While some may think that building the TOVP is just building another temple, this is far from the truth. In reality, it is the greatest act of compassion uponWhile some may think that building the TOVP is just building another temple, this is far from the truth. In reality, it is the greatest act of compassion upon

Building the TOVP – The Supreme Act of Compassion – Temple of the Vedic Planetarium


Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116572
 

By Partha Sarathi Das Goswami

Gokulendra Prabhu, also known as Greg, met Ksudhi Prabhu either in 1972 or 1973. At that time, he was a student at Rhodes University, which was then one of the most prestigious universities in South Africa. Greg would finish his lectures on a Friday night and would hitchhike all the way from Grahamstown to our centre in Cape Town. Jagat Guru Maharaja and Pusta Krishna Maharaja were cultivating him. He would stay over on Saturday nights, and after the Sunday feast, he would hitchhike all the way back to Grahamstown to continue his studies. This is how serious he was. In 1974, we closed the Cape Town centre and drove to Durban via Grahamstown to meet him. He left university and joined us.

Jagat Guru Maharaja took pleasure in shaving Gokulendra Prabhu’s long golden hair in the student washroom. It was the fashion then for men to have long hair. There were students around, but he didn’t mind. Jagat Guru Maharaja just ignored them and continued to shave his head. From there, we went to Durban and then Johannesburg. Gokulendra Prabhu was a vital part of the development of ISKCON South Africa. One of his friends, Roma, also from Rhodes University, later joined and became Rocani Dasi, an extremely nice devotee.

Gokulendra had a very soft heart and was willing to help everyone. He liked being in the background. I saw him as my friend, and I hope he saw me as his friend. When Srila Prabhupada came in October 1975, Gokulendra Prabhu was the only licensed driver, so he drove His Divine Grace everywhere. Gokulendra rented a white Mercedes in Johannesburg, and we borrowed a yellow one from Bob Narandas in Durban.

Gokulendra played an integral part in Srila Prabhupada’s visit to South Africa. He assisted Riddha Prabhu with the advertising of Srila Prabhupada’s arrival and the various programmes in Durban. The advertising was well done and successful. After Srila Prabhupada left South Africa, the management changed, and Tulsi Prabhu, being a pragmatic leader, organised two collecting parties: Gokulendra Prabhu and me, and we each had an assistant. Tulsi Prabhu bought two small brand-new Toyota vans, and we couldn’t return to the temple until we reached our target of several thousand Rands, which usually took about three weeks. So, we had a transcendental competition. Then Tulsi Prabhu came up with the idea of the Tent Campaign and put me in charge of that. Gokulendra Prabhu continued collecting and was excellent at it. He collected large sums of money for both the temple in Cato Ridge and the construction of the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple.

Gokulendra Prabhu continued collecting vigorously and was devoted to his service. He later married Jagannathesvari Prabhu, another exceptional devotee from England, and they had a son. Bhagavan Prabhu named his son Diksa Guru. Then in 1985, the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple opened. Gokulendra Prabhu got more involved in his business of selling paintings, so we didn’t see him much.

I have no doubt that Gokulendra Prabhu will take birth in the Lord’s pastimes because of his surrender to Srila Prabhupada and the Mission for twelve years. Krishna looks at your devotional service and sees what you have done. Gokulendra Prabhu also had direct association with Srila Prabhupada. Can you imagine driving a pure devotee around? Gokulendra Prabhu will take birth in either Lord Caitanya’s pastimes or Krishna’s pastimes in some universe, where he will continue his devotional service.

When those pastimes are finished, he will go back to the spiritual world, Goloka Vrindavan. This is confirmed in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Srila Haridas Thakura gives the example of Ajamila, who chanted the name of his son, Narayana, a few times:

sāṅketyaṁ pārihāsyaṁ vā

stobhaṁ helanam eva vā

vaikuṇṭha-nāma-grahaṇam

aśeṣāgha-haraṁ viduḥ

“One who chants the holy name of the Lord is immediately freed from the reactions of unlimited sins, even if he chants indirectly [to indicate something else], jokingly, for musical entertainment, or even neglectfully. This is accepted by all the learned scholars of the scriptures.” ~Srimad Bhagavatam 6.2.14

Ajamila was not intentionally chanting the Lord’s name. He was just calling out to his son. Whereas Gokulendra Prabhu was wholeheartedly chanting the Lord’s holy name. He knew what he was doing, he wilfully accepted first and second initiation, he performed valuable service to Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON, he honoured maha-prasad, he was meek and humble, and he was loved by all who came in contact with him. I think his future is more auspicious than Ajamila’s. And Ajamila, of course, went back to the spiritual world, Vaikuntha.

On this occasion, we thank Gokulendra Prabhu for the sacrifices and contributions he has made to Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON in South Africa. Naturally, he will be in our prayers, and I am convinced that Lord Caitanya will place him in His pastimes.

All glories to His Grace Gokulendra Prabhu!

All glories to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada!

All glories to our Guru Parampara!

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116562

By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi

For the first time, Mahatma Das will be teaching The Art of Forgiveness in a live online format, making the program accessible to devotees worldwide. The course, which has previously been offered in person, presents a systematic approach to one of the most challenging aspects of spiritual life: the practice of forgiveness.

The program is structured as a 19-step, hands-on process based on Vaisnava wisdom and philosophy. Rather than treating forgiveness as a single act of will, the course breaks down the journey into manageable steps, addressing the emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of releasing resentment and working toward healing.

Providing practical methods for devotees facing hurt, betrayal, and conflict in their relationships, the course aims to help participants understand the roots of their pain, work through feelings of anger and resentment, and ultimately find a path toward emotional freedom and spiritual growth.

Two separate groups are being offered to accommodate participants in different time zones worldwide. The first group will meet on November 15 and 16, with sessions running from 7:00 to 10:30 am Eastern Standard Time, which corresponds to 5:30 to 9:00 pm India Standard Time. This group will have instruction available in four languages: English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese, reflecting the international scope of the ISKCON community.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/mahatma-das-launches-live-online-course-on-the-art-of-forgiveness-this-week/

In an exciting moment for the global kirtan community, devotional artist Jahnavi Harrison (Jahnavi Jivana Dasi) has been nominated for a 2026 Grammy Award for her latest album, Into the Forest. The Recording Academy announced the nominations earlier today, placing Harrison among the final contenders for Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.

Earlier today, Harrison shared her heartfelt reaction in a post to her Facebook community, writing: “WOW. Into the Forest has been nominated for a Grammy!!! Got the news this morning and I’m still shocked. Had a good ol’ cry listening to it again and reliving the chapter of life that making this album spanned. The album is rich with the sincere prayers and heartfelt contributions of so many, and that makes this very meaningful. THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to listen.”

Released in 2024, Into the Forest is a contemplative, spacious work that blends mantra, acoustic textures, and reflective storytelling. On her website, Harrison describes the project as an inward pilgrimage: “The forest is a metaphor for the forest within the heart… the sacred, still, nurturing space inside which is vibrating in song and connecting us to the Divine.”

Source: https://iskconnews.org/jahnavi-harrison-earns-2026-grammy-nomination-for-into-the-forest/

I was invited to visit the Sri Sri Radha Madhava temple in Manila. It is still in the old temple building I visited years ago but the temple will move to a new property in about 3 months. I was fortunate to go and have a look and it is certainly a big upgrade.

While there, a harinama was organized for a downtown area. Manila is a mega city of 15 or 20 million and there are 17 smaller cities within it. The kirtan started with a sit down in a park where I gave a lecture and then we headed through the streets for an ecstatic parade.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/manila-harinama/

By Prabhavati Gopi Devi Dasi

The Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) has released its upcoming schedule of winter courses and seminars for 2025–2026, inviting devotees from around the world to strengthen their study of śāstra and deepen their devotional practice. The institute’s blended online and onsite offerings aim to support systematic learning and help devotees apply scriptural teachings in daily life.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/vihe-opens-registration-for-2025-26-winter-courses-and-seminars/

By Prabhavati Gopi Devi Dasi

The Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) has released its upcoming schedule of winter courses and seminars for 2025–2026, inviting devotees from around the world to strengthen their study of śāstra and deepen their devotional practice. The institute’s blended online and onsite offerings aim to support systematic learning and help devotees apply scriptural teachings in daily life.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/vihe-opens-registration-for-2025-26-winter-courses-and-seminars/

I began my service with the Mail Order Department in September of 1969 and although two and a half years had gone by since that ad not much had changed nor was there much growth. The address had changed from 26 Second Avenue to 61 Second Avenue and two more books, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya and the abridged edition of Bhagavad-gita had become available.

