Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

This Life...

Amara Jivana (This Life)

By Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

amara jivana, sada pape rata,

nahika punyera lesha

parere udvega, diyachi je kata,

diyachi jivere klesha (1)

Throughout my whole life I have been addicted to sin, never performing any pious activities. I have simply been a source of disturbance and suffering for others.

nija sukha lagi', pape nahi dari,

daya-hina svartha-para

para sukhe duhkhi, sada mithya-bhashi,

para-duhkha sukha kara (2)

For my own pleasure I never fear to commit any sin. I am devoid of pity and full of selfishness; I'm sorry at others' happiness and am an inveterate liar. Indeed, I take delight in others' miseries.

ashesha kamana, hridi majhe mora,

krodhi dambha-parayana

mada-matta sada, vishaye mohita,

himsa-garva vibhushana (3)

Endless are the selfish desires in my heart. I am prone to anger and devoted to arrogance. Intoxicated by conceit and deluded by attraction to sense pleasure, I ornament myself with pride and envy.

nidralasya-hata, sukarye virata,

akarye udyogi ami

pratishtha lagiya, shathya-acarana,

lobha-hata sada kami (4)

Afflicted by laziness and sleep, adverse to pious activities, I delight to perform any harmful act to obtain name and fame. I am very adept in duplicity, always lusty and degraded by mundane greed.

e hena durjana, sajjana-varjita,

aparadhi nirantara

shubha-karya-shunya, sadanartha-mana,

nana duhkhe jara jara (5)

Being such a miscreant and rejected by saintly persons, I have become a repeated offender. I never do good deeds but am inclined only to bad habits. Thus, I am oppressed by so many miseries.

vardhakye ekhana, upaya vihina,

ta'te dina akincana

bhakativinoda, prabhura carane,

kare duhkha nivedana (6)

Now in old age I am rendered helpless, reduced to a fallen and destitute condition. Bhaktivinoda presents his sad case at the feet of the Lord.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Bhava Bhakti devi dasi using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Treat the holy names with love

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Bhava Bhakti devi dasi using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Treat the holy names with love

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Bhava Bhakti devi dasi using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Painful removal of anarthas

Sometimes we are so stubborn that we cannot see our own anarthas even when repeatedly pointed out by Krsna through His devotees.... this is when the purification process becomes painful - like having your wisdom tooth pulled out by a dentist and it is yanked this way and that way... so painful .... as the tooth refuse...s to come out.... just as we refuse to see our anarthas and thus hamper their removal.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Bhava Bhakti devi dasi using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

True Humility

"Through the practice of devotion to God, I was coming to learn that preserving loving relations in this world required much forgiveness, tolerance, patience, gratitude, and humility. An essential virtue of humility is to accept others for what they are, despite differences. I contemplated again how the tendency to judge others is often a symptom of insecurity, immaturity, or selfishness, and I yearned to rise above it."

HH Radhanath Swami

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Bhava Bhakti devi dasi using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Be strong in Krsna's service

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Bhava Bhakti devi dasi using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Krishna, Krishna and Krishna!

The devotee is not interested in the sunrise or the beauty of nature or in the beauty of a person or even in a painting or a work of art. Ultimately, it's all pointing towards the beauty of Krsna.

Everything is the beauty of Krsna and this is truly the pure transcendental platform. This is pure devotional service. It's just Krsna, Krsna and Krsna, and after that, Krsna and Krsna and Krsna! When we finish discussing Krsna, Krsna, Krsna, we can talk a little bit about Krsna! Why not?

This is the Krsna consciousness that is displayed by great, elevated pure devotees.Not the kind of Krsna consciousness that is added on like a little sauce in life, in which we sometimes dip our different experiences to add a little flavour!

Transcribed by Annie

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Stockholm, February 2011)

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to kksblog.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

To Knead And Shape The Dough

Transcribed by Annie

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Radhadesh, 2011)

Whatever we go through in our growth, in our development, little by little, we are like chappati dough. Two fists are beating on that dough, kneading the dough and shaping the dough. At first when we come to Krishna Consciousness, we are hard as a rock, and it's very difficult to put us in any shape, but gradually, gradually, by the association of the devotees, we become purified and gradually our heart softens!

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to kksblog.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

The Potency Of Devotional Service

Transcribed By Madhumati Devi Dasi

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Stockholm, 2010)

If one appreciates the potency of devotional service and if one appreciates how powerful it is, and that the tiny little insignificance of material trouble that will strike is totally unimportant.

I saw a cartoon on think tank where a group of people were sitting on a big meeting table and under it, it was written, " A worry tank",
and one said:
"What if something goes wrong?"

And then one said:
"What if nothing goes wrong?!"

So like this we can just worry and worry and that is how we live to worry for nothing at all, because it doesn't make a difference. Oh! No now it is raining and what are we going to do the summer is coming? Well! The same as winter. Somehow or the other, things just keep going on. There is a saying – that there was a Dutch sailor and he said it is too early enough to worry about drowning up until when the water comes up to the lips.

I like that! I am not like that as I worry a little earlier, but I must admit that I remind myself of this sailor and it helps. Yes,there are people who don't worry, and if only we come to the fact that we are Vaikuntha people – the secret is to be in the spiritual world. In the morning when we rise, we should say another day in the spiritual world because that's where we are!

"Not, oh! God why am I in Stockholm? Oh Dear! in the material world – back in my life can I sleep more? Can I just ignore it? Can I act as if I am not awake? Can I just deny it a little longer?"

This negativity – that we have about our life is very deeply rooted in our consciousness, and a Vaikuntha person is one who is free from all worries. Who is free and has no worries?

Australia is a funny Country, because they always say:
"How are you? – no worries. How are you going?"

But it is one of the Countries that has the highest rates of intoxication and drugs and the Australian way of getting intoxicated is to get "Zonked".

So, it goes on quite a bit and in the public bathroom there are white purple lights, so you can't see your veins no matter what, can't see much at all. …."To get zonked and have no worries?"

So, it is not possible to have a life with no worries. It is not possible by declaration. You have worries as long as you identify with the material world.

But, as long as we understand that we are in Vaikuntha and act like that – I am in Vaikuntha when I serve, every moment and we experience it sometimes when we surrender a little bit – we really make a sacrifice and after that we really feel blissful and so nice just for may be half a day, but if we do it all the time, then we will be always be in that Vaikuntha state – the blissful state and when you are in that state Yeah! What do you care? Nothing can touch you! The milk boiled over – okay. Thus, one becomes transcendental, absorbed and relishes the nectar of surrender, the nectar of service that is the spiritual world.

In the Vaikuntha planets the ladies although, living like queens in palaces, they sweep those palaces themselves daily even though there is no dust. Here we say:

"Is there anybody who is going to sweep our floor, when there is no dust?"

Here we need the dust. Just like somebody writes on the dust of the car that, 'I want to be washed!' Here we have the dust to force us to do the service, but in the spiritual world they understand that the purpose of cleaning the floor is to please Krishna. So, floors are meant to be swept and that's what they are meant for and the purpose of sweeping is to serve Krishna. Here the purpose of sweeping is cleaning the dust and without dust we wouldn't clean it.

If we are always absorbed in service to Krishna then everything becomes blissful and positive and that's how Prabhupada had the positive outlook.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to kksblog.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Krishna is a thief

When we have material desires my advice is: Get a big box, put all the material desires inside. Just put them all inside, close the box and in big capital letters write on that box: "My material desires!"

Tie it up nicely, put it on the shelf and then get busy in service to Krishna. One day when you don't have so much to do, you think: "Today is the day that I'm going to play with my material desires!"

And you take the old box of the shelf, you look inside the box, and what do you see?

"Half of them gone! Who took my material desires?"

Who do you think took the material desires? Haven't you heard that Krishna is a thief? It is as simple as that. It's not difficult to overcome material desires.

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Durban, South Africa, April 2011)

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to kksblog.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Follow the pure devotee

We are somehow or other fallen by our conditioning and therefore everyone may have some weakness. But it is faith in the pure devotee that can give us the strength to try. We should at least try and not be defeated before we try.

There is a class of people that never go for spiritual life. They have already given up, already defeated before they begin. We should understand that by the mercy of the pure devotee everything is possible. We can get strength, we can get faith, we can get enthusiasm and we can do it!

Therefore we have to make that connection with a pure devotee and try to really follow the instructions of the pure devotee and become a pure devotee ourselves.

(HH Kadamba Kanana Swami, Pretoria, South Africa, April 2011)

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to kksblog.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

Sent to you by dinesh via Google Reader:

Queensday 2011

Queensday! Thousands of people walking through the streets, singing, drinking and celebrating the Queen's birthday in Amsterdam. It was really gross, people getting stoned, drunk and crazy. Sill, led by Kadamba Kanana Swami, a huge group of bold Vaishnavas made their way through the city. A Maha Harinama purified the streets of Amsterdam! The Harinama was intense: Five hours in the morning and another three hours in the evening – eight hours of ecstasy.

Vidyavicaspati Prabhu started with leading the Kirtana from Amsterdam temple to the city. Many of the orange dressed citizens joined in our singing and dancing! Next, Kadamba Kanana Maharaja took over the mike, and sure enough, through his ecstatic kirtana, brought the harinama to an even more intense level. Finally, on Dam square, Sacinandana Swami just went in complete absorption and it seemed, that he had made the whole square dance.

In that way the Harinama went on for the whole day and just showed how powerful and sweet this wonderful process of Harinama Sankirtana is.

If you cannot view the slide show below please visit flikr.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to kksblog.com using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites