ISKCON Desire Tree's Posts (18149)

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Independent Desires

Lecture on Independent Desires by HH Niranjana Swami on 13 Aug 2015 at Dnipropetrovsk

(His Holiness Niranjana Swami was born on December 10, 1952, in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. In 1972, his spiritual search took a turning point when he saw a Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, on the counter of a bookshop in Washington, DC.)

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Beware of Spritiual Crisis

Lecture on Beware of Spritiual Crisis by HH Radhanath Swami on 22 Aug 2015 at ISKCON Chowpatty

(Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, Chapter 67, Text 04 )

(Radhanath Swami was born in Chicago in 1950. Radhanath Swami's childhood name was Richard Slavin; Radhanath Swami was given the name Radhanath Swami after he entered the renounced order. In his teenage years)

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Surrender to Krishna and Don't Oppose Him

Lecture on Surrender to Krishna and Don't Oppose Him  by HH Bhakti Charu Swami on 19 Aug 2015 at ISKCON Chowpatty

(HH Bhakti Charu Swami was born in Bengal in 1945, he met with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada at the end of 1976.From their very first meeting, Srila Prabhupada gave His Holiness the assignment of translating his books into Bengali and made him his Secretary for Indian Affairs.)

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Mercy Unlimited


The Personality of Godhead, out of His causeless mercy, descends on the manifested world without being influenced by the material modes of nature. He is eternally beyond the material manifestations.


 

He descends out of His causeless mercy only to reclaim the fallen souls who are captivated by the illusory energy. They are attacked by the material energy, and they want to enjoy her under false pretexts, although in essence the living entity is unable to enjoy. One is eternally the servitor of the Lord, and when he forgets this position he thinks of enjoying the material world, but factually he is in illusion.

 


We need to become enlightened to the Absolute Truth with regard to the all-merciful nature of the Lord towards the fallen souls. Fallen would are ones who try to enjoy under the false notion that they are the controllers, forgetting that the ultimate CEO is up there, watching our every move, be it good or bad. The Lord descends to eradicate this false sense of enjoyment and thus reclaim conditioned souls back to Godhead.

 

We must be eternally grateful to our most merciful Saviour, who inspite of us not being qualified to receive such compassion, are being saved time and again from greater sufferings. We owe Him our pure love and selfless devotion for the incessant showers of His unlimited mercy!
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Is God Interested in Us


If we closely observe the lives of people around us we would fathom that life is a series of perceived problems: Either we are in one now, or we're just coming out of one, or we're getting ready to get entangled into another one.

  

When things don't go our way or when we go through pressures during the course of our daily lives, we generally tend to wrongly question the existence of the omnipotent Supreme Father.

 
Our mind gets riddled with questions like - Where is God? Isn't He interested in me anymore? Has He forgotten about me? Doesn't He care what is going on in my life?

 
At such times we need to recognise that- Our Feelings are Deceiving Us: When stuck in the midst of severe suffering, we need to recognise  that we can’t see properly in times like this. Our feelings completely distort our world view and vision. It is as though we are wearing extremely dark glasses all of the time. Although light surrounds us, we cannot see it because of the dark glasses.

 

We Must Not Trust Our Thoughts and Imperfect Senses: Bearing in mind that our feelings have become distorted, we must remind ourselves daily that we cannot trust our feelings nor pay them any heed – they are tricking and misleading us. This is hard, I know, because throughout our lives we have learned to listen to our feelings and let them guide us to some degree or another. But what may work for a healthy person does not apply to someone suffering from depression. We need to learn not to place any significance on what we are feeling, and recognise that we may remain in this condition for a while. But be encouraged, this phase does not last forever. When our exhausted mind and nervous system heal, whether this takes months or years, our feelings will return to normal. We will feel God’s presence and love again, and we will take comfort from His word again.

We must not use our Circumstances as a Basis to Conclude that God has Abandoned us: We need to realise that our circumstances are not an indication of whether God is with us or not. Firstly, the Vedic texts assures us that God will never leave us nor forsake us. Secondly, it tells us that we will face trials, and that God will use these for good in our lives, and that He will comfort us in and through them.
 

We Need to Keep Things in Perspective: We need to remind ourselves that this world and its troubles are only temporary. We who trust in and cling to God have a wondrous hope – one day we shall spend eternity in heaven and see the face of God everyday - a perfect place filled with love, joy and peace. We will also have a brand new body that is perfect in every way. When we consider the unimaginable, eternal riches that await us in heaven, the temporary trials we endure on the earth fade into insignificance. This is because we know that He is preparing us for His all blissful service in eternity.
 

