I have put these up on the TSU site, and they have been well received, so I wanted to also share them with the devotees here at SPI. Please enjoy.
This was recently passed on to me, so I am passing it on to you. I think we can all learn from this.
Editor's Note:
Krsna Kanta d.d., a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, quite some time ago now passed away in her sleep in Vancouver, Canada.
Her husband Mahadhar Prabhu passed to us the following "Recipe Card", hand written in Krsna Kanta's own writing.
The curious thing about the card is that it has some stains on it,
as the paper had been in the kitchen many times while making this Special Preparation below.
I thought I would share it with the readers of Chakra.__Vipramukhya swami
-Sift together the above 6 ingredients and mix thoroughly with lots of saintly devotees
-Pour into "sadhana bhakti" program and simmer
-Do not set aside and cool
Yield: a successful
Purushottama dasa was Stoka Krishna, the cowherd boy in Krishna lila. (In the image: Stoka Krishna).
Elevation to Krishna Consciousness: "Some people complain that when they pray to God they do not feel His presence. We should know that this is due to our incapacities, not God's... The physical conception is temporary, whereas the vibrational conception is eternal. When we enjoy or relish the vibration of Krishna's teachings in Bhagavad-gita, or when we chant Hare Krishna, we should know that by those vibrations He is immediately present. He is absolute, and because of this His vibration is just as important as His physical presence... Such association with Krishna and the spiritual master should be association by vibration, not physical presence. That is real association. We put so much stress on seeing, but when Krishna was present on this earth, so many people saw Him and did not realise that He is God; so what is the advantage of seeing? By seeing Krishna, we will not understand Him, but by listening carefully to His teachings, we can come to the platform of understanding.
We can
"When a Vaisnava sees mismanagement in the government, he feels great compassion in his heart and tries his best to purify the situation by spreading the Hare Krsna movement"
--Srimad-Bhagavaam, 6.2.4, Srila Prabhupada purport
If ever there were a time.....
Indradyumna Das shared Golden Volcano's 'All friendly atmosphere...
Devotee: So you said that we want to, we hate the world of exploitation. But in Bhagavad-gita, in the Fourteenth Chapter, Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa are speaking about what are the qualities of a liberated soul, and Kṛṣṇa says he doesn't hate illumination or attachment when they come, he doesn't hate. At the same time. So how are we to despise these things on the one hand...?
Srila Srīdhara Mahārāja: One by exploitation they will hate. And when we are free from exploitation and posted in the plane of service, dedication, then hate is eliminated, then we embrace everything. Only the spirit of dedication can make it possible to embrace everything. And exploitation has no such possibility so we hate that. And exploiting and the hatred, hatred comes from exploitation. And dedication makes everything friend. I don't want anything in its turn. So everything will come to me, I don't want extort my selfish ideas from anything, from
Shrila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Maharaja.
Shrila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Maharaja lived for one hundred forty-four years. He took diksha from Shri Madhusudana Dasa Babaji and did bhajana for many year at Surya Kunda in Vrindavana. Thakura Bhaktivinoda received valuable instructions on pure devotional service from Jagannatha Dasa Babaji.
His practice was to live six months in Shri Navadwipa dhama and six in Vraja mandala. "During his time," said Thakura Bhaktivinoda, "Shri Jagannatha Dasa Babaji was the.most advanced rasika Vaishnava in Gaura and Vraja mandalas, and Purushottam Kshetra (Jagannatha Puri)." Bhaktivinoda Thakura gave him the title Sarvabhauma, the chief of the Vaishnavas.
At one hundred twenty-five years old his body appeared bent like a semi-circle. His eyelids hung over his eyes like heavy stage curtains. Standing on either side, two disciples would lift his droopy eyelids so he could offer Tulasi manjaris to his Deity of Shri Giriraja Govardhana.
Since Jagann
One time some mad elephants attacked Rasikananda. Calmly, he chanted "Gauranga, Gauranga, Krishna, Krishna" while sprinkling water on the rampaging beasts. The elephants immeditately stopped charging, humbly bowed their heads, raised their trunks, and bellowed "Hare Krishna! Hare Krishna!" (In the wallpaper: Rasikananda Prabhu, and some elephants).
