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Parishads: Sri Madhavendra Puri
by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaja
[Excerpted from "Sri Chaitanya: His Life & Associates"]
Mahaprabhu's seniors, His parents and gurus, are all his servants and eternal associates and they take their birth prior to His appearance in order to serve Him in their own way.
Whenever Krishna descends to the earth, He first sends down His elders. These include His father, mother, guru and all the other persons He considers to be the objects of His respect. He arranges that these persons should accept birth before He does. Madhavendra Puri, Ishvara Puri, Sachi, Jagannath, and Advaita Acharya are amongst those who appeared in this way.
(Chaitanya-Charitamrita 1.3.92-4)
Later in the Chaitanya Charitamrita (1.13.52-55), the same thing is stated in the following way:
Whenever the son of the king of Vraja decides to appear on earth in order to fulfill a particular desire, He first sends down His seniors. I will briefly name some of them as it is not possible to
King Mandhata once said to Vasishtha Muni, "O great sage, kindly be merciful to me and tell me of a holy fast that will benefit me eternally."
Vasishtha Muni replied. "O king, kindly listen as I describe the best of all fast days, Amalakii Ekadasi. He who faithfully observes a fast on this Ekadasii obtains enormous wealth, gets free of the effects of all kinds of sins, and attains liberation. Fasting on this Ekadasii is more purifying than donating one thousand cows in charity to a pure brahmana. So please hear me attentively as I tell you the story of a hunter who, though daily engaged in killing innocent animals for his living, achieved liberation by observing a fast on Amalakii Ekadasii and following the prescribed rules and regulations of worship.
"There was once a kingdom named Vaidisha, where all the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas, and shudras were equally endowed with Vedic knowledge, great bodily strength, and fine intelligence. Oh lion among k
Received by Gov't of Manitoba Companies Office, Winnipeg, Canada, Feb (02) 22,2012, processed 2012, Feb (02), 28th, and today rec'vd by me by mail 2:43 pm Mar (03) 2, 2012. Incorporation as Non-Profit, Manitoba, Canada, with three co. directors, the three amigos ( sorry Shri Nrsngha! ) current temple presidents of SPIRIT-NET INC. Our inc. number is ; was file number 6424695 became our business number 82989 8303 ( MC 0001 )
Numerologists and astologers out there; any comments?
Nukes and spooks, world wars and kooks ; we don't need them at all.
Man is happiest when his necessities are fulfilled with a minimum of effort, and he is free to pursue spiritual realization and pastimes of goodness. There is no reason why each person cannot have a plate of nice prasadam everywhere in the world everyday. There is no reason we cannot raise up good doctors, good teachers, good priests, worldwide. But the world's resources have to be used in His service. So long as selfishness with a small "s" rules, there will be greed and abuse.
The combination of Self-knowledge and understanding of the ultimate spiritual purposes of human life leads to activities in the mode of goodness, in which preservation/sustainability and simplicity rule. Wanting and grabbing more than this, leads to environmental degradation and accumulation of wealth in the hands of abusers. In the end, the biggest thief claws his way to the top, and lords it over all the other smaller thieves, who in turn
Enough to make your hairs stand on end and tears flow like joyous rain!
A Hare Krsna Bhajana of great love in seperation mood.
And what is "Up there" At the Top? Up past Sahasrara chakra? Eternal Pastimes of Loving Devotion to Radha Krishna
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Rasikananda Deva Goswami was born in 1512 of the Saka era (1590 AD) in the village of Rohini or Rayni in the Midnapore district. This village is situated at the confluence of the Subarnarekha and Dolanga rivers. His father's name was Raja Achyutananda and his mother, Bhavani Devi.
The Subarnarekha River crosses back and forth across the present-day Bengal-Orissa border. Midnapore district used to be a part of the Orissan kingdom. Raja Achyutananda was an Orissan of the Karana caste, the equivalent of the Kayasthas in Bengal. A Vaishnava is beyond the material qualities and should not be judged in terms of his caste origins. Achyutananda and Rasikananda were born in the Karana caste in order to bless it.
