The Process of Surender

Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the combined form of Sri Radha and Krsna.

This morning I happened to open the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta Vol.1, and just began reading from the Preface. Every time I read from Srila Prabhupada’s books, something important is revealed, or something important is remembered. This morning I was reminded of the six guidelines for the process of surrender.

A pure devotee is a soul who is forever surrendered to the Lord, just as a child is surrendered to his parents or an animal to its master. In the surrendering process, one should: (1) accept things favorable for discharging devotional service, (2) reject things unfavorable, (3) believe firmly in the Lord’s protection, (4) feel exclusively dependent on the mercy of the Lord, (5) have no interest separate from the interest of the Lord, and (6) always feel oneself meek and humble.

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Radha Krishna Mudra

On this day in 2014 Brahmananda Prabhu posted this picture with explanation: “This pose or mudra of Radha Krishna is Srila Prabhupada’s favorite photo. He kept it as the main worshippable photo on the altar in his rooms at the LA temple. He said the pose was the perfect expression of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy of Radha Krishna rasa.”

Approach Krishna Through the Mercy of Srimati Radharani

Radha and Krishna

The following are just a few of the many quotes from Srila Prabhupada which encourage us to approach Krishna through the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Krishna’s eternal consort. For those of us who feel that there is no hope of making spiritual progress in this lifetime, Srimati Radharani, Who is compassion personified, kindly comes to our rescue if we can humbly invoke Her divine blessings.

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

“I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”  (Sri Radha Pranama)

“I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.”(Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, September 13, 1965)

“Actually, because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult to approach Him. But the devotees, taking advantage of His compassionate nature, which is represented by Radharani, always pray to Radharani for Krishna’s compassion.”  (Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 22)

“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.”  (From Vrindavana by Srila Narottama das Thakura)

“The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold into a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening in Vrindavana.”  (Caitanya-caritamrita Antya 1.169)

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50th Anniversary of Krishna Balaram Mandir Grand Opening!

click on image to enlarge

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.

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The Seven Goswami Temples of Vrindavan

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

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Transcendental Love (Bhava)

Radha Krishna Bhava

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.

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The Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani (Radhastami)

Today marks the Appearance of Srimati Radharani.  We honor it with a half day fast, puspanjali, discussion on the glories of Srimati Radharani, followed by a feast.

The following are just a few of the many quotes from Srila Prabhupada which encourage us to approach Krishna through the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Krishna’s eternal consort. For those of us who feel that there is no hope of making spiritual progress in this lifetime, Srimati Radharani, Who is compassion personified, kindly comes to our rescue if we can humbly invoke Her divine blessings.

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

“I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”  (Sri Radha Pranama)

“So this is our philosophy, to please Krishna through Radharani, and just today is the auspicious day of Radharani appearance. So we should offer puspanjali and pray to Radharani that ‘Radharani, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Krishna. To Your Krishna. Krishna is Yours.’ Krishna, Radha-Krishna. Krishna is not independent. Krishna is Radharani’s property. So you have to approach Krishna through Radharani. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Radharani very nicely and be happy.”  (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 5, 1973)

“The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold into a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening in Vrindavana.”  (Caitanya-caritamrita Antya 1.169)

“I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.”(Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, September 13, 1965)

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Understanding Radha and Krishna

”If we want to understand Radha-Krsna very quickly, then there will be so many prakrta-sahajiya.”-(pseudo devotees of Krsna who take devotional service cheaply and do not follow the regulations of the scripture; materialistic so-called Vaisnavas who imagine themselves to be confidential devotees.)………….

Prabhupada: I do not indulge in the discussions of Radha and Krsna so easily. Rather, go on with the regulative principle at the present moment. Gradually, as you become purified, as you become on the transcendental platform, you’ll understand what is Radha-Krsna. Don’t try to understand Radha-Krsna very quickly. It is a very big subject. If we want to understand Radha-Krsna very quickly, then there will be so many prakrta-sahajiya. In India there are prakrta-sahajiya. Just like Radha-Krsna dancing. Radha-Krsna has become a plaything. The painting Radha-Krsna, Krsna is kissing Radha, Radha is kissing. These are all nonsense. Radha-Krsna philosophy has to be understood by the liberated person, not by the conditioned soul. So we shall await for the fortunate moment when we are liberated, then we shall understand. ( Radhastami Lecture – August 30, 1968, Montreal)

The Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani

Radha and Krishna

Today marks the Appearance of Srimati Radharani.  We honor it with a half day fast, puspanjali, discussion on the glories of Srimati Radharani, followed by a feast.

