramatma. Thus He is known as the purusavatara.

O King Yudhisthira, the Supersoul in every body gives intelligence to the individual soul according to his capacity for understanding. Therefore the Supersoul is the chief within the body. The Supersoul is manifested to the individual soul according to the individual’s comparative development of knowledge, austerity, penance and so on.

My dear King, when great sages and saintly persons saw mutually disrespectful dealings at the beginning of Treta-yuga, Deity worship in the temple was introduced with all paraphernalia.

Sometimes a neophyte devotee offers all the paraphernalia for worshiping the Lord, and he factually worships the Lord as the Deity, but because he is envious of the authorized devotees of Lord Visnu, the Lord is never satisfied with his devotional service.

My dear King, of all persons a qualified brahmana must be accepted as the best within this material world because such a brahmana, by practicing austerity, Vedic studies and satisfaction, becomes the counterpart body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

My dear King Yudhisthira, the brahmanas, especially those engaged in preaching the glories of the Lord throughout the entire world, are recognized and worshiped by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the heart and soul of all creation. The brahmanas, by their preaching, sanctify the three worlds with the dust of their lotus feet, and thus they are worshipable even for Krsna.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17504

A true spiritual master transforms lives not through external power, but through authentic devotion, personal example, and unconditional love, guiding others back to God.

This talk is a personal, storytelling-based glorification of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, emphasizing how a genuine spiritual teacher transforms lives through simplicity, purity, and deep love for God (Krishna).

Key Themes
1. Seeing the Soul, Not the External
Prabhupada saw everyone’s spiritual potential, even in small acts (like someone bringing a simple gift).
Spiritual life begins with any sincere step toward Krishna.
2. Authenticity Over Image
The speaker shares a mistake: trying to “rebrand” ISKCON professionally to attract donors.
Prabhupada corrected him, teaching:
ISKCON is not a marketing brand
It is a spiritual lineage rooted in truth and guru-parampara
3. Learning Through Personal Example
Many teachings came not just from books, but from:
Prabhupada’s actions
Small details (like respect for sacred texts)
Spiritual understanding is transmitted through lived experience (lila).
4. Power of Simple Devotion
A devotee offered something “ordinary” (powdered milk), yet:
Prabhupada deeply appreciated it
Showing that devotion matters more than material value
5. Journey of Transformation

A dramatic story describes:

A seeker reading the Bhagavad-gita As It Is
Realizing:
Life’s purpose
The reality of Krishna as a person
Understanding that:
“I was searching for a teacher… but the teacher found me.”
6. Prabhupada’s Mission and Sacrifice
At age 69, he traveled alone to America with:
No money
Only books and faith
Faced extreme hardship but succeeded in:
Spreading Krishna consciousness worldwide
Inspiring thousands of followers
7. Spiritual Love as the Core
His power came from:
Deep compassion
Seeing all beings as part of God
This love transformed people across cultures.
8. Call to Action
Build a personal connection with the guru
Practice:
Chanting the Hare Krishna mantra
Reading sacred texts
Follow the path:
“Back to home, back to Godhead”

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117715

UPDATE 4/8/26 (See Appreciations below).

With deep sadness, ISKCON News reports that pioneering devotee and disciple of Srila Prabhupada, His Grace Caru Dasa, passed away on April 6, 2026, following a car accident in Utah. A cremation service will be held on Saturday, April 11th, at 9:00 AM at the Walker Funeral Home, 187 S Main Street, Spanish Fork, UT 84660, and a Zoom memorial on April 17th, 2026. Details to follow.

A disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada since 1970, Caru Dasa devoted more than five decades to sharing Krishna consciousness. He was one of the movement’s great community builders, known for his enthusiasm, creativity, and ability to present Krishna consciousness in ways that touched the hearts of people from every background.

Born Chris Warden in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania, Caru Dasa met the devotees in Australia and was initiated by Srila Prabhupada in May of 1970. In the years that followed, he served in a number of important leadership roles in ISKCON, including as temple president in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, Australia, and later in Berkeley, California. Those who knew him during those years remember his energetic preaching, his determination, and his natural ability to inspire others.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/remembering-his-grace-caru-dasa/

As ISKCON prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, organizers of the upcoming New York City anniversary gala have announced a special Early Bird ticket discount available now through April 30.

The gala will honor the legacy of ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, and forms part of the year-long 60-50 Global Commemoration marking 60 years since ISKCON’s founding in 1966 and looking ahead to the 50th anniversary of Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance in 2027.

The New York celebration will bring together devotees, leaders, and supporters from around the world. A highlight of the event will be a Legacy Exhibition tracing Srila Prabhupada’s journey from 26 Second Avenue to ISKCON’s worldwide growth.

General admission tickets had previously opened at $350. Devotees are encouraged to take advantage of the discounted Early Bird pricing before April 30 and reserve their place at this historic gathering. To order your tickets, click here.   

Hare Krishna 
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
All glories to Sri Narasimhadeva!

