jagatpurush

>Would it offend krishna? in theory there is no harm in worshipping the devatas. it is done in many Vaisnava temples, in the mood that the devatas are servants of Krishna and also Vaisnavas. but in Gaudiya Vaisnavism we generally do not worship them because we don't want to confuse the issue as to who is the supreme controller. >is krishna worship alone enough? As stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.31.14), yatha taror mula-nisecanena trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya “By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord [Acyuta or Krishna] one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.” >Are devatas irrelevant then? in most cases they are more elevated beings than us aspiring devotees. so if we met them we would certainly bow down. but there is no need to worship separately. > If so, why are they created? they are appointed living entities in charge of various important aspects of the material nature. they are given these posts as a reward for piety from Lord Hari. for example, it is said that if one performs 100 asvamedha yajnas, he can become Indra and enjoy in the heavenly planets. along with the privilege of being Indra comes the responsibility of being in charge of the department of rain. hope this helps! thanks, Hare Krsna.

Hare Krishna! All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I offer my humble obeisnaces unto him! In the summer of 1971, Indradyumna dasa accompanied Srila Prabhupada on his flight to London, where he was to attend the Ratha-yatra festival. On the flight, a film was shown --an old silent film of Charlie Chaplin. When the film began, Indradyumna dasa began reading the Bhagavad-gita, but he noticed that Srila Prabhupada, who was sitting two seats away, was watching the film and chuckling. Indradyumna felt a little confused,since he knew devotees were not supposed to watch movies, but seeing Prabhupada's appreciation of the film, he stopped reading and laughed along with Prabhupada and his servant at Charlie Chaplin's humor. When the film was over, Indradyumna met Pradyumna dasa at the back of the plane and asked why Srila Prabhupada was laughing during the film. Pradyumna said he would go and ask Prabhupada. He soon returned Smiling and said, "Prabhupada said that Krsna is the original source of everything,and since Charlie Chaplin's humor was original, he could appreciate Krsna there." Indradyumna returned to his seat, appreciating how Srila Prabhupada saw Krsna everywhere. As the plane landed in London, Indradyumna was looking forward to Seeing the devotees and hearing Prabhupada's arrival address at the Bury Place temple, but the airline had misplaced Prabhupada's suitcase and Indradyumna was asked to wait behind in case it showed up. Disappointed,Indradyumna was left alone as the other devotees performed kirtana while escorting Prabhupada to his car. Indradyumna waited for two hours before the suitcase was finally located.He then took a taxi to the temple, but to his great dismay, he found the ceremonies over and the devotees finishing up a feast in honor of Prabhupada's arrival. Indradyumna asked the devotees where Srila Prabhupada's room was and was told it was four flights up the stairs. Upon reaching the fourth floor, Indradyumna knocked on Prabhupada's Door and then entered the room, dragging the big suitcase behind him.Suddenly he noticed Srila Prabhupada standing there watching him. Embarrassed for having walked in on Prabhupada, Indradyumna fell to the floor, offering his humble obeisances. Suddenly he felt a firm slap on his back and he heard Srila Prabhupada say something to him. When he arose, Srila Prabhupada had gone back into the adjoining quarters. Still feeling Prabhupada's strong slap, he turned to Nanda-kumara, who stood there with wide open eyes and a big smile on his face. Indradyumna then asked what Prabhupada had said. "Prabhupada said," Nanda-kumara replied, "that in this material world everything is very difficult, but when you go back to Godhead, everything will be very easy." Indradyumna Swami, interview. I had a similar experience with Prabhupada while serving as his secretary. In 1973, Prabhupada wanted to travel from Calcutta to London. I met with some delays and difficulties in getting the passports, so at the airport, I asked him if going to the spiritual world means arranging for passports and tickets. He said no, you simply go there immediately. Although travel in the material world may be difficult, going back to Godhead is simple and swift. The first incident shows how Prabhupada could see Krsna everywhere. In the Tenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, Krsna shows how anything great comes from Him, so of humorists, Krsna is Charlie Chaplin. Although we cannot imitate Prabhupada, we may still appreciate his lila. Hewas a pure devotee, and it is wonderful and endearing that he could drink a 7-UP or laugh at a Charlie Chaplin movie. Although these activities may appear ordinary, Prabhupada was always extraordinary. Haribol! anand

main thing is association with devotees. without association, devotional service will become dry. that is why Prabhupada created ISKCON, so that devotees could relish the 6 types of exchanges between Vaisnavas: dadati pratigrhnati guhyam akhyati prcchati bhunkte bhojayate caiva sad-vidham priti-laksanam dadati--gives charity; pratigrhnati--accepts in return; guhyam--confidential topics; akhyati--explains; prcchati--inquires; bhunkte--eats; bhojayate--feeds; ca--also; eva--certainly; sat-vidham--six kinds; priti--of love; laksanam--symptoms. Translation Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting prasada and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee and another. Purport In this verse Srila Rupa Gosvami explains how to perform devotional activities in the association of other devotees. There are six kinds of activities: (1) giving charity to the devotees, (2) accepting from the devotees whatever they may offer in return, (3) opening one's mind to the devotees, (4) inquiring from them about the confidential service of the Lord, (5) honoring prasada, or spiritual food, given by the devotees, and (6) feeding the devotees with prasada. An experienced devotee explains, and an inexperienced devotee learns from him. This is guhyam akhyati prcchati. When a devotee distributes prasada, remnants of food offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in order to maintain our spirit of devotional service we must accept this prasada as the Lord's grace received through the pure devotees. We should also invite pure devotees to our home, offer them prasada and be prepared to please them in all respects. This is called bhunkte bhojayate caiva. Even in ordinary social activities, these six types of dealings between two loving friends are absolutely necessary. For instance, when one businessman wishes to contact another businessman he arranges a feast in a hotel, and over the feast openly expresses what he wishes to do. He then inquires from his business friend how he should act, and sometimes presents are exchanged. Thus whenever there is a dealing of priti, or love in intimate dealings, these six activities are executed. In the previous verse, Srila Rupa Gosvami advised that one should renounce worldly association and keep company with the devotees (sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh). The International Society for Krishna Consciousness has been established to facilitate these six kinds of loving exchanges between devotees. This Society was started single-handedly, but because people are coming forward and dealing with the give-and-take policy, the Society is now expanding all over the world. We are glad that people are donating very liberally to the development of the Society's activities, and people are also eagerly accepting whatever humble contribution we are giving them in the shape of books and magazines dealing strictly with the subject matter of Krsna consciousness. We sometimes hold Hare Krsna festivals and invite life members and friends to participate in the feasting by accepting prasada. Although most of our members come from the higher rungs of society, they nonetheless come and take whatever little prasada we are able to offer them. Sometimes the members and supporters inquire very confidentially about the methods of performing devotional service, and we try to explain this. In this way our Society is successfully spreading all over the world, and the intelligentsia of all countries is gradually appreciating our Krsna conscious activities. The life of the Krsna conscious society is nourished by these six types of loving exchange among the members; therefore people must be given the chance to associate with the devotees of ISKCON because simply by reciprocating in the six ways mentioned above an ordinary man can fully revive his dormant Krsna consciousness. the activities of this site fall under guhyam akhyati prchhati. but it is not enough to maintain enthusiasm for chanting. Hare Krsna, prabhu...

we should not think of "archaeology" as a hard and fast science. archaeologists claim to know the time table of the world, but they do not. their time table keeps on changing. moreover, what percentage of the fossil record have they uncovered? a millionth of a per cent? and on this they base their very exact and "scientific" time tables? there have been many artifacts discovered that support the Vedic timeline, but they have been rejected due to prejudice. for an in-depth analysis of Vedic archaeology, please visit www.forbiddenarcheology.com which is the work of Sadaputa Prabhu.

