The Tree of My Life

Regarding Disappearing Dhams

2010-01-04T06:30:00.001-08:00

A devotee wrote us today:

> In Navadvip Dhama Mahatmya, Bhaktivinoda Thakura makes a rather strong
> statement to the effect that the potency of all the holy dhamas gradually
> diminish as Kali Yuga progresses. You are aware of that statement, right?
> Just after that he states that only Mayapur Dhama remains (increasingly
> so) the only fully spiritually potent dhama.
>
> I read the book several times over the years. But the implication just
> dawned on me recently; does it mean that it's less spiritually
> potent/purifying/beneficial to visit Jagannatha Puri and Vrindavana, and
> all the less so as time progresses?
>
> Prabhupada does mention, as Kavicandra Swami quotes in his recent article
> on dandavats.com, something to the effect that as the sinful activity
> increases in Puri, it will no longer be a dhama...
>
> Are we really to accept that as time goes on the potency of Jagannatha
> Puri and Vrindavana will diminish?
>
> On the other hand we hear that the Dhamas are eternally potent. And
> Prabhupada decided to leave his body in Vrindavana, not Mayapur. Is it
> that Vrindavana was still potent when Prabhupada was around but that it no
> longer will be as time progresses? That seems to be what Bhaktivinoda
> Thakura is saying. What to make of his statement?
>
> I'm considering to buy some property in Puri. Thus this issue is
> especially pertinent to me at this time: I don't want to go to Puri and
> get less and less spiritual benefit each time I visit as time moves
> forward. I just can't believe that's the case (and the same goes for
> Vrindavan.)...
>
> What's your take on it?

Our reply:

Bhaktivinode writes this in in Navadvipa Dham Mahatmya, Parikrama Khanda 2.43-45:

kali-kāle tīrtha-saba atyanta durbala
navadvípa tīrtha mātra parama prabala

In Kali-yuga, all holy places are extremely weak; only Nabadwip is supremely strong.

prabhura icchāya sei tīrtha bahu dina
aprakaṭa mahimā āchila sphūrti-hīna

By the Lord's desire, however, this tīrtha was invisible for a long time and its glories lay unrevealed.

kalira prabhāva yabe atyanta bāḍila
anya tīrtha svabhāvataḥ nisteja haila

When the influence of Kali-yuga increased, naturally the holy places lost their power.

A few verses later, Bhaktivinode cites Mahaprabhu’s comments on how he will solve this problem. He says:

navadvīpa-dhāma āmi kariba prakāśa
sei dhāme kalira bhaṅgiya viṣadāta
kīrtana kariyā jīve kari ātmasātha

“I will manifest Nabadwip Dham and break the poison teeth of Kali by performing congregational chanting of the holy names.

yatadūra mama nāma haibe kīrtana
tatadūra haibe ta’ kalira māyāya

“As long as my name is sung, Kali will be controlled.”

I suggest that the words “kirtana kariyā” are significant. Mahaprabhu states that he will manifest Nabadwip through kīrtana. Like Vrindavan, Nabadwip is to be found in the presence of any genuine bhakta. The Bhagavatam (1.13.10) recounts the words of Yudhisthir to his uncle Vidura:

bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṁ vibho
tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā

“My Lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.”

Srila Prabhupada makes a similar statement in his purport to Cc. madhya 7.129:

========
“It does not matter whether one lives in a holy place like Vrindavan, Nabadwip or Jagannath Puri or in the midst of European cities, where the materialistic way of life is very prominent. If a devotee follows the instructions of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he lives in the company of the Lord. Wherever he lives, he converts that place into Vrindavan and Nabadwip. This means that materialism cannot touch him.”
========

Based on the above it is clear that the dhama will be manifest wherever the holy names are present. A little caveat on that: Of course this means “present” where the names are properly chanted. Kali has ten arrows which he uses to attack the movement of Mahaprabhu. These are the ten offenses to the holy name. If those offenses are not present then the name will drive Kali out. On the other hand if they are present then Kali will enter even into the Dham and even into what appears to be Mahaprabhu’s movement.

Puri and Vrindavan are both nitya-dhamas, eternal abodes. There is no question of them losing potency. However, they may be covered over and lost to mundane vision. This certainly seems to be happening with all the dhamas, save and except those places where the devotees are chanting the holy names.

I’m pasting below a couple of statements regarding the non-different nature of Puri, Vrindavan, and Nabadwip:

“One who understands the transcendental nature of Nabadwip and its surrounding area, where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu enacted His pastimes, resides always in Vrindavan.” Similarly, living in Jagannath Puri is as good as living in Vrindavan. The conclusion is that Nabadwip Dham, Jagannath Puri Dham and Vrindavan Dham are identical.” (Cc. madhya 22.132)

Similarly Jagan-mata Sachi Devi, the mother of universe has stated: nīlācale navadvīpe yena dui ghara — Nilachal, Jagannath Puri and Nabadwip are two rooms in the same house.” (Cc. madhya 3.183)

I hope that this is some help for you and that all is well for your bhajan.

Hari Hari

Das anudas,
Madhavananda Das

Demons in the Guise of Devotees New Link

2010-01-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

For anyone who wants to listen to these lectures, please go to this new link:

http://www.archive.org/details/DemonsInTheGuiseOfDevotees

We had nearly 10 GB of downloads in 2 days to the old link, finishing off our limit with our Divshare account.

Demons in the Guise of Devotees

2009-12-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

A sastric look at the problem of false gurus and materialistic persons donning the dress of devotees. This three part class given by Madhavananda Das in December 2009, offers some commentary on Sri Krishna Kathamrita magazine issue 10 entitled, False Gurus, Institutions and the Holy Name.

Observing Janmastami

2009-08-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

Observing Janmastami
Notes from Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa

Texts 247 to 542 of the 15th section of Hari-bhakti-vilāsa describe the glories of Janmāṣṭamī and how to observe it. The introduction to this section describes three reasons for observing the Lord’s appearance day:

nityatvaṁ ca paraṁ tasya bhagavat-prīṇanān matam
vidhi-vākya-viśeṣāc cākāraṇe pratyavāyataḥ

The observance of Janmāṣṭamī is accepted as a regulative principle in three ways: 1) the Supreme Lord becomes pleased when one observes it; 2) there are special śāstric injunctions requiring its observance; and 3) it is a fault to not observe it. (Hbv. 15.266)

For Krishna’s Pleasure

That the observance of Janmāṣṭamī pleases Krishna is supported with the following statement from the Skanda Purāṇa:

prahlādādyaiś ca bhū-pālaiḥ kṛtā janmāṣṭamī śubhā
śraddhayā parayā viṣṇoḥ prītaye kṛṣṇa-vallabhā
prājāpatyarkṣa saṁyuktā śrāvaṇasyā sitāṣṭamī
varṣe varṣe tu kartavyā tuṣṭyarthaṁ cakra-pāṇinaḥ

For the pleasure of Lord Vishnu, even great kings like Prahlad Maharaja faithfully observed the vow of Janmāṣṭamī, which is very dear to Krishna. It is the duty of everyone to celebrate Janmāṣṭamī every year, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the moon in the month of Śrāvaṇa, when it is joined by the Rohiṇī-nakṣatra, for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord, who carries a cakra in his hand. (Hbv. 15.267-68)

The Faults of Non-observance

Texts 269 to 282 of this section of Hari-bhakti-vilāsa cite the Viṣṇu-rahasya Purāṇa describing various ghastly reactions that one will suffer by not properly observing the Janmāṣṭamī fast and offering special worship to Krishna on this day. A few examples:
Eating on Janmāṣṭamī is equivalent to eating the flesh of a vulture, a crow, a hawk, or a human being. If one eats on Janmāṣṭamī they get the reaction of eating all the sins of the three worlds. If one eats even a tiny bit on Janmāṣṭamī they will be tortured by the Yamadutas after death.... Those who eat on Janmāṣṭamī take one hundred generations of their ancestors and one hundred generations of their offspring with them to hell... It is the duty of all devotees to celebrate Janmāṣṭamī, even with a very small budget, for the pleasure of the son of Devaki. One should not fail to celebrate Krishna’s appearance day, otherwise one will be forced to reside in hell for a kalpa. (Texts 270-272, 274, 282)

Material Benefits

Texts 283 to text 340 then go on to speak about the glories of following Janmāṣṭamī as collected from various śāstric sources. This section entices the reader with many material blessings. For example, Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (Texts 283-284, 289-292) quotes from the Bhaviṣottara Purāṇa regarding the benefits of observing this festival:
[By observing Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī] one becomes free from the sinful reactions committed in seven lives. One gets good children, good health and great wealth.... One will not have to fear enemies, and will get sufficient rainfall and never have to suffer from drought. One will not have to fear natural calamities, hellish conditions, snakes, disease, or the attacks of rogues and thieves.

Bhaktivinode’s Analysis

In this connection it is interesting to note Thakur Bhaktivinode’s enumeration in the first chapter of Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta of the various general motivations people have to try to please the Lord:

1) Bhaya — out of fear.

2) Āśā — for satisfying material aspirations.

3) Kartavya-buddhi — out of a sense of duty (literally, “a mentality of what should be done”).

4) Rāga — out of genuine attraction for the Lord.

Bhaktivinode elaborates on these motivations:

Those who take to worship of the Lord out of bhaya, āśā or kartavya-buddhi are not on such a pure level. Those who worship the Lord according to rāga are real worshipers.... Bhaya o āśā nitāsta heya — Bhaya and āśā are extremely low class. When a practioner’s intelligence becomes clear, he gives up bhaya and āśā, and kartavya-buddhi becomes his sole motive. As long as rāga towards the Lord has not appeared, the devotee should not give up worship according to kartavya-buddhi. From this sense of duty, kartavya-buddhi, two considerations arise: vidhi-samāna, respect for the rules, and avidhi-parityāga, avoidance of those things contrary to the rules.

Srila Prabhupada’s Instructions

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada also instructed his followers to abide by the rules of the janmāṣṭamī-vrata, such as fasting. He wrote in his commentary on Bhagavad-gītā 11.54:

There are so many rules and regulations, and if one at all wants to understand Krishna, he must follow the regulative principles described in the authoritative literature. One can perform penance in accordance with those principles. For example, to undergo serious penances one may observe fasting on Janmāṣṭamī, the day on which Krishna appeared, and on the two days of Ekādaśī (the eleventh day after the new moon and the eleventh day after the full moon).

Food Versus Prasadam

As cited above, Hari-bhakti-vilāsa [15.272] states that anyone eating even the smallest morsel on this day will have to go to hell. One may ask, then, why it is that Srila Prabhupada did not repeatedly stress this point, and why it is that that many vaiṣṇavas serve prasādam to their guests on Janmāṣṭamī? Although forbidding the eating of food on this day, Hari-bhakti-vilāsa does not describe any adverse reactions for persons who honor prasādam. Krishna states in Bhagavad-gītā (3.13):

yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt

The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
Prior to the section describing the glories and rules of Janmāṣṭamī, Hari-bhakti-vilāsa already described that prasādam is not to be considered food. Like Krishna himself, it is always situated beyond this material world. Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (9.403-404) quotes the Bṛhad-viṣṇu Purāṇa:

naivedyaṁ jagadīśasya anna-pānādikaṁ ca yat
bhakṣyābhakṣa-vicāraś ca nāsti tad-bhakṣaṇe dvijāḥ
brahmāvan-nirvikāram hi yathā viṣṇus tathaiva tat

Those foodstuffs and beverages that are offered to Krishna for his pleasure are transcendental and one should never try to distinguish them as eatables and non-eatables. Offerings to Sri Hari are transcendental, incorruptible, and non-different from Vishnu.

Honoring prasādam cannot result in any type of contamination. Rather, those who consider that Krishna’s remnants, which are non-different from him, to have sin in them, or that there is some mundane fault associated with honoring them, are great offenders. Hari-bhakti-vilāsa further quotes the Bṛhat-viṣṇu Purāṇa:

vikāraṁ ye prakurvanti bhakṣaṇe tad dvijātayaḥ
kuṣṭha-vyādhi-samāyuktāḥ putradāra-vivarjitāḥ
nirayaṁ yānti te viprā yasmān-nāvartate punaḥ

O brahmins, those who have a perverted mentality, and think offerings to Sri Hari to be material, will suffer from leprosy, and reside in hell after losing their wife and children.
As stated in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa [15.282, quoted towards the begining of this article], it is the duty of all devotees to personally observe Janmāṣṭamī. To not do so would be neglecting the instructions of śāstra. However, understanding the following principle given in the Utkala khaṇḍa (36.19-20) of the Skanda Purāṇa, many vaiṣṇavas don’t hesitate to serve prasādam to their guests on Janmāṣṭamī:

aśucir-vāpyanācāro manasā pāpam-ācaran
prāpti mātreṇa bhoktavyaṁ nātra kāryā vicāraṇā

Even if one is in an unclean state of body or mind, or engaged in irreligious acts, he should eat mahā-prasāda whenever it is available to him. There is no need to deliberate on this.
— MD

Bibliography

— Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. English translation and commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Bombay. 1995.

— Bhaktivinode Thakur. Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta. Sri Chaitanya Math. Mayapur. Bengali. Gaurabda 420.

— Gauḍīya-vaiṣṇava-kaṇṭhahāra. Compiled by Atindriya Bhaktigunakara. Sri Chaitanya Math. Mayapur. 1960. Bengali.

— Sanatan Goswami. Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa. English translation by Bhumipati Das. Rasbihari Lal & Sons. Vrindavan. 2005.

