PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from funzypics.com):

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from iskconnews.org):

Anuttama Dasa, Minister of ISKCON Communications, joined Catholic dignitaries from the Vatican at the first Hindu-Catholic dialogue in the United States.
It was held in the Washington, D.C. area from May 19-24.

JOURNAL:

When we have the occasion to be present at the place of worship of other religionists at the time of their worship, we should stay there in a respectful mood, contemplating thus: 'Here is being worshipped my adorable highest entity, God in a different form than that of mine. Due to my practice of a different kind, I cannot thoroughly comprehend this system of theirs. But seeing it, I am feeling a greater attachment for my own system. I bow down with prostration before His emblem as I see here and I offer my prayer to my Lord who has adopted this different emblem that he may increase my love towards Him . . .

-Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is -
Chapter 2 Text 40
nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti
pratyavāyo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trāyate mahato bhayāt

na — there is not; iha — in this yoga; abhikrama — in endeavoring; nāśaḥ — loss; asti — there is; pratyavāyaḥ — diminution; na — never; vidyate — there is; su-alpam — a little; api — although; asya — of this; dharmasya — occupation; trāyate — releases; mahataḥ — from very great; bhayāt — danger.

TRANSLATION

In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.

JOURNAL:

In his purport Srila Prabhupada writes; One percent done in Kṛṣṇa consciousness bears permanent results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two percent, whereas in material activity without a hundred percent success there is no profit. Ajāmila performed his duty in some percentage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but the result he enjoyed at the end was a hundred percent, by the grace of the Lord. There is a nice verse in this connection in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.17):

tyaktvā sva-dharmaḿ caraṇāmbujaḿ harer

bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi

yatra kva vābhadram abhūd amuṣya kiḿ

ko vārtha āpto 'bhajatāḿ sva-dharmataḥ

"If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work, what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his material activities perfectly?"
Or, as the Christians say, "What profiteth a man if he gain the whole world yet suffers the loss of his eternal soul?"

Sometimes, while chanting my japa, I feel like I am getting nowhere; just spinning my wheels. It is at times like these I try to remember slokas such as the one above. In their remembrance I find strength to continue; hope as I push ahead.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK (from sdgonline.org):

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

All Glories to Srila Prabhupada

Take, for example, Christian religion. They accept God: "God created this," the beginning of Bible. That's a fact. So the God consciousness is there. "God is great," the God consciousness there. Now these Christmas holidays you have begun in your country. Throughout the whole month of December you'll observe nice festivals, festivities. Why? Where it began? God consciousness. Lord Christ he came to give you God consciousness, and in his relationship these festivities are going on. It may be degraded in another form. The beginning is God consciousness, but we have lost it.

Srila Prabhupada, December 2, 1968

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:

MERRY CHRISTMAS

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 10 Text 40
nanto 'sti mama divyanam
vibhutinam parantapa
esa tuddesatah prokto
vibhuter vistaro maya

na--nor; antah--a limit; asti--there is; mama--My; divyanam--of the divine; vibhutinam--opulences; parantapa--O conqueror of the enemies; esah--all this; tu--but; uddesatah--as examples; proktah--spoken; vibhuteh--of opulences; vistarah--the expanse; maya--by Me.

TRANSLATION

O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences.

PURPORT

As stated in the Vedic literature, although the opulences and energies of the Supreme are understood in various ways, there is no limit to such opulences; therefore not all the opulences and energies can be explained. Simply a few examples are being described to Arjuna to pacify his inquisitiveness.

JOURNAL:

This purport reminds me that Srila Prabhupada accepted Jesus as the Son of God and the Catholic church as the true Christian church because of their "parampara" system of Popes.

Bhakti-yoga means connecting ourselves with Krsna, God, and becoming His eternal associates. Bhakti-yoga cannot be applied to any other objective; therefore in Buddhism, for instance, there is no bhakti-yoga, because they do not recognize the Supreme Lord as the supreme objective. Christians, however, practice bhakti-yoga when they worship Jesus Christ, because they are accepting Him as the son of God and are therefor accepting God. Unless one accepts God, there is no question of bhakti-yoga. Christianity, therefor, is also a form of Vaisnavism, because God is recognized.

