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  1. Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher Volume 6 - Chapter 20 "The Past, Present and Future" India & Argentina 09/11/05 - 15/11/05 Before leaving Vrindavan for the West, I told Sri Prahlada das that I wanted to take darsan of the famous Deity of Sri Nathji, in Rajasthan. The Deity was discovered on Govardhan Hill by a great devotee, Madhavendra Puri, more than 500 years ago, before the advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Deity was later moved from Vrindavan to Nathdwar, not far from the present town of Udaipur. "That would be wonderful," said Sri Prahlada. "At the same time we could visit a famous astrologer a few hours away in the desert. He is known as a Brighu because he reads one's future from the Brighu Samhita." "Can he really predict the future?" I asked. "Oh yes," replied Sri Prahlada. "The science of Brighu Samhita is still valid. Srila Prabhupada confirmed this. At the end of Dwapara yuga, Brighu Muni was concerned that in Kali yuga many astrologers would not be qualified, so he wrote down everyone's chart and included past, present, and future lives. "Copies of those charts are kept safely in four different places in India. When you visit a Brighu, you see written in your chart that you would come on that very day for a reading." "That very day?" I said. "Not only the day but the hour too," Sri Prahlada said. I went to my room and searched through Srila Prabhupada's books and lectures on the Vedabase, and to my amazement found the following quotation: "How one can understand past, present, future? Through the sastra ...There are still astrological calculations in India called Brighu-samhita. If you consult Brighu-samhita, immediately they will give you your past, present and future. Immediately they will give. The astrology science is so perfect. What you were in the past life, what you are at the present and what you are going to be. These three things can be known." [srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam class, Dallas, July 29, 1975] That evening I met Sri Prahlada again. "You know," I said, "I think I'll take you up on that proposal to visit the Brighu." "Really?" said Sri Prahlada. "Yes," I said. "I'd be interested to see what opportunities for devotional service lie ahead for us this coming year." Two days later, Sri Prahlada, Bimal Prasad das, Dhruva das, and I arrived in Udaipur. After settling in, we took a one-hour taxi ride through rolling hills to the village of Nathdwar, where we visited the temple of Sri Nathji. It was less crowded than when I was there five years ago, and we enjoyed a wonderful darsan. That afternoon we hired a taxi and drove further into the desert. After four hours we reached an old, dusty village in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. "How in the world are we going to find the Brighu in this place?" I asked. "There are no street signs, what to speak of house numbers." "The local people will know him," Sri Prahlada replied. He opened the window and asked in Hindi for directions from a passing rickshaw driver. "The Brighu's house is two streets down, on the corner," said Sri Prahlada, as he closed the window. As we drove on, I saw an old man in a dhoti, standing on a porch, looking in our direction. "That must be the place," Sri Prahlada said. "How can you be sure?" I asked. "Because the Brighu is waiting for us," he said. "Waiting for us?" I said. "Yes," he said. "It's in our charts that we'll be arriving this morning." A shiver went through my body. We stopped in front of the house and got out. The old man came forward to greet us. "You're right on time," he said with a smile. I looked at Sri Prahlada. "Right on time?" I said. Sri Prahlada winked. The old man invited us into his small house and brought us into a room lit by a small kerosene lamp. I saw old pictures of saints and sages on the wall, and I asked Sri Prahlada about the most prominent one, a white-bearded sadhu sitting with a large book in his lap. "Brighu Muni," Sri Prahlada whispered. "Please write down your place of birth, the date, and the time," the old man said to me. Then he reached into an old wooden box and pulled out some papers. He placed one in front of me. "Close your eyes," he said, "and put your index finger on one of the diagrams on the sheet." I hesitated for a moment, then closed my eyes and put my finger squarely on the paper. When I opened my eyes, I saw I had touched the center of one of approximately 20 circles. In the middle of each circle were various designs and what seemed like numbers. The old man quickly took the paper and checked the clock on the wall. Then he took a small blackboard and chalk and started writing down various calculations. He reached behind himself and brought forward a cloth, untied it, searched among another pile of papers, and carefully selected one. Then he sat up straight and started reading from the old paper. "You were born in America," he said loudly. "Well that's obvious," I thought. "I just wrote it down." "Your father died when you were 17 and your mother when you were 47," he continued. I looked at him in surprise. "You left your country of birth when you were a young man and have been traveling the world ever since in the mission of your guru. You have many places to live, but you don't stay anywhere. You are always traveling. You were married and had one son, but you left your family to become a sannyasi." He broke out in a big grin. "You are much happier as a sannyasi than you were as a married man." His expression became serious again. "Your brother has had a very difficult life. He is presently living with a woman, but he is not married to her. He will not benefit you, but you will benefit him greatly." I sat dumfounded, staring at him. "You chant the name of Krishna daily," he said, "and you worship your own set of Deities as well. You have written at least five books to date and you will write many more." I didn't hear the last part of the sentence clearly. "Many more?" I asked. "Yes," he said, "and whatever you write will be published twice." "Published twice?" I said. I looked at Sri Prahlada. He thought for a moment then smiled. "The internet," he said, "You send your diary chapters out on the internet, and at the end of the year they are published in book form." "This is amazing," I said. "Your health is generally good because you eat simple foods," the Brighu said, "but you eat too many sweets." He looked up. "You should stop eating sweets," he said firmly. "He's not here to flatter you," said Sri Prahlada. "He's just reading what Brighu Muni wrote." "You must be careful while riding in cars," the Brighu said. "Once you were hit by a car and nearly killed. Is that true or not?" "Yes." I said slowly. "It's true. In South Africa, in 1992, I was hit by a car and spent many months in bed recovering." He returned to the reading. "Your most valuable possessions were stolen last year," he continued. I turned to Sri Prahlada. "I think he's got it wrong on that one," I said. Sri Prahlada seemed tired of my obstinacy. "Remember how all your Deity paraphernalia was stolen by the skinheads in Poland in June 2004?" he said. "Wow," I said. "That's right." I was convinced, and I turned submissively to hear more. The old man looked up, stared at me, and then looked down again at the paper. "One thousand years ago," he said, "you were a king in Karnataka. You were very wealthy and distributed much of your wealth to hospitals, schools, and temples. At end of that life you retired to the forest. "In your previous birth you had two wives. At the end of that life you prayed, 'If I take birth again I don't want to be a grhastha. I want to be a sannyasi and devote all my life to God.' So in this birth you took sannyasa at the age of 29. Correct?" "Yes sir," I replied. "Correct." "It is the result of your previous actions and desires," he said. "In this birth you'll get immense blessings from your spiritual master. Because your chosen path is bhakti you won't take birth again. You'll be liberated at the end of this life. You'll live into old age, and you'll die a natural death. You won't die from a prolonged illness." I turned to Sri Prahlada. "Well if this all comes true," I said, "I'll do my best to use such fortune in the service of the Lord." "All your friends will be good people," the Brghu continued. "Part of my good fortune," I said to Sri Prahlada with a smile. "From this point on, your affluence will increase day by day," the Brighu said. "Later in life you'll construct a large temple for Radha and Krsna. The worship will be gorgeous. If the government tries to impede your efforts, you'll be victorious over them. At the same place you'll construct a goshala for cows. There will be a gurukula and perhaps an orphanage as well." He smiled. "Many children will come to you," he said. "How will I accomplish all that?" I blurted out. He looked closely at the paper. "Your disciples will help you," he said. "They will raise the funds. They will have some kind of import-export business." I must have looked a little surprised. "Brighu has written!" he said strongly. "Later you will also work in the field of medicine, Ayurveda," he said. "You'll make medicines and give them to people, and they'll become healthy. In your old age you'll become famous for that." I looked at Sri Prahlada with raised eyebrows. He looked at the paper again and started nodding his head. "It is said here that you will develop your service in four countries," he said. "What is your present service?" "I have a big festival program in Poland," I said. "You'll take it to three other countries," he concluded. "How in the world will that happen?" I whispered to Sri Prahlada. "It's written in the stars," Sri Prahlada said, "and one day you'll see how it all comes to pass." "We are now coming to the end of the reading," the old man said. "It says here that you'll spend time in Vrindavan, Mathura. Do you know that place?" "Yes, of course." I replied. "After your 66th year you'll settle there and chant the holy names. Nothing else. You won't care if you eat or not. From time to time you'll visit other places for service, but you'll always come back. Do you have any questions?" I was stunned by his accuracy, and I had to think for a moment. "How long will my companion Sri Prahlada and I be together?" I asked. He looked at the paper. "Until you die," he said. "Sometimes he'll go away to do some other service. It is written in the chart that you four people would come together on Chaturdasi, Monday, and that your reading would begin at 2:00 PM and end at 3:00." I motioned to Sri Prahlada to look at the paper. He leaned over and carefully studied the Sanskrit. "From what I can make out, that's what it says," said Sri Prahlada. "Who's next?" said the Brighu. "Sri Prahlada," I said and moved out of the way. Four hours later, after we all had our readings, we left and got back into our taxi. "He said my present service would expand to three other countries," I said to Sri Prahlada. "Yes," said Sri Prahlada, "he did say that." "It's hard to imagine," I said, as I closed the door of the taxi. "It's a summer event. There's not time to do two countries in July and August, what to speak of four." I didn't tell anyone in Vrindavan about our meeting with the Brighu. It was too incredible. I busied myself with last-minute shopping for our festival program in Poland, but on the last day in the market, a disciple turned to me. "Guru Maharaja," he said, "why do you keep ordering extra items on your list? What will you do with all of it?" "Well, we may need it," I said. "You never know. Maybe one day we'll do our festival program in some other country besides Poland." The disciple raised his eyebrows. "You think so, Guru Maharaja?" he said. The next day I flew to Warsaw and had two days of meetings with Nandini dasi and Jayatam das about our summer festival tour in Poland for 2006. Then I caught a flight to Buenos Aires. My Godbother Lokavardhana prabhu had invited me to attend their fifth annual Ratha Yatra festival. It was my first visit to Argentina. When I arrived Gunagrahi Maharaja picked me up. On the way to the temple he filled me in on the history of the yatra. He was excited, as they were just about to sign for a beautiful new temple in the city. "You'll like it down here," Maharaja said. "The people are pious and soft-hearted, and the devotees love kirtan." I didn't have to wait long to appreciate Maharaja's words. When we arrived at the temple a blissful kirtan party greeted me and escorted me into the temple room, chanting and dancing all the way. The kirtan continued in the temple room. "It's a fact," I thought. "They do love kirtan." Afterwards, in my room, I asked one of the older devotees to tell me more about the Argentine yatra. As he spoke, I was amazed how much opportunity there was for spreading Krsna consciousness. It seemed so different from Poland, where the government is hostile toward our movement and where the Roman Catholic Church gives us endless problems. "We maintain a farm just outside the city," he said, "and we have a Food for Life program, a restaurant called Krishna, a weekly Harinam in the center of Buenos Aires, and numerous Nama Hatta centers. Now we are planning a yoga center and seminar programs in our new temple." "Seems like the only thing you're missing is a traveling festival program," I said. I had meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized what I had said. The devotee grabbed the opportunity. "Yes," he said, "that's exactly what we need, Maharaja. Why don't you come here and do it? Argentina is the perfect place for festivals, and you're the right person to do it." I shook my head to say no. "The summer is only so long ...," I started to say. "Maharaja," he said, "you must be tired from jetlag. When it's summer in Poland, it's winter here. And when it's winter in Poland, it's summer here." "That's true," I said. I thought about it for a moment, envisioning myself having to double my fund-raising, start a program from scratch, and struggle to maintain it. "But it will take years to build up," I said. "No it won't," the devotee said. "There's an Argentine devotee, Ekanath Gaura das, who visited your festival program in Poland two years ago. He's now doing a similar program, but much smaller, in Peru and Bolivia. I'm sure he'll agree to work with you to organize a big summer festival program here in Argentina." He handed me a piece of paper. "Here's his email address," he said. I was intrigued by the idea. I reached for my computer and immediately sent Ekanath Gaura an email. Thirty minutes later he replied. "Maharaja," he wrote, "whatever experience or inspiration I have is due to you and my Guru Maharaja. Although I have studied organizing events in university, all my practical experience is from watching you. What can I say? I am delighted with your proposal. This coming summer I'm committed to doing my festival in Ecuador, so let's do Argentina in January 2007." After consulting with Gunagrahi Maharaja, I answered the email. "It's a deal," I wrote. "Please come here next week, and we'll discuss everything in detail." After sending the email, I sat back in my chair. Everything was moving so quickly. I had just arrived in Argentina and had committed myself to doing a major festival program. My head was spinning from the jetlag, and I was exhausted. I excused myself and lay down to rest. As I drifted off to sleep I smiled, remembering Sri Prahlada's words: "It's written in the stars, and one day you'll see how it all comes to pass." In the morning, I came across a conversation from the Vedabase: Graham Hill: "By looking at ourselves can we [understand] the sort of person we were before?" Prabhupada: "Yes. There is the Brighu Samhita [an] astrological calculation. You can know your past life, present life and future life. That is the system, Brighu Samhita." [srila Prabhupada, room conversation with Graham Hill, August 26, 1973. London.] www.traveling-preacher.com Official website for Diary of a Traveling Preacher
  2. Indradyumna Swami Diary of a Traveling Preacher Volume 6 - Chapter 20 "The Past, Present and Future" India & Argentina 09/11/05 - 15/11/05 Before leaving Vrindavan for the West, I told Sri Prahlada das that I wanted to take darsan of the famous Deity of Sri Nathji, in Rajasthan. The Deity was discovered on Govardhan Hill by a great devotee, Madhavendra Puri, more than 500 years ago, before the advent of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Deity was later moved from Vrindavan to Nathdwar, not far from the present town of Udaipur. "That would be wonderful," said Sri Prahlada. "At the same time we could visit a famous astrologer a few hours away in the desert. He is known as a Brighu because he reads one's future from the Brighu Samhita." "Can he really predict the future?" I asked. "Oh yes," replied Sri Prahlada. "The science of Brighu Samhita is still valid. Srila Prabhupada confirmed this. At the end of Dwapara yuga, Brighu Muni was concerned that in Kali yuga many astrologers would not be qualified, so he wrote down everyone's chart and included past, present, and future lives. "Copies of those charts are kept safely in four different places in India. When you visit a Brighu, you see written in your chart that you would come on that very day for a reading." "That very day?" I said. "Not only the day but the hour too," Sri Prahlada said. I went to my room and searched through Srila Prabhupada's books and lectures on the Vedabase, and to my amazement found the following quotation: "How one can understand past, present, future? Through the sastra ...There are still astrological calculations in India called Brighu-samhita. If you consult Brighu-samhita, immediately they will give you your past, present and future. Immediately they will give. The astrology science is so perfect. What you were in the past life, what you are at the present and what you are going to be. These three things can be known." [srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam class, Dallas, July 29, 1975] That evening I met Sri Prahlada again. "You know," I said, "I think I'll take you up on that proposal to visit the Brighu." "Really?" said Sri Prahlada. "Yes," I said. "I'd be interested to see what opportunities for devotional service lie ahead for us this coming year." Two days later, Sri Prahlada, Bimal Prasad das, Dhruva das, and I arrived in Udaipur. After settling in, we took a one-hour taxi ride through rolling hills to the village of Nathdwar, where we visited the temple of Sri Nathji. It was less crowded than when I was there five years ago, and we enjoyed a wonderful darsan. That afternoon we hired a taxi and drove further into the desert. After four hours we reached an old, dusty village in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. "How in the world are we going to find the Brighu in this place?" I asked. "There are no street signs, what to speak of house numbers." "The local people will know him," Sri Prahlada replied. He opened the window and asked in Hindi for directions from a passing rickshaw driver. "The Brighu's house is two streets down, on the corner," said Sri Prahlada, as he closed the window. As we drove on, I saw an old man in a dhoti, standing on a porch, looking in our direction. "That must be the place," Sri Prahlada said. "How can you be sure?" I asked. "Because the Brighu is waiting for us," he said. "Waiting for us?" I said. "Yes," he said. "It's in our charts that we'll be arriving this morning." A shiver went through my body. We stopped in front of the house and got out. The old man came forward to greet us. "You're right on time," he said with a smile. I looked at Sri Prahlada. "Right on time?" I said. Sri Prahlada winked. The old man invited us into his small house and brought us into a room lit by a small kerosene lamp. I saw old pictures of saints and sages on the wall, and I asked Sri Prahlada about the most prominent one, a white-bearded sadhu sitting with a large book in his lap. "Brighu Muni," Sri Prahlada whispered. "Please write down your place of birth, the date, and the time," the old man said to me. Then he reached into an old wooden box and pulled out some papers. He placed one in front of me. "Close your eyes," he said, "and put your index finger on one of the diagrams on the sheet." I hesitated for a moment, then closed my eyes and put my finger squarely on the paper. When I opened my eyes, I saw I had touched the center of one of approximately 20 circles. In the middle of each circle were various designs and what seemed like numbers. The old man quickly took the paper and checked the clock on the wall. Then he took a small blackboard and chalk and started writing down various calculations. He reached behind himself and brought forward a cloth, untied it, searched among another pile of papers, and carefully selected one. Then he sat up straight and started reading from the old paper. "You were born in America," he said loudly. "Well that's obvious," I thought. "I just wrote it down." "Your father died when you were 17 and your mother when you were 47," he continued. I looked at him in surprise. "You left your country of birth when you were a young man and have been traveling the world ever since in the mission of your guru. You have many places to live, but you don't stay anywhere. You are always traveling. You were married and had one son, but you left your family to become a sannyasi." He broke out in a big grin. "You are much happier as a sannyasi than you were as a married man." His expression became serious again. "Your brother has had a very difficult life. He is presently living with a woman, but he is not married to her. He will not benefit you, but you will benefit him greatly." I sat dumfounded, staring at him. "You chant the name of Krishna daily," he said, "and you worship your own set of Deities as well. You have written at least five books to date and you will write many more." I didn't hear the last part of the sentence clearly. "Many more?" I asked. "Yes," he said, "and whatever you write will be published twice." "Published twice?" I said. I looked at Sri Prahlada. He thought for a moment then smiled. "The internet," he said, "You send your diary chapters out on the internet, and at the end of the year they are published in book form." "This is amazing," I said. "Your health is generally good because you eat simple foods," the Brighu said, "but you eat too many sweets." He looked up. "You should stop eating sweets," he said firmly. "He's not here to flatter you," said Sri Prahlada. "He's just reading what Brighu Muni wrote." "You must be careful while riding in cars," the Brighu said. "Once you were hit by a car and nearly killed. Is that true or not?" "Yes." I said slowly. "It's true. In South Africa, in 1992, I was hit by a car and spent many months in bed recovering." He returned to the reading. "Your most valuable possessions were stolen last year," he continued. I turned to Sri Prahlada. "I think he's got it wrong on that one," I said. Sri Prahlada seemed tired of my obstinacy. "Remember how all your Deity paraphernalia was stolen by the skinheads in Poland in June 2004?" he said. "Wow," I said. "That's right." I was convinced, and I turned submissively to hear more. The old man looked up, stared at me, and then looked down again at the paper. "One thousand years ago," he said, "you were a king in Karnataka. You were very wealthy and distributed much of your wealth to hospitals, schools, and temples. At end of that life you retired to the forest. "In your previous birth you had two wives. At the end of that life you prayed, 'If I take birth again I don't want to be a grhastha. I want to be a sannyasi and devote all my life to God.' So in this birth you took sannyasa at the age of 29. Correct?" "Yes sir," I replied. "Correct." "It is the result of your previous actions and desires," he said. "In this birth you'll get immense blessings from your spiritual master. Because your chosen path is bhakti you won't take birth again. You'll be liberated at the end of this life. You'll live into old age, and you'll die a natural death. You won't die from a prolonged illness." I turned to Sri Prahlada. "Well if this all comes true," I said, "I'll do my best to use such fortune in the service of the Lord." "All your friends will be good people," the Brghu continued. "Part of my good fortune," I said to Sri Prahlada with a smile. "From this point on, your affluence will increase day by day," the Brighu said. "Later in life you'll construct a large temple for Radha and Krsna. The worship will be gorgeous. If the government tries to impede your efforts, you'll be victorious over them. At the same place you'll construct a goshala for cows. There will be a gurukula and perhaps an orphanage as well." He smiled. "Many children will come to you," he said. "How will I accomplish all that?" I blurted out. He looked closely at the paper. "Your disciples will help you," he said. "They will raise the funds. They will have some kind of import-export business." I must have looked a little surprised. "Brighu has written!" he said strongly. "Later you will also work in the field of medicine, Ayurveda," he said. "You'll make medicines and give them to people, and they'll become healthy. In your old age you'll become famous for that." I looked at Sri Prahlada with raised eyebrows. He looked at the paper again and started nodding his head. "It is said here that you will develop your service in four countries," he said. "What is your present service?" "I have a big festival program in Poland," I said. "You'll take it to three other countries," he concluded. "How in the world will that happen?" I whispered to Sri Prahlada. "It's written in the stars," Sri Prahlada said, "and one day you'll see how it all comes to pass." "We are now coming to the end of the reading," the old man said. "It says here that you'll spend time in Vrindavan, Mathura. Do you know that place?" "Yes, of course." I replied. "After your 66th year you'll settle there and chant the holy names. Nothing else. You won't care if you eat or not. From time to time you'll visit other places for service, but you'll always come back. Do you have any questions?" I was stunned by his accuracy, and I had to think for a moment. "How long will my companion Sri Prahlada and I be together?" I asked. He looked at the paper. "Until you die," he said. "Sometimes he'll go away to do some other service. It is written in the chart that you four people would come together on Chaturdasi, Monday, and that your reading would begin at 2:00 PM and end at 3:00." I motioned to Sri Prahlada to look at the paper. He leaned over and carefully studied the Sanskrit. "From what I can make out, that's what it says," said Sri Prahlada. "Who's next?" said the Brighu. "Sri Prahlada," I said and moved out of the way. Four hours later, after we all had our readings, we left and got back into our taxi. "He said my present service would expand to three other countries," I said to Sri Prahlada. "Yes," said Sri Prahlada, "he did say that." "It's hard to imagine," I said, as I closed the door of the taxi. "It's a summer event. There's not time to do two countries in July and August, what to speak of four." I didn't tell anyone in Vrindavan about our meeting with the Brighu. It was too incredible. I busied myself with last-minute shopping for our festival program in Poland, but on the last day in the market, a disciple turned to me. "Guru Maharaja," he said, "why do you keep ordering extra items on your list? What will you do with all of it?" "Well, we may need it," I said. "You never know. Maybe one day we'll do our festival program in some other country besides Poland." The disciple raised his eyebrows. "You think so, Guru Maharaja?" he said. The next day I flew to Warsaw and had two days of meetings with Nandini dasi and Jayatam das about our summer festival tour in Poland for 2006. Then I caught a flight to Buenos Aires. My Godbother Lokavardhana prabhu had invited me to attend their fifth annual Ratha Yatra festival. It was my first visit to Argentina. When I arrived Gunagrahi Maharaja picked me up. On the way to the temple he filled me in on the history of the yatra. He was excited, as they were just about to sign for a beautiful new temple in the city. "You'll like it down here," Maharaja said. "The people are pious and soft-hearted, and the devotees love kirtan." I didn't have to wait long to appreciate Maharaja's words. When we arrived at the temple a blissful kirtan party greeted me and escorted me into the temple room, chanting and dancing all the way. The kirtan continued in the temple room. "It's a fact," I thought. "They do love kirtan." Afterwards, in my room, I asked one of the older devotees to tell me more about the Argentine yatra. As he spoke, I was amazed how much opportunity there was for spreading Krsna consciousness. It seemed so different from Poland, where the government is hostile toward our movement and where the Roman Catholic Church gives us endless problems. "We maintain a farm just outside the city," he said, "and we have a Food for Life program, a restaurant called Krishna, a weekly Harinam in the center of Buenos Aires, and numerous Nama Hatta centers. Now we are planning a yoga center and seminar programs in our new temple." "Seems like the only thing you're missing is a traveling festival program," I said. I had meant it as a joke, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized what I had said. The devotee grabbed the opportunity. "Yes," he said, "that's exactly what we need, Maharaja. Why don't you come here and do it? Argentina is the perfect place for festivals, and you're the right person to do it." I shook my head to say no. "The summer is only so long ...," I started to say. "Maharaja," he said, "you must be tired from jetlag. When it's summer in Poland, it's winter here. And when it's winter in Poland, it's summer here." "That's true," I said. I thought about it for a moment, envisioning myself having to double my fund-raising, start a program from scratch, and struggle to maintain it. "But it will take years to build up," I said. "No it won't," the devotee said. "There's an Argentine devotee, Ekanath Gaura das, who visited your festival program in Poland two years ago. He's now doing a similar program, but much smaller, in Peru and Bolivia. I'm sure he'll agree to work with you to organize a big summer festival program here in Argentina." He handed me a piece of paper. "Here's his email address," he said. I was intrigued by the idea. I reached for my computer and immediately sent Ekanath Gaura an email. Thirty minutes later he replied. "Maharaja," he wrote, "whatever experience or inspiration I have is due to you and my Guru Maharaja. Although I have studied organizing events in university, all my practical experience is from watching you. What can I say? I am delighted with your proposal. This coming summer I'm committed to doing my festival in Ecuador, so let's do Argentina in January 2007." After consulting with Gunagrahi Maharaja, I answered the email. "It's a deal," I wrote. "Please come here next week, and we'll discuss everything in detail." After sending the email, I sat back in my chair. Everything was moving so quickly. I had just arrived in Argentina and had committed myself to doing a major festival program. My head was spinning from the jetlag, and I was exhausted. I excused myself and lay down to rest. As I drifted off to sleep I smiled, remembering Sri Prahlada's words: "It's written in the stars, and one day you'll see how it all comes to pass." In the morning, I came across a conversation from the Vedabase: Graham Hill: "By looking at ourselves can we [understand] the sort of person we were before?" Prabhupada: "Yes. There is the Brighu Samhita [an] astrological calculation. You can know your past life, present life and future life. That is the system, Brighu Samhita." [srila Prabhupada, room conversation with Graham Hill, August 26, 1973. London.] www.traveling-preacher.com Official website for Diary of a Traveling Preacher
  3. www.pbwebcast.com/mp3player [bhajans section] It all works, even though the site is simple design. It does all work. lol.
  4. You need the vaishnava calener. http://www.krsnaconsciousness.org/Gauranga/Zip/vcal401.zip
  5. Similarly, the mysticism of the Bhagavad-gita can be understood only by devotees, and no one else can taste it, as it is stated in the Fourth Chapter of the book. Nor can the Gita be touched by persons who **envy** the very existence of the Lord. Therefore, the Mayavadi explanation of the Gita is a most misleading presentation of the whole truth. Lord Caitanya has forbidden us to read commentations made by the Mayavadis and warns that one who takes to such an understanding of the Mayavadi philosophy loses all power to understand the real mystery of the Gita. If individuality refers to the empirical universe, then there is no need of teaching by the Lord. The plurality of the individual soul and of the Lord is an eternal fact, and it is confirmed by the Vedas as above mentioned. Bg 2.12 Pur “The happiness of becoming one with the Supreme Lord, which is aspired for by the Mayavadis, is considered hellish.” That oneness is not for pure devotees. SB.3.25.34 Pur Mayavadis and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Personality of Godhead in His arca incarnation. SB.3.25.34 Pur The Mayavadi philosopher, who does not differentiate between the Supreme Spirit and the individual spirit, says that the conditional existence of the living entity is his lila, or pastime. But the word “pastime” implies employment in the activities of the Lord. The Mayavadis misuse the word and say that even if the living entity has become a stool-eating hog, he is also enjoying his pastimes. This is a most dangerous interpretation. SB.3.26.7 The Mayavada philosophy sees everything as being equal in quality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the Supreme Brahman, and therefore sees everything as worshipable. This dangerous theory of the Mayavada school has turned people in general toward atheism. SB.6.16.52 Pur
  6. Mayavadis Goal is to become God, by merging into His exsistance. [brahmajyoti]. Their Goal is this. It is a material desire. Mayavadis say everything is God, they mean we are also 'that'. When devotees of Vishnu say this they mean 'everything is spiritual-God's energy'. This is the difference.
