bhakti - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-28T08:11:56Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/bhaktiBhakti Comes from Bhakti By Giriraj Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/bhakti-comes-from-bhakti-by-giriraj-swami2024-03-15T07:30:00.000Z2024-03-15T07:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515261045,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515261045,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515261045?profile=original" width="500" /></a></p>
<p>When Srila Prabhupada was coming to America on the Jaladuta steamship, as he was nearing Commonwealth Pier in Boston, he prayed to Krishna, “All living entities have come under the control of the illusory energy by Your will, and therefore, if You like, by Your will they can also be released from the clutches of illusion. I wish that You may deliver them.</p>
<p>“I wish that You may deliver them. Therefore, if You so desire their deliverance, then only will they be able to understand Your message.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has discussed how the conditioned souls get bhakti. With evidence from the scriptures, he proves that one cannot get bhakti by karma or jnana, fruitive activities or mental speculation, or by austerities, charity, mystic perfections, or any other pious acts. He quotes from the Bhagavatam (11.3.31), bhaktya sanjataya bhaktya: bhakti comes from bhakti. But how does bhakti comes from bhakti? What is the actual process?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He says that someone may propose that one gets bhakti by the mercy of Krishna. But Krishna is equal to all. He is the supreme father of all living entities, so He must be equal to all. So we cannot simply say that the cause of bhakti is the mercy of Krishna, because Krishna would bestow bhakti equally on everyone, whereas practically we see that some get bhakti while others do not. Then Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says, “One could propose that one gets bhakti by the mercy of the devotee.” But again one might argue that the devotee, like the Lord, should be equal to everyone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that the preacher, the madhyama-bhakta, by nature shows partiality or discretion in distributing mercy. As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.2.46): prema-maitri-krpopeksa yah karoti sa madhyama—he gives his love to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, makes friendship with devotees, shows mercy to the innocent, and neglects the envious. Thus, giving mercy, specifically to the innocent, is the preacher’s function. Even though, in the ultimate sense, a maha-bhagavata such as Srila Prabhupada sees everyone equally, everyone as a servant of Krishna and therefore in no need of mercy, when he takes the position of a preacher and functions as a preacher, he gives mercy to the innocent. How does he give the mercy? He prays to Krishna to give mercy, and thus it is said that the mercy of Krishna follows the mercy of the devotee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here I have my own personal experience: I met Srila Prabhupada in 1969 in Boston, and I was touched by him. I felt that he was the spiritual master for whom I had been looking. About three months later, the devotees there needed another pujari. In those days one could be a pujari after first initiation. They thought, “He has been here for three months; why not recommend him?” So Satsvarupa Maharaja, as the temple president, recommended me in a letter to Srila Prabhupada.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Srila Prabhupada was in Los Angeles at the time, so I suppose in one sense I was actually initiated there. Srila Prabhupada wrote back, “Your initiated name is Giriraj. Giriraj is a name for Govardhana Hill, where Krishna used to tend His cows. Sometimes devotees take a stone from Govardhana Hill and worship it as Krishna. So I marked it in your person when I was in Boston, and I prayed to Krishna that this good soul may be aware of the importance of Krishna consciousness.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What is our qualification? When I look for my qualifications, I don’t find any. Our only qualification is that Srila Prabhupada took compassion on us and gave us his mercy: he prayed to Krishna for us, just as he says here in the poem.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, back to Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s discussion: Someone could question, “Why should Krishna listen to the prayers of a devotee? So many people are praying to Krishna; why should Krishna listen especially to a devotee? Is that not also partiality?” Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says that of all of Krishna’s qualities, the quality of being affectionate to His devotees, bhakta-vatsalya, is considered the supermost, the emperor that conquers over all the Lord’s other qualities and reconciles all contradictions. So, being partial to His devotees is not a fault (dusanam) in Krishna, but an ornament (bhusanam)—His most exalted quality. He has no desire other than to please His devotees. Just as the devotees have no desire other than to please Krishna, Krishna has no desire other than to please His devotees.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, when a devotee such as Srila Prabhupada prays to Krishna to give mercy to the fallen souls, or to a particular soul, Krishna readily does it. He readily does it to please His devotee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Years after my initiation, I found the verses that Srila Prabhupada paraphrased here in verses 6 and 7, in “The Prayers of the Personified Vedas” from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.14). The personified Vedas prayed to the Lord, “The fallen souls are under the control of maya, and maya is under Your control. Therefore, if you show them Your mercy, they can be released from the control of maya. We pray that You kindly do so.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The same verse was quoted by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Vasudeva Datta. Vasudeva Datta had prayed, “Let all the sinful reactions of all the living entities in the entire universe fall upon me,” and Lord Chaitanya became overwhelmed with love for Vasudeva Datta and began to tremble and weep out of affection for him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Generally, we wouldn’t accept the sinful reactions of even one living entity. There is the famous story of Valmiki: Valmiki was a thief, but he wasn’t stealing for himself; he was stealing for the sake of his family. Then Narada came and exposed the fallacy of mundane family attachment. He spoke to Valmiki’s wife: “Your husband is stealing for your sake, not for his sake. You are enjoying because he is stealing for you. Will you at least take some share of the sinful reactions?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No!” she said. “Why should I? He is the one who is doing the stealing, not me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><img class="cke_anchor" title="Anchor" src="http://htmleditor.in/ckeditor/images/spacer.gif?t=B5GJ5GG" alt="Anchor" />So, we don’t want to take anyone’s sinful reactions. Just our own sinful reactions are hard enough to tolerate. Yet here Vasudeva Datta is saying that he will take the reactions for every living entity in the whole universe. We cannot even conceive of how much suffering he would have to undergo, but he offered, “Let me suffer in a hellish condition perpetually.” And he spoke without duplicity. Sometimes we may say things to sound good, to say the right thing, to sound like an advanced devotee. But Vasudeva Datta was serious. Thus, when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard what he said, His heart melted and He told Vasudeva Datta, “You need not suffer their sinful reactions. They can be liberated by your desire alone. Krishna fulfills the desires of His pure devotees. So by your desire He can liberate them without your accepting their sinful reactions.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu quoted the same verse from “The Prayers of the Personified Vedas”: “O Lord, kindly conquer the nescience of the living entities by Your grace.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, from one point of view, this is the secret: In his sincere love and compassion, and in his intimate relationship with Krishna, Srila Prabhupada prayed for us, and Krishna reciprocated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>But again, what is the method by which we get the mercy? Srila Prabhupada wrote, “So I prayed to Krishna that this soul may be aware of the importance of Krishna consciousness.” In other words, we must become aware of the value of Krishna consciousness and then take to the process that Srila Prabhupada gave us. Thus we come to the second part of Verse 7: “If You so desire their deliverance, then only will they be able to understand Your message.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Many people heard Srila Prabhupada’s message, or Krishna’s message, but not all developed faith in it. The beginning of bhakti is faith (adau sraddha). Thus, when we ask how one gets bhakti, we really mean how one gets sraddha, which is bhakti in its initial stage.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here “faith” means faith in the words of the scriptures and the words of the spiritual master that glorify and explain the process of bhakti. Srila Prabhupada, in utter humility, prayed that Krishna make his words suitable, and he also prayed that Krishna enlighten us, or inspire us, with appreciation for His message. In the mood of utter surrender, Srila Prabhupada could see that Krishna was doing everything: Krishna was inspiring him to speak, and Krishna was inspiring us to appreciate what he said.</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85020">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85020</a><u></u></p></div>The Laws of Bhakti by Mukundamala Dasahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-laws-of-bhakti2024-01-18T06:30:00.000Z2024-01-18T06:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515241439,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515241439?profile=original" width="500" /></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>From Back to Godhead</strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Far from being a sentimental activity, devotional service is based on well-defined principles that systematically guide a practitioner to ultimate perfection.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Discussions about the relationship between science and religion usually end in a stalemate: Scientists accuse religionists of relying too much on faith, which they say is experimentally unverifiable, while religionists accuse scientists of relying too much on physical and chemical laws, which they say fail to measure the emotions and sentiments of a conscious living entity. The scientists fail to address or even acknowledge consciousness and its attendant needs; religionists fail to provide a satisfactory scientific and logical explanation for the practices they follow. The refusal of scientists to experiment beyond mechanistic science and the inability of religionists to present religion as a bona fide science have only widened the gap between the two parties.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">A study of the Vedic scriptures, however, reveals that the true Vedic religion is not a matter of blind faith but is an actual science, verifiable by experiment. Unlike conventional religions, which force their practitioners to accept dogma on faith, the Vedic religion (also known as sanatana-dharma, bhagavata-dharma, or Krishna consciousness) repeatedly prods its students to inquire and question at every step. Sentimental practice is never encouraged. While other religions teach us to love and serve God, the beauty of the Vedic scriptures lies in their ability to explain the dynamics of this spiritual relationship by revealing the precise, well-defined principles that underlie it. A deeper understanding of this subject will nourish the faith of the faithful and satisfy the intellect of the intellectuals.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">1. The Law of Attraction</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Newton’s law of gravitation states that every object possessing mass attracts every other object with a certain strength, called the gravitational constant, or G. Furthermore, the effect of G (called force, or F) reduces as the distance between the two objects increases. According to the spiritual law of attraction, every spirit soul is attracted towards the Supreme Soul, Krishna. Being an eternal part of Krishna, we are constitutionally meant to love and serve Him. All we need to do is uncover our loving propensity by practicing devotional principles. Just as iron filings get attracted to a magnet, all of us in our pure state have a natural attraction towards Krishna. Lust and many other unwanted things prevent the full exhibition of these loving feelings, just as rust prevents the full attraction of iron filings towards a magnet.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The spiritual law of attraction differs from Newton’s law in some areas. Whereas the attractive force (G) exerted by each mass on other masses is the same (G is a constant), the attraction (in this case, the affection or love) that Lord Krishna has towards the wayward spirit souls is much greater than what those souls have towards Him. Srila Prabhupada writes, “He [Krishna] is just like an affectionate father, who is more eager to see his son than the son is to see him. There is no contradiction in such a quantitative difference in affection.” (Mukunda-mala-stotra 1, Purport)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The attraction between Krishna and His devotees is unaffected by the physical distance between them, unlike the attraction (F) between two physical masses. Other material barriers, like the language in which a prayer is intoned, one’s social or financial standings, or any other mundane criteria, have no effect on this spiritual relationship.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In sharp contrast to Newton’s law, the attraction between Krishna and His devotees has been known to increase with distance. Love in separation from Krishna is described as the highest form of love, higher even than love in union with Him. The most exalted devotees, the gopis of Vrindavan, experienced this form of love. After first enjoying a decade of Krishna’s association in Vrindavan during His early pastimes, they later had to undergo a century of separation from Krishna while He spent His time in Hastinapura and Dwarka. All the while, their love for Krishna kept increasing despite their being separated by a great distance.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Bhakti, or loving devotional service, is known as shri-krishnakarshini, “that which attracts Krishna.” Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in Jaiva-dharma, “The devotee whose heart is infused with shuddha-bhakti [pure devotion] attracts the attention of Krishna—along with that of all His close associates—by the power of his love. Love is the only way to conquer Sri Krishna; no other means are viable.” By the power of his devotion, Prahlada, although a five-year-old boy, could attract the Supreme Lord Nrisimhadeva, who appeared just to protect His dear devotee. Between a magnet and iron, it is the magnet that has the power to attract, not the iron. But with bhakti, the devotee—an infinitesimal spirit soul—can attract the infinite, all-powerful Krishna.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">2. The Law of Reciprocation</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Like Newton’s third law of motion, the law of karma states that for every action there is a reaction. However, the karmic law—an aspect of material nature, which is working under Krishna’s direction—is universal; it does not act merely in the realms of physics or chemistry. Pious actions result in pleasurable reactions, while sinful actions lead to hellish sufferings.