suchandra

It is the duty of a spiritual management to create a situation where older Vaishnavas see a mission to fullfill. Not that devotees think at one point, I'm not required anymore - without me, everything works fine. Already around 1980 this was introduced by a prominent GBC man - nobody had anything to oppose, to tell devotees that they should know what they want to do and not that they are being told what kind of service they should perform. This GBC man would always get enraged that devotees have no own will and no brain and when being told what to do they would do this like robots and not based upon their own conviction. And therefore things would always come out ineffectual. This might be true in the world of work of the non-Vaishnavas but is a nonsensical philosophy within a hierarchical structured monastic society of Vaishnavas. Monks should have a service and obey to superior authority. Not that monks are being asked, "what do you want to do?" Of course, there're types of service which can be performed by a certain type of personality more easy and someone else might struggle hard doing such service, so this has to be adjusted. In sum, old prabhus/matajis should be taken care of. "Old man also should be taken care of. Nowadays the philosophy is coming: “mercy-killing.” “Old men should be killed to show him mercy.” Because he is burden in the society, the communistic theory “Old man does not do anything and simply eats; therefore to show him mercy he should be killed.” “Mercy-killing.” Just see the philosophy: “Killing is mercy.” But this is going on. “Mercy-killing.” Is that? “Mercy-killing”? What is that? Brahmānanda: They kill someone for that person’s benefit. Prabhupāda: Benefit. So the man killer, will he take that benefit? If somebody comes that “I shall kill you for your benefit,” that he will be afraid of. But he is philosophizing, “mercy-killing.” This is going on. So one should be respectful also to the old men. According to Vedic knowledge, brāhmaṇa, old men, child, woman, and cow—they have no fault. They are free. They are not within this jurisdiction of law. So therefore cow-killing, brāhmaṇa-killing, woman-killing, and elderly-person-killing, they are accepted as the great sinful activities." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.56-57 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Bombay, August 14, 1975

Thanks fish (although I start to feel more and more sorry about that poor fish on the pic), you're surely right. In my case I must move to another country in order to be with ISKCON or inside of ISKCON. The way I was forced out of ISKCON by corrupt leaders can be also seen as Krishna's arrangement. In order to rejoin ISKCON - Krishna will surely arrange when the time is right and my service for this great movement is of such kind that it is like an outstanding achievement and appreciated by all the devotees. Anything less is nothing but disturbing the honourable Vaishnavas. Here some prayer for invoking auspiciousness: Sri Sri Sad-goswamy-astaka "Eight Prayers to the Six Goswamis" by Srinivasa Acharya 1. krsnotkirtana-gana-nartana-parau premamrtambho-nidhi dhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pujitau sri-caitanya-krpa-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakau vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 1. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are always engaged in chanting the holy name of Krsna and dancing. They are just like the ocean of love of God, and they are popular both with the gentle and with the ruffians, because they are not envious of anyone. Whatever they do, they are all-pleasing to everyone, and they are fully blessed by Lord Caitanya. Thus they are engaged in missionary activities meant to deliver all the conditioned souls in the material universe. 2. nana-sastra-vicaranaika-nipunau sad-dharma-samsthapakau lokanam hita-karinau tri-bhuvane manyau saranyakarau radha-krsna-padaravinda-bhajananandena mattalikau vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 2. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are very expert in scrutinizingly studying all the revealed scriptures with the aim of establishing eternal religious principles for the benefit of all human beings. Thus they are honored all over the three worlds and they are worth taking shelter of because they are absorbed in the mood of the gopis and are engaged in the transcendental loving service of Radha and Krsna. 3. sri-gauranga-gunanuvarnana-vidhau sraddha-samrddhy-anvitau papottapa-nikrntanau tanu-bhrtam govinda-ganamrtaih anandambudhi-vardhanaika-nipunau kaivalya-nistarakau vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 3. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who are very much enriched in understanding of Lord Caitanya and who are thus expert in narrating His transcendental qualities. They can purify all conditioned souls from the reactions of their sinful activities by pouring upon them transcendental songs about Govinda. As such, they are very expert in increasing the limits of the ocean of transcendental bliss, and they are the saviors of the living entities from the devouring mouth of liberation. 4. tyaktva turnam asesa-mandala-pati-srenim sada tuccha-vat bhutva dina-ganesakau karunaya kaupina-kanthasritau gopi-bhava-rasamrtabdhi-lahari-kallola-magnau muhur vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 4. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who kicked off all association of aristocracy as insignificant. In order to deliver the poor conditioned souls, they accepted loincloths, treating themselves as mendicants, but they are always merged in the ecstatic ocean of the gopis' love for Krsna and bathe always and repeatedly in the waves of that ocean. 5. kujat-kokila-hamsa-sarasa-ganakirne mayurakule nana-ratna-nibaddha-mula-vitapa-sri-yukta-vrndavane radha-krsnam ahar-nisam prabhajatau jivarthadau yau muda vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 5. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were always engaged in worshiping Radha-Krsna in the transcendental land of Vrndavana where there are beautiful trees full of fruits and flowers which have under their roots all valuable jewels. The Gosvamis are perfectly competent to bestow upon the living entities the greatest boon of the goal of life. 6. sankhya-purvaka-nama-gana-natibhih kalavasani-krtau nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau catyanta-dinau ca yau radha-krsna-guna-smrter madhurimanandena sammohitau vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 6. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were engaged in chanting the holy names of the Lord and bowing down in a scheduled measurement. In this way they utilized their valuable lives and in executing these devotional activities they conquered over eating and sleeping and were always meek and humble enchanted by remembering the transcendental qualities of the Lord. 7. radha-kunda-tate kalinda-tanaya-tire ca vamsivate premonmada-vasad asesa-dasaya grastau pramattau sada gayantau ca kada harer guna-varam bhavabhibhutau muda vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 7. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were sometimes on the bank of the Radha-kunda lake or the shores of the Yamuna and sometimes at Vamsivata. There they appeared just like madmen in the full ecstasy of love for Krsna, exhibiting different transcendental symptoms in their bodies, and they were merged in the ecstasy of Krsna consciousness. 8. he radhe vraja-devike ca lalite he nanda-suno kutah sri-govardhana-kalpa-padapa-tale kalindi-vane kutah ghosantav iti sarvato vraja-pure khedair maha-vihvalau vande rupa-sanatanau raghu-yugau sri-jiva-gopalakau 8. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the six Gosvamis, namely Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Sri Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, and Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, who were chanting very loudly everywhere in Vrndavana, shouting, "Queen of Vrndavana, Radharani! O Lalita! O son of Nanda Maharaja! Where are you all now? Are you just on the hill of Govardhana, or are you under the trees on the bank of the Yamuna? Where are you?" These were their moods in executing Krsna consciousness.

