Dandavat, Indradyumna Maharaj. A very inspiring and sobering story from a bhakta with a very soft heart. Pusta Krishna das
One mataj wrote me how she had visited the Alarnatha temple and was not allowed inside to take darshan.However when her indian bodied comapanion finished darshan the pujari came and asked for a donation to eat.This enfuriated this mataji .And she remembered the pastime of Madhu and Ketana.
Long ago a pujari Ketana had to leave the service of Lord Alarnatha for a few days, and gave that worship to his small son Madhu.He was asked to also offer the bhoga to the Lord, but being a simple boy he could not understand the Lord eats simply with His Divine glance. But Madhu starting to cry, and with great devotion asked Lord Alarnatha to accept the bhoga offeed to Him.Understanding Madhu’s simple and sweet devotion , the Supreme Lord ate the offering in front of Madhu to please him. Thus mother and son fasted for 3 days.When Ketana retured he asked for some prasadam and the wife todl him they where fasting and why.Ketana being materialistic did not belive Madhu. Finally he insisted to see how Lord Alarnatha hd been personally accepting this offering from the hands of Madhu. So he hid while the offering was made. Lord Alarnatha again started to take the offering . Ketana jumped out from hidding and grapped Lord Alarnathas one hand that held one large cup of sweet rice , this caused the very hot sweet rice to spill and burn the Lord’s transcendental body.By His grace ,Lord Visnu manifested some burnt marks that can even be seen to this day.( during the battle at Kuruksetra Krsna also manifested such human like activites when Bhisma shot arrows at the Lords body, and appeared to bleed and be wounded ).Ketana said, how will we eat if you eat all the offerings?We have never heard of a Deity that eats, you are supposed to be made of stone?How can you eat and talk?
Has anyone made a collection of Srila Prabhupada quotes on this subject of how multiple diksa gurus would function in ISKCON? Before Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, there was a sole diksa guru in ISKCON who was above the GBC in authority, but now the many diksa gurus are below. That’s a flip in the position of guru relative to the GBC and it changes the traditional behavior of both guru and disciple. I read in one place that he never spoke about this, but it’s hard to believe that devotees should be left to figure out that change after Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance.
Srila Bhtivinoda Thakura sings in his Kalyana kalpa taru:
1) O Gopinatha, please remove the torment of worldly existence. I can no longer tolerate the pain of ignorance and the repeated succession of births and deaths.
2) O Gopinatha, indeed I am a servant of lust. Worldly desires are awakening in my heart, and thus the noose of fruitive work is beginning to tighten.
3) O Gopinatha, when will I wake up and abandon afar this enemy of lust, end when will You manifest Yourself in my heart?
4) O Gopinatha, I am Your devotee, but having abandoned You and thus having forgotten my real treasure, I have worshiped this mundane world.
5) O Gopinatha, You know everything. Now, having punished Your servant, please give him a place at Your lotus feet.
6) O Gopinatha, is this Your judgment, that seeing me averse to You, You abandon Your servant and don’t bestow even a particle of mercy upon him?
7) O Gopinatha, I am certainly very foolish, and I have never known what is good for me. Therefore such is my condition.
8) O Gopinatha, You are indeed the wisest person. Please look for a way to bring about auspiciousness for this fool, and please do not consider this servant as an outsider.
1) O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, please hear my request. I am a wicked materialist, always addicted to worldly desires, and no good qualities do I possess.
2) O Gopinatha, You are my only hope, and therefore I have taken shelter at Your lotus feet. I am now Your eternal servant.
3) O Gopinatha, how will You purify me? I do not know what devotion is, and my materialistic mind is absorbed in fruitive work. I have fallen into this dark and perilous worldly existence.
4) O Gopinatha, everything here is Your illusory energy. I have no strength or transcendental knowledge, and this body of mine is not independent and free from the control of material nature.
5) O Gopinatha, this sinner, who is weeping and weeping, begs for an eternal place at Your divine feet. Please give him Your mercy.
6) O Gopinatha, You are able to do anything, and therefore You have the power to deliver all sinners. Who is there that is more of a sinner than myself?
7) O Gopinatha, You are the ocean of mercy. Having come into this phenomenal world, You expand Your divine pastimes for the sake of the fallen souls.
