Take time to offer a Lamp in Kartik Month

Posted by dinesh

Take time to offer a Lamp in Kartik Month

Posted: 12 Nov 2012 04:23 PM PST

(Sri Radha Damodarji at Sri Vrindavan)
Just as there is no yuga equal to Satya-yuga, no scripture equal to the Vedas, and no place of pilgrimage equal to the Ganges, so there is no month equal to Kartika. Even unserious persons who execute devotional service according to the regulative principles during the month of Karttika, and within the jurisdiction of Mathura (or Vrindavana) in India, are very easily awarded the Lord's personal service". During the Kartika month millions of devotees worship Damodara Krishna with ghee lamps and devotional bhajans, glorifying His playful childhood pastime of stealing yogurt. (H.H. Mahanidhi Swami)
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"When one offers a lamp during the month of Karttika, his sins in many thousands and millions of births perish in half an eye blink."

"Please hear the glories of offering a lamp during pleasing to Lord Kesava. O King of brahmanas, a person who offers a lamp in this way will not take birth again in this world."
"By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one attains a pious result ten million times greater than the result obtained by bathing at Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse or by bathing in the river Narmada during a lunar eclipse."
"O Tiger among sages! For a person who thus offers a lamp burning with ghee or sesame oil, what is the use of performing an asvasmedha-yajia? "
"Even if there are no mantras, no pious deeds, and no purity, everything becomes perfect when a person offers a lamp during the month of Karttika."
"A person who during the month of Karttika offers a lamp to Lord Kesava has already performed all yajnas and bathing in all holy rivers. "
"The ancestors say: When someone in our family pleases Lord Kesava by offering to Him a lamp during the month of Karttika, then, by the mercy of the Lord who holds the Sudarsana-cakra in His Hand, we will all attain liberation."
"By offering a lamp during the month of Karttika one burns away a collection of sins as big as Mount Meru or Mount Mandara. Of this there is no doubt."
"A person who offers a lamp during the month of Karttika attains a result that cannot be obtained with even a hundred yajnas or a hundred pilgrimages."
"Even a person addicted to all sins and averse to all pious deeds who somehow offer a lamp during Karttika becomes purified. Of this there is no doubt."
"O Narada, no sin exists anywhere in the three worlds that will not be purified by offering a lamp to Lord Kesava during Karttika."
"A person who offers a lamp to Lord Krishna during Karttika attains the eternal spiritual world where there is no suffering."
"As fire is present in all wood and may be extracted by friction, so piety is always present in the offering of a lamp during the month of Karttika. Of this there is no doubt."
"O King of brahmanas, when someone offers Him a lamp on the full-moon day of the month of Karttika, Lord Krishna, finding that He does not have sufficient money to repay that gift, gives Himself in exchange for that lamp."
"One who offers a steady lamp to Lord Hari during the month of Karttika enjoys pastimes in Lord Hari's splendid spiritual world."
Even one who never performs religious rituals or even the worst sinner will surely be purified by this offering. O Narada, in the three worlds there is no sin that can stand before this Kartika dipa. In fact, by presenting this dipa before Lord Vasudeva, the eternal abode can be reached without obstruction.
"All the results acquired by donating grains during pitri-paksha or by distributing water in the hot months of Jyeshtha or Ashadha are easily gained in the course of Kartika merely by reviving (relighting) a dipa offered by someone else."
All glories to beautiful Lordship Sri Sri Radha Damodarji!
All glories to Kartik Masa!

"In Kartik month, after bathing in the morning, one should worship Lord Damodara. At night, one should light brilliant lamps filled with either ghee or sesame-seed oil, and place them in these places - in the Lord's temple, around the base of tulasi plants, and in the sky. During the month of Kartika, one should eat only vegetarian foodstuffs and Bhagavan's prasad remnants. There should be incessant harinama-kirtana and smarana.The sole activity to be done during the observance of Damodara-vrata is the worship of Sri Sri Radha-Damodara." – Srila Bhaktivinod Thakura

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Austerity is an integral part of our life

Posted by dinesh

Collecting woods from the forest to assist the spiritual master in performing yagya is not an easy job. The disciple has to go through a lot of difficulties during his collection of wood inside the forest for days. Spiritual or material activity, nothing is possible to attain without sacrifice and austerity.

The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Himself did this menial service of collecting woods to His spiritual master by going into the forest. On one occasion some firewood was needed, but since it was so late in the day, with dark clouds overhead, no-one was willing to venture into the forest. When the situation came to the attention of Krsna and Balarama, they at once left to perform the task without being requested. Having penetrated deep into the forest, they lost their way, and were thus obliged to spend the night there, stranded by a heavy storm.

O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this life: what then of the next? - BG#4.31

The house holders sacrifice the sense objects into the fire of senses according to religious principles.

Yours

Dinesh

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Srila Prabhupada in cowherd boy mood

Posted by dinesh

From: Bhakti Vikasa Swami

One day, while Prabhupada was sitting in his room receiving his massage, he
began talking and laughing. As he sat on the floor with one leg tucked under
his body and one leg outstretched before him, he told the two or three
devotees present how Krsna, carrying the lunch His mother had packed for
Him, would go to the forest with His cowherd boyfriends, who were also
carrying lunches from home. Krsna and His friends would all sit together
sharing their lunch, and Krsna always had the best laddus and kachauris.
Prabhupada's eyes flashed, and he rubbed his hands together, smiling. "I
simply want to go to Krsnaloka, so I can have some of Krsna's laddu and
kachauris. I do not have any great diversion from this. I simply want to go
there so that I can enjoy eating laddus and kachauris with Krsna and the
cowherd boys." Opening his eyes widely, he glanced at Devananda, who was
massaging him, and at the others in the room. "Oh," he said to them, "if you
will give me laddus and kachauris, then I will bless you."

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SPL 7-2: Opening a Temple in Los Angeles, 1968

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Yours
Dinesh
Blog:http://dinesh-krsna.blogspot.com

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This is the person we have been competing with for millions of lives

Posted by dinesh

Krishna says He is the enjoyer, Bhoktaram yagya tapasam, but we are not able to digest that. He says He is the friend of all living entities, but we say we have such and such and such friends. He says he is the proprietor of all the planetary systems and the whole cosmic manifestation, we say I am the owner of this and that and that and this.

This is the competition that's going on from time immemorial.

Yours
Dinesh

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