Sunday 28 July 2013

Unauthorized Gurus have no potency – it will not be effective

Do not claim to be Kripa Siddhas but be Sadhana Siddhas

Unauthorized Gurus have no potency – it will not be effective

Nitya Siddha, Kripa Siddha, Sadhana Siddha
 
 

So we should not try to imitate Prahlada Maharaja. That is not good. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah. I have already explained yesterday. Prahlada Maharaja is one of the mahajanas, authorized persons, authorized devotee. We should try to follow him. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah.
 
So if you want to approach the same level like Prahlada Maharaja, we should not immediately imitate himWe must follow the sadhana-bhakti, sadhana-bhakti, for general, and krpa-siddha, that is special. That is incalculable.
 
For us to bring that full attention may take hundreds and thousands of years, full attention. But Prahlada Maharaja, immediately. Immediately. Five-years-old boy. Because he is nitya-siddha. Always we should remember that we cannot imitate. "Now, Prahlada Maharaja has immediately ekagra-manasa, and I shall become also." No. That is not possible. May be possible, but that is not the way.

Just like in our country, perhaps you know, there was a poet, Rabindranath Tagore. He got many distinction from the Oxford University. He got... He never went to school but he got the title "doctor," "Doctor Rabindranath Tagore." And if you think that "I shall also get doctorate without going to school," that is foolishness. That is special. Similarly, don't try to imitate. Follow the general course,
 
Unauthorized Gurus have no potency – it will not be effective
 
And... Just like Caitanya Mahaprabhu says, amara ajnaya guru hana tara' ei desa [Cc. Madhya 7.128]. Guru cannot be self-made. No. There is no such single instance throughout the whole Vedic literature. And nowadays, so many rascals, they are becoming guru without any authority. That is not guru. You must be authorized. Evam parampara-praptam imam ra... [Bg. 4.2]. As soon as the parampara is lost, sa kalena yoga nasto parantapa, immediately finished. The spiritual potency finished. You can dress like a guru, you can talk big, big words, but it will never be effective.
 
Offenses
 
We should not Arcye visnu sila-dhir gurusu nara-matir vaisnava-jati-buddhih. The vaisnava-jati-buddhih is also another offense, great offense. Similarly, to think of guru as ordinary human being, that is also offense. To think of Deity as made of metal, stone, that is These are offenses. Sa naraki. So we should be very careful about the regulative principles and follow the footprints of Vaisnava. Mahajano yena sa gatah. Don't think that Prahlada Maharaja is ordinary boy. We should learn from Prahlada Maharaja how to advance in devotional service.
 
 
Rocana Das’s Article on same subject -
 
 
In this lecture, Srila Prabhupada also makes it clear that there are three ways to reach siddha, and the third way is krpa-siddhaHe warns us at least five times in this lecture, do not imitate the nitya-siddhas, and do not try to think that you're krpa-siddha. In other words, the only way to reach siddha is to become asadhana-bhakta, under the guidance of a nitya-siddha. That's how sadhana-bhaktas come to the stage ofsiddha, at that point they become nitya-siddha.
 
We have to keep in mind that one year from this very time, the Zonal Acaryas presented a theory that they had become krpa-siddhas, and that we all had to accept that. In other words, they said they had reachednitya-siddha status through krpa, in the same way that Jagai and Madai were benedicted. 


The Zonal Acaryas were claiming to be krpa-siddhas, and all the other people in the room -- in fact everyone in the movement -- had to accept them as krpa-siddha. If you didn't, then you'd end up like the person who was chanting for Srila Prabhupada in this very lecture - Pradyumna prabhu, who was callously thrown out of the movement. 


Srila Prabhupada also stresses the point that you have to accept a guru, and that even Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Krsna and all the nitya-siddhasshowed by example, just as Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati did. But he also clarifies that the guru must be authorized, the guru cannot be self-made. He says there's not a single incidence throughout the whole Vedic literature:
"And nowadays, so many rascals, they are becoming guru without any authority. That is not guru. You must be authorized."
Then he says:
"You can dress like a guru, you can talk big, big words, but it will never be effective."


Srila Prabhupada goes on to say that Prahlad Maharaja is our guru. So it's not simply on the basis of your Spiritual Master passing away, so now instantly you're authorized and you can become guru. The authorization is not that simply your guru has gone into samadhi or left the planet, and that automatically authorizes you, or that you get some institutional group to authorize you.