-His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
from - The Path of Perfection

The Assumption of Mary

Roman Catholics celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today. This is a day of obligation celebrated by fasting and the chanting of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. Srila Prabhupada has this to say about the rosary:

Therefore, even if you accept designations like "Hindu," "Christian," or "Muhammadan," if you simply chant the name of God found in your own scriptures, you will attain the spiritual platform. Human life is meant for self-realization—to learn how to love God. That is the actual beauty of man. Whether you discharge this duty as a Hindu, a Christian, or a Muhammadan, it doesn't matter—but discharge it!

Father Emmanuel: I agree.

Srila Prabhupäda [pointing to a string of 108 meditation beads]:
We always have these beads, just as you have your rosary. You are chanting, but why don't the other Christians also chant? Why should they miss this opportunity as human beings?

Science of Self Realization - Page 137

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 3 Text 14
annad bhavanti bhutani
parjanyad anna-sambhavah
yajnad bhavati parjanyo
yajnah karma-samudbhavah

annat--from grains; bhavanti--grow; bhutani--the material bodies; parianyat--from rains; anna--of food grains; sambhavah--production; yajnat--from the performance of sacrifice; bhavati--becomes possible; parjanyah--rain; yajnah--performance of yajna; karma--prescribed duties; samudbhavah--born of.

TRANSLATION

All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.

JOURNAL:

Srila Prabhupada reminds us in his purport; When Lord Krsna is worshiped, the demigods, who are different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshiped; therefore there is no separate need to worship the demigods.

There was a saying back in the sixties among the "Jesus Freaks"; Praise God and please pass the potatoes!

Amazing Grace

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Prasada-sevaya
from Bhaktivinoda Thakura's
Gitavali

1) bhai-re!
sarira abidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal,
jibe phele bisaya-sagore
ta'ra madhye jihva ati, lobhamoy sudurmati
ta'ke jeta kathina somsare

2) krsna baro doyamoy, karibare jihva jay,
swa-prasad-anna dilo bhai
sei annamrta khao, radha-krsna-guna gao,
preme dako caitanya-nitai

TRANSLATION

O brothers! This material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a network of paths to death. The senses throw the soul into this ocean of material sense enjoyment and, of all the senses, the tongue is most voracious and uncontrol-lable; it is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world. O brothers! Lord Krsna is very kind to us and has given us such nice prasada, just to control the tongue. Now let us take this prasada to our full satisfaction and glorify Their Lordships, Sri Sri Radha and Krsna and, in love, call for the help of Lord Caitanya and Prabhu Nityananda.

JOURNAL:

Growing up Christian, my family said grace before every meal. We said it before we ate whither our meal was taken in private or in public. My father taught me it was a great sin not to offer back to God what God had given you.

We memorized these prayers. Sometimes we sang them. My Jewish friend taught me the one his family used, as did others. I know one for little kids that is simple, loud, and fun: "GOD IS GREAT! GOD IS GOOD! THANK YOU GOD, FOR THE FOOD! YEA - GOD!"

extra Picture of the Week (from news.iskcon.com):

For three years in a row, the Hare Krishna devotees from around London have been participating in the St. Patricks Day parade. Although it may not necessarily be a Vaishnava festival, it is a great opportunity to share the Holy Name with the thousands of people who participate or watch the parade.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 1 Text 25
bhisma-drona-pramukhatah
sarvesam ca mahi-ksitam
uvaca partha pasyaitan
samavetan kurun iti


bhisma--Grandfather Bhisma; drona--the teacher Drona; pramukhatah--in front of; sarvesam--all; ca--also; mahi-ksitam--chiefs of the world; uvaca--said; partha--O son of Prtha; pasya--just behold; etan--all of them; samavetan--assembled; kurun--the members of the Kuru dynasty; iti--thus.

TRANSLATION

In the presence of Bhisma, Drona and all the other chieftains of the world, the Lord said, Just behold, Partha, all the Kurus assembled here.

JOURNAL:

In his lecture on this sloka (7-20-1973, London) Srila Prabhupada discusses how Sañjaya could see what was happening on the battlefield. I mentioned this to my Catholic friend and he pointed out a verse in the bible which reads, "... 'The Israelite prophet Elisha can tell the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.'" (2 Kings 6:12, N.A.B.)

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 1 Text 24
sanjaya uvaca
evam ukto hrsikeso
gudakesena bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthapayitva rathottamam

sanjayah uvaca--Sanjaya said; evam--thus; uktah--addressed; hrsikesah--Lord Krsna; gudakesena--by Arjuna; bharata--O descendant of Bharata; senayoh--of the armies; ubhayoh--both; madhye--in the midst; sthapayitva--placing; ratha-uttamam--the finest chariot.

TRANSLATION

Sanjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Krsna drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.

JOURNAL:

Today is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph in the Catholic faith. Not a word is recorded in the bible from this "foster father" of Lord Jesus. Unlike St. Patrik, people take this saint's day seriously by fasting and with prayer.

SLOKA OF THE WEEK:

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.13.17
tair vañcito hamsa-kulam samāvisann
arocayan śīlam upaiti vānarān
taj-jāti-rāsena sunirvrtendriyah
parasparodvīksana-vismrtāvadhih

taih — by them (the cheaters and pretenders, the so-called yogīs, svāmīs, incarnations and gurus); vañcitah — being cheated; hamsa-kulam — the association of great paramahamsas, or devotees; samāvisan — contacting; arocayan — not being satisfied with; śīlam — their behavior; upaiti — approaches; vānarān — the monkeys, which are all debauchees with no good character; tat-jāti-rāsena — by sense gratification in the association of such debauchees; sunirvrta-indriyah — being very satisfied with getting the opportunity of sense gratification; paraspara — of one another; udvīksana — by seeing the faces; vismrta — who has forgotten; avadhih — the end of life.

TRANSLATION

Being cheated by them, the living entity in the forest of the material world tries to give up the association of these so-called yogīs, svāmīs and incarnations and come to the association of real devotees, but due to misfortune he cannot follow the instructions of the spiritual master or advanced devotees; therefore he gives up their company and again returns to the association of monkeys who are simply interested in sense gratification and women. He derives satisfaction by associating with sense gratifiers and enjoying sex and intoxication. In this way he spoils his life simply by indulging in sex and intoxication. Looking into the faces of other sense gratifiers, he becomes forgetful and thus approaches death.

JOURNAL:

Today is Saint Patrick's Day. Here in the United States millions of people will go get drunk. Normally, a day set aside for a Catholic saint is observed by fasting but this poor fellow is celebrated by green beer and craziness. Thus, I thought this sloka was particularly appropriate.

SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 18 Text 43
sauryam tejo dhrtir daksyam yuddhe capy apalayanam danam isvara-bhavas ca ksatram karma svabhava-jam

sauryam--heroism; tejah--power; dhrtih--determination; daksyam--resourcefulness; yuddhe--in battle; ca--and; api--also; apalayanam--not fleeing; danam--generosity; isvara--of leadership;bhavah--thenature; ca--and; ksatram--of a ksatriya; karma--duty; svabhava-jam--born of his own nature.

TRANSLATION

Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas.

JOURNAL:

Today the Roman Catholics celebrate the "Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus".

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 17 Text 24
tasmad om ity udahrtya
yajna-dana-tapah-kriyah
pravartante vidhanoktah
satatam brahma-vadinam

tasmat--therefore; om--beginning with om; iti--thus; udahrtya--indicating; yajna--of sacrifice; dana--charity; tapah--and penance; kriyah--performances; pravartante--begin; vidhana-uktah--according to scriptural regulation; satatam--always; brahma-vadinam--of the transcendentalists.

TRANSLATION

Therefore, transcendentalists undertaking performances of sacrifice, charity and penance in accordance with scriptural regulations begin always with om, to attain the Supreme.

JOURNAL:

During Lent, Catholics practice sacrifice, penance and alms giving. This is generally done by not eating meat on Fridays and holy days. The money saved by not buying meat is then given to the poor. Many a priest has asked his congregation to continue these practices year round, and some denominations, such as the Franciscans whose main role in the church is to work for social justice, push their practitioners to become vegetarians as a lifestyle. Once again I am amazed at the similarities between the religions.

I have added a new video to the "Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison" page of this blog.