Radhanath Swami: Recent Episodes
Radhanath Swami
Radhanath Swami is a Vaishnava sanyassi (a monk in a Krishna-bhakti lineage) and teacher of the devotional path of Bhakti-yoga. He is author of The Journey Home, a memoir of his search for spiritual truth. His teachings draw from the sacred texts of India such as The Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, and Ramayana, and aim to reveal the practical application of the sacred traditions, while focusing on the shared essence which unites apparently disparate religious or spiritual paths. Born Richard Slavin, on December 7, 1950, in his teens he came to confront a deep sense of alienation from suburban Chicago life and the civil injustices of mid-century America. At the age of nineteen, while on a summer trip to Europe, his internal struggles culminated in a commitment to search for God wherever it might lead him. Meditating on the Isle of Crete, he felt a supernatural calling and the next morning set off alone to find spiritual India. The Journey Home documents his odyssey as a penniless hitch-hiker though Greece, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally India. There he lived as a wandering ascetic, first amongst the forest dwelling Himalayan yogis and later amongst a wide variety of gurus and spiritual practitioners throughout India and Nepal. Ultimately, he was led to the holy town of Vrindavan, where he found his path amongst the Bhakti-yogis. In Vrindavan he found the teacher he was searching for in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and representative of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, (the Krishna-bhakti tradition stemming from the 16th century mystic avatar Sri Chaitanya). In choosing Bhaktivedanta Swami, as his guru, Radhanath Swami felt compelled to shear his matted locks and reenter Western society with a mission to share the sacred wisdom he had received. This return exemplifies the form of devotional yoga which is at the heart of Radhanath Swami’s teachings, a spiritual practice expressed as tangible action meant to bring about personal fulfillment and benefit the world. At the the age of 31 he took the monastic vows of a Vaishnava sanyassin and became known as Radhanath Swami. Today Radhanath Swami travels regularly throughout India, Europe and North America, sharing the teachings of Bhakti-yoga. He resides much of the year at the Radha Gopinath Ashram in Chowpatty, Mumbai. For the past twenty-five years he has guided the community’s development and has directed a number of acclaimed social action projects including Midday Meals, which daily serves more than 260,000 plates of sanctified vegetarian food to the children of the slums of Mumbai. He has also worked to establish missionary hospitals and eye camps, eco-friendly farms, schools and ashrams, an orphanage, and a number of emergency relief programs throughout India.
Just like in material educational system—there is algebra, there is basic arithmetic; then there is mathematics, calculus—they’re all levels of the same subject. Now for those who are in a lesser school, they see that they are very separate. But for one who has a Ph.D. in this subject, he sees that they are all developed, they are all intertwined and developed for the same purpose to achieve the same degree. Is it not?
Lord Caitanya and the six Goswamis actually taught us how to cultivate separation for Krishna. Lord Chaitanya's ecstasy is that he would cry in separation from Krishna.
Unless we experience this higher taste, we will not be able to give up the illusions of maya. So we should be determined, determined in whatever situation we're in, to cultivate this higher taste of Krishna consciousness by guarding against offenses, by cultivating humility in service of Vaishnavas, by being a real servant of the Lord's compassion toward the living beings, by engrossing ourselves in hearing about Krishna and by absorbing ourselves according to all of our capacity in taking shelter of the Lord by chanting His holy name, Hare Krsihna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The conclusion of all transcendental knowledge and the means by which we can achieve all transcendental realizations is through cleansing our hearts by sincerely chanting Krishna’s holy name, Krishna has made available all the goals which are achieved in various yugas
And to great scholars like Prakashananda Saraswati, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, to them he discussed very deep philosophy of Vedanta and the conclusions of Vedanta which is pure unalloyed devotion. But the conjugal pastimes of Radha and Krishna in Vrindavana, he only discussed with Shri Ramananda Rai and Swarupa Damodar. So, we are not going to go much farther than that following his footsteps.
When the Gopis went to meet Krishna, they had not even the slightest tinge of conception of satisfying their own mind, senses or bodies. They simply went to please Krishna, to give themselves completely for Krishna. There is not a tinge of material desire in the hearts of the Gopis.
He described how in the mood of a servant dasya rasa, one is willing to do everything and anything for the pleasure of the lord, one is willing to surrender his life or her life simply for the satisfaction of the lord and serving with love, ecstatic love.
So many times, even here in India, people come and tell us, you’ll be surprised how many people instruct sanyasis and sadhus of what the goal of life is, and the most common explanation is that ‘one should not renounce anything, one should simply perform one’s prescribed duty to one’s family and to one’s occupation and if one just does that, that is pleasing to Krishna. That is the goal of life.
In this way, the lord who is in a role of a devotee, and his most intimate devotee, they exhibited the qualities of a Vaishnava. A Vaishnava is always taking the greatest happiness in appreciating the service and the devotion of other Vaishnavas. And a devotee is never envious, is never inclined to find faults with others but is always trying to appreciate whatever spiritual qualities are there in others, what to speak of advanced devotees.
When Ramananda Rai came out of the Godavari, he saw this sanyasi sitting in the far east and the effulgence was so brilliant and attractive that he came and offered his prostrated obeisances to the sanyasi. And when Lord Chaitanya saw him, both of their love awakened with such pure feeling that Lord Chaitanya lifted him up and embraced him.
There’s not too many Kadambha Munis on the planet today who can do that. There is not that many Devhutis or Kadambha Munis today. But just because we can’t be like that does not mean we can’t learn from what there are trying to teach us. Sukadev Goswami extracted those episodes in history that are for the ultimate welfare of humanity, to learn from.
who was the person who was really the guardian, the guardian of the true, unadulterated principles of Lord Chaitanya’s mission? Svarupa Damodara Goswami – Lalita gopi.
What is the nature of Lalita gopi’s love? That when she sees even a tiny drop of perspiration on the lotus feet of either Radha or Gopinath, it’s as if she assumes one million bodies to eagerly jump up and remove that spot of perspiration. That is her unconditional love.
Srila Prabhupada was very uncompromising what he spoke in his lectures and what he wrote in his books but how he applied those principles to individual personal cases was with such compassion whatever helped that person to become more attracted to Krishna, he would present it that way. That’s following in Prabhupada’s footsteps. Not just repeating what’s in his books without realization.
All practical purposes, to be humble means to be without pride, without being a sense of false proprietorship without the illusion that I am the doer.
This is your pastime my Lord. It was by your will that he got this disease in Jharikhanda forest, it was your will that for almost one year he remained here in this diseased condition and now it is by your will that you have cured him and embrace him by your causeless mercy.
Preaching is an instrument of the compassion of great souls and a proper spirit that helps us to develop our compassion. Real preaching means to extend yourself to make sacrifices of yourself for the wellbeing of another.
When they came inside, Mother Ganga was gone. All the Bengali people were gone. The only thing that remained was Saci sitting right at the feet of Lord Jagannatha! Ah! They were thinking ‘How is this? How did you get in the temple, the gates were locked?’ Their idea was, she broke into the temple to steal the property of Jagannatha. They arrested her and put her in prison and were quite abusive to her, thinking her to be a thief.
Seeing the genuine sincerity of Saci-devi, Haridasa Pandita sent her to live at Radha-kunda with another one of his disciples, who happened to be Saci-devi’s aunt. Her name was Lakshmi Priya and there together, they perfectly lived in pure devotion and renunciation. They chanted minimum two hundred thousand names of Krishna every single day. They were constantly immersed in speaking the glories of Krishna with each other, serving the vaishnavas, doing parikrama of Sri Giriraja.
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj Glorifying HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj by Radhanath Swami
"With every rising and setting of the sun, our physical life is being reduced, and however much knowledge we have and however much wealth we have, however much influence and power we have, we cannot stop the forward march of time." - His Holiness Radhanath Swami
That is the purpose of yoga, that is the purpose of religion, that is the purpose of life to awaken our true potential. Each one of us is a divine being, each one of us in whatever capacity has an opportunity to do something wonderful in our life.
This is Srila Prabhupada’s spirit, para dukha dukhi. A devotee’s happiness is seeing other people happy. And real happiness is seeing other people receiving Krishna, loving Krishna. Bhaktivinoda Thakur wrote one prayer where he explains, What is that song about Narada Muni? Where he is talking about how Narada Muni is making everybody chant and everyone dance and everyone loving Krishna and everyone is chanting. And he said, “When that day comes, that will be my happiness. To see everyone chanting the holy names, everyone with tears of love of God in their eyes, that will be my happiness.”
Man is making so many designations by dividing things up and human beings identify with that and so many quarrels over who is right and who is crazy based on the conditioning of our identity.
Because in transcendental sound vibration, Krishna may have spoken it five thousand years ago but in the text, in hearing qualified persons speak, that same energy, that same grace of God is manifesting according to our receptivity.
We can show our love for God by how we respect, how we serve, how we honor, and how we love each other.
“Finding the fault within a spiritual person is like looking at pod marks in the moon.” The moon is generating volumes and volumes and volumes and volumes of light, so beautiful, ‘look at that mark in the moon.’
Over-confidence can be defined in many ways. But one way is when we are depending on our own abilities that are far beyond our own abilities.
What is the dharma of every living being? To serve. Everyone is always engaged in some type of service to someone. Either we are serving our employer, or we are serving our employees; we are serving our husbands, our wives, our parents, our children, we’re serving when we pay taxes, we’re serving the government; when we have a business, we’re serving our customers.
These statistics are there. People ignore them because they are habituated. They are conditioned. They have been eating meat all their lives, so it must be right. Everyone else is doing it around.
Anyone who submissively and attentively hears this narration of Valmiki’s Ramayan will be free from all the sins that pollute our heart and prohibit us from expressing the souls pure and natural love for Sri Sita Ram.
To the ecstatic joy of all the inhabitants of Ayodhya, that cherished moment had finally come. Lord Sri Ramchandra placed his worshipable lotus feet upon those sandals. Sri Ramchandra Bhagwan ki jai.
Radhanath Swami Shares His Memory of Meeting Saints In Ayodhya In 1971 Ahead of The Temple Opening by Radhanath Swami
If you always lose you don’t get addicted to it. But once you win you can’t. That rush, do you know what a rush is? That sensation... that sensation of winning is so overwhelming that you become addicted to it.
How wonderful it was when the rivers were pure, when the forests were pure, when the air was pure, when the food we are eating was pure. With all India’s incredible economic development and all of India’s software engineering progress, which are good things, but we have to evaluate.
In experiencing that Krishna consciousness within us, and wanting to share that with others through our compassion, through our integrity, is actual satisfaction. Because it’s receiving love and giving love. And when our relationships with each other are based on those principles, that’s a simple life, based on high thinking.
We may not understand exactly why, but if we have faith, if we have hope; we can always be looking at that flower that will grow from this rainstorm. That is the substance of a successful man.
Sometimes, it’s just that we are brought up to think that things are ordinary. And that’s why we need leadership, and we need people who can actually help us to overcome these deficiencies.
In service to Krishna, we are serving Krishna to please him. If we are acting enthusiastic and eager so that people will think we are an advanced devotee, then that's a materialistic perception. But if my Guru Maharaj or Srila Prabhupada wants me to be eager to chant the Holy Name, if he wants me to be eager to hear Srimad Bhagavatam, if he wants me to be eager to read his books, if he wants me to be eager to come for the aratis to worship the deities, if he wants me to be eager to distribute his books or to preach to others or serve the Vaishnavas or whatever we're doing that eagerness for the pleasure of Krishna, whether we feel eager or not is a detail.
Now this big, big mountain filling a section of the room with Prasad was sitting here for over a month and Raghava Pandit’s bags were eaten by him for a whole full year, but by the Lord’s transcendental potency every preparation when he ate it, it tasted as if it was freshly cooked on that very day. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Ki Jai!
The King came down to see whether he was still alive? When Mukunda Sarkar came back to his consciousness. The King said, “Are you all right? Have you been hurt? What is your disease?” Mukunda is very humble. He said, “No I am alright. But I have some sort of disease like epilepsy and sometimes I fall down like this.”
The residence of Kulinagram, they were here in Gambhira with the other devotees. Lord Caitanya gave them an instruction that every year at Ratha Yatra the ropes that carry Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra from the temple to the cart, they always break. I want you to make first class silken ropes in Kulinagram and Lord Caitanya personally showed him the ropes that they were using it. Make it just like this but much stronger.
First they arrived at Narendra Sarovar, then they came to the Gambhira. Lord Caitanya brought them all into the room. This area here is the temple which was the place of the house of Kashi Mishra. Just in the back side is the actual Gambhira the small room in which Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally lived. About two hundred devotees were crowding in that room.
Swaroop Damodar Goswami wanted to live by the spirit of a Sannyasi which is to dedicate one’s body, mind, words and life in the service of the Supreme personality of Godhead exclusively without any disturbance from any materialistic social obligations.
Soon Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu returned from his South Indian tour. The residence of Jagannath Puri they were so much in anguish of separation from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu it is explained just like the Chatak bird is always looking to the cloud waiting for one drop, fixed in attention.
“Today, I consider that my eyes had achieved their success. Today, I consider that my birth in this world has attained its good fortune. Today, I am seeing the very selfsame personal form of Srila Madhavendra Puri as he stands in the form of Paramananda Puri.”
they started offering Hanuman ji nice prasad but just to make sure he didn’t go anywhere they took chains, shackles and they tied them to his legs and his arms so that he could not escape. Every night they would shackle him so that he could not go to Ayodhya to get mahaprasad.
Within the walls of this compound, they have immense cooking facilities, I was told over seven hundred cooks and massive cooking facilities, everything is done in a very traditional and very orthodox manner.
Please understand when Sarvabhauma and his wife were speaking ill about Amogha, they were not doing it out of hatred but out of love for him because they knew that for him to go on living in this offensive way, he was ruining his own spiritual life. They naturally loved him, so Lord Gauranga, to reciprocate with the love of Sarvabhauma, he gave pure love of God to Amogha.
In the Jagannath temple for seven days Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya declared the philosophy of monism to Mahaprabhu and he sat and he listened and after seven days Sarvabhauma said, “I have described to you such high truths and you have not asked a single question.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was brought here to the house of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. And Sarvabhauma, studying all the intricate scriptures could understand that this was some sort of very, very deep state of the highest trance of love of God.
Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu possesses all opulences in their most full and complete form. Therefore, no one can follow the principles of tṛṇād api sunīcena to the extent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he heard forcibly with his long beautiful arms, he took the prasad from Raghunatha and he put a morsel in his mouth and as he was about to take a second morsel, Swaroop Damodar Goswami stopped him, he said, “My Lord please, you have had enough.”
Raghunatha was becoming so detached and disinterested in any material affairs that they married him to a beautiful women, so chaste, so lovely, the beauty of an angel and they were giving all the charge of so many immense fortunes to him, but regularly he would run away from home to go to join Lord Chaitanya. Hari Bol
Every day they would offer their heartfelt obeisance’s to the chakra on top of the temple because it is to be considered that the chakra is non-different than the murti inside and when you worship and bow down to the chakra, you gain all the credit of worshiping the Lord within. So let us all with great sincerity and humility bow down before the Lord of the universe Sri Jagannath Deva, Sri Subhadra Devi and Sri Balaramji.
Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami explains, in this world there are three substances that are extraordinarily powerful:One is the water that washes the feet of the great vaisnava.Two is the dust from the feet of a great vaisnava. Three is the food remnants of the great vaisnava. And Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami declares that these three substances are maha bhava, supremely greatly powerful and one should obtain them by any means possible. Hari Bol Nitai Gaur Premanandi
Actually, Narendra Sarovar is non-different from the Ganges and the Jamuna. Both these rivers enter into this by the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The devotees, they became very playful in Narendra Sarovar, they began to splash one another.
Narendra Sarovar was named after a great king of Puri whose name was Narendra from long ago. It is a very sacred place where Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his associates would often meet and have wonderful wonderful pastimes. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur explains that the pastimes that took place here at Narendra Sarovar, even Lord Anantasesha, with his thousand mouths could not describe even in thousands and thousands of years.
The obstacles that come in our life are the servants of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They have come to help us to improve our Krishna consciousness. They have come help us to take shelter of Krishna, vaishnavas and his name.
Atharanala represents the place of the unity or the reunion of Vaishnavas. Sripad Advaita Acharya, Nityananda Prabhu, Srivas Thakur, Shivananda Sen, Pundarik Vidyanidhi, Shriman Pandit, Sriram Pandit, Srinidhi, Kolavecha Sridhar, Buddhimanta Khan, Murari Gupta, Acharya Ratna, Chandrashekhar, all of these great souls, as well as their wives, after Kartik, they would leave Jagannath Puri.
Why is it, Lord Nityananda Prabhu, even though he knew Lord Chaitanya would be angry with him, broke the danda? And why is it that Lord Chaitanya, who completely controlled the heart of Nityananda Prabhu unless he wanted Nityananda Prabhu to break the danda, Nityananda Prabhu would have never broken that danda.
And from just close to here, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for the first time saw the beautiful chakra of Jagannath temple from a long distance away. Kamalpur is approximately ten kilometers from the temple itself or six miles.
We have come on this wonderful yatra to develop relationships, to inspire one another, to take very seriously the gift of the chanting of the holy names, the association of devotees and the opportunities to serve, devotional service.
There is that famous saying- ‘You can tell how rich you are by counting how many things you have that money cannot buy.’ Money cannot buy love, love of God, inner peace and happiness that can only be accessed when love of God is awakened.
There he saw beautiful beautiful murti, self-manifested, svayambhu murti of Lord Shiva. As he came there was a continual abhishek taking place. And the devotees were chanting in great enthusiasm the holy names and glories of Lord Shiva.
We worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev, Bhubaneswar Mahadev. He is the greatest of the demigods and he is the foremost devotee of Lord Krishna. Therefore, we do not worship him for material benedictions, mystic power or liberation. For a real Vaishnava these benedictions are great burdens and disturbance in life.
And please give me one benediction that I never become so proud again, that I never consider myself anything but your eternal servant, that I never commit offense to you and your devotees. This material energy so strong my lord and my love for you is so great. I desire to always be beside you. I desire to reside near whatever you just reside. Please grant me this benediction”.
So, in this yatra if we fight for anything, we should be fighting to put other people in front of us. We should be fighting to give people convenience as before us. We shouldn't be judgmental, we shouldn't be critical. If we are, we're not going to make any advancement on this yatra.
Constantly hearing about Krishna, talking about Krishna, chanting the holy names of Krishna and serving the Vaishnavas and trying to give the mercy of Krishna to others. That was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s example and that is our goal of life, to follow in his footsteps. So let us not talk gossip. Let us not discuss the things of the world. Let us only discuss the glories of Krishna and his devotional service and chant his holy names.
we have an opportunity to make such immense spiritual progress that the ordinary take millions of births. We should be very carefully be attentive to make the best possible utilization of every moment that we are here. We should not speak about material subjects, we should not criticize, we should not gossip.
Krishna tells us in Gita, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham, according to the nature of our surrender, according to the quality of our love, Krishna reveals himself and similarly, Krishna reveals the holy dham according to the spirit of our prayerfulness, our humility, and our sincere devotion.
It is our prayer that all of the assembled devotees who put their hearts, their souls, their lives, focused on serving the Vaishnavas in the holy Dham and the holy names and becoming so spiritually surcharged with the eternal benefits of this yatra that it will invigorate and empower us throughout our whole lives on the path of bhakti.
We cannot attain it, it is beyond the scope of our abilities, our intellect, but when we are sincere, when we are serious, humble and we are eager to serve the Supreme Lord and all living beings through him with no ulterior motive, then Krishna is eager, Srimati Radharani the feminine potency, the source of all grace is eager to deliver us. That is why we come on pilgrimage to focus on what is really important in life.
When we are all together, to hear to chant, to inspire toward Krishna, toward God, what an incredible energy that is? Everyone around us is helping us to actually open our hearts to receive the grace of Krishna and then individually and collectively we become not like just an antenna but like a whole power plant in leading this energy of grace, that is satsang.
Srila Prabhupada used to tell us that Bala means strength, spiritual strength, not physical strength and Rama means one who takes pleasure. So, we should pray to Lord Balarama to give us the strength to overcome the obstacles, the impediments on the spiritual path and to carry out our service to the Vaishnavas, to the guru and to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.
The law of economic says, that there is only a limited amount of resources and every human being has unlimited desire to enjoy. So how can ever be peace? We have to go right to the root of the illusion and establish Krishna Consciousness, God Consciousness. Otherwise, every time we try to solve the problem, it becomes worse, something else.
the nature of the banyan tree is if you cut one of the branches, what happens? It grows back stronger than it was before. This is a secret of gardening.
Prabhupada says, “Every part that she saw of his body became as hard as steel became like iron. It was undefeatable, undeniable, invincible”
He punishes us why? He doesn’t punishes us simply because of the offence he punishes us because of the mentality that cause the offence. If he sees that through the execution of devotional service, the mentality to offend others has been gone and he will forgive us of all previous offences and he will bring us back home back to godhead.
Krishna wanted to demonstrate that by his own example, samboga and vipralambha. Samboga means to meet with the lord, vipralambha means to feel separation from the lord. They are constantly united with one another.
Srila Prabhupada explains, this is how important Krishna wants us to understand the gravity of vaishnava aparadha; that even, what to speak if you are a devotee.
If you associate with saintly persons, you’ll realize – what every position, every circumstance is auspicious and fortunate and that consciousness of being grateful, that is real simplicity, and that is real humility of the heart.
Srila Prabhupada used to say, if you are living under a tree and you are asked to live in a palace, it’s maya to be attached to your tree, and if you are living in a palace and you are asked to live under a tree, then it’s maya to be attached to your palace.
Spoiled means ruined. When a child is accustomed to just getting so many things so easy and having so many conveniences and so many luxuries, and so many every things, the child becomes spoiled, because he becomes so attached and so addicted to having his way or her way, when the child grows up a little, the mother and father are not going to be there to give him everything he or she wants, and when he doesn’t get it, he is going to be completely miserable, frustrated and in anxiety and never be happy in life.
Lord Sri Krishna is describing that, “There is no one more dear to him, than someone who is willing to take all risks to enlighten others with the divine message of Sanatana Dharma.”
Lord Sri Krishna is explaining that there is no more dear servant to him than such a person. Of course, not all of us can immediately come to the state, but we should understand from Krishna's point of view, who is most intimately united with him in yoga.
Prabhupada said, ‘‘Krishna's trying to teach us that wherever you are, whatever condition of life you are in, you are never safe, save and except if you are remembering Krishna, because then you are beyond birth and death.’’
Krishna can empower us if we simply have faith in his power and live in such a way that Krishna is pleased by our sincerity. When Krishna is pleased with us then only is our life successful.
That is the significance of Ratha Yatra, as demonstrated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And how Srila Prabhupada brought such a spiritually deep and wonderful pastime to the whole world and invited everyone to participate. That is his great mercy. And on this very holy day of Ratha Yatra for Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra, we should bow our heads in gratitude to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and feel the great commitment to assist him in his wonderful mission by making this Ratha Yatra such a wonderful, attractive, beautiful ceremony, that people from all directions will naturally become attracted by Krishna.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu began to dance in such a way, sometimes he was in all seven kirtan parties simultaneously. At other times he took one form and all the seven kirtan parties merged together into one party just to see the Lord dance. And the ecstatic transcendental symptoms of his love as he danced are described in great detail by Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami.
Prabhupada explains that Ratha Yatra is the emotional act of devotional service, where the gopis within the heart of their hearts, they were bringing, Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra back to Vrindavan. And that is the journey of Lord Jagannath, from the Puri temple to Gundicha. Gundicha is non-different than Vrindavan. And this was the emotional state of how Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu celebrated Ratha Yatra. So, Jagannath is so intoxicated with Balaram, because they are about to return to Vrindavan. They are put on their chariots.
Eagerness is so important, if we have an eagerness to hear, then our heart is receptive to receive the message of Hari katha. If we have an eagerness to chant the holy name, then the holy name reciprocates with that eagerness and reveals the sweet taste of spiritual presence of the Lord.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, to be in Puri and not see the Supreme Lord of his life, Lord Chaitanya, he was in mood of Sri Radharani. Every morning before the dawn, he would be in temple of Jagannath worshiping him behind the Garuda stamba with his heart, his soul, his life. So, it was very difficult.
But it was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who revealed so perfectly to the entire world, what is internal significance of Ratha Yatra. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in Navadvip. For twenty-four years he resided. Toward the end of that time, he established Harinam sankirtan, the yuga dharma for the age of Kali. But please understand, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not just the yugavatar.
Indradyumna Maharaja, he wanted to surrender his life to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Give his…his body, his family, his words, his life, his kingdom, his everything. Nothing has any meaning unless it is offered to the Lord. yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam ‘Whatever we eat, whatever we offer and give away, whatever activities we perform, whatever words we speak, everything should be done as an offering to the Lord.’ Anything we have that’s not being utilized in God’s service is a source of bondage. It will be the cause of birth and death repeatedly. Therefore, a devotee wants everything to be used for service of the Lord. So, here’s the king. He has so much. In one sense he is like the proprietor of world. But if he cannot use it in the service of Lord, it’s meaningless, it’s bondage.
Ratha Yatra is the festival of love. And its origin is steeped in the highest love of the spiritual world. Although, Srila Prabhupada made it so simple, so practical, so accessible, he was actually giving people entrance to participate with one of the deepest, most esoteric transcendental pastimes of the spiritual realm. That is Prabhupada’s mercy.
But we think nothing is happening and we go on making offenses and we go on committing sinful acts, but then ultimately that tidal wave is going reach the shore of the present moment and cause spiritual devastation. Like the mad elephant, in all the efforts we made to create our spiritual assets on the shore of life are just washed away, devastated by the tidal wave of our own reactions. So, there was a great lesson both collectively and individually that we must be very careful to take very, very seriously.
Anger could be used in God’s service too. Hanuman was very angry, but his anger was to help people. Sometimes a mother is angry with the child, “Don’t do this or I will punish you!” Now if anger is an outburst of uncontrolled emotion due to frustration that is very karmically entangling. But if anger is a tool to actually do things in a very effective way, then it is an asset in our life.
Sometimes in the service of others, we may act in an excited way. But we should be careful to do it in such a way that we do not hurt the heart of others. And if we do, we should ask forgiveness. But that is not offensive. Offense is when you deliberately try to avenge someone for what they have done to you. Or when we give in, when we give into our lower nature.
Srimad Bhagavatam Class (SB 5.5.15) by HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Gita Nagari on 06May2023 by Radhanath Swami
Narasimha Chaturdasi Festival Class by HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Gita Nagari on 4th May 21023 by Radhanath Swami
ISKCON Naperville Opening : Talk by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on 22 Apr 2023 by Radhanath Swami
The energy, prakriti is forever. It's just the various manifestations of them that are always changing. So, when we understand the underlying spiritual current that composes everything, and we understand how everything is eternal when it is recognized and utilized for an eternal purpose, because at the core of reality, everything is eternal. It's just the manifestations of the shapes and forms that are changed.
When one is in this state of consciousness, and that brahma-buta, transcendental state of consciousness, then we understand what is true bhakti or devotion. To live, to live in a spirit of harmony and seva.
Like a sunray gives us, gives off or releases such nice heat and light. But all that heat and light is only due to its origin, the Sun planet. And to the degree there's heat and light in a sunray, what is the comparison of the heat and light of the sun planet? So, we see in this world, people think qualities that mesmerize and attract people.
With a choked voice he spoke to Hanumanji. He said, “I'm living in the forest. I have nothing to give you. What you have done for me, how much you have risked for me, your love for me, how much pleasure and relief you gave to my beloved Sita, the only thing I have to give you is myself. I am your property.” And in that spirit, Rama embraced Hanuman.
You see whether one is guilty or not guilty in the eyes of man whether one is physically protected or whether one is physically killed with the hands of the demons, this is not what we consider, we consider only one thing, the spirit of devotion, the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit of love, the willingness to give one’s life in the service of the Lord that is our consideration.
So, when Krishna says that ‘my devotee will never perish’ this is what he means he is not saying that his body will not be overcome, he is not saying that the demons may not even kill him, he is saying that his faith, his devotion will never be disturbed under any condition and in the end, he will go back home back to Godhead. The protection Krishna is speaking of is the protection of the soul.
Now if in every situation the Lord protects the body of a devotee where would this sentiment that if you like you can have me killed that I am willing to give my life for you. If there are not examples of devotees who do give their lives for Krishna, it would minimize the quality of our own surrender. But Jatayu was specially delegated by Lord Sri Ramachandra to show the world how a devotee is willing to die for him. He is willing to give up his life for him without considering one’s own personal comforts.
It would have been very easy for Jatayu to just allow Ravana to fly overhead and remain silent and think justify within his heart ‘I am too old, there is no one to help me, there is nothing that I can do’. After all there was no one also around to criticize him if he would have just allowed Ravana to carry on with his activities, no one would have ever known that he even saw the scene. Certainly, Jatayu was quite aware that he had very little chance of defeating this great asura in battle. But he had a heart of a pure devotee and therefore, his meditation was that ‘whether I conquer or I am conquered is not what is important but that every last drop of energy in my life is dedicated in the service of Lord Sri Ram’ that is my only concern.
janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti I, me and mine. So much is based upon ‘What makes me happy? What I can acquire to call mine? I am this, I am that, I have done, I have not done.’ Another words, it’s a world that is so much conquered by this tendency of selfishness, and egoism. And so much of that is born from the conception that this world is the only reality.
Today’s festival is based on this principle - honoring Jagannath’s prasada. Yesterday, Gaura Purnima, we had a feast of dancing and Hari katha and so many wonderful devotees to associate with, beautiful darshans, abhishekams and it ended with a simple ekadashi feast. That is our tradition. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu loved to see his devotees taking prasada. So, on this day, the Utsava of Jagannatha Mishra, is the day all the devotees celebrate the glorious appearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by eating a grand feast in honor of his mercy. So, we are not going to go late tonight because tonight is feasting. There is chanting, dancing and feasting. We have already covered the other things but tonight, we must bring a conclusion to this festival. So, the reason we don’t want to go so late tonight, but the reason we do not is so that you can very nicely sit down and take your time and serve prasada.
We should be happy with that.’ But we work very, very hard for the pleasure of Guru, not for ourselves. We shouldn’t work at all hard for ourselves, we should work for Krishna. We should give every drop of our life’s energy for guru and Krishna. But for ourselves, we understand that Krishna will provide. We have no need to worry. That is faith. And the movement cannot be stopped.
See the illusion, if people are working so hard for rupees, but outside of India, rupee is not even worth the paper it is printed on. And he is explaining, he didn’t work for a living, he didn’t try to make money. All he did is preach. He just sat under a tree, with a little drum and chanting, hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare/hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare.
If only I were upper class then I would really have what I want. And the upper class thinking, Ah! If only I was a millionaire, then I would really, really be successful in this world. And after a millionaire you are thinking, ‘Oh, but I have so many enemies and so many people who are more powerful than me, if only I was a billionaire, then I would, then I would really be safe and secure in this world.’
Yesterday I was riding in an airplane and I was sitting to one young college student, and he was asking nice questions. And he was asking, “if I ever have the glorious fortune of being entitled to preach to movie stars. “You are based in Bombay, do you ever get to preach to the movie stars?”
Their vision is based on faith in God. Their vision is, that Krishna is perfect and complete, that Krishna is the supreme controller of all controllers, that I am his servant. And whether I am educated or uneducated does not matter. What really matters is what I do have I dedicate in the loving service of the lord. Whether one is a scholar or whether one is illiterate, from the point of view of God makes absolutely no difference.
Lord Shiva is in charge of all the demigods. Therefore, Krishna brought them to their guru. Similarly, we are all disciples, we are all devotees and Krishna has directed us to our spiritual master. So, in the same way he is serving that same function as Lord Shiva is serving for the demigods.
Sometimes devotees become a little perplexed that, “First you say an acharya teaches by example and he is a perfect example and then again, we see that sometimes the acharya, he is acting in such a way that we cannot understand.” So what to do? How do we know who actually is an acharya? Ultimately Krishna is in your heart, if you are sincere, he will give you faith. We must understand the basic principles of the mission of the compassion of a great acharya.
And it is said you can tell who a person is by who he is associating with. Lord Shiva is often associating with bhutas, ghosts, people who are addicted to the most abominable activities. So, from all material reasoning it appears ‘What kind of vaisnava is this?’ And therefore many, many great souls have criticized him and condemned him and every one of them had to pay the consequence because Lord Shiva’s only business engaging in these activities is to show compassion to those persons.
His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, he had translated Srimad Bhagavatam and he has give wonderful purport according to all previous Acharyas. Those who read his Bhagavatam and associate with his devotees it is very simple to understand the essence of pure devotional service. But without the blessings of such a pure soul, how many Bhagavatam recitors are there in India and in the world and practically none of them believe in Krsna as The Personality of Godhead. They have so many interpretations, so many calculations, so misconceptions and by hearing there recitals how many people are surrendering to the Lotus feet of Krsna as the all and all, following in the footsteps of Prahallad or Dhruva or Ambarish or denizens of Vrindavan, how many are going to these Pravachans and coming out with this conclusion of changing their lives and surrendering. Because, unless we hear from the devotee, unless we become the servant of such a devotee these conclusions remain hidden from our hearts
But Lord Chaitanya remembered that offense and face to face with Devananda Pandit he said that: “you are reciting Srimad Bhagavatam but the Person Bhagavatam came right into your school, the pure devotee of Krishna who has realized the essence of Bhagavatam and because you are a fool, you do not understand what is love of God, you have thrown him out, you have abused him, you have manhandled him. Because the Guru his responsible to whatever the disciples do, your pupils did this, you did not stop him, you are responsible for this offense” and then he said to Devananda pandit: “you have no qualification to recite Bhagavatam, you have no qualification to be a teacher, you are cheating” and Lord Chaitanya walked away. And Devananda Pandit was very embarrassed, felt quite sad but at the same time he just went home what he could do, he was such big famous scholar being adored by everyone.
We must learn from our mistakes. A mistake is only a mistake if we do not learn a good lesson from it and follow that wisdom. So please, there is no impediment in all of creation that can come in your way from success if you never give up, if you have hope, if you have faith, if you maintain enthusiasm and determination. It is a blessing when we fail, it is not a curse, if we see the hand of God teaching us a good lesson and that is applicable to every venture of life.
“Krishna I'm chanting, to be your servant to please you to purify my heart so that I can love you and be an instrument of your compassion to the people of this world with whatever I have, not denying the gifts that God has given us, but using them and devotion.” In this spirit, we could realize the highest truths and discover that lost love within ourselves and be fully receptive to Krishna’s love for us when we sincerely cry out his Holy Name. Hare Krishna Hare Krsihna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Viswanath Chanravarti Thakur, our beloved acharya explains it in this way, that this is Krishna’s mission to remove the burden from Mother Earth, to remove her to the miseries of the weight of so many people plundering, abusing and committing sinful activities upon her. What is our right? We divide up the earth and call it our own with no regard to God. But Krishna comes to remove that burden and to remove it from any individual who takes shelter of him.
We are simply living, existing, to assist him, to please him, to serve his servants. Whether we succeed or fail in our practical projects, is not what is all important or whether our sincerity to please him is real, that is all important.
Srila Prabhupada, as did Bhakti Siddhant Saraswati Thakur promised their followers that, if we are sincere to carry out their instructions in our life at the end of life we will certainly go back home back to godhead and we know that Krishna never betrays the words of His devotees.
It has taken us millions and millions of births, suffering birth, old age, disease and death to finally come to the point where the doors to the spiritual world are being opened before us through friendship and the association of devotees.
The siksha gurus, the diksha gurus, are all to be given proper respect according to our shastras. However, whatever our position is, we are all simply trying to work together to assist Srila Prabhupada in his service to his guru maharaja, that is our life, that is our soul. Vyas Puja is the day when devotees offer their gratitude to our entire guru parampara through the medium of the current spiritual masters.
Maya means energy. Maya means the energy of God. And Maya is categorized, sometimes in two ways: categorized as Maha-Maya, and Yoga-Maya. It's the same energy. This whole material world is God's energy. All the manifestations within this energy are under the influence of time, therefore, they're temporary. And they're under the influence of the three modes of nature: goodness, passion, ignorance. The spiritual energy, everything is sac-cid-ānanda, eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. But it's actually, what is the difference between these energies? Srila Prabhupada, and our acharyas explained, It's really on the basis of our perception.
There are limitless reasons we can justify not chanting Hare Krishna, going off on our own, trying to find something easier to do, complaining because the situation just isn't what we want it to be. But if we want to actually make real spiritual advancement, if we want to really show gratitude, ‘How could I best assist my guru, my gurus in assisting in Srila Prabhupada’s mission?’ Because really, there's nothing else we can do that will please Krishna.
Srila Prabhupada performed so many austerities for us. And all of his followers have performed so many austerities to assist him. And for the next generation, what pleases all the representatives of Srila Prabhupada is to perform austerities. The austerity of our sadhana, the austerity of our cooperation, the austerity of following these regulative principles and doing everything we can to serve.
Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami explains that there are three very powerful substances that awaken love of God within the heart. He calls them Mahabala, great power - The dust of the feet of a devotee, the water that has washed the feet of a devotee and the crumbs of foodstuff that is left on the plates of a devotee, maha-prasad remnants. He said, "We must, somehow or other, obtain these powerful substances by whatever means necessary."
Srimad Bhagavatam Class In New Vrindaban By HH Radhanath Swami 20Nov,22 by Radhanath Swami
Program With HH Radhanatha Swami & Srila Prabhupada Disciples At Yogashala, New Vrindavan 19Nov,22 by Radhanath Swami
Why people are killing themselves. And it's once they become addicted, it's so very, very hard to give it up. It's unnatural. I don't think there has ever been a person alive, who light the first cigarette that they smoked. It's horrible. Due to social pressure, they try, they start coughing, it tastes miserable, the body is having violent reactions to it but they just keep doing it and doing it and doing it until they become used to it and ultimately addicted to it.
Krishna brought that cowherd boy to his own house and shared prasad with him. The perfection of His love, is he feels pain of separation, to see any one of his children suffering in forgetfulness of him. However small and insignificant we may think we are, Krishna is feeling separation from us. But he will not interfere with our freewill because love cannot be dictated, love cannot be forced, love has to be an expression of our free will to actually satisfy us. So, for you and for me, and for every living entity in this world.
To attract our hearts to his love, to his past times, to reestablish the true principles of religion, love and devotion to the supreme and compassion to all living beings, that is religion, that is the constitutional nature of the soul. When love of God is directed toward others in this world, it manifests as compassion; to annihilate a religion and all the miscreants within us, for this reason the Lord has appeared in his name.
prāpañcikatayā buddhyā hari-sambandhi-vastunaḥ mumukṣubhiḥ parityāgo vairāgyaṁ phalgu kathyate Rupa Goswami in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu says ‘what is real renunciation?’ It is to utilize everything for the service of the Lord without false ego, without selfishness. And if something that appears to be material, that could be utilized in the service of the Lord is given up, that is considered incomplete, imperfect renunciation.
I began to reflect, ‘This is the power of habit. Good people, caring people are indulging in activities that's causing bloodshed, murder, killing, pain to innocent life loving animals who are people also. Why? Because of habit. Years later, when I came back to America, I was explaining to people, my relatives, my friends, “don't you see the connection?”
And a saintly person will pity such an ignorant although the world is bowing at their feet as being great, yes? So, what I'm saying is, that we need food to have strength, and that strength will give us the proper perception. And what is the food we need? Offering prayers, chanting God's names, hearing the truth, associating with saintly persons, doing proper puja with the proper state of consciousness, these are all spiritual practices that are like food, especially hearing and chanting in the association of saintly persons, it gives us food, that gives us strength in which we can maintain our spiritual, moral and ethical integrity under all circumstances, and we're fixed in our goal.
Today, Diwali is the actual day when this lila, Damodar bandhan took place. Actually, after Krishna was untied and was reunited with mother Yashoda more intimately than ever, the Gopis from that day on, they would love to call Krishna, Damodar, one who is bound by the waist by the rope of your mother’s love. Satyavrat Muni in Damodar-Ashtakam, offers his obeisances to Gopal, who is conquered by the love of his devotee, and he offers his obeisances to Yashoda Mayi, who is such a devotee, and he conq…he offers his obeisance’s millions of times to the rope, which personifies the love of a devotee's heart.
He was seeing these two devas, they were so arrogant, they were so disrespectful. They were destroying their own possibilities. Narada Muni felt especially compassionate toward them. And he told them, “Because you are so much infatuated by all your powers and wealth, and beauty, and you think yourself better than everyone.” The quality of the great soul is amāninā māna-dena. that we shouldn't care about being res… being respected ourselves, but we should find the greatest joy in giving respect to others. We could evaluate how much we are progressing by just applying that principle to our own way of thinking in life, our values. He said, “You are standing before a great sage naked like a tree, I bless you to become trees.”
When Krishna sees that for his pleasure, we are not being discouraged by success or failure, honor or dishonor, pleasure or pain, happiness or distress, health or disease, victory or defeat. Devotional service is ahaituky apratihatā; it is unconditional by these things. As long as there is selfishness or arrogance in what we do, then we become very discouraged, because we are not getting our way. But when we are truly doing it for Krishna's satisfaction, even though there may be heartaches, there may be so many impediments in doing Krishna's will, our enthusiasm to persevere for Krishna's pleasure with the right intention of the heart, will never wane.
According to the Upanishads, the Absolute Truth can never be caught by anyone. Either the incredible discrimination and knowledge developed by Jnanis, or the incredible sense control, mind control or the Mystic Siddhis of Yogis, who could catch the Absolute Truth? But Yashoda Mayi she was running after him, and as she was running, flowers malati flowers were falling from her hair. Jiva Goswami tells that those malati flowers were falling from the hair, the flowers, their personal feelings was that ‘Krishna, Parabrahman is running away from Yashoda. This is the power of her love. How great she is! I shouldn't be on her head; I should be serving her feet.’ So, they jumped off toward her feet. Krishna allowed himself to be caught by the hand by Yashoda Mayi.
There was milk, that Padmagandha lotus milk that I was talking about. There was a little pot, and she was preparing something for Krishna with that. It began to boil over. According to some of our acharyas, it is explained the reason it boiled over is because the milk is conscious. Everything in the spiritual world is fully conscious. And the milk was thinking ‘My only existence is for Krishna to enjoy me and now he is enjoying with Yashoda Mayi and that’s going to go on forever, so what is the use of my existence? I will enter fire’ and he jumped out.
In Vrindavan, Yoga Maya makes everyone dance according to Krishna's will. Everyone is simply an instrument to increase the sweetness of the love between Radha and Krishna. Chandravali prayed that “if you leave us Radharani no one will survive in Vrindavan and Krishna will never come back. Please do not die.”
In all of the wonderful incarnations of the supreme Lord, the principal incarnations, we find that Balaram is present as Narayana. Balaram appears as Sankarsana, Sesanaga, he becomes the Lord’s bed. Laxmi is massaging His feet and Balaram is His bed, His resting place. In the avatar of Sri Ramachandra, Balaramji appears as His younger brother, Laxman. And what was Laxman’s constant meditation? “Simply to be the servant of Rama, always wanting to serve.” He was so anxious to serve that He was doing all the service.
Their only desire is not to enjoy, but to please Krishna. Because that is the only way of attracting the mercy of Krishna, to be the servant of the servant of his servants.
Does she need our hadful of water? We are taking from her, and its insignificant. But when we offer it to her with love, Ganga Devi, the preciding deity of the river, she considers that handful of water more valuable than all the water she has, because it’s a reciprocation of Love.
And at this particular time, I'm personally meditating on how His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj was very much following in the footsteps of Ishwara Puri. Bhakti Charu Maharaj, he was born and raised in an aristocratic family in Kolkata, was very highly educated, eloquent in every way. But the perfection of his life, he has always considered was the opportunities he had to follow in the footsteps of Ishwara Puri and be at Srila Prabhupada’s bedside during the closing pastimes of Srila Prabhupada’s leela in this world.
Sometimes Bhakti Charu Maharaj, on a personal level would share with me that we were soul brothers. In a way because at exactly the time, same time in 1970, I was leaving the West travelling overland to India to look for spiritual life. And Bhakti Charu Maharaj was traveling west for the same purpose. And of course, I don't remember or recall that we ever physically and personally met on that level. But, we both had the same intention, at the same time, he was going west, and I was going east, and ultimately, he returned to the east. And being such a effulgent, intelligent, and sincere seeker of the truth, wherever he went, any spiritual teachers, they, they longed for a person like this. So, he traveled for some years, reading books, meeting different gurus and sages and yogis. And at a certain time, he was given the Nectar of Devotion, a book by Srila Rupa Goswami that was translated in summary, by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Lord Chaitanya, pretending he didn't know who the king was, he embraced him, again and again. He wept tears on the king, and he cried out, “You are the most munificent, you are the most munificent.” And then, he revealed, he revealed his divine opulence to King Pratap Rudra, he revealed his true identity as Krishna. He awakened in full King Pratap Rudra’s original love, his prema. When Lord Chaitanya asked the king, “Who are you?” the King with all honestly said, “I am the servant of the servant of your servants and my only aspiration is to be the servant of the servant of your servants.” And Srila Prabhupada explains that this is the highest aspiration, the most cherished benediction for a true devotee.
When Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was feeling the ecstasy of separation from Jagannath, he could come here every year and here the deity of Lord four-armed, Narayan, Lord Chaitanya came in the mood of Srimati Radharani, Lord Chaitanya would see Krishna himself, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his supreme ecstasies of separation, he would lay on the stone and the stone would melt. And we can see the very impressions of his body, his hands, his head, his knees, his feet, his entire body melted the stone. How special is this place? In fact, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would come here every year for that fifteen days, feeling the immense separation of Jagannath until just before rath yatra and often times when the devotees would request things of Lord Chaitanya, which he did not desire to do, he would threaten to leave and go to Alarnath.
I was left with nothing. And I was thinking, “Ok, what am I supposed to learn from this?” And I got a wonderful lesson, as the Bible says, seek and you shall find. I was thinking that compared to the incredible wealth that I gained, sitting on that rock, learning from Mother Ganga every day, all the wealth and power and prestige of this world is like peanuts. People lie and cry and die for these peanuts. But they do not recognize that at any moment, the monkey of another person's greed or the monkey of death is going to snatch all of our precious peanuts away.
I also saw a Mother Ganga because it was a very, very rapid place, and the waves were going very fast, and it was so beautiful. I was thinking, just seeing her current is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. It's a work of art. But at every moment, it's changing. It's never the same. It's always different water, it's always a different shape. And similarly, that's the way this world is. Nothing is stable, everything is changing constantly. But the real beauty of life is through all these changes of the waves and the whirlpools, the underlying current of truth never changes. And if we can connect ourselves to the beauty of that truth, and we can be stable, through all the unpredictable uncertainties of life.
My first day, I sat in meditation and prayer for several hours. And then a holy man wearing robes with long gray beard and hair, came out of the forest and was walking in my direction. His robes were flapping in the breeze for Mother Ganga. He walked right up to me. I stood up to greet him, his first words, he said, “You do not know who I am. But I know you. I have been watching you. And I see your determination. Now take off your western clothes and offer them in Mother Ganga. And I will give you the robes of a sadhu.” I asked him. “What is the Sadhu? First time I heard the word.” He said “a sadhu, who is a homeless wanderer who's seeking spiritual truth.”
Now, for those of you who know, the social dynamics of the jungle, there is a historical hatred between Tiger and Deer. It's worse than anything you could imagine. You know, we think we have problems with Palestinians and Israelis and there's so many problems between people and religions, problems between people with races, even in our own families there are so many problems, they are the same religion, they are same race. But the reason why tigers and deers are such enemies is deer is the favorite food for tigers, and it's not the Tigers go to the supermarket and just buy some freshly packaged deer. As soon as they see a deer, they pounce on it with their teeth, they bite their necks, kill them, the deer struggling and struggling and struggling in a slow painful death. And then the tiger eats its flesh and drinks its blood.
Talk by HH Radhanath Swami at Wisdom of the Sages Retreat, Bhakti Center on 10 Jun 2022 by Radhanath Swami
It’s ekadasi so… it’s pandava nirjal ekadasi. Previously it was the standard that people would, practically all devotees would not eat or drink anything on ekadasi. That was the standard. No eating, no drinking. Even many would not sleep. No eating, sleeping, drinking, they would just chant all night long. They would chant and read all day and chant and read all night. That was the proper ekadasi.
This chanting is like the filtering of water. When you filter dirty water, it simply brings it back to its original natural state. This chanting, cleanses our minds, cleanses our hearts, and restores its original, sacred, blissful condition. Ananda, we are naturally happy people. It's totally unnatural, foreign and artificial for the soul to be an any anxiety or any unhappiness. So how many of us are in our natural position? But that's what kirtan can do.
The things that disturb us so much, we don't even remember in a day or two, to keep our mind focused, what is real love? What is our real potential to love? How we can connect to that love and share that love, whether on politics, or business, or industry, or engineering, whether we're artists, or an agriculture or teachers, or monks, the important thing in life is our dharma. And if we focus on our dharma, and we will not be disturbed by all these little fish, we just let them pass. We do the best we can to deal with situations, but we do not become distracted from our purpose. Our purpose is to love God and to love each other unconditionally.
If we have unity, we can create unity. If our mind is in conflict, if our mind is not balanced with our body, and with the needs of the soul, then there is a fundamental disunity in our life. And when there are so many dysfunctional people, they may be simple people in the streets, they may be big, big politicians, big, big industrialists, but if they are not in harmony with their own consciousness, if their mind, body and soul are not one in interest in purpose, if they are not unified, then there's problems. There could be no real peace, there could be real no happiness, there can be no real love. That is what yoga means - simply to unite to unite the body with nature, that is Hatha Yoga; to create unity within the mind and the body that is pranayama; to create unity with the mind and the atma, that is Jnana; to create unity between the soul and God, that is bhakti; that is the complete yoga system, unity. And in that unified condition, we can actually express that natural innate love that we have found in our own life in everything we do in the world.
That the process of Krishna consciousness begins when we associate with sincere devotees of the Lord, when we hear them speak. An ordinary person who speaks Krishna katha, cannot have any potency in his words to awaken your dormant love for Krishna. Nor can impersonal philosophers. Only a genuine vaishnava, who was humbly endeavouring to be the servant of the servant of the Lord and repeat his message in a mood of devotion only such a person does Krishna agree to appear within the sound vibration of his words. When such a person speaks, it awakens faith within our heart. And when we associate with such persons that faith is nourished and gradually it awakens within our heart our natural inclination to want to be Krishna conscious, to want to serve the Lord, to want to please the Lord.
This experience made me contemplate how it's so easy for us to focus on our differences. But what this leper woman taught me is if we look deeper into our own selves, into the world and into others, we will find that beyond the differences in nationality and religion, in gender, in appearance, in race, in health or disease, there's something essential that we all have in common the souls inherent capacity to love.
In the world we live in today's, people have been so distracted from a meaningful, purposeful or happy life. Because there's so much propaganda that success comes from the quantity of what you have, your money, your power, your fame, your knowledge in regard to intellectualization and in the pursuit of quantity people forget that there cannot be happiness in ourselves nor can we give happiness to others unless we have a quality life. Essentially, everyone is looking for pleasure. The Brahma Sutra tells ‘anandamayobyasa’ it's something every living being has in common, the insects, the birds, the beasts, every category of human beings is looking for pleasure. And part of this pursuit of pleasure is to avoid pain because pain disturbs pleasure.
Life is like a rainbow, a multi-colored, multi-splendared thing in which the joy of sunshine and the tears of rainfall are reflected equally. When we see the whole picture of the sky with the rainbow, we can appreciate it. Similarly, the real joy of life is not simply when everything goes our way because things will, no matter what we do no matter what we gain things will not always go our way. The only constant thing in this entire creation is change. Everything is changing. Our bodies are changing, our loved ones’ bodies are changing, there's birth and there's death, there's victory and there's defeat, success, failure, happiness, distress, pleasure, pain, honor, dishonor, health, disease. We cannot change the nature of our environment but we can change our consciousness.
As I was sitting on the bank, I thought that this river has been flowing throughout our history. She was flowing here when Alexander the great came to India, through the centuries of the Mogul empire, through the British empire, through all the changes of after Indian’s independence, everything's changing around but she just keeps flowing to the sea. In a similar way, in this world despite all these changes if we just attach ourselves to that flow of truth, which is eternal and we'll find real peace.
They worshipped the deities in the way they worshipped the devotees. There was not a differentiation. In India sometimes people who are senior or people who are Pujaris, develop a certain type of pride that they have a special service and certainly, Pankajanghri Prabhu and Jananivas Prabhus had the most special service of the senior most pujaris: personal direct intimate servants of Krishna and Sri Radha in our whole movement. But as servants of the servants of the servants, they had such unfailing respect and appreciation and eagerness to serve each and every devotee: senior devotees, new devotees they loved to serve. In fact, Srila Prabhupada himself, he gave the ultimate compliment to Jananivas Prabhu and Pankajanghri Prabhu together, he said, “all they know is loving devotional service.”
When I arrived in Mayapur, every evening, I was staying in the Lotus building Jananivas Prabhu would come and bring me Maha Prasad cookies and milk and we would sit and talk for about an hour, about Srila Prabhupad, about Mayapur Dham, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu pastimes with his devotees, it was just wonderful. And this was a highlight of the whole day for me. So one evening, he came. He gave me the cookies and the milk and we spoke about Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda for probably an hour and a half, it was so wonderful. And at the end of the discussion, I said, “I'm just so grateful to be with you Jananivas Prabhu.” And he smiled and said, “I'm not Jananivas. I am Panjanjanghri, his brother.” That was our first meeting. We embraced. I was crying. I mean, I didn't even know that Jananivas Prabhu had a twin brother.