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In the Bhagavad-gita (4.11), Krishna says, ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham: “As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly.” To those who consider God impersonal, He reveals Himself as the impersonal Brahman. To yogis who meditate on the form of the Lord within the heart, Krishna reveals Himself as the Paramatma, the Supersoul, who resides in the heart of every living being. But to those who accept Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna is eager to reveal His supreme form of sac-cid-ananda: His eternal personal form of full knowledge and bliss.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">When Krishna entered the wrestling match Kamsa had organized in Mathura, He appeared differently to different groups of people: “The various groups of people in the arena regarded Krishna in different ways when He entered it with His elder brother. The wrestlers saw Krishna as a lightning bolt, the men of Mathura as the best of males, the women as Cupid in person, the cowherd men as their relative, the impious rulers as a chastiser, His parents as their child, the king of the Bhojas as death, the unintelligent as the Supreme Lord’s universal form, the yogis as the Absolute Truth, and the Vrishnis as their supreme worshipable Deity.” (Bhagavatam 10.43.17)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Fully surrendered devotees of Krishna receive the greatest reciprocation from the Lord. The Chaitanya-bhagavata relates the story of Vasudeva Datta, a greatly powerful devotee of the Lord. Feeling extreme pain to see the sufferings of conditioned souls, Vasudeva Datta requested Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to let him suffer for the sins of everyone in the universe. The Lord was so pleased by Vasudeva’s compassion that He said, “This body of mine belongs to Vasudeva Datta. . . . [He] may sell Me wherever he likes.” (Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya-khanda 5.27–28)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Devotees are ready to sacrifice everything for the pleasure of the Lord, and the Lord is ready to give Himself to His devotee. Srila Prabhupada writes, “This transcendental reciprocation exists because both the Lord and the devotee are conscious. When a diamond is set in a golden ring, it looks very nice. The gold is glorified, and at the same time the diamond is glorified. The Lord and the living entity eternally glitter, and when a living entity becomes inclined to the service of the Supreme Lord he looks like gold. The Lord is a diamond, and so this combination is very nice.” (Gita 9.29, Purport)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The principle of reciprocation assumes extreme proportions when we offend great devotees or render service to them. The scriptures repeatedly warn us about the dangerous effects of vaishnava-aparadha, offense at the feet of an advanced soul. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu described this as “the mad elephant offense,” which can uproot and destroy the tender devotional creeper we are struggling to cultivate. The best way to avoid this is to always remain humble, expect no respect from anyone, and offer all respect to others.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">On the other hand, service rendered to a pure devotee awards us untold benedictions. For example, mahat-sevam dvaram ahur vimukteh (Bhag. 5.5.2): A little service offered to a devotee opens immediately the doors of eternal liberation.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">3. The Law of Subjugation</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">As the master of the universe, Krishna controls everything and everyone. But one who has bhakti can control Krishna by love. Bhakti-yoga therefore is superior to all other spiritual practices, like karma-yoga, jnana-yoga, or ashtanga-yoga.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The story of King Ambarisha and Durvasa Muni reveals this point clearly. Durvasa Muni had attempted to kill the pious Ambarisha for an insignificant offense. But Ambarisha remained unfazed and took complete shelter of the Lord. To protect His dear devotee, the Lord released His personal weapon, the Sudarshana chakra, and destroyed the demon Durvasa had sent to kill Ambarisha. The chakra then started chasing the Muni to kill him. Durvasa fled the scene and approached various demigods for help. Unable to get shelter from anyone, including Indra, Brahma, and Shiva, the great mystic finally approached Lord Vishnu in Vaikuntha, requesting the Lord to withdraw the scorching chakra and thus save his life. To his surprise, the Lord expressed His inability to protect him and ordered him to beg forgiveness directly from Ambarisha. Lord Vishnu said,</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">aham bhakta-paradhino<br /> hy asvatantra iva dvija<br /> sadhubhir grasta-hridayo<br /> bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyah</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">“I am completely under the control of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.” (Bhag. 9.4.63)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Only after being forgiven by His devotee, the Lord assured, would Durvasa stop being chased by the chakra.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Other examples of Krishna’s subjugation to His devotees: As a small child, Krishna would dance like a puppet when the adult gopis of Vrindavan clapped their hands. During the rasa-lila, sometimes the gopis would sing and Krishna would dance just to please them.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Pure love of God is of the nature of Krishna’s internal potency, or Srimati Radharani, and has the power to bring Krishna, the greatest person, under His devotee’s control. The Pandavas, for example, bound Krishna with pure affection and kept Him always near them. As Narada Muni said, “My dear Maharaja Yudhishthira, all of you [the Pandavas] are extremely fortunate, for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, lives in your palace just like a human being. Great saintly persons know this very well, and therefore they constantly visit this house.” (Bhag. 7.10.48)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">4. The Law of Unification</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">The perfection of bhakti-yoga lies in dovetailing all of our desires for the pleasure of Krishna. In other words, a devotee sets aside all selfish motives and wishes to fulfill the desires of Krishna. In this way, the desires of Krishna and the pure devotee are one. Whenever a pure devotee speaks, he is speaking on Krishna’s behalf, presenting whatever the Lord would Himself say.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Devotional service to Krishna is so sweet that the devotee and the Lord sometimes forget their own identities. They are so much in tune with each other that there is no difference in their purposes. Ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya mayi te teshu capy aham: “Whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (Gita 9.29)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Again, in the story of Ambarisha and Durvasa, the Lord makes this famous statement:</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">sadhavo hridayam mahyam<br /> sadhunam hridayam tv aham<br /> mad-anyat te na jananti<br /> naham tebhyo manag api</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">“The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them.” (Bhag. 9.4.68)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">It is important to note that the oneness attained by a devotee is different from the oneness impersonalist philosophers imagine they will attain by merging with the Supreme. A devotee rejects such oneness as hellish because it means the end of his individual identity, and thus the end of his chance to serve the Lord. Srila Prabhupada gives the example of a green bird entering a green tree. Deep within the branches and leaves, the bird may not be visible to an observer standing below, but the bird never loses its existence. It enjoys the tree’s fruits and flowers. A devotee who has returned to the spiritual world similarly enjoys service to Krishna with ever-growing freshness and sweetness under the shelter of Krishna’s lotus feet.<br /> Judge Your Progress in Bhakti</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Rupa Goswami, a sixteenth-century Vaishnava saint and a direct disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, describes the systematic developments a devotee undergoes while practicing the science of bhakti. In the beginning one has faith (shraddha) in some form of divinity or in saints or scriptures. This faith, which is compared to a seed, helps one seek out the association of saintly devotees (sadhu-sanga), where the seed sprouts and takes root as a creeper. Receiving nourishment in the form of hearing and chanting the holy names and glories of Krishna (bhajana-kriya) under the guidance of devotees, the creeper grows luxuriantly. In the process, all the unwanted things in the heart that block the progress of bhakti go away (anartha-nivritti), clearing the path for the creeper.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Carefully cultivating spiritual practices and steering clear of all obstacles, the devotee achieves steadiness (nishtha) in bhakti. At this stage the waves of love of Godhead first appear. As the spiritual practices continue, the devotee’s steadiness matures into intense taste (ruci) for devotional activities, removing all threats of the recurrence of unwanted habits. Such a person is known as an uttama-adhikari.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Shivarama Swami, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, has written Suddha-bhakti Cintamani, based on past acharyas’ commentaries on Vaishnava literature. Discussing the advanced stages of pure devotion, he writes, “As devotees cultivate that taste, they develop concentrated attachment for Krishna (asakti). That attachment polishes the heart to such an extent that at times devotees think that Krishna has appeared there. At other times they intuitively understand their relationship with the Lord, though such realization is still immature.” (p. 303) “At bhava [the next stage], when they transcend the boundaries of matter, the touch of the pleasure potency immediately awakens pure greed in their hearts.” (p. 610) “Love of God (prema), the full manifestation of pure goodness, is like the sun. When a single but fully potent ray of the Krishna-sun touches a devotee’s heart, ecstatic devotion instantly becomes manifest. Just as a spark falling onto dry leaves quickly grows into a forest fire, one ray of pure goodness entering a devotee’s heart quickly flares into a blaze of love for God.” (p. 307)</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Attaining the stage of pure love of God is the perfection of our existence, the goal of the human form of life. If we remain sincere, Krishna’s mercy is assured. Like any other science, if we stick to the principles and carefully avoid the dangers, we are bound to attain success in this life.</p>
<div style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15075">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=15075</a></div></div>Bhakti by Bhaktimarga Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/bhakti-by-bhaktimarga-swami2023-11-16T13:29:20.000Z2023-11-16T13:29:20.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12293119454,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="12293119454?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></p>
<p id="viewer-fsbg0" style="text-align:center;">The two towns mentioned above were destination points for bhakti on this day. How these places did shine. But for my blog entry, I wanted to share a past poem on the precious topic of<em> bhakti</em>.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12293119680,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="12293119680?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"> </div>
<p id="viewer-1absh" style="text-align:center;"><u>IT'S ABOUT BHAKTI</u></p>
<div style="text-align:center;"> </div>
<p id="viewer-d26bd" style="text-align:center;">Contrary to popular belief...</p>
<p id="viewer-c9lbp" style="text-align:center;">Strength lies in humility<br /> Whereas weakness does in pride<br /> Our base, set in simplicity<br /> Puts complexities to the side</p>
<p id="viewer-bjaoc" style="text-align:center;">Pleasures ignite from stimulu<br /> But that is so short lived<br /> Long term comesfrom vigilance<br /> When cheap thrills we'll outlive</p>
<p id="viewer-frrm1" style="text-align:center;">Entertainment may lift us up<br /> But education takes us higher<br /> Spectators don't always see close up<br /> It's through wisdom we're inspired</p>
<p id="viewer-5qc3f" style="text-align:center;">We define ourselves in bodily terms<br /> Yet the body is just a shell<br /> Our observing the shell confirms<br /> That it's within that we do dwell</p>
<p id="viewer-fl2pg" style="text-align:center;">Happiness happens in receiving<br /> And that is certainly true<br /> However the item that is most pleasing<br /> Is when one gives to Him and you</p>
<p id="viewer-cl7ei" style="text-align:center;"><br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/bhakti">https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/bhakti</a></p></div>3 Pieces of Helpful Advice for Marriage in Bhaktihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/3-pieces-of-helpful-advice-for-marriage-in-bhakti2023-10-09T10:30:00.000Z2023-10-09T10:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515045345,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515045345,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515045345?profile=original" width="500" /></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>By Dharma-setu das</strong></p>
<p>Karana and I got married on the 5th of January 2002. Since then I have received a lot of valuable advice that has at various times helped me in my marriage. Three recommendations have been particularly useful and have stood the test of time. I’d like to share these with you along with some of the realisations that I have gleamed from them.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:1em;"><strong>1 – “Always Forgive One Another”</strong></span></p>
<div>Shortly after getting married my wife and I visited my grandmother. She was 82 years old at the time and had been married for over 50 fifty years, my grandfather had passed away around 10 years previously. One evening our conversation led to her reminiscing some of her experiences in marriage. She shared that my grandfathers policy was to always to resolve a disagreement before the end of the day – don’t sleep on an argument he would say – “always forgive one another”. If you sleep on a dispute it gets buried, issues build up and create an inimical mood. Always forgive one another, no one is perfect, forgive them for their shortcomings, forgive yourself for your shortcomings, and move on. </div>
<div>Srila Rupa Goswami describes 64 qualities of Sri Krishna in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the Nectar of Devotion, the 25th quality is “Forgiving”. Srila Prabhupada writes “A person who can tolerate all kinds of offenses from the opposite party is known to be forgiving” (<a href="http://www.vedabase.com/en/nod/21">NoD, chap 21</a>). Forgiveness involves tolerance, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructs us in text 3 of His Sri Siksastaka that we need to cultivate the quality of tolerance in order to chant the maha-mantra. Our cultivation of a meaningful relationship with our spouse can provide opportunities for us to develop this quality. As we deal intimately with our spouse on a regular daily basis there are inevitably times when we disagree or do not relate with one another in ideal ways.