— Sanatan Goswami. Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa. Sanskrit with Bengali translation by Kanailal Adhikari. Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math. Mayapur. 2000.

This article is from Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu issue 207. The entire issue can be downloaded or read here

NEW WEB SITE LAUNCHED BY GOPAL JIU PUBLICATIONS

2009-06-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

Gopal Jiu Publications is pleased to announce our completely new and reconstructed web site:

www.gopaljiu.org

Desiring to serve devotees, scholars, and aficionados of Krishna-katha, gopaljiu.org now offers:

1) Downloadable PDF extracts from all of our books and magazines

2) Some complete books available for reading online

3) Downloadable PDF articles

4) Over 200 back issues of our free email magazine Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu

5) A search engine accessing all the past issues of Bindu and other articles on the site

6) Over 200 photos of Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Maharaja

7) Over 250 MP3 audio recordings of Maharaja available for free listening or download

8) Video lectures of Maharaja available for free viewing or download

9) A calendar of upcoming Gopal Jiu Publications parikramas

10) Facility to purchase all of our books and magazines online

11) Reviews of Gopal Jiu Publications books and magazines from various senior devotees

12) Immensely improved design and functionality

And more...

Gundicha Marjana Lecture

2009-06-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a lecture we gave last year in Puri on the inner meaning of the Gundicha Marjana festival and how this esoteric meaning applies to rituals and formality within all religious institutions:

http://www.divshare.com/download/6178817-c17

-- The above photo is by Sudarshan Das Mahapatra from our upcoming issue of Sri Krishna Kathamrita magazine.

Article on ISKCON News

2009-06-19T05:03:00.000-07:00

ISKCON news recently gave a write up on Gopal Jiu Publications on the occasion of the 200th issue of Bindu with a very nice article. Check it out!

http://news.iskcon.com/node/2081

Sri Guru Reciprocates in All Rasas

2009-06-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja used to tell us, "If you have not seen the svarup (spiritual form) of your guru, you have simply been cheated." Of course that does not mean that you are not getting mercy. In spiritual life, cheating is also a kind of mercy, because it makes us cry, thereby intensifying our bhajan.

Realizing the svarup of our guru is the goal of the sadhakas, practitioners in our Gaudiya line. As Krishna says in the Gita, this realization is the topmost understanding -- raja-vidya; it is the most confidential -- raja-guhyam; but it must be realized -- pratyaksavagamam-dharmyam.

I have seen many persons who have put forth various speculated ideas about the svarup of their guru. Personally, I've never felt inspired by such an approach. To me, it just seems to lack dignity and grace. No where have we ever heard of someone realizing the eternal identity of their guru through the process of mundane empiricism. "O he said this. That must mean... He liked this song... He installed these kind of deities mostly, therefore..." etc etc.

Like Samba pretending before the rishis in Dwarka, I don't need to stuff something under my clothes to pretend that I'm pregnant. Thanks, but I prefer to wait for something real.

The following article by Srila Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada was in our recent (203rd) issue of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu. Therein he explains that Krishna, as Sri Guru will reciprocate with you, in any particular relationship your heart aspires for.

Hari Hari!

Das, MD
===================

SRI GURU RECIPROCATES IN ALL RASAS

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

There are different ways in which different persons whose faculty of spiritual consciousness has been aroused judge about their own requirements. Every enlightened person is privileged to have a sight of Sri Gurudev in accordance with his particular mode of judgment. Sri Gurudev is that real entity who thus reveals himself to the view of enlightened souls in a variety of ways. Sri Gurudev is the daughter of Vrishabhanu (Sri Radha) in the madhurya-rasa (the spiritual humor of the sweetness of divine amour). Realized by the method of the rasa of parental affection, Sri Gurudev reveals himself as Nanda-Yashoda. In the rasa of friendly affection he is Sridama-Sudama. In the rasa of the devotion of servants to the master, the lotus feet of Sri Guru act as Chitrak-Patrak. The consideration of all these asrayas, devotees, about the visaya, Krishna rises naturally in the heart as one progresses in the service of Sri Guru. These subjects do not manifest themselves in the course of any artifi¬cial process. They are aroused spontaneously in the consciousness of fortunate souls on the appearance of the disposition for spiritual service of the divinity. We have no other function than the service of Sri Guru. By means of the adulterated consciousness of the material world it is not possible to discuss the eternal pastimes of Godhead that are inaccessible even to Shesha, Shiva, Brahma, and similar great personalities.

I have been asked sometimes by different people why we do not give away the realized method of service to all. As for myself, I cannot understand how the condition of self-realized souls and that of novices may be supposed to be identical. It passes our judgment to understand how the service and realization of souls free from all defects can be practiced during the period of novitiate, which is full of many defects. If any person happens to belong to the order of self-realized souls he may kindly intimate to me the fact. I can then know about the specific nature of his realized self.

— Sri Chaitanya’s Teachings. Edited by Bhakti Vilas Tirtha Goswami. Sree Gaudiya Math. Madras. 1989. p 266.

Giriraja's Rainbow Morning

2009-05-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

Rainbow Raj

today we painted Giriraj with a rainbow colored face. In Oriya, the word for "rainbow" is "Indra-dhanu" (literally "Indra's bow"). So Giriraj is Rainbow Raj for two reasons: 1) Because of the colors on his face; and 2) Because he defeated Indra by protecting the Brijbasis from the onslaught of the samvartaka clouds.
The glowing tilak is not a Photoshop technique. It's the reflection of the light.

Giriraja Maharaja ki jaya!

Volcanic Bhajan

2009-05-06T02:29:00.000-07:00

"Udgirna" means, "erupting". We should deeply cultivate our bhajan in such a way that the pressure in our heart increases more and more, until it explodes like a volcano.

Such eruption from the heart is real preaching in the line of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Not that our bhajan, and preaching are like a fireworks display -- an artificial show that looks impressive, but lacks substance and duration.

Bindu Hits 9 Years and 200 Issues

2009-05-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest news with Bindu. My humble and sincere thanks to all of the kind vaishnavas who have supported this service over the years.

Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu, the free e-magazine from ISKCON Gopaljiu Publications, has just entered its ninth year of circulation, and has reached 200 issues distributed to its ever-growing list of subscribers.

Started in 2001 as a humble attempt to serve Srila Prabhupada and the preachers of the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu is especially meant for devotees who were interested in going deep into the tradition and literature of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Our policy from the beginning has been to simply focus on krishna-katha – no politics, exposes, revolutions, or institutional bashing or promotion. Tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo – our conviction is that krishna-katha and krishna-nama automatically changes everything for the better. They are the ultimate solutions to all problems in this world. In the words of Srila Saraswati Thakur, “The person who determines that there is scope for reform of the world himself stands in need of reform. ... As soon as Krishna enters the listening ear, he clears up the vision of the listener so that he no longer has any ambition of ever acting the part of a reformer of any other person, because he finds that nobody is left without the very highest guidance. It is therefore his own reform that he is increasingly able to realize, by the eternally continuing mercy of the Supreme Lord.” [Read the complete article in Bindu 177]

Bindu has featured many first-time translations, including stories and songs from little-known works, such as Sri Tilak Ramdas’ “Abhiram Lilamrta”, Yadunandan Das’ “Karnananda”, Jagadbandhu Bhadra’s “Gaura-pada-tarangini”, Gopijanavallabha Das’ “Rasika Mangala”, Krishnadas’ “Syamananda Prakash”, Jiva Goswami’s “Gopal Campu” and Padma, Nrsimha, Brahma-vaivarta and other Puranas.

Bindu comes out twice a month, on every ekadasi. Each four-page issue begins with an inspiring article from His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and nearly every issue includes something from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and Thakur Bhaktivinode. Articles by Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami are a common feature as well as contemporary articles by the Bindu editors.

Bindu is a free service. To subscribe, write to: minimag@gopaljiu.org

Below are some of the kind words of encouragement about Bindu received over the last 8 years:

I would like to subscribe to your publication. I looked at some back issues and enjoyed the contents very much. I have stopped looking at the ISKCON web sites except for our local site, because they are all obsessed with politics and nonsense. Your publication is very nice. We just need to chant together in a humble and loving frame of mind in order to solve all the problems. Thank you, prabhus.
-- Praharana Dasi, Toronto

Your publication is an invaluable source of inspiration and important sastric reference.

-- Vaisesika Das, San Francisco

Please include me in your subscribers' list for KK Bindu. I enjoyed the fourth issue very much. May all of your efforts be crowned with success, and may this meet you in the best of health and blissful spirits.

-- Tamal Krishna Goswami

Your magazine is the best on the earth.

-- Jayatam Jaya Sila Das

It is my great happiness to see that instead of joining the revolting political debates and fights continuously taking place amongst the vaishnavas of different groups, the sisyas of Gour Govinda Maharaja are peacefully engaged in distributing pure, universal hari-katha without propagating any institution in a sectarian way. You are doing a wonderful job for the pleasure of Sri Guru and Gauranga. I wish you all success in your service.

-- Peter Erdody, Budapest

My sincere congratulations and gratitude for putting together a fine Gaudiya Vaisnava online publication that we can all feel proud of.
-- Vicaru Das, Editor, "Sanga"

Thanks for all this nectar.
-- Indradyumna Swami

Your Bindus are WONDERFUL!

-- Mahavegavati Dasi

With great happiness I received your wonderful e-mail and devoured it immediately. The Krishna Kathamrita Bindu is simply ecstatic. Short, concise, thick with nectar, and fully authorized and in line with our glorious sampradaya as revealed by Srila Prabhupada. It is just what a preacher needs who wishes to inspire people. Please keep the good stream of nectar flowing!

-- Sacinandana Swami

Thanks for the latest KK Bindu. As usual, it was nectarean and a pleasant ekadasi surprise for my wicked mind. I especially appreciate the non-partisan spirit of the publication. I can hardly read anything on the internet these days that isn't trying to promote, argue pro or con, or solicit. There is a place for that I admit. I have my opinions, too. But it's easy to forget our real business in life. At least I am reminded, by your kindness, on a bi-monthly basis. Thank you.

-- Sarva-drk Das, Denver

Aapko bahut dhanyavaada!!!

-- Dasarath Suta Das, Georgia

I always look forward to receiving Krishna Kathamrita Bindu. It's just the right size and just the right substance -- so short that I can easily devote the time to it yet so juicy that a few drops go a long way. A newsletter with nothing but pure Krishna-katha -- so refreshing! This is the real need of the day. Thank you so much!

-- Jayadvaita Swami

Many thanks for a copy of the book, "Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu, Issues 1-17" which I have just finished reading. In fact, I was not able to take up any of my other works until I finished this book. I am happy to tell you that one can really have a taste of sindhu reading the said issues of the Bindu.

One small suggestion: Can you start incorporating in each issue translation of a portion of a Vaishnava Sanskrit text not yet translated? Wishing you success in your venture.

-- Yours affectionately, Professor Samaresh Bandyopadhyaya, Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta

Your wonderful writings have been so inspiring to devotees all around the world. I can truly say I have always looked forward to every new presentation. My own copies have been marked many times. I have shared them with so many other devotees. Somehow each time they have appeared it has been so timely.

-- Bhakti Tirtha Swami

Someone recently directed me to your site and it is encouraging to see this kind of preaching continuing some years now after Sri Gour Govinda Maharaja has departed.

-- Swami B.V. Tripurari

I heartily approve the spirit of this message.

-- Jagadananda Das (Jan Brzezinski), Toronto

I’m a journalist from the “Economic Times”, Bangalore edition, trying to be a vaishnavi. I have always loved “Krishna Kathamrita Bindu” and the excellent books you publish. “Krishna Kathamrita Bindu” and “Mathura Meets Vrindavan” are so good. I repeatedly tell stories to people from them while preaching.

-- Chandni Raj, Bangalore

Vaishnava Marriage and Bhakti

2008-12-26T19:20:00.000-08:00

A recent talk in Mayapur discussing topics including:

* The purpose of Vaishnava marriage

* Why mothers are due more respect than fathers

* Are the sannyasa and brahmacari ashrams necessary for bhakti?

* Jiva Goswami on how varnashram can cover bhakti

* Readings from an article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta discussing how in Vaishnava marriage neither the husband nor the wife are the servant of each other, rather both are serving together for the pleasure of Krishna.

Click here to listen

Bhajan in Separation

2008-12-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

Govardhan Retreat 2008

For the last few months, Krishna Kund and I have been traveling and giving talks. We just got back to Bhubaneswar (whew!) where we hope to catch our breath before our upcoming Puri parikrama/retreat beginning on the 22nd of January.

From November 27th to December 3rd we attended the Govardhan Retreat, which was a deeply moving experience. HH Sacinandan Maharaja spoke on the topic of the process of obeisances given by Sanatan Goswami in his book Sri Krishna Lila Stava; Bhurijan Prabhu spoke about the trials and difficulties experienced by Srila Sanatan Goswami; Mother Jagattarini gave dramatic readings from sections of Rupa Goswami's Vidagdha Madhava, and we gave a series of talks about bhajan in separation. There were about 6 hours of intense hari-katha per day along with hours of kirtan, bhajans, tasty healthy prasadam and wonderful association.