There's a Tulasi Devi handbook at, http://www.vrindavan-dham.com/vrinda/tulasi-handbook.php

No, we had in the past years far too many Vaishnavas leaving this world untimely. Vaishnavism in line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is a preaching movement. If there would be a global media campaign about all those many devotees of ISKCON who left this world at such a young age, this would cause a quite big uncertainty factor to scrutinize if present Vaishnavism is an ideal lifestyle, that devotees know how to properly prepare food and lead a healthy life, rules and regulations are ok, etc. From point of view to see Gaudiya-Vaishnavism as exemplary preaching movement this is a disturbance and not at all something wortwhile. For example, all of my godbrothers/sisters who moved to India don't live anymore. This might be nice and ok from your view point (blissfull passing) but it is not a good propaganda to create faith in Vaishnavism for people in general.

When the wife of my godfather gave up all attachment to the body and was fully prepared to die, something mysterious happened. Although the medical report said that nothing could be done anymore to save her from leaving this body, she suddenly fully recovered from final stage of cancer and got cured without any medical help. Later on she said, it only started to happen after she had given up all attachments to go on living in this body and learned to accept that she has to leave. Later she said that her whole way of seeing things changed and that she became fully conscious that our attachment to this world is an illusion. What happened is that she obviously went through giving up this body in thought and thus felt like being reborn, getting a new life without actually leaving this body.

I never heard people saying good-bye to some diseased person so distinctly as posts above - why not hope that Nirguna prabhu will recover? http://www.dandavats.com/?p=4567#more-4567

ISKCON is not a location but a state of consciousness. As soon we offer our food, chant sixteen rounds, read Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam, follow the regs - then we're in ISKCON. "If it is intolerable, please tolerate, please tolerate. Then it will be all right. I have repeatedly said… Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, tāṅdera caraṇa-sevi-bhakta-sane vāsa. Why we have opened this society? I could have initiated, and let him remain at his home. No. The society required. So by association we become good or bad. If you associate with goodness, then you acquire goodness quality, and if you associate with bad, passionate, ignorant, then you get that quality. So according to that quality…This Yadu-vaṁśa, they were Krishna’s descendants. Just like when a king comes, he comes with his associates. So when Krishna appeared, He had to marry so many wives because it was a stage to show Krishna's supreme authority, supremacy. So the demigods came down also from different planets to help Krishna. So these demigods became Krishna’s family. Some of the woman denizens, they became Krishna’s wife, and some of them became their sons. In this way, a huge family of Krishna, Yadu dynasty. One crore, very big family, 16,108 wives. Each wife had sons, ten sons, and each son had ten sons. In this way children, grandchildren, and the whole family, big dynasty, Yadu family. It is estimated 100,000 hundred times. So many. Now, Krishna wanted to leave this planet. So what will happen there? If they remain… Although Krishna knew that they have come from different planets, but they knew that “We are sons and grandsons and grandchildren of Krishna.” They were very much puffed up. So what is the difference between a demon and devotee? A demon is puffed up. That’s all. Falsely. That is demon. And a devotee is submissive, meek and mild. This is the difference. The demons will… We go, “My dear sir, we have got these books to understand Krishna, the Supreme Lord. So you kindly read this book. You will be benefited.” “Ah, what is God? Who is God? I am God.” This is demonism. And demigod or a devotee means “Oh, here is a book, something about God, Krishna. All right, let me read it.” That is the difference. Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ. Āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ means they don’t care for God. That is the disease. Although they are under the stringent laws of God, still, they don’t care for God." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.15.34 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Los Angeles, December 12, 1973

