Diet Protocols

Posted by dinesh

May 22, 2014 at 9:39 AM

In our SVA tradition we recommend the following:
Fruits:
In the early morning consume only stewed fruit because fruit is rich in soma (lunar energy) which is a cooling energy, and the morning time has more influence of lunar energy because the sun is still just starting on its journey. In SVA we also recommend raw fruits that are high in enzymes and that help support digestion and metabolism be consumed either after lunch or along with lunch – as long as you are not taking any yogurt or lassi with lunch. Some enzymatic fruits are: pineapple and papaya. Otherwise, fruits like apples, pears, apples, blueberries, and blackberries should be consumed 1 and a half hour after lunch. 3pm is a good time in general, if you’ve had your lunch around 12 or 12:30pm
Milk:
Boiled milk should be consumed with oatmeal or quinoa flakes for your breakfast. You can also have some milk before going to bed at night – have milk only at least a couple of hours after dinner, nor right after dinner, in case you have late dinner. Milk should always be boiled with a little bit of cardamom and cinnamon. Cinnamon helps sugar metabolism of the milk and cardamom helps digest the protein in the milk. If your physiology can handle it, you can add a small piece of fresh ginger – grated or whole.
Water:
Consumption of water during lunch depends on what you are eating. If you are eating bread or any other dry foods, then you need have to support your stomach by sipping some water during your meal. If you are having liquid food, like soups or lentils, it’s best to avoid drinking water during your meal. If you are consuming a lot of spices like green chilies, black pepper, or ginger, it’s best to always drink some water during your meal. In general, it is recommended that one have water one hour after the end of a meal because it can aid in the process of digestion – the digestive fire may need extra water for lubrication. Keep in mind that water consumption is based on each individual’s body type. Pitta body individuals, because they receive more agni or digestive fire, need more water. It is also based on the weather, if it is too hot, people tend to sweat more and therefore need more water. So, the golden rule is there is no specific one rule for everybody to follow…
As for your final question, yes, it is ok to cook in pressure cookers.

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Green Protein!

Posted by dinesh

Vaidya Mishra says

May 12, 2014 at 9:05 AM

Green Protein!
It’s delicious, it’s quick, it’s nourishing, and kids will love it – young and old! It’s Vaidya’s magical SVA recipe, a powerhouse of protein and iron. You can use any leafy greens: baby spinach leaves, collard greens, Swiss chard, dinosaur or purple kale. Steer away from mustard greens as they tend to be a little heating and pitta aggravating. Recipe:
80% weight by weight leafy greens
20% weight by weight fresh cheese (paneer) 1/4 cup spring water
1/2 tsp Mum’s Masala
1/2 tsp Mum’s Ghee
1/4 tsp Soma Salt
Fresh Thai Chilli (optional)
Fresh ginger 2 slices (optional)
1/4 tsp Olive oil Add the ghee to your pan, along with the Mum’s Masala (and chili and ginger if you are using these). Add the paneer chunks and sauté for a couple of minutes. Remove stems (may keep some) from your greens. You can mix Swiss chard, collard greens, purple or dinosaur kale. Add also a few sprigs of flat Italian parsley (curly will also do if you can’t find the flat). Chop everything roughly. Add to your paneer pan and add some water. Cover the top and cook for only as long as it takes (depending on how much greens you put) to allow the greens to turn bright green in color). Remove from the stove and put everything into your blender. Add a little water and blend to a perfect smooth texture (you may add more water as needed). Hot water is recommended, but room temperature will also do. When you are ready to serve, squirt some fresh lime on top and mix it in. Enjoy your protein!

Courtesy: https://www.svayurveda.com/vadi-s-sva-lentil-dumplings-health/

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Dedicating every moment

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 1 August 2020, Radhadesh, Belgium, Initiation Ceremony Lecture)

Uttama-adhikari is living in a close relationship with Krsna. The uttama-adhikari is always thinking about Krsna in every moment. And every moment is dedicated to Krsna. This devotee is not wasting a single moment on anything else.

kṣāntir avyartha-kālatvaṁ
viraktir māna-śūnyatā
āśā-bandhaḥ samutkaṇṭhā
nāma-gāne sadā ruciḥ
(Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya Lila 23.18-19)

When the seed of ecstatic emotion for Krsna fructifies, many symptoms manifest in one’s behaviour. One of them is a taste for chanting the holy name of the Lord constantly! In this way, our spiritual life is meant to be a life of growth, a life where we are meant to change, and where we are meant to become very soft-hearted. This happens by dedicating every moment to Krsna.

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Respectful Behaviour - Part 1

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Respectful Behaviour - Part 1

Vaijayantimala devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.

In the recent offering titled, "Offer All Respect to Others" HG Sudarshana devi dasi mataji mentioned about the importance of respectful dealings with everyone and how we should never behave in a way belittling others in any way. In Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.26 Lord Rshabhadeva gives the following instruction to His sons.

sarvāṇi mad-dhiṣṇyatayā bhavadbhiś
carāṇi bhūtāni sutā dhruvāṇi
sambhāvitavyāni pade pade vo
vivikta-dṛgbhis tad u hārhaṇaṁ me

My dear sons, you should not envy any living entity—be he moving or nonmoving. Knowing that I am situated in them, you should offer respect to all of them at every moment. In this way, you offer respect to Me.

In the synonyms, we find that Srila Prabhupada writes vivikta-dṛgbhis means possessing clear vision and understanding that the Supreme Personality of Godhead in His Paramatma feature is situated everywhere. In the purport he writes, "According to the Vedic statement: īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam [Ishopanishad mantra 1]. The Supreme Lord is situated everywhere, and wherever He is situated is His temple. We even offer respects to a temple from a distant place, and all living entities should similarly be offered respect."