Recordings of the Bhajan in Separation seminar

Blue cows at Govardhan Hill

Pictures from previous Govardhan Retreats

Voting and Vaishnavism

2008-10-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of discussion right now, especially in America, about the latest presidential election. In a recent issue of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu we put together a collection of statements from Srila Prabhupada regarding his mood towards voting in secular circles. As always, Srila Prabhupada's attitude is purely Krishna conscious. I also found it very detached -- he was asked several times if he wanted his followers to vote or not, -- he repeatedly replied that the choice was up to them. For brevity, I’m only posting some of the most relevant quotes below. To see the complete article in issue 185 click here.

Because of the importance of the Krishna consciousness movement, people should be Krishna conscious and should not vote for anyone who is not Krishna conscious. Then there will be actual peace and prosperity in the state. 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 Krishna movement. (Purport to Bhag. 6.2.3)

We don’t very much like this so-called democracy. What is the value of this democracy? All fools and rascals. They vote for another fool and rascal and he becomes prime minister, or this or that. That is not good for the people. We are not for this so-called democracy because they are not trained. (Lecture in London, 24 July 1973)

The first teaching of Bhagavad-gita should be taken by the persons who are going to be elected in the government service. The public should be aware of this. If somebody comes to canvass for votes, you should first inquire, “Have you have read Bhagavad-gita? Mahatma Gandhi read Bhagavad-gita. Why shouldn’t you? Do you know what is Bhagavad-gita? If so, then I will give you my vote. Otherwise, get out.”... It is a great necessity that government men must study Bhagavad-gita. Otherwise, don’t give them vote. (Lecture in Bombay, 22 March 1974)

Devotee: Some of our devotees should run for office.

Prabhupada: No. If you can make the people Krishna conscious, then everything will come automatically. If they vote for a Krishna conscious person to be president and prime minister, then everything will be saved. So that means you have to create KrishnaKrishna consciousness movement. The government is still under the control of the public. If the public becomes Krishna conscious then naturally the government will be Krishna conscious voters. Then everything will be right. That should be one of the aims of the conscious. But that is up to the public. (Lecture in Bombay, 6 November 1970)

Educate the people. “Don’t vote for the rascals. Just try to understand who is the real man, who is the real leader. (Morning walk conversation in Los Angeles, 11 December 1973)

Interviewer: Do you think most of the Hare Krishna members will participate in the election in November? Do you think they will register and vote?

Prabhupada: Personally I never give votes.

Interviewer: Will they follow your example and not vote?

Prabhupada: I do not know, but our principle is that I vote for this man or that man if there is some spiritual benefit. That is our point. (Interview with the religion editor of the Associated Press in New York, 16 July 1976)

I have never given vote. Since we have got this sva-raj, Indian independence, as soon as the vote question comes up, I go away. I think, “Why shall I give this nonsense person my vote? None of them are liked by me.” So I avoid it. I don’t believe in it. (Room Conversation in Bombay, 8 January 1977)

Giriraja's Flower Crown

2008-09-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

This morning Giriraja received 25 different types of flowers in his worship (Orissa is a good place for puja). Aside from his garland of parijata (called gangasuri in Orissa) and gardenia (called sugandha-raja, "king of good fragrance" here) Giriraja was also offered a small crown made of jui flowers, small fragrant flowers that are dear to Srimati Radharani.

Hari Hari!

The Christian Version of Jiva Jago

2008-09-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

I recently got a copy of an old rare book called, Hymns of the Early Church. It was published in 1913 and is a compilation translated from various Greek and Latin sources and other early material from the Christian church. The following poem reminded me of Bhaktivinode Thakur's Arunodaya kirtana. (See some excerpts from the English translations at the end of this text):

Wake, awake to duty!

See, the morning light

Falls with radiant beauty

From the arms of night.

Claim the hours before thee

For the tasks of life,

Thousand calls implore thee

From the din of strife.

Listless minds are dreaming,

Idle hands are still;

Evil hearts are scheming

Purposes of ill.

See the hands that beckon,

Hear the call of right;

Thou with God must reckon

Up, and toil and fight!

Through the hours of morning,

At the height of noon,

When the light gives warning

Night approaches soon:

Do the task with gladness

Which the hours present;

Who can tell the sadness

Of a day mis-spent?

Day by day declineth,

Time is getting hoar;

Soon yon sun that shineth

Sets for evermore.

Ah, the City glorious,

Where they need no sun,

Ah, the band victorious,
And the glad "Well done"!

Excerpts from Bhaktivinode's Arunodaya kirtana:

Shri Gauracanda is calling,

“Wake up! Wake up, sleeping souls!

How long will you sleep

in the lap of the witch maya?”

"With every rising and setting of the sun,

a day passes and is lost.

Why do you remain idle and not serve the Lord of the heart?

This temporary life is full of various miseries.

Take shelter of the holy name as your only business.

To penetrate the darkness of ignorance and bless everyone's heart,

the holy name has risen like the shining sun"

Janmastami in Kendrapara

2008-09-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row we observed Janmastami in Kendrapara Orissa at our ISKCON nama-hatta center. It's actually more than a center it is well known in the area as the Sri Sri Radha Nikunjabihari temple. Kendrapara is a rural and traditional Orissan town. It is close to the small village of Choti, the ancestral home of Thakur Bhaktivinode. The Thakur also resided for some time in Kendrapara where he was the first headmaster of the Government High School. Bhaktivinode Thakur's original deities of Sri Sri Radha Madhava have been temporarily residing in Kendrapara for the last few years.

Radha Madhava in their new outfit on Janmastami night

One of our favorite aspects of Janmastami in Kendrapara is the traditional Oriya bhajans. Aside from the ecstatic 24 hour maha-mantra kirtana, there are other bhajans going on simultaneously (in a separate place) most of Janmastami night. Those bhajans are mostly Oriya devotional poetry, songs that due to the language barrier very few Gaudiya Vaishnavas outside of Orissa are aware of. Even though it is very rich in bhakti and rasa, Oriya Gaudiya literature is relatively unknown outside of Orissa, even amongst Bengali and Vrindavan Vaishnavas.

Navaghana Das sang a nice song from the medieval book "Mathura Mangala", by the devotee Bhakta Charan Das.

Click here to listen to the song and translation:

Janmastami bhajans in Kendrapara

The Meaning of Shivaratri

2008-08-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

Above picture is a small deity of Lord Shiva near the Tota Gopinath Temple in Puri

Dhirama Das Prabhu wrote and asked: Prabhu is it possible to know what is Shivaratri?

Our reply:

Here are a few notes from an article we plan to print in the next issue we make of Krishna Kathamrita about Lord Shiva (no date is yet fixed, it will likely be a few years away). Hari-bhakti-vilasa mentions Shivaratri as a festival observed by Vaishnavas:

==========
siva-ratri-vratam krsna-caturdasyam tu phalgune
vaisnavair api tat karyam sri-krsna-pritaye sada

On the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna (February-March), for the pleasure of Lord Sri Krishna, a vaisnava should always take a vow to fast on this day. (It is called Shivaratri, or the night of Lord Shiva.)
- Gautamiya-tantra quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa 14.187.
==========

Why devotees observe worship of Mahadeva on this day is also described in the same section:

==========
yani kanyatra lingani sthavarani carani ca
tesu samkramate devas tasyam ratrau yato harah
sivaratris tatah prokta tena sa hari-vallabha

On the night of the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of the month of Phalguna Lord Shiva enters into whatever siva-lingas are present on this earthly planet. For this reason, this day is called Shivaratri. For this reason, this day is very dear to Lord Sri Hari. - Nagara khanda of Skanda Purana quoted in Hari-bhakti-vilasa 14.200.

sri krsne vaisnavanam tu prema-bhaktir vivardhate
krsna-bhakti-rasa-sara-varsi-rudranukampaya

The loving devotion of the vaisnavas for Lord Krishna greatly increases by the mercy of Lord Shiva who distributes the essence of krsna-bhakti-rasa. - Hari-bhakti-vilasa 14.203
==========

In the beginning of the 34th chapter of Krishna Book, Srila Prabhupada describes that devotees sometimes observe Shivaratri and sometimes they don't:

==========
Once upon a time, the cowherd men of Vrindavan, headed by Nanda Maharaja, desired to go to Ambikavana to observe the Shivaratri ceremony. The rasa-lila was performed during the autumn, and after that the next big ceremony is Holi, or the Dolayatra ceremony. Between the Dolayatra ceremony and the rasa-lila ceremony there is an important ceremony called Shiva-ratri, which is especially observed by the Saivites, or devotees of Lord Shiva. Sometimes the Vaishnavas also observe this ceremony because they accept Lord Shiva as the foremost Vaishnava. But the function of Shivaratri is not observed very regularly by the bhaktas, or devotees of Krishna. Under the circumstances, Srimad Bhagavatam states that Nanda Maharaja and the other cowherd men "once upon a time desired." This means that they were not regularly observing the Shivaratri function but that once upon a time they wanted to go to Ambikavana out of curiosity.
==========

The next Shivaratri is on the 23rd of February 2009.

Hari Hari!

Das, MD

Reforming the Reformer

2008-05-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

In the following article excerpted from Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu issue number 177, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur describes Krishna consciousness as the only genuine reform process. He says that anyone who takes shelter of any other process to reform society is in need of reform themselves. -- MD

The world stands in no need of any reformer. The world has a very competent person for guiding its minutest happenings. The person who determines that there is scope for reform of the world, himself stands in need of reform. The world goes on in its own perfect way. No person can deflect it even the breadth of a hair from the course chalked out for it by providence. When we perceive any change being actually effected in the course of events of this world by the agency of any particular individual, we must know very well that the agent possesses no real power at any stage. The agent finds himself driven forward by a force belonging to a different category from himself. The course of the world does not require to be changed by the agency of any person. What is necessary is to change our outlook on this world. This was done for the contemporary generation by the mercy of Sri Chaitanya. It can only be known to recipients of his mercy. The scriptures declare that it is only necessary to listen with an open mind to the name of Krishna from the lips of a bona fide devotee. As soon as Krishna enters the listening ear, he clears up the vision of the listener so that he no longer has any ambition of ever acting the part of a reformer of any other person, because he finds that nobody is left without the very highest guidance. It is therefore his own reform, by the grace of God, whose supreme necessity and nature he is increasingly able to realize, by the eternally continuing mercy of the Supreme Lord.

-- From The Harmonist, May 1932, issue number 11. Article originally titled, "Sree Chaitanya in South India". Pages 325-326.

Comments

Krishna says we should act according to our sva-dharma. He says if we try to do someone else’s work (even if we can do better) then we are putting ourselves into danger. For us, “sva-dharma” is following guru’s instructions. If guru tells us to create a revolution, then we must. If guru tells us to be an authority and instruct others, then we must. However, if we don't have such sanction then we have no right to self-appoint ourselves as judges and jihadis against whoever we deem to be offenders. Padma Purana says if we don't act according to sastra we will simply create a disturbance. And what is the sastric injunction?

aśraddadhāne vimukhe ’py aśṛṇvati
yaś copadeśaḥ śiva-nāmāparādhaḥ

Preaching to those who don't have faith or who are reluctant to hear from you is an offense to the holy name.

Mahaprabhu taught if someone has faith in us and requests our opinion, we should speak. But if they don't have faith and don't ask, better be silent. Before Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and Prakashananda Saraswati, Mahaprabhu was quiet until they asked for his opinion. Only after they requested him, did he speak, and then he spoke like a bullet -- no compromise.

If we are conditioned souls then we are not the seers we are the seen. We cannot say who is good or bad. We should do whatever Krishna has given us to do.

If we found out that some temple presidents were stealing money, how many devotees would respect them? Now what if we discovered they were also having illicit sex with others wives? What if we found out they had killed brahmanas, had even killed cows, and broken deities and temples? Who would respect such persons?

But what if these rascals were eternal associates of the Lord, and those heinous acts were their service to the Lord? What if their names were Jaya/Vijaya-Hiranyakasipu/Hiranyaksa-Ravana/Kumbhakarna?

What about someone who supported Duryodhan and tried to kill Krishna, Arjuna and the pandavas? Could we accept him as a leader, a great devotee, a mahajana?

What if his name was Bhishmadev?

We are not the seers.

As for me, I’m not going to start distributing guns for the revolution, until Krishna or his representative appear before me and give clear instructions to do so. As for the many Don Quixote’s in this world, let them battle with their windmills; my personal role in the reform movement is doing what I’ve been instructed to do. -- MD

Sadhana and Character

2007-09-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

This morning's meditation.

It is said:

sādhu-saṅge kṛṣṇa-nāma ei mātra cāi
saṁsāra jinite āra kono vastu nāi

"Other than sadhu-sanga and the name of Krishna, nothing else is needed to cross over the ocean of birth and death."

The holy name is not dependent on anything, even sadhana. It is effective at any time and any place. It is not that it will only act if chanted a certain number of times or at a certain time of the day.

Similarly, sadhana is not an absolute requirement in getting the mercy of sadhu-guru. Mahaprabhu blessed the animals in the Jarikhanda forest, and Narada Muni blessed the hunter Mrigari. What sadhana were they doing to justify getting such mercy?

What then is the necessity of having strict daily practices in our sadhana?

What we do affects our consciousness. Similarly, our consciousness makes our character. Therefore maintaining strict daily sadhana will build our character and thereby give us qualification for getting bhakti.

As Aristotle said: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

Kirtana is Not for Our Prestige

2007-09-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

The following is a poem that we recently wrote for our Guru Maharaja's Vyasa-puja.