The fledgling order dept. operated out of the “office” on East 10th Street where Brahmananda and previously Rayarama had worked. The very first morning I went there Gadadhara Das (Joel Chalson) was opening the few pieces of mail that had arrived with orders as well as requests for information. I was there to type Brahmananda’s letters but it was quickly decided that I would be taking over Gadadhara’s responsibilities which was fine with him since he didn’t like office work one bit.

A few months later, when Brahmananda and I relocated to the Boston center, the Mail Order Department came with us and became linked with ISKCON Press. By the end of 1970 the Movement had grown significantly. Part of the reason was what I call the “Trifecta of 1970.” Three major events took place toward the end of that year. The first is that the KRSNA Book was printed and began being distributed to the public. The second is that the London Radha Krishna Album was produced by George Harrison on Apple Label with some of the cuts making the pop charts in England and around Europe and the third was George Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” being played constantly on the radio in the U.S. To his credit George played a major part in not only the album and of course his “My Sweet Lord” but he also donated $19,000 to Srila Prabhupada for the first printing of the KRSNA Book.

As a result of the “Trifecta” the mail started pouring in like crazy. Given the hours I was spending on the composing machine in Boston in 1970 I could hardly keep up with the mail arriving daily. I put together an efficient system for handling the BTG subscriptions and orders for books and I found myself answering a lot of letters from people who just wanted “more information” or had specific questions about Krishna consciousness. Whenever I answered a personal letter I used carbon paper and then stapled their letter to the copy of my response and filed it away alphabetically. I began to establish ongoing correspondences with many people throughout the world. In each and every book and magazine an invitation was given to write to the secretary of ISKCON for more information and I was that secretary. The more books and magazines in circulation, the more letters were coming.

Eventually Brahmananda informed Srila Prabhupada that I was answering the letters and Prabhupada told him to have me forward a few copies of my replies to him so that he could see whether or not I was understanding and explaining the philosophy properly. After all, I was representing him and all of ISKCON. I sent Srila Prabhupada some samples of my letters and he was satisfied. That made it official. From then on I would sign the letters “Swarup Das Brahmacary, Secretary ISKCON.”

Writing to people was the perfect engagement for me. When I was a kid I had a fascination with the whole idea of having pen pals around the world and I joined some clubs that hooked people up for that reason. Growing up without a father (he died when I was 10) I suppose I looked to my mother as a role model. I was very impressed watching her type on an old Royal typewriter, her fingers flying up and down the keyboard with her cigarette dangling out of her mouth. She sometimes did volunteer work for the Zionist Organization of New York.

At the age of 12 I asked my mother to buy me a typewriter for my birthday and that portable Smith Corona became my favorite possession. I taught myself how to type and would often write satirical poems and articles in the style of MAD Magazine. My friend David would do the same and we’d compare our writings to see whose stuff was funnier. Just before dropping out of High School to join the temple I had taken a typing class. I figured since just like already knowing how to drive when I took Drivers Education it would be the same walk down easy street taking a typing course when I already knew how to type. My typing teacher, Mrs. Fischer had the longest fingernails I had ever seen and I wondered how it was even possible for her to type but type she did at well over 100 wpm. She was impressed with my skills and got me typing faster than ever — getting me up to 112 words per minute which was even faster than her. I had no idea at the time that I’d eventually be using my typing skill to help put Srila Prabhupada’s books into print and write to people about Krishna consciousness.

By the time ISKCON Press moved to Brooklyn I was no longer engaged in typesetting. Many devotees were joining and arriving from other centers to serve with the Press and some were being trained to typeset so I was free to focus fully on developing the Mail Order Department. I had already established ongoing correspondences with many people and orders for books, records and BTG subscriptions continued to increase daily. For typing letters I was using an IBM Selectric typewriter at the time. IBM had introduced the Selectric in 1961 and by ’71 the Selectric II came on the market. It used typing fonts just like our composing machine but I still had to make corrections using white out. The self-correcting Selectric didn’t hit the marketplace until ’73 when Mail Order was in Los Angeles and boy oh boy did I love that self correcting feature. In fact, the whole concept of “self correction” appealed to me.

And so each and every morning I’d perform the ritual of opening all the mail that came. The orders were processed and money deposited and the letters of inquiry were put aside for answering. Even if someone simply wrote that they were interested in Hare Krishna or Krishna Consciousness and only requested information I’d send them a personal reply inviting and encouraging them to read Prabhupada’s books, chant Hare Krishna and write to me with any questions they might have. This personal touch was reinforced by Srila Prabhupada a few years later in L.A. We were giving him a tour of the BBT offices and warehouse facility and he was asking me how many letters we were getting every day. I told him and he then said, “I was doing when I was Dr. Bose’s manager. Any inquiry coming from outside, I must continue correspondence with him unless he becomes a customer.”

When mailing out BTG subscriptions we used a religious non profit bulk rate system which came with very specific rules for mailing according to the U.S. Post Office. I had to sort out the bundles by zip code and tie each one up with string and label the top envelope with its destination. When all the envelopes were stuffed with BTGs, all the labels affixed and everything bundled and tied I took them to our home Post Office which, during the time we were working out of Tiffany Place in Brooklyn, was the same post office used by Jehovah Witnesses for mailing out their two publications: Awake and Watchtower. When I would see the tens of thousands of parcels they brought in by the truckloads I would become very envious and hoped that someday our BTG subscriptions would match or even exceed their volume.

By ’73 ISKCON Press had been reborn as The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and moved to Los Angeles which by then had become the world headquarters of ISKCON and where Srila Prabhupada was spending much of his time. When we first got to Los Angeles we shared office and warehouse space with Spiritual Sky Incense on Landmark Street in Culver City. After that we leased a building on Washington Blvd. and finally the BBT along with our order department moved into a brand new built-to-spec facility on Higuera Street in Culver City. By that time the BBT Order Dept. really began to rock n’ roll.

It was only natural that the more the Movement expanded and the more books and magazines were put into circulation, the more mail we received. Book distribution had become the main focus of ISKCON and there were plenty of books to distribute. New volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam continued to appear and the seventeen volumes of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta had become available.

We set up the storage and shipping facility for the BBT Order Dept. in a corner of the Higuera Street warehouse. We enclosed it with fencing material and began calling it the “mailorder cage.” All the books and other paraphernalia that we sold through the mail were stocked on shelves. The orders would be processed upstairs by me and then they would go down to the cage where someone would pick each order, package and put a shipping label on it and then, using a Pitney Bowes combination scale and postage machine, calculate the amount needed to ship it out to whatever destination in the world it was going.

Ranadhira and Kirtiraja had come aboard to help manage the rapidly expanding BBT Order Dept. and like myself they also had offices on the upper second floor of the BBT warehouse. Ranadhira became our business manager in charge of marketing while I concentrated on processing the daily stacks of mail that arrived. Every morning I went to the post office on Motor Avenue to pick up the canvas bag containing all the mail addressed to 3764 Watseka Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90034. Some of the mail was meant for the temple and most of it was for the Order Dept. I sorted it out and then came to the office to open all the envelopes.

Ranadhira designed a beautiful color catalog and along with all the books, magazines and pamphlets he included in our inventory japa beads and bead bags, neck beads, mrdangas and kartals, and an assortment of artik paraphernalia as well as the beautiful Balarama Mrdanga. Thus we became a fully stocked and diverse mail order house.

Around 1976, after looking through The National Enquirer and another smaller publication called FATE, Ranadhira decided it might be lucrative to take advantage of the “weirdo” market and aside from the possibility of making some extra money it could be a good way to bring people around to Krishna consciousness. He came up with the idea of selling a simple inexpensive amulet on a necklace. He recruited Amala Bhakta to help write copy for the ad and together they came up with “The Amulet of Tarani.” The story they conjured up was about some demigoddess type personality from somewhere in the outer universe who came to Earth to dispense blessings and good fortune. Anyone who wore the amulet would be showered with all sorts of auspiciousness including good health, sudden wealth, love, beauty and knowledge.

A half page ad in the weekly Enquirer went for $5000 and sure enough … within two weeks of placing it we made back the original investment of advertising as well as the cost of the jewelry. After that it was all profit. Of course, along with the amulet the buyer also received one of our standard information packets and an invitation to write to us. Also included was an “On Chanting Hare Krsna” pamphlet and a short letter explaining that if they chanted this Hare Krishna mantra while wearing the amulet the effects would be that much greater. I got some very strange letters from some very strange people and began to feel like the Ann Landers for crazies but hey, every living being is part and parcel of Lord Sri Krishna and so where there’s life there is the possibility to preach Krishna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada taught us that by example and precept. After all, all living beings conditioned by the illusory energy are considered to be crazy — haunted by the ghost of maya.

By the mid 70’s ISKCON had grown into an international institution with temples throughout the world, farm communities, restaurants and the books were being distributed in record numbers. As such the BBT Order Dept. became a beehive of activity. We added more devotees to our staff of full time workers and there were others who would come to help out part-time. The amount of letters had become so voluminous that I could no longer keep up with them and I began seeking assistance in answering them. We received letters from people who were curious about Krishna consciousness and wanted some more information; letters from people who said that George Harrison’s music inspired them to learn more; letters from folks who had developed a strong attraction and interest and who had serious philosophical questions. Sometimes a person would write to complain about being accosted (that word was used a lot) or harassed at some airport or shopping mall and I would do my best to turn their negative impression into a positive one. Then there were those who would tell how they found one of our books in a trash can and felt it was an act of God since the book changed their life and gave them knowledge and hope beyond their wildest dreams. Sometimes when a particularly interesting letter arrived I’d read it to everyone who came by my office. It became a daily ritual for me to be asked, “Hey Swarup — any really interesting letters arrive lately?”

Yes, I was putting a lot of miles on my IBM Selectric typewriter and I continued the process of keeping the letters and the replies together in a growing file but no more using carbon paper since we had a nice modern photocopy machine. We had come a long way from the days of operating out of a basement apartment on East 10th Street in New York’s East Village. To name some of the devotees who joined the BBT Order Dept. either full or part time — there was Anavadyangi Devi Dasi who became a valuable and dedicated addition to our staff along with Daruka who dovetailed his bookkeeping skills for us, my sister Manmohini would come by and help out especially during a crunch such as the monthly Back to Godhead subscription mailings. My wife Chitta would sometimes help with filing and mailings and in the shipping cage we had Janananda and Chuck. Amala Bhakta’s mother Sally would show up a few days a week to help out as well. It was always a delight when she’d come into my office in the morning saying, “Okay, Swarup, I’m here … so put me to work.” She became very proficient at making buttons with the apparatus I picked up along the way.

Every evening I got all the outgoing parcels and letters together and drove them to the Los Angeles airport post office. In that way they were sure to get going to their destinations quickly. It was my favorite part of the day. I would often take my firstborn son, Krishna Kumar. After getting all the packages and letters up onto the loading dock and into a gurney I’d drive over to a spot near one of the runways to watch the airplanes take off and land. Kumar loved that part of it.

Before long I had established ongoing correspondences with scores of people throughout the world. Some of the “regulars” would write pages and pages telling me about their lives, their families, their schools or jobs, and some expressed a desire to eventually become full time devotees. I always encouraged them to buy japa beads and begin the practice of mantra meditation and to purchase and study Srila Prabhupada’s books. Eventually cassette tapes from Golden Avatar Productions as well as several record albums became available. As they became more and more familiar with the philosophy they began asking very relevant and intelligent questions. I liked seeing that because it was a sign that they were advancing in Krishna consciousness nicely. In order to best respond to the letters I was constantly referring to Srila Prabhupada’s books. Very often my desk would be covered completely with books open to different pages with bookmarks and notations. Srila Prabhupada was spending so much time in L.A. in those days and so I got to listen to his Srimad-Bhagavatam classes every morning and often accompany him on his morning walks. That personal association afforded me a great advantage as far as my being able to emulate his mood and preaching style.

We were also getting many letters from people incarcerated in jails and prisons. I compiled a list of their names and addresses of their institutions and sent it around so that they could also contact one another. A little community of prison pen pals arose and began to rapidly grow. It wasn’t too long before so many people were writing to us each day that I had to begin recruiting some godbrothers and sisters to help me answer all the letters. That helped a lot but unless the devotee writing the reply had access to a typewriter or at least had good penmanship — and unless their spelling and grammar were okay I ended up having to retype what they wrote.

Things were running smoothly but I felt something was missing. I needed to find a way to further engage these folks in Krishna consciousness. They were reading, chanting, listening to records and tapes and some were even turning fellow students or co-workers on to Krishna consciousness. I could tell, however, that many of them were hankering to engage in some kind of service. and so around 1975 it dawned on me to establish a membership program by mail.

I invited people to pledge monthly donations in any amount and by doing so they would become a donor member of ISKCON. We made up official looking receipts and membership cards and according to the amount of money they sent we put together different “packages” that included BTG subscriptions, books, beads, tapes, etc. … and an invitation to stay free of charge at any of our centers. I modeled it after the life member program established by Srila Prabhupada in India but I scaled down the requirements and rather than a onetime donation for life membership I encouraged them to send monthly contributions — as much or as little as they wanted or could spare.

The idea immediately took off, especially when we began including invitations to join the program along with our standard information packets. Each time a new member would come aboard I would start a file for them. The first thing I would do is send them a form to fill out giving us their names, addresses, ages, where they went to school or worked, how they came in contact with K.C., etc. and I asked that they send back a photo of themselves as well. In that way it became much more personal. I began putting together a monthly membership newsletter called “Bhakti Rasa” and we even started making sweets (laddus, burfi, lugloos, etc.) and sending them in little boxes to each member once a month.

The membership program was growing bigger every day although sometimes we’d lose a monthly donor on account of them joining the Movement. Some came to join us in Los Angeles which meant that after months or even years of corresponding I got to meet them personally. Some of the people who came through the mail order and the membership program ended up becoming very dear godbrothers and sisters as well as personal friends. When I first began meeting devotees on the Internet — especially here on facebook — I’d sometimes get a message from someone telling me that I had written them some letters back in the 70’s and some even said they still had those original correspondences. Imagine how good that made me feel.

The photo above is from a tour of BBT warehouse, offices and Order Dept. that we gave Srila Prabhupada when, for a short time, we were located at 8575 Washington Blvd, around a mile from the temple on Watseka Avenue.

One day while looking over the growing list of members (at the end of the first year there were almost 150 people sending donations every month and many of them also corresponded regularly) I noticed that there was a large concentration of addresses in Southern California. I decided to write a letter to everyone who lived within a few hundred miles of Los Angeles and engage them in a special kind of service. At that time both myself and Ranadhira were renting spaces at local swap meets to make a little extra money on the weekends. We’d sell Spiritual Sky merchandise as well as Indian tapestries. Ranadhira would also take tapestries to a Mexican dressmaker downtown L.A. and have him cut a design for a woman’s “spaghetti dress” which simply meant an ankle length garment with thin shoulder straps. Sometimes we’d sell turquoise jewelry as well.

So I asked our “local” members to clean out their garages, basements, attics, utility sheds, etc. and put aside whatever they thought could possibly fetch some money at a flea market. I requested that they write us or give us a call and we’d arrange to come and pick their stuff up. I chipped in with my friend Kadamba for a pickup truck which I used to haul all the donated items back to the BBT warehouse where we sorted out and priced everything. Sure enough … letters and calls poured in and I found myself driving all over the place — from Santa Barbara to San Diego and out to San Bernardino. It was way to make some extra money for the departmentit and a great opportunity to meet these people face to face. I ended up spending an entire day with one elderly gentleman named Alan Rahm. He was born in India of an Indian father and English mother but they relocated to the U.S. when he was still a young boy.

A few weeks after spending that day talking with Alan I got a visit from a woman who looked to be in her mid 20’s. She said she was Mr. Rahm’s granddaughter. She was holding a square white box. I thought that maybe he sent her with some special item .. perhaps an heirloom or antique .. that we could add to our flea market inventory. She handed me the box and then explained that her grandfather died a few days ago. His last request was that he be cremated and his ashes be delivered to me so that I could arrange to have them sent to India and sprinkled in the Yamuna or Ganges River. In our talks I told Alan that devotees would often go to India for pilgrimage especially during Gaur Purnima when we’d have a big festival in Mayapur. I assured the young lady that I would see to it that his request was fulfilled and after a few weeks after asking around I found somebody who was on their way to India and willing to take Alan’s remains. Until that time the box remained on a shelf in my office. It became customary that whoever came into my office for whatever reason would first go over to the box and say “Hare Krishna” to Mr. Rahm’s remains.

In 1976 I decided to attend the Gaur Purnima festival in Mayapur. The flight to India was to leave from JFK in New York which meant I had to first make my way from Los Angeles to New York. Instead of flying there a day before I decided to leave ten days early and drive across the country. My idea was to stop in and visit as many people with whom I was corresponding as possible. On that first trip (I did another one the following year) my best friend Srutasrava accompanied me. We stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico — Chicago, Illinois — Kokomo, Indiana — Marion, Virginia — and Titusville, Pennsylvania.

As a side note — that year we reserved an entire Air India 747 airplane to accommodate all the devotees going to Mayapur for the festival. The plane left JFK Airport in New York and the only nondevotees on it were the flight crew (pilot, co-pilot and attendants) .. although by the end of the flight devotional feelings in them were undoubtedly awakening. Prasadam was prepared and loaded onto the airplane and at mealtimes the flight attendants did the serving. We had rip-roaring kirtans — going up and down the aisles (some of the sannyasis occupied the first class section where an altar with Radha and Krishna was set up (I believe they were brought by the Radha Damodara Traveling Sankirtan Party). It was quite an experience.

So — back to the cross country drive from L.A. to New York the week before the flight. In Marion, Virginia we visited a young man named Allen Putnam with whom I had been exchanging letters for several years. He was incarcerated at a mental institution for the criminally insane. When he was a minor he shot and killed a guard at a railway depot. We stayed overnight at his mother’s house. She was also writing to me and ordering books to bring to Allen on her visits. She treated us like royalty. After visiting Allen she drove us to the Virginia State Penitentiary around a hundred miles away to visit another boy, Billy Kelly, who was also writing letters and who, like Allen, was in for a murder he committed when he was a minor. He and Allen met in the Virginia penal system some years back and kept in touch. At some point in time Allen began writing to Billy and telling him all about Krishna consciousness and he convinced Billy to start chanting, reading and writing letters to me with questions or just to have someone else to talk to about his life and Krishna consciousness. Some years later Billy’s story was used as the basis of a movie called “Apprentice to Murder.”

In Titusville, Pennsulvania I visited another mail order member named Wendell Phillips. I noticed that when he wrote to me he used letterhead saying “Phillips Motors” and I asked him about it. It turned out that he owned a used car lot. On both that first trip cross country and the next one as well I stopped and stayed with Wendell and while there he took me to the car auction where he bought his cars to resell on his lot. He told me to pick out the car I wanted and then he bid on it. The first time around I purchased a Datsun station wagon and the second time a Mercury Comet. They were both used cars but only a few years old and in excellent condition. I only paid a few hundred for each whereas they would have sold for at least a thousand at any other used car outlet. I arranged later to have the cars driven back to L.A. and ended up giving them away to some householders in the community.

Meeting just a few of the people I was writing to was a wonderful experience. The membership program continued successfully year after year as did the BBT Order Dept. but I unfortunately left my service and moved away from the Los Angeles ISKCON community in February of 1980. Many changes had been taking place since the departure of Srila Prabhupada in 1977 and let’s just say that I was disturbed with much of what was going on at the time.

Epilogue

I’m sorry to have ended the above story on a sad note. Many years have gone by since 1980 and so much has changed in ISKCON (hopefully all for the good) as well as in my own life (hopefully most for the good). With faith in the unlimited mercy and potency of my beloved spiritual master, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I remain hopeful for both the ISKCON institution and myself. I am hopeful that Srila Prabhupada’s ISKCON mission will continue to be a transcendental instrument for spreading Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtana Movement to every town and village and I have hope against hope that I will somehow always have the opportunity to associate with and to serve the devotees of the Lord and never let go of the lotus feet of Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga. Hare Krishna!

Source:http://www.dandavats.com/?p=32786

The preeminent philosopher in Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s line explains why, in this age, the Puranas are essential for accessing the Absolute Truth.

Sri Tattva-sandarbha is the first of Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Bhagavatasandarbha, or saṭ-sandarbha, six treatises that firmly establish the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. In the texts leading up to this section, the author has discredited direct perception and inference as valid means to acquiring perfect knowledge. He has concluded that only the eternal Vedas can fill that role. Now he argues for the need to turn to the Puranas for understanding the unified message of the Vedas.
To save space, we’ve omitted Sri Jiva’s Sanskrit texts, translated here in bold type.

TEXT 17.3

As the Matsya Purana says, “A historical text is a Purana if it has the five defining characteristics; other histories are known as akhyanas. Puranas that describe days of Brahma in the mode of goodness mostly glorify the Supreme Lord Hari. . . .”1

“Puranas describing days in the mode of passion especially glorify Brahma. Puranas describing days in the mode of ignorance tell the glories of Agni and siva. And those describing mixed days discuss the glories of Sarasvati and the Pitas.”2

TEXT 17.4

Here glorification “of Agni [the fire god]” means glorification of Vedic sacrifices made with offerings into various sacred fires. In the phrase “and of siva also” the word “also” implies siva’s wife. “During mixed days” means during the many days of Brahma in which goodness, passion, and ignorance are all prominent. “Of Sarasvati” indirectly refers to various demigods, since Sarasvati is the presiding deity of various kinds of Vedic language. “Of the Pitas [celestial forefathers]” means of the rituals that lead to attainment of the forefathers, according to the sruti statement “By Vedic rituals one achieves the world of the Pitas.” 3

Commentary: In Kali-yuga one cannot possibly understand the Vedas correctly without resort to the authority of the Puranas. Besides the Puranas there are other smṛti scriptures, such as the Manu-smṛti and other dharmasastras, meant mostly for brahmana specialists in rituals and varnasrama duties. But only the clear presentation of the Puranas allows the confused people of the modern age definite access to the eternal Vedic wisdom.

Even supposed religious leaders of this age are generally victims of delusion and hypocrisy. We see this tendency throughout the world. Even in India many apparently well educated and strictly religious brahmanas are confused about the purpose of life and the means of achieving it, mainly because they have failed to approach the right sources of knowledge. Although these brahmanas, through the commentaries of their teachers, presume to have direct access to the Vedas, the manifest fruits of their so-called Vedic education seem to be arrogance, atheism, and entanglement in sense gratification.

Some of these brahmanas, claiming to be purely Vedic, deny the authority of the Puranas, which they say teach sentimental and fanatic idolatry. Among these brahmanas are the ritualists of the first millennium AD who followed the Jaimini-mimaṁsa interpretation of Kumarila and Prabhakara, and the more recent proponents of the arya Samaj.

Thus the Vedas, as the Skanda Purana tells us, have just cause to fear abuse at the hands of the brahmanas of our age. Hearing the Vedas’ call for help, the Puranas have come to assist. The instructions of the Puranas are as trustworthy as the original words of the Vedas. What need is there for speculative commentaries on the Vedas, then, since the natural commentary on the Vedas is already available in the Puranas?

But we live in corrupt times, when people need more definite guidance to find the correct path of spiritual progress. Even the Puranas, easy to understand in earlier ages, often bewilder disoriented modern readers. Because demigod worship gradually purifies those who are too materialistic to have an interest in pure devotional service, the Puranas, to appeal to people of many different natures, encourage worship of demigods alongside worship of the Supreme Lord.

The universe passes through varying cycles, “days of Brahma,” during which the lower material modes, the modes of passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas), are at times prominent. During those periods the Supreme Lord gracefully allows such servants of His as Lord siva to defeat Him in competition and otherwise seem superior. Puranas that describe the events of these rajasic and tamasic kalpas thus superficially seem to elevate demigods to the position of God. It is no wonder that imperfectly informed students of the Puranas cannot discern the unity of the underlying Puranic message: that the powerful controllers and wonderful opulences of this universe are all energies of the supreme energetic, the Personality of Godhead. Such readers are unable to grasp this statement from the Hari-vaṁsa Purana:

vede ramayane caiva
purane bharate tatha
adav ante ca madhye ca
hariḥ sarvatra giyate

“Throughout the Vedas and everywhere in the Ramayana, Puranas, and Mahabharata, from the beginning to the middle to the end, the praises of Lord Hari are sung.” (Hari-vaṁsa 3.132.95)

As a source of further confusion, portions of the Puranas are now missing and in some cases have even been replaced with spurious substitutes. In recent centuries the brahminical community has become less and less familiar with several of the more rarely preserved Puranas.

Thus unscrupulous scribes are now able to distort the texts without being detected. The commentaries of reliable authorities provide the only sure protection against such adulterated texts. More than six hundred years ago, Srila Sridhara Svami commented on both Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Visnu Purana, taking special care to certify the wording of almost every verse. For the other Puranas, however, there are no such verse-by-verse commentaries by standard acaryas, only citations of isolated passages.

The Matsya Purana verses cited above list the deities typically promoted by each category of Purana. Theoretically, the word kalpa could be translated as “written work,” were it not for the verse in the very same passage clearly showing “days of Brahma” as the intended meaning:

yasmin kalpe tu yat proktaṁ
puranaṁ brahmana pura
tasya tasya tu mahatmyaṁ
tat-svarupena varnyate

“The greatness of each Purana is described in terms of the nature of the kalpa in which Brahma spoke it long ago.” (Matsya Purana 290.15) It is illogical to translate yasmin kalpe as “the text in which,” because the word puranam follows, in the subject case, referring to a specific kind of text. This is also confirmed by the use of the word kalpa in the next anuccheda (text 18.1).

Suta Gosvami spoke all eighteen major Puranas at Naimisaranya, and the sages present accepted them as authentic. Nonetheless, three groups of six Puranas each are meant for three different audiences, depending on which of the three modes of nature predominates each audience. But for each individual Purana the situation is more complex because most Puranas display some mixture of the modes. For example, the pastimes of Lord Kṛsna and those of Lord Ramacandra, which are in the mode of pure goodness, are described to some extent in most of the Puranas.