Krsna will not see according to your religion. there are no religions in Krsna-loka. Krsna will see according to your activities and consciousness: urdhvam gacchanti sattva-stha madhye tisthanti rajasah jaghanya-guna-vrtti-stha adho gacchanti tamasah SYNONYMS urdhvam--upwards; gacchanti--go; sattva-sthah--one who is situated in the mode of goodness; madhye--in the middle; tisthanti--dwell; rajasah--those who are situated in the mode of passion; jaghanya--abominable; guna--quality; vrtti-sthah--occupation; adhah--down; gacchanti--go; tamasah--people in the mode of ignorance. TRANSLATION Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds. PURPORT In this verse the results of actions in the three modes of nature are more explicitly set forth. There is an upper planetary system, consisting of the heavenly planets, where everyone is highly elevated. According to the degree of development of the mode of goodness, the living entity can be transferred to various planets in this system. The highest planet is Satyaloka, or Brahmaloka, where the prime person of this universe, Lord Brahma, resides. We have seen already that we can hardly calculate the wondrous condition of life in Brahmaloka, but the highest condition of life, the mode of goodness, can bring us to this. The mode of passion is mixed. It is in the middle, between the modes of goodness and ignorance. A person is not always pure, but even if he should be purely in the mode of passion, he will simply remain on this earth as a king or a rich man. But because there are mixtures, one can also go down. People on this earth, in the modes of passion or ignorance, cannot forcibly approach the higher planets by machine. In the mode of passion, there is also the chance of becoming mad in the next life. The lowest quality, the mode of ignorance, is described here as abominable. The result of developing ignorance is very, very risky. It is the lowest quality in material nature. Beneath the human level there are eight million species of life: birds, beasts, reptiles, trees, etc., and, according to the development of the mode of ignorance, people are brought down to these abominable conditions. The word tamasah is very significant here. Tamasah indicates those who stay continually in the mode of ignorance without rising to a higher mode. Their future is very dark. There is opportunity for men in the modes of ignorance and passion to be elevated to the mode of goodness, and that system is called Krsna consciousness. But one who does not take advantage of this opportunity certainly will continue in the lower modes. SP Bg. 14.18 Among the best of the Christians and Muslims (like pious vegetarians) who may go to heaven, they will still have to come down until they realize the Personality of Godhead. te tam bhuktva svarga-lokam visalam ksine punye martya-lokam visanti SYNONYMS te--they; tam--that; bhuktva--enjoying; svarga-lokam--heaven; visalam--vast; ksine--being exhausted; punye--merits; martya-lokam--mortal earth; visanti--fall down; TRANSLATION When they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return to this mortal planet again. Other than Vaisnavism, who has information of the Personality of Godhead?

apparently Bengali Vaisnavas chant Hare Krishna first for esoteric reasons. here is the discussion: http://www.hindunet.org/srh_home/1996_1/msg00513.html >From Eswar Josyula ( josyule@fim1.fim.wpafb.af.mil ) :- ----------------------- The following is written by my father, the words in parenthesis are mine. --------- Kalisantarona upanishad version (which starts with Hare Rama..) is called Taaraka Brahma Mahamantra. The word "Rama" in its first line refers to Rama, the son of Dasaratha. It like the other version has no restriction on time and place. But it requires guru's initiation. This can only give - Taarak moksham - deliverance, not prema bhakti. (Caitanya) Mahaprabho's version is called Paaraka - (highest) Brahma Mahamantra, it gives "prema bhakti". The first line is from Brahmanda purana and the second line is from Agni purana. In this "Rama" means Krishna, who "fascinates." "Hare" means Radha. This word is at the beginning and end of each line. This symbolizes that Radha does not permit Krsna from either side. Also, in this Mahamantra the eight pairs of words symbolize "Ashta Kaaleena Bhakti" or leelas! Devotees doing sankirtan eight times a day feel they are participating in rasa dance with Radha and Krishna. Another interesting point is Radha is yogamaya, Krishna's Hladini shakti. As yogamaya, she first advised Vrishabhanu who was to be her father later on, to chant this Mahamantra of (Chaitanya) Mahaprabho. _______________________ >From Satyanarayana Dasa Brahmacari ( snd@jiva.ernet.in ) :- -------------------------- Hare Krsna. All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga, The Hare Krsna mahamantra which we chant is taken from Sanatkumar Samhita. This book has been published by Sastri Maharaja. This Hare Krsna mahamantra is also found in the Brahmanda Purana. So although the Kalisantarana Up., has hare rama first, we follow the one given in SK Samhita. Another point is even if you say hare rama first, it doesn't make any difference, because after chanting it once, all other chantings you can consider hare rama is first, etc. Just as when Valmiki was asked to chant maramara, it amounted to chanting "rama rama". Another consideration is, and which is difficult for non-gaudiyas to accept, but which is most important for gaudiyas, is that the mahamantra has been personally promoted by Lord Caitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of the Vedas, and therefore it is bona fide. So what if there is no living parampara of Gopal Taapani. The book exists. The tattva vadis quote from many books such as Maha samhita, which don't even exist, so how can we accept their conclusions to be authentic? There are no living paramparas for most of the Puranas, Samhitas, Upanishads, and even Vedas. Yet, they are quoted and accepted by great acharyas. So what is the problem? -- I got this reply from SNP (sorry for the delay). --------------- > Tattva vaadis say that they use aprasiddha srutis only as side references. > All their siddhaantas are first supported by srutis which have a paramparaa > and these other aprasiddha references are just for decoration !! In fact one > tattva vaadi said that if we like, we can disregard all the aprassidha > references that madhva sampradaaya makes, still their philosophy will not be > shaken ! That applies to our philosophy also. Our main pramana is Bhagavatam, then Gita, then Upanishads, which is called prasthantrayi, and the parampara exists for that. And for whatever the paramparaa doesn't exist, that we also use for decoration. Whatever explanation they give, we also have the same. ------------------- [My comments: Bhagavatam is here taken as nyaaya prasthaana sice in gaudiya vaishnavism, bhaagavatam is the natural commentary on vedaanta suutra. Gita is smriti prasthaana and upanishads are the shruti prasthaana.] -sg --

