The reality these days is that our centres for our communities are fully capacitated. Since covid’s demise, we burst at the seams. Yesterday’s report on the second meeting in Whitley, Ontario, after a grandiose opening in a rented space, the church management remarked, “You are attracting more people than we are.”
Two hundred people packed the facility.
In Brampton, where we own a building, the attendance is full. Nanda Maharaja Das, one of the coordinators, gets on the mic to encour
So today is Nityananda Prabhu’s appearance day – Nityananda Trayodasi therefore we will start our class with a verse from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 1.7
sankarsanah karana-toya-sayi garbhoda-sayi ca payobdhi-sayi sesas ca yasyamsa-kalah sa nitya- nandakhya-ramah saranam mamastu
TRANSLATION: May Sri Nityananda Rama be the object of my constant remembrance. Sankarsana, Sesa Naga and the Visnus who lie on the Karana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portio
The Supreme Mercy of The two Lords
In Vedanta Sutra there is a famous – “anandamyo bhyasat”. This sloka explains the constitutional position of every living being. Everyone is looking for pleasure. The soul and it’s natural condition is Sachidananda, eternal, full of knowledge, and full of bliss, full of ecstasy. Therefore the heart of every living being is constantly seeking beauty, charm, and ecstasy. Therefore the Lord descends into this world to distribute prema bhakti divine love. Because –
Framed on the wall next to Govinda’s Dining Hall are two statements about the Hare Krishna Movement. Here they are:
“The Hare Krishna movement is but the most recent phase of an ancient tradition of religious piety known in India as Vaishnavism. The devotees in the Hare Krishna temple live a full and active life of study, prayer, singing, and day to day management of the temple’s activities. Many are also active in a variety of more practical tasks such as the publishing and sale of book
So today is the transcendental appearance day of Lord Varaha. We have got the regular Bhagavatam verse on the board from Prthu Maharaj’s going back to Godhead. However we are not going to read that this morning. We are going to talk about Lord Varahadev instead because it is an interesting narrative.
There are different incarnations or appearances of Lord Varahadev. Previously the white boar incarnation has been described. The one that is in the Bhagavatam as we receive it is the story about the
Varahadeva’s Appearance Day
Sri Varaha deva mahatosav ki
Let us begin by considering the philosophical truth of Krishna’s incarnations, so that way we will get the perspective on His descent to this material world.
Srila Prabhupada spoke about this in 1977. This is exactly 40 years ago in Bhubaneshwar, right? He spoke about Varaha’s appearance. He said “Ramadi murti su kala niyamena.” Krishna, the original adi pursua, is taking various forms. Ramadi murtisu, especially three Ramas, Parasuram
My good friend from Montreal, Anubhava, who managed our ashram temple for 7 years in Montreal, came for a breath, a break, and a change for four days. There was a problem with the train midway through, but eventually, all worked out. Actually, it was myself who suggested he give himself a little vacation. He took up the suggestion.
Since the time of his arrival, I dined with him and talked all about the marvellous things happening at the temple in Toronto with books being distributed, ce
atmaupamyena sarvatra
samam pasyati yo ‘rjuna
sukham va yadi va duhkham
sa yogi paramo matah
TRANSLATION
He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, in both their happiness and their distress, O Arjuna!
PURPORT
One who is Krsna conscious is a perfect yogi; he is aware of everyone’s happiness and distress by dint of his own personal experience. The cause of the distress of a living entity is forgetfulness of his relationship with God. And the cau
I delivered the Bhagavatam class today, and we spoke about life in the material world with its nightmares and sweet dreams, the combination. That sentence on its own sounded impactful to the group. When I said the phrase “sweet dreams,” my mind raced to the time I met Annie Lennox when she visited our temple at 243 in the early 80s. She’s the singer behind the song “Sweet Dreams” which is a classic pop piece. I recall how she was so nice. I made some samosas for her and her band, The Eury
I was really proud of the fact that I did a major cleanup with my filing cabinet of scripts. People know me as a walker, dancer, teacher, but I’m also a director of plays who writes scripts for drama. Well, it was time to clean up that one big drawer, put everything in order, and eliminate bulky bunches of too much paper.
