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On the fairness of falldown

This essay was originally an answer of Suhotra Prabhu to a question about the “fairness” of our falldown to the material world.

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First of all we strongly suggest those who have a specific interest in the falldown of the spirit soul from the spiritual world to acquire the book entitled Our Original Position, which is available from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. It is a very elaborate treatment with much quotations from sastra.

I find a refrain in the “condemned,” “pretty unfair,” “felix culpa,” “how could I know” and “bad mistake” arguments that is typical of persons for whom the “original falldown” is a major philosophical stumbling block. And that is, “It’s not my fault. It must be Krishna’s fault.”

You have to face this point unflinchingly: it *is* your fault.

And you have to face this next point unflinchingly: as long as you entertain the notion that it could be Krishna’s fault (that He’s “pretty unfair”), you will remain in this material world, birth after birth.

Accepting that it is your fault that you are fallen into the cycle of birth and death is what surrender is all about. It is only by accepting this that we can sincerely accept the Lord’s help in getting ourselves delivered from this fallen state. Logically, if it is not your fault, then you are not really fallen. Just like, if you end up in prison for a crime you did not deliberately commit (maybe you were just a victim of association, but you personally did not intend harm), then you are not really a criminal, are you?

But the fact is, we *are* criminals. And we can’t be reformed until we admit it wholeheartedly.

Now, zeroing in on the crux of your doubt — that we fell out of krishna-lila because of some unexpected flare-up of envy, and so how can we be eternally condemned for something over which we had no control — you’ve missed the real controller, Krishna. It is a fact that I, as a tiny spirit soul, have no power to control the ebb and flow of emotional states. But Krishna, the parama-isvara (supreme controller), does.

So there are two implications I wish to draw your attention to.

If your idea is that we fell because of an emotional flare-up, then behind that idea is a lack of faith in Krishna’s control over those emotions. To be surrendered to Krishna means to place oneself completely under Krishna’s control. So why would Krishna permit the emotions of His surrendered devotee to flare up in some spiritually detrimental manner? Therefore, 1) either Krishna doesn’t really have control over the ebb and flow of emotions that affect living beings, or
2) He does but He takes pleasure in allowing these emotions to cast someone down into darkness. I.e. Krishna doesn’t always have our best interests in mind. Or worse, He has a malicious streak.

The adoption of either of these two positions is uncalled for. If you find one, the other or both reasonable, then why trouble yourself with following the Vedic scriptures? The Vedic scriptures state: isvara parama krsna: “Krishna is the supreme controller.”

So then how did we fall victim to uncontrolled emotions?

The answer is that *first* we assumed a position of independence from Krishna’s control. Our assuming that position was not prompted by some flood of emotions. It was a conscious choice. As Srila Prabhupada writes:

“Anandamayo ‘bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). Both the Lord and the living entity, being qualitatively spirit soul, have the tendency for peaceful enjoyment, but when the part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead unfortunately wants to enjoy independently, without Krishna, he is put into the material world, where he begins his life as Brahma and is gradually degraded to the status of an ant or a worm in stool.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.24.58, purport)

So the uncontrolled emotions that wind us up in lower forms like ants and worms come later. First comes the exalted post of Brahma, who manifests the full potency of a jiva (a liberated spirit soul). Brahma is situated in brahma-varcasa, the Brahman effulgence. Therefore Bhagavatam 2.3.2 states that those who wish to attain the divine light of Brahman should worship Brahma. But Brahma thinks himself
*independent* of Krishna.

“That Brahma becomes liberated is known to everyone, but he cannot liberate his devotees. Demigods like Brahma and Lord Shiva cannot give liberation to any living entity. As it is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, only one who surrenders unto Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be liberated from the clutches of maya. Brahma is called here adyah sthira-caranam. He is the original, first-created living entity, and after his own birth he creates the entire cosmic manifestation. He was fully instructed in the matter of creation by the Supreme Lord. Here he is called veda-garbha, which means that he knows the complete purpose of the Vedas. He is always accompanied by such great personalities as Marici, Kasyapa and the seven sages, as well as by great mystic yogis, the Kumaras and many other spiritually advanced living entities, but he has his own interest, separate from the Lord’s. Bheda-drstya means that Brahma sometimes thinks that he is independent of the Supreme Lord, or he thinks of himself as one of the three equally independent incarnations. [“Three equally independent incarnations” means Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma… but actually Brahma is not independent, because he is a jiva (fragmental soul, a constitutional servant of God), whereas Vishnu and Shiva are both classified as isvara (Lords).]” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.32.12-15, purport)

And, so, as Srila Prabhupada continues in this same purport:

“Here the word bheda-drstya occurs because Brahma has a slight inclination to think that he is as independent as Rudra. Sometimes Brahma thinks that he is independent of the Supreme Lord, and the worshiper also thinks that Brahma is independent. For this reason, after the destruction of this material world, when there is again creation by the interaction of the material modes of nature, Brahma comes back. Although Brahma reaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the first purusa incarnation, Maha-Vishnu, who is full with transcendental qualities, he cannot stay in the spiritual world.”

Please digest the full implications of the above quotation. Brahma, the post occupied by the jiva upon his assumption of independence from the Lord, is a liberated personality. He is not dashed here and there by hot fluxes of emotions, whether envy or anything else. Brahma *knows* fully well the Supreme Lord as Maha-Vishnu. He returns to Him after his period of duty as the creator of the universe. But Brahma also has a tendency, due to his conception of independence, to become attached to his post as the creator… so that when again Vishnu breathes out the universes, Brahma leaves Him to take up the post of a lord of creation again. This second returning to the material world is considered to be his falldown — the falldown of the jiva. Here you see an emotional element creeping in… attachment, prestige, etc, which brings him back to the material world even after his assignment is completed. This is the sign of growing ignorance. That is confirmed thusly later in the same purport:

“The specific significance of his coming back may be noted. Brahma and the great rsis and the great master of yoga (Shiva) are not ordinary living entities; they are very powerful and have all the perfections of mystic yoga. But still they have an inclination to try to become one with the Supreme, and therefore they have to come back. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is accepted that as long as one thinks that he is equal with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is not completely purified or knowledgeable. In spite of going up to the first purusa-avatar, Maha-Vishnu, after the dissolution of this material creation, such personalities again fall down or come back to the material creation.”

The falling down of the jiva into material creation therefore has little in common with the scenario of his being carried away willy-nilly by some unfortunate gush of feelings.

It is the result of a deliberate, conscious and informed choice.

Perhaps you still have a doubt about how a soul comes to think himself independent. It can be postulated that before he assumed the post of Brahma, that soul must have been with Krishna in His pastimes within the eternal realm of Goloka. How is it that this particular soul goes from there to the post of Brahma?

The answer is that Krishna’s pastimes are expansive. As Krishna expands His pastimes, so also the souls expand within Him into further realms of His divine lila or play. The creation of the material world is one more expanded lila. Thus the Lord Himself personally enters the material world, and so also do His devotees. Even the eternal residents of Goloka Vrindavan enter the material world at the time Krishna personally descends Himself, as He did 5000 years ago in Bhauma Vrindavan (the Vrindavan on earth, in India, 90 miles south of New Delhi). Some of these residents assume forms different than their Goloka identities. Narada Muni, for instance, the sage who preaches bhakti throughout the 3 worlds, is originally Madhumangala, a friend of Krishna’s in Goloka. And Narada is the son of Brahma. Brahma is a role a jiva can get in the Lord’s pastime of creation if that jiva is interested in participating in the creation-lila from a position apparently as independent as that of God Himself. This particular position (Brahma) is the one from which a soul *may* fall (it is not guaranteed he will) from the Lord’s association into enmeshment in creation. In other words, rather than simply participating in creation from a transcendental position (as do the residents of Vrindavan and Narada Muni), such a soul, by attachment to his lordly position, becomes *part* of the creation… life after life.

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Enlightenment: Brahma gayatri mantra

By Urmila devi dasi

I watch the sun rising over the horizon where the Pacific Ocean touches the sky. In the beauty of its red glow painting sea, sky, and clouds, I chant the Brahma gayatri mantra, a meditation on the sun. Receiving and chanting this mantra is an essential part of diksa, initiation into the succession of spiritual teachers and disciples from the beginning of universal creation. Those unfamiliar with gayatri might wonder why modern educated people would mediate on the sun, having been taught that only primitives engage in sun worship. Increasingly, however, people interested in yoga and enlightenment have heard of this queen of mantras which allows entrance into advanced wisdom and realization. Srila Prabhupada’s translation of the Sanskrit of the Brahma gayatri is: “Let us meditate on that worshipable effulgence of the divine sun who enthuses our meditation.”

In the sacred Bhagavatam we find that great saints such as Bharata regularly mediated on a sun mantra. Srila Prabhupada comments (SBp 5.7.13), “The predominating Deity within the sun is Hiranmaya, Lord Narayana. He is worshiped by the gayatri mantra. He is also worshiped by other hymns mentioned in the Rg Veda, for instance: dhyeyah sada savitr-mandala-madhya-varti. Within the sun Lord Narayana is situated and He has a golden hue.” And in his comment on the next verse Prabhupada writes, “Actually Narayana within the sun is maintaining the entire universe. Therefore, Narayana should be worshiped by the gayatri mantra or the Rg mantra.”

Not only have saintly persons throughout history chanted this mantra, but the Supreme Lord Krishna Himself chants the gayatri mantra. In the cities of Dwaraka and Mathura, it’s a part of His daily activities. Although Krsna is the source of the mantra, in the Lord’s pastimes Garga Muni initiated Krsna into the gayatri, and gave Him the sacred thread. This thread crosses the upper body and gets wrapped around one’s fingers while chanting gayatri and thus indicates a person who has been initiated into gayatri. Worship of the sun also exists in Vrndavana where Krishna’s consort Radharani worships the sun daily. The sacred Yamuna River in Vrndavana is the daughter of the sun god. Her twin brother is Yamaraja the lord of death.

What is the benefit for which we are chanting this Brahma gayatri mantra? And why does it give us this kind of benefit? In answering these questions we will examine the nature and origin of the mantra.