  7. Everything is God means everything is Brahman [which means Spirit]. That is the First realization. [brahman Realization]. Then comes 2nd Realization, which is Paramatma [without your heart]. When you realize Him [Paramatma] then you automatically realize that you are actually a Jiva-soul. Instantly. Reason why the everything is Brahman is so much used is because, you cannot seperate God from His energy, if you say everything is not Brahman then your saying God has seperate exsistant. This is the reason over here, which makes Mayavadis claim everything is God, which is why they are athiests. To cite this claim they say we can merge. And right now we are covered by Maya. When Maya is gone... you become God. [haha]. That's why it's called Mayavadi. If not answered then sure many devotees can. Ps Brahman realization has something to do with Santa-rasa [neautrality]. But realization in Bhakti-yoga and Jnana-yoga [mayavadi, impersonalist, mixed etc] is not exactly the same. There is less taste [transcendental in those], in Jaiva-dharma it says, many Mayavadis fail. [not fail, they already fallen]
  8. Gauranga as child of 4 years old, eats some clay and He says to His Mother that since food is manisfestation of clay anyway, it's fine to eat it. Then Mother Saci being the wife of a Brahmana says that, just like you use a pot to fill water with, that same pot as a brick cannot be used to drink water out of. [That's deep philosophy, even the greatest scientists, mayavadis, athiests, cannot understand this simple concept.- and who said it? Mother Saci-devi. Meaning that everything is not <font color="red">One</font color> In Krishna-lila, Krishna eats clay, but this time Krishna shows mother Yashoda the whole cosmic manifestation in His mouth. And Krishna says, that He never eat any clay. In another lila, Srila Madvacharya [Hanuman-Shiva combined Incarnation] He says that if you have a bowl of water and you add some more, will the water merge? Or will it expand? So to cite that, and to think we are spirit souls. Well, souls cannot merge with anything. Because they are eternal. ANyway the whole point is missed if you say they can. Mayavadis actually claim they were once merged, with God [whoever God is in their conception]. And now they are seperated, Prabhu this is so decietful and envious philosophy propagated by Sriman Sankracharya its totally unbieliebale to Bhaktas. ANyway, also Sankracharya was Shiva, so who better to delude the envious. Still though visiting Hindu-Forums is not my personal recommendation as they have amazing over-familiariy conceptions on Vaishnavas. At least the Hippies didn't know squat, now they are pure vaishnavas. Gaura haribol Phewww
  9. www.krsnaconsciousness.org/Gauranga/Zip/Perfect_Questions_Perfect_Answers.zip [265KB] AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. High Quality pdf. Conversation with Bob Cohen [later became Brahmatirtha dasa Adhikari]
  10. I am sure it's confucing, one point Srila Prabhupada says Shiva and Ganesh are demi-gods again He says they are devotees [shiva devotee of Vishnu, Ganesh-Great devotee of Lord Nrsimhadeva]. And there is also Temple of Sada-shiva in Mayapura. [Govinda Maharaja site has these Videos]. And Shiva-tattva is most difficult to explain. You have to go slowly with that I suspect. In Iskcon they do celebrate Shiva-ratri, [they celebrate this in Mayapura also]. I don't know about Ganesh Caturdasi, I think this practise is not prevalent, as most ask Ganesh to remove obstacle on thier path of sence gratification. So generally speaking Acaryas says demi-god worshippers run after sence enjoyment, [that's thier main goal]. Or when they have exhausted these posibilities they want to become one with God. Prabhupada said in one lecture I remember that Lord Buddha said 'THERE IS NO GOD' but I AM GOD, so no God, but His God. [figure that out] .....So Mayavadis are doing same thing, they say everybody is God. Which basically says There is No God. If you say you are God means God doesn't exsist. It is Athsieum in it's most vile state. But Devotees of Krishna have scientific Knowledge, and they want Bliss, [pure love of Godhead]. Don't mistake Bliss for something mystical, it is Love of Krishna. Pheww
  11. www.krsnaconsciousness.org/Gauranga/Zip/Life_and_Precepts_of_Sri_Chaitanya_Mahaprabhu.zip [545Kb] Bhaktivinoda Thakura. PDF Created with Lord Nityananda Grace. Hopefully more to come, if any devotees have ideas for more short Books like this. Or if you want create yourself I can tell you how. Also available Here
  12. The main thing that scientist claim for evoultion if Dinosaurs and say about different periods you know like Creatatious [right spelling?] etc. 250 Million years ago. Then they say no human remains have been found older than these, so the conclution they come to is, first there were Dinosaurs then Humans, interesting conversation I heard with Prabhupada was that, how will humans evolve? This question Prabhupada asked somebody. I wonder what Scientists will say to that? I sort of know the answer.. They say about the Big Crunch, when everything is rolled back. And it all starts over again later on. Well what is so different about this, and saying God created this Universe? Wouldn't that make more sence? I am starting to think it does. Because if from a single atom as Scientists claim this UNIverse was created then Krishna can easliy create trillions of Universes will a trillion atoms. What is the astomishment? If a tree can generate trillions of trees with a single seed. ERm, I read on another thread can Krishna pass an elephant through the eye of a needle?? I was thinking can Krishna pass a trillion elephants through the eye of a needle? I was actually convinced He can lol. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif
  13. Nothing if we constrain ourselves to our 3d space dimensions. -- What does that mean?
  14. I think you would need to consult pure Vaishnava's about that. If a director is willing to listen and direct under a Devotee of Krishna. Plus you need a script for this, so for that you need consult a Bona-fide devotee. [Of Krishna].
  15. Your chanting Nama-bhasa then you don't have a problem, your negative 'problem' will be transcendental.
  16. Right-eye for males is Positive. Left-eye is Negative for Males and Females [you get the joke?] Hare Krishna
  17. It matters to lot of people. But generally this is the one fall-down theory of the scientists, they cannot back this theory up with anything as far as I can see. Because the question always arises if the creation took place with a big bang 'who created the bang?'. But one thing which I do get from it is this, if from a single atom [or whatever they say] a whole Univese was created, then the potency of a single atom must be amazing indeed. Basically the more I think about it, the more silly it seems to get. What was surrounding the atom? Problem is the more you do this, the more room is leaves for speculations, the more you speculate to further you go away from the Truth. [see gita for that reff]
  18. Haribol Before I came to KC I used to be into Science, and used to read books on space exploration etc, really used to be interested in it. But then as I got little bit religious I started to question science. Because of their main theories. I even in College gave a speech [if you can call it that hehe, its was diabolical] that the Universe was created with a big bang, the audience [if you can call it that heh] consisted of Muslims, Christians, and some of my so-called College friends. Nobody said a word about it for some odd reason. Maybe even religioulists are baffled how the creation took place, and don't believe thier own Scriptures? One thing that gets to me is how Science even though something may be theoretical this is presented as Fact, which is really baffling to even me. My question is: Is theory based on facts or lies?
