Tag Archives: Krishna

The Appearance Day of Lord Krishna (Janmastami)

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Janmastami, Krishna, Krishna's childhood pastimes, Krsna, KRSNA the Supreme Personality of Godhead
The Birth of Lord Krishna Janmastami

click on image to enlarge

Today,being the advent of Lord Krsna’s birthday celebration (Janmastami), it seems fitting that we do a post on the birth of Lord Krsna. So the following is the entire third chapter from the Krsna Book entitled “The Birth of Lord Kṛṣṇa”.

…As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that His appearance, birth, and activities, are all transcendental, and one who understands them factually becomes immediately eligible to be transferred to the spiritual world. The Lord’s appearance or birth is not like that of an ordinary man who is forced to accept a material body according to his past deeds. The Lord’s appearance is explained in the Second Chapter: He appears out of His own sweet pleasure. When the time was mature for the appearance of the Lord, the constellations became very auspicious. The astrological influence of the star known as Rohiṇī was also predominant because this star is considered to be very auspicious. Rohiṇī is under the direct supervision of Brahmā. According to the astrological conclusion, besides the proper situation of the stars, there are auspicious and inauspicious moments due to the different situations of the different planetary systems. At the time of Kṛṣṇa’s birth, the planetary systems were automatically adjusted so that everything became auspicious. ( from Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead Chapter 3)

Full Chapter

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Appearance Day of Lord Balarama

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Balarama, KRSNA the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Uncategorized
Balarama killing demon with plow

In honor of the Appearance Day of Lord Balarama, we are posting a chapter from the Krsna Book, entitled ” The Killing of Dantavakra, Vidūratha and Romaharṣaṇa”. Some of the pastimes the Lord performed during His advent was the killing of demons. As is stated in the Bhagavad-gita:

“In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” (Bg. 4.8)

The following chapter has some nice pastimes of Lord Balarama in His glorious role as Statesman, Sage, and Kṣatriya. In the above image from the Krsna Book, Lord Balarama is seen dragging the Deamon Balvala down with his plow.

“…Our dear Lord, there is a demon of the name Balvala. He is the son of Ilvala, but he visits this sacred place of sacrifice every fortnight on the full moon and moonless days and creates a great disturbance to the discharge of our duties in the sacrifice… The demon occasionally comes here and profusely throws upon us contaminated, impure things like pus, blood, stool, urine and wine, and he pollutes this sacred place by showering such filth upon us.”

All Glories to Lord Balarama and His plow!

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The Hare Krishna Maha-mantra

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chanting Hare Krishna

This morning I was going through one of my old devotee notebooks, filled with prayers and slokas and bits of nectar, and I ran across this short definition of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra.

Hare – Srimati Radharani (the Divine Energy of the Lord)

Krishna – the All Attractive Supreme Personality of Godhead

Rama – Lord Krishna who is the Reservoir of Pleasure

“O Srimati Radharani, O All Attractive Reservoir of Pleasure, Lord Sri Krishna, please engage me in your loving devotional service”

for more definitions and deeper explanations click on following link https://theharekrishnamovement.org/category/chanting-hare-krishna/

Appearance Day of Lord Nrsimhadeva

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

In honor of the appearance day of Lord Nrsimha, we are posting a beautiful verse and purport from the Srimad Bhagavatam 5.18.8 glorifying the Lord and his devotees.

Om Namo Bhagavate Narasimhaya

oṁ namo bhagavate narasiṁhāya namas tejas-tejase āvir-āvirbhava
vajra-nakha vajra-daṁṣṭra karmāśayān randhaya randhaya tamo grasa
grasa oṁ svāhā; abhayam abhayam ātmani bhūyiṣṭhā oṁ kṣraum

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demon like desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.

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Bhava; Transcendental Love

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Uncategorized, Vaisnava Vocabulary

Radha Krishna Bhava

Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary: Bhāva. In the Glossary in the back of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 1972 Edition, the word Bhāva is defined as; the preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead. Bhāva is a big word and has various meanings

…The last stage of the devotional life is called bhāva, or transcendental love of Godhead.

“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization.…This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called premā, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the premā stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations resulting from void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-gita 4.11)

So it seem that bhāva is not only the preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead but we find that this preliminary stage of transcendental love is also the path to the highest perfectional stage of life, pure love or premā. There are two ways to approach the Lord, one is with awe and reverence and the other is with affection; bhāva. One who approaches the Lord with affection, is sure to advance spiritually.

In the Srimad Bhagavatam we find many references to the word Bhāva and highlighted some of them here.

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Special Talent for Chanting Hare Krishna

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

“As soon as I remember that you are trying to fullfill my desire of trying to open ten centers, it gives me renewed vigor and life. Please do it nicely. I have got confidence in you because Krishna has given you special talent for chanting Hare Krishna Mantra. When you were chanting in L.A. temple in the evenings, or in the mornings, I enjoyed your chanting so nicely that I thought myself immediately carried to Vaikuntha. So I am always thankful to you for your activities in announcing the interest of our mission. Thank you very much. Most probably when I return to L.A. I may call you back just to hear your chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra. I am very anxious to meet you also. “(Srila Prabhupada letter to “My Dear Son, Vishnujana Maharaj,” 4th April, 1971)

Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava; Further Explained

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava
by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura

jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī
gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī

jaya–all glories to: rādhā-mādhava–Rādhā and the Lord of sweetness; kuñja-bihārī–He who enjoys loving pastimes in the groves of Vṛndāvana; gopī-jana-vallabha–the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja; giri-vara-dhārī–the holder of the great hill named Govardhana;

Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana.

yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana
yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī

yaśodā-nandana–the beloved son of mother Yaśodā; vraja-jana-rañjana–the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja; yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī–who wanders in the forests along the banks of the river Yamunā

He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja, and He wanders in the forests along the banks of the River Yamuna!

Purport to Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava
New York, July 20, 1971

Prabhupāda: So you know this song Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava?

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Don’t Consider What Will Happen to this World

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

“Instead of contemplating what will happen to this world, you have got a short duration of life, say fifty, sixty years. You chant Hare Krsna and go back to home, back to Godhead. Don’t consider what will happen to this world. Nature will take care of it. You don’t puzzle your brain with these thoughts. You utilize whatever time you have got in your possession and go back to home, back to Godhead. You cannot check it. Best thing is that you mold your life and go back to home, back to Godhead. Because people will go on with their rascal civilization, natural consequences will be there. You better take advantage of whatever time you have got and become fully Krsna conscious and go back to home.”[Srila Prabhupada, Morning Walk, February 21, 1975, Caracas]

Appearance Day of Advaita Acarya

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Advaita Acharya, Caitanya-caritamrta, Uncategorized

Today we honor the appearance day of Sri Advaita Acarya with a half day fast and readings from the Sri Caitanya-caritmrta

Advaita Ācārya was a contemporary of Lord Caitanya’s father. He felt sorry for the condition of the world because even after Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, no one had interest in devotional service to Kṛṣṇa. This forgetfulness was so overwhelming that Advaita Prabhu was convinced that no one but Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself could enlighten people about devotional service to the Supreme Lord. Therefore Advaita requested Lord Kṛṣṇa to appear as Lord Caitanya. Offering tulasī leaves and Ganges water, He cried for the Lord’s appearance. The Lord, being satisfied by His pure devotees, descends to satisfy them. As such, being pleased by Advaita Ācārya, Lord Caitanya appeared. ( from introduction to Adi-lila chapter 3)

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Topanga Canyon Pyramid House Talks

Posted on by under A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Devotees, Guru & Disciple, Tamal Krishna Goswami, Uncategorized

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This is an older conversation that took place many years ago at the Pyramid House with some of the senior devotees to discuss Srila Prabhupada’s finial instructions on initiation. Very interesting!

Topanga Canyon Pyramid House Talks
Tamal Krishna talks about Srila Prabhupadas Ritvik instruction

“In late 1980 Tamal Krishna Goswami and Hansadutta Swami were travelling around ISKCON, having been suspended as gurus and GBC’s by the GBC body for activities unacceptable to them, such as demanding that his godbrothers must approach Srila Prabhupada through him. They had been relieved of their zones. TKG called for an open discussion at Nrsinghananda’s Pyramid House in Topanga Canyon, CA. on December 3, 1980. Hansadutta, Dhira Krishna, Kirtiraja, Jayadwaita and others were present, and the talk was recorded. Below are some of the interesting statements made therein, where Tamal Krishna frankly admits, that Srila Prabhupada never appointed any gurus.”

Tamal Krsna Goswami: Actually, Prabhupada never appointed any gurus. He didn’t appoint eleven gurus. He appointed eleven ritviks. He never appointed them gurus. Myself and the other GBC have done the greatest disservice to this movement the last three years (32 now) because we interpreted the appointment of ritviks as the appointment of gurus.

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