Kīrtana Udeśya Pratiṣṭhā Nāhi

A circus of devotion
- - - - guru-bhakti on my sleeve
Proclaiming, “I’m sat-śiṣya”
- - - -But mere costumes don’t succeed

The sun will not be revealed
- - - -by the glow of my torchlight
Krishna’s chosen son, self-effulgent and so bright
- - - -Obvious without my self-appointed jihad

Our legs and the ground, sei mata sāra
- - - -Forever-blind boy, first glimpse of a star
Your pleasure is the ointment to see
- - - -deha prema-dhana. Yours, eternally

śríla gurudeva seva-prārthī,
Madhavananda Das and Krishna Kund Dasi
===================

Some devotees have asked us about the meaning of this poem.

kīrtana udeśya pratiṣṭhā nāhi

This title is in Oriya language: "kīrtana, or glorification is not for our prestige"

A circus of devotion
- - - - guru-bhakti on my sleeve
Proclaiming, “I’m sat-śiṣya”

Displaying one’s devotion for the sake of self-prestige is distasteful. Many persons speak about how rare it is to find a bona-fide guru and simultaneously often advertise themselves as the disciple of such a guru.

However, our Guru Maharaja used to say that it is more difficult to find a bona-fide disciple than it is to find a bona-fide guru. There is a Bengali saying: guru mile lakhe lakhe śiṣya mile eka -- "There are thousands and thousands of bona-fide gurus, but it is very difficult to find even one bona-fide disciple."

But mere costumes don't succeed

Just dressing up as a disciple won't give me success. Another meaning of succeed is "successor". With that meaning, we could say, "just posing or dressing as a disciple doesn't make one a successor or inheritor of the guru's transcendental wealth.

The sun will not be revealed
by the glow of my torchlight

Krishna's representative, Sri Guru is not revealed by the sensory activities of a conditioned soul.

Krishna's chosen son, self-effulgent and so bright

Sri Guru is revealed by Krishna, through the guru's own self-effulgence.

Obvious without my self-appointed jihad

Genuine service means acting according to the instructions of guru and Krishna without adding to or subtracting from them. Receiving such an instruction, one has adhikāra or qualification to act. Krishna says in Bg. 3.35:

śreyān sva-dharmo viguṇah para-dharmāt sv-anuṣṭhitāt
sva-dharme nidhanaṁ śreyah para-dharmo bhayāvahaḥ

It is far better to act according to the order we have received, even though faultily, than to do another's duties even if perfectly. Destruction in the course of performing one's own duty is better than engaging in another's duties, for to follow another's path is dangerous.

If we take it upon ourself to reveal the position of Krishna's representative (or try to coerce others into accepting what we see as his position) we are subtly saying that we are also on a very high platform. Such self-appointed "preaching" is like that of the Islamic fundamentalists who take to terrorism in the name of defeating the "heretics", and spreading their faith. They call this "jihad", today's common meaning of which is "holy war".

Our legs and the ground, sei mata sāra

In his article entitled, "Associates of Sri Chaitanya", (printed in the magazine, Sadhu-sanga the Birthplace of Bhakti) Srila Saraswati Thakur writes:

"The cognitive faculty of the individual soul can have no ground to stand upon unless the divinity Himself condescends to be the legs as well as the ground on which he is to stand to function at all. This function of the divinity is performed by the guru."

We have no cognitive ability to perceive Krishna or guru. We have no ability to do anything spiritual without the help of Krishna. Understanding this, Krishna comes in the form of Sri Guru, who is thus both our legs and the ground. How does Sri Guru provide this function? "sei mata sāra (Cc. ādi 12.10) -- his instructions are the essence of our spiritual life.

Forever-blind boy, first glimpse of a star

Our Guru Maharaja described how all the conditioned souls in this world are blind. He said that we are not the seers, the seer is Sri Guru and our position is to be the seen. He described how this blindness or conditioned nature has been there so long the date of its origin cannot be calculated. Without the mercy of Sri Guru that blindness will never go -- in that sense it is "forever".

He often told a story about a blind boy, who, based on his limited sense perception, thinks that there is no such thing as the sun (or that he can understand the sun with his senses). We are such eternally blind persons, proud and foolish, thinking that we understand the nature of the sun, even though we are blind. However, by the mercy of Sri Guru, even such a proud blind boy, can begin to get a glimpse of the sun (a star).

Your pleasure is the ointment to see

"The ointment to see" is ecstatic love: premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.38). Pleasing the guru through faithfully serving his instructions is the way to get that ointment.

deha prema-dhana. Yours, eternally

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu prayed to Krishna, "deha prema-dhana -- please give me ecstatic love for you" (Cc. antya 20.37). Service to guru is everything. A sincere disciple's prayer is to get that service. The only payment we want for our efforts is kṛṣṇa-premā. If we obtain that prema (prema bhakti yāhā hoite, avidyā vināśa yāte) then our ignorance will go and we can truly say that we are eternally the servant of our guru (janme janme prabhu se).

śríla gurudeva seva-prārthī,

Desiring that service of Srila Gurudeva, this poem was composed.

-- Above drawing of Srila Gour Govinda Swami by Anuradha Dasi

Hide Your Guru

2006-08-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Hide Your Guru

By Madhavananda Das

The following article was something that we wrote for issue number 16 of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu.

In Hari-bhakti-vilasa, verse 2.147, Srila Sanatan Goswami quotes Sammohana-tantra:

gopayed devatam istam gopayed gurum atmanah

gopayec ca nijam mantram gopayen nija-malikam

One should hide one’s ista-deva, one should hide one’s guru, one should hide one’s mantra, and one should hide one’s japa-mala.

Wise persons keep their valuables in a confidential place. Similarly, an intelligent sadhaka does not advertise his or her guru, nor do they broadcast themselves as disciples of their guru. Considering themselves as low, fallen, and unfit to be considered disciples, sincere devotees do not want to advertise who their guru is.

Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami has illustrated the mood of a devotee and disciple:

jagai madhai haite muni se papistha
purisera kita haite muni se laghistha

I am more sinful than Jagai and Madhai and even lower than the worms in stool. (Cc. adi 5.205)

Similarly, Thakur Bhaktivinode has stated:

garhita acare, rahilama maji’,
na karinu sadhu-sanga
laye sadhu-vesa, ane upadesi,
e bada mayara ranga

Remaining absorbed in abominable activities, I never kept company with sadhus. Now I adopt the garb of a sadhu and act out the role of instructing others. This is maya’s big joke. (Saranagati 7.3)

Although Thakur Bhaktivinode had so much association with elevated vaisnavas, including his siksa-guru Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaja, he did not flaunt that. Rather, he considered that, na karinu sadhu-sanga — “I have never had association with sadhus”.

The essential principle in being a disciple is to follow the order of the guru. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami has described:

acaryera mata yei, sei mata sara
tanra ajna langhi’ cale, sei ta’ asara

The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless. (Cc. adi 12.10)

Similarly, it is stated in the Raghu-vamsa:

sa susruvan matari bhargavena
pitur niyogat prahrtam dvisad-vat
pratyagrhid agraja-sasanam tad
ajna gurunam hy avicaraniya

Being ordered by his father, Parasuram killed his mother, Renuka, just as if she were an enemy. When Lakshman, the younger brother of Lord Ramachandra, heard of this, He immediately engaged Himself in the service of His elder brother and accepted His orders. The order of the spiritual master must be obeyed without consideration. (verse 14.46, quoted in Cc. madhya 10.145)

Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode has described that there are two types of disciples, the antarmukha-sisyas and the bahirmukha-sisyas. Antarmukha literally means “inward-facing”. It refers to someone who is introspective. Bahirmukha literally means “outward-facing”, and refers to someone who is absorbed in external things.

Antarmukha-sisyas are desirous of bringing pleasure to their guru. Their focus is on following the guru’s instructions. The antarmukha-sisyas practice gopayed gurum atmanah. They keep their guru and their relationship with him confidential. An antarmukha-sisya is not interested in advertising himself as a disciple of his guru, but prefers to follow the guru’s instructions. His meditation is to try to understand what will please his guru. The antarmukha-sisya is anartha-mukta-avastha, he is free from anarthas. His vision of guru is known as sevya-darsana. He sees that guru should be served and pleased.

Bahirmukha-sisyas are disciples who practice the opposite of gopayed gurum atmanah. They are absorbed in advertising their guru and in making a show of themselves as being big or intimate disciples. Such a disciple is also known as guru-giri, or one who makes a business out of guru and one’s relationship with guru. They are not absorbed in the inner intention of guru. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur has described persons who act on such an external platform as dharmadhvajis (“religion flag-wavers”), meaning those who make a hypocritical or pretentious show of religiosity.

Following the logic of atmavan manyate jagat (everyone thinks like I do), the bahirmukha-sisyas consider that their guru thinks like they do. Because they are motivated by the desires for fame and adoration they think that their guru also wants such things. The bahirmukha-sisyas are anartha-yukta-avastha, they have anarthas, material desires, in their hearts. Because of those anarthas they only see guru in terms of their own pleasure. This vision is known as bhogya-darsana. They think that making a big show of devotion will impress their guru and enable them to come close to their guru. Their idea of guru-bhakti is to loudly proclaim to the world, amar guru jagad-guru — “My guru is the best or the only one and any other guru is lesser.” They think that such publicizing will please their guru. Neglecting or minimizing their guru’s instruction regarding the worship of Krishna, the bahirmukha-sisyas place more emphasis on worshiping their spiritual master.

In the histories of all the major religions of the world it is commonly seen that the followers prefer to worship the guru, prophet, or founder rather than follow the instructions of that prophet to worship the Lord (who is unseen and unknown to them). Srila Prabhupada addressed this topic on a morning walk in Bombay on 29 March 1974 when some devotees mentioned to him that some of the followers of Swami Narayan were chanting the name of their guru instead of Krishna’s name:

Devotee: In England they are chanting, “Swami Narayan,” not “Krishna”.

Prabhupada: Just see.

Indian man (1): No, they are also Krishna-bhaktas.
Devotee: How are they, if they are chanting Swami Narayan’s name?

Indian man (1): They actually work for the Krishna only, and they...

Prabhupada: No, no. Krishna recommends sastra, harer nama, harer nama, harer namaiva kevalam. So why they should chant “Swami Narayan”? ... In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, satatam kirtayanto mam — Krishna. Why should one chant any other name? Krishna says satatam kirtayanto mam. Hare Krishna. Not any other name.... But they are chanting “Swami Narayan.” They’re saying Swami Narayan is better than Krishna. What kind of preaching is this? ... This is nonsense. People will go to the temple and the preacher will say that Swami Narayan’s name should be chanted....

Indian man (2): Swami is their guru and Narayan is God, so both, Prabhupada and Krishna, Prabhupada and Krishna, Prabhupada Krishna...

Prabhupada: But that does not mean they should chant [like that]. Just like, we are not instructing our disciples to chant my name, “Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Swami.” No. They’re chanting Hare Krishna. hari-tvena samasta-sastrair uktah — “Guru is respected as good as Krishna.” But that does not mean I shall teach them to go and chant my name, “Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhaktivedanta Swami.” What is this? We are teaching, “Chant Hare Krishna.” Harer nama, harer nama...

— Srila Prabhupada morning walk, 29 March 1974, Bombay.

Although the antarmukha-sisyas, who follow the instructions of guru, get the full blessings of guru, the bahirmukha-sisyas do not get the proper result. In this connection Srila Jagadananda Pandit has written:

gorara ami gorara ami mukhe balile na cale
torara acara gorara vicara laile phala phale

It is not enough to repeatedly advertise that one is a devotee of Mahaprabhu by saying, “I am Gaura’s! I am Gaura’s!” Rather, those who follow the practices taught by Mahaprabhu are understood to get the results of being the Lord’s follower. — Prema-vivarta 8.6

Sometimes we see that bona fide spiritual masters allow themselves to be advertised in order to preach. However, this is done in service to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Such personalities are not materially desirous of receiving prestige from their disciples. The daksina, gift, that the guru wants is jnana-sandesah — the sincere search for spiritual knowledge (Bhag. 11.19.39).

As the ideal guru, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has taught us how to please the spiritual master. Mahaprabhu instructed His followers:

yadi ama prati sneha thake sabakara
tabe Krishna-vyatirikta na gaibe ara

If you really love me, then you should love My instructions: Don’t think of anything but Krishna. Don’t utter any name but Krishna. (Caitanya-bhagavat madhya 8.27)

Understanding that his spiritual master is always with Krishna, the antarmukha-sisya knows that by chanting Krishna’s name he will come closer to his guru. In the Vamana-kalpa, Lord Brahma explains:

yo mantrah sa guruh saksad yo guruh sa harih svayam

One should understand that the mantra one has received from the guru is identical with the guru and that the guru is identical with Lord Hari. (cited in Srila Jiva Goswami’s Bhakti-sandarbha, anuccheda 237.8)

Srila Rupa Goswami has described:

atha guroh sri-pada-dvandva-bhaktim

The holy name gives devotion to the guru. (Padyavali text 24)

Historically, the sadhu-samaja, the society of saintly vaisnavas, has never been impressed with mere external shows of devotion. They are moved, however, when they see the genuine vaisnava humility and other good qualities that have manifest in a devotee due to that devotee’s dedication to the instructions and bhajan given by guru (guru-nistha). Hence, introspective devotees prefer to keep their guru hidden and glorify him by exhibiting exemplary behavior.

For some devotees, pushing their guru is an easy way to avoid facing the reality of their own lack of advancement. They want respect, and they think it is easier for them to get it by broadcasting themselves as a disciple of a great personality than for themselves to manifest the qualities of a vaisnava. However, this kind of cheating mentality will never attract the attention of saintly persons. They are not impressed with whom we have taken initiation or instructions from. Rather, they want to see what is our own level of realization.

