By Rachael LeValley

tesam evanukampartham
aham ajsana-jam tamah
nasayamy atma-bhava-stho
jsana-dipena bhasvata

To show them special mercy, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance. (Bg 10.11)

Last week was Save The Cow Kirtan Mela at the ISKCON New Talavan Farm Community in Carriere, Mississippi. A three-day festival, it is held to bring awareness to animal rights and is an effort to save and to protect Mother Cow.

Across the farm’s Southern Mississippi landscape, in sweet October, yogis were spread about breathing deeply and sitting nicely; their eyes closed. Tents had been set up: devotees were making sugarcane juice from sugarcane harvested on the farm; Prabhupada’s books were distributed; child protection within ISKCON communities was openly and graciously discussed; devotee-made medicinal oils and dolls were available… everyone came with something to share.

And what’s a festival without music?

“When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him.”

Madhava Prabhu joined Aindra Prabhu’s 24-hour kirtan when he was 18-years-old. With this experience, Madhava Prabhu deeply understands that Krsna is listening to the kirtan and He has very sensitive ears. We have to chant nicely.

To begin his kirtans, Madhava Prabhu reads something written by one of the great acaryas, something for everyone to consider before chanting – heart to heart, crying for the Lord.

Nine years running, this year is the second year the festival hosted a 24-hour kirtan! Sri Nama Prabhu, with us through the darkness and the Transcendental Sound Vibration sent into the night, emanating from New Talavan which sits in the middle of all the ill-effects and results of the material world – slaughterhouses, the “entertainment” of illicit sex, soil erosion, government corruption, the legal and illegal drug industries that prey on the human Soul, the human rights abuses… Yes, Nama Prabhu, smack in the middle of Kali Yuga. Sri Krsna appears in the form of His name and Sri Nama has His own reason for being there!

The organizers, a very busy group of devotees – residents of both Alachua and New Talavan, gave us this Mercy. Nectar for the fallen, conditioned Souls.

“Sometimes Mayavadi philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very, very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion.”

Kish Rico, leading kirtan, recited the 12 Holy Names of Lord Nityananda and recommended this list of descriptions be used as a reference for how to be a good husband; the young people danced as Vijay Krsna amped voice rang out, late into the night, “Who’s going to Mangala-arati? Not me!” (He made the Srimad Bhagavatam class! With enthusiasm!)

Dear servants of Sri Nama.

Underfoot was Mother Earth and her blades-of-grass soldiers; In the distance, the call of Mother Cow; these are the givers of wealth and abundance.

“Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Krsna, or the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Krsna, pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Krsna within his heart; and with the presence of Krsna, who is just like the sun, the darkness of ignorance is at once dissipated. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee by Krsna.”

Tapahpunja Prabhu is spearheading the other 50% of Prabhupada’s desire at New Talavan with his Small Farm Training Center which will train people in the community to grow their own food according to the scale that suits their needs; recover from junk food addiction, slavery and malnourishment (physically and spiritually); offer transformational experiences through raising food, free of karmic consequences; and engage others in devotional service through sacred community… In a word: Varnashrama.

“Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one’s heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Krsna, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal, Visnu, can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about the material necessities of life; he need not be anxious, because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, who is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee.”

The festival raised $1,700 for the Cows.

Next year, the organizer-devotees plan to have an even bigger outreach with more cooperation among devotees and, of course, milk sweets!

All glories, all glories, all glories to the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord. Jai Srila Prabhupada!

By Bhajahari das Adhikari

One of the things I love about our two SKP leaders in London, Parasurama and Govinda Prabhus, is that they are always willing to invite younger devotees to lead Kirtan while out on Saturday Night Harinams. They only request that the Kirtan leader sings simple melodies that all the devotees can follow and that will also be memorable to the public.

Last night the Kirtan in Leicester Square was led by young Madhava Anderson Prabhu, a former Kuli and the son of Krishna Dharma and Cintamani Dhama Prabhus. Then later on they invited Bhaktin Denia to lead us along Shaftsbury Ave and back through Soho to the temple at the end of the evening.

See the video of Bhaktin Denia below

Soon, if the numbers of devotees keep increasing we are going to need more and more Kirtan leaders as one of our plans is to split into two or three different parties when we set out from Govinda’s at 7.30. We will then all come together in a huge Hare Krsna Explosion in Leicester Square around 8.30

Can you imagine?

