Bhoga Offerings - Pongal, Dried Mango, Okra, Fryums, Apple, Mango Juice

From: "Bhakti Vikasa Swami" 

Rupa Gosvami Dasa summarizes Srila Prabhupada's teachings on rural
communities:

Rural communities are meant for cultivating Krsna consciousness. Devotees
should lead a simple, self-sufficient life, totally independent of
materialistic civilization. The way of life to follow is that of Krsna in
Vrndavana.

Self-sufficiency comes from protecting cows, bulls, and oxen, and from the
ecological cultivation of land. Self-sufficiency should be total: food
clothing, medicine, construction materials, and so on.

Each devotee needs to work 120 days a year to guarantee the community's self
sufficiency. The remaining time is for Krsna conscious programs.

Work should be accomplished without having to travel great distances.

Commercial agriculture is not encouraged. If there is surplus production
without additional effort, then sell or distribute as prasadam.

Devotees should travel in ox carts for ten miles in all directions, bringing
neighbors books, prasadam, and the holy name.

Machinery and electricity are not necessary, but may be used if they don't
demand a big effort for their acquisition and maintenance.

From BTG #31-02, 1997

--------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an email to:
BVKS.Sanga-Owner@pamho.net

Living As Krsna Lived

View this email in your browser Dearest Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obeisances in the dust of your lotus feet. All glories to you. As each year passes, it becomes more difficult for me to observe and celebrate the anniversary of your departure from this world. When you left I was in the infancy of my spiritual life. My eyes were just opening to the transcendental truths about the Lord which you so kindly shared with us. But what can a child understand about the Absolute truth? My attachment was to you and you alone. You authorized such sentiments when you sat up in your bed in New York's Beth Israel Hospital in 1967 and said, "I don't know Krsna. I only know my Guru Maharaja." It is only now, thirty-five years later, that I have obtained, by your mercy, a tiny but precious attraction to Sri Krsna, His name, His fame, His associates and this land, His most beloved Sri Vrindavan Dhama. For that I am very grateful. But I will be honest; my strongest attachment is still to you and you alone. How could it be otherwise? You are my connection to Krsna. Through service to you, I serve Him. Your instructions are always the foremost thing in my mind. You told me personally: "Preach boldly and have faith in the holy names." That one instruction gave birth to all the good fortune in my life and will continue to maintain me until my final breath. In pursuit of that order, I have in turn instructed my own disciples to do the same; together, we, along with our entire ISKCON movement, are trying our best to spread the glories of the Holy Names far and wide. If there is any lamentation in my life, it is simply that as old age approaches I see there is still so much service to be done, but so little time in which to accomplish it. "Your instructions are always the foremost thing in my mind." "You told me personally: 'Preach boldly and have faith in the holy names.'" Nevertheless, there remains the deep satisfaction that comes from seeing countless people all over the world touched by the mercy of your divine grace through the service of your faithful followers. And that is true even here in Sri Vrindavan Dhama. The other day our parikrama party visited a remote village in Vraja. As we entered the village a farmer noticed us and called out, "Jai Prabhupada, Jai Prabhupada! Jai Prabhupada!" as he loaded his bullock cart with cow dung. Others villagers who were nearby heard his cries, and also called out loudly "Prabhupada! Prabhupada! Prabhupada!" It was like a transcendental chorus and it was music to my ears. How wonderful it is that you, the one who made Vrindavan famous throughout the world, are honored and remembered by those who live here even now. Later that day, a school teacher in the same village invited me into his humble home. It was nothing more than a ramshackle dwelling with a few rooms and courtyard that had in it three cows and an old buffalo. As we entered a dusty room I was shocked to see a full set of your English Srimad Bhagavatams resting on a spotlessly clean shelf. Noting my surprise the schoolteacher beamed and said, "I only read your spiritual master's books. Whatever I know about Vrindavan I have learned from him." Standing there, I was so proud to be your disciple. As we were leaving the village, another man noticed us and said to his friend, "Who are they?" The friend