In the Padma Purana (Uttara 236.19–21, 18) Lord siva describes which Puranas belong to each mode:

vaisnavaṁ naradiyaṁ ca
tatha bhagavataṁ subham
garudaṁ ca tatha padmaṁ
varahaṁ subha-darsane
sattvikani puranani
vijñeyani subhani vai

“O beautiful one, the Visnu Purana, the Narada Purana, the auspicious Bhagavata Purana, and the Garuda, Padma, and Varaha Puranas all belong to the mode of goodness. They are all considered auspicious.

brahmandaṁ brahma-vaivartaṁ
markandeyaṁ tathaiva ca
bhavisyaṁ vamanaṁ brahmaṁ
rajasani nibodhata

“Know that the Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavisya, Vamana, and Brahma Puranas belong to the mode of passion.

matsyaṁ kaurmaṁ tatha laingaṁ
saivaṁ skandaṁ tathaiva ca
agneyaṁ ca sad etani
tamasani nibodhata

“And know that these six Puranas belong to the mode of ignorance: the Matsya, Kurma, Linga, siva, Skanda, and Agni Puranas.”

The five topics that every Purana should include will be discussed later in Sri Tattva-sandarbha (61.2).

TEXT 18.1

These being the facts, we can understand that the Puranas mentioned in the Matsya Purana fall into natural categories according to the nature of the days of Brahma of which each Purana tells. But how can we define a hierarchy of these categories to determine which is superior? One suggestion is to rank them by their modes of nature – goodness, passion, and ignorance. We can then conclude that Puranas and other scriptures in the mode of goodness have the most authority to teach us about transcendental reality. This we may conclude by reasoning from such statements as “From the mode of goodness knowledge develops”4 and “In the mode of goodness one can realize the Absolute Truth.”5

TEXT 18.2

Even so, is there a single standard that can reconcile all these Puranas, which discredit one another with divergent opinions even when speaking of the same Absolute Truth? Someone might suggest that the powerful saint Sri Vyasa wrote the Vedanta-sutras to do just that: determine the purport of the entire Vedas and Puranas. Therefore, that person will say, one should ascertain the meaning of all these scriptures by referring to the Vedanta-sutras. But then the followers of sages who wrote other sutras will not respect our conclusions. Furthermore, some sages may interpret the terse, highly esoteric aphorisms of the Vedantasutras in a way that distorts their meaning. What authority, then, can truly reconcile all this?

TEXT 18.3

We would have the basis of such reconciliation, someone might comment, if there were one scripture that were to fit the definition of a Purana, have apauruseya authority, contain the essential ideas of all the Vedas, Itihasas, and Puranas, be faithful to the Brahmasutras, and be extant on earth in full. Well said, because you have called to mind the authority we most prefer: the emperor of pramanas, Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Commentary: Faced with the bewildering complexity of the Puranas – the nonlinear chronology cutting across millennia and universes, the thousands of prehistoric personalities, and the pantheon of deities – many dismiss the whole body of literature as an incoherent collection of competing sectarian myths. Persons who choose to think in such a way might consider the extent to which material nature controls their supposed freedom of judgment. The way such speculators filter what they see, the way they form opinions, and the influence they have on the public are all in fact part of nature’s arrangement for keeping the secrets of transcendence concealed from the intrusions of mundane intelligence. Only by accepting the means of sabda-pramana on its own terms can anyone begin to penetrate these secrets.

yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthaḥ
prakasante mahatmanaḥ

“If one has unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Lord and equal devotion for his own spiritual master, his intelligence becomes broad, and to him everything described in these texts reveals itself clearly.” (svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23)

As already discussed, Srila Jiva Gosvami, in his Sandarbhas, is not interested in answering the skepticism of critical scholars. He assumes that his readers accept the authority and consistency of the Vedic literature, an attitude more likely to develop from honesty and humility than from scrutinizing analysis of masses of information.

Now, once we assume that the Puranas have a coherent purpose, the practical problem at hand is how to discover that purpose. We need to identify a prime authority that can reconcile all other texts. In the anuccheda under discussion, Srila Jiva Gosvami first limits the candidates for primacy to the sattvic Puranas, which address persons in the mode of goodness. These Puranas glorify the Supreme Lord Visnu and His incarnations.

But in the material world it is rare to find the mode of goodness unmixed with the lower modes, and this state of affairs is reflected in the Puranas. Several of the sattvic Puranas describe the worship of God in mixed modes, rather than in pure devotional service. After reading all the sattvic Puranas, therefore, one may still be uncertain whether Lord Visnu is ultimately a person with tangible qualities, an entity impersonal and formless, or a manifestation of the universal mind, or even a product of matter.

Readers who don’t look deeply enough see the Saṁhitas of the four Vedas as an unorganized assortment of praise and appeals offered to a large number of demigods. Many of these deities seem nothing more than convenient personifications of the forces of nature, with personalities often overlapping to the extent that their separate identities are difficult to distinguish. Each Veda, however, has Upanisads that correct this misunderstanding. In the Upanisads the various deities and the energies of nature honored in the Vedas are shown to be all integrally related to the one Absolute Truth, Brahman, as expansions that simply borrow Brahman’s own names, forms, and functions:

seyaṁ devataiksata hantaham imas
tisro devata anena jivenatmananu
pravisya nama-rupe vyakaravani.
tasaṁ tri-vṛtaṁ tri vṛtam ekaikaṁ karavaniti.

“That Lord looked and said, ‘Indeed, along with the jiva soul let Me enter these three elements of creation and expand names and forms. I shall bring forth each element’s threefold nature.’” (Chandogya Upanisad 6.3.2– 3) The three elements (devatas) indicated here are the basic elements of creation – earth, water, and fire. Entering into the primordial substance of these elements of creation, the Supreme distributed His own names and forms. Sri-narayanadini namani vinanyani rudradibhyo harir dattavan:

“Lord Hari gave away His own names to Rudra and others, with the exception of certain names like Sri Narayana.” (Madhvacarya, Brahma-sutra-bhasya 1.3.3) In a later phase of creation, the demigod Brahma periodically uses the eternal Vedas as a blueprint to complete this work on behalf of his creator:

nama-rupaṁ ca bhutanaṁ
kṛtyanaṁ ca prapañcanam
veda-sabdebhya evadau
devadinaṁ cakara saḥ

“In the beginning, from the words of the Vedas Brahma expanded the names, forms, and activities of all creatures.” (Visnu Purana 1.5.63)

Because the Upanisads provide such insight into the essential meaning of the Vedas, they are called Vedanta, the culmination of the Vedas. Kṛsna Dvaipayana Vyasa commented on the major Upanisads, reconciling their apparent contradictions, in his Vedanta-sutras, which establish the Vedanta school of Vedic theology for our age. The founders of orthodox brahminical philosophies wrote in concise sutras, intending that their disciples would explain the sutras for future generations. Still, compared to the relatively mundane level of discourse found in other sutras, like Gautama Ṛsi’s Nyaya-sutras on epistemology and logic, the contents of Vyasadeva’s Vedanta-sutras are particularly difficult to explain. His aphorisms are virtually impossible to decipher without a commentary and therefore also easy to misinterpret. Earlier in Kali-yuga there was a strong tradition of Vaisnava theistic interpretation of the Vedantasutras, led by several prominent teachers like Bodhayana, who are now known only from fragments quoted by Ramanuja acarya and others in their Vedanta commentaries. The prime reason why the earlier commentaries were forgotten is that they were completely eclipsed by the popularity of sankaracarya’s sariraka-bhasya.

Written around AD 700, sankara’s sariraka-bhasya, his commentary on the Vedanta-sutras, speaks from the monistic Advaita point of view, which relativizes the personal concept of Godhead, regarding it as an inferior aspect of an ultimate Supreme beyond name and form. sankara’s commentary monopolized the school of Vedanta for some centuries, until the great Vaisnava acaryas Ramanuja and Madhva responded with their own commentaries in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. They and other Vaisnavas like Nimbarka vigorously criticized san- kara’s interpretation as being unfaithful to the intention of the Upanisads. Among the followers of sankara and all four Vaisnava sampradayas, even up to modern times, the main philosophic activity of both explanatory and polemic authors has been to present updated sub-commentaries on the Vedanta-sutras. In this way the debate between the Advaita and Vaisnava camps has been going on for over a thousand years.

When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the Gaudiya branch of the Madhva sampradaya, however, He chose to forgo having a Vedanta commentary written as the keystone of His new theistic school. He preferred to concentrate on Srimad-Bhagavatam, which He considered the natural commentary by the author of the Vedantasutras. Not until the early eighteenth century was Baladeva Vidyabhusana commissioned by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti to compose a Vedanta commentary to answer the complaints of critics who demanded that the Gaudiya Vaisnavas defend themselves on the evidence of the Vedanta-sutras.

