The Blessed Lord said: Time I am… (Bg. 11.32)
Happy New Year
31 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Time Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bg. 11.32, destroyer of the worlds, Happy New Year, I am also inexhaustable time, I am time, New Year 2015, the blessed Lord said, Time, Time I Am
Bhagavata Dharma Discourses
31 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavata Dharma Discourses, New Vrindavan, Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavatam Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada New Vrindaban, atheist class, Bhagavata Dharma Discourses at New Vrindavan, Bible or Veda or Koran, dharmah svansthitah pumsam, God, grhamedhi, human society, information of the soul, Krsna, New Vrindavan, religious institution, SB 1.2.8
Srila Prabhupada at New Vrindavan West Virginia
Continuning with our “Bhagavata Dharma Discourses” series given at New Vrindavan, 1972.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam Lecture
Given by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Canto One, Chapter 2, Text 8
New Vrindaban, September 6, 1972
Every Town and Village
29 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Arrival Lecture Tags: arrival address, Arrival Lecture, Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, chanting Hare Krishna, every town and village. His name as Krsna Caitanya, Krsna, Krsna's servant, My name will be broadcast, six gosvamis, Spiritual world, Srila Prabhupada lecture
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Arrival Lecture
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Los Angeles, May 18, 1972
To hear the Lecture
Prabhupada: (airport noises) (leads Prema-dhvani; says “Los Angeles bhakta-vrnda ki jaya!”) So my dear boys and girls, about six years ago I came to your country single-handed, with this pair of cymbals. Now you are so many chanting Hare Krsna. That is my success. It was the prediction of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
prthivite ache yata nagaradi grama
sarvatra pracara hoibe mora nama
Lord Caitanya desired that “In all the towns, in as many towns and villages as there are on the surface of the globe, My name will be broadcast.” He is Krsna Himself, svayam krsna, krsna caitanya-namine, simply changing His name as Krsna Caitanya. So His prediction will never go in vain. That’s a fact. So my plan was that “I shall go to America. America is the leading country of the world. If I can convince (the) younger generation of America, they will take up.” I am old man. I came here at the age of seventy years; now I am seventy-six. So my warning is already there. In nineteen hundred and seventy-one, I had a severe heart attack. You know, all. So the mission of Caitanya Mahaprabhu is now in your hands. You are American boys and girls, very intelligent and graced by Krsna. You are not poverty-stricken. You have enough resources, prestige. Everything materially, you are all well-equipped. If you kindly take this Krsna consciousness movement seriously, your country will be saved, and the whole world will be saved.
Phalgun Krishna Pancami
27 Dec 2014 1 Comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Phalgun Krishna Pancami, Poetry of Srila Prabhupada, Vyas-puja Tags: A.C. Bhaktiveanta Swami Prabhupada, abundant milk, ecstasy of the glories of Hari, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, milk laden cows, Phalgun Krishna Pancami, qualities of a Vaishnava, Vaishnava kingdom, Vrindavana Radha Damodara
Srila 108 Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur
The following is an offering of prayers glorifying special characteristics of Srila 108 Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur. Presented on the commemoration of his appearance at the Radha-Damodara temple, Vrindavan, India in 1961, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada . Very important instructions.
Krishna Nectar
27 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna Nectar, Nectar of Devotion Tags: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuapada, bluish cloud, bluish hue of a cloud, bodily features of Krsna, devotee, ecstatic love, Krishna, Krsna, Nectar of Devotion, personal feature of Lord Krsna, remembering Krsna, Srimati Radharani
Attraction and Remembrance
“My dear friend, I was just going to the bank of the Yamunā, and all of a sudden a very nice boy whose complexion is like a dark blue cloud became visible in front of My eyes. He glanced over Me in a way that I cannot describe. But since this has occurred, I am sorry that I can no longer engage My mind in the duties of My household affairs.” This is an instance of preliminary attraction for Kṛṣṇa. (Nectar of Devotion Chapter 44)
Once while Kṛṣṇa was out walking, one of the associates of Rādhārāṇī told Her: “My dear friend, do You think that this walking personality is a tāmala tree? If He is a tāmala tree, then how is it possible for Him to walk and be so beautiful? Then, this personality might be a cloud. But if He’s a cloud, then where is the beautiful moon within? Under the circumstances, I think it may be granted that this person is the same enchanting Personality of Godhead by whose flute vibration the three worlds are captivated. He must be the same Mukunda who is standing before Govardhan Hill.” This is another instance of an argumentative presentation of ecstatic love. (NOD Chapter 30)
One devotee said that even when he was not very attentive he would sometimes, seemingly out of madness, remember the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa within his heart. This is an instance of remembrance resulting from constant practice. In other words, devotees who are constantly thinking of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, even if they are momentarily inattentive, will see the figure of Lord Kṛṣṇa appearing within their hearts.