Since such neophytes equate the showing of respect to themselves with the showing of respect to their guru, when they become chastised or fail to receive the honor and recognition they want, they accuse the devotees, “You have offended my guru!” In this way, Kali, the personification of this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, is able to enter the movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and cause dissension, distracting them from their real business of chanting and distributing the holy names.

So Srila Sanatan Goswami’s instruction gopayed gurum atmanah — “One should hide one’s guru” — is advising devotees to go deeper in their relationship with guru by basing that relationship on following the instructions about service and bhajan that their guru has given.

Bitches Always Bark and Witches Always Howl

2006-07-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

It's been several months since I posted any blogs. I intend to start doing so regularly again. Beginning with the following poem that I wrote for a friend recently who has been having troubles with some critics at their office. I thought some of you might also like it.

Bitches always bark,

and vicious witches always howl.

Donkeys always chew the chewed,

and never think of how.

How they came to be,

and who they are,

and what's the meaning of it all.

Our life is meant for contemplation,

something higher and profound.

Pleasure can be had by all,

men, women, birds, and beasts.

What distinguishes the humans

is potentiality for peace.

Animals will always fight

backbite n seek limelight:

"BIG DOG ON THE BLOCK".

A wise person, like the Moon

is steady n illuminating.

Not like flashy shooting stars

that come and go so fast.

Don't pay heed to barking dogs

vicious witches and the like.

Let your short life's caravan go on,

live life for yourself my friend

-- and don't ever compromise.

Addendum to "The Housewive's Lament"

2006-01-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

Krishnarati Dasi in North Carolina sent us the following Krishna conscious addition to the Housewives Lament:

One day I was walking
I heard a rejoicing
I saw a happy woman
The picture of bliss.
In her hands were some beads
and these were her words
So fortunately I didn't miss:

"O life was a toil,
And love was a trouble
Beauty did fade and riches did flee
But when Krishna appeared
He burst maya's bubbles
And now everything's sweeter
Than I could wish it to be!"

(Apologies for that not-quite right-rhyming!)

The Housewife's Lament

2006-01-29T05:03:00.000-08:00

Mahashakti just sent us this. This material world is definitely not a very nice place.

The Housewife's Lament

by Vera Johnson

1. One day I was walking,
I heard a complaining,
I saw a poor woman
The picture of gloom.
She gazed at the mud
On her doorstep ('twas raining),
And this was her song
As she wielded her broom:

/Chorus:
/"O life is a toil,
And love is a trouble,
Beauty will fade
And riches will flee,
Wages will dwindle
And prices will double
And nothing is as I
Would wish it to be."

2. "There's too much of worriment
Goes to a bonnet,
There's too much of ironing
Goes to a shirt.
There's nothing that pays for
The time you waste on it,
There's nothing that lasts us
But trouble and dirt.
/Chorus:/

3. "In March it is mud,
It's slush in December,
The midsummer breezes
Are loaded with dust.
In fall the leaves litter,
In muddy September
The wallpaper rots
And the candlesticks rust.
/Chorus:/

4. "There are worms on the cherries
And slugs on the roses,
And ants in the sugar
And mice in the pies.
The rubbish of spiders
No mortal supposes,
And ravaging roaches
And damaging flies.
/Chorus:/

5. "It's sweeping at six
And i's dusting at seven,
It's victuals at eight
And it's dishes at nine.
It's potting and panning
From ten to eleven.
We scarce break our fast
Till we plan how to dine.
/Chorus:/

6. "With grease and with grime
From corner to centre,
Forever at war
And forever alert.
No rest for a day
Lest the enemy enter,
I spend my whole life
In the struggle with dirt.
/Chorus:/

7. "Last night in my dreams
I was stationed forever,
On a far distant rock
In the midst of the sea.
My one task of life
Was a ceaseless endeavor,
To brush off the waves
As they swept over me.
/Chorus:/

8. "Alas! 'Twas no dream -
Ahead I behold it,
I see I am helpless
My fate to avert!"
She lay down her broom,
Her apron she folded.
She lay down and died
And was buried in dirt.
/Chorus:/
PHOTO CREDITS
Picture one: Advertisement For Jeye's Disinfectants.
From the British Library
Medium; Print on paper
Genre; Leaflet
Printer; Unknown, British
Circa 1870

Picture two: Advertisment for Goddard's Cleaning Materials
From the British Library
Medium; Print on paper
Genre; Leaflet
Printer; Unknown, British
Circa 1800s

Picture three: Women pounding and cleaning rice in Madras
From the British Library
Photographer; Nicholas and Curths
Circa 1870

The False Sannyasi

2006-01-12T01:51:00.000-08:00

This is an excerpt from Bindu 116. The picture is from an old Bengali version of Ramacarita Manas.

Rev. A. G. Atkins

Mr. A. G. Atkins was a Britisher and a Christian missionary who first came to India sometime before 1916. In order to meet the language study requirements of a missionary he began to read the Hindi version of Ramayana composed by the poet Tulsidas. He quickly became attracted to the story and devotional spirit of the story of Lord Rama and began a careful study of the book that continued for over twenty years. In 1941, on the suggestion of a friend, he began to translate it into English verse. He spent 12 years working on his poetic translation and finally saw the book published by the Hindustan Times in June of 1953. The following is an excerpt from book III, chapter 13.

Now, when Ravan saw that his way had been cleared,
He in hermit’s guise there before Sita appeared;

He who kept gods and demons in such total fright,
That they ate not by day and could not sleep at night,

Himself now afraid, like a dog that is seeking
To steal, looking all ways, came furtively sneaking;

His feet set in evil ways, counting no cost,
Ev’ry trace of strength, wisdom and glory now lost,

He told stories to Sita of customs and laws,
Giving kindly ways, threat'nings and love as his cause;

She replied, “Tho’ in guise of the saintly you speak,
“Full of evil and wrong are the things that you seek.”

Then his true name and form demon Ravan displayed;
Sita, seeing and hearing, was deathly afraid;

She replied, as she rallied her courage and will,
“Wretch! My husband is coming! Stand off and stand still!

“You are doomed, demon ruler; you’re now well-nigh dead,
“Like a rabbit that would with a lioness wed.”

At these words shame and wrath moved him more than before,
At heart feeling, “Here’s one to enjoy and adore!”

Then he seized Sita roughly and angrily, and in
His chariot waiting there placed her;

Altho’ from his trembling he scarcely could drive,
Thro’ the air to his dwelling he raced her. ·

— Pages 885-6. The Ramayana of Tulsidas. Published by Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva-sansthan. Mathura, India. 1987.

New Blog on Gopaljiu Publications News

2006-01-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

Check it out:

http://gopaljiunews.blogspot.com/

Jaya Gopal!

2006-01-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

kasturI-tilakaM lalATa-paTale vakSaH-sthale kaustubham
nAsAgre vara-mauktikaM kara-tale veNuH kare kaGkaNam
sarvAGge hari-candanaM su-lalitaM kaNThe ca muktAvalI
gopa-strI-pariveSTito vijayate gopAla-cUDA-maNiH

All glories to the crest jewel of cowherd boys known as Gopal, who has a musk tilaka-mark on his forehead, the kaustubha jewel on his chest, a graceful pearl on the tip of his nose, a flute in His hand, a bracelet on his wrist, graceful sandalwood paste on all of his limbs, a necklace of pearls on his neck, and who is surrounded by a host of gopis.
-- Sri-gopal-sahasra-nama, text 28

Srila Gour Govinda Swami's 2006 Mayapur Disappearance Festival

2006-01-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Check it out:

http://sggsm.blogspot.com/

Bhubaneswar Parikrama

2006-01-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

Click on this link:
http://gopaljiuparikramas.blogspot.com/2006/01/misc-bhubaneswar-2005.html

Gopaljiu Parikramas

2006-01-03T19:33:00.000-08:00

Our new blog site. We are just starting but I've posted a few things. We intend to update this site with pics and explanations of our research on different tirthas and places in India. Check it out:
http://gopaljiuparikramas.blogspot.com/

A few photos from our ashram

2006-01-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

Left side: Seshadevaji, who cooks, manages our book stock and plays ecstatic mrdanga in our bhajans and kirtans. Right side: Pradoshji, who manages our Indian book sales, translates and helps with research. Center: Madhavananda Das who eats and sleeps a lot.

Here is Pradoshji standing next to some of our books and the cabinet of Guru Maharaja's lecture tapes. We have nearly 3,000 tapes.

Ramananda Ray's Pen

2006-01-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

This is the original (more than 500 years old) pen of Mahaprabhu's associate, Srila Ramananda Ray. We took the photo in his ancestral home near Jagannath Puri. It’s not an ink pen -- this is what they used for writing on palm leaves.

Serving Guests

2006-01-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

In Sanskrit the word, "tithi" means one lunar day. It indicates time. An unanticipated guest who comes to one's home is called "atithi", or someone who is unexpected. Vedic culture teaches that the householders should serve such visitors with whatever means they have.

One of my greatest sources of happiness is serving guests who come to our Gopaljiu Publications ashram. Over the years many sadhus, sannyasis, scholars and illustrious personalities have come to visit us and our library. We try to feed them as best we can, pick them up from the airport or train station, help them make arrangements with their travel tickets, take them on parikrama, find rare books for them etc, etc, etc. The atithi is our great friend and worshipable guru. Sastra says:

gurur-agnir-dvijAtInAM varNAnAM brAhmaNo guruH
patireva guruH strINAM sarvasyAbhyAgato guru

The sacred fire is the guru for the twice born and the brahmanas are the guru for all varnas. The husband is the only guru for the wife and the unexpected guest is guru for all. -- Brahma Purana 80.47, quoted in Canakya Niti text 47

apavAdI haret pApam-atithiH svarga-saGkramaH
abhyAgataM pathi ZrAntaM sAvajJaM yo ‘bhivIkSate

The guest and the critic are the two real kinsmen of the entire universe. The critic dispels sins and the guest bestows heaven. -- Brahma Purana 163.20

There is much that could be said about these two verses. Unfortunately, I have a heavy deadline if we are going to make out next mag on time (it looks like me might not even make it). Later, if there is time I’ll try to write something. As far as the critic dispelling sin, we compiled a number of verses on that topic which we published in an article in Bindu no. 92.

Below are a few photos of some of the guests who have kindly graced us with their association.

Madhavananda Das on the left front with HH Radhanath Swami and his followers in Brahmagiri Orissa. In this shot we are just walking away from the chandan pukur, that Srila Saraswati Thakur said was non-different from Radha Kund.

Yasodananda Das Babaji is a learned scholar and mahunt in an ashram in Athagarh Orissa, where our Guru Maharaja once taught school. He sometimes comes to bless us with his sanga.

HH Rasananda Swami visits our ashram. Left to right: Bhaktarupa Prabhu, HH Rasananda Swami who preaches in Brazil, Madhavananda Das and Bhakta Pradosh

Here is Prabhupada's disciple Sarvadrik Prabhu and his good wife. They were visiting from the USA.

This is Srila Prabhupada's disciple Pradyumna Prabhu. He stayed with us for a few days. Pradyumna was Srila Prabhupada's Sanskrit editor. Prabhupada used to call him "panditji".

This is Radha the calf and her mother in the background. She came to our ashram everyday (several times a day) for many months to get goodies. She is very fond of capatis with ghur.

Nandagram at Sunset

2006-01-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

Bhurijan Prabhu just sent us this wonderful picture along with the following text:

Srila Narottam Das Thakur prays in in Prema Bhakti Candrika as follows:

gobinda gokulacandra parama ananda-kanda
paribara-gopa-gopi sange
nandiswara jara dhama giridhari janra nama
sakhi-sange tare bhaja range

Sri Govinda, the moonlike personality of Gokula, the lifter of Govardhana Hill, the reservoir of all transcendental happiness is accompanied by the gopalas and the gopis and is living in Nandagram. Serve Him happily in association with the sakhis.

Jaya Sri Radhey!

2005-12-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

Mother Kirtida shows baby Radha a picture of Krishna

Picture by an unknown artist. This is something I came across in Vrindavan this last kartika time. If you don't know it already, Radharani is the feminine aspect of God and Krishna's eternal consort. Below is a lecture our Guru Maharaja gave on her appearance day in 1995 in Gadeigiri Orissa. It appeared in issue 110 of our KK Bindu mag.

The Appearance of
Srimati Radharani

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

The Brahma-vaivarta Purana describes that once, in the transcendental abode of Vrindavan, Krishnachandra was sitting on a golden throne under a madhavi creeper. He was thinking of how to further relish the nectarean mellows of his pastimes. Due to this thought, by his mere will, Srimati Radharani appeared from the left side of his body. Radharani’s form was the color of molten gold and was decorated with various ornaments. On her braid was a flower bouquet; on her breast a garland of pearls (mukta mala); and around her waist hung an ornamented belt (mekhala). Beautiful golden earrings adorned her ears, and the anklets (nupura) on her feet produced a tinkling sound.

Radha is the enchanter of Madhava — radha-madhava-mohini. In the rasa dance she gave so much pleasure to him, but still she considered how to give him even more pleasure. As soon as she desired this, immediately innumerable gopis, all looking like Srimati, immediately expanded from her body.