Already magically the size of the Kirtan party has doubled over the last few weeks. Must be something to do with our new flyer. Please keep coming and also invite your friends and families to join us

This week it was wonderful to see four members of the same family enthusiastically taking part. Krishna Dharma Prabhu, his wife Cintamani Dham and their son and daughter Madhava and Radhika

We should always be looking out for younger devotees to take up responsibility for leading and spreading the Krsna Consciousness movement.

See what Srila Prabhupada said just days before his disappearance in Vrndavan. Of course it is not just related to Harinams.

“If you want, you can also become a leader. We have no such thing, that ‘Here is leader.’ Anyone who follows the previous leadership, he’s a leader.” [Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation, 11-2-77]

This week we distributed another 2,200 copies of ‘On Chanting Hare Krsna’ freely

Here is the YouTube link to the video. Hope you enjoy it.

Please come out and join the Harinam as much as possible. Or better still start one in your own city if there is not already one going on.

Param Vijayate Sri Krsna Samkirtanam

Written by Romapada Swami

Question: I was reading your question and answer section on “Cow’s milk” (Digest 19B), because I recently got some information that the cow’s milk in America comes at the expense of a lot of suffering. The cows are fed hormones and other things so they could give more milk, which makes them suffer a considerable amount.

Now, I know that there are foods that Krishna has sanctioned that we can offer and eat, and milk is one of those. But how do I convince myself that the milk is okay to drink, even though it has come with so much suffering?

I know about the hormone free milk, but the devotees I initially heard this topic from say that it is a lie. I have since stopped drinking milk because it is too much for me to think that a cow suffered like anything to give it. So many temples still use regular cow’s milk. Are we taking part in the suffering? But we still offer it to Krishna, so doesn’t that burn up the karma? …. Help!

Answer by Romapada Swami: Your compassionate question reflects your soft-heartedness. Srila Prabhupada says in the pages of Bhagavatam that it is “simply horrible” for a pure-hearted soul to see the suffering inflicted upon innocent creatures, particularly mother cow. He would sometimes have tears in his eyes while speaking about the plight of cows – it was something that he felt very deeply about.

But the way he responded to it in practical terms was to vigorously propagate the transcendental knowledge and culture of Srimad Bhagavatam. He understood that the root cause of these evils was the spiritual decadence and ignorance of the population due to the influence of Kali. And he was convinced that without addressing this root cause, any other response to it will fall short of the mark.

In fact, the Bhagavatam predicts that one of the principal symptoms of the age of Kali would be that offenseless entities like the cow will be mistreated and exploited. And the Bhagavatam also gives us the most effective principles and practical means by which we can actually counteract these evils of Kali. You can read about it in SB Canto 1, Ch 17 – in connection to how Maharaja Pariksit responded to Kali who was surreptitiously hurting a cow and bull.

Such cruelty towards cows prevails not only in America, but in fact all over the world at present, due to our increasingly industrialized and commercialized civilization. Our so-called advanced industrial culture and profit-based-economy are essentially based on exploitation of the weak and innocent. Not only cow’s milk, but almost every aspect of our life is invaded by violence in today’s exploitative world. Even our grains and fruits are meddled with GMOs! Similarly there are so many very insidious and deep-rooted problems afflicting all aspects of our life.

Thus, simply abstaining from cow milk by a few is not likely to have much impact in actually helping the suffering cows or in addressing the deeper issues. A reactive approach seldom offers lasting solution to any problem — in other words, when something is done solely as a reaction to some anomaly without being based on a fundamentally higher principle, it often fails to address the issue, and could even create more problems than what it was intended to fix. And how could we possibly react to all of these other countless problems as hinted above without endlessly complicating our lives? We can appreciate from Srila Prabhupada’s example that he was never reactive; rather he taught and conducted himself on the basis of higher spiritual principles, applying the absolute wisdom of Vedic knowledge. And thus his solutions are proving to be most effective, lasting and ultimately satisfying.

Rather than abstaining from milk, offering the milk to Krishna with devotion as you have suggested not just frees us from karma, but more importantly it could spiritually benefit the cow that gave the milk! Our purpose in this is not to justify ourselves or to resign ourselves thinking that the suffering of cows is inevitable, but rather to make the best use of a bad bargain.

