Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=117941

By Atma Tattva Das,

Over the long Easter weekend of 3-6 April 2026, the Durban beachfront was transformed into a tapestry of sacred sound, color, and devotion as the annual Festival of Chariots returned. A longstanding collaborative effort between the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple and New Jagannath Puri in Phoenix, the festival has grown over the years through shared vision and coordinated service. For many locals and tourists alike, the sight of the chariots silhouetted against the Indian Ocean horizon, accompanied by the sound of kirtan, felt like a homecoming that was simultaneously familiar and strikingly renewed.

According to the organizers, this year marked a significant shift not just in the scale of the production but also in the underlying consciousness of the offering itself.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/durban-festival-of-chariots-blends-tradition-with-innovation/

His Grace Agnidev Das a senior disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, a renowned kirtaniya, leader, and recording artist whose devotional music has inspired devotees around the world for decades, passed away on April 28th following hospitalization due to a serious brain stroke.  An accomplished cook, he opened four successful Govinda’s restaurants in California and Oregon.

The stroke occurred following the Memorial Service of His Grace Caru Dasa, held in Spanish Fork on April 26th. Agnidev spoke at the Memorial and sang Je Anilo Prema-Dhana by Narottama Dasa Thakura, one of the most well-known Gaudiya Vaishnava bhajans, expressing deep separation and lament after the disappearance of great Vaishnavas.

According to a post by Anuradha Dasi at the time of his departure, “He was surrounded by a room full of devotees, with 99 devotees joined on Zoom — godbrothers, godsisters, senior devotees, and well-wishers. Kirtan continued throughout, creating a deeply peaceful and sacred atmosphere. The nurses and doctors present were visibly moved, standing in quiet amazement at the beauty of the moment.” A cremation ceremony was held on April 29 in Salt Lake City.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/his-grace-agnidev-dasa-remembered-memorial-planned-for-may-17/

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,

After more than a decade of effort, grave challenges, and a restoration completed in just thirteen months, ISKCON Kolkata has opened Bhakti Bhavan, the ancestral home of  Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur at 181 Ramesh Dutta Street, Kolkata, as a heritage site and place of pilgrimage for Gaudiya Vaishnavas.

Radharaman Das, Vice President of ISKCON Kolkata described the significance of Bhakti Bhavan, “Without  Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would have been lost forever,” he said. “This is the place where everything was revived, given oxygen.”

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-kolkata-restores-srila-bhaktivinod-thakurs-home/

By Yudhistir Govinda Das, 
 

This museum is one of the most unique cultural destinations in India’s capital. It aims to educate members of our society, especially the younger generation, and foreign tourists about Indian philosophy, culture, and traditions, as presented in the Bhagavad-gita, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-inaugurates-rasa-wing-in-its-new-delhi-museum/

For more than twenty years the Manila temple was located in a tiny house in the Makati area, which is a city within it’s own right. Even though crammed, the devotees served Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madhava with love and devotion.

Some years back land was bought in Taguig and this year on Lord Nityananda’s appearance day a new grand temple was opened. There are plans to also add a large kitchen and dining hall with accommodation upstairs.

It was wonderful to visit and see the new facilities and happy devotees.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/radha-madhava-temple-philippines/

ON DAYS SET ASIDE FOR SELLING Back to Godhead magazine, he packed copies in a cloth sack and boarded the morning train to Delhi. With nowhere to stay in Delhi he had to return to Vrindavan by evening, which gave him only a few hours of daylight. Sales were minimal and he did not always collect enough to cover costs. Some days, he made appointments with wealthy men to request support. A few responded with token donations for his cause. He befriended an Ayurvedic doctor who promised assistance. One day, Bhakti Dayita Madhav Maharaj from the local Gaudiya Math was bicycling by and saw Abhay standing at the gate of the doctor’s large house.

“What are you waiting for?”

“I am waiting to get a five rupee donation,” Abhay called back.

After some hours, Bhakti Dayita Madhav Maharaj again passed by on his bicycle. Abhay was still standing there. “Did you get the five rupees?”

“No. The gentleman has not yet arrived,” Abhay replied, “but I will wait.”

“Let it go. I will give you five rupees.”

Abhay thought for a moment. “Every month?”

The senior devotee noted Abhay’s torn and weary clothes. “Let’s make it ten,” he said.

LIVING APART FROM HIS FAMILY freed Abhay to pursue support for his mission and the frequency of his letter writing increased. To a prominent Kanpur industrialist he wrote, “The leaders of India in the name of secular government have engaged themselves in everything foreign. They have carefully set aside the treasure house of India’s spiritual assets and are imitating the Western material way of life. So my idea of preaching in the foreign countries means that they are rather fed up with material advancement of knowledge. They are seeking the guidance of the Vedanta Sutra and Bhagavad Gita in an authentic way. And I am sure India will again go back to spiritual life when the principle is accepted by the Europeans and Americans.”

Abhay’s letters demanded much from their readers. What would a businessman in 1950s Calcutta make of such a petition, sent by a stranger, written in awkward English, arguing that Westerners were seeking guidance from ancient Sanskrit scriptures, and concluding that Hindus would revert to their spiritual roots if Westerners did so first? The whole idea was illogical, unreasonable. Then again, so were most revolutionary ideas.

The Kanpur industrialist did not answer.

Source http://www.dandavats.com/?p=65677

According to the shastra, the way to counteract the very deeply strong tendency for possessiveness in the grihastha life is to giving charity to the Vaishnavas and the brahmans, to the mission of the guru. According to the shastra, the first fifty percent you have give it to your guru’s mission. And then whatever else you have, maintain, that is the ideal standard. You never be possessive if you do that, because the first priority with whatever you get goes to Guru and Krishna. You cannot do fifty percent; you should aspire to come as close to that as possible. But that should be the first thing you do with your Laxmi or your wealth or whatever you have. Not that I will take care of my own needs and whatever little is left will see. This is how a grihastha suppose to be trained according to the shastra. Then you will not be possessive, for you should give in charity and you should also always be aspiring to be the humble servant of the servant. And very important that you are always looking of to those who are in a renounced order of life. To the degree the grihasthas have respect for the dignity of the brahmacharis and the sannyasis, to that degree they will advance properly in Krishna consciousness. This is always been the teaching of Srila Prabhupada through his books. But this is very important for the first class brahmacharis and grihasthas. Because although grihasthas might be very very expert in whatever they do, often times they are very very expert. He may be expert managers, expert preachers, expert at giving donations and managing affairs, business, and doctors whatever. They will become proud and they will become possessive and they will become attached. Unless they have a very very deep and high esteem for those in the renounced order of life and they are thinking when will I become like that?

And we find the great kings like Yudhishtra, who was more an expert grihastha than him? When Narada muni or some great soul would come, he will simply bow down and say when will I become like you? You are really great, look at me. Dasharatha maharaja same thing, these are the real great grihasthas. They might even be better than those who are in renounced order of life. Ambarish maharaja was thinking that way towards Durvasa muni. He was far more advanced than Durvasa muni, but his humility was as a grihastha, that when will I become like you? You are so renounced and so great. So that high esteem for those in a renounced order of life is a very very essential ingredient within the heart, necessary within the heart of the grihastha. And therefore that high esteem must manifest in aspiring to be the humble servant of those in the renounced order of life.

And as far as brahamachari counteracting possessiveness, that comes by serving the other Vaishnavas. By keeping nothing for oneself, but being a servant. Whatever we keep we should understand it’s like holding on when we are trying to swim in the ocean, it’s like holding on to some heavy weight. Bhagavatam says, when one is drowning in the ocean and he is attached to beautiful golden crown, it might look nice, it might give him pride and prestige, but it only helps him sink faster and deeper. Nothing is ours, everything is Krishna’s…..voice missing…., dive for ourselves, we should know its bondage, and it’s going to cause us suffering.

A question is asked on how should we deal with our relatives, wife, children.

