Question: Karma applies only in this realm – only in this material world, right? Or does it also apply to the soul in the non material world?
My reply:
Karma is cause and effect as a result of work.
We exist on one side of the kāraṇa ocean (the ocean of causality). Ours is the side where a lack in the soul motivates work (karma) which sets cause and effect in motion. The other side of the ocean of causality, the “non-material realm” or the “spiritual world” as we often call it, is “Vaikuṇṭha” –
One barrier to acceptance of interactionist models for mind/body dualism is a shortage of conceptual resources. Turning to the ancient Sanskrit writings of India, we find in the Bhagavata Purana of India the allegory of the City of Nine Gates, which provides a complex model from mind/body dualism. This model, rich in imagery, allows one to account for such varied phenomena as phantom limbs, out of body experiences, past life memories, traveling clairvoyance, and perception of qualia.
Is there a
Beauty of Nitai
Sri Caitanya Mangala Madhya Khanda
Chapter 4 “The Beauty of Nitai”
Lord Gauranga met Nityananda Raya in the home of Nandanacarya. Nityananda’s beautiful golden-colored body had a slightly reddish hue. Glistening ornaments adorned His enchanting form. Bright yellow cloth carressed His hips. A yelloe turban the color of a golden campaka flower, decorated His head. As He walked, His anklebells chimed sweetly “Jhuni, Jhuni, Jhuni”.
His eyes were wide and long like a deer. He rem
About 140 devotees from Spain, Portugal, Holland, the UK and Russia bonded in calling out to Lord Krishna during the third annual Holy Name Festival in Spain this summer.
The festival ran from August 11th 14th in Srila Prabhupada’s Gardens at the New Vrajamandala farm.
Devotees arrived on Thursday to a welcoming address and an evening kirtan in an elegant white tent in the Gardens, as the newly renovated elephant fountain trickled pleasantly in the background.
With Srila Prabhupada’s murti and
It was a truly uplifting and festive time for ISKCON of Los Angeles from August 4th to 7th recently, with celebrations for both the 40th anniversary of the city’s Rathayatra festival, and the 50th anniversary of ISKCON in full swing.
The ISKCON of LA property looked fresh and beautiful for the festival, with temple president Svavasa Das and his brother Naikatma Das completing an ambitious renovation project just in time.
All the windows were replaced and the temple, Govinda’s buffet and kitchen
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga!
On the auspicious occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami and the appearance
day of Srila Prabhupada, we wish to humbly offer this special edition
"Deliverance of Putana" at Their lotus feet.
We pray that this issue brings some pleasure to the devotees of Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
NBS # 43 Features:-
1) Deliverance Of Putana
Srila Sukadeva Goswami
2)Understanding The D
One time I used the word “dogmatic” and a young boy asked me what does “dogmatic” mean? Interestingly, I did not have a convincing answer. This made me think a little bit. The dictionary definition is “a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true”. From a cultural perspective, any phenomenon that does not have supportive evidence can be deemed dogmatic. By both accounts, one may argue that the tenets of Krishna consciousness is dogmatic. Because it is laid
The all blissful Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally young and not plagued by any imperfections, not plagued by an old cranky body and not ugly either. Some incarnations of God are certainly not the most beautiful. It is said that various incarnations of the Lord have different qualities of the Lord. Maharaj Pritu had the pālana-śakti, he was empowered with the power to protect the earth. Mohini-murti and Balarama represent the beauty of the Lord. Nrsimhadev is the protector of the devo
The operative word in Krishna Consciousness is “faith”. In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna uses the word “shraddha” at least ten times in different places in His conversation with Arjuna. In these places, Krishna clearly stresses the importance of faith in knowing Him. In chapter six text 47, there is a clear indication to this point. Srila Rupa Goswami, the leader for Gaudiya Vaishnavas, explains that “shraddha” or “faith” is the preliminary ingredient to understand and love God. Having said that, Srila
By Bhanu Swami
Karma – Activities of the Conditioned Soul
Ignorance of Krsna
Desire to Enjoy
Material body
Identity with body
Desire to enjoy in body
Action to get enjoyment
Immediate Experience
Of enjoyment
Or suffering
Attachment to objects
causing enjoyment
Repulsion to objects
of suffering
(samskara)
Desires or hatred Restrictions
in next life (vasana) in next life (karma)
Free will, intelligence
Action
Tama Raja Sattva
Misery Immediate Detachment
Pleasure
It was a spectacular day for women across Durban who attended a high tea party hosted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple in Chatsworth, on Tuesday, August 9.
