The Lord’s Omnipotency; Vaibhava-Prakasa

rasa dance

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Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary; vaibhava-prakāśa. As I was reading the Krsna Book the other day this word vaibhava-prakāśa just jumped out from the pages, and I was reminded again of the Lord’s omnipotency.

“The Lord’s omnipotency is displayed by His simultaneous presence in every place. He is present always in His eternal abode Goloka Vṛndāvana, and still He is present in everyone’s heart and even within every invisible atom.” (SB 1.9.10 purport)

“The personal form of Kṛṣṇa can be divided into two: svayam-rūpa and svayam-prakāśa. As far as His svayam-rūpa (or pastime form) is concerned, it is in that form that He remains always in Vṛndāvana with the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. This personal form (svayam-rūpa) can be further divided into the prābhava and vaibhava forms. For instance, Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself in multiple forms during the rāsa dance in order to dance with each and every gopī who took part in forms in order to accommodate His 16,108 wives.

… As far as Kṛṣṇa is concerned, when He manifested Himself in different forms, each and every one of them was a separate individual. When Nārada Muni visited Kṛṣṇa at different palaces at Dvārakā, he was astonished at this,…He wondered how the Lord was present with His queens in each and every one of His 16,108 palaces. With each queen, Kṛṣṇa Himself was in a different form, and He was acting in different ways. In one form He was engaged in playing with His children, and in yet another form He was performing some household work. These different activities are conducted by the Lord when He is in His “emotional” forms, which are known as vaibhava-prakāśa expansions. Similarly, there are other unlimited expansions of the forms of Kṛṣṇa, but even when they are divided or expanded without limit, they are still one and the same. There is no difference between one form and another. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” ( Teachings of Lord Chaitanya)

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The Kidnapping of Subhadrā and Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Visiting Śrutadeva and Bahulāśva

Lady Subhadra

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…King Parīkṣit became more inquisitive to hear about Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes, and thus he inquired from Śukadeva Gosvāmī how his grandmother Subhadrā was kidnapped by his grandfather Arjuna at the instigation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. King Parīkṣit was very much eager to learn about his grandfather’s kidnapping and marriage of his grandmother.

Thus Śukadeva Gosvāmī began to narrate the story as follows: “Once upon a time, your grandfather Arjuna, the great hero, was visiting several holy places of pilgrimage, and while he was thus traveling all over he happened to come to Prabhāsakṣetra. In the Prabhāsakṣetra he heard the news that Lord Balarāma was negotiating the marriage of Subhadrā, the daughter of Arjuna’s maternal uncle, Vasudeva. Although her father, Vasudeva, and her brother, Kṛṣṇa, were not in agreement with Him, Balarāma was in favor of marrying Subhadrā to Duryodhana. Arjuna, however, desired to gain the hand of Subhadrā.”

As he thought of Subhadrā and her beauty, Arjuna became more and more captivated with the idea of marrying her, and with a plan in mind…

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Laughing Ecstasy

Srila Prabhupada smiling

Yesterday I was at the dentists office having a lose tooth removed, so naturally I was some what preoccupied with my toothless smile. But Krishna Consciousness is so nice, and Srila Prabhupada has given us so much knowledge I thought I would just do a search on the word ‘teeth’ an see if there was any reference in the books. To my surprise there was this whole section on smiling…

When the teeth are distinctly visible in a smile, that is called vihasita. One day when Kṛṣṇa was engaged in stealing butter and yogurt in the house of Jaṭilā, He assured His friends, “My dear friends, I know that this old lady is now sleeping very profoundly because she is breathing very deeply. Let us silently steal butter and yogurt without making any disturbance.” But the old lady, Jaṭilā, was not sleeping; so she could not contain her smiling, and her teeth immediately became distinctly visible. This is an instance of vihasita smiling.

Kṛṣṇa once addressed Jaratī thus: “My dear good woman, the skin of your face is now slackened, and so your face exactly resembles a monkey’s. As such, the King of the monkeys, Balīmukha, has selected you as his worthy wife.” While Kṛṣṇa was teasing Jaratī in this way, she replied that she was certainly aware of the fact that the King of the monkeys was trying to marry her, but she had already taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa, the killer of many powerful demons, and therefore she had already decided to marry Kṛṣṇa instead of the King of the monkeys. On hearing this sarcastic reply by the talkative Jaratī, all the cowherd girls present there began to laugh very loudly and clap their hands. This laughter, accompanied by the clapping of hands, is called atihasita.