Saturday 27 July 2013

VEDIC VILLAGE REVIEW # 27

July 28, 2013.  Adventures in New Jayapur, Prabhupadanuga Farm in Fiji
ESTABLISHING COW PASTURES
In Mississippi we had Bahia grass pastures that originated in Argentina. In North Carolina we had fescue grass pastures that was high protein, and even grew in the milder winters (deep blue-green tufts sticking out of the snow). In Hawaii there was Guinea grass (from Africa), and in Panama we planted bracharia decumbens (from Africa), commonly called signal grass. But when I visited Fiji in 2002 and trekked through hundreds of acres of koronivia pasture (bracharia humidicola) while examining a large property not far from today’s New Jayapur farm, I thought I had found the ultimate pasture grass. It was three feet high, a thick and rich forest green sea of vertical spiked blades, quite difficult to walk through. The ground could not be seen anywhere through the lower mat of layered grass stems, and the breeze caused the field to undulate in a slow-motion shiver- what a sight.
With the excavator busy clearing the beach field (triangular in shape, between the river, the beach, and the wet rice field) last year, I seriously researched the best pasture grasses for Fiji. Koronivia was a top choice- it grows even on infertile and barren, eroded soil, but if left ungrazed it can become less palatable. The signal grass was also common in Fiji, but does not like wet soils, and would be very good for our hillside pastures. Rajnesh from Agriculture in Suva sent us five sacks of rooted mulatto pasture plants, and we installed a small test nursery site next to the river and boat dock. Later I decided not to transplant it into pastures as it appeared thin, stemmy, and tended to fall over on itself.
Setaria grass (S. sphacelata) was recommended by Sarawan Hari from the local Agriculture station. Out here in the bush country (loosely defined as anywhere past an hour’s drive from town…) setaria was known as batiki grass, or blue grass due to its slight bluish tint. We engaged locals digging it up from behind the proximate Naviavia village, buying it for $1.25 a sackful, twenty sacks per pickup load. With about 500 sacks we seeded clumps of setaria into the 15 acre beach field. Gradually the grass filled in the gaps and became the most wonderful and luscious pasture of all I had ever seen. Definitely, in my view, setaria is the best tropical pasture. From above on the hill, looking down from the dharmashalla veranda at the new beach pasture filled with tall coconut trees, the setaria was truly beautiful- a clean, bunchy, thick sea of soft thin-bladed , bright-green grasses that would be the delight of any grazing animal. It is high in nutrients, fast-growing, tolerates wet soil, and of course, grows year-round.
Of course, variety will be the spice of life for our future milk cows, so we have established a mixture of setaria, signal, and koronivia pastures for rotational grazing. But I should confess an error made before settling on these three top pasture grasses- at first, on bad advice, we planted cuttings of para grass volunteering along the river. Fortunately, before it spread too much, I learned of its seriously inferior qualities and then had it all meticulously dug up and burned. Once established, it is almost impossible to get rid of it again. That was a big step in wrong direction, and it was Krishna’s mercy we could rectify it timely. At present we have three fenced pasture paddocks totaling maybe 25 acres, all ready for the milk cows that are still not here… what’s a farm, or a Vedic village at that, without cows??
I can clearly, as though it was yesterday, remember one day in Chiriqui, Panama (2008) and stumbling into Gour Nitai Prabhu in the supermarket. He always had this amused and thoughtful look about him, and before I could say a word, he raised his finger and exclaimed with wide open eyes in his deep Scottish accent, “It’s all about the cows, prabhu! That’s what we’re missing, prabhu, it’s the cow protection, the cows! We’ve got the holy name, the prasadam, the books, but... where’s the cows?”
THE COWS
Unfortunately we have not been able to find anywhere in Fiji the pure breed quality and A2 type of milk cows to meet our decided upon requirements. There are probably no purebred cows at all here in Fiji, neither any A2 type. Any semi-decent cows are tightly held by a few diaries on the other island, from which the government has banned any movement of cows due to a long-standing brucellosis epidemic. We considered starting with mediocre cows from our own island and then gradually, by artificial insemination, raising their quality step by step over many generations (like adding milk to water). However, this plan entails retiring many lesser quality cows (with average 20 year lifespan) from each generation in large pastures. This idea was rejected quickly.
To start a serious Vedic village project with anything less than first-class cows would be a shame, a gross mismanagement and waste of resources, as “common” mixed-breed cows are much less efficient and productive. As Krishna’s devotees, we accept cows into our care for life, protecting them as our own children (or mothers, actually). So we must choose wisely, otherwise our opportunity to have a pukka cow program will be compromised by lifelong responsibility for second or third class cows.
This is not to say that protection of any and all cows is not worthy. It is just that we now are at a critical, one-time juncture where, by our proper choices, our preaching could be greatly enhanced by clearly demonstrating locally the far superior value of a good milk cow compred to the common beef cow.  If a cow is not profoundly more valuable for its milk than its flesh, people will be hard to convince that cows are for milk production, not for eating. Due to the degradation of Kali yuga, cows here (excepting the few dairies on Viti Levu) are very poor as milkers, being mostly of beef breeds. They are seen as meat providers, and our challenge is to demonstrate that quality cows provide the most wonderful of all foods- milk and butter, and then made into yogurt, cheese, curd (panir), milk sweets, whey, buttermilk, ghee, and so on. There is good reason and advantage to begin our dairy program with first-class cows. We hope that in the future, the amazing Vedic village milking cows will become famous throughout the Fiji islands!