This might be our first impression but usually such people won't present themselves in public as leading figure, flatfooted and without having a huge apparatus of supporting global network backstage. Just like you find via European Parlament resolution in this year's school book update for 100 million schoolchildren that Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory is suddenly presented as scientific truth. At the same time they proclaim, vedic literature, due to sectarian presentation not to be included in the official catalogs of public libraries. But anyway since the Vaishnavas have so many tons of other unsolved homework to catch up, their preaching in the spotlight of publicity is presently not taken into consideration by anyone.

Today is the "European day against the death penalty." The EU wanted to inaugurate the event with a common European declaration against capital punishment. Poland thwarted this by refusing to sign the declaration because the EU did not condemn abortion and euthanasia as well. Eurocrats target Poland Paul Belien – Washington Times October 9, 2007 Last Thursday, Viscount Etienne Davignon, a Belgian who is the chairman of the secretive Bilderberg Group, celebrated his 75th birthday. Mr. Davignon is a former vice president of the European Commission and the author of the 1970 "Davignon Report" that laid the foundations for a common European foreign policy. In the Viscount's honor a conference about the future of the European Union was held in the prestigious Egmont Palace in Brussels. One of the speakers was the wealthy anti-Bush activist George Soros, another was Daniel Cohn-Bendit, an erstwhile campus revolutionary during the 1968 Paris student riots, who is currently a German member of the European Parliament for the Green Party. Mr. Soros opined that the EU incarnates the "open society." Mr. Cohn-Bendit advocated that the EU expel member states that are "not European enough." Countries which Europe should throw out because they hamper the EU's aim of transforming itself into a federal superstate are the United Kingdom and Poland. Mr. Davignon reiterated Mr. Cohn-Bendit's position, albeit in a more diplomatic way. Europe should debate its future "without shunning taboos" by pondering "whether countries that systematically thwart European integration should not be ousted." The so-called Eurocrats dislike the British because the latter believe democracy means that the people decide through their national parliaments. The British oppose technocrats, like Mr. Davignon and his ilk in the unelected EU bureaucracy, who impose trans-European policies that bypass all national legislatures. But what have to Poles done to antagonize the Eurocrats? Today is the "European day against the death penalty." The EU wanted to inaugurate the event with a common European declaration against capital punishment. Poland thwarted this by refusing to sign the declaration because the EU did not condemn abortion and euthanasia as well. Last month, during an EU meeting on the death penalty, the Polish justice minister confronted his Danish colleague with Denmark's annual 15,000 abortions and the latter — a member of the Danish Conservative Party — got so angry that she left the room, slamming the door. Other countries, such as Belgium and Portugal, accuse Poland of "immoral and unworthy behaviour" by daring to compare abortion and euthanasia to the death penalty. Richard Howitt, a British Labor politician and the vice president of the European Parliament's human rights subcommittee, said that Poland's refusal to reject the death penalty brings into question its commitment to European values. The Poles are used to being lectured by the Eurocrats in Brussels. Last April, the European Parliament accused Poland of 'homophobia" because it does not want to include homosexuality in the school curriculum. Last May, the European Court of Human Rights found Poland guilty of violating human rights because it banned a "gay pride" parade in Warsaw. Last year, the European Commission threatened to deprive Warsaw of its voting rights in the European institutions if it remained in "serious breach of its obligations on human rights." The Poles, however, are not easily intimidated. Poland's conservative government has made a farce of Polish internal politics, ending in disgraceful collapse, but it did not shy away from standing up to Brussels. Next week the EU wants to finalize the Reform Treaty, which it badly needs in order to replace the so-called "European Constitution" which was rejected in 2005 by France and the Netherlands. Poland has announced its intention to join Britain in opting out from the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is part of the Reform Treaty. The refusal of the Poles has angered the EU elites as never before. The latter realize that the position of Warsaw has more to do with the Polish people than with the current government's stubbornness in view of the Oct. 21 Polish elections.While secularism is the EU's prevailing ideology, the Poles keep referring to Europe's Christian heritage. Even if the government of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski loses the elections, the Eurocrats are likely to be confronted again and again with a people that has escaped Europe's secularization process. Poland will play an increasingly prominent role in the next decades, if only because it is one of the few European countries with surging birth rates. In 2006, for the first time in ten years, Poland had a positive natural growth, with 374,000 newborn babies — a rise of 10 percent compared to the previous year. This year will be even better. Mr. Soros may think that the EU incarnates an "open society," but Poland's openness to new life proves that it is one of the few open societies in Europe. http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/EDITORIAL/110100004 Paul Belien is editor of the Brussels Journal and an adjunct fellow of the Hudson Institute.

