Blogs

Another gopī said, “It is an unreasonable hope for us to expect Kṛṣṇa to come back to Vṛndāvana. We should try instead to be happy in disappointment. Even Piṅgalā, the great prostitute, said that disappointment is the greatest pleasure. We all know these things, but it is very difficult for us to give up the expectation of Kṛṣṇa’s coming back. Who can forget a solitary conversation with Kṛṣṇa, on whose chest the goddess of fortune always remains, in spite of Kṛṣṇa’s not desiring her? My dear Uddhava, Vṛndāvana is the land of rivers, forests and cows. Here the vibration of the flute was heard, and Kṛṣṇa, along with His elder brother, Śrī Balarāma, enjoyed the atmosphere in our company. Thus the environment of Vṛndāvana constantly reminds us of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. On the land of Vṛndāvana are the impressions of His footprints, the residence of the goddess of fortune, and because of such signs we cannot forget Kṛṣṇa.”

As I'm planning for an upcoming retreat to India in 2016, I came across this beautiful painting of Saint Tukaram & Lord Vitthala (painting by Vijay Adagale) and it reminded me of a beautiful poem by Tukaram. Thought I'd share 

(?)

The Moral World

https://youtu.be/IPAjf2B3oR0

Srila Prabhupada founded ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in 1966 - See more at: http://harekrishnacalendar.com/vaishnava-calendar/the-incorporation-of-iskcon-in-new-york-2015/#sthash.LFB0QYa2.dpuf

His body and mind were completely attached to Vrindavanadhama. The divine Was of Radha-Vinoda played in his heart. His ears existed only to hear the Shrimad Bhagavatam. "Anyone who reads the Shrimad Bhagavatam," said Lokanatha Goswami, "he is my friend." (In the images: Shrila Lokanatha Goswami).

   A personal associate of Lord Gauranga, fully absorbed in pure love, Shri Lokanatha Goswami was the eldest of the Goswamis living in Vraja-bhumi. He shunned name and fame so much that he asked Krishna Dasa Kaviraja to keep his name out of Chaitanya-charitamrta.
 
   His body and mind were completely attached to Vrindavanadhama. The divine Was of Radha-Vinoda played in his heart. His ears existed only to hear the Shrimad Bhagavatam. "Anyone who reads the Shrimad Bhagavatam," said Lokanatha Goswami, "he is my friend."
    .
   Once Shri Krishna Himself appeared and gave Lokanatha a Deity of Radha-Vinoda. Lokanatha Goswami carried his Deity all over Vraja in a cloth bag hung around his neck.
 
   Alth

AUGUST 7
In this age,it is more important to create devotees then to construct temples.
Hawaii,7,1969
Srila Prabhupada

"Among all the living entities wandering throughout the universe, one who is most fortunate comes in contact with a representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and thus gets the opportunity to execute devotional service. Those who are sincerely seeking the favor of Kṛṣṇa come in contact with a guru, a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. The Māyāvādīs indulging in mental speculation and the karmīs desiring the results of their actions cannot become gurus. A guru must be a direct representative of Kṛṣṇa who distributes the instructions of Kṛṣṇa without any change. Thus only the most fortunate persons come in contact with the guru." (Prabhupada purport SB 5.17.11)

***NARADA MUNI Visits Srila Prabhupada Regularly***

One night an extraordinary thing happened.
Prabhupada led the first kirtan and then
gave a lecture.
I sat on the floor just to his right with the
harmonium, and after the lecture, I began
leading the second Hare Krishna kirtan.
All of a sudden, Srila Prabhupada’s voice cut
through the auditorium with the potency of
Lord Nrisimha, right in the middle of my
chanting.
I had never heard Prabhupada do that, nor
had I heard the words he chanted.
‘Narada Muni bhajaya vina radhika ramana
namne,’ he sang. And then again he
repeated it.
I looked up, and he looked down at me,
signaling me to carry on.
So I continued chanting Hare Krishna, and
he continued singing his prayer to Narada
Muni into his microphone.
I closed my eyes and carried on, not
knowing what was happening. Then he
started leading with me.
We could all understand that something
inexplicable but amazing was happening.
Everyone was literally jumping off the
ground, leaping in the

Personality of Godhead - Part One

by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda

The difference between dharma and adharma lies in the admission or denial of the Personality of Godhead.*

______________
* A loose translation of the word dharma is ‘intrinsic religion,’ which refers to ‘right living’ in accordance with the absolute good of all living beings and especially the Supreme Being. The word adharma refers to the negation of the same.

There are different ways of denying the Personality of Godhead. We hope to examine that aspect of the issue elsewhere. Our present topic is the Personality of Godhead. We therefore assume that those who accept the existence of the Personality of Godhead do not necessarily agree with one another. It is our purpose to trace out the differences found among them.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam has explained the function of dharma in a way that is difficult to misunderstand. The function of all unalloyed souls is defined in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as consisting of a

Shri Gopala Bhatta Goswami.