…As I continued to read on, my toothless smile increased into outward laughter…

Sometimes there are indirect sarcastic remarks which also create atihasita circumstances. An example of one such remark was made by one of the cowherd girls to Kuṭilā, the daughter of Jaṭilā and sister of Abhimanyu, the so-called husband of Rādhārāṇī. Indirectly Kuṭilā was insulted by the following statement: “My dear Kuṭilā, daughter of Jaṭilā, your breasts are as long as string beans-simply dry and long. Your nose is so gorgeous that it is defying the beauty of the noses of frogs. And your eyes are more beautiful than the eyes of dogs. Your lips are defying the flaming cinders of fire, and your abdomen is as beautiful as a big drum. Therefore, my dear beautiful Kuṭilā, you are the most beautiful of all the cowherd girls of Vṛndāvana, and because of your extraordinary beauty, I think you must be beyond the attraction of the sweet blowing of Kṛṣṇa’s flute!”

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Krsna’s Exquisite Beauty

Madhava

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…Regarding the attractiveness of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily beauty and the sound vibration of His flute, in the Tenth Canto, 29th Chapter, 37th verse, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the gopīs address Kṛṣṇa as follows: “Although our attitude towards You resembles loving affairs with a paramour, we cannot but wonder at how no woman can maintain her chastity upon hearing the vibration from Your flute. And not only women, but even stronghearted men are subject to falling down from their position at the sound of Your flute. In fact, we have seen that in Vṛndāvana even the cows, the deer, the birds, the trees-everyone-has been enchanted by the sweet vibration of Your flute and the fascinating beauty of Your person.”

In Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Lalita-mādhava, it is said: “One day Kṛṣṇa happened to see the shadow of His beautiful form reflected on the jeweled foreground. Upon seeing this bodily reflection, He expressed His feelings: ‘How wonderful it is that I have never seen such a beautiful form! Although it is My own form, still, like Rādhārāṇī, I am trying to embrace this form and enjoy celestial bliss.'” This statement shows how Kṛṣṇa and His shadow reflection are one and the same. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His shadow reflection, nor between Kṛṣṇa and His picture. That is the transcendental position of Kṛṣṇa.

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“Kindly Help Me” (Free Download)

Kindly Help Me1

Front Cover

We are pleased to offer this new book; “Kindly Help Me”, for free pdf download.

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The Most Confidential Knowledge

Raja-Vidya The King of Knowledge1

…The very beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, the First Chapter, is more or less an introduction to the rest of the book; and in the Second and Third Chapters, the spiritual knowledge described is called confidential. Topics discussed in the Seventh and Eighth Chapters are specifically related to devotional service, and because they bring enlightenment in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are called more confidential. But the matters which are described in the Ninth Chapter deal with unalloyed, pure devotion. Therefore this is called the most confidential. One who is situated in the most confidential knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is naturally transcendental; he therefore has no material pangs, although he is in the material world. In the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu it is said that although one who has a sincere desire to render loving service to the Supreme Lord is situated in the conditional state of material existence, he is to be considered liberated. Similarly, we shall find in the Bhagavad-gītā, Tenth Chapter, that anyone who is engaged in that way is a liberated person.

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Vrndavana

Radha-Krishna

by Narottama das Thakura

Vrndavan is a transcendental beautiful place.  It is the spiritual sky, where everything is made of touchstone, which fulfills all desires.  All the temples there are bedcked with costly jewels,  In that far distant place is the River Yamuna, which is full of lotus flowers,  In the midst of that throng of lotus flowers there is a golden boat, appearing like another big lotus flower, with eight petals, who are none but the eight chief gopis who always surround Radha and Krishna,  In the surrounding petals there is a golden throne where the two transcendental lovers, namely Radha and Krishna are seated, but of all of them the governing Deity is Srimati Radharani.  There is no comparison to Radharani’s beauty and the luster of Her transcendental body.  The so-called beauty of the moon has fallen on the ground in the presence of Radharani’s beauty.  In that assembly of Radha-Krishna and their principal associates there is a flood of laughing and joking as they address one another.  Narottama das says that the eternal pastimes of Radha-Krishna from day to day are full of transcendental pleasure.  Let us all remember them now and then and thus become happy even in this material world.

Bengali lyrics; More

Appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the Glories of Srimati Tulasi

advaita acarya

…Whenever the Supreme Personality of Godhead descends in His human form, He sends ahead all His devotees, who act as His father, teacher and associates in many roles. Such personalities appear before the descent of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Before the appearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, there appeared His devotees like Śrī Mādhavendra Purī; His spiritual master, Śrī Īśvara Purī; His mother, Śrīmatī Śacīdevī; His father, Śrī Jagannātha Miśra; and Śrī Advaita Ācārya.

Advaita Ācārya having appeared, He found the world devoid of devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa because people were engrossed in material affairs.

Everyone was engaged in material enjoyment, whether sinfully or virtuously. No one was interested in the transcendental service of the Lord, which can give total relief from the repetition of birth and death.

Seeing the activities of the world, the Ācārya felt compassion and began to ponder how He could act for the people’s benefit.

[Advaita Ācārya thought:] “If Śrī Kṛṣṇa were to appear as an incarnation, He Himself could preach devotion by His personal example.

“In this Age of Kali there is no religion other than the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, but how in this age will the Lord appear as an incarnation?

“I shall worship Kṛṣṇa in a purified state of mind. I shall constantly petition Him in humbleness.

“My name, ‘Advaita,’ will be fitting if I am able to induce Kṛṣṇa to inaugurate the movement of the chanting of the holy name.”

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is very affectionate toward His devotees, sells Himself to a devotee who offers Him merely a tulasī leaf and a palmful of water.”

Advaita Ācārya considered the meaning of the verse in this way: Not finding any way to repay the debt He owes to one who offers Him a tulasī leaf and water, Lord Kṛṣṇa thinks, “There is no wealth in My possession that is equal to a tulasī leaf and water.”

Thus the Lord liquidates the debt by offering Himself to the devotee. Considering this, the Ācārya began worshiping the Lord.

Thinking of the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, He constantly offered tulasī buds in water from the Ganges.

He appealed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa with loud calls and thus made it possible for Kṛṣṇa to appear.

Therefore the principal reason for Śrī Caitanya’s descent is this appeal by Advaita Ācārya. The Lord, the protector of religion, appears by the desire of His devotee.

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Krishna Path; New Releases

KRSNA Book

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I am always glad to hear from my friend Prahlada-Nrsimha Prabhu over at Krishna Path because it usually means he has another book ready to be uploaded onto the Internet. For instance today this message arrived in our mailbox:

Haribol! We are very happy to announce that KrishnaPath.org has now completed the scanning of the original 1970 ISKCON Press edition (Volume one) of KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead and is available for free download! We are working hard to get you the second volume as well. By your prayers and blessings the second volume KRSNA book will be ready and available for free download soon.

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The Mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Caitanya Mahaprabhu

…In the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā the Lord asserts that He appears in every millennium just to reestablish the way of religion. The way of religion is made by the Supreme Lord. No one can manufacture a new path of religion, as is the fashion for certain ambitious persons. The factual way of religion is to accept the Lord as the supreme authority and thus render service unto Him in spontaneous love.

The Lord, however, out of His causeless mercy, because He is more merciful to the suffering living beings than they can expect, appears before them and renovates the principles of devotional service comprised of hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshiping, praying, cooperating and surrendering unto Him. Adoption of all the above-mentioned items, or any one of them, can help a conditioned soul get out of the tangle of nescience and thus become liberated from all material sufferings created by the living being illusioned by the external energy. This particular type of mercy is bestowed upon the living being by the Lord in the form of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (from Purport to SB 1.8.35)

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Our Disciplic Succession

Images of the Disciplic Succession (taken from Original 1972 Edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is)

Srila Prabhupada from Original Bhagavad-gita As It Is

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
and greatest exponent of Krishna Consciousness in the western world.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta1

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja
the spiritual master of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
and foremost scholar and devotee in the recent age.

Srila Gaura Kishora1

Srila Gaura Kisora Das Babaji Maharaja
the spiritual master of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami
and intimate student of Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode

Srila Bhaktivinoda1

Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode
the pioneer of the program to benedict
the entire world with Krishna consciousness

As taken from Original 1972 Edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is
*Note; These images were deleted from: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged …or rather, current edition.

Why Be Vegetarian?

Great Vegetarians

…On the spiritual path, there are several reasons why a person is recommended to be vegetarian. One primary reason is that we need to see the spiritual nature within all living beings, and that includes the animals and other creatures as well. Universal brotherhood means nonviolence to both humans and animals. It consists of understanding that animals also have souls. They are alive, conscious, and feel pain. And these are the indications of the presence of consciousness, which is the symptom of the soul.

…Isaac Bashevis Singer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, asked, “How can we pray to God for mercy if we ourselves have no mercy? How can we speak of rights and justice if we take an innocent creature and shed its blood?” He went on to say, “I personally believe that as long as human beings will go shedding the blood of animals, there will never be any peace.”

…The Buddhist scripture (Sutta-Nipata 393) also advises: “Let him not destroy or cause to be destroyed any life at all, or sanction the acts of those who do so. Let him refrain from even hurting any creature, both those that are strong and those that tremble in the world.” It is also said in the Buddhist scripture, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, “The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.”