Possessiveness means that you are meant to protect them on behalf of your guru and Krishna. They are not yours, they are not your slaves, and they are not your servants. You are their servant, you may have to train them, you may have to discipline them but in the mood of being their servant. Because they are Krishna’s children and Krishna has entrusted them and He has entrusted them to you. But they are His sacred property. Therefore you must always be in a mood of being the servant of all Vaishnavas, all family members, everyone. Sometimes we may have to serve them by disobediently following the order, Sometime you may have to serve them by disciplining them, by giving them instructions, But the mood is always service, there is nothing is yours. It is the sacred property of God, every devotee. The temple president is the servant of the people who are under him, he doesn’t think they are mine, they are my servants. He is serving them because they are his guru’s property. He must engage them in guru’s work. The father sees the children and the wife in the same spirit and the wife must see the husband and the children in the same spirit. This is an essential necessity of all our relationships, but nothing is ours. We are the masters over no one; this is ego and the servant. These people are my guru’s property, they are more precious than me. I have a great responsibility in my relationship with them.

We are not takers, we are givers. Even when we receive we are actually giving them the chance to serve, we are not taking something from them. When we expect something for someone, we should not expect it for ourselves; we should expect it for them. It’s like when you are a doctor when he expect someone to take medicines, is it for your good or his good? Devotional service is a medicine, if someone is serving you as the representative of the guru, we should not be expected for our self, and we should be expected for their benefit. It’s a medicine that will heal them. That should be our spirit. Therefore we are not attached, we have no personal attachment. But out of compassion we are diligently trying to engage them in their duty. A wife is meant to serve the husband, but the husband should not be proud thinking that she is serving me. By some inconceivable arrangement, I am supposed to be the representative of guru to this person. Therefore in serving me she is actually purifying her own existence because she is serving a guru. It’s not for me; I am not attached to what she gives me. I am only attached that she makes spiritual advancement. Then you are always in a mood of a servant, not an enjoyer. This we must cultivate, this consciousness being the servant of the servant.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=24199

“Whom are we worshiping in the temple? This query of mine was unanswered till I reached ISKCON.”

I was born and brought up in a Hindu family in Delhi, and we used to go to various temples and offer prayers before the gods. Two questions, however, always tickled my mind: Why do we worship so many gods, and who is the real God? As I never got answers to my questions, I considered all the gods equal, and in my teenage years all religions and faiths became one for me. Be it Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam, or Christianity, all pointed towards one God. But I could not find out who this God is.

During my school days, when I badly needed the help of God I would cry out to Him, but no name would come on my lips. Sometimes I wondered whether God has any name, and slowly and steadily I felt that God has no form or name but is a supernatural power—a powerful light we cannot see but can only feel. Then whom are we worshiping in the temple? This query of mine was unanswered till I reached ISKCON.

Receiving the Gita

After completing graduate degrees in microbiology and law, I earned a masters degree in company law. In the meantime I married a close friend I had met while pursuing my masters degree. Soon I started working for a multinational corporation in Delhi. My office was about two kilometers from the ISKCON temple. Even though I passed the temple on numerous occasions, my feet never took me inside to see the Lord.

After four years, in the year 2000, I joined another company, which was farther away. I left there within two years, after I got pregnant. While leaving the job, one of my colleagues, an ISKCON member, gave me a copy of Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is. This was the first time I ever read the Gita. As I could not understand this scripture, I kept the book in my study and left it untouched for the next seven years. Today, however, I feel that because of this book, in November 2002 I was blessed with a baby girl, Gaurika, who showed spiritual inclinations from an early age.

A Life-Changing Invitation

In March 2008, my daughter and I were visiting the local temple in the evening to say our prayers. While coming out of the temple, I saw Hare Krishna devotees passing out pamphlets. When I eagerly approached them, I learned that they would be conducting a six-day Bhagavad-gita program in April. The venue was at a short distance from our residence.

Read More: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18652

The following statement was released by the ISKCON North America Communications Office on behalf of the North American Regional Governing Body (NA RGB)

Full Statement:

April 30, 2026, Nṛsiṁha Caturdaśī

The ISKCON North America Regional Governing Body (NA RGB) has implemented important updates to the structure and leadership of its Child Protection Office (CPO) to enhance its effectiveness and accountability. Tamohara dasa, who successfully served for five years as the second International CPO Director from 2005 to 2010, has been appointed by the NA RGB to serve as the North American CPO Director. Tamohara is a direct disciple of Srila Prabhupada, a retired Professor of Psychology, and a former member of ISKCON’s Governing Body Commission (GBC).

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/update-on-iskcon-child-protection-o%ef%ac%83ce-in-north-america-released-by-na-rgb/

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi, 

The Bhaktivedanta Research Center (BRC) has been entrusted by the ISKCON Juhu temple with the preservation and documentation of the personal room of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami. The project is being undertaken as a service in honor of his second Tirobhava Mahotsava, the annual commemoration of his departure from this world.

This effort forms part of BRC’s broader mission to systematically archive and preserve the heritage of ISKCON and its senior Vaishnavas. It builds upon BRC’s earlier work in preserving Srila Prabhupada’s room in Mayapur and reflects a growing institutional commitment to safeguarding sacred spaces of historical and spiritual significance.

Gopal Krishna Goswami, whose legacy is honored through this project, served as a GBC member overseeing key regions in India and internationally, and as Chairman and Trustee of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Between 1977 and 2024, he played a vital role in ISKCON’s global expansion by establishing numerous temples across India and abroad, while also supporting educational initiatives, including gurukuls in Vrindavan.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/brc-to-preserve-gopal-krishna-goswamis-room-at-iskcon-juhu/

His Grace Agnidev Prabhu was a deeply cherished devotee within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, known across the world for his heartfelt kirtans, gentle nature, and lifelong dedication to spreading the holy name. Born in Trinidad and Tobago and later raised in New York, he came into contact with devotees in the early years of the movement and formally joined ISKCON in 1973 under the guidance of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. From that moment, his life became fully centered on devotional service.

Though he had natural musical talent and once aspired toward a musical career, he chose instead to offer his voice completely in service to Krishna. What began as simple participation in kirtan gradually blossomed into a lifetime of service that spanned more than four decades. Agnidev Prabhu became widely known as a deeply meditative and powerful kirtaniya, whose singing carried sincerity, emotion, and spiritual depth. His kirtans were not performances, but genuine offerings, able to uplift hearts, unite devotees, and create a sacred atmosphere wherever he went.

Throughout his life, he served not only through kirtan but also as a teacher and leader within the movement. He traveled extensively, sharing the holy name across countries and communities, conducting kirtans, harinams, and festivals. He also served as a temple president and guide to many, always encouraging others in their spiritual lives with humility and warmth. To countless devotees, his voice became familiar, present in temples, gatherings, and even in their homes, bringing a sense of shelter, connection, and remembrance of Krishna.

In more recent years, especially during the Covid period and beyond, his association became even more meaningful for so many. Through kirtans and online gatherings, he continued to nourish the hearts of devotees around the world, offering strength and spiritual comfort during uncertain times. His dedication never wavered, he gave himself fully, again and again, simply to share the holy name with others.

As shared by devotees, Agnidev Prabhu departed this world surrounded by Vaishnavas, immersed in kirtan, a deeply peaceful and sacred moment that reflected the very essence of his life. Even those present who were not familiar with devotional culture were touched by the spiritual atmosphere, witnessing something rare and profound. It was a passing filled with the same devotion he had embodied throughout his life.

Though his physical presence is no longer with us, his legacy continues to live on, in every kirtan melody he shared, in every heart he touched, and in every soul inspired by his devotion. His memories remain like precious jewels in our hearts, especially within the Mayapur community, where his association has been so deeply felt. He may no longer be physically present among us, but through his kirtans and his service, he remains with us always.

With this spirit of love, gratitude, and remembrance, we warmly invite you to gather together as a community to honor His Grace Agnidev Prabhu. We will come together in kirtan, bhajans, and heartfelt glorifications, remembering his life, his service, and the profound impact he had on all of us.

Date: Sunday, 3rd May 2026

Time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Location: Soul to Soul (Mayapur)

Please come and be part of this offering as we gather with love, gratitude, and devotion, remembering him through the very kirtans he so selflessly gave to the world.

Hare Krishna

Source: https://www.mayapur.com/en/blog/the-vaishnavas-die-to-live-and-living-try-to-spread-the-holy-name-around

Before Lord Caitanya appeared He sent His eternal associates like Sri Advaita Acarya, Sri Jagannatha Misra, Saci Mata, Madhavendra Puri, Isvari Puri to earth. Sri Madhavendra Puri took initiation from Sri Laksmipati Tirtha in the Madhvacarya sampradaya.

He had many but Sri Advaita Acarya and Sri Isvara Puri were the chief disciples of Madhavendra Puri. In one way or another, all the Vaisnavas in Bengal and Ksetra mandala (Jagan­natha Puri) were connected with Sri Madhavendra Puri. After Lord Caitanya came many of his disciples joined Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana movement. 

“Madhavendra Puri’s body was completely full of divine love; so were his followers. He displayed uncommon love of God. Seeing a dark blue rain cloud, he would fall down unconscious. Day and night he was intoxicated from drinking the ambrosia of Krishna prema.” (Vrndavana Dasa Thakura)

After making an extensive pilgrimage of Bharata-bhumi (India) he passed his life in Vrndavana and Orissa. He began the restoration work of Vrndavana that Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gos-vamis continued later. Wandering from grove to grove, remembering Radha-Krishna’s sweet Vrndavana pastimes, Madhavendra Puri would faint in ecstasy.

In a dream, Sri Gopala ordered Madhavendra Puri to uncover a buried Gopala Deity and install Him atop Govardhana Hill. Madhavendra Puri celebrated Gopala’s installation with an annakuta (grand festival offering a mountain of foodstuffs to Krishna). This Annakuta festival, also called Govardhana Puja, is one of the most important Vaisnava festivals in Vrndavana, in India, and around the world. The original Gopala Deity, known as Sri Nathaji, is now worshiped in Nathadvara, Rajasthan. 

Madhavendra Puri introduced the conception of madhurya bhava (conjugal love) in the Madhvacarya sampradaya. Mad­havendra Puri sowed the seed of prema bhakti. And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became the towering tree dropping honey sweet fruits of prema upon everyone. He also revealed viraha bhava, the mood of love relished in separation from God. His branch of the Madhva sect distinguished itself by this ecstatic love of God. It is known as the Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya.

Source: http://www.ramaiswami.com/madhavendra-puri-appearance-3/

May 7– Appearance of Srila Srinivas Acharya

Srila Prabhupada gives the significance of his Eight Prayers to the Six Gowami’s of Vrindaban–HDGSP states the ‘Prayers’ teach ‘Worship in Separation’–and HDGSP describes Srinivas’s ‘Incredible Response to Haridas Thakur’s Samadhi’—-

[Srinivasa Acarya].
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Krsna and dancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.1.2 [Significance of Sad-gosvamy-astaka] – March 17, 1974, Vrndavana

Lord Caitanya therefore specifically taught people in general the method of vipralambha seva, means rendering service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the feeling of separation. The Six Gosvamins also taught us how to worship Krsna in the feeling of the gopis by separation. In the prayers of Srinivasa Acarya for the Gosvamins these things are very clearly stated. Srinivasa Acarya says that the Gosvamins were always absorbed in the ocean of transcendental feelings by the gopis. When they lived in Vrndavana, they were always searching after Krsna, “Where You are, Krsna? Where are you are, the gopis? Where You are, Srimati Radharani?” They never said that “We have now seen Radha and Krsna, and therefore our mission is now fulfilled.” They remained always in the unfulfillment of their mission to meet Radha and Krsna. In this connection Krsna reminded the gopis that some of them who could not join the rasa-lila dance with Him, they gave up their bodies simply by thinking of Krsna. Therefore, Krsna consciousness by the feelings of separation is the quickest method for attainment of the lotus feet of Krsna. In this way, by the personal statement of Krsna, the gopis were convinced about the strength of the feelings of separation, because actually they were experiencing such supernatural method of Krsna worship, and thus they were much relieved by understanding that Krsna is not away from them; He is always with them.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Krsna Book Dictations

“Srinivasa Thakura quickly ran to the seashore. When he saw the tomb of Haridasa Thakura, he immediately fell down offering prayers and almost fainted. The devotees present there pacified him with very sweet and affectionate words, and Srinivasa again offered his obeisances to the tomb. Hearing of the separation that Srinivasa expressed in his lamentation at the tomb of Haridasa Thakura makes one’s heart melt.”
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Antya 11.101

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85333

May 7 – Appearance of Srila Madhvendra Puri

“Sri Madhavendra Puri, a great devotee and acarya in the line of devotees, says, ‘O Lord, in my prayers three times a day, all glory to You. O Bathing, I offer my obeisances unto You. O demigods, O forefathers, please excuse me for my inability to offer you my respects. Now wherever I sit I am able to remember the great descendant of the Yadu dynasty, Krsna, the enemy of Kamsa, and therefore I can get myself free from all sinful bondage. I think this is sufficient for me.’ ”
Prabhupada: This is a prayer by Madhavendra Puri. He says that “I am not going to do anything except serving Krsna.”
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 2.46–62 – December 16, 1968, Los Angeles

The whole thing is that Sridhara Svami is giving stress very strongly that you can simply chant Hare Krsna mantra without undergoing any ritualistic ceremonies. Actually it is very difficult to understand. Madhavendra Puri, our predecessor acarya, he also has composed a nice verse. He says, “My dear gayatri-mantra, I offer you my respect, but no more I can chant gayatri-mantra.” In this way… Taking bath early in the morning, that’s a good recommendation for spiritual advancement. But Madhavendra Puri said, “Now I am unable to execute this order. Please excuse me.” In this way he has described in many ways. At last, he concludes that “I shall sit down somewhere underneath a tree and simply remember Govinda’s name. That is sufficient. Yes.” He says, “Please excuse me, please excuse me, please excuse me.”But this Madhavendra’s statement is not for the neophyte devotees. We should not imitate Madhavendra Puri. So the position of Madhavendra Puri, the position of Haridasa Thakura, they are different from our position. We should not imitate, that “Because Madhavendra Puri gave up everything and simply concentrated his mind in chanting maha-mantra, Hare Krsna, or Haridasa Thakura, therefore I shall also do that. I shall not rise early in the morning. I shall not take bath. I shall not worship the Deity. That is not possible. That is not possible.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.25–26 – February 18, 1971, Gorakhpur

Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was going from this Vṛndāvana. Perhaps you do not know the story of Mādhavendra Purī. Mādhavendra Purī was a great devotee in this Gauḍīya-sampradāya, and in this Govardhana there was Gopāla covered by dirty and jungles and trees. So When Mādhavendra Purī was in Vṛndāvana, the Gopāla in dream expressed Himself, “Mādhavendra Purī, I am very much suffocated. I am covered by this dirt and jungles. Please re-excavate Me from this condition and install Me in the temple.” So Mādhavendra Purī, with the help of villagers, he excavated the earth and found this Gopāla mūrti. And this Gopāla mūrti was installed by the help of the villagers very luxuriantly. For so many days there was festival. So after some days, Mādhavendra Purī was informed in dream that “Since I was long within the earth, My body is very much heated. So you kindly bring some sandalwood from Jagannātha Purī and smear all over the body the pulp of sandalwood, then I shall be happy.” So Mādhavendra Purī was very old man at that time, and it is order of Gopālajī, so he started for Jagannātha Purī. On the way there is a Gopīnātha temple in Orissa, on the border of Orissa and Bengal. So he stayed there overnight and he saw that the Gopīnāthajī was offered kṣīra, seven pots of kṣīra. So Mādhavendra Purī thought within himself, “If I could taste little kṣīra, then I would also make such kṣīra to offer my Gopāla in Vṛndāvana.” Then again he thought that “Oh, I am so stupid that before offering to the Deity I am thinking of eating it.” He thought himself to be very much culprit, and he immediately left the temple, I am committing offense.“ So Mādhavendra Purī thought it that he was a great offender; he should not live in this temple, he should go outside. So he went outside, and underneath a tree he was chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, just to pass over the night, then proceed toward Jagannātha Purī. So at night the Deity, Gopīnātha, was asking the pūjārī, the priest, that “I have kept one pot of kṣīra behind My back garment. “So you take this pot of kṣīra, condensed milk, to Mādhavendra Purī—he is sitting underneath a tree—and offer him.” So the pujari wake up, and actually when he opened the door of the Deity room, he found that pot of ksira. So he could understand that “This Madhavendra Puri is not an ordinary devotee, he is a great devotee; otherwise how the Lord has stolen this pot for him?” [laughter] Since then, that Gopinatha is famous as Ksira-cora Gopinatha: Ksira-cora Gopinatha, the Gopinatha who stole the ksira for His devotee. So He is known as thief, Ksira-cora. He is famous as a great thief. Still people go to see Him, how nice this thief is. That is the difference between Krsna and ourself. When we are thief, we are beaten by shoes. And when Krsna is thief, He is worshiped by devotees.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.14.14 – November 16, 1971, Delhi

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85330

The Supreme Lord appeared as Narasimha to protect His dear devotee Prahlada from the persecutions of his demoniac father, Hiranyakashipu.

By performing severe penances, Hiranyakashipu had received a benediction from Lord Brahma that he could not be killed by any living entity created by Brahma (whether demigod, demon, human being, or animal), within or outside a residence, during the day or at night, on the land or in the sky, by any weapon and from any entity – dead or alive.

Endowed with this special benediction, Hiranyakashipu became extremely powerful. He conquered all directions and established his supremacy over everyone else. He was inimical towards Lord Vishnu and His devotees.

On the contrary, his son Prahlada was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu from the beginning of his life. Hence, Hiranyakashipu made several attempts to kill his son in different ways, but every time, the Lord rescued him.

Finally, the Lord assumed a unique half-man half-lion form (this form is neither a human being nor an animal) by emerging from a pillar. He killed Hiranyakashipu in the evening (neither day nor night), in the doorway of the assembly hall (neither within nor outside any residence), keeping the demon on His lap (neither land nor sky) and tearing the demon’s body to pieces with His nails (neither by a weapon nor by any entity – dead or alive).

Thus, the Lord effortlessly killed Hiranyakashipu while satisfying all the conditions of Brahma’s boon. Through this wonderful pastime, the Supreme Lord showed that no one can surpass His intelligence. If the Lord wants to kill someone, nobody can save him and if the Lord wants to save someone, nobody can kill him.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/narasimha-chaturdasi/

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Five, Chapter Eighteen: “The Residents of Jambudvipa Offer Prayers,” from the series of prayers recited by Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsimhadeva. Text 8 is a very important prayer, or mantra, and in it many words are repeated, which gives them great emphasis.

TEXT 8

om namo bhagavate narasimhaya namas tejas-tejase avir-avirbhava vajra-nakha vajra-damstra karmasayan randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa om svaha; abhayam abhayam atmani bhuyistha om ksraum.

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nrsimhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possess nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.

TEXT 9

svasty astu visvasya khalah prasidatam
   dhyayantu bhutani sivam mitho dhiya
manas ca bhadram bhajatad adhoksaje
   avesyatam no matir apy ahaituki

TRANSLATION

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 Krsna, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

The following verse describes a Vaisnava:

vancha-kalpa-tarubhyas ca
   krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
   vaisnavebhyo namo namah

Just like a desire tree, a Vaisnava can fulfill all the desires of anyone who takes shelter of his lotus feet. Prahlada Maharaja is a typical Vaisnava. He prays not for himself, but for all living entities—the gentle, the envious, and the mischievous. He always thought of the welfare of mischievous persons like his father, Hiranyakasipu. Prahlada Maharaja did not ask for anything for himself; rather, he prayed for the Lord to excuse his demoniac father. This is the attitude of a Vaisnava, who always thinks of the welfare of the entire universe.

Srimad-Bhagavatam and bhagavata-dharma are meant for persons who are completely free of envy (parama-nirmatsaranam). Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays in this verse, khalah prasidatam: “May all the envious persons be pacified.” The material world is full of envious persons, but if one frees himself of envy, he becomes liberal in his social dealings and can think of others’ welfare. Anyone who takes up Krsna consciousness and engages himself completely in the service of the Lord cleanses his mind of all envy (manas ca bhadram bhajatad adhoksaje). Therefore we should pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva to sit in our hearts. We should pray, bahir nrsimho hrdaye nrsimhah: “Let Lord Nrsimhadeva sit in the core of my heart, killing all my bad propensities. Let my mind become clean so that I may peacefully worship the Lord and bring peace to the entire world.”

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has given us a very fine purport in this regard. Whenever one offers a prayer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one always requests some benediction from Him. Even pure (niskama) devotees pray for some benediction, as instructed by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His Siksastaka:

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
  patitam mam visame bhavambudhau
krpaya tava pada-pankaja-
   sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

“O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krsna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick Me up from the ocean of death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.” In another prayer Lord Caitanya says, mama janmani janmanisvare bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi: “Life after life, kindly let Me have unalloyed love and devotion at Your Lordship’s lotus feet.” When Prahlada Maharaja chants om namo bhagavate narasimhaya, he prays for a benediction from the Lord, but because he is also an exalted Vaisnava, he wants nothing for his personal sense gratification. The first desire expressed in his prayer is svasty astu visvasya: “Let there be good fortune throughout the entire universe.” Prahlada Maharaja thus requested the Lord to be merciful to everyone, including his father, a most envious person. According to Canakya Pandita, there are two kinds of envious living entities: one is a snake, and the other is the man like Hiranyakasipu, who is by nature envious of everyone, even of his father or son. Hiranyakasipu was envious of his little son Prahlada, but Prahlada Maharaja asked a benediction for the benefit of his father. Hiranyakasipu was very envious of devotees, but Prahlada wished that his father and other demons like him would give up their envious nature by the grace of the Lord and stop harassing the devotees (khalah prasidatam). The difficulty is that the khala (envious living entity) is rarely pacified. One kind of khala, the snake, can be pacified simply by mantras or by the action of a particular herb (mantrausadhi-vasah sarpah khalakena nivaryate). An envious person, however, cannot be pacified by any means. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others.

If the Krsna consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Krsna everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays, sivam mitho dhiya. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Krsna consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlada Maharaja prays that everyone’s mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Krsna (bhajatad adhoksaje). As indicated elsewhere in Srimad-Bhagavatam (sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh) and as advised by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita (18.65), man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. Then one’s mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpana-marjanam [Cc Antya 20.12]). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlada Maharaja prays that the Lord’s mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Krsna always, everything will be all right. Some people argue that if everyone thought of Krsna in that way, the whole universe would be vacated because everyone would go back home, back to Godhead. However, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that this is impossible because the living entities are innumerable. If one set of living entities is actually delivered by the Krsna consciousness movement, another set will fill the entire universe.

COMMENT by Giriraj Swami

vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca
   krpa-sindhubhya eva ca
patitanam pavanebhyo
   vaisnavebhyo namo namah

Srila Prabhupada quoted this verse in the purport because it describes a Vaishnava and because Prahlada Maharaja, who recited the prayers that we are reading and discussing, is an excellent example of a Vaishnava.

