ISKCON Desire Tree's Posts (19634)

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To honor Srila Prabhupada’s historic arrival at Boston Harbor on September 17, 1965, Inner Voice Productions has created a 12-minute film featuring rare footage and dramatic recreations of his 1965 voyage aboard the Jaladuta and his first month in Butler, Pennsylvania, with the Agarwal family. The video premiered today, September 17th, on the YouTube channel Hare Krishna Film Classics.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/cTOlD7o_5dU   

Source: https://iskconnews.org/new-short-film-celebrates-prabhupadas-arrival-in-the-u-s/

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New Mayapura Celebrates 50th Anniversary

13715128894?profile=RESIZE_584xBy Gopaswami Das

A historic turn of events took place in France the day before Radhastami. For the first time since Srila Prabhupada inaugurated this beautiful community and installed his beloved Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama, both the ambassador of India at UNESCO and the town’s mayor glorified Srila Prabhupada, the New Mayapura community, and ISKCON with astounding words of praise. A first in France after many years of internal and external struggle.

After a first-class lunch prasadam was served in the castle, the 20 invited personalities joined the devotees and the public for a ceremony in the garden, presided over by Nitai Gaurasundar Das, our longtime Communication Director. Locanananda Das and Gandharvika Raya Dasi, our selfless and hardworking temple presidents, greeted the guests and presented the recent renovations, as well as the increased interactions with the public. Gopaswami Das explained the past and present history of the community, from the long tradition of French interest in Indian philosophy to its modern presentation by Srila Prabhupada. He reminisced about the beginnings of New Mayapura with its ups and downs, as it grew into the attractive community that it is today.

The different dignitaries, Indian and French, then spoke to the crowd with great respect and heartfelt appreciation for Srila Prabhupada and his followers. The mayor of the town recalled how he had met Srila Prabhupada as a young boy and how the devotees had been very kind to his mother even up until she left her body, when she was given a garland. The celebration was followed by a joyful harinam around the castle, led by Indradyumna Swami and Janananda Goswami from an oxcart. Everyone then took turns to plant a memorial tree, and 50 balloons were raised into the sky to launch an auspicious future for Srila Prabhupada’s New Mayapura. 

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/new-mayapura-celebrates-50th-anniversary/

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13715124072?profile=RESIZE_584x13715124667?profile=RESIZE_584xBy Ananda Jita dasa

On Saturday, September 6th, the auspicious disappearance day of Haridasa Thakura, the first ever Nauka Vihar Utsava, the Boat Festival, was joyfully celebrated in The Netherlands. Hosted by ISKCON The Hague Sri Krishna Dhaam, the event brought together uplifting katha, ecstatic kirtan, and delicious prasadam. More than a hundred devotees from across the country gathered for this unique occasion, marking an unforgettable milestone in ISKCON The Netherlands’ history.

Spirit of Devotion

The spirit of cooperation and devotion filled the atmosphere. What began as a plan to offer 56 preparations blossomed into something far greater, an astonishing more than 125 offerings were lovingly presented to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha Ananda Bihari. This remarkable achievement was made possible by the dedication of so many devotees: kirtaniyas who carried everyone into the holy names, children who contributed enthusiastically, volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, and cooking teams who prepared the grand Chappan Bhoga.

Festival Highlights

The festival shone even brighter thanks to the flower and altar team, who adorned the Deities and surroundings with abundance, and the construction and clean-up teams who ensured that every practical detail from filling the sacred bath to dismantling afterward was perfectly arranged.

Special Appreciation

Special appreciation was expressed to the coordinators Ananda Jita das, Amarendra das, and Bala Govinda das, for their tireless guidance and organization. The event would not have been possible without the generous gift of a beautiful boat from Late Rudolf Krishnedat Banarsi, and the breathtaking swan centerpiece crafted by the family of Ananda Jita das under the direction of Janakinath prabhu.

Words of Blessings

The highlight of encouragement came in the form of blessings from His Holiness Sundar Caitanya Maharaja from Mauritius, who inspired and encouraged us to have a swanboat festival in the Netherlands. He wrote:

“Hare Krishna
Thank you for sharing this post. It beautifully captures the ecstatic atmosphere filled with all the devotees. This marks the first edition in history. An impressive 125 offerings to Their Lordships. This event should be established as an annual celebration.”

These words serve as both a benediction and an inspiration to continue this joyful celebration annually.

Gratitude & Inspiration

Above all, the devotees expressed their deepest gratitude to Their Lordships, Sri Sri Radha Ananda Bihari, for showering infinite mercy and giving everyone the opportunity to serve and rejoice together.

May the transcendental energy of this festival inspire us in our daily lives, uniting us further in the mission of Srila Prabhupada, and filling our hearts with ever-deepening devotion.

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Haribol, and heartfelt thanks to all who made this historic festival possible!

Source: https://www.dandavats.com/?p=116097

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13715098681?profile=RESIZE_584xOnline Hindi IDC Course to Highlight Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Role and Guru-Tattva

A new offering of the ISKCON Disciples Course (IDC) will be conducted in Hindi this fall, from September 29 to October 3, 2025, providing devotees with a structured opportunity to deepen their understanding of the guru-disciple relationship within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The course, delivered primarily in Hindi with a small portion in English, will be held online via Zoom from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM IST daily. Designed in alignment with the teachings of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, the IDC is a foundational course for those seeking to take spiritual initiation in ISKCON, as well as for those who simply wish to strengthen their relationship with Śrīla Prabhupāda and the paramparā.

Throughout the five-day course, participants will explore the different types of guru and their distinct roles in the life of a disciple, including a focused study of Śrīla Prabhupāda as the pre-eminent śikṣā guru in ISKCON. Key topics will include the principles of guru-pada-āśraya (taking shelter of the spiritual master), the responsibilities of a disciple, the etiquette and service owed to the guru, and an overview of the initiation process within the ISKCON tradition.

The IDC has been taught in many parts of the world and serves not only as a preparatory step for formal initiation but also as a means of cultivating a deeper spiritual identity. With this Hindi-language edition, the course aims to reach a wider audience in the Indian subcontinent and Hindi-speaking communities worldwide.

Registration for the course is currently open. Interested participants can register online through the official form here.

For those seeking to understand the heart of discipleship and the importance of the guru in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, this course provides a comprehensive and accessible entry point.

 
*Registration open for IDC Hindi*

*📖What you’ll learn?*
▪️ Types of Guru & their roles.
▪️ Śrīla Prabhupāda as Pre-eminent Śikṣā Guru.
▪️Guru Padaashraya
▪️Guru-sevā & disciple responsibilities.
▪️The initiation process in ISKCON.

*📅Course Duration:* 29th September  - 3rd October , 2025

*🕡Timings:* 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM (IST)

*🗣️Course Language:* 90%  Hindi+ 10% English

*📍Platform:* ZOOM

*📄Register Now:* https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ap7zJWbEOl_CYPlYDxy4qBO7OhkLewX7HH6l7grZJrQ/edit

*🔍Discover the heart of discipleship in ISKCON
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The Deep Ecology movement is rooted in the conclusions of Professors Lynn White and Arne Naess. By the late 1960s, Prof White, a historian and university president who had studied the development of technology from medieval times to the present, published “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis”. In that influential article, he identified society’s mentality of anthropocentrism (human-centrism) as the root cause of the ecologic crisis. Shortly after that, Prof Naess, philosopher and environmentalist, coined the term “deep ecology”. Similar to White, deep ecologists are those who see the need for a change in mentality, philosophy, or morality with regard to nature. They actively promote a nature-centric worldview. Shallow ecologists are those who wish to correct environmental problems, but without giving up the anthropocentric relationship with nature that the deep ecologists so adamantly oppose.

Vedic culture, which thrived in India thousands of years ago, came to experience similar tensions regarding society’s relationship with nature. Over time, many who followed the Vedas developed an anthropocentric view of life. Early on, they had been more nature-centric, being part of an agrarian society and worshiping the higher powers in order to synchronize humanity’s interests with those of nature and the Supreme Lord. Nevertheless, they gradually became more concerned with human interests, albeit in a less selfish and more natural manner than today’s exploiters of the environment. In reaction to the degradation of Vedic culture, several reform movements emerged. Some of them extracted overlooked themes in Vedic culture and reprioritized them, while others rejected the Vedic literature and its social applications in favor of a more complete doctrinal and social overhaul. Of particular concern to most of these movements was animal slaughter. According to the Vedic tradition, the priests could sacrifice animals, which would then be elevated in their next births. However, over time, the sacrifices became ineffective; the priests no longer possessed the mystical power to synchronize the needs of humans, animals, and plants, with those of the higher powers, the gods. In other words, the priests and their patrons performed sacrifices for selfish ends. The ritual killing of animals no longer mitigated sin, but heaped sins on humanity.

Several movements that were concerned with such violence and exploitation of nature broke with Vedic tradition, and out of those Buddhism and Jainism survived and flourished. Both established a non-violent perception of the world. Such a perception diminished the previous human-centric tendencies, and ceded more rights to nature.

Even prior to these movements, others emerged that did not reject the Vedas or Vedic social structure. However, they put aside the Vedas in favor of their corollaries, the Upanishads. They retired the Vedas, not because of any fault in them, but due to the people. The influence of time had caused them to become greedy, selfish, and unable to apply the Vedas properly. Foremost among these ancient reform movements was that of Krishna, whom his followers consider either an avatar of Vishnu or the original source of Vishnu. He presented His teachings in the Bhagavad-gita, “Song of God”, which has become the basis for most of Hinduism.

Krishna’s Gita retains a perspective on the Vedas, and yet focuses on the yoga tradition as well as Vedanta (essence of the Vedas), whose philosophy was established by the Upanishads and Vedanta Sutras. Based on these doctrines, Krishna extracts at least three themes that directly relate to deep ecology. First is the concept of the individual soul distinct from the body. Second is the universal soul spread throughout creation. Third is yajna (sacrifice), which formed the socio-economic basis of Vedic society. Indirectly related to deep ecology, He discusses knowledge or epistemology, karma (human action), analysis of the psychophysical and metaphysical elements of the world, and humanity’s relation to the Supreme. Putting these aside, however, the first three topics are particularly relevant to ecology. In His discussion of soul, universal soul, and sacrifice, all within the context of yoga, He rejects the anthropocentric view of the world.

He begins His teaching in the Gita by establishing the nature of the soul. In contrast to those who had been misusing the concept of soul to kill animals, He explained that a person should act selflessly in the knowledge that he or she is soul, not the body. In this way, His instructions on the soul encouraged simple living and detachment from the world, not exploitation of it. In addition, He urged performance of actions, based on one’s identity as soul, within a yogic perspective. One of the goals of yoga is to control selfish desires, and in so doing, to see all beings, including animals and plants, as equal souls.

In the sacrifices of the Vedic culture, a yogic theme had existed. However, it had been minimized, and Krishna revived it. He presented yajna (sacrifice) as indispensable and interdependent with yoga and karma (action). He echoed the Vedas by saying that the gods (demigods) supply the necessities of life and one who does not offer a portion in return is a thief. The result of His teaching is that the structure of Vedic society and economy remains, but with a yogic (unselfish, non-exploitative, equal-seeing) perspective. In this way, He redefined Vedic yajna, a pantheistic practice that had degraded into selfish anthropocentrism. His yajna became a devotional, spiritual, intellectual, or altruistic practice that removes human-centrism and replaces it with yogic selflessness, which is consistent with the spirit of the Vedas.

The concept of the universal soul is another important part of the Vedas, and, along with the individual soul, Krishna emphasized this worldview. A recurring theme in the Vedas is that humanity is an integral part of or one with the total environment. For example, parts of the Vedas extol the pervasiveness of fire and the sun. In this context, priests offered some Vedic sacrifices to the universal soul, Vaishvanara, which is also a name for the sun. In addition, they placed their offerings into the fire (Agni), who is not just a localized flame, but also a deity who is a pervasive representative of the gods, and who consumes offerings on their behalf. The concept of the universal soul is one of the great, mystical aspects of Vedic culture. In His Gita, Krishna emphasizes everyone’s relationship with the Supreme Soul, whom He describes as the dear friend in each person’s heart, and the enjoyer of sacrifices. A goal of yoga is to turn one’s attention inward toward the universal soul, away from selfish exploitation of the world.

Many great thinkers have wrestled with humanity’s complex relationship with nature, which includes its inescapable exploitation and destruction. Humans do not exist separate from nature, including its plants, animals, inanimate objects, and the gods, or their processes like the wind, sun energy, rain, seasonal cycles, and so on. Humans often delight in nature’s gifts, but do not like to reciprocate with her; they do not mind being violent toward nature, but do not appreciate her violence toward them. Deep Ecology recognizes these tensions, and encourages a moral response.

Over time, worldviews yield in some degree to the greed of humans. Indeed, as millennia have gone by, some greedy people also infiltrated Krishna’s movement, Vaishnavism. In order to address this problem, five-hundred years ago another great reformer, Sri Caitanya, again tried to purge the impure elements from individuals and society by further simplifying sacrifice, and re-emphasizing the theo-centric or Krishna-centric way of life. In doing so, He embraced trees, taught animals to chant Krishna’s name, worshiped the holy rivers, and generally taught his followers to see Krishna in all things. He reaffirmed the Gita teaching that everything belongs to the Supreme Lord, and those who see otherwise are in illusion. Today, most Vaishnavas make efforts to lead a theo-centric life. They struggle to remember that they are souls who are equal to the plants and animals, and that they are not their bodies, with the associated desires to exploit and kill the Lord’s nature. They try to remember that the universal soul or Supreme Soul is their friend who is in their hearts and who with love beckons them to turn away from violence and exploitation.

Recent Vaishnava sages, like Prabhupada and his predecessors, envisioned the great contributions that the Vaishnava and genuine Vedic perspectives can make in a world of selfishness. They became Vaishnava activists and requested their followers to practice Krishna-centrism, which includes a non-anthropocentric relationship with His nature. Moreover, they urged their followers to propagate that view. There are more than half a billion Vaishnavas around the world. By Krishna’s grace and that of His divine nature, their struggles to have a deep ecological impact in the world will be successful.


Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85357

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By Sri Nandanandana dasa (Stephen Knapp)

As many of you know, when I was initiated by His Divine Grace, Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, I was given the name of Sri Nandanandana dasa.

When I was to be accepted for initiation, I was told to write a paper on the significance of being initiated. I did the research from whatever books we had back then, and found that I really liked going through my books of Srila Prabhupada and gathering the information for the paper. The paper was then given to Srila Prabhupada, who would then authorize a name to be given to the disciple. My initiation was back in the spring of 1976 during the Gaura Purnima festival in Vrindavana, India. I think it was Pusta Krishna Swami who had helped arrange for the names which were then authorized by Srila Prabhupada.

However, before I got initiated, I remember that I was praying to Srimati Radharani to please arrange that I be given a name that would represent what my relationship is with Lord Krishna. We understood that there were many devotees of Krishna, all of whom may have individual and different relations with Krishna. So, I wanted a name that would give an indication of what was my relationship with Krishna. And the name I received is certainly a sign of a Vrindavana relationship. Even though many people seem to have a little difficulty in saying the name, I was quite happy with receiving Sri Nandanandana dasa as my initiated name.

The basic meaning of the name Sri Nandanandana dasa is simply Sri (beautiful) Nanda (Maharaja Nanda, or Krishna’s father) nandana (the son of) and dasa (the servant of). So it means “the servant of the beautiful son of Maharaja Nanda.”

