31 December 2011

KKSblog.com - We all fly our own plane

KKSblog.com - We all fly our own plane

We all fly our own plane

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 08:54 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, 28 Dec 2011, Pretoria, SA) One can think about a 100 problems in life which make it very difficult for us to practice this Krsna consciousness. Everyone can write down 100 special difficulties- 'why I have an extra problem in being a devotee…'- like health, relationships with other people (family relationships, marriage relationships, work relationships- where there's a whole field of problems! So in all these areas we can list our problems- then the government problems…it doesn't end! And all these are giving us good reasons why it's extra difficult for us to be a devotee and everyone feels like that. Everyone feels that, 'it's especially difficult for me. It is easier for others but my circumstance is that it's especially difficult for me.' Everyone feels that. It is funny but we always feel that we are the one who somehow or other has it more difficult for us. But that's not a fact. Everyone has the mercy and should think, 'what will I do with it?' We all fly our own plane and we all have this individual responsibility to take advantage of this mercy.

It’s about the viraha-bhāva

Posted: 30 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 4

Snana-yatra is described in the other biographies………..which says:

"The queens used to sit on the roof, right opposite of the bathing ceremony".

And the king this year said:

"I'm giving it to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates."

The queens were very upset, but later they still saw everything from another roof…. just a little further away. They saw the amazing experience of Snaha-yatra of how people were pouring tonnes of water over Lord Jagannatha, and drops of water were flying in all directions….and they were glittering in the sun.

But there was more water coming from Caitanya Mahaprabhu who was dancing in front of Jagannatha, than compared to Lord Jagannatha….and the tears that was shooting in all directions, and that was more water than all the bathing water that was poured on Jagannatha. So everyone was just amazed!

Then it was Ratha Yatra, and He was just dancing and jumping so high! And spinning around so fast (just like when you have a glowing stick and you move it around very fast and it looks like a fire circle). He was moving so fast that his spinning hands looked like a closed circle! And He would dance so high and crash to the ground, and everyone just could not believe it!
He was calling out:

"Jaga….Jaga!"

So the Ratha Yatra was not an experience of preaching, since it was the most public display of the Lord's ecstasy. Externally, the mercy of the Lord is freely distributed, but internally, it is about the viraha-bhāva of both Sri Caitanya and Lord Jagannatha!

30 December 2011

KKSblog.com - It’s up to us

KKSblog.com - It’s up to us

It’s up to us

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 08:04 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, 28 December 2011, Pretoria, SA) We are incredibly close to the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the whole world is touched by the mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, which is present everywhere but people don't see it because the influence of Kali is very present…The pressure of the Age of Kali is very strong. As soon as we step out of the gate it's another world, as everyone knows! Of course we bring with us, in that world, whatever mercy we have received. The mercy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes through our life and then it's up to us to do something with it. Some don't do so much but still they have the mercy and they keep it. Some are not looking after the mercy so well then the mercy may become a little bit dry but it's still there and is still not gone. But those who are really taking it and making something out of it and are really trying to take advantage of it, then their spiritual life starts flourishing. It's an individual thing….everyone has his own relationship with Krsna. Some are going to stay in this material world for another 100 000 lives and some are going to go back this life! It's up to the individual to decide where he wants to be…

Venus and Mars again

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 01:37 PM PST

Kadamba Kanana Swami
(22 December 2011, Cape Town, South Africa)

Srimad Bhagavatam 7.14.3-4

Affection and relationships should be there in our life. But of course, they shouldn't lead to illicit sex. That is the bottom line. As you know, accidents do happen. That is the nature of the senses and the mind, that where there is attachment to such sense gratification, somehow or other, when men and women come together… you just don't know how it happened! Somehow or other, it happened… and everybody could see it coming and could understand it's going to happen if you go on like this… because that natural attraction is there.

Srimad Bhagavatam has the butter and fire analogy where men are butter and women are fire. And when the butter comes near the fire, it melts… it always melts! Bramacharis are basically trying to keep the butter in the fridge so that it doesn't melt quickly so they have a whole fridge system there within their saffron cloth and bramachari practises.

Ladies in spiritual life are covering the fire. That's why they cover their heads and wear sarees which cover the body more than modern clothing. So they are trying to cover the fire.