In the Padma Purana, uttara-khanda, Shivaji told Parvati about the appearance of Radha: “Vrishabhanu Maharaja was a great devotee of the Lord. His chaste and devoted wife was named Kirtida. It is from her womb that jagan-mata, the mother of the whole world, Sri Radha, took birth. This auspicious appearance of Brajeswari occurred at noon on the eighth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadrava. Seeing that such a beautiful daughter was born to the king, all the gopa families of Gokul became very joyful. Everyone’s desires were fulfilled. King Vrishabhanu gave immense charity to the brahmanas, vaisnavas, musicians, dancers and poor men.

Sri Sri Radha Gopaljiu in Gadeigiri

“One day, Narada Muni came to the quarters of King Vrishabhanu to have darsana of Radharani. The sage inquired about his and the kingdom’s welfare. In a humble mood, the king replied, ‘Because of your mercy, everything is auspicious. You are such a great sadhu. Wherever you go becomes a tirtha. By your grace, everyone can get hari-bhakti.’

“Saying this, Vrishabhanu Maharaja placed his daughter, whose eyes were still closed, on the lap of Narada Muni. By the touch of Radharani, the sage became ecstatic, the hairs on his body stood on end, and tears like torrential rain flowed from his eyes. In his heart, Narada Muni began to offer prayers to the little girl.

“’You are hari-priya, dear to Lord Hari; mahabhava-svarupa, the personification of the highest love; govinda-mohini, the enchanter of Govinda; krsna-prana-rupa, the life and soul of Krishna; ananda-svarupa, the very embodiment of bliss. You are bhakti and tapa. All of the demigods headed by Brahma and Shiva meditate on your lotus feet. All of Krishna’s consorts such as the gopis, the queens in Dwarka, and even Mahalakshmi are plenary portions of you. Throughout the universe you are known as adi-sakti, the original potency.’

“Hearing the prayers of Narada Muni, Radharani mercifully showed her form to him. The muni beheld a vision of Radhika seated upon a throne studded with divine gems, under the shade of a wish-fulfilling tree. Innumerable sakhis, some fanning her, some waving camaras, and others holding a white umbrella over her head, surrounded her. Brajeswari’s body was covered with beautiful transcendental garments. Her forehead was decorated with designs drawn with sindhura and a glow emanated from her body. By her mercy, Radharani revealed this beautiful form to Narada Muni, and he alone could see it.

“All the while, Radhika, in the form of a baby, was lying on the lap of Narada Muni. Narada Muni returned the child to her father, seated with his queen before the great rsi. The sage said, ‘You are most fortunate, maha-bhagyavan, because you have such a wonderful daughter. Kamala, Parvati, Arundhati, Sachi, Satyabhama — are all just plenary portions or portions of plenary portions of Radharani. No one is as dear to Lord Hari as she. Because of your daughter, all of Gokul will be filled with opulence. Do not feel sorry that you have a girl. Because of her, your glory will spread far and wide.’

Srila Gour Govinda Swami's
palm leaf Oriya Bhagavatam

“With folded hands, King Vrishabhanu asked, ‘Who will be her husband?’ The great sage replied, ‘She will be the wife of the supreme purusa. And in the course of time her eyes will open.’ Saying this, Narada Muni left.”

After hearing this account, Parvati inquired of Shivaji, “Why were Radharani’s eyes not open?”

Shivaji said: “O Devi, this is another wonderful story. When Lord Hari wanted to descend to this material world, he called Radha and said, ‘You, too, will take birth there with me. We will manifest wonderful lilas together.’

“Then Radha said, ‘O my dear lotus-eyed Hari, if I take birth in the material world I will be so distressed. How can I bear to see other men? I only want to see you. I refuse to look upon the form of another.’

“Krishna said, ‘O Devi, please do not feel such anxiety. Your desire will be fulfilled.’

Srila Prabhupada and disciples walk in Mayapur
Srila Gour Govinda Swami is just behind Prabhupada

“Lord Hari took birth as the son of Nanda Maharaja in order to protect the sadhus – sadhu raksa kare. Radha took birth from the womb of Kirtida as the daughter of Vrishabhanu.

“Because of the birth of the divine couple, the whole universe became exuberant. But Radha’s eyes were not open. Seeing this, Kirtida Maharani was alarmed.”

Parvati then inquired, “Please tell me how Radharani opened her eyes.”

Shivaji said, “I will tell you. Simply by hearing this account one receives transcendental happiness.

“King Vrishabhanu held a great festival on the auspicious occasion of his daughter’s birth. He invited all the cowherd men and women, extending a special invitation to Nanda Maharaja and Yashodarani. Nanda Maharaja and his wife arrived at the palace of King Vrishabhanu by bullock cart.

Srila Gour Govinda Swami at
Gopal's temple in Gadeigiri Orissa

“Maharaja Vrishabhanu welcomed Nanda Maharaja, embracing him. Kirtida welcomed Yasoda-mata, embracing her.

“The magnificent festival continued; all different kinds of instruments were played — kettle-drums, bugles, violins, vina, etc. Meanwhile, in the inner quarters of the palace, Sri Radha was sleeping in her cradle. Lord Hari, who is the antaryami, supersoul in the hearts of all living entities knew this.

“Unnoticed by anyone, baby Krishna went to Radharani. Seeing the face of his consort, KrishnaKrishna, she immediately opened her eyes and saw his face. They had eye to eye union, Radha and Krishna. Both of them were very, very blissful. smiled, laughing in his mind. Then, he put his lotus palm over her eyes. As soon as she felt the touch of

“At that time, Kirtida came there and saw what had happened. Taking the baby girl onto her lap, she happily exclaimed, ‘Krishna gave eyes to Radha. Therefore this girl will be very dear to Krishna.’ Hearing this, Mother Yasoda’s heart was filled with joy.”

This is the inconceivable lila of Krishna. By the mercy of Hari and guru it is described in Brahma-vaivarta Purana and Padma Purana.

Srimati radharani ki jaya!
Kana-mana-mohini radharani ki jaya!
Vrndavana-vilasini radharani ki jaya!
Asta-sakhi-siromani radharani ki jaya!
Vrsabhanu nandini srimati radharani ki jaya!

Ethics and Devotion (Long article)

2005-12-31T09:16:00.000-08:00

Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode
in his magistrate dress

Ethics & Devotion

By Madhavananda Das

Below is a lecture we gave about the teachings of Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode (pictured above) before The National Seminar on Values and Ethics in Business, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, on April 20, 2000. It later appeared (in the below edited form) in the May/June 2001 issue of Back To Godhead magazine

BEFORE COMING here today I was considering how it is that a group of professors and professional businessmen would invite a shaven-headed renunciant dressed in simple dhoti and kurta, with no money of his own and no business experience, to be the chairman of the first session of this seminar. Why would you spend your valuable time unless there was some practical and profitable reason? You must be considering that the spiritual conception of ethics has practical value in today’s business world. Here we’ll discuss the spiritual conception of ethics from a most practical perspective, as presented by the famous son of Orissa Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur.

Bhaktivinode Thakur (1838–1914) was the great theologian who first presented the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in a modern context. His pioneering efforts have manifested today as the Hare Krishna movement, which is being spread worldwide by ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In a discussion on ethics it is significant to analyze the work of ISKCON. The cultural and philosophical teachings of ISKCON have inspired millions of people all over the world to reject immoral behavior and embrace a saintly way of life.

Ethical Systems

The term ethics refers to the systems of moral behavior accepted by individuals or groups. Different mature individuals will have different conceptions of what kinds of behavior are right and what kinds are wrong. Such conceptions of right and wrong define different ethical systems. As leaders of society we need to know which ethical systems are valuable in a progressive society and which are not, and those which are valuable should be promoted. Bhaktivinode Thakur has offered a scientific conception of ethics and morality based on the Vedic literature, which states that a truly progressive society is one that discourages its members from exploiting others.

Societies that adopt ethical systems based on materialistic conceptions cannot be progressive because they cannot be free of exploitation. To establish this, Bhaktivinode has described four categories of materialists:

(1) Those who have no ethics and no faith in God: immoral materialists.

(2) Those with ethics but no faith in God: non-theistic moralists.

(3) Those with ethics based on faith in God, but who give more importance to morality than they do to God: theistic moralists.

(4) Those who engage in immoral behavior while posing as theists: pretenders.

Immoral Materialists

Those who follow no ethical system are the lowest of human beings. They are the primitive peoples and the hedonistic modern man. Indeed, such human beings are on the same level as animals. Bhaktivinode describes the attitude of the hedonists: “They consider that this variegated universe is simply a chance combination of atoms and molecules with no creator. Any belief in God or the soul is simply blind faith and gross superstition. As we only live once, a person should try to enjoy as much as possible.”

With his far-seeing vision, Bhaktivinode Thakur perfectly described the popular idea embraced by many today that life is simply a chance combination of chemicals with no intrinsic purpose. With such a conception there is no particular need to honor or respect others. Is it any wonder that a great ethical crisis has risen and sprouted into an increase of violent crimes and corruption?

Non-Theistic Materialists

Next, Bhaktivinode describes that higher than the immoral materialists are the non-theistic moralists who accept some ethical system but are not concerned with God. Describing the view of the non-theistic moralists, he has written:

Being more intelligent, the moralist can easily defeat the immoral materialist. He says: “Oh brother, I respect what you say but I cannot accept your self-motivated actions. They are not at all good. You are seeking out happiness in life, but without morals how can there be happiness? Do not think that your life is everything! Consider society as well. Rules which can increase the happiness of the human being in society are advisable. That is called morality. Gaining happiness through morality makes man superior to animals. It is necessary for man to accept individual suffering where it will give happiness to society. That is called selfless morality, and it is the only path for man. You must cultivate all the positive sentiments such as love, friendship and compassion in order to increase the over-all happiness of society. By doing this, violence, hatred and other evil tendencies will not be able to contaminate the heart. Universal love is universal happiness. Take up ways of increasing this happiness.” Positivists such as Compte and Mill, Socialists such as Herbert Spencer, as well as lay Buddhists and Atheists firmly believe this philosophy.

The non-theistic moralists are superior to the immoral materialists, but they are still selfishly motivated. Although they follow the ethical and moral rules of society, they do so to avoid public censure, imprisonment, or execution. A businessman may adopt ethical principles just to ensure plentiful customers, or a politician may accept ethical principles to attract followers. This is a more intelligent position than that of the immoral materialist, as there is concern for long-term enjoyment rather than just immediate gratification. However, since there is still an underlying selfishness, a non-theistic moralist is likely to exploit others as soon as he or she thinks there will be no adverse reaction.

Included in this category are the mundane philanthropists who engage in work for the physical, mental, or emotional well-being of others. Because they are unable to appreciate the objects of their compassion as anything more than dull chemicals, the “good deeds” of such “selfless” moral materialists are invariably motivated for their own enjoyment, either subtle or gross. In actuality their “selflessness” is only a facade, for their actions are motivated by the desire to have the satisfaction of thinking of themselves as, or being well known as, greatly pious persons.

The Scorpion And The Camel

The ethics of the non-theistic moralists are compared to those of the scorpion who once requested a favor from a camel. The scorpion wanted to cross a deep river but could not find any way to do so. Seeing a camel nearby, the scorpion approached him and asked the camel to carry him across. The camel refused, saying, “You will sting me.”

“No, no. I am an ethical scorpion. I promise I won’t sting you.”

The camel agreed and, taking the scorpion on his hump, began crossing the river. Halfway across, the scorpion suddenly stung the camel.

“Why did you do that?” the camel asked. “Now we will both die.”

“What can I say?” the scorpion replied. “It’s my nature.”

Similarly, although the non-theistic moralists try to live an ethical life, because their concept of the meaning of life is limited to dull matter any ethical behavior they adopt is selfishly motivated and quickly discarded.

Although they speak about universal love and brotherhood, the non-theistic moralists, like their immoral brothers, are unable to appreciate others as anything more than dull matter. Their perception is limited to the external body, and the relationships they form with others are similarly skin-deep — shallow, short-lived, and ultimately prone towards exploitation. Since they identify themselves as temporary matter, there is no reason for them to perform truly selfless acts. The best social message the non-theistic moralists can offer is, “You are just a bag of chemicals and molecules that somehow just appeared and has no intrinsic meaning. Other persons are also only bags of chemicals and molecules—but you should be nice to them.”

The natural reply will be, “Why should I be nice?”

“Because it’s the good thing to do, and if you don’t you’ll go to jail.”

Since the basic motivation of the ethical behavior of atheists is to avoid public censure, is it any surprise that as soon as they think they have an opportunity to gain some illicit advantage without getting caught they will do so?

Theism

More fixed in ethical conduct and hence superior to the non-theistic moralist is the theist. The theist is dissatisfied with the mechanistic concept of life offered by the non-theist. Bhaktivinode describes the thinking of the theist as follows:

If consciousness arises by some special process through combination of atoms, there should be some evidence of this somewhere in the universe. There should be some example of this in human history. Man is produced from the womb of a mother. Nowhere is any other process observed. In spite of the growth of material science, nothing otherwise has yet been observed. Someone may argue that man has arisen by a chance combination of matter, and later man has adopted this particular process of birth from the womb. However, the succeeding events should be similar to the first event. Even now we should observe at least a few conscious entities arising by chance combination of matter. Therefore it can only be logically concluded that the first mother and father must have arisen from the supreme consciousness.

When the materialist becomes dissatisfied with the mechanistic idea that consciousness is simply a chance combination of chemicals, and thereby concludes that life must be something anti-material or spiritual, he comes to the platform of theism.