Trust in What We Know - the Absolute Truth, Not in What We Feel: So if we cannot rely upon our feelings nor upon the way in which we interpret our circumstances, what can we rely upon? We can rely upon what we know and believe - what is the Absolute Truth. We know and believe that God is with us (although we can’t see it), we know and believe that He loves us (although we can’t see it), and we know and believe His word is all powerful (although we can’t see it and things seem to be out of control). We know these things because the Scriptures tell us, and because the Holy Spirit in us testifies to that fact. The supreme fact remains that God is with us, that God loves us, and that His Word is all-powerful. It does not matter that we cannot see these things while depressed or our world view has been distorted by suffering.
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Mercy Even for the Animals and Insects

Lecture on Mercy Even for the Animals and Insects by HG Madhavananda Prabhu on 16 Jul 2015

(Madhavananda Das, joined ISKCON in Los Angeles in 1982. He moved to Bhubaneswar Orissa in 1993 where he has been living since. He was instructed by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaj to edit his lectures into publications.)

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Lecture on Amrita Vani-How is it Possible to Actually Serve Krsna by HH Niranjana Swami on 05 Aug 2015 at Odessa

(His Holiness Niranjana Swami was born on December 10, 1952, in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. In 1972, his spiritual search took a turning point when he saw a Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, on the counter of a bookshop in Washington, DC.)

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Keval Sannyas se siddhi nahi

Lecture on Keval Sannyas se siddhi nahi by HH Bhakti Vikas Swami on 09 July 2015 at Damodaradesh

(HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami appeared in this world in 1957 in England. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in London in 1975 and was initiated in that year with the name Ilapati dasa by ISKCON’s founder-acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. )

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How to Meet Krishna Face to Face

A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA – Just like we are meeting in this meeting face-to-face, similarly, you can also meet the Supreme Personality of Godhead face-to-face, but you have to be qualified for that purpose. If you want to understand Krishna in His impersonal Brahman feature, there is risk also. I will explain that. The Brahman feature is impersonal.

Just like… Try to understand that there is sun, the sun globe, and within the sun globe, there is the sun deity, and outside the sun globe, there is sunshine. All of them are light. Within the sun globe, there is light, and in the outside the sun globe, there is light, and the sunshine is also light, but still, there are differences. Another example is: just like if you try to observe a mountain from distant place, it will appear as a hazy cloud. And if you go still nearer, you will find something, greenish rock. The subject of observation is the same thing, but you are looking in different way on account of your different angle of vision. Similarly, if you actually enter the mountain, you will find there are many trees, many houses, many animals, many men. It is full of varieties. Similarly, the Absolute Truth, object of vision, is one, but according to our angle of vision, sometimes we are seeing it is hazy cloud, sometimes as greenish mountain, and when you actually in that place, you see varieties of living entities, trees and houses, everything there.

Similarly, those who are trying to understand the Absolute Truth by dint of his limited knowledge, they realize impersonal Brahman. Here Krishna says, mama vartmanuvartante manusyah, everyone. Everyone means those who are actually seeking after God realization, they are following the same path, but on account of their distance of vision, they are realizing the Absolute Truth in different way. But all of them are beyond this material world. That I have already explained yesterday. Tapasa puta bahavah. Tapasa puta mad-bhavam agatah. Bahavo jnana-tapasa. Bahavo jnana-tapasa puta mad-bhavam agatah. The process of going to the spiritual world is knowledge and austerities. That is for everyone, either he is jnani, yogi or bhakta. But even going to the spiritual platform, there are differences according to the angle of vision.

So risk of impersonal realization is that because in the impersonal feature you cannot enjoy that blissfulness eternally, therefore sometimes — not sometimes, mostly — they come back again into the material world. Because by nature we are jubilant, in the impersonal feature of brahmajyoti, we cannot enjoy life. Therefore again we come back to this material enjoyment. Just like by an airplane, you want to go higher and higher, but if you don’t get the shelter, a shelter in another planet, you will have to come back again to this planet.

Aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adhah anadrta-yusmad-anghrayah: [Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.32] “Unless you become elevated to the position of serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead face to face, simply by impersonal Brahman realization you cannot become happy. Therefore for enjoyment…” Enjoyment means variety, the varieties of enjoyment. “You come down again to the material world.” We have seen it practically. Many big, big sannyasis and transcendentalists, they give up this world as mithya or false and take to sannyasa [renounced, monk life], but after some time, again they come back to this material world for executing philanthropic activities like opening hospitals or opening schools and other philanthropic activities. It so happens because they cannot fully realize the Absolute Truth as the Supreme Person, they again come to these material persons.

Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita you will find, Krishna says, bahunam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate, which means, “After many, many births, the jnanis, after speculative knowledge, when actually they come to the platform of knowledge, they surrender unto Me or they understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

The next line is, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma sudurlabhah. One who can understand Krishna, whose another name is Vasudeva, so He is everything, He is the origin of everything, one who can understand, He is supposed to be mahatma, the liberated soul, or the great soul. Mahatma. Maha means great. Atma means soul. But sa mahatma sudurlabhah. It is very difficult to find out such mahatma. So the Krishna devotees who are engaged in these missionary activities, Krishna consciousness movement, they are not ordinary persons. They are mahatma, but very rarely to be found. Sa mahatma sudurlabhah. So although everyone is searching after Krishna, either in impersonal Brahman or localized Paramatma, the person who has understood Krishna, the Supreme Person, he is the greatest, I mean to say, successful man within this world.

Excerpt from a lecture given in Geneva, Zurich on June 1st 1974.

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Art of keeping mind allof from all distractions by Chanting by HH Lokanath Swami on 18 Aug 2015 at Nagpur

(Lokanath Swami born in Aravade, a small village Maharashtra, Indian, he went to Mumbai for studying. In the year 1971, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was touring India with his foreign disciples and had organized a pandal program in Mumbai.Intrigued, maharaj attended the whole Hare Krsna Festival and heard from Srila Prabhupada.)

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Kalash Support Structure

As the main dome structure is almost complete, a lot of preparation has been going on to commence the next step, the Kalash.

We have seen the Kalash mock-up from McCoy industry made in titanium nitrite coated stainless steal, being fabricated in Mumbai. Our latest addition is a life size bracket that will support the Kalash. It’s made from GRC and measures 3/4 of an inch thick (1.9 cm) and 14 feet (4.5m) tall. This frame is being built in house, right here in Mayapur.

Next week we are planning to start fabrication of mold for the bracket using fiber glass and polyurethane. There will be total of 24 brackets and each one will weight 1.2 tons (2,646 lbs).

P1070465

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By: Contributor healthylifetricks.com on Aug. 14, 2015
Photo Credits: healthylifetricks.com

"Your sleep position can influence your health, help in keeping your skin look young, and improve your digestive health."

Everyone knows that sleep is very important for maintaining a good physical and mental health. However, the duration of your sleep is just as important as the way in which you sleep. Your sleep position can influence your health, help in keeping your skin look young, and improve your digestive health.

Furthermore, sleeping on the left side of your body can even save your life. If you are currently sleeping in another position, keep reading to find out why you should start sleeping on your left side right now.

There are several sleeping positions – your front, your back, your left side, and your right side – and they all affect your health. Sleeping on the back can be particularly dangerous for people with sleep apnea or asthma, because it can cause breathing difficulties.

Sleeping on the right side is likely to worsen digestion problems, whereas sleeping on the left side may improve digestive symptoms.

Read more: http://www.healthylifetricks.com/this-is-why-you-should-be-sleeping-on-your-left-side/

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The Many Astounding Ways to Use Curcumin

"Today, modern science is backing up what ancient Indians have known for centuries—that turmeric, and curcumin in particular, has many astounding uses."

Curcumin is derived from turmeric, the former being what gives the popular spice its bright orange-yellow color. Turmeric has been used for thousands of years, primarily in India, where it is a mainstay of Ayurveda, the traditional system of Indian medicine. Today, modern science is backing up what ancient Indians have known for centuries—that turmeric, and curcumin in particular, has many astounding uses.

Sustenance

Curcumin is also known as “poor man’s saffron,” since it is widely used in place of the expensive spice to add color and flavor to foods. Curcumin can be found in drinks, baked goods, sauces, rice dishes, preserved meats and other goods. In some cases, it is also used to provide yellow coloring to butter and margarine, which would otherwise be white.

Potent Antioxidant

Curcumin is widely available in supplement form, and it’s become very popular for its powerful antioxidant capacity. Studies have found curcumin to be highly effective at protecting the body’s cells against oxidative damage caused by free radicals.

Read more: http://blogs.naturalnews.com/many-astounding-ways-use-curcumin/

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By: Madhava Smullen ISKCON News on Aug. 21, 2015

The retreat provided a great way to bond with friends

With the help of a European Union grant for building youth relations, about 175 European youth received an immersive experience of Krishna consciousness on the Senagataway retreat at ISKCON’s beautiful Radhadesh community in Belgium from August 1st to 10th.