We are not trying to blame anybody, like throw the blame on the women that they are mayadevis. The poor men are the victims and those women are nothing but trouble makers. That is a somewhat biased and wrong understanding of what the Vedic literatures are saying. However, the illusory power of the female body is very strong undoubtedly. They have this power of attraction more than males. Although males may be attractive still the male body is not as charming as the female body.

In spiritual life, we recognise that the beauty of a female body has a danger connected to it. A danger to entangle spirit souls, both men and women. The women themselves are also falling victim to their own beauty… it gives a certain power and it's kind of addictive and difficult to stop it. So devotees realise this and therefore keep a certain amount of reservation.

The story of Sākṣi-gopāla

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 4

The story of Sākṣi-gopāla. An ancient story about a deity in Vrindavan, which was acting as a witness between the elderly brāhmaṇa and a younger brāhmaṇa. In Vrindavan, the younger brāhmaṇa served the elderly brāhmaṇa, very nicely and so he said:

"I want you to marry my daughter".

But the elderly brāhmaṇa was rich and the younger brāhmaṇa was quite poor. The poor young brāhmaṇa said:

"Your family are not going to accept me, and they are not going to like it".

"I can do whatever I want! I am the head of the family and if I say that I want to give my daughter to you, then I will give my daughter to you and no one can change that!"

The younger brāhmaṇa said:

"Well, all right, but I want a witness. So why don't you say it in front of the deity of Gopāla?"

"No problem".

He said it in front of the deity of Gopāla. So Gopāla was a witness. Later, they went back to his village which was the on the other side of India, near Puri. There the family threw a tantrum and his wife said;

"If you marry off my daughter to that boy then I will commit suicide!"

It was a big thing and the son said:

"Yes we will all commit suicide!"

It was getting too much, and he didn't know what to do, so he said:

"Well, what can I do? I made a promise."

So the son took over and said:

"Don't worry. Just say that you don't remember".

When the young brāhmaṇa who claimed for the promise, had come to get married, the elder brāhmaṇa said that he didn't remember. So the young brāhmaṇa brought all the villagers and there was a big discussion, and then the eldest son started to say:

"This rascal! He harassed my father. He robbed him whilst he was in Vrindavan, and he gave him dhustura, and now my father cannot remember anything".

So his father was saying:

"I cannot remember….I cannot remember".

The villagers became all confused. Then the young brāhmaṇa said:

"But I have a witness".

"Okay. You have a witness. So who is your witness?"

"The deity is my witness. Gopāla – I will bring Him."

So the son of the elder brāhmaṇa said:

"Yes you go and bring Him.”

So the young brāhmaṇa went home, stood before the deity, and was speaking to the deity, by telling Him that He should come, since he needs Him as the witness. So the deity said:

"But I am a deity, so how can I walk?"

"If you can talk, then you can walk".

So Krishna agreed to walk behind him and said:

"Everyday you cook some rice for Me and you will hear that I am behind you by the tinkling of my ankle bells. But if you turn around…and if you look at me, then I will not go further and will stop on that spot".

They walked until they came to the village of where they lived, and suddenly he could not hear any ankle bells. So he thought that the deity had left and looked over his shoulder and the deity just stayed there.

Then the deity said:

"I'm not going any further. Now call all the villagers, and say that your witness has come".

Everybody came and they all saw the miracle……the old brāhmaṇa also confirmed it, and then there was a happy ending. Anyway, Jayadvaita Maharaja would say:

"An unhappy ending".

The young brāhmaṇa got his bride and the whole family was united and together they worshiped the deity!

Srimad Bhagavatam classes in Cape Town

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 12:18 PM PST

Here are five classes on the Srimad Bhagavatam (7.13.46 – 7.14.5), given by His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami from the 19-23 December 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa.

These verses were taken from the chapters The behaviour of a perfect person  and Ideal family life respectively. It dealt with the topic of varanashrama while stressing the superiority of Krsna conciousness at every stage of life.

To download the classes just click on each title.