A sincere devotee must, and does, make heartfelt effort to live a progressively simple life and abstain from using unnecessary commodities and comforts obtained at the expense of cruelty to other living entities. For example, we can avoid using leather goods, avoid reading junk literatures and newspapers published at the cost of cutting millions of trees, and so on. As far as milk is concerned, however, not only is it important for healthy development of body and intellect, but is also an essential ingredient for performing sacrifice to Vishnu. Milk and milk-products like yogurt and ghee are not just sanctioned foods but are especially very dear to Krishna and important for human civilization. For this reason, we can accept milk, after offering milk to the Deity – in service to Krishna, under the direction of our founder-acarya.

Milk obtained from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones may prove a better alternative. Yet, there are no rigorous standards to determine its implementation, and as is often the case, different groups have different opinions on its practical implementation – each of which are based on their own vested interests and ideology. In any case, we must be forewarned that as soon as there is commercialization, it is bound to be at the cost of unethical exploitation. Srila Prabhupada would therefore strongly insist on distinguishing between “cattle raising” versus “cow-protection”. In other words, it may be nice to encourage dairy-farms that avoid artificial growth hormones, but because it is a reactive approach and is still based on consumerism and profit-making, we can take it for granted that there is bound to be exploitation if only of a slightly lesser degree, as opposed to simple farm communities where cows are protected and cared for without ulterior business motives. Thus the only real solution is to restore a God-conscious civilization that values cow-protection.

We can see from Srila Prabhupada’s example, that although cow-protection was very close to his heart, where he in fact had direct knowledge of the same set of facts as you, he himself did not give up drinking milk.

Instead his response was to work very hard to educate people about cow protection. He wrote profusely and very appealingly about it in his books. He trained his western followers to appreciate the value of a civilization and economy based on cow-protection. He fascinated them by showing how to use milk-products to produce a variety of healthy and delicious foods and the transcendental benefits of offering them to Krishna in devotion. He inspired the establishment of model farm communities to demonstrate the merit of caring for cows. Whenever he met with prominent religionists or social leaders, he seized the opportunity to emphasize this idea and got his guests to reflect on the evil of exploiting and killing mother cow. He presented it not as a religious sentiment or dogma, but in a very scientific and logical manner he showed the spiritual and even economic benefits.

We could say that his efforts and compassionate prayers were instrumental not only in making thousands of people in giving up cow-killing and meat-eating, but also in bringing about a significantly increased awareness and interest in vegetarianism around the world, a trend that was hardly popular or common-sight before Srila Prabhupada’s coming west.

The point I am trying to draw your attention to is this: the real and most effective solution to such issues lies in positive education and enlightenment of people, as Prabhupada demonstrated. Sure enough, it is not a pat-answer to your question; it will demand greater dedication and commitment and will take time; but it is a solution that is sure to have a deep and lasting impact.

If educated and thoughtful persons such as yourself would deeply understand and imbibe these principles of Bhagavatam that Srila Prabhupada taught, and contribute your best to disseminate this awareness of the value of cow-protection and a God-centered way of life, that will certainly prove to be a great service to the cause of the suffering cows and many such problems. Then, as Srila Prabhupada states, “there is absolute certainty of converting this hell of pandemonium to the transcendental abode of the Lord.”

Source: http://askromapadaswami.com/why-drink-cows-milk

With great delight we wish to inform you that we are holding our 13th Sri
Jagannath Rathyatra festival on 28th Nov 2015 here in this
holy city of Amritsar. We cordially invite you to come and join us in this
pleasant festival of chariots. The rathyatra will start at
1:00pm on 28th Nov from Bijlipehalwan mandir Lawrence road and after moving
through different parts of the city will finally end at
Durgiana temple .

A day before the yatra i.e. on 27th Nov in the evening we have Sri
Jagannath Mahaarti Utsav at Sifti International Court Road , where
Their Lordship will be offered 108 araties by donors along with pravachan
and kirtan followed by a grand feast. On 29th Nov we will
have Hare Krishna Utsav at our New Iskcon temple (under construction)
Vrindaban colony fatehgarh churian road . Amritar is one of
those special holy cities were Srila Prabhupada once visited and gave
lecture at Nirmal swami Vedanta sammelan.

So please come and receive the blessings of Sri Sri Gaur Radha Krishna
Bhagwan and Sri Sri Jagannath Baladev and Subadra
Maharaniji.