To give the present ongoing crusade against spirituality a name, almost all religious leaders are agreeing upon it, that it is Richard Dawkins who's the "leading light of the New Atheism movement". Are present Vaishnavas equipped for defeating such kind of really powerful brainiacs like Richard Dawkins? Maybe if all devotees would join together and become a strong preaching force. "Highly intelligent people are mostly atheists," Richard Dawkins says. "Not a single member of either house of Congress admits to being an atheist. It just doesn't add up. Either they're stupid, or they're lying. And have they got a motive for lying? Of course they've got a motive! Everybody knows that an atheist can't get elected." "Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful! Selected documentaries by R.Dawkins Nice Guys Finish First The Blind Watchmaker The God Who Wasn't There Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief The Atheism Tapes The Root of All Evil? Growing Up In The Universe The Enemies of Reason

Taking into stock what we have right now, almost at the tenth anniversary when the different camps among Western Vaishnavas started to split up and getting more precise in their different preceptions of what is genuine guru-tattva according revealed scripture and the teachings of the sampradaya acaryas - where're we right now? Outside observers of the ongoing dispute comment it as very similiar to the breaking apart into splinter groups of the past religious history. But is it a peaceful splitting? After ten years one surely can say how things will go on, all the different parties insist upon their conviction. The chance of a peaceful end is without hope - rather the opposite is true the fronts will get hardened even more. A spiritual dispute for the next 10,000 years? What will be written in the minutes of the Movement of Lord Caitanya's Benediction Moon? Right after the departure of Srila Prabhupada his movement of spreading the Holy Name in every town and village broke into different groups which never reached the point of mutual consent? What remains to be seen is how this dispute is rated by people in general. Something which leads to growth or something that ends and becomes rejected? My own understanding is that this is not really the mood of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Sankirtan Movement - disagreement among Lord Caitanya's followers, looks rather like the mixing of rasa with kuruksetra - rasabasa. How does Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu see this development of His Sankirtan Movement? A Chronology From 1000BC by Mukunda Charan http://mukundacharan.wordpress.com/ 1000 BC - Construction of the Temple of Soloman at Jerusalem 599 - Birth of Mahavir, founder of the Jain religion 563 - Birth of the sage Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) 479-551 - Confucius 348-428 - Plato 322-384 - Aristotle 3rd c.BC - Buddhism in Sri Lanka 1st c. BC - First recording of Buddha’s teachings in Sri Lanka 4 BC - Birth of Jesus Christ 70 AD - Destruction of he Temple at Jerusalem 301 - Christianity declared a state religion in Armenia 313 - Christianity legalised within the Roman Empire 431 - Palladius consecrated first bishop of the Irish Christians 529 - Closing of the Academy in Athens by the Emperor Justinian 552 - Buddhism in Japan 570 - Birth of the Prophet Muhammad 622 - The migration (hijra) of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina 742 - Founding of the Great Mosque in Xian, China 787 - First Buddhist monastery in Tibet 862 - Mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius to the Slavs 988 - Conversion of Russia to Christianity 1054 - Final split between eastern and western Christianity 1096 - Massacre of Jews in the Rhineland by Crusaders 1098 - First Crusade 1200 - Zen Buddhism in Japan 1448 - Russian Orthodox Church declared its autonomy from Constantinople 1453 - Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks 1455 - Gutenburg’s first Bible printed using movable type and a printing press 1469 - Birth of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion 1488 - Advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in west Bengal, India 1517 - Martin Luther’s challenge to the church, thus beginning the Protestant Reformation of Western Christianity 1543 - Theory of Copernicus that the sun is the centre of the universe published 1611 - Authorized version of the Bible published in English 1687 - Sir Isaac Newton’s fully-developed theory of gravity published 1896 - Birth of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada; Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Life and Precepts of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sent to McGill University 1966 - Inauguration of the International Society For Krishna Consciousness, New York City 1991 - Release of Worldwide Web software by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN 2004 - Installation of Sri Pancha-Tattva Deities, Sri Dhama Mayapur, Bengal