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<p>Acknowledging our own shortcomings and how they influence our ability to communicate allows us to be accountable to ourselves for the responses we solicit from others. In other words the way our spouse deals with us can often be reflective of the way we deal with them. Seeing how our own shortcomings are contributing to a disagreement facilitates us in being able to say the big “S” word that our false-ego often finds so difficult to say. “I’m sorry for not listening to you properly”, “I’m sorry that this situation has caused so much disturbance in our relationship”, “I am sorry that you are feeling like this, I need some help in understanding what I can do to change this?”, “I feel sorry that we have got to this point, what can we do to turn things around?”. These are some of the big “S” word statements we can use to help resolve an issue.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/9/15/40">Srimad Bhagavatam 9.15.40</a> explains how Krishna is pleased by the practise of forgiveness:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The duty of a brāhmaṇa is to culture the quality of forgiveness, which is illuminating like the sun. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is pleased with those who are forgiving.”</p>
</blockquote>
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<div>As soon as we realise an opportunity to practice forgiveness we should. Krishna from within our heart helps us identify how we are contributing to the issue – it takes honesty to acknowledge and hear that truth at the time. We need to tolerate our false-ego, be courageous, and use the “S” word meaningfully. By creating a culture of forgiveness in our lives Krishna will be pleased and we will find our relationship flourishes.
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<h4>2 – “Become Best Friends”</h4>
<div>During our engagement my wife and I had the opportunity to meet with our guru-maharaja, he made the point that we should become best friends. Best friends have each others best intentions at heart – they want the best for each other and are there to support one another in achieving the ultimate best thing – favourable devotional service to Krishna. A spiritual relationship is based on knowledge in Krishna consciousness. Knowing that we are spirit soul, part-and-parcel of The Supreme Personality of Godhead, and that the goal of life is krsna-prema (love for Krishna) is the essence of that understanding.
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā by the Lord Himself: “One can understand Me only through devotional service.” In beginning His teaching of the Gītā, the Lord said to Arjuna, “Because you are My devotee, I shall teach these secrets to you.” Vedic knowledge means ultimately to understand the Supreme Lord, and the process of entering into His kingdom is devotional service. That is accepted by all authentic scriptures.<br /> <a href="http://www.vedabase.com/en/nod/14">– Nectar of Devotion, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Chap 14 – Devotional Qualifications</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Relating to ones spouse as a servant of Krishna, understanding that their purpose in life is to please Krishna, rather than someone separate from God whose purpose is to satisfy our own needs is a practical implementation of this essential spiritual understanding. My wife/husband is an eternal servant of Krishna trying to reawaken their lost relationship with Him. This philosophical understanding can be practically applied in a marriage. We can ask ourselves, how can I support and encourage the devotional mood and service of my partner? What can I do to support their sadhana and service? To discuss each others spiritual needs and aspirations and support one another in fulfilling them is important.</p>
<p>Aside from direct devotional activities in and around the home it is also important that couples provide one another support. Taking time to listen to each another, to share experiences, and to spend time together are all important components of cultivating a meaningful friendship. Couples that sacrifice spending time together for other priorities, whether they be devotional or otherwise, are likely to become distant from one another over time which can result in all kinds of issues. Relationships take time and effort to maintain, cultivating a meaningful Krishna conscious relationship with your spouse is service. Investing time into your relationship is directly creating and maintaining stability within the Krishna consciousness society. Taking it to an extreme, men or women that are not satisfied within their marriage are likely to try and meet their needs outside of their marriage, causing so much disturbance and unhappiness within society. The maintenance, expansion, and progress of the Krishna consciousness movement is largely dependent on householders – who make up the largest social sector of our movement. For a householder sacrificing the quality of one’s relationship with one’s partner in the name of devotional service is folly.</p>
</div>
<div><span style="font-size:1em;"><strong>3 – “Be kind”</strong></span></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Two small words that contain a lot of meaning – “Be kind”. Whilst visiting Mayapur in 2013 I had the good fortune of staying in a guesthouse with H.G Kripamoya Prabhu (ACBSP) as my next door neighbour. During one brief corridor conversation he mentioned that making it work in the grhasta ashram basically boils down to being kind.
<p> </p>
<p>Throughout the sastra we find instructions about cultivating kindness towards other living beings, Srila Prabhupada often quoted a phrase from <a href="http://www.vedabase.com/en/cc/adi/5/203">text 6 of Vilāpa-kusumāñjali</a> by Srila Raghunatha das Goswami which describes the characteristic of a devotee.</p>
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<div>
<p> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī, kṛpāmbudhir yaḥ. Vaiṣṇava is very kind-hearted, merciful, because he feels for others…</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>– <a href="http://vanisource.org/wiki/Lecture_on_BG_2.15_--_Hyderabad,_November_21,_1972">Lecture on BG 2.15 — Hyderabad, November 21, 1972</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>In describing the qualities of a devotee (sadhu) the <a href="http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb/3/25/21">Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25.21</a> says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The symptoms of a sādhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The qualities described above give practitioners something to aspire for. Krishna provides opportunities through cultivating our relationships with our family members to develop these qualities. Our spouse is likely to be the devotee that we spend the most time with, and therefore the person that knows our strengths and weaknesses more than anyone else. Supporting one another in spiritual life means providing one another help, encouragement, and guidance when it is needed. To do this takes tolerance, we’ll need to sacrifice our time, energy, and desires to be there for our spouse and children. Our lower natures, which often push us in the direction of trying to be the controller and enjoyer, need to be tolerated in order to act for the higher purpose of acting to please Krishna’s devotees – starting with the devotees we live with. If we mistakenly think that the purpose of our spouse’s existence is our own satisfaction, we will certainly be frustrated. From frustration anger arises. Giving up this kind of false mentality we need to cultivate the knowledge that every living being is part and parcel of Krishna, by relating to our partner as their servant rather than their master. Someone may think that such a service mentality is meant to be directed towards advanced devotees only and my spouse is a neophyte and not worthy of such a service. This type of mentality is not very pleasing to Krishna who loves all His parts-and-parcels. Supporting one another involves fulfilling both spiritual and material needs in a way which is favourable to Krishna’s service. Facilitating the material needs of devotees in a way that is favourable to their progress in spiritual life is an essential and important aspect of service in the grhasta-ashram.</p>
<p>Broadmindedness (born from the knowledge of seeing everything in relationship to Krishna) and long term vision (keeping the goal of pure devotional service in mind) needs to be cultivated on a ongoing basis to maintain an enlivening relationship in Krishna consciousness. This ongoing cultivation is enthused through regular association with devotees and reading of Srila Prabhupada’s books.</p>
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<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dharma-setu.com/2015/12/helpful-advice-for-marriage.html">http://www.dharma-setu.com/2015/12/helpful-advice-for-marriage.html<br /> <br /><br /><br /> </a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85525">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85525</a></p></div>Agnideva prabhu Bhajan retreat in Tobagohttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/agnideva-prabhu-bhajan-retreat-in-tobago2023-05-21T18:20:31.000Z2023-05-21T18:20:31.000Zkarunamayi devi dasihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/karunamayidevidasi<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/11134144691?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>Hare Krishna dear vaisnavas<br /><br />Agnideva prabhu is hosting a retreat in Tobago (neighbouring island to his birthplace of Trinidad in the Caribbean near the tip of South America off the coast of Venezuela) <br /><br />Please go if you can and share this flyer with those whom you think would appreciate this wonderful opportunity to relish the prayers of our Acharyas in person with agnideva prabhu. <br /><br />Prabhu will be featuring 6 Bhajans & discussion each day. <br /><br />Contact <br /><span dir="ltr">Presthaya@gmail.com</span><br /><span dir="ltr">1-425-578-0663</span></p></div>Some Bhakti in a Violent World by Bhaktimarga Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/some-bhakti-in-a-violent-world2023-05-13T10:16:01.000Z2023-05-13T10:16:01.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11091912854,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11091912854?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="340" /></p>
<p id="viewer-4tkkb">Apparently, a man was shot across the street, but our short walk (slightly investigative in nature for any traces of blood) went in vain. The neighbourhood is not a bad one. It is simply coincidental and consequential that this violent act took place while I stayed here for a night. Much like a month ago when in Mauritius during a beach walk, we came upon a person who hung himself; I am beginning to wonder if violent events are following me.</p>
<p id="viewer-abcjp">In any case, such acts of aggression, whether self-induced or an assault on another, we cannot help but conclude that darkness is often prevalent. As many of us who read the Vedas, we are likely to conclude that it is the Age of Kali. Not exactly the Age of Aquarius. We might refer to the dawn of that optimist 10,000 years of glory as predicted about the coming of Chaitanya.</p>
<p>Here in Michigan, Ypsilanti, to be exact, we treated ourselves to a meal at devotee-operated Gaur’s Grill. We took to a burger called ‘Bird’s Nest.’ Extraordinary!</p>
<p id="viewer-2cjcr">From rain-drenched Michigan and Ohio, I was driven by Madhavananda and Purnamasi to the Cleveland Airport for the flight to New Jersey to stay at Towaco and its temple. I was well looked after by members of ISKCON Towaco, a community that is gearing up for a coming Chariot Fest. So, I will be priming and prepping a thespian group for that festival event. All is good! Cheers! Hare Krishna!<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/some-bhakti-in-a-violent-world">https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/some-bhakti-in-a-violent-world</a></p></div>Bhakti is not just a choice of the head – it is also the calling of the hearthttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/bhakti-is-not-just-a-choice-of-the-head-it-is-also-the-calling-of2023-05-08T07:30:00.000Z2023-05-08T07:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515120738,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515120738,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="2515120738?profile=original" /></a></p>
<p><strong>By Chaitanya Charan Das</strong></p>
<p>Suppose we are driving to some destination and come to a fork. If we are unsure about which way to go, we will move slowly or not move at all. But even if we are sure, that conviction alone will not take us ahead – we need to drive ahead.</p>
<p>A similar dynamic applies to our spiritual practice. Spiritual growth is essentially a journey of the heart from worldly objects to Krishna. Such a journey requires philosophical conviction. When we have to choose between some worldly object and Krishna, we may feel indecisive. The Bhagavad-gita is like a map, a guidebook to happiness. By studying it, we understand that Krishna is the source of everything (10.08) – thus, he is the source of the attractiveness of all worldly objects, including the one that is presently attracting us (10.41). So, by becoming devoted to him, we won’t lose the pleasure coming from that object; we will access the source of that pleasure and relish joy in its fullness.</p>
<p>When we thus understand Krishna’s all-attractiveness, we feel convinced to choose him. But that conviction alone doesn’t take us to him – it aids us in redirecting our heart towards him and cultivating attraction for him. By practicing bhakti-yoga and investing whatever devotional emotion we have in Krishna, we gradually sense his reciprocation in the form of satisfaction and purification. This inspires us to further invest our emotion in him, thereby relishing his greater reciprocation.</p>