The event was organized by the Pandava Sena, a UK-based organization that helps youth apply Vaishnava wisdom to their practical everyday lives, and has organized summer retreats at ISKCON temples around Europe for the past decade.

The Senagetaway participants included around seventy students from the UK aged 16 to 21 who were relatively new to Krishna consciousness, but had been introduced to the Bhagavad-gita’s basic philosophy through Pandava Sena university groups like Jammin and KC Socs (Krishna Conscious Societies).

Other participants included second generation ISKCON youth from around Europe, and more experienced devotees guiding the retreat as mentors.

Senagetaway participants gather in front of the Radhadesh temple

Senagetaway participants gather in front of the Radhadesh temple

Each day began with a 6am japa session in which leading preacher Bhakti Rasamrita Swami guided the students in personal meditation techniques such as posture, pronouncing the Hare Krishna mantra, and the proper mood in which to chant.

After breakfast came Bhakti Rasamrita Swami’s seminar “The Legends of Mahabharata”, in which he examined a different character of the ancient text every day.

“We discussed Krishna, Arjuna, Yudhistira, Kunti, Draupadi, and Bhisma,” says organizer Vinay Raniga. “We talked about the different themes each character represents – for instance, Bhisma represents celibacy and leadership qualities.”

Next the participants would be split into five boys’ groups and five girls’ groups, each color-coded and named after a different Mahabharata character, for a series of workshops. Each day, the groups would switch workshops with each other so that they all got to learn drama, cooking, yoga, art, and service (in which they would help with different cleaning or maintenance tasks around the temple).

Helping in the kitchen during the service workshop

Helping in the kitchen during the service workshop

“We’d then have a long lunch from 12:30 to 3:30pm, to give people the time to talk to each other, bond, and build friendships – a really important part of the day,” says Vinay.

After lunch, the seminars continued.  “Mahabharata Untold” with Gaur Gopal Das from Chowpatty continued where Bhakti Rasamrita Swami left off, going into more depth with each character.

“It went down a storm, because he would tell rare stories from different acharyas that weren’t in Krishna Dharma’s Mahabharata, and talk about what we could learn from them,” Vinay says.

In “Vedic Psychology,” Bhakti Tirtha Swami disciple and consultant psychiatrist Citi Shakti Dasi spoke about the mind from a Western perspective, giving case studies, and balanced that with the Vedic perspective on how to control the mind.

Gour Gopal Das speaks with the youth

Gaur Gopal Das speaks with the youth

In “How to be Krishna Confident,” Ghanashyam-priya Das, a digital strategy consultant nominated for Forbes’ 30 Under 30, gave students advice on how to avoid social pressure to go back to drinking and smoking, and how to present Krishna consciousness to peers in an attractive and relatable way.

In “ABCDs of Krishna Consciousness,” Cass Business School student Shyam Gopal, 21, explained how to engage with the philosophy and discussed its ABCDs – Association, Books, Chanting, and Diet.

And finally, Ravi Pattni, a much-sought-after kirtan leader, talked about the mood and goal of kirtan, and gave students a chance to play with kirtan instruments and learn the basics about them.

After dinner, there were a range of evening programs on different days.  Bhakti Rasamrita Swami’s introduction to Srila Prabhupada and his achievements tied into this August’s 50th anniversary of the ISKCON founder’s journey to the West. Gaur Gopal gave an introduction to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And finally in two mock interview/debates with Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, students got to hear two sides of an issue and get involved by asking questions.

Participating in a yoga workshop

Participating in a yoga workshop

In the first, Ghanashyam-priya played the devil’s advocate, asking why devotees don’t eat meat, take intoxicants, gamble or have illicit sex.

And in the second, Citi Shakti Dasi and Bhakti Rasamrita Swami discussed the ideals for women in contemporary society alongside those in Krishna consciousness, and addressed some of Srila Prabhupada’s more controversial statements on women in the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

“Citi Shakti, a consulting psychiatrist, is quite contemporary; while Bhakti Rasamrita Swami is very traditional,” says Vinay. “Their discussion was very interesting because it actually showed a good unity between them.”

Other days were “activity days.” On one, the group had a blast doing rock climbing, archery, go-karting, kayaking and paintball at a nearby adventure center. On another, they participated in a 12-hour kirtan with renowned kirtaniya Ojasvi Das, during which they bathed the Pandava Sena’s Gaura Nitai Deities with flowers and had a night-time kirtan dance party with glowsticks.

