I was happy to deliver three classes today. The first a Bhagvatam class from Canto 4 highlighting the story of Puranjana, allegorically rich in themes. I recall the figurative story of the foolish king who beat the bull and injured him so. Three legs broken representing the legs of austerity, mercy and cleanliness with remaining the one standing leg of truthfulness. These metaphors add colour.
Class two in Scarborough captured the theme of 2.64 of the Gita which is mercy or in Sanskrit prasada
From Back to Godhead
Just to attract us to His service, God appeared on earth more than one million years ago as Lord Ramacandra the most benevolent ruler and valiant hero the world has ever known.
The incarnations of Godhead are as numerous as the waves of the sea, yet Krsna, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the source of them all. Just as from one original candle we may light many other candles equal in potency, so Krsna expands Himself in many incarnations, each as powerful as
[The following history from the Valmiki Ramaya is full of import for anyone who wants to be a guru, GBC, temple president or leader in ISKCON or any spiritual institution.]
The incident of Lord Rama and the Dog
From Valmiki’s Ramayana Uttara Khandha between chapters 59-60
Part one
Thereafter in the bright morning Sri Rama, of lotus-like eye having performed forenoon rites, took his seat in the Royal Council-chamber along with the Brahmanas, who were masters of the Vedas the priest Vasistha and
Hawaii, March 27, 1969
Spoken by His Divine Grace
Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
ramadi murtishu kala-niyamena tishthan
nanavataram akarod bhuvaneshu kintu
krishnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami
[Bs. 5.39]
This is a verse from Brahma-samhita in which the incarnation of Lord Ramacandra is described. Ramadi. Not only Rama, but there are many other, innumerable incarnations. They are compared with the waves of a river. As the waves of the rive
By Shyamasundara Dasa ACBSP
The name of King Kulasekhara Alvar is well known to the followers of Srila Prabhupada. His Divine Grace used to relish with great ecstasy the Mukunda Mala Stotra written by this great saintly king. This stotra is commonly known in ISKCON as the Prayers of King Kulasekhara.
Though his name is well known, for most devotees, very little is known about Maharaja Kulasekhara. We shall now try to remedy this lacuna by presenting a concise synopsis of his life.
But before we
By Srila Vyasadeva
SB 9.10: The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra
This Tenth Chapter describes how Lord Ramacandra appeared in the dynasty of Maharaja Khatvanga. It also describes the Lord’s activities, telling how He killed Ravana and returned to Ayodhya, the capital of His kingdom.
The son of Maharaja Khatvanga was Dirghabahu, and his son was Raghu. The son of Raghu was Aja, the son of Aja was Dasaratha, and the son of Dasaratha was Lord Ramacandra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.”
TEXT 23
asmat-prasada-sumukhah kalaya kalesa
iksvaku-vamsa avatirya guror nidese
tisthan vanam sa-dayitanuja avivesa
yasmin virudhya dasa-kandhara artim arcchat
TRANSLATION
Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His plenary extensions, appeared in the family of Maharaja Iksvaku as the Lord of His internal potency, Sita. Under th
This is a compilation based on the works of Srila Prabhupada.
Compiled by Premanjana Das
(Pranjal Joshi)
1)
“If you sit down and write some article on Krsna, that means you have to concentrate on Krsna’s activities or Krsna’s devotees’ activities, and that very process will purify your heart. Therefore we always recommend to our students that you write articles, read our magazine, read our book. In this way if we keep ourself… Work for Krsna. This… We have come here in this pandal or in this Ku
Lord Ramacandra’s Appearance Day : Ramacandra.pdf
Source: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=60221
By Savitri Devi Dasi
The Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education (VIHE) is pleased to announce its latest on-site Bhakti-vaibhava course covering Cantos One and Two, which will be held from June 26 to October 30, 2024. The full course facilitates the systematic study of the first six cantos of Srimad-Bhagavatam in the association of devotees under the guidance of senior teachers, with reference to Srila Prabhupada’s books and the works of previous acaryas. It aims to expand devotees’ devotio
By Sangita Devi Dasi
On Saturday, March 30, 2024, our local Vaishnavas CARE Team Volunteers and several ISKCON Philadelphia congregational members decorated 200 “Spring Baskets” with organic fruit first offered to Lord Krishna along with fresh baked “Srila Prabhupada cookies” (an old “ISKCON favorite” from the early days), two transcendental books by Srila Prabhupada, and other goodies with Hare Krishna mantra labels on them and distributed them throughout the neighborhood near our Philadelphia
Our program repeated itself this morning - an early drive to the beach for that essential walk at Belle Mare. We stuck to our Japa and were free of the very common, as of late, torrential rains. They went on and off most of the night, but the great lord of rain, Indra, gave us a break.