Boarding, Lodging and Prasadam for three days is absolutly free for
everybody. Please do inform us of your arrival atleast 15 days
in advance so that we can make proper arrangements for your comfortable
stay.

Thanking you,

Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada

Indranujdas

(Gm-Iskcon Amritsar)
mb- 9417240380

For furthur inquiries:- please contact

Sri Sri Gaur Radha Krishna temple
Chowk Moni Bazar Laxmansar Amritsar tel 0183-2540177,
Narayan das 7837533573
Raghupatidas- 9855440213
MM mehra - 9815576033

All visiting Sanyasis/senior vaisnavs/ temple presidents may directly
intimate myself via me email or mobile -9417240380

Devotees/congregation members who wish to attend the Rathayatra, and require
accommodation for the festival, please contact Mr Rakesh Sharma mb
09417459297 and intimate your arrival and stay via email as below
e-mail indranujdas.nys@gmail.com

By Subhang Balaram Dasa

Lord Caitanya had predicted, “My holy name will be chanted in every town and village” and the devotees of All India Padayatra have been walking day after day to practically all villages and towns in India to fulfilling the Lord’s desire.

Since the last thirty-two years All India Padayatra has been traveling all over India, distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books.

The devotees of All India Padayatra have been walking through Andhra Pradesh since the last nine months. Currently more than 30 devotees including Srila Prabhupada’s disciple HG Akhiladhar Prabhu are part of this Padayatra. On the 12th evening they reached Akaramapalli Namahatta center run by ISKCON Tirupati. HH Lokanath Swami Maharaj joined them in the evening during Harinam Nagar Sankirtan. Many local villagers and devotees from ISKCON Tirupati participated in the Gaura-arati and attended the lecture delivered by Lokanath Maharaj in the Ram Mandir of Akaramapalli Namahatta center.

On 13th October, a procession started from the Namahatta center with a melodious kirtan by Lokanath Maharaj. More than 500 devotees from various ISKCON Namahatta centers and congregational devotees from Tirupati greeted and joined the procession during the evening nagar sankirtana. When it reached ISKCON’s Radha Govinda temple amidst great enthusiasm at Tirupati, the padayatra devotees were nicely welcomed with garlands and juices. After arriving in the temple, Lokanath Maharaj spoke on the history and goal of Padayatra and mentioned, “the devotees are walking back to Godhead by participating in this Padayatra program.”

The Padayatra bull Narasimha has finished his nine years of walking on the road. He had joined the All India Padayatra at Tirupati to pull Nitai Gaurasundar’s cart and now he has successfully completed a circumambulation of India.

All glories to Srila Prabhupada, the primary inspiration behind this Padayatra program!

To download the whole newsletter: http://www.bhaktivedantamanor.co.uk/home/?p=11426

By Caitanya Charan das

Meet Mr. Befooled. He has a broad smile on his face. He is thinking, “Just see how clever I am! I have outwitted my doctor.” Sometime ago, he was afflicted by a severe cardiac pain. His doctor prescribed an expensive medicine and a cheap painkiller. After he started the treatment, his pain subsided. A few days ago, he accidentally discovered that taking just the painkiller was enough to keep the pain away. The discovery delighted him, “I don’t have to spend so much money on the antibiotic after all.” Poor Mr. Befooled. Little does he know what’s in store for him. The painkiller has just created an illusion of health by deadening him to the sensation of pain. Unknown to him, the disease is worsening within. And soon it will become so aggravated that the painkiller will no longer work. By then it may be too late for even the medicine to act.

THE EMPTY HEART

Our present existence can be likened to a heart disease; we find ourselves in a situation where our innate longing for happiness is inevitably frustrated. Our heart longs for love and the happiness that it brings. Loving relationships give meaning and joy to life; indeed they make life, filled as it is with hardships, worth living. Ironically enough, intimate relationships, which have the potential of bringing the highest happiness, often become the source of the greatest anxiety and agony. Being an extremely intense emotion, love builds for the object of love such a lofty tower of expectations, hopes and dreams that it is practically impossible for any human being to ascend and stay in that tower. Love is almost always blind and marriage is almost always an eye-opener. Even if somehow a somewhat satisfying relationship is formed, it is invariably severed by the inexorable sword of time. And the stronger the relationship, the more agonizing is its summary termination.

Fearing disappointment, betrayal or ultimate devastation, most people do not dare to love. But a heart that does not love is profoundly empty. And an empty heart makes for a dry life, bereft of purpose and thrill. Without the satisfaction of loving reciprocation, life becomes at best boring and at worst agonizing. If there is nothing worth dying for in one’s life, there is nothing worth living for either. Thus most people live with a heart disease; their heart’s longing finds no lasting fulfillment.

ADVANCING IN EMPTINESS

In the modern times, advancement in science and technology has led to a considerable increase in physical comforts and luxuries. Hi-tech gadgets now relieve us of many of the routine daily chores, which were thought to be making life repetitious, boring and burdensome. Also for most people, the worldview created by science makes religion appear outdated, sentimental and unscientific. They thus feel themselves free to enjoy fully the sensual pleasures that were earlier restricted or prohibited by religion. Therefore being pampered by technology and freed from religion, most modern people consider themselves far superior to the people of the past.

However scientific advancement provides no help whatsoever in filling the empty hearts of people; on the contrary, it tends to increase the void in the heart. The mechanistic approach of modern science reduces sentient human beings to machinelike humanoids. It further reduces human behavior and personality to an interaction of lifeless particles governed by impersonal laws. Cherished human emotions like love become nothing more than electrochemical signals coursing through nerves and neurons. Such a conception appears shocking when stated so bluntly, but it is precisely what the scientific worldview implies and what most people unconsciously accept by embracing a technology-centered lifestyle. Of course love is a much-bandied word in the modern times, especially in the media, but what is portrayed as love is basically lust.

LUST IS NOT LOVE

About so-called love, Montaigne remarks, “Love is nothing save an insatiable thirst to enjoy a greedily desired object.” Love and lust are as different as gold and iron. Just as iron can be easily made to look like gold by an external coating, similarly lust can be made to look like love by an external show. But lust is an animalistic drive resulting from the craving of the flesh, whereas love is a sublime outward flow of oneself meant exclusively for the pleasure of the beloved. Lust is primarily selfish, whereas love is essentially selfless. And selfishness ruins relationships, whereas selflessness nourishes them. That is why relationships formed on the basis of lust – the so-called ‘love’ marriages – tend to be highly volatile, as is evident from the spiraling divorce rates in cultures encouraging sexual permissiveness.

Statistics show that in the USA every third marriage ends in rupture within three years. About pre-marital sexuality, ‘The New Harvard Guide to Psychiatry’ notes: Students caught up in this new sexual freedom found it “unsatisfying and meaningless”…..A more recent study of normal college students (those not under the care of a pyschiatrist) found that, although their sexual behavior by and large appeared to be a desperate attempt to overcome a profound sense of loneliness, they described their sexual relationships as less than satisfactory and as providing little of the emotional closeness they desired. Thus modern culture degrades love to a frantic search for carnal gratification, a search that soon becomes an exercise in meaninglessness; it therefore aggravates and perpetuates the void in the heart.

THE BOREDOM INDUSTRY

Modern society has devised ingenious ways of attempting to somehow forget this emptiness of the heart. Typical is the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry. Dubbed as the boredom industry, it provides people an escape-way from the frustrating grind of daily life to a celluloid world. There, they vicariously become a dream character, who speaks smartly, behaves flawlessly, fights heroically, wins invariably and enjoys erotic fantasies unlimitedly. But all that the entertainment provides is a temporary feeling of well being, which cannot and does not last. Worse the grandiose and fantastic settings for bodily enjoyment that it depicts, fuel lust, greed and anger. These irrational and irresistible passions can never be satisfied in actual life. This further cripples the ability of people to experience and exchange love in their real lives and thus the emptiness of the heart deepens. And the vicious cycle – emptiness of heart leading to artificial enjoyment and the vicarious enjoyment resulting in further emptiness of the heart – perpetuates itself. The consequent desperation results in the maniac frenzy that surrounds sports, movies and similar forms of entertainment.

SOPHISTICATED PAINKILLERS

Thus for the disease of the empty heart, artificial pleasures are nothing more than a sophisticated painkiller. Just as a painkiller creates an illusion of health that only worsens the actual disease, artificial enjoyment creates an illusory state of stimulation and excitement that just cannot be maintained in actual life. Even when the body is young and healthy, no one can actually enjoy as much as the media portrays. The resulting unfulfilled passions lead to enormous frustration even in youth. And as the body ages and dwindles, nature forcibly strips away all abilities to enjoy. By then the sense of loneliness and emptiness, which was somehow numbed through extravagant sensual indulgence in youth, becomes so pervasive that life becomes an hellish, unlivable ordeal. Thus artificial enjoyment in youth sentences one to a condemned existence in middle age and senility.

