Today as most of the Western World celebrates Easter Sunday, we thought we word honor the life of Lord Jesus Christ with some select writings by our spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states that any bona fide preacher of God consciousness must have the qualities of titikṣā (tolerance) and karuṇā (compassion). In the character of Lord Jesus Christ we find both these qualities. He was so tolerant that even while he was being crucified, he didn’t condemn anyone. And he was so compassionate that he prayed to God to forgive the very persons who were trying to kill him. (Of course, they could not actually kill him. But they were thinking that he could be killed, so they were committing a great offense.) As Christ was being crucified he prayed, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they are doing.”
…Of course, the message that Christ preached was just according to his particular time, place, and country, and just suited for a particular group of people. But certainly he is the representative of God. Therefore we adore Lord Jesus Christ and offer our obeisances to him.
Once, in Melbourne, a group of Christian ministers came to visit me. They asked, “What is your idea of Jesus Christ?” I told them, “He is our guru. He is preaching God consciousness, so he is our spiritual master.” The ministers very much appreciated that.
Actually, anyone who is preaching God’s glories must be accepted as a guru. Jesus Christ is one such great personality. We should not think of him as an ordinary human being. The scriptures say that anyone who considers the spiritual master to be an ordinary man has a hellish mentality. If Jesus Christ were an ordinary man, then he could not have delivered God consciousness. (Science of Self Realization, Chapter 4, “Understanding Krsna and Christ)
Ever since I was a small child, I have been attracted to the statue of Buddha. Don’t know why, but I had a statue of Buddha in my bedroom, and it was a Christian home. I didn’t really know about Krishna then or who the Buddha was…but I was so attracted to everything Eastern. As I learned latter in life Buddha was actually an incarnation of Krsna. “From the Bhāgavatam we understand that Lord Buddha is the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa who appeared when materialism was rampant and materialists were using the pretext of the authority of the Vedas.” (from purport Bg 4.7)
The Four Noble Truths & The Eightfold Path
The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha’s first sermon after his Enlightenment centered on the Four Noble Truths, which are the foundation of Buddhism. The truths are:
The truth of suffering (dukkha) The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya) The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
…”Everyone and everything is attracted to Kṛṣṇa–that is the perfect description of Kṛṣṇa’s attraction. The example of the gopīs is very instructive to persons who are trying to be absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One can very easily associate with Kṛṣṇa simply by remembering His transcendental pastimes. Everyone has a tendency to love someone. That Kṛṣṇa should be the object of love is the central point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By constantly chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and remembering the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, one can be fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus make his life sublime and fruitful.”
Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Vol. 1, Chapter 34
The Gopīs’ Feelings of Separation
The gopīs of Vṛndāvana were so attached to Kṛṣṇa that they were not satisfied simply with the rāsa dance at night. They wanted to associate with Him and enjoy His company during the daytime also. When Kṛṣṇa went to the forest with His cowherd boy friends and cows, the gopīs did not physically take part, but their hearts went with Him. And because their hearts went, they were able to enjoy His company through strong feelings of separation. To acquire this strong feeling of separation is the teaching of Lord Caitanya and His direct disciplic succession of Gosvāmīs. When we are not in physical contact with Kṛṣṇa, we can associate with Him like the gopīs, through feelings of separation. Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental form, qualities, pastimes, and entourage are all identical with Him. There are nine different kinds of devotional service. Devotional service to Kṛṣṇa in feelings of separation elevates the devotee to the highest perfectional level, to the level of the gopīs.
At various times people have called him a scholar, a philosopher, a cultural ambassador, a prolific author, a religious leader, a spiritual teacher, a social critic, and a holy man. In truth, he was all these things and more.
Over five hundred years ago, Lord Sri Krishna appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa, a village in West Bengal. The purpose of His appearance was to inaugurate the Sankirtana Movement, the Yuga Dharma for this age of Kali. He declared that the chanting of His holy names would spread beyond the shores of India to every town and village in the world. He predicted that His commander-in-chief would appear to accomplish this mission.
Yes… Srila Prabhupada appeared to fulfill this prophecy.
Well the Golden Jubilee at Krishna Balarama Mandir is over, and its time for many of us to return to their respective homes. The above photo are the Prabhupada disciples, sannayasi’s, and other participants, taken on the last day of festival. Many thanks to the management and festival organizers, as well as all the Vrindavan residents who helped make this a memorable occasion.
The Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir, situated in the Raman Reti area of Vrindavan, holds a special significance for the devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This grand temple represents the fulfilled dream of Srila Prabhupada, Founder Acharya of ISKCON, who wished to construct a temple of unparalleled beauty for the worship of the transcendental brothers Krishna and Balaram in the same village where They played more than five thousand years ago. Srila Prabhupada directly oversaw all the aspects of design and construction and personally called the Lord to come and accept the worship of His devotees from around the world. He said, “Lord Balaram is the source of spiritual strength, and I have built this temple just to give strength to the devotees”.