There are many stay dogs in Mauritius many of which breed in the sugar cane fields. And Belle More has a shore of such dogs. We were left alone by their agitation at least this morning.
What about the sea? Any
Pdf download link: http://www.dandavats.com/wp-content/uploads6/Rama-navami-fast-SAC-March-2018.pdf
namo brahmaṇya-devāya rāmāyākuṇṭha-medhase
uttamaśloka-dhuryāya nyasta-daṇḍārpitāṅghraye
O Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have accepted the brāhmaṇas as Your worshipable deity. Your knowledge and memory are never disturbed by anxiety. You are the chief of all famous persons within this world, and Your lotus feet a
The ISKCON Environmental Initiative (IEI) will be hosting an online presentation by Krishna Kshetra Swami, Ph.D. entitled, “Cow Care is Earth Care: Can We Connect the Dots?” on Earth Day, April 22, 2024, 7 am EDT. The offering is part of the IEI Seminar Series: Divinity and the Environment.
The IEI was established to promote Environmental stewardship in ISKCON temples and the community through sustainable environmental practices like the Green Team Vision. It also provides education, training,
Kala from Box Acouncil, Mauritius arranges my programs when I’m here. It includes temple programs, home programs and usually cultural events in the country’s largest hall near Phoenix. This last one is put on hold since covid. But the one thing he puts on the agenda which is practically a necessity is recreation.
Each year he arranges for a group of us to go to Belle Mare for a walk in solitude at pre-dawn. We cover a 5Km distance which we accomplished this morning under cloudy skies. That w
In 1895 Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura published in his “Sajjana-tosani” selected verses from “Śrī Prapannāmṛta”, a 12th century book by Sri Ananta Acarya, son of the great Kuresa, famous disciple and chief associate of Srila Ramanujacarya. The book contains valuable information and biographical accounts of the great founders of the Sri-sampradaya – Nathamuni, Yamunacarya and Ramanuja. It is stated in “Prapannāmṛta” in relation to Ramanujacarya’s birth:
caitre meṣe śukla-pakṣe pañcamyāṁ guru-vāsare
In the year 1017 A.D. Sripad Ramanujacarya, a partial incarnation of Lord Ananta Shesha and Laxman appeared on the ‘sasthi’, sixth lunar mansion of the light fortnight in the month of Chaitra, (April-May). He made his appearance in South India, Tundiradesha, at Sriperumbudur, about half way between Kancipuram and Madras. His fathers’ name was Asuri Keshava Somayaji, also known as Sarvakratu Diksitar, who it is believed was either an advaitin, or a smarta. His mother was Kantimati, the grand dau
Today is the appearance anniversary of Sripada Ramanujacharya, the principal acharya in the Sri, or Lakshmi, sampradaya. Srila Prabhupada wrote, “We find great shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Ramanujacharya because his lotus feet are the strongest fort to combat the Mayavadi philosophy.” (letter 22.11.1974) And in the early days of ISKCON in India, before we had Srila Prabhupada’s Bhagavad-gita As It Is in Hindi, Prabhupada would refer people to read the Hindi edition of the Gita with Sri Rama
In the year 1017 A.D., Ramanuja was born in the village of Perumbudur, about twenty-five miles west of Chennai. His father was Kesava Somayaji and his mother was Kantimathi, a very pious and virtuous lady. Quite early in life, Ramanuja lost his father. Then he came to Kancheepuram to prosecute his study of the Vedas under one Yadavaprakasha, a teacher of Advaita philosophy.
Ramanuja was a very brilliant student. Yadavaprakasha’s interpretations of Vedic texts were not quite up to his satisfact
Sri Ramanujacarya’s Life History (By Sri Ubhaya Vedantha Anbil Ramaswamy)
Sri Ramanuja (1017 – 1137 CE), the most important philosopher-saint of Sri Vaishnavam and one of the most dynamic characters of Hinduism. He was a philosophical as well as a social reformer, displaying a catholicity that was nearly unparalleled in Hindu religious history before him. He revitalised Indian philosophy and popular religion so much that nearly every aspect of Hinduism has been influenced by his work. His life