SB.7.13.46

SB.7.14.1

SB.7.14.2

SB.7.14.3-4

SB.7.14.5

29 December 2011

KKSblog.com - Anchoring our vows

KKSblog.com - Anchoring our vows

Anchoring our vows

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 08:05 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, Dec 2011, Cape Town, SA) We have to build a very solid spiritual life. Vows don't stand by themselves. Just like a pole put in the sand doesn't stand very firm unless it is anchored in a strong foundation. Either you have to anchor it with a big concrete block on the ground or you have to put lines on four sides to sort of anchor it otherwise with time it will fall over. So we find that the vows in spiritual life also need to be anchored; they need support lines and a foundation then the forces of material nature will not knock over these vows. So the interesting part is that what was sort of relatively easy in the beginning… In the beginning you follow these vows on the strength of determination and it works. Then as time goes on, you actually realise that you have to do more than you were doing before to maintain these vows. When we are advancing we think we have to do less, but no, we actually have to do more to maintain these vows with time. That's the interesting part and one has to put more and more into place.

God is cheating God?

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 4

There were a few boys who were herding the cows, and when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw them, He called them to chant Hare Krishna and immediately they chanted. Mahaprabhu became totally ecstatic. So Nityananda took advantage of His ecstasy, and he quickly went to these boys and said:

"You see that sannyasi….. well he is not okay".

And the boys looked and said:

"Yes, He is not okay".

"When He asks you for the way to Vrindavan, then just tell them that it is that way, along the river".

So the boys said:

"Okay".

So when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked them for the way, and then they followed that way, which was leading Him back to Navadvīpa. Actually He came to the river which was opposite of Śāntipur, just as He saw the Ganga and thought it was the Yamuna and so He jumped into the river and Advaitācārya was passing in the boat, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said:

"Advaitācārya! What are you doing in Vrindavan?"

And then Advaitācārya said:

"My Lord wherever you are is Vrindavan!"

And indeed he was bathing in the Yamuna since at this side of the Ganga, actually the Yamuna was flowing.

Advaitācārya had brought some dry clothes, and said:

"Anyway, since you took sannyas over three days ago, you didn't beg any alms. So please grant me to take alms in my house first".

Sir Caitanya Mahaprabhu said:

"Nityananda is cheating me!"

So it is very nice that one personality of Godhead is cheating another personality of Godhead. It is interesting how God is cheating God. So when we look at these pastimes, then how can a non-devotee understand such things such as God is cheating God? But this is exactly what is going on!

The power of bhakti

Posted: 28 Dec 2011 10:07 AM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Maharaja, Dec 2011, Cape Town, SA) Karma can never overcome bhakti. There is no question that karma, at any point, can overcome bhakti. Bhakti is always more powerful than karma and no matter what can happen, bhakti can rise above.

28 December 2011

KKSblog.com - The Śikṣāṣṭakam

KKSblog.com - The Śikṣāṣṭakam

The Śikṣāṣṭakam

Posted: 27 Dec 2011 03:12 PM PST

Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 4


It was Caitanya Mahaprabhu who did not write any books, but He left these eight verses. These eight verses are called the Śikṣāṣṭakam, and He never recited them like we are doing them in the morning.

It's not that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu gave all these eight verses in one breath, and here is the Śikṣāṣṭakam like a poem with eight stanzas, and there it is. No, these verses were sporadically spoken…. each one was separate.

It was Rupa Goswami who for the first time assembled them in the Padyavali, but not together since they are scattered within the book, with one here and another one there. It was Krishandas Kaviraja Goswami, who for the first time put these eight verses together and allows Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to explain the verses, which is in the last chapter of the Caitanya-caritamrta.

He is the controller and we are his tools

Posted: 27 Dec 2011 02:31 PM PST

By Sudha Mehta

Some few days back, I read a newspaper article on Higgs Boson. Higgs Boson is considered to be the missing puzzle in the jigsaw puzzle of the Big bang theory. Million and billions are spent on discovering the same, and many scientists have discovered this and proving that the Big bang theory is a fact and a mission of their life. Having read about this and related article, I have just compiled a poem. Hope it is in line with regulations of the blog. Here it goes. My name is Mrs Sudha Mehta, and I live in Bosnia with my 8 year old daughter.


Physicists hunt for Higgs Boson

To prove that universe was created with smashing of photon

They say smashing and bang happened for no reason

And matter turned into mass and spirit without reason

Life cannot spring out of matter

Even a child knows this better

Can inanimate particles collide and make life?

How silly to spends billions behind this obstinate rife

Just accept with humility that the creator has a purpose for creating one and all

How can the universe run systematically without control?

He is the controller and we are his tool

Let's try to understand his hidden message and not be a fool

As man tries desperately to load over the nature

His illusion deepens and he is lost forever

Higgs boson is sending all on wild goose chase

Oh Krsna! How to save this human race

27 December 2011

KKSblog.com - The miracles of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

KKSblog.com - The miracles of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

The miracles of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 09:49 AM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 4

We see that the divinity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is established. It comes up many times that He clearly is the Supreme Lord, and that there are many miracles that are related to this, because it is expected that whenever you deal with the Supreme Lord, then there are miracles. Some miracles that appeared are…..before His birth mother Śacīdevī saw celestial beings. In his childhood, when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very small, in the house they could hear a child who was running around with ankle bells on, but no one was running around. There were footprints in the house, so they thought it was from the śālagrāma-śilā, but then they saw the marks of the footprints of Visnu and the same marks were on Nimai’s feet, but he was too small to run. So how was it possible?

On Ekadasi, there was a great offering being made in the house of Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa, and it was a huge feast that was being cooked. Nimai was feeling very sick that day, and He said that the only thing that could cure Him was some of that prasad, but how did He know that they were having such an offering in that house? Nobody knew, but somehow or other He knew, and far away in the house of Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa there was this special prasad…and that was mystical!

I've often told the story of Nimai Pundit eating the brahmana's offering. He was a extremely learned – super human learning! Later as a preacher He went into the Jharikhanda forest and made the tigers and deers chant Hare Krishna…. and embrace each other. The tigers and deers were kissing each other, which was quite a miracle. He cured Vasudeva the leper from the disease. He also cured Sanatana's sores.

About one million years ago Lord Ramacandra was showing Sugrivah how very powerful he was, and that He was able to defeat Bali. Therefore, Lord Ramacandra took an arrow and shot it right through seven tall trees. Those trees were there, and when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to South India, He embraced those trees. As He embraced them, they disappeared one after another. So it has been said that they went to the spiritual world!

He pushed Lord Jagannatha's chariot with His head, when the chariot did not want to move. The king picked big wrestlers, but they could not move the chariot. Then he got the elephants to pull the chariot, but still the chariot would not move, but when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the back of the chariot and pushed lightly with His head, then it started to roll down the road, and the ropes were lying in peoples' hands and they were not pulling at all! And the chariot was just moving on its own. So these are just some of the miracles. My point is that the main miracle that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is showing is His outstanding symptoms of love of God and that is the real topic of the Caitanya-caritamrta!

Outlining our identity

Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:41 AM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 4

I think that the Caitanya-caritamrta in many ways provides us with our identity, because it outlines what we are meant to do as devotees, particularly in this day and age.

Whereas Srimad Bhagavatam is having many passages that are applying to people of another era. In Srimad Bhagavatam we find personalities like Bhima. Bhima has the strength of ten thousand elephants. So he looks stronger than spider man! That is pretty impressive. Although he is an historical person, he is almost mythological by his qualifications and in comparison to us!

We see that Bhisma Dev is lying on a bed of arrows. For me one arrow is enough. A cut on my finger and already I'm out of action. What to speak of an arrow – call an ambulance, and with a hundred arrows…I'm done! So we are looking at personalities who are extraordinary in so many ways.

We can take from their example, the spirit but we cannot imitate! Like Dhruva Maharaja is fasting and at one point he stops eating, which we could try, but then he stops breathing, which again is sort of impossible for us to do. So one can from Dhruva Maharaja maybe take a spirit of being austere, of chanting a mantra and so on.

But in the Caitanya-caritamrta we receive role models of devotees who are more like us. Or who are like what we should be, and who are living in a way that we actually should be living. They are representing our culture. So we find a cultural identity, especially in the Caitanya-caritamrta. We find that through the process of bhakti (as given in the Caitanya-caritamrta) we become purified, and that process gives us our identity!

25 December 2011

KKSblog.com - In deep meditation

KKSblog.com - In deep meditation

In deep meditation

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 03:50 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 3

The Lord was seeing how Rupa and Sanatana were devotees. He knew very well that they were living in Ramakeli, and in that village they were situated close to the government. It wasn't where the government was situated, but it was their own village, which was next to the place where the government was situated. And in that village they had re-created Vrindavan.