Benefit of chanting the Brahma gayatri
In his purport in the Bhagavad Gita (10.35) Prabhupada says that chanting this gayatri mantra is meant for realization of the Supreme Lord. In the first verse of the Bhagavatam, the words satyam param dhimahi indicate that the entire Bhagavatam is an expansion on the Brahma gayatri mantra, which also contains the word dhimahi. In commenting on this verse, Srila Prabhupada says that by chanting the Brahma gayatri, one gains spiritual realization which is a prerequisite for entering into the lilas or sporting pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Sometimes in a college or school a course has prerequisites—in order to study one course you may already have had to have studied something else. So in order to, as Prabhupada puts it, “relish” Krsna’s lila, one needs purification which is attained by the chanting of the Brahma gayatri mantra. Also Prabhupada says, in 4.21.22 of the Bhagavatam, that by chanting this gayatri mantra one will maintain spiritual strength. People often ask how they can be steady in spiritual practice. The main source of such spiritual strength is Balarama, the original guru. Gayatri’s giving spiritual strength is connected to the fact that one can only receive the fruits of chanting this Brahma gayatri mantra upon receiving it from a guru. If someone just reads the mantra from, say, searching for it on the Internet, or listening to some musical performance of somebody singing it, there will not be any benefit. A genuine guru should only give the gayatri mantra to “spiritually advanced people” for whom it is meant. (Bg 10.35) The spiritual strength found in chanting the mantra, therefore, comes from guru as well as from the mantra itself.

The nature and power of the Brahma gayatri
Why does the gayatri mantra give the benefit of being able to realize God, and the purification that one can then relish Krsna lila? Krsna says in the tenth chapter of Bhagavad Gita that the gayatri mantra is He Himself in poetic form. So gayatri is God as poetry. Also Prabhupada says there in the purport that gayatri is the sound incarnation of Brahman (all pervading spirit) and therefore allows us to realize aham bhrmasmi: I am a spiritual being separate from the body and mind. Interestingly enough, although in the Bhagavad Gita it says gayatri is the sound incarnation of Krsna, in the Bhagavatam (3.13.35), it says that Krsna is the incarnation of the gayatri mantra. That’s because they are non-different, and can be looked at from either perspective.

The Brahma gayatri is complete knowledge. Caitanya Mahaprabhu, speaking to His disciple Sanatana Goswami, (CC Madhya lila 25.147), says gayatri contains sambanda and abedeya, or identity and the process to realize it. Our identity is that we are a part of the Supreme Truth and our process is to mediate on that Truth. The Brama gayatri also contains prayojana, or the result of such meditation, a condition of joyfulness and enthusiasm.

In the Bhagavatam’s description of Krishna’s incarnation as Varaha, the sages say that the gayatri mantra is the touch of the skin of the Lord (3.12.45). Krsna’s skin is very soft. It is described in the Bhakti-rasamrita Sindhu that if the Lord just brushes against a plant, His skin will change color; it’s so delicate. There are many descriptions in sacred writings, especially in Ananda vrindavanacampu, about how the Lord’s skin is soft like butter. One can feel the touch of the Lord simply by chanting the gayatri mantra. Krsna’s touch is described as follows:

By the touch of Lord Krsna’s hand (in His form of Nṛsiṁhadeva) on Prahlāda Mahārāja’s head, Prahlāda was completely freed of all material contaminations and desires, as if he had been thoroughly cleansed. Therefore he at once became transcendentally situated, and all the symptoms of ecstasy became manifest in his body. His heart filled with love, and his eyes with tears, and thus he was able to completely capture the lotus feet of the Lord within the core of his heart.
SB 7.9.6

The gayatri mantra is also the sound of the Lord’s flute which we can hear if we meditate on this mantra. At the dawn of cosmic creation, Krsna played His flute, the sound of which entered into the ear holes of Brahma, the universal engineer. After entering into his ears, the flute sound came out of his mouth as the gayatri mantra. From that mantra, all the sacred literatures of the Vedas expanded, so gayatri is the essence of the Vedic mantras, like boiled down milk fudge (burfi) is the essence of milk. In that way, Krsna’s flute sound manifested the spiritual teachings of humankind. In this world people sometimes become mesmerized when listening to especially beautiful music, so what to speak of a flute song that God Himself plays! One of the many descriptions of Krsna’s flute song is as follows:

The beauty of Kṛṣṇa’s smile is the sweetest feature of all. His smile is like a full moon that spreads its rays throughout the three worlds—Goloka Vṛndāvana, the spiritual sky of the Vaikuṇṭhas, and Devī-dhāma, the material world. Thus Kṛṣṇa’s shining beauty spreads in all ten directions. His slight smiling and fragrant illumination are compared to camphor, which enters the sweetness of His lips. That sweetness is transformed and enters into space as vibrations from the holes of His flute. The sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute spreads in the four directions. Even though Kṛṣṇa vibrates His flute within this universe, its sound pierces the universal covering and goes to the spiritual sky. (CC Mad 21.139-141)

Considering the many ways in which the Brahma gayatri is described, it is not astonishing that chanting this mantra will bring us realization of Krsna and qualify us to relish Krishna’s pastimes.

Attaining enlightenment
The Brahma gayatri is generally understood, as said earlier, as worship of the sun. The mantra is a request to be illuminated, enthused, with the light of spiritual knowledge, like the sun lights up the cosmos. To be enlightened, in one sense, means to be able to see. If the electricity goes off night, we can’t see anything or do anything. Even materially without the sun, what can we do? Most people go to work when the sun comes up. That’s how we do our activities. Therefore, the sun is not just symbolically but literally giving us clear vision. We can see things as they are. Ultimate seeing and enlightenment is to realize, “Who am I? What is the nature of this world? Who is God? What do I do? What is the best course of action?”

We need clear vision to know how to define ourselves and success, as well as to see the most effective path to that success. All of these answers come with light or enlightenment, as Krsna says, “jnana-dipena bhasvata (Bg 10.11)” I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. The Brahma gayatri mantra is a powerful way for this shining light to bring us to knowledge. The mood of chanting the mantra is one of petitioning for grace. As Prabhupada writes:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, cannot be understood by the individual soul through mental, physical or intellectual exercises. It is by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that the individual soul is enlightened. Therefore, the Lord is described here as atma-pradipa [who gives enlightenment to the living entities]. The Lord is like the sun, which illuminates everything and cannot be illuminated by anyone. Therefore, if one is serious about understanding the Supreme, one must receive enlightenment from Him. (purport SB 8.3.10)

In addition to the fiery sphere of the sun and its effulgence, the saint Jiva Gosvami has explained the Brahma gayatri as indicating Krsna and His energy Radha. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada (CC Mad 8.265p) said that the sun mentioned in the Brahma gayatri is Lord Krishna in His form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the ultimate sun. Certainly the ultimate sun, the ultimate light, is God Himself. Krsna says in the Bhagavad gita, “I am the light of the sun.” And in the Bhagavatam’s 8th canto, Krsna’s disc, sudarsana, is also identified as the sun. Both the sun and the sudarsana disc are called the “eye of the Lord.” Sudarshana means auspicious vision, and when one is enlightened one gets a vision of reality, which is all auspicious.

Through study of the benefits and nature of the Brahma gayatri, those of us who already have received this mantra from a bona fide guru can deepen our meditation when we chant daily at sunrise, noon, and sunset. Those of us who haven’t received the gayatri mantra can meditate thrice daily on the light of the sun as Krsna, the eye of the Lord that is actually sustaining everything. To qualify ourselves for initiation into chanting the gayatri mantra, we can have a life filled with light, with goodness. As the Vedas say: Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, which means “Do not remain in darkness, come to the light.” (lecture Bhagavad-gita 2.16 — Mexico City, February 16, 1975). Krsna in the Gita describes goodness as being symptomized by all the gates (senses) of the body are illumined by knowledge. In a practical sense, such a life means we only allow illuminating, enlightening, uplifting things to enter our senses. For example, one eats only vegetarian food offered to Krsna.Then one has a life that is filled with light.

Beyond goodness, one who wants to be qualified to chant gayatri should aim for a life filled with transcendent light. In this regard, there is a song by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Mama Mana Mandire, in which he asks Krsna to enter into the temple of his heart. Bhaktivinoda writes about receiving Krsna with the arti ceremony, a welcoming ritual where the most important element is a lamp with a flame. There is a hotel in America that has their slogan, “We leave the lights on for you.” When the lights are on, you know someone’s home. If you want to deter criminals you leave the lights on. When there are big festivals, we have lights. Every culture in the world has a festival that has something to do with lights, or fireworks, or light decorations, or lighting lamps. Even for birthday parties in the West we light candles. So, light is for receiving, welcoming, loving. Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “What kind of lamp am I going to greet you with my dear Lord, when you enter into the temple of my mind?” Prema pradip, the light of love. When we fill our heart with the light of love of God we are truly enthused in our mediation—the goal of the Brahma gayatri.

Note:

The three parts of the gayatri mantra are described in Bhagavatam 5.9.5 in this way: vyāhṛtibhiḥ sapraṇava-śiras tripadīṁ sāvitrīṁ. Sāvitrīṁ is another name for the sun and refers to the fact that this mantra focus on that source of light and enlightenment. Vyāhṛtibhiḥ means the planetary systems. The sages divide the planets and stars in the universe into groups of 14 or 3 or sometimes 7. In gayatri they are divided into three: bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ: Earth, the heavenly planets, and the planets of the sages. Sometimes the acaryas explain that these three divisions are elements of our own embodiment. As the mystic yogis know, the universal body exists in a microcosom in our own body, just like the universe is the body of Lord Brahma. We have, also, a little universe in our own body. Sometimes bhūr is considered the gross body, bhuvaḥ the mind, and svaḥ the intelligence. Then the next word in this verse is Sa meaning that, and then the words praṇava-siras. Siras means head or chief, and pranava indicates Omkara. The word praṇava is understood as a joining of pra an d nu.The simplest meaning of “nu” is simply to make a sound. The prefix pra- has a sense something like “forth” So, praṇava would be the bringing forth of a sound, especially a humming or droning sound. Since “om” is, in one sense, the most fundamental sound, it is called praṇava. However, because there could be many essential sounds, om is here referred to as the sapraṇava-śiras, the chief of all sounds. Then tripadīṁ means three steps or three feet. In fact, gayatri indicates that meter used in poetry. However, if you count the syllabus in the rest of the Brahma gayatri, the first line actually has seven, it doesn’t have eight; so seven, eight, eight. The total structure of the Brahma gayatri, therefore, is that after saying the chief of all sounds, om, and then the names of the three planetary systems, the core of the gayatri mantra is three lines of eight syllables each.

Source: http://urmiladasi.com/enlightenment-brahma-gayatri-mantra/

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By Sukanti Radha Devi Dasi

The ToVP International team will be touring the UK from the 18th to the 30th of November 2015.

Lord Nityananda foresaw the manifestation of a glorious temple in Mayapur, and now He is touring the world in order to invite others to make that manifestation a reality. You will be able to receive the moonlike benedictions of Lord Nityananda in the form of his Padukas (shoes) along with Lord Nrsimhadeva’s protection in the form of his Satari (helmet).