Brahmānanda: No, he's saying that when we chant our rounds, how can we be sure that when we chant the round that the round is a perfect, attentive round, sincere?
Prabhupāda: Therefore it is śāstra, "You must." There is no question of understanding.
Brahmānanda: The quality of the chanting he's asking. How can we make the quality the best?
Prabhupāda: Quality, you'll understand first of all come to the quality. Without having quality, how he'll understand the quality? You follow the instruction of your spiritual master, of the śāstra. That is your duty. Quality, no quality—it is not your position to understand. When the quality comes there is no force. You will have a taste for chanting. You will desire at that time, "Why sixteen round? Why not sixteen thousand rounds?" That is quality. That is quality. It is by force. You'll not do it; therefore at least sixteen rounds. But when you come to the quality, you will feel yourself, "Why sixteen? Why not sixteen thousand?" That is qua
Pessimistic or animal? Added by George Pye on February 17, 2015 at 11:13
Srila Prabhupada: "Yes, unless one is pessimistic of this material world, he is animal. A man knows what are the sufferings of this material world: adhyatmic, adhibautic, adhidaivic. There are so many suffering pertaining to the mind, sufferings offered by other living beings, and sufferings imposed forcibly by the laws of nature. So the world is full of suffering, but under the spell of maya, illusion, we accept this suffering condition as progress. But ultimately whatever we do, the death is there. All the resultant action of our activities, they are taken away and we are put to death. So under these circumstances there is no happiness within this material world. I have fully arranged for my happiness, and any moment, just after arrangement, we are kicked out; we have to accept death. So where is happiness here? The intelligent man is always pessimistic, that "First of all let us become secure," that we are t
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Siva Ratri worship of Lord Siva. Devotees may bathe a Siva-linga in water and panca-gavya (five substances from the cow) and offer Krsna-prasada to Lord Siva. Fasting is optional for Vaisnavas.
Every lunar month on the 13th or 14th day of the dark half of the moon phase there is a Shivaratri but in the Vedic month of Phalgun (February-March) there is a Maha Shivaratri. The ceremony takes place mainly at night, which is observed in the honour of Lord Shiva, who was married to Parvati (Mother Durga) on this day.
Devotees of Lord Shiva generally observe a strict fast on this day and some go to the extent of a nirjal fast i.e. they do not even have a sip of water.
They stay awake the entire night. The Shiva lingam is worshipped throughout the night by washing it every three hours with milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and so forth, whilst chanting of the mantra “Om namah shivaya”, continues. Offering of bael leaves are made to the Lingam. Bael leaves are very sacred (as Tulsi to Lord Vishnu and dhar
Madhavendra Puri couldn't move at the end of his life. So doing all humble services, Ishvara Puri even cleaned up his stool and urine. Ishvara Puri helped his guru to remember Shri Krishna by always chanting Hare Krishna and telling Radha-Krishna's pastimes. Pleasing Madhavendra Puri by these menial acts, Ishvara Puri received the treasure of Krishna-prema from his spiritual master. (In the image: Madhavendra Puri).
Sri Vrindavan Das courtesy;
Statement of Purpose: The Transcendental Spoken Sound
September 9, 1935
by Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada
To the Readers:
The Harmonist (journal) preaches the religion of prema or transcendental love for Sri Krishna.
Love God with All Thy Heart and with All Thy Soul
Transcendental love is very different from all forms of love with which we are familiar in the world. The only object of transcendental love is Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna can never be the object of the so called love of our mundane estate.
The Biblical dictum, "Love God with all thy heart and with all thy soul," is not an invitation for the practice of earthly love towards God. How, indeed, can it be possible to love man without loving God.
As a matter of fact we cannot really love anybody unless we love God. But we cannot also love any other entity exactly in the same way as we love Sri Krishna. The one process is
categorically different from the other. The word "m