Srila Jiva Gosvami proposes that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the one Purana that reconciles all scriptures and perfectly represents the philosophy of Vedanta. He will now proceed to reveal the glories of the Bhagavatam in the rest of this Sandarbha and the others.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Dandavats/posts/2042800742551498

“Srila Rupa Gosvami, after consulting various scriptures, has enumerated the transcendental qualities of the Lord as follows: (1) beautiful features of the entire body: (2) marked with all auspicious characteristics; (3) extremely pleasing: (4) effulgent; (5) strong; (6) ever-youthful; (7) wonderful linguist; (8) truthful; (9) talks pleasingly; (10) fluent; (11) highly learned: (12) highly intelligent; (13) a genius; (14) artistic; (15) extremely clever; (16) expert; (17) grateful; (18) firmly determined; (19) an expert judge of time and circumstances; (20) sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures; (21) pure; (22) self-controlled; (23) steadfast; (24) forbearing; (25) forgiving; (26) grave; (27) self-satisfied; (28) possessing equilibrium; (29) magnanimous; (30) religious: (3l) heroic; (32) compassionate: (33) respectful: (34) gentle; (35) liberal; (36) shy; (37) the protector of surrendered souls; (38) happy; (39) the well-wisher of devotees; (40) controlled by love; (4l) all-auspicious; (42) most powerful: (43) all-famous: (44) popular: (45) partial to devotees: (46) very attractive to all women; (47) all-worshipable; (48) all-opulent; (49) all-honorable; (50) the supreme controller.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all these fifty transcendental qualities in fullness as deep as the ocean. In other words, the extent of His qualities is inconceivable.

As parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, the individual living entities can also possess all of these qualities in minute quantities, provided they become pure devotees of the Lord. In other words, all of the above transcendental qualities can be present in the devotees in minute quantity, whereas the qualities in fullness are always present in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Besides these, there are other transcendental qualities which are described by Lord Siva to Parvati in the Padma Purana, and in the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam in connection with a conversation between the deity of the earth and the King of religion, Yamaraja. It is said therein, “Persons who are desirous of becoming great personalities must be decorated with the following qualities: truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, perseverance, renunciation, peacefulness, simplicity, control of the senses, equilibrium of the mind, austerity, equality, forbearance, placidity, learning, knowledge, detachment, opulence, chivalry, influence, strength, memory, independence, tactfulness, luster, patience, kindheartedness, ingenuity, gentility, mannerliness, determination, perfection in all knowledge, proper execution, possession of all objects of enjoyment, gravity, steadiness, faithfulness, fame, respectfulness and lack of false egotism.” Persons who are desiring to become great souls cannot be without any of the above qualities, so we can know for certain that these qualities are found in Lord Krsna, the supreme soul.

Besides all of the above-mentioned fifty qualities, Lord Krsna possesses five more, which are sometimes partially manifested in the persons of Lord Brahma or Lord Siva. These transcendental qualities are as follows: (51) changeless; (52) all-cognizant; (53) ever-fresh; (54) sac-cid-ananda (possessing an eternal blissful body); (55) possessing all mystic perfections.

Krsna also possesses five other qualities, which are manifest in the body of Narayana, and they are listed as follows: (56) He has inconceivable potency. (57) Uncountable universes generate from His body. (58) He is the original source of all incarnations. (59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills. (60) He is the attractor of liberated souls. All these transcendental qualities are manifest wonderfully in the personal feature of Lord Krsna.

Besides these sixty transcendental qualities, Krsna has four more, which are not manifest even in the Narayana form of Godhead, what to speak of the demigods or living entities. They are as follows: (61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes). (62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. (63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute. (64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation.

Adding to the list these four exceptional qualities of Krsna, it is to be understood that the aggregate number of qualities of Krsna is sixty-four. Srila Rupa Gosvami has attempted to give evidences from various scriptures about all sixty-four qualities present in the person of the Supreme Lord.”

(Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 21)

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85389

The ‘Sumadhva Vijaya’ is an exemplary biographical work by Sri Narayana Panditacharya belonging to the Madhva sampradaya. It presents the glorious life and teachings of Sripad Madhvacharya in the form of verses spread across 16 sargas or parts. In the 14th sarga, that describes the manner in which Sripad Madhvacharya would perform deity worship, verse 37 speaks about how he would adorn Lord Narayana with the eight kinds of ‘bhava pushpa’ or flowers of emotions. The verse is as follows:

ahiṁsā prathamaṁ puṣpaṁ puṣpam indriya-nigrahaḥ
sarvabhūta-dayā puṣpam kṣamā puṣpaṁ viśeṣataḥ
jñānaM puṣpaṁ tapaH puṣpaṁ śānthiḥ puṣpaṁ thathaiva ca
satyam aṣṭavidhaṁ puṣpaṁ viṣṇoḥ prītikaraṁ bhavet||

This verse very beautifully depicts eight extraordinary ‘flowers’ or qualities namely non-violence, sense-control, compassion towards all living beings, forgiveness, knowledge, austerity, equanimity and truthfulness that are very dear and pleasing to Lord Vishnu.

These ‘bhava pushpas’ are accepted by Krishna who is called ‘bhava-grahi Janaradana’ or the one who accepts emotions or intentions behind out acts of bhakti.

When one hears the above verse about flowers, it reminds us of another verse in the Bhagavat gita (9.26)

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

The translation of the above verse is given by Srila Prabhupada as

If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.

Here Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna the most confidential knowledge of devotional service. He implores Arjuna, hence each one of us, to perform devotional service irrespective of our external conditions and offer Him the most readily available items including a leaf, flower, fruit or water for worship. However, there is a big qualifying word that Krishna adds to each of these items, Bhakti or the emotion of love for Him to accept it. The ritual of offering Krishna anything is indeed meaningful only when it is offered with the right emotions and intentions.

Pandita Narayanacharya, describes the manner in which Sripad Madhvacharya would engage every day in elaborate deity worship with all the necessary paraphernalia. But the above quoted verse emphasizes the eight qualities that his flowers possessed! They were far from ordinary flowers because they had the beauty and fragrance of extraordinary qualities as listed above, the qualities that are pleasing to Lord Vishnu. While these virtues are glorious in themselves, when offered with the right sentiment, they become truly extraordinary. Truly extraordinary because Krishna promises to accept them.

Non-violence in today’s war- hungry world is a much needed quality. Interestingly, M.K Gandhi, the great Indian freedom fighter, derived peace and non-violence as the important lesson from the Bhagavat Gita where Krishna through chapter 1 to 18 is urging Arjuna to fight. That doesn’t mean war is the conclusion or that Gandhi’s conclusion was wrong. What counts as devotional service is not the non-violence or violence but the emotion and intention behind both; engaging in the act for Krishna or with the goal of pleasing Krishna. Srila Prabhupada takes this emotion behind the quality of non-violence to the next level when he explains that the perfection of the quality of non-violence is achieved when we facilitate every soul on their path to Krishna. Any obstruction on that path is violence.

Sense-control similarly is virtuous and how awesome it is to hear of the rishis and munis who can live without food, water or air for several days. But we have also heard about how the great Vishwamitra lost his balance merely by the sound of ankle bells despite his long years of practising sense-control. Clearly the bhava of bhakti or the loving sentiment for Krishna was the missing link; the link that made the famous six-Goswamis of Vrindavan perfect in their sense-control; nidraahara vihaarakadi vijitau…..The six Goswamis had triumphed over the bodily needs.

Who else apart from Srila Prabhupada could truly demonstrate the quality of compassion? Undoubtedly compassion, kindness, and empathy are jewel like virtues. But Srila Prabhupada practised compassion as devotional service and saved so many people and not just their coats from drowning! Through his books, Srila Prabhupada shook each one of us and woke us up to our spiritual identities; That is extraordinary compassion; A loving flower that pleases Krishna.

Most mental health experts advise on letting go and forgiving those who wronged us; Apparently forgiveness as a quality is good for us, for our mental health. Srila Haridas Thakur forgave his wrong-doers not for his mental health but for his love for Krishna. Haridas Thakur was severely beaten up in public by the then Islamic ruler for the offence of chanting Krishna’s names. He offered the beautiful flower of forgiveness at the lotus feet of Krishna, the flower which was extraordinarily full with the honey of his love for Krishna.

Knowledge and knowledgeable people in the current day and age are highly respected. One who painstakingly accumulates knowledge pertaining to matters related to this world are literally worshipped and offered various rewards. Most of this knowledge does not necessarily make us better humans but definitely qualifies us as sophisticated, most intelligent animals, the homo-sapiens. However, when this knowledge expands to the knowledge of the spiritual world, the source of both the spiritual and material worlds, and our spiritual identity it becomes an extraordinary quality, a flower that can be lovingly offered in Krishna’s service. The speaker of Srimad Bhagavatam, Shukadeva Goswami offred this very extraordinary flower that enlightened not just Kind Parikshit but all of us as well.

