Today marks the appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. We honor it with a half day fast followed by a nice vegetarian feast. We share with you one of my favorite songs composed by Srila Bhaktivinoda.
When, oh when, will that day be mine? When my offenses ceasing, taste for the name increasing, when in my heart will your mercy shine? When, oh when will that day be mine?
Lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree. When will my mind attain this quality? Respectful to all, not expecting their honour, then shall I taste the name’s nectar sublime. When oh when will that day be mine?
“Prabhupada: Hare Krsna. So we have published our Nectar of Devotion. So every one of you should read this Nectar of Devotion repeatedly. The whole substance of Vaisnava philosophy and activities, everything is there. So every one of you read this Nectar of Devotion once, twice, thrice.”
The Appearance Day of Our Beloved Spiritual Master
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
Dear Srila Prabhupada
Please accept my humble obeisances, and kindly forgive my offences. I am truly grateful to you for all that you have given me. Every day when I go into our temple room, and I light a candle or stick of incense, sit down and chant japa or sing bhajans, whether I am cooking an offering or preparing the Lord’s plate, picking a flower to offer or washing and drying the Lord’s plate, reading from one of your many books, or simply thinking about Lord Krishna or Caitanya Mahaprabhu, I feel a deep sense of gratitude, and appreciation.
Today we celebrate the Appearance of Lord Krishna (Janmastami) with a full day fast, followed by a nice vegetarian feast. As we like to do on this day, we read from the KRSNA Book. So we are posting the complete chapter; “The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa”.
…As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that His appearance, birth, and activities, are all transcendental, and one who understands them factually becomes immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the Second Chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohiṇī was also predominant because this star is considered to be very auspicious. Rohiṇī is under the direct supervision of Brahmā. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious. ( from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Chapter 3)
Today, being Krsna Janmastami, we are offering a free scanned copy of the original ISKCON Press 1970 Edition of KRSNA Book Vol. 1, which you can download. Just click on the following link to began downloading. This could take a while depending on the speed of your connection. This free scanned copy includes all the original art work as well.
I would like to share a very Special Photo of Srila Prabhupada in the San Francisco temple 1968 signing His name to a set of India published, first canto, Srimad Bhagavatam consisting of three volumes.
There is a backstory that bring back exciting memories to me. When Srila Prabhupada arrived in the USA, He carried with Him 200 sets of these books, which most were sold. The remaining books (assorted volumes) in India were shipped and arrived in the winter of 1966. In Srila Prabhupada’s Apt. it was me and Brahmananda that unpacked these volumes. They were shipped in thin steel painted black trunks. There were three or four of them and pretty banged-up during shipment. But the books were undamaged. There were only a small number of full sets left, most were 2nd and 3rd volumes of the set. The front-covers were packed separately. And it was my service to carefully put the front jackets on all the books right in front of Srila Prabhupada. I was so excited unpacking these volumes thinking as a young boy, what a great treasure I found. I had to carefully fold the jackets around each and every book while His Divine Grace watched. We stacked some books in His room and remainder one trunk that wasnt damaged we put all the other books. So this photo of Srila Prabhupada signing this set brought me back to those days that I was allowed to perform this humble service with great enthusiasm, and in my old age it brings my heart great happiness……your servant gargamuni das………
One of the most used books in our temple room is the songbook. Everyday it seems, I am flipping through the “Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas”, singing one of the many songs or reciting some of the numerous pranams (prayers) as part of my daily sadhana. The following post is the first 13 pages of songbook, which in my mind is a nice way to start the day and is a good prelude to other devotional service.
Pranams from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas
SRI GURU PRANAMA
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
om-address; ajnana-of ignorance; timira-by the darkness; andhasya-of one who was blinded; jnana-anjana-by the ointment of spiritual knowledge; salakaya-by a medical instrument called a salaka, which is used to apply medical ointment to eyes afflicted with cataracts: caksuh-eyes; unmilitam-were opened; yena-by whom; tasmai-unto him; sri-gurave-unto my spiritual master; namah-obeisances.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
This morning when I opened my computer I saw this Headline;“Middle East braces for week that could determine the course of the Gaza war”. And I was reminded of all the conflict at present in the world. Then I opened the Srimad Bhagavatam and began reading the Preface by Srila Prabhupada and it seemed so timely.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Preface
We must know the present need of human society. And what is that need? Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particular countries or communities. Human society is broader than in the Middle Ages, and the world tendency is toward one state or one human society. The ideals of spiritual communism, according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, are based more or less on the oneness of the entire human society, nay, of the entire energy of living beings. The need is felt by great thinkers to make this a successful ideology. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need in human society. It begins, therefore, with the aphorism of Vedānta philosophy janmādy asya yataḥ (Bhag. 1.1.1.) to establish the ideal of a common cause.
Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness of oblivion. It has made rapid progress in the field of material comforts, education and economic development throughout the entire world. But there is a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore there are large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is need of a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship and prosperity with a common cause. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam will fill this need, for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of the entire human society.
I posted this some years ago, but this morning I happened upon it again, and so enjoyed it, we thought we would post it again. In this treatise Ajitananda Prabhu describes how Srila Prabhupada perfectly displayed the twenty-six qualities of a pure devotee of Lord Krishna.
In Praise of Srila Prabhupada . by Ajitananda dasa ________________
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who successfully distributed the message of Lord Krsna throughout the world, was not an ordinary conditioned soul, governed by the harsh laws of material nature. Although to the unenlightened he may have appeared to exhibit commonplace characteristics, it is evident through the careful study of his life and activities, that Srila Prabhupada perfectly displayed the twenty-six qualities of a pure devotee of Lord Krsna. We learn from Vedic literature that one who possesses these qualities is necessarily free from material bondage, and enjoys an eternal position in the intimate association of the Supreme Lord. Such a great soul is very rarely found within this material realm, and owing to his unparalleled purity and exalted status, he is worshipable by the entire world. Individually, and as a collective society of aspiring devotees, we must always strive to appreciate Srila Prabhupada’s divine qualities, teach this application to others, and perform all of our devotional activities for his satisfaction. This treatise is an imperfect but hopeful attempt to please Srila Prabhupada by illustrating, in a practical way, how he perfectly displayed the twenty-six qualities of a pure devotee of Lord Krsna.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
PICTURE INDEX
The illustrations of Bhagavad-gītā As It Is were painted by members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness working under the personal direction of the author, their spiritual master, In the following descriptive index, the numbers in boldface type which follow each plate number refer to the chapter and verse of the Gītā that the picture illustrates.
I remember as a young book distributor on the Radha Damadora Traveling Sankirtan Party back in 1975, we were getting fresh new cases of the Caitanya-caritamrta to distribute, “Hot off the press”. Literally the pages were still warm. We couldn’t wait to open up a new case and look at all the new pictures.
Celebrating Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
A 16th-Century Bengali Masterpiece
By Kalakantha Dasa
By any standards, Caitanya Mahaprabhu led a most remarkable life. As a child-scholar, He refuted the leading philosophers of His day. Later, as a young renunciant, He traveled widely, converting kings, panditas, Muslims, Buddhists, and thousands of their followers to the path of Krsna-bhakti. In His final years, He exhibited unprecedented miracles and devotional ecstasies. Even today, five hundred years later, Lord Caitanya’s movement reverberates around the world with startling religious vitality.
The following is an article I posted some years ago, but I feel it is still timely, and it still of the utmost importance to our society. We need to understand what were Srila Prabhupada’s intentions and desires for the continuation of his mission. Although our page is not intended as a political forum, it is a tool in the mission of our spiritual master, for the propagation of The Hare Krishna Movement or Krishna Consciousness.
Now that Śrīla Prabhupāda has named these representatives Temple Presidents may henceforward send recommendations for first and second initiation to whichever of these eleven representatives are nearest their Temple.After considering the recommendation, these representatives many accept the devotee as an initiated disciple of Śrīla Prabhupāda by giving a spiritual name, or in the case of a second initiation, by chanting on the Gāyatrī thread just as Śrīla Prabhupāda had done.
The name of a newly initiated disciple should be sent by the representative who has accepted him or her to Śrīla Prabhupāda, to be included in Divine Grace’s “Initiated Disciples” book. (from July 9th letter)
The Rtvik Representative Of The Acharya by Kṛṣṇacandra Dāsa – Vṛndāvan:
Shortly after His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Śrīla Prabhupāda entered into his Samādhi līlā in 1977; 11 of his senior disciples and members of the GBC who held the official position of representatives of His Divine Grace in 1st and 2nd spiritual initiations [as per July 9th Document], without authority and without an order by His Divine Grace announced themselves to be pure devotees of the Lord and forcibly seized the titles, roles and functions of acharyas and Initiating Spiritual Masters of ISKCON.
Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary: Bhāva. In the Glossary in the back of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 1972 Edition, the word Bhāva is defined as; the preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead. Bhāva is a big word and has various meanings
…The last stage of the devotional life is called bhāva, or transcendental love of Godhead.
“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization.…This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called premā, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the premā stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations resulting from void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-gita 4.11)
So it seem that bhāva is not only the preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead but we find that this preliminary stage of transcendental love is also the path to the highest perfectional stage of life, pure love or premā. There are two ways to approach the Lord, one is with awe and reverence and the other is with affection; bhāva. One who approaches the Lord with affection, is sure to advance spiritually.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam we find many references to the word Bhāva and highlighted some of them here.
Here in the West Mothers Day is being celebrated; a day to honor our Mothers.
…According to scriptures also, there are seven mothers: (1) the real mother, (2) the wife of the spiritual master, (3) the wife of a brāhmaṇa, (4) the wife of the king, (5) the cow, (6) the nurse, and (7) the earth. All of them are mothers.
Srimad Bhagavatam By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swaim Prabhupada from Canto 1, Chapter 11, Text 28-
praviṣṭaḥ—after entering; tu—but; gṛham—houses; pitroḥ—of the father; pariṣvaktaḥ—embraced; sva-mātṛbhiḥ—by His own mothers; vavande—offered obeisances; śirasā—His head; sapta—seven; devakī—Devakī; pramukhā—headed by; mudā—gladly.
After entering the house of His father, He was embraced by the mothers present, and the Lord offered His obeisances unto them by placing His head at their feet. The mothers were headed by Devakī [His real mother].
It appears that Vasudeva, the father of Lord Kṛṣṇa, had completely separate residential quarters where he lived with his eighteen wives, out of whom Śrīmatī Devakī is the real mother of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But in spite of this, all other stepmothers were equally affectionate to Him, as will be evident from the following verse. Lord Kṛṣṇa also did not distinguish His real mother from His stepmothers, and He equally offered His obeisances unto all the wives of Vasudeva present on the occasion. According to scriptures also, there are seven mothers: (1) the real mother, (2) the wife of the spiritual master, (3) the wife of a brāhmaṇa, (4) the wife of the king, (5) the cow, (6) the nurse, and (7) the earth. All of them are mothers. Even by this injunction of the śāstras, the stepmother, who is the wife of the father, is also as good as the mother because the father is also one of the spiritual masters. Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Lord of the universe, plays the part of an ideal son just to teach others how to treat their stepmothers.
tāḥ—all of them; putram—the son; aṅkam—the lap; āropya—having placed on; sneha-snuta—moistened by affection; payodharāḥ—breasts filled up; harṣa—delight; vihvalita-ātmānaḥ—overwhelmed by; siṣicuḥ—wet; netrajaiḥ—from the eyes; jalaiḥ—water.
The mothers, after embracing their son, sat Him on their laps. Due to pure affection, milk sprang from their breasts. They were overwhelmed with delight, and the tears from their eyes wetted the Lord.
When Lord Kṛṣṇa was at Vṛndāvana even the cows would become moistened by affection towards Him, and He would draw milk from the nipples of every affectionate living being, so what to speak of the stepmothers who were already as good as His own mother.
So today is the appearance day of Lord Ramachandra or Rama-Navami. We honor it with a fast untill sunset, followed by a nice vegetarian feast. It is good to read and chant throughout the day and remind each other about the glorious pastimes of Lord Ramachandra.
In honor of the Appearance day of Lord Ramacandra, we are posting the entire tenth chapter from the ninth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam entitled “The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra”.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Canto Nine, Chapter Ten
I had to laugh when I saw this posted on Facebook. But it is both beautiful and practical, and is good for the planet and the garden.
Horse-driven cart New Vrindaban
Can be used both for carrying goods and passengers…………
The carriage board should be balanced on the wheel beam and then it will be weightless for the horse who can then very swiftly draw the whole load without any difficulty. By this at least half ton of load or 10 passengers can be easily drawn.”