Go-karting on one of the activity days

Go-karting on one of the activity days

They also attended the Rathayatra festival in Cologne, Germany, where Sacinandana Swami spoke to the youth in front of the beautiful Cologne Cathedral about how to add Krishna into their everyday lives once they returned home.

And the Pandava Sena has an impressive plan to do just that, wanting to make sure students continue on their Krishna conscious journey after the retreat.

The first step is to pay attention to caring for them during the retreat itself, so that they will think back on their Krishna conscious experience positively.

“The organizers Henal Chudasama, Ekadasi Ryan, Neha Pankhania, Samir Shanker, Angshuman Ghose, Dhruva Shah, Krishna Dattani and myself worked hard to realize that old adage, ‘love is in the details,’” says Vinay. “We made sure the accommodation and prasadam were really good, spent time with people, celebrated their birthdays, and gave everyone a custom-designed hoodie as a gift at the end.”

The effort will continue with involving young people in services at Bhaktivedanta Manor’s massive Janmastami festival on September 5th and 6th; providing a follow-up educational course called “Gita Life”; and involving students in university “Krishna Conscious Societies.” After that, there’s even an option to experience ashram life at the Manor for three months in a program called “The Sabbatical.”

“Hopefully everyone had an unforgettable time and formed lots of relationships and memories at the retreat,” says Vinay. “And hopefully, the spiritual buzz from it will remain!”

On Rathayatra in Cologne, Germany with Sacinandana Swami

On Rathayatra in Cologne, Germany with Sacinandana Swami

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Food For Life - Nepal: Today, 15th Aug 2015, Food For Life Nepal fed hot meals to 100 more students of Panchakanya school. (Album with photos) The innocent children enquired if they could have such meals everyday. By now FFL Nepal is feeding total of 350 students in this school. The teachers expressed their heartfelt gratitude seeing their satisfied students. All together, FFL Nepal is serving three different schools and one orphanage. Total of 520 students are provided their mid day meals everyday. See them here: https://goo.gl/jiX139

Food For Life - Nepal: Today, 15th Aug 2015, Food For Life Nepal fed hot meals to 100 more students of Panchakanya school. (Album with photos)
The innocent children enquired if they could have such meals everyday. By now FFL Nepal is feeding total of 350 students in this school. The teachers expressed their heartfelt gratitude seeing their satisfied students.
All together, FFL Nepal is serving three different schools and one orphanage. Total of 520 students are provided their mid day meals everyday.
See them here: https://goo.gl/jiX139

 
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Joyful Harinama in Moscow (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: In the sastras it is said that if a person only once chants the holy name and completely surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, the Lord immediately considers him His ward and is always inclined to give him protection. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.49 Purport) See them here: https://goo.gl/xr81tO

Joyful Harinama in Moscow (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: In the sastras it is said that if a person only once chants the holy name and completely surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Lord, the Lord immediately considers him His ward and is always inclined to give him protection. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.2.49 Purport)
See them here: https://goo.gl/xr81tO

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Green Gathering Festival (Album with photos) A wonderful week spent at Green Gathering festival situated in the Wye Valley, Chepstow, UK. The festival self-advertised as a festival “beyond hedonism” is a space for alternative, higher thinking people to connect. The presence of the Hare Krishna’s is very well recieved and with it being a small festival we encounter almost everybody there, and share the transcendental chanting, dancing and feasting. Hare Krsna!! See them here: https://goo.gl/fROrzI

Green Gathering Festival (Album with photos)
A wonderful week spent at Green Gathering festival situated in the Wye Valley, Chepstow, UK. The festival self-advertised as a festival “beyond hedonism” is a space for alternative, higher thinking people to connect. The presence of the Hare Krishna’s is very well recieved and with it being a small festival we encounter almost everybody there, and share the transcendental chanting, dancing and feasting. Hare Krsna!!
See them here: https://goo.gl/fROrzI

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ISKCON Taiping Ratha Yatra, Taiping, Malaysia (Album with photos) Srila Prabhupada: By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra without offenses, one increases his love for Krishna. As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, preme pum-artho mahan: one’s main concern should be to increase one’s attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to increase one’s love for Him. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.3.24 Purport) See them here: https://goo.gl/j4qvHi

ISKCON Taiping Ratha Yatra, Taiping, Malaysia (Album with photos)
Srila Prabhupada: By chanting the Hare Krishna mantra without offenses, one increases his love for Krishna. As stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, preme pum-artho mahan: one’s main concern should be to increase one’s attachment to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and to increase one’s love for Him. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 6.3.24 Purport) 
See them here: https://goo.gl/j4qvHi

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