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:MWe6mcuHnOQJ:www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/bmgs/goswamis/sanatana.htm+sanatana+suicide&hl=en "Srila Sanatana Gosvami came alone from Mathura to Jagannatha Puri to see Lord Caitanya. Because of bathing in bad water and not getting enough food every day while traveling on the path through Jharikhanda Forest, he developed a disease that made his body itch. Suffering greatly from this itching, he resolved that in the presence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu he would throw himself under the wheel of Jagannatha's car and in this way commit suicide. When Sanatana Gosvami came to Jagannatha Puri, he stayed under the care of Haridasa Thakura for some time, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very happy to see him. The Lord informed Sanatana Gosvami about the death of his younger brother, Anupama, who had great faith in the lotus feet of Lord Ramacandra. One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said to Sanatana Gosvami, "Your decision to commit suicide is the result of the mode of ignorance. One cannot get love of God simply by committing suicide. You have already dedicated your life and body to My service; therefore your body does not belong to you, nor do you have any right to commit suicide. I have to execute many devotional services through your body. I want you to preach the cult of devotional service and go to Vrndavana to excavate the lost holy places." After having thus spoken, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left, and Haridasa Thakura and Sanatana Gosvami had many talks about this subject." Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya lila, Introduction

sounds like you have the right idea though! /images/graemlins/smile.gif it is very spiritually healthy to want all these things.

>>And in which way does homosexuality worship any form of evil power so that it may be called DEMONIC. the word for demon is asura, or one who is not godly. simply being non-violent does not make one a sura, or godly person (which we should all aspire to become). so when we use the word demonic, we mean something which goes against the prescribed order of God. we certainly do not mean any personal offense by this; it is just our nomenclature, in line with the way Krishna speaks in the Gita: pravrttim ca nivrttim ca jana na vidur asurah na saucam napi cacaro na satyam tesu vidyate SYNONYMS pravrttim--proper action; ca--also; nivrttim--improper action; ca--and; janah--persons; na--never; viduh--know; asurah--demoniac qualities; na--never; saucam--cleanliness; na--nor; api--also; ca--and; acarah--behavior; na--never; satyam--truth; tesu--in them; vidyate--there is. TRANSLATION Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them. Bg. 16.7 i am very sorry if you are offended by what i or someone wrote. we are not trying to vilify homosexuals in any way, just talking about standards of behavior. IT IS DUE TO MODERN MEDIA AND MISCONCEPTIONS THAT PEOPLE BELIEVE HOMOSEXUALITY TO BE A PURELY PHYSICAL DESIRE. IT IS NOT!!! it is due to modern media and misconceptions that lust is confused with love. lust does not mean physical desire, it refers to any material desire ultimately. the word used in Sanskrit for what you call love is only kama, or desire. or sneha, affection. because India is a sophisticated culture, they don't get to using the word 'love' until the level of prema, or pure selfless love of God. thanks hope this clarifies our position /images/graemlins/smile.gif

On his second visit, the young disciple received 2 powerful lessons from Swami Sivananda. The first lesson came when Swami Vishnu-devananda felt too timid and a bit arrogant to bow to the Guru Swami Sivananda. So the Master Swami Sivananda prostrated fully before the young student demonstrating the lesson of humility. The second lesson came during Arati (worship ceremony) to Ganga (Ganges river). Swamiji was perplexed and doubtful as he pondered why intelligent people would worship what scientifically is merely H2O. The Master then smiled subtly and gazed at Swamij who instantly beheld the river as a vast, bright, cosmic light. Swami Sivananda then invited the young boy to remain at the Ashram to study and become a Yogi. Swami Vishnu-devananda spontaneously replied "Yes".

