11 July 2012

KKSblog.com - A pure devotee develops the qualities of Krishna

KKSblog.com - A pure devotee develops the qualities of Krishna

A pure devotee develops the qualities of Krishna

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 02:44 PM PDT

(H H Kadamba Kanana Swami, 21st June 2012, Govinda's, Prague, Czech Republic) Lecture: Free Talk

Srila Prabhupada was in New York and he gave a lecture. He was explaining that:

'Yes I came to this hellish place.'

He said:

'Why would I have done that? I left such a nice place, Vrindavan. It's like everyone is worshiping Krishna, everywhere. Krishna has walked everywhere! Vrindavan is such a nice place! Why would I have left such a nice place to come to a hell like this?'

Prabhupada didn't see New York as the most important place in the world. He saw Vrindavan as the most important place in the world, but when Prabhupada was in New York then that was the most important place in the world, because there in his presence in New York the devotees could perceive Vrindavan more than by travelling to India and going to that town that is known as Vrindavan.

'nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe yogināṁ hṛdayeṣu vā
tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ,' (Padma Purana).

'So yes I'm not residing in Vaikuntha,' Krishna says, 'I'm not residing in the heart of the yogis. The place where I really reside Narada is where my devotees are chanting my glories!'

So therefore what I am saying is not just some idea that I came up with, but actually based on scripture, that when Prabhupada was in New York it was the most important place on the planet and really you can see that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was like that. All the eyes were on wherever Prabhupada was, and everyone just wanted to go there. And anyone who wasn't there was thinking:

'Oh boy, we are not there.'

Because it is so that the pure devotees develop the qualities of Krishna. It's logical and it's certain to develop the qualities of the master, because what is important for the master is important for the servant. So logically the servant develops the qualities of the master! And the pure devotee begins to develop the qualities of Krishna and more and more he becomes the representative of Krishna.

One time Prabhupada was asked:

'How many pure devotees are there on the planet?' (One journalist was asking the question).

So Prabhupada was asking the devotees:

'How many members do we have on this planet?'

They gave some number and Prabhupada said:

'That's how many pure devotees there are!'

So Prabhupada was also very generous!

Kirtana weekend in Villa Vrindavana

Posted: 10 Jul 2012 02:10 AM PDT

After South Africa, Maharaja's European summer tour continued with his participation in a 24-hour kirtana festival that took place at Villa Vrindavana in Florence, Italy.

Villa Vrindavana is an ISKCON establishment located on the Chianti Hills in the Tuscany region, which is well-known for its medieval historical significance. The main building is a 16th century Renaissance Villa that overlooks 80 hectares of property, surrounded by green forest and olive plants. An Italian garden with a central fountain and exotic plants add glamour to the property. Peacocks freely roam around and it's no wonder why this this small corner of paradise has been named after Krsna's eternal residence.

The presiding deities of this temple are Sri Sri Radha Vraja Sundara, Jagannatha Baladev & Subadra and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. The weekend weather was beautiful and devotees from all over Europe joined in. The main kirtana leaders were Madhava Prabhu, Amala Harinama Prabhu, Jahnavi Harrison and HH Kadamba Kanana Swami. HH Candramauli Swami was present as well but as the lead dancer as he spent 20 of the 24 hours in the kirtana!

The prasadam was typical local cuisine – pasta and lasagne. Apart from leading ecstatic kirtanas, Maharaja also gave class twice. In one class, he spoke on the verse 'harer nama eva kevalam' where he highlighted the importance and great benefit of chanting Hare Krsna. In the second class, he spoke on Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.10.15. One thing that he pointed out, is that in India one is likely to be asked his gotra (descent from a common male ancestor) and as devotees we can always say that we are acyuta gotra – descendants of the infallible lineage of Krsna.

Overall, it was an ecstatic weekend and Maharaja is currently at the Summer Camp in Serbia.

If you cannot view the slide show, just visit flickr!

 

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