  19. Prabhu can we correspond? - By Sri Bilvamangala Thakur [ Translated by Mukunda Datta Das ] (1) agre kurUNAm atha pANDavAnAM duHshAsanenAhRita-vastra-keshA kRiShNA tadAkroshad ananya-nAthA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Before the assembled Kurus and Pandas, when Duhshasana caught her hair and clothing, Krishna (Draupadi), having no other Lord, cried out, " Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (2) shrI kRiShNa viShNo madhu-kaiTabhAre bhaktAnukampin bhagavan murAre trAyasva mAM keshava lokanAtha govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O Lord Krishna, Vishnu, enemy of the Madhu and Kaitabha demons; O Supreme Personality of Godhead, enemy of Mura, merciful upon the devotees; O Keshava, Lord of the worlds, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava, please deliver me. (3) vikretukAmA kila gopa-kanyA murAri-pAdArpita-citta-vRittiH dadhyAdikaM mohavashAd avocad govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Though desiring to sell milk, dahi, butter, etc., the mind of a young gopi was so absorbed in the lotus feet of Krishna that instead of calling out "Milk for sale," she bewilderedly said, "Govinda!", Damodara!", and "Madhava!" (4) ulUkhale sambhRita-tanDulAMsh ca saìghaTTayantyo musalaiH pramugdhAH gAyanti gopyo janitAnurAgA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Their grinding-mortars full of grains, the gopis' minds are overcome as they thresh with their pestles, singing "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (5) kAcit karAmbhoj a-puTe niShaNNaM krIDA-shukaM kiMshuka-rakta-tuNDam adhyApayAm Asa saroruhAkShI govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti A lotus-eyed girl instructed the red-beaked pet parrot that was seated in the cup of her lotus hand; she said, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava . . ." (6) gRihe gRihe gopa-vadhU-samUhaH prati-kShaNaM piNjara-sArikAnAm skhalad-giraM vAcayituM pravRitto govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti In each and every house, a bevy of gopa-women is engaged in making the caged parrots constantly utter with broken words, "Govinda,Damodara," and Madhava." (7) paryyaNkikAbhAjam alam kumAraM prasvApayantyo 'khila-gopa-kanyAH jaguH prabandhaM svara-tAla-bandhaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti With the little boy lying in the swing, all of the gopis used to expertly sing compositions set to musical notes and rhythm; they went, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava," while putting Him to rest. (8) rAmAnujaM vIkShaNa-keli-lolaMgopi gåhItvA nava-nIta-golam AbAlakaM bAlakam AjuhAva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti The younger brother of Balarama, playing mischieviously, was dodging about her with restless eyes. Taking a ball of fresh butter to lure Him over, a gopi called Him: "O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava . . ." (9) vicitra-varNAbharaNAbhirAme- -bhidhehi vaktrAmbuja-rAjaHaMse sadA madIye rasane 'gra-raNge govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O my tongue, since my mouth has become like a lotus by dint of the presence there of these eloquent, ornamental, delightful syllables, you are like the swan that plays there. As your foremost pleasure, always articulate the names, "Govinda,Damodara," and "Madhava." (10) ankAdhirUDhaM shishu-gopa-gUDhaM stanaM dhayantaM kamalaika-kAntam sambodhayAm Asa mudA yashodA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti The one and only Lord of Lakshmidevi, as an inconspicuous little cowherd baby, was seated in the lap of mother Yashoda, drinking her breast-milk. Merged in bliss, she addressed Him as "Govinda,Damodara," and "Madhava." (11) krIDantam antar-vrajam AtmanaM svaM samaM vayasyaiH pashu-pAla-bAlaiH premNA yashodA prajuhAva kRiShNaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti In Vraja-dhama, Krishna was playing with His playmates, the boys of His age who protected the animals. With great love, mother Yashoda called out to her own son, "O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (12) yashodayA gADham ulUkhalena go-kaNTha-pAshena nibadhyamanam ruroda mandaM navanIta-bhojI govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Being firmly tied up to the grinding mortar with a cow's rope by mother Yashoda, the plunderer of butter softly whimpered. "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava." (13) nijANgaNe kaNkaNa-keli-lolaM gopI gåhItvA navanIta-golam Amardayat pANi-talena netre govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti In His own courtyard, Krishna was carelessly playing with a bracelet. So the gopi took a ball of butter to Him, and shutting His eyes with her palm, she distracted Him, "O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava . . .(Guess what I have for you!)" (14) gRihe gRihe gopa-vadhU-kadambAH sarve militvA samavAya-yoge puNyAni nAmAni paThanti nityaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti In house after house, groups of cowherd ladies gather on various occasions, and together they always chant the transcendental names of Krishna--"Govinda, Damodara, and Madhava." (15) mandAra-mAle vadanAbhirAmaM bimbAdhare pUrita-veNu-nAdam go-gopa-gopI-jana-madhya-saMsthaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti His face is pleasing, and the flute at His lips is filled with Divine sound. Amidst the cows, gopas, and gopis, He stands at the base of a coral tree. Govinda, Damodara, Madhava! (16) utthAya gopyo 'para-rAtra-bhoge smRitvA yashodA-suta-bAla-kelim gAyanti proccair dadhi-manthayantyo govinda dAmodara mädhaveti Having risen early in the Brahma-muhurta, and remembering the childish activities of the son of mother Yashoda, the gopis loudly sing while churning butter--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (17) jagdho 'tha datto navanIta-piNDo gRihe yashodA vicikitsayantI uvAca satyaM vada he murAre govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Having churned and then set aside a fresh lump of butter in the house, mother Yashoda was now suspicious--it had been eaten. she said, "Hey--Murari! Govinda, Damodara, Madhava, now tell me the truth . . ." (18) abhyarcya gehaM yuvatiH pravRiddha- -prema-pravAhA dadhi nirmamantha gAyanti gopyo 'tha sakhI-sametA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Having finished worship at home, a young gopi, (like) a strong current of love for Krishna, churned the butter, and then joins together with all the gopis and their friends and they sing, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (19) kvacit prabhAte dadhi-pUrNa-pAtre nikShipya manthaM yuvatI mukundam Alokya gAnaM vividhaM karoti govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti One time, early in the morning, just as a girl had put aside her churn in a pot full of butter--she saw Mukunda. She then began to sing songs in various ways, about Govinda, Damodara, and Madhava. (20) krIDAparaM bhojana-majjanArthaM hitaiShiNI strI tanujaM yashodA AjUhavat prema-pari-plutAkShI govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti (Without having even bathed or eaten,) Krishna was absorbed in play. Overwhelmed with affection, mother Yashoda, who thought only of her son's welfare, called out, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava! (Come, take your bath and eat something.)" (21) sukhaM shayAnaM nilaye ca viShNuM devarShi-mukhyA munayaH prapannAH tenAcyute tanmayatAM vrajanti govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Devarshi Narada and other Munis are always surrendered to Lord Vishnu, who rests upon His couch. They always chant the names of "Govinda,Damodara," and "Madhava," and thus they attain spiritual forms similar to His. (22) vihAya nidrAm aruNodaye ca vidhAya kRityAni ca vipramukhyAH vedAvasAne prapaThanti nityaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti After giving up sleep at dawn, having completed their ritualistic duties, and at the end of their Vedic chanting, the best of the learned brahmanas always loudly chant, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (23) vRindAvane gopa-gaNAsh ca gopyo vilokya govinda-viyoga-khinnam rAdhAM jaguH sAshru-vilocanAbhyAM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti In Vrindavana, seeing Shrimati Radharani overwhelmed with separation from Govinda, groups of gopas and gopis sang, with tears in their lotus eyes, "Govinda! Damodara! O Madhava!" (24) prabhAta-saJcAra-gatA nu gAvas tad-rakShaNArthaM tanayaM yashodA prAbodhayat pANi-talena mandaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti The cows having already gone out to graze early in the morning, mother Yashoda gently roused her sleeping son with the palm of her hand, softly saying, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava." (25) pravAla-shobhA