lecture - Blog - ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT2024-03-29T09:22:27Zhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/lectureRichard L. Thompson Lecture Series Inaugural Eventhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/richard-l-thompson-lecture-series-inaugural-event-12023-04-01T11:50:06.000Z2023-04-01T11:50:06.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}11018927901,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="11018927901?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="500" /></em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>“The process of bhakti-yoga is regulated by a theory of knowledge that strictly<br /> rules out unjustifiable speculation and extrapolation, and in this respect bhakti-yoga<br /> is methodologically superior to modern science, and goes beyond modern science<br /> by providing the individual with practical methods of developing higher<br /> cognitive powers that lie dormant in the conscious self.”</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">(Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science, p. 10)</p>
<p>The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies launched an ongoing lecture series based on the books of Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa das, 1947-2008) with a hybrid (online/in-person) event at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, FL, on February 4, 2023 (Sadaputa’s birthday!). Six of Thompson’s books will be covered chapter by chapter with a lecture summarizing the contents and highlighting the chapter’s essential messages, followed by a discussion session.</p>
<p>Three very special guest speakers opened the Series by offering their realizations concerning the impact of Sadaputa’s research, lectures, and publications on their personal life, and on both the devotional and scientific community.</p>
<p>Jayadvaita Swami (Jay Israel), who served as an editor for nearly all the books published by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada during His lifetime, focused on Thompson’s “wonderful fertility of mind and openness of thought” as he “set a direction and a high bar by his probing mind and probing intelligence.”Having worked closely with him for many years as an editor for Back to Godhead magazine, which featured over 40 articles by Thompson spanning three decades, Maharaja was keenly aware of his “gift for taking complex ideas and making them accessible to ordinary persons”:</p>
<p>Sadaputa stands out for his conviction that something is really being said here, Sukadeva Gosvami has something profound to say – not just a religious doctrine, or a Hindu belief, or traditional wisdom – but there’s deep substance to it.</p>
<p>While accessing the past and future impact of Thompson’s published material, Jayadvaita Swami praised his ability to understand “where were the opportunities for discourse,” and thus produce a legacy empowering future generations “to be able to look at Sadaputa’s work, and be informed by it, provoked by it, and guided by it. It is so valuable!”</p>
<p>Badrinarayan Swami (Robert Morrill), who has served as a Governing Body Commissioner since 1987, described his intimate dealings with Thompson during his tenure as Temple President in San Diego from 1978 to 1995. He remembers his “friend and hero, Sadaputa Prabhu, as a gentle, refined, and sophisticated person with an abiding sense of humor.” After relating several humorous anecdotes, Maharaja highlights Thompson’s sincerity: “He was absorbed in his service of presenting a scientific view of the Vedic understanding,” and was “very serious about his sadhana – he loved the morning program!”</p>
<p>Recalling one of their many philosophical discussions, Badrinarayan Swami explained how Thompson “deepened my faith in the Bhagavatam: if you accept the principle of a multi-dimensional universe, then the whole thing opens up and becomes plausible.” His closing words reveal an abiding appreciation of Thompson’s life’s work:</p>
<p>One cornerstone of Sadaputa’s approach to his studies – if something was in the Bhagavatam, he accepted a priori, axiomatically, that it was true. But his mission was to understand and share with others HOW it was true. And he gave his life to that mission. We can never repay Sadaputa. He’s one of my heroes, and one of our heroes.</p>
<div><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://iskconnews.org/richard-l-thompson-lecture-series-inaugural-event-2/">https://iskconnews.org/richard-l-thompson-lecture-series-inaugural-event-2/</a></div></div>Launch of H.H.Tamal Krishna Goswami’s Lecture Video Library on YouTube with never-before-seen videoshttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/launch-of-h-h-tamal-krishna-goswami-s-lecture-video-library-on-yo2023-03-01T14:18:37.000Z2023-03-01T14:18:37.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10978274475,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="10978274475?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></p>
<p>A video library of H.H. Tamal Krishna Goswami’s lectures is now available on YouTube. Most of these video lectures have not been available online till now. New lectures are being released three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The dates of the lectures will range from 1988-2002. The lectures have been carefully curated and edited to improve sound quality.</p>
<p>We hope this library of H.H.Tamal Krishna Goswami’s lectures will become a treasured resource for you to relish and share with others.</p>
<p>Please subscribe to the channel and activate notifications so you don’t miss out on any new releases!<br /> YouTube Channel Link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@tkgvideolibrary/videos">https://www.youtube.com/@tkgvideolibrary/videos</a></p>
<p>Your servant,<br /> Sri Rupa Manjari dd<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=106563#">http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=106563#</a></p></div>Nityananda Prabhu’s Appearance Day Lecture in Mayapurhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/nityananda-prabhu-s-appearance-day-lecture-in-mayapur2023-02-03T14:44:57.000Z2023-02-03T14:44:57.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:left;"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10953741470,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10953741470?profile=RESIZE_584x" width="500" /><strong style="font-size:12pt;"> Sound cloud : <a href="https://soundcloud.com/bhakticharuswami/nityananda-triyodasi-lecture-mayapur-9-feb-2017mp3" target="_blank">click here</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://soundcloud.com/bhakticharuswami/nityananda-triyodasi-lecture-mayapur-9-feb-2017mp3">Lecture</a> by HH Bhakti Caru Swami ISKCON Mayapur on 2017-02-09</p>
<p>Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day lecture.</p>
<p>Hare Krishna!, So Nityananda prabhu is Balaram.</p>
<p>“brajendra-nandana yei, Saci-suta hoilo sei,<br /> balarama hoilo nitai “</p>
<p>Brajendra Nandana Krishna became Sacinandana Gaura Hari, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Balaram appeared as Nityananda prabhu. One interesting thing to note in this respect is, although Gaura Mandala Bhumi, the land of Bengal is Glolok navadvip, it is the spiritual sky. But Bengal or Guaramadala Bhumi was not recognised as holy place. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu identity was hidden, and therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu dham is also hidden. In India, the land where Ganges doesn’t flow is considered to be as unholy place. Nityananda prabhu appeared in Radadesh, which means the land where Ganges doesn’t flow which means an unholy place.</p>
<p>But we must understand that just by appearing there, Nityananda prabhu exposed the glory of this land. It is the one of the most exalted spiritual place. Nityananda prabhu appeared in North Bengal as I mentioned, where Ganges doesn’t flow, in a village called Ekacakra. He appeared as the son of Hadai Pandit, a very exalted Brahmana and his wife Padmavathy. Nityananda prabhu was the eldest son and he was extremely dear to his father and mother. His father was so fond of him, that wherever he goes he will take Nityananda with him. He could not separate from him even for a moment. He was so fond of him.</p>
<p>Nityananda also was a special personality, even in his childhood while playing with his friends, he was enacting different pastimes of Krishna. Sometimes, he will perform Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan, sometimes he performs Ramachandra’s pastimes, sometimes he performs Baladev’s pastimes with his friends. People used to be surprised to see how this child know all these pastimes, nobody taught him & how could he enact the pastimes? Those pastimes which he used to play was so special & unusual, that he would become a part of it.</p>
<p>For e.g. one day, he performed the pastimes of Lakshmana hit by sakti weapon, so Lakshmana fainted. The condition was one boy would play the role of Hanuman and he will go and carry the Gandamardhan mountain and Bisalyakarani herb will be selected by the person who acted as doctor. He would make him smell, and as a result of it he would regain his consciousness. But it was so real that when Lakshman was hit by Sakti weapon, Nityananda was playing the role of Lakshman, he was hit by the Sakti weapon and he fainted and there was no sign of life in the body. Everyone became extremely worried and people were informed Nityananda lost his consciousness, as they saw there is no sign of life in his body. Everybody came running and saw Nityananda doesn’t have any consciousness no sign of life in his body. In this commotion, the boy who was supposed to play the role of Hanuman forgot his role, and he also got absorbed in the commotion and then one boy remembered and told, Look you are supposed to bring the Gandamardhan mountain and I am supposed to do Bisalyakarani.</p>
<p>So that boy played his role and when that was enacted, the Bisalyakarani was revealed to him then Nityananda came back to consciousness. So, this way Nityananda was playing the pastimes with his friends at the time, when children were playing with their toys. Nityananda was enacting the pastimes of Supreme Personality of Godhead, that is how was absorbed he was on the pastimes of the Lord.</p>
<p>In this way 12 years passed. One day, a wandering Brahmana mendicant came to house of Hadai pandit. It used to be the custom when they see a saintly person, the brahmanas, they invite him to his place. In India there is a custom when they see a saintly person travelling they invite them to their house. So Hadai pandit invited him to become his guest. So, he stayed in Hadai Pandit’s house and spent the whole night giving Krishna katha. In the morning, he told Hadai Pandit I liked to take something from you. So Hadai Pandit said please tell me whatever you like, I will offer it to you. Look, I travel to places of pilgrimage and I travel alone so I need a companion. So will you please give me your son, your eldest son. This was like Hadai Pandit was struck like thunderbolt. Nityananda, who he couldn’t even separate for a moment, and now this person is asking Nityananda to go with him that means he is going to lose him forever. But at the same time, the Brahmana asked him for his gift, as his alms, what he also already promised. It is a custom that if some somebody or a sanyasi asked no one will refuse him, that used to be the culture those days. So Hadai Pandit agreed and went inside told him wife that this is what the Brahmana wanted. Then his wife said no matter how dear he is we must fulfil our promise. Nityananda was given to the Brahmana. The brahmana left with Nityananda.</p>
<p>Hadai Pandit’s condition was like Dasarat after Lord Ramachandra left home for the forest. He just fainted and when he regained consciousness he became mad. Everybody thought Hadai Pandit became mad in separation of his son.</p>
<p>Along with that sanyasi, Nityanada prabhu travelled with for 20 years and then he went to Mathura, he went to Vrindavan and started spend his time there. There his activities were very much like that of a mad man. He used to float in Yamuna, he would play with the children, be would go along with cowherd boys and play with the cows. So this is how he was spending time in Vrindavan.</p>
<p>Then here interesting thing to note is Nityananda prabhu is 12 years older than Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So here you can see when Caitanya Mahaprabhu is born or appeared in Navadvip, Nityananda prabhu left home For 12 years he wandered around and waited for Caitanya Mahaprabhu to start his sankirtan movement. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu started sankirtan movement, he left Vrindavana and he came to Navadvip, he came to Mayapur. He went to the house of Nandan Acharya. Nandan acharya’s house is around 50 meters from here. So he came and stayed in Nandan acharya’s house. He was staying there and that morning Caitanya Mahaprabhu told his associates, that last night I had a wonderful dream, I saw someone divine looking personality riding on a chariot. A beautiful celestial chariot. When I asked him, who are you, and he told me don’t you recognise I’m your brother. So, it seems that some exalted personality had appeared in Navadvip.</p>
<p>So, he sent Haridas Thakur and Srivas Thakur to find out where that personality was. So, they travelled, they went to different places and couldn’t find and they came back, “we couldn’t find any such personality”. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, Ok, let’s go. So along with his associates, Caitanya Mahaprabhu went straight to Nandan acharya’s house, and there he saw Nityananda Prabhu. At that time, Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Srivas Thakur to recite a verse from Srimad Bhagavatam. Upon being instructed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srivas Thakur recited a verse that describes Krishna’s entering into Vrindavan along with the cowherd boys.</p>
<p>SB:10.21.05</p>
<p>“barhapidam nata-vara-vapuh karnayoh karnikaram</p>
<p>bibhrad vasah kanaka-kapisam vaijayantim ca malam”</p>