However, as I have grown and developed more deeply in my bhakti, more insights and meanings of the name have been uncovered. Such as in Jiva Goswami’s Krishna Sandarbha, it explains how the essential form of the Lord is His form in the kishora age (10 to 15 years old) when He is called Krishna, or Govinda, or even Sri Nandanandana. This is His most attractive form and the epitome of His beauty, especially for the gopis of Vrindavana.

Also, as Srila Rupa Goswami says:
sri nandanandanam vande, radhika charana dvayam
gopijana samaa yuktam, vrindavavana manoharam

“I offer homage to the divine lotus feet of Sri Nandanandana and Sri Radhika, who are surrounded by the gopis, and who steal the hearts of all the Vrajavasis.”

For more insight into this, it is further described that there are three places of Krishna’s pastimes, in which He appears in three different forms or tattvas, which include Dwarka, Mathura and Vrajabhumi or Goloka Vrindavana. Krishna in Dwarka is complete, but Krishna in Mathura is more complete, while Krishna in Vrajabhumi is most complete.

Krishna in Mathura is also known as Vasudeva-nandana Krishna, or the son of Vasudeva. But it is Yashoda-nandana or Nanda-nandana–the son of Mother Yashoda and Nanda Maharaja–who is eternally kishora. Kishora refers to His age which is mostly around eleven to twelve years old, but to the gopis He looks older than that.

This kishora is a cowherd boy and very beautiful. He is svayam-bhagavan, the original Personality of Godhead. It is this Nanda-nandana-Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja and Yashoda who is the essence of the Supreme Godhead. All other aspects of Godhead are His portions, His plenary portions, or portions of His plenary portions–amsha or kala. The lila, yuga, purusha, and guna-avataras are all Krishna’s amsha and kala forms, or His portions of the Supreme form. But it is this Nanda-nandana-Krishna that is the krishnas tu bhagavan svayam– nanda-nandana-Krishna, the origin of all avataras.

In his book, “Mathura Meets Vrindavana,” Gour Govinda Swami explains this further (pages 41-42): “Nanda-nandana Krishna, or Yashoda-nandana Krishna is Madhurya-maya, or Madhuryaka-nilaya. Madhuryaka-nilaya means the reservoir of all madhuryas, or all types of sweetness. Krishna possesses four types of madhuryas: rupa-madhurya, or sweetness of His supremely beautiful form; venu-madhurya, the sweetness of His flute playing; rati-madhurya, the sweetness of His loving dealings; and lila-madhurya, the sweetness of His wonderful pastimes. These four kinds of madhurya are only available with kishora-krishna. They are not available in any of His plenary portions or portions of His portions, amsha or kala. Therefore, kishora-krishna is Bhagavatta-sara, the essence of the Supreme Godhead. For that reason, in the Caitanya-caritamrita, Krishna dasa Kaviraja Goswami has said, madhurya bhagavatta-sara–the quintessence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Cc.Madhya, 21.110) Do you understand this word madhurya? In English you say sweetness, but that is not sufficient. There is no corresponding word in English. Madhurya is the word. It is so sweet.

“What is the rupa, or the form of madhurya-rasa? That form is Nanda-nandana-Krishna, Yashoda-nandana-Krishna in Vrajabhumi. He is svayam-bhagavan, the Original Personality of Godhead. Who can understand that madhurya? Only a premi-bhakta, otherwise one cannot understand. Krishna’s dealings with the vrajavasis, the residents of Vrajabhumi, especially the gopis, are very intimate and are based on pure love. In other svarupas, other forms of the Lord, such dealings are not there.”

So, after understanding this, it gives much for me to contemplate in realizing the significance of my name. It is the motivation to understand more about what is my relationship with Krishna, and the means to reach prema-bhakti in order to understand it more completely. And in my pursuit of attaining deeper levels of bhakti, I have found that I am no longer interested in other aspects of Vedic culture. Even though I have written 50 books on various aspects of Vedic culture and its philosophy and influence, I find that I’m no longer interested in most of these topics. I used to travel the world attending conferences or giving lecture tours, and now, especially as I get older, I do not care about that. I find the real nectar is simply in diving deep into the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and Their relations with the residents of Goloka Vrindavana, and learning about who is this Sri Nandanandana.

As Gour Govinda Swami continues, “In what form does He appear in Vrajabhumi? Gopa-vesha, venu-kara, nava-kishora, nata-vara. (Cc.Madhya, 21.101) That is the beautiful form of kishora-krishna. He is a youthful cowherd boy, bent in three places, with a flute in His hand. Nava-kishora means nitya-kishora, eternally ten or twelve years old. He never grows beyond that. At every moment He appears newer, newer, and newer–nityam nava-navaya-manam. He is never the same and He never becomes old. That nava-kishora form is in Vrajabhumi. And venu-kara, He has a flute in hand. This flute is not in Mathura and not in Dwarka. It is only in Vrajabhumi. Prabhupada has written in his purport, ‘The special significance of Krishna bearing a flute in His hands is in Vrindavana, Vrajabhumi.’ (Bhag. 10.3.31) Therefore only Krishna in Vrajabhumi is madhuryaka-nilaya, the reservoir of all madhuryas. You will never find these madhuryas in any other form of Krishna.”

In this way, “Krishna’s nitya-kishora form and His dealings with the residents of Vrajabhumi are very intimate and loving. You cannot find such dealings in Mathura or Dwarka. That form is not there and these dealings are also not there.

“Vraja-prema [the love found in Vraja or Goloka Vrindavana] is the last limit of prema, prema-parakastha, and the form of Krishna appearing there is purna-rupa, the most complete form. That form is svayam-rupa, the original form of Krishna. These loving dealings between the premi-bhakta and Bhagavan are the mellow of love, rasa.”

Rupa Goswami has also described in Lalita-madhava (6.54), that even a learned scholar cannot understand the gopis ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Krishna as the son of Nanda Maharaja, Nanda-nandana Krishna. The wonderful feelings of the gopis in ecstatic parama-rasa with Krishna constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life.

In this way, the gopis only want to see the all-beautiful kishora-krishna form of Krishna in Vrajabhumi. That is the Nanda-nandana Krishna form. This is the all-beautiful madhuryaka-nilaya form, reservoir of all pleasure and loving pastimes. The aikantika-krishna-bhaktas, or one pointed devotees, are not even interested in Krishna in Dwarka, or even Krishna in Mathura. The reason is that the Mathura or Dwarka Krishna’s sweetness is slightly covered by knowledge and opulence. In Vrajabhumi or Goloka Vrindavana the aishvarya or opulence of Krishna is covered with madhurya, the sweetest love. That is what they want. Therefore, the gopis are not attracted to the four-handed form of Krishna because the attraction and love for that form becomes shrunken compared to what they find in Krishna, the God of love.

In the brahman you will not find any such mellow of love, nor with Paramatma. So, there cannot be such intimate loving dealings on such levels of realization. It is said that Krishna loves Goloka Vrindavana because He goes there to forget that He is God, and all of the dealings with His devotees there are based simply on deep and divine love. The residents don’t even know Krishna is God, and if they did, it would ruin the intimacy of their relations with Him. Everywhere else, whether Mathura, Dwarka, or in Vaikuntha, everyone worships Krishna or Narayana as the Supreme Lord. But in His form as Sri Nandanandana, all they know is their love for Krishna. In Goloka Vrindavana, that is the basis of everything in the residents, who are all premi-bhaktas, and in their relations with Krishna.

This is some of the meaning of the name Sri Nandanandana, and to whom I am a servant or dasa, and for which there are endless levels of meditation and realization in understanding my relationship with Sri Sri Radha-Krishna as kindled by my spiritual name. For that I am eternally grateful for having received such a name, which is a constant reminder of who I am, and what I really need to realize, and the level of bhakti I need to reach. It is indeed my life’s goal, upon which I am becoming increasingly focused. However, this is merely an example of how the name any disciple gets upon initiation is an impetus for deeper levels of meditation and understanding for anyone, all by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=94419

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Art of Working by Chirag Dangarwala

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karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ‘stv akarmani [ B.g. 2.47]

“You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty”.

The above mentioned verse is one of the most famous verses in Bhagavad Gita, although many know this verse and probably might have recited and heard them many times, very few of us are able to take it to heart and follow it as it is. The verse here is directing us on the art of working, in chapter 2 of Bhagavad Gita Lord Krsna gives Arjuna a prelude to Art of Working. Technically it is called “Karma yoga”, yoga means connection to God and karma means our fruitive activities. In general every living being is working for some results, if a person is working day and night at a factory he is doing so to get money or get a high position etc. So every one practically is motivated to work based on the results he or she may derive after that. But from what we understand in this verse what Krsna is saying looks to be exactly contradictory at the first glance.

As per the Vedic knowledge the mentality to enjoy the fruits of our actions is one of the causes of our sufferings in this material world. When the results are favorable we enjoy and when the results are unfavorable we become morose. So either we perform good work or bad work we will have to enjoy or suffer its results if we do them on our on accord or in other words if we work for our sense gratifications. Some may think so what is wrong in that, that is a obvious law of action and reaction, so if we abstain from doing any impious work we will not have to suffer, and we should therefore engage in pious activities only so we will get good results. Undoubtedly it is always recommended to perform pious activities, like charity, sacrifice etc, these are virtuous deeds indeed, but what Lord Krsna is pointing here is how to transcend both good and bad work so that we will not have to either suffer or enjoy any reactions of either work.

Again a question may arise as to what is the need for that , if I transcend both good and bad work, then it is ok that I will not be suffering , but what about enjoyment, then how will I be happy? So isn’t it better to perform pious acts and enjoy their results? As per the Vedic literature, this material world is compared to a forest fire, in a forest nobody goes to set fire, but still due to friction between trees in the forest, fire is ignited, Similarly in this material world though we may resolve only to perform pious activities and hence reap the good fruits and enjoy we may have unknowingly committed some sin against some other living entity, this material world is so designed that it is not possible to be saved from sinful activities. An illustration of this is that while walking though we may not want to kill any ants we unknowingly kill them, for which we will be accounted for and face the reactions for that. So it is practically impossible to only perform pious activities and be always happy in this world. Then the next question is, Is there a way out? The above verse and many other such verses from Bhagavad Gita is the answer to our question.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna instructs us in this verse that , we as living entities are eternal loving servants of God and hence it is in our duty and best interest to work for him. He indicates that we have the right to perform our duties as per our natures, but we are not entitled to the results, and again he tells us that because we are not entitled for the results we should not stop working. Since our motivation to perform any action or work is the anticipation of some benefit from that work, one may ask if I am not entitled to the results then what is the use of working? Elsewhere in Bhagavad Gita Lord Krsna says that without working one cannot even maintain one’s own material body so one has to work anyhow. So it is better to work for Krsna or God as his instruments and be free from the reactions of work and remain peaceful and happy. One crude example in this connection could be that if we perform some work in the office on our own accord we will be responsible for its success or failure, but if we work on behalf of our supervisor or Manager, the success or failure is the responsibility of the superior or Manager. Similarly if we work as instruments of Krsna, All perfect Lord promises us to free us from all the reactions which will in turn make us happy and peaceful.

So the point here is that though we are not entitled to the results of the work, we should not stop performing our prescribed duties and we should perform them for the satisfaction of the Supreme without considering our personal success or failure , this is called yoga, or connection with the supreme.

yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate [ B.g. 2.48]

“Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.”

In the third and fourth chapter Lord Krsna explains the process of fruitive work or karma by devotional service or bhakti. There are nice processes of devotional service, which starts with hearing and chanting about God, and the best method in this age of Kali is to chant the holy names of God, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hara Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

It should not be misunderstood that since Lord Krsna says that we are not entitled to the results we will be left starving and we will have to just work and get nothing in return etc, No that is not the case. As mentioned in the verse above Krsna says that we should not falsely think that the results that I am getting are solely due to my work and nobody else’s and hence I should only enjoy the results. It is mentioned in the eighteenth chapter of Bhagavad Gita that there are five causes for the accomplishment of all action the five causes are as follows

“adhisthanam tatha karta
karanam ca prthag-vidham
vividhas ca prthak cesta
daivam caivatra pancamam” [ B.g. 18.14]

“The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul—these are the five factors of action.”

Only after the final sanction of the Supreme Soul any action is accomplished and the results for that action will depend on the sanction of the Supreme Person and our past activities. It is a common occurrence that every one must have experienced, many times it so happens that although we may have planned everything very neatly and precisely the results are not satisfactory or even worse and sometimes even though we do not plan perfectly we still get exceptional results. So again many may ask then if everything depends on God then why should I work, let God decide and give me the results, to answer this very question Krsna says

ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ‘stv akarmani [ B.g. 2.47]

“Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty”

Sadly, in today’s world it is often seen that people misinterpret the texts in Bhagavad Gita to suit their own purpose or understanding. When Lord Krsna asks us to work for him and do not worry about the results, people do not accept this part of Bhagavad Gita thinking it to be too much of a demand from God. If one studies the instructions from a bonafide source and tries to understand Bhagavad Gita As it is, without his or her own interpretation, one will definitely benefit from the instructions of Lord Krsna and will be peaceful. Just like Arjuna did not want to fight the Battle of Kurukshetra for he was thinking in terms of his own happiness and distress, but after listening to Bhagavad Gita from Krsna, he decided to work as an instrument of Krsna and says

arjuna uvaca
nasto mohah smrtir labdha
tvat-prasadan mayacyuta
sthito ‘smi gata-sandehah
karisye vacanam tava [ B.g. 18.73]

“Arjuna said: My dear Krsna, O infallible one, my illusion is now gone. I have regained my memory by Your mercy. I am now firm and free from doubt and am prepared to act according to Your instructions.”

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=86259

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13713183866?profile=RESIZE_584xThe Sri Mayapur Community Hospital project received the blessings and encouragement from ISKCON leaders in North America after a presentation to them at the North American Regional Governing Body (NA-RGB) Conference held in Houston, Texas.

Sri Mayapur Community Hospital Project Director, Harilila Das, traveled from Mayapur to personally present the hospital’s progress and vision to GBC leaders and temple presidents on September 7th. Over the three-day gathering, September 5–7, he met with many leaders individually, sharing the significance of the hospital’s mission in serving both devotees and the local rural community.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/sri-mayapur-community-hospital-project-receives-strong-support-from-north-american-leaders/

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13713170088?profile=RESIZE_584xBy Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi, 

In a welcome move for pilgrims and devotees traveling to the holy dhama of Mayapur, Eastern Railway’s Sealdah Division has announced the launch of a new AC EMU train service connecting Krishnanagar and Sealdah, with key stops en route.

In a letter addressed to Dayaram Das, Co-Director General & President of ISKCON Kolkata, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Jasram Meena outlined the new service details. The train will operate six days a week (Monday to Saturday) with timings specifically designed to accommodate temple rituals and festivals. The service will provide greater convenience, reduced travel time, and enhanced comfort for pilgrims attending temple rituals and festivals.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/eastern-railway-introduces-new-ac-emu-train-service-for-mayapur-pilgrims/

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By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi,

Bhaktivedanta University has announced the launch of its second academic pillar, the Faculty of Vocational Education, aimed at revitalizing village life and traditional occupations in the face of rapid urbanization.

With older generations of farmers aging and younger people moving to cities, rural sustainability faces a growing challenge. The new faculty seeks to safeguard the traditional knowledge of India’s villages while integrating modern advancements to make these age-old occupations both viable and accessible for contemporary society.

“The world’s survival now depends on the revival of its villages and their occupations,” the university emphasized in its introductory video. Through its village-centric approach, the program will provide training that not only empowers women and unemployed youth in rural communities but also equips urban residents with the skills to become “new-age farmers” and rural entrepreneurs.

By fostering this blend of tradition and innovation, Bhaktivedanta University hopes to preserve India’s rural fabric while creating sustainable livelihoods for future generations. To learn more, watch the video here.

Source: https://iskconnews.org/bhaktivedanta-university-launches-rural-initiative-blending-tradition-and-innovation/

 

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From Back to Godhead

Sri Brahma-samhita is one of the oldest Vedic scriptures, and it is accepted by Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Krsna Himself who appeared 484 years ago) as the essence of Vaisnava (Krsna conscious) philosophy. The first verse of the Fifth Chapter of Sri Brahma-samhita reads: “Krsna, who is known as Govinda, is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal, blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the Prime Cause of all causes.” And in the thirty-eighth verse of the same chapter: “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Syamasundara, Krsna Himself, with inconceivable, innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love.”

“Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami.” Our program in Krsna consciousness is to worship the Supreme Lord, Govinda, Sri Krsna. Those who are serious about yoga or spiritual life must necessarily go to the yogaauthorities for genuine spiritual knowledge. Just as, if one wants to be a doctor, one must study with a doctor, similarly, to have spiritual realization one must associate with those who are accepted as mahatmas, great souls. The qualifications of such great souls are described by Lord Krsna in Bhagavad-gita, Chapter Nine, verse 14, to quote one of many verses which confirm the same principle: “They are always engaged in chanting My glories. Endeavoring with great determination, offering homage unto Me, they worship Me with devotion.” In the Western world there is one such mahatma, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. My preceptor, Srila Prabhupada, is all that I know, and hence all that I can relate to you is simply what I have heard from his pure lips.

In the material world, whether one is American or Australian, communist or capitalist, Christian or Jew, black or white, there is one common platform: everyone wants to be happy. From the Vedas we learn that there are two processes to gain happiness: the material and the spiritual. It is self-evident that material life cannot give us happiness. There is no use arguing that a materialistic man can be happy, at least according to the definition of true happiness given in the Vedic texts. According to the Vedic definition, true happiness must be eternal; it must have a permanent basis. It cannot be limited in any way. Happiness in the material world, however is always limited by unavoidable material miseries. These miseries are of three kinds: adhyatmic, adhibhautic, andadhidaivic. Adhyatmic miseries pertain to the body and mind For example, sometimes our metabolism is upset, or there is sometimes fear, bodily pain, etc. Sometimes we suffer great losses, and this results in mental distress.Adhibhauticsuffering is due to other living entities. For example there are miseries caused by germs, mosquitos, bedbugs, and human enemies also. This is called adhibhautic suffering. Adhidaivic suffering is due to the laws of providence or material nature. For example there are calamities caused by earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc. Sometimes there is too much heat, and sometimes there is too much cold. These are calledadhidaivic miseries.

We are all trying to adjust to these problems of life. The whole social structure of human civilization is meant for getting relief from these three types of miseries. And every day one will hear so many prescriptions for relief: “Take Anacin and get fast, fast, fast relief!” “Things go better with Coca-Cola.” The merchants have their prescriptions, the philosophers give their advice for relief, the politicians promise cessation of troubles, and even the atheists have some opinion on how to get relief, from material complexity.

Sometimes mere freedom from problems and miseries is taken to be happiness; that is, one may say, “If I can just get rid of my toothache, then I will be happy,” or “If I can just pay the debts for my car, then I will be happy,” and so on. This sort of happiness is likened to that of a man tied to a dunking stool. In colonial America a public offender would sometimes be punished by being tied to a dunking stool, dunked in a tank of water until his lungs almost burst, and then raised up again for a breath of air. The pleasure derived from this gasp of air is likened to the pleasure available in the material world. The person is thinking, “Ah, at last air! How nice!” But no sooner does he swallow the air than down again he goes for another turn; and likewise our insignificant pleasures are quickly forgotten as we, time and again, are plunged into the ocean of incessant material complexities. True happiness, true freedom, is to be free from this punishment altogether.

There are those who will say, “Ah! These Hare Krsna people are just escapists. They cannot face up to life.” And our reply is simply, “Yes, we are escapists. You stay here; we will leave!” And as for facing up to life: My friends, is this life? In this world there is death at every step. Every time a day goes by we are not one day older, but one day closer to death. The whole world is struggling hard to live off one another. This is a proven fact. So, according to Krsna consciousness, all one needs to do to get out of this illusory suffering is to change one’s consciousness. That is all. All suffering is due to a lack of knowledge. And, as stated before, knowledge can be achieved by associating with authorities.

As soon as our original consciousness becomes polluted by material enjoyment, i.e., as soon as we desire to “lord it over” matter, then our troubles begin. Everyone from the smallest ant to Brahma, the engineer of this particular universe, is trying to become the lord or controller. For example, in the United States there is regular competition for the presidential position. The various candidates promise solutions to problems in return for votes, but actually what they really want is position, power. This ismaya, illusion.

Krsna consciousness is the opposite. In Krsna consciousness, under the guidance of Srila Prabhupada, our spiritual master, we are trying to become the servants of the servant of the servant one hundred times the servant of the servant of Krsna. Modern thinking might dictate that this is slave mentality. But no, it is not slave mentality; it is our constitutional position. Whether I am Christian, Jew or atheist, still I must serve. I serve my country or my family or my pets, or when I am hungry I serve my stomach; and ultimately I must serve the stringent laws of material nature birth, death, disease and old age. So we are always servants. But under the illusion of being masters of this world, we have become servants of our senses. What a nasty position!

One should just agree to become a servant of Sri Krsna because, as stated above, servants we all must be. We are serving our lust, avarice, anger, greed, etc., and in the higher stages we are servants of humanity or the state or our country. But underneath the desire to serve one’s country, society or whatever, the actual purpose is to become the master. This is maya, illusion, again.

There is absolutely no doubt. No one can say that he is free, that he is master. If one thinks like that, then that ismaya. Just serving the senses does not solve our miseries. The intoxications of wine, women, drugs, cinemas, novels, etc., are all artificial; there must always be “comedowns”; and “I am servant” always remains.

Why all this trouble? We are forced to serve something or someone that we don’t want to serve, but still we are reluctant to serve Krsna. I remember once in our Seattle center one boy asked Srila Prabhupada, “How come I don’t feel like bowing down to you or to Krsna?” Srila Prabhupada answered, “That is your disease. You are thinking that you are better than everyone or at least that no one is better than you, and so you will not bend. That is your skin disease.” There is a disease called yellow jaundice, and in India that disease is so dangerous that sometimes people die from it. But the cure is simple: sugar. A patient suffering from jaundice takes sugar as his medicine. One symptom of jaundice, however, is that to a person afflicted with this disease, sugar tastes so bitter that he wants to spit it out. But if he just goes on taking his medicine, then he becomes cured and again tastes this sugar medicine as sweet. Krsna consciousness is sometimes like that for those of us who are suffering from the “skin disease” of thinking ourselves to be Australian, American, etc., or in other words of identifying with the material body. Afflicted by such a spiritual sickness, we really can’t appreciate genuine spiritual pleasure. “I have tried chanting Hare Krsna,” a person might say, “and of course it doesn’t do anything for me.” But if that person would just use his intelligence enough to take the spiritual medicine (the chanting of Hare Krsna) and eat the prescribed diet (prasadam, food offered to Krsna), then very shortly he would taste his medicine to be as sweet as nectar.

How should we use our intelligence? An example may be given. We might pass a store and see sweetmeats we like. Our mind says, “Ah, candy! Go purchase some,” and our body obeys. But if we are suffering from an illness, then even though the mind might want some candy, our intelligence tells us no. If we indulge, then the illness will be prolonged or worsened, and so we abstain. Similarly, in the everyday situation of material consciousness, we must use our intelligence to regulate our indulgence in habits of sense gratification. By indulging in intoxication and unrestricted sex life, one may derive some pleasure, but this pleasure is temporary and impure. Although it appears nectarean, it will soon turn to poison. Material consciousness is a disease which is merely worsened by unrestricted sense gratification. The process of treatment recommended by authorities is Krsna consciousness, and although to some this process is not appealing at first, anyone who accepts it will quickly find it sweet. InBhagavad-gita we find that although Krsna is the Supreme Lord, He agreed to serve Arjuna as his chariot driver. This is the sublime relationship between Krsna and His devotees. If, under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, one just becomes a pure lover of Krsna, then Krsna will become his servant. This is a very elevated realization.

We must transfer our service attitude so that by our service we can satisfy everyone. This can be easily accomplished by developing our Krsna consciousness. If one waters the root of a tree, then all the leaves will be nourished automatically. Similarly, if we just try to love Krsna and serve the bona fide spiritual master, then, because Krsna is the root of everything and we are like leaves, we will be satisfied, everyone else will be satisfied, and it is then that we can truly have universal brotherhood. Sentimental peace moratoriums will never be a solution. They simply waste time. We clamor for brotherhood, but we are not willing to serve the Father. Before there can be peace on earth there must be peace in the heart. No number of committee meetings or United Nations assemblies will bring about the peace for which we are all anxious. Krsna is peace eternal, and if one just makes the connection with Him through a bona fide spiritual master such as His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, then one will have peace and will be able to transmit that peace to others.

There is a prayer that says: “So long have I served my senses. Even what I should not have done I have done by the dictation of lust.” When one is a slave to lust, then he is forced to do things he would not ordinarily do. Someone might say, “You have served your senses. That is all right. Go on enjoy your senses.” But the prayer continues: “I have served so much, but I find that my senses are still not satisfied. My senses are not satisfied, I am not satisfied, nor will my senses give me relief from their service.” An example of this is a recent headline in an Australian newspaper: “Man 80 Years Old Married 75 Times.” The senses are not satisfied, even at the point of death. That is the real problem of life.

Lord Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita that we have been servants of our senses in life after life, transmigrating through 8,400,000 species. Now we should just surrender unto Him, and He will take care of us. By the dictation of the senses we commit so many sinful activities. According to one’s activities or work, one gets a particular type of body. There are different bodies due to different types of sense gratification. The hog, for example, making no distinction between mother, sister, etc., simply has sex with anyone; and the senses in all species are so strong that this goes on even in human society. The threefold miseries from which we are trying to free ourselves are due to love of the senses of the material body, but Krsna is the real object of love. Just transfer your love to Krsna. Give up trying to satisfy the bodily senses, and just try to satisfy Krsna. As soon as you change, gradually Krsna will reveal Himself to you and will exchange service with you. Then you will be fully satisfied.

Please, my friends, try to understand this sublime benediction. Chant Hare Krsna and gradually develop love for Krsna All your troubles will be gone. Krsna is beyond the senses and the mind, but if you chant sincerely, then He will reveal Himself to you. It is not a question of belief. God exists! It is just a matter of having eyes to see Him. Under the expert guidance of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, we are developing those eyes. Krsna consciousness is not a blind sentiment: we have a vast philosophical background.

Krsna consciousness is not a tower of Babel to Krsna. There are two processes in spiritual life, the ascending and the descending. Through the ascending process one tries to construct a ladder up to Krsna by processes of yoga,meditation, word jugglery, logic, dry philosophy, etc. However sincere, Krsna is acyuta, unapproachable, that process will never be successful But if the unapproachable Krsna wants to come to us, then nothing can stop Him. That is called the descending process, Krsna consciousness. Krsna is presenting Himself to you and I through the authorized disciplic chain of Vedic teachers. This is the oldest family tree in the universe. Knowledge of Krsna (which is non-different from Krsna Himself) is coming down to us without any tinge of contamination through this unbroken disciplic succession, and His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is the contemporary representative of this line.

Please do not dismiss Krsna consciousness as foreign or esoteric. Try to scrutinizingly study this movement, and, more than anything chant chant Hare Krsna! As the yoga authorities confirm in the Brhan-naradiya Purana: harer nama harer nama harer nama eva kevalam/kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha: In this age of Kali (quarrel and hypocrisy) the best means of God realization is the chanting of the holy name of God, and there is no other alternative.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=27621

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From Back to Godhead

Why Krishna’s holy names are the greatest treasure.

Some people fantasize about accumulating immense wealth and dream of what they would buy if they only had enough. To them, happiness hovers elusively on the other side of that new car, that big house, that diamond necklace.

While many of us will say, “Money can’t buy happiness,” do we really believe it? If not money, what is the solution to our hankerings? What is the greatest treasure that will bring true happiness? And how do we acquire that treasure?

Srila Prabhupada answers these questions in one of his purports, which recounts the story of a fortunate brahmana who sought the best benediction from Lord Siva (see purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.7.7). The story reveals that the greatest treasure is not material, but spiritual.

Once, a poor brahmana worshiped Lord Siva to get the best benediction, hoping for the solution to all his problems. Lord Siva is known as midhushtama, the best of the benedictors, and many materialistic people approach him to fulfill their desires. But for this brahmana, Lord Siva granted the best benediction for his spiritual life. He directed the brahmana to see Sanatana Goswami, a direct disciple and close associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, for only Sanatana could award the best benediction.

When the brahmana approached Sanatana Goswami, he noticed that Sanatana had a touchstone that he kept with the garbage. This powerful gem could turn iron into gold simply by contact. Upon the brahmana’s request, Sanatana gave him the touchstone, which seemed like the greatest blessing to the brahmana, who went away gratified by the assurance of immense financial success.

As the brahmana left Sanatana’s company, however, a doubt nagged his mind: If the touchstone were truly the greatest benediction, then why did Sanatana Goswami keep it with the garbage, as if it had no value at all? Surely, he realized, this could not be what he was seeking; Sanatana Goswami must have an even greater treasure.

The brahmana returned to Sanatana Goswami and inquired, “Sir, if this is the best benediction, why did you keep it with the garbage?”

Sanatana Goswami replied that the touchstone was not the best benediction.

“But,” Sanatana asked, “are you prepared to take the best benediction from me?”

The brahmana eagerly assented, and Sanatana then told him to throw the touchstone into the nearby Yamuna River.

When the brahmana returned, Sanatana Goswami initiated him with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. By Lord Siva’s mercy, the brahmana achieved the best benediction of all: the chanting of the holy names of the Lord in the association of a pure devotee.
Rejecting Materialistic Desire

The touchstone represents materialistic desire. When we want wealth or the enjoyment of our senses separately from Krishna, we sabotage our spiritual efforts. We think of ourselves as the proprietors of our wealth, which we consider the fruit of our own hard work. We then become attached and fail to realize that everything comes from the Lord and should be used in His service, for His pleasure. Accordingly, Jesus Christ declared that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. As Srila Prabhupada explains, “Material hankerings and spiritual advancement go ill together.”

Sanatana Goswami’s order to throw away the touchstone signifies a call to renounce materialistic desire. If we want spiritual life, the best benediction, we cannot simultaneously try to satisfy our own senses. That’s like rowing a boat with the anchor still out: We cannot go anywhere despite our exertion. Likewise, if we want to make spiritual progress, we need to lift the anchor of material desire.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, one of the previous spiritual masters in our disciplic succession, points out that the holy name of the Lord is the real touchstone (the Sanskrit word is chintamani). In his book Harinama Chintamani, he mentions that the Lord’s holy names are “a touchstone yielding all desires.” Through the simple process of hearing and chanting the Lord’s names, we can directly achieve the highest treasure—krishna-prema, pure love of God, the ultimate goal of life.

When the fortunate brahmana discarded the material touchstone for the spiritual one, he thereby achieved the truly greatest benediction: the pure path to Krishna’s lotus feet under the guidance of Krishna’s pure devotee.
The Absolute Name

Since Krishna is absolute, His name, form, pastimes, paraphernalia, and associates are all equal to Him. This means that the Lord and His unlimited attributes are fully present in His names, which are brilliant like the sun. We cannot perceive this because the clouds of materialism cover our hearts and obscure our view.