After deliberate and considered research, and based on our experience from past farming projects, our choice is the pure Guernsey breed. Jersey and Brown Swiss are also very good breeds, but Guernseys are known for their high quality milk made by consuming 20-30% less feed than larger dairy breeds, and that with no high protein supplements necessary, provided the pastures are good quality. Being of medium size, Guernseys produce high-butterfat, high-protein yellowish milk with a high concentration of beta-carotene. They lack undesirable genetic recessives (surprise defects appearing in future generations) and they adapt  very well to tropical climates. They are excellent and efficient grazers, a cow made by Krishna for pasture-based milk production. They have a gentle disposition, calf easily, and have 5% butterfat milk, equal to the best of all breeds. They are almost always A2 type milk producers, another most critical consideration since science has discovered that most western dairy cows have a mutated gene (A1 type cows) so that their otherwise healthy milk actually contributes to heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension. What better cow than a thrifty and healthy one that gives plenty of buttery A2 milk?
Despite the bureaucratic red-tape and high cost, we are opting to try importing Guernseys from New Zealand. Our agents estimate that four top-genetics Guernseys, already bred to the best sires, can be air freighted to Fiji for about US$16,000, including all costs. Although a very steep initial investment, it will give New Jayapur a small herd with sufficient genetic variety to quickly be able to dispense with further artificial insemination. We also would have the best milk cows in Fiji, dairies included (who focus on the problematic, low butterfat Holsteins). Our future labor, expense, and time in cow protection and milk production will thus be most rewarding and powerful preaching as we pioneer a return to the Vedic civilization of simple living by the grace of the land and cow.
Last year we had researched importing cows from Australia, but the costs, biosecurity, and shipping problems proved insurmountable. Relying on Krishna, we are hoping that bringing the Guernseys from New Zealand proves viable. Reader’s donations could help make this a reality … (More soon…)
FULL MOON OVER THE OCEAN
A few days ago, around 7 in the evening and after dark, I came out of the office onto the veranda, and beheld a scene from out of a fantasy dream. The full moon had just arisen over the far edge of the glistening silvery ocean, glowing yellowish and lighting up the early night, with the wispy clouds, forested hills, and coconut trees framing the calm waters stretching out before me. Why would I ever want to live anywhere else? Concrete jungles, air pollution, chaotic noises of modern cities… gone forever. When I rose in the morning, the moon had passed to the other side of the dharmashalla- and at first I thought the outside lights had been left on… but it was the bright moonlight. I looked out into the distance and saw all the moon shadows… and thought about someday walking in the moonlight to Sri Sri Radha Govinda’s temple that we intend to build higher up on this ridge. (Of course, sometimes Krishna’s service may require us to stay in hellish cities, but Prabhupada also encouraged families with children to move to farms.)
VILLAGE COTTAGES
Somehow things are moving along nicely. The excavator has just leveled six more cottage sites, in addition to the first cottage which has its concrete slab completed. A second cottage slab has begun taking shape, and concrete should be flowing there by next week. They are all a short walk from the temple site, and have ocean and river views, facing the prevailing breezes on a hillside above the ricefield. They are smallish but expandable in the future, and they will have concrete walls with wood and metal roof. When the concrete slabs with plumbing are ready, we will bring in an expert blocklayer from town. Finally, our carpenters will do the roof, windows, doors, and fixtures.
We are receiving inquiries from interested parties, and we are confident the village will manifest in the due course of time, in Krishna’s time. Srila Prabhupada wanted these daivi-varnashram Krishna conscious Vedic villages, and he gave us so many instructions how to make them, so we should just try to implement those instructions patiently, and be satisfied with whatever the results may be. We have faith that our formula is perfect: Prabhupada is the diksha guru, Prabhupada has given us all the basic instructions, and if we try to implement them sincerely, that is success in itself. Further, free homes and leased land for qualified devotees in beautiful tropical Fiji, with fertile soil and safe location, with a solid plan and constitution- is practical for transition into an agrarian, simple living devotee village. This is the purpose of our newsletter- to share our ideas, inspirations, realizations, successes and failures with other devotees interested in or actually involved in Prabhupada’s farm vision. We see in recent times that Prabhupadanugas are working in this direction in the Bangalore group, Nelson (New Zealand), Hilo Hawaii, etc. It is the future of the planet.
Yours in Prabhupada’s service,
Nityananda das
New Jayapur, Vanua Levu, Fiji Islands
PS. If you would like to be added to our regular mailings of Vedic Village Review news bulletins, please send us an email at srigovinda@gmail.com, or send us your feedback and news from your side. Please write us if you would like to make any donation to New Jayapur. Please help with the cow protection program if you can.

