By Lakshman das
Intricate sentiments symbolise the grand Rathayatra festivities connecting the event with the return of Lord Krshna to Vrindavan from His pompous life in Dwaraka to meet His heart throbs. The palace of Dwaraka represents the residence of Jagannatha, an enticing enactment of Lord Krshna’s scintillating pastime. At Puri, Krshna and His fraternal associates dwell as living Deities to wipe off the sufferings of His devotees in this mutilated age of kaliyuga. The Gundicha represents
Report from South Africa.
One evening recently, after relishing the nectar of distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, I was waiting at a gas station for my ride back to the temple. I approached the pump attendants and urged them to chant Hare Krishna. At first they couldn’t understand what I’d said, but after I’d repeated the mantra a few times the normal symptoms of one who hears the Lord’s holy name began to take effect. They all looked at one another, and while smiling and laughing they began
Srila Prabhupada expressed his appreciation for his father in his dedication to his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “To My Father, Gour Mohan De (1849-1930) A pure devotee of Krsna, who raised me as a Krsna conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play themrdanga. He gave me Radha-Krsna vigraha to worship, and he gave me Jagannatha ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play. He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him t
I was fortunate; I got the mercy of the dhama, of a world dedicated to Krsna. Of course, the external layer of Yogamaya covers the dhama but below it, there is a deeper level. When we go to Radha Kund, we may see amazing things but we do not see jeweled swings on the four corners. We do not see what Krsna das Kaviraj Goswami saw in Govinda Lilamrta. When he describes Radha Kund, it is different than what we are seeing. But even then, in that external layer of the dhama, so much of the spiritual
21 May, 2016, the annual Carnival of Surabaya city, also famous as the annual Flower Festival, was one special offering to Lord Jagannath. This year marked the third ratha yatra festival in Surabaya and as all the other ratha yatra festivals being celebrated in all the major cities of Indonesia, this too was no less special.
“Make the Ratha-yatra festival very great success. This will be a great introduction in your city and people will appreciate it.“ (SPL to Syamasundara, 4th May, 1967).
Fol
In this issue of the audio newsletter, we elaborate on how the mind can be a friend or enemy and suggest ways in which we can empower the mind to work for us rather than against us.
Below I outline some of the main points from the audio.
May you always think of Krsna,
Mahatma das.
The Audio Newsletter
The lecture is available here
The Mind
Ignore the Mind
Our acaryas advise us to learn to ignore our mind. Why? Well, we shouldn’t ignore it when we are thinking of Krsna. But in our conditioned state, th
Srila Prabhupada: The demigods are pleased when sacrifices are performed, just as prison officers are satisfied when the prisoners are turned into obedient subjects. Lord Caitanya, however, has recommended only one yajna, or sacrifice, called the sankirtana-yajna, the chanting of Hare Krishna, in which everyone can take part. (Srimad-Bhagavatam, 1.6.20 Purport)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/uj2eHk
Schedule of Events: Groundbreaking Ceremony 10 am
Cultural Dance and Music, Kirtan 11 am
Sumptuous Lunch Free for the Public 12 pm
When: Sunday July 10, 2016 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM MDT
Where: SLC Krishna Temple
965 East 3370 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84601
Three 40-foot high, colorfully-decorated Rathayatra carts hand-pulled by devotees and surrounded by thousands of chanting and dancing people —rolled down New York’s 5th Avenue June 11 to kickoff a national celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness better known as the Hare Krishna Movement.
The Rathayatra parade began at 12 P.M. at West 45th Street and 5th Avenue, and ended at Washington Square Park where it joined the “Hare Krishna Festival” for
After years of planning for its 50th anniversary, and nearly six months of celebrations this year so far, ISKCON is now gearing up for its Golden Jubilee Incorporation Day on July 13th, 1966. And temples, centers, and individual devotees all over the world are getting ready to do something big for founder Srila Prabhupada, whom many feel they owe their lives to.
