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| RADHA MADHAVA MANDIR |
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| ISKCON VRINDAVAN |
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| ISKCON PUNE NVCC |
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| ISKCON PUNE CAMP |
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| ISKCON NOIDA |
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| ISKCON NELLORE |
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| ISKCON LONDON |
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| ISKCON DELHI |
Sunday 24 May 2015
DARSHAN [24-05-15]
KRISHNA STORY
Narada Muni story: Sage bring peace between Shani dev and Lakshmi devi!
Once upon a time saturn and Godess laxmi(goddess of wealth) were travelling.
Incidently they met each other on the way.
After some initial conversation and exchange of whereabouts, they bagan to contradict each other by words.
Saturn said:- I am much better than you, as I am responsible for maintaining justice
in the world.
Lakshmi said:- thats not true, I am better than you, I give happiness, wealth and prosperity to the world.
Satrun then replied:- By nature itself ,you are very volatile….you never stay in a place for long and therefore always in a state of migration
also you dont discriminate between bad and good souls….you can even stay with bad souls
On this lakshmi countered:- Stop commenting on my nature, first see yourself.
Whole world is afraid of your melific drishti(aspect), no one wants to invite you.
everyone prays of your departure….you can only create sense of terror.
Since the arguments were never ending.
they both decided to ask this question from “Lord brahma(creater of the world)”
So they went to lord brahma:- and asked.
O lord who is better between us ?
Lord Brahma thought…that if my answer is in the favour of Laxmi
I would not be able to escape from the melific drishti of Saturn.
And If I favoured saturn.
Laxmi will get angry on me.
so he diplomatically said.
The answer of this question can only be given by lord Vishnu(Sustainer of the world)
Kindly ,Go to him.
This game of, pass the ball in others court continue from “Lord vishnu” to “Lord shiva” (the destroyer of the world)
and then from Lord shiva to “Narad muni” (Most praised devotee of Lord vishnu and son of Lord brahma)
Then ultimately Both of them went to “narad Muni” and repeated the question.
Who is better between us…?
Narad Muni then replied
I have the answer of this question.
but for that you both have to simultaneously walk till that point and then have to come back here.
Both saturn and godess lakshmi followed the orders of “Narad muni”
and done the exercise as it is.
When both of them were doing this.
Narad muni started uttering Very good, very good…. you both are equally powerful.
saturn then shouted….Nard Muni …. just tell me , Who is better between us.
Narad muni replied … for that you have to again repeat the same exercise.
Go and come back from that point..
On this Saturn angrily said.
What do you think of us…….. are we small kids ,….who will keep on doing this kiddish exercise.
Narad said … sorry but to get the answer ,you have to do this
Narad Muni then replied softly.
Listen.
You both are equally good.
Saturn looks good when he walks away
and Laxmi looks good on vice versa condition.
” AAp jate hue ache lagte hai … or aap aati hui”
On listening this answer both saturn and godess laxmi were convinced.
Saturday 23 May 2015
KRISHNA STORY
Holy name story: Haridas Thakur and prostitute
After leaving his home Haridas Thakur stayed for some time in the forest of Benapola. He constructed a cottage in the forest. Outside the cottage he planted a tulasi plant and he would chant the holy name of Krishna 300,000 times daily in front of tulasi. He chanted throughout the entire day and night. For his bodily maintenance he would go to a Brahmin’s house and beg some food. He was so spiritually pure that all the neighboring people worshipped him.
The ruler of that district was Ramachandra Khan; he was envious of devotees of Krishna and therefore a great atheist. Unable to tolerate the respect being offered to Haridas Thakur he made plans to dishonor him. He could not, however, find any fault in the character of Haridas Thakur.
Finally he called all the local prostitutes together and said to them, “There is a devotee named Haridas Thakur in the forest. All of you devise a way to deviate him from his religious vows.”
Out of all the prostitutes there was one very attractive young girl and she promised, “I shall attract the mind of Haridas Thakur within three days.” Ramachandra Khan said, “Very good. I shall send my constable with you and when he sees you with Haridas Thakur he will immediately arrest him and bring both of you to me.” The prostitute replied, “First let me have union with him once, then the second time I shall take your constable with me to arrest him.”
That night the prostitute, after dressing herself most attractively, went to the cottage of Haridas Thakur with great pleasure. When she arrived she bowed down and offered prayers to the tulasi plant, then she went to the door of the cottage and offered obeisances Haridas Thakur.
She exposed part of her body to his view and sat down at his doorstep. She spoke to him in very sweet words, “My dear Thakur, O great preacher, great devotee, you are so beautifully built and your youth is just beginning. What woman could control her mind after seeing you? I am so eager to be united with you. My mind is greedy for this. If I don’t obtain you I shall die.”
Haridas Thakur replied, “I shall accept you without fail but you will have to wait until I finish chanting Hare Krishna on my beads. Until I do please sit down here and listen to the chanting of the holy name. As soon as I am finished I shall fulfill your desire.”
Hearing this, the prostitute remained sitting there while Haridas Thakur chanted on his beads until the light of morning appeared. When she saw it was morning she stood up and left. She went to Ramachandra Khan and said, “Today Haridas Thakur has promised to enjoy with me- tomorrow certainly I shall have union with him.”
The next evening the prostitute returned to Haridas Thakur’s cottage and he gave her many assurances. He said, “Last night you were disappointed. Please excuse my offence. I shall certainly accept you. Please sit down here and hear the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra until my regular chanting is finished. Then your desire will surely be fulfilled. After offering obeisances to the tulasi plant and Haridas Thakur she sat down at the door- hearing Haridas Thakur chanting the Hare Krishna mantra she also chanted, “O my Lord Hari, O my Lord Hari”.
When the night came to an end the prostitute was restless. When Haridas Thakur saw this he said, “I have made a vow to chant ten million names of Krishna this month. I have taken this vow but now the month is nearing its end. I thought today I would be able to finish. I tried my best to chant Hare Krishna all night but still I have not finished. Tomorrow I will surely finish and my vow will be fulfilled. Then it will be possible for me to enjoy with you in full freedom.”
Haridas Thakur didn’t want to enjoy with the prostitute, he simply tricked her to give her the chance to hear the holy name while he chanted. Pure devotees chant Hare Krishna and simply by hearing this chanting from a purified transcendental person one becomes free of all sinful activities, no matter how sinful one may be.
The prostitute then returned to Ramachandra Khan and informed him of what had happened. The next night she went earlier, at the beginning of the evening, and stayed with Haridas Thakur. After offering obeisances to the tulasi plant and Haridas Thakur she sat on the doorstep. As she heard Haridas Thakur’s chanting she also personally chanted “Hari, Hari.”
“Today it will be possible for me to finish my vow of chanting ten million names of Krishna this month,” Haridas Thakur informed her. “Then I will satisfy all your desires.”
The morning came and Haridas Thakur was still chanting but because of his association the prostitute’s mind had changed. She fell at his lotus feet and confessed Ramachandra Khan had sent her to him to pollute him. “Because I have taken the profession of a prostitute,” she said, “I have performed unlimited sinful acts. My lord, be merciful to me. Deliver my fallen soul.” Haridas Thakur replied, “I know everything about the conspiracy of Ramachandra Khan. He is nothing but an ignorant fool. Therefore his activities do not make me feel unhappy. I would have left this place immediately when I understood he was planning this intrigue against me but because you came here I stayed here to deliver you.”
The prostitute replied, “Kindly act as my spiritual master. Instruct me in my duty so I can become free from material existence.” Haridas Thakur said, “Immediately go home and distribute whatever property you have to the Brahmins. Then come back to this cottage and stay here forever in Krishna consciousness. Chant the Hare Krishna mantra continuously and serve the tulasi plant by watering her and offering prayers to her. In this way you will very soon achieve the shelter of the lotus feet of Krishna.” After giving the prostitute these instructions Haridas Thakur stood up and left that place continuously chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.”
Soon after this the prostitute distributed whatever household possessions she had to the Brahmins in accordance with her spiritual master’s order. She shaved her head clean and stayed within that cottage in the forest wearing only one cloth. Following in the footsteps of her spiritual master she began chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra 300,000 times daily. She chanted for the whole day and night. She worshipped the tulasi plant and instead of eating regularly she chewed whatever food she received as alms. If nothing was supplied she would fast. Thus by eating little and fasting she conquered her senses. As soon as she controlled her senses the symptoms of love of God appeared in her person. In this way the prostitute became a famous devotee. She became very advanced in spiritual life and many great devotees would visit her. When people saw her sublime character they were astonished. Everyone praised the influence of Haridas Thakur and offered him obeisances.
As we see, chanting the holy names helped Haridas Thakur to resist the temptation presented by the prostitute. If you contrast that with other saints such as Vishwamitra who attempted the path of self-realization through self-effort, you can see that self-effort alone is not enough the grace of God is also required.
It is said, phalena pariciyate: one is recognized by the result of his actions. There are many types of devotees, some of them are called gosvamis, some are prabhus and some are Prabhupada. One is not recognized, however, simply by such a name. A spiritual master is recognized as an actual guru when it is seen that he has changed the character of his disciples. Haridas Thakur actually changed the character of the professional prostitute. People greatly appreciated this and as a result they have always glorified and offered obeisances to Haridas Thakur.
Friday 22 May 2015
Thursday 21 May 2015
KRISHNA STORY
Jagannath story: Vishnupriya’s Letter to Lord Jagannath
Pandas from Puri visit all over India and act as a conduit between Lord Jagannath and the people who cannot visit Puri and see Jagannath on the ratna vedi. The pandas take the prasad and pass them to the people who cannot visit and bring their offerings back to Jagannath. This practice is still in place.
A few hundred years back, one of the pandas made a trip to Rajputana (present day Rajasthan). The king of a small state in Rajputana was a vishnu bhakta and the panda decided to spend the rainy season in the palace.
The king had a daughter whose name was Vishnupriya and right to her name she used to worship Vishnu all the time. Since our panda was from a Vishnu temple, Vishnupriya took an extra interest in our panda and made sure that he was taken care of and fed properly. Our panda started dreaming all the things he would be buying in his village as he was absolutely confident that Vishnupriya would give him a tidy sum as offerings for Jagannath which would be passed on to our panda as Jagannath’s representative.
Finally the day came and our panda started the journey back. Vishnupriya made sure that the panda was leaving with enough food. She also gave him 10 gold coins as a respect. Of course our panda was more interested in what Vishnupriya would be sending for Jagannath. To his surprise, all Vishnupriya had for Jagannath was a letter on a bhuja patra. [In Orissa and south India, palm leaves were used for writing while in North India,bhuja leaves were used for the same purpose.]
Of course our panda was infuriated when she asked him to deliver the letter to Jagannath. With no gold coins, no jewelry, and no costly garments,our panda saw his dream falling apart before his own eyes. He did not want to create a scene as that would put him in trouble with the king. He decided to throw the letter in to a heap of garbage (gobora kunda) behind his house as soon as he reaches the village. True to his determination, he threw Vishnupriya’s letter in to the garbage dump as soon as he reached his village.
Our panda had a nice dinner and went to bed still feeling mad at Vishnupriya. In the middle of the night he saw Jagannath in his dream. In his dream, Jagannath expressed his deep displeasure as His devotee had sent a gift for Him, and the panda had thrown the gift away. Jagannath asked the panda to pick the letter from the garbage dump, take it to the village jeweler with the 10 gold coins, and cast the letter on gold. He also asked the panda to deliver the letter cast on gold to Him at the earliest opportunity as He must receive the gift sent by His devotee.
Our panda was scared and yet true to his Oriya identity asked why Jagannath was so concerned about a mere letter when thousands of devotees visit him every day and one letter should not make any difference.
Lord asked him to look up and our panda saw the letter from Vishnupriya
was written in the dark sky in golden letters. This was all Vishnupriya
had sent for Jagannath:
was written in the dark sky in golden letters. This was all Vishnupriya
had sent for Jagannath:
“RatnAkara Staba Griham GrihiNi cha PadmA
Deyam kimapi bhavate PurushottamAya
Avira bAma nayanA hrita mAnasAya
Duttam mano Yadupate tadidam grihANa”
Deyam kimapi bhavate PurushottamAya
Avira bAma nayanA hrita mAnasAya
Duttam mano Yadupate tadidam grihANa”
[The abode of jewels is Your home and Mother Laxmi is Your wife Please tell me what I have that You do not have that I must offer You In the past, You have stolen the minds of the Gopis Oh, the Lord of the Yadus, all I have is my mind that I am offering to You and please accept it.]
In my understanding of minimalist approach, the temple is in your heart, the worship is in your feelings, and the offering is your submission before Him. That is where the abode of Lord Jagannath.
DARSHAN [21-05-15]
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| VRINDAVAN CHANDRODAYA MANDIR |
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| RADHA MADHAVA MANDIR |
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| ISKCON VRINDAVAN |
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| ISKCON PUNE NVCC |
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| ISKCON PUNE CAMP |
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| ISKCON NOIDA |
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| ISKCON LONDON |
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| ISKCON DELHI |
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| ISKCON TIRUPATHI |
Wednesday 20 May 2015
THE ACTUAL CAUSE OF NATURAL DISASTERS
SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM 3.17.4,5
"There were earthquakes along the mountains on the earth, and it appeared that there was fire everywhere. Many inauspicious planets like Saturn appeared, along with comets, meteors and thunderbolts.
PURPORT
When natural disturbances occur on a planet, one should understand that a demon must have taken birth there. In the present age the number of demoniac people is increasing; therefore natural disturbances are also increasing. There is no doubt about this, as we can understand from the statements of the Bhāgavatam.
PURPORT
When natural disturbances occur on a planet, one should understand that a demon must have taken birth there. In the present age the number of demoniac people is increasing; therefore natural disturbances are also increasing. There is no doubt about this, as we can understand from the statements of the Bhāgavatam.
TRANSLATION
There blew winds which were most uninviting to the touch, hissing again and again and uprooting gigantic trees. They had storms for their armies and clouds of dust for their ensigns.
PURPORT
When there are natural disturbances like blowing cyclones, too much heat or snowfall, and uprooting of trees by hurricanes, it is to be understood that the demoniac population is increasing and so the natural disturbance is also taking place. There are many countries on the globe, even at the present moment, where all these disturbances are current. This is true all over the world. There is insufficient sunshine, and there are always clouds in the sky, snowfall and severe cold. These assure that such places are inhabited by demoniac people who are accustomed to all kinds of forbidden, sinful activity."
There blew winds which were most uninviting to the touch, hissing again and again and uprooting gigantic trees. They had storms for their armies and clouds of dust for their ensigns.
PURPORT
When there are natural disturbances like blowing cyclones, too much heat or snowfall, and uprooting of trees by hurricanes, it is to be understood that the demoniac population is increasing and so the natural disturbance is also taking place. There are many countries on the globe, even at the present moment, where all these disturbances are current. This is true all over the world. There is insufficient sunshine, and there are always clouds in the sky, snowfall and severe cold. These assure that such places are inhabited by demoniac people who are accustomed to all kinds of forbidden, sinful activity."
DARSHAN [20-05-15]
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| VRINDAVAN CHANDRODAYA MANDIR |
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| RADHA MADHAVA MANDIR |
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| ISKCON TIRUPATI |
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| ISKCON NOIDA |
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| ISKCON DELHI |
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| ISKCON CHICAGO |
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| ISKCON AHMEDABAD |
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| ISKCON LONDON |
KRISHNA STORY
Holy name story: Vibhishana and leaf with name Rama!
The Everyone knows how the Ram Setu was constructed by the Vanaras writing Rama’s name on the rock.
The bridge was held afloat by the power of Rama’s name.
There is a lesser known story on the power of Rama’s name.
After the passing of Ravana, one of Vibhishana’s attendants asked how the Vanaras were able to build the bridge and cross it.
Vibhishana explained that the power of the name of Rama is able to conquer all obstacles.
The attendant was skeptical and Vibhishana decided that a demonstration was in order.
He handed the attendant a folded up leaf with Rama’s name on it and told him to cross the ocean.
The attendant may have been skeptical about Rama’s name but he had faith in Vibhishana’s words.
He took the leaf and started crossing the ocean which, to his surprise was only knee deep for him. He kept walking until he reached the midway point.
Then out of curiosity, he opened the leaf and read Rama’s name. His skepticism returned.
How can such a simple name be so powerful as to make the ocean knee deep?
Unfortunately for him, the moment he doubted the power of Rama’s name, the ocean swallowed him up.
What is the lesson in all this?
Not to just mechanically chant and write. No.
One must have full faith that the Holy Name will help us cross the ocean of life and return us back to Godhead.
This name is our vehicle and connection to Krsna, but only if we use it in the right way: with full faith and devotion.
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