http://www.traveling-preacher.com/tp130405.htm [there are volumes of nectar about sankirtana on this site. it begs to be explored for those who have not read the stories yet.] Diary of a Traveling Preacher Volume 6 - Chapter 5 "Lessons on the Road" U.S.A. 11/02/05 - 13/04/05 Since leaving Sri Lanka in late February I have had several dreams of the devastation caused by the tsunami and of the victims that I attended to. That real-life drama left an indelible impression on my mind. Even the most beautiful scenes of nature now appear tainted, for I realize more than ever before that everything in this world is temporary and subject to destruction. In late March, I took a flight from London to Los Angeles for my annual two-month preaching tour through the United States. But I could not forget the tsunami, so unlike some of the other passengers, I was unimpressed by the glory and glitter of America upon our arrival. Many were awestruck at the well-organized and efficient procedures for customs and immigration in the huge arrival halls, amidst the latest technology and sophisticated security. And when we stepped outside the terminal, I recognized two passengers who stood motionless-mesmerized by the bigness of the American scene before them. Only one thought came to my mind, however. It was a single line from a recording my spiritual master had made almost four decades ago. I'd heard it a thousand times, but it had more relevance now: "The whole show is only temporary." Fortunately, Srila Prabhupada had also introduced me to the positive alternative: spiritual life, Krsna consciousness, which since my experience in Sri Lanka, had taken on much more significance. Now I counted my blessings each day and found myself relishing and seeking more shelter in the daily spiritual activities that I had come to take for granted after many years. In that sense, the tragedy of the tsunami had started a renaissance in my spiritual life. As I signaled to the vehicle that had come to pick me up, I was praying to the Lord not to let me forget recent lessons learned on the road back home. "When a relative dies one certainly becomes very much interested in philosophy, but when the funeral ceremony is over one again becomes attentive to materialism. The technical term for this attitude of the materialistic person is smasana-vairagya, or detachment in a cemetery or place of cremation." [srimad Bhagavatam 7.2.61 purport] To ensure that my lessons were not only learned but also realized, the Lord kindly made arrangements to refresh my memory throughout my visit. The first lesson was on the positive side. I was traveling in upstate New York with Sri Prahlad and his wife, Rukmini Priya. We were just one week into our travels, and we had been invited for an evening of kirtan at the famous Kripalu Yoga Institute. The immense 300-room complex was once a Jesuit monastery and now serves as a yoga retreat for people on the East Coast of the United States. I already knew about America's ongoing fascination with yoga; otherwise, I would not have understood how such a large complex could be filled up most of the year. An estimated 16 million Americans practice one form of yoga or another, double the number of five years ago. Recent articles in mainstream magazines like Time and National Geographic have extolled the glories of meditation, and America's fascination with yoga could be seen everywhere. The popular Kimpton Hotel chain supplies guests with a free yoga mat and block and provides a 24-hour yoga channel, and in-flight magazines often include simple five-minute yoga exercises to ease the stress of air travel, but most convincing of all was the many yoga studios in every town we visited. Most of the yoga practices in America differ vastly from the bhakti yoga that we devotees practice. Yoga in America is based on physical well-being, and if there's any philosophy at all, it's of a non-devotional, impersonal nature. Therefore it has not been easy for devotees to introduce Krsna consciousness into the developing yoga scene. Recently, however, the melodious chanting of mantras in kirtan has become popular with several non-devotee groups playing to large crowds across the country. When the managers of Kripalu Institute received a CD of Sri Prahlad from a local devotee, they invited Sri Prahlad for an evening of bhajan. We eagerly looked forward to the program. As we entered the Kripalu Institute, classes had just finished. People were walking through the halls or sitting in little groups chatting. All eyes turned to us as we entered, dressed in robes and carrying musical instruments and trays of prasadam. As we walked to the main hall, I noticed many people following us. When we entered the hall, the woman helping us politely closed the door so we could set up. "The whole complex is buzzing about the program," she said. Sure enough, when she opened the door 20 minutes later, a large crowd of over 150 people quickly entered and sat on the floor, most in meditative yogic asanas. Up to that moment I had been wondering how to conduct the program. Normally I would speak at length about Krsna consciousness: its history, culture, and philosophy. But although the people here were obviously spiritual seekers, past experience had shown that such people are often the most difficult to convince because of their preconceived ideas of yoga and mysticism, so I took a different approach and simply depended on Krsna, that is to say, on His holy names. After a five-minute introduction I turned to Sri Prahlad. "Chant for at least an hour," I said. It was the shortest public lecture I had ever given, but I sat back confident. I knew Sri Prahlad's chanting of the holy names would melt their hearts. And it did. As Sri Prahlada began to play the harmonium and chant, I saw many of the yogis break their meditation and open their eyes in astonishment. Others closed their eyes and began swaying to the beautiful melodious kirtan. Within 30 minutes practically everyone was dancing in transcendental ecstasy. I noticed people there from all walks of life. Such a program was an easy way to contact people we might not ordinarily reach. I suddenly realized that kirtan programs might be the right way to enter into the spiraling interest in yoga in America. I exchanged glances with Sri Prahlad, and I could tell he had had the same realization. The most convincing sign came after the two-hour kirtan finished. People stood stunned, relishing the deep spiritual experience they'd just had. Finally a woman walked up to me. "That's yoga," she said. "I feel so happy!" As I picked up the drum to leave, I turned to her and smiled. "Yes, Ma'am," I said. "Chanting that mantra is the topmost yoga system." A verse from scripture came to my mind: "The Hare Krsna mantra is the only mantra for destroying one's enemies-lust, greed etc.-and it is worshiped by all the words of the Upanishads. That mantra causes the darkness of ignorance to vanish and puts an end to material existence. That mantra is the only cause of the attainment of spiritual opulence, and chanting it protects one from the bite of the poisonous snake of sinful reactions. O tongue! Please constantly chant this mantra and make my life successful." [Mukunda-mala stotram, Verse 31] Another stop on our trip was Washington D.C., where the Lord again blessed me so I would not forget the realities of life. The blessing came in the form of Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja. For months Maharaja had been fighting cancer and had only recently conceded defeat, as tumors began appearing throughout his body despite the various treatments. His disciples updated me on his condition, and I expected to find him in bed, succumbing slowly to death in a meditative mood. But when I entered his room, I was surprised to find him sitting up in a chair, looking cheerful and alert. He was thinner than I had last seen him, but smiling broadly and radiating a bright effulgence. As we began talking, it was obvious that he didn't have long to live. His cancer had infiltrated his bones, and he showed me a large tumor near his neck. He wasn't the first devotee on the verge of death that I had visited, but his presence had an especially deep affect on me. In him, I saw myself, in the sense that his career in Krsna consciousness has been very similar to mine. A sannyasi and a traveling preacher, he has lived an active life, visiting many countries of the world. We have even preached in the same countries and often crossed paths at big festivals. Only last year we spoke together on a famous Croatian morning-television talk show. Like me he is a writer and thus known to the general mass of devotees. Now his career had suddenly been cut short, and he had only days or weeks to live. It was an eye-opener and made the reality of death even more real. "Only time separates me from a similar fate," I thought. I suddenly felt an urgent need to become Krsna conscious. "Today or tomorrow this worthless material body will leave me and all the material happiness connected with it will also leave. Because material happiness is temporary, it should be understood to be only a mirage of the real happiness. O my mind, please abandon this false happiness and enjoy the real, eternal happiness of devotional service within the land of Vrndavana." [Vrindavan-mahimamrta Chapter 1, text 24] Maharaja sensed my mood. "More difficult than the pain and inconvenience," he said, "is that my days of traveling and preaching are over. After being active for so many years, I suddenly find myself confined to this room. No picking up and moving to the next town, the next program. It's hard." His face took on a sober look. "I can understand that," I said. "No you can't," he said with a faint smile. "Can you share with me the thoughts and realizations of other devotees you've known on the verge of death?" I thought carefully for a moment and then mentioned how our Godbrother Sridhar Swami was fearless in the face of death. I attributed it to his having realized the continuity of devotional service to the Lord: As we are serving guru and Krsna in this life, we shall be doing the same in the next life. Maharaja thought for a moment and then nodded his head. Such topics carry more weight for one on the verge of death. Then Maharaja switched the subject to something more important to him. "I'm concerned that the general mass of devotees won't have the same facilities given to me near death," he said. "Because I am a leader, devotees have given money and facilities to cure me. I've been to a number of clinics and have seen many doctors. It's been costly. The normal devotee wouldn't have such opportunities." I was amazed. "Here's a real Vaisnava," I thought. "He's on the verge of death but concerned about the welfare of others." "So I'm going to start a trust," he continued, "with any money left over from donations to me, to insure that others can have access to the same treatment I've had." His mind was working quickly. "I am conscious that there are still many anarthas in my heart," he said, "and I'm anxious that there may not be time to purge them." He hadn't stated it as a question, but it was obvious that he was looking for advice. "Maharaja," I said, "your service record throughout the years is outstanding. I have no doubt that is what Krsna will consider at the moment of your death." vayur anilam amrtam athedam bhasmantam sariram om krato smara krtam smara krato smara krtam smara "Let this temporary body be burnt to ashes, and let the air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, O my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You." [sri Isopanishad, Mantra 17] To give Maharaja even more confidence I related the story of Ramanujacarya, who asked a similar question to the Deity of Ranganatha. "My Lord," he said, "what is the fate of the devotee who cannot remember you at the moment of death?" The Deity was silent for a few moments. "If my devotee cannot remember me at the moment of death," said the Deity, "then I will remember my devotee." Maharaja smiled. Then he began glorifying some of my preaching activities, and I decided it was time to go. As I left, I invited Maharaja to the Gaura Purnima celebrations the next day at the Potomac temple. The next day, just before sundara arotik, I was pleasantly surprised when he showed up in his wheelchair in spite of his fragile condition. The temple room was packed, and when the devotees saw Maharaja they cheered. Although I was meant to be the keynote speaker, I asked Maharaja to give the lecture after arotik. He spoke wonderfully for half an hour and then gave the microphone to me. "I won't speak more than a few words tonight," I began. "I would like this occasion to be remembered for the enlightening words of His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja." Some devotees began to cry. I glorified Maharaja's service over the years and finally said that I had no doubt he was going back to Godhead. "Our only qualification for achieving such an exalted state," I added, "is the causeless mercy of the spiritual master, and the proof that Maharaja has achieved this grace is that after he returned from preaching behind the Iron Curtain, Srila Prabhupada warmly embraced him." The next morning, I declined to give class because I was too tired and needed to prepare my things before leaving. Later that day I was humbled when I heard that Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, though exhausted from his illness and preparing to leave this very world, gave a class in his room. It was evident that although he had been inquiring from me, I had much more to learn from him. Just before we left the city, the Lord again showed us the contrast between the sober and the sublime when Sri Prahlad, Rukmini-priya, and I visited the home of Dr. Kaya Ploss, an affluent and distinguished woman in American politics. At 74, Dr. Ploss is in charge of the Center for Polish and American Cultural Affairs, and the visit had been arranged by a devotee who lived next door to her. I didn't know how important she was until we were sitting in her living room. I saw photos of her with various world leaders including Pope John Paul II, former United States presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, a former Polish president, and the present one, Aleksander Kwasniewski, just to name a few. At first she seemed a little uncomfortable about having us in her home, but after a while she relaxed. When she saw me staring at the photos, she began telling us the story of her life, most of which centered on American politics. Her second husband had served as an advisor to the secretary of state, so we heard many stories of government intrigue and diplomacy. Every once in a while she would stop and ask us a question about Krsna consciousness. After an hour, the phone rang and she got up to answer it. "Excuse me," she said. "I'm expecting a call from my son. He is the Polish ambassador to the United Nations." She took the call in another room, but Rukmini Priya, a native of Poland, was sitting within hearing distance and later told us what she had heard. "My dear son," Dr. Ploss had said, "something wonderful is happening. I have the Hare Krishnas in my home." We spent over an hour with her, and she invited us back next year. "Many guests visit me here," she said, "and I visit them too. Next week I will be visiting the newly elected president of Ukraine, in Kiev. You are always welcome." She put her hand on my shoulder. "Thank you," I said and gave her a copy of my newest book, Diary of a Traveling Preacher, Volume 5. "I will definitely read it" she said. A few days later, almost predictably, came the next lesson, yet another reminder that "the whole show is only temporary." In Laguna Beach, California, I was invited to the home of Gaura Priya dasi, a 73-year-old disciple of Virabahu prabhu. She was dying of cancer. As I walked in her room, I could see she was only hours away from leaving her body. She lay unconscious in her bed, thin and pale, her chanting beads draped over her arm. Her family members asked me to put a Tulasi leaf and some Ganges water in her mouth. I was grateful for the service to a Vaisnavi, though the circumstances were difficult. "I guess I'm still not convinced," I thought, "so the Lord keeps hammering home the same point: Life is temporary, don't get distracted, keep your mind on the goal." We had kirtan for some time, but after a while my mind began to wander, and I left to get some fresh air. I felt a little uncomfortable about leaving, but I as I had never known Gaura Priya, it was difficult to be in the same mood as those who had served with her. Her daughter, who was not a devotee, came outside. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for my mother," she said. "But I've only been here a few minutes," I started to say. "I - " "I mean your diary," she said. "My mother loved to read it and waited anxiously for each chapter to come out. The whole last month she has been glorifying you. She was particularly inspired by the story of your brother and how he became a devotee. She saw it as a small miracle, and it gave her so much faith and spiritual strength in these last days of her life." Again I was both embarrassed and humbled. "She so much wanted to meet you," The daughter said. "Thank you," I said. "Now I can go and chant with feeling like the others." I returned to the room and started leading kirtan. This time I chanted from the heart, hoping that she would somehow hear by means of the transcendental medium. After some time, I concluded the kirtan, and before going whispered some words of encouragement into her ear. My lessons seemed to be following a pattern of positive then negative, so I expected a positive one next, but I soon found myself face to face with death again. It seems to be one lesson we need be reminded of again and again. ahany ahani bhutani gacchantiha yamalayam sesah sthavaram icchanti kim ascaryam atah param "Day after day countless living entities in this world go to the kingdom of death. Still, those who remain aspire for a permanent situation here. What could be more amazing than this?" [Mahabharata Vana-parva 313.116] But this time it was not a devotee in the Hare Krsna movement. It was Pope John Paul II. Like others, I was saddened to hear of his illness and death. Tears came to my eyes when I received the news of his dignified departure, surrounded by his associates in deep prayer. A devotee looked at my face. "But Maharaja," he said, "many of the problems you face in Poland come from the Church." "True," I said, "but I don't think they come from the Pope himself. He always showed a willingness for interfaith dialogue." "Besides," I added, "although our spiritual traditions differ in some ways, I always appreciated his conservative stance on religious issues and his courage in spreading his faith. The world is a better place for his missionary work." "Well," said the devotee, "I wonder if Srila Prabhupada would have seen it that way." "He certainly did when he was with us," I said, "as evidenced by his letter to Pope Paul VI. The lives and deaths of holy persons contain valuable lessons for those of us treading the straight and narrow path back to the spiritual world." [some passages from the letter follow:] Montreal, August 3, 1968 His Holiness The Pope, Paul VI Vicar of Jesus Christ, State of Vatican City, Rome, Italy Your Holiness: Please accept my respectful humble obeisances at Your lotus feet. I beg to introduce myself as an Indian monk, following the Vedic principles of religious life. At the present I am in the renounced order of Sannyasa (aged 72 years) and preaching God consciousness all over the world .... My mission is in the line of Lord Caitanya, Who is Personified Love of Godhead and Who advented Himself 482 years ago in India ... His mission is to revive God consciousness all over the world on the basis of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the science of God .... The principle of Srimad-Bhagavatam is that any religious faith which helps a man to develop Love of God, without any motive, and without being hampered by any material condition, is transcendental religion ... The special significance of human life is to achieve Love of God as the prime perfection of life ... This tendency is very much deteriorating, and because Your Holiness is the Head of a great religious sect, I think we should meet together and chalk out a program for cooperation .... The human society cannot anymore be allowed to continue a Godless civilization at the risk of decreasing truthfulness, hygienic principles, forgiveness, and mercifulness ... The Krishna Consciousness movement is meant for overhauling the whole situation. We are creating men of character, and we are training our disciples to become Lovers of God, or Krishna .... I do not wish to prolong the body of this letter further, but if you think that a meeting with you will be beneficial for the human society at large, I shall be very much pleased if Your Holiness will grant me an interview. Thanking you in anticipation for an early reply. Yours in the service of the Lord, AC Bhaktivedanta Swami