<p>So Krishna is decorated with Barhavatam, peacock feature on his head and “karnayoh karnikaram”, beautiful Karnika flowers on his ear. In this way, describing that how he was eternally surrounded by his associates, cowherd boys. Upon hearing that verse Nityananda fainted. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked Srivas Thakur to continue reciting and as he kept on reciting the verses he was re gaining the consciousness and he was in ecstasy he started to behave like a mad man. He started to cry, he started to roll in the grass, sometimes even jump up and he will fall in such a way that everybody started to worry, may be he will break is bones, he is going to hurt himself bad? So they prayed Krishna, Krishna please protect him. In this way Nityananda started to display ecstatic symptoms upon hearing Krishna’s pastimes. Then he went into the embrace of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and then he became completely quiet. Seeing that Gadadhara Pandit started to laugh, just see Ananta actually holds Krishna and now see Krishna is holding Ananta.</p>
<p>This is how Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda prabhu met. It was a very, very beautiful union. Both of them were so ecstatic upon seeing each other. Nityananda prabhu was instructed by Caitanya Mahaprabhu to preach and go from door to door and distribute Krishna prem along with Haridas Thakur. And Haridas Thakur and Nityananda prabhu used to go from morning till night they used to go to different houses in Navadvip and request everybody to chant the holy name. There the people had different reactions, some people those who were saintly they immediately accepted their instructions and being to chant. Those who were envious, because they were not allowed to enter into Caitanya Mahaprabhu sankritan activities at night in Srivas Thakura’s house, they started to see now they have come to our house, let us beat them, beat them. Some people thought they may be spies of the thieves they are coming to our house to find out what we have and they will come at night and steal our possession. But Nityananda prabhu and Haridas Thakur used to just laugh hearing that.</p>
<p>Then, one day they came across two personalities they looked terrible. People were so afraid that nobody went near them. They asked who are these people and they told them these are two terrible demons although they were born in Brahmin family, they belong to exalted brahmana family, buy they have become demons. There is no sinful activity they haven’t performed. They would plunder people burn people houses, with slight provocation, they would just burn their houses. They would loot their wealth and they would rape young girls. All the time they were drunk.</p>
<p>Nityananda prabhu told Haridas, “Haridas, if we can make these two devotee of Caitanya Mahaprabhu then the real glory of Caitanya Mahaprabhu will be manifest” . Caitanya Mahaprabhu has come to deliver the fallen souls and they aren’t anyone as wonderful candidate for Mahaprabhu’s mercy than these two. So Haridas hesitated, “Look , you have heard what kind of character they are, like if somebody just enrage them in the slightest way they just go to their house and burn their house”. So do you want to take that, he said Yes, Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to distribute Krishna prem and these are the most eligible candidates.</p>
<p>So Haridas said fine, and so Nityananda prabhu went and did what Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked them to do. “prabhura ajnay, bhai, magi ei bhiksha bolo krishna, bhajo krishna, koro krishna-siksha” go door to door and ask everybody to chant the holy name of the Lord, please become a devotee and serve the Lord. So, Nityananda prabhu went and told them, “My dear brother, Please chant the holyname of the Lord, please become devotee of the Lord” and they immediately became very furious, “You dare to instruct us what we should do?” And said, “kill them kill them catch them”, seeing that Nityananda prabhu and Haridas Thakur just ran. These two persons, Jagai and Madai their actual name was Jagannath and Madhav. Jagannath nick name became Jagai and Madhav’s nick name became Madai. They were running and running when they chased then and finally they went into potter’s shop where the clay pots were piled up and they hit behind the pots. This is how they escaped.</p>
<p>That evening they went and reported to Caitanya Mahaprabhu this is what happened. Nityananda prabhu said, Look, you have come to deliver the most fallen sous, we have selected that these two are the most fallen therefore we decide to deliver them. Actually, Haridas Thakur reported, Look, “I’m not going to go with him anymore, today almost we lost our lives and this person is crazy”. The Ganges in monsoon time will be full of crocodiles and this person, floats in the Ganges, and he approaches the crocodiles and then when he sees beautiful young unmarried girls, he approaches them and asks them, Will you marry me? So, their fathers come with stick in their hands, so, I am not going out with him anymore. Today look what he had done, this is the craziest thing one could ever do.</p>
<p>The other time Nityananda prabhu told Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that it will be the greatest glory we should be able to do that. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu responded saying, look, they have been delivered, just that you have decided that your merciful glance fallen upon them they are delivered.</p>
<p>Jagai and Madai sometimes would listen to Mahaprabhu’s sankirtan at night. In the drunken state they would dance with the kirtan. This is how they developed their good fortune. But one day when Nityananda prabhu and Haridas Thakur went near them, they asked who are you. Nityananda prabhu like a child, he said I am the “avaduth” that means I am the person who lost his consciousness in his spiritual ecstasy. Upon hearing the name, avaduth, they became so upset that Madai picked up his clay pot that he was drinking from and he hit Nityananda prabhu with that. Nityananda prabhu started to bleed.</p>
<p>When Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard that, immediately he was informed, so he came out. He was so furious that he immediately called sudarshan chakra and immediately tried to kill them with that. Jagai and Madai saw that sudarshan coming and then Jagai fell at Caitanya Mahaprabhu feet and Nityananda prabhu also seeing that situation he reminded, My Lord, in this age you are supposed to conquer everyone with your love, you are not going to use your weapon. So please be merciful upon them. Nityananda prabhu told Caitanya Mahaprabhu, that Madai was about to hit me again, but Jagai actually stopped him. Upon hearing that, Caitanya Mahaprabhu became very pleased. He said anyone who protects Nityananda prabhu, “I am sold out to him”. Caitanya Mahaprabhu decided to deliver Jagai and forgive Jagai. But he said because he, Madai hurt Nitananda, I am not going to deliver him, I am not going to give him mercy. So when Madai fell at his feet, Caitanya Mahaprabhu said that I am not going to forgive you, I’m not going to have any compassion or mercy, but if Nityananda forgives you, and immediately Nityananda forgives him. This was how Jagai and Madai was accepted by Caitanya Mahaprabhu.</p>
<p>Who are these Jagai and Madai? Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksha, so in other three yugas the Lord killed them but in this age, the age of Kali the Lord accepted them. In this way Jagai and madi were delivered and that had a tremendous reaction in Navadvip. Everyone became surprised that Jagai and Madai, now became saints. Like Madai feels so guilty that he had hurt Nityanada prabhu that used to just sit on the bank of Ganges and when people would to come to take bath, then he used to serve them washing their feet, making arrangements for their bath. So Madai’s ghat is still there.</p>
<p>Two other thieves also Nityananda prabhu delivered there are also two terrible demons, that is after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took sanyas, Nityananda prabhu one day came to Sachi mata’s house, Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s house. Saci mata requested Nityananda “You stay here, by seeing you I feel consoled to some extent”, so, you please stay here for sometime. So Nityananda prabhu being instructed by saci mata this way, decided to stay in Navadvip. But he decided to stay in the house little far away in an isolated place in the house of devotee called Hiranya Pandit.</p>
<p>Nityananda prabhu used to be dressed in a gorgeous way. He used to wear blue silk clothes, he used to wear very beautiful turbon decorated with flowers he used to wear ornaments. His whole body was decorated with ornaments, nice necklaces, bracelets whatever you call. Ankle bells etc. They all are make from most precious jewels and gold. So, some thieves thought that let us steal these ornaments from him. This person is well decorated, in one hand he is a sanyasi, but look how he is dressed he is wearing all those jewelleries and things. So, let us go and steal from his house and as the place where he is staying is isolated.</p>
<p>One night, we will go and steal from the house. So, they were waiting for the night fall and at night they were there, they saw that they were chanting and after taking Prasad, they were chanting and they were waiting until they fall asleep. But in the meantime, the yoga maya made all thieves fall asleep. All of them fell asleep, and in the morning when they woke up, they woke up with the cooing of the crows and birds. They wondered what happened we were supposed to steal from their house, and so the leader of that group who was also a Brahmana said, may as we did not worship Chandi the form of Kali.</p>
<p>The decoits usually worship because we didn’t worship Chandi became angry and made us fall asleep. So that night they worshipped Chandi very nicely and came to steal they came with various weapons, they were about to kill anybody who came in their way in this way they were prepared. But when they came they saw there were some powerful looking guards carrying all kinds of very very powerful weapons and they were guarding the place. So, they became worried, oh because they saw that one guard could take care of hundred and ten in no time. So, that night they became very worried and decided not to venture into that. They thought many rich man would have come to their house and may be they are his guards, because many rich people are following this person. So we will come some other day when guards not there.</p>
<p>When the third day when they came, it was a new moon night, it was complexly dark, but as soon as they came near the house they became completely blind they couldn’t see anything. It is already dark and now we became blind so they fell in all kinds of ditches and places and scorpions and insects started to bite them. Some fell on the heap of thorns and not only that, all of a sudden it started a hail storm. A big hail started to fall and beating them. Actually, Indra became so upset with them and he sent all the hail storm, and they were kind of completely devastated. And then, that leader he said, this must be very, very exhausted personality, so let’s not think anything bad about them, rather we go and surrender to them. This is how the thieves came and surrendered to Nityananda prabhu and they became his devotees.</p>
<p>After that Nityananda Prabhu on the occasion of Jagannath Chariot festival, went to Jagannath Puri and he stayed there with Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One day, Caitanya Mahaprabhu told him that he should come back to Bengal, you should go back to Bengal because you must preach and then he told him that you get married. Nityananda prabhu response was, “I’m just instrument in your hand, so whatever you want I will do it.” So, without any hesitation he accepted the instruction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, although he wanted to stay with Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannath Puri. But he came back to Bengal.</p>
<p>One day, he went to the house of Suriya das Sarkel, one Brahmana, who is in Ambika kalna. Ambika kalna is in the other side of Shantipur. Advaita Acharya used to live in this side of Ganges and on the other side of Ganges is Ambika kalna. There was this personality, Surya das Sarkel. So Nityananda Prabhu went there with one of his very intimate associate, Udharanta Thakur. Actually, Nityananda prabhu’s twelve cowherd boys were Nityananda prabhu’s most intimate associates. I mean Krishna and Balaram’s most intimate associates. So these twelve cowherd boys also came and they became Nityananda prabbu’s associates. One of them was Udharanta Thankur very exalted merchant in a place called Triveni.</p>
<p>Along with Udaranta Thankur, Nityananda Prabhu went to Suri das sarkel’s house. He went and told him. look I want to marry your daughter. Suri das sarkel’s immediate reaction was, it was described, after all it is a pastime happening in yoga maya’s arrangement, he said, look, I don’t know what your caste is. Even in Brahmin there was a caste consideration, high class Brahmin will not give their daughter to low class Brahmin. So he said we don’t know what your caste is and we don’t know your caste, line of heritage so I’m sorry I can’t offer you my daughter. So Nityananda prabhu said, fine and he left.</p>
<p>But something happened to his daughter whose name was Janava she fainted. The doctor was called in Vaidh and the doctor said that she won’t be able survive and she won’t recover, and they won’t be able to cure her. So, her condition was she was taken for granted that she is going to die. She was taken to the Ganges. And at that time, Suridas thankru’s brother Gauri das pandit came. He said, look, why did she all of a sudden faint like that? You must have committed a great offense to Nityananda avaduth. So, whatever he wanted, offer it to him. So Suridas said, well, she’s already dead, we will call him. So, Nityananda came. Amazingly, as the fragrance of Nityananda’s body entered into Janava’s nostrils, she regained the consciousness and she said sat up and said, where am I? I am feeling very embarrassed being in the situation where other people there and then she was lying there and she just ran inside the house. So then Suridas said, Look please accept my daughter as your wife. This is how with great pomp Nityananda prabhu was married to Janava devi.</p>
<p>Janava devi had a youngest sister also her name is Vasuda devi. So Vasuda, one day Vasuda was serving Nityananda prabhu and serving Prasad at that time her saree from her head fell off. Young unmarried girl always covers her head. So, feeling very embarrassed, like she was serving with two hands and her saree slipped off from her head, and then she manifested two other arms to put her saree in place.</p>