<p>The resulting redirection of heart culminates in life’s ultimate perfection: the ecstasy of endless love. Progress towards this perfection is facilitated by the choice of the head, but is executed by the calling of the heart, the calling that unites the human heart with the divine heart in a bond of eternal love.<br /><br /><strong>Video: <a href="https://youtu.be/0aou4kDvKAw" target="_blank">Click here</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=29743">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=29743</a></p></div>Overcoming internal shortcomings by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/overcoming-internal-shortcomings-by-kadamba-kanana-swami2022-10-01T12:10:00.000Z2022-10-01T12:10:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9633084481,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9633084481?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="500" /></p>
<p>In spiritual life, liquor is not really glorified like one of the material pleasures in life. It is rather condemned. It is placed in the same category as poison. Well, it is true that it is not nourishing the cells in the body. Each time you take some liquor, you are burning some brain cells and you begin to see it in the regular drinkers at the bars. Their faces are a bit puffed up. Some have red veins showing and their hands also are a bit swollen and reddish. And their brain is dull and not like it used to be. And it can actually be measured in so many dead brain cells. So there you go.<br /> <br /> It is not only liquor but also other substances that can kill the brain. It is very interesting. So intoxications have consequences, and one has to be aware of that, however, someone of little intelligence may have some reservations. The intelligent know that it is not required when one is peaceful within. Such things are required when there is a need to overcome internal barriers or internal sufferings. Like some people, they can more easily open up socially after a few drinks. Then it is easier to talk and that becomes psychological dependence. Or some people feel less anxiety when they smoke or whatever. So really these are means to overcome internal shortcomings. There are other ways to rise above one’s shortcomings – natural ways and that is preferred. Not only are the natural ways of bhakti relieving us from all kinds of problems – mental issues and so on, of which we all carry a few. Not only can it liberate us from that, but it can also connect us to a higher level of happiness. So then, we become free from the previous entanglement.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://www.kksblog.com/2021/09/overcoming-internal-shortcomings/">https://www.kksblog.com/2021/09/overcoming-internal-shortcomings/</a></p></div>Bhakti – The Science of Self Realization by Ravindra Svarupa Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/bhakti-the-science-of-self-realization-by-ravindra-svarupa-das2022-03-11T12:30:00.000Z2022-03-11T12:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f3pJA7EnyjA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /> </p>
<p style="text-align:left;">“According to Vedic civilization, the perfection of life is to realize one’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa, or God.… All living entities are parts and parcels of God. The parts are meant for serving the whole, just as the legs, hands, fingers, and ears are meant for serving the total body. We living entities, being parts and parcels of God, are duty-bound to serve Him.”</p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93669">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93669</a></p></div>Firm Faith: A Bedrock for Progress in Bhakti By HH Subhag Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/firm-faith-a-bedrock-for-progress-in-bhakti-by-hh-subhag-swami2022-01-29T12:30:00.000Z2022-01-29T12:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:602px;width:400px;" src="https://i.imgur.com/gY05UvH.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Faith is not bhakti but is a very important part of bhakti. The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘faith’ as, “a great trust or confidence in something or someone.” Srila Prabhupada has explained that “faith means unflinching trust in something sublime” (Bhagavad-gita 2.41, purport). He further explained, “Faith means firm conviction that if I become transcendentally engaged in the service of the Lord, then my life becomes successful. This is called faith. And that conviction must be firm, not tottering faith” (Initiation of Bali-mardana Dasa — Montreal, July 29, 1968).</p>
<p>Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Sanatana Goswami (Caitanya Caritamrta,. Madhya-lila 22.62) as follows:</p>
<p>‘sraddha’-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha niscaya krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya</p>
<p>“Sraddha is confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Krsna one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favorable to the discharge of devotional service.”</p>
<p>Did you hear a famous story from Orissa, about the story of a daughter-in-law and her mother- in-law? We can see from the story how our faith defines our every action.</p>
<p>Once, a mother-in-law along with her daughter-in-law, who was quite young of around 16 years old, had gone to hear Bhagavatam katha in a nearby village. On the way they had to cross a tidal river. During their onward journey, the river was shallow. They then reached the venue and attended the katha. The daughter-in-law listened very faithfully and attentively. The speaker had said, “Anande bolo hari hari, hari koribe bhava pari”, ‘joyfully chant the names of Lord Hari, and Lord Hari will get you to cross over this material world.’ The daughter-in-law immediately put her faith in the strength of the holy name because of her being simple at heart. Later, the duo started back towards home, but this time they found the same river to be full of water. The daughter-in-law had firm faith that by the strength of the holy name she could cross over this material world, what to speak of that tidal river. She crossed the river calling out the names of Hari. But unfortunately, her mother-in-law started to drown and she shouted, “Bahu bahu (daughter-in-law)! Help me!” The daughter-in-law replied, “Chant the names of the Lord Hari, Mother…” The mother-in-law became furious, “How dare you instruct me!” The mother-in-law thus awaited her destiny. How did the young daughter-in-law pass the exam while the mother-in-law didn’t? Why? Because the daughter-in-law had strong faith in God while her mother-in-law didn’t.</p>
<p>Bhakti means being simple; you just accept things as a young child does before his parents.The little boy asks, “Daddy, what is this?” The father replies, “My dear child, this is a tree. You don’t know? Oh, you are such a fool,” and the child accepts. He accepts because he has full faith in his father and mother and knows that they are his real well-wishers. And whatever they inform or instruct, the child follows at once. But we see that the moment one grows up and associates with others outside the family, he loses this quality of keeping faith; then a different type of consciousness develops. “Oh, my dad is old-fashioned; it is better to be with my friends.” The problem is that one’s friends may not be one’s well-wishers. This is the difference. Who can be a greater well-wisher than Krishna? Nobody! We may or may not believe it to be so, but it’s true.</p>
<p>SrIla Prabhupada has said, “The same thing, the child has no knowledge, but he has faith in his parents, and he believes what his parents says. Then he is making progress.(Morning Walk, July 21, 1975, San Francisco)</p>
<p>According to one’s faith, one makes advancement. When one comes to Krishna Consciousness, if he again brings along all those unwanted qualities which he had gained from his bad association, then he may not get the desired result (of bhakti).</p>
<p><strong>How to develop this firm faith?</strong></p>
<p>Faith is a very important part of bhakti. Only theoretical knowledge will not help. Conviction is something different.</p>
<p>Faith–it’s written in the scriptures the way to increase faith in God. It’s as follows:</p>
<p> Purity; one who controls his senses and maintains purity will have greater faith in the Lord.</p>
<p> Association of advanced Vaishnavas; faith increases when one serves and associates with a devotee having stronger faith in the Lord.</p>
<p> Voluntary service; faith in Krishna Consciousness increases with our voluntary increase of service to Krishna.</p>
<p>SrIla Prabhupada has said, “The faith increases in Krishna Consciousness by our voluntary increase of serving Krishna. Serving Krishna is unlimited and He can accept our unlimited service and award us unlimited transcendental pleasure in the unlimited service of the Lord. (SPL to Brahmananda Swami, February 20, 1968, Los Angeles). Like, for example, if one takes risks for Krishna by doing book distribution, preaching, then realizations will come. These realizations strengthen a devotee’s faith.</p>
<p>SrIla Prabhupada: “Sevonmukhe hi jihvadau [Brs. 1.2.234]. By service only. You can understand God simply by service. There is no other way. And the faith begins from the tongue. You see? Therefore it is advised that you chant and take prasada. Then faith will come.” (Morning Walk, July 21, 1975, San Francisco)</p>
<p><strong>Bhakti (devotion) and scholarship are different</strong></p>
<p>A scholar may have scriptural knowledge but he may not have strong faith. Theoretical knowledge and realized knowledge are different. Many professors may say many things but it doesn’t mean they understand God. God is ‘aprakrta.’ He is different from material knowledge. Lord Krishna says that the knowledge of bhakti is a secret; it is very confidential. For one who worship the Lord with faith, the Lord reveals to him all the secrets from within. That is why Lord Krishna says, “bhaktya mam abhijanati.” One can understand Krishna only through devotional service. Lord Brahma says in the Brahma samhita, “vedesu durlabham adurlabham atmabhaktau”, “such eternal, blissful, all-knowing forms of the Lord are usually not understood by even the best Vedic scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees.”</p>
<p>One may be studying and explaining many scriptures, including the Vedas, Vedanta, but he cannot understand the Lord by that. One who loves Krishna, he can know him. Krishna rewards all the devotees equally, according to their different intensities of love for Him. Just because you read books, scriptures, that does not mean that you have faith in them. Your actions will show how much faith you possess.</p>
<p>Srila Prabhupada, “Now you are coming in this Krsna consciousness movement. This is called sraddha, a little faith. And if you increase that faith… How it can be increased? By association with devotees. Adau sraddha tatah sadhu-sanga [Cc. Madhya 23.14-15]. Sadhu means devotees.(Pandal Lecture at Cross Maidan, Bombay, March 26, 1971)</p>
<p>One who has faith will associate with a sadhu. By sadhu sanga, by serving a sadhu, you will develop faith. The sadhu has firm faith in the scriptures and in the Lord, and you will get his mood by serving him. According to the Brhan Naradiya Purana 4.33, it is said ‘bhaktya tu bhagavat bhakta sangena parijayate’, which means ‘the inclination to bhakti is awakened by association with the Lord’s devotees.’ And in Caitanya Caritamrta (Madhya-lila 19.151), Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructs, ‘guru krsna prasade paya bhakti lata bija‘, that is, by Guru’s mercy and a Vaishnava’s mercy, you’ll get faith. Who is a guru? A sadhu is guru, guru is a sadhu. Associate with him.</p>
<p>We are in a trap of Maya; it’s very difficult to get rid of this trap. We are bound by three ropes of sattva, raja and tamo gunas. It’s very difficult to cut this rope, but if guru comes, he is heavy; he will scold the disciple, “Why do you do like this? Do this! Do that!” And if the disciple follows, then he will become gradually free from these ropes; otherwise, if he follows his own dictates of the mind and cheats his guru, then Krishna will cheat him. Guru brings a heavy, sharp axe and, ‘cachaak‘, will cut the big heavy rope binding him.</p>
<p>Remember the story of a famous violin school in Vienna? Srila Prabhupada mentioned it in his lectures. Students went to enroll in that institute. All the students were asked to fill a form, which also asked if they had any experience of playing the violin. To everybody’s surprise, a student who had never learned the violin, for him, the fees were the lowest, and as much as one had learned to play the violin before, proportionately he had to pay more. Habit is second nature. It’s very difficult to change old habits. Everybody is sick, but an expert physician knows the right prescription based on the individual’s symptoms. The spiritual master’s job is like this.</p>
<p>Another famous story of a brahmin and a cobbler was told by Srila Prabhupada. The brahmin was very learned and had many followers but had no faith, whereas the cobbler, although uneducated, was simple at heart and had firm faith in the Lord, and thereby knew the conclusion of all the scriptures. The story goes like this.</p>