to control the mind and senses we must engage them in the service of the Lord by chanting, honoring prasada, looking at the Deity form, hearing Krsna-katha, etc. then the senses can be controlled. "So therefore Krishna is described, Hrsikesa. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate. And bhakti means to serve Hrsikesa by the hrsika. Hrsika means senses. Krishna is the master of the senses, and therefore, whatever senses I have got, the master is Krishna, proprietor is Krishna. So when our senses are engaged in the satisfaction of the master of the senses, that is called bhakti. This is the definition of bhakti, devotional service. And when the senses are engaged for sense gratification, not for the master, that is called kama. Kama and prema. Prema means to love Krishna and do everything for satisfaction of Krishna. That is prema, love. And kama means everything done for the satisfaction of my senses. This is the difference. The sense is the medium. Either you do it, satisfy your senses, or you satisfy Krishna's senses. But when you satisfy Krishna's senses, you become perfect, and when you satisfy your senses, you become imperfect, illusioned. Because you cannot satisfy your senses. That is not possible without Krishna. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate." SP Bg. 2.9 Lecture

in Hare Krishna movement homosexuality falls under the category of illicit sex. licit sex means only that meant for procreation, which is glorified by God in the Bhagavad-gita: dharmaviruddho bhuteshu kamo 'smi bharatarshabha dharma-aviruddhah -- not against religious principles; bhuteshu -- in all beings; kamah -- sex life; asmi -- I am; bharata-rishabha -- O lord of the Bharatas. TRANSLATION I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles, O lord of the Bharatas [Arjuna]. PURPORT Sex life, according to religious principles (dharma), should be for the propagation of children, not otherwise. The responsibility of parents is then to make their offspring Krishna conscious. [bg. 7.11] when one reads this, it seems to make sublime sense. that that would be the pure standard. and ISKCON is meant to preserve and propagate that kind of a standard of spiritual life. to understand this elevated thing called God Consciousness we have to be in the mode of goodness. simply studying will not give us that understanding. it has to be a state of being. and illicit sex is a strong impediment against reaching the mode of goodness. so all devotees have to give up illicit sex, not just gay people. but you should not be treated bad for this as we all have our faults. devotees are supposed to be manadena, or giving all respect to others. also i hope you are not one of those people who is like, 'i like Hare Krsna but i can't aspire to a religion that is not feminist/ doesn't allow homosexuality/ doesn't agree with modern science/ etc. etc. because ultimately if we want the truth, we can't expect that it will conform to our exact way of seeing the world. in fact it may be radically different, being as we are not in complete knowledge.

thanks for stopping by Ragaputra Prabhu. Hare Krsna. ys, Jagat Purush dasa BCS

Hari bol, Dandavat Pranams.

don't worry prabhuji, i wasn't talking about you. just speaking from experience.

>> Does "being in love" exist or is allowed in the practice of KC? most of what we call 'being in love' is a material affection for the opposite sex, which comes naturally for the conditioned soul. yet, in the absence of true feelings of love of God, this familial affection is very important for the psychological well being of the children and parents. if the women and children are happy and feel 'loved' then they can practice God consciousness without undue agitation. in iskcon often people think they are above material affection but in reality are just cold. and thus the women and children suffer emotional neglect. but it is common sense that if one is attached enough to get married, then he is attached enough to take care of his wife nicely. not that he should take a wife due to attachment and then neglect her because of supposed "detachment."

marriage in the Vedic culture is arranged, but then it should also have the culture to support it. without that, the arranged marriage of two people who have nothing in common is likely to fail, as we have seen in ISKCON. main thing is not to get a divorce. if you have someone with whom you already have a good understanding/relationship, then that is a good prospect for a lasting marriage and therefore conducive to Krsna consciousness. if we could choose, then we would have arranged marriage also, but the expedient principle is not to break up the family unit.

http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/hinduism/87157/0/collapsed/5/o/1#Post96299 Hare Krishna. Dandavats. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. quote: -- Actually seven years back when i came in contact with ISKCON i took up KRISHNA CONCIOUSNESS very seriously and i was even chanting 16 rounds then. Through time one thing i have noticed is this that maintaining stability in KC is very tough and that there are no immediate results when one takes up chanting seriously. -- My experience is that when one first starts chanting Hare Krishna he feels very happy, and is very fired up to chant. As time goes on his enthusiasm dies down, along with the happiness he experiences from it. Eventually chanting becomes a chore, where one must work hard to chant without actually enjoying it. Without experiencing happiness when chanting Hare Krishna, one's entire spiritual life becomes dull. Again, from my experience, this loss of enthusiasm and happiness is due to a number of things, but most importantly our cynicism and criticism of other devotees. Once we begin to advance a very little in spiritual life we unfortunately develop pride. Either we think we are very advanced, very pure, or very knowledgeable, and others just don't match up to us. When we first take to spiritual life we are very humble, and we automatically accept other devotees as very advanced. This is mostly due to ignorance of what advancement is, but in this case our ignorance actually helps us progress in spiritual life. As we develop knowledge and discrimination, we lose respect for those general devotees, who are actually sadhakas, and think that we are further along on the path of advancement then them. Actually what we have mostly gained is academic knowledge, not spiritual advancement. We can test this practically by seeing how much our mind is controlled. See how long we can sit quietly alone in a room. Just sit quietly, even without meditation! This is like kindergarten level that we are talking about, but we fail. Try spending one day observing mauna vrata, don't speak to anyone or make noise for one single day. If we try these simple exercises we will realize how entrapped in the material consciousness we are, and how uncontrolled our minds really are. Yet, in such a pitiful state, we thought small of every single soul who attempted spiritual life. They may have even been less advanced then us, but we failed to realize they were sadhakas, lost souls attempting spiritual life. It must be expected that they will have some flaws and faults. Out of millions of people, there is hardly one sadhaka - so even with all of his flaws and faults he is great. From Krishna's view, when he looks upon all of us, he doesn't see the flaws, because the flaws are the standard in the material world. He sees the exceptional quality, that we have attempted something. But from our perspective, when we see other devotees, we see the flaws. "Oh that person is a devotee but still he is like this, still he did that. Devotees are supposed to have all good qualities, but he is acting worse than a nondevotee." Our mistake was that we failed to see him as a sadhaka, and instead tried to compare him to the standard of bhakta. Bhakta is a very advanced stage. just like we say "Bhakta Prahlada". It refers to the pure devotee. Srila Prabhupada had us call all new devotees as "bhakta" so that we would be offering respect to them, and they would feel themselves as servants of Krishna. He wanted to protect us from criticizing the sadhakas. We should respect the new sadhaka as a bhakta, but we should not try to measure him to the standard of a bhakta, for a true bhakta is a liberated soul. To further protect us from this most common block on the spiritual path, Srila Prabhupada instructed us to offer obeisances to each devotee every morning when we first see them. But such practices have either stopped or become mere rituals. The use of the words "bhakta" and "prabhu" have become meaningless. Bhakta is now a term used to refer to an inferior class of devotee, and prabhu is just a word we use to address each other. Humility is the only qualification to advance in spiritual life, but it is the most difficult quality to develop. As we become knowledgeable we begin to think we are advanced. As a result we pose as teachers, gurus, and ever-well wishers. We begin accepting people's obeisances instead of returning obeisances. We should note that the great saint Srila Bhakti Pramode Puri Maharaja, godbrother of Srila Prabhupada, would many times offer obeisances to the new devotees who would come to see him, despite himself being over 100 years old, and he would request them for blessings! This is the sign of advancement. The rest of us, who try to pose ourselves as knowledgeable and advanced, actually lack true devotional substance and practice. We may speak like eloquent scholars, but we are as lost as the rest of the outside world. Still, an intelligent sadhaka will not even criticize us! The truly advancing sadhaka must be able to analyse the situation in truth and realize that those posing as advanced are also sadhakas stuck on their own level. They must be glorified for being sadhakas, and their faults should be seen as a natural product of this material world. We are all coming out of the gutter, naturally there will be dirt on us. We cannot be criticized for being dirty, rather we should be glorified for choosing to climb out of the gutter. At the same time, the intelligent sadhaka must relate to each person according to their true level of advancement. He shouldn't blindly follow others despite knowing their aproximate level of advancement. We must adopt a standard of respecting all while following none. Of course this is a very crude way of explaining it. In other words, we must follow the exemplary saints whose life style is perfectly in accordance with the scriptures. Srila prabhupada is our own perfect example, whom we can internally compare others to. This comparison is not to criticize or to belittle, but to analyze. If someone falls short of the comparison, we offer them all respects and in our heart consider them to be a more advanced sadhaka on the spiritual path. But sadhakas should not follow sadhakas! A sadhaka needs a saint, this is the order given in the Nectar of Instruction. We may recieve some comfort and advice from other sadhakas, both beginners and advanced. But true absolute guidance can come only from a saint. In the Shikshashtakam Sri Chaitanya says: trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih If you want to chant Hare Krishna constantly you must become tolerant like a tree. Why a tree? Because everyone is offending the tree. Someone is snatching its fruit, someone is pulling its leaves, someone is breaking its branches, someone is taking its flowers. Now we may say, "How can I allow people to walk on top of me like this?" The point is if you want to chant constantly (kirtaniyah sada harih) then you must be on this platform, like Haridas Thakur. He allowed people to beat him with sticks. After beating him, they were unable to kill him, so they requested to him, "You please die, otherwise the king will punish us." So to satisfy them he died, and later came back to life. This is tolerant like a tree. Such a person can chant 24 hours a day. Artificially we cannot become so tolerant, but according to our level of tolerance we will be able to chant. If someone is only a little tolerant, he will only be able to chant a little bit. If he tries to chant more he will find it too difficult to chant. So we must increase our tolerance and humility, not artificially but naturally and slowly. Once the humility is increased, then we will see that it becomes easier to chant. In the beginning of spiritual life we have no pride, and due to ignorance we offer all respects to other devotees thinking everyone to be a saint. Thus we have no impediments in chanting. But as we increase in knowledge, our humility decreases and we begin to judge devotees, forgetting that they are in reality sadhakas. At that time we are suddenly faced with a block, it becomes difficult to chant Hare Krishna. Only when we bring our self back to our original level of humility, accepting everyone as more advanced then ourselves, will our chanting again become pure. Devotees are always looking for the 'good old days' of ISKCON, but they fail to understand what made those days good. It wasn't a time period, it wasn't just the presence of the Founder-Acharya, it was our own humility and respect for all. As soons as there is pride, one loses the spiritual taste, and the 'good old days' are gone. Yours in service, J.N.Das