How can we see the sun of the holy names and thus recover our original position as Krishna’s loving servants? Krishna tells us to surrender to Him (Bhagavad-gita 18.66), and in His most merciful form as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu He shows us how to do it. The chief method is the chanting of Krishna’s names, especially the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Chaitanya appeared in this word specifically to spread the sankirtana movement: the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. According to Lord Chaitanya, sankirtana is “the prime benediction for humanity.” (Sikshashtaka 1) Rupa Goswami (Sanatana’s brother) praises Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as “the most charitable incarnation” because He widely distributes pure love of Godhead, krishna-prema, without regard for caste, creed, or color. He invites everyone to take exclusive shelter of the holy names.

We can easily approach Krishna through His names, which contain all of His transcendental energies (see Sikshashtaka 2). The holy names are not just symbols for Krishna, but Krishna Himself. They’re also the means to approach Him. As He proclaims in Bhagavad-gita (10.25): “Of sacrifices, I am the chanting of the holy names [japa].” In fact, this sacrifice is so important that it is the chief religious process (yuga-dharma) for this Age of Kali (kali-yuga).

Kali-yuga contains an abundance of inauspicious qualities, such as short lifespan, diseases, weak memory, diminished intelligence and bodily strength, and negligible interest in religious activities. These faults render spiritual efforts exceedingly difficult, but not entirely hopeless: The one good quality of Kali-yuga is that simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, we can achieve pure love of Krishna. As stated in the Brihan-naradiya Purana (3.8.126):

harer nama harer nama
harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nastya eva
nastya eva gatir anyatha

“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.” The repetition here emphasizes the need to chant the name of God. Spiritual paths prescribed in other ages, such as jnana (cultivation of knowledge) or yoga (mystic meditation), might even deviate us from the path of devotional service to Krishna, but chanting Hare Krishna helps us achieve our ultimate goal quickly. We can surpass all obstacles and attain the ultimate spiritual success of returning back home, back to Godhead.
The Name’s Transcendental Qualities

To help us cultivate our attachment to the holy names, the Vedic scriptures contain many statements describing their unlimited glories. The Padma Purana reveals:

The holy name of Krishna is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Krishna Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Krishna’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Krishna Himself. Since Krishna’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with maya. Krishna’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself are identical. (Quoted in Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 17.133)

Whatever is in Krishna is in His name. As Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura recounts in Harinama Chintamani, Srila Haridasa Thakura tells Lord Chaitanya that the holy name “is the ultimate treasure in Krishna’s storehouse, because it contains within it the whole spiritual realm.”

In the material world, names are merely representative. As Srila Prabhupada explains, “One cannot taste the mango fruit simply by chanting, ‘Mango, mango, mango.’” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.36, Purport). But Krishna and His names are identical and supreme in all aspects. If we project our mundane understanding and continue to think that Krishna and His names are separate, we are missing the point. As long as we offend the holy names by thinking of them as material sounds, we cannot achieve love of God, but when we sincerely call Krishna’s names, He comes with all His transcendental qualities to dance on our tongues.

Because of our material contamination, we cannot perceive Krishna’s presence in His names. Life after life, we have been migrating through the material universe in different kinds of bodies, perpetually identifying the body as the self and driven to satiate our ever-demanding senses. This misidentification is just like dust covering a mirror, hiding our reflection. We have lost our ability to discern what we are (tiny spiritual sparks, Krishna’s eternal servants) because the mirror of our intelligence has lost its integrity. Krishna’s holy names are so pure and potent, however, that they wash away all this deluding dust. When our materialistic desires become spiritual desires, we will no longer seek to serve our mind and senses, but will act only for Krishna’s pleasure.

This transformation is possible only through the mercy of Krishna’s names, which are the cure for our disease of materialism. Rupa Goswami provides the analogy of a jaundiced patient who perceives all tastes, even sugar, as bitter. Ironically, the cure for jaundice is rock candy or sugar crystals. At the beginning of treatment, the rock candy tastes bitter, but soon the patient recovers the ability to taste its natural sweetness. That sweetness was always there, but it could not be tasted because of jaundice. Similarly, the holy name is the sweetest of all things because it is Krishna Himself, but we cannot perceive this because materialistic desires infect our consciousness. We must persist in our chanting, and eventually our material disease will vanish. At the topmost platform of pure chanting (shuddha-nama), we will continuously taste the nectarean sweetness of the holy name.
The Greatest Giver

The causeless mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His pure devotees has given us the sweetest, most valuable treasure of the holy name. By teaching the maha-mantra to the brahmana, Sanatana Goswami became the greatest giver. A Vaishnava not only chants the holy names purely, but also shares the chanting with others. Prahlada Maharaja, for example, did not worry about his own liberation but was tremendously anxious for the deliverance of innumerable conditioned souls. Srila Prabhupada therefore proclaims the spreading of Krishna consciousness to be the highest welfare work. Krishna is supremely merciful, but the scriptures tell us that the pure devotee who gives Krishna (or His names) is even more merciful.

Thus, with humility, and with gratitude for this inconceivable mercy, we must accept the chanting of Krishna’s names with sincerity and earnestness. We must ask ourselves the same question that Sanatana Goswami asked the brahmana: Are we ready for the best benediction? If we understand, at least intellectually, that the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the best benediction, then we must take it seriously. If someone gave us gold or diamonds, we would keep them in a protected place and worry about their being stolen or damaged. Yet these things are merely temporary manifestations of the inferior, material energy. Krishna’s names, however, are pure, eternal, and full of unending bliss. They are the greatest gift from our spiritual master to reconnect us to our original identities as Krishna’s eternal servants. We should value them as our greatest asset, carefully guarding against offenses such as inattentiveness.

For chanting to be sincere, it must be attentive. Prabhupada recommended that we focus our mind by concentrating on the sound of each name within the maha-mantra. Sincere chanting is just like the child’s cry for its mother: genuine and urgent. Like a helpless infant, we have no shelter other than the lotus feet of Krishna and His internal energy, Hara (Radharani), and so our chanting becomes a plea to be accepted as Krishna’s servant.

Srila Prabhupada says that “we should simply cry and pray that the Lord accept us,” as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught by His own example: “O Krishna, son of Nanda, somehow or other I have fallen into this ocean of nescience and ignorance. Please pick me up and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet.” (Sikshashtaka 5)
The Poison of Worldliness

If we do not take advantage of the simple process of hearing and chanting, we are worse than dead: We have knowingly drunk poison. Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura has sung, “O Lord, I have spent my life uselessly. Having obtained a human birth and having not worshiped Radha and Krishna, I have knowingly drunk poison.”

The human body is meant for spiritual cultivation beyond the animal propensities of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. Our intelligence is meant for developing spiritual knowledge so that we work in devotional service to please Krishna. We can thus achieve liberation from the seemingly endless cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease, and personally associate with Krishna in His transcendental abode. We must not miss the chance the human form of life affords us, because only now do we have the capacity to hear and chant Krishna’s names.

Harinama-sankirtana is the greatest treasure, and we are deeply unfortunate if we do not take advantage of it.

“The treasure of divine love in Goloka Vrindavana,” Narottama sings, “has descended as the congregational chanting of Lord Hari’s [Krishna’s] holy names. Why did my attraction for that chanting never come about? Day and night my heart burns from the fire of the poison of worldliness, and I have not taken the means to relive it.”

Narottama’s words teach us how we should lament for our lack of faith in Krishna’s names. If we don’t shiver in ecstasy at the sound of the Lord’s name, we can understand that our hearts are hard like stone. Narottama says that this is due to the “poison of worldliness”: the fierce desires of our mind and senses that prohibit complete surrender to Krishna’s service. The antidote for that poison is continued chanting. If we are sincere, the Lord’s pure names will remove our faithlessness and offenses, so that we can eventually relish the best benediction as our most precious asset.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17294

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Arrows of Kama By Saurav Sarmah

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Kama (Cupid) possesses five arrows, with which he inflicts all conditioned living entities. According to Sripad Prabodhananda Saraswati (in his commentary on the Gita Govinda), these arrows are: infatuation, agitation, heart-burning, extreme dryness and destruction. Let us elaborate:

During the course of one’s life, one sees many members of the opposite sex. There is a natural attraction caused by the arrangement of Maya because we identify ourselves with the body (pumsah-striya-maithuni bhava). It produces passionate heat in our bodies, which in turn, unleashes the material desires stored within our hearts since time immemorial and also provides the drive to achieve them. Thus, the hrdaya granthi (material entanglement) is tightened and we continue to undergo life-times of transmigration within various species.

Although there is natural attraction between sexes in the material world, the conditioned souls (especially human beings) do not chase after the first visible object of enjoyment. Due to previous conditioning or samskara, the mind had recorded certain enjoyable traits like beauty, education, wealth, fame, morality, etc. and favourable methods for association. When one finds prima facie some of these traits in a person and the opportunity to engage in association, Kama releases his arrows:

The first arrow makes one infatuated. One identifies only the best qualities in the other person. One constantly thinks of the other and if the opportunity permits, they talk with or meet each other. In this way, the infatuation is deepened.

When the next arrow pierces the heart, separation becomes unbearable. One’s mind and senses are agitated. If opportunity permits, the couple increase their interaction until it covers the entire day. They derive mellow from each other’s association: nectar to start with; then follow other things like children, household responsibilities, etc.

But such state does not last for long, as the third arrow pierces the heart which begins to burn. The pain is almost intolerable. One’s intelligence gets bewildered and one acts like a madman. Often, the relationships enter problematic phase with frequent frictions producing more heat.

The heat produces dryness as the fourth arrow pierces. One enters the extreme state of pain: break-up, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, divorce, depression, stress, alcoholism, violence, ulcers, hair-loss, etc.

Finally, Kama releases the fifth arrow, which just destroys the victim: suicide, acid-throwing, murder, etc. Death separates even the most intimate couples. In this way, one suffers in this life and the next (entering into ghostly species).

All the five arrows are meant to increase the intensity of material entanglement and
degrade one into the darkest pits of illusion. Two options are normally available for the conditioned souls:

1.Bhoga: Some philosophers like Daksa Prajapati say that one must continue to enjoy the material objects according to religious principles until one gets totally burnt out. The nature of passionate energy is that initially, it appears like nectar, but later becomes poison. Therefore, when the nectar turns into poison, it is the appropriate time to engage in yoga (union with the spiritual energy). However, these karma-mimamsikas ignore the fact that after performing yoga for some time, the senses again becomes active, ready to derive nectar from material objects. In fact, by engagement in material gratification, the samskara (passionate energy driving our desires and repeated transmigration) is only deepened. Such bhogi-yogis soon fall down to perverted material enjoyment and enter hellish planets.

2.Tyaga: Other philosophers like Astavakra say that one must completely renounce material objects and engage in yoga because the material nature is a falsity. The perception of nectar or poison from material objects is due to illusion of the existence of these objects and one’s separate ego. Through proper knowledge, one can transcend the passionate energy and set oneself free from repeated birth and death. However, these jnana-mimamsikas forget that even when one renounces the material objects, the stored desires remain, to be evacuated in different ways when opportunities are provided by Maya. The hrdaya granthi is too tight to be untied by cultivation of imaginary knowledge and passive renunciation. Such tyagi-yogis fall down due to dryness of the senses and take birth among species with dormant consciousness like plants.

Due to the mercy of Krishna (God) and His representatives, we have access to an alternative, viz., engagement in devotional service. Srila Rupa Goswami notes:

sarvopadhi-vinirmuktam tat-paratvena nirmalam
hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate

The material nature is neither an object of our enjoyment nor it is a falsity. It is a reality meant for the enjoyment of the Master of the senses and the sense-objects, Krishna. Similarly, our ego is neither an independent product of the material nature nor a falsity, but a separated part of Krishna’s ego. Therefore, it needs to be purified of all material designations (identification of one’s body as the self for material enjoyment) and then engaged in the service of Krishna (the constitutional position of our ego) through purified senses. Indeed, the desires for bhoga-tyaga are detrimental to cultivation of favourable devotional service and can be identified as deviations from the right path.

In devotional service, since the senses and objects of senses are engaged in the service of Krishna, no samskara for material enjoyment is produced. However, the senses do not remain dry due to direct association with Krishna, the reservoir of all mellows. The work according to religious principles is performed for satisfaction of Krishna (not for one’s own ego). So, it liberates the ego from repeated transmigration. The cultivation of knowledge is based on factual position that one’s ego is an eternal
servant of Krishna (not that everything that exists is false) and the renunciation is based on the active principle of service. Hence, there is no fall down to material designations (unless one commits offenses and Krishna withdraws His mercy).

The complete victory of the devotional process over Kama was demonstrated by Thakur Haridas, when he was approached by a beautiful prostitute at midnight in a secluded place. Due to his attachment to the chanting of the Holy Names of Krishna, he not only resisted the attempts by the lady to enjoy with him but also transformed her into a pure devotee.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=84959

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13712645894?profile=RESIZE_584xISKCON has recently been invited to contribute to the prestigious Online Certificate Course on Global Interfaith Dialogue, organized by JIS University, Kolkata, in commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s historic address at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. Dr. Bratati Bhattacharyya, Director, Management Studies, JIS University, said, “This academic initiative has been envisioned as a global platform for understanding, reflection, and dialogue across religions, philosophies, and cultures. It forms part of a larger program that will culminate in an International Conference in February 2026. The certificate course will be open to participants worldwide and will feature weekly online lectures by distinguished scholars, religious leaders, and peace practitioners.”

JIS University is a multi-disciplinary private university established in 2014 that offers courses in engineering, technology, sciences, humanities, law, medicine, pharmacy, and management studies.

As part of this initiative, Aradhya Bhagavan Das, a disciple of His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami and a Research Fellow at the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, has been invited to serve as a resource person, representing the profound teachings of Achintyabhedabheda Vedānta, the philosophical school of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/iskcon-to-represent-lord-chaitanyas-vedanta-at-global-interfaith-dialogue-course/

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By Yadunandan Acharya Das and Nidhi Chaudhari,

It began with a simple thought: “How can we use creativity in Krishna’s service?”

With this vision, the ISKCON Kirtan Ministry launched a global Poster-Making Competition as part of the World Holy Name Festival 2025. What followed was nothing short of inspiring—nearly 350 devotees from across continents picked up their brushes, pencils, and digital tools, pouring their love for Krishna into art. From delicate hand-painted strokes, to intricate sketches, to modern digital creations crafted in Photoshop and Illustrator, and even innovative AI-assisted designs—every poster became more than just artwork. It became a prayer. An offering. A piece of devotion visualized on canvas. On 7th September, during a special session, the winners were announced by Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami. As he viewed the creations, his face lit up with joy. He expressed heartfelt happiness seeing how devotees had captured the spirit of the Holy Name with such sincerity and variety. Sri Krishna Chaitanya Swami remarked that this was one of his most favorite posters of the year, and he personally liked it a lot. His appreciation was not just for the winners, but for every devotee who took part, seeing each poster as a sincere expression of love for Krishna and Srila Prabhupada. It was not merely a prize-giving ceremony—it felt like a celebration of the collective heart of the ISKCON community, beating in unison for the Holy Name.

Read more: https://iskconnews.org/whnf-2025-poster-contest-where-devotion-meets-creativity/

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Who or what is God? In our modern world, when we observe the amount of energy consumed by all of the other topics that fill our lives, this question is given almost no consideration or thought whatsoever. As such, we are burdened with so many frivolous misconceptions of God, the Supreme.

For the most part, this lack of attention to the true nature of God is due to the misconception that we cannot know God. Although there is certainly truth in thinking that total knowledge of the Infinite is not possible for one who is finite, this idea of permanent inconceivability causes people to give up on any further inquiry. They simply IGNORE the whole topic, and, as such, remain covered by ignore-ance (ignorance).

Some religions lock this permanent inconceivability into their dogma and say that it is blasphemy to portray the Supreme with any sort of features. If we read the Holy Koran, we find that Mohammed (like Moses before him) railed against any sort of artificially manufactured forms of God, or idols. This should not be taken to mean, however, that the real and transcendental God does not have His own unique and personal form and qualities.

Although the Judeo-Christian tradition–stemming, in great part, from Moses–does not prohibit depicting the Supreme, it is seldom done. The most well known exception to this is the painting by Michaelangelo in the Sistene Chapel. There God (as a relatively old, but robust, man) gives life to another man by touching him with His index finger. Although this painting is accepted as holy, most adherents to the Christian faith believe that this form of God is simply an artist’s portrayal. They’re rather doubtful and unconcerned whether or not the real God looks exactly that way.

Despite the fact that the Bible offers suprisingly little in the form of a description of its most worshipful object, over the centuries a sort of popular conception has nevertheless evolved . We can understand the present day state of this ” evolution” (and its direction, perhaps) by simply turning on the radio.

Over the centuries, song has almost always stirred the mass of people far more than education or church dogma. However, most songs, especially in modern times, don’t deal with the subject of God. Despite this, songwriters do sometimes touch on deep popular sentiments connected with religion. Those rare singers such as George Harrison, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley and more recently, Peter Murphy and Speech (to name a few) are also somewhat serious about knowing the Supreme. They often use their music to enlighten and motivate their listeners toward pursuing a higher or even transcendent goal. An example in relatively recent times is Led Zepplin’s ” Stairway to Heaven.” These kinds of songs were not rare in the sixties and early seventies.

Times have changed however. We now find that God is not getting the same good press and lyrics from our current group of young songwriters. For many of the songwriters of the sixties Jesus Christ was close to the ultimate hipster. His righteous and rebellious statements in the Bible were often used to add considerable weight to whatever message a song was putting forward, as in Bob Dylan’s ” Masters of War.”

Despite the punk era swing toward atheism and agnosticism among the young, popular conceptions of God still come up–with considerable frequency. Although most young people would like to think that their ideas are totally fresh and unjaded (at least in relation to their conceptions of God) they are derived almost completely from concocted cultural archetypes. And the new and popular conception gets colored by whatever is fashionable.

In the punk era God and Christ became rather much synonymous with oppression, inhibition, and intolerance. This was one of the ways that the punks differentiated themselves from their predecessors, the hippies. Although God is today mentioned without the extreme disdain of most punks, God is not often given a positive slant. Still, the current fashion is really little more than a cosmetic covering of the old ideas.

For example, Ms. Tori Amos sings to God in one song: ” you need a woman to look after You.” In pseudo-Christian terms, this seems like a unique slant on the position of the Supreme. After all, the ” traditional” Christian conception of heaven is that of God, as an old man, sitting on a throne with angels singing and playing harps. This may have been attractive for the beleaguered peasants and immigrants of past eras, but it is rather amusing and almost boring according to modern standards. The basic message of the song by Ms. Amos is that God, in the traditional conception, is hung up sexually. He therefore takes out his lack of sexual fulfillment on people down here by causing them to suffer in various ways. This supposedly amuses Him. According to this songwriter, if he had a woman to take care of Him, He would not be so prone to be hardhearted or sadistic. The song quite clearly has a feminist bent.

In Christian theology, God is pretty much seen in the role of father. According to this model, the father is there to provide (give us this day our daily bread), to discipline, and to provide laws. Hence Ms. Amos (as many others under this idea) sees God as some kind of cosmic-stepfather-in-the-sky with a big stick. Assigning other qualities to the Supreme–such as friend, child, enjoyer or lover–occur, either infrequently or, more often, not at all. The conception of God as enjoyer is generally not an integral part of the dogmatic Judeo-Christian archetype.

Logic, however, would dictate that if God can do anything, He would set things up so that He would always be having a better and better time. Neither would He concern Himself personally with those people who got sour and didn’t want to have fun with Him anymore. He would get someone else to deal with such problem types, just as the government appoints a superintendent of jails. Although more intelligent descriptions of God may have been in the original scriptures, it should be quite clear to anyone familiar with the history of modified and ever-changing bibles, why not all such descriptions may have survived.

This idea that God is sadistic or misdirected is actually somewhat common in todays music. Depeche Mode has one song where they say something to the effect that God has ” a sick sense of humor.” Again, God is seen as sitting on high and just playing with all of us down here. According to this view, He personally forces us to undergo a life of extreme misery, ending in death–all this for no purpose other than to see us suffer. Such a portrayal of God is, for the most part, only put forward by atheists–in order to influence others to accept their ignorance.

To say that there is a great deal of atheism being presented in modern music is certainly an understatement. Notwithstanding the extreme faction of the headbangers, there are many so-called intelligent musicians also expressing such philosophies. It is not really possible, however, to experience any kind of genuine elevation while ignoring the existence of the Supreme Cause of all Causes. It is no coincidence therefore, that Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails sings “your God is dead and no one cares” in one song and “help me get away from myself” in another.

Atheists only see the external arrangement of matter–which is doomed to dismantle at any time. Because they are reluctant to accept anyone as superior to themselves, they fail to inquire into any cause beyond what they can experience with their limited senses. In this way, they can live out their meager fifty to one-hundred years in the delusion that they are their own master.

If God wanted to have a good time, He would have created a place where everyone would love not only Him, but everyone else also. Those that didn’t want to remain in that love would be free to leave and go to a place where they could do otherwise. The state of love of God is the eternal condition of everyone. Those who reject that are therefore forced to accept a temporary make-show. According to the Vedas of ancient India, those of us who do not love God completely are here in the temporary material world. We are suffering in this kind of imprisonment because we do not want eternal love more than we want some false sense of independence and separate enjoyment.

Despite our delusion of complete freedom, we are dependent on the whims of material nature at all times. According to the Vedas, this arrangement of God’s is perfect, because everyone is always getting exactly what they created and deserved according to the karma they generated. Everyone is also free to change what they want at any time. In this way, God is completely impartial. According to this vision, God has no reason to single out any person or group for rewards or punishment. If you want to have a loving relationship with God, He will give you that, as long as you are willing to pay the price. If you want to live in such a way that God is not apparent (so that you can exploit others in a guilt-free manner) He will give you that, as long as you are willing to pay the price.

However, his latter choice does not include escaping the reactions of your exploitation–at least in future lives. According to the unavoidable law of karma, what you do to your fellow conditioned souls will be repaid–perhaps even by them–somewhere down the road. God’s ongoing desire, regardless of what one chooses, is that all spirits who have rejected His love return to His association. Suffering or impermanence is only here to give us impetus to pursue the path back to the world of eternal love. Atheists cannot see this, because they don’t want to see it.

An extension of this sadistic theme there is another song by a group called Dogs Eye View. It puts forth the cosmology that God ” let it go to hell” just so He can have something to do later. This also gets back to the boredom conception that all of God’s eternity is spent sitting in one place simply listening to harps, singing and overseeing the subjects He is torturing on earth. This theme is also brought out in a song by Joan Osborne, where she wonders: ” what if God were one of us–just a slob on the bus–trying to make his way home, like a holy rolling stone.” She further sings that God has ” nobody calling on the phone–‘cept for the Pope, maybe in Rome.” It is probable that she was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition. Saints are also mentioned in another verse. The view that God becomes like one of us is a common idea among many Protestants, also. This is why many Christians believe that Jesus is the supreme lord, despite statements contrary to this by Jesus himself in the Bible.

The homocentric idea that God suffers is one of the most glaring contradictions in pseudo-Christian circles. Most of them accept (as ” fundamental” to their religion) that God appeared as His son, as Christ, in order to suffer the sinful reactions, of not only His disciples of that time, but of all those who would accept Him in the future, also. According to this tradition, God suffers in hell for three days as an act of extreme mercy in order to deliver those who accept Him as savior. ” God came down on the cross–and He died!” God agreed to go to hell so that sinful humans could later go to heaven. If this were the case, God would be not only a rolling stone, but a great suffering rolling stone as well.

We can start to make sense of this morass only if we understand that God–as the Supreme Being–is completely above any type of misery. His life is, of necessity, completely blissful. If He becomes controlled by the arrangements of the material world, then He is no longer Supreme. Being omnipotent, if He likes, He can deliver everyone, everywhere, from their sinful reactions. He has no need to go to hell. And He does not suffer even if He goes there. This earthly planet is an insignificant speck in this universe, much less in the entire kingdom of God. Seen from this perspective, the pseudo-Christian idea that God suffers is simultaneously small-minded and self-centered. We will return to these homocentric delusions later.

The misconception that God is controlled by maya and performs foolish acts like an ordinary man drags the Supreme Being down to the level of a conditioned human being. Hence the line in the song about God being, ” just a slob on the bus.” Man may be made in the image of God, but that does not mean that God is a man. God is the infinite person in whom all contradictions are resolved. He can be present everywhere and know what everyone is thinking and yet simultaneously enjoy eternal pastimes of love with His individual associates in His personal abode. We are finite, with limited awareness. Our lives are temporary and filled with ignorance and misery. The gulf of difference between our present selves and the Supreme Lord is so great that it is practically inexplicable.

If we have any genuine hope of getting free from the temporary ignorance and misery of this world, we must accept and eventually realize the infinite nature and qualities of the Supreme. Finding out about the real nature of the Supreme is how we can be attracted by Him–not by feeling sorry for His (supposedly) going to hell. If God is taken down to some level of concocted dogma, it becomes impossible to realize His true nature.

Hence, the foolish followers go on thinking that God is not all that different from themselves. They look a crucified diety and consider that it may not have had a life all that pleasant. This appears especially true when we consider the affluence of modern life. At the present time, people enjoy carefree sex life, live in well-maintained dwellings, and have access to so many amenities and luxuries, such as automobiles, television, computers, etc.. When we contrast these excesses with the outward life of Christ, it does not compare too well.

As such, the average person at the current time does not have a great deal of impetus to endeavor for that kind of life. Who really wants to live with angels in a boring existence? Here in the twenty-first century, we have sex practically whenever we want and that’s alot more fun. To be religious in the dogmatic or traditional sense is, more or less, considered both unintelligent and uninteresting. This is why popular contemporary songs mock the person and even idea of God to one extent or another.

We do not mean to single out the Christians in this article. It should be noted that practically all of the current choices of non-Vaishnava religions are coming from a time where life was alot more difficult. Even one-hundred and fifty years ago, it was difficult for many of the world’s people to just get food or shelter. To some extent, this is still true for a significant portion of peoples, countries, and cultures in the world. Years ago, just to obtain work (where one was not demeaned or denigrated) was a rare luxury. Traditional religions of all varieties generally offered an escape from such tedium and tribulation. But nowadays, especially in the opulent West, it simply seems more fun for the average person to remain in modern material life than to follow any of these traditional religions.

One of the most amusing tenets of modern modern ” religious” dogma is that, by simply accepting a certain sect’s line of thought, one is guaranteed deliverance to the Kingdom of God. This is the hook in the ” God goes to hell” idea. Supposedly, because Christ spent three days suffering at the hands of Satan, everyone for time immemorial who agrees to be ” saved” by him becomes completely washed of the effects of every bad thing he or she has ever done. Not only that, but these ” delivered” persons do not have to give up their bad habits or even follow all the tenets of their own faith. Belief–and adherence to some hierarchy–these alone can turn the trick. Followers can go on committing genocide to native peoples in the Amazon, Africa, etc., can go on exploiting everyone else for their own personal wealth, ad. nauseum–and yet are still guaranteed by Christ to return to heaven when they die.

The idea is that Christ has suffered for the sins of the faithful. Even to our limited sense of justice, if a grown up son commits a crime, his father is not the one who has to suffer. The son must suffer! It is ludicrous to think that one can be grossly insensitive to his or her actions and yet, due to faith alone, not suffer the effects of those activities.

” Free ticket” theologies are great for filling the pews and the collection baskets. Having grown up in middle class America, I noticed that one of the least-quoted verses from the teachings of Christ was: ” It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” When belief and adherence to the sect are the only prices to pay, then there’s no use in imitating God and suffering like Him. Let Him suffer for our sins–He already has done so–and we’ll believe in Him, adhere to His church, get rich, and enjoy.

If one is going to go to live in another place, transcendental to this one, it would behoove one to begin acting in a transcendent manner. The Kingdom of God is completely pure and free from any kind exploitation or self-indulgence. This is only logical. How can a person who depends on the gross slaughter of innocent gentle creatures simply for the satisfaction of his or her tongue have any hope of entering such a domain? One of God’s commandments is ” Thou shalt not kill.” The early Christians were vegetarian. The idea that one should manifest his love for God by acting in a godly way has been almost completely lost. The rationalization to this is: ” it is not by works that one attains the kingdom of God–but by grace.” Grace begot from faith alone–at least that was the original Protestant line. But why should God extend His grace to someone who blatantly acts in an ungodly way?

Although faith must be there in the beginning , scientific knowledge of the Absolute Truth must accompany that faith. And that knowledge must eventually become realized wisdom. Real religion and the means of deliverance cannot be based on sentiment and wishful thinking. Both the goal and the means to attain it are vague and simplistic amongst the free-ticket theologies. Dogma makes little attempt to be scientific or to quiet the doubts of those who sincerely inquire for real knowledge. If God is the Supreme Absolute Truth, then the way to understanding Him must be filled with knowledge, truth, and realization. As a corollary to this, all untruth, illusion, and confusion would be destroyed by coming in contact with that Supreme Truth. Why should one have to wait until death to be transformed to the godly status? If we are truly spirit, why is it not possible to come to self-realization and God-realization in the current lifetime–or right now? All of this is contingent upon being obedient to God and living in a godly way.

Suppose we are visiting a foreign country and ask a person on the street who the president or prime minister of that country is. If the person we ask is not sure (or says that the name or activities of the president cannot be known or gives the name of someone who says that he is not the president) then we know that this person we questioned is not a very good representative of that country. If we really want to know who is the president, we will continue asking until we find someone who is not only confident, but who can demonstrate what he says is correct. He should also be able to quiet any doubts that may arise in us. Similarly, if someone is claiming to be a religious person, then he or she should be able to tell us who God is. It does not speak well of dogmatic religions to be unable to give convincing explanations of who God is.

With the notable exception of the Vaishnava scriptures, the identity and characteristics of God are so vague elsewhere that practically everyone feels that their particular idea of the Supreme is as good as anyone else’s. This results in the creation of so many organized misconceptions of God, and ineffective means to attain the alleged goal. Some people–who are resolutely determined to find a false sense of unity in all of this concocted chaos–take the madness one step further. They say that each worshipper will attain the identical supreme destination as long as he or she sticks to the chosen concoction. Logic would dictate that, since Supreme means topmost, there must be only one God. All conceptions that differ from that which worships the one true God are partial, incorrect, or misleading.