Hare Krishna! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!







Srila Prabhupada should continue as the diksha guru for ISKCON (Bhakti Ananda Goswami)

Bhakti Ananda Goswami: What do you think about this gender mainstreaming plan for the human society worldwide in compare with Vedic knowledge ?
The authentic Vedic Vaishnava Culture, based on the equanimity and equal-amity of Sri Krishna’s Samata Yoga, had nothing to do with mundane sexism. It included, respected and uplifted all people, regardless of their physical ‘sex’ or gender identity and expression. Even to the time of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the remaining Vaishnava Vedic Culture provided some place for intersex people, which can be seen in the fact some ‘Hijra’ music and dance performers were ‘auspiciously’ present to celebrate the birth of Nimai Gaurangadeva Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. I do NOT agree with Amara Dasa of GALVA that the Hijra Class of India was or is primarily made-up of ‘homosexuals’.

I have been to India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and have interviewed various kinds of ‘Hindu’ ‘Hijras’ there, and ALL of the people that I interviewed and studied would be scientifically classed as intersex people. Factually while Amara Dasa may be generally correct about the role of ‘Third Sex’ people in Vedic and ‘Hindu’ Culture, in my opinion, his own homosexual bias has blinded him to the purely biological, the scientific reality involved.
>And is Prabhupada the only real Diksa guru in Iskcon for you or not ? What is your knowledge about that point in guru tattva because you are a senior Vaisnava therefore you must know much more about this point ?
Is ISKCON Srila Prabhupada’s Institution? Is he ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya? Then HE is ISKCON’s Diksha Guru.
During the Zonal Acharya days I was told that it was Srila Prabhupada’s last will and ORDER that I had to accept one of my God brothers as a ‘living guru’! Apparently because some of his criminal associates wanted my farm property, for a year they put great pressure on me saying that I would be cut-off from Srila Prabhupada if I did not OBEY SRILA PRABHUPADA AND SUBMIT TO MY ISKCON ZONAL ACHARYA. Still I resisted, but finally relenting I told the ‘Acharya’ that “I am Srila Prabhupada’s man, not yours.”
He said that he accepted this but to please Srila Prabhupada I still had to formally take new vows with him. Of course later I learned that their whole plot was to usurp Srila Prabhupada’s Authority, and so I completely rejected my relationship with that ‘Zonal Acharya’, and any further connection to the “ISKCON” that fraudulently created the Zonal Acharya System.
A Vaishnava Acharya is always THE ACHARYA for the lineage or sub-lineage that he has founded. Srila Prabhupada is THE ACHARYA for the “ISKCON” sub-lineage of the Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Line of modern Gaudiya Vaishnavism. No one else can or should ever make this claim or try to assume any status equal to HIM in HIS OWN GAUDIYA VAISHNAVA SAMPRADAYA ISKCON SUB-LINEAGE.
If some follower legitimately becomes an ‘acharya’ in their own right, then it MEANS that they MUST establish their own ‘school’. If their teachings do not contradict that of their own Acharya, then their new school or sub-lineage should be accepted as a sub-branch of their own Acharya’s Lineage. If their teachings are contradictory then they should NOT be accepted as still-connected-to their own Acharya’s lineage or school of thought. If their teachings are acceptable but their behavior is not, they may also be rejected as part of their Acharya’s Sampradaya.