I have always enjoyed SrilaPrabhupada’s sense of humor.
Prabhupada: ”Krsna has got accountant. [laughter] He keeps nice account of the activities of His devotees.”……
Prabhupada: So one thing is guaranteed. If you engage in Krsna consciousness, and suppose you do not become perfectly mature, some way or other you fall down… We should not fall down. Because if we have got enthusiasm and patience, we shall not fall down. But suppose we fall down. There is nothing inauspicious, because whatever you have done sincerely, that is recorded in the book, in the Krsna’s book. Krsna has got accountant. [laughter] He keeps nice account of the activities of His devotees. That’s a fact. Just like the non devotees’ accounts are kept by Yamaraja for punishment, similarly, devotees’ accounts are kept by Krsna, personally. Unless He keeps account, how He says, “I respond to the devotee to the proportionate surrender”? The real business is surrender to Krsna. If we surrender immediately, cent percent, then Krsna also gives you the result immediately, cent percent. ( The Nectar of Devotion Lecture , October 20, 1972, Vrndavana)
So today we celebrate the Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the Spiritual Master of our Srila Prabhupada. We honor it today with a half day fast a Pushpanjali (offering of prayers and flowers) followed by a nice vegetarian feast.
The Absolute Necessity of a Spiritual Master—The Universal Teacher By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acharya of the world-wide Hare Krishna Movement
In February 1936, in Bombay, India, the members of a reputed religious society, the Gaudiya Matha, were astonished by the powerful and eloquent words of a young member who spoke in honor of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami. Three decades later, the young speaker would become the world-renowned founder and spiritual master of the Krishna consciousness movement. Srila Prabhupada’s presentation is a memorable statement on the importance of the guru in spiritual life.
sakshad-dharitvena samasta-shastrair uktas tatha bhavyata eva sadbhih kintu prabhor yah priya eva tasya vande guroh sri-charanaravindam
“In the revealed scriptures it is declared that the spiritual master should be worshiped like the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this injunction is obeyed by pure devotees of the Lord. The spiritual master is the most confidential servant of the Lord. Thus let us offer our respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of our spiritual master.”
Today is the Appearance day of Srila Prabhupada’s Sannayasa guru, Srila Bhakti Prajana Kesava Goswami Maharaja. The following is a lecture by Srila Prabhupada remembering His God Brother and Sannayasa guru.
Disappearance Day Lecture
By His Divine Grace Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Seattle, October 21, 1968
Prabhupāda: One has to accept the renounced order from another person who is in renounced order. So I never thought that I shall accept this renounced order of life. In my family life, when I was in the midst of my wife and children, sometimes I was dreaming my spiritual master, that he’s calling me, and I was following him. When my dream was over, I was thinking. I was little horrified. “Oh, Guru Mahārāja wants me to become sannyāsī. How can I accept sannyāsa?” At that time, I was feeling not very satisfaction that I have to give up my family and have to become a mendicant. At that time, it was a horrible feeling. Sometimes I was thinking, “No, I cannot take sannyāsa.” But again I saw the same dream. So in this way I was fortunate. My Guru Mahārāja (Prabhupāda begins to cry, choked voice) pulled me out from this material life. I have not lost anything. He was so kind upon me. I have gained. I left three children, I have got now three hundred children. So I am not loser. This is material conception. We think that we shall be loser by accepting Kṛṣṇa. Nobody is loser. I say from my practical experience. I was thinking that “How can I accept this renounced order of life? I cannot accept so much trouble.” So… But I retired from my family life. I was sitting alone in Vṛndāvana, writing books. So this, my Godbrother, he insisted me, “Bhaktivedanta prabhu…” This title was given in my family life. It was offered to me by the Vaiṣṇava society. So he insisted me. Not he insisted me. Practically my spiritual master insisted me through him, that “You accept.” Because without accepting the renounced order of life, nobody can become a preacher. So he wanted me to become a preacher. So he forced me through this Godbrother, “You accept.” So unwillingly I accepted. And then I remembered that he wanted me to go to the Western country. So I am feeling now very much obliged to my, this Godbrother, that he carried out the wish of my spiritual master and enforced me to accept this sannyāsa order.
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
The Hare Krishna Movement 