The flower of austerity became extraordinary when little Dhruva realized that all his austerity was for a worthless piece of glass. A 5-year old boy, Dhruva, who could stay without food, water and air for months together was astonishing and he did it all because he wanted a kingdom bigger than that of Lord Brahma. But this Dhruva, upon seeing the Lord Himself, felt embarrassed for having performed all the austerities for the sake of a piece of glass- like kingdom in front of the diamond-like Lord. It is at that point that his austerities became extraordinary. An offering that was accepted by Krishna.

Equanimity, an emerging concept in professional development, which is characterized by a sense of unflappability and resilience in face of challenges, is considered as an indispensable quality for overall well-being. There is another 5-year old boy Prahlad on the pages of Srimad Bhagavatam who offered the extraordinary flower of equanimity at the lotus feet of Narasimha Deva. Through all the trials and tribulations that his atheistic father put him through, it was Prahlad’s deep affection for the Lord that brought out in him the virtue of equanimity naturally.

Being honest and speaking the truth is once again a highly sought-after quality among employable youth in the present competitive world because it is very rare. However, in a world driven by consumerism that depends on marketing and flamboyant advertising, honesty and truthfulness has become a confusing virtue. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON, that was founded by Srila Prabhupada, is offering the society an alternative to mad consumerism. By exemplifying the truth of simple living, with Krishna at the centre, and high thinking, with an understanding of our identities beyond our material designations, the followers of ISKCON are making this loving offering of the extraordinary flower of truthfulness as the most beautiful flower at the feet of Lord Krishna.

On the occasion of Vijaya Dashami, the auspicious appearance day of Sripad Madhvacharya, we may meditate on these eight extraordinary flowers that he would offer in his worship and never forget what made these flowers truly extraordinary.

By Vaibhavi Devi Dasi  

When Bhaktimarga Swami set out on his 157-kilometer Walk of Devotion across the Netherlands this October, it was more than another of his celebrated treks — it was a journey home. At seventy-three, the Walking Monk returned on foot to the land of his parents, tracing a path through the flat, wind-swept countryside of Holland with the same quiet determination and grace that has defined his decades of walking pilgrimages around the world.

The route began on the North Sea coast at Zandvoort and meandered eastward through serene towns — Hoofddorp, Amstelveen, Baarn, Ede, Arnhem — before concluding at the German border. For eight days, Bhaktimarga Swami and his small team walked roughly twenty kilometers a day, chanting the holy names, engaging in conversations on philosophy and faith, and greeting those who crossed their path.

But this was not just a journey through geography — it was a pilgrimage through memory, heritage, and heart. The Swami, born John Vis in Canada to Dutch Catholic parents from Naaldwijk and Kwintsheul, called it “a walk of gratitude — to the land, to my parents, and to the Lord.” In his blog, he wrote, “When I walk, I feel I’m at peace with the world. The road becomes the prayer mat, the sky the temple dome, and every step a word in the mantra.”

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/walking-home-bhaktimarga-swamis-pilgrimage-of-devotion-across-the-netherlands/

In a significant milestone for the Sri Mayapur Community Hospital project, Mr. Chandrashekar Ghosh, Founder of Bandhan Group, Kolkata, recently made a generous contribution of ₹12 crores (approximately USD 1.35 million) towards completing the hospital building. The ceremonial presentation of the donation took place on October 19, coinciding with the auspicious month of Kartik. The event was organized under the meticulous supervision of Krishna Vijay Das, General Manager, and Prema Avatar Das, Hospital Project Manager, ably guided by Vrajavilas Das, Mayapur Co-director. Mr. Ghosh was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Nilima Ghosh, his family members, Mr. Swapan and Mrs. Geetha Ghosh, and his nephew, Rudraman Ghosh. Mr. Pritish Shah of Bandhan Group also graced the occasion. The donation was the culmination of a relationship carefully nurtured by Krishna Vijay Das, who had been in dialogue with the Ghosh family and facilitated their engagement with the project.

A Spiritually Uplifting Visit

The Ghosh family arrived in Mayapur the previous day and were warmly received by Vrajavilas Das, who guided them through the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) project. The visitors were deeply moved by the grandeur and spiritual atmosphere of the site. Later that evening, they participated in the Sandhya Arati and Damodar Lamp Offering ceremony. Mr. Gosh remarked that he was amazed by the continuous stream of people coming and happily offering lamps to their Lordship, as well as the enthusiastic kirtan and the energetic dancing of devotees.

“The whole experience is so divine; everyone feels so happy, forgetting the stress of daily life,” remarked Mr. Ghosh, appreciating the devotional spirit and energy of the devotees. The evening concluded with a sumptuous prasadam meal served with love by the devotees.

Ceremonial Offering and Blessings

The following morning began early with Mangala Arati and Go Puja, after which the guests visited the hospital site. They were welcomed by Krishna Caitanya Das and a team of brahmanas with traditional Purna Kumbha rituals, followed by a Yajna performed to invoke auspiciousness. Devotees led a melodious Harinam Sankirtan throughout the ceremony.

At the appointed auspicious time, Mr. and Mrs. Ghosh ceremonially presented the Mahadanam cheque to Srila Prabhupada’s murti, seeking his blessings. The offering was accepted on behalf of Srila Prabhupada by Vrajavilas Das, co-director of the Mayapur project.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/mayapur-hospital-receives-%e2%82%b912-crore-contribution-from-bandhan-group-founder-mr-chandrashekar-ghosh/

By Vaibhavi Devi Dasi  

When Bhaktimarga Swami set out on his 157-kilometer Walk of Devotion across the Netherlands this October, it was more than another of his celebrated treks — it was a journey home. At seventy-three, the Walking Monk returned on foot to the land of his parents, tracing a path through the flat, wind-swept countryside of Holland with the same quiet determination and grace that has defined his decades of walking pilgrimages around the world.

The route began on the North Sea coast at Zandvoort and meandered eastward through serene towns — Hoofddorp, Amstelveen, Baarn, Ede, Arnhem — before concluding at the German border. For eight days, Bhaktimarga Swami and his small team walked roughly twenty kilometers a day, chanting the holy names, engaging in conversations on philosophy and faith, and greeting those who crossed their path.

But this was not just a journey through geography — it was a pilgrimage through memory, heritage, and heart. The Swami, born John Vis in Canada to Dutch Catholic parents from Naaldwijk and Kwintsheul, called it “a walk of gratitude — to the land, to my parents, and to the Lord.” In his blog, he wrote, “When I walk, I feel I’m at peace with the world. The road becomes the prayer mat, the sky the temple dome, and every step a word in the mantra.”

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/walking-home-bhaktimarga-swamis-pilgrimage-of-devotion-across-the-netherlands/

By Bhava Bhakti Devi Dasi 

A piece of ISKCON’s history continues to be lovingly restored in New York City. The ongoing renovation of the original 26 2nd Avenue temple— known as Matchless Gifts — has already transformed this modest Bowery storefront into a living museum that recreates the atmosphere of 1966, when Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada first gathered his early followers to chant the Hare Krishna mantra. Spearheaded by Radhanath Swami and a dedicated team of devotees, the multi-phase project has sought to preserve every historic detail—walls, floors, artwork, signage, and furnishings—through years of careful research and restoration.

Storefront Appeal

Now, as part of this larger effort, organizers are appealing to the ISKCON worldwide community to help restore the iconic 26 2nd Avenue storefront and upgrade its front entrance security. The current signage is peeling off due to mold and water drainage issues. The project to renovate the signage, protect it from future damage, and enhance entrance security will be completed in November 2025 for a total cost of $30,000.

This latest renovation project follows the successful completion of Phase One, which restored the temple’s interior to its 1966 appearance. Today, visitors are greeted by a carefully recreated space that evokes Srila Prabhupada’s early days in New York, complete with displays, memorabilia, and period details.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/help-renew-iskcons-historic-26-2nd-avenue-storefront/

I had the opportunity to visit the Vraja Eco Village about one and a half hours outside of Manila. This project had been developed under the inspiration of his Holiness Giridhari Maharaja and his team of dedicated and talented devotees.

The property is about nine hectares in size and there are many guest houses, a school, restaurant, ashrama and other wonderful facilities. The temple is beautiful and artistically designed, landscaped with beautiful gardens and fountains.