Why Be Vegetarian?
By Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)

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The Perfect Devotee

Srila Prabhupada

Continuing with our series of a True account entitled Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers… A search for meaning carries Bob Cohen, a young American Peace Corps worker halfway around the world, to an ancient village in the midst of West Bengal. There, in a small bamboo hut, he finds a teacher who is able to tell him everything he ever wanted to know.

Bob: A perfected soul, a devotee, a pure devotee…

Śrīla Prabhupāda: A perfected soul is one who engages twenty-four hours a day in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is perfection. That is a transcendental position. Perfection means to engage in one’s original consciousness. That is perfection.

Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers
By His Divine Grace A.C. Baktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 6, February 29, 1972, (evening)

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Attaining the Supreme

Plate 27

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 1972 Edition
By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter 8

Attaining the Supreme

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“One Can Understand Me As I Am, Only By Devotional Service”

Sharma-village-cows-krishna-gopies-gopas-gopas-cowherd-men

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“One Can Understand Me As I Am, Only By Devotional Service”
It Is Not All One and the Same

…Lord Kṛṣṇa told the gopīs, ‘The means of attaining My favor is loving service unto Me, and fortunately you are all thus engaged. Those living beings who render service unto Me are eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world and attain eternal life with knowledge and bliss.’

The fulfillment of human life is summarized in this verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.82.44).

And in the Bhagavad-gita

…Lord Krsna told Arjuna, “One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.”

Impersonalists cannot understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore it is not possible for them to enter into the spiritual kingdom of God and return home, back to Godhead. Actually one attains different results by different means. It is not that all achievements are one and the same.

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Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas (Free download)

Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas

Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas (Free download)

It is with great pleasure that we share with you the Original 1974 Edition of the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas, thanks to some very special devotees over at Krishnapath.org who are making all these original books available again and for free. This Song Book and The Hare Krishna Cookbook, were probably my two favorite books as a new devotee. They were so cherished that I had the pages laminated in plastic to preserve them. I must have known instinctually then that these books were endangered, because I also have my original 1972 Bhagavad-gita, original 1970 Krsna Books Vol. I & II, 1968 edition of the Teaching of Lord Chaintanya, as well as many others. Please click on the following link for a free pdf download of the scans of original song book. Hare Krishna!

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The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahmā

Lord Brahma steeling the cowherd boys and calves

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Here is a new word for your vaisnava vocabulary, nityanavanavāyamāna This word is explained in following paragraph. And for an example of the word nityanavanavāyamāna in transcendental subject matter we offer the following chapter from the KRSNA Book.

It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nityanavanavāyamāna. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but will remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.

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Kumbh Mela 2013

Kumbh Mela 2013 in Allahabad

Kumbh Mela 2013

The World’s Biggest Religious Festival

The Kumbh Mela, believed to be the largest religious gathering on earth is held every 12 years on the banks of the ‘Sangam’- the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. The Mela alternates between Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar every three years. The one celebrated at the Holy Sangam in Allahabad is the largest and holiest of them.

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Chanting Hare Krishna/Mystic Meditation

Vishnujana ecstatic     Harinama Sankirtan_

He who meditates on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his mind constantly engaged in remembering Me…is sure to reach Me.

…In this verse Lord Kṛṣṇa stresses the importance of remembering Him. One’s memory of Kṛṣṇa is revived by chanting the mahāmantra, Hare Kṛṣṇa. By this practice of chanting and hearing the sound vibration of the Supreme Lord, one’s ear, tongue and mind are engaged. This mystic meditation is very easy to practice, and it helps one attain the Supreme Lord. (from purport to Bhagavad-gita 8.8)

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Lord Krsna’s Entrance into Dvaraka

Krsna enters Dwarka

As the Lord passed along the public road of Dvārakā, His head was protected from the sunshine by a white umbrella. White feathered fans moved in semicircles, and showers of flowers fell upon the road. His yellow garments and garlands of flowers made it appear as if a dark cloud were surrounded simultaneously by sun, moon, lightning and rainbows.

…The sun, moon, rainbow and lightning do not appear in the sky simultaneously. But the situation created at the time of His passing on the roads of Dvārakā was beautiful and could not be compared to anything besides the description of natural phenomena.

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108 Imporant Slokas from the 1972 Bhagavad-gita As It Is

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The Hare Krishna Cookbook

Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 1972 Edition “Online”

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Raja-Vidya the King of Knowledge

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Important Slokas from the Brahma-samhita

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Slokas from the Sri Isopanisad

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Prayers By Queen Kunti (Slokas)

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Gajendra’s Prayers of Surrender (Slokas)

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A Short Statement of the Philosophy of Krishna Consciousness

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July 9th Letter

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The Hare Krishna Explosion

Reference Material/Study Guide

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