In religious history a disciple is either acting as the initiating agent on behalf of his or her own spiritual master, or she or he is acting as a DIKSHA guru and initiating disciples on his or her own behalf. This depends on many things. Most essentially it depends on what the nature IS of the contract of initiation between the guru and disciple? Is the guru vowing to ‘take the sins’ of the disciple? If so, then the guru must personally make that decision OR must have previously set the conditions for acceptance of a disciple, and for severing the relationship and rejecting a disciple. If the disciple breaks the initiation contract, then the diksha guru is no longer obligated to take any more post-initiation vi-karmic (sinful) reactions for the disciple.
When someone dares to become a sin-taking diksha guru, ‘taking sins’ on their own, it means that they are willing to suffer the vi-karmic reactions of some disciple(s), rather than allowing their own guru to ‘take those sins’. Thus if they are very magnanimous, they may vow, like the Pure Land Buddhists or Vasudeva Raya, to ‘take’ the vi-karma of all of the sinners of the World! Of course it is ultimately only the Original Spiritual Master, the Second Person of the Godhead, Lord Ananta-Baladeva, Who ultimately “…takes away the sins of the World / Cosmos”.
As for the situation in ISKCON, it is not proper for any disciple to take the position of his or her Guru in a holy place established by their Guru and thus belonging to Him. Thus Srila Prabhupada should be the ONLY ACHARYA in HIS ISKCON ESTABLISHMENTS. His disciples should not receive ACHARYA VENERATION in any of his ISKCON ESTABLISHMENTS.
If any of his disciples want to start their own missions, establish temples etc. then they are certainly free to do so under their own credentials and authority, whatever that may be. BUT, whatever they do ON THEIR OWN should be honestly and properly labeled / identified, and NOT presented as being done under the EXPRESSED authority and permission of Srila Prabhupada. If, though, a disciple is truthfully and humbly continuing an expressedly approved, or ordered, or empowered service to Srila Prabhupada, then that service should continue. This principle is the same for the Books too. Sri Krishna’s permissive will allows everyone to be free to do what they can or want-to TO EITHER IMPROVE, OR TO RUIN Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai’s Non-Sectarian Hari Nama Sankirtan Movement. The freedom is there, but the reaction will be too.
Honesty and humility dictates that everyone honestly presents their offering to the Lord and to the public. This means that the public should not be cheated. Thus a teacher, a guru or spiritual intercessor, should first of all be honest and humble about what they are offering the public. This means that there should not be any ‘bait and switch’ where guru(s) USE Srila Prabhupada to attract the public and them give them something other and less than Srila Prabhupada. If a teacher or guru truly attracts and ‘makes’ their own disciples, based on their own merits, then they should have their own mission. In history this is the usual protocol.
Based on my knowledge of religious history in general and Vaishnava history and Gaudiya history and theology in specific, my conclusion has always been that Srila Prabhupada’s established Temples, Rites, Books etc. should have been kept the way that he established them, and that if any of his disciples wanted to establish anything differently, they should have started their own mission. This is what I personally told and wrote to Kirtanananda about his syncretistic changes at New Vrindavan. I was opposed to his New Age Syncretism, and pointed-out the many faults in it to him. Because Radhanath Swami was personally a staunch Vaishnava Traditionalist, I ask him, and NOT Kirtanananda, to ‘give me sannyas’.

Friday 26 July 2013

Bihar govt seeks Akshaya Patra’s help in providing mid-day meals

Bihar kids go hungry as teachers go on strike

Friday, July 26, 2013: Following the boycott of the mid-day meal scheme by teachers after the tragic death of 23 kids in food-poisoning incident, the Bihar government has asked Bangalore-based Akshaya Patra, a charitable organization run by ISKCON temple providing mid-day meal to schools, to take it over in Patna and Muzaffarpur districts.
 