replied, "They are Vraja-vasis from Rama Reti." He didn't call us as foreigners; he identified as genuine Vraja-vasis. I can't think of anything more honourable than being called a Vraja-vasi, especially by a Vraja-vasi. Thank you Srila Prabhupada for bringing us here to Vrindavan, our eternal home, where, by your mercy, we are embraced by the local people. It would not be difficult for me to stay here for the rest of my life. In fact, you have authorized it, for you have written: "According to the varnasrama institution, one has to retire from family life in middle age: pancasordhvam vanam vrajet. One should voluntarily retire from family life at the age of fifty and go to Vrindavan or a forest. This is recommended by Srila Prahlada Maharaja." [Srimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.5] Of course, I know it's too early for me to retire. Your instruction to me to preach remains intact. Even if it means defying the laws of nature, I will try to increase my preaching a thousand-fold as each year passes. And why not? You did it. At the advanced age of sixty-nine, you took on the greatest challenge of bringing Krsna consciousness to the west. May I follow in your illustrious footsteps! In the Krsna consciousness movement our stated goal is to one day, with purified hearts, see the Lord face to face again. I hope I am not breaking with tradition by saying that my cherished goal is to once again see you, my beloved Lord and master, face to face. Having your darsan again will naturally mean seeing Krsna, for in the spiritual world, I will serve you in your service to Him. That will be my greatest pleasure and my greatest treasure. But it seems such a long time to have to wait. Fortunately I sometimes see you in dreams. You once told your disciple Hayagriva that although most dreams are simply functions of the mind, dreams of the spiritual master are of spiritual significance. Recently I dreamt I was chanting softly outside your room one morning somewhere near the seaside. At one point you came outside wearing only a gamcha and said, "I am going to take my bath." Nervously I said, "May I come with you Srila Prabhupada?" You nodded and I followed you down to the beach. Reaching the shore, I saw the sea was somewhat rough so I said, "Srila Prabhupada, may I accompany you into the water to assist you?" Again you nodded slightly and I held your hand as you entered the water. As the first waves crashed against you, I held you firmly and you quickly splashed some water on yourself. Shortly thereafter you indicated we should leave. We came out of the water and I helped dry you off and then handed you your clothes. When you were dressed, I gave you your glasses and finally your cane and we started walking back to your room. A few meters from the house, you stopped and turned to me. "You did well," you said. "Thank you for your service." I was too embarrassed to reply. Then you said, "If you could have one wish granted, what would it be?" I thought for a moment and replied, "I've always wanted to be your personal servant, Srila Prabhupada." "Alright," you said. "You can travel with me. Your service will be to prepare my bath, cook for me and carry my bags." Stunned I said, "When can I begin?" You smiled and said, "When your preaching work is finished." Srila Prabhupada, it was only a dream, but then again, it was a dream about you and thus it was very significant. And if ever a dream were to come true, I pray it will be that one. Until then I will continue with my service here, faithfully following your instruction to: "Preach boldly and have faith in the holy names." Your eternal servant, Indradyumna Swami To download PDF version of this Diary Chapter please click here. www.travelingmonk.com indradyumna.swami@gmail.com Audio Lectures: www.narottam.com Facebook: Indradyumna Swami Copyright © 2012 ISKCON, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to Diary of a Traveling Monk by Indradyumna Swami Our mailing address is: ISKCON 233 Marylinn Drive Milpitas, CA 95035 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list   update subscription preferences

I don't know Krsna. I only know my Guru Maharaja-Diary of a Traveling Monk, Volume 13, Chapter 5

It was tasty not too hot or too sour. Somehow the Rasam powder my mother gave me 7 months ago has been with me in different transit all the way from India, New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Omaha.

Slept after I came back from office but I know there was rice and potato fry. Woke up hungry at midnight and then did this. Rasam is so satisfying and helpful to digest at night times.

No opulent food recipes can match the simple but fulfilling taste of rasam with plain rice.

My first tasty Rasam here

The Lord is awaiting on all of us to awaken and see that He loves us always

By Giriraj Swami - on Srila Prabhupada disappearance day

(Adapted from a talk given in Houston, November 1, 2008)

We have gathered at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada on the auspicious occasion of his disappearance festival. When we were with His Divine Grace in Surat on his guru maharaja's disappearance day, he remarked that on the absolute platform there is no difference between the appearance and disappearance of the spiritual master—just like the sunrise and sunset, both are beautiful.

Srila Prabhupada always glorified Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he instructed everyone to take shelter of Krsna. Many people who came in touch with Srila Prabhupada were struck by this fact. George Harrison, for example, said that so many svamis and gurus tell their followers to surrender to them but that Srila Prabhupada always said, "Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead; you should surrender to Him."

Once, a new devotee approached Srila Prabhupada and said, "Srila Prabhupada, I can trust you; I can surrender to you. But I can't trust your representatives. I can't surrender to them, because I fear they may cheat me." And Srila Prabhupada replied, "Don't surrender to me either. I may also cheat you. Surrender to Krsna."

aho baki yam stana-kala-kutam
jighamsayapayayad apy asadhvi
lebhe gatim dhatry-ucitam tato 'nyam
kam va dayalum saranam vrajema

"Alas, how shall I take shelter of one more merciful than He who granted the position of mother to a she-demon [Putana] although she was unfaithful and she prepared deadly poison to be sucked from her breast?" (SB 3.2.23)

In the beginning of devotional service an aspirant may think that he is a devotee, but as he makes progress he comes to realize that actually he is not a devotee. It is paradoxical: the neophyte thinks, "I am a devotee," and the advanced devotee thinks, "I am not a devotee." When we hear of Krsna's mercy upon Putana, who was a demon, we may think, "Well, it is wonderful that He was so merciful to Putana, but at least I am not a demon; I am a devotee." Yet although we are aspiring devotees—I don't say that we are not devotees, but at least we can say that we are aspiring devotees—we do have some qualities in common with Putana.

One quality mentioned is jighamsaya—she acted out of envy. We are in the material world out of envy of Krsna. We don't want to accept Him as the supreme enjoyer; we want to enjoy independent of Him. That means we are envious of Him, and it is actually envy that keeps us in the material world. Only one who is completely liberated and pure can be free from envy. Srinivasa Acarya glorifies the Six Gosvamis of Vrndavana, dhiradhira-jana-priyau: they are dear both to the gentle and to the ruffians. Dhira means one who is sober, who does not identify with the body but knows that he is the soul within (dhiras tatra na muhyati). He is dhira—sober, gentle, undisturbed. And adhira is the opposite—one who identifies with the body, or, as in the translation of this verse, a ruffian. So, the Six Gosvamis are popular with both the gentle and the ruffians. They are pleasing to everyone because they are not envious of anyone, and thus they are worshipable. Dhiradhira-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pujitau. They are nonenvious (nirmatsarau) and thus worshipable (pujitau). Srila Prabhupada explains that one who is nonenvious is worshipable because one can be nonenvious only if he is a pure devotee. Anyone other than a pure devotee must still be affected by envy. Our natural position is to serve Krsna (jivera 'svarupa' haya—krsnera 'nitya-dasa'). If we act as anything other than an eternal servant of Krsna, it means that we have not fully realized our actual position and that our original envy of Krsna, which brought us into the material world, is still, to some degree, lingering.

After starting his mission in New York and San Francisco, Srila Prabhupada suffered a stroke, and after all efforts to recover in America had failed, he decided to return to India to recoup his health. Before his departure, he visited the San Francisco temple. No one had expected him, in his condition, to speak, but he asked for the microphone. He spoke about his mission, how under the order of his spiritual master he had brought Lord Caitanya's movement to America and how Krsna had kindly sent so many sincere souls. He told the devotees, "I have a few children in India from my family days, but you are my real children. Now I am going to India for a little while."

One of Srila Prabhupada's early disciples from San Francisco suddenly entered the room. The devotees knew that he wanted to leave Krsna consciousness, that he hadn't taken his initiation vows seriously, and that he wanted to move on—he didn't want a spiritual master any more. The other devotees tried to discourage him, but he had persisted. Now they were incredulous: how could he do such a thing on the night before Swamiji's departure?
The devotee, Ravindra-svarupa*, fell to the floor to offer obeisances, but he didn't rise up. Instead, he began crawling on his hands and knees toward Prabhupada. This dramatic encounter is vividly described in Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta: "Ravindra usually had a cavalier manner, enhanced by a handsome face, long tousled hair, and a beard. But now he was wretched and sobbing and crazy. He crawled towards Prabhupada, who sat but two steps off the floor on the simple redwood dais. Prabhupada looked at him with compassion: 'Come here, my boy.' Ravindra crawled up the steps and placed his bushy head on Prabhupada's lap. Moved, the devotees watched as Prabhupada stroked Ravindra's head and the boy cried and cried.

" 'What's wrong, my son? You don't have to be so unhappy.'
"Ravindra bawled out, 'I want . . . ,' he sobbed, 'aah . . . to . . . aah . . . reach God directly! Without anyone in between!'

"Prabhupada continued to pat and stroke the boy's head: 'No, you continue to stay with us if possible. Don't be a crazy fellow.' Ravindra's weeping subsided, and Prabhupada continued, speaking both to Ravindra and to the emotion-struck group in the room. 'I am an old man,' he said. 'I may die at any moment. But please, you all carry on this sankirtana movement. You have to become humble and tolerant. As Lord Caitanya says, be as humble as a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree. You must have enthusiasm and patience to push on this Krsna conscious philosophy.'
"Suddenly Ravindra's tears were gone. He jumped up, dejectedly stood, hesitating for a moment, and then hurried out the door, banging it behind him.

"Ravindra-svarupa's dramatic exit from Krsna consciousness shocked the devotees. Prabhupada sat still and continued speaking to them gravely, asking them to stick together and push on the movement, for their own benefit and for others. Whatever they had learned, he said, they should repeat.
"They realized, perhaps for the first time, that they were part of a preaching mission, a movement. They . . . had a loving obligation to Swamiji and Krsna."

Although that disciple's exhibition might have been extreme, in principle he is no different from many of us. We also don't want anyone between us and Krsna. We don't want to surrender; we want to be Krsna. But by Prabhupada's mercy we have been engaged in devotional service and are undertaking the process of purification—chanting the holy names, hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, associating with devotees, worshiping the Deity, and as far as possible residing in Mathura, Vrndavana, Mayapur, or any temple of Gaura-Nitai or Radha-Krsna.

Putana was asadhvi, unfaithful. And she pretended to be something that she was not. She was actually a demon, but by her mystic powers she presented herself as a very beautiful woman. When she entered the village of Gokula she appeared so beautiful and effulgent that people thought that Laksmi, the goddess of fortune herself, had come. So when she entered the house of Nanda Maharaja and Yasodamayi, no one stopped her. She was so beautiful and effulgent that they thought she was some higher being. Actually, she was a she-demon, and she came to kill Krsna.
Of course, it is not entirely wrong to present oneself as something that one is not. Sometimes, for social reasons, we must, but internally we should remain faithful. The problem is that internally sometimes we become unfaithful (asadhvi). We want to surrender—we decide to surrender—but then we take back our surrender. It happens all the time. We surrender—decide to surrender—and then withdraw our surrender. We are not sure whether we should surrender. We are not sure whether the process will work, whether we will get the result. We are not sure whether we will be successful in our attempt. We are not sure whether Krsna will take care of us. We are not sure our desires will be fulfilled.
Ultimately, it comes to faith (sraddha), upon which all progress depends.

'sraddha'-sabde—visvasa kahe sudrdha niscaya
krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya

"Sraddha is confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Krsna one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favorable to the discharge of devotional service." (Cc Madhya 22.62)

Even in Srila Prabhupada's presence devotees did not always understand him. Most of the people who joined Srila Prabhupada were young, in their late teens or early twenties, and it was years before any of them left his or her body. The first I recall was Jaya Gopala dasa, who lost his life in an automobile accident. His young wife was distraught, and Srila Prabhupada assured her that Jaya Gopala had gone back to Godhead and that she would join him. A godbrother commented that Srila Prabhupada had said that just to encourage her.

Then I came across a book called His Divine Grace, by Danavir Goswami. Looking through it I saw a photo of Jaya Gopala, with the caption: "Srila Prabhupada stated that Jaya Gopala was not ready to go back to Godhead but that Krsna made an exception and took him back anyway." That is causeless mercy—Prabhupada's mercy. Krsna has no interest in anything of the material world. He is interested only in devotees. And it is only because of the mercy of a devotee that Krsna takes interest in someone who is not yet truly a devotee. Why else would Krsna make an exception for us—other than Prabhupada's mercy? Otherwise, who is Jaya Gopala dasa—or any of us—to Krsna? It is because of our connection with Srila Prabhupada that we have any standing in Krsna's eyes.
Of course, Krsna is the Supersoul. He is in the heart of every living entity as the witness and overseer. And He loves the living entities and accompanies them wherever they go. But He is neutral. He lets them act to fulfill their desires. He doesn't interfere. However, when a devotee intervenes, Krsna takes special interest. One who has received a devotee's mercy gets Krsna's mercy, and that is true of all of us, your followers, now. Otherwise, why should we be engaged in devotional service? We are just conditioned souls who have come into the material world to enjoy, in imitation of Krsna. Why should we even be in Krsna's temple? We are here by Srila Prabhupada's mercy, and thus we are making the effort to purify our hearts, hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam and chanting the holy names, and become true devotees.

Satsvarupa dasa Gosvami told me a nice story—a realization or thought that he had had. It relates to Srila Prabhupada's mercy and leads to the conclusion kam va dayalum saranam vrajema: "How shall I take shelter of one more merciful?" In other words, "He is so merciful; how can I find anyone more merciful? How can I take shelter of anyone else?"
Sometimes it happens that Srila Prabhupada's followers meet saintly persons outside of ISKCON. One year, Satsvarupa Maharaja went to Jagannatha Puri, during the holy month of Purusottama, to spend some time with one such sadhu. But while there, Satsvarupa Maharaja felt uncomfortable; he didn't feel at home in that association. He felt that Srila Prabhupada had created ISKCON to be his home and that he could feel at home only in ISKCON—nowhere else.

Then he went a step further. He imagined a time when he would leave his body and come to the precincts of Krsnaloka and the gatekeeper would ask him, "Who are you?" He suddenly became fearful, thinking that he was taking a gamble by turning himself into a siksa disciple of that sadhu rather than remaining an exclusive disciple of Srila Prabhupada. He wasn't sure exactly what his relationship with that sadhu was or how that sadhu would relate to Krsna on his behalf.

Then he imagined a different sequence. In this one, when the gatekeeper asked, "Who are you?" he would reply, "I am Satsvarupa dasa, a disciple of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada." Then he imagined the gatekeeper going to Srila Prabhupada and asking, "Satsvarupa has come to the gate—What should we do?" And he imagined that Srila Prabhupada would say, "Satsvarupa? My Satsvarupa? Call him immediately."
To me, this provides a striking picture of Srila Prabhupada and his mercy, and it serves to answer the rhetorical question "How shall I take shelter of one more merciful than he?" For us, there is no one more merciful. There is no need to take shelter of anyone else, and there will be no gain if we leave him to take shelter of anyone else.
Two years ago I had the good fortune to meet Srila Prabhupada's disciple Narayani dasi again. I hadn't seen her for many years, and then at a japa workshop here, I met her, and she told me a story that she had heard. Srila Prabhupada was giving a talk in which he said that in order to go back home, back to Godhead, one must be cent percent pure, cent percent free of material desires and attachments. When Prabhupada saw that the devotees were discouraged, he said, "All right, 90%." Still they were dejected. Then he said, "All right, 80%." Still they were crestfallen. Then he said, "All right, 75%—but not less."

After the talk, Srila Prabhupada commented, "If you just hold on to my lotus feet, I will take you back to Godhead. I have the key to the back door."

Once, I heard that Srila Prabhupada had said, "Your qualification is that I give an instruction . . ." I thought the rest of the sentence would be "and you follow it," but the statement was "Your qualification is that I give you an instruction and you try to follow it." Not even that we follow it—just that we try to follow it.
(Of course, we must try sincerely and seriously, by all means, with all of our energy and resources.)

In our japa retreats we emphasize chanting with attention, without offense. We encourage devotees to pronounce each syllable distinctly and hear each syllable attentively. To chant inattentively is an offense. So, I thought of my initiation letter—Srila Prabhupada sent it to me in Boston from Los Angeles—in which he instructed me to avoid the ten offenses. And I thought, "Oh, my God, that was practically the first instruction I got from Srila Prabhupada—the one I got when I was initiated—and now, thirty-six years later, I still haven't been able to follow it, which is another offense: to disobey the orders of the spiritual master." So I thought, "I am just drowning in offenses." And then I thought, "I better reread that letter, to try to get some strength and inspiration." I reread it, and there was the instruction: "You should avoid the ten offenses as far as possible." Srila Prabhupada was so merciful—he knew that I couldn't avoid them completely. So he saved me from the offense of disobeying his order, by writing "as far as possible."
So that is our qualification, according to Srila Prabhupada. And that is our hope. If we sincerely try to follow his instructions strictly—if we just hold on to his lotus feet—he will do the rest. He will take us back home, back to Godhead.

Hare Krsna.

Srila Prabhupada replied, “Don’t surrender to me either. I may also cheat you. Surrender to Krsna.”

Song Name: Ei Baro Karuna Koro

Official Name: Vaisnave Vijnapati Song 2

Author: Narottama Dasa Thakura

Book Name: Prarthana

Language: Bengali

 

LYRICS:

(1)
ei-bāro karuṇā koro vaiṣṇava gosāi
patita-pāvana tomā bine keho nāi

 

(2)
jāhāra nikaṭe gele pāpa dūre jāy
emona doyāla prabhu kebā kothā pāy

 

(3)
gańgāra paraśa hoile paścate pāvan
darśane pavitra koro-ei tomāra guṇ

 

(4)
hari-sthāne aparādhe tāre hari-nām
tomā sthāne aparādhe nāhi paritrāṇ

 

(5)
tomāra hṛdoye sadā govinda-viśrām
govinda kohena-mora vaiṣṇava parāṇ

 

(6)
prati-janme kori āśā caraṇera dhūli
narottame koro doyā āpanāra boli'

 

TRANSLATION

1) O Vaisnava Gosvami, please be merciful to me now. There is no one except you who can purify the fallen souls.

 

2) Where does anyone find such a merciful personality by whose mere audience all sins go far away?

 

3) After bathing in the waters of the sacred Ganges many times, one becomes purified, but just by the sight of you, the fallen souls are purified. This is your great power.

 

4) The holy name delivers one who has committed an offense to Lord Hari, but if one commits an offense to you, there is no means of deliverance.

 

5) Your heart is always the resting place of Lord Govinda, and Lord Govinda says, "The Vaisavas are in My heart."

 

6) I desire the dust of your holy feet in every birth I may take. Please consider Narottama yours, and be kind upon him.

 

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

Your heart is always the resting place of Lord Govinda, and Lord Govinda says, "The Vaisavas are in My heart."

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

Soul is a spiritual spark many, many times more illuminating, dazzling, and powerful than the sun, moon, or electricity

Yours

By associating with material desires one after another, I was following the general populace by falling into a blind well full of snakes.