Today, the Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir is a booming spiritual center. Every day of the week pilgrims flood in the gate in great numbers from all over the world. In fact, the large green government signs posted over the highway turn off to Vrindavan only give directions to two temples: Banke Bihari and ISKCON.
The Opening of Krishna Balarama Mandir 50 years ago
Today we are celebrating The Appearance day of Lord Ramachandra (Rama Navami), at the Krishna Balarama Mamdir, for the 50th Golden Jubille Grand Opening. It was 50 years ago today, this beautiful temple was opened.
It has been a very blissful morning thus far, with ecstatic kirtan, memories given by Senior devotees who were here with Srila Prabhupada for the opening, and a Big Surprise was seeing the Ashtasakhi Gopis, who joined Radha Shyamasundar on the altar for the first time.
What an incredible morning here at Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama Mandir in Vrindavan India. We just participated in the Boat Festival, where Radha and Krishna were floated around the Temple courtyard, which was filled with water, and adorned with lotus leafs, decorated with lotus’s and flower petals. It was very beautiful and there were smiles all around.
There must have been hundreds of food offerings, as Radha Krsna’s boat floated by, then, the offered food (prasadam) was distributed to all in attendance. And when it was over, the mass of people splashed in the water, as flower petals fell from above. We witnessed something truly amazing, and so much fun.
Padmapani Prabhu was a very dear friend, and a dear disciple of Srila Prabhupada who is well known as the web master of the pagePrabhupada Connection. He will be greatly missed.
Please join us in prayers for a very special Godbrother, Padmapani Prabhu who just left us in Canada. I never knew him personally, but loved to hear of his daring exploits in the mideast when it was quite a dangerous area! Then I knew him from the marvellous website he managed, The Prabhupada Connection. He’s on the left with Tribhuvanath in Sri Radha Rasabihari Mandir ( Deena Bandhu Das )
Recently, while discussing Srila Prabhupada and his glories with a younger devotee, I was surprised to hear him say, “You’re so lucky. You got Srila Prabhupada, but what about us?” Startled by hearing such a despondent remark by a newcomer who should be brimming with hope and enthusiasm in Krsna consciousness, I proceeded to explain that Srila Prabhupada is, in fact, as present now as he has ever been. Throughout his books, letters and conversations, Srila Prabhupada emphasized this point again and again, so there should be no cause for misunderstanding.
In 1975, when asked by a reporter in Berkeley what would happen to the movement after his departure, Srila Prabhupada replied, “I will never die. I will live forever in my books.” In the Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi-lila 1.35, purport), Srila Prabhupada explains, “There is no difference between the spiritual master’s instructions and the spiritual master himself.” Further assuring us all, Prabhupada spoke the following words just prior to his departure in 1977: “If I depart, there is no cause for lamentation. I will always be with you through my books and my orders. I will always remain with you in that way.”
I have been reading the Krsna Book lately, and just yesterday we were reading chapter 14 “Prayers Offered by Lord Brahma to Lord Krsna”, and I was reminded this was the last chapter Srila Prabhupada was working on in the Srimad Bhagavatam series before his passing. So I had another look at the Tenth Canto, part 3, and thought it a good idea to share it with all our readers.
This is the final Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam volume translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, before his untimely departure. We share it with you as a free PDF download. You can click on the above link to view the complete volume or save it to your computer.
Foward
This is the final Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam volume translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is smaller than the earlier volumes because it ends where the renowned author stopped translating just before his departure from this mortal world on November 14, 1977, at the Krsna-Balarama Mandira in Vrndavana, India.
The first part of this volume was produced in the usual fashion. Srila Prabhupada would sit and read silently from the Sanskrit text and then speak the translation and commentary into his dictaphone. Later, due to illness, it became necessary for his disciples to assist him personally.
In these last days Srila Prabhupada was gravely ill. Unable to eat for weeks, his health had deteriorated, making even the slightest movement excruciatingly painful.
As he lay still, a devotee would softly read the Sanskrit to him. Another disciple, sitting on his bed, held the microphone to him, nearly touching his mouth. And then Srila Prabhupada would speak, voice sometimes barely audible.
These recordings, made in his quarters at the temple, constitute the balance of this book.
In these final moments, the physician attending His Divine Grace confided that an ordinary man in such critical condition would have been crying out from the intense pain. Srila Prabhupada’s disciples were awestruck as they watched their spiritual master work quietly, undisturbed.
In the last part of the book we find Srila Prabhupada’s usual clarity of thought, constant scriptural references, scrupulous attention to detail, and rigorous philosophical exposition fully intact, just as they were in the preceding twenty-nine volumes of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Srila Prabhpada’s last days and this translation will stands an inspiring reminder that even the severest material circumstances cannot impede the activities of a pure devotee of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
We are currently in Vrindavan, India, at the Krsna Balaram Mandir, with the most beautiful Radha Shyam. All the deities looked so gorgeous this morning, in their black outfits.