As the auspicious appearance day of Lord Narasimhadeva approaches, devotees and well-wishers alike joyfully look forward to this sacred time of receiving His protection, blessings, and mercy. The divine pastimes of Lord Narasimhadeva remind us that sincere prayers are always heard, and His shelter brings strength, courage, and reassurance to all.

As we prepare for this sacred festival:
 "May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other's welfare. Therefore, let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Sri Krishna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him." (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 5.18.9)

This year, we invite you to take part in the Sri Narasimha Navaratri Yajna, leading up to this most auspicious day.
9 Days of Powerful Yajnas | 12 Sacred Kundas Daily
Yajamana Seva Available — ₹5555

During these sacred days, yajnas will be performed daily in twelve kundas, invoking prayers for protection, purification, and divine blessings. By becoming a yajamana, you directly participate in these offerings and seek the shelter of Lord Narasimhadeva for yourself and your loved ones.
Yajna Seva Options:
* Navaratri Yajna (9 days, 1 kunda) – ₹49,995
* Navaratri Yajna (5 days, 1 kunda) – ₹27,775
* Navaratri Yajna (1 day, 1 kunda) – ₹5,555
* Sri Narasimha Procession – ₹4,001

Kindly take this opportunity to serve and receive His divine protection:
https://www.mayapur.com/festivals/Narasimha-Caturdasi 

May Lord Narasimhadeva always protect you and your family.
Thank you once again for your continued support.

Your servants,
Mayapur.com Team

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/narasimha-caturdashi-is-approaching-

According to Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (126), Sri Ramadasa was formerly Sridama, one of the cowherd associates of Krishna. In the Bhakti-ratnakara (Fourth Wave), there is a detailed description of Sri Abhirama Thakura.

By the order of Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Abhirama Thakura became a great acharya and preacher of the Chaitanya movement. He was a very influential personality, and nondevotees were very much afraid of him. He was always in ecstasy and was extremely kind to fallen souls.

It is said that if Abhirama Thakura offered obeisances to any stone other than a salagrama shila, it would immediately fracture. It is also said that he had a whip, and whoever he touched with it would immediately become an elevated devotee of Krishna.

Approximately ten miles southwest of Champadanga railway station, on the narrow-gauge railway line from Howrah to Amta in the Hugli district, there is a small town named Khanakula Krishnanagara. The temple where Abhirama Thakura worshiped is situated there.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/abhirama-thakura-disappearance-3/

Developing the quality of empathy has many benefits for aspiring devotees of the Lord.

When I was doing my clinical psychotherapy internship in graduate school, a supervisor stressed connecting with our clients through realized empathy. Most of his interns came from privileged backgrounds, and he felt we needed more than just a theoretical understanding of our clients’ pain.

My first session in “experiential empathy” was with Doris, who suffered from schizophrenia. A slight woman in her early 30s, she had an attractive face, but it was worn from exposure, as she would often choose to be homeless rather than stay in shelters. She would often sit in the waiting room carrying on conversations with imaginary persons who seemed real to her.

Doris wasn’t a strong candidate for therapy, yet her case manager and I would provide her support. Once in a while she would have some respite from her illness and would talk about her numerous losses, including relationships, and her dream of being a teacher.

After my initial sessions with Doris, my supervisor had me spend an afternoon in a session designed to develop empathy for schizophrenics. Through earphones, a myriad of voices began to assault me-calling me names and demeaning my character. While listening to these voices, I was given a list of simple tasks to perform, such as going to the corner store to buy batteries. After two hours of listening to the taped voices and running my prescribed errands, I was spent. Physically and mentally exhausted, I joined with others to share our experiences. The training was effective in achieving its goal. I learned more about people plagued by this most debilitating illness and felt increased compassion for them.

My next client was a middle-aged man with multiple sclerosis. Wheelchair bound, he showed symptoms of depression, and his doctor referred him for mental health counseling.

By now I was familiar with my supervisor’s relentless conviction for experiential empathy, so I wasn’t surprised when I saw a wheelchair waiting for me in his office. For the next hour, he had me running small errands throughout the hospital while awkwardly learning to maneuver the wheelchair.

Reflecting on that internship, I appreciate how my supervisor approached this most important element of therapy-joining through empathy. Empathy helps us care about people by identifying with their suffering. It also helps us avoid falling into the trap of thinking we’re superior to others. And it helps us develop humility-the gateway to making spiritual progress and developing a loving relationship with God.
Krishna’s Help

Krishna helps His fledgling devotees by purifying any mentality that prevents them from coming closer to Him. When we form opinions of people and their situations, we should do so with the desire to be of assistance and to please our guru and Krishna. That kind of thinking will help us advance in spiritual consciousness. But if we evaluate others with a mentality of exploiting them or putting them down-to elevate our own sense of importance-that kind of judgment will hinder our spiritual progress.

One of the most unwanted qualities in the heart of a practitioner of bhakti-yoga is the tendency to judge others without concern for their spiritual welfare. This leads to faultfinding and puts us at risk of vaishnava aparadha, or offending Krishna’s devotees. If we are fortunate, Krishna will correct this tendency in our heart. Sometimes Krishna, the originator of experiential empathy training, will place us in a situation similar to that of the person we are judging. Although this can be disconcerting, it is the Lord’s kindness to help uproot the qualities in our heart that are obstacles to loving the Lord and His devotees.