Hiranyakasipu, the father of Prahlada, was a great demon, and he performed such severe austerities that the entire universe became disturbed. Eventually Lord Brahma went to Hiranyakasipu personally to ask him what benediction he wanted, so that he would cease his austerities and stop the disturbance within the universe. Hiranyakasipu asked for the benediction to become immortal, but Lord Brahma replied, “I myself am not immortal.” So Hiranyakasipu asked for various boons that he thought would indirectly make him immortal. He asked that he not be killed inside a building or outside; that he not be killed in the day or at night; that he not be killed on the land or in the sky; that he not be killed by any human being or animal, demigod or demon, or any other creature; and that he not be killed by any weapon. He asked for such benedictions that he thought would make him immortal and give him absolute supremacy in the universe. And Lord Brahma agreed to all of the requests: “So be it.”

In due course, Hiranyakasipu had a son named Prahlada, and Prahlada was a devotee. Earlier, the Lord in the form of Varahadeva had killed Hiranyakasipu’s brother Hiranyaksa, and Hiranyakasipu was determined to avenge his brother’s death—he actually thought that he could kill Vishnu. He knew that Vishnu had appeared as Varaha and killed Hiranyaksa. Later, Diti, the mother of Hiranyaksa and Hiranyakasipu, desired a son who would kill Indra, because she thought that Indra, with the help of Vishnu, was responsible for the death of her sons.

We know from scripture—sadhu-sastra-guru-vakya—that Vishnu is God. So we might consider, “How could anyone imagine that they could kill God?” But if God came into this room and we didn’t recognize Him by the features that are described in the scriptures, we wouldn’t know He was God, because God looks like a human being. As the Bible says, “God created man in His own image.” God has arms and legs and hands and feet and eyes and ears and a nose and mouth and all the different bodily features we have. His body looks like ours. What distinguishes Him from us is that He has immeasurable potencies. For example, the president of the United States looks like a human being like the rest of us, but he has immense power. If he wants, he can order the army to invade a country or send the police to arrest a citizen. He looks like us, but we don’t have that power. We might want to do certain things, but we don’t have the power. He has the power. Still, he looks like one of us.

When someone performs great austerities, he can get great powers. Even demons, if they perform the required austerities, can become very powerful and attain various mystic perfections. So, although Lord Vishnu has all power and mystic potency, demons can also get powers. And Hiranyakasipu thought that by his austerities and the powers he derived from them and the benedictions he got from Lord Brahma, he could become immortal and conquer the universe. He had created a great disturbance in the universe by performing severe austerities; now he did so by waging war against the demigods and conquering their territories.

Although he was a demon, Hiranyakasipu had natural affection for his son, and he wanted him to be like his father, a great materialist, and had him educated accordingly. He engaged teachers to instruct the boy to be expert in politics and diplomacy. And as parents sometimes ask their children, “What did you learn in school today? What is your favorite subject?” Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada, “What is the best thing you have learned?” He thought Prahlada would say something cute, something sweet. But Prahlada gave what was for Hiranyakasipu the worst answer imaginable. He said, “The best thing I have learned is sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam pada-sevanam/ arcanam vandanam dasyam sakhyam atma-nivedanam”—to hear about and glorify Vishnu. Vishnu, whom Hiranyakasipu considered to be his worst enemy. So, Hiranyakasipu became furious, and when nothing else worked, he resolved to kill Prahlada. He applied the logic that if a part of your body becomes infected, the disease may spread throughout the body and kill you, so even though it is part of your body, you have to amputate it, for the sake of the rest of the body. He thought, “Although Prahlada is my son, he has been infected by the disease of Vaishnavism and we have to cut him out before the disease spreads and finishes us.”

Hiranyakasipu tried to kill Prahlada in so many ways. He had conquered the demigods, and he occupied the throne of King Indra and ruled over the inhabitants of all the other planets. Except for Brahma and Shiva, all the demigods were engaged in his service, offering him obeisances and praise. He was so powerful. But he could not kill Prahlada. He had horrible demons try to pierce Prahlada’s body with tridents. He threw Prahlada beneath the feet of elephants and in the midst of venomous snakes. But no matter what he did, he could not kill him. He hurled him from a mountain top, gave him poison, starved him, and threw heavy stones on him to crush him. Nothing worked—nothing affected Prahlada in the least. Hiranyakasipu was astonished. He had triumphed over the armies of the demigods, but he could not subdue his five-year-old son.

Finally, after all his efforts had failed, Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada, “From where do you get your power? You know that when I am angry all the planets of the three worlds, along with their rulers, tremble. But you have no fear, and you have exceeded my power to control you. From where do you get your strength?” And Prahlada replied, “I get my strength from the same source as you, from the source of all strength—from God.” Now, that really infuriated Hiranyakasipu, because he thought that he was the source of his own power. That is the demoniac mentality: we think we are the doers—kartaham iti manyate. We think, isvaro ’ham aham bhogi siddho ’ham balavan sukhi: “I am the controller. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect and powerful and happy.” Hiranyakasipu didn’t want to hear that he got his power from someone else—least of all from the person to whom Prahlada referred: the unlimited Supreme Lord.

Thus Hiranyakasipu became even more infuriated and more defiant. He said to Prahlada, “If this God of yours is everywhere, why is He not present before me in this pillar? I am going to kill you now, and let us see this God of yours protect you!” Filled with rage, Hiranyakasipu rose from his throne and with great anger struck his fist against the column. And out of the pillar emerged the wonderful form of Nrsimhadeva. Nrsimha Bhagavan ki jaya!

Nrsimhadeva is unique. He is neither a man nor an animal but has a form that is half lion and half man. And His appearance fulfilled all the conditions of Lord Brahma. He isn’t a demigod or a human being or an animal—He isn’t any creature. Ultimately He picked up Hiranyakasipu and placed him on His lap and with His long, sharp nails ripped apart his chest. Hiranyakasipu was extraordinarily powerful, and his chest could withstand the thunderbolt of Indra. No one could pierce his body. He was so powerful. One could throw arrows and all types of weapons at him, and they would bounce off him like nothing. So it was no mean feat to tear open his chest. Yet Nrsimhadeva ripped open his chest with His nails, tore out his heart, and thus killed this great demon.

We glorify Lord Nrsimha daily with the prayer (a line of which Srila Prabhupada quoted in his purport):

ito nrsimhah parato nrsimho
   yato yato yami tato nrsimhah
bahir nrsimho hrdaye nrsimho
   nrsimham adim saranam prapadye

Ito nrsimhah means “Nrsimha is here”; parato nrsimho means “Nrismha is also there.” Yato yato yami tato nrsimhah: “Wherever I go, there is Nrsimha.” Bahir nrsimho: “Nrimsha is outside”; hrdaye nrsimho: “Nrsimha is in my heart.” Nrsimham adim saranam prapadye: “I surrender to Lord Nrsimha, the origin of all and the supreme shelter.” He is everywhere.

We also sing:

namas te nara-simhaya
   prahladahlada-dayine
hiranyakasipor vaksah-
   sila-tanka-nakhalaye

Sila-tanka-nakhalaye. Sila means “stone,” as in saligrama-sila; nakha means “fingernails”; and tanka means “chisel.” If you want to break a hard stone, you have to chisel it. And Lord Nrsimha’s nails were like chisels that cut the chest of Hiranyakasipu—his stonelike heart and chest.

Hiranyakasipu thought that he could become immortal by his own power and intelligence. But his intelligence was not as great as that of Lord Nrsimha, who kept all of Brahma’s boons intact and still was able to kill the demon. Nrsimhadeva assumed this wonderful form—adbhuta means “wonderful”—that was half man and half lion. He sat at the threshold of the palace, which wasn’t inside or outside. He appeared at twilight, which was neither day nor night. And He killed Hiranyakasipu on His lap—not in the sky or on the land. And not with any weapon but with His nails. He kept all the benedictions intact and still killed him.