The teachers of Bihar, about 3 million of them, have decided to boycott the mid-day meal scheme after Meena Devi, the principal of the school where the mishap took place, was arrested and sent to judicial custody. On the contrary, millions of children in Bihar went without mid-day meal as teachers were on strike.
 
Defying the government’s appeal, Bihar school teachers said they don’t want to take any risk now unless a full proof system is put in place. Instead, they suggested the government to hand over the scheme to NGOs but the number of schools in the state — at 72,000 — is too big a task for any NGO to handle, say officials.
 
After the teachers’ boycott of the scheme, the Bihar government has anyway, asked Bangalore-based Akshaya Patra, an NGO run by ISKCON temple, to take it over in Patna and Muzaffarpur districts.
 
Meanwhile, the Forensic Science Lab report found the pesticide in the samples of oil from the container, food remains on the platter and mixture of rice with vegetables on aluminium utensils, all of which were collected from the school.

Thursday 25 July 2013

Servant of Maya or Krsna?

730723BG.LON                   Lectures                 
Say, a typewriter. So if you send the typewriter to the
heaven, what does it mean? It is to be worked as typewriter. Does it
mean because it has gone to heaven, the work has changed? No. The work
will continue. Either in this hell or heaven, typewriter will kat,
kat, kat, kat. That's all.
 Similarly, our position is servant. If you
don't become servant of Krsna, then you serve, you become servant of
your wife, your children, your relative, your country, your nation,
your dog
. At last, if you have no family, then you become servant of
your dog. You know in your country it is very usual. If he has nobody,
then he keeps a dog, and takes it on the street. His dog passes stool,
and he is standing, waiting: "Yes, sir. You pass your stool, I am
waiting." Just see. It is practical. If you don't become servant of
Krsna, then you have to become servant of the dog. This is nature's
way. Therefore intelligent person will take lesson from it, that "I
have to become servant. Why not become Krsna's servant? Then I will be
happy. There are so many Krsna's servants. They are so happy. Why
shall I remain the servant of the maya?"
 
 
70-07-18.Tri            Letter: Tribhuvanatha          
   I am very glad to know that you have been staying for some months
at our London Temple in the association of our devotees. This is
certainly the most fortunate company for you and I know that if you
maintain the association of devotees your life will be happy and
perfect. That is the version of the sastra that the most important
thing for spiritual realization is the company of realized souls or
pure devotees of the Lord
.
 

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Prabhupadanugas Sunday Fest and Harinam Sankirtan Pictures, Hilo Hawaii

PRABHUPADANUGAS LAMAI BEACH THAILAND RATHA YATRA 2013


LAMAI BEACH RATHA YATRA 2013

Hare Krsna Elk early warning deterrent system


Hare Krsna to all pranams All glories to Prabhupada Last night the moon was full, so I decided to do a walk about and shoot the elk deterrent system as it operates. Living in the country is not just about sitting back, doing nothing and just picking the fruits from your trees, while somebody fans you in your "easy chair".Let there be no doubt about it-it is work, sometimes hard work, but the benefits are practically known, only, to those who do it. Anyway, I just thought this might be interesting for some of you who would like to know more about country living, and some of what goes on in an ordinary day. Hari bol Damaghosa das

A Nice Offering by a New Prabhupadanuga

All glories to His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
This is my offering (a poem ) for vyasa puja

From where to start and till where to end,
I just can do Dandavats with my little hand.
How should I show my gratitude towards you,
Prabhupada Your Divine grace is really true.
You taught to us how to chant and love Krsna,
There is nothing more dear to Him just Prabhupada.
The nectar of Krsna Consciousness You gave through books,
Prabhupada, You always had compassionate looks.
There is so much which I need to express,
As you saved the world which was depress.
You are so merciful which is always causeless,
I need your sanga as this material ocean is endless.
Hare Krsna
Your Servant
Divya

This is the second poem

O my Spiritual Master, You are like a
sun
Which draw away all darkness-
darkness of ignorance
You are like water
Which quenches ones thirst- thirst of
mercy
You are like a sailor of boat
By which one can cross the ocean -
ocean of material existence
You are like a meteorologist
Who wants to give us the finest
metal-metal of holy name
You are like a bent tree
Which has many fruits - fruits of
knowledge
You are like a sponge
Which absorbs all our dust-dust of
sins
You are like the nature
Which is all obedient- obedient to
your spiritual master
O my Spiritual Master I am just like a
chick
Who wants to fly -fly to the material
world
You are like my mother
Who want me to fly high- high to
Godhead.
Your Servant
Divya

Tuesday 23 July 2013

We Accept The Author as Our Bonafide Spiritual Master

By: 
 Hasti Gopala Dasa
This article is in response to the article – Hearing: The real tradition written by Vidura Das.
 
This is a most intricate and clear presentation dealing with the subject of "accepting a physically manifest guru". Very nicely done and very informative. 
 
Srila Prabhupada never recommended en masse that his disciples seek anyone else to link to and serve other than himself after his physical departure. He reinforces his position as the pure devotee to serve and take shelter of throughout his books. It is more than obvious that by being the commentator on the Chaitanya Charitamrita for example, the qualified person to seek out as a bona fide guru is himself. Otherwise how could he compose his commentaries? No one else in ISKCON has written independent commentaries on the Chaitanya Charitamrita, so who is the most qualified? Srila Prabhupada. And because he is the most qualified to imagine that not being physically present would have any effect on his books is illogical and ludicrous. 
 
Therefore by reading and following the teachings throughout his books is the same as having his association, you get his association through his books and you get Srila Prabhupada.  Once someone makes that preliminary contact with Srila Prabhupada and accepts him as their prime teacher progress begins, not that the acceptance is the end of the affair. One must constantly read Srila Prabhupada’s books and follow as sincerely as possible all of his instructions and that is where the fun begins because this Krishna consciousness is the most joyful of all states of being. Some of what Srila says about the necessity of accepting a bona fide spiritual master is presented below in the Adi-lila of the Chaitanya Charitamrita,  courtesy: causelessmercy
 
Adi 8.17  TRANSLATION
 
“By cultivating philosophical knowledge one can understand his spiritual position and thus be liberated, and by performing sacrifices and pious activities one can achieve sense gratification in a higher planetary system, but the devotional service of the Lord is so rare that even by executing hundreds and thousands of such sacrifices one cannot obtain it.”
 
PURPORT
 
Prahlada Maharaja instructs:
 
matir na krsne paratah svato va
mitho ’bhipadyeta grha-vratanam
 
(Bhag. 7.5.30)
 
naisam matis tavad urukramanghrim
sprsaty anarthapagamo yad-arthah
mahiyasam pada-rajo-’bhisekam
niskincananam na vrnita yavat
 
(Bhag. 7.5.32)
 
These slokas are to be discussed. Their purport is that one cannot obtain Krishna-bhakti, or the devotional service of the Lord, by official execution of the Vedic rituals.
 
** One has to approach a pure devotee. Narottama dasa Thakura sings, chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba
 
“Who has been elevated without rendering service to a pure Vaishnava?” It is the statement of Prahlada Maharaja that unless one is able to accept the dust from the lotus feet of a pure Vaishnava there is no possibility of achieving the platform of devotional service. That is the secret. **
 
The above-mentioned tantra-vacana, quoted from the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (1.1.36), is our perfect guidance in this connection.
 
                                                                               ********
 
Now in the final selected section of Adi-lila for this comment, Srila Prabhupada refers to a pure devotee being necessary to take shelter of and to serve. Is he not automatically including himself in that qualified position? Yes he is, again, because if he were not then he would not have written his commentaries on the Chaitanya Charitamrita. Association of Srila Prabhupada takes place while reading his original pre 1978 books and the reader becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead. Supreme association, supreme destination. Association means destination.
 
Adi-lila Chapter 8 Text 20 page 174
 
The two brothers Jagai and Madhai epitomize the sinful population of this Age of Kali. They were most disturbing elements in society because they were meat-eaters, drunkards, woman-hunters, rogues and thieves. Yet Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu delivered them, to say nothing of others who were sober, pious, devoted and conscientious. The Bhagavad-gita confirms that to say nothing of the brahminically qualified devotees and rajarsis (kim punar brahmanah punya bhakta rajarsayas tatha),
 
*** anyone who by the association of a pure devotee comes to Krishna consciousness becomes eligible to go back home, back to Godhead.***
 
In the Bhagavad-gita (9.32) the Lord thus declares:
 
mam hi partha vyapasritya
ye ’pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras
te ’pi yanti param gatim
 
“O son of Prtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth - women, vaishyas [merchants], as well as shudras [workers] - can approach the supreme destination.”
 