Sometimes when people ask me, “what does it mean to be humble? because there's so much arrogance in the world today.” One explanation of humility is just to be honest. ‘I am completely dependent on so many gifts that are coming from God and from so many gifts that are coming from God through so many people and so many wonderful gifts of nature and to be grateful. An arrogant heart cannot be grateful. An arrogant heart always feels ‘I deserve something else I deserve to be more. I'm more. And we can have a pretense of gratitude but it's not real. In gratitude there's joy. If you think you deserve something great and then you get it, are you grateful for it? If you really don't think you deserve it and somebody gives it to you, you're very grateful.
There are so many problems both in the way humans are living with such enmity toward each other, such enmity toward other living beings, slaughter houses, cruelty has. It's considered normal in Kaliyuga. It is due to pollution within the in ecology of human hearts. When through yoga, through the practice of our spiritual path, we clean the ecology of heart of selfish passion and greed, envy, anger, illusion then naturally it's like a cloud that dissipates so that the light of the sun can shine freely, the light of the sun of the soul, a part of God, God's grace can shine through us in everything we speak, everything we do. And unless we clean this arrogance and greed from our own hearts, then it's unsustainable to try to clean the environment because the pollution outside of ourselves is simply a manifestation of what is within human hearts.
I've been in this little body of mine for 64 years; I've never seen any of these things give any sustainable happiness to anyone. And according to the scriptures that is a correct analysis. What are we looking for? We're so distracted, bombarded by these weapons of mass distraction constantly. So many promises if you have this, you'll be happy; if you get this, you'll be happy. But the Bhagavad-Gita teaches us very clearly all these acquisitions and the need for them is like putting fuel on a fire. The fire never is satisfied whether you're a millionaire or a billionaire or a trillionaire or a quadrillionaire…
Sri Rama Navami - Talk by HH Radhanath Swami at Govardhan Eco Village on 10 Apr 2022 by Radhanath Swami
Jamuna has descended from Goloka Vrndavana in to this world, especially to assist in the loving pastimes of Radha and Krishna and specially to bestow pure love of Krishna upon everyone. When we approach Jamuna devi, we should first before touching her waters, we should sincerely bow down our heads to the ground and then we should sprinkle three drops of water on top of our heads. Then we should sip three times the water of the Jamuna and then with as much devotions as we have, we should faithfully enter into the beautiful waters in the Jamuna. Do not try to judge Jamuna by our material eyes. We must see through ears. We must understand the purity and the sweetness of this great opportunity to enter into Jamuna’s blessed water through the words of Krishna, all of the great saints and all of the great scriptures.
In fact, anything great, is difficult, cheap things come easily. If you want a cheap relationship, then everything will be easy. But when it becomes difficult, then the relationship is broken. But if we really want our relationship to have deep substance, deep meaning and deep fulfillment, difficulties have to be endured. And how do we do that? From the day of marriage, and throughout our lives, to deeply within our hearts, accept that our relationship is based on a higher principle than either of us. Because the nature of the mind is sometimes, we like each other and sometimes we don't like each other; sometimes we're happy, sometimes we're angry.
You are feeding the poor. By watering the root of the tree, everyone is nourished. So, everyone's very quick to criticize as soon as you do something for Krishna. But if you do something for your own sense gratification, everyone just accepts that this is normal life, this is expected, this is how you should live. So, Polimara Swami, he is a very simple man. He doesn't have a single piece of jewelry on his own body. But for Krishna, diamond crown. Srila PRabhupada said that when you decorate Krishna beautifully, you lose all desire to decorate yourself. Because you find so much more satisfaction because Krishna is the enjoyer. If you don't understand how beautiful and wonderful the taste is, of decorating Krishna, then you'll think “oh, how enjoyable it is to decorate my own body.” It is the higher taste.
When he is pleased with us, he can endow us with the powers. But if we become proud, if we think it is my power, if we start to try to enjoy the glory which comes, through whatever Krishna has given us, then Krishna who is independent may anytime by his mercy withdraw it and even if we are a greatest tapasvi, he can make it so that we cannot even control the grossest temptations of our mind and senses. Even though we are brilliant scholars, Krishna can make us a fool within a second. Krishna can take away our power to speak, our power to sing, our power to see, our power to walk, our power to breath because we are always dependent on Krishna.
We see in their house very beautiful deities of Gaur Nitai, Jagannath, Baladev, Subhadra, very nice sadhana. Not only do they perform their occupational duties in a very honest and exemplary way, but also, they come to the temple practically every day, eager to chant, worship the deities, render service, always eager to serve vaisnavas, invite them to their homes; devotional service, in any varna or any asrama, is the perfection of life. Therefore, sincere and honest devotees are not so concerned with simply the external appearances, but they are concerned with the aspiration that a person has in life. If people are living by the regulative principles, according to their varna and asrama, with the motivation of devotional service, that is worshipable by everyone.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu brought the whole world together ratha yatra to join hearts, while we chant the holy names: hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare, hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare. And Srila Prabhupada, in the spirit of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s supreme compassion, he brought the mission of pure devotional service, the spirit of Vrindavan throughout the world and he established ratha yatra’s not only in almost every city, but in places like Mumbai, so many ratha yatrass in cities and in doing so, bringing all of us together to chant, to dance, to hear Hari katha, to take Krishna’s prasadam.
. Sukadev goswami, he learnt from his father Vyasadev, the Vedas. He took all the Vedic literatures, the four Vedas, the hundred and eight Upanishads and those beyond that, eighteen Puranas, there are so many other Puranas as well, these are just the principle ones and all the Histories and Itihasas and all the Dharma shastras, Jyotirveda, Dhanurveda, Ayurveda, Vastuveda, so many literatures, fast. And he knew the Vedas, not only of the earthy planet, but of heavenly planets and beyond, and he took the essence, the very very essence. The most important enlightening stories which illuminate the highest perfection and that is Srimad Bhagvatam. Therefore, it is the paramhamsa-samhita. It is the scripture for those who are really, only interested exclusively in the essence, that is Paramhamsa.
So today, because of Srila Prabhupada's great desire, there are now millions of people all over the world! In South America, in Russia, in Africa, in Australia, in North America and in Europe, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, in the Far East, devotees are gathered to celebrate this most auspicious day of Phalguna Purnima, the day that Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared. Let us offer a prayer that we can truly with grateful and humble hearts dedicate our lives to receiving this beautiful gift and in the mood of a servant of a servant to share this gift with each other and with the whole world.
The intoxication of spiritual happiness that was showering upon everyone is something that's inconceivable. Just by speaking about this pastime, just by hearing about this pastime with a sincere and faithful heart, we can be transformed forever. As they were all singing and dancing together, Advaita's sons were rejoined with him. Jahnava Devi was seeing her beloved Nityananda again, after so many years. In the Bhakti Ratnakar and Narottam Vilas, this beautiful story is described in great detail. And then, they all disappeared and everyone could understand that the lord in separation, they were forever connected with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And then Jahnava Devi, in a simple way, she cooked for all the devotees and arranged the serving of all the devotees. And she arranged a Holi festival, where everyone would see the deities installed beautifully, sprinkled with natural colors. And this was the first Gaura Purnima festival.
To the extent we taste a drop of love for Krishna, to that extent we feel happiness and a compassion, where it's painful to see anyone without that. And a devotee has no false ego, to impose something on others. A devotee sees that this is the true potential within all people. A devotee wants to remind us of what we have forgotten that we're all part of Krishna and that loving service to Krishna is our dharma, our Sanatan dharma. And in this age of Kali, simply by taking shelter of Krishna, through the chanting of his names, that love is awakened but yet, practically no one was taking this message seriously, everyone was so distracted, distracted by scholarship, distracted by the pursuit of wealth and followers and even happy people were trying to just protect their ever changing fleeting happiness and people who realized the sufferings that are imminent in this world, they were striving for impersonal liberation.
The Srimad-Bhagavatam extolls this principle that the supreme dharma, the very essence of all religion, is loving devotional service to the Supreme Transcendent Godhead. Such service must be unmotivated by any type of arrogance or selfishness and uninterrupted by any type of circumstance or obstacle that may come before us. It is that type of love only that completely satisfies the self ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt and it is that love that everyone is ultimately seeking. For the soul, there's only one pleasure, to feel Krishna’s love and to share Krishna’s love and that is the pastime of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Kaviraj Goswami tells that Lord Chaitanya with his associates, the Pancha-tattva, they broke the seal of the treasure chest of love of Godhead. When Krishna appeared at the end of the Dwaparyuga with Sri Radha and the vrijvasis, they experienced and revealed to the world the intimate pastimes of Vrindavan. But when they left, that treasure house of love of God in that mood was sealed. Very rare could anyone penetrate that seal. But Lord Chaitanya, who is Krishna himself with a compassionate spirit of Radha, the mother of all living beings and we are all her children, the Pancha-tattva broke the seal. And Krishna along with his eternal associates from the spiritual world, took the roles of devotees to teach by their own exemplary lives, the way of tasting the sweetness of love of God.
It is glorifying Kaliyuga in this way but in an entire day of Brahma, out of the many, many Kaliyugas that come, only one time does Krishna personally reveal his pastimes of Vrindavan with Sri Radharani and the gopas and the gopis. And only once in a day of Brahma, among many Kaliyugas, does Radharani and Krishna come in one form rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam for the purpose of not only giving love for Krishna but giving the opportunity to love Krishna as is eternally experienced by the residents of Vrindavan.
kamala dala jala jivana tala mala. Govinda Das has taught us this eternal principle which is really at the core of all true religion that everything that we identify with and possess in this world, our body, our fame, our accomplishments, our family members, our loved ones, friends, our property, everything, their nature is like a drop of water on a leaf of a lotus flower. At any moment, that drop will slip away, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām, there is danger at every step. Whatever solutions we make to the temporary problems of this world, it is our duty to try our best to do that. It is our duty while we're having this human experience, to harmonize that human experience with loving devotional service to the Supreme Lord.
At such times Lord Chaitanya would glorify his devotees. Sometimes it says he would be so enthusiastic to glorify those who were lovingly serving him that it appeared he had five mouths, sometimes many months. In the case of Vasudev Datta, who was willing to suffer perpetually, so that you and me and everyone else could receive the happiness of Krishna consciousness. It says Mahaprabhu spoke with tears flowing from his eyes, with his limbs trembling, as if he had thousands of mouths, he was appreciating his devotee. To see from Lord Chaitanya's perspective is to get a glimpse into how dear and how important Srila Prabhupada and his sacrifice of compassion is to the lord, how precious, how rare and sacred it is to each and every one of our lives.
Grand Ultadanga Inauguration Talk by HH Radhanath Swami on 21st Feb 2022 by Radhanath Swami
An Answer To Every Question with HH Radhanath Swami with Italian Translation 10 Feb 2022 by Radhanath Swami
72nd Bhakti Tirtha Swami Vyasapuja offering by HH Radhanath Swami 26th Feb 2022 by Radhanath Swami
Now, if we take this same analogy and bring it to a spiritual platform, a purely spiritual platform, the higher principle is that we all have relationships that every living being is a part of God. To forgive is necessary for any relationship to survive.
Like a driver in a car, the atma or the soul is within this body and we can't keep the same car for very long in this world, we have to trade them in. so, similarly the atma or the soul doesn't die at the time of death. And the nature of the soul is we're part of the supreme soul or God, who has many names in many religions, in our religion we call Krishna. But there's one, just like there's one sun in the sky but has different names as it rise in different continents.
Mother nature teaches us many lessons. What is a diamond? A diamond which is the queen of jewels is nothing more than coal that's been under a massive amount of pressure for a long time. And gold, the king of metals, it's purified with fire. So, stress can make us something beautiful if we learn how to manage it properly. And as you said that means to accept stress with a grateful heart and to actually learn the art of growing through that stress. In order to do so it's important that we have a strong foundation. Because in life storms will come for everyone. Where there were little Swami's without a bank account or billionaires, whether were PhDs or never had an education, stress and the storms of life are inevitable for everyone. They come in different ways but the effect is same.
That Absolute Truth, Krishna, his body, his form, his personality, his pastimes are eternal, full of knowledge and the source of the highest happiness. ‘sarve sukhino bhavantu:’a person who is following the vedic path or the dharmic spiritual path, prayer is let all beings be happy. And the highest most inclusive happiness is prema, ecstatic love., ecstatic love for the supreme all attractive lover, who has many names. The name Krishna means all attractive, and therefore is inherent within all other names of God.
Our sadhana should very much be inseparable from empowering and preparing us in such a way that we could really be instruments to help others be Krishna conscious and at the same time, in helping others to become Krishna conscious, Krishna is pleased. ‘yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo’ Prabhupada is pleased and then what? Then our sadhana actually becomes substantial. When we're pleasing the Lord through our outreach, then when we sit down to do our sadhana, Krishna is pleased with our efforts. So, spreading Krishna consciousness and awakening Krishna consciousness are inseparable parts of our life.
Srila Prabhupada often quoted ‘paṇḍitaḥ sama-darśinaḥ,’ a great devotee sees everyone with equal vision and therefore feels for everyone and wants to give them that opportunity that is inherent within every soul, to know and love Krishna. Advaita Acarya as we have explained, he's Maha Vishnu. Vrindavan Das Thakur explains he's Sada Siva, the original Shiva who lives in Vaikuntha. He's the original purusha or the creator of the whole cosmic manifestation and yet, he is feeling himself unqualified to give pure devotional service, in the mood of the residents of Vrindavan, to the people of this world. Advaita Acarya was feeling so much transcendental suffering in his heart due to compassion. He was regularly giving classes in Shantipur from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Bhagvad-gītā. But he believed only if Krishna directly from Goloka Vrindavan descends to this world, can he spread the Yuga Dharma of the chanting of the holy names of the Lord in a way that people can receive the highest benediction of Vrindavan bhakti.
Flower Festival Lecture by HH Radhanth Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty on 29th Jan 2022 by Radhanath Swami
He said “because my body is already difficult enough and my servant is already, so much weight for him to have to carry it. It is not possible for us to bear the burden of this one rupee. It’s just too much weight, too much inconvenience for us to have to carry it.” And then he looked at the man and he said, “you have so many lakhs of rupees, what kind of burden you have to carry throughout your life? This is not a burden of physical weight; it is a burden of mental weight.” So, this is what it means, by simple living and high thinking. It does not mean that we have to be poor but according to the Bhagavatam, Queen Kunti says akiñcana-gocaram, that Krishna you are the property of only those who are only poor in heart, those whose minds and hearts are not cluttered by all of these complications, but one who lives a simple life and accepts a very humble position, utilizing whatever we have, for Krishna.
It is a fact, the less we have, the simpler and more peaceful our life is. This is simple living and high thinking. What you require, have it, live comfortable, make ends meet but the suicide of our consciousness is I have become rich, now I need more and more and more and more, I could afford more and more and more and your consciousness becomes less and less and less.
There is a simple analogy of a bird in a cage and the owner is so preoccupied decorating, cleaning and making the cage a nice place that he forgets about the bird inside. The bird is starving or like so often, in my travels in the world, I see little girls who are dressed very nicely and have all sorts of toys and other things but the parents have no time to give her the love that she craves. So preoccupied with the externals, they don’t know the needs. So the little girl looks pretty but she lives in misery. Bhakti is the process of reconnecting with that energy of divine love that is inherent within all of us, to actually experience the love of God.
Usually, people who have that type of power, practically absolute power when you are a king of a massive kingdom and all the citizens loved him because he ruled with such compassion and he had no ulterior motives. He was really there for them because in the vedic system everyone is a servant no one is a master. Only God is a master, even God likes to serve. So, everyone is a servant. King means you give your life to serve the subjects you have in your kingdom and the subjects are serving each other and serving the king, everyone is serving. The guru is serving the disciples, the disciples are serving the guru. jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa, everyone is there in the spirit of service that’s spiritual consciousness.
Brahma does not give up his position, he does not give up his family but he does everything for the service of Krishna. He understands fully that it is only the shelter of Krishna that will give us any real purpose or happiness in life and this must be our conviction, whatever our paticular status or situation may be we should never be deluded by Maya to think anything but the shelter of Krishna’s lotus feet will give me any real meaning or happiness in life.
Satsang Program By HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj at ISKCON Chowpatty 23rd Jan 2022 by Radhanath Swami
A kanishtha adhikari, according to Srimad Bhagavatam is the lowest platform one who worships the deity but does not offer honor, respect and service to the devotees, that is devotional service but it is on a lower platform, because Krishna says, mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā, worship of my devotee is what pleases me the most. If we offend the devotees, the vaishnavas, then do you think Krishna will like to see us when we come to worship him on the altar? Not at all. So, worship of the deities is one of the five most important principles of bhakti according to our Gaudiya Vaishnava system. But it is crucial, it is essential to have proper etiquette in dealings with others, for the deity to be pleased.
Satsang Program By HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj at ISKCON Chowpatty 08th Jan 2022 by Radhanath Swami
The Story of Sindhutai Sapkal by HH Radhanath Swami https://youtu.be/abmsniEmfh0
How I became a mother of 1000 orphans by Sindhutai Sapkal https://youtu.be/2IcEY6KHptk
HH Radhanath Swami meets Sindhutai Sapkal https://youtu.be/BnGfmoaycbI
Taken from the New Year Meditations talk on 01st Jan 2021
Full Video at https://youtu.be/Wc-fgYM6vL0
this New Year's Day, is in truth an opportunity to commit ourselves to making that commitment every day. Otherwise, time will steal it away. Sometimes when we begin our endeavours on the path of bhakti or whatever it may be, we're very enthusiastic because it's new and it's meaningful and it's fresh. But as time passes, we start taking what we once considered so rare, unique and sacred, we take them to be relatively ordinary and when we lose our scope of the sacredness of what has been given to us by Krishna, by God, then what happens is we become very distracted by other things which really don't mean much of anything, just passing flickering little pleasures. They come and they go, we have a mental misconception that they're giving us pleasure, but then it's gone. Unless we appreciate the sacredness of the gifts of bhakti, they will be distracted by all of these other things. ‘kali-kāle nāma-rūpe kṛṣṇa-avatāra,’ ‘golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana’ The Supreme Lord has descended into names. Radha Krishna have descended in their Divine Names. How sacred is that? All the wealth and power and fame in this entire world we cannot take with us at the time of death but if we could chant Radharani or Krishna’s names even once sincerely and take shelter, that one moment of seeking shelter of the sound vibration can liberate us forever.
On this day of New Year's is a time to really reflect, to renew our vows, to make resolutions that we will we will interpret our past, apply in the present and move in the future. In such a way that we're moving toward the light of Krishna’s grace. In the story of Jagai and Madhai and so many others, when we suffer darkness, we can have a greater appreciation of light. In this last year, most of us probably have loved ones who have been ill or who have died. Economically there's so much uncertainty; politically, so much unrest; racially, so many upheavals and individually, so many are locked down, isolated. Like everything, it will pass, the good times pass and the hard times pass. As Srila Prabhupada’s dear son, George Harrison said “All things must pass.” But how are we growing as they're passing? That is the real question in our life. When we hear from the great saints and from the scriptures, we establish faith in a goal in life. The greatest goal is not just to have better resources in a world where we will soon die, it is not liberation, salvation from suffering forever. The very essence of the Vedic literatures and all great scriptures is the greatest goal is ‘premā pumartho mahān’, to awaken the love that is dormant within us, to awaken our true potential as spirit souls.
Love for God, love for Krishna is within the heart of everyone. The greatest utilization of time is to engage in ways that awaken that love. Through the way we interact with other people with character, with compassion, the way we engage with the environment through respect and gratitude and through the way we cultivate the deep experience of our own spiritual connection with God, through our Sadhana, through chanting God's Holy names, through hearing the glories of the Lord. The essence of Vedic literature Srimad Bhagavatam was presented to us in a context that is so relevant.
If Krishna tells us “Time I am”, this gives us an understanding of how we should respect time. Because time is an energy of God, a manifestation of God. To appreciate Krishna, to appreciate how he reveals himself to us is how we make spiritual progress. When we come before the altar, within a temple, we're very careful what we speak, what we do, how we relate with other people. For many we bow down when we come before the altar of the temple. Because we understand God's presence is especially there. In 11th chapter of Bhagavad Gita, Krishna personally declares that he is time. That means each moment is God's gift to us. And we have the freewill to reciprocate with that gift. That time in the day, to hear about, to glorify, to render loving service, to remember the supreme lord, then with every rising and setting of the Sun, we come closer to eternal life.
Her passing from this world was so perfect. Yamuna Devi never wanted fame, she never wanted prestige, she only wanted seva, selfless service. At Bhakti Vedanta hospital she would call me regularly and say, “I am leaving this place.” She was still in critical condition. I said, “Why are you leaving this place?” She said, “Because too many people are serving me, I don't like to be served. I like to do things myself.” I said, “But if you'll leave, you'll die”. She said, “Better to die than to accept so much service.” This was her nature. I said, “Don't you understand, please understand that the… they see Srila Prabhupada in you more than they have ever seen him before in anyone. By your accepting their service you are connecting them with Srila Prabhupada. You are doing the greatest service to them.” She said, “Really?”, I said, “Definitely! You can ask anyone.” She said, “Alright then, to serve them I will stay.” It was just the way she would want to go. After being with some of her favorite loving people, the youth of our society and having kirtan she went to take rest and then she got up and with her Japa mala in her hand sitting down totally absorbed in the sweet sound of the Holy names with no one but Prabhupada and Krishna and Radha with her, she left.
This quality of “Saragrahi” is the perfect description of Yamuna Devi. She offered unconditionally, in total absorption, her body, her mind, her heart and her very soul in everything she did. Srila Prabhupada again and again would plead with us to take this Krishna Consciousness very seriously, how Yamuna Devi took that instruction as her heart and soul, in everything she did. Some examples; in 1966, she went to twenty-six, second Avenue on the invitation of her sister Janaki, to be there for her marriage and Srila Prabhupada gave her the instruction, first time meeting, to help him cook. He taught her cooking. How seriously did she take that first little seed of an instruction? Not only did she become the most accomplished cook in our whole society, she wrote a cook book called ‘Lord Krishna's Cuisine’ and with that name her cook book became the number one international cook book of the year. Her cooking became the standard of our whole society. She cooked with such meticulous precision to every single detail. I am remembering once when I went to her home in Saranagati for prasad, her and Dinatarini devi prepared, I think there were six different flavoured chapatis. Each one so unique, so absolutely delicious. I didn't even know there was such thing as ‘flavoured chapatis’. They were all natural, organic and absolutely intoxicating.
All the trials and challenges that we may be enduring today and all that we will inevitably endure in the future are being addressed in the Bhagavad-Gita. Krishna begins by explaining the nature of the true self, the jiva. ‘na hanyate hanyamane sarire, na jayate mriyate va kadacin’ that the eternal soul is never born and never dies, it is not subjected to the forces of nature or time. But the forces of nature and time are so powerful, this maya which is based on the interaction of the three modes of nature with time and the karma, the various actions that are accelerated by that combination, it's very difficult, it's very impossible to overcome. To control the mind, to control the senses, to overcome fear, lust, envy, anger, greed, illusion, these forces from all around us and within us are very difficult to overcome. This is very much the essence of the Gita. Krishna explains how material nature works, he explains how we become bound up by Karma, how we're always being consumed at every moment we're being destroyed by time, but we can easily overcome it if we simply do one thing, take shelter of him. That is this essence of the Gita to take shelter of the lord.
Srila Prabhupada would quotes, dina-hina jata chilo, hari-name uddharilo, tara sakshi jagai madhai that even the most hardened cruel demons like Jagahay and Madhai can be transformed by the power of God's names. Nityananda prabhu, he saw that potential in their hearts and they became saints. In the same way Srila Prabhupada when he traveled around the world 12 times, he saw that potential in everyone's hearts and so many people became transformed. And in the same way through our sadhana, our spiritual practice and through our prayer and practice, we should cultivate seeing that potential in everyone and in each other. I am so grateful to my Guru Maharaj Srila Prabhupada for inspiring such a wonderful family as all of you and we should never forget this ‘that we are a family. We should each and every one of us take serious responsibility to speak and behave properly, in such a way that it will inspire true devotion and true happiness in each other and it will create a happier, more united family.’
If we're in a particular specific role as a leader, where people are under us, sometimes like a parent, we have to correct. But when we're just looking in all directions and finding, you're gonna find if you look for. Srila Prabhupada and all of our acharyas taught us how to appreciate also, because in this world not everything is don't go the way we want them to go and that's Krishna’s grace because if it did, we would make no progress. We are meant to relate with other vaisnavas on a higher level. Srila Bhakti Sidhanta Sarasvati Thakur, when he would see devotees finding faults with each other, he would sit them in front of each other face to face and order them tell me the good qualities of this person. Very difficult! When you're having this kind of conflict and you're a leader and you have other people following you, you have a big ego, ‘oh that's pretty bad.’ But when Bhakti Sidhanta Saraswathi Thakur orders, “I want you to speak the good qualities of this person.” You have to and after a while they're speaking, they realize actually the person has a lot of good qualities and yes! There's things I don't like but that's not what we're focusing on unless that's our specific service to do that for that person. So, for our community to really grow, we must be very very strong and empowering each other to perform our sadhana properly, to perform our service with enthusiasm but that's not really going to happen unless we empower each other to give up our fault-finding tendencies, in other words to be grateful.
‘a brahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino ‘rjuna’ Krishna says, ‘you can perform for many, many life times of sacrifices and austerity and ultimately attain the supreme heavenly planet of brahma loka, and you can enjoy there for billions of years but ultimately you will fall down as soon as your good karmas is exhausted and then when you are again in the body of an insect or some lower creature. what is it that you have gained through all that you have done? Nothing. Everything has come and gone, like a dream. And only thing you have to show for all your lifetimes and lifetimes and lifetimes and lifetimes is the time that has been wasted. All of the austerities and then enjoying the fruits of austerities and through the whole time your mind has simply been bewildered in forgetfulness of the real goal of life, which is to attain the mercy of Krishna, which is the only ways and means to eternity, knowledge and true bliss.
We should know that if it was not the instruction of guru maharaj, you could not be doing anything. Therefore, it is the greatness of guru maharaj who is giving me the instruction, the direction and the strength to do these things. It is not my greatness, it is the greatness of Krishna coming through guru and they deserve the credit. We should become humbled and grateful to whatever he has praising me, guru is so great that he is allowing me to take the credit to what he is doing. Krishna is giving me credit for what I am doing, that should make you more humble, because He is doing.
When he arrived in Puri he went to the Singhadwaram, the lion gate which was the main entrance to the temple. Just when he arrived, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was there with his associates about to come in the temple. Gangadhar Bhattacharya offered his prostrated obeisances, his wife offered obeisances. The Lord was so very very pleased to see them, he placed his foot on his head and said “now, please go and see the lotus eyed Lord Jagannath, he will fulfill all of your desires.” He went before Lord Jagannath and he prayed, “if it is your desire Lord Jagannath, please let us have a son who will propagate your glories in this world.” Later on, Lord Chaitanya told Gangadhar Bhattacharya that Lord Jagannath has heard your prayer and it will soon be fulfilled. And then Lord Chaitanya told his associates that “very soon a child will be born by the mercy of Jagannath, his name will be Srinivas. I have empowered Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis to compile literatures expounding the glories of Bhakti, the highest level of transcendental realization and I will empower Srinivas to distribute these literatures of Bhakti throughout the lands.” He went home and very soon after that the full moon night of the month of Vaishakha, she became effulgent with a child within her womb. Soon the child was born and he was given the name Srinivas.
Srila Prabhupada would sometimes say, it is in one purports in his books as well, that ”the real purpose of the Krishna consciousness is not simply to defeat people on argument, reason and logic. The real purpose of this Krishna Consciousness movement is to induce people to chant the holy names of Krishna, because it is the yuga-dharma. It is the means by which anyone; everyone could experience love of God.” Srila Prabhupada had that faith in the names of Krishna. And on the basis of that faith, he was able to alone, with no facility whatsoever, open 100’s of centres, distribute millions of books and touch the hearts of millions and millions of people; not only in his own life, but in generations to come.
If everyone around us is aspiring for humility and devotional service, whatever pride we have, we feel contaminated by it, right? If everyone is proud, saying about what they do and if we are in those people's association then we feel very comfortable and very well nourished with our pride. “You have done this..you have done this..you have done this..you know what I have done? Ha! I have done like this ..you have done like this? ..Ah! I have done like this. You think Oh! I am right up there with the big guns.” If you are with that association, you just nourishes or feeds your pride. But if you are in the association of humble people, who never talk anything good about themselves and are always glorifying others, then as soon as you are talking good about yourself, you just feel contaminated. You think, “Oh! my God really I am falling.” Its a fact, so if you want to be humble, you have to seek out the association of devotees who are striving for humility and then naturally your motivation for humble service will be properly directed. Otherwise, you know we become completely, all this distinction and positioning and all these things, so contaminated, when we are striving for that. “Gopé-bhartuù pada-kamalayor däsa-däsänudäsaù” we only strive to be the servant of the servant of the servant. Two people are doing the same thing but what is our motivation? That is the difference between the pride and humility.
By the chanting of the holy name, by the hearing of the Bhagvatam, by rendering devotional service, all of this pride is removed providing there is a motive if we performing these devotional activities. You must in your in your devotional activities you must assume the position of a humble servant and you must, when the if you desire the prestige and recognition, Krishna will give you that, but He is just giving you enough rope to hang yourself. Therefore, we must by hearing properly, by hearing sincerely, we are constantly reminded that our position is to only aspire for “das das das anu das”, our aspiration, our goal of life is to attain the lowliest servant mentality at the feet of the vaishnavas.
We know the story of in 1922 his first meeting with Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur. He was given an order, "You are an intelligent young man, take this message of Lord Chaitanya and spread it through out the wolrd in English language." At that time, he was married and he had just had a child who was a baby and no one had ever succeeded in the history of the world to successfully spread this message beyond the boundaries of India. Srila Prabhupada posed his questions and he was very eager to tell us how happy he was to be defeated by his Guru Maharaj. And from that moment, he took this order as his life and soul. Even though it was 11yrs later that he got initiated. In 1959 he had recurring dreams of his Guru Maharaj Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada beckoning him to take sannyasa for this specific purpose. Sep 17th, 1959 Srila Prabhupada took Sannyasa at Mathura at Kesava gaudiya math and Interestingly Bhakti Pragyana Kesava maharaj asked Srila prabhupada to give a lecture. That doesn’t often happen that the people getting initiated are asked to give a lecture. And gathered there were Brajvasis, people who speak brajbhash, hindi, bengali. There was hardly a few people there, who knew a word of english. But Srila prabhupada very enthusiastically gave a lecture in english. Because Prabupada's life and soul was to please his Guru maharaj. He didn’t consider material concepts.
So, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He made Vasudev Ghosh and his brothers, every single year in Puri, the leaders of one of the seven kirtan parties during Rath yatra. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would dance to his kirtan. In Navadvip, they were in the house of Srivas, singing and dancing. They were intimate associates of Nityananda Prabhu and we read when Lord Nityananda with His devotees went to Panihatti, the Ghosh brothers led a kirtan that drove Nityananda Prabhu and everyone mad in the ecstasy of love. So Vasudev Ghosh, he has written many beautiful poems and prayers about his experiences with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They encapsulate the philosophy which is the essence of all knowledge and all Vedas.
Prabhupada writes “of Lord Chaitanya’s associates.” Prabhupada writes it that “Swarup Damodar Goswami never came to Vrindavan. He is Lalita sakhi. And Gadhadar Pandit who is Radharani never came to Vrindavan. He wanted to come with Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya, but Lord Chaitanya said no you have given your vow of kshetra-sanyas to serve Gopinath in Puri, you cannot come with me. So many of the top most, Ramananda Rai never came to Vrindavan. But their hearts were in Vrindavan. Wherever they went they manifested Vrindavan.” So Prabhupada was explaining and not only did he speak it but he lived it, that really being in Vrindavan is serving the holy dham which means serving the will of Radha and Krishna.
We all have so much, we all have such opportunity. Why do we waste it all by corrupting ourselves by giving into these vices? Ravana was a Brahman’s son, he was wealthy, he was powerful. He had a beautiful wife, chaste, faithful, he had everything, and more than what everyone could want. But he was envious of God and he fell victim to his lust and because of that, he lost everything. Similarly, we are all pure spirit souls. And we have all every possible opportunity to attain supreme perfection in our lives and be really happy. We have unlimited spiritual wealth within us. But the down fall – is we give in to our mind and senses’ demands – lust, envy, anger, pride, greed, illusion and how they could destroy our lives, how we could lose everything we had. How we could we lose all these most precious opportunities? And as devotes, we are given so much warnings just as Ravana. How important it is to take these warnings seriously? We see it all around us even in this world, of how giving into these powers of maya can just devastate a person’s entire life - materially, socially, spiritually. Mandodari is speaking to Ravana, is speaking to all of us too. Because we all have those Ravanas within us. The good dog and bad dog. Rama is speaking, Ravana is speaking. We have the choice.
Questions And Answers With HH Radhanath Swami at Vaikuntha Cultural Centre 19th Aug 21 by Radhanath Swami
So, every time you pass a test by taking shelter of Krishna, you reach a slightly higher level in Krishna consciousness which means to graduate to the higher stage you are going to have to pass more difficult test and if you want to go higher, you have to pass another more difficult test and if you want to go higher, you have to pass an even more difficult test and if you want to go higher, you have to pass more difficult test and if you don’t want to, then you have to fall over the way down to the bottom again. You are ging to flunk. You are going to get back grades. Either you have to pass or fail. You don’t get any where unless you passing the test you don’t get any where. So, we should expect “ohh I did it!” You should think “ohh I did it. Now I should prepare for something even more difficult” and it will come inevitably by God’s grace until you graduated it.
When Arjuna turned away from Krishna to his own ego, he was suffering, he didn’t even know he is suffering. It was Krishna’s mercy that let him know he was suffering. People who are totally intoxicated by the darkness of ignorance, they think they are enjoying in this material world. And it’s Krishna’s grace when they sober up and realise, “I am suffering” and they turn to the light. They turn to the light of the God’s word coming through guru, sadhu and sastra. And we turn to the light of the God’s words and our whole lives are illuminated.
So, Lord Chaitanya he really showed Vaishnavas etiquette and one of the most classic examples is Ramachandra Puri, he had offended his own guru, he was an envious person. Because of his offense to his spiritual master, his love in life was to critise others. Maya is so strong. According to the particular modes of nature, people take pleasure in such amazingly variegated ways. His pleasure in life was to condemn and critise and he was criticizing all the devotees and then he went on propaganda attack against Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. But because he was his guru’s god brother and he was a Brahman and he was a sanyasi, Lord Chaitanya respected him. It’s actually amazing. He said, “You eat too much.” So, lord Chaitanya said, “Cut down all my Prasad, he is saying I eat too much, just a handful of rice is what I need.” Hare Krishna! Devotees were tortured by this. But still he showed honor and respect, etiquette. Why in such graphic situation? Because it is not a detail, it is essential.
Similarly, Sudama Vipra, he wasn’t an inter universal celebrated sage like Narada Rishi. Sudama Vipra was just an unknown brahman. Just living in Porbander, outside of Dwaraka. Absolutely poverty stricken from the material sense. Can you imagine the best thing that he could bring to Krishna was a little cloth bag of chipped rice? That’s the best he could get. And yet when he came in to Krishna’s palace, Lord Krishna stood up, put him on his own bed, washed his feet and Sudama brahman, he offered that beautiful prayer, “Who am I? just a very fallen, poor hearted Brahman and who are you? The supreme personality of godhead, the god of all gods, the husband of Lakshmi and yet, you are honouring me. Why?” Krishna is making a very powerful statement of how crucial it is to be respectful to others.
People who are completely against this movement, but because their child has become a devotee, they are naturally dear to them, even though they may be offensive and everything else, and in this life for the next they all become devotees. They ultimately, they all liberated and Go Back To Godhead, undoubtedly to the extreme of Hiranyakashipu. In the same way the Nagapatnis, Prahlad Maharaj was always praying to his father, always preaching to his father. And because of those prayers and because of his natural affection for Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyakashipu was liberated by the Lord himself. So, if you love your parents, if you love your aunties and uncles and if you love your children and if you love your all other people of that are near and dear to you who are telling you “oh! Please come home,” if you really want to help them, you become dear to Krsna you become a pure Vaishnava like the Nagapatnis or a like Sarvabhauma and to the degree you become dear to the Lord, everything dear to you become dear to the Lord. And Krsna will give special affection, special attention and guaranteed he will liberate them. And to the degree you surrender your life to Krsna, to that degree he will take special concern of everything in relationship in your life.
Even Srila Prabhupada, “yes, the third world war will purify this world.” To them, they just see the third world war, these bombs are just Krishna’s lotus feet, just dancing on the head of this Kaliya like society, the serpentine society full of venom and poison. And ultimately those feet are meant to just purify through the agency of this type of suffering, purify humanity to the point where they realize – “Krishna I am Yours, I surrender.” And while the bombs are dropping the devotees are singing kirtan, playing Mridangas and showering flowers on Radha Gopinath. This is compassion. It is not cruel. hard heartedness. It is compassion; because real compassion is to pray that every soul can find the supreme joy of taking shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Krishna because even so called pious prosperous conditions of society still everyone has the face the terrible tragedy of the pain of death and everyone has to see the horrible death of all their loved once around them. No matter how nice society is, no matter how peaceful and clean the air may be. This place is a place of suffering. Only taking shelter of Krishna is the relieve. Therefore, a devotee welcomes any opportunity to become purified by the lotus feet of Krishna. However, he decides to dance upon our heads. And as Krishna is dancing upon our heads we are simply more and more and more taking shelter of him.
Srila Prabhupada 125th Birth Anniversary Day at ISKCON Kolkata 31 Aug 2021 by Radhanath Swami
But you know, Amogha being very agile and young, he ran for his life and Sarvabhauma was chasing after him, beat him severely and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stopped Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya- “Just give me more prasad, I am still hungry.” Then Sarvabhauma- “oh! Alright! then I will give you more prasad.” This Amogha, because his offence, there would be a reaction. Krsna must punish a person who offends His devotee, what to speak of offending Him Himself? So, within days, Amogha counteracted sever cholera and he was in such a painful suffering condition, terrible, he was in more of a bit agony, lying on his bed at the verge of death, helpless and hopeless, no one could save him. And Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was thinking, “very good. It is the suitable reaction for what he has done.” Such a Vaishnava was Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya! Because he had spiritual vision.
This Sraddha is the gift of Guru, you have to protect it. You have to share it with others. You can’t expose it. So therefore, preach that person that this offense of the vaishnavas is very serious disease. I can’t listen to this. Look at all the good qualities of that person has, every vaishnava has millions of good qualities but also a few defects. Why should we look at the defects? Why should we do like a fly? The person may have beautiful healthy body, but if there is one tiny little infectious sore in the body, where will the fly go? Only to that infectious sore, completely neglects all the beautiful healthy parts of your body and just go to that and sucks it and drinks it and enjoys it. So, this fly mentality, you must understand and it’s contagious.
Offenses that are serious against our spiritual life are not innocent mistakes that we make. But offenses are even though we know better, we misbehave. Those Krishna will hold us to very severely but just innocent mistakes Krsna will over them. What is your intension? What is your motive? “Krishna sees from the inside out. Man sees from the outside in.” We see a first what a person does and we judge him by what he does. But Krishna within your heart He sees what is His motive, what is his aspiration and He sees what you are doing from back vision. So, if you honestly, humbly trying to serve the Vaishnavas but you make mistake from they are displease with you, for Krishna that is a humorous thing, because you are sincere, when you see that displease with you, you are corrected and then you will do it their way. That’s not an offense.
Why as soon as we become devotees, why don't we just become pure souls and go back to Godhead? For the same reason, because Krishna wants to see the quality of our love. He wants us to develop the quality of our love, then love is developed through the process of sacrifice and if we didn't have to undergo the tests of lust and anger and envy and pride and greed and illusion and all these horrible things that are within us, that we have created ourselves to all of our previous births, we have created the condition of our consciousness but Krishna wants us to face all of these testing elements within our life and with faith and conviction and determination and with trust in the guidance of the great soils and faith in his words, he wants us to pursue to work, to strive, to sacrifice for him. And when he sees that quality in us, then by His mercy, he very gracefully awards love of God to us. You see, love of God is not something that you can acquire. It is already within you, but you'll never find it on your own. It is only when Krishna reveals it by his own sweet will that you can understand where it is. And he reveals it when he sees that you have qualified yourself through sincere devotion and sacrifice, through passing through so many tests, then you have showed your love for him.
Maharaj Pariskhit could have done anything his last seven days, but he chose to think of Krishna, to chant and hear His glories. So, let us make our life a beautiful, a wonderful, a meaningful life. A life that is no longer subject to fear or anxiety, a life that is constantly devoted to remembrance of the all beautiful, all merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead, by remembering Krishna we become purified from within and without and for the pure soul, there is only the mercy of God that he sees in every step of his life and therefore he is always peaceful, he is always in a state of love, of compassion. He is always tasting the ultimate beauty of life and that gift is available for you today if you accept it. How to accept it? It is very simple, by surrendering to Krishna, by chanting His name, by following the words of the great souls, that is all Maharaj Pariskhit did, he simply heard from Sukadeva Goswami and followed his words and chanted the name of God, that same benediction is yours.
Balaram Jayanthi Festival Class by HH Radhanath Swami on 22nd Aug 2021 by Radhanath Swami
Kaliya was as envious, was as ferocious and was dangerous as any of the other. It is described that he had thousands of hoods and hundred and one prominent heads they were filled with poison and fire who was massive. He completely poisoned the whole lake of Vrindavan and he actually did more damage than the other asuras. Because the other asuras in Vrindavan Krsna kill them all but he never really harmed anyone of the Brajavasis. But Kaliya killed all the cows and cowherd boys. By drinking the poison of the waters, they all died. Krsna by His merciful glance had to bring them to life. Such a terrible terrible envious asura. But Krsna, He could easily killed him like others but He gave Kaliya special mercy. He danced upon His hoods and caused him so much pain and suffering again and again and again and again that ultimately Kaliya surrendered to Krsna and became His devotee.
bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvata. It is only by pure Bhakti that Krishna can be understood as he is. It is only love that binds the Lord. No mystic power, no cultivation of knowledge, no exhibition of ecstatic symptoms none of these things are in any way attractive to the Lord. Only humility, devotion and love. gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ. Caitanay Mahaprabhu has taught that us we should only have one aspiration in this world to be the servant of the servant of the servant of Sri Krishna that’s all. And that aspiration has to be our goal beyond everything else in this world and drita vrata that firm determine vow to follow the order of guru, to humbly become the servant of the servants of the Vaishnavas and to be willing to sacrifice anything and everything for that position of the servant of the servant of the servant of the servant, that is the price of Love of God and Krishna will not accept anything less than that. That is the fact.
The example is given here of watering the root of the tree. Automatically whole tree is nourished. In that same verse from Bhagvatam it is explained that if you feed food to the belly automatically every limb of the body is nourished. If you simply give food to the stomach, then your whole body will be nourished. Your hands, your legs, your eyes, your brain, your feet, your lungs everything. But can you approach your belly directly? Is it possible? You can only get food to your stomach through your mouth. Krishna is the belly. His dear devotees are like the mouth. Unless you offer to them, unless you please them, unless you satisfy them, whatever you do will never reach Krishna. ‘yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi’ So, it is this type of determination is resolute purpose that is necessary. Krishna consciousness is achieved by the mercy of the Lord. Only when we want that state of love, when we want that state of service to the Lord through his devotees more than everything and anything else in the world, if there’s anything that you consider more important or a priority to Krishna, you will never see Krishna until you finally realize that Krishna is everything all in all.
This is very important to understand that when a man is about to die, in such a short time as seven days, it’s our conditioned human nature to become fearful. How is it and why is it that Parikshit Maharaj had no fear? Because he had faith. Faith is the gift of the Supreme Lord that can destroy all fear and all suffering of this world. What was Maharaj Parikshit’s faith? He had faith that the words of the great vaishnavas would give him eternal life. He had faith that simply from hearing as a humble servant from Sukhadeva Goswami that he would be given eternal life at Krishna’s lotus feet. That was his faith.
Srila Prabhupada asked us to do two things: just receive what I'm giving you and share it with others. It sounds simple and it is simple but still, there are so many distractions, so many temptations, so many fears in this world, trying to divert our attention. To receive what Srila Prabhupada has given us means to hear, to understand it, and to apply it to our life. The chanting of the holy names, the following of these moral regulative principles, to actually live with the character of a Vaishnava, in many ways, it's to swim against the current of the river of material existence in this age of Kali.
Prabhupada said, “the Titanic was the most modern, indestructible ship ever made by human society and in its first voyage it was destroyed, thousand people died. Compared to Titanic, what was the Jaladuta? Little cargo ship. old cargo ship.” So, from that, when Krishna was this, like this morning walk was 1976 in Mayapur. Now Srila Prabhupada he had the biggest publishing house of books of the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam in the history of humanity, more books had been distributed of the Bhagavad Gita than ever before. He had over hundred temples thousands and thousands of completely dedicated devotees. Krishna gave him. But Srila Prabhupada, he just continued to give these fruits of love of God. “patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ, yo me bhaktyā prayacchati” if one offers Krishna, even a little fruit, a leaf little water, or a flower with devotion, Krishna accepts it and if it's offered with love, Krishna is forever indebted. He is Lakshminath, the husband of the goddess of fortune, but he's conquered by the love of devotee.
Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu he, he proclaimed himself to be a fruit vendor. He said,” I have so many fruits, how many can I distribute with these two hands? Whoever is my devotee I request you to help me to distribute these fruits” and what is the fruit the fruit of prema bhakti, the fruit of love for Krishna. In Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission the pancha tattva they broke up in the storehouse of love of God and they tasted it and as they taste that they were chanting and dancing and great ananda then they were distributing the contents, distributing those fruits of love of God and they did not consider who was fit or who was unfit, which place was appropriate and which place was inappropriate, whoever was willing to receive it they were giving. That is the pastime of Krishna his most magnificent….. Magnificent incarnation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Our acharyas and our beloved founder acharya Srila Prabhupada’s divine grace we're all being given a chance to participate in these pastimes. By these wonderful temple activities, by our deity worship, by our prasad distribution, our book distribution, our Harinam sankirtan, our Iskcon youth forum in our congregation, every aspect of our, of our community here in Pune is just tasting the fruits of love of Godhead and distributing to others. “mātrā-sparśās tu kaunteya” we may not feel it, we may not taste it immediately, there may be troubles in our life but for Krishna’s pleasure we continue. Srila Prabhupada explained to us that to get love for Krishna is such a supreme form of liberation.
This is Vrindavan, Vrindavan is the land where Krishna is subordinate to the love of his devotees and sometimes gopis will tell Krishna, “If you dance, we will give you one half of a sweet beat”, and they would be smiling, then they'd clap their hands. Krishna was just a little child, you just done this Damodar lila, they're clapping and they're singing and Krishna’s smiling and they're smiling. They’ll say, “We will give you extra sweetmeats” just dance Krishna, dance, and then Krishna dances. They asked him to sing and Krishna sings. Srimad Bhagavatam explains that Krishna was like a wooden puppet doll being pulled by the strings of the gopis and dancing. Have you seen puppets dance? Krishna, Sukhdev Goswami, Vyasdev says Krishna was like that, a puppet in the hands of his devotees, dancing and dancing and dancing just to give them happiness.
Relationship Between Guru and Disciple by HH Radhanath Swami at Prabhupad Desh ISKCON Vicenza by Radhanath Swami
Sri Sri Radha Gopinath's Brahmotsavam Festival 2021 Lecture By HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Deepening Our Relationship With Deities by HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Boston by Radhanath Swami
Sukadeva Goswami told maharaja pariksit that don't be attached to living a long life the trees the thousands of years. But what is the quality of their life? They are simply standing in ignorance. Sukadeva Goswami told maharaja Parikshit, “better to have one moment of consciousness of God that to live thousands and thousands of years without remembering Krishna. The duty of every human being and every human being is about to die sooner or later, the duty of every human being is to always remember Krishna, to always remember the supreme lord of one's life. so, Maharaja Parikshit sat for seven days and heard the narration of how great Souls throughout history in the most prosperous conditions and in the most trying and testing circumstances how they never forgot the lord of their life. And then he described the personal glories of lord shri Krishna's pastimes in the tenth canto, which are so beautiful so full of attraction for the souls the very fulfillment of all our hearts desires can be attained simply by hearing submissively the beautiful leela of the supreme lord. And these pastimes when they are heard from self-realized Souls like sukadeva goswami or those who are his representatives they are fills full of philosophical truths which we can apply to our life and never be bewildered and never take one step off the path of pure devotion.
The guru is the transparent via medium. Our devotion never stops at guru. He is simply taking our worship and giving it all to the lotus feet of Shyama Sundar and Sri Radharani through disciplic succession. So, Gopal Bhatt Goswami brought Srinivas Acharya and said, “Radha Raman, he is yours. Unconditionally he is yours. And I will take care of him. I will train him”. So, they set an auspicious date and the initiation took place and then Gopal Bhatt Goswami told Srinivas Acharya that “Under my order, you should study all of the literatures of Rupa and Sanatan from Jiva Goswami.” Such is the love amongst vaishnavas. No competitive spirit of this is mine and that is yours, but everything was Krishna’s, everything was Mahaprabhu’s. And we are all working together for the satisfaction of Mahaprabhu.
Day and night he remained with the Lord. And his father Venakta Bhatta was so very happy to see that his son had become attached to this great sanyasi. It was the joy of his heart. This should be the greatest pleasure of all spiritually cultured parents. When they see their child becoming attached to the great devotees of the Lord, it should give them more happiness and however nice grades they get or however nice marriage arrangements are made, because these things are all temporary and material. They have their value in life, no doubt. But the perfection of life comes about when we become attached to great personalities. So, Venkat Bhatta was very happy and he simply encouraged his son to serve the Lord. And Gopal Bhatta served the Lord in the most wonderful and menial ways day and night.
So, why do we take medicines? We are depending on Krishna, but he gives us body that is subjected to disease; ultimately Krishna can work through the medicines or not work through the medicines. And when Srila Prabhupada was sick, he called doctor Kaviraj and even if it int work, He would say ‘a blind uncle I better than no uncle at all.’ It is just a ritual of this world that when you are sick, you have to take medicine. But he was depending on Krishna but still, you have to try. When Kamsa was about to kill Devaki, ultimately it was in Krishna's hands whether Devaki lives or dies but still Vasudev did everything within his power to protect her. That was his duty. He made so many philosophical arguments, so many social arguments, so many promises. He was a pure devotee. So, a devotee must be ideal in example and devotee must live exemplary within society.
We have to cultivate this humblest position as well. It is question of our consciousness. Are we doing it for our own recognition or are we doing at his service? In the neophyte state we r doing it for both purposes. We have to chant and we have to pray and we have to desire to give up this ego. If we desire to give this ego, gradually through this process u will give up ego. But if u desire to serve your ego, then ultimately Krishna will smash u, he will smash u very hard. Just to show u that u are not the one, he is the one. But in any case, we must perform his order, we must strive internally to do it, with this understanding that we r completely depending on his mercy. We cannot give up our service that is false humility.
So, for those who are in the mood of the Gopis or in the mood of Queen Kunti praying in this verse that we are completely dependent on u; please do not leave us, we have nothing but you, Krishna never leave such a devotee. And this is our aspiration, this is our goal, this is our only purpose for living is to develop these sentiments of complete attachment to Krishna, complete dependence in Krishna, complete willingness to serve Krishna, to surrender to Krishna with no ego, no aspiration for anything.
You may think how is this possible? It is because Krishna is “Svarat,” He can do anything. And when we read about Dwaraka, we don’t read about Traffic jams. How they are bumping into each other, bumper to bumper traffic, trying to get to the sudhama - meeting house. We read how it is so spacious, it has beautiful lawns, gardens and lakes with auspicious trees and everybody is dressed in beautiful jewellery and silks, plenty room for everyone. Krishna can do anything because He is independent, anytime. He is “Svarat”. If Krishna wants to manifest his Mahavisnu form, within a second He becomes Mahavisnu and all the planets emanates from his body from His exhalation and when He decides I want to destroy all the cosmic manifestation; just inhales and everything is destroyed. Krishna can place the whole universe within His mouth and show it to mother Yashoda and He can close his mouth and appear just like a helpless child.
So, let us celebrate this year, according to the opportunities that are with us. In previous years, that were perhaps 1000s of devotees in the temple room and in the courtyard, having kirtans and having abhishekams and having lectures and cooking prasad and honoring prasad, all these wonderful things. Now, perhaps, you know, during lockdown, many people are just in their homes, perhaps in the internet or in their meditations, but there's no difference. A Vaishnava leans to adjust to whatever situation to be the servant of the servant of the servant for Krishna’s pleasure. I thank each and every one of you, each and every devotee for your sincerity, for your incredible, valuable contribution to the family of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath. And in my mind, at this moment, there is floods of wonderful forms of vaishnavas coming, springing from my heart, I am overwhelmed just remembering each and every one of you. And please know that our beloved Srila Prabhupada and all of our acharyas are always blessing you, when we call out for their mercy. Thank you.
Just like some of us, by being in the cold weather of Kumbh Mela, we are becoming sick. If we were independent, we could just say, ‘sickness go away’ and it will go away. But we are not independent. We are dependent on these material laws. We are dependent on the limitations of this body. If we were independent, we would not have to die, we would not have to grow old. We can just say – “Body remain young forever” and the body would remain young forever. We are depending on power of time. We cannot avoid it. We want to go to Delhi or Bombay, we have to go on these trains or airplanes; that means we r dependent. If we are independent; we would just say “I want to be in Bombay” and instantly u will be in Bombay.
Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami explains this internal purpose of the Lord was revealed to the world in its most perfect and complete form through the descent of Lalita sakhi in the form of Swarupa Damodar Goswami. Lalita sakhi is a direct expansion of Srimati Radharani. She is non-different than Srimati Radharani. And similarly, Swarupa Damodar Goswami is non different, he is the direct expansion in the mood of servitude of the internal ecstatic love of Sri Radha which is in the heart of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Swarupa Damodar Goswami was constant companion Lord Chaitanya and His later pastimes in Jagganath Puri. And he is the prominent figure of all Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s associates. Murari Gupta made a note book where he recorded the early pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvip and Swarupa Damodar Goswami who is the personal secretary of Lord Chaitanya recorded in his notebook the pastimes and teachings of Lord Chaitanya in Puri. What we read in Chaitanya Mangal, Chaitanya Bhagvat, Chaitanya-charitamrita consists from the basic foundation of these writings.
We learn that in Sri Vrindavan dham, in the confidential circle of Sri Radha Govind’s eternal lila Lalita Sakhi is the most confidential and prominent of the maidservants of Srimati Radharani. In fact, Sri Radha considers Lalita, Her siksha guru. In her totally selfless loving service to Srimati Radharani, Lalita sakhi is sometimes even seen to chastise Krsna in love. Sri Rupa Goswami explains the nature of the pure unadulterated spiritual love of the gopis of Vrindavan whose leader is Lalita gopi that if she would just see even a drop of perspiration on the lotus feet of Radha or Krishna, her eagerness would be of such a nature that it would be as if she accepted ten million bodies to jumped up and remove that small droplet. Her life, her soul, her everything eternally is only the loving pleasure of Radha and Krishna. And therefore, in order to enter into the lila of Sri Radha and Krishna on that level it is only possible by the grace of Lalita Sakhi.
He had so much faith in the beautiful, all attractive, all merciful nature of Lord Chaitanya, he had so much faith in the holy names of Radha Krishna, the holy names of God, he stayed on and after some time, a few followers, a little storefront, years later, I believe it was about eight or nine years later, on Fifth Avenue, the most important city in New York, the most important street and the most important city, there was a ratha yatra. The police of New York, they reserved a section of the street only for Jagannath’s chariot, 1000s of people Srila Prabhupada rode upon Subhadra’s chariot, looking out, he started this movement alone. He was looking out at 1000s of devotees and 10s and 1000s of people who were happily participating as the beautiful chariots built by Jayanada Prabhu, Srila Prabhupada’s very intimate follower, we're traveling down Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park. And every year since then, the rath Yatra has taken place.
Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his teachings to Rupa Goswami explains, ‘all the different kinds of dust and dirt that’s in the heart, the following of the four regulative principles are just a basic, basic understanding, criticizing, fault finding, all sorts of materialistic envious selfish things it’s always that we just poured dust and dirt back into our heart. It’s Krishna’s heart. It’s not our heart. It’s Krishna’s temple. It’s not just our home. And when we understand and recognize that, tapasya, tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ, the basic purpose of human form of life is to clean our hearts, in our Vaishnava character, in our enthusiasm to serve and in our enthusiasm and determination to perform our sadhana, we must follow in the footsteps of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his devotees in the cleaning of the Gundicha temple. That is our sacred duty.
This is the type of nama sankirtan that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu presented to the world, Naam Sankirtan. It’s not just a performance, when we actually enter into the true mood of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his associates chanting and he’s inviting every single one of us into that spirit. tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ, when we are chanting in that spirit, then our hearts become one in love. There is transcendental communication, there is transcendental affection between us. You see the ultimate communication is love and affection. That’s the only communication that Krishna accepts, that’s the only communication there is in the spiritual world is the communication of the love that we have for Krishna and the love that we have for each other in our service to Krishna.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu understood that ratha yatra was coming in just two days. He called for Kashi Mishra, the superintendent of the temple and Sarvabhouma Bhattacharya. Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami explains it in this way, ‘he asked their permission if he and his devotees could clean the Gundicha temple to prepare for Jagannath’s arrival.’ This is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s nature. He is asking their permission. Kashi Mishra and the others, “you are the supreme independent supreme personality of Godhead.” This is what they’re thinking. “Whatever you say is our order. King Prataparudra had already told them, “Anything that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu wants, do it. That is the first priority of the entire kingdom to satisfy his every desire.” And he was saying these things even though Lord Chaitanya was rejecting him, he was not allowing the king to see him. This is the unconditional nature of King Prataprudhra’s devotional service. There was nothing fruitive.
So, he read Chaitanya Charitamrita again thoroughly and upon seeing how Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was utterly defeating in logic and argument on scriptural basis, the Vedantists in Bemaras. establishing Krishna as the supreme Godhead, the cause of all causes and explaining the completely pure transcendental nature of his pastimes, he pondered and mediated and prayed deeply on the teachings and mercy of Lord Chaitanya. And instantly, within his heart was revealed the highest realms of spontaneous ecstatic love of God. That was the time in his life, when Lord Krishna wanted to reveal his original identity and his original mission in this world.
But by the arrangement of the Lord, Bhaktivinod appeared in his youth to always be striving and searching for higher truths. He was educated in British schools and he became a great scholar and in his search for higher truths of life, spiritual realization, he deeply studied the Christian scriptures and developed great love for Lord Jesus and then he studied very deeply the Quran and had wonderful realizations of that particular approach to the supreme Godhead and he was reading so many of the great philosophers, both eastern and western, he was studying the Vedantic teachings of Sankar and other great scholars, acharyas of India and abroad. And he had a very very broad broad spectrum ok knowledge but his thirst for truth continued to lead him on into deeper and higher studies.
Bhagavad Gita is teaching us how we could always remain disentangled from the unlimited illusions and intricacies of material bondage, if we keep our mind fixed on this goal. Bhakti Vinod Thakur says in that prasadam prayer that the senses are a network of paths leading to death. The word ‘network’ is very interesting. What is the work of a net? That is network. The work of a net is to trap you. And nets are designed in such a way that the victim does not see it until it is trapped. It is like you see at beach, the fishermen how they fish with these nets? They just throw the nets in the ocean and they just let them sit there and the stupid fish they just swim right into the net.
Lord Nityananda Prabhu, who is freely distributing Krishna Prema through Krishna Naam and Bhaktivinoda Thakur explains in his beautiful song that the only price he was asking for this great treasure is our faith. There is nothing more precious than faith. And in the wrong association, Maya will steal that faith from our heart. We should protect our faith, with more attention than we protect our bank balance, our families, our own bodies and our own lives. We are very attentive in these subjects, but they will perish any way in due course of time. But faith in the Vaishnavas, faith in the Guru, faith in Krishna will lead us to eternal love, eternal satisfaction. Therefore, that is real wealth.
Offering by HH Radhanath Swami on 75th Vyasa Puja of HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj by Radhanath Swami
This is the nature of the true associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Onetime Srila Prabhupada was in his beautiful luxurious quarters in Los Angeles and he told to one of his disciples, “Do you remember that little simple room I had in Radha Damodar?” he said “I long to go back there.” He said, “but that would be sense gratification because my Gurudev wants me here.” We must follow in the footsteps of such great souls and learn to be selfless. We are not concern with our own liberation, we are not even so much concerned with our own spiritual advancement, we are concern simply with pleasing Gurudev, pleasing the Vaishnav and pleasing the Krishna, by living pure, by following the regulative principles carefully, by regularly hearing Srimad Bhagvatam, by attentively the holy names and with the mood of simply trying to please the Vaishnavas, we should be willing to do anything and everything.
One must be humble like a blade of grass, grass we step on it, we spit on it, sometimes we do all other things on it. To be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant then a tree; ready to offer all respect to others and to expect none for ourselves, only in this consciousness and in no other consciousness can we constantly chant the holy name ‘kértanéyaù sadä hariù.’ And it is because Haridas had such humility that he simply wanted the remnants from the Vaishnavas that the Lord gifted him with the power to constantly chant the holy names, Hare Krishna hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare,
Prabhupada in his prayers on Jaladuta, he is praying for this power that I have no words. If You give me the words to speak then they will understand and Krishna gave him the words to speak.” Even people who could not even understand his words, their hearts were transformed just by the sound vibration, incredible. People surrendered to Krishna without even properly understanding Prabhupada’ words, just the sound of his voice transformed their hearts because he was so absorbed in Krishna, he was taking shelter of Krishna.
Your life means, you have nothing else. Without life, what is the use of family, what is the wealth of wealth, what is the use of reputation, and what is the use of anything if you have no life? Life is the basis, to take the order of the spiritual master as one’s very life and soul. Soul is your eternal identity. That means we live only for that. Everything else in our existence is simply to facilitate that, the order of the spiritual master. That’s what means to take as life and soul.
Yoga is the science of cleansing the heart and tasting the joy of living in harmony with God, with all other living beings and with nature.” I said to this Minister that, “I can assure you that even if you clean every River and every ocean and every grain of ground and the whole sky, if it's not paralleled with cleansing the values in the human heart all this pollution will all come back again and again and again.” When she heard this, she was actually very happy she said, “Yes! we should work together.”
Offering by HH Giriraj Swami And HH Radhanath Swami on Memorial Program of HG Mahaprabhu Prabhu by Radhanath Swami
Importance of Humility in the Life of Spiritual Practitioner by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
One Sanyasi, a very great Gaudiya Vaishnava was telling me, “That real opulence is renunciation. That is the highest opulence for a devotee.” He said “when you see a King with a crown and you see a Sanyasi with a danda, which is more opulent? The Sanyasi. This is real opulence. This is real beauty in the eyes of one who is transcendental in vision.” So, of course this does not necessarily mean that we should all become Sanyasis. But we have to have our standards properly focused in life. We have to know that Bhakti, love is the real standard of success and material sense gratification is the standard of degradation. Whether you are a King living in the wealthiest conditions like Maharajas Yudhistir, Maharaj Priyavrata, Maharaj Rishabhadev, they were glorious Kings but they were not attached. They were attached to God. They were accepting those facilities only in their service to the Lord. You don't have to give away these things. But we have to give away our worldly attachment for sense gratification knowing that it is the most stumbling block and obstacle for our advancement in devotional service.
So, in so many ways I was trying to find that through social exploration, through revolution, through counterculture and eventually I came to the conclusion that even the greatest people that I deeply respected on all levels, the foundation in which they were trying to change the world was from a spiritual ideal, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and so many others. There was a spiritual basis that they were trying to share with the world, they weren't trying to take something, they were trying to give what they have found in themselves.
This is Sanskrit. It means “the supreme dharma or religion is to love God. That love must be to the degree it is unmotivated by any selfish egoism and uninterrupted by any circumstances they may come upon us. It actually satisfies the heart.” In my travels studying different faiths and so many other things, I found that in every spiritual tradition there are those who strongly believe and profess that ‘my way is the only way and anything that's possibly outside of my interpretation of scripture and tradition is dangerous to the world and must be as far as possible eliminated.’
Krishna tells the peace formula, the easy process anyone can attain peace is just to understand three things that God or Krishna is the proprietor of everything. That means we are the caretakers of sacred property, to be used for a sacred purpose and everything is meant in the spirit of surface samsidhir hari toshinam, to harmonize our body, mind, words and life in such a way that were pleasing to God. Pleasing to God means being of service to God's children, isn't that what pleases any mother or father? And recognizing that ultimately God is the supreme object of our love and we are the supreme object of God's love.
Offering by HH Radhanath Swami on the Memorial Program of HG Pankajhangri Prabhu on 11May2021 by Radhanath Swami
10th Anniversary of Sri Govinda Dham by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on 30Mar21 by Radhanath Swami
True dharma is the path of cleaning the mirror of the heart. This chanting of God's names in our tradition we chant “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare.” There are many names of God. It's meant simply to clean the mirror of the mind, so that the ecology of our hearts becomes clean and in that state we see ourself.
Early this year I spoke in the House of Lords, close by in the British Parliament and I gave a talk, but one thing I said everyone actually applauded. And afterward people came up to me, Dukes and Duchesses and Princes and Princesses and Lords and Ladies, they were coming off and they were remarking that one sentence I spoke how much it moved them. It was such a common-sense thing. I was actually really amazed that people were affected so much by this sentence, it's such simple common sense. Should I tell you? I said, “You can understand how rich you are by counting how many things you have that money cannot buy.” That really affected people.
When we address these issues, how to clean my own heart, the inner ecology of humanity is the state that the external ecology of the world is in. so, to be the change we want to see in the world, we try to clean our own values, our own character by connecting with our own inner state of life, of consciousness, of love. And then we make choices, big choices are small choices, integrity is to apply the principles we hold sacred in our life to the way we live. And a meaningful life is when we're even willing to make sacrifices and endure hardships for a higher cause.
The path of yoga teaches us our relationship with nature. According to the Vedas mother earth, mother nature is a feminine aspect of the divine. And like a mother she is providing everything for all of us at all times. What is the love of a mother? None of us would be alive without the love of a mother. A little baby is totally helpless for protection, for food. The mother nourishes us in so many ways and similarly mother nature gives us the breath that we breathe, the rain that brings water to drink, the grains and the vegetables and the fruits that we eat, the sunlight that keeps us alive, we're totally dependent on nature and interestingly we are made our bodies are made of the same substance as the world around us. It’s the mixture of earth and water and fire and air, yes? That's what our bodies are made out of, can we see the interconnection?
That this world is a place of misery and there is no science, there is no technology, there is no philosophy, there is nothing that can change that. And to try to find lasting pleasure in a place of misery is like trying to keep dry when you are drowning in the ocean. It is simply not possible. There is no chance. Pleasure in this world, Srila Prabhupäda used to say, is really just a temporary relief from the anxieties but they come back again and again and again, and we can make all our endeavors and all our arrangements, but nothing works. We can conquer all directions, become great kings, but the same basic sufferings will be upon you if you are just a beggar in the street. There is really not much difference. There is slight difference in form, but in an essence, the same miseries are for everybody. But Krishna consciousness is the ways and the means by which we can understand that there is something beyond this material nature, and it is accessible to everyone by the grace of God.
You are probably thinking that I am the exception, if I just had more, I would be happy; if I was just more popular, if was just more beautiful, if I just had more money, if I just had a nicer house or a better running car, if I just had more influence and power over others’ lives, my husband or my wife or my friends then I will be happy. Off course! But Lord Brahma who had created you and has created all the paraphernalia that you are trying to achieve in life, he is authoritatively giving his opinion, “You will never be happy. You will be in anxiety and will be filled with lamentation because you are avariciously basing your undertakings on the perishable conception of my and mine.” This is an irrefutable, unchallenged fact of the world. But still, we are striving for some material solutions thinking that I will be happy.
But chanting from the heart means ‘I am chanting because I really want to purify my heart, I see so much lust and envy and anger and pride and greed and illusion and anger, I see all these things. I don’t want it. I want to wipe it away, I want to wipe away all these attraction and aversions and attachments and upadis, I am sick of them, I am disgusted with them, they drag me birth after birth after birth after birth away from Krishna and they are doing it again. Even despite I receive so much, still these material attachments are pulling me away from Krishna, contaminating my mind. I don’t want it anymore. Krishna! save me! I want to be your pure devotee. I want to be an instrument of your love.” And in this spirit, we really cry out the Holy name, we cry out the Holy name to cleanse us, to save us, to save us from Maya, to empower us to become pure.
Prahlad maharaja offered his wonderful prayers, after hearing transcendental knowledge from Narada Muni, he told Narasimha Dev, that “who else can I serve my beloved Guru Maharaj and through his Guru Maharaj, he was serving all living beings.” Lord Narasimha Dev, he offered Prahlad any benediction. Prahlad Maharaj, he said, “If I ask anything from you, then I'm not your devotee. then I'm just doing business with you. I only want that there be no material desires, no egoism or selfishness to the very core of my heart, because then, pure love, pure devotion can shine through me.” When a devotee asks for no material desires, it's because he wants nothing to obstruct his humble selfless love from shining. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, in his beautiful sikshashtakam, he revealed the heart of Prahlad and all the great mahajans and the aspiration of every true devotee.
'I Breathe For India' By Lara Dutta & Shayamal with HH Radhanath Swami on 09th May 2021 by Radhanath Swami
'Help India Breathe' by Jay & Radhi Shetty with HH Radhanath Swami on 01st May 2021 by Radhanath Swami
In the mother's love, sometimes lacks certain psychological logic. When Hiranyaksha was killed by Varaha Dev, his mother, Diti was weeping in agony that she lost her child, the nature of a mother's love. That so often in this world it's not appreciated and even in spiritual society, oftentimes overlooked because there's no apparent immediate results. Yes? in every services we really see the result, and everyone you know, Malati Devi, you know announces what you've done and everybody cheers. Everybody around, you have accomplished this, you made this beautiful garland for the deities, you dress the deities so nicely, you made these delicious offering, such good prasad, you distributed so many books and it's such a good lecture, you lead such a nice kirtan, you know in mother’s life, we may not see results for 20, 30, 40 years. But yet the very foundational fibre of the society is based on how our children grow up.
Unless we understand the gravity of this situation around us, there is a plague of ignorance which is causing every living being to die. This plague of ignorance in this world, one hundred percent of the population is dying of it. But Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, has come with the medicine, enechi aushadhi maya nasibaro lagi’ hari-nama maha-mantra lao tumi magi. It is desperate, it is urgent, it is an emergency. Read these wonderful books of our Guru Maharaj, seeking shelter, come to associate with devotees, dance, chant with them, hear Bhagavat katha from them, seeking shelter, seeking refuge, knowing that there is nothing more important, give this medicine to your family members, it’s the only real thing you can give them that can bring any true happiness to their lives. In this way, why should we waste our lives if death is all around us and we are still thinking about how to pay our bills? Such an illusion.
We do not want to ask the Lord for something material, we do not want the lord to be our servant. We know that such a consciousness even if it is fulfilled our desire, it will undoubtedly culminate in a great burden of bondage. Therefore, we simply want to be gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ, the servant of the servant of the servant of the servnat. What other treasure is there in this world? Why should we spire for the things which represent death? Which means material enjoyment.
If you think that I have done this, I have renounced all of this, you see what I have renounced, you haven’t renounced anything really. Ultimately, when we are talking about poverty, it means nothing is mine. We read about great kings. They were pure devotees, living in royalty, but they were ‘akiñcana-gocaram.’ They were in poverty because what this poverty literally means?
This story is very instructive. We cannot imitate Jada Bharath. We can understand to the extent he was trying to avoid any sense of false prestige in his life, any sense that I am the doer. That is how subtle false ego is. Even thought he was on the state of bhava, as soon as he thought “I am helping someone,” he fell into illusion. We are nothing. Therefore, if we have the association of vaishnavas, if we have Gurudev’s mercy, in their association we must learn that it is all their grace, it is all their greatness, it is all their power, I am nothing.
My beloved gurudev Srila Prabhupada, he would say that real spirituality is not about being a Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew or a Buddhist or a Jain or a Sikh or a Zoroastrian or anything else. It's about cleansing our heart, it's about awakening the dormant love of God that is within us and being instruments of that compassion in our life in whatever we may do.
I remember seeing the Ganges how her waves were rippling and swirling, it was a very fast current. It was just so beautiful. She was just coming down from the peaks of the Himalayas, her water was very transparent, aqua blue, rich in color. And as I was seeing the formations of the ripples and the swirls of her waves, I was thinking, “this is the most beautiful art with color, with texture, with fragrance, no human artist could ever fully capture it and yet this art, it disappears as soon as it appears. It's ever changing. Nothing is constant. What am I to learn from this?”
So, Lord Shiva met Lord Vishnu and he said, I have heard about this Mohini murthi, I want to see this form. Lord Vishnu said, I don’t think you want to see this form. He said, No No, I want to see this form. So, then Lord Vishnu said, all right and he left. Lord Shiva was sitting and suddenly Mohini murthi appeared and she was playing with a ball and she was so beautiful. Lord Shiva was so attracted to her. He started running to catch her and she was running away. But she was running in such a way that she didn’t even seem to be running. She was just glancing at him and then look somewhere else and glancing at him.
Dasrath, although having everything and being so incredibly popular, loved and successful could not find any true happiness because he wanted a son, when he retired to dedicate his entirety of life to the service of the Supreme Lord, he could entrust the responsibilities of the kingdom to his son. Years passed and ultimately, he performed on the instruction of Vasishta muni a special yagna. The head priest was Rishya Sringa. The culmination of that yagna was the chanting of a mantra, an oblation. From that oblation, in the sacred fire, a divine personality emerged. He was holding a golden pot of celestial paysam or nectar. He gave that to Dasrath and told him to share it amongst his three wives- Kaushalya, Kaikayi and Sumitra. We know from Ramayan after three of them drank that paysam, they became pregnant. Ram, Laxman, Bharat and Satrugna were to be born.
Our whole existence is simply based upon the consciousness that has been derived from the pure unalloyed soul. Just as this sun cannot be covered and the moon cannot be covered, it can only be covered to our vision. Similarly, the soul is always pure; the soul cannot be contaminated, the soul is a part of God, the soul is perfect and complete but that transparent uncontaminated esteemed quality of the soul can be forgotten by the cloud of false ego. It is very important to understand this.
Krishna tells in the Gita, as we surrender the Lord reciprocates. Because she was yearning to serve the Lord the lord had to come. And she was sitting on a straw mat. and when Ram came, she brought straw mats to Ram and Lakshman to sit on. and she wanted to give them something. She was just wearing tree bark as a dress, she had matted hair because she had not combed her hair in years. She had nothing materially but Ram was her guest. She wanted to serve him. So, she went and collected some little berries. I think it was Kapita. Kapita are berries that monkeys like to eat. But the thing about these is if they are bitter or sweet they look exactly the same. The only way to tell is to taste them. So she wanted to give Ram sweet berries. So, what she did, she took each berry, and tasted a little part of it with her own mouth and if it was bitter, she saved it for herself later and if it was sweet she took it off her mouth and gave to Shri Ram.
So, we must like Hanuman take a very humble position in our devotional service. But Hanuman’s humility is very very interesting to analyze. He was humble, he gave all credit to Rama, took nothing for himself, he even was even willing to take a small position but he never ever ever gave up. If we think we are useless, if we think we have no qualification, if we give up in the mission of the Lord that is not humility. That is just another type of unfulfilled false ego. A humble devotee will use whatever needs to somehow or other fulfill the mission of the Lord but take no credit. Not being materially competitive to be bigger bigger bigger, bigger but will be whatever we have to be either 80 yojanas or the size of the tip of a thumb we would be whatever we have to be to perform the service of the Lord and give all glory to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Kausalya, the mother of Lord Rama very graciously welcomed them. They fell at her feet and affectionately she spoke these words, “I bless you Bharat. May you live as the king of Ayodhya without any enemies, may you live a long and healthy life and rule this great kingdom. But my dear Bharat, what happiness will you achieve in your life with Rama, Sita and Lakshmana living in the forest in exile? Now Bharat your desires have been fulfilled by your mother’s arrangement, now you can sit on the throne according to your wish.” Upon hearing these desperate words, Bharat’s heart cracked with pain. With folded palms and tears streaming from his eyes he prayed to Kausalya, “Please know I knew nothing about this --- wicked plan of my mother until I came back to Ayodhya. I knew nothing about it. I have nothing to do with it. My heart grieves as much as yours. I will never accept this throne. This throne is the rightful property of your son Sri Ramacandra. I will go to the forest and beg and plead for Him to return.” When she heard his sincere words, Kausalya’s heart melted. She offered all her affection to Bharat, apologized for her misunderstanding, she blessed him.
The residents of Ayodhya, it is described that they were singing, they were dancing, they were just joyful. eating nice prasad, distributing nice prasad, giving gifts, receiving gifts because everyone’s minds were immersed only in the beautiful form of this child, Rama. They completely forgot the miseries of material existence. As they began to grow older, it is described they began to learn how to walk and the three mothers, Sumitra, Kaikeyi and Kausalya, their love just knew no bounds and Dasaratha Maharaja, sharing that love, he was perfectly satisfied 24 hours a day simply seeing the beautiful form of Rama. Indeed, every inhabitant of Ayodhya shared the same love for Rama. As He grew older, He become most learned in the Vedas, the most expert archer, the most expert charioteer and the whole city was simply awaiting the auspicious day when he would be coronated as King.
There, shining like millions of suns, appeared Lord Narayana, descending on his bird carrier Garuda and Lord Brahma began to pray, “Lord Narayana! This demon raksasa, Ravana, is causing so much distress. You are the only one that can annihilate him.” And Lord Vishnu explained that, “I will soon come. I will appear as the four sons of Dasaratha and Ravana will be killed.” And after confirming the fulfilment of their desires, Lord Narayana again ascended to Vaikuntha and disappeared. And then Lord Brahma, ‘tene brahma hridaya adikavye’ who is receiving the information from Krishna in his heart, he explained, “All you demigods, Vishnu wants you to help him in this great battle against Ravana. So therefore, you should all expand yourselves and take birth as monkeys in the jungle of Kishkinda. And you should expand yourself with all the power and all the strength you have now. And very soon the supreme Lord Hari will come and together he will relieve the earth of the burden of Ravana and his raksasa dynasty.” At that time all the demigods left. They all returned to their abode and they all began making their plans.
But every one of you in this room is able to chant the name of Rama, correct? Repeat after me, Rama! Everyone! Raise your hands up if you cannot chant the name of Rama. If you are so sinful, that it’s not possible to chant the name of Rama? That means you all are much more pious than Valmiki was. Because he could not do it. He was trying, Narada Muni was saying, “Rama, Rama.” And he was just, he couldn’t do it! Even though Narada Muni convinced him of his sinful reactions that were coming up upon him for all of his deeds, all of his crimes, he could not chant the names of Rama. So, you know the acarya. he is not a self-righteous fanatic that says, “Okay, if you won’t chant the name of Rama, that’s the bonafide mantra. Then I am going somewhere else, I am sorry but I cannot help you.” The acarya is willing to adjust all the rules and regulations to somehow or the other make the person Krishna conscious. Now what acarya has ever taught previously to chant the name of the God of death? Can you think of anyone? What bonafide guru taught, chant mara mara mara mara. Mara is the lord of death, nobody does! But Narada Muni knew that this man is so attached to death, he is so intimate with killing, that he will be able to chant the name of mara with great feeling.
We read when the Supreme Lord appears, it is altogether different, He is not forced to take birth because of His previous karma, He appears in this world by His own sweet will. He appears in this world to annihilate the miscreants, to deliver the pious and to re-establish the principles of religion. But actually, does the Lord have to take birth himself to perform these three activities? He can do this through the agency of his devotees. He can destroy the miscreants in any way He wants, through the agency of material nature, through the agency of His devotees. He can deliver the pious through the scriptures, through the saints. Similarly, re-establish the principles of religion. The actual real reason why the Lord has to come is to attract the minds of the conditioned souls to his divine form, to his divine pastimes and to his divine Lila and the more we understand how the supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Bhagvan’s Lila is completely transcendental, it is a total spiritual experience, to that extent we become spiritually purified. And therefore, the most important activity in our life is to hear the glories of the Lord and to chant the glories of the Lord. But we must hear from the authoritative sources, otherwise you will not get the proper understanding.
Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita is the incarnation of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu along with all of his associates, it is none different than Lord Chaitany. The more were absorbed in Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, the more we are absorbed in Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nithyananda, the Panchatatva, Advaita, Srivas and Gadhadar, directly, personally, we are with Krishna, Mahaprabhu when we are reading Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita. And if we are enthusiastic in our sincere actions, then Krishna will reciprocate and actually give us the higher taste of enthusiasm.
Gaura Purnima Festival Lecture by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on 28th Mar 21 by Radhanath Swami
GBC SPT - 'Internal Mood Of Lord Caitanya' With Radhanath Swami on 26th Mar 21 by Radhanath Swami
Srila Prabhupada says that a tree, it so many discomforts in the cold winter standing covered with ice, in the summer blazing sun giving shade to others, and then Prabhupada says and even if you come and chop down the branches of the tree, or even chop the tree down, the tree doesn't even protest. Who could do that? But Lord Chaitanya is giving us an example, to offer all respect to others and not expect respect for oneself. Those two lines ‘don't expect respect for yourself and give respect to others,’ that all those two lines could solve all the conflicts in the world. Yes? We don't need a United Nations or anything. All we need is those two lines. But because we're so complicated, we just can't understand these two lines, so much conflict and even devotees who memorize those lines. We have to take them very deeply in our hearts. This is part of our sadhana. If we want to attain the sadya, this is part of the sadhana.’ rinadapi sunichena,’ ‘amanina manadea.’
It is important in order for that association to be following in the footprints of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his associates, each and every one of us has to take the responsibility to be that type of association. We both receive it and we also share it. It's not difficult. Help each other to remember Krishna, help each other to chant the names of Krishna and that's what these temples are for. We see on so many festivals, people are coming together to cook for Krishna. They're inspired by each other to be in their homes to cook for Krishna, to decorate the temple for Krishna, to come and hear the glories of Krishna. Association is so crucial to our sadhana. In the heart of our sadhana is hearing and chanting, hearing the glories of Lord, developing a taste for hearing the glory of the Lord. And that taste comes through our humility and our eagerness to serve vaishnavas, our eagerness to help people who spiritually are in need in this world. When we make our life focused in these ways, whatever our occupation or field and Krishna will be pleased. But then it's important that we give the time and the effort to hear the glories of the Lord, to speak the glories of the Lord and to chant, the names of the Lord in japa and kirtan.
When Srila Prabhupada came to America, he came to establish an entirely new frontier of preaching Gaudiya Viashnavism. No Gaudiya Vaishnava has ever been to America to establish this philosophy. It was very similar for Goswami Maharaj to go to mainland China to establish Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Movement, a brand-new frontier, a country with over one billion people, a place where religion is in out lord, communism. In Mayapur about 30 oriental people from Taiwan came to Sri Mayapur Dham, simply to have the purifying darshan of Srila Goswami Maharaj. It became one of the highlights of the whole festival for all of us to see these people coming from the Chinese nations, chanting and dancing in the temple. Srila Tamal Krishna Maharaj, during Prabhupada’s life and after Prabhupada’s departure was the puppet in his hands, to do the impossible. One of the most successful devotee communities in all of America and in all the western worlds is Dallas and Houston, large congregation, beautiful temple in both places. Those devotees there, year after year will personally trained and nourished by Srila Goswami Maharaj, two of the most important temples of our society in the western world.
In this way Radha Damodar Travelling Sankirtan Party, they had a huge city buses, greyhound busses are the biggest buses in the west, bigger than any busses in India. On bus, two busses, three busses, four busses, just bus after bus, kept expanding, each bus was filled with brahmacharis and each bus had several vans, that would go along with the bus, because there were so many devotees. And these people would just live for years out of their buses and vans, just preaching, distributing books. This way Goswami Maharaj and Vishnujana Maharaj travelled throughout the entire USA preaching, distributing books.
He met his dear friend Vishnujana Maharaj and they established the Radha Damodar Travelling Sankirtan Party. Vishnujana maharaj along with Kirtananda Maharaj established the Radha Damodar Party. They had these beautiful deities of Sri Sri Radha Damodar, brass deities, may be about two and half to three feet height. And they put them in a bus, were travelling all over America, doing cultural programs. And when the devotees wrote to Srila Prabhupada and got his permission to have the deities traveling on the bus and how Radharani and Krishna were tied with ropes so that they wouldn’t move when the bus moved, Prabhupada said, “oh! You should name him Radha Damodar. He is bound in the waist by ropes.
Goswami Maharaj had such a deep desire to please Srila Prabhupad. “yasya prasadat bhagwat Prasado yasya prasadan nagatiku to pi” he really had complete faith in this principle. He would be willing to do anything, go anywhere, take any risks, to please his beloved spiritual master. And because Srila Prabhupad saw this in him, such unconditional dedication, he personally trusted him in the most difficult, important and crucial issues of our society. It really is the perfection of a disciple. When the spiritual master has so much faith, so much trust in you that he can do anything and knows that you will never leave him, anything in Krishna’s service of course. When the spiritual master has so much faith in your integrity, your honesty, your loyalty, that he can literally entrust you to do anything, anywhere and have complete confidence. It was for this reason that Tamal Krishna Goswami was like Prabhupad’s right hand.
In Mayapur, Sripad Brahmanand prabhu, one of the senior most members of our society, with tears in his eyes, he told me the reason why Srila Prabhupad asked Tamal Krsna Goswami Maharaj to go to Mayapur, as Prabhupad knew that no one else in the whole world could do it, except him. Prabhupad gave him the money, he taught him how to tie, with piece of cloth like dhoti, to make like a money belt to around him, because he knew there will be all kinds of dacoits and robbers in this area. And he went persistently for days, although there was every type of opposition, he had to oppose our own lawyers, the people wanting to sell the land, and he convinced everybody that it must be done. And then when it came the time for the transaction, they were sitting in this little office, very little office and because it was large sum of money, the persons who were buying the land, who were farmers, they had several people with spears to guard anyone from taking the money from them and they had the lawyer from the other side, every single rupee note, they had to copy by hand, the entire serial number. It took hours and hours and hours. Finally, the deed for that property was in Goswami Maharaja’s hands and he immediately went back to Calcutta, where Srila Prabhupad was waiting.
During that Pandal program on several occasions, Tamal Krishna Goswami who is then a house holder, he preached to me in various very creative ways, so creative, I couldn’t understand. But he was very very compassionate, very kind, very loving. Of course, I did not join the movement then, I went back to the Himalayas and later by Krishna’s grace, I was living in Vrindavan and about six months later while living in Vrindavan, Srila Prabhupada came. So, I stayed with the devotees during Prabhupad’s visit. And Prabhupad every morning he would give Srimad Bhagavatam class and then after breakfast prasad, he would take devotees in morning to various holy places and lead us in Parikrama. We went to Barasana, Nandgaon, the seven temples of the Goswamis, Radha Damodar temple, we went to Mathura, Gokul Mahavan, various places and Prabhupad would tell us wonderful stories and the significance of the places, have us to do kirtans. Then, we would have lunch Prasad. In the afternoon Srila Prabhupada would sit in his room and just give darshan for several hours to guests, his god brothers, goswamis, brajvasis and friends that he had.
So, it was an impossible situation to get the books and it appeared the strike was to going to go on for long long time. The most violent, demoniac people were there to uphold this political campaign. So, Srila Prabhupada turned to Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj and said, “I want you to get those books immediately”. So, he went there and he saw the situation, how could anyone, there was like thousands of kilos of books, how do you just get it out of there? So, what to do? So, what happened is, he started going to various political parties, different ministers in Calcutta and every one of them said “Impossible! We cannot go near that strike. Nothing, nobody could reach those docks.” So, what would you have done? He could have written to Prabhupad and say “Prabhupad! impossible, it cannot be done.” But he understood Prabhupad wanted those books. This man was the very embodiment of determination, unflinching determination to serve his spiritual master.
Srila Prabhupada personally trained him, more than anyone else in our society, Srila Prabhupada through his letters, through his personal association, personally trained him in every possible detail of etiquette, of preaching, of management, of accounts and he expected Goswami Maharaj to teach what he had given him, to devotees wherever he went. When Srila Prabhupada saw how strict Los Angles temple was in the regulative principles, how enthused and happy the devotees were, how completely enliven the preaching spirit was, how the distribution of Back To Godhead was the biggest in all of the world. He was so very very satisfied. Prabhupad went to London and he asked Goswami Maharaj to not only be the in charge of Los Angeles but to start temples all over the west coast. And practically every week he was starting a new centre. Centre after centre, when he saw things were having difficulty in San Francisco, he went there and established and sent new devotees. Srila Prabhupada was so very pleased, so grateful.
Remembering HG Sruti Dharma Prabhu by HH Radhanath Swami On 10th Mar 2021 by Radhanath Swami
A devotee who dedicates his or her life in this service of Sri Guru and Gauranga, that life is auspicious and however inconceivable the passing of the devotee may be, we should understand that it is all auspicious. In Sri Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna the auspicious times and ways that a great yogi should leave this world and the times that are in circumstances that are inauspicious to leave this world. But Srila Prabhupad explains very clearly in the purport, for a devotee who is surrendered to Krishna, all of this auspicious and inauspicious is irrelevant. Because devotee is under the protection of Krishna and whatever Krishna does for his devotee is all auspicious as incomprehensible it may be to our material intelligence. We can really only understand the life and passing of great souls on the basis of our faith, in the words of the Holy Scriptures and great acharyas.
Manifestation Of Vrindavan Forest Part 2 With HH Radhanath Swami 07Mar 21 by Radhanath Swami
Why Is Spirituality Important? | His Holiness Radhanath Swami On Impact Theory by Radhanath Swami
Offering by HH Radhanath Swami on Sri Srimad Gour Govinda Swami Maharaj's Disappearance Festival by Radhanath Swami
Questions And Answers with HH Radhanath Swami (with Italian Translation) on 05th Mar 21 by Radhanath Swami
Srila Prabhupada said “I am actually not doing, you are doing.” And then he cried. Anyone who listens to this tape, your heart will melt, he was so chocked up with gratitude to all of his followers and with an appeal “please carry on the mission of my gurumaharaj.” Srila Prabhupad, who has given his life, his soul, his everything for each and every one of us, is crying, pleading with us to help him to carry it on through accepting the gift, the matchless gift of bhakti and cooperating together with enthusiasm, with all our energy and resources to share this with others. It was Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakur’s first instruction to him in 1922 – “it’s the greatest need in the world, it’s the greatest compassion in the world to spread this love of God and the eternality of the soul, give this knowledge and experience.” He took it as his life and soul then and gave his life and soul to execute it and with the faltering voice, he is begging us, according to our capacity, to chant the holy names, hear the glories of the Lord and work together, to give happiness in this world of such suffering.
Krishna will always fulfil the heartfelt prayers of his surrendered devotee. Bhakti Vinod Thakur was the district magistrate of Sri Jagannath Puri and he was also given by the Government the charge of the Jagannath Temple because there was so much corruption and unregulation there. It was in the holy land of Sri Jagannath Puri that the compassionate prayer of Bhakti Vinod Thakur was fulfilled. We are celebrating that event today which is the anniversary of the appearance of the “Ray of Vishnu”, the intimate associate of Radha Krishna in their form of Gauranga Mahaprabhu, it is on this day that Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur appeared in Sri Jagannath Puri as the son of Bhakti Vinod Thakur and his beloved chaste wife Bhagavati Devi Dasi. He was named by his father Bimala Prasad and from his very earliest childhood he was exhibiting the symptoms of the illustrious person that Krishna will reveal himself to be throughout his life.
After Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared from this world, he entrusted the dignity of his teachings to the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupada explains from the Six Goswamis was Narottam Das Thakur, Shyamananda Pandit and Srinivas Acarya, soon after that Viswanath Chakravarthi Thakur and others. But as this world has its nature, gradually everything deteriorates. The Lord has to appear again and again either personally or through his servitors to re-establish the principles of religion, paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge So, as the time went on, the pure teachings of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu which is the real true hope for the deliverance for all living entities to return to their eternal constitutional position in the spiritual world, it became corrupted and deteriorated by unscrupulous people.
Narottama Das Thakur spent his life absorbed, absorbed in relishing the nectar of the holy name and tasting the sweetness of Krishna’s beautiful pastime and worshipping Krishna’s all beautiful form and under order of his Gurudev; he went from Vrindavan back to Kethuri. And his Guru Maharaj gave him two instructions prominently. He said “You should always take the name of the Lord and broadcast in a spirit of compassion to the common people, the great message of pure love of God and worship the Lord in His deity form.” Narottama Das Thakur, he attracted literally millions of people to the path of pure devotion to the God, simply by his humble example, the purity of his Love and the profound nature of his speaking. He wrote thousands of songs, songs even today in our temples all over the world, every single day we sing his songs. In the morning, during our Guru Puja to our beloved Guru Maharaj, Srila Prabhupada we sing ‘Sri Guru Charana Padma’ which is the expression of Narothama Das Thakur’s love for his Guru Maharaj, Lokanath Goswami. It is the standard and the example.
It is a beautiful story. How Narottama Das Thakur, he was crying in separation from the Lord and Lord Chaitanya who is most magnificent and merciful incarnation of Lord Krishna appeared to him in a dream and told him to go to Vrindavan. So, Narottama who is still a child, he left secretly through the forest. His father and mother sent detectives to search for him and they found him deep into the forest, all alone, traveling by footpaths from Kethuri, which is in Bangladesh to Vrindavan, I believe it’s over a thousand Kilo meters. And he was walking alone, where will he get food? Who will protect him? These concerns never even crossed to the footpath of his mind. He wass going to Vrindavan, the eternal land of Krishna, the place that so many unlimited saints have taken shelter of since time immemorial.
Nityanand Trayodashi Special Class by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj on 25th Feb 2021 by Radhanath Swami
Nityananda prabhu took this instruction as their very life and soul. Lochan Das Thakur in one beautiful prayer, he describes how Nityananda prabhu although He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the source of Maha Vishnu, the source of all other incarnations, who is all powerful, he came with such mercy and kindness that he took the role like a human and he would go door to door and beg people “please take the name of Krishna. “bhaja Gauranga, kaho gauranga, laha gauranga” Take the name of Lord Gauranga, he has come with his mercy.”
Interesting in this world, sometimes when a person is strong, they become very arrogant. But it is only a humble heart that can receive spiritual strength. And therefore, the more we know love God, the more we are humbled by that love and in that spirit, the more we are eager to serve. Yajya, the greatest joy of the heart is to make sacrifices for the pleasure of God. And in this world, giving pleasure to God is in uplifting God's children. Nithyananda prabhu who is Balaram comes to this world to give us the spiritual strength by which we can understand Lord Chaitanya as Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and enter into His loving service. In this sense, Nithyananda prabhu is the original guru and all the diksha gurus and shiksha gurus and other forms of genuine gurus are manifestations of the mercy of Lord Nithyananda prabhu.
But Lord Varaha, what technology he has. He could roar with such volume, it’ s heard through all the different, through the 14 planetary systems from satya loka down to patalaloka, when he roar’s everybody hears it. And the sages who are right next to him, it sounded very sweet. It sounded powerful but beautiful. So, this is the Lord’s achintya shakti, inconceivable potencies. When he roared and when they saw that everybody could hear it and it was so nice, it was so beautiful. It’s described that Lord Chaitanya, sometimes he would roar when he was in ecstasy with the volume of ten million lions. It was so powerful this roar that by his yoga maya potency, he had to enter every single person’s ears to protect it from blasted to pieces. And everyone it was loud but everyone liked it, it was beautiful, it was sweet. So, when they heard this and they saw this gigantic form, they all understood ‘this is Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Varaha dev.’ Haribol!
GBC SPT - 'Sri Advaita Acarya Calling For The Lord' With HH Radhanath Swami on 19th Feb 21 by Radhanath Swami
This happened again and again and again. It was seven children in a row she threw them in Ganga. And then another child was born and she suddenly took the infant and went to the Ganga. When she was about throw him in, Shantanu could not control himself any longer. He began to weep and despair and he said “why? Why do you keep murdering your own children? How can you be so cruel?” So, she explained, that “she was actually from the upper planets, the heavenly abodes. But she was cursed to take birth as a mortal in this world. At about the same time, the eight vasus offended one rishi by accident and they were also cursed to take birth in this earth planet. So, they approached Ganga Devi and said “Please! All we have to do is take birth. Let us take birth from your womb, but promise us that as soon as we are born, throw us in Ganges so we can immediately have our heavenly abodes back and we can live in our heavenly planets.” So, out of kindness and love for them I didn’t want to see them suffer the miseries of this world but to have the pleasures of their own heavenly abodes. But now you have stopped me, you have asked me. So, I will let you have this one son, but I will leave you. Because you have questioned me.” She said “I will take this child for twelve years to the heavenly worlds and I will have him trained to be the greatest king the world have ever seen.”
He was brought up by his loving mother, nourished by constantly hearing the pastimes and the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna and His devotees. And naturally through hearing these stories in one’s youth and educated in Vedic dharma, bhakti tattva, he was developing into a person who had the highest standards of morality, the most compassionate nature and devotion to God. And anything that happened in his accomplishments throughout his life was based on the foundation of his spiritual consciousness that was given to him as a child. Prahalada Maharaj, when he was within his mother’s womb, just by hearing Narada Rishi speaking Hari Katha, he became Mahabhagavata and what an example he led in his life. And later on, he also became a great king. And he owed everything to what he had heard when he was a child from his gurudev. Parikshit Maharaj was also a great king, but when he was a child, his parents gave him the deities of Krishna and he was constantly hearing and chanting the glories of Krishna. And in this way, he developed into a king of real character, of real justice and of real spirituality for the world to follow.
So, really what saint Valentine’s day is all about for a religious person is giving up everything, being willing to undergo even torture and death in the service of the Lord. That’s what Valentine’s day represents to a vaisnava or to a devotee. But to a materialistic person Saint Valentine’s Day means following in the footsteps of the lusty birds. Hare Krishna! We see the birds mating and we think this is romance. This is something wonderful. Let me do it too, let me be like the birds. That is Valentine’s day. Human beings trying to follow in the footsteps of the birds! Hare Krishna. But at the same time, Rupa Goswami explains that ‘just as a young boy loves a young girl, in the same way if we can repose our affection in Krishna, we will achieve the ultimate perfection of life. That same propensity for love and affection if we offer it to Krishna, it is the ultimate perfection of life. That love of the heart, its nature is to be offered to Krishna.
At every moment of the day, there is great lesson unfolding before us. But we can only understand that message, if we open our hearts with humility to see how Krishna is arranging everything for everyone’s ultimate benefit, how everything is taking place in this world is most instructive? Krishna does not do anything whimsical and everything is working under his direction. Therefore, everything that takes place everywhere and at every moment has a very very specific divine purpose. And Krishna Consciousness means to try to understand this divine purpose and material consciousness means to be dull headed, to simply see things from the superficial point of view and think that the things are happening by accident or by chance or there is no real meaning or cause behind what is taking place in our lives or we become philosophical and try to speculate and concoct what everything means that is taking place around us.
This is the mission of the lord in this age of Kali yuga. So, the first thing that is required is, we must be personally very enthusiastic to come together to chant this Hari naam and must live a very pure exemplary life for others to see, we must be willing to be instruments to assist according to our capacity in whatever way to give the mercy of the lord to the suffering people of this world; by somehow inducing them, convincing them, attracting them to chant Hari naam. Srila Prabhupada said, the whole purpose of all of his books, the whole purpose of all of our preaching, the whole purpose of all our activities is simply to induce people to take shelter of the chanting of the holy name of Krishna, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Nitai Pada Kamala Session 2 - Lord Nityananda's Pastimes by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
To be congenial means tapasya. It’s going to be difficult. But when a husband and wife are congenial together with Krishna in the centre of their lives, service to Krishna, service to their children, service to the society, service to each other in reference to devotion to Krishna, then Lakshmi and Narayan are living in that house, not figuratively but for real. Lakshmi and Narayan are living in that house even if you don’t have deities, they want to live there with you because of your devotion to each other and even if you do have deities, and you spend lakhs and lakhs of rupees on beautiful altars, and getting deities made in Jaipur and calling all devotees to do the yajnas, to install Them and abhisekams, and everything else, if you don’t have that congenial relationship of oneness for the higher principle, Radha Krishna, Laxmi Narayan, They are not in your house. They are statues in your house. Hare Krishna! Because They are going to be there to accept your devotion, they are everywhere. They are in deities too but They are not going to reciprocate unless you approach Them according to Their desire.
'Flower Festival Special Class' with HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty on 30th Jan 2021 by Radhanath Swami
Sometimes even in Krishna consciousness, the persons in a position and they become so materially entrenched in that position that they think it's totally spiritual. But when the seniors say do something else, “no, no! Only I can do it. I have to do it.” That means that there's a material sense of I and mine. Tamal Krishna Goswami had the biggest, most successful devotee making preaching making project in the entire world, “Radha Damodar Travelling Sankirtan Party.” And he was the main person to develop it into that, distributing more of Prabhupada books than any other entity ever did in history and making more devotees faster than anybody in history. It was unbelievable and you can't do that without taking total responsibility. It wasn't that he was just, “Oh! Krishna, you're in control, I'll do what I feel like doing.” He was working, he was struggling, he was sacrificing, he was anything if it took total suffering, anxieties, headaches, he was willing to do it because he was responsible for it, “Prabhupada gave me this project, it's my project, I must do it for Prabhupada.” But what was the test of his pure devotional service?
I want to leave people with something practical, something tactile that they could practice or build into their lives that would help them develop some spiritual awareness. If somebody is at the starting line of this journey, this adventure and they think well awakening how do I become more integrated, how do I align my heart with my head, like these are very ethereal principles right? They're elusive. It’s like, tell me just tell me what I actually should do? Like what is a practice that I can begin that will perhaps catalyse some growth or progress in this area?
Lessons From Corona By HH Radhanath Swami at ISKON Juhu on 26 Jan 2021 by Radhanath Swami
Factually, in the Vedic civilization, when it was true, unless you were qualified to be a brahman, you did not want to be a brahman. Because it was most difficult. A brahman was not allowed to own anything practically, he was not allowed to be employed, he had to go and beg alms like a humble bagger and whatever people gave him, he had to give to the people in need. He didn’t keep anything for himself. He had to have complete control of his senses. Now, there is not a single ksatriya, vaishya, sudra who wants to live like that. Therefore, when they saw someone with such genuine characteristics, they adored him, they worshiped him, they loved him and they followed him. When they saw such humility and such compassion and such mercy, they were willing to give their lives for such great souls.
Chaitanya mahaprabhu said, “Krishna is non different than his name, nämnäm akäri bahudhä nija-sarva-çaktis, all of his powers are within his name. But then my lord said, if a devotee is chanting the holy names but offends Vaishnavas, Krishna is so displeased, that Krishna through his name may destroy you out of mercy. Krishna’s name is Krishna, he is a person. It is not something mechanical, we ,must chant in a way that pleases the holy name. The seventh offence to the holy name is to commit sinful activities on th trength of chanting. If we think let me chant and then I can do any thing sinful and then I will rectify it by chanting again, if that is our mentality you are offending god in his name and the first of all offences is to blaspheme devotees of the lord. Why are these offences? It is not just something mechanical. It must be understood in a very personalized way. These are offences because they displease Krishna substantially.
you have to struggle, you have to work, you have to push, you have to surrender, you have to do it with good intelligence. But the way you are pushing, the way you are surrendering will have longevity, you will be able to continue this way with enthusiasm. And as far as accepting guidance, if you are sincere, you will seek out guidance. If you are insincere, you will say, “Oh my guru is not here, who will I turn to?” But the fact is there are so many wonderful vaishanvas who understand the philosophy and who can help you. And if you are sincere, you will turn to them and you will accept guidance. If you are sincere, when you are reading the books or hearing the tapes of the great acaryas or the great devotees of the lord, you will receive so much guidance through them, practically all your questions will be answered. What to speak of all the devotees who are present, who have so much experience?
THE JOURNEY TO JOY By HH Radhanath Swami at Hindu Life Program Princeton University by Radhanath Swami
The supreme tapsya is to take exactly what we require to do the optimum performance in our devotional service, no more no less. More than that is sense gratification, less is foolishness. So, we need guidance. We have to get enough sleep so that we can sit and listen to Bhagvatam class nicely and chant our rounds nicely and do our service nicely. But if we sleep too much and we are wasting our life and being consumed by the mode of ignorance, it’s very delicate. And if we eat too little, we become very weak, sometimes diseased, we cannot do our service properly, we cannot think properly. And if we eat too much, then we want to go to sleep also, simply spending our day trying to digest food and our tongue becomes uncontrolled, just allowing us to do what it wants. You have to control all the senses on all side by the intelligence Krishna says.
So, if we are bored, if we are not finding ecstasy and excitement and adventure at every moment, that means we are not Krishna Conscious. That means we are still material conscious, it means we are forgetful of Krishna, it means we still have to go through all these artificial devices just to forget the boredom, the frustration of the bodily concept of life. It is a fact. So, while we are in this state, a devotee wants to purify his senses by always engaging them in the loving service of the Lord, by worshiping the deity, by having wonderful wonderful sankirtan with so many loving devotees, by hearing the glories of the Lord in the Srimad Bhagvatam, by engaging in the service of the Lord, whether it be cooking for the deities or cleaning the children’s toilets, a devotee simply feels such bliss and such love just by keeping his senses always with Krishna in His service. Nothing is ordinary.
So, now Nimai is standing before him, soaking wet from the bath in the Ganga with the shaved head and Kesava Bharati says, “You are the Supreme Lord and if this is how you want to teach the world to make me your guru, I am your servant.” And then he gave the two pieces of saffron cloth to our beloved Lord Gauranga. The Lord put on the saffron dress of a sanyasi. When the people saw him without his beautiful golden robes, without his jewellery and his garlands, without his luxurious cascading hair, their hearts were broken. But still, in the saffron robes of a sanyasi, he was so unlimitedly beautiful. He charmed their hearts. They fell unconditionally in love with this form of Mahaprabhu as a sanyasi. Then, the Lord did something that was wonderful.
Now Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his previous incarnation, He manifested the virat rupa, the universal form. He was Lord Narasimha Dev, Lord Varaha Dav. Is he afraid of some Brahmins? He went home and sat down, began to contemplate that “I descended into this world for the purpose of giving love of God, through the medicine of the holy name to all the people. But now, I see that the opposite is happening. If people blaspheming me, if people disrespect me, because I'm the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they're going to have to suffer terribly. Because of me? I must think of a way in which I can somehow or other, get the same envious, arrogant people to offer their obeisenses to me with respect. And when they do that, then by my grace, I will be able to give Bhakti and prema to them. In the society, everyone offers respectful obeisances to a sanyasi. Now, being a householder, they just think I'm one of them, I'm one of the people of Navadwip, I'm the son of Jagannath Mishra and Sachi, I'm the husband of Vishnu Priya. Some are thinking I am their nephew, some are thinking that I'm their friend, that I'm their fellow student, they're saying me in a very ordinary way. But if I take sannyas, if I give up everything for the sake of Krishna, then even those people will bow down to me. I will have a danda, I will have a begging bowl and I will go house to house to those who hate me, to those who are envious and those who blaspheming me and they will bow down and I will give them Krishna prema.” Chaitanya Mahaprabhu decided “I will become a sanyasi.”
So, after Sri Nityananda Prabhu visited Kardaha, He came here to Saptagram. When He arrived, Uddharan Dutt Thakur invited Him here to his home and surrendered his body, mind and words at the lotus feet of Shri Nityanand Prabhu. Uddharan Dutta Thakur was one of the dear most associates of Lord Nityanand Prabhu. In fact, in Krishna lila, he is Subahu, one of the 12 prominent cowherd boys who are the associates of Krishna and Balaram. Due to Uddharan Thakur’s preaching and his compassionate nature, the entire mercantile community of Saptagram who were considered to be outcaste, they all became purified devotees of the Lord. On the basis of his compassion to these people, Lord Nityanand Prabhu extensively gave His mercy in Saptagram. Please listen very carefully. Lord Nityanand Prabhu went to every single house to perform Harinaam sankirtan. He went to the market places, to the roads and crossroads, extensively along with His associates. He was broadcasting the glories of the chanting of Lord Krishna’s holy names.
Can any of us count how many ways there are to suffer in this world? Innumerable! At any moment, anywhere, if things are just right according to our expectations, then we can find some temporary happiness. Otherwise, Bhagavad Gita explains ‘the conditioned soul is hankering for that which he or she has not attained and lamenting over what one loses.’ And in the interim period, there may be some time where we actually achieve something, but even in that there is always the fear of losing it. Because, as soon as we have anything that is valuable, people will be envious of us and people will try to take it away. If you have good reputation, then people will try to slaughter your reputation, do all kinds of blasphemies, nasty rumors; if you have wealth, competitors will be there to try to conquer you, thieves will be there to try to steal away your wealth.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu approached Srivas Thakur. He said “Srivas do you remember long ago when Devananda Pandit offended you,” Srivas listening, He said “I was there and you should know whatever pain he caused you, was pain to my heart.” Whatever we do to the Lord’s devotee is what we do to the Lord. Krishna receives our offerings through His devotees. If we offend a devotee, we offend Krishna; if we please a devotee, we please Krishna. Devananda Pandit he had no access to the path of pure bhakti until he begged forgiveness to Srivas Thakur. We should know that ‘the Vaishnavas are so dear to Lord Shri Krishna that the supreme goal of our life should be to please them and the supreme fear of our life should be to offend them.’
If we hear and if serve such great souls then the Lord becomes please with us and ultimately such a state of pure love cannot be attained by any endeavour but it is received by the causeless mercy of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, through Gurudev. That is our only hope. Bhakti means how to attract the Lord through our sincere, eager desire to serve. It is this type of humility to simply want to serve that attracts the Lord. Krishna is Laxminath, He is the husband of the goddess of fortune. He does not need any of our learned abilities to quote scriptures, He does not need our money, He does not need our influential position in society. But Krishna is longing to taste the sweetness of our humble devotion. Therefore, we must put as the supreme principle of our life, humility and an ambitious desire to serve the servants of the Lord; this is what Krishna consciousness means.
Krishna told Arjuna “by constant practice and detachment it is possible.” Arjuna said ‘the mind is more difficult to control them the raging wind.’ Can you control the wind? Tell me can you control the wind? The mind is more difficult to controlling the wind. So, can you control your mind? But it is said ‘out of fear of Krishna the wind blows and out of fear of Krishna the wind stops blowing.’ For Krishna, to control the wind is that any difficulty? Similarly, for Krishna to control your mind is it any difficulty? So, we have to by constant practice and detachment, keep our mind fixed on Krishna. Constant practice and detachment means that Krishna sees that we are genuinely, honestly and sincerely trying. This is the essence. You cannot control your mind ever. you are a Jeevatma and your mind is being empowered by the all-devouring force of Maya. You cannot control your mind. But you know the story of the sparrow?
Vyomasura, he became very afraid as he knew that he was facing God, the Almighty. And therefore, he was very anxious to escape by any means. So, you know what he did? First he tried to run but Krishna grabbed him very hard and then he began to expand himself into a huge form like a mountain thinking that he would break away. Krishna would not let him break away. You see he was exposed. Similarly, when the enemy of the mind is exposed before God, it's not that he just humbly surrenders and says “Oh Krishna! Now you know who I am, I surrender.” No. The first thing the mind will do in the same spirit as Vyomasura, it will try by hook, by crook, by any means to avoid surrendering. When the enemy of the mind is undetected, it simply causes havoc in your life and keeps you stored in the dark cave of the ignorance of material existence. But when it actually is detected, when somebody points out “You are in Maya.” “No. Not me, impossible. You're wrong. You're misunderstanding, lack of communication here. I'm afraid.” Sometimes we all think like that. Admit it. Everyone thinks like that. There is a verse that says ‘the greatest person is a person who's willing to admit his mistakes and admit his weaknesses.’
It was just a couple weeks after that the closing pastimes of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur’s lila took place. He was in the Bagh Bazaar Temple in Calcutta and there his devotees from all around were having beautiful kirtan around him. On the morning of December 31st 1936, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati asked one of his disciples Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj to sing for him the beautiful song of Narottam Das Thakur – ‘Sri Rupa Manjiri Pada’, which is the eternal aspiration, the mood of the song is eternal aspiration of all true gaudiya vaisnavas. And then he asked another of his devotees to sing the beautiful ‘Siksastakam’ prayers and then he told his devotees that they must serve one another, love one another, preach together, co-operate and he told them to divide the management under a authority called GBC, Governing Body Commission of about 10-12 men who will help to develop preaching strategies for his worldwide movement.
Time creates change. Really thats what happening. Material nature is eternal. The soul is eternal. God is eternal. Time is eternal. The time principle is Krishna. So, what’s really happening under the influence of time is not death, its change. The soul is not dying. The bodies, really they don’t die, they cease to exist. They are just transformed. Ashes, and the ashes gets transformed into something else, becomes dust, goes into the earth. So much transformations due to the power of time. So really what time does is creates change.
So, Srila Prabhupada explained that ‘Krishna Consciousness is the positive alternative to all these different types of material entanglement.’ So New Year’s Eve is a time of parties, everyone is having parties. But instead of going to the party where you will become contaminated, implicated, come and have party with devotees. But the purpose of the party is to please Krishna. We come to see beautiful form of Sri Radha Gopinath, we come to hear the beautiful teachings of Sri Bhagvat Gita As It Is, we come to dance, to sing, to clap our hands and especially the positive alternative of becoming intoxicated. Devotees actually become intoxicated, so much intoxicated, intoxicated by dancing and by blissfully with tears in the eyes, loudly chanting the Holy Names. “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.” Your will not hear such enthusiasm in these other types of parties and tomorrow morning you won’t have to face the effects that other people may have to face. You will become purified rather than putrefied.
The only purpose, the only goal, the only motivation of the life of a devotee is simply to please Krishna. And how do we please Krishna? By accepting the will of Krishna, by accepting the authority of those souls who are propagating the will of Krishna. It is very simple. That is why Krishna said ‘those who are on this path their aim is one, simply to execute the order of Guru, simply to execute the order of the great souls.’ It's not a question of right or wrong, it is a question of pleasing the great souls, you please Krishna. If you please Krishna your life is a perfection he's perfect, if you fail to please Krishna even if you're right and you do everything just victorious over all, you have failed.
And that is one of the greatest detriments in any spiritual society that Maya or illusion captures us with this attraction, allurement, for facilities. We want to utilize the facilities we are having and we become attached to them. Facilities are meant for God’s service. But the tendency is we become attached. How do you know if you are attached or not? Anyone can say “I am detached its all of Krishna.” Any one can say that even I can say that. But the test is when you are asked to give it up, when you are asked to give up that facility by Krishna or his representatives. If we are really using it for Krishna, I will do without it. No problem. But if we say, “No I can’t, impossible, no way.” What does that mean? Means yes! It’s partially for Krishna, but you are attached for your own selfish purposes. Are we sincere? When something is taken away, then that’s the test. Are we actually sincere? Are we only trying to selfishly enjoy something in the name of Krishna? And not only things, but the most powerful than that is pratishtha, recognition, prestige, title and position. People are very attached to positions. People will lie, cry and die for a position. And we like to say that “I am only in this position because it’s the best thing for Krishna’s service.” But even n the name of Krishna’s service you may be in that trap of illusion. And the test is ‘give up your position.’ How will I live? How will I serve? I need this title. I need my name on the door. We should not be attached to a service. We must be attached to the spirit of the service. And on the basis of people wanting prestige, honor, respect, to the degree you have those desires, it’s inevitable, you will be envious of people who are potential competitors. Who are people who have more than you. Then where is the yoga? Where is the union? There is no real yoga until we are free of envy. It’s not just the matter of sitting cross legged and doing some breathing exercises or standing on your head. Those things are good for health and good for harmonizing body, mind and soul. But to purify the heart, to purify it so there is real unity with God and real unity with others, we have to rise above the ahnakar, the false ego. Where we want to take credit for what we do.
In my own life I saw yogis who could perform incredible, what we call miracles. I saw people stopping their hearts, I saw people just saying some mantra and producing things out of nowhere, I saw people, if you read The Journey Home, you'll learn something about what I saw people doing, they could read minds, they could live without food despise breathing, but you know something after a while, I was not impressed by any of it. The only thing that really impressed me was humility, integrity, the true sense of love which means ‘seva’ in Sanskrit, the joy of serving.’ When i was a little boy, my mother taught me this principle. Whether she was given a pearl necklace or whether I would just grab a flower out of her garden and give it to her, she was equally happy. She always had tears in her eyes. And she said “it's not the thing that counts, it's the thought, it's the love that gives meaning to anything.”
morphine. We have a hospice at our Bhakti Vedanta Hospital at Meera Road. So, to improve the quality of a person's life as they're dying, morphine could be helpful. But that same exact drug, certain dealers are selling it to our teenage children to addict them and destroy their lives. So, is morphine good or bad? It depends on who's using it. So, similarly competition, competition could actually be the incentive to really go beyond the call of duty to make something successful.
Now what does it mean to control the mind? Krishna describes that one must control the lower self with the higher self. Lower than the mind is the senses and higher than the mind is the intelligence. If the mind becomes a victim to following the dictation of the senses, then your mind is your worst enemy. But if your mind is willing to accept the dictation of higher intelligence, your mind is the best friend. Now the next natural question is ‘what is our higher intelligence?” The higher intelligence is very simple to understand. The higher intelligence is the word of Guru and Krishna people think their higher intelligence means their own discriminant discriminatory faculties to decide what is right and what is wrong. The real higher intelligence is the word of God as it is coming to the Shastra and as it is coming to the Guru. That
I'll give an example, ‘a thought’. Can you see a thought or taste of thought or hear a thought with your ears? Can you smell the thought? And little you could have brain waves but can the brain wave tell you what the thought is? So, thoughts are invisible and they can't be necessarily directly verifiable through scientific instruments. But a single little thought could rule over a person's life more than all the things of this world. A thought when dictators invade countries and drop bombs and all of those things, the origin of that is a thought in their mind, right? So, we can understand the symptom by what we see outside, we can understand this person's really not thinking very good. But the thought itself is so subtle that it can't really be grasped. That psychology is a subtle science. But there's also a spiritual science.
You may be content now that you are Krishna Conscious, that really, “I don’t need much more of anything.” And if it’s your service, you just live a simple life and just go out and preach and that’s what you should do. You shouldn’t try for anything more. You just take what you need, work just enough for what you need and then forget anything else, don’t compete. Survive and just be with devotees and help. That’s your service, you should be like that. Let anyone criticize, what to be care? But if our service is to facilitate, then we should be greedy, we should compete, we should fight, we should defeat all opposition so that we can take as much as we can and utilize it for the suffering humanity in the service of Krishna. We have to understand what our services. We have to be willing to strive. Arjuna was content going to the forest, but Krishna said, “No, you fight, you win, for Me.” We have to be willing to do that. And if it means that we become vicious, we are willing to become vicious for Krishna, not for ourselves.
In the situation you are speaking out, if you are not associating with devotees very-very regularly, hearing from them, doing some seva, doing sadhana, you are finished, your consciousness will definitely be washed away by illusion. But if this is the service they were asked to perform, we have to do it as Priyavrata had to do it. But we have to be very careful. The first thing is we must regularly associate with devotees, understand how desperate we need to and have good sadhana. And the second thing is we are working so hard, we are competing so ferociously, what are we going to do with the results? We have to give it to Krishna; we have to make that sacrifice. Then, Krishna sees that we are actually doing it for Him and then He will actually really protect us.
No one can be the best except Krishna. Krishna is the best. What does it mean to be the best businessman? It means the businessman who is doing everything for the best person, that’s Krishna. Doesn’t mean to compete on the material level with greedy materialistic people. It means to do what we are doing, what the best quality of consciousness and in such a way that we could offer the best possible service to Krishna. If your consciousness is not pure, you can’t offer anything properly to Krishna. So, if we work 18 or 20 hours a day and we have no sadhana, and we have no satsanga and we make billions and billions and billions of dollars, you will not be able to offer one paisa with any quality of devotion. Is that best? That’s worst.
Queen Kunti prayed for tribulations, because it helped her to always be crying out for Krishna’s mercy. If we hear every day with the proper frame of mind from the sadhus, Srimad Bhagavatam, we don’t have to be put in terrible tribulations. Through hearing we understand that we are already in tribulation, whether we are in the crocodile mouth at the present time or whether the crocodile is about to devour us, they are both urgent emergency conditions of life. If we are not being crushed by Maya, we are about to be crushed by Maya. We should see it and we should know it, and we should help one another to never forget it. Don’t be complacent, don’t waste time. We may have tilak and kanthi mala and we may be wearing dhoti, but don’t be complacent. Don’t take Krishna Consciousness for granted, don’t think everything is all right, don’t think Krishna is giving me what I want and I can enjoy life and at the same time make a little spiritual advancement.
When a devotee gives in charity, he doesn’t think that ‘I am giving something which is mine.’ He thinks that ‘this is the property of God and is meant for the benefit of others, and I am simply the servant delivering it for the benefit of others. I don’t get credit, the master who has created it, the Lord who has sent it to this person, he gets the credit, I am only did the deliverer, I am only the servant.’ This is knowledge. But even such charitable understanding of life is so rare in this age of kaliyuga. In this age everything wants to take more and more and more and more. For me, for my family, for my society. This is the mentality of Shishupal, who want to take the property of Krishna and enjoy. And the jiva soul which is part and parcel of Krishna, is also meant simply meant for Krishna’s service. As Rukmini is simply meant for Krishna’s service. And the exploitative forces of this world being directed by material energy or maya are trying to take our consciousness which is meant for Krishna, trying to take it and exploit it, rape it, use it for its own exploitative purposes. And the whole human society is simply victimized by the exploitation of materialistic forces.
It means to feel yourself so useless and worthless that you totally fall at the feet of God and His devotees and say “I'm surrendered only You can save me.” False ego means you think you can save yourself. If you don't if you do not think you have a false ego then you think you're so advanced, you can save yourself. But if you think yourself the most unqualified, then Krishna only you can save me. If you don't understand the mouth speaker when the light goes on, you think “oh! just see, such a nice little light. it's very pretty.” You don't understand the battery is about to die. You better charge it. So, we have to be trained, there's an instruction manual that when the light goes on, it's not a pretty little light to enjoy watching, “ah let's watch this little light so nice.” it's a warning that the battery's about to die. So, as soon as we think we're advanced, as soon as we think we have no false ego that's the little light going on which is a warning that you're about your spiritual battery is about to die. So, you should plug yourself in by humbling yourself at the feet of the great devotees as soon as you feel that light going on.
Vrindavan is wherever you are serving your spiritual master and if you are sitting right in Vrindavan but you are not pleasing your Guru Maharaj, you will not see Vrindavan in truth. Narottam Das Thakur prayed ‘vishaya chariya kabe suddha ha ’be mana kabe hama herabo sri-brindabana.’ He's praying to Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, “when will I give up all my desires for material enjoyment? When will I put aside all separate interests other than, because factually anything that is against what pleases Guru and Krishna is sense gratification? He said only then will I really see Vrindavan. Who could be living in Vrindavan but never see Vrindavan as it is, because Vrindavan can only be seen by the eyes ‘premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena’ that are blessed with the self of love which comes only by the mercy of Krishna and the mercy of Krishna comes in relationship to how we are pleasing His devotee and submitting ourselves humbly to His lotus feet.
Satsang With HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty on 13th Dec 2020 by Radhanath Swami
Initiation is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to this path. As soon as we have faith in a guru and the willingness to serve and to follow, then our relationship with our Guru has been established. But the particular ceremony, the particular offering of initiation is a deep, sincere, lifelong commitment to follow. ‘yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado’ to please our Guru, and please all the previous acharya and Krishna, though the sincerity of our efforts, So these vows that are taken, sometimes Prabhupad would call them rules and regulations. And especially Srila Prabhupada explains from Krishna’s words in Bhagavad Gita ‘raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu’ these are the regulative principles of freedom. They're not meant to bind us, they're meant to the parade us because we're already bound. Sometimes people think that these rules and regulations are too restrictive. But the reality is we are already restricted, our hands, our legs, our heads, our feets, our hearts, our brains, every part of us is shackled, like prisoners of Maya’s dictations. And whatever principles there are in Bhakti, are there to liberate us from those shackles, liberate us from that bondage, so that we could actually be free to live by the real spirit of the soul, to be free, to love Krishna, to be an instrument of Krishna’s love and to be happy, to be free from the fear of death and all the uncertainties of life. So, we're taking vows for this purpose.
But if we want to actually attract the holy name to reveal those supreme powers, to purify our heart and awaken our love, we must learn to be the servant of the servant of the servant, aspiring to be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, eager to offer all respect to others and not to expect or demand such respect from others. If we just honestly, sincerely try to live by these principles with humility and courage, depending on the supreme grace of Sri Radha Govinda and Krishna gives us himself. That is the purpose and the spirit of initiation. It's not something that we achieve. Initiation is not an achievement. It's like a foundation and we're meant to spend our whole life building upon. On behalf of Srila Prabhupada, I thank each and every one of you for so sincerely and in many cases patiently pursuing this highest goal of life. Srila Prabhupada and our acharyas, on behalf of Sri Nithyananda Prabhu, ‘parma karuna pahundiya jana nitai gaura chandra,’ that given us the most precious matchless gift, it is for us to decide how we will receive that gift, how we will reciprocate to that, compassion that is given to us and that is how we will grow.
He said, ‘I have been chanting 16 rounds for 3 years now but I never knew how to say it, because I never met a devotee. I am only saying what I am reading.’ He said, ‘but I never knew that there was such thing as devotees till I saw you.’ Somehow or other he found out about our New Vrindavan. So, He said, ‘I have come to surrender.’ He said, ‘I want to surrender everything.’ He said, ‘This is what I read that I am suppose to surrender everything.’ Then he said, ‘Sarvadharmanparityadya’ and he said it in all different ways, He said, ‘you are supposed to abandon everything and surrender to Krishna. This is what I have learned from reading this book. So, I want to surrender everything to Krishna.’ So, he had a house trailer, he had 2 cars, he had about a 50 thousand dollars with a welding equipment. He said, ‘Am I allowed to give all this to my guru? Because I read you are supposed to give everything to your guru.’ I said, ‘Yes, you are supposed to do like this.’ He said, ‘I have permission?’ I said, ‘I am Sure you can get permission.’ Now this is an example of someone who never met a devotee before but was living perfectly as a devotee for 3 years and completely and properly understood our whole philosophy, didn’t understand the proper pronunciation, just by coming in contact with one of these wonderful books. So, this is the power of transcendental knowledge. This is the greatest service that we can offer to humanity, by somehow or other influencing people’s lives by which they could live according to this transcendental knowledge. The world is suffering so terribly because of the lack of proper understanding of the goal of life.
Modern education without a spiritual basis is simply the process of tightening the knots within the hearts of the young children, unless people have a spiritual direction and a reason why to go on living and remembrance of Krishna, all of our so called activities to try to help one another is destroying each other. And in this world this goes in the name of love. Love is based on real knowledge. Knowledge is to understand that we are not these bodies but we are the eternal souls. And we are the part of Krishna. Knowledge means to pursue realisation of our true spiritual identity and to connect or dovetail every aspect of our life with our real, true spiritual identity of being the eternal servant of Krishna. So, this is the greatest need in human society, the propagation of spiritual consciousness. For this reason, our guru maharaj was so anxious that we distribute his books. Because within these books are given the real purpose of life and the way by which we can achieve it and iIt is very necessary that either directly by reading or by hearing someone explaining properly that we regularly bathe our consciousness with this transcendental knowledge.
Therefore, one must have a very strict sadhana. One should moderate once life by having a very specific time every day to chant for two hours, to hear the Srimad Bhagvatam, ‘naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā’ it is essential to hear the Bhagvatam every day. It is essential to chant according to the vow we have made to our spiritual master every day, it is essential to invite sadhus to our home to serve them and humble ourselves before them. These are the principals of Grihastha ashram given in the scriptures and exemplified by all the great devotees of the Lord throughout history in that ashram. It is the duty of a Grihastha to regularly associate with devotees, it is the duty of a Grihastha to install the deity in his house and worship that deity and offer all food to that deity and make one’s house the holy place. So, we have these minimal devotional principals - to chant two hours every day, to hear the Bhagvatam every day, to offer all one’s food and worship the deity of the Lord within the house and to serve the sadhus and associate with devotees; these are four minimal principals that must be adhere to. And if you neglect those, then your mentality will become like a karmi. You may wear tilak on the outside but inside you will not have the proper spiritual principles to live by.
Festival of the Holy Name Global Pandemic Kirtan by HH Radhanath Swami on 29th Nov 2020 by Radhanath Swami
But Tulasi’s meditation is simply to facilitate everyone on this earth the opportunity to please Krishna, to become purified by that active devotion of offering her leaves to the feet of the Lord. And that is why Tulasi grows on this earth, simply out of mercy upon all of us. ‘patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati’ Because anyone who offers the Tulasi leaf with love and devotion becomes so dear to the Lord because we are offering love personified to the Lord. Every leaf, every flower of the Tulasi plant is the personification of the highest level of bhava of love. Therefore, when we offer Tulasi, we are actually offering the love of Krishna’s devotee. We are assisting in the lila of the reciprocation of love between Krishna and his devotee. And therefore, Srila Prabhupad said “it is first class deity worship to simply offer that love.” So, Tulasi Maharani so mercifully comes to this world just to give everyone whatever their qualification or disqualification an opportunity to enter in to this lila of love that she has with the Lord. And it is described how much pleasure and joy the Lord experiences by being decorated from the bottom of his toes to the top of his head with the fresh tender Tulasi leaves that are offered by his devotees.
we have to understand the value of what Krishna wants to give us. And then we perform the austerity of hearing, whether we have a taste or not a taste, we do it because it is our service, we do it because it is pleasing to our Guru Maharaj and Krishna. We do it for the purification of our heart and our soul, and also if we serve devotees nicely, if we serve vaishnavas nicely then Krishna gives us the higher taste. śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt in Bhagavatam, it says that if one humbly and submissively serves the devotees, Krishna gives the higher taste to hear the glories of the Lord to that person. If you are serving vaishnavas with sincerity and attention, then Krishna will give you the higher taste for hearing his glories. So, these two things together, we must hear every day as an austerity, naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā and we must serve vaishnavas to please them, to help them, then Krishna will give you that higher taste to hear the glories of the Lord. Then he is pleased with you
Our supreme mother and father comes to this world again and again and again to teach us by his example and by his words what's best for us and how to actually live in harmony with ourselves. And when we live in our harmony with ourselves, then naturally we could create harmony in the world and that's where all the great spiritual paths have manifested from that principle, from our father coming to this world to teach us through life and through teachings. And as mothers and fathers our children always have free will, as we have free will. And we cannot control that but we can do the best in our role to inspire the right values. Whether a person accepts it or not, may be beyond our control but our life is perfect when we embody the right example. And that's our true compassion, to be an instrument of this higher power of compassion within ourselves.
Don’t think that because you are wearing saffron it does not mean you are not going to be complacent. We find this is the reason most grihasthas lose their faith in sannyasis and sadhus and babajis and brahmacharis because they see them just lying around, eating rotis. They are not doing any seva, they are not struggling, they might sleep on the ground, but so what? The animals are also sleeping on the ground. They have to be actually honestly striving, struggling, working hard, performing austerities for the benefit of humanity and for the service of Krishna. That type of person we want to associate with.
The cow and the bull represent the Vedic culture not only symbolically but practically. The bull is tilling the fields and making grains possible, besides being the very symbol of dharma and the cow is giving ghee and milk and so many products, to help us worship the lord and be healthy and happy. The cow is our mother, the bull is our father. To disrespect the cow or the bull is to disrespect our own mother and father. Another words, if we are seeing the cow or bull as our mother and father that means we respecting them in the superior position than ourselves. This is very serious. Your mother and father is at a superior position to your self, as far as etiquette. Never dishonor or disrespect your mother or father, it’s sinful. You can do what you have to do but do it with etiquette. Now if the cow and the bull is our mother and father that means we see them in the superior position. That is how we make spiritual progress.
On the way to Vrindavan, he stopped at Ekachakra; there he was at the house of Nityananda prabhu and he was just in separation of lamentation that “Why? Why have I never been able to see the beautiful form of Lord Nityananda? And Lord Nityananda prabhu appeared before him. hundreds and thousands of kilometres until he came to Mathura, he was so eager, I will take shelter of the lotus feet of Rupa Goswami and his elder brother Sanatana Goswami. At Vishramghat he took his bath, and one Brahman happened to appear there; and he asked please tell me the way to find Rupa and Sanatana Goswami. The Brahman said, Oh you have not heard? It grieves my heart to tell you that the whole of Vrindavan is drowning in an ocean of pain because Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis have recently left this world. He fell down. No more reason to live. But Rupa and Sanatana appeared to him, placed their feet on his head, embraced him and said that you go to Vrindavan. You should take initiation from Gopal Bhatt Goswami and you should study under Srila Jiva Goswami; and through them you will always have our association. Simultaneously, Rupa and Sanatana appeared to Jiva Goswami and Gopal Bhatt Goswami and explained to them what their duties were to Srinivas. So, he came to Vrindavan, and Jiva Goswami met him at the Govinda Ji Temple and brought him to Radha Damodar temple and brought him to Gopal Bhatt Goswami. Gopal Bhatt Goswami initiated him in the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra. And then after accepting menial humble service from Srinivas Acharya, he sent him to Jiva Goswami for his studies.
Prabhupada qoutes Vidyapati, Vidyapati is saying that the enjoyment, the happiness in the family life is compared to a drop of water in the desert, Haribol! A drop of water in the desert, no doubt, it will give some sensation, but it evaporates very quickly. When it touches your tongue, you will go.....very nice, but then its gone. But the taste of it, only aggravates you and makes you want more. Prabhupada said, “In the desert you need a reservoir of water, not a drop of water.” Krishna, Rama is the reservoir of all pleasure, we must dive into that reservoir of Krishna through his service, through his name, and we must tolerate the urges, because if you take the drop, you have to give up the reservoir. And if you want the reservoir you have to give up the drop. Sense gratification and Krishna consciousness are opposites. If you want to dive into the ocean of the transcendental pleasure, the reservoir of all pleasure, Sri Rama, Krishna and we must tolerate our inclinations towards these little drops.
Online Kartik Yatra 2020 - Katha By HH Radhanath Swami on 5th Nov 20 by Radhanath Swami
Online Kartik Yatra 2020 - Katha By HH Radhanath Swami on 4th Nov 20 by Radhanath Swami
Online Kartik Yatra 2020 - Katha By HH Radhanath Swami on 3rd Nov 20 by Radhanath Swami
But for those who fall into what Prahlaad maharaj says hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ The dark deep well of family life based on sexual enjoyment, deep dark well. It appears to be a nice place until you fall into its depth and you realize what a miserable condition it is. These days approximately seventy percent of marriages are divorced within three years in this great land of America. The land of the brave and the home of the free, but what is this freedom? This freedom is a type of slavery. We are becoming free from Krishna and slave by maya. That is the illusion but actually maya is Krishna's energy. So, in this way what is promising infatuation, there are so many songs, there are so many magazines and so many newspapers and so many cinemas, and so many televisions and so much propaganda, all advertising is based on the principle of attraction between the sexes. And there is such a great hope that this is what I have always been looking for, this will give me life and happiness. But according to the federal statistics, at least seventy percent in three years divorce. What does divorce means? Total frustration, anxiety and misery, it becomes unbearable. You just have to get out, you become enemies practically. This is the situation.
GBC SPT- 'Srila Prabhupada - Our Preeminent Siksha Guru' With Radhanath Swami on 18th Nov 20 by Radhanath Swami
So, Rasikananda just looked at him right in the eyes and the elephant stopped right in front of him and they both just looked at each other in the eyes and the king from his throne was looking down and seeing this whole scene and Rasikananda said to the elephant, that “you should chant the holy names of Krishna. Why are you doing all these bad things causing so much harm to the innocent people? You are an eternal spirit soul, you are part of Krishna. Krishna is your mother, Krishna is your father, Krishna is your only real friend, Krishna is your life and soul, you should always remember Krishna and you should constantly chant the name of Krishna and you should always be the servant of Krishna’s devotees, in this way you will find real happiness in life. Krishna will forgive you for all the offenses you have made, just chant His holy name and serve His devotees.” And when the elephant heard this in his heart of hearts he began to think everything that this person is saying is according to the shastra. It is true and then the elephant bowed down, placed his head at Rasikananda’s feet and then Rasikananda put his one hand on the elephant’s head and with the other hand he lifted the elephant’s ear, his right ear and then he put his mouth right near the elephant’s ear and then he said, you chant these 16 names of God, HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE and when the elephant heard the Mahamantra, he jumped up and then he came down and started offering his obeisances again and again and again to Rasikananda, he had just received diksha, hari nama diksha and then Rasikananda said, your new name will be “Sri Gopal Das” and upon receiving the spiritual name and the Mahamantra this elephant began to weep tears, ecstatic tears from his eyes and he fell down and began to bathe the lotus feet of Rasikananda Thakur with his profusely flowing tears. And then he bowed down offering his prostrated obeisances hundreds of times and he circumambulated Rasikananda and came back and started bowing down again and again and again, he couldn’t give up the association of this devotee.
In this way, Krishna transformed what was apparently a catastrophe into the sweetest festival of love, personally appeared as Govardhan to give shelter. Similarly, ‘kali kale nama rupe krishna avatar’, Krishna has manifested with his full potency in his holy names. Just as Krishna gave shelter as Goverdhan to those who are in the storms of the rain of Indra, kali kale nama rupe krishna avatar, kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet, In this age of Kali, there's constant rains of problems. Mahaprabhu Sri Chaitanya taught us ‘param vijaya te Sri Krishna sankirtanam, all glories to the Holy Names of Krishna, because it is in this age giving us shelter. All the vrajavasis they wholeheartedly with total faith, they took shelter of Krishna under Govardhan. Similarly, Krishna’s holy names give us shelter to the degree we seek shelter with faith. When we chant with concentration, with a very sincere intent to please Krishna and take shelter of Krishna then Krishna’s name gives us shelter. Draupadi when she cried “He, Krishna, he Govinda” She did it with all her heart, “Krishna, you're my only shelter, I'm yours.” And Gajendra was all of his efforts like Draupadi failed, he cried out for Krishna in a prayerful mood and he was given shelter. Maya is like a crocodile that is keeping us all in such a state. We can't get out of this crocodile of Maya. But if we seek shelter of Krishna, his past times, his devotees, then we will find shelter in his holy names. Little Prahlad was only five years old, Hiranyakashipu was the most powerful man in the universe and he had massive armies and they were all trying to destroy Prahlad. Little Prahlad, in a natural and innocent childlike way, he simply took shelter of Krishna.
Following in the footsteps does not mean imitating, if we pretend to be gopas or gopis, it will never go beyond our mental imagination. But the spirit of selfless service, the spirit of truly humbly, tasting the sweetness of Krishna's name, the spirit of living without ego or selfishness and the spirit of tasting the sweetness of Krishna's pastimes, naturally, as our true genuine love awakens, then by the mercy of Guru and vaihnava, by Srila Prabhupada's divine grace, then we will be connected to the residents of Vrindavan. Because Srila Prabhupada and our achryas are eternal residents of Vrindavan, we are all just trying to connect through following their instructions, through receiving their grace and through pleasing them. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna in the spirit of the love of Shri Radha, feeling that love and distributing that love and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu made the most profound difficult thing so simple. We can enter into the realm of Vrindavan by developing this true mood of servant of the servant, by hearing these wonderful past times and by cultivating a genuine taste for chanting the holy name. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna , Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare
“When we really hide our butter very well and Krishna doesn’t find it, he makes it known to us. He will pinch our little baby children and make them cry or sometimes he will go into our temple room and pass urine.” Now for some of you, you may be thinking, “this is the Absolute Truth? this is God? this is Allah? this is the Lord of Ibrahim, Isaac and Jacob? this is Narayan, this is Narsimha, this is Shiva, the Absolute Truth? Ultimately, the exchanges of love for his devotees are his sweetest enjoyment and they give the sweetest enjoyment to his devotees. You may think it seems like a little ordinary boy, passing urine on someone’s floor when they are angry with them, but here it is over 5000 years later, we are still talking about it. How many times you passed urine? You don’t have to answer this question. who cares? Nobody cares. But Krishna does it, everyone is celebrating, it was another celebration, we are still celebrating because Krishna is all attractive.
But this type of happiness takes time because the real happiness that we are trying to achieve through the process of Krishna consciousness comes through purification of the heart and it takes time “cheto darpan maarjanam” for the dust and dirt accumulated for the millions of births to be cleansed. But we have faith and we preserve that faith and keeps the strength on the basis of that faith by hearing every day, regularly, by fearing from Srimad Bhagavatam, by hearing from Bhagavad Gita, by hearing from sincere and concerned devotees. It gives us the strength and the confidence to continue honest process of purification and to give us the power to resist the ever present temptations of maya, that which is not, it appears to be our friend but it is not, it appears to give us relief but it will not, it appears to give us happiness but it will not, that which is not, that is maya, that is the illusion. So, we must be very very careful, to always keep very good association of devotees and to keep our sadhana very strong, because without strong saadhana, Srila prabhupada said in one purport that, “of all my instructions, the most essential is to chant at least sixteen rounds every day”.
But actually, Prahlad Maharaj explains, “It is like trying to relieve an itch, by scratching”. We have a very bad itching, rash and it terrible pain. And the mind says, “if you just scratch it, it will feel better.” Prahlad Maharaj explains that when you scratch, it actually feels better, while you are scratching, not really better but it is some illusory sense of relief but as you are scratching, you are inflaming that rash and it will itch more and more and more and the more you scratch, the more it itches, and the more you scratch the more you itch, and birth after birth after birth after birth, you are just scratching and scratching and scratching and scratching and it’s not getting better, it’s getting worse. But see the illusion, the immediate sensation is that appears that it is relieving the itch. But with the little intelligence people had, “yes right now it feels nice but what will the next moment bring? It is aggravating and intensifying the problem.” Therefore, children when they get these rashes, they like to itch and the parents they understand what is sreyas and preyas. Sreyas and preyas, one is the nature of the animal consciousness, whatever feels good do it, for tomorrow will never come; and human existence is not to consider what feels good now but to calculate with our God given intelligence, what would be the best for my future? in this life and beyond death?
When Murari gupta revealed his heart in this way, wanting nothing but the opportunity to serve the Lord. dukhalayam asasvatam This material world is full of challenges, full of sufferings. There is always people like Ravana, big ones and little ones. Hanuman didn’t ask that the obstacles be removed, he didn’t ask that envious people be removed from his life. He only asked that in whatever situation let me always remember you and please you by being the servant of the servant of your servants and in his humility Hanumanji, as Murari gupta revealed, let me always be with your devotees who have that spirit. When Lord Chaitanya heard this, he began to cry. All the devotees began to cry. All the trees and flowers and animals and reptiles and insects began to cry. Even the stones started melting. This is the power of Murari gupta’s devotion and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he granted this benediction to his devotee and he said, “anyone who considers you to be an ordinary householder with a family who has an apparently material occupation of being a doctor is most unfortunate.” Murari gupta was great saint, he was the pure devotee of Krishna but he wasn’t a sanyasi. He wasn’t living like a very highly qualified learned brahman. He was a householder with family and he was performing his occupation. But Lord Chaitanya said, “Murari who is Krishna himself, is gupta, he is secretly living within your heart.” Prahalad, such a great devotee, he was born in a family of demons, the son of Hiranyakashipu. Ganjendra, that great devotee who surrendered to the Lord was a elephant. Hanuman, he was a monkey, he had no caste. There was nothing very prestigious about his birth but his devotion was something that lives forever in the hearts of all devotees and similary, Murari gupta, he appeared to be very ordinary person. Ordinary people just saw him as a doctor but those who were blessed by the Lord’s grace could see that he was a topmost devotee. He was Hanuman.
Lord Chaitanya expressed in many ways to many of his devotees his indebtedness for their service. I would like to speak very briefly about one such devotee of the Lord. Vashughosh in one beautiful song, he sings about how Lord Chaitanya, the son of Sachidevi and Jagannath Mishra is Lord Jagannath himself. He had appeared as Ram to subdue Ravana, he appeared as Krishna to reveal the most wondrous pastimes of love in Goloka and now he has come in a beautiful golden complexion to give that same love to the world through this namsankritan or the chanting of holy names and Krishna’s most intimate loving associates of all of his different avatars appeared as various personalities in Mahaprabhu’s leela. One was Hanuman. It was Hanuman’s wish to be the servant of the servant of the Lord whenever and wherever the Lord appeared within this world. He came as Murari gupta. As Hanuman saved Laxman from a great catastrophe by carrying Gandhamadana mountain from the himalayas with healing ayurvedic herbs, he is considered to be the supreme ayurvedic physician. Hanuman was everything, he was a great yogi, he was a great ayurvedic physician, he was a poet, a scholar, a musician, an athlete, an architect, engineer, he was everything. Because in whatever way he could be engaged in Ram’s service, he put his entire heart and soul, in total surrender without ego. So, therefore he was fully empowered in whatever he did.
Ravana is a son of Vishrava, who is a respectable brahmana, give him the dignity, the integrity of a proper last rite. And Vibhisana personally with his heart and soul performed the last rite for Ravana. Sita was retured to Ram, for the sake of the world, Her chastity was tested and she revealed for all times, absolute purity of Her devotion to Sri Ramchandra. They retuned to Ayodhya, where Sri Ramchandra was coroneted as the king. Today represents good over evil, godliness over godlessness, morality over immorality, love over hate and envy. Today represents bhakti, devotion, taking shelter of The Supreme Personality of Godhead as the only force that could conquer all the obstacles on the path of Krishna consciousness. Dashehra is the day that we celebrate victory, victory of defeating maya and all of her powers with the mercy of The Supreme Personality of Godhead. Today is the day of hope, today is the day to build faith, today is the day of taking serious vow, to take whole hearted shelter of the only shelter in all of creation, the Supreme Lord who has so mercifully appeared in this age of Kali in His Holy Names “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare.”
Lord Jesus Christ, what they did to him? They blasphemed him, they insulted him. They said “You call yourself the King of the Jews. Here, have a crown.” They made a crown out of sharp thorns, they pushed it on his head and pierced his skin and cause blood to flow all over his face. Then they spit on him, right in his face, they shoved him to the ground, they put a cross on his back, they forced him to carry it, meanwhile they were whipping him, beating him, insulting him, then they nailed him to the cross and then while he was in that most suffering and helpless condition, they began to just insult him more. “Yeah! just see where is your God. Now you're so great, the king of the Jews”. And Jesus with tears in his eyes, not for his own suffering but for them, tears of sympathy for them, he looked up to the heavens and he prayed to God “Oh! Father in heaven. Forgive them. They know not what they do.’ This is the quality of a Vaishnava. It is very important did you analyze your own hearts, how are you seeing the good qualities in others or how are you looking for the defects?
But Lord Chaitanya, He said “No. no no. Don't think like that. He's actually my friend. He's helping me become a good sanyasi. He is my guru’s God brother. So, he should be respected. If he says I eat too much, that means I eat too much. So from this day on, I will only have one handful of steamed rice, boiled rice. Nothing else.” And then even after he was doing like that. One day He was sitting in His room, Chaitanya Mahāprabhu and Ramachandra Puri came in and he saw two or three ants crawling on the floor. “Just this hypocrite nonsense Chaitanya calls Himself a sanyasi, makes everyone think He's eating so little but He's secretly in His room eating sweet meats and the proof is that these ants have come to taste the sugar dropped on the floor.” And Lord Chaitanya could have got up and took a Sudarshan Chakra and chopped his head off, like He did to Jagai and Madhai but because the offense was toward Him, if it was toward His devotee, Mahāprabhu would have, My God! what He would have done to Ramachandra Puri? But because the offense was toward Him, He was very humble. He just looked down and didn't say anything and He accepted whatever Ramchandra said as for His benefit. How forgiving was Chaitanya Mahāprabhu! How forgiving! How He was willing to see the good.
As Nations continue to address global challenges of environmental sustainability, the Government of Iceland and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), along with partners in all continents are organizing the global "Faith For Nature: Multi-Faith Action" Conference in Skalholt, Iceland from 5-8 October 2020.
HH Radhanath Swami spoke in this conference on Tuesday, 6th October 2020.
The most universal principle of dharma is the value and the character of a compassionate lifestyle. That's something all spirituality has in common to seek, to live in a spirit of compassion, in the vedic literatures there's a beautiful statement ‘sarve sukhini bhavantu’ that the whole purpose of dharma or religion is to be in a mood where our prayer is “May all beings be happy.”
After seeing that, I went into the Ganga. It was so nice to get out of the heat and I was so enthusiastic, I may never come to Prayag in my life again. I want to stay in this river and get purified as long as I can and I swam all the way across to the other side. There was nobody there. When I got to the other side, I crawled out onto the bank, it began to sink. I was being swallowed by mother earth. It was quicksand. I was sinking lower and lower and somehow or other I grabbed a bush and I was pulling and pulling and then the bush got uprooted, but somehow or other I got out of that quicksand and I came back into mother Ganga. Her current was so strong, she was pushing me back to the quicksand. I was swimming against her current, I was swimming, I went about a foot and then I was pushed back a foot and I went to foot and was pushed back a foot, I went a couple feet and pushed back. It was a long distance. I was swimming and swimming and swimming until I was totally exhausted, my arms could hardly move anymore and I was not making any progress of whatsoever. And I had to decide am I going to die being drowned by the Ganga or am I going to die in the quicksand and I decided Ganga is better.
When a vaishnava sees another devotee getting special mercy of the lord, when a devotee sees another vaishnava being specially empowered and specially endowed with bhakti, that is his greatest pleasure. Of course, when we have material consciousness, when we see someone else getting special favour of the lord, we become envious. We think, “Why him? Why not me?” we want everyone else’s spiritual progress to be checked until we can catch up and go ahead. And then when we are ahead, we want to keep them down. This is not the consciousness of a vaishnava. This is material consciousness.
Then little Parasara spoke. He said “Sir, A person who has knowledge, real knowledge sees the presence of God in everyone's heart. Such a person is like a tree with good fruit. If a tree has a lot of good fruit, the tree bows down. If free has a tree has no fruits, it doesn't bow down to anyone. If you don't have respect for others, if you are not humble before the greatness of God, then I considered all of your knowledge to be as worthless as this handful of sand” and through the sand down. Coming from a tiny five-year-old child, it pierced his heart to the core. He came down off of his palanquin and bowed to the feet of this small child and with tears of humility in his eyes, he prayed “I want to be your disciple” and he became a disciple.
That’s why Srila Prabhupad writes pure devotional service is very rare. He quotes Rupa Goswami ‘manushyanam sashastreshu kachid yatati sidhyaye’ very rare. But then Prabhupad quotes Sanatan Goswami and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that ‘if one is sincere and serious, he puts a list of three things and obviously, Krishna easily gives pure devotional service if you have these three qualities. That means these three qualities must be extremely, supremely important for us. Pure devotional service, which is so rare, Krishna easily gives it, if we have these three qualities. If we are sincere and second is, if we are serious. What’s the difference between being sincere and serious? They sound similar, don’t they? It seems like being sincere means, you are serious and being sincere means, you are serious. It’s very important and then the next one, basically explains what it means to be sincere and serious is ‘to have no ulterior motives.’ If we are sincere, serious and no ulterior motives, then Krishna will easily give pure devotional service. He will reveal everything as it is. But to actually fall and enter into the spirit of the Parmpara, this is what is required.
Simple Living &High Thinking Harmonious Relations In Times of Stress and Crisis - HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaja's address to Devotees of ISKCON NVCC Pune and Connected Centers by Radhanath Swami
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaja's address to Devotees of ISKCON Kolkata and Connected Centers by Radhanath Swami
'Pathways To Perfection - Overview of The Nine Processes' by HH Radhanath Swami at The Bhakti Center by Radhanath Swami
HH Radhanath Swami Maharaja's address to Devotees of ISKCON Belgaum and Connected Centers by Radhanath Swami
'Glories of Holy Name' by HH Radhanath Swami on the occasion of 'World Holy Name Festival' by Radhanath Swami
In Vrindavan, there are many temples and they, their tradition is all the festivals of the whole year can be celebrated during Purshottam month and its non-different than that day. So, in one temple they just choose any day of Purshottam masa and say we are going to celebrate Janmasahtami again and its considered to be the day of Janmasahtami, the tithi and everything its right there. And another day Radhaashtami and another day Govardhan pooja and another day Holi and another day Gaur Purnima, another day Ram-Navmi, another day Nityanand Trayodashi, they just have festivals every day and is considered to be that day. That's the way many temples do because this month is so special to access and connect again to Krishna. So, let us take advantage and focus and increase our sadhana and increase our awareness and increase our humility and most of all increase our service attitude, our enthusiasm to please Krishna and in this spirit to chant the holy names from our hearts. Srila Prabhupada Ki Jai
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said “’sādhu-saṅga', 'sādhu-saṅga'—sarva-śāstre kaya lava-mātra sādhu-saṅge sarva-siddhi haya” that even a moment's association with a sadhu, a saintly person can transform our life and what is that association, satsang? It's hearing. When we come before a saintly person we hear. This is a principle. In the Bible when Jesus would speak sometimes he would say, “those who have ears hear.” And whatever we see in Christianity is based on his words. Not only his words but his life and how do we know about his life? by other people writing it down, that sound. Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita, those are his words and his life was such a transcendental inspiration Vyasadeva wrote down his life in Srimad-Bhagavatam. That's the power of sound. And when we associate with people who love God, they will speak God's message, this is the principle of parampara.
Spreading Krishna Consciousness To The Leaders And Elite of The World TOVP Talks - Vision of The Parampara
Yes, it is true, in giving we do receive. During this time of Bhadra-Purnima the blessing that Sukhdeva Goswami has given, the blessing that Srila Prabhupada and all of our acharyas, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Dev and Mahaprabhu and the Panchatatva, they will shower, shower and shower blessings and grace individually and collectively on each of us in our communities, if we rise above all petty discrepancies, all petty disputes and all complacency and laziness and actually together inspire one another to take the greatest treasure in all of creation and share it with the world. I am so grateful, I am so happy and my sincerest request to all of our leaders of projects of ISKCON and each individual devotee, let us take this Srimad-Bhagavatam set distribution at this particular time very very seriously. The world needs it and because the world needs it, we need to do it. Srila Prabhupada ki Jai
On the Library Party that was started by his Holiness Satswarup Gosvami maharaja and many of the most exalted devotees of ISKCON were on that library party. One in particular was his Holiness Bhakti Tirthi Swami maharaja. During Prabhupada's time his name was Ganashyam prabhu. And he was whether in America going to Europe and then during communist times behind the iron curtain he was distributing sets of Prabhupada’s books, standing orders because in those days many of Srila Prabhupada's books were not yet published, not even yet translated and Srila Prabhupada was so overjoyed with all those devotees who were actually distributing entire sets of his books. And we know the beautiful story when Srila Prabhupada met Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaj in London, he embraced him and he cried and he thanked him he said “thank you your life is perfect” and Srila Prabhupada wasn't only embracing and crying in appreciation of Bhakti Tirthi Swami Maharaja but just as Arjuna was taking Krishna was instructing him to instruct us, we can take it that Srila Prabhupada is actually crying in gratitude and embracing all devotees, for all time to come, who are going through sacrifices and even taking risks to share Srila Prabhupada's very life and soul with the world. The Shrimad-Bhagavatam and the holy names of Krishna. What a incredible rare inconceivable opportunity it is, that's what book distribution is about and this particular effort of book distribution to distribute entire sets of Shrimad-Bhagavatam is extraordinary and so very very special.
This Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Lord Chaitanya, He proclaimed it is the ‘amala puranam,’ it is ‘the pure essence of all the Vedic literatures.’ And Krishna's incarnation in this age of kali as the Shrimad-Bhagavatam is being celebrated in the form of this Bhadra – Purnima. It is really a time to celebrate the coming of Shrimad-Bhagavatam and how important is the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, the more we understand its importance, the more we will really understand what a blessing it is and how crucial it is for us to both read it and distribute it.
When Srila Prabhupada was in on the Jaladuta, he boarded in Calcutta and in cochin just about the time of his 69th birthday, the Shrimad-Bhagavatams were sent and put on the ship and when Srila Prabhupada saw the boxes of Shrimad Bhagavatam boarding the ship in Cochin, he understood Krishna is with him in such a special way and after all of the trials during that 38 days of sea sickness and heart attacks, when he finally arrived on the shores of the United States in New York city, he had such confidence in the success of his mission because Krishna was with him in the form of the Shrimad Bhagavatam. That was so much the beginning of our movement, it's what Srila Prabhupada focused on most when he was preparing for his journey. The Shrimad-Bhagavatam, these books travelled with Srila Prabhupada on the Jaladuta and if you read Srila Prabhupada’s diaries and some of his letters from those days, he was writing to people of India, in Mumbai, people who he requested to help him by putting his Shrimad-Bhagavatams in the bookstores of India, he was very concerned and there was much correspondence in that regard and Srila Prabhupada would go door to door to bookstores and cultural centres, personally trying to get people to put the Shrimad-Bhagavatam in it and in many ways just his selling of Srimad-Bhagavatams in New York city was very much his livelihood. Livelihood in the sense it was sustaining his efforts to establish Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's movement all over the world.
'Community Social Responsibility & Social Impact' With HH Radhanath Swami by IBPC Dubai on 05Sep20 by Radhanath Swami
So, during the ceremony, Srila Keshav Maharaj gave his sanyas initiation talk and then he does something that was very unprecedented. He asked one of the people who is going to be initiated, Bhaktivedanta Prabhu, He said “now you give a lecture.” There was no invitations sent out because it was very certainly decision when the sanyas initiation would be, they wanted to have on this auspicious day of Visvaroop Mahotsav. So, the only people at the matha were just the regular brahmcharis and devotees and except for Keshav Maharaj, Nararayan Maharaj and a few others Krishna das Babaji, none of them spoke English. They were all either Hindi speaking or mostly Bengali speaking. Srila Prabhupada knew all these languages fluently. Though he was asked to speak, he understood what his Guru Maharaj desired and he gave his lecture in English. Because He was taking sanyasi for the purpose of spreading Krishna Consciousness all over the world in the English language because that is the world’s language. And then he accepted the order and he was given the name “A.C. Bhaktivedanda Swami Maharaj.”
Today is the appearance day of one of the great Acharayas of our disciplic succession, ‘Srila Thakur Bhakti Vinod.’ And if we read the songs of Sri Bhakti Vinod Thakur or we study his autobiography or his writings, the amazing discovery that we will find is how he always presents himself and thinks of himself as the most ordinary common person. Not that “Oh! I am parahamsa acarya.” Sometimes in the most intimate moods of ecstasy, he actually reveals his eternal position in the spiritual world and how he descended to this world by the order of Srimati Radha Rani and Krishna to assist in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission, but generally he is presenting himself for two reasons in a very common way as Prahlad Maharaj says: one is he presents himself as a conditioned soul, reaching out for the mercy of the great Vaishnavas to teach us by his example how we should be. Because just like the example is given when a teacher wants to teach the classmates A, B, C or basic addition and subtraction, the teacher will go to the blackboard and say “This is the lesson how to make an A. First you make line this way, then you make line this way and then you connect the two lines with a line in the middle. That is A.” Now, the teacher is going through the whole exercise in front of the student. It is not the teacher needs to learn how to make ‘A’ but is going through the exercise the same way a student would, to teach a student how to learn, how to make A and B and C and D and all of these letters. So, in the same the great devotees of the Lord, their mercy is that they teach us how to perfect our lives, so they actually go through the basic standard devotional practices by which we can learn how to be devotees and they pray in such a way to teach us how to pray.
Krishna Consciousness is not so cheap. But ofcourse in Kaliyuga even the most priceless things are taken very cheaply. But they gave real dignity to the priceless value of Krishna Consciousness. And they extracted from all the great Vedic literatures the essence, which is pure, unalloyed, unmotivated loving service to Radha and Krsna in Vrindavan and of all the Goswami’s Jiva Goswami was the most celebrated writer. He wrote so many books. Srila Prabhupada explained that the Vaishnava philosophers are the greatest philosophers in the world. And of all philosophers, Jiva Goswami is by far the greatest philosophers that ever lived. Through logic, through argument and through complete scriptural backing he has established the most high and sublime points which lead one to pure devotion to the Lord. Through the Ñaò Sandarbha, the greatest philosophical works where everything is so scrutinizing explain with such authority. Srila Rupa Goswami was personally worshiping beautiful small deities of Radha Damodar some people say that he carved those deities out of stones with his own hands. Anyways out of love for his dear disciple, Rupa Goswami gave the murti’s of Radha Damodar to Jiva Goswami. Jaya rädhä-dämodara rädhä-dämodara rädhe jév goswämér präëa-dhana he They became his life and soul.
'Radhashtami - Glories of Srimati Radharani' by HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Juhu by Radhanath Swami
So, in Vrindavan people are humble. They're crying out “Jai Sri Radhe! Radhe! Radhe!” or “Hare Krishna.” They are crying out “Oh mother Radha! Please be merciful to me.” One great resident of Vrindavan, from about 400 years ago is Narottam Das Thakur and he prayed ‘ha ha prabhu nanda-suta, vrsabhanu-suta-juta, koruna karoho ei-baro’ that he is praying that “I am very forgetful, I am very unqualified, I am very fallen. Please Sri Radharani, please be merciful upon me.” So, they are invoking the compassion, the merciful side of God. And in doing so, there's a great celebration.
Sri Radha - The Divine Feminine Energy : WISDOM of the SAGES Interview with HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Bhadra Go To Goloka: HH Radhanath Swami HH Bhakti Raghava Swami HG Bhima Prabhu& HG Vaisesika Prabhu by Radhanath Swami
The world is filled with problems and that’s just the nature of the material existence is that there will always be problems. janma-mrtyu-jara-vyadhi- duhkha-dosanudarsanam There is a problem of suffering, there is a problem of depression, there is a problem poverty, there is a problem of health issues and pandemics and epidemics and there is problems of birth and old-age and decease and death. These are all problems and what Dharma is giving us with true spirituality is tools to actually help, as we are trying to solve the temporary problems of life in this world, we are actually in the process of solving the bigger, most serious problems. Our beloved Guru, Srila Prabhupada he would often say “sarve sukhino bhavantu”, that the whole purpose of vedic literature is, the sense the whole purpose of religion Dharma is “let all beings be happy.” When we actually have this attitude, ‘let all beings be happy’, then when we are motivated by compassion in this sense, then as we are solving the problems of the world, we are actually approaching the truest and most important problems in giving true solutions.
The eternal soul is a part of the supreme soul or God. And to know oneself is the beginning of the great journey of the Bhagavat Gita and this is a universal truth. In the bible, Lord Jesus, he said “what profit if a person, if they gain the whole world but they forget, they lose their own eternal soul?” This is a universal principle to understand who I am? And how we are all part of the one Supreme Godhead? And the origin of everything ‘aham sarvasya prabhavo matah savram pravartate’ is the supreme father and mother and friend of everyone. And this to reconnect with our own souls, to harmonise ourselves with God’s will, to harmonise ourselves with our understanding of how we are all brothers and sisters, all species of life and to harmonise our understanding in life that the whole creation is sacred because it’s coming from the same supreme source. This is Dharma. This is true religion. And when we become so focused and obsessed in a particular language that in which it is spoken or a particular geographical location in which it is spoken or a particular race of people that were connected to, then we miss the point that the essence, in bible it says ‘Love God with all your heart, all your might and all your soul and to love your neighbour as your self and everyone is our neighbour’ and in the Srimad Bhagavatam ‘savai pumsam parodharma yadha bhakti adhokshaja ahaituki apratihata yayatam suprasidati, it tells that same message in such a deep way, that “the true dharma is to awaken the love we have for God and that love when it is unconditional and unmotivated by selfishness or egoism, then it expresses itself as compassion to all beings.” And somehow or other because people are fighting over superficial things, so many people are losing their faith in religion, they are losing their faith in dharma, and there are so many alternative forms of technology and science and entertainment that people are turned to find answers of it.
Raghunathdasa Goswami, he writes that ‘Krishna enjoys much more than even the greatest, most proficient scholars of Vedanta, who are chanting Vedic hymns, he enjoys more when the old Vrajavasi women chastise him.’ Why? Because it’s with such intimacy, they are not thinking of him as God. But the residence of Vrindavana they have already fully, totally, comprehensively realized God and the opulences of God. It's not that they lacked something, they have the maximum of realization of the powers and opulence of the Absolute truth. But because of their love, Krishna covers all that by a power that's infinitely greater than his own powers and this is his sweetness, his beauty, his charm, his playfulness and therefore, they just dance with Krishna, they play with Krishna. Mother Yasoda is thinking if I don't feed Krishna, he will die; Nanda Maharaja is thinking, if I don't teach him a good lesson, then he'll grow up wrong. Nanada and Yashoda, if I don't hold his finger when he's a little baby, he will never learn how to walk properly. And the Gopis, they are just remembering his sweet words, his sweet glances to dance with him. You can’t dance with the Absolute truth, you only bow down, but the gopis danced. Because they see him as Shyam Sunder, Gopinath, Gopijanvallabh.
The cowherd boys, they don't see Krishna as god. They see Krishna as Krishna and they just love him because he is Krishna. It describes in Srimad-Bhagavatam that Krishna sees peacocks, they are singing, they are dancing and one of the boys imitates a peacock, just to make Krishna happy and he starts dancing and moving and making sounds like a peacock. And then all the cowherd boys tells Krishna, they tell him “Krishna, you become peacock, you dance like peacock.” So just for their pleasure, he starts dancing like a peacock. And everybody is gathered around him clapping and clapping and even the peacocks come and they come around him and they start dancing for him and he is dancing for them and they give him their feathers as a gesture of love, they give Krishna peacock feather. And Krishna is so overwhelmed “oh! The peacocks like me so much, they gave me a peacock feather.” He puts it in his hair and puts it on top of his head as his crown. For him, the love of a peacock in the form of an offering of a feather is limitlessly more valuable than gold or diamond or emerald or ruby or any other type of precious crown. Demigods wear beautiful crowns, Vishnu wears beautiful crowns, Krishna just wears a feather of a bird because it's offered with pure love. The simplicity of the love of Vrindavana,
In the spiritual world of Goloka, He is simply giving pleasure to his devotees. It is just madhurya dham, the sweetest love. Krishna’s greatest power is his beauty - the name Krishna means all attractive, supremely attractive. In Vrindavan, there’s a very famous story on bank of Yamuna – Kama Dev, Cupid - this powerful energy personified, who keeps everyone in the entire cosmic manifestation illusioned by attractive desires and he personifies with his arrows, when it goes into your heart bewilders you. Madana is one who bewilders; one who keeps people in illusion. So, he came to Vrindavan on the bank of Yamuna and took his most powerful, most effective of all arrows to shoot at Krishna to see what he could do. And when he aimed it at Krishna, saw Krishna's beauty and Kamadev really knows what beauty is. When he looked at Krishna, he was so attracted to Krishna, he fell unconscious, in ecstasy. Therefore, Krsna is Madanmohan; Madana- bewilders everyone, but Krishna bewilders Madana and everyone else. Srila Rupa Goswami, he offers a simple warning in his prayer that ‘if you are attached to all these material things that everyone is attached to, don’t go to Keshi Ghat on bank of Yamuna, because there Govinda is standing playing his flute in the moonlight and when you become attracted to his beauty -param dristva nivartate….And how could we be attached to anything else?’ That is Krsna.
Srila Prabhupada Vyasa Puja Offering By HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty by Radhanath Swami
Sri Krishna Janmashtami Festival Class by HH Radhanath Swami on 12th Aug 2020 by Radhanath Swami
Wisdom of The Sages Interview with HH Radhanath Swami on Sri Krishna Janmashttami by Radhanath Swami
'Faith And Devotion In Challenging Times' The Hinduja's Conversation With HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Srila Prabhupada might have told Allnes Ginsberg “you are insane.” Srila Prabhupada said “oh its very good. You are insane. You can be insane for Krishna now.” “You are insane, dovetail it toward Krishna.” Srila Prabhupada as he was said, he didn’t compromise but his surrender and his compassion had opened the doors for all of us into the spiritual world. So, this time within our community here, within our movement, there is impediments, there is challenges that always seem to be impossible and we could feel that we just want to give up, what can I do? Too much this and too much that, I don’t want to be involved. But Srila Prabhupada taught us by his life mahajanoyena gata su pantha he taught us the life of all the people of Srimad Bhagavatam, all the great acharyas, all the great people, he taught us their spirit that whatever difficulties are there, whatever we have or don’t have, the spirit of surrender, the spirit to please our gurus and Krishna is always in the forefront of our lives. This gift Srila Prabhupada has given us. He has given us his books, and he has given us as our funder acharya the example how to get Krishna? How to receive true knowledge? And I will conclude with Srila Prabhupada’s statement “knowledge means surrender” “Doesn’t mean what we know, means how we love Krishna?” This is Prabhupad’s gift. My sincerest humble request is entrusting this gift to all of you to share this knowledge with each other and with the world.
The Garga Samhita tells that when Krishna was about to descend into this world, he told his hladini shakti, his pleasure potency, the origin of all love, the origin of all compassion, the feminine nature of godhead, Sri Radha that “I am going to descend into this world in my original form but I will not be happy without you. Please come.” And Sri Radha Rani said “of course, I will go anywhere you go, anytime you go but I will not be very happy without the forest of Vrindavan, the river Yamuna and the hill called Govardhan.” Krishna told Sri Radha Rani that “I have already sent Vrindavan forest, Yamuna river and Govardhan to the earth planet and we will be bringing our most intimate loving associates, Nanda my father, Yoshoda my mother, Rishabhanu and Kirtida your mother and father and my friend Sridhama, Subala, Sudama, Stoka Krishna, Madhu Mangal and we will bring our favorite cows and calves.” Krishna comes with his eternal associates to perform such sweet incredible pastimes of the spiritual world just to charm our hearts. Here we are five thousand years later hearing the same subject matter and when by the association of sadhus, saintly people we develop faith in Krishna, faith that Krishna is non different than the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krishna is non different than his names, Krishna is in the heart of his devotees, Krishna can be discovered through our seva, our kirtan then just by hearing, we can experience Krishna. Once in a day of Brahma after Krishna appears in his original form, he comes as Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna tasting the sweetness of Radha's love and sharing that love without discriminating who is fit or who is unfit to receive it, which is the suitable place and which is the unsuitable place, anyone, everywhere who's similarly eager with faith to receive it Lord Caitanya is willing to give, that Braj Krishna Prema Bhakti. This is the gift that Srila Prabhupada brought to the people of India and the people of the world.
janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna Krsna tells us in bhagavad-gita that one who understands the transcendental nature of my appearance and activities, he never takes birth again in this material world but attains my abode. Srila Prabhupada and all of our previous acharyas have taught that when Krishna performs his lila and presents his teachings, they are for the ecstatic pleasure of the devotees who are present. They are for liberating the asuras who are also at that time, re-establishing the principles of religion. But most of all to establish a record through transcendental sound vibration where people for all time in all places can actually participate in Krishna’s lila through the process of shavanam kirtanam hearing and chanting. Krishna tells in Gita that ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham kathayantas ca mam nityam tusyanti ca ramanti ca Krsna tells, his devotees they enjoy great happiness discussing his pastimes together, describing his qualities among each other. So, through transcendental sound by hearing and chanting Krishna’s names, by hearing and chanting Krishna’s pastimes and by hearing and chanting about those great devotees who have surrendered their hearts and their lives for Krishna’s pleasure and Krishna’s service; according to our faith, according to the eagerness in which we hear and chant we can have direct experience of Krishna. Krishna is achintya, achyta, he's infallible, undefeatable, inconceivable. He is the parabrahman, the supreme brahman.
Balaramji, He is the source of all spiritual strength, He is the foundation of faith for all devotees. We should know that if we are strongly connected with faith and devotion to the Balaram through our guru tattva, through our spiritual master then all of the powers of Maya and all the demoniac influences can pound upon us but we will remain unshaken. After all in His mere expansion as Ananta Shesha, He is holding all the universes like little jewels on His hood. Balaram is the foundation and stability of all devotees, in fact of the entire material existence.
Balaram Jayanti Festival Class By HH Radhanath Swami At ISKCON Chowpatty On 3rd Aug 20 by Radhanath Swami
So, when he heard these beautiful singings sounds and he went and saw Balaram with the Gopis, not Gopis but residents of Dwarka but they were friends. Gopis never leave Vrindavan. So he began to jump on the trees and make these sounds kila, kila, kila and the Gopis saw and they started laughing. Prabhupada says “Young girls they like to laugh at everything”. We have seen, they were laughing and then he started making all these expressions, he would show his teeth, then he would move his eyebrows and his eyes in such a way and the Gopis were laughing more. Then, he started going discussing things, he started showing the lower parts of his body, right in front of Balaram and then he went on up and started trying to take off the clothes of the Gopis and he started taking off the clothes of Balaram and Balaram was thinking he is going too far, this is not proper etiquette and not only that he is causing so much disturbance. So, Balaram punched him in the head Sri Balaramji ki – Jai and Blood started coming out of his head. Prabhupada said actually Dvivida was beautiful and when the blood started pouring out, it made him even more beautiful. It was like liquid manganese flowing from a beautiful mountain peak. The poetic phrases of the Acaryas something wonderful and then Dvivida was very angry, so he picked up this big, big oak tree, have you ever seen oak trees? They are huge, strongest trees and he picked up this oak tree and he took off all the leaves and branches and he began to beat the head of Balaram with this oak tree and Balaram took his club and smashed the oak tree into pieces. And then he picked up another oak tree and started beating and Balaram with his club he smashed the oak tree into pieces and another tree, and another tree, and another tree un till the entire forest had not another tree left. So he was out of ammunition, then he picked up rocks, huge big boulder rocks he was strong as 10,000 elephants then he attacked Balaram to beat him with these rocks and Balaram with his club named ‘Sunanda’ he started smashing these rocks to pieces and another one and another one and another one till there was not a rock left in the area and Dvivida was so frustrated, he ran up to Balaram with his fist and started beating him with his fist in his chest. He has no weapons, Balaram put his club aside and his plough and with his fist he hit the collar bone of Dvivida and Dvivida, his eyes started rolling, he started to vomit blood and this big mountaineer creature fell to the ground dead. Sri Balaramji ki–Jai. And the demigods were very happy that this terrible demon has died.
Dhenukasura could not tolerate that they were enjoying what was meant for him. So, he came charging, screaming like an ass. He was big! He was big like mountain. And he approached Balaram and with the strength of an ass in his behind legs, he turned around and with all of his might he started kicking Balaram in the chest. And Balaram just stood there, calmly just tolerating these massive blows. And then Balaram just was thinking, “What is this? This demon must come to an end because he is trying to enjoy the fruits of His abode. Talavan was His abode.” He considered this is mine and whatever fruits are here are mine to enjoy. This sounds familiar? This is my house and whatever is in this house is mine to enjoy. This is what we called Dhenukasura consciousness. In another words, if anyone who thinks like this, is an ass, no offense or anything. Not that any of you think like this. But it is true. What does an ass think? An ass works hard all day, foaming at the mouth, big burden on him, for what? For little sense enjoyment and he thinks that what I work for, the fruits of my action are mine to enjoy. This is animal consciousness. But Balaram who is represented by the spiritual master comes and kills that ass like quality in our hearts and don’t think it’s always so nice, at least to our minds. The spiritual master learns to teach us that all the fruits of our actions, all the fruits of this world are meant for Krishna’s satisfaction. And through his words and through his instructions, in so many ways, he is trying to kill this Dhenukasura ass who is living within the hearts of all of us. That what is the Dhenukasura ass? The tendency to want to be the controller, to think that this is mine to enjoy. So, Balaramji took Dhenukasura by the behind legs and started whirling him around, threw him in the trees and he was dead. And in the same way the spiritual master, sometimes he just throws us around and we get all dizzy trying to follow his instruction but ultimately what is the purpose? To kill the ass in our heart? And in that pure heart, like the cowherd boys we simply offer all the fruits to Krishna. We enjoy with Krishna. Everything is Krishna’s.
In Goloka Vrindavan, we always see in pictures, Krsna always holds His flute. Balaramji always holds plough. This is very significant also. Why does Krsna carry His flute? To simply attract and charm the hearts of all living beings to His loving service. And why Balaramji carries plough? What do we do with a plough? We clear the road. Right? We prepare the field so that the seed will grow. Either use of plough for that purpose in agriculture or even to make roads to clear the obstacles. So, as the original spiritual master, Balaramji is personified with His plough for the purpose of plough it. First of all, the guru ploughs our hearts. His words are like a plough to make our hearts nice and soft so that the seed of devotion can grow and be attracted to the sweet sound of Krsna’s flute. Now we must understand that when the dirt of the ground is very dry, it has to be ploughed. And that ploughing, it’s not a very pleasurable thing for the earth. The ground has being ripped apart, just being ripped and ripped and ripped. So, this is the purpose of a guru, to rip our hearts apart until it becomes very soft, to just plough it and plough it and plough it, until all the hardness due to the false ego and pride and illusion and lust and anger and greed. He has to make our hearts soft for the seed of love can grow in it. That’s what Balaram’s plough is for. Through His representative, the spiritual master, he softens and prepares the field of our heart for the seed of love to be attracted to the sweet flute of Sri Krsna. And as far as clearing the road, the spiritual master clears all obstacles from our spiritual path just like one uses a plough for that purpose. And the spiritual master is considered to be the representative of Sri Balaramji.
Balaram is unique. There is no other personality like Him because Balaramji, He takes part in all the five rasas intimately with Sri Krishna. As santa rasa, it is Balaramji Who expands Himself through His energy to create Goloka Vrindavan. The spiritual world of Goloka is the expansion of the energy of Balaram. A land which is and all of the surroundings simply offering the most sweet and loving service to the Lord. Balaram also expands Himself through His energy as Krishna’s crown, as Krishna’s flute, as Krishna’s slippers, as Krishna’s clothes, as all of Krishna’s ornaments. It is all Balaram Himself just appearing in these most wonderful forms just to give pleasure and service to Sri Krishna and to assist Him in attracting the hearts of all living beings by His beautiful decorated forms. You see Krishna is all attractive. The supreme pleasure of Lord Krishna is to attract everyone’s heart. So, when Balaram appears as the most beautiful crown, the most beautiful flute, the most beautiful jewels, the most beautiful lightening-golden coloured dhoti, He assists Krishna by decorating His body in such a way that His attraction becomes even more attractive, to attract the hearts of all. So, this is how Balaramji appears in the santa rasa. As far as dasya rasa, whatever Balaram does is in the mood of the menial servant, simply trying to please Sri Krishna, His brother. As sakhya rasa He appears as Krishna’s friend. They wrestle together, they play together, they dance together, they herd the cows together, they argue together, they fight together. Why? All in the mood of just giving pleasure to Krishna. Just to supply service to the Lord.
Lord Chaitanya explained to Rupa Gosvami, the highest limits of spiritual elevation is the love of the Gopis of Vrindavan. And how through cultivating devotion through the nine processes of bhakti, one can attain the elevated stages that He had explained. Then He told Rupa Gosvami that I have given you just a sample of this knowledge, you should expand it and spread it to the whole world. Lord Chaitanya told Rupa Gosvami that I have personally entered into your heart and given you the power to understand and distribute everything I have spoken. Now, you should go to Vrindavan and you should write transcendental literatures extracting the essence of all knowledge of pure devotional service. You should excavate the lost holy places where Radha and Krishna performed their eternal Lila. You should build beautiful temples and establish deity worship. And through your lives, you should show the world proper vaishnav etiquette and the proper standards of devotion in the order of renunciation. Lord Chaitanya gave Rupa Gosvami these four instructions, then he began his trip to Varanasi. Rupa Gosvami and Anupam begged Lord Chaitanya we want to come to Varanasi with you. The waves within the ocean of separation are pounding against our hearts, we cannot bear it. Please let us come with you. Lord Chaitanya said you go to Vrindavan now, but after some time, you both come to Jagannath Puri to meet me. Then the Lord got on a boat and began sailing along the Ganges to Varanasi. Due to separation Srila Rupa Gosvami fell down on the ground unconscious and the decant Brahman had to pick him up and carry him home. Rupa Gosvami and Anupam following the order of the lord travelled by foot to Vrindavan.
Lord Chaitanya continued if the devotee continues watering the seed with the embroidery on nectarine shower of hearing and chanting, guarding against the offences and guarding against weeds, the bhakti lata beej grows. It grows beyond all the middle and upper planetary systems of this universe, beyond even Brahma Loka. It pierces the cover of the universe, it goes beyond even the entire material cosmos. Beyond material existence is an area called the Viraja. It is like a river that is the border between the material and spiritual worlds. The creeper pierces through the Viraja and enters into the spiritual sky. The unlimited all-pervading spiritual light of the lord, it continues to grow up to the level of the Vaikuntha planets. The devotee continues on hearing and chanting. The creeper enters into the supreme most of all spiritual abodes, Goloka Vrindavan. There, the creeper of devotion produces a beautiful ripened fruit, the fruit of pure unalloyed love for Krishna. That fruit of love of God is offered to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna. Krishna is very pleased to accept that love. And then the gardener tastes the sweetness of the fruit. Thus, he enters into a state of unlimited spiritual ecstasy. And mean while he is still in the material world, hearing and chanting, while his devotional creeper is in Goloka Vrindavan.
Years later, the father of Srinivasa acharya – whose name was Chaitanya Das was describing Rupa and Sanatana to his son. He said, “Many years before, my father brought me to Ramakeli, and when I saw the effulgence, the beauty and the grandeur of Rupa and Sanatana, I was struck with wonder. There, they exhibited such an opulence of renunciation, although in such high positions, any devotee guest that came, however insignificant and unknown, even poverty stricken, they would get down from their seats, bow down to those devotees, with folded hands and honour them. They would personally serve each devotee prasad with their own hands. With their money they built so many little houses on the bank of the Ganges. This was simply to take care very nicely all the guests that came. Their heart, their life, their soul, was to humbly serve the devotees. They became so famous, that if anybody wrote any literature in reference to the nyaya philosophy, it would not be accepted unless Rupa and Sanatana gave their approval.” In this way they lived, completely absorbed in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord, while simultaneously ruling the state for the Nawab.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally empowered Srila Rupa Goswami to reveal the innermost love and knowledge of His own heart to the world. Five thousand years ago, Lord Sri Krishna spoke the knowledge of Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. In a similar way, about five hundred years ago, Lord Chaitanya spoke the ultimate conclusions of all scriptures to Sri Rupa Goswami at Prayag. Srila Prabhupada has taught us that all the authorized followers of Lord Chaitanya are known as Rupanugas, the followers of Sri Rupa Goswami. Lord Chaitanya Himself only personally wrote the eight verses of Shikashtakam. It was through the six Goswamis, headed by Rupa Goswami that He personally revealed the transcendental philosophy of devotional service. Rupa Goswami is in the spiritual world, the intimate associate, maid-servant of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. His name is Sri Rupa Manjari. He has descended along with Radha and Krishna, who appeared as Lord Chaitanya, to help Them in Their divine mission. That mission is to dispel all misconception, ignorance and establish the true glory of the pure devotional service of Vrindavana.
There are so many crisis’s, there are so many sufferings all around in this world, in our personal life terrible misery is either taking place or eminent and when we hear what is taking place in the news, we find terrible droughts and floods and earth-quakes, epidemic diseases, greed, crime, drug-addiction, alcoholism, murders, wars, cold wars, hot wars, nuclear bombs, we can list forever practically the various ways to suffer in this world and it is all around us. And we should not hide our eyes from the facts, the realities. And through the United Nations and through the various social, political and philanthropic organizations, they are trying to at the most relief some of the symptoms of material miseries. But despite all our technology, all our science and all our developed diplomacy, the world is in terrible condition of conflict and suffering. Because there is only one process in this age of Kaliyuga to actually relieve the sufferings of this world and that is to get out of this world. We were explaining that this material existence is like vast unlimited ocean of suffering of birth and death and if you are in the middle of that ocean, you cannot avoid from getting wet. If you are cast in the ocean, can you become dry? It’s not possible. Nor is it possible to be in the association of material suffering and not suffer. Therefore Krishna is so inconceivably merciful that out of love and compassion for all of His children, for all living entities, He appears within this material world only for our sake, to attract us through His beautiful loving pastimes, to give us proper instructions and to reveal His divine name and He is coming to throw us that life-raft to take us out of this ocean of suffering. And through His Name and His devotees, the great Acharyas in the parampara system, they are coming to give us the life-raft of Krishna's mercy to take us out of the ocean of material suffering. But how foolish material civilization is today, that the life-raft is there, we are wet with the material suffering and we say “please take the life-raft, take the name of Krishna, take the association of His devotees, come out of this material world, transcend it today.” But what did they say? “I don't have time to take the life-raft because I am too busy, trying to dry myself off in this ocean. I am too busy trying to relieve the sufferings in this world of sufferings.”
Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Lord Shri Krishna himself in the divine mood of the love of Shrimati Radharani appeared in this world. But He did not reveal Himself as God but He revealed himself as a devotee to teach each of us by His practical example how to perfect our lives? How to always remember Krishna? How to be His devotee? How to surrender everything for Krishna's sake? How to purify our hearts? Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught us a simple process which is the essence of the application of all the teachings of the Vedas and what is that? That we must associate intimately in the mood of humble service with the Vaishnavas, with those pure hearted Sadhus who are dedicating their lives in the service of the Lord and in their association we must learn the process of Sadhna Bhakti. We must learn to regulate and discipline our lives by following regulative principles: no illicit sex, no intoxication, no gambling, no meat eating. These activities further perpetuate the illusion and bondage of the imprisoned soul. They feed and nourish the six enemies which are destroying our spirituality, at the same time in the association of simple, humble, pure hearted devotees we must learn the proper process of serving the Lord, serving those devotees and chanting the holy names of Krishna. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare
Blind faith means faith which is not based on the principles of truth. Çréla Prabhupada has given us his books. His books are the authorized translations and commentaries of the original Vedas, which are the revelations of truth in this world. So, by understanding nicely his books in nice association, we can understand what is true and what is false. And we should put our faith in what is true. If we do not know what is true and what is false, then we are subject to blind faith. But if we understand what is true and what is false and we put our faith according to what direction truth is giving us, that is real faith. And it’s not that you have to be a deeply scholarly philosopher. Prabhupada has presented in such simple and wonderful way. What is the yuga dharma? To chant the Mahamantra, that Kåñëa is a person and all other energies and all other aspects of the truth are subordinate to Kåñëa, who is swayam bhagavan and by chanting His holy names in this age of Kali yuga, we can purify our hearts and come in contact with that truth and we must give up sense gratification. Sense gratification is most dangerous through the process of illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, meat eating. These are basic truths, easy to understand, we are not this body. If you are sincere and you hear these words, you will understand and if someone is repeating those truths and other great Vaishnavas are corroborating that yes, what he is saying is correct, then we have no reason to doubt, we can put our full faith. Blind faith is based on our own sentiment and tinged by our own material motivations. Real faith is based on the descending words of Kåiñhëa and the previous acharyas.
We should be humble to serve everyone but we must have, we have to have one direction, vyavasäyätmikä buddhir. That person who we are accepting as a personal link to Çréla Prabhupada in our own life, we should never feel that we need to have second opinions beyond his. That person, who you are speaking of, whoever it may be, was giving us Çréla Prabhupada in such a way we are committing ourselves to, in a faithful and chaste manner, we simply serve his order, but part of his order must be that we offer all respects and veneration to all other such Vaishnavas, it’s not the question of my guru is better than your guru. This is neophyte consciousness. For this other person, his guru is better than my guru. That is natural, but I will follow my gurudeva and I will be faithful to his instructions and I will hear from other Vaishnavas to inspire me in the mission of what gurudeva is giving me, service to Çréla Prabhupada’s mission. We should honour, respect and venerate all proper devotees. But still that special connection of surrender is within that person who is linking us to the discplic succession, simultaneously one and different, achinta-bheda-bheda-tattva. All the exalted disciples of Prabhupada, we should see that they are all one and one in respect and therefore we respect and venerate them all but still, there is one and different, our guru is different also. Not that he is better, but he is the connection coming through me and it is to him that I give my surrender and all my love to Kåñëa through the previous Äcäryas, you understand?
Press Pause, The Journey Within | Steve Aoki in conversation with HH Radhanath Swami 18Jul20 by Radhanath Swami
'From Illusion To Reality' With HH Radhanath Swami on 21Jul20 (With Italian Translation) by Radhanath Swami
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he rejected Mukunda, Mukunda Dutta, that I will never see him, I will never allow him to see me ever again because first he comes to bow down at my feet and then he beats Me with sticks on the head. First he comes and he chants and dances with us and then we know that he goes and he listens to Mayavad philosophy. He rejected him. Of course, he was doing this as an example for us. Mukunda Dutta, he was such a pure, unmotivated, unalloyed Vaishnava, but when he was younger, it is explained, he had a guru who was teaching those things and he was obliged to listen for some time but Mahaprabhu took it so seriously, such humility, bowing down like you are humble but actually you are hitting Me on head, by hearing these things. So, it’s not humble to submit ourselves before what is not the truth, but is a deviation. And it’s humility to help, to fight, to establish and preserve what is that real truth, in our own hearts and in the minds of others.
It is explained that Brahmä is the father of all Vidhis and he is the embodiment of all transcendental knowledge and Vedavyas, worshipping, respecting and offering veneration to his guru on an equal level to that of Brahmäji and because Vedavyas was approaching in this spirit, and this is very important to understand, he wasn’t approaching Närada because Närada was Närada, he was approaching Närada with such respect and submissiveness because Närada was the representative of Brahmä and Kåñëa and this is the difference between a personality cult and a proper religion based on truth. However wonderful a person may speak, however handsome a person may move his body, however empowered one may be with siddhis or charismatic, if we actually want to learn the truth, we do not respect and venerate that person because of what he is. We respect and venerate that person because of what that person represents and we have seen too often, how often times disciples or followers, they lose that perception and they think that this is my guru and whatever he says doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter any guru, it doesn’t matter any sadhu or any Shashtra, to me, he is God, God is speaking through him. In this way, we are in the wrong consciousness; we do not understand how to approach a spiritual master. Vedavyasa is teaching us, because he is representing Brahmä, therefore I will hear from him and I will offer him all respect and veneration, I will surrender to his lotus feet. Similarly, in this movement, we should respect and adore someone because they are representing Prabhupada and Bhatkisiddhanta, Gaurakishora, Bhaktivinoda, Jagganatha Das babaji, Narottama Das Thakur, Çrénivasa Acharaya, Kåñëadas Kaviraja Goswami, Raghunatha Das Goswami, Rupa and Sanatana, Swarop Damodar Goswami, Nityanada Prabhu, Çré Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ishwara Puri, Madhavendra Puri, Lakshmipati, Madhaväcärya, Vyasa, Närada and Kåñëa; and Kåñëa is the disciple of Radharani. Caitanya Caritamrita states this, Kåñëa says, ‘that Radharani, her Bhakti, her love is so much, so deep, so great, that, that love is my guru. I am controlled by it, I am the servant of it, I dance according to her love.’ So, Radha and Kåñëa, their loving affairs is the supreme guru and we must know that this mercy, this grace, this knowledge must come down through proper disciplic succession. And we must honour and venerate those persons, not necessarily just one person, but those persons who are properly representing that truth.
sometimes we find that devotees who are not properly cultured in what Vishnavism truly is in these higher realms of consciousness, sometimes they become proud and sometimes they think they really do not require to hear anything from anyone because they already know. ‘I’ve already read the books, I know so many slokas, I’m such a good preacher, I’m giving so much good guidance to others, I’m content, I’m very good.’ But can you compile the four Vedas, the eighteen Puranas in perfect metric poetry, the Mahabharata, the Vedanta sutra, the itihasas, the Çrémad Bhagvatam and some of these literatures, not only did he compose them, but he wasn’t sitting there with a computer deleting things and going over what he has already done with editors and proof readers like even the best authors today, he wasn’t scratching out. He was just speaking and as he was speaking, without stopping Ganapati was writing and they made a pact that if you stop writing, I will stop speaking; if you stop speaking, I will stop writing. So, I believe the whole Mahabharata was written in this way, no stopping, perfect Sanskrit grammar, poetry, everything is there included within that is the Bhagavad-gétä, representing the highest truths. Are you so competent to compile all the Vedic literatures? Yet Vyäsadeva was still feeling himself in need, depending on some higher power to full fill his purpose. He was still longing for direction for guidance. And actually even in the spiritual world, when you are in an absolutely perfect spiritual form, siddha deha, your Swarupa, Bhakta Swarupa, even at that time; you are never thinking that “I’m very good, I have done enough.” In Vrindavan we find everyone is thinking, what more can I do for Kåñëa? And everyone is under a higher authority, everyone is anxious to do more service, anxious to learn more and receptive to hear ‘How can I do more service for the pleasure of Radha and Kåñëa?’ Çrémati Radharani is the original supreme most spiritual master and from her Lalita Vishaka, the sakhis, Citra sakhi, Induleka sakhi, Campalata, Ranga devi, Sudevi, these sakhis, they all have their manjari associates: Rupa manjari, Vilas manjari, like that. And all of the most perfected begins in the forms of Braja gopis they are always anxious to do more service, always feeling themselves that they haven’t done enough and therefore they are always eager hear from their authorities, from their gurus and receive direction of how they can best serve and please Radha and Kåñëa? So, this is the eternal nature of the perfectly liberated soul. In the path of Bhakti, we are never content; we are always depending and aspiring for the blessings and the mercy of our seniors to guide us, to direct us and to bless us. So how much greater is to understand us here, in this world in our conditioned state?
Sometimes we becomes complacent, everything is going very nice, our family life is going nice, our children are becoming nice devotees, all of our economic problems are not problems at all and everyone likes us and we are being very respected, when we come to the temple and our sadhana is very strong. Even when all this is there, Maya is ready to trap you, by making you feel, that everything is all right, that’s giving you a sense of complacency in your own service and in your own position in society. But, to advance in Kåñëa Consciousness, there must be greed and eagerness and anxiety for more and a receptive heart to receive the directions and the blessings by which we can receive that, that must always be there. That’s why it is important to regularly hear Çrémad Bhagvatam. You see, just like in surgery, sometimes you are stabbed, sometimes you are cut, but we don’t want anesthesia, we want to feel the pain, as the knife of the Sadhu’s words go into our heart, because it keeps us awake, it keeps us alive, it keeps us feeling a sense of discontentness, in our present situation so we can strive and hanker and long for more. So at this very time, Närada appeared, it’s wonderful! Närada did not appear until Vedavyäsa was in distress. But, we find this is the case wherever there is a proper transmission of transcendental knowledge. Kåñëa didn’t speak to Arjuna until he was in distress, until he was longing for guidance until he felt himself incapable, then Kåñëa, He waited for that moment, similarly Sukadeva Goswami, he didn’t speak to Maharaj Parikshit until, he was cursed to die in seven days, he was eager, he was anxious as Arjuna was, as Vyasdeva is, so at this time Kåñëa sends Çré Närada Muni
I remember one time my beloved God brother and mentor His Holiness Sacinandana Swami Maharaj invited me to come to Germany. I believe it was Cologne for a Ratha-Yatra and while we were there, after it started raining and pouring very very hard and it was raining during the parade and we were all dancing together and Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj was with us. And then there was a beautiful dance performance. Vrajasundari and so many wonderful devotees were performing and what happened is at the time of prasad, we were in this under this little tent and it was pouring, pouring rain and Bhakti Charu Maharaj, Sacinandana Maharah and myself, we were sitting together, just little table we couldn't go anywhere because it was raining so hard and Bhakti Charu Maharaj came up with this idea that he wanted to have a satsang program on a major ocean line cruiser. And he wanted Sacinandana Swami and myself to join it and this was something that was quite unheard of, never done before and it seemed quite impossible. So, Sacinandana Maharaj and myself were just trying to take prasad and associate nicely but he was really, really enthusiastic. He said, “Promise me that you will come and you will join us for this ocean liner cruise satsang on the Atlantic Ocean”. Actually, we thought this will never happen but we should just make Maharaja happy by saying yes and soon after, he did it. He and his incredible disciples, they organized the first ocean liner cruise satsang, where there was this gigantic ship leaving from, I think Southampton, it was an ocean liner ship and we had like a whole area to have our kirtans and our lectures and he arranged rooms for us. And he arranged special Prasad for us and it was interesting because it was really luxurious but the whole time I was seasick and Bhakti Charu Maharaj, just even though he was overseeing and managing everything that was going on along with some of his very dear associates and he was practically constantly trying to see to my health. It was truly a historical wonderful event.
When Krishna left Vrindaban, the vrajavasis, the gopas and the gopis how they cried in separation? Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami tells that after lord Sri Krishna went to Mathura with Akrura and then later went to Dwaraka, the gopis and the gopas of Vrindaban, they cried for the rest of their lives. This crying is an emotion, it's an offering of love. At the same time, we know that it's very different from the crying of separation in this material world. The pathetic emotions of losing a loved one physically in this world is very much lamenting over the end of a connection, the end of a relationship. But in Krishna consciousness, we know that we are eternal spirits souls, part and parcel of Krishna and the viashnavas, our Gurus are Krishna's most beloved representatives, entrusted with Krishna's grace and at the time of separation, Srila Prabhupada explains it that “for a great Vaishnava, the appearance and the disappearance are the same. A devotee appears in this world to spread Krishna Consciousness and really never disappears but simply enters into Krishna's pastimes according to wherever Krishna wants that devotee to be.” Srila Prabhupada emphasised the idea of Vapu and Vani, that Vapu is the physical association with our spiritual masters, with our beloved Vaishnavas and that Vapu is only for a very short time and the examples illustrated by the way a devotee lives and the words that the devotee speaks is the true presence, that's the true spirit and that is never lost. Srila Prabhupada, when he was in his closing pastimes in this world, he taught so many lessons.
And I'm remembering just about 28 hours before Tamal Krishna Goswami was taken from this world, I was having a discussion with him. We talked about three or four hours together just the two of us. First, we walked around, then he took me to his room and I remember it, toward the end of our discussion and we discussed so many different subjects; Prabhupada, philosophy, the state of affairs of ISKCON, the future, we discussed so many things and we were revealing our hearts so beautifully. And I remember just toward the end, he was telling me what he wants to do in the future. We're sitting in his room in Mayapur, I can picture it now. And he said after I graduate from Cambridge University with PhD, I want to start a Vaishnav College, an educational institution for Vaisnava studies and eventually I wanted to be in Mayapur but I want to start in Calcutta and Srila Tamala Krishna Goswami said “I have several Bengali disciples and they are very educated and they are very surrendered” and he said, “I want to do this with Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj”. He started to praise Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj. He said “I love to serve with him.” He said “in 1977, we shared the same room in Vrindavan as I was Prabhupada’s secretary and he was Prabhupada’s personal assistant or servant and we did everything together for Srila Prabhupada and we just served so well together. and he said “even though Bhakti Charu Swami is elder than me in age and he is coming from true vaisnava culture of Bengal and he is such an advanced devotee, he still sees me,” Tamala Krishna Goswami said “he still sees me as his older brother. Because during those days with Srila Prabhupada in Vrindavan, you know I was in charge of everything and he was serving under me. Even today, years later he still sees me as his older brother in Prabhupada’s service” and Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj was expressing to me with so much feeling “I love to serve with him and he's the perfect person to serve with me to establish this university. He is from Calcutta, he is Bengali, he is surrendered soul to Srila Prabhupada and we have such an intimate relationship” and that was very special and that was one of the last things that Tamala Krishna Goswami said to me before we parted and Srila Prabhupada took him from our physical association.
'How To Keep The Devotees Together And Closer To Krishna?' by GBCSPT With HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Krishna gave us a chance before Maharaj departed from this world to really appreciate within our hearts how much he means to us, through our intense prayers, through our feelings of hopelessness, through our feelings of helplessness, taking shelter of his mercy and through his mercy, the mercy of Srila Prabhupada and the Panchatatma. So, yes i do believe that Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj was called by Srila Prabhupada and external circumstances, there's no reason to really trying to figure those things out. His departure is perfect. The external circumstances are details. A person who has surrendered his life, his soul to the service of Guru in compassion to others we know that the whole Parampara is with that person, that Sri Radha Madhava was present at that time and actually maybe not on a physical level but on a spiritual level, there are tens and thousands of devotees who were around his bedsides and heart praying and chanting and crying in love for him. He was not alone. Bhakti Charu Swami is with us and he's bringing us all to Srila Prabhupada which is the only wish of his life, to bring us closer to Srila Prabhupada and in doing so, to bring us closer to each other. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj very much emphasized the Family of ISKCON, the Family of Srila Prabhupada's movement and it's times like this when taking his instruction very much to heart is so important. Because in times of crisis a family really needs to come together. I am very speechless and feel very helpless at this time. Still I feel maharaja's presence, I feel and I see and I experience his smile, his glance of affection and that is empowering me and it can empower all of us to move forward in Srila Prabhupada’s service. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj ki Jai.
And of course Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj, he either he himself would cook or he would have devotees who he trained cooking and every day for lunch in Mayapur, and this was there for every year he would always invite God brothers and God sisters and other devotees to come and join him the very, the most incredible prasada. And he insisted that I stay with him every year for all the meetings and for the whole festival and whenever I was in Mayapur and I did it for several years but then I was thinking that - he's extending himself so much but you know I'm intruding in his life by being here in the same room with him. So, I expressed that to him, so he gave me a little room next to his but then what happened is when I was in the room next to him the next year, he was always coming to the room. “What do you need? How can I serve you?” He was always sending his people and I didn't want to be a burden. So, then I decided to get a little room, the simple little room in the Gada building in Sri Mayapur and Bhakti Charu Maharaj in his transcendental Bengali motherly affection, he seemed so sad “why are you moving to the Gada building? You should stay with me.” I said “Maharaj you know I need to give you your own space” and he said “no no I want you.” But I remained in the Gada building but still you know how many times he would invite me for lunch Prasad and the world's best pradad.
When I would come to Mayapur because I was made a GBC, when I would come for the meeting and for the festival, Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj so affectionately would always invite me to stay in his room with him and I remember the first year. I was right in his room and we would sleep next to each other at night and we would bathe in the same little bathroom and it was just the two of us in the room but I remember something that affected me so deeply and still does. At around midnight, we would take rest around 9:00 or 10:00 and at around midnight every night, I would hear Bhakti Charu Maharaj in his little office translating Srila Prabhupada’s books in Bengali. This was 1994, 1995, 1996 he would be translating from midnight till about 4:00 in the morning and seven days a week. Such a devotion, when did he sleep? I couldn't understand but I remember every night when I would just wake up in the middle of the night and I knew for sure that he would not be sleeping in his little cot next to me but rather he would be in his little office just behind, with his Dictaphone offering Srila Prabhupada’s divine words into the Ganga of the of the Bengali language. He took Prabhupada’s instruction to him as his life and soul. vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana. Srila Prabhupada would quote Visvanath Chakravati Thakur that the path of devotional service really is to take the order of the spiritual master as one's life and soul, to be resolute and purpose with one aim. I could see that. I could feel that. I could hear that. It was very transforming experience.
So, through his culture he decided, he wanted to make a television series of Srila Prabhupada's life called Abhaya Charan. And when devotees heard this, it sounded so impossible. It sounded so extraordinary, you know it's one thing to think it to make an entire series that's going to be broadcast on Indian national television every week. Bhakti Charu Maharaj did it. These Abhaya Charan Series, I'm not sure how many episodes but it went on for a long time and I know some of the most prominent people of India, who never really understood what our movement was, even though they may have been life members and everything like that but when they saw the Abhaya Charan series, they were glued to it and they had their first real understanding of who is this AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Some of them because I was preaching in India and I was meeting so many people and prominent people who were favourable, who were friends but their appreciation for Srila Prabhupada was magnified hundreds and hundreds of times and their eagerness to serve our mission, what to speak of the common people? Yes, Bhakti Churu Swami Maharaj’s Abhaya Charan was on Doordarshan, major television network in India for I believe several years and people were glued, looking forward all week to hear to see what would Srila Prabhupada do next.
"Remembering HH Bhakti Charu Swami" A Special Talk by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
The first time I ever met His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj was in 1979. That was the first time he came to the United States of America. He wanted to go to preach and to serve at Srila Prabhupada's various temples in America and it was also the grand opening of Srila Prabhupada's palace at New Vrindavan. I happened to be traveling and in the college towns and preaching, I believe at that time and I came back to New Vrindavan and when I came back, you know I went to Srila Prabhupada's palace to have darshan of Srila Prabhupada and I don't remember if it was just after the opening or just before, but in the little kitchen was Bhakti Charu Maharaj cooking. He would spend hours and hours every day just all alone cooking for Srila Prabhupada. And when I met him for the first time, there was just such a beautiful, unforgettable connection that was in my heart. Here he was a person who was so exalted in his service to Srila Pabhuapada, with his association with Srila Prabhupada and his very culture, he was born in Prabhupada's birthplace and he was just in the most humble spirit, he was just cooking for Srila Prabhupada, he was putting so much of his heart and his soul into everything he was cooking and it was just to offer the deity of Srila Prabhupada. And I asked him if I could assist him just by washing his pots, I was a brahmacari at that time, by washing his pots and by cutting the vegetables and cleaning the floors or any menial service I could do to assist him and he he was he was happy just doing it all himself in fact it kind of seemed like he just, he relished cleaning everything himself and cutting everything himself but out of his kindness, he allowed me to help.
Bhakti Charu Maharaj was soon given the service of being Srila Prabhupada's personal servant, attendant. And this was during the time when Srila Prabhupad was closing his lila in this world. How menial, how simple, how loving and devotional was the service that Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj was offering and Srila Prabhupada was reciprocating. When they were in Rishikesh, Srila Prabhuapada went there to see if it was if Krishna wanted his health to be restored. And on one night, it was sometime around midnight, the only people in the dark room were Srila Prabhupada and Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj. And Srila Prabhupada revealed something so profoundly intimate and deep, we can never understand. He said to Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj that “it is time for me to leave this world, take me to Vrindaban.” He chose to give this message to his loving servant. Bhakti Charu Maharaj the next morning informed Prabhupada's personal secretary Tamal Krishna Gosvami Maharaja and they brought Srila Prabhupada back to Vrindavan. And it was there that Bhakti Charu Maharaj was constantly in the service, the personal service of Srila Prabhupada. He was translating the books into Bengali, he was a general secretary for India and he was rendering this personal service day and night for nine months. And he was at Shrila Prabhupada's bedside at that inconceivably traumatic moment for our hearts when Srila Prabhupad in the loving hands of Srimati Radharani and Sri Shyama Sunder departed from the physical world only to make his presence deeper and more tangible in the hearts of the sincere devotees who were truly trying to follow his instructions.
HH Radhanath Swami at The Memorial Event for HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj by Bhakti Vendanta Manor by Radhanath Swami
The Nectar of Devotion and the teachings of Lord Chaitanya to Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami were given in Bengali and Sanskrit. Srila Prabhupada he lived at Prayag too, he had his Prayag pharmacy, In fact His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada was given both first and second initiation at Prayag by Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada at the Rupanuga Gaudia Math. Srila Prabhuapda was initiated by Bhakti Sidhnata Saraswati Thakur in the same place that Rupa Goswami was given teachings and mercy and blessings by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And that is where Bhakti Charu Maharaj had his first personal, physical contact was Srila Prabhupada and it was at that time he was given this instruction to translate Srila Prabhupada's books, all of them in the Bengali language. Now Srila Prabhupad's books by that time 1977 were being translated in many languages of the world but Bengali was the very language of Srila Prabhupada's own native tongue. It was the language of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda and Gadadhar Pundit and Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur and Bhkati Vinod Thakur and the six goswamis and Viswanth Chakravarthi Thakur, they were all coming from that Bengali background. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata are primarily written in Bengali with profuse Sanskrit verses. Srila Prabhupada translated from the Sanskrit and Bengali to English and now for the first time he's asking someone to translate these books into the original language of Bengali. Srila Prabhupada had just met Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj, he was not even initiated and yet Srila Prabhupad could see something in him, he could appreciate him so in such a special way that he gave him this very intimate, personal service. Like taking water from the Ganges and offering it back to the Ganges. The literatures like Caitanya Chritamrita were coming from Bengali, given to the world by Srila Prabhupada and Prabhupada is now offering it back into the Bengali language through the loving heart of Bhakti Chari Swami Maharaja. Now translating all his books is really a task, all the Srimad-Bhagavatam, all the Chaitanya Charitamrita, The Nectar of Devotion, Sri Isopanishat, all the small books, Bhagavat Gita, but Bhakti Charu Maharaj immediately accepted the service. He tells how he considered himself totally unqualified and that's how he felt, but Srila Prabhupad saw that his feeling himself unqualified was his qualification. Because when we really feel our self unqualified, but we're sincere and we are serious and we're willing to give our life with without ulterior motives, then Krishna and Guru empowers us. Srila Prabhupad told him that if you just do it through your practice, you will learn. But he was really saying if you just surrender to my instruction, I will empower you.
Prabhupad came to America, he would sometimes say “people are trying to come from India to take what the west has, their material comforts and prosperity. But I have come to give the culture of India, the culture of pure devotional service, which is really at the heart of all religions everywhere.” So, Bhakti Charu Maharaj went to the west and there he had a realization of the glories of the great treasures and gift of the spiritual culture of India and he returned to India seeking a spiritual teacher. Sometimes Bhkait Charu Maharaj on a personal level would share with me that we were soul brothers, in a way because at exactly the time, same time in 1970, I was leaving the west traveling over land to India to look for spiritual life and Bhakti Charu Maharaj was traveling west for the same purpose. And of course, I don't remember or recall that we ever physically and personally met on that level, but we both had the same intention at the same time and he was going west and I was going east and ultimately he returned to the east. And being such a effulgent, intelligent and sincere seeker of the truth wherever he went, any spiritual teachers they longed for a person like this. So, he travelled for some years reading books, meeting different gurus and sages and yogis and at a certain time, he was given The Nectar of Devotion, a book by Srila Rupa Goswami, that was translated in summary by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
HH Radhanath Swami Address on Disappearance of HH Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaj by Radhanath Swami
Guidely Presents "Compassion & Self-Awareness" With HH Radhanath Swami on 01st July 20 by Radhanath Swami
Therefore, if you surrender to Krishna, if you take shelter of Krishna, if you ask Krishna to come into your life and remove that mountain of false ego, with the little finger of His left hand he will lift it away. Aa jao Giridhari. why do we chant that song? Come Krishna, take away my false ego, please come into my life. I cannot do it, I cannot control my own existence, I'm a fool, I'm a rascal and I'm proud of it. That is my lamentable position. Please come into my life, come into the temple of my heart Krishna. And you take my life, you, I'm just handing it over to you. When you can do that, the day you honestly and sincerely pray to Krishna, Krishna from this day on I am yours. At that time Krishna takes over your life and that big impossible, immovable mountain of false ego will easily lift away. That is why we pray mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam By surrendering to guru, you surrender to Krishna. One who surrenders to guru, even if he is a lame man he can cross over the Himalayas. Even if he is a dumb man, he can speak the most beautiful philosophical poetry and even if he is a blind man, he can see the most distant stars in the sky. How is that possible? It is impossible. But Guru Kripa is the most powerful force in all of the creation. So, yes, this false ego is like an immovable mountain, it is impossible. Therefore, we must humble ourselves and take shelter of the lotus feet of the lord's devotees and by their mercy, this mountain is easily moved we must have faith.
"Overcoming Fear By The Power Of Bhakti" By HH Radhanath Swami With Italian Transaltion on 29Jun20 by Radhanath Swami
There was a devotee, Prabhupada talks about him in the Chaitanya Charitamrita. He decided he wanted to imitate Haridas Thakur. He wanted to chant all day and do nothing else. He had the same question you did, exactly the same question “if we're supposed to chant all day, what is the use of eating and sleeping and performing all these other activities, why not just sit and chant?” So he wrote to Srila Prabhupada and told him he wanted to just sit and chant and Srila Prabhupada told him that this is not the work of a neophyte devotee. He said you will simply fall down if you tried to do like this. So his conclusion is that Prabhupada is saying that for the sake of everyone else, who's not qualified to do it. But actually Prabhupada knows my real position. Sometimes when devotees want to do something and when the guru maharaj tells him don't do it, he wants to justify by saying actually this instruction not to do it is not for me. But it's where the people in general, doesn't apply to me because I'm very special. So therefore yes yes for everybody else the general assembly of the devotees, the neophytes this is very good instruction. But as far as for me I know what my guru maharaj really wants me to do from within the core of my heart and he wants me to do what I want to do. So this is the way this person thought. Prabhupada directly told you not to do it. He said no no you don't understand, I have a very special relationship with Prabhupada. He wants me to do it, but if he tells me to do it, then everyone will want to do it and nobody else is qualified. So therefore he has to tell me not to do it. But actually Prabhupada wants me to do what I want to do. So he went to Mayapur and he lasted for about six months. He was chanting all day all night. He was eating just a little rice every day that fit in his hand. And after six months, he disappeared. People were thinking my God maybe he made so much advancement that he just he just like a rocket ship took off 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 and he blasted off to Goloka Vrindavana. The people maybe it's like this. But then what happened is some time later, one devotee pulled into a gas station to get some petrol in his car and work and operating the petrol pump was babaji maharaj. And what are you doing here we thought you were in Mayapur chanting Hare Krishna. He said ah he said yes yes I did that for a while but now I have a wife that I have to support, so I had to get a job. Do you chant Hare Krishna anymore? I chanted enough during that six months for I can take a break for the rest of my lifetime. I have credit Harinam credit,.
Rupa Goswami explains what is Yukta Vairagya? That which can be utilized in Krsna’s service should not be rejected but it should be utilized in Krsna’s service. “To reject something that can be used in devotional service is incomplete renunciation but to dovetail all the gifts of God for the pleasure of god that is real renunciation. But we have to be very honest and sincere because we have a cheating propensity in the conditioned state and our cheating propensity we want to take something for our own personal sense gratification and say that this is for Krsna, this is yukta-vairagya. But you can’t cheat Krsna. What you have, whether it is your wealth, whether it is your distinction in society, whether it your physical strength, your power to speak or to sing whatever you have we must learn by being trained by a Bonafede spiritual master in the association of devotees how to genuinely, sincerely utilize all these things in Krsna’s service. It can’t be something that is done by our own concoction. We have to have the training of an advanced devotee to teach us the real principle of Yukta Vairagya. And whatever we have, real Yukta Vairagya is not to try to keep it for ourselves and say this is for Krsna. But it’s to approach Guru that this is what I have, how can I best use it? And to utilize it accordingly that is the safest and purest path of Yukta Vairagya.
Earn With Integrity Spend With Compassion - Conversation Between Juhi Hawla And HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
To think one self lower than the blade of grass. Sometimes Prabhupada would say to think one self lower than the straw on the street. That means the blade of grass that is not even connected to the ground, it just been thrown on the street. Doesn’t even have any life left. A blade of grass on the ground is still growing. But when that blade of grasses cast in the street. It doesn’t even have any position to grow. It’s not even green anymore. It’s just being trampled on. To aspire to be more humble than the straw on the street, to offer all respect to others to expect none in return, to be tolerant like tree, this is the aspiration by which we chant the Holy Name. Nor that I will make a show when I am chanting your name Krsna because I expect some favour from you. And after I get the favour there is no longer any reason to put the show of humility on. We develop humility the most important of all spiritual qualities through performing the austerity of taking the position of being a humble servant of the servant of the servant in our life. When we take that position, Krsna sees that we really want to be humble. If we want to take position of master or controller, then Krsna will see we really don’t want to be humble. Ultimately humility can only come when Krsna gives it to us. it’s not something you can develop. But by aspiring, by performing this austerity of truly trying to be the humble servant of the servant and praying deeply that this desire becomes our very eternal goal of life and by following the regulative principles of Krishna Consciousness with this desire and mind, then Krsna will most certainly reward you a heart of true humility. Where in, we are willing to accept anything that Krsna gives us with the kind and grateful heart and continue performing our humble service that is the price of true humility.
Find Your Soul And Inner Peace - HH Radhanath Swami with Rashami Desai on IIT Techfest by Radhanath Swami
Lord Nityananda Prabhu was sitting under a tree and by his own transcendental will, he became very hungry and he became transcendentally angry and he said out loud that “I am so hungry I could die and because Shivananda Sen is not giving me Prasad properly I curse that his sons will die” and Shivananda Sen’s wife happened to be right next to Lord Nityananda Prabhu when he said this. He said for the inconvenience he is causing me, let his sons die and his wife began to weep and cry. I would like all of you mothers to do research in your heart what would your feeling be if Lord Nityananda said that about your son’s? and what about your father’s? You don’t have to say anything be just be honest with yourself. So, Shivananda Sen came finally and when he came he immediately was approached by his wife and she said that Lord Nityananda, he was so hungry that he cursed our son’s to die and she was weeping and weeping and Shivananda Sen replied “you foolish women why you are crying? for the inconvenience I have caused Lord Nityananda, our son’s deserve to die.” Because he knew whatever Nityananda desires is for the ultimate good of all living beings and he very blissfully ran to Lord Nityananda and begged his apology. And as he approach Lord Nityananda, Lord Nityananda was great anger kicked him with his foot on Shivananda Sen’s chest. And Shivananda Sen was very happy. He began to praise Lord Nityananda he praised his own good fortune, the great sages and great rishis even Brahma and Shiva they are always aspiring to try to get one grain of dust, one glimpse of darshan of the lotus feet of the Lord. Even Ananta Shesha with all of his thousand hoods are chanting the glories of lotus feet of the Lord and today out of his causeless mercy, those same lotus feet have touched me. I consider today my birth, my life, my family, everyone is perfectly successful and liberated because I have achieved the dust of the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu. Ofcourse, he made all nice arrangements for Lord Nityananda Prabhu and when Lord Nityananda heard how he accepted his mercy with such humility and gratefulness Lord Nityananda Prabhu embraced him. Ofcourse Shivananda Sen’s did not die they became Paramahamsa great Viashnavas. They lived long lives and then went back to Godhead and Shivananda Sen is glorified for ever for having such faith and devotion and the mercy of the Lord in whatever way it comes.
Vaishnava Seva-Devotee Care Principles For Developing A Community by HH Radhanath Swami With GBCSPT by Radhanath Swami
After Jagannath Ratha Yatra in New York city, the deities of Jagannath, Baladev & Subhadra appeared, I believe it was a dream to Their head pujari, and said, “We want to go to Gita Nagari to see Bhakti Tirtha Swami M.” So what could the pujari do? He put large large deities of Jagannath Baladev & Subhadra in the back of a little van and drove about 5 hours to Gita Nagari. We got a phone call that Baladev Subhadra & Jagannath want to see Bhakti Tirtha Swami. Because he did not come to them, they are coming to him. We will be there later today. And they arrived right on time. Right to the house where Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj was staying. They pulled up in the drive way and they opened the doors of the van to face out at the front door of the house. And all devotees from Gita Nagari came from all directions in their parking lot driveway, and Bhakti Tirtha Swami was lifted up from his bed, put on his wheel chair and carried outside the steps and brought right before Jagannath Baladev and Subhadra mayi. It was a beautiful scene; even though he was really at very advanced stages, he led in an incredibly beautiful kirtan and gave a talk. He remembered that time when he see Jagannath in Puri and Jagannath allowed him in. He was experiencing such affection for the mercy of Lord Jagannath in his life. It thrilled the hearts of all the vaishnavas. It reminded me of Lord Chaitanya and Haridas Thakur. HT could not go in to see Jagannath, so Jagannath would come everyday to see Haridas Thakur. But in those days Lord Chaitanya would just walked about 5-10 minutes to Siddha Bakula. But in this case Lord Jagannath drove about 5 hours in a van to see his devotee. Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaj ki Jay !!!
International Yoga Day - HH Radhanath Swami Conversation With Raghunath Cappo and Sharon Gannon by Radhanath Swami
So all of a sudden the pandas and the pujaris they just stopped all the crowds and they were choosing people that they thought they had money and called them forward. And one of the pandas called Bhakti Tirtha Swami who was in disguise. He said “you come.” But he said it in Orion language. And Bhakti Tirtha Swami was really afraid because he is going to talk to him and he only speaks English. He doesn’t speak any language except English. So, he was thinking “what am I going to say? I will tell him that I am an India but I was brought up American I only know English.” So, person started talking to him and he didn’t say anything. He was asking questions, very seriously asking him questions. And Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj couldn’t understand the word he was saying and he didn’t know what to response. So he just remained silent as if he was praying to Lord Jagannath. So the person actually brought him right up to the altar and pushed his head right on the altar near Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra’s lotus feet. And let him stand right inches from Jagannath, Baladev, Subhadra to offer his prayers of love. Then he took him to circumambulator Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra and meanwhile so many other Pandas wanted to try to get money from him but this one panda was saying “he is mine, he is mine.” And then in the end, after he had this amazing darshan of Jagannath he offered prayer. He told me that he prayed, he prayed to Lord Jagannath to protect all the devotees in ISKCON, to give them pure Bhakti and to empower them to please Srila Prabhupada by spreading the mission all over the world. This was his only prayer that he could be an instrument of mercy and compassion in his life. And that all the devotees would be happy in Krishna Consciousness. That was his prayer to Jagannath.
Class and Prayers for HH Bhakti Charu Swami By HH Radhanath Swami On CC M.13.60 At ISKCON Chowpatty by Radhanath Swami
The first day he embraced him, he cried tears of affection, he stroked his head and said your life is successful. You are carrying on Parampara. And the next day it’s not that Ghyanashyam prabhu did anything wrong that day, He just came in the next day and Prabhupada just ignored him and instructed him- Krsna is the doer, don’t expect any credit for yourself. Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj told me, “all over the world they know the first part of the story.” He said “but for me, my favourite part of the whole story is the second part. Because that’s when Prabhupada showed the most intimate special love toward me.” He showed his deep love and his deep gratitude but at the same time wanted to protect him for all time to come. And Ghyanashyam prabhu said “those were the last words Prabhupada’s personally spoke to him. Krsna is the doer.” And after going out of the room and offering his obeisances and thinking about it, he was ecstatic. Because he knew what was Prabhupada’s most intimate love and mercy.
Talk by HH Radhanath Swami on Fifth Anniversary of Govardhan School of Yoga on 21June2020 by Radhanath Swami
On this wonderful disappearance day of Bhakti Vinod and Gadadhar Pandit, what can you understand? How by associating with devotees by following in footsteps of great souls, by making Krishna first in our life, we can bring in the true meaning of living and dying. In fact, Bhakti Vinod Takur wrote in inscription on the samadhi mandir of Srila Haridas Takur which is very appropriate to repeat today on his disappearance day. He wrote that “he reasons ill, who tells that Vaisnavas die,” because Vaisnavas, they live and they die simply to spread the glories of the holy name. For such Vaisnavas, there is no death. Through the sound vibrations of their glories they live forever. The soul is eternal. Those who dedicate their lives on the path of bhakti there is no death. Every moment we come closer to eternal life. So, therefore there is no fear of anything but offending the devotees and forgetting Krishna. Devotees do not feel any material hardships nor do they feel death itself. To forget death is spiritual death, to remember Krishna is eternal life.
Bhakti Tirtha Maharaj told me that when he got the news that Prabhupada was coming to the Bhakti Vedanta Manor in London, he was in Eastern Europe and he droved practically non stop with Krsnakshetra prabhu and Bhakta Doyal prabhu, they drove all the way to London. And when Tamal Krsna Goswami Maharaj found out that Ghyanashyam prabhu was there, it was rejoicing. This will make Prabhupada so happy. Because there was no greater happiness to the devotees than Srila Prabhupada’s happiness. Whatever would make Prabhupada happy was the life and soul of every devotee. So Prabhupa’s personal entaraj they understood what could make Prabhupada happier than seeing Ghyanashyam prabhu? His reports were the happiest, brightest movements. So Tamal Krsna Goswami personally went down and brought Ghyanashyam prabhu by the hand into Srila Prabhupadas quarters. He offered his prostrated obeisances to his guru maharaj, Srila Prabhupada smiled ear to ear with tears in his eyes to see his beloved Ghyanashyam. He said come here, come here. He came right up to Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada embraced him with tears of love and gratitude. And then he rubbed Ghyanashyam prabhu’s head and said your life is successful. Thank you very much. Prabhupada said this with tears of gratitude in his eyes. And then Prabhupada expressed from his heart he said this is the parampara system. as he rubbed Ghyanashyam prabhus head with deep affection. This is the parampara system. My guru maharaj pushed me and now I am pushing you and you are pushing others to spread the mission of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This was a type of mercy that was very very rare for Prabhupada to be crying and embracing and rubbing the head of the disciple was something very special.
Every single day without fail he would write a message to Srila Prabhupada. He told me this that he would just speak his heart completely, honestly and openly to Srila Prabhupada every single day, praying for his help, praying for his guidance, praying for his mercy, explain to him what he was doing, how he was doing. This was an integral part of his spiritual life. He was austerity personified. He ate once a day. And what did he eat? He would eat nothing but some fruit, some nuts and sometimes he would mix a little sour cream with it. And he was travelling in a Van with Mahabuddhi prabhu, who was not eating austere Prasad. He was making all nice preparations but he said the amazing thing is even though the partner next to him was eating quite opulent food stuffs, he never budged. He never touched anything except some fruit and nuts. It’s basically what sadhus eat when they go to the forest. No matter what time they would take rest at night, he would arise earlier that 2 o’clock in the morning. He would chant at least 42 rounds every day. Sometimes, they were living in Van, travelling from place to place, he would be out at the collages before, before the collages would open and he would just meeting people and preaching and distributing Prabhupada’s books in this very very systematic way until the last door of the collage closed, usually about ten at night. Then he would have his one meal a day. And often times, the other devotees in the van, little vans, when they woke up in the middle of the night they would see the Ghyanashyam prabhu with the flash light, intensely studying Srila Prabhupadas books in the way not to disturb them. He was always chanting and always reading even in the most difficult situations and always eager to serve everyone.
The Essence of Rath Yatra - Rath Yatra Lecture at ISKCON New York by HH Radhanath Swami on 13Jun20 by Radhanath Swami
He sent reports to Prabhupada. Prabhupada would simply amazed. On receiving one report Prabhupada was just shaking his head and just smiling in great pleasure. He said that this devotee is amazingly empowered. This Ghyanashyam. In these communist countries, he was probably the only black person in the entire country. It’s not that he could just blend in, look like everybody else. African people weren’t even allowed in those countries, in most cases. He was the only African person in the countries and he stood out. And he just enthusiastically, he is going through forest and climbing mountains and going to monasteries and meeting people and selling Prabhupada’s entire books sets. And these reports gave so much pleasure to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada profusely blessed him, was so grateful to him. He was an inspiration for devotees all over the world, so determined against all odds, taking all risks and he did it blissfully. Soon he was the biggest book distributor. He was getting world aclaimed. People were really inspired by his austerity, by his sadhana, by his preaching, by his service. I was living on a mountain on new Vrindavan in those days, I didn’t even know who the president of the United States was those days. but I heard Ghyanashyam prabhus devotional service, so isolated. But still he was like the sun, his devotional service was like a sun illuminating all directions.
Mahabuddhi prabhu asked him “how did you do that?” And Ghyanashyam prabhu said “While I was walking to the toilet, I was heavily, heavily praying, heavily praying to guru and Krsna to give me some service at this collage. To give me the chance to serve them by expanding the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. And because I made that prayer miraculously, just the right people happen to be at the right place at the right time. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu praised- na dhanaà na janaà na sundaréà kavitäà vä jagad-éça kämaye mama janmani janmanéçvare bhavatäd bhaktir ahaituké tvayi I don’t want wealth, I don’t want beautiful woman, I don’t want name and fame, I don’t want to be known as a great scholar. I don’t even want libration from suffering. My only intense prayer is that I may serve you unconditionally birth after birth after birth after birth. This was Ghyanashyam prabhu’s constant prayer. He simply wanted the opportunity to serve by helping Srila Prabhupada expand the Sankirtan movement.
"The Life & Legacy of HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami" by HH Radhanath Swami on 14th June 2020 by Radhanath Swami
Mahabuddhi prabhu and Ghyanashyam Prabhu they were going to the collages and distributing books and having kirtans and while distributing books and having kirtan, they would meet people and they would invite people in the evening for Satswarupa Goswami Maharaj’s lectures. Soon they were living in Vans, just traveling from college town to college town distributing books, having kirtan and having preaching programs. When Satswarupa Goswami Maharaj was asked to join Prabhupada as his personally secretary for a month, Ghyanashyam Prabhu and Mahabuddhi Prabhu opened a preaching center in a small house in the collage town of Sanintonio Texas. And by the time Satswarupa Goswami Maharaj came back, one month later they had made ten full time devotees. And all of them would duly initiated by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in one month. This was there in America. This was their enthusiasm. They met Hridayananda Goswami Maharaj and said if you really to do collage preaching, go to Boston. So many collages are there. So, they went to Boston. And they started doing book distribution and Harinama and all types of other preaching there and ultimately, they started another preaching center in Gail University right across the street from the collage. And in hardly a month they made ten full time devotees from Gail University in that area. And Mahabuddhi Prabhu told me, that Ghyanashyam, he has so much empathy, so much compassion, he personally took care of all these devotees like their mother, their father, their best friend, their guide, their servant, their everything. And one feature he said that was very extra ordinary is he just loved to serve. He was so enthusiastic to serve everyone. But there is one thing he couldn’t tolerate and that was anyone trying to serve him. He was very successful
Now please understand at that time he was one of the only African American in the Hare Krsna movement. And devotees didn’t know how to deal with him. Because he was a graduate of psychology from Princeton University, I.V. League School and at the same time these African American, people were not treating him properly. He told me at the temple he was staying, only two or three people would even talk to him. Others ignored him. So, he met Srila Prabhupada, and he very honestly revealed his heart to Srila Prabhupada. He said “Srila Prabhupada, it hurts my heart to tell you this but I must. There is racism and prejudice within your movement amongst your devotees.” Maharaj told me that the answer Prabhupada gave him transformed his life. Prabhupada could have apologized, he could have said “no, that is not true.” Prabhupada said to him “if you are affected by what these ignorant devotees say and think, then what is the difference between you and them?” Another words ‘they are on the bodily conception of life, which is totally contrary to the most fundamental teachings of Bhagavad Gita. Bhagavad Gita teaches we are not this body we are the eternal soul. A real Vaishnava sees the part and parcel of Krsna the soul in every living being, one who judges another Vaishnava according to race, according to bodily designations that person according to the scriptures has a mentality that lives in hell, naraka budhi. So, these were in bodily concept of life. They are ignorant of the basic teachings of Lord Krsna then they speak act this way, but if you are affected by what they say then you are also on the bodily concept of life. So what’s the difference between you and them?’ Srila Prabhupada used that opportunity to just break through the barriers of mundane superficial consciousness. And at that point he just became so fearless, so confident, confident that Srila Prabhupadas love and mercy was always with him. On a very auspicious day, he took vows before Srila Prabhupada at the initiation ceremony. Srila Prabhupada gave him the name “Ghyamashyam Das.”
So, the government was giving incentives of quotas for universities that would never take black people. If you take these African people, we will give you government grants and we will give you tax exemptions and if you don’t, no government grants and no tax exemptions. So, this was big money and most colleges and universities are actually existing for money. In order to get the government grants and exceptions, they had to accept so many African people. And most of them they had to take out of the very inferior schools of the Gatos. So, this principle said I have taught you in one of the top white schools of the country. Any collage in America would take you as a first choice. Just tell me where you want to go to college? So, he applied and he got scholarships to Harvard, Gail, Princeton, Cornel, any college, he got full scholarship. So, he was just looking for with which scholarship is the best. They were canvassing so much for him that Princeton University gave him such an offer he couldn’t refuge- free tuition for four years, free living expenses, free food, free books, a salary while you going to school plus every year two round trip tickets from Princeton New Jersey all the way to Cleveland to visit your parents, two round trip airplane tickets. So, this is the reason he decided to go to Princeton University. Gopal Prabhu told me that he went to Princeton University and looked up the year book of Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaja’s graduation year and there was a picture of him and they interviewed each person and asked what they hope to do in the future? And he said that his object was, he wanted to be a global humanitarian. That was always his heart. He got a graduation degree in psychology and because he was so proficient, intelligent, creative, dynamic he got a job for government office. I think it was a legal office. He was given opportunities for work in the United Nations. Here was a man that came from the most down trodden situation and now all opportunities were opening before his life for immense influence and material prosperity.
He was a minority. At that time the African American people living in the Gatos the chances were 99.99% that they would live, suffer and die in the Gato. That was a very rare hope against hope that they ever get out and be successful in any field of life. So, he was poverty, broken family, minority, persecuted but that’s not all. When he was a young boy, he had a speech defect called stammering where he couldn’t speak, sometimes it will take him, he told me three or four minutes to speak one word. And when he was a little boy in school and would be called on to speak. If he was asked to speak he would try to say my house- my ha… ha.. hau… ha.. hauu… and he be in so much anxiety and he would be slapping his hand against the desk and stamping his feet trying to say the word and all the classmates would be laughing at him and joking against him. Very difficult! He was a ridiculed even by his own people. That had a great trauma for a small boy but at the same time whenever he would speak from the Bible, the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ, he would never stammer. He would speak eloquently. And his Bible studies teachers took note of this and were amazed and soon he became a child evangelist. He was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ even on television and radios. And for years he took classes on speech therapy. And little by little gradually overcame his defect. It was obvious that he was not born in this world to speak about anything material. He was born in this world to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Wisdom From Bhakti Tradition - Address To Bhakti Centre Community by HH Radhanath Swami on 10Jun20 by Radhanath Swami
Whipping, in order to prove who the owner was, they would brand them sometimes on the face with hot iron. They weren’t allowed to have their name. They were given the names of their masters. They have no legal rights whatsoever. They were treated worst than animals. This went on for over two hundred years. And then in 1861 America had a civil war, it began in 1861 and ended in 1865. One of the prime reasons for this war is the north wanted to abolish slavery and the south wanted to keep slavery. Three million men fought in this war, six hundred thousand Americans were killed more than World War I, more than World War II and more than any other war Americans were killing each other. And ultimately with the victory of the North, in 1865 the thirteenth amendment of the constitution was created which abolished slavery. Previously in 1667, slaver became a legal institution throughout America. After two hundred years they finally came to the point of freeing the slaves. But in many cases, this was only an external superficial legalistic reality. Because the people, the African American people were so downtrodden and they would looked upon as such inferior beings by the white people that practically all of them were forced to live in the poverty of Gatos. Little food, little sanitation, they were not given the rights to have proper education, therefore, practically the only jobs they could get if any was just hard labour. Especially, in the southern states, blacks were not allowed to use the same rest rooms as whites, they were not allowed to use the same drinking fountain, they have to go to back of the buses and they were never allowed in the same schools. Inferior education, keep them down. And if they try to get some rights, they would usually be beaten, tortured or killed and factually this was the way America was until the 1960’s.
Srila Prabhuapada when he was living in vrindavan. He went to historical journey to bring krsna to us by going in cargo ship with cardiac rest and in compassion he continued and while living in NY cities he had a stroke how he could live. Srila Prabhupada said that heart attack is massive that its hardly will live. But he continued on journey and giving krsna and give us an example. We must understand this in practical way. Srila Prabhupada went to doctor. Doctor said to devotees that swamiji prays too much and devotee got angry to doctor. Srila Prabhupada understood what doctor saying. Doctor saying he needs exercise and walks everyday. And rest of his life he took his morning walk as part of way strict living. Sometimes, he walking alone in sunny at california.and other times he takes walk in winter freezy season. Pradhyumna pr and shyamsunder pr said one time there was massive storms and heavy winds and Srila Prabhupada was staying in little hotel and he said that its time for morning walk. Devotee said we cant go outside and we stayed it here. And SP walked down and started his morning walk. Srila Prabhupada was so much regulated in his diet and took medicine for precautions. When sometimes devotee are ill sp put so much energy to heart to helping that devotee. Once Giriraj maharaj has hepatitis and was in hospital Srila Prabhupada would visits him and infact he writes that I hope its meet you in good health. Srila Prabhupada was conscious about devotee's health and very much concerned about health of eachother. At the same time Srila Prabhupada took precautions that nothing could stop him from continuing his service. Srila Prabhupada taught that we must take care while seeking shelter in krsna and his names and his books and his devotees and his service.
Parikshit Maharaj said he faced every difficulties with gratitude. We may not be grateful by things happeneing which are beyond our ability and we may not grateful and its difficult. In this situation, krsna is waiting for me. Ishvara sarva bhutanam - krsna is my heart that I am grateful for those who makes us understands this whatever conditions we are in. Greatness of our life is the intent of our intent to serve with love and integrity is to how we express our actions, whether he is squirrel or hanuman, jatavu or vibhishan. Whatever it may be - kuntidevi saw krsna in the times of calamity. We don’t like to suffer others. Despite all this, krsna is in my heart and I am grateful for krsna and for devotees who helping me to remember krsna and chant his name and read Srimadd Bhagavatam. The whole material existence everyone in the lockdown and we are separated from the lord in our heart but the door to liberation and real happiness is wherever we have grateful heart we take shelter unto krsna. Many great person of past and present that attend love for me and that’s love is true treasure of true love and let us follow unto the great soul and be grateful that every situation krsna is there. We have an opportunity to pray for others to help them to be with krsna. In giving we receive.
Lord Caitanya challenged Sridhar. He said, “Do you know who I am?” Sridhar said, “you are a Brahmin. Brahmin is a worship able representative of the Lord on Earth.” He said, “no. I am a cowherd boy.” He was speaking the truth. But due to Yogamaya potency, Sridhar could not understand. He just started laughing. He said, “cowherd boy!” Laughing. And then the lord said, “you worship the river Ganga.” “Yes!” “Give me your bananas and banana leaves for free”. “Why?” “Because the Ganga is emanating from me. The river Ganges is my devotee.” And Kolavecha Sridhar just held his ears. He said, “Vishnu, Vishnu! How could you say this? How could you declare this of yourself? Generally, as people get older, people become less restless. But with everyday, you are becoming more restless.” In this way, every single day, Nimai Pundit would debate with Kolavecha Sridhar on the price of banana leaves. And everyday he would take them, practically for nothing. In fact, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, every meal practically, he would only eat of the banana leaves of Kolavecha Sridhar. And from time to time, on the grass roof of Sridhar’s little one space house, a pumpkin squash would grow. And he would always offer that to Nimai ad how Nimai ecstatically enjoy that simple fruit that was offered by his devotee.
here comes Nimai and says, “why are you charging so much? I will give you half.” And then he would just pick up the bananas and Kolavecha Sridhar would say, “it is a fair price. Why are you saying like this? If you do not like my price, there are other places where you can buy bananas and banana leaves. Go to them.” Nimai would say, ‘No. I know a good supplier when I have one. I will take only from you. Why are you cheating me with such high, exorbitant rates. I will give you half. Infact, I will not give you anything. I will just take it.” And Kolavecha Sridhar would try to hold the Lord and Lord “Are you going to take from a brahman?” And Kolavecha Sridhar was afraid that the lord might hit him. He is a brahman. He is attracting my heart, ultimately, I just want to see him happy. He was thinking like this. Let him take whatever he wants. In this way, every single day, the supreme personality of Godhead, the lord of all lords, that person who the demigods perform yagnas, thier entire life to get a moments glimpse of, that persons, the yogis perform severe austerities, meditation their whole lives to get a glimpse of, that same person would everyday to go to Kolavecha Sridhar’s home and argue with him for 2 hours minimum.
That evening at Raghava Pandit’s house Lord Nityananda prabhu came and what kind of a wonderful feast was there? When Raghava Pandit and his sister Damayanti would cook, according to Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, authority of the absolute truth, Srimati Radha Rani would personally enter into that home and cook through their hands. And by the blessings of Sri Durvasa muni, anything she cook would taste as sweet as nectar plus you would never get sick, and you would never die if you ate what she cooked. So, Nityananda prabhu took this wonderful prasad and of course he invited Lord Chaitanya. After prasad there was big, big kirtan. The lord requested his devotees to chant, they started playing mridangas and playing karatals and then lord Nityananda prabhu danced. And for those who are fortune enough to see Sri Chaitanya Maha Prabhu personally appeared again in that kirtan to dance. The two bothers Nitai Gauranga were dancing in transcendental ecstasy here in Panihati. The kirtan went on throughout the major portion of the evening and the night. At the end, again Raghava Pandit brought the remnants of Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda prabhu to Raghunath Das Goswmai.
what brings real enjoyment is not what the senses experience, what brings actual enjoyment is the condition of your heart. You know Raghunath Das Goswami, he was eating that rejected rice from the cows of Puri, and when Chaitanya Maha prabhu ate it, he said it is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. You can see something, you can hear something, but real enjoyment is not how it influences your senses, real enjoyment is how something influences your heart. Chipped rice is a very simple food. However, if you eat it with faith, if you recognize how specially dear this is to Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda on this occasion, then your heart will taste nectar. And this is how we always try to honour prasad, not simply with our senses. Bhakti Vinoda Thakura says the sense are network of paths that leading to death. And sense gratification is the path of death. Our vaishanva shastras say if one sees a devotee according to how that particular person body may be, that’s a great aparath. Roopa Goswami says when a great vaishanva, when he suffers from a terrible decease or when his skin is decomposed with some decease and may be very horrible to look at, but its like foaming bubbles on the Ganga, very pure. Therefore, devotee doesn’t consider these things. What to speak of the colour of one’s skin or one’s cast or creed? It is jada budhi, hellish mentality to see things that are spiritual and evaluate them on the basis of how they appear to our senses. So, this simple feast of chida and dahi, was such a glorious festival that even today five hundred years later, all over the world, people are celebrating it, and with tears in their eyes they are eating chida dahi.
Under this banian tree on the bank of holy river ganga, one of the great pastimes of the supreme personality of godhead was enacted. In fact, to commemorate this pastime, on our vaihsnava calendar there is a festival every year, and in most festivals throughout the international society for Krishna consciousness, gaudiya maths, and ther gaudiya vaishanva lines, this festival is celebrated with great joy. It is called the choda dahi utsav. Generally on our Vaishnava calendar we find the appearance and disappearance days of the lord or his devotees. This sounds a bit peculiar for those who are not confidentially understanding the intricacies of our sampradaya, the festival of chipped rice and yogurt. Chipped rice is perhaps the cheapest food you can get. What kind of feast you have with chipped rice? Chipped rice is what you give beggars. I remember when I was a beggar, living in the role of sahdu, Himalayas, I was taught this is how you can go into the forest and live for weeks at a time without depending on anyone. You go to market place and beg or chipped rice, everyone will give you chipped rice. If you go to a shopkeeper, that the cheapest food that have is chipped rice, chida. And you collect enough to fill a gamcha about this much and then you go to the forest and stay one two months, find a little water mix it, eat a handful in a day and your food problem is solved.
Dwarkadish prabhu was her main Doctor for Bhaktivedanta Hospital for three months and she just loved that hospital and loved the devotees and whoever is connected to Bhaktivedanta Hospital, you should know that you are infinitely, inconceivably, unlimitedly blessed by Srila Prabhupada, by Radha Gopinath through Yamuna Devi’s heart. And when she saw that drama where her own personal, loving, caring doctor was playing the most ruthless, demoniac, envious, murderer of Vaishnav’s. Now, for most people, that performance was really mean. I need to say it but this prince Johnston literally incarnated into Dwarkadish that time. It didn’t look like he was acting, he was looked like he was possessed by the ghost of this demon, he was screaming and he was murdering so many devotees, Hladini and so many devotees and he’s ruthless. Now if you see your doctor playing that role, most people would want to change their doctor. And as Shyamsunder prabhu explained, her sense of humor was so incredible, she loved it, she just adored it, she has more faith in Dwarkadish prabhu than ever before. If he could play a role like this, just give pleasure to devotees, this is my doctor forever. Seeking the essence. And I don’t think he called him Dwarkadish again. Even when she had diagnosed with very severe life threatening heart problem just recently, she called me and she said I need to talk to Doctor Johnston. She was getting so many people’s opinions. She trust the love of devotee more than anything else.
We heard how it was Radha Banbihari’s appearance day. Ten thousand miles away, they were and she had never been separated from them like this on this holy day, in very ill health, in a hospital in Bombay, Bhaktivedanta. But in her mind, with love and devotion and she included so many other young ladies in this seva, they were making preparations in their minds and she wrote down a 108 preparations and she was including so many others in making this feast. When she sent it by email, all the preparations she said now it is offered. And she fasted without even any water, until she made the offering. What an example of Bhakti! Time, geography, nothing can be an impediment between us and Krishna, us and Prabhupada, if we have that sincere devotion and she showed us. I can’t even imagine how Radha Banbihari was enjoying that email. They tasted every word of that email as nectar.
Yamuna Devi was here and it was the greeting of the deities’ time and we were all sitting in front of the doors and the doors opened. Just as the doors opened, the electricity went out. So Govindam ädi-puruñaà didn’t play because there was no electricity. So, everyone looked at Yamuna Devi and I asked her please you chant, she said no, no and everyone was looking at her, please chant. So she lead live in person for the greetings of Radha Gopinath Govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämy. And I was just thinking that devotees all over the universe would give anything to be here for this moment where Yamuna Devi is live in person greeting the deities and the most very heart melting. As soon as she ended, all the lights went on and the electricity came back. This is not just some sentimental idea, this is the reality that Sri Sri Radha Gopinath, they wanted her to sing for them and they orchestrated it perfectly and we were all the witnesses of this Lila.
Yamuna Devi, in Prabhupada’s service wrote the most incredible cook book in the history of Brahma’s creation. I think it was about eight hundred pages and it’s for the secular audience and she specifically glorifying Srila Prabhupada constantly. Who is Prabhupada? The nature of the Guru Disciple relationship and how Prabhupada you know taught her all these things and it took her a long time. Yamuna Devi was a perfectionist in everything she did meticulously. She tried and tested every recipe and had people try every single recipe of that book was learned, was experimented, was tested and was proved many, many times before it could go into those pages and everything was connected to Prabhupada and Krishna. She named it “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine”, doesn’t get any more direct then that. She sent it to publisher, after publisher, after publisher. Everyone rejected it they didn’t want it; too long, too big you have to take this out and this out and this out then we will consider it. And people were advising her, Yamuna Devi you have to revise it, she said no, no as it is. That was her spirit, as it is. It was being rejected by every publisher was being sent, said no, compromise or forget it. Finally, one publisher, a branch of Penguin, Dutton, they printed it. And that year some of the most famous great authors of cook books wrote cook books and “Lord Krishna’s Cuisine” won the most prestigious award, “The International Cook Book Of The Year” and its simply an offering of her love for Prabhupada, what Srila Prabhupada gave her according to his instruction, she was sharing with the whole world. and she was becoming very, very famous but she didn’t wanted fame, only she wanted devotional service.
'Growing Together In Service' by HH Radhanath Swami and HG Radha Devi on 23rd May 20 by Radhanath Swami
'Samvad With Pundarikji' Acharya Sri Pundrik Goswami And HH Rahanath Swami on 26th May 2020 by Radhanath Swami
Srila Prabhupada was asking why she wasn’t there? If she asked Prabhupada’s permission to sit in the front, it seems quite obvious he would have said, yes. But she didn’t because she understood from his silence that there were just certain etiquettes that people were concerned with around and she willingly accepted Prabhupada’s mission, Prabhupada’s purpose as something so much greater than her own desire. When she first told me this story long ago, you know what I was thinking? I was remembering, it’s not exactly the same, but the spirit is in my heart exactly the same. “When Rama told Laxman to take Sita to Valmiki muni’s ashram, there was just supposed to be a trip but when you reached there, tell Sita that she is going to have to stay there, we will never meet again in the physical form. That was when she was went away. When they were approaching the ashram, Laxman started crying and Sita asked, what is it? what is it? And he loved Sita, she was worship able goddess of his life and seeing Rama and Sita together was the ultimate satisfaction of his heart. It was unbearable to him, he has to tell her this? When Laxman told Sita that you are being banished. Sita cried, she didn’t argue. She revealed the precious inconceivable love of her heart, when she said to Laxman, ‘if this is how I could best serve my Lord, this is what I want.’ Above and beyond everything else, Sita wanted to help her Lord with his mission. And this incident of Kumbhamela, just shows the nature of Yamuna Devi’s total unconditional, unmotivated loving service to Srila Prabhupada. If breaking her own heart helps Prabhupada in his mission, then that will be her life and soul.
Yamuna told this beautiful instruction that Prabhupada gave, if you do not teach other people to know what you did, what you have learned, then you will become proud. And I heard Yamuna Devi repeat these things so many times over the years because she understood this is so important and she lived by it absolutely and it is crucial to our spiritual lives. Because the false ego, we want to be unique. We want to be able to say something, to do something that nobody else can do that’s kind of puts us on a special pedestal. And we become proud. But whatever we know, if we just understand it’s been given to me, it’s not mine and my duty, my obligation is what I received, I must give to others so that they could do it too. And that really does care our pride because then they can do it just as good as us. And hope fully as far as pride goes even better, this is leadership. Not to keep people down but to push people up. Nothing is mine, it’s been given to me by Prabhupada’s grace, by Krishna’s grace, this is the way Yamuna Devi is teaching us share it, and teach it extensively, every detail of it so that everyone could do it. And then we could actually feel like humble servants and really please Krishna.
Purpose Of Business & Role Of Wisdom by HH Radhanath Swami, Alfred Ford, Ajay Piramal, Sangita Reddy by Radhanath Swami
From Fear to Gratitude(Dalla Paura Alla Gratitudine) by HH Radhanath Swami (Italian Transla) 24May20 by Radhanath Swami
The song Govindam ädi-puruñaà and the album it was one of the biggest selling record albums in all of Europe. And at the time Srila Prabhupada was in Los Angeles, Srila Prabhupada wanted to hear the album specially Govindam in the L.A temple but the leaders they refused to play it because it was sung by a female and the brahmacaris might get offended, the sanyaasis may get angry. So, Prabhupad said play it they said no, no we don’t want to play it here. And he said I want to hear it and they said we don’t have the tape recorder, we will find one later. I think it was about the time for greeting the deities and there was a sound system in the temple room, Prabhupada said play it in the sound system for the temple room. But Prabhupada, it’s a women singing, Prabhupada said play it. And when Yamuna’s voice began “Govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämi” as an echo through the temple, everyone was watching Srila Prabhupada’s reaction. He closed his eyes in total silence and a few seconds’ later tears streamed from his eyes across his face and he didn’t say a word. Then everyone understood Srila Prabhupada’s heart. And Prabhupada said this is a transcendental spiritual symphony from the spiritual world and then he gave an order, an order nothing like it before or since. He ordered that every single temple of ISKCON at the most intimate special time of the day of greeting the deities, that this song of Yamuna Devi and the devotees in London be played. It’s something absolutely universal.
When they were living with John Lennon and Gorge Harrison was becoming so serious about Krishna consciousness. Gorge heard them chanting and he was so enchanted by the chanting that he said you should make a record. So, they make a single forty five hour rpm record of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra and that went into the public. It was a sensational hit, it was the no one record of all records and this was in the 1960’s when the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and all these different groups, the Hare Krishna Mahamantra by the devotees was no one and it was in the top ten for the whole of Europe, incredible! So, Gorge was so inspired by this that he asked them to come to apple records to make a record album and on that album, the lead song was Yamuna Devi singing Govindam ädi-puruñaà tam ahaà bhajämy. Of course, Yamuna Devi was the lead singer for the “Hare Mahamantra” also and interestingly when Gorge Harrison who was a top most kind of Sur of musical art for that genre of music, he was deeply moved and impressed by Yamuna Devi’s incredible voice, her stature, her charisma, her devotion that he said without any problem we could make her one of the most famous singers in the entire world and she could sing for Krishna. But Yamuna Devi, she didn’t want to do that she just wanted to serve her Gurudev and go wherever her Gurudev wanted her to go. She never wanted fame, she never wanted prestige; she just wanted to serve.
They had nothing except a desire to serve – unrelenting, unstoppable desire to serve! Incredible! They got a storefront. They had nothing to get it with, but they got it. They made a big Mantra rock dance, the Avalon Ballroom, was a historical event. Some of the most famous bands in the whole western world were playing practically for nothing and they were all in the program second to Srila Prabhupada, who nobody ever heard of. Now to convince these bands to do that, these famous bands, they have some ego. So often I have heard because I know people from these circles, they don’t want to be second to somebody. They want to be the top and here they are all second for this completely unknown Swami. This was how convincing these devotees were. And there in San Francisco, Yamuna Devi, she learned kirtan, she learned cooking, they were going here and there, they established the first Rath Yatra, they made the first Jagannath Deities, and it’s quite incredible! New York City, Srila Prabhupada established the Krishna Consciousness movement at 26, 2nd avenue. But it was there in the heart of “Haight-Ashbury” the highest place of pilgrimage for the counter culture of the 1960’s that actually Krishna consciousness became known to all of America from nothing because of these devotees’ incredible devotion. They saw that Prabhupada could do anything, nothing was impossible and they took that spirit and did the impossible. Srila Prabhupada was so pleased with them and he had such faith in them. At that time now there were three married couples, Srila Prabhupada sent them to London. They went Montreal to get Srila Prabhupada’s blessings. And from there and when they arrived in London they knew no one, they had nothing except fearless enthusiasm to serve. They were living scattered out in different places, sometimes they were trying to get jobs, sometimes they would having little Kirtans, sometimes they were meeting, it was very difficult, they were in poverty. How they even got in London was extraordinary. Srila Prabhupada, when he have talked about these three Grihasta families he said, these three families are as good or better than sanyaasi’s as far as their fearless empowered capacity to spread Krishna consciousness because no one had even done it in a substantial way in London.
And how she describes her first meeting with Srila Prabhupada, he was distributing prasad to some brahmacari’s or whatever they were in those days. And she describes how he was near a window and his body was being bathed and glowing with the light of the Sun, just beautiful! And he was serving the Krishna prasad and she was on a very very macrobiotic special diet and nothing in the menu was complimentary to her diet. And she did not want to eat it. But just to please Prabhupada because he was insisting, she did. But then, he offered her a gulab jamun! For a macrobiotic, eating a gulab jamun is kind of like eating meat! It’s just completely against the principles and she said no, no, no! And he said yes, yes, yes! and she said no no no, yes, yes, yes! She surrendered and ate the gulab jamun! And then Srila Prabhupada asked her, since it‘s the duty of the bride’s side to prepare for the marriage, and you are the only person on the bride’s side, and then Prabhupada gave her initiation so, he was her spiritual father, he said so the two of us will cook the whole feast. And he taught Yamuna Devi how to make kachoris. And Srila Prabhupada made about, he made about fifteen preparations with his own hands for 40 people. And she cooked with Prabhupada. She was in one room, and he was in another room. He was going back and forth. He was 71, she was about 25, they cooked together from 11 in the morning till 5 at night. And every time Prabhupada saw Yamuna Devi touch anything, he would say “wash your hands.” Yamuna Devi is so humble, she just told it as it was. She asked Prabhupada “Can I take a break to smoke a Cigarette?”, and then Prabhupada explained the four regulative principles. And Yamuna Devi, she asked “Can I take some water” and Prabhupada gave her water with his own hands. But then he said “You know, we are not supposed to be thinking about eating or drinking ourselves, we are supposed to be only thinking about Krishna’s eating”. So, he was giving her so much philosophy. He was telling her everything practically in the process of just cooking. And she was quite mesmerized by this compassion and this devotion. And she went back to Oregon, and her younger sister Janaki Devi and Mukunda Prabhu at that time, Prabhupada wanted them to start a temple in San Francisco.
Later on of course, I lived in Vrindavan and that is where I accepted the path of bhakti as my life and soul. I accepted Radha Krishna as the ultimate worshipable lords of my life and I accepted in my heart of hearts, Srila Prabhupada as my spiritual master who I wanted to dedicate my body, mind, life and words, everything to assist him. But I had to leave Vrindavan because of my visa. While I was there, I never saw any ISKCON devotees accept when Prabhupada came. There were about 40 with him. Then for many months, I never saw another. There was no Krishna Balaram temple at the time. And I went to Nepal for some time, and got a transit visa back to India two weeks where I was to catch a plane from Delhi to the West. And naturally I went back to Vrindavan. And at that time, Yamuna Devi and Gurudas were living at the Radha Damodar temple. Srila Prabhupada personally sent them there to establish the Krishna Consciousness movement in Vrindavan. Think of how dear and important they were to him! Vrindavan is Srila Prabhupada’s eternal home, Radha Damodar temple, the place of Rupa Goswami, Jiva Gosvämé, this is where he lived for so many years and translated and wrote purports for Srimad Bhägavatam, prayed. He sent these two very, very special devotees with this mission to establish the Krishna Consciousness movement of his in Vrindavan. So, I heard about this and I was just then and one another brahmacari, why I happened to know because he was living in a Gaudiya math with me when I was before, very young boy. They were in a little room, very simple, on a first story. And they were just talking between each other, Yamuna Devi and Gurudas Prabhu. I was there for hours. They had such sincere desire; all they talked about was what Srila Prabhupada wanted? The only words that came out of their mouth were “Srila Prabhupada wanted this, how do you think this would please Srila Prabhupada? I didn’t hear another thing for hours!” Every subject they discussed, it was connected exclusively to their seva for their Guru. And I will never forget this, it had such an impact in my life – the conception of this yasya prasädäd bhagavat-prasädo of pleasing and dedicating everything to the service of their Guru, in my life I have never experienced it like from them. And I was thinking this is what it means to be a disciple – to follow in the footsteps of someone like Yamuna Devi. And that was a very great blessing in my life. Because I understood that I had to strive for that standard 24 hrs a day – what will please my Guru? The standard that I felt that I may never reach, but at least I can strive to follow in her footsteps.
We need to balance the exclusive feeling that this is mine. God is mine with the higher understanding that God is everyone’s and inclusiveness and exclusiveness together creates a beautiful, loving community of human beings. Otherwise you know if we are just so inclusive that we lose appreciation for our own rue identity. And the specialness of what we have been giving and who we are? And if we go too exclusive, then the medicine makes us more sick than we originally were. Because the whole purpose of dharma or spirituality is to free us of the false ego so that our real ego as eternal compassion lovers of God and all beings is awakened. And unfortunately, today people in the name of religion become very judgemental and very arrogant toward what’s different. And that is contradictory to the very purpose of the spiritual path itself that we are following. The Bible says blessed are the meek they should never be hurt, rather we have blessed are the poor in spirit, they will attain the Kingdome of God. So, Lord Chaitanya taught tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ: what is the aspiration, the virtue and the character of one who loves God? Who can constantly chant God’s names? One who is more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, who is eager to offer all respect to others and does not depend on expect or demand respect for oneself. That’s at the heart of all spiritual paths. And when we understand that, then the exclusive sweetness and beauty that where we receiving in our own spiritual community and through our own practice, we value it so dearly but at the same time we are inclusive because we know and we appreciate that other people are finding it in their way.
"Question And Answer Session" by HH Radhanath Swami at Bhakti Center on 09th May 2020 by Radhanath Swami
"Finding Hope In Times Of Crisis" By HH Radhanath Swami At Bhakti Center On 9th May 2020 by Radhanath Swami
Vrindavan das Thakur was very much raised and educated by Srila Vasudev Datta. He took birth just about four years after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted Sanyas and left Navadvip. But being herein Navadvip he was always hearing the glories of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So, from his very birth hearing the glories of the Lord from Vasudev Datta and Vasudev Datta’s brother was Mukund Datta, the favourite kirtan singer of all the devotees. So, he was always hearing the glories of Lord Sri Chaitanya. So, he surrendered his life from his very infancy to Lord Chaitanya. In fact, it is considered by the Acharyas that because Narayani was so purified by eating the prasad from Lord Chaitanya Himself Lord Chaitanya personally arranged for Veda Vyas himself to take birth within her womb. So, he wanted to take initiation from Lord Chaitanya but when he was still young Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu disappeared from this world. And therefore, he took shelter of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. And here in Mamgachi, Vrindavan das Thakur became one of the dearest, dearest followers of Lord Nityananda. And as he was dear to Lord Nityananda, he was similarly very dear to Janhava devi, the consort of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. In fact, in the Bhakti Ratnakar it describes when Jahnava devi went to Kheturi for the big big Gaur Purnima festival and he invited devotees from all around, Janhava devi personally came through Navadvip to come and bring Vrindavan das Thakur with her. And they were two of the very very elevated and senior presiding devotees of that festival.
When I was in bahrain with my friend - we drove into dessert that there are no people in this life and not able to see anything. No where around in this situation. There were a tree standing in enormously for 100 years. In this difficult situation too, that trees are growing in this difficult situation. If we have positive attitude and if we cultivate hope and if we strive to instrument of positive change. This happens in our human life to seek that essence. Many of the literatures, advances and science, sports, comes in the time of difficulties. People sees inside more than outside so that they can make difference in outside. People need inside condition fine than outside. Prabhupada wrote - eagerness of person is that how we tolerate the proving situation, and tolerating response in any situation. We grow when we are willingly and enthusiastically response the pleasure. Some times the breakheart. Our heart become callous by seeing suffering. We must be caring and realistic by loving. This body is a gift by lord and can be used to serve to take care of body and to extend ourself to serve others. We do know that that oldage disease and death will come. Therefore our Great teachers taugh us that, this situation not destroy our peace by this provoking situation. Krsna says BG matra saparshastu kauteya - happiness or pleasure, dishonor or honor , success or failture, victory or defeat, all coming are going like winter or summer season. If we are accomplish by goal of our life of our success of our inner self by sharing that love in whatever we may do that than every situation come upon us we get a chance to grow. Every purpose we come across than we get a chance to live. In our world we have so many problems are on the superficial or shallow way perspective happiness or life and when we grow look deeper, than we find joy and than share that happiness with others We judge a person by color, size, sex. A deeper understanding is that regardless of this difference that we are all humans. Sisterhood and brotherhood of humanity who comes from a same source. We are not just humans. But we are that life that within us. When we connect our deeper self that’s why this is a difference of life. This is the true purpose of life. To find our real self. When we connect our self is to connect our true harmony with God that’s when our spiritual purpose and meaning arises. In fact, we should understand that our real harmony is to connect to our inner life and to serve all living entities. We are not finding joy but We are exploiting mother earth for our selfishness. But we need to connect our real love with compassionate by gettihg an opportunity with all we all have. The same can be essence applied to religion. In vedas said, name of religion is sanatana dharma. The eternal nature of soul - sa vai pumsah mano dharma adhokshje- the supreme dharma to awaken the love in our heart and to value the love and to serve others which gives and nourish and joy to our heart. This idea is beyond sectarianism which is awakening our true nature. First commandment is to love god and to love all thy heart and all thy mind and all they soul and all they neighbour. When we recognize that we know than we share that love with others. Prabhupada explains that this scriptures are the greatest of all the scriptures and life too that - Sarve sukhino bhavantu - our greatest intention is to let everyone remains happy. By seeking the essence we can help everyone to remain happy. This consciousness can happen only by seeking essence.
It is just like a doctor. If you are very sick, he will give you some tablets, and those tablets you may have to take two tablets three times a day for the next twenty-one days. And by doing like that, you gradually get better. But when the doctor personally comes to your house, he can give you an injection and you are better instantly. In the same way through His empowered representatives, Kåñëa gives us the tablets by which taking regularly through our entire lives, we will gradually become cured of the disease and become Kåñëa conscious. But when Kåñëa comes directly and personally in this world, He gives the injection or instant relief, instant result. But no one can do that except Kåñëa Himself. So therefore, we must understand that Kåñëa consciousness is a lifetime affair and we have to be willing to commit our life until we die, willing to undergo any tribulation or pain in the process and never give up. And Kåñëa knows your heart. If He knows that you are willing to give your life and continue taking the medicine of practicing devotional service beginning with hearing and chanting, then His mercy will be upon you and He will gradually reveal Himself at His convenience, not at yours. But if He sees that we want something cheap, that we want to try something and if we do not get some instant results and we go on to the next thing, Kåñëa will give you much of anything because He sees you are insincere.
In this material world death, destruction, pain, suffering, hypocrisy is underling everything. Is it not? Even in the most pleasant day all these things, all of these terrible conditions of life are present, even within the pleasant day. But it is mixed, we cannot perceive its presence. Material existence in its horrible feature of death and destruction which is underlying everything in the world is simply to a slightly higher degree being extracted to reveal itself to us as it is. Why? To make us more serious, to understand the truth and the reality of the material life of this illusory energy. But the only same proposal in this material world, no matter how things are going, the only same proposal is to go back home back to godhead, become Krishna conscious, to realise the eternal, indestructible nature of the soul and God. Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare. And only that state of consciousness which is brought about by the chanting of the God’s names, by the serving of the devotees, only that state of consciousness can bring a real sense of relief from this world because only that state of consciousness is able to witness Krishna. Whatever the situations in this world are, our only shelter, our only real pleasure, our only security is in Krishna, who is so lovingly appeared to us as Sri Radha Gopinathji, who is so lovingly appeared in the remembrance of his divine form and pastimes and who is most wonderfully and mercifully appearing to us in his name Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare.
This clip was taken from an interview between HH Radhanath Swami and Wisdom of the Sages (Kaustubha Das, Raghunath Cappo)
My message to all of these heroic, wonderful people is I extend my deepest gratitude to you. And please you do everything within your ability to be safe. My beloved guru, Srila Prabhupada, he gave a simple analogy that if a person is drowning, we have to stay above the water ourselves to help that person. Otherwise if we are drowning we cannot save another drowning person. When we go into airplanes, we’re told that if oxygen masks comes, mother should first put it on herself and then the other on her child. So please, all people who are on the front lines serving humanity, stay safe yourself in every way and then extend yourselves to do whatever you can to be an instrument of compassion for these other people physically, emotionally, spiritually. People need nourishment on all three of these levels of life and as far as possible let us provide that nourishment. Thank you. Thank you for taking this risk. Thank you for selfless service.
then Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed to Ramananda Ray, His true essence. Ramananda Ray was so humble, so humble, he said that Lord Chaitanya was praising him for giving Him so much nectar, and Ramananda Ray said, "I am just a parrot, I am just repeating what You make me to speak. Just like a cloud takes water from the ocean and then pours water on the ocean, You are like the ocean, I am like the cloud, You are giving me the water and the asking me to give it back." Ramananda Ray said, "I am just a puppet and You are the puppeteer. My tongue is just a stringed-instrument and You are the expert musician that is vibrating the sounds through me. Even I do not understand what I am saying, You are making me speak in this way, my Lord!" Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed to Ramananda Raya, His form of Radha and Krishna, revealing to Ramananda Raya something that no one has ever seen before, Krishna entering deep into the heart of Srimati Radharani to plunder the nectar of the taste of Her love, Ramananda Raya could see it with his divine eyes and he fell to the ground unconscious. Lord Chaitanya touched him and brought him back to consciousness. And Lord Chaitanya said that, "I am the son of Nanda Maharaj, with the ecstasy of Srimati Radharani, but this is a secret. What you have seen, no one has ever seen before. Do not reveal to anyone." Then Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said to Ramananda Raya that, "I cannot give up your association. Immediately, resign from your government service and come to Puri and We will live together for the rest of our lives." He said, "When I complete My south Indian tour, I will meet you in Puri and there, We will discuss Krishna, day and night." Ramananda Raya surrendered, and he did.
Lord Chaitanya replied, "That is external. Tell Me something more." Ramananda Raya said, "To renounce varnashram and to surrender to Krishna, that is the essence of perfection." And he quoted, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah Abandon all varieties of dharma and just surrender to Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He said, "That is very good, but please, say something more." He said, "Devotional service mixed with empiric knowledge is the essence of perfection. brahma-bhutah prasannatma na socati na kanksati samah sarvesu bhutesu mad-bhaktim labhate param Lord Chaitanya said, "That is external. Tell Me something more." Ramananda Raya spoke that, "Pure devotional service with no tinge of any mixture of empirical knowledge, that is the essence of perfection." Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, "That is all right, but please tell Me something more." Ramananda Ray said, "Ecstatic love for Krishna is the essence of perfection. And there is only one price for that ecstatic love, that is the intense greed to achieve it." Ramananda Ray said, "In that ecstatic love of Krishna, when it arises from the spontaneous feelings of the heart, one could love Krishna, as eternal servant." Lord Chaitanya said, "Please tell something more." Then he explained that, "Love of God in Sakhya Rasa, as a friend is the essence of perfection" And he gave example of cowherd boys. Mahaprabhu said, "Please go on. Tell more." He said, "Love of God in the mood of parent like Mother Yasoda, vatsalya rasa, is the essence of perfection" Mahaprabhu said, "Please tell Me more" He said, "The essence of all perfection is conjugal love, the love of Krishna for the gopis, and how when the gopis renounced everything to be with Krishna on the bank of Yamuna for the rasa Lila, Krishna appeared to them, and told them that, 'I cannot repay you for your love even in a lifetime of Brahma.' Thus, conjugal love is the essence of all perfection" And Ramananda Raya explained how in each progressively higher mood of rasa, of loving Krishna, all the others, preliminary to that are included. In conjugal love, is the full-fledged realization of vatsalya rasa, sakhya rasa, and dasya rasa. They are all included in conjugal love. And then Ramananda Ray said that, "Although each devotee, according to their particular relationship with Krishna, is completely satisfied and considers that particular relationship to be the supreme perfection and essence of the goal of life, still from a neutral, objective point of view, conjugal love is supreme because it includes all others, and therefore has the greatest capacity to attract Krishna." Lord Chaitanya said, "This is very good, but if you know something more, tell Me more."
Ramanand Rai is revealing a very essential aspect of Vaishnav thought. That It is due to a great devotee’s love for God and their good wishes toward you that you can receive the mercy of Supreme Personality of Godhead. When Srila Prabhupada was asked what was our qualification to receive the highest consciousness of Krishna Consciousness? at least the opportunity to attain it? Srila Prabhupada told us you have no qualification, I made your qualification. What does that mean? Because of his surrender to Krishna and his good wishes to our fallen selves, Krishna is giving his mercy to us. That is the process of Krishna Consciousness, to somehow or other get the mercy of a Vaishnava, and anyone who thinks that they can approach Krishna directly, is very unfortunate, because it is impossible. But when we get the favour of those who have surrendered their lives to Krishna, Krishna will naturally shower his blessings and give us every opportunity to perfect our lives. But then after getting this fortune, which may take millions and millions of births, we have the free will what we will do with this opportunity? Will we accept it for some time and then reject it? Or we will cherish it and treasure it for our whole life? Krishna Consciousness is a lifetime process. If somehow or other before the moment of death we can one time chant the holy name of the Lord purely, without offense, we have achieved the ultimate goal of life. But Krishna does not give that fortune so easily. Relatively in this age of Kali, by the mercy of Lord Gauranga, he does give it easily, but what’s easy is very difficult for us. Treta yuga, you would have to fast in complete celibacy, concentrating your mind on one particular object, the super-soul in your heart for 60 thousand years of unwavering mind for you to get love of God. How many of us could do that? So comparatively following the four regulative principles, chanting 16 rounds, humbly serving Vaishnavas, not committing offenses, trying to sincerely do our service in this short life span may be 50, 60, 70 years, at the most may be 80, 90, if we can get one mantra out of our mouths purely, then we perfect our lives. So easy. But the tendency in the age of Kali yuga is maya is always trying to drag our consciousness away from Krishna. yato yato niscalati manas cancalam asthiram tatas tato niyamyaitad atmany eva vasam nayet from whenever and wherever the mind wanders due to its flickering and unsteady nature, we must certainly withdraw it and bring it back under the control of the self. So, Krishna Consciousness is a constant battle, but somehow or other if we just don’t offend Vaishnavas and stay in the association of devotees and keep trying honestly, earnestly, sincerely, Krishna will save us, however fallen and difficult it may be, and we are.
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu then embraced him. As they embraced, they fell into a trance of ecstatic love. They practically fell unconscious, tears were pouring from their eyes. Their complexions were becoming pale, paralyses, trembling, shivering from their mouths with choked voices they were continuously saying Krishna! Krishna! Krishna! This was the intimate reunion of Shri Krishna and Vishaka Gopi. As we know Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna in the mood of Shrimati Radharani, and one of the most dear associates of Shrimati Radharani is Vishaka sakhi. In this particular incarnation, this was the first moment in which they met together. What was the intimacy of the ecstatic love they shared between each other? We would never know, but we can hear it, and try to become purified through this process. As they embraced, they were exhibiting such ecstatic symptoms of love, they would fall down become unconscious, and then again became conscious, and exhibit all kinds of different transformations of divine love. The brahmins, who were ritualistic by nature, they were struck with wonder. They were thinking in their minds, “this sannyasi who is effulgent like the impersonal brahman, why? why is he exhibiting such a happiness by embracing a sudra? And Ramanand Rai, he is a maha pandit, he is a great scholar. He is a big, big government officer, he is a very grave and sober personality, why he has become completely mad, lost all composure embracing a sannyasi?” They could not understand. Lord Chaitanya, Ramanand Rai noticing that these brahmins assembled were not able to comprehend the level of their spirituality, they somehow or other forcibly restrain their ecstatic feelings and became sober. Srila Prabhupada explains that sahajiyas, they like to imitate ecstatic symptoms in front of ordinary people, just to get followers and money. However great personalities even if they have ecstatic love of God, they will restrain themselves from manifesting it before anyone who cannot understand what it really represents.
Opening Welcome at 'Inner Peace Conference' by HH Radhanath Swami on 08 May 2020 by Radhanath Swami
A little later in his life, he began his studies. He was given the sacred threads. And what a brilliant scholar he became! But his exclusive thirst was to study the scriptures. At that time when he was just a young boy, that great associate of Lord Caitanya, Narahari Sarakar, came from Srikhanda and met Srinivas in Jajigram. And he loved him like a father. Blessed him and blessed him and blessed him. From that time a very very deep special connection was awakened between Narahari and Srinivas. Srinivas was so eager to hear about Lord Caitanya. He would ask his father repeatedly to tell him the pastimes of the Lord. And as he hear his father speak, Srinivas would be intoxicated. He couldn’t hear enough. Caitanya das explained to him about the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He said, when I was a little boy, he said, I used to hear about this Nimai. But due to my association I never really understood who He was. But I was always hearing about Him. He explained how Nimai became the greatest scholar of Navadvip. Even the Digvijaya Pandit Keshav Kasmiri he came with so many followers, elephants, palanquins and horses, victorious in his debate wherever he went throughout the world. But Nimai knowing that he was the favourite of goddess Saraswati, defeated him, smashed all of his pride without hurting his heart. That was a miracle. And how Digvijay Pandit surrendered to Lord Caitanya? he told the story of Lord Caitanya’s going to Gaya and taking initiation from Iswara Puri and serving His Guru with great love. And how He came back to Navadvip and established the Harinam-sankirtan movement. And there along with His devotees were constantly intoxicating, chanting and dancing throughout the day and night and hearing the glories of Sri Krsna. He explained the power of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda’s mercy in the story of Jagai and Madhai. How the Lord performed Nama-Sankirtan through the streets of Navadvip to the house of Chand Kaji with so many millions and millions of people; most of the demigods from the celestial world descended and disguise themselves as ordinary people to participate in this kirtan of Nimai and how the Kazi surrendered to Him. And then he explained; I was hearing these stories, I was yearning and yearning and yearning to see Nimai. And finally; I decided I am going there. I have surrendered my heart and my life to him. I must go there. I have never seen Him. And I was on my way from Cakhandi Gram to Jajigram and in root to Navadvip, I decided to stop in Katwa because Keshav Bharati from my very childhood was like a father to me. Whenever I visited him, he just showered affection upon me and always allowed me to be a guest in his asram.
Just outside of Puri while they were lamenting in this way; they both simultaneously had a vision. In that vision, they saw a beautiful young boy who had a dark complexion like a rain cloud. He had lovely lotus like eyes, peacock feather adorning His head. He stood in a threefold bending form and was playing upon His flute. He had a dhoti which was the colour of lightening and a beautiful garland of Malati flowers from the forest, extending below His knees. That form turned into Sri Navadvipachandra with a golden complexion like a champak flower with lotus eyes seen to extend to His ears. That beautiful form was dazzling. His long curly hair was enchanting the hearts of all. He was dancing in ecstasy with His associates. And then that form turned into Lord Caitanya as a Sanyasi, holding a staff and a Kamandalu in saffron cloths. And then that form turned into the beautiful blackish form of Jagganath, who was performing extra ordinary pastimes with Balaram and Subhadra. Then the dream disappeared. They entered into Puri and right when they came to the Simhadwaram Lord Caitanya was just entering Jagganath temple with His intimate associates. And Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu happened to see Caitanya das. When Laxmipriya and Caitanya das saw the beauty of Lord Caitanya’s form, unblinkingly they gazed upon Him with torrent of tears of love flowing from their eyes. Lord Caitanya called for him. And He said, go to see Lord Jagganath, He will fulfill your desire. Then Lord Caitanya and His associates went for the darshan of Jagganath and as they were coming out, Caitanya das fell at the feet repeatedly offering his obeisances to Mahaprabhu and to each and every one of His associates. And Lord Caitanya told Govind. bring him before Jagganath dev. Caitanya das prayed before Lord Jagganath. A little later that day, the devotees were very curious, what was this desire? They asked Govind, do you know what the desire was that he had that Lord Caitanya told him to ask for? Govind said, ‘this is the secret. Nobody knows but I think Lord Caitanya will reveal it to us.’ Just to that movement Lord Caitanya called for Govind. And He told that, ‘this great Brahman, he has come to Jagganath Puri with the desire to have a son. And Lord Jagganth will fulfil his desire. His son will be named Srinivas. He will be the very personification of ecstatic spiritual love. Through Rupa and Sanatan Goswami I have revealed the desires of My heart which they have put in their books. And through Srinivas, I will distribute those books throughout the land.’
'Appearance of Lord Narasimha Dev' By HH Radhanath Swami On 06 May 2020 by Radhanath Swami
'Lord Chaitanya's Loving Dealings in Puri with His Devotees' By HH Radhanath Swami On 03 May 2020 by Radhanath Swami
where there is suffering due to fear, due to pain, heart break, death a human spiritual nature is that we feel compassion and in what ever way possible, we want to help and we are in a situation where there is so much fear and confusion, there is so much heart break and death and just to see it through the lens of compassion actually helps us to raise above fear and confusion. Throughout history pandemics and epidemics have come and gone. And with all our advancement in technology and science, we are not in exception. It’s the way nature works. And the way I see is, while we are trying to help by protecting our own bodies and our own families and loved ones, knowing that this body is a gift. Its gods gifts and its sacred. Because the body has inherently a sacred purpose. So to protect the body, to protect the bodies of the loved ones is a sacred duty especially if we understand its sacred purpose. And its purpose in its highest and most inclusive state is to be an instrument of god’s compassion in our life, in this world. Somehow or other there are so many distractions in the world whether there idealogical, technological, political or just our own body and mind, we forget what we really want in our life. and in the computer age, we have our reset button. We press this button to a kind of erase so many of the things that are there on the screen and bring us back to our original natural position. And I see this as we are trying to help in what ever way we can, protect ourselves and others. Nature is pressing a reset button so that we can take inventory of our values, our desires, our purpose and what really is meaningful in our lives. And how to focus our attention on addressing the real issues that have true relevance to our life, our families, our loved ones, our society, our own true self within and God. These are the most important relationships we have and the heart yearns to have these relationships. So with all the distractions and diversions that we are vulnerable to we have an opportunity individually and collectively to take some time to take a step back and what direction do I really want to take in my life? what is the character and the values spiritually, socially and individually that I want to make sacred in my life? and this is an extraordinary crisis, its unprecedented but it also gives us unprecedented opportunities.
"Lessons From The Gita For The Pandemic" at Being Yoga Festival by HH Radhanath Swami on 03 May 20 by Radhanath Swami
It arrived in Vrindavan without any difficulty. When that boat arrived in Vrindavan, all the great devotees of Vraja were there to greet Srimati Radha Rani and her associates with very very grateful hearts they were again and again thanking Jahnava Devi for making this wonderful arrangement for the pleasure of Sri Gopinath. Then there was a grand festival, a wonderful celebration where Srimati Radha Rani was installed on the left side of Sri Gopinathji. Shortly after this Jahnava Devi being anxious to see her beloved lord Sri Gopinath, she came again to Vrindavan. When she arrived in Vrindavan, she immediately rushed to the temple of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath and there with great love she beheld the beautiful darshan of Sri Gopinathji, standing in his three fold bending form, playing upon his flute, with Srimati Radha Rani both on his left side as well as his right side. After offering prayers to the lord, she offered wonderful gifts that she brought from Gaudadesh for the pleasure of the deities, then she cooked a wonderful fest with her own loving hands for Sri Sri Radha Gopinath. After which she went to visit Sri Madan Mohan, Sri Govindaji, those deities that are the life and soul of the gaudiya vaishanvas. And it is explained later on, some years later, Jahanva Devi came back to Vrindavan and worshiped the deity and she disappeared on the alter of Sri Gopinath and that small size deity of Sri Radha Rani was then accepted to be Jahnava Devi in her original spiritual form of Ananga Manjari, the younger sister of Srimati Radha Rani. We read throughout the gaudiya vaishanva literatures, the supreme importance of this deity Sri Sri Radha Gopinathji. Through prayer and worship of this deity we gradually are given the highest perfection of pure love. So let us all pray at the lotus feet of Sri Radha Gopinath that we could all eternally aspire to be the servant of the servant of the servant. Sri Chaitanya Maha Prabhu prayed gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsa. Gopī-bhartu, Gopinath means the same thing, the lord of the Gopis. It was Sri Chaitanya Maha Prabhu’s eternal desire to be the servant of the servant of the servant of th lord of the Gopis Sri Gopinathji. Sri Radha Gopinath ki Jai.
Interview With Radhanath Swami - Learning To Grow Through The COVID Crisis on 26th Apr 2020 by Radhanath Swami
If our sadhana is strong, sadhana means chanting our rounds and hearing Bhagavat everyday and following the four regulative principles, If our sadhana is strong, if we have humble relationships, serving mood relationships with other vaisnavas and we are coming together to congregationally chant the Holy Name, maya can attack but she can do nothing to disturb our spiritual progress or the mission of Mahaprabhu. So, we must at all cost help one another to protect one another from the onslaughts of maya. When maya attacks don’t think that means something is wrong. What it means the harder she attacks, the more it means that she is seeing as a threat to her. Prabhupada said if maya does not attack, you must be doing something wrong. That means she doesn’t see that you are any threat to her. If you are compromising, then she is, oh! very nice. You are my servant, why should I attack you? But if you are actually practicing Krsna Consciousness very nicely, there will be. But those attacks we will be protected. We will not even be disturbed by them. If we keep proper association with vaisnavas, have nice sadhana and chant the holy names Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare. Hare Rama hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would find the greatest bliss going to the Tota Gopinath temple to hear Sri Gadadhar Pandit narrate Srimad Bhagvatam. Throughout the day when they were not having wonderful kirtan together, Gadadhar Pandit would recite Srimad Bhagvatam in such a way that anyone who would hear would immediately become filled with ecstatic and pure love for Lord Krishna. Sometimes for hours and hours and hours and days and days and days, Lord Caitanya would just hear Srimad Bhagvatam from Gadadhar Pandit. When he described the story of Prahalada Maharaj, when he descrived the story of Dhruva Maharaj, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in such ecstasy, he would ask him to repeat it. And he would tell the whole story of Prahalada again. And Lord Caitanya would say, “Repeat it.” And generally, these two stories he would have to repeat over a hundred times for the pleasure of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. This is the nature of hearing transcendental subject matter. It is not that we hear a story and we think, “now I know it, there is no need to hear it again. Tell me something else. Tell me something I do not know.” Actually, the Lord’s lila is not different than the Lord himself. The sound vibration of the lila is not different than the lila itself. And every time we hear it, if we hear it submissively, in a humble state of mind, it reveals more and more and deeper and deeper realisations, understandings and love for that particular lila, and Krishna. When Gadadhar Pandit would narrate Srimad Bhagvatam for the pleasure of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they would both weep and cry so much that the combination of their tears would just flood the pages of Srimad Bhagvatam and make the ink go like this
The time of death is such a dramatic experience. You cannot just choose at that time what you want to think of. It’s based on what you have done in your life that Krishna reveals. What you are most attached to in life, is what you think of at death. If you are attached to atrocities throughout your life, at the time of death you are going to have an atrocious thought. If you are attached to a woman, more than anything else at the time of your life, at the time of death you are going to think of that woman. If you cultivate attachment to Krishna more than anything else during your life, and at the time of death, Krishna is going to reveal himself to you as your last thought. That last thought is not based on a deliberate circumstantial decision at that instances. That thought is determined by the overall consciousness that you have cultivated throughout your life. That appears by the grace of god at the time of death.
Chaitanya Maha Prabhu has also prayed “My Lord, I do not want any amount of wealth, nor do I want any amount of sense enjoyment, which culminates in beautiful ladies, nor do I want any followers or any prestige or fame, I do not even want liberation from suffering. I only want one benediction and that is birth after birth causeless devotional service to you.” And we find all the great personalities, when they taste the sweetness of love of god, this is all they ask for. Dhruva Maharaj was given the same opportunity; Kuvera said I am the treasurer of all the demigods, I will give you any benediction you like and Dhruva Maharaj said all I want is that I never forget Krishna and I always engage in the service of his devotees. So what else are we aspiring for in this world? It costs nothing, to worship Krishna, anyone can do at anytime by simply with the sincere heart chanting his name Hare Krishna Hare Krishna , Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare and to serve the devotees, the order of the spiritual master is always there, the vaishanvas are always here, to be at their service costs nothing. The devotees are always anxious to associate with us and to engage us in their service. These things are free for everyone and yet we take it so much for granted? The greatest personalities like Sri Chaitanya, Dhruva Maharaj, Prahlad Maharaj, Markandeya Muni, the greatest personalities that have ever lived, they consider nothing of they have any value what so ever in this entire creation that compares to remembering Krishna and serving his devotees.
We follow authority but we’re independently thoughtful on how to execute the will of the authority. We are not independently thoughtful of whether we should execute the will of the authority. Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad told our Srila Prabhupad, “Preach Krishna consciousness in the West, in the English language”. That’s all. Now Prabhupad’s independent thoughtfulness, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur didn’t say, “Go to Sumati Morarji, sit at her step in Juhu Bombay until she gives you a ticket on the Jaladoota and then got to Butler Pennsylvania and live with Sally Agarwal with her husband Gopal and then go to the Bowery and then meet Mukunda Maharaj and Janaki Devi and start Twenty-six, Second Avenue, and then go to San Francisco and then go to Montreal and then go to London and then come back to India. That was all independent thoughtfulness, Everything Prabhupad did was all independent thoughtfulness. “How to do it?” “How to do it?” He went to Jhansi, it didn’t work, so he independent thoughtful, he went back to Vrindavan, Vamsi Gopal, then he went to Radha Damodar and then he came to Bombay, but it was all in execution of his guru’s instruction. He wasn’t independently thinking, “Should I do what my Guru Maharaj said? I am independent, maybe I should do something else”. So, we should be independently thoughtful in using our creative God-given talents and intelligence on how to execute? but not whether to execute.
janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti when we forget our real pride, we are meant to be proud that Krishna is the supreme Godhead. He is all beautiful, He is all wonderful, I am His part & parcel. I am his eternal servant. We are proud of that. A devotee is not without pride, but a devotee’s pride is not selfish. We are proud of Krishna. When we hear the wonderful activities of Krishna, how he has killing all these demons, how he is bestowing so much mercy upon his devotees, we are infinitely proud of Krishna for doing these things. We are not without pride. When we hear about our great forefathers, people are very proud of what their ancestors have done. We are very proud what Srila Prabhupada has done; how he has started this movement single handedly with nothing, we are very proud of that. We are proud of Bhakti Siddhantha for his great proves and learning and establishing the absolute truth, even in the country of India which was so practically completely compromising all the tenants of Vaishnavism, Bhakti Vinod Takur, Shri Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, when we hear about the austerities and the pure devotion of Shri Raghunath Das Goswami, it brings the feeling of real pride to us. This is my param Guru. This is my spiritual family. How wonderful they are? When we hear the past times of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, how He delivered the most fallen, sinful entities indiscriminately, we become very joyful, very proud of His activities. So, when we become proud of God, proud of God’s pure representatives, that is real pride. That is the joy to the soul. But when we become proud of our own activities, when we become proud of our own accomplishments, which are based on misconception that I am this body and I am this mind, that is the source of all misery and suffering because it is based on this pride, I am the enjoyer and I am the doer that lust and envy and anger and illusion and greed, they all are born of that false ego.
If Krishna wanted to be sympathetic to our material conceptions, when he would come to this earth, he would just do ordinary things and he would just speak, he would be like a good philosopher. See, I am nothing special, I am just an ordinary person and I am just speaking nice philosophy.’ He speaks best philosophy, but then the does things which are wondrous, not like the mystic yogis today that can produce some gold or who can make a dead man rise. What is so big about that, but lift the earth on your nose, do something like that- that is Krishna. When Krishna appears, he appears ordinary just to attract our natural love but then he shows that how although this ordinary little child he is extraordinary. Little baby but the whole creation within his mouth – this is Krishna. So he specifically performs the most incredible, unbelievable activities just to crash through the wall of our doubts of our material conceptions and by submissively hearing with an understanding that Krishna is great, that I am small, my conceptions of reality are under an illusion, when we hear in this mood regularly and we adhere to the instructions of Krishna consciousness, even if we may not have realization, if we simply submissively surrender to the word of God which is coming through the sadhu and the shastras and the guru, through that process, Krishna removes this great barrier or wall of doubt within our heart.
When we hear the Srimad Bhagavatam regularly, attentively from those persons who are honestly and sincerely carrying on the message of Krishna’s line of great teachers, then naturally faith begins to grow in our heart, but the first thing that happens which is very difficult is, this principle of faith, the word of God has a direct confrontation with our material conceptions and all our doubts and this is something that is very extremely excruciating the uncomfortable. All our material conceptions, all of our limited ideas of what is real, all our illusions and all of our egoistic desires to be a separate enjoyer, they create a wall of doubt in our mind and when we hear the beautiful Bhagvatam, the sound of Krishna’s lila, the sound of Krishna’s words being spoken by his devotees, sooner or later all of these wonderful, wonderful narrations, just they have a confrontation with this wall of doubts. It's like the Kuru’s and the Pandava’s on the battlefield two sides just coming and charging at one another trying to defeat each other, the word of God and the song of illusions within our hearts which we have been so much surrendered to for so long is that war and that is why we become bewildered, that is why we doubt. It is so difficult to have just innocent simple faith. Whatever it says in the shastra is a fact, it is not just symbolism, it is not just allegorical, it is a fact. We want to get some philosophical meaning out of it but we are not willing to accept what Krishna is able to do if he wants, that means our whole study of the shastra is incorrect, Krishna can do anything.
Lord Sri Rama Chandra, he especially taught us how to respond to crisis, to challenge, to difficult times. Because these are opportunities to make great spiritual progress, to understand how humble and vulnerable we truly are and to take shelter from our hearts with our body, our minds, and our very souls to take shelter of Krishna, of Sri Rama. Following in the footsteps of the great souls. Maharaj Guha, Hanuman, Bharat, Sita, Lakshman, all these great devotees and more, they were willing to do anything and everything, endure any type of difficulty to give pleasure to Rama and Rama Chandra, he was willing to endure any kind of difficulty to give pleasure to his devotees, the highest pleasure. And long ago he performed his leelas but he is still performing those same pastimes in our hearts today. At this particular time during the carona virus, the world is in a very difficult state. It is a time to truly re-evaluate what is our purpose, what is our goals? The kind of press the reset button to our values in life. it’s a time to understand the truth is always been there, how vulnerable we are, and how we need the shelter of the lord. And the lord taught us by his own example as lord Rama, that we find that shelter in the association of those who love him by sharing with one another, by serving one another, by hearing and by chanting, by cultivating our own internal sadhana. Rama Navami is a blessing, life in Krishan consciousness among devotees in any situation is the most beautiful blessing.
In the times like now where the whole world is, its unbelievable how confused the world is because everything is becoming more and more uncertain, and this may go on for some time or it may end sooner, nobody knows. But our duty in this world is to take every possible precaution to protect out health and our lives and those of other devotees and family members and all living beings in general. We do everything we can to do that, we must take precautions. Because we hear to represent the light that Prabhupad has given us on behalf of our whole parampara and Sri Krishna. So, we need to be here to do that as much as, as long as Krishna wants us to be here. So, we have a very great purpose to take care of our health and to take care of each other, to help humanity. But at the same time, you know that the medicine for the age of Kali, what is in the kalisantarana Upanishad, the Hare Krishna mantra is given and it’s the most effective medicine to counteract the effects of the kali yuga. And that hare Krishna mantra is meditation on Sri Radha Rani and Sri Gopinath of Vrindavan. Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare. So devotees feel great concern and compassion for loved ones and general society when difficulties come but at the same time, we understand that these things are inevitable, Vyasadev predicted it, there is no way out of it, except to surrender to Krishna and that is the single purpose in which Sukadev Goswami spoke Srimad Bhagavatam to give us the opportunity to surrender to Krishna and to surrender to Krishna in such an honest and humble way like the great acharyas we read about in the Bhagavatam and the acharyas who have come in our paramparas that Vrindavan is revealed to us and to distribute this message of Srimad Bhagavatam as para upakar, that’s the greatest welfare action to spread this Hare Krsihna maha mantra.
"Significance Of Rama Navami" by HH Radhanath Swami on Rama Navami Festival 2020 by Radhanath Swami
if you read what’s going to happen in kali yuga, this is fact, this is not just some symbolic thing. The main subjects that Vyasadev is emphasising on how there will be plagues, there will be pestiments there will be phonon, there will be so many diseases, people in there minds will have so much fear and so much anxiety and the leaders of countries will be arrogant and exploitative. You know somebody like Hitler, he came much after, but the Bhagavatam is talking about that psychology of people who are so arrogant and if such a controlling spirit and are willing to be so cruel to people and they get leadership positions, then how difficult and how painful the kali yuga is? Now we have corona virus. Its exactly the kind of situation that Srimad Bhagavatam five thousand years ago told it’s going happen. And its only going to happen more and more and more as kali yuga progresses. In the middle ages in Europe, there was the black plague, it was called black death. An it was like a virus. It literally killed in many countries half the population. It just went on and on. In human history these types of plagues, these types of pestiments, these types of diseases that go mass into epidemics and pandemics, there have been always been here in the world. It’s the nature of the world
When one surrenders to Krishna, one becomes like the fish in the sea. The fish within the sea is utterly dependent at every moment on the water of the sea for their survival. In the same way, when we dive deeply into the infinite sea of Krishna’s love and we surrender to that love, we cannot live even a moment without it. It is a fate that appears worse than death to forget Krishna, even a moment. This is the teachings of Srila Rupa Goswami. To always remember Krishna, and to never forget Krishna. A devotee of the Lord, this is his only fear in all of creation. A devotee who is raised to the standard of proper faith does not fear physical pain, does not feel fear, infliction or prosecution to one’s body or to one’s prestigious position. He does not feel poverty, does not fear being rebuked even by ones most intimate loved ones.
Rama means the reservoir of all pleasure. Every one is seeking pleasure and every one is trying to find relief form pain which is simply an obstruction from pleasure. It is the inherent nature of every living being. änanda-mayo 'bhyäsät we are pleasure seeking. Whether we are insects or reptiles or fish, birds, animals, human beings or they were black or white or read or yellow or man or women, eastern or western everyone seeks pleasure. Why? The scriptures tell us it is because we are part of god. Every living being is the part of the lord that is our essence and the lord as Rama, the reservoir of all pleasure, we are seeking that pleasure. The basis of pleasure is love. Every one needs it; no one can be satisfied without it. What ever other adjustments they, make in life without love, we are lonely, we are empty. Real religion teaches perfect love. The love of the mind, the love of the senses is temporary reflections of real love. Real love is the expression of the eternal soul, who we really are? Not who we think we are. The soul’s craving is to love god.
Fear is the most prominent human quality. It is either behind the scenes or very much in front motivating people in so many ways. So much of industries, so much of economy, so much…. Is based on fear. Fear of disappointment, fear of failure, fear of disease, fear of death, fear of poverty. And the more you have, the more you have to fear losing. But Govinda Das explains, if we just pray to our mind to take shelter of Çré Nanda-nandana, this beautiful cow-herd boy who charms us into the realm of love beyond the temporary conditions of this world. Then we become fearless. And when we recognize the beauty of God and love of God, then we actually see that loving beautiful hand behind every situation. And that doesn’t make us hard-hearted. That makes us very soft-hearted on every level, body, mind and soul to help people to relieve their sufferings. But, it equips us to serve people to the highest, most comprehensive way not only to resolve the suffering of the physical and mental state, but to help people to resolve sufferings forever.
The purpose of the fearful situations of nature is meant to be an impetus to love nature. In religion, especially in some the western religions, where I am coming from, the primary conception of God is a very fearful personality. If you don’t obey him, he is going to smash you and he really has the weapons to smash. Eternal condemnation in hell, can you imagine that? If you sin, eternal damnation where you suffer for the rest of eternity. That’s a pretty fearful type of God, isn’t it? And there is instances of sinners getting thunderbolts crashing against their heads. And all sorts of laws. God has ordained these laws, obey or you damned. That’s an aspect of God. In order to somehow or other convince people to love God, there is this element of fear. Yes? Sometimes a parent, parent doesn’t want the child to be afraid. But, if the child is doing the wrong things that are seriously going to disturb their life in the future, sometimes the parent inflicts fear in the child. If you do this, I am going to do this to you. Yes? Children don’t like but sometimes it is necessary because it’s the only way they listen. So, this conception of the fear of God and the conception of the fearful conditions of material nature are to help to sober us up to understand what will really make us happy. It’s ultimately meant to bring us to love God and to love nature and to love each other.
the balance that the Gétä teaches is para-dukha-dukhi. That an enlightened being, another person’s sufferings become my suffering and another person’s happiness is my happiness. And we feel for the suffering of people. If we are on the bodily concept and we think that only my immediate family is my relatives then we really feel for our relatives. But, if on the spiritual concept, we realize ahaà béja-pradaù pita that Kåñëa is the seed giving father and mother of all living beings and therefore we are all related. Then we have compassion and we feel the pains of every living being. Every aspect of human life; whatever caste, religion, race, sex; we feel for all species. the cows, the goats, everyone, the birds because we can feel their happiness and their distress. This is enlightenment. So, when there is a great tragedy like what has happened in Japan and similar things happening all over the world, maybe caused by a tsunami, maybe caused by earthquakes, maybe caused by draught or maybe caused by cruel humans with great political powers, maybe caused by diseases like AIDS epidemics, hepatitis epidemics or cancer, whatever it may be, a devotee feels but a devotee understands that every living being is an eternal soul. And even if none of these things happen, if things go right, time is going to kill everyone. So, therefore we should feel that a similar compassion even for happy people living in Malabar Hill, Baltemar Road, Chowpatty beach- very successful, very nice but every moment being destroyed by time and they are going to die and their children and their parents and everyone are going to die.
there is no such thing as death or destruction. It is a perception. na jäyate mriyate vä kadäcin näyaà bhütvä bhavitä vä na bhüyaù that the soul, the aatma, the life force in everyone, the flea or me or we, that life force is unborn and undying. mamaiväàço jéva-loke jéva-bhütaù sanätanaù The life force is a part of God, like a spark from the sun, qualitatively of the same spiritual eternal substance as Kåñëa. That’s who we are. Just a small part. The Bhagavad gétä explains the atma, the soul cannot be cut into pieces by weapons, cannot even be moistened by the water of a tsunami and cannot be burned by even the most blazing fires. na hanyate hanyamäne çarére It is not slain when the body is slain. And science tells us that matter is not destroyed, it is just transformed. Matter is an energy that is transformed from one particular form to another form. Right now, we have this body. If you burn it then the water element in the body goes into the environment to create moisture but it exists. And the earth element becomes ashes. So, physically things are just being transformed and from the spiritual perspective of the true self, it just moves on to another place. So, nothing’s really destroyed, if we see it in the light of truth.
In Europe, during the middle ages, about one third of the population of the entire continent was destroyed by the bubonic plague and Europe was a very, very powerful continent at that time with militaries and kingdoms and armies. And who was spreading the bubonic plague? Fleas. It was little tiny fleas. Fleas are so small that they make mosquitoes look like elephants. They are tiny. And these little and tiny flea that you can hardly see were spreading it around and destroyed a third of human race in a powerful continent. So, whether there is a gigantic cyclone, tidal wave or flea or germ; there is always danger in this world. And ultimately, time is invisible. You can’t see it, you can’t touch it, taste it, smell it, hear it. But, it is so powerful that the most powerful militaries cannot stop it even for a moment. You cannot bribe it, you can not seduce it with beauty, you cannot philosophically defeat it, never stops and with each moment, it is in the process of making the highest Himalayas into powder, drying the oceans, burning out the sun and every star in the sky and destroying the earth. That’s the power of time. Kåñëa says in Bhagavad gétä “Time, I am” mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù süyate sa-caräcaram. Kåñëa says “Ultimately, this entire nature is working under my control.” It is the most beautiful thing if we see it through the eyes of love.
this world is a place of fear the most prominent expenditures within society today all over the planet are based on fear. How much time, energy and money to put people put in to building hospitals and medicine is based on fear of disease, fear of death. And the cosmetic industry yes it’s really all based on fear. People are afraid of not looking beautiful, people are afraid of looking old even though they are. So they just cover the cracks and crevics and they put so many things. People are afraid of smelling bad so many colons and so many perfumes and so many deodorants and everything like that. I am not saying you should use or not use, I am just saying. I am not saying it based on fear whether you know it or not. And even eating we are afraid of being hungry, why do people work. One of the prime motivations for getting a job and working nine to five for whatever hours we have is fear. We are afraid of poverty, we are afraid of hunger, we are afraid of not having a proper shelter house, so we work so hard. People are so afraid of dishonour, afraid of failure, in school, students are very much afraid of not getting proper grades, so how much are people motivated by fear in this world? The major expenditures of most nations is defense. And fear is a suffering condition. There is the saying the only thing to fear is fear itself. But how can you not fear? As long as you are thinking I am the body, I am the propeitor, I am the enjoyer, then you must fear. Because the whole material nature is threatening you at every moment. bhajahū re mana śrī-nanda-nandana abhaya-caraṇāravinda re. Therefore devotee prays to the mind please my mind just remember Krishna, just worship the son of Nanda, then you will be fearless. And therefore the only real happiness in life is in taking shelter of Krishna, everything else is a strategic plan of maya to perpetuate our fear and suffering. Everything else, except taking shelter of Krishna.
Sometime I hear when there are catastrophes like this that people just say “It is just their Karma”. Is that a way a devotee thinks? It may just be their Karma but that’s not our business what their karma is. Our business is to save them and to feel for them and give them relief of whatever their Karma may be. Karma is between them and Krishna. How many millions of cows are being slaughtered every year? But nobody thinks about it. How many millions of innocent children are being killed in the womb of their mothers every year? No one thinks about it. How many tens and thousands of people are starving to death every year? No one thinks about it. When four five thousand people are being killed, the whole world is upset. Of course, we should be upset. We should be upset for all the people who are suffering, all the people who are being murdered. If it’s just the matter of karma, then why are we trying to stop people from murdering the cows? why only vegetarians? It’s just the karma of the cows to die. No, we are willing to preach and give our lives to teach people to protect these cows and if we hear about cows being slaughtered, we will weep, we will cry, we can’t bear that fact, what to speak of human beings? If Srila Prabhupad came to New York city and he saw people addicted to illicit sex, intoxication, gambling, meat eating, atheists, suffering in the streets. He didn’t just say, it’s your karma prabhu. He wept, He cried, His heart was broken and he was willing to risk and sacrifice his life to save us. That is Vaishnav. Wherever we see or hear of suffering, we should cry to think of people physically, mentally, spiritually suffering. And that should be more of an impetus for us to do something to help them.
Krishna is an all loving compassionate God. He tells us where our real home is. Even though the people of this world have rejected Him, have defied him, have offended Him, He still keeps coming. “You are misusing your free will. Vaikunta, the doors are open. Come in.”. He sends His devotees. He sends His scriptures; He gives everybody, every good opportunity. But we reject. The problems in the world that people are not willing to live in harmony with the will of God. If we are all willing to live in harmony to the will of Krishna, then this world would become like Vaikunta. Krishna gave this benediction to Sudama, the garland maker in Mathura that because you are surrendered to me, you will enjoy everything you ever wanted in this world, and then you will go back home back to Godhead. That’s what the world could be, if we are Krishna Conscious. We are not to blame God, God is so merciful. He has come as Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda to give Vrindavan rasa of love of God to everyone. Just chant the holy name and live by these simple principles of devotional service.
On the disappearance day of Govinda Ghosh, all the people from these villages were feeling great grief in his separation. They brought his body to the river Ganga and performed the last rites. When they came back, the deity who was elegantly dressed, was no longer dressed in his prescribed attire. He was wearing the very simple type of white dress that a son wears after his father dies. So they understood the truth that Gopinath truly is the Son of Govinda Ghosh. So they brought the deity to the Samadhi madir and had the deity personally offer shradha to his father. And from that time to this very day, this is the tradition in Agradwip. On the disappearance dar of Govinda Ghosh, they bring the deity of Gopinatha in a palanquin to the samadhi of Govinda Ghosh, which is just behind us and he offers the shradha patra, pinda to his beloved devotee. And such a glorious festival that two to three hundred thousand people ae crowded in this courtyard on that occasion every year. And it is one of the most glorious festivals of Gaura mandala bhumi. This land belongs to the king of Krishna Nagar and that King has such devotion to this deity, that after the disappearance festival, where Gopinath Dev performed the shradha, the deity is put on a boat and he's taken on the Ganga to Navadwip ghat where he spends the night and is worshiped by all the devotees of Navadwip and mayaur.
the mother prepared the rajbhog offering and the child brought the offering in and placed it before the deity, prayed to the deity of Gopinatha, please accept this offering. Of course we know how the Lord glances upon the boga and tastes the devotion in it and leaves it as maha prasad. Five year old child he did not understand these high philosophical principles. He saw that the food was still there. He said Gopinath please eat please eat. When my father offers, you eat. But when I offers, you wont eat. Please eat. He was very disturbed. He was crying, begging the Lord again and again and again please eat. Some say, he even picked up a stick and said if you don't eat, I'm going to get in trouble. My father is going to punish me that you didn’t eat this food. Now please eat. So Gopinath spoke to the child he said I've already eaten. Its prasad. He said No, you haven’t eaten. I am going to get in trouble by my father. You eat.Gopinath said I will eat. But you have to promise me that you will never tell anyone that I have eaten this food. If you do, you die. He promised. The deity ate half the offering right in front of the child's eyes. The child brought the Prasad off the alter
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was traveling from village to village and Govinda Ghosh was acting like his servant. At that time Govinda Ghosh was a very committed Brahmachari. And he would perform very menial tasks to serve his beloved Lord sri Gauranga. One of those tasks was after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu would take his prasad, he would bring him some haritaki, which aids in digestion and very good for health. So, one day he had to beg for the haritaki and kept the Lord waiting for a period of time before bringing it to him. The next day after the Lord's prasad, the Lord asked for haritaki and he immediately gave him some. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu enquired, how is this? yesterday you have to go begging. It took time, but today you have it immediately? Can you explain? Govinda Ghosh replied that not wanting to keep you waiting my Lord, I beg for an extra quantity and I am keeping it with me so I can give to you without inconvenience. Ah! You have the mood of a collector. You are keeping in collection, therefore, you cannot be a brahmacari. This mood of collecting and keeping things in storage is the mood of a grihasta. Therefore, you must get married. Govinda Ghost began to cry. Weeping tears, my lord! please please, no, don't abandon me from your service. i'm a bramachare let me be a brahmacari, let me serve you with my heart and soul, with no distraction. The Lord said no. I have decided, you must accept the grihasta order of life. Seeing the tears in his devotees’ eyes, the Lord told him that I will always be with you. So, Govinda Ghosh was sent by the Lord back to this place, where in due course of time, he accepted a Krishna conscious chaste and faithful wife and had one son.
In 1970, when I was living here in India, I met some Christians, very very devout and they gave me a very rare version of the Bible. The St. Thomas version of the Bible, written by one of the personal associates of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I remember one statement of Lord Jesus in that book, that affected me a lot. He said, “This world is a bridge, cross over it, but build no house upon it”. But people are going to the churches begging the God to give them a better house. Krishna tells us in Gita ” mam upetya punar janma duhkhalayam asasvatam napnuvanti mahatmanah samsiddhim paramam gatah That the great souls, they aspire for the spiritual world. That is the ultimate perfection. They don’t want to try to find happiness in this material world, which is a miserable place because everything is temporary. The soul is eternal. It can find no real satisfaction in the temporary enjoyments of this world. Whether you die of a catastrophe or whether you get old, diseased and die, its suffering. Have you even studied what happens in old age? It’s really miserable.
Do you remember Ganga das? long before, I even took birth in this world, the mleach king, he and his soldiers were plundering people’s property and exploiting the women. In order to protect your wife and children, you had to escape from your home. The soldiers were coming closer and closer, you ran in the middle of the night to the Ganges, the soldiers were approaching, you understood that if you do not escape, they will violate the chastity of good wife. This was worse than death for you. You were looking for a boat man but because it was late at night, there was no boats to be found. In great anxiety you decided to give up your life, rather than be polluted. I was watching you. At that moment, do you know what I did Ganga das? I personally descended from Vaikuntha loka and took the form of a boat man. And you saw me rowing my boat and you cried boatman, boatman, boatman, please come! Save me! Save my family. I’ll give you everything I have. At that time, I took you across the river for safety. Do you remember this Ganga das? In the gratitude of love, Ganga das fell at the feet of Lord Chaitanya weeping in love
Thousands and thousands and thousands of pots of Ganga water that were brought in to bath Lord Caitanya. One simple poor maid servant of Srivaas who’s name was Dhuki, was lining up carrying, carrying the water pots of Ganga and making them in nice neat lines so the devotees could easily have access to them. Dhuki means one who is miserable. She was in the background, she wasn’t one of the devotees, she wasn’t one of the Lord’s associates. She was just the maid servant of the servant of the servant. Just in the background. Just doing some menial service to help the devotees in pleasing the Lord. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu takes note of anyone’s sincere efforts to serve his servants. The Supreme master of all the devatas was glancing upon this little lady named Dukhi. Seeing her sincere efforts. He was so pleased. He asked Srivaas, what is her name? Her name is Dukhi. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, the name Dukhi does not sit properly in my heart. From this day on her name will be Sukhi. And in giving her the name Sukhi he gave her the ultimate treasure of Krsna preama, the ecstasy of the Spiritual worlds. In this incident Lord Caitanya wanted to show that anyone who is dear to his devotees attains his supreme fortune. Who is Dukhi? Uneducated, simple, unknown but she was sincere to serve the Lord’s devotees. The Lord gave her the ultimate wealth of Krsna Consciousness.
The lord longs for the association of his devotees and actually everyone is essentially Krsna’s devotee. jévera ‘svarüpa’ haya—kåñëera nitya-däsa. Krsna is longing for all of his spirit souls, all of his parts and parcels to return to his loving service; that means each and everyone of us, that means not only every human being, but wherever there is life in this creation Krsna is longing for that eternal soul, that eternal loving servant to come out of illusion and return. And therefore lord Caitanya and the great acharyas such as Srila Prabhupada have taught us that there is no greater service to the lord than preaching his message to the devotees and to the conditioned soul to help them to come back to the loving service of the lord that is the greatest service that we can do. Then Srila Prabhupada is so merciful that, he is kindly engaging all of us in that most intimate service of the lord by spreading the glories of the chanting the holy name, Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare. Because in this age of Kali Yuga there is no religious principle except the chanting the holy name of the lord.
when devotees are sincerely chanting the Holy names, everything becomes all auspicious. And Srila Prabhupada was very strong at this point. Sometimes it come to a place was in inauspicious astrological moment or the particular configuration of a building was not according to the auspicious way. Srila Prabhupada had a simple solution to all these problems, just chant Hare Krishna. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare And a test of your spiritual advancement is how much you have faith in this principle. Hare Krishna. Krishna says, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma sucah Abandon all these varieties of religion, auspicious, inauspicious, pious, impious and all that and just surrender to Me. Kali kalenama rupe Krishna avatar In Kaliyuga, Krishna comes in His names. What is the best way to surrender to Krishna in this age? By chanting His holy names. So yes, we can take into consideration all the other auspicious things and inauspicious things and make it the best we can, but always keep in the fore front, that whatever the situation there is no need to over endeavor to make things auspicious, just chant Hare Krishna sincerely.
Appearance Of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu by HH Radhanath Swami at GEV on 9th March 2020 by Radhanath Swami
The internal reasons for Lord Chaitanya’s coming was he wanted Krishna himself, he desired to understand the glories of Radha’s love. Because although Krishna is Rasabihari, he is the supreme enjoyer of all rasas, the type of transformations that he would see in the heart of sri Radha and her love, was something that he wanted to taste himself. And Krishna wanted to understand the wonderful qualities in himself that she alone could relish through her love. The Chaitanya Charitamrita describes that Krishna is thinking that his love is ever expanding and endless. And his qualities, his attractive features are limitless. And Sri Radha’s love is like a mirror which reflects his beauty, his qualities and his love. And when Krishna’s all attractiveness touches the mirror of Sri Radha and reflects, it expands even more so. Krishna wanted to taste the sweetness that Radha Rani tastes when she experiences his love. So, these are the three internal reasons why the lord appears with the maha bhava of Sri Radha and the beautiful complection of Sri Radha and the external reasons was to fulfil his words in the Gita that he descends again and again and again to establish true religion and to establish the yuga dharma and there was another reason, which was made these other principles very very personal. He descended to satisfy the desire of his devotee, Sri Advaita prabhu.
Bhagavatam tells that those who really have good intelligence, they worship the supreme lord through the congregational chanting of the holy names of Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare. In this age of kali, Krishna is worshiped through the congregational chanting and the lord appears not in a blackish completion although he is Krishna himself. So the great acharyas recognise that the beautiful golden form of lord is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and he came along with his associates, the Panchatatva to break open the seal of love of godhead, the treasure house Krishna’s Vrindavan leela and to distribute the contents. To set their example. Lord Chaitanya and his associates they were chanting and dancing and tasting the sweetness, the nectar of love of god, the limitless nectar, they were thirsting for that nectar and they were drinking it and drinking it and drinking it and they were completely mad in the ecstasy of that love. But the nature of that love itself is compassion. Lord Chaitanya and his associates distributed this love of Godhead freely.
Savra dharman parityajya, if you really want to understand any of this you must surrender to me. That’s the seal. Anybody with some scholarship can study Krishna’s rasa leela and all the different technicalities of rasa, but to actually enter into that loving relationship with Krishna, its only possible by Krishna’s grace. It is the descending process. It can never understood just by our academic intellectual proves, by our capacity to perform austerities, tapasya, however severe they may be, it’s not possible by the quantity of charity that we may give, its only possible by Krishna’s grace. And Krishna reveals his grace according to our surrender. And what is surrender? that’s the deepest subject, saranagati. It means on the path of bhakti to actually to give up our ego to please Krishna, it’s the deepest subject. So Krishna performs his beautiful rasaleela and he performs his gopa leela with his cows and cowherd boyfriends, he performs his damodar leela with sri Yashoda mayi but to actually understand true and truth and enter into these pastimes, to realise them, there is a seal and only Krishna can open that seal by his grace.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu placed the standard of Madhavendra Puri's intense love before Nityanand Prabhu for judgment. All his loving activities are uncommon Caitanya Mahaprabhu said. Indeed, one is struck with wonder to hear his activities. Caitanya Mahaprabhu continued, Sri Madhavendra Puri used to remain alone. He was completely renounced and always very silent. He was uninterested in everything material. And for fear of talking about mundane things, he always lived without a companion. This was a very advanced consciousness. We cannot imitate such great souls as Madhavendra Puri. Because if we live alone, we may not talk all nonsense but undoubtedly we'll think all nonsense (small laughter). Therefore it is very very important and vital for our spiritual lives to be in association of saintly persons. And in that saintly association to never allow mundane topics of gossip or rumors to come into our lives. And to always hear and glorify the pastimes of Krishna. And to always engage in discussions of how to better serve our gurudev.
Madhavendra Puri wanted to leave Jagannath Puri because the people were honoring him as such a great devotee. However, this threatened his service. This is a very important principle. He was very much not liking Jagannath Puri because everyone was honoring him and worshipping him. And in his heart he just wanted to leave all this botheration of receiving honor and respect, worship, love, obeisances, gifts. But he knew that his service was to get sandalwood for Gopal and that the only way to get sandalwood was he had to remain in Jagannath Puri. So for the sake of service for Gopal he was going to tolerate all of this of this respectfulness and all of this honor and all of this worship. And this way, this is the position of a real acharya or guru. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur, he used to say that when I sit on this Vyasasan, I feel like a dog sitting on a throne that's meant for a king. But still, because its the order of my gurudev, I must tolerate this for the sake of serving my disciples. For that a devotee is willing to endure. But if one enjoys being glorified enjoys being praised then that person is in a very unfortunate material conception of life. That person is not actually a guru, a vaishnav in the true sense.
Going into South India, he came to the village of Remuna where Gopinath is situated. And upon seeing the beauty of the deity Madhavendra Puri was overwhelmed. In the courtyard of the temple where the general people had the darshan of the Lord, Madhavendra Puri in great love began to sing and dance in the glorification of Sri Gopinath. Then he sat down and enquired from the brahman, "What kind of food was offered to the deity?" You see, Madhavendra Puri had such a service attitude...he was not coming to enjoy the beautiful darshan of Gopinath. He was coming with the idea, how can I better serve Gopal? Gopinath and Gopal are the same. He was always thinking of serving his Gopal in every situation. He was taking every opportunity as an opportunity to serve Gopal. So he was thinking that obviously I can see by this temple so many wonderful arrangements have been made, they must have the highest quality of bhoga offered to the Lord. So that I can learn these things and bring them to Gopal and prepare them for my Lord, Thakurji. So he enquired from the priest, and the priest explained to him the varieties of food that were offered to Gopinath. And then he told him that in the evening, there's an offering of kheer - in twelve earthen pots. And because the taste is like nectar, it is called Amritakeli.
So Madhavendra Puri and all the Brijvasis were very conscious that poor Gopal, He was in the heat and the cold, the winds and the rains. No one gave Him any food. No one gave Him any water for so many days. So to satisfy Him, to please Him, they were preparing enormous amounts of prasad. Enormous amounts of scented water. Wonderful wonderful bathing ceremony. It was all done in this consciousness that He's a person. He's the Supreme Person - Puroshattam. He's the beloved of our hearts - the beloved of our lives. And our perfection and our pleasure in life is only to the extent that we can please Him. Of course this consciousness originates in Srimati Radharani. She's the Bhakta Rupa. She's the personification and the storehouse of all love and devotion. And it is through her that this spirit of complete sacrifice and love for the pleasure of Govinda originates. Radha is non different than Krishna. They are the one Supreme Person. Krishna is the supreme object of love and Sri Radharani is the supreme lover. So therefore, great souls like Madhavendra Puri they are by the mercy of Radharani empowered with this spirit of hers in minute portion. Just as the jivatma is part and parcel of Krishna, all bhakti, all devotion, all love is part and parcel of the supreme whole of Sri Radhika's love - which is simply, how to satisfy Krishna? How to please Krishna in the most personal and wonderful way. How Gopal ate everything that was offered - mountains of food.
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, after He had taken sanyas, He went to the home of Advaita Acharya - Shantipur. And there it was decided that rather than going to Vrindavan, He would go to Nilachala or Jagannath Puri. So He took four of His associates and they began to travel. On the way - immersed in ecstatic love Sri Cantanya Mahaprabhu was performing wonderful kirtan and they were stopping at many holy places. And they came to a very important holy place, which is in Orissa; it is near the village of Balasur and it is called Remuna. It was at Remuna, that the very famous and celebrated deity of Gopinath was residing within a temple. So they visited; and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the beautiful form of Sri Gopinathji and He offered His prostrated obeisances at the lotus feet. And just when He offered His obeisances, a helmet of flowers fell from Gopinath's head and fell upon the head of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. And this incident transformed Caitanya Mahaprabhu's heart into such a grateful state of love that He began beautiful kirtan, dancing in transcendental ecstasy. And all the pujaris and all the village people gathered around; never had they seen such beauty, such grace and such transformations of divine love. They spent the night there. Because Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very anxious to receive the famous form of Mahaprasad that is served. Everyday they offer Gopinath twelve earthen pots of sweet rice. So Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted to taste that. So while they were waiting, he narrated to His devotees a story that He had heard from His spiritual master, Ishvara Puri about Sri Madhavendra Puri's devotional service.
There are four types of people who do not turn to god and four types of people who turn to god. The first is the people are in distress. That was the condition of the demigods. Their prayers were not motivated by inquisitiveness or searching for the absolute truth. They were in distress. But because they turn to Krishna, Srila Prabhupada writes that sometimes they become pure devotees. He says they almost become pure devotees. And he also says that the four classes of neophyte devotees, who approach the Supreme Personality of Godhead to offer devotional service because of material modes are not pure devotees but the advantage of such materialistic devotees is that they sometimes give up their material desires and become pure. Krishna is giving them a chance. And therefore, the sufferings of material world are one of the greatest blessings of the material world. If there wasn’t serious miseries here, then the spirit soul who has forgotten Krishna would remain eternally forgetting Krishna. The miseries are wake up calls, Krishna comes into this material world again and again and again just to show us where real shelter is.
Srila Prabhupada explained that we all have our experiences in this material world. But real intelligence is to learn by hearing. That is why we must read the Srimad Bhagavatam every day. Actually if you read the news paper, it is practically Bhagavatam philosophy, without Krishna. The vast majority of news is misery. Good news does not sell papers but bad news. Why? Why is it the people so attracted to the bad news? People are like crows. They all like all this dirt but also because suffering, it affects people more than pleasure. There are a few songs of about how happy love life is and there is millions of songs of how miserable it is where there is disturbance.
The example is given here by Srila Prabhupada of a tree. In the blazing sun a tree gives us shelter. We do not even have to ask the tree. All we have to do is be near the tree. Its not that you go under the tree and say, “Oh, please tree give me shade”. You do not have to ask. You get it, without asking. That’s the nature of a tree. But you have to take the shelter of the tree. The problem is, when it is cloudy day, we do not even look at the tree, right? we just walk by another tree and so many trees. But when the sun is blazing, then we look at the tree. We understand its value. So similarly, unfortunately, when there is not crisis in our lives, we chant yes, the holy name and so many names. “I am chanting so many names”. We come before the deities yes, yes so many deities and saying such a nice deity. But when there is crisis, Hare Krishna. We chant. When there is crisis and we come before the deities we are no longer just nice to again see Krishna. Krishna save me.
SB 9-21-18 by HH Radhanath Swami at Sridham Mayapur on Glories Of Srila Iswara Puri 20 Feb 20 by Radhanath Swami
About TOVP By HH Gopala Krishna Goswami HH Radhanath Swami HH Jayapataka Swami on 13Feb20 by Radhanath Swami
Although Ishwara Puri was a great scholar, a powerful acharya and sannyasi. For his gurudev, he was grateful to perform the most menial services. He would clean his guru's body, massage his guru’s body and every day, on a regular basis, with his own hands, he would lovingly honor his guru by cleaning the urine and stool that he was passing. Such a menial service, performed by such a great acharya. Sripad Madhavendra Puri was so pleased with him, he blessed him. He said I can only pray that Krishna will be pleased with you and make you a great devotee and lover of Krishna. With that heartfelt blessing of his guru, Ishwara Puri achieved the ultimate position. Madhavendra Puri had many great disciples, Advaita Acharya, Nityananda Prabhu, Paramananda Puri, Sri Ranga Puri, Pundarik Vidyanidhi, Brahmananda Puri, these are very powerful great vaishnavas. But because of the humble menial service of Ishwara Puri, he is considered for all time to be the foremost disciple of Madhavendra Puri. And therefore Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the supreme personality of godhead, the jagadguru decided that he would be his spiritual master.
To the degree we are not experiencing real love, we may need those things. Humility is a natural symptom of one who loves god. If you actually love god and you feel God’s love yourself, you just don’t need any of those things. You do not want any of those things. “amäninä mänadena” to respect others and not want respect for yourself, it is not only the process but it is the symptom of one who had had attained the goal of life. We need these things this because of the emptiness within. If one is finding fulfilment, whether one is praised or blamed, it really does not matter because we are experiencing God’s love
we think we can say anything about anyone, at any time. But the problem is even if you are right, if you don’t say it right, you are wrong. You may be literally correct about something but fall down for saying it. And the world is the mirror of our consciousness. Why we see faults in others, Srila Bhakti Siddhanata Saraswati said, “only Because I am filled with faults myself.“ If you are pure in heart, you will see good in others and if you do see the fault, you will speak with compassion.
that the devotees of Puri Dhaam were like Chatak birds, who are just as the Chatak bird is always meditating on that drop of rain falling from the cloud, not satisfied with anything else. There may be so many reservoirs of water, there may be so many oceans and ponds and lakes and rivers and wells, but the Chatak bird will not accept any water except that pure water that falls directly from the cloud. And therefore, as he is flying in the sky, his face, and his eyes are always focused on the cloud waiting for that drop. He will never look down to anything of this earth to quench his thirst. In the same way a devotee, if we want to actually become supremely dear to Krsna, we must have the consciousness of Chatak bird. We should always keep the intensified, exclusive attention of our consciousness upon Krsna.
Nityananda Trayodasi Talk by HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj at ISKCON Kolkata on 07Feb2020 by Radhanath Swami
It was during this visit that Caitanya Mahäprabhu faced toward the direction of the village of Kheturé, and there with a loud voice and tears in His eyes, His body trembling in ecstatic love, He began to call out the name “Narottama! Narottama!,” and He was enraptured in such transformations of love that His devotees were struck with wonder. They could understand that soon a great personality named, Narottama would be born in that village. Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the next morning, He bathed in the river Padmä, and when He bathed in the river, His own premä, His own love for Kåñëa, He deposited in that river.
Today is the disappearance day of Sripad Madhvacharya, whom we are so dearly indebted to, as he is one of our great spiritual forefathers. In fact he is one of our founders Acharya of our Sampradäya, we are known as the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudia Sampradäya. So, Madhvacarya was one of the great, great legend of the spiritual history of India. He lived till he was seventy nine years old. He was born on Dassera and on this very day just approaching eighty he was sitting on Anantaeshwar Mandir in Udipi and he was giving class to the followers on Aitereya Upanishad which he was just completing translation and commentary. This was one of his favorite book Aitereya Upanishad from that he would establish the principles of pure Bhakti.
Arjuna didn’t want to fight, but Krishna told him you do not want to fight, But I want you to fight. If you do not fight, if you do what you like to do, then you will suffer the reputation of birth and death. But you do what I like to do, then you will attain eternal happiness in the spiritual world.
The supreme lord is eternally performing transcendental pastimes of ecstatic love in the spiritual realm beyond this temporary material creation. Those who misuse their free will to try to be enjoyers rather than servants remained imprisoned within the confines of material existence and must suffer birth after birth after birth. Krishna tells in Gita from the highest planet in the material world, Brahmaloka, down to the lowest, patalaloka, they are all places of suffering ā-brahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ punar āvartino 'rjuna mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate. They are all places of birth and death.
If we please someone, you are showing love for him but actual love is to act in such a way for the betterment of that person, even if you utterly displease him.
Churning The Heart With Radhanath Swami At Govardhan Eco Village For Wisdom of The Sages on 16Jan20 by Radhanath Swami
How To Overcome Hypocritical Gratefulness Which Is in Mental Platform? by Radhanath Swami
Whether We Should Be Project Oriented Or Devotee Oriented? And How To Improve Cooperation? by Radhanath Swami
How To Keep The Enthusiasm In Our Studies Even After Taking Spirituality? by Radhanath Swami
The Contrary State Of Consciousness Opposing To The True Vaishnavism by Radhanath Swami
Devotees Should Have Highest Conduct And Character Without Hypocrisy by Radhanath Swami
Why The Effect Of Hearing From A Devotee And A Professional Reciter Is Not The Same? by Radhanath Swami
How From Jiva Goswami The Line of Sampradaya Passes To Srila Prabhupada? by Radhanath Swami
"In Giving We Receive" Talk by HH Radhanath Swami At Bhakti Centre on 14 Dec 2019 by Radhanath Swami
SB 11.24.08 Uprooting The Ego by HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Chowpatty Mumbai on 19Dec19 by Radhanath Swami
Is It Sufficient To Have Great Affection For Spiritual Master But Not Practicing His Instructions? by Radhanath Swami
What Is The Right Krishna Conscious Way Of Planing Our Life With Right Balance? by Radhanath Swami
The Instructions Of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur (Part 2) by Radhanath Swami
The Instructions Of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur (Part 1) by Radhanath Swami
How Can We Carry Forward Srila Prabhupada's Mission? Vaishnava Etiquette by Radhanath Swami
How Can We Carry Forward Srila Prabhupada's Mission? Encourage Each Other by Radhanath Swami
What Should Be Our Consciousness When We Chant The Holy Name Of God? by Radhanath Swami
Talk with Brain Rose at London Real by Radhanath Swami on 27th Nov 2019 by Radhanath Swami
Offering Labor Of Love For Srila Prabhupada by Radhanath Swami at Sri Radha Londoniswar on 25Nov19 by Radhanath Swami
"The Spirit Of Initiation" Talk by HH Radhanath Swami at Bhaktivedanta Manor on 22 Nov 2019 by Radhanath Swami
We Have Determination For Material Goals, Where Are We Lacking To Have Spiritual Determination? by Radhanath Swami
How To Overcome Complacency In Chanting And How To Improve Attentiveness While Chanting? by Radhanath Swami
The Urgency Of Taking Spiritual Life Seriously Now From This Very Moment by Radhanath Swami
How To Overcome The Tendency Of Doubting Krishna's Words In Scriptures? by Radhanath Swami
"Surrendering To Krishna In The Mood Of Avanti Brahmana" by HH Radhanath Swami on 16th Nov 19 by Radhanath Swami
Govardhan Puja Festival Lecture by HH Radhanath Swami at Govardhan Eco Village on 10th Nov 2019 by Radhanath Swami
Becoming Attached To The Given Facilities Is Like Losing The Opportunity To Serve More by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 8 - Yatra Concluding Class by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 7 - Understanding Gopi's Love For Krishna by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 6 - Subduing Kaliya by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 5 - Srila Prabhupada Disappearance by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 4 - Brahma Vimohana Lila by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 3 - Govardhan Lila By HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 2 - Damodar Lila by HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Kartik Yatra 2019 Vrindavan Day 1 - Spirit Of Gratitude By HH Radhanath Swami by Radhanath Swami
Krishna's Mercy And His Love Is Behind Everything That Happens In Our Life by Radhanath Swami
We Must Be Straight Forward Without Duplicity In All Aspects Of Our Devotional Life by Radhanath Swami
How To Align Ourselves To The Ideal Grihasta From The Previous Material Conditioning That We Have? by Radhanath Swami
Is That The Wife Should Accept The Abuse From Her Husband Or She Can Confront? by Radhanath Swami
Power Of Faithfulness Between Husband and Wife – The Glory Of Vedic Culture by Radhanath Swami
Whether we are responding to the calls of nature or whether we are driving on a taxi or driving in a car or in a train, wherever we may be or lying in bed, we can’t do so many things. We can’t necessarily worship the deity, we can’t necessarily preach, we can preach to ourselves. But we can just try to fill our mind with Hari Naam, just fill it with Hari Naam, somehow or other. It’s life or death. If we allow our mind to associate with the paramours of lust, anger and greed, they will doubtlessly kill our spiritual propensities, doubtlessly. And our enemies are attacking through the mind, the enemies are attacking lust, anger, greed. So, what are we going to do? Are we going to surrender to our enemies? Are we going to put trust in our enemies? They are not coming to deliver us. They are coming to kill us. So, in that state we take shelter of the Holy Name. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.
‘kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet’ This age of Kali is an ocean of false. We see it the impending situation of the world today, it could really get people depressed if they think about it too carefully. But it's a beautiful world with beautiful opportunities beyond all these temporary changes that are in evitable when we understand the blessing we have. In this age of Kali which are so many vulnerable conditions for all of us there's one blessing, that's simply chanting Krishna's name sincerely, we can attain the supreme perfection of the highest liberation and in fact Srimad-Bhagavatam tells that the greatest sages, Rishis and paramahamass, they worship Kali Yuga as the best time. Why is that? It's an ocean of faults. Because this one benediction is so precious. Simply through kirtan, through japa, through bhajan, aho bata çva-paco 'to garéyän yaj-jihvägre vartate näma tubhyam even if we're in the lowest, most difficult situation, even if we made so many mistakes in our lives, if we just take to a life of devotion and chant gods names, we can attain the supreme perfection of liberation and we could share that gift with others.
There's a beautiful purse that Sri Chaitanya cited ‘nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema ‘sādhya’ kabhu naya śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya’ that love for Krishna is within the heart of every living being. By associating with saintly people and by chanting Krishna's name that love is awakened. Sir Chaitanya Mahaprabhu established the sankirtana movement in Navadweep, West Bengal and he would have the devotees chanting hari naam. One day he said “we are chanting in the day but we are wasting the precious moments of human life by sleeping at night. We should continue the kirtan throughout the night also.” And all of the devotees they had so much faith in him, they were so inspired, they all said “Hari Boll.” And then Sri Gauranga taught them this is the method by which you can chant constantly. It cannot be done by our own determination or our own tapasya. It is only possible by bhagavan Shri Krishna's grace. And he said and this is how to reach that grace. “tṛṇād api su-nīcena taror iva sahiṣṇunā amāninā māna-dena kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ” “one should chant in a state of mind and one should live one's life thinking oneself more humble than a blade of grass. One should feel oneself more tolerant and forgiving than a tree. One should offer all respect to others and not demand or respect or expect respect for oneself. If we live by these principles, we could chant with God's names constantly” and then he said “take this verse and put it on the string of the Holy Name and wear it always.”
Initiation Lecture by HH Radhanath Swami At Sri Kishore Krishori Temple, Chicago on 12Sep19 by Radhanath Swami
It is simultaneously one and different. Hearing the tape certainly the sound vibration is same as what is in class. So, it is very, very purifying and very important but when the opportunity is there. However, when you are in a class and there is a satsang of so many devotees, all offering their combined devotional attention to the speaker, that atmosphere is very, very important. It is very special and very purifying to our heart. Hearing tapes is very important but it cannot substitute for going to the classes. It should be there whenever the opportunity, wherever we are we listen to tapes, it would be very, very wonderful. But still coming to the class and being in the association of many devotees all utilizing their combined devotional efforts to reciprocate with the Srimad Bhagavatam it is very purifying environment, we should be eager to participate in whenever possible. Is that answer your question?
We may or may not enjoy it with our mind but our soul becomes purified by following that instruction. So, we should be thinking more in terms of purification than mental enjoyment. It is the mind that is very particular and choosy. We don’t hear Srimad Bhagavatam to satisfy our mind, we hear Srimad Bhagavatam to please Krishna in our heart and even if you don’t like so much the style of the speaker, if he is repeating the proper message, if he is a representative of the parampara, then we should hear for the pleasure of Krishna in our heart because that is how we become purified by pleasing Krishna in our heart.
Radhastami Festival Class By HH Radhanath Swami At Sri Kishore Kishori Temple, Chicago on 06Sep19 by Radhanath Swami
Living With Gratitude And Giving With Compassion By HH Radhanath Swami at Bhaktivedant Manor 03Sep19 by Radhanath Swami
We Must Hear And Chant With Regulation, It Is A Matter Of Life and Death by Radhanath Swami
We Should Be Hunger For Hearing And Chanting The Glories of The Supreme Lord by Radhanath Swami
We certainly cannot say that Srila prabhupada’s English commentaries are better than Sri Viswanath Cakrabarti Thakur, Jiva Goswami, Santana Goswami, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, Sridhar Swami's Sanskrit commentaries. But we can say is that they are absolutely non different and all the potencies of all of these previous acharyas are coming through his translations plus the very special element of his empowered position as the most compassionate acharya to be the first person in the history to bring this message to every continent of the planet earth. People can easily not understand this. Often times we meet people, sadhus, scholars and they say if you want to actually be advanced in spiritual life, you must learn the Sanskrit language. You must. It is necessary, preliminry. No doubt. It would be very valuable. However they do not understand the nature of lord’s transcendental potency through parampara. The full potency of all the Sanskrit texts of the vedas plus more is manifesting to those who read Srila Prabhupada’s Bhaktivedanta purports. Parampara is not based simply on grammar or language, it is ultimately based on devotion. And Srila Prabhupada's books have been translated into hundreds of languages African languages like Swahili, German language, French language, Italian language. So, his books have been translated and wherever they are been translated in a spirit of devotion to bring out his message, it has the same transcendental power of the Vedas through the grace of parampara or disciplic succession and hearing this message is the ultimate perfection of life.
Why The Children Don't Incline To Krishna Consciousness, When They Were Nurtured From Childhood? by Radhanath Swami
Offering To Srila Prabhupada By HH Radhanath Swami on 25Aug19 Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, Mumbai by Radhanath Swami
Janmashtami Festival(SB 1.3.28) By HH Radhanath Swami 24Aug19 at Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, Mumbai by Radhanath Swami
Initiation Talk By HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj At New Navadwipa, Ukrain 15Aug19 (Russian Translation) by Radhanath Swami
Jhulan Yatra talk By HH Radhanath Swami At New Navadwipa, Ukrain 13Aug19 (Russian Translation) by Radhanath Swami
Brahmotsava Talk By HH Radhanath Swami At New Navadwipa Ukraine 14Aug19 (Russian Translation) by Radhanath Swami
A Talk and Kirtan by HH Radhanath Swami At Sri Radha Madan Mohan Temple, Silicon Valley 31Jul19 by Radhanath Swami
How Maya Enters Into Our Lives? - The Story Of The Arab And The Camel by Radhanath Swami
Initiation Talk By HH Radhanath Swami at Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Temple, Silicon Valley 28Jul19 by Radhanath Swami
The Process To Be Immune From The Influences Which Drag Us Down To Sense Gratification by Radhanath Swami
One time a Brahmin came to house of Vainkata Bhatta, and he began to praise, that Venkata Bhatta, you are so fortunate, you have a son like this, he has such pure devotion to Lord Krsna. And He is so submissive and obedient to his parents, I have never seen anyone like this. And Venkata Bhatta upon hearing his son being glorified he explained to the Brahmin about the great virtues of his own son. And actually, this is a great lesson; a parent should be satisfied when they see their son or daughter surrendering to Krsna that is the sign of real loving parent. In this material world we have forgotten the purpose of human life and we have forgotten the welfare, the real welfare of others. Now we are thinking we are very proud of our children, if they get good in their exams or if they get beautiful wife from a good family or if they get nice husband, with lots of money we become very proud that we are successful as parents. But this has nothing to do with the welfare of our child. A parent to actually understands knowledge of the truth of what is real love will be proud and blissful when they see their children surrendering to Krsna. But in the kaliyuga, the parents are afraid when they see their children surrendering to Krsna. They want to keep them away from Krsna. “Don’t spend so much time chanting god’s name. Do not spend so much time going temple and being with devotees, why you are always reading these books?” They become very fearful, “what about your material life. This Krsna consciousness, when you become very old and retired, then you can do these things, look at me, I am your father, I am your mother, and I am working like an ass, foaming at the mouth, suffering miserably. You should be like me, you shouldn’t be like these devotee, dancing, chanting, smiling all the time. Your life will be a failure.” so this is the conditioning in this age of kali
Shankaracharya, he walked all the way from Sringari Mat which is long distance away by foot and here, although on the order of the lord he preached all mayavad philosophy. He was actually vaishnavanam yatha shambhu, he is Shiva expansion, greatest vaishnava. His isthadev was Narsimhadev. His deity is still there at Jhoshi Math. He established the worship of Vishnu in Badrikashram and here he worshiped Vitthala Dev with great love. And here in his expression of love for the supreme person, he wrote the Panduranga Ashtakam, 8 beautiful prayers glorifying the form of Vithala Dev. We find Madhava Acharya. He had eight sanyasis, that he made the leaders of his eight maths the ashta maths. And each one he gave a particular deity which was the isthdev of that math and I know at least one, more than one, Pejewar Math, the deity that Madhava personally gave to the original Pejavar Math swami was the deity of Vitthal Dev. Until this day eight hundred and fifty years later, the Pejavar math swami wherever he goes in the world, he takes the deity of Vitthal Dev to worship.
A Talk by Radhanath Swami on Sri Sri Rukmini Dvarakanatha's 50th Anniversary on 14thJuly2019 by Radhanath Swami
It was a Chakratirtha on Guru Purnima that Srila Sanatan Goswami disappeared from this material world. When the Vrajavasis heard that Sanatan Goswami had departed, it was an unbearable thunderbolt that struck their hearts. The whole of Braja was literally lamenting. Thousands upon thousands and practically every Vrajavasi in Vraja came to Chakratirtha to offer their last respects to Srila Sanatan Goswami. Because he is the guru of all the Vrajavasis the decleared his disappears day is Guru Purnima. As an act of worship knowing how the parikrama of Goverdhan hill was so dear to him, they all parikram in his honor and to this very day the largest parikrama of Gowardhan hill is on Guru Purnima. The last day of Kartik hundreds and thousands of Vrajavasis do parikrama of Goverdhan but far more than that on Guru Purnima. And recently one of our God brothers living near Goverdhan, in one of the Srila Prabhupada’s temples he asked Vrajavasi, just a common Vrajavasi who herds cows. He asked him “why on this day of the full moon of Guru Purnima is there so many hundreds and thousands of Vrajavasis doing this parikrama of Goverdhana? And he said “because this the disappearance day of our Gurudev, Sanatan Goswami. He is the Guru of all of Braja. And this the way we celebrate because we know this is how to please him.” Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami praise in Caitanya- Charitamrit that I accept Sanatan Goswami as the teacher who has given me pure devotional service and I have accepted Rupa Goswami as the teacher who has given me the taste for the ecstatic Rasa of Vrindavan. In the Vilap-kusum-anjali Srila Prabhupada explains our Prayojana Guru Srila Raghunath das Goswami offers a verse to Sanatan Goswami, worshiping him as his teacher on the path of Bhakti. Sanatan Goswami is the Sambhandha guru of our Sampradaya. It is through his life and teachings that we can receive the proper understanding and realizations of our relationship with Krsna. Devotees over the centuries visit his Samadhi Mandir behind Sri Madan Mohan temple begging and praying for his mercy. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved guru maharaj has so perfectly bestowed upon us the mercy of the lotus feet of all our great Acharyas headed by Srila Sanatan Goswami. So Let us pray with our hearts and souls that we can follow in the footsteps of these dear associates of the Lord and make our only aspiration in life to be the servant of the servant of their servants. As it has been expressed the special paramount characteristic of Sanatan was humility which is the essence of all our devotion. trinad api sunicena, taror api sahishnuna amanina manadena, kirtaniya sada hari Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally chosen to Sanatan Goswami to reveal this opulence and to teach the world. Let us pray to him that we can truly be genuinely humble servants of the servants of his servants and free of all pride and desire for prestige to chant the Holy Names of Lord Krsna. Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
When Srivas heard this he became ecstatic. He started laughing and laughing and dancing in ecstatic love. When Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard Swarup Damodar Goswami give this description of Vrindavan, he wanted to hear more and more. Lord Chaitanya said “go on singing, go on singing, and go on singing.” Swarup Damodar Goswami continued chanting the glories of Vrindavan and Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu became so overwhelmed in ecstatic bliss as he was dancing, he assumed the form of Shrimati Radharani. Nityananda Prabhu was a distance away. He kept his distance when he saw Lord Chaitanya in the form of Shrimati Radharani dancing near the Gundicha temple in Shri Puri. Nityananda Prabhu offered his obeisances from a distant place and Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Radharani’s form and Her ecstasy was dancing and dancing and dancing, “Go on singing, go on singing” Hours and hours and hours went by until all the devotees were completely fatigued but Lord Nityananda was the only one who can touch Lord Chaitanya to tell him to stop. Swarup Damodar Goswami stopped singing and said that the devotees were very very fatigued. Please” And then Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to his external consciousness. This is Vrindavan Dham. It is the land of the Supreme opulence, the natural opulence of love.
It was the external manifestation of the internal love and compassion of his heart. In the ratha-yatra, there is the opportunity for the people in general to associate with devotees and also the opportunity for devotees from all different places to come together to serve unitedly and to associate with each other. It's an opportunity for devotees to chant, to dance, to take Prasad together and also to share with the world, with people who may never ever come to our temples to hear the holy name, to see the Sankirtan of Mahaprabhu, to see the beautiful darshan of Jagannath, to take Prasad, to receive transcendental literatures. Just like Lord Chaitanya would come out of the Jagannath temple every day to meet Haridas Thakur. Jagannath comes out to meet his devotees. Srila Prabhupada had Jagannath come out of the temples all over the world to give darshan, to give mercy to everyone and anyone who happened to be there. And even if they weren't there, the resounding chanting of the holy names, the darshan of Jagannath was purifying the entire universe. In Chaitanya Charitamrita, Srila Prabhupada writes that Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami is comparing the chariot of Jagannath in Puri to be as awesome as mount Sumeru.
A Talk on "Rath Yatra" by HH Radhanath Swami at ISKCON Boston on 23rd June 2019 by Radhanath Swami
The best way to think of Krishna at all times is to chant his holy names ‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. 99% of our spiritual advancement our Guru Maharaj would say comes from the chanting of the hare Krishna. Because there is no more sublime method of thinking of Krishna than chanting his holy name. So, we must learn to take shelter of the holy name, we must learn to chant the holy name in a humble state of mind, we must learn to intensely engross our mind in the pure vibration of Krishna’s name and with the association of those devotees who are sincerely cultivating offense less and pure chanting then it becomes quite easy for us to also advance and progress in purifying our chanting of the holy name. We should seek out especially those devotees who are enthusiastic to taste the nectar of the Holy Name, who are enthusiastic to chant the holy name with great feeling and devotion, who are enthusiastic to glorify the holy name. After all the whole purpose of philosophy, the whole purpose of logic and argument is only to bring us to the point of taking shelter of the holy name.
The philosophy of Krishna Consciousness is perfectly manifest by simple means within the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You know Vedavyas, he divided the four Vedas. He wrote the Upanishads, but he understood that in the age of kali, people are generally not so philosophical. So, he revealed the transcendental messages of the Holy Scriptures with all of the philosophy within the form of beautiful stories. Because actually the relationships between the Lord and His devotees and the teachings that provide the world through those relationships are perfectly complete and they are practical and historical as well. Knowledge in and of itself when we read from the books, is theoretical but when it is exhibited by devotees they become very real, very practical, very live. Therefore, Krishna teaches the world through the life of His devotees. And who is Srivas Thakur? He is the incarnation of Narada Muni and his brother Sriram Pandit is the incarnation of Paravath Muni, the dear friend of Narada Muni. Sripad Narada Muni’s occupation is simply traveling, here there and everywhere playing upon his Veena, chanting the holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. Even when he was cursed by Daksha, Daksha made several mistakes in his life, such a powerful man, can you imagine the power of Daksha? He could curse Narada Muni on the first talk with him. Well Narada Muni was ecstatic he got the curse that he couldn’t stay in one place. And Daksha is an attached house holder. He is very much having satisfaction living in his home. So, for him pleasure means staying at home. Therefore, Narada Muni you will never have a home, you will never be able to stay anywhere. Narada muni told within the heart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he has been very pleasing to him in spreading the glories of the lord’s names and pastimes and teachings
The Greatest Mystery – What Is The Purpose Of Many Tests And Quiz's In Spiritual Life? by Radhanath Swami
Wisdom From The Bhakti Tradition By HH Radhanath Swami on 14th May 2019 at The Bhakti Centre by Radhanath Swami
Wisdom From The Bhakti Tradition By HH Radhanath Swami on 29th May 2019 at The Bhakti Centre by Radhanath Swami
Devananda Pandit, he said that: “Please tell me how I can atone from my offences and please tell me how I can properly recite Srimad Bhagavatam?” and Lord Chaitanya told him that “Srimad Bhagavatam, from the beginning, the middle and end, only has one subject Bhakti, Pure devotion. Pure devotional service is the only thing that is immortal. At the end of creation, everything will be finished but pure devotional service will remain always resplendent”. He said that: “Srimad Bhagavatam is the very body of Krishna, just as Kurma avatar, Matsya avatar, Varaha Avatar appeared at certain times by their own free will, in the same way, Srimad Bhagavatam has appeared by its own free will through the mouth of Veda Vyas. Vedavyas wrote – the four Vedas, all the Upanishads, the Puranas, the Itihasas, the Mahabharat, the Vedanta Sutra but still he was dissatisfied in his heart. But through the inspiration of Narada Muni and the grace of the Personality of Godhead, Srimad Bhagavatam was revealed which was the perfection and fulfillment of his mission and brought him great satisfaction. Whoever you teach Srimad Bhagavatam to you must know that every word, every lesson that you give should only teach humility and devotion to Krishna. That is the goal of life and only way to achieve the goal of life. And you must always humbly serve the Vaishnavas because unless we please the Person Bhagavatam, the book Bhagavatam will not reveal its truth to us. We can be the great scholar but Bhagavat is Krishna, Krishna does not reveal himself to scholars. If we please his devotees then when we read Bhagavatam, true knowledge will be awakened”.
There is a story when Ishwara Puri, he came to Navadwip, he was wearing very very simple poor man's dress of a sannyasi and nobody really knew who he was. They just thought he was just an ordinary beggar. He came to Advaita Prabhu’s house. Advaita Prabhu was doing his puja and Iswara Puri sat right across him, just watching Advaita do puja and Advaita Prabhu was just staring at him. There is something special about this person. He looks like an ordinary kind of mayavadi beggar but there's something about this person, it's attracting my heart. Adviata Prabhu asked him “who are you? and where have you come from?” and Ishwara Puri said “I am the most sinful, fallen, lowly outcast. And I have come here just to see you.” Then Mukunda Datta sensing something very special about this personality, began to sing. As soon as Ishwara puri heard Mukunda Datta sweet loving voice glorifying Krishna, he went into a trance of ecstatic love. And as soon as everybody saw the nature of his love, they all understood this is the great Iswara Puri, foremost disciple of Madhavendra Puri. Mukunda Datta was a constant companion of Advaita prabhu, Srivas Thakur, and all of these great Vaishnavas. Lord Chaitanya engaged him in singing kirtan in the most important incidences, at the house of Srivasa Pandit, he was regularly the lead kirtan every night. During the shat prahariya lila, when Lord Chaitanya manifested his ecstasies and revealed his divine incarnations for 21 hours to his devotees, that whole shat prahariya lila began with Lord Chaitanya asking Mukunda Datta to begin the kirtan and from there the ecstasies of 21 hours was inaugurated. He was one of the lead kirtan singers in Jagannath Puri of the seven parties. Mukunda Datta sang so sweetly with such devotion.
Snana yatra is a glorious festival, where for the pleasure of Baladev, Subhadra and Jagannath, hundreds of devotees will chant their glories, bathe them in wonderful abhishekam, most auspicious substances, honor them and worship them, and all the devotees, if we really try to participate by offering our love, our devotion by finding happiness in Krishna being glorified, in Krishna’s pleasure, we become purified. Actually, if we have the proper consciousness during this Snana yatra, our hearts are bathed and cleansed of ego and all of its attachments by the sentiments of servitude and chanting of the holy names. This is essence of how we can approach this beautiful festival of Snana yatra. Srila Prabhupada has so kindly given us the gift of such a exciting and beautiful culture, where everything is directed toward cleansing our hearts and awakening our eternal, essential love for God, Krishna.
Talk on 'Mothers Day' By Radhanath Swami at Bhakti Centre on 14th May by Radhanath Swami
there is famous story that in Gouta near Jayapur the another Sampradaya, Sri Sampradaya, some of the Pandits there were trying to convince the King that the worship of Radha-Govinda and Radha Gopinatha should be done by us, because Gaudiya Sampradaya is not bonafide. They have no proper commentary of Vedanta sutra. So, the king actually believed in the followers of Lord Chaitanya, so he sent a message to Viswanth Chakravarti. So, this is a serious mater. They want to take the rights of the deity worship away. So, Viswanatha that time he was very old, he could not travel. So, he sent Baladev Vidya Bhushan, who received all blessings. When he went to Jaipur, there was a debate and he very excellently defended and defeated all opposition. But then the Pandit said you can speak what ever you want, but where is your sampradaya’s commentary of Vedanta Sutra? We cannot accept you as recognized without it. All the other acharya’s have given. He said Lord Chaitanya himself has told us that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the natural commentary of Vedanta Sutra by the author himself, Vedavyas. So, all of our Acharya’s have made their commentaries on Srimad-Bhagavatam, but they would not accept this. So, he said all right with in a few days I will have a commentary. This people couldn’t, they never heard such a words like this. Commentary of Vedanta Sutra is a life time work. So, he went to Govinda’s Temple, deity of Radha-Govinda, Rupa Goswami and he prayed to Govindji from his heart as your humble servant, please, please speak, speak a commentary that will give proper dignity to the great Acharya’s of our Sampradaya. Govindji Spoke to Baladev Vidya Bhushan that you write and I will speak through your heart to write this commentary. Have no fear. In a very short time he wrote a perfect Sanskrit commentary of Vedanta Sutra. He came back and presented it to the Pandits of Sri Sampradaya in the presence of the King. They read it and all decided we want to become your disciples. So, since that time Rupa Goswami’s Deity has been worshiped by Gaudiya sampradaya.
Prabhupada said that if a person can imitate the bark of a dog perfectly, people will pay their hard-earned money to hear him, but when they see a dog in the street start barking, they just walk by. Similarly, it’s a fact that these people who can create these special effects, they are being empowered by God to do it, and it is God’s wonderful power that he is giving them the ability to do it, but right as soon as we leave the movie theatre, the original person who is empowering that little tiny insect brain to make these special effects is just manifesting incredible special effects that are billions and trillions of times more unbelievable than you just saw on the screen but we just walk by and don’t notice. This little tiny creature is imitating one little fraction of God and we are paying our hard earned money to see what he can do but God’s special effects are all around us and we just walk by, we don’t even notice. Why is that? Because we are forgetful of Krishna, we are so dull headed that’s why! That is the problem - Jéva jägo jéva jägo when you are in sleep, you are in dull state, as soon as we wake up, we see that we are right in the middle of the most incredible feature film right before our eyes, everywhere around us, 360 movie theatre all around and it never ends. Krishna is just revealing incredible miracles at every stage and so exciting. Devotional service is so full of life and excitement. This is our unfortunate condition. You show me any special effect that can compare to the sky at night. Luminous moon, luminous stars, each one is like planets with entire populations on it, billions of miles away and we can, we are looking at it. Can anyone do like that?
To the degree we have the service attitude, to that degree Krishna reveals the truth of the Bhagavat, and you cannot simply serve the sound vibration without the personal connection that is coming through those persons who are revealing the essence and truths. Therefore, if we are actually sincere about hearing the Bhagavatam, then Krishna will give faith in our heart in the proper persons who can teach us the truth of Bhagavatam and give us the faith to serve them with submissiveness and devotion. If we want something cheap, if we want liberation without that attitude of submissive service, then Krishna will just let us go on reading the Bhagavatam and being fascinated by the stories and going to so many professional Bhagavatam recietors, and being fascinated and learning all the slokas and learning all the stories but there will be no realization. Paripraçnena sevayä unless we inquire submissively from guru and with the willingness to be the servant, the truths and the realizations are never revealed and that is what is spoken in the Bhagavatam
Through The Mercy Of Krishna’s Representative The Wall Of Doubts Will Be Broken by Radhanath Swami
Could It Not Be Another Feature Of Maya That We Are Offering Something To Krishna? by Radhanath Swami
How To Overcome The Inferiority Complex In The Assembly Of Devotees? by Radhanath Swami
A Devotee Strive To Constantly Be In A Humble Condition Of Consciousness by Radhanath Swami
If Krishna Knows Everything In The Future, Then What Is The Question Of Free Will? by Radhanath Swami
And when he was dying of cancer, he helped to make that chariot for the New York Rathayatra and Srila Prabhupada was so pleased and even when he was going through a prolonged suffering of cancer, he never complained, never blamed, always grateful, always gracious, always eager to serve, in whatever way he could serve. What he represented Srial Prabhupad considered so important for us, that when he passed from the world, Srila Prabhupada wrote a letter to him. He wrote a letter to the immortal soul of Jayananda, something like he wrote if you had any desires or something, and you will go to the heavenly planets for 10,000 years and enjoy, but because you have no material desires, you have gone back to home back to Godhead, to Goloka Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupad put in writing and was distributed to our whole movement, his letter to Jayananda prabhu that you have gone back to Krishna and Prabhupad expressed his immense gratitude to Jayananda prabhu in his prayers and blessings and then Srila Prabhupad did something which I believe is unprecedented in our society. He said every year Jayananda Prabhu's disappearance day should be celebrated on our vaishnav calendar as a holy day to commemorate him and wherever there is Rathayatras anywhere in the world for all time in ISKCON, Jayananda Prabhu's photograph should be on the chariot. Simplicity, he was confronted with his many complexities of this world as anyone else, the complexities of so many people's egos in this world, the complexities of politics and the complexities of so many disturbances caused by the general population, caused by the envious people, caused by other devotees, caused by the weather, caused by earthquakes or hurricanes are caused by just destiny itself, padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadāṁ na teṣām, it is danger at every step but what was the simplicity that the Srila Prabhupad wanted us to understand in him? That whatever happened, he just wanted to serve, he just wanted to please Prabhupd, Krishna and vaishnavas, that is Krishna consciousness.
When Gopal Bhatta Gowami informed Srila Rupa Gowami and others, they all came and when they saw the wonderful form of Sri Radha Raman, he was actually Rupa Gowami it is said, who named him Radha Raman. Because this area of Brajbhumi near nidhi van is the place where Krishna gives pleasure to Srimati Radharani and Srimati Radharani is the supreme object of enjoyment for Sri Krishna. So, therefore he called Radha Raman. And it is said that the deity of Radha Govindji, when he was curved under the direction of Vajrnabh, his mother and aunt also helped and the deity of Madan Mohan, the feet looked just like Krishna’s and the deity of Radha Govindji, the hands and the chest looked just like Sri Krishna and the deity of Radha Gopinath, the face especially manifested the beauty of the face of Krishna. But the Gowamis when they saw Radha Raman, they all exclaimed that he has a feet of Madan Mohan, the hands and the waist and chest of Sri Govindji and the face of Sri Radha Gopinathji. So all these three deities are simultaneously manifested in the beautiful form of Sri Radha Raman. Gopala Bhat Goswami worshipped this beautiful form with great love and great devotion. But one day it is explained that he was feeling guilty and sad and he began to cry because he was thinking that it was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who bestowed prema upon me. He is the worship able lord of my life, how could I worship Krishna without worshipping my eternal saviour Sri Gauranga. And in this emotional state of pure bhava, he wept and he wept. And one day when he was in this mood worshipping Sri Radha Raman, right before his very eyes, Sri Radha Raman manifested the form of Lord Gaur Sundar, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He saw that beautiful graceful golden form. He saw his blessings upon him and he was assured at that time that there is no difference between Lord Gauranga and Sri Radha Raman and in this way he worshipped the Lord to his heart’s content and to the Lords heart content throughout his whole life here in Vrindavan Dham.
rahlad! do you know that I have conquered this entire universe. Even Indra and all the gods are trembling in fear of me. Why is it that you do not fear me? How is it that I have conquered everything and everyone but I cannot kill you? With all my powers, I cannot even disturb you? Where do you get this power from? Hiranyakashipu also gave Prahlad a deadly poison. Prahlad offered it to Krishna and ate it. And by offering it to Krishna, Krishna took the poison. Prahlad, where do you get these powers from that you dare to challenge me? And Prahlad with great humility and conviction he replied, my dear father, I get my powers from the same place you get your powers. From the same place everyone gets their powers, from Krishna, the supreme personality of Godhead. He is the controller of everyone. He's the source of all knowledge, all intelligence, all strength. Hiranyakashipu, he said you talk about this Vishnu? You're always chanting this Vishnu? You're saying he's everywhere? Is he in this pillar? Prahad said My dear father, he is everywhere. Then Hiranyakashipu drew his sword and he was about, with all of his power to sever the head from Prahlad’s little tiny body. He said if he's in this pillar, I'm about to kill you Prahlad. Let me see him save you now. And just as he was coming at Prahlad with his sword, he smashed the pillar with his hand. Hiranyakashipu was bewildered, he had never heard such a sound before. He was looking all around, where is it coming from? Who is this? And as he saw the pillar tremble, the most extraordinary manifestation of Godhead, as the pillar broke, Narasingha Bhagavan appeared. Hari Boll. He appeared just at the time of sunset between day and night. The Lord’s leela is very wonderful. Because when we were having the yagya, that fire is non different than Lord Narasimha Dev. And it was just not day and not night. When the fire became unmanifest like in a pillar and then the lord manifested himself right exactly at the time between day and night. He didn't go out, he just became unmanifest and then right at the appropriate time. it's very exciting. Lord’s leelas are very exciting. Hiranyakashipu saw this form, it was neither a man, nor a beast; he was half man and half lion; with the head of a lion and the body of a man, but the nails of the lion; and he began to roar. And the sound of his roar was so shrilling so deadening not only to the ears but to the mind and to the heart and it instilled unlimited fear in the hearts of all living beings. Because his eyes were red, with anger, his mane, it was effulgence just lightening up the entire planet, entire sky; chest, the shoulders were broad, his waist was thin; Hiranyakashipu, his ears could not tolerate the sound of the roar of the Lord and he couldn't even stand even seeing him. He was such a frightening, just a being, a creature no one had ever seen, Hiranyakashipu with his sword and his shield, he leaped at Narasimha Dev to kill him.
Srila Prabhupada, for many, many days, weeks and months he often spoke on the teachings of Prahlada, the prayers of Kunti, it prepares our hearts and prepares our minds with the pure bhava, the aspiration for unconditional service of the Lord. We may want to be residents of Vrindaban, but that is a very high platform. We understand this through Brihad Bhagavtamrita and other such Shastras, you actually have to qualify yourself. “are we as fearless as Prahlada? Do we have the faith of Prahlada? Do we have the absolute dedication and obedience to our Guru as Prahlad under all circumstances? Are we willing to welcome difficulties with a happy heart like Prahlada? Is the supreme personality of godhead willing to appear in this world for us like Prahlada? If not, we should not jump over his head. We should fall under the dust of his lotus feet and follow in his footsteps. That is why Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu put so much happiness and emphasis on this story.
Look at what is happening to the world today, because we don’t understand the Vedic conception of the absolute necessity for a peaceful life and peaceful society, to honour and respect our mothers. The earth is our mother. She is being exploited in such ways that if we keep going this way, even the greatest geologists and scientists don’t know how life can continue. Here in India, the river Yamuna – Yamuna mai, she is one of our sacred mothers. She nourishes hundreds of millions of people with her water. On one level, she is a goddess – the Shakti of Krishna who is the personification of Krishna’s compassion in this world. On a physical level, life is depend on water. She is being dammed, she is being diverted and the river bed of the Yamuna is being filled industrial waste and sewage. And when you bathe in Vrindavan, or Prayag, from the Jamuna side, you are just bathing in the sewage of Delhi. This is India, the land of dharma. Is this the way to honour our mother? The cow is our mother. India is one of the top countries in the world for exporting slaughtered meat of cows. And what are we doing about it? How are we going to change this? We have to educate our children with values. Not just put them in a swirl of anxiety about their exams or where they are going to go to college. And our own mothers. You see, whether it’s mother earth or the Yamuna river or the cow or the mothers of our families, a mother’s seva is supremely sacred but it’s very gentle. Often times, its men who fight wars, who run politics, who bring money home and they are so much recognized and the mother who is taking care of children, who cares? Let her do it! What glorification, what honour do they receive? It’s become so bad, that in secular society, so many women are abandoning taking care of children for carriers, because that’s the way the society sees it. Otherwise, they are just worthless mothers sitting home, cooking, cleaning, nursing. And even within religious societies; I am sad to say, even within our own spiritual society, how much do even the husbands or the society at large value and honour the contribution of a mother? It’s quite rare. And it’s one of the saddest deviations from Vedic culture. Because a mother who does that gentle service, whether she is just quietly flowing as a river, or giving milk in a goshala, or whether she is just mother earth providing quietly crops and trees and fruits and vegetables, or a mother at home who is washing and cleaning and loving little babies and keeps staying up all night if necessary, twenty-four-hour service, a good mother. Do we appreciate? Do we honour? If the society at large does not honour, how will our children appreciate? Krishna, Krishna showed us a good lesson. He was conquered by the love of His mother. Yashodamai, she wasn’t a warrior, she wasn’t a great scholar; she was just taking care of Gopal. She didn’t even know He is God. But she served His every need with such motherly love, that the supreme absolute truth accepted being bound by her love. And queen Kunti, what a mother she was! When she was praying to Krishna, she was remembering Yashodamai, that “Krishna, You are feared by fear personified. Yet when Yashodamai had her little stick and was sitting in front of You after You stole butter, Your limbs were trembling. Your lips were quivering. Tears were pouring from Your eyes mixing with the black mascara and decorating Your whole body, and You were pleading, pleading to be forgiven”. The supreme absolute truth is showing the power of a mother’s love that He Himself, Lord Narsingadev, we know His powers, Lord Varahadev, the Virat Rupa – the universal form in the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad Gita, well here is the source of all of those forms, conquered by the love of His mother. That is Krishna consciousness.
It was on the banks of the Ganges that he would teach his students every evening. It was there that he defeated the great Keshava Kashmiri, it was in the Ganga that he would perform all his wonderful activities of harassing the citizens of Navadweep and play with His friends, throughout the whole day, swimming and splashing. Later on when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took Sanyaas, he expressed to Sarvabhowma Bhattacharya and the other devotees in Puri that “I wish to return to Bengal for two reasons: to see Ganga Devi and my mother Sachi”. And while traveling at one time He saw Ganga and He offered His prostrated obeisances, He drank the water, He bathed in the water, crying and weeping, He began to explain to His devotees that the water of the Ganga is so pure. Ganga Devi is so merciful, she is non-different than the Lord’s merciful Lotus feet in this Amrit, that anyone who sees the River Ganges, who touches River Ganges, who bathes in the River Ganges, who drinks the water of the Ganges, anyone who is touched by the breeze that has come from the Ganges that person will be delivered of sins and will achieve devotional service to Lord Krsna.
In Krsna Consciousness, it is the effort that is our success. The result is in the hands of Krsna. He may give, he may not give. But if we are sincerely and earnestly performing our service for the pleasure of the Lord, that is the success. The physical fruits of your work of your efforts in devotional service, they will perish in due course of time as will your body. But to the extent you please Krsna by your efforts, that is eternal, that is a wealth that never perishes, Krsna told Arjuna “You fight for my pleasure, whether you win or lose that is my business. But your life is perfect, if you die you will go back to Godhead, if you win, you will conquer the world”, we should not be attached to the results, we should be attached to pleasing Krsna by our intensive efforts to try for that result. But it is the effort itself, that devotion itself that is our real success. His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, he preached in Jhansi for one year and nothing to show for it. He came to New York then London and there was a tremendous success, an International society. Were Srila Prabhupad more pleasing to Krsna in New York than Jhansi? He was pleasing Krsna equally everywhere. Because whatever he did with here with pure desire to serve Sri Guru and Gauranga. This is Krsna Consciousness. Whatever we do should be for the pleasure of the Lord that is the success of our life.
Bali Maharaj said to Vaman dev “Now take what you like”. This little child grew to such proportion, to the ground. With one step he covered of the universe. With the other step he covered the other half. With a nail of the big toe of his left foot, he pierced the covering of the entire universe. The universe is floating in the causal ocean which is emanating from the very body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That causal ocean leaked into the crack made by the toe of Vishnu. As it came in, it washed the feet of the Lord and the great demi gods celebrated this wonderful, wonderful event. After washing the Lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Ganga Devi become supremely pure. The ultimate destination of everyone’s life is to seek shelter of the Lotus feet of the Lord.
Wisdom From The Bhakti Tradition By HH Radhanath Swami on 6th May 2019 at The Bhakti Centre by Radhanath Swami
"Glories of Sri Hanuman - The Emblem of Devotion" by HH Radhanath Swami on 28th April 2019 by Radhanath Swami
Krsna is feeling so satisfied by being covered with so much wonderful expensive sandalwood, so much labour and devotion we put into it by so many other devotees and when Krsna sees that we are all happy to see Him enjoying, our happiness increases His pleasure. That is the nature of love. So why have we come today? We have come to use our eyes to show Krsna how joyful we are that He is happy. Why? Because by doing that we make Him more happy. “Bhakti is completely a process of personal relationship and the personal relationship between the devotee and Krsna is developed by following the instruction of the spiritual master and by purifying our hearts. So, therefore this is a day of sacrifice. But is the day when all the devotees are consciously sacrificing everything to make Krsna nice and happy and cool. According to the proper principles of deity worship, you are not even supposed to ever put any type of heavy clothing on Krsna during the summer season. And if you go to Vrndavan in the winter, you will see that Krsna wears wool hats and wool mittens and wool socks. Because the devotees, they understand that this is the body of God and He is accepting the position of being subjected to the all the elements just like us, so that we have the chance to serve him and offer our love.
When the heat of the summer wherever we are whether we are living in the temple as brahmacaris or Sannyasis, whether we are living in house, or anywhere, we should always be keeping prominent in our hearts and in our minds how is Krsna? How is Radhagopinath enjoying? Are they hot today? What can I do to make them nice and cool? So Chandan Yatra is the day when we work very hard grinding sandalwood so that we can offer Krsna such a pure and cooling sensation. Of course, we should know that it is not the sandalwood that gives pleasure to Krsna, it is the devotion in which it is prepared, in which it is offered that gives Krsna great satisfaction and we come together on this day to celebrate the wonderful pastime of Krsna being satisfied, covered by the devotion of his devotee and this is our greatest pleasure.
Through this wonderful story, we understand how Deity worship is not just a ritual. It is an understanding that Krsna is a person and we treat Him like a person, as his servant. So, every year during the summer season, everyone is very much inconvenienced by the heat. Sometimes its air conditioners, sometimes there are fans, so many arrangements we make. Sometimes we just get out and escape to some cold place. But everyone is to some extent very much inconvenienced by the suffering of too much heat. Generally in the heat of sun, people want to relax; they want to go to sleep; they want to find some cool place and the vaisnavas, 400 people are crowded, packed in a small room and they are dancing, they are jumping, they are leaping, they are bathing in each other’s perspiration, doesn’t make sense. Completely illogical materially. But we know that we are doing it because it gives Krsna pleasure. We don’t mind how hot we are, we don’t mind how inconvenienced we are, if Krsna is pleased. And also because it’s so hot, we shouldn’t be thinking so much of my inconvenience, we should be thinking of Krsna’s inconvenience. And that is what chandan yatra means. That Krsna is a person and we are approaching him as a person and if it’s the hot season, the most important consideration is how to make Krsna nice and cool, not to make ourselves nice and cool. Because even if you are nice and cool, your heart will still be burning with material desires. Krsna is in your heart. When Krsna is cool, your heart becomes cool. Let your body burn, no problem. When you water the root of the tree, the whole tree is nourished. Krsna is the root of all that exists. When Krsna is satisfied from the inner depths of our soul, we become satisfied. No superficial sensual enjoyment is going to satisfy your inner needs, only pleasing Krsna will satisfy your inner needs.
The bhakti shakta, the divine pleasure potency, the energy of the Lord, the supreme energy, Srimati Radharani appears as Gadadhar Pandit. So, Sri Gadadhar is the very embodiment and source of all love and devotion. He is the full manifestation of the hladini shakti, Srimati Radharani. Some may ask that Lord Caitanya is Radha and Krishna in one form so, what is the need for Radharani to appear simultaneously in the other form of Gadadhar Pandit? This transcendental mystery is something wonderful. That is what I have to say. In the sense that Srimati Radharani is unlimited. She is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, non-different than Krishna, who appears in the divine swarup from which Krishna gets all pleasure. Radha and Krishna are one. Krishna is the Supreme Enjoyer and Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Enjoyed. And she expands Herself in so many forms and in so many ways simply to give Krishna enjoyment. So it is unlimited. So Gadadhar Pandit is Sri Radharani who has appeared in a very special way simply to give pleasure to Krishna, who appeared as Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
One day, Lord Gauranga, Jagadananda Pandit and Gadadhar Pandit were walking along the river banks in Navadweep. And they came into a forest and Lord Caitanya saw a parrot perched on a Bakula Tree. And Lord Caitanya grabbed the parrot. He said, “You are the son of Vedavyas, Shukadeva Goswami. And I am in meditation on the beautiful forest of Vrindavan. Please Sukadeva, sing the glories and the names of Radha and Krishna.” And the parrot, in great love began to call out, “Gaur Hari” and Lord Caitanya became very angry. And he threw the parrot away. And the parrot got on the Bakula tree and started calling out “Gaura Gaura, Gaura Gaura, Gaura Gaura” and as he was chanting Gaura Gaura he was dancing in ecstasy. So, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu became externally very disturbed when this parrot was just dancing on the tree chanting “Gaura, Gaura.” This is the place of Radha and Krishna. Please chant the glories of Radha and Krishna. And the little parrot replied that “Vrindavan has transformed into Navadweep and Radha and Krishna has appeared in the form of Gauranga. And I am just a simply parrot. And I am simply so happy to see my worship able Lord, Sri Krishna standing before me in the form of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. and my beloved Srimati Radharani standing before me as Sri Gadadhar Pandit.” And then the parrot flew away chanting the Holy Names of the Lord.
Abhiram Thakur was a confidential associate of Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In Krishna leela, he was the brother of Srimati Radha Rani, Sridama. And in Lord Chaitanya’s pastime, he was very prominent because of his fearless enthusiasm to preach and his uncompromising mood of establishing pure Siddhanta. When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent Nityananda from Bengal to Puri to preach, He gave him several associates, one was Gadhadhar Das, another was Abhiram Gopal. As they were going, they were having kirtan procession, Abhiram Thakur was in so much ecstasy that he stood in a three-fold bending form as if he was playing a flute for nine hours without moving and the devotees were all around to him very happily chanting the holy name. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Although such processes are very difficult, almost impossible for the common man, factually an innocent house wife who takes pleasure in hearing the glories of the Lord and the devotees of the Lord makes more spiritual advancement than all of these sadhus and yogis. Because the Lord takes greater pleasure in seeing you taking pleasure in hearing his glories and especially hearing the glories of his devotees. Therefore ‘sravana, kirtana, smarana, Vandana pada-sevana, dasya re’ Govindadas prays let me always engage my mind in the nine processes of devotional service of which first and foremost is ‘hearing the glories of the Lord and chanting those glories.’