Srila Prabhupada explains that however intelligent we are, Krishna is always more intelligent. Mother Yasoda tried to bind Krishna with ropes, but no matter how many ropes she tied together, He was always two fingers bigger and she was always just a little short. In the same way, if we try to compete with God—try to outwit God, try to cheat God—we will always fall short. Srila Prabhupada says, “Hiranyakasipu was thinking only of the atomic bomb, how to protect himself from the bomb, but he forgot about the nails.” He made so many arrangements to protect himself, but he neglected to consider the nails. So, the conclusion should be “If you can’t fight Him, join Him.” Nrsimham adim saranam prapadye. Just surrender to Nrsimhadeva. Don’t try to compete with Him or fight with Him. That is the background of Prahlada’s prayers.

After Nrsimhadeva killed Hiranyakasipu, He asked Prahlada to request a benediction, but Prahlada was a pure devotee—he didn’t want any material benediction. In today’s verse we find the word ahaituki: without any motive. Prahlada had no material motive, so when Lord Nrsimhadeva asked him to request a benediction, he refused. He said, “Why are You trying to tempt me with material allurements? If I were to desire material benefit in exchange for devotional service, I wouldn’t be a servant. I would be like a businessman who wants profit in exchange for service. Lord, I am Your eternal servant, and You are my eternal master. We have no other relationship.” Prahlada asked only that there be no material desires within his heart.

But Nrsimhadeva insisted that Prahlada request a benediction, and in the end Prahlada agreed: “If You really want me to ask something of You, then I ask that You purify my father.” This shows the exemplary character of Prahlada, who, as Srila Prabhupada said, is a typical Vaishnava. A Vaishnava is the friend of everyone, of all living entities (suhrdah sarva-dehinam). He never becomes the enemy of his enemy. He remains ever the friend of everyone—even his enemies. So even though Hiranyakasipu was so envious—even of his own son—that he tried in so many ways to kill him, Prahlada remained true to his character as a Vaishnava. He thought of his father’s welfare, and he wished his father well.

In this prayer to Lord Nrsimha, Prahlada is praying for his father and for all envious people, that they may be pacified. Khalah prasidatam: “May all envious persons be pacified.” As Srila Prabhupada notes, almost everyone is envious. In fact, we come into this material world because we are envious of Krishna. That is why we are here. Thus Srila Prabhupada says, “Almost everyone.” The only exceptions are pure devotees. Everyone else has some envy. It is like saying, “Almost everyone in the prison is a criminal.” Yes, in principle, all the prisoners are criminals. There may be some staff members who are not, who are there to minister to the inmates, but the prisoners themselves are criminals. So, other than the devotees who are working for the welfare of the fallen souls, everyone is envious. And no one is spared their envy. Hiranyakasipu was envious of his five-year-old son, a pure devotee. Diti was envious of her nephew Indra. She wanted to kill him, or get him killed. No one is spared.

If we want to get out of the bondage of material existence, we have to become free from envy. And how do we become free from envy? By the process of Krishna consciousness. And that is Prahlada’s prayer: bhajatad adhoksaje. Bhaja means to worship and serve. The word bhakti comes from the verbal root bhaj: to serve with devotion. Serve whom? Adhoksaja: Krishna, who is beyond material sense perception. Hiranyakasipu couldn’t see Vishnu; the Lord was beyond his sense perception. It was only when He chose to appear to him by emerging from the pillar as Nrsimhadeva that Hiranyakasipu could see Him. Otherwise, only pure devotees can see Krishna—no one else. He is beyond the perception of the materially contaminated senses, mind, and intelligence of the conditioned souls.

The process is Krishna consciousness (bhajatad adhoksaje), and as Prahlada has explained, we engage in devotional service in Krishna consciousness by sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam: hearing and chanting about Vishnu and remembering Him. As Srila Prabhupada quoted from the Siksastaka, ceto-darpana-marjanam: sankirtana, the chanting of the holy names of the Lord, cleanses the heart. That is the process. And when the heart is cleansed, we become peaceful and calm (bhadram).

This process is described in two important verses from the second chapter of Srimad-Bhagavatam:

srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah
   punya-sravana-kirtanah
hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani
   vidhunoti suhrt satam

“Sri Krsna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” (SB 1.2.17)

 Srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah. When we hear krsna-katha, all the abhadrani—all the material desires, all the disturbances within the heart—are cleansed by the Lord Himself, who is sitting within the heart as the well-wishing friend of the truthful devotee (vidhunoti suhrt satam).

And the transcendental sound itself is Krishna. Krishna enters the ear in the form of transcendental sound, and when we are hearing properly, the sound will enter the heart and cleanse it. Krishna in the form of transcendental sound will cleanse the dirty things in the heart (ceto-darpana-marjanam).

The next verse explains further:

nasta-prayesv abhadresu
   nityam bhagavata-sevaya
bhagavaty uttama-sloke
   bhaktir bhavati naisthiki

“By regular attendance in classes on the Bhagavatam and by rendering of service to the pure devotee, all that is troublesome to the heart is almost completely destroyed, and loving service unto the Personality of Godhead, who is praised with transcendental songs, is established as an irrevocable fact.” (SB 1.2.18)

Bhagavata-sevaya: by serving the person Bhagavata or by serving the book Bhagavata, all that is troublesome to the heart—the same word, abhadrani (abhadra, nasta-prayesv abhadresu)—all that is troublesome, all that is disturbing to the heart, becomes destroyed almost to nil at this stage. So when Prahlada prays that envious persons be pacified (bhadram), he is praying that all the abhadra, the disturbing things, the material desires within the heart, be removed. And the way they can be removed is by Krishna consciousness, by absorbing the mind in Krishna. That process is recommended in the Bhagavad-gita (man-mana bhava mad-bhakto) and in Srimad-Bhagavatam (sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh)—to absorb the mind in Krishna. That is Krishna consciousness, and that will cleanse the heart and make us calm and peaceful. Then, instead of being envious of others and wanting to exploit and dominate them, we will think of their welfare. We want to help them and encourage them in Krishna consciousness.

Our main process, specially given to us in Kali-yuga by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is sankirtana, the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. But we have to do it in such a way that our minds are absorbed. That is Prahlada’s prayer, that our minds be absorbed in Krishna. So, when we chant, we want to hear—we want our minds to be absorbed in the sound of Lord Krishna’s holy name. But when we try practically, what do we find? Is our mind peaceful? Is it absorbed in Krishna’s holy name? Or is it wandering here and there, thinking of different things to control and enjoy, which suggests the mentality described in the Bhagavad-gita and ascribed to demons: isvaro ’ham aham bhogi—“I am the controller; I am the enjoyer”? When we analyze the thoughts we have even while we are chanting—while we are supposed to be chanting and hearing—we find that the underlying principles are “I am the enjoyer; I am the controller.” We are chanting, but we are distracted, thinking, “Oh, I have to do this. I have to do that.” What does that imply? That I think I am the controller. “I have to control all these things. I can’t hear Krishna’s name. I have to control all these things.” And why do we want to control them? Though we may also want to control for Krishna’s service, the tendency is to control for sense gratification. We want to control people and events in certain ways as to make our lives more pleasurable. We want to make arrangements to make our lives more pleasant.

This demoniac tendency that we discussed in relation to Hiranyakasipu is there in us too. As our godbrother Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu often quotes, “We have seen the enemy, and he is us.” We are the enemy. It is not out there. We are the enemy—our own bad propensities, our own uncontrolled minds and senses. The problem is not out there. It is right here inside us.

So, we have to work hard. We have to endeavor to chant and hear with attention, with feeling. Whenever the mind wanders, we have to bring it back to the sound of Lord Krishna’s holy name. And that is a difficult job. In fact, it is a futile exercise on our own strength alone. We need help. We need mercy. We need mercy from Krishna. And Prahlada is helping us. We should be praying, but he is leading us in the prayer. In Text 8 he prayed to Lord Nrsimhadeva in the heart, “Kindly vanquish my demonlike desires. Just as You destroyed Hiranyakasipu, kindly destroy my demonlike desires, kill my bad propensities, and sit on the throne of my heart.”

