Krishna Consciousness

The whole process is, of this Krishna Consciousness movement, to meet the waves of material nature. The waves are called agitation by hunger and thirst, lamentation, confusion, illusion in so called love and affection, pangs of old age and disease and at last meeting with death. All these things can be changed simply by engaging ourselves in the service of the Lord which keeps us always in the transcendental position.

- REF. Letter to: Carol -- Nairobi 7 October, 1971

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HATRED IN THE HEART A kindergarten teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates. Click here to read more>>

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A man was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon another man in a rowboat came by and shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."The stranded one shouted back, "No, it's Ok, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me." So the rowboat went on. Then a motorboat came by. The man in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you." To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew away. Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in You but You didn't save me. You let me drown. I don't understand why!" To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?" Krishna has already descended in the form of His Holy Name. We have to take shelter. Srila Prabhupada instructs: "This material world is sometimes regarded as an ocean of nescience. In the ocean, however expert a swimmer one may be, the struggle for existence is very severe. Perfect knowledge, received from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the path of liberation. The boat of Krishna consciousness is very simple, but at the same time the most sublime. The Lord desires the conditioned souls hovering in the material creation be reclaimed to go back home, back to Godhead, and thus He helps them by preparing the transcendental literatures like the Vedas, by sending missionaries of saints and sages and by deputing His representative, the spiritual master. Krishna descends in this Kali-yuga in the form of His holy name—Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. Krishna descends means—sometimes He personally descends, sometimes He descends by His incarnation, sometimes He descends as a sound vibration, sometimes He descends as devotee. There are many different categories of His descent. And at the present moment Krishna has descended in His holy name.This is the shastric injunction; the holy name of Krishna, and Krishna , they're not different. Abhinna: meaning, not separate. They are the same. The word Hara is the form of addressing the energy of the Lord, and the words Krishna and Rama are forms of addressing the Lord Himself. Both Krishna and Rama mean the supreme pleasure, and Hara is the supreme pleasure energy of the Lord, changed to Hare in the vocative. The supreme pleasure energy of the Lord helps us to reach the Lord. So take advantage of this Hare Krishna mantra, and make your life successful." REF. SB 9.10.53

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Please chant Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare & be happy

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Srila Prabhupada established over 108 ISKCON centers in 10 years, the world over. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a denomination of the Gaudiya Vaishnava faith, a devotional tradition based on the teachings of Bhagavad-gita and the Bhagavat Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam). The tradition traces its roots back 5,500 years. The precepts and practices of the members of the present day ISKCON were taught and codified by the 15th century saint and religious reformer Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his principle associates, the six Goswamis of Vrindavana. Sri Chaitanya, whom devotees revere as a direct incarnation of Lord Krishna, gave a powerful impetus for a massive bhakti (devotional) movement of Krishna followers throughout India. It was under his direction that hundreds of volumes on the philosophy of Krishna consciousness were compiled. The movement diminished somewhat until the 19th century, when a outstanding Vaishnava theologian, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, again revived Krishna consciousness. His son, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami, became the guru of Srila Prabhupada and instructed him to make the spreading of Krishna consciousness in the West the mission of his life. Lord Krishna instructing Arjuna After arriving at New York City in September 1965, Srila Prabhupada struggled alone for the first year to establish his God conscious movement. He lived simply, lectured whenever and wherever he got opportunity, and gradually began to attract some small interest in his teachings. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (center) who appeared 500 years ago to propagate the chanting of Hare Krishna mantra In July of 1966, while still working alone from an obscure storefront in New York City's Lower East Side, Srila Prabhupada nonetheless founded a spiritual society intended for worldwide participation. He called it the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON for short. At the time of incorporation, Srila Prabhupada had not attracted even one committed follower. Undeterred, he enlisted volunteers among the small group of regular attendees at his evening lectures to act as ISKCON's first trustees. That was then. Today, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness comprises more than 350 temples, farms, schools, and special projects throughout the world and maintains a congregation numbering in the millions. Continued>> About ISKCON | Akshaya Patra | Bhagavatam & Gita | Books | History | Chaitanya Mahaprabhu | Contact Us | Cow Protection | Daily Program | DistinguishedSpeak | FAQs | FOLK | For Children | For Families | For the Youth | Force of Life | Krishna Voice | Purpose | Organic Farming | Philosophy | Srila Prabhupada | Vaishnava Calendar | Harinam Mantap |

March 2007

Main Page The Hidden Incarnation Srila Prabhupada Speaks out Attaining the Supreme Paradoxes of Time and Space Save the Earth Of Gold and Nectar AKSHAYA PATRA Corporate Dinner ARCHIVES Explore & Experience festivals at ISKCON Bangalore in Videos & Special songs Discover images that evoke Spiritual reverence & bring them to life on your desktop Send exciting e-greetings from ISKCON-Bangalore to a friend Get all the details for Vaishnava festivals in our Vedic calendar (Vaishnava calendar) Experts claim that increasing materialistic life on the globe with promoted consumerism is damaging the essential Spiritual quotient of the human civilization. How can such social erosion be checked & human values be preserved. Check out our forums for the youth & the parents

The Hidden Incarnation A lecture in Mayapur on the appearance day of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: March 16, 1976 By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ittham nr-tiryag-rsi-deva jhasavatarair lokan vibhavayasi hamsi jagat pratipan dharmam maha-purusa pasi yuganuvrttam channah kalau yad abhavas tri-yugo 'tha sa tvam The Lord Worships the Lord Srila Advaita Acharya (kneeling), an incarnation of Lord Maha-Vishnu, worships Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna Himself in the guise of His own devotee. Lord Chaitanya descended five hundred years ago in Mayapur, West Bengal, where devotees hold a great festival in His honour each spring. "In this way, my Lord, You appear in various incarnations as a human being, an animal, a great saint, a demigod, a fish, or a tortoise, thus maintaining the entire creation in different planetary systems and killing the demoniac principles. According to the age, O my Lord, You protect the principles of religion. In the Age of Kali, however, You do not assert Yourself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and therefore You are known as Triyuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas."—Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.38 Here is a specific statement about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He's channa. Channa means "covered." Lord Chaitanya is a covered avatara, or incarnation, of the Supreme Lord because He appeared as a devotee. An avatara should be confirmed by great devotees, and their opinions must be upheld by statements in the shastra, the scriptures. Today's verse is a statement from the Srimad-Bhagavatam confirming that Lord Chaitanya is an avatara. The Eleventh Canto (11.5.32) gives another direct statement about Lord Chaitanya: krishna-varnam tvisakrishnam sangopangastra-parsadam yajnaih sankirtana-prayair yajanti hi su-medhasah "In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Krishna. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Krishna Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions." Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is also described by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura as yuga-dharma-pala, the protector of the religion for the age. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is described here as channah kalau. In the Kali-yuga He does not appear directly like other incarnations, such as Narasimhadeva, Vamanadeva, or Lord Ramachandra. He appears as a devotee. Why? Because He is the most magnanimous avatara. People are so foolish that they could not understand Krishna. When Krishna said, sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja—"Give up all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me"—they took it: "Who is this person ordering like that? What right does he have?" That is our material disease. If somebody is ordered to do something, he protests, "Who are you to order me?" This is the position. God Himself, Krishna—what can He say? He orders. As the Supreme Person, the Supreme Being, He must order. He's the supreme controller. He must order. That is God. But we are so foolish that when God orders, "You do this," we take it otherwise—"Oh, who is this man? He's ordering like that. Give up everything? Why shall I give him everything? I have created so many dharmas, 'isms.' Shall I give them up? Why shall I give them up?" Therefore the same Lord Krishna came again as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Today is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance day, so we must discuss this very thoroughly. Rupa Goswami understood Lord Chaitanya's position. To understand Lord Chaitanya we have to go through the guru, and Rupa Goswami is our guru. Narottama Dasa Thakura, who is also our guru, has written, rupa-raghu-natha-pade hoibe akuti, kabe hama bujhabo sri yugala-piriti: If we want to understand the transcendental position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, we have to go through the guru, the guru-parampara system. Otherwise it is not possible.

March 2007

Main Page The Hidden Incarnation Srila Prabhupada Speaks out Attaining the Supreme Paradoxes of Time and Space Save the Earth Of Gold and Nectar ARCHIVES Explore & Experience festivals at ISKCON Bangalore in Videos & Special songs Discover images that evoke Spiritual reverence & bring them to life on your desktop Send exciting e-greetings from ISKCON-Bangalore to a friend Get all the details for Vaishnava festivals in our Vedic calendar (Vaishnava calendar) Experts claim that increasing materialistic life on the globe with promoted consumerism is damaging the essential Spiritual quotient of the human civilization. How can such social erosion be checked & human values be preserved. Check out our forums for the youth & the parents

The Hidden Incarnation The whole process is submission. Krishna wants this—sarva-dharman parityajya. So if we want to approach Krishna, we have to become very submissive. To whom do we become submissive? "Krishna is not here. To whom I shall submit?" Submit to His devotee, to His representative. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared on this day to give mercy to the fallen souls, who are so foolish that they cannot take to Krishna consciousness. He is personally teaching how to take to Krishna consciousness. And that process is this kirtana, chanting Krishna's holy names. In our Teachings of Lord Chaitanya there is a picture of Lord Chaitanya chanting in Prayag, and Rupa Goswami is offering his obeisances. That is the first meeting with Rupa Goswami, and he composed this verse: namo maha-vadanyaya krishna-prema-pradaya te krishnaya krishna-chaitanyanamne gaura-tvise namah "O most munificent incarnation! You are Krishna Himself appearing as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krishna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You." So this is channa-avatara. He's Krishna, He has come to give you Krishna-prema, but He's acting like a Krishna devotee. This is the meaning of "covered incarnation." He is not commanding now, "You do this." Or He's commanding, "Do this," but in a different way, because people misunderstood Krishna—"Oh, who is this person commanding?" Even a rascal so-called scholar has said, "Krishna's demanding too much." "Sophisticated" persons think like that. But our process is to submit. Unless we submit, there is no hope of advancing in Krishna consciousness. That is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's teaching: trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna / amanina manadena kirtaniyah sada harih. If you want to chant the Hare Krishna mantra, you have to take this principle: trnad api sunicena. You have to become humbler than the grass. When grass is lying on the street, everyone tramples it, but it never protests. And you must be more tolerant than a tree—taror api sahisnuna. The tree is giving us so much help. It is giving us fruits, flowers, leaves, and, when there is scorching heat, shelter also. The tree is so beneficial. Still, we cut it down. Whenever I like, I cut it down. But there is no protest. The tree does not say, "I have given you so much help, and you are cutting me?" No. It is tolerant. Therefore Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has selected taror api sahisnuna and amanina manadena. The devotee should not expect any respectful position but should offer all respect to anyone. If we acquire this qualification, we can chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra without any disturbance. This is the qualification. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to teach these principles. He is Krishna Himself. Svarupa Damodara, Lord Chaitanya's secretary, has written, na chaitanyat krishnaj jagati para-tattvam param iha: Paratattvam, the Supreme Truth, is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Supreme Truth is Krishna, but Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not different from Krishna. Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan—these are the three features of the Supreme Absolute Truth. vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma, or Bhagavan." The Absolute Truth is one, advaya-jnana. There is no difference. But according to our qualification for understanding, the Absolute Truth appears as the impersonal Brahman, the localized Paramatma, and the beloved Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. If you want to understand the Absolute Truth as impersonal Brahman, you realize that. If you want to realize the Absolute Truth as Paramatma—everywhere, all-pervading— you can realize Him. And if you want to see Him as the most beloved, then you can also have that. That is the meaning of ye yatha mam prapadyante. You can realize the Absolute Truth any way. He is prepared to manifest Himself as you desire.

March 2007

Main Page The Hidden Incarnation Srila Prabhupada Speaks out Attaining the Supreme Paradoxes of Time and Space Save the Earth Of Gold and Nectar ARCHIVES Explore & Experience festivals at ISKCON Bangalore in Videos & Special songs Discover images that evoke Spiritual reverence & bring them to life on your desktop Send exciting e-greetings from ISKCON-Bangalore to a friend Get all the details for Vaishnava festivals in our Vedic calendar (Vaishnava calendar) Experts claim that increasing materialistic life on the globe with promoted consumerism is damaging the essential Spiritual quotient of the human civilization. How can such social erosion be checked & human values be preserved. Check out our forums for the youth & the parents

The Hidden Incarnation Originally there was water all over the universe. So at that time the Lord came as a fish. Similarly, He became a tortoise. Then He became Narasimhadeva. He became Vamanadeva, and so on. Don't think the avatara comes only to the human society. He appears amongst the animals, amongst the insects, amongst the trees. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna says, "Among the trees, I am this tree. Among the animals, I am this animal. Among the fighters, I am this fighter . . ." He's everything, but He points out a few examples. He is prepared to be appreciated by you in any condition of life if you take His instruction on how to realize Him. And if you manufacture your own way, it is not possible to realize Him. But even if you are the most ordinary man, you can realize Him. There is no difficulty. How? Krishna says, raso 'ham apsu kaunteya: "My dear Arjuna, I am the taste of water." Now, who does not drink water? Anyone? The animal drinks water, and the human being drinks water. But the animal cannot understand God, although God is there in the water. The man can understand because he is a human being. Therefore a human being is different from an animal. Still, if we are drinking water but we are not realizing Krishna, then we are animals. When we drink water we have so many chances to remember Krishna. And that is the process of devotional service. Smaranam, remembering. Every time you drink water and remember Krishna, you are in devotional service. Where is the difficulty? But the rascals will not take it. As soon as you drink water and the taste of the water appeases your thirst, if you simply remember, "In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that this taste is Krishna," then immediately you remember Krishna. And as soon as you remember Krishna, it is devotional service, smaranam. Where is the difficulty? Where is the difficulty for becoming Krishna conscious? Prabhasmi shashi-suryayoh: "I am the illumination of the moon and the sun." Who does not see the sunshine and the moonshine? In daytime you see the sunshine, and at night you see the moonshine. So you can see the sunshine and moonshine and remember Krishna's instructions: "I am this sunshine and moonshine." Where is the difficulty? Pranavah sarva-vedesu. Now, you may think, "I'm a learned Vedantist. Why shall I study the sunshine and moonshine? I shall chant om." But Krishna says, "Rascal, I am this om. You are a big Vedantist. You chant om, but I am om." Every Vedic mantra is chanted after the vibration of omkara (om). So whether you are a Vedantist or an ordinary human being who does not know anything, you can realize Krishna. There is no difficulty. Krishna taught everything for becoming Krishna conscious, but still we are such rascals that we could not understand Krishna. Therefore Krishna came again: "These rascals failed to understand Me, and now I shall teach how to become a devotee of Krishna by My personal behavior." That is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He taught by His personal example. Don't think that because He's playing the part He's a human being like us. For example, someone may be massaging my body and not doing it properly. And I might take his hand and begin to give the massage,"Do like this. Do like this." That does not mean I am a masseur or I am a servant of that person. Similarly, don't forget that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. You are worshiping Radha- Krishna, and there is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Deity also. Some people protest, "Why should Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Deity be placed along with Krishna?" But they do not know. Sri-Krishna-Chaitanya Radha-Krishna nahe anya. Sri Krishna Chaitanya is Krishna. It is confirmed by the shastras. In today's verse it is said, channah kalau yad abhavah. In the Kali-yuga, He does not appear directly as an incarnation like Narasimhadeva or Vamanadeva or Lord Ramachandra, but He appears as a devotee. But He's an incarnation: Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. "Therefore sometimes You are called Triyuga." There are are four yugas, or ages, but He is known as one who appears in three yugas. Because in three yugas He appears distinctly and in the fourth yuga, the Kali-yuga, He appears as a devotee, He's called Triyuga. So today is the birthday, or appearance day, of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and this is His birthplace—Mayapur. It is your good fortune that you are all present here. Always remember Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and chant srikrishna- chaitanya prabhu-nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrnda. This will make your life perfect.

HARINAM MANTAP

JAPA YAJNA FOR WORLD PEACE AND HARMONY
A Unique program for mass distribution of the holy name

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ISKCON Bangalore has a unique program to make thousands of people chant at least one round of the Hare Krishna maha mantra everyday at the temple on Hare Krishna Hill. This unique program was inaugurated by the then Governor of Karnataka, Her Excellency Smt. Ramadevi.

Over 9000 rounds of the mahamantra were chanted by pilgrims on January 1st, at Hare Krishna Hill. This marked the beginning of ISKCON Bangalore's offering to World Peace & Harmony in the year 2000: the Shata Koti Nama Japa Yajna (Sacrifice to chant 100 crore holy names of Sri Krishna) in the Year 2000, in ISKCON's Harinama Mantap.

The Harinama mantap is just located before the pilgrims reach the first temple of Sri Prahlada Narasimha. Designed in South-Indian style, this has two sets of 108 steps. A recorded voice of Srila Prabhupada chanting the mahamantra with full clarity, resounds in the mantap, playing off a CD. One full round takes exactly 10 minutes - meaning that 1296 people can pass through the mantap in an hour, each chanting the mahamantra 108 times.

Day after day, devotees of the Sri Radha Krishna-chandra temple take turns in appealing to the visitors to participate in this yajna for world Peace, and to receive Krishna's blessings in His temple. Braving all types of weather, the devotees stand before the japa mantapa, enthusing visitors to participate in the Nama Japa Yajna.

In the year 2004 22,20,334 rounds of the mahamantra were chanted on the steps. In 2005, 13,48,082 rounds were chanted.

Each participant chants the Hare Krishna mahamantra (consisting of 16 holy names) 108 times as he passes through the Harinama Mantap.