Bhaktivinode points out many ways in which belief in God contributes to moral conduct:

(1) Even is someone has a strong sense of moral values, still the senses are often so strong that even great moralists are defeated. If the opportunity arises to enjoy immorally in secret, belief in God will act as a preventative measure. God can see what man cannot. One who thinks like that will be unable to secretly perform acts contrary to morality.

(2) Everyone will accept that faith in God produces a greater tendency to perform pious acts than morality alone.

(3) If God exists, then by faith in Him so much is gained. If He does not exist, believing in Him is harmless. On the other hand, if God does exist, to not have faith in Him is harmful.

(4) By belief in God, the tendency toward righteousness grows quickly in the mind.

(5) By faith in God, compassion and tolerance become stronger.

(6) By belief in God, one is more eager to perform selfless action.

(7) By belief in God, acceptance of afterlife arises, and man cannot be disappointed by any event in life.

Morality More Important

Bhaktivinode states that among the theists, most are materialistic. He describes a group called the theistic moralists who worship God with some degree of faith, but who give more importance to their conception of morality than they do to God. Some of them believe there is no harm in imagining a God, worshiping him with faith, and then abandoning that worship when good conduct is achieved. Others believe that by performing worship of the Lord and acting ethically, the Lord will be pleased and will grant one’s material desires.

Either subtly or grossly, the worship of the theistic moralists is selfishly motivated. Although they consider themselves worshipers of God, they are not much interested in God’s form, personality, activities, or desires, but instead are interested only in what they can gain through worshiping Him.

Bhaktivinode compares the relationship between the theistic moralists and God to the temporary meeting of travelers at an inn. When morning comes and the travelers leave for their separate destinations, the relationship is forgotten. Theistic moralists worship the Lord not out of devotion but simply because they think it to be the proper thing to do, which will result in their happiness.

Being motivated in this way, materialistic theistic moralists are still in the realm of selfishness. Although they conceive of their ethical behavior as being harmless to others, because they are not on the platform of spiritual vision they are unable to maintain impartial dealings and will inevitably fall prey to exploiting others.

In describing different types of activities aimed at human welfare, Bhaktivinode has stated in his Sajjana Toshani magazine: “Showing kindness to the soul is the best welfare work of all. By such kindness one attempts to save a person from all worldly sufferings by giving him devotion to Lord Krishna.”

Because the theistic moralists are not functioning on the spiritual platform, their ethical systems will never be able to alleviate all the worldly sufferings of the living entities; hence they are unable to completely serve society. They will always fall prey to narrow biases based on bodily, social, or religious differences. In actuality, their relationship with others is much like their relationship with God: as superficial as travelers meeting at an inn.

Although there is some partial social benefit from the ethics of the theistic moralists, because there is no spiritual bliss in the mechanical worship they perform there is every chance that they will either give up their theism or else adopt the ways of the cheating pretender.

Pretenders

The next class are those who engage in immoral behavior while posing as theists. Bhaktivinode has described them as pretenders. He says:

Although the pretenders do not accept the eternal nature of devotion, they wear the dress and markings of a believer. They have their own motives, which any honest person would decry. Cheating everyone, they pave the way for a world of sin. Undiscerning people, allured by their external appearance, take up the same path and end up rejecting God. They may have beautiful tilaka, devotional dress, chant the name of Krishna, appear detached from the world, and give attractive speeches, but secretly they harbor desire for wealth and women. Many such persons exist.

Bhaktivinode has compared such pretenders to the cat and the crane. Once some mice came and said, “Have you heard the news? The cat has become a saint. He is now wearing tilaka and neck beads. He is chanting and has become a vegetarian.” Thinking in this way, the mice gave up their fear of the cat. But when the mice started to come nearby, the cat gave up his pretense and pounced on them.

Similarly, the crane stands motionless on one foot for hours at a time, and thus looks like a great yogi. His real motivation, though, is to catch fish. As soon as a fish comes near, he abandons his saintly demeanor and gobbles it up.

Bhaktivinode has said, “There is no worse association in the world than such pretenders. It is better to associate with immoral atheists than to associate with them. … Only if one gives up the association of crooked hypocrites can he honestly engage in devotional service. Honest worship is the only way to attain Krishna's mercy.”

By presenting themselves as saintly and concerned for others, the pretenders sometimes gain positions of trust and responsibility in even spiritually-minded societies. But because their real motivation is to exploit others to satisfy their own subtle or gross pleasures, they are the worst enemies of society.

The Devotees

Devotees who are situated on the platform of pure love of God see their beloved Lord everywhere and see everything, moving and non-moving, in connection with God. From such a platform, to offer respect to all living entities regardless of material bodily designations is quite natural and genuine, and thus on this platform alone can one be free from the propensity to exploit others.

The Bhagavata Purana explains that even though one may follow religious ethics for some time, without genuine devotion to the Lord the subtle desires in the heart, which are the roots of immoral tendencies, are not destroyed and will rise again. Only pure devotion can remove all immoral tendencies. This is described in the Bhagavata:

kecit kevalayA bhaktyA vAsudeva-parAyaNAH aghaM dhunvanti kArtsnyena nIhAram iva bhAskaraH

“Only a rare person who has adopted complete, unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Lord Vasudeva, Krishna, can uproot the weeds of sinful actions with no possibility that they will revive. He can do this simply by discharging devotional service, just as the sun can immediately dissipate fog by its rays.”

Moral Behavior?

One problem arises in our discussion of morality. Sometimes, understanding the moral behavior of devotees is difficult. A good example is the activities of Krishna's most exalted devotees, the gopis of Vrindavan, who would leave their homes and husbands in the middle of the night to meet with Krishna. To accept such behavior as saintly is difficult for many persons. On several occasions Srila Prabhupada described the apparent contradiction between morality and the behavior of the gopis:

Any activities that are spiritual are all-good, and any activities that are material are all-bad. This is the difference between spiritual and material. The so-called morality and goodness of the material world is bad, but in the spiritual world even so-called immorality is good. This we must understand. For example, to dance with the wives of others at the dead of night is immoral, at least according to the Vedic civilization. Even today in India, a young woman will never be allowed to go to a young man at the dead of night to dance with him. But we find in Srimad Bhagavatam that as soon as the gopis, the young cowherd girls of Vrindavan, heard Krishna's flute, they immediately came to dance with Him. Now according to material conceptions this is immoral, but from the spiritual point of view this is in accord with the greatest morality. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu therefore said, ramyA kAcid upAsanA vraja-vadhU-vargeNa yA kal-pitA: “There is no better mode of worship than that which was conceived by the vraja-vadhus, the damsels of Vrindavan.”

The gopis superficially seem to transgress the codes of mundane morality. This perpetually puzzles mundane moralists. … The reason the Lord displays the rasa-lila is essentially to induce all the fallen souls to give up their diseased morality and religiosity, and to attract them to the kingdom of God to enjoy the reality. A person who actually understands what the rasa-lila is will certainly hate to indulge in mundane sex life. For the realized soul, hearing the Lord’s rasa-lila through the proper channel will result in complete abstinence from material sexual pleasure.

Our standard of morality and immorality is to see whether Krishna is satisfied. If Krishna is satisfied, then it is morality. If Krishna is dissatisfied, then it is immoral.

Conclusion

According to Bhaktivinode, the best ethical system is that which is based on the awareness that all others are part of the Supreme Lord and meant to give pleasure to Him alone. Any system that gives prominence to the fulfillment of one’s own selfish desires will ultimately be exploitative and thus harmful to the progress of society.

These are some of the practical teachings of Bhaktivinode Thakur on the topic of ethics. I hope that the respected and learned persons of this assembly will consider them deeply.

Vishnupriya

2005-12-31T09:10:00.000-08:00

Vishnupriya’s Japa

Vishnupriya Devi was 14 years old when the Lord left home and took sannyasa. After the Lord left, it is said that with the exception of taking bath daily in the Ganga along with Mother Sachi, Vishnupriya always remained within the house. When devotees went there to take prasadam, they would only see Vishnupriya’s feet. Never did they see her face, nor hear her voice. A constant flow of tears continually streamed from her eyes. She ate only the remnants of food left by Mother Sachi, and constantly chanted the holy name. She worshiped a deity of Lord Gauranga‚ and offered service to it with great love and devotion. After the departure of Sachi Devi, her brother acted as her guardian.

Srila Narahari Chakravarti describes Vishnupriya’s suffering in separation from the Lord in his Bhakti-ratnakara (4.48-51) as follows: “Due to separation from the Lord, Vishnupriya lay on the floor with wide-open eyes, seldom able to sleep, and her bright golden complexion grew pale. She gradually became extremely thin, like the moon on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight. While chanting the holy name, she collected a few grains of rice, which she cooked and ate. No one knew how she maintained her life.”

— Adapted from Srila Narahari Chakravarti’s Sri Bhakti-ratnakara and Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaja's Sermons from the Guardian of Devotion.

[This was an excerpt from issue no 9 of our printed mag. I like this picture very much]

My Mum in Mayapur

2005-12-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

A week ago I wrote the following text to my mother describing this blog site:

===============
This is just a start. I intend to add regular articles. Exciting expose coming soon: "Our Abused Childhood and the Unspeakable Things Mum did to us"

Your wicked son, Mark
PS: I forgot about your curlers photo in Bangalore! -- Posting soon.
===============

My mother and I have a very close relationship, and to be honest she didn't actually do unspeakable things to us in our childhood. (Well, ... not too many things) I just spoke that way, to help keep her on her toes. Also, no one need fear. Out of concern for all of you, I won't post the curlers photo. I don't want to risk putting any of our readers into shock.

She wrote back to me the following humble comments:

===========
I liked the photo of you and your Mum best. She looks like a very
intelligent, beautiful woman. You are so lucky to have her for a Mum.
===========

Actually, she is right -- I am lucky to have such an intelligent and beautiful lady for a mother. (I should have posted this before she did her Christmas shopping) The poor lady has been traumatized by all of the years of having a son in the Hare Krishna movement.

The above photos are from her visit to India last year. The top one is her at the Mayapur Goshala terrorizing the cows. The bottom one was taken in Katwa West Bengal. She is sitting in the car patiently waiting while her son was doing some research at the temple marking the place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu took sannyasa. As you can see from the picture, she made friends with some of the local ladies.

The Dangers of Reading Srimad Bhagavatam

2005-12-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

Picture: Vyasa compiles the Bhagavatam

Below is an excerpt from an article we are working on for our next printed magazine. The diacritics are given in Harvard Kyoto style:

ZaGke nItAH sapadi daZama-skandha-padyAvalInAM
varNAH karNAdhvani pathi katAmAnupurvyAd bhavadbhiH
haMho dimbhAH parama-ZubhadAn hanta dharmArtha-kAmAn
yad garhantaH sukhamayam amI mokSam apy AkSipanti

You foolish children! It seems that you have gone and let the syllables of the tenth canto’s verses enter the pathways of your ears. Why else would you show such horror for those most auspicious goals of duty, success and pleasure, and deride that supremely blissful state of liberation? (Bhakti-rasAmRta-sindhu 1.2.240)

Commentaries

Srila Jiva Goswami comments that the above verse praises the BhAgavatam by using what is known as a “vyAja-stuti”, where one pretends to be criticizing something, but is in fact praising it. A literary style is used here known as: aprastuta praZaMsA — or a figure of speech which, by describing what is not the subject matter (aprastuta) conveys a reference to the intended subject. When irrelevant or incidental things are said in connection with any relevant topic, it is called aprastuta praZaMsA alaGkAra — a rhetorical figure of speech.

The previous verse (1.2.239 of Bhakti-rasAmRta-sindhu) instructs that if one wants to enjoy mundane relationships in this world they should not see Lord Govinda on the banks of the Yamuna at Kesi-ghat. The real intention of the verse is not to dissuade one from seeing Krishna; its purpose is to glorify Krishna’s form and the far greater happiness obtained by seeing it. In a similar way, text 240 describes the first three goals of life as “most auspicious” and liberation as “supremely blissful”, while it addresses one who reads or listens to the tenth canto as being “a child” or “unintelligent”. However, the real point is to indicate the supreme importance of reading or listening to the tenth canto of the BhAgavatam. Thus in both of these verses, the seeming criticisms actually offer a kind of ironical praise.

[The mag article will also include excerpts from the commentaries of Mukunda Das Goswami (a famous disciple of Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami) and Srila Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur. -- MD]

The Truth About Coke

2005-12-30T07:18:00.000-08:00

Interesting article exposing the health hazards of soft drinks and coke in particular. Try either of the below links:

http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Coca_Cola-63120-1.html

http://www.4to40.com/fastforward/index.asp?article=fastforward_may2002_coke

Close ups of Bhaktivinode's Original Deities of Sri Sri Radha Madhava

2005-12-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

2005-12-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

The Reappearance of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava

The discovery of the ancestral deities of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

By Bhaktarupa Dasa

FIVE HUNDRED years ago when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu launched the sankirtana movement of the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord, He commissioned His closest associates to spread the movement everywhere. On the order of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu traveled extensively throughout Bengal, humbly begging everyone He met to chant the holy names and worship Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Many Bengalis surrendered at His lotus feet, becoming His disciples and adopting the Gaudiya Vaisnava way of life. Among these disciples was Krishnananda Dutta, a wealthy landowner residing in Ulberia, not far from present-day Calcutta.