<p>Narada Muni used to visit Lord Narayana every day. One day, a learned brahmin, who took his bath thrice daily and had many followers, requested Narada to inquire from Lord Narayana as to how long will it take him to attain salvation. A poor cobbler also made the same request to Sri Narada Muni. As Narada Muni met Lord Narayana, he inquired from the Lord about the destinations of the brahmin and the cobbler. Lord Narayana replied that the cobbler would come back to him after this present lifetime whereas the brahmin would have to take many births, the number of which the Lord didn’t know. Narada Muni was surprised and asked the Lord the reason for His mysterious decision. Lord Narayana assured Narada that he will understand the reason on his own. The Lord said, “If they inquire from you about My activities, then tell them that I, the Lord, was passing a big elephant from one side of the eye of a needle to the other side and vice versa.” As Narada Muni met the brahmin, the brahmin immediately asked Narada about the activities of the Lord. Narada Muni gave the same answer as the Lord had instructed. Upon listening to the reply, the brahmana angrily replied, “I dont believe in such nonsense! It’s better not to tell me such things!” Narada Muni could understand that this man had no faith. He simply read books. That’s all. Narada Muni then left and met the cobbler. The cobbler, upon hearing about the Lord’s activities, exclaimed, “My Lord is wonderful!” and started crying. Sri Narada Muni enquired, “How did you believe it?” The cobbler said, “Oh! Why not? The Lord can do anything. Look I am sitting under this banyan tree, from which many fruits are falling daily. Each fruit has got thousands of seeds, and in each seed there lies a big banyan tree. If in a small seed there can be a big tree like this, then why can’t the Lord pass an elephant through an eye of a needle?”. Narada Muni was astonished to hear the words of the cobbler.</p>
<p>Srila Prabhupada said that this is called belief and this was not blind belief. The devotees, like the cobbler, have strong belief in God whereas the non-devotees, like the brahmin, call it all bluff.”</p>
<p>Lord Krishna says, “samsayatma vinasyati.”It may be this, or it may be that; Krishna can do anything and everything. One who is sinful doesn’t have faith; he has a complicated mind. If he associates with a sadhu, then by his association, by serving him, by his blessings, he becomes simple. “Ok son, bring me water,” the guru asks the disciple, and the disciple has to follow. If he follows, then he gets blessings. The disciple becomes simple and the Lord is pleased.</p>
<p>So, in India, a devotee asked his mother on her death bed. She could die anytime. Naturally, every boy likes his mother; so, he also advised his mother, “Mummy, chant ‘Haribol, Hare Krishna!’” That lady does not saying anything. At one point, she got so much annoyed that she shouted (in Bengali), “Ami eto katha bolte parba na!“, which means, “I cannot say so many things (words).” She is saying so many words but not saying ‘Hare Krishna’ because she is not pious. The son is pious, but she is not and doesn’t have faith in Krishna.</p>
<p>An elephant or a horse trying to cross a swift, fast flowing river may get washed away but a small insect can move swiftly against the current. Why? Because he has taken shelter of the water. In the same way, one who takes shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord and his devotees, for him, it is very easy to cross over this material ocean.</p>
<p>One of Srila Prabhupada’s conversation goes like this:</p>
<p>Tamala Krsna: Srila Prabhupada? What is that ingredient or what is that thing which causes faith to develop in one? From someone becoming…</p>
<p>Prabhupada: Purity. Purity. The more you become pure, the faith is firm.</p>
<p>Narayana: So faith comes from previous pious activities?</p>
<p>Prabhupada: No, may not be previous activity. You believe the authority, spiritual master.</p>
<p>Tamala Krsna: That comes from purity, faith.</p>
<p>Prabhupada: Yes.</p>
<p>Tamala Krsna: As purity develops, one becomes more faithful.</p>
<p>Prabhupada: Yes. That purity is said, adau sraddha: “Beginning is faith.” Now tato sadhu-sangah: “You mix with faithful men.” Then it will develop. Otherwise, if you take simply initiation and then sleep, then faith will be lost. That is happening. You see? Therefore it is said, adau sraddha tato sadhu-sangah [Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila 23.14-15]. You accept faith, maybe blindly. Now you make further progress by mixing with advanced devotees. Then it will remain fixed. Otherwise you will loss.</p>
<p>Bahulasva: Faith is fixed by knowledge?</p>
<p>Prabhupada: No, faith may be blind, but it increases. If you stick to faith and follow the principles, then it will increase. Svayam eva sphuraty adah [Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila 17.136]. Just like… yasya deve para bhaktih yatha deve tatha gurau [Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23]. So if you have got faith in spiritual master, then you will advance. If you have no faith, then it will be lost.</p>
<p>Tamala Krsna: And unless one is pure, he will not have faith.</p>
<p>Prabhupada: No.</p>
<p>Krsnadasa: Isn’t it also like a child?</p>
<p>Prabhupada: Yes, yes. Everyone is child. So the father says, “Do this. That’s all.” Like “Write ‘A.’ ” He does not know what is A. But the father says, “You write like this.” That will increase his education.</p>
<p>Morning Walk, July 21, 1975, San Francisco</p>
<p>So, the more you are engaged in Krishna Consciousness, the more your future will become brighter and brighter. Haribol!</p>
<p>All glories to Srila Prabhupada!</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85500">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=85500</a></p></div>Desire Nothing But Bhaktihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/desire-nothing-but-bhakti2022-01-08T07:00:00.000Z2022-01-08T07:00:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zQGHE0Dip_w/VS0Swho3hfI/AAAAAAAAODM/Vzm5-M5tq0Y/s0/2015-04-14_15-14-34.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="2015-04-14_15-14-34.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="400" /></p>
<p><strong>By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuapada</strong><br /> Lecture given in Vrindavan, India, November 12, 1976</p>
<p>To attain bhakti, or pure devotional service to the Lord, one must come to the point of desiring nothing else.</p>
<p>matto ’py anantat paratah parasmat<br /> svargapavargadhipater na kinchit<br /> yesham kim u syad itarena tesham<br /> akinchananam mayi bhakti-bhajam</p>
<p>[Lord Rshabhadeva said:] “I am fully opulent, almighty, and superior to Lord Brahma and Indra, the king of the heavenly planets. I am also the bestower of all happiness obtained in the heavenly kingdom and by liberation. Nonetheless, the brahmanas do not seek material comforts from Me. They are very pure and do not want to possess anything. They simply engage in My devotional service. What is the need of their asking for material benefits from anyone else?”<br /> —Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.25</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lord Rshabhadeva is an incarnation of Krishna. He is explaining that devotional life, bhakti-yoga, is so exalted that persons engaged in it do not care for the heavenly planets, which are part of the material world, or for liberation. They consider those rewards insignificant. Prabodhananda Sarasvati, a follower of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, wrote kaivalyam narakayate: “The liberation of becoming one with the Supreme is as good as going to hell.” And what did he say about the heavenly planets—Svargaloka, Janaloka, Maharloka, Tapoloka? Tri-dasha-pura akasha-pushpayate: “They are as insignificant as an illusory flower in the sky.”</p>
<p>Suppose you go to Svargaloka and become Indra, the king of the heavenly planets. That is not a permanent position. By pious activities you can become Brahma, Indra, and so many demigods. You can hold such posts. But even if you go to Brahmaloka, the planet of Brahma, what is the benefit? You have to come back. Similarly, even you go to the Brahman effulgence, the impersonal spiritual energy emanating from Krishna, you will eventually fall back to the material world.</p>
<p>Therefore devotees are akinchana. They neglect all these things. They don’t care for them.</p>
<p>Karmis, persons seeking material enjoyment, try to go to Svargaloka, the heavenly planets; yogis and jnanis, or impersonalistic philosophers, want to go to the brahmajyoti, the effulgence of God. But a devotee is not seeking relief because a devotee is not uncomfortable in the material world. Why? Because a devotee sees God, Krishna, everywhere, and wherever Krishna is present, then everything is all right. That is the view of someone engaged in devotional service to the Lord.</p>
<p>narayana-parah sarve<br /> na kutashchana bibhyati<br /> svargapavarga-narakeshv<br /> api tulyartha-darshinah</p>
<p>“Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana [Krishna], never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation, and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.” ( Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.17.28) Devotees are not anxious either to go to Svargaloka or to refrain from going. They are satisfied: “Wherever Krishna keeps me, that is all right. Never mind whether it is heaven or hell.” They feel that way because they perceive Krishna within themselves and are concerned only with Him.</p>
<p>Wherever the Supreme Personality of Godhead is present, that place is Vaikuntha, the spiritual world. The Supreme Lord is in every living entity’s heart. Hogs and dogs have a heart, and Krishna is present there. Does that mean that Krishna is living with hogs and dogs? No. He is living in Vaikuntha. Wherever He may live, He lives in Vaikuntha. Similarly, the devotee lives with Narayana, or Krishna, so there is no question of hell and heaven for the devotee. He is in Vaikuntha. If Krishna is living in Vaikuntha, the devotee is also living in Vaikuntha.</p>
<p>The devotees are concerned with Krishna, Narayana. Therefore they are not afraid. The great sage Narada travels everywhere. He goes to hell, he goes to heaven, and he goes Vaikuntha to see Narayana. And as he travels, he chants and sings the holy names of the Lord. His business is to enlighten others. If he goes to hell, he advises the souls there, “Chant Hare Krishna.” And if he goes to Indraloka, the heavenly planets, he will advise the same thing. That is his business. Similarly, those who are preaching Krishna consciousness should not be afraid of hell or heaven. Wherever they go they simply preach, “Chant Hare Krishna.” That is their business.<br /> Rejecting Material Desires</p>
<p>One has to become akinchana, desiring nothing material, simply the lotus feet of the Lord. Our predecessor spiritual master Narottama Dasa Thakura has written, ha ha prabhu nanda-suta, vrishabhanu-suta-juta, karuna karoho ei-baro: “O Krishna, along with Radharani, please be merciful upon me.” Narottama-dasa koy, na theliho ranga pay: “I am fully surrendered unto You. Don’t reject me.” Toma bine ke ache amara. “I have nothing except Your lotus feet.”</p>
<p>This is the mood of akinchana: “I have no other thing except You. So how can You reject me? Give me shelter.”</p>
<p>If I think that I have another shelter besides Krishna’s lotus feet, then I am not akinchana. I am kincana: I have some other hope besides Krishna.</p>
<p>Akincana means that my only hope is Krishna. Kunti Devi in her prayers addressed Krishna as akinchana-gocara: “You are realized by a person who has no desire to possess anything else.” And Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has said, nishkincanasya bhagavad-bhajanonmukhasya. Bhagavad-bhajana, worship of the Lord, requires one to be nishkincana, which has the same meaning as akinchana. If you want to enjoy something material, there is no question of bhagavad-bhajana, because if you have even a little pinch of desire to enjoy material comforts, you’ll not be admitted into the pure service of the Lord.</p>
<p>Therefore Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja. (Bhagavad-gita 18.66) He instructs us to surrender fully unto Him. Bhakti-yoga begins when one thinks, “No more. Enough of this material enjoyment.” One must even reject brahma-bhutah, the stage of Brahman realization, in which one thinks, “I am in the brahmajyoti. I have become something important.” No. Devotees reject even the brahmajyoti. As Prabodhananda Sarasvati says, kaivalyam narakayate: “Existing in the brahmajyoti is like being in hell.” This is the position of the devotee.<br /> We Must Be Willing</p>
<p>Bhakti, devotional service, is not easy, but at the same time it is very easy. It is one moment’s business. But we must be willing. Krishna says, “Surrender unto Me.” If we do that, then immediately we are on the bhakti stage. But we are not willing. Krishna says directly, “Surrender unto Me,” but people say, “When Krishna is merciful to me, then I shall surrender.” What is this nonsense? Krishna is directly asking you. He has to become merciful again? What kind of mercy?</p>
<p>These are all pleas. Actually the person doesn’t want to surrender. “I shall not surrender unto You, sir. I shall make some pleas, some excuses. That’s all.”</p>
<p>We do not know how many times we have been born and died, for millions and millions of years. Still, we are so shameless we want to do it again and again. We want to continue to enjoy material life, which is nothing but eating, sleeping, sex, and fear. This is every living being’s business, from the small insect up to Brahma and Indra. People do not want to stop this business. They want to improve it. “I am eating now without any plate, but if I can eat on a golden plate, that is advancement.” A gentleman is eating tasty dishes, and a hog is eating stool. The eating is the same; the difference is just a matter of taste.</p>
