www.harekrsna.com's topics - tribe.net

wondering...

lookinglasssky — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:31:42 GMT

if anybody had any news about what's happening in New Vrindavan... I'm planning on a relocation and as
i have never visited there before i was wondering if anyone could give me some logistics... Im hankering for
some serious devotee association, it's been faaar too long... i figured with all the acreage there i could maybe
pitch a tent, perform some seva while attending temple programs and get my sadhan back in order... anyway...
any information would be greatly appreciated...
many blessings,
matthew

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Festival for the Eyes 2008

Ekendra — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:57:31 GMT

Would you like to participate in creating a beautiful experience? This Gaura Purnima ISKCON News is putting together a 'Festival for the Eyes' that you're invited to help us put together.

On Gaura Purnima Day 2008 we're going to unveil a multimedia presentation featuring Gaura-Nitai deities worshiped in devotees' homes around the world.

We've set a goal to compile 108 photos so if you'd like to give our current readership of more than 3,500 weekly visitors a glimpse of the Gaura-Nitai deities who live in your home then dress them gorgeously, get the lighting just right and snap us a digital photo. (Try to avoid using a flash please.)

When you submit your entry you'll need to include the following details:

- What's your name? (Please make sure you spell this exactly how you'd like it to be presented.)

- Where do you live? (Include the name of the city and country.)

Send just one photo as an attachment to: editor AT iskconnews.com

Please try to keep the size of the file under 1 Megabyte. The best image resolution for our purposes is 800px by 600px.

Alternatively you could upload to a photo hosting site such as www.flickr.com and send us a link.

The deadline for entries is Tuesday the 18th of March 2008.

Only the first 108 photos will be presented so send them in today!

For more details please visit here: http://news.iskcon.com/node/931

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Experience An India Yoga Odyssey

Dennis — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:10:45 GMT

Experience a Transforming India YOGA Odyssey
(February 21 to March 6, 2008)

Just imagine your airplane touching down at the India airport of your choice – Mumbai or Ahmadabad – on Thursday, February 21, 2008. Awaiting you at the airport is your guide, who will escort you by rail or taxi to your hotel accommodations in Surat City, Gujarat State. You will have arrived just in time to take in the World Yoga Championships, either as a participant or as a spectator. If anyone wishes to participate in the Championships the necessary registration forms can be downloaded at www.lifemission.org. The Championships run from February 22 though February 24. (The Championships were primarily founded as a means for encouraging youth worldwide to engage themselves in the ageless science of yoga for the betterment of body, mind and spiritual development in similar fashion that society worldwide encourages youth to participate in common sporting events.)

Following the Championships, you will be escorted to Malav Ashram for a five night stay, which includes three days of “hands on” yogic training under the expert guidance of Acharya Yogendradev, who has taught in North America, Taiwan, and India

And now – the Tours – you will tour the historic spiritual pilgrimage site of Kayavarohan and visit the Brahmeshwar Temple of Lord Lakulish (the 28th incarnation of Lord Shiva). You will spend 5 nights at a beautiful oceanside resort near the city of Div, overlooking the Indian Ocean with its miles of sandy beaches, and visit surrounding points of interest including the renowned Somnath Temple; a lion wildlife reserve, an ayurvedic clinic of a renowned ayurvedic physician where you will be able to observe the natural preparation of ayurvedic medicines and receive a free medical check-up. You will also have the opportunity to visit the temple complex at Rajrajeshwardham, where Lord Lakulish materialized in his divine body on January 29, 2007. Then – another great grace awaits you – you will have the rare opportunity of having darshan with the highly advanced yogi, Swami Rajarshi Muni.*

Now your yoga trip is reaching its end – on March 6, you will be escorted by your guide to your departure airport for your trip home – to reflect on and absorb your many yoga experiences of the past 2 weeks; the multitudes of wondrous Indian sites you've seen; the unmatched hospitality of its people and the many lasting new friendships you've made.

The cost per participant is $ 695.00 USD. This price does not include your transportation costs to and from India, which is entirely your responsibility, as are any required passports, visas etc. This price does include designated tour accommodations and meals in India, and all ground transportation to the Championships and touring sites in India, as well as ground transportation to and from airports at Mumbai or Ahmedabad. Any profits after all costs have been met will be directed to projects for the poor, including schools and hospitals. For further information, go to www.lifemission.org, or email: Acharya Yogendradev, ggvaghela@yahoo.com; or Dennis Konchak, lifema@telus.net; or Hans Splinter, Hsplinter@cogeco.ca.

* Swami Rajarshi Muni is the author of a vast library of nearly 100 titles in four different languages, including ten books in English. Some of the English titles are: Classical Hatha Yoga, Divine Body Through Yoga; Tenets for the Spiritual Life; Infinite Grace (The Story of My Spiritual Lineage), Awakening the Life Force, and Light from Guru to Disciple. For more information, check the Life Mission website www.lifemission.org and www.amazon.com under Rajarshi Muni

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Lakulish Yogasan Championships 2008: Feb. 22; 23; & 24th, - City of Surat, Gujarat State, India

Dennis — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:49:46 GMT

For details and application forms, please refer to: http://www.lifemission.org/ and under "New" go to item #4 and click on "World Open Yogasan Championships".

Please note, to optimize your India trip and your experience of Lakulish Yoga you could attend or participate in the Yogasan Championships and also take in the 3 week Certificate Yoga Training Course being offered at Swami Rajarshi Muni's Malav Ashram from January 30 -February 20th. For details on the training go to http://www.lifemission.org/ and under "New" click on item # 5 " "Overseas Students Annual Yoga Certificate Training Program"

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If You Could Only Have One Yoga Book

Dennis — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:39:55 GMT

If one could only have one book on yoga, the new book, Classical Hatha Yoga by Swami Rajarshi Muni would likely be it. This is the only book on yoga the practitioner or teacher would ever need. It is probably the most comprehensive book ever written on the subject of yoga and, most important, it is written by a highly advanced Yogi, based on his personal Kundalini sadhana. Check it out on Amazon's Inside the Book Program, where you can actually see its contents as well as its summary. It can also be purchased at the Kripalu Book Store.

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Gita by A.C BhaktiVedanta Swami Prabhupada

shyam — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:54:28 GMT

Hello Fellow Bhakta's

Please visit the gita tribe for disscussions on the teachings in gita by A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prapbhupada
link is:

http://tribes.tribe.net/saarthi

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Prabhupada tribe!

Sat, 02 Dec 2006 03:08:36 GMT

Come to the new tribe named simply "Prabhupada" and run by me. I don't know how to post a link yet. Anybody know how to do it for me?

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Esoteric Teaching Podcast live on iTunes

DavidBruceHughes — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 20:31:39 GMT

Dear Friends,

The Esoteric Teaching podcast, Your Perfect Body, is now live on Apple iTunes in the Religion & Philosophy section. Or you can subscribe to our feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/yourperfectbody

These days we are doing a series on Sri Isopanisad. You can see a mirror on our blog at http://theperfectionofyoga.org

The Esoteric Teaching is a modern mystery school of the philosophia perennis, the eternal spiritual principles and transcendental ontology informing and underlying all spiritual cultures, paths and religions. The Esoteric Teaching presents these truths in their original, pure and complete form, free from the cultural biases and religious dogma that filter information and cloud understanding. Thus it gives everyone, regardless of background or inclination, access to the profound benefits of authentic spiritual life and enlightenment.

love,
Baba
http://esotericteaching.org

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have yer Guru

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:26:07 GMT

It is very important that we don’t focus on anyone’s faults. Look at their good qualities. We have to absorb these qualities in ourselves. We must take the association of Vaisnavas who are superior to us and who have the mood we want. Then we can attain bhakti.

Someone who has no nistha (strong faith) in his Guru and in the Vaisnavas, no attachment for them, no attachment for their service, and who doesn’t take any responsibility to do seva – such a person is like an animal with two legs. Taking responsibility can even make an animal into a human. Stay in the Mathas (temples) under the guidance of Guru and Vaisnava. Respect them and serve them with strong faith and attachment.

Devotees must take responsibility for service. Wherever Gurudeva sends a disciple, he should do that service with a sense of responsibility.

Gurudeva sent me to Mathura, and I accepted all the responsibilities of the Matha – including fighting in the court, preaching, doing kirtana, cooking, going house to house and preaching, writing books, publishing Bhagavat Patrika (monthly magazine). I took all this upon my head. This was my area of responsibility for Gurudeva.

You have all come here from different countries, for Guru-seva. What responsibility have you taken? You should consider whether or not you have accepted any responsibility, and whether or not you have got attachment for your service. All of you must think about this.

Taking your own life in your hand, perform Guru-seva. Bhakti is not easily attained. Valmiki performed severe austerities for 60,000 years and received the fruit of devotion to Lord Rama. How he served his Guru, Sri Narada, and followed his instructions! Narada told him to sit in one place and engage in harinama (chanting the name of Lord Rama). He sat down for 60,000 years and did not get up. He did not eat or drink, or even go to latrine. He did nothing but chant. Ants gradually built an anthill around him and covered his entire body, and his life airs stayed in his bones. This is Guru-seva.

Ekalabhya was only an ordinary person, but he gave his thumb to his Guru. His fault was that he didn’t follow his Gurudeva properly, but he did give his thumb when it was requested.

Even Lord Krsna carried a bundle of wood on His head for His Guru. He stood in the rain the entire night and got completely wet in the service of His Guru, and He is God Himself. This is how to do Guru-seva.

In the Upanisads we find the history of Upamanyu. His Guru told him to take the cows out grazing. After some time his Guru asked him, “Why are you so fat and healthy?” He replied, “After the calves take their milk, I drink the remaining milk.” His Guru said, “Don’t drink the milk,” but he did not tell Upamanyu what he could take. Some days passed, and when he saw Upamanyu, again he said, “How is it that you are still so fat and healthy? What are you eating?” Upamanyu answered, “I take the foam of the milk left in the calves’ mouths.” Again his Guru said, “Don’t do that.” Now all roads were closed. So what did he do? He saw some leaves with a white liquid coming out of them, and started taking that 'milk.' He became blind from that poisonous white liquid, and he fell in a well.

Gurudeva came looking for him, calling out, “Where are you?” He called back, “I am in this well.” “What happened?” Gurudeva asked. Upamanyu replied, “I was taking this milk from the leaves, not realizing it to be poison. I became blind and fell down in this well.” Gurudeva said, “You will get your eyesight back, and all Vedic knowledge will be at once be revealed in your heart.”

In the Upanisads and other Vedas, such examples of Guru-seva are given.

yasya deva para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah

[Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed. (Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23)]

We should be like such disciples. Bhakti is not easy. Bhakti will not come simply by saying the word 'bhakti.' Moreover, in the line of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, vraja-bhakti, gopi-bhakti, is very, very difficult to attain.

You are very fortunate to have come here. Keep your good fortune by developing strong faith in Guru, by performing devotional services under his guidance with commitment, and by following his instructions nicely – even if you have to go to hell. Go to hell with a contract. In other words, wherever you are sent – it may even be to hell – you will have your commitment to Gurudeva always with you, and you will execute it. Take Guru’s instructions to heart, and then you will get bhakti; otherwise it is not possible.

For more, visit purebhakti.com/
or see tribes.tribe.net/gurudeva/

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Quan Yin

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:54:05 GMT

Quan Yin, the head of the gods, is a conceited coward who is extremely terrified to see mankind evolve into a warrior so powerful that the earth would tremble with fear by his mere presence.
Mankind is being deceived because his essence is turned into hookers and pussies by this conceited goddess.

Maharishi Chin Chau An.

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Samadhi photos of: Bhakti Swarupa Damodar Swami Maharaj

mike-ace — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 09:19:11 GMT

Samadhi photos of Bhakti Swarupa Damodar Swami Maharaj at:

http://bharathch. tripod.com/ BSDS/

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Seva-kunj Ashram

DavidBruceHughes — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:19:27 GMT

Dear Friend of the Esoteric Teaching,

I am extremely pleased to announce the dedication of Seva-kunj Ashram, a spiritual retreat center of the Sadgosai Society in the southeastern Arizona desert. Located in the rural Gila River Valley near beautiful Mount Graham, it offers serious spiritual seekers a place to retire from the complexities of daily life and go deep into chanting and sadhana. Please see http://sadgosai.org.

Seva-kunj is the place in Vrndavana in the spiritual world, where Krsna meets Srimati Radharana and the gopis for Their nightly ecstatic love-play, such as the Rasa Dance. Similarly, Seva-kunj Ashram is a place for meeting Krsna and service to Him and His devotees.

Life here is austere, simple and pure. We rise early in the morning and go for a long japa meditation walk as the sun rises. Two miles from the ashram is a peaceful wildlife reserve with trails and a lovely swimming lake. You can see the Mt. Graham wildlife area in the background of the picture below.

All arrangements are negotiable for sincere devotees from any sanga who want to go deep into chanting and perfect their spiritual life in an austere environment. Guests are invited for retreats on a space-available basis. Accommodations are very simple, Rainbow-style camping and desert trailers. To arrange a visit or retreat email me or call 928 485-9300 and leave a message.

I am getting a lot of writing done in the peace of the desert. You can follow my daily blog posts at http://theperfectionofyoga.org, or check out the lively community discussion on the Esoteric Teaching forum at http://esotericteaching.org/forum.

Also, please don't forget our interesting CDs and DVDs that offer perspectives on spiritual life from the ancient Esoteric Teaching: http://esotericteaching.org/store. Thank you very much for your valuable time and attention.

Love,
Baba

Sri Gaurahari Dasanudas Babaji Bhaktisiddhartha (David Bruce Hughes)

"Developing a transcendental ontology is the most powerful enabler of spiritual growth." http://transontology.org

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The Passing of HH Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami

mike-ace — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 11:53:36 GMT

His Holiness Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Maharaja, a disciple of ISKCON's founder, Srila Prabhupada, has passed away at 12:15am, 2 October 2006, in Kolkata, India.

He had been receiving treatment for an injury he sustained in a grenade attack at Janmastami in ISKCON's Manipur temple. Just before midnight on 1 October, Maharaja called for assistance complaining of severe pain in his shoulder. Over the next few minutes he became breathless, and before a doctor could be called, he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.

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Sri Krsna's sound vibration manifests at the Olympics.

peacelovelight — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 02:39:58 GMT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has manifest at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, benedicting the entire world through the sound vibration of the Govindam prayers. The clip shows Olympic skaters dancing to a tune of Govindam Adi Purusham from the Brahma Samhita. It was amazing to watch these Olympic skaters move across the ice to this transcendental song.

http://www.grebenkina-azroyan.com/video/Torino_2006_hi.mov

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Is There A President Who Has Not Abused Animals?

veganesh — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 06:17:27 GMT

Jai Prabhupada! Hare! Krishna!

Is There A President Who Has Not Abused Animals?

PRESIDENTS ELECTED AND OTHERWISE AND ANIMALS

is cruelty married to love of power?

George Washington's diaries have frequent references to the foxhunts
in which he participated. Foxhunts still occur in Virginia. The practice
has been described by Oscar Wilde as 'the unspeakable in full
pursuit of the inedible'. The world community and British activists
have forced an end to UK foxhunting with more than 2 dogs.

Thomas Jefferson supervised the slaughter of pigs and other
animals on his slave plantation, Monticello.

Theodore Roosevelt's hunting party orphaned a baby bear cub...
he ordered the cub adopted... and the result was the popular press'
creation of Teddy Bear. His home in NY is now a museum whose
walls are covered with the trophies of serial killing.

Harry Truman, the only official in history to drop an atom bomb,
incinerated countless millions of animals along with humans.

Eisenhower ordered cats on the White House grounds shot.

JFK went hunting with LBJ... JFK hated to hunt but bowed
to LBJ's pressure and shot a tame deer on LBJ's ranch.. only
to have the head of the creature follow him around as LBJ
sent it mounted to his office.

Nixon took 1 million from Ray Kroc, owner of McDonald's, and in
return exempted McDonald's from minimu wage.. something
the Congress overrode (McD remains with Walmart one of the 2
biggest unionbusters in the world)
www.ufcw.org
www.mcspotlight.org

Jimmy Carter used to hunt quail, and still promotes the suffocation of fish.

Gerald Ford is a billionaire with investments partly in animal abuse
concerns, investments obtained through his friendship with Sanford
Weill, whose aid in helping Bernie Ebbers purchase Canada's largest
cattle ranch with MCI funds sent Ebbers to jail.

Ronald Reagan's administration doubled the speed of slaughterhouse
conveyor belt lines, multiplying the instances of animals being
skinned alive, as well as of animals with tumors being consumed
by humans. Semanticist pawns of the multitrillion $ meat industry
like to call leukemia leukosis if a chicken has it, but it is the same
disease, and transmissible by eating the chicken's cadaver.

Bush 2 used to conduct frogshooting parties... is a member of
the Safari Club which gives memberships to those who have
killed 300 KINDS of animals.

Bush 1 is also a member of the Safari Club, which is now
attempting to have the government sanction its canned hunts in which animals huddle behind...
9 ft. fences, trapped while trophy hunters shoot at them. (Serial killers
keep their kill trophies hidden, but blood sport serial killers of the
hunt display the mounted heads of murdered animals on their
walls and floors.. with severed paws as ashtrays.)

Clinton, Bush 1, Bush 2, FDR, etc. etc.
bombed animals, burned animals alive.

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"What does love mean?"

mike-ace — Sat, 21 Jan 2006 11:16:37 GMT

Slow down for three minutes to read this. ....... A group of
professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8
year-olds, "What does love mean?"

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have
imagined. See what you think:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint
her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time,
even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8

---

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4

---

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French
fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

---

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4

---

"Love is when my mommy makes tea for my daddy and she takes a sip
before giving it to him, to 'make sure' the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7

---

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of
kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.
My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8

---

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening
presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

---

"Love is when you tell a somone you like their shirt, then they wear
it everyday."

Noelle - age 7

---

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6

---

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked
at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."

Cindy - age 8

---

"My mommy loves me more than anybody .
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."

Clare - age 6

---

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of cake."

Elaine-age 5

---

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is
handsomer than Brad Pitt."

Chris - age 7

---

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4

:-)

---

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little
stars come out of you." (what an image)

Karen - age 7

---

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you
mean it, you should say it a lot because people forget."

Jessica - age 8

---

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked
about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an
elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's
yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy
said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God
is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is
simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they
may be needing this day! And may their life be full of your peace,
which transcends all understanding. Amen.

Within hours you caused a multitude of people to pray for other
people. Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your life.

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The Streets of a Holy Hindu City

mike-ace — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 19:04:36 GMT

Check out this website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4980453

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Krishna Followers Go on Hunger Strike against Expulsion

NityanandaRam — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 00:15:52 GMT

The conflict related to construction of Krishna Followers Temple gained momentum Saturday. Moscow authorities voiced intention to take out the allotment allocated for building the Vedic Culture Temple, Krishna followers responded by a hunger strike.
More than 500 people went on a long-term hunger strike Saturday, November 12, 2005, said Sergey Andreev, leader of the Moscow community of Krishna followers, in a move to preserve the allotment allocated in Moscow for the temple construction.

As a religious organization, Hare Krishna was officially acknowledged in Russia in 1988. Now the country has 106 registered communities of Krishna followers and over 300 parishes.

Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov sealed the ruling on constructing cultural premises for Krishna followers in Moscow in January 2004. The document sanctioned construction of the Vedic Center on the area of 1.05 hectares at 39 Leningrad Ave. to replace the two-store building demolished in Khoroshevkoe Avenue. To oppose construction, the orthodox followers staged a protest rally and vowed “to lie under bulldozers at the constriction site, “as this premise will desecrate Moscow,” they said.

As a result, Luzhkov called off his ruling on October 7. “We think the authorities may proceed with decisive actions to expel Indian and Moscow Vaishnavs from habitable land, in which they have invested a lot,” Andreev said. “We are truly concerned. We may be on the street deprived of even a temporarily temple.”

by www.kommersant.com

Russian Article as of Nov. 14, 2005

www.kommersant.com/page.asp

www.moscowtemple.org/

www.veda.ru/

proposed temple

www.veda.ru/

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All glories to Sri Radhastami !

krishnasharana — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 14:09:24 GMT

I wish all devotess a wonderful Radhastami, the divine birthday of Srimati Radha , beloved of Sri Krishna !
For some Radha-Katha: http://www.salagram.net/calendar-radha8.htm
Jay Jay SRI RADHEY !

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Advice on re-initiation - second inititiation

Devahotra — Sun, 07 Aug 2005 07:13:03 GMT

Hari bol please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. As a devotee who is being reinitiated following my former guru's departure from service in this asrama, and getting 2nd initiation, I would welcome any advice from anyone who has trod this path. I really want to feel spiritually prepared for this and cultivate genuine surrender of my anarthas to Guru and Gauranga.
yr servant deva

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Launch of the Sampradaya Sun

jahnava — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:04:05 GMT

On July 12th, 2005 the Sampradaya Sun began publication as a daily news website and independent reporting organization for the Vaisnava community.

http://www.harekrsna.com/sun

The Sampradaya Sun will serve as a full-service news venue, offering in-depth feature stories, fast publication of news and events submitted by the worldwide Vaisnava community, and philosophical editorial commentary from Sun editors and contributing writers.

The Sun provides real-time Blog and PodCast network feeds, which are streamed to the front page and presented in a digest for easy feed subscription. Readers will also enjoy the Sun Blogs, where contributing writers are given their own Blogspace for direct dialogue with readers about the story they’ve submitted. See our "About" and "Submit" pages for details.

We welcome your news contributions and look forward to serving you, for the pleasure of the Sampradaya Acaryas.

Hare Krsna!

Sun Editors

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Krsna prasadam ki jai!

jahnava — Sun, 08 May 2005 18:40:54 GMT

Dandavats. Last night, we posted a new section to the HareKrsna.com website, containing more than 2,000 prasadam recipes.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare | Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

www.harekrsna.com/practice/...adam/recipes/recipes.htm

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What is Bhakti Yoga ?

BhaktaJohn — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 02:23:29 GMT

Bhakti Yoga: the Yoga of Devotion

Bhakti Yoga is one of the four main yogic paths to enlightenment. Bhakti means “devotion” or “love” and this path contains various practices to unite the bhakta (Bhakti Yoga practitioner) with the Divine.

Bhakti Yoga is considered the easiest yogic path to master and the most direct method to experience the unity of mind, body and spirit. While Hatha Yoga requires a strong and flexible body, Raja Yoga requires a disciplined and concentrated mind, and Jnana Yoga requires a keen intellect, the only requirement for Bhakti Yoga is an open, loving heart. But Bhakti Yoga complements other paths of yoga well, and it is said that jnana (knowledge or wisdom) will dawn by itself when you engage in the devotional practices of Bhakti Yoga.

This deeply spiritual practice draws heavily on the Hindu pantheon of deities. Each of these deities is seen as representing a humanized aspect of the single Godhead or Brahman – much the same way the Christian saints represent specific attributes and qualities of God. The use of Hindu deities in Bhakti Yoga can be a large obstacle for Western practitioners, especially for those with a deeply religious background. But the use of the Hindu deities is not required for this practice – in fact, finding your own object(s) of devotion will be all the more effective in achieving yoga (union) with the Divine.

There are nine main practices of Bhakti Yoga that can be practiced independently or together. Each of these limbs creates a specific bhava (feeling) that appeals to different inner constitutions of practitioners.

The Nine Limbs of Devotion
1. Shravana – “listening” to the ancient scriptures, especially potent if told by a saint or genuine bhakta.
2. Kirtana – “singing” devotional songs, usually practiced in a call-and-response group format.
3. Smarana – “remembering” the Divine by constantly meditating upon its name and form.
4. Padasevana – “service at the feet” of the Divine, which incorporates the practice of karma yoga (selfless service) with bhakti (devotion).
5. Archana – the “ritual worship” of the Divine through practices such as puja (deity worship), and havan or homa (fire offering).
6. Vandana – the “prostration” before the image of one’s chosen image or representation of the Divine.
7. Dasya – the “unquestioning” devotion of the Divine involving the cultivation of serving the will of God instead of one’s own ego.
8. Sakhya – the “friendship” and relationship established between the Divine and the devotee.
9. Atmanivedana – the “self-offering” and complete surrender of the self to the Divine.

The most popular limb of Bhakti Yoga in the West is Kirtana (usually called Kirtan), with national and local Kirtan walas performing weekly in small to large cities. Bhakti Yoga can be practiced by itself or be integrated into other types of yoga or spiritual practices.

The benefits of Bhakti Yoga are immense, as Swami Sivananda writes, “Bhakti softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. The devotee is freed from the Samsaric wheel of births and deaths. He attains the immortal abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge”.

The ultimate goal in the practice of Bhakti yoga is to reach the state of rasa (essence), a feeling of pure bliss achieved in the devotional surrender to the Divine.

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 2 replies

Flying Jiva -- Article 1

FlyingJiva — Sun, 03 Apr 2005 05:22:27 GMT

The night was filled with bright moonlight. We were flying high above the Northern California coastline on our way to a small airport in southern Oregon. My First Officer and I sat relaxed and silent, admiring the beauty of the night sky. The seat belt sign was off and there was just an occasional bump in the air as we progressed northward. Everything was running smoothly, but normality was about end, quickly and quietly. Time for a moment would stand still. One of us knew Krsna. One of us did not.

Without warning, mid-horizon on the Northern night sky there appeared three magnificent, extremely bright, almost blinding lights shining from the heavens. They sat there peacefully and bold, white circles resembling a constellation like the belt of Orion -- only ten thousand times brighter and ten thousand times larger. A mere flash of time seemed like an eternity. It was as if the Lord were providing a mere glimpse of his beauty, and eternal time itself lasted forever in that instant.

As this spectacular light show came to a close, I lay back in my chair filled with peace and admiration for all the beautiful wonders Lord Krsna provides his devotees universally. My friend the First Officer, however, wasn’t so comfortable. As I turned my head to look at him, he looked as though he’d seen a ghost! His face was dark and full of fear. This miraculous moment had not only raised fear in my friend’s heart, it caused him to quickly become irrational

“Uh Uh Eric, Did you see that?!”, he said. “Oh My Gosh, Oh my God, did you see that?”, he said repeatedly. Perhaps he was right saying “Oh my God”. The Lord was exactly who he needed to be praying to. It was clear how frightened he’d become. My peaceful moment of ecstasy in admiration and chanting the Lord’s Name was rudely interrupted, and I spent the rest of my evening listening to my friend tell me how shocked and amazed he was at seeing this ‘lights in the sky’ event.

Who knows exactly what he saw in his mind, or what he experienced when his senses got so jangled? I suppose we all see different things when an event like this manifests. I saw the peace, love, and beauty the Lord provides for his devotees to look at in the sky. For me, it was a night of beauty and joy. But one of us knew Krsna. One of us did not.

In his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 9:9:47, Srila Prabhupada said:

“When passing through a mountainous region in an airplane, one may sometimes see a city in the sky with towers and palaces, or one may see similar things in a big forest. This is called a gandharva-pura, a phantasmagoria. This entire world resembles such a phantasmagoria, and every materially situated person has attachment for it:”

Because he does not know the Supreme Lord, the non-devotee has no information to help him make sense of such phantasmagoria. He is left to speculate as to the cause, and is likely to attribute the phenomenon to some nebulous, impersonal force. Recognizing the phenomenon as a thing he cannot control, and remaining attached to his desire to be God rather than surrender to God, he is left with a mental conception that leads to fear and bewilderment.

The devotee is so fortunate to be able to take shelter of the absolute truth, as instructed by the Spiritual Master and the revealed scriptures. In Srila Prabhupada’s purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 2:5:39 we read:

”This material world is only a shadow phantasmagoria of the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, and because it is a shadow it is never eternal; the variegatedness in the material world of duality (spirit and matter) cannot be compared to that of the spiritual world. Because of a poor fund of knowledge, less intelligent persons sometimes mistake the conditions of the shadow world to be equivalent to those of the spiritual world, and thus they mistake the Lord and His pastimes in the material world to be one with the conditioned souls and their activities.”

By the mercy of the Spiritual Master, we can understand that phantasmagoria like the lights in the sky are simply a perverted reflection of the spiritual world. Knowing the truth, we're relieved of all the fear and distraction that causes suffering for the non-devotees.

Haribol!

Flying Jiva

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 1 reply

The Wonderful Cow (well.... sort of....)

jahnava — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:41:01 GMT

This is an essay entitled "Cow" which was written by a student in the course of completing the "Indian Civil Services Examination". Supposedly, the student passed the exam. You have to love the gender blending description of this essay. :)

___________________________________________________________________________

CALCUTTA's Telegraph has got hold of an answer paper of a candidate at the recent UPSC examinations. The candidate has written an essay on the Indian cow:

"The cow is a successful animal. Also he is quadrupud, and because he is
female, he give milk,but will do so when he is got child.He is same like
God,sacred to Hindus and useful to man.But he has got four legs together.
Two are forward and two are afterwards.

"His whole body can be utilised for use. More so the milk. What can it do?
Various ghee, butter,cream, curd, why and the condensed milk and so forth.
Also he is useful to cobbler, watermans and mankind generally.

"His motion is slow only because he is of asitudinious species. Also his
other motion is much useful to trees, plants as well as making flat cakes in
hand and drying in the sun. Cow is the only animal that extricates his feeding
after eating. Then afterwards she chew with his teeth whom are situated in
the inside of the mouth. He is incessantly in the meadows in the grass.

"His only attacking and defending organ is the horn, specially so when he is
got child. This is done by knowing his head whereby he causes the weapons
to be paralleled to the ground of the earth and instantly proceed with great
velocity forwards.

"He has got tails also, but not like similar animals. It has hairs on the
other end of the other side. This is done to frighten away the flies which
alight on his cohoa body whereupon he gives hit with it.

The palms of his feet are soft unto the touch. So the grasses head is not
crushed. At night time have poses by looking down on the ground and he shouts
his eyes like his relatives, the horse does not do so.

This is the cow."

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 1 reply

Krsna Re-establishing the Parampara

jahnava — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:14:10 GMT

I would be grateful to hear your thoughts on this question:

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra there was a gathering of great sages who came to witness Bhismadeva’s passing, as he lie prostrate on a bed of arrows. There were many inconceivably elevated sages who were present on the planet at that time, and the list of those who attended Bhismadeva’s departure is astounding.

At Kurukshetra, Sri Krsna told Arjuna that he had come at that particular time and place in order to re-establish the parampara, because it had been broken. “…the Lord clearly tells Arjuna that He is making him the first receiver of a new parampara (disciplic succession) because the old succession was broken. It was the Lord’s wish, therefore, to establish another parampara in the same line of thought that was coming down from the sun-god to others, and it was His wish that His teaching would be distributed anew by Arjuna.” (BG Intro)

How do these two things relate? The parampara had been broken…. yet there were obviously many highly elevated Vaisnavas on the planet at that time, including Bhismadeva, who is one of the twelve great maha-jnanas (along with Brahma, Siva, Narada, Kapila, Kumara, etc.). “Bhismadeva was one of the twelve great authorities in preaching this cult of devotional service…”. (SB 1-9-9 P)

yours,
Jahnava

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 0 replies

Lord Nityananda

Ganges — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 21:23:48 GMT

The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are a shelter where one will get the soothing moonlight not only of one, but of millions of moons.

If the world wants to have real peace, it should take shelter of Lord Nityananda. Unless one takes shelter under the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, it will be very difficult for him to approach Radha-Krsna. If one actually wants to enter into the dancing party of Radha-Krsna, he must firmly catch hold of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 2 replies

Happy Gaura Purnima!!

jahnava — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 20:54:55 GMT

Dandavats to all the devotees on this most auspicious day! Here are a few nectar links to help you stay absorbed in Caitanya Mahaprabhu's golden moonglow:

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu:
http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/caitanya/caitanya.htm

Transcendental Art Gallery:- Sri Krsna Caitanya:
http://www.harekrsna.com/gallery/caitanya1-gallery.htm

Gaura Purnima Feast Menus
http://www.harekrsna.com/practice/prasadam/feasts/menus/gaura_purnima/gaura_purnima.htm

http://www.harekrsna.com/caitanya.pdf
"Sri Caitanya-Candramrta: The Nectar Moon of Sri Caitanya"

Lord Caitanya’s Tattwa and Disciplic Lineage:
http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/bmgs/caitanya/caitanya.htm

yours,
Jahnava

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 1 reply

What do you think of the websight?

FlyingJiva — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 05:17:28 GMT

After looking through the websight www.harekrsna.com , what do you feel you enjoy the most from the sight?

1. What are your first impressions?

2. Between the sight map and search engine what do you find the most helpful and imformative?

3. What kinds of content would you like to see that isn't yet in the sight?

4. Finally, if you could pop up a live chat box in the sight to talk to the editors to learn more about Krsna, is that something you'd use?

Thanks... Your comments are GRRRRRReatly appreciated..

Hare Bohl!

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 3 replies

What Faith were you raised and what do you believe now?

FlyingJiva — Wed, 02 Mar 2005 00:12:44 GMT

I was raised Christian and now I'm Krsna Conscious... Hmmm ... Sounds kinda similiar.

I love to talk philosophy... So let'st talk... :)

posted in www.harekrsna.com - 9 replies