In the granthraj offering, mataji had referred how Saubhari muni failed to pay respects to Garuda who is a direct servitor of the Supreme Lord. Instead in the name of being compassionate to the fishes, he cursed Garuda. There is a beautiful incident in which we see the respectful dealing by Garuda. Garuda’s mother Vinata has been enslaved by Kadru, the latter having resorted to deception, to make Vinata her slave. Kadru stipulated that the only way for Vinata to be liberated is for Garuda to get the pot of nectar which Indra keeps in his kingdom. The nectar is safeguarded carefully by Indra. But Garuda deals with all the barriers easily, and also defeats every celestial who stands in his way.

Indra, observing Garuda flying with great speed, hurled his Vajra weapon towards the bird. Garuda, despite being struck with the weapon, smiled and told Indra in polite words, “O King of the Devas, I respect the rishi (Dadhici) from whose backbone this Vajra weapon was made; I respect you too. To honour this, I will shed a single feather. But know that I have not felt any pain due to this weapon”. Saying this Garuda dropped a single feather. Beholding this act and seeing the beautiful feather, all the creatures became excited, and said, “Let this bird of beautiful feather be called ‘Suparna’ (one of fair feathers)” We see that the Lord declares in Srimad Bhagavad gIta 10.28 - “āyudhānām ahaṁ vajraṁ - Of weapons I am the thunderbolt.” This is the respect, the Lord has for the weapon, considering the ultimate sacrifice of sage Dadhici. Reminded of this, we see that Garuda offers his honor and respect for the weapon which represents the great sage.

Krishna willing we shall try to see few more examples from scriptures which reveal to us the importance of respecting everyone.

Thank you very much.
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev,
Vaijayantimala devi dasi
Chennai

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Developing strength in chanting

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Impressions on the consciousness

Posted by dinesh

HH.Kadamba Kanana Swami, 8 December 2011, Durban South Africa, Srimad Bhagavatam 11.22.6)

Only working for Krsna is also not easy because after a little while, we start to experience that working for Krsna can be a burden. It may also not work. So, we must hear because without hearing, life is dry.

I have a phone like most modern people and my contract was up so I could get a new phone. “Oh my God! What do I do? Now I have to have a new phone. Oh no!” Actually, I liked my old phone… it was okay… it did the job.

Then I found out that I did not have to get a new phone… it was not required. I could just go on with my old phone… it was fine as there was no rule against that. I did and then I put in a bigger memory card in the old phone and more lectures of Srila Prabhupada and now I’m so happy! I’m so happy, not because of the phone, but because of the lectures of Srila Prahbupada and that I have access to these things. So, as we live in a modern world, we are also using material objects to help us remember Krsna. Now that is needed, everyone has to make that kind of arrangement otherwise when will we hear?

śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ
brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam (SB 11.3.21)

Sābde – transcendental sound is essential; as essential as bathing. Anyone who didn’t take a bath today? Some people take a bath once a month, yes that is possible but of course, after a while, it becomes noticeable. So, in the same way, the sound śābde pare ca niṣṇātam.

Niṣṇātaṁ – referring to ṣṇā or taking baths. One should bathe in transcendental sound, śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ, again and again, because the consciousness also again and again tends to absorb material contamination.

Srila Prabhupada instituted the festivals in Mayapur and Vrndavan, and he said that devotees should go once a year to that festival. That was the idea so that they would become purified from all the contamination that inadvertently crept in.

That is an interesting topic Contamination that inadvertently creeps in. What about that!? Yes, it’s absolutely going to happen to any good practitioner of bhakti. To the sadhaka, it’s going to happen. Only the liberated soul cannot be touched by the material energy, but everyone else will become touched by the material energy. So many impressions go into the consciousness – what we see and what we hear!

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Simplify Life - Part 2

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Simplify Life - Part 2

Divyarupa devi dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.
This is in continuation of the transcription of class given by our beloved spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj in Singapore on how important it is to lead a simple life. In the previous offering we heard from Maharaj as to how according to our karmas and desires, Krishna awards our next birth. Maharaj was referring to a devotee from Switzerland who had been born in aristocratic family and had later left home in search of real happiness. By Krishna's grace he met devotees and had got Prabhupada's Gita and found that it had the answer for all his questions.
(Referring to that devotee Maharaj continued) This boy has completely washed off his hands from the material activities. So there is no way that he can survive in the material world. There is no need of going there. So he can very nicely set up, settle somewhere in our biggest community. This is the main thing. At least we should start as soon as possible. And we are also thrown into this country, whether migrated or your forefathers might have migrated. Why? There are so many living entities who are getting rotten in India. Just for earning bread. Butter, they don’t know. Only bread - they have to work 12-14 hours and travelling 3 hours each way. 6 hours again. And half dead he comes in the house. And again he goes away like a dog in the morning in search of food. I mean to say to earn the food. This is the condition of the average family in India. What to speak of the poorest family? It is very difficult to survive. Kali yuga is very acute because we are losing our piety. And because we are losing our piety, Krishna is making so many things completely difficult for us to obtain.
We people are lucky that you are thrown to Singapore and here the things are completely different from that side of Bay of Bengal. This is our luck. And if you don't utilize your human time, in remembering the Supreme Absolute Truth Krishna, then how long does He take to withdraw everything from you. He has thousands of hands. He can withdraw within no time. Thinking all these things, we should come that we should not unnecessarily increase our necessities. This increasing the necessities is putting us into the vicious circle of birth, death, disease and old age. If you decrease your necessities, then you win. Then you win.
In our limited atmosphere, now we cannot do without the lights. These lights are very bad. But even then, it is a must now. We cannot have a house without light. We remember that we were renting the houses or buying the houses. And as soon as we rented the house, nothing else was to be done. We just order the coal bag, and one coal stove and some grocery and we move into the house. That's all. Now you rent the house or you buy the house, and first beds, carpet, refrigerator, TV. He is killed before he goes to the house (laughter). And then he falls down half dead there and TV is going on (laughter) and he doesn't know what is going on, because he is completely finished before he moves into his house. This is increasing the necessities. The necessities which are not required for our life, should be completely decreased.
Krishna willing we shall try to hear more nectar from Maharaj in the subsequent offering.
Hare Krishna.
Thank you very much,
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Divyarupa devi dasi

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Simplify Life - Part 1

Posted by dinesh

Simplify Life - Part 1

Divyarupa devi Dasi

Hare Krishna Prabhujis and Matajis,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva.
The following is humble effort to transcribe the nectarean class given by our beloved spiritual master HH Mahavishnu Goswami Maharaj in Singapore on how important it is to lead a simple life.
Maharaj: (Referring to bad tendency of taking fizzy drinks or intoxicating drinks Maharaj says..) Krishna will fulfill your desire. He says, "I will give the next body in which you always drink dirty water." And he gives us the hogs body and you sleep in the gutter and whatever comes, 'popopopop..' Nice dirty water comes you know. Because that body likes the dirty water. This is the effect of our karmas. If your karmas are pious, in the sense that you are attracted to the complete perfect whole Krishna, then you will have a bit of chance to have the human body born in śucīnāṁ śrīmatāṁ gehe. (BG 6.41) śucīnāṁ means saintly family. śrīmatāṁ means rich family or you stand chance to get so much wealth, so that you become completely satisfied and then you don’t have to worry. You don’t have to toil and moil for earning the wealth. You have already bread and butter is there and then fortunately you come across again Krishna somewhere and you catch Him.
(Referring to couple of devotees Maharaj said) This boy is from, these two boys from Switzerland they are travelling and he told me today that from the childhood, he always likes to stay in the forest. He was asking his mother that, 'give me some best thing, give me better than this, I don’t want this, to work like this.' So his mother said that I don’t have any better thing. You try to find out yourself. So he is moving around since then. And somehow or the other, he came to, they came to Malaysia. And he found. He had a Bhagavad gita somehow or the other. He was studying Bhagavad Gita. He thought that this is quite nice. This is living example in front of us. These boys, they were attracted to Krishna, because they had performed the devotional service in the previous life. Otherwise why should he search?. He knew that he is searching for something. but He didn’t know that he is searching for Krishna. But Krishna has His own arrangement. When He found out that this soul is inquisitive, so He gave his birth in the country in Switzerland. And I heard about Switzerland that if you don't work, even then you get 90,000 Rs per month from the government. Isn't it? Switzerland is a very rich country. You don’t work, even then you get 100,000 nearly per month. Best to go to Switzerland Harry and I will also come as a guru. (laughter) You tell that I cannot survive without my guru and we will both go and at least 2,00,000 Rs. per month. (laughter). The richest country they were born. This is the living example that if the sadhana is incomplete, then you get the human birth, in the rich family or saintly family or saintly and rich. This is how. These boys were thrown into the richest country. And because, they should not worry about the money, so they are moving about and trying to find out what they want. And somehow or the other now he is satisfied that he has got the thing. Now it depends how to organize the life and how to live.
Krishna willing we shall try to hear more nectar from Maharaj in the subsequent offering.
Hare Krishna.
Thank you very much,
Yours in service of Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudeva,
Divyarupa devi dasi

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Surrendered?

Posted by dinesh

"You are already surrendered, but you are surrendered to the police of God. Just like a citizen = he has to surrender. He has to surrender to the police or to the government. If he surrenders to the government, then he hasn't got to the police custody in jail. So instead of surrendering to Kṛṣṇa, we have surrendered to His māyā. And the māyā is punishing us.

daivī hy eṣā..lSo if you want to get relief from the punishment of this māyā, then you surrender to Kṛṣṇa. Your position is to surrender, either this side or that side."

Best Regards,

Dinesh

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Purchased by love

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 25 June 2019, New York, United States of America, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.9.20)

Duryodhana was working very hard to win people over to his side and he was successful in some cases. Some karmi leaders were coming along with their armies and they were being received very nicely. They thought that they were going to fight for Yudhisthira and Yudhisthira made all such arrangements for them, but it turned out that it was Duryodhana. So then they felt so indebted, that they instead fought on Duryodhana’s side.

He tried to do the same with Krsna. When Krsna was coming as the messenger of the Pandavas, Duryodhana arranged a wonderful palace for Him to stay. And when Krsna came, He was offered an extraordinary treatment, a wonderful palace and a great reception. Then Krsna simply said, “No, I will never stay in the house of one who is envious of the Pandavas.” He refused whatever was offered by Duryodhana. Instead, He went to stay with Vidhura, which was something that even Vidhura did not expect. Vidhura was a dasi putra – he was not really a prince in that sense. He was certainly a son of the king, but with a maidservant. And therefore, although he was treated respectfully within the kingdom, he was not in a royal position and was also considered as a sudra.

So first of all, to stay with Vidhura was considered a bit awkward and second of all, Vidhura was not prepared whatsoever. At this time, all that Vidhura could arrange to offer Krsna were bananas. Then as his wife got the bananas ready, Vidhura offered the peels instead of the bananas. He was so overwhelmed by love of God, that he was so ecstatic, “Krsna is in my house!“, that he was grabbing the peels instead of the bananas. This of course shows why Krsna chose to stay in the house of Vidhura. So in this way, we appreciate that Krsna is purchased by love.

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A gradual progress

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 18 March 2012, Prague, Czech Republic, Srimad Bhagavatam 4.9.8)

Question: When it comes to stumbling blocks in spiritual progress, with things like lust, pride and disturbances of the mind, I can clearly see them coming or even realise that they are there. Yet still they remain in my mind and I realise that by simple knowledge and awareness, they do not disappear. How do I deal with this, noting that we are conditioned and are aware of it, but we still continue to be conditioned by it?

Kadamba Kanana Swami: Krsna says:

sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
(Bhagavad-gita 18.66)

Krsna says that He will take away all the impurities! We cannot take them away ourselves. It means
we have to surrender to Krsna’s system of devotional service as it is passed down by the disciplic succession, and then Krsna will take away our impurities gradually. That is how it works. So if we are confronted by our own impurities, and we cannot put them aside with our knowledge, then this means that Krsna wants us to increase the quality and quantity of our devotional service!

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His loving mercy

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 24 February 2019, New York, United States of America, Bhagavad-gita 7.7)

In the tenth chapter of Bhagavad-gita, ahaà sarvasya prabhavo mattaù sarvaà pravartate (Bhagavad-gita 10.8), we can see that Krsna is the origin of all that is spiritual and all that is material, and the wise who notice this, they perfectly worship Him with love. That is ultimately where we want to come. Because we are seeing how kind Krsna is… how unlimitedly kind He truly is! He is the Supreme, the topmost personality, all powerful, all beautiful, all perfect, yet He takes interest in insignificant creatures like us. He specifically notices our individual existence and that is something special. Every living being means something to Krsna and thus Krsna takes a personal interest in every single living being. That is something extraordinary! Suhrdam sarva dehinam (bhutanam) (Bhagavad-gita 5.29) – heartfelt suhrdam, heartfelt friend and well-wisher of every living being. So to think about that, that is the most amazing thing! And I meditate on things like this and can only imagine how kind Krsna really is. In this way, we can appreciate Krsna consciousness and when we leave this temple, we can look everything we see with a fresh perspective because we can see how Krsna is actually manifesting all these things for us and how He is behind everything. Everything is simply an arrangement of His kindness; sometimes aimed to frustrate us and sometimes aimed to encourage us. But nevertheless, it is all by His loving mercy. That is Krsna!

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Moving forward

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, March 2018, Durban, South Africa, Human Relationships Lecture)

Krsna is always showing us the next step in our spiritual lives. So if it is clear that the next step is that you should be doing more, then we should take that step. If you feel, “Krsna is showing me that the next step is to develop love for him“, then do it!

You have these karate movies where the young karate character come out and makes all these moves and he is going really fast on all sides. But then an old Kung-Fu master comes out and does not make all these moves, but instead just has this one concentrated move. And then all of a sudden, everyone is flying in all directions and gets knocked out. (laughter) So in the beginning, we are like these young karate guys trying to run around, but we lack depth and we lack the real concentration and focus. We are trying to be busy for Krsna, trying to always chant, read and so on. But what we really need to work on is to deepen ourselves through our relationships and go deeper in our commitment to Krsna. This is the beginning step and it helps us in making Krsna the real priority. After all, he is the Supreme!

Nothing is really important except Krsna. We must truly understand this. Even in our relationships – our marriage, our friends and our families – if it does not help us go deeper in our relationship with Krsna, then what is the point of it!? Otherwise, we are just creating a beautiful illusion for ourselves, which is totally meaningless. If we are not trying to make our children Krsna conscious, then what is the point of having them? If we want to give our children Krsna consciousness, we cannot do it by dictation. We cannot do it by rules, “You must do this. You must not do that.” Such harshness will not work in the long run. Instead, we must pass Krsna consciousness through inspiration, by setting an example. Kids never do what you say, but they do what you do. So we must attempt to the best of our ability to be a devotee and conquer them with devotion; only then they will be amazing devotees.

If somebody has nice qualities, it impresses us. A thousand lessons from a book about moral behaviour would not work as much as the impressions from an inspiring person would. Relationships are a big thing! So if you are looking to engage in relationships and starting a family, you have to aspire to be spiritually advanced.

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The nature of friendship

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 08 March 2015, Stockholm, Sweden, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.1.4)

Transcribed by Nama-rupa dd

Question: Guru Maharaj, you mentioned that in the material world, there is no love. I am thinking about friendship, is there friendship in this material world and what is the nature of friendship?

Love, friendship, society, togetherness, one-for-all and all-for-one, does not exist. Kavi Karnapura describes friendship in the Caitanya Candrodaya Nataka and he points out that for friendship to exist, there is a need for certain conditions to be met.

First, one has to receive the mercy of the Lord so that he gets in touch with transcendental knowledge, Krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija (Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya 19.151). You have to get in contact with devotees otherwise where else is there real friendship!?

Materialistic friendship is always mixed with some material motive, some personal motive so real friendship must be based on receiving the mercy of the Lord. When you receive the mercy of the Lord then you come into the association of devotees and attachment to devotees must develop, and from being in that association, gradually you evolve.

Then Kavi Karnapura explains the next level that you get – it is the level of thoughtfulness and discrimination. You begin to kind of reflect on the meaning of life and in that way, you mature as a person and you don’t just respond with outbursts and this and that. NO! You respond more thoughtfully and in a deeper way. Then you get to the non-envious platform.

After this thoughtfulness and discrimination becomes strong, in the association of devotees, then you get equanimity – a state of mind which becomes balanced. You become balanced in the mind. At that state, you can realize non-envy and it says that then you can actually be a friend. Then friendship is possible!

Kavi Karnapura explains it like that. So it is interesting; he gives conditions before real friendship can develop and to the degree that these conditions are not met, to that degree we are lacking in friendship.

Sometimes even when you are married, you wonder, “Is this person actually my friend?” You are married but you are wondering, “Are we friends? Are we at least friends? What to speak of love! I mean friends! Is this person actually my friend, through-and-through, you know, through thick and thin… Is this person really my well-wisher??”

There are different Sanskrit definitions for friendship. Maitri is a word used which is more general. Another word that is used is suhrit, close to the heart. That gives a higher aspect, very intimate. So among vaishnavas, it must become like that.

But before we can have friendships, we have to go through these stages: we need the mercy of the Lord, we need to develop attachment to serving the devotees, and we need to be with devotees in proper etiquette. Then we become thoughtful and then we get discrimination from these devotees.

In this verse (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.1.4), it says sadhu-vada, things approved by the learned circles, so that we understand what is approved by saints and sages and then it becomes our second nature. It is happening. Like certain foodstuffs are obviously not approved by saints and sages, and we don’t even think of touching them. We don’t have to tell ourselves, it becomes a part of our second nature.

So this discrimination and thoughtfulness becomes a part of our nature, and when we have absorbed it to that extent then you have non-envy and equanimity, a balanced state of mind. Then, you can be a friend all the time!

Like that, friendship takes some time. When you are dealing with someone under the modes of nature, today he is your friend and tomorrow not so much because tomorrow he is the friend of his mind. Tomorrow he is controlled by his senses, tomorrow he is riding on the back of that inner boar and then he is maybe not your friend.

When I had a Vedic marriage, it was done by Bhavananda and he made us promise, he said to me, “You must always bring your wife to devotional service, to Krsna.” And he said to her, “But when he deviates then you become like a lion, like a tiger and you just somehow or other pull him back.” So that was something I remembered.

So friendship also means that with our weaknesses, we are still trying to help each other and that is nice but Kavi Karnapura takes it to a higher level for friendship to really flourish.

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Creating friendships

Posted by dinesh

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 11 April 2014, Cape Town, South Africa, Lecture at House Program)

In a small temple, with predominately congregational devotees – that means devotees who are maintaining a life outside the temple and who have limited time and energy – I think we should appreciate the time spent together and maintain relationships. Because especially in a congregational gathering, more than ever, we need friendship. You know, it is like if you have a little military army living in a temple and all are on a mission. Even if there is no such friendship, still all are together in the same mission. But when you do not have that kind of driving energy then the only reason to come together is for friendship. So that is a big challenge but I think that is the key.

Like, we are here tonight, at somebody’s house and that is very nice, that is how it should be. If devotees have not been in your house for a while then you must start thinking about it and arrange for them to come. Even if your house is small, it does not matter – squeeze in somehow or other – because bonding is important. So we need to stay close and in an congregational setting, friendship is a big element, if you want to be with people. If you do not really want to be with them then you are not going to be with them. In the temple, whether you want to be together or not, you have to be for mangala aarti. But in a congregation, if you do not want to be together then why would you be? You only go to programs that you want to.

In friendship, you have to conquer people, do something to win them over. You have to do something that touches their heart, and then we have real friendships. Friendship can never be taken for granted and it is not cheap, but that is what we need. I guess, you can say big things about friendship but you can also make it very simple. In one way, a very simple approach is to not give each other a hard time – sort of, make it easy for each other and it counts for everybody, even at home! You know, friendship begins at home, if we just sort of try and make it easy for each other, that would help.

Devotee: Maharaj, does that not defeat the high thinking society ideal?

It depends on what you call easy. I did not mean that we should lose the purity but we should accommodate each other a lot and be sensitive to each other’s needs, that is what I meant. Making it easy for each other means that we should think of everybody’s needs, and not just of our own, then that creates friendship. So we try to think of the needs of others.

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THE LIGHT OF LIFE

Posted by dinesh

THE LIGHT OF LIFE

By Sacinandana Swami

Once there was a guru who wanted to train his two disciples by giving them a practical task, "Take 100 Rps each of you" he said "and use it to fill up your rooms with whatever you are able to purchase. In five days´ time I will return to inspect your work."

When he returned and visited the room of the first disciple, he saw it had been filled up with rags. That disciple had thought that by hook or by crook he had to, somehow or other, fill up the room, and since rags were the cheapest items to purchase, he had chosen them. The guru was duly shocked.

When the guru came to inspect the second room, he saw that it had been filled up - not only once, but twice and his disciple returned 80 Rps back to him and said, "Guru Maharaja, I only needed 20 Rps to fill the room twice."
He had lit a ghee lamp in the middle of room, along with an incense stick. Light and fragrance were spreading everywhere, from top to bottom, from left to right, from the front to the rear.

The delighted guru said, "You have truly understood. Life is very much like an empty room. It should be filled with the light of knowledge and the fragrance of service, and not with the discarded filthy things of this world.

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THE POWER OF PRAYER - THE STORY OF JAI SINGH

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THE POWER OF PRAYER - THE STORY OF JAI SINGH

By Sacinandana Swami

Once there was a King named Jai Singh, who was a great devotee of the Lord. During the reign of Jai Singh the Mongols were conquering India. One by one, they attacked the small kingdoms of the country. At the same time, even between those battles there were many other conflicts. It was a time of war and instability. Jai Singh´s kingdom was very beautiful and opulent. Being desirous of that opulence the king of the neighboring kingdom tried to conquer Jai Singh´s kingdom again and again. But whenever he met Jai Singh´s army he found it to be undefeatable. Also the Mongols tried to defeat Jai Singh many times, but they too were unsuccessful. In this way Jai Singh, who always personally led his army in battle, stayed true to his name, "victory to the lion".

One day the neighboring king thought to himself, "If I cannot conquer him by fair means, I have to employ unfair means." Thus he sent his spies to find out about Jai Singh´s habits. The spies soon returned with this message: Every morning Jai Singh personally worships his deity, Shri Radha Raman. He starts punctually at 8 a.m. and finishes the worship by 9 a.m. No one was to disturb him during that time. So the neighboring king decided to attack at this time. In this way, one morning, exactly one minute past eight he started his surprise attack.

Jai Singh was before Radha Raman. He prayed, "My Lord I have given a vow to worship you. I cannot go and defend my people now." There was a loud knock at the door. The prime minister´s voice shouted from outside, "King you have to lead your army! I brought a qualified priest with me, he can do the worship!" Jai Singh answered, "Yes, but you know that I have given this vow to Radha Raman that I will always worship him personally." "We are lost", said the distraught minister, who then went to the king´s mother for help. She came to jai Singh and said to him "My son what do you think the Lord appreciates more? - If you protect his devotees or if you dress him in a doti! As your mother I order you - lead your army!" Jai Singh said "No mother, I´ve given a promise to Radha Raman." "Is this all you have to say to your mother? Our soldier will be slaughtered. Some of the women will be violated and all the citizens will be made slaves." "I cannot break my promise," was Jai Singh´s final word. The mother said, "So be it, then we women of this palace will all burn our bodies to ashes so that the enemy will not lay his hand on us!" the king prayed, "My dear Lord, please protect me. Please protect my people. My Lord, I have said no to my mother because I want to be true to my promise to you. Now you are the only one that can save us."

At this moment something wonderful happened. Jai Singh had a war horse which was extremely powerful and almost as big as an elephant. Jai Singh was the only person who could ride it. Suddenly the servants at the barn of the king´s horses saw a warrior running up to the barn with great speed and force. He wore the armor of the king, his covered and he yelled, "Make the horse ready!!!" The warrior had a sward in both of his hands and immediately began cutting himself through the army of the enemy. However, everyone who encountered the warrior became supremely blissful, even when they fell to the ground by his sword. Jai Singh´s army enthusiastically shouted again and again, "Jai Singh ki jay! All glories to Jai Singh!"

Meanwhile Jai Singh sat before Radha Raman, continuing his prayer for protection while he dressed the deity. When he wanted to give earrings to the Lord he saw that there was only one although he was sure that he had brought two. At that time the enemy´s army was slain. Soon the prime minister found Jai Singh in the temple and started to praise him for fighting the battle single-handedly. "I was not fighting at all", said the surprised Jai Singh. "I was doing my puja (worship) here." - When the minister finally took him to his war horse to show him that it was exhausted from the battle, Jai Singh understood: Radha Raman had fought the battle. Later, Jai Singh found the missing earring of Radha Raman on the battle grounds and built a temple at that place. The earring is still being worshiped there today.

This is the power of prayer. The king prayed with sincerity for the Lord´s protection and the Lord took care of everything.

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Be an instrument

Posted by dinesh

Kadamba Kanana Swami, Vrindavan India 4 April 2019, SB 8.17.25-27

Ekalavya, on his own, was trying to perfect the way of archery and appeared to be even better than Arjuna. But as a result his thumb was taken by Dronacarya. So we are not becoming Ekalavya – no. We cannot imitate Krsna; we can only serve Krsna. We cannot imitate Arjuna either. Arjuna is Krsna’s eternal associate, and we are simply following in the footsteps. Our path is not anukāra – imitation; it is anusārataḥ – to follow.

Anusārataḥ means to follow in the footsteps. We cannot imitate anyone; we simply have to be ourselves and follow in the footsteps of the previous Vaisnavas. We should know that every person has unique attributes, unique qualities and Krsna has a purpose with each one of us. We are instruments and each of us has a particular quality that will come out over time. So be yourself. You are valuable and you are meant to utilise what you have – everything!

What will repression accomplish? We are not going to repress our nature and imitate someone else. Be who you are but purify. Kavi Karnapura says, “Be natural, but purified nature.” Purify your nature and then the characteristics that we have, become perfect. And how do we become purified? By anusārataḥ – by following in the footsteps.

Even Krsna is acting by example. In Chapter Seventy of The Krsna book Krsna’s daily activities are nicely described. Krsna gives charity to the brahmanas. He sees statues of cows and other auspicious things in the morning. So one can follow in the footsteps of Krsna and of the Vaisnavas.

The article " Be an instrument " was published on KKSBlog.

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The Six Waves of Time –part 1

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Vrindavan India 4 April 2019, SB 8.17.25-27)

So the Lord is described as kāla-srota – waves of time. It is very interesting these waves of time. We see how it is described as the ṣaḍ ūrmayaḥ – the six waves. Actually everything comes into being, it grows, flourishes, and it gives off some by products. It begins to dwindle and then it ceases to exist. So these are also known as the six transformations – the ṣaḍ-vikāra. So the waves of time they follow a script which is the script of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. All living beings are first too small and then growing. Then rising in power and then cannot wait to take the wheel. Finally they are there at the peak of their power, then it is downhill from then on. The downhill part is long. The other parts of flourishing and rising are quick but the downhill part of aging and losing it is long. It is as if the ball is thrown up only to be smashed.

For a moment we are rising to glory and fame and then we are smashed by time, because time takes everything away. Little by little we lose it all. First little things like you do not have the same energy level like you used have. I remember that I ate a date, and with the date I ate my tooth that is one less – there still is a gap there. What to do? Little by little we lose everything. We lose our strength – and as we understand the ability of man is simply a gift of the Supreme Lord. That is all. Just like we write in a book, ‘This book is in the care of.’ And then we write our name. We do not write, ‘This is my book.’ Everything is just in the care of. We have a certain amount of intelligence and it will be put into our care because it will be taken away. Intelligence is defined as including memory. Memory is fading very quickly. The influence of time is intrinsic to material life.

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The Six Waves of Time – part 2

Posted by dinesh

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Vrindavan India 4 April 2019, SB 8.17.25-27)

In the Eleventh Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam there is a chapter entitled the Bhumi Gita – the song of the earth. The earth is explaining, “So many have tried to possess me, to control me, lord it over me. And now what remains of them? Only names.” So we see that influence of time which destroys everything and takes everything away. It is painful to lose one’s influence, to lose one’s power. It is painful to become old, but there also is an advantage, if one is engaged in devotional service. In material life there is not much advantage – one gets some grey hairs, one gets a little experience. One can say a few wise words, before one starts mumbling and goes senile. In India sometimes they say, “He went into samadhi.” Some do go into samadhi but some also lose it over time. That is the nature of time.

But in spiritual life it is different. In spiritual life we are gaining over time. Time means more devotional service and more benefit from devotional service. That is one thing. Also, this dynamic of time that destroys everything eventually makes us detached. At first we try to hold on, but it does not work and then we let go. At one point we give up and say, “Forget it.” The influence of time is taking away our opportunities to be involved in so many things in this world, and one becomes aloof. This platform of being aloof is very important.

In the Fourth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam we see the pastime of Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva wanted to climb onto the lap of his father and it was not only his step-mother who stopped him; it was also her son, Uttama. Uttama was already sitting on his father’s lap and pushed him down. So Dhruva was not only upset with his step-mother; he was angry with both and that anger was burning. He performed his austerities and became self-realised and came back totally aloof. He met his step-mother who could see that Dhruva harboured no ill feelings towards her and she was amazed. He offered obeisances to her and she blessed him. But then we also see by the arrangement of the Lord that his step-mother dies somewhere in a forest fire, and Uttama is killed by the Yaksas. Dhruva’s anger emerges again and this time it may be slightly nourished by guilt feelings, because he was the one who desired that his brother is punished. He feels a little responsible and to sort of wash off the guilt feeling, he punishes all these Yaksas, killing them the celestial weapons. He is about to wipe out all the Yaksas.

Then it is said that the two elders who are normally completely aloof appear. One of them is Svayambhuva Manu and the other is Kuvera. These two elders on exceptional occasions get involved in the material affairs. Normally they do not, since they are detached and aloof and absorbed in the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They give Dhruva good advice and instruct him to stop the killing. It is very potent, because they are very deep and constantly concentrating on the Supreme Lord. So it is very valuable when in one’s old age one becomes detached. And if in one’s old age one has not become detached, then one should, because at that detached stage one can focus and absorb on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is not only beneficial for the individual but beneficial for society at large – and not only beneficial, it is essential.

Original post: https://www.kksblog.com/2019/04/the-six-waves-of-time-part-2/

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The Essence is Transcendence

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 August 2018, Vrindavan, India, Bhagavad-gita 4.9)

Sometimes I feel that the temple is transcendental, the Bhagavad-gita is transcendental, the holy name is transcendental, and the devotees are transcendental. Everything is transcendental expect me; I am not transcendental. But to some extent we are elevated to the transcendental platform, because we are chanting Hare Krsna, taking Krsna prasadam and engaging in devotional service.

So the transcendental energy is working through us at times, and then we are on a transcendental platform. At other times, when we are not on the transcendental platform, we return to the mode of goodness. In this way we are between transcendence and the mode of goodness. Sometimes we are in one and at other times we are in another.

In the mode of goodness we are looking from a philosophical perspective. In transcendence we are simply absorbed in loving service to Krsna, in relishing that service and in relishing the descriptions of Krsna:

vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma

uttama-śloka-vikrame yac-chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ svādu pade, (SB 1.1.19).
tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam (SB 5.5.1).

It is said that at that stage, hearing about Krsna becomes thoroughly enjoyable at every step and at every moment. It is just an ongoing experience of enjoyment. We have moments when we feel inspired and feel that Krsna consciousness is very enjoyable.

Then we have moments when we experience Krsna consciousness as an austerity. At that time we come down to the level of the mode of goodness.

As Ṛṣabhadeva told his son, then it becomes tapo divyaṁ, or austerity for a divine purpose.

But at other times it is just premāmṛta-mahāmbudhe, when we are just absorbed in theocean of transcendental nectar. The essence of this movement is the ocean of transcendental nectar.

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To increase our inspiration

Posted by dinesh

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 04 August 2018, Vrindavan, India, Bhagavad-gita 4.9)

In The Nectar of Devotion there is a reference to ‘sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā,’ that we must make devotional service more dense. One of the symptoms of bhava is avyartha-kālatvam (Cc. Madhya 23.18-19) – not to waste a moment. In theCaitanya-caritamrtait is said that while the associates of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were taking prasadam they were chanting the holy name in between bites. So they were not wasting a moment; their devotional service was very dense.

It is also said that devotional service must be ahaituky apratihatā – it must be uninterrupted and unmotivated (SB 1.2.6). But our devotional service is interrupted, “That was hard work; now I can take some rest.”

One hour later, “Okay, a little more devotional service.”

A little later, “Oh, now I can take a break. Now I can play with my phone.” Somehow or the other we are constantly interrupting our service.Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says, “If we want to overcome this then we have to increase our chanting as an attempt to make this service more dense. Or we should increase our preaching.” We see from Srila Prabhupada’s example that the emphasis is more on preaching than on bhajan; he was constantly preaching at every moment. That is what it means to make it more dense – to somehow increase our engagement by hearing and chanting, in the nine processes of devotional service and in preaching Krsna consciousness. Then that breakthrough will come by deep attachment.

It is said that whatever fruits of love of God we have got, when we distribute them then we will get more than we had before. So we can increase our daivi-sampad, our spiritual wealth, and then the inspiration will increase. That is our process – to somehow or the other increase. It is interesting that in a material field any work that you do in the beginning is difficult and you have to work hard. But after a while you become very expert and then your work requires less effort. But in spiritual life it is the opposite. As time goes on it takes more effort. In the beginning we may not make such an effort, but in time the eagerness increases for more; sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā, we have to make it more dense.

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“SURRENDER-LOKA” IN DALLAS

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"SURRENDER-LOKA" IN DALLAS

In the early 1980s at Radha-Kalachandji dhama in Dallas, Goswami Maharaja spoke every morning for about a month about surrender from the Sixth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, the story of Ajamila. Many young, exuberant devotees were joining at that time, fusing with a powerful group that included remnants of the Radha Damodara party and senior book distributors like Praghosa dasa and Tripurari Maharaja, who were attracted to serve in the Texas preaching field under the strong leadership of Tamal Krishna Goswami.

Goswami Maharaja kept asking the devotees, "If you were the only devotee left alive in the world and you didn't even have Prabhupada's books, because they were all destroyed, could you spread Krishna consciousness all on your own, based on your knowledge, faith, and realization?" He kept drilling into the devotees how important it was to know Srila Prabhupada's books, to distribute the books, preach, and recruit new devotees. The mood of surrender was extremely intense during that entire time.

Every evening during that month, everyone would gather in Goswami's darsana room for wonderful kirtanas in a sweet, early evening Bengali melody. Goswami Maharaja played the mrdanga and traded leading the kirtanas with Dhrstadyumna Maharaja. Every night for a month the devotees would come together and chant this same melody for nearly an hour. Krishna Kripa remembered, "No one ever got tired of that melody. All morning we would hear about surrender to Krishna from Srila Gurudeva and during the day we would surrender on sankirtana. Then, in the evening Gurudeva led that beautiful melody, which continued the theme of surrender. At that time he called his Texas preaching field Surrender-loka. We were all surrendered, simply trying to please Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada, just trying to contact the fallen souls to bring them in. In later years those ecstatic kirtanascame to be widely known as the Surrender-loka kirtanas."

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You claim, "This is my hair." You cannot count even your hair.

Posted by dinesh

"Material world means there are innumerable universes. Just like you cannot count the stars and planets. You are every day you are seeing, at least at night you see, but can you count it? No, that is not possible. So this is only one universe, the universe in which our planet, this earthly planet, is situated. It is teeny planet. Out of many millions of planets this is one of. So we cannot even calculate this one planet in which portion, which direction, which country is there, how many population, what is there. We have no calculation. This is God's creation. Anything you take... You cannot count even your hair. You claim, "This is my hair." Can you count it? No. That is God's creation. Everywhere God is present, and everything is innumerable, beyond our counting capacity."

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Your life is a Day!

Posted by dinesh

What you do in a day, you would repeat for weeks, months, years. It's all the small things that accumulate to become bigger in the future. For instance, you keep throwing emptied water bottles to the rear of your car every time you finish drinking, after a few months you would see a garbage of water bottles piling up at your rear side of the car. Same goes true with your diet, formation of habits.

Once they are formed as a pattern in your mind, they are very hard to break in the future. We have to constantly assess ourselves of our actions through the eyes of scriptures, Guru and Sadhu to be able to make steady progress in our spiritual life.

Even the vast ocean is made of little drops of water. So let's not forget that and make efforts to fix our actions when it is small. Every small action counts. Because this our situation in life.

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An instrument of Krsna

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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 22 April 2016, Radhadesh, Srimad Bhagavatam 7.8.14-16)

It is said sometimes that anger is the younger brother of lust. First, there is our desire to control. We want a world according to our desires and if people interfere with that then we become angry!

But it is not that people just interfere because you have to see Krsna behind it. So devotees accept, “Alright, so Krsna did not want this for me. Krsna has another plan for me. This is not destined to be.” One has to accept being an instrument of Krsna!

This is difficult. I know it is difficult. Tell me all about it. I find it very difficult also. But, when everything goes wrong, and you are sort of standing on shaky legs then we say, “Okay Krsna, I’m yours!” This is sort of how it is.

Source: https://www.kksblog.com/2018/12/an-instrument-of-krsna-2/

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