Jananivasa Prabhu, Ambarisa Prabhu and other senior devotees are touring the world sharing the opportunity to support this signature building of ISKCON. The main event in London is as follows:

WHEN — Sunday, 22 November 2015 from 14:30 to 18:00 (GMT) – WHERE — Kadwa Patidar Centre – Kenmore Avenue Harrow, Middlesex HA3 8LU

Seating capacity is limited to 600 guests. Therefore, we encourage only one or two per family to attend. Darshan of the padukas will be made available at a later time, also.

Lord Nityananda’s Paduka Home Visit — Once in a Life time Opportunity

Date: 19th — 30th November 2015

The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (ToVP) team will be touring the UK bringing with them the mercy of Sri Mayapur Dham. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is available to all to invite Jananivas dasa (Head Pujari of ISKCON Mayapur) along with Lord Nityananda’s Padukas (shoes) and Lord Nrsimhadeva’s Satari (helmet) to your home.

For more details and bookings please contact Sukanti Radha devi dasi on tovpuk@gmail.com.

ISKCON UK GBC Praghosa das on behalf of the ISKCON UK devotees warmly welcomes the International TOVP team to the United Kingdom and wishes them a very successful tour in serving Srila Prabhupada.

You can follow the tour on: tovp.org TOVP facebook page Twitter@tovpuk iskconuk.com mayapurtv.com – tovp channel

Contact us for more info on tovpuk@gmail.com

Source : http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20586

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Gopiparanadhana Dasa, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) Sanskrit editor and translator for more than 25 years, addresses the difference between Western and Eastern approaches to textual authority. By examining texts from Srila Prabhupada’s commentaries he highlights the difference between Western ideas of plagiarism, and the primacy of originality, and ­Eastern notions of ensuring the safe passage of traditional thought. He also looks at how in Indian traditions the qualification for authorship is based on the ability to faithfully transmit the message of previous teachers, but not necessarily with the same painstaking referencing demanded in modern texts.

Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was the founder and organiser of a large worldwide religious movement; that he developed it in just twelve years, all after his seventieth birthday, shows that he was not only practical, innovative and determined but also spiritually empowered. Although these are valid reasons to think highly of Srila Prabhupada, he always de-emphasised his own abilities, preferring to be judged on the more objective grounds of his bona fideallegiance to the teachings of the Vaisnava tradition he represented. He did not credit his preaching success to any special abilities of his own. As he once said, ‘I don’t claim that I am a pure devotee or perfect, but my only qualification is that I am trying to follow the instruction of the perfect.’[
<href="#1f">1] In any case, spiritual realisation is essentially a private matter, not open to objective evaluation. There are too many false saints who allow their disciples to fanatically advertise them as much greater than they really are. In the opinion of orthodox Vaisnavas, the saintliness of a person can be known only by someone just as saintly. To publicly establish spiritual authority, then, a teacher, rather than making an open spectacle of his intimate ecstasies, should simply speak philosophically on the basis of what previous authorities have said in scripture and on reputable commentaries of scripture. Srila Prabhupada wanted his own authority to be accepted according to how faithfully he lived up to that standard.

The Gaudiya school of Vaisnavism to which Srila Prabhupada belongs was founded by Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengal five centuries ago. This Gaudiya sampradaya is officially connected with the Vaisnava school established by Madhva in the thirteenth century and also has strong philosophical and cultural bonds with the even older Srivaisnava school of Ramanuja. Although the founding teachers of other Vaisnava schoolseach wrote major commentaries on Badarayana Vyasa’s Vedanta-sutra and their followers carried on debate with Advaita impersonalists and others on the basis of their theistic interpretation of Vedanta, ­Caitanya Mahaprabhu chose not to busy His own followers in the same way. He proposed that the ancient Bhagavata Purana (known also as Srimad-Bhagavatam) served perfectly well as a natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra, having been written by the same ­Veda-vyasa. Lord Caitanya advised His associates that since the Bhagavatam was already available and easily understandable, there was no need for them to compose new commentaries and sub-­commentaries onVedanta.Another Purana, the Garuda Purana, corroborates Lord Caitanya’s reliance on Srimad-Bhagavatam:

purnah so ‘yam atisayah
artho ‘yam brahma-sutranam / bharatartha-vinirnayah
gayatri-bhasya-rupo ‘sau / vedartha-paribrmhitah

purananam sama-rupah / saksad bhagavatoditah
dvadasa-skandha-yukto ‘yam / sata-viccheda-samyutah
grantho ‘stadasa-sahasram / sri-bhagavatabhidhah

This [Purana] is perfectly complete. It is the purport of the Vedanta-sutra, establishes the meaning of the Mahabharata, is a commentary on Gayatri and completes the message of the Vedas. It is the Sama Veda among thePuranas, spoken directly by an incarnation of God [Vyasa]. This work, consisting of twelve cantos, hundreds of chapters and eighteen thousand verses, is called Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Srila Prabhupada considered Srimad-Bhagavatam, along with Bhagavad-gita, thesubstantial foundation of his International Society for Krishna Consciousness. He created ISKCON primarily for making the theology of the Gita and Bhagavatam universally accessible, and he directed his disciples to give first priority to the work of publishing and distributing these two scriptures, in English and many other languages. Srila Prabhupada’s opus magnum, a multi-volume English translation of and commentary onSrimad-Bhagavatam, was unfortunately left incomplete when he passed away in 1977; it was finished, however, ten years later by the collaborative effort of a few of his disciples. Having served as an editor of this entire series of the Bhagavatam and participated in its posthumous completion, I have gathered some insights into Srila Prabhupada’s hermeneutic methodology. In this essay, I will examine Srila Prabhupada’s translation and commentary on one verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam, with the aim of showing how he based his own presentation largely on the commentaries of previous authorities.

Srimad-Bhagavatam is presented as literal, albeit very ancient, history. A few narrations in thisPurana, however, are intended to be understood as fiction – most of them allegories devised by one of the most frequent speakers in the Bhagavatam, the itinerant preacher Narada. The text we are going to look at belongs to one of these allegorical passages, the story of King Puranjana told by Narada to Maharaja Pracinabarhi in Chapters 25-9 of the Fourth Canto. In brief, the imaginary Puranjana is equivalent to the Everyman figure in medieval European morality plays. He represents the illusioned soul suffering from misidentification with his temporary embodiment in material life. Puranjana tries for years to enjoy with his consort, the female personification of his material intelligence; he finally succumbs to old age, disease and death, and then, because of too much attachment to his wife, takes his next birth as a woman. This female reincarnation of Puranjana marries a pious king who dies young, leaving his wife bewildered in lamentation. Our text occurs at this point in the narration, as the fifty-first verse of Chapter 28. It describes an unexpected visit by an old, forgotten friend. Here are the original Sanskrit text and Srila Prabhupada’s translation:

tatra purvatarah kascit 
sakha brahmana atmavan 
santvayan valguna samna 
tam aha rudatim prabho

‘My dear King, one brahmana, who was an old friend of King Puranjana, came to that place and began to pacify the Queen with sweet words.’

Srila Prabhupada’s explanation of this verse, his ‘purport’, fills two pages. It is based on the short commentaries, each only a few lines long, by two standard Vaisnava teachers, Sridhara Svami and Visvanatha Cakravarti. We will first describe these commentaries and then analyse how Srila Prabhupada used them.

The oldest extant commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam was written by Sridhara Svami;older commentaries are known only by name or by isolated fragments. No solid evidence supports his exact lifespan; Karl Potter has tentatively assigned his birth to the beginning of the fifteenth century,[
<href="#2f">2] though Sridhara Svami may have lived earlier than that, since less than a century later Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu described Sridhara as being a venerable authority. In India, more than one century is usually needed for a commentator on traditional literature to become established as an authority.

As far as is known, Sridhara Svami did not belong to any of the major Vaisnava schools, but was probably an initiated member of Sankara’s Advaita [
<href="#3f">3] sampradaya. Nonetheless, the opinions he expressed in his commentaries on Srimad-Bhagavatamand the Visnu Purana were staunchly Vaisnava. Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s cutting comments to ­Vallabha-acarya, a prominent Vaisnava, testify to the great respect Caitanya had for Sridhara’s opinions, as Lord Caitanya’s biographer Krsnadasa Kaviraja recounts:

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu smilingly replied, ‘One who does not accept thesvami [husband] as an authority I consider a prostitute. … You have dared criticise Sridhara Svami, and you have begun your own commentary onSrimad-Bhagavatam, not accepting his authority. That is your false pride. Sridhara Svami is the spiritual master of the entire world because by his mercy we can understand Srimad-Bhagavatam. I therefore accept him as a spiritual master. Whatever you might write due to false pride, trying to surpass Sridhara Svami, would carry a contrary purport. Therefore no one would pay attention to it. One who comments on Srimad-Bhagavatamfollowing in the footsteps of Sridhara Svami will be honored and accepted by everyone.'[
<href="#4f">4]

The two-sentence commentary of Sridhara Svami on the verse we are considering reads: ‘The friend who is “very old” in the sense of being eternal without origin is the Supreme Lord, in accordance with the statement of revealed scripture beginning “Two birds … ” He addressed her with sweet words of consolation.'[
<href="#5f">5]

In the first sentence, Sridhara Svami identifies old friend of the the queen as every soul’s original friend, the supreme controller (isvara). He supports this opinion by proposing that this verse ofSrimad-Bhagavatam alludes to one of the oldest Vedic hymns. Although it is well known that the verse beginning dva suparna occurs in both the Mundaka and Svetasvatara Upanisads,[
<href="#6f">6] less well-known is that the verse is originally found, verbatim, in the First Mandalaof the Rg Veda,the most archaic of scriptural sources:

dva suparna sayuja sakhaya
samanam vrksam parisasvajate
tayor anyah pippalam svadv atty
anasnann anyo ‘bhicakasiti

Two friendly companion birds together reside on one tree. One of them is eating the tree’s fruits while the other does not eat but simply watches His friend.[
<href="#7f">7]

Vaisnava commentators explain that this verse refers to Godin His accompanying of the finite soul in all the soul’s incarnations in material existence. In every form of life, the finite soul and Supreme Soul sit together in the heart, one of them trying to enjoy material life and the other simply waiting for His eternal friend to remember Him.

The second commentary drawn upon by Srila Prabhupada in his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.28.51 is the one written by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in the second half of the seventeenth century. Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti was the most prominent spiritual master of sixth-generation Vaisnavas in Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sampradaya. Srila Visvanatha led the Gaudiya Vaisnava community in Vrndavana during the time of the Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb, who persecuted the Vaisnavas. Visvanatha’s own predecessor was the celebrated devotional poet Narottama Dasa, and among his disciples was Baladeva Vidyabhusana, author of the Govinda-bhasya commentary on Vedanta-sutra.