Have been doing the parikaram of the twelve forests of Vrindavan, and it has been amazing, and feel exceptional fortune, at being here, and experiencing so much devotional nectar.
I wish to share some from the Preface to the”Nectar of Devotion” By A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami:
The basic principle of the living condition is that we have a general propensity to love someone. No one can live without loving someone else. This propensity is present in every living being. Even an animal like a tiger has this loving propensity at least in a dormant stage, and it is certainly present in the human beings. The missing point, however, is where to repose our love so that everyone can become happy. At the present moment the human society teaches one to love his country or family or his personal self, but there is no information where to repose the loving propensity so that everyone can become happy. That missing point is Krsna, and The Nectar of Devotion teaches us how to stimulate our original love for Krsna and how to be situated in that position where we can enjoy our blissful life.
“I liked Prabhupada’s humbleness. I always liked his humility and his simplicity. The servant of the servant of the servant is really what it is, you know. None of us are God—just His servants. He just made me feel so comfortable. I always felt very relaxed with him, and I felt more like a friend. I felt that he was a good friend. Even though he was at the time seventy-nine years old, working practically all through the night, day after day, with very little sleep, he still didn’t come through to me as though he was a very highly educated intellectual being, because he had a sort of childlike simplicity. Which is great, fantastic. Even though he was the greatest Sanskrit scholar and a saint, I appreciated the fact that he never made me feel uncomfortable. In fact, he always went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. I always thought of him as sort of a lovely friend, really, and now he’s still a lovely friend.
“That was the thing about Prabhupada, you see. He didn’t just talk about loving Krishna and getting out of this place, but he was the perfect example. He talked about always chanting, and he was always chanting. I think that that in itself was perhaps the most encouraging thing for me. It was enough to make me try harder, to be just a little bit better. He was a perfect example of everything he preached.
We are currently in Vrindavan, India, doing the twelve day Parikrama of the forests of Vrindavan. We have visited many Holy sites, and have had Darshana with so beautiful deities, and gotten water sprinkled on us, from many sacred Kunds (ponds, bathing sites). It has been a wonderful trip thus far, although the traffic, and dust, has been rather exhausting. Hare Krishna! -V
The 12 principal forests of Vraja
The 12 principal forests of Vraja, where Krishna and Radha are said to have performed their divine pastimes, are Madhuvana, Talavana, Kumudavana, Bhulavana, Kamyavana, Khadiravana, Vrindavana, Bhadravana, Bhandiravana, Baelvana, Lohavana, and Madhavana.
Seven forests on the west side of the Yamuna River:
Madhuvana, Talavana, Kumudavana, Bahulavana, Kamyavana, Khadiravana, and Vrindavana.
Five forests on the east side of the Yamuna River:
Bhadravana, Bhandiravana, Baelvana, Lohavana, and Mahavana.
Significance:
These forests are considered sacred and are revered places of pilgrimage for devotees.
Remembering Jayananda by Vyasasan das __________________
There are some things about becoming a devotee I will never forget, for instance; receiving my first book, relishing my first plate of prasadam, seeing the deities in the temple for the first time, meeting Srila Prabhupada, Visnujhana Swami and Jayananda das bramachari.
The first time I meet Jayananda, was in 1975 in San Diego. I had been traveling with the RDTSKP for the last few months, since I joined. I was very much enjoying being a devotee, and traveling and putting on festivals, distributing prasadam, books and the Holy Name. By this time I had meet a number of Sannyasis; including Tamal Krsna Goswami, Gurudas Swami, Tripuari Swami, Vishnujana Swami, etc. and was very impressed by their character, and position.
One morning after Bhagavatam class we were all sitting down on the floor taking our breakfast. I was looking over at all the assembled sannyasis; there must have been seven of them eating together. They all had on nice orange clothing, and were eating off beautiful silver plates, and I was thinking, “Ya, that’s what I want. I want to be a Hare Krishna Sannyasa. Devotees will offer me respectful obeisances when they see me, and I will always get the best accommodations and best prasadam”. So I was thinking like this… when in walks in this guy in a greasy hooded sweatshirt, ripped doti, hands and face covered with dirt and grease, (it turns out he just changed the oil in 6 sankirtan vans), and he walks over to the prasadam table and starts filling a plate.
So I ask the devotee sitting next to me, “Who is that guy, is he supposed to be here?” I thought it was some bum wearing a dhoti. But the devotee replied; “Oh, that’s Jayananda Prabhu, he’s a really advanced devotee”. Well I was looking at Jayananda who was eagerly feasting on the morning prasadam, and I was looking over at the sannyasis who were carefully moving the prasadam around the silver plates, and I just wasn’t that sure?