So, we do both: we make our own effort, and we pray for mercy. And when the Lord sees that we are making an honest effort, He is inclined to give His mercy. We don’t just sit back and do nothing and pray for mercy. We have to make an effort. But at the same time, we understand that we cannot be successful by our effort alone; we need the Lord’s help. And when the Lord sees our genuine, sincere, tireless effort, He will be merciful. Mother Yasoda couldn’t bind Krishna with all the ropes in Vraja, but when Krishna saw her tireless effort to bind Him, He felt compassion for her and allowed her to bind Him. Our acharyas explain that that gap of two fingers by which the ropes were always too short can be covered (1) by our endeavor, our hard labor (parisrama), and (2) by Krishna’s mercy (krsna-krpa). These two elements can cover that distance and make our efforts successful—by Krishna’s grace.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, as quoted by Prabhupada in the purport, explains that whenever a devotee offers a prayer to the Lord, he asks for some benediction. Om namo bhagavate narasimhaya is a prayer, and implicit in the prayer is a request for a benediction. But a devotee will not ask for a material benediction like Hiranyakasipu’s: “Let me become immortal so I can conquer the universe and make everyone my servant.” He will ask for a benediction related to devotional service. And that is not wrong. He just won’t ask for something for his sense gratification; he will ask for something for Krishna consciousness—for his own Krishna consciousness and for the Krishna consciousness of others.

We find the example in the Siksastaka (5):

ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
   patitam mam visame bhavambudhau
krpaya tava pada-pankaja-
   sthita-dhuli-sadrsam vicintaya

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

This is a very significant verse. Ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram: “I am Your eternal servant.” We are Krishna’s servants—specifically Krishna’s, the son of Nanda. Nanda-tanuja is an intimate term. Tanu means “body” and ja means “born.” Although the Lord is aja, unborn, for the sake of His pastimes in Vrindavan, He appears as nanda-tanuja, He who was “born from the body of Nanda.” It is very intimate. “Yet although I am Your servant [kinkaram], somehow or the other I have fallen into this terrible ocean of birth and death [patitam mam visame bhavambudhau].” Bhava means “to exist” or “to come into being and then to cease to exist.” And visame Prabhupada translates as “horrible.” Literally, visa means “poison.” This material existence is like an ocean of poison. And within this ocean are ferocious aquatics like sharks, who are ready to devour us. These deadly creatures are compared to lust, anger, and greed—always ready to devour us, to finish us. And there are waves in the ocean, terrible waves that are compared to false hopes and anxieties. They are always tossing us around. And there are strong winds—gales and storms—which are compared to bad association.

The ocean is bad enough, but it becomes even worse when we are subjected to bad association. Such association acts like strong winds that push us in the wrong direction and may cause us to fall over. And while we are floundering in the ocean, drowning in the sea, we may come across some small pieces of wood and think, “Oh, here is a little piece of wood. Let me grab onto it.” Those insignificant pieces of wood are compared to the processes of karma, jnana, yoga, and so on. They can’t save us.

The only thing that can save us is mercy (tava krpa). Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who uttered these verses called the Siksastaka, prays, “By Your mercy, please pick Me up from this horrible ocean of birth and death and place Me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.” It is divine mercy that can save us. And He prays to be an atom at the lotus feet of Krishna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura remarks that this indicates that we are all originally part and parcel of Krishna.  Dhuli means “dust.” Pada-dhuli: “dust of the lotus feet.” Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prays, “Please be causelessly merciful to Me. Consider Me, Your eternal servant, a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.”

Someone might question, “Is it proper for a devotee who has taken shelter of the holy name of Krishna to discuss the miseries of material existence?” Well, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu does. So it is not wrong to discuss the miseries of material existence, and it is not wrong to pray for mercy to be reestablished in one’s constitutional relationship with Krishna. Those are things devotees do. And that should be our mood when we chant: that the holy name is Krishna and that we want to reestablish our lost relationship with Him. Thus we want to reestablish our relationship with the holy name—Krishna as the holy name. And our chanting is personal reciprocation with the holy name. When our mind wanders and all these anarthas come up, as they are prone to do, we pray for mercy: “Please save me. I think I am God, the controller, the enjoyer. Please save me from these anarthas.” That is one side of the prayer. The other side is, “Please engage me in Your service. Please accept me as Your eternal servant. Please consider me an atom at Your lotus feet, a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.”

And we have another example from Sri Siksastaka (4):

 na dhanam na janam na sundarim
   kavitam va jagad-isa kamaye
mama janmani janmanisvare
   bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki tvayi

“O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife, or fruitive activities described in flowery language. All I want, life after life, is unmotivated devotional service to You.”

Ahaituki. Again the word ahaituki: “causeless, without any motive for personal gain of any sort.” Pure devotional service is anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam. Anyabhilasita-sunyam: without any ulterior motive. Jnana-karmady-anavrtam: not covered by karma, jnana, or any other process. In His Siksastaka, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prays in the mood of pure devotion: na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam. Dhanam means “wealth.” Janam means “followers.” Sundarim means “beautiful women, beautiful wife.” And kavitam means “poetry” or “the flowery words of the Vedas.” Sometimes sundarim is placed with kavitam to mean “beautiful poetry.” Some people think they can realize God through poetry, music, or art, and they are attached to such subtle, almost heavenly pleasures. They say they can experience God through hearing a symphony, for instance. So sundarim kavitam: beautiful poetry. And when sundarim is considered with janam, then beautiful women, beautiful wife, children, relatives, and friends are included in janam. And all of these gains are achieved by pious material activities—in other words, karma. So, when Lord Chaitanya says na dhanam na janam na sundarim kavitam, He means that He doesn’t want anything that can be achieved by karma. And when He says mama janmani janmanisvare, that birth after birth He wants to be engaged in pure devotional service, He tells us that He does not want even liberation, which is the goal of jnana. In other words, He is not praying for the results of karma or jnana but is asking only for pure devotional service. Such is a pure devotee. And that is what we should be praying for.

But Prahlada is asking not just for himself. He is praying for all living entities. And the same principle applies: we pray, but we also have to work. It is not enough to sit back and pray, “Please deliver all the living entities in the universe” while we keep busy in eating and sleeping, or even chanting for our own personal benefit. We also have to work for the deliverance of the fallen souls. And that combination of endeavor and prayer will be effective. We find later, in Prahlada’s prayers to Nrsimhadeva in the Seventh Canto (SB 7.9.44):

prayena deva munayah sva-vimukti-kama
   maunam caranti vijane na parartha-nisthah
naitan vihaya krpanan vimumuksa eko
   nanyam tvad asya saranam bhramato ’nupasye

“O my Lord, I see that most saintly persons are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they roam in solitary places with vows of silence. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Krsna consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.”

Prahlada does not have to be concerned about his own liberation, because, as a pure devotee, he is already liberated. Wherever he is, he can always immerse himself in the nectarean ocean of the Lord’s holy names and glories, and feel transcendental bliss. He explains, “For myself I have no anxiety, but I do have one concern. My lamentation (soce) is that people are suffering without Krishna consciousness, and so I am always making plans how to engage them in devotional service.”

naivodvije para duratyaya-vaitaranyas
  tvad-virya-gayana-mahamrta-magna-cittah
soce tato vimukha-cetasa indriyartha-
   maya-sukhaya bharam udvahato vimudhan

“O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. I am quite satisfied to chant Your holy name, because whenever I chant I immediately merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies, and countries. I am simply lamenting for them and devising various plans to deliver them from the clutches of maya.” (SB 7.9.43)

Prahlada Maharaja is one of our acharyas—one of the twelve mahajanas—and he is teaching us by his example. He is thinking how he can deliver the fallen souls, how he can induce the fallen souls to take to Krishna consciousness. At the same time, he is praying to his worshipable Deity, Lord Nrsimhadeva, to be merciful to them and deliver them, because he knows that on his own he can’t deliver them—and that on their own they can’t deliver themselves. So, to preach we need the Lord’s mercy. And to practice Krishna consciousness we also need the Lord’s mercy. At every stage, we need the Lord’s mercy. And at the same time, we have to make our own efforts.