Visvanatha Cakravarti’s commentary on this verse is four sentences long. The first sentence suggests a deep meaning to the allegory of Queen Puranjani’s lamentation:

[This verse] implies that in such a mood of distress as is suffered when one’s spiritual master has departed from this world, a disciple can experience the direct presence of God.[
<href="#8f">8]

In this realisation of Visvanatha Cakravarti, Everyman has been replaced with a rare, special soul – the surrendered disciple of a pure Vaisnava. Without any other qualifications of his own, a sincere disciple earns the right to see God simply by his attachment to his spiritual master. After the guru has passed away, the serious disciple does not lose his spiritual strength but continues to advance by remembering and executing the guru’s instructions. The intense devotional mood of separation can develop into direct vision of the Supreme Person.

Visvanatha Cakravarti’s second sentence is an almost exact repeat of Sridhara Svami’s first sentence:

In this context, the friend who is ‘very old’ in the sense of being eternal without origin is the Supreme Lord, in accordance with such statements of revealed scripture as the one beginning ‘Two birds….'[
<href="#9f">9]

In the Sanskrit commentary tradition, this sort of ‘plagiarism’ is considered ethical. It is appropriate to simply repeat the statements of one’s predecessors when further explanation for one’s own generation was not required. To pretend to be original, furthermore, is frowned upon. Most of Visvanatha Cakravarti’s contemporaries who could read Sanskrit were probably acquainted with Sridhara Svami’s commentary and would have recognised this citation; for those who were unfamiliar with Sridhara, Visvanatha was being considerate by passing on the past master’s words.

The third sentence explains why the old friend in the allegory appears as a brahmana:

He [the Supreme Lord in the heart] is a brahmana,or in other words, he is in the guise of a brahmana; by this [the present verse] means to inform us that without pure love of God one can never have direct realization of God’s true, original form.[
<href="#10f">10]

The sincere disciple represented by Queen Puranjani is not prepared to fully realise God’s personality, but even in His disguised form the Lord kindly gives the soul instructions that enable him to gradually achieve perfection.

Visvanatha Cakravarti’s fourth sentence explains another word in the verse, the adjective atma-van(literally, ‘self-possessed’ or ‘self-realised’), which further characterises the brahmana: ‘Self-possessed’ here means also having His original form, which He kept hidden within Himself.[
<href="#11f">11]

Ordinarily, God, who sits silently within every person’s heart, limits His functions to being a witness, sanctioner and facilitator of the living being’s endeavours. In the case of the rare soul who has become purified from material desires, God advises the soul directly from within the heart how to progress toward liberation. Besides being the Supersoul, however, He is simultaneously nondifferent from God in His full personal form. Those who progress beyond liberation to pure devotion thus realise their own personal relationship with God.

Now we can look at Srila Prabhupada’s purport. He begins by retelling Visvanatha Cakravarti’s second sentence, which, as we have seen, is Sridhara Svami’s first sentence and refers back to the Upanisadsand the Rg Veda. Visvanatha Cakravarti had said:

In this context, the friend who is ‘very old’ in the sense of being eternal without origin is the Supreme Lord, in accordance with such statements of revealed scripture as the one beginning ‘Two birds….’

Srila Prabhupada writes:

The appearance of an old friend in the form of a brahmana is very significant. In His ­Paramatma feature, Krsna is the old friend of everyone. According to Vedic injunction, Krsna is sitting with the living entity side by side. According to the sruti-mantra (dva suparna sayuja sakhayah), the Lord is sitting within the heart of every living entity as suhrt, the best friend. The Lord is always eager to have the living entity come home, back to Godhead. Sitting with the living entity as witness, the Lord gives him all chances to enjoy himself materially, but whenever there is an opportunity, the Lord gives good counsel and advises the living entity to abandon trying to become happy through material adjustment and instead turn his face toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender unto Him.

Srila Prabhupada next presents the idea of Visvanatha Cakravarti’s first sentence, which reads:

[This verse] implies that in such a mood of distress as is suffered when one’s spiritual master has departed from this world, a disciple can experience the direct presence of God.

From this, Srila Prabhupada’s derives the following:

When one becomes serious to follow the mission of the spiritual master, his resolution is tantamount to seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained before, this means meeting the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the instruction of the spiritual master. This is technically called vani-seva.

In Sanskrit the word vani means ‘the faculty of speech’, ‘words’, and ‘instructions’. Seva means ‘service’. A disciple can serve his spiritual master’s body (vapuh) whenever opportunities arise, but more important is serving his vaniVani-seva is not limited by the absence of the person being served.Srila Prabhupada continues in his purport:

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura states in his Bhagavad-gitacommentary on the verse vyavasayatmika buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana(Bg. 2.41) that one should serve the words of the spiritual master. The disciple must stick to whatever the spiritual master orders. Simply by following on that line, one sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Then Srila Prabhupada renders the third sentence of Visvanatha Cakravarti:

He [the Supreme Lord in the heart] is a brahmana,or in other words, he is in the guise of a brahmana; by this [the present verse] means to inform us that without pure love of God one can never have direct realization of God’s true, original form.

Srila Prabhupada writes,

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Paramatma, appeared before the Queen as a brahmana, but why didn’t He appear in His original form as Sri Krsna? Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura remarks that unless one is very highly elevated in loving the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one cannot see Him as He is.

Visvanatha Cakravarti’s fourth sentence was:

‘Self-possessed’ here means also having His original form, which He kept hidden within Himself.

Srila Prabhupada’s version of this is:

Nonetheless, if one sticks to the principles enunciated by the spiritual master, somehow or other he is in association with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since the Lord is in the heart, He can advise a sincere disciple from within. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (10.10):

tesam satata-yuktanam
bhajatam priti-purvakam
dadami buddhi-yogam tam
yena mam upayanti te

‘To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.’

Srila Prabhupada finishes his purport with a citation from another Vaisnava authority:

In conclusion, if a disciple is very serious to execute the mission of the spiritual master, he immediately associates with the Supreme Personality of Godhead by vani or vapuh. This is the only secret of success in seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead of being eager to see the Lord in some bush of Vrndavana while at the same time engaging in sense gratification, if one instead sticks to the principle of following the words of the spiritual master, he will see the Supreme Lord without difficulty. Srila Bilvamangala Thakura has therefore said:

bhaktis tvayi sthiratara bhagavan yadi syad
daivena nah phalati divya-kisora-murtih 
muktih svayam mukulitanjali sevate ‘sman 
dharmartha-kama-gatayah samaya-pratiksah

‘If I am engaged in devotional service unto You, my dear Lord, then very easily can I perceive Your presence everywhere. And as far as liberation is concerned, I think that liberation stands at my door with folded hands, waiting to serve me – and all material conveniences of dharma [religiosity],artha [economic development] and kama [sense gratification] stand with her.’ (Krsna-karnamrta 107) If one is very highly advanced in devotional service, he will have no difficulty in seeing the Supreme Personality of ­Godhead. If one engages in the service of the spiritual master, he not only sees the Supreme Personality of Godhead but attains liberation. As far as material conveniences are concerned, they automatically come, just as the maidservants of a queen follow the queen wherever she goes. Liberation is no problem for the pure devotee, and all material conveniences are simply awaiting him at all stages of life.

This single text, of course, is only a tiny sample of Srila Prabhupada’s purports. A much broader survey needs to be taken before a fair appraisal can be made of how he used his predecessor’s commentaries. The project of researching the sources of Srila Prabhupada’s purports in Srimad-Bhagavatam andBhagavad-gita As It Is is only beginning, and requires the ongoing diligence of any number of disciples and scholars.

Srila Prabhupada was firmly convinced of the relevance of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In his view, theBhagavatam’s teachings were timeless, the perennial science of God consciousness. His own responsibility was simply to translate them without distortion. If the instructions of his authoritative predecessors were properly served, the whole world would surely benefit.

Admittedly, the ideas and images Srila Prabhupada strove to convey in his purports are sometimes difficult for modern readers to comprehend, what to speak of assimilate. The original texts he translated are messages from a different world, ancient and foreign. But ­Prabhupada felt the urgent need to deliver these messages as best he could. He was thus always concerned with how to make theBhagavatam’s enlightening instructions comprehensible to the average, contemporary public. Certainly not everyone would understand, but even if only a few readers received benefit from this transcendental knowledge, the endeavour could be counted as a great success. Before Srila Prabhupada came to America in 1965 with his first English volumes of Srimad-Bhagavatam, a well-intentioned person could have questioned him, ‘Why present this work, which has a very small audience? Why not something else, easier and more popular?’ Prabhupada, however, did not think in such a way. To him it did not matter that there were no readers for Srimad-Bhagavatam; he created his own readership. In a few years, thousands of disciples became serious students of the ­Bhagavatam, and millions of other people around the world brought the book into their homes. This is the sign of a great author – that he creates an audience where there was none.

Notes:

<href="#1">1 Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.1-10, 25 November 1968, Los Angeles.


<href="#2">2 Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, vol. 1, Bibliography, p. 328.


<href="#3">3 Sri Jiva Goswami (Tattva-sandarbha 27) writes about Sridhara Svami’s association with the Advaita school: samprati madhya-desadau vyaptan advaita-vadino nunam bhagavan-mahimanam avagahayitum tad-vadena karvurita-lipinam parama-vaisnavanam sridhara-svami-carananami suddha-vaisnava-siddhantanugata cet tarhi yathavad eva vilikhyate. ‘Srila Sridhara Svami is a perfect Vaisnava. But to entice the Advaita-vadis – nowadays prominent all over Madhya-desa and other parts of the country – to become absorbed in the glories of the Supreme Lord, he mixed some traces of their theories into his writings.’


<href="#4">4 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 7.115 and 132-136, translation by Srila Prabhupada. Following is the original Bengali text:

prabhu hasi’ kahe,–‘svami na mane yei jana / vesyara bhitare tare kariye ganana'”…”sridhara-svami nindi’ nija-tika kara! / sridhara-svami nahi mana’,–eta ‘garva’ dhara!”sridhara-svami-prasade ‘bhagavata’ jani / jagad-guru sridhara-svami ‘guru’ kari’ mani”sridhara-upare garve ye kichu likhibe / ‘artha-vyasta’ likhana sei, loke na manibesridharera anugata ye kare likhana / saba loka manya kari’ karibe grahana


<href="#5">5 purvataro ‘nadir isvarah sakha ‘dva suparna’ iti sruteh. samna priya-vakyena sambodhayan.


<href="#6">6 Mundaka Upanisad 3.1.1, Svetasvatara Upanisad 4.6.

<href="#7">7 Rg Veda Samhita 1.164.20.


<href="#8">8 sva-guru-viraha-vyakuli-bhava-dasayam iva sisyasya bhagavad-darsanam syad iti dyotayati.


<href="#9">9 tatreti purvataro ‘nadir isvarah sakha ‘dva suparna’ ity-adi sruteh.


<href="#10">10 brahmano brahmana-vesa-dhariti saksat sviya-svarupa-darsanam premna vina na bhavatiti jnapayatiti smeti bhavah.