Bhakti-latā / Devotional Creeper
24 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhakti-latā-bīja, Caaitanya-caritamrta, Guru & Disciple, guru-tattva, Spiritual Master, Srila Prabhupada Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhakti-lata creeper, devotional creeper, guru, Krishna Consciousness Society, Madhya 19.157, neophyte devotee, non devotees, powerful elephant of offenses, pseudo devotees, pure devotees, Spiritual Life, spiritual master, spiritual masters instructions, Srila Prabhupada
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“…If one thinks that there are many pseudo devotees or nondevotees in the Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Society, one can keep direct company with the spiritual master, and if there is any doubt, one should consult the spiritual master. However, unless one follows the spiritual master’s instructions and the regulative principles governing chanting and hearing the holy name of the Lord, one cannot become a pure devotee. By one’s mental concoctions, one falls down… (CC Madhya 19.157 purport)
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Stay High Forever
23 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Back to Godhead, BTG magizine, Hayagriva das, Prabhupada, The Hare Krishna Explosion Tags: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Pabhupada, Back to Godhead Magazine, East Village hippies, Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Mantra, hayagriva das, hippies, Lower East Side, New Vrindaban, Old Vrindaban, Stay High Forever, the hare krishna explosion
I enjoy reading and re-reading to old issues of Back to Godhead Magazine. And it seems the older the issue the more relishable the content, as is the case with this 1969 issue…
The Hare Krishna Explosion
by Hayagriva das
Excerpted from Back to Godhead Magazine 1969 Vol. 1, No. 26
The joyful history of a dynamic transcendental movement
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare vibrates from a walkup temple on New York’s Lower East Side, from the sidewalks of Haight Ashbury, from Golden Gate Park, from a London flat, from student quarters in Hamburg and Amsterdam, from a storefront in Santa Fe, an exbowling alley in Montreal, a sprawling university campus in Ohio, from Old Vrindaban in India to New Vrindaban in the West Virginia mountains, and from Boston and Buffalo to Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver and across the Pacific to Hawaii.
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. The voices chanting the magic vibrations are invariably young. The chanting, accompanied by khartals (small hand cymbals), tambourines and drums, is often loud and frenetic. The dancing is vigorous. The middle-aged and elderly usually stand in doorways or look through windows, watching in amazement, unaware that they are witnessing a process of spiritual realization that has been practiced on this planet for thousands of years. They do not understand. No one really understands. The chanting just spreads. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna …
The Purpose of Pilgrimages is to Remember the Lord Constantly
21 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Ganges, India, Places of Pilgrimage Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bharatavarsa, dhama, holy river, India, Mathura, places of pilgrimage, Prayaga, River Ganges, Spiritual Life, Vrndavana
Whenever I plan a trip to India, it seems the first thing I do, is start looking at maps. I have always been a map person, as there is some romantic imagery for me, especially when I look at a map of India. The shape of this country has always invoked in me, a sense of spirituality and wonderment, as if the very shape of it is somehow what a spiritual holy land should look like.
There are so many ways to travel in India; on foot, by bicycle rickshaw, or the motorized “cockroach” rickshaws, by bus, by plane, or my favorite, by train.
Actually we are planing to go to Vrndavana, but will take in some other places of interest as well. The following are some selections from Srila Prabhupada’s books which describe India, Vrndavana, and the purpose of pilgrimage etc.
The purpose of pilgrimages is to remember the Lord constantly, and therefore the Lord is known as tīrtha-kīrti. The purpose of going to a place of pilgrimage is to get the chance to glorify the Lord. Even today, although times have changed, there are still pilgrimage sites in India. For example, in Mathurā and Vṛndāvana, where we had a chance to stay, people are awake from early in the morning at 4 A.M. up until nighttime and are constantly engaged, some way or other, in chanting the holy glories of the Lord. The beauty of such a pilgrimage site is that automatically one remembers the holy glories of the Lord. His name, fame, quality, form, pastimes and entourage are all identical to the Lord, and therefore chanting the glories of the Lord invokes the personal presence of the Lord. Any time or anywhere pure devotees meet and chant the glories of the Lord, the Lord is present without any doubt. It is said by the Lord Himself that He always stays where His pure devotees chant His glories. (from purport SB 3.1.45)
Places of pilgrimage yield a special advantage for a devotee in quickly advancing his spiritual life. Lord Kṛṣṇa lives everywhere, but still it is very easy to approach Him in holy places of pilgrimage because these places are inhabited by great sages. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa says that He lives wherever His devotees are chanting the glories of His transcendental activities. (from purport SB 4.8.42)
The Winter Solstice
21 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in Time Tags: 2014 winter solstice, Sun, to stand still, Tropic of Capricorn, Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice
Today marks the winter solstice, or the day with the fewest hours of sunlight during the whole year. The good news is that after today (Dec. 21 at 6:03 p.m. EST) the days will begin getting longer.
Chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra
19 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chanting Hare Krishna, Maha-mantra, Meditation, Sankirtan Tags: chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Krishna, Hare Krsna, Hare Rama Rama Rama, Krsna! Krsna!, Maha Mantra, mantra meditation, Teachings of Lord Caitanya
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The Spiritual Potency of Chanting Hare Krishna
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya once asked Lord Chaitanya: “Which item is most important in the execution of devotional service?” The Lord replied: “The most important item is the chanting of the holy name of the Lord.”
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu further explains, ceto-darpana-marjanam the mirror of one’s heart is cleansed by the holy names; and bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam, it extinguishes the blazing fire of material existence. By chanting the holy names one can destroy the sinful condition of material existence and purify the unclean heart.
There is no need, therefore, to understand the language of the mantra, nor is there any need for mental speculation or any intellectual adjustment for chanting this maha-mantra. It springs automatically from the spiritual platform, and as such, anyone can take part in the chanting without any previous qualification, and dance in ecstasy. (Srila Prabhupada)
Srila Prabhupada The Founder-Acarya of ISKCON
18 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya, ISKCON, Ravindra Svarupa Das, Srila Prabhupada Tags: A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhuada, Iskcon, ISKCON GBC Press, Ravindra Svarupa Das, Srila Prabhupada, The Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
There is a nice book that was published recently entitled ““Srila Prabhupada: The Founder-Acarya of ISKCON”, written by Ravindra Svarupa Das and published by ISKCON GBC Press.
In our Mission Statement on our About Us Page we have stated;
…”to put it rather simply, we are promoting Srila Prabhupada; The Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, his Original writtings, his teachings, and his instructions for the world.”
So it is with this mind, we share with you this nice publication
click on link to openSrila Prabhupada the FounderAcharya to read or save
The Evolutionary Process
16 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Evolution, Karma, Srimad Bhagavatam Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, birth and death, cycle of birth and death according to the laws of nature, Darwin’s theory of evolution, human beings, laws of nature, liberation, living entities, SB7.13.25, the evolutionary process, undesirable material sense gratification
The evolutionary process
In the course of the evolutionary process, which is caused by fruitive activities due to undesirable material sense gratification, I have received this human form of life, which can lead to the heavenly planets, to liberation, to the lower species, or to rebirth among human beings. (SB7.13.25)
…All living entities within this material world are undergoing the cycle of birth and death according to the laws of nature. This struggle of birth and death in different species may be called the evolutionary process, but in the Western world it has been wrongly explained. Darwin’s theory of evolution from animal to man is incomplete because the theory does not present the reverse condition, namely evolution from man to animal.
Human life, which is obtained in the course of the evolutionary process, is a chance for elevation (svargāpavarga) or for degradation (tiraścām punar asya ca). If one uses this human form of life properly, he can elevate himself to the higher planetary systems, where material happiness is many thousands of times better than on this planet, or one may cultivate knowledge by which to become free from the evolutionary process and be reinstated in one’s original spiritual life. This is called apavarga, or liberation. (from purport to SB 7.13.25)
Some years back I was reading from one book and the author was explaining how within each of us, we have the Keys to the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we also have the Keys to the gates of Hell. It is our choice at every moment which we choose to use. Or as the saying goes “It is Rama, or it is Drama”.
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Ages, Kalpas, Yugas, and Time
15 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, Kali Yuga, Time Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, causal ocean, cycles of kalpas, Dvapara, eternity, innumerable Brahmas, Kali, Kali-yuga, kalpas, lightning flash, material universe, Satya, Srila Prabhupada, Time, Treta, unlimited eternal time, yugas
I was reading about the duration of the material universe this evening, and this whole notion of time, puts presure on my insignificant tiny brain.
…The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahmā, and one day of Brahmā consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas or ages: Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali. The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Tretā-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvāpara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years. (from purport Bg 8.17)
Even if I could grasp the extent of time in the material universe, that is just a fraction of the unlimited eternal time that continues after the termination of the yuga.
…Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahmā, the creator god, and the same number comprise one night. Brahmā lives one hundred of such “years” and then dies. These “hundred years” by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 million earth years. By these calculations the life of Brahmā seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the causal ocean there are innumerable Brahmās rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahmā and his creation are all part of the material universe, and therefore they are in constant flux. (from purport Bg 8.17)
The above calculations Srila Prabhupada uses and I quote; “seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the causal ocean there are innumerable Brahmās rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic.” Wow!
Kachori Recipes
14 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in Kachori, Vegetarian Cooking, Vegetarianism Tags: deep fried in ghee, flaky dough, ghee, kachoris, pastry with filling, poori, puris, sunday feast, vegetarian, vegetarian cookbook, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipes
Kachoris Recipes
Today being Sunday, and with the weather cold and wet, I decided to stay indoors and practice my cooking, by learning how to cook Kachoris, which is basically a pastry with filling, for the Lord. I have never actually made them before, although I have eaten countless kachoris at various feasts. So I searched for some recipes in our cookbooks and on the Internet and found a nice selection of recipes for different types of Kachoris at harekrsna.com. So I have posted many nice Kachori recipes or variations, and will pick one to cook today for our Sunday Feast.
Sri Pancha Tattva Maha Abhiseka 2014
14 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in Mayapur, Panca-Tattva, YouTube Tags: abhisheka, Advaita Acarya, holy dham, Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda, maha abhisheka, Mayapur, Sri Gadadhara Prabhu, Sri Pancha Tattva, Sri Pancha Tattva Maha Abhiseka 2014, Sri Srivas, You Tube, youtube
My wife shared this You Tube with me this morning, that she had on her Face Book. It was very beautiful and powerful, and I thought, I should share it with all of you as well.
Sri Pancha Tattva Maha Abhiseka 2014
The 10th anniversary of the installation of Sri Panca tattva in Mayapur was celebrated with great jubilation by offering a Maha Abhisheka. Around 10,000 devotees congregated in the Holy Dham to take darshan of the large size murtis of the Panca tattva.
Faith
13 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Faith Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, conclusion of Bhagavad-gita, devotional activities, devotional service, faith, faithless, implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master, imports of Vedic knowledge, krsna consciousness, love and faith, yasya deve
This morning I was reading from the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, and it seemed like it was all about “Faith”. That word just kept coming up again and again, and as I was reading, I had to ask myself, ‘how strong is my faith?’. I would like to think it is pretty strong, as it has sustained me, my entire adult life. Even as a child I always believed in God. Don’t know why, I just did.
I thought today, I will do a post on “Faith”
…faith is a most important factor for progress in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said that one should have complete conviction that simply by serving the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa he can achieve all perfection. That is called real faith. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.4.12) it is stated that by giving water to the root of a tree, its branches, twigs and leaves become satisfied, and by supplying food to the stomach all the senses of the body become satisfied, and, similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord, all the demigods and all the living entities automatically become satisfied.
After reading Bhagavad-gītā one should promptly come to the conclusion of Bhagavad-gītā: one should give up all other engagements and adopt the service of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. If one is convinced of this philosophy of life, that is faith. Now the development of that faith is the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (from purport to Bg. 9.3)
yasya deve parā bhaktir
yathā deve tathā gurau
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ
prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.” (ŚU 6.23)
Nectar of Devotion Lecture
12 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Nectar of Devotion, Photos by Gurudas Tags: Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, bona fide spiritual master, designations, Gosvami, Gurudas, how to see god, Krishna, Nectar of Devotion Lecture, personal sense gratification, photo by Gurudas, prabhupada, the maintainer of the gopīs, the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa
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…Now our point was that how to see Kṛṣṇa in everything?… By these blunt, material senses, we cannot appreciate, or we can see, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It has to be purified… One must be relieved from all designations. So long one thinks that “I am Hindu. I am Christian. I am Muhammadan. I am this. I am brāhmaṇa. I am śūdra. I am kṣatriya. I am man. I am woman. I am black. I am white.” These are all designations. One has to become free from all these designations. That is called sarvopādhi-vinirmuktam. If you see God, Kṛṣṇa, from the Hindu angle of vision, if you see God from Christian angle of vision, then you cannot see God. That is not seeing God. You have to become freed from all these designations. Just like Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught us, nāhaṁ vipra na ca nara-patir na yatir vā. Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, “I am not a brāhmaṇa. I am not a kṣatriya. I am not a vaiśya. I am not a śūdra. I am not a sannyāsī. I am not a gṛhastha. I am not a brahmacārī.” Then “What You are?” Because within these eight categories, we are living. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, “I don’t belong to all these categories.” Then “What You are, Sir?”… “I am the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs.” (The Nectar of Devotion Lecture Vṛndāvana, October 18, 1972)
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The Essence of Everything is the Supreme Lord
10 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma-samhita, Goloka Vrndaban, Krsna Consciousness, Krsna God, Spiritual World Tags: gopis, His Lordship, His lotus feet, His moonlike face is the drinking vessel for eyes which hanker after all that is beautiful, Krsna, Laksmis, Lord Govinda, spiritual gems, The Lord’s chest is the abode of the goddess of fortune, touchstone, transcendental abode of the Lord, Vedic literatures
Sometimes when I am sitting and reading from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad Bhagavatam, a verse or sentence from the purport just jumps out from the page almost like it is in 3D, and I catch a glimpse of what the Spiritual World must be like. It is beyond even my imagination, but sometimes I catch a glimmer of light, through a transcendental window, by the grace of my spiritual master His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
…The transcendental abode of the Lord where the trees are all desire trees and the buildings are made of touchstone. The Lord Govinda is engaged there in herding the surabhi cows as His natural occupation.