When I was a young devotee, I was strict about attending all the temple programs. But I found myself critical of devotees who didn’t always attend. One devotee suffered from an illness and did her best to come when she could. But I felt she could do better. Not long after those thoughts contaminated my consciousness, however, I became ill and often missed mangala-arati, the early-morning worship.

Krishna accomplishes many things by one action, and one result of my illness was a diminishing of my critical mentality. Krishna has often placed me in situations similar to those of people for whom I lacked empathy, helping me develop more understanding of others’ difficulties.

The saying atmavan manyate jagat means that we tend to see others as we are. Often the very thing we find reprehensible in another is a negative quality lurking within ourselves. So it is prudent to reflect on this when we form opinions of others and to look within our heart to expose our own faults.
Prabhupada’s Example

By his example, Prabhupada taught us to be lenient with others and strict with ourselves. He was uncompromising in his service to Krishna and his daily spiritual practices. Yet he showed understanding and compassion toward his neophyte disciples, who often struggled to follow the basic practices of bhakti-yoga. As his disciples matured, he would sometimes sternly correct them, but only out of duty, to help them progress in their spiritual lives.

In the early days of the Hare Krishna movement, Prabhupada asked one of his first disciples, Syamasundara Dasa, an expert craftsman, to carve a deity of Lord Jagannatha from wood. At one point Prabhupada came to see how the work was progressing. When he entered the room, he saw a pack of cigarettes sitting on Lord Jagannatha’s head.

“It’s all right,” Prabhupada told his embarrassed, contrite disciple.

Prabhupada didn’t need to become addicted to cigarettes to understand his disciple’s plight. He instructed Syamasundara to reduce by one the number of cigarettes he smoked each day until the habit was gone. Prabhupada was a pure devotee, his consciousness crystal clear. Because he had no contamination in his heart, he was free of the propensity to find fault or condemn.

In the Bhagavad-gita (6.32) Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that spiritually advanced persons can understand both the happiness and the distress of others. Because of their own experience in the material world, they understand that people suffer because they forget the Lord and are happy when united with Him.
Saving the Coat

Like all spiritual qualities, empathy or compassion has a counterpart in the material realm. My supervisor was helping me develop empathy, but because he lacked knowledge of the eternal soul within the body, his conception of feeling another’s pain was based on only the body’s suffering. Prabhupada tells the story of a man who jumps into a lake to save a drowning man and returns with only the man’s coat. Born of the material mind, this kind of empathy will have only temporary value unless employed in our spiritual lives.

Srila Prabhupada deeply felt the pain and suffering of the souls in this world. Once, in Mayapur, he saw a scene from his balcony that brought tears to his eyes. Children were fighting off dogs to get food left on discarded plates. Prabhupada then said that no one within ten miles of the ISKCON Mayapur temple should go hungry; they should be fed with spiritually uplifting prasadam. Prabhupada’s compassion meant elevating people’s consciousness so that they could eventually be freed from all suffering.

Empathy is a natural quality of the soul. Following in Srila Prabhupada’s footsteps, we should cultivate concern for the suffering of others while understanding the ultimate goal of life. That doesn’t mean we have to use the means devised by my supervisor-enacting another’s suffering condition. But we can do practical things to develop empathy.

First is to have a student’s mind-an inquisitive mind that seeks to understand the lessons ever present in our environment. The Eleventh Canto of the Bhagavatam gives the example of a brahmana who describes twenty-four entities whom he considered his gurus. For example, he says that he learned valuable lessons from a pigeon, a honeybee, and a prostitute. Being open to what we can learn from others will help us appreciate the struggles of others and feel a connection we might have missed.

Another technique that can help us understand another’s world is reflective listening. Also known as empathic listening, it requires the listener to summarize both the speaker’s words and the feelings behind them.

Another powerful mindset is to practice seeing people for their potential rather than for who they were in the past or who they are in the present. Everyone is a pure soul with an eternal relationship with Krishna. Remembering this can help us see beyond people’s material conditioning, allowing us to care about them and want to help them.

Finally, we want to be in the mood of service to others. When we look for ways to serve rather than exploit, our hearts open and we naturally feel the connection that eternally exists between all living entities.

These are just a few suggestions for how we can move in the world in such a way that we expand the mentality favorable for developing empathy in our role as a spiritual practitioner.

Because of his spiritual perfection, Prabhupada could always clearly diagnose our suffering and worked tirelessly and patiently to give us the remedy. Despite having once said that our hearts were as hard to clean as coal, he didn’t give up on us. Now that Srila Prabhupada is no longer physically present on the planet, we have to extend his compassionate, empathetic nature to all the living entities who have the opportunity to take shelter in Lord Chaitanya’s movement.

When the guru leaves the world, the disciples have to rise to the occasion and take up the legacy of their beloved teacher. The guru will empower sincere disciples to carry on the mission. Sincere disciples of a Vaishnava guru are themselves Vaishnavas, deserving of the prayer offered in ISKCON temples each morning: “I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaishnava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen souls.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17712