<href="#11">11 atma-van antar-acchani-krta-sva-svarupa-yuktah.

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Like this is the carvings go step by step through these great literature's, until at the end we see Srila Prabhupada reciting the Bhagavatam just before leaving this world. If anyone wants to know any details of any of the carvings, just let me know.

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What is Real Yoga?

The word yoga originated from the Sanskrit word "yuj" which means "to link with" or "to unite". What is to be linked or united? The atma and the Paramatma-the soul and the Supreme soul or Supersoul. This definition is well known and generally accepted but there is one major misconception about it: many inexperienced yogis and jnanis think that "unite with" is to be equated with "to merge with". Uniting, however, does not mean that the soul loses its individuality, but it means that the soul acts in accordance with the Supersoul. Each soul is the servant of the Supersoul-Krishna (God).
 
There are different yoga systems which can help us to reach this goal. The reason for the difference between the systems is that they are meant for particular ages and persons. Nevertheless they all have one goal in common: to become free from material bondage and to spiritualize the consciousness. 
 
People who are unfamiliar with the Vedic tradition of yoga see it as an exercise program or a way to relieve stress. Yoga does help in this way, but its main purpose is to help one regain their spiritual consciousness and 'link' again with God.
 
Yoga is more than just a physical exercise.  However, out of the different forms of yoga - real yoga is Bhakti-yoga. Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit word bhaj, which means – loving service. Bhakti-yoga means to connect to the Supreme by means of loving devotional service. 
 
The Bhagavad Gita As It Is, the core spiritual text for ISKCON, describes variety of yoga practices. Among them are karma-yoga (the practice of conscious action), jnana-yoga (philosophical study and contemplation), and hatha-yoga (the practice of yoga-asanas and breathing exercises). 
 
Today, some yoga practitioners consider the physical benefits of yoga to be the end in themselves. But according to the traditional yoga systems, physical exercises are just one step on path of God realization. The Gita ultimately prescribes bhakti-yoga (the path of dedication and love) as the culmination of other yoga practices. Bhakti-yoga focuses on developing our dedication, service and love for the Divinity, Lord Krishna. 
 
This process teaches one how to attain the Supreme through loving devotional service. In this way the goal of ALL the other yoga processes is easily achieved. Although it is the most direct and straight forward process to achieve the Supreme, it is the only one where the practitioner can be married. Having a Krsna conscious child is bhakti-yoga. All other processes strictly demand complete celibacy, are comparatively mechanical and offer only artificial sense control. One example is of Visvamitra Muni- he was mediatiting and became agitated by the ankle bells of the heavenly society girl, Menaka. He was no longer able to control his senses and fell down with her.
 
By chanting the Holy Names of the Lord, one is engaging in bhakti yoga and is able to achieve all perfection. Hari das Thakur, one of Lord Caitanya's intimate associates chanted 300,000 names of the Lord a day. He was approached by a prostitute who was Maya incarnate but he did not succumb to her advances and advised her to chant. The power of the Holy Name was so strong and potent, that she gave up prostitution, accepted Haridas Thakur as her spiritual master, and chanted 300,000 names of the Lord a day for the rest of her life.
 
The path of bhakti-yoga is developed through a variety of activities. These include mantra meditation, or the chanting of the names of God. The chanting is done either individually on beads (japa) or in community by chanting mantras accompanied by music (kirtan). The study of sacred texts such as the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, associating with like-minded spiritual aspirants, eating sanctified vegetarian food, and living in a way that upholds the principles of truthfulness, mercy, austerity, and cleanliness, are all core practices for a life of follower of bhakti. Therefore, bhakti-yoga is in the true sense real yoga.
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Photos from the GBC Plenary

Photos from the GBC Plenary (Album with photos) Photographs of the first day of the GBC meetings on Organizational Development matters. To ensure that as ISKCON grows, its organizational systems and process remain relevant to a growing ISKCON, the Organizational Development Committee (or Org Devt) was established. While remaining loyal to Srila Prabhupada’s directions, Org Dev was tasked to study any necessary structural developments and enhancements in order to meet the needs of our expanding movement. Find them here: https://goo.gl/AuVQDa

Photos from the GBC Plenary (Album with photos)

Photographs of the first day of the GBC meetings on Organizational Development matters.
To ensure that as ISKCON grows, its organizational systems and process remain relevant to a growing ISKCON, the Organizational Development Committee (or Org Devt) was established. While remaining loyal to Srila Prabhupada’s directions, Org Dev was tasked to study any necessary structural developments and enhancements in order to meet the needs of our expanding movement.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/AuVQDa

Source... Dandavats.com

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October 20. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations. Robert Nelson (one of Prabhupada’s first young sympathizers in New York): I went to one of Dr. Mishra’s services and Dr. Mishra talked. Swamiji was sitting on a bench and then all of a sudden Dr. Mishra stopped the service and he gets a big smile and says, ‘Swamiji will sing us a song.’ I think Dr. Mishra wouldn’t let him speak. Somebody told me Dr. Mishra didn’t want him to preach. Years later Srila Prabhupada remembered the situation of the early days of 1965 in a conversation with his disciples. I used to sit in the back and listen to his meetings silently. He was speaking all impersonal nonsense and I kept my silence. Then one day he asked if I would like to speak and I spoke about Krishna consciousness. I challenged that he was speaking manufactured philosophy and all nonsense from Sankaracarya. He tried to back out and said he was not speaking, Sankaracarya was speaking. I said, ‘You are representing him. That is the same thing.’ He then said to me, ‘Swamiji, I like you very much, but you cannot speak here.’ But although our philosophies differed and he would not let me preach, he was kind and I was nice to him. Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#20

October 20. ISKCON 50 – S.Prabhupada Daily Meditations.

Robert Nelson (one of Prabhupada’s first young sympathizers in New York): I went to one of Dr. Mishra’s services and Dr. Mishra talked. Swamiji was sitting on a bench and then all of a sudden Dr. Mishra stopped the service and he gets a big smile and says, ‘Swamiji will sing us a song.’ I think Dr. Mishra wouldn’t let him speak. Somebody told me Dr. Mishra didn’t want him to preach. Years later Srila Prabhupada remembered the situation of the early days of 1965 in a conversation with his disciples. I used to sit in the back and listen to his meetings silently. He was speaking all impersonal nonsense and I kept my silence. Then one day he asked if I would like to speak and I spoke about Krishna consciousness. I challenged that he was speaking manufactured philosophy and all nonsense from Sankaracarya. He tried to back out and said he was not speaking, Sankaracarya was speaking. I said, ‘You are representing him. That is the same thing.’ He then said to me, ‘Swamiji, I like you very much, but you cannot speak here.’ But although our philosophies differed and he would not let me preach, he was kind and I was nice to him.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20490/#20

Source... Dandavats.com

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By Padmapani das

Chrissie Hynde, lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the legendary rock group The Pretenders, has just published her memoir entitled “Reckless: My Life as a Pretender.” In her book, Ms. Hynde writes candidly about her “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” lifestyle. Despite so much excess in her youth, Chrissie Hynde has gone from reckless to Krishna conscious. While describing her rebellious teenage years growing up in suburban Akron, Ohio, she states the following:

“Even posters were a new thing, formerly the domain of Hollywood, show business and the circus. Now, any bedroom could be transformed into a hippie palace with a few posters, lava lamps and a radio. Black light optional. When we weren’t out watching local bands, of which there were at least a few in every city in America, we congregated in hippie pads, dorm rooms or biker hangouts, surrounded by antiwar slogans, ‘Hallelujah the Pill!’ freelance posters and psychedelic multi-band concert announcements from places like Fillmore West and the Avalon Ballroom. Posters that promised spiritual healing, poetry and rock music:

KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS COMES WEST
SWAMI BHAKTIVEDANTA * ALLEN GINSBERG
THE GRATEFUL DEAD * MOBY GRAPE
BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY
MANTRA * ROCK DANCE
SUNDAY JAN. 29 AVALON BALLROOM 8 PM”

After describing a hard-fought climb to the pinnacle of success in the male-dominated world of rock ‘n’ roll superstardom, Chrissie Hynde reflects thoughtfully in the final pages of her epilogue:

“I think it’s easy to see that the moral of my story is that drugs, including tobacco and alcohol, only cause suffering … Philosophically, I’ve kept an ongoing relationship with the Bhagavad Gita, the glory I bask in, always finding answers for everything and solace.”

This is not the first time Ms. Hynde has extolled the virtues and glories of the Gita. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper on September 14, 2014, she commented:

“My favourite book is the Bhagavad Gita. It’s a 700-verse Hindu scripture and I love the verse that says your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. You can either pull yourself down or lift yourself up.”

In December of the same year, the travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, asked Hynde what she packs first when going on a trip or vacation. She replied:

“A copy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered the jewel in the crown of Ayurvedic literature. It’s just a good book to have on hand; you can read a passage of it every morning and it’s quite illuminating. It’s something I’d never like to leave home without — well, that and my American Express card.”

And closer to home, Ms. Hynde has written a preface to Ranchor Prime’s book, “Cows and the Earth: A Story of Kinder Dairy Farming,” promoting cruelty-free farming. She also helped to launch the book by making an appearance with Ranchor in London along with two of Bhaktivedanta Manor’s oxen, Sukadeva and Sahadeva.

If that isn’t enough, Chrissie Hynde is famous for her animal activisim around the globe. She has attended and led demonstrations against animal cruelty on a number of continents and has even been arrested more than once for her fearless protests against meat-eating, slaughterhouses, Indian leather products and other forms of animal abuse.

Chrissie Hynde is no shrinking violet and no stranger to controversy, but she always speaks her truth with boldness and conviction. Ms. Hynde is a force to be reckoned with, and a modern day spiritual hero.

Source... Dandavats.com

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On the fairness of falldown

This essay was originally an answer of Suhotra Prabhu to a question about the “fairness” of our falldown to the material world.

========= First of all we strongly suggest those who have a specific interest in the falldown of the spirit soul from the spiritual world to acquire the book entitled Our Original Position, which is available from the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. It is a very elaborate treatment with much quotations from sastra.

I find a refrain in the “condemned,” “pretty unfair,” “felix culpa,” “how could I know” and “bad mistake” arguments that is typical of persons for whom the “original falldown” is a major philosophical stumbling block. And that is, “It’s not my fault. It must be Krishna’s fault.”

You have to face this point unflinchingly: it *is* your fault.

And you have to face this next point unflinchingly: as long as you entertain the notion that it could be Krishna’s fault (that He’s “pretty unfair”), you will remain in this material world, birth after birth.