These statements clearly break down the permanent condition of what we have right now - different camps of Vaishnavas who seem to never ever will be seen working together to conjointly push forward Lord Caitanya's great Sankirtan movement and save humanity from this dangerous kali-yuga. An age were almost 100% of the world population won't get the human form of life again but glide down to lower species of life. On the other hand the process for successful God realization is in no other age so easy and at no other age the mercy of the Golden Avatar Lord Gauranga so easily obtainable. Demigods are standing in line to take birth in this age in order to practice chanting of Hare Krishna and attain perfection. "Therefore Krishna, when He appeared on this planet, His last instruction was that sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ: [Bg. 18.66] “You just surrender to Me, and after giving up all your mental speculation, so-called religious system…” This is real religious system. So He left behind Him the Bhagavad-gītā to open our eyes, but we did not take much care of it. Therefore five hundred years ago Lord Caitanya appeared. He is Krishna. He practically taught how to accept instruction of Krishna. āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128] He also appeared as devotee of Krishna. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can command, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66], but here Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared as a devotee, ideal devotee of Krishna, Krishna Caitanya. namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya- nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ [Madhya 19.53] The Rūpa Gosvāmī offered his first prayer to Caitanya Mahāprabhu that “You are the mahā-vadānyāvatāra, most munificent incarnation.” Why? Kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te: “Even Krishna could not convince people about His supremacy, but You are so kind that You are giving love of Krishna.” Love of Krishna. Kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te [Madhya 19.53] That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s gift." Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.100-108 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Bombay, November 9, 1975

It was surely something like a training camp, an experiment set-up with quite some severe loss of trustworthiness and loss of many Vaishnava soldiers. But Prabhupada put it away and took it into account that the result will be that finally Lord Caitanya's Sankirtan movement would survive and gradually become settled at the overtaking lane. "Let the buyer beware", is the right circumlocution of the GBC's disconcertment to stop Vaishnavas like Kratu Prabhu. "I am very much pleased with your preaching enthusiasm, when you say, "If people won't come to us, here, we will go to them." And this is the process of preaching, and this is required. I thank you very much for your this spirit. Just like I have come to your country, with the same spirit. Actually, still even in so much fallen condition of India, if one has to learn spiritual science, then he must consult some bona fide spiritual master, in India. That is the opinion of a great Chinese author. So people are not going there, neither Government has any arrangement to educate this spiritual science. So therefore I have come to your country, and those who are eager to receive, they are coming to us. In this way, we have to forward our mission. We may not expect good behavior from people where we go to preach, still we have to do that. The best example is Lord Jesus Christ, he was crucified by the people who were not very much advanced." Letter to Nandini dd, Seattle, October 15, 1968

Thanks so much for your analysis - if I understood correctly it can be said, present Vaishnavism has created the situation of, phalena pariciate: “A thing is judged by its result”, and nothing else counts. If someone preaches according the sastrical restraint and taking into account how many spiritual masters in the past 30 years fell down, who will check him to act as self-appointed guru? Another thing is that there belong always two, guru and disciple. The attitude of disciple candidates seems in no way influenced by all those fall downs - the willingness to receive initiation from a Vaishnava spiritual master untroubled.

But this is what they exactly use to justify their self-appointement: "the people to whom I preach spiritual knowledge at one point wanted me to become their spiritual master. My background? ISKCON has so many fallen gurus, why are you asking me for my background? My background is to preach in such a way that people want to receive spiritual initiation from me." In sum, the performance of present Vaishnava gurus seems to have created the situation of loss of credibility to actually teach who is a genuine bona fide spiritual master.

This was to be expected that people will start to say, if ISKCON appoints gurus by vote why not appoint myself? http://www.kratuprabhu.com/pictures1.htm A Concern source: chakra.org by Gaur Kishor Dasa Posted October 14, 2007 I was surfing the net today and came accross a site www.kratuprabhu.com and I read it with concern. Kratu Dasa is giving initiations under the claim that he is a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, which is not the case. He was initiated by Kirtanananda Swami only and was not active in the movement at the time of Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Obviously being a guru brings disciples and numerous fringe benefits along with it, however it also brings a responsibility having the qualities of a spirtual master and helping people go Back to Godhead. Obviously truthfulness is a required quality to accomplish this mission. So, this matter must be looked into. The last thing we need is more fireworks & scandals in the movement. We are supposed to be a religious movement trying to assist people in finding a moral compass and a higher meaning. How will people feel when they find out that this person is presenting himself to be someone that he is not in an attempt to attract disciples? In one word - mislead. Please see what you can do about this matter. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! [Chakra Editor's note: There seems to be conflicting information available. According to the Prabhupada disciple database, this person was initiated in Sept 77. There is also a devotee who remembers Kratu prabhu being approved for initiation that year. However, another devotee has come forward who said that he attended both Kratu Prabhu's first and second initiations and that both were done by Kirtanananda. Chakra takes no position on this issue, but simply wants to make this information available, so that readers can make up their own minds.]

