SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Upadesamrta, Text Three
utsahan niscayad dhairyat
tat-tat-karma-pravartanat
sanga-tyagat sato vrtteh
sadbhir bhaktih prasidhyati

utsahat — by enthusiasm; niscayat — by confidence; dhairyat — by patience; tat-tat-karma — various activities favorable for devotional service; pravartanat — by performing; sanga-tyagat — by giving up the association of nondevotees; satah — of the great previous acaryas; vrtteh — by following in the footsteps; sadbhih — by these six; bhaktih — devotional service; prasidhyati — advances or becomes successful.

Translation

There are six principles favorable to the execution of pure devotional service: (1) being enthusiastic, (2) endeavoring with confidence, (3) being patient, (4) acting according to regulative principles [such as sravanam kirtanam visnoh smaranam – hearing, chanting and remembering Krsna], (5) abandoning the association of nondevotees, and (6) following in the footsteps of the previous acaryas. These six principles undoubtedly assure the complete success of pure devotional service.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada in The Nectar of Instruction give us this list in conjunction with this sloka;
The nine processes of devotional service are as follows: 1. Hearing the name and glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead  2. Chanting His glories  3. Remembering the Lord  4. Serving the Lord’s feet  5. Worshiping the Deity  6. Offering obeisances unto the Lord  7. Acting as the Lord’s servant  8. Making friends with the Lord  9. Surrendering oneself fully to the Lord.

These photo were taken at ISKCON Portland on April 16, 2014. H.H. Romapada Swami presided over the Initation Ceremony.

Here is a recording of his talk that day.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.7.29
tatropāya-sahasrāṇām
ayaṁ bhagavatoditaḥ
yad īśvare bhagavati
yathā yair añjasā ratiḥ

tatra — in that connection (getting out of the entanglement of material conditioning); upāya — of processes; sahasrāṇām — of many thousands; ayam — this; bhagavatā uditaḥ — given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yat — which; īśvare — to the Lord; bhagavati — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yathā — as much as; yaiḥ — by which; añjasā — quickly; ratiḥ — attachment with love and affection. 

Translation

Of the different processes recommended for disentanglement from material life, the one personally explained and accepted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be considered all-perfect. That process is the performance of duties by which love for the Supreme Lord develops.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada opens his purport thus; Among the linking processes that elevate one from bondage to material contamination, the one recommended by the Supreme Personality of Godhead should be accepted as the best. That process is clearly explained in Bhagavad-gītā, where the Lord says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja: “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me.” This process is the best because the Lord assures, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ: “I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.”

His lecture on this sloka can be heard on the San Francisco - 1967 page of this blog.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from prabhupadavani.org):

Tulasi Devi

JOURNAL:

I have been listening to a book by Praghosa dasa, "The Life of Tulasi Devi". It is read by Amal Bhakta. Here is the link to this wonderful audio presentation:
https://prabhupadavani.org/index.php/the-life-of-tulasi-devi/42-the-life-of-tulasi-devi

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta
Madhya 20.367
śaktyāveśāvatāra kṛṣṇera asańkhya gaṇana
dig-daraśana kari mukhya mukhya jana

śakti-āveśa-avatāra — incarnations especially empowered by the Lord; kṛṣṇera — of Lord Kṛṣṇa; asańkhya gaṇana — unlimited and innumerable; dik-daraśana kari — let Me describe some of them; mukhya mukhya jana — who are counted as the chief.

TRANSLATION

There are unlimited śaktyāveśa-avatāras of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Let Me describe the chief among them.

JOURNAL:

Today, at lunch, I listened to an extraordinary lecture by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada on Saktyavesa Avataras. It explained why the movement accepts Lord Jesus, among others. The talk was given on New Year's Eve of 1966, the first year of the movement, and I highly recommend it! I have posted it on the Audio Offerings page of this blog and I hope all my readers will take the time to listen to this bit of advanced philosophy from our founder.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 5 Text 12
yuktah karma-phalam tyaktva
santim apnoti naisthikim
ayuktah kama-karena
phale sakto nibadhyate

yuktah--one who is engaged in devotional service; karma-phalam--the results of all activities; tyaktva--giving up; santimn--perfect peace; apnoti--achieves; naisthikim--unflinching; ayuktah--one who is not in Krsna consciousness; kama-karena--for enjoying the result of work; phale--in the result; saktah--attached; nibadhyate--becomes entangled.

TRANSLATION

The steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me; whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada ends his purport with this statemnt; This is the secret of Krsna consciousness--realization that there is no existence besides Krsna is the platform of peace and fearlessness.

On this, the twelfth anniversary of the attack by terrorist on the World Trade Centers in New York (where Srila Prabhupada started his work), I invite all my readers to turn to the Audio Offerings page of this blog and listen to Sri Satsvarupa's das Goswami's talk on how we should respond to terrorism.

New Audio of Srila Prabhupada from 1977

Today the Bhaktivedanta Archives released many new MP3 files of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivendanta Srila Prabhupada from 1977. Their plan is to continue releasing audio of him while working backward (next will be 1976, then 1975, etc.) until all audio files have been released. To hear these new files, which include two new lectures on Bhagavad Gita 7.1, click on the link below:

http://www.prabhupadavani.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=660:oat-table-1&catid=79:original-audio-transcriptions&Itemid=173

Bill Clinton Gets a Gita

On Thursday 14 June 2012 ISKCON devotee, Bhakta Brian, dressed as a devotee, was out distributing books on a crowded sidewalk on Santa Monica Boulevard in Santa Monica, California when all of a sudden former US President Bill Clinton chose him out of the crowd, walked up to him, shook his hand, and gave him a warm hug.

Listen now to an interview with Bhakta Brian how he gave the Bhagavad-gita to this world famous celebrity:



(Originaly published by news.iskcon.com)

Fear Over Love

by Satsvarupa das Goswami

I think this is it, but
I'm not sure it sounds
like "Ornithology." *

They turn to the master
and your Higher Power (as
in Twelve Steps) will help you climb out
of the anxiety gutter.

Don't be afraid your
girl will leave you and you'll
be with God.

O God, I want You as
my lover but I don't know
if I'll ever get that far.

They say your to love to overcome fear
is through warm buckets
of water.

And be a tilaked
man who attacks
the canvas with a gentle
passion. Let the
mobiles hang gracefully
like men on Mars and Svarga
and in Yudhisthira's court.

* "Ornithology", a jazz composition by Charlie Parker.
Here is a link to hear the tune; http://archive.org/details/Ornithology

(from When the Saints Go Marching In, 2006)

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 2 Text 20
na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire

na--never; jayate--takes birth; mriyate--dies; va--either; kadacit--at any time (past, presentor future); na--never; ayam--this; bhutva--having come into being; bhavita--will come to be; va--or; na--not; bhuyah--or is again coming to be; ajah--unborn; nityah--eternal; sasvatah--permanent; ayam--this; puranah--the oldest; na--never; hanyate--is killed; hanyamane--being killed; sarire--the body.

TRANSLATION

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.

JOURNAL:

On the sidebar, under More Helpful Sites I have included a link to some Podcasts about the Mahabharata. They are 15 to 20 minutes long and give an abridged outline of the book along with much useful information. There are 100 podcasts in all.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 18 Text 74
sanjaya uvaca
ity aham vasudevasya
parthasya ca mahatmanah
samvadam imam asrausam
adbhutam roma-harsanam

sanjayah uvaca--Sanjaya said; iti--thus; aham--I; vasudevasya--of Krsna; parthasya--and Arjuna; ca--also; maha-atmanah--of the great soul; samvadam--discussion; imam--this; asrausam--have heard; adbhutam--wonderful; roma-harsanam--making the hair stand on end.

TRANSLATION

Sanjaya said: Thus have I heard the conversation of two great souls, Krsna and Arjuna. And so wonderful is that message that my hair is standing on end.

JOURNAL:

I have added an audio conversation between Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison to the Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison page of this blog. This conversation does not appear in the Bhaktivedanta Archives.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

Here is a talk by His Grace Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu
given on Christmas Day 2005

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 16 Text 20
asurim yonim apanna
mudha janmani janmani
mam aprapyaiva kaunteya
tato yanty adhamam gatim

asurim--demoniac; yonim--species; apannah--gaining; mudhah--the foolish; janmani janmani--in birth after birth; mam--Me; aprapya--without achieving; eva--certainly; kaunteya--O son of Kunti; tatah--thereafter; yanti--go; adhamam--condemned; gatim--destination.

TRANSLATION

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kunti, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

JOURNAL:

Yesterday I posted another audio track in the Krishna Vrindavan Lila page. It has slokas from Srimad Bhagavatam, tenth canto, glorifying Krishna's flute and Srila Rupa Goswami's "Krishna Namastakam", among other wonderful verses. It runs about thirty minutes. I hope you will check it out.

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Sri Tulasi-arati, Text One
namo namah tulasi krishna-preyasi namo namah
radha-krishna-seva pabo ei abilashi

TRANSLATION

O Tulasi, beloved of Krishna, I bow before you again and again. My desire is to obtain the service of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

JOURNAL:

Click the link below to hear Sri Tulasi-arati:

http://www.archive.org/details/DailyTempleProgram2

Damodarastakam and the Month of Kartik

(Photos from LAlive)

In the Month of Kartik one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recite the prayer known as Damodarastaka, which has been spoken by the sage Satyavrata and which attracts Lord Damodara.
(Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa 2.16.198)

You can hear Damodarastakam here in the Audio Offerings section.
You can use the link below to see the words and download the song.

http://www.archive.org/details/Damodarastakam

The Pilgrims Progress: Radhanath Swami on the Dennis Miller show

Here is a nice link that was posted on one of my favorite blogs:

The Pilgrims Progress: Radhanath Swami on the Dennis Miller show

I highly recommend this blog. Gauranga Kishore Das is a very good writer and comments on a variety of subjects.

All glories to the devotees! Hari Bol!

The Panca-Tattva

Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Nityananda Sri Advaita

Gadadhara Srivasdi Gaura Bhakta Vrnda

This was one of the first mantras I learned after the maha-mantra. After years of saying it I realized that I could not tell you who was who in this picture. Sure, I knew Sri Chaitanya is in the middle and that Sri Nityananda was probably the guy dressed in blue, but that was far as it went.

So, the answer is, from left to right;
Sri Advaita - Sri Nityananda - Sri Gouranga - Sri Gadahara - Sri Srivasa.
And according the second version Sri Nityananda is not in blue. So, I'm attaching the names from the second picture to the images of the first, which is the published version (BG 1983 edition). Also I know that Sri Advaita was the oldest of Sri Gouranga's devotees. And there you go.

Here is a link for the audio book Chaitanya Bhagavata by Vrindavana dasa Thakura; an excellent biography of Lord Chaitanya and His devotees:

http://www.archive.org/details/chaitanya-bhagavata

C.S. Lewis - Apologist

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

"Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable."

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
-C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis is known these days for his children's stories, The Chronicles of Narnia. People seem to have forgotten that he was one of the greatest Christian Apologists of the modern era. He taught at Oxford University and, for many years, had a radio show on the B.B.C. that was very popular. Most of the episodes are now collected in small books that can be hard to find although some, like his famous Mere Christianity, are still in print and selling very well.

Mr. Lewis had a huge impact on me as a young man. I own many of his books and always wished that I could hear some of those old radio shows. One day I sat down to search for them and found out that only one episode had survived. In fact, there are only two recordings of his voice that I could find.

So, in tribute to the only other philosopher besides Srila Prabhupada whose books I have collected, here is the only surviving episode of Beyond Personality. It originally aired on March 21, 1944. The talks in this series were collected in a small book by the same name and published in 1945.