Accepting that it is your fault that you are fallen into the cycle of birth and death is what surrender is all about. It is only by accepting this that we can sincerely accept the Lord’s help in getting ourselves delivered from this fallen state. Logically, if it is not your fault, then you are not really fallen. Just like, if you end up in prison for a crime you did not deliberately commit (maybe you were just a victim of association, but you personally did not intend harm), then you are not really a criminal, are you?

But the fact is, we *are* criminals. And we can’t be reformed until we admit it wholeheartedly.

Now, zeroing in on the crux of your doubt — that we fell out of krishna-lila because of some unexpected flare-up of envy, and so how can we be eternally condemned for something over which we had no control — you’ve missed the real controller, Krishna. It is a fact that I, as a tiny spirit soul, have no power to control the ebb and flow of emotional states. But Krishna, the parama-isvara (supreme controller), does.

So there are two implications I wish to draw your attention to.

If your idea is that we fell because of an emotional flare-up, then behind that idea is a lack of faith in Krishna’s control over those emotions. To be surrendered to Krishna means to place oneself completely under Krishna’s control. So why would Krishna permit the emotions of His surrendered devotee to flare up in some spiritually detrimental manner? Therefore, 1) either Krishna doesn’t really have control over the ebb and flow of emotions that affect living beings, or 2) He does but He takes pleasure in allowing these emotions to cast someone down into darkness. I.e. Krishna doesn’t always have our best interests in mind. Or worse, He has a malicious streak.

The adoption of either of these two positions is uncalled for. If you find one, the other or both reasonable, then why trouble yourself with following the Vedic scriptures? The Vedic scriptures state: isvara parama krsna: “Krishna is the supreme controller.”

So then how did we fall victim to uncontrolled emotions?

The answer is that *first* we assumed a position of independence from Krishna’s control. Our assuming that position was not prompted by some flood of emotions. It was a conscious choice. As Srila Prabhupada writes:

“Anandamayo ‘bhyasat (Vedanta-sutra 1.1.12). Both the Lord and the living entity, being qualitatively spirit soul, have the tendency for peaceful enjoyment, but when the part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead unfortunately wants to enjoy independently, without Krishna, he is put into the material world, where he begins his life as Brahma and is gradually degraded to the status of an ant or a worm in stool.” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.24.58, purport)

So the uncontrolled emotions that wind us up in lower forms like ants and worms come later. First comes the exalted post of Brahma, who manifests the full potency of a jiva (a liberated spirit soul). Brahma is situated in brahma-varcasa, the Brahman effulgence. Therefore Bhagavatam 2.3.2 states that those who wish to attain the divine light of Brahman should worship Brahma. But Brahma thinks himself *independent* of Krishna.

“That Brahma becomes liberated is known to everyone, but he cannot liberate his devotees. Demigods like Brahma and Lord Shiva cannot give liberation to any living entity. As it is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, only one who surrenders unto Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, can be liberated from the clutches of maya. Brahma is called here adyah sthira-caranam. He is the original, first-created living entity, and after his own birth he creates the entire cosmic manifestation. He was fully instructed in the matter of creation by the Supreme Lord. Here he is called veda-garbha, which means that he knows the complete purpose of the Vedas. He is always accompanied by such great personalities as Marici, Kasyapa and the seven sages, as well as by great mystic yogis, the Kumaras and many other spiritually advanced living entities, but he has his own interest, separate from the Lord’s. Bheda-drstya means that Brahma sometimes thinks that he is independent of the Supreme Lord, or he thinks of himself as one of the three equally independent incarnations. [“Three equally independent incarnations” means Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma… but actually Brahma is not independent, because he is a jiva (fragmental soul, a constitutional servant of God), whereas Vishnu and Shiva are both classified as isvara (Lords).]” (Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.32.12-15, purport)

And, so, as Srila Prabhupada continues in this same purport:

“Here the word bheda-drstya occurs because Brahma has a slight inclination to think that he is as independent as Rudra. Sometimes Brahma thinks that he is independent of the Supreme Lord, and the worshiper also thinks that Brahma is independent. For this reason, after the destruction of this material world, when there is again creation by the interaction of the material modes of nature, Brahma comes back. Although Brahma reaches the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the first purusa incarnation, Maha-Vishnu, who is full with transcendental qualities, he cannot stay in the spiritual world.”

Please digest the full implications of the above quotation. Brahma, the post occupied by the jiva upon his assumption of independence from the Lord, is a liberated personality. He is not dashed here and there by hot fluxes of emotions, whether envy or anything else. Brahma *knows* fully well the Supreme Lord as Maha-Vishnu. He returns to Him after his period of duty as the creator of the universe. But Brahma also has a tendency, due to his conception of independence, to become attached to his post as the creator… so that when again Vishnu breathes out the universes, Brahma leaves Him to take up the post of a lord of creation again. This second returning to the material world is considered to be his falldown — the falldown of the jiva. Here you see an emotional element creeping in… attachment, prestige, etc, which brings him back to the material world even after his assignment is completed. This is the sign of growing ignorance. That is confirmed thusly later in the same purport:

“The specific significance of his coming back may be noted. Brahma and the great rsis and the great master of yoga (Shiva) are not ordinary living entities; they are very powerful and have all the perfections of mystic yoga. But still they have an inclination to try to become one with the Supreme, and therefore they have to come back. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam it is accepted that as long as one thinks that he is equal with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is not completely purified or knowledgeable. In spite of going up to the first purusa-avatar, Maha-Vishnu, after the dissolution of this material creation, such personalities again fall down or come back to the material creation.”

The falling down of the jiva into material creation therefore has little in common with the scenario of his being carried away willy-nilly by some unfortunate gush of feelings.

It is the result of a deliberate, conscious and informed choice.

Perhaps you still have a doubt about how a soul comes to think himself independent. It can be postulated that before he assumed the post of Brahma, that soul must have been with Krishna in His pastimes within the eternal realm of Goloka. How is it that this particular soul goes from there to the post of Brahma?

The answer is that Krishna’s pastimes are expansive. As Krishna expands His pastimes, so also the souls expand within Him into further realms of His divine lila or play. The creation of the material world is one more expanded lila. Thus the Lord Himself personally enters the material world, and so also do His devotees. Even the eternal residents of Goloka Vrindavan enter the material world at the time Krishna personally descends Himself, as He did 5000 years ago in Bhauma Vrindavan (the Vrindavan on earth, in India, 90 miles south of New Delhi). Some of these residents assume forms different than their Goloka identities. Narada Muni, for instance, the sage who preaches bhakti throughout the 3 worlds, is originally Madhumangala, a friend of Krishna’s in Goloka. And Narada is the son of Brahma. Brahma is a role a jiva can get in the Lord’s pastime of creation if that jiva is interested in participating in the creation-lila from a position apparently as independent as that of God Himself. This particular position (Brahma) is the one from which a soul *may* fall (it is not guaranteed he will) from the Lord’s association into enmeshment in creation. In other words, rather than simply participating in creation from a transcendental position (as do the residents of Vrindavan and Narada Muni), such a soul, by attachment to his lordly position, becomes *part* of the creation… life after life.

Source... Dandavats.com

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IMPERSONALISM AND KRISHNA WEST

Both of these statements are from Hridayananda Goswami: “It’s like a rite of passage, a test of your faith and love, that you don’t care what the public thinks,” Resnick said. “If we go out in the street, it’s like Vedic Cirque du Soleil. People love it. They take pictures. But how many Americans want to join the circus?”[1]

“Then of course there's the argument about uniforms. And what I say is the general advantage of a uniform does not necessarily justify a specific uniform. It's like what if for example a policeman instead of wearing these sort of like really cool pants and shirts and everything, what if they wore mini-skirts, or what if they wore clown costumes? You could say, "Well it's a uniform." What if police wore clown costumes so if you saw someone dressed as a clown on the street you know, "That's a policeman. So, I need a policeman. Look for someone in a clown costume." It's not just the general idea of wearing a uniform, it's wearing something that people feel comfortable with, they can relate to, and it totally connects with them.” [2]

The first is from a recently published article on the Krishna West project, and the second is from a lecture he gave at the ISKCON temple in Hawaii in 2011. It is clear he thinks devotees who dress in dhotis and saris and chant Hare Krishna on the streets of cities all over the world are “clowns” and part of a “circus.”

Compare his unflattering remarks to Srila Prabhupada’s praise for Western devotees who dressed in dhoti and sari and took to the culture he himself loved.

“When I was speaking in Berkeley University sometimes in the year 1966, one Indian student stood up and he said, ‘Swamiji, what this Krsna consciousness movement will do? We require now technology.’ So I replied, ‘Yes. You are after technology. So you are a beggar. I am not a beggar. I have come here to give something. That is the difference. I have come here to give some culture, and you have come to imitate the Western civilization by technology. That is the difference. You'll remain a beggar, I shall remain a giver. That is the difference.’ So still I am maintaining that position of giving, not taking. Before me, so many swamijis went there. They did not give, but they took something and came here and advertised themselves as foreign-returned sannyasi and exploited the people. They lost even their original dress. Everyone knows, I have never changed my dress. Rather, I have given the dress to the foreigners, and they have taken it. The Ramakrishna mission people came to request me that I dress myself in coat, pant, hat. Because they are doing. Their so-called swamis, they are dressed in coat, pant, hat.

“So this is a culture. This culture is meant for the human society. Fortunately this culture developed on this land of Bharatavarsa. Unfortunately, people are so much bewildered that they are giving up this culture. That is the most regrettable portion of, of our movement. Anyway, my mission was that I shall go to America, and if some of the American boys and girls, younger section, would accept it, then I'll bring them here to show these rascals that how great this culture is. So portion of the population, they are realizing now.” (Lecture, SB 1.9.48 Mayapur, 14 Jun 1973)

The source audio clip (audio file attached) even more emphatically reveals Srila Prabhupada’s love and appreciation for the historic culture of India. He was proud of his disciples who had taken to it. If ISKCON is to remain Srila Prabhupada’s institution, then it must also continue to preserve the preferences of its founder. Otherwise, if it is indifferent or hostile to his preferences, then how is ISKCON still Srila Prabhupada’s institution? It can’t be, because even the so-called little things are pleasing to Krishna and His representative. Yasya prasadat bhagavat prasado yasyaprasadan na gati kuto pi. If this principle is disrespected, then ISKCON’s mission is also vanquished.

Consider for example a vyasa-puja celebration for Srila Prabhupada in which none of the foodstuffs prepared include anything Srila Prabhupada is known to have liked. Despite having positive information about Srila Prabhupada’s preferences and the ability to cook according to them, the cooks still say, “As long as whatever we cook is offered with love and devotion (and it is vegetarian), then Prabhupada will accept it.” But what does it mean to have “love and devotion” toward someone yet be indifferent to his likes and dislikes? Obviously, someone prefers pizza to pakoras, but it’s not Srila Prabhupada. It is someone else. The effort to cook the feast is motivated by the cooks substituting their own preferences for Srila Prabhupada’s and then ascribing those preferences to him. It is much like what scholars do when they use Krishna’s words to promote some idea of their own and then say that Krishna endorses their idea. The indifference is motivated by impersonalism, and all endeavors based on this indifference are therefore opposed to bhakti.