It should be noted that the Metamorphosis League does not reject the integrity of the founders of the world’s major theistic religions. The original knowledge that was given by these great souls has somehow become muddled and vague over the centuries. We do not suggest that anyone reject their faith in those pure teachings and become an atheist or agnostic. Only fools reject that there is a Controller of this cosmic manifestation. The intelligent and truly sincere seeker of God should always endeavor to build upon the knowledge and realization that he or she has already acquired. The best course, quite obviously, is to sincerely inquire as to Who is truly the One Supreme Being. This is encouraged in all of the world’s scriptures: ” Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

Another strange concept is brought out in a song by the group Tears for Fears entitled ” Love is God’s Mistake.” Undoubtedly love in the material world is fraught with so many difficulties and frustration. On the whole, most romantic relationships at the current time end in disappointment. This does not mean, however, that there is no real love or that God has committed some type of error in creating it. It follows that if God is omniscient and all perfect that He is not going to make a mistake. Being the ultimate source of everything, He is the definer of Truth and correctness. Therefore all seeming contradictions are resolved in Him. Any concept of error is due to our lack of knowledge of God and His ultimate purpose. Just as when we view the moon in a cloudy sky on a windy night, it sometimes seems that the moon is covered by the clouds, or moving in relation to them. In actually, the moon is millions of miles away. It is we who are covered by the clouds, and due to our relative (but mistaken) perspective, we are thinking that it is the moon that is moving or covered. Also, just because many people may be selling pieces of broken glass, and telling others that they are diamonds, does not mean that real diamonds do not exist. Real love is only found in relationship with the Supreme Person. It is only when we realize God and act on the basis of our love for Him that we can truly love others.

In this article we quote almost entirely from songs that are sung by young Caucasians. The privileged position of the white race came about as a result of the gross injustices and genocide of the period of colonialization. As a result, white people generally have control of much of the resources that really are the right of the world’s impoverished. This affluence is the reason that atheism, or other philosophies that somehow mock the idea of God, are generally espoused by white people. Poor people, on the other hand, are more inclined to appeal to the omnipotency of God to alleviate their suffering. This is also true of anyone who desires to come to a higher level of consciousness. Such people, such as Speech of Arrested Development or Karl Wallinger of World Party, generally mention God in terms of praise and appeal.

There is another conception of God which is vague. This is the conclusion that God is ultimately an all-pervading, impersonal form of energy or light. This, ” everything is one,” ” white light,” ” God lives within you as you” belief was integral to the hippie philosophy. This way of thinking came to the West from a certain faction of India and gained a large number of followers during the sixties. At that time, Western young people were looking to unconventional sources for wisdom. The ” all is one” conception was one that encouraged coming together and peace–as opposed to the Vietnam war and the threat of nuclear holocaust which was derived from other philosophies.

Under the impersonal conception, all individual identity is accepted as illusion. A person ultimately disappears when he comes to the final goal. At that point, one supposedly merges with the energy or light for the rest of eternity. Thus, in India, it is common for advocates of this way of thinking to address each other as ” God.” Some people say that since everyone or everything is ultimately God, one can worship anyone they choose. This is often used, both in the West and elsewhere, as a rationalization for the ” equality” of many contradicting conceptions of God. The main propounder of this conception during the last 2000 years was Shankara, who appeared about 1500 years ago.

Although there is truth in the idea that everything is interconnected by virtue of its common origin or source, there are a number of glaring contradictions in the idea that God is ultimately an impersonal energy or light. First, by common sense, we can observe that, in nature, more intelligent beings create structures that order the less intelligent (or any number of inert material objects). A person can also act both personally or impersonally, whereas an impersonal object–such as a computer–can only mimic a person.

The major contradiction in the ” cosmic consciousness” or impersonal conception, however, comes from the idea that everyone is ” God,” and we all have chosen to take these bodies, environments, and karmic ” pastimes” in order to enjoy them–until we once again realize that we are actually God. If each of us here in the material world is the Supreme Being then we must ask the question: ” Why are we undergoing all of this misery in the shape of disease, old age, and death?” It would seem that ” God,” as Supreme, would be able to avoid putting Himself into such a low state. Impersonalists must ultimately maintain that even the insects, who live under constant threat of being eaten, have chosen that existence as part of their ” divine” pastimes. As such, one supposedly can relish the insect path so much that he will choose it for millions of births. ” God” has chosen to give up his knowledge of being God in order to come under the influence of illusion? A bad move by someone who is supposedly all knowing! Illusion, according to the impersonal school, is any identity separate from the ” all in one” energy.

Now, the contradiction with this way of thinking is that we ” Gods” are under the control of illusion. It is a contradiction of terms to say that ” Supreme Beings” are now being controlled by something else. Since illusion is more powerful than us, illusion must be supreme. Is being controlled by something or someone else the definition of supreme? Advocates of this philosophy would be wise to read the dictionary meaning of supreme before addressing an ordinary person as ” God.”

Another problem with the impersonal vision of reality is that it falls into the same trap that life in eternity is boring. Although it may be convenient (or peaceful) to visualize that everyone and everything is related or connected to each other, the idea of giving up one’s personal identity in order to merge for eternity into some light cannot hold a great deal of attraction for the average Westerner. Guilt-free sex, direct TV, and so on, hold more interest than a form of ego annihilation. In short, at the current time, this impersonal conception of ” ultimate bliss” has trouble competing with superficial enjoyments.

Ethnocentric factors are also prone to create vague conceptions of God. When we see the European conception of God, as painted on the ceiling of the Sistene chapel, we see a white male with European facial structure. When we view paintings of dieties in India, they often have the facial features of that area. White people claim that Christ was a white man. Black people counter that Christ was of African descent. Similarly, almost every culture or religion has some tradition or legend which states that it was somehow the original reposition of God’s grace. This led to the gross abuses of white European dogma brutally exploiting and committing genocide in relation to practically every other group it encountered. Ghengis Khan and his descendants thought a similar way when they enslaved much of Russia, parts of Europe, and practically the entire Muslim world. An intelligent person will always measure how much a particular philosophy is influenced by ethnocentric factors before determining its universality and its Ultimate Reality.

Sometime, around the turn of the twentieth century, Marcus Garvey, an articulate ex-slave in the Americas, made a prophecy that God would appear as a black man. The bible also mentions in the Song of Solomon that the complexion of God is ” swarthy.” From these proclamations it was later determined by a group in Jamaica that the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selasi, was the person that Marcus Garvey was referring to in his prophecy. This group became known as the Rastafarians. They consider themselves to be one of the lost tribes of Israel, having been forced into bondage by white Europeans or Americans. They are outspoken opponents of the materialism of European and American culture, which they identify as ” Babylon.”

The problem with Rasta theology is that, during a visit to Jamaica in the first half of the century, Haile Selasi denied being the Supreme Lord. Now, it is difficult to come to terms with someone who is supposedly the Supreme Truth saying that he is not Supreme. We can also see that this conception of God is heavily influenced by the ethnic makeup of the practitioners, who, in the face of cultural genocide, needed a figurehead in line with their ethnic identity.

Another type of ethnocentric conception of God–gaining alot of popularity in recent years–is that God is a woman. The women’s suffrage movement of old and the women’s liberation movement of recent years have done much to reverse the exploitation and brutality that women have been conditioned to accept for thousands of years. Although there are examples of cultures in the past that had matriarchal structures (where female dieties where sometimes worshipped), it is easy to see the similarity of this female conception of God to that of the Rastafarians. Both groups were formerly considered underclass, and therefore had come to a point of very low self-esteem. To choose (as an object of worship) a person or identity drawn from the particular group that is the underclass is a great builder of self-esteem. Therefore, it is quite common in areas where the women’s movement is influential to find a proportionate number of advocates of the belief that God is a woman. Because of the prevailing attitude (in most of these same areas) that any conception of God is as good as any other, this idea is readily accepted.

Men in the areas where the women’s movement is strong are generally more sympathetic to the struggles of oppressed peoples. In any case, they are dependent on these women for sex. Generally, they also feel no small amount of guilt because of their gender in–and possibly direct participation in–the exploiting class. Therefore, it is not uncommon for men in these areas to also accept the idea of a female diety. In this regard, there is a popular song (by a group called Dishwalla) called ” Counting Blue Cars.” The songwriter writes about a man trying to know God who asks: ” Tell me all your thoughts on God, `cause I’m on my way to see her.”

Whichever of these misconceptions you may choose, whether it’s more traditional or more modern, there isn’t very much evidence to support it. The mind of man or woman is endlessly mutable. Practically anything can be cause to change it–even about a conclusion as to Who or what one accepts as God.

The reason for all of this diversity? We have four major defects. First, we commit mistakes. Secondly, our senses are imperfect. Third we have a tendency to cheat others. The fourth defect is that we are illusioned by the material nature. This means that we identify this material body with ourselves. The body is changing constantly from the time of birth until death. Yet, we think that we are a particular configuration of molecules. In actuality, we are the spirit soul which causes the molecules to take any particular configuration.

Because we are bound to what we can perceive (with these conditioned senses), we are extremely limited. Even if we want to find out such a basic thing as who our father is, we are forced to rely on the word of someone else–namely, our mother. Despite our much vaunted claims of freedom, we are completely dependent on others to progress in practically every field of endeavor.

If we want to become a carpenter, it is easiest if we approach and learn from someone who already processes those skills. To go about reinventing the tools would prove so time-consuming as to render the entire effort impractical. Similarly, we should follow this same principle in our endeavor to learn the identity of the Supreme Lord. According to science, the universe is practically unlimited. Who is to say what is beyond the limits of this universe? Practically speaking it is impossible to determine Who or what is the origin of this infinity based solely on experimental knowledge.

People often demand: ” Can you show me God?” Who is to say that such a person even has the ability to see God? If the sun is not out, we sometimes cannot even clearly see what is across the street–what to speak of across the universe. And even if it is possible for us to see God, why should He want to show Himself to us? What have we done to merit such a benediction? If we want to see the President or Prime Minister of our particular country, we will have to do something that will merit him or her wanting to speak with us. Even then we must go through their secretary or aide.

In other words, knowledge of God is very confidential. In fact, it is the most confidential knowledge. This is because, once knowing God (Who is the source of all knowledge), it is possible to know everything else. Therefore, all of this is revealed knowledge. Without the proper realization, we could be in the same room as God and not know it.

At the present time, due to the four abovementioned defects, we are in a deep state of spiritual ignorance. Just like a person who has cataracts, our real vision is spiritually impaired. If we want to be able to see again, we must go to a person who can surgically remove the source of our material blindness. So it is with our spiritual blindness. If we want to know the identity of God, we must find someone who already knows.

We will ultimately have to rely on a certain amount of faith. Faith is required for any endeavor however. We have to have faith that our mother is telling the truth about our father, and we have to have faith that our teachers in school are not misrepresenting. Most of us have invested great amounts of faith in the theories of so-called science–such as the ” big bang” –yet most of these theories remain completely unproved and untenable.

Ultimately, there is a great deal of evidence–and agreement–as to Who is the Supreme Person. The source of this knowledge is the oldest books known to mankind, namely the Vedas of India. Although Western science (due partially to its connection to ethnocentric dogmatic tradition) tends to minimize this claim, there is substantial evidence that, as recently as five thousand years ago, the entire globe was united in following the Vedic tradition. Please refer to the appendix of this article for a summary of some of these indications.

The ultimate purpose of Vedic culture was spiritual or self-realization–not simply the temporary accumulation of material goods, as we see in the present day. When Vedic culture was paramount every person was guided from the beginning of life to scientifically make progress in knowledge of God.

According to the Vedic wisdom, God has many aspects or qualities beyond that of being the Almighty Father–the provider and creator-controller of material nature. Indeed, the attributes which encourage worshipping God as the Supreme Almighty are not so important to God. One of the Vedic names for God is Rama, or the Supreme Enjoyer. As such, God would rather engage in activities of joyous affection and love with those who love Him the most, rather than spend time sitting on a big seat listening to people sing praises of Him. Because He is all powerful, He expands Himself so that people who want to worship Him in that way can do so. Meanwhile, He Himself is spending eternity doing things which increase His enjoyment unlimitedly. To be in that association is the supreme goal of our (His eternal loving servitor’s) existence. The concept that God can be bored is ludicrous. Neither is God an old man; He is eternally young.

The Vedic definition of God is ” the possessor of all opulence.” Whatever it is that attracts us to another person is found (in fullness) in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No one can exceed His wealth, His strength, beauty, fame, knowledge or renunciation. Although He has so much, He can instantly give it up without any remorse. He is self-sufficient. Because He possesses all of these opulences to an unlimited degree, He is known as the all-attractive or ” Krishna.” All manners of relating or attraction have their origin in Krishna, and every living being has an eternal loving relationship with Him.

The most thorough elaboration on the activities of God or Krishna are found in the tenth canto of the ” Srimad Bhagavatam.” Periodically, Krishna descends to the material world in order to attract those of us (here in ignorance) away from this temporary misery. He yearns to renew the eternal loving relationship that He had with each of us before we decided to ignore Him and come here. Krishna appeared on this earth about five thousand years ago in India and manifested His pastimes and opulence for over one-hundred years. And He enjoyed Himself every moment of His manifestation here.

If one is interested in reading the Tenth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we recommend the translation of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, which is known as ” Krishna Book.” It is by Prabhupada’s grace that we have received the knowledge present in this article. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. May he help all of us to realize God in love and devotion and become free from the myriad misconceptions of Him. OM TAT SAT.

APPENDIX:

The Vedas describe a by-gone age some five thousand years ago, when most of the earth was living according to Vedic culture. Although this history is seldom accepted by modern schools, positive evidence nevertheless exists to substantiate it. For instance, linguists practically all agree that, with very few exceptions, all languages of the world derive from Sanskrit. The Greek and Roman pantheons of gods and goddesses correspond almost exactly to earlier Vedic counterparts. Customs and names of such diverse groups as the Mayan Indians and Scandinavians are Vedic in origin. Skanda (SCANDinavia)is the Vedic god of war. The social system and mystic order of the Druids–the Celtic cult of medieval Europe–is uncannily similar to that of the Vedic varnashram system of brahmanas in India. Descriptions of Vishnu temples in Europe are found in the writings of Herodotus, a Greek. Plato’s description of the philosopher king coincides almost exactly to that of the Vedic rajarshee or saintly king. The feudal system, where the king or emperor was the representative of God for governing a specific portion of God’s land, is Vedic in origin. A perverted reflection of this was practiced throughout Europe only five hundred years ago. All major astrological signs derive from Vedic origins. The twelve months and also seven days of the calendar correspond to the Vedic teachings, with Vedic names and planetary controllers. The modern mathematician-historian Seidenberg has also proven that the mathematical systems of the ancient Babylonians, Sumerians and Greeks were derived from the Vedic Shulvasutras. These historical facts are positive indicators that the Vedic philosophy and its application is not mythical. All the genuine teachings contained there remain both real and relevant for the sincere and serious seeker of the Absolute Truth, even in modern times.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=34214

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From Back to Godhead

Discover Krishna’s law of attraction, the real power behind the latest rage in the self-improvement marketplace.
 
The Secret, a book and DVD by Rhonda Byrne, is getting a lot of attention as sales soar. The author claims that if we apply the principles she lays out, we can achieve whatever we desire. People from all walks of life are excitedly latching on to her ideas.
 
In the beginning of the DVD, ancient-looking texts in a medieval ambiance invite us to discover secret knowledge. Flickering touchlights and pulsating music prelude the disclosure of the secret to getting that new BMW. Byrne then tells us about the universal law of attraction, or “like attracts like.” By understanding this law and using it to our advantage, we can obtain whatever we want. Although a host of predecessor authors have been saying the same thing for the past two centuries, Byrne’s savvy marketing strategies have put old wine in a new bottle. She’s cashing in on people’s yearning to find a process that will lead them to perfect happiness.
 
To illustrate the law of attraction, scenes from the DVD include a young woman longingly looking at an expensive necklace through a jewelry store window. In the next scene her efforts are rewarded as her boyfriend garlands her with the same necklace that captivated her senses. In another scene, a young man sits in his living-room chair vividly imagining himself driving the car of his dreams. Predictably, in the following scene a BMW sits parked in his driveway.
 