Modified fruits and vegetables in the supermarket which don't turn bad anymore - what's your experience about the quality of food? Things seem to only become palatable when offered to the Lord and turned into prasadam: "Even near the ISKCON temple in Tokyo, there is supposed to be a guy who makes these amazing doughnuts and no one knows why they taste so special. But he says it’s only because while he is making them, he is chanting ‘Hare Krishna’.” In the Anand household, the cook now listens to spiritual strains while stirring and frying." <table class="TableClas" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="heading">Spiritual stirfry</td></tr><tr><td height="11"> </td></tr><tr><td class="byline">FOODIE</td></tr><tr><td height="12"> </td></tr><tr><td class="author">Anoothi Vishal / New Delhi October 14, 2007</td></tr><tr><td height="4"> </td></tr><tr><td style="background-image: url(/images/common/gn_005.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x;"> </td></tr><tr><td height="9"> </td></tr></tbody></table><table class="TableClas" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td>Artist Baba Anand moved from New York to Gurgaon to be closer to the true flavours of his favourite foods. </td></tr><tr><td height="5"> </td></tr><tr><td>Baba Anand, the artist best known in the West for his kitschy take on Krishna iconography, old Bollywood posters and Ravi Varma-style paintings, has recently shifted base from New York to Gurgaon. Apart from arty compulsions, however, there were practical reasons: food, for instance. “The food in America is terrible,” he says, stirring the curry for his (vegetarian) khao suey. “The vegetables are all pumped up with water and there are no flavours in anything. That’s why I have moved back,” he says. As he chops up the babycorn and the broccoli and orders his Man Friday to pluck up some curry leaves from a garden pot, we can’t help but agree. http://www.babaanand.com/ </td></tr><tr><td height="5"> </td></tr><tr><td>Friends who have sampled Anand’s cooking — his tofu steaks and Burmese khao suey are party staples when Anand entertains — will vouch for the fact that food figures as prominently as art in his life. And both take on the form of a prayer. If Anand has done a series of 108 paintings (the number of prayer beads in a rudraksh string) with his lips (lipstick instead of paint!) to signify “my silent prayer” to Krishna, cooking too takes on a spiritual dimension. Anand says that whatever he cooks, it is an offering, prasad or seva, a labour of love made with “good intentions”. “But don’t say that, I’ll sound like a nut!” he adds. We reassure him and Anand warms up to his subject. “Even near the ISKCON temple in Tokyo, there is supposed to be a guy who makes these amazing doughnuts and no one knows why they taste so special. But he says it’s only because while he is making them, he is chanting ‘Hare Krishna’.” In the Anand household, the cook now listens to spiritual strains while stirring and frying. </td></tr><tr><td height="5"> </td></tr><tr><td>But if religion has inspired this foodie, so has Harold Robbins! As a schoolboy, Anand — whose father owned the restaurant Capri in Srinagar, serving up Continental food, caviar and India’s first softie ice-cream — confesses to reading the books and trying to recreate the exotic-sounding dishes mentioned. “I would bake eclairs and scones, and in fact I didn’t go to school for one whole year in Srinagar because I was so obsessed with cooking.” Being a chef was an ambition; in a traditional Punjabi household that wasn’t allowed but Anand went on to do another unconventional course in those days. A fashion designer by training, he graduated from the first NIIFT batch before moving out of India, to Paris and New York and venturing into art. </td></tr><tr><td height="5"> </td></tr><tr><td>This khao suey recipe has been borrowed from the Burmese mother-in-law of a friend and “ever since we tried it, my sister and I have stuck to it”. It’s the most authentic that you will get, or so promises Anand.</td></tr></tbody></table>

What does it mean to be in ISKCON, I mean to say to remain in the real ISKCON - this means to follow all of Prabhupada's instructions how a Vaishnava should live, then you live within ISKCON. In that sense - actually the real sense, I don't live outside Prabhupada's ISKCON movement.

While those learned scientists may intellectually understand the fact of impermanence, they may not really believe that they themselves will also die in a couple of years. The proof is that they won't consider to chant Hare Krishna and awaken their eternal souls from the illusion of identifying with this material body. When Yudhisthira is asked: “What is the greatest wonder in this world?" He replies, "People see and examine death all around them, but do not believe they're going to die themselves. This is the greatest wonder.” "The real problem is that there is death, there is birth, there is old age and there is disease. This is real problem. That problem is due to this material body. Therefore our real problem is that we have got this material body, but we have no sense that “Within this material body I am the spirit soul, living. So how to get out of this material body and again revive our spiritual body?” Spiritual body is already there. How to become free from the bondage of this material body and become free again in spiritual life, that is real problem of life. That they do not. Who knows? Bring any big, big leaders. Ask him that “Do you know what is the problem of life?” They do not know. Therefore it is said, na te viduḥ svārtha- gatiṁ hi viṣṇum [SB 7.5.31]" Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.31 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda Mauritius, October 4, 1975

So far me and all of my 120 godbrothers/sisters who once werejust like one family and who tried to rejoin were told the same, we have no service for people like you. Actually I never left ISKCON, one day our 18-year old Temple President showed me a letter from our GBC who said that I'm no more welcome in his temple and even banned to visit that temple. I was never told why. You might think this could mean that I preached something forbidden, wrong, at that time there was no such thing as preaching against ISKCON authorities. Later I heard that this TP blooped, that GBC blooped, the next GBC and his successor both fell down. But still, ISKCON never tried to get to the bottom what actually happened and that this was an illegal sacking. Today, Ravindra Svarupa is the GBC but he considered to not even open a temple in Austria - since many years everything closed. But what can be done? Even Prabhupada had to fight like anything to get things accepted (see below) and who can compare with him? We have to learn to be forgiving and wish everyone only the best. Vaishnava means to never feel offended and to always be forgiving. Prabhupada: "Do not be misled by him. I have never advised him to act like that. If he is causing such disturbances he should not be allowed to indulge in such nonsensical activities." (letter to Brahmananda)

This is it! Thanks for posting!

This looks like a real vast field of studies which is established at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) by HG Krishnaksetra prabhu. <!-- the top of the post, the background graphic gets applied here, and we truncate the title itself so it fits, in case of long post titles - title will still show the full title though --> CUHK Establishes First Professorship to Promote Indian Religions and Culture dandavats.com by Administrator at October 12, 2007 07:04 PM <!-- end .post-top --> <!-- the main section of the post goes here --> (From left:) Bhaktivinoda Dasa, Bhavatarini Dasi, Prof. Tam Wai-lun, Mr. L. D. Ralte, Prof. Liu Pak-wai, Prof. Lai Pan-chiu, Sri Radhika Dasi, Prof. Kenneth Valpey (Krsna Ksetra Prabhu), and Mr. Chandra, Regional Secretary of ISKCON Press release for the professorship inauguration With a generous donation of HK$4 million [364,000 euros] from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness of Hong Kong (ISKCON), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) established a Professorship in Indian Religions and Culture within the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies to strengthen its research and teaching in religious and cultural studies. Officiated by Mr. L.D. Ralte, Consul General of India; Sri Radhika Dasi and Bhaktivinoda Dasa, both from ISKCON; and Prof. Liu Pak-wai, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, a professorship inauguration cum cheque-presentation ceremony was held on 11 Otcober 2007. Prof. Kenneth Valpey (Krsna Ksetra Dasa) from Oxford University has been appointed to the professorship. The Department of Cultural and Religious Studies is offering four new courses, which are the first of its kind in Hong Kong, on Indian religions and culture. They include: Religious Traditions of India, Tradition and Modernity in India, Self and Identity in Indian Culture, and a Special Topic in International Studies for undergraduate major programmes of the department as well as general education of undergraduates and international students. The department is also developing courses on Indian religions and culture on the MA level and exploring collaboration opportunities with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. In addition, various academic and cultural activities, such as lectures, seminars, publications, cultural festivals and study tours, will be organized to enhance public understanding of Indian religions and culture as well as benefit the secondary school teachers and students joining the University’s Harmony in Diversity programme. Radhika Dasi of ISKCON said, “It has long been the vision of ISKCON to establish an academic course on Indian religions and culture in a local institution of higher learning. We are confident that this new programme will bring about a better understanding of the diverse culture of India and further enhance the existing goodwill and rapport between the local Chinese people and the Indian community, who have made Hong Kong their home.” Prof. Liu Pak-wai said, “India has a very ancient and diverse culture that few countries in the world have. Indian people also have a long presence in Hong Kong. India’s links with Hong Kong date back to the 1840s. It is estimated that there are currently about 35,000 Indians in Hong Kong. As an important academic centre for Chinese and overseas scholars, our university has been striving to enhance exchanges between the East and the West. We see the inauguration of the Professorship in Indian Religions and Culture in Chinese University as an important step of promoting cultural exchange, establishing and developing relations between academic institutions in India and Hong Kong.” The Department of Cultural and Religious Studies of CUHK has been striving to promote the comparative studies of different cultures and religions. In recent years, with the generous financial support from various religious communities, several research centres have been established under the department, including the Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism, the Centre for the Studies of Daoist Culture, the Centre for Catholic Studies, and the Centre for Christian Studies. The establishment of the Professorship in Indian Religions and Culture lays a solid foundation for relevant studies in the University and we will continue to help foster cultural pluralism within the community.