Source: https://ramaiswami.com/vraja-eco-village-philippines/

FIRST CONTACT WITH THE HOLY SOUND

My life took an apical turn when I stumbled across the Hare Krishnas. Being born in India I had some knowledge of “Krishna” but I was like most Indians are – conscious of Krishna but not Krishna Conscious. Being just “conscious of Krishna” didn’t mollify my thirst for happiness. When I was introduced to the programs conducted by the Hare Krishnas near our college campus new hope dawned upon me. What mesmerized me the most in these programs was the chanting of the mystical mantra….

//HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE / HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE//

Just by chanting these Names for few times I felt so euphoric, still I can remember vividly the experience. I felt as if albatross of eons was alighted from my back. Initially I was quiet skeptic about the activities of the Hare Krishnas due to my rearing and education. I used to be suspicious why these people are distributing such tasty food for free. I would mull there must be some intoxicant in it to hypnotize me imperceptibly. As I was an engineering student I was trained to see everything with mechanistic vision. Our group of friends who were attending the programs all had same outlook. So we were not ready to accept any kinds of conjury. But the chanting of Hare Krishna mantra indeed put my skeptical mind on a trial. I had some acquisitiveness about mind control, hypnotism, psychology, etc hence I persisted while my other friends dropped out. Due to this chanting some unusual transformation started happening within me. I could tangibly observe that by chanting I could control my senses more easily than before. I could resist undesirable blandishments which seemed invincible before. The taste that hit me while chanting was unearthly experience and thus kept me going on. I was stupefied that how some mantra made up of some simple syllables could produce such abstruse effect. I was chanting continually without getting fatigued! I cogitated there has to be something mystical to the chanting.

HOLY SOUND VS MATERIAL SOUND

I remember in my college days if any film song I loved I would purchase the cassette and hear it continuously with verve. But no song could sustain the flavor for more than a month. It would get clichéd. Then another song would hit the list and I would swear this is it! It will never lose its taste it is simply prodigious! But after a month at the most, the same result. I never could discover a song which could pass the test of taste. Amazingly the simple sounding Holy name devoid of any music passed the test. It could sustaining the effect for more than a month! Till date I am chanting 16 rounds daily for many years but the taste is only increasing ceaselessly. How can the chanting be quotidian? Sometimes people indict that chanting as verbal intoxication. If that is true then why there is no intoxication with chanting “coca cola” or any other sound? Why while chanting “Hare Krishna” only people feel absorption and great joy?

Later I learnt the chanting of Hare Krishna is call for God. God has invested all His potencies in chanting. Just imagine all the potencies of God at one place! We simply cannot envisage. Just like if an ant crawls over a valuable 24 carat diamond it can only think the diamond as simple sugar crystal. Hardly can it discern the complete value of diamond as an expert lapidarian would. Similarly people really don’t understand the value of chanting. They think it as ordinary name just like any other names in use. The Holy sound is completely apart from the prosaic sounds of this world. It is transcendental sound full with God’s energy.

THE MECHANISM OF CHANTING

Lord Kelvin, great scientist says, “If you think strongly enough you will be forced by science to believe in God (supreme consciousness).” The whole approach of science is mechanistic with little scope for consciousness. The only branch of science which believes in consciousness is the Quantum mechanics where the result of an experiment depends on the conscious observer. So first we need to have faith that we are conscious beings and not dead matter. Then we need to understand that only something conscious can give real contentment to conscious beings. In this phenomenal world there are only two conscious objects – the living entity and the Holy Name of God. Hence only chanting can give real satisfaction to the soul. Matter is dead and cannot give real satisfaction. Contact with matter can give us material pleasure which has 3 characteristics F,I,T. which stands for Futile, Insubstantial & Temporary.

For example a boy in the college likes an angelic girl in the same college. If he has to have her he has to venture a lot and mostly he may not get her because he has many competent competitors. So most of the time the pleasure is Futile to achieve. Suppose after sufficient skirmish the boy gets his dream girl and revel with her. He soon realizes the pleasure doesn’t really conciliate him completely. It is not up to his expectations hence it is Insubstantial. Even if we assume that she completely gratifies him according to his expectations, still how long? For some time not for long. The pleasure is Temporary. This applies for every kind of material pleasures. So the pleasures of this world are not really FIT for us. What soul really longs for is easily available, satisfying and eternal pleasure. And that pleasure is available only in chanting the holy Names of God.

The subconscious mind of a human being is much scopious and profound than the conscious mind. There are many deep rooted impressions both positive and negative stored in the subconscious mind. To change these rooted impressions is very challenging nay almost impossible because they are very subtle. Negative impressions like anger, lust, pride, envy, greed, illusion causes lot of anguish to the living entity. Today there is no method to measure them what to speak of evicting them. There are techniques like hypnotism which claim to expel these vices from the mind but it is just like trimming the grass in the lawn. It grows back again after some time. Chanting has the power to purge these negative impressions from the subconscious mind completely because the chanting is subtler than these impurities of the mind!

BENEFITS OF CHANTING

1) Purification:- Just like a powerful detergent cleanses from roots the very stringent dirt in the clothes chanting eliminates the vices from the consciousness and purifies it. Chanting is not only antiseptic but also prophylactic in nature.

2) Satisfaction:- Chanting helps one to easily rise above the lower modes of passion and ignorance. One becomes situated in mode of goodness where one doesn’t hanker or lament for worldly things, one becomes completely satisfied. Just like a hungry person who has fully relished delicious food becomes satisfied and doesn’t hanker for anything.

3) Liberation:- Manas trayate iti Mantra. Mantra means sound which can free the mind from material bondage. When a rocket is launched at escape velocity of 11.2 KM/sec from earth the rocket can escape the gravitational pull of earth and float in space. Similarly chanting helps us from escaping the pull of material entanglements of this world and progress towards spiritual world.

4) Absorption:- When a jaundice patient is afflicted the sugar cane juice appears bitter but the same juice is medicine for the patient. Gradually as he is tasting the juice he gets cured and starts tasting its sweetness. Similarly now we may not be able to taste the sweetness of chanting but as we go on chanting it tastes the sweetest of all sweets. At advanced stage one gets fully absorbed in chanting the Holy names of God with deep feelings and thus one is assuaged from absorption in matter.

5) Devotion:- This is the main product of chanting – love for God or devotion for God. Other products mentioned above are sheer by-products. Soul has a nature to love and be loved. Love for any person in this world is frustrating but love for God is very endearing. Just like a child when tickled will surely laugh but may not be happy. But when he is in lap of mother he may not laugh but is very happy and satisfied because he is experiencing the deep love of mother. Love of this world tantalizes the senses but love of God satisfies to the soul.

TESTIMONIES

1. In vedic text there is example of Mrigari, the hunter who was a very pernicious as he used to take pleasure in half killing the animals. When the great sage Narada saw this he advised the hunter to stop the violence otherwise the result would be very horrid as every action has equal and opposite reaction. When Mrigari heard about his future he came to his senses and broke the bow. Narada told him to chant Holy Names of God continually. When with great faith the hunter did so he found amazing result! The people around gave sufficient charity enough for him and the family to feed on. After a year when Narada came to visit Mrigari, Mrigari was very much excited to meet his spiritual guide. He went running to meet Narada but on the way when he would see some ants crawling he would stop for them to pass and then run again. This happened several times. He couldn’t imagine hurting the tiny creatures. Previously he would exult killing animals half but now he couldn’t think of harming even the ants.

2. A famous tennis player in USA came in touch with the Hare Krishnas and it brought complete transformation in his life but not in his life style. He remained as a tennis player but with change of consciousness. He started chanting Hare Krishna regularly. The paradigm shift in his life is indicated by his equally famous statement below when in a match he stood at a less strategic position just to save little ants getting crushed under his feet and finally lost the match. “A column of ants began to follow me onto the tennis court. Because I would not step on them, I lost the match. But I won with God.” – Peter Burwash

3. The hippies in USA in 1960s were clamant in search for some pleasure which would satisfy them completely. They were jaded with the normal American way of life. They were searching for something different which will give them mystical experience. Unfortunately they were searching it in LSD, sex, alcohol, etc. Their search ended when they came across the chanting of Hare Krishna. They could easily give up all their bad habits and dedicate their lives for God. They found the real happiness in chanting the Holy Names of Lord.

CONCLUSION In the age old vedic text of Kalisantaraëa Upaniñad the reference of this mantra appears hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare iti ñoòaçakaà nämnäà kali-kalmaña-näçanam nätaù parataropäyaù sarva-vedeñu dåçyate

“Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare—these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are the only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to the chanting of the holy name.”

By chanting people are becoming perfect gentlemen/ gentlewomen. This is what today’s world perilously needs. This is process of real alchemy turning everyone into gentlemen and women. When every one of us takes to this remarkable process the whole world will be a spiritual world, happy place to live. The chanting is sweeter than the elixir of life. Try and experience it. The taste of pudding lies in tasting. One cannot taste the honey from outside the bottle. One has to open the lid, taste and relish it!!!

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=27569