Today we visited Radha Kund, as well as many other places of pilgrimage in Vraja; the district of Vrindavan. We were greatly surprised at how everything around Krishna Balarama Mandir, has grown and changed. So much construction, so many more people, and worst, so many motorized vehicile’s. I took some pictures of Radha Kund today, which I will share at bottom of post.
Rādhā-kuṇḍa
It is stated that a devotee will at once develope pure love of Kṛṣṇa in the wake of the gopīs if he once takes a bath in Rādhā-kuṇḍa.
jaya–all glories to: rādhā-mādhava–Rādhā and the Lord of sweetness; kuñja-bihārī–He who enjoys loving pastimes in the groves of Vṛndāvana; gopī-jana-vallabha–the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja; giri-vara-dhārī–the holder of the great hill named Govardhana;
Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana.
yaśodā-nandana–the beloved son of mother Yaśodā; vraja-jana-rañjana–the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja; yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī–who wanders in the forests along the banks of the river Yamunā
He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja, and He wanders in the forests along the banks of the River Yamuna!
Srila Prabhupada said that this song is “a picture of Vrndavana. Everything is there–Srimati Radharani, Vrndavana, Govardhana, Yasoda, and all the cowherd boys.
So this is the original nature of Kṛṣṇa, original nature of Kṛṣṇa. He is Rādhā-Mādhava. He is the lover of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. And kuñja-vihārī, always enjoying the company of the gopīs within the bushes of Vrndavana forest. Rādhā-mādhava kuñja-vihārī. So He’s not only lover of Rādhārāṇī, but braja-jana-vallabha. The whole residents of Vṛndāvana, they love Kṛṣṇa.(from Srila Prabhupada Lecture NY July 20, 1971)
We spent the last two nights in Jaipur, which is home to some of the deities of Vrindavan that were brought here for safekeeping during the Mughal invasions. It was our good fortune the have visited many of these temples, and had darshan with the Vrindavan deities, here in Jaipur.
The Seven Goswami Temples of Vrindavan are:
Radha Damodar
Radha Shyamsundar
Radha Govind Dev
Radha Gokulananda
Radha Madan Mohan
Radha Gopinath
Radha Raman
Jaipur is home to several deities originally from Vrindavan, including Govind Dev, Radha Gopinath, Madan Mohan, Radha Damodar, and others, brought to Jaipur for safekeeping during Mughal invasions
We spent the last week at the Sri Sri Radha Madhava Temple in Mayapur. It was an incredible week! Bathing Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu on His Appearance Day, attending aroti at Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi, Guru-puja at temple, etc. but the take away for me was the Radha Madhava altar. To see Radha and Krishna surrounded by the beautiful Ashtasakhi’s (the 8 principle gopis) was a sight to behold. And I wanted to know more about these beautiful personality’s.
The list of Ashtasakhi include: Lalita, Vishaka, Champaklata, Chitra, Tungavidhya, Induleka, Rangadevi, and Sudevi. All of these eight prominent gopis are regarded to be an expansion of Radha, the chief consort of Krishna.
Srimati Radharani is considered the topmost devotee of Lord Krishna, His eternal consort, and the root of pure, selfless devotion, embodying the supreme devotional Bliss of seeking Krishna’s pleasure.
Well today we are in Mayapura Dham, at the Shri Shri Radha Madhava Temple, celebrating the Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. It is a full day fast, followed by a nice Vegetarian feast at Sunset. The devotees here have been so kind and accommodating. And of course the deities are all spectacularly beautiful, and the prasadam is first class.We feel very grateful, and blessed to be here on such an auspicious occasion.
Probably because we leave for India today, and probably because we are going for the 50th Aniversity of the opening of the Sri Sri Krishna Balarama Temple in Vrindavan, but every morning I think about this Iconic picture of Srila Prabhupada offering the first Arotika to Krishna and Balarama.
We share with you some of thepastimes of the two transcendental brothers.
While Kṛṣṇa was engaged in tending the cows in the forest of Vṛndāvana or on Govardhana Hill, the gopīs in the village were always absorbed in thinking of Him and discussing His different pastimes. This is the perfect example of Kṛṣṇa consciousness: to somehow or other remain always engrossed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. The vivid example is always present in the behavior of the gopīs; therefore Lord Caitanya declared that no one can worship the Supreme Lord by any method which is better than the method of the gopīs. The gopīs were not born in very high brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya families; they were born in the families of vaiśyas, and not in big mercantile communities but in the families of cowherd men. They were not very well educated, although they heard all sorts of knowledge from the brāhmaṇas, the authorities of Vedic knowledge. The gopīs’ only purpose was to remain always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa. (“The Gopīs Attracted by the Flute.”)
The Hare Krishna Movement 