The following are just a few of the many quotes from Srila Prabhupada which encourage us to approach Krishna through the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Krishna’s eternal consort. For those of us who feel that there is no hope of making spiritual progress in this lifetime, Srimati Radharani, Who is compassion personified, kindly comes to our rescue if we can humbly invoke Her divine blessings.

tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye

“I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”  (Sri Radha Pranama)

“So this is our philosophy, to please Krishna through Radharani, and just today is the auspicious day of Radharani appearance. So we should offer puspanjali and pray to Radharani that ‘Radharani, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Krishna. To Your Krishna. Krishna is Yours.’ Krishna, Radha-Krishna. Krishna is not independent. Krishna is Radharani’s property. So you have to approach Krishna through Radharani. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Radharani very nicely and be happy.”  (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 5, 1973)

“The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold into a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening in Vrindavana.”  (Caitanya-caritamrita Antya 1.169)

“I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.”(Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, September 13, 1965)

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Radhastami

As we are celebrating the appearance day of Srimati Radharani,  otherwise known as Radhastami, I was reminded of the transcendental qualities of Srimati Radharani.   She has twenty-five transcendental qualities, and She can control even Krsna by them.

 

Her Transcendental qualities are as follows:

 

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The Appearance Day of Srimati Radharani

Today marks the Appearance of Srimati Radharani.  We honor it with a half day fast, puspanjali, discussion on the glories of Srimati Radharani, followed by a feast.
The following are just a few of the many quotes from Srila Prabhupada which encourage us to approach Krishna through the mercy of Srimati Radharani, Krishna’s eternal consort. For those of us who feel that there is no hope of making spiritual progress in this lifetime, Srimati Radharani, Who is compassion personified, kindly comes to our rescue if we can humbly invoke Her divine blessings.
 
tapta-kancana-gaurangi radhe vrndavanesvari
vrsabhanu-sute devi pranamami hari-priye
 
“I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.”
 
(Sri Radha Pranama)
“So this is our philosophy, to please Krishna through Radharani, and just today is the auspicious day of Radharani appearance. So we should offer puspanjali and pray to Radharani that ‘Radharani, kindly be merciful and tell about me to Your Krishna. To Your Krishna. Krishna is Yours.’ Krishna, Radha-Krishna. Krishna is not independent. Krishna is Radharani’s property. So you have to approach Krishna through Radharani. That is, today is the auspicious day. Worship Radharani very nicely and be happy.”
 
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, September 5, 1973)
“The beauty of Srimati Radharani’s eyes forcibly devours the beauty of newly grown blue lotus flowers, and the beauty of Her face surpasses that of an entire forest of fully blossomed lotuses. Her bodily luster seems to place even gold into a painful situation. Thus the wonderful, unprecedented beauty of Srimati Radharani is awakening in Vrindavana.”
 
(Caitanya-caritamrita Antya 1.169)
“I emphatically say to you, O brothers, you will obtain your good fortune from the Supreme Lord Krishna only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.”
 
(Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna, September 13, 1965)

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Radhe Jaya Jaya Madhava-dayite

radha-krishna-in-swing

Sri Radhika Stavah
by Srila Rupa Goswami

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite
gokula-taruni-mandala-mahite

damodara-rati-vardhana-vese
hari-niskuta-vrnda-vipinese

vrsabhanudadhi-nava-sasi-lekhe
lalita-sakhi guna-ramita-visakhe

karunam kuru mayi karuna-bharite
sanaka-sanatana-varnita-carite

radhe jaya jaya madhava-dayite

Glories, Glories to Srimati Radharani, the beloved of Madhava and most worshipable of the cowheard girls of Gokula Mandala!

Decorated by the dress of Lord Damodara’s increasing ecstacy, You are the lady of the house of Lord Hari and the groves of Vrndavana

From the ocean of Vrsabhanu has arisen a new moon which is overwhelming the qualties of Lalita and Viskha.

O Goddess Your Qualities are described by Sanaka Rsis and by Sanatana Goswami.  Please bestow Your Mercy upon me.  (from the Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas)

Purport from Lecture:  Montreal, Aug 30, 68, Srimati Radharani’s Appearance Day.   More

Srimati Radharani The Queen of Vrindavan

Installation Ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar  NJ 2015

Installation Ceremony of Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar NJ 2015

“Once Lord Krsna considered with His heart: Although My beauty defeats the beauty of ten million cupids, although it is unequalled and unsurpassed and although it gives pleasure to the three worlds, seeing Radharani gives pleasure to My eyes.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta)

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Radhika Stava: the Glory of Srimati Radharani

radha krishna on swing

click on image to enlarge

Radhika Stava: the Glory of Srimati Radharani
by Srila Rupa Goswami

Glories, Glories to Sri Radharani, the beloved of Madhava and most worshipable of the the cowherd girls of Gokula Mandala!

Decorated by the dress of Lord Damodara’s increasing ecstasy, You are the lady of the house of Lord Hari and the groves of Vrndavana.

From the ocean of Vrsabhanu has arisen a new moon which is overwhelming the qualities of Lalita and Visakha.

O Goddess, Your qualities are described by Sanaka and Sanatana Rsis and by Sanatana Goswami. Please bestow your mercy upon me.

Full song in Sanskrit More

Vṛndāvana is a Transcendental Beautiful Place

Radha-Krishna

Vṛndāvana
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.

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Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and the Glories of Rādhā-kuṇḍa

In honor of the appearance day of Srimati Radharani we again post from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The Glories of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Her lake known as Rādhā-kuṇḍa. The following verses are from Madhya-līlā, Chapter 18, Text 4-13.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked the local people,“Where is Rādhā-kunda?” No one could inform Him, and the brāhmaṇa accompanying Him did not know either.

The Lord then understood that the holy place called Rādhā-kuṇḍa was no longer visible. However, being the omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead, He discovered Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa in two paddy fields. There was only a little water, but He took His bath there.

When the people of the village saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taking His bath in those two ponds in the middle of the paddy fields, they were very astonished. The Lord then offered His prayers to Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa.

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Entering the Spiritual Worlds

“Everything in the spiritual world is substantial and original. This material world is only an imitation…. It is just like a cinematographic picture, in which we see only the shadow of the real thing.” In this lecture, delivered in October 1966 in New York City, Śrīla Prabhupāda gives an amazing glimpse into the nature of the spiritual world and some positive instructions on how to arrive there at the end of life’s perilous journey.

The Journey of Self-Discovery
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

paras tasmāt tu bhāvo ’nyo
’vyakto ’vyaktāt sanātanaḥ
yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu
naśyatsu na vinaśyati

“Yet there is another unmanifest nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.” [Bhagavad-gītā 8.20]

We cannot calculate the length and breadth of even this universe, yet there are millions and millions of universes like this one within the material sky. And above this material sky there is another sky, which is called the spiritual sky. In that sky all the planets are eternal, and life is eternal, also. We cannot know these things by our material calculations, so we must take this information from the Bhagavad-gītā.

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Kṛṣṇa’s Hiding from the Gopīs

Dear friends, just imagine how the dust of this place is transcendentally glorious. The dust of the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa is worshiped even by Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, and the goddess of fortune, Lakṣmī. But at the same time, we are very sorry that this particular gopī has gone along with Kṛṣṇa, for She is sharing the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s kisses and leaving us aside to lament. O friends, just see! At this particular spot we do not see the footprints of that gopī. It appears that because there were some pin-pricks from the dried grass, Kṛṣṇa took Rādhārāṇī on His shoulder. O, She is so dear to Him! Kṛṣṇa must have picked some flowers in this spot to satisfy Rādhārāṇī, because here, where He stood erect to get the flowers from the high branches of the tree, we find only half the impression of His feet. Dear friends, just see how Kṛṣṇa must have sat down here with Rādhārāṇī and tried to set flowers in Her hair. You can be certain that both of Them sat together here.”

KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Kṛṣṇa’s Hiding from the Gopīs

When Kṛṣṇa suddenly disappeared from the company of the gopīs, they began to search for Him in every place. After not finding Him anywhere, they became afraid and almost mad after Him. They were simply thinking of the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in great love and affection. Being absorbed in thought, they experienced loss of memory, and with dampened eyes they began to see the very pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, His beautiful talks with them, His embracing, kissing, and other activities. Being so attracted to Kṛṣṇa, they began to imitate His dancing, His walking and smiling, as if they themselves were Kṛṣṇa. Due to Kṛṣṇa’s absence, they all became crazy; each one of them began to tell the others that she was Kṛṣṇa Himself. Soon they all began to assemble together and chant Kṛṣṇa’s name very loudly, and they moved from one part of the forest to another searching for Him. Actually, Kṛṣṇa is all-pervasive; He is in the sky, and He is in the forest; He is within the heart, and He is always everywhere.

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Glorification of the Guru Who Lives in His Books


Glorification of the Guru Who Lives in His Books
Mar 29, 2011 — BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, USA (SUN)
By Punya das

Guru das watched Prabhupada laughing while reading his Krsna book.

Guru Das: “Prabhupada, you’re laughing at your own books.”

Prabhupada: “I did not write these books, Krsna wrote them!”

Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet Your Divine Grace. My words cannot begin to show my gratitude for all the things you gave this world. Anyone is fortunate enough to be able to have the association of Krishna’s pure devotee, THE guru who lives in His books. Inspired by your association, your global movement continues to give birth daily to billions of sound incarnations of Radha-Krishna, 24/7/365. They are dancing round the universe and purifying it. You said when we chant Hare Krsna, the Divine Couple personally appear. It does not get any better than that, to be in the presence of Krsna, being purified by His Personal Association.

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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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