iva dIrgha-keshA vAtAmbu-parNAshana-pUta-dehAH mUle tarUNAM munayaH paThanti govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti With long, matted hair the color of coral, and bodies purified by eating only leaves, water, and air, the sages sit beneath the trees and chant, "Govinda,Damodara," and "Madhava." (26) evaM bruvANA virahAturA bhRishAM vraja-striyaH kRiShNa-viShikta-mAnasAH visRijya lajjAM ruruduH sma su-svaraM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "After speaking these words, the ladies of Vraja, who were so attached to Krishna, felt extremely agitated by their imminent separation from Him. They forgot all worldly shame and loudly cried out,'O Govinda! O Damodara! O Madhava!'" Note:--(This verse is identical with Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.39.31; it describes the gopis' reaction to Akrura's taking Krishna and Balarama away from Vrindavana. The above translation is that of H.H. Hridayananda Goswami.) (27) gopI kadAcin maNi-piJjara-sthaM shukaM vaco vAcayituM pravRittA Ananda-kanda vraja-candra kRiShNa govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti At times a gopi is engaged in teaching a parrot within a jewelled cage to recite names like: "Ananda-kanda" (source of bliss), "Vraja-candra" (moon of Vraja), "Krishna,Govinda,Damodara," and "Madhava." (28) go-vatsa-bAlaiH shishu-kAka-pakShaM badhnantam ambhoja-dalAyatAkSham uvAca mAtA cibukaM gåhItvA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti The lotus-eyed Lord was tying the shikha of a cowherd boy to the tail of a calf when His mother caught Him, lifted up His chin, and said, "Govinda! Damodara! Madhava!" (29) prabhAta-kAle vara-vallavaughA go-rakShaNArthaM dhRita-vetra-daNDAH AkArayAm Asur anantam Adyam govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti In the early morning a group of His favorite cowherd boys arrived, stick-canes in hand, to take care of the cows. They addressed the unlimited, primeval Personality of Godhead, "Hey, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (30) jalAshaye kAliya-mardanAya yadA kadambAd apatan murAre gopANganAsh cakrushur etya gopA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti When Lord Murari jumped from the Kadamba branch into the water to chastise the Kaliya serpent, all the gopis and cowherd boys went there and cried out, "Oh! Govinda! Damodara! Madhava!" (31) akrUram AsAdya yadA mukundash cApotsavArthaM mathurAM praviShTaH tadä sa paurair jayatéty abhäñi govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti After Lord Mukunda had met with Akrura and entered Mathura to attend the ceremony of breaking the bow of Kamsa, all the citizens then shouted, "Jaya Govinda! Jaya Damodara! Jaya Madhava!" (32) kaMsasya dUtena yadaiva nItau vRindAvanAntAd vasudeva-sUnau ruroda gopI bhavanasya madhye govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti When both sons of Vasudeva had actually been taken out of Vrindavana by the messenger of Kamsa, Yashoda sobbed within the house, wailing, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (33) sarovare kAliya-nAga-baddhaM shishuM yashodA-tanayaM nishamya cakrur luTantyaH pathi gopa-bAlA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Hearing how the son of Yashoda, who was but a child, was wrapped within the coils of the Kaliya serpent at the pond, the cowherd boys cried "Govinda! Damodara! Madhava!" and scurried down the path. (34) akrUra-yAne yadu-vaMsha-nAthaM saMgacchamAnaM mathurAM nirIkShya Ucur viyogAt kila gopa-bAlA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Seeing the Lord of the Yadus proceeding towards Mathura upon Akrura's chariot, the cowherd boys, upon realisation of their impending separation, said, "O Govinda! Damodara, Madhava! (Where are you going? Are You actually leaving us now?) (35) cakranda gopI nalinI-vanAnte kRiShNena hInA kusume shayAnA praphulla-nIlotpala-locanAbhyAM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti At the edge of a lotus forest, a gopi lay down upon the bed of flowers, bereft of Krishna. Tears flowed from her lotus eyes (as she wept,) "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava." (36) mAtA-pitRibhyAM parivAryamANA gehaM praviShTA vilalApa gopI Agatya mAM pAlaya vishvanAtha govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Being very restricted by her mother and father, the lamenting gopi entered the house, thinking, "(Now that) I have arrived home, save me, O Lord of the universe! O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (37) vRindAvana-sthaM harim Ashu buddhvA gopI gatA kApi vanaM nishAyAm tatrApy adRiShTvAti-bhayAd avocad govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Thinking that Krishna was in the forest, a gopi fled into the forest in the middle of night. But seeing that Krishna wasn't actually there, she became very fearful, and cried, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (38) sukhaM shayAnA nilaye nije 'pi nAmAni viShNoH pravadanti martyAH te nishcitaM tanmayatAM vrajanti govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Even the ordinary mortals comfortably seated at home who chant the names of Vishnu, "Govinda, Damodara," and "Madhava," certainly attain (at least) the liberation of having a form similar to that of the Lord. (39) sA nIrajAkShIm avalokya rAdhAM ruroda govinda-viyoga-khinnAm sakhI praphullotpala-locanAbhyAM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Seeing Shrimati Radharani crying from the pangs of separation from Govinda, the blooming lotus eyes of Radha's girlfriend also filled with tears, and she too cried, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava." (40) jihve rasajJe madhura-priyA tvaM satyaM hitaM tvAM paramaM vadAmi AvarNayethA madhurAkAarANi govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O my tongue, you are fond of sweet things and are of discriminating taste; I tell you the highest truth, which is also the most beneficial. Please just recite these sweet syllables: "Govinda,Damodara," and "Madhava." (41) Atyantika-vyAdhiharaà janAnAM cikitsakaM veda-vido vadanti saMsAra-tApa-traya-nAsha-bIjaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti The knowers of the Vedas say that this is the cure-all of the worst diseases of mankind, and that this is the seed of the destruction of the threefold miseries of material existence--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (42) tAtAjJayA gacchati rAmacandre sa-lakShmaNe 'raNyacaye sa-sIte cakranda rAmasya nijA janitrI govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Upon Ramacandra's going into the forest due to his father's order, along with Lakshmana and Sita, (and thus becoming) a forest-rover, His mother cried, "O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (43) ekAkinI daNDaka-kAnanAntAt sA nIyamAnA dashakandhareNa sItA tadAkroshad ananya-nAthA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Left there alone, Sita was carried out of the forest by the ten-headed Ravana. At that time, accepting no other Lord, Sita cried, "O Govinda! Damodara! Madhava!" (44) rAmAdviyuktA janakAtmajA sA vicintayantI hRidi rAma-rUpam ruroda sItA raghunAtha pAhi govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Separated from Rama, the daughter of King Janaka was completely anxious, and with the form of Rama within her heart, she cried, "O Raghunatha! Protect me! O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (45) prasIda viShNo raghu-vaMsha-nAtha surAsurANAM sukha-duHkha-heto ruroda sItA tu samudra-madhye govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O Lord Vishnu, be gracious! Lord of the Raghu clan, cause of the happiness and distress of gods and demons alike, O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" Thus Sita cried, (by the time she had been carried) over the middle of the ocean. (46) antar-jale grAha-gRihIta-pAdo visRiShTA-vikliShTa-samasta-bandhuH tadA gajendro nitarAM jagAda govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Caught by his foot and pulled into the water, Gajendra, his friends all harassed and frightened away, then called out incessantly, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (47) haMsadhvajaH shaNkhayuto dadarsha putraM kaTAhe prapatantam enam puNyAni nAmAni harer japantaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Along with his priest Shankhayuta, King Hamsadhvaja saw his son falling into a vat, but the boy was chanting the transcendental names of Hari, Govinda, Damodara, and Madhava. (48) durvAsaso vAkyam upetya kRiShNA sA cAbravIt kAnana-vAsinIsham antaHpraviShTaM manasAjuhAva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Accepting Durvasa Muni's request (that she feed his thousands of disciples, even though she hadn't the means to do