8) O Gopinatha, I am so sinful that although all the demons attained Your lotus feet, Bhaktivinoda has remai
dola-keli-citra-rasa-nrtya-giti-vadanair
nihnava-prasuna-yuddha-sidhu-pana-kautukaih
yatra khelatah kisora-sekharau sahalibhis
tatra krsna-kunda eva samsthitih stutastu nah
With gopi friends the two crowns of youth enjoyed many pastimes there. They rode on a swing, danced wonderful rasa-dances, sang, played instrumental music, and talked. In a secluded place They eagerly drank the nectar of a flower-battle. Let us glorify residence at Krsna-kunda.
divya-ratna-nirmitavatara-sara-sausthavais
chatrika viraji caru kuttima-prabha-bharaih
sarva-loka-locanati-dhanyata yato bhavet
tatra krsna-kunda eva samsthitih stutastu nah
With the beauty of its glistening jewel shores and the splendor of its canopies and mosaic pavements it brings auspiciousness to all eyes. Let us glorify residence at Krsna-kunda.
mathuram vikunthato pi janma-dhama durlabham
vasakananam tato pi panina dhrto girih
sri-hares tato pi yat param saro ti-pavanam
tatra krsna-kunda eva samsthitih stutastu nah
The district of Mathura, Krsna’s birthplace, is more sacred and difficult to attain than Vaikuntha. The forest where He lived is more sacred still, and the hill lifted by His hand is more sacred than that. More sacred than that is Lord Hari’s very purifying lake nearby. Let us glorify residence at Krsna-kunda.
krsna-kunda-tira-vasa-sadhakam pathed idam
yo stakam dhiyam nimajya keli-kunja-rajitoh
radhika-girindradharinoh padambu jesu sa
prema-dasyam eva sighram apnuyad anamayam
May he who reads these eight verses, which convince one to reside at the shore of Krsna-kunda, and who also plunges his mind in the lotus flowers of Sri Sri Radha-Giridhari’s feet, quickly attain sincere love for Them.
It is said in Vraja if you bathe in Shyama kunda you get the mercy of Radha and if you bathe in Radha kunda you get the mercy of Radha.The fact is to perform any devotional serivce at the banks of Radha kunda and Shyma kunda is very auspiscious.Please see Srila Prabhupadas purports to the last verses of Nectar of instruction.
In the Vraja Vilasa stava ,Srila Raghuantha das Gowami writes:
101
Because of having previously worshipped the beautiful lotus feet of Sri Sri Gandharva-Acyuta (Sri Sri Radha-Krsna) with the eternally fresh sweetness of pure transcendental love, some great souls are able to reside on the shore of Queen Radha’s favourite lake (Radha-kunda). These great devotees are my life and soul.
from Vraja Vilasa Stava by Srila Raghunath das Goswami
52
Filled with many champaka trees, beautiful young asoka trees, mango trees, kesanagara trees, bakula trees, lavanga creepers, and madhavi creepers, the area around Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda is very beautiful and pleasing to the heart, and it is the favourite pastime place of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. Let me take shelter of these two lakes : Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda.
53
The delightful forest of Vrndavana, beautiful Govardhana Hill and the nectarean area of the rasa dance, what to speak of other places are not equal to even a single particle of Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda. Let me take shelter of these two lakes, which are more dear to Lord Krsna than His own life’s breath.
54
By the shore of Radha-kunda is a grand pavilion made of gold, pearls and precious gems. In that pavilion, Sri Sri Radha and Krsna, considering everything else unimportant, enjoy transcendental pastimes as the two prime ministers of the deity of transcendental love, and They happily anoint that kingdom of love with the sandal paste of Their pastimes. I eternally worship the splendid grove by the shore of Radha-kunda.
55
The divine couple is splendidly reflected on the shore of the lake of each other’s heart. They are necklaces lovingly worn by each other. The creator Brahma has blessed Them with all good fortune. They are the resting place of all good opulences in the three worlds. When will I be able to directly worship the fair and dark divine couple.
There are many programs that can be referred to as “important,” “very important” or “most important.” It is the responsibility of management to figure out how to emphasize all of these Krishna conscious activities simultaneously without sacrificing one in favor of another. This requires purified intelligence. It also requires total dependence on the mercy of the spiritual master for our enlightenment as managers and leaders within his society.
There was a nice letter written on June 12, 1971 to Yogesvara prabhu who was in charge of producing children’s books in Europe. Srila Prabhupada advised his disciple(s) how to keep all of these “very important” programs in balance.
“Yes, these children’s books are very important because our next program is to start children’s schools in all of our centers,. We want to train all children from the beginning of life in Krishna consciousness…. So we have to adjust things. Everything is important. Not that we have to do something at the expense of something else. I cannot say from here what is to be given preference. That depends on your management capacity.”
Krishna will supply us from within with the intelligence needed to manage the society.
It is up to us to maintain a lifestyle of purity and to follow whatever dictation comes from Krishna. Without purifying our thoughts and actions, we will not qualify to be personally guided by His transcendental hand.