from 1994 Vyasa-puja Book Dear Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my most humble obeisances on this most auspicious occasion Of your appearance. At this time I remember my good fortune in meeting you many years ago, and how you showered your boundless compassion upon my unworthy self. The first time I saw you was a picture in Life magazine in 1967, which Had an article about all the different "yogis" doing their thing in New York City. As I read the article with interest, I could not help feeling uneasy with the pictures of the bogus yogis displayed there. They all had beady eyes, long stringy hair and beards. They looked like crooks and pickpockets. Then I saw your picture. I was immediately struck by the immense gravity of your expression, and the atmosphere of peace in which you seemed to be situated. Again and again I came back to your picture. Finally I took a pair of scissors and cut it out from the magazine. I thought for a while what to do with this special prize and then decided to paste it on the door of my locker at high school. While all my classmates had pin-up girls or sports stars on their lockers, I had you, Srila Prabhupada. I don't think here there was a kid in my school who did not come to see your picture at sometime or other to ponder your transcendental pose. I did not know how to pronounce your name and did not even try to remember it, I simply knew that at some time, somehow, I would become your follower and learn how to worship Lord Krsna from you. Many months passed. When spring vacation came in April of 1968, my older brother invited me to go with him to New York City. I unhesitatingly agreed to go in hopes of meeting you. I prayed to God for the good fortune of finding you and your devotees during my visit to New York City. We took a train from upstate New York. Upon reaching the city, my brother took me to Greenwich Village. From there we wandered around until we got lost. We eventually wound up on the Bowery, where I lost all belief in the greatness of the America way of life. We continued wandering until we reached Second Avenue. As we were turning on First Street to head towards the West Side, something suddenly burst into my awareness through the corner of my eye. It caught my attention like the shining sun popping out from behind a black storm cloud. It was a store sign which proclaimed: "Hare Krishna." My head suddenly yanked around, followed by my body. Reflexively I darted across the busy street and stepped inside the hollowed space of the 26 Second Avenue. Inside I met a teenage girl devotee named Sudarsana. In the course of our conversation, she informed me that you would be arriving the next day from San Francisco and that I should come to see you then. You arrived the next morning and that evening I came to New York City to see you. I entered the temple room and sat on a musty Persian rug not far from your asana. Other devotees were coming in and sitting all around me. Candles flickered and incense filled the air. Then the devotees began to slowly chime the hand cymbals and to thump our rhythms with the clay mrdangas as they sang your praises with the Sanskrit verse: nama om visnu-padayakrsna-padaya bhutale, srimate bhaktivedanta svamin iti namine. As the volume and tempo of the chanting increased, so did the ecstasy of the devotees. The temple room was crammed full of devotees and guests like myself, who were all eagerly awaiting your arrival. In the back of the temple room, near aside entranceway on the left, stood Brahmananda and Pradyumna. Near them were brahmacarinis - Kancambala, Lilasuka, Indira and Ekayani. They were frantically jumping up and down to the rhythm of the chanting and repeatedly screaming "Swamiji" with their shrill voices. I noticed that several devotees next to the side door had conchshells, but I did not know that these were for blowing. Suddenly, when the chanting had reached its peak, there was heard the loud blast of conchshells. To me it sounded like sirens, and since everyone immediately threw themselves on the ground, I did likewise, expecting an imminent explosion from a bomb. Instead, however, there was only the gentle murmur of prayers being recited by the bowed devotees. I raised my head up to see what was going on. At that moment the side door opened and from behind it emerged a mass of glowing saffron. As I gazed at you, I realized that although before our eyes, you were not from this world. You were present before us at a point where the spiritual plane met the material plane so that we could have a glimpse of transcendence. With wide blinking eyes, I watched as you made your way across the crowded room. It appeared to me that your feet never touched the ground. You obviously had no need for such trivial things. You sat upon your seat in a dignified manner and acknowledged the presence of everyone with a reassuring glance. As your glance caught my eyes, I understood that you saw my naked soul in my heart, and thus knew everything about me. You picked up your hand cymbals and began chanting the prayers to the disciplic succession. The mode of the chanting was solemn. As I listened, I felt that I was awash in an ocean of timelessness. By the prayers you vibrated I could feel myself connected with Godhead Himself. Then you began chanting the mahamantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare; Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. There was a stirring among the assembled devotees. They rose from the floor and began dancing. You were deeply absorbed in concentration as you lead the chanting. Soon the devotees were swaying back and forth with the chanting, their arms extended upwards toward the ceiling. I also danced. As the chanting became more intense, the devotees jumped and shouted, with tears streaking down their cheeks. My body was trembling and I was sweating so profusely that my clothes were completely drenched. I had gone from an ocean of timelessness into the depths of an ocean of transcendental bliss from which I never wished to leave. Finally you brought the chanting to an end and proceeded to give a lecture. I could tell by your expression and the tone of your voice that the subject was very important, but I was unable to understand very much, because of my unfamiliarity with your accent. Even so, I listened everything you said. After finishing the lecture, you retired to your room upstairs. The devotees rolled out a long plastic mat and placed wooden bowls along both sides. Soon they were serving hot banana milk. After tasting my first prasada, a devotee named Advaita asked me if I wanted to see the altar from up close. I agreed. He took me right up to the altar, which was a wooden framework covered with velvet, and stretched his right arm toward the picture on the altar. As I looked to see which pictures he was pointing at, I saw before me a larger version of the same picture of you which I had pasted on my locker door at high school. I was shocked and realized that Krsna had brought me to you and that I had to surrender myself to you as your disciple - I had no other alternative. Your humble servant, R.K. Bhaktivaidurya Madhava Maharaja