We can assume that Rasikananda was a manjari in Krishna lila. Though his spiritual master Shyamananda had himself been initiated by Hriday Chaitanya Goswami, who worshipped the Lord in the mood of friendship, he later took shelter of the conjugal mood due to the association of the Vraj
Ishvara Puri was born in the town of Kumara Hatta on the full moon day of the month of Jyestha to a family of Brahmins hailing from Rarha. Kumara Hatta is in the 24 Paraganas district about two miles from the Halisahar train station. The town is also important for Gaudiya Vaishnavas because Srivas Pandit and his brothers moved here after Mahaprabhu took sanyassa because they were unable to tolerate all the painful reminders of Him in Nabadwip. Their home is not far from the place in the Mukhopadhyaya Para neighborhood where Ishvara Puri was born.
Ishvara Puri's birthplace is popularly known by the name "Chaitanya Doba." The word doba means "a pool of water". When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu passed through Kuymara Hatta on His way to Puri, He showed respect for His spiritual master by picking up some earth from the place of his birth, wrapping it in his cloth and taking it with him. Thousands of pilgrims have since followed His example, thus forming a pit that has sinc
Maharaj said, "Oh Lord Sri Krishna, O glorious son of Vasudeva, please be merciful to me and describe the Ekadasi that occurs during the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna (February-March)."
Lord Sri Krishna replied, "Oh Yudhisthira, Oh king of kings, gladly I shall tell you about this great fast, known as Vijaya Ekadasi. Whoever observes it certainly achieves success in this life and the next. All the sins of one who fasts on this Ekadasi and hears its sublime glories are eradicated.
Narada Muni once asked lord Brahma, who sits on a lotus flower about the Vijaya Ekadasi. Sri Narada said, ‘Oh best of all the demigods, kindly tell me the merit one can achieve by faithfully observing Vijaya Ekadasi.' Narada's great father then replied, ‘My dear son, this oldest of fasting days is pure, and it nu
re Sri Upadesamrta Our Highest Duty
by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda

Question 1: What is our highest duty?
Answer: This human form of life lasts only a moment and it is extremely rare. Instead of wasting our time by engaging in wicked, offensive or wasteful activities, we should all engage our minds in hari-bhajana, abandoning everything else.
We have attained this human birth after many lifetimes, and this human form is the rarest form of life. It is not just rare, but extremely rare. Although it is a temporary designation, it is nevertheless known as paramārtha-prada – that which grants supreme, absolute welfare. Those
who have discriminating intelligence, for as long as their human body permits the pursuit of spiritual life (sādhana), abandon all material activities, and without even a moment’s delay endeavour to achieve the highest benefit.
In order to attain the topmost benefit, one has to take shelter of the lotus feet of a bona fide spiritual mast
The Highest Process of Love is Hidden within Bhagavad-gītā
(Śrī Gītopaniṣad Ātma-nivedana)
by Śrīla Bhakti Prajṅāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja

The Nectarean Milk of Śrī Bhagavad-gītā
The most dignified seers of ancient India (ārya-ṛṣis) have glorified Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā as the crest jewel of all the philosophical treatises of Vedic India known as the Upaniṣads. In contrast to other Upaniṣads, Śrī Gītā specifically establishes that Bhagavān is inherently imbued with unlimited transcendental pastimes. Also, in the Gītā-māhātmya, which beautifully extols the Gītā, the Gītā has been described as the essence of all Upaniṣads:
sarvopaniṣado gāvo
dogdhā gopāla-nandana
pārtho vatsaḥ su-dhīr bhoktā
dugdhaṁ gītāmṛtaṁ mahat
Gītā-māhātmya (6)
The Upaniṣads are like a cow, and this Gītopaniṣad – Bhagavad-gītā, which is the essence of all the Upaniṣads – is just like nectarean milk from that cow. Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is renowned as a cowherd boy, is milking the cow, and Arjuna is just like
Letter to: Mukunda
Los Angeles
8 February, 1970
London
My Dear Mukunda,
[...]
The purpose of World Sankirtana Party will be to establish a center in each and every city and village of the world. This idea is taking practical shape in various centers.
Just like you started for London Yatra and now after one year it has taken a shape, similarly in Germany also it has taken a shape, but in Paris it has not taken as yet. Therefore World Sankirtana Party means to establish a center everywhere we go.
I do not mean a concert party or musical party that may go to a city, have some performances and collect some money without any permanent effect.
For this purpose the World Sankirtana Party should consist of members who can impress spiritual ecstasy in the hearts of the people so that some of them may come forward and agree to establish a center where the Sankirtana party may go on continually.
Srila Prabhupada letter to Mukunda, Feb. 7, 1970