With the help of Nityananda, the assistance went a long way to clearing the anarthas (unwanted accumulations). The project grounded us somewhat. So, that was one proje
Each single verse of Srimad-Bhagavatam tastes like transcendental condensed milk of a Surabhi cow mixed with kesar, simply delicious and a nectar most satisfying to even conditioned souls (although it is meant to be tasted by paramhansas – liberated souls). No wonder that, along with Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam is the specific scripture meant for kali-yuga.
I am sharing another transcendental verse and its nectarean purport by Srila Prabhupada, for the pleasure of devotees, describing caus
The day was done as far as giving classes and cleanup on various levels at the temple. Digging up an old script, which I still haven’t found, is giving some anxiety. I’m not sure where that is going, but I’m getting ready for India, a trip coming up soon.
It was 10 to 10 PM, and I had not yet met the outside air. Let’s see what an hour stroll can do to make the day truly done. I took to Yonge St. The wind showed some might, and it had been playing with cardboard pieces that were strew
Hare Krishna Devotees!
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
On Tuesday, February 4th, we will be celebrating Advaita Acharya’s appearance day! Please join us at the temple on this special day for the program at 4 pm. We will have space blocked off for all the devotees so that everyone can gather comfortably and take part in the program. We will have the space reserved for Sandhya Arati as well so devotees can participate.
We will hear the glories of Sri Advaita A
A farewell from a fine Bangladeshi family, my hosts in Tampa. Arjuna from Dominican Republic bid me goodbye at the airport. I flew off with perfect walking weather behind. As I have written, swimming was another dream.
At Air Canada Jazz flight 1245, I reached my seat. I didn’t anticipate to use the screen in front of me, but I couldn’t resist watching a documentary, 500 Days In the Wild by filmmaker Dianne Whelan. She embarked on a journey paddling, cycling, and walking the longest t
Excerpt from a lecture by HH Nirañjana Swami
The following is a partially-edited transcription of an excerpt of a lecture given at the Baltics Winter Festival – Chanting with Feeling
Today I wanted to read and speak from a few quotes about the Holy Name. Some of them I have read recently and found a lot of significance to them, not only to myself but those with whom I shared them. A lot of times the devotees struggle to make their chanting relevant. The previous speaker, Dhīra-śānta Prabhu was u
FLORIDA FREEZE
I packed swimming trunks
Not a restriction for monks
Anticipating a dip in the springs
After tightening the drawstrings
Once I arrived in Tampa
Felt a freeze known by Santa
There were the usual bearded trees
The Spanish moss, but strange breeze
An Arctic vortex hit the land
My dreams for dipping totally canned
Even alligators do not prefer
For them cold waters – not secure
It’s Canada’s attack on the US, this cold
Trump’
“From the viewpoint of eternity, a life span of five thousand years is the same as that of five years: both are a flash, both temporary.”
Two summers ago when the Reforestation Department of the Sequoia National Park in California gave away excess baby Sequoia trees, I got four and planted them on our nine-acre property in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Sequoias don’t produce useful things like fruits or flowers. They simply live—for thousands of years. And they grow—hundreds of f
In the Alachua temple, I delivered my third and last class on the heroism of the avatar, Varaha, who saved the earth in His most unique way. Back at the home of my hosts, Ananta Sesa and Vaishnavi, I led a Gita Chat on Zoom with devotees from the Caribbean. Chapter 1.32 – 35. Those verses are Arjuna’s rationale leading to his declining to fight. A major theme behind these verses was that Krishna, the main pundit, was actually a good listener. This is another trait of heroism.
For the eveni
The Vedic contribution to one of the central debates in Western philosophy.
Sam Surya goes to his city’s orphanage one day and makes a large donation. Elsewhere in town, Andy Andhakara robs a bank. What led these two to make such drastically different choices? Was it their own volition, or the force of some other factor? In other words, were their actions predetermined, or did Sam and Andy have free will?
These questions concern one of the pivotal debates in Western philosophy. Are human beings
It’s not that the weather was incompatible for walking this morning with a cold, wet rain, I just wasn’t prepared, clothing-wise, to dare the elements. I was indoors most of the time, yet happily busy. The sadhana program in the Alachua temple was great, though low in attendance due to a cold floor. The kitchen at the back end has no heat, so you could see everyone’s breath. The solution for the cooks is to keep warm through action.
I visited the men’s house where male devotees reside