A typical motivation for this indifference is utilitarianism. In his purport to SB 3.15.19, Srila Prabhupada says, “One time an atheistic svami remarked, ‘What is the use of watering the tulasi plant? It is better to water eggplant. By watering the eggplant one can get some fruits, but what is the use of watering the tulasi?’ These foolish creatures, unacquainted with devotional service, sometimes play havoc with the education of people in general.” Although appealing to a utilitarian motive, the “atheistic swami” obviously prefers eggplant to Tulasi. His utilitarianism is still guided by a personal preference—his own.

By way of accepting a religious principle for a utilitarian purpose, even theists can make the same mistake of substituting their own preferences for Krishna’s or the acharya’s. At one time, large numbers of devotees engaged in collecting money by selling record albums and stickers with the idea that the money would be used for Krishna. But this generally turned out to have been a bad thing. Some of the money was indeed used for Krishna conscious purposes, but for the most part the motivation for taking up those economic activities was something other than bhakti. It was niyama-aagraha, which Srila Prabhupada says is “accepting some of the scriptural rules and regulations for immediate benefit, as utilitarians advocate” (NOD 2). That is why devotees in general eventually abandoned those activities. “Utilitarian” means that something is useful for a purpose, so with all things utilitarian, the question becomes a matter of desire. The purpose of doing something is to fulfill someone’s desire. If it’s not Krishna’s desire, it’s your own, and then you ascribe your desire to Krishna. The motivation again is impersonalism.

As quoted in the On Faith article, “’Some temples are a little too attached to the traditions as they came,’ said Sarvatma Das, a 34-year devotee and Hare Krishna priest.” [1] However, those traditions come substantially from Krishna Himself. People who develop reverence and devotion for some extraordinary person often adopt the likes and preferences of their object of worship. In the same way, it is natural for a devotee of Krishna to also be very interested in Krishna’s likes and preferences. The Lord in many incarnations appeared in India, and He interacted with the people there. How do Krishna’s people dress, eat, sit, walk, live, marry, etc? A devotee of Krishna will want to know these things, because they represent the preferences of that which is worshippable. But if in the name of swelling the ranks of ISKCON we abandon the principle that Krishna has His own, personal preferences apart from ours, our endeavor will have been useless from the beginning.

Some say that just because a woman wears a sari does not make her a devotee, and that is true. But that is irrelevant to the fact that the sartorial and culinary facets of India, along with many others, substantially reflect the original, unchanging culture that comes from the spiritual world—the culture that Krishna and His devotees prefer. The Krishna West project is motivated by a materialistic idea of culture, one that denies those personal preferences.

The Krishna West project is tainted with impersonalism. As stated in the On Faith article, “Resnick and his organization, Krishna West, want to reverse that [Indian] normalization. They imagine a temple without saris. Prasadam could be Italian, Brazilian or Chinese if correctly offered to Krishna. As long as they use the proper mantras, guitarists, drummers or jazz bands could lead chanting.”[1]  But what does Krishna Himself like, and what does Srila Prabhupada like? Krishna West teaches that we can worship Krishna and yet ignore Krishna’s personal preferences. They give us a Faustian bargain: we attract people to Krishna consciousness by catering to their own, personal desires while denying that Krishna has His own personal desires.

Notes

[1] Rosalie Murphy, “Hare Krishna Gets Evangelical” 16 Jun 2014, On Faith, 19 Jun 2014  

[2] Hridayananda Goswami, “Future of ISKCON” 18 Oct 2011, ISKCON Hawaii, ISKCON Desire Tree, 19 Jun 2014

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Chanting spread around the world. If the name of Hari will repeat the materialist, the Lord gives him the sense gratification. Repeated with faith, however, refuses to every kind of sensual pleasure and submit to the Lord his pure love. In Kali-yuga, chanting the names and qualities of the Lord - the highest religion.
Harinama-sankirtana is like a big ax that can cut the strong knot sinful activities. Age of Kali is so unusual that people of other South wish to be born in this age. Why is that? Because they want to be able to chant "Hare Krishna" and preach the glories of the holy names. This is confirmed in the "Srimad Bhagavatam" (5/11/38): "The people of Satya-yuga and other ages are eager to be born in the age of Kali because in this age of the world many devotees of the Supreme Lord."

"Sri Chaitanya Mangala"

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Srila Prabhupada on benefits of Cow Protection

Rojer Chaudhary's photo.

There are so many facilities afforded by cow protection, but people have forgotten these arts. The importance of protecting cows is therefore stressed by Krsna in Bhagavad-gita (krsi-go-raksya-vanijyam vaisya-karma svabhavajam [Bg. 18.44]). Even now in the Indian villages surrounding Vrndavana, the villagers live happily simply by giving protection to the cow. They keep cow dung very carefully and dry it to use as fuel. They keep a sufficient stock of grains, and because of giving protection to the cows, they have sufficient milk and milk products to solve all economic problems. Simply by giving protection to the cow, the villagers live so peacefully. Even the urine and stool of cows have medicinal value. SB 10.6.19 Purport

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Author: 
 Karnamrita Das

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The Joy and Effort in Marriage photo Marriage ceremony_zpstxaeao9v.jpg
(picture from http://lotuseyesphotography.com/)


As an introduction to the Seven Marital tips, I would like to suggest the essential concept of the “trinad api marriage” (which my wife and I are teaching in the 3rd Annual Couple’s Retreat in October in Gita-nagari PA as part of the Grihastha Vision Team effort.) This is a relationship based on mutual humility, tolerance, and respect and is the spiritual basis for a successful marriage. All the other marriage tips that follow can be seen to revolve around this verse spoken by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. “One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord [or remain in a happy, spiritually vibrant, marriage throughout their lives.]

All devotees are recommended to wear this verse around their neck. In a similar way my wife and I recommend that all married couples wear this verse around their necks and think of how to apply it in their marriage, in their life, and in devotional activities. In a marriage we honor and respect one another as devotees (or as souls) and do our best to see to the ultimate welfare of our spouse and family according to their nature. Love and trust, given not only by Shrila Prabhupada but by many marriage authorities, are important qualities for long lasting, fulfilling, relationships. For this discussion, I would add that love and trust come from each person practicing the qualities of humility, tolerance, and respect. These qualities give life to our spiritual practices and marriage. Please keep this in mind as you hear the following simple, though profound, marital tips.

Tip 1: Be committed to personal growth work and the inner vision it fosters in order to become the best person you can. In the process of self-study, understand your life issues and how they can trigger reactionary conflicts in your relationships. Learn to be introspective and observe yourself, understanding both your attractions and repulsions. If you have negative emotional reactions toward certain persons, ask yourself why, and find help if required. Be open to discovering and letting go of those parts of your conditioning that are unfavorable for having happy, healthy, relationships. In short, “Know thyself,” (the age old recommendation) or your strengths and weaknesses, and strive to improve. We are always students of ourselves and on our spiritual journey. We have found studying the Enneagram a very helpful tool in both understanding ourselves and in others.

Tip 2: As far as possible know your spouse’s nature with appreciation. Find their essential goodness and believe in and foster this. Spiritual life is not about staying the same but changing for the better; marriage can greatly facilitate this. How? One of the unglorified purposes of marriage is that your spouse is like a mirror who reveals your own faults and shortcomings. Thus conflicts or disagreements, which actually reveal your personal “issues,” can be welcomed as they are important feedback about the individual and couple’s work that is required. It takes “two to tango,” and two to tangle, so the more you know about yourself and your spouse, and are actively working on the issues between you, the better the “dance” of your relationship. Marriage is an incredible opportunity to grow as persons and to create a space that brings out the best in both persons and in the children that may come.


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Tip 3: To be good or successful at anything requires study and flexibility in application. Thus, make it a priority to study about healthy and unhealthy, stressful and joyful, relationships, and discover what you can do to change for the better as individuals and in the relationship. (Change could actually be discovering who you really are, physically speaking, and acting accordingly.) There are many good books on the market which can be quite helpful. Be in the mood of the swan and take the essential while leaving the rest. Additionally, find long-standing happy couples with good spiritual practices and ask them what their secrets of marriage are. Every person and every couple can be teachers for us, either as good or bad examples. Keeping a beginner’s mind, or being open to learn more about yourself and how to improve your relationships, is a very good attitude to cultivate and pray for.

Tip 4: An important point in today’s marriages is to understand that the classical natures of men and women, which are often described in scriptures and touted by some as “the standard,” are often mixed up or different from other times. Men may some have female qualities and women, men’s. This is our practical experience and calls for adjustments in details. Social roles are details and not principles in spiritual life. Additionally, when both persons are breadwinners, this also changes what is “women’s work” or “men’s work.” Thus traditional roles have to be adjusted in terms of the particular natures and work of the individuals, rather than trying to force stereotypes (think hybrid). The basic guiding principle should be to do whatever works to support each individual and the relationship for the long haul in the context of spiritual advancement. Both husband and wife can serve one another, honoring their spouse as a devotee. Humility begins at home.


Forgiveness photo Forgiveness and gratitude_zpsflqpexu3.jpg


Tip 5: While spiritual practice and sharing Krishna conscious together are two of the most important purposes of a marriage, if we actually look deeply into what marriage is about, we will find that in addition to the common understanding that marriage provides companionship and mutual support, marriage also helps us learn to selflessly sacrifice for others, and to be charitable—both of which purify our tendency to be an exploiter and think we are the center. Some might argue that this tip should have been the first, yet without the previous four, one will find it difficult to remain married, and especially happily married, for the long haul in the safe shelter that marriage can provide.

Tip 6: A fascinating point, very useful in long term marriages is that your relationship with your spouse has an existence of its own—independent of either person—and thus it needs to be nurtured, as much as you both have to take care of yourself and one another. The relationship has elements of both persons in it, and yet it is distinct, and needs “care and feeding.” Marital problems can be seen as coming from the neglect of this “us-ness” or what you are together—the relationship. So it isn’t that the two of you become one as much as that together you become, or create, a third entity called the relationship. The relationship is maintained and nourished by the mutual care you give it, as enriched by the love and trust between you.

You remain individuals yet you also have synergy between you through the relationship and are more together than you would be by yourself. Power struggles and competition mean you are neglecting the relationship and trying to define yourself separately at the cost of your spouse and the relationship. You are a team for serving one another and others in the framework of spiritual practice. Lastly, I should add, that chanting japa or engaging in other spiritual practices and devotional activities together is good for the relationship, and in remembering that both persons are devotees, whereas just “hanging out,” often isn’t.