At this point a question may arise: accepting that artificial enjoyment is just a painkiller, what is the harm if it provides some much-needed relief in a stressful life? Returning to the starting analogy, Mr. Befooled’s blunder is not that he takes the painkiller, but that he rejects the actual medicine, thinking that he is more intelligent in taking just the painkiller. He thus cheats himself of the chance to be cured. Similarly modern society, being infatuated with the analgesic of artificial enjoyment, has rejected the cure of genuine spirituality, which can lead to an eternal life of real enjoyment. So the foregoing critique of artificial enjoyment is meant to serve as a necessary prelude to an introduction to the Vedic paradigm of real enjoyment.

ENDLESS LOVE

The Vedic texts assert that our loving propensity is not meant to be forgotten or frustrated, rather it is meant to be completely and eternally fulfilled. Our longing for love is integral to our being and it remains strong even after our body dwindles. This indicates that our longing for love belongs to a setting that is different from and independent of our present bodily situation. The Vedic texts therefore posit that our actual existence is spiritual, that is, beyond the constricting confines of space (our material body) and time (our present lifespan). We are eternal spiritual beings, known in Sanskrit as atman (soul), and our real life is in a deathless spiritual realm. There we relish and rejoice in an everlasting loving relationship with the supreme spiritual being, God. When a person is beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, strong, famous or renounced, that person attracts our love towards him. Being supreme by definition, God possesses all these cherished attributes in full eternally; He is thus supremely beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, strong, famous and renounced. He is therefore universally attractive and is hence best described by the name Krishna, which in Sanskrit means all-attractive. sarva akarshati it krishna “The Supreme Being who attracts everyone is known as Krishna.” Over and above these six attractive qualities, Krishna also has an especially endearing seventh opulence – a most loving nature. In the spiritual realm, He personally and individually reciprocates with the love of each soul. In one of his songs, renowned Beatle, the late George Harrison, has described Krishna as “the Lord who loves those who love Him.” Krishna is thus the perfect object of love and the soul’s longing for love, when reposed in Krishna, finds everlasting fulfillment.

In the spiritual realm each soul is endowed with a free will to enable him to choose to love Krishna and thus experience the ecstasy of endless love. By causeless misuse of his free will, when a soul refuses to love Krishna, he is send from the spiritual realm to the material world. Here he tries to find a substitute object of love, but the temporal nature of all material objects frustrates him inevitably and repeatedly. Krishna being a most magnanimous lover does not forsake those souls who turn away from Him. He arranges to provide for their essential material needs – light, heat, air, water and food – through nature. He further provides a systematic program of spirituality to enable them to return to the spiritual realm.

RECOGNIZING GENUINE SPIRITUALITY

In the modern times, due to lack of spiritual education, almost any practice meant for any purpose passes as ‘spiritual’. Actual spirituality however is a divinely delineated path meant specifically to re-unite us with the lost love of our heart. Love necessitates regulated behavior. For example, when a boy wants to develop a loving relationship with a girl, he very carefully does the things that will please her and he scrupulously avoids doing the things that will displease her. The same principle holds true in spiritual life, wherein an aspiring transcendentalist desires to develop a loving relationship with Krishna. Hence so-called spirituality that does not demand regulated behavior can be safely rejected as bogus. Of course the regulations expected in spiritual life are not meant to stifle our enjoyment in life, rather they are a necessary requisite to awaken our dormant love for Krishna, by which we can experience in full our original joyful nature.

DIVINE SOUND

The positive program for spiritual rediscovery given by Krishna is centered on divine sound. Spiritual sound vibration is fundamentally different from material sound vibration; it is much more than a mere carrier of information. Divine sound contains within itself the potency to free the hearer from vicious material desires and to enable him to experience higher realms of reality. Therefore the Vedanta-sutra, the condensed essence of all Vedic wisdom, concludes with the aphorism: anavrttiih shabdat “The uncovering of pure consciousness takes place through divine sound.”

Divine sound is most effective when received from those living according to spiritual principles. Therefore it is vital for an aspirant on the spiritual path to associate regularly and submissively with advanced spiritualists. In such holy association, he can have his consciousness purified by receiving spiritual knowledge and by molding his life accordingly. Divine sound is also easily and universally accessible through the medium of the Holy Name, especially the maha mantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Krishna and His name are non-different. Therefore chanting of the Holy Names brings us immediately in contact with Krishna. This sublime contact provides us a glimpse of our spiritual joyful nature and thus stimulates the awakening of our original love for Krishna. Hence another essential principle for progressive spiritual advancement is regular mantra meditation.

A serious spiritualist also eschews activities that impede the swift awakening of his love for Krishna. The most detrimental of such activities are meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex. All living beings – whether human or subhuman – are the children of God. So if a so-called spiritualist satisfies his palate by gorging on the flesh of his own brothers in the family of God, his spirituality is just a charade. Gambling agitates and preoccupies the mind with false hopes of future prosperity and thus takes away the impetus for striving to attain the platform of real happiness. Intoxication creates a further illusion within the illusion of material life and thus propels one in a direction opposite to that desirable for spiritual realization. Illicit sex perverts the soul’s divine longing for love into an animalistic hunt for sensual titillation. It dulls the spirit, quickens the senses and rivets one’s consciousness to flesh. The Bhagavad-gita (3.41) therefore warns that lust is “the destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.”

Abstaining from these four self-destructive behavioral patterns – meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex – is not however a necessary pre-requisite for embarking on the spiritual path. From any position in life, one can adopt the positive principles of spirituality. Contact with divine sound provides spiritual happiness, purifies the heart and elevates one to a higher level of consciousness, at which following the negative injunctions becomes easier.

THE CURE FOR THE HEART

Those who adopt this process of reawakening their dormant love for Krishna can very soon experience Krishna and His love in their lives. Countless people throughout history have had these spiritual experiences. And even today ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) is freely distributing this cure for the soul to anyone and everyone all over the world. Thousands are experiencing the joy of Krishna consciousness in their lives. Seeing the medicine of Krishna consciousness working in their lives, they no longer need the analgesic of artificial enjoyment. For them, self-restraint is not a source of mental and physical torture, but a gateway to higher happiness.

It is unfortunate, nay tragic, that most of modern society has placed itself in the position of Mr. Befooled. Most people have rejected the cure of spirituality and embraced the analgesic of artificial enjoyment. And they think of themselves as very advanced and intelligent in doing this. But the passage of time is showing that neither is a life of artificial enjoyment satisfying, nor is a society espousing artificial lifestyles sustainable. Despite the best facilities for bodily enjoyment, Western and Westernized societies are witnessing an alarming rise in divorces, criminality, addictions and suicides. Stress, a disease unheard of in earlier times, is now synonymous with the modern lifestyle. All these are symptomatic of hearts that are profoundly and desperately empty. The disease of the empty heart has worsened so much that in many cases even the painkiller of artificial enjoyment is no longer working. But still it is not too late. The cure of genuine spirituality is easily available. It is safe, simple and sublime. And it works for those who give it a sincere try. The process of filling what theologian Michael Novak has called “the empty shrine” at the heart of modern existence is the most exciting and glorious of intellectual, and human, adventures. The onus is on the bold and the intelligent to take up the challenge.

On Thursday October 8th 2015, Mr. Satish Agnihotri, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), along with his associates, including the Chief General Manager, Mr. H.S. Yadav met with Ghanashyam prabhu during their visit to ISKCON Mayapur.

They arrived Wednesday evening to Bengal on official business and made a special trip to visit the holy dhama. Being accommodated in our conch building VIP suite for the night, they attended mangala-arati Friday morning. Following the arati, Ghanashyam prabhu arranged to take them on a tour of the TOVP construction sites, therein.

The railway executives then took the opportunity to explore the general Mayapur campus a bit in the fresh morning air. Afterward, they were treated to breakfast in the VIP lounge and spent the remainder of their visit discussing our Krishna conscious philosophy with Madhava Gauranga prabhu,Ghanashyam prabhu, Gopijana Ballabha prabhu and others in the adjacent VIP office.

