1. As yoga: “Yoga” means to restrain the mind. When one attentively hears bhakti-sastra the mind becomes concentrated with single pointed attention and neglects all other mental impulses. Sravanam is thus (bhakti) yoga.
2. As very effective yoga: The efficacy of a particular yoga process is gauged in its ability to facilitate absorption in the object of one's meditation. When hearing, sastra, which is replete with appealing stories and philosophy about the all-attractive Divine, one's mind spontaneously flows to the object of meditation. Hearing sacred texts is thus a far more riveting meditation than controlling the mind by one's will power alone.
3. As an object of meditation with potency: Absorption in an object serves as a conduit to imbibe the qualities of that object, just as an iron rod absorbed in fire becomes fire-like. Sastra is sabda-brahman, divinity in its sound form. Meditation on sastra thus makes one divine-like.
4. As a source of knowledge: We have unlimited mental imprints (samskaras), many of them bad, which degrade our consciousness. Sacred texts elucidate dharma, the science of responding to the world to elevate the general tenor of the mind.
5. As effective teaching: Sastra exposes illusion and promotes detachment. In bhakti-sastra this challenge is often placed carefully within charming stories and illustrated by memorable examples, helping the reader to more effectively imbibe spiritual wisdom.
6. As a source of role models: The most powerful way to invoke positive self-transformation is the emulation of appropriate role models. Even adolescents who imitate the bravado of their favorite athletes, or follow the sensuous appeal of their favorite popular musician or movie star, gradually become like them. Similarly by sincerely hearing about the exemplars of devotion from bhakti-sastra, one naturally emulates their life and absorbs their devotion.
7. As a process where one's spiritual attainment is not limited to the fruits of one's endeavor: The Divine is naturally responsive to devotion. Thus by attentively hearing with devotion about the Divine (which is the subject of bhakti-sastra), the obstacles to one's focus and meditation are naturally removed by Divine grace. This phenomenon—how the process of sravanam bears fruit beyond the limits of one's effort by grace—is described in the bhakti-sastras themselves:
   “Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.1.17)

Seven Ways In Which Hearing Sacred Texts Purifies the Mind

Does a fallen soul have to be depressed?

(title unknown)

via .: Prabhupada Letters :. Anthology by letters on 7/8/10

1967 July 8: "So far remembering me and Krishna, it should be simultaneous. I am your Spiritual Father, and Krishna is your Spiritual Husband. A girl can never forget either her father or her husband."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

Spiritual Father!

Safety warning!

via Jayadvaita Swami Blog by Nama Rupa devi dasi on 4/18/10

Maya... is a fierce competitor. So there is no room for thinking, "Now I just have to, kind of, make it through the next few years and not really screw up too badly and everything will be all right. Give myself a little slack." Maya will say, "He is weak, get him!"

We should be careful. Such a valuable thing- we have gotten Krishna consciousness. So closely we should guard it. Just like we see here, all those warnings are there during the Mayapur festival, "If you have any valuables- be careful." And always there is somebody who is not careful who goes walking around with their passport or with their money. And some slick thief gets him. And the rest of us think, "I should be very careful with my money, I should lock it up, I should..."

So if we are that careful about our money, about our passports, about our airline tickets- how careful should we be about our Krishna consciousness, about our freedom from material existence, about our going back home back to Godhead?

Oh, if I lose my Krishna consciousness it is OK as long as I do not lose my passport.

We should be so careful.

SB 2.3.15 24/03/2006 Mayapur

Safety warning!

How to Conquer the Mind

via KKSwami Blog by noreply@blogger.com (Hina) on 8/13/10

This morning I established that we can conquer the mind actually, and I explained how to conquer the mind: By making the intelligence strong through hearing: And engaging the senses in devotional service: And hearing means hearing Bhagavatam and hearing the holy name. Then we spoke in the morning about Karma;

" What if my Karma is so bad?"

" Don't worry, Krsna will smash it!"

"But, then what about my chanting. If my chanting is so bad?"

"Don't worry, as long we try to chant nicely than all good results will come".

So it is quite difficult to not attain perfection in this movement. Generally we think that it's very very difficult to get love of God, and we think that, "Well is there anybody on the planet who has love of God? .... Anybody?"

Some people think, " I don't think so".

But if we look at it. It is said in the scripture (Sanskrit). There it is stated that even the madhyama-adhikārī has prema for Isvara. Prema - love for the Supreme Lord. How is it that a madhyama-adhikārī has Krsna Prem? Isn't the madhyama-adhikārī only the intermediate devotee? Yes maybe, but it is stated such madhyama-adhikārī has the prema for the Supreme Lord! Maybe, not as much as prem as uttama-adhikārī. But, it is prem. The same word prem is used. So it is not something else that he has. Maybe, it is the beginning of love of God. But, it is already there. Prabhupada also saw it like that.

(Kadamba Kanana Swami 24th June 2010)

How to Conquer the Mind

Above the Horizon

via KKSwami Blog by noreply@blogger.com (Hina) on 8/7/10

Thus all the learned scholars came to discuss the glory of the holy name. (Sanskrit)
Some of them said, " That by chanting the holy name of the Lord, one is freed from the reactions of all sinful life!"

Others said, " Simply by chanting the holy name of the Lord, a living being is liberated from material bondage!"

Haridas Thakur protested, "These 2 benedictions are not the true result of chanting the holy name. Actually by chanting the holy name without offences - one awakens his ecstatic love for the lotus feet of Krsna. When a person is actually advanced and takes pleasure in chanting the holy name of the Lord, who is very dear to him - he's agitated and chants very loud. He also laughs, cries and becomes agitated. And chants just like a mad man - not caring for outsiders. Liberations and extinctions of sinful life are 2 side products of chanting the holy name of the Lord



An example, is found in the gleams of the morning sunlight. As the sun rising immediately disappears all the world's darkness, which is deep like an ocean. So the holy name of the Lord if chanted once without offences – disappears all the reactions of the living beings sinful life. All glories to the holy name of the Lord, which is auspicious for the entire world."

So Haridas is requesting if all the scholars can explain the meaning of that verse.

But everyone said, "No! no Haridas please you explain it!"

So, Haridas said, " Well actually before the sun rises, the light of the sun is already visible in the sky. In the early morning before the sun just comes above the horizon. The sky begins to light up. So in that way, the holy name is also rising. First, there is just the light emanating from the sun in the sky - this is called nāmābhāsa. And then later, one will actually see the full manifestation of the sun or of the holy name. With the first glimpse of sunlight, the thieves ghosts and demons immediately disappear. So similarly, the first hint of that offenceless chanting of the holy name of the Lord has awakened. Disappeared the reactions of sinful life immediately".

( Kadamba Kanana Swami 24th June 2010 )

Above the Horizon

All Sacrifices are Made for Krsna

via KKSwami Blog by noreply@blogger.com (Hina) on 8/4/10

All sacrifices are made for Krsna- Why? Because Krsna is the proprietor of everything. One man met Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur and he was very wealthy, and Prabhupada said;

"So what is your business?"
The man said, "We manufacture glass".
Prabhupada said, " Oh how do you manufacture glass?"
He said, " Oh it's made from silicium".
And Prabhupada said, " And how do you get that ?"
"We get it from sand".
Prabhupada said, "Where are you getting the sand? From where are you getting the sand?"
And because it was a sadhu asking the question he said," From God!"
And Prabhupada said, "Yes, that's right! So you are taking something that belongs to someone, and then you are changing it a little bit: Then you are selling it in the market. What do you call that ? Pukha chore (laughter)… pukha chore".

Absolutely right?! You go to the chore bazaar and that's what you get! It's changed a little bit, and there you go. So this is the essence - that's stealing. So in this way everything came from Krsna.

( Kadamba Kanana Swami, Leicester, England, May 2010)

All Sacrifices are Made for Krsna

Krishna.com eBook Club | Bhagavad-gita As It Is | Part [BG.CH4.09]

Real meaning of association with devotees.

The unsuspecting fish, who knew nothing but a life in the river, went about its routine like any other day, but in an instant was ripped out of its reality to meet with death. Like that fish, we routinely live our lives hardly aware that, at the least expected moment , the yellow-eyed hawk of fate in the form of crises, tragedy or even death, may wrench us out of our comfortable environment. We regularly hear of it in the news or see it around us but rarely take seriously that it could happen to us. Perhaps the lesson here is to guard against complacency and give a higher priority to our spiritual needs.

If the fish swam deeper, the hawk would not be able to reach it. Similarly, if we go deeper into our connection to God, we will find an inner reality so deep and satisfying that it lifts the consciousness to a place where we could deal with the effects of unforeseeable fate with a stable, detached mind."

HH Radhanath Swami

Celebrating Independence or Bondage?

Krishna, Embracing a Gopa who returns back!

Krishna, Embracing a Gopa who returns back!

Krishna cares and wants us to be back!

• Powerful influence on our attitude and personality is what you we to ourself within the mind, and what we believe to be true.
• It is not what happens to us, but how we respond internally to what happens to us, that determine our thoughts and feelings, our mental strength, and, ultimately, our actions.
• By controlling our inner dialogue, or “self-talk,” we can positively influence every other dimension of our life.
• We are continually faced with challenges and difficulties, with problems, with temporary setbacks and defeats. 
• They are an inevitable part of life. 
• But, as we draw upon our resources to respond effectively and intelligently to each challenge, we grow and become a stronger and better person. 
• In fact, without those setbacks, we could not have learned what we needed to know and developed the qualities of character that we need in order to progress. 
• Much of our ability to succeed comes from the way you deal with life. 
• One of the characteristics of advanced human beings is that they recognize the inevitability of temporary disappointments and defeats, and they accept them as a normal and natural part of life. 
• They do everything possible to avoid problems, but when problems come, advanced people learn from them, take action, and continue onward in the direction of achieving the ultimate goal of life.

SELF TALK

by Jayadvaita Swami
from Back to Godhead magazine, May-June 1994

• Chanting Hare Krishna awakens love of God. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings liberation as a side benefit along the way.
• When you chant Hare Krishna, you automatically develop knowledge and detachment. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna gets you out of the endless cycle of birth and death. 
• It is the most effective means of self-realization in the present Age of Quarrel. Nothing else works nearly as well. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna cleanses the heart of all illusions and misunderstandings. 
• By chanting Hare Krishna, you become free from all anxieties. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings you to self-realization—and shows you how to act as a self-realized soul. 
• It keeps you ever mindful of Krishna, the reservoir of pleasure. 
• There are no hard and fast rules for chanting. You can chant anywhere, any time, under any circumstances. 
• Krishna Himself is fully present in the transcendental sound of His name. And the more you chant, the more you realize it. 
• All other Vedic mantras are included in the chanting of Hare Krishna. So just by chanting this mantra, you get the benefit of all others. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna purifies not only you but every living entity around you. Whoever hears the chanting gets spiritual benefit. 
• A person who chants Hare Krishna develops all good qualities. 
• You can chant Hare Krishna softly for personal meditation or loudly with your family or friends. Both ways work. 
• Srila Prabhupada chanted Hare Krishna, and so did great souls in the past. So why not you? 
• It’s free. Chanting Hare Krishna never costs you money. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings the highest states of ecstasy. 
• There are no previous qualifications needed for chanting Hare Krishna. Young or old, anyone can chant—from any race, any religion, or any country of the world. 
• Even if you don’t understand the language of the mantra, it works anyway. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna brings relief from all miseries. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna is easy. When the best way is also the easiest, why make life hard for urself? 
• Chanting Hare Krishna invokes spiritual peace—for you and for those around you. 
• When you chant Hare Krishna, Krishna Himself becomes pleased.
• When you chant Hare Krishna, Krishna dances on your tongue. 
• By chanting Hare Krishna you can return to Krishna’s world, the eternal abode of full happiness and knowledge. 
• Chanting Hare Krishna frees you from the reactions of all past karma. Chanting Krishna’s name en once, purely and sincerely, can free you from the reactions of more karma than you could possibly incur.
• Chanting Hare Krishna counteracts the sinful atmosphere of Kali-yuga, the present Age of Hypocrisy and Quarrel. 
• By chanting Hare Krishna you can relish at every step the full nectar that’s the real thirst of the soul. 
• The more you chant Hare Krishna, the better it gets. 
• If you look through all the Vedic scriptures, you’ll find nothing higher than the chanting of Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Why Chant Hare Krishna?