Bonus Tip 7: “Marriage is not supposed to make you happy. It’s supposed to make you married; and once you are safely and totally married, you have a structure of security and support from which you can find your own happiness.” [From Frank Pittman’s book, “Grow Up! How Taking Responsibility Can Make You a Happy Adult”] This quote gives us very wise advice but goes against much of our material conditioning that people and things can bring us happiness. Lasting happiness and fulfillment are an inside job and are largely the result of our positive attitude and self-talk, healthy self-esteem (often the result of personal growth work and deep introspection), and a sense of personal mission in the context of the satisfaction and peace that spiritual practice and goals afford us.

*Some adjustments have to made in mixed marriages where only one person is an acknowledged or practicing devotee of Krishna.

Here is a link for our Couple's Retreat this coming October help at the Gita-nagari yoga farm in Pennsylvania an hour West of Harrisburg:
http://vaisnavafamilyresources.org/event/3rd-annual-gita-nagari-couples-...


K & AS photo Karnam and Arcana at retreat_zpscl4rtpgy.jpg photo 10426760_719436361435834_7633690967_zps6dcd9760.jpg

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5
Author: 
 Karnamrita Das

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One mantra at a time photo DSCN6338_zpsnr4rfzvu.jpg
Part I

Many devotees struggle with chanting on their beads (japa). Some devotees make a big endeavor to come to the standard of chanting 16 rounds with the goal of initiation, and then after initiation, find it too much work, and give it up. While I have been steady at my chanting since I took it up—which I consider has kept me a devotee—I can't say it has often been of a very good quality. At times it has been very challenging to continue the practice—yet I did.

Lately, I have been going deeper with my chanting by daily setting the intention to actually hear, and to chant purely, while endeavoring to be present to hear one mantra, or concentrating on one bead, at a time, and praying constantly for help. I must say this has made a startling improvement in my experience, though it takes continual effort, and my focus comes and goes. I had a very profound experience of this as I prepared for a wedding talk I recently blogged about, and I am continuing to build on that. 

I think we forget, or don't know, what chanting is, that it's a prayer to make spiritual progress by taking full shelter of the Lord, like a child crying for its mother—an absolute feeling of dependence and seeking shelter. We are offering our heart and soul to Krishna. We are his and praying to remember. To facilitate this, I have made an experiment, by taking my beads out of my beadbag, so I can see one bead, and focus on hearing one mantra, one holy name, one syllable, at a time as I chant and pray on each bead: Let me hear, let me go deeper, let me glorify you dear Lord, etc. Try it! 

This is our special, private time with Krishna. Just you and Krishna--and your mind, and desires, and sometimes those anarthas (unwanted habits) that bubble up into our consciousness. Not always pretty, but that is our spiritual work, and what we pray to have removed. So this is an essential practice, and one of activities we vow to do when we are initiated by a guru. For you kirtaneers, this practice of focused, mindful, prayerful japa, will greatly help your quality and presence in kirtan—japa and kirtan are like brother and sister, though for most devotees, japa is more difficult. We are in great need of the Lord's mercy, and in order to do this type of intense chanting, we have to remember this fact. Otherwise we will just try to get the rounds done so we can do other things.

We must learn the art of being as fully present as possible—and praying to increase. While we may know this, we may not endeavor practically. Personally, rising very early in the morning has been instrumental in helping me, though I have a life that facilitates this. This is one of the benefits of being older and not having to travel to work—my "work" is sadhana, or I am endeavoring for that, since I know my days are numbered and I have wasted so many years in being a casual devotee. We have many milestones in life that can be a catalyst for action—one of mine was turning 65 in June. Me, of all people? Yes, you, and everyone in time, if you live that long. What do you have to show for these years? So let these years count to go deeper in spiritual practice one day and step at a time, and to share that.
Shri Chaitanya chants japa photo Chaitanya chants_zps0jzbe8ea.jpg
Part of our tradition is to keep the beads in the bad for various reasons, so taking them out needs clarification. For me, it has served an important purpose of focus and attention. I have reasoned that in doing so we have to judge by the results: it has greatly helped me focus on the holy name. I can't argue with that, though I may also respect various rules and reasons. We are taught by Lord Chaitanya that there are no hard and fast rules for chanting. I am only working on changing some bad habits, not starting a new practice. There is a current adage that if we always do what we always done, we will always get what we have always gotten. So if we are distracted and doing mechanical japa, then some adjustment, even a radical one, must be made—and I am not on a soapbox telling everyone to chant as I do; I’m speaking about what has helped me, and I am excited to share it. My real recommendation is to set daily japa and life intentions, to learn to be more present (mindfulness), and to pray for all we are worth—however we chant. Whatever works to facilitate this can be accepted.

Old bad habits die hard, so whatever can help us be as fully present as possible, keeping a prayerful mood, and remembering that the holy name is Radha and Krishna. Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur taught that chanting should be "heart deep not lip deep." This takes much reflection on how we can improve. We are practicing putting our whole attention and feeling into the holy name. In effect, we are praying to be emptied of whatever doesn't foster our devotion, and to accept whatever can help us advance spiritually. I neglected this for so many years—I am a spokesman for the ill-effects of inattentive, distracted japa—and so I feel I have to make up for lost and wasted time.

Simultaneously I realize that we all have our own time to flower, so we have to continue even when it is difficult. We can pray for taste and the company of those who have it. Anything worthy of achievement takes considerable focus and effort, and so spiritual life is no different—though in this effort, much divine help is available. So we have to pray for such help, and for the sincerity to have the proper mood. I have been a late bloomer my whole life, but better late than never! Keep on keeping on.

When I was preparing a recent wedding talk on this subject I realized I was sounding a bit like an evangelist, yet I am enthused to speak, and don't know how else to express it. How can one be calmly excited?
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Part II

Meditations on chanting:

From the larger picture, going inward
breaking down japa into the breath
slowing from the hour to the moment
from the finish line to forever beginning
just the awareness of the holy name,
nothing else but the prayer to improve:

Traveling from
One round to,
One bead,
One mantra,
One holy name,
One syllable
at a time to hear,
really hear,
easy does it,
to be present
there can be no rush
to finish for other things—
nothing else exists.
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Setting the all-pervading intention
with constant prayer giving life
to finish our complacency/distraction
by trying something “new” but old
going back to the basics—beginner’s mind
with a sense of wise urgency
as if our life depends on it—
spiritually, it does, if we understand:
we become what we think about
what are attachments are
where our faith is—we are!—
so by that definition
Who are you—really, right now?
How to change into our real self?

Traveling from
One round to,
One bead,
One mantra,
One holy name,
One syllable
at a time to hear,
really hear,
easy does it,
to be present
there can be no rush
to finish for other things—
nothing else exists.
Our altar photo FSCN2788_zpsm2yfhimm.jpg
Offering each bead
to our Deity and guides
please accept me Lord
Let me accept you--
The holy name is
Radha and Krishna
most mercifully present
to bless and help us
so let me be present
for this one name
praying for help
to have the right mood
of surrender and dependence
"Please help me Lord!"
there is no time
but this moment
only the holy name
our concentration
feeling this one bead
then going to the next—

Traveling from
One round to,
One bead,
One mantra,
One holy name,
One syllable
at a time to hear,
really hear,
easy does it,
to be present
there can be no rush
to finish for other things—
nothing else exists.
 photo 10423899_351480841680013_7912027324_zpsacfec5bb.jpg
Our life is our purposeful practice
for that which is above and beyond
changing our attention and intent
from thinking we are a body
to knowing we are a giving soul
having a biological survival experience
now with a new light and direction
from our majoring in conventional actions—
instead—doing what is required
to feed our soul, still on life support
as we cling to our sensual fantasies
covered by—not you—but “I, me, mine,”
with extended selfishness to further our ego,
so our ego screams and cries for survival
in the face of its planned demise
by a gradual, though focused endeavor
beginning like bitter medicine with pain
slowly increasing in steadiness and sweetness
fed by philosophy, service, and saints
helping us become convinced
to stay the course the whole life
the journey beyond theory to knowing—
when we know what to do, we joyfully act.

Traveling from
One round to,
One bead,
One mantra,
One holy name,
One syllable
at a time to hear,
really hear,
easy does it,
to be present,
there can be no rush
to finish for other things—
nothing else exists.

 photo 10583794_755893444449319_3207714139_zps28c84150.jpgDepending on Krishna! photo Quotes-by-Srila-Prabhupada-on-Posit_zps2f61de33.jpg

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Photobucket
[republished from 08-15-2009]

When the student is ready
the guru is sent to help--
by the grace of Shri Krishna
our spiritual life revived.

Wandering by karma
throughout the vast Universe
sometimes as a great demigod
down to a lowly bug.

Out of thousands and millions
of lost souls transversing bodies
one is especially blessed
to receive the seed of Bhakti.

Then life after life
spiritual progress is made
until one loves Krishna completely
having no need for the world.

Everything begins by a saint's blessing
sometimes unknowingly given--
when good company is kept
one's nature and interest is changed.

Like a cold iron rod
placed in roaring fire
gradually heating to red-hot
non-different from fire.

That fire continues to blaze
consuming all fuel
until all karma is finished
& one offers one's entire self.

How long the process takes
depends on how urgent our necessity,
whether one is detoured by offenses
becoming cold, or making the fire blaze.

This fire is kept alive
by offenseless hearing and chanting
of the holy name and scriptures,
humbly serving Guru and Krishna.

Both grace and effort are required
as we endeavor our best
yet we humbly acknowledge
that mercy is always essential.

Our spiritual life began by grace:
sustained by our spiritual practice (a blessing)
our ability to stay the course (effect of grace),
& finally, we move to Krishna, by grace.

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Receiving Nature’s Aesthetic and Wisdom

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Author: 
 Karnamrita Das

Clouds galore photo DSCN6705_zpse0nzw0hl.jpg
Amidst serene and scenic beauty
an island house getaway
observing vistas three stories high
visible water on two sides
crashing waves and calm waters

salt scented wind forever blows
the all-powerful sun runs the show
floating unimaginable tons of water
as easily as we breathe and sigh
artistically decorating the vast sky
by billowy, multi-colored, cotton balls
shapeshifting by the mind's desires
 photo FSCN6695_zpswyjukokk.jpg
that amaze and delight my imagination
fostering creativity and contemplation
O, the wonder of being alive and aware
having the time to be, and simply stare
without distractions or appointments
only the constant Nature forces
ubiquitous—ha!— yet so profound
often missed with our busy-ness
here or there—going somewhere
but not arriving at our true longing.
Sunset 2 photo FSCN6675_zpsz6rdota8.jpg photo DSCN6652_zpsonqh1dun.jpg

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