In conclusion, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura raises the question, “What if Prahlada Maharaja’s prayer is accepted and everyone becomes Krishna conscious? They all will leave the material universe and go back to Godhead, so what will happen to the universe?”

At the Ardha-kumbha-mela in 1971, I had a rare opportunity to be with Srila Prabhupada in his tent when he was giving darshan, meeting visitors in the afternoon. A man asked him, “What if everyone becomes a devotee—how will the world go on?” And Prabhupada asked me to answer. I don’t remember exactly what I said, maybe something about how will the prison go on if all the prisoners are reformed and released, but I was very attentive to what Prabhupada said after I made my attempt. He replied, “It is like asking, ‘What if everyone becomes rich? Who will be the chauffeur?’ Everyone wants to be rich. You can’t argue, ‘What if everyone becomes rich?’ to say that people not try to become rich.” And he continued, “The problem is not that too many people will become Krishna conscious; the problem is that not enough will become Krishna conscious. Do you think that is a problem—that too many people will become Krishna conscious? That is not the problem. The problem is that not enough will become Krishna conscious.”

In this mood of thinking of the welfare of every living entity, one of our godsisters, Jahnava devi dasi, once asked Srila Prabhupada, “When we chant, should we think of the welfare of all living entities?” And Prabhupada replied, “Oh, you can think of all living entities? You just think of Lord Chaitanya, and He will think of all living entities.” We may desire the welfare of all living entities, but it is not in our capacity to think of all living entities. Even in a family of four, it is hard to think of the welfare of all four at once. So, we can’t think of all living entities. But we can think of Lord Chaitanya, and He will think of all living entities. We can pray to Lord Nrsimhadeva, and He will think of all living entities. And we can pray to be a little particle of dust in Their service—a small instrument in Their mission—by Their divine grace.

Hare Krishna.

Nrsimha Bhagavan ki jaya!
Prahlada Maharaja ki jaya!
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Nitai-gaura-premanande hari-haribol!

[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Nrsimha-caturdasi, April 30, 2007, Dallas]

Source: https://girirajswami.com/blog/?p=19998

How could they reappear?

One day whilst in Malaysia I received a phone call. The lady speaking had a strong accent so I couldn't understand her, but she mentioned my wife's name and said "heart attack." I was shocked and kept asking her "Did my wife have a heart attack!?" Finally after some confusion, I could understand that she was from a store named Heart Attack where my wife had reserved a pair of jewel studded bangles for Lord Nrsimhadev. A few days later we bought the wide gold bangles, covered with pink and multi-colour reddish diamantes. They opened with a spring so you pull them open and then close them around the Lord's wrists.

When we arrived in Mayapur, she checked the bangles. She was dismayed to discover that some of the jewels had fallen out. They were in the bottom of the bag. She placed the bangles with the jewels in a small paper bag on the altar table. In our apartment, the altar is over a metre high and is situated against the wall. On the other side of the wall is our bedroom. She wanted me to get strong glue and reset the jewels.

I needed to get epoxy glue, and it wasn't until we went overseas again and came back that I acquired it. When she asked me again to glue the jewels, I picked up the paper bag. I carefully looked inside, knowing there were loose jewels and bangles inside. I could only see very few jewels at the bottom and she immediately said, "Oh no! You have dropped Lord Nrsimhadev's jewels!"

"I didn't drop anything" I replied. "I just looked inside the bag."

"You've dropped the jewels," she continued. "They were in this bag. We went overseas. No one has been here. You must have dropped them.

My wife really wanted to offer those bangles to Lord Nrsimhadev, so she started searching for the jewels. She looked all around the altar, on the floor around the altar. Then, finding nothing, she expanded the search around the floor further away from the altar. The wall behind the altar is three metres, and to the right side there is a doorway leading to the bedroom. There is no way anything could fall from the altar, go sideways that far, then turn the corner and enter the bedroom. However, since it was adjacent, she started searching the floor of the bedroom.

To allow for storage space the bed was built with high legs. Underneath we keep about ten suitcases and travel bags. My wife started pulling the suitcases out from under the bed. In the middle of the floor under the bed, only accessible after removing suitcases, she found some of the missing jewels.

We were both astonished, because if you see the situation, there is no way you could, for example, drop a child's marble from the altar, and make it roll 1.5 metres, turn left, enter the doorway, roll left again 1.5 metres, then move right 1.5 metres after crossing over some suitcases blocking the way. We had no idea what to think of this. If you look at the jewels on the bangles, they are unique in colour and cut. It's not that you could find just any diamante and it would look like this.

So, I mixed up the epoxy glue, and set the jewels we found back in the bangles. But there were not enough to fill the empty spaces, which are like little craters in the surface.

Somewhat exasperated, my wife went to the temple to see Lord Nrsimhadeva and prayed "My dear Lord, do You want these bangles? I can't find the missing jewels. We can't offer them to You with crystals missing." Every time she swept the bedroom floor, she carefully looked for crystals. She swept that floor, mopped it and wiped it many times over a few months. During her sweeps, she found two more crystals, but there was still one missing.

Two days before Nrsimha Caturdasi, 4th May 2012, she decided to start another search. She pulled all the chairs and the table and cane lounge chair away from the wall near the altar. I was just letting the glue dry after resetting the other crystals when she called out, "I found a pink crystal! I found a pink crystal!" I immediately rushed over. She reached out to give it to me. "Oh NO!" she cried. "I DROPPED IT!!" Now we both got down on the floor with our daughter Sakhi, moved all the furniture, and with a light we looked and looked, but we couldn't find it.

hat a tragedy that after all that effort we couldn't offer the bangles to Lord Nrsimhadev. Anyway, that crystal seemed too small. Then, and she said she does not know why, the idea came into her mind to look in the bedroom again. She entered the bedroom, turned left and walked to the windows and there on the floor, right in the middle of the space between the wall and the bed, was a single pink crystal. It was a perfect match with the other crystals on the bangles.

"I have swept this floor many times! she exclaimed. "How could this happen?"

We just could not understand how this could happen. I mixed up the glue and as I waited for it to thicken, I snapped a photo of the last crystal on my finger. On Nrsimha Caturdasi she presented the bangles to the pujari who was attending the altar just after midday. She asked him to accept them, but he said, "No, you have to give them to Jananivas Prabhu first." She pleaded with him but he insisted that she give them to Jananivas Prabhu. Together we went up the stairs to his quarters and told Jananivas Prabhu all that had happened.

He smiled at our daughter (8 years old) and said, "Sakhi. Have you got anything to do with this?" She just giggled and said "No."

I asked whether we should offer them on Gaura Purnima. He replied that we could, but we could also offer them now. I was happy with "now." With a big smile on his face, he took the bangles down the stairs as we followed. He approached Lord Nrsimhadev, and to our great happiness, he removed the bangles the Lord was wearing, and placed our bangles on His powerful arms. Then he brought some Tulasi leaves and a mango from Lord Nrsimhadev and put them in Sakhi's hand. It was an unforgettable moment for us to see the gloriously beautiful, lavishly decorated Supreme Lord Nrsimhadev wearing our bangles with a huge smile.

Thank you Lord Nrsimhadev for accepting our little offerings. Thank you for appearing in Mayapur and allowing us to serve You. Thank you Jananivas Prabhu for encouraging our service. Thank you Srila Prabhupada for revealing that the spiritual world is manifest here in the material world. By your mercy alone we can come here. Without you we would be lost in the darkness of the Kali age.

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=10862