Finally for all those reading this web site and Srila Prabhupada’s books:
 
 Adi 8.15 TEXT 15
 
sri-krsna-caitanya-daya karaha vicara
vicara karite citte pabe camatkara
 
If you are indeed interested in logic and argument, kindly apply it to the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. If you do so, you will find it to be strikingly wonderful.
 

Monday 22 July 2013

Chant" Nitai- Gaura" and become purified-SP


 
Adi 8.31   But if one only chants, with some slight faith, the holy names of
Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, very quickly he is cleansed of all
offenses. Thus as soon as he chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, he
feels the ecstasy of love for God.
 
                               PURPORT
 
   Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura remarks in this connection
that if one takes shelter of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
Nityananda, follows Their instructions to become more tolerant than
the tree and humbler than the grass,and in this way
 chants the holy
name of the Lord, very soon he achieves the platform of transcendental
loving service to the Lord, and tears appear in his eyes. There are
offenses to be considered in chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, but
there are no such considerations in chanting the names of
Gaura-Nityananda
. Therefore, if one chants the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
but his life is still full of sinful activities, it will be very
difficult
 for him to achieve the platform of loving service to the
Lord. But if in spite of being an offender one chants the holy names
of Gaura-Nityananda, he is very quickly freed from the reactions to
his offensesTherefore, one should first approach Lord Caitanya and
Nityananda, or worship Guru-Gauranga, and then come to the stage of
worshiping Radha-Krsna.
 In our Krsna consciousness movement, our
students are first advised to worship Guru-Gauranga, and then, when
they are somewhat advanced, the Radha-Krsna Deity is installed
, and
they are engaged in the worship of the Lord.

   One should first take shelter of Gaura-Nityananda in order to
reach, ultimately, Radha-Krsna. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura sings in
this connection:
 
                  gauranga balite habe pulaka sarira
                  hari hari balite nayane ba'be nira
 
                 ara kabe nitaicandera karuna ha-ibe
                 samsara-vasana mora kabe tuccha habe
 
                 visaya chadiya kabe suddha habe mana
                    kabe hama heraba sri-vrndavana
   In the beginning one should very regularly chant Sri Gaurasundara's
holy name and then chant the holy name of Lord Nityananda. Thus one's
heart will be cleansed of impure desires for material enjoyment
. Then
one can approach Vrndavana-dhama to worship Lord Krsna. Unless one is
favored by Lord Caitanya and Nityananda, there is no need to go to
Vrndavana, for unless one's mind is purified, he cannot see Vrndavana,
even if he goes there.
 Actually going to Vrndavana involves taking
shelter of the six Gosvamis by reading Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu,
Vidagdha-madhava, Lalita-madhava and the other books that they have
given
. In this way one can understand the transcendental loving
affairs between Radha and Krsna. Kabe hama bujhaba se yugala-piriti.
The conjugal love between Radha and Krsna is not an ordinary human
affair; it is fully transcendental. In order to understand Radha and
Krsna, worship Them and engage in Their loving service, one must be
guided by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and the six
Gosvamis, Lord Caitanya's direct disciples.
   For an ordinary man, worship of Sri Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu
or the Panca-tattva is easier than worship of Radha and Krsna. Unless
one is very fortunate, he should not be induced to worship Radha-Krsna
directly
. A neophyte student who is not sufficiently educated or
enlightened should not indulge in the worship of Sri Radha and Krsna
or the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra. Even if he does so, he
cannot get the desired result.
 One should therefore chant the names of
Nitai-Gaura and worship Them without false prestige. Since everyone
within this material world is more or less influenced by sinful
activities, in the beginning it is essential that one take to the
worship of Guru-Gauranga and ask their favor, for thus despite all his
disqualifications one will very soon become qualified to worship the
Radha-Krsna vigraha.

   It should be noted in this connection that the holy names of Lord
Krsna and Gaurasundara are both identical with the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Therefore one should not consider one name to be more
potent than the other. Considering the position of the people of this
age, however, the chanting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's name is more
essential than the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra
 because Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation and His mercy
is very easily achieved.
 Therefore one must first take shelter of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu by chanting sri-krsna-caitanya prabhu-nityananda
sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. By serving
Gaura-Nityananda one is freed from the entanglements of material
existence and thus becomes qualified to worship the Radha-Krsna Deity
.
 
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The Vancouver Hare Krishna Society (14th Prabhupadanuga Program)