After braving thirty-five days at sea on the Jaladuta steamship and two heart-attacks to bring his message of devotion to the Western
Our article “Thoughts from the Astrology Tent” (Dandavats, Aug.21, ’09) generated much interest from Dandavats readers, and we received a number of inquiries that ranged from Krishna conscious astrology to the first Woodstock Festival in NY. However, in that article I mentioned that in 1969 “I was one of three devotees at the first Woodstock”. But no, there were four shaved-up brahmacharis in dhotis (and a number of future devotees, as I have since learned). My memory has been jogged by a recen
After five months of constant travel I return to Mayapur. Many priorities made it difficult to keep up with my newsletters.
What I would have wanted to write if I had the time is expressed perfectly in the article below by my godsister Arcana Siddhi Devi Dasi.
The article is about the difference between low self-esteem and humility. It is an important and often misunderstood topic. Low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence are becoming more and more pervasive. I felt this
Last week I was asked, “What’s the most important practice for advancing in spiritual life?” Srila Prabhupada said chanting of Hare Krsna is most important. Some have suggested that devotee association is more important because without it, most of us wouldn’t have the strength to chant Hare Krsna.
I agree. But I think there is a principle even more fundamental than this. I have addressed it to some degree in other newsletters, but it is so important that it deserves further
I came across this lecture by Srila Prabhupada’s early disciple Yamuna Devi. It is so wonderful that I thought make it this month’s newsletter. (Plus, I am writing a book to go with a new preaching program I am developing and need to focus my writing time on this project).
I trust this will both inspire and help you as much as it helped me.
Your servant,
Mahatma das
Is it wrong to want to taste Krsna? Wouldn’t that desire be sense gratification? Shouldn’t we just serve without any personal desire? These are important questions to address.
There is a difference between taste in Krsna consciousness and sense gratification, although they can seem similar, and thus difficult to distinguish. We discuss this difference, as well as the necessity of developing the proper taste for Krsna consciousness.
(This newsletter is an edited transcription
I apologize in advance for the length of this newsletter. I couldn’t do the topic justice without making it longer than my typical newsletter. The information I offer goes very deep into a part of our psychology that is not easily understood (or not easily accepted). Thus, I needed more space to insure that the message, and its application, would be clear.
This article outlines one of the foundational points for a new workshop I recently developed called the Re-Creation Wor
It’s common for devotees to feel unqualified or unworthy to serve guru and Krsna. This is helpful when it is a natural symptom of spiritual advancement. But it is detrimental when, out of an unhealthy psychology, we either feel unworthy of receiving Krsna’s grace, or feel unworthy of being loved by Krsna. Spiritual unworthiness and material unworthiness are not the same. One is a by-product of a high level of Krsna consciousness and the other is a symptom of an unhealthy mental or emotional sta
Srila Prabhupada, sastra and the acaryas have spoken about being totally dependent on guru and Krsna. Independence, we learn, is our disease. It is what brought us to the material world and what keeps us here. Is there such a thing, however, as too much dependence and not enough independence?
Continuing the theme of balance from the previous newsletter, we explore the balance between dependence and independence.
May you always think of Krsna,
As you may know, I often write about issues related to mind, emotions, and our conditioned nature, and address problems that are common to many devotees. In this issue of Illuminations, I deal with one such problem: the opposing forces that exist within us. We have Krsna conscious ideals, yet our conditioned nature often wants the opposite, resisting our deepest spiritual desires.
We need to find a middle ground – a place in which we acknowledge these competing n
The exercise in my last newsletter, Surrender to Surrender, is an exercise in honestly looking at your fears of surrender. We ask you to look at what you are holding onto and why. You ask yourself, “What am I afraid of giving up and why am I afraid of giving it up?” You ask, “Why do I think I won’t be happy if I give this or that up for Krsna?”
“Why?” is the important question to ask yourself.
The exercise is meant to help you realize the illusory nature of your concerns/fears about surrender, th