Repeatedly quoting her daycare children, Levant seems to also read Bhagavad-gita, adharmabhibhavat krishna pradusyanti kula-striyah strisu dustasu varsneya jayate varna-sankarah "When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Krishna, the women of the family become polluted, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrishni, comes unwanted progeny." Bhagavad Gita 1.40 PURPORT The Cultural Devastation of American Women amazon.com Posted 12/10/2007 The Cultural Devastation of American Women by Nancy Levant is a factual investigation into the American woman’s abuse of liberation. Levant burrows into the psyches and habits of American women. She exposes over-spending, over-decorating, obsessions with beauty, weight, social climbing, and the hiring out of traditional female functions. All of these demonstrate a rejection of biological instincts and behaviors. Levant exposes demanding, unreasonable, and incompetent mothers. She delves with brutal frankness into women and marriage, child rearing, divorce, hypochondria, self-absorption, and vanity, challenging the assumption that Westernized society freed women from social bondage. Levant calls for a critical evaluation of womanhood in 21st Century America. The Cultural Devastation of American Women is reckoning day for American women as readers of all ages and political persuasions find complete agreement with the proof of the voices of suffering children. By including the commentary of daycare children to create premise and purpose, Levant allows our children to report on the current state of parenthood, home life, and themselves. Most Helpful Customer Reviews Out of the mouth of babes....., October 22, 2006 By Darren Weeks (Jackson, Michigan) In this book, Nancy Levant extends a compassionate rebuke to the American mother and career woman. Drawing upon her experience as a daycare professional, she offers insight into the thoughts, feelings, and diets of America's children in daycare – all of which have suffered because of the woman's repudiation of the traditional role of motherhood. "Mommy says Daddy is an idiot." "Dad says mommy should cook dinner for us." "Dad is never home." "Daddy says mommy is never home." "When's mom coming?" "When's dad coming?" "Why are they always late?" "Did mommy forget to get me?" "If they don't come, can I stay with you?" Repeatedly quoting her daycare children, Levant opens a window into the family life of the contemporary household, and the contemporary woman who makes it. The perspective provided is unique and rare, as it is one that is seen through the eyes of the child. Humbly acknowledging her own failures as wife and parent, the author frankly speaks very directly to the women of America. She asserts women have largely rebelled against the traditional roles of mother and housewife, as these roles have been redefined by society and the media as repressive. While extolling the virtues of female liberation, she asserts, "The empowerment of women did come at a cost..." Levant lambastes the modern "entitlement" attitude that is so prevalent today and that is heavily promoted by Hollywood and television entertainment news shows. It is this attitude, she believes, that has become a staple of the American female psyche, to the detriment of her family. "The difference between the upper and middle-class, is that the former spends other people's money to create wealth for themselves. We spend our money to mimic them." Though this book will be a bitter pill for many women to swallow, its compassionate medicine is meant to heal women who are stressed to the breaking point by societal pressures. After outlining the problem, Levant extends a loving hand to these victimized women, and exhorts them to face reality. "I think these women long for peace and safety... and are simply caught up in what may be the dumbest worldliness ever known... I believe that the self-inflicted burdens and mental pressures can be removed with truth." In "The Cultural Devastation of American Women", Nancy Levant fingers a problem that this reader wasn't aware existed. The influence of mass media entertainment shows, which promote the notion that average, middle-class women can look and live like stars, has had a highly damaging effect on the family. And while men and fathers are to blame for society's ills as well, Levant makes her focus those who have primarily and historically been the nurturers of the children. While reading the book, I found myself laughing even as I wanted to cry. I laughed at the absurdity and irony of the excesses, and inconsistencies of the daycare mothers with which the author has had experiences. And I was filled with nostalgic sadness as I pondered, with the author, the loss of the great female role models, which have shaped society throughout history. Every woman will likely see a little of herself within these pages. Indeed, the author begins with humility. "I am the person who could be despised because of this book. I am the person who has made every single mistake that there is to make... I am the worst of the worst." An easy, compelling, and often humorous read, Nancy's book is one that I hope will be well-received and taken to heart. I hope all will enjoy it as much as this reader has.

Thanks so much prabhu! You're a great teacher!