Krishnananda Dutta worshiped deities of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava in his home in Ulberia until his retirement from family affairs. Then, taking the deities with him, he moved to the holy place Puri, Orissa, home of the famous temple of Lord Jagannatha. In Puri, Krishnananda lived a pious and simple life, not speaking to anyone, but chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra the whole day and night and worshiping Sri Sri Radha-Madhava. After living in Puri for some time, he met the feudal king of Ali State, about two hundred kilometers from Puri. Impressed with Krishnananda’s spiritual qualities, the king invited him to live in his state, where he donated an entire village, named Choti (formerly called Choti Mangalpur), to the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava.

The descendants of Krishnananda Dutta worshiped Sri Sri Radha-Madhava in Choti from generation to generation. Eventually the worship passed into the hands of his descendent Kedaranath Dutta (1838–1914), who is well-known to all Gaudiya Vaisnavas as Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the great saint who was the first to present the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu in a modern context.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote hundreds of songs glorifying the Supreme Lord in Bengali, Sanskrit, and Brajaboli (a dialect that combines Bengali, Sanskrit, and Oriya). His songs capture the essence of Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy. One, Jaya Radha-Madhava, was a favorite of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who would sing it every day just before his public lectures. This song paints a beautiful picture of the pastimes of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s beloved deities Sri Sri Radha-Madhava.

After the departure of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava was handed down to his son, Bimala Prasad Dutta, also known as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the spiritual master of Srila Prabhupada. Because Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was a lifelong celibate and a dedicated traveling preacher, whenever he would visit Choti he would not enter into his ancestral home there; he would visit the temple of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava and stay in the nearby Dassahera Mandap.

Unfortunately, after Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s departure from this world the worship became neglected. A neighboring family schemed to lay their own claim on the lands belonging to the deities and secretly moved the deities to another village. This family claimed that the deities had become broken and thus, according to traditional practice, had to be submerged in the nearby Birupa River.

In the terminology of Gaudiya Vaisnavas, the native place of a great saint is called a sripat, and such places are considered worshipable by all the followers of the saint. But just as the village of Choti was deprived for five decades of seeing its proprietors, Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, the village—the native place of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura—became all but forgotten by the spiritual descendants of these two great saints during that time. Now, though, ISKCON devotees from Bhubaneswar sometimes perform sankirtana in Choti.

Dedicated Researcher

Fortunately for us all, Bhaktivinoda Thakura left information about his connection with Choti in his autobiography. Dr. Fakir Mohan Das, a research scholar and professor at Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, and one of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s spiritual descendants, came across this information. Starting in 1982, Dr. Das visited Choti whenever he had the opportunity, and through painstaking research he eventually uncovered and published the facts about the history of the place for the benefit of the Gaudiya Vaisnava community. But the challenge of reestablishing the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava in Choti remained.

Dr. Das was never fully satisfied with the story of how the deities had been submerged in the river, and he continued to make inquiries. Finally, in January 2000, after nearly twenty years of searching, he found Sri Sri Radha-Madhava in the house of a brahmana, Sri Duryodhana Dwivedi, where They had been secretly moved in about 1950. Sri Dwivedi was keen to hear of the international interest that would be generated by Their discovery, and he happily donated Their Lordships to a group of devotees headed by ISKCON Governing Body Commissioner His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, under the guarantee that Their worship would be reestablished in Choti on Their traditional lands.

Presently They are being worshiped in Bhubaneswar pending the construction of a new temple for Them in Choti.

[Note: At the time of this blog, Sri Sri Radha Madhava are staying in Kendrapara (about 3 hours Northeast of Bhubaneswar), still waiting for a temple to be built for them in nearby Choti. -- MD]

2005-12-28T19:01:00.000-08:00

Abhiram Thakur Tests the Sons of Lord Nityananda

Jaya Nitai! Here is an article that we put together in 2001. An amazing story. Most of it is from a translation we worked on from a rare medieval Gaudiya book called Abhiram Lilamrta. Check out one of the below links:

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0209/ET03-7535.html

http://www.hare-krishna.org/showflat/cat/HareKrishnaNews/656/16/collapsed/5/o/1

A short (and shameless) advertisment for our email mag:

2005-12-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu is a free service that we started in April of 2001. It keeps us pretty busy, off the street and out of trouble. It's published every ekadasi in PDF format, and is designed for mad persons who want to go deep into the pastimes, philosophy, literature and history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. As of writing this blog entry we are now up to issue 118. Bindu regularly features articles from previous acaryas such as Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode, Viswanath Chakravarti, Rupa Goswami etc., as well as new translations, research findings and contemporary articles. Bindu is a project we took up in pursuance of the instructions of Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami, whose articles are also a common feature.

Our slogan:

Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu contains no politics, mundane solicitations or institution promotion or bashing -- only pure Krishna-katha. It is produced by ISKCON Gopal Jiu Publications, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India.

For information about obtaining your free email subscription to Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu, write to us at:

katha@gopaljiu.org

Visit our website to see back issues:

- www.gopaljiu.org
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"This chanting should go on. Instead of meetings, resolutions, dissolutions, revolutions and then no solutions, there should be chanting."
-- Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, from Lilamrta Vol.6 p.182'

2005-12-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Realizing One's Spiritual Body

Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhupada
(Above: Bengali painting, unknown artist)

Realizing one's form, qualities and activities in the spiritual world and realizing the form qualities and pastimes of Krishna is the acme of achievement. In the below excerpt from his Krama-sandarbha commentary to SB 7.5.18, Srila Goswamipad outlines the process to attain this. [Sanskrit below is in Harvard Kyoto style]:

prathamaM nAmnaH ZravaNam antaHkaraNa-Zuddhy-artham apekSyam. Zuddhe cAntaH-karaNe rUpa-ZravaNena tad-udaya-yogyatA bhavati. samyag-udite ca rUpe guNAnAM sphuraNaM sampadyate. sampanne ca guNAnAM sphuraNe parikara-vaiZiSTyena tad-vaiZiSTyaM sampadyate. tatas teSu nAma-rUpa-guNa-parikareSu samyak sphuriteSu lIlAnAM sphuraNaM suSThu bhavati.

“First it is expected that one should hear the Lord’s names in order to purify the heart. Once the mind and intelligence have been purified in this way, one can hear about Krishna’s form, through which one’s qualification to visualize it is obtained. When the form of the Lord has been clearly visualized, one can experience His qualities. Once these have been clearly understood, one develops one’s own individual spiritual characteristics through the particular characteristics of the Lord’s associates. Thus, once the name, form, qualities and associates of the Lord have been clearly realized, a clear realization of Krishna’s activities will follow.”

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

2005-12-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

Click to read about his life and disappearance.

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

2005-12-26T20:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a rare picture of Srila Prabhupada on a morning walk in Mayapur in 1974. On the left behind him is our revered spiritual master Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami. This picture was kindly given to us by Ranjit Prabhu of the Bhaktivedanta Archives.

Our Thakurji:

2005-12-26T19:51:00.000-08:00

Giriraj was kindly given to us by our Guru Maharaja in 1993. In the top picture he is seen in his winter dress (kindly made by Preeti our Brijbasi friend in Vrindavan) along with our Shivalinga whom we worship as Gopishwar Mahadev.

The bottom pic is of Giriraj in his normal blissful summer bhava.

Misc Articles

2005-12-26T19:44:00.000-08:00

Some miscelaneous articles published by us.

http://www.dipika.org/mainpages/gopal_jiu/

Personal Pics

2005-12-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

Top to bottom:
With HH Sacinandan Swami at Unchagaon (village of Lalita Sakhi) in Kartika 2004.
With Mum at the ancient Vishnu temple in Melkote South India in December 2994.
With Sri Vaishnava brahmanas in Melkote.
Kartika vrata 2004 in Vrindavan
Below left: Lecturing at Govardhan retreat November 2005.
Below right: Shot from Sri Ksetra parikrama 2002 in Remuna Orissa

Flight of the Crow

2005-12-26T19:15:00.000-08:00

This story from Mahabharata illuminates the faults of imitation and false pride. Try any of the below links:

http://www.vina.cc/stories/PHILOSOPHICAL/2003/12/flight.of.the.crow.html

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0312/ET29-8496.html

http://www.hare-krishna.org/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=HareKrishnaNews&amp;amp;amp;amp;Number=1602&page=18&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=

http://www.dipika.org/2003/12/21.31/26_flight_of_crow/index.html

Hide Your Guru

2005-12-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

External persons want to advertise thier connection with guru. Sastra suggests that we should keep it hidden. This is an article that we wrote in November of 2001. Try any of the links below

http://www.radhe.ch/data/links/navlinks/english/links/hide_your_guru.php

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0209/ET22-7570.html

http://anitest.manilasites.com/discuss/msgReader$764?mode=day

http://www.iskcon.net.au/folkNews/discuss/msgReader$764?d=8&m=8&amp;mode=topic&print-friendly=true&y=2005

http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/hinduism/42711/3/collapsed/5/o/1

http://www.chakra.org/living/inspirDec04_02.html

The Brahmachari And The Chaste Wife

2005-12-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

http://www.vnn.org/world/WD0208/WD21-7506.html

http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/newsletters/30196/0/collapsed/7/o/1

http://www.oldchakra.com/2002/10/17/brahmacari.and.chaste.wife/index.htm

2005-12-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

Madhavananda Das
At Ter Kadamba
near Nandagaon
in Vraja
November 2005

The Tree of My Life

2005-12-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

Note: This is a song that we worked on for our Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu magazine issue 119 (which at the time I'm writing this has not yet come out). It is by Srila Lochan Das Thakur the medieval Gaudiya Vaishnava who wrote the book, Sri Chaitanya Mangala. I have converted the diacritic characters into the Harvard Kyoto style (long "a" = "A"; long "u" = "U" etc).

The Tree of my Life

Srila Lochan Das Thakur

(ZrI-rAga)

ZrI-kRSNa-bhajana lAgi saMsAre Ainu
mAyA-jAle bandI haiyA vRkSa-samAna hainu

To worship Lord Krishna I came to this world of birth and death. Then mAyA caught me in her net and bound me up, and I became like a tree.

sneha-latA beDi beDi tanu kaila ZeSe
kIDA rUpe nArI tAhe hRdaye praveZe

The vine of material love coiled and coiled around me. Manifesting the form of a tree-boring insect, a woman entered my heart.

phala-rUpe putra kanyA DAle bhAGgI paDe
kAla-rUpI bihaGga upare vAsa kare

Manifesting the forms of fruits — sons and daughters grew on my branches and fell to the ground. Manifesting the form of a bird, time made its nest in my branches.

bADite nA pAila gAcha ZukhAiyA gela
saMsArera dAvAnala tAhAte lAgila

Becoming stunted, this tree gradually dried up. Then the blazing forest fire of birth and death came.

durAZA durvAsanA dui uThe dhUmAiyA
phukAra karaye locana marilAma pUDiyA

Wicked desires and false hopes were the two streams of smoke that at once arose. This Lochan Das called out, “I am dying!

egAo egAo mora vaiSNava gosAi
karuNAra jala siJca tabe rakSA pAi

“Please! Please! O vaiSNava gosAi! Sprinkle me with the water of your mercy and save me!”

Bibliography

— Jagadbandhu Bhadra’s Gaura-pada-taraGginI. Sri Gauranga Press. Calcutta. 1931. Bengali.

— Unknown translator. The Acarya’s Songs and Poems Glorifying Lord Gauranga and Lord Govinda. Found in the VaiSNava Folio Archives. Compiled by Sri Narasingha Caitanya Matha. No date.

The Tree of My Life

Regarding Disappearing Dhams

Demons in the Guise of Devotees New Link

Demons in the Guise of Devotees

Observing Janmastami

Observing Janmastami Notes from Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa

For Krishna’s Pleasure

The Faults of Non-observance

Material Benefits

Bhaktivinode’s Analysis

Srila Prabhupada’s Instructions

Food Versus Prasadam

Bibliography

NEW WEB SITE LAUNCHED BY GOPAL JIU PUBLICATIONS

Gundicha Marjana Lecture

Article on ISKCON News

Sri Guru Reciprocates in All Rasas

Giriraja's Rainbow Morning

Volcanic Bhajan

Bindu Hits 9 Years and 200 Issues

Vaishnava Marriage and Bhakti

Bhajan in Separation

Voting and Vaishnavism

Giriraja's Flower Crown

The Christian Version of Jiva Jago

Janmastami in Kendrapara

The Meaning of Shivaratri

Reforming the Reformer

Sadhana and Character

Kirtana is Not for Our Prestige

Hide Your Guru

Bitches Always Bark and Witches Always Howl

Addendum to "The Housewive's Lament"

The Housewife's Lament

The False Sannyasi

New Blog on Gopaljiu Publications News

Jaya Gopal!

Srila Gour Govinda Swami's 2006 Mayapur Disappearance Festival

Bhubaneswar Parikrama

Gopaljiu Parikramas

A few photos from our ashram

Ramananda Ray's Pen

Serving Guests

Nandagram at Sunset

Jaya Sri Radhey!

Ethics and Devotion (Long article)

Vishnupriya

My Mum in Mayapur

The Dangers of Reading Srimad Bhagavatam

The Truth About Coke

Close ups of Bhaktivinode's Original Deities of Sri Sri Radha Madhava

A short (and shameless) advertisment for our email mag:

Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja

Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

Our Thakurji:

Misc Articles

Personal Pics

Flight of the Crow

Hide Your Guru

The Brahmachari And The Chaste Wife

The Tree of My Life

Observing Janmastami
Notes from Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa