Happy New Year everyone, hopefully This will be a good year.
Ya know, every year I make New Years’ resolutions, to be a better person, or to wake up early every day, stop eating so much white sugar and white flour, practice yoga, exercise, walk, chant my 16 rounds, etc. Typically my resolutions don’t even make it past the first week in January. But this year I am going to try something a little different. Keeping it simple. I am going to try to love God [Krishna] more.
I am reminded of the George Harrison song “My Sweet Lord”
My Sweet Lord
…I really want to see you Really want to be with you Really want to see you, Lord But it takes so long, my Lord
My sweet Lord My Lord My Lord
I really want to know you Really want to go with you Really want to show you, Lord But it won’t take long, my Lord (Hare Krishna)
full song below
But I am also reminded of the words of Srila Prabhupada in the KRSNA Book;
...Since Kṛṣṇa is all-attractive, one should know that all his desires should be focused on Kṛṣṇa… if we concentrate our loving propensities upon Kṛṣṇa only, then immediately universal love, unity and tranquillity will be automatically realized. When one waters the root of a tree, he automatically waters the branches, twigs, leaves and flowers; when one supplies food to the stomach through the mouth, he satisfies all the various parts of the body.
The art of focusing one’s attention on the Supreme and giving one’s love to Him is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. (from Preface)
And from the Introduction of the KRSNA Book;
The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is also described in the Brahma-samhita as the abode of cintamani. That abode of Lord Krsna known as Goloka Vrindavan is full of palaces made of touchstone. There the trees are called desire trees, and the cows are called surabhi. The Lord is served there by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune. His name is Govinda, the Primeval Lord, and He is the cause of all causes. There the Lord plays His flute, His eyes are like lotus petals, and the color of His body is like that of a beautiful cloud. On His head is a peacock feather. He is so attractive that He excels thousands of Cupids.
Krishna is so attractive, that it shouldn’t be hard to love Him more. Maybe this is a New Year Resolution I can actually keep.
In many parts of the world people are celebrating Christmas. Some see it as a spiritual celebration, putting on their Sunday best and attending Christmas mass at their local church. While others view it as a fantasy holiday, with the focus on Santa Claus and the elves, and reindeer. But either way, for me it is a time focused on family, peace, love and charity.
Gift giving, sharing and receiving gifts, is for the most part, a loving exchange, and it brings joy to those giving, and to those recieving.
Also food is involved. There is always a Christmas dinner, and people spend hours in the kitchen preparing favorite dishes to share with their loved ones. And often a prayer or grace is said in thanks.
And sometimes there is singing. I remember as a child my father used to love to sing by the piano, with my mother or sister playing. As devotees we all love kirtan, or sit down for a melodious bhajan.
But any way that people decide to celebrate Christmas and the Holiday Season, it is a good thing in my mind. Its a celebration of life and love family and friends, and all the gifts God has given us.
There is one nice quote I am reminded of from the Nectar of Devotion
Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasadam (spiritual food) and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another.(Nectar of devotion text 4)
This is an old photo taken in 1907 that my wife found on Facebook. I remember as a kid, thinking that’s what yogis do. Sit on a bed of nails, or levitate off the ground while meditating.
Before Srila Prabhupada came to the West, bringing with him the Vedic Philosophy, not many people had any idea of what was Yoga or Meditation. Or that there were different types of Yoga and Meditation.
We share with you an excerpt from the small paperback book by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swmai Prabhupada entitled ” The Perfection of Yoga ”
The yogī obviously has to go through a great deal of difficulty to purify the ātmā (mind, body and soul), but it is a fact that this can be done most effectively in this age simply by the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. Why is this? Because this transcendental sound vibration is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. When we chant His name with devotion, then Kṛṣṇa is with us, and when Kṛṣṇa is with us, then what is the possibility of remaining impure? Consequently, one absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, in chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa and serving Him always, receives the benefit of the highest form of yoga. The advantage is that he doesn’t have to take all the trouble of the meditational process. That is the beauty of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
“To chant the holy name always, one should be humbler than the grass in the street and devoid of all desire for personal honor, but one should offer others all respectful obeisances.
“A devotee engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord should practice forbearance like that of a tree. Even if rebuked or chastised, he should not say anything to others to retaliate.
“For even if one cuts a tree, it never protests, and even if it is drying up and dying it does not ask anyone for water.
PURPORT
This practice of forbearance (tṛṇād api sunicena) is very difficult, but when one actually engages in chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, the quality of forbearance automatically develops. A person advanced in spiritual consciousness through the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra need not practice to develop it separately, for a devotee develops all good qualities simply by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra regularly.
“Thus a Vaisnava should not ask anything from anyone else. If someone gives him something without being asked, he should accept it, but if nothing comes, a Vaisnava should be satisfied to eat whatever vegetables and fruits are easily available.
“One should strictly follow the principle of always chanting the holy name, and one should be satisfied with whatever he gets easily. Such devotional behavior solidly maintains one’s devotional service.
“One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.”
PURPORT
The grass is specifically mentioned in this verse because everyone tramples upon it yet the grass never protests. This example indicates that a spiritual master or leader should not be proud of his position; being always humbler than an ordinary common man, he should go on preaching the cult of Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra.
Recently a fellow Vaisnava (Kamsahanta Prabhu) passed away, or as we like to say, left his body, and we were left to settle his affairs. First there was the death certificate, and registering his death. Then there was the funeral home where arrangements were made for his cremation. Then there was the big job of distributing all his possessions. We gave his clothes to a nearby charity, food stuffs to the local church, There was tons of religious paraphernalia, dieties, pictures, books, (which were left with other devotees) and vehicles. It took weeks. And it really got me thinking… about my own mortality.
Kamshanta Prabhu was very fortunate in many ways, for in his adult life he preformed so much devotional service, distributed so many of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and collected so much laxmi to help advance this movement. He was also fortunate that his son Namacharya, was there to assist him at his hour of passing. Nam put his fathers japa beads in his hand, helped him chant in his final hours, and made arrangements to have his fathers body be cremated with his tulasi beads around his neck and his japa beads in his hand.
But this is what got me thinking…after a whole lifetime, Kamshanta Prabhu was left with only his neck and japa beads, and most importantly the holy name on his lips and in his ears. And I was reminded of the verse from the Bhagavad-gita 8.5:
“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature, of this there is no doubt”
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day homage
by Vyasasan das
Dear Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my fallen obeisance’s, and my love, on this auspicious day of your disappearance. With your arrival on the shores of America, you brought with you the shinning lamp of knowledge; the wisdom on India and the Supreme Absolute Truth. You appeared on the shores of America the way the sun appears on the Eastern Horizon. Slowly revealing itself at first, then dominating the sky with its blazing effulgence. Illuminating the entire world with its golden light. Where there is light there is no darkness. And wherever your words are being sung and repeated, there is a glimmer of hope for the materially conditioned souls.
Your words and instructions are the very life and soul of a genuine disciple. It is said that the best process of understanding Krishna is to hear about Him, either from Krishna Himself as given in statements from the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, or from the self realized pure devotee. One does not even need to change his worldly position; he simply has to hear the message of Krishna.
It is from you only, Srila Prabhupada, that I know anything at all about Krishna or the spiritual world. By your grace only, the knowledge is revealed, and you become revealed to your disciples and listeners. Anyone who submissively hears from you, either by reading your books, or hearing your lectures, can attain the highest perfectional platform. Just as there is the sun and the sunshine, so, there is Krishna and Krishna’s pure representative. When we feel the sunshine, we know the sun is there, and when we hear from you, we know that Krishna is there.
(Mantra Rock Dance poster, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, 1967)
The Prabhupada Revolution
by Padmapani Das
For many of us who came of age in the Sixties and Seventies, the counterculture and its promise of an alternative society based on love and peace was an important part of our lives. Art, music, poetry, philosophy, ecology and human rights were just a few of the buzzwords floating around the collective psyche of the Sixties generation. Revolution was in the air. “The establishment” was doomed and soon to be replaced with a kinder, gentler society. Peace would reign supreme and all peoples of the world would unite and be free from the chains of oppression. Or so we thought.
The nice thing about mantra meditation or chanting the maha mantra:
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama , Rama Rama, Hare Hare
is that one can do it anywhere, any time. In a plane, train or automobile, sitting, walking, or standing on one’s head. I find myself chanting when I am working in my shop, cutting the lawn, taking a shower, working in the garden. Chanting always makes me feel better.
“…one should learn the art of chanting the Holy name of Krishna 24 hours a day and that alone is the remedy for all problems of material existence.” (from letter to Susan Beckman August 29th 1973)
Prabhupada: The chanting is a process of purification. Just like we use soap to cleanse the body, this is material, but the chanting is spiritual cleansing. The three stages of cleansing are first
(1) To clean the mirror of the mind. In the Bhagavad Gita it is said:
“The mind is the best friend and the worst enemy, for one who has learned to control the mind it is the best of friends but for one who has failed to do so it is the worst enemy.”
Due to long term association, the mind absorbed in material things has become contaminated, or dirty, the chanting process purifies the mind.
(2) Then the next stage, when the mind is cleansed one becomes free from the symptoms of material existence. Material existence means to be always hankering and lamenting. I must have a new automobile, I must have more money, I must have good wife, I must have this I must have that. Then when I have the thing, I lament, I have lost my wife, I have lost my money, I have lost my car, simply lamenting. So the second stage is to be free from this anxiety.
(3) The third stage is “He never laments nor desires to have anything; he is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto me.”
“One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed toward every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.”
Lecture on Maha-mantra New York, September 8, 1966
By His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Prabhupada: Now, some of you members have asked me to explain the meaning of this chanting, Hare Krishna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Now, this sound is transcendental sound, transcendental sound, incarnation, sound incarnation of the Absolute Truth. Just try to understand what is incarnation. Incarnation means…
Yamuna: Srila Prabhupada, although we are very happy where we are, we are prepared to go wherever you would like to send us in order to have your blessings.
Srila Prabhupada: You westerners are always so restless. Why can’t you stay where you are?
Yamuna: But we have been told that because we don’t have the association of devotees, we cannot make any advancement.
Srila Prabhupada: Association can be two or two hundred. But you must be compatible. If you are twoand are compatible, you can go back to Godhead. But if you are two hundred and not compatible [his eyes open widely], then no one will make any advancement.
Yamuna: But Srila Prabhupada, some of the leaders are saying that we have lost your mercy becauseweleft ISKCON and without your mercy there is no meaning to our lives.
Srila Prabhupada: ISKCON is where you are chanting the Holy Names of Krsna. That is ISKCON. (Yamuna Devi, A Life of Unalloyed Devotion).
Note: This is an instruction to Yamuna devi dasi, who is 100% devoted to Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada is ISKCON!
I was going through some paperwork this morning and opened a very old looking notebook and this piece of paper fell to the floor. I picked it up and was surprised to find this written there. I don’t know the original source but it looks like its from an old devotee manual. I thought I would share it for your amusement and enlightenment.(I copied it just the way it was printed)
12 Reasons Why You Should Chant “Hare Krishna”
By regularly chanting the Maha-Mantra which is Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, even if it is only 1 round or 10 minutes every day, your problems will begin to vanish. Lord Krishna will fulfill all your desires, aspirations and wishes and bless you and your family both materially and spiritually.
Health Improves: By regularly chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare) your health will increase also your bodily strength and luster will be maintained even in old age!
Wealth Increases: By satisfying Lord Krishna by this chanting He will look after all your needs by providing sufficient opulence for both you and your family members.
Live Longer: It is stated in the Vedas (ancient Indian scriptures) that by performing this sacrifice of chanting Hare Krishna, ones very length of life will increase.
Nice Family:Constant chanting will create a very peaceful, satisfying family situation.
Worshipping Your Forefathers: By chanting the Lords name in front of a picture of you late forefathers, they will make advancement wherever they are, even though they might have died many years ago!!
Freedom From Anxieties and the Stress of Life: The sound of God’s name produced by chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare can relieve you from all personal anxieties and create a very peaceful frame of mind.
Attractive Personality: This chanting of Hare Krishna produces a very pure character which is attractive to everyone.
Improves Your Memory: By constant remembrance of the Lord’s name your memory becomes very sharp and clear.
Evil Spirits and Ghosts: Any ghosts or evil spirits which are troubling you or your family cannot remain in a house if there is constant chanting of the Lord’s name.
Intelligence: Chanting Hare Krishna results in a deeper insight into life and an increased awareness of everything around you.
Enjoyment: The more you chant the Lord’s name the happier you become. This enjoyment is priceless and increases all the time.
Counteracts Sinful Life: “Simply by chanting one holy name of Hari (or Hare Krishna), a sinful man can counteract the reactions to more sine than he is able to commit. (from the Brhad-visnu Purana).
My good friend Padnapani Prabhu, who runs the web page “The Prabhupada Connection” has written many fine essays on Krishna Consciousness and the Glories of Srila Prabhupada. We share one of his Editorial Notes with you today.
Forever Grateful to Srila Prabhupada
by Padmapani dasa
Thinking back to the late sixties and early seventies, I fondly remember how the Hare Krsna mantra had already infiltrated contemporary culture due to Srila Prabhupada’s extraordinary efforts to spread the holy names throughout the world. A number of famous musicians and artists had begun to discover the chanting and were promoting it in their records and books.
For example, the Broadway musical “Hair” was a big hit and the accompanying record — which included the chanting of Hare Krsna — became a popular staple on the radio. George Harrison recorded the song “My Sweet Lord” with the melodious chanting of Krsna’s names in the background, and prior to that, the words “Hare Krsna” could be found on one of the Beatles’ albums. Poet Allen Ginsberg, a self-styled leader of the new counterculture, had visited India and picked up the mantra there. He subsequently wrote about the chanting in at least one or more of his poetry books. After meeting Prabhupada at 26 Second Avenue in the Lower East Side of New York, Ginsberg increased his dedication to the holy names and often chanted them during “be-ins” and poetry readings. When John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their famous “bed-in” at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal in 1969, the devotees were there singing Hare Krsna during the recording of “Give Peace a Chance.” The “Radha Krsna Temple” album produced by George Harrison in 1970 in co-operation with the London devotees could be found in record stores throughout Europe and North America. Such was the widespread influence of Srila Prabhupada’s dynamic preaching efforts even though he had only been in the western world for a short period of time. Srila Prabhupada was already expertly fulfilling the order of his spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaj.
This morning I was just reflecting on how hot the weather has been, and how much all the plants are in need of water. Then, as I was reading the following verses from the Srimad Bhagavatam and I was thinking that we are all in need of Krsna, who is like the rain, and who’s beauty is compared to the dark clouds in the sky.
…After the scorching heat of the summer season, it is very pleasing to see dark clouds in the sky. The Lord wears a peacock feather in His hair, and His bodily complexion is just like a blackish cloud.
…The Lord’s beauty is compared to rainfall because when the rain falls in the rainy season, it becomes more and more pleasing to the people. After the scorching heat of the summer season, the people enjoy the rainy season very much. Indeed, they even come out of their doors in the villages and enjoy the rainfall directly. Thus the Lord’s bodily features are compared to the clouds of the rainy season.
…No one can say that the body of the Lord is wanting in beautiful parts. It is completely pūrṇam. Everything is complete: God’s creation, God’s beauty and God’s bodily features. All these are so complete that all one’s desires can become fully satisfied when one sees the beauty of the Lord. Both materialists and spiritualists can enjoy the beauty of the Lord. Because the Supreme Lord attracts everyone, including demons and devotees, materialists and spiritualists, He is called Kṛṣṇa. (from purport to SB 4.24.45-46)
Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for the survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. -Albert Einstein
I personally feel it is very important to eat as healthy as possible. That is one of the reasons I plant a garden. Although not everyone has that luxury to plant a garden, still there are so many fresh fruits and vegetables available in every American grocery store, there is ample opportunity to eat a healthy vegetarian diet.
Back in 1972 when I first became a vegetarian, the challenge was learning how to cook vegetarian meals. Therefore I am including the first cookbook that taught me the basics as a free pdf download (just click on link at bottom of post). Wishing you all a happy and healthy life. -V
It seems there is world wide fear over the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people, such as myself , and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. But I refuse to live in fear, although we have accepted a self imposed quarantine, I have gone about my business working alone in my woodworking shop, and chanting the holy name. Hare Krishna! -V
Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, which is feared by fear personified. (SB 1.1.14)
… It is stated herein that the name of Kṛṣṇa is feared even by fear personified. This indicates that the name of Kṛṣṇa is nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the name of Kṛṣṇa is as powerful as Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. There is no difference at all. Anyone, therefore, can take advantage of the holy names of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa even in the midst of greatest dangers. The transcendental name of Kṛṣṇa, even though uttered unconsciously or by force of circumstances, can help one obtain freedom from the hurdle of birth and death. (from purport)
The following interview with freelance reporter Sandy Nixon took place in July 1975, in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s quarters at the Kṛṣṇa center in Philadelphia. This discussion serves as a superb introduction to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and covers such basic topics as the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, the relationship between the spiritual master and God, the difference between genuine and fake gurus, the role of women in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the Indian caste system, and the relationship between Christ consciousness and Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
What is Krsna Consciousness?
Ms. Nixon: My first question is very basic. What is Kṛṣṇa consciousness?
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa means God. We are all intimately connected with Him because He is our original father. But we have forgotten this connection. When we become interested in knowing, “What is my connection with God? What is the aim of life?” then we are called Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Ms. Nixon: How does Kṛṣṇa consciousness develop in the practitioner?
Śrīla Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa consciousness is already there in the core of everyone’s heart. But because of our materially conditioned life, we have forgotten it. The process of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra—Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—revives the Kṛṣṇa consciousness we already have. For example, a few months ago these American and European boys and girls did not know about Kṛṣṇa, but just yesterday we saw how they were chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and dancing in ecstasy throughout the whole Ratha-yātrā procession [an annual festival sponsored by the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in cities around the world]. Do you think that was artificial? No. Artificially, nobody can chant and dance for hours together. They have actually awakened their Kṛṣṇa consciousness by following a bona fide process. This is explained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 22. 107)
Srila Prabhupada describes the formula for success: “Our request to all our students is that they daily chant at least sixteen rounds of this harer nāma mahā-mantra offenselessly, following the regulative principles. Thus, their success will be assured without a doubt.”
I wanted to try something different this morning…so I attempted to import a sound file. You can click on following link to hear Srila Prabhupada chanting Japa.
This morning we were reading from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila chapter 3, text 79, of the benefits and merits of chanting Hare Krishna.
“Even if one distributes ten million cows in charity during an eclipse of the sun, lives at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā for millions of years, or gives a mountain of gold in sacrifice to the brāhmaṇas, he does not earn one hundredth part of the merit derived from chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.”
In other words, one who accepts the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa to be some kind of pious activity is completely misled. Of course, it is pious; but the real fact is that Kṛṣṇa and His name, being transcendental, are far above all mundane pious activity. Pious activity is on the material platform, but chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa is completely on the spiritual plane. (from purport Adi 3.79)
The Hare Krishna Movement 