this) Draupadi mentally called out to the Lord within, the Lord of a forest dweller (like her), and she said, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (49) dhyeyaH sadA yogibhir aprameyaH cintA-harash cintita-pArijAtaH kastUrikA-kalpita-nIla-varNo govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti He is always meditated upon by the yogis as being inscrutable. He is the remover of all anxieties, and is the desire-tree of all that is desirable. His bluish complexion is as attractive as Kasturika. Govinda! Damodara! Madhava! (50) saMsAre-kUpe patito 'tyagAdhe mohAndha-pUrNe viShayAbhitapte karAvalambaM mama dehi viShNo govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti I am fallen into the deep, dark well of material life, which is full of illusion and blind ignorance, and I am tormented by sensual existence. O my Lord, Vishnu, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava, please grant me Your supporting hand to uplift me. (51) tvAm eva yAce mama dehi jihve samAgate daNDa-dhare kRitAnte vaktavyam evaM madhuraM su-bhaktyA govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O my tongue, I ask only this of you, that at my meeting the bearer of the sceptre of chastisement (Yamaraja), you will utter this sweet phrase with great devotion: "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (52) bhajasva mantraM bhava-bandha-muktyai jihve rasajJe su-labhaM manojJam dvaipAyanAdyair munibhiH prajaptam govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O my tongue, O knower of rasa, for release from the hellish bondage of material existence, just worship the charming, easily obtainable mantra that is chanted by Vedavyasa and other sages: "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (53) gopAla vaMshIdhara rUpa-sindho lokesha nArAyaNa dIna-bandho ucca-svarais tvaM vada sarvadaiva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti You should always and everywhere just loudly chant, "Gopala, Vamshidhara, O ocean of beauty, Lord of the worlds, Narayana, O friend of the poor, Govinda, Damodara," and "Madhava. (54) jihve sadaiva bhaja sundarANi nAmAni kRiShNasya manoharANi samasta-bhaktArti-vinAshanAni govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O my tongue, just always worship these beautiful, enchanting names of Krishna, "Govinda, Damodara," and "Madhava," which destroy all the obstacles of the devotees. (55) govinda govinda hare murAre govinda govinda mukunda kRiShNa govinda govinda rathANga-pANe govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O Govinda, Govinda, Hari, Murari! O Govinda, Govinda, Mukunda, Krishna! O Govinda, Govinda! O holder of the chariot wheel! O Govinda! O Damodara! O Madhava!" (56) sukhAvasAne tv idam eva sAraM duHkhAvasAne tv idam eva geyam dehAvasAne tv idam eva jApyaM govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti This indeed is the essence (found) upon ceasing the affairs of mundane happiness. And this too is to be sung after the cessation of all sufferings. This alone is to be chanted at the time of death of one's material body--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (57) durvAra-vAkyaM parigRihya kRiShNA mRigIva bhItA tu kathaM kathaJcit sabhAM praviShTA manasAjuhAva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Somehow or other accepting the unavoidable command of Duhshasana, Draupadi, like a frightened doe, entered the assembly of princes and within her mind cried out to the Lord, "Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (58) shrI kRiShNa rAdhAvara gokulesha gopAla govardhana-nAtha viShNo jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O tongue, drink only this nectar (of the names), "Shri Krishna, dearmost of Shrimati Radharani, Lord of Gokula, Gopala, Lord of Govardhana, Vishnu, Govinda, Damodara," and "Madhava." (59) shrInAtha vishveshvara vishva-mUrte shrI devakI-nandana daitya-shatro jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "Shrinatha, Lord of the universe, form of the universe, beautiful son of Devaki, O enemy of the demons, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O my tongue, just drink this nectar. (60) gopIpate kaMsa-ripo mukunda lakShmIpate keshava vAsudeva jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "Lord of the gopis, enemy of Kamsa, Mukunda, husband of Lakshmidevi, Keshava, son of Vasudeva, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O my tongue, just drink this nectar. (61) gopI-janAhlAda-kara vrajesha go-cAraNAraNya-kRita-pravesha jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O You who give bliss to the gopis! Lord of Vraja, You who have entered the forest for herding the cows, O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O my tongue, just drink this nectar. (62) prANesha vishvambhara kaiTabhAre vaikuNTha nARiAyaNa cakra-pANe jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O Lord of my life! Upholder of the universe, foe of Kaitabha, Vaikuntha, Narayana, holder of the Sudarshana-cakra! Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O my tongue, just drink this nectar. (63) hare murAre madhusUdanAdya shrI rAma sItAvara rAvaNAre jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O Lord Hari, enemy of Mura, Madhusudana, Shri Rama, dearmost of Sita, enemy of Ravana, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O tongue, now just drink this nectar. (64) shrI yAdavendrAdri-dharAmbujAkSha go-gopa-gopI-sukha-dAna-dakSha jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O best of the Yadus, O bearer of Govardhana hill, O lotus-eyed expert in giving happiness to the cows, the gopas, and the gopis, Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O tongue, please just drink this nectar. (65) dharAbharottAraNa-gopa-vesha vihAra-lIlA-kRita-bandhu-sheSha jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O uplifter of the earth's burdens in the guise of a cowherd boy, Lord of sportive pastimes in which Ananta-sesha has become Your brother! O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O my tongue, just drink this nectar. (66) bakI-bakAghAsura-dhenukAre keshI-tRiNAvarta-vighAta-dakSha jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O enemy of Putana, Bakasura, Aghasura, and Dhenuka, O Lord who expertly smashed Keshi and Trinavarta!" O tongue, just drink this nectar--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (67) shrI jAnakI-jIvana rAmacandra nishAcarAre bharatAgrajesha jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O Ramacandra, O life and soul of the beautiful daughter of Janaka Maharaja, enemy of the night-roving demons, O elder brother of Bharata!" O my tongue, just drink this nectar--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (68) nArAyaNAnanta hare nRisiMha prahlAda-bAdhAhara he kRipAlo jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "O Lord Narayana, Ananta, Hari, Nrisimhadeva, remover of the afflictions of Prahlada, O merciful Lord! Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O my tongue, simply drink this nectar. (69) lIlA-manuShyAkRiti-rAma-rUpa pratApa-dAsI-kRita-sarva-bhUpa jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti O Lord who assumed the man-like form of Rama, who by dint of Your prowess, turned all other kings into Your servants! "O Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" O tongue, just drink this nectar. (70) shrI kRiShNa govinda hare murAre he nAtha nArAyaNa vAsudeva jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti "Shri Krishna! Govinda! Hari! Murari! O Lord, Narayana, Vasudeva!" O tongue, please drink only this nectar--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" (71) vaktuM samartho 'pi na vakti kashcid aho janAnAM vyasanAbhimukhyam jihve pibasvAmRitam etad eva govinda dAmodara mAdhaveti Even though anyone is able to chant--still, no one does. Alas! How determined people are for their own undoing! O tongue, just drink the nectar of these names--"Govinda, Damodara, Madhava!" iti shrI bilvamaNgalAcArya-viracitaM shrI govinda-dAmodara-stotraM saMpUrNam Thus the Shri Govinda Damodara Stotram composed by Shri Bilvamangalacarya is completed.
  20. 01923 857 244 [uK London] Manor. www.krishnatemple.com
  21. Where do you think I heard it.?!!!! I heard in live lecture yesterday. Dandavats to you.
  22. It's other way around. The sadhaka. [devotee]. That's what I mean. That's what Gita says, by Guru mercy you get Krishna. So that statement means 'are you getting mercy from Guru'?. You have faith in chanting etc. Plus I was just reading in Gita, in Purport about qualities of devotees, and it says that devotees are non-envious when they reach transcendental stage.
  23. That did you get this yet.? That's what that means. Nice signature by the way, nice and bright
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