<p>Nityananda prabhu then told Suridas Thakur look as a dowry I want your younger daughter. So this is how Nityananda prabhu got married to 2 sisters Janava devi and Vasuda devi. Janava devi, as you know didn’t have any children. But Vasuda devi bore some children of Nityananda Prabhu and most prominent of them is Birachandra. Bir Chandra prabhu was very, very dear to Nityananda prabhu and he took up the mission of Nityananda prabhu and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He did extensive preaching all over throughout Bengal those days. Of course, as you know, Janava mata became actually the leader of Vaishnava community at that time after Nityananda prabhu left, Janava mata became the head of the Vaishnava community.</p>
<p>This is how Nityananda prabhu performed his most wonderful pastimes. When we speak about Nityananda prabhu we have to remember that Ananta sesh with his unlimited mouth for unlimited time is describing the glory of Nityananda prabhu, how much can we speak about him with our limited ability in such a limited span of time? But, let us become absorbed in the thoughts of Nityananda prabhu, his most wonderful qualities, most wonderful activities.</p>
<p>One thing we must remember that, we cannot approach Caitanya Mahaprabhu without the mercy of Nityananda prabhu. The e.g. is Raghunath das Goswami. Raghunath das Goswami wanted to approach Caitanya Mahaprabhu many times. He was a son of a very rich man and he was running away from home to go to Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And each time, he was arrested and brought back to family. But when he met Nityananda prabhu, Nityananda prabhu addressed him as thief. And as you know the punishment was, he has to feed all the devotees with chipped rice and yogurt , chera dahi festival. Consideration is, why he was addressed as thief, why did Nityananda prabhu called him a thief. The reason is Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Nityananda prabhu’s property. So Ragunath was trying to get Caitanya Mahaprabhu without Nityananda prabhu’s permission.</p>
<p>Therefore we have to understand, “heno nitai bine bhai radha-krsna paite nai<br /> drrha kori dharo nitair pay “, without the mercy of Nityananda prabhu, one cannot get Radha Krishna who is Radha Krishna? Radha Krishna is Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, since we are followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu we must remember that in order to approach Caitanya Mahaprabhu first we have to take permission and blessings of srimad Nityananda prabhu. Nityananda prabhu is the original spiritual master, Balaram is original spiritual master and in the pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Balaram came as Nitai, so he is our original Spiritual master. All the spiritual masters are actually Nityananda prabhu’s representatives. Whoever distributes Krishna prem and whoever wants to distribute Krishna consciousness he must do it as a representative or agent of Nityananda prabhu.</p>
<p>Srimad Nityananda prabhu ki jai!, Nityananda triodasi ki Jai, Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jai, Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai!. Jagadguru Srila prabhupada ki jai!, ISKCON founder Acharya His divine grace Srila prabhupada ki jai, Gaura premanande, Haribol</p>
<p>The class was supposed to end at 8:00 it seems and then there is supposed to be deity greeting. If we have some minutes may be if someone has any question or comments then can ask. Ok, is there any question or comment?</p>
<p>Question: One thing Maharaj, it is said that although we have forgotten there is exception wherever the pandavas stayed was considered sacred.</p>
<p>Maharaj: Yes but some part of Bengal is Padava varjita, even pandavas didn’t come here.</p>
<p>Devotee: Ekacakra was not the place because the pandavas stayed there.</p>
<p>Maharaj : Yes, sure .</p>
<p>Devotee: What is the proper prayer to make to Lord Nityananda?</p>
<p>Maharaj:Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ! Thank you for reminding me! Maharja sings mahamantra.</p>
<div><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=43038">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=43038</a></div>
<div> </div></div>Richard L. Thompson Lecture Series Inaugural Eventhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/richard-l-thompson-lecture-series-inaugural-event2023-01-21T14:12:52.000Z2023-01-21T14:12:52.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><em><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10946151066,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="10946151066?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></em></p>
<p><em>“The process of bhakti-yoga is regulated by a theory of knowledge that strictly rules out unjustifiable speculation and extrapolation, and in this respect bhakti-yoga is methodologically superior to modern science, and goes beyond modern science by providing the individual with practical methods of developing higher cognitive powers that lie dormant in the conscious self.</em></p>
<p><em>(Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science, p. 10)</em></p>
<p>The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies will inaugurate an ongoing lecture series based on the books of Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa dasa, 1947-2008) with a hybrid (online/in-person) event at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, FL, on February 4, 2023 (Sadaputa’s birthday!), 11 AM to 1 PM EST. Special guest speakers will include Hrdayananda Das Goswami, Jayadvaita Swami, and Badrinarayan Swami. The public is welcome to attend in person or via Zoom (see links below).</p>
<p>Six of Thompson’s books will be covered chapter by chapter with a lecture summarizing the contents and highlighting the chapter’s essential messages, followed by a discussion session. The series will begin with an introduction tohis first book,<em><a href="http://richardlthompson.com/book/mechanistic-and-nonmechanistic-science">Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science</a>: An Investigation Into the Nature of Consciousness and Form</em> (1981), by BIHS Director Brahmatirtha dasa. In this publication, Thompson discusses how the mechanistic theories dominating modern science have difficulty explaining phenomena like consciousness, complex biological form, and inspiration, and how these disparate phenomena could be unified through engaging the non-mechanistic analytical paradigms offered in the<em> Bhagavad-gita</em>.</p>
<p>This work makes a sober, thorough, carefully reasoned, and well-documented case that the prevailing theories of physics and biology have grave shortcomings which can be traced to their reliance on an underlying mechanistic framework. Dr. Thompson shows how physics is incapable of dealing with the phenomenon of consciousness and how biology is unable to account for the existence of complex living forms. Arguing that valid scientific theory does not have to be mechanistic, Dr. Thompson outlines a nonmechanistic science that would complement mechanistic science and round out the human quest for understanding.</p>
<p>Two Nobel Prize winners offered favorable reviews:</p>
<p>I liked the third chapter of <em>Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science </em>very much. In particular it acquainted me some with the Bhagavad-gita. I learned that the basic philosophical ideas of this on ‘existence’ are virtually identical with those which quantum mechanics lead me to. – <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1963/wigner/biographical/">Eugene Wigner</a><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1963/wigner/biographical/"> (Physics 1963)</a></p>
<p>In <em>Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science,</em> Dr. Thompson makes a number of cogent arguments against the usual scientific picture of life and evolution (which do not accept the existence of higher or subtler levels of organization). He also presents a clear alternative model. I think it is an important book, which would be of interest to many people. – <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1973/josephson/auto-biography/">Brian Josephson</a><a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1973/josephson/auto-biography/"> (Physics 1973)</a></p>
<p>In a lengthy review published in <em><a href="http://www.zygonjournal.org/issue1984_3.html">Zygon: The Journal of Religion and Science</a> </em>19(3), <a href="https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/granville-henry">Granville C. Henry</a>, Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College, wrote:</p>
<p>The attractive quality of this book is that Thompson writes as a scientist about science with a clarity, accuracy, and objectivity that should engender respect both from scientists and from those whose religious persuasions are other than his own. He presents the philosophical instabilities of contemporary scientific theory in a clear scientific language without recourse to ad hoc religious explanations.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10946151300,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="472" alt="10946151300?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>Five more of Thompson’s books will be included in the Lecture Series, in chronological order:</p>
<p><em>Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy (1989)</em></p>
<p><em>Parallels [Alien Identities]: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena (1993)</em></p>
<p><em>Mysteries of the Sacred Universe: The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana (2000)</em></p>
<p><em>Maya: The World As Virtual Reality (2003)</em></p>
<p><em>God & Science: Divine Causation and the Laws of Nature (2004)</em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>To register for the Feb. 4 inaugural event, and receive zoom links for each of the following lectures in the series, please click [<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2Y6qdGehb3ssRPCEijiX9qYlz3YtTtXZMTr2BbZrOHCsnOA/viewform">here</a>].</p>
<p>To attend in person and join us for a sumptuous 1 PM prasadam buffet at the BIHS Headquarters (224 NE 10th Ave, Gainesville, FL), please reserve your spot by contacting Prishni (<a href="mailto:prishni108@gmail.com">prishni108@gmail.com</a>) no later than January 15, 2023.</p>
<p>Please check the <a href="https://bihstudies.org/events/">BIHS Events</a> page for up-to-date schedule information and current lecture zoom links.<br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=105516#">http://www.dandavats.com/?post_type=post&p=105516#</a></p></div>Approaching The New Year By Making New Resolutions To Come Closer To Krishnahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/approaching-the-new-year-by-making-new-resolutions-to-come-closer2022-12-31T07:30:00.000Z2022-12-31T07:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515274072,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515274072?profile=original" width="600" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RJ7RWU6GHUI?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12226">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=12226</a></p></div>“Hearing is Our Main Business”https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/hearing-is-our-main-business2022-09-01T12:32:51.000Z2022-09-01T12:32:51.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10800827676,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="10800827676?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>[During a lecture Srila Prabhupada interrupts his discourse on the Srimad-Bhagavatam verse when he notices some of his disciples leaving the lecture, apparently to attend to other services] Srila Prabhupada: Why they are going? They are busy in some other work? Eh? Ugra-karma.<br /> Without hearing, what will he do?<br /> Nonsense? Sravanam kirtanam, this is our main business. If you don’t hear, what will you do? You will simply do sense gratification. That’s all. So this is the difficulty, that we are not very much interested in hearing. Our bhakti begins here: sravanam kirtanam visnoh. We have to hear and we have to speak. But if we are not interested in hearing and speaking, then it will simply be formal. That’s all. And gradually it will be stopped. Unless there is the life of sravanam kirtanam, these big, big buildings, temples, will become a burden. So if we want to create a burden for the future, then we may give up this hearing and chanting and sleep very nicely. It will be a burden. Not sri-vigraha, but galagraha. Sri-vigraha means worshipable deity. So if we give up this sravanam kirtanam visnoh, then it will be thought that “Our Guru Maharaja has given us a burden on the neck – galagraha.” This is the danger. So we must be very much alert in sravanam kirtanam. Otherwise, all this labor will be futile. This building will only be a nest for the doves and the pigeons. That is the danger. That is being done. Nobody is interested. Such, such things… Now, who can understand Krsna? There are so many impediments. On one side, there is the curtain of maya; on another side, everyone is a rascal and fool; and on another side, Krsna is beyond your sense perception. This is the position. [So,] how much alert one must be? Then one can understand. Just like the Gosvamis. Is Krsna so easy to be understood?! But there is a process. So if we do not adopt the process, then how can we understand Krsna?<br /> From a lecture by Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur, September 29, 1974</p>
<div><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=72853">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=72853</a></div></div>Deepening our relationship with Deities - HH Radhanath Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/deepening-our-relationship-with-deities-hh-radhanath-swami2021-08-10T12:42:08.000Z2021-08-10T12:42:08.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9404180086,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="9404180086?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>A lecture by His Holiness Radhanath Swami on "Deepening our relationship with Deities" part of 50th Installation Anniversary Celebrations of Sri Sri Radha Gopivallabha at ISKCON Boston.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5jQ20i-czmo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p style="text-align:left;"><br /> <br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Dandavats/posts/2039130219585217">https://www.facebook.com/Dandavats/posts/2039130219585217</a></p></div>Namo Maha Vadanyaya Meets Namo Brahmanya Devayahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/namo-maha-vadanyaya-meets-namo-brahmanya-devaya2021-03-19T07:49:22.000Z2021-03-19T07:49:22.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8682865294,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="8682865294?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>What we are discussing today is from that time of Mahaprabhu where He was traveling for six years and he set off from Jagannath Puri towards south India. When Mahaprabhu set out for this journey, Srila Prabhupada has helped us understand there were many reasons that are why He set off for this journey. One of the reasons was that he wanted to visit all the holy places. Yes that’s a reason, that’s expressed but through the travel of his holy places within this section that we’ll be reading today it is described that actually by His travel He made these holy places of pilgrimage, He actually was enhancing them to be higher and higher realms of pilgrimage, so that’s another internal reason.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N3m6_8loXLo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93985">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93985</a></p></div>Exploring the many dimensions of Caitanya-caritamritahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/exploring-the-many-dimensions-of-caitanya-caritamrita2021-03-17T12:40:10.000Z2021-03-17T12:40:10.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBo8n94GQ4Y" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>About Devamrita Swami<br /> Devamrita Swami is an educator, author, and monk in the Krishna bhakti tradition. For over forty years, he has been traveling the world sharing the teachings and lifestyle of bhakti-yoga.<br /> With a unique ability to analyze modern problems through the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad-Bhagavatam (essential Vedic texts), he challenges audiences to understand that the quest for genuine personal and social upliftment is rooted in precise and comprehensive knowledge. Often addressing topics on spiritually-based economics, sustainability, and environmentalism, his strategic guidance has proved invaluable to students and professionals seeking to balance their spiritual and professional life. Spiritual life, he often remarks, is a dynamic experiential reality, not a token subscription to a belief-system. Adept at applying this spiritual science, he encourages others to enter the laboratory and perform the Krishna experiment, which enables us to fully realize our nonmaterial identity and ultimate connection. While meeting and relishing the diversity of global humanity, he has also established urban and rural sanctuaries for the spiritually inquisitive, especially in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.<br /> Upon graduating from Yale University, he began reading and relishing the classic bhakti texts translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Impressed by his impeccable erudition and saintliness, Devamrita Swami became his official student and a member of the worldwide bhakti community. In 1982 he officially accepted the renounced order of life as a Krishna monk, dedicating his life to practicing bhakti and sharing it with others all over the world.</p>
<p>Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! What do you think about our introduction, isn’t that nice?<br /> Yes, fantastic!<br /> We’re ready for a wonderful discussion, so everybody knows you, it’s kind of a strange thing to try to introduce you, of course, you’re a GBC and a sannyasi and a guru but just as a point of introduction, maybe you could just tell us something about, I don’t think everyone knows, how much you’ve been involved in innovative approaches to spreading Krishna Consciousness. And before we go into the Sri Chaitanya Caritamrita if you could just give us a sentence or two on some of these innovations that you’ve been spearheading as a dedicated book distributor.</p>
<div><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93930">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93930</a></div></div>Understanding the internal mood of Lord Caitanyahttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/understanding-the-internal-mood-of-lord-caitanya2021-03-15T12:07:15.000Z2021-03-15T12:07:15.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oJqJqIZ-sRM" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>About Nrsimhananda Das<br /> • Joined in Chicago in Spring of ’71. Initiated in LA in ’72 where he remained.<br /> • Involved in various services – pot washing, Harinam, book distribution, cookie distribution, candle distribution, Magic Lotus caterer,<br /> • Conceived and spearheaded ISKCON Television,<br /> • Temple President Topanga Pyramid House ’79-’93.<br /> • Producer of the Complete Srila Prabhupada DVD Library in 20 languages.<br /> • Producer, Director New Hare Krishna World, Disciple of My Disciple, Acarya series, puppet series, Kurma series, Ramayan, Pilgrimage to Ahobilam, etc.<br /> • Co-Director with Janardradhi of Uplifting Cinema Pvt. Ltd. (India) developing commercial KC feature films,<br /> • Coordinator of Speakers at the yearly Prabhupada Festival in Los Angeles,<br /> • Father of Ishan, Rupa, and Rama; husband of Nitya Manjari dd</p>
<p>(The below transcription is automatically generated by a voice recognition tool)</p>
<p>Please accept my humble obeisances. All glorious to Srila Prabhupada Gopal Bhatta Prabhu!<br /> It’s nice to see you!<br /> Thank you very much for honoring me by letting me come on to your program!<br /> Oh no, it’s our honor and thank you so much for devoting your valuable time. I think that you know and maybe many of our audience know, but just in case, the GBC SPT has started all the way back in February 19th with a portrayal of celebrating Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita headed toward the Gaura Purnima and we have all of these events going on.<br /> <a style="background-color:#ffffff;color:#0088cc;font-family:Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:13px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;">Click here to read the rest of the transcription</a></p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93884">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=93884</a></p></div>Villagers extend a warm welcome alongside Marathi devotionhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/villagers-extend-a-warm-welcome-alongside-marathi-devotion2021-02-04T12:26:31.000Z2021-02-04T12:26:31.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><strong><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8514763277,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="8514763277?profile=RESIZE_584x" />By Damodarleela dasa, Maharashtra Padayatra leader</strong></p>
<p>Padayatra reached Bastavade village in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district on January 21. When we went for advance party to the village the previous day the leaders happily received us and quickly arranged our accommodation. As the news spread that some saints would be arriving with a rath carrying the Lord the residents prepared by sprinkling the roads with water and decorating them with rangoli, then welcomed us at the village entrance on the day of ekadasi.</p>
<p>At every square we passed through matajis offered arati to Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar and the padayatris’ feet were washed, as were the hooves of our dear oxen. In Maharashtra people worship the oxen who help them on their farm, the culture of harmonizing with the animals.</p>
<p>We found the people in Bastavade to be simple and devotionally inclined. They follow the legacy of kirtan and bhajans of Tukaram Maharaja, the seventeenth-century proponent of the Bhakti movement in Maharashtra, and I was inspired to hear how consistently they follow ekadasi vrata and have been doing kirtan in the local temple on ekadasi day for the past sixty-five years.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8514763873,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="8514763873?profile=RESIZE_584x" /></p>
<p>In the evening we had sankirtan and it was unbelievable how almost the whole village joined us, a mass of people following the sankirtan procession that started at 7pm and lasted till 10pm. The people were very happy dancing and singing with all their hearts. Thirty Bhagavad-gita and thirty small books were distributed and we offered prasadam for some villagers who followed us to our accommodation.</p>
<p>One villager said, “We had heard about ISKCON and heard people saying Hare Krishna but we never visited the temple. Now we know what ISKCON is. When we went to Pandharpur for darshan of Lord Vitthala we saw a large ghat named after Srila Prabhupada, but we never went there.” I replied, “The next time you go to Pandharpur, please visit the ISKCON temple and have darshan of Sri Sri Radha-Pandharinath.”</p>
<p>I then told the people that this padayatra began in Pandharpur and would be moving all over Maharashtra. Hearing this, another villager said, “As this year we could not go for darshan of Lord Vitthala, the Lord Himself has come to give us darshan. We are very grateful that you selected our village and that it was on the auspicious occasion of ekadasi.</p>
<p>As we were about to leave the next day each one of us was gifted a shawl and a coconut, as is the custom in Maharashtra.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8514764076,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="450" alt="8514764076?profile=RESIZE_584x" /><br /> <strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=74515">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=74515</a></p></div>Bhagavata Pravaha: The Flow of Srimad Bhagavatam at ISKCON Govardhan Ecovillage during the Lockdownhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/bhagavata-pravaha-the-flow-of-srimad-bhagavatam-at-iskcon-govardh2020-12-11T10:46:19.000Z2020-12-11T10:46:19.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8272814678,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8272814678?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" /></p>
<p><strong>By Gauranga Das</strong></p>
<p>Festival for the soul</p>
<p>During the extended lockdown due to the pandemic situation, the residents of Govardhan Ecovillage (GEV) took to an in depth study of Srimad Bhagavatam, making the most of the collective opportunity.</p>
<p>GEV is the home for many scholarly devotees who share the wealth of their Vedic wisdom across the world. As circumstances would have it, many of them like Sanatkumar Prabhu, Gauranga prabhu, Chaitanya Caran prabhu, Damodar prabhu, Gauranga Darshan prabhu, Balaram Sakti prabhu and Madhav Gopal Prabhu were all in GEV from March to November 2020. It was like a sweetshop being unable to distribute it’s sweetmeats to outsiders instead generously gave it all within the house.</p>
<p>The daily Bhagavatam class was modified in duration and depth to be a continuous discourse on the depths of Bhagavatam. In 90 minute sessions, the speakers took us through the letter and spirit of the Bhagavatam covering 3 to 4 chapters on weekdays starting with recitation of shlokas from “Bhagavata Ratnmala” a compilation of selected verses from the Bhagavatam.</p>
<p>The residents of GEV were reliving the ‘satram svargaya lokaya’ experience of Naimisharanya – assembly of the holy with an exclusive and enthusiastic objective of collective absorption in the higher truths of life. This effervescent environment inspired the speakers to share their realisations and insights coming from their deep study and devotion. We drank the distilled nectar of Bhagavatam’s teachings on the disposition, reflection and reaction of role-model devotee characters which are a beacon light for our sadhaka life. We also acquired a modern perspective and position on various Vedic themes like cosmology and sociology and contemporary issues in governance and leadership.</p>
<p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8272815655,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8272815655?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" /></p>
<p>Each speaker enchanted and nourished the hearers by his unique perspective and presentation on different sections of Bhagavatam. Some made a thematic presentation on the key topics of the section while others adopted a sequential approach covering and connecting successive sections of every chapter as the episode progressed. “Bhagavata Subodhini” study guides were our best companions in this Bhagavatam study journey.</p>
<p>Everyday, after the end of each session, the audience was left enlightened and inspired to deepen their personal svadhyaya and intensify their spirit of seva. We are very grateful to the management and the speakers for giving us such a divine and meaningful connect with the heart and teachings of our dear acharyas.</p>
<p>– Mohan Vilas Das, GEV|</p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=91838">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=91838</a></p></div>Feeling Separation From Krishna Is Necessary and Practicalhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/feeling-separation-from-krishna-is-necessary-and-practical2020-06-27T11:40:00.000Z2020-06-27T11:40:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515284338,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515284338,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="400" alt="2515284338?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>By Sacinandana Swami </strong><br /> <br /> We have to wake up to the fact that our life is not in order. Yes, you might be liked by devotees. You might be a lecturer and other neophyte devotees may applaud you. Or mister guru! You may think you have so many disciples and thus you are successful in your life. Whoever we are, in whatever position or station of life we are, unless we wake up to the fact that “I really need Krsna”, we are emotionally invested in the wrong things. Our emotions should be with the real need, or as Srila Prabhupada put it “the Govinda necessity”. Then we address the root cause of all our problems. Unless we address this necessity, we live in a pious dream, not in the reality of Krsna consciousness. Lord Caitanya expressed and taught these ideas: “O son of Maharaja Nanda, I’m your servant, but somehow I got lost; I fell into this ocean of birth and death. You and I have a fixed relationship, I’m dust at your lotus feet; I belong there. But now I’m drowning in this material ocean, please pick me up.” This is how Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaches the living beings to enter into devotional mood that will bring us to Krsna in the quickest, most realistic and best way. Mahaprabhu would not have come to teach longing for Krsna out of separation, if it would be impractical. He is the Lord. Also, don’t think feelings of separation are painful and therefore they won’t bring you any benefit. It is one of the two ways of bhakti, it is a way of being connected with Krsna.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Before I genuinely feel separation from Krsna, I regret that I’m not really in Krsna consciousness. This regret is a precursor to the necessary feeling of dainya – humility. In Srimad-Bhagavatam Ajamila thus prays: “Shame on me! I have destroyed my brahminical culture.” This repentance comes very quickly when you ask yourself the question: “When do I choose my own satisfaction over Krsna’s pleasure?” You will see, it is very often and you will feel, “Oh, I’m a such a beginner.” As long as you don’t go from there into a self-centered depression this is very good. When you feel shame, regret or repentance for your lack of Krsna consciousness, your false ego is gone. Now you can turn to Krsna as a sincere servant, now you are ready.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=73108">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=73108</a></p></div>While You Can’t Go Outside, Go Deeper Inside by Damodar dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/while-you-can-t-go-outside-go-deeper-inside-by-damodar-das2020-04-27T11:46:46.000Z2020-04-27T11:46:46.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/prahlada.jpg"><img src="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/prahlada.jpg" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Giriraj Swami read and spoke from Srimad Bhagavatam 7.9.19 while on a Zoom conference with devotees in Spain.</p>
<p>“Through parental care, through remedies for different kinds of disease, and through means of protection on the water, in the air and on land, there is always an endeavor for relief from various kinds of suffering in the material world, but none of them are guaranteed measures for protection. They may be beneficial temporarily, but they afford no permanent benefit. Despite the presence of a father and mother, a child cannot be protected from accidental death, disease and various other miseries. No one can help, including the parents. Ultimately the shelter is the Lord, and one who takes shelter of the Lord is protected. This is guaranteed.” —Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.19 purport.</p>
<p><a href="http://girirajswami.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/04.22..20_SB7..9.19_Carp.mp3">Use this Time to Go Deeper in Krishna Consciousness</a> (Right click to download)</p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15691">http://www.girirajswami.com/?p=15691</a></p></div>Enthusiasm by Kadamba Kanana Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/enthusiasm-by-kadamba-kanana-swami-12020-04-15T12:42:10.000Z2020-04-15T12:42:10.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}4429618257,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}4429618257,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="350" alt="4429618257?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></p>
<p>Transcendental sound is echoing around the world. The world which is egg-shaped and hollow inside, consists of several layers. All these universes clustering together are flowing from the pores of Mahavishnu. Srila Prabhupada explains creation. Krsna expands himself in the form of Mahavishnu from whose breathing an innumerable number of universes emanate. In each of these universes, Mahavishnu enters as Garbodhakasayi Vishnu who lies on Sesa Naga on the Garbha Ocean. From his navel, Bramha is born and he creates all living entities. Krsna further expands himself as Ksirodakasayi Vishnu and enters everything – even into the minute atom.</p>
<p>We have nothing to be so proud of. Our mind is occupied, “I am the centre of the Universe.” Krsna is there but in the background. When will Krsna be the centre of our lives?</p>
<p>Kirtan carries us. Everyone is making noises on their various tools. Sound carries us. The Mahamantra carries everyone. During the early days of ISKCON, in 1966, everything was there. Krsna Consciousness was in the heart. The essence of Srimad Bahgavatam and spiritual life, even without the details, was in the heart. Now we have all the details – how to fast on ekadasi and how to break our fast on the next day. So many technical details. How to pay obeisances – 5/7 parts of the body touching the ground. Everything is mentioned in the Hari Bhakti Vilas.</p>
<p>During Srila Prabhupada’s time, no one knew anything. They only knew Swamiji. Srila Prabhupada brought the deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladev and Subhadra to San Francisco. Shyamasundar Prabhu carved the deities and Srila Prabhupada told them to offer a candle in a clockwise direction and they thought is was fun.</p>
<p>ISKCON today has developed a lot. In 1966, there was an incredible focus on the essence, that is pure devotional service. I used to study the early editions of the Back to Godhead Magazine and it was all about Srila Prabhupada. Once, the devotees were waiting for Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada was in his quarters. They did a long kirtan and it was getting late but Srila Prabhupada did not come at all. Then Kirtananda Swami gave the lecture and he said, “Where were we one year or six months ago? And now we are here with our shining faces, in contact with a pure devotee where the essence is pure devotional service. Devotional service is what we are meant to practice.”</p>
<p>Srila Prabhupada was once translating at 11 pm. He was speaking into the dictaphone and then a devotee came. Srila Prabhupada said to him, “Come sit next to me.” He said to Srila Prabhupada, “It is 11 pm, please go to bed!” But Srila Prabhupada did not go to bed. Then the devotee told Srila Prabhupada, “You are a pure devotee but I am not,” and Srila Prabhupada asked him, “Why do you say you are not a pure devotee?”</p>
<p>There are so many reasons to justify this statement. What we will do tomorrow. Surrender tomorrow. No, not tomorrow. NOW! The choice is ours. We have to choose again and again. We have to choose moments of pure devotional service. We have to think of what to do and then do it – not just lip service.</p>
<p>We have different species of living entities – plants, animals, human. Very few are civilized and have a connection with the Vedas. Most practice only lip service. Rupa Goswami said that 500 years ago, India was different. There was no Bollywood, no chai – nothing. Now we think that because of these things, we are very Indian. But 500 years ago nothing existed.</p>
<p>This movement offers the opportunity, the eagerness required to become a pure devotee. We have the opportunity of beginning the day with an offering to the Lord. No day is ordinary, everyday is special. Different days are linked to different planets. All that matters is what we really want to do. Come to that stage of pure devotional service. Create an inventory of what we have tried today. Have we read enough sastra or it could have been more, have we finished our rounds and how nice they were? Through all these things, we can see what have we offered to Krsna and like this, we go to sleep. We should try again and again, each day to have the opportunity to do something. In this way, we should take advantage of all the opportunities. Not wait, “Oh, when? When will Krsna Prema come?” In the Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, it is mentioned that when the cowherd boys wake up in the morning, their hairs stand on end in ecstasy. Our mornings in spiritual life should not be like an old car where a push is needed, it should be able to start with enthusiasm.</p>
<div><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=69454">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=69454</a></div></div>Daily Virtual Sanga Opportunities During Coronavirus Lockdownhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/daily-virtual-sanga-opportunities-during-coronavirus-lockdown2020-04-04T12:57:56.000Z2020-04-04T12:57:56.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><div id="article_image" style="text-align:center;"><img class="align-center" src="https://iskconnews.org/media/img_versions/2020/04-Apr/japa1_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" alt="japa1_slideshow.jpg?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></div>
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<p>Most ISKCON members around the world are now in “lockdown” due to the corona virus pandemic, and struggling to maintain regular association with other devotees. However, due to modern technology, there are various daily live virtual classes, discussions, japa circles that devotees can take advantage of by joining in from all over the world: </p>
<h3>Daily lectures from Vaishnava scriptures:</h3>
<p><strong>Daily seminar on Uddhava Gita with Bhakti Charu Swami</strong></p>
<p>When: 6PM IST</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mayapur.tv/">https://www.mayapur.tv</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Chaitanya Bhagavata reading with BB Govinda Swami:</strong></p>
<p>When: 4-5 PM IST </p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/govindaswamii/">https://www.facebook.com/govindaswamii/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily webinar on various topics with Indradyumna Swami:</strong></p>
<p>When: 3:30 PM IST</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/indradyumna">https://www.facebook.com/indradyumna</a></p>
<p><a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2FIDSparikrama%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1WzYxfVZ8bl2XS83sQjI9y7kvl40XLWXBlmgcsTp4E7GfzkXxPE65n6sk&h=AT1QBEzQqPfHtXM86ewRtBqBw7PwU1ig9wWcq2iY1wxrFb-mgnoH1Qv9MzfqrbTn1HfGV9Czt_zJG07yxfr9z89W_mF-gprY7rvsSVMoP-uPfO0NdNkpd7uDfpXdnD0FSIvCG7XQIqri7ZqC2QtCoyI&__tn__=-UK-R&c%5B0%5D=AT2NSi1Qh2cg4La7Ln6zLkMYAbcE9Kw2o-lSCyvDLCICqhL07ylJlJeQo_SHFkYavQmvnsFf_EUax9uJiNvxFwgupSd1Xux9-P4jolB7cBkBMBzG0sy01ekxs5F7lMa5vgG28F8IiPfVFb74F-EaLA">https://www.youtube.com/user/IDSparikrama</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Srimad Bhagavatam talks with Sri Prahlada:</strong></p>
<p>When: 8AM GMT </p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sri.prahlada">https://www.facebook.com/sri.prahlada</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Online Sangas by the Towaco, New Jersey Temle </strong></p>
<p>Various speakers like Jayadvaita Swami, Bhakti Caru Swami, Radhika Ramana Das.</p>
<p>When: 8-9 PM EST, Sundays 6-7 PM EST</p>
<p>Zoom meeting ID: <a href="https://zoom.us/j/558762270">https://zoom.us/j/558762270</a> Find your local number: <a href="https://zoom.us/u/azNkA19rZ">https://zoom.us/u/azNkA19rZ</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Bhagavatam Classes in ISKCON New York:</strong></p>
<p>When: 7.30 AM EST</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/iskconnyc/">https://www.facebook.com/iskconnyc/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Bhagavatam Classes in Toronto Temple:</strong></p>
<p>When: 7.30 AM EST</p>
<p> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ISKCON-Toronto-The-Hare-Krishna-Centre-174452304502/">https://www.facebook.com/ISKCON-Toronto-The-Hare-Krishna-Centre-174452304502/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Bhaktimarg Swami's Daily Blog</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thewalkingmonk/">https://www.facebook.com/thewalkingmonk/</a>, and Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thewalkingmonk/">https://www.instagram.com/thewalkingmonk/</a>.<br /> </p>
<h3>Daily Japa Circles: </h3>
<p><strong>Japa Circle International Facebook Live event</strong></p>
<p>When: 10 minutes each day at 9PM EST/ 6PM PT / 6.30 AM IST</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/japacircle/">https://www.facebook.com/japacircle/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Japa and Talk Sessions with Lokanath Swami</strong></p>
<p>When: 6 am to about 7 am IST.</p>
<p><a href="https://zoom.us/j/9415113791">https://zoom.us/j/9415113791</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Japa with Giriraj Swami</strong></p>
<p>When: receive a WhatsApp message from Giriraj Swami before japa begins with this link: </p>
<p><a href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/DRFu2NnTq1D0uJr3kAJriU">https://chat.whatsapp.com/DRFu2NnTq1D0uJr3kAJriU</a></p>
<p><a href="https://iskconnews.org/admin/content/article/7312/change/Facebook%20Live:%20https:/www.facebook.com/groups/GRSJapaSanga/">Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GRSJapaSanga/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Japa with Bhakti Chaitanya Swami:</strong></p>
<p>When: 05:30 AM, and 6:15 till 7PM South Africa time</p>
<p><a href="https://slack-redir.net/link?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fbhakticaitanyaswami%2F">https://www.facebook.com/bhakticaitanyaswami/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Daily Japa with BB Govinda Swami</strong></p>
<p>When: 8-9AM IST</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/govindaswamii/">https://www.facebook.com/govindaswamii/</a><br /> </p>
<h3>Other:</h3>
<p><strong>New York Bhakti Center Kirtan and Online Discussion Groups </strong></p>
<p>Daily Kirtan - 8 PM EDT</p>
<p>Prayer Revolution with Doyal and Vira - 9 AM EDT</p>
<p>Tea Time with Jahnavi Harrison - Tue & Thurs 12 noon EDT</p>
<p><a href="http://bhakticenter.org/online/">http://bhakticenter.org/online/</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>'Life, Death and the Moments In Between' Online Discussion Group lead by Ghanashyam Das & Barbara Slaine</strong></p>
<p>Every wednesday 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT</p>
<p><a href="https://zoom.us/j/777126800?pwd=Ymsvc3ZOWU9YeGZrQi9RM3IxaGx6QT09">https://zoom.us/j/777126800?pwd=Ymsvc3ZOWU9YeGZrQi9RM3IxaGx6QT09</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Living Room Kirtans with Acyuta Gopi & Ananta Govinda</strong></p>
<p>When: Fridays and Sundays from 7 PM until 10 PM or 11 PM EST</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/acyuta.gopi">https://www.facebook.com/acyuta.gopi</a><br /> </p>
<p><strong>Deity Darshan Live Streaming from Temples:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.mayapur.tv/">https://www.mayapur.tv</a></p>
<p>One of the contributors of the above list was the ISKCON GBC Strategic Planning Team (SPT) that serves the GBC by offering strategic advice, guidance and solutions for the benefit of the whole of ISKCON. Please check out the SPT's website for more COVID-19 related resources: <a href="http://gbcstrategicplanningteam.com/" target="_blank">http://gbcstrategicplanningteam.com</a></p>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="https://iskconnews.org/daily-virtual-sanga-opportunities-during-coronavirus-lockdown,7312/">https://iskconnews.org/daily-virtual-sanga-opportunities-during-coronavirus-lockdown,7312/</a></p>
</div>
<p> </p></div>Srimad Bhagavatam class in Mayapur 10.3.14 by Vaisesika Dashttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/srimad-bhagavatam-class-in-mayapur-10-3-14-by-vaisesika-das2020-02-18T08:03:28.000Z2020-02-18T08:03:28.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:337px;width:600px;" src="https://i.imgur.com/kTircHb.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Speaker: HG Vaisesika Das</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Srimad Bhagavatam 10.3.14</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>ity uktvadri-dari-kusja-<br /> gahvaresv atma-vatsakan<br /> vicinvan bhagavan krsnah<br /> sapani-kavalo yayau</strong></p>
<p>“Let Me go and search for the calves,” Krsna said. “Don’t disturb your enjoyment.” Then, carrying His yogurt and rice in His hand, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, immediately went out to search for the calves of His friends. To please His friends, He began searching in all the mountains, mountain caves, bushes and narrow passages.”</p>
<p>This is Krishna speaking by the way to His cowherd friends after killing Aghasura, Krishna’s friends went to a very beautiful place to have lunch together and they are sitting together and having lunch and then the calves have wandered away during their merrymaking and the boys noticed this and became frightened and so Krishna now is speaking to them and you will see the rest of the story.</p>
<p>Invocation prayers</p>
<p>It’s such a great honor to be with you here this morning at the beginning of the ISKCON Leadership Sanga, muktaanaam api siddhaanaam, there are many liberated souls in the world, Caitanya Mahaprabhu describes, but the best of them are those who are followers of Lord Sri Krishna and those who follow Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu because nobody is better than Caitanya Mahaprabhu and all of you are obviously addicted to the Srimad Bhagavatam otherwise you wouldn’t be here and therefore as described in the Bhagavatam itself those who are attached to the Bhagavatam are really liberated. They have tasted something higher than is available anywhere within the three worlds. So my deepest appreciation. Hare Krishna!</p>
<p>And today’s verse is striking isn’t it? And it caught my attention somehow when I was asked to speak on the theme of leading ISKCON into the future, I began to think about the ways in which one might lead or does lead any kind of organization, group, team, family and that is through principles and values. And these must, or at least those in an organization must have piercing clarity to understand what are the kinds of values and principles that do move us as a movement, what actually moves us and hopefully we are talking about moving us to a better place and improving.</p>
<p>For by default naturally in the material world there is a way in which, there is an energy here that drags us to places we don’t want to go. So there must be a deliberateness in an organisation to cultivate, not only cultivate but also inculcate values and principles that move us into the future. How does that sound? (Haribol!) Ok?</p>
<p>So I considered this is done everywhere. For instance in economic systems, there are leading indicators, leading economic indicators, for instance actual GDP, Consumer Confidence surveys, there is a long list. There is a top ten list of economic and leading indicators by which economists will look at how they are moving and say this is what the future of the economy is going to be, because these things move first. And when they move we know the economy is moving in a particular direction.</p>
<p>So considering that I thought of this verse, it somehow came into my mind and I remembered being struck by it when reading it previously and that is struck by Krishna’s special friendship that He has for His devotees. Now looking at this verse we notice that Krishna was enjoying with His friends and if you remember the context, they are having a jolly time. In fact Krishna is described as being like the whorl of the lotus and all His friends are surrounding Him, He is manifesting Himself to each one of the boys. Nobody else, none of the boys are aware of the fact that He is manifesting as, personally for each one of them and entering into a personal relationship with them during their lunch because they are not aware of His opulences in Vrindavan.</p>
<p>And then when the scare comes and they look out from their merry making and see that the calves are gone, their life and soul and their very livelihood, then they become afraid. And Krishna notices this and just see how in this verse, Krishna immediately jumps up, He still has His lunch in His hand. So you know when you have a friend and he says – O! I forgot my wallet or something, whatever and then you jump up, you still have a pakora in your hand. You don’t even stop to wash your hands or anything – no no I will do this! Its spontaneous! The way Krishna thinks about how to serve His friends and to reciprocate with them and of course much is made in this past time, He is holding the food given to Him ostensibly by Yashoda in His left hand and of course Brahma notices that before He steals the boys and calves away.</p>
<p>Now where is Krishna going? He goes, as mentioned in the verse, “searching in all the mountains, mountain caves, bushes and narrow passages.” So in this way He is going to some trouble (?) tits not like they were round the corner and He just found them and that was it but He is going through narrow places, He is going to mountains. He took some difficulty for His friends. So the principle that I remembered from this was Krishna’s nature and how we are International Society for Krishna Consciousness, so naturally we follow Krishna and we follow the acharyas and the acharyas are defined by the ways in which they present to us through their character, their achaar, Krishna’s qualities, caring, That was the first one that came into my mind – caring and here is the reason it came into my mind.</p>
<p>Recently in Tokyo, Japan I left the day before he arrived but Niranjana Swami stopped in for a day or something like that in Tokyo and the devotees there asked him to give a class on devotee care. So he sat down to give the class and then he said, well here is the first thing – there are many systems for devotee care. But they only work if you actually care! That really went deeply in my mind and heart and like what does it mean to care! And stepping back a moment to look at the whole material world and see as Prabhupada quotes in the purport here, so its fair game, mayadhyakshena prakrti, so the implication of this verse is very deep from the Bhagavad Gita, mayadhyakshena, aksha, His eyes are looking into this material world, and animating it! ……..also mentioned in the Brahma Samhita in the beginning, how the Lord as Mahavishnu glances at the pradhaana and that’s when the pradhaana comes alive, its potential form, its in a potential form. And now when He glances at it there is so much implication from His glance. In fact everything is there in His glance, time energies, the living entities, karma, everything now begins to work in the material world. The living entities are then impregnated into the material nature and its all animated and He, eko bahu shyama, the one Supreme Lord expands Himself into many and the Vedas describe why – out of joy, to have more, to share in His glory, have many unlimited in fact living entities to enjoy and appreciate Him.</p>
<p>So now I was thinking about Niranjana Swami’s mention of systems, you may have many systems in place and ideas, you may have blueprints and organisational development ideas which are absolutely essential for any organisation but they are like the pradhaana. They are lifeless, they are ready, they are latent codes of organisation ready to go but just as when Mahavishnu glances at the material nature and the pradhaana now becomes divided into three modes of nature and everything becomes activated because of His ecstatic glance, His caring glance actually, that’s what Krishna is. He is mostcaring of all personalities, then it becomes manifested. In a similar ways in the ways in which we develop here in ISCKON through systems and management schemes, the active ingredient, the ingredient that makes it manifest and actually come alive is the “care”, is putting one’s attention into the individuals that are there within the organisation.</p>
<p>I think often about what is a movement and how to get to where we are now, how are we all sitting here and there are many more millions around the world who have been touched by Krishna consciousness and what does it mean that they were touched or we were touched? It means that at some point we had a personal interaction with somebody that changed our hearts and through which we actually decided that I will take to Krishna consciousness. It doesn’t happen, well let me just say when I was in business and we studied various types of advertising one of the topics that was mentioned, here was a mantra for advertising – that if you don’t have time to be personal, you don’t have time to do business! So then I was thinking about the ways in which we can garner all the assets that we have in ISKCON for a future that is ever brighter and that we need that admonition that if you don’t have time to be personal you don’t have time to spread the sankirtan movement because it will stay as pradhaana. Its when there is a caring glance, just as the Lord glances, when a devotee who has no motivation, materially glances then there is something intangible or rather its quite tangible that happens and the animation starts at that point.</p>
<p>So if we don’t have time to be personal then we don’t have time to spread the sankirtan movement. And here is a related idea. Anybody here ever get any junk mail? So what is junk mail anyway? What makes it junk? Well, here is my thought! My thought is lack of personality or personalism! Because if you open your mail box, correct me if I am wrong, you look for the most personalised piece first. Right! Like my mail comes from the front door and it drops on to the floor. I can tell from across the room which piece I am going to look at first or if I am not going to look at it at all! Its going in the recycle bin! Let’s just say that I saw something written by hand, I would immediately pick it up first to see who wrote to me, who cares to write something personal. Even if there is just two letters on the outside of the envelope I would immediately grab it and say what’s in this? And so junk mail means no personal touch. And everything the whole material world remains dull, remains junk practically without the personal touch of the Lord and our systems whatever we developed remained junk, ineffectual dull, in fact disappointing without the personal touch of the devotees who are eager to give Krishna consciousness to others.</p>
<p>So this kind of experience where we get a personal touch from the devotees is palpable. The other day I gave a talk to the GBC body, giving an update about book distribution and so forth and just afterwards I got an email from one of my most revered friends in Krishna consciousness and then it was just two lines but it was so encouraging that I can say that just from that one personal note I would be able to sustain myself probably for the rest of my life. You know how things get you down sometimes. Anyone? Just a few people? There is a lot of things that get us down, well that one thing that will keep coming up in my mind that I got a note from this person and that now I will be able to go on. In our Gayatri mantras we have the word “prachodayaat” it comes from the root word “cyut” which means to enliven, to lift up and “pra” is an intensifier, prachodayaat means the Lord through His glance and through His speaking He lifts us up, He encourages us. It’s a personal touch of the Lord. In fact when you wake up the deities in the morning, as all of you who engage in the pancaratrika system know</p>
<p>so’ savadabhra-karuno vivriddha-prema<br /> smitena nayanam-buruham vijrimbham<br /> utthaya visva-vijayaya ca no visadam<br /> madhvya-girapanayatat purusah puranah</p>
<p>this is a prayer where the devotee is asking the Lord that please open Your eyes and cast Your glance upon me. Open Your lotus eyes and smilingly, premaasmitena, with love, look at me with love and smile and this is the enlivening force of Krishna consciousness, is this caring and giving our unmotivated attention to others.</p>
<p>Just last week during our yatra where we were going around to various holy places here in the Mayapur area with a group of devotees. We went to Nrsimhapalli. And as a part of feature of our yearly yatras we call them sankirtan yatras. We dont just go and look at the place but as we are camping out at various places and moving about we take with us books and prasadam and Jagannath stickers and then we go to all the people in the area along the route and in the shops and it just happened at Nrsimhapalli we had an extra 45 minutes, so we went door to door in all the shops and all the apartments around the area and I came across a group of men who were sitting in a circle. Its almost a clichi because they were engaged in a card game that was so intense that it could have been a movie scene, in a circle just playing cards totally absorbed and I saw and I said I am going to break this up. (Jaya Sri Sri Radha Madhava ki jaya) How is it possible to break up a determined card game? First of all I thought what gives me the right and then I thought Lord Caitanya you know He went around, in fact its described by Karbhaajana Muni, maya-mrgam dayitayepsitam anvadhavad (SB 11.5.34) that the Lord He notices that people, mrgaa, that they are like animals and anvadaavad means He chases after them. So you got to go looking in various places like Krishna did in the nooks and crannies’, in the mountains, take some trouble for others.</p>
<p>So I poked my head in to the circle and I could smell alcohol, so I knew it was going to be doubly challenging. And I finally got the attention of the head guy and I knew it was the head guy cause everyone was looking at him, well what shall we do now? And I tried to hand him a book but he wouldn’t take it but I guess the second in charge took the book in his hand and I was persistent and I handed him a language card that said in Bengali – please give a donation. And he looked at me and the group that was around me, there were several devotees around and he noticed that – you know, here is a guy, probably from the West, who shaved his head, and is walking around, handing out books about Krishna. And he couldn’t ascertain a motive, like a material motive that he is selling something. If I was selling something it would have been easy, he could have just said that I don’t want to buy anything. But there was no motivation except that I am following the orders of Lord Caitanya and you know, you should be cooperating.</p>
<p>And so I and the other devotees saw that although he was reluctant to break off his attention from the card game, somehow or other his will just evaporated, he gave in and everyone took from there gambling pot and they gave a little something. It seemed to me to be, to resemble the material world, little circle, everyone’s playing their card game, alcohol smell coming out and then Lord Caitanya comes in and like come on wake up, here you go and that’s a personal touch, He comes after us! And the devotees they look after us, individually, personally they give their glance, that’s what enlivens us. So that’s one principle. There’s more to say about it but I think I have made the case.</p>
<p>This active ingredient in a volunteer organisation, what to speak of a spiritual volunteer organisation, has to be care, it has to be, as Niranjana Swami said, that I actually care. If I care, if I am feeling the sense of compassion for others like Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (6.34)</p>
<p>atmaupamyena sarvatra<br /> samam pasyati yo ‘rjuna<br /> sukham va yadi va duhkham<br /> sa yogi paramo matah</p>
<p>the best yogi He says, parama yogi, if you want to know, it’s the one who feels compassion for others, that’s a spiritual emotion, to feel compassion for others. And so if we have that, then how to do the things becomes a lot more clear. If we have this idea that this is our standard, this is the principle that we work by, we actually care about others in all phases of their lives and we are able to, as Krishna does, be very personal and also appropriately overlook faults of others,</p>
<p>api cet su-duracaro<br /> bhajate mam ananya-bhak<br /> sadhur eva sa mantavyah<br /> samyag vyavasito hi sah (Bg 9.30)</p>
<p>Krishna has this mood about, somebody’s done, ok he is situated in devotional service, he is on the right track, he is going to make it. Of course there is a complex conversation about that but the mood has to be right. Even when there is censure, even when there is prohibition and so forth, the mood has to be correct for us to continue moving. So that’s the first principle or value or I like to say ingredient, active ingredient, like if you get a box of mints, if you look at it, there are seven or eight ingredients that are called other, have you ever seen this or you guys don’t eat mints? You look on the tin of mints, there’s seven or eight ingredients like what is it there some sand or flower whatever they put in to hold it together right ? And there is an active ingredient which would be like mint or menthol or something like that. So now if it doesn’t have the mint, whats the use? You get a bunch of fillers and you’ve got no pizzazz in your life. So that active ingredient, that’s the case I am making.</p>
<p>And the second in considering principles that actually move us, a leading indicator, I can tell in my own life, and in the life of those I am observing and in the movement as a whole are we moving forward, is that we are purifying the sound vibration. That means the more that we are leaning into the vibration of the Srimad Bhagavatam, the more that we are leaning into the chanting of Hare Krishna and endeavouring as a society and individual to avoid offenses, this is the actual ingredient or the second ingredient or the parallel ingredient or maybe the primary ingredient that moves us forward into the future and that’s what our movement is. What is my proof? When Prabhupada came to the West he wrote down his intentions in a poem on the Jaladuta. And his intention was to introduce the sound vibration of the Srimad Bhagavatam to the world and in doing so, quoting sastra, of course he started with</p>
<p>srnvatam sva-kathah krsnah</p>
<p>punya-sravana-kirtanah</p>
<p>hrdy antah-stho hy abhadrani</p>
<p>vidhunoti suhrt satam (SB 1.2.17)</p>
<p>he said that this vibration would create natural spiritual credit in the hearts of those who would receive it. What’s more, Krishna is there within the heart and He will help remove the obstacles. Prabhupada was quite clear and confident about this point. And he went onward of course to quote</p>
<p>Nasta prayeshu abhadresu (SB 1.2.18)</p>
<p>Tada rajas tamo bhavah (SB 1.2.19)</p>
<p>in the series, which shows that it’s a step by step process that’s activated only by hearing and chanting. In fact the essence of all advise given by Rupa Goswami in his primer on devotional service Upadesaamrta,</p>
<p>tan-nama-rupa-caritadi-sukirtananu-<br /> smrtyoh kramena rasana-manasi niyojya<br /> tisthan vraje tad-anuragi-jananugami<br /> kalam nayed akhilam ity upadesa-saram</p>
<p>here it is, the essence of all advise he says, upadesa saaram, he says you should organise your life around the principle of always hearing and chanting and other devotional processes but the first two are hearing and chanting constantly. And constantly for those who are busy, means at least everyday. And with that he gives the process that one will come to tisthan vraje, you will be situated in Vrindavan and you will go on to aspire to be one of the residents of the spiritual world by following in the footsteps of residents there who you will have communion with through this process of hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam. Its all important and that is a principle that cant be skipped over.</p>
<p>I once took Anuttama Prabhu’s class on leadership and Management in Dallas, Texas, one of the best things I have ever done in my life you know. I will be ever grateful to him for organising that. It was fantastic. It changed my life. At the end of the presentation that night, not presentation, end of the four or five days that we were there taking the course, we were asked to do a project where the last minute each of our group and we had about 6 teams made of maybe 10 or 12 people each, had to make a presentation together to present to the rest of the group. So I was voted to be in charge of the group and I was trying to find the time, because we had only till the next day and it was already in the evening when we could meet to discuss our strategy. So I suggested to the group that we meet the next morning and it just happened to be the time I suggested was around the time of the Bhagavatam class. So Jayadvaita Swami was in the group and now I learnt my greatest lesson from the Leadership and Management course. When I suggested the time, he said isn’t that the time of the Bhagavatam class? And I said, Yeah! And he said, right, the old skip Bhagavatam class for the sake of management routine and he said it to me with such conviction and also disdain, I took it as one of the most merciful lessons, that don’t skip your hearing and chanting. Its not optional. It is the movement. In fact the sound vibration that comes from Prabhupada’s books is the foundation of our movement and minus that we don’t really have a movement. We have a lot of problems.</p>
<p>So now well I could say a bit more about Bhagavatam and about the power of hearing and chanting, although I have given a couple of verses indicating and we can say more but what I will do now is take a few reflections or a question that augments the particular points that I made. So if Badrinarayan Maharaja, and then Arcita Prabhu all the way and back. And with your questions or reflections please be mindful to keep us on course and uplifted. Thank you.</p>
<p>Badrinarayan Maharaja: I am going to ask a depressive question and you can uplift us. Okay you have to care for the jeevas in order to go out and distribute books and spread the sankirtan movement. What if I really don’t care that much or cant muster the care, the intensity of the care. Ok we need care and what if I don’t have it? I am speaking collectively.</p>
<p>HG Vaisesika Prabhu: A leader…..well let me tell you about geese to answer your question. I love geese. We can learn a lot from a goose and probably if we don’t learn certain lessons, maybe in our next life we will become a goose. So we can learn what the geese know. When geese fly in a sky and they do and I missed a lot of it at least but during the autumn season when they are starting to move across, during the winter, they fly in a V formation. The strongest, most capable one or the one who is the most enthusiastic, moves to the front and the person in front takes the wind and cuts it. And then the drag of the wind gets cut even more because of the V formation, the geese know this. Everyone once in a while the goose in the front who gets tired moves back and another one moves up and takes the lead and they go for many many miles and actually aerodynamics studies show that they are able to go considerably longer cause the drag from the cold air coming on is so much less by the formation. Now here is something else. If one of the geese gets tired or sick and falls out of the formation and goes to land on earth, two other geese follow it. And then they sit with it until it gets better. And then the three of them get up and they start their own formation, three together. And somehow or other they join in with the other geese, I don’t know if they have some GPS, obviously built in.</p>
<p>My point is that if somebody is obviously depressed or lagging then part of the care is that we should work together. That’s why we are a society to see how we could do good for the others and encourage them. And there is an old saying if you don’t, if you are enlivened then meeting needs you and if you are not then you need the meeting. And like the geese if you see that somebody is not enlivened then it behooves us to take care of our own, and look after those who are not able to fly anymore and see if we can help lift them up by association and I have seen that, it doesn’t take a lot, it doesn’t take as much as one might think to actually enliven somebody. I have heard stories of devotees who are depressed, they have started to think maybe I wont even come to the temple anymore and then somebody came to their house with a plate as mahaprasadam and said here this is for you and it wasn’t for any reason like get back in here but it was just saying I care about you and that changed the persons life for ever. I know the person, its my wife. And she recounts this story that this person came just a few blocks down and gave me a plate of mahaprasadam because she hadn’t seen me in several days and that made all the difference till this day.</p>
<p>So looking out and seeing surveying how are devotees doing and what can I do for them. Its amazing how a glance can make a difference or not. I was in the Toronto airport and we were late and I wasn’t sure if our baggage was going to come in or not because the baggage carousel was going around empty for a long time. So I went over to that customer service place where you are supposed to stand in line and they can scan and see did the bag actually arrive at the airport. So here I am standing about ten feet away from the booth and there was no other customers there but there was two customer agents behind the desk. But they wouldn’t look at me. I am standing there and started to observe the way I was reacting to not being looked at. And it’s a painful experience actually. There is another living entity there, I am standing here, they know I am there but they wont look up. That’s the pain of the material world. There is no other pain except ignorance. And that’s my plight. I am ignoring Krishna, He is not ignoring me. He is there in my heart but I forget about Him. And devotees also they need our glance. And we have to take the time individually to personalise as much as possible in our interactions as everything takes place on a one to one basis. It cant be mass produced. If you sent out a mass mailer people say I will get a 3% return. Ya good luck! What kind of return will you get? You will get better advertising back from a robot that says you know why don’t you join us instead of we join you? But if you go to somebody’s house and you take time with them there is a heart to heart transmission. In fact this is what Veeraraghavacharya describes in the Tenth Canto in the the appearance of Krishna described how from the mind and heart of Vasudeva into the mind and heart of Devaki there was a transmission a transference and Krishna went there and he says this is diksha. This is the way in which Krishna appears in the world and it’s a heart to heart relationship between guru and disciple. And so our relationship in a spiritual organisation are heart to heart and if we don’t have time to be personal, we don’t have time to spread sankirtan movement. Has a good ring to it, isn’t it?</p>
<p>Arcita Prabhu: Thanks for a wonderful class Vaisesika Prabhu. This point of caring for those who have committed mistakes is very very important We are completely divided as a society on that. Somebody joins the movement and makes some mistakes, sometimes some horrible mistakes but based on Prabhupada’s precedence we have to forgive. But we are completely divided. Those of us who are trying to forgive and accept that person get lambasted by those who don’t want to take them back. So how do you deal with that?</p>
<p>HG Vaisesika Prabhu: Thanks for the question. Its timely and very important and I think as I mentioned it’s a complex issue. Human interactions are complex. And its not that with one swoop or with one veda base search we can solve everything. And that’s kind of what care means. It means we have to be in for a long term and learn how to deal with complex issues. I am learning that as I got involved in management, after artfully avoiding that for many decades and I watched one of my colleagues Kaladri Prabhu who I have great respect for, early on when I was dealing with various issues that to me seemed impossible and intractable and he showed up everyday with his lunch box and said lets just put our attention on this and deal with it and talk to the people involved and go through the steps. And lo and behold I watched as the communication, the personal communication, taking the time to speak and not resist because there is going to be some conflict or because we have some ill feeling towards the other person, I saw that there was a miracle that would happen, that people would actually be able to come together. So in a similar way when there are grievous offences suduraacaara, there is a way in which, there may be various ways in which we may have to deal with it on the vyavahaarika, on the practical level but the principle has to be always in place, we take to preserve the paramaarthika or the ultimate goal which is to respect the devotee, even if there are some punitive measures that come about at a societal level because that has to do with vyavahaarika, the quorum at least has to be maintained that we are dealing with Vaisnavas and therefore we have to have respect even as we are administering some kind of a necessary or not perhaps it depends on the situation, kind of prohibition or something like that.</p>
<p>Prthu Prabhu: Thank you very much Maharaja. I would like to contribute a little story when Srila Prabhupada was in Germany. So somehow or other I was involved in the management and I had a magnetic board with all the names, we could move from one place to another. And Prabhupada saw that, he stood behind me and I didn’t know. All of a sudden he said “What is that?” I paid my obeisances. So what is it? Srila Prabhupada, he is a sankirtan devotees, he is a cook, he is a deity department, he is a clean up department, with one look I can see everybody, I can move somebody from here to there, from there to there, from there to there, He said, German management! But then he said, I can try that? How does it work? How does it work actually? I said Prabhupada its magnetic. Can I try? I said sure! So he tried, he takes this person from there to there, this person from here to there, he was enjoying this facility. Then he said, but if there is no love and trust this will completely fail!</p>
<p>Thank you. Yes Prabhu?</p>
<p>Devotee: Wonderful class Vaisesika Prabhu. Thank you. Recently last couple of years we have started some kind of mentoring in our Alachua community. And first question I also ask myself because I mentor my own mind everyday, what interest brought me to Krishna consciousness. Can we reflect? And every person, every devotee that I asked that question and we have several questions that what is the purpose you came to Krishna consciousness, what you came to get, what is supposed to happen. And at the end we see that if we look at today’s purport the greatness of Krishna, His loveliness and what is the purpose behind this creation or behind me that He has for me. If we focus really in a very concentrative way with the other sincere senior devotees, then this pettiness, little little thing disturbs evaporates. I personally saw. And they became more serious to Srila Prabhupada’s books and they find themselves more satisfied because our inner connections supposed to give us satisfaction. Until we come to that point, but it has to come, willingness has to come from each of thus then possible everything else can be corrected.</p>
<p>HG Vaisesika Prabhu: Thank you so much Prabhu. Very very helpful.</p>
<p>We just have a couple of minutes left. If there is one last point you would like to make. Otherwise I have one last point to make.</p>
<p>Okay, to reiterate I think measuring things and developing organisation is in fact I know its vital in order to grow. In any project you have to look into that very carefully and constantly. And my point here today is that we can as a living entities, its our choice for our glance wherever we wish and if we keep in mind how important it is, how consequential our glance is, where we put our energy and that we are a personal movement, that’s the essence of our philosophy, that this is what will animate all those hard, those well thought out and systems that we develop. Secondly our main purpose really is to purify the sound vibration so that we are hearing constantly among ourselves and going deeply within Srila Prabhupada’s books.</p>
<p>And lastly I brought a few gifts to give away just after the class out of my deep appreciation for everyone of you sitting through this class and the bell has rung now so I am going to end the class and I have a few parting gifts and I will be handing them out from this area right after the class. Do you like free gifts? Okay! Then you are in luck! Thank you very much! Gaurapremanande Haribol!</p>
<div><strong>Source:</strong> <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=82745">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=82745</a></div></div>Workings of the 3 Modes of Nature by Radhanath Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/workings-of-the-3-modes-of-nature-by-radhanath-swami2020-01-06T11:30:12.000Z2020-01-06T11:30:12.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}3803798063,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="500" alt="3803798063?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></p>
<p>HH Radhanath Swami expounds the intricate workings of the modes of material nature in his Srimad Bhagavatam class on SB 11.25. 06 at ISKCON Chowpatty on 5th Jan 2020.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o5BE2Ngv2_Y" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><strong>Source: </strong><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=81440">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=81440</a></p></div>The Rabbit that killed the Lion By Udayananda dasa (ACBSP)https://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/the-rabbit-that-killed-the-lion-by-udayananda-dasa-acbsp2019-11-28T10:30:00.000Z2019-11-28T10:30:00.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}2515187904,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}2515187904,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="2515187904?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>Dear assembled Devotees,</p>
<p>I was doing some work at my home, and I was listening to some Srimad Bhagavatam lectures giving by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada told a humorous story about a rabbit that killed a lion. It was so transcendentally pleasing that I thought I would share this nectar with all the assembled devotees on this world wide web site.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“God’s energies are a variety. All those varieties are grouped into three divisions. Out of the three divisions there are tatastha-shakti, antaranga-shakti and cit-shakti. Tatastha-shakti and this external, or karma-shakti”Triya shakti karma-sanga anya. It is mentioned that the spiritual world is just the manifestation of cit-shakti, and this material world is creation of material energy or karma-sanga, where everyone has to work. Without work, it is said, na hi suptasya simhasya, pravisanti mukhe mrgah. There is a very nice example. In the forest the lion is supposed to be the mightiest animal, and he is sometimes called the king of the animals, pasu-raja. So in one place it is said that even the lion, who is the king of the forest, if he sleeps and he thinks that animals will come and enter in his mouth, that is not possible. He has to also find out how to eat. Na hi suptasya simhasya pravisanti mukhe mrgah. The lion is so powerful, but he cannot also dictate.</p>
<p>So there is another story,</p>
<p>buddhir yasya balam tasya nirbuddhes tu kuto balam pasya simho madonmatah sasakena nipatitah</p>
<p>There is a story that a lion was killed by a rabbit. Sasakena nipatitah. Why? Buddhir yasya balam tasya: “One who has got intelligence, he has got power.” A Lion is very mighty, ferocious animal, and a sasaka, an ordinary rabbit, he killed the lion. How? The lion was disturbing all the animals, so all the animals held a meeting and called the lion: “Sir, you do not try to kill us all, hunting after everyone. We shall go voluntarily every day, one of us. So you don’t create disturbance. Let us become peaceful.”</p>
<p>So lion agreed, “All right, if you voluntarily come, I will sleep, and if you enter in my mouth” So this was the agreement.</p>
<p>Then it was the turn for one rabbit. So he planned something. He went to the lion a little late. So lion was very angry that, “Why you have come late? I am very hungry, and you did not come!” (laughter)</p>
<p>So the rabbit said, “Sir, there was a danger on the way.” “What was that?” “There is another lion, and he wanted to kill me and eat, so I protested, “No sir, you cannot kill me. (laughter) I am destined to be killed by such and such lion, so you cannot do it.”</p>
<p>So the lion was very much pleased: “Where is that lion!?” “Please come. I will show you.” So the rabbit took the lion near one well. The rabbit said, “He is living within this.” (laughter)</p>
<p>The lion immediately “Come on! Make a ROOAARR!” So there was vibration, (echo) still higher sound, and he looked down and saw his photo, yes, shadow (reflection). So he thought it, “Yes, there is lion!” He immediately jumped over him. (devotees laugh)</p>
<p>Finished! So how the lion was killed by the rabbit? Buddhir yasya balam tasya: “One who has got intelligence, he has got power.” The foolish, everywhere you will find.</p>
<p>So how one is intelligent, how one is dull, how one is via medium – that is due to these three gunas: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna. If one is intelligent, that is one of the qualifications of sattva-guna. Jnanam vijnanam astikyam. The brahminical qualification:</p>
<p>Satyah samo damo titiksa Arjavam eva ca Jnanam vijnanam astikyam Brahma-karma svabhava-jam</p>
<p>In the society, human society , there must be a class of brahmana, intelligent class. So our Krsna consciousness movement is trying to create a section of the human society – real brahmana, intelligence. And the intelligence means Veda. Veda means knowledge. One who has got sufficient knowledge, he is intelligence, not the fool, rascal. So there are the Vedas and there is the Vedanta. Veda, Vedanta, source of knowledge. So Vedas means knowledge, and Veda-anta. Anta means the last word. That anta knowledge, or the last word in knowledge, is Srimad-Bhagavatam. Vidya bhagavatavadhih, they say. Knowledge, expansion of knowledge, the last word is Srimad-Bhagavatam. So it is the explanation of Vedanta. Bhasyam brahma-sutranam. Vedanta’s, another name is Brahma-sutra. In India there are Mayavadi sannyasis. They advertise themselves as the Vedantists, “One who knows Vedanta.” But actually they do not know Vedanta. Real Vedanta is Srimad Bhagavatam, because this is the commentary. Bhasya ayam brahma-sutranam. Brahma-sutra is Vedanta.</p>
<p>Artho’yam brahma-sutranam Bharatartha-vinirnayah Gayatri-bhasya-rupo’sau Vedartha-paribrmhitah</p>
<p>Grantho’stadasa-sahasrah Srimad-bhagavatabhidhah<br /> (Garuda Purana)</p>
<p>“The Srimad-Bhagavatam is the authorized explanation of Brahma-sutra, and it is a further explanation of Mahabharata. It is the expansion of the gayatri mantra and the essence of all Vedic knowledge. This Srimad-Bhagavatam, containing eighteen thousand verses, is known as the explanation of all Vedic literature.”</p>
<p>So Vedanta, what is that Vedanta? That is explained by Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita, vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyam:( Bg. 15.15) “Vedas means to understand Me.” That is Veda. If one does not understand Krsna, his so-called Vedic knowledge or Vedanta knowledge is useless, srama eva hi kevalam, simply labor.”<br /> (Srimad-Bhagavatam class by Srila Prabhupada; 6.1.44 on June 10,1976 Los Angeles)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Source:</strong> <span style="color:#1155cc;"><u><a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=2475">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=2475</a></u></span></p></div>3 levels of happiness and their symptoms by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharajhttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/3-levels-of-happiness-and-their-symptoms-by-hh-gopal-krishna-gosw2019-08-30T09:08:52.000Z2019-08-30T09:08:52.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SR_pFdO7aDM" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> </p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">A very nice explanation about the 3 levels of happiness and their symptoms by HH Gopal Krishna Goswami </p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.dandavats.com/?p=70391">http://www.dandavats.com/?p=70391</a></p></div>Program at ISKCON Lombok by Ramai Swamihttps://iskcondesiretree.com/profiles/blogs/program-at-iskcon-lombok-by-ramai-swami2019-07-31T12:21:27.000Z2019-07-31T12:21:27.000ZISKCON Desire Treehttps://iskcondesiretree.com/members/iskcon_desire_tree<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:375px;width:500px;" src="http://www.ramaiswami.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/4BE851C7-FB61-4A4B-837D-5F46890DDE88-1024x768.jpeg" alt="4BE851C7-FB61-4A4B-837D-5F46890DDE88-1024x768.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">It was great to go over to Lombok, which is the next island over from Bali, to visit the devotees. There are two centres there, one being a nice facility in the city of Mataram and the other our temple about 30 minutes drive away.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">I was able to attend two programs, one on Saturday night in the city and the other at Sunday midday at our temple. The devotees here are very enthusiastic and were eager to come for kirtan, lecture, arati and prasadam.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img style="text-align:center;height:375px;width:500px;" src="http://www.ramaiswami.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/A9C55B2D-61F1-4D5F-947E-FBE13E17F041-1024x768.jpeg" alt="A9C55B2D-61F1-4D5F-947E-FBE13E17F041-1024x768.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img style="height:375px;width:500px;" src="http://www.ramaiswami.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/914C051D-C113-45D2-9385-396B17C86511-1024x768.jpeg" alt="914C051D-C113-45D2-9385-396B17C86511-1024x768.jpeg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:justify;">Source: <a href="http://www.ramaiswami.com/iskcon-lombok/">http://www.ramaiswami.com/iskcon-lombok/</a></p></div>