The next scene shows the flipside to the law of attraction. A young man chains his bicycle to a pole. Noticeably anxious about the safety of his bike, he walks away to his destination. When he returns, his bike is gone.
 
Following these opening fictitious scenes are real-life testimonials from successful people verifying the validity of the law of attraction in their own lives. Jack Canfield, the author of a number of best-selling books, relates how he attracted into his life an abundance of money and success when he started to focus on what he wanted. An entrepreneur shares his story of cutting out a picture of his dream house from a magazine and putting it on his “vision board.” Five years later when he is moving into his new house, his son asks what is inside a particular box. The entrepreneur opens it to reveal his vision board. Tears well up in his eyes as he looks at the board and sees that he is moving into the same house he had cut out of the magazine five years earlier.
 
When his young son asks why he is crying, he replies that he has finally understood the law the attraction: ask-believe-receive. These seductive scenes suggest that by our desires alone we can get everything we want. The universe is our perpetual order supplier, and all we have to do is focus on what we want and avoid thinking about what we don’t want. When asked why this law doesn’t work for everyone, one of the film’s pundits answers that people give up too early. They might be on the brink of obtaining their goal, but they stop.
 
Is Desire Enough?
 
In the ancient Vedic literature we find a much more comprehensive answer to why some people achieve their desires and others don’t. Everyone in the material field of activities is acting according to the reactions of their past deeds. As you sow, so you shall reap. What The Secret fails to acknowledge or understand is our accountability as souls for things we have done not only in this life but in our past lives as well. The universal law of karma dictates that everything we do has a reaction, which may be good or bad, depending on the quality of the act. Good deeds yield good results such as fame and fortune. Bad deeds produce unwanted material situations such as poverty, infamy, and disease.
 
Successful people, Oprah Winfrey, for example, endorse The Secret by saying that they have used the law of attraction most of their lives. But according to the Vedic view, they’re merely drawing from a bank account of previous good deeds. Without remembering their past lives, such people think that all they have to do is desire and their wish will be fulfilled. So naturally they conclude that others should be able to get the same result by changing how they think.
 
But can people choose to change the way they think? To some extent, yes. Our past actions influence our current thoughts, but our freely chosen responses to our present situation—including our present thoughts and attitudes—reformat our thoughts, and our thoughts influence our future. Although people may be inclined toward negative thoughts, hearing something like The Secret might inspire them to change the way they think. Our thoughts define our character and influence how we move in this world. Ultimately, at the time of death our thoughts carry us to our next destination—that’s how important and powerful they are.
 
Truly Positive Thinking
 
Since we can change the way we think, we should start thinking and desiring spiritually, for permanent results. The Secret emphasizes using the law of attraction for material acquisition, good health, and maybe some altruism. The more mature perspective is to see that the real purpose of the law attraction, like all of God’s laws, is to dispel our material consciousness and revive our original spiritual nature. This means using our thoughts and desires to become free of material thoughts and desires. That may sound unattractive to the entrepreneur who wants a $20 million house, or the musician looking for her latest CD to hit the top of the charts. But becoming free of material desire doesn’t mean giving up desire; it means desire things for our and others’ eternal benefit.
 
In the spiritual dimension, where all desires are for the Lord’s service and pleasure, desires are fulfilled instantaneously. The desire for things separate from the Lord’s service pollutes our consciousness and causes us to suffer and remain hostage to the material energy.
 
As aspiring devotees of the Lord, we can use the law of attraction to serve Krishna in this world by desiring to transform both our consciousness and that of others. Srila Prabhupada exemplified how Krishna’s law of attraction works in the material realm for spiritual attainment. Although he landed in New York City with no money or help, one acquaintance in New York recalled, “He seemed to know that he would have temples filled up with devotees. He would look out and say, ‘I am not a poor man. I am rich. There are temples and books. They are existing, they are there, but the time is separating us from them.’”
 
When walking in the city, he would look at the big buildings and imagine that some day they could be used in Krishna consciousness. Prabhupada was a pure devotee completely free of karma; he was under the direct protection of the Lord. Because his desires were one with Krishna’s desires, within a short time of starting his ISKCON society he had many temples filled with devotees and many books being distributed all over the world.
 
Why Doesn’t Krishna Fulfill All Desires?
 
Every desire is a kind of prayer, because Krishna is in our heart, listening. Out of love for us He has expanded Himself into the hearts of all living beings. He fulfills our desires throughout our stay in the material world.
 
But Krishna doesn’t give us whatever we want, because His goal is to guide us back to our eternal home. Srimad-Bhagavatam tells us that whether we are full of desires or have no desires, we should approach Krishna. And, for aspiring devotees at least, if our desires will help us to advance spiritually, then Krishna will gladly fulfill them. But He won’t fulfill our desires if the result will hinder our spiritual progress. Rather, He’ll help us give up harmful desires by giving us a taste of spiritual truth.
 
Aspiring transcendentalists receive direct help from the Lord, and whatever happens is for their highest good, as illustrated in the following story.
 
Sanatana Goswami, a prominent disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, lived under a tree as a renunciant. Once, a poor brahmana heard that Sanatana possessed a stone that could turn anything it touched into gold. The brahmana eagerly went to ask Sanatana for the stone. Without the least hesitancy Sanatana told the brahmana he could have the stone; it was in a rubbish heap nearby. The elated brahmana found the stone but, being intelligent, began to consider the situation. Why would Sanatana discard something so valuable unless he had something better? When he asked Sanatana about it, Sanatana said that he would give him the most valuable thing but first the brahmana would have to throw the magical stone into the river. To discard the stone was a test for the brahmana, but after some deliberation he complied with Sanatana’s condition, and Sanatana gave him the Hare Krishna mantra.
 
The effects of chanting this mantra are unlimited; one achieves so much more than a necklace or BMW. Serious chanting of Hare Krishna brings freedom from all material suffering—no more birth, death, disease, or old age. And it gives realization of our eternal spiritual identity, full of unlimited joy and knowledge. People who understand their real spiritual nature and relationship with Lord become completely satisfied. Their only desire is service to the Lord.
 
Desires fulfilled in this material plane of existence are temporary—here today and gone tomorrow. Material acquisitions generally fuel our desire for more things rather than bringing a sense of happiness and fulfillment. The brahmana made an intelligent decision and became the benefactor of the complete secret.
 
The Best Secret of All
 
In the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna reveals to Arjuna—and ultimately to anyone fortunate enough to read His words—the most secret of all secrets. The essence of this chapter is in the final verse, where the Lord gives Arjuna four confidential instructions: always think of Him, become His devotee, worship Him, and bow down before Him. These four practices attract Krishna. He has designed all of nature’s laws to help us souls find our way back to our eternal home. When we use the law of attraction for material purposes, it keeps us in the material realm of repeated birth and death. When we use the law to be absorbed in thoughts of Krishna, then surely we will go to Him. The great devotee Queen Kunti applies the law of attraction in an ideal way when she offers this prayer to Krishna: “O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.18.42)
 
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A Bridge to God By Satyananda Dasa

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From Back to Godhead

Lessons on life, death, and living in a spirit of devotion

ISKCON devotees commonly use the phrase, “Going back home, back to Godhead.”Have you ever thought about what this means when a traveler is anxious to return home? Home is where our family is, where there are people who love us, who trust us. It’s the place we’re comfortable and happy. It’s the place we feel most natural.

The world we live in is foreign to the soul; we are strangers in a foreign land. In this alien place we call home we experience so many misfortunes, confusions, and unnatural conditions. These miseries are there because we have forgotten our true spiritual essence and instead identified ourselves with our material body. This identification causes us pain, yet we don’t want to give it up. We are in illusion about what will bring us happiness. In our misunderstanding of who we are, we want to hold on to those things that cause us suffering. We will actually do anything to preserve and to maintain our body. We do not hesitate to commit any atrocious activity to somehow or other increase our life span. We use the body to create a home and comfort, but of course neither is possible not for long, anyway.

Living on a Bridge

Lord Jesus is quoted in the Bible as saying that this world is a bridge. We should cross a bridge, not build a house on it. A bridge is meant for one purpose only to take us from one side to another. It is not a place to stop, to make a permanent residence.

This human form of life is the bridge that can take us from the land of illusion, from the land of attachment, and from the land of birth and death to our true home: the land of the eternal, the land of love, the land of Krishna. We should use this bridge for the purpose for which it was built. But we tend to be foolish weaver age persons in this world and so spend our entire lives simply trying to set up a home on this bridge. We try hard to hold on to illusion as long as possible. However much we endeavor, we are bound to be frustrated. We must be kicked off the bridge by death.

Death is not a Dead End

For worldly persons death means “the end.” Death means being kicked out of our home, ripped from family members, friends, and all our well-wishers. It doesn’t matter that we might have given our lives to these people. We must go.

But death shows a different face to devotees; death means tasting the sweet fruit of everything we have given our lives for not losing it, but gaining it. Death doesn’t mean to be stripped from our home but to return to our home. Death doesn’t mean to be stripped from family members and other loved ones but to return to our eternal, true family members and loved ones. After a long, tiring, and frustrating journey through the foreign land we can finally return home. A devotee welcomes both life and death for this reason.

It is said in the Gita (2.69) that what is nighttime for the conditioned soul is daytime for the devotee. Krishna tells Arjuna, “Although you are speaking like a wise man, you are actually a great fool because you are lamenting for that which is not worth lamenting for. Wise persons lament neither for the living nor the dead because they know the soul is eternal.”

If there is one thing devotees lament in their hearts, it is when someone dies without having used his or her life to attain the supreme consciousness. Such a miserly person has given up the chance for self-realization and has died like a dog or cat. There is nothing to lament for those who have cultivated Krishna consciousness. Death for such persons simply means taking one step closer to their home the spiritual world. We should weep tears of sorrow for those who waste their lives on pursuits other than Krishna consciousness because for them death casts them deeper into this foreign land and further from their home with Krishna.

Celebrating Death

For devotees, death is really the time of life we most celebrate. Death is when we go back home to our real family and to Krishna. In Vaikuntha there are no more disturbances, austerities, or sacrifices; it is a place where we can simply enjoy the comforts of our eternal home. Vaikuntha means “the place of no anxieties.” Knowing we are on our way to such a place leaves devotees peaceful, joyful, and fearless.

Ultimately, there is only one fear in this world the fear of death. All other fears are corollary to that. We are afraid of the death of our prestige, of our material sense enjoyment, of our fortune, and ultimately of our body. But a devotee knows there is no death. Death is simply when the door opens and Krishna says, “Welcome home!” Just like when you walk home after an arduous journey, longing for your mother’s cooking and to see your family again, your family greets you with a “Welcome home,” so it is when you return to Krishna. Throughout our lives we are knocking on the door to Krishna’s kingdom, asking Him to let us in. That is a devotee’s life.

Those who are not devotees do not knock on the door. Rather, they knock on every other door except Krishna’s. No one in your own home will kick you out, but when you stay in other people’s homes, after a brief visit they will get tired of you and say, “Why have you been here so long? Go away!” Similarly, we knock on so many doors and go to so many temporary homes from one birth to another. We knock on this doors of this family, that family, another family, and every time, ultimately, we are told to leave. We find ourselves back on the street time and again. This body, that body, another body, and then kicked out.

The only place we are not kicked out from is the home called Vaikuntha. By practicing sadhana-bhakti by engaging in devotional service Krishna opens that door with Sri Radha and all the gopas and gopis with their wonderful smiling faces, and says, “Welcome home.” And there is a wonderful celebration death.

In this sense death means life and life means death. Therefore sadhus say, “Die before you die.” When we die to all our illusions, false prestige, and attachments before our physical death, we attain eternal life; there is no death. In this world they have a different philosophy: “Live before you die.” By that they mean, “Try to accumulate as much as you can and try to enjoy as much as you can, because you don’t know what death will bring. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow may never come.” This is what ignorant people say. Devotees have faith and understanding and, ultimately, they recognize the false propaganda when they hear it.

Lessons in Dying

When Sri Ramanujacharya was on his death bed, his disciples gathered around him, weeping. Ramanujacharya looked out at them and said, “Why are you crying? I should be crying for you. I am going back to Vaikuntha, where there is no more suffering. You have to stay here. So don’t cry. Just chant the names of Narayana.”

Ramanujacharya served his mission while performing penance. To him death meant God was saying, “All right, you have struggled long enough for me. Now come home.” Similarly, Srila Prabhupada struggled. He endured much pain to serve the Lord. He was willing to do it forever if Krishna wanted him to, but then when Krishna indicated to him that it was time to come home, Srila Prabhupada told his disciples, “Take me to Vrindavana. Krishna-Balarama are telling me to come home.” He went to Vrindavana and there performed his seva of translating holy scriptures until his last breath.

He assured us there was no need for us to be confused by his passing; Krishna was simply calling him home. He was living in his wonderful quarters in Vrajabhumi with devotees surrounding him constantly chanting Hare Krishna. In the end, he said “Hare Krishna” and went home, back to God. He had no fear, no regrets, and no anxieties. We were crying because we were now without him, but his only sorrow was that he had to leave us here since we were not ready to join him yet. That was his only sorrow. His sorrow was not like that of a materialist: “I’m losing my life, losing my body. I have 108 temples; they are mine. I’m being taken away from them.” No. He explained, “Everything is Krishna’s. These temples are all the property of guru and Krishna. The door of Goloka Vrindavana is opening for me and I want to take all of you with me, but you are not ready. Please come join me when you can.” This was his last message: that we should cooperate to show our love for him. And through this cooperation he promised that we would someday come to join him with Krishna.

By understanding life and death like this we can feel real peace and truth in our lives. We should strive every possible moment to prepare ourselves for this journey home, back to Godhead by engaging in the wonderful process of devotional service, by carefully hearing the spiritual master’s messages, and by following those messages diligently while serving the Vaishnavas in a spirit of humility, respect, and devotion. And we should very carefully and attentively, according to our vows, chant the holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. By performing this simple and sublime process of invoking the holy name we can experience the eternal truth of Krishna’s love for us in this life and joyfully engage in His loving service in His wonderful mission.

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=26290

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The Cure For Fear

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By His Divine Grace Srila A.C.B. Swami Prabhupada

sri bhagavan uvaca
abhayam sattva-samsuddhir
jnana-yoga-vyavasthitih
danam damas ca yajnas ca
svadhyayas tapa arjavam

ahimsa satyam akrodhas
tyagah santir apaisunam
daya bhutesv aloluptvam
mardavam hrir acapalam

tejah ksama dhrtih saucam
adroho natimanita
bhavanti sampadam daivim
abhijatasya bharata

Srila Prabhupada: The first thing is that bhagavan uvaca. These things required for purification. Sattva-samsuddhih. The human life is meant for sattva. Sattva. Sattva means existence. We are existing. I am existing; you are existing. But we are sometimes appear to be not existing. That is called death. We, every living entity, we are eternal. That is stated in the Second Chapter, that ajo nityah sasvatah, na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. These things required to understand, that “I am a living being, not only I am, everyone. We are eternal, nityah sasvatah.” There are so many universities all over the world and so-called scientists and philosophers, but they do not know that we are eternal. Just see their knowledge, advancement of knowledge. Eternal, aja. There is no birth. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. After this destruction of this body, I am not finished. I still exist. What is the destruction of this body? Death means it is a machine. It is called machine. Yantrarudhani mayaya. It is a machine given to me.