As Bhakti-Ratnakara describes, that they had built very nice cottages on the bank of the Ganges, and were inviting different learned scholars from all over India to come to visit them, and to stay with them. They were providing them with everything while they were there. Anything a brahmana could desire, in terms of a library, scriptures, and nothing to worry about since all the material things could be arranged: nice prashadam; good and clean residence; no headache. The kind of environment where all you have to do is focus on the scriptures. Something that any brahminical person would want, since they do not want to be bothered with all these material things! So Rupa and Sanatana provided that very nicely.

Therefore, Ramakeli had the greatest scholars and there was always a daily discussion taking place in the court, with Rupa and Sanatana on matters about scriptures. So Bhagavatam discussions were not only taking place during that time, but also when Santanta Goswami decided (that after Rupa's retirement) that he too did not to go to work, and wanted to just hear the Bhagavatam instead. But they have always done that along with their government service. They were having such discussion as mentioned in the Bhakti-Ratnakara in great details, and that they went to places that reminded them of Vrindavan.

And in this way they were in deep meditation and you could imagine how Rupa and Sanatana were trained by their discussions on all sorts of topics with the best scholars of their time. They themselves, were scholars of great repute, and were the participants in discussions on par with the great scholars of their time. Therefore, the scholarship of Rupa and Santana Goswami developed over a longer period of time in Ramakeli!

The Ethics of the Bhagavat Philosophy

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 02:52 PM PST

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, Mayapur, November 2011) Lecture – Caitanya-caritamrta Part 3

We see that Prabhupada was not like a parrot! As the essay from Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, 'The Eithics of the Bhagavat Philosophy' describes:

'One's mind should not only be a repository of knowledge – where things are just stored and reproduced, but one should take this knowledge, think about it creatively, and apply it creatively in one's life!'

That has been explained by him, and Srila Prabhupada certainly did that by always being a faithful instrument. He was a very faithful instrument, and also seeming to meet the objectives from his spiritual master, and not by just parroting and not like being a fundamentalist:

"Like, well you know…. my guru said this and there cannot be a change!".

No, it is also about experimenting a little, adjusting a little – sixteen rounds is sort of all right. There were things like ladies in the ashram, and so many things that were substantial. I mean, obviously if you put men and women together in a temple, then you are going to have some fireworks! That's inevitable, and the Gauḍīya Math has rightly criticised this in a sense. How can you have that in the ashram? But they could not see what he saw: That there is another culture; there was no shelter; and that you could not keep the ladies at home, since they are also sincere souls, and required the shelter of the Krishna conscious environment. They couldn't understand the principle. So anyway Prabhupada (in his humility) did not have an over fundamentalist type of nature!

The Cape of Good Hope

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 01:45 PM PST

Maharaja's South African tour continued with a week-long visit to Cape Town (18-25 December). At the Sunday Feast lecture he spoke on Bhagavad-Gita (1.1). Apart from glorifying the book, he also encouraged devotees to support the petition against Russia's attempt to ban Bhagavad-Gita. At the end of the lecture, once again Maharaja handed-out packs of Srila Prabhupada's books to the congregation and appealed to the devotees to distribute them! The program concluded with an ecstatic kirtana.

During the week, Maharaja presented the daily morning classes on Srimad-Bhagavatam. Various different programs were held in the evenings and each one began with the most wonderful bhajan sessions. The European traveling sankirtana team (Vishnujana, Gourakaruna and Prahlada) arrived on Tuesday and just added to the energetic nature of the programs. On Monday and Tuesday night, Maharaja held seminars on the Caitanya-Caritamrta where he discussed different personalities in the book, the author, the glories of Lord Caitanya and stressed the modern day relevance of the book. On Wednesday and Thursday night, Maharaja gave classes at the houses of devotees.

However, the highlight of the week was undoubtedly the Friday night harinama which was the best ever that took place in Cape Town. The harinama party paraded along the main street of the inner-city where a huge crowd had assembled for a night market that was being held there and went on until 11 pm. Maharaja led a powerful kirtana accompanied by accordion and drummers while devotees chanted and danced in ecstasy. The energy was contagious as passers-by waved, smiled, blared horns on their cars, some even danced and others just stared in astonishment. It was definitely a night to be remembered.

The final item on the itinerary was a Saturday night loft-preaching program targeted for new-comers. The topic for the evening was Reflections on the Holy Name. Maharaja shared his early experiences of mantra meditation and how chanting transformed his life.

Enjoy the pictures.

If you can’t view the slide show then visit flickr!
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

This blog has moved

Checkout www.kksblog.com for the latest news