   Shri Gopala Bhatta Goswami (the son of a Vyenkata Bhatta, a Shri Vaishnava brahmana) appeared in Shri Rangam, South India. Lord Chaitanya once stayed four months in his home, and converted the family to Gaudiya Vaishnavism. A mere boy at this time, Gopala personally served the Lord. Shri Chaitanya treated him affectionately giving His remnants and blessings to' become an acharya.

   During His four month stay, Lord Chaitanya developed a close friendship with Vyenkata Bhatta, which Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describes as "sakhya rasa." Freely conversing with each other, they would often laugh and joke together. One day in a humorous mood Lord Chaitanya asked Vyenkata:

   "Why does your worshipable goddess of fortune, Shri Lakshmidevi, abandon the happiness of Vaikuntha and her service to Her Lord Narayana? Why does she go to Vrindavana and perform severe austerities to attain the association of My Lord Gopala, the cowherd boy of Vraja?"

   "I can't understand these

Shri Sanatana Goswami appeared in 1488, five years before Shri Rupa Goswami, in a Sarasvata brahmana family in Bengal. Sanatana and his two brothers, Rupa and Anupama, were always absorbed in bhava bhakti from early childhood. Remembering Vrindavana, they named the forests in which they played after Vraja's twelve forests (Talavana, Madhuvana, Kamyavana, Mahavana). (In the image: Shrila Rupa and Shrila Sanatana Goswamis).

   Shri Sanatana Goswami appeared in 1488, five years before Shri Rupa Goswami, in a Sarasvata brahmana family in Bengal. Sanatana and his two brothers, Rupa and Anupama, were always absorbed in bhava bhakti from early childhood. Remembering Vrindavana, they named the forests in which they played after Vraja's twelve forests (Talavana, Madhuvana, Kamyavana, Mahavana). They called their favorite bathing ponds Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda.
 
   In his youth, Shri Sanatana dreamed that a beautiful brahmana boy gave him a Shrimad Bhagavatam. Feeling ecstatic he awoke. But se

Once upon a time, there lived many fishes in a pond. Everyday, they would wake up in the morning with a dread - the fisherman’s net! The fisherman would be there every morning, without fail to cast his net. And without fail every morning, many fishes would get caught in it. Some would be taken by surprise, some caught napping, some would not find any place to hide while some others, even though aware of the lurking danger, would simply find no means to escape the deadly net.

Among the fishes was one young fish that was always cheerful. It had no fear of the fisherman’s net and it seemed to have mastered the art of being alive and staying lively. All the senior fishes wondered as to what might be the secret of this little fish. How could it manage so well when their cumulative experience and wisdom were not enough to save them from the net.

Unable to bear their curiosity and desperate to find a way to escape the net, all the fishes went to this little fish one evening. “Hey little one! We

Hare Krishna!

One day Krishna & Arjuna were taking their usual walk, when they came across an old Brahmin begging, taking pity on his condition, Arjuna gave him a bag of gold coins.

The man was overjoyed. On his way to home, he was robbed by a thief in the forest. He cursed his fate and the next day set off to beg again.

Arjuna & Krishna saw him again & got to know his story. Arjuna once again took pity and gave him a large diamond.

The man took it home and kept it in an old pot which had been unused for many years inorder to keep it safe and went to sleep.

The next morning before he could wake up, his wife went to fetch water from the river & on her way back, she slipped and her pot broke. She immediately remembered the pot at home which lay unused and brought it to fill it with water. Just as she dipped the pot in to the river the diamond escaped the pot and went in to the river.

When she returned home the Brahmin was desperately searching the house for the pot & when he saw it in his wife

"I will never hesitate to do it. I will never hear from anyone but my guru. Those who are saying something different from this teaching coming through bona fide parampara, coming from Sriman Mahaprabhu - we will never listen to them. If somebody says something different, then like Bhimasena, with my fist, I will crush it. I will destroy it. I will defeat it. I am so proud. With just one speck of dust from the lotus feet of my guru, crores and crores of people of this world will be delivered. You should understand how powerful one little speck of dust of my guru's lotus feet is. There is no such a scholar as my guru. I will never accept anyone else as a scholar. There are no such teachings as those that my guru has imparted, to be found in any human being, or in any demigod, I know it very well. No one else can give such teachings. There is nothing in this world that is as heavy as a tiny speck of dust from the lotus feet of my guru, SRILA PRABHUPADA. This is the follower of true paramp

Deus Nexus said; A spiritual warrior is one who RESISTS any and all attempts at the corruption of their mind/soul matrix. A spiritual warrior does not follow the flow of the turbid stream of mediocrity, homogenization and annihilation. A spiritual warrior defends to the bitter end– individuality, humanity, innocence, truth, beauty and decency. This world is in dire need of more people who are willing to go to their grave for these principles.