<p>When we devotees are offered food on an airplane, we refuse it. We don’t touch anything on the airplane because we know what it is. But the man next to us is happily eating the intestines of a hog. He is enjoying eating with his spoon and fork, and we are thinking, “Oh, what a nasty thing he is eating!”</p>
<p>We should completely give up anything material. That is nishkincana. We have no business with anything material, whether on a golden plate or on the street or on the floor. It does not make any difference. Our business is to accept prasada, what Krishna has eaten. We are not interested in the intestine of hogs, and we are not interested in tasty dishes like halava and puris if they have not been offered to Krishna. We are interested to eat what has already been accepted by Krishna.</p>
<p>Those who eat Krishna prasada enjoy thousands of nice preparations. Why should we go to the restaurant? There are so many nice preparations offered to Krishna. Krishna is ready to accept from a devotee whatever he offers, within limits. There are people who say, “Whatever I eat I can offer.” But that is not the process. The process is that you must offer Krishna what He wants. When you invite someone to your home, you ask, “What can I offer you?” That is the etiquette. Not that the guest has to eat any horrible thing you offer.</p>
<p>Krishna says that he eats the offerings of His devotees. But the atheist says, “Oh, you are offering so many nice dishes, but they are still lying there in front of your deity. He has not eaten.” Such a person does not know how Krishna eats. Krishna can eat with His eyes. He can eat by touching. And even if He eats the whole thing, He can keep the whole thing present. The atheist cannot see this, but the devotee knows, “Krishna is eating, and we shall take the prasada.”<br /> A Successful Life</p>
<p>We have to learn what bhakti is. If we advance in devotional service, then naturally we will lose our taste for the material world. We must know that by taking to devotional service we can leave the material world. The material world is the place where there is danger at every step. Everyone will have to die. So before death we must become fully Krishna conscious. The end will come today or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Nobody will remain here. But success is to remember Narayana, Krishna, at the end of life. We should practice that. Don’t think, “I shall die tomorrow, but you are dying today, so I am better than you.” Nobody will live here forever. Everyone will die, and we must be prepared for death. The devotee has no fear of dying, because if he is completely surrendered to Krishna, then he is going back to Him—simply by surrendering to Krishna.</p>
<p>And how does one surrender? Krishna says,</p>
<p>man-mana bhava mad-bhakto<br /> mad-yaji mam namaskuru<br /> mam evaishyasi satyam te<br /> pratijane priyo ’se me</p>
<p>“Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me, and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend.” (Bhagavad-gita 18.65) Krishna is giving assurance. If we do only these four things, we will go to Him. The first is to always think of Krishna. Anyone can do it. And everyone can offer Krishna patram pushpam phalam toyam: fruit, a flower, a leaf, or water. ( Bhagavad-gita 9.26) Everyone can hear from Krishna to learn about Him. Where is the difficulty?</p>
<p>The difficulty is that we want enjoyment in this material world. But the devotee is not attracted to the material world, including the heavenly planets. And the devotee is not attracted by liberation or yogic perfection. Persons who desire those things are never peaceful. Those who want material enjoyment work hard for material profit or promotion to the heavenly planets. Those who are after liberation undergo severe austerities and penance to enter the impersonal spiritual energy. And the yogis also work very hard. Yoga practice is not so easy, especially in this age.</p>
<p>Our bhakti-yoga is so easy. Simply do the four things Krishna asks. Take to bhakti, devotional service, and reject everything else. That will make your life successful.</p>
<p>Thank you very much.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16828">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=16828</a></p></div>Emotions in bhakti by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/emotions-in-bhakti-by-kadamba-kanana-swami2021-11-23T09:40:58.000Z2021-11-23T09:40:58.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9836059700,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="9836059700?profile=RESIZE_584x" /><br />The word bhakti can be translated to devotion, devotional service. Bhaja is the root form of bhakti. Bhaja dhatu includes love, service and worship. The very essence of bhakti is emotions. When we speak of rasa, it implies emotions.</p>
<p>Whilst we are in this material world, we become conditioned, therefore we have a lower and a higher nature. There are two sides to our nature. The lower nature has become attached to the temporary and things of small significance, like when I lost my teddy dog as a child. I got over it. I grew up. When I was five, however, that was a tough moment. Emotions that are too affected by the temporary are not to be given much importance. Our emotions have to be awakened to the eternal. As we are advancing, we awaken our emotions to the eternal, towards Krsna, and then these emotions become favourable. When connected to temporary things, these emotions will bind us to them, and because it is temporary, it will make us broken hearted.</p>
<p>The dhama remains after the whole world is destroyed. After the dissolution of the universe, when England, Brazil and Holland will be no more, the dhama will still be there. Not exactly as we see it now, but in a spiritual, eternal form. Let us connect our feelings to the eternal and that will liberate us. It is an advanced state to have feelings for Krsna!<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://www.kksblog.com/2021/11/emotions-in-bhakti/">https://www.kksblog.com/2021/11/emotions-in-bhakti/</a></p></div>Inspiring Life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhuhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/inspiring-life-of-chaitanya-mahaprabhu2020-09-03T12:11:28.000Z2020-09-03T12:11:28.000ZPratanu Banerjeehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/PratanuBanerjee370<div><p><em>Mahāprabhu</em> is also known as Great Lord. He has been Indian saint of 16<sup>th</sup> century. He has been founder of Achintya Bheda Abheda. There are devotees who is regarded as incarnation of Krishna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has a style of praying Krishna with song, which is ecstatic in nature. The dance offer significant effect over Bengal’s Vaishnavism. He has been major proponent of Vedantic philosophy of the Achintya Bheda Abheda. Mahaprabhu had started Gaudiya Vaishnavism. This is also known as Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya. Bhakti Yoga was started by him and he had created the popularity of maha mantra of Hare Krishna. He had been responsible for composing devotional prayers which are eight in total. They are known as Shikshashtakam.</p><p>He has been known as Gaura or Gauranga. He had the complexion which is like molten gold. The birthday has been celebrated in the form of Gaura-purnima. He has been known as Nimai because of his birth under Neem tree.</p><p>Chaitanya indicates "consciousness" while Maha shows "Great". On the other hand, Prabhu indicates the "Lord". Chaitanya has been regarded as Jagannath Mishra’s second son whose wife was Sachi Devi. The family of Jagannath had lived in Dhakadakshin village which was in Srihatta, Golapganj in Bengal, which is now in Sylhet, Bangladesh. There are ruins of ancestral home and it has been found in modern Bangladesh. As per Chaitanya Charitamrita, the birth place of Chaitanya has been Nabadwip in West Bengal. It had been full moon night of February 18, 1486 during lunar eclipse.</p><p>There are stories which are present on the attraction of Chaitanya due to singing and changing of the life of Krishna. These songs are sung in his childhood. It has been felt which has been secondary for gaining knowledge along with the education in Sanskrit. At the time of Gaya tour for the performance of ceremony of Shraddha of his deceased father, Chaitanya had a reconnaissance with the guru named saint Ishvara Puri. He had been initiated by this guru in the mantra of Gopala Krishna.</p><p>The meeting is going to mark the important change in the outlook of Chaitanya. On the return towards Bengal, there are Vaishnavas in the neighborhood. Advaita Acharya is the head. There was a change in the heart and he turned out to be a devotee from a scholar. Then Chaitanya had turned out to be a popular leader of group of Vaishnava in Nadia.</p><p>After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had departed from Bengal where he got entrance into the order of Sannyasa under Swami Kesava Bharati. Chaitanya had embarked in a journey across India. He had been chanting Sri Krishna regularly. He had adopted travelling using foot and he visited Baranagar, Atisara and Mahinagar. Finally, he had reached Chhatrabhog. Chhatrabhog has been the spot place where the Goddess Ganga along with Lord Shiva had a meeting. It has been a great to know that there were hundred mouths of river Ganga. There is an origin of the Vrindavana Dasa who had written <em>Chaitanya Bhagavata</em>. He had taken bath at the Ambulinga Ghat. He had close companions having amazing chorus-chanting or kirtan.</p><p> </p><p>Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had lived one night and he went to Puri through boat using Local Administrator named Ram Chandra Khan. He had passed the remaining 24 years of his divine life at Puri, Odisha. It is a wonderful temple city on Jagannath within Radhakanta Math. Prataprudra Dev has been the King of Gajapati. He believed that Chaitanya is the avatar of Sri Krishna. He has been a great patron of recitation of Chaitanya. At this time, Chaitanya has been trusted by the followers to be submerged in deep across Divine-Love or Samadhi. He had been under bhakti or divine ecstasy.</p><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7818415656,RESIZE_1200x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7818415656,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="7818415656?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></p><p>Vrindavan has been the place of our Radha Rani. It had been “City of Temples” and there are greater than 5000 temples for highlighting the glorious stories of Krishna and Radha. The goal of Vrindavan has been lost along with time within 16th century. There is a rediscovery of Chaitanya. In 1515, Vrindavana was visited by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He had the goal of identifying the sacred places related to Lord Sri Krishna pastimes. He had moved around various sacred Vrindavana forests. He had been under the spiritual trance of the holy love. His spiritual power had helped him to find the vital places of the pastimes of Sri Krishna. It has been around Vrindavan consisting of 7 primary temples. Vaishnavas worship it following tradition of Chaitanya.</p><p> </p><p>Bhaktivinoda Thakura is Gaudiya Vaishnava acharya who had discovered a manuscript which is quite rare on Chaitanya Upanisad in the section of Atharvaveda. It shows the true form of our Chaitanya. We have come across the evidences in the scriptures of Hindu where our Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has been another form of Krishna. He had not killed any kind of demon. As per Chaitanya Bhagavat, there is a lengthy description of the life of Mahaprabhu. Mahaprabhu had forecasted Krishna’s holy name which is going to be sung in every village and town across the world. In USA, International Society of Krishna Consciousness had been launched by Srila Prabhupada. He had proved that this forecast is correct.</p></div>Keepers Of The Flame Of Bhakti by Karnamrita Dasahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/keepers-of-the-flame-of-bhakti-by-karnamrita-dasa2020-06-19T11:00:00.000Z2020-06-19T11:00:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/wp-content/uploads6/tumblr_p28s984Z4v1sbj0vuo1_500.png" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="http://www.dandavats.com/wp-content/uploads6/tumblr_p28s984Z4v1sbj0vuo1_500.png?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="400" alt="tumblr_p28s984Z4v1sbj0vuo1_500.png?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Keepers Of The Flame: Although this expression is most often used by our Christian brothers and sisters, I totally relate to its exclamation in relationship to what or who I am, or at least, aspire to be: A Keeper of the Flame of Bhakti, or A Keeper of the Flame of Spirituality. Personally, I see this as a responsibility for all followers of Shri Chaitanya and those who represent him. I visualize a flame burning brightly in my heart, or raising a torch in my hand to dispel darkness. To me, this is inspiring! “Lead me from untruth to truth! Lead me from darkness to light! Lead me from death to immortality.” [Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 1.3.28] This is my meditation and affirmation on being a keeper of the flame.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">More than ever before in my life, this is what I want to stand for, and share, and be, and promote. Though admittedly this has waned in the last year, I keep being reminded of it, and now this is the direction I want to take. With this new year, I am reaffirming my commitment. Thus, I write and speak with the prayer to do this service of giving light and encouragement to deal with our worldly desires and nature in the context of spiritual growth—transforming our human life into the life of the soul. Easy to say, I am well aware, yet for me, I need to keep high aspirations always in mind and in my prayers for my highest prospect. Otherwise I may just settle to get by as I have for so many years.