picture of Panca-tattva is best. They will give all blessings. in this age nama-kirtana is stressed and not arcana. technically to worship Radha-Krsna you should be brahmana initiated. it is nice that you have feeling to worship Krsna but to worship independent of pancaratrika-vidhi would be considered sahajiya.

Once an older godbrother, Rasamrta prabhu, told me what he saw and heard directly from Srila Prabhupada many years ago. In Brooklyn, Srila Prabhupada was speaking before the devotees when he looked at a picture of Krsna with the cows and cowherd boys, across the room from him. Gazing at it, he told the devotees that when a pure devotee sees such pictures, he sees much more than others can see. Prabhupada also said that in addition to Krsna, the cowherd boys, land, and cows, a pure devotee can see that one cow has a tear coming from her eye. He asked the devotees why, but no one could answer. He then explained that this one cow was completely overwhelmed with love, because the little calf that Krsna was holding was her very own calf. Srila Prabhupada then added that out of profound humility and respect, every single blade of grass in the picture was inclining towards Krsna’s lotus feet. All of the devotees were fairly stunned to hear this revelation, especially because it seemed that Srila Prabhupada had a direct perception of the spiritual world he was describing. Mukunda Datta dasa

Her Grace Sarada Mataji from London secured second place in Soho Street temple's book distribution marathon despite her very engaging career as a cancer researcher and full time responsibility to care for her husband and family. Upon receiving this wonderful news from His Grace Jai Nitai Prabhu, Guru Maharaj sent the following reply: Dear Jai Nitai Prabhu, Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Thank you very much for informing me about Sarada devi dasi's remarkable service to Srila Prabhupada. Although you are giving me the credit, I know that I do not actually deserve it. The credit goes to Srila Prabhupada's causeless mercy in the form of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is he who brought her to this movement and trained and nurtured her spiritual life through his wonderful devotees in this institution. The credit naturally goes to Sarada, also, for being so dedicated to serving Srila Prabhupada and pleasing him. She knows that distributing his books is most pleasing to His Divine Grace. That is why she has taken up this service in spite of so many odds against her. Although she works full time, in her spare time, she distributes Srila Prabhupada's books. On Saturdays, she makes it a point to go out for at least a few hours. As you mentioned, in order to participate in the book distribution marathon, she even took a leave of ten days. She not only used her holidays to distribute books, but she secured second place in the marathon. This indicates her sincere desire to please Srila Prabhupada. Incidents like this prove to me how Srila Prabhupada is attracting, inspiring and guiding the sincere souls even after his disappearance from this planet. This shows the importance of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. We can understand that Srila Prabhupada is still present on the planet in the form of ISKCON. Just as Krishna manifests Himself in His deity or in His Holy Name during His apparent absence from this planet, Srila Prabhupada has manifested himself through his institution. His Divine Grace himself mentioned that ISKCON is his body. When I see the love and dedication of the devotees who did not have the personal association of His Divine Grace while he was on this planet, I become aware of how attractive Srila Prabhupada actually is. Although I assume a senior position and had the good fortune of serving His Divine Grace personally, I must admit that I am learning to appreciate Srila Prabhupada's greatness from them. I am confident that with the passing of time, I will continue to have many more such opportunities to make spiritual advancement. Thank you very much for guiding and inspiring Sarada in her spiritual life so nicely. I hope this meets you well. Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada, Bhakti Charu Swami

Krishna is known as bhava-grahi (mood-accepting) Janardana. He accepts the mood of worship and not the vehicle of worship (eg language). So yes, Krishna will see your sincerity, not your Sanskrit scholarship.

The Glories Of HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj BY GOKUL BOSTON, USA, Sep 16 (VNN) — Sri Sri Guru Gaurangau Jayatah! A Remembrance by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj When I was in Vrindavan at Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math with my revered Gurudeva Parampujyapada Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Goswami Maharaj, we heard that a godbrother of our Gurudeva, Parampujyapada Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, was staying at the Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple. As he was a godbrother of our Gurudeva and a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur, he was naturally the object of great regard and reverence. Thinking, "I shall go there and pay my obeisances to him," I made my way to the Sri Sri Radha-Damodar temple. Upon meeting him, I offered my humble obeisances and he then began to speak. Showing me his writings, he said, "I want to publish a monthly magazine, Back to Godhead. Please go through my writings." The printing, by Vrindavan Press, was very indistinct. Because it was his order, I tried to go through it. When I had gone through the text he had given me, he said, "I have written other articles. You should also go through those." He did not mention at that time that he had the desire to go to foreign countries to preach. The only thing that he said was that I should go through his writings. After that I prayed out loud to him, "Will you not come to our Math? Our Gurudeva is there. Please come and see him." He immediately agreed, saying, "Yes, I will come tomorrow to see your Gurudeva." The very next day he came to our Math and entered the room of our Gurumaharaj. I remained outside during the discussion of these two godbrothers. Only Swami Maharaj and our Gurudeva were there. Neither I nor anyone else knows what subject they might have been discussing. Swami Maharaj came out of the room after about half an hour or so to go back to his temple. At the gate of our Math, he suddenly called me and said, "You see, I have the desire to go outside India to spread the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Will you accompany me? Will you go with me?" Because at that time I was the Secretary of Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math institution and had been given enormous responsibilities by our Gurudeva, I remained silent. Swami Maharaj is guru---shiksha guru---and our guru is also guru---diksha guru---what could I say? Therefore, I remained silent. Finally I said that I was the Secretary of that institution and that Gurudeva had given me many responsibilities. With urgent work to do, how could I leave at that time? He was disappointed as he could not find anyone to assist him.