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs.” (Bs 5.29)
…The Lord Govinda is engaged there in herding the surabhi cows as His natural occupation. And those who are artists, overtaken by the beautiful creation, should better see to the beautiful face of the Lord for complete satisfaction. The face of the Lord is the embodiment of beauty. What they call beautiful nature is but His smile, and what they call the sweet songs of the birds are but specimens of the whispering voice of the Lord.
Chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra
09 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhakti Yoga, Chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, Maha-mantra, Meditation, Yoga Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Krishna, Hare Rama, illusory struggle against material nature, Krishna Krishna, Krsna, purport to chanting hare krishna, Rama Rama, Srila Prabhupada, transcendental vibration by chanting of Hare Krishna
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Chanting the Hare Krishna Mantra
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
“This transcendental vibration by chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, is the sublime method for reviving our Krishna consciousness. As living spiritual soul, we are all originally Krishna conscious entities, but due to our association with matter from time immemorial, our consciousness is now polluted by material atmosphere. In this polluted concept of life we are all trying to exploit the resources of material nature, but actually we are becoming more and more entangled in our complexities. This illusion is called maya, or hard struggle for existence, for winning over the stringent laws of material nature. This illusory struggle against material nature can at once be stopped by revival of our Krishna consciousness.
Appreciating the Beauty of the Lord
09 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, B. G. Sharma Art, Krishna Consciousness, Krsna, Krsna Consciousness, Srimad Bhagavatam Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Arjuna, arjuna's arrows, awakened to love of God, Battlefield of Kurukṣetra, Goloka Vrndavana, Krsna, lotuslike face of Krsna, love of God, material contaminations, pleasing to the eyes of the seer, SB3.2.20, spiritual sky, Srimad Bhagavatam, the beauty of the Lord, transcendental sky, Vaikuntha planets
Certainly others who were fighters on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra were purified by the onslaught of Arjuna’s arrows, and while seeing the lotuslike face of Kṛṣṇa, so pleasing to the eyes, they achieved the abode of the Lord. (SB 3.2.20)
This morning as I was reading from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, the words “pleasing to the eyes of the seer” jumped out at me. And I was reminded again how just by appreciating the beauty of the Lord, one can attain success in life, as the following purport explains.
“…All the warriors who fought against Arjuna but who were able to see the lotuslike face of the Lord on the battlefront achieved the abode of the Lord, exactly as the devotees of the Lord do. The words “pleasing to the eyes of the seer” are very significant. When the warriors from the other side of the battlefield saw Lord Kṛṣṇa at the front, they appreciated His beauty, and their dormant instinct of love of God was awakened.
This love of God is awakened by the association of pure devotees of the Lord… Those who saw the beautiful face of the Lord on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra were purified first by Arjuna when he made his onslaught with arrows… All the activities of a pure devotee are executed on behalf of the Lord because a pure devotee of the Lord has nothing to do for his personal interest. Arjuna’s killing was as good as killing by the Lord Himself. As soon as Arjuna shot an arrow at an enemy, that enemy became purified of all material contaminations and became eligible to be transferred to the spiritual sky… those who awakened to love of God were transferred to the planets of the transcendental sky.
Those whose love of God is awakened to the fullest extent go back to the Goloka Vṛndāvana planet in the spiritual sky, whereas persons who have just awakened to love of Godhead by accident or association are transferred to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Essentially there is no material difference between Goloka and Vaikuṇṭha, but in the Vaikuṇṭhas the Lord is served in unlimited opulence, whereas in Goloka the Lord is served in natural affection.” (from purport to SB 3.2.20)
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