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Or it may seem terribly vain to express such a desire—who am I to call myself a keeper of the flame of bhakti? However, to my thinking, without inspired aspirations, what will we become? Writing about it is another way to keep it in mind, and sharing it with you is to be accountable to those who read this, who may ask me how I am doing. I must keep thinking and reading about this, and putting it into practice. Sitting on the mental fence, or merely being an armchair philosopher takes us nowhere. We have to put ourselves on the line to follow our conviction. At least this is my test in life!</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">I can think of nothing more noble and consuming than this quest. We realize this quest by doing it—my main question is am I willing to put this into practice? One of the blessings of becoming older and knowing our days are numbered is that this sometimes gives us a sense of urgency we didn’t have before as our body diminishes, and death is around the corner.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">In a way, for those of us who lived as single celibate monastics or brahmacaries (men) or brahmacarines (women) living in monasteries or ashrams, being keepers of the flame of bhakti is what we are were doing, though most of us couldn’t articulate it well, nor could we maintain it in the face of what I have dubbed our “karmic mission.” Karmic mission means having to deal with our psycho-physical nature by being compelled to marry, have a family, home, and an occupation by which we could interface with the world.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Having passed through this, it is natural to again be more absorbed in sharing spiritual truth, but now with years of both worldly and spiritual understanding. This would be called, “vanaprastha,” or spiritual retired life.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">I aspire to share the flame of spirituality from my heart, even in the face of my old conditioned tendencies to think I am the enjoyer of the world, or the basic lust for the flesh in so many gross and subtle ways that every embodied being is born with, has to deal with, and if one is on a progressive spiritual path, must overcome.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Old habits or lifetimes of conditioning die hard. However, being victorious in this struggle points to the importance of regular spiritual practice, of always praying to make the best choices, keeping inspiring, uplifting association, and to be “constantly endeavoring for perfection.” We can’t rest on our laurels, lest our spiritual flame diminish or be extinguished all together. As Prabhupada taught, we need to aspire to be first class. Then we may be successful or at least become second class, but if we only try to get by we may not make much progress, or go backwards.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Those dualities of life that can compete against our spiritual focus, I described a few days again in the language of Internal Families Systems, or our having to deal with so many parts of our conditioned psyche while we engage in spiritual practice. This is the struggle for most devotees, especially in the early years of our bhakti practice, even as we endeavor to give our life to Krishna, and help others who are suffering in this struggle find a way above it through the holy name and bhakti practices. Each one of us has to be the example of what the bhakti practices offer. This is why we hear that “example is better than precept.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">To do this work I derive much strength and support from the philosophy of bhakti, in verses and explanations of them in books and in the persons of those who inspire me spiritually. I also find inspiration in the success literature of the day, and in the lives of those who have risen above adversity to make their particular contribution to the world. As we must breathe in to breathe out, we must be constantly taking in the good association of scriptures, inspiring books, and saints, to consistently give what we have been blessed with.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">This was my thought today as I alternatively sat and paced back in forth chanting my rounds of japa in front of our Deities, praying for inspiration, help, and spiritual advancement. I ask them every morning, “What can I give today, and how can I make a difference?” In the mood of being useful to you, let me ask you to think about what questions you ask of yourself, and what prayers do you make, on a regular basis to begin your day? What do you truly want to give, and how will you realize it? Do you relate to being, or aspiring to be, a keeper of the flame, or a keeper of the flame of bhakti? I thank you if you have read this far and share your thoughts and feedback!</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad 1.3.28</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">asato ma sad gamaya<br /> tamaso ma jyotir gamaya<br /> mrtyor mamrtam gamaya</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Lead me from untruth to truth! Lead me from darkness to light! Lead me from death to immortality.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=55205">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=55205</a></p></div>The current of bhakti by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-current-of-bhakti-by-kadamba-kanana-swami2020-04-23T12:34:19.000Z2020-04-23T12:34:19.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}4495380481,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}4495380481,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="4495380481?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></a></p>
<p>If you go to Mayapur and you go on the side of the Ganga to take a bath in it, you have the ground under your feet and you walk in the water moving forward on your own strength. But if you go deep into the water, then what will happen? The current of the Ganga will just drag you away. And there is nothing you can do, it will just take you. Bhakti is the same. In the beginning, you have to take different steps yourself – you have to follow this principle and you have to do this duty and so on. You have to take all these steps yourself until you go deep into bhakti and then the current of bhakti will just take you away. The current of ecstasy! The current of love!<br /> <br /> <strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://www.kksblog.com/2020/04/the-current-of-bhakti/">https://www.kksblog.com/2020/04/the-current-of-bhakti/</a></p></div>The bhakti movement by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-bhakti-movement-by-kadamba-kanana-swami2020-03-14T12:00:25.000Z2020-03-14T12:00:25.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}4103766722,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="4103766722?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p>We must understand that we all depend on the sankirtana movement; we all depend on the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Nobody should think, “Oh, but I am from a different background! See, I am doing this on the strength of my own culture.” No, culture is hollow. Culture has become empty; empty rituals without any meaning.</p>
<p>Prabhupada however gave us the meaning of all of this Vedic literature, and Prabhupada is the representative of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the carrier of the sankirtana movement. It is the sankirtana movement that is the life of transcendental knowledge, that brings it all back to our heart. This is not just a Vedic revival movement. This the hidden movement of the Vedic culture – the bhakti movement – now given with great mercy to everyone. It is the one movement in this age of kali that can bring real spiritual life to all. </p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://www.kksblog.com/2020/03/the-bhakti-movement/">https://www.kksblog.com/2020/03/the-bhakti-movement/</a></p></div>Narsinh Mehta - A Great Devotee Of Lord Krishnahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/narsinh-mehta-a-great-devotee-of-lord-krishna2019-11-25T11:53:36.000Z2019-11-25T11:53:36.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div style="text-align:justify;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3740687684,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="3740687684?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">Narsinh Mehta was a great and dear-most devotee of Lord Sri Krishna. In his early life he lost his parents and stayed at his elder brother’s place. However, his sister-in-law did not welcome him very well. She was ill-tempered, always taunting and insulting Narsinh for his worship (Bhakti). One day, when Narsinh Mehta had enough of these taunts and insults, he left the house and went to a nearby forest in search of some peace, where he fasted and meditated for 7 days by a secluded Siva-linga until Lord Siva appeared before him in a dream. Lord Siva told him, “Your Bhakti delights me”. Lord Siva told him to ask for a boon. Narsinh asked Lord Siva, “Please give me something which you like the most and easy to attain. Please have pity on me.” Lord Siva said that he likes Krishna-Bhakti the most and granted him a boon the joy of singing Lord Krishna’s praise forever.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">Narsinh Mehta's Choro in the town of Junagarh in Gujarat is a great revered place where Narsinh Mehta used to hold his assemblies, religious discourses and bhajans in the 15th century. There is a small temple of Gopinatha and the Deity of Sri Damodar Rai ji and Narsinh Mehta.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">Sri Sri Radha Damodar Ji Temple, Revati Kunda and Damodar Kund at Junagarh is situated along the road to Girnar in Junagadh town in the south of Saurashtra. This Temple was built 5000 years ago by King Vrajnabha, grandson of Lord Krishna. This place is known as Vastrapath Ksetra. In this temple there is holy tirtha called Revati Kunda. This site symbolises the bonding of divine marriage of Lord Balarama and Revati. In Junagadh there was an ancient city named Raiwat Nagar. Revati, who was the daughter of King Raiwat, appeared in the form of Kanya Ratna as Prasad of the Pruthesthi yajna. She was engaged to Sri Balarama. It is said that Raivata left Dwarka and moved to Girnar Hill she was married to Lord Balarama. Hence, Girnar Hill was also known as Raivatachal, Raivatgiri, Revatak Parvat or Raivata. And Junagadh was also referred to similarly. This temple also has ancient deities of Sri Sri Radha Damodar. It is believed that here Lord Krishna placed a flower garland around the neck of His dear-most devotee Narsinh Mehta. The Damodar Kunda is closely attached to the life of Narsinh Mehta, the famous 15th century Gujarati poet and devotee of Krishna, who used to come to bathe at Damodar Kunda and is said to have written many of his prabhatiyas (morning prayers), in the natural surrounding here at the Damodar lake, at picturesque foothills of Girnar. In front of Damodar kunda there is a site dedicated to Narsinh Mehta to commemorate the association of this great saint-poet with Damodar Kunda and ancient temple of Damodar here.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">Close to Sri Sri Radha Damodar Ji Temple is the cave of Muchukunda. The cave has a temple of Lord Krishna. This is the place where Kalayavan, the great Yavana who was chasing Lord Krishna was killed by Muchukunda's gaze. The Skanda Purana describes rich accounts of Prabhas khand, which covers entire geographical area of Junagarh district. A vivid description of Vastrapath Ksetra and spiritual significance of Damodar Kunda and the temple are given in the Prabhas khand. It states, “Damodaram Jalavasam Sarva Papharam Harim”, the holy waters of Damodar kunda is holy home of Sri Hari, sacred bath of which relives all kinds of sin, and “Saksat Sthitah Krishna Damodara eeti Smritan”, Lord Krishna is eternally present here in form of Sri Damodar Ji. The temple was renovated in 462 AD by the great emperor, Skand Gupta.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">About 125km from Junagarh is a very important temple of Tulsishyam. Here Lord Krishna annihilated demon called Tul, and so the place is associated with his name along with that of Krishna as Shyam and is thus called Tulsishyam. The deity of Tulsishyam is over 3000 years old. There are two temples on this place. One is Lord Sri Krishna's temple in the foot of a mountain and another one is Sri Rukmini Ji's temple on the top of the mountain. Tulsishyam is a very famous and beautiful place. It is located in the heart of dense Gir National Forrest Park, in Junagadh District of Gujarat. It is also famous for medicinal hot spring of water. The temple has more than 200 cows in the Goshala.</div>
<h3 style="text-align:justify;">Story of Bhagavat Premi Narsinh Mehta</h3>
<div style="text-align:justify;">[Reference: His Holiness Gour Govinda Swami lecture on 13 March 1995 at Gadeigiri, Orissa and Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu magazine issue#286]</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">We often tell the recent story of Narsinh Mehta. He was a dear devotee of Krishna, krishna-premi-bhakta, always thinking of Krishna. He never thought of anything else. Narsinh Mehta was a very poor Brahmin. He had a family, wife and children - so many daughters. Having no wealth, he was going out and begging alms. He led a poor life, just barely maintaining himself and his family.</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">A Krishna-premi-bhakta like Narsinh Mehta always thinks of Krishna. He reads Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. He does sravanam-kirtanam; he hears Krishna-katha; he speaks and preaches. He is very, very attached to Krishna. He has no other business. He never thinks about how to maintain his family because he only thinks of Krishna. This is ananyas cintayanto mam - “always concentrating on Me”. He has full faith in Krishna’s words: yoga-ksemam vahamy aham - “I protect and preserve such devotees.” His daughter attained marriageable age, but he wasn’t thinking about how to get her married. This is the responsibility of the father, but Narsinh Mehta was only thinking of Krishna.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">His wife heard the neighbours criticizing, saying, “His daughter has already attained marriageable age, but he is not getting her married. He is keeping a grown-up daughter.” People were speaking in this way. But Narsinh Mehta never heard it because he was always thinking of Krishna. He was only hearing Krishna-katha, so none of those things entered his ears. If your mind is always engaged in hearing Krishna-katha and thinking of Krishna then none of these material sounds will come to you. But his wife heard them, and then his wife said to him, “Hey! What are you doing? Aren’t you thinking about getting your daughter married? This is your responsibility!” Narsinh Mehta said: “Why are you creating a disturbance and bothering me in my bhajan? Krishna has said in Bhagavad-Gita 9.22:</div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>ananyas cintayanto mam ye janah paryupasate</strong></div>
<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">‘Those who always worship me with exclusive devotion, meditating on my transcendental form, to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.’</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">Have you no faith in Krishna’s words? Krishna says, ‘I take up the responsibility to maintain my devotee’s family and to provide him whatever he lacks.’ We now have this need, how the marriage will be done. Marriage means that a huge amount of money is required. Krishna has said that he will carry the burden. It is Krishna’s family. I am completely surrendered. I’ve given everything to Krishna. So why are you disturbing me?”</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">But his wife had no faith. “Oh? Krishna will bring money to your home and make an arrangement for your daughter’s marriage? No! You have to go out and search for a proper bridegroom. Krishna may help you, but if you don’t do anything, if you just sit here in the house reading the Gita and Bhagavatam, doing bhajan, what will Krishna do?” In this way his wife created disturbances in his bhajan such that he felt so much pain. “Oh, this silly woman is creating so many disturbances. I cannot do my bhajan. I can’t sit here. I cannot do bhajan.”</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">Then he began to cry before Krishna, “O Gopinath! There is a problem now in your family. Our daughter has already attained marriageable age. She should be married. Why are you not making some arrangement?” Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung:</div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>bhala-manda nahi jani seva matra kari<br /> tomara samsare ami visaya-prahari</strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">“I don’t know whether I am doing good or bad. I am just serving you, O Krishna. It is your family.” [Sarangati 2.5.5]</div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>niscinta ha-iya ami seviba tomay<br /> grhe bhalo-manda ho’le nahi mora day</strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">“I’m only thinking of your service. I have no other thought. O Krishna, this is your home, your family. If anything is wrong with it, then You will be criticized. Why shall I be criticized?” [Sarangati 3.2.7]</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">A devotee never says “my family”. It is Krishna’s family. Then it is Krishna’s responsibility to maintain it. So Narsinh Mehta cried and offered prayers. When the bhakta cries, Krishna responds. You have to cry. Those who have cried, they have gotten Krishna. Dhruva cried, he got. Bilvamangala cried, he got. Unless you cry, Krishna will never hear you. If you cry, immediate response is there. Narsinh Mehta cried, and the Lord immediately responded.</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">The next day, some gentlemen came who were searching for a bride. They came to Narsinh Mehta’s house and saw the daughter. “Yes, we appreciate this girl. We would like to take her for marriage to our son.” After some negotiation, the marriage was fixed. Krishna can do and undo things in a moment. “When will the marriage take place?” They checked the calendar to find a vivaha-tithi, a day for the marriage to take place. They saw that in this year there was only one proper time, and it would come after just four days. Otherwise it will have to wait for another year. So that day was fixed. “Yes, after four days the marriage will take place.” Narsinh Mehta was very happy. He said to his wife, “You see how Krishna took care?” Then his wife said, “Alright, the marriage will take place after four days. So how will it be done? A huge amount of money is required, lakhs of rupees. You have no money. You are a poor man, without a single coin. How can you perform the marriage?”</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">“Krishna will take care.”; “Oh, Krishna will take care?”; “Yes, Krishna has said in the Gita, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham - ‘I will provide for my devotee.” He had unflinching faith in Krishna, but his wife had little or no faith, soft faith, komala-sraddha. So she again created disturbances in his bhajan. He could not sit and peacefully worship the Lord. She said, “You should go out and borrow some money. Otherwise how can you perform this ceremony in four days from now? Lakhs of rupees are needed! You will have to give saris and ornaments to your daughter. You will have to arrange a big feast; feed all your friends, relatives and neighbours. The bridegroom will come with a big procession, and you have to pay for it. He’ll demand some dowry. You have to give it.” This is social prestige, social custom. “Krishna will carry. I am a poor man. Who will give me money? If I go and approach a wealthy man, ‘Please give me some money. I want to take a loan,’ he’ll never give money because I have no wealth to pay it back. What shall I do?” The wife said, “Here! Take some of my ornaments.” In villages in India the women’s bangles, earrings, silver and gold ornaments are their bank. At the time of need they will sell them or put them somewhere as collateral, get money, and perform these ceremonies. So she gave them. “Alright, take these. Put them somewhere with some wealthy man and get some money.” So he took them and went out.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">Narsinh Mehta was a premi-bhakta, very fond of Srimad-Bhagavatam and Krishna-katha. When he went out in search of someone to lend him money, he entered a village where he saw that a Bhagavata recitation was going on for seven continuous days. Being very attached to hearing the Bhagavatam, he sat there for 7 days. He forgot that he had come to get money to perform his daughter’s marriage, which would take place after four days. When the 7 days finished, he asked someone, “Oh bhai, what day is today? Alas! Everything must have finished, 7 days have gone by. The marriage of my daughter was after four days. I came to get some money. My wife gave me these ornaments. What has happened to the marriage ceremony? Everything must have been spoiled! There will be so much criticism! How can I go back? How can I show my face there? If I go there my wife will beat me with a broomstick! Oh Krishna, why did you keep me here, making me completely forget? What is your lila, I cannot understand! This is your family. You will be criticized.”</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">He thought, “What shall I do? I’ll tell a lie to my wife. ‘I went to a very far off place. I went to many villages and met many wealthy persons. No one was prepared to take these ornaments and give me money. I went to such a far off place, so returning took time.” He was thinking like that. As he was coming he was chanting and thinking of Krishna. “Alright Krishna, such a wonderful lila you are doing. Why you made me forget, I don’t know. You know everything.” As he came nearer to his village he heard people talking about the marriage. “Such a marriage! Narsinh Mehta’s daughter’s marriage was like a king’s. We have never seen such a marriage! We have heard that great kings do like that, but for the first time we saw such pomp and ceremony. Such a grand feast we had never eaten before, such palatable dishes, and such a grand procession like a royal procession. And he gave so much dowry, so many ornaments. Where did he get the money? This was like a king’s royal marriage.”</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">Hearing these talks, Narsinh Mehta asked, “Whose marriage?”; “Your daughter’s marriage.”; “My daughter’s marriage is already done?” “Oh yes. With such pomp and ceremony, like a king’s royal marriage. We have never seen!”; “Oh Krishna! You are so merciful! Yogaksemam vahamy aham - You have said, ‘I will provide for my devotee.” Then he came to his house and saw that his wife was very happy. He asked, “The marriage was done nicely?”; “Yes, very nicely!”; “How was it performed? Who brought money? You were in anxiety, always creating disturbance in my bhajan. You had no faith in Krishna’s words, yoga-ksemam vahamy aham. Who brought money? How was it done?”; “A ten or eleven-year-old black boy came. He was carrying a heavy load. He brought so much ghee, oil, subji, rice, dal, flour, sugar, and molasses. He brought so many saris, clothes, ornaments, and money. We had no place to put everything in our small mud hut. I asked him, ‘Hey, where are you bringing these from?’; “He said, ‘Oh, gosai is sending.’ You are sending, he said. You are sending. He was carrying such a heavy load.”; “Krishna has said, ‘I will carry - yoga-ksemam vahamy aham.’ You have no faith in the words of Krishna?”</div>
<div style="text-align:justify;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:justify;">This is a true story. A pure devotee of Krishna is completely, exclusively, dependent on the mercy of Krishna. Every moment he only thinks of Krishna, with no other thought. He is completely surrendered, and has dedicated everything to the Lord. His attitude is that it is Krishna’s family. The only means for a householder devotee is complete surrender. Enter Krishna’s family - Krishna-samsara. Don’t stay in maya-samsara. Krishna is the only the object of love. Develop love and attachment to Krishna. Give up material, temporary bodily attachments. They are all troublesome like thorns and pointed pebbles. Krishna is the only object of loving attachment. Dedicate your family and everything to Krishna. It is Krishna’s family. Only think of Krishna and Krishna will make all arrangements. If you develop your love for Krishna then everything will be very good. If the husband and wife relationship is based on loving relationship with Krishna, then it is a real relationship. Don’t develop bodily, material relationships. They are only temporary, troublesome, and based on misery. Develop your eternal loving relationship with Krishna, wherein the husband is Krishna-dasa and the wife is Krishna-dasi.</div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Directions to reach Junagarh:</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:justify;">Junagarh is about 2 hours from Porbandar and 3½ from Sri Dwarka Dhama. Junagadh does not have an airport of its own and the nearest airport are Rajkot and Porbandar airports. Direct flights from Mumbai are available at these airports. Taxis and buses can be availed from outside the airports to reach Junagadh. Junagadh is connected to other places of Gujarat like Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Bhavanagar, Dwarka, Somnath and Rajkot regular by bus service. Both private and state owned buses can be availed to travel to Junagadh from these cities. Junagadh Railway Station, which is located around 1 km away from the city centre, has train service from places like Mumbai, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune and Jabalpur.</div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>(Entrance to Narsinh Mehta Choro)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>(Entrance to Narsinh Mehta Choro)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>(Lotus feet of Narsinh Mehta)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>(Sri Gopinath Ji that were worshiped by Narsinh Mehta)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>(Narsinh Mehta)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align:center;"><strong>(Exact spot where Narsinh Mehta got the darshan of Lord Siva. In his early life he lost his parents and stayed at his elder brother’s place. However, his sister-in-law did not welcome him very well. She was ill-tempered, always taunting and insulting Narsinh for his worship (Bhakti). One day, when Narsinh Mehta had enough of these taunts and insults, he left the house and went to a nearby forest in search of some peace, where he fasted and meditated for 7 days by a secluded Siva-linga until Lord Siva appeared before him in a dream. Lord Siva told him, “Your Bhakti delights me”. Lord Siva told him to ask for a boon. Narsinh asked Lord Siva, “Please give me something which you like the most and easy to attain. Please have pity on me.” Lord Siva said that he likes Krishna-Bhakti the most and granted him a boon the joy of singing Lord Krishna’s praise forever.)</strong></div>
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