The day was held to commemorate National Women’s Day. The fundamental aspect of the morning was holistic nourishment as spirituality and meditation plays a vital role in enhancing peace, love and positivity through one’s daily life. Some of the highlights of the brunch were
Experts are saying consciousness continues even when the heart has stopped beating after a study shows people continue experiencing awareness for up to three minutes after death.
The most significant finding of the study is that of a 57-year-old man believed to be the first confirmed out-of-body experience in a patient. After suffering a cardiac arrest, the patient revealed he was able to recall what was taking place around him with eerie accuracy after temporarily dying.
head researcher Dr Sam
Hare Krsna Mantra – meaning of the mantra
Meaning as explained by Gopala Guru Gosvami, disciple of Svarupa Damodara of Puri:
The word “hare”:
hari harati papani dusta cittair api smrtah
anicchayapi samsprsto dahaty eva hi pavakah
vijnapya bhagavat tattvam cid ghanananda vigraham
haraty avidyam tat karyam ato harir iti smrtah
“Just as the fire, on contacting an object, automatically burns it, so the name of Hari takes away (harati) or burns up all ht esins of the people with materialistic heart
It is written that the
color of Krishna
is like a monsoon cloud
dark bluish grey
like the heavy rains
gathering at the edge
of an unbearably hot day
or at the edge of an
unbearable time of our life
a low rumbling of cool relief
that we know is going to
change things
change us.
Monsoon Krishna
is known as Syamasundar
the beautiful Syama
the color of love, joy, hope
the color of mystery, movement, and depth
the color of life – rich, full, and ready to overflow
when the cloud bursts
upon us all.
Ca
The great Sankirtan Movement of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a great gift to the world and a very rare event!
Gauragopala dasa: Many could take it for granted without realizing how rare Lord Caitanya’s appearance actually is as He comes once in every day and night of Brahmā. That is once every 2000th Kali-yuga in the cycle of Maha Yugas, there are 4 Yugas to a Maha Yuga, Lord Caitanya appears “once” in a Kali-yuga with His Sankirtan Movement out of every two thousand.
There are 4,320,000 human
For many years, ISKCON’s Gita Nagari farm community in Pennsylvania has held annual Labor Day retreats, on topics from improving japa meditation to understanding the nature of the guru.
This year’s retreat, set to run from Friday September 2nd to Monday September 5th, will tackle an intriguing subject: Varnashrama Dharma.
Varnashrama generally refers to a social structure consisting of four varnas, or occupational groups, and four ashramas, or stages of life. However there are many nuances to i
Modern materialistic science is not sure about the origin and nature of most psychic phenomena including dreams. This information can be found in Vedic scriptures.
Srimad Bhagavatam 6.16.53-54, 7.7.25 or 7.15.61 describes three material states of consciousness:
1. jagrata, awakened state (beta, 14 - 20 Hz)
2. svapna, dreaming state (alfa, 7 - 14 Hz)
3. susupti, deep sleep (theta, 4 - 7 Hz)
Beyond them is the fourth state (turya) which is non-material (SB 6.5.12, 7.9.32, 7,15.54). On this level
Here is another fine article compiled by Vidura Mahatma Prabhu, which appeared in my mailbox some time back. Some very nice quotes.
The Cause of Confusion and Dissension in the Krishna Consciousness Movement
by Vidura Mahatma Das
“When disciples do not stick to the principle of accepting the order of their spiritual master, immediately there are two opinions. Any opinion different from the opinion of the spiritual master is useless. One cannot infiltrate materially concocted ideas into spiritua
By Kripamoya das
Two weeks ago at Bhaktivedanta Manor, a new garden was dedicated to Srila Prabhupada and his disciples. Since it was the week in which we were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formal establishment of ISKCON, I gave the following speech:
If you would please look up and cast your eyes behind me towards this sequoia tree. It’s at least 100 feet high. It was planted here in the 1880s by a gardener who never got to see it the way we can see it today. This tree is one of 183 t
By Hari Narayana das
In the 11th century AD, emperor Majapahit, ruling from Java, spread his kingdom upto Madagascar Island. During his rule, Kediri, in East Java, was famed as the centre of vedic culture, from where all the great sages appeared who are revered till the present day all over Indonesia. Archaeological findings in 2007 revealed a rich vedic cultural heritage of the region. Detailed stone images of Lord Narasimha deva, the half-man, half-lion incarnation of Vishnu; Lord Visnu Himse