Just like you take a car. That is a machine. Now some way or other, if the car stops, not working, does it mean that you are finished? No. I can take another car. This is knowledge. But this knowledge is lacking. People are being educated, but they are all rascals because they have not this simple knowledge that ajah sasvato ‘yam, “I am aja.” How it is aja proof? Yes, there is proof. “How I am eternal?” If somebody asks that “How I am…?” (Aside:) Don’t move that body, that. “How I am eternal?” There is proof. And who is giving the proof? Krsna, Bhagavan uvaca. The highest authority, not ordinary person or any living being, Krsna. Krsnas tu bhagavan svayam. Krsna means the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is saying. He is giving the proof. What is that proof?

dehino ‘smin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
[Bg. 2.13]

Dehinah. I am dehi. Dehi. This body is deha, body, but I am not this body. You think over. If you take this finger, you study, am I this finger? No, the conclusion will come: “It is my finger, not I finger.” Simply little knowledge required. How? Now, Krsna gives this example, that dehinah, asmin dehe yatha dehinah kaumaram yauvanam jara. He has explained in different ways, but the beginning is this, that this body is changing. You had a small body, baby’s body. Where is that body? If I say, “Where is that body?” what you will answer? But you know that “I had a small body.” I know. Everyone will know. But where is that body? That body is not existing. I was also young man like you, but now I am an old man. Old man means my body is different, old body. Your body is different. So Krsna giving this very nice example. As the baby is changed into a boy, a boy is changed into a youth, a youth is changed into old man, so this changing is going on, but I or you, we know that “I had such body.”

I have several times spoken to you that in my, when I was about six months old, I remember, I remember I was lying down on my eldest sister’s lap, and she was knitting. I still remember it very vividly. And so many things I remember. But where is that body, lying down on the lap of mother or sister? You cannot say… Either you say it has grown, grown or not grown… According to medical science, it is not grown; it is changed. The body is changing. Just like in a film spool, you will find so many bodies. One hand is like this, one hand is like this, one hand is like this, and when they are taken together, it moves like this. This is the film. Film means there are different bodies in different position and when they are taken at once, it, likes that it moves. The picture is not moving. Similarly, we are changing of the different body, but it is taking place so quickly and so imperceptibly by Krsna’s energy. The machine is so nice that we are thinking that it is growing. It is not growing, all different bodies, all different. Every moment, every second. That is the scientific. The blood corpuscles are changing, and the body is different.

So this is the preliminary knowledge of advancing in spiritual knowledge. You do not know what is spirit and what is the spiritual knowledge. This is spirit, that spirit is there. Asmin dehe, in this body, there is the spirit soul, and the spirit soul is permanent. The spirit soul is permanent, and it is expressing in different way according to the change of body. Just like this child is now just like ordinary animal. But this body, when he will change, he will express in a different way. He will express in a different way. Similarly, if you get the cat’s body, you will express in a different way. If you get a dog’s body, you will express in a different way. If you get the body of a tree, that you cannot express. You will have to stand simply. You have to suffer. You cannot protest. Somebody is taking, cutting, take your fruit, cutting your branch, but you cannot protest.

So this is going on perpetually, not perpetually, at least for many, many millions of years, for many, many millions of years. But we are, because we are fool, especially in this age of Kali, we do not understand it. Therefore it is said, sattva-samsuddhih. You require to be cured of your, this disease, ignorance. That is called… Just like when you become infected with some disease, you go to a physician, and he gives you some injection or some medicine so that you may be cured of the extra fever or extra pain due to your disease. Similarly, those who are advanced in knowledge, their sattva, existence, is cured. That we require. Or everyone requires to be cured of this disease of ignorance. The ignorance, disease of ignorance, means “I am this body. I am this body.” I am not this body. So therefore it is said, abhayam sattva-samsuddhih, sattva-samsuddhih. And jnana, this sattva-samsuddhih, this purification of my existence, is possible. It is simply jnana. Jnana means knowledge. Because I am in ignorance, therefore I am thinking, “I am this body.” So it requires a little jnana, knowledge. Then we will understand that “I am not this body; I am different from this body.” And because I am in ignorance, therefore I am thinking, “I am this body,” “I am this white body,” “I am this black body,” “I am this American body,” “I am this Indian body,” “I am this cat’s body” and “dog’s body,” so many different consciousness on account of this… Basic principle is this ignorance. Ignorance. So that we have to cure.

That is the special advantage of human life. The dogs and the cat, they cannot be cured. They cannot be given the knowledge. Because you are human being, you are together here to get this knowledge. The cats and dogs, they cannot come. They cannot take this knowledge. So we have got the advantage of getting this knowledge in this life, and again, if we go back to the cats’ and dogs’ knowledge, then what is the benefit of getting this body? So this civilization, this dog civilization, is so spread all over the world that it is very, very difficult to cure it. We are making little attempt, but the ignorance is so deep, the disease is so acute, it is very, very difficult. But actually the disease is there.

And abhayam. Abhayam means fearlessness. So long we are in this body, material body, there are four principles, out of which one is bhayam, fearfulness, “What will happen? What will happen?” Because I am eternal, na hanyate sarire, but my body is to be annihilated, but because I am… This is the psychology. Because I am eternal, I do not want my body be annihilated. But it will be. Therefore I am always fearful, “When it will be annihilated? When it will be annihilated? Is the time come? Is the time come?” This is called bhayam. Bhayam dvitiyabhinnivesatah syat. Because I am identifying with this body, therefore there is fearfulness. And if by knowledge I can understand that “I am not this body, I am spirit soul,” aham brahmasmi, and if you are actually convinced, then there is no fearfulness. In the Western countries there is only one philosopher, Socrates. He was condemned to death because he was speaking that “I am soul. I am eternal.” That was his fault. So the judges enquired, “Mr. Socrates, now you are going to die, so what kind of grave you want?” So Socrates replied, “First of all capture me. Then you put me into the grave.” That is the fact. “You rascal, you are talking of my this body. So body is already material. You put it in the grave or in the hell. It doesn’t matter. But I am eternal. You cannot capture me.” So this is knowledge. This abhayam. He was going to be hanged or killed. He is fearless: “But what is this nonsense? He will kill my body. That’s all.”

So it requires very firm knowledge. Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. That is possible. That is possible by jnana. Just like Prahlada Maharaja. His father, demon father Hiranyakasipu, was chastising him in so many ways. But he was not afraid at all, fearless, because he was convinced that “I am not this body. I am different from body.” Na hanyate hanyamane sarire [Bg. 2.20]. “I will not die.” It is simply knowledge, firm knowledge. And as soon as you come to that position, that “I am not this body,” then automatically you, become abhayam, no fear. Everyone is afraid of being killed. That is the most fearful position. But if you are convinced that “I am not killed; I exist…”

That does not mean I shall be voluntarily prepared to be killed. No, that is not the idea. Idea is that if we are… Jnanam vairagyam. These two things required in human life, jnanam vairagyam. Jnanam means “I am not this body.” This is jnanam. And vairagya means renunciation: “If I am not this body, then what I have got to do with this material world? This material world is important because I am identifying myself with this material body. Therefore it is important. Where I shall sit? Where shall I eat? Where shall I sleep? How shall I be protected?” So many things. There are many instances, just like Dhruva Maharaja. A five year old boy, he went to the jungle. He was sitting alone there, abhayam, abhayam, no fearfulness. The more you become spiritually conscious… The highest stage of spiritual consciousness is Krsna consciousness. Krsna consciousness means “I am Krsna’s, that’s all.” Krsna says, mamaivamsah: “All these living entities, they are my part and parcel.” So you have to understand this relationship with Krsna, that you are Krsna’s. And Krsna, what is Krsna? Bhagavan. Bhagavan. What is Bhagavan?

aisvaryasya samagrasya
viryasya yasasah sriyah
jnana-vairagyayas caiva
sannam bhaga itingana

Everything is definition there. In our Vedic knowledge there is no vague idea, rascal’s idea. All clear. What is Bhagavan? Immediately you get the enunciation, definition, “This is Bhagavan,” not that so-called Bhagavan, incarnation, this Baba, this yogi. These are all nonsense. Bhagavan is different. God is different. God means… Definition, you take the definition, Vedic definition, aisvaryasya: all wealth. Who can claim that “I am wealthy. I possess all the wealth of the universe”? Who can say? Only Krsna can say; nobody can say. You may be millionaire. You may be Rockefeller or this Tata or Birla. That is very insignificant position. But a Tata, Rockefeller or this, they cannot say, “No, I possess the whole wealth of the universe.” That you cannot say. But Krsna can say. Therefore He is Bhagavan. Aisvaryasya samagrasya. Samagra means as much wealth there are. You may imagine. All the wealth belongs to Krsna. When He was present on this earth, He showed it. Aisvaryasya samagra… As much as we can comprehend, He showed. Sixteen thousand wives, sixteen thousand palaces. Who can show it? If we hear of sixteen, we become surprised. We keep one wife, and that is very difficult for us. We have to think over hundred times, “Whether I shall accept a wife to maintain?” You see? But Krsna had sixteen thousand wives. But not like us, having more than wife: one wife is crying and another wife is enjoying, no. He also expanded Himself in sixteen thousand forms. Every wife is enjoying the husband. That is Bhagavan. That is Bhagavan. You try to understand Bhagavan. Aisvaryasya samagrasya viryasya. And if you have got more than wife, a few years after, you become impotent. But Krsna, in each wife, He begotten ten children. “I will give you ten child.” Sixteen thousand into ten, how much?

Devotees: 160,000.

Prabhupada: Then they had ten children again. This is Yadu family. This is Yadu… This is family, Krsna’s family. So many, one person. And that is called Bhagavan. Show something, Bhagavan. They simply cheap Bhagavan, and rascal present as cheap Bhagavan, and rascal accepts them as Bhagavan. This is not good. Try to find out the actual Bhagavan. That is Krsna. That is…

He showed by practical example. He is accepted by great, great sages like Narada, Vyasadeva, Devala, Asita. That is also stated when Arjuna accept Him that “You are the Supreme Lord. So You are the Supreme Lord how? Because people may say I am Your friend; therefore I am accepting. No. All the authorities says that You are the Supreme Lord. And I have understood by Your personal explanation and I accept You.” Sarvam etad rtam manye yad vadasi kesava: [Bg. 10.14] “Whatever You have said, I accept it because You are Bhagavan.” This is Bhagavan.

So if you accept Bhagavan’s word with firm conviction, then your life is perfect immediately. Immediately you become perfect. There is no difficulty. Because I may be imperfect, but if I say that “I have understood. This is glass. This spectacle is spectacle. I have learned it from authority,” that is a fact. I may be imperfect, but because I have learned from authorities that “This is a spectacle. This is called spectacle,” then this statement is correct. Similarly, we may be imperfect, it doesn’t matter, but because we are accepting the words and statement of Krsna then our knowledge is imperfect…, perfect. It is not imperfect. (Scraping noise in background) (aside to devotee:) It does not shoot very…? All right.

So therefore Bhagavan uvaca. We have to hear from Bhagavan, not from rascals. Then your knowledge is perfect. If you hear from rascals, then you become rascal. Don’t hear from any rascal. Hear from Bhagavan and take it and accept it. Then, gradually, your existence will be purified. Just like if somebody comes… Recently it so happened. There is a big Mayavadi sannyasi in India. His name is Akshananda Swami. Perhaps you know. Did you know? No. Anyone? Anyway, he is a Mayavadi sannyasi. So Acyutananda Swami went to sell some books in their camp. So his disciple requested him, “Why don’t you ask some question from Swamiji?” So he said, “What I have to ask from him?” He was so convinced that “What this rascal can say to me? I know. I have heard from Krsna.” This is knowledge. So if you stick to Krsna and hear from Him, you haven’t got to hear from any rascal, any rascal. Then you will waste time. Don’t hear from any rascal.

Therefore we are presenting Bhagavad-gita As It Is, as it is, without any change. Krsna says, man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru: [Bg. 18.65] “Just become My devotee. Always think of Me.” We are teaching the same thing. We have no difficulty. What we are requesting you? “You think of Krsna. Chant Hare Krsna.” That’s all. Where is the difficulty? We don’t say, “You think of that, this of that, to this demigod, that demigod.” No. We don’t say. What is the use of other demigod? We show all respect to everyone, even to the ant, but that does mean that any demigod, any damn, any rascal, should be worshiped as God? No. That is not possible. We can show respect even to the insignificant ant. Trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna. That may be another thing. But we cannot accept anyone as God. That is not possible. That is knowledge. That is knowledge. Be convinced firmly, krsnas tu bhagavan svayam: “Bhagavan means Krsna, nobody else.” Kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah yajante anya-devatah [Bg. 7.20]. Anya-devatah, accept as God, they are accepted by the rascals, hrta-jnanah, those who have lost their knowledge. They have lost their… Hrta-jnanah and nasta-buddhayah, those who have lost their knowledge. So don’t be lost of your knowledge. Stick to Krsna and accept His words as it is. Then you will be one day fearless, abhayam sattva-samsuddhih. Your existence will be purified, spiritual existence. Purified existence means spiritual existence. We are spiritual; we are not this material just like I am not this shirt, you are not this shirt. You are within the shirt. Similarly, asmin dehe. Dehino ‘smin yatha dehe. Dehino ‘smin yatha dehe [Bg. 2.13]. We are within the shirt. This is the first knowledge, that “I am not this body.” Why I shall be puffed up with this body? This is superfluous. I am spirit soul. I am part and parcel of Krsna; therefore my only business is with Krsna.

Just like your hand, part and parcel of your body. Its only business is with this body. I am taking care of this body, I am taking of this hand, this leg, this head because there is intimate relationship with this body and with this head. I am not… Suppose if you are in danger, your head is in danger, I am not going to protect. But when my head is in danger, I prepared to give life. Similarly, we are part and parcel of Krsna, and Krsna is all-powerful. He says, “I will give you protection.” Just like I am giving protection to my hands and legs, so what about Krsna? Krsna also prepared. But if you deny His protection, that is a different thing. But if you are prepared to take His protection, aham tvam sarva-papebhyah, then you should immediately attain abhayam, no more fear. Rakhe krsna mare ke mare krsna rakhe ke: “If Krsna wants to kill you, who can save you? Nobody can save you. And if Krsna wants to protect you, who can kill you?” This is… This is philosophy, abhayam. So if you want to be fearless, if you want to sanctify your existence, take to Krsna consciousness, don’t be deviated. Thank you very much. Hare Krsna. (end)
Bhagavad-gita 16.1-3 — Hawaii, January 29, 1975

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=23413

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13712271062?profile=RESIZE_584xMembers of the ISKCON community in St. Louis released a devotional film entitled Geetha Ganam, a project highlighting both the wisdom and beauty of the Bhagavad-gītā.

The title, Geetha Ganam — which literally means “the singing of the Bhagavad-gītā”—refers to the devotional practice of chanting or melodically reciting the verses of the Gītā, often set to traditional rāgas or simple tunes. The film offers viewers an immersive journey into this unique art form, exploring its history, cultural influence, and modern interpretations, while also presenting the Bhagavad-gītā’s teachings in an accessible way.

The film tells the story of three sisters whose materially driven lives are transformed when they encounter the message of the Bhagavad-gītā. Through melodious songs, spiritual dialogues, and engaging question-and-answer sessions with swamis, the film seeks to demonstrate not only the relevance of the Gītā’s philosophy in everyday life but also a practical approach to understanding the existence of God.

The film is written by Narayana Bommireddipally and directed by Anil Aleti and Janaki Rani. Music and audio are produced by Srikanth of Adhitya Recordings, while Vijaykumar handled cinematography and editing.

The movie is in Telugu with English subtitles. To watch the movie, click here

Source: https://iskconnews.org/st-louis-devotees-release-film-on-the-bhagavad-gita-geetha-ganam/

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