Ghanashyam prabhu requested Mr. Agnihotri about extending the railway from Amghata to Mahesh Ganj, or if required across Jalangi to Mayapur. The managing director replied that he was prepared to fully support this project and from his position as chairman, would release all necessary funds. Then, underscoring this enthusiastic response, Mr. Yadav, the IRSE General Manager, added that they are prepared to extend the railway directly into Mayapur, itself.

The Indian Railway has both national and regional divisions. So, Mr. Agnihotri explained that he will advise the General Manager of Eastern Railway, Mr. R.K. Gupta to execute this project and also visit Mayapur personally and observe everything for him self. With that recommendation, Ghanashyam prabhu will then formally invite Mr. Gupta to ISKCON Mayapur and arrange for his reception.

After the discussion, Mr. Agnihotri was offered a Bhagavad-gita, a framed photograph of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava’s darsana and a box of Maha prasadam for his family. Before returning to official duties, they signed our guest book with contact information and enthusiastic comments, and captured a photo to commemorate the day. Thank you very much.

Your servant,
Jagannath Das
VIP cultavation team member

By Praghosa dasa

The GBC is meeting at the Govaradhan Eco Village in Wada for their annual Midterm meetings. The main focus is on Strategic Planning and the ongoing effort in areas such as succession, expanding the preaching and edging ever closer to bringing the holy name to every town and village, devotee care, continuing the work of finalising the ISKCON constitution etc. In addition to all those strategic issues the GBC will also devote three days to discussing fundamental topics such as guru tattva in ISKCON.

Bhakti Caitanya Swami: The devotees at the Govardhana Eco Village, just outside of Mumbai, led by Radhanatha Maharaja and Gauranga prabhu are doing the most incredible service there by creating Vrndavana there, with the perfect transcendental atmosphere. No monkeys, no noise, no dirt, no pandas, just beautiful golden sand paths with no rocks, and all the features of the dhama most beautifully presented. It is something completely out of this world, which every devotee has to experience. Once you visit here you never want to leave.. Please visit it.
(To see the following photos larger please visit: https://www.facebook.com/bcswami/media_set?set=a.428662700422.235156.655880422&type=3

Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=20534

(His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and Sriman Tribhuvanatha Prabhu)

By Padmapani das

(Note: Tribhuvanatha Prabhu passed away on October 16, 2001, at the age of 49. He was an important and beloved disciple of Srila Prabhupada who led by example. I humbly encourage all devotees to learn about Tribhuvanatha’s love and dedication to Prabhupada by researching relevant articles, memories and videos online. He is still an inspiration to Vaisnavas everywhere.)

An important feature of Srila Prabhupada’s mercy is the association of devotees which he has so kindly provided for our spiritual advancement and friendship. One such notable devotee and servant of His Divine Grace is our dear godbrother, Sriman Tribhuvanatha Prabhu. A sankirtana leader extraordinaire, Tribhuvanatha was always focused on preaching the holy names of the Lord. He had strong faith in the potency of chanting Hare Krishna — especially in congregation. His enthusiastic kirtanas and harinama parties were legendary throughout the world.

Personally, I owe him a great debt of gratitude for engaging me in Lord Caitanya’s sankirtana movement and dragging me to the Middle East after Srila Prabhupada’s physical departure. His resolute determination to spread Krishna consciousness under any circumstances was an inspiration to all those who knew and loved him. He was loved so much because he loved Prabhupada so much.

Tribhuvanatha Prabhu never claimed to be perfect. When he made what he considered to be a mistake or error of judgement, he would apologize and ask forgiveness. According to Srila Prabhupada, this is the sign of great character:

“To err is human. Anyone commits mistake. There is no doubt about it. But after committing mistake, if I stick to that mistake, that is foolishness. When it is detected that it is mistake, you must admit. That is greatness.”

(Srila Prabhupada morning walk conversation, 2/1/77)

For those who never met Tribhuvanatha Prabhu, these are just a few of the many reasons why he was so popular among devotees. His love for Srila Prabhupada was undying, and he served Prabhupada without reservation, yet he wasn’t afraid to be human and admit his limitations. This made him all the more lovable and approachable to so many people from all walks of life.

By his words and example he further solidified my conviction that the secret of success in spiritual life is to somehow get the mercy of Srila Prabhupada. I can think of no better gift to receive from anyone, and so I’m forever grateful to Sriman Tribhuvanatha Prabhu for his kindness and generosity of spirit. His association was a great blessing, and for me, to remember him is to remember Prabhupada as well.