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Regarding your questions, "I read in a book sent from India that Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura was sent directly by Lord Sri Caitanya from the spiritual sky. I am not sure if the book was bona fide. Is the above true? Someone, a God-brother brought up that he heard that Srila Bhaktivinode was at one time an impersonalist. Was he ever?'' Yes, what you have heard is all right. Just like Arjuna is constant companion of Krishna, as it is confirmed in the 4th chapter, Krishna says that both Arjuna and He appeared many times on this world, but he had forgotten his past appearance and Krishna did not. Krishna is like the sun, and maya is just like darkness. Where Krishna is present there cannot be any darkness of maya. So as Arjuna although always in the presence of Krishna as eternal comp

http://youtu.be/wxLb7DGX_4U

I believe Srila Prabhupada told this joke.

How the King was having a very bad day, so the Jester came before him, and inquired

"What is the difference between his Majesty and a donkey"

As the kings eyes lifted, the jester knew his life was on the line.

"This better be good" said the King"

The Jester immediately pulled out a measure, and calculated the distance between both of them.

"Around six feet my Lord " was his reply.

Indicating that he, himself was the donkey.

The king laughed, and the Jester kept his head, for another day. MMdasa

I heard it a wee bit differently;

King jokingly asked, " what is the difference between you, and an ass?"

The court wise-man /joker then paced out the distance between himself and the King, and turned to him and said, ""About eight feet", to which the King roared with laughter...

Indian humor often has elements of surprise, purity, caste, and making fun of same.  Tdasa

"At the end of the millennium, ignorance personified assumed the form of a demon, stole all the Vedas and took them down to the planet of Rasatala. The Supreme Lord, however, in His form of Hayagriva retrieved the Vedas and returned them to Lord Brahma when he begged for them. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, whose determination never fails.

Purport: Although Vedic knowledge is imperishable, within this material world it is sometimes manifest and sometimes not. When the people of this material world become too absorbed in ignorance, the Vedic knowledge disappears. Lord Hayagriva or Lord Matsya, however, always protects the Vedic knowledge, and in due course of time it is again distributed through the medium of Lord Brahma. Brahma is the trustworthy representative of the Supreme Lord. Therefore when he again asked for the treasure of Vedic knowledge, the Lord fulfilled his desire."

Srimad-Bhagavatam 5:16:6

On this day in 1965, Srila Prabhupada left Calcutta aboard the steamship Jaladuta - See more at: http://harekrishnacalendar.com/vaishnava-calendar/srila-prabhupadas-departure-for-the-usa-2013/#sthash.4FqB6vBR.dpuf

Once while in Sydney Australia, somehow I ended up alone on a train, returning to the temple after book distribution,  in some far away suburb, in this far away country.

The train was very long, and appeared completely empty.

That  was not normal, as various people are always on the train.

Perhaps this was a train to hell,and I was the only one going today?

I decided to make use of the emptiness, and chant loudly, as there was no one else around who may be offended.

Anyhow, the train took a turn  onto another line, which started to worry me a little.

Factories and huge grey buildings flashed past the window bringing a feeling of dread and gloom which filled the air.

Shortly,  thereafter, the train began to slow down, as it approached a station.

A bright orange color began to fill the carriage, like a room full of Brahmachari's.

As the automatic doors opened, hundreds of miserable men began to fill the carriage, all in bright orange overalls.

Finally, it made sense, this was a car manufacturing p

A devotee may have experiences that are very profound, even darshan with divine beings.

Such as, Lord Sri Paramatma, Lord Sri Shiva, Narada Muni  Prabhu or even Sri  Mohini murti,

We may be seated by a person who is in deepest bliss,and we can only wonder what is their realization.

So,how does a person share such blissful states with others?

In the Vaisnava line, there does not appear any Shaktiput going on, but then again, even a grain of rice from the masters plate with give immense benefit  ( shaktiput is a transmission of power via touch ] 

In a nutshell,how much can a devotee reveal about deep realizations  with others.

Someone could say all sorts of crazy stuff, like they were at Lord Indra's last week,,, or Lord Brahma and her were talking once.  

When living in the Melbourne Temple in 1978, there was a nice devotee,who over time believed Srila Prabhupad was communication via the dog to him. 

Sadly, he passed away a few months later.

It may or may not be true.?

There would come a point we

The day will come, when we all see with equal vision,

as children of Srila Prabhupa, as will be our children's children..
Who is who, what group, any false form of self will vanish.
We will all be free from bodily distinctions.

Some will see earlier than others, that is our quest,

the end and the means are the same.

Our mislead consciousness now is the only thing stopping us from being in divine states blessed .

...  our actual natural frame.

The spiritual master is the light of all lights.

Imagine if I thought that I had something to offer for the greater good, and was told that for such and such a reason, my input was censored, and I was barred from speaking or submitting requests. 

Or, because I was not friends of such and such a group, or a popular person, my views were not wanted, after all, who was I, what gave me the right to even stand straight in their presence.

Or who was I to even think,for one moment, that I could possibly have insights of use to anyone, unless they were also of my menial calibre.

And what If I was to actually expose that there were no elite overloads,and we were all equal, would that not pose a threat to there power base?

Or perhaps people like me  should be UM ,,,, relocated to a better place, along with the other lepers.

Anyway,the point being,I can speak,and I do have views,I like respecting others and also like to be given respect.

I have feelings, and like to feel like part of a bigger family.

When I am with my brothers and sisters I do not lik

I watched a nice program ages ago,listening to various bhajans from other religions,and this beautiful,full bearded man talked briefly about devotion.

It went like this.

A man took his children to the market to buy a donkey,

After the purchase, the children spotted a dog for sale,wagging its tail and doing dogy things,like chasing its tail,and the rest.

"Daddy, can we buy the dog,please"

The dog is useless for our needs,was the reply.

But, the children begged and pleaded,so the dog was bought, and included in the family.

The donkey was put to work immediately and was of great value in so many ways.

It worked hard every day,and was tied up,out the back each night with some grass and the occasional carrot on a good day.

Never was it visited by the children or shown any special treatment,just work and rest,alone each night.

Inside the house ,the dog soon found itself a nice warm spot near the fire,and was given a special cushion,plate,and was soon a real entertainment in the family home.

Every one s

In 1517, Shri Rupa Goswami and Shri Sanatana Goswami, his elder brother, came to Vrindavana to fulfill four orders of Lord Chaitanya's: (1) Uncover Shri Krishna's lost pastime places. (2) Install Deities, start puja. (3) Write bhakti-shastras. (4) Propagate the rules of bhakti-yoga. (In the wallpaper: Rupa amd Sanatana Goswamis, Lord Shri Gopintha in Jaipur and Temple of Madan Mohan, Shri Vrindavan Dham).

   In 1517, Shri Rupa Goswami and Shri Sanatana Goswami, his elder brother, came to Vrindavana to fulfill four orders of Lord Chaitanya's:

   (1) Uncover Shri Krishna's lost pastime places.

   (2) Install Deities, start puja.

   (3) Write bhakti-shastras.

   (4) Propagate the rules of bhakti-yoga.
 
   Wearing only kaupina (loincloth) and kantha (patchwork quilt), Shri Rupa Goswami lived a mendicant's life absorbed in hearing, chanting, writing about Radha-Govinda's sweet loving pastimes in Shri Vrindavana-dhama. More details of his conduct and character are mentioned in Sanatana Goswami's b

The swing festival of Radha-Krsna. The Deities ride on an elaborately decorated swing.

Deities in the temples are swung on a swing. Some of the main temples that this festival is celebrated at are the Banke Bihari Temple and the Radha-Raman Temple in Vrindavana, the Dwarkadish temple in Mathura, and the Larily Lal Temple in Varsana.

In our Iskcon temples we observe for five days in accordance with Srila Prabhupada's instructions. So whether one observes for the four days or for the seven, or thirteen days, the same festival is put on for the pleasure of the Lord and His loving associates.

This is a wonderful ceremonial function of Lord Krishna's pastimes that reflects practically how we are to render service to the Lord for His pleasure.

At the time of the Jhulan Yatra festival it is Monsoon in India and the air is thick, heavy and humid with the heat and the rains. In the midst of the rainy season, when fields and jungle have turned shades of lush green and flowers are blossoming all arou

Know Your Demons: Rakshashas, Changlings and Shapeshifters!

BY: DHARMAPAD DAS

Dec 09, 2011 — BRAZIL (SUN) — In the 16th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna tells us that "… the demoniac, who are lost unto themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible acts meant to destroy the world." Certainly, the misguiding hand of the demoniac is seen across the face of the Earth, prominent in every society.

Take India as an example. So often nowadays, we experience how Western-oriented Hindus criticize traditional Vedic dharma in the name of secularism and progress. Westernized Hindus espouse not only Western intellectual thought, but they ape popular Western culture as well; this is especially true since the insertion of radio and television into even small, countryside villages. It seems as if an element of India's population is undermining its own culture from within, almost as if it were some kind of fifth column against its own, dharmic culture.

On the surface,

( Letter to: Brahmananda -- Calcutta 18 November, 1967)

Even amongst our God-brothers we have misunderstanding but none of us is astray from the service of Krishna. My Guru Maharaja ordered us to execute his mission combinedly. Unfortunately we are now separated. But none of us have stopped preaching Krishna Consciousness. Even if there was misunderstanding amongst the God-brothers of my Guru Maharaja none of them deviated from the transcendental loving service of Krishna. The idea is that provocation and misunderstanding may remain between one man and another. But our staunch faith in Krishna Consciousness may not allow any material disruption. Please therefore try to be sympathetic with any person even if they differ. The only qualification we have to scrutinize is if one is acting in Krishna Consciousness as far as one is able to do it.

Srila Prabhupad.