By Indradyumna SwamiOne thing I appreciate about traveling in Russia is the constant reminders that this world is an unhappy place. I am reminded again and again to become serious and to focus on my devotional service. Read the rest of this entry »
Payonidhi Prabhu raises an important issue. While the suggestion to transfer both mother and daughter to Vrndavana is good, this case highlights more cases we may not be aware of in our Iskcon world. And we can learn from this example by preparing for eventual scenarios yet to unfold.
We see how Krishna Jivani mataji is happy and contented under the shelter of the holy names, and she wishes no inconvenience for others to help her, which is fine. This could lead us to believe that her dependence on Krishna means to leave her as she is, for she is happily situated. If we think like this we run the risk of neglecting her, or anyone else in a similar situation.
Sooner or later her mother may pass on. “It’s all right…she’s under Krishna’s care in that rundown building.” Simply because a vaisnava/i is happy in their Krishna consciousness does not we mean can leave them to providence if we have the means to help in any way. Iskcon is an ideal place for selfless souls, and when selflessness prevails, automatically the inclination to help devotees, happy or distressed, will ensue, in spite of protests not to inconvenience those who offer help.
We see how HH Indradyumna Maharaja did initially want to give back those roubles, and this intended help could be tried in other ways, or with a compromise win/win situation.
We know everything is “Krishna’s arrangement,” but we have a selfless duty to assist devotees of Krishna in sickness and health, in struggling or sublime consciousness. Sometimes this “Krishna’s arrangement” can be an excuse for neglect. It is for us to rise above this potential for indifference and keeping our distance. It is far better to have “Krishna’s arrangement” happen in cases like these, through the loving care of fellow devotees, then in spite of protests to the contrary, we can share and benefit from assisting a devotee addicted to chanting Hare Krishna.
Ys, Kesava Krsna Dasa.
By Samba DasBy the blessings of Srila Prabhupad and all the vaishnavas our maiden Rathayatra festival turned out to be very successful with thousands of people attending the program Read the rest of this entry »
Hi, this has been an interesting topic, I’m glad Praghosa brought it up. However, I disagree with him that guru is the ultimate authority in a traditional setting. The ultimate authority is the sastra, and that applies regardless of the institution or not. Looking at sastra, we get some idea also of the respect issue that has been brought up- how much to share around? Kapiladeva in the third canto Srimad Bhagavatam warns that if we worship the form of the Lord in the temple but do not show respect to the living entities, the worship is as fruitful as pouring ghee into ashes. He is very strong in his condemnation of those who discriminate on the basis of externalities- proclaiming that he will come as the “blazing fire of death”…We know that the Lord is all around us, seated in the hearts of not just the gurus, but the neophytes, the innocent, and the envious. We must come to the level of being aware of that Supersoul within and without, so as to avoid offenses. We are enjoined to show respect to all, even the ant, but as kanisthas trying to come to the level of madhyama, we should discriminate so as to preach effectively and get good association- by showing respect only at a distannce to the envious, being very compassionate to the innocent, very friendly to peers and very respectful to those more advanced in their development of the 26 qualities of a devotee- please try to look beyond the social heirarchy for symptoms of spiritual advancement! The story of the cobbler and the brahmana is very instructive as to how to look for qualities such as faith, humility, and sastric vision, regardless of social standing! You can find it in the potwasher as much as in the person with saffron and danda. The story of Jada Bharata also comes to mind. The king at first couldn’t recognize the saint due to his social standing and appearance, but he recognized spiritual wisdom and he paid his full dandavatas to that, treating him as one would a guru. The story of Cintamani is another one- there are so many that indicate that respect should be offered when one meets a guru, whom Krishna sends us all the time! The guru can take any shape- if one gets somehow a spiritual impetus or inspiration from someone, that is guru. That is the criterion for special respect, as one worships the Lord coming to him in the form of siksa. Beyond that, there are special gurus whose only business is to see us advance in sastra caksusa, and then one surrenders completely.
Baroda Mayor and recently elected Member of Parliament, Sri Balkrishna Shukla, inaugurated the procession by sweeping the road in front of the Lord's Rath (Chariot) with a golden handled broom, following the age old tradition of the Maharajah of Puri Read the rest of this entry »
Lecture by Bhakti Caksur Sundar Goswami on Srila Prabhupada's visit to Venezuela.
Dallas, TX
2009-05-14
For complete results and to send in your scores go to www.SankirtanNewsletter.com (password